#i could never ever find any listing of this little man anywhere so i said fuck it i’ll make it myself 😤

[kirriu]

i made my own clown cat

[princessfbi]

For the Ship and Sentence: Ship: BuckTommy (love them). Sentence: The wind rippled through Tommy’s hair and he sighed as he wrapped his arms around his husband as they laid on the beach.

BuckTommy

The wind rippled through Tommy’s hair and he sighed as he wrapped his arms around his husband as they laid on the beach. Well, hopefully husband. If they ever got to that part of the whole married thing. Which seemed farther and farther away with each passing venue they had visited and immediately decided wasn’t for them. Tommy didn’t care. He would’ve been happy anywhere as long as Evan was there with him. Eddie had warned him. Tommy had seen his fiancé with a clipboard before but he’d always been privy to the “you’re the exception but only ‘cause you’re cute” rule. Nothing had prepared him for... Well. To be honest, it hurt more than anything. Not because Buck was unbearable or because Tommy didn’t feel heard about the wedding preparations. If anything, Tommy had to remind Evan that what he wanted mattered too and it was okay if he didn’t like something that Tommy did. It hurt because it didn’t feel like there was anything he could do to make it better. Evan wasn’t sleeping. He was stressed. He was overwhelmed. He was stubborn. His sister had offered to help him find a wedding planner but Evan had pointedly refused to even consider it until absolutely none of the venues had passed whatever standards Buck had set on one of his many many sets of notes. The clipboard had quickly been upgraded to a binder and any time he asked if he could help, Evan just waved him off with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. What was supposed to be a day of celebration and fun was poking at Evan’s side like a thorn he couldn’t pull out no matter how many times he tried. And nothing quite seemed to be able to soothe him. He tossed and turned in Tommy’s arms until the sheets were tangled around them. His eyebrows knitted together like he was fighting off a headache every time he so much as looked at flowers. The to do list seemed to be growing, not shrinking, and under no circumstances was anyone allowed to bring up that they still hadn’t set a date. Tommy still hadn’t quite forgiven Chimney for causing that particular downward spiral. It was supposed to be fun and it hurt Tommy more than anything that Evan wasn’t having fun and there wasn’t a thing Tommy could do to help. Sure, Tommy had dreams. He had little touches on the reception and ceremony he had opinions on. He never thought he’d get the chance to even get this far to begin with. But all that mattered to him was that he got to tell the world that Evan was his. That this adorable, gorgeous, kind man had said yes to forever with Tommy and Tommy loved him so much that it was a miracle he didn’t implode. He just didn’t know what Evan was trying to prove. Or rather who he was trying to prove the mysterious point to. Frankly, Tommy didn’t care. The only person who mattered was in his arms. “Breathe baby,” Tommy murmured into Evan’s ear. Evan breathed out as he fell back into Tommy’s chest and Tommy pressed a kiss to the soft skin beneath his ear. Inch by inch the tension that had been lingering beneath his skin melted away and Tommy watched as Buck dug his toes into the sand. Trying to tear Evan away had taken a lot of bribery and some gentle manhandling and he’d only agreed to get in the car when Tommy had told him he had another venue they could look at but they only had a very small window to get there. A little white lie. Or maybe not so much. He’d just managed to get them parked and to the beach before the sunset on the horizon and the colors bled into the sky when Evan shot him a look that said he was busted. It was just meant to be a distraction really. A moment of peace where Evan could turn off the miles and miles of thoughts racing through his head. “It’s perfect,” Evan said and Tommy squeezed him even tighter as he stared out at the tide. “Yeah,” he agreed because it was. Because anywhere with Evan in his arms was. But that spot on the beach? Well it had plenty of space to fit their loved ones too.

[fleurriee]

— the best way to learn ; aemond targaryen

pairing ; aemond targaryen x wife!reader

synopsis ; for a second there, you thought you’d lost your daughter. you should’ve known she’d be with her father, doing what they do best - causing mayhem in the privacy of your chambers.

word count ; 3.3k

themes ; fluff, established relationship (married)

warnings ; none. maybe slightly ooc aemond???

author’s note ; first time writing for aemond,,,, what do we think??? this man has a chokehold on me ever since that first episode we saw him in & i’ve finally given in and done something about it asdfghjkl also i can’t make alicent a villain, especially when she’s olivia cooke, im sorry.

masterlist request a fic!

You couldn’t find your daughter.

The last time you saw her had been early in the morning, sending her over to her nursemaids as they took over. She’d be spending majority of the day there, catching up on her reading and slowly beginning to learn more equity. You didn’t like it when the day turned out in such a way, because she was your daughter, and it was technically your job to teach her such things, but when yourself and Aemond became busy at the same times, you had no other choice.

This morning, you were called by Queen Alicent, your mother-in-law, requesting that you spend the majority of the day with her, sharing between both the council room, but also her chambers. She’d asked that you come in on some of the council sessions that would be taking place during the day, aiding her in the errands of the kingdom she was suddenly having to take care of due to the King’s declining health.

(Although, she had also mentioned that she also wished to spend some time with you regardless, seeing as it had been a little too long for her liking. The two of you had gotten along pretty much from the moment you met, with her relishing in the perfect match between yourself and Aemond. Ever since then, you’ve been like another daughter to her.)

You were constantly feeling honoured and a little proud of yourself whenever Queen Alicent would ask specifically for your presence during these meetings - after all, you were only her second son’s wife, with barely any authority placed upon your shoulders when it came to making final decisions like this.

When you’d first told her of your worries of others opinions on your presence there, she’d instantly shut them down. Queen Alicent head adamantly stated that she valued your opinion, not only as a member of her family, but as a woman. She knew you’d go with the options that would be best for the kingdom entirely.

No one had ever said anything to you, despite the lingering glances they’d continue to give you throughout each meeting. You had an idea that the reason nothing had happened was both on the Queen’s orders, and for the fear of your husband’s wrath should you mention just a slither of an occurrence to him.

The reason why Aemond was unable to properly look after your daughter was due to the training he had with Sir Criston Cole in the yard. It was an errand he didn’t enjoy - in fact, every time he knew he had it forthcoming and afterwards on his return, he would grumble and groan about participating in it.

When it came to Aemond, he much preferred staying in with his family, reading some other tome he’d found in the archives of the family library that spoke of extravagant histories. Aemond Targaryen had never been into tourneys and training like that, but, he knew, as was his duty as the second son of the King and Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, he needed to learn to protect those close to his heart - his two girls at the top of that list.

So, despite wishing he was anywhere else rather than in that particular yard, as onlookers watched on with beady eyes, he keep himself there. The practice would allow him to feel confident in himself that he could protect his wife and daughter. Not that he would never not try, anyway, but the reassurances were nice.

The bonus was that he was good at it, meaning those of the guard would command that he help protect the rest of the kingdom, alongside them. No one was about to pass up a good warrior like Aemond Targaryen, even if he did grumble and glare at them.

Therefore, due to the both of you being busy with duties neither of you were particularly happy to be doing, you had trusted your only daughter in the care of her nursemaids. Before you’d left her, you promised her that her mother and father would call for her later, at a more suitable time where the three of you could be together as a proper family in the safe confines of your chambers.

It was difficult to really show off the love you had for one another in the way you admired, majority of the time. You couldn’t really do so when roaming the halls of the castle, or when walking some of the better streets of the kingdom.

As royals, it was customary for you to keep straight faces, to smile politely in a nice way, and to only ever speak when you were spoken to, more so than ever seeing as you were a woman. To you, as a princess, the wife to the second son of King Viserys, it was of paramount importance that you taught your own daughter the same thing you were taught, too - to be a lady when seen in public, to be prim and proper, but when safely wrapped in the warm embrace of those your trusted wholeheartedly, be whoever you wanted to be.

Even from a young age, yourself and Aemond did your absolute best to teach her that, knowing it was to be a fundamental part of her personality if she were to survive in this part of the world she was chosen to grow up in. Thankfully (as you’d always say), your daughter had taken after her father immensely in every way, and not just in her appearance, with her violet eyes and silver mane - no, she was also fierce, wishing to one day be wearing a similar armour to her father and wield a sword that represented his.

This dream of hers wouldn’t disappear, no matter how many times you heard others try and quell it. It wouldn’t, though, not when you, Aemond and Queen Alicent herself allowed her to dream whatever she wanted, promising her that one day, they would all come true. And, if it was up to the three of you, you’d make sure it did. Aemond had told her it would, too, many times, but reminding her that, for now, the two of them would have to pretend it was the same when fighting with wooden swords in your private chambers.

And, that’s exactly where you were headed now.

After bidding a swift goodbye to your good mother, promising her that you would make sure to see her again before the day was over (to which she replied, preferably with my son and granddaughter, with a chuckle), you’d gone back to where you’d left your daughter with her nursemaids early that morning. But, upon entering, you noticed she hadn’t been there - no one had.

Despite believing that surely she’d be safe if she was in the company of her nursemaids, knowing they’d protect her with their lives as they had vowed, for just a split second, you could feel your heart dropping to the very bottom of your stomach, feeling as though you were going to throw it up out of nerves. But, you told yourself that everything was fine, willing yourself to calm down, and repeatedly telling yourself that you simply hadn’t checked enough rooms to be completely worried yet.

However, it only spiked up more than ever when you’d gone down to the yard to speak to your husband, wanting to see if maybe he had seen her. Only when you came up short, everything felt worse. Not even Sir Criston was there, meaning you couldn’t question him about anything, even if you’d wanted to.

There was a part of your mind that was desperate to think logically, to think rationally - maybe Aemond had left to see her. Yeah, you’re sure that was it. Still, that one part of your mind wouldn’t stop nagging at you with dangerous, pessimistic thoughts.

Palms sweating and eyes flickering madly from one corner to the other, and then only repeating the same process, desperation is clear in your actions as you tried your damn hardest to keep a levelled composure. You knew it wouldn’t do well for anyone else dwelling in the confines of the kingdom’s walls to see you acting so wildly and brash, not when they were so used to you being the rational one that calms your husband down during his own heightened tempers. There would be no use in causing a mayhem if there was nothing to worry about, which is what you continued to tell yourself, hoping that the more you thought it, the more likely it would be on the other end.

It wasn’t like you could help these particular feelings, either - you were a mother after all, and you were always going to worry. No matter the circumstances, no matter the place, no matter the people… you would always have these lingering doubts that something was wrong with your baby if she was ever not in your’s or your husband’s arms.

That’s why your steps stayed hurried and frantic, and your breaths started to become slightly laboured as you rushed to your shared bedchambers, forcing the doors open and hoping above all hopes - to both the Old Gods and the New - that something would be inside that would give you the answers to calm your racing heart.

And, the sight that greeted you, face-to-face, the moment those doors opened, managed to fill your heart with the upmost of love.

There, standing on your bed, feet bouncing her up, down and around as she yelled out with her squealed, tiny giggles, was your daughter. Her hair was an absolute mess, no longer styled in the plaits you’d given her that morning; strands of silver falling into her face from the length of it - again, wanting to take after her father. It wasn’t bothering her, though, not when there was an elated smile plastered right upon her lips as she attempted to push her father further away from her, hands pulled out in front of her like she was warning him off.

Said husband of yours was continuing to stand at the end of your bed, a teasing, expectant expression on his face, like he was awaiting something. Aemond was slightly hunched over, preparing for the next opening when he could pounce upon your daughter and attack with all the love he had on offer.

As all this was happening, you stayed silent, watching on as the two of them breathed heavily. That was a sure sign that this had possibly been happening for a short while now - as it always would, when she was playing with her father.

“Kepa (father),” she paused, taking another deep breath, the flush of her cheeks apparent as another small giggle escaped from her lips. “Kepa (father), I don’t know!”

Walking ever so slightly closer to her, Aemond tsked, shaking his head. Still, the reading grin never left his features. “Yes, you do, ñuha byke zaldrīzes (my little dragon)…”

My little dragon. You absolutely adored it when he called her that, making you feel proud and domesticated with the two of them, with your little family. And, she was his little dragon, in every aspect - looks, personally, heritage. It would only be a matter of time before she possessed her only companion, and you couldn’t wait to be there with her for that achievement.

However, too caught up in the haze of the love you held so dearly for them, you hadn’t realised your daughter spotted you, her eyes sneakily looking for a way of escape and heart jumping for joy when she spotted you lingering. “Muña (mother)!” her yell pierced through the walls of the chambers, clambering herself off the bed as quick as possible (trying to avoid her father’s arms reaching for her), and wrapping her tiny self around one of your legs, safe beneath your dress and hiding herself behind the material.

Watching her, and noticing what had caught her eye, accompanied by her correct High Valyrian, your lord husband spotted you, as well. His once teasing, mischievous expression instantly turned softer at the sigh of his lady wife, stepping a little closer to the two of you. “My lady wife, I did not expect to see you until later in the day.”

You chuckled, smiling back at him lovingly before reaching a hand out to stroke the top of your daughter’s head, both a motherly gesture and an attempt to brush some of the silver strands back from her flushed face. “As did I,” you replied, “but when I went to check in on Visenya only to find her not there… I panicked.”

