#how far its come aaaaaaaaaa

[totaldramafan-lauri]

I just heard the word "bukkake" being sung in an angelic voice

And I could NOT be happier

[jhuzen]

Small brainrot--

Zhongli: You always seemed to get injured when I accompany you on your commissions, is there something wrong? Have I done something to cause this? Please, talk to me...

Reader: My love, darling, sweetheart, I swear it's not that deep. I keep getting hurt because I'm distracted staring at your ass-

-Morax

distractions [gn/m.reader]

AAAAAAAAAA MORAX ANON PULLING THRU WITH A GOOD ZHONGLI BRAINROT! i planned to make just me also brainrotting but here’s a quickie HAHDHSJDCJD. i had so much fun making this LMAO

𖦹 kinda crack lmao, degenerate reader 😭

He was hypnotic.

Zhongli, as your dearest beloved, exceeded your expectations far more than you could ever imagine. He was all too good! An absolute gentleman, completely attuned to your needs and would never lead you down into a path of agony and harm. He was always there, perhaps almost always there, considering that his job as the consultant at the funeral parlor was the only thing keeping him away from you 24/7.

You had no doubts that this man is absolutely enamored with you, tailing you around like a loyal dog when you’re out in your errands. And by these errands, often they are commissions posted by certain people, asking the bravest souls out there to get rid of a few pests loitering around in Liyue.

You were perhaps one of the most sought out bounty hunters in the field. And while you weren’t directly affiliated with world renowned Adventurer’s Guild, you still were often dragged into their commissions, as adventurers personally had to come and ask for your help in the middle of your afternoon tea to track down some pesky ruin guards that indiscriminately attacks everything in its sight.

People may have fretted at the sight of any ruin machine that they came across their paths, but to you, they were the quickest way to earn a lot of mora as having Zhongli for a lover doesn’t come cheap, the man basically buys anything that catches his eye, and the fact that he’s absolutely atrocious in bargaining with you barely excelling at it as well, you’re bound to constantly have enough on you for his spending exploits. Suffice to say, you were the apex predator of these machines, constantly on the hunt for them.

Though that did not seem to apply as you winced for the tenth time at this very moment.

How lucky was it that you were nearby Mingyun Village when you took on a certain bounty that was given on you. It offered a million mora as you had to deal with two hulking ruin hunters, aggressive in temperance as it looked to be one of those just seem to lock on to you in sight.

Zhongli was free that day, and offered to come with you. Your endearing lover expressed his concerns when he happened to look over the paper that contained all the details for your target. And to see you deal with those merciless machineries, he couldn’t hold himself back and immediately asked to come with you.

You weren’t one to deny his offer. Zhongli was a warrior god above all and you’ve seen him countless times on the battlefield when the traveler had asked you and him to accompany them on a tedious commission. And on the off chances that you’ve been on a mission with your adoring lover… you’ve noticed one insufferable thing.

He’s far too distracting.

There was a common denominator in every single time you and him went out on a mission; you were always somehow barely escaping death by the skin of your teeth. It was ridiculous. You’d think having Zhongli in the field would inspire you to do better — but no. He distracted you. Him and his graceful movements, the way his shield just granted you unparalleled protection and when he kicks his spear, you could almost shrivel up and just die then and there.

And unfortunately, this one almost had you kicking the bucket.

Blood trails can be seen on the grassy fields as your worried lover hurried to the nearby village. The residents were quick to aid him and had given him the much needed things for your wound treatment. There was a concerning gash on the juncture of your neck and shoulder, and Zhongli was damn near in tears as he patched you up.

You failed to hold in a wince as you joked around to lighten the mood, “Guess that hunk of junk was eager to be on me, huh?” You peered up at your lover while you sat on the chair, whose frown never left him as he continued to clean around your still bleeding wound. “Hey, c’mon, don’t look so sad… I just happened to be at the wrong spot, love.”

A tensed silence fell between you and him and even in his unresponsive state, you could feel the worry that emanated from him. And even that was something you felt responsible for, unable to say anything else.

And finally he granted you mercy as he heaved a soft sigh, looking at you with eyes that overflowed with so much concern, “I was so worried… you’ve never been this badly injured before.”

You had no heart to tell him the stupid reason behind your fuck up, so you opted to stay silent.

Zhongli took your silence as remorse for your mistake and only continued to press on, eyebrows furrowing as he caressed your face that had a tad bit of dirt smudged into it, “I never wanted to bring this up… but it seems as though every time I accompany you on your hunting missions, you always seem to end up getting hurt far more than when you worked alone…”

You hated where this was going but did not bother protesting, you know trying to get ahead of him is a losing battle, “Is… Is it me? Have I done something to cause this? Am I perhaps lacking in providing you protection? Please…” his words were soft as he pleaded, amber eyes meeting you with a hint of desperation. “Please tell me… I must know what led up to this point. I don’t want to realize things when it’s much too late.”

Stupidity pounced on you as Zhongli expressed his dissatisfaction. This is awful. You felt the guilt seep through your veins when your precious lover was unloading so much of his scorn all for a reason so stupid.

But then again, your dignity was always a notch lower than your love in a list of priorities. You can only hope the man doesn’t hurl his giant meteor at you once you do tell him the reason.

“Don’t… be mad,” you started and immediately grimaced at his pointed stare. Right. Never patronize a worried lover. With your good arm, you pulled him by the waist, looking up at him with a small grin, “It’s not that deep. I promise you. Though, yes, to an extent, my subpar performance has something to do with you.”

Your grip around his waist tightened when you felt him bristle at your words, almost close to pulling away. You quickly fished him out of his misery as you continued, “Forgive my crudeness… but you have been a distraction for me when you join me on my missions…”

“Pardon?”

“Your…” you coughed a little as a light blush dusted your cheeks, “You… uh, how do I put this delicately… you present a rather delectable view on certain angles when you fight.”

Yet another blanket of silence enveloped the both of you, but you broke out a sweat as Zhongli slowly processed your words. The frown on his face suddenly deepened and it was only now or never before he hurls the meteor at you and kills you for good.

Zhongli jolted as your hand brushed against his fine ass and gave the supple area a little squeeze. You bargained for an ounce of mercy with that charming grin of yours.

The former archon sighed with a loaded indignation. He wonders sometimes how on earth can you be a bounty hunter with that kind of reckless attitude. “You… you are impossible.” He murmurs with the intention to chide you but even you can hear the embarrassment in his tone.

“Aw c’mon! It’s not too bad!” You cackled as the atmosphere between you cleared. You gave him one last wink before going in for another squeeze, prompting him to smack your wounded shoulder out of instinct, making you keel over, pressing your head against his stomach.

“Ah! My apologies, are you—?”

“Yep. All good. I deserve it.” You managed through a pained groan.

And you took one last chance at life and gave yet another squeeze.

“Yep. All good. I deserve it.” You managed through a pained groan.

And you took one last chance at life and gave yet another squeeze.

Whether or not you passed out from the pain or Zhongli’s meteor, you’ll never know. This was your punishment after all. One you would gladly take head on.

“Yep. All good. I deserve it,” you managed with a pained groan.

And you took one last chance at life and gave yet another squeeze.

Whether or not you passed out from the pain or Zhongli’s meteor, you’ll never know.

