#i literally let out THE most goblin laugh

[emergency-vehicle]

GIGGLES MADLY

[lovinglokilaufeyson]

In Vino Veritas (In Wine, There is Truth) - A.A.

Pairings: Astarion x Fem!Reader/Tav (Sorceress/Magic User)

Warnings: FLUFF (the sickeningly sweet kind). Angst. Insecure/Jealous!Astarion. Drunk!Astarion. Soft/Clingy!Astarion. Astarion is in his feelings. Love Confessions. BG3 Spoilers (Early Act I). Mutual Pining. Oblivious!Tav. Honestly kind of Sub!Astarion vibes. Not Proofread!

Wordcount: 2,589

Summary: After seeing you bonding with the other companions, Astarion is in deep with his emotions. This leads to him staggering off to a bar in a nearby town, and you go looking for him as you are worried about him. Once you find him, a confession of love spills from his lips unprompted.

A/N: Can vampires even get drunk? I’m not entirely sure, but that’s what this is about. This wasn’t a request, just something I was interested in writing. I haven’t written Astarion in this way before, but I think I like how it turned out. Thank you guys for all the love on my Astarion fics! I appreciate it immensely. Also, two posts in one day is kind of insane for me. Enjoy!

You weren’t always confident in yourself or your abilities. However, your recent adventures with Lae’zel, Astarion, and Gale have boosted your self-esteem. Gale had even approached you one night rambling about the “weave” and how he wanted you to experience it. You were able to conjure it with favorable ease, however you backed away once he had come onto you. Astarion stood in disgust as he watched the scene unravel. Gale was clearly attracted to you, and clearly wanted in your pants at one point or another. Astarion wouldn’t mind being in your pants either, at one point or another.

Secretly, Astarion envied your naivety, your ability to be fairly oblivious to many people’s advances. Heck, you didn’t even notice Gale’s constant passing glances until he was quite literally leaning in to kiss you, impressed by your ability to conjure the weave with little effort. You turned away nearly instantly, at least once you realized.

You were fairly friendly, which led a lot of suitors to believe that you were interested in them. Gale was no different. The wizard felt that you showed great potential, and he was impressed by your magical abilities. Initially, you believed this to be friendly behavior from Gale, but alas, he felt more for you than that. You had a difficult time turning him down, as you did with most. Gale wasn’t a bad guy, he just – wasn’t for you. Astarion had to spend some time alone after watching you and Gale bond. He felt a pain in his chest while watching the scene.

He was glad to find out that you had rejected Gale, which Gale had let him know (unprompted, of course) one night while out by the fire. Gale was working on his magic, Astarion was reading, and you were sleeping dreadfully well after the long day.

Soon after, you, Lae’zel, Astarion and Gale met Wyll on the way to the grove. You had a battle with the goblins and gained a new ally in Wyll. Unfortunately, Astarion had placed himself right in the midst of the conflict, leading him to take quite the beating. So, when Wyll offered to join the party, you felt it was obvious to have Wyll take his place. Lae’zel and Gale were in moderately good shape afterwards. “Fine,” Astarion spoke merely one word, then turned around in a dejected manner, slumping his way away from the group. When he glanced back, he saw Wyll laughing at something you had said, which caused the pain in his chest to worsen.

Astarion had to walk through a nearby town in order to get back to camp, which is where the mistakes began. He spotted a tavern, which looked acceptable – albeit rundown in comparison to the ones he frequented in Baldur’s Gate. The thought of alcohol to tame his present emotions didn’t seem so terrible. I mean, was he really that replaceable to you? If you were honest, the only reason you sent him away was because of how damaged he looked after battle. Part of you wanted to go with him, or at least offer, but he had walked away too quickly for you to even respond. You probably should have gone after him, instead you turned to your new companion in order to get acquainted.

Your mistake was recognized after you got back to camp last night – because where the hell was Astarion? All of his belongings were still around, but he was nowhere to be found. He wasn’t bathing, but perhaps he could be hunting? It seemed fairly abnormal for him to just wander off. It was getting fairly late and Astarion still hadn’t arrived back at camp. You were getting worried.

“Has anyone seen Astarion?” You asked everyone who was still awake. The group shook their heads. You kept telling yourself that he probably just was out hunting. Yet something didn’t feel right.

“I’m worried about him, guys. I sent him back to camp and he’s nowhere to be found.” You commented, with Shadowheart being the first to respond. “It’s Astarion, Tav. It’s not like he’s known to be the most reliable, even in the few days we’ve known him.” Her fondness for you was shining through, and her almost envious tone showed her distain for your anxious thoughts about the pale elf companion.

You decided to backtrack on the path away from camp, the one that Astarion would have taken back, trying to retrace his steps. You hoped that he hadn’t collapsed somewhere, that was absolutely your worst fear. You couldn’t help but worry at the thought of losing Astarion. He had already been through so much - that you were incredibly aware of.

You wandered the dim, moonlit trail, hoping that you would find a sign of him anywhere. You peered through the forest trees, but with little avail. You thought about shouting out to him but thought better of it. You could attract someone – or something, rather, that you’d prefer not to. You decided to keep as quiet as you could.

You crept towards the nearby town. Given that the afternoon had far past, the only open facility was the tavern. It was old, but well-kept given its state. The building itself was made from stone, with a large oak wooden door at its front. It vibrated with livelihood from the activities of indoors. This tavern was likely the sole place in town where folks could go to have a decent time. Through the windows, you spotted various ages and races of people, all joined together in dancing, drinking, chatting, and even singing. You didn’t see Astarion, but you figured that asking surely wouldn’t hurt. Maybe they knew of his whereabouts.

The door creaked open as you entered, revealing the brightly candlelit interior of the tavern. The wood floors were certainly run down, likely from years of wear and tear and dancing upon them. Many eyes fell upon you when you entered. Your footsteps were light, but your presence was different for the townsfolk. You were new. Astarion had felt similarly when he moved into space, but they had become used to his presence by now. Not only that, but he had spent copious amounts of gold on drinks, which was certainly appreciated. You didn’t know that though, not yet.

The townsfolk had accepted your presence within a few moments of entering, with one muttering to another “she’s a pretty one, isn’t she?” before gulping down more beer, then standing up to make a move on you. You were quite oblivious to this situation, moving steadily towards the barkeep, hoping she might be able to tell you of Astarion’s whereabouts, as you moved through the bar and still didn’t take notice of the elf.

“Eh, darlin!” You heard a man grunt at you, but you didn’t want to acknowledge him. The words almost hit your ears in just the right way, the eerie similarity to Astarion’s word choice was uncanny.

As you approached the bar, the barmaid approached you sweetly. She was an older lady with deep raven hair, likely had worked there for a substantial portion of time, perhaps even being the owner of the place. “Hi, dear. What can I get goin’ for you?” She inquired with a courteous smile. “Nothing quite yet for me. I’m looking for my friend, he’s an elf with white hair, he probably would have passed by here several hours ago.”

“Aw! You must be Tav! He wouldn’t stop rambling about you while he was here. I think he slumped over to the bathroom, we tried to sober him up, but he was lookin’ pretty sick.” The barkeep gestured to the doors in the corner, and you nodded. “Thank you. I’ll be back.”

You pushed your way through the patrons in order to place several knocks on the only closed door. “Astarion?” You raised your voice to ensure that he heard you over the music that boasted in the background. You leaned your head against the door, hoping to hear a response from him. You nearly fell as suddenly the door was replaced with air, and a stumbling Astarion approached you. “Darling!” He exclaimed. This new, puppy-like energy contrasted with his always stoic exterior. You went to scold him, about to go off about his selfishness in abandoning camp like that, but before you could, his rambling continued.

“Goodness, you look phenomenal. I can hardly take it.” You looked at him, creases forming on your face as your mind became more puzzled. Astarion was typically a flirty person, but this was different. For some reason, it seemed – sincere?

“Astarion, what are you doing here?”

“Well I got sad, so I decided to have a few – um – drinks.” His words slurred as they exited his lips, which did not promote truth in his sentence. “A few?” He nodded eagerly in response, and you grabbed at the fabric near his shoulder in order to tug him over to the bar. “Do you know how many drinks he’s had?” You asked the barmaid, hoping she could provide some insight. “In the double digits, certainly. Spent most of his time downing drinks and talking about your ‘delectability.’”

She responded as you took a deep breath. Astarion, who was lent up against your shoulder now, and could hardly maintain composure, brought an index finger to usher the woman quiet, pressing it against her lips. “SHHHH.” He spoke loudly, before she removed his finger in a swift motion. Astarion leant towards your ear, whispering “she’s just talking about how it’s more noticeable that I’m in love with you when I’m tipsy.” Your eyes shot open for the first time in hours. You had maintained heavy lids since post battle; however you hadn’t heard anything this shocking in weeks. You couldn’t help the way that your cheeks now sprouted a flushed, pink hue.

“You somehow get even cuter when you blush.” Astarion spoke, and you placed your head in your hands, which Astarion immediately tried to pull away “don’t, please, you’re so pretty.” You almost rolled your eyes, what if this was all some strange dream? Don’t get you wrong, there were many nights that you dreamt of the day that Astarion would approach you in this way, you just – didn’t think it would happen. You finally released your face from your hands and looked at the barmaid. “We’ll be leaving now, thank you.” You grabbed on to Astarion once more, tugging him towards the large oak door at the entrance.

“Someone’s in trouble!” One of the men shouted from across the bar at the scene. “I hope so!” Astarion shouted back, and you tugged him harder.

As the overwhelm was diluted by the calm of the outdoors, and your faces were hit by the cool air, you turned to face him.

“Astarion, what the hells is going on?” Your question was slightly louder than intended, especially since you had to raise your voice to be heard inside of the bar.

Immediately, you were faced with a pout on Astarion’s lips and dilated pupils as he gazed at you. “Please don’t be mad, darling.”

“I just want to know if you’re okay.” You responded, your features softening, which comforted him.

“I just-“ he stammered, having a difficult time finding the words. He looked back to you, seeing how patient you were, and he relaxed, with help from the alcohol that still coursed steadily through him. “you’re perfect.” For the second time tonight, your eyes widened like craters. You were nearly at a loss for words, but as you went to speak, Astarion interrupted you.

“Gods, Tav! Gale is entranced by you, Shadowheart has definitely caught feelings, Lae’zel wants you to give her bruises, and did you see the way that Wyll looked at you today?” He inquired, and you meagerly shook your head. “Not to mention I’m fucking in love with you! And I can’t even show it! I haven’t felt this way, like, ever, with anyone! And I’m fucking terrified, Tav!”

He gesticulated harshly as he spoke, his pent-up energy finally releasing. You moved towards him, holding your arms out, almost as an offering to him. He looked at you with soft eyes, then headed towards you himself, wrapping his arms around your waist, as yours fell across his shoulders. He relaxed into your touch, leaning his face to nuzzle in your neck. “Please don’t let me go.” Astarion pleaded.

“I won’t, Star.” You whispered into his ear, and you could feel him sigh in relief.

“I’m sorry I was jealous and upset.”

“Don’t be sorry for feeling the way you do, Astarion.” These words nearly brought a drunken Astarion to tears, but he was able to focus on the way you felt in his arms instead. You were able to convince him to cease the hug in order to walk back to camp, but he insisted that he needed to have a hand on you at all times to be assured that “you wouldn’t let him go.” So, it ended up with his hand intertwined with yours for the duration of the short journey back, along with him leaning on you to keep steady.

The rest of the companions were awaiting your return to camp and sighed in relief when you arrived. They were slightly surprised to see Astarion lent up against you, with your frame keeping him upright. Shadowheart seemed to roll her eyes in annoyance at the pale elf’s return, but was thankful you were alright, nonetheless. They stayed quiet, as it seemed more like an “ask questions later” type of circumstance. Since they now knew you were safe, they deemed it acceptable to retreat to their own tents for the night.

You teetered Astarion over to his own tent, facing him as he stared at you with puppy dog eyes. “You’ll stay?” He asked, and you looked at him with similar eyes. “Please?” He followed up, and you nodded. “Let’s go to my tent, though. Is that alright?”

“As long as I’m with you.”

You lead Astarion to your – somewhat more put together tent, with a larger bedroll that could fit the both of you situated on the floor. He stared in awe as he admired the colors within, it was actually quite cozy.

You put yourself in bed as normal, while Astarion seemed to stand with a blank look on his face, his eyes traveling from your eyes to the tent, as if this was new to him. “You okay, Astarion?” You asked, and he nodded. “More than okay, actually.” He responded, and you smiled. You reached your arms out, beckoning him towards you “come here, then, sweet boy.” He grinned giddily, nearly diving into your arms.

-

Astarion woke up in the somewhat unfamiliar environment of your tent, with a throbbing headache. However, he realized that he was sprawled across your lap, and decided to be content in the fact that even though he didn’t remember a single thing about last night, he knew that he had wound up in the right place, in the right person’s arms.

You noticed he had woken from the fluttering of his eyelashes on your skin, and you brought your hand to his hair in order to play with it ever so slightly. “Good morning, handsome” you spoke.

“Good morning, darling. What in the hells happened last night?” He responded, turning towards you with a smirk on his face. “Did I get as lucky as I hope I did?” Sober Astarion was back, that was for certain.

[vixstarria]

Something real

I thought I’d play around with an Astarion POV and this is what happened.  

Connected with my other headcanon fics, would take place after this one, but before the end of this one. You don’t have to read them for this to make sense though. (But you totally should!) 

Astarion x Reader, Astarion x Tav, Astarion x Bard Tav, soft Astarion, Astarion POV

Comfort, fluff, budding love, banter, humour, Act 1 spoilers, non-explicit, light angst, probably too much swearing 

Approximately 2,000 words. 

AO3

You were lying alone by the fire, waiting for her to join you, trying once again to untangle the mess this woman made in your head. 

What exactly were you, to each other? 

Were you just temporary travelling companions having meaningless sex for stress relief?  

Or were you lovers in the more literal sense of that word? 

And is that what you wanted..? To be someone’s, whom you could call your own? To have something real..?  

It should have been simple, except the lines kept shifting and blurring. And needless to say, this wasn’t at all what you had initially intended.  

All you knew was, this deliciously ambiguous time at the end of your evenings, when you just talked – this was your favourite time of day.  

You were restless with anticipation, now that everyone else had finally gone to sleep or was shuffling around in their tents. 

Except she was nowhere to be seen.  

You could always slip into her tent, she might even have been waiting for you there now – but then you'd most likely wind up putting on the ‘seductive lusty lover’ mask, and as fun as that was, it’s not what you wanted right now.  

You were getting impatient. 

You wondered just how undignified and out of character it would be to simply go to her tent and lure her out on some pretense, like the stars being particularly bright, or some similar horseshit. You glanced at the sky. The stars weren’t even visible.  

Fuck. ...Well, she’d just laugh at that anyway.  

But lo and behold, there she was at last, plundered bottle of wine in hand. You bit your tongue to avoid addressing her with any of your habitual epithets, for which she’d rebuked you on numerous occasions, but she went ahead and did it for you herself anyway:  

“Here I am! The wind beneath your wings, the rose among your thorns! The fire in your furnace, the... uh... help me out here, will you?” 

