#i want to get to the sisters of battle so badly..... i can take all three of them at once

[picory]

the mantis lords fight never ceases to be fun! it's not as challenging as it seemed at first once you get used to their moves, and yet that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. it almost feels like we're dancing, it's such a well paced and rhythmic (?) battle. and their theme is one of my favorites... so energetic and elegant AGHH i love this game

[lolxdswag123]

Sleepless in Cabin 3

Percy Jackson x reader

Warnings: Blood of Olympus spoilers, mentions of insomnia, flashbacks, a makeout session, I think that’s it.

Authors note: This is my first time writing so let me know how I did :)

Summary: reader is having flashbacks to the battle against Gaia and hasn’t been sleeping. Goes to best friend Percy’s cabin for comfort.

Tossing and turning. That’s all I could do for the past 3 hours. Lights out was at 10 pm. It was now 1 o clock in the morning and I have not slept a wink. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the same things. Leo bursting into flames. Octavian being launched into the massive ball of fire in the air.

Now I didn’t care all that much for Octavian, but Leo was my best friend. I knew about his plan all along. He told me he was going to find Calypso, and he would be back. It was just so hard to believe after what I saw last week. I haven’t been able to sleep for days now.

After the battle I had collapsed in exhaustion, and I think that was the last time I really got any rest since then.

Camp was still being cleaned up and there was evidence of the battle everywhere. Reyna, who had become like my sister, left to go back to Camp Jupiter with Hazel and Frank. My whole life felt like it had been turned upside down in the matter of 7 days.

I was restless. Chiron had me meet up with some of the Apollo campers daily for “mental health reasons”, but it wasn’t helping in the way that he had hoped. The only thing that helped was being around my best friends, Percy and Annabeth.

They had been my best friends since I was 13. I first went on a quest with them to recover the Golden Fleece from a huge cyclops. Times have changed since then. The war against Kronos almost felt like child’s play compared to everything we’ve dealt with since then.

Percy’s disappearance alone was enough to send me into a crazed state for weeks. That was the first time I dealt with insomnia. He and I always had a special connection. One that nobody else understood. Percy could calm me down in a way that nobody else ever was capable of. If Annabeth wasn’t by my side in that time I think I really would’ve lost it.

Even when he and Annabeth fell into Tartarus I didn’t break down like this. I had Reyna and Leo to get me through it.

As I rolled over in my empty cabin for the millionth time, I had a flashback to that day that they fell into the pit of Tartarus.

If Percy hadn’t jumped in after her, I would’ve. He pushed me back before he jumped in. I stood there with my brother, Nico, looking down hopelessly and trying to figure out what to do.

The boy, who my brother and I both had adored, was begging us to meet him at the other side of Tartarus. He promised us that he would be there, that he would get out. I could feel my heart being ripped out as I looked at them, but Nico and I swore to it.

I so badly wanted to jump in after them, but I couldn’t do it. I knew that I had to help the others.

After that, I was in a crazed state. Completely and hopelessly hyperfixated on getting them out.

The thought alone made me nauseous, and I considered running to throw up in the bathroom.

It’s not like I would be bothering anyone. Every night after I fall asleep, or in this case, pretend to fall asleep, Nico sneaks off to go see his boyfriend, Will.

I’m not angry at him for it. I purposely pretend to sleep so that he doesn’t feel bad about going. I know he’s struggling as much as I am.

I take a deep breath, hoping that I can settle my mind. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t work. I lay there for another fifteen minutes, staring at my ceiling, before I decide to take action.

I stood up, put on my slippers, and quietly escaped my cabin- trying my best not to wake any other campers- or the harpies.

I knew exactly where I was going, though I wasn’t sure what would happen.

I hadn’t gone to his cabin this late at night since my nightmares after we’d escaped the Labyrinth. He used to really help me get through my feelings- that is, until Rachel came along.

The next summer, I found out that Rachel and Percy had been kissing, and after that I backed off. I know that now there isn’t anything between them, but Percy is my best friend, and I knew that I needed to keep it that way.

I quietly approached his door, knocking softly. I hoped that he was awake, but I knew the odds were slim. After no answer, I knocked again, slightly more desperate.

If he doesn’t answer this time, I’ll go. I thought.

After a minute, there was still no response so I turned around to head back to my cabin and brave the night ahead.

The door creaked slowly behind me, and I whipped around. Percy was standing there, looking like I had just woken him up from the best dream of his life.

“Hey.” I whispered, approaching hesitantly.

Without another word, he nods his head, gesturing for me to come into his cabin. Tyson wasn’t there. He had temporarily gone back to Camp Jupiter with Ella.

We both enter his silent cabin, and he shuts the door quietly behind us. The seasalt smell immediately hits me and all of my senses relax.

He sits on his bed and looks up at me, standing awkwardly. The idea seemed great, but now that I was standing in his room I wasn’t really sure what my plan was.

“What’s going on?” Percy asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

I looked down, suddenly feeling bad for waking him up. “I haven’t been sleeping.” I whispered.

“What?” He asks.

I repeat myself, “I haven’t been-“

“You haven’t been sleeping?” He asks, sounding slightly upset. He rests his elbows on his knees and puts his head in his hands.

I shake my head, feeling a blush over my face. I could feel my delirious brain and heavy eyes a little bit more now.

“And you’re just telling me now?” He asks, looking disappointed.

“I didn’t want to stress anyone out.” I say, smiling bashfully.

He rolls his eyes, patting the spot next to him.

“Think Chiron will give us a free pass if he finds us both in here?” He asks, obviously trying to make light of the situation.

I chuckle, nodding, but knowing that Chiron would do just about anything to help the campers right now. The thought reminded me even more about the battle.

Percy turns to lay back under his blankets, leaving an open space for me. This is exactly how we used to do it when I was having my nightmares.

I laid down in my spot, trying to get comfortable. I stared at the ceiling, immediately feeling more drowsy than I did in my room.

We both lay there in silence for a few minutes, before l hear the blankets rustle and turn my head to see Percy facing me.

I turn to face him too.

He purses his lips and furrows his eyebrows, scanning my face, before asking, “Why did you ever stop coming in here?”

I look at him nervously, realizing that we were finally going to have this conversation. “You and Rachel…” I trail off, not knowing what else to say.

His eyes instantly widen, “me and Rachel?” He asks.

I nod. “I didn’t want to get in the way of anything if you guys…” I pause, choosing my words, “if you guys were like, together or anything.”

He scans my face, as if trying to determine if I’m joking. He lets out a small laugh, “Rachel and I were never together. I thought you knew that.”

I shake my head, eyes focusing on anything but his face.

He chuckles again, and I tuck my head into his chest, attempting to end the conversation there, but he decided to continue, “You know,” he paused, wrapping an arm around me to play with my hair, “when Beckendorf came to get me for our mission? Remember that?”

I nod, unsure of where this was going.

“Well, he saw Rachel kiss me.”

I tensed, uncomfortable with this conversation.

“Then after we left her, to go to the ship,” he continued, “do you know what he said to me?”

I shook my head.

“He said, ‘I’m assuming you don’t want me to tell Y/N about that, right?’” Percy said, continuing to play with my hair.

“Really?” I asked, confused, “Why?”

He was silent for long enough for me to wonder if he even heard me before he spoke up again. “Because I didn’t want you to know.”

I pulled away, looking up at his face. I scrunched my eyebrows together out of confusion. “Why not? We tell each other everything.”

He raises his eyebrows, shaking his head, “Really?”

“What?” I asked.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. His eyes scanned my face again before wrapping an arm around me and pulling me back into his chest.

I finally start to doze off, feeling my body relax. Before I am completely asleep I can feel a soft kiss being placed on the top of my head. Before I can even feel the butterflies that come from it, I fall sound asleep.

I wake up before the sun is up, unsurprisingly. I’m happy to have gotten even a few hours of sleep.

I turn on my side to see Percy snoring softly with a line of drool coming down from his mouth. I giggle quietly before moving away a little bit.

I debate going back to my cabin, so that I don’t get caught in here. The last thing any of us needed right now was to deal with rumors about us sleeping in the same cabin together.

I sit up, my eyes scanning for my slippers in the dark room. Just as I find them I hear stirring behind me.

“What are you doing?” Percy asks groggily.

I turn to see him rubbing his eyes again and suddenly feel guilty for waking him up two times now.

“I was just going to sneak out before I get caught in here.” I whisper, reaching down to put my slippers on.

“Stay,” he whispered, eyes closed.

I smiled, looking at how peaceful he looked in that moment.

I shake my head, but rest a hand on his arm. “I shouldn’t.” I whisper.

He groans, turning closer to me and opens his eyes. He looks up at me, slowly reaching up as he brushes a strand of my hair out of my face.

“I’ll cover for you in the morning.” He whispers softly, looking at me hopefully.

I smile but shake my head, “If anyone finds out I stayed here…” I whisper, “you know how they all talk.”

He looks at me for a moment, and then another moment, eyes scanning my face, before responding, “You know everyone already thinks we’re together, right?”

My eyes widen in shock, completely taken aback and unsure if I heard him right. “Us? Like- you and me? Together?”

He nods, looking straight into my eyes, eyebrows furrowed.

“Why?” I ask, incredibly confused. I had never heard this before and I had never told anyone how I really felt. Not even Annabeth.

He stared incredulously at me for another moment, before whispering, “Are you kidding? I really can’t tell.”

I shook my head and shrugged.

“Well… we’re together all the time. You used to sleep here. When I went missing and got amnesia you were the only person I could remember. I almost lost it when you got hurt in the battle in manhattan…” he searched my face for my reaction, “I can keep going if you want.”

I shook my head, understanding. “I guess that kind of makes sense.”

He nodded, looking at me as if he was waiting for me to say something else.

I stared at him for a moment, before my delirium allowed me to ask a rather bold question.

“What do you think about that?” I whispered, looking into his eyes.

His gaze felt heavy. He stared straight into my eyes, coughing, before saying, “Uhhh… what do you mean?”

I shook my head, “Nevermind.” I whispered.

He grabbed my hand, looking directly into my eyes, before saying, “About what everyone says? Or about us being together?”

“Both.” I whisper, staring straight back at him.

He pauses for a moment, looking down at our hands, then back into my eyes. “I think they have a point. And I think that they’re right. That we are basically together. Unless you’re thinking something different?”

I nodded slowly, thinking about all of the years that I’ve brushed off other boys because I didn’t have eyes for them like I do for him. I thought about all the time that we spent apart, and how it felt like a piece of me was missing. I thought about the battle of manhattan, when I saw him fighting and I had never felt such pride in my heart before. I knew it all along, I just didn’t know how to show it.

“It’s not that easy though, seaweed brain. We’re not basically together until you ask me out.” I chuckle, looking back down at him and realizing how intently he’s looking at me.

I slowly kick off my shoes and lay back down next to him. He still is looking at me intently and hasn’t said a word.

“What’s wrong?” I whisper, after another moment of silence.

He shakes his head, looking deeply into my eyes, and I see his gaze flicker to my lips for a millisecond.

Suddenly I can feel my heartbeat pick up. I’m now aware of every centimeter of my body that is close to his. It’s like all of my senses are dialed to 11.

Before I can even think twice I lean forward just slightly and he immediately grabs my face and his lips are on mine.

The kiss is soft, slow, and everything I could’ve ever imagined.

I can feel his hesitation, almost like he’s afraid I’ll pull away if he makes the wrong move.

I reach my hand around the back of his head and run my hand through his hair, bringing him closer to me. The kiss slowly becomes more passionate, my heart rate accelerating.

I don’t think either of us can hold back anymore. I tilt my head slightly, it’s like something inside me snaps. The kiss is intense, full of years of love and yearning toward one another. His hand moves slowly under the hem of my sleep shirt, shakey fingers trailing up my back, and I gasp into his mouth, enjoying the new sensation.

We had been close before, but never like this.

I hear Percy groan quietly, the sound beautiful but desperate, and my body is suddenly on fire. His other hand reaches to the back of my next to pull me even closer, deepening the kiss so that our tongues are dancing with each other. I can feel him breathing heavily as his hands explore my skin, fingers digging in in a way I never knew I needed.

My hands run through his hair, one leaving to clutch his shoulder, pulling him even closer to me. Percy’s mouth moves to my jaw, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses down my neck, and I bite my lip to keep from making a sound, but it’s impossible. I let out a soft gasp, pressing even further into him.

“Gods,” Percy groans against my neck, continuing to bury his face into my neck and collarbone, definitely leaving marks that he knows he shouldn’t be. Especially not if I’m walking out of his cabin in the morning. His lips find mine again, but this time it feels more frantic, like we’re both on the verge of losing control. His hands are fully under my shirt now, his touch insistent, and I can’t help the small groan that escapes me.

I can’t stand it anymore as I tug at his shirt, pulling it up, desperate to feel more. He helps me, urgently pulling it over his head before desperately crashing his mouth back onto mine. His skin feels incredibly warm, his muscles tensing beneath my touch as I slowly run my nails down his chest. He groans into the kiss, kicking my legs with his own so that he can move to hover over me.

I can feel my back press into the mattress as Percy hovers over me, the weight of it making me shiver. His hands roam lower, gripping my hips roughly, and his mouth never stops—kissing, biting, trailing heat down my neck and back up again to capture my lips. Every move, every touch, is more desperate, more intense, and I can feel the years of pent-up tension between us boiling over.

We continue like this for longer than we should, desperately grabbing onto each others skin, mouths all over eachothers faces and necks, before we finally allow the kiss to slow down. The kiss fades to a soft, gentle one, and we slowly pull away.

I stare into his eyes, feeling a blush cover my face when I realize that this is real, and that just happened. He has the same look on his face as me, breathing heavy. His hair is all out of place and part of me wants to continue where we left off and mess up his hair a little more.

I bite my lip, holding back the smile that is trying to take over my face. He grins at me, his eyes sparkling.

“We’re definitely doing that again.” He smirks at me playfully.

“What took you so long?” I ask, nudging his arm and letting him lay back down beside me.

He shrugged, “Was never the right time. Can’t say I haven’t thought about it though. Maybe a little too much…” he trailed off.

I rolled my eyes, smacking his arm playfully before realizing how exhausted I had become.

“Can we go back to sleep?” I whisper, tucking my head into his chest again.

He nods, pressing a kiss on my head, and this time I feel the whole swarm of butterflies invade my stomach. I smile, and doze off.

[artdcnaldson]

mean art in patricks sister au being upset with art after they finally fuck for leaving. so she doesn’t talk to him like for a week. and finally he corners her and takes her to his dorm and fucks the attitude out of her bc shes being a brat

i need this so bad bc 🐞 anon made me feral

Ok this is so different but so fundamentally similar that I’m combining these <3 <3 <3

But mmmm <3 taking a week away from him, denying him the pussy he craves so badly because your feelings are hurt :( Because he can’t keep being mean to you and treating you like you’re disposable. You’re NOT, and you know he actually wants you. Maybe he just needs a reminder of how badly he does.

He knows something’s up when you don’t show up to one of his practices. You usually sit on the bleachers, in a section shaded by the sun. You’ll have your books laid out, your headphones on, and you’ll catch his gaze and wave sweetly, just so he knows you’re there (not that you’re hard to miss). He hated it at first— it was embarrassing and so fucking clingy— but he hated it more that you were gone.

It felt mortifying to text you, to sink to your level, but your absence grated on him. Where were you today?

It’s a while before you respond, just a plain one-word response like he usually sent you. Busy.

That night, he pulls up your facebook page, gets hard looking at pictures from the Mediterranean vacation you went on. He starts to jerk off, but gives up once he remembers he could always just actually fuck you instead of beating off to bikini pics like a fucking loser. He texts you again: Still busy or can I come over?

You type back after ten minutes. Yeah, still busy.

When you walk out of your lecture the next day, Art is waiting nearby. He knows you’re going to say goodbye to your little friends, walk over all cute and dainty, and let him take you back to your dorm. Instead, you avoid eye contact and walk along with your friends. You disappear inside of a coffee shop on campus. He watches you giggling and talking over open textbooks. Occasionally, you sneak a glance outside, like you expect him to be there.

After a week of you brushing him off, he waits outside of your room. You walk up and frown when you see him, distaste dripping from your features. “I’m not in the mood,” you say plainly.

“You’re always in the mood,” he says, wrapping an arm around your waist, tugging you closer, so you’re pressed against his chest. “C’mon, your roommate’s out.”

“She’ll be back any minute,” you lie, wrestling out of his grip. When he persists you just sigh and meet his gaze. “I really don’t feel like being treated like shit right now, okay? It’s a fucking lot to take, and maybe you get off on it, and maybe I do to, but after we’ve both cum it just sucks.”

He swallows, knows he’s in the wrong, but won’t admit it to you like this. “I’m not going to fuck you like a girlfriend,” he says firmly.

You roll your eyes and shake your head. “Yeah, but you could fuck me like a person, at least. Night, Art.”

He feels like a fucking idiot, standing in the middle of the hallway, freshly rejected and wearing it like a battle scar. He sulks back in his room, tries to jerk off to your tits in a bikini but can’t stay hard. That’s your fault.