[sillyblues]

Yoo, can I request a fic/hc's of Miguel with a Black Cat variant Male Reader?? 👉👈

Enemies to lovers, antagonizing, flirting, banter ykyk

ੈ✩‧₊˚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: i am finally done resting and im taking a break writing with that one fic HELP i swear its coming out but n e ways I LOVE THIS i had fun writing this aaaaaaaaaa!!! im thinking of making this a multi parts again bc i so SO love this dynamic and the possible scenarios

okay so reader here, you, becomes Black Cat after growing up in the slums, seeing the brutality of poverty and the greediness of capitalist pigs. you said enough was enough and it was time to eat the rich!! 

so you joined underground rings, fighting for mostly the experience and money when people bet on you so could survive. but it wasn’t enough you needed to learn more and it was a good thing you caught the eye of someone strong. you saw him before but you figured he was just a crazy homeless dude but boy you were wrong when he showed you to his house, a whole ass fucking mansion, in the Nueva York City. apparently he was the infamous Black Cat and you got his attention and bam, now you became the heir to his name and got a father as an extra. there, he taught you all he know, all martial arts, and even shared information about the celebrities and criminals that resided in the city.

after years had gone by, he faked his death and lived somewhere place far away because he was old and retired. you finally made your official debut as the Black Cat by ransacking the money drawers of a corrupt well-known Judge who accepted bribes and let criminals run free. the whole world’s eyes were on the newest Black Cat who made another robbery headline. you know who got his eyes on you as well? Spiderman.

colour you surprised when the next time you decided to steal from a known rich man who planned to destroy Atlantica for some project he wants, a big burly man with wide shoulders and hella sharp tons started chasing after you. not really, you were expecting to see him as your father warned you about him.

“Put those bags away.” He warned with a growl after he shot a spider web at you to try and get you stuck. “Now.”

You were in the middle of running away after stealing bags of cash from the rich man’s vault of money but the sudden entrance of Spiderman blocking your exit greeted you. It didn’t matter because it was one of the multiple exits you had planned beforehand anyways. And even if you run out of exits, you could always create one.

“How about no, Mr. Spiderman?” you grinned, showing off your pearly whites to him.

“I wasn’t asking.” He took off and ran immediately after you, hot on your tails. Like a cat, your reflexes were fast enough to move the second he moved as well and you ran down the hallways. You ran, sometimes pushing some obstacles for him to enjoy. It did nothing to slow him down of course, but it did annoy him and that was all you wanted. 

He let out a frustrated growl and with enough anger as his adrenaline, he jumped at you and got down to the ground.

“Oh? You’re this excited for me even though we just met, Spidey?” He grabbed your arms and pinned you against the floor.

“Aren’t you a confident one?” His mask disappeared and he revealed his handsome chiselled face, his hair falling down onto you. He opened his mouth, fangs sharpening to bite you but you knew this beforehand.

“Save your bites when we’re in bed,” you smirked at him, “and when there isn’t a whole ceiling coming down at you.” He immediately looked up to see a swinging ceiling clearly about to fall. The moment he looked up, the strength in his hands lessened a tiny bit but for you, it was enough. You kicked him and pushed him away and yourself in different directions, not forgetting the bags of money you were after in the first place.

As the ceiling got destroyed, you had long gone with another successful heist and left an everlasting impression on Miguel O’Hara with a need to chase after you again.

[doll3tt33]

hiiii!! omg im so excited. first of thankyou so much for coming back aaaaaaaaaa i loved loved your theme so much gorgeous!! i miss you. second, its been so dry and im in a lonesome desert desperately craving for colin’s content every. fucken. day. and im so happy that you’re back!!😭😭 and lastly happy christmas!! this is definitely a miracle and also thankyou so much for the kind word for my writing it made me so so happy yippie yayyy. love love 🤍🤍🤍

HELLO TO ONE OF MY MOST FAV USERS ON TUMBLR!! ✨✨✨ and DONT WORRY I GET YOUUUUUU BRO. From the outside it may look like I’m losing interest in colin with how often I go on hiatuses, but that’s far from the case, since in reality i have just been secretly roleplaying the most heinous stuff with my colin bots that’ll never make it to the pearly gates- BUT ILL STOP BEING SO SELFISH AND SPREAD SOME MORE OF THAT COLIN LOVE WITH THE COMMUNITY 😭😭😭

But honestly super super happy to see you writing!! It inspires me to create more content too. And also, merry Christmas to you too!! BLASTING AN ABUNDANCE OF LOVE AND MIRACLES YOUR WAY 💖💖💖💕💕💕💕💕

[player1064]

first, i love all these snippets! thank you for sharing them ❤️❤️❤️

second, the you’ve got mail au summary has hooked me! could we have a preview 🥺

thank you aaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!! here's a little snippet for you (> is Gary, >>> is Jamie)

---

> Trust two lonely old men to take something like grindr and turn it into a late night therapy session 😂

>>> Never said I was lonely >>> And unlike you I actually use this app for its intended purpose

> I’m starting to come around to the idea > Not with you mind > You already know far too much about me

>>> Who says I’d want to sleep with YOU? >>> You’re not my type

> You have no idea what I look like > I could be exactly your type

>>> I know you’re not a fit thirty-something

> Christ you’re shallow aren’t you

>>> I like what I like

> Compensating for something I’ll bet > You’re not my type either just in case you were wondering

>>> I wasn’t >>> But I’m fucking fit how can I not be your type?

> I’ll bet you anything you’re under 6ft tall

>>> …

> Thought so

[hotcheetohatredwastaken]

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged on this by @unexpectedstormy ! I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to respond like it was a chain or make my own post, so I just went for it

1. How many works do you have on A03?

Two. There will be more coming, because Blood Drops on Roses is just arc one of this story, and there's a lot of snippets for Prologue floating around.

Blood Drops on Roses: Linked Universe

BDOR Prologue: The Yiga and The Sheikah

2. What's your total A03 word count?

51,493 words since mid-August, when I finally got an account XD I've been a lurker for YEARS ya'll.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Linked Universe only, so far.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

See above XD I hope to get enough fics out there that I can sort my work like that, but for now it's just those two.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, I respond as soon as I can, they are like crack to me. Maybe because I'm new to sharing my work or something, but I would die for each and every one of you that leaves even as much as a <3

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

NONE OF MY FICS ARE FINISHED YET AAAAAAAAAA. Arc 1's ending is going to be pretty angsty though.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hm, I see that this questionnaire is not meant for me. There is a Prologue section "The Trap" that I'll be putting out soon through, its ending is pretty sweet I would say.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet. I am afraid that it's gonna happen, but so far everyone has been so nice, so I hope not D:

9. Do you write smut?

Nah. Don't really read it either. Just not my thing.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I mean unless you count LU as a crossover between all the Link's respective fandoms, no

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Gosh I hope not. How does one steal a fic?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope. If I ever get good enough at Spanish, I would like to take a crack at translating my own fic once its all published, but it would probably be laughably terrible. Eh, practice is practice.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet. Hey @needfantasticstories, I think Clippy Wind and Pug Sky need to go on some adventures together, don't you?

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Tbh I don't really ship. I do think Malon/Time and Legend/Ravio are cute though. I'm just not really interested in exploring the romantic side of stories, even in published literature.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Geez I hope that I finish all of Arc 2 at this point. But I may be too early into the game to answer this.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Heck if I know. I had someone say in my comment section that they liked how I characterize people, so we'll go with that.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I write too much and probably in too much detail. Sometimes it would be better to say "They crossed the bridge and set up camp" but nooooooooooo lets add 7,000 words to this already bloated fic.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Italics. I was about to whip out my decade of Latin for part of this fic, but I decided against it because I'm pretentious but not that pretentious. Also because I still don't understand word order at ALL.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Now that I'm thinking about it, I think I have some fanfic from the dog series of Warrior Cats lurking somewhere that I wrote when I was like 12. Survivors, or something? I should probably go delete it, I'm sure it's trash. I'm scared to even look, it probably hasn't seen the light of day since I wrote it.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Well I've only got one big fic out right now so let's go with BDOR

@needfantasticstories and @somer-writes I'm kicking this your way.

