#i was like i swear to god you did not resurrect him and make him a small white boy....

[aromanticasterisms]

"this isn't my body i'm just possessing it temporarily" oh thank GOD

[gotstabbedbyapen]

hi! idk if you already did a post like this but do you have apollo and hyacinthus married headcanons?

A disclaimer first: When I say Apollo and Hyacinthus are """married""", I don't mean they are wedded like Zeus and Hera or Dionysus and Ariadne. What I mean is they are joint by worship and share a shrine in Sparta as a deity duo.

However, I do joke that Hyapollo are technically married because when Apollo's and Hyacinthus' cults were historically merged, Apollo replaced Hyacinthus' OG wife and kept the same relationship nature with Hyacinthus.

That being said, I haven't talked in detail about their """marriage""" life yet. I have a lot of ideas in mind that will end up in future works, so for now, I'll only write the headcanons about their first years.

Apollo kinda "proposed" to Hyacinthus when he offered him immortality. Its's a half-joking, half-serious "Do you want to spend eternity with me?" that can be interpreted as a marriage proposal.

Hyacinthus had answered with a "I'll think about it" when he was first asked because of reasons (complications with his mortal parents, worries over his new role in Sparta, etc.)

When Hyacinthus had made up his mind and intended to say yes after their game of quoit, he got struck and died.

Fast forward to Hyacinthus' resurrection and immortalization (it will be a topic of its own), he had been through years separating from Apollo and had done things to get back to his lover, so he can swear with his own head that he wants to be with Apollo forever.

Their first years of being together again was super rough. Hyacinthus has to deal with the physical and psychological aftermaths of being made alive again. But he is stubborn and will not yield to the sickness. It took him so much to get back to Apollo and he ain't letting all the efforts be in vain.

Apollo does not have it easy. He is helpless and cannot fully cure Hyacinthus from his condition because anything related to death fell out of his domain. He was constantly stressing over Hyacinthus' health and the fear of losing him a second time, maybe for good.

Only much later, when Hyacinthus' health is more stabler, do they finally get to breathe out of relief.

Apollo will not leave Hyacinthus' side for quite some time, always making sure he is in sight. He still had paranoia of losing him :( Hyacinthus also had panick attacks if he thought he would be sent to the Underworld again.

Furthermore, the years apart had changed both of them. They did not age (Apollo is a god and Hyacinthus is stuck in the age he died in), but they had trauma that drastically altered their personalities.

So during the first years of their "marriage", Apollo and Hyacinthus are trying to heal from old pains and learning about each other again.

It isn't easy for the both of them and their relationship may not be the same as before, but they still love each other very much and will try their hardest to make it work. Things will be alright, they hope.

[captain-mj]

Korangi mafia au 👀

I don’t know I wanted to Drabble

Horangi shivered in the bottom of his cell, body aching. The men that had been in the room previously had cut him. Using knives to make tiger stripes across his body. He was now… decorated. It had been a very rough week for him.

Horangi tried to sit up while his body burned. It told him to please sit the fuck back down. He should get up. Was supposed to get up. They would come back at any point and finally finish him off. But Horangi couldn’t drag himself up. It was definitely a low point. He knew that all of the gambling would eventually catch up to him, but he didn’t really expect to die here. In some random gang’s members basement.

Someone walked in after a while. There was an unnerving silence before freezing cold water was splashed on him, soaking him to the bone. He swore he felt chips of ice hit his body and the fresh wounds. It hurt so bad that his eyes started to water but he refused. He wouldn’t fucking cry.

“Do you speak my language?” The man had a thick Austrian accent. Now that Horangi was looking at him, he thought he recognized him from somewhere, though he couldn’t pinpoint it. Based on the fact he was here and so nicely dressed, he assumed someone important from some gang or mafia or mob or some other group that wanted his head.

Horangi nodded numbly. He hurt all over. But he didn’t cry. Not once.

“I don’t think you’re worth the amount of money i just paid for you to get released. But you’ll do.”

Horangi frowned. “What?”

“Paid your debts. Hong-jin, right?”

“Prefer Horangi.”

“Horangi.” The man repeated and stood up. He was… very well dressed. Hair slicked back. He was much older than Horangi. His arms were covered with tattoos.

“Why did you pay my debts?”

“Have a job for you. You’re lucky too. They were just about to come down here and…” He mimed putting a bullet in Horangi’s head. “But we don’t need to dwell on that do we? Because I’m going to give you a job. Once you’ve paid off what I paid today, I’ll start paying you. Good money too. If you do it right.”

Horangi’s body reacted. It tensed and it felt like he’d split open where the scarring was. “You’re not whoring me out. I swear to God I’ll fuc-”

He felt them strike his face hard. The rings on his hand cut open his skin. “If I wanted to, I would already be doing so. Wouldn’t have bothered waiting for you to wake up.”

Horangi bit his tongue and looked up at him.

“Now, my guys here are going to pick you up and finish cleaning you off. Then we’re going to go home. You have one week to recover and after that, we’ll talk. You understand?”