When he’s outside your lecture in the morning, you sigh and try to avoid him. He jogs to catch up, turns you to face him. “I’ve been an asshole.”

“Yeah,” you reply with a sigh, meeting his gaze. Your eyes are soft, sweet. You’re trying your best to understand, even when he’s not sure if he does. “It’s fine, I mean— I’m not your girlfriend.”

“But you’re… I mean— I’m not fucking anyone else, okay?” It feels like he’s being slowly flayed alive to admit it, to expose that soft mushy side of his heart to you after everything.

And your eyes brighten up, happy and eager, hopeful. "You're not?" When he shakes his head, you practically bounce on your feet. Smiling so sweet and pretty up at him. "Me either. I mean, you knew that."

And he does know that. You wouldn’t even dream of letting another man touch you if it meant it might spoil your chances of being happy with Art. You were still clinging to that hope that he’d pick you, that he’d wake up and realize you’re his sweet, perfect little girlfriend.

“Okay, so we’re good?” He asks, almost frowns because he feels so stupid. If Patrick knew he was acting this fucking whipped for anyone, he’d never let him live it down. But here Art was, trying to make sure you weren’t mad enough to deprive him of your perfect fucking pussy.

And sure enough, you nod, smile sweetly. “I’m free for the afternoon. My next class got cancelled.”

It’s no surprise when he’s right back in your dorm, bullying his cock into your tight little cunt. So pretty beneath him, so fucking devoted. And your body just takes it like an act of fucking worship. He shouldn’t have even apologized, he knew you would wind up begging for it. You needed him that bad. He just got impatient is all.

Your legs wrap around his waist, tugging him closer, deeper. “So good, so good—“ You gasp, over and over. Your nails dig into the meat of his shoulders as he drives into you, so hard he’s worried you might draw blood. “Fuck, Art— missed this, missed you—“

It had only been— what?— a week? You needed him so bad, craved him with your entire being. It gave him a major fucking ego boost, knowing that the week apart was just as bad for you as it was for him. That you’d been fucking killing yourself to prove a point.

Nicer. He’s supposed to be nicer. He leans down and kisses you hungrily, licking into your mouth while you mewl beneath him. He feels every moan reverberated against his mouth, relishes when you pull back and pant soft gasps against his lips.

When you’ve both cum, when you’re just laying in your sweet, frilly bed and smiling over at him like he hung the moon, he feels a pang of… something. He could’ve done this that first night— stayed, held you a little. He was a dick— just trying to prove a point, prove that you didn’t mean anything.

But look how desperate he was after a mere seven days. Couldn’t even go to another girl to get his dick wet because he just wanted you. He knows he’s fucked— knows he’s already in too deep and he cant crawl out of this hole he’s forced himself into.

You lay your head on his chest and your breathing goes steady after a while. He tries not to feel a twinge of fondness. Tries to remember this is all just to keep you happy so that he can have unrestricted access to your pussy. Tries being the operating word.

[scary-grace]

Enough to Go By (Chapter 4) - a Shigaraki x f!Reader fic

Your best friend vanished on the same night his family was murdered, and even though the world forgot about him, you never did. When a chance encounter brings you back into contact with Shimura Tenko, you'll do anything to make sure you don't lose him again. Keep his secrets? Sure. Aid the League of Villains? Of course. Sacrifice everything? You would - but as the battle between the League of Villains and hero society unfolds, it becomes clear that everything is far more than you or anyone else imagined it would be. (cross-posted to Ao3)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

Chapter 4

You think about Tenko more now, but you’re allowed to – he’s your patient, and if he was your patient at the clinic, you’d expect to see him for a follow-up on the four gunshot wounds you cleaned and dressed. You’re allowed to think about him, so you think about him. You think about him a lot.

The thoughts take two directions. One is just wondering about him – how he’s feeling, how he spends his days, what he’s thinking about, what he thinks of you, whether he’s thought about you at all. The other is thinking about the situation he’s in. His parents and grandparents and his sister are dead. He’s been missing for fifteen years. He’s got a quirk and he’s a villain, ambitious and strategic enough to target UA High and escape alive, albeit badly injured. His guardian is a cloud of mist in a suit with some kind of split personality. And there’s someone else in his world – two someone elses. The doctor he referenced, who wouldn’t help him, and the one he calls Sensei, who gave him his new name and a hand to wear over his face and set him up to fail.

You think about Tenko a lot, but you can’t think about him all the time, because now that you’re a nurse, you’re twice as busy as you were before. The doctors expect more of you, and so do the other nurses – and so do the MAs and CNAs and high school students who are starting their apprenticeships, since you now have three years’ experience to go with your reputation for smoothing things over with difficult patients. Your friends keep you busy, too. They might call Kazuo to find out if something’s wrong with them, but they call you to find out what to do about it.

“You need to get a scan,” you say to Yoshimi for probably the fifth time. “I know you don’t want to –”

“It’s weird!”

“Not any weirder than whatever Yoji does when the two of you are at second base,” you say, and in the background of the call, someone snickers. If you had to guess, you’d say it’s Mitsuko – she has the guts to bully Yoshimi into making the call, combined with the brass balls to feel comfortable eavesdropping. “It’s called a mammogram. You’d have to start getting them at some point anyway, just like we all do. It’s just to make sure there’s nothing weird going on.”

“Stop it. You’re freaking her out for no reason.” Yoji’s there, too. “It’s probably just an STD.”

You’re stunned into silence for a second by the sheer classlessness of saying that about one’s own girlfriend, but you bounce back fast. “First of all, they’re called STIs, genius. Secondly, there’s not an STI on the planet that gives you nipple discharge. Yoshimi, get the scan. I’ll go with you if you want. Just get it done.”

“Can I do it at your clinic?”

“Uh –” You glance at the Imaging queue. Things look quiet, but you can’t count on that to last – but if you report Yoshimi’s symptoms, which include soreness, nipple discharge, and what she describes as a weird rash, you’re pretty sure the doctor on call will bump her to the head of the line. “Yeah, come in now. I can’t stick around after my shift, though. I have stuff to do tonight.”

“Ooh, stuff. Let me see –” There’s some rustling, which you can only assume is Mitsuko grabbing the phone. “Is stuff tall, dark, handsome, way too serious, and currently working as a sidekick?”

“That would be stuff,” you admit. “It’s not a big deal. We’re just grabbing a drink after our shifts.”

For the first time since you and Kazuo broke up, you have a date, and it’s Kazuo’s fault. Or maybe it’s you and your friends’ fault, because you decided to throw Kazuo a twentieth birthday party and invited a few of his friends from UA. One of those friends is Sugimura Hiroki, who fits perfectly with your type of dark-haired boys who want to be heroes and who’s so painfully shy that it took him six beers and the entire party to talk to you. You were sort of weirded out by that. You’re not very intimidating, and you spent the first half of the conversation trying to figure out if he knew you were quirkless, since you learned the hard way that it’s something you need to disclose up front. But the two of you eventually worked your way around to the point, which was that Sugimura wants to get to know you better, and he tripped over his tongue so badly that you finally just asked him out to end the suspense.

It’s taken you a while to actually schedule the date, but tonight’s the night, and you’re sort of anxious about it. Luckily, work is busy enough to keep you distracted. Your lunch break ends while Mitsuko is still going into increasingly nasty speculations about Sugimura’s physical attributes, and you hang up the phone without saying goodbye.

There’s a message waiting for you on your computer, from the front desk. FOF. Can you take him?

It’s not Tenko. You know Tenko wouldn’t come here again. You send the same message you did when it was him. How F are we talking?

Jumpy, talking to himself, chainsmoking. He’s in costume.

“In costume” could literally mean that the patient’s wearing a costume, but it’s also code for when the front desk thinks the patient’s a villain. You’re used to dealing with villains by now. Send him back.

When the knock on the door comes, you’re ready and waiting, and the CNA ushers in a tall man in a black-and-grey bodysuit – so “in costume” was literal this time around – and a paper bag over his head. You’re momentarily transfixed by the paper bag, and more so when you realize that he’s bringing a lighted cigarette to his mouth while wearing something highly flammable on his face. The CNA shuts the door and bolts. You face your patient and introduce yourself. “Have a seat if you feel comfortable doing so. What brings you in today?”

“I’m not – whole.”

That’s concerning. “Are you injured?” Your concern grows when he gestures at his face. “It would really help if I could see the injury. Can you take the bag off?”

He shakes his head. Instead he reaches into his pocket and produces a torn full-face mask. You look at him, then at him, putting the pieces together. “How do you feel right now?”

He doesn’t answer – maybe can’t answer – so you default to the face chart you use when little kids aren’t able to express how they feel in words. Your patient points to scared, stressed, anxious, angry. Then he throws in happy, possibly to mess with you, or to distract you from the fact that the first four emotions indicate that he’s ready to snap at any second. “How about this?” you ask, after thinking it over. “I can ask the doctor to give you something that will help you calm down –”

“Please!” The patient bursts out. Drug-seeking? “No, I don’t need it, sister! I’m so calm it’s hard to believe.”

“Okay, then we’ll just have it here in case you decide you want it. As an option,” you say, keeping your voice smooth and calm. “Either way, this is a quiet place to wait. You’re safe in here with me. And if you want, I can sew up your mask for you. Would that help?”

“You can do that?”

“Easily,” you say. “Can I see it for a second? I need to make sure I grab the right thread.”

The patient hands the mask over, which is a good sign. You’ve established at least a little bit of trust. You examine the mask and decide that you’ll need the thinnest-gauge needle and thread you have. “I can definitely fix this,” you tell the patient. “It might look a little rough, but it’ll cover you up like it did before. And it should last until you get where you’re going.”

The patient nods. You stand up. “I’m going to get some supplies, and a little anxiety medication if you decide you want it. I’ll be right back, okay? Just wait here.”

The patient nods again. Given how labile his mood is, you need to be fast about this, and get back before he gets upset or decides to leave. You step out the door and shut it behind you, heading for the supply closet, but you’re waylaid on the way there by one of the doctors. “We need you up front. Now.”

“I can’t. I have a patient, and he’s –”

“I don’t care. We’ve got a hero coming to visit, and we need somebody to keep things calm,” the doctor says. Shit. “Figure out what they want, get them as little of it as you can get away with, and get them out of here.”

“Which hero?”

The doctor shakes his head. Great. “Just hurry.”

You can’t go just yet. “My patient’s got a lot of anxiety and he’s in costume. I need him to stay calm. Can you –”

“2mg diazepam. I’ll put it in the chart.” The doctor unlocks one of the medicine cabinets, extracts a prefilled dosage cup, and hands it to you. “Go.”

Diazepam is long-acting. Hopefully long-acting enough to keep your patient quiet while you get rid of the hero. You skitter back down the hall with the dosage cup and hand it over to the patient, along with a tiny bottle of water to wash it down. “I’ll be right back. Just finding the right thread.”

The patient downs the pill dry, which is both good and bad for you. You shut the door again and head for the lobby. You don’t make it there. A cloud of black mist boils up around you, swallowing you whole.

By the time your feet hit the familiar wooden floor of the bar, you’re already out of patience. “No. Send me back right now.”

“Shigaraki Tomura has need of you. You will assist him.”

“Not right now I won’t. You snatched me from work,” you say. You’re facing the wall and the All Might poster again, and you don’t want to turn around. If you see Tenko, it’ll make it harder to say no. “If I go missing, people will notice. Is he dying?”

“No,” Kurogiri says.

“Is he in imminent danger of dying?”

“No.”

“Then send me back,” you say. If Tenko’s asked Kurogiri to get you, it means he needs medical assistance – or follow-up. You’ve needed to follow up anyway. “I can come back later.”

“No, I need you right now!”

“How much later?” Kurogiri asks, ignoring Tenko’s protest.

You think it over. You can dispense with the hero situation quickly, stitch your patient’s mask, and sneak out of work early. They’ll have to give you the emergency time off. You’ve never asked before in three years of working there. “Ninety minutes.”

“That’s too long. Kurogiri, don’t let her leave!”

“Ninety minutes. I’ll be in the alley behind the clinic.” You ignore Tenko, too, in favor of focusing on Kurogiri. He’s the one who decides if you leave or not. “All right?”

The mist wells up around you again, which counts as a yes. You land on your feet in the hallway, reorient yourself, and head for the lobby again. Tenko wants you again – needs you, your stupid brain corrects – but he’s going to have to wait for you to sort this out.

The hero in the lobby is Uwabami, the Snake Hero, and she’s got two sidekicks with her. No, students. You recognize one of them from your limited viewing of the UA Sports Festival and feel a spike of guilt run through you. She’s from Class 1-A. The same class Tenko tried to kill.

You don’t need to think about that, and you don’t need to feel guilty, because you didn’t do anything to her. You force yourself to focus. Uwabami wouldn’t have brought high school students here if she was doing any kind of investigating, which means your patient and any others who might be nervous around law enforcement are probably safe. The question of why she’s here still remains. You step forward. “Welcome to Yokohama Free Clinic South. What can we help you with today?”

“We’re on patrol,” Uwabami says. “My interns gave some feedback that our patrol involved a little too much publicity –”

The students look unrepentant. Good for them. “So we’re engaging in some down-to-earth patrolling,” Uwabami continues. “Tell us about how heroes support your clinic.”

Heroes don’t support your clinic. Most heroes strongly dislike the free clinic network, and the feeling is mutual, for a bunch of reasons you’re more than willing to articulate. Then you think better of it. Picking a fight with a hero in front of hero students is a bad move if you want to get out of here any time soon, and if you’re going to keep helping Tenko, you need to stay completely off the heroic radar. You focus on the students instead. “You’re on internships, right? They’re supposed to show you what life will be like as a hero.”

“Yes,” the girl who’s not from 1-A says. “They’re supposed to.”

“We have a program like that here, too,” you say. You gesture for them to come forward, and they desert their supervising hero at high speed. “A lot of our nurses and techs started working here in high school. Let me introduce you.”

You’re on much more solid ground talking about this. This clinic and this program saved your ass – without their sponsorship, you’d never have been able to get around your quirklessness as a barrier to nursing school, and you started getting on-the-job clinical training while most other nursing students were stuck in the classroom. You catch yourself evangelizing a little bit, but you don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world to do. You’re proud of the work you do as part of the clinic. It’s nice to get to talk about it.

You clear the hero students out in half an hour, hoping you’ve impressed them even a little bit, then hurry back to your patient. The diazepam’s kicked in nicely, and he chatters away to you while you stitch the tear in his mask. You learn that his name is Jin, or Bubaigawara, or Twice, which you’d guess are his first name, his family name, and his villain name, in that order. He doesn’t say how his mask got torn and you don’t ask, but you send him on his way in a better mood than before. “Thanks, sister,” he says on his way out the door. “You could be worse. You’re a saint!”

Different tone, different pitch, completely different meaning between the first sentence and the second. It reminds you of Kurogiri. You know enough villains now that you can compare them to one another. You shake your head, bemused, then head back inside. Time to guilt-trip your boss into letting you leave two hours early.

Your guilt-trip is successful, mostly because of how you handled the hero situation, but as you’re trying to sneak out, Yoshimi arrives for her scan. After you cajoled her into the office, you can’t abandon her to some random tech. You do abandon Mitsuko in the waiting room, though – she says the words “nipple discharge” as loudly as possible, then starts picking on the scant amount of makeup you did for your date. You don’t feel bad at all for leaving her behind.

Yoshimi’s scan goes quickly, and just like you feared, it nets her a follow-up appointment at the main branch of the free clinic tomorrow. Tomorrow’s your day off. You promise her you’ll go with her – you, and not Mitsuko or Yoji – then talk the doctor into sending her home with a dose of a different anti-anxiety medication than the one you got for Twice. Then you check your phone for the time. Almost ninety minutes exactly. You race out to the alley.

The mist engulfs you almost the instant you set foot in the alley, and you’re in the bar a moment later, facing Kurogiri. Tenko’s nowhere to be found, and before you can ask the question, Kurogiri turns and sets off through a doorway, deeper into the recesses of the building. You follow him, wondering if this counts as being taken to a secondary location. Or maybe the bar counts as the secondary location, even though you’ve been here before. Either way, you’ve listened to way too many of Mitsuru’s true-crime podcasts.

Kurogiri leads you into an absolutely filthy room. The floor is covered – empty wrappers, empty cans, old newspapers and magazines, plastic cases for game disks and chips. You have a bad feeling about who lives here, and when Kurogiri clears his throat and speaks up, you’re proven right. “Shigaraki Tomura. I have brought the girl.”

The only semi-organized spot in the room is a desk with two monitors on it, a keyboard in front of it, and Tenko slumped down with his head pillowed on one arm. He looks up, and for a split second, you can see that he’s happy even behind the hand. Then his face turns bright red and his expression twists into a snarl. “I told you not to bring her in here! Get out!”

You don’t need to be told twice. You duck out the door and retreat about twenty feet down the hallway, listening as Kurogiri tries to placate Tenko. “You asked for her to be brought to you immediately, not for me to summon you when she arrived. I followed your orders to the letter.”