[bugcatcherwill]

I DON'T EVEN THINK I CAN SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE LAST CHAPTER MAN [IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE] I JUST. YOU COOKED MAN AS ALWAYS CAN'T FUCKING WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE

I think I've said this before [I think it was on anon but I SWEAR it was me just before I got comfortable sending asks off of anon out of fear of sounding stupid or something G RHJFJEJFJFJ] but oh my fuck dude Kobb and Rezek's friendship [🏳️‍🌈 /silly] is SO SPECIAL TO ME especially because I've been rereading the earlier chapters of ratc so I can explain the plot better to my qpp and god I love seeing how far they've come it FUCKS ME UP SO BAD /POS

The way they both went from being so distrustful and angry with each other to this IMMENSELY VISCERAL UNBREAKABLE TRUST AND FAITH between them. The way Kobb was the first out of ANYONE that Rezek told about Frifer. The way that Kobb was the first one it felt comfortable/safe enough with to hug [after they left Korok Forest way earlier on in the story] and probably just be that close with in general. THE WAY THEY STILL FIGHT AND ARGUE SOMETIMES BUT ALWAYS MAKE UP AND GROW CLOSER WITH EVERY MISTAKE. The way that in the last chapter Rezek was the one to stop Sledge from charging into the Lynels when they thought it had killed Kobb because it SO INTENSELY BELIEVED AND TRUSTED that Kobb would be okay, and how it knew it was still alive when they all teleported back to Akkala before it even sat back up. GOD YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THEY MEAN SO MUCH TO ME I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

I've been calling then stormshelter,, thinking of other names but I might just stick with that,, UGG HHHHH THEY'RE SO LOVELY THEY'RE SO IMPORTANT TO ME WILLNYOU COOKED SO HARD WITH YOUR CHARACTERS I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

YEAAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH

God I could talk about Rezek and Kobb for hours it's unreal. One part that I really love about their dynamic is that usually when you see clashing within the party in fiction it's over misunderstanding and/or hearing the wrong parts of convos (which I can't stand which is why they will never appear here lol)

But no Rezek and Kobb are both "Oh, I understand everything. I just think you're wrong" lajhskdfasdk

I still remember back during the Korok Forest arc where I was like "okay who's going to be the one to get everyone to go back to Rezek". At first I was gonna make it Sledge since it had its whole first encounter with Rezek and knew it was hiding more than it let on. But I ultimately decided on Kobb because I was like "No. It would be such a good example of Kobb's character if it was the one to go back to Rezek instead."

I JUST GRAHHHHHHHH KOBB NEVER EVER GIVES UP!!!!!

I feel like it was THAT moment that solidified what I really wanted to do with Kobb. And then its dynamic with Rezek as consequence. LIKE REZEK THOUGHT ALL OF THEM WOULD GIVE UP ON IT WHEN THE INEVITABLE HAPPENED BUT THEY DIDN'T AND THE ONE IT CLASHED WITH THE MOST SPEARHEADED THEM RECONCILING AAAAAAAAAA

AND THAT LED TO KOBB BEING THE FIRST THAT REZEK OPENED UP TO ABOUT FRIFER LIKE U SAID YEA YEA

MY FAVORITE CONTRAST BETWEEN THEM, PERSONALLY, IS HOW THEY'RE EQUALLY EMOTIONAL/ANALYTICAL BUT IN OPPOSITE WAYS

Kobb's very emotionally controlled while Rezek has a tendency to let its emotions get the better of it. BUT THEN WHEN IT COMES TO COMBAT THEY'RE THE EXACT OPPOSITE. Kobb is often a little too eager to hop into battle (as seen in the Rito AND Lynel arc) to prove a point, while Rezek is EXTREMELY controlled and patient while in battle. (Exceptions notwithstanding Rezek was just being a little silly in its duel with Ire).

WHICH MAKES THE MOMENT WHERE REZEK GOES "I still believe" HIT SO HARD because it has so much trust in the combat-side of its brain when it says that Kobb is still alive it believes it 200%.

Stormshelter tho omg,,,,,,

[enigmatist17]

Okay, I finally have all the episodes done, and man oh man do I have thoughts.

First off, I can see why people compared this a lot to BTAS, and tbf I did too, but it's just not BTAS. While it has a lot of the same vibes, it makes its own 1940's noir style, which I think really works for the most part. Gorgeous city and background, but I can see the Bruce Timm "similar faces for certain characters" thing going on, which does kind of take me out of things a little. Love the fighting, love the gore and deaths that very much feel in tune for the gritty Gotham/DC world, love some takes on early villains that I kind of hope we see later on in more seasons. Over all I think it's a solid 8/10, and I need more of this show.

So there are some...issues ---

I really didn't like how Bruce is such a dick to Alfred, like come on guys :/

I get this is the early years, and usually he's kind of standoffish, but there were a few times he was just downright nasty and I am not with that >:/

Was also not a fan of Harley's redesign and how short her arc was, she needed more time before the big reveal of how she's already down the rabbit hole, which, while that's a nice change, felt very abrupt and I don't like how that all ended with such a small amount of time to see her on the other side. I really hope she kicks ass in a potential second season, and generally I just want to see where she goes before Joker.

Not cool they made Bullock corrupt yet again, poor dude can't catch a break I stg.

ALSO WHY DID YOU KILL HARVEY/TWO-FACE ARE YOU FOR SERIOUS

WE COULD HAVE HAD THINGS MAN, WE COULD HAVE HAD SUCH A COOL FUCKING STORY WITH HIM AAAAAAAAAA

And fuuuuuuuck that reveal at the end

Onto the more positive things ---

I love love love love love the Two-Face angle they went with, where he is the non-aggressor and Harvey is the one off of his nut. It really works with how they showed him to be through the season, kind enough but 100% in it for himself/his campaign, and to let that desire and paranoia to consume him as opposed to pouring it into making Two-Face was a refreshing take for him. It's a FUCKING SHAME THEY KILLED HIM COME ON.

Really liked Nocturna(?), I know she was supposed to be in BTAS but was considered too dark for the time, so it was nice to see some concepts being shown here.

Alfred is and always will be the GOAT, that's about it for him. Same with Jim Gordon, dude was solid as he was practical, and as always I love him <3

Even though her name was dumb, I really didn't care about Oswalda being genderbent? She was ruthless and just as horrendous as I expected, and I'm here for that.

Overall I liked it, 10 episodes is far too short IMO, but hopefully we get more in the future!

[whumpshaped]

Hello! I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed glitching. It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but I barely interacted with it in any way that you could see because the format made me feel guilty about reading whump in a way that I hadn’t felt in a long time. That’s a compliment to your writing! Glitching was about being an accomplice and moral choices and I got caught up in it that I stopped participating in the polls after a few posts. I really liked it though.

Since you couldn’t see the likes that I very much wanted to give the series, I’m sending my thanks directly. You are really good at writing, and your specific style is one of my favorites on this site. Your writing is just brutal in a way that a lot of whump writing isn’t, and your characters are extremely compelling/whumpable. I can’t describe exactly what I love about it, but I do love it. You also made glitching really quickly, which is impressive. I’m still in awe of how you made all the different endings for the finale. That must have taken forever.

Was Glitching always going to end the way it did? If the audience had voted to kill Seth at the earliest opportunity, would that have happened? Are there any other pathways that you had planned out that we didn’t get to see? Basically, I loved Glitching and I want to hear all the behind the scenes details that you are willing to share.

Thanks again!

aaaaaaaaaa thank u SO much for this. long ass response under the cut !

this is honestly.... mostly all i wanted to achieve w glitching. (my first objective was to create a whump cyoa story where the options were all bad, bc in all the other ones ppl kept picking the good ones and i was like :| but my whump..? no whump..?) several times i felt like maybe the second person pov is too much and its too real and itll turn everyone off... but then i thought. thats. kind of what i want. i want it to feel a little gross even if its fiction. i wanted to make ppl feel conflicted.

so please dont feel bad about not interacting! i understand how it could feel rly bad and guilt-inducing. im glad u made the decision to stop interacting when u did, its NOT embarrassing in the slightest. this message means a whole lot either way.

