#hey guys even if they’re incredibly rich people

[not-a-christmas-tree]

like any major internet discussion, oceangate has given me a majorly long blocklist

[spitdrunken]

notes: Valentino being Valentino (AKA horrible), abusive ‘relationship’, manipulation/lovebombing, uneven power dynamics, loss of agency, heavily dubious consent + implied noncon, physical abuse. Essentially details the progression of how Valentino might go about pimping someone out. He's really not nice in this, be warned!

The issue with Valentino is that, when he wants to be, he can be very charming. No one wants to sell to a person who slaps them around from the very first day, right? To Valentino, first interactions are an art he has perfected and, while he cannot see very well, he does have an eye for the pathetic, and desperate. From the very way someone carries themselves, and how they speak, he can tell who would be the easiest. To discover amongst these people a few so-called ‘diamonds in the rough’, and have them bend to his every desire, is the part of his job that he takes the greatest satisfaction out of.

Perhaps you are new in Hell, the finer details of the realm entirely lost on you, unaware of Valentino’s reputation. Or you truly have nowhere else to turn to, and you decide to take your chances, the idea of fame, money and, most of all, a bit of certainty, is too appealing. Maybe you’re aware of both his reputation, and exactly aware of what kind of guy he is, and you are chasing the kind of relationships you had while alive. Living here has affirmed all of your worst beliefs about people. To be with someone who is certain to hurt you, is easier, more familiar, than someone who might… And, hey, if he’s rich, that helps too, right?

Regardless of your circumstances, Valentino would know how to make you feel special. Hell is violent, unpredictable, and truly lives up to that. Time spent with Valentino in the lavish, beautiful places he hangs out in, almost makes you feel like you aren’t in Hell at all. Sure, maybe he’s a little strict about the kind of clothes you wear, but he’s always so full of praise when you do listen. The gifts he gives are perhaps a little gaudy, but all of them are incredibly expensive, and it includes a phone of the newest series. He tells you so that it’s so you never have to leave him hanging again! And while he laughs at it like it’s a joke, and you do too, it’s the first time something in his expression truly makes you feel uncomfortable.

And wouldn’t it feel good, wouldn’t it make you feel powerful, to have a man who is so famous and powerful, who could practically have anyone, to have set his eyes upon you? While almost anyone would be a little suspicious at first, with time, perhaps you begin to believe him. Maybe you really are special, maybe the rumours about him are true, or maybe they’re not, but they don’t apply to you. You’re the exception. You- You have to be. Otherwise, what’s going to happen to you? You try not to think about it too hard, try to ignore all the talk about him that never stops going around. On social media, the stuff said about him is mostly positive. …Any negative comments you see about the Vees in general, disappear faster than you can blink.

All the while, you’re unaware of the mixture of pity and envy the other demons working for him look at you with. Oh, how they wish they could still believe there was anything good about the demon you’re standing next to. If only they still had hope for a better future. They know exactly what is going on, but even if some might want to give you a warning sign, the punishment that would be dished out for it far outweighs anything else.

You don’t see any of his employees often though, not in this stage, nor the next. Valentino prefers to keep his whores from fraternizing with each other. From his own personal experiences, his early days of being in this business, there is nothing that builds bonds between people like a common ‘enemy’ like him. He wants all of you isolated, and most miserable you can be, in all honesty.

It is exactly the moment that you start feeling a bit more secure about things, that the cracks start to show. He’ll start pressuring you into doing a shoot for Velvette. Those gifts you got you were reaaaally expensive, baby, you know that, right? You kind of owe it to him, is what he tells you. Some pictures might seem harmless enough, but once you’ve given him an inch, Valentino will never fail to take a mile. His requests become more and more pressing, his demands more and more explicit, until any ‘affection’ left in his tone has long since gone cold.

After that, you’re essentially just treated like the rest of his whores, and the exact same treatment. He’s cut you off from any support system you had left, has you living in a company-owned building and, possibly, has you under contract. Where the hell else are you supposed to go? You’d live on the streets if you were to leave now, completely to the mercy of whatever demon might stumble upon you. Now that you've featured in a couple of Valentino's films, it's safe to say that the fame you once might have desired, now becomes one of your biggest burdens. ...You know exactly what people will do to you, given the chance.

If you bring up the kind of things he used to say to you, about how special and important you were, he’d actually laugh at you right in your face. What the fuck? You can’t be serious. You actually believed all of that bullshit? Regardless of your response, it’s likely to make his temper flare, resulting in a punch to the face that knocks you backward a good couple of feet. I’ve got bitches begging to be touched by me, to even be looked at by me. You ungrateful whore.

Unfortunately for you, practically anyone who gets too closely involved with Valentino meets the same fate.

[godhandler]

Rent A BF!

#2 | young toji fushiguro x reader | fluff, mentions of prostitution and related violence, period accurate and sometimes offensive terminology | 880 words

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31st December, 1995 | 11.57 AM  

20th May, 1996

In his months-long career as a rental boyfriend (and before that as a full-on prostitute), Toji has seen many different sorts of people who pay for company and, yes, sex. Most are older gay men who enjoy feeling young, many of whom are conservative family men who called it an ‘occasional treat’- getting fucked up the ass while being called sissies. And then they go right back to being firebrand homophobes. They amused Toji the most. Now Toji wasn’t gay, but when he took on those customers, he was homeless– so same results, really. 

No, Toji didn’t like his job, but he took it like a champ. Blamed it on capitalism like the rest of us all.

After a couple of very satisfied male clients, he was deemed worthy to graduate to women. Unlike men, there were no ugly women clients. The only women who look for a male prostitute are rich ones, and rich women are never ugly. It’s a cardinal sin of wealth.

Toji would know. Though he could only lick the scraps, he once sat at the elite tables too. 

All his clients, men or women, ugly or otherwise, were lonely. Toji couldn’t judge them for it, he was lonely too. Sitting in front of you at the café shop, he wondered about your degree of loneliness. 

“Would you want another boba milkshake, Toji-kun?” 

“No, miss. But the truffle cake looks heavenly.” 

Usually Toji got the requests to play the Big Strong Boyfriend (bless his incredible heaven-gifted physique). The type to fight for your honour if someone even looked wrong at you. But you had simply asked for, in the words of the receptionist,  a normal chill guy.

He could do that, easy as pie. He could also get truffle cake while doing that. You look lonely enough to pay for whatever he asked. 

“Miss, would you mind us getting the seasonal fruit platter too? It looks great, and frankly, I haven’t had much except for ramen these past few days.” 

Toji liked to push boundaries, see how much you would spend before you told him off. Instead of his company-issued suit and tie, he’d just worn his loose white sweater (ketchup stain at the hem), jogging pants and sockless Crocs. Hey, if you asked for a scrappy dude, Toji would show you real scrappy.

“Sure, order it.” Yup, lonely as hell. I could squeeze easy money out of her. It’s hard to contain the delight in his face. He’d live like a king the next couple of months. “Eat well, Toji-kun. You know what to do when we get home, right?”

Eyes on the waiter bringing his truffle cake, he nods, his milkshake forming a cream mustache on him that you wiped off with a tissue. Compared to free boba and truffle cakes and fruit platters, the sex was definitely one of his lesser favoured parts of the job. 

...

I take it back, he grumbles to himself as you started another episode of Dragon Ball Z, all his clothes still on him. You sternly instructed him to enjoy the show: breaking into shoulder-shaking laughs and nodding eagerly at your commentary as Vegata fights that dried Egyptian cat.  I’d rather get pegged with an axe than take anymore of this. 

8k yen per hour. He chants in his head. His cheeks hurt from fake laughing. Osaka boating summer. 

The dried cat wins. 

“Ey, O-Toji!”

Said Toji finds Shiki sitting on the broken wall of his apartment compound after he comes back from your house. Unlike your residential colony, Minami-Senju is the part of Tokyo that nice women with LV purses avoid. The Tokugawa shoguns used to execute their criminals here, the evil ghosts of whom the women say they’re avoiding the area for, and definitely not the melting-pot of urban poverty that resided here. At the time when Tokyo was trying to modernise itself, all the undesirables of the city poured into Minami-Senju: low-level Yakuza goons, Filipino street-hawkers, prostitutes, ex-prostitutes turned single mothers, Indian truck-drivers, transgenders, convicts hiding from the police, army veterans handicapped from the war 45 years ago, gambling addicts, runaway kids, and the worst of them all– Koreans. 

Shiki managed to hit several of these categories. He was a runaway kid, transgender, prostitute, and a gambling addict. It was one of those chains of events that makes you understand the whole story at once. “Toji-sama! I’ve got ye the ticket ye wanted!” 

He used to get beat up by his clients until Toji moved to the neighbourhood last January. That’s my boyfriend, Shiki would lie. Toji’s gonna kill you if you don’t pay up now. And Toji might not have shown it, but he was actually so happy to make his first friend. 

“80085! Now thass the golden number!” Shiki waved the lottery ticket at Toji. “I’ll let ye have it if ye give me 5 cups of ramen.” 

“Nah, I've won the lottery already.” Toji flashed Shiki a wide grin, walking up the steps to his apartment. Shiki jogs along. “This lady I’ve bagged is richie rich. And get this– I don’t even have to lick a single cunt. She makes me watch dogshit cartoons and pays me a million yen.” Shiki’s mouth hangs open. “5 cups of ramen? Nuh-uh, we’re getting grilled pork today. Dinner’s on me, Shiki, I’m motherfucking rich!” 

You’re definitely the best sort of customer he’s ever had.

previous next series masterlist

a/n: divider. i love strangergraphic's collections of dividers so much. the tone of the fic was heavily inspired by @jimlingss's Student Council Prez, fantastic series do check it out! on the same note, we need to document the impact bts had on fanfiction.

Shiki is supposed to be from the provinces and have a provincial accent, maybe something seaside? up to the reader really.

[girlwithadragonheart]

Chapter 1 - The Demon of Vyrantium

This story will have spoilers from the game. Like entire quests. If you don’t want those don’t read this. You have been warned.

Rook x Lucanis

Summary: The gods strike at D’Meta’s Crossing. Neve suggests hiring the Antivan Crows and the most respected mage killer out there, turns out he has problems of his own.

Word Count: 8.9k

Warnings: graphic violence, mentions of slavery, cursing, let me know if I missed something it's so long I lost track

A/N: I told you I’d take more creative liberties with the next one didn’t I ;3

Prologue DATV Masterlist Chapter 2(WIP)

I sat across from Neve and Harding at the circle table in the lighthouse to go over next steps.

“So. We stopped the ritual,” Neve said.

“And Varric paid the price,” Harding answered.

“Hey. Varric made his choice to go talk with Solas. He knew the risks. We all did,” I said.

“And now Solas is… gone. And we’re here, wherever here is—besides in the Fade,” Harding thought.

“Solas called it the lighthouse,” I told them.

“He did?” Neve questioned. “When?”

“While I was out cold. He showed up in my dream, and he’s really mad that we stopped his ritual.”

“Good,” Harding said smugly.

“He’s also trapped in some kind of prison in the Face. Not happy about that either,” I explained.

“You’re sure that wasn’t just a dream? It’s a reasonable reaction,” Neve said.

“Solas can speak with people in their dreams. Even kill them,” Harding told her.

“I’m safe on that front. I bled a little when I got knocked out. Enough that he can gripe at me, but not enough that he can make my head explode.”

“So Solas is using blood magic. Like any normal mage would to play with your mind,” Neve replied.

“But he’s not a normal mage. Like I told you, he’s an elven god,” Harding said.

“Putting together a nice ritual doesn’t make him a god,” she shot back.

“The gods of my people were incredibly powerful,” I interrupted their squabbling. “I don’t mean they were powerful like a skilled mage. I mean they destroyed entire cities. They shattered mountains. So no, they might not literally be gods, but they’re a lot worse than whatever you’re thinking.”

“Alright. Well, we’ve stopped the ritual, and there doesn’t seem to be an immediate danger. For now. You’re certain Solas can’t use blood magic to affect your mind?” Neve asked.

“I’m certain that if he could he already would have, but I’m still pissed at him as ever. I’m not certain of anything else, but we’re not out of danger,” I said.

“What do you mean?” Harding asked.

“Solas had two of the other elven gods imprisoned. When he got trapped, they escaped.”

“So those things we saw come out of the fade when the ritual went wild… those are…” Neve’s voice faded.

“Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain. Two of the ancient elven gods that Solas rebelled against. Solas warned me about them being evil, which is pretty rich coming from the guy who just tried to tear down the Veil,” I said.

“You don’t believe him?” Neve questioned.

“No, that’s the problem. I do believe him. He said they were horrific tyrants.”

“Tyrants so powerful elven history remembers them as gods,” Harding added.

“Solas says Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain drew on the blight for power and became corrupted. That was when he imprisoned them.”

“So instead of one… god… running around, we have two. And they’re not just powerful, they’re blighted,” Neve scowled.

“We need to get out there and stop them,” Harding said firmly.

“Just like that? Without Varric? And you’re still getting back on your feet,” Neve looked over at her.

“I’m fine. We can’t just sit here and do nothing!”

“We need to investigate. Figure out what we’re dealing with before we rush in and make things worse,” Neve told her.

“And how many more people will get hurt—get killed—while we spend time investigating?”

I cut them both off. “If Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain are worse than Solas, we can’t go in blind. We need to know what they can do and what they want.”

“But we only have Solas’s word about all of this,” Harding said.

I shrugged. “Then let’s go investigate for ourselves. We find out what we’re dealing with, and then we take our shot.”

“Fine. The eluvian led us here instead of back to Minrathous.”

“Let’s hope it goes back to the ritual site,” Neve said. “Maybe we can find some clues at the scene of the crime.”

“All right, then. Let’s get back to the ritual site,” I said.

—------------------------------------

The second we stepped through the Eluvian, a group of Veil Jumpers were running at us for their lives. Some kind of old elven construct was chasing them, swinging a massive golden axe at their heads. One of them, a woman, was using her magic on a device in her hands, trying to stop the construct, but it didn’t look to be working.

One of them got knocked to the side against a boulder, groaning from the impact. An older dark skinned elf parried the swings of the mighty axe, giving the girl time to work. The construct swung past the elf, the blade going through the device in the girl’s hands. As the device broke, the construct shut down, falling limp.

Harding seemed to know the older elf and the girl. She addressed them as Strife and Irelin. She told us that she met them with Varric when they first started the hunt for Solas. Veil Jumpers, she said they were called, experts in ancient elven magic.

Strife told us millions of artifacts are being faulty and coming alive because of Solas’s ritual, pointing the finger at us because we were supposed to stop him.

I informed him that we did, in fact, stop him, but Solas was now trapped in the Fade and two of the Evanuris escaped. The Veil Jumpers knew the extent of the horrors the Evanuris caused centuries ago. 

“I was really hoping Solas was lying about all of this,” I told them.

Strife frowned. “The god of lies, but some things are sacrosanct, even to him. He might be a bastard, but he’s a damned sight better than the Evanuris.”

I snorted. “No kidding.”

They still had dozens of Veil Jumpers unaccounted for, but Irelin said if we could find Bellara Lutare it would be a massive assist. Apparently, she was the best there is at working with the ancient elven artifacts. She was off looking for one before the ritual shook everything loose.

Harding told them we would go and get Bellara, but I told her to stay behind and help the Veil Jumpers because they needed her. Definitely not because she was still injured and way too stubborn to see sense.

—--------------------------------------

“Protocol is to wait at least a week before sending anyone to look for me, I’ve only been gone for three days,” she said, twisting her hips back and forth in place like a child being scolded.

“Well, things have taken a turn for the worse, I’m afraid,” I told her. “Our gods are back and they’re trying to take over the world.”

“Our gods… I need a moment,” she said.

“Take all the time you need. It won’t help, unfortunately, I’ve known for days and it still hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” I replied.

“That is quite a predicament.” She sighed, looking around. “All right, but I need your help first, I’m on to something big here.”

“Just tell me what you need,” I smiled.

“We’ll take what we can get,” Neve told her.

As it turned out, Ancient Elven ruins could be tricky. Barriers and old mechanical devices that were rare in these times. Luckily, it was pretty straightforward to figure out and Bellara was a great help finding our way through the ruins. Whatever work she had done with elven ruins and artifacts would definitely come in handy.

It was all fine and dandy when we found what we were looking for, except for the ogre that decided to pay us a visit and try to wreck our shit.

A lot of its attacks I could parry or at least redirect. Some I could only dodge, and I spent most of the fight doing so, shooting firebolts in between its attacks.

It finally fell, and I sheathed my dagger, fighting to regain my breath. 

Bellara found what she was looking for, the “Nadas Dirthalen” or the eighth archive or the archive spirit. Pick whichever you want to describe it, it was an artifact crafted with the knowledge of the gods and it could give us information we might need. If she could fix the crystal, that is.

We headed back to the Veil Jumper camp and they told us one of the towns they work closely with had gone dark. A place called D’Meta’s Crossing. With everything going on, it likely wasn’t a coincidence. Harding rejoined the three of us and we boarded a boat to go check it out.

—----------------------------------

D’Meta’s Crossing was on the far side of the lake. It was bleak when we approached on the water. 

“This isn’t right,” Bellara said. “The dock usually has people bringing goods to market, bartering and shouting… It’s always busy.”

“Stay sharp,” I said as I climbed out of the boat.

The main entrance to town was barricaded. Clearly not to keep anything out. We moved to the side, seeing a smaller barricade. I pulled myself over it, eyes going wide as I dropped down. The place reeked, and there was blight everywhere. These masses, they looked like rotting tumors, not the decay or stagnation of the normal blight, this was alive.

There were cysts that popped like blisters when fired at or hit with anything and exploded. The second I stepped foot in this place I felt I needed a shower.

We moved further in, sticking close together. There was a villager standing by a home completely taken over with the blight.

His face was drained of all color and his eyes were black. “What happened here?”

He stared at me. Well, through me. “Keep them inside. Listen to the mayor.”

My brows furrowed. I waved a hand in front of his face. Unresponsive. “What’s controlling them? Blood magic? The blight?”

We moved deeper in. The town square was even worse for wear. There were bodies everywhere taken over by the blight-cysts. We continued on, keeping an eye out for survivors. There was no one that the blight hadn’t taken over, either their bodies or their minds.

We came to a part of town blocked off by a wall of the blight. A bright red bulb pulsated at the center of it. I shuddered, taking a couple steps back and blasting cold from my fingers to minimize the explosiveness.We had gotten through it, but only a narrow passageway. Squeezing between a corridor of the blight was not on the top of my bucket list.

I would desperately need a bath after this.

We came to the other side and a giant mass of the blight stood in the center. At the center of it looked like a person was being held there.

“Mihlva!” Bellara gasped, running over to one of the bodies.

“One of your fellow Veil Jumpers?” I asked, watching the blight tendrils wrap around them and pull them away. I moved to the mass at the center. The man in it was moving. “Bellara!”

She looked over. “Jahel! He’s alive!”

“Bellara?” The man groaned.

“We’re going to help you… we’ll get you down, Jahel,” Bellara said.

A tendril snaked around his neck. “No��� listen. The gods… the gods have returned. I saw… them. I heard their voices.”

“The gods did this?” Bellara questioned, panic evident in her voice.

“A blood ritual,” he said. “To release the blight. The villagers… they said they needed power… Bellara… be careful…” That tendril looped around his neck twice over, caressing his lips as he spoke before tightening around his throat.

His body was strangled, blood spilled to the cobbled streets, the blight pooling at our feet. The ground shook, and I heard someone shout for help.

We ran through the remains of the village, shooting down the blight we could along the way. Coming through an archway of it, we came out to the other side of the village. A man was wrapped in barbed fleshy pink tentacles, a writhing mass of the blight.

“Help me! Hurry!” He yelled, panicked.

The ground shook and a dragon shot up into the sky, screeching as it landed, crushing debris underfoot.

