#free realms was like my shit I’d be on there HOURS
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honeykaes · 3 months ago
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Do yall remember Fusion Fall? Free Realms?
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hotcryptidsinyourarea · 4 months ago
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Falling for the Frogman of Loveland, Ohio
story synopsis: Molly is a 30-something cookbook editor who has decided to move from New York to Loveland, Ohio after a bad breakup and a desire for a fresh start. She is instantly attracted to her neighbor Jeremiah's midwestern charms, but this local guy is much more than meets the eye...
human (she/her) + interdimensional humanoid frogman (he/him)
cw: aint-shit brooklyn hipster ex-boyfriend. millennial real estate angst. Ohio.
Chapter 1
I never thought in a million years I would end up in Ohio of all places. I’ve always fancied myself a real City Girl type. I grew up in the Houston metro area where I was more likely to be perusing the Galleria or eating sushi than I was engaging in any of the more agrarian behaviors outsiders assume Texans are wont to do but largely don’t. And then as soon as I graduated, I made my way to New York to officially start my life in the city I would never leave, as far as I was concerned.
But after 14 years of scraping by, 14 years of overpriced rent and skipping meals in order to afford the bills, I’ve had enough. I sold my furniture, wrapped up my loose ends, and made a break to escape the rat race. 
Okay, maybe I’m not some maverick refusing to buy into the capitalist hustle. My grand escape from New York is a little less Snake Plimson and more desperate-slash-dumped. I was supposed to move in with my boyfriend Mark, the gorgeous and brilliant photographer I had been seeing for three whole years. My lease with my last roommate was coming to an end, so Mark and I decided to do what grown ups supposedly do and finally get a place together to embark on the whole domestic bliss thing. I was absolutely looking forward to having someone to split expenses with, but even more so it felt like I was finally becoming a real adult. Moving in with your boyfriend in New York is, as far as lifestyle accomplishments go, the equivalent of getting married and having kids for people in the burbs. And I was ready to start this next chapter of my life knowing I was on track with the milestones expected of me. 
Unfortunately, Mark was not ready. At the big age of 36, he came to the conclusion that he didn’t know himself well enough to get tied down to a life of commitment– or even the eighteen months our lease would occupy. “There’s so much I still want to do,” he said. “It would be unfair to you if I was here physically, when my heart and soul are somewhere else,” he said. I wanted to deck him.  
Honestly, I can get over the rejection from a man who was self-admittedly only half present, but his dumping me put me in a position far more precarious than heartbreak: sitting there with just six weeks to find an affordable place to live in New York City. Not impossible, mind you, but a significant burden where I will absolutely be forced to make concessions regarding what I want. I was looking down the barrel of a too much for too little housing situation that I’d be stuck in for the foreseeable future. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that I would end up in a street level roach motel with a toilet in the kitchen for no less than $4000/month. 
But after a few hours online searching for options, the algorithm gods smiled down upon me. I was scrolling through my feed having just double tapped on a high school friend’s baby announcement when I saw it: a targeted ad that read: GET PAID $30,000 TO LIVE AND WORK IN OHIO. 
$30k is not going to make me a wealthy woman, by any means, but it’s a hell of a lot more than I stood to lose trying to find acceptable lodging in the city. And while I had a decent social circle I didn’t want to abandon, my desire to go out and spend my free time (as well as my not-so-free-money) had dwindled as of late. I found myself avoiding the parties and bars where I more often than not spent the evening straining my voice just to have a simple conversation with someone I can barely even hear in favor of staying in to read with a glass of wine while brainstorming fan theories with other members of one of the several fandom Discord channels I belong to. And my job has essentially become 100% remote as of late. Any essential meetings I may need to attend could be covered as a business trip, but considering most of my job involves research and grunt work versus client-facing duties, it likely wouldn’t come up at all. I was free to leave New York. 
That is to say, my curiosity was piqued. So I clicked. And I applied. Then in what felt like a whirlwind courting, I was put into contact with a state worker who walked me through the grant application with the kind of midwestern charm I found refreshing after over a decade of city cynicism. I was then presented with a selection of eligible properties, mortgage options, and even connections to discounted moving services. Seemingly quicker than one could say “buckeye state,” I had a home lined up for me. 
A month later, here I am: driving west to Loveland, Ohio. I would never admit it out loud to my friends in New York, but when I saw the option for the little single story bungalow in a town called Loveland, I was instantly drawn to the romanticism of the name. I’ve never considered myself a romantic. After all, my last relationship was built more upon a desire to live a D.I.N.K. lifestyle than some sort of deep, burning passion between two souls made of the same. But finding this opportunity to start anew in an actual hand-to-god house that I could feasibly own felt more like a whirlwind case of woo than dating men ever did. After all, having a place of one’s own to which she can safely escape has been an unattainable dream for women throughout the recorded centuries. 
I am not so jaded as to deny the appeal of true romantic love; the security of a trusted partner and the comfort of consistent, pleasurable sex is not something I would turn away if it presented itself. But I also accept the fact that those ideals are born from a rather modern mindset born from the emergence of the bored middle class who desired a genteel way to express their own horniness disguised under the veil of “art.” 
Well, I mostly know that. Maybe it’s all I’m allowing myself to believe in order to keep myself from being disappointed when I inevitably never experience the kind of love that makes one write poems and paint portraits. I mean, there’s ample evidence in this world that some people truly do fall in love  I recently read that the English poet and surrealist patron Edward James was so in love with his dancer wife Tilly Losch, he had the impressions of her footsteps woven into the stair’s carpet in their home together, creating a tribute to their shared intimacy and the love he held not just for her physicality, but her contribution towards turning their house into his home. 
Of course, Edward and Tilly ended up divorced. To his credit, James didn’t destroy the carpet upon the dissolution of his marriage and her subsequent campaign to pin it on his bisexuality rather than her infidelity. Instead he ended up donating it to an arts’ college and replaced the one in his home with a new commission– this time, featuring the pawprints of his beloved dog. C’est l’amour! One day you’re in love with your gorgeous dancer wife and her elegant footsteps, the next, she’s outing you in divorce court and you’re making lobster telephones with Salvador Dalí. 
So with all that in mind, I find myself here in the Cincinnati suburbs, heading directly to my new life in a land of love smack dab in the middle of The Heart of It All. But despite how it sounds, I’m not holding out for a hero. I will happily settle for falling in love with my new life and my new house. 
I may not be in love, but I am definitely crushing on my new place. As I pull into the driveway, I feel my heartbeat quicken in excitement. It’s so BIG! I mean, I’m from Houston– I know how big houses can be and this isn’t a mansion by any means. In fact, the listing called it a “modern cottage” style, insinuating that it’s on the smaller side of homes. But I’ve been apartment dwelling in New York for so long, I feel unsure about what to do with so much space to myself. I don’t have even close to enough furnishings to fill this place. There shall be much shopping in my foreseeable future. And there isn’t just a yard– there’s two! I might take up gardening. Maybe I’ll get a dog. My head is swimming with the possibilities. 
I grab my bags from the car and saunter up to the front door. It’s not my first time across the threshold– I flew out here before closing to oversee the inspection and get to know the area. But none of that diminishes my excitement. After all, this is my first home! I get to have a little bit of romanticization within the experience. As a treat.
The first thing to notice when walking into the house is the spacious open-plan kitchen and living area. The kitchen is what really excited me about this house. As an editor for cookbooks, I spend a lot of time there developing and testing. And now with all this room, I can fill it with every specialized tool and rare ingredients my little heart desires. The kitchen island fills the space and features a dozen or so drawers and cabinets of all different shapes and sizes to accommodate all my storage needs. And the appliances are perfect. The refrigerator is a pistachio green color with a design that looks like it came straight out of the 1950s, but it’s actually brand new and energy efficient. The stove features a gas range as well as a griddle top– the kind my Nana used to make us pancakes whenever we’d stay with her over Christmas. There’s also plenty of room for me to set up a desk for when the actual writing needs to occur. I’m going to get so much done!
The rest of the house is perfect for me. The master bedroom faces the east, so the sun pours in as soon as it rises. The connecting bathroom has a huge clawfoot tub AND a corner shower with rain-style fixtures. The second-largest room features floor-to-ceiling built-in bookcases that basically called to me when I first saw them in the listing. I was planning on converting it into a dual-use library-slash-guest room, but now that I’m here, I wonder if I’ll be willing to share it with any guests. Is it considered gauche for a grown woman to commit an entire room to house her hardcover romantasy collection? Well, they might just have to call me fucking gauche because I am seriously considering it.
Besides, the smallest third bedroom could serve as a perfectly adequate guest room. It can barely fit more than a bed and a dresser, but it would work. Between the future library and future guest room is the second bathroom. It’s not as nice as the master bath, but all the fixtures are new and the tiling is a really cute black and white subway style that will go well with the modernist decor I have in mind. 
But decorating, working, filling up bookshelves– those are all to-do items for the near future. At the moment, I should really focus on the tasks at hand. First, I need to unload the rest of my things still in the car. The storage pod I have the majority of my possessions in is scheduled to be in my driveway in a couple days, but I brought the bare necessities along with me. After that, I will need to get some food in me. I make a mental grocery list while I unload the car. 
I got the entire $30k from the grant, but I only needed $20k for the down payment, leaving me with a nice chunk of change to invest in a new-to-me hybrid sedan. I haven’t owned a car since I sold the one I drove in high school after graduation. But considering I grew up in a city that is mostly a collection of zig-zagging freeways and pavement, I am pretty comfortable behind the wheel even after all these years of living by the graces of public transportation. The autonomy granted with a personal vehicle is not lost on me. No more showing up late due to MTA delays or having to avert my eyes from strange male passengers whose hands are conspicuously not in plain sight, though still in visible motion. Instead, I now get to enjoy the comfort of a working air conditioner and the freedom to belt out Beyoncé songs at the top of my lungs. Which is exactly what I do on my drive to the supermarket.
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sailorgundam308 · 1 year ago
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On Karlach-gate
I’m gonna talk a little bit (lol, lie, a LOT) about Karlach’s endings and her companion storyline in Baldur’s Gate 3.
This feels like opening a can of worms, and it took me a while to gather the courage to do so. Not because of other people, but because of how many thoughts and feelings I’d have to face to put my opinion into words. BUT before I go full steam ahead, a few disclaimers are in order.
First, this is spoilerland. It is full of it, all around you, and there’s no escape. So if you’re not into reading about every single Karlach related spoilery thing I can think of in the game, don’t read this. (There are spoilers of Final Fantasy 16 too, so beware)
Second, I shouldn’t have to say it, but this is merely my opinion. Granted, I enjoy having my opinions corroborated by evidence - to a problematic degree -, so this is gonna be a long and painful text. Still, an opinion is neither wrong nor right (though it can be shitty or nice lol).
And third: I loved the game. I still do. But not as much as I thought I would have based on the first half of my experience with it. Currently I have - and I shit you not - 762 hours of Baldur’s Gate 3 - 500 of which are just in my first playthrough. I bought the game in the pre-sale (I played Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 when I was a kid/teen, so I squealed and jumped into it when I heard there was a 3). Two weeks after I’d started playing it, I bought 4 extra copies of the game to give to my best friends so they could enjoy it too. I can’t compare the game to others because I am not a proper gamer. But I am comparing the game to ITSELF (and perhaps that is the problem). That is to say: I enjoy BG3 and support Larian and everyone who worked on the game - thanks to them I put (lost) 700h of my life in the Forgotten Realms (and I fucking love me some Forgotten Realms).
Unfortunately, the quality of the main story and the companion’s personal stories are not consistent throughout the game. While I might not be an experienced vidya gamer, I can at the very least attest to my satisfaction in relation to the way the narrative was implemented/delivered in the game - or wasn’t.
Which is where the issues begin, and so does this long rant.
My comments are about Karlach and her story, because she and Astarion are my favorite companions and I am generally satisfied with how we experience Astarion’s story in the game. But I don’t feel the same towards Karlach’s.
//
In regards to the main story, Act 1 - and even Act 2 to a lesser degree - have consistent storytelling, cohesive and interesting narrative moments, with twists and turns. But Act 3… We know it, right? It feels like being in an electronics shop on a Black Friday. Compared to Act 1, Act 3 is a free for all, rushed, disconnected and random festival of “wait, wtf?”
The companion’s personal quests also have issues, but in a different way.
Something that bothered me a lot is that there is no consistent narrative care and quality among the implementation of the companion’s personal storylines. Essentially, some companions have their personal stories aptly and extensively implemented and integrated into the progression of the game, while others don’t - to very different degrees.
For example, you have characters who seem to get priority attention put into their (implemented) writing, questlines, dungeons, dialogues, animations, and insights into their past. Most notably is Shadowheart. She has the only cinematic flashback, 2 fucking huge dungeons and several key personal closure moments throughout the span of the game - Shar, Nightsong, Viconia, parents, her tief friend, cemetery is what I remember off the top of my head (so if you think she still got the short straw I WILL strangle you). And, then, you have severely neglected characters like Karlach.
When I say neglected, it’s not a matter of Karlach’s story being less interesting than the others’ (I think it’s def MUCH cooler than SH’s, for example), but that there is so little of it seamlessly and carefully implemented in the game we get to play. If you don’t believe me, just open the quest journal after your endgame and read through every single companion’s personal quest journals, then read Karlach’s again. There it is. Nothing I say will compare to just looking at it with your own eyes. It’s kinda crazy, honestly. It’s hard to deny that something there went wrong and still argue Karlach is supposed to have the same level of “origin companion” importance.
//
Unlike many people I communicated with, I am not that opposed to the current Karlach endings we get in the game - but I am not "okay with it" either. Let me explain.
The current endings are not ANYWHERE near good (in the sense of satisfying). In fact, if you compare Karlach’s ending to ALL other companion’s endings (yes, even Astarion’s), her possible outcomes become pretty bad pretty fast. When side by side, the others’ ‘bittersweet’ endings quickly start to seem mild or even happy in comparison. Karlach definitely drew the short straw (or the writers put the short straw in her hands - so short in fact that there were moments when I wondered if someone in Larian had something against Karlach).
All that said, I diverge from some people in that I don’t wish for a happy ending for Karlach - I don’t think it suits her, nor does it suit the game. Even a full resolution would not fit, I think. But there seems to be an entire spectrum between “absolute worst” (death and becoming a mind flayer, which is essentially the same shit), “lame and unfulfilling” (no hope of changing her situation, just going back to Avernus to be forever stuck in a warzone - but alive), and something we DON’T get for her, which is “bittersweet”. There are levels of bad endings, and Karlach’s endings are on the worst bit of the spectrum. Though I don’t personally wish for a happy ending for Karlach, I wish we had a ‘happier’ one.
For context: By the time I finished my first (Tav) run, Patch 2 had been released (because I'd stalled and refused to finish with the launch ending for her). Still, I did not get the Avernus epilogue scene for some reason (perhaps because I had not romanced her), so first I watched her die, and it was horrible. Then I redid the save, and decided to go with her to Avernus.
In either case, I got just a black screen and then a cinematic of the city and the narrator telling me how epic, heroic and FULFILLED I should be feeling (even though Tav was never a hero and I never gave a fuck about being heroic in my play) - which sounded like insult to injury as I had basically JUST watched Karlach die and couldn’t care LESS if the people of Baldur’s Gate were saved. Fuck’em. What the fuck do I care about the city or strangers when one of my most beloved companions just burned alive in front of me?
Fuck off, Larian. <- That’s how I felt then (ok, kinda how I still feel when I think about it). Insulted and empty. I felt like the game was trying to railroad me to feeling some sort of epic fulfillment that wasn’t there. That seems worse than regular railroading… Like, railroading my feelings? No, thanks.
For me, there was no ‘epicness’, there was just numbness and a bad taste left in my mouth - a feeling that all my effort and time put into the story turned meaningless in the end. And let me tell you, that is NOT a feeling you want people to feel at the end of a story you tell (esp when some of us sick fucks spent 500+ hours in game).
Since I did not get the cinematic epilogue with Karlach in my Tav ending (just the fade to black) I was left with nothing to hang onto. I had nothing in the game that gave me a sliver of hope of something - anything - else happening after the credits rolled (I have since heard from one of my friends that this might have changed a bit).
//
But, if I don’t want a happy-happy ending for Karlach, and I don’t particularly care for her endings as they currently are, wtf do I want?
Well. I’m not entirely sure, but my best guess is two things.
First, the “easier” one:
If you finished Astarion’s story with him as a romanced partner and as a spawn, you get a conversation with him about the future. Granted, this scene is underwhelming (and he feels quite OOC), but it does have something that I consider very important for us players who cared about him and dedicated hours of play to help him in game. We have the option to say we will try to find a way for him to stand in the sun again. That is not a guarantee that we can do it, nor is it a scene clearly showing us in the future doing so. What it is, though, is a seed of hope, in canon, that lets us believe that there might be a way. So we can use our beautiful headcanons to imagine what the future of our Tav and Astarion could become, based on something canon. It creates the important feeling that the story will go on, and, moreover, that things that are currently shitty for him (losing his ability to move freely under the sun - among other things), might have a workaround. For me, this is crazy important in order to feel fulfilled - and it is one of the reasons I said before that I am generally satisfied with Astarion’s story arc and how it ends. I don’t need the game to spell it for me, just to give me that glimmer. The rest I can do it myself in my own head.
Which takes me back to Karlach and the biggest issue I have with her Avernus ending, and the first thing I wished we had in the game - a sliver of hope for her. At the VERY LEAST, I wanted to have something in game - a dialogue option tweak, or any lazy indication - that hinted that even though we are returning to the Hells with her, it might not be forever. That there might be some secret hidden in Avernus that could still help Karlach become free - or free-er, at least. We might not ever be able to get her heart back, in the same way we might not ever be able to cure Astarion’s vampirism, but if the game gave me a fucking tiny hint that going to Avernus might lead us to fixing/changing her engine to the point she might be able to see the Material Plane again without immediately burning to death… (just a vacation in Faerun, whatever).
Just that would make her Avernus ending less miserable, and minimally fulfilling. My head canon building abilities would still be doing most of the heavy lifting in that one - for SURE - but it would at least be something. The shittiest and tiniest improvement from her underwhelming and terrible ‘best scenario’ ending.
(Just let me add that a friend told me that now she has a dialogue option where Tav can say they’d still look for a cure in Avernus, which might be new. I haven’t checked if it’s a new dialogue tweak or if it’s just the delusional/in denial Tav dialogue options repeating “no, you’ll be fine!” even when Karlach is literally dying in front of them.)
Now, what would I REALLY want for Karlach? (oh boy, watch out for the burst of anger >>)
What do I think would be fair for me (and everyone), as a consumer and a player, who is really into Karlach as a character, who loves her, cheered for her, went around the game always paying attention to anything that might remotely relate to her story and problem?
I want her STORYLINE to be rich. As rich as fucking Shadowheart’s. I want to have to fucking scroll down Karlach’s personal quest page, like I have the other companions’, because there’s so many twists and turns there, because it was written carefully. I want her quest updates to be more than “fetch infernal iron/ bring infernal iron to Dammon/ hold onto the infernal iron and wait/ NOW bring infernal iron to Dammon/ the end.”
I want her fucking quest to not LITERALLY END AT THE BEGINNING OF ACT 2. Because it fucking DOES.
You get a second upgrade as soon as you reach Act 2 and the Last Light Inn if you want (you can walk right up to Dammon). And you also learn Karlach will die and that’s that. And good luck to you, player, to manage to find motivation to go through the rest of the game and finish it already knowing that there’s no helping your favorite companion.
Even though Karlach’s quest does not read as complete then, it IS, for all effects and purposes, over. What is left is for her to be taken to Gortash - and not to KILL HIM herself, mind you - freak the fuck out because now she just gotta wait for death, and bam. Companion personal storyline complete. Enjoy the rest of the game (insert BG3 giving you a big middle finger right here).
That is the part that really, honestly, does not go down with me. I cannot swallow it. Karlach has the background story to have richly written interactions with Tav/NPCs and more twists and turns to her questline. SO much more. But she barely gets anything.
The game puts Gortash as her big nemesis (Zariel, her actual enslaver, is whatever, apparently), and you still can simply skip taking Karlach with you in the fight. Even if you care enough to have her in your party when you do, she gets no big wow moment with Gortash (like Astarion gets with Cazador, SH gets with Shar AND Viconia, Lae’zel gets with Vlaakith, the lot). You, Tav (or any other character for that matter) can be the one to finish Gortash. Doesn’t change anything, even though the game clearly puts him as Karlach’s evil guy.
Fun fact, you actually have to kill him anyway regardless of Karlach for the main quest - with or without Karlach. It doesn’t really matter. Karlach doesn’t really matter for this bit of the story. It is NOT really her moment. She has NO real moment of her own (except when she dies - oh, wow, thank you I guess). And I hate it.
We do get the best and most heartbreaking monologue in the game after Gortash’s death (if Karlach is there AND you care to talk to her). Karlach then has the first real meltdown, the first time she lets her truth connect, and feels the feelings she has kept bottled up inside. And it fucking HURTS.
In my first run, this was the moment when I dropped the game for more than a month. Because I realized there was nothing the player could do for Karlach. Not because I, the player, did not want it, but because the game does not let us. The game railroads us into simply dropping her quest.
To boot, we realize when we reach the endgame, that even if you had NEVER cared for Karlach, never upgraded her engine or did her questline’s shallow fetch quests, her ending would be EXACTLY the same. She would not die faster because you did not upgrade her. She would still last until the final fight, then immediately ‘start to die’ afterwards.
There is no REAL influence from the player in Karlach’s destiny. In this sense, she feels like a random NPC that is just there as a companion because fans liked her in EA (or so I heard). Though most ironically, even some NPCs have their outcomes changed drastically by our actions and choices in game. (And if you come to me saying Karlach’s outcome IS influenced in the game because you can kill her or not in the beginning, well, go suck a fuck. Any companion can be killed, and you know that’s not the point)
//
In other words, what really, REALLY bothers me in the whole Karlach’s situation is not the outcome options she has at the end - at least that is not what MOST bothers me.
What bother’s me is that, even if she is the companion I want to know more about, the one I want to run around the map for, have one, two, six fucking humongous dungeons to clear JUST for her, hear about her past for hours on end, meet her friends, her enemies, have her story be told with as much care and detail as all the others are… Even though I want all that - and I should have it, because everyone else gets it - I can't have it.
I just get the basic, shallow and (infuriatingly) ultimately USELESS fetch quests. The fetch quest only ‘truly matters’ if you romance her and want to have sex with her. If you want to help her as a friend, or if you just have her occupying space at camp - it makes NO difference.
You will still end your game with 6 or 7 lines of one-sentence quest journal entries and Karlach’s fate being decided by a 1 and a half minute dialogue (with not even a lazy persuasion dice roll) in the epilogue.
THAT is what seals Karlach’s fate. A dialogue box, once, in the final minutes of the game.
(Watch out, my turn to rage)
The excess infernal iron you found and kept? The ENHANCED infernal iron you got from the Steel Watchers? The WHOLE Steel Watch thing, including the mention that Karlach was a prototype for them - and they are doing just fine in the Material Plane? The FUCKING Gondians? The Ironhands? Them BOTH? Even some random Ice Metal pieces you get in the underdark and shit? The mentions of the House of Wonders? Gale’s scroll of True Ressurection? Vlaakith’s Wish spell? Gale ascended to godhood??!
NO. Fuck you in particular, for even remotely thinking ANY of these things could help your little hellion companion. You dumb hopeful FUCK.
The game was just trying to trick you, giving you all these possibilities and hope, to then pretend they don’t exist and railroad you to the dialogue at the pier - because THAT is what truly matters.
Oh, and do not forget how you should feel the epicness of that ending cinematic all the same, feel fulfilled that you are the “savior of Baldur’s Gate” or whatever shit the narrator tries to tell you with a voice that sounds like they’re smiling and you should be too. You should be thankful, little player, that there is even the chance to get Karlach back to Avernus - because THAT is the bittersweet ending that puts her story in equal standing to the other origin companions’ stories (<- irony right here).
...
Man. I CAN’T. I can’t even continue. I got into a rage typing spree here that no shit gave me a headache. It’s just all so ridiculous that it turns offensive.
Explains why I don’t usually go deeper into this subject, because it doesn’t feel good at all, just frustrates me to no end. I got NO JOY out of my endgame, NO fulfillment. And as I felt it sink in that THAT was it, the narrator talking to me as if I should be glad came across as condescending and insulting to an absurd degree.
//
That is to say... I wasn’t happy. But being sad about the ending of a game is not always a bad thing. Having a beloved character die in a game is not always empty and unfulfilling.
I am reminded of a previous launch this year, FFXVI, and my favorite character in that game: Dion Lesage. Granted, the style of game is completely different, but I will use Dion’s death as an example nonetheless. Dion dies in that game (boo, spoiler, I warned you). His death cannot be avoided because FF has a linear story - his outcome is not supposed to be avoided, whereas BG3 is a choice-based game where the player should be able to influence the narrative with their choices.
Well, in FFXVI my favorite character dies. It IS sad as fuck, it made me tear up and feel melancholic for a while and all that shit. But what it DIDN’T do was make me feel numb, empty and unfulfilled. I didn’t feel his death was UNFAIR. Because the story of Dion until his death was meaningful. It was well crafted, interwoven into the game’s main narrative, and told with the importance it should have. His death also was not meaningless, he died and the story of the game could not have continued on as it had without him. He was an integral part of the narrative, and so was his death. It was SAD, yes, but it was MEANINGFUL. It was important. He didn’t die alone or just dropped dead in a corner after the game was over just because. People cared that he died. He mattered.
I did not feel any of this about Karlach’s death. And I strongly suspect it is because her journey until her death was not as rich, not carefully crafted AND implemented, not meaningful enough (or at least not presented to us as such)… It was not delivered in the way that she deserved. Especially for the companion who will certainly die among the lot. She should have had a journey as deep and layered as the others (if not even more) if the plan was to have her die either way.