hehehehehe im GLAD theyre brutal! thats very much the style i wanna be known for lol and the style i enjoy! i want stuff to be gruesome and disgusting! i want it to be brutal and unforgiving! i want violence! i want gore! and also thank u, im glad my characters r whumpable. especially w glitching, i saw that when other ppl put their cute ocs in situations no one wanted to hurt them, so i was like ok whos my most vile most hated most disgusting oc whom everyone would Love to see be punched in the face- in general i love making my ocs whumpable and pitiful. i love a pitiful little guy

i stopped writing glitching when my exams started at college, and iced it after maybe chapter 8 or 9. then i picked it back up again after i got a 20th message in my inbox abt how ppl miss it, and it successfully forced my hand to finally sit down and just Write. (i do have to be forced to write a lot of the times. it doesnt work for everyone, but it does for me. obviously i can never get in the zone if i dont even open the document yknow. thats why i write a lot of shitty drabbles! it keeps up momentum!) and then i just kept writing. and writing. and writing. trying to get a chapter out every day because i knew what i wanted to do and i wanted to finish it. when it comes to the finale, iiiii decided i wanted to do that whole thing literally 2 days beforehand. my friend told me "wow these options r all good" and i said "i know i kinda wanna see all of them too". and the idea was born. the seed was planted. the bug was in my fucken ear.

so the next morning i checked the poll on chapter 13, and saw that of course the option to keep seth alive was winning by far. so i wrote that in advance. then i started writing out the endings for the finale. i managed to get maybe 3 of them done. then the next day i finished the other 6, tweaked the earlier ones, all that. i uploaded them all, posted everything privately, fiddled forever w the links (which i knew were likely gonna break anyway-) and THEN WHEN THE TIME CAME I WANTED TO MAKE ONE LAST EDIT AND ACCIDENTALLY POSTED IT. so i had to unprivate everything in a fucking frenzy like OH MY GOD PPL WONT UNDERSTAND I RUINED IT I RUINED EVERYTHING. but anyway yes it took me like 2 days of writing and editing but the response was soooooo worth it. ppl were so so so kind to me. it was honestly amazing.

one thing abt me, i started planning my stories At All in the last few months. before that, Nothing. and especially w smth like glitching, where the audience's decision influences the next chapter and i cant plan ahead, i didnt even bother. whatever the audience chose was always gonna happen. if they chose to exit the stream on the very first poll, i wouldve ended it. im serious. i thought abt pulling "you try to exit but it doesnt work" but then i was like. no. ppl can have one (1) chance to turn their heads away if they want, as a treat. i wouldve written a chapter about the debilitating guilt and lifelong "what if" feeling, and that wouldve been it. as for the earlier murder options, yes! i wouldve gone thru w it at any time. starting from maybe the 6th chapter (or whenever i brought in the murder option) the audience held the power to end the stream and seth's suffering. they chose not to. but they couldve.

one option that i wanted that never got chosen was the baseball bat. im obsessed w beating someone to the point of broken bones w a baseball bat. so when the ending was getting nearer and nearer, i thought about simply disregarding the last poll and writing a single chapter where the host goes "i respected the choices u made up until now, but this time, im making the decision". but i was like. no fuck that. this is an interactive story all about being able to choose ur own decisions. i just asked the audience to supply me w puppy seth commands, citing how it was interactive. i couldnt just go and ignore that two chapters later, yknow? plus as u said it kind of all hinged on the feeling of "i did this. im responsible". so if i took that responsibility away in the last second IN THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION OF ALL it wouldnt have been good enough

most of the time i just kept giving the options i really wanted to write, and eventually, ppl picked them. it was a good story in the sense that the order didnt matter too much. i could give the same options, and the host was still able to carry them all out.

some more behind the scenes- i thought about revealing the host's identity multiple times. i thought about making them someone the audience already knew (like ren, my friend's oc who greatly inspired the character from the very first chapter), or someone who couldve been vaguely familiar but unknown (a former friend of pumpkin?), but in the end i just settled on the mystery. especially since i decided to give it a paranormal twist. i couldve NEVER made a better reveal than the mystery itself. never ever. some things dont have to be revealed.

but yeah! thats that. i rly enjoyed glitching, i loved the response i got (it was by far the most popular story ive ever posted on here w the most tags and comments and asks), and i loved how i managed to do the finale. it was concise, i can say i finished another story, and its just all around a great time. thank u so much for ur message !!!

[patchdotexe]

doip. / 8.25.23: Axeholm

welcome back to doip!

apparently satisfactory has an arachnophobia mode where all the spiders are cat jpegs. i adore this ("how is this related" oh yknow)

(i am very arachnophobic so jorb reskinned some of the beasts in this upcoming dungeon to be not spiders! thank you jorb <3) (also this has some extra context provided by me 5 days later, which will be indented and in parenthesis! like this.)

LAST TIME ON DRAGON OF ICESPIRE PEAK: our heroes having just thwarted an attack on falcons hunting lodge by gorthoko decide to sgtage a counter atack! they travel to the circle of thunder, encourtnering an ambush of cultirsts andlong with a very strange tree! upon arrival our heroes dispatch the talos and searhc the area. they discover the cultists had kidnapped a prisoner: a human named arpeo, researching for a wikipedia project! dauble . now, with falcons hunting lodge behind them, our heroes make their way back to phandalin. what quests lie ahead of them? FIND OUT… TODAY!

…okay jorb gave me the actual recap this time. whew

Last time, on Dragon of Icespire Peak!

Our heroes, having just thwarted an attack on Falcon's Hunting Lodge by Gorthok the Thunder Boar, decide to stage a counterattack! They travel to the Circle of Thunder, encountering an ambush of culists, along with a very strange tree, along the way. Upon arrival, our heroes quickly dispatch the remaining forces of Talos stalking the Neverwinter Wood, and move to search the area. It's then that they discover that the cultists had taken a prisoner - a human bard named Arepo, captured while performing research for his encylopedia project. Grateful for the party's aid, he joins them in their quest - with introductions leading to the surprise revelation of Dauble's new name. Now, with Falcon's Hunting Lodge behind them, our heroes make their way back to Phandalin. What new quests lay ahead of them? Find out, today!

heading back to phandalin! dauble leads the way, and it's pretty smooth sailing. oh my god the barrel crab was waiting for us

jason: so when do we find the other two boars? jorb: which boars would those be??? jason: its the triboar trail, so.. jorb: oh, right! yeah you gotta find the ice boar and the fire boar jorb: you already fought zapdos, so,

jorb: [describing phandalin as having been rebuilt as of a couple years ago] jason: that's wild! don't they know what happened? leo: HUH?

phandalin is basically goldshire. we went out of town and we come back and there's more quests for us OOPS WE GOT THE DRAGON SLAYER SWORD BEFORE WE GOT THE QUEST FOR IT. lol lmao …OOPS WE ALSO DID THE WOODLAND MANSE BEFORE WE GOT THE QUEST FOR IT. oh hey, new quest! the dwarven fortress of Axeholm could be a potential refuge place for the Phandalin folk if Cryovain attacks, so we should probably make sure it's safe. hey remember when we went to the dwarven temple and tobias guiding bolted somebody in half

discusing Money. i still have like 140plat?? also electrum coins exist and if you give them to a shopkeeper they'll give you a dirty look

BARREL CRAB BAREL CRAB BARREL CRAB

uh oh the barrel crab has become self aware

BARREL CRAB, Is Dauble Forklift Certified?

barrel crab is the gift that keeps on giving anyway we have successfully gotten directions to the next objective! wahoo

green: would you have let us go the wrong direction? jorb: let's find out! MAKE A SURVIVAL CHECK! green: [audible "D:"]

OH SHIT THE SENDING STONE AAAAAAAAAA TOBIAS AAAAAAAAAA tobias: checking in. body and mind are starting to change. met someone. calls himself glasstaff(?). ran away too. couldnt hide my condition, so ive been researching. WAAAAHH,,,

(i love how tobias uses Exactly 25 Words every time so far. nerd.)

leo: do we wanna tell him about twigbias nyx: No

dauble: good luck. stay hopeful. kepesk: [reassuring] i'm sure that rock's gonna be just fine.