“No! Please!” The man yelled as the writhing mass drew tighter around him. I looked between him and the dragon, feeling my chest tighten. I stepped forward, putting two fingers to my lips to produce a loud whistle.

It took a step toward me, and I stared it down as embers floated from its mouth. After a moment, as though fighting a command, I watched it back off and fly into the horizon, roaring as it went.

I took a breath, approaching the man in the mass. 

“I know you,” Bellara said. “You’re the mayor of this town.”

“The village… the people… are they…?”

“Blighted. Dead. All of them,” Harding said.

“You gave them to the gods, didn’t you? Didn’t you?” Bellara spat.

The mayor sobbed. “They were in my head… infecting my thoughts. They made me do it… Please, help me!”

“Deep breaths… Tell me what happened,” I said gently. If it really was blood magic he may not have been acting completely of his own will.

“I tried to protect people. You have to believe me. The gods told me to lure the Veil Jumpers to the center of town. The others were to be rounded up and kept safe. They would be the first to witness the glory of Ghilan’nain’s new creation… She showed me gold. So much gold…”

“So you brought the Veil Jumpers to the middle of town…” I said.

“For a blood sacrifice!” Bellara cut me off.

“Because the gods needed power,” Neve concluded.

“Did you know what the gods would do?” I questioned him.

“The Veil Jumpers… they were just strangers. I thought if they were taken first, everyone else might be spared.”

“So you did know!” Bellara yelled.

“The gods exploited his greed and fear,” Neve said.

“I’m supposed to feel sorry for him? I say we leave him right here,” Bellara said.

“But I’ll die. The blight’s everywhere. What if the dragon comes back?” He panicked. “I understand what they do now. I won’t be tempted again! I swear!”

“Rook?” Harding asked.”

I sighed. “Let’s get him out of there.”

“What? This entire village is dead because of him.” Bellara argued.

“I know.”

“Then why spare him?”

“We don’t kill people. Not like this. We’re not murderers. We’re not like the gods. We are better than them,” I explained. “If we leave him to be a source of their power we’re no better than he is.”

“Thank you… I think,” he said.

“I didn’t ask for your gratitude,” I snapped.

“Then if I may offer some advice: steel yourself. I felt their power, the promises they made. It’s irresistible.”

“Then try harder next time. Don’t make me regret saving you,” I said firmly.

“Yes, of course. But you should be worried about the rest of the world. Or this will be our future.”

—---------------------------------

We made our way back to the Veil Jumper camp. We were speaking with them when an old friend of the Inquisition, Morrigan, made an appearance. She told us to find Solas’s ritual dagger and that the eluvian at the lighthouse should go anywhere there is an existing eluvian. Bellara offered to come with us to fix it.

I just wished Varric was here to give better advice. He was always stronger at speeches than I was. Doing this without him to guide me felt wrong.

Neve, Harding, and I made our way back to the ritual site. After a wild goose chase after a darkspawn that stole the dagger, and watching Harding get possessed by some kind of new strange dwarf magic—which doesn’t exist, mind you—I was ready for a nap.

We came back to the Lighthouse and talked about Harding’s new abilities. I encouraged her to explore them but be wary. It wasn’t like any magic I’d seen before, and dwarves didn’t have any connection to the Fade, so it was completely new territory.

I went up the stairs, seeing a new area branched next to the hall leading to the infirmary. I could hear Varric snoring from here. At least I knew he was still alive.

I headed down that hall, pushing the door open to see an aquarium of sorts. There was a bookshelf to the right and a wardrobe to the left. In the center of the room was a chaise lounge with a bookcase behind it.

I saw my pack sitting in front of that bookshelf. Neve or Harding must’ve brought my pack in here. It made sense, it was a better place to sleep than the infirmary. I suppose I could spare a few moments to unpack my things.

I pulled Varric’s shaving mirror out, placing it on the bookshelf behind where I would be sleeping. Varric and his life lessons. I asked him how we were supposed to stop Solas, and he gave me the mirror.

“Take a long hard look in it, kid. It’ll always show the face of a hero who can get it done,” he said.

I don’t know if I see a hero’s face, but it’s a face that has seen a lot. Got a few new scars. Some that show up in a mirror, some that don’t. But Varric believed in me then, and he believes in me now. I can do this.

I moved to the small armoire on the right side of the room, placing an elven scroll down. A peddler gave it to me after I saved his caravan from bandits. He said the scroll went back to even before Tevinter. Said that elves had a rich history, “even more than the rest of us.”

Too many humans look down on us, even though elves were here first. It was nice to have someone see how much our people have done. I just wish I could’ve been a part of it.

On the opposite side from the mirror, I put my broken chains. I helped a lot of Minrathous slaves escape to freedom the night I met Varric, including my mother. Freed only to be killed in the chaos. Another time Varric had shown up for me. I remembered his hand on my shoulder as I wept over her.

“Come on, kid. It’s time to go. I’m sorry.”

Then the magisters cracked down in retaliation, and the Shadow Dragons decided I was too much trouble to keep around. We could have taken a stand and dared the magisters to come after us. At least people are free because of what I did.

I sighed, brushing my fingers over the cold metal before going to sit in the chaise lounge. Carefully, I laid back, letting my eyes drift shut. I was wound tight despite my exhaustion. I don’t know how long it took me to actually fall asleep.

I woke in the Fade, Solas’s voice already penetrating my thoughts. “Back so soon. It must have been worse than I thought.”

“Hello, Dread Wolf.”

“Ah, but perhaps I am mistaken. You may be here to correct me, to tell me that my concerns were unfounded. I am, after all, remembered as the god of lies, treachery, and rebellion.”

Haunted, hopeless, hurting… a voice nagged at the back of my head. No, not nagged. Soothed. 

“So you’re gonna be insufferable about it. See, this is the reason nobody likes you,” I told him.

“I led a rebellion for centuries that culminated the creation of the Veil and the destruction of the elven empire.”

“Okay, this is among the reasons nobody likes you,” I corrected.

“My information was accurate. Now you realize that the danger is real.”

“I need to know what the gods are planning,” I said plainly.

“You are asking for knowledge no mortal in this world is privy to,” he replied. “If I am to share it with you, I need to know what makes you the right person to lead the fight against Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain.”

“Well, for starters, I’m the only one here,” I said, throwing my arms out and looking around the desolate prison. “And I stopped you, didn’t I?”

“You disrupted the ritual.”

“Yeah, I did. Even though I’m nowhere near as powerful as you. Even though I’m just a slave.”

His brow furrowed, and I saw him blink as the only hint of surprise. “You were a slave?”

“Yeah. Varric said you hated slavery. I suppose that’s one thing we can agree on.”

He only nodded. “Your plan is to tell me how powerful you aren’t?”

“I met Varric when he asked the Shadow Dragons for help with freeing an old friend from Venatori slavers. The Shadow Dragons had a safe plan that wasn’t going to work, and Varric wasn’t the only one with something to lose if we failed.”

“So you and Varric led an armed rebellion and dealt a devastating blow to the Venatori,” he finished for me.

“You did your research,” I said, looking him up and down.

“I would’ve been a fool not to. You and Varric were pursuing me for the better part of a year. I needed to learn who was hunting me.”

“Then you obviously also know that powerful opposition doesn’t frighten me. I find a way to get the job done, whatever it takes.”

“I suppose I was not so different when I started.”

“No,” a voice said, inches from me and lightyears away all at once. “You were not different. You are not different.” The voice of a friend.

“Cole.” Now, I did see the Dread Wolf’s surprise evident in his expression. “How did you…”

“You are trapped,” he said. “She is hopeless, haunted, hurting, just like before. Escaped one master just to be fighting another. You are not different,” Cole said, looking up at Solas. “Hello, Solas.”

“Hello Compassion,” Solas dipped his head in greeting. “It has been an age.”

“You left the Inquisition to free us, but it didn’t work. Instead you freed them. The Evanuris.”

“Someone got in my way,” Solas leveled a condescending glare at me from his high horse—or at least his slightly higher piece-of-floating-rock.

“People were dying. I heard their screams,” Cole said. “The Veil needs to stay.”

“Oookay, this is all fine and good, but what are you doing here, Cole?” I asked, turning to him. “I thought I’d seen the last of you when Dorian freed me?”

“I felt the Veil weaken, and I knew. I knew it was Solas behind it, I always knew, even when he didn’t want me to, even when he hid it from everyone else. I went back to that place where it’s still weakest, and I felt your despair. I followed it here.”

“The gods need two things to reclaim their dominance of the world,” Solas interrupted, clearly growing bored. “First, the blight. What exists in this world is a bare fragment of its power. The rest is imprisoned… until they release it.”

“What would they need to do to free the blight, and how do we stop them from doing it?” I asked.

“They will need to pierce the Veil to reach the blight’s prison. My lyrium dagger is one of the few artifacts capable of doing so.”

“We’ve already recovered it from the ritual site.”

“Excellent,” I could’ve sworn he almost looked proud, but I doubted the smug bastard was capable. “Then they will have to make their own. That will give you time. The second is followers. They have called themselves gods, and what is a god without worshipers to sing their praises?”

“I’m not gonna bend a knee to blighted murdering monsters just because their ears are pointed like mine. I don’t think many other elves are going to either.”

“Agreed. Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain care little for the elves. They will find worshipers among those hungry for power. Tyrants and bullies. The cruel and corrupt, who fear their own vulnerability and seize any chance to feel strong. If you hunt them, they will lead you to Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain.”

I laughed without humor. “You want me to pick fights with tyrants and bullies? Sounds fun.”

“I gave no orders. All I can offer are suggestions.”

“I’m on it. What else?”

“The Vi’Revas, the Lighthouse eluvian, can take you anywhere, if you master its secrets. Have you done so?”

“Not yet, but we’ve got one of the Veil Jumpers working on it. She’ll get it sorted, and we’ll see how it goes.”

“Yes. I suppose we will. And when you speak with Varric, please tell him that I… regret what happened.”

Cole put his hand on my arm, and the world spun for a moment before I opened my eyes. We were in a grove, the stars above us, trees towering around us.

“Woah.” I put a hand to my head. “Where are we?”

“The Fade.”

“Right…” I took a seat in the grass with a sigh.

Cole crouched down, fingers fidgeting with the blades of grass. “You feel heavy again. Like before.”

“Varric picked me up to help him, but I disrupted the ritual, Varric got hurt, and the gods escaped. That doesn’t much feel like helping.”

“Varric used to help me. He wanted me to understand things, I think.”

“I don’t know how to lead, Cole. I’m barely used to being in charge of my life.”

“You’re already leading,” he said simply. His head bowed, and he glanced back behind him, as though listening for something. “They need you, it’s time to wake up.”

I gasped sitting upright, my chest heaving and my palms sweaty. I hadn’t seen Cole in years. Not since I was a slave. Not since I was at my lowest in life. Shit…

I needed to talk to Varric. I wiped my hands on my pants, standing with a huff. Having Solas in my head might prove to be more hindrance than help if he wouldn’t let me sleep in peace.

I made my way out, rubbing out the kink in my neck, hoping he might be awake. If not, I would let at least one of us get some restful sleep.

I approached him, sitting on the end of the bed, legs crossed opposite where he was sitting up against a pillow.

“So Solas told the truth about the gods,” he said as I sat down.

“You heard? It’s bad, Varric,” I shook my head. “If you’d seen D’Meta’s Crossing…”

“The team needs to act fast… and it can’t do that with me leading from a bed,” he said. “You’ve gotta take point on this.”

My chest tightened. “I can’t do what you do. I’ve barely been holding it together in the short time you’ve been out.”

He shook his head. “You don’t need to do what I do. You just need to get it done. Rook, when I put this team together, what did I look for? A detective to find the Dread Wolf and a scout to get us the lay of the land. Exactly the people he’d expect me to recruit. Disciplined. Predictable. And then there’s you. Remember when we first met, kid?”

“Of course I do.”

“You risked your neck to bring down an entire slavery ring. Pretty much by yourself,” he grinned.

“I had help.”

“Sure. I got winded about five minutes in. You did most of the work. Ticked off a bunch of Minrathous big shots, but… You’ve got a knack, kid.”

I hugged my knees to my chest. “A knack for what? Almost dying?”

“Exactly. You’ve got a knack for finding a way through the wildest shit I’ve ever seen. With a plan that no one expects. You can do this,” he said with a softness in his eyes I’d only ever really seen when it was just us. The protective kind. “And don’t worry. I’ll still be here to talk if you need me.”

“There is something… D’Meta’s Crossing was awful. While we were there, we found one survivor—the mayor.”

“You took him back to the Veil Jumpers,” he said. Harding must’ve filled him in.

“Not everyone was happy about my decision…” I told him. “We’re just starting out and I’m already losing their trust.”

Varric sat up a little straighter. “The key to earning the team’s trust isn’t to only make decisions everyone agrees with. It’s showing the team that they can tell you whatever’s on their mind, even if they think you’re full of crap, and know you’ll listen. It’s showing them that you’re capable of making the hard decisions, even if they don’t agree.”

“When I took over at the ritual site, I had to make a call on who came with me to knock over that statue. It was the first decision I made leading this team, and Harding got hurt because of it.”

“You made a decision with the best information you had. Sometimes you do that, and people end up hurt. Or worse,” he said simply.

“What would you have done?” I asked.

“What would I have done? Probably gotten myself killed and failed to stop the ritual if you hadn’t stepped in,” he laughed. “A good leader isn’t someone who never makes mistakes: It’s someone who admits when they make one. That’s how you earn their trust.”

“Did Neve tell you about me talking to Solas in the Fade?” I asked.

“I had some good arguments with Chuckles back in the day. I can’t imagine being stuck with him in my head. But how are you feeling about it?” He asked.

“Your old friend is kind of an asshole, Varric.”

He chuckled. “I’d love to be a fly on the wall while the two of you get into it. Solas fought a rebellion against Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain. He didn’t want to be a god. But he’s also a lot older and more powerful than any of us. He looks at us like we’re toddlers.”

“So how do I deal with him?”

“Act like you’re as smart as he is, and he’ll be insufferable. Show him you respect his age and experience, and he’ll remind you he’s just a man. Honestly, pick whichever of those pisses you off less,” he grinned.

“He also asked me to tell you that he regrets what happened. Hurting you, I mean,” I told him, letting my knees fall back to either side.

“Chuckles is sentimental. He could burn the world down, and the thing that would make him cry is a single flower with blackened petals.”

“He seems the type. Cole visited me. I know last time I told you about him you said he was with the Inquisition. He came to my dream with Solas too, and he looked almost… regretful, if you could even call it that.”

“Well, shit. How’s he doing? What was he doing?” Varric asked, shifting slightly.

“Apparently, he sensed my despair when he was checking out the ritual site because of how thin the Veil is there. He followed it back to me.” I sighed, standing and brushing myself off, whatever invisible dust there was. “I’ll let you rest.”

“You’re gonna be fine, Rook. Hey, one last thing before you go,” he said. “I’ve been racking my brain thinking of contacts who might help us with these gods.”

“You got any ideas?” 

“Nothing. But being a leader isn’t about having all the answers yourself: It’s about knowing who does. Neve has connections to a whole world that Harding and I barely know. A world you barely got the chance to learn. Might be worth talking to her.”

“Will do. Thanks, Varric,” I offered him a smile. One of the few I was sure I would be able to give in the coming days.

“Any time, kid.”

I closed the door behind me so he could rest as I made my way out to Neve’s floating office. She told me we needed to hire the Antivan Crows, but specifically their most feared mage killer. The Demon of Vyrantium. I had heard of his work, and most of us in the wards and servants’ quarters revered his assassinations of our masters. They had given us plenty of reasons to side with the trained killer over them.

Neve said she set up a meeting with their bosses. Next, she said that we needed to take a trip back home. The Shadow Dragons of course made sense to take out the gods in the capital city of Tevinter where blood magic was strongest. We had done so much work against it and the Venatori, but I was a bit worried about seeing them again after the stunt I pulled. We trained to be the best at countering evil magic, it was time we proved it. Hopefully together this time and not just me and Varric.

The Antivan Crows seemed our best bet to start off. I wasn’t ready to go back to Minrathous yet. Not after everything.

Neve and I made our way down to the Vi’Revas, the eluvian, where Bellara was working. We watched her tinker with it for a moment before it lit up, showing the path to what Morrigan called The Crossroads. A spirit appeared beside it in tattered blue robes. Though I tensed instinctively, I felt nothing malicious from it.

“The wolf’s fang. You carry it now. Old paths. A new journey. Through there. I will wait,” he gestured to the eluvian before fading away.

When we entered, the spirit introduced itself as the caretaker who goes where they are needed. The Crossroads was a beautiful place in the fade. Paths branched out, the caretaker guiding us in a levitating boat to each island of Eluvians. This place was slowly becoming tainted, though. I could feel the blood magic and blight like invisible eyes or a forgotten touch. It caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.

We made it to the eluvian leading to Treviso after killing some Venatori trying to take over the crossroads. Neve and I glanced at each other before stepping through. Treviso… One of the finest cities in Antiva, or so I’d been told. It was now under occupation by the Antaam. Hopefully our contact would still be able to meet us.

Neve and I made our way to the coordinates given to us, seeing a petit woman leaning against the railing of the bridge. She looked over as we approached.

“Welcome to Antiva. You must be Rook. Follow me,” she said, running off, leaving me to follow in her wake.

“And you’re Andarateia Cantori. Of the Crows?” I asked.

“Teia, please. Come, my associate Viago is gathering the others.”

We ran through the streets of Treviso, through the market and up the lattice on the side of a building. From there, we ziplined to a casino, the headquarters of the Crows.

“Welcome to the Cantori Diamond,” Teia said as we went up the stairs to the right.

As soon as I entered, I felt as though I was going to be interrogated, stripped of my valuables and tossed to the streets, if the expression of the woman eyeing me and the cane in her hand were anything to say for it.

Teia took up her spot on the left, a man with a very well groomed mustache to the right of her, followed by the older woman in the throne, and on her other side a younger man who looked way too charming for anyone’s good.

The man next to Teia spoke. “You’re the client?”

“This is Rook,” Teia said with a smile. “Did you want a drink? I promise not to let Viago near it.” It struck me how pretty she was. And the man next to her.

“Viago de Riva. Fifth Talon,” he introduced. “And this is Caterina Dellamorte. First Talon of the Crows.” He gestured to the woman in the throne.

“An honor. And you are?” I asked, glancing at the man beside her.

“Illario Dellamorte. Her grandson. What brings you here?” He asked.

“Right,” I took a breath. “My target is a pair of elven gods—or that’s what they call themselves. They’re ancient blighted mages. My detective says you have a man who brought blood mages and Venatori to their knees.”

“Lucanis,” Caterina said. “My grandson. They called him “the Demon of Vyrantium.” He was the one who did those jobs.”

“Sounds like there’s more to it,” I said carefully, tilting my head.

“Lucanis Dellamorte is dead. He was killed a year ago, now,” Viago said solemnly.

“What I say doesn’t leave this room,” Caterina said slowly. “The body our people brought back was not my grandson. It was dressed in his clothing, but it had been altered with blood magic to have his face.”

“My cousin is still alive?” Illario questioned. “And you didn’t think to tell me?” Something was off about Illario. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew that I would rather have dealings with Teia and Viago more than him in the future if we had any at all.

“His ship was attacked,” Viago interrupted my thoughts. “We knew someone sold him out… so you kept your suspicions to yourself.”

“But you’ve brought it up now. Why?” I asked, looking back to the First Talon.

“I’ve had eyes on the Venatori ever since they took my grandson from me. They were hunting your Dread Wolf. And what you did to his ritual threw them into disarray. They made mistakes. And now I have a location. The Ossuary. Where the Demon of Vyrantium is kept. Find this Ossuary. Free Lucanis. You’ll have your god-killer. And I’ll have my grandson.”