“I didn’t want –” Tenko breaks off, swears. Then he mumbles something, and Kurogiri chuckles. “Don’t laugh at me!”

You check your phone. You aren’t supposed to meet Sugimura until eight, but you’ve got no idea how long this particular encounter is going to run. You might need to tell him you’re running late. You’ve just sent the text and tucked your phone away when Kurogiri reappears. “We will return to the bar,” he says. “Shigaraki Tomura awaits you there.”

So Kurogiri warped him to the bar. You wonder what that was all about. Was Tenko embarrassed that you saw how filthy his room was, or just embarrassed that you saw his room at all? Or did he change his mind about wanting you here? The last thought upsets you. You follow Kurogiri back into the bar and find Tenko sitting at the counter. It’s an improvement from the last time you saw him, when he was sprawled out and bleeding from four gunshot wounds, but this time he’s got his arms crossed, clearly pissed about something. His face is still red behind the hand. There’s a bloodstained bandage taped to his right shoulder.

A pile of supplies appears on the bar as you come closer. “What happened this time?”

“It wouldn’t stop bleeding.” Tenko uncrosses his left arm to gesture at the wound. “This is the fourth one I’ve used.”

If he’s gone through four bandages, it must be pretty deep. “How long ago did it happen?”

“Two hours,” Kurogiri says. “Shigaraki Tomura sent me to retrieve you immediately.”

“Can you fix it or not?” Tenko snaps.

“I need to see it first,” you say. You come a few steps closer, sit down facing Tenko on the barstool next to his, and reach for the bandage. He doesn’t stop you from unwrapping it, and you detour to glove up before you start peeling the fabric of his shirt back from the wound. It’s oozing blood rapidly. It’s jagged at the edges, and deep – if you suctioned the blood away, you’d be looking at exposed muscle, and you’re so horrified by the fact that Tenko’s been badly hurt again that you ask a question you shouldn’t. “How did this happen?”

“Hero Killer,” Tenko says, and your stomach lurches. “I thought he might be useful, but he’s just like the rest of them. Obsessed with the precious Symbol of Peace.”

You don’t know very much about the Hero Killer, except that he kills or cripples heroes and he’s not in Yokohama any longer. Tenko’s still ranting. “Why can’t anybody shut up about All Might? Don’t they know –”

“That he’s not gonna fuck them?” you interrupt, and Tenko nearly chokes. “I guess they can dream.”

Tenko’s expression is contorting behind the hand. You’re pretty sure it’s not the result of your explorations of the wound, because you’re not touching it. You watch, concerned, as his shoulders shake and his mouth twitches, until awkward, rusty laughter finally issues from his mouth.

You always try to make people laugh. You’ve been in the habit since you were little. It’s an effective strategy for defusing tension, whether the joke is funny or not, and your jokes are usually at least kind of funny. But you always liked making Tenko laugh when you were kids. You were always just a little prouder of that than you were with other people. Tenko made people smile all the time. He deserved for somebody to make him laugh, too.

Tenko’s laughter is brief and uneven, because he’s trying to get it under control. “Stop it,” he finally snaps at you. His mouth is still twitching. “It’s serious.”

“Right,” you agree. But you can’t resist another joke. “It would be a novel strategy. If you can’t beat the Symbol of Peace, make him unfuckable instead.”

“I can beat him,” Tenko says, but his voice is strained to the point of snapping, and his shoulders are shaking again. “Can you fix my arm or not?”

“I can fix it,” you say, “but I’ll need a suture kit. And I’ll either need to cut your sleeve or you’ll need to take your shirt off.”

“I’m not taking my shirt off.” Tenko’s face is red again. “It’s ruined anyway. Just cut it.”

You cut his sleeve open from the neckline and peel it back, then go looking through the medical supplies. Kurogiri took your advice about additions to their supplies, and nothing turned up missing at work, which means they honored your request to steal from someone else. You’ve got local anesthetic this time, which is good, because you need it. You start numbing the edges of the wound, asking every so often if Tenko can feel what you’re doing. When he stops saying yes, you open the suture kit.

It’s a bit weird, but putting stitches in is one of your favorite parts of the job. You can get in the zone with it, even when the patient wants to talk. Tenko wants to talk. “People talk about the League of Villains out there. Don’t they?” he asks. You nod. “What do they say?”

“Um –” You’re not sure this is an answer Tenko wants to hear. “They’re wondering why the attack on UA happened.”

“What do you mean, why?”

“Like, if there was a message behind it,” you elaborate. You need to be careful, with the stitches and with this line of thought. “More than just killing All Might, because lots of villains want to do that. If there was a message, it didn’t get out. The police and UA haven’t shared much information – not even how the breach happened in the first place.”

Tenko scoffs. “They don’t have a clue. They won’t see it coming the next time we hit them, either.”

He’s planning something else. Your blood runs cold, and for a moment you’re torn about whether or not to ask. Tenko makes the decision for you. “What else do they say about the League?”

“Not very much, otherwise,” you say, and Tenko swears. “There are a lot of villains, just like there are a lot of heroes. People talk about the ones they see the most of.”

“Which heroes do you talk about?”

“I don’t really talk about heroes.” You tie off a stitch, trim the thread to the appropriate length, and take another. “One of my friends has this nasty crush on Endeavor, so we talk about him sometimes, but otherwise – no.”

“Your friend has a crush on Endeavor,” Tenko repeats.

“Like I said. Nasty.”

You’re conscious of Tenko staring at you, and you will your face not to heat up under his gaze. You don’t even know why he’s staring, and you’ve got stitches to do, so it doesn’t matter. Your phone buzzes in your pocket – probably Sugimura, probably confirming your date. A date you’re not sure you want to go on anymore. Did you ever really want to go on it? Or did you just say yes because –

“You look weird.”

You look up from the stitches, startled. “Huh?”

“You look weird,” Tenko repeats. “Your clothes are different and you’ve got stuff on your face.”

Tenko and Mitsuko feel the same about your makeup skills, apparently. “Sorry.”

“Why do you look like that?” Tenko presses. You tie off his next stitch. “Are you going on a date or something?”

You answer without thinking about whether it’s the smart thing to do. “Yes.”

It’s quiet for a long stretch of seconds. “Go on your date, then,” Tenko says. His voice is flat. “I don’t need you.”

It stings. You don’t want it to, but it does, and you look down at the cut on his shoulder so he won’t see it on your face. “You still need a few more stitches. At least let me finish them.”

“No. Get out.” Tenko jerks out of your grip. You barely have enough time to cut the hanging thread on your last stitch. “I don’t want you here. Kurogiri –”

“Shigaraki Tomura, I’m not sure that’s wise.”

“I didn’t ask you!” Tenko swats at you open-handed and you leap backwards. “Get out! I don’t –”

You don’t hear the end of that sentence. Kurogiri warps you away too fast, and possibly saves your life. He drops you back in the alley behind the clinic, holding half a suture kit and still wearing bloodstained gloves. You peel them off and dump them into the garbage, furious with yourself. You shouldn’t have said that. You shouldn’t have talked about your life at all, and above all else, you should have remembered that you were talking to a villain, not your best friend – that whatever’s left of your best friend isn’t enough. He’s angry with you, and he’s been having you followed. Just how angry is he? Angry enough to hurt you? Or angry enough to never talk to you again?

You’re sickened and more than a little scared to realize that you’re more frightened of the latter possibility than the former. It’s entirely possible that you’ve never been in less of a mood to go on a date.

But you do go on the date, because you said you would, and it’s – fine. There’s nothing to complain about, but there’s nothing to be excited about, either. You and Sugimura hug to say goodbye, and you promise to text each other about setting up another one, and then you walk home. Mitsuko texts you, wanting details, or DETAILS, but you’ve got nothing to share. It was just a date, and no matter how many times you try to tell yourself otherwise, you’re angry about it.

Not because of Sugimura asking you out, not because you agreed, not because you went. Because you told Tenko and gave him a reason to get rid of you. Why does this keep happening? Why do you keep finding him and losing him, over and over again? What is it going to take for you to hold on?

“So how was the date?”

The voice emanates from the alleyway on your right and you nearly jump out of your skin. Tenko’s there, hand down from over his face, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He hasn’t changed his shirt. “I didn’t think heroes were your type.”

“They aren’t.”

“Then why were you on a date with one?”

“He asked.”

“And you just go with whoever asks?” Tenko looks half-incredulous, half-disgusted. You shake your head. “Forget it. Come with me.”

You shake your head again and take a step back – away from the alley, closer to the street. Tenko looks frustrated. “Come with me,” he repeats.

“What, so you can kill me?” You take another step back, well into the glow of a streetlight. You see shock flicker across Tenko’s face. “I don’t have a death wish.”

“Well, I don’t want to kill you,” Tenko fires back. He looks surprised at himself for saying it, but only for a moment – then he repeats himself, with more conviction. “I don’t want to kill you. You’re supposed to be my sidekick.”

Your jaw drops. “You remember?”

“I don’t remember everything.” Tenko takes the hand called Father out of the back pocket of his pants and studies it for a moment. Then he puts it away. “I remember that.”

Some kids played a different game every day. You and Tenko always played the same one, with a rotating cast of classmates at your side. All the heroes in the world were working together to fight one big villain, the worst villain the world had ever seen, and Tenko could never decide which hero he liked best, so he played a different one every day. But no matter which hero he played, no matter who else was playing with the two of you, you were always his sidekick. You reminded him every day that you didn’t have a quirk, and he always said the same thing in response, no matter which hero he was pretending to be that day, even though he didn’t have a quirk, either: You don’t need a quirk to be on my side. My quirk’s enough for both of us.

“Come on,” Tenko says again. He holds out his hand, three fingers and his thumb folded down, his pinky finger extended towards you. “Are you coming or what?”

You’ve never seen the world in black and white, but some things are unmistakable: There’s a line here, not visible to others but clear as day to you. On one side of it is Tenko and the darkness that’s swallowed him, the evil that surrounds him, the terrible things he’s done and is planning to do. On the other side is everything else – your dreams, your friends, your family that’s always loved you but used you anyway, a world that’s punished you time and time again for being born without a quirk, the knowledge that the world is so much crueler to so many others. You don’t think Tenko’s planning to kidnap you, to never let you leave. You’ll come back here, physically. You’ll go home and go to sleep and wake up early on your day off to take Yoshimi to her appointment at the main clinic, but you know instinctively that if you cross this line within yourself, there’s no coming back. Tenko was your best friend when you were five years old. Is he worth it?

You hate yourself for asking the question. You leave the light behind and link your finger with Tenko’s. “Where are we going?”

The black mist rises and wells up around you both. “You’ll see,” Tenko says, and for the first time since you found him again, he smiles.

[demonslayedher]

What if nezuko and tanjiro were raised by Obanai and Mitsuri?

Whoa, I have never considered this. Let's assume an altered timeline, so, say, itty-bitty Tanjiro hid with almost-walking Nezuko in a closet when a demon killed their parents. Mitsuri and Obanai, who like one another and have sort of figured that out by they are awkward about where to take it from there (since Mitsuri doesn't want to make the first move but can't figure out why Obanai won't), arrive on the scene, and Kaburamaru finds the hiding children.

Mitsuri is instantly attached and wants very badly to make it up to these orphaned children whom she failed. Obanai is trying to tell her why that idea is irresponsible, but Kaburamaru has already become fiercely attached to the terrified children who find comfort in the cuddly snake. It's not as if Obanai can't relate to that, so he gives in, on the caveat that they will take care of them only until they can hand them off to someone more qualified.

They're first thought is Shinobu, but she already has her hands full. They ask the Kakushi, but the Kakushi insist that this is out of their skill set. They think of asking Ubuyashiki but don't want to bother him by setting a precedent. No luck at Wisteria Houses they come across, who are already doing all they can. Wishing to find someone with experience to adopt them, Obanai makes a desperate visit to Shinjuro, who yells at him to take responsibility and get what was coming to him by so idealistically becoming a swordsman. He announces to Mitsuri (who is already very attached) that they'll see their responsibility through.

Since the Kamado children stay at the Kanroji estate most of the time, this is what gets Obanai to finally meet her family, which pressures them more into considering the state of their relationship, especially they Obanai spends time with the children out of a sense of responsibility and Mitsuri, once the decision to keep them was made, wants to spend as much free time with them as possible. Being in a coparent relationship also forces them to confront Obanai's issues.

Both toddlers take to Mitsuri readily, and they like Obanai too, but they both (especially Tanjiro, who can talk better) are sensitive to him being sad. Obanai is nice and tries to be child-appropriate but answers very plainly and honestly when Tanjiro asks why he's sad, thinking that this is out of respect for a child's intellect. Poor Tanjiro wants to help but is often confused. Obanai is a little annoyed how buddy-buddy Tanjiro and Kaburamaru are but he allows it. As Tanjiro grows up and the snake gets older, Kaburamaru spends less and less time in battle with Obanai. Tanjiro is a dutiful son whom Obanai figures pucked up a lot of traits from being raised by Mitsuri, but he reminds Tanjiro to always be grateful to his original family who loved and protected him too. This makes him supportive (albeit concerned for his safety) when Tanjiro says he wants to fight demons too. Tanjiro eventually picks up Snake Breathing, though Obanai points out that he's not totally suited for it. (If it weren't for how annoying he finds Giyuu, he would suggest Tanjiro try Water Breathing.)

Mitsuri is less supportive because she worries about Tanjiro's safety. He is her wonderful son whom she loves very much, after all. But if he's sure he can accept the risks, she allows him to try.

Nezuko has grown up babied by her unckes and aunts and does not know the responsibility of being an older sister. She always wants to be just like her mom (but Obanai sternly put a stop her dressing up like mom, which made little Nezuko cry because she didn't understand why he was angry). She wears fancy kimono and makes sweets and wears long braids and goes to school, and is a dutiful and sweet daughter as she grows up. Despite having riches, this does seem to go to her head, and she still practices humilty and thrift, which really endears her to Obanai. He originally was a bit more standoffish from Nezuko, but Nezuko feels secure in his care for her even if it's nothing like the open, loving, huggy relationship she has with her adoptive mother. When Tanjiro picks up the sword, she insists on learning too, but Tanjiro and Mitsuri don't want this. Obanai lets her give it a shot, but she's too fiery for Snake Breath, and not physically capable of Love Breath, despite how much she has always done her best to imitate mom.

So Nezuko finally does something a spoiled brat would do and she runs away to ask Uncle Kyojuro for Flame Breath training. This causes a brief argument between Hashira but it is soon settled, and Tanjiro sort of wishes he had thought of that before getting so deep into making Snake Breath work for him. Tanjiro & Kaburamaru and Nezuko eventually go through the Final Selection together and begin a sibling journey to avenge their birth parents, with their adoptive parents giving them their blessing and watching over them from afar.

And then, having seem that through, Obanai is finally ready to get married.

[yandere-sins]

Before reading: R18+, Mature Content Warning, Violence/Gore Warning, Yandere Warning

Oh, my, look what the wave swept in!

Yet another misplaced human in these wondrous waters, a… poor unfortunate soul, as my sister would say. It hasn’t been that long since another tribe—who was it? The sharks?—had been… blessed with an unusual mate. And now there’s you! How exciting! The orcas are a little temperamental, but I’m sure they’ll treat you lovingly– 

Oh… so you want to leave? Already?

Ambitious, are we? Escape the creatures and get back to land. Well, don’t you look determined? Think you can handle these three strong orcas all by yourself? I’d love to see it. I delight in everything happening around these depths of the ocean, as they are so dark and deep, with barely anything transpiring all day. But as of late, love, freedom, and misery swim hand in hand down here. Intelligence and instincts fight battles that are beyond your little human comprehension. I could not be more pleased with the beautiful bonds that are being woven under the sea.

But I will cheer you on, I promise! I might even have some tips for you, seeing how I’ve been around these sandy lands and great reefs longer than you have!

I don’t think you can trust anyone besides me, really, but you’ll need an ally if you want to get back home. But be careful choosing who you trust. Sometimes you have to take drastic actions to get out of a situation, but there are also times when you need to sit back, stay calm, and let someone else handle it for you. And as badly as I know you want to get out… don’t do anything rash.

These orcas have a fickle disposition, and you wouldn’t want them to decide you’re no fun or tastier than they initially thought. In fact, you don’t want them to think about you at all! Otherwise —ey w—t l— —u ——!

You wake up before the voice can finish. Open your eyes?

Welcome, welcome to Mermay ( & Merjune) 2023!

I think most of you have already understood what will happen, but I thought I'd give a small heads-up about the how, so we're all on the same page:

This will be an interactive story, which means you guys will have to work together to figure out how to continue onwards by choosing the right poll option. Every chapter comes with a decision at the end, and three possible choices. But only one will continue the story while the other two lead to 'Bad Ends' aka not continue the story. Your goal is to escape the three orcas because they won't always like your decision, unfortunately.