WELCOME TO AXEHOLM! IT'S BIG! and also the grid is messed up so jorb disabled snap to grid.

alidaar is immediately responsible. green: if kepesk gets off zodiark at the right angle--

AREPO HAS A PLUS NINE TO HISTORY? jorb: yeah, arepo's skills are insane. how maybe +9s do you have, jason? jason: uhhh. a couple.

jorb: [narration] jason: --no, there's two. [pause] wait, three.

hm! axeholm may be haunted by a banshee. that's definitely not going to be an issue. also the portcullis is rusted so uhhh time to find a way in! alidaar: i'm gonna do the anime thing of bending the bars [rolls 11] im gonna suck ass

nyx: is the portcullis a dragon? jorb: uh, make a perception check?? jason: i'd like to roll philosophy on that one

jason: it's time for everyone's favorite party game. Time To Throw The Binturong Into The Arrow Slots THE BINTURONG GOT STUCK alidaar has successfully shoved dauble through the hole! nyx: im wearing goggles as a binturong. fuck you

the binturong is attempting to use a winch . THE BINTURONG GOT A NEGATIVE ONE nyx: do i die. jorb: you fall over backwards

dauble has opened the portcullis! [klonoa wahoo] oops there's locked doors. hey dauble pspspsps

DAUBLE HAS EIGHT MAGIC ITEMS

jason: seize the means of… jorb: production, yeah jason: i was trying to think of a word that fit magic items better leo: seize the means of invocation! green: seize the means of enchantment

One Pound Of Thunder Jerky. Each

jorb: what are yall doing [while jason is afk]? leo: alidaar starts fortnite flossing jorb: roll.. acrobatics…? leo: on it boss! [rolls a 13] jorb: you floss.. alright. it's passable. green: i default dance. [rolls a 10]

GOD COULD YOU FUCKING IMAGINE IF SHADOW FLOSSED IN SONIC 3 green: or the biolizard!

dauble has opened the door! and also smacked kepesk with it in the process. man i miss having darkvision uh oh, the fortress is stinky jason: oh that's weird, you woulda thought all the bodies woulda decayed by now ah! well. the bodies have not decayed . the bodies are also alive.

jason: i just noticed i can talk as barrel crab. leo: YEAH :D jorb: barrel barrel!

nyx: that's zodiark.

OH MY GOD NAT20 ARCANA. THANKS AREPO these are ghouls! they roam in packs and are basically non-contagious zombies. and also are probably gonna be a problem.

arepo can change shape??? (he didn't do anything but jason mentioned it and i went Huh???)

the ghouls are SO stinky :(

KEPESK CAN TELEPORT??? kepesk has misty step! neat!

jorb: although [killing] purple would open a travel chasm leo: HUH? nyx: trasm. jorb: i don't know why i tried to get fancy with that.

dauble has word of radiance! man what the heck is your class huh. they have a holy symbol which is a down-pointing dagger on a necklace. Man What The Heck Is Your Class

god i love dual wielding. especially now that i have an extra attack. alidaar stunts all over everyone forever ive been carrying inspiration for 1 irl year. OOPS.

jorb: dauble? leo: dauble? nyx: dauble? jorb: dauble? leo: dauble? green: dauble? nyx: boggle? jorb: boggle! leo: BOGGLE! jorb: SUNDAY! green: sunday sunday sunday! jorb: and saturday

[megamind voice] No Presto? (none of us have prestigitation and everything is SO stinky)

(its also been six years and i still can't spell prestidigitation without spell check. i write my notes in wordpad, which does not have spell check. for the love of god please help me)

jorb: would you like to try another door? there might not be ghouls behind it! jason: this is the worst monty hall problem ever!

green: can i start smelling the doors?

nyx, after not saying anything for a while: boo, we hate your pussy!

apparently if we didn't shove dauble through the hole, we could've climbed down a chimney! and also tried to break the barricaded door but it wouldve taken an ingame hour and alerted Every Ghoul In The Fortress green: easy fight. [..] compelled duel all of them.

jorb: YOU CONFIDENTLY THROW OPEN THE DOOR… green: [loud panic] jorb: …and you find the toilet.

jorb: mercifully, there is nothing in the toilets.

(i think around here we got derailed talking about pre-plumbing castle toilets??? i'm going to spare you the details but it was uh. definitely a conversation)

there is an Unauthortized Fucking Thing (stirge) in the chimney

leo: let's continue the bottom level slee- uh , sweep green: bottom level sweeeeep nyx: bottom sweep jorb: next splatfest: top, bottom, switch nyx: America's Next Top Bottom

OH GOD WYBIE TAGGED ME IN REALLY CUTE ART AND MEANWHILE WE HAVE ENTERED INITIATIVE . OOPS killed the guy! wahoo jorb: does that end your turn? leo: [concerned] ……..ye ah ????

OH NO MORE GUYS . THEY FELL THROUGH THE CHIMNEY??? BRO

jason: [explaining arepo's attack of throwing cards at people] jorb: hold on i have a homestuck image for this leo: of course you do.

(please imagine gif of june homestuck throwing cards everywhere, i don't want to go through the hassle of figuring out how to put a gif in here)

jorb accidentally deleted the ghoul tokens with initiative so the UI broke. oops

wegh . we have hit the point of the night (9:45) where i am very much starting to not exist. i dont think we're even halfway through. Man

jorb: how do you wanna do this? nyx: i yell FUCK YOU and beam it out of existence jorb: [..] he gets raptured, basically [..] jason: what do you think the rapture is..????

kepesk got a gold ring with the symbol of axeholm on it! nothing in the fireplace this time though

WHY IS THERE A 60FT HOLE STRAIGHT DOWN IN THE FUCKING DINING ROOM??? MINECRAFT???????//// jorb: is anyone going on a hole adventure? Alidaar Descends Into The Hole SIXTY FOOT TRASHCAN

(god that's incomprehensible. we found a 60 ft hole in the dining room with handholds so alidaar climbed down it and it ended up being trash disposal.)

[slide whistle noise]

(i do not remember context of the slide whistle.)

aw no the east is stunky and caved in… stinky. not pokemon nyx has foudn a tube

(dauble was exploring the rest of the ground floor and found a tunnel leading to the next floor. and then decided to scuttle back down because No Thanks)

Ah Fuck We've Found Guys green: bro we are dudes. problem?

(at this point i was extremely tired and nyx needed to go so we called it before rolling initiative. this is also why my notes sharply decline into being incomprehensible)

play of the game: nyx fucking rapturing a guy

barrel crab barrel crab barrel crab

BARREL CRAB BARREL CRAB BARREL CRAB

[rigelmejo]

1 am this [] close to studying Spanish for a while

I really don't need to. I really dont

The Spanish shows I found and am getting dragged into I could absolutely just use subtitles to follow

I could spend time on French instead (ahahahah ToT I need to improve so Bad but also I have no pressing need to so), or Chinese (I DO need to increase reading speed for my own sake) or japanese (to be fair while I wish it was better it is Also the sort of thing where once I'm playing Yakuza Kenzan in japanese it's sink or swim and I'll probably make improvement at that point when its mandatory and not optional to learn)

But like. I can already read non fiction Spanish. I can read it about as fast as English non fiction already. So like... when I see or hear a Spanish show it drives me up the Wall I do not fully understand. When I pick up a fiction novel it's a touch frustrating I feel back like I felt with 6 months of French study trying to read novels ToT

(My Spanish level is. Wonky. It's incredibly poor, to be frank. I have a few thousand vocabulary but NOT all common words which makes that vocabulary less useful in regular conversations, i have basic Poor listening skills and skewed reading skills due to reading a TON of Spanish nonfiction just brute forcing it, I don't remember some BASIC ASS conversational words when speaking so I functionally cannot speak, but if it's reading it comes back to me, despite studying French for 2+ years I find Spanish easier to follow when listening, and I've read 3+ Spanish textbooks despite feeling I absorbed nothing. I also very much am so TEMPTED to study with like Dreaming Spanish and read Poco a Poco and just brute force it for 200 hours and see how much I learn. Because I feel like I'd learn a lot pretty quick, what with all the tangential stuff I know, and with the non fiction base I've got to connect new stuff I learn to as far as memory goes. I just really want to try to learn like Dreaming Spanish style aaaaaaaaaa. But also? Like for Real when I'm reading/watching something the Desire to know what is ACTUALLY said versus translated absolutely eats at me)

Anyway I've been watching Young Royals and my ears focus in hard sometimes when Simons family speaks because my brains like: words you should know! Fuck yeah, what did they say! Aaaa! I swear I know most of that! (Versus the rest of the show where my brain will supply "Oh that word sounded a bit like english")

[omo-queer]

<3. aaaaaaaaaa! its like hypnotising. I just lost a bit, really griding down with my thighs now. Having to bite my shirt a bit to keep from yelping. Had one track tthat played that sounds exactly like pissing and gaaahhhhh i could feel it all coming in waves i couldnt stop it `(*>﹏<*)�� Ive lost a couple spurts into my pants. Ive got thigh highs and theres a couple beads in the sort of thigh-space zone or whatevrr its called. I thinjk im in control though! Btw what words should i refer to you with? Hope youre still happpy doing this, i hope this inst too much detail. Sorry feeling a bit blurry now with all the pressure. Soroooo full.