Something about the way she presented him twisted my gut. Like that was all he was, a weapon to be used and discarded. Even not having met him, the thought didn’t sit right with me. I knew what it was like to be seen only for what you could do for other people, and that was not a feeling I wanted for anyone else.

I wondered though, how a mage killer captured by the Venatori would feel about two Tevinter mages freeing him.

Illario led us to our lift to the Ossuary. I was almost relieved when he didn’t get in the boat with us. Surprisingly, he was the only Crow I had met so far that had major stab-you-in-the-back vibes.

We were boated out to the middle of the sea, the Crow mage with us parting the waters below us to grant us passage to the underwater prison. When we got there, bodies littered the sand, bloodstains running red. We passed over two dozen bodies as we made our way through the prison.

It seemed to have been some ancient elven ruins before being repurposed. It was a wonder it still functioned. If the wards on this place ever broke…

I didn’t want to think about what could’ve happened when the gods got released. I was more relieved I didn’t have to be the one fending off all the guards. We came to a Venatori barrier with three crystals connected to it that I beamed fire at before the barrier fell. A large corridor led down a set of stairs where a group of Venatori gathered.

“We don’t have to fight. We’re just here for Lucanis Dellamorte.” The mage in the center slammed his staff into the ground, the wisps of red blood magic gathering around its tip. “Get ready,” I said to Neve, who braced for a fight.

“Razikale, Dragon of Mystery. Lusacan, Dragon of Night. Hear your faithful call—”

A man in blue leathers flipped down from seemingly out of thin air, black and purple glowing wings sprouted from his back as he fell. He grappled the mage, pulling him as he spun so that the Venatori next to him stabbed straight through his comrade’s gut. He ducked as another sword came at him, kicking the Venatori in the gut. The cultist flew backward, impaling on one of the ice spikes surrounding us.

The man sprinted at the other two, a dagger in one hand and a rapier in the other. In a flash that was barely visible, he spun, slitting both of their throats before turning and putting his sword through the final cultist’s back.

He stood with his back turned to us, chest heaving. My eyes were wide. “I’m guessing you’re the reason we’re here,” I said carefully.

His wings flapped and dissipated as he turned back toward us. “Who are you? Who sent you?” He asked, the thick accent of Antiva coming through in his voice.

Something about his presence was calm, assured, even though he just murdered six people before my eyes. It drew me in, and I wasn’t sure I would have the strength to back out.

“My name’s Rook. Caterina sent me.”

“Caterina…” He looked at the ground. “But… you’re not a Crow.” He put his hands on his hips.

“I’m breaking you out of here,” I told him. “But… you’re not just you. Care to introduce me to your friend?”

“Rook. He’s possessed by a demon,” Neve said carefully.

“It’s complicated,” Lucanis said with a slight shrug.

“Caterina promised us a mage killer if we could get you out of here,” I told him.

“I can still work,” he assured me.

“Good,” I smiled. “Cause I’m pretty sure more Venatori are on their way. We have to get moving.”

“They have a vial of my blood. They can use it to control me. I cannot leave it in their hands. And… I had a contract when I was captured. One of my targets is here. Calivan. Crows don’t break contracts,” Lucanis said.

“All right, we’ll help. But in return, I need help killing some things,” I told him.

“I’ll owe you,” he said slowly.

“I’m sure we’ll owe each other before this is all over. Let’s go.”

We made our way back through the prison, coming to a huge gap that none of us would be able to jump across.

“What are you—Fine. He says he can help. There is something in the Fade close enough to grab onto.”

I watched Lucanis’s wings come out, energy flowing from his hands and a large piece of floating cobblestone came into being. “All of that… came from the Fade?”

“I’m as surprised as you,” Lucanis said honestly.

Eventually, we came to a room protected by at least six of the Venatori’s crystals powering the barrier. Behind it, was a massive garnished vial of blood. “Yeah, they can’t do anything subtle, can they?” I asked, aiming a beam of flames at it, making it explode on impact.

Through a close-by archway, there was a lift. We took it and it led to an audience chamber, a mage standing in the middle of it.

As we approached, Calivan did as all villains do, and started giving a long-winded speech. Something something, Zara said it would be ironic, he’s already the Demon of Vyrantium, now it’s just more literal. Lucanis smirked at me, glancing sidelong as Calivan went on his tangent, and I found myself smiling back. Something something she always leaves him to clean up the mess.

Maybe he should’ve picked someone better to follow.

I put my hands together, feeling the energy build between them as I loosed a death ray of fire and lightning right at his face. That’ll shut him up, surely.

Lucanis blinked at me as Calivan fell to his knees. “Sorry,” I said impulsively. “I know that was your contract. He was getting on my nerves.”

“Don’t be. Imagine how I feel,” Lucanis said, the corners of his lips twitching up. He spat on Calivan’s body. “The Crows send their regards.”

I glanced down at the ashen body, and when I looked up again I saw a purple version of Lucanis standing right beside him, and I blinked.

“The contract is done,” Lucanis said.

“Smells like blood. Ashes. Not done. Not yet,” The purple man said. From what I was sensing, this was his demon. Though he was closer to a spirit, not quite monstrous yet. I opted to ignore him for now. Not drawing attention to it was likely safer at least for the moment.

Lucanis just stared at him blankly. “Lucanis? Are you alright?” I asked.

“Careful, they know. We’re not right.”

“You cannot see him. I wondered,” he said, putting his hands on his hips.

“We clearly have things to discuss. Somewhere else,” I told him.

“Agreed. I think… it’s time I got some air.”

—--------------------------------------------

Back at the Cantori Diamond we found Teia and Viago looking at Illario who was leaned over against the table, breathing heavily. The two of them turned around and Teia’s face went whiter than I thought possible.

“Maker…” She said.

“Lucanis?” Viago’s eyes were wide.

Lucanis looked around at them. “What happened here?” He questioned.

Illario’s fist hit the table, and I flinched instinctively. “A message,” he snarled. “From Zara Renata. I can’t believe it. You’re home.” Illario put a hand on Lucanis’s shoulder.

“Zara… Her people got this close?” Lucanis asked.

“The woman who runs the prison?” I guessed.

“The Venatori witch who captured me,” he answered.

“Revenge for the breakout, maybe,” I said.

“Where’s Caterina?” Lucanis asked, eyes darting around at the three of them frantically.

“She’s…” Teia’s voice broke, and her head bowed with an impossible weight on her shoulders.

Viago came up behind her, hands on her shoulders comfortingly. “The Venatori got her in the confusion.”

“I got one of you back, only to lose the other,” Illario said, sounding devastated. I wanted to feel bad for him, but something still felt off.

“Lucanis…” I said softly. “I’m so sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“I need to work,” he said, shifting on his feet.

“Are you sure?” Teia asked. “You should take some time.”

“I don’t need time—I need a target,” he said darkly.

“You just got here, and already you want to leave again?” Illario questioned. How he didn’t understand was beyond me.

“Caterina gave me a contract. I’m not breaking the last deal she ever made. And I owe Rook. Once that’s done… I’ll come home,” he told them.

“I’ll return him in one piece,” I promised.

“Thank you,” Illario smiled at me. “Cousin. When you find Zara, I want—I need—to be there.”

Viago shook his head. “We’re under attack. Antaam on one side and now Venatori on the other? Forget revenge, we need you—”

“No, Viago,” Teia interrupted. “Zara came for us here. In my house. She took Caterina from my house. You find her and cut her heart out, Lucanis. Vi and I will hold down the fort.”

“I’ll give her your regards, Teia,” Lucanis said.

“For Caterina,” she looked around at all of us.

—--------------------------------------

“They’re the same thing. Mostly. Well, kind of,” Bellara said as I walked in.

“Except one will manipulate you. Or kill you. Or both,” Neve replied.

“But how do you get rid of them?” Lucanis leaned against the fireplace, one hand braced against it, the other on his hip.

“What’s everyone talking about?” I asked.

“Spite,” Lucanis looked back over his shoulder at me.

“The demon in Lucanis,” Neve said. “When a person gets possessed—the demon usually takes control.”

“And they turn into a monster. The spirit just… molds them. However they want,” Bellara added.

“I’ve heard of abominations being cured by killing the demon in the Fade. That’s not a sure bet, though,” Neve thought.

“Well, there’s one way. But it’s well… we’d have to, um…”

“You’d have to kill me,” Lucanis finished.

“That can’t be the only solution. Can’t we… reason with Spite, maybe? Persuade him to leave?” I asked.

“Talk doesn’t work on Spite,” Lucanis said.

“She won’t hurt you. How sweet,” Spite crooned, the ghost of his form next to me. He vanished and appeared in front of Lucanis. “I want to talk to her!” Lucanis kept his gaze on me, no doubt seeing my eyes track the demon.

“Before we do, well, that. Let’s think this through some more. There has to be a solution,” Bellara said. I braced my hands against their chairs, leaning over them slightly.

“I have people in Minrathous I can ask, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up,” Neve said.

“All right. So, what’s next?” I asked.

“Let me talk to them! I want. To talk. To Rook!” Spite swung, punching Lucanis in the nose. Blood spattered, and Lucanis winced, his hand going to his nose.

Bellara and Neve stood. “Lucanis!” Bellara cried.

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine,” he said, putting his arm out.

“He’s done this before? Enough that you just… shrug it off?” I questioned, leveling a glare at the aspect of Spite next to him.

“He’d do this in the Ossuary. The Fade does whatever a spirit wants. Real walls and chains, not so much. Just… give me a minute. He’ll get bored once everyone leaves.”

I leveled him with a stare that said I would absolutely not be leaving even as Bellara and Neve got up and left. Neve shot me a glance that said ‘be careful’, but I just nodded to her.

He put his hand back up against the fireplace and stared into the flames as I walked around the table, sliding up to sit on the edge of it.

“I thought you couldn’t see him. At the Ossuary…”

“I didn’t want him to know I could see him. That was the last thing we needed there,” I told him.

“You can hear him too?” He asked, looking back at me with furrowed brows.

“When I can see him or when he’s showing through you, yes,” I answered honestly.

“But the others, they can’t. Why is that?” He asked, looking at me curiously, if not a bit suspiciously.

I shrugged. “I’ve always had a connection to the Fade. In worse times I was in such turmoil a spirit of Compassion appeared in my dreams or pulled me out of reality if things got bad. And now that connection is stronger than ever. Some of my blood is circulating around in the Fade from when we interrupted Solas’s ritual. That’s how he visits me in my sleep.”

“I am sorry,” he said. “I can’t stand him, I didn’t want him to be a problem for you too.” I just shook my head. “I would kill for a decent cup of coffee right now.”

“Have you? For coffee, I mean,” I grinned.

I saw the corner of his lip twitch up. “Not today. You’ve got questions. You might as well ask them.”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, watching him. “You’re the best mage killer in the Antivan Crows. So how’d the Venatori catch you?”

“Someone set me up,” he said simply. “I had a contract for Calivan. In the Ossuary. I took a ship from Treviso to Minrathous. They were waiting for me. Knew which ship and when it would arrive. I don’t know how they convinced the Crows I was dead, but I woke up in the Ossuary with Zara gloating about it.”

“Blood magic.” I could tell him that at least. One thing I had the answer to. “Caterina said they had dressed the body in your clothes and altered it with blood magic to look like your face too. I can’t even imagine… I know she… “volunteered” you to work with us. Are you okay with that?” I asked sincerely.

“When the First Talon of the Crows gives you a job, you do it. Especially if she’s your grandmother. But, there’s plenty of reason for me to work with you beyond that, Rook,” he said.

“Such as?” I tilted my head, kicking my feet under the table.

“I owe you a debt, for one. And after a year in that hole, maybe I’m looking forward to stabbing a god or two in the back,” he answered.

“Two!” Spite hissed.

“The Crossroads can be dicey, but the Lighthouse is safe. Oh, and if you see a spirit around called the Caretaker, they’re friendly,” I smiled.

“After the Ossuary, that will be a pleasant change,” he said with a grin. After a moment’s silence, he put his hands on his hips. “You haven’t asked anything about Spite.”

“Based on what I’ve seen, I’d say he picked the right name.”

“He’s stronger when I sleep. So… I try not to do it much. No one was in the Ossuary by choice. Not even the demons. We both did what we had to, to get out of there,” he told me.

“I admire you,” I told him. “What you’ve been through would break most people.”

“I would not give Zara the satisfaction,” he smirked.

“I understand. Still, you must be a very courageous man,” I smiled.

“A very stubborn one, perhaps. But, that’s… kind of you to say. Leave Spite to me. If he’s trapped in this world, he has a good reason to fight for it. For now, I must honor our contract. Gods, magic, politics…” he hummed, the rumble in his chest trying to drag me toward him. “Things are going to get very bloody.”

I gave him one last smile as he turned back toward the fire. “If you’re stubborn, I’d say Zara picked the right demon. If I remember right, Spite is a demon of Determination,” I smirked, looking back at him.

His brows were raised. “Perhaps it was the only thing she got right. She was nothing if not fond of irony.”

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

A/N: Please give me your thoughts on this. I missed Cole and he was so important to me in Inquisition I wanted him to have a role in this story too, however minor. Also the back and forth with Solas gets me every time XD

Let me know if you want to be on a tag list! <3

Have a good day lovelies!

[pyrodolls]

hey i have a question about your ocs, bayani and victor. personally which do you like more or like writing about more? i am quite curious of your preference, out of the blue.

ooooo i have a lot to say. i have been WAITING for someone to ask this

so if you scroll down my acc you’d naturally assume i prefer writing about bayani cuz i have more posts about him, but i’d say i like them both equally. maybe victor slightly more.

the reason why i don’t write about victor often is because i feel like i don’t have a good grasp on what i want his character to be, and for the longest time i wasn’t sure how i wanted to introduce him properly.

he’s inspired by characters like patrick bateman from american psycho, and coriolanus snow from the hunger games. victor is the type of guy that is the epitome of what the average person wants in a partner. he’s tall, rich, educated, attractive, his parents appear to love him, he has many friends, everyone likes him. but he’s a sadistic asshole. an insecure, controlling, possessive asshole. he has no love in his heart for himself or the people around him. he’s intelligent, but manipulative. he’s the type of man to always get whatever he wants and nobody can stop him. i’ve been having trouble the past couple of months thinking about how i wanted to introduce these traits, because i think he’s far more complex than bayani.

don’t get me wrong tho, bayani is fun as hell. he’s the complete opposite of what the average person looks for in a partner. he’s short, he’s a college dropout, poor, he has a shitty job (prob mcdonald’s lmfao), shitty apartment, he has no friends and his parents have hated him ever since he was born.

that’s the main reason why he’s so attached to popstar! reader. he’s willing to do anything for their approval, because he’s terrified of being thrown away like dirt. his whole life nobody paid attention to him. popstar!reader does, though. even if it’s violent. he’d accept every kick, every punch. because he thinks it’s better than being ignored. he’s quite delusional and believes he’s doing an honorable service as popstar!reader’s punching bag. and if they were to show him affection instead, he’d be incredibly flustered because he isn’t used to it. he loves it, but he believes he doesn’t deserve their love, and attempts to repay popstar!reader in any way he can.

back to victor tho: i know i’m dropping lots of lore bombs right now and i’m starting to deviate from the question so i apologize BUT i just have a lot i’ve been wanting to say.

i think victor doesn’t truly love popstar!reader. it’s lust. it’s desire. but not love. victor’s a selfish man. growing up, he was the only child and heir for his family’s company. he was raised with money. he always got what he wanted. and he had the brains to make up for his spoiled nature. so when he didn’t get what he wanted, he’d always find a way to hurt someone else to get it.

i’m not quite sure why victor is the way he is. is it because his parents gave him more money than love, which drove him to hate them when he grew up? or is it because ever since he was a child, he was always glorified and trained to see everyone else as below him? we may never know.

what i do know is: victor likes popstar!reader because it’s a challenge for him. popstar!reader is one of the most desired people in the world. he likes having something nobody else can have. he likes stalking them and making sure they’re safe and happy. not exactly because he cares about their wellbeing, but because he’s quite delusional and believes he’s an amazing man for doing so. that's why he believes he's the only man for them. he’s twisted because he believes he is doing nothing wrong.

but hey, even i’m a sucker for an asshole-turned-romantic. so maybe someday victor will see the error in his ways and learn that he isn’t the center of the universe. maybe someday victor may truly fall in love with popstar!reader rather than teasing and toying with them as a possession of his. idk. we’ll see.

anyways uhhh sorry for yapping LMFAOOOO i like writing about both but i (slightly) prefer victor because he’s fun. and i feel like my bayani works are getting repetitive. oh well. if you read all the way thru i am so sorry. thanks for the question, anon! <3

[imhereformr]

For the oneshot Rivusa ‘oh you’re cold? here, take my jacket’ + FLIRT

Riven returned to the group, stepping over fallen branches and tall grass. Aisha had pointed to some flower that she thought was beautiful – a rather Flora-like thing to say in his opinion, but whatever – and, since he was the only one who’d brought a camera, he had been asked to get a shot of it. Riven wasn’t happy about it, but he’d done it. When he got to the group, the only person standing there was Musa. Brandon and Aisha – the other two who’d come on the hike with them – were nowhere to be seen.  

“Where the fuck did they go?” he asked her. Musa turned to him, curiosity and confusion etching her features. He motioned to the space where the Androsi princess and Eraklyan squire had stood not two minutes earlier.  

“Not sure... Maybe they’re ahead of us?” 

“How did you lose people you were standing next to?” he asked, maybe a bit more harshly than he should have. “Sorry, I just...” 

“No, I was distracted. The birds here sound so different. I... kind of wandered off to listen to them more closely.”  

Musa’s eyes trailed off in the direction she’d gone off in as she bit her lip awkwardly. Fuck, did she have to be so cute? It was briefly debated whether they should head back down to get the others and search for Brandon and Aisha, but ultimately, they decided to head to the summit. Codatorta would kill him if he knew that Riven had forsaken his training to spend the afternoon with a girl but Riven didn’t care. This was Musa.  

“I’m gonna kill Brandon when we catch up to them” he grumbled as Musa started up the mountain. And he did mean it – sort of. This hike had been his idea – he was the one who said Hey guys, let’s take a break from our all-expenses paid beach vacation to go climb a mountain. Riven had only agreed because there was only so much time he could spend in the water and just lying on the beach all day – which was Stella’s counter-suggestion – sounded incredibly dull.  

Conversation with Musa was... awkward. Because of him. She was as clever and funny as always, but he seemed to find that he became even more socially awkward around her. Fuck, he was only a step or two away from being Timmy’s fumbling mess. It didn’t help that she kept asking him questions about any and everything – school, his bike, his favourite book, his thoughts on this and that, what he’d like to do after he graduated, and every little thing she seemed to think of. She laughed at jokes he was pretty sure no one but him thought were funny. What was happening?  

“So, you fix most of your classes bikes?” 

“Yeah. Turns out most rich people hate to get their hands dirty – who knew” he snarked.  

Musa rolled her eyes at him as she laughed. “That’s really cool.”  

How giddy he felt at her thinking anything about him was cool was fucking embarrassing. Riven shoved his hands into his pockets and stalked ahead of her as they came to a bend in the trail. He made sure she was close by, but walked ahead of her, stopping a few meters short of a giant rock. Musa came up beside him and swore under her breath.  

The rock was as tall as Riven and easily ten times as wide. He tried to circle around it, but the rock took up the entire path; there was no way around except to climb it. He could pull himself up and lower himself back down safely, but he’d have to give Musa a boost and help her down since she couldn’t transform. All his training told him that this would be when they should turn around – if one of them got hurt climbing up or down this stupid thing, they’d have to stay alone while the other went to get help – but the idea of spending a few more hours with Musa was too enticing. Codatorta didn’t have to know.  

Riven squatted down and laced his fingers together, positioning himself to boost Musa up. She raised her brow at him, but ultimately shrugged and stepped onto his hand. He lifted her until she could grab the edge of the rock and pull herself. Then he jumped to catch the ledge and pulled himself over.  