Horangi nodded, having a lot of questions but making the decision to save his own life first. He could always escape later. Couldn’t exactly resurrect himself.

“Get him up.” The man left and Horangi felt the other men pick him up like he was a doll. His body dangled to the floor helplessly as they moved him elsewhere. He noticed vaguely he was in a car but everything went dark around the edges and then he was out.

The bed He woke up in was so soft. Someone had bandaged him up. This time, Horangi managed to drag himself out of bed. He needed to find a way out. Debt be damned. He’ll pay later.

He opened the door and almost fell back.

Large man. He had to be close to 7 feet tall. Horangi thought he was a bit… scrawny, but he made up for that in height.

“Hi.”

The man had turned bright red. His hair was a dark auburn that was almost the same color as his face. He had a patch of freckles as well over his nose and cheeks.

“H-hi.” The poor guy managed to stutter out.

Horangi stared at him, a little surprised someone as dangerous and with enough money to pay off the… excessive amount of money Horangi owed, would hire… this guy.

“Can I help you?”

The man held up some bandages and it clicked that he was probably a medic. A waste considering his size, but that’s exactly what he needed right now. With a small amount of hesitation, Horangi had to admit that this was a lot better than dying of infection and surely staying just a little longer wouldn’t hurt.

“What’s your name?”

“Um…”

“Um isn’t a very good name. Mine is Horangi.” He knew he shouldn’t be so mean, but it was a little too easy.

“Most people call me König.”

“König? Doesn’t that mean King?”

“Yes.”

“They call you King?” Horangi very much doubted it.

König frowned at him, looking more and more flustered by the second. “And they call you Tiger?”

“You know Korean?”

“No. I looked it up.” König admitted rather quickly. “Can you lay down for me? You are very injured…”

Horangi slowly obeyed, not really believing that this marshmallow of a man could hurt him. He laid down and stretched. His entire upper half only had bandages. His face had a few too, but he didn’t really want to think about that. They were stretched over his face.

Now that he wasn’t actively bleeding out or freezing to death, he could feel it more. The cuts ran along his spine and then curling down his ribs. They ran over his arms and even to his knees. Along his face, they had carved little lines to represent how much he owed. They had done tally marks for every 1000 euros. He supposed it was better than what they could’ve done.

König was gentle. He unbandaged him and gently cleaned the wounds. His hands were warm and although there were clear calluses on his pointer finger, most of his hands were nice and soft. König also took a considerable amount of care in being nice. No fast movements, no rough pressing of the cloth, not an ounce of unnecessary pressure.

Once König was done cleaning each wound, he carefully bandaged him back up in the fresh bandages. His fingertips grazed his skin and Horangi was surprised by the amount of goosebumps that gave him. It had been a while since someone had touched him this way. It had been while since anyone touched him in general unless it was to hurt him or… worse. He sighed softly and relaxed more.

König patted him gently. “All better?”

No. Not at all. “Feel cleaner. Don’t suppose I could take a shower?”

“After all my hard work? No. If you’re able to stand long enough, I’ll help you shower tomorrow.”

Horangi groaned but nodded. It was fair. The idea of a hot shower was alluring, but he probably could not stand for long enough. He fell asleep and eventually someone brought him food. It was just soup, rather plain soup at that, but he ate it and continued on.

This time, when he went to make his escape, someone was there guarding his door, not about to come in. They simply flashed their gun and made a motion for him to go back inside.

“Need anything, ask. Boss says we need to take real good care of you.”

Horangi did not like the sound of that. He checked his windows but they were nailed shut. His bathroom was nice, but there was only a tiny window at the top that he definitely could not fit in.

Fuck.

Horangi sighed and waited for König to come back. Eventually his back started to pull tight again and he decided to lay down again. Everything hurt. He paused as he left the bathroom and considered looking at himself. After a few minutes of hesitating, he decided to not. He’d wait until he had healed mostly.

So Horangi laid back down and tried to focus on anything other than the ache on his skin. The burn of his muscles when he moved them wrong. He wished he had something for it. Pain medicine of some kind or even just compresses would be nice.

Horangi asked the guard for it and they pulled out their phone to text someone.

König arrive again. He looked just as anxiety riddled and big as before, only now with the added bonus of having dark circles and a small frown.

“Everything alright? I didn’t really need assistance. Just the items.”

König shook his head. “I want to make sure no infection has set in. The wounds are so close to your spine… I worry about what might happen.” He gently pushed him down and put his hand on the nape of his neck to keep him there. Horangi tensed and grabbed the sheets as hard as he could. The position made him nervous but he stayed still.

König examined them again and cleaned them once more. He then put something cold on them while he fed Horangi two pills. They were pretty small so Horangi doubted they’d work until suddenly it felt like he had been knocked flat on his ass. The world melted away and with it all the pain.

König’s hands were magic. They gently soothed away any heat. He blinked and König was tugging him up.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t you want a shower still?”

“I thought you said tomorrow.”

“It is tomorrow. I forgot you’re smaller. Need smaller doses.” König lifted him with a little too much ease.