Gale also has death looming over him most of the game, doesn’t he? But his death is the one that might have an impact in the grand narrative, be the game changer. And EVEN THEN, he has a way out. He has a True Resurrection scroll in his little secret pouch. He has Mystra throw a deus-ex at the last moment. But Karlach… well, fuck her in particular?!
//
I can’t claim I know much about how Karlach came to be an origin character. I never played EA, and just read about it. Yes, it might have been the case that she was the last added origin companion, that she had to be squeezed into the already almost-ready game somehow. But, excuse me, that is sloppy. And if that was truly the only thing that happened (which we can't know), I doubt no one at Larian was concerned about her becoming one of the most popular companions (cause she already seemed to have been in EA), and people noticing how poor her story progression was.
This might be unpopular but, sometimes I think they should have left her as an NPC, or a secondary companion option like Halsin, Jaheira or Minsc. (Ok, that might be me being extreme and angry due to my frustration, but I still wonder.) If I could not deliver the same level of quality, carefully crafted and integrated character into a story, would I still half-ass it? ...I know. Calling it “half-assing” isn’t fair (I am comparing BG3 to itself and that is a HIGH bar, because when BG3 gets it right, it knocks it right out of the park).
I’ll also be the first to admit that, if she was so 'poorly presented in game', no one, me included, would be so fucking mad about her circumstances at all. The fact I care so much to let this issue ruin my game experience - if anything - attests to the capacity BG3 has to immerse players in its world.
But I also know I am not complaining for nothing.
//
The way I feel has pretty solid grounds - so much it was one of the first things Larian patched. But it was a feeble attempt, in my eyes, because the real blatant issue with Karlach is not in the last 3 minutes of the game - it is in the span of all 3 acts. It is her personal questline in its entirety, the development of her story in game and the level of influence and interaction we as players truly have throughout it all. It is the fact she does not stand at the same level of the other companions (not out of merit as a character, let me be clear, but due to execution and implementation of her story in the launched version of the game), nor do her quests or her (lack of) dungeons and truly meaningful unique crafted content.
She is a charming, beloved character and, even if Larian really truly wants to die on the hill of “Karlach is a tragic character who must die”, they could do so and still make (some of) the players feel fulfilled by having the journey with Karlach, from Act 1 through Act 3 and that damn pier, be rich, intricate, layered, funny, badass, bloody, sad, painful, relatable, sweet… Just like she is.
//
So that is what I wanted:
Not necessarily have her be 'cured', marry and have kids or whatever shit is happily ever after - I think it doesn’t suit her (it might have, in an alternative universe, but not in the one presented in game, with THE Karlach we get in game).
But have her story receive the highlights it deserves, including locations, NPCs and interactions - so even if we just get the 3 outcomes for her we currently have - Avernus, death or death by mindflayer - we could feel some level of closure.
Or, even better: have her journey be richer, AND give us the sliver of hope for the Avernus ending. Make Dammon say that there is something somewhere in Avernus - a blueprint, a special crafting material, a DUDE, or Mizora imply there's a chance to bargain with Zariel (whatever!) - and that we might, perhaps, just MAYBE, be able to finally actually DO SOMETHING.
And then just leave us, the players, to let our minds wander on, imagining how that would go.
That, honestly, could be the thing able to redeem the terrible ending experience I had in my first playthrough. A fully implemented story progression befitting Karlach and just a hint of hope to hang onto.
//
It doesn’t seem absurd, does it? Though the implementation of a richer story (perhaps a dungeon or a sneak peek of Zariel) of course would involve a lot of new work and re-work. But for a game that turned out so big and successful - and a character so cherished - it doesn’t seem out of the question.
Too bad I’m not Swen so I can’t do it myself.
Instead, I write long rage posts on an almost anon account on tumblr. Thank you, tumblr. >>
PS: I got really angry up there, didn’t I? LOL. I’m as easy to get heated as Karlach, it seems. Oops.
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wetbloodworm · 2 years ago
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i like thinking about mechanics and i’ve got a character with homebrew shit going on so under the cut i got some musings about how the dream-eating thing with zenith might work
as always, in an actual in-game scenario, DM makes the rules and gets final say on how things work. i just don’t have a framework for how all of this would go yet so i wanted to come up with ideas to give more bones to my daydreams lol i can’t not know. i need details. i need bones. can also be the scenario of like this is how zenith as a character i play with in my brain-space free of rules works vs zenith as a character i play with other people. idk it’s not that deep and it’s not set in stone, just having fun here!
talked about this a little bit previously in a big meta post but expanding some here
so first off, talking about zenith in three stages. there’s his starter stage just being himself out in the far realm, there’s the split stage where he’s half in the far realm and half in the material plane, and then there’s the merged stage when he moves entirely into the material plane.
starter zenith is full power and largely equivalent to his eventual lvl 20 self, so i use that sheet for reference re: stats and stuff.
split zenith is the character i’d be playing most of the campaign, who only has access to some of his power and gets more over time. i’m using his lvl 8 sheet for reference though the stats would obviously vary as he gets stronger
merged zenith is endgame shit, so back to the lvl 20 sheet. if he was able to get his full self into the material plane early he’d shoot up to lvl 20 upon merging anyway because there’d be no barrier to his full power anymore, but in a game setting i just figure he’s not going to get that chance until he’s actually earned lvl 20 to avoid skipping levels.
anyway, dream-eating! when he’s hunting, zenith basically sits himself down to meditate and starts reaching out psychically to find dreaming minds. he can’t sense the minds of those who are awake or those who sleep/trance without dreaming, they’re completely invisible to him, but if someone is actively dreaming he can smell it, or the psychic equivalent. i imagine that when he finds someone, it’s a wisdom saving throw to prevent him from accessing their mind. a successful save keeps him out entirely, a failed save results in zenith having free range to either straight-up eat the dream or project himself into the dream first before eating it. having a dream eaten causes psychic damage and wakes the dreamer up.
i’m not sure how much psychic damage it’d be, though i think it’d be a static thing. like it doesn’t matter how strong zenith is at the time, it’s the same number of dice across the board. it’s not an attack, he’s not TRYING to do damage, it just. it just happens. it’s a bad experience to have your dream ripped out of your brain while you’re actively experiencing it. i’m thinking 1d8 psychic damage? not a LOT of damage, though that really depends on your HP i guess.
i want to say that you can’t outright die from this damage, but i don’t know if that’s a mechanic i can control. if i had my way, it could absolutely bring you to zero, but you’d just be unconscious + stable. get 1 HP back in 1d4 hours without intervention. i wouldn’t be too bothered if i can’t swing that, it just makes more sense to me that you can’t straight up die in real life from dream shenanigans. if you can, though, oh well. zenith wouldn’t care if he knew.
notes on how easy/difficult hunting is for zenith based on what stage he’s in:
starter - incredible range, harder to access. the far realm and the material plane are very far away from each other, but zenith can reach it just fine. he has basically free range of the material plane as long as the dreamer’s mind isn’t protected somehow, though it takes him a while to actually get there. he has no idea WHERE in the material plane the dreamer is, he has no reference point, it’s basically just sticking his hand blindly into a bag and wiggling it around until he touches something. if he’s visited a specific dreamer before, he can sometimes find them again if they’re in the same general area, but it’s hard. the real problem that he IS very far away, so while he can find minds pretty easily, actually breaking in is more difficult. the save DC is WIS 19, but the dreamer has advantage even though they’re unconscious. the good thing for zenith here is that if he fails, he has basically unlimited attempts. he just has to find someone else and try again, and keep trying until he gets someone.
split - limited range, easier to access. being in two places fucks him up and severely limits his abilities while he gathers his strength. he can only reach dreamers within a certain range of his actual physical location in the material plane. not sure what’s a reasonable range, but i think it increases as he levels up? lvl 8 zenith might have like... a mile radius? since he’s physically in the material plane he has a general idea of where the dreamers he locates are, like oh they’re that direction near the edge of my reach. he can also find people much quicker than he could when he was fully in the far realm, though he only has a vague concept of that, since time in the far realm is a fucky thing. the save DC at lvl 8 is WIS 15, and i’m unsure whether it’d be a straight roll or at disadvantage b/c unconscious. i’d be good with either. the biggest problem is that zenith can only do this so many times before he tires himself out; he’s already split in two, reaching outside of both bodies when he’s not at full strength is hard. i think at lvl 8 he gets three attempts before he’s gotta stop, and if he fails all three attempts then he just goes hungry that day. attempts reset with a long rest. also, and i’ll touch on this more later, zenith can’t project himself into dreams in his split state, only eat them.
merged - best of both worlds! zenith’s back to being able to reach anyone sleeping on the material plane that doesn’t have their mind protected somehow. again, he only has a general idea of the direction and distance of the dreamer in relation to himself. he can find dreamers he’s visited before a bit easier, though if they wander too far from their previous location it can take a while. since he’s at full strength again AND has the upper hand of being on the plane he’s hunting in, the save DC is WIS 19 and it’s at disadvantage. he’s no longer limited in attempts he can make, though he’s likely to succeed faster anyway.
this is all assuming natural sleep, btw. i imagine someone being under the influence of magical sleep is easier prey. but listen, he might be helping, because when he eats their dream and it hurts them it might wake them up! you’re welcome!!
are people who are resistant or immune to psychic damage harder to break into or do they just take less damage from having their dreams eaten? not sure! i think less/no damage but he can still get ‘em.
if zenith pokes around in the dream first, i feel like there’d be different ways for the dreamer to wake up and spare themself the damage. they could just get scared awake if zenith shows himself/they spot him and they find him scary, or if they’re more lucid and want to get out of the dream they can actively try to wake themself up, or if they’re fully lucid and aware that this is an actual being in their mind they can try to force him out. 
not everyone has the option to get scared awake because not everyone would find zenith scary enough to need to make that roll. not sure what kind of roll that would be? maybe another wisdom save? successful save actually keeps you in the dream, failed save wakes you up. DC could be custom for the individual. how scared of monsters are they. zenith can’t do anything about this, if a person is too scared of him he just gets kicked out. it’s one reason why he’s generally pretty friendly when he chats with dreamers; he figures if he’s nice they’ll be less likely to get alarmed enough to force him out. the eyes and the teeth and the claws and the size and the void of him are often too much to be overlooked by some friendly chatter, though shdkfj and like. his true voice can be unsettling to people too so there’s only so much mitigating he can do lmao
for lucid dreaming, i’m thinking there might be a check first to see if the person is aware that they’re dreaming? if they pass, then they get the option to try to wake up if they don’t like what’s going on. probably a wisdom check rather than a save since they’re actively trying to do a thing. not sure what the DC would be, maybe zenith’s save DC (WIS 19) to simplify things, though it could also be custom based on the person. again there’s not much zenith can do about this unless he can tell the person is trying to wake up and he tries to talk them out of it. he doesn’t have control of a person’s mind or body like this, if they’re gonna wake up they’re gonna wake up.
forcing him out of a dream is different matter, though, that zenith can and will fight. as long as the person is asleep, he’s got his claws dug in. i’d imagine it’d be a wisdom contest to force him out. on a success, zenith is kicked out. on a fail, zenith is just mad about it and likely to skip chatting and go straight to eating.
not sure if the difficulty of this wisdom contest would vary based on the stage zenith is in? my instinct is that it doesn’t. he might have to try harder to get into a dream depending on his circumstances, but once he’s in he’s in.
as i mentioned, zenith can only project himself into dreams in the starter or merged states. being split in two is difficult, and he can only stretch himself so thin, and he’s already reaching outside of himself enough as it is just by hunting. he is deeply annoyed by this, because he LIKES looking at people’s dreams! they’re fun to watch, he’s fascinated by them! it’s probably for the best since the longer he lingers the greater his risk of getting kicked out, and in his split state he can only make so many attempts, so he shouldn’t risk it anyway. but listen. it’s the principle of the matter. another upside though is that he doesn’t only get to socialize with material plane denizens through dreams anymore, he can just go anywhere and find them in person if he wants to chat. he misses actually getting to see the dreams, though.
i think when he eats a dream he gets flashes of the emotions tied to it, no visuals or details or anything, just vibes. like without actually seeing the dream he can tell if it was a nightmare, or an anxiety dream, or a happy dream, etc. this is basically the equivalent of different flavors for him.
he gets hints of those vibes when he’s hunting and catches the ‘scent’ of a dream, and can ‘smell’ it stronger if he actually enters the dream because then it’s everywhere. he thinks it’s funny when the flavor changes after a dreamer sees him.
outside of being able to appear in a dream and talk with the dreamer, zenith has no additional control. he can’t shape the dream or have any affect on the dreamer, can’t cast spells there, etc. if he doesn’t share any known languages with the dreamer, he can’t communicate with them either. he also can’t control how he appears to the dreamer beyond the limits of what he can actually do with his body. all he can do is observe, chat, and eat.
in terms of mechanical benefits, zenith doesn’t like... get anything extra from eating dreams. like it’s not that he eats a dream and then gets health from it or anything. it’s just food. he has to eat regularly to avoid the consequences of starving like anything else that eats. he also craves dreams intensely, but that’s just him being Hungry, not him looking for a specific benefit.
tl;dr mechanics summary:
starter - zenith can access any dreaming person who isn’t otherwise protected if they’re on the material plane. the dreamer has to make a wisdom saving throw with advantage (DC 19). on a successful save, zenith is denied access and the dreamer experiences no effect. on a failed save, zenith can chose to eat the dream at any time, causing 1d8 psychic damage and waking the dreamer. if the damage brings the dreamer to 0 HP, they remain unconscious but are stable, and regain 1 HP in 1d4 hours. zenith can also enter the dream to observe it and/or speak to the dreamer. if the dreamer is scared of him, they make a wisdom saving throw (undetermined DC); a failed save wakes them with no damage. if the dreamer is lucid, they can choose to make a wisdom check (DC 19?) to wake up with no damage on a success, or a wisdom contest against zenith to remain asleep and force him out of their mind. zenith can attempt this an unlimited number of times, though he can’t attempt to target the same dreamer if he’s already failed or been booted once by that individual already that day.
split - zenith can access any dreaming person who isn’t otherwise protected if they’re on the material plane and within range (1 mile at lvl 8). the dreamer has to make a wisdom saving throw (?with disadvantage?) (DC 15 at lvl 8). on a successful save, zenith is denied access and the dreamer experiences no effect. on a failed save, zenith can eat the dream, causing 1d8 psychic damage and waking the dreamer. if the damage brings the dreamer to 0 HP, they remain unconscious but are stable, and regain 1 HP in 1d4 hours. zenith can attempt this a limited number of times per long rest (3 at lvl 8), and he can’t attempt to target the same dreamer if he’s already failed once at that individual already that day.
merged - zenith can access any dreaming person who isn’t otherwise protected if they’re on the material plane. the dreamer has to make a wisdom saving throw with disadvantage (DC 19). on a successful save, zenith is denied access and the dreamer experiences no effect. on a failed save, zenith can chose to eat the dream at any time, causing 1d8 psychic damage and waking the dreamer. if the damage brings the dreamer to 0 HP, they remain unconscious but are stable, and regain 1 HP in 1d4 hours. zenith can also enter the dream to observe it and/or speak to the dreamer. if the dreamer is scared of him, they make a wisdom saving throw (undetermined DC); a failed save wakes them with no damage. if the dreamer is lucid, they can choose to make a wisdom check (DC 19?) to wake up with no damage on a success, or a wisdom contest against zenith to remain asleep and force him out of their mind. zenith can attempt this an unlimited number of times, though he can’t attempt to target the same dreamer if he’s already failed or been booted once by that individual already that day.
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thunders-lumity · 2 years ago
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No because!!! Lumity in S3 were so comfortable around each other. Even with all the angst and the limited time, we still got plenty of instances of them being soft and natural around each other in TTT and FTF. The dancing in the rain scene from TTT almost felt like a turning point in their relationship; by that point in the montage, we can assume they’ve been in the human realm for weeks now. When you consider how so much happens so fast in S2, there’s probably only a month or so of time between Lumity confessing to each other and the Day of Unity happening. And in that month, a lot of shit goes down, to the point where Lumity don’t even get the time to go on a real date.
And then all of a sudden, they’re in the human realm, sharing a house and separated from all the craziness that’s going down in the demon realm. Life slows down, and despite the traumatic and uncertain circumstances they’re in, Luz and Amity are closer than ever before. They have hours of free time to spend together. They get to go on dates. Dates, plural. They get to truly know each other on a deeper level, and clearly become physically affectionate enough that being blushing messes around each other is a thing of the past.
By the time we progress past the montage and S3 begins proper, the evidence of Lumity growing closer is everywhere. From the casual hand-holding at the Halloween Fair, to Amity’s kiss on Luz’s cheek at the end of TTT, and that soft little kiss in FTF. They’re just so close and warm with each other now, and that’s all wrapped up with that second onscreen kiss on the lips in WAD, this time with no blushing or temporarily becoming Aussie. It’s just a warm kiss between two people who have a romantic bond that runs far deeper than most romantic relationships for people their age. They’re in love, your honour.
All of this is concluded with post-timeskip Lumity being even more comfortable around each other all those years later. Amity immediately runs over to give Luz a kiss in front of a massive crowd of people, just because she can. Luz hugs Amity back but they’re just so chill around each other that Luz keeps her attention on the surprise party. The two of them casually displaying PDA is just part and parcel of their lives now, and it’s so normal that Luz barely reacts to Amity giving her a big ol kiss. And then they walk over to watch the Collector’s light show arm-in-arm; why are they already a married couple like??
Amity’s growing crush on Luz is amazing in S1, as is the blushing messes era of S2, but S3 Lumity’s dynamic is my favourite now. I’d have loved to have a full season of wild plot shit happening casually interspersed with brief Lumity moments. Not even a whole episode centered around them (though I’d never say no to that), just little snatches of Lumity being the couple ever. Still, I love what we did get of their relationship despite the shortened season, and the screenshot above demonstrates it all perfectly. <3
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i think this is my fav lumity moment in the finale bc i love how you can tell they’ve been together a while by this point just from the way amity kisses her cheek without any hesitation and luz instinctively puts her arms around her even tho her attention’s on the others
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milliedazzledust · 4 years ago
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Tell me you love me (Nick Scratch imagine)
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Request from @starryblueeyesandstarryblueskies : Could you do a hurt/comfort Nick scratch fic? Like maybe the reader gets hurt by one of the villains in caos?
+ Request from anon: Just an INTENSE “oh my god thank fuck you’re safe” type of scene with nick 
---
“Okay, Y/N, that’s enough”
The girl turned her head to her friend. They were sitting on the stairs inside the Academy of Unseen Arts, talking about spells when the young woman had spotted Nicholas Scratch, talking to the weird Sisters.
“Enough ?” She repeated.
“Stop being distracted by Nick!”
“What ?” She straightened out. “What are you talking about, Brina ?”
“Are you kidding me ?” Her friend laughed. “Every time he walks in a room, your eyes go to him and your mind gets lost into this land of daydream you created to avoid telling him how you feel”
She puffed, averting her friend’s gaze before closing the book on her lap and getting up.
“Stop being so dramatic, Spellman. It’s not like that.”
“Oh yeah ?” She smiled. “Then why has he been staring at you with those love sick puppy eyes ever since he spotted us on the stairs ?”
Her eyes grew big and she took her friend by the hand, forcing her to walk.
“Spellman ! Y/L/N !” They hear Prudence called before they could disappear in the hallway.
Sabrina glanced at her friend, already annoyed, and turned back to the weird sisters and Nicholas.
“Hi, Prudence” She simply greeted her.
“And what is this book I see…” She pondered with a smirk. “Dark magic, huh ?”
“You do know it is forbidden to practice it” Dorcas reminded them.
“Who said anything about practicing” Y/N answered. “It’s called reading”
“Now if you excuse us, we have to go” Sabrina added.
Prudence looked them up and down before turned around, snapping her fingers at her sisters to tell them to follow her. And once again, before the two friends could go, someone stopped them. This time it was Nicholas. He grabbed Y/N by her wrist, forcing her to turn and face him.
“You’re not using any of those spells, are you ?” He asked.
“If I didn’t know better I’d say you’re worried about me, Scratch”
“I am”
“Well, don’t be.” She smiled at him. “You know I’m powerful. And besides, we have everything under control”
He looked between Sabrina and her, not entirely sure he believed them.
“If you need my help you know you can call me” He insisted.
“I know, Nick.”
“Please be careful” He called before she could get away.
“You know I always am” She sweetly smiled.
He pursed his lips, half satisfied by her answer and decided against his best judgment to let them go. Sabrina grabbed her friend by the arm, both of them making their way to the mortal realm. Half an hour later, they were sitting inside Dr.Cerberus’ coffee with Theo and Roz.
“When exactly did you noticed something was different about Harvey?” Y/N asked them.
“About two days ago. He started acting … weird” Theo answered.
“Weird how ?”
“Talking to a wall, having those spasms and drawing symbols”
“You have them ?” Y/N inquired. “The drawings”
“Yes!”
Roz got a piece of paper out of her bag. As soon as she put it on the table, the witches recognized it.
“We were right” Sabrina told her friend.
“What is it ?” Theo said.
“He’s possessed” Y/N explained. “It’s a sigil he’s drawing. It represents a lock in ancient Greek. Typically, when one’s possessed, they’ll instinctively try to protect their mind by making this”
“How … how do we help him ?” Roz continued, talking to Sabrina.
“I don’t know how to perform an exorcism guys” She admitted.
“I do” Y/N announced. “I’ll do it”
“You know it’s risky” Sabrina reminded her.
“I don’t see any other choices, Brina. Unless you want your friend to die, which will eventually happen”
She sighed, knowing the girl was right.
“How do we help you ?” Theo asked them.
“Staying away is the best option for you” Y/N told them.
“Why ?!”
“Once I’ll do the exorcism, the demon will be forced out of Harvey’s body. There’s a chance it might jump in one of yours to hide from me”
They nodded, understanding what was at stake.
“We’ll be a phone call away in case you need us”
“Don’t worry, it’s gonna be fine” Sabrina reassured them.
Once everything was settled, they made their way to the Spellman’s house. Sabrina had the idea to lure Harvey inside. The house would be empty that night so it was now or never. As the blonde witch wrote the message for her friend to come, Y/N started to prepare for the spell. Candles, cauldron with blood and ashes, a circle of salt and her book of Dark Magic were prepared for the ritual.
“As soon as he’s here, get him in the circle then close it with the salt” She explained to Sabrina.
“You sure about this ?” She asked one last time.
Her friend responded with a shrug. Before she could answer, her phone rang, distracting her. She sighed when she realized who was calling her and turned around for a bit of privacy.
“Nick” She answered.
“Hey! When are you coming back to the Academy” He inquired.
“Why ?”
“It’s almost midnight”
“So …?”
“Look, Y/N, I’m just making sure that you’re alright and not doing anything reckless”
“I told you I’d be careful, didn’t I ?”
“Yeah, well I’m aware of your definition of non-existent sense of self preservation”
“That’s offending”
“But true. Now when are you coming back ?”
“Later. I’ve got to go. Brina and I are kinda in the middle of something”
“Wait …”
She didn’t wait and hang up when she saw Harvey approaching the house.
“Ready ?”
“As I’ll ever be”
Y/N went to hide in the kitchen, waiting for Sabrina to give her a signal. She could hear them exchanged words and Sabrina kept talking to distract the possessed boy as she lured him in the living room. Everything was happening perfectly so far.
“Just sit here, Harvey” She told him. “Make yourself comfortable”
As he sat on the chair, she threw the salt she had in her fist, finishing the circle where he was now trapped.
“What is this ?” He asked, confused.
“Y/N!” She called.
The girl walked from behind him, putting him to sleep with a small incantation in latin. They exchanged one final look, ready to get to work.
“Once I’m inside, don’t come near me » She reminded Sabrina. « Do not touch me”
Her friend nodded. She took a deep breath and stepped inside the circle. Slowly, with all the patience she could conjure up, she started to prepare. Drawing signs on the floor with the blood mixed with the ashes, she started reciting a spell. Harvey started shaking, a small sign he was struggling. As she lit the large candle in front of her, she kneeled down, the last words of her spell pouring out of her mouth, sending her into a transe. Suddenly, she was gone. Her head thrown back, her eyes closed, she seemed in another dimension.
“Harvey!” She called inside her mind.
“The boy is not here” She heard a whisper behind her.
“Who are you, demon ?”
“You’re about to find out, witch”
And so her fight to free Harvey started. It was pitch black inside her mind and she could hear the demon laughing, waiting to attack. She tried to make a step but realized she could not move. Shaken, she look at her feet and saw a large pentagram, a witch trap.
“Shit” She murmured to herself.
She couldn’t reach Sabrina to tell her, she’d have to face him alone. Again, she heard him laughing. She turned around, trying to think of an escape but knew no spell would be efficient against a witch trap. Before she could realized what was happening, she felt what seemed like water on the floor. From outside, Sabrina knew something wasn’t right. Y/N couldn’t feel it in her mind but her body was shaking like crazy. Blood was rolling out of her nose and she almost seemed out of breath. Sabrina tried to call her but knew it was useless. She couldn’t help her, not from outside the circle and not by herself. Cursing, she knew who she had to call at their rescue.
“Nick, I need your help” She reached out to the boy through her mind.
“Where are you ?” She heard back seconds later inside her head.
“My house. Bring the sisters with you”
“Why ?”
“We used a spell and she’s not… I don’t think she’s alright”
“What spell ?” He asked.
“The exorcism”
“Who did it ?”
“…it’s Y/N. You have to hurry, Nick, please” She cried.
He didn’t answered back and she guessed he was rushing to get to the house. She turned back to her friend. Her eyes had turned wide. A large, empty white color staring back at nothing. It was like she had big electric jolts to her body. She could see Y/N trembling, the spasms so violent as she fought. Her body was in a tornado and Sabrina knew if she tried to even touch her it could have devastating effects.
“What the hell is going on” She heard behind her
When she turned around, the weird Sisters and Nick were standing there. The sisters stayed back, accessing the room, but Nick immediately rushed to Y/N once he saw her struggling.