When he reached the top, Musa was sitting on the edge with her legs crossed under her. She watched him stand and dust himself off with a smile. He would think she was scrutinizing him if not for the look on her face that he recognized as a friendly one. 

“I didn’t know you were so strong” she commented as he helped her to her feet.  

Riven froze. He was a specialist – a student at one of the most elite military schools in the dimension, that also happened to be very strict on diet and exercise regiments; obviously he was strong. Not to mention Musa was a bit more than half his size and easily half his weight. “Well, you’re not exactly heavy” he replied blankly before continuing on the path. 

They reached the summit less than twenty minutes later. He had to admit it was a beautiful view. Green treetops for as far as the eye could see. On the right, the sandy white beaches of the resort realm marked the border between the green of the forests and the crystal blue of the ocean, now tinted with oranges and reds from the setting sun.  

Musa stepped into his line of sight and suddenly the trees were greener, the sky was vibrant shades of pink and orange and gold, the breeze felt warmer on his face, and he felt like such a loser for letting her have that effect on him. He let himself watch her as she took a seat on the ground. She looked back at him with a bright smile and patted the ground beside her. He took the seat and found himself increasingly aware of how close she was as their knees brushed and she leaned towards him to grab some of the snacks he’d packed. They ate in silence until he spoke. 

“I wonder where the fuck Brandon and Aisha went. I swear if they somehow ended up going off the trail, I actually will murder him” he said, wanting to have something – anything – else to think about. He had a gorgeous view in front of him, but all he could seem to focus on was her and the way she pushed the hair that was blowing in her face away and the way she smiled at the scenery. “He should know better. Just because he passed a wilderne-” 

“I’m pretty sure they headed back to camp.” 

Riven whipped his head towards Musa, who seemed completely unbothered by the idea that they’d been abandoned by their friends. “What?” 

“Yeah, I saw them run downhill when we lost them.” 

“Why would they?” 

Musa froze. She blinked away her confusion and seemed to consider her words. Even then, they came out awkward and stilted. “Because... well... we... you know.” 

Riven tensed. He could feel the heat climbing up his neck, flushing his cheeks. This was the first time either of them had mentioned whatever it was they had going on. He knew he was basically – well, not basically, probably actually – in love with her. The fact that he managed to have coherent thoughts around her was a miracle because she made him feel like his brain was up in the clouds. As much as Brandon insisted Musa felt the same – conversations that were had against Riven’s will – he just couldn’t seem to believe it. She was... amazing and he was just Riven; constantly fighting for his place, making up for his faults, fucking up. She deserved better. 

Musa shivered and wrapped her arms around her torso, rubbing her biceps to warm herself. Riven reached into his backpack and pulled out the Red Fountain sweatshirt he’d haphazardly thrown in just in case. He held it out to her, but she refused.  

“Musa, you’re cold. Take the sweater.” 

At his insistence, she took the sweater and pulled it over her head. The sweater was already a bit big on him, so Musa completely drowned in it. Seeing the way she smiled down at the sweater, a faint red painting her cheeks, lit a spark of hope in him – an echoed thought that maybe Brandon was on to something.  

“You saw them go down the trail? You’re certain?”  

“Completely, yeah” she confirmed. 

Riven took a breath. He knew what he wanted to ask, but it left him horrifyingly vulnerable. Suggesting they go find the two morons who had deserted them would’ve been a lot easier, but Codatorta always said specialists didn’t take the cowards way. “So why did you suggest we go up?” 

“To spend time with you” she answered immediately. Her eyes went wide. It was the most forward either of them had ever been; it took Riven by surprise even if it was along what he was hoping for as an answer. “And I mean, that view” she added awkwardly, motioning to the expanse of beauty. 

“It’s great, yeah” Riven agreed, realising with sudden horror that he would need to answer her admission. He leaned back on his hands, trying to figure out how exactly to say I’m glad you did without sounding like a love-struck loser. “This is great... You know, I used to sleep under the stars all the time as a kid. I stopped around the time I was 12, but... I kinda miss it sometimes.” 

Riven didn’t add that it was because he was homeless or that it stopped when he was 12 because that was when Saladin took him in and enrolled him in military school, housing him during the summer and holidays. Those details weren’t important. Maybe one day he would tell her, but today was not that day. He didn’t even know why he’d said it. Musa was looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something else and it had just tumbled out. He did actually miss it sometimes; he liked looking at the night sky.  

“We can probably camp out here tonight. We’ve got enough food and water” Musa suggested.  

It sounded enticing, he wasn’t going to lie. Spending the night under the stars with her sounded like a dream; having her be the first thing he sees instead of the first thing he thinks of sounded even better. The idea of sleeping under the stars in general sounded nice too. Sleeping on this damn rock, though... “And what are we gonna sleep on?” 

Musa paused. She looked around them, the realization that they'd both wake in pain and then need to trek all the way back down evident on her face. “There’s grass over there. You can use your sweater as a pillow, and I can use...” she paused again, the formerly faint pink on her cheek turning a full-blown red. “- you.” 

“As...” He paused to find the word he wanted. Even if there was something between them, he didn’t know how she would react to him using the word heavenly to describe spending a night cuddled up to her. “- great as that sounds, we really should get back to camp. We have to make sure Aisha and Brandon made it back safely.” 

Musa’s smile fell. He understood the disappointment; he wanted to stay even if it meant waking with a neck and back so sore it would kill him to walk back to camp. He could only risk having Codatorta kill him for so much, though. It was enough that he'd deserted his squad mate when he lost him to finish a hike with a girl, but to spend the night without protection (of the weapon kind, he reminded himself) while he still didn't have visual confirmation Brandon and Aisha were okay... Codatorta would behead him and hang his head at the entrance to his classroom as a reminder. 

Reluctantly, she started to pack up their bags, mumbling that they should be heading back down since the sun was setting. Riven knew she was right, but he still hated it. A few more minutes - hours - without Musa being pulled away by her friends would've been nice. He slowly got up, insisting that she keep the sweater when she started to pull it off. She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, even he could see that. 

"I was thinking of taking a walk along the water tomorrow" he lied. The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind until just that second. 

“That sounds nice” she answered sweetly, but completely void of any enthusiasm. 

He took a nervous breath. “Maybe... you want to come with me?” 

 Her entire face lit up at the suggestion. Riven felt like his heart could explode she was so fucking cute. As terrifying as the feeling was, he realised that he liked it. He liked how warm it made him feel, and he thought that maybe (potentially, probably definitely) falling in love with her wouldn't be so bad. 

[booksrbetterthanpeople]

Hey Artzy, do you have any tips on how to write an OC without making them a Mary Sue?

I guess, just don’t make them overly perfect and “can do no wrong.” There’s nothing wrong with seemingly perfect characters like how I wrote Aurore, becuase she feels pressured by her parents to be perfect. Now, if you take away the bit about her parents, make her incredibly self righteous, give her all of these natural talents without any sort of practice, have everyone fawning over her, and let her always be in the right about everything and everyone who says she’s wrong is a piece of shit, then she becomes a Mary Sue

Like a certain someone…

Here are the Science Kids for example, OCs, and the canon ones I fleshed out

Aurore: Straight A’s and definitely getting into her top school, but how will she tell her parents she’s a lesbian and can’t keep being their “golden child” right before she cuts all ties with them and goes to live with her brother?

Denise: An enby with a physique body builders would kill for, yet they feel overworked by their parents simply because they’re the strongest in the family and the elder twin

Simon: Tech Wiz often commissioned to create promo videos for upcoming events, still not completely over their parents abuse and still has mental and physical scars

Reshma: Beautiful, modest rich girl with a love for magical girl anime and anime in general, BUT! She has difficulties knowing if potential love interests truly love her and not her status or looks. Also, has some difficulties trusting older men due to incidents at galas

Jean: Plucky theater kid with a flare for dramatics and has an amazing boyfriend. Who would have guessed that this guy still blames himself for his mom leaving?

Ismael: Cool skateboarder, loves magic tricks, and always seem so cool under pressure. His personality is just a mask to cover up the fact that he’s emotionally drained due to the torment his mother puts him through when he gets home and that his dad wasn’t able to get custody of him after the divorce

Mireille: Pleasant shy girl with a meek demeanor everyone seems to love? Throw in a bastard dad who keeps trying to push her into the spotlight despite the fact that she is painfully shy!

Cosette: On their way to become Paris’ next top makeup artist! How fun! Oh, what’s this? Their “perfect” older siblings are total assholes and this stems from the fact that their mother is emotionally distant and hasn’t once complimented or shown physical affection to any of her own children? And now they put on this cool “I’m here for it” persona and crack jokes to mask their tears?… Wow

Lacey: Let’s see… Incredibly athletic, cute yet badass… Dead parents. Has to take care of both her grandparents and younger brothers. Fears the day her grandparents will die as she does not feel mentally and emotionally ready to take care of her brothers all on her own and refuses to let people in and hell her so she does parkour and all sorts of other activities to null the pain

Marc: Talented writer with legs for days and a cute boyfriend. My, what could possibly be his flaw? Oh! I know! A bad case of anxiety, and depending on the universe, he’s still terrified of Lucien and believe he’s the one at fault for their relationship taking a toxic turn! Boom!

Zoé: Rich mom, rich dad. But, what’s this? The mom is a complete bitch (Which we already know) and is always pressuring her into looking and acting “like her daughter,” even going so far as to bleach her hair at a young age, forcing her to compete in beauty pageants, and the constant verbal abuse regarding her looks. The dad’s cool, though. He misses her dearly

See, no one’s perfect. Not all of them get straight A’s, and not all of them have parents who are super well off due to a thriving business or some shit, and not all of them have parents who are totally accepting of their genders and sexualities. They have to be human, and humans have flaws

[yournightowl]

Your Nightowl#013

i learned what a bastard is today. It was one hell of a rabbit hole.

These two jerks were arguing with each other- i don’t know why, it started, but with them its always something petty and dumb. (¬_¬")  The whole class was just watching them (me included) in a pretty bored way, cause we’ve seen this before and it never goes further than namecalling. But then jerk A called jerk B a Bastard, and the whole mood shifted. Everyone else in class sat a little straighter. Eyes started darting around, looking for an adult to come and intervene. Jerk B got real red and pale at the same time, and i could see veins on his forehead from across the room. i thought he  was gonna hit the other guy. ( o_o)

But then he just walked out real fast.

Bastard’s not exactly a common insult, but it isn’t rare either- and it’s really not that bad. i couldn’t understand why everyone was so static, but i knew it wasn’t right for me to just start asking. So i did what i usually do instead of engaging in the moment- i went and did some research.  (⌐▨_▨)

First, some context- jerk B wasn’t raised by his parents; they’re dead. His family took care of him (well literally he was taken care of by a swathe of maids and butlers and Ads and whatever, but you know what i mean). He never knew his parents, but its still a dick move to bring them up during an argument over something petty and dumb (and remember, with these two, It Is Always Petty and Dumb).

Second, some historical context- Bastard originally meant someone born to parents who were not wed to each other. Obviously, not something anyone gives a shit about today, but for most of our recorded history, it was.

The term also more generally means anything of questionable origin, like a bastardized copy, or an inferior version. It was also sometimes used to describe an illegitimate heir.

All of those definitions are relevant here.

People have been freezing their eggs for a long time now. It’s less common, but people freeze their sperm, too. And when people die, their gametes aren’t always destroyed. It’s incredibly rare, and widely frowned upon, but if you have the rights it is entirely legal to make a child from two people’s DNA without their consent. 

And it’s even possible to make a child from two people who are dead.

It’s possible…but why would you, right? There’s no shortage of DNA to go around. Why would you want the DNA of some dead person?

The answer to that depends a lot on how their will was set up.

Imagine your rich as hell aunt and uncle pass away. They never had kids of their own, so they give you a little something…and give the lion’s share away to charity. The story should end there- “Maybe i should’ve sucked up to them more while they were still kicking, oh well, i better move on,” but then you get a message from a biocorp. 

“Sorry for your loss, standard copy, standard copy… hey, we’ve still got your rich fam’s gametes in the freezer. Wanna make some money?”

So that’s what Jerk A was calling Jerk B- not an asshole, but a Bastard Heir. A designer baby cooked up by his screwed-in-the-head relatives after his parents had already died. A person born just so that their “guardians” could rob their parent’s graves. An illegitimate knock-off of what a child is supposed to be.

(O∆O), right?

Jerk B’s parents died when he was two, so the accusation is total bullshit. But i can understand why he got so mad. He’s probably not still sore about his parents deaths’, not after so long, and not when he doesn’t remember them. But it's nasty to imply that his family only cares for him because they can use him to control his parents fortune.

And that implication could actually be true.

wincing as i type,

Your nightowl

[adultswim2021]

The Boondocks #16: “...Or Die Trying” | October 8, 2007 - 11:30PM | S02E01

Wow! I forgot Boondocks was a thing! This crept up on me, folks. Important to note (is it?) that Boondocks aired on Monday nights. Being a date pendant I think I should periodically remind people that I use the “after midnight” definition for dates and times rather than dating things as the night-of, which to be fair to the rest of the world IS a conventional way of doing things when discussing TV schedules. I’m just different, I guess. A bad boy.

There is something nice about funny, episodic television, not trying to be special with it’s season premieres. This is just a fun episode in the lives of our favorite family; no re-piloting, no tying up some loose end from an unwieldy previous season’s finale. This is merely the one where Rocko and Heffer go to the movies, except Granddad is taking the kids to see Soul Plane 2. They take the neighbor girl with them, who threatens to bring down the whole criminal enterprise the Freemans have going (sneaking into the theater with outside food and no tickets). They also lie about taking the neighbor girl to an R-Rated movie. And hey, John Witherspoon plays “himself” in the trailer for Soul Plane 2. He was in the original. So was Gary Anthony Williams, the guy who plays Uncle Ruckus. I didn’t realize that Uncle Ruckus bit until looking it up on the wiki. 

Snoop Dogg also reprises his role from Soul Plane for this imagined sequel. There’s also an insulting portrayal of 50 Cent that, I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I really get. I’ll just assume it’s funny. Oh, I just looked it up. I’m guessing it’s a reference to the motion picture Get Rich or Die Tryin', which was his big Hollywood acting debut. I think they’re just saying he’s a bad actor. None of this was on my radar at the time, sorry to disappoint the thousands of people who read this. 

Uncle Ruckus is an usher in this, hellbent on catching the Freemans. The neighbor girl is terrified of being caught. Huey teaches one of the staff about unionizing as a way to distract him (this winds up paying off at the end). And there is a much more hyperbolic parody of the famous “You woudln’t steal a car” anti-piracy trailer that used to show up before movies back in this day. Even more incredible is a parody of another, slightly lesser-known trailer where a stunt man talks about how he too is affected by piracy. I worked at a movie theater around this time, and our theater showed a different trailer from the same series with a white crew member. I sincerely wonder if somebody did market research on my hick town and decided to send us the white guy instead?

Pretty fun episode! Maybe not the best episode ever, but there’s enough going for it, and the Soul Plane parody is pretty irresistible. Glad to have Boondocks back, for sure.

MAIL BAG:

Kon writes:

Hey yo wassup this is Kon, how's it hangin' Jellybean?

KON! How’s her hangin! I am so glad to hear from you! HELLO KON! Everyone say hello to Kon!

[daemonmage]

Ok so adding to this, Bruce might be a bit out of character but I’m letting him have fun.

So Bruce double and even triple checked that no one was gonna try and attack the museum during a charity event. So he genuinely thought ok this might be safe, I might let my hair down a bit. Beside Diana and Clark will be there this should be fine.

So Bruce decided to actually have a few drinks and since Clark was there Bruce pulled a Brucie I’m important so I’m gonna take this guy with me cause he looks fun move. So Clark could actually have fun rather than just work the whole night.

They go find Diana who is desperately trying to escape the rich folk talk with the other attendees and Bruce decided to go hey Miss Prince what’s this and steal Diana away from the other guests. She pretty grateful tbh.

So they’re sitting in their corner of the museum, just hanging out and talking. When suddenly several incredible armed individuals crash through the skylight. It turns out there was a plan to attack this event but it was incredibly well hidden so these are some heavy hitters. At least some serious mercenary types. They are threatening the guests and saying they’re holding them for ransom but there’s something else going on.

Unfortunately the Trinity are still too much in the open to change and these guys are like hawks.

I want this scene to go:

The Trinity whispering to one another.

Diana: ok we need a plan.

Clark: yeah

Both look at Bruce. Bruce looks to them flushed with alcohol.

Bruce: I know you two are smart people you can come up with a plan.

Clark: yeah we can but we need more than a smart plan right now.

Diana: these are obviously very competent soldiers who know not to let anyone out of their sight, we need a paranoid Batman plan right now.

Bruce: unfortunately Batman is too drunk to process half the things in this room, I swear this is why I don’t relax often.

Clark: ok I know this is bad but I still think you should relax more

Diana: that’s what you’re- ok I don’t disagree but we have bigger things to worry about than our friend’s lack of self care.

Bruce: wait I think I do have an idea

Diana and Clark: really

Bruce stands up walks over to the table with all the food and drinks and starts pouring himself another glass of wine. This obviously pisses off the mercenaries.

Bruce proceeds to just start talking about random and inane bs that is 100 percent brucie wayne and that distracts them enough to let Diana and Clark go change really quick. Though they do watch for a sec cause it was admittedly hilarious.

Everything ends up going well, and Bruce gets carried home drunk by Diana and Clark.

Trinity Out of Suit Chaos

The Trinity find themselves stuck in a hold up situation (at maybe the museum that Diana works at) and the three of them find themselves stuck in their civilian clothes.

They are surrounded so Clark can’t change quickly without people noticing.

Diana is getting increasingly more upset because they keep messing with her exhibits.

Bruce is frustrated because of course this happens he just wanted to hang out with Diana and Clark damn it.

So it’s just them sitting there are the first moment they get they’re changing.

This is just me getting the idea in my head cause I’m gonna draw this.

[crazyfreckledginger]

Jason Todd x Reader - “In The Pale Moonlight”

After a one night stand, Jason doesn’t seem to be able to get his mind off you. Desperate to get you out of his head, he hesitantly agrees to go to Wayne Enterprise with his brothers for work, as a response to scrutiny from the general public. What happens when the person he was trying to erase from his memory pops right back into his life?

Requested by anon and on Wattpad: “Can I request one where reader and one of the boys are dating but they act like they still trying to get each other so they flirt a lot and stuff even if everyone knows they’re together”/ 

“And other one where the reader is feeling herself and singing “Meet me in the pale moonlight” by Lana Del Rey in front of one of batboys and they’re like wow she cute and kiss the readeeeeeer (they’re dating and they’re teenagers)THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU 💕” /

“haha well I have another which was that the reader is harley and Bruce's kid and she meets  batboys but jason since she knew before she left  for the first time since she was away for wayne industries business meetings”

A/N: I hope you guys don’t mind that I tweaked it a little since these requests don’t have alot of depth individually!

“I’m just here for a drink.” the girl smiled politely even though she was extremely uncomfortable. 

“I am too, can I have it with you?”

“Oh for crying out loud leave her alone, don’t be such a creep.” The man at the end of the counter groaned.

“Mind your business.” the creep gritted his teeth.

“Your disgusting aura is polluting my drink so it makes it my business.” (Y/N) watched as he stood up and walked towards the pair. Now that he was closer, the woman could see how attractive he was up close, stunning eyes, sharp jaw, tall and a streak of dyed white hair, “Fuck off will you?” 

“Who do you think you are?” 

“Sorry, I forgot a world, fuck off please.” The stranger shot the man a terrifying glare and without another word, the man studded away, like a dog with its tail between his legs. 

“Thank you mister, but if he laid a hand on me I would have sucker punched him.” 