Horangi groaned, too tired and sluggish to be mad about the comment about his size or the way he picked him up. “What did you give me?”

“Don’t worry about that. Ill bathe you instead.” König set him down on the sink and Horangi just nodded. He wasn’t wearing much clothing so it was easy for König to undress him. The water turned it and after a few minutes, he gently scooped Horangi back up.

Horangi tensed at the last second above the water, expecting it to be either freezing cold or way too hot, but it was pleasant. Maybe a little warmer than he would normally make it, but pleasant. He melted as König started to wash him. The warm rag ran over every inch of skin. König seemed particularly careful behind his ears and along his arms.

“Do you know what my job is?”

“That’s not something you need to concern yourself with right now.” König smiled at him, red again. Only now did Horangi consider how this might be for him. Poor little anxious man.

“So you do know?”

“...i do.” König sighed. “It really isn’t important.”

“Then why won’t you tell me?” Horangi pressed him but also pressed into his hands.

König grabbed his face, gently cleaning the tally marks and then scrubbing the rest. “I don’t want to upset you. You should be focused on healing.”

Horangi stared at him for a moment. “Is it bad?”

“Depends on your definition of bad.”

“Fine. Define bad for me.”

König hummed. “Well… I consider something bad when it causes me physical harm on a regular basis.”

“With this?”

“Only if you’re bad at it.”

Horangi glared at him and watched him drain the water. He put his thoughts together long enough to cover himself. König wrapped him in the towel and then took him back to the sink, drying him off carefully.

“Is it degrading?”

“I’d consider it well respected.” König smiled at him. He was only slightly blushing now and it was… endearing instead of amusing.

Horangi frowned but just nodded. “Why can’t you just tell me what it is?”

“They haven’t decided if they want to actually give it to you.”

“If they don’t give it to me?”

König looked uncomfortable. “No one will hurt you.” There was a weird amount of conviction in his voice.

Horangi nodded a little. “Yeah, okay…”

[evilfloralfoolery]

Fucking Lilacs

Right, so this is some ancient snzfuckery that I've resurrected. These aren't my characters, but they feel like they should be lol.

Eddie and Adrian are two fallen angels on a recon mission. One is hella allergic to lilacs. The other is hella turned on by that fact. They've been besties for hundreds of years, but sometimes, shit changes.

Note: There's a lot of snzfuckery and things get hot and heavy. (See tags for a few additional notes on things.) I also wrote this in a style that isn't quite mine and there is POV switching because that what the book did. You needn't know a damn thing about the book to enjoy it because I don't remember a goddamn thing myself LMFAO.

______________________________________

Recon was a bitch. A bitch with an attitude. Adrian sat back on his heels, staring at the window of the house which had been empty for the past ten minutes. Yeah, there was a whole lot of nothing happening here.

“—nn’hkGScht!”

Except that. Adrian glanced at his partner, who looked like he was auditioning for a Benadryl commercial. That was the sixth time Eddie had sneezed in about as many minutes. Not that Adrian had been counting. Who the fuck would count something like that? 

Except him. Goddamn it.

Sure, he had a hell of a lot more important shit banging around in his head like demonic bitches and torture stations in Hades, but the leather-clad distraction crouching a foot away was a trump card for priorities. 

Next to him, Eddie smothered another “hhnXGTsh!” 

“Bless you.”

“Fucking lilacs. I’m the only immortal with allergies, I swear.”

 

Not that Adrian knew what the fuck lilacs were.  Probably the cluster of blooming bastards that kept smacking Eddie in the face every time he so much as shifted a toe.  Prime position for absolute fuckery.

“Iih-EKGtschu!”

“Bless you,” Adrian repeated.

“God won’t bother,” Eddie said.

True, but Adrian had a sort of trained-in trigger with the phrase. Fallen angel and all that mystical bullshit. 

“We can move,” Adrian said.

Eddie shook his head. “Can’t see the window anywhere else. I’ll deal.” 

Maybe he would, but Adrian wasn’t sure he could take hours of Eddie’s nasal prowess less than a foot from him. Not because the other man was annoying him. Damn, he wished it were annoyance. Too many years of Earth-bound kink had really done a number on what got his rocks off. Or maybe that was too many threesomes. He and Eddie always liked to share things . . . weapons, bloodshed, women–

“—hXGzzsht!” 

“Christ, Eddie.”

“Fuck. Me.” 

Yep, and that was the whole problem right there. Adrian had a whole lot of what-the-hell torture going on in his jeans, which wasn’t going away any time soon unless Eddie knocked it off with the pissed-off sinuses antics. Which didn’t seem like a possibility as long as they were surrounded by purple sprigs of floral hell. It also wasn’t like Adrian could just take a walk to the other side of the hedge for a little private time to solve the problem. The “problem” would have to quit sneezing every fifteen fucking seconds.

“—HhGgnsschxt!”

Which so obviously wasn’t going to happen. Not to mention the whole mind-reading thing Eddie did. Then, Adrian was going to be fucked. Or maybe choked unconscious. Eddie wasn’t the violent type, not with that whole long-haired-hippie-but-really-a-biker thing he had going on, but fuck. Fuuuuck. 