“The biting canines in my buttock.” 

“There we go! A touch predictable, but no less eloquent for it.” 

She sat down, right next to your head, stretching her legs out towards the fire, and gave you a searching and expectant look, not saying anything. 

You raised a quizzical eyebrow back at her. 

“Well come on, scooch up,” she said with a playful smile on her lips. 

You lifted slightly on your elbows and laid your head in her lap.  

This is new. 

“Can I offer you something to drink?” she asked, waving a wrist, and then the wine in the other hand suggestively at you.  

“Not tonight, dear,” you chuckled. “I had quite a successful boar hunt while the rest of you were playing hero in the foothills.” 

“Suit yourself.” She took a drink straight from the bottle and stared off into the fire, her other hand absentmindedly running through your hair. You resisted the urge to lean further into her touch.  

“What’s on your mind?” you asked after the silence went on a touch too long. 

“I would like you to explain something to me.” she said quietly.  

You instinctively tensed, your mind racing, wondering what you could have possibly done or let slip. 

“...Why in the fuck do you lot listen to and take directions from me? Do none of you realize I’m just a shit-talking clown and have no idea what I’m doing?” the tone of her voice was flat.  

...Ah. That. 

“This ‘clown’ led us unscathed through a subversive operation in a goblin camp. Mostly via shit-talking. You even convinced one of them to lick your boot!” you shook your head incredulously. “Give yourself credit where it’s due. Do you think anyone else here could have pulled that off?” 

I probably could have. Wouldn’t. But could have.  

She took a swig from the bottle, considering your question. “Well you definitely could have done the same. You’d just choose not to. ...why are you laughing?” 

“Never mind that. Would you like me to take over for you, darling?” 

“Good heavens, no!” she grimaced in mock horror. “Just stay at my side, as my moral compass.” 

“Your moral compass?” 

“When in doubt, I ask myself ‘What would Astarion do?’, and do the opposite. Usually that’s good enough to keep everyone happy and keep bloodshed to a minimum.” 

You’re not wrong.  

“But gods it’s been exhausting...” she was sombre again. “They all want something, and they all think their problem is the most urgent. ‘We must go to the creche – no, we must go to Moonrise – no, but my heart will explode – no, but I and everything around me will explode’” she was getting riled up, gesticulating with the bottle in her hand. You were worried it would fly out of her grip. She paused to collect herself.  

“At least your demands are too insane to entertain in the first place,” she continued with a weary grin. “‘Embrace the tadpole, take over a cult, fight squirrels, commit genocide’” - she did her best to mimic your manner of speaking, then rolled her eyes and took another swig from the bottle.  

“Never know where a little thinking outside the box might lead you, dear.” I just want my freedom, whatever it takes. ...And that squirrel was looking at you funny. “And you? What do you want?” 

“A hot bath, new lute strings, and a cat to cuddle,” she answered without hesitation.  

You couldn’t think of anything better than to emit a very convincing meow.  

It must have taken her by surprise - she glanced down at you, eyes wide, before bursting out laughing and scratching you behind the ear.  

You hated to admit it, but you were very pleased with yourself, making her laugh like that.  

“My pointy-eared feline predator,” she murmured, looking into your eyes and smiling, as she slowly and delicately ran her finger along the edge of your ear, right to the tip, which felt... divine, actually.  

This... this was too intimate for someone you just had meaningless sex with, right? 

You heard some rustling and footsteps nearby, too casual to be an intruder, probably just someone walking off to relieve themselves.  

She jerked her hand away from you, like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, and actually made a motion as if to get up, before you stopped her with a gentle hand on her wrist, still lying with your head in her lap. 

“Hey... Hold on... Now you explain something to me. Earlier today, you burst into camp covered in hyena entrails, yelled ‘My star!’, threw yourself on me, legs and arms and all, like some deranged monkey, and made me spin you around, kissing you. ...But this is what embarrasses you?”  

“That was putting on a silly act,” she said sheepishly. “And this is...” she faltered, looking for the right words. 

Real..? 

“Not intended for anyone else’s eyes.” 

Real. 

"Well everyone can direct their eyes elsewhere, then,” you responded, unable to contain a smile.  

It’s real.  

...Ahah!  

“Oh, and you’re absolutely adorable, by the way,” you added. 

She flicked you lightly on the nose and looked away. Was she blushing? 

“Anyway. It’s Gale that worries me the most.” 

Fucking Gale. 

“He said the last artifact he consumed hardly did anything. He doesn’t know how much longer he can contain it. He’s inconsolable.” she continued.  

“Perhaps we should all stop worrying and embrace the orb explosion. At least that will mean we won’t have to deal with anything else, ever.” you suggested. This was helpful, right?  

“I wish I could do something to help, or at least get his mind off it for a while.” 

Of course you do, you bleeding heart. 

“And how might you ‘get his mind off it’, exactly?” 

“I think we should seduce him,” she looked you straight in the eyes and said in a deadpan manner.  

Oh, sliding off a serious topic straight back into fuckery with a straight face, are we? I know that game very well.  

“Darling, even without the orb, he would literally explode if you held eye contact with him a second too long. He’s been pining for you since you pulled him out of that rock.” You waved a dismissive hand in Gale’s general direction. “The kindest thing you can do for him is give all your undivided attention to me, so he never has a glimmer of hope.” 

Bloody Gale with his manicured beard, puppydog eyes and cooking skills... 

“Well, while we’re on the topic, I still think we should seduce someone, to spice camp life up a bit. How about Lae’zel?” she continued.

“Lae’zel would skewer both of us if we approached her.” 

...and his warm hands... 

“Shadowheart?” 

“...You know, I’m pretty sure Lae’zel would skewer us for that, too. Perhaps all three of us, on the same blade.” 

...and his ability to find kind and empathetic words in any situation. ...Shame about the orb though. 

“What about...” she grinned, “daddy Halsin?” 

You exchanged a meaningful look. 

Ha! Well there’s a curious thought. I wonder if he could contain himself, or if he would turn into a bear. How... dangerous. 

“Let’s revisit that thought later.” you said pensively.  

“Karlach is impossible, of course...” she continued. “That leaves Wyll.” 

“Oh please,” you chortled. “Even if he wasn’t depressed over the whole... demonic horns and abducted parent conundrum. He strikes me as the ‘wait until marriage’ type. And he’d want to do the seducing himself.” 

“I’m not so sure about the marriage part. He would keep it proper and gentlemanly though.” she thoughtfully tapped her lower lip with a finger. “Multiple extravagant dates to impress his sweetheart before making any moves, the whole shabang. You wouldn’t want him to try to sweep you off your feet?” 

“Just me? No no, we are in this together.” you remarked. “And he could certainly afford to woo us both at once, being the son of a duke.” 

“Weeks of wining and dining us, waiting for the fires of ‘true love’ to fully ignite...” she said contemplatively, gazing into the fire. 

“Smothering us with red roses, romantic moonlit carriage rides and ballroom dancing...” you copied her tone. 

“Until finally railing you on a grand piano one day, while I whipped him with a switch,” she said with a devilish grin. 

“You absolute uncouth filth!” it was your turn to be taken off-guard as you shook with laughter.  

You incredible, ridiculous, mad thing... I would spend another year locked alone and hungry in a tomb, if it meant keeping you alive and safe. 

Something in your chest twisted. 

Did I really just think that? 

Yes, yes I did.  

You needed to stop and consider what just came into your head. And give yourself a good slap in the face. But for now, more than anything, you desperately needed to switch your brain off.  

You sat up and kissed her, pulling her into an embrace. 

“You crazy idiot, what am I going to do with you?” you whispered, briefly touching your forehead to hers. 

“Something nasty, I hope,” she answered with a cheeky smile. But there was more warmth than lust in her eyes. 

“My tent or yours?” you asked softly, trailing a finger down a bare arm. 

“Do you have vials of boar blood everywhere?” 

“Yes. Do you have everything you’ve collected, ever, everywhere?” 

“...Yes.” 

Hoarder. I would give you a whole palace to decorate, just to see what you would do with it.  

Sigh... “I guess I could accommodate you for a short while.” 

Please stay all night.  

On a sudden whim, you swept her up in your arms as you got up, carrying her to your tent.  

What in the hells was I thinking?  

“Oh!” she gasped, surprised. “My... I don’t suppose you’ve got a grand piano in there?” 

“We’ll have to make do with my trunk, I’m afraid.” 

“And they say romance is dead.” 

None of this was going according to plan.  

Fuck the plan.  

You felt like a cretin and a fraud as you carried her off. But you’d make it right. She deserved something better. Something real.  

And so did you, godsdamnit.  