With a sympathetic smile, Aemond looked lovingly down at you, at the worry that was still slightly hidden behind your tone of his at your admittance. He reached over until his hand was clasping behind your neck, bringing you forwards and all the more closer to him so he could place a delicate kiss against your forehead. The whole gesture was so loving and tender, so much different in comparison to how he usually portrayed himself anywhere else that wasn’t in your chambers with his little family.

“Kepa came to get me,” your daughter explained, not realising that she was beginning to rat her father out. Her chin was propped up against your leg, looking up at you with such innocent eyes - violet, like her father. “He told me it was time to learn more High Valyrian.”

At her words, you focused your attention back on your husband, cocking a brow at him as your smile slowly faded just a smidge. No one would’ve noticed it, but, Aemond wasn’t no one - he knew you better than he knew himself. He sighed, “I know I should’ve told you, but, I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“You know I always check up on her, Aemond,” you spoke, voice quiet and just a tiny bit exasperated as you reprimanded your husband. You should’ve known Visenya would’ve been with her father all along, for reasons exactly as this one. But, the worry of a mother would always eat away at you until your daughter was back in your own grasp. That’s just how it was - you couldn’t help yourself.

As a second longer passed and the silence stilled within the room, the small slither of annoyance you previously felt dissipated at the apologetic, longing look he was sending you. You always gave in easily when it came to Aemond Targaryen, no matter the face he was pulling at you - he was just that handsome. You could feel a small shift down by your leg, spotting your daughter continuously looking from yourself, then over to her father, trying to fully understand the situation playing out in front of her, and you couldn’t help but feel refreshed again, like you hadn’t had any worries to begin with. “And,” you began, smiling wide down at her, Aemond instantly knowing your next moves just from one look at you, “you know I always like to join in when you learn High Valyrian.”

The moment the last word fell from your lips, you bent down with quick movements, picking her up within your arms and holding her tightly against you before she could even think about trying to run away. She squealed in utter excitement, laughing and giggling all the same, feet kicking upon your sides as she desperately tried to leave your embrace.

“Now,” you began, tilting your head down at her, before looking back up to your husband, “what were you teaching her?”

Aemond began to stand a little further back, already sensing that you were going to join in on what he had been doing to your daughter earlier, and sensing that more chaos was about to be brought forwards, giving you a little more room. After all, this was how the two of you always taught your little Visenya High Valyrian, because, at the end of the day, it worked out in the end, helping her remember her words. Plus, she secretly loved it, too, but, she’d never tell either of you that.

“I was teaching her to say one day, I am going to ride the biggest dragon in the world.” A prideful smile lingered upon his lips after he’d finished, looking at his daughter fondly. There was a look in his eyes that told the two of you he’d make sure it ended up true - he’d make sure the two of you always got what you deserved, and more. That was his role as husband and father, and he would continue to do so until the Stranger forced him to go.

You gasped mockingly, looking back down at your little girl, pretend disbelief marring your features. Visenya had stopped in her attempts to escape since, now looking up at you with her doe eyes, a small, subtle smile on her lips, waiting. “You know how to say that, my sweet girl,” you cooed sweetly, “kepa (father) taught you not too long ago.”

The memory came back to you instantly, of Aemond speaking about how excited he was of your daughter claiming her own dragon egg to you. It was something that had been on his mind practically since the day you found out you were expecting, and ever since then, he’d gone on about it. So, of course, he was going to teach your daughter how to boldly proclaim such a thing. It was all he wanted to hear from her.

Visenya’s face scrunched up when you’d reminded her she’d been taught it not too long ago, raising her hands in the air like the little drama queen she is. “I know, but I can’t remember!”

“Well,” you began, pointedly, in a sweet tone that had a lingering tease within it, one that came accompanied with a look that instantly told your husband that the usual was about to happen. “You know what happens when you can’t remember…” you gave a pause for more effect, sneakily looking down upon her before the biggest smile broke out upon your features, instantly digging your fingers into her sides as you began tickling her. Even more giggles than before erupted throughout your bedchambers, mixed in with both pleads and begs for you to stop, but, you wouldn’t. It was obvious she was having a fun time just from the sounds she was emitting.

Continuing on with your playful attack, you moved the two of you over in the direction of your bed, lying her down on her back as her little legs kicked in the air, trying to feign you off. Aemond came up beside you, looking down upon his family with loving eyes, laughing at your daughter’s demise, her peals of delight capturing his heart and squeezing it tight.

There was nothing he simply loved more than being trapped within his chambers - something he enjoyed before he’d met you, anyway, preferring his own company rather than having to pretend around others - but, that had only intensified when his two girls came tottering along, looking for someone to cling onto and protect them, something he’d always do even in his sleep.

Nowadays, he never truly complained or minded as much when he had to go about his duties and pretend to be someone he wasn’t really, putting on a front just to please some overweight lords who wanted to get in his family’s good books - not when it meant he had something special waiting for him towards the end of the day when he returned home.

Aemond Targaryen had the two of you under his dragon wings, arms wrapped firmly around him and not letting go any time soon, and he couldn’t ask for anything more… not when, already, he’d felt like he’d accomplished everything within his life.

[enviedear]

Hiii !! How are you? Pleasure to meet you!

I saw your engineering major!Anakin post and when I tell you I immediately twirled around on my bed and started kicking my feet like a fucking teenage girl… I’m not joking.

This is a headcanon that has been following me ever since I entered the beautiful world of Anakin Skywalker. Seriously. I even have a one shot about lmaoooo

Could you please elaborate on that? I would love to hear your takes, discuss them and just thirst over him together! Because god lord, I’m so grateful to found someone who was the same interest on engineer Anakin. Also bonus points for college student Anakin because that’s just hot as fuck

Thank youuuu

Mina

i literally am obsessed over this concept thank you so much for indulging me! i centered it over him in college mostly because— i just... it does things to me.

also what if i said engineering major!anakin fic in the works...

a few nsfw themes in here so minors dni i will block you <3

he strikes me as the type of guy you'd see once on campus and then immediately try to find him on the university's social media accounts.

he wouldn't be fucking anywhere until you find the engineering college's Instagram account

it hasn't had a single post in two years but it's okay because you find one of him !!!

and the only picture of his face is so grainy, but he's in it and he looks so fucking hot at his computer and that's enough

also he's totally unapproachable

not that he's a dick or anything, he's just cussing out all his professors in his head and worried about his last materials exam

i think in his (very limited) spare time he'd be into either metalworking or cars... probably both

like i think he could fix almost any car-related issue without having to go to a shop

axel on his car goes out? yeah he's ordering the part and putting it on his damn self

his motor blows up? he's spending his summer rebuilding it while taking sixteen hours of summer classes

and if he does have to go to a shop, it's strictly because he doesn't have time and he most certainly will pop the hood and check their work

also i believe he'd like stick shift

literally won't buy a car unless it's manual

"what the fuck is the point of an automatic"

he totally also learns how to tune in his free time and everytime you hear a car speed by you on campus you just know it's his work

now, if you're lucky enough to catch his eye i truly believe he'd be so fucking consumed by you

he'd ask you to go everywhere with him; he needs to study in the library? he's asking you to come. he has to give a dissertation? he's begging you to come watch him. it's 3am and he just finished his statics project? he's calling you like, 'baby please come with me to get food. I'll buy you a treat.'

also the biggest and most clingy bf ever in the history of the world

will stop doing his work to come watch you play the sims and just hold you (also tells you how to build a proper house despite you bing like,, "ani... the fun part is making them get into trouble not making sure their roof is durable.")

also likes to be incentivized with you

"if i get an a on this next test will you let me bend you over the desk?"

or, "i'll study better if you let me taste you, please baby?"

star-student, no question.

and he's so fucking smart it's a bit annoying because he'll bitch and moan about how bad he's doing while getting on the dean's list every year

the way he explains what he's working on is hot as fuck

numbers make sense to his mind in ways you will never understand, but good lord is it nice to watch his smart little mouth move

type of man to take you on a date into the city and point out the shitty infrastructure

"for as much rain as we get you'd think these fucking idiots would have put more drains."

"that bridge is due to fall in less than ten years, what the fuck were they thinking."

he's just the smartest boy, and you make sure to tell him any chance you get not that he agrees but he'll always say, "thank you pretty girl"

[veryace-ficrecs]

Do you know any horror fics revolving around ASL (or specifically ace and/or sabo)? It could be stuff ranging from horror fae aus or body horror or obsession or child experimentation or cannibalism etc., just anything that’s creepy/disturbing :)

ASL Horror Fic Recs!

Please keep in mind!! This list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own discretion!!

A Cursed Child by kittyface27 - Rated M

"There's some monster on that island that eats humans that visit. When you get there, whatever you do, don't interact with the boy. Don't touch him, or make eye contact with him. If you interact with him or show you know he's there, then you're dead. That's the most important thing to know: do NOT interact with him."

Maybe I wanna be a cryptid ( maybe I don't wanna exist in this world ) by Agatha1905 - Rated T

Whispers of a bloodthirsty monster in the woods cause an uproar on Dawn Island. Especially when that monster turns out to be just a litte creepy kid called Luffy with bright white eyes, and an appetite with very questionable ways to be satiated. ( Or: A guide on how raising your eldritch grandson by Garp The Fist. )

Friendship can be found anywhere (even in the creepy forests) by Ginnn - Rated M

Never go into the Weeping Forest, little one. Parents would tell their children. For those that did never came out. Fear the Forest and don’t go in there. But Luffy was bored. or How to befriend local Eldritch Creature and consequences that come from it.

eat my body (spit up my soul) by marigoldsinsummer - Not Rated

Eating the Mera-Mera Fruit was an experience. (if he didn’t know better, he’d say the Devil Fruit had eaten him instead) (or maybe that’s what he’d say if he did)

Home Sweet Home by Giglio_nero - Rated T

Ace and Sabo had been struggling with money and a place to live, so when they find a solution to both they'll take the chance. But what if their new home already has someone residing on it? Will they be able to survive and protect their baby brother?

the man-eater in the grey terminal by phantomofthehoepera - Rated T

”Listen to me, Luffy,” Dadan had said. ”You can’t buy any food from the terminal. Not ever. When people are hungry they’ll eat anything, so the vendors at the terminal can sell anything. You understand?"

Conflagration by Harubo - Rated M

As a child, Ace dreamt of flames.

Can See What You Can't See by orphan_account - Rated G

Luffy can see things that others are unable to see.

[bobamilkk]

TF2 HEADCANONS PART TWO ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

I told myself I’d get these up one of these days👍 I finished this list at 4 am last night so none of this makes any sense and every word is more chaotic than the ones before it and no I’m not sorry y’all sighed up for this bs

Scout

-Can understand a good chunk of French but can’t speak more than a few simple words if that, has no clue how he understands it (Spy spoke a good amount of French around him as a baby or something idk)

-Can be just has hard to find as Spy-once you loose sight of him he’s impossible to find if he’s actually trying to stay hidden-Like father like son

-Can and will steal your food-this includes Heavy and Medic-He has no fear whatsoever and has been sent to respawn god knows how many fucking times because of this-And yet he still does it

-Loves scifi movies and comics and if you watch a movie with him half of it is him pointing out random trivia facts because he’s incapable of shutting the fuck up (this is also what happens when you watch a movie with me irl. My grandparents are sick and tired of it. Yes this is even more self projection what of it?)