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder. Adrian turned his head to find himself staring into those red-brown eyes that creeped most people out. Well, Adrian wasn’t most people. 

“What’s your damage?” Eddie’s voice was low, threaded with congestion. Goddamn it, now the motherfucker couldn’t even talk without making Adrian’s balls tight. 

“Nothin’.”

“Don’t lie.” 

Shit. 

Window. He was going to concentrate on the window and empty his mind of everything else. Blue trim on the window. Even better.

Eddie’s eyes narrowed. Either the curtains in the house were giving Adrian one serious stiffie or something else was going on. And dammit, his nose was threatening one hell of a sneeze intervention before he could needle Adrian about it some more.

“—ISSCHuh!” Fuck, he was so over this. “—GiiSSCHu!” Goddamn it. 

The thick rope of braided hair that ran the length of his back slid around to drape his shoulder. He thought about tucking the thing into his shirt, but it was too damn long to be comfortable. Instead, he left it there tickling the top of his knee as he crouched beside his partner, trying to figure out just what was doin’ in that head of his without having to pull out the mind reader card. 

Because Adrian was definitely lying.

“—nh…hGXzsSCh!” 

Son of a bitch.

“Bless you,” Adrian said. 

Fucker was done staring at the window now. He was staring at Eddie. 

“Sorry,” Eddie said. “Guess this shit’s got me worse than I thought.” He flicked a branch with his hand. Fucking lilacs. 

“Not your fault,” Adrian said.

The other angel’s voice was tight, as if he were trying a hell of a lot more to convince himself than Eddie. Okay, what the fuck. Eddie was a patient guy, more patient than most. Talked way less than his counterpart, too. But Adrian’s silent act was getting old fast, especially when he was one of the mouthiest bastards Eddie knew.

And more silence. Yeah, this was starting to piss him off.

“You gonna tell me or what?”

Silence.

Eddie drummed his fingers against his thigh. “You really wanna do this the hard way?” He pressed a hand beneath his nose. “HhgNTXch! Fuck.” 

“Bless you,” Adrian said. For the tenth time.

“You don’t have to say it,” Eddie grumbled.

“Yeah. I do.” 

And he meant it, too. Like, really meant it. As if it were some kind of vitally important sentiment that he couldn’t help repeating for some kind of emphatic obedience. Eddie furrowed his brow which was about as much of an expression as he ever bothered to show to anyone other than Adrian.

“Talk,” Eddie said. “Last chance.”

“No.”

Fine. The guy wanted to play hard ball? Eddie was the goddamn master. He gripped his partner’s wrist in an iron vice of fingers. Shit like this was always easier with skin-to-skin contact. Not that Eddie really wanted to go probing around Adrian’s mind, but if the fucker wasn’t going to talk, then he’d just have to—

“Ek'NGgtSSChu!”

Sneeze. 

Again. 

In his grip, Adrian’s body went all stone statue. And his line of thinking went direct feed into Eddie’s mind. The angel blinked once. Slowly.

“Oh,” he said.

“Oh?” Adrian looked like he was torn between laughing his ass off and demolishing a small city. “You pull that fucked up shit out of my head and all you can fucking say is ‘oh?’ Christ, Eddie.” 

Adrian raked a hand through his obnoxiously perfect black hair which fell right back into place as if were trained that way. The bastard must have owned stock in Paul Mitchell to keep it like that.

“Come on,” Eddie said.

Adrian looked down at Eddie’s hand, which was still clamped around his own. “And do what? Who’s gonna watch the window? It’s not just gonna watch its--”

An image of something he’d considered a few times but never without a female in the middle clamped down on his mind and settled in for a stranglehold on his cock. 

Goddamn. And Eddie was looking at him. That way.

“Oh,” Adrian said.

Eddie was half-dragging him past the hedges, but hell, he could do that easily. The guy looked like he could bench press a cadillac. One stubborn angel wasn’t much to handle, really.

“Eddie, hey . . . look, uh . . .” 

Shit, he was usually so good at this. With women.

The other man’s hands were in his hair. Gently. Almost reverently. Adrian wet his lips. “Fuck,” he said.

“You could have told me,” Eddie rumbled.

No. He really couldn’t have.

“Yeah fucking right,” Adrian said. “What was I gonna say? Hey, man . . . I’ve been looking at your tight fucking ass for over four hundred years. Wanna fuck?”

Eddie arched an eyebrow. “That works.” 

Adrian growled something that sounded suspiciously like “fuck me sideways.” Yeah, that could be arranged. 

Eddie slid his hands to cup his partner’s face. The man had a hell of a lot of piercings, bottom lip, left nostril, tongue, ears. Women found that shit sexy, the other angel had said. Eddie stuck with the strong, silent, my-hair-is-longer-than-your-whole-fucking-arm approach.

“Hgkt'SSCH'u!!” he sneezed into the arch of his shoulder. And looked at Adrian. “Good?” he asked.