I can already tell you that if the majority votes for a Bad End, you'll be able to choose again at the end of it, hopefully picking the right option this time. The story will not stop just because the right option wasn't picked. But who knows? Maybe choosing wrong is actually the better option sometimes (;

To clarify, there are 5 main chapters (the right choices) in total, 10 possible Bad Ends and 1 True End. This is not a video game so there are no secret routes. Nothing will change if you choose certain options after another. Your goal ultimately is to finish this story. But... some interactions and information may or may not be hidden in Bad Ends that could be enjoyable to you as well. (After finishing the main story I'll let you guys pick some other options you would have liked to see if you're interested in that ^-^)

One more exciting thing! I was able to commission a good friend of mine to actually do references for the orcas! We're still working on them but I hope you guys will enjoy some visuals of the new bois ♥

And for good measure: Please read the warnings on the individual posts, as some of the stories contain disturbing content not suited for everyone. Don't read what you don't like.

Thank you for participating and I hope you guys will be able to enjoy the story as much as I do ♥ (If you have questions, please ask away any time! ♥)

[bonefall]

can you give us more info on Spottedleaf’s Plague and the events leading up to the beginning of the first book?

Sure! Spottedleaf's Plague is still pretty loose right now, I have an ending in mind but the central theme is still up in the air. It's one of my looser planned SEs, it rotates around in my head like a microwave but it's still uncooked.

(Horrible Histories Plague Song Tune)

The intro is largely Spotty, Red, and Tiger as apprentices.

Whitestorm is a young warrior above them, and the cool older cousin of Red and Spotty

A lot of the dynamic is established. Spotty and Tiger are BESTIES and cradling a mutual crush, Red is kind of a snappish, awkward apprentice

Redtail is trans and is going to transition about midway through this book btw

Thrushpelt is Redtail's mentor. Thistleclaw is Tigerpaw's mentor. Unsure who is Spottedpaw's mentor; looking to pick a molly here.

Growing up, Spotty has to deal with how her crummy uncle Thistleclaw suspects her of being halfclan and has basically become intolerant of his sister, Rosetail, for claiming Queen’s Rights

Tigerpaw is picking up a lot of this

Thistle is a violent, abusive person who subjects Tigerpaw to intense training. Spotty is usually the one patching up his minor injuries

The worst of them happen on the day the Parable of the Thistle is written. He's covered in horrible prickles all over his face, and his paws are cut up

This sends him to the Cleric's Den, which is where Spotty eventually falls in love with the idea of being a cleric.

Featherwhisker is AMAZING, he's so funny and wise, she wants to be like him super badly.

Through hanging out with him, she learns she is absolutely fantastic with rituals. She can draw a perfect circle and has a knack for invoking the warriors of StarClan.

But... more than ever, she is losing Tigerpaw. If she becomes Cleric, they can never be mates, or go to battle training, and they'll spend less time on patrol together

More than a possible romantic partner, she is losing a friend, as he's sucked further down the hole Thistleclaw is digging for him

Bluestar became deputy, and then leader, in less than a month. This was towards the end of Spotty's apprenticeship.

She is overjoyed for this, because Blue is her mom's best friend, and Featherwhisker's choice. (and possibly her mentor's mentor, if her warrior mentor was Frostfur)

Big timeskip at a point, because there are 4.5 years of general peace under Bluestar.

The next big event here is the titular plague, which I'm still unsure of what the disease is specifically. HOWEVER, it is going to be the same plague that Runningnose starts in TPB so I'm planning to play loosely with it, to make its rules easier on myself.

It's either a disease like rabies, or black death.

Possibly a mix of both. Frothing Death?

Info: This disease has some kind of obvious physical symptom but is infectious before that point. It has a survival rate, but can stunt growth. Adults and adolescents are more vulnerable to it than kits and elders.

It spreads first by bat, but is spread further by fleas.

Spottedleaf and Featherwhisker are working themselves to the bone to care for every sick cat

Spottedleaf is taking every waking moment to beg for help from StarClan. They're not totally useless and do manage to get her some good pointers

And then, while tending to Leopardfoot, Featherwhisker gets Anime Blood Cough Disease or whatever I make the symptom LMAO

Tigerclaw loses his mom and Spotty loses her mentor

When she tries to invoke him, StarClan does not send him down.

So... she channels him instead. And he pops up.

StarClan sent him to the Dark Forest even after he died tending to a patient, for his constant disregard of the code and siring a child with a kittypet while on the vow (Frostfur)

That Shakes Her Up A Bit

The final scene, I can see it perfectly in my head:

Tigerclaw finds Spotty while she's still stumbling around, dazed by her revelation, reconsidering everything she's ever thought about morality, StarClan, and the meaning of life. He's furious out of pain and basically trying to provoke her by asking if her path of the Cleric was all worth it

She couldn't save his mom and she couldn't save her mentor, or any of the like 1/4th of ThunderClan that died

And she hears this and like, this Fool. This Stupid Man. He doesn't even know the half of it.

So she starts laughing, because she's Spotty. Shaking her head, returning to her old self, gets her paw on his big ass shoulder (she has to reach up he's so tall)

Paraphrased:

"Nothing matters! Even the things we can change are nothing in the long run! Everyone will forget our names someday and you can be the best clanmate in the world or die trying, we all get buried in the same dirt! My claws can keep us here a little longer but yours can't dig us up and all that matters is what *I* KEEP PEOPLE JUST A LITTLE LONGER AND NO STARS OR WARRIORS WILL TAKE THOSE MOMENTS FROM ME"

Claws dug into his fur Tigerclaw is a bit speechless. Same Old Spotty. "...i apologize, my friend. I was... crass."

Spotty: "s'allright. Im sorry about your mom. Wanna get lunch?"

And that's what I've got so far. I want to keep its ending a bit raw and abrupt, because it's got this budding vibe that Spottedleaf's story is about the life she lived and the moments she's collected within it. Something about the absurdity of it all, how 'wasted' effort isn't totally wasted, and the beauty within just having a person for a little bit longer.

[killuwumi]

Gepard HCS/blurbs

a/n: gepard is so special 2 me....fr.... im back at it with mindless dribble!!!!!!!!!

warnings: shy gepard, lowercase, not proofread, female reader implied, mentions of having a family. (i think that’s all of them lmk if i missed any)

gepard is a really clumsy lover, like, stumbles on his words and isn't always so sure of his actions. i think he has a very cute and clumsy side, but also a serious and strict side. he does not let you talk bad about yourself, but he will talk with you if you feel like you have areas you want to improve in. he is honest, has never lied to you, other than maybe one or two white lies, he doesn't want you to worry. with his job being so time consuming he always finds creative ways for you to hang out. you'll play hide and seek on patrol with him if you're able to convince him, or maybe you spend time practicing your stealth, always trying to get the jump on him while he is patrolling, it helps both of you. but when he is on guard he prefers you don't disturb him. gepard doesn't want anyone hurting you, thinking you are an intruder or monster. lunch breaks are a must with him, you have daily meet up spots depending on what his task is, and since the fragmentum as calmed down he has the chance to take a lot more lunch breaks with you. before he would just skip them and eat small snacks. but now he will get huffy if he doesn't get to see you at least once during the day. whether you fight, or you just work around belobog, he wants to see you. once a day. just once please, he will lose his sweet mind.

he constantly randomly calls you beautiful, stunning, gorgeous. even if you just got done sweating your ass off at work/battles/training. he sometimes doesn't even realize he has let such a statement slip until you return the compliment or thank him. gepard really just can't help but be honest with you, he wants to make you happy. gepard wants to be the one that makes you feel self assured and content. he wants a strong confident partner so he knows that when he is away, or you are, that you feel loved and safe. even when he can't protect you. which he hates by the way, he loves when you are in belobog because he knows you are under his watchful eye, and his undying protection. for you and all the citizens, but especially you.

gepard wants a family, a happy small family. he has a long line of military and brilliant ancestors, and he just feels like you would be perfect to settle down with and carry on that legacy. he wants SO badly for you to take his last name, oh his big heart would melt knowing you carry that name with pride, and it would feel so claiming and validating for him. everyone could stop hitting on you and know that there is a strong man by your side. he knows you can handle anything yourself, but that has never stopped him from being protective, he doesn't view it as his job or responsibility. just something inside him wants to be the one to protect you from others predatory gazes, and all too friendly hands. having his last name holds status too, and he really desperately wants to hear you refer to him as your husband, hubby, whatever you want in that regard. and he'll wear his ring every day, he'll never take it off. it doesn't matter how many battles he enters, he will have his ring until it rots off his finger, and even then it will be there.

he tells his sister everything, even though she has unorthodox methods, and strange ideals in his mind, she is still his sister and even better, a great source for getting the scoop on you. serval was so helpful in the two of you getting together, while gepard had been upfront about his feelings with you, awkwardly asking you on a date with big flowers hiding his blush, he worked so hard to grow those and you didn't even know until serval told you. anyway, gepard was upfront with his feelings after only the few times you had hung out, and that's because every time he went running to his sister and gushed about you for hours, and serval finally told him that he definitely has a crush, more than that even.

so easily flustered, it doesn't matter how long you two are together, even after years you can catch that same blush on his face. it is less red now, but it's still there, he still talks about how amazed he is that you are with him, and how much he appreciates you. but when you gush about him he gets all flustered, hiding his face and thanking you every second. the truth is he replays these moments in his head like a broken record, especially on days when he is away from you. even just the thought is enough to make him have to clear his throat to shake from his thoughts. everyone in belobog knows what he's thinking about when he has that blush on his face. he isn't huge into pda, but he loves to hold your hand. and if you like giving him kisses and hugs in public then he is in no position to deny you in his mind. he calls you his love, princess, dove. has a special soft spot for calling you his flower. doesn't do it often because he gets embarrassed and worried its cringe but you love it.

[scarabsinthestardust]

Better in the Morning // Ch. 15.1

MASTERLIST

CHAPTER WARNINGS: mentions of hospitalizations; injuries including but not limited to a broken leg, head trauma; medications; headaches; nosebleeds; nightmares; slight mentions of suicide/overdose; arguments; angst (but I promise there's some fluff, just bear with me!) Again, I am not a medical professional and have no formal medical training.

word count: 2600+

DANIEL'S POV

Sam stayed in the hospital for another week and a half after he woke up. He was out of the woods, but they wanted to monitor him in case there were any lasting effects of his head trauma. No matter how many times we were reassured that he would be okay, I couldn’t rid myself of the fear that I had when I thought I might lose him.

Our fight was still fresh in my mind, and I’d beat myself up over it and all the things I said to him for a long time. I don’t know if he remembered any of it, though. Granted, we didn’t have any time alone while surrounded by the Kiszka family at the hospital. But he didn’t seem angry at me. Not once did he show any signs of resentment towards me. That almost made me feel worse. He should’ve been angry. He should’ve been blaming me. But he held my hand and shared soft smiles with me, and it gave me some hope that everything would be alright.

He was finally discharged from the hospital and was more than ready to be out of there. His parents and sister had gotten a hotel to be close by, but made a point to not crowd him. I assumed Josh or Jake would want to stay with him, but when he asked me to, my heart swelled. He still wanted me there.

Sam was trying so hard to feel normal again, but it seemed like an uphill battle. He was frustrated about the difficulty he had moving around, wanting so badly to do things on his own and hating to ask for the help he desperately needed. I didn’t mind, of course. I wanted to take care of him, for as long as he’d let me.

He was struggling with brain fog and drowsiness, but he’d been assured that was normal during his recovery. He slept a lot and wasn’t eating as much as I would’ve liked; he was constantly nauseous as a result of the cocktail of meds he was on. He was resistant to the pills, refusing to take them until he couldn’t bear the physical pain anymore. I always offered them on the allowed schedule, though, just in case. The headaches were the worst. They were often accompanied by nosebleeds, and the pain he felt was so excruciating he could do nothing but lay down and cry. And I could do nothing but lay there and hold him.

He'd have nightmares about the accident sometimes. He’d wake up drenched in sweat and out of breath. At first, he never wanted to talk about them, but he eventually caved. He dreamt about what he remembered, which wasn’t much – the oncoming headlights, the smell of gasoline, and the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach when he thought he might not make it out alive. I didn’t tell him I was having nightmares, too.

I couldn’t bring myself to ask, but I didn’t think he remembered calling me. On some nights after Sam was asleep, I’d listen to the voicemail again. I don’t know why I insisted on doing it to myself, but I couldn’t stop, much less make myself delete it. The message is fuzzy, broken apart by static and peppered with the pinging of whichever of the car’s warning notifications were going off. Some kind of hissing can be heard, like the sound of a busted hose, intermingled with Sam’s heavy breaths. His voice follows, cracked and fearful. He coughs in between words, and it’s clear that it’s getting harder and harder to breathe.

Hey, Danny boy. I think… I messed up a little… I don’t know what’s… gonna happen. So just know… I’m not mad anymore. I’m scared, Daniel, I’m really scared. I wish I was home with you, sn- snuggled up watching some dumb movie. I love you. I love you. I love you so fucking much, since forever, for always. I love you. Don’t forget about me. Take care of Rose, take care of everyone. Promise…

I think he lost consciousness then. His voice trailed off and all I could hear was static and the incessant dinging. Hearing his voice like that, imagining how terrified he must have been, made my heart feel like it was being ripped into a thousand little pieces. It made me want to vomit. But still, I couldn’t stop listening to it.

He sat on the floor of the living room, leaned against the front of the couch. It was a mystery to me why he kept doing it, as getting back up with a broken leg and a sprained hand was difficult to say the least. But no matter how comfortable I tried to make the couch for him, he always ended up moving himself down to the floor. “Don’t like the altitude,” he joked.

I tried to remind him when he asked me to hand him a guitar that his hand needed time to heal. He would have none of it. But when he tried to play, everything started barreling downhill again. First, he couldn’t get comfortable, and the joints in his hand complained with every movement. Next came the fumbling when switching strings or frets, and the frequent dead notes that reached my ears. He cursed and muttered under his breath but refused to stop trying. He swapped the acoustic for his seafoam bass; maybe he thought it’d be more reliable. He started strumming the first few notes of ‘Caravel,’ then abruptly stopped. He furrowed his brows and tried again with the same result. After a few more attempts, he squeezed his eyes shut and groaned loudly, bowing his head over the instrument, his messy hair hiding his face. “Fuck!”

“Sam? Is it your head? Maybe you should take a break-“

“I can’t remember,” he said, his voice cracking. He looked up at me, his eyes filling with tears. “I can’t remember how to play.”

Fuck. A million and one thoughts raced through my head. What would that mean for Sam? Would he have to relearn everything? Would he even try? And what would that mean for the band? I couldn’t imagine continuing it without him, and I knew his brothers wouldn’t just replace him. But even though it crossed my mind, Greta wasn’t my first priority. Greta Van Fleet didn’t matter without Sam in it. I worried that he wouldn’t be able to cope if he couldn’t play; he worked so hard to get as far as he did. He gave up college and astronomy to play music. If he couldn’t play… what happens next?

I tried to comfort him as he cried and as he hyperventilated through a panic attack. Rose nudged him, laying her head in his lap. I held him as close to me as I physically could and smoothed down his hair. “Sammy, baby, it’ll be okay. You’re still healing from a traumatic brain injury, and I’m sure all the meds are making you feel a little off. There’s probably a lot you won’t be able to do right away, but you’ll get there. You need time to heal, so focus on that for now, and let the music come after.”

“What if it doesn’t come?”

“Then we’ll figure it out. But it will, and you’ll be back to feeling like yourself again before you know it.”

He cried so much that night, which triggered another headache. After some convincing, he took a dose of pain pills. Right before he fell asleep, he mumbled something, so low that it was almost inaudible. But I heard him. “Will you still love me if I’m broken forever?”

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes filled to the brim with tears. I tightened my arms around him as much as I could without hurting him. “I’ll always love you, Sammy. No matter what. I promise.” He didn’t say anything else, and when I heard a light snore, I knew he was asleep.

~

Sam’s slow, clumsy movements as he tried to get up out of bed woke me up. “You okay?”

“Gotta pee.”

I started to sit up and rubbed my eyes. “Here, let me help-“

“No,” he cut me off. “I can do it on my own, I need to.” I could hear the plea in his voice to let him try. He needed to feel some semblance of independence where he could get it.

I nodded and laid back down, watching him closely for any sign he might fall as he grabbed the crutches and hoisted himself up. I relaxed when he made it to the bathroom okay, although I listened out in case he needed any help. I heard the toilet flush, but while waiting for him to finish up, I must have fallen back asleep. I don’t know how long I was out before I woke back up. The room was still dark, but Sam wasn’t in bed, and everything was quiet. I could see light seeping from under the bathroom door, and Rose lying in front of it. “Sammy, you okay?” My heart started pounding with anxiety when he didn’t answer. I slowly pushed the door open and called his name again. It felt like a punch in the gut when I saw him on the floor, eyes closed, leaned up against the bathtub.

I rushed to him, probably bruising my own knees as I hit the cold tile and placed my hands on his cheeks. “Sam? What happened? Are you hurt?”

His eyes fluttered open and he smiled. “I’m okay, Danny boy. Just tired.”