-has mastered the younger sibling talent of fucking climbing people if it means getting something that’s held over his head. He also bites

Soldier

-it’s impossible to tell if he’s insulting you or complimenting you 90% of the time

-Has stabbed Scout’s hand to the table to prevent him from stealing food before and no one stopped him

-The team has movie nights once a week and Soldier always puts on the same inaccurate WW2 documentary he made himself when it’s his turn to pick-he used to put on 10 hours of the American National Anthem but someone (read: The rest of the team working together) lost (read: Violently destroyed) the tape after the third time

-I said he was from Missouri once in a rp cuz my rp friend and I are both from different parts of Missouri so that’s my hc now

Pyro

-I always hc him as Irish for some reason idk why

-Can casually pick up every merc except for Heavy-He struggles a bit with Medic because that man is pure muscle but they can indeed pick him up

-May or may not be a cannibal-it’s a little uncertain but either way they’re banned from the kitchen and cooking duty

-I’m a sucker for the hc that he does not like water whatsoever-Getting this man a bath is like trying to bathe a cat except somehow even more deadly

Demo

-This may be the impulsive sleep deprivation but my brain randomly went “What If he can see general ghosts because of his possessed eye socket, not just Eyelander or the scream fortress ghosts” so sometimes people walk in on him casually having a conversation with the air. Considering he’s made out with his own organs in his head, this is one of the less weird things they’ve walked in on him doing

-Surprisingly he’s the best with kids out of all 9 mercs, Heavy is a good runner up though and Spy’s not far behind but will never admit it

Heavy

-Accent gets thicker when he’s talking to people he cares about

-Was the one who suggested the movie nights in the first place

-Actually cleans up in the base unlike literally everyone else

Engie

-People don’t realize how unhinged this man is ok??? Anyways he’s a caffeine addict and has developed the habit of pulling way too many all nighters if it means getting work done (like me. It’s 4 am as I work on this list. Help)

-What’s a southern farm boy without a few dozen concerning stories about pushing cousins out of second story barn windows or near drowning fishing story? My cousins lived on a farm when we were kids and they scared the shit out of me I swear there was a new broken bone every summer

-probably once had a sleep deprived mental breakdown on his workshop floor because the sweet tea one of the mercs made him wasn’t sweet enough idk man I’m sleep deprived rn and could really use a southern style sweet tea

Medic

-Mann vs Machine hc that his hometown would rather deal with the robots than having Medic anywhere near them ever again. They want him GONE

-Sleeps like a fucking corpse-You can’t even tell he’s breathing unless you look closely. He even crosses his arms like a corpse

-Will take you graverobbing for a romantic date-gotta get experiment canvases somehow he’s running out of room on the other mercs without them just dropping dead from it all

Sniper

-The opposite of a morning person, but his internal clock won’t let him sleep in ever. The suns up? He’s up! Someone help him

-Has befriended a wild owl and feeds it at night-The offense trio very violently helped him name it (They fist fought eachother over who’s name was better while Sniper spaced out thinking about random gator facts)

Spy

-An adrenaline junkie but will never ever admit it

-Spy can mimic voices to a near perfect even without his disguise kit-he however rarely uses this and instead simply mocks everyone instead because he finds it funny (“This is Scout! Rainbows make me cry!”)

-Wears a corset because I said so-It always matches perfectly with his outfit and underwear too-He feels SO bonita

Bonus since it’s Pride Month

-Scout is gay and so many levels deep in the closet it’s embarrassing-He’s also trans because I said so

-Soldier is trans, bi, and poly :) his list of wives consists of anyone and everyone /j

-Spy is bi and a cis man who wears dresses regularly he’s gnc af and I love that for him he’s my wife now

-Medic is gay and still legally married to his wife they’re mlm wlm solidarity married for tax benefits /j

-Pyro is trans, non-binary, and pan and uses he/they pronouns because I said so

-None of these men are straight ok

-Medic did both Scout and Soldier’s top surgery but both of them instead have overly extravagant extremely gorey stories on how they got their scars

[sesamestreep]

New Taylor Swift prompts! 16, Matt/Foggy

16. I’ve missed you all this time (from this prompt list) I don't know what this is, but it's technically set in the 60s, even though I did not make that explicitly clear anywhere in the text and it serves no purpose beyond just...vibes. I mostly just wanted to write silly new year’s fic, don’t worry about historical accuracy or world-building, everyone be cool! happy 2024, you silly and sultry geese! on ao3 here 🥂✨

Matt can still hear the noise of the party, barely dampened even when he's several rooms removed. He’d be able to hear it from the lobby of the building, truth be told, but here he can still make out conversations without having to focus that hard. He tries to direct his senses somewhere else—somewhere with less overlapping chatter and clinking glasses and shuffling feet over plush carpets—and breathe deep, so that maybe he can regain some equilibrium and hopefully go back to the party in a few minutes and act normal. It’s almost midnight, after all, and who goes to a New Year’s Eve party just to ditch out before midnight?

“Matthew Augustus Murdock,” a voice calls out from the far end of the paneled hallway.

“Not my middle name,” Matt says, smiling, “as you already know.”

“But wouldn’t it be better if it was?” Foggy asks, as he slides down to sit next to Matt. 

“Yes, I imagine I’d have lived a much easier and more successful life, if only my middle name was…what was it again?”

“Albert,” Foggy says, “or something. Who cares?”

“Good point,” Matt says, pressing his shoulder into Foggy’s happily. “How’d you find me?”

“I used the one and only superpower God graced me with: I’m like a homing pigeon for you specifically. I always know where to find you. It’s eerie, frankly, and damned useless, but—“

“Not to me,” Matt interjects, too readily. “I mean, for what it’s worth.”

Foggy nods, his overly long hair that he keeps meaning to get cut rasping over his shirt's stiff collar as he does. “That’s a good point.”

“I make those occasionally.”

“Occasionally,” Foggy repeats in a comically shrill, tiny voice, like he’s doing an impression of a cartoon mouse, for whatever reason. He’s a little drunk, clearly, which Matt could tell from the way he’s talking and the way he’s moving and the way he smells and, well, that’s probably enough evidence. 

“If I’m ever in trouble, I know who to call,” Matt says, which is maybe too honest, but Foggy doesn’t have to know that.

“You wouldn’t even have to call, Matt,” Foggy replies, solemnly grasping his shoulder. “If you’re ever in trouble, I’ll know and I’ll come running.”

“I would pay real money to see you actually run anywhere.”

“You’d have to, my man. I imagine it would take a massive breakthrough in science for you to see anything at all, and those things tend to cost a pretty penny,” Foggy says, grandly. “And also, on a much more serious note, go fuck yourself.”

Matt laughs and collapses against Foggy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I just know how much you hate running.”

“Which means you’ve entirely missed the inherent capital-R romanticism of me offering to do it for you! Classic Murdock. Absolute philistine behavior. I should expect it by now.”

“Your gallantry is wasted on me,” Matt agrees, still doing that thing of being too honest.

“I know,” Foggy sighs, theatrically, “and yet, here I am.”

“Why are you here, anyway?”

“Missed you, came looking. Same as ever.”

“Aw,” Matt says, leaning into his side even more. “You’re right, I really don’t deserve you.”

“I never said that. You said that,” Foggy says, poking him. “But anyway, I lied and the real answer to your question is that I got tired of girls coming up to me and asking where my handsome friend had got to.”

Matt knows two things with a decent degree of certainty: Foggy hadn’t been lying when he gave his first answer (Matt would have heard it in his heartbeat and likely noticed any other number of tells that Foggy has when he does lie, besides) and that no one would have had to ask him to go looking for Matt after he disappeared. His joke about homing pigeon-like tendencies is more truthful than either of them would like to acknowledge. When Matt goes missing—as he very frequently does at these types of things—Foggy always comes to find him. Matt’s been doing this since way before he met Foggy—having overly heightened senses does not make crowded social functions more manageable in general—but he can probably admit that he does it more now that he knows someone will come looking for him.

He also knows that girls like Foggy a lot more than Foggy thinks they do. He’s always talking about how girls seek him out to get in with Matt, but Matt doesn’t really believe that. There have been a few girls, here and there, certainly enough that Foggy’s right to be a little paranoid about it, who have turned their sights from Foggy to Matt, which on top of being unkind is just bad business sense. Anyone with a brain in their head would see that Foggy’s the better option of the two of them. And Matt’s got plenty of flaws, but he’d certainly never take up with anyone who hurt his best friend, so it doesn’t work out the way anyone hopes it will, anyway, when they do. Still, he's sure Foggy could have found a nice girl to keep him entertained until Matt got back to the party, if he put his mind to it, and that maybe he'd just been looking for an excuse to duck out himself when someone asked about Matt.

“This is where I got to,” Matt says, with a slightly pathetic shrug.

“Who says I meant you?” Foggy asks, absently. “I have other friends that are handsomer than you!”

“Not only do you not have a single handsomer friend in all the world,” Matt says, belatedly unsure if ‘handsomer’ is even a word, but otherwise too confident to turn back, “you don’t even have another friend at this party.”

“I’m exceedingly charming, Matthew,” Foggy over-enunciates. “Everyone at this party is my new best friend.”

Matt loops his arm through Foggy’s and leans his head back against the wall. “Sounds like I’ve got a lot of competition.”

“You’re not having fun?” Foggy asks, the change of topic so sudden and his tone so unexpectedly serious that Matt has a brief moment of confusion that he means with this joke they’ve got going. It takes a second to realize he means at the party in general.

“It’s fancy.”

“Too fancy, you mean…”

“You know I don’t go in for all this stuff,” Matt says, shrugging. 

“Like I do, you mean?” Foggy asks, lightly, even though Matt can feel him warming with embarrassment. 

“Like I used to,” Matt clarifies, and trusts his meaning to be clear.

“Right,” Foggy says, and the tone in his voice is the one he uses exclusively when he refers to Matt’s ex-girlfriend from junior year who almost caused him to drop out. “Fair enough, I suppose.”

“You can head back. Really, I don’t mind. I just need a few more minutes.”

“No, you’re right. It’s…a bit stuffy, isn’t it?” Foggy muses. “I mean, I didn’t even know people still had apartments like this, outside of, well, the Rockefellers.” 

The apartment belongs to the parents of one of their friends from law school and the only reason they have free rein over the place is because the parents are vacationing in Aspen with friends. Even without being able to see it, Matt can tell it’s a swanky place. The rug he’s currently sitting on is so plush that he can basically sink his entire hand into it. Every table he passed on his way to this hiding place smelled so strongly of Pine-Sol that there has to be a maid on staff, if not a team of them. He’s fairly certain this random hallway he discovered is actually a back passage to the kitchens, so the servants don’t have to be seen coming and going. He's not sure if he asked their host about it that they'd even know it existed. And Matt’s shoes, as well as most of his clothes, are secondhand.

“You were having fun until I made you feel bad,” Matt says, tucking his chin onto Foggy’s shoulder and trying to look contrite.

“No, I mean—I like having you around, Matt. You keep me honest,” Foggy laughs. “Two and a half years of law school, four years at an Ivy before that, I think I’ve just made peace with having to go to parties in uncomfortable clothes and to make conversation with people I don’t really like. I don’t think I’d call it fun, but it’s a social life of some kind, I suppose.”

“We should have gone to Josie’s,” Matt says, holding onto him too tightly, even with the excuse of a few drinks.

Foggy snorts, thinking of the beloved dive bar they sneak off to in Hell’s Kitchen whenever they can, whenever they’re home. It’s only a matter of blocks to get there, but sometimes, at school, it feels farther away than all that.

“I don’t dare imagine the caliber of our prospects for a kiss at midnight there,” Foggy says, with an exaggerated shudder.

“Can’t be any worse than our prospects here,” Matt replies. 

Foggy whistles, low, under his breath. “You’re going to be disappointing a lot of nice girls with that kind of talk, Murdock!”

“Better to disappoint them now than later,” Matt says, fully burying his face in Foggy’s shoulder now. He gets like this when he drinks. Foggy's used to it.

“Oh, that’s right. You don’t do the whole ‘going steady’ thing anymore,” Foggy says, leaning in conspiratorially. “You’re too damaged and that means you’re never going to get married, so you’d rather not lead anyone on.”

“You say that like it’s not true,” Matt whispers back.

“It isn’t true, you moron!” Foggy laughs. “One day, some beautiful girl is going to turn your head so quick, you’ll have neck problems for the rest of your life!”

“Sounds uncomfortable,” Matt says.

“And I’ll be there,” Foggy continues, like Matt didn’t even speak, “laughing.”

“Well, as long as you’ll be there, Foggy.”

“Did I mention you’re a moron?”

“Yes. A few times now, in fact.”

“Then, I’ve done my duty.”

“And what about you?” Matt asks. “When’s somebody going to turn your head?”

“Somebody turns my head every goddamn day, it feels like,” Foggy grumbles. “The problem isn’t my head. It’s everybody else’s.”

“There’s plenty of girls who’d be more than happy to trap you in matrimony.”

“Hmm, well, I’m sure that’s true enough,” Foggy replies, thoughtfully. “I guess it’s more about finding someone you wouldn’t mind being trapped with.”

“And you haven’t found her yet, I take it?”

“No,” Foggy says, sadly. The girl he dated for most of their sophomore year—the one everyone had been certain Foggy was going to end up marrying—had just gotten engaged last month. Foggy still wasn’t entirely over it, Matt was pretty sure.

“And you’re certain she’s not here?” Matt asks, encouragingly.

“Unlikely,” Foggy says. “None of the girls here would be caught dead with me in the daylight. One of them might be unscrupulous enough to let me kiss her at midnight, though.”

“So, go back,” Matt replies. “Find the girl in that room with the lowest standards and lay one on her!”

“I will if you will.”

“I don’t know this for sure, but I do have serious doubts that any girl in the room will let the both of us kiss her at midnight.”

“I meant, you should—you know what I meant!” Foggy exclaims, embarrassed again. 

“I was trying to be funny!”

“‘Trying’ being the operative word there…”

Matt sighs. “What’s the point of kissing someone at midnight when there’s almost no chance of seeing them ever again after tonight?”

“You’ve just described the point yourself! It’s just for fun, to start the year off right! There’s no pressure!” Foggy says, disbelieving. "What’s gotten into you? I thought zero expectations romance was your specialty!”

“Maybe I’m just not a New Year's kind of guy.”

Foggy hums thoughtfully. “Can I tell you my theory?”

“Your theory? About what?”

“About you, and New Year's, and all of that.”

“Oh. Sure. Go ahead.”