-🎶

oh dear, you're leaking! if you have anything nearby you should hydrate a little to replace anything you've lost, though i imagine at this point it would be hard for you to go get something if you don't have it nearby—and i think holding probably is the more... pressing matter.

definitely don't apologize about detail! the more detail you can give me, the better, in fact. i love how much detail there is in everything you've sent so far!

if you'd like a name to call me, i'm v. if you'd like terms, i'm okay with anything gender-neutral, and if you're feeling particularly submissive i also don't mind "sir"

[x-other-souled-x]

One of our main guys had been asleep for a while now, and to make up for it we had some new people show up and kinda take on some of the fresh excitement and carefree loud and passionate ways our sleepy guy had.

Now here's the problem we've been chewing on...

It's OKAY if these are NEW new guys, but we had thought they were old floating fragments who took on a personality when needed, and that was comforting, something existing already being modified. But with these newer guys, it feels less like a part that's always been around taking on a new face and more like a whole new dude.

While some of us aren't feeling too upset by that (it's just normal, your brain knows how to make guys to survive of course its gonna make more guys duh that's just how it works) some of us including me are self-conscious that it's no good, that this is just blorboism and we're no different than kids on ticktok that collect their faves from whatever media they're into and add them to their "kin lists" as badges to say "look how totally into this I am, it's literally me!"

And how do you kill the part of your that cringes when the parts that cringe were so essential to survival, that avoiding cringe was the only way to not get beat upside the head for being a literal child with an imagination (the adults in our lives did NOT like us being a furry)...

Personal issue... something to reflect on later...

I don't want to feel like there's an issue with brand new parts coming up and them not being lost fragments taking on a new form... I don't want to play favoritism or pick and choose who to beleive and accept (not to mention I'm far from any kind of authority within the system lol) but I'm not sure how to get over that...

I guess it wouldn't be as much of an issue like a year or two ago when we were first really starting to accept our plurality as like... a THING we had going on... but lately we had a mini-boom in new members speaking and taking on large roles throughout the day and its... a big boom in newer members isn't BAD nessicarily but ughhhh... and I say big boom and it's like 4-5 new dudes, not like... 50.... but 4-5 new dudes all at once is OVERWHELMING aaaaaaaaaa

That's maybe the root of my issue I'm just overwhelmed with the new info and it's freaking me out I think...

[seongminiz]

okay!!! i promise to shut up about being a burden 🤐🤐 okokok!!!

also ok amazing, idrk where i wanted to go with my chubby!reader hyunjae thoughts but i think i’ll just steer away from that and unleash my insane jumil/bermuda line(idk if that’s what they’re called) thoughts instead because i was inspired the other night.. about like fuckboy!hyunjae (as if that’s an original thought… i’m sure..) or just like. i need to like live in a house with juyeon, hyunjae, and younghoon to provide.. services… for them. i am not very creative when it comes to them idk where i’m going with this okay we’ll come back to this.

yes. subby!biker hee i have so much to say and also idk i was thinking country club owner!jiwoong or like working for the summer at the country club with cravity and… shenanigans. but idk we can come back to that too gimme a sec.

- 🧁 anon

aaaaaaaaaa as a bermuda line (+ sunkyu) biased this is so a personal attack >:( no bc i want all three of them sooooo bad .. also fuckboy!hyunjae aaa idc how many times ppl write it i alwaysss eat it up its one of my fav kind of tbz fics

country club owner!jiwoong .... let me go back once again to my mattwoong sandwich shit n just say . what abt country club owner!jiwoong AND lifeguard!matthew at that same country club x spoiled rich girl reader ??? idk how i came up with that

n cravityyy omg thats such a good idea too !!! i've wanted to write an ot9 vity fic for so long but i feel like thats such a big commitment for my adhd brain :') like im scared i'll start it n then lose interest 3/4 chapters in n leave it to never be touched again (rip dilf!vity series u will be missed 💔💔💔)

(also i know veryyy little abt country clubs bc they r not rlly a thing where i live ? at least as far as i know lol so if anything i say doesn't make sense .. yes it absolutely does what r u talking abt im gaslighting u into thinking it does)

[theineated]

11, 13, 21 for the ask pls? :3

11. favourite native writer/poet?

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. School made me read his poetry while I was an emo teenager and there's no coming back. He made me feel shrimp emotions. He's from the postromanticism and AAAAAAAAAA god. Dear lord. Romanticism sure was an artistic movement.

13. does your country (or family) have any specific superstitions or traditions that might seem strange to outsiders?

It is (maybe) known that we eat 12 grapes in New Years. What may not be known is that we have to wear red underwear for some reason.

21. if you could send two things from your country into space, what would they be?

I assume this is meant in a positive way to get our culture to be known and not chuck 'em as far away as possible. So I'm choosing torrijas (they are similar to french toast but way better) to represent that we know how to cook delicious stuff and our cooking culture is very rooted on not wasting anything (its original purpose is to nor waste bread that has gone hard) and a copy of the Quijote because I think it still represents our culture and also it's iconic of Cervantes to be so pissed at the misinterpretations of his work that he made a sequel because of it

[rayroseu]

the fic captured all stages of grief perfectly OHMYGOODNESSJSDKFJK nothing like a good cry from malleyuu angst this fine thursday night,,,, 💚💚😭✨✨

OKAYY first off, the way i could just feel that you really think A LOT about briar valley lore because the worldbuilding here goes so beautifully, ITS DELECTABLE LIKE HELLOOO sin eaters at briar nation funeral??? GOES SO HARD ODSFMDSJ that is real and official as far as i know--- also love how each memory is separated in a meal/plate, and how significant the memory was, the more the story described the sin eater having a delicious meal ✨lowkey mean to malleus though, scops having michelin food experience while malleus is crying lol😭😭😔

and and the backstory between yuu and malleus,,,??? ASDFJDHFHEAD IN HANDS,,, Malleus having to listen to Yuu plan about their death even though theyre still together?? the way they cannot be married but they can still be together?? THESE LINES?? “We could not be married, and so I made sure they knew my devotion.” “Magic bends to my whims, but I bent to theirs.” 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

You really dont hold back in Malleus' love declarations, literally that whole paragraph, I reread it a lot to SAVOR the feeling 😭always love how you write the dialogues of malleus when he finally spills out what he feels LKSDJFKLDS its so poetic but still felt turbulent 😭✨💞

They stayed with me for a week, and I wished every night that the next day would never come, only so that I could hold onto them for just a bit longer. I kissed their cheek before they departed through the mirror back to NRC—I wanted to kiss their lips, but I panicked and missed.” maybe its a reach, but this is a Elegy reference to me DSKJFKADJ

AND THE ENDING WAAAHHHHHHH 😭😭😭😭✨✨✨godddddd i always await for the day Malleus can face through death and loss like this 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

“Their memory carries on through years upon generations of work. They brought life back to Briar Valley’s beliefs. They reshaped this old, rotting home—reshaped me—into something better. I may have portraits of them, and statues, and items that they loved dear stored in my rooms—but I think the only thing they would wish for me to do is continue the work they had started.” I REMEMBER this one post about how Malleus is like Ramshackle that was both abandoned but then renewed to something "more lively" because of Yuu's presence and I am never the same ever since 😭😭😭

AND YOU REPLY THAT MIRA CALIRH MEANS MY HEART AAAAAAAAAA you bring another meaning to the word "sorrow" ISTGGG

I can see an entire bouquet matching Malleus 😭 Calla lily, Ivy, Red Salvia, NATSURIUM and White carnation with pecks of Daffodil and Fern

Don't feel obligated to use all of them! Chose whichever you find most suitable! I just could stop with one alone, the more prompts i read the more i had this idea for a story in my head

I think you and I had the same idea cooking LMAOOO I hope I did this well! <3 Thank you for the request!!