A sense of relief washed over me, and I adjusted myself to sit with him, just until he was ready to go back to bed. But the relief was quickly replaced with dread when my knee touched something on the ground. An empty pill bottle. I snatched it up, now noticing a second one. “Sam, what the fuck… please tell me you didn’t.” He was slow to respond; my blood ran cold, and my breathing quickened. “Sam?! Fuck!” Call 911. I scrambled off the floor and rushed back to the bedroom to find my phone. I grabbed it off the charger but fumbled and dropped it. Sam called my name as I finally had it back in my hand and was running back to him. My hands shook as I started to dial the numbers, and he called my name again.

“Daniel, it’s okay! I flushed ‘em.”

My movements halted and I stared at him for a moment, trying to register his words. “You… you didn’t take them?”

He shook his head. “I don’t wanna take ‘em anymore. They make my brain fuzzy and I don’t feel like me. So I flushed them.”

“Jesus, Sammy.” I scrubbed my hand over my face and lowered myself back to the floor. I willed my heart rate to even out. This was fixable; we could get refills for the pain meds. If he would even take them. I’m sure it seemed like a good idea to him in the moment, but he might regret it next time he got a severe migraine. I didn’t see the point in giving him shit about it at this point. It was already done and there wasn’t anything that could be done about it right now. “Do you want to go back to bed?”

“Not yet.” He leaned his head back carefully on the edge of the tub. “S’ cold. Feels nice.” We sat in silence for a while until he said, “I’m sorry.”

I thought he was apologizing for tonight, for making me think he overdosed. “It’s okay, you just scared me is all.”

“No. Well… that, too. But I meant for what happened before… before I left.”

It took me a second to realize what he was talking about, and I couldn’t hide my surprise when I did. “Oh. I didn’t know if you remembered that.” I kept my eyes trained on the ground as I thought about what I said to him that night, afraid of what I might find in his. If he remembered the fight, he might resent me for it.

“Are you still mad about it?”

“No,” I answered immediately.

“Would you be if all this shit didn’t happen?” He gestured to the cast on his leg. “It’s okay if you’re still mad at me. I deserve it.”

“No, you don’t, Sam. It was stupid and I acted like an asshole. I’m the one that overreacted-“

“Uh uh.” He lifted and shook his head. “I just wanted attention. And I was mad ‘cause I wanted it from you. I wasn’t flirting with that guy because I actually liked him or anything. I didn’t wanna hurt you, I just wanted to make you jealous.”

I stared at him in disbelief. I probably should have been pissed at his confession. Seeing him fawn over some tool at the bar and follow him around like a lovesick puppy had me livid. If all he wanted to do was make me jealous, it certainly worked. When I confronted him after the fact, it escalated into a full-blown screaming match. We both said so many awful things to each other that I know neither of us meant. But his honesty tonight was refreshing. So instead of being angry, I just laughed, earning a confused look from him.

“You know,” I started, “I love you, but you are such a fucking brat.”

It wasn’t long before he joined in, falling into a fit of giggles. “At least I’m your brat.”

Later on, once we were back in bed, snuggled up under the covers, he grabbed my hand that was wrapped around him and held it tightly to his chest. “Daniel?”

“Hm?” I fought to stay awake, tiredness threatening to take me under.

“I wanna tell them about us.”

I opened my eyes and stared towards him in the dark. We’d kept our relationship a secret for so long, and I couldn’t even remember why. I’m sure we had our reasons, but it all seemed so stupid now. A part of me sort of liked having it to myself, like what we had was just for us and wasn’t anyone else’s business. But the other part of me wanted to take this super important piece of my life and share it with the people closest to us. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

“Really?” He sounded genuinely surprised, as if he expected me to say no.

“I don’t want to hide it anymore.”

“Okay, good.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Do you think they’re really gonna be surprised?”

“Nah. If I had to guess, they probably already know and made bets against each other.”

“Hmph. Fuckers,” he snorted.

I chuckled, and I was so happy that he seemed to be getting back to his old self already.

~

It took three more days before he was willing to pick up an instrument again. He was anxious to even try, but with the right amount of encouragement from me and his brothers, he was back in the saddle. It wasn’t perfect, as he was still working on getting full range of motion in his hand back, but it was promising. After successfully hitting most of the notes in ‘Caravel’ and a few others, he was beaming.

“I told you it would come back to you.”

I was wrong to assume that the twins would have any inkling of my relationship with their younger brother. With eyes wide and jaws dropped, they bombarded us with questions. They were mostly baffled how we had managed to keep it a secret for so long, and right under their noses. I did notice that Kya didn’t seem shocked in the slightest; Sam would tell me later that Kya probably knew before we did. When the initial shock wore off, we received nothing but happy sentiments.

“If there’s anyone I trust to take care of my baby brother, it’s you,” Josh said as he hugged me tightly, and I was so grateful to be lucky enough to be a part of this family.

TAGLIST Let me know if you want to be added!

@hollyco @fleetingjake @musicislove3389

[crescentmoonlupin]

If you need help, I'm here to listen..

There are days that are easier than others. When you have depression, you tend to feel like the world is against you and it just feels like a constant battle that no matter how hard you fight, how much experience you have with it, it just never seems to be enough to throw at the problem. And of course, giving up is never ever an option cause once you do, the monster you are battling just gets bigger. Bigger to the point you just must live with the drooling, foaming beast.

I’ve had depression for a number of years, as of 2024, it’s been about 14 years since I was originally diagnosed, but about 17 since it first manifested itself within my mind. It's never been an easy beast to live with. I’ve tried destroying it by destroying myself. I held it down, but the bubbles never stopped coming up. I tried to drown it in sex, making it seem like the reason I was upset so much was because I was alone and needed the company to get me through, I cut myself so I could hold some sort of “control” over it but, of course that never works. Eventually it becomes an addiction that you don't realize you started, and it takes everything in you to stop. Years even.

To this day, I am still self-destructive. Some days, I wish I could still continue hurting myself, but I know its counterproductive, it’ll never solve anything. It just hurts everyone else who happens to catch it when the wounds are fresh. Cutting myself didn’t make me feel better in the sense I thought it would, it just gave me a false sense of control over something I didn’t have control over. The chemicals in my brain didn’t do what they were supposed to when they were supposed to, and I suffered the consequences.

I wanted to blame everyone else for my problems. My mother, my father, my stepparents. Sisters. Everyone who wasn’t me. “You made me do this!” I’d say, when really, I was the one who put the razor or knife to my skin and pulled. I made it count, I counted every mark, and it’s not a pretty number. Not only did I cut but I carved words into my skin, so I would remember why I did it in the first place. So many initials. Failure. Perfect. HIT ME! I’M NOTHING! Sorry :] Smile. And the list goes on from there. Now it’s just a bunch of scars.

I’m not ashamed of them, and I don’t really regret them, they’re part of me and it was what I thought I needed at the time, ultimately, I was wrong in the end, but teenagers never listen, do they?

I do wish I could go back though, and just talk to myself. Tell myself it does, eventually, gets better. That things do start going right, years down the road. That it’s not worth it to be so angry all the time, and to learn to love myself sooner so I didn’t have t struggle as badly as I am now at almost 30, because yes, we do make it past the age of 18, as surprising as that is for me to even believe to this day. Eventually we meet a man who loves us in his own special way, and we have the most beautiful son to raise together. And he loves that little boy as if he was made from his own blood. He reads him bedtime stories and helps him learn to walk. He teaches him to ride a bike and plays in his sandbox with him, the one he made him for his second birthday.

Things do get better, but you have to fall down so you can get back up, so you can grow up the way you need to, because it is necessary. Because as soon as you heard that little boy’s heartbeat for the first time, you know, you just knew, that everything was going to change and you knew that you would do anything for him, even if it meant changing everything so he could grow up better than you did. So, he can go farther than you ever got. So, you can make sure he is actually stable and doesn’t have to recover from his childhood. Make sure he is okay and knows he is heard.

I just hope I’m doing the right things when it comes to that little boy because I don’t know where I’d be or who I would be without him. There’re days where I struggle and all I want to do is to curl up into a ball and cry till I fall asleep. But I have this little boy watching me every day and I just have to keep going to make sure he has everything he needs to grow into a respectable human and a caring man. Fight for what’s right but know when to step back as well.

[princess-leaorgana]

What Tieflings Do Chpt. 13 (fin)

Summary: After the takedown of The Absolute, Zelphie finds her city in need of more help and her home destroyed. She won't stop helping, but who can help her?

Rolan x Tav (Zelphie; ~30y.o AFAB, Sorcerer, Tiefling, not really described physically on purpose <3)

M/F

Author's Note: Thank you SO MUCH for all the support I have gotten since I began writing about my Tav Zelphie and her romance with my favorite BG3 character, Rolan. This is the final chapter, and I really hope you enjoy it.

Warnings - Spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3, mostly fluff for the sake of fluff with a dash of smut.

Chapter One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve

Or Read all chapters on AO3

Three hours. It had been three hours since Rolan watched that illithid monstrosity fall hard from the sky and crash into the Chionthar, then poetically explode. Rolan’s heart ached. It had ached before, when he thought Lia and Cal were dead just months prior. Or when he finally reached Baldur’s Gate and met Lorroakan just to find him to be a narcissistic sociopath. But now his heart ached hard. That damned sorcerer had saved his life three times, saved his family, given him (unceremoniously) the title of Master of Ramazith’s Tower, a title she could have taken easily if she wanted. The woman who was slowly forcing her way into his mind, his idle and busy thoughts, his dreams. He just watched her fall into the sea and explode. She was on the brain, he knew that. He had manned the tower’s cannons and on the sound of her horn, he would hit the brain with everything the tower had. 

That was three hours ago. In three hours, he had rushed to the Lower City, and saw that Sorcerous Sundries was a bit damaged, but still standing. In three hours he, Cal and Lia had welcomed in the injured from the battle, orphaned children, even just the frightened. Food was summoned and Cal and Lia healed where they could, but the attention of the new hospice center garnered attention from clerics and druids of the area. Once Rolan was certain he was only in the way, he traveled back to the tower, and stared out at the sea. She was dead. Zelphie was dead. Gale was dead. Lae’zel was dead. All of them, the heroes of Baldur’s Gate, had died defending it and the rest of Faerun against the illithid empire. Rolan cried silently to himself, just glad he had thanked Zelphie the last time he saw her. He should have held her, kissed her, thanked her harder. But it was too late for all of that. She was gone.

‘Rolan?’ Rolan didn’t move at the sound of Lia’s voice. He stood, arms crossed, tail limp, staring out to the sea. He heard his sister, but did not respond. She walked over to him. She knew he was upset. They didn’t speak a word of it, but siblings didn’t need to, Lia knew how Rolan felt about Zelphie. Lia adored Zelphie and her companions as well, but Rolan loved the sorcerer. She knew he did. She noticed his wet cheeks, though now he was holding his tears back. ‘Rolan, Zelphie’s here.’ Rolan froze.

‘What?’ He asked, a crack very obvious in his voice.

‘I found her, I went to take a break and she was wandering the streets,’ she continued.

‘Is she hurt?’ He asked and looked down at Lia who shook her head.

‘Not so badly, she’s worn out, but she’s taking a bath and I’m going to send her some food so she can sleep,’ Lia continued and Rolan’s heart pounded. Zelphie was alive. She was alive and fine enough to get herself in an unsupervised bath. Rolan took in a sharp breath and cleared his throat.

‘Good, good, but ah! No, no a hero won’t be sent her dinner, you and Cal and I we-we will invite her to a proper dinner. We must thank her,’ he said, with clear nerves, but was playing the commanding older brother. Lia smiled softly, not usually fine with taking orders from him, but she would do as he bid for Zelphie.

‘I think she’ll love that,’ Lia said and gave Rolan’s shoulder a squeeze. ‘Her uhm, her home was…destroyed so I was thinking maybe…until she gets on her feet-?’

‘Of course she can stay,’ Rolan said quickly and Lia’s smile widened.

‘Thank you Rolan,’ she said and turned on her heel to leave her brother to his thoughts. He watched Lia leave the balcony and exit his bedroom. Once the door was shut and he was truly alone, the grown man fell to his knees and sobbed in his hands. She was alive.

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

‘No, blueberries, daddy likes blueberries bestest!’

’You like the blueberries, dad likes strawberries and chocolate.’

’Nuh-uh!’

’Mumma, milk!’

The kitchen was buzzing in Ramizeth’s Tower. Three young tieflings and their poor mother were baking treats for the master of the tower that morning. Zelphie sent Cal and Astarion out to the market for dinner while she cooked breakfast with her little hellions. Today was Rolan’s fortieth birthday. Zelphie was very anxious to get this right, but she knew more than anything in the world, Rolan loved his children, so to be woken up with his favorite breakfast by his little crew, he would be very happy. 

‘Meil is right, but Dayryn, put some blueberries on the side for daddy, okay?’ She asked her daughter as little Sorax pulled on her dress. Meil was ten now, he had calmed down significantly since being so little, and Dayryn was eight, and had become very defiant. The two eldest children got on like water and oil most days. Sorax was five and was still very clingy to his mother. He was a very sensitive child and Zelphie knew that was her fault. She looked down at her little one and smiled. ‘I’ll get you some milk in just one moment, Raxy, mama can’t burn daddy’s breakfast, alright?’ She asked and the little one pouted. She pouted back at him. Meil was chopped up strawberries with quite the precision. His tail was whipping behind him. Dayryn was eating blueberries near the icebox. ‘Are you going to share those with daddy, or eat them all?’ She asked her daughter who smiled after getting caught and Dayryn walked over to the counter near Meil to grab a small bowl.

Inside the master bedroom, Rolan was sleeping heavily. He had gone a little too far with his drinking last night, celebrating the first few moments of his fortieth year a little too hard with his wife. He was down to a pair of sleeping trousers, blankets only covering one of his legs, he laid on her belly, face buried in a pillow he was clinging to. Not his most dignified look, but not one Zelphie was not used to. Zelphie and their children snuck into the master bedroom, Zelphie holding the tray of food, Meil had his father’s favorite fruit juice, fernberry and a water, Dayryn carried syrup and Sorax was given the responsibility to bring himself and the glass of milk he was chugging. The little imps giggled as they witnessed their father sleeping and Zelphie shooshed them. She placed the food down on his nightstand and picked up Sorax, placing the youngest in the bed. Sorax gave his mother his milk glass, knowing exactly what his new role was.

‘Daddy.’ He crawled over his father, Rolan grunted and Dayryn and Meil giggled again. ‘Daaaaadddyyyyy,’ Sorax called and pulled on Rolan’s right horn. Zelphie smirked and Rolan grumbled and lifted his arm, swatting playfully at Sorax as if the child was a pestering fly. Dayryn was sent into a laughing fit, and Sorax squealed. ‘Daddy! You hafta wake UP!’ He ordered with more laughter.

‘Is it not the best gift in the world to allow the birthday boy to sleep in?’ Rolan grumbled and with another shake of his father’s horn, Zelphie picked her little one up.

‘Come now daddy, your children worked so hard on your breakfast,’ Zelphie called to him sweetly. Rolan grumbled, rubbed his face and rolled over to face his family. He took them in for a moment, his hand still covering up most of his face.

Meil, his eldest, his pride. Meil had come a long way in his short lifetime. Now studious and a little egotistical. He was very proud of being a sorcerer, and although was a great pupil he preferred his mother’s magic and spent a lot of time learning how to control his magic with Zelphie. Regardless, Rolan was very proud of his son, almost more proud that he chose his own path. Meil was the perfect combination of Zelphie and Rolan, all of their children had Rolan’s yellow eyes. Meil had his mother’s hair and nose but everything else was shaping up to look like his father. Long sharp jaw, freckles, full lips and a strong brow. He was smiling at his father, his cheeks up to his eyes with joy.

Dayryn, Rolan’s little sunbeam, his sweet daughter, was Rolan’s little shadow. She turned out not to be a very good pupil, but she spent as much time with her father as Rolan would allow her. She always liked to say ‘Meil is mama’s and I am daddy’s’ which was absolutely not true, but it was cute and Rolan would never correct her. And it was fine that she was attached to her father, her magic was very similar to Rolan’s and that caused a lot of trouble around the Tower. A little hellion with a little wild magic in her, never a good thing. Zelphie warned Rolan about Dayryn and puberty, and he didn’t want to hear it. She stood with a bigger smile than her brother, she was missing two teeth in her front. Her fangs would be a complete set soon. Dayryn had Rolan’s light hair and his eyes but she looked just like her mother in every other way. Little nose and soft face.

Sorax, the little monster, struggling in his mother’s arms, his tail whipping furiously as she held onto him, cracked Rolan up. He was a very funny little kid. He always spoke wildly out of turn and was never trying to be funny with his speech, but Rolan was constantly laughing at his youngest. He was very hyperactive and had genuine troubles paying attention to anything, but he was a problem solver. Sorax was getting out of his crib and escaping his room before his uncle Astarion could teach him. He was very good at puzzles and Rolan saw greatness in his youngest little brat. Sorax was the spit of Rolan. Not an ounce of his mother in him. 