“I think you’re afraid,” Foggy says.

“Afraid?” Matt asks. “Of…New Year’s Eve?”

“You don’t want to participate in these silly little rituals, like kissing someone at midnight, because you’re secretly terrified that something good is going to happen to you, and then you won’t know what to do with yourself.”

“Really, Foggy. Be serious!”

“I am serious,” Foggy replies, casually. “You’re scared of being hit over the head with it again.”

“Hit over the head with what?”

“Love,” Foggy says, simply. “You felt it once and it nearly derailed your whole life, so now you avoid any situation where you might accidentally meet someone interesting or have more feelings than you’ve carefully rationed out for yourself for that particular day.”

Matt swallows, feeling utterly exposed. It’s not something he would have been able to say for himself an hour ago, but the words feel true to him coming from someone else. He doesn’t like anybody knowing him well enough to know all of that, though, and if it wouldn’t be so utterly obvious, he’d pull away from Foggy right now just to be safe. Like that would even help, he thinks reluctantly.

“You missed your calling not going into psychiatry, Foggy,” he says, stiffly, once he’s gathered his wits enough to form sentences.

Foggy’s hand, warm and a little damp, closes over Matt’s where it’s still resting on his arm. Matt wants nothing more than to flinch away from it, but he controls the urge in the interest of saving face.

“Don’t be mad at me,” Foggy says, quietly, like there’s a chance they might be overheard somehow and he wants Matt to be the only one who hears this. “I’m just trying to tell you that, in avoiding fun and frivolous things, you are not sparing yourself from being hit over the head. If you’re meant to get hit over the head, it’ll happen whenever and wherever Cupid so chooses. It’ll happen at the deli or the bank or while you’re waiting for the bus. Which means that the only thing you’re ultimately sparing yourself from is fun and frivolity, and that’s a stupid way to live your life. That’s all.”

“I think you just called me a moron again,” Matt says, weakly. He doesn’t know what else to say. The rest of it is...too much to consider.

“I called you stupid, actually, but I see your point.”

In the distance, Matt hears the noise of a crowd of people all simultaneously trying to shush each other, with limited success. He imagines even Foggy can hear it too a moment later when they all begin counting aloud.

“Last chance…” Matt says, tipping his head backwards in the direction of the room where everyone’s gathered.

“It doesn’t matter,” Foggy says, apropos of nothing, as far as Matt can tell. He’s about to ask what he means when Foggy continues, anyway. “I have someone who meets your criteria.”

“My criteria?”

“Yeah. You’ll only accept a kiss from someone you’ll see again after tonight, right?”

“Uh, I don’t think I said ‘only’, I just meant—”

“Too bad,” Foggy says, as the countdown reaches its conclusion. “Happy New Year.”

Matt’s halfway through formulating a question or an objection of some kind, which is the only reason he turns in Foggy’s direction at that moment. It’s clear from the noise of surprise Foggy makes that he absolutely had no intention of kissing Matt right on the mouth and was probably, in fact, aiming for his cheek, trying to be funny and charming after Matt was such a spoilsport about the whole kissing at midnight thing. If Matt hadn’t moved, there’s no doubt in his mind that that’s what Foggy would have done and then it would have been over and they’d already be laughing about it and moving on. But Matt did move and, even awkwardly off center, Foggy is kissing him on the mouth right now and they’re both just frozen like that, shocked and useless.

Matt doesn’t give himself much credit for genius. He’s reasonably smart, and can be even smarter if he applies himself to a subject and really studies up on it, but there’s plenty of people in any given room smarter than he is, most of the time. He has his moments, though, and this is one of them. He sees very clearly the two paths available to them. Down one, this moment stretches awkwardly and they allow it to become a source of discomfort and then outright pain that they'll avoid talking about for years, or maybe possibly forever. Regardless, it has the power to ruin their friendship and Matt simply can't abide that. Down the other, they don’t flinch from it and they don’t make it any stranger than it has to be and it becomes one weird but not fully objectionable moment in their long and storied relationship. They’re not going to trot it out as an anecdote at parties, sure, but they’re not going to become crazy about denying it happened either. If Matt can steer them in the direction of the latter, he thinks maybe it will all be okay, but it’s going to require him not to make matters worse. For whatever reason, the only way he can think to not do that is by kissing Foggy back.

It’s immediately apparent that, momentary genius or no, while it does not technically make things worse, it also does not make them better. Then again, Foggy makes a sort of interested noise as he feels Matt return the kiss, which Matt is infinitely better off for knowing about and having heard and being able to think about some other time when he’s alone preferably. 

They don’t take it any farther than just that. They’re not necking in some random person’s hallway or doing anything truly objectionable. They just stay there, mouths pressed together so that Matt can smell (and sort of taste) the champagne Foggy’s had and the last cigarette he smoked and a hint of that sugary gum he always chews, even though he hasn’t had a piece since before they came to the party. It mostly feels, more than anything else, like they’re breathing together and it’s not sexy the way wild, passionate groping in the dark can be, but it’s intimate in its own unique way. Matt, against his own better judgment, puts a hand on Foggy’s cheek, and he doesn't really know why beyond just really wanting to and that seems to be reason enough.

Foggy doesn’t try to slip his tongue into Matt’s mouth—despite the alarming reality that the moment Matt realizes that’s not what he’s doing, he also realizes he’d let him—or try to escalate matters one bit. His hand is still grasping Matt’s collar from when he first pulled him in, but his other one doesn’t roam. His lips, still pressed to Matt’s, only move to exert a little more pressure and to alter the angle at which they meet slightly. He takes precisely zero liberties and makes no effort to get fresh with him at all. It’s very gentlemanly, and Matt doesn’t know what to do with himself because it doesn’t feel awkward or fumbling at all. It feels like restraint, and once he knows that, everything is different.

The tune of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ reaches him from the other room, but it’s drowned out almost entirely by the sound of Foggy’s heartbeat in Matt’s ears. Foggy must hear it too, though, because he breaks their kiss with the worst sort of gentleness, pulling back only enough for them both to have space to breathe but not far enough that Matt can’t feel that breath on his face.

Matt traces his thumb over the curve of Foggy’s cheek before dropping his hand back down into his own lap and licks his lips as he slowly turns away. 

“Happy New Year,” he says, aiming for calm and unaffected and likely missing it by a lot.

“You too,” Foggy says, even though he already said it first. His heart is still beating too fast and too close and too loud for Matt to read his tone, which is too bad, because he’d really like to know how Foggy feels right now and if he feels anything like Matt does.

Because Matt feels like he’s been hit over the head.

✨

[eowynstwin]

Okay, first of all hello! I hope you are having a great day.

Secondly, remember how you said that Price and Alejandro are the only MW2 guys that could be sugar daddies?

I’d like to add two more, Graves and Valeria. Graves is the CEO of a private military company, I bet you that man is loaded. I’d say more about my love for him, but I know that In the Fandom you kinda either love him or hate him, and idk where you fall 😭

Then Valeria, the leader of the mexican cartel, WE SAW that fucking house. Only stipulation would be time and danger. And honestly, my goal in life is to be a pretty and loved thing on her arm. I’d let her do whatever she wants with me 👀

Don’t even sweat it, we love Commander Phillip “Failgirlie” Graves here. (Also did you draw that?? That’s so funny ahhdhwufudhdh)

I did address Graves in the comments of that post, but I agree, Graves would definitely like to be a sugar daddy. I’m of the opinion however that he probably isn’t drawn to people who want to be sugar babies—he just finds people with his same ambition and drive more attractive. Naturally, those people would object to being taken care of, so Graves’ sugar daddy dreams can’t really be realized. He can, however, get away with being very very generous at Christmas and birthdays.

And VALERIA. I can’t believe I forgot her, she would absolutely be a sugar daddy (yes, daddy). Taking care of her little wifey (gn), making sure they were spoiled rotten with everything they could ever want? Valeria to a T.

You’ll always get to have your hair done, nails done, staff to clean your house, people to cook your food, a massive closet full of Gucci, Balmain, Valentino. You want to vacation in Corfu, cariño? She’s already got the jet spinning up. Wanna see the northern lights this weekend? The entire hotel will be rented out, it’ll just be you and her (and some security she will make sure you never have to see). It snows diamonds at Christmas and rains your birthstone on birthdays. You only drive the safest, nicest cars on the market, if you even drive at all. Your name is at the top of every VIP list, anywhere you want to go.

Honestly out of any of the mw2 cast Valeria is really peak sugar daddy. She wants a pretty little thing at her side that knows nothing but comfort, love, safety, and ease.

[syncopein3d]

Left Alone 5: Bearing Gifts

Tropes/content warnings: M for mature themes overall. vampire whumpee, male whumpee, non-binary caretaker, general morbidity. There will be a lot of play with, and discussion of, the concept of consent in this series, as it applies to many topics. There's gonna be some angst, too. Vampire biting can be painful, platonic, or NSFW and I'm not sure what direction that will take, but Tolly will definitely continue to struggle with the urge to sex-murder Arden, as vampires often do, and Arden will probably continue being depressed enough to be unhelpful with that.

If you would like to be added to, or removed from, the tag list of this series, please let me know!

Part 4: Smallest Consolation

Tolly sat on the rug to look at the dark lantern for a while, chin on his hand. In his mind, he ran back over everything again and again, every tiniest thing he had seen of Arden, every smallest exchange. In spite of what he’d said, he was quite certain they would be back. Someone who would try to reach out to him in the state he was in, who could pity grief in the thing that he was, would not abandon him to waste away in this hole in the ground.

He hadn’t asked if they were alone here. The answer was obvious. There had been no footsteps overhead, no voice raised. There weren’t a lot of places in a town this size for Arden to find other people who would have any idea what they were about beyond “this is a man who looks wrong.”

Oh, he ached to taste them, he hurt in every dried shred of his body. They would perish so beautifully. But now he had to protect them from both his own appetite and their own folly, because if they died, they could never get the Eye of Rule and get him out of here. And then, and then… Well, he’d have to see what it took to persuade it off their finger.

What would Nicholas have done with the ring? He would have wanted his heir to have it, but if his death had been an accident, it could be anywhere. It could be in the hands of some morgue attendant somewhere, and Black Tolly would be stuck here forever in spite of any intention of Arden’s. He couldn’t consider that possibility, not at all. He had to hope. If Arden had already sold it, at least there was a chance they could buy it back.

He watched the basement around the lantern, trying to clear his mind by counting the scratches on the concrete again. Then he wept for a little while, his dry and unbreathing sobs just twitches of his chest and shoulders. He still was torn on whether he should grieve for Nicholas, but he grieved all the same. It wasn’t only that he hadn’t ever drunk from him. It was that he was the last person Tolly had known, and for a long time the only person he had seen. They had often talked. They had known as much of each other as some people would know of their spouses, shared confidences in the knowledge that they would never leave this room.

Tolly wasn’t sure how much of that had been true on Nicholas’s side, of course, if he’d really had that many lovers come and go. He’d never been stupid enough to bring one downstairs. But Tolly had told him things that were true even when he was not compelled, by the end. He would have told him anything he wanted, anything at all to keep him a little longer. It had been pathetic, but now he couldn’t say he regretted it. If he had not done all he could to stretch out those moments, he would have less of Nicholas with him forever, less of him imprinted in unfading memory.

I hate you. I love you. You left me.

He couldn’t let himself repeat that. He looked around for some distraction, and decided to commit the extravagance of reading all of the labels he could see.

There were a lot of labels, and some of them were harder to make out than others owing to dust and being partly turned away from him. He managed to stretch this exercise out until nearly dawn. It was a relief to creep back to his rug and compose himself to his rest in the orderly and ordinary way. He knew he would dream.

He dreamed of Nicholas. They were talking, Nicholas sitting in the chair at the table as his face slowly grew younger, Tolly standing against the wall in the corner with his hands in his pockets as if he didn’t care that he was a prisoner here.

“Where’s the ring?” he asked eventually. “You hid it, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did, Bard. Did I never tell you who hunts those who see the Outside? Surely you must, in all your travels, have met with them.”

“I’ve kept as clear of witchcraft as I could, Nicholas,” Black Tolly said. “For fear of exactly what has happened, or worse. Where is it?”

“That’s not for you to know, darling. Only for whoever comes after me. No one of sound mind would trust you with the Eye of Rule.”

“Well, I can’t say you’re wrong,” he said dryly. Nicholas’s answering laughter rang after him into wakefulness for just a moment. He lay on his back, silent, and for a few moments he wept again. But he could not indulge this for long. He stood up and paced back and forth for a moment on the stone outside of his rug, listening. Footsteps moved above him, faint and distant. He was grateful that his heart did not beat, or the noise in his ears would have drowned everything else.

He stiffened as he heard the door open. For a second, he simply couldn’t move, terrified that it would close again and Arden would not come down and he would be alone. Then, after an eternity of slices of a second, footsteps started to descend and the spell was broken. Tolly moved a polite distance back from the door, one heel touching his rug, forcing himself not to cling to the walls or the chair like some crawling animal.