“No!” Sabrina shouted.
He stopped right before crossing the line of salt encircling the young girl inside.
“What did you do, Sabrina ?!” He yelled back, his eyes glued to Y/N
“We had … we had to do an exorcism” She explained. “I didn’t know how but Y/N did. And once… once she started, her body just …”
“Why did you let her do it ?!” Nick cut her.
“Do you realize how dangerous this is ?” Prudence lectured.
“You have to help me” Sabrina said, ignoring their questions. “I can’t make her come back by myself”
Nicholas turned back to the girl, walking in front of her from a safe distance. He knew she couldn’t see him, but maybe she could hear him.
“Hey beautiful” He started to speak. “It’s me, it’s Nick. Can you hear me ?”
His heart broke when he saw her shiver more violently.
“I know you’re trapped, but I need your help Y/N”
Again, no reaction to tell him she was able to ear him.
“Try a memory, Nick” Prudence advised him.
He nodded.
“Do you… do you remember the first time we met ?” He knelt down in front of her. “You were on this rooftop, dancing by yourself. You were so beautiful. You looked like a mad woman, so I called your name but you didn’t hear me. I tried to come closer but I must’ve startled you, because you made me freeze on the spot with a flicker of your hand. I knew when you turned around that I was doomed to fall for you”
“Nick..” She whispered, almost as if speaking out loud was hurting her
“I’m here, Y/N, I’m right here love” He said back.
“I’m trapped with him”
“It’s alright, we’re here to help you get back”
“We need the demon’s name, Y/N” Prudence added, her sisters and her already in a circle.
The girl was looked straight ahead, distressed, almost conflicted by her choice.
“Once I tell you, you won’t have long” She told them.
“Why ?”
“He’ll do anything to keep us from casting him out”
“Makes sense” Agatha stated. “The power is in his name”
“Y/N” Nick called. “Which demon is with you ?”
“His name is …” She stopped herself, pursing her lips.
They could see her fighting a battle to open her mouth, to vocalize the syllable that could end her suffering.
“..B…Buka..vac” She murmured.
Prudence gasped, the simple name enough to horrify her and her sisters.
“What ?” Sabrina asked. “Who is it ?”
“He’s a demonic creature” Nicholas whispered, his eyes glued to Y/N. “He possessed people to torture them and drown them from inside”
Just as he said it, she started to hyperventilate. She opened her mouth to speak but only water came out.
“What’s happening ?” Sabrina shouted.
“Y/N, love, listen to me” Nick vehemently spoke, his eyes filling with tears. “You have to fight him back. Please, you have to…”
He couldn’t speak, his heart was breaking watching the girl he loved chocked on invisible water.
“C’mon Nick, get up” Prudence said. “Help us”
They formed a circle around her, locking their hands as they started chanting in an ancient language. Each of them in tune, they were giving strength to the young witch. Nick closed his eyes, keeping on reciting the words. He couldn’t watch her like this, it was too much. He could hear her struggle to keep the oxygen in her lungs, could guess the pounding of her heart and the fight in her head. In that moment he prayed Satan she’d keep breathing. There was a sense of urgency around them all that was more apparent than ever. They were close to losing their fight and all Nicholas could focus on was his love gasping for air. He let the tears freely roamed on his face, trying to shut the sound of her struggle.
And suddenly, it stopped. No more sound of heavy breathing or coughing, just a heavy silence. Fearful of what he would see, Nicholas slowly opened his eyes. He could swore his heart stopped beating right there when he saw her body laying on the ground. Without even thinking or realizing it, he crossed the circle made of salt and rushed to her side.
“No, no, no, no, no…” He kept whispering.
Her body felt cold, too cold to be alive. She felt like a ghost in his arms. He placed a hand of her chest, praying whatever entities could hear him to make him feel a heartbeat. He waited, but nothing happened.
“Move aside, Nick!” Prudence forcefully told him, pushing him away.
She started to pound on the young witch’s chest with all the power she could muster. Her sisters behind her were silently helping with a spell.
“C’mon, Y/N, breath” She shouted. “Breath!”
With a powerful fist she banged on her heart. The reaction was instantaneous and the girl woke up, taking a tremendous gulp of air as she regain consciousness. In doing so, and just as she arose, so did Harvey who had been asleep during the whole process of exorcism. Sabrina ran to him, wanting to make sure he was alright.
As of Nicholas, he didn’t waste a second before taking the girl in his arms, nodding at Prudence as a silence sign to thank her.
“Oh my god, thank fuck you’re safe” He whispered, crying.
Weakly, Y/N reached for him and hugged him as hard as she could.
“Thank you” She said, her head buried in his neck.
“Never, ever, do that again” He answered, taking her head between his hands. “I thought you were dead, Y/N/N”
A tear escaped her eye as she clasped her hands around his wrists, a simple way to ground herself to him.
“For a moment there I thought so to” She admitted.
Slowly, he helped her to sit.
“Harvey, are you alright ?” She asked, turning her head to the teenager.
“Yes, yes I am” He reassured her.
She closed her eyes, sighing in relief as she put her head on Nicholas’s shoulder.
“C’mon, you have to rest” Nick said. “I’ll take you back to the Academy”
She nodded.
“Sabrina, stay with Harvey to make sure he’s alright” She told her friend.
“You sure ?”
“Yes, I’ll be alright”
“I don’t want to leave you alone, not after all this” Her best friend confessed.
“She won’t be alone” Nick answered her. “There’s no way I’m letting her out of my sight”
Sabrina smiled as she watched the young boy bending to take the girl he loved in his arms. Hands clasped with Harvey’s, she watched the Sisters follow Nick and Y/N on their way back to the Academy. Through the small journey, Y/N slept. Safe in Nick’s arms, she knew she could rest peacefully. She woke up, several hours later, disoriented, in her bedroom at the Academy.
“We’re home” She heard a voice comfort her in the dark.
When she turned her head, she saw him. Sitting on her bed, his back to the wall, his eyes glued to her.
“You know it’s creepy to watch someone sleep, do you ?” She joked.
“I needed to make sure you were still breathing” He seriously stated.
She sighed, getting up to match his position. Slowly, she put her head on his shoulder and entwined their hand.
“I’m alright, Nick”
“I know” He said, closing his eyes. “But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget the sight of you so pale and… and almost …”
“Hey, hey! Nick look at me”
She moved, kneeling in front him.
“I’m here, I’m alive”
She took one of his hand, putting in on her chest.
“Do you feel that ? …”
With a little force, he hugged her as hard as he could. His head on her chest, his ear on top of her heart, he listened closely. She let him have a moment, knowing it must have been rough for him. They stayed like that, in each other’s arms, her hand playing with his hair, for what felt like only two minutes.
“I love you, Y/N” He whispered, admitting his feelings.
“I figured” She joked.
He playfully slapped her thigh, making her laugh.
“Aren’t you going to say it back ?” He asked.
“I guess so”
“You … I’m sorry, « you guess so » ?” He straightened up, pretending to be hurt.
“Is that ego of yours bruised, Scratch ?”
“Very much so”
She laughed before looking at him dead in the eyes.
“Then I should probably tell you a secret”
“Is it a good secret ?” He asked.
“I’ll let you decide on that one”
“Alright, I’m listening”
With a wicked smile she leaned into him, slowly putting her lips on his. It was the sweetness of passion, a million loving thoughts condensed into a short moment, a statement from both of them admitting what they refused to say out loud before.
“I love you too, Nick” she whispered in his ear.
“Best secret ever” he answered, smiling, making her laugh.
542 notes · View notes
fanficimagery · 4 years ago
Text
Hell Takes Riverdale pt. II
Imagine moving to Riverdale while your father has some business to attend to. While there, you meet some people you find yourself growing attached to. (In which the other three most important serpents accept Y/N and shit goes down).
You can find part one right HERE.
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Words: 12.9K Author’s Note: Violence. Somewhat.
For the next couple of days, you're a little bummed that no one other than Jughead texts you to see what you're up to. You respect your friends' decision to distance themselves, but it still hurts. And not even Jughead's words of assurance are enough to ease your mind.
Your mood sours even more when you and your dad are visited by the Plague Kings who are rather pushy and wondering about when their Queen will return to finally marry a Prince of their choosing. Lucifer managed to make you bite your tongue, answering their questions with questions of his own and annoying them enough that they returned to Hell rather quickly.
"I am not marrying Caliban, dad," you tell him. "The only reason they're pushing this marriage is because they don't like a woman in charge. You have no idea how close I am to just putting Lilith in charge in my absence."
Lucifer chuckles. "Fret not, darling. As soon as Riverdale sees the error of their ways I will be returning to Hell to reclaim my throne." You frown and your dad's smile turns genuine, not a hint of mockery in his tone or expression. "I wanted you to rule Hell, but you've seem to have found your footing here on Earth."
"Dad.."
"So I'll reclaim Hell and leave you with Riverdale. All I want for you is to be happy, my darling daughter, and if those in Riverdale give you that happiness, then who am I to take that away and make you rule a place where your subjects would see you dead rather than on the throne?"
"I don't know about that," you mumble. "The only ones speaking to me right now are Jughead and FP."
"The others will come around. Trust me. Especially little miss Pinky. She's been yelling at the boys to get their head out of their asses."
"Yeah? If that were the case then she would have visited me herself with or without the boys."
"Give them a bit more time. It's like FP said- they're a loyal bunch. They just need to wrap their minds around a few things."
"If you say so." You watch as your dad fiddles with his cufflinks. "Well while you're out ruining lives, I'll be downstairs in the theatre. I don't feel like going out tonight."
Lucifer chuckles. "Sweetheart, you haven't been out in the last few nights. Or to school for that matter, but I get it. Shall I tell your friends where you are if they ask?"
"I don't care, dad. Tell them whatever you want."
Before your dad can leave, you head downstairs to the basement where you set up a movie theatre in your free time. Closest to the stairs, a kitchenette of sorts was installed so you didn't have to go far for snacks, a projector hung from the center of the ceiling and was pointed towards the back wall where a large white screen was installed. There's a large sofa in the middle of the room, which is larger than a king sized bed, and a speaker in every corner of the room so you can really enjoy whatever movie or show you watch.
After turning on the projector and searching for something to watch on your laptop, you settle down in the middle of the sofa and snuggle down with a blanket and pillows. You're watching a show where each episode is about a different murder mystery and you're two episodes in when the doorbell rings. You groan and remain laying down, hoping whoever is at the door goes away, when it rings again.
Pausing the show, you roll out of your haven of comfort and trudge upstairs. You yank open the front door upon the third ringing of the bell and not even the sight of three faces you'd been longing to see is enough to pull you from your funk. "What?"
Toni's eyebrows raise at your tone and the two boys grin at your pouty expression. Sweet Pea reaches forward, tugging on a loose strand of hair. "And to think you're the daughter of the devil. You're as adorable as an angry kitten."
You slap at his hand, exhaling loudly as the three of them chuckle. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Can't we visit our friend?" Fangs shrugs. Your expression softens just so at the casual mention of him calling you their friend. "It's been a few days. We missed you glaring the Ghoulies into submission at school."
"That and we might have overheard your dad telling FP about some demons demanding you return to Hell and marry some douchebag prince," Toni says. "No way are you running off and getting hitched before you tell us what the hell that is all about."
You glance between all three of them and, seeing as they're trying, you decide to let them in. "If you're going to stay, shoes come off. We're going to be in the theatre."
"Theatre?" Sweet Pea wonders.
Finally grinning, you step back from the door and gesture them inside. Seeing that you're in socks, Toni readily kicks off her boots. Fangs shrugs and does the same, and Sweet Pea sighs before toeing off his own boots as well.
Afterwards you lead them down into the basement and choke down a laugh when Toni gasps at your setup. "We've been having sleepovers and movie nights at my trailer when you had this beneath your house?!"
"Well to be fair, I couldn't bring any of you over because I couldn't risk anyone from Hell popping in while I had you over." Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs all tense and you crawl onto the sofa to get comfortable. "But they've been chased away for now so there's no worry." Slowly but surely your friends crawl in, but only Toni is brave enough to sit directly next to you. Fangs stays on Toni's other side while Sweet Pea lays across the end of the sofa. "So any questions before I restart my murder mystery marathon?"
"Well you can start with these plague kings or whatever the hell your dad was talking about," Sweet Pea says. "What's their deal?"
You sigh, dragging a blanket to cover your lap. "So the thing is," you start to tell them, "the throne was never meant to be mine. Lucifer had his sights set on his first born daughter since she's a witch-"
"Witches exist?!" Fangs exclaims.
"Yep. So do a lot of other things," you muse. "I'd stay away from Greendale if I were you." His eyes widen, but Toni and Sweet Pea merely chuckle. "Anyway, my sister was supposed to take after my dad, but she refused him. She was raised to believe Lucifer was the ultimate evil and she didn't want to follow in his footsteps."
"So when do you come in?" Toni asks.
"About a few years ago," you admit. "When my sister refused him, Lucifer sought me out since I'm only a couple hours younger. He brought me into the fold, showed me and told me everything I'd need to know, and I accepted. I learned all about the ins and outs of Hell, learned exactly who is who, but since I'm still half mortal none of the higher ups don't exactly accept me. My coronation almost didn't happen, but it did and now the Plague Kings have been hounding my dad to marry me off to some prince Caliban since he was quite literally made in Hell."
"Well you aren't going through with it, are you?" Sweet Pea asks.
"Ugh. No," you scoff. "I was meant to rule a lot longer than what I have, but no one could have guessed that I'd get attached to a couple of snakes here in Riverdale." You glance at Toni and nudge her arm. "So as of right now, my dad is closing up a few deals before he reclaims his throne down in Hell and I'm left up here in the mortal realm to do as I please. I'll still be obligated to visit Hell, but my main residence will be here."
"And you're okay with that?" Toni asks. "Giving up the title of queen, I mean."
"Of course. I spent many years not knowing who my biological father was and living life like a normal mortal," you say. "I have quite a few perks now, my dad has made a mortal his best friend for the first time ever, and I- I like it here. I like you guys."
"Aww," Toni coos. "You're giving up a throne for us?"
"I guess so." You glance between all three of them. "So are we going to watch something or are we going to play twenty questions all night?"
Fangs glances around, spotting your laptop and pulling it into his lap to search through Netflix. "If we're watching something, we're not watching murder mysteries. Riverdale is weird enough."
Sweet Pea huffs. "You got that right."
"Fine. Pick whatever you want."
Fangs and Sweet Pea settle on the Conjuring much to Toni's dismay and your amusement. You and Toni prop up a mountain of pillows at your back while Fangs uses Toni's thigh as his pillow. Sweet Pea snags a pillow of his own, laying on his side and shoving the pillow between his arm and head as he faces the screen. You turn out the lights, Fangs hits play, and you watch the tale unfold about a haunted house that terrorizes a family. There are a few eerie moments and jump scares that startle all four of you, but only you and Toni roll into each other giggling while the boys swear at you.
Then after the first movie ends, everyone takes a pee break and you lead Toni into your room so she can find something more comfortable to wear seeing as they plan to watch a couple more movies. When you get back down into the basement, you smile as you realize the boys have made full use of the kitchenette and have snacks and drinks waiting for you all on the sofa, and the Conjuring 2 waiting to be played. When the boys complain about the unfairness of your comfort clothes, you tell them you can grab them pajama bottoms from your dad's dresser for them. They hesitate and Toni rolls her eyes, telling you to grab some pants for them. And a little while later, after the boys have changed into the cotton pajama pants, you can't help but laugh as they boast about wearing the devil's pants.
As everyone finally settles down, the boys join you and Toni at the sofa's backrest. You and her are in the middle with Fangs on her other side and Sweet Pea on yours. The lights turn out again, the movie plays, and you soak in the closeness of your friends. Halfway through the boys collect the bowls and trash, and take it to the kitchenette. You and Toni stretch out then, laying on your sides in the middle of the sofa with you cuddling her from behind as you face the screen. The boys coo and Fangs dives in front of Toni so she can cuddle him and Sweet Pea hesitantly slides in behind you. You grin at him over your shoulder and then try to focus back on the movie.
"Is this okay?" Sweet Pea murmurs, his large hand squeezing your hip.
His lips brushing the shell of your ear makes you shiver. "Mhm." You pause to clear your throat and lean back a little bit until the back of your shoulder hits his chest. "If, uh, if my dad shows up just ignore his orgy comments."
He chuckles. "What?"
"Apparently orgies are common down in the pits. Everyone's been waiting for the Queen- soon to be Princess again- to have her first one, but I don't think I'll ever be ready for that."
"What!?" The movie is paused and Fangs immediately turns around, Toni grunting but turning as much as she can as well. "You're gonna have an orgy?!"
"What? No!" You laugh. You gulp when you feel Sweet Pea squeeze your hip again. "I just said I don't think I'll ever be ready for that."
"Think being the key word," Toni muses and you groan.
"Well if you agree to one, in Hell or Riverdale, think of me. I'll join." Fangs winks at you and Toni laughs.
"Screw it. Count me in too."
You giggle, shaking your head at them. "Guys, you were literally scared of me days of ago because of who I am and now you wanna have sex with me?"
"Well not with you exactly," Fangs says. "Don't get me wrong, you're hot, but someone's already called dibs and-"
"What?" You frown.
Fangs eyes seem to widen then, momentarily darting over your head. "N-Nothing. Nevermind." Toni giggles at his rambling. "But yeah, orgies. Woo."
Having heard enough, Toni pushes Fangs' forehead away from her so he'll turn around. "Can we table the topic of orgies for now? Let's get back to our movie."
Fangs grumbles but turns around nonetheless and the movie resumes.
You get through the second movie with no problem, but before a third could be chosen a loud crack of thunder interrupts the tranquility of the basement.
"Shit." Sweet Pea is the first to rush off the sofa, followed by Fangs and then Toni. Everyone scrambles upstairs and the front door is thrown open, and all three groan at the drizzle that will no doubt turn into a full blown downpour in no time. "We need to move our bikes."
"The garage," you tell them. "Bring them into the garage." Your hurry towards the kitchen where there's a door that connects to the garage, hitting a switch that opens up the door. You step down, watching as your three friends drive their bikes into the safety of the garage so the rain won't ruin their leather seats. "All good?" You ask as they turn off the engines and dismount.
Another crack of thunder has you flinching and hugging yourself. Sweet Pea eyes you warily and you offer him a feeble smile. "You good?" He asks instead.
"Mhm. I'm just- I'm not a fan of thunderstorms."
Toni grins. "Seriously? You see demons on the reg and you're afraid of a little lightning and thunder?"
"I know. It's dumb. Can we go back downstairs now or do you need another change of clothes? You guys can spend the night if you want so you don't have to drive on slick roads."
"We're hardly even damp," Toni tells you. "We're fine."
You flinch yet again when the thunder cracks, louder now, and Sweet Pea chuckles at you. You frown at him, walking back into your house after hitting the switch to close the garage. The others follow you and you head back down into the basement, readily climbing under the blankets.
"Aw. Don't worry, Y/N. We'll protect you." As Sweet Pea crawls back in, he pillows his head on your chest and wraps an arm around your stomach.
For some reason, being weighed down seems to calm you so you lay one hand on his arm over your stomach and the other around his back to let him know you were okay with his position. Fangs grins at you and Toni smiles warmly, her eyes darting between you and Sweet Pea before the two of them settle down on your other side.
Apparently Fangs has taken it upon himself to pick what you're watching and you're so wrapped up in the fact a thunderstorm is raging outside that you don't mind his choosing of the Fast and the Furious. Then during the second movie in that series, the boys have apparently fallen asleep and you know you'll be joining them soon.
"I think I've figured it out."
Toni's voice startles you and you quickly run your fingers through Sweet Pea's hair, gently scratching at his scalp to calm him back to sleep. "Figured what out?" You mumble.
"That serpent you had your eye on." You freeze and she quietly giggles. "It's Sweet Pea, isn't it?"
You mull over her words for a moment until you exhale softly. "Yes, but I'm pretty sure being the daughter of the devil killed any chance we could have had."
"Are you kidding me? That boy is head over heels," Toni says. "Yes, your true identity threw him off a little, but I mean look at him! He's wrapped around you, head on your tits." You can't help but giggle, frowning at Toni when Sweet Pea stirs yet again. "Shut up. You're gonna wake him up."
"You two are adorable. He's not as aggressive when you're around and I've noticed tonight you smile a little bit brighter when it comes to him. I give you guys a couple of weeks top before someone makes a move."
"You're delusional, Topaz. Get some sleep."
She smiles at you. "Just you wait and see, Morningstar. And besides, you didn't see his face when we were talking about orgies. If looks could kill, Fangs would be dead right now."
"Mhm. We'll see."
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Over the next couple of weeks, the three friends of yours seem to be at ease with you once more. Jughead was always at ease with you and your dad, so it was a relief when Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs started loosening up as well. There were times, however, when Sweet Pea and Fangs would straighten up whenever your dad walked into the room and that highly amused you every single time.
Your basement seemed to become hangout central and Jughead often joked that it was a shame everyone knew about it now. Which then led to Fangs and Sweet Pea ganging up on him for keeping it a secret.
You, Toni, Jughead, and Sweet Pea find yourselves at Pop's one day while Fangs went to visit a family member. You and Sweet Pea are practically sitting thigh to thigh on one side of the booth with Toni and Jug across from you. Toni, to this day, hasn't let you live it down that you have a crush on her longtime friend and it seems Jughead has now noticed it too. It also doesn't help that Sweet Pea is oddly rather touchy and has taken to slinging his arm across your shoulders whenever you're near- something which sets your heart racing every single time and fighting off a telltale blush that threatens to bloom.
"Alright," Jughead muses as Pop delivers your milkshakes, "so we were meant to celebrate the good news together, but Fangs isn't here so we'll just have celebratory shakes instead."
Your brow furrows. "Celebrate what?"
"You haven't heard?" Toni wonders. "Y/N, your dad bought Sunnyside Trailer Park." Your eyes widen and your friends chuckle at your expression.
"He visited my dad a few weeks ago and was appalled at our living conditions."
"Oh no," you mumble. "He was rude, wasn't he? I'm so so-"
"Actually," Toni interrupts, "he wasn't. "Either the devil has seriously gone soft or he's always been this amazing person because not only did he wipe out rent for everyone in the park, but he's also having the trailers renovated. My grandpa is seriously so happy to have his porch and the leaky roof in his bedroom fixed."
"Oh." You allow yourself to relax. "That's seriously really cool of him," you say. "I wonder why he didn't tell me?"
"Y/N!" Your attention is quickly diverted to Veronica Lodge as she marches up to you, milkshake in hand, and Archie trailing after her as he quietly tries to direct her elsewhere. "What the hell is your dad playing at?"
You frown as you stare up at her, Sweet Pea's arm tightening around you as he tries to pull you closer to him. "Excuse me?"
"Every bank account under my family's name, personal and business, has been frozen. Care to explain?"
It takes a moment for her words to sink in and when they do you hold back a snort that wants to break free. Your father was very vindictive. "I don't know what to tell you, Veronica. I don't put my nose where it doesn't belong. Maybe you should take a page out of my book and stay out of it."
She scoffs. "Please. Daddy has eyes everywhere. We know you're in the thick of things as well. You're not fooling anyone, Y/N. You're exactly like your mafioso father."
"Mafioso? You think my dad is part of the mafia?" You giggle. Toni, Jughead, and Sweet Pea share your amusement. "Oh Veronica," you coo, "the only mafioso in this town is your crooked father. And at that he's not very good at it, is he?"
Before anyone can even blink, the strawberry milkshake in her hand is being up-ended on your face. "Ronnie!" Archie is quick to yank her back, stepping in front of her as Sweet Pea growls and moves to stand up.
But since he's stuck between you and the wall, you raise your arm closest to him and drag him back down by his wrist. With your free hand, you wipe away some of the milkshake from your cheek with your forefinger and pop it in your mouth, sucking it clean. "Delicious," you purr. Grabbing the offered napkin from a still shell shocked Jughead, you wipe more of it out of your eyes. "Hate me all you want Veronica, but your family won't be crawling out of this hole your father dug. Enjoy the luxuries you still have while they last because the Lodge's are done." Veronica huffs, stomping away in a fit of anger. You smirk, chuckling as the other few patrons sitting around stare at you in shock, picking up more napkins to clean your face and shirt when you notice Archie Andrews still standing by the booth. "Yes?"
He shoves his hands in his jean's pockets, staring off in the direction his girlfriend left before looking at you yet again. "All I've been hearing for this past month is what a horrible man your father is." You blink at him, wondering where he's going with this. "So give it to me straight, Y/N. Does my dad have anything to worry about with your dad?"
And oh. Okay. Now you understand why he stayed back and why he's worried. Your father basically ruined the Lodge's, but Archie's never been terrible to you so you decide to ease his mind. "Mr. Andrews has nothing to worry about," you tell him honestly. "Apparently my dad's on the track of doing several good deeds for the town of Riverdale and FP told my dad all about Fred Andrews' hard working nature. He only wants to help those he thinks deserve the help. No strings attached."
"It's true," Jughead tells his friend. "Mr. Morningstar bought Southside High and got jingle jangle out of the halls."
"He bought Sunnyside and wiped out our rent," Sweet Pea says. "There's a crew coming in that's going to start hauling out all the junk and fixing up our trailers."
"In the couple of months that Mr. Morningstar has been here, he's purchased and cleaned up the southside rather than tearing our school and homes down and building over it," Toni tells him. "Could you say Hiram Lodge would have done the same for us?"
Archie shifts uncomfortably under everyone's gaze and you say, "Hiram and my dad had business dealings going back to before we were born. He royally messed up and my dad cleaned it up." You then offer him a faint grin. "My dad is not the horrible person you've no doubt heard about from your girlfriend and her family. Keep that in mind."
The redhead nods. "Thanks. And uh, I'm sorry about Veronica. I tried to stop her."