“Mister huh?” he smirked, sitting beside her. 

“Well what’s your name then?” 

“Jason, pleasure to meet you.” 

****

“This is your place?” she hummed, fingers running through his soft hair as his lips trailed down her neck, pulling her legs around his hips.

“Mmh hmm,” 

“You rich or something?” the woman breathed out as he sucked on her skin. 

“Something like that,” he murmured, pulling away to tease her lips with his. Jason stared deeply into her eyes.

“What are you waiting for, lover boy? You brought me here.” (Y/N)’s arms hung loosely on his shoulders, occasionally touching the back of his head.

“Yes ma’am,” he smirked, hooking his hands under her legs and carrying her to his bedroom.

****

Glancing at her side to the soft breathing of the naked man beside her, she shuffled, stretching and yawning. What a night, she tried moving her legs but winced, what a night indeed. 

“Good morning princess,” his morning voice was incredibly attractive as his arm slid around her waist, pulling her flush against him.

“Mmh, good morning,” the woman squirmed in his grip as he nipped at her ear teasingly with his teeth, “what time is it?”

“You have someplace to be?” he murmured, hand caressing her naked hip.

“Yeah, I have work.”

“On a Saturday?” 

“Self employed.” 

“Nice!” 

****

A month or so later, Jason was frustratedly sitting in the meeting room, chewing on his lip in boredom as Bruce brought all of them to a meeting at Wayne Enterprise for less scrutiny from the public eye. 

“The person we will be working on for the new design is going to arrive soon so I need you all on your best behaviour.” He glared at all the boys. 

“Yeah yeah, can we just get on with it so I can leave?” The second oldest rolled his eyes. 

“Mr Wayne?” as if on queue, the person knocked on the one-way privacy film that covered every window of the room, the blurred figure waiting patiently on the other side. 

With a last scolding glance to everyone, Bruce strutted over, opening the door and smiling.

“Good morning Mr Wayne.” the woman greeted with a polite smile.

Jason’s eyes widened, and stayed that way even when he made eye contact with the girl. She responded with the same reaction, but quickly regained her composure and greeted the other boys. 

“Oh hey (Y/N),” Dick waved to his roommate, “you look great.” He flirted.

“...Um hey,” she greeted hesitantly, feeling a little uncomfortable with his usual ways in the professional setting.

“Shall we get down to business.” Bruce glared at his eldest son.

****

“You don’t have to act so grumpy.” Jason rolled his eyes as they finally arrived at their hotel in Europe after an excruciatingly long flight. 

“I’m tired, I need sleep.” Not wanting to address the elephant in the room, especially when she was this exhausted, she scurried to the bathroom to slip into comfortable pyjamas and landed right into bed, “I’m having this conversation tomorrow, good night.” 

The next day came quickly and (Y/N) opened her eyes reluctantly, wanting to melt in the comfortable double bed she was in. Discreetly, she peeked at the double bed facing her diagonally. 

The woman frowned, it was empty.

“I’m right here.” the man voiced from behind her as he exited the bathroom.

“Jason!” she screeched, “what the hell! Don’t creep up on people!” 

“Well don’t try to spy on people when they are sleeping!” he threw his damp towel to her.

“Ewwwww!” she grimaced.

“Chill, I was drying my hair with that.” he walked towards his bed, and she only now noticed that he was naked -- with a towel around his waist obviously. Steam was emitting from his skin as it glistened still.

With warm ears, she pulled the covers over her face, eyes peeking out discreetly.

“We’ve seen each other completely naked, I don’t see what the problem is, if you’re going to look, be shameless,” he moved his butt from left to right teasingly, “you can see this regularly if you want,” he chuckled.

With a sigh, she buried herself under the covers. 

“I haven’t changed my mind Jason, I’m sorry, I’m not interested in commitment at the moment.” 

She felt a weight on the bed and hesitantly took a peep out. Jason was laying on her bed, shirtless but with some underwear on.

“At least give me the benefit of the doubt for this trip.” he gave her the puppy eyes. Eying him suspiciously, she sighed.

“Alright, fine, don’t disappoint.”

****

A few months or so later into the relationship with Jason and gotten closer to his younger brothers, (Y/N) slipped on a comfortable T-shirt, watching herself in the mirror as she tidied her hair a bit and examined the hickey on her neck.

Swaying lightly from side to side to the song that was stuck in her head, she hummed softly to herself, setting out her clothes for the day.

“You don't have to give me anything

Just put your sweet kiss kiss on my lips now baby”

Walking back to the mirror, deciding on whether or not jewelry was necessary, the woman continued.

“Think about you almost all the time, all the time and-”

 “I love you so much baby,” he breathed out from the other side of the room. 

“Hmm?” she glanced in the mirror. 

“Keep singing~” 

“No,” she stuck her tongue out playfully, “are you ready?”

“Do we have to go?” Jason whined, marching up to her, slapping her ass and squeezing it before hugging her from behind, nuzzling her hair, his warm skin against her.

“Baby of course we do, we have to hide the fact that we’re together, plus they are fun, we’re all friends here.” she rubbed her butt against his hips and he bit her ear. 

“No teasing,” he whispered in her ear, turning her around and pushing her against the dresser, “or else.” 

“Or else?” the woman chuckled, “but seriously though,” her hands cupped his cheeks as he stared at her lips, “we can’t act like a couple, it’s unprofessional,” 

“Technically I don’t work at the company,” 

“And the person I’m working with is your dad.”

“Adoptive, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Just a coffee, maybe a lunch, and then we can come straight home.” 

“Mmh, okay,” he pouted, holding her tightly as she kissed his lips and pulled away. “You sing beautifully, please do it more for me.” he pouted. She chuckled, shaking her head slightly in embarrassment.

“Put a shirt on and let’s get ready, I don’t want to be late!” (Y/N) ushered, “and the sooner you’re out of here, the less anxious I’ll be that your brother unexpectedly enters his own home and sees you in it.”

When they were ready, at a somewhat reasonable time, they drove there as quickly and responsibly as possible.

“Why is your hand still on my thigh?!” (Y/N) jumped once she realised he had discreetly snaked his hand back on her thigh when he was parking the car on the side of the road, in a surprising proximity. Slapping his hand away and giving him a look, the woman slipped out of the car and walked up the stairs, ringing on the bell.

Jason scurried up beside her, slapping her butt playfully before pushing the door open. 

“Hey guys!” she grinned, not having the time to scold her boyfriend once again as she was greeted with welcoming smiles. 

“How have you been?” Dick teased, having seen her just yesterday.

After playful banter, and not-so-playful for the brothers, over a nice hot drink, a new topic came up.

“How was the party yesterday (Y/N)?” Jason inquired, knowing fully well about it but trying to seem inconspicuous, “I hope no one stole your heart, that’s for me!” … or not.

She paused, giving him an unimpressed look, reluctant to answer “It was great, and no.” 

“No what?” he smirked. Her cheeks burned, she did not like being put on the spot to lie, especially since this was incredibly unnecessary.

“No one did anything.” 

“To who-”

“This is embarrassing, we know you two are a couple,” Damian nearly gagged. 

“Huh?” (Y/N) turned to him, feeling her soul leave her body.

“How do you know?” Jason looked at him.

“It’s been a while.” Dick chuckled.

“We been knew 💅,” Tim rolled his eyes.

“Someone left someone’s underwear in an awkwardly obvious place when I came around… and you slapped her butt before you came in here, everyone saw it.” Dick explained, watching his brother.

“OH MY GOD, JASON!” 

“I didn’t- wait, how do you know that it’s her underwear???”

The eldest’s expression fell and he blushed. 

“I might have um-” 

“He accidentally came in when I was packing my bag to leave for the business meeting in France okay?” the woman spluttered. 

“You did WHAT?”

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[epithetical]

SPECIAL THANKS

Last year on the 4th of July, after a kinda messy heartbreak, I entered something dubbed a Sweetie Arc. In honor of that emotional vulnerability boomerang, let me gush about my friends and colleagues in a place where they’ll never see it. This is going to be the rest of the update. Turn back now.

TL;DR:

Shoutout to ValiDate, Golden Girls, Gamer Hell, the Homestuck Independent Creative Union, Sexy Boys, and the Whites™.

GAME DEV STUFF

Starting off with the broad strokes: thank you so much to the ValiDate team of past, present, and future. It’s been a long, winding road to actually get a VN on (digital) shelves, but you guys make it possible and worthwhile. Special shoutouts to the programming team (who legally have to put up with my inane ramblings about gacha success rates) and to the QA team for saving us from ourselves. Turns out even VNs take an incredible amount of bugfixing, who knew!

Shoutout, of course, to Dani, Alexis, Cam, and Solange. The people I’ve spent the most time with on this team, and the people forced to deal with me the most. I’m very lucky to have a gig where I can write an entire research paper about the 3D animation techniques used in Ace Attorney games, and somehow I get paid for it. Always going to be proud work we’ve done together, and I genuinely believe we’ve created a system that can move whatever fucking mountain we want. And, one day, when we’re not making the hardest-to-publish genre imaginable, we could probably take over the world if we wanted. I want to, anyway. No idea if y’all do. Get back to me on this!

Thanks to everyone I’ve met while working on TGGTMDX, you guys are all great, and I’m so fortunate to know you. To my fellow team leads, the Skeleton Crew, we gave it a fucking good effort. You guys are all wizards, and deserve all the success in the world. We’ll make something insane and game-changing one day, I promise. To Grawly, thank you for taking a chance on me. I’ll never forget it, and I’m honored to still be working with you.

Speaking of TGGTMDX: shoutout to Gamer Hell! I’m still the babyiest member (in more ways than one), but I’m humbled to be in such good company, and genuinely floored by how well you’ve all treated me. Sometimes it feels existentially confusing to be treated as a peer by people who have created such lifechanging art, and the way you guys have tried to raise me up has only made it weirder! In a good way. Good weird. Thanks Harlow for inviting me, and special thanks to her, Quinn, and Monkey for being such good friends. Hoping to make y’all proud.

No more dev talk, but a brief tangent about how funny it is that people I’ve been following for a decade know of my work, now. Sometimes I’ll hear Adrian and Cindy (hey guys!) talk about getting recognized for ValiDate in public despite living in a much more “conservative” area than me, but literally the only times its happened to me was with 1) an incredibly blindsided friend of a friend, and 2) Andrew Hussie. Not really gonna unpack that one now.

Oh, speaking of (x2 combo), special thanks to the Homestuck Creative Union. One of the most exciting parts of 2023 was watching you guys emerge from the shadows, guns drawn, targets locked. This shoutout is less for the team (for, y’know, obvious reasons), and more for you: the girl reading this. I entreat you, if you’re a person that was turned off by the epilogues and/or the original direction of HS^2, please. Give this new team a shot. They’re some of the most talented, funny, dedicated people I know, and just from what little I’ve seen, I know they have what it takes. Their ambition alone is enough to earn them the mantle of Homestuck Scribe(s). 

But also they’re my friends, and you should support them so we can all get rich and go on vacation again. Entreaty over. Thank you for reading.

Lastly for the professional shoutouts is the ASCEPI team, who have been forced to watch me run sidequests with all these other bozos for three years now. There’s no words I can use to show my gratitude for you guys putting any effort into making my dream-game a reality, let alone the amount of elbow grease you’ve been giving. I want to make this game as good as I can make it, and you people are the only reason why it will get made in the first place. Please, continue relying on my dumb ass as I hone my game-making skills doing all this other shit. We’ll make it one day.

Now onto the friend shoutouts! Not that the above-mentioned aren’t friends. Everyone’s my friend. None of them have a choice.

THE IRLs (WHO WON’T READ THIS)

To the Wessex Family: Going to community college might’ve been the best-worst decision I’ve ever made. You guys saved my life in a very literal way. Never have I met a more accepting, kindhearted, and frankly stupid group of people. We may have all met because of Smash, but we all love each other because we keep getting into sitcom situations. Now, hilariously, we all work in games. You’re all fucking idiots. I am so sorry that esports have imploded. Get well soon.

To the Art School Friends (Suffer Gang? Is that what we’re calling it now?): I’m sorry I dropped out. I’m really glad I dropped out. You’re all really jealous I dropped out. School may have taught me nothing (besides Bradley’s class, thanks Bradley!), but you guys taught me about love. Resilience. Gacha addictions. I hope that me being a try-hard has given you back a fraction of that. I’m proud of you all for actually graduating, and I’m going to force the industry to take you even if it kills me. Gonna miss drinking with you guys a lot. Glad we’re making a game together so we can stay in touch, but please come back to NYC as soon as possible. It’s so boring without y’all.

THE OOMFS (WHO WILL READ THIS)

Now my personal server, Sexy Boys Only. You are a colony of ants that I keep in a shoebox and shake at my leisure. The amount of psychological torture we inflict on each other daily is staggering, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m happy to have made you all worse in clearly defined ways, but I’m forced to admit that you guys have made me much, much better. I’m not one to admit it, but being around you guys has made me considerably less neurotic than I was at the beginning of the pandemic. 

Can’t phrase it any other way: you guys are so shameless that my OCD buckled under the weight. Couple days ago, Aly ranted about her boyfriend’s flacid dick for five minutes, then spent the rest of the night rapping about it with Winter. You just can’t get that anywhere else.

Of course, this server can’t exist without Alex. She made it, she’s the beating sadistic heart at its center, and she’s my best friend. Don’t let her hear me say that. She’d never let me live it down. I can still hear her saying “awwwww, kevinnnnnn” the last time I showed her any affection… Scary stuff. (She also came up to NY to hang with me for a weekend last Halloween! We had a party.) Unfortunately for both of us, she’s one of my oldest friends, and I couldn’t have done literally any of this without her. She is the wind beneath my wings. She’s literally become my Jiminy Cricket that exists to tell me when I’m getting clowned. Like a rage-born brain ghost. If anyone can make it in Hollywood, it’s her. She won’t give them a choice.

Lightning round, because doing paragraphs for all of you is increasingly unsustainable:

Mel, you died in the war. We honor your memory by doing drugs and drinking shitty beer. I miss you every day, brother. We’ll get you off that farm.

Fish, is one of the most talented people I’ve ever had the horror of knowing, and watching him grow into his own has been one of my life’s most unexpected honors. He actually just reached 10k on Twitter! Please, check him out.

Daisy, you went to heaven. I’ve never seen you this happy before, and I hope you never have to leave Ireland again.

Anthy, you’re probably the one person that’s dealt with me being a completely insane person the most, and I appreciate it deeply. You’ve made me a better person in a tangible way that I can’t repay. 

Ollie, I’ve literally known you since I was 14. Cope with that. Cope. The things we have seen. The things we have done. 

Xue, you get along with my sister weirdly well, and I think my family likes you more than they like me. I don’t think we can keep up the fake-boyfriend ruse because my parents will adopt you.

Julio also died in the war, but I honor them by doing drugs and drinking cocktails. Incredibly talented artist, and even though they never post on Twitter, you should follow them anyway. Or die.

Mei, reconnecting with you was 100% an impulse decision that I deeply regret now that you are yaoipilled. I thought better of you. I thought we were monks together… But you liked hole more than nirvana… (Your mom is very nice, though.)

Max, watching you get Umineko-pilled is one of the funniest “of course he’s the one that locked the fuck in” moments of my life. Of all the straight white boys I know, you are at the top of the heap. You may also be the only one. Everyone adores you. (A/N: MAX IS NO LONGER STRAIGHT AT TIME OF POSTING THIS BUT I WAS UNAWARE AT THE TIME OF WRITING THIS)

Jay, you’re an incredible talent. I don’t think I say that enough. I forgive you for buying me shitty $5 horror games to try and manipulate me into playing them with you. Please follow them on Twitter so they can escape petcare. 

Aly, I think the flaccid boyfriend thing says enough. My friendship with you is 99% anecdotes like that, and you’re a treasured friend that I appreciate having in my girltalk circle. Sorry that I’m a prude!

Winter and Salem. You two are a package deal. Yin and Yang. Kpop equilibrium. I’m sorry I made you two walk for miles and pretended it was only five blocks. I stand by it, though.

Emma, you’re actively editing this dumb fucking vanity project while I write this. I have no idea why you’re willing to put up with my strange artistic whims, and my complete inability to use dashes, but I appreciate you dearly. Also, kinda sick to have an editor?

To the rest of the Sexy Boys… I’d feel legitimately guilty directly roasting the rest of you in public like this. So take this token of “I will roast you within the sanctity of our server” coupon instead. And thanks for being a friend.

My other friend-group server, WO3, gets their shoutout at the bottom where no one dares read, so no one asks what it stands for. Doing Oomfcon with you guys was a dream, but getting to know you guys at all still feels surreal. Spent a lot of time feeling like I was some weird kid surrounded by giants, but now I realize I’m taller and buffer than all of you. Besides Alexis, she can still kick my ass. 

Dani, you’re never gonna read this, but reconnecting with you was one of the best mistakes I’ve ever made. I owe you my life, my career, and my greatest work. In turn, you owe me 5% of your clout as a game development juggernaut, so I think we’re even. You’ve lit a fire under me, and I’ve gotten very good at running very fast lest I get burned. Amen.

Xtine, I am your fag. You are my hag. This bond is unbreakable. Our girltalk means the world to me, even though you “have a girlfriend” now. Traitor. Jokes on you, I still haven’t started playing Touhou, and I am only somewhat sorry. Grim got to it first. She’s actually very good at it. 

Haven, it feels weird meeting some guy that has all of your same niche interests, but I cannot complain whatsoever. I think we’re both in a “oh shit, we have the same exact taste in shit” loop that’s going to take us to the center of the Earth. Chatting with you about whatever dumb shit we get up to has been a genuine delight, and watching you slowly take over the world has been a ride. Become Toyotaro. I believe in you.

Okay. Realizing it's kinda hard to talk about yall as individuals when you guys really function more like wheels within wheels. An insane machine that churns out bits and muse like no one's business. So let's break it up a little. 

To the Fortnite sub-gang within the Whites: kinda embarrassing how much playing this dumb fucking game has meant to me, but Alexis has written an entire essay about how much it means to them, so I think I’m in the clear. It’s some of the most fun I’ve had during the pandemic, and even though my PC crashes every time I open the game… I will drop with you. This is a promise. (HS:BC needs to succeed specifically so the others can get better gaming setups, too. I am begging. I miss us so bad.)

I genuinely don’t think I knew what being an artist meant until I knew you guys. There’s whatever the fuck I was doing, and then there’s you two. The amount of your being dedicated to theory, critique, and improvement is well beyond what I've ever seen in academia or professional settings. Even though you're all visual artists, you've pretty much forced me to push my music and my design, or die trying. And I refuse to die. 

(Also, having Haven, Dani, and Rads to talk about comics with is the first time in my life that anyone has cared about this dumb fucking interest of mine. We’re in this together. Marvel is ours for the taking.)

AFTERWORD

That’s about it. I know I’m a pretty… unaffectionate dude, so typing this much about how much I care about you guys probably comes off as a weird OOC moment (or a truncated suicide note). Self-expression has never really been my strongpoint. Hell, I had to write this whole thing instead of just being kinda mushy 1-on-1! But we’re already a month into 2024, and I’ve been holding strong on my resolution to keep being as open as I can manage. My life is a lot better for all of you being in it. Thank you for taking a chance on me.

We already have a lot of plans for 2024 (many of which I’m too OCD to talk about openly, lest I jinx them), and I’m ready to see how far we can take these silly little relationships. Will we take over the world? Hopefully. Will corporate America bow to our might? Probably! Am I out of ideas on how to end this? Definitely.

To anyone that’s read this far: Love you. To anyone that skimmed to the end: Hey, you missed the part where I talked about Homestuck.

2024! We’re in it, baby!

2024 UPDATE (OFFICIAL)

Hey, everyone. Longtime no talk. Despite being weirdly active on this account, I haven't really made any textposts since high school. So I've decided to fix this by giving a gigantic update post about my very busy 2023. If you're new and don't know anything about me, or knew me as a teen and are wondering what I'm up to now: buckle up.