Sin Eater

Inc: Malleus, Reader, a sin eater, and one advisor WC: 3.4k Warnings: Heavy discussion of grief and coping with loss Flowers: Calla Lily (something at first sight), Ivy (we’ve always been friends but we were never just friends), Natsurium (I refuse to bury you), Daffodil (a god bows before a mortal), Fern (In a world of magic, the greatest miracle was you... subtly implied) Summary: A quiet conversation in a hall between a prince, a starving idol, and a body.

Their arrival is marked with the sombre chiming of Dragon City’s bells, which is the only reason Malleus knows they’re approaching Black Scale. The window of the bedroom you shared is wide open, letting in both the breeze and the song as he stands so still that one may consider him to be a mere statue on display. He feels equivalent to one; his breath is shallow, his body cold, and his expression far away enough that he hardly registers the carriage approaching. 

“Your highness?” A faint voice speaks by his right side. Malleus’ finger twitches at the sound as his emerald gaze slowly slides from the streets below to the advisor who is now anxiously twisting her sleeve. He can hardly remember her name—advisors come and go so often that they’ve become a blur in his mind—but he’s taken to calling her Scops due to the owlish stare that she always seems to wear around him. “The sin eater is here.”

Malleus stares for a moment before he looks back down to the courtyard. The carriage door is open, and a figure is now standing on the stone, speaking with one of the guards. The discussion is brief, ending with the guard walking to the doors and the figure looking upwards at the palace walls. A golden mask conceals their face, capturing the rays of the sun which battle through Briar Valley’s ever-present clouds, and they wear a simple black funeral suit. 

“I see that.” He replies curtly, his voice ungiving on how he’s really feeling. “They arrived quite quickly, didn’t they?” 

“I suppose they have,” Scops steps a bit closer to the window to look down at the sin eater. “Strange, really. It isn’t like their profession is a competitive market anymore.” 

Sin eaters used to be far more prominent in Briar Valley back when it was still Briar Nation, and old traditions were held to a greater esteem. Unfortunately, the changing of times meant the dismantling of old organizations and beliefs, rendering the sin eaters as nothing more than a token piece in a funeral party. Perhaps once they were esteemed in a religious fashion—but not anymore. Now they will sit for anyone, so long as they get their meal. 

You had always admired the old traditions, though. He remembers your avid interest in his family’s history, and the many nights you’d waste away in the library, reading tome after tome in delight. You had been the spearhead of a new age for old beliefs—revamping Briar Valley’s tourism through the demonstration of habits long dead—and you had made a difference. That’s why there is a sin eater here today. 

Malleus dislikes their presence, however. Them being here means that what he’s going through is not just a simple dream. He exhales through clenched teeth and forces his shoulders to relax as he turns on his heel and nods. 

“Regardless, it’s best not to keep guests waiting.”

_____________________________________________________________

The hallowed hall in which you lay is silent, even with the presence of the sin eater looming over your shrouded form. How they managed to move quickly enough that they arrived before Malleus did is something he decides not to question—nor does he question how they knew of the hall to begin with. Their profession is one that draws the most peculiar of magic users into it. Like a bloodhound, they caught your scent and followed it to the room. He’s surprised the guards who have been standing watch over you for a day now permitted them to enter. 

Malleus enters alone and waves for the room to be sealed. He notes the hesitation in his guard’s body language before they oblige, stepping away to pull the great wooden doors shut with a resounding boom that stirs a pair of birds residing in the rafters. Their wings flutter in distress as Malleus spares them a passing glance before returning his focus on the figure ahead. The sin eater has turned to look back at him, and he sees upon closer inspection that the mask they wear lacks a mouth. They incline their head in greeting before speaking in a surprisingly clear tone considering their facial obstruction. 

“Your grace. Forgive me for the intrusion before your arrival; I merely wished to prepare in advance.” Their voice is soft and low as they touch a hand to the place above their heart. Malleus hardly reacts to their words as he brushes past them to where you lay, body enshrouded in a white sheet with a torc affixed upon your neck. His fingers brush along its form; forged of mystium and gifted to you as a token by him. It was the closest he could get to a marriage declaration in the eyes of the Senate. 

“It’s hardly my place to prevent a sin eater from completing their role.” He replies languidly as his fingers skim off of the torc to rest on your chest. Stiff, still, and cold against his fingers. “I just wish you had not come to begin with.” 

He doesn’t wish to have you buried quite yet, but he knows he’s already pushing the limit of how long he can keep you. He kneels by the platform that holds your form as his fingers brush along the shroud that hides you. If he could, he would drag you off of this macabre display and back into the rooms you shared for so many decades together, to wrap you in his arms and pretend this isn’t happening. 

But that was foul. Utterly, utterly foul. Your body would putrefy and decay while he clung to a false hope of resurrection. 

No, the sin eater is here now. He just doesn’t want you out of sight quite yet. 

“Many do not welcome me, but I have never left without gratitude.” The sin eater replies softly. Like a god before a mortal, Malleus’ ethereal features are painted into a stony expression, his gaze still distant. He hardly feels a part of this world right now as he hums quietly in turn. 

“Perhaps.” He muses as his fingers toy with the shroud before he turns to look at the sin eater. Like his own face, their mask is a stony expression, their eyes concealed from his seeking gaze. If they were to not move and speak then they could easily be dismissed as one of the many statues adorning the hall. “How shall we proceed?” 

“Do you feel ready to proceed?” They posit as they gesture to your form. 

Malleus rises back to his feet but doesn’t remove his hand from your body. The pungent scent of flowers—used to disguise the sweetness of decay—wafts up with the abruptness of his motion. “The opportunity to refuse has long passed. I am aware that there is a feast to be had—that, they regaled me of this back when they were still alive.”

You had been enamoured by the concept of Briar Valley funerary rites throughout your time in life. He remembers thinking it to be grim when you would speak of them, and rather anxiety-inducing when you began to plan for your own. He always knew that your status as a human meant that you would join the stars long before he did—he had simply not wanted to think about it, though. In the end, your efforts to establish your own postmortem care had saved him a great deal of distress these past few days.

Your ability to think far ahead had been one of the many aspects he had loved about you. 

“Indeed, and I am delighted to see one is set for me.” The sin eater drifts off of the steps of the platform towards the far side of the room, where a table lay with an array of foods on it. Wine, dates, meats, and a variety of other luxuries decorate pristine plates and spotless cutlery. He had spared no expenses in the lavishness of your memoriam. “Sometimes I have served people who are still cooking the final meal by the time I arrive. But then again, I would expect a prince to have ample amounts of resources available to get things done.” 

“I give nothing but the finest when it comes to them.” Malleus retorts sharply as he goes to sit in the chair on the other side of the table. Before he can properly settle, the sin eater raises a hand and shakes their head. 

“Turn the chair around if you please. You are not meant to see my face when I eat—that honour is for the deceased, and the deceased alone.” 

Malleus pauses, his hand resting on the back of the chair before he obliges and twists it around to face the wall. He then sits down and crosses his legs patiently. Despite the fact that he knows the sin eater to be unarmed, he still feels a prickle of paranoia creep up his spine. Old habits die hard when one has been hunted for so many years. 

Eventually he hears the sound of the sin eater sitting down in their respective seat, followed by something heavy hitting the table. The sin eater clears their throat, and the sound is far clearer now than before. Their mask has been removed—which means the rite has officially begun. Malleus inhales and readies himself for what he recalls the next few steps to be. 

“Tell me about them. Call them to the table where we feast.” There’s a brief pause then before a fork scrapes against porcelain plates. Malleus’ eyes flutter shut as he gives a low sigh. 