You shrug. "No harm done. The clothes can be washed. You and me are good, but if your girlfriend steps up to me again I won't be settling things with words."
He huffs a small laugh. "Duly noted." He then glances at the occupant across the booth from you. "See you around, Jug."
As soon as Archie takes his leave, your three friends all converge on you.
"Are you okay?" Jughead immediately asks.
"Girl, you have been blessed with the patience of a million people because I would have lunged across this table if it weren't for your calm demeanor," Toni says.
"I was so close to shanking her," Sweet Pea mumbles.
You snort and swat at his chest with the back of your hand. "It's just a little ice cream, guys. No biggie." You pull at your shirt, nose wrinkling. "I'm just going to go clean up in the bathroom. I'll be back."
"Oh hey," Toni climbs over the back of her seat, hopping out of the booth behind her to meet you, "I have some clothes in my bike's bag if you're interested."
"Yeah. Just bring it to the bathroom."
You head to the bathroom, not caring a bit about your clothes and instead turn on the water at the sink to wash off the stickiness of the ice cream that stayed behind on your skin. Toni appears not a minute later, clothes in hand, and you readily strip out of your jeans right then and there. She doesn't bat an eye and tosses you the pants first.
When you catch them, you give her a deadpan stare which she laughs at. "Leather? Seriously?"
"Put them on, Y/N."
You grumble all the while, putting one leg in and then the other, you almost falling a couple of times as you drag the leather up your legs. Toni is no help, she laughing at your misfortune and then at your exasperated, "Fucking hell. How do you breathe in these?" She tosses the shirt at you next and you glare when you see all the mesh involved. "My tits are gonna be out."
"No they won't. There's material sewn in so there no nip slips. You'll just be showing off the perfect amount of skin."
"I hate you." You strip off your shirt, turning around and stripping off your bra as well. You pull the long sleeve shirt on, frowning when you realize there's only a single band of material that wraps around your breasts. Everything else is see through. "I seriously hate you."
"Yeah well you're about to hate me more."
Toni quickly grabs up your discarded clothing and books it out of the bathroom, you lunging after her. She laughs as she makes a break for the exit and you freeze right before you can enter the main part of the diner. Through the windows you can see her stashing your clothes in the bag on her bike and you mumble threats at her as she re-enters the diner, walking towards the boys.
You've worn a couple of risqué outfits in front of your friends by now, but the shirt makes you feel really exposed. So after gathering your wits, and wishing you could just disappear in a swirl of flames, you march out from behind the wall and towards your friends. Sweet Pea is the first to see you and his eyes widen before they glance up and down your form. Jughead and Toni turn around in their seats, Jug's eyes widening before he laughs and Toni snapping a few photos on her phone. You pout at them as you cross your arms over your chest. "I'm ready to go now. Toni's clothes and I do not mix."
Sweet Pea seems to snap out of his stupor long enough to stand up and shed his jacket, then draping it over your shoulders. You exhale in relief and quickly shove your arms through the sleeves, smiling up at him until Toni coos and your gaze darts to her. If looks could kill, your friend would be seriously maimed.
"So are you guys ready for the Whyte Wyrm?" Jughead asks. "Fangs texted that he's on the way there right now."
"Sure, but we're swinging by my house first so I can get back into my own clothes."
"Do we have to?" Sweet Pea's voice rumbles directly above you. "I'm kind of into this look you have going on right now."
You freeze and glance upward, reaching out to poke his chest. "Don't press your luck, Sweets. Now come on. You're driving me."
"Yes, ma'am," he chuckles and follows after you.
Jughead and Toni watch as their friends leave, grinning at the sight of their friend swamped in Sweet Pea's serpent jacket. "Is it just me or is Sweet Pea seriously sweet on the devil's daughter?"
Toni chuckles. "That's nothing. You should see the way they sleep when we spend the night down in the theatre. You would think Y/N would be wrapped around him, but nope. Sweet Pea uses Y/N as his personal pillow and practically glares Fangs to death every time Lucifer brings up orgies."
Jughead's laugh falters. "O-Orgies?"
"Yeah. Apparently they're part of the norm down in Hell. I'm pretty sure Lucifer is gonna give Pea a heart attack one of these days if he keeps mentioning Y/N having her first one."
He shakes his head, chuckling. "Life with the devil and his daughter just keeps getting weirder and weirder."
"Preaching to the choir, Jug."
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You're at home, alone for a change, and making yourself something to eat. Every now and then you just needed a day or two for yourself to decompress and it was something that your new friends seemed to understand. Especially since the Ghoulies started to push back, something having changed within their ranks and making them that much more cocky, and you had your hands full with them. But thankfully, they couldn't reclaim the school.
You manage to eat at least half a plate pasta when your cell rings, the unknown number making you frown. You take a sip of water before answering.
"Hello?"
"Y/N?" Toni's voice wavers over the line. "You need to get down to the hospital."
"Hospital?" You sit a little straighter in your seat. "What happened?"
"It's Jughead." She says. "The Ghoulies and Penny beat him. It's not good, Y/N."
The blood in your veins runs cold. You mind blanks before rage seeps in. "They what?" You seethe.
"FP's a mess. And they also stabbed Fangs, but it's nothing serious. And Sweet Pea-"
"What did they do to Sweet Pea?"
"He's fine." She's quick to assure you. "He's the least injured with a busted lip and bruised eye. He's more pissed and worried about Jug and Fangs right now."
You can feel your body trembling. "Toni, is there anyone around you right now?"
"No. The payphone was down some deserted hallway."
"Good. Give me a few seconds and I'll be right there." You hang up on her, pushing up from your chair and rushing down the hall to put on some shoes. You forgo any type of jacket, your cable knit sweater and plaid skirt just going to have to do. You inhale and exhale deeply, closing your eyes and concentrating on Toni. Once you feel like you've sussed her out, you will yourself to be taken to her and the telltale whoosh of flames lets you know they've done their job. When your eyes open, Toni's staring wide-eyed at you. "Take me to the boys."
Toni numbly nods, turning around and rushing down the hall. You're fast on her heels, your rage still boiling beneath the surface. Especially when you're led to the waiting room where your dad casually sits in a chair and FP paces in front of him. Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper are a few chairs down, and Sweet Pea is not far from them.
You completely pass up your dad and FP, heading straight for Sweet Pea. When he sees you, he attempts to stand but you catch his face in your hands and gently cradle it to examine his wounds. "What happened?"
"Ghoulies," he mumbles. His hands come up to wrap around your wrists, trying to smile reassuringly at you, but then flinching when his split lip stretches. "And Penny. She's back and out for your blood."
"She's dead," you murmur.
Sweet Pea's eyes widen. "Y/N-"
"Don't." You meet his gaze and you can see the concern there. You offer him a feeble smile in return, leaning down and pressing your lips to his forehead. "She will not get away with touching what is mine. She's dead."
As you pull back to make sure he understands you're being serious, you see him gulp and tersely nod. You drop your hands and step back from him, and he's quick to stand. Towering over you, he reaches down and grabs your hand within his own. He seems almost nervous about his move, but you merely squeeze his hand in response and lead him towards FP. Your dad stands as you pass him this time, joining you, Sweet Pea, and the elder Jones in the corner of the waiting room.
"I am so sorry, FP," you tell him.
He glances at you, eyes red-rimmed as he smoothes his hair back with one hand. "Not your fault, kid. I should have known Penny wouldn't have been kept at bay so easily. Or that she'd sit idly by as Lucifer took up Ghoulie territory."
You shake your head at him. "Penny doesn't know what we're truly capable of- she only thinks we're good with our fists and blades. She doesn't know that by touching my boys, she just signed her death certificate."
FP blinks at you as Lucifer chuckles. "Ding dong the witch is dead."
"So dead," you quietly seethe. Glancing up at Sweet Pea, you say, "I need you to take me to where they're laying low."
"I'm not taking you directly to them. It's you they're after, Y/N. Penny knew the only way to make you a loose cannon was to attack those closest to you."
"I am not a loose cannon, Pea. I am focused." You squeeze his hand. "I've never been this focused before, but if you won't take me I'll just get my dad to suss her out and you'll miss all the action."
"We'll take you," FP says. "I wanna be there for her downfall."
"And the Ghoulies," you tell him. "Whoever laid a finger on the boys are all going down."
Sweet Pea sighs. "You're gonna be the death of me." Lucifer full blown smirks and FP cracks a grin at the serpent in distress. "Fine. We'll take you, but you're riding with me."
And if they didn't think you were serious before, they know now seeing as you didn't make a joke about riding with FP like you normally would have given the chance.
Toni steps up to the group then, FP grasping her by the shoulder and leaning in to murmur, "Stay with Jug. We'll be back." She looks at you, but you subtly shake your head and she takes a seat in one of the waiting room chairs.
Hand in hand, you and Sweet Pea stalk out of the hospital with FP at your side. Lucifer decides to hang back as well, saying he's just going to check on Jughead as soon as he can and jumpstart the boy's healing process.
On the back of Pea's bike, you hang on to his waist and let the wind whip at your face and hair. Your rage at Penny and the Ghoulies has overcome you, that not even the sting of the cold air or cold drizzle is enough to faze you. It's about a ten minute ride to the clearing and by the time you get there your rage has made you eerily calm. The bikes are shut off and off in the distance, just beyond a bridge, there are several barrels emitting flames. As you climb off, FP and Sweet Pea stand on either side of you as they glance around your surroundings.
"Whatever you see, let it happen. I won't be responsible for what happens if anyone tries to interfere with what I'm doing."
The both of them mumble their acknowledgements and then you're walking. The clearing seems void of any life, but then the blonde bitch you watched Maze beat down and threaten over a month ago saunters out from between the trees. And she's not alone. About ten to fifteen Ghoulies come out from between the trees behind her and spread out.
"Tall Boy?" You glance at FP and follow his gaze, frowning at the semi-familiar Serpent standing with Penny Peabody.
"Told you going after the Jones kid would bring the little bitch out." Tall Boy chuckles and Penny looks like Christmas has come early.
"What the hell, man?!" Sweet Pea shouts. "You sent the Snake Charmer and her junkie little lap dogs after us? Serpents don't betray Serpents!"
"That's rich coming from you, boy." He huffs. Tall Boy points at FP as he says, "He teamed up with outsiders and practically lets them have free reign of the Whyte Wyrm."
"And don't forget he let his little lap dogs take me out of town and cut me up," Penny says. "But now I'm back, better than ever, and I'm out for blood. That," she points directly at you, "little bitch's blood to be exact."
Sweet Pea steps forward in your defense, but you grab his arm and pull him back. FP steps up to your side again, clearly not letting Tall Boy's betrayal go. "So what? Say you do take out Lucifer and Y/N. What is that going to solve? You're out Tall Boy. Exiled. You have no home here. Not anymore."
He shrugs. "Well then I guess I'll take out their king and rule the Serpents myself."
"I'd like to see you try." Everyone glances at you, your too calm tone seeming out of place for the current confrontation taking place. "Let's go, Tall Boy. You and me. Right here, right now."
"Uh, Y/N?" Sweet Pea says.
You step forward, gaze set on the Serpent in question. "What's wrong, Tall Boy? Are you afraid of a little girl?"
Tall Boy, Penny, and all the hopped up Ghoulies laugh, and you step forward. Tall Boy meets you halfway, grinning. "As soon as I'm done with you, my boys are gonna carve up your boys and then I'm gonna make a quick trip down to the hospital and finish what we started with Jughead."
"Oh Tall Boy," you mockingly smile. "Shut the fuck up."
He lunges forward to grab you, but you're quick to duck into a crouch and send your fist flying into his groin. You slide to the right and kick in the back of his knee, then sweeping his legs out from under him. You slap a hand down on his forehead, Tall Boy's screams resonating around the clearing as he convulses beneath your hand. You glance up and meet Penny's gaze head on. Her eyes widen and you sneer at her, and then you look back down at Tall Boy as you release him.
"Exile is too good for the likes of you," you say as he tries to scramble to his feet. On his forehead, there appears to be three claw marks branded there. "So I want you to run like the hounds of hell are after you, Tall Boy. Because they will be." As if on cue, eerie howls rip through the air and you slowly stand tall. Everyone tenses and glances around, but only Tall Boy seems to be staring at something that only he can see. You glance over your shoulder, grinning as two hellhounds step out from the shadows and brush up against FP and Sweet Pea. The two of them freeze and shift to the side, and you beckon the hellhounds closer to you. They stand at your side, under your palms, and you grin at Tall Boy. "Run, Tall Boy. My babies are hungry."
The hellhounds snarl as Tall Boy turns around to run and you click your tongue a minute later to let the hounds loose. Tall Boy can be heard screaming deep into the windows and you smile innocently at Penny and all the Ghoulies. A Ghoulie steps forward, taking Tall Boy's place next to Penny. His wild and curly hair hangs to his shoulders, and black coal is smeared across his eyes which seem a little too wide for any sober person.
"One down," you muse. "Who's next?"
"What the hell did you do to Tall Boy?" Penny seethes. She steps forward and you smile at her.
"Penny, Penny, Penny," you tut. "You're in no position to be asking questions." Your smile drops as your gaze hardens. "You should have listened and stayed out of Riverdale."
"Who the hell do you think you are, little girl?"
"Why I'm the queen of hell, of course." You smile innocently as lightning suddenly forks across the sky and everyone ducks on instinct. Penny and her ghoulish companion look up before they glance warily back at you, and you smirk. "Now kneel." A moment of silence passes before Penny and her friends laugh. Your smirk drops. "I said kneel!" You snap your fingers and everyone standing across from you falls to their knees. They glance around wildly, not knowing why they listened.
You stalk forward, your feet unknowingly leaving behind smoldering prints and lightning flashes ominously across the sky. "You mortals never listen," you seethe, your voice changing and sending chills down everyone's spine. "And now I'm going to finish what Mazikeen should have done the first time around."
Penny spits at your feet. "Screw you. You don't have what it takes to play with the adults, sweetheart."
"No?" You walk forward until you're just in front of Penny, reaching out and walking your fingers along her forehead until she jerks out of reach. "I command a legion of demons, sweetheart," you mock her. "You have no idea what I'm capable of." Penny opens her mouth to no doubt spew some idiot bullshit and you sigh. "Bored now. Bye bye, Snake Charmer." You shove your palm against Penny's forehead, smiling as a glow emits from your palm and seeps into her head.
Her mouth gapes open as she screams, her own eyes and mouth slowly emitting the same glow from your hand before her screams die out and she falls back. Dead.
Her ghoulish companion stares up at you in fear. "What the fuck are you?"
"Don't you listen, Malachi?" You sweetly coo. His eyes subtly widen at you knowing who he is.
"Queen of Hell. Yeah, I got that," he says. Suddenly his resolve seems to harden. "But what you don't seem to know is that you messed with the wrong ghoul. You see, I overthrow royalty." Before you can blink, his arm is raising and you see the glint of a blade a second too late.
The sharpened metal is embedded in your gut and he laughs cruelly.
"Y/N!" Sweet Pea and FP yell.
But you merely stumble back a single step, glancing down at the knife before you grab the hilt and yank it free. Dropping it, you look at Malachi from under your lashes. "That was a very stupid move." He snorts, but before he can say another word you reach forward with both hands and twist his head violently to the side.
As you glance up at the rest of the Ghoulies, you're met with fearful stares. You want to make each and every one of them suffer, every single face staring up at you guilty for having taken part in putting Jug and Fangs in the hospital. Stalking towards the first Ghoulie, you ignore their whimpers and press a single finger to the middle of their forehead. "Death is too harsh at the moment for the lot of you," you say. The Ghoulie beneath your finger screams before passing out, he falling limp to the ground. "So live your life to the fullest," you say as you touch the next one, "because the moment you cease to live, your soul will be dragged to Hell where you'll be tortured over and over and over again." At the next Ghoulie, you chuckle. "You really shouldn't have touched what was mine."
One by one, the Ghoulies fall unconscious under your hand. The clearing is littered with unconscious junkies, and by the time you turn around FP and Sweet Pea are a lot closer than they were earlier. FP is staring at you like he can't believe what he's just seen, but Sweet Pea's gaze is set on your abdomen where your blood has soaked through your sweater. You glance down, pressing your hand to your wound and then bringing your hand away soaked with blood.
"Oh. Well that's not good." You stumble backwards, but hands are quick to catch you before you can fall. Looking up at your savior, you smile shakily at the boy who had quickly won over your affections. "Hey Pea."
"Hey." His own smile is shaky as well, but the concern is clear as day. "You put on quite the show there, babe. What the hell did you do to the Ghoulies?"
"N-Nothing. Just branded their souls for a f-future trip down to Hell. And I made them forget what they'd seen here so they can't tell anyone."
FP comes up to your side then, grinning. "Smart move, Morningstar. Now come on. Let's get you to the hospital. We need to get you checked out."
Your teeth chatter as you nod. "O-Okay."
You gasp as Sweet Pea literally sweeps you off your feet, one arm beneath your knees and the other supporting your upper back as he walks you towards his bike. Instead of reprimanding him for the sudden movement, you lean your head against his chest and let your eyes fall shut. Gosh, you're so sleepy.
"Hey. Y/N, wake up."
"M'tired."
"I know, babe, but you still need to keep your eyes open."
"Five more minutes."
Sweet Pea sighs. "If you don't open up your eyes, you're gonna miss a shirtless FP."
Your nose wrinkles and a moment passes before you crack open one eye. "You're a dirty rotten liar, Pea."
His upper body shakes with his quiet laughter. "Did you really just open one eye to see if I was telling the truth?"
"I'm injured. Don't mock me."
"You're right. I'm sorry," he muses. "Now come on. I really need you to open your eyes. You need to be alert so you don't fall off the back of my bike."
You groan. "Fine. But when I fall asleep at the hospital, you're not allowed to wake me up."
"Deal."
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The steady beeping of a machine is what wakes you, your eyelids feeling too heavy to open. You try turning your head the other way, but the beeping continues and it makes you frown. You manage to flutter your eyelids open, blinking a few times until your vision focuses. The first person you see is Sweet Pea, the boy in question sitting in a chair with his head tilted back and mouth agape. You can hear faint snores coming from him and it makes you smile.
You turn your head the other way, smile blossoming at the two sleeping figures of Toni and Fangs.
"So Sleeping Beauty finally wakes." The gruff voice startles you and you have to pick your head up to see where it's coming from. Across the room from you, in a bed of his own, is a severely bruised Jughead who's eating a cup of green jello. "The bed remote is to your right if you wanna sit up."
You turn to your right, spotting the remote hanging from the bed railing and make a grab for it. Figuring out which button is which, you press the correct one to lift the upper half of your bed. You cringe as you do so, head throbbing suddenly. "How- how long was I out?"
"According to my dad, you've been out for three and half days. I woke up two days ago so I heard all about the craziness that went down the night I was brought in."
"Oh." You glance around, frowning. "Do, uh, do you know where my dad's at?"
"He's been in and out. The three stooges around you haven't given up their seats since you were put in here, so he said to call him when you woke up. I texted him while you were ogling Sweet Pea in his sleep."
"I wasn't-" You pause, sighing as Jughead chuckles. "Whatever." Glancing around again, you say, "What does a girl gotta do to get some food in here?"
As if on cue, the door bangs open and both you and Jughead flinch. Toni, Fangs, and Sweet Pea all startle awake. In walks your father, bags from Pop's in hand, and behind him FP walks in with two trays of drinks.
"You," Lucifer points out, "darling daughter, have a lot of explaining to do."
It's then your friends notice that you're up and awake, and you brace yourself as Toni and Fangs practically climb atop your bed.
"Will you be careful, you dumbasses!" Sweet Pea barks. "She just woke up."
"She just woke up," Fangs mocks him, earning a punch to the back.
You laugh, flinching when Toni's arm lays across your abdomen. Thankfully she notices and quickly readjusts her position, not moving from your side. Fangs, however, gets pulled from your other side and Sweet Pea carefully takes his spot. He maneuvers his arm so it's behind your and Toni's heads.
Glancing up at your dad, you accept the bag of food he holds out to you as he asks, "When exactly did your powers fully manifest? FP and Sweet Pea told me what they witnessed, and a sudden show of power like that is what kept you asleep so long. As well as the blood loss. You completely exhausted yourself."
You shift nervously under everyone's sudden gaze. "I, uh, it's all been slowly manifesting over the past couple of weeks. But then hearing about Jughead, it kind of sped up the process in one fell swoop and well.. FP and Pea saw how that ended."
Lucifer tuts. "You're lucky you didn't kill yourself. You know better than to use so much power while still untrained."
"I know," you mumble. You make quick work of digging into the bag that's resting in your lap, pulling out a burger and unwrapping it. You immediately take a bite, groaning as the taste explodes across your tongue. "Can you lecture me later? I feel like I can eat ten of these."
Your dad wrinkles his nose. "Your mortal side is showing. Swallow before you speak."
"That's what he said," Toni mumbles.
You choke on your food and Sweet Pea immediately starts hitting your back in a panic. Eventually your airway clears and you glare at Toni who's smiling innocently at you. "You're a bitch." She laughs, but then your attention is stolen by FP whose handing you a drink. You grin gratefully at him as you suck up some ice cold Cola through the straw. "I hope I didn't leave you a mess to deal with."
"You didn't." He smirks. "I put in an anonymous tip to sheriff Keller about some Ghoulies who'd looked like they overdosed. I also might have told him they were also the ones involved with Jughead's beating. They ain't getting out anytime soon."
"Good."
Everyone makes themselves comfortable around the shared room, FP sitting next to his son's bed while Lucifer sits next to yours, but Toni and Sweet Pea have you squished between them on the bed while Fangs sits in an empty chair.
You manage to eat three burgers, two cartons of fries, and siphon down three cups of Cola when you notice all eyes are on you. Immediately you can feel the flush burning up the sides of your neck and up to your face. Leaning back, you push the rest of the food away and curl in towards Sweet Pea as the room's occupants start to laugh.
"So are you gonna share those burgers or you gonna wolf down every single one?" Jughead muses.
"Don't mock me. You're lucky I even left anything." Fangs chuckles at your pout and gets up, grabbing up the bags from your lap. He takes a burger for himself before walking the food across the room, and you grin as Jughead immediately digs in. FP can only shake his head at his son as Jughead groans in delight. "So," you say as you glance at your dad, "what happens now?"
"Now you heal," Lucifer says. "However, when you're all better we need to take a trip to Hell." Sweet Pea tightens his hold around your shoulders and you quickly glance up at him, smiling softly to reassure him everything would be fine. "I'm just about done with business here on the mortal plane, so we need to transfer roles back down in Hell."
"Ugh. Do I have to stay for the party? Your creepy minions are gonna try to bed me again."
"Well if you'd show up with a consort on your arm you wouldn't have that problem."
You frown. "You know damn well if I show up with a mortal in Hell it'll be chaos."
"But what fun chaos it'll be," Lucifer smirks.
"Hold up," Toni says. "Consort?"
Your dad's smirk widens and you sigh. "For some reason, dad wants me to take a boyfriend. Or husband. He's not picky."
"What!?" She laughs.
"Yeah. He's got his money on Sweet Pea just because he's tall and intimidating." Sweet Pea suddenly chokes and everyone in the room laughs at him. You grin at him, poking him on his side. "Relax. There are no wedding bells in any of our immediate futures. And besides," you say as you let yourself relax into Sweet Pea's side once more, fatigue suddenly overcoming you, "the elite of Hell only approve of a wedding if it's officiated in Hell. And quite frankly, no one I choose will ever step foot down there if I have anything to say about it."
"Wait. Hold on," Jughead says. "Are you saying you can get us in and out of Hell, and you haven't done so?"
FP scoffs. "Don't even think about it, kid."
You grin at Jughead's affronted expression, letting your eyelids fall shut. "We are not taking field trips down to Hell. Now everyone shush. M'sleepy."
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It took you a few days before your dad deemed you well enough to visit Hell, making sure you did not show any form of vulnerability in front of the others. So you rested at home during the day and spent your evenings entertaining your friends who wanted to know all about Hell and how long you'd be away. But the truth was, you didn't even know yourself.
So when you and your dad finally left for Hell, you hadn't anticipated just how long you'd be there. You did anticipate, however, several demons being happy over the transfer of power. And that several others would swoop in in hopes of courting you. All of which you happily declined.
Your dad's coronation lasted a full day and you lost track of time after the second day of partying. You caught up with what few companions you actually had in Hell, ate, drank, and danced. It felt like only a couple of days had passed before you decided you'd been there long enough and sought out your father, only for him to happily send you on your way with promises that you'd visit every month. You had waved him off before going back to your rooms to change into regular clothing, and then let a swirl of flames whisk you away.
Reappearing in your house, you glance around happily until you notice it's not quite as you left it. The lights and TV, which had been turned off prior to leaving, are now on and the more you linger in the same spot it's easier to hear the noises coming from the kitchen. Quietly heading in that direction, you stop short at the sight of FP and Jughead preparing what appears to be their dinner.
"Um, hi?"
Jughead and FP's attention immediately snap to you, and Jughead quickly rounds the kitchen island. "Y/N, you're back!"
"Of course I am." You laugh as he wraps his arms around you, returning his embrace as you grin at FP over Jug's shoulder. "I told you I'd be back as soon as possible."
Jughead pulls back from you, hands on your shoulders as he keeps you at arm's length. "I know, but we thought you meant like three days tops, not two weeks!"
"What?"
You look at FP and he nods. "Sorry, babygirl, but he's telling the truth."
Your mind briefly short circuits at the nickname and you glance at Jug, smile slowly blooming. "Your dad called me-"
"Don't."
You laugh as FP snorts, shaking his head at you. "Only joking. I haven't done that in two week apparently," you say. You reach up to pat one of Jughead's hands on your shoulders and he releases. Walking over to one of the stools lined along the kitchen island, you take a seat. "And besides, you know I have my eyes on a certain tall Serpent friend of yours."
"Speaking of which," FP then says as he leans across the counter across from you, "you better text him. He's been bugging us nonstop to see if we heard from you or not."