Arden was carrying a plastic bin that looked almost as big as Arden to Tolly’s curious eye. Arden wasn’t tiny. He would guess they were five feet and eight or nine inches in actual height, if they ever stood up all the way straight (something he had not yet seen them do). But in a tee shirt their arms looked thinner than they should, veins standing out in their forearms without much muscle or fat under them. Tonight’s shirt was black with some kind of eye-searing white band logo on it that he didn’t recognize, a skull pierced by a pair of scissors.

They plonked the bin down in front of the cell, exhaling hard. A quick glance found Tolly and looked away again.

“Oh, good, you’re awake,” Arden said. “You look creepy when you sleep. That’s, I’m sorry, that’s rude.” They looked at him and away again, clearing their throat. “I brought your pig’s blood, and, uh.”

Tolly waited, every fiber of his being concentrated on the container beside them.

“Thank you,” Tolly said. Arden cleared their throat again at Tolly’s intent, unblinking stare. “Right. First things first.” Arden unloaded a plastic lantern that gave forth a bright, diffuse light at a touch, lighting up nearly the entire basement with a warm glow. They pulled an old ruler out of the bin and nudged the lantern across the threshold. “I need this to see, but you can also keep it for. I don’t know. If you get tired of it being dark.” They shot him an embarrassed look. Tully extended a talon and carefully hooked the lantern within reach, almost caressingly running his fingers over the shade. He tore his eyes from the container that held his salvation with some difficulty.

Make it worth their while. Not just the money. The money isn’t what brought them back.

“Thank you,” he said. The emotion in his creaking voice was not feigned, but under other circumstances he might have made more effort to hide it. “I’ve been in the dark a long time.”

“I don’t know what’s normal for you, so I just brought one of the glasses from upstairs.” Tolly looked up as they nudged over a water glass that he had seen many times before, an old Cristal D’Arques leaded crystal thing with long ridges in the sides. Then came the plastic gallon jug of pig’s blood. Tolly snatched at it as if it weighed nothing, dragging it and the glass back to the farthest corner. There was nowhere in the room that he was actually hidden, but he crouched with his back to the door as he poured the cup full with a shaking hand and drained it. The taste of it was awful. It was claggy and congealing on the palate. But he felt precious blood, precious life, flowing back into himself. He felt his tongue and mouth grow moist again, the surfaces of his eyes slicker, and now he could see more clearly than before.

His stomach hurt, twisting inside him as the liquid hit. As much as he wanted to bolt all of the blood, in his present state he could not. He turned back with much more caution, ashamed of his reaction, wary of the other’s, and sat down against the wall far opposite Arden with jug and glass. Not one drop of red remained in the cup. He didn’t remember cleaning it all with his tongue, but he must have. Arden was paler, but they had not run away.

“Thank you, Arden,” he said. “I’m sorry if I frightened you.” He must have moved unnaturally fast. He knew that he still looked like the same shriveled corpse apart from his eyes. But the voice that spoke to them was different now, a liquid, expert tenor, able to travel from baritone to falsetto and back in an easy glissade if he wished. Now Black Tolly had an angel's voice in a devil's face.

Arden blinked rapidly at him. He watched them swallow, searching for words.

“Don’t thank me,” they said. “You paid me a hundred thousand dollars for around thirty-five dollars’ worth of pig’s blood. Do you want me to put that in the fridge for you with this other one?”

“I will finish this one, but I must go slowly. It’s been a long time,” Tolly said. “If you could put the other one away for later, I would appreciate it very much. Every drop brings me nearer to life.”

“I will. I, I’ve brought some other things,” Arden said, color rising to their face.

Not used to direct compliments. Doesn’t know how to deal with direct thanks. Other people have been difficult for our Arden over these twenty-eight years, Tolly thought. He poured himself a second glass and set it carefully on the stone floor beside him, away from his rug.

“I could return there, but then you would have to look at me,” Tolly said gently.

“I don’t mind,” Arden said. They were still looking at the floor.

Part 6: Regeneration

@fleur-a-whump

[bindi-the-skunk]

Let me hurt him for you chapter 3

"So, let me get this straight, Dorian drank a potion that you made for me to suppress vampirism?" Mina had heard and seen several oddities in her life...and how was an incident of this magnitude near the bottom of that list?

"Yes, I will have to collect more supplies later to create it again for you; I hope...this encounter...has not...you know..." Henry mumbled, feeling the urge to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment but not wanting to stop the comfortable position of having Mina's arms wrapped around his and his other hand on hers, his wrists and hands having been bandaged with great care by Mina who had managed to find some clean wrappings in one of the boxes.

"It has not; I appreciate your efforts and am impressed that you have found a way to suppress..." Mina trailed off, looking at the street momentarily before offering a smile.

"Don't get me wrong! I love you for you! I just wanted you to be comfortable and happy..." Henry looked at the ground, biting his lip in anxiety over trying to find the words he wanted to say and say them correctly "I know how it is not to be able to enjoy things the way-"

A soft finger was pressed to his mouth, ceasing his building stress as blue met grey.

"It is alright, I do want to try it" Mina could hardly hope to think she would ever be able to be an ordinary woman again, even if it only would be for a day, to have such a thing at her fingertips, the vampiress had to fight to keep her excitement down to prevent unleashing the darker part of her self.

To be able to feel her emotions again fully, not to have to suppress them to try and keep the vampire under control, to keep from hurting others, so many things she had once taken for granted, the taste of food, the warm sun in her face without being irritated by it, she had no doubts her skin felt cold to the touch or a disgusting lukewarmth.

Henry was always warm; flashes of heat plagued him, and Mina hoped her chill brought him some comfort from his fevers. To think he had done all of this for her, only Jonathan had ever bothered to care about her in such a way before him.

Mina still missed Jonathan terribly, his strong arms wrapped around her, keeping her safe, even after learning of her curse, he had still wrapped her in his embrace, loved her just as deeply as before, he had even said he would join her in vampirism if that is what she wanted, but Mina had, of course, refused, she would never curse the man she loved with this sorrow, she had been his bride, his wife, through sickness and in health, till illness took him from her.

Suppose Mina could find amusement in the fact she seemed to have a type in men who were not traditionally masculine...not that it stopped said men from moments of great bravery and passion.

Henry could never be Jonathan, but he did not have to be, they would never have the wedded bliss that Mina and Jonathan had shared, the doctor had no interest in marriage anyway, he had been content to remain a bachelor the rest of his days, but he, like anyone, still needed companionship, he had also taken such a thing for granted, but now they had each other, all of their good and bad doing its best to co-exist.

What a pair they made.

Henry smiled as Mina put her head on his shoulder, reaching up he brushed some hair from the vampiress's face and smiled back even as Hyde let his presence be known.

"That little fucker is still back there, alive," Hyde growled. He had been stirring fitfully ever since they had left the warehouse, the back of Henry's mind pounding with the heat of his rage "We should have let Mina finish him off"

"I did not want that thing on her a moment longer; Dorian Grey is not going anywhere far in the state he is in. Best to get Mina back and feeling safe before we come up with any plans on how to handle this," Jekyll argued back; he wanted to make Dorian pay for what he had done, itched to do something to make him suffer as much if not more so than how Mina had with that device around her throat.

But Mina was the main priority now, get her back to the Nautilus, then come up with some excuse later to leave, he did need more ingredients for the potion to give Mina, and he remembered her mentioning how she did miss a specific brand of sweets from when she was human.

Pharmacy, sweets shop, and then off to find where Mr. Grey had slithered off to.

"Promise me we can at least make his true demise as painful as possible"

"I think I can agree to that..."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Oh! I forgot I did make two of them" Henry smiled as he held out a simpler vial of the suppressor potion, it was nowhere near as pretty as the rose vial, but Dorian had ruined the surprise anyway...

"It is incredible that you were able to...how long have you been working on this?" Mina asked, fighting the urge to grab it, eager to feel like herself once again after so long, but she could wait a moment longer.

"Not long after we...well...I thought it might be nice to have a ...p-proper date ...dinner...a show..." Henry blushed, Mina's smile afterward only adding to the shade "Even those like us deserve some happiness, right?"

Mina nodded with no shortage of experiences, mourned for being unable to fully enjoy them in her eyes.

The vial was placed gently in the vampire's hand, and Mina almost shook as she popped the cork out of it and tipped the glass to her lips, careful not to spill it any.

The potion burned her throat, and it was not the most pleasant tasting of things, but the monster that lay curled in the back of her mind slowly receded, more than distracting her from such insignificant unpleasantries as her face too, found a blush as her blood flowed freely after sitting dead for far too long.

Henry watched in awe as Mina's cheeks developed a soft pink hue, and her eyes sparked, her fangs turning back into human canines.

Dear God, she was undescribably beautiful no matter her form.

" And she is ours, Henry" was the greedy thought Hyde expressed for both of them, his rage sated at the image.

"How do you feel?"

"Human" 0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"You look great!"

"How about a kiss for ol Rodney to celebrate, hm?"

Nice to know Mina was still capable of a scathing glare even as a human....

"You must be thrilled," Nemo offered before everyone would see a floating bruise in the shape of a woman's hand wandering around the following days. "Shall I assume you will be heading out to enjoy the rest of the day?"

"Actually, considering the circumstances I think staying here would be prefu-aaauhh" Mina yawned suddenly, covering her mouth before blushing in mild embarrassment "Oh, Pardon me."

"Seems the potion returned your need for sleep," Tom noted, chuckling a bit.

Mina frowned, she did not want to spend her day as a human sleeping it away, not after all the hard work Henry had put into it for her.

"I think enjoying a nap would not be a bad idea," Henry said, making Mina turn to him in slight surprise at his lack of disappointment "it makes sense your body would need a bit of a recharge after...the incident earlier today, and I do need to get more supplies to make more of your elixir. Afterward, I'm sure Nemo would not mind us borrowing the library for a reading date."

"You have to go right now?" Mina was curious about this lack of annoyance and honestly would have liked him to take a rest with her since he too looked like he needed it.

Henry nodded offering an apologetic smile "I'm afraid so, I'm not sure if our next stop will have the chemicals I need, and I want to have it on hand in case we come across a festival or other event."

Mina did not like it, but it made sense since Dorian drank her would-be first dose of the medicine. Glad he did, though, as it hopefully put him down for good this time! It had been a shock seeing his corpse drop to the ground all bloodied before Henry had distracted her, Mina's mind was still slightly buzzing with this image, but it could also be her exhaustion talking, they would have to return to the spot in order to retrieve the body just in case he did-

A kiss to her cheek distracted from the idea of a foul job, and Mina was smiling again.

"I won't be long, don't start reading anything too interesting without me" Henry allowed himself a mild joke.

"No promises," Mina quipped back. 0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Jekyll gripped the bags in his hand tightly, finding what he needed had been without incident and had only taken him about ten minutes, if he timed this right, he would be back before his absence proved worrisome.

And might even have time to pick up those donuts, the shop owner said he would have some fresh in the next hour or so, which would more than explain his tardiness if someone asked, a warm bag of sweets would distract anyone.

And the resulting fight over them would also prove a good diversion from unwanted questions of where he had been well waiting for baked goods of all things.

"Other way, Henry, do not get distracted; I know that little rat bastard is here...he has a different scent from the one he had before, but it sticks out like rot," Edward growled.

Rot was the perfect way to describe it too, no doubt the potion not allowing his life of hedonism to go unchecked anymore, and Mina had been healthy, unharmed by the potion at all, but this...Dorian seemed to have been affected by it, the scent of disease hung in the air so thick that even Henry could smell it, if all of the picture's visible sins appeared on Dorian as the day progressed, the once-immortal would be dead before the hour was up.

A mild pity, all things considered.

Good thing he brought gloves.

[bennylafittelove]

From @promptsforthestrugglingauthor, Writing Prompt #2645 He'd promised to take care of me. He said once I'd finished the work, that it would be just the two of us, and we could enjoy our time together.

But instead he abandoned me.

Broken promises

Benny quickly looked both ways before darting across the street to the alleyway. His shift at the diner had run late and now he was making his way home in the dark.

Not that it mattered.

Making it to his small cabin in the woods on the outskirts of town, Benny immediately kicked off his shoes and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Just as he was about to twist it open a scent caught his attention and he sighed heavily.

“What do you want?” he asked bitterly without turning.

“What? No hello for an old friend?” a man’s voice behind him asked, straining for humor and falling short.

“Last I checked we ain’t friends, chief. Or am I suddenly not on your hit list anymore?”

Benny finally turned to see Sam standing there, unarmed and looking a little lost. And awkward as hell. Benny snorted and reached back into the fridge and offered Sam a beer, the younger man accepting.

“So, what do I owe the pleasure of this breaking and entering? Finally going to try to kill me?” Benny asked before taking a swig.

“Benny, it’s Dean. I can’t find him anywhere and he’s been off the radar too long. I could use your help finding him.” Sam said hesitantly as he swirled his beer.

Benny snorted and rolled his eyes, pushing passed Sam and making his way to his lazyboy in the living room. Sam followed slowly and stood nearby, waiting for an answer.