Then Zelphie, his love, his best friend, his companion. His wife, the mother of his children, sister to his siblings, his right hand. She had saved his life again and again and anytime Zelphie got hurt or did anything dangerous, he warned her that if she ever died, he would have no choice but to follow her. Zelphie had changed so much since they began their family. She had been an adventurer, a hero. She still was a hero, but now she was terribly happy as a mother and a jeweler. Yes, with a little bit of pouting, Zelphie finally convinced Rolan to let her work. She sold and enchanted jewelry, she felt like it completed her, after her history in her old line of work. And with her prestige, she had wonderful connections to miners of precious metals and stones up and down the sword coast. He was so proud of her, but all the while she loved him and raised their children. They were her real pride and joy, her life’s purpose. It only made Rolan fall even more for her.

She looked beautiful this morning, he used to truly only be attracted to people who presented themselves finely. Hair up and kept, clothes clean and tailored, face fresh and presentable. This morning, her hair sat on top of her head in a knot that was holding on with pure luck, she had certainly not bathed or had a wash yet, and she was still in her nightclothes with a little mess on them from cooking. The look was certainly proof of how much time she had spent with their three hellions. The look was love and comfort and he wished the children would leave for about fifteen minutes so he could take her back to bed.

‘I am the luckiest man on Toril,’ he said softly.

‘Happy birthday daddy!’ Dayryn cried and Rolan grunted as he sat up and rubbed his face.

’What on the ever loving material plane is going on?’ He asked, playfully and reached out for Sorax who was happy to sit in bed with his father. Sorax giggled and Dayryn took that as her cue to get up with her father and brother, never wanting to be left out. He kissed Sorax and put him firmly in his lap. Dayryn cuddled up to Rolan and got an arm and a tail wrapped around her.

’Made you breakfast dada,’ Sorax explained and Rolan chuckled.

’And I’m sure you did a great deal of work, Raxy,’ Rolan responded and looked at Meil, giving him a little wink. Meil smiled and shrugged.

’I helped the most, daddy,’ Dayryn said and Rolan reached over and kissed the top of her head behind her little horns. They were beginning to curl like her mother’s.

’Oh, yes I’m sure, and mummy and Meil just sat back and watched, I’m sure,’ he said and Dayryn nodded fiercely. Rolan knew that wasn’t true and Zelphie wrapped an arm around Meil, rubbing his arm, silently thanking him for just letting his younger siblings have that.

’Alright you two, if you sit with daddy, you sit still so he can eat his breakfast,’ she said and got nods from her youngest children. She placed Rolan’s tray of food down and Rolan sighed happily, kissing Sorax’s head again.

‘Look at all of this, I’ll need another sleep after I’m done with this!’ He said and Dayryn giggled.

‘Would you like some juice, dad?’ Meil offered and Rolan grinned at his eldest.

‘Oh, my favorite,’ he said and gave his son a wink. Meil smiled and poured his father a glass of fernberry juice.

Zelphie shuffled the children out of the bedroom so that Rolan could eventually eat in peace without eight eyes staring at him. Astarion, Cal and Ayla had returned from the market with delicious meats for dinner and before anything else happened, Cal cornered Zelphie to talk to her in private. 

‘I have to talk to you about something. Please don’t tell Rolan, not yet. Not today,’ he said and Zelphie looked at her brother-in-law curiously. They were both in the kitchen and her eyes darted to the door where Astarion had left with Ayla. She looked back at Cal, very worried. Her and Cal were incredibly close and she loved him, truly loved him, but rare was the moment when he needed to talk to her alone about something. Especially with the caveat that Rolan couldn’t know.

‘Do you want to go somewhere more private?’ She asked, placing a cloth bag away from Cal’s shopping.

‘No, I’ll be quick. Uhm. Astarion and I have been talking for…a while,’ he said and Zelphie just let him talk. He seemed nervous. Zelphie was nervous. Talking about what? Another child? Divorce? Moving away? She didn’t want to guess. ‘Since we started seeing each other, actually, he brought it up very early and I always told him I would think about it. And I’ve decided what I want, I erm, I’m going to…choose to live with him forever. As an immortal,’ he said and Zelphie blinked a few times.

This idea had slipped across her mind a few times, for as long as she knew Astarion. Astarion was an elf, with an incredibly long lifespan, seven times as long as a tiefling. Even without his vampirism, his time with Cal would seem fleeting in his long life. By the end of it, he might have forgotten Cal all together. It was a strange thought, but the price of loving an elf. However, Astarion was a vampire spawn. He was immortal. He could live until the sun burned out. What would Cal be to him then? Or Ayla?

But immortality could not be reversed. Nor could the side effects of being a vampire.

‘How would you do that?’ She asked and Cal sighed. Zelphie wouldn’t judge him. It was an insane idea, but Cal said he’d been thinking about it for a decade. ‘What about Ayla?’ She asked and Cal frowned.

‘Astarion has done research and has found a woman in Cormyr that can…assist. For quite the price,’ he said and Zelphie frowned. Was Cal going to be bitten? Who was this person? How could they trust her to let Cal bite her back? She chewed on her bottom lip. ‘As for Ayla, she has more time than me. I need to make this decision now…but Ayla can choose when she’s grown. We will inform her later in life, she barely understands how Astarion is now,’ he answered and Zelphie nodded. She didn’t know what to say.

‘You’ve made up your mind completely?’ She asked him and he nodded slowly.

‘Yes,’ he said and Zelphie walked over to him and hugged him.

‘Then I love you, and thank you for telling me,’ she told him and he hugged her back. ‘You’re the smartest person in this tower, Cal, I know you made the right decision,’ she said and Cal hugged her tighter, burying his face in her neck and taking a deep inhale and letting it out. Relief. ‘And I’m not saying this to deter you in any way, but you tell me if you have ANY second thoughts, and tell me if Astarion is pressuring you, alright?’ She asked and Cal sighed, lifting his head.

‘He’s not,’ he began defensively and Zelphie moved back a little.

‘I know, I know, but just in case he might, I’m here for you, alright?’ She asked and he nodded. Her smile went a little crooked looking at her brother. She lifted her hands to his cheeks and tilted his head so she could kiss his forehead. She trusted him that he knew what he was doing. Cal could be a pushover, but he was incredibly intelligent.

‘Love you, Zelphie,’ he said softly and Zelphie smiled.

‘I love you more.’

The family spent the day out in the city, the children had more fun than their father, that was for sure. Sorax was given sussar milk to stop him from teleporting everywhere. Dayryn was very insistent on getting her fingers in something sweet to eat and Meil was doing his best to impress his father with his behavior. Rolan was just happy to be out. Zelphie kept asking him what he wanted to do next and he kept telling her he was happy to watch the children play and walk and chat with her. It was the truth, though Zelphie didn’t believe him. It was his fortieth birthday, surely he’d want to do something special. No, just a walk around the market, looking at little things and trying food. They took some newly acquired treats to the park and enjoyed the sun and the lovely day. Sorax was very interested in the fauna and insect life while Dayryn sat in her father’s lap, telling him about her new treats. Meil got a new book and was buried in it, lying against his mother’s side.

‘Sorax! Leave that dog alone,’ Zelphie hissed at the young one and Rolan laughed.

‘He’ll learn the hard way that not all four legged creatures are as sweet as Lajy,’ he chuckled and Zelphie smirked.

‘Maybe we should get him a puppy to teach him a little responsibility,’ she said and Rolan snorted.

‘Don’t you dare bring a mutt into the tower,’ he told her and she glanced at him with a smirk.

‘I want a puppy!’ Meil said, snapping out of his book and Rolan gave his son a sour little look.

‘No,’ he said simply and Meil huffed a bit.

‘Be better house broken than Rax,’ the ten year old muttered and Rolan laughed. Rolan looked back at his youngest, who was still badgering an old street mutt.

‘Sorax, come here,’ he said and the five year old scrunched his nose and obeyed his father, his tail whipping angrily behind him.

‘Drop the attitude, come here,’ Zelphie told the little one, holding out her hand so her son would sit with her.

‘Daddy, where were you born?’ Dayryn asked and looked up at her father. ‘In the tower like me?’ She asked and Rolan grinned and shook his head.

‘No, I came from another city called Elturel. It’s far from here, to the east, but still along the river,’ he explained and Zelphie watched him as she played with Sorax’s hair. She knew Rolan would be careful with stories of his homeland around their children. ‘It’s a beautiful city, full of colorful people, clean streets, fantastic festivals and eternal daylight,’ he explained, putting on a good little show for Dayryn.

‘Could I be born there?’ Dayryn asked and Rolan chuckled.

‘You were born in the greatest city along the Sword Coast, sunbeam. It’s a privilege to be born in Baldur’s Gate,’ he continued and Dayryn shrugged. That made Zelphie laugh. Rolan glanced at Zelphie and back down at Dayryn. ‘Mumma was born in Baldur’s Gate. As was your uncle Astarion,’ he explained and Dayryn popped another sugary sweet into her mouth.

‘Can we go there?’ She asked, meaning Elturel. Rolan faltered a little.

‘Maybe one day,’ he decided and Meil pipped in.

‘Teiflings aren’t allowed in Elturel, they were banished,’ he said simply and Zelphie gave her son’s tail a little tug and gave him a stern look. Dayryn’s head snapped back up at her father.

‘Why?’ She asked. It was a wonderful thing that none of their children had ever received the prejudice against them that their parents and older family had. Baldur’s Gate hadn’t removed the cancer that was the hatred towards tieflings but since the city watched two tieflings save the world and Rolan’s appointment to arch mage, the city had been much more accepting of the family. Biases were still frequent, but the children of Baldur’s Gate’s savior and guardian were loved and respected. Zelphie was very happy about that, but she didn’t want to explain to her eight year old about that bias. She didn’t want to teach her child about hatred. She knew that was unrealistic, but her daughter and sons were still too young, in her opinion, to learn about the horrors tieflings were usually put through.

‘Sometimes, Dayryn,’ she said, stepping in to take the heat off of Rolan. ‘People just don’t like others that are different looking than themselves. And sometimes those people are in power and can make rules about people who look different, but,’ she said and glanced down at Meil who was not looking satisfied with this answer. She had to take a look at some of the books he was reading. ‘Even though what the leaders in Elturel did was unkind, if daddy and auntie Lia and uncle Cal were still in Elturel, daddy would have never met mommy. So sometimes, even tieflings with the worst luck have the best luck, hm?’ She asked her little one, who smiled a little.

‘So that’s where you and mommy fell in love?’ Dayryn asked Rolan and he grinned.

‘I fell in love with your mommy when we first met, east of here in a Druid’s grove in the wilderness,’ he answered and Zelphie laughed. She wouldn't correct him in front of the children, but that was a boldfaced lie. When they first met, Rolan would have liked to see her vanish from existence. He was not in love with her when they first met. He was stressed and frightened and hated her for being so nosy. But it was a nice story for the children. She held Meil a little closer and the boy wrapped his thin tail around his mothers arm.

’Cuz she’s so beautiful?’ Dayryn asked and Rolan smirked at his daughter.

’That was certainly the first thing I noticed, the second was her bravery and kindness,’ he told her and Dayryn’s smile only grew and she looked at her mother.

’Yeah, that sounds right.’

At night, Rolan stayed up with Cal and Astarion, drinking a little much while Zelphie put the children to bed. She said she would come right back, but about half an hour after she left, she was still missing. Rolan slowly sauntered to his room, planning on a bath and smuggling Zelphie into bed. He would declare that he was at the perfect level of inebriation. A little floaty and silly but still in control of himself, mostly. When he got into his bedroom, Zelphie was sitting on the bed, smiling at him. She was in a deep maroon night dress, her hair was down. Little minx she was. He smiled back at her, slowly removing his clothing as he walked towards the bed.

‘Well, that’s a lovely wrapping for my present,’ he said playfully as he got closer and Zelphie kept eye contact with him.

‘Yes, for your birthday,’ she said simply and Rolan lifted an eyebrow. He knelt down on the bed and grinned at her. She wasn’t moving very much, just still keeping eye contact.

‘Are you alright?’ He asked her softly, crawling over her, reaching out for a kiss. She sat very still.

‘I am a perfect replica of Zelphie, you will find I am quite alright,’ she said and Rolan froze. He knew something was off. But how could this be? Was this an unperson? But who cast it? Surely not Zelphie. No, Rolan had been teaching her for years to cast magic, she was not so advanced. She was an awful student. Before he could open his mouth, his tail was pulled. He yelped and jumped up, turning around quickly, standing off the bed. Zelphie, she had her hand to her mouth, hiding a wide smile. She was wearing the same little nightgown the unperson was wearing. His wife giggled at him. He felt a drop in his stomach. What was happening?

‘Zelphie? What’s going on?’ He asked her and she giggled again.

‘Aren’t you impressed? I’ve been studying,’ she said and placed her hands behind her back. Rolan looked back at their bed and swallowed hard, seeing the magical replica of his wife, who was just staring off, just past the real Zelphie. His head could barely even wrap around the fact that this spell was quite the accomplishment for Zelphie. He looked back at her and furrowed his eyebrow. 

‘Who taught you this?’ He asked and Zelphie took a step closer to him, he could see her tail twisting behind her.

‘You’re brother-in-law,’ she said, a big proud grin on her face. ‘Took two years,’ she said and Rolan frowned. When did she have time for that? Two years? ‘Is it good?’ She asked him and he looked back at the unperson. It had certainly fooled him for a moment.

‘She is perfect,’ he said softly and looked back at his wife and shook his head. ‘No…I uhm..that’s not what I mean I….’ Zelphie giggled again. What a strange situation he found himself in. The cogs in his brain began to tick and his brows furrowed again. ‘Why is she….here?’ He asked her softly and Zelphie went bright red. She was hoping he would be brilliant enough to figure it out.

‘Happy birthday,’ she said in a simple response, stepping towards him, kissing him deeply. He kissed her back. Her tail coiled around his leg. Zelphie had conjured up a replica of herself for Rolan’s pleasure. He’d never been sexually frustrated, and never had any complaints with their sex life, but after ten years of their relationship, Zelphie came up with a way that might have made it more exciting for him. She sighed against his lips and he chuckled. She felt him break the kiss and when she opened her eyes, he was looking at the unperson, who was now watching them from the same spot on the bed.

‘It’s staring at us,’ he said and Zelphie laughed, looking over at her replica, silently commanding it to participate. It stood up off the bed and walked over to Rolan. It reached up to his hair and stroked his long brown hair gently. Rolan watched it, swallowing hard, looking a little uncomfortable. Zelphie reached up and kissed along his jaw gently, and he made a funny little sound, a whimper. He placed his hands on Zelphie’s waist, but just kept staring at the unperson, who was now attempting to stroke him under his trousers. He got tense and then shook and Zelphie stopped kissing him.

‘Rolan?’ She asked and he looked down at her.

‘I’m sorry…I-I,’ he stammered, flustered and Zelphie lifted up her hand and the unperson sat on the bed in one quick motion, like a dropped doll.

‘Do you not like it?’ She asked him softly and he looked down at her for a moment and then back to her unperson.

‘I like the idea of it…I don’t..think I can handle the execution,’ he said and Zelphie tilted her head. She hated that she guessed wrong that Rolan would like this, but it didn’t matter. She waved her hand again and in a purple shimmer, the unperson disappeared and they were back alone in their bedroom. ‘I’m sorry, that must have taken so much work…I-‘

‘Shhhh…it’s your birthday, not mine,’ she told him softly and she felt his thumbs rub her hips, caressing the deep infernal divets. He leaned down and placed his forehead on hers.

‘I am very impressed, it did fool me…until it spoke,’ he said and she laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

‘Oh, so not perfect marks then?’ She asked him playfully. She didn’t want him to feel guilty about being uncomfortable about the false little party she had planned. Rolan grinned and gripped her tighter.

‘Mmmm…maybe it would have been had you had a better teacher,’ he teased her, his voice low and possessive. She leaned up for a kiss, but he backed away a little. She pouted and his grin got bigger. ‘You're spending a lot of time with Gale, hm?’ He asked her and she threw her head back with a laugh.

‘Mmmm…yes, day and night, between my work and duties here with the shop and my Archmage husband and our three children,’ she tested him. They both knew he was joking around.

‘So you abandoned your husband and three children to go…cavort with your husband’s competition, I see,’ he purred and Zelphie just reached up and kissed him. He was being ridiculous, so she would shut him up. An hour every few days with Gale and she was able to summon an unperson. Gale eventually found out what it was for, and he never said a word about it. He and Rolan weren’t so different when it came to romance, it seemed. She pulled him gently and she sat on the bed. ‘Mmm...I do feel guilty, what shall my Rolan get for his birthday now? Since his wife ruined his evening?’ She asked and Rolan gave her a playful little pout. He stroked her cheek gently, re-memorizing the little grooves of her face, her neck and her chest. How red her eyes were, how they blazed for him. His tempting little tempest. The seductive sorcerer. Ten years of bliss. What else could Rolan wish for, from her? She who had given him everything. There was only one thing a man that had everything could ask his wife for.