"I will." Jughead offers you a bottle of water which you accept. "I just- I need to decompress for a little bit. Socializing in Hell kind of took it out of me."
"Well you can always join us for dinner." Jughead looks so hopeful that you actually feel a little bit bad turning him down.
"Sorry, JJ. I've been eating nonstop for days. I kind of just want to sleep it off."
"Oh. Okay sure."
"But before I head upstairs, can I just ask what you guys are doing here?"
Jughead looks like a deer in headlights at the question, so FP takes over. "Lucifer wanted us to keep an eye on the place while you were gone. Said we could crash here if we needed to and our trailer went under renovations two days ago."
"Oh. Okay." You smile at them. "Well you guys are always welcome here no matter what and just because I'm back it doesn't mean you have to leave. I welcome the company," you say. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep my dad's coronation off."
"We'll keep your return under wraps, but if anyone stops by we won't lie to them."
"That's fine," you tell Jughead.
After drinking some more of your water, you decide to head upstairs. In the privacy of your room you decide to quickly change into some sleepwear before crawling into the comfort of your own bed.
Sleep finds you fairly quickly and you're not quite sure how long you've been asleep when you're suddenly awoken. The sky is completely pitch black outside your window and the house is eerily quiet. You figure it must be very early morning so it's no use getting up now, but just as your eyes close once more the sound of a chair creaking has your eyes flying open.
On your stomach, you immediately push yourself up until you're sitting on your knees and glancing around your room. "Hey. Hey, you're okay."
Your lamp clicks on and you cringe away from the sudden brightness, only to slowly open your eyes and be met with the concerned expression of possibly your favorite Serpent. "Pea?"
He grins. "The one and only."
"What are- what are you doing here?" You crawl towards the edge of the bed closest to him, sitting down so your feet touch the ground.
"Stopped by for some dinner earlier and Jughead told me you were back. FP took pity on me and let me stay until you woke up."
"So you- you watched me sleep?" Sweet Pea's smile slowly falls as yours grows. "That's kind of creepy, Pea."
"Well I didn't- I didn't know-"
You quickly lean forward, one hand gripping the armrest of the chair to hold you up and the other cradling the side of Sweet Pea's face as you angle it towards yours. You gently brush your lips against his just to test the waters before you pull back just an inch, your eyes fluttering open to gauge his reaction. Sweet Pea blinked owlishly at you before his eyes darted over every inch of your face, lastly settling on your lips as his hands came up to cradle your face and bring you back in.
Smiling against his lips, you allow him a moment of control, letting yourself get briefly carried away in one another. You nip at his bottom lip and when he groans you peck the corner of his mouth before falling back onto the edge of your bed. You lick your bottom lip before biting it sheepishly, eyes shining at a clearly distracted Sweet Pea.
"I'm not gonna lie. I've been wanting to do that for a really long time."
Gathering his wits once more, Sweet Pea scoffs. "You mean to tell me we could have been doing this since the beginning?"
"Well yeah. But I didn't wanna come off as easy."
"You.. easy? Yeah right," he chuckles. Slowly, he sobers up. "But, uh, your dad's not gonna be a problem. Right?"
You shake your head. "Nah. Believe it or not, Lucifer's a cool dad. He doesn't care what I do or who I do it with so long as it's consensual."
He seems to blanch just a little. "Of course. Always."
"Then we're good." You flash him a small smile as you scoot back into bed, tossing the blanket over your legs. "Now will you come to sleep rather than watching over me? I wasn't lying when I said it was weird." Sweet Pea readily stands to strip out of his jacket, laying it across the chair as he toes off his boots. When he starts to walk to the other side of your bed, you say, "Feel free to sleep sans jeans, but only if you're wearing underwear."
Sweet Pea smirks at you as he slowly unbuckles his belt, sliding it out of his jean's loops before tossing that on his jacket as well. You roll your eyes as he unbuttons his jeans and lets them fall, haphazardly kicking them aside before crawling into your bed.
"If that was an attempt to seduce me, you're really terrible at it." He laughs as he lays on his back, you grabbing his arm and picking it up so you can lay close to him. You're on your side, head on his shoulder and arm around his waist. "But you still get an A for effort."
"I wasn't even trying, sweetheart. If I was to seduce you, you'd know it."
"Mhm. I'm sure. Now close your eyes. I have a feeling everyone's gonna be here later on."
          - - - - - - - - - - 
"Do- do we wake them?"
"No, you idiot, let them sleep."
A sigh. "This is going to be a regular thing now, isn't it?"
You slowly smile, the voices of Fangs, Toni, and Jughead waking you up. "You're damn straight this is going to be a regular thing." Your eyes open and you grin. "I'm going to be climbing this like a tree every chance I get." The chest beneath your cheek rumbles with sleepy laughter. You yawn, stretching at Sweet Pea's side before slowly sitting up. "What time is it?"
"Almost ten," Jughead says. "Dad was going to wake you for breakfast, but he saw you and Sweet Pea and figured he'd let you sleep."
"FP is officially my second favorite Serpent," you say. With his eyes still closed, Sweet Pea smiles and you roll your eyes at his smugness. "I hope you guys have nothing planned. I just want to relax and go to school like a normal person for a few days. I'm all partied out."
"Whatever you want, girl." Toni tells you. "We're just glad you're finally back."
"You and me both."
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Over the next few days, your group of friends grow used to the fact that you and Sweet Pea have officially become a thing. Neither of you are fond of the terms boyfriend/girlfriend since it sounds kind of juvenile, but you don't correct anyone when they use that particular label. As far as the two of you are concerned, you are his and he is yours, and that's enough for the two of you.
Another change that seems to have happened is at the Whyte Wyrm, your presence being a great deal more tolerated. You know no one other than a select few knew of your true heritage, so you figure one of your friends name dropped the pet name Princess and now the other Serpents boldly greet you as such, especially FP who takes great delight in calling you that once he realizes you find it annoying.
You're happy you don't have Queenly duties niggling at the back of your mind and that you can just be as normal as you can be with your friends. There are a few instances in which your powers come in handy, but you don't use them as often as you thought you would. Then as the days slowly progress and the weather turns chillier, you find that Sweet Pea is a constant presence in your home. His trailer had been updated, but while he's grateful for it he much prefers coming home to you and your house.
You and Sweet Pea are sleeping down in the basement, the lounging sofa being more comfortable for him to sleep in since he was so tall. You've already ordered a new bed, but for now the two of you happily camp down in the theatre while you wait for your bed to come in.
The doorbell ringing pulls you from your dreams and an arm tightens around your waist. Sleep starts to pull you back under seconds later until the doorbell rings again and you quietly groan.
"Don't answer it," Sweet Pea mumbles. "They'll go away."
You press back into his chest, yawning and willing yourself to fall back asleep. But whoever's at the front door is insistent and the doorbell rings for a third time. "I'm going to smite them," you grumble. "Smite them and then blissfully come back to sleep." Sweet Pea chuckles at your threat, but though you're getting annoyed for having had your sleep interrupted you don't actually do anything about it.
Seconds seem to pass and when the doorbell doesn't ring again you let your body start to relax once more. Sweet Pea curls even more against your back and you chuckle softly at the fact that one of the Serpent's most intimidating secretly loves to cuddle.
And then just as you're fully relaxing and being pulled back under, there are footsteps coming down the staircase. "I knew I'd find you guys down here."
You and Sweet Pea both groan, Jughead's amused laughter making you open your eyes and glare at the teen in question. Betty Cooper is standing just behind him, glancing around your home theatre in wonder, but you bite your tongue on questioning her presence since you know full well that she and Jughead were more stable than they've ever been.
"If you know what's best for you, JJ, you'd walk away."
"It's three in the afternoon, Y/N. You should have been awake hours ago."
"We had a late night."
"First off, ew." His nose wrinkles at you and Sweet Pea, and you, Sweet Pea, and Betty grin at Jughead's comment. "And secondly, dad sent me. We're having a meeting."
Sweet Pea seems to take those words seriously and you whine when he moves to get up. He chuckles, quickly kissing your temple and then turning to crawl out of the comfort of the sofa. You sigh. "And why, pray tell, is my presence needed?"
Jughead smirks. "You'll see."
His vague answer is enough to get you moving, you grumbling all the while. On your way upstairs, you hit Jughead with your shoulder and then smile innocently at Betty while telling her to help herself to whatever's in the kitchen while you and Sweet Pea get ready.
You and Sweet Pea take the quickest showers you've ever taken, separately, and meet Jughead and Betty in the kitchen. Sweet Pea is pulling on his jacket and you're tying your hair up into a ponytail, grinning at Jughead who has a plate of sandwiches in front of him. "So what's the deal, Jones?"
He shrugs. "M'just under orders to bring you to the quarry."
You glance at Betty and she chuckles. "I just came along for the ride. Jughead's actually dropping me off before you go to the meeting."
"I feel like I should be scared nervous, but I'm actually excited nervous." You muse. "I mean, daddy Jones-"
"God you're so gross," Jughead groans. You wink at Betty as Jughead turns to Sweet Pea. "How are you okay with your girl fawning over my dad?"
"Because everyone, including FP, knows it gets under your skin and it's fun to watch your squirm."
You look at Betty and grin. "Have I told you about the time FP called me babygirl?"
"And we're leaving!" Jughead is quick to latch onto his laughing girlfriend's wrist, tugging her out of the kitchen and towards the front door.
You turn towards Sweet Pea, wrapping your arms around his waist as you lean up on your tiptoes to play a chaste kiss to his lips. "I absolutely adore you. Now come on. Let's go see what the boss wants."
Sweet Pea pecks your lips twice more before you fall back flat on your feet, then making your way towards the hall closet. Inside, you pull free a jean jacket and quickly pull it on while Sweets grabs both your helmets. The two of you head outside to see Betty already hanging onto the back of Jughead. You and Sweet Pea readily climb onto his bike, you tucking yourself as close as you can to his back while he follows Jughead towards Betty's house.
Then once Betty's hopped off and heading towards her front door, Jughead signals for Sweet Pea to follow and you're on your way once more. The part of the quarry Jughead leads you to is not familiar to you and you're surprised to see the entire Serpent clan hanging around. And as you climb off the bike, waiting for Sweet Pea who takes your hand and then starts leading you towards your friends, you glance around to take in your surroundings.
A wooden walkway leads down to a boathouse just on the water, trucks and motorcycles parked all around. There are a couple of tapped kegs and barrels of fire scattered about. Between two wooden poles, a Serpent banner hangs just behind some stacked wooden pallets that FP hops up onto.
FP whistles, gaining everyone's attention. "Listen up now!" Some music that had been playing is lowered and everyone turns towards their leader. "I know some of you have recently had your opinions about the way I was running things with the Serpents." Some people boo and FP chuckles, instantly calming them. "Our image has never been as clean as it should have been and certain events led a few of us to make decisions that could have had repercussions against all of us." Some very brave individuals glance at Jughead and you glare at them until they look away. "But then an old friend of mine swooped in and changed everything." At this, some nervously glance at you.
"Some sixty years ago, the very first Serpent meeting took place on these same river banks. So I find it fitting that we meet here to introduce a new snake to the den." Everyone cheers this time, including you, though your amusement falls when FP meets your gaze head on. You freeze. Surely he's not talking about- "You all know about Penny, the Ghoulies, and Tall Boy attacking three of our own- my boy included. What you don't know is that girl," he points directly at you, "that girl right there is who took a knife to the gut avenging us. So Y/N Morningstar, come on up here."
Sweet Pea, Jughead, Toni, and Fangs start the whooping and hollering until the rest of the Serpents all join in. You're gripping tight to Sweet Pea's hand as he starts to drag you towards FP's platform, you nervously grinning at the Serpents who part down the middle to give you a path.
At the makeshift stage, Sweet Pea then nudges you up there and you chuckle nervously as you stand next to FP. He smiles at you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders to keep you close while addressing the crowd again. "The Morningstars, while some of you were against it at first, helped clean up the Serpent image and helped improve the Southside when even our own mayor had given up on us. They've been a tremendous help to us and it all started with an act of kindness from one of the Serpents which then led to my release. So with that said, Jughead will you come on up and do the honors?"
You look out at Jughead, brow furrowing as Toni smirks at you while handing a duffel bag over to the boy in question. He unzips it, pulling free what looks to be a cherry red leather jacket. He holds it, scrunched up in one hand, as he makes his way to the platform. "What's going on?" You mutter.
FP releases you just as Jughead takes his place by your side. He's smiling as he inhales deeply, letting out it loudly before addressing the rest of the Serpents. "When Lucifer left, he asked my dad and I to look after his precious little princess." You scoff, punching Jughead's arm much to everyone's amusement. "And I know some of you are going to say that that's why we've decided to welcome Y/N into the Serpents, but the reason why we're welcoming Y/N into the fold is because she earned her place. She took a knife for us and got rid of our enemies once and for all. I don't know about you, but to my dad and I that makes her worthy of being a Serpent."
Sweet Pea is the first to whoop, followed by the rest of your friends and the crowd of Serpents lingering about.
"So what do you say, Morningstar? Will you don the Serpent jacket and put the fear of the devil into any person who dares smear the name of your brethren?" He asks while grabbing the cherry red jacket with both hands and shaking it open.
You smirk at him, already stripping out of your jean jacket. "As if you even had to ask."
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You toss your jacket to Sweet Pea and stand in front of Jughead, placing your arms into the sleeves one at a time. It fits perfectly, Toni's doing no doubt, and you laugh openly at the roar of applause. Turning around, you hug Jughead and then walk over towards FP to offer him the same embrace.
"Who picked the color?" You ask.
"Who do you think?" He muses.
"Dad."
FP releases you with a grin, nudging you towards your friends. "Go on. We'll be celebrating tonight at the Whyte Wyrm."
You offer him one of your genuine smiles instead of the teasing one you usually reserve for him. "Thanks, FP. For everything."
"No problem, kiddo. Now seriously, go. Go have a burger and a shake at Pop's with your friends."
As you turn to hop off the platform, Toni is the first to wrap you up in a hug. "Welcome to the club! You're seriously lucky you didn't have to do the dance."
"I'd have seriously gouged someone's eye out if anyone suggested I do the dance to earn my place."
She laughs and then Fangs takes her place, you hugging him back. Then finally Sweet Pea is standing in front of you and he laughs as you jump into his arms.
"Happy, princess?"
"Ecstatic," you muse as you wrap your legs around his waist. His hands find your ass, supporting your weight as you quickly lean in to kiss him. More cheers erupt all around you, you and Sweet Pea smile against each other's mouths, and Jughead gags behind you. Pulling back, you lay your forehead against his. "Wanna grab some food or go properly celebrate at home before tonight's party at the Wyrm?"
"How about we hit up Pop's for burgers to go, burn off some calories before consuming them right back in the comfort of our own home, and then go to the Wyrm?"
"I like the way you think, Pea. Let's go."
You kiss him once more, Toni cheering you on as Sweet Pea carries you off.
"Just please don't contaminate the basement!" Jughead yells out. "I actually like it down there!"
You wave him off over your shoulder, grinning at Pea. "Who's going to tell him he's a few weeks too late? Me or you?"
"I wanna tell him when he least expects it. Probably when he's laying on the sofa and being a little shit."
"Deal."
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noro-noro-noro · 2 years ago
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ttook a nap & had some vague dreams. wait what the fuck hold on
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no! lol. anyway in the nap
1. weird class i need to take 2. i fuck with this rich family’s pool & am rewarded 3. magical warfare. 
- i needed ot take one more credit hour class to graduate, so i signed up for some weird elective about market management & morality. it ended up having 3 people. me, some indian guy with a big beard, and a blond girl. the professor was somoe youngish guy who had that whole “kind of a mess but im making it work” vibe. the indian guy made me uncomfortable bc he kept getting in my personal space & touching me, & the blond girl was mean and vaguely dismissive. the professor was cool though. he laughed so hard he cried at some stupid joke i made. 
- day 2 of the class was an 8am class so the guy made us all eggs and onion for breakfast. i was there early so i got a double serving bc the yguy was like “they won’t know >:)” the class was now taking place in the office & the girl ame in & started telling me to omve shit around, but i didn’t want to since this was my mom’s house now. 
- there were a lot of people, new students, dressed as harry potter characters except slightly different & they had to wear pointy hats, & the main favorite cool was called something like DREISENBIRG and it was red and green
then
- there was some rumor that some rich people owned an outdoor pool. they were on vacation. the pool supposedly had a 1 inch layer of foam on top. if you went in thte pool it made this mean old lady really mad. 
- i went in the pool. it was less of a pool and about the size of a tiny chicken coop. isplashed around. ym friends cheered! the old lady saw me & got so mad she teleported outside with a shotgun made from an empty can of monster. it falied to fire which is great bc that would have been point blank
- the other people came home & were like “oh hit’s fine! feel free to use our pool. that giant house down to the left is actually our rchristmas house so you can just do whatever in our pool when it’s not Christmas. i was like ohh so they’re rich rich.
- there was a whole bit about magical warfare on their front lawn. whatever. i got good at dodging & had a boomerang. 
- we got invited in bc now it was me & my sister & the family was some relatives that like branched off from my grandma’s secomd marriage. i saw their youngest son on facebook recently. the last time i saw him he was a baby SO FAT i called him the loaf, which his mom didn’t like. now he’s like..9. and the other brothers that me & my sister were super tight with since they had the same age gap we had are like. in their 20s now as well. it’s so scary. ANYWAY it was an AU version of that family, where the dad was replaced by a famous actor. and they were bonkers rich.
- my ssister & i were like “we should go! sorry to impose!” & they were like no no stay for dinner :) dad will be home soon! & we stayed. the dad came home & asked me what wine i’d like 7& i deferred to my sister. the guy gave us an option between limited edition clown wine or $50,000 sakura blossom champagne. i was like uh .um . anything cheaper...
THEN
- we went into the backyard, which was a gateway into some kind of magical realm. the 2nd middle brother (who in the real world used to be really short and gawky and had huge glasses & a big gap in his front teeth but last time i saw him on FB he was like 6 feet tall & towered over his parents) was the small age here. and he pointed at the castle in the distance, & explained all the smaller buildings around it were book shrines. you could go in those to be inside the book or something, but each book had its own laws. for example if you forgot the plot of bridge to terabithia & started doing things off script or choosing things that never happened you would be torn apart by the trees and die. not all the side effects would kill you though!
- we walked towards it. the castle was further away than i thought because it was so big. something happened & some unkillable enemies appeared & started shooting artillery at us. they looked like old urgot, but darker red and brown and rusty. we started to run.
- when we got closer to th castle i wrongly assumed it had some protective spell or something on it bc it was unharmed and so huge. no. the artillery started hitting the sides of it. sttone and rubble tumbled down.
- i thought we should enter one of the books for safety, so i did. i forgot which one though. anyway we ended up in some giant arcade/terminal. i saw one that had gaolang on it & said ohh can we do this one... & it was VR about how he was fighting off the magical enemies, but he wasn’t strong enough. his king would fall. and that little orange wretched thing from the toothpaste video was there but suffering treatment like the paperdoll girls in chogakusei’s ingel music video, being tormented and twisted up and occasionally we would see him screaming begging for hellp from some uncomfortable looking ai generated picture of hell. i was like awesome. 
- the gaolang vr experience cost $2000. X from omega fighters was also there to help him, which is so funny bc i only played that game for like 30 min last nighta fter getting some friends into it
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the-iceni-bitch · 4 years ago
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A Warm Fire
Pairing: Valkyrie/Brunnhilde/Fem-Reader
Word Count: 3876
Summary: Val helps you warm up after you get caught in a storm.
Warnings: Fluff, Spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame (erring on the safe side with this one), Explicit language, explicit sexual content (oral sex- f receiving, scissoring, fingering) SMUT, 18+
A/N: I’ve decided for my b-day week I want to bless all you sweet bitches with a brand new smutty fic each day. My holes are worn out from all the rough himbo sex I’ve been throwing at you, so today I wanted to soften things up with something for my WLW ladies. I sub for no man, but Val could spit in my mouth and turn me into a housewife!
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“Well, fuck.” You sighed.
You had hoped you’d be able to outrun the storm you saw rolling in off the coast on your weekly trip to New Asgard but hadn’t even been driving for an hour when lightning started streaking across the sky and the clouds let loose a deluge that had your ancient pickup’s wipers maxed out. You couldn’t even see 20 feet in front of you and slammed on the brakes suddenly when you came upon a massive tree blocking the road. The engine stalled out and you had now been trying to turn it over for 10 minutes with no luck.
You had thankfully been able to contact Aud and Sigurd and have them bring your animals in and batten down the barn, but there was no way you were making it back tonight. You resigned yourself to sleeping in your front seat when a pile of rocks reared out of no where and tapped on your window, causing you to let out a shriek.
“Everything ok in there?”
“Jesus Christ, Korg, what are you doing out here?”
The massive Kronan straightened back up and you thought you saw his brow furrow before his face split open in a wide grin.
“Y/N, excellent! Some of us got concerned once the storm rolled in and Val sent out a group to make sure you made it off of the Fjord ok.”
“Ok, well clearly this piece of shit is not cut out for Skagerrak storms.” You told him as you stepped out into the deluge, pulling your parka around you tightly as the wind tried to whip your hood off. “I don’t suppose you drove here in any sort of vehicle?”
“As a matter of fact, Miek drove the Jeep.”
“I’m sorry, Miek drove?” The thought of the Sakaarian larval creature driving a vehicle filled you with equal parts horror and mirth. “Do you mind if I drive us back?”
“Probably for the best. I told him that knife hands are not conducive for steering but you know he doesn’t listen to me.”
You let out a laugh as Korg lumbered into the large trailer hooked to the back of the Jeep, causing it to sink into the mud a bit. Miek scooted into the passenger seat as you turned the vehicle around and started to head back to Tønsberg.
Your cautious driving extended the trip by a good 45 minutes. The thunder had stopped but it was still pouring as you parked the jeep in one of the converted stables. Korg and Miek gave you a wave as they headed back to Thor’s, Korg carrying 3 of the pallets of Aquavit you had brought with you earlier.
You headed towards the town square and saw Brunnhilde leaning against the posts in front of her small brick house, watching the storm that was still raging out at sea before she saw you and broke out in a grin.
“Y/N, I told you not to head out in this! That piece of shit truck of yours give out on you?”
“What do you think, Hilde? I just decided to walk all the back to your house for fun in this?” You shook out your hair as the two of you stepped inside, spraying her with a thin mist of rainwater.
“Ah, you bitch! Get out of those wet clothes, I got a fire started and some dry towels and blankets set out for you. Want a hot toddy?”
You winced at the thought as you started peeling yourself out of your soaked jeans. “I’d like to be able to wake up tomorrow hon. Your hot toddys are literally just a hot mug of Aquavit with a slice of lemon.” You cursed yourself silently for introducing the Asgardians to the spicy Scandinavian liquor that you now had to truck in every week. While it was extremely lucrative, they now put it in everything.
Hilde sauntered back into the main room carrying two steaming mugs as you wrapped yourself in a wool blanket and settled in front of the fire, wearing only your bra and panties.
She rolled her eyes at you and handed you a mug, which you took a wary sniff of and were pleasantly surprised to find it was just peppermint tea.
“You’re just a lightweight.” She said as she curled up in her armchair, wrapping one hand around her mug while the other picked up the worn book that was sitting on the end table.
“How do you like it so far?” You asked her, sipping your tea slowly as you waited for it to cool.
“The writing is lovely, but it’s pretty inaccurate.”
The friendship the two of you had built over the past 3 years was something truly lovely. When she and the rest of the refugees had landed, after the snap, they were all hollow shells of grief. Thor shut himself away almost immediately, and Hilde found herself thrust into a position of leadership she had never wanted. All of them wanted nothing more than to be left alone with their sorrows, doing just enough to keep themselves alive.
The first storm off the Skaggerak had almost devastated their new home though, and when she contacted Banner for help, he called you. You still kept in touch after your years together at university, and he knew you had settled somewhere in Norway and could arrive to lend a hand faster than he could.
Your arrival brought some much needed distraction to their sleepy town. You had managed to round up a group of your Norwegian neighbors, along with some fellow expats, and set about making the necessary changes to assure that New Asgard would be a thriving community. While the rest of your group set to restructuring architecture, and teaching the town’s new inhabitants the necessities of a seaside existence on the windy Fjord, you began the slow process of helping the refugees move on from their sorrow.
Your anthropology doctorate was specialized in Norse culture, after all, and you would often bring small reminders of their lost home with you whenever you came to visit. Whether it was a collection of replicated Talharpas, Skalmejens, and Lurs to give to the children to learn music or a large cache of drinking horns to stock their taverns, every time your truck came lumbering down the hills, Brunnhilde watched the faces of her citizens light up with anticipation for some new pleasant surprise. When you arrived with your first load of Aquavit and spent the night drinking with them and singing the drinking songs they knew well, you were all but confirmed as an honorary Asgardian. Your haunting rendition of Lilja actually brought tears to a few eyes.
Brunnhilde made sure to let you know how grateful she was as much as possible. She would always have some small gift for you when you arrived, but all you asked her for was to sit and talk, discussing the history of Asgard and the nine realms as you scribbled copious notes. She loved watching your face screw up in concentration as you bent over one of your notebooks, one stubborn lock of hair falling into your face.
She laughed to herself softly now as she remembered the visit a few weeks ago when she had first introduced you to her winged steed, Aragorn. Your look of awe had been replaced quickly with uncontrollable laughter when she had told you his name. You refused to tell her what was so funny, but she was determined to get it out of you at some point.
You had brought your original copy of Snorri’s Edda the next week, and she had read it through 3 times already.
She ran her hands softly over the spine of the book before tossing back the rest of her toddy and setting the book and her mug back on the end table before sinking to the floor behind you and nuzzling herself into your hair, sighing as she inhaled the scent of fresh rain.
You leaned back into her slowly, giving a soft hum of contentedness. She slipped the blanket off of your shoulders to pool around your waist as she left a trail of soft kisses down your neck, before softly raising a bruise into your collarbone with her mouth.