I’ll tell her... Just not today. 

~~~~~

Next in series - Are you mine?

This work is part of a series - here is the master list

AO3

[lili863]

Yes, all yours.

AN: Welp , I am finally writing for Sebastian Sallow. This was fun to write knowing how his personality is.

Warning: MDNI, SMUT, 18+, Enemies to lovers, DARK, DOM! SEB

TW: Slight Dubcon, a little blood involved (literally)

Sebastian Sallow.

The most charming boy I've met, he's witty, fun loving and just such an adorable flirty dork. In fact if I would have asked him to court me if only...he wasn't such an insufferable, arrogant, hard headed human being that I have ever had the displeasure of knowing.

He's a walking contradiction to better put it.

Just a week ago we were laughing and making our way to the library after sneaking out of detention and then in a span of 7 days I found myself firmly entrenched in his shitlist when he figured out I was communicating with a goblin in my investigation about Ranrok and Victor Rookwood.

Since then, it's been an onslaught of cocky remarks, disdainful glances, and thinly-veiled jabs. Oh, the joy of camaraderie among wizards.

I could tolerate all of it, really. After all, navigating the intricate social dynamics of Hogwarts has become something of a specialty of mine. But things took a turn for the worse when he had the audacity to label me as ignorant and then failed to extend even a semblance of an apology.

Initially, I empathized with his frustration and understood his misplaced anger. I made excuses for his behavior, attempting to rationalize his actions. But my patience wore thin faster than I anticipated.

Merlin, if I had known how stubborn he was going to be I would have given up hope of reconciliation a long time ago.

And it all started right after I had convinced myself that perhaps extending the olive branch should fall upon my shoulders.

I found him by the great hall. There he stood among a few of our friends: Natty, Garreth, Ominis, and Amit. A small smile crept onto my lips at the sight, hoping that this apology, however undeserved, would set things right. But just as I neared earshot, his words struck like a dagger.

"Can you believe her? The audacity. She parades around as if she's the font of all knowledge just because she's the apple of every professor's eye when she's barely scratched the surface of our world".

The words hit me like a ton of bricks as I stood there shocked.

"Sebastian, perhaps you're being a tad harsh," Natty interjected, her voice tinged with a hint of reproach. "She's many things, but ignorant isn't one of them."

Nods of agreement rippled through the small gathering, Ominis adding his voice with a weary sigh. "I'm inclined to agree. You're letting your temper get the best of you."

Sebastian's sneer sliced through the tension like a blade. "Of course you would agree, Ominis," he retorted, the bitterness palpable in his tone.

It dawned on me then that this matter held more significance for him than I had realized. I knew he was angry with me, but to this extent?

"Seems she's got all of you wrapped around her little finger, doesn't it?" he said, his gaze flicking between them with contempt.

"That's enough," I interjected sharply, drawing all eyes to me, including Sebastian's.

"You know, I would have taken your words more seriously if you had the guts to say them to my face," I challenged, closing the distance between us with purpose.

Sebastian turned to face me fully, his eyes zeroing in on mine. His deep frown transformed to a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Well, here I am, aren't I? Besides, your back is just as good a place as any for such heartfelt conversations, considering that's all I was faced with the last time."

I pressed my lips together, determined not to let his cutting words pierce through my resolve, though I could feel their sting like a sharp slap across the face. Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed the group behind us watching with wide eyes.

Damn it. The last thing I needed was to turn this into a spectacle, but Sebastian was making it impossible to keep a level head.

"Funny, because I was about to say the same. Grow up, Sallow. I could handle you being a jerk any day, but immature as well?" I lowered my voice, drawing closer so our conversation couldn't be overheard. "We both know that everything I'm doing is for the greater good, including your sister."

That smile disappeared as quickly as it came, as a shadow crept over his features.

Slowly, deliberately, he closed the space between us, each step a calculated move. Startled at his demeanor I started backing up otherwise I was sure our bodies would've collided.

"Don't you dare pretend you're doing this for the good of everyone, especially my sister, when you're the one cozying up to a damn goblin."

Backed against the wall, I felt the weight of his presence looming over me, and it was precisely that moment I realized how much of a threat he could have been if he wasn't someone I knew.

He disregarded the stares of onlookers, his focus solely on me as if nothing else existed in the world.

I never saw this look on him. So scary. And so unforgiving.

My nostrils flared, and I clenched my jaw to tyring to ignore everyone gathering around us "But I am. And whether you like it or not, Lodgok is not the same. I understood your anger at first, truly, but enough is enough" My voice now ringing with authority I continued "Now back off".

He didn't move a muscle. I swear if looks could kill, I'd be 6 feet beneath the dirt right now.

With a glare, I pushed off the wall when his hand suddenly planted firmly against the wall besides my head, stopping me effectively.

His eyes darker then before trailed over my face and down to my lips "You know"... I shivered at the low timbre of it.

" For a so called prodigy you sure do run away a lot. Especially when your one marching in here telling me to man up".

My resolve wavered for a moment, but I steadied myself, meeting his gaze head-on. "Careful, Sallow," I warned, my voice laced with defiance. "Just because I choose my battles doesn't mean I'm afraid to fight."

Sebastian's lips curled into a menacing grin, a small scoff escaping his lips.

Amidst the murmurs of the gathering crowd, I turned my gaze towards them, trying to ignore his taunts.

"Well, while you're busy choosing your battles, you're losing the ones that matter"

Damn it, why is everyone here—suddenly, a calloused hand gripped my jaw, forcefully turning it back to face him.

"With me."

I sucked in a sharp breath, my heart pounding in my chest, eyes trailing back and forth between his.

He really did have a way of making every encounter feel like a fight for dominance and now I knew I was trapped. "Back off Sallow, now".

"No."

"I said back off"! With a hard shove I pushed him away from me, earning gasps and exclaims from the crowd gathering around us, all excited to see what was going on.

A sinister chuckle escaped his lips, his head thrown back in complete amusement, while I stood there, flushed with embarrassment. Whether it was from the fact that he barely moved an inch or from the proximity of his presence, I couldn't tell. He on the other hand reveled in the attention, knowing full well that I despised being the center of such spectacle.

But I wasn't about to let him see me falter. "You want a battle? Fine. Since you're so desperate to get on my bad side"!

A mocking nod was all he could offer at my not so threatening threat "Bad side, huh? And what does that entail?"

"Mopping the floor with your arse in the courtyard, for all to see. Perhaps then I can show you just how well being a teacher's pet pays off." I spat.

"Well, let me tell you what my bad side entails, since you're already on it."

I huffed, a sarcastic smile playing on my lips as I shifted my weight, a hand on my hip. "Do enlighten me."

As tension crackled between us, Sebastian's breaths came slow and measured, the controlled rhythm of his chest betraying the intensity of his emotions as he stood before me.

"When I emerge victorious from this duel," he whispered, his voice dripping with controlled menace, "You won't forget it. I'll ensure it. And it won't just end there. I'll make your life a living hell, and believe me, darling, it won't be a pleasant experience."

My heart dropped, and my hands fell to my sides as I looked up at him in shock. "Sebastian..."

Maybe it was just my imagination, but a flicker of something passed by his face. His gaze softened, but his face remained expressionless.

"Do you really think you can just come into my life and pretend to care about everything? To care about my sister and then just dump it back in my face, as if all the things we went through together meant nothing?"

I shook my head, my eyes wide as saucers, but before the words could come out of my mouth, he beat me to it. "You'll regret it." Cedarwood and pine filled my senses as he stepped closer. "I'll make sure of it."

Speechless. That was what I was. Turning back around, he faced our group of friends, all of whom were confused, and started walking back towards them.

"Tomorrow after classes, tell Lucas I'll be there at 5," he said. He really was going to duel me.

"Oh, and..." He turned back around, and the smirk on his face irked me. "Bring plenty of Wiggenwald, darling." My stomach churned, and I felt nauseous. I wasn't afraid to duel him, but now, I am not so sure. This was a much bigger deal to him then I thought it would be. And considering this involved his sister... maybe I underestimated the weight of it all.

And that smile on his face... the normalcy after that terrifying expression... it was as unsettling as it was unexpected. And I was going to have to face the full wrath of it tomorrow...

______________________

"Bombarda"!

Sparks flew as spells clashed in midair, casting dazzling lights and shadows across the courtyard. I dodged and weaved, my movements being fluid and controlled, but his relentless barrage of spells were uncannily precise.

There he stood, a calm look to his face as his spells were coming faster and more ferocious with each passing moment.

It's come to my attention as soon as this duel started that I might be royally screwed. Along with the insomnia I had suffered last night and eating next to nothing in the last 36 hours I was in a bad shape.

But what really threw me off was that he had dramatically improved from the last time I dueled him.

In fact he was arguably one of the best duelers in this school at the moment. I am, ashamed to say, it was more challenging with him then anyone I've encountered in my missions, including the trials.

Though in my trials I was fighting knights, not a actual human being so, I cant just use my ancient magic to spear a lighting through his head.

With gritted teeth, I unleashed a wave of fiery infernos, the flames dancing and twisting towards Sebastian with menacing intent. The crowd Oohs and aahs only got louder and more excited at my display of magic.

Too bad it only lasted about 3 seocnds before he countered with a powerful Shield Charm, the flames dissipating against the barrier with a hiss.

A surge of panic washed over me as he unleashed a dark hex, the ancient magic stirring within me in response. With a desperate effort, I summoned a powerful shield to deflect the attack.

As the spell collided with my shield, I felt the impact reverberate through my entire being, threatening to shatter my resolve. I staggered, barely managing to stay on my feet, disbelief etched into every line of my face.

Sebastian stood there, his lips slightly curling at my reaction.

He knew.

That would have been impossible to counter if it hadn't been for my ancient magic.

I heaved for breath, my chest tight with apprehension as I watched the young slytherin, seeing the powerful dark aura radiate off of him like smoke.

Shit...

He just flung a dark hex at me as if the very notion of it being forbidden never crossed his mind.

He stepped close enough for me to hear him say "Did you ever learn that while being a teacher pet"?

I growled, gripping my wand tight. I did not go through trials involving deadly knights, goblins and trolls to lose to an egotisical boy.

"Is this really how you wanna play Sallow"? I sneered.

Sebastian predatory eyes swept over me as I ignored the tightening feeling in my stomach. His tongue flicked out to wet his lips in anticipation.

"You know exactly how I play fifth year". He purred.

With a swift incantation, I conjured a dazzling array of illusions, each one more intricate than the last.

To my utter joy Sebastian's eyes widened in surprise as he struggled to discern the real me from the phantoms that surrounded him.

But he was quick to recover, his own spells flying fast and furious as he sought to break through my defenses. Bolts of lightning crackled through the air, sending shockwaves rippling across the courtyard as our magic clashed in a spectacular display of power.

The crowd's cheers and gasps melded into a deafening cacophony, but amidst the chaos, I could only focus on the piercing ringing in my ears. I gritted my teeth, my eyes narrowing as I prepared to unleash my most powerful spell yet. With a flick of my wand and a whispered incantation, I summoned a whirlwind of energy that engulfed Sebastian and everyone else in a blinding vortex of light.

Everyone gasped covering their eyes and as the brilliance faded, I braced myself for the next onslaught, but nothing could have prepared me for what came next

Suddenly I yelp, feeling the tip of a cold wand pressed to my neck and a warm yet menacing presence press against my back.

To my utter horror, Sebastian stood behind me out of nowhere, wrapping his arm around my waist, keeping me perfectly still.

Butterflies erupted in my stomach, unleashing a wave of blood to my core. It's almost laughable, the way fear grips me now, rendering me hesitant to face him. I just know what hes going to look like, and I am not sure I could take it.

I try to cast something as his lips brush against my ear, and he whispers "Expelliarmus".

My wand flies out of my hand instantly, bouncing on the ground before rolling away as the crowd watched in stunned silence.

Beads of sweat rolled down my forehead as I watched my wand disappear into the distance. And then it hits me.

Fuck.

How could I forget.

I taught him how to apparate last week...

_____________________

"Sebastian, please," I pleaded, struggling to keep pace with his brisk stride. Every two steps felt like a hurdle, but his iron grip on my arm prevented me from face-planting afterward.

"You've won, alright," I conceded, feeling defeated.

With a forceful tug, he yanked me forward and pressed me against the wall, eliciting a grunt from me.

"And yet, you're still defending a goblin," venom dripped from his words, saturating the air with its malevolence.

I hadn't known he was capable of such intense hatred. Part of it, I suspected, had something to do with his dalliance in the dark arts.

Melting into the wall did nothing as Sebastian stepped in to close the distance.

"He's provided more information than any other creature I've encountered, Sebastian. He's the reason I can move forward in this investigation." I pleaded.

"Yeah, and how do you know it's not all a lie?" he retorted sharply.

"You're acting as if no one else, or any other creature, hasn't lied to me before. How is it any different if a goblin does?" I shot back, trying to maintain my composure.

"You know why!" he exploded, pushing against me, his frustration palpable.

Ragged breaths escaped me as I struggled to remain steady. His hard abdomen was smashed against mine with no disregard for personal space. I was caged.

"I understand your anger, Seb. But only to an extent. Not all goblins are bad, just like not all humans are good. Victor Rookwood is scum, yet there are trusted relationships with all kinds of creatures and humans."

With a scoff like laugh, his fingers began to trace its way down my cheek, "You're adorable, living in your little fantasy world. But reality is much harsher than your dreams."

I let out frustrated grunt but before I could respond I felt his wand press against the side of the my lower thigh. "Goodness know mine is hell, your precious goblins saw to that when they decided my sister should be 'seen and not heard'"

With a hitched breath I felt him raise his wand, sliding the smooth wood closer and closer to core.

Oh.my.goodness.

It was like my brain shut down as I realized what was happening.

I squeezed my eyes trying to concentrate on the conversation, a very important conversation.

"I am sorry Sebastian. I-I really am, I am most definitely not defending all goblins here, especially the ones who cursed Anne-"

"Oh yes you are. You even fought me for it". A cruel grin spread across his lips.

I started to step on my tippy toes instinctively to avoid the thin wood making it way under my skirt.

"You'll never understand will you"? His unsettling voice rattled me and thats when a tinge of fear seeped into my brain. This was not the Sebastian I knew.

"Seb..." My voice tremebled.

The tip of his wand disappeared under my skirt until I jumped with gasp when the tip pressed firmly on my core.

"You betrayed me".

I gasped, arching back, my hands shooting straight for his in an attempt to stop him as he began to move the wand up my clothed slit.

"I-I didn't-"

Through quick glances, I could see him observing my reactions without a hint of shame. I squeezed my eyes shut, whimpering at the sensation as the tip of his wand halted atop my clit before he started twirling it.

Despite my tightening grip on his hand, he remained unmoved. All I could do was throw my head back with a cry, feeling a tight knot forming in my stomach

"Seb s-stop" I whimpered.

"Are you sure you want me too"? His cocky tone showed now remorse as he watched me fall apart.

"Tell me the truth," his lips pressed on my to my cheek. "You wanted this from the day you met me didn't you"?

"W-what? NO-"

"Thats why you did what you did. Because pissing me off was the only way to get my attention" He chuckled. But it was hardly humorous.

I wanted to slap him, but my legs were shaking, my own wetness beginning to drip down my thighs.

His wand dropped instantly, rolling away from us. Panting, I thought maybe this was the end of it until his hand dove beneath my skirt, forcibly making its way down my underwear.

Gasping, I clutched his collar for dear life, feeling his calloused hand slide across my slit, rubbing my soaking cunt. As if my dignity wasn't hanging by a thread, my hips started to roll on their own, meeting his fingers.

"Ahhgh-Seb"!

Thats when his other hand swung around to grab to my ass and squeezed a handful of it. Hard. "Look at this"

I faced him finally. A smug grin draped over his face.

"You act all righteous but in the back of your mind all you wanted was a good fuck"

Suddenly, all sensations within my body halted. Without a second thought, my hand connected with his cheek, the sound of a slap reverberating through the dark hall.

His cheek swung the other way as he backed off slightly. I stood there, breathing hard, eyes wide, and clenching my thighs. If he thought I would just stand there and endure his vulgarity, he had another thing coming.