TL;DR:

Dropped out of art school. Released an award-nominated(???) dating sim, ValiDate. Killed the Golden Girls Take Manhattan DX. Conquered Jaw Explosion Disease. Hung out with some friends. (Also, a lot of NDA shit that I can’t talk about.)

ART-SCHOOL DROPOUT

From 2021 to 2022, I was attending a prestigious and overly-expensive art school for their (brand new!) game design program. When I first graduated from high school, this college was my dream choice, and coming off the success of my early game dev career, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to polish my skills while I kept working on the side. My first commercial game was still in development, but we were feeling comfortable, and I felt like getting greedy.

Pride before the fall. Full Icarus mode. You know how it goes.

The school itself was…alright. Satellite campus, mid-pandemic, hybrid learning. Close enough to commute comfortably, classes just long enough for masks to not give me a headache, and the handful of remote courses helped keep my medical problems at bay. Problems that the school was a little unequipped to help with, though the disability office did their best. I had to drop a class because my body, at the time, couldn’t handle eight hours of classes without some Crazy Side Effects. 

(Keep in mind that every class was, minimum, four hours. And I had to take at least five a semester. Each class also saw me make an entire game from scratch. My body was already at its limit.)

If you knew me in high school, you’re probably waiting for the shoe to drop: I was, famously, the worst at academics. Never did homework, rarely finished projects, slept through first period at least once a week. Surprise, though: I was fucking great at this. My GPA doubled. Turns out that going to school for a discipline you already have a career in, and are kinda obsessed with, kinda does wonders for you. Unfortunately, I picked the worst time to care about school, since my commercial game’s release was the same exact night that my five school games were due.

TL;DR, I didn’t sleep for a week, almost fucked both up, and got burnout so bad that I couldn’t do anything for a calendar year. So I dropped out! Now, about a year of job hunting later (the game’s industry is imploding right now, and the only studios that considered me were… questionable, to say the least), the expensive art school wants me back. So badly. Turns out the whole school is so broke and understaffed right now that they’re basically chomping at the bit for that tuition money. Got a week to decide. Jury’s still out.

VALIDATE POST-MORTEM

So, if you couldn’t tell from the above section, we released a game in 2022!  I was supposed to write a post-mortem for it, but… burnout from the above, combined with general “post-release depression,” and I didn’t feel like touching it. 

Part of me still doesn’t! 

Yet I kinda think the feeling of me not wanting to talk about ValiDate is still worth discussing, so here we go:

For those of you that aren’t aware, I was a head dev on ValiDate, a dating sim that released in 2022. Volume 1 (of 3) did, anyway.

Did a lot of music, did a lot of writing, created some characters people really care about, created some characters people really want to fuck, made a couple Tweets that my boss hated, got accused of being reverse racist a few times. It was truly one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life. And, yes, we’re still working on Vol. 2 behind the scenes. 

That’s actually the reason why it’s kinda hard to talk about Vol. 1!

It was my first commercial game, my first publicly released game, and I think there’s always gonna be a… natural embarrassment toward your first “real” project. Combine that with my natural “if you stare at me for too long, I will kill myself” tendencies, and the game’s release was a special type of torture. It’s one thing to watch people play through a game that you poured your blood, sweat, and tears into, knowing full well that they might hate it (or just misunderstand it), but shit gets so much worse when you know that you could have done better. 

It’s a very special kind of psychological torture to have creative decisions you feel were mistakes, things you half-assed because of burnout or deadlines, or things you did wrong because you just didn’t know any better! The embarrassment was overwhelming, so I just… dipped for a while. Didn’t watch gameplay or read reviews, didn’t do much of anything.

Took me a while to realize that me being embarrassed about the project isn’t because ValiDate was bad or anything. I was embarrassed because it was an incredible learning opportunity for me. The amount that I picked up on game design, community management, leadership, marketing, pitching, porting, etc. in two years is more than any school could teach you in four. Volume 1 was a game made by amateurs, still wet behind the ears, trying to build something from grassroots. 

But Volume 2 is a game-ass game. 

And having done all the work we have on Vol. 2 (which, while I can’t talk about it publicly, is a lot!), looking back at our first release feels like… revisiting your awkward middle school photos. Sometimes it’s hard to not feel contempt for who you were when your biggest struggle was becoming, but learning to choke down that shame? It taught me to feel grateful for the you of yesterday, who clawed their way through uncertainty so that you, today, can stand on sturdier ground. Growing up is embarrassing, and it turns out you keep doing it well into your twenties! Sucks. 

For the past few days, Dani and I have been watching a Twitch streamer play through Volume 1. We’ve been so deep in planning for the future that we figured, hey, may as well revisit the past. Detached from all that embarrassment of becoming, I gotta admit: we made a fun little dating sim. People like it. Hell, I like it. Sure, I know all of its flaws and shortcuts, and I have my fair share of critiques… but fact of the matter is, if I have a problem with something, I can just fix it. 

Admittedly, In the past, that attitude of mine has actually been more of a problem than a solution. “I can fix this myself!” is all fine and good when you’re a solo dev trying to throw something together, but it turns out taking on excess responsibility in a collaborative setting is a way to make shit suck for you and your team. During the Kickstarter demo era, I was literally on every team besides art. Writing, programming, music, I got my fingers in all those pies. It was fun to me, and more importantly, it was sustainable. 

Until it wasn’t.

Volume 1 coinciding with my tenure at [art school], using a (finicky and, frankly, shitty) new game engine, being much larger in scope, introducing minigames (which, surprise, I was team lead on)... I pretty much killed myself trying to get it all done. Honestly, I blame half of our day-one bugfixes on me specifically. Every single one of them was an oversight made because I was pulling the classic “I’m unmedicated so crunching is the only way I can feel alive” type shit. 

Except for the OST. That one sucked because art school sucks all the joy out of creating.

Happy to say that our workflow for Volume 2 has been much more sustainable for me, even if I’ve officially broken my “no art” rule for it. Yeah, turns out I’m finally making use of that animation major. Sucks.

Self reflection over. Except for one last note:

If you’ve followed ValiDate, played our demo, donated to the Kickstarter, replied to our Tweets, played our second demo, bought our game, or just talked about us to a friend… I am so, so grateful. Beyond what words could possibly describe. It’s been my dream for as long as I can remember become a game developer, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you guys. Vd8 wasn’t what I expected the cornerstone of my career to be, but honestly? I couldn’t have asked for a better one. We have Vriska in our game. How many people can possibly say that?

And to those of you still waiting for Volume 2:

You haven’t seen anything yet.

GAYMING AWARDS

Speaking of ValiDate… Did you hear we were nominated for some Gayming Awards last year? We were! 

Three other head Vd8 devs (Dani: Production, Alexis: Art, Cam: Code) flew out to beautiful New York City for the award show last March, which was actually our first time actually meeting up IRL. Really funny how I’ve known Dani since I was fifteen, but here we were, a decade later, finally meeting face to face. She’s so much taller in person. I’m still taller, but barely.

Meeting up with internet friends is one thing (and more on that later!), but meeting up with internet coworkers? It’s interesting. This was the first moment that ValiDate felt “real,” seeing as it was suddenly important enough to give us comp’d flights and a hotel room, but more than that: the people I’ve been working with for years exist? We’re all hanging out together? We’re wandering through Manhattan all day? We’re eating the most disgusting food at Junior’s in Times Square? We’re trying to figure out what this mystery liquid is? How much did this food cost again? (Seriously, my onion rings were 90% dough and 10% onion.)

While I won’t bore you with the minutiae—I think my friends would prefer the privacy anyway—the entire trip to NYC was fun, exhausting, and a dream-come-true.

Except for that goddamn award show. Jesus CHRIST, what a trainwreck.

No, I’m not saying that just because we lost. We did lose, though. (Personally, I was fine with it, but I also had to travel the least distance to get there. So…) I’m saying that because the entire Gayming Awards industrial complex was, uh, kinda busted this year?

So imagine, you’re us: bunch of twenty-somethings on your Sex and the City shit. Big award show tonight, formal attire. We’re talking high heels, long dresses, full suits, the whole nine yards. Now what do you do in Manhattan? Walk. Sure, we weren’t walking in formal attire the entire time, but it was still a good five blocks to the award center where—wait, what do you mean they relocated the ceremony? The hall they rented is closed for mysterious reasons? Where the hell are we doing the award show?

If you answered “the drag bar where the afterparty was supposed to take place,” congrats, here’s $20. Way further away from our hotel, which meant more walking, and also a way smaller venue with a lot less… formality, let’s say. But we’re young gay people, we don’t care about formalities, who gives a shit! As long as it can seat all of us, then—oh there’s no seating. Ohhhh. Oh! Okay.

I’ll admit, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. There were a handful of couches, VIPs only. Realizing quickly that, oh shit, we’re VIPs, we managed to snag some front-seat couches before any of the pesky old people could. (We’re young! We deserve to sit! You’ve had your entire lives to sit, established games industry people! Let the new generation have a turn!) Unfortunately, when I got up to cash in my free-drink voucher, my seat was stolen by some white lady. 

So I sat on the floor.

March 2023. You, sitting at home, have decided to tune into the Gayming Awards “live” on Twitch, curious to see what Britain’s premiere gayming magazine had to say about, uh, esports. 

This is important to you. 

Fortunately, this year you’re watching a decently shot and scripted award show filmed in a (noticeably claustrophobic) little bar, complete with charming presenters (many of whom are local drag queens) and a myriad of corporate sponsors. You can hardly tell that the entire show was uprooted and moved hours prior!

Yet, for some reason, whenever the cameras cut to the audience… There’s some large man, right in front of the crowd, slumped down on the floor as if he’s bleeding out. With every award given, his clapping grows weaker. The more the camera cuts to him, the more life drains from his body, as if his existence itself is anathema to “gayming.”

Imagine, for a moment, that this man is nominated for an award. 

Imagine that he, after a lifetime of potassium deficiency, has been teetering on the edge of a Charlie Horse Reckoning for hours.

Imagine that the microsecond that his game’s name is called as a nominee, the Reckoning begins. 

Now imagine a world where he wins that award. 

A world where he is forced to stand—from his corpse’s rightful place on the ground!—in front of his peers and superiors, pretending as if he’s not afflicted with a life-ending muscle cramp.

So, yeah. I was pretty fine with losing.

Later, we ditched the “afterparty” to drink at Applebees. (Turns out “green tea shots” don’t have any green tea in ‘em?)

EULOGY FOR THE GOLDEN GIRLS TAKE MANHATTAN DX

Big announcement! I was a team lead on The Golden Girls Take Manhattan DX, a certified Tumblr Gold™ fan-project (by the immortal Grawly) about the eponymous Gold Girls in a Persona-esque parody game! 

Slightly bigger announcement! The game got cancelled. Sorry.

Feels a little weird talking about this, since the year-ish I spent working on the game passed in the blink of an eye, and I’m not going to lie and say that I was an instrumental piece of the team or whatever. I was lucky enough to lead a very talented team, and to play with some very fun devtools, but the game was definitely more important to me than I was to it. (Grawly, if by some off-chance you’re reading this, please click off now. You can peek back in at the Jaw Explosion Disease subheader. I promise I’m very nice and respectful.)

I was in high school when I was first made aware of TGGTMDX. My friend group was very into Persona (in the pre-P5 days), and one of our favorite video subgenres was “videogame UI on top of sitcom scenes.” It didn’t take us long to stumble onto early-build footage of TGGTMDX on Tumblr, and what spawned was a years-long fascination. I’d even consider it one of my many… game dev awakenings? The idea that the only thing stopping me from making “American Persona”—one of my many white whales—was commitment to the bit. Just one of the many things that fueled my teenaged suicidal overconfidence.

Speaking of suicidal overconfidence, about a decade later, I was invited to work on the game! Coming fresh off ValiDate, I was desperate for a chance to make a real portfolio piece (visual novels, while popular, will never get you a job), and this sort of opportunity only presents itself once in a lifetime. Fulfilling a teenage dream while furthering your career? What could possibly go wrong!

That makes it seem like there was some explosive drama behind the scenes that ruined everything. Sorry to say that most game cancellations aren’t that exciting, and that this game’s death was by a thousand microscopic cuts. Most of which are not my place to talk about: this game wasn’t my baby, and cancelling it wasn’t my choice to make! Many people worked on this for much, much longer than I even knew how to code, and they deserve to have their feelings prioritized. Whenever that post mortem gets published, I’ll be the first to reblog it, trust me. 

Instead, I’d prefer to talk a little about this as being my first real “loss” as a game dev. Certainly not my first project to go under, and I’ve had my fair share of shelved prototypes, but something about this cancellation was… different. Working on your dream project is all fun and games until you feel partially responsible for it dying, y’know? It felt Sisyphean at a point, like trying to dig a hole in the sand with a pitchfork. I would work at the game, and work at the game, but nothing I did felt like it made a dent. 

Part of me knew I wasn’t giving it my all, between the school-based burnout (above), jaw explosion disease (below), and ValiDate (omnipresent), it’s not like I could’ve afforded to put more of myself into it. Besides, I was literally a team lead, half my job was telling other people what to do. But the spectre of “you’re not doing enough” was hard to shake. Even when all these other responsibilities ebbed and I could afford to give this game my all, the difference felt minimal. 

We spend a lot of time pitying Sisyphus for having to push that boulder uphill over and over, but none of us ask ourselves “could we even move that big fucking rock in the first place?” Apparently, I couldn’t.

I wasn’t the only one that felt that way, it turned out. In fact, pretty much all the friends I made on the project felt the same. If there’s any “real” reason why the project got cancelled, it’s that. No big falling out, Disney didn’t give us a cease and desist, no secret rebrand going on in the background. Just a bunch of lads getting sick of pushing a boulder. Hell, Grawly’s been doing it for a decade. Let him rest.

Not too much rest, though: we’re already working on a different game together (Date Knight: check it out if you haven’t!), and some of us ex-Golden Girls devs have some ideas for what else we can cook up. 

For money, this time.

JAW EXPLOSION DISEASE

Probably the biggest “development” of 2023 was my sudden horrible nerve pain in July, which started as a sinus infection on the left side of my face, and soon became a horrific jaw pain. Long after my sinus infection healed, the jaw pain remained, which is a pretty bad hand to draw when a considerable portion of your day is spent “talking,” or “eating.” So, for the back half of 2023, I didn’t do much of either.

Instead, I had to take a considerable amount of ibuprofen, visit one doctor, three dentists, two hospitals, and four oral surgeons to figure out what the hell is wrong with me. The dentists discovered an exposed nerve, caused by wisdom tooth removal complications (sick!), the oral surgeons went “okay, we can fix that,” got me all numbed up. But it turns out that my left jaw is immune to local anesthesia! Thinking this was an infection, they kept putting me on antibiotics over and over in the hopes that it’d suddenly work. Took a note from my childhood dentist explaining that, “no, he’s always been like this” to find a surgeon willing to put me all the way under. (And then, the first time they tried, I woke up in the middle anyway! I got a full refund on the copay, at least.) 

Ultimately, I found a very nice surgeon in December that treated me same-day, and did it perfectly, but the damage to my liver from all that ibuprofen was… bad. But it turns out that livers just… regenerate naturally? So, give it a few months, I’ll be at 100%. Hopefully.

OOMFCON

Hilariously, six months after we met up for the Gayming Awards, Dani and Alexis found their way back to NYC for a little combination meet-up/vacation we affectionately titled “Oomfcon 2023.” This time, with bonus friends! Our entire friend server, whose name I’ve been advised not to post publicly, had rented an AirBnB for anyone willing to drop everything and go to Brooklyn. 

It took about a year of planning (mostly by Alexis) to get us all out there, but Jesus Christ, it actually worked.

Admittedly I’m a bit hesitant to talk at length about “taking a vacation”—even though I’m already… from here?—but it really was the highlight of my year. First for actually happening, when most friend groups I’ve had would have written the idea off as a pipedream, but mostly for being a really good time. A lot of walking, a lot of talking, a lot of drinking, a lot of dining. (This was during Jaw Explosion Disease, so you can imagine how my body took most of that.)

To Dani, Alexis, Miles, Haven, Grim, Xtine, and Ty: thanks for coming up here! The city is a lot more boring without you guys in it. I promise to have less health issues when we do this again!

And to everyone else outside the groupchat that I met and bored with my job hunt stories: Nice meeting you guys! Sorry that fate decided every single one of you is forced to keep in touch with me. (And I didn’t even get the shitty corporate job!)

[checkingoutforheroes]

B.A.B.Y PROTOCOL.

Part 2.

Avengers x fem!reader 

Pt.1

Words: 1892

Synopsis: This takes place in Avengers: Age of Ultron. When The Avengers were at the rock bottom, Nick Fury and advised by Maria Hill, to initiate the B.A.B.Y Protocol. Will a young, damaged and broke girl agree to this initiative and help a team to save this planet earth?

Main Masterlist 

Maria and Fury bring you to The Avengers tower for mission briefing and meet the rest of the team. To be honest, you are beyond excited you see the building. You move from your seat to another, looking out of the window, facing the tower. Maria looks at you at the rear view mirror, seeing your awe face and smile. “If you open that window, I might’ve mistaken you with a dog.” You ignore her comment and ask them “Is this S.H.I.E.L.D? You guys work here? You build this place papa Bear? This is taller than I thought it would be!”

Fury look at you and then Maria “Now she’s excited.” Maria answer your question. “That is Avengers tower. S.H.I.E.L.D no longer exist. Burn to the ground.” You didn’t keep up about them after left the agency so you don’t know what happened. “What happened? Did this moody papa Bear show his emotion through action?” You let out a small laugh until Fury annoyed “Once again you call my name other than Fury, I’ll burn you too.” “Nahh, you’re not going to burn me. You need me. Otherwise, I’m not in this car right now. I said to him and Maria drive through the parking basement. “She got you, boss.”

Fury walk ahead to their meeting room. You stop your track when you see an aquarium placed at the wall. You never see something like that before in your life. When Maria realize that you are not walking behind her, she turns back to get you. “What are you doing?” “Looking at these fish in an aquarium stuck on the wall. How they do that? How they going to feed the fish? Rich people shit, quite awesome.” You said and Maria just shake her head. “We have a world crisis and the first thing you did is watch the fish?! Are you kidding me? Let’s go meat the team.”

 Meanwhile Fury already told the team about a new protocol or whatever. You didn’t hear that clearly until you are inside the room. Fury talk to them. “Since all of you are here, including Maximoff, I have a new protocol that you can use.” Steve looking confusing at Fury. “We already made a plan.” Tony interrupt to teasing Steve “Yeah and a good ted talk by the captain too.” Natasha asking about the protocol. “Do we know about the protocol?” Fury take a seat “No, Romanoff. No one knows about this protocol except Agent Hill. This protocol was created to help the team when in need, and this team clearly need it right now.” Steve ask him. “What protocol is that?” Natasha looking at Clint and he shrug. “B.A.B.Y PROTOCOL.” Tony just laugh while Steve have a serious face looking at him. “I’m sorry. That’s kinda funny name for a protocol.” Maria open the door and you both going in. All eyes on you and you feeling slightly nervous. How can you not, they are The Avengers! You recognize all of their face except one person wearing black dress and red cardigan.  

Fury introduce you to the team. “Right on time. Avengers, I introduce you B.A.B.Y PROTOCOL, as in Best Associate By Yours truly.” Maria added “Also, we call her Baby.” They are quiet and shock appear in their faces except two people. Natasha and Clint. They go greet you. “Baby!” Natasha walks to hug you while Tony look at you two weird. “Nat! Omg, I miss you. Clint! Miss you too!” You hug Clint and he hold your head. “Well, she grows up.” “Yeah, with some food and water, I did. Man, you’re old.” You said to him and Natasha smile “Kids growing, Barton.” “Natasha, beautiful as always. You have to drop your skin care routine, sis.” Tony interrupt the moment “You both knew her? Fury, you said no one know about this protocol.” Fury nods. “I said no one know about this protocol not that Romanoff and Barton didn’t know her.”