The moan you gave her made her grin against your skin, and she slipped one hand into the front of your bra, softly drawing her fingers across your nipple.
“Fuck, Hilde!” you pressed your chest further into her hand as her other moved behind you to unhook your bra and slip it off your shoulders, freeing your breasts. She felt your nipples harden against her fingers as she turned your head and slowly teased your mouth open with her tongue.
“Eyes open, pretty girl.” She whispered as her left hand continued to palm at your breast and roll your nipple between her fingers. You stared at her through your lashes as she brought her right hand up and put her index and middle finger in your mouth. You gave them a soft nip before sucking and swirling your tongue around them slowly.
She grinned at you wickedly as she dragged her soaked fingers down your torso at an agonizing pace, leaving a thin trail of your saliva before she tucked them under the edge of your panties and dragged them over your sopping cunt, separating the soft folds there to tease against your entrance.
“Oh, poor baby, look how much this pussy missed me?” She said as you let out a thin keen, screwing your eyes shut and dropping your head against her neck. She slapped your tit suddenly and tweaked your nipple hard, making you gasp. “You better keep those eyes open if you want me to let you come sweetheart. You want me to stretch this pretty pussy around my fingers and make you feel good?”
“Yes, god” you let out breathlessly, forcing your eyes open as she studied your face.
“Ah, ah, ask nicely.”
“Yes please.” You hissed as her fingers continued to tease at your folds, lightly brushing against your clit.
“Good girl”
She slipped one finger inside of you slowly and you immediately clenched around it as she pressed it against that soft spongy spot.
“Ooh, honey. You’re so fucking tight, I’m gonna stretch you out so good.” She whispered against your lips as she kissed you softly.
Her second finger slipped in easily and she started fucking them into you slowly, pressing her palm against your clit as she did so and your arousal seeped all over her hand. Your breath was hitching in your chest as she increased her pace.
You felt yourself flutter around her and it took all of your willpower to not screw your eyes shut and drop against her shoulder. You ground yourself against her hand as she suddenly slowed down, hungry for more friction.
“You want me to add another finger, sweet girl?” She asked slyly, teasing her promise against your entrance.
You didn’t trust yourself to speak so you nodded at her, your chest heaving as she continued palming your breast and you felt a resounding shiver in your core.
“You’re lucky I’m soft on you sweetie, I should be making you beg for this.” She murmured as she shoved all three of her fingers in suddenly, causing you to let out a small cry as she started fucking them into you at a rough speed. “I’m just finishing you off so I can feel this sweet mouth of yours on my cunt. You want to taste me baby?”
“Shit, Hilde!” The thought of her taste on your tongue sent you over the edge as she drove her palm into your clit one last time and you released around her, fluttering as you soaked her hand. Her strong arms held you still as your orgasm wracked you and every muscle trembled. Once you had ridden it out, she drew her hand out of your ruined panties to suck on her fingers.
“Mmm, you taste so good honey. Don’t you think?” She placed her mouth on yours and pressed her tongue against yours and you moaned as you tasted your own release.
“Help me out of my clothes baby, I need to ride that pretty face.”
She climbed around you and settled into your lap, kissing you deeply and making happy little humming sounds. You drew her sweater up over her head and tossed it aside, and were pleasantly surprised to see she wasn’t wearing a bra. You gave her a wicked grin before lifting her up and pressing her chest to your face, latching your mouth to one of her nipples as your hands cupped her ass through her leggings. She gave a light laugh and tossed her head back as her fingers carded themselves through your hair. You brought one of your hands between the two of you, shoving it down the front of her leggings and drawing your fingers through her slick, making her gasp.
“God, baby, you’re so fucking greedy.” She laughed lightly as you peppered her chest with kisses, occasionally creating some light suction with your tongue to raise a light bruise. “Mmm, you know just what to do, but I want to come all over that beautiful face of yours.”
You smiled against her chest as you gently nuzzled yourself between her breasts before falling back abruptly and making her gasp.
“You are being such a trouble maker, today, Y/N. Fine, I’m going grind your pussy so good before I rub that smirk off your face with my cunt.”
She sat up between your legs a drew your soaked panties off before removing her own leggings. She stretched your right leg off to the side and lightly drew her fingers up the inside of your thigh, removing them right before she reached your quivering pussy and making you whine.
“Don’t be a brat baby. Look at this pretty pussy, just weeping for me.” She stared at your swollen cunt with a grin as she hooked a hand under your left knee and positioned herself so she was straddling you, her soft folds just kissing yours as she hovered there. “You want to feel my pussy on yours, baby? Want me to grind that clit so good? You better fucking beg for it.”
“Oh god, pleasepleaseplease…” you let out in a hiss as she pressed herself down and ground herself into you.
“Mmm, I feel that sweet pussy quivering for me. God, you’re like my own fucking vibrator.” She kept twisting her hips into yours, hitting you at that perfect angle each time and making you mewl and whimper unintelligibly as she edged you closer to your release. She unbent your right leg slowly, running her thumb up your calf before nipping at the pad of your big toe, making you arch into her. “No no, sweetheart, isn’t it so much better when you hold still? You know I’ll take care of you.”
She stretched your right leg out so you were wide open and pinned your thighs down with her hands as she picked up the pace. She bit her lip and gazed down at you through hooded eyes and you felt her core twitch against yours. One more drive of her hips and you came apart at the same time, your releases mixing together to coat the insides of your thighs. You let out a scream while she just gasped, still managing to hold you down as your pleasure wracked through you and you wound your hands into the blanket beside you for some kind of anchor.
“Fuck baby, this pussy is so good to me. I wanna run my tongue over this pretty cunt while I ride your face. You better be good for me.”
She twisted herself around to straddle your face. You softly nipped at her left cheek then gave her ass a slap, making her yelp, and she responded by smacking your pussy twice before grinding into your face.
“Oohh, are you going to be a bad girl?” She scolded you as you wrapped your arms around her thighs and teased her folds with your tongue. “Am I going to have to edge you all nigh… Fuck!!” Your tongue found her entrance and you moaned into her cunt, causing vibrations that made her clench against your face. “God, baby, you’re so good at that. Your miss this pussy so bad, look at the mess you’re making.” She separated your folds and softly blew against your clit before shoving three fingers into you with no preparation. “Mmm, you’re fucking ready for me sweetheart, I’m barely even stretching you now. You want me to add another finger?”
She gave your clit another soft slap and you came suddenly, legs and core trembling as you clenched and released around her fingers. You tried to come up for air, but Hilde just ground her hips into your face.
“Na-ah.” She scolded you. “You wanted to get fresh with me and now you better make me come if you want to breathe. You get to work. I’m going to wring every ounce of pleasure out of this pussy until you give me what I want, I don’t care if you pass out.”
She inserted a fourth finger into your canal and started to fuck them all into you, flicking soft kitten licks against your small bundle of nerves before she latched onto it, sucking hard.
Tears started streaming down your face as another orgasm ripped through you. You were starting to feel light-headed from a mixture of pleasure and oxygen deprivation. She drew her tongue slowly up and down your entrance while her fingers kept moving inside you, doing her best to lap up your release before her tongue went back to massaging your clit.
You barely skimmed your teeth against her clit and she let out a soft cry against you, slapping your pussy in response and making you come again. You shook your head to bury yourself deeper into her folds and fought off the urge to pass out before shoving your tongue into her pussy and bringing your fingers up to rub harsh circles into her tiny apex of pleasure.
She collapsed against you at the sudden change in sensation with a gasp before she rose up to really grind into you.
You started fucking your tongue in and out of her, making sure to press it against her g-spot each time and felt her thighs tense around your face.
“God baby, don’t fucking stop. Fuck, just like that, right there. That tongue of yours is so fucking good. You’re so fucking good. Feels so good.” You knew when she started babbling breathlessly like this she was close. She brought one of her hands up to palm her breast as her other gripped the wrist of the hand you had working her clit, making sure you didn’t move away.
Just as the edges of your vision started to close in, you felt her core vibrate and her cunt clenched around your tongue as her release gushed into your mouth. The only sound she made was a rapid breathless pant and she rolled off of you slowly, finally allowing you to suck in oxygen as stars swam behind your vision. You did your best to catch your breath as you felt her stretch languidly beside you before she sat up to stare at you.
“Fuck, baby. I don’t know why I let you take this pussy away from me. I know you just lay there by yourself every night dreaming of my fingers buried in you.” She slowly drew a hand along your slit and you groaned when she brushed against your overstimulated clit. “Just swollen and crying for me. Whose pussy is this baby?” She asked you, curling her fingers against your mound.
You knew if you didn’t tell her what she wanted to hear, she would wring it out of you, and if you had any more orgasms you were going to pass out. “Yours, baby.” You murmured, staring at her through your eyelashes.
“Good girl.” She patted your cunt twice, making you twitch, before she bent down and kissed you softly.
She stood up and collected your mugs and brought them back into the kitchen, wiggling her ass at you when she felt you watching her, making you laugh.
“Can you throw some more logs on the fire, Y/N? I’ll grab us some clean blankets and pillows and we can sleep out here.”
“Yes ma’am.” You called back to her, breaking the current logs apart with the poker before adding three new ones and stoking it. You gathered your discarded clothes and the soiled blanket in a bundle and headed to the bathroom to put them in the hamper and run a damp towel against your sex to clean up, bringing another out with you as you headed back to the fire, where Hilde had piled a ridiculous amount of blankets and pillows in a massive nest for the two of you.
You sank down next to her and she drew your face to hers for a kiss. You smiled against her lips as you gently drew the soft towel you had brought with you over her cunt and along her thighs to clean her off as she gave a contented sigh.
“Stay.” She said softly, nuzzling softly into your neck as you held her against her chest and slowly sank back against the pile of cushions, giving her hair a soft kiss.
“Hilde, the road is out, I’m not going anywhere until tomorrow.”
“No, Y/N. Stay. Move here with me. I need you.” She looked up at you with genuine pleading in her eyes. You had never seen such open emotion on her face before.
You only had to think about it for a minute. The weeks between your trips were always spent planning your next visit. Thinking over what you wanted to talk to Hilde about. Your bed felt empty without her there.
“I need you too baby. I love you.” You whispered to her, tipping her chin up to look into her eyes as you gave her a gentle smile.
Her face split into a grin. “Is that a yes?”
“Of course, Hilde.”
“Oh god, Y/N, I love you too!” She drew your face down to hers and kissed you deeply, clutching you to her needily before releasing you with a grin. “I miss that pussy almost as much as it misses me.”
You laughed at that and laid back with a sigh. Hilde rested her head between your breasts and brought her hands close around your sides, pulling the thick wool blanket around the two of you tightly.
“Just make sure Miek doesn’t try to fight my sheep again.” You whispered to her, running a hand softly up and down her back.
“That was a misunderstanding.” She smiled against you as her breathing slowed and deepened, and she sunk closer to sleep.
The two of you laid there intertwined for the rest of the night, drifting off as the fire crackled and died. You had never felt so content in your life.
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danteinthedevildom · 3 years ago
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A Royal Pajama Party “Analysis” - Part 1 (of 7)
I mentioned (a while ago, oops) that I had a lot of thoughts on Diavolo’s character as revealed in the A Royal Pajama Party Devilgram. I ended up with so many screenshots, I couldn’t contain them all to a single post - so I’ve had to split it up into seven parts (ironically). 
For this first part, I’m focusing on the free chapter. Spoilers under the cut, of course! 
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To start off with, I’m going to focus on this one, single screenshot. Despite how short it is, there’s a lot that’s revealed in just six words. 
My main point of focus? Diavolo is so genuinely excited to spend time with you - actual time, not time he’s tried to slot in with some pretend event to trick you into hanging out with him - that he’s been actively waiting for you to turn up. 
This is something I’ve noted before, but we know from previous Devilgrams that Diavolo doesn’t often get to spend time with other beings simply because nobody really wants to. He openly admits that he has to trick his friends into it by planning parties - as seen in the Concealed in Colour Devilgram - and that he struggles to get out of that habit now that he’s found someone (you) willing to visit the castle just to see him. No other alterior motives required. 
And here he is, finally setting something up without trying to trick you into it! He doesn’t feel as unsure about your friendship with him anymore; he’s aware - and accepted - that you are there for him, to see him, and that he really can just ask for your time and have you willingly show up. So he’s created this little, private sleepover just to hang out with you. That shows a heck of a lot of improvement in his confidence with you and the strength of your friendship (or relationship, depending).
It also just shows the sheer excitement he has towards it. He’s anticipating the moment you arrive with such ferver that he’s been actively waiting for you. I’ll go over this a little more beneath another screenshot, but this really does highlight A) just how much it means to him that you’re coming over for a hangout and nothing more, and B) how rarely this happens for him that it’s an event worth waiting for. 
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This is, mostly, just exceedingly cute, in my eyes. 
Firstly, the onesies are canonically a gift from Diavolo due to his enthusiasm for the concept of sleepovers and his enjoyment at having everyone wear one (which he believes makes it feel like a festivity). He’s so into the idea of everyone doing something together that, even if they aren’t specifically there with him, he’s had these outfits made for the beings he considers friends to unify them in fun and merriment. 
These are things he’s never been able to do before. With his isolated and sheltered childhood, the experience of sleepovers with friends - something more than normal for most (if not all) of us - would have been something he completely missed out on due to the impossibility. He couldn’t get anyone close enough to him to even make friends, let alone have them spend the night with him playing games and having fun. 
So, this act of making onesies and sending them out? This is probably his own way of replicating that experience. He’s aware that a lot of the demons - and possibly the angels - won’t be too enthused with the events he has planned, and might begrudge even showing up. Doing this instead - letting them have their own sleepovers but with his gift - is like giving them that freedom and distance from him while still being involved. 
It also shows the sort of relationship he wants to have with them. Yes, he canonically needs to send everyone an outfit since that’s how outfits in these events work - but the devs could have just as easily come up with some other reason for them all having onesies. Considering the main event, it could’ve literally just been “these are outfits forced on them as part of the curse, and are retained afterwards as a reminder of the experience”. 
To state, then, that Diavolo had these made for everyone - and combined with another screenshot I’ll show later, where Diavolo announces that he believes onesies to be part of the sleepover experience - shows that he wants the other main characters to be the kind of friends comfortable and happy enough in his company to willingly spend extended time with him. 
(It also shows, I think, that they’re the friends he always hoped for as a child. You often find that people who were isolated as children or forced to grow up too quickly try to recreate moments they never got to experience in their childhood once they’re adults. I fully believe Diavolo is doing this. He’s always doing this; it’s why he can be so immature at times. He wasn’t allowed to be a normal kid, so he’s being a big kid now to make up for lost time. It’s why it’s so important to him that he does this sort of thing with others.)
Secondly, I love the wording of the second screenshot: “I’ve had yours specially tailored”. 
This is a way around not showing MC with a onesie, and allowing all of us to create our own, sure. However, it’s also Diavolo openly admitting that he’s put extra work (and no doubt time and money) into having MC’s outfit created. After all, it’s not likely due to us being human; Solomon’s a human too, and he got his onesie without issue (Simeon explains that Purgatory Hall get theirs at the same time in his SSR Devilgram, Purgatory’s Pajama Party).
The implication? Diavolo didn’t just want to give us a onesie; he wanted to give us the perfect onesie. 
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Do you recall that I said I’d come back to Diavolo’s waiting later? This is why. (Please excuse the shoddy editing to remove my own MC’s name-)
This exchange says so much about Diavolo’s relationship with you. Not only is he anticipating your arrival, he’s anticipating it with such unrestrained glee that he - the Prince of the Devildom; most powerful demon in his entire kingdom - ignored typical royal protocol and sat down in front of the castle entrance, impatiently waiting for your arrival, so he could be the first person you saw as you entered. 
The way he words it, you can imagine him bubbling with excitement, eyes constantly flickering over to the clock, shifting in his seat until the need to pace drew him to his feet, counting down the minutes until your scheduled arrival. Then, maybe fifteen minutes early - or thirty, or an hour - he can’t contain himself anymore. The sheer excitement - the knowledge that you’ll be there soon, there of your own free will, there to spend time with him - finally gets the better of him, and he sneaks away to stand before the grand front doors, eagerly awaiting the moment they open to reveal your much-loved form. 
I’d definitely say it was a substantial amount of time, too. Fifteen minutes at the least, and maybe an hour at the most; Barbatos seems genuinely shocked, and the fact he says “all this time” implies Diavolo’s been guarding the door for a while. Longer than any reasonable demon - let alone a royal one - should have been. 
This childish excitement really does show just how much of that lost youth Diavolo is getting back through MC. You let him experience things he never got to; things that were utterly normal for everyone else. He gets to replace those memories of loneliness and isolation with these moments of exhilaration and unrepentant joy - all because you treat him like someone normal. Someone worthy of care.   
Additionally, the extent to his feelings towards you? Fully encompassed in that screenshot: “For [MC], no amount of time is too long.”
He cares about you and enjoys your company to such a degree, he’ll wait however long it takes just to see you. Every moment spent counting the minutes and seconds is worth it if, at the end, he gets to spend time with you. You - the one being he’s fully confident enjoys his presence as much as he enjoys yours - mean so much to him, you’re fully capable of making the Prince of the Devildom wait for hours, and he’ll be perfectly content to just sit there until you arrive.
What other being in all the Three Realms can claim the same thing? That they made the Prince wait for their arrival, and rather than be met with annoyance and disregard, they walked in to a veritable man-puppy so overwhelmingly enthused to see them he had to be scolded by his butler for breaking protocol?
The best part, of course, is Barbatos’ response. He sounds so resigned, so disbelieving; like a mother sighing over their child’s ridiculous behaviour. 
This isn’t the first time Diavolo’s done something like this. This isn’t the first time Barbatos has had to reprimand Diavolo for acting in an un-princely manner over you. It’s something we’ve seen before, of course - in the aforementioned Concealed in Colour Devilgram, Barbatos teases Diavolo for constantly inviting MC over just to see you - but in this instance? When it’s not just Diavolo making up some scheme to lure you to the castle? It implies something else.
Firstly, it implies Diavolo’s behaviour regarding you is completely different to his behaviour regarding anyone else. That sort of childish, gleeful, almost puppyish excitement? The enthusiasm that makes him lose his poise and authority, and drives him to do such expressive things as wait to greet you at the front door? That’s very likely reserved only for you. It’s only you that he so wholly loses his shit over, to be absolutely blunt about it. It’s only you he feels so strongly for as to make such a bold declaration over. 
Secondly, though? It implies this sort of... length, I think, is the best way to word it; the lengths Diavolo will go for you, even in really small, insignificant ways. “Whenever anything concerns [you] in the slightest”, Diavolo will forego all set boundries and standards. That feeling of resignation is Barbatos chastising Diavolo’s utter willingness to do... pretty much anything for you. 
He’s just so excited that you’re there, he overreacts. From the tone, the sprite, and the wording used, I could fully imagine that, when it comes to you, Diavolo isn’t above diving out windows just to keep good on a promise. He isn’t above going the extra mile for your sake, whether asked for or not. 
And though it’s done in a humorous way here - really just implying that Barbatos is a bit done with Diavolo’s sillier antics when it comes to you - it does make me wonder just how far that goes. It’s when anything concerns you “in the slightest”. Not just directly, but anything that has you in it even tangentially. 
How much has Diavolo done, or planned, or changed, solely because it might have a glancing side-effect that makes you smile? How many times has Barbatos had to mention your name in something to get Diavolo to take an active interest in it? How many times has, “I believe MC would benefit from this...” actually worked to get Diavolo to consider a proposed deal? 
More than that, however; if these are the lengths Diavolo goes to when you’re only slightly involved... what lengths would he go to if you’re more directly involved? What lengths would he go to if your involvement was something dangerous? Something that could have a rippling effect across the Three Realms?
You’re the only true friend Diavolo really has. He’s admitted before, more than once - both in the main game and in Devilgrams - that he’s aware both Lucifer and Barbatos don’t consider him as much of a friend as he considers them, and although we know of someone like Queen Rose, we don’t actually know the full extent of their friendship. Certainly not all too close, if the Dame event was anything to go by; it still felt stiff and formal, and Diavolo was still putting on airs. 
You’re the only friend he can really let loose with; can laugh and play and spend time with, without having to do so through a veneer of formality. 
He can be himself around you. Not the Prince, but Diavolo.
How far would Diavolo go to preserve the only friend he’s ever had?
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This post is the longest one of the lot, so if you made it this far - thank you! Hopefully it’s been an enjoyable and easy read. 
The next set of screenshots are a bit more clear and don’t require so much in-depth thinking, but still provide plenty food for thought regarding Diavolo and his relationship with MC. They also go into content that you have to use Story Keys to unlock, so if you’re unwilling to see spoilers, you’ll have to end your reading here.
That said, if you’ve already unlocked the Devilgram (or are curious about what happens next/how much we learn about Diavolo in the next chapter), you can hop right over to part 2!
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unstoppableforcce · 4 years ago
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beer pong
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—trivia night universe (3)
pairing: Santiago “Pope” Garcia x bartender!reader
part 2 | next part | masterlist
a/n: I really enjoyed writing this moment between the two of them so I hope you enjoy the mix of fun and somewhat serious! there’s no smut in this part but the next idea I have for them is smut related, and if yall have any ideas, feel free to let me know! I love these guys !!
“Now, do you want to do this or do you want to fuck around?”
Santiago Garcia had never been more in love with another person than he had been in that moment. 
He had been dancing around the idea for about a week or two now, but never had such a foreign concept been so clearly illustrated to him before. It caught him every so often, for brief seconds or sometimes minutes, but it didn’t stop him in his tracks until now. 
There had been the morning that you insisted on going with him to the grocery store because he never bought the right kind of apples and danced around him in line humming whatever song had been on the radio while the two of you were in his car. There had been the day that you texted him asking him what his favorite color was then showed up later that night with your nails painted that color. There had been some smaller moments too. When you asked him to put your necklace on for you, when you came up behind him in the kitchen and trailed kisses across his shoulders, when your perfume lingered in his bathroom long after you left for work...
The thought had a firmly secured spot in his mind, but it took you standing across the table from him with a raised brow, quirked hip, and ping pong ball in hand and repeated the question, he knew for sure. 
He was head over heels, breath knocked from his chest, absolutely and indiscriminately in love with you. 
And he was going to kick your ass at beer pong at the same time. 
Frankie couldn’t help but laugh as he walked towards the table and handed Pope a fresh beer. He didn’t say anything aloud, but he could read it on his face. He was smug and Fish only got smug when he was seeing right through him, and just as Santi was sure that he was in love with you, he was also sure that Frankie could see that on his face. 
He caught the ping pong ball you threw at his head and rolled his eyes, “Honey, you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”
“I don’t know, you talk a lot of shit Pope, but this is kind of my realm of expertise.” You smirked back, bringing your beer to your lips as Benny joined you by your side with another beer. 
To think you had been so nervous about meeting the guys officially for the first time. He’d told you over an over again that you had nothing to worry about but it wasn’t until the two of you actually arrived at Will’s house and you truly met them. You fell easily into pace alongside them, bouncing back and forth with them like you had known them for years. It was everything Pope knew it would be, and maybe that made him love you a little bit more. 
“Ok, house rules here. Nothing too crazy.” Benny warned carefully as he waved his hands over the table as if he were blessing the triangular assortments of red solo cups. “And normally I’d argue the lady gets to go first but it looks like we’ve got an honest-to-god face off ready here so...”
“Damn straight.” You easily replied, holding the ball up as Santi mirrored your movements. “Give me your eyes, baby.”
“You have them, honey.” 
Frankie and Benny both shared in a whistle, and as Will came outside with a beer of his own and a plate of snacks, he joined in as well. But your stare stayed locked with Santi’s as you both counted off and threw the balls across table to the respective cups. 
Yours sank easily while his swirled around the edge of the corner cup and rolled out, leading to the first round of cheers shared between you and Benny. 
Fish landed a heavy hand on his shoulder and blew out another breath, “this is going to be fun.”
And that was exactly what it was, an extension of what it had been for the first hour of the night, an easy flow of fun times. At least until you guys came down to two cups left on each side. 
“Oh the pressure is building.” Benny mocked as he lowered himself to his knees to put his face behind the cups to distract Frankie as he faked a few tosses before finally throwing and missing by nearly a mile. “Oh! The pressure has claimed another victim.”
“Shut up Benny—” Fish fought but the two of you were laughing too hard as you bent over to grab the ball from the grass. “They are a dangerous duo—“
“You’re telling me.” Santi chuckled, lining up his shot as both you and Benny began to dance behind the cups to distract him. It almost worked too, but at the last second, he found his focus and his skill and nailed the water in the cup effortlessly. “There it is!”
He slammed his hand against Frankie’s in the most intense high five that they had maybe ever shared while you and Benny threw your hands up, exasperated as the cups in front of you now totaled 2-1, not in your favor. 
Passing your ball to Benny, you fished the other ball from the water, dumped the water out, and stacked the cup all before reaching for your own beer and taking a hefty swig. This was it. If there was ever a moment when you needed to call upon the skills you probably should have left behind in college, this was it.
“After you,” Benny gestured with another wave of his arm as you sat your drink down and you gave him a quick reciprocated nod. 
Santi and Frankie began a similar dance to the one that you and Benny had managed, pulling the edges of your straight-lined focused mouth up at the corners even as you fought it. And when Will laughed, the whole group was dancing and laughing, and you couldn’t keep a straight face but you were determined to keep your shot straight. 
“We don’t have all night honey—”
“I’m focusing—”
“Focus faster—”
“Shut your pretty mouth—”
“We’re waiting—”
The toss was perfect, landing in the cup with a satisfying splash and an echoing cheer taking over the rest of the group. “Worth the wait, baby?”
He pulled the ball out with a smile he couldn’t keep down. He tried to smother it with his drink as he flicked the water off the ball but it was no use, the smile was there. The smile was there and it was contagious to the three other men who considered themselves his closest and only friends. 