A small bruise formed at the corner of his lip, where a hint of blood emerged. However, what made me tense up, gripping the wall behind me, was his gaze slowly returning to mine—dark and hungry—as his tongue darted out to lick his lips over the bruise with a smirk

Clenching my jaw, I gritted, "You're a bastard."

Then I see the glint in his eyes

He charges towards me, "Well, if I'm a bastard, then you're my slut."

His lips crashed onto mine, pinning me against the wall. I groaned, attempting to navigate the kiss, but I couldn't keep up. His lips switched angles every few seconds, exploring every inch of me in a frenzy. His chest pressed against mine, his hands diving under my thighs, pushing me further into the wall as he devoured me.

I couldn't push him away, even if my life depended on it—which now it definitely did as I struggled to breathe. With no choice, I pulled my head back, opening my mouth to breathe, but he shoved his tongue in.

I whimpered breathing him in as forcifully as he made me. It was dizzying it, if he didn;t keep me upright I was sure I was going to fall from lack of oxygen. His finger went back to my gushing core as he slipped a finger in, pumping it rapidly. I pulled back gripping his jaw with a moan, barely able to stand right as he finger me harshly

Sebastian lips moved down to my neck pressing searing kisses "Your so wet baby" He murmered against my skin.

Then he brought his head up, pupil exploded with lust. I was sure I looked the same too hazy from the pleasure he giving me.

"Give me a taste huh"?

Nothing was registering in my mind. "Wha-"

Before I could finish, he finger, drove out of me with an audible pop before he yanked my panties down.

He fell to his knees, and without hesitation, his head disappeared under my skirt. Then the most startling sound escaped my mouth as I felt his warm tongue envelop my cunt, sucking and licking with desperation. No teasing, no foreplay, just an explosion of sensation.

My hand tangled into his hair as I cried out, hunching over as if he was sucking my energy. It didn't take him more than a second to find my clit as his tongue circled the hardened nub.

His other finger found my cunt, ramming in two fingers this time. The dark hall was filled with slopping sounds and loud squelches; if that didn't send a message to any poor classmate who happened to walk by, then my screams probably did.

Finally, with two more harsh thrusts, I became undone, crashing my weight onto his shoulders, my world spinning. My cries were silent with how intensely the orgasm hit me. Sebastian knew it too when his head popped out from under my skirt, licking the remaining juices off his lips. He pressed a kiss to my inner thigh, his smile, anything but friendly

No. I could tell he wasn't done.

My legs finally gave out as I kneeled before him. "Hang on, darling, I'm not through with you," he teased, his tone doing nothing to prepare me as he grabbed my waist and pushed me onto the ground, dirt be damned.

Oh fuck.

I realized I was going to be taken right here, in the middle of this damn hall, and no one was going to stop him. I knew I couldn't. Because hell, I needed him too. He nudged in between my legs, spreading them wide enough for him to see everything.

"You're so fucking pretty," he breathed heavily, his mouth still glistening from earlier. I went completely red.

No, not here. If someone walks in, I'd sooner get eaten by an Acromantula

"Stop, Sebastian! What if-"

A sharp slap to my thigh silenced me instantly before he loomed over me. "You don't want me to stop," he accused, slipping his hands beneath my shirt.

A sob-like cry escaped me as his other hand smoothed over the red mark on my thigh. I hated how good it felt, but what I hated more was that he knew

One last lie. Maybe he'll believe me and I can end this fever dream and not have to deal with the consequences after.

"I do".

Sebastian looked at me, studying my face scrutizing every aspect I tried to keep indifferent when he grins.

"Your cunt certainly doesnt". And he makes a point to show me by smashing his lips on top of mine as I taste myself.

Why is that I am always out of breath whens he kissing me? I breath him in hard.

Everything about him is overwhelming.

As pulls away with my bottom lips between his teeth. He unbuckles his trousers and I dare to look down...

"Sebastian".

His hand immediately grips my jaw bring it up to face him.

"It'll fit. Ill make it fit".

I shake my head, another excuse brewing in my head when he pauses what hes doing and rips open my shirt button flying everywhere.

A shaky sound leaves him he gazes at my breasts "Is that for me".

He was talking about the lacy bra I decided to wear today, and I realized, that today of all day I decided to wear it, because of him.

I gulped "No.."

He smirked, pulling the bra down. "Liar. Keep it up though; I love catching you and seeing the blush all over your face," he said, aligning himself over my entrance and pushing his blunt head in.

I flinched, grabbing his neck and pulling him down. "The least you can do is distract me from the pain..." He smiled, moving a strand of hair out of my face. "I don't think so; perhaps you're forgetting this is punishment," he said, his long, nimble fingers wrapping around the nape of my neck, keeping my head in place.

"Let me see those tears, baby, and don't you dare move your face"

I squeezed his shoulders, a pleading look on my face "Your being cruel".

"Only cause you made me" With that he pushed his length is as I gasp, a strangled noise leaving my throat.

Before I could adjust, he began thrusting into me. The room filled with the sound of his hips slapping against mine. I bounced on the cold stone floor, my breasts moving in tandem. He seized one in his mouth, and I cried out, closing my eyes tightly, feeling utterly helpless in his grasp.

Both of his hands gripped under my thighs and stretched my legs nearly to my stomach as he rammed into me at full speed. My screams and half-moans likely echoed throughout the castle as I flailed on the ground, arching my back, nails scraping against the floor, sweat slickening my skin.

Sebastian groaned as he observed one of my hands reaching for my breast and teasing my hardened nipples

Any pain I felt at the beginning was replaced by sweet utter bliss, it was powerful, and so blinding.

His length reached inside me and pulled out sqelching each time, as if there was a pull stopping him backing all the way out.

He grunted before proceeding to grab my wrists and pin them above my head, putting most of his wright atop of me.

Leaving hot wet kiss all over my neck, he faced me watching my tear stricken face, "Do you want to make this up to me".

I hear those words and immediately nod my head, knowing he would never accpet lodgok no matter what.

"Then promise me your mine. Promise me from now on you'll come to me whenever I summon you whether its the restricted section or in the middle of the damn dark forest. You'll come and do whatever I ask whether thats spreading your leg for me or giving me a taste of that sweet cunt of yours".

I gushed, my eyes nearly rolling at the back of my head with the speed he was going.

"Se-Seb" I whined. "I am-gonna c-cum"

"Promise me sweetheart. Or we stop this. Now".

I am no fool. I knew he what he was asking of me nothing short of being slave to all his desires. But he would never call me his girlfirend. No.

Thats my punishment.

"Seb, I- thats too much"

He clicked in tonghe, an annoyance washing over his features.

"Unless you perfer me to tell other professors what youve been up to. You know, sneaking out in the middle of the night, slaying goblins and ashwinders..."

The cruel grin made it way to his face when my eyes snapped up at him.

"Tell me" He leaned in pressing a soft kiss to my lips and everything I hated about him melted. "Tell me your mine" He murmed against my lips.

As if he knew extactly what to do to get wheat he wanted, his finger dove down to my clit, pressing the nub and rubbing it harshly.

I screamed arching my back as it all hit me. The blinding white pleasure that had me see stars. He wrapped my legs around his waist holding me tight, watching me and convulse against him in pure bliss. As it came over me in waves, I fianlly open my eyes to stare up at his. I cant believe I am saying this.

"Yes.."

His forehead leaned on top of mine a knowing smile on his lips.

"I am all yours..."

[dullgecko]

Fabian asks Riz out to senior prom.

Not really romantically, and the main reason was that too many lovestruck underclassmen were asking Fabian to go with them or slipping flowers into his locker (I mean cmon hes the the fit, half-elf, wealthy pirate that dances like an angel, who wouldn't do this).

The attention is stifling, which is saying a lot considering he's the most flamboyant attention seeker in school. Anyway he gets mobbed two weeks before prom and pressured into giving an answer, and even though he was planning on going alone, Fabian panicked, and the first thing he thinks to say is: "Sorry, I'm going with the Ball."

Well great. Now he's gotta ask his asexual best friend to a goddamn formal dance.

He tracks Riz down after school, the goblin chatting with Kristen and the other student council members about something Fabian was sure was VERY boring and unimportant. Waving the goblin over to himself when he was noticed and waiting for him to finish his conversation.

"The Ball, excellent. All done with your... stuff?" Fabian tried to affect a casual tone, leaning on the lockers beside himself before realising how awkward it looked and standing back up straight.

"Yeah just lots of logistics left to do before the dance, only got a couple weeks before it kicks off so we need to get it all sorted soon." The rogue ran his hands through his hair, a little stressed, knocking his glasses askew slightly as he stared at the notebook in his hand. Fabian taking the oportunity to crouch closer to his eye-level under the pretense of fixing it for him so that he wouldnt be overheard by anyone still milling about the coridors.

"Ah, of course. SPEAKING of he formal-" Excellent segue Seacaster, you're doing such a good job of being casual about this. "Have you perhaps found anyone to go with yet?"

"Me?" Riz laughed, turning his head up to let Fabian try to level out his glasses and snorting when he also tried to fix his messed up hair. "No? I was kind of just planning on volunteering to check tickets and bounce once everyone was inside."

"Oh. Fantastic. That means you haven't volunteered yet." Fabian flattened out Riz's hair before thinking better of it and messing it up a little more artfully than it had been before and leaving it at that. Removing is hands but remaining crouched so Riz didn't have to look up at him while talking.

"I was wondering if you'd perhaps like to go with me?"

It took the goblin a couple seconds to process what he said, one ear drooping down in an expression of pure confusion before they both perked up. Riz beaming at him and waveing his tail behind him with an expression of pure joy.

"What like... as your date? Yeah! I've never been asked to prom by anyone before."

"Well yes." Fabian stood back up, dusting off his pants and mentally patting himself on the back for a job well done. Not awkward at all, The Ball was ALWAYS happy to hang out with him when asked. "That's a big help. I've been absoloutly mobbed by underclassmen this week and I may have told one of them I was taking you. I hope you don't mind."

Riz's expression faltered a bit, tail slowing in its happy waving as he thought about what Fabian just said. "Wait... you're asking me to come to Prom with you because the underclassmen were annoying you?"

"Yes, I paniced when they asked who I was going with and I figured you probably didn't have a date. Probably more fun to go with someone as friends anyway."

"Oh... as friends. Yeah, we can go as friends." His tail stopped completely, settling into a neautral position behind him. Hand coming up to wipe at one of his eyes under his glasses before he took them off completely. Heel of his palm swiping at the corner of his eye as it started watering. "Ah fuck, sorry. Um, eyelash in my eye need a mirror. Gotta go. I'll talk to you later yeah?"

Fabian gave him a friendly wave as the rogue literally dashed in the direction of the closest bathroom. Kristen finally coming over from where she'd been TOTALLY not evesdropping further down the hallway and startling him by grabbing him by the shoulders and giving him a rough shake.

"Yooooou idiot. You have fucked UP." Kristen gave Fabian another rough shake "WHY? Why would you confirm its a date then backpedal into going as friends and only because your other options were annoying you. Gods help me you're dumb."

[h-c-u]

Mystery of the traveling bruises.

Summary: You always bruised easily, but lately it was becoming excessive. And honestly couldn't trace half of them to anything specific, until one night, the solution to your mystery hits you. 

Pairing: Tom "Iceman" Kazansky x fem!reader

W/C: 1.3k

Rating: PG, size difference

TWs: none

A/N: Ice is a giant, strong af teddy bear, who definitely could split logs in half Captain America style, and he just loves the reader so much. Like seriously. It's tooth-rotting <3

Masterlist | List of tags

Ice moved in his sleep. A lot. 

It didn't bother you, since you could have slept through the apocalypse. Besides, something else wasn't letting you fall asleep so easily lately. 

Even more bruises started magically appearing on different parts of your body. They weren't even that bad and almost never hurt, and since you basically bruised when you stared at a single fragment of skin for too long, you kind of brushed it off. But usually, you were able to trace most of them to a specific moment when they were created, but lately... Well... They were just appearing out of nowhere. 

It took you a good four weeks to solve that mystery, and the solution fell into your lap as surprisingly as possible, in a form of a rough wake-up, when you were literally elbowed off the bed. But after the initial shock of such a sudden wake-up disappeared, you just burst into laughter, because the solution to your mystery hit you. Literally. And when you started laughing, Ice also started waking up. 

At first, he thought you were crying and got really scared, waking up in an instant, but he quickly realized that you were fine. 

- It was you! - you couldn't stop laughing, and it was really hard to accuse someone of such a heinous crime when you couldn't even keep your face straight, still sitting on the floor.

- What...? - even though he was currently fully woken up, his voice was still raspy and sleepy. 

- I was trying... - you just couldn't stop laughing at the whole situation, because you were honestly starting to suspect you were getting abducted by aliens who were running some sort of psychological experiment on you. You hid your head in between your knees, trying your best to calm down, but the tears started to appear in the corners of your eyes, and that made you laugh even harder. - I thought it was aliens! Or fairies! Or goblins! Or gods know what! BUT IT WAS YOU!!! - another wave of ugly laughter hit you with such force, that you toppled to the floor. Of course, you didn't really believe that, but the thought crossed your mind. 

- What...? - he evidently couldn't grasp what was happening. Did he miss something? Did you lose your mind? 

- YOU WERE GIVING ME THE BRUISES!!! - you finally got it out and started laughing even more, if that was possible. Ice was staring at you and blinking like crazy, trying to process exactly what happened, and his brain finally started catching up. He of course noticed the additional bruises because he kissed every single one of them diligently every evening. But since you recently came back to sculpting in stone, and considering the fact that you recently got a dog, he thought that it was because of that... He didn't even think that he might be the source of them. But the reality started to sink in, and his face finally made you sober up and calm down quicker than ever. 

- No, no, no, no, no...! It's not your fault, it's ok, I don't blame you! They don't even hurt, you know that! - the speed at which the words were leaving your mouth was at least a little bit impressive. 

- But... I hurt you.... - he was still processing that, but when everything clicked, he was next to you in a second. - I'm so, so sorry... - he instantly pulled you into the softest of hugs. 

- Tom, I'm fine, it's fine... - you let him lift you from the floor, wrapping your legs around his hips, while one of his arms was supporting your ass and the other landed between your shoulder blades. You loved that he could just do that as if you weren't heavier than a kitten. - I was just analyzing the shit out of them for the last four weeks, and the mystery is finally solved. I'm honestly ok. - you tried to convince him as best as you could, but you just knew that there was a siren howling in his brain, that he somehow hurt you. 

- I'm sorry... - he repeated himself, hiding his face in the nook of your neck. - I'm really fucking sorry... I didn't mean to... - his arms were holding you so tenderly, yet you still could feel his tense muscles under his skin. 

- I don't accept your apology, because there is nothing to apologize for, Ice. As you've said, you didn't mean it, and it's not like you can control your body in your sleep. We're just gonna have to come up with something. - you smiled. - And before you even say it - if you'll suggest sleeping on the couch, you better mean both of us, together. - you warned him because you could see on his face where his thoughts went. 

- Fine... - he was obviously not happy that you were not giving up - or in his mind - you were exposing yourself to more pain. If his colleagues could see him now... Mr. Ice-cold-no-mistakes almost broken by few bruises. - So what do you have in mind...? - he finally asked, and you already had a possible solution in mind. 

Since you usually slept on your stomach and you didn't want to change positions... 

- I'm gonna be your weighted blanket for now, and we'll go from there... - he smiled, but the concern was still present in his eyes. 

- You want to...? - the thought apparently more pleasurable than he thought at first. 

- Sleep on top of you, yes. - you didn't even ask him for permission, but you honestly doubted that he would have said no, especially right now. 

He only hummed in agreement and you could feel his chest vibrating against your body. 

Without letting you go, he climbed back to bed and laid down in his usual spot, but this time with some additional weight on his body. 

- Are you comfortable...? - he asked when he covered you both with a duvet. 

- Hmmm... Not yet, give me a moment... - right now you were feeling more like a frog doing the splits around his abdomen, so you started adjusting. 