Steve starts asking question. “How old are you?” Tony interject again. “Yeah. You don’t look like a baby to me.”

             You looking back at Steve, smirk on your face. “How old are you?” Maria sign you to behave. “Baby.” Tony sit down at one of the chair. “I like this kid already!” He earns a glare from Steve and you apologizing “I’m sorry. That’s not a good first impression. I’m 22.”

“What is your name?” Damn he is a serious one.

             “People call me Baby.”

“What people didn’t call you?”

             “If they didn’t call me? Silence, I guess.” You whisper at Natasha left ear “Can I not tell them my name?” She crooks a little smile. “It’s up to you.” “I prefer being call by that name that Maria & Fury has told you or anything you want except my real name due to personal reason.” You nod and smile at them.

“Why? Dark past? Major criminal? Wanted by CIA? Interpol? MI6? Ugly name? Kicked out of family or something?” Seriously, how can they work as a team with a guy name Tony Stark? Maria, Natasha and Clint have your back.

“She’s here to help us. Nothing else, Stark.” Maria said to him.

Natasha glare at him. “I suggest you stop right there or you’re not going to see any sunlight.”

Clint agree with them. “Leave her alone man.” Tony look guilty. “Everybody in this room has dark past. I’m just curious, not judging. She’s not alone.” Wanda tell them that he told the truth. “He’s not lying.” “Thank you Wendy. Peace?” You walking toward him “No heart feeling.” You guys fist bump each other.

Steve ask again. “How do you know Barton and Romanoff?”

             “While I was in S.H.I.E.L.D Academy, which I thought a Juvenile school at first, they trained me combat espionage. Since that’s the only thing on my expertise. I wish to have Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz brain though. They’re genius in bio-chem and engerneering.”

“Why you thought it was juvenile at first? You commit crime?”

             “Duh.” Both you and Tony said it at the same time and again “JINX!” Natasha look at Steve. “Relax captain, all of us commit crime back then.” “I didn’t” Tony look at him. “Are you sure about that?” “What do you mean Stark?” Steve ask and he say “You literally cheated your medical checkup to join the army.” “I did it to protect our country.” Steve said and Clint chuckle “Still crime.” Fury tell Maria to handle the briefing and he’s out. You ask where is he going? “Where is he going?” “He have another thing to do Baby.”

             “I know most of you but I don’t think I know or seen you, Mr. ?” You ask and Natasha introduce him. “That is Dr. Bruce Banner.”

             You shake his hand. “Nice to meet you. What did you do?”

Bruce seems like to hesitate to answer that. “You didn’t know? New York?”

             “Alien? Chitauri?” You ask him back innocently.

“Um. I’m, the big green guy.” He anxiously answers that.

             “An ogre! Wow, that is so cool!” Clint hold my shoulder. “The other green, buddy.” “Oh, I know. I’m sorry, I forgot your ogre name is Shrek. Still cool though. I watch all of his movies when I was a kid. Maybe we can watch it again sometimes.”

Bruce look at Natasha and then back at you. “That’s, not me either, but yeah, we can watch that, big green cartoon sometimes.” Tony finally tell you who he is. “You seriously don’t remember who broke New York kid? He’s The Hulk!” Bruce looks down and tilt his head to look at Tony. “Yes. I’m that! Thank you for bringing back memory, Tony!”

             You feel guilty for not remember that. “Gosh, I’m so sorry. But hey, New York already broken before you broke it. Can I have a selfie? You’re incredible.” You snap the picture before he even answers. Tony said something “I’m literally right here. The coolest guy in the group.” You turn your head to the girl in black dress, red cardigan. “And you are?”

She answers with a thick accent “Wanda Maximoff.”

             “You’re not from here? You have an accent just like Nat. Well, once she’s mad at me during training years ago.” You remember the detail and Natasha rolls her eyes at you. “That is one time. I slipped.” “Human make mistakes sis. You aren’t machine.”

“I just got here yesterday. I made a mistake. Wrong judgement, I want to make it right. I join them.” She explains and you currently melting, just to hear he talk. You want her to talk more so you can hear her talk. Thing is, you didn’t know that she can read mind. Where is that accent came from? Russian? You ask those questions in your head. “From Sokovia.”

             “Where are you from? What? I just ask-“

Maria answer my question. “She’s a telekinesis, energy manipulation and some kind of neuroelectric interfacing.” “Huh?” You don’t even know what that is and Maria make it simple for you. “Telepathic.” You turn to look back at her. “That is so awesome!” Tony huff at your statement. “Yeah, until she’s in your head.” She just looking down “I’m sorry.”

 Right after she said that, Thor, God of Thunder walk into the room and tell about the scepter. You are amazed and suddenly you bend the knee. “Oh. My. God. You’re Thor!” He looks back at you. “and you tiny female human.” “You. Are. the God of Lightning! I am a fan! No. I’m an air-conditioner.” He smiling, feeling proud. “Thank you, tiny human lady. It’s God of Thunder, actually. What’s an air-conditioner?”

Maria gives us final brief. “You guys might want to prepare something for tomorrow. We’re flying to Korea and find Dr. Chow tomorrow morning. Get some rest, sleep early, you guys need it.”

             You ask them a question. “Can I go back to my place, then come back? Clint can you take me?” “Yeah, I can.” Steve kind of not agree with you. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “Why? I need to take my stuff.” “I can pick her up tomorrow.” You and Clint said and Steve ask you again. “Do you have a suit? or uniform?” You unzip your sweater and show your Donut Do It uniform. “Will, this do? Because someone decided that it was okay to give a surprise visit when I’m on my way to work.” Maria just smirking at you and Natasha smile “I don’t think that appropriate gear for the field.”

Tony offers you to stay with them at the tower. “Captain’s right. Don’t want to risk anything on the team member night before fight. Stay here, I’ve got plenty of room. Natasha can show you. They basically live here. We have spare shirts too.” You look at Wanda “You live here too?” She’s thinking about the answer. “I spend the night here.” Natasha turn you to look at her. “That’s a good idea. Just stay here tonight. Wanda’s here too.” “Natasha can show you your room, take a shower and dinner later.” Tony said. You look at Maria by the mention of dinner. She sighs “Okay, spaghetti and chicken wings.” Natasha add “And caramel pudding?” You smile at her “You remember?!” “Of course I do.” Clint jokingly say “How can she not, you guys practically sisters.”

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

Thank you for spending your time reading this. Feel free to reblog or ask me anything, thank you in advance!

Part 3 is coming!

[nobully]

RESTRICTED or SPRAIN!

a comprehensive list of scenarios | 60.  RESTRICTED :  for both muses to sneak into someplace they’re not supposed to be.

'You left your shoe where?'

"My heel, Yi-Yi! My high heel, on the 250th floor!"

Isn't that where all the bigshots hang out or whatever? Wang Yi takes a glance at the tall, tall skyscraper above them and shrugs. 'Oh. Well, that's too bad.'

"Is that all you have to say?" Despite being shoeless on one foot, Nicolette still crosses her arms and shoots Wang Yi a look a disapproval. "Come help me get it back!"

'Why should I, it's your shoe.'

"Because I can't walk in just one stiletto?"

'So buy another one.'

"Sweetie, Balenci*ga heels don't come cheap," Nicolette sighs before leaning in to raise Wang Yi's chin with her finger. "Unless you were planning to cover the costs for me?"

Wang Yi scowls at her and knocks her hand aside. 'Do I look rich to you?'

"Anyways, now's the only chance to sneak in before room service grabs it tomorrow. I left them in one of the skyview hotels, so it shouldn't be hard to find."

'Why did you forget a shoe behind in the first place?' Wang Yi grumbles. 'Were you playing Cinderella?'

"Trust me, you don't need to know."

Wang Yi stops to take in her evening dress, smudged lipstick, and traces of blood on her arm and decides that yeah, I don't.

'I don't need to get involved, either,' he points out and turns to leave.

"You know, the view's incredible up so high."

'I'll look it up on the Internet.' He keeps walking.

"They've got an amazing spread of people and shops..."

'Try again.'

"All right, I saw some lady trying to kidnap your cat."

'Don't ca—what?' Wang Yi spins on his heel, face incredulous.

"Your cat? The chubby cutie with the black fur and green eyes?" Nicolette scoffs back. "Some rich couple picked him up to take back to their rooms."

'Tch, Sao Ling can do what he wants,' Wang Yi frowns.

"Even if he gets so comfortable he never comes back?"

'It's not like I'll miss him or anything...' Wang Yi argues. He just needed the stupid System for missions in the novel world, even if it chafed to think of Sao Ling living the high life.

"They were feeding him caviar..."

'Dammit, he's not even a real cat!'

—

Half an hour later saw Wang Yi and Nicolette slipping out of the elevator on the 250th floor with her special pass in hand. She'd switched from one heel to some cheap dollar store flats while he'd put on a temporary disguise to match.

'I don't see what's the big deal.'

'You couldn't have come alone?' From what he could tell, the area looks deserted.

"I don't have eyes on the back of my head, so I need you to be my lookout."

'Fine, fine...'

It occurs to him that there's something up when Nicolette starts taking him down secret hallways and staff exits. He's still in denial up to the moment they run into some hotel waiters by accident and she knocks them out cold.

'Hey...what exactly were you doing up here?'

"You really want to hear it?"

'Actually yeah, forget I asked.' His built-in villain radar is tingling, which is always a bad sign.

By the time they reach the hotel room they're supposed to be breaking into, it's almost evening because the stupid place is so huge. Nicolette quietly presses her ear against the door before frowning and pulling Wang Yi down the hall and into the fire exit stairwell.

'What's wrong now?' he whispers in the echoing space.

"Ugh, an inconvenience. The guy I'm trying to avoid is still inside."

'So? Knock him out like the other ones,' he urges.

"This is the one guy I can't afford to touch," she replies. "...wait, you brought your magic wig, right?"

'Okay, who told you about that?'

"Your cat likes the fancy brand of anchovies you never buy for him," Nicolette's tone is a little too smug. "He's pretty talkative with the right snacks."

'Dammit, you're the reason he's been turning his nose up at my food!' Wang Yi realizes in consternation. 'Is this why he got himself kidnapped? Because he got a taste for the fine life? I swear to god, if—mmph!'

"Hush." Nicolette muffles Wang Yi until the footsteps in the hallway disappear, then digs into her bag. "I've prepared an outfit for the last part, but it looks like you'll have to wear it in my place, Yi-Yi."

Wang Yi eyes the uniform in her hands with trepidation. 'Wait, you can't be thinking...'

"Come on, pretty please? We've already gotten this far. It's just a little further."

'Absolutely not.'

"I'll tell you all the secrets Sao Ling shared with me."

'.....'

—

10 minutes later, a cute blond maid in pigtails knocks on the door to a hotel room, cheerfully greets the man inside, and proceeded to knock him out with homemade chloroform onto the carpet. She then goes to the bedroom, lifts a corner of the curtains as instructed, and picks out a lone Balenci*ga heel lying on the ground by the wall.

The whole process takes less than five minutes, but by the time Wang Yi reconvenes with Nicolette again, his wig wears off and it's just his normal appearance in maid's clothes. He holds up the high heel and its bloodstained stiletto and gives his partner a look.

'What the hell is this?'

'You're not making me help you cover up a murder or something, right?'

Nicolette only smiles sweetly at him before taking the shoe and tucking it in her bag. "Did you see any dead bodies? Besides, the blood's all mine."

'It's exactly because it's your blood that I worry.'

"Aww, I didn't know you cared!"

'That's not what I mean and you know it.' Wang Yi rips off his wig and takes a deep breath. 'Nico...are you actually doing illegal things?!'

At first, Nicolette just laughs. But it fades fast enough, and her palm slams into the wall by Wang Yi's head as she leans in with an inscrutable smile. "Listen to me, Yi-Yi."

"You really don't need to know."

Wang Yi can still feel his heart pounding when she backs away with a cheerful hum and tosses him his clothes. "Get changed. We'll need to move fast if we want to bring Sao Ling home too."

Wang Yi catches them with a grimace. 'You know I don't care if you're breaking the law, right?'

She pauses. Turns to him. Tilts her head with the loveliest of smiles. "You're cute when you're so serious."

'Oh geez, give me a break.' Wang Yi rolls his eyes and heads for the restroom.

"Yi-Yi!"

'What.'

"I like the status quo so far. Don't fix what's not broken, hm?"

'Yeah yeah, you're the boss.' As if they haven't been hiding things from each other since day one. But well, if she wants to keep playing pretend, he's not gonna stop her.

After all, he's in this game too.

[undercoveravenger]

Warmth

Pairing: Paul Lahote x Male!Reader

Requested: Yes

Original Request: “Iiiii wanna request one of the wolf boys of your choice in Twilight imprinting on Bella’s younger brother and how the Cullens were involved cuz they all baby him so much. Thank you & I love your works a lot btw, hope you have a nice day”

A/N: I went with Paul, bc that gives Emmett reason to go angry brother bear mode lol, hope that’s okay!

__________________________________________________________

“Why am I here again?” You asked, looking over at your sister. The two of you, along with the entire Cullen family, were hanging around in some snow-covered clearing in the woods, waiting for the Quileute wolves to show up so that they could renegotiate the treaty, so that, hopefully, the Cullens could turn Bella without causing a full-on war to break out. “I get that this is important to you and all, but Bells, I’m human, and I don’t really want that to change, so I don’t see how this involves me.”

“Because you’re an honorary Cullen, human or otherwise.” Bella grinned at you, reaching over to shove you playfully, “And Emmett wouldn’t shut up about seeing his future brother-in-law again, so I figured this would be a good time to bring you to visit.” She shrugged, looking back out toward the wall of trees in the direction of the reservation, “Besides, having another normal person here might help convince everyone to keep a level head.”

You snorted, crossing your arms over your chest, “Bells, you’re a lot of things, but normal definitely isn’t one of them.” You waited with your sister for a few more minutes before getting bored and going to go talk to Alice and Jasper.

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

Time seemed to have been passing even slower for Emmett than it had been for you, since you’d barely even greeted the dainty vampire and her mate before the brunet’s arms snaked around your waist and dragged you up against his chest and you barely had enough time to close your eyes before he was suplexing you into a snow drift.

To mess with him, you remained perfectly still once he’d let go of you, even going so far as to hold your breath. There was a lot of shouting, far more than if it had been just the Cullens to witness your little prank, meaning the wolves had undoubtedly arrived just in time to see you get pitched into a snowbank. There was the expected moment of arguing but before you knew it, you’d been hauled up out of the snow by a pair of arms so warm that you had to wonder whether hypothermia had set in upon impact.

“What the hell, leech?!” The chest you were being held against rumbled as it’s owner growled, “Not enough to have to kill things to exist, now you go killing your own sympathizers!”

You could hear Emmett snarling and you knew that you needed to intervene before things got even further out of hand. You jerked against the stranger’s grip, forcing yourself out of their arms and back to your feet. “Don’t get your fur in a bunch, Fido,” you grumbled, stumbling a little as you tried to regain your balance. “I’m fine, just a little colder than I’d like to be.” It was then that you looked up at your ‘rescuer.’

His hands were still extended out toward you to help steady you if you needed it, but now you’d been knocked off balance for an entirely different reason. He was tall, towering over you easily even though you really weren’t all that short yourself, and he was built, with thick arms and a defined chest and abs and the rich russet color of his skin only made his musculature all the more appealing. Suddenly you were a little regretful that your playing-dead act had ended so soon. He had close cropped black hair that nearly matched the pitch-dark eyes that were fixated on you, like the two of you were the only people left in the world. 

His lips twitched up into a tiny grin, like it was meant for you and you only. “Hi,” he said, voice small and breathless like he’d just run a marathon. “I’m Paul.”

You’d opened your mouth to respond when you were cut off by the celebratory whoops and hollers coming from the rest of the wolf pack. Your brows furrowed and you turned away from Paul to see what all the commotion was about.

You could see Edward murmur something quietly to the rest of the family, dark amber eyes flickering warily between the two of you. Emmett bristled, storming over and planting himself between the two of you. “No way in hell,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Any of the other mutts I could’ve learned to live with, but you? Fat fucking chance.”

The werewolf’s shoulders straightened and you could tell he was trying to hold himself back. “It’s not really any of your business anyway.”

“Not my business?” Emmett hissed, tensing at the insinuation. “(M/N)’s my best friend! It’s definitely my business if some mongrel thinks it’s his place to come try and steal him away!”

It was fair to say that you were incredibly confused, but you knew that your first step needed to be defusing the situation. “Emmett,” you said, putting a hand on his shoulder as you spoke, “You wanna tell me what’s got you so pissy?”

Rosalie was the one to answer you, stalking forward to stand beside her husband and glare at Paul. “This pathetic little puppy imprinted on you.”

“Imprinted?” Your brows furrowed and you glanced toward the rest of the pack for an explanation.

Jacob, the only one of the wolves you’d actually met before now, nodded at you, “It’s, uh, kind of like soulmates. When a wolf imprints, it’s like their person is the only thing that matters anymore. Like they’re what’s holding you to the planet, not gravity.”

“Oh.” Well. That hadn’t been what you were expecting. You turned back to look at the vampires blocking you from Paul’s sight, nudging your way past them with a sigh so you could look up at Paul. “Is that true? Did you imprint on me?”

You could see him swallow hard before he forced himself to speak, “Y-yeah.” He was quick to backtrack, “But it doesn’t have to be r-romantic or anything, if that’s not what you want or you aren’t into guys or anything. We could just be friends? Or, uh, whatever you want me to be, really?”

You couldn’t help but smile a little; he was cute when he got flustered. “Tell you what, after this, if negotiations go well, I’ll let you take me out to dinner and we can talk about it, okay?”

Paul brightened, a wide grin taking over his features, “Yeah? Yeah.” He paused, seemingly getting lost in thought for a second, “Yeah-” He pulled a face, “I said that already. Um, sure. Anywhere you want is fine, I’ll just be happy to be there,” he grinned at you sheepishly, ducking his head to hide the faint blush coloring his cheeks.

Carlisle chose that moment to interrupt, “Well, with that excitement settled,” he started, shooting the two of you an amused grin. Esme smiled at the two of you from her place beside him, “I believe we have a treaty to discuss?”

Emmett and Rosalie headed back to the rest of the Cullens with a huff, but the rest didn’t seem all too bothered about your new bodyguard/soulmate. Alice even looked excited, bouncing up and down on her toes and speaking quickly to Jasper, probably already planning your wedding even though you and Paul had just barely met. 

You took a few steps toward the group before a thought struck you. You turned to look over your shoulder at the werewolf, “Hey, Paul? You said you’d be anything I needed you to, right?”

He perked up as you addressed him, grinning back at you. “Absolutely.”

“Well,” you started, smirking mischievously, “I’m still pretty chilly, so I could really use a space heater?”

Paul smiled as he realized what you meant, waiting until you turned back to listen to the negotiations to drape himself over you, slipping his arms around your middle so he could pull you flush against his chest. He pressed a barely-there kiss to your shoulder before setting his chin there so he could still see what was happening. He may not have known what you’d want from him in the future, but right now, with you in his arms, Paul was perfectly content.

[zarara]

something else?

pairings: dense!diluc x traveler!reader, a little kaeya x reader moment plot: read it and find out (pls my brain is laggy but one day i will write a summary) genre: fluff, angst perhaps note: i am apparently capable of writing fairly straightforward stories

if there was anything in the world you would pay to have an endless supply of, it would have to be tea… though the idea of infinite mora sounded as interesting, you were sure your talents in combat would make sure you didn’t find yourself broke or clueless like zhongli.

it’s just that tea was perfect — coffee was a close contender but the bitter aftertaste always found you having to pile it up with more sugar than healthy. tea also had no aftermath on your already deranged sleep schedule. it tasted sweet but rich, it was efficient, and it was warm.

you usually enjoyed your daily cup of tea in the solitude of your chambers but today you were making an exception because kaeya, your superior and over-the-top flirt of a friend, insisted you take your evening snack with him at the tavern.