It was good to see him this happy. Overwhelmingly good to see him this overwhelmingly happy. How could it not make them equally as happy?
Though, Fish wasn’t happy to see his chances to win slipping through his finger tips. 
“Let’s see what you got, Benny.”
“Let’s go.”
“You got this.” 
He turned to you and gave you a solid fist bump, something that had slowly became your ritual the more the two of you played. Then he turned back towards the table and tossed without a practice windup or any hesitation. 
It bounced on the rim. 
Both you and him leaned with it. 
It bounced in. 
The shouting must have annoyed the shit out of Will’s neighbors but none of the five of you seemed to care. You all just burst out in obnoxious cheering, Benny wrapped you up in a quick hug, twirling you around before the two of you descended into laughter, relishing in your victory even more when you saw both Frankie and Santi throw their hands up. 
“Good game,” Frankie easily conceded but Santi just shook his head, reaching for his beer. 
“Great game,” you countered with a fully body chuckle as you grabbed your own drink and walked around the table to wrap your arm around Santi’s waist and steal a quick kiss from his lips. But as he tried to hide his smile still, you quickly broke through when you said, “do I taste like a winner?”
That not only broke his smile from him, but a full body laughter of his own as well as he shook his head and pulled back from you. “You’re breaking my heart, honey.”
“You knew what you were getting yourself into.”
“Nah, I’m calling for a rematch,” he said, turning back to the group and repeating himself, “A rematch, and we’re going to get Will in on this one.”
“He can’t accept a fair, honest game—” Benny shouted as you raised your bottle in agreement. 
“I want a rematch—”
“Sore loser.” You mocked, but another game happened anyways. 
Though, this time, there was much less structure to it. Benny was blowing balls out of the cups as they swirled, Santi was smacking away bounces without second thought, and even Frankie was leaning in from the sidelines to get in the way of shots. But it was fun. More fun than you could remember having in a long time. 
The night calmed down after that; not as high energy but equally as fun once you all moved back inside. 
Benny had a few questions about mixing drinks which ultimately moved all of you into the kitchen with half of Will’s liquor cabinet and refrigerator out on the counter. It was mindless fun for you and they all seemed to be having a good time, but it also meant that by the time you all decided it was a good time to go, you were very, very drunk. 
With your fingers intertwined, the two of you said your goodbyes and walked back out into the nighttime chill, swaying your linked arms between the two of you as you walked down the driveway to where Santi was parked on the street. And again, as you giggled, tripping over yourself slightly, he was reminded again of the fact that was becoming a more and more common fact of life for him. 
He loved you. He was in love with you. He adored every bit of you and, the two of you hadn’t been together for long, but he was sure of it. 
It wasn’t a familiar feeling for him, it wasn’t something he was anyway comfortable with admitting if he was going to be honest, but he was almost a hundred percent positive. 
He loved you. He was in love with you. And he was sure of it. 
“Why so quiet?” You hummed, swinging your linked hands back and forth with more force to attempt to snap him out of his own head as they two of you made it to the curb next to his jeep. 
“I’m not quiet.” He attempted to counter but as he stopped walking and turned to you, he could see the disbelief plainly on your face. 
“You sure you’re okay to drive? I can call a lyft—”
“I’m fine to drive, honey, I had maybe three beers since dinner—”
“Then why so quiet?” You fought, with maybe a bit more drunken determination than you typically had as you tugged on his hand more. “Come on, I thought tonight went well—”
“Tonight went so well, I had an amazing time—”
“Then what’s wrong?”
You sounded sad, he didn’t want you to be sad, there was literally no reason in the whole universe for you to be sad and he hated that you thought that something was wrong but... but he couldn’t get the words out. 
It wasn’t like he hadn’t said them before, it was just that he had really never felt comfortable saying them. The few relationships he had where he did say it, they ended shortly after the three little words left his lips, and the last thing he wanted was for that to be the case here. You were the best thing that had ever happened to him and if he went too fast... if he said it before you were ready for it and he messed everything up...
He didn’t want to ruin this. He was terrified, and by the looks of it, so were you and that was his fault. 
Keeping his mouth shut was going to ruin it, telling you was going to ruin it...
“Nothing’s wrong, honey, I swear.” He said easily but as he pulled his keys from his pocket and tried to turn to the door, you kept your hold on his hand and kept him where he stood. 
“Did I do something wrong tonight?”
This was so far from fair to you. You were drunk and he was being evasive, giving you every reason to worry while he was trying to get you not to worry. 
How could a night where everything had gone right so far go south so fast?
If he could just open his goddamn mouth—
“Santi, I don’t understand—” You dropped his hand, bringing both of yours together in front of you, wringing them over each other as his silence held...
And he just couldn’t take it anymore. 
“I love you.”
He swore his heart was going to beat out of his chest, his stomach was filled with nerves he hadn’t felt in years and watching your face was doing nothing to calm him down. Half your face was cast in shadow from the street lights that lined the road, and as his eyes scanned over every inch of you, he still didn’t find anything to go off of in terms of your reaction. You held his stare with the same sad look you had been wearing before he said anything. 
What did that mean?
Was it too early? It had only been a few months, so he couldn’t blame you if you didn’t feel the same especially given how long it took him to open up to you about the littlest of things. He didn’t even know how long he was supposed to wait, was there some sort of timeline that healthy minded adults followed that he was just never told about?
Did he just ruin things? Was he moving too fast—
“Really?”
Really?
What did that mean? Did that mean that he said it too early and you didn’t believe him? Did that mean that you didn’t feel the same? Did that mean he just caught your off guard or did you wish he hadn’t said it? 
He could see what felt like a thousand emotions playing across your face and he didn’t know which meant what—
You lips cut him off before he got too deep into his thoughts. And it wasn’t just the surprise of your lips on his, it was the pure force you put behind it. 
He stumbled back into the side of his truck, catching you with his body as you pressed every inch of yourself into him. Your hands pulled at the sides of his face, tugging on his ears to get yourself even closer as he wrapped his arms around your waist and towards your back, holding you as close as you were holding him as his lips reciprocated the heavy kiss. 
There wasn’t a thought in his mind anymore that wasn’t you. Your intoxicated feet even stepped on his in your overwhelming eagerness, solidly holding every single part of you that you could against him. 
He wasn’t sure what it meant, but there was no way it could be bad news anymore, that he was sure of as your tongue pushed into his mouth and your hands trailed up to his hair, tugging with much more intensity than he was used to. 
But even then, he had to pull back to catch his breath and it was worth checking in with you as he did. With his forehead pressed to yours, his arms cradled around your back, he opened his eyes and found yours waiting there for him. “So...”
Your face twisted into an adorable intoxicated confusion, “So?”
“I just told you I loved you and you kissed me and I don’t know--”
You stole another kiss off his lips easily. “Are you kidding me?”
Was he supposed to know what that meant? Did he know what it meant and his brain just wouldn’t let him think it or was he just too hesitant? How could you kiss him with that kind of passion and still leave him so confused--
“No, I’m not—”
“Santi, I’m so in love with you...” 
Blowing out a breath of relief, he shook his head and pulled your face back towards his, reconnecting your lips and swinging you around to press you into the side of the car while you giggled against his lips. But then he pulled back again, leaving you chasing his lips. 
“What—”
“I have to drive home eventually, we can’t just have sex in Will’s driveway...” He laughed out, bringing his hand to your bare neck and the gold necklace that laid there and tracing it lightly with his calloused fingertips. 
“Why not?” You chuckled back, nudging your nose into his as his laughter melted together with yours, as hot as the sun despite the gentle chill of the night that surrounded the two of you. 
“Because I know he has security cameras and I have a very comfortable bed at home...” He countered, taking his keys back into his hand, unlocking the car, and opening the passenger door for you. 
“Fair point...” 
As he led you into your seat, he moved to turn away but you caught him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him back in for one last kiss. 
One last kiss he couldn’t pull away from. 
He didn’t know what was different about it from all the others, he definitely didn’t know why it stood out from the kissing session that had just concluded, but he knew that he could feel it was different. And you felt it too, because you lingered the same way, leaning out of the car to hold onto him, still by the collar. 
“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me...” He sighed out against your lips, the words falling much easier now than they had around the three little words. 
He didn’t know if it was just the words of ‘I love you’ or just his own fears or his comfort now... He didn’t know what it was, but the words fell like dripping honey from his lips. 
“I don’t know, you’ve got three pretty good things in the form of your best friends who we just left inside and—”
“And they’re the best and I’d put my life on the line for them, I have before, but I’m not in love with any of them.” He continued easily, stealing one last kiss before shutting the passenger door and walking around to the driver’s side with a smirk he was never going to lose. 
Not as long as he was with you. 
And he was hoping that was going to be for as long as he lived. 
He got back into the car next to you and found you staring at him wide-eyed and surprised but his smirk didn’t leave his lips and he easily started the car. 
“Santi—”
“Now that I’ve said it, I’m going to be saying it all the time, I just want you to know that.”
Your slightly drunken brain had cleared up enough to leave you happy and sober. Your head finally caught with you and a smirk the same size as his grew on your lips. “Good.”
“It might even get annoying—”
“Do you worst.”
Yeah. He loved you. 
--
tags: (these are tags from teh first part, let me know if you’d like to be added or removed) @mandoplease​ @spider-starry​ @shakespeareanwannabe​ @mylifeliterally​ @this-cat-is-dea​ @woakiees​ @imananxiousdriver​
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serpentinesarang · 4 years ago
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falling for you
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pairing: baekhyun (byun baekhyun) x fem reader | part 2
genre: non-idol!au, angel!baekhyun, fluff, slow burn, split-perspective, first- and second-person writing styles, LOTS of plot buildup and dialogue, mild smut mixed in, part of a series
word count: 3831
content warnings: alcohol, swearing, theme of angels, virgin reader, strong theme of voyeurism, reader has gender-neutral best friend, vibrator masturbation
summary: baekhyun, your guardian angel watching over since the day you were conceived, has fallen in love with you and can’t bear to just watch you anymore. he needs so much more.
a/n: partly inspired by the teen romance-fantasy series hush, hush by becca fitzpatrick. #17 on my prompt list ♡
korean key:
⦿ none this time
♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤
You
It’s your 21st birthday, and a beautiful, late-spring day awaits you. You turn off your alarm, roll out of bed, and drag yourself to the bathroom for a much-needed shower. 
Once you flick on the vanity lights above the sink, you stop in your tracks. You know what... today’s my big day. I’m gonna do shit MY way today, you think while eyeing yourself in the mirror.
You exit the bathroom for a moment and retrieve the unopened bottle of Fireball [American cinnamon whiskey] atop your dresser. Your dad had sent you the bottle along with your favorite brand of chocolate and a sweet card, and you’d accidentally received the package one day early (oh well!). Unscrewing the cap, you take a hearty gulp and wince at the delicious burning sensation in your chest.
“Fuck yeah,” you grumble aloud as you replace the bottle and amble back to the bathroom.
You turn the knobs of your glass-encased shower and strip off your pajamas while the water heats up.
Baekhyun
Good gracious. I will never tire of her waking up and taking morning showers. She looks the most ethereal after she sleeps and the most serene with water cascading down every bit of her curvaceous body. The way her nipples grow erect from the pressure of the water and the occasional chills when she reaches out to change the background music playing... her hair slicked back, drawing all my attention to her stunning face... 
My darling human has at last become what they call an adult. She is now able to legally enjoy spirits and be merry with friends. 
I remember the moment she was conceived and I was assigned as her guardian. I made sure her mother was never in harm’s way during her pregnancy with my darling, and ever since then, she has been my reason for existence. No other human soul before her had ever latched itself so deeply into my being, and I can’t stand the distance anymore.
I sit on her long bathroom counter with my wings comforting my back against the wall and my legs hitched upward, just watching her wake up to another day. The glass walls of the shower have fogged up, but I can easily discern her silhouette swaying side-to-side with the music. She seems to be in an unusually happy mood today, and I plan to make her even happier tonight.
You
You step out and dry yourself off, twisting your hair into a towel turban. You tiptoe in front of the mirror and wipe off the condensation with your forearm. Just then, your cell phone on the counter launches into a FaceTime call, the screen showing your best friend’s name.
Accepting the call audio-only, you greet them cheerily, “Good morning, sexy bitch!”
They chuckle. “Show me your face, coward! I wanna see what my 21-year-old best friend looks like on her birthday!”
You dramatically sigh and oblige your friend, keeping your phone facing the ceiling as you tap your camera on. You tower over the screen at a comical angle that only shows your towel-wrapped head and exposed neck. “Here she is!”
“A knockout as always. I hope you know that,” they reply.
Smiling, you ask, “What’s up?”
“We still good to go out to Fire & Ice tonight? I’m not gonna let you leave until you’re so sloshed that I have to carry you out!”
You laugh at your friend’s excitement. “Yes, I took the whole weekend off, so let the debauchery begin, my friend.”
You talk about your club plans a little more before your friend goes on a long diatribe about their evil stepmother—not really fresh territory at this point. So you carry your phone around while you dress in jeans and a college t-shirt, eventually returning to the bathroom for a quick round of makeup.
Your bestie is still regaling you with their convoluted family drama when you feel yourself zoning out into the mirror. It’s as if all other noises around you have slowly faded away, and the only thing you hear is a voice, seemingly right next to you, whispering with a velvety softness, “You’re beautiful as you are.”
Mesmerized by the voice, you unconsciously sigh out of deep contentedness, and your friend asks if you’re still keeping up. You assure them all is well, except for the fact that you’ve been hearing a comforting voice for the past three years now.
A voice you obey by only putting on mascara.
Baekhyun
I’ve been speaking to her since she turned 18. I always wanted her to know she’s never truly alone, but the problem with my method is that she never fully processes me. She’s always so captivated when I speak to her that it never occurs to her something extraordinary—someone extraordinary—is connecting with her, guiding her, encouraging her. And it doesn’t help that I can’t read her thoughts or impede her free will by planting thoughts. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the wide-looked look of bliss that overcomes her every time she hears me.
She goes about her morning as she usually does on the weekends: sitting on her balcony with a plate of toast, a cup of coffee, and whichever book she borrowed from the public library. This time, it’s Dante’s Divine Comedy. 
I love the irony.
You
Two hours of reading pass before you grow restless and retreat back to your room. Flopping in bed, you let your mind wander. You’ve been single for as long as you can remember, and you’ve taken a liking to the clearly male voice you hear every once in a while. If you’re honest with yourself, you’re scared deep down of the reality of such a circumstance, but because the voice has always cared about you, what’s the harm in believing in it?
Remember, you tell yourself, it’s all about you today.
Without any more hesitation, you yank open the drawer of your nightstand and pull out a black wand vibrator. You may be a virgin, but you’re not an idiot who doesn’t know what pleasure is.
Wiggling out of your panties and jeans, you throw them to the floor and spread your legs across the mattress as comfortably as possible.
“Come back to me,” you whisper almost inaudibly.
Baekhyun
Absolutely nothing else on this planet makes me happier than watching my darling pleasure herself. She obtained that vibrating device last year as a gift from her friend, and ever since she discovered this realm of physical pleasure, I’ve fallen harder and faster for her. The salacious things I’ve watched her do to herself, the phenomenal sounds she emits, the positions she lazes into, the glistening of that little slice of heaven on her body... It drives me mad that I have no senses of smell, taste, and touch because I want to experience what she does. And with her.
Today is different. She’s never spoken aloud like that, and the yearning in her voice makes me believe it’s for me.
I rest on my stomach with my chin atop my hands, peering at the slit between her supple legs and how it’s slowly begun to flood as she drags the device up and down, stopping to rub slow circles at the very top. I don’t hear the thing humming, so she must be preparing herself.
She has one arm bent behind her head, her neck angled to watch herself move the device. Her mouth is ajar, and the rising of her chest fascinates me because it falls in tune with the device.
Then she pushes a button, and I hear it buzzing lowly. Not a millisecond later does her breath catch as her hips dig downward, and she closes her eyes. She holds the black thing at the top, over the little mountain of bulbous, pink flesh.
You
Whoever he is, you wish he’d speak to you now as you press the wand against your hardened clit. It’s only set to level one, but you feel your orgasm beginning to build up.
So beautiful like this, you imagine him saying. Keep going. I’m right here, and you’re driving me crazy...
You let out a breathy moan as you activate the wand’s level two vibration intensity, and your thighs shake uncontrollably at the heightened pleasure.
Shake for me, beautiful. Take me to your heaven, your imagination continues. It’s right then, though, that his voice sounds beside your ear for real in a soft tone: Yes, darling, you did it.
After hearing this voice long enough to be able to conjure it in your mind with any array of sinful words, today is the first time it brings you to a time-stopping orgasm.
Baekhyun
Out of nowhere, her hips fly off the bed and surge in random, up and down motions, and I watch the small opening of her slit pulsate in time with her hips as it erupts with a lovely, transluscent essence. I wish I could feel her arousal on my fingertips instead of just watching.
Her voice comes out in broken utterances and ragged moans: “UH-uh-huhhh-ugghhhh... ffffff-UH-uh-uuuck.”
The vibration ceases, and she tosses the device beside her with a heavy exhale, evidently spent. Her legs are still spread, and I can’t help but inch myself closer to observe the way her soaked flesh speaks to me in its language of spontaneous throbbing.
You
The rest of the day passes you by. After you came, you made lunch, went to the gym for a workout, went to the DMV to change your driver’s license, came home and read some more, answered a few work emails, perused social media, ate dinner, and even watched a movie. A typical Saturday for you, nothing particularly special by any means. The real fun would be at 9 PM when your bestie promised to pick you up.
...
You glance at the time on your phone: 8:56 PM. Perfect, a few more minutes to double-check everything.
Phone case on a crossbody chain with your new license and credit card stored inside? Check. House key attached to the chain on a carabiner clip? Check. Hair flat-ironed with minimal frizz and ultimate shine? Check. Makeup? Eh, all you did was pat on some cheekbone highlighter. Check. Outfit? Sleeveless, burgundy top with an open, laced up backside, faux leather miniskirt, and basic black Converse for comfort. Check.
You smile at yourself in the full-body mirror in your apartment’s foyer. “Effortless.”
Yes, the voice agrees.
...
It’s just after 9:15 when you arrive at the Fire & Ice club downtown. The bouncers stamp both of your left hands with purple stars for the bartenders to serve you the goods before you’re pushed along with the crowd further into the expansive club. 
Lights of every color strobe all over with red-tinged string lights on the perimeter of the whole place, and a massive blue-tinged spotlight on the DJ and his setup. The dancefloor in the middle is decently crowded with people around your age, a few 40-something couples sticking out adorably. 
“No chasers for you, missy,” your friend reminds you with glittering eyes and a loving squeeze on your upper arm.
You nod, feeling thrilled to be out on the town for once. You raise your index finger to the ceiling with a victory screech: “To the bar!”
Over an hour later, the overhead lights go out, the DJ’s spotlight turns red, and the entire bar gets lit up from the see-through floor with bright, pale-blue lights. Even though you’re definitely tipsy now, you finally notice the mirrored wall panels surrounding the club, and all the spotlights bouncing off of them combined with the bar’s own futuristic lighting makes you realize how truly fire and ice this place is.
Not surprisingly, your friend had slid into their drunk phase a little faster than you, and they’d disappared somewhere with a girl they’d met at the bar. They’d sent you a text 20 minutes ago reading, “Met a spicy lil thang at the bar. I’ll find u later! Keep ordering!!!”
Were you bothered? Nah, you really weren’t. This has happened a few times before elsewhere, and you were still intent on enjoying this day your way, even if that meant dancing like an idiot by yourself.
Were you wondering where the voice was? Yes. He hadn’t spoken to you since you got picked up.
Gulping down the rest of your Captain and Coke, you return the glass to the bar and catch somebody to order a Vegas Bomb shot. Feeling yourself finally dipping into your drunk mode, you down the shot with ease, not so much as wincing at the burn of the alcohol before heading straight back to the center of the dancefloor where a group of girls had left a pocket for you to slip in.
The DJ blends the ending of the current song with the beginning of a new one, “All That” by Emotional Oranges, and the vibes you get from this one are sensual. You’re in your own world of alcoholic delight, and you’re erotically body-rolling with yourself before you feel a pair of hands gently grasp your waist.
You feel the person press their chest against your shoulders, their breath icy cold beside your ear. “Effortless, my darling.”
Every fiber of your being comes to a screetching halt when you hear it. 
It’s him.  
You spin around—a little too quickly considering your current state—and brace your hands against his chest. He responds by wrapping his arms around your back. 
Looking back at you with big, almost black-colored eyes is a man with platinum blonde hair and ridiculously full lips. He’s wearing a white button-up shirt tucked into black pants, a look more fitting for a business-casual luncheon or something.
But who cares about the clothes when he has a face like that? With the most flawlessly radiant, olive skin and hands so warm on your exposed back that he feels like a personal heater?
You could feel the surrounding people’s presence melting away the longer you gazed at him, the more it dawned on you with a certainty you didn’t dare doubt that this was truly the voice you’d been hearing.
You blurt the words without any more hesitation: “Say ‘beautiful.’”
Unphased, he fulfills your request with a melodic purposefulness in his voice, keeping his eyes trained on yours.
With relief washing over you, you drop your jaw in a loud exhale. “It’s you!” You bring your hands up to cup his cheeks, desperate to etch his breathtaking face onto your brain.
“It’s me,” he answers with a sheepish smile, hugging your body tighter against his. He feels as firm as Michelangelo’s David sculpture.
Then you faint in his arms.
Baekhyun
I can’t tell if she fainted from the shock of finally meeting me or from her obvious imbibement. I was actually able to smell it on her warm breath, and if I knew what literally anything on Earth smelled like, I’d be able to describe it. 
I was more beside myself being able to finally touch her, though, to finally exist with her in the same dimension of reality. Her skin felt supremely smooth, and I could practically feel the love beaming from her face.
She knew it was me because she asked me to say beautiful, something I’d spoken to her earlier in the morning. She didn’t want to test me, but she also didn’t want to test her sanity or sobriety. 
I carried her home, glancing down at her with a kind of all-encompassing happiness I’d never felt before as an angel.
You
At last, you rouse from your fainting spell, and the first thing you see is your apartment ceiling. A dull headache is knocking at the back of your head, and thankfully the only light source is the lamp on your nightstand.
You look to your side and are reminded of the night’s events.
“I’m sorryyy,” you murmur, frowning cutely at the platinum-haired man lying beside you with his head propped up in his hand. He moves his free hand from your hip to your jaw, tenderly grasping it and swiping his thumb side to side. 
“Please don’t be,” he replies softly. “I’d do anything for you.”
You look at him for a moment, examining his features. “Do you know my name?”
He grins ear to ear, as if enjoying a private joke. “I think you know I do.”
Although you’d slept off the alcohol, you’re still a little lost. How do you explain meeting the man whose voice you’d heard in your head for three years?
You turn to face him, entwining your lower legs with his under the sheets. He seems almost caught off guard by the touch, but he quickly calms himself.
“I don’t know yours, though. Please help me,” you plead, and he picks up on your subtle allusion to the bigger picture, not just his name.
He sighs quietly, ceasing his thumb strokes and taking your hand in his. “I am—was the angel Baekhyun.” He pauses, gently squeezing your hand as he brings it to his white shirt. “I’ve watched over you for the past 21 years and nine months.” 
He pauses again, letting this sit with you. You take a moment to process before speaking. “Why hadn’t I heard your voice earlier?”
He nods once, taking in a breath. “I didn’t want to scare you in your younger years, nor did I want others to think you’d developed an imaginary friend. And for obvious reasons, you couldn’t see me before I fell.”
Before I fell.
The words run you over like a semi-truck, and Baekhyun sees it on your face. “Yes, darling, I fell to Earth.”
You furrow your brow, caught between confusion and wanting to cry. “Why?” you whisper.
“I broke the law,” he says before kissing your knuckles. “I fell in love with a human.”
You can’t help but stare at him, speechless.
“And I want you to know that every time you ever heard my voice,” he continues, “I was speaking to you and only you when I felt you needed me. Most angels deliberately avoid speaking to their humans and instead conjure some sort of earthly sign for them to stumble across. But I couldn’t do that with you. I watched you become such an incredibly strong, self-sufficient woman that I worried you’d never get anything in return from anyone. I wanted you to know you have never been alone.” 
Tears well in your eyes at Baekhyun’s sincerity, and you struggle to find any words to string together.
He kisses your hand again. “Before this, my only senses were hearing and seeing. I don’t think I can take my hands off you now.”
You burst into a toothy smile. “So that means you’ve watched me do literally everything...”
Baekhyun notices the streak of seduction coloring your eyes. Glancing toward your nightstand quickly, he says under his breath, “That thing drives you wild.”
You smirk, pulling your intertwined hands forward so you can kiss his knuckles this time. “Do you know how wild your voice has driven me? Still?”
“I kind of always suspected it,” he admits with a smirk. “Nevertheless, we are together, and I don’t know how to adequately express how deeply happy I am, much less how happy I want to make you.”
Moving your legs from his, you kick back the sheets. He’d left you both fully clothed, that gentleman. 
“What time is it?” you say as you twist around to check your phone. Your home screen reads just past 3 AM, and there’s even a new text from your bestie: “Glad u found someone!! Text me tomorrow and happy bday again <3″
You turn back to Baekhyun, propping yourself up on your elbow like him. “You texted my friend?”
He nods earnestly. “I’ve seen you do that enough times to understand the courtesy of letting them know.”
You smile in response, deciding to push his shoulder until he’s lying on his back and you’re straddling him. He responds by placing his warm hands on your hips.
You throw your hair to one side before leaning over him with an outstretched arm. “Baekhyun,” you whisper.
“Yes, my darling?” he hums, his eyes eagerly drinking you in.
“I want you.”
His eyes widen enough for you to notice, and he unknowingly digs his fingers into your sides.
“I’ve wanted you for so long,” he says above a whisper.