‘One more,’ he whispered and her eyes fluttered, waiting for him to finish his sentence. He didn’t, and she tilted her head and she looked into his earnest eyes. Whatever it was, she wished to give it to him. He only had to ask.

‘One more?’ She asked and he nodded.

‘Yes…or at the very least…for my birthday evening, I’d like to think…you’ll be trying to give me one more,’ he said, still speaking in a riddle. His eyes flashed to the bed and then back to her. Her stomach dropped. She had offered him a Weave induced threesome, and this was his substitute? To get her pregnant? Is that what he meant? Her shoulders straightened and he sighed. ‘That…requires more discussion, I know, but for tonight, could we…pretend that’s what we’re doing?’ Her eyes grew and she felt her mouth open a little. Zelphie and Rolan were very sexually honest with each other, Rolan had his fair share of quirks over the years, some that had dulled, some that emboldened, others that came and went with the weather. He still love biting her, a favorite that would only pop up once or twice every blue moon would be Rolan fucking her quickly in the shop. Never incredibly public, but the excitement was here for him. He usually preferred Zelphie on top, using him. He loved when she rubbed herself and got off on his tail. But a breeding kink? Was that new? When Zelphie was visibly pregnant, Rolan was relentless. Her last pregnancy with Sorax made him behave. It was a very tiring pregnancy, but he would constantly touch himself to just the sight of her to make up for it all.

’You…want us to pretend as if you’re…’

’Trying to fuck another hellspawn into you,’ he finished for her and her eyes grew larger and her tail swished behind her hard. Rolan smiled at her reaction. He nodded at the head of the bed and Zelphie moved back on the bed. Rolan began to remove his wrap shirt and Zelphie watched him closely.

’Just…playing around, right?’ She asked him, clarifying and Rolan grinned. His shirt was off and he was removing his trousers and kicking off his lovely leather shoes.

‘That is what I said…unless,’ he purred and Zelphie blinked. He was right, this conversation warranted further discussion. He looked at her and chuckled. ‘I’m sorry, my gem, don’t worry about it, yes, just play,’ he told her and crawled onto the bed. ‘Goodness, you look terrified,’ he told her and kissed her cheek gently. ‘We don’t have to,’ he said and Zelphie shook her head.

‘No…I’d…I’d like that,’ she said and Rolan grinned, flashing his fangs before kissing her deeply. As familiar as breathing, Zelphie’s tail coiled around Rolan’s naked thigh, her arms doing the same around his neck. Her heart was fluttering. What a compliment, Rolan fantasizing about getting her pregnant again. It wouldn’t happen, of course, she was sure, but it was a wonderful feeling. Rolan loved her so much he wanted to give her another baby. He loved their children so much he wanted another one. Even if it was just a fantasy. That was part of it, wasn’t it? Surely, if he didn’t love her when she was swollen and pregnant and did not live their children terribly, this kink wouldn’t be one of his. Surely, he would be repulsed to think of impregnating her. Instead he fantasized about it.

She felt Rolan’s tail slither up her thigh, the pointed tip teasing her inner thigh. She moved her hips a little and Rolan dipped his head and planted gentle kisses down her neck. Zelphie gasped lightly, not used to Rolan being so gentle before sex. He was kind of course, but always so possessive. Biting and pulling and grabbing and squeezing. Now just light kisses, sweet touches. His hands ran down the satin of her nightdress and pulled on the hem gently.

‘As much as I love how much you wrapped my gift,’ he spoke, his purring loud. Zelphie grinned and looked down at him. He moved his head lower to kiss down her nightdress, making it to her tummy.

‘What a horrible gift. Same thing you get every night,’ she said playfully and Rolan lifted his head a little.

‘In ten years I’ve never wanted anything more than I’ve wanted you,’ he told her softly and she placed a hand on his cheek.

‘You shouldn’t want me, you have me,’ she told him with a softer voice. He smiled sweetly at her.

‘Fine, then let me play with my toy,’ he said and dipped his head back into her lap. Zelphie laughed and gasped when she felt his hot breath on her middle. Like her neck, he peppered light kisses on her delicate skin before his tongue separated her lips. Zelphie relaxed, her hands on his head and sighed out when she felt his hot tongue on her. He muttered something to himself and Zelphie moaned softly, relaxing even further. He always took his time in the beginning, massaging her with his tongue, as if he was enjoying a treat. He would say this was the same thing as enjoying a sweet treat. He loved hearing her sighs and coos and her fingers stroking his hair. He was a little drunk and would take his time. He wanted her kicking and beginning for release, for him to quicken his motions. He knew exactly what she liked, he knew exactly how to get her to finish quickly. But it was his birthday, not hers.

She placed her hands on his horns, rubbing the ridges gently. Her leg rubbed up against his sides, trying to just enjoy herself and relax. She always felt guilty about this. It should be her pleasuring him, not the other way around. But he was always so insistent on going down on her. ‘Mmmm…who taught you how to do this?’ He asked him softly and he just chuckled, keeping himself focused. He wouldn’t stop his rhythm. Stubborn wizard. The vibrations from his laugh kicked off a wave of pleasure and she moaned again. Rolan felt her shift her hips, moving so his tongue would hit the exact angle she wanted. He didn’t move from his position, but he quickened his pace, moaning against her. Zelphie jolted a little and looked down at him. His eyes were closed until she ran her hands through his hair again. He flashed his eyes open at her and another pulse, another wave washed through her. Zelphie’s head fell back on the pillows and she cooed some more. ‘Please…’ she whimpered and Rolan didn’t need any more instruction. Sure, she wasn’t begging, but he always obeyed his wife’s requests.

He followed her hips as she arched her back, applying more pressure with his tongue, moving very quickly, but keeping his pace. Zelphie felt a pulse and she grabbed onto his horns. She pulled on him gently, needing him to apply more pressure. She gave a coo, almost a little sound to push herself over the edge manually. She felt another pulse, a little warm pressure. Rolan moaned against her again, a low purr, a happy, hungry moan. 

‘Oh gods, ah-ah-‘ Zelphie’s toes curled and her tail thrashed on the bed. Rolan moaned again. ‘Oh! Oh…I-I-‘ a burst of hot pleasure rippled through her body and coursed to her middle. She bucked her hips as wave after wave washed over her, to her toes, her fingertips, her breasts, her cheeks. Rolan’s tongue moved to her entrance, helping her ride out her orgasm properly. ‘Mmmmmm…oh…’ she said and shivered and Rolan knew that was his que to either stop or get kicked. Zelphie shivered again and closed her eyes.

’Mmmm…gods are you beautiful,’ Rolan purred as he wiped his face, licking his fingertips almost casually. Zelphie’s red eyes stared at him. He was devastating to look at, and through the afterglow of an orgasm, he was never more beautiful. He looked at her and grinned. She was wearing quite the look, chest heaving, eyes lidded, cheeks flushed and hair a mess. She wasn’t even naked. He leaned over and kissed her, and she wasted no time kissing him back and wrapping her arms around his neck. ‘Ready for me?’ He asked her softly, touching himself gently and she felt him right up against her and she nodded, kissing down his jaw. ‘I’m going to fill up that belly of yours,’ he growled and slowly pushed into her. Zelphie sighed softly as she felt his full length enter her. ‘You want me to fill you up? Put another baby in you? Hm?’ She had almost forgotten about his request and she looked up at him and nodded.

’Yes, I want it, I won’t drink my tea tomorrow,’ she said and Rolan’s eyebrows furrowed and he looked into her eyes for a moment. Zelphie’s eyes grew and her face got warm from embarrassment. Was that wrong? Rolan snorted and laughed, flashing her his sharp fangs. Zelphie frowned and watched him. ‘What?’ She whined and he shook his head.

’Nothing…nothing that was cute,’ he said and leaned back up to kiss her and she whined again. He laughed again slowly pumping in and out of her.

’Rolaaan,’ she whined and he leaned back a little. ‘Was that wrong to say?’ She asked and he grinned.

’No, it was fine, it was fine,’ he continued, reassuring her, not wanting to lose his rhythm. It was fine, of course, he just found it funny.

’Do you want me to drink my tea tomorrow?’ She asked him genuinely and his face twisted in more howling laughter. 

‘Zelphie stop!’ He howled and with another whine the couple continued. Rolan didn’t get exactly what he asked for on his birthday, but the couple spent the rest of the night in each other's arms making each other laugh. It was exactly what he needed. 

Spent and sober, Zelphie brushed Rolan’s long brown hair, humming a little to herself as Rolan attempted to stay up with a book. For ten years, this had been their routine, sex, a cuddle, pampering, booking reading, it was heaven or the both of them. Zelphie would chatter a lot of nights, sometimes Rolan would rant and rave, but most nights, the couple wouldn’t say a word to each other during this little ritual. They spoke a silent language. Their days were full of so much chatter, better the shop, Rolan’s lessons, their children, it was nice to finally relax and be with their favorite person in the world and just unwind. Even if that meant silence. 

‘Zelphie?’ Rolan asked as he shut his book and she hummed in response. Rolan sat up and she stopped brushing his hair. He turned to her and she smiled at him. ‘I didn’t think I was going to live to be forty,’ he said and Zelphie’s eyes widened and her face softened. ‘As you well know, there was a time in both of our lives where I thought any day would be my last, I’m sure you felt that too,’ he said and Zelphie nodded.

’That was a long time ago,’ she told him and stroked his cheek. ‘You’ll find a cure for your own mortality before Kelemvor even thinks of trying to take you from me,’ she said and Rolan smirked.

’Take me from you? Oh, so you’re going to outlive me?’ He asked and she snorted and grinned.

’Obviously,’ she added and he chuckled.

’Mmmm…’ he said and shook his head wanting to get to his original point. ‘I also used to think I would grow up and be a bachelor for the rest of my days,’ he said and Zelphie smirked.

’Ha ha, I win,’ she chortled and Rolan wrinkled his nose at her.

’Yes, yes you do. You made sure not only will I die a happily married man, but old and senile,’ he said and took her hand from his cheek and kissed it. 

‘Mmmmm…don’t give me all the credit. You are the one who invited me to stay here. And invited me upstairs when I was so vulnerable and you kissed me,’ she said and Rolan’s nose wrinkled.

’You kissed me, and that night I practically had to pull you off of me, thank you very much,’ he said and she copied his nose wrinkle.

’How dare you! I was in a state of inebriation, and I was very distracted by our new kitten,’ she said and Rolan gave a little pout. Poor Lajy. He was an old man now, snoozed all day and only got up to snuggle with Sorax.

’Gods, what a lifetime ago,’ he said and shook his head. ‘My point being, you not only saved my life, saved my family...but gave me my own family. Something I was sure I wouldn’t have. I always knew I’d be a fine uncle, maybe, but a father? Mmmm…not so without my Zelphie,’ he said and Zelphie grinned at him.

’You say all of this every anniversary and birthday we have, and you always forget, before you I was alone. I was homeless, I had no family, and I was selling myself to feed myself. Rolan, we can’t fight three times a year over which one of us saved the other, I’m getting too old,’ she said with a genuine smile on her face. Rolan just smiled back at her and shook his head.

‘Have another baby with me,’ he said and leaned in to kiss her, but she backed up and laughed.

’Rolan!’ He chuckled with her, but was very insistent on getting that kiss. He twisted his body to lay on top of her and she melted happily into his kiss. He was a lunatic, in her mind, but how could she not fall for his flirtation? As the couple relaxed, kissing and touching each other, there was a loud banging on their door.

’Mama!’ Daryryn was at their door. Rolan lifted his head and sighed and Zelphie smirked at him.

’Do go on about wanting another one,’ she said and Rolan swatted at her backside and rolled off of her, walking to his wardrobe for something to wear. Zelphie put her nightgown back on and collected her daughter, who was, apparently, not feeling well and insisted on cuddling with her parents.

Zelphie read to her daughter, stroking her hair lovingly as the young girl cuddled happily, trying to read along. Rolan removed all light from the room, except for a small glow from his hand to relax Dayryn. The glow would change from purple to pink to red to blue to red to yellow and on and on. It worked quickly. It seemed to work on Zelphie as well. He stayed up with his book, Dayryn curled up against him, in the middle of her parents and Zelphie curled up around her, snoring lightly. Once he heard both his wife and daughter snoring, he placed the book on his nightstand and let the soft glowing of his hand disappear.

After all, Rolan didn’t need the light anymore.

<3

[midnightlizard]

How would Nia Nal react to her little brother getting hurt on a mission?

You're my responsability

Nia Nal & brother!reader

Warnings: nothing

Word count: 1.3k

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oh she'd be furious, livid even

The only words that came out of her mouth every time you got hurt were cuss words and harsh remarks.

When it comes to a small cut or a superficial bruise you could get away with a simple scolding and a slap of the wrist.

But whenever it was something serious - which in Nia's terms could mean a broken bone - she would become insufferable, snapping at everyone who dares mentioning the mission for the following days.

One could say things got a lot better after a long and difficult conversation between her and Alex, you don't know what really went down in the office the day you heard your sister shouting at the redhead, or rather with the redhead, you just noticed a much deeper bond between the two. Having more things in common than you think.

However, things were still tense with you, you tried to be patient because you knew she was just worried about you.

But sometimes she really didn't think the effect her words could have on you.

This time you got hurt. Badly. It wasn't life-treathning or anything, it just looked bad on the outside and felt worse on the inside. You'll manage, you've suffered worse things in your life.

In the week that you spent in the DEO recory room, your sister never came to check up on you. You could see her walking past the glass door time and time again. Sometimes she was wearing her suit and was clearly in a hurry, and sometime she was wearing her normal clothes, walking with someone. They would greet you with a smile and a small wave, while the only interaction you got from Nia was a quick glance towards you, before she lowered her head to look at the ground.

So much for worry.

When Alex said you could finally be dismessed you didn't know how to feel, you were obviously happy to get back to your normal life, but the mere though of having to interact with Nia - even though she was the one avoiding you in the first place - almost made you nauseous.

Alex could see the battle in your mind displayed in the crease of your eyebrows, and decided to speak up softly "You know she cares about you, right?"

You sighed "I know" you knew better than to judge your sister on a simple, very hurtful, very confusing behaviour "I just don't get all that anger towards me, I might have made a mistake but the mission was still a success"

"She's didn't ignore you out of anger, (Y/N)" you scoffed at that.

"Then why would she?" you slightly raised your voice, thanfully Alex didn't take it to heart.

She offered you a kind smile, this all situation reminding her of when Kara first revealed herself to the world "I can't tell you that, what I can tell you is that you should give Nia a chance to explain herself"

You kept replaying Alex's words in your head as your leaned your elbows on the balcony of the DEO. It was nithtime by now and the chilly air was sneaking through you light shirt hitting you warm chest. You preferred this rather than the costant tempersture of the hospital room. And the sunset was a sight to behold from this height.

"You shouldn't be out here without a jacket, you could catch a cold"

You turned around at the sound of her voice, slightly limping as you did so. You crossed you arms over your chest. She must have seen you shiver a moment ago. "As if you care"

"Of course I do" she admitted quietly, wounded by your assumption. Nia tried looking into your eyes but your hard gaze only made her lower her head once again.

Then it came. The question Nia was dreading to hear - "Then why have you been ignoring me all week?" - but one she knew she had to answer nonetheless.

"I wanted to, I really did" she began fiddling with her fingers, her eyes moving around, not daring to reach your own. This was the first time you saw her more insecure than angry. "But every time I thought about coming into your room, looking at your wounds would have brought me back to that night. And how it could have gone differently-"

"oh my god would you drop it already?" the brunette was taken aback by your outburst "you need to stop lecturing me about every single mistake i make!"

"what are you talking about?" she stammered out.

"ever since I started using my powers you have tried to stop me, I just want to help people like you but you won't let me!"

"I'm not trying to stop you!" she started screaming too now "you're my little brother, I'm trying to protect you"

You took a big breath when you saw Nia having a hard time finding words and handing them to you in a way you would understand. And screaming at each other was definetly not going to help.

You leaned back against the balcony behind you. Standing was starting to hurt but you were not planning on telling your stupidly over-protective sister that. "Look, I know what I signed up for when i started working for the DEO. I knew the risks but I still decided to take the job because helping people with my gift is what I want to do. I'm sure you can understand that. I'm not a kid anymore, you can't keep me under your wing forever"

She took a glance at the dark sky, trying to blink her tears away so her words woulnd't come out in big hiccups. "I know that, I really do" she inhaled sharply.

Had you not been holding onto the railing for dear life, you would have gone up to her and gave her your hands to play with. Something you always used to do whenever she was a little kid scared of her real self. Or a grown woman worried about her gift.

"I don't want to stop you. I just- You'd think I would be able to predict whenever my family is about to get hurt. But I never do." She finished with a shrug, gesturing to the bandages still decorating your body.

Then it hit you. You never actually saw past the facade. You always thought all her anger was a mask to her worry, that it was fake.

But it was very real, you were just not the target.