“You think I know where he is? After all this time? After all he put me through?!” Benny snapped.

Sam flinched but didn’t say anything, just looked anywhere but at Benny. Benny scoffed and took another swig of his beer.

“Ever since that night I’ve been trying to put things behind me. Trying to forget what happened. Trying to forget you Winchesters. But looks like I can’t get a moments peace.”

“Benny please. He’s my brother. You cared about him once,” Sam pleaded.

“Yeah, once. He made a promise, Sam. And we both know Dean Winchester don’t break his promises. At least not until now,” Benny threw back.

“Please. I’m begging here,” Sam sounded so lost it tugged at Benny’s heart, but he couldn’t go through that again, couldn’t be hurt again.

“He’d promised to take care of me, Sam. He said once I’d finished the work I had cleaning out my old nest, that it would just be the two of us, and we could enjoy our time together.” Benny took a shaky breath before looking up at Sam with wet eyes. “But instead he abandoned me.”

“Benny, I know he’d never do anything intentional to hurt you. Something must’ve come up or stopped him. I know Dean, he’d never turn his back on a friend. Especially one he loves.” Sam tried to comfort Benny but his words did little to help.

“Go on, Sam. There’s nothing for you here. I don’t want to see you or Dean ever again, y’hear? Just leave and don’t come back,” Benny said sadly as he stood and turned away from Sam, fighting back his tears.

There was a moments silence before Sam nodded and slowly made his way to the door. He paused before leaving and looked back, trying to think of something to say, but couldn’t find the words.

“Take care, Benny,” he finally said and slowly closed the door behind him.

“You too, Sam. You too,” Benny whispered.

He stood there for awhile, trembling before he couldn’t fight the tears any longer. With a snarl of frustration he hurled the bottle of beer against the wall as hard as he could, watching it shatter. Tears fell freely now as he collapsed to his knees and held his face in his hands.

Benny had been alone, for so long. He finally had felt like he belonged, that someone finally wanted him, only to have that someone take his heart and shred it before his eyes. He was alone again.

It was better this way.

[topazadine]

Gas Station Rankings

This is not an exhaustive list (unfortunately) because frankly I haven't visited every single gas station company in America. I know it will sadden people not to see Buc-ee's represented but I can't describe something I haven't experienced yet

Sheetz

Blessed Sheetz. Food is delicious, stores are always incredibly clean, always have a bunch of weird shit I don't need

Love's

Hands down the best truck stop for a very important reason: most of the locations have a dog park :) but they also have incredibly clean bathrooms and their packaged food options are great

All-Time

Met this strange man who promised me eternal youth, and when I said no, the store radio started to play "How to Save a Life" by The Fray, which was interesting. Also had really fresh pineapple fruit cups. That was years and years ago, so maybe it's changed, though?

Pilot

Not quite as good as Love's, but I have never had a poor experience here. It's just meh, though not meh enough that I don't remember visiting

QuickRide

Not bad, per se, but there was an odd animal lurking around behind the back of the store, and when I looked directly at it, I got this horrible headache before it suddenly bolted off on two legs laughing just like my PE teacher from fifth grade

Casey's

Casey's is only this high up on the list because I grew up in middle-of-nowhere Illinois so I have fond memories of here. Also their pizza is really good and simply cannot be replicated anywhere else

True North

Always only has one cashier working, and for some reason, every single location has the exact same guy working and he always greets by name and asks if I've found what I'm looking for yet. Rather ominous

7/11

Not every single one is a gas station of course, but those that are ... okay I guess

BP

Forgettable, can't ever remember going in and having any sort of experience

Vilago

Very forgettable, every time I go in I fill my tank up, then go inside to get a snack or whatever, but as soon as I pay I find myself back on the highway and don't remember even getting back in my car, and there's a strange scent in the car like burnt cinnamon that takes AGES to dissipate

Travelcenters of America

Some of them are a little sketchy and dingy, but it's not terrible, I have seen worse

Citgo

Huge differences in quality amongst different Citgos, like some do not have bathrooms and some just have packaged food and nothing else

Maverik

CREEPY! Every location I have been to has been CREEPY! Also they don't have bathrooms a lot of the time which is so annoying

Ridealong

I could have gone forever about different gas stations and their bathrooms and so on, but now that I'm thinking about Ridealong, it's all I can think about. That one experience.

I should have kept driving. I knew there was a Love's at the next exit but I really needed to go to the bathroom, and I'd also just gotten a text that I wanted to check (no texting and driving ever), so I decided to risk it.

The exterior was ... strange. It looked like it had been scavenged from a bunch of other gas stations, like the gas station overhang thing was clearly from Mobile, but a few of the pumps looked to be from a BP, though the yellow icon had been scratched off. Still kept the green sheathing though. All lit up in the middle of the night, it looked even stranger, all these discordant colors mixing into one another like a giant warning sign. If only I had listened.

The gas smelled off. I know, gas generally smells pretty bad, but it smelled ... sweet. Sickly sweet. I have no idea what leaded gasoline smelled like (am not that old) but I can't imagine it would smell like death. Yes of course gasoline is made from dead dinosaurs but this smelled like fresh death. Cloying and stinging. I had to cover my nose.

Really, this should have been a sign, but the gas was still pumping and I don't know how to shut it off, so I stood there, miserable, not wanting to get back in my car for fear of sparking - especially when the gas smelled like that.

No trash at all. Immaculate. The paving, too, was far too new, as if it had been laid yesterday. No potholes, not even a splash of gas or coolant on the ground. Though the gas pumps were clearly old and scavenged, they looked too fresh, like they'd just come from the factory. Different factories, of course, but all the same date.

I leaned in and tried to see if there was that usual sticker you see on all the gas pumps that said they were checked by some official or whatever, but I couldn't read the language. Not that it wasn't English, I just couldn't read it - like it just morphed in front of my eyes every time I tried to understand it. Maybe I really was just overtired.

Of course the sunk cost fallacy. I was already at the gas station, I might as well go in and get my potty break done because I felt like I was absolutely bursting. I'd been driving for quite a few hours and had been living off Red Bull. I couldn't even remember what state I was in, only that I was still somewhere in the Appalachians, nestled in a valley with the mountains penning us in on all sides. The air beyond the dead gas smelled cold and fresh and menacing, the pine trees indifferent to my presence, to my fears. I heard no animals, and there were no leaves on the ground.

I checked my texts but my phone was off, and I didn't remember turning it off. After all, I'd been using it for navigation the whole time, plugged into my adapter, and it should have been at 100%. I turned it back on and tried to check my texts, but was immediately hit with that obnoxious Amber Alert buzz we all hate. When I looked at the Alert, it said it was for Ohio, which I supposed made sense - it's all Ohio, right? Haha. Maybe I was just picking up what I should be getting at home.

But then I looked at it and recognized my license plate. IUY-7823. 2021 Green Honda Civic Type R. What the fuck? I certainly hadn't abducted any children - I don't even like them.

I kept reading, fingers shaking, as it described the victim. "7 year old white female, blonde hair, 3ft tall, 39 pounds."

Well, I sure as hell wasn't a 7 year old child, given that I was driving a motor vehicle. Nor had I kidnapped any kid that looked just like me when I was 7. Nor had I wanted to remember that one time with a gas station and a strange man smoking a cigarette, who told me I'd lost something and he'd help me find it. I'd run away back to my mom right away - at least I think that's what I did - now everything from that time seemed so strange and dizzy-making. I felt a little sick. I needed the bathroom really badly.

Shaking and putting my phone back into my purse, I stumbled into the door and yanked it open. It beeped, like most gas station doors do, and I didn't even notice anything as I glanced frantically for the bathroom sign. There was one, but it only showed one sign: for men. I'm not a man, but I'm a girl who really needs to pee, so I just prayed it was single stall and booked it there.

The floor felt sticky. The whole store smelled sickly. That scent of death, like a deer left to rot in a field that throws up its perfume from beyond the veil to remind us what comes for us all in the end. I thought of flies. There was an odd buzzing in my ears, deep down in them, a tinnitus I'd never had before. I prayed that some stupid song would come on the radio and drown it out, but everything was buzzing. Buzzing lights, buzzing refrigerators, buzzing flies coming for me and all that I loved.

I ran to the bathroom, but of course it was locked. Not even caring about propriety, I banged on the door and begged for whoever was in there to hurry the hell up. There was no one else there: it seemed like no one else had been there forever, though the store was perfectly clean. It was just a feeling of emptiness. The store had been there forever, in exactly the same position, with exactly the same gas, since it was copy-pasted from whatever hellish universe had spit it up.

The cashier counter was empty. Everything was empty. I couldn't prove it, but I sensed that all those containers in the aisles, all those drinks in the refigerator, had never been filled in the first place. A trap to entice tired travelers who need food and a bathroom and some sign that there is something beyond the highway hypnosis, beyond the empty roads long since drained of people this late in the night.

Finally the bathroom door opened, so slowly. The lights were off inside, and I stepped aside to let whoever was in there out, doing a potty dance like you do when you really have to go. I felt like I'd die if I didn't go within seconds.

Then the light flicked on. I remembered that face. I knew that man. That was the man from every single True North I'd ever seen. A forgettable face unless you see it dozens of times over your life, from age 7 and on, every few weeks or months or years, never changing, never growing, never doing anything but staring at you and asking if you've found what you're looking for. I can't even describe it now. Salt-and-pepper hair, brown eyes, too-large lips, and that's it. That's all I know.

He stared at me for a moment, then smiled. His teeth were off: too white for his face. Too even. Too many of them.

"Ya find what you looking for?"

Suddenly I did not need the bathroom anymore. I felt it gushing down my leggings, a long spigot of utter terror and disorientation. I stood there, drenched in my own piss, looking at him. I wasn't 7 years old anymore, and apparently he had enough manners not to smoke inside the store. But my mom wasn't here to help me. No one could save me from this man, who would certainly finish whatever he'd tried to do all those years ago.

I slipped on my own pee as I ran, but thankfully braced myself with one of the empty-packaged store displays, which went crashing down. Bright yellow bags of air burst to show no potato chips, and a box of what was meant to be Cheezits collapsed when its glue finally came free.

A trap. A trap. True North pointed to this man, this man who wanted to take me on the last Ridealong of my life.

He didn't try to grab me or anything; perhaps he knew it hadn't worked this time. Instead, he grabbed a mop and chuckled.

"Cleanup in Aisle 6."

I started laughing as I fled, that hysterical laughter you get when everything has come crashing down and you find out your whole life has been orchestrated by forces beyond your control. I slammed the door open and ran to my car, the only one resting on the perfect pavement that looked too fresh to ever be laid down. I'd locked my car, so I tried to get to my keys, but dropped my purse on the ground and shortly followed it, scrabbling and crying in my piss-drenched leggings and smeared makeup.

There were all these candy wrappers in my purse that I didn't remember putting there - I'm not really a sweets person anymore. My mom stopped buying it when I was a kid, so I grew out of it.

Finally my keys. I clicked the door open, slammed it shut, pressed the lock button six or eight times, and turned it out. I didn't even bother to check my text message that I'd wanted to see in the first place: I just floored it into reverse and then drive and got back to the highway and kept driving.

My car smelled like burnt cinnamon, so I rolled all the windows down and let it out, but it's never really gone away. I still smell it sometimes when I step into my car for a grocery trip or whatever, but Febreeze really helps.

The Amber Alerts kept coming for a good hour or so, that horrible screech over and over again. I turned on the radio to drown them out because I just wanted to forget.

When I got to the border of Ohio, they stopped abruptly, right in the middle of a buzz. Every since then, I don't get them anymore, even when everyone else does.

This store, this Ridealong, was just so wrong. And what the hell is up with that name? Who is that man? Is he a kidnapping time traveler? Am I really a woman, or am I still a little girl trapped somewhere in a gas station, eating candy to survive? I don't know what anything is anymore. I had to take a week off work, doors locked, phone off, not talking to anyone, drowning myself in booze.

It's been years now, but I still map out my trips so I avoid anywhere that may have been anywhere near that place. I've never seen another of them, though.

Anyway, 0/10 do not recommend.

[saulweissberg]

saul smirked, amused. “okay, hypothetically if i need an out, my code word will be…” he paused to think about it, “pendente lite. it’s a temporary order issued by the court during a suit. i can’t see that naturally coming up in conversation.” saul figured rachel knew what that meant from working as a journalist, but since not everyone lived and breathed legalese like saul did, he couldn’t help the natural instinct to explain. he nodded along as she began to list the people that were often found in his orbit—by their choice or not—but he winced at the mention of thalia, just an hour or so after yelling at his third ex-wife in the courtyard now, and then any trace of mirth dropped the moment she said his son’s name. “micah?” saul repeated, brow furrowing. 