“there isn’t even a snack provision at the tavern! it’s a tavern for archon’s sake!” kaeya is great at ignoring your complaints as he pulls you into the seat next to him.

“i asked sara to bring some honey roast over for us,” kaeya winks at the young man handling the counter in lieu of an order and you hurriedly pipe up a “tea for me please!”

“now, would you please stop your whining, you baby?”

your mouth drops open, “i’m the baby? you were the one begging to take me to drinks instead of helping me finish that pack of hilichurls!”

“i did mention that i got rid of that abyss mage for you when you weren’t looking.”

“i don’t understand you, kaeya,” you take hold of the cup that the man behind the counter sets down, “but anyway, what is it you want from me?”

kaeya smirks over his glass of dandelion wine, “ah, quite straightforward, aren’t we?”

you kick his shin ungently, “let me ask again: what do you want?”

kaeya takes a sip and becomes uncharacteristically quiet. in fact, he doesn’t even comment when you keep staring at him.

“kaeya…?”

before you can continue to investigate what’s up with him, you hear a familiar voice behind your shoulder.

“well, what have we here?”

“diluc!” the red haired man takes place of the young man who looks relieved to not have to bear witness as a bartender.

“hello, y/n, how do you do?”

you smile, the warmth in diluc’s voice going unmissed, “i’m just fine, although a certain someone has taken it upon themselves to ruin my ritual of tea and silence.”

kaeya props a hand around your shoulders, “i’m just repaying you for getting rid of all those gnarly hilichurls.”

whatever was bothering kaeya a moment ago seems to have disappeared, especially in the presence of his arch rival, diluc.

diluc calmly reaches over to lift kaeya’s hand off your shoulder as if it’s the corpse of a slime he’s picking up and hurls it away. “please, kaeya, i thought you didn’t pursue women who’d clearly expressed their lack of interest.”

“and i thought you were too superior to everyone else to stick your nose in their business.”

“well,” you butt in before the two can actually slit each other’s throats, “i thought it was reasonable to agree to work under jean but i guess we all have things we’re wrong about, don’t we?”

diluc’s expression dampens into something like sadness when you mention your overworked state but you brush it off by chugging the rest of your tea. “oh, before i forget,” you rummage through your meagre backpack before removing a package, handing it over to kaeya, “this is for you.”

kaeya looks perplexed, looking between you and diluc, and slowly places a hand on the package, “for me?”

“a client painted the scenery from luhua for me because i found his paintbrushes and supplies, and i know you like your souvenirs, so you can have it.”

“....” kaeya is still speechless and diluc has you pinned with a look of suspicion.

“but why would give it to him?”

“because i go to luhua way too often already and i know kaeya is usually stuck around monstadt so…”

“that’s incredibly sweet of you, my love,” kaeya regains his senses and as you stand up to leave, he pulls you into a hug.

“you’re welcome, boss,” you smile as you pull away, “anyway, i must be on my way.”

“do you think the traveller is with someone?”

maids at dawn winery sure do love to gossip.

“with her looks and strength, for sure! my bets are on master diluc.”

okay, look, you didn’t meant to eavesdrop on them but they were right there when you came out of the washroom. you were going to walk out and pretend like you hadn’t heard them but hearing diluc’s name shook you.

“no,, what about mr kaeya? i heard they hang out after long, tiring quests all the time.”

“but she and master diluc love to discuss-”

all righty, time to evacuate.

“!!”

you manage to keep a poker face as you throw the door open in their faces and stride past them, making your way to the room with diluc.

you quickly dash in, closing the door behind you. you knOW your face is flushed so you turn away from diluc.

diluc frowns. that’s weird. why are you hiding from him?

he rises from his chair, “y/n? is everything okay? are you hurt?”

“y-yeah, i’m just embarrassed.”

you feel yourself being turned around by two big hands on your elbows.

diluc’s concerned eyes meet yours and you almost melt into a puddle of slimy plasma because he’s so hot even though he’s just worried.

“you’re red. why are you red?”

“...i’m fine.”

as if he’s aware of your flustered state, he moves closer to your face in order to look into your eyes which makes a new batch of blood flow to your face.

“y/n, you need to tell me what’s wrong. is it a fever? i can call—”

“nO! it’s nothing. just—!” you break away from his (very intense) hold and move away into the room for fresh air. “stupid me.”

“no way, she did not!”

diluc is immensely frustrated with venti. he has the most unusual reactions to everything diluc says and usually he doesn’t give a shit, but this is about you and your weird state yesterday, so yES he gives a shit!! >:-(

“yes, she did. i’m telling you she did. why are you—”

“oh, i heard you, i just can’t believe that the calm and strong little traveler would lose her cool and around you of all people!”

“heY, what do you mean? i’m perfectly fine as a person to lose one’s cool around.”

yep, diluc has no idea what he’s saying.

it’s just

he thinks the world of you

he really, really likes spending time with you (even when you guys are just talking about the fatui’s next move! or how you found new cool ways to take down an abyss mage!)

you’re so sweet and you don’t take his words for what they’re not. you’re not taken aback by his bluntness and you’re able to make him laugh.

what more does he need in life

well, apparently, venti because he has no idea what to do after you suddenly left the dawn winery that day.

“ugh”

“you’re really worried, huh?”

“was that not crystal clear by now? i came all the way to windrise to talk to you!”

venti chuckles his annoying chuckle

“okay, okay, i’ll help you,” diluc sighs as he waits venti to go on, “here’s what i think: she likes you back.”

..

what

diluc.exe has stopped working

man just blanks out

short-circuits, fireworks, malfunction — you name it.

“diluc?”

“no.”

“what do you mean, no?”

“first of all, why did you say ‘likes you back’? i- i don’t like her or anything. and secondly, no, she does not like me.”

“i’m going to pretend like i didn’t even hear the first part. about the second thing, here’s a question for you: why?”

“because she likes kaeya!”

venti pauses, “i was not aware there was another contender. diluc, you bastard, tell me all the details next time.”

“does this mean she just hates my guts?”

“no, it just means she may or may not like you. back.”

“i told you—!” venti stands up breaking off diluc’s sentence midway, brushing grass off his palms.

“take her to dinner or something tonight and ask her.”

“ask her? ask her what— wait, where are you going, you stupid bard— ASK HER WHAT?”

life is hard for a traveller

you’ve just managed to finish delivering grilled fish to a jack who wants become more manly when katheryne sets you thREE more commissions saying there was a crazy influx of requests suddenly.

you barely manage to uproot two hilichurl camps, and by the third quest, you’re quite dead inside. if only some rogue eye of the storm wasn’t terrorizing civilians.

you’ve gotten in a hit or two in when you skip over a stone and fall right on your face

“fUCK!”

shit

ouch

ouch shit

that hurt

you manage to twist around and keep the eye away with a half-earnest windblade attack and try to sit up.

damn it, is this the pitiful way you die? dammit, you at least wanted to drink your evening tea—

a flash of fiery thunder catches your attention

is that…?

“y/n! stay where you are!”

yup, it’s diluc in all his dark knight hero glory. he finishes off the stupid green eyeball in less than three fire-charged strikes.

you sigh in relief, falling back against the grass.

“hey, hey, hey,” diluc enters your field of vision, red strands falling into his face as he leans down to cradle your head in his lean arms, “where did you injure yourself?”

you tremble a little as you try to lift your foot, “a-ah, my right foot. i twisted my ankle probably. thanks for fi—”

“shh-shh, you’ll have plenty of time to thank me. come on, can you sit up?”

you grab his wrist and prop yourself against his chest so that you’re practically in his lap.

“that’s great, let me take a look at—”

“mhm!! don’t move. please,” you can feel diluc’s breathing tense behind you as you lean into him, “i think the eye hit me while i was down- my neck— ah, fuck—” your hand comes away from your nape soaked in red, “it’s bleeding.”

“it’s all right, you’ll be just fine. just get comfortable and i’m going to lift you up. think you can manage?”

you nod as one of diluc’s hands comes to rest under your knees, folding them and the other tenderly embraces your upper back.

“tell me if it hurts too much.”

he heaves the both of you up and the shock stings your exposed neck a little but you’ll survive.

everything is beginning to become blurry so you lift your hand to feel diluc and meet his chest. despite everything, you smile, aware he’s speaking because you can feel him vibrating but the words are all mushed up and you can feel yourself slipping away.

even though usually you would panic at feeling your consciousness fading but right now, it’s okay because it’s diluc who’s holding you and you know it’s him because just before the black collapses on you, you hear him.

“you’re fine, kitten.”

“—up! y/n, it’s me.”

mhhm, what a sweet voice. so soft and melodious.

“y/n, i can see you smiling in your sleep,” the voice comes closer, “come on, everyone’s really worried.”

the world materializes in front of you as you fight against the closing of your heavy eyelids. “barbara?”

“y/n! you’re alive!”

“i am?”

why would you not be alive?

…

oh

right

the eye

stupid thing

wait a minute,.,.,.

you remember diluc saving your arse.

oh righT

that’s because he did!

he—

he was holding you?

you were in his lap????????

wait a minute!! that sounds wrong

“am i dreaming?”

“really, of all the people you know, do you really see yourself dreaming of me, traveller? last time i saw you, you wanted to steal the holy lyre from—”

“y/n!!”

holy shit

that’s the voice of your saviour

noo

noo

stop the clock

you’re not ready to meet him!!!!!!!

“ah, it’s master diluc! he was so worried about you the whole time you were dead— i mean, asleep,” you redden as the tall man appears in front of you, “kaeya had to force him to leave and get some food but—”

“ahem!” diluc cuts barbara off with a strong clearing of his throat and she throws him a look before standing up from your side.

“i guess i’ll leave you two alone then!”

“wait, barbara, you should stay—”

and she’s gone.

you slowly look up to face diluc

“how are you feeling?”

“much better,” he sits next to you and you smile, “thanks to you.”

diluc frowns as if remembering something unpleasant, “i really wish you wouldn’t just bear all the load.”

“you found out from…”

“kaeya mentioned he hadn’t seen you around the town square as he usually does and when i went to speak with katheryne, she said she’d had no choice but to send you off on extra commissions.”

you look down, “i’m sorry. i wanted to ask someone to come along but everyone seemed busy and—”

“you never checked up on me though,” you bite your lip, “i would have known.”

“that’s- that’s because you’re always busy, what with the winery and your dark knight—”

“y/n,” you stop speaking with a pout and diluc raises your chin with his finger, “promise me you’ll tell someone next time things get so overwhelming. tell me, i’m never going to be occupied enough to not help you out.”

you blush agaiN

stupid kind diluc

“thanks, diluc.”

“and you can stop feeling sorry for me.”

when you look at diluc he looks he’s just caught you red-handed.

“what—”

“i wanted to help you,” you nod, “what’s more, i think i quite enjoyed it.”

“enjoyed. . . carrying an injured woman to safety? you might have a saviour complex, diluc. or perhaps, some sort of a kink.”

you expect diluc to lash back with a defensive retort but to your absolute and complete surprise, he smirks.

the man smiRKS

he’s all ;)

“oh? i won’t deny that,” your stomach suddenly feels queasy all over again as diluc inches closer (and you’re wondering in your head WHEN DID SATAN, OR WORSE KAEYA, POSSESS THIS MAN?!), “but while we’re on the topic of kinks and enjoying ourselves, you seemed to quite like sitting in my lap.”

“diluc!” your exclamation is one of disbelief because you cannot believe that diluc, the man who has never once made an inappropriate joke around you, is openly accepting that he has a kink and is accusing you of having one.

“what? am i wrong? when i tried to move, you stopped me immediately.”

“y-yeah, i did, but—” you’re trying with all your heart to defend your actions but diluc has managed to come close enough to tap his fingers against your outstretched knee. “it was— you were warm and my neCK was bleeding. was i supposed to just die out there?”

“i suppose you’re right, i am warm.”

“exactly.”

you seemed to have dodged a disaster because diluc is distracted by the cuts on your knee and the bandage around your ankle. his slender finger dance down your shin to touch the fabric of the white material tied tightly and he gently holds it.

“does it still hurt?”

“i don’t know, i haven’t tried walking.”

“do you wanna?”

you nod eagerly and diluc offers his hand but before you can be tempted into taking it, you cross your arms.

“why should i hold your hand?”

“because we need to first test if you can even walk without help.” diluc looks confused and you decide that whatever demon possessed him moments ago is long gone.

“correct answer,” you take his hand, and slowly stand up.

“hmm,” your right foot hurts a little but it’s better than you imagined. you tell diluc that.

“that’s a relief,” you reach the door of the empty cathedral and diluc puts his hand on the door, “would you like to take a walk?”

“is diluc around?”

“ah, he said he’ll be back in five. he’s personally delivering some paperwork to the acting headmaster.”

“alright, thanks!”

you’re excited!! it’s friday and today, you and diluc are going aLL the way to liyue to get dinner and stargaze as a post-dinner activity. diluc said he was friends with xiangling who’d always wanted him to come and try her dishes out sometime and he’d asked you earlier if you’d be interested to join him.

of course you were. it sounded like a date! in fact by the way you had spent all afternoon choosing the deep maroon skirt and contrasting white blouse, you were convinced to view it as a date.

“y/n, i apologize to have kept you waiting,” a breathless (and dashing) diluc appears by your side and you smile.

“no problem, diluc, i heard you were doing some important work.”

the both of you leave the tavern, “not exactly important, but let’s just say that while i may not be interested in the knights of favonius, i do value my life somewhat.”

“jean’s scares you, too, huh,” you laugh.

it’s not like diluc is realizing this for the first time but: you’re beautiful

like yeah, you have great hair and dazzling eyes that are bright when you’re happy and a dangerous smile but in the night, in this ethereal lighting, you’re taking his breath away.

“this place looks so fancy,” you’re seated across from him as you play with the ends of your hair. “when i come to this inn, i usually remain on the periphery but wow, this is quite impressive.”

“well, xiangling did say she got pretty famous as a cook around here.” diluc feels dazed especially since half his attention is occupied by how adorable you look.

the night progresses like this; diluc captivated by your blinding beauty and you trying to wrap your head around the fact that you’re on a daTE with diluc.

“oh, hey, look, it’s a silk flower!” you run over to the short, maroon plant, plucking a few flowers out, “xingqiu was telling me how much he loves these.”

he kneels next to you, smiling, “they are quite the pleasant plants.”

“they sorta remind me of you.”

“me?”

diluc touches the stem as you play around with the buds, “yes. for starters, you’re both red. and you both smell nice. you make wine, these make clothes. and if you think about it, wine is the silk of alcohol.”

his fingers collide against yours in the quaint flower, “that’s an intriguing comparison. wine and silk. . .” before you can pull away, diluc takes hold of your hand, pulling you up after him.

he can feel you stiffen a little and then mold back into place, your tiny hand squeezing against his bigger one. the road has become quieter as you travel further from the inn, and more stars start to peek out from the sky.

“thank you for taking me out to dinner, diluc.”

“thank you for having dinner with me, y/n.”

you suddenly giggle a little as if remembering a memory. “what’s funny?”

you look at him and then back down, biting down on your lip — a terrible habit really but especially terrible right now, because it only draws his attention to the soft pink lips he was trying not to look at the whole night (which was made even harder when xiangling decided to serve you the spicier dishes).

“that time you saved me from the eye, you called me something right before i fainted.”

diluc smiles fondly, “kitten?” he is pleasantly surprised when you giggle again, cheeks tinting the loveliest pink. “what’s this? could it be you enjoy being called kitten?”

you squeeze his hand slightly, “maybe…”

diluc’s heart almost gives out on spot

he’s sO whipped for you it hurts physically

“y/n—”

before he can say anything else, you pull him ahead with you because well,,,, you’re embarrassed

“come on, we should go stargaze before it gets too late.”

diluc smiles and allows you to drag him to the clearing at the edge of a cliff.

“i remembered this cliff from one of my adventures,” you plop down onto the grass and hesitantly, diluc follows

“hmm, it’s very peaceful here. i’m going to have to note this down as one of my future hideouts.”

you grin, “don’t reveal that to me. i might end up following you here and you won’t have any of your good ole introspection time.”

your tone is teasing but for once, diluc feels that his needs for alone time are being acknowledged by your light-hearted threat. he shifts closer, heart on the verge of bursting.

“i like you, y/n,” it comes right out of his mouth, clear and loud, the way diluc always dreamed of confessing but never managed to nail during his endless practices

you, on the other hand, are at the risk of a heart attack. you don’t want to pretend to be clueless and dense — diluc did ask you out for dinner when he could be spending the evening doing something more intellectually enriching — but at the same time, you feel like you can’t be sure enough

because it’s diluc!! he’s so complicated, he has so many layers

“you like me?” you keep your gazed fixed on the stars above just so you can mask your disappointment in case he clarifies that he likes you but, of course, as a friend who easily gets in trouble and happens to be around his tavern all the time

but inside diluc’s head are alarms. literal ALARMS. red, blaring alarms.

“i- you have no obligation to accept my feelings or give me answer but i’ve been meaning to tell you for a long time now. i really like you in a way i didn’t think possible. you’re so kind and funny and you make profound judgements about people, without being swayed by the biases that surround them and you’re so brave. but i know you have many men courting you and you did seem to have a soft spot for kaeya so this is—”

“i like you, too, diluc.”

diluc.exe has stopped working part 2 the finale

no more brain cells for him

“diluc?”

“you’re being honest?”

“of course i am. i’ve liked you ever since you took down that abyss mage with me. i don’t know how i’m expected to not fall for the dark knight hero.”

despite his dislike for the nickname, diluc blushes and you laugh at his small adorable smile

but the next moment it’s as if a switch has been flipped and suddenly his flustered face turns into a look of lust

his hands are on your waist, pulling you close until you can feel his hot breath against your lips

your hand comes up his face, tenderly cupping it and your lips crash

diluc groans against your lips when your other hand gingerly finds his hair and to say the least, you are extremely attracted to the sound of him groaning, low and deep

“come closer,” your plea is almost petulant as your grip on his hair tightens. diluc lifts you into his lap, arms around you

but he suddenly pulls away and it kills him to do so because you are a sight to behold, lips redder than ever, mouth half open, and breath heavy

“what in the fuck—” your dismay is clear as you frown at the concerned expression on diluc’s face, “hey, what’s wrong? did i—”

“why did you give kaeya that gift?”

for a moment you think you must be dreaming because it would be absolutely ridiculous if the man stopped your make-out session just to ask you—

“i mean, why not… me?” diluc’s voice has become small, gaze averted as if he’s scared he messed up

you sigh, bringing both your hands to cup his face, squishing his cheeks slightly to make him look at you

“listen, diluc, i have no feelings for kaeya. he’s just one of my nicer superiors and i wanted to thank him for being understanding. and i meant what i said that day — it genuinely reminded me of how he’s stuck around the favonius headquarters.”

diluc processes what you have to say and then, after a few silent beats:

“he’s only nice to you because he’s into you.”

“diluc, will you please just make out with me?”

you pull him back into a kiss and this time, he returns with more passion, one hand boldly cupping your ass and you can’t help but shiver at the sensation of his warm hand

you begin to reach under his shirt when you realize something

“wait, diluc,” you sit up, twisting to look up at the sky, “we were supposed to stargaze. you seemed so excited about it, you even called it the post-dinner activity.”

diluc caresses your arm as he slowly restores the distance between you, eyes on your lips.

he whispers against the nape of your neck, “i’m sure we can think of another post-dinner activity,” his fingers graze your stomach, “right, kitten?”