First, you've straightened your right leg and placed it in between his, which under different circumstances could have led to something else. Right now though, you were both calming down, and slowly getting sleepy again, so there was no chance for any... additional activities. But who could say what will happen in the future...? You hooked your left leg high over his hip, so you were basically straddling his right side, and that alone was already enough to relieve the pressure on the lower part of your spine, and you couldn't help but stretch a little to give into that feeling. Your left arm fell along his side to the mattress, and you pressed your fingertips just a little bit under his ribs; not enough to cut circulation, but enough to feel a tiny bit of pressure grounding you in that position. 

- Your neck is not supported, it will hurt in the morning... - he was the one who noticed that first, and honestly - you were comfortable enough to slip right back into the soft nothingness of sleep. He tried putting a small pillow under your head, but it was too high and would strain your neck even more. And when that didn't work, he placed his forearm there, and your right hand slithered under it, in the open space around his elbow, and both of you hummed in agreement at the same time, apparently finding a perfect position.

- Good night, Ice... - you mumbled against his skin. 

- Good night, love... - he whispered and placed a soft kiss on the top of your head. - I'm sorry... - he apologized again, and you gave him a warning growl because you were too far gone for words. 

It didn't take either of you long to fall asleep, and what was even more important, you woke up without any additional bruises on your body. But after the night of such comfortable sleep, how the hell you were supposed to sleep when he wasn't home...?

[m1ssunderstanding]

Get Back Rewatch 55 Years On: Day Five

The thing is I absolutely love the album that comes out of this mess. Like I know a lot of people do not like Let It Be, but so many of my favorite songs are on it. One of them being “I Me Mine.” The walz element is haunting, and I can read the lyrics as anti-capitalist even though George himself mostly wasn’t. 

Laughing my head off at two boys from one of the best grammar schools in England, who have at this point made millions off of their writing, genuinely not knowing whether it should be “more freer” or “more freely”

The difference in how George shows Paul his new song vs John is striking. For Paul, he’s relaxed, nonchalant. For John, he stands up and performs it. And I think both are a defense mechanism, poor baby, because clearly, although Paul was very supportive of the song while they were alone, when John is roasting it, Paul just laughs along and George has to go “I don’t give a fuck whether you like it.” 

Ah, the famous “up-against-a-wall” conversation. Paul comes in all dominant and sure. “Haven’t you written anything else? Haven’t you?” But then John touches him, and makes him laugh, and Paul’s a melted, goo-goo-eyes mess. This is the real reason why John got to be the leader isn’t it? Because Paul was too damn soft on him to ever follow through with his bossiness.

Their scouse sounds BEAUTIFUL compared to the stupid ugly RP and MLH’s transatlantic shit.

“And now John’d like to say a few words on the subject.” John starts singing, Paul strums along and joins in on the “chorus.” They can’t communicate like healthy people, but they Can do this. 

So Peter Jackson took out Paul’s bitchy nod at Yoko as he’s stealing her man in real time right in front of her eyes. Unforgivable. But he kept in this adorable laugh, so that’s something. 

Three more covers that I think *mean something* “Stand By Me” and “Spinning Like a Top” by Paul, followed by “You Win Again” by John. Yoko’s sweet little shoulder kiss. Thank you for taking care of the poor wet kitten, girly. Maybe don’t introduce the poor wet kitten to heroine, but you do you, I guess. (OP recognizes that poor wet kitten is also an adult capable of making his own decisions)

The cut from Paul literally dancing to get John’s attention straight to John dancing with Yoko while inside Paul’s head a silver hammer is clanging ominously. I can’t. Followed by the knowing, loving smile from Ringo to Paul. You know, those moments when you validate your friend’s bitchy thoughts with a look. 

George is literally SO big inside himself, you know? You have to have superhuman self-love abilities to watch your friend – who is supposed to be helping you – shamelessly make fun of your art . . . and just “Do you wanna do that walz on the show? That’d be great.”

But did you guys know John was actually a really great mover?

“Yes, alright. Just sod off.” I love John. Paul’s people-pleasing ass would literally die first and he needs John to do this kind of shit for him and John’s only too happy to.

The moment when Paul and John are on the same wavelength about Dennis O’Dell’s stage. 

OK but. Did John get the clear plastic idea from Yoko’s art exhibits? 

“Any time we do anything it’s always got to be the best.” Poor Ringo. They’re all literally so tired of carrying so much weight for such a long time. 

“See, I’d watch an hour of him just playing the piano. Cause he’s so great.” With that fond, loving, smile. SUCH big dick energy here. The others could NEVER. 

“And I’ll have the plastic when you’re finished.” Literally for what, though? John, you little hoarding goblin. 

And then Ringo responding to MLH’s “I love you” with “Yes, I love you too.” Yeah, Ringo wins the prize for most healthy beatle of the day. 

*Pattie Boyd voice* “I just wish I knew what was going on there. But something. Something.”

Ugh, John looks so hurt. So tender. So heartbroken. While Paul is over there playing a damn funeral march because that’s the only way he lets himself express anything. But I actually love how Dennis O’Dell knows the clearest path to cheering John up is to say that Paul liked his idea. And how well it works. They’re literally so obvious to everyone but themselves. 

I love the bit when John walks in on the rest of them discussing the live show and MLH calls, “We’ve decided. We’re going to Africa.” And Paul hurries to cut in, “No we’re NOT.” Because he knows exactly how John can get and he’s going to nip this in the bud before John gets let down. And of course, John is all “YEAH LETS GO LETS GO!” And he’s talking about how they always wish they were recording abroad. “We could be in LA, or FRANCE.” (side eye emoji) 

Paul’s “Well said, John.” and “I’ve seen it, John. I went to the premiere. I thought you were great.” Why do all your compliments to him have to be in silly voices? Like, I know you think everyone is going to call you a pussy for saying something genuinely kind to your best friend, but they’re not, and he needs it. 

Holy shit this was a long day. See you all tomorrow with another long-winded-ass post.

[gaybananabread]

⌁₊˚⊹ Jay's Silly Moods⊹˚₊⌁

(Art this is based off of)

Definitely getting back into Ninjago… Halfway through drawing this, I got a very strong urge to write a self-indulgent fic. These goobers are slowly regaining their vice grip on my brain. I might be getting to the “Requested When Shit Was Closed” prompts soon, but big possibility. Back on task, I hope you Enjoy!

Lee: Jay

Ler: Cole

Summary: Jay’s been zapping his shipmates, sneaking in quick pokes and shockingly ticklish squeezes whenever he can. While it isn't his intention, most of those are aimed at Cole. Sick of the surprise jolts, the Earth ninja has a little vengeful fun of his own.

Warnings: none! This is a tickle fic, so if you don’t like that, scroll away!!

The ninja were peacefully relaxing on the couch, trying to unwind after a long day of battles and villain encounters. Cole was listening to music, the faint sounds of “dad rock” coming through his headphones as he rested his arms behind his head. Zane was messing around with his circuitry, and Kai was sprawled out, trying to nap. 

The only one not lazing around was Jay; he had a much more mischievous way of cooling down in mind. 

Sneaking up near the couch, he positioned himself right behind the relaxed Cole. Not wasting another second, he sent a very small amount of electricity to his finger tips, tasing Cole's sides before taking off. The rocky boy jolted out of his trance, a surprised laugh flying from his lips as his arms came crashing down.

“GYAH! W-whahat the hell?” When he turned around to his perpetrator, though, all he saw was a streak of blue disappear around the corner. “Zappy jerk…”

Zane chuckled, shaking his head before resuming his tinkering. Kai was still snoozing, oblivious to the world. With a huff, Cole lowered his arms, not wanting to risk another attack before relaxing again. Damn Jay's silly moods…

-

The whole rest of that week was full of little pokes, squeezes and zaps from the blue ninja. Whenever anyone even thought of letting their guard down, he'd be there, disappearing the moment they tried to retaliate or catch him.

Most of the team just ignored it, used to his silly behavior. Sure, it was a little annoying sometimes, but it was all in good fun. Everyone was fine with that.

Everyone except Cole.

While he loves his friend's quirks, the constant tickling was getting on his nerves. The guy wore tank-tops daily; it wasn't exactly hard for Jay to get him.

But he had a plan. One that would surely keep Jay off his back, or at least for a little while. So, sitting on the couch and sprawling out, he waited for the inevitable pokes that would seal his fellow ninja's fate.

-

Jay snickered as he saw his rocky friend, sprawled out and relaxing on the couch. It was too easy! He should have been suspicious, but the brain goblins were overpowering his rationality with mischief.

Creeping over to the couch, he sent small sparks to his fingers. Just a little closer…wait is he smili-

“GOTCHA!”

Before Jay could even think to run, Cole shot his hands upward, latching onto the sparky boy’s wrists and flipping him over the couch. Cole was careful not to hurt him, though the shriek Jay let out surely did some hearing damage. 

He was pinned in seconds, stuck lying on his stomach with a rather intimidating man on his waist. Whatever his friend was gonna do, he literally couldn't see it coming.

Anticipatory giggles bubbled past Jay's lips, his eyes wide and giddy-looking. “C-Cole, wait! Lehet's talk about thihihis!”

Cracking his neck, Cole smirked down at his fellow ninja. “Neh, I'm good. Actions have consequences, Jay..”

Without another word, Cole dug into the sparky boy's sides, squeezing the sensitive skin. He was done with Jay's shit; it was payback time.

“Nohohoho! Cohome on, thihihis ihis mehehean!” The brat tried to wriggle out of the hold, but Cole's hands were just out of reach. The position he was in was evil: Who pins people on their stomach?!

“You know what's mean? Poking your friends when they're trying to get stuff done. I'd say you deserve this, wouldn’t you?” He smirked, scritching little lightning bolts on his sides. It was silly, sure, but he kinda asked for it.

Jay kicked his feet behind Cole, trying anything to make things tickle less. It was a fruitless effort, though: he was stuck. 

“Plehehease! Ihit’s nohohot fahair!” His giggling sounded whiny, like a child throwing a tantrum.

Cole scoffed and rolled his eyes. He wants to see unfair? Cole’ll show him unfair…

Snickering, he moved up to the zappy boy’s ribs, digging in and wiggling his fingers between each bone. That should kill him.

“C-Cohohole! Grk- NOHOhohot thehere! I'M SOHAHARRY! NYAHAHAHA!” Jay lost it when Cole dug into his ribs, loud belly laughter quickly replacing his giggles. Little snorts and squeaks flowed with the laughter, only adding to the mild chaos.

“Hmhmph. Sparky brat…” Cole just chuckled smugly, continuing to torment his fellow ninja. Besides the payback, his cute reactions were well worth it.

Thrashing wildly, Jay laughed his ass off, the tickling on his worst spot driving him insane. “P-PLEHEASE! COHOHOLE! I CAHAHAN’T-” He patted his hand, palm flat against the floor. 

The moment Cole saw the tapping-out, he knew it was time to quit. Pulling his hands away, he climbed off Jay. The giggly boy immediately curled up in a ball, tickle-drunk and giddy. 

“You alive, sparky?” Cole asked while rubbing Jay's back, trying to calm him down. There was an air of humor in his tone, but he was trying to be nice.

Jay tried to catch his breath, his cheeks flush and his nerves buzzing. “F-fuhuck youhuhu…”

“Alright, alright. I'm done being mean.” Snorting, Cole pulled his friend up into a hug. It was clear he enjoyed the short bout of being tickled, the agitation just a facade.“Next time, try just asking for what you want, okay? I'd be happy to help~”

Blushing heavily, Jay whined, though he did relax into the hug. It was warm, nice, and calming after all the laughter. Muttering something under his breath, Jay leaned his head against Cole's chest. If he wanted to be mean, the rocky boy was gonna be a pillow.

Cole lifted him up with a huff, carrying the lightning ninja to their beds. He laid him down, cuddling up next to him and pulling a blanket over them both. It wasn't a rare sight: the ninja saw some things on missions, and physical contact helped keep them calm.

It was ten o’clock: not the latest for them, but good enough to doze off. Cole closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of his fellow ninja and the happy air in the room. Yeah, he could get used to Jay's goofy moods…

[vhstown]

spider-teens ★ D&D HEADCANONS

— hobie, gwen, miles, pavitr (+ peter b & mayday!)

warnings: d&d jargon (there's definitions at the end if you're curious), shenanigans, miles being a NERDDD, a lil shorter than usual

a/n: how id imagine these lot playing d&d!!! ive only played / ran 5e so forgive me veteran players 😭 again feel free to add / disagree w me it's all in good fun

If MILES doesn't run the game, he plays a warlock for sure. Not because it fits him personality wise but because he wants to be a magic user but also not be held back by it. My man is thinking STRATEGY and takes every opportunity to geek out about the specifics of his abilities. He also definitely has a ridiculously fleshed-out backstory he's kind of too embarrassed to tell anyone about.

Either warlock or the nerd multi-classes and it confuses the hell out of EVERYONE... I feel like he tries a lot of the classes though so warlock is kind of a starting point when he's playing with his spider friends (he defo played fighter or sorcerer in the past)

Miles is the one who gets everyone together though (and jumps through universes to make sure everyone's on time 😭 he will NOT tolerate scheduling issues)

Peter B runs a lot of their games except he used to play 3e or Pathfinder back in the day (nerd...) so Miles is just like... gritting his teeth a little whenever Peter misses a little detail or a skill check. He probably used to play in high school / college I mean come on...

Speaking of Peter B OF COURSE he lets Mayday roll the dice. The entire party could depend on that roll and she's rolling it and everyone is TENSE (And he tries not to let her eat the dice... Tries.)

HOBIE plays a barbarian or rogue. He'd play a barbarian just for the hell of it (sounds cool) and would most definitely carry everyone by total accident because he's like... the only one alive.

Rogue also for the hell of it cause stealing is rebellious and that 😭 Though if he does play a rogue his character becomes one of the most unintentionally complex characters in the game.

Hobie would figure out the entire plot of the adventure completely by accident and Peter just laughs awkwardly and goes "You'll just have to find out next session!" and maybe dies inside (but it's not like he prepares for his sessions anyway 💀)

Absolutely crits at the most ridiculous times and derails the whole campaign because he decided to interrogate a minor political figure and now they're destabilising the region's government instead of fighting dragons

And he accidentally becomes the leader of like the whole village and maybe starts a revolution and Peter is sat there lips pressed together hands pressed together elbows on table like "...I guess that happens then."

Might cheat a little bit. Just a little. Not enough to ruin the campaign but enough to have Peter sweating 💀 A lil strand of web under his dice hurt nobody right? (Those goblins are DEAD dead)

Miles is gob-smacked and definitely a little jealous of him 😭

PAVITR originally wants to play a fighter because that sounds... cool as hell BUT when Miles explains the bard class to him he takes it and runs

I'd say Pavitr is relatively new to the game as are Hobie and Gwen but he hones in on the roleplay (not as seriously as Miles but definitely participates)

Probably leads the group and goes head-first into danger (Miles is literally pissing himself) and his character probably knows loads of languages cause he just conveniently picked a race with very useful languages for the adventure (as per Miles' suggestion)

But he goes out-of-character more than once to go "WTF????" when he doesn't manage to rizz up an NPC and they're have to roll for initiative (attempts to be a pacifist)

The goat when it comes to fights though he plays such a good supporting character and if he were to die everyone would totally be finished 😭🙏

GWEN plays either a monk or a wizard. I feel like she doesn't particularly mind but she plays wizard for a little bit before realising that she doesn't really like the magic stuff? Goes for monk and it's a lot simpler and more fun

More of an observer but is helpful when it comes to investigating areas and carries like EVERY item possible: potions, magical items, 20 rocks for some reason. Bag of holding girlie (like how she holds that trauma she has in real li—)

Has THE coolest weapons. Because her character can't rely on magic she's constantly upgrading or getting new weapons and her unique monk abilities come in handy again when exploring!!!

Totally makes fun of Miles (endearingly!) And maybe points out a plot hole in his backstory and he wants to curl up into a ball and disappear for a good minute (he rethinks his entire character for 2 nights straight)

Has an NPC she would protect with her LIFE. Barmaid at the inn? Anything for you sweetums 😁😁😁 *trips over and dies*

That's all given if they have an actually functional game... It takes them probably about like a year to finish a one-shot adventure

But it is SO worth the memories (albeit very chaotic memories.) Even when they're arguing over a roll (usually Hobie's) or someone's character has literally died they make it work through the power of friendship...! And a broken table

These guys are crazy I love them

"Embrace the chaos is the mood for tonight's session. AKA you guys are screwed... Roll initiative."

"What the hell?!"

"Don't swear in front of the kid!"

Jargon!

Campaign: A world containing one set of characters where different adventures take place

Dungeon Master / DM: The person who creates the story and runs the game

Skill check: Rolling a die to see if you've passed or failed a certain skill when performing an action (for example charisma when trying to persuade somebody)