“you saw micah? here at the luncheon?” he asked, instantly picking his head up to swivel around the room for a familiar mop of voluminous black hair—much like his mother’s. the man he hadn’t seen in a whole month now was still missing from the banquet hall from what he could immediately see, but he assumed rachel wouldn’t lie or make a cruel joke like that. “and tamara actually left blue harbor and went back to new york, it’s a long story.” saul tacked on quickly, turning his attention back to rachel. his eyes narrowed playfully when she took back the offer to get him a drink, nose scrunching slightly, but his mind was still racing with the news about micah’s sudden reappearance in town. “escorting it is, since you were kind enough to accompany me here today.”

saul couldn’t help but wonder just how many dates in rachel’s life had she gone on where someone abandoned her for someone else. if they had, then they were fucking idiots to miss out on her company. “if i had to leave you behind at any event, or anywhere in general, i would make sure you had a way to get home. i’m a gentleman sometimes, y’know.” just sometimes, though. “hm, never! if you ever need a pep talk, you know where to find me.” it was easy for him to lavish his friends with compliments like he did with his money. “you’ve never played golf?” that was a little shocking to saul, but he grew up a blue blood; it was expected that he learned how to play at a young age, along with tennis and croquet. “if you ever want a lesson, just let me know. i can set up a tee time for us any day. the club kind of owes it to me. they should name a room here after me, actually.” he dropped his grip on her shoulder but quickly offered his arm, “c’mon, let’s get another drink.”

She let out a small exasperated sigh as Saul pointed out a very true statement that he was indeed the host and so couldn't just go away unnoticed. "Well, then we should make a hypothetical one that you would use in the scenario that you could leave." Rachel twisted the scenario a bit, now wanting to know what the word or phrase would be. She raised her brows as he shared that she could leave though if she wanted to. "What? No! I still haven't gotten bingo on my Saul Weissberg interactions card yet! I've gotten Terry, Thalia, and Micah. And of course with a free space I just need to find your second ex-wife." She very much did not mind any of the conversations she had had with them, even if Micah had been a huge brat it had not been the worst interactions she'd had by a longshot. "You're not a bad date, just understandably preoccupied." Rachel corrected as she was not going to let him feel bad about his lack of attention towards her, when she very much understood why he'd had his attention elsewhere.

Rachel glared at his command, "Nevermind, I think I take back my question about what you need, man." She teased in return, knowing that he had only been messing with her. Though she didn't blame him for wanting another drink with just how much was going on at this event and so much of it she wasn't even privy to. If she had, she would probably be overwhelmed with the thoughts others might be having about her. "I will escort you to get yourself a drink, how about that?" She gave him a look, waiting for him to challenge her.

Letting out a small groan at Saul's chastisement, Rachel shook her head as she felt very justified in her judgement of herself. "Well, I mean no you would at least give me a head's up probably." She teased, remembering the last time she'd had a friend as plus one was right before Elijah had gotten together with Nilay and he had gotten her home before going over to Nilay. Not that she felt like Saul was going to be going over to profess his love for anyone after dropping her off today, or at least she wasn't aware of anyone who he would be doing that to. Rachel found herself smiling even as she rolled her eyes as he poured on the compliments. "Okay, okay, stop or I'll swoon." She teased as she placed the back of her hand to forehead in true dramatic fashion. "Well it'd be very hard to talk about my golf swing since I've never played and I would have to make up a tennis coach to talk about them."

[gregrulzok]

Mitsuya, Hakkai, and Gay Coding

So the Tokyo Revengers' fandom's notorious and rampant homophobia makes this topic almost impossible to discuss anywhere outside of Tumblr... But I at least wanted to touch on it here.

Mitsuya and Hakkai are almost certainly gay coded, and there's a reason it's important.

Mitsuya is gay coded individually. He's written to be read as a young gay teen.

The most compelling piece of evidence to this is his Home Economics class. He is the only man there, seemingly friends with a ton of girls, who all seem to trust and like him.

Note here that Japanese culture isn't American culture - men being casual friends with women isn't as normalized as it may be here, and in most places a man in an otherwise all-woman club would be considered to be trying to "get with" one or more of them. We never, ever hear this about Mitsuya.

In fact, Mitsuya is one of the few TR characters that we see show no interest whatsoever in women. The most notable scene here is the beach scene, Kazutora and Pah-Chin both stare at the women in bikinis, but Mitsuya and Draken instantly dash to the ocean without paying it any attention. This is even pointed out by Kazutora, who remarks on how strange it is that neither of them cared.

("So is Draken gay coded?" My heart says yes, but his relationship with Emma says no. Draken is just desensitised to seeing female bodies.)

And of course, sewing and fashion, very stereotypically feminine things, are Mitsuya's main interests. While it's not exactly progressive to say that effeminate = gay, I implore you once again that this is all being written by an old Japanese ex-gang member, and not a modern day American LGBT teen.

My point is that, though it's a little stereotypical, Mitsuya has many qualities that would liken him to an old-school depiction of a gay teen. Which, in a way, is in line with the old-school aesthetic and worldview of Yankees and Yankee culture.

Now - Hakkai.

Hakkai is not gay coded individually - he's a model, but that's not seen as a particularly effeminate thing, and he's shown to have some interest in girls, seeing as he freezes up talking to them.

However, Hakkai is absolutely intended to be read as having a crush on Mitsuya. Honestly I can't even bring myself to write a paragraph explaining it, so here's a bullet list of things Hakkai has done:

Repeatedly remarked how much he "really likes" Mitsuya, coupled with other characters talking about this. This is not something that happens to any other duo with this frequency.

Set Mitsuya's face as his phone lockscreen.

Immediately thought of Mitsuya when the words "I like him" were spoken.

Said "Who wouldn't fall in love with him" after something that Mitsuya did almost exclusively for his sake.

Immediately upon finding out that it WASN'T about Mitsuya, was completely baffled and confused about how it could possibly be anyone else.

Gave Mitsuya a specialised nickname that consists of shortening his given name and adding "-chan". Given names are seen as more intimate in Japan, while the "-chan" suffix is mostly used for girls, younger relatives, or romantic partners. Mitsuya isn't a girl, and he's older than Hakkai, who looks up to him. So... Again, this is not mimicked by any other duo.

Chose a career based on what Mitsuya wanted to do in an attempt to be close to him.

Then, when he got more famous and busy, still carved out time to visit him seemingly very regularly.

Seemingly ignored a crowd of girls that all wanted to talk to him to make his way to Mitsuya as quickly as possible.

Straight up called Mitsuya "hot".

Maybe some of these things individually could be read as a coincidence, or a joke, but compiling it all in a list definitely shows that this was, more than likely, very intentional.

"But he says he sees Mitsuya like a brother!!" Hakkai looks up to and admires Mitsuya, who, as a child, taught him how to act and inspired him to be better. This is how Hakkai thinks brothers should be, and given his issues with his real brother, it's not a surprise that he's looking for brotherly guidance elsewhere.

However, three things.

Hakkai is very young and inexperienced. At that age, it's not difficult to confuse romantic feelings for familial ones.

Relationships change and grow with people. Many childhood friends-to-lovers feel as if they're siblings when they're little kids, but then transition to a relationship. This is also a VERY common anime trope that seems to only be an issue when they're both boys. 🤔

"Like a brother" is, sometimes, used as a euphemism in East Asian countries to censor or hint at gay lovers.

Mitsuya is almost certainly coded to be gay, and Hakkai is almost certainly written with a crush on Mitsuya in mind.

And why is this important?

Because they're both scrappy, edgy, shitty teenage boys.

Neither of them are misfits or outcasts. Neither of them are weak or dainty or need protection. They're not perverts, or deviants, they're not girly or looked down on. They're loved, respected by their friends. Their friends don't question their interests, or their bonds.

They're allowed to just be two teen boys that happen to be gay.

Two teen boys that happen to be gay, that are accepted at face value for who they are by their friends, no questions or conditions.

Nothing more, nothing less.

You can't pay for that kind of representation.

[purrincesskittens]

Star Eyes, Zuko is mistaken as Water Tribe.

Gift for @muffinlance based off this post and this one

......................................................................

It was night when they found him. A quick examination showed blood on the back of his head. As they pounded on his back someone noted his eyes. “Gold eyes.” They called. “Are you fire nation?” The boy lifted his head and the light of the lantern caught his eyes reflecting back at them. “Of course I am.” The kid snarls. “Star Eyes.” Someone breathed. Shit this kid was one of theirs. “Could be the child of a war bride.” Was suggested by someone. “At least he’s not a fire bender.” There was a laugh that was quickly interrupted by the star eyed boy himself. “Yes I am.” “Well that was.... honest.” 

Star eyes were only something seen in the water tribes though. Even if this kid was a fire bender he had to be water tribe. More then likely the result of a woman stolen from her tribe during a raid and raised as Fire Nation since he looked enough of the part. But he was young, probably just recruited or practically forced into joining the military. There was a easy way to figure out how dangerous this kid was or rather how much more dangerous he was considering he was a fire bender. 

“Have you ever killed someone?” Hakoda asks crouching before the boy lifting his chin in one hand so the boy had to look him in the eye with those gold colored star eyes. “What? No ... I don’t think.... No.”  The kid seemed confused the blood on the back of his head suggested a head wound but this kid was young probably just assigned to a ship only to get knocked overboard by either by a storm or by another soldier. Those eyes probably didn’t make him popular or the fact that this kid’s eyes kept sliding away from Hakoda’s own suggested he may be a fey child. 

“What do we do with him?” Somebody asks as they watch the kid cough up water, curling and uncurling his fingers against the wood of the deck his eyes cast down. “We keep him for now. His mother is probably Water Tribe war bride if he is star eyed. Have Kustaa check him over and if he survives we figure out what to do from there." Hakoda announces to the crew. They took care of their own and until they figured out who his mother was and could turn him over to her family if she had any left the crew of the Akhult would take care of him for now. Half Water Tribe and the child of a war bride was still Water Tribe and like hell were they going to turn him over to the Fire Nation to continue using as a weapon.

Kustaa later informed him the boy had hypothermia as well as potentially severe head trauma it was hard to tell right now. The kid mistook him for his uncle. Which uncle they weren't sure. It's possible the boy's mother had a picture of her family she either managed to take with her or she drew herself or he could be thinking Kustaa was his father's brother. The escape attempts didn't help some of the crews opinions on keeping the kid but considering he was raised as Fire Nation and was in a strange place so its expected that he would try to escape although climbing the mast was something Hakoda really wished he didn't do along with scaling the side of the ship.

Kustaa had mentioned the boy called for his mother while delirious along with begging his father for forgiveness pledging his loyalty to him and pleading no to the man which didn't paint a pretty picture of the man or gain much favor of the fire nation in the crews opinions. "Tell me about your mother." Hakoda suggests sitting up on the mast beside the boy. Glowing gold eyes blinked at him. "I remember trailing robes. She favored long sleeved robes with delicate embroidery. She had long hair I remember her brushing mine when I was little. I would sit in her lap and she would brush my hair talking to me about theater or turtleducks or plants. Different things she liked. I think I would sometimes tell her about my day or what I had done recently I don't remember clearly its... faded almost. Fuzzy. I barely remember what she looked like."

Hakoda frowned the boy was water tribe he had to be with those star eyes of his but why wouldn't his mother tell him about her people, her home. Maybe she couldn't? Maybe the boys father was so controlling he made sure she never spoke of home to their son? Then the boy said something that made him rethink everything he knew about the kid. "Uncle said my hair is alot like hers. Or it was. I don't even remember why I shaved it." The kid frowned obviously struggling to remember rubbing his head with one hand. The head wound had left him confused he didn't rember his name or much of anything recent but he remembered he had been burned for cowardice supposedly or partially for that but what did the fire nation consider to be cowardly? Kustaa suspected the boy's own father burned him based off what they gleaned from fever dreams and night terrors.

“What did she look like?” Hakoda questions softly holding his breath hoping he was wrong with the hunch he had. “Elegant, beautiful, she had long straight black hair that was so soft and amber eyes with flecks of true gold in them she wore long sleeved red robes with elegant embroidery. The sleeves would bellow and she would hide me in them when I was little.” The boy continued to talk about his mother someone he remembered fondly although all the details suggested the hugs, the turtle duck kisses and every else stopped when the boy was small. Something happened to his mother and Hakoda was beginning to suspect it may have something to do with the boys true parentage. But how to suggest it to the kid without breaking the poor things mind? The whole crew already suspected he was spirit touched as the water tribe liked to call those who were different mentally the earth kingdom called them fey and not all of the earth kingdom where kind to them. 

“If I promise no one on this ship will hurt you and we won’t turn you over to the Earth Kingdom will you stop with the escape attempts?”Hakoda asks when the boy falls silent picking at the grain of the wood under his hands not meeting Hakoda’s eyes. The kid blinked up at him startled. “Okay.” Getting the kid down the mast was surprisingly easy after that and a few more rules were hashed out before the kid was sent to see Kustaa again and the crew was gathered. “The boy’s mother was fire nation. He remembers her more clearly then anything else.” This drew murmurs from the crew some wanted to toss him over board then since he wasn’t the child of a war bride. “But he’s star eyed he has to be Water Tribe.” Toklo says tilting his head in confusion. “Exactly. We know he seemed to have issues regarding his father and Kustaa suspects he may have been the one to burn the kid. I learned his mother also disappeared or may possibly have been killed when he was young.” This gained more murmurs from the crew. 