“Fuck, I don’t know,” Adrian said. The straining bulge against his jeans suggested otherwise.

Eddie slid a hand around to his back, splaying his big fingers there. 

“What the hell are you doing now?” Adrian asked.

“Kissing you,” Eddie said.

“Is it. . .  just lilacs?” he asked. 

For a minute, Adrian considered winging it into the sky to the other side of Egypt or something. Anything to get the hell out of there. But the instant the fullness of Eddie’s mouth pressed against his own, all lines of thought took a vacation. The guy had the softest lips. Adrian hadn’t expected that, nor had he expected Eddie to run his tongue over the ring in his bottom lip, to tease the stud in his tongue. Fuck, the bastard was a great kisser.

Adrian gave up on the I-don’t-really-want-you act and kissed him back. Thoroughly. Eddie backed him against a stone wall he didn’t remember seeing on the way in, pinning him there with one arm because the other was busy stroking his . . . cheek? The labor-roughened pull of Eddie’s thumb down the curve of his jaw was almost more erotic than his tongue. Others didn’t touch his face. They just didn’t. 

“I’m all fucked up,” Adrian said. More like warned.

Eddie dragged a heavy thumb over his bottom lip, worrying the little ball in the hoop for a moment. “I know,” he said. The corner of his lip lifted, flashing a hint of teeth. “HhkgzTSSCH!” He managed to avoid giving Adrian an impromptu baptism by turning his head at the last possible second.

Adrian practically groaned. Fuck. Why the hell was that so hot? He was hard as a motherfucker. He sank his teeth into Eddie’s roving thumb, not hard enough to hurt him, but hard enough to leave an imprint of his canine in the weathered flesh. 

What the fuck kind of lame-ass sex talk was that?

“No,” said Eddie. He stroked a hand down Adrian’s side, untucked his shirt, ran his finger over the fine hair that trailed from just below Adrian’s navel into his jeans.

“What else?” Adrian heard himself ask the question and really wanted to backhand his own damn mouth.

“Not sure,” Eddie said. “But I hate spring and she hates me.” He slipped a finger into the waistband of Adrian’s jeans, pulling the denim away from his skin. 

Adrian was commando beneath the fabric. Eddie probably wasn’t surprised. Before he could work some one-handed magic on the button and zipper, he had to pause to catch another sneeze against the back of his free hand. “HngKxxTst!”

“Don’t,” Adrian said.

Eddie shrugged one massive shoulder. “Can’t help it.”

“No, I meant don’t . . .stop them like that.” Adrian’s hands rested on the other man’s hips, fingers hooking through the leather hoops there as if he wasn’t exactly sure just where the fuck his hands should go in the first place.

“Okay,” said Eddie. He brushed a lock of Adrian’s thick hair away from his forehead, a crooked smile curving one half of his mouth when it promptly fell back into exactly the same spot.

Adrian’s hands slid up the other angel’s chest, resting there. Man, he so fucking wanted this. Bad. So what the hell was stopping him?

“Wait,” Adrian said. 

Eddie waited. He stood still, except for the hand on Adrian’s jaw, the thumb sliding over the curve of it. He was a patient bastard, the most patient being Adrian had ever known, just standing there all cool, calm, and understanding, waiting to see if Adrian was going to flake the fuck out. 

Which he was trying to do. And failing.

Okay, so now what? Adrian sighed, shoving a hand through his hair. “I can’t,” he said. Goddamn it. 

Eddie worried the metal hoop between his teeth, tugging the breath out of Adrian’s lungs in a shivering rush of air.  The other angel’s body arched against his own, one hand coiling the thick rope of hair around fisted fingers.  As often as Adrian teased the fuck out of him for having “no game,” he sure as shit leveled the playing field in this arena.

Eddie’s hand didn’t drop. Adrian didn’t even realize why until he realized he’d trapped it against his face himself. And there was Eddie, watching him with all that ancient patience, knowing he was full of shit.

“Goddamn it,” he grumbled.

Adrian’s head had been a fucked up mess since the she-demon had gotten her claws into him. Literally. She had worked him over, stripped him to the soul, and raked more than just the flesh from his body. Sure, it had been necessary. It had bought enough time to win, enough time to save a man’s soul from eternal damnation, but Adrian had written a reality check he wasn’t sure his mind could cash this time. Nothing helped. Not women, not battle, not booze, nothing.

“Hhih…! --IKgxSSCHu!”

Well, almost nothing.

“Bless you,” Adrian said with a sigh.

“You liked that one,” Eddie said.

Yeah, he did. He liked all of it. “I’m fucked up,” he said again, as if Eddie hadn’t heard him the first time.

“I know,” said Eddie.

The hand slid around to grasp Adrian’s wrist, climbing his arm and reeling him in closer until he was surrounded by well over two-hundred pounds of protective angel. Oh yeah, Eddie knew, alright. He knew from fucking first hand experience just what that demonic bitch did to man’s soul and Adrian had given himself up for the greater good of whatever-the-fuck more than once.