"I never expect for you to save me, you know that right?" You spoke in a much softer voice.

You carefully strided across the room, noticing Nia's gaze stuck on your limping. Once you were in front of her she reached her arms out to grasp yours to offer stability, which you gladly accepted.

"And neither should you. Your gift is to help civilians and save the city. Your little brother can take care of himself"

Lifting her head, the brunette mirrored your smile, finding comfort in the warmth of your skin under her hands.

"I'm always going to be worried about you"

"And that's fine, I'm worried about you too" your hands coming up to caress her shoulders "You could just, stop being a bitch every time I get hurt"

The hand resting on your arm became a punch and she rolled her eyes "and you could stop getting hurt every time"

"Oh come on you know damn well I don't"

After the laughter died down on both parts Nia tugged on your slevee "come on, let's go home. You're staying at my apartment tonight"

You followed her inside, surrounded by a much warmer environment. You knew the two of you had still some things to work out, Nia wasn't going to suddenly stop feeling at fault every time something happened to you, but now you could be on her side, and not on the other side of the battlefield.

Nia Nal Masterlist - Supergirl Masterlist

General Masterlist

[green-crow]

Having some more random thoughts about my httyd sona (Hilda)

I want her to be resentful to Stoick and almost every Berkian, partly for having lots of issues grow from the roots of being deemed "not good enough" because of her disability and despite her efforts, but still have a very frail thread that makes her stay and help Berk's people. That thread of course being her little sister Ebba.

But given her chaotic good energy and how little she cares for the actual village she's just gonna. Do some shady shit. First being trading and working with Viggo way before the hunters and the riders get into a war.

Hilda starts buying rare medicine and plants from Viggo in exchange for either gold or free healthcare for his men, which helps Berk so much without them even noticing. They just think this new medicine is Johann bringing more stuff, or Gothi and Hilda figuring out new remedies together, and while Gothi does know something fishy's going on I don't think she bothers asking as long as it heals their people.

I want to make it darker though, have Hilda grow into a mad scientist, pushed by Viggo's vision of her. He sees such incredible potential in this shy and anxious healer, and he pushes her to her limits. She toys with poison and some substances that can be used in battle, she turns her head when the hunters kill some dragon so she can get a specific part of the beast, she dissects dragons once dead to learn more about their properties and how to exploit their abilities for medicine. All her work is dedicated to saving the lives of other vikings, and she has such a mad scientist take on it.

Ofc she also has a probably very unhealthy tendency to rely on Viggo for emotional support as their transactions become less professional and more personal. He provides her with care and praises she's never heard before, so why wouldn't she fall for this handsome, incredibly intelligent man? She wants to dissect his brain so badly, but for now getting to know him and dipping her toes in the romantic side of their relationship will do.

[liam-an-siorc]

BBC Ghosts pirate au?? Hmm?? Yes?? 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️???

Note: They are all alive at the same time like how they are as ghosts if you get what I mean

Robin: running away from a bear one day during a storm he runs to the doc and hides inside a ship that's tied up there because the bear is sceard of the water Robin is scared to go back on land after the storm ends because there might be bear so decides to take this ship he lives there for a year stealing from navy ships to survive

Humphrey: same sort of thing his thing with his wife happen but not catholic plot because different era but he gets blamed for it and runs out he runs to the doc and it’s spotted by a pirate going by who is robin, robin decides to help he but Humphrey is injured he has a scar on the back of his neck from this and now has a peg leg but robin helped him and he survived (peg leg and scar trying to represent how it is for him with the head cut off)

Mary: Accused of killing her husband and stealing from the town she’s thrown in jail and is going to be executed but her “friend” Annie breaks her out so they run away and find there way onto robins ship then later when we have more ghosts Annie and her get married !!! It’s one of them gay marriage on pirate ship things yes

Kitty: Polly (if you remember she was mentioned in Kittys death episode) is convinced Eleanore is going to murder kitty for the inheritance to tells kitty this kitty dose not believe her until kitty gets bitten by a non deadly spider and gets lightly poisoned from this Polly thinks this was Eleanore so when kitty wakes she tells her they need to go immediately kittys listens because she’s not fully in her mind and gose with her Polly sees robins boat passing and asked them to take kitty, kitty confused gose on the boat and Polly runs back (yeah i didn’t know how to do that one because kitty would not believe her sister wanted to kill her also ik Eleanore did not kill Kitty but in this it’s what Polly though)

Thomas: Similar thing to kitty he finds out about Francis wanting to kill him and foraging the letters so tried to get out because he was scared he would try again he made his way to the ship with or without Isabell you can chose if you want canon as we can be or happy ness

Fanny: I dont know she finds her husband cheating znd it breaks her mask a following the "ladylike" rules and so she decided fuck it I'm a pirate now I'm going to steal from stupid rich men who think I'm not clever and are less then them because of my gender but she's still quite strict bc can't take her character

The captian: Part of the navy yes ik he dose not like the navy but you understand why yes? So anyway part of navy his love havers leaves for some big battle or something he think he died but he did not but then there gay love is reveled and they run away and join the crew where they have a gaygay homosexual gay pirate wedding like Annie and Mary did to they find them married and stop hiding snd get married themselves I refuse to stick to Canon for the gays so sorry

Pat: I can't think of a way he would ever choose to leave his family so making alot of stuff up so same sort of carry on happens a child injures him badly and he passes out close to shore the kids are lids and afraid so they run off then Pat is found by the crew and they try to help him but the police ofthe time see and try kill them all so then they run with Pat and get away but then police are looking for then so they can't go back there so Pat cant go back bc he will be killed

Julian: Gets drunk ends up on the ship

Mike and Alison don't have anywhere to live they end up on a ship

If they are conterdicting eachother then I'm sorry this was in drafts for ages kept coming back to it and going away and also if its not fully historical accurate I am sorry this is only for fun

[birchbow]

Your character designs are always so dang cool!!! Are the captain positions on other ships in the holy fleet challenged for like the position of GHB in a duel to the death, or are they appointed? (Some combination thereof?) The Orisoner looks so friendly, but I bet he’s brained somebody with that whimsical staff! I love that in the group shot Kurloz’s frame is almost a 2x scaled up version of Sister Waspclaw - his Gigantic Lankiness is just so fun. (Also LMAO at Kurloz being too prudish to claim his right to show tits! Honestly any time he mentions modesty standards being different a couple centuries ago it cracks me right up 😂)

Aw, thank you! :D Waspclaw is real small for a highblood, especially a relatively old and powerful one--smaller than pretty much all her pupated students, and a few of the pre-pupation ones! So next to Kurloz "Big Motherfucker" Makara, she's absolutely tiny. But does still manage to have more boobs than he does. Tragic.

RE: succession, it varies! It's pretty much always going to include some amount of combat--some of the variety where the loser is allowed to slink away and lick their wounds, and some where they definitely don't. Let's see. On a scale from most to least "Challenge To The Death"...

Definitely the Behemoth. It follows the same rules as the Grand Highblood challenge--if two trolls who want to be in charge walk into what passes for a captain's court on the Freakshow, only one is going to come out. Yozuna's not fast, and most trolls who ARE fast aren't nearly strong enough to make a dent in it even if they hit it--but the fact that Kurloz is big enough to really hit it hard and also came up specializing in speed and evasion is probably a real big part of the reason it hasn't made any attempt to challenge him for the throne, honestly.

Waspclaw. She's very lax with gutsy newbies getting fresh with each other and their superiors, thus the Joker's reputation for letting people get away with stuff, but stepping to her directly is SUPER dangerous. Make your gamble if you know you can get away with it!! But always know you aren't going to get away with it with her. :o) Plus, much like the Uderaks and Untoxxic, she works in poisons and venoms, and also she's heavily min-maxed into speed, so by the time you realize your challenge fight has officially been accepted, she's gone "well, they made their choice!" and you've been stung with something fatal.

The Abattoir. He isn't fucking around, although she also strikes me as very businesslike about it, and not inclined to be vindictive about the act of the challenge itself. I think the format is a little less "immediate fight to the death" and a little more "courtly duel" in keeping with both of his knightly sort of vibes. The exception being if you manage to draw blood on either of him, in which case shit flips very much into death-match mode. Also like. Hard-mode. You do have to challenge for both ships at once, and you will be fighting both of her. So like, considering authority over Elixir and Stardust features a lot of interfacing with the nonbelievers and doing Finance and shit, not a lot of people are jumping at THAT daunting prospect lol.

The Judgment. She wants to hear your argument for why the fuck you think you have what it takes to perform the physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually-taxing work of disciplining the wayward sinner-criminals of the church, and she's not getting any younger, here! If she feels like she's won her argument and the battle and you're inclined to back down in shame, she's not going to continue to press the point, but she will definitely openly think less of you for making a stupid and badly thought out attempt on her authority. She's as close as the church fleet gets to having a legislacerator taskforce, and she's just as stern and hard-assed as the Cruelest Bar, but also a large part of the Penitent's function is for flagellation and rehabilitation (???) of potentially-redeemable highbloods who've fucked up in ways that the church considers forgivable enough to give them a shot. She's down to clown (fatal) but also she's not an executioner necessarily.

Brother Libation. I drew inspiration from Il Dottore from the commedia del'arte, Bacchus, and the whole concept of drunken fist characters as an archetype, so if he's challenged he's got like... a 33% chance of just offering some kind of whimsical puzzle challenge that nobody ever manages to solve to his satisfaction, a 33% chance of just verbally convincing them to chill the fuck out by being a Cool Hang, and a 33% chance of bonking them heartily to the brink of death with his big spiky gourd.

The Orisoner wins for least deathmatchy. You can try to challenge, but you'll just get invited to come chill and vibe and just like. Really get into why you think your leadership will be hilarious and honoring to the messiahs, and what you think about art, and why you feel like you need captaincy to make the changes you want to see in the church and empire. If anybody attempts to escalate to violence, they'll mostly be met with a vaguely disappointed, surprisingly benevolent no-weapon-open-palms kind of rebuff, and if things continue to get more aggressive from there, the big spiky walloping staff will come out and be employed with startling effectiveness and skill lmao. But! If there were ever going to be highbloods inclined to take debate of best leadership policy over violence, it's the ones who decide they want to be theologians professionally. (Debate of best religious interpretation is a whole other ballgame, and gets aggressive here more than any other ship on the fleet lol). Orisoner in general though, would be one of the safer trolls you could be around as like, a human or a lowblood, if you had to pick a ship.

[ireadyabooks]

YA Fantasy for All Readers🔮⚔️💘

Here at I read YA, we can’t get enough of our favorite fantasy reads. We love transporting ourselves to different worlds, cheering on adventurous characters, and even, at times, swooning over magical romances. Most people only think of fantasy in terms of dragons and extraordinary battles, but the beauty behind this genre is that you can find something for every type of reader. We have compiled some of our recent favorite fantasy books in the hopes that you can find something perfect for you!

Okay, Cupid by Mason Deaver

As a cupid, Jude thinks they understand love a little bit more than the average human. It makes sense -- Jude's been studying love their whole teen life. And, yes, there have been some bumps in the road, and they're currently on probation for doing something that they absolutely, definitely shouldn't have done... but they're ready to prove they can make matches without ever getting involved.

Only . . . Jude's next assignment isn't about setting up two adults. No, this time Jude has to go to high school, with kids their own age. And the assignment is a tough one: two best friends who are meant to be more than just best friends . . . but who aren't currently speaking to each other after a huge falling out.

Jude thinks they've got this one all under control, and that they won't get involved whatsoever. Which proves that maybe Jude hasn't learned the first lesson of humans and love . . . It’s complicated.

This contemporary fantasy is perfect for readers who love a big sprinkle of love and magic thrown into an everyday fantastical read!

Start reading Okay, Cupid now!

Immortal Games by Annaliese Avery

The Blood Moon marks the start of the Immortal Games. The Gods of Olympus randomly select humans as their tokens and then gamble with their lives. The stakes are high and survival is unlikely.

16-year-old Ara is seeking revenge on the Gods for allowing her sister to die in the games. She's determined to be selected as a token, but when she is, she realizes that it isn’t just her life at stake, but also her heart. With the odds stacked against her, it will take an unlikely hero to twist her rage into something much more complicated. Ara is playing in the games of life and death… and love. What will she sacrifice?

This high-stakes fantasy is perfect for lovers of Greek mythology looking for an intense romantasy!

Start reading The Immortal Games now!

The Library of Broken Worlds by Alaya Dawn Johnson

In the winding underground tunnels of the Library, the great peacekeeper of the three systems, a heinous secret lies buried -- and Freida is the only one who can uncover it. As the daughter of a Library god, Freida has spent her whole life exploring the Library's ever-changing tunnels and communing with the gods. Her unparalleled access makes her unique -- and dangerous.

When Freida meets Joshua, a Tierran boy desperate to save his people, and Nergüi, a disciple from a persecuted religious minority, Freida is compelled to help them. But in order to do so, she will have to venture deeper into the Library than she has ever known. There she will discover the atrocities of the past, the truth of her origins, and the impossibility of her future.

With the world at the brink of war, Freida embarks on a journey to fulfill her destiny, one that pits her against an ancient war god. Her mission is straightforward: Destroy the god before he can rain hellfire upon thousands of innocent lives -- if he doesn't destroy her first.

This thought-provoking fantasy read is perfect for those looking for a unique take on the hero’s journey and an inclusive and diverse fantasy world!

Start reading The Library of Broken Worlds now!

Beastly Beauty by Jennifer Donnelly

What makes a girl "beastly?" Is it having too much ambition? Being too proud? Taking up too much space? Or is it just wanting something, anything, too badly?

That's the problem Arabella faces when she makes her debut in society. Her parents want her to be sweet and compliant so she can marry well, but try as she might, Arabella can't extinguish the fire burning inside her -- the source of her deepest wishes, her wildest dreams.

When an attempt to suppress her emotions tragically backfires, a mysterious figure punishes Arabella with a curse, dooming her and everyone she cares about, trapping them in the castle. As the years pass, Arabella abandons hope. The curse is her fault -- after all, there's nothing more "beastly" than a girl who expresses her anger -- and the only way to break it is to find a boy who loves her for her true self: a cruel task for a girl who's been told she's impossible to love.

When a handsome thief named Beau makes his way into the castle, the captive servants are thrilled, convinced he is the one to break the curse. But Beau -- spooked by the castle's strange and forbidding ladies-in-waiting, and by the malevolent presence that stalks its corridors at night -- only wants to escape. He learned long ago that love is only an illusion. If Beau and Arabella have any hope of breaking the curse, they must learn to trust their wounded hearts, and realize that the cruelest prisons of all are the ones we build for ourselves.

This revolutionary fantasy read is perfect for readers who love gender-swapped, fractured fairy tale retellings with a dashing romance!

Start reading Beastly Beauty now!

The Second Chance of Darius Logan by David F. Walker

Darius Logan is far from a hero. Since his parents were killed, he has spent most of his life navigating foster homes and shelters, abandoned neighborhoods and decaying buildings. All Darius knows is survival. Life was hard enough, but now he finds himself being hunted by the police after a drug deal he never should have been involved in goes bad. And when they catch him, Darius is positive he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

But in place of a long prison sentence, Darius is handed an opportunity almost too good to be true: the chance to get away from his circumstances by joining the Second Chance program of the Super Justice Force, a league of people with special powers who strive to do good and protect the world from harm. Darius soon discovers a strength he never knew he possessed, but evil forces manifest and threaten to destroy everything he holds dear. Will Darius be able to save the world when he faces a deadly--and all too familiar--enemy?

This remarkable YA fantasy debut is perfect for fans of all things superheroes and powerful takes on justice and second chances!

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Shadow Coven by S. Isabelle

The Haunting Season has ended, but dark magic lurks in the shadows in this deadly sequel to The Witchery.

After defeating the Wolves, Jailah, Logan, Iris, and Thalia want nothing more than a summer of fun and relaxation. But there is no rest for the wicked, especially when Death comes for Iris. She is to become a Reaper, tasked with banishing souls who refuse to cross over. But Iris suspects there’s something more ominous going on when Mathew’s role as her tether grows sinister.

Logan and Thalia are ready to prove themselves as witches. Except Logan still hears the howling Wolves and realizes that the Haunting Season may have awakened more than just her magic. And while Thalia wants to spend her days cleansing the Swamp for good, she finds herself heading to a place she swore she’d never go again: home. Witches have started going missing near Annex, and Thalia is convinced that her father is behind the disappearances. With the help of Logan and Trent, Thalia returns to stop him.

Meanwhile, Jailah is focused on her internship with the Haelsford Witchery Council until she discovers a treacherous magic hidden beneath Mesmortes, and there are those who will go to great lengths to keep it buried. So, she turns to the only person who understands, even if it’s the one witch who hates her the most.

Separated by distance, the coven is surrounded by magical and mundane threats that must be defeated before they lose their witchery--and each other--forever . . . 

This thrilling fantasy read is perfect for the dark academia lovers out there looking for a witchy book full of romance, horror, humor, and BIPOC representation!

Start reading Shadow Coven now!