Crit: Critical hit. When you roll a 20 on a 20-sided die. You deal loads of damage in a fight basically.

NPC: Non-playable character. Any characters who aren't the players within the universe. Controlled by the DM.

Initiative: The roll you have to make before a fight to decide the order of turns. "Roll initiative" means "you guys are in a fight now!!!! lmao!!!!"

🕸️🕷️💫

thank you for reading my insane midnight rant LMAOOO

i haven't played d&d in like 2 years so apologies if anything is diabolically wrong here 💀would love to hear your thoughts!

reblogs appreciated <3 read the rest of my atsv stuff here!

[abbofff]

Percy slayed! (our algebra teacher)

masterlist

In the present, it's been 2 years and 2 schools since I met Percy. You see, we are not bad kids. The thing is, we always seem to get into misunderstandings and end up getting expelled. We were the only ones who really understood and trusted each other through all of that, and our mothers never thought we were a bad influence on each other. In the contrary, we made each other better. Percy made me stop paying attention to the bullies. Meanwhile, I helped Percy get out of many problems through my words. We became so close that I considered him my brother. I would do anything for him, and I know he would do the same for me.

At this time, we were on a school trip to the museum with Grover, a friend we made in Yancy. I really liked Grover, he was very funny and kind and thanks to him we learned to play mythomagic and a lot of Greek myths. Thanks to him, it's not just me and Percy anymore. But, as always, no matter how hard we tried to mind our business, there were always people who picked on us.

Grover, Percy and me were looking at the statues of Perseus, son of Zeus (like more than half of the statues there), while Professor Brunner told our class to pick a statue and write how it made us feel. Grover and I separated from Percy to look for a statue that caught our attention.

I stumbled with one of the statues of Zeus, the most famous all-powerful royal scumbag. I mean, how else could I describe the guy? He cheated on Hera literally countless of times, putting a target on the back his lovers and his kids for the goddess of marriage to strike when she found out they existed. All while ruling the Gods and the sky with extreme arrogance. But before I could get to write something on the clipboard, I heard Percy's voice.

- Mom? - He shouted, and everyone laughed.

- Yes, sweety, mommy's here. - That annoying red-headed demon spoke, Nancy Bobofit. That girl had it out for me and my friends since the beginning of the year, and she hadn't knock it out till this day.

- Percy Jackson, control yourself - said Miss Dodds. That old lady really loves taking Percy and me to the principal's office.

- He can't help it, Miss Dodds. Percy is special. - The blonde boy's shoulders fell as he sighed.

-Enough! - Professor Brunner ordered, of all the teachers, he was the only one who cared about his students, especially about Percy and me. He always said that something big was waiting for us.

I took advantage of the fact that Professor Brunner was busy talking to Percy, and I approached Nancy. Grover told me a bunch of times already to stay away from her to not get into any more trouble, but it wasn't like I was going to punch her, at least not in front of everyone.

- Oh my God, I finally found you! Now, tell me, little goblin, where's that pot of golden coins, huh? - I whispered to her. She looked at me with a harsh stare.

- Listen, you freak, get lost before I push you from the stairs.- She rolled her eyes on annoyance and walked away. I smiled, I hated injustices, so now at least the next time she picks on me, she'll be justified. Why be the bigger person if I can be the bigger pain in the ass?

After Percy was done talking with our professor, I walked to his side.

- Can you believe Nancy? - He asked.

- No, I can't believe she beat me on the joke - I smirked to him.

- Oh, shut up - He smiled back.

Then, Mr Brunner shouted again.

- Children, it's lunch time! Let's go outside now.

After a few minutes, me and the boys were sitting by the fountain about to eat our sandwiches.

- There are all sorts of schools of thought about what drives that kind of bullying. Childhood trauma, feelings of inadequacy... - Grover stated.

He was always so kind, but I didn't understand why he was trying to justify that bitch. She does have anger in her, but she wasn't justified of constantly picking on good people. She could be mean to me all she wanted, but Grover and Percy had done nothing to her.

-Look, I get that Nancy has issues, I'm just getting tired of her taking out on me - My brother said. - I feel like... maybe it's time to do something about it -

-You could do an appointment to see Mr Kane. He's really good at talking-- Oh my dear friend I though.

-I was thinking more like shoving Nancy in the nearest dumpster- Percy said with a little smile.

-Oh. No no no no no no noo- Grover was shocked.

-Yeah, Grover is right, bro. If you punch her it will be really bad, but if I was the one to grab her by the hair, then it wouldn't be so bad. - I proposed.

Grover was about to have a heart attack.

-Listen, if there is one thing I know about bullies, it is that you should never stand up to them. -

- That's bullshit. She made me watch as she threw my new cherry lip balm down the toilet the other day, it would only be reasonable if I were to put gum in that pile of straw she calls hair. - I always tried to be patient because for Grover and Percy, but Nancy really had a talent for being despicable.

- I know this place is hard for people like us, okay? But there are better places, somewhere where we will finally fit in. We just have to be patient and keep moving forward. - My dark haired friend always knew how to give a motivational speech. It was a nice thought, and for a moment, I let myself think that in the end, he would be right.

That until a piece of cheese was thrown into his face.

- Oops. - Nancy said with a smirk. Uh, I'm gonna kill her.

Percy and I got up quickly, and before I could even think Nancy was on the fountain screaming to Miss Dodds.

And when I tell you my brain stopped, I tell you I thought it was a fucking glitch in the matrix. I was sure I didn't push the bitch, nor did Percy. He just made, like, the gesture, but he wasn't even that close to her. It seemed like the water had grabbed her?? Did she just jumped into the fountain?

- MISS DODDS, PERCY PUSHED ME. - Oh fuck no.

- What?! Stop being a liar. Nobody even touched her, she's doing it for the attention don't you see? How does evebody just can't see it? - I looked at Miss Dodds in the eyes, I was done with being pushed around.

- Miss Williams, this amount of disrespect won't be tolerated. Mr. Jackson and you will accompany me inside, we will talk about your punishment in private. - Well, there goes the 5th school I've been in.

As we followed Miss Dodds, I looked back to see Grover chatting frantically with Mr. Brunner while waving his arms, the professor opened his eyes and looked at us. I gave him a smile, he was the best teacher I had ever had and I had given him another reason to give up on me.

Miss Dodds took us to the back of the museum. There were only pictures with writing in what seemed like english, which was quite odd since it must have been in ancient greek.

The teacher stopped her walking in front of a statue of Hades.

- You filthy halfbloods really thought that you could remain hidden for this long. - Miss Dodds spoke, but it wasn't her normal voice. It was a cold and dangerous one.

I could feel my entire body vibranting in anticipation. I saw Percy carefully put his hand in his pocket.

She turned around, she was covered in scales and her feet had changed into bat-like legs that matched the wings that were beginning to grow from her back.

- You have nowhere to run and that little necklace of yours can't protect you no longer. Now, where is it? -

What? My necklace? It was just a metal chain with a peacock tail pendant. I have worn it for as long as I can remember and I had never taken it out because mom said I would surely lose it if i did.

I didn't have time to think until she lunged at Percy. He blocked her claws with a sword that appeared out of nowhere, but from the force of the blow, he fell backwards. I grabbed a vase and threw it at Miss Dodds, it didn't hurt her in any way but it made her notice me. She tried to swipe at me with her claws but I rolled to the right to avoid it.

Now on my feet, Percy was at my side tightly gripping his sword. Miss Dodds lunged toward us again with a giant leap with her wings spread wide. I instinctively gave an exaggerated clap with my hands that sent Miss Dodds flying to the other side of the room. She quickly stood up and looked at me.

-Betrayal runs through your blood. Did you think we wouldn't come for you? My patience is running out. Tell me where it is and I'll be quick. -

She was faster this time. Her claws scratched my Yancy sweatshirt as I dodged her and before she attacked me again, Percy impaled her with his sword. Miss Dodds was now scattered into the air as she disintegrated into dust.

I could feel the evil coming from her in the air and I don't know how I knew, but I knew she would return.

And that was the last thing that went trought my mind before everything went black.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Grover sweating with his eyes wide.

- OH MY GO-- Grover screamed.

- Grover? Where's Percy? - I was on the floor at the bottom of some stairs.

- Don't worry, he's ok. He woke up a minute ago, he's talking with Mr Brunner. You two seriously hit your heads really hard. He's talking about a Miss Dodds attacking you. -

- What? But --

- Yeah, I know. But don't worry, he'll snap out of it with time. Come on, let's get you up. - Grover offered me his hand and I took it.

I remembered being attacked by... that thing. I knew Miss Dodds was a harpy but that's not what I meant. And Percy had seen it too? It couldn't be possible.

I looked down to my sweatshirt, and it was completely fine. That monster wasn't real.

Okay, yeah, we daydreamed most of the time but that was just ADHD. Did we also have group hallucinations now? No, it couldn't be possible.

Everything will be fine. I'll just tell Percy that he hit his head. I'll get this pushed so deep that it'll never be mentioned again. Everything will be forgotten. I will not let him be sent to a shrink.

The ride back to Yancy was full of whispers. Some of the kids turned to look at Percy and then continue their silent conversations. He was looking at his feet like if they were the most interesting thing in the world.

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

- Don't worry, I got you. Nothing bad will happen as long we stick together. - I said in a soft whisper. I know he may not believe it now, but I will try everything to make sure my words are true.

He still didn't looked at me, but his breathing became softer.

I looked to my right to see Grover. He was deep in thought and looked worried. So I grabbed his hand too. He gave me a weak smile but there was something on his eyes still, guilt maybe. I will speak to him after.

When the buss finnaly stopped, the boys and I went straight to the principal's office.

- Percy Jackson, you have been accused of pushing Miss Bobofit into the fountain. - Percy shrank in his chair.

- And you, Miss Williams, yelled at a teacher, again. - The director sighed.

- Sir, I didn't pushed Nancy. You could ask anyone, everybody knows she loves getting me on trouble. - Percy stated.

- He's right, Mister. Please, let us tell you our side of the story. - I asked.

- No need, we already have a witness. - The director said, and then looked at Grover.

My friend stopped looking at the floor and looked at the director in the eyes.

- Yeah, they did it. Percy pushed Nancy and then Ada tried to protect him with lies, like always. - Grover did not stutter once.

Percy looked at him with a frown and I just went blank. Grover was a great friend, he understood and accepted us. Or at least so I thought.

- It's really a shame to have to do this one day before the end of the school year, but your actions cannot be overlooked. Mr Jackson, Miss Williams, you are expelled from this institution. -

I knew these speeches, but it still hurt. I really thought we could make it to seventh grade without causing trouble.

A few hours later, I had my backpack ready with the few things I had hanging on my back while I was walking to the exit.

- Ada! - I heard an old voice calling my name behind me.

- Mr Brunner, hi. - I gave him a smile while I walk back closer to him.

- I suppose you have heard the news already. - I said shyly.

I was embarrassed. Not for defending Percy, but for ruining all the teacher's attempts to try to make me my best version. I don't know if I could ever be it, but now he couldn't be there to see it.

- That I've had. But that's not the reason I wanted to talk to you. Let me walk you to the exit. -

- During all my years teaching, I have come to witness cases similar to yours. Children born to lead, cunning, very intelligent, who did not tolerate injustice or no for an answer. - He said with his voice strong as always.

-Sir, I think you're making me sound like a brat. - I laughed. He smiled at me.

- But none of them had what you have rooted in your heart. - I stopped walking.

I looked at him in confusion.

- And what is that? -

- Devotion - He ended, with a stern look on his face.

- What many others deemed a weakness, you have made it your ultimate strength to push forward against all odds. A quality of a true hero. - He gave me a warm smile.

- You flatter me, professor. But I don't think I'm that strong. I have anger and doubts on me. But I promise you, I'm trying to not to be like this. I don't wanna be mean. I just wanna be kind. - I really tried to convince him, and myself too, that some day I might be able to find peace.

- You have not been given a great deck of cards, that's for sure. But you are as strong as you love. Do not fret the storm, child. It's but a part of you. - He smiled at me again. He sounded so sure, like If he had seen my fate written in the stars.

I was on the verge of tears. Only two adults apart from Mr Brunner were capable of see me as anything other than a difficult child. And they were Sally Jackson and my mom.

- Thank you for your words and everything you've done, Professor. I'll remember it all. Goodbye. - I promised.

- Until we meet again, Adara. - He looked at me like if he knew something I didn't yet.

I left Mr Brunner behind as I exited the school. I waited for my taxi to go home outside. Then, I felt someone walk behind me.

- Sorry, I really tried to be the best version of myself and all that but--

- Percy, do you know what makes me angry? - I interrupted. Percy looked at me with his head down.

- Not having had the opportunity to smack her too. She totally deserved it. - I said laughing. Percy chuckled.

- This is unfair. I know how hard this must be for you. - He was right of course, he knew me to the bone. Anger flooded me more and more every time I thought about everything, and the gray rumbling sky seemed to agree with me.

- But dont worry, sis. When I get home, I'm gonna make a bunch of blue pancakes for you, go to your place and then we can look up new schools together. - He proposed.

- With blueberries? - I asked with puppy eyes.

- Those are actually purple, you madwomen, you'll ruin the whole aesthetic. But sure, anything for you little sis. - He said before bumping me on the shoulder.

- You are older for a month, old man. -

At that moment, the taxi arrived and we were finally headed home.

[vctrvn-ls]

hii i love ur writing sm 🫶🏻🫶🏻 i was just wondering if u could do dating aj headcanons

Dating AJ•|HeadCanons|

he’d be a menace to you in his YouTube videos and you’d have no choice but to send the most outrageous violations back at him making the comments like: “I give it 2 months” , “they’re gonna end eachother” , “who let them date?”.

every single one of his “shut up”s would have an “I love you” inside it

he’d keep telling everyone that “he hates it when people touch him” to which you’d always laugh because you know that at home there’s barely a second when he’s away from you.

he’d do the randomest things that even you wouldn’t understand. like imagine wearing a tight dress and showing it off to AJ, only for him to call you “Hot” but then adding a “no homo though” at the end. leaving you flabbergasted but laughing.

you’d always and I mean always fight each other for the blanket. before, during, after sleep, it don’t matter your always scrapping about it.

speaking of bed, Aj is the type of guy who’d think out loud and he would wholeheartedly trust you. Like you’d just be trying to sleep and he’d start voicing his 3am thoughts and asking weird questions and the only way you’d be able to shut him up is by flinging a pillow at his face.

also you’d fall asleep in cute positions like in each others embrace or one of you spooning the other, but during the night you’d kick and whack each other on the face because you’re both pushing one another.

whenever you reach over him to grab something he’d bite your arm.

you’d always always always want to touch his hair and most of the time he’d let you as long as you gave him head scratches later.

he’d make jokes or say something funny while you’re driving and it’d be so funny you’d have to literally slow the car down.

he’d have the dumbest puns and pick up lines and he would always use them no matter what you look like and where you are. “If you were a vegetable you’d be a cute-cumber” , “Are you from Tennessee? Because you’re the only ten I see” , “Do you work at Starbucks? Because I love you a latte”.

your wear each others clothes and it wouldn’t even look weird because his sizes don’t even look that big on you and he likes your style so if one of your shirts looks good on him you best believe he will be taking it.

when he’s tired after a long day of shooting he’d be the absolute sweetest and he’d want to just cling onto you while you’re in bed scrolling on your phone.

he’d also have these random waves of affection where he’d like get you food, buy you something or take you out for dinner or shopping. And after a while you start to notice and you’d make fun of him for being a sweetie and being nice, to which he’d respond with “shut up”. And yes it would be that exact “shut up” that I mentioned earlier.

you’d always have play-fights where you both piss eachother off over nothing but when you actually end up in a conflict you both wouldn’t know what to do because usually it’s always jokes.

most of your fights would start because you’re both exhausted after a long day and as soon as you both go to bed he’d wiggle over to you for an apology hug and you’d fall asleep in each others arms.

sometimes AJ would get jealous of you working with other guys and just generally he’d want to be more protective, but you know him so well that you’d instantly see his jealousy and you would tease him about it until he’s done being a little green goblin because you both know that in reality you wouldn’t trade him for the world.