You lean back and unzip your miniskirt, then you tug at your top’s ribboning to undo it enough for you to pull it off. You take in a deep breath as Baekhyun feverishly assesses you, and your nipples grow hard at his unfettered attention.
“Haven’t you seen this enough?” you ask him softly.
He shakes his head. “Never enough. And now I can feel you, smell you, and taste you.”
You carefully stand above him and brace a hand against the wall as you yank the skirt off, one of his hands tenderly holding your ankle. You straddle him again and sit a little bit lower so you can unbutton his shirt, open his pants and pull out the ends of his shirt.
Spreading the shirt fully open, his chiseled torso knocks the breath out of you. You bring your hands to his abs but hesitate for a second.
“Please keep going,” he begs quietly. 
With his approval, you bring your hands down and gingerly run them over the indentations of his abs and the plains of his defined pecs. You trace your index finger from his chin over his Adam’s apple all the way down to his navel.
“Darling?”
“Yes, Baekhyun?”
“What am I feeling in my pelvis? Is something wrong with me?”
You look down and find his very human, very pink, very swollen erection poking out of his underwear. Taking his questions seriously, you answer him: “You have an erection, a boner. That means you’re turned on.”
“’Turned on?’”
“Aroused, excited, in the mood. This is how human men show it,” you reply, keeping your voice sincere. He deserves the truth as it is, not through jokes and teasing. “You’ll have to learn how to control it in public.”
He quickly infers your hidden meaning, nodding. “I trust you.”
Chuckling at his random admission, you say, “I trust you too. I’d like to help you with being a human as you have helped me.”
He beams at you. “I welcome your guidance wholeheartedly.”
You smile and spend the next minute removing your panties and the rest of his clothing.
Baekhyun, in your eyes, is literally the definition of perfection. Covered in bulging muscles and gleaming skin with an unusual heat that almost radiates off his body, you fell speechless again. 
You’re on all fours above him now, hovering your face above his. “You make a fine human, Baekhyun.”
“Thank you,” he smiles, his hands back on your hips.
“Stop me whenever,” you say firmly. He nods softly, patiently waiting for your move.
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hello-im-not-a-possum · 3 years ago
Text
26. Pipe
It wasn’t Wally’s firstborn son, Vincent, that took over his company, nor was it his middle child, Jonathan. Instead, it was his youngest daughter, Samantha, who took that knowledge working with pipes and put it to good use, although the repairwoman and plumber couldn’t imagine herself using a pipe like that before... (Set in the FIFE AU, RIGHT at the start, as in, as soon as the Ink’s Freeing everyone because it hasn’t been fed.)
Joey couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief when he heard the knock at his door and the muffled greeting from the other side.
“Franks’ Repair and Plumbing.” After a short pause, the voice on the other side spoke again. “..Anyone home?”
He took his cane and hobbled over to the door, opening it and jumping back in shock when he saw who was behind it.
In a lot of ways, the repairwoman was the spitting image of her late father; same black eyes, same nose, same eye shape, same skin tone, same lost tooth that was clearly gotten in a fight, ...Same hat; a newsboy cap that Wally wore when he didn’t want to ruin the baseball cap he liked with ink. In her case, it could’ve been the EXACT same hat as it looked very old and worn, and it was stained by ink before she even set foot in his apartment even though he doubted she worked with the stuff considering her job.
There were still clear differences keeping her from looking like a clone of the janitor he killed; like her jet black hair kept in a tight low bun and that she had a much more muscular physique, but the resemblance was still uncanny to him.
“You wanna stop gawkin’ an’ get your shit fixed or do ya wanna keep pissin’ your pants in shock, Gramps?”
Her nametag read ‘Sammy’ and her rudeness certainly reminded him of that musician.
“I… Well,” he cleared his throat “you just so happen to remind me of old friends of mine. And it took me off guard.”
“Uh huh. Let’s just cut to the point, you say you called me for a problem with a rare machine of yours?”
“Yes, it hasn’t been working for five days now and it’s been pumping... ...stuff through my plumbing!”
“A’right, can ya show me da machine?”
“Gladly.” He hobbled into the room where he normally kept it with the repairwoman following him and muttering something under her breath. “Here we are.”
“So dis here is the ink machine?” she circled around it and tapped it with her wrench here and there and muttered more things under her breath as she took a close look at it. “Eitha you should’ve called me in way sooner, or ya shoulda scrapped this hunk of junk and not even bothered in da first place.”
“Well, can you save it?”
“Hmm…” she popped her gum and shrugged. “I’m no miracle worker, but I can try. Don’t get your hopes up though, I’ve never seen anything like this before...”
Joey bit his lip, it was an expected response, but it wasn’t a good one. As Sammy continued to work on the machine, the former animator limped to the entrance to the Ink Demon’s realm, took a quick peek inside, and slammed it shut as he saw Henry speed towards him. He cursed under his breath as Henry started beating on the door.
“What da fuck is that noise?” Sammy called out from the ink machine’s room. “Sounds like someone tryin’ ta break a door down ta murdah ya!”
“I-it’s just the washing machine in the basement!” Joey tried to keep the door shut with all his weight pressed against it. “Remember how I said that the ink machine is messing with the plumbing?”
“Maybe I should go check dat out too then, one bad pipe tends to take the others down with it when you’re not careful...”
“N-no! I’m sure it will go back to normal if the Ink machine’s fixed…”
“I can’t do this with distractions goin’ on, I’ll just shut it off real quick an’ get back ta work on this.”
“I’m sure it’ll die down on it’s own soon! Don’t get up!”
Propping a chair up against the banging door, Joey speed-limped to his desk and drew like wildfire; the Ink Demon emerging out of the machine without Henry going to it first, the Demon breaking down the boards and stuff around it and going right towards Henry. He stopped holding his breath in anticipation when the thumping died down on the other side, the story waiting for him to properly restart it so he could tell it again.
For a few hours, he left his desk untouched as he counted down the seconds for her to hurry up and fix it and leave. The already long hours feeling like an eternity as the hurdle standing between him and his goals grew more and more infuriating with each and every single tick of the clock.
Luckily for him, it sounded like she was making progress, but she wasn’t doing it fast enough for his liking. Thankfully she was far too focused on the machine itself to notice it’s effects on the rest of the house.
Like the groaning swollen searcher oozing out of his bathtub tap, or his kitchen sink slowly filling up with ink with the stolen hearts of ink creatures floating and bobbing away in the messy sink. He swore that the TV turned on on it’s own and started playing “Tombstone Picnic”, but Sammy didn’t seen to notice in spite of the cartoon playing very loudly. Joey just silently prayed she’d get those damn pipes inside it fixed and get out.
“Okay, I think it’s fixed now.”
The phrase was music to the old man’s ears and as he walked in, he could in fact notice an improvement with the machine itself.
“Wanna give it a test whirl ta be sure?”
“I think I will later, thank you.” He staggered as he fished his wallet out of his bathrobe pocket. “I’ll call you if I notice anything out of the ordinary again.”
“So what’s it supposed ta do, anyway?”
“Oh it just makes... things...” Joey handed her a check. “Nothing too interesting...”
The Ink Machine on the floor sputtered to life on its own and spat out a large glob of ink, a long metal pipe, and a tape recorder that was slightly encased in the dark stuff.
“That’s supposed to happen.” Joey lied as he reached for the plug and pulled it out.
“Uh... okay..? Have a decent rest of your day then...”
As she turned to leave, the tape recorder on the ink clicked on on it’s own as well, and a very familiar voice came out of it.
“...Sam..an...tha..?” The speaker crackled in a voice that made her tear up as she heard it. “Sammy, is dat you?! It’s me, Dad! Dis ain’t a recording! I’m in da tape! I’M IN DA TAPE!”
Joey cursed under his breath as the repairwoman turned back in shock and heard a softness enter her voice that he didn’t know that the woman was capable of.
“...Daddy?”
She ran back and scooped up the tape recorder in spite of the old man trying to wrangle it away from her.
“Daddy, can you see me?!”
“Yes!” The Tape recorder let out a surprised, and relieved sounding laugh that seemed like it turned into crying. “I was startin’ ta worry dat I’d never see ya again!”
“I’m here, Daddy” She hugged the tape recorder tightly, the shock of just having her father back outweighed all of the supernatural happenings around her. “I’m here...”
“Othas are down here too! your Uncle Sammy, Norman, Tom, Susie, pretty much everyone who’s eva worked at da studio!”
“What?! How?! And why?!”
“It’s Joey! He’s made some kind of... pocket torture dimension!”
Knowing where this was going and knowing that he was far too weak and frail to take down the amazonian woman of a handywoman himself, Joey opened the Ink Demon’s door and prayed it would come out and attack her. In the meantime, he himself fled into the animated studio just in case.
“SAMMY! LOOK OUT!” The living tape recorder warned as inky tendrils webbed all over the living room. “RUN!”
Sammy grabbed the pipe out of the pile of ink and charged.
“NO! NOT AT DA INK DEMON! AWAY FROM- Huh??”
Wally paused as he saw Sammy shove the Ink Demon off to the side and proceed to run after Joey.
“Sorry Daddy.” She said as she paused to set him down on the table. “But I’m gonna need both hands ta beat down dat sorry son of a bitch.”
“Go get ‘im tiger! I’m rootin’ for ya!”
While her small detour and Joey using his knowledge of the layout to his advantage managed to get some distance between them, the pipe wielding Valkyrie with murder in her eyes was quickly closing in on him.
“THIS IS FOR WHAT YA DID TO DADDY!”
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maximumwrites · 3 years ago
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before i begin, i would just like to say THE IDEA FOR THIS STORY IS NOT MINE!!! I GOT THE MAIN IDEA FOR THE PLOTLINE FROM @aressss1 (if you would like for me to take this down, please dm, and i’d be glad to!)
now, let’s get into it!
summary; you go on a journey through the nether for the purpose of reaching a fortress, but in the end earn something more valuable then anything that may have been in the fortress.
The heat was excruciating. Sweat soaked through your clothes in the most uncomfortable way possible. The mugginest made it almost impossible for you to breathe had it not been for your avian lungs, specialized for high altitudes and heightened canine senses.
You wiped your brow once more letting out a sigh. How exactly did anything live in this hell hole of a realm? There were so many creatures that lived here similar to a hybrid like yourself, piglins, striders, ghasts….piglins.. Regardless, there were too many.
Living in the overworld as a hybrid must be a lot easier, you thought. Fellow humans to walk amongst, and half-family to learn from, while hybrids here in the Nether had to suffer with their animalistic brethren, leaving their human roots behind. In the overworld you learned how to read, how to write, how to locate your way home through the stars. But learning amongst your other roots, you learned what plants to eat, when meat is rotten. Different howls at night, and what they mean. And your avian routes, what winds are best for flight, meaning of clouds, and how to navigate the world through the heavens.
After hours of wandering, frequently checking your map of the fortress you bought, or more so bribed from local villagers, you took a break on a netherrack, double checking that it wasn't a magma rock that would leave you icing your butt for days. What to do, what to do… Opening up the small side bag you carried with you everywhere, you dug around for your canteen. Praise the lords there- it's empty. “Shit…” you muttered to yourself, already standing up and summoning obsidian from your inventory.
After 5 minutes of mumbling curses under your breath and struggling with your flint and steel, you finally managed to light the portal. Gingerly putting the tip of your wing through, watching it disappear was still such a weird concept to you.
This was your first Nether trip, alone that is. Raised out of pity by villagers when you were dumped in the town square, you would take frequent commissions in order to pay your rent. Some of which included venturing to the Nether, accompanied that is. This, however was your first time unaccompanied, deemed the right age to be on your own. Just thinking about it made you roll your eyes.
Fully stepping through the portal, you fell out, stomach a mess from the swirling particles. After taking a few seconds to ensure your lunch wasn’t lost to the violent swirling behind you, you took an assessment of the sweet smelling forest. That is, compared to the soot covered hell you just left.
You couldn't help but take a deep breath of the fresh oxygen, followed by smaller sniffs, testing the forest for any predators that may leap on you at any moment. The fur covering your tail and feather coated wings stood up to intimidate anyone; or anything nearby, but you sensed nothing. However, there was a sooty smell still lingering, which you shrugged off, blaming it on the residue from the sooty hell you had just left. Just thinking about it made you shiver, urging you to get far away from the portal, and search out fresh water.
Now, this is when your avian roots come in handy. Taking in a quick breath, you spurred your wings out and lifted off. The feeling was still foregin, the lightness in your lungs, and the weightlessness of your bones. Your human instincts screamed in your ears to get back on the ground, but as usual, you let the wind drown out their familiar cries. The air here was different from back home, you thought. Traveling in the Nether really is worth it. You can't help but chuckle and shake your head at these thoughts. Realizing nobody is around, you feel a sense of embarrassment, what a weirdo chuckling to yourself midair.
The air cooled down your skin, and removed the soot still clinging onto your sweat drenched clothes. Ensuring you didn't stray too far from the portal, you finally came across a small creek, running quick enough to get water without dangers of bacteria (something you learned from your fleet-footed furry friends.)
Scooping up water into your canteen and even more to drink at the present time, you sure did spend some time there, just resting. Maybe I should set up camp here… you slowly began to drift off, mind slowing down and muscles relaxing in the more familiar environment. But right as you finally closed your eyes, your ears twitched. Humming in response, too out of it to think straight, you merely rolled over, not even thinking of what may have caused it. Not until the crinkle of leaves just nearby, too loud to be a mere rodent. This time, you fully sat up, a low growl in the back of your throat, fur & feathers standing up on high ends. You scrambled to your feet, summoning your bow swiftly in one hand, and your dull yet much needed dagger in the other. Tucking the latter into your belt and the former notched with a poison arrow, your arms shuddered with nerves. Of course, you thought, the first time I'm on my own I get killed.
Breathing as softly as possible, you survey the area, sniffing to see if you can smell anyone nearby. Perhaps the dusty, sour scent of an enderman, or the rotting of a zombie's flesh. Instead, all you can smell is a faint whiff of that damn hellscape. You thought you lost the scent in your high speed flight, or even in the quick bath you took in the stream. Yet, it still lingered. This time, it had the faint scent of rotting, and the sickly sweet smell of gold.
Your brain, now fully awake, searched through all the possibilities. There's no way that any mob would have followed me, only humans and endermen can cross in between realms. And even if it was an enderman, it would still smell of the end- before your brain could continue its ramble, it was interrupted by yet another shuffle in the brush nearby. Followed by a soft; squeal? It sounded like a pig to a slaughter, only much softer and lower of pitch. Could it be a child? Maybe another human?
Shaking yourself out of your thoughts, you re-aimed your faintly shimmering bow, now towards the brush that seemed to be making noises. Slowly approaching, walking so softly that even your heightened senses couldn't hear your advances, you opted to use one hand and push away the brush.
What you found did nothing but leave you dazed and confused, unaware of what you were getting yourself into.
thank you for reading all the way through! i intend to post the next part within the next 2 days, as i already have it finished. if you have any tips for me, please feel free to share!
~max
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Text
So....
I finally got my Four Swords manga and read the entire thing in one sitting.
I have a few notes.
Red is a dumbass and I love him.
That whole hugging scene with Red and Blue came a little out of nowhere, but it was funny.
Red is an arsonist and I love him.
Green totally has the hots for Zelda.
I don't know why but Vio is my favorite.
Red is close in second though
Blue got fucking EATEN by the fucking Big Poe
And Red fucking saved him by being an arsonist
TWICE
Green is definitely the straight one, you can tell.
Shadow is dramatic as fuck
Vio is also dramatic as fuck
Shadow has a fucking DRAGON
Shadow literally destroyed Hyrule Castle and Castletown in a day. He's technically up there with Calamity Ganon
Shadow tricked Link into freeing Vaati!
My take was that Shadow was being heavily mistreated by Ganon and Vaati, which laid down some abuse subtext and....holy fuck that was sad. Maybe it's just 'cause my family was abusive that I got that read, but wow.
Shadow needs to be protected.
I love Shadow he needs to be given the good fucking things in life.
In the LU could he technically be brought back by one of Wild's blood moons? I read a fic about that. Does he count as a monster though? Then again, the blood moon enhances your cooking, so really I don't see why it can't give Shadow his physical form back.
Shadow deserves good things.
He just wanted attention and a family.
He killed himself to kill Vaati....I mean, I knew that before hand, but seeing it with my own two eyes....fuck
Shadow is a troll and I love him
He and Vio were just messing with Blue and Red lmao
Blue learned patience by being frozen in ice until Red decided to set him on fire, which, how long was that really? It was stated that they only left Vio alone for a day, so it must've only been a few hours. Must've felt like an eternity though.
I feel like Red and Blue were the main characters for most of the middle really.
I'm not complaining, their dynamic is hilarious and I love them
But I wanted to see Green and Vio interact with them more y'know.
I feel like Vio only really interacted with Shadow
And even then he was kinda lying the entire time.
Oh Hylia, Shadow's face when he realized Vio was going to smash the mirror.
That was just betrayal on so many levels
And he had just opened up about thinking Vio was the only one he could really trust.
After that I honestly feel it was dickish to just kill him.
And then he lives
Zelda is a top tier fucking Queen(tm)
She had no obligations to comfort someone who had kidnapped her and yelled at her
But she did and it was super sweet
THEN THE FUCKING SENTIENT CLOUD
I didn't know the clouds were sentient and honestly I'm still having a crisis over it
And in the beginning I thought Shadow just straight up killed Link's dad and I was like "oh damn okay this is darker than I expected"
But nope the fucker is still alive.
I feel like the knights of Hyrule were kind of a deus ex machina
And the final show down with Ganon was underwhelming
Vaati is a bitch
I think Red was the highlight of this story
And the fucking art style, because damn the expressions were funny
And I'm glad they implemented the subtle ways to tell them apart, like the textures of the tunics, the color of the shirt under the tunic(Green's is black) the light and dark eyebrows, and the eyes themselves.
Tingle was unexpected and I wanted him to go away like Green and Vio did
Honestly I still don't understand why people love Tingle, he annoys me.
Back to the actually good characters-THEY FUCKING LITERALLY TURNED A LITTLE GIRL INTO A DOLL
Her fucking doll(Rosie?) was creepy as fuck!
That trick was absolutely CREEPY AS FUCK
And I like how the four just wreck the bastard with toy weapons
And they keep them as real weapons when they leave
Like, how does that work lmao
Red set a fucking forest on fire
Red is an arsonist
Red is brilliant and I love him
Vio is an asshole and I love him
Just playing up how "Oh yeah Green is dead" and fucking messing with Red and Blue
I noticed Shadow is super touchy-feely with Vio and he's probably touch starved which makes sense.
Okay so Shadow wasn't dead, technically, is he still alive if all he can do is wave from Link's shadow and stuff?
It seems like a bad ending for Shadow.
In the LU, does this mean that Four just fucking stole the Four Sword and killed Vaati? Or did Zelda find some other way to seal him, 'cuz like, I'm pretty sure Four has the four sword in LU right????
So many plotholes but if this means I get more arsonist Red content, then I'm down.
Also, Shadow is gay af for Vio
Like, my gaydar was off the charts
YOU DON'T JUST GIVE A BRO THIS LOOK
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70. And, like, Vio, you JUST fucking killed Shadow, don't give me this shit
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71. This art is super gay, you can't deny that, they are literally fucking wrapped around each other
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72. And Shadow wanted to fucking rule the world WITH Vio, like, DAMN he's thirsty 73. If it were me, I'd still prefer ultimate authority 74. Just in case y'know 75. And Shadow was so ready to spill his secrets 76. And he was so fucking heartbroken when he saw Vio with the sledgehammer 77. Like fuck Vidow is definitely my top pairing. 78. And Green and Zelda, the token straights 79. And we can't forget Red and Blue 80. Like Red was hardcore flirting with Blue, you can't change my mind. 81. Zelda was so fucking confused when she saw that there were four Links, and it was cute and hilarious 82. I normally don't like Zelda, but she was so cute and sweet that I really couldn't help it. 83. Also that chad drawing of a past Link that split into four was funny 84. It was just so fucking out of place 85. They literally only rescued two of the six mages, so are the other four still trapped or were they released when Vaati and Shadow "died"? 86. The knights of Hyrule had to save the four, so are they technically the weakest Link? 87. Fuck I made a pun 88. I fucking hate myself 89. Blue was probably my least favorite of the cast, but that was probably because he reminds me of my sister 90. Y'know, the sister that hits me, yells at me, and calls me names? 91. It just rubs me the wrong way. 92. But aside from that, he was great. 93. A bit of a cocky asshole, but great. 94. And Link's dad just thinking he sees his son's dead body and Shadow just yeeting him into the dark realm. 95. Damn Shadow was an asshole 96. Vaati was even worse though, trying to get Link's father to kill his four sons. 97. That would've sucked. 98. Link hiding behind Zelda's chair was funny 99. Green and Zelda with the childhood friends turned lovers aspect would be cute 100. I like how a fairy just pops up out of no where in the middle of the book
I think that's it?
I love this book and it'll probably be the only one I ever reread.
If you didn't know, I hate rereading content unless I find it or a certain part of it worth reading through again. Which is to say, one, maybe two, fanfics(oneshots technically), and maybe this manga. So yeah, quite an exclusive club.
I don't regret this purchase!
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hyrule-kingdom-updates · 4 years ago
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Ooc: youve inspired me to start a project similar to this blog. Could you tell me a bit about your thought process coming up with the plot and stuff? And if you have any tips?
Woah! I’m really flattered I inspired you, best of luck with it and make sure to @ me when you make it I’ll be sure to check it out!
As for some tips, I have no idea if these are useful mind you as this is my first time doing this sort of thing but
I crafted the plot specifically around the idea that I would reveal it through a tumblr blog. Yes I would have some good shit posts, and some scenes that would work well for a fic, but the bottom line was that this was using the tumblr blog format, therefore I would have to craft everything with the weaknesses in mind, while also just turning up all the strengths to eleven
Moreover on that, I’m not sure exactly what aspects you’re deriving from here, but I also crafted the plot specifically around the fact that I cannot draw. So, I have to amp up the options I have for texts and fonts, which then birthed my character distinct font/color system. You might not notice it, but it’s a lot more immersive than just writing Asivus: Hello Arcadius: Hi there
On the final note of knowing my strengths and weaknesses, since I suck at drawing, I just decided to make that a part of Siv’s character. Siv, as you may notice, is the only character who is actually hand written, everyone else uses fonts. (There are actually two exceptions to this but, that’s a spoiler) I knew that viewer attention likes pictures, it’s going to be impossible to maintain attention on just text posts alone. So—shitty rat doodles. And if anyone calls me a bad artist, I can say that it’s just part of Siv’s character. Although, I suppose I blew that excuse out of the water just now
I do not consider this to be an ask blog. I know by all accounts it is, and honestly if I looked in my soul I’d probably find myself outright admitting it, but I find this to be a fanfic first and foremost. Remembering that it’s a fanfic is important for me, because I have to remember to stop and plan exactly what I’m answer and how I’m answering it, I can’t just jump at every ask and dump the whole character backstory, especially in the sense that I’m role playing every single one of these characters and that just wouldn’t be realistic
The Quill of Roost, believe it or not, was actually the very last thing I conceptualized about the plot. This is because originally, I was going to just have Asivus explain from the start that he ate a piece of Sheikah tech and could now hear things, and anyone in a radius around him would have the same gimmick of “answering” asks.
The reason why that was ultimately scrapped was because it grounded my story too much in the world of an “ask blog” with the idea being that the reason Siv answered questions was “just because” and then he would hang around the castle so Purah and Robbie could study him
So long story short for that part, my advice would be to ground your ask system in a way that makes sense and it original for your specific story/plot. It makes it more immersive, and also reminds you of the “rules” you have to follow, in order to keep yourself on track of actually telling the story, rather than just sitting around answering asks for an hour. Obviously that’s part of it, but don’t make it all of it
I’m not one to toot my own horn too much, but I’m pretty good at writing. Ironically, imagery is my favourite, but that’s pretty useless in the realm of this blog. On the plus side I’m pretty quick with dialogue, and I have spent a lot of time crafting the characters, both OCs and the Nintendo ones. There was an original concept for a third sibling in the Hartell family, and she would go on to have an important talk with Asivus during the rise of the Calamity (no spoilers!) but I scrapped her because I realized that even though I loved her, her role could be easily replaced by another more developed character. I think it works out for the best because this just allows me to give certain characters more “screentime” and love, though of course you should do what you want to for fun. Then again, the ultimate advice I have in that regard is to prioritize development of story and main characters first before you spend too much time with lovable side characters
Plot and character are not inherently seperate. Yes they have their differences, but if you make something that is “purely plot” or “purely character” you’re gonna have a bad time. A good plot is an external reflection of what changes your characters go through. And a good plot forces your characters to make decisions and actions, with thise decisions and actions showing their character traits. Plot is a constant waveform between characters reacting to something that happens to them, then giving their emotional reaction to the events, before make a choice that’s sparks the next events of the plot
A plotless blog looks like this: Hello I’m Asivus I don’t like my brother. He’s a perfect golden boy while I’m just the rotten scapegoat for when anything goes wrong. Oh no, I talked to Larc for one scene and now I realized that I’m just internalizing my insecurities and taking it out on him. Wait a moment where am I
A characterless blog looks like this: Hello I’m Asivus. Today I am going to go out for a stroll. Oh look it’s my brother he wants me to take a job at the castle, okay! Oh look, the Yiga are attacking, I am going to eat a quill now. Horray! The day is saved
Character provides the “reaction” part of story, the emotion and the stakes. Plot provides the “action” part of the story, the pacing and the movement. It’s easy to cling to character because it’s designed to be emotionally investing, but a good story utilizes both. Good plot provides good pacing for character. Just as an example: Siv going from reluctant employee to perilous hostage to active conspirator, is the plot device that paces the change from his apathy to genuine concern.
I don’t know if this is too broad or not or if you wanted me to be more specific to botw, but hopefully that was something if use. Feel absolutely free to ask more because I have many a thought about this and I would love the chance to rant again lol
Also please excuse any typos
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