“Nothing helps,” Adrian mumbled into his partner’s chest.

A hand slipped into his hair, gripped the thickness of it. “I know,” Eddie said again.

The big bastard was so gentle. So fucking gentle. Adrian gripped his shirt, balled up handfuls of the material in his fists. He wasn’t small  by any stretch, but up against Eddie, an oak tree was small. Or at least, that’s how it felt to Adrian. Beneath his fisted hands, Eddie’s chest heaved and Adrian froze. The hand that was entangled in his hair relented, the other man’s breath hitching in a slow, torturous way that made just about everything in him from the chest down clench into wrenching fire. If the angel did that while they were so close, Adrian was going to lose his shit. And Eddie would know it, the mind-reading fucker.

“Hh’NnGtiSCH! . . . .hiih!” Eddie’s breath wavered, cracked . . . and didn’t do a goddamn thing after that. “Fuck,” he grumbled.

“Sonofabitch,” Adrian hissed.

“Sorry,” said Eddie. “Couldn’t help it.” 

Adrian kissed him. Hard. To hell with finesse. He was all kinds of urgent need in about a thousand different ways at once and unable to vocalize any of it. Eddie would just have to read his damn mind. Which he was sure was next to impossible not to do at the moment anyway, considering they were practically joined at the hip with the way Adrian was pressed against him.

Impossibly large hands rested on his hips, steadying him, the kiss melding into something slower and more tactile as Eddie teased the metal bar in his tongue with a flick of his own. The same calloused thumb slipped into his shirt, rubbing the hoop in his nipple in firm, achingly slow circles. It wasn’t until the unbuttoned garment slid from his shoulders enough for Eddie to replace his thumb with his mouth that Adrian really gave up the whole pretense of I-can’t-do-this. He didn’t have a choice.

His tongue traced a heated path down Adrian’s torso as he dropped to his knees, feathering kisses just above the waistline of his jeans.  Eddie didn’t need to read the angel’s mind.  The bulge that strained against the distressed denim fabric was a blatant invite for more of the physical. 

Instead of prying open the other male’s pants with his teeth, he slid a finger beneath the beltline again, scraping a nail along the pale flesh until Adrian all but quivered.

“Fuck, Eddie,” the angel panted.  “Would you just--”

A strangled gasp escaped him as Eddie’s teeth grazed the hard length of flesh through the denim.  Adrian’s fingers plunged into all that hair, probably loosening the top of the braid all to hell, but he suspected Eddie gave less than a single fuck.  His hips betrayed any last hope of “no, stop that” that he had left to give.  Not to mention the steady pulse of a groan that ebbed from somewhere deep within his chest.

Capable fingers made short work of his jeans as Eddie knelt in front of him, a position he never thought he’d bear witness to, much less experience first hand.  Part of him wanted Eddie to take his time as he did with all the females they shared, but the urgency of his desire wasn’t a patient beast.  He wanted – no, needed---Eddie to just fucking–

Adrian’s breath caught in a high, choked hitch of sound.  Something ancient and foreign rolled from his tongue, his ability to speak the common mortal vernacular a distant fog of memory.  Eddie’s tongue cradled the tip of his cock with a brush of wet heat before those full lips closed over the entirety of him, ring and all.

He scraped his back against the concrete wall, his free hand fisting his own hair, hoping to hell and back that his legs didn’t suddenly forget they had to support his tensely trembling body.  Fingers dug into thighs, steadying him.  Eddie’s tongue was erotic sin, tying his core in knots of desperation.

That was, until the other angel suddenly stopped.

Adrian cracked an eye, giving the fist-and-twist  routine  in his hair a reprieve.

“Why . . .”  He licked suddenly dry lips.

Words.  Yes, he had to make words. 

“ . . . did you . . .” 

Goddamn short-circuiting brain-fuck.

However, one look at Eddie forecasted a twitch-worthy reason for the pause.  The other angel pressed a knuckled fist beneath his nose, brow knitting, teeth clenched.

“Eddie, goddamn it–!”

Adrian’s warning was nine kinds of pleading with a hefty side order of I-don’t-really-mean-it. And Eddie knew it.  With his hand still touching the other angel’s hip, Adrian’s emotional state was clearer than the finest crystal and just about as fragile.

Eddie’s breath hitched and Adrian mirrored the action with a flinch of his body.  The corner of Eddie’s mouth twitched into the faintest hint of a smile.  Oh yeah.  Adrian was so done.

“HhkgSSSCH’uuh!”  

The hand still holding fast to Adrian’s hip clenched, transmitting the shudder of his shoulders to the other male with lethal perfection.  

“Goddamn it, Eddie!” Switching his earlier words around didn’t help. “Are you just trying to fuck me up on purpose or what??”

Ah, so the pierced bastard could talk.  Eddie almost snickered at the outburst.

“No,” Eddie said.  

He sat up a bit straighter, wrapping skilled fingers around Adrian’s arousal with a definitive stroke. 