[bloodibambiidoll]

True form

(Steddie x Succubus!Reader)

Summary: You’re nervous to show your human boyfriends your true succubus form. But you learn pretty quickly you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Warnings: Nudity, sexual themes, some neck kissing, monster/human relationships. Nothing too crazy but if I missed any let me know!! Either way my blog is as always 18+MNDI

A/N: This is just a little Drabble about the characters from my fic The Pull, when I originally wrote that story I was a bit nervous to make her look as inhuman as I wanted to so I’ve been working on this blurb for a bit about her showing them her most true form. Just a cute lil slice of life moment. Wk: 896

“Hold up… so you’re telling me… you’ve been hiding something THAT sexy from us the entire time!?” Your boyfriend Eddie shoots up from where he was lounging on the couch to face you and you snort at his antics.

“I mean… I didn’t know how you would feel about it. There’s definitely been people who were into it but mostly I don’t really show that part of myself, I wasn’t hiding it exactly… I just didn’t mention it.”

“You really thought Eddie wouldn’t be into you having a full on demon thing going on? I thought you were getting to know us baby, but maybe I was wrong.” Your other boyfriend, Steve, who is sitting on the opposite end of the couch teases.

“It’s not that! It definitely crossed my mind because he’s a freak-“

“Hey! I take offense to that, you know!” Eddie huffed.

“You know I mean it in the best way baby…” you bit your lip and winked at him. “But what I was saying is… I’m self conscious about it and I didn’t know how YOU would feel about it Stevie so I just kind of kept it to myself.”

“Sweetheart, I think you’re the hottest fucking thing to ever walk this earth and nothing can change that, not even some horns and a tail.”

“AND wings…” you responded, still self conscious.

“I’ll still love you, WINGS and all. Also did you forget our boyfriend is a literal goblin?”

That made you snort out a laugh. Something you’ve learned about Steve is he always knew what to say to reassure you no matter how big or how small your anxieties were he was always able to comfort you through them with ease. Not that Eddie didn’t, he just had a very different approach, more of a “I’ll roll you a joint and you can smoke it while I give you head” kind of comfort. Which was great too, but sometimes you just needed Steve’s calm voice and soft touches.

“Okay then… I’ll show you.” You stood up and stripped yourself, before closing your eyes and taking a deep breath. On your exhale three things happened, little black horns started growing out of the top of your head, the cutest little pointed black tail popped up behind you, and pretty little black wings that reminded Eddie of the bats he had tattooed on his arm grew from your back.

“Holy fuuuuuckkk” Eddie groaned. “You’ve been hiding this from me? God damn baby you look so sexy.” He shifted in his seat, adjusting himself. You could sense his arousal and it not only reassured you but made your mouth water.

“There’s… one more thing. If you want.” You bit your lip in looked into his eyes, yours now that pretty crimson color that almost seemed to glow. When you smiled at him expectantly he could see your fangs and he couldn’t imagine how it could get better than this.

But before he could respond Steve spoke up “There’s more? How could you get any sexier than you are right now? Because shit honey… I never thought I’d be as into this as I am but you’re killing me.”

Your pupils dilate instantly when you look over at him. His beautiful brown eyes blown wide, his prominent bulge in his tight jeans, his jaw clenched. You wanted to fucking sink your teeth into his neck and taste his blood. You’ve yet to do that, or even tell them that’s something you want, but god you know they’d taste so good.

“Okay Stevie, I’ll show you.” You took a deep breath and when you released it just like before you had changed. Your skin was now the same shade of red as your eyes, your wings outstretched proudly on your back, your tail slightly moving from side to side, that sexy little mark on your lower stomach, and those beautiful black horns sitting so pretty on your head. You were magnificent, otherworldly.

“Fucking shit, come here.” Eddie outstretched his hand for you to take as you approached him. “You are by far the most magnificent thing I’ve ever seen. My little infernal princess.” He kissed the back of your hand, his lips plush and soft against your burning skin.

Steve reached for your other hand to gain your attention and fuck did he look good. His hair was a little disheveled from running his hand through it and the look in his eyes was fucking feral.

“I can’t believe you thought I wouldn’t like this… Eddie’s right, you’re magnificent, ethereal even.” He kissed each individual one of your fingertips, bringing his lips to your palm and down your arm before pulling you down on the couch between him and your shared boyfriend, careful not to crush your wings or tail. Eddie rests his hand on your bare thigh, leaning his head down to kiss along your neck, collar bones, and shoulder. Steve does the same on the opposite side of you, both their hands inching closer to where you wanted them, their mouths moving down your chest. You had never felt more beautiful, content, and full of love. You wanted to bask in this feeling for the rest of your long life. You knew you couldn’t, but for right now you allowed your heart to feel full and just enjoy this moment with your boys, allowing them to worship you. Every part of you.

[thefatedthoughtofyou]

Say Cheese!

Gator Tillman x Kirby Rivers x Win Lewis

♤ Summary: Just some headcanons about this little trio and the things they get up to with Kirby's old Polaroid camera.

♤ Warning: Gator x oc x oc, ot3 oc pairing, trans oc, Kirby uses he/him pronouns, masturbation, mentions of sex, poly relationship.

♤ A/N: heyooooo @jozstankovich lookkyy hereeee! (I may or may not have added some stuff at the end! Thanks to your idea about the risqué pics from Win!!! Hehehe!) Enjoy! Oh and! @thecreelhouse i hope it's okay to tag you too!

Okay so basically, i feel like they would all have like, certain feelings about having their pictures taken. And like most people it's either serious and chill or goofy and silly.

Like Gator 100% takes those douchy lookin pics, especially selfies. But if Kirby or Win catch him right and just go "say cheese" he will legit take the prettiest pictures with his genuine pretty smile. Because no matter how he acts sometimes that boy is so beautiful and photogenic.

And Win either poses all cute, and sweet and looks like an angel. Or they get her looking like a feral little goblin doing some silly shit. There literally is no in-between and her boys love it that way.

And Kirby. Sweet sweet Kirby. Has three settings. He either cheeses it up nice and good. Smiles all dorky and weird. Or he has no fucking smile at all. Sometimes because he's being silly, sometimes because he wants to rip the camera or phone out of the person's hand and just trash it.

Cuz he's got issues with self image still and sometimes he hates having his picture taken. But when he's goofin the serious bits, the others love it!!

And then the third setting he has, is them catching him laughing and just his genuine bright smile. And he tends to cover it a lot because he's sensitive about his little crooked teeth but some days they catch him at just the right moment and they capture that bright ass smile just right and they both just fucking swoon.

And Win and Kirby are the ones that probably start collecting the pictures. Cuz Win finds Kirby's old Polaroid camera and starts takin pics and he pins them up on the fridge. But then it's covered. So he starts pinning them to his bulletin board. And then THAT gets full. So he starts just putting them on his wall in his bedroom and lets Win and Gator add to it and do whatever they want.

And eventually the whole wall is full of just happy silly stupid moments they've had. And they all love looking at it and adding to it and sometimes taking things down when they need more room for new things.

Gator sneaks a lot of pictues down. Takes them home and hides them under his bed in a shoebox before he gets away from Roy. To have some nice things at his house.

There's a whole little section of Win and her cooking mishaps. And a section of Kirby out working on cars because Win's thirst for him when he's out there is insatiable, and she's dragged Gator into it now too, so it's getting out of hand.

And Kirby loves taking pictures of the other two sleeping. Especially Gator. But he adores Win so much that he loves taking pics of her when she's doing anything and not paying attention to him. There's lots of her reading, or working on her music. Cuz she gets a little crease between her eyebrows and sticks her tongue out in concentration and he LOVES it.

There's tons of Gator sleeping cuz he looks soft, and happy, and relaxed when he's with Kirby and Win so Kirby just... keeps taking pictues of it.

So Kirby's house, and probably Win's as well, i imagine it bleeding out of Kirby's house out into the other's. Win's more so at first. But once Gator gets his own place he has a wall of his own. Some of his are more risqué pics of them all. But he has literally no shame and Win and Kirby fucking love him for it.

Just... all three of them having walls covered in the others and their love. 🧡

And Win 100% would send more risqué pics when she knows the others are busy. Just to get them all flustered on purpose. It would be so much worse for Gator though. Cuz his job is actually around others. Kirby literally works from home. And the amount of times he sends back,

"I understand your intentions but if you think I don't receive these and just straight up go inside and rub one out, you're out of your tiny little mind. I am immune to your childish antics!!! Mwahahahhaha!"

Meanwhile Gator is at work in his cruiser squirming and flustered and bothered and they're talking in the group chat so he saw Kirby's answer too and it's NOT HELPING!!!

So Gator sneaks off, either hides in the bathroom at work and jerks off, whining into his arm, biting into his bicep when he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket cuz he knows they're bothing commenting on how they know exactly what he's doing.

Sometimes he sneaks off in his prowler and drives way way out into the middle of nowhere and does it there instead. So he can be as loud as he wants. Sometimes Win and Kirby call him and just listen to him fall apart on the phone. Encouraging him and telling him how good he's doing.

Kirby 100% is also touching himself, but Win only can if she's not around people at work. So she sneaks off sometimes too, into the bathroom, and shoves her hand down her pants and whines into her arm too. But sometimes she can't and her plan totally fucking backfires and she ends up all hot and needy.

But it's okay cuz she knows Kirby and Gator will take good care of her when she gets home. And they do. Multiple times. Kirby always so smug like,

"You see what happens when you play games? You get horny. And Gator gets horny. And I'm the only one who can get off without incident." He says all this while snuggling into her naked back of course. And Gator snorts and is like,

"Without incident. Like we don't know you've fallen in the fucking shower getting off and nearly given yourself a concussion." He's shaking his head but he reaches over, across Win where she's pulled against his chest, and grabs at Kirby's waist, making him squirm. Kirby bites at his arm and is like,

"Worth it." And cuddles even closer, pressing kisses to Win's shoulder before gently sinking his teeth in, making her squirm. And she reaches behind her, wraps her arm around Kirby as best she can to pull him closer til he's grinding his hips against her, hums into Gator's chest and says,

"Totally worth it." All dreamy and cute as they fall alseep all tangled together.

[saltyowlet]

BG3FICFEB DAY 1: What was Tav/Durge doing when they were abducted?

Summary: Olive doesn't like asking for help, but maybe after almost killing a certain elf of the night in his sleep, it's kinda time to get some answers. Begrudgingly

Pairing: Astarion x Fem!Durge (named) 

Word count: 2879

Ao3 Link: [x]

Tags: Canon typical mention of gore, Durge Quest Spoilers, Act 1 and 2 spoilers

Halsin didn't know whether to politely ignore Olive or to call her out. On one hand, Olive looked distressed, pacing back and forth in the middle of camp, her hands ruffling her hair. He could hear her grumble to herself, a habit of hers Halsin figured out very early on in their journey together.

The druid had once asked the other camp members about it, whether he should come help her in her frustration. Most of them casually told him to just let their leader tire herself out. Olive may give herself grief every now and again but given time, the tiefling knew how to solve her problems. Halsin wondered if that's why she was made leader. Despite the insistence that she wasn't or rather she never wanted to be, Halsin could see how well Olive handled the dire situations they were in and made calls, even if tough, that benefited the team.

Although goblins were not the most organized group, a horde of them was enough to upturn a whole village overnight. Even now, Halsin still couldn't believe such a small tiefling made an escape plan for him, strategize an attack on the whole goblin camp, and save the Grove all with just a handful of companions. Even more incredulous, all Olive had to say was it was mere coincidence that her goals aligned with saving the Grove but Halsin knew better. He had seen the softness in her eyes when she came back to the Grove, with tieflings giving her teary thank yous and blessings.

No sane person would jump into the maws of the Absolute cult by mere coincidence. No sane person would walk into a camp of goblins and decimate the camp with just barrels of wine and a flame. No sane person would break into a prison to save simple tieflings and gnomes. And no sane person would pace for a whole 2 hours, well longer than she ever paced herself. Olive’s stomping caught the attention of the whole camp, even Laezel seemed troubled when she would have wholeheartedly ignored Olive's reoccurring self conflict. Halsin gave a quick look at Astarion, usually the cause of Olive’s ire for better or worse. All the vampire responded with was an offended look at the druid’s gall to blame him.

Taking one for the team, Halsin strolled up to Olive, who didn’t take notice of him until he called her name 5 times and managed to put his hand on her shoulder.

“Huh wh- oh, hey Halsin, what is the matter? Do you need help with anything?” Halsin gave her a soft chuckle.

Olive always seemed so intuitive to everyone’s needs except her own. She read people like pages of a tome, observing small nuances to expressions, voices, body language. Sometimes, Olive's observational abilities unnerved those not familiar with her, especially how her fully black eyes made no indication of where she looked except straight at another. Halsin knew those eyes well enough now to know that they never look in scrutiny but mere curiosity. Right now, they looked at Halsin with warmth but hints of a distraction tugged them at the corners.

“No, I’m perfectly content, but I gather you do not feel the same?” Olive gave him a weird look, her head shifting away and her ears twitching nervously. Halsin could see she was ready to scurry off. Olive knew how to confront others on the good and the bad but heavens forbid she do the same for herself.

“What makes you say that?” Halsin’s eyes went from her tousled dark moss hair to down to the ground where a literal indent of where she had been pacing. Olive let out a nervous laugh, not making any eye contact with the druid.

“Oh yeah, uh a lot on my mind. Or rather the lack thereof,” Olive muttered.

Halsin recalled from Shadowheart's admittance of not being the only one who didn’t have any memories. Initially, Halsin thought that maybe the tadpole cause the memory loss, similar to how some of the infected gained or lost certain abilities. Yet, Olive’s demeanor, when discussing the topic, told all Halsin needed to know of the doubts in the theory. He had offered Olive to help, but with every instance, she pushed the notion down, stating that she didn’t want to bother him over something not as dire as what was already in her head.

However, as of late, Olive’s demeanor had gotten worse. Halsin could see the dark circles under her eyes and lack of attention to camp conversation. Astarion knew something, that much Halsin could tell. He had seen the pale elf give questionable, borderline tense, looks at Olive whenever she was lost in thought. During meal times, Olive would abruptly leave her food left barely touched much to Gale’s initial indignation. After a few moments of her absence, Astarion would walk off, claiming he needed something fresher with a sharp smile.

Halsin knew, the camp knew. Olive's absence troubled Astarion, well enough for him to blatantly show concern over Olive. Halsin had asked Astarion before but the pale elf would always tell Halsin that it wasn’t his business to know or Astarion’s to tell. If it weren’t the subject at hand, Halsin would have complimented him for his show of loyalty that Halsin admittedly didn’t think the elf had.

“Do you remember what I told you when I first stayed in this camp and you were worried about our journey to find your cure?” Olive gave him a questioning look. Halsin smiled, again Olive blind only to herself.

“I can be your eyes when you cannot see, your ears when you cannot hear, and your arms when you cannot hold any longer. If you need counsel, Olive, please do not hesitate. “ Olive opened her mouth to speak but held her tongue as shadows of thought brewed in her eyes. Halsin noticed her head shifted away to take a quick glance at Astarion who, despite looking as though lost in the book he held, was well aware of the conversation, indicated by the twitching of his pointed ears. His mouth clenched into a thin line, apprehensive and waiting. It amused Halsin, Astarion’s own affection for their leader, even if he wasn't so well aware of it himself.

Olive looked up at Halsin with a determined look, her black eyes right at Halsin’s. He wondered if this was what it would feel like to have a warm embrace from the abyss.

“Halsin, I need help…with my memories. I can’t remember anything. Not how I got on the nautiloid, how I got captured, who I was when I got captured. But I know it isn't good. I wasn't good,” Olive confessed as she bit her lower bit nervously. “You know I do not like having to come to others about this, but….stuff has happened where I think it's worse if I choose to ignore it. If you have something, anything, please let me know.”

Halsin nodded and put both hands on her shoulders, leaning down to look straight at her. Olive’s eyes looked back with uneasily attention.

“You've helped me with Thaniel, the Shadowcurse with no doubt, no hesitation. Let me do the same for you.”