Panuk pulled in a sharp audible breath. He had figured out what Hakoda was getting at. “Does any one here know where they were about 16 to 17 years ago? If they were around the Earth Kingdom or the colonies anywhere?” Their chief had to ask if none of the men on this ship was the boys father he would have to send messages out to all the others in the fleet see if anyone remembered if maybe had met a pretty woman in the Earth Kingdom or in the colonies and spent a night with her. If the kids mother was Fire Nation and he was star eyed that meant his real father had to be Water Tribe. His mother had to have married or started a new relationship soon after and the boy looked fire nation enough to pass him off as her husband’s but the husband probably suspected what with the star eyes. There was silence followed by an uproar. “You can’t be serious?!” Aake shouted in outrage. “I’m not judging anyone but the boy is water tribe and with his mother gone we most definitely are not giving him back to the Fire Nation so we need to figure out whose he is. We take care of our own.” Hakoda soothed the crews ruffled feathers listening as the men scrambled to remember where they were and what they were doing all those years ago.

Slowly they managed to clear the majority of the crew those who couldn’t remember were left struggling valiantly to justify why they couldn’t possibly be the boys father while their youngest two crew members watched with glee obviously in the clear themselves due to their age. Once Kustaa cleared the boy Hakoda set him to work and had to add no breathing fire to the list of rules. Toklo and Panuk made friends with their newest crew member over laundry and the boy was very shouty about women’s work. And then the issue over the kid not having a name he remembered came up. Names like Siqinq, Kallik, Cupun, Tulok, Yuka and Tulugaq were tossed around. He is pretty sure they settled on Tulok simply because they already have a Tuluk and Toklo on board and that name is almost a combination of the two plus it had a star meaning behind it. The boy just wanted to fit in.

Reds were changed for Toklo’s blues and the boys hair shaved to regrow properly after Kustaa managed to break it to the kid that a real father wouldn’t abuse his son, biological or not. They picked up Bato who sympathized with them for wanting to keep the star eyed child, teach him his real culture, and find his real father but the kid was still a fire bender. A fire bender on a WOODEN SHIP!! The boy, Toluk looked like a kicked polar puppy being denied sleep in the hammock he was used to and his usual snacks when ever he wanted. They still had a lot of work cut out for them when the kid thought he would be killed over a bending accident because he didn’t fully remember he needed to mediate to control his fire. His memories were still patchy at best. So Hakoda ended up with his temporary foster star eyed child sitting in his cabin breathing with a lantern holding a dog.  

The kid liked sea prunes proving he was Water Tribe at heart. He was good at using his fire bending for non evil purposes even if he protested it. He proved he shouldn’t be left alone in port either by himself or with his friends. He gained a piercing, two rusted swords, a theater scroll and a cabbage? No one seems to know about the cabbage. He can cook as it’s proven despite how spicy his cooking is and nearly gets kidnapped by prostitutes. Sex workers were not on the list of people Hakoda thought he would have to fight for custody of Tulok with. He nearly gets himself kidnapped by a Earth Kingdom solider they are allied with who seemed sure their boy was then dead prince of the Fire Nation. Never mind that the prince was dead and their boy was star eyed. The solider was surprisingly unfazed by the heat of the kids cooking. He didn't end up kidnapped despite his best efforts.. The kid really needed to stop climbing the mast. “Prince Zuko?!” Hakoda’s kids seemed to also mistake Tulok for the dead prince. 

“That’s the Prince of the Fire Nation, dad he chased us all over and tried to capture the avatar numerous times. His sister did capture Aang.” His kids argued trying to convince him that their new foster brother was some evil prince. The kid in question for his part had more headaches then usual and just seemed more confused and angry. He remembered something. A little sister named LaLa. It takes a while but after watching their new brother and listening to the crew, “His name is Zuko, he is the prince of the Fire Nation, his father is Fire Lord Ozai does no one care about that?!” Sokka asks in outrage staring as the kid in question does laundry like its a perfectly normal thing for a prince to do. “His mother may be fire nation but his father sure isn’t.” Panuk comments dodging a wet shirt thrown by their resident fire bender.  This earned laughter and calls of “Good for her!!” And “She could do a lot better!” Followed by “At least a water tribesman would treat her right!!”. Sokka groaned in frustration and confusion. 

“Why is my nephew wearing blue, convinced Ozai isn’t his biological father and that he is water tribe?” General Iroh the Dragon of the West questions calmly. Tulok seemed to recognize Iroh and even called him Uncle and recognized some of the crew but he still didn’t have complete clear memories although his headaches grew worse until Kustaa told him it didn’t matter if he remembered or not he was water tribe and nothing was going to change that spirit touched or not. “He is star eyed you can’t possibly tell me the fire nation has star eyed kids that’s a water tribe thing only.” Iroh considered it briefly before dismissing it. His nephew looked similar to a young Ozai, so Ozai had to be his father even if he wasn’t much of one and his nephew deserved better then Ozai. But surely Ursa couldn’t have had an affair while married to Ozai it was impossible. Iroh tried to do the math off the top of his head of when Ursa and Ozai married vs when Zuko was born. “Look the obvious answer here is that the boys mom met with a Water Tribe beefcake and had a one night stand that lead to the boy. It’s the only thing that explains why his supposed father hated him so much and why he struggled with fire bending and is star eyed.” Bato explains grinning. “Beefcake?” Hakoda and Iroh question. 

Azula finds this all far to amusing. “That just means I’m the rightful heir after all. You can stay here with your little water tribe family and I can be the next Fire Lord after Uncle.” Somehow things get worked out that their star eyed fire bender’s fire nation sister will be staying with them along side her two scary friends and the kids supposed Uncle will become the next Fire Lord once they take down Ozai. The kid is still confused and there are still gaps in his memories but they aren’t giving him back now he is their’s and the fire nation can’t have him. They still call him Tulok since the fire nation does consider the sun to be a star after all. He seems to like it better then Zuko. He still does their laundry still wears beads in his braids in red, blue and one gold. In all that’s happened no one thought to alert the rest of the fleet about what they learned leaving them in for one heck of a surprise when they reach Chameleon Bay where the rest of the men from the fleet scramble to try to remember where they were sixteen-point-nine years ago. 

[riiviir]

Here's an example of the whole thing + attack lines and other stuff I didn't include in that list for a genshin oc I made a long time ago. This was all written in December of 2021

Hello- So you're that traveler I've heard so much about, huh? Man, someone as famous as you has gotta have a bunch of mora.. 500 mora and I'll treat you to a nice magic show then, whaddaya say?

Chat: Magic Tricks- Hey now, they're just magic, not tricks. How do I do it then? Well, a magician never reveals his secrets.

Chat: Scenery- This place is just perfect for a magic show, dontcha think?

Chat: hunger- Hey, anywhere nearby we can get some food?

When it rains- Ah! My cards are gonna get soaked!!

When thunder strikes- ooh, spooky.

when the sun is out- Man, is it bright!

When the wind is blowing- Fingers crossed my hat won't blow away.

good morning- Another day of magic and running till my legs hurt!

good afternoon- Maybe I can just hide in this tree for a bit and rest while planning another magic show..

good evening- The dim light, the unsuspecting people on their ways home.. perfect time for a magic show.

good night- What, you don't wanna stay up just a bit later? Alright, I guess I should get some rest too..

About Kasch: Magic Shows- Would you like to see one of my magic shows sometime? I could even do a special one just for you, if you want.

About Kasch: Fatui- Uhh, yeah.. if you see any Fatui nearby, make sure they don't see me. I'm... kinda on the run.

About us: Traveling- It's actually a lot of fun, seeing the world and traveling around with you. Much better than alone.

about us: Magic- Hey, I was actually wondering... how about instead of just watching one of my magic shows, would you like to be in one sometime? I mean, you're cool, good-looking, and charismatic so I'm sure you'd do great!

About us: Together- I've decided I don't wanna be alone ever again. So, Traveler, can you please stay with me forever?

About the delusion- I got what I came for, and left. It's that simple. Just like you're probably leaving this world after finding your sibling, correct?

something to share- I know I said a magician never reveals his secrets, but if you ever wanna impress someone.. I guess it wouldn't hurt to teach you a few simple card tricks.

interesting things- I used to start a lot of trouble with the other Fatui back when I was a member. This one time we got caught playing a sort of knife roulette game and almost cutting our fingers off.. yeah, we got in trouble.

About Thoma- A fellow mondstater! It's fun to chat with him about how much I miss the place...

About Xane- I think he might me a bit mad at me. What? It's not my fault he's fun to mess with. Not to mention his fluffy hair...

About Childe- The eleventh harbinger is.. chaotic. I try to avoid him at all costs.

About Scaramouche- You mean the small angry purple one? With the big hat? That guy's just funny!

About Signora- She's the one who gave me this delusion, so I guess i can't hate her too much.

About The Raiden- Talk about a control freak. What the heck is the point of "eternity" anyway?

About Arataki Itto- Can't miss a loud guy, that's for sure. Seems like the kind of guy who'd interrupt a performance.

About Hu Tao- When I was in Liyue, I met this creepy funeral director... the moment I got into just a little but of trouble, she offered me a coffin for 50% off... I mean, sales are great and all, but on coffins!? A bit too morbid for me...

About Yanfei- I got into a bit of legal trouble back in Liyue. I can never thank her enough...

About Kazuha- Oh, he was on The Crux right? He has such a nice voice.. so poetic.

About Beidou- A bit annoyed that I had to sneak onto her ship, but at least she didn't throw me off. Thank Barbatos..

more about Kasch 1- Using my delusion, I could easily steal your very soul for myself. What's with that look on your face? You actually believed me? Haha, be more careful traveler, don't let people trick you so easily.

more about Kasch 2- You wanna know even more about me? Well, I'm not sure what to say.. why don't you tell me more about your sibling? I'd love to hear about them.

more about Kasch 3- Looks like you've got some mora behind your ear, hehe. That one isn't very difficult to do. You've got my trust, so I'll teach you all the magic you want.

more about Kasch 4- I'm actually really bad at gambling. Never won a bet in my life. You know what they say, roll the dice to determine your fate in life. What, you've never heard anyone say that before?

more about Kasch 5- I'm supposed to keep this a secret, but.. I've got a little sister. She lives in mondstat, should be turning about 12 by now. That's why I joined the Fatui in the first place. I hope that with all the money I lent her, her life can be at least a little bit better.

Kasch's hobbies- Does practicing magic tricks count? No? Hmm, I guess I like watching other people's performances. Not only can I get inspiration for my own shows, but it's nice to see the view from the audience for once.

Kasch's troubles- Nothing's more annoying than being flat broke..

favorite food- I'm not very picky, but... ah, sticky honey roast is just.. delicious and nostalgic.

least favorite food- As I said before, I'm not very picky. Unless it's salty fish. I get it's from the ocean, and I get it's saltwater, but.. ew.

birthday- 🎵Happy birthday, traveler, enjoy the show! I made everything special just for you, you know! So take a seat, you can have the whole day off! We can do anything you want today, so let's be off!🎵 Ahem, did you like the birthday song I made you?

feelings about ascension:

intro- I'm starting to feel just a bit stronger, traveler. I don't ask for this often, but would you like to spar?

building up- This isn't my strongest yet. I've a long way to go.

climax- This isn't just strength, but courage, too.

conclusion- At the end of our travels, I'll do whatever it takes to stop being on the run.

skill:

let's go!

Stay back!

Magic!

burst:

Maybe you should've been more careful.

Finally, showtime.

Hats off to the greatest performer!

treasure chest

Shiny..

Can I have some?

How much mora do you think this is worth?

low hp

It's starting to hurt..

A-all part of the performance, don't worry.

Please don't kill me!!

fallen

The grand.. finale...

Sister, I'm coming... home..

Dont.. let it end...

yk what's a strange and surprisingly fun character building exercise? taking the list of voicelines characters have in video games like genshin impact and making what voicelines your character might have. and since this is something I've done before, here is a list of all the voicelines genshin characters have! feel free to use this

Hello

Chat 1

Chat 2

Chat 3

When it rains

When thinder strikes

when the sun is out

When the wind is blowing

good morning

good afternoon

good evening

good night

About 1

About 2

About us 1

about us 2

about us 3

About the vision*

something to share

interesting things

About other characters

more about character 1

more about character 2

more about character 3

more about character 4

more about character 5

characters hobbies

characters troubles

favorite food

least favorite food

birthday

feelings about ascension**

intro to ascension

building up ascension

climax of ascension

conclusion of ascension

*visions are kinda specific to genshin, feel free to replace this with what the character would tell people about whatever powers they might have instead since that's pretty much what visions are in the game

**ascension in this case just refers to characters getting stronger since those lines are for certain milestones of leveling up, but feel free to give that whatever meaning you want