The harsh scrape of concrete through his shirt barely registered as Eddie worked that piercing with a wicked combination of tongue-flicking, biting, and tugging that damn well sent Adrian into a frenzy.  His hips jerked, knees threatening to betray the weight of his body.  This was the edge . . . the tipping point.  And he wasn’t just falling over it.  His body kamikazied into the abyss on a haphazard suicide mission. 

So much for fucking stealth. 

Adrian moan-growl-panted his way through the strangled language of what felt like seventeen different kinds of release, the loudest of which was some stammering rendition of Eddie’s name. God, had time fucking stopped? Because he was definitely straddling the line between suspended animation and full-on implosion.  

His stance wavered, legs trembling, entire body caught in the electric fusion of such a violent-as-fuck exonaration.  Eddie was on his feet, bracing him against his massive body, hand splayed across his back like a physical order of protection.

Everything was a haze of flickering images and streetlight shadows, a jigsaw of earthly amalgamations.  The only clarity was the steady rise and fall of Eddie’s chest against his own, the slow pressure of his fingers kneading absent reassurance against his skin. 

The other angel had even pulled up his goddamn pants, too.  Why in the absolute fuck was that somehow the most ridiculously considerate shit ever?

“You good?”

Eddie’s dark voice was a silken rumble against his ear.

“The fuck . . .” Adrian managed to say in some kind of half-sigh, half-swearing growl that was trying to call itself language. 

“We’ll get to that later.”

“Christ, Eddie.” 

But he sure as hell wasn't saying no.

[thus-spoke-lo]

cw: 18+, minors dni. a little crack-ish. suggestive content. weed usage.

“You ever tried this?”

Toshinori stares at the small, pungent-smelling cookie held in your outstretched hand. “Tried what, marijuana?”

‘“Marijuana,’” you taunt, snickering as you reach to tap him lightly on the ass before hastily retreating to the edge of the kitchen, attempting to avoid retaliation. “I swear to god you say it like a fuckin’ cop. Although, I mean, you kinda were, sorta like, the world’s premiere cop. So I guess that tracks.”

“Honeybear, I wasn’t a cop, you’re being absurd.”

You throw your head back and let out a groan. “I know you weren’t a cop, love. I’m just exaggerating. Anyway, you do say it like a cop, I’m telling you.”

“What do you want me to call it, then?” He furrows his brow, still exaggeratedly rubbing his backside where you’d swiped at him.

“I dunno.” You sink down to the floor, sitting cross-legged against the counter. “Pot? Weed? Literally anything else, you square.”

“Square?” He places a hand on his hip, long wooden spoon still clutched in his fist, and scowls. “I’m not square.”

“Well you never answered my question.” You flop sideways on the wooden floor, tapping your fingers on the faux-wood panels.

His brilliant eyes darken slightly, his lips just barely parted as if to speak. A deep flush spreads across his face, and he quickly turns away from you, suddenly intensely interested in his pasta sauce while he grumbles under his breath.

“Toshi? Toshi.” You slowly rise up from the floor like a freshly-resurrected ghoul and pad across the kitchen to stand in front of him, poking your finger lazily at his cheek. “You have, haven’t you?”

“I’m not answering that,” he mumbles into the steaming pot of sauce, gently batting your hand away.

“Why, in case the apartment is bugged?” you cackle.

“No, of course not.” He glances at you out of the corner of his eyes, sets his wide hands on the counter. “That’s not it.”

You cock your head and smile softly, running your hand up and down his sinewy forearm. “Toshi. I’d hope you’d know you can trust me by now. I’m not gonna go to the tabloids and blab about every little secret you tell me, I’m not a fuckin’ snitch. Besides”—you lightly trace your fingers over the veins on the top of his hand—“if I was gonna do that, don’t you think I’d tell them about something more interesting first, like how big your dick is or something?”

He chokes on a mouthful of spit and turns to glare at you and your damned shit-eating grin. He shakes his head and sighs, smiling at you resignedly. “Of course I’ve tried it.”

Your eyes widen and your loud gasp fills the room. “Seriously? When?”

“When I was in America.” He rolls his eyes and shrugs. “I did manage to have a little fun while I was over there, you know.”

“You mean to tell me… All Might was a pothead?” you cackled, the cookie you nibbled at earlier starting to make this whole situation even more comical than it already was.

“Keep your voice down!” He places a long finger on your lips to shush you. “I wasn’t a—a pothead. I just enjoyed myself a bit. It was a different time then for me. For everyone I guess.” His eyes stare off past you somewhere as he pauses for a moment, his finger dragging down your lips. “It that really so hard to believe of me?”

“I dunno, a little.” You kiss the tip of his finger. “You just seem so, you know.”

“No, I don’t think I do know,” he says, his voice low, as he settles his hands on your waist and pulls you a little closer into him, your body just barely brushing against his cooking apron. “Why don’t you enlighten me, hm?”

“Well,” you start, your hands settling on his chest, “you seem a little… straight-laced sometimes.”

He leans down, kisses you softly along your jaw, down your neck. “Straight-laced, huh?”

“Okay, maybe—ah—maybe that’s not the word I’m looking for.”

He laughs, whispering hotly in your ear, “Do you mean ‘old,’ sugarpop?”

“No! God, no.” You exhale heavily, thoughts of Toshi—his past, his life before you—running through your mind like a melancholy newsreel, while his large hand caresses your forearm. “I just mean, like. You had the world resting on your shoulders. Didn’t seem like you had a lot of time to enjoy yourself, you know?”

“No, I suppose I didn’t,” he breathes into your neck before snatching the rest of the cookie out of your hand and holding it to his lips, grinning at you. “Good thing I have all the time in the world now, wouldn’t you agree?”

[mysticbisexualxtian]

Christ’s Descent into Hades (Hell)

Chapter I (17).

Joseph says: And why do you wonder that Jesus has risen? But it is wonderful that He has not risen alone, but that He has also raised many others of the dead who have appeared in Jerusalem to many. And if you do not know the others, Symeon at least, who received Jesus, and his two sons whom He has raised up — them at least you know. For we buried them not long ago; but now their tombs are seen open and empty, and they are alive, and dwelling in Arimathaea. They therefore sent men, and they found their tombs open and empty. Joseph says: Let us go to Arimathaea and find them.

Then rose up the chief priests Annas and Caiaphas, and Joseph, and Nicodemus, and Gamaliel, and others with them, and went away to Arimathaea, and found those whom Joseph spoke of. They made prayer, therefore, and saluted each other. Then they came with them to Jerusalem, and brought them into the synagogue, and secured the doors, and placed in the midst the old covenant of the Jews; and the chief priests said to them: We wish you to swear by the God of Israel and Adonai, and so that you tell the truth, how you have risen, and who has raised you from the dead.

The men who had risen having heard this, made upon their faces the sign of the cross, and said to the chief priests: Give us paper and ink and pen. These therefore they brought. And sitting down, they wrote thus:-

Chapter 2 (18).

O Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life of the world, grant us grace that we may give an account of Your resurrection, and Your miracles which You did in Hades. We then were in Hades, with all who had fallen asleep since the beginning of the world. And at the hour of midnight there rose a light as if of the sun, and shone into these dark regions; and we were all lighted up, and saw each other. And straightway our father Abraham was united with the patriarchs and the prophets, and at the same time they were filled with joy, and said to each other: This light is from a great source of light.

The prophet Isaiah, who was there present, said: This light is from the Father, and from the Son, and from the Holy Spirit; about whom I prophesied when yet alive, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, the people that sat in darkness, have seen a great light.

Then there came into the midst another, an ascetic from the desert; and the patriarchs said to him: Who are you? And he said: I am John, the last of the prophets, who made the paths of the Son of God straight, and proclaimed to the people repentance for the remission of sins. And the Son of God came to me; and I, seeing Him a long way off, said to the people: Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. And with my hand I baptized Him in the river Jordan, and I saw like a dove also the Holy Spirit coming upon Him; and I heard also the voice of God, even the Father, thus saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And on this account He sent me also to you, to proclaim how the only begotten Son of God is coming here, that whosoever shall believe in Him shall be saved, and whosoever shall not believe in Him shall be condemned. On this account I say to you all, in order that when you see Him you all may adore Him, that now only is for you the time of repentance for having adored idols in the vain upper world, and for the sins you have committed, and that this is impossible at any other time.

Chapter 3 (19).

While John, therefore, was thus teaching those in Hades, the first created and forefather Adam heard, and said to his son Seth: My son, I wish you to tell the forefathers of the race of men and the prophets where I sent you, when it fell to my lot to die. And Seth said: Prophets and patriarchs, hear. When my father Adam, the first created, was about to fall once upon a time into death, he sent me to make entreaty to God very close by the gate of paradise, that He would guide me by an angel to the tree of compassion and that I might take oil and anoint my father, and that he might rise up from his sickness: which thing, therefore, I also did.

And after the prayer an angel of the Lord came, and said to me: What, Seth, do you ask? Do you ask for oil which raises up the sick, or the tree from which this oil flows, on account of the sickness of your father? This is not to be found now. Go, therefore, and tell your father, that after the accomplishing of five thousand five hundred years from the creation of the world, you shall come into the earth the only begotten Son of God, being made man; and He shall anoint him with this oil, and shall raise him up; and shall wash clean, with water and with the Holy Spirit, both him and those out of him, and then shall he be healed of every disease; but now this is impossible.

When the patriarchs and the prophets heard these words, they rejoiced greatly.

Chapter 4 (20).

And when all were in such joy, Satan the heir of darkness entered and said to Hades: O all-devouring and insatiable, hear my words. There is of the race of the Jews one named Jesus, calling himself the Son of God; and being a man, by our working with them the Jews have crucified him: and now when he is dead, be ready that we may secure him here. For I know that he is a man, and I heard him also saying, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. He has also done me many evils when living with mortals in the upper world. For wherever he found my servants, he persecuted them; and whatever men I made crooked, blind, lame, lepers, or any such thing, by a single word he healed them; and many whom I had got ready