“Mira calirh.” The affectionate term flows from his tongue easily as he touches upon memories long passed. How can he summarize you in a simple conversation? You had been a person of many complexities—of devotion, of will, of love as boundless as the sea. To boil all that you were down into a mere few lines felt sacrilegious in his heart. 

“Tell me of your first.” The sin eater prompts, and so he does. 

“I met them outside of their dorm. I thought the place was abandoned, but suddenly they were there before me, sleep-dazed and curious. I remember thinking how calm they were when facing me directly—only to find out they hadn’t a single clue about who I was.” Malleus’ lips curl into a faint grin as he pictures the moment so clearly. He can see you in your youth, eyes glassy with sleep and hair slightly dishevelled. You had not registered in his mind as someone of importance quite yet. 

Oh, how such a thing would change. 

“Tell me more.” The sin eater urges. He can hear the wine glass lifting and being set back down on the table. Malleus’ hands clasp tight as he feels his fingers begin to grow numb. In his peripheral vision, he thinks he sees movement from the pedestal. He resists the impulse to look its way as he considers his next words. 

“It made me feel… alive. For a moment. They would accompany me, speak with me. It was shortly after my overblot that I began to consider them as a friend—although I suspect we never were just that. It was two summers later that I began to consider them something more.” 

Malleus pauses for a moment to gather his thoughts. He remembers that summer—it had been warmer than usual in the Valley, and you had come to visit for a week. He recalls the smell of sunscreen and the sight of you with your hat on your head as you sat in a field of eternal green. The land was lush and abundant with life, but it had been you that had drawn his gaze the strongest. 

The sin eater pushes a plate away before grabbing another. It drags across the wooden table with a bitter screech. “Is that so?” 

“Quite. They stayed with me for a week, and I wished every night that the next day would never come, only so that I could hold onto them for just a bit longer. I kissed their cheek before they departed through the mirror back to NRC—I wanted to kiss their lips, but I panicked and missed.” He can’t help but laugh at that. His palms had been sweating and his mind had been in a panic when he clumsily pressed his lips to your cheek in a kiss of farewell. “Foolish I was. Fortunately, it didn’t turn them away from me. The next time we met, they made sure my aim was true.” 

“Young love has a habit of sending our hearts aflutter, no?” The sin eater muses as more scraping sounds out. “Tell me when you loved them.”

When? Malleus’ brow furrows as he considers the question. When did he not, really? 

“Every day. Every hour. Every minute. I think once they became mine there was not a moment I did not love them, even when we had our disagreements, or the obligations of my role drew me abroad. I loved them in the day, I loved them in the night. And in the sparse moments between, I loved them even more.” Malleus feels his jaw clench slightly. “We could not be married, and so I made sure they knew my devotion.”

“You could not marry because they were not fae. I remember that being a point of contention in the papers.” 

The sin eater must be a fae themself, then, if they can recall the tabloids from that time so easily while looking as young as they appeared. Malleus bristles at their comment. 

“Yes, that was a point of great contention, and one I had to swallow despite working to change the laws. Even my grandmother agreed that such outdated beliefs had no business in and amongst our courtiers.” 

He had fought viciously against nobility for the opportunity to keep you by his side. Eventually it had ended in a standoff, with the courtiers begrudgingly agreeing to permit you to live in Black Scale, so long as you never officially became his consort. Your body hasn’t even been cold for a day, and he’s already heard rumours from Scops that the Senate is hunting for a suitable replacement. 

The knowledge tastes like bitter fruit on his tongue.

He thinks he sees the flutter of white fabric moving at the pedestal again. His brow furrows as he rationalizes it away as a trick of the odd lighting in the hall. Still, the cold breeze that follows makes him shift in his seat uncomfortably.

“Tell me how you loved them.” The sin eater diverts his thoughts and the conversation once more as something heavy scrapes across the table. It may be the plate of quail he saw—or the pig's head. “What did you do to always let them know?” 

“Everything. Anything they wanted I would give to them. If they had asked me to move the mountains we rest on, I would do so. If they asked me to pluck the sun from the sky and fasten it into a brooch for them, I would make sure it was held by the finest of metals. If they wished for the rains to fall and the earth to turn green, then I would drag the clouds from across the world to where they stood.” Malleus shivers again as he feels an ache in his chest. It’s been there for days now. “Magic bends to my whims, but I bent to theirs.” 

“But you couldn’t give them time.” There’s a licking sound and a low hum of satisfaction from the sin eater. “Time will eat everyone in the end—much like how I feast on their memories now. You could give them every precious gem and flower in the world, but you could not give them a second more than what they were meant to have.” 

“If I could have, then I would.” He snarls back, his head turning slightly to glare at the blurred image of the sin eater. “I would have stolen the seconds from anything and everything and given it to them instead. The gods know they would have benefited from it. They had plans, ideas, to improve this nation and now? Now they’re already beginning to decay.” 

“As things do.” The sin eater tosses a bone onto a plate as Malleus looks back to the wall. He feels something cold brush against him again, and then the scraping of a chair to his right. His shoulders tense at the sound and he wonders if the sin eater has changed places. 

Until they speak. 

“How very kind of you to finally join us.” 

The comment is simple and one that draws confusion in Malleus until it finally clicks in place and his entire body plunges into freezing water. The world spins to a stop as he hears a whispering voice by his ear, its words indiscernible. Malleus’ eyes widen and dilate as any words he had to say stutter to a stop from his lips, drawn shut by a cold touch brushing up his arm—much like how his touch had brushed along yours moments ago. 

“One last bite, then.” The sin eater interjects once more as they push another plate away. “Tell me how you will keep them alive. The body may be rotting, but the soul does still linger. Within this hall, within this palace, within the memories stored in your mind. How will you honour that?” 

The words become clearer now. Your voice is soft as your breath brushes against the skin behind his ear, making him shiver as a small, painful sound escapes him. The scent of you lingers just beneath that of the roses your body was bathed in before being wrapped for your cremation. He can feel the brush of the shroud against him as phantom fingers touch his back. 

He wants to turn to see you as he once knew—but something tells him that doing so will merely send you away faster. 

“Their legacy.” He offers slowly, eyes fluttering shut again as he loses himself in your touch. “Their memory carries on through years upon generations of work. They brought life back to Briar Valley’s beliefs. They reshaped this old, rotting home—reshaped me—into something better. I may have portraits of them, and statues, and items that they loved dear stored in my rooms—but I think the only thing they would wish for me to do is continue the work they had started.” 

A sensation floods him then like that brought on by a lover’s kiss. It curls around his wounded heart and floods itself through his veins, warming his body in a way that it hasn’t been able to for days. Another pained sound leaves him, but it is not drawn out because of any agony. 

Then, as quickly as it arrived, the sensations are all gone. Your scent disappears, your touch disappears, and Malleus Draconia is left once more to sit in a stiff wooden chair in a large, desolate hall, with a body and a sin eater as his company. He wants to grasp for you and hold you in place like he did so dearly with your body—but the voice screams at him again that this is not the way it plays out. 

The sin eater sets the cutlery down before drawing their mask over their face. They push the chair back to stand, and only when they’re on their feet again does Malleus turn to them. He can feel wetness on his cheeks as he stares at their slender, frail form. He had managed to keep himself from crying so far—but now it’s become a battle he can no longer wage.

“What a delectable meal.” The sin eater sighs as they brush down their suit before stepping away from the table. They pause as they face the prince before bending at the waist in a low bow. The black pits that represent their eyes do not stray from his face as they do so. “They rest—as you should, too. I know you have at least another day of the wake to endure, so try to recover as much energy as you can. They would not want you to suffer on their behalf.”

Malleus doesn’t reply as his gaze drifts to your shrouded form on the pedestal. His love, his partner, his calirh. When the sin eater is already halfway to the door, he clears his throat, causing them to pause and look his way. Malleus stares at their masked face with an expression of neutrality once more. 

“... thank you.” He offers softly. The sin eater tilts their head, bows, and steps out of the silent hall.