~~~~~

“Um, why are we all here and uh- even better question, why did Astarion tie Olive up?” Karlach questioned, her heart illuminating the concern on her brow.

Bright stars filled the dimming sky tonight with barely a sound save for the rustling of the wind blown trees and the crackling of the blazing camp fire. Everyone sat circling around the hearth, called upon by Halsin who then passed tin mugs to each along the way.

“Man, don’t tell me it's some weird thing you guys have going on? Keep that in your tents, not my eyes!” Karlach whined. Olive let out an embarrassed shriek and a groan as she burrowed her face into her knees. Astarion had the gall to roar with laughter. Halsin shook his head, a smile on his lips but his eyes remained troubled.

“Olive requested I help with her memory loss. After some deliberation and study, I may have found a possible solution, but it involves some if not all of you. From what I remember you telling me, connecting each of your’s minds comes with memories and even emotions, is that correct?” Shadowheart was the first to speak.

“You want us to all connect to Olive’s mind and hopefully find some answers to her predicament.” Halsin nodded. He noticed some shifting from Laezel, not surprising considering how adamant she was towards using the tadpole. Olive gave them all a look they knew too well. A look Olive gave whenever a tough call had to be made, one that depended on their lives.

“This is only a request, not a demand. I do not have any right to even bring this issue to you all. If I were you, I wouldn’t take this risk, but Astarion-,” Olive glared at him, “-said it was best to let everyone know and have a chance at endangering yourselves.”

Astarion dramatically waved a hand in her direction, a toothsome smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Oh please darling, we both know you would have done the same for us, Miss Jump-from-a-10-meter-cliff-to-kill-some-goblins. Risking your life is what you do best, dear,” Astarion cooed.

Olive grumbled something along the lines of ‘it was only two times’ but didn’t say much else. Even if Astarion had joked about it, Olive’s habit of literally jumping into danger became a point of contention between the two, mostly because the times she had done so were on Astarion’s behalf, whenever he found himself surrounded. As much as he appreciated Olive’s loyalty, something he had been exploiting for, the carelessness to herself didn’t sit well with him.

Wyll looked at the mug Halsin handed to them. “So Halsin, I’m guessing this isn’t beer we are partaking in.” Halsin nodded grimly.

“It is a concoction I made, used to help with easing the mind, making things, well, easier to dig. A modified recipe from what drows use to break their victims during interrogation. And no, I will not explain that right now. Just know no harm shall befall you from drinking the brew,” Halsin replied as quickly as Wyll opened his mouth. “This is all voluntary. You do not have to participate but know that by drinking the brew, you are willing to search Olive’s memories. So volunteers?”

With barely a hint of hesitation, Karlach and Wyll down the drink as though it was a competition. Gale took a moment to sniff the drink, swirling the mug. His own hesitation wasn’t from the task at hand but from the aroma of the mug. Still, he downed it all, albeit with some complaints about the taste. Shadowheart took hesitant sips first but eventually drank it all, making no effort to hide the disgusted look on her face and a mention of wine.

Laezel gave much more pause, her face scrunched in contemplation. She took one look at Olive, who had turned away to look at the fire, but her shoulder’s weighed down heavily, clear that Olive wanted nothing more than to leave from here. She didn’t want to use her teammates to help her own problems but there was no way she could be free from the fog unless some action was taken. Laezel’s harden face soften just a small bit, remembering how much Olive had done in her stead, defending her against Shadowheart, provided an ear whenever Laezel had praised Vlaakith and now when Laezel damned Vlaakith. Laezel didn't make sacrifices unless it benefited her and her alone, but seeing how put down Olive was, maybe its time she put a leg out for someone else for a change. With a determined roar, Laezel downed the draft and tossed the mug to the grown. Halsin gave them all a smile, proud of everyone.

Gale took one look at Astarion and raised an eyebrow.

“Soooo... I’m guessing our pale friend here isn’t participating? I’m not sure if I’m shocked.” Astarion lazily sat down next to Olive, leaning back with one arm behind him, the other hand patting on Olive’s head, much to her annoyance. Olive's tried to push back his hand with her ram horns but Astarion kept his palm in place.

“Oh don’t worry about dear ol’ me, bookworm,” Astarion gave Gale a smile but the way his teeth glinted, it felt more like a threat at the accusation. “I have my own job to do. Let’s just say our friend here has a habit of biting so I intend to bite back if and/or when the time comes” Gale gave Olive a questionable look but she shook her head, eyes pleading that he didn’t ask further. Gale let out a breath and nodded.

Halsin clapped his hands together in attention. “Alright, now I want you all to focus on digging through Olive’s mind, should not be hard with the draft. Olive, I want you to relax your own, let it drift. If you feel something move in there, do not resist.” Olive gave Halsin a nod, a mix of emotions on her face but when Astarion’s own hand found hers, Olive felt a small inkling of hope.

As everyone closed their eyes and connected their tadpoles to Olive’s, they were surprised to find how easy it was. Olive’s mind was usually guarded, much more difficult to look through but this time, the tadpole connection felt softer. There were cracks and crevices that their minds slipped through like oil, no resistance to be found. Maybe it wasn’t just the brew, but rather Olive herself who seemed to finally give in to laying herself bare to them all. If it wasn’t for their vampire and his unique way of getting on her last straw, the team probably would not know as much as they did of their leader. It wasn’t that she didn’t care, that was obvious, but Olive’s stoicism left nothing for them to grasp.

From keeping her tent way far from the camp to not actively participating in conversations. Make no mistake, Olive talked and shared, but you had to push her to share, let her know that they wanted her to talk. She was guarded, for their sake, not hers. In different circumstances, this would have felt rewarding, Olive letting herself be vulnerable to them.

As they searched in her head, memories of their journey together began to appear. Killing goblins, setting up camp, partying with tieflings, shared laughter among themselves. They can feel the hesitation, the worry Olive had, but they could also feel the small sense of comfort which, unbeknownst to them, was thanks to Astarion. The vampire had let Olive’s head rest on his lap, hand on her head, every so often stroking her hair, very much like how she would for him on many nightly occasions. Olive could not make out what he whispered in her ear, but it was enough to ease her nerves and let herself melt into his rare warmth.

Digging deeper in Olive’s mind became sluggish, even with the concoction. They could tell it wasn’t Olive’s doing, but something else, something older, darker. The team finally reached the beginning of it all, when the nautiloid came to their plane of existence. They push beyond that, their minds scrounging around the memory for clues of their companion’s origins. Right as they reached what looked like the moment Olive entered the pod, their tadpoles started screeching in their heads, wriggling in defiance. Their minds tried to push, grab hold whatever secrets in the fog they could muster. Flashes of red, walls of mucus and flesh, screams of pain, which they realized were her own.

They felt the pain, the white hot pain in her head as it had been cut, stabbed, treated like rotten meat for a beast to play with. Nothing of hers was hers now, just flesh to experiment and play with. The terror and fear she felt were nothing compared to hatred and fury. She demanded to be set free, break her bonds and kill those who dared to put her here. She had slain so many in the years she had lived. How did she allow herself to become the same trash she loved to gorge on. No, she won’t let this be, they must suffer. Rip their throats with her own teeth and claws, gouge their eyes and crush them between their fingers. Stab her bare hands into their stomachs, tearing organs as they scream. She wants it, she demands it.

Let her out, let her out LET. HER. OUT.

Another shriek of pain which everyone realized was from the Olive they knew before them. Her wails pulled them all out, their minds pounding from the pain and adrenaline that Olive’s left marked on their own. Olive was shaking, sobbing as she struggled in her bonds. It didn’t matter she was nearly dislocating her wrist from struggling so badly. It didn't matter that she was spitting blood from her own mouth as screamed.

Astarion’s hands flew to her binds, cutting the rope from hurting herself any further. She scooted away from the fire, from her companions, hugging her knees close to her chest so hard she could barely breathe. Astarion held out his hands, slowly stepping his way to the terrified tiefling, his face with a look of concern no one had ever seen before.

“It's alright, you’re alright. I’ve got you, my dear” Olive’s teary eyes stared up at Astarion who could see the terror in her eyes, pleading for something as questions filled the air. Her other companions gave her varying looks of fear and worry for their leader, their friend. What they saw, what they witnessed, they knew it was nothing compared to what Olive, caring and kindhearted Olive, felt right then and there. Olive let one last sob before running off to the lake, soon the sounds of her own retching echoing back to them. Astarion gave an indescribable look to the group before running off to Olive’s direction.

Notes: A bit different approach to the prompt. Like how do you write something different from an established backstory that hasn't been said? By making it more traumatic for everyone OuO Haven't made a fic in long so forgive any mistakes along the way. I doubt I'll make the other chapters as long as this.

[bhaalsdeepbat]

last night's Astarion origin highlights:

It was Creche time!!! Taking the girlfriend to the creche !!! We had to leave the boyfriend (Gale) behind, but Astarion and Lae'zel wore matching ocean colors to go on a double date with Catha and Shadowheart. (Astarion wears black and red when matching Gale, now)

Astarion stole a bunch of shit from Esther then killed her when she realized he stole most of her inventory with the Cat's Grace he bought. Daddy Money Bags is currently out of money, but Mr. Meow Meow can pounce like a panther and steal whatever he wants.

Astarion just fucking going DOWN to the Gith patrol in Waukeen's Rest and landing, again, facing his romance partner. It looked like he was reaching out to Lae'zel while doing his saving rolls.

Astarion using his girlfriend as bait because Shadowheart and Catha went down, so he kept reviving Lae'zel, putting distance between him and the remaining Gith, and letting the soldier just keep focusing Lae'zel while sneaking around. He is a death machine, but we are still at one hit per round until next level up.

I like to think he was feeling pretty fucking tough after the Gith patrol. Like he was cocky going into the Creche. cocky enough I was not worried when he failed his initial persuasion check and aggroed the creche, but the game glitched so we had to F8. It was a vision from Selune to Catha letting her know if she let Astarion go in without guidance and eagle's splendor, they'd be FUCKED.

I get turned around in the Creche and went to the hatchery thinking it was the infirmary, but then Astarion was like. Steal. Steal Egg. Like it was a delightful experience for him. I had never seen Lae'zel talk about how happy she is to have the egg and like. That little peek at the fact that she DOES have her own wants and desires that are in opposition to the beliefs she was taught. She's disgusted by the whole birthing process, but raising the child? it's such a hopeful, happy thought. Astarion was kinda standing there just speechless bc she had been so rough so far.

Needless to say, the egg is in her inventory, now. She asked him to keep it close and dammit he isn't gonna let his girl down...not that he likes her (or Gale) or anything,,,,,,,,

Lae'zel and Astarion fucked !!! And then he was heavily encumbered the next day because the potion of hill giant strength wore off, but it was a very funny happenstance. but taking her to the creche (not even finishing up yet, just going there and starting stuff) was enough to get her to look at Astarion differently AFTER HOW HARD SHE FUCKING BURNED HIM

like this is the astarion origin where NO ONE wanted him but Minthara at the Goblin party, and now the two companions that AREN'T taken are vying for his attention (bc we only have gale, shady, and lae'zel XD)

Astarion trying to disarm one of the traps at the Creche, only for me to suddenly see his body go FLYING off the side of a ledge because the trap blasted him while doing the disarm roll. Lae'zel followed very, very shortly after....because it did the same thing during the roll screen XD when i say i was on the ground LAUGHING.

Astarion was very proud of himself because he thought he lied his way out of a fight with the medical lady inside the infirmary at the creche. The tools she went to get were actually child soldiers and it was a battle to the death. Lae'zel went down. Astarion shouted her name.

The lesbians (Catha & Shadowheart) got shit DONE. Astarion is the disaster gay and cannot get his shit together. Catha and Shadowheart literally saved his ass with the Death Shepherds bc of user error on my end but it worked really well from a rp perspective XD

like Astarion is literally like SHIT SHIT SHIT everything is always going wrong, but Catha and Shadowheart generally have it on lock. Like I will have him sneak around and start / end fights before those two can even get involved, but the higher level fights sometimes I forget to position better XD

I'm not sure if Astarion is going to end up with Gale or Lae'zel....or pull a wild card and go with Minthara once we find her again. like i keep bouncing back and forth i literally do not know what i'm gonna do until the moment comes

[r0yalgrimmartz]

The little shit bags- I mean darling cherubs💕

I never intended on making designs of Chazz and Kore's little crotch goblins. But uh here we are.

((Bonus: Ekou with snazzy sunglasses))

Tbh I'm impressed how I have the energy to sketch all three designs, so either it's a sign I'm gonna burn out soon or what 💀

Anyways the kids.

Kenji: Fucking whore. Jk. Kinda. Big momma's boy, kinda had beef with Chazz for a little while when Kore and Chazz were separated for two years during his childhood years, but he speaks to Chazz more often now and has a better relationship with him. Literally is the embodiment of a gifted and intelligent student now is a severely burnt out and tired moody bitch. Has more fucking break ups because he literally doesn't fucking understand relationships well and has a lot of inner problems with himself. Eventually gets better, working on himself. Massive bipolar disorder. Is an asshole because...literally he is one, not because of his bipolar. Very confrontational and argumentative when he is being accused for shit he has never done. Can't see Duel spirits, but can hear them?? Assumed he was just hearing things. Also a big lover of dueling. Very competitive but can be hella petty if he loses. Hates the smell of hospitals and medial equipment, it makes him physically ill and very anxious (lore related lmao).

Himari: Resting bitch face 24/7, is genuinely very sweet and shy. Is she glaring at you from across the room in a terrifying manner?? Oh don't worry she's squinting her eyes trying to read the board behind you. Very passive, rarely loses her temper. Has the fucking literal patience of a Saint. Unless you catch her on a bad day and you set her off, don't be surprised if you find yourself smacked through the wall. Works out a lot, mainly to distract herself or pass time originally. Plus used to have trouble with carrying heavy shit due to her previous weak and frail physique, so wanted to be able to carry shit better (cough also to impress this crush she has on a girl cough). Loves to dress feminine and girly, tries to style her outfits a lot. Literal daddy's girl, yet gets embarrassed and shy when Chazz is kicking off with some kids or parents who might be mean or accusing Himari, and she has to physically remove him before she dies of embarrassment. Literally loves her dad but at times think he might go overboard, hence why she talks to her mom about certain issues and probably dating advice (don't even fucking say anything you seen that episode with Chazz tryna Duel Alexis to be his girlfriend, you should know why). Let's her emotions out when it comes to dueling, especially with how frustrated she gets or angry. Literally considered her Duel monsters her friends during her childhood due to lack of friends, only to look back and cringe. Doesn't realise her Duel spirits watch over her a lot and try to protect her.

Ekou: Accidental child. Literally was not fucking planned, he came as a fucking surprise. Yet was the most chill and easiest of the three to raise. Kinda. Despite how he was always found in odd places he shouldn't have been in. Definition of...that one weird kid in class you don't talk to but he is surprisingly chill af. Comes out with the most horrific and outlandish shit at times that everyone fucking turns and side eyes massively. Also, comes out with useless trivia about probably classic horror movie or slasher movies, adds nothing to the conversation. He just enjoys the cheesy block buster campy slashers and horror movies, no matter how dumb or ridiculous they are, he gets a laugh out of it. Also, attracts a lot of the evil and bad shit a lot. Like Jaden 2.0, yet no fucking idea why. Ekou tends to find himself in what seems to be friendly little duels only for it to be duels where he nearly dies (specifically these happen during his mid to late teens). At this point he's not phased anymore he's more so expecting it and is like "so what is it today, three monkeys trying to disguise as a man while standing on one another or some giant bulking cloaked mysterious man who threatens my friends and loved ones?" He just at this point tries walking away to avoid it yet his ass gets dragged in. Surprisingly fucking smart, he just can't be bothered to do the homework he gets given. Definitely collects magical girl figures. Mainly cause he finds them cute and adorable. Also owns a pet fucking fat tailed gecko he absolutely cherishes and adores. Takes care of it a lot, legit carries it everywhere with him, she just chills on his shoulder, in his jacket or on his head. However, like his dad, he can actually see Duel spirits. It kinda just happened one day when he was like five and he got startled when his duel monster was chilling next to him in bed. Actually treats his duel monsters well, talks to them a lot which...alarms people assuming he is just talking to himself. Also wears snazzy fucking sunglasses cause why not.

Will I ever post more about them? Probably not- I'll probably focus on the current cast etc. Unless I do post more about them then shoot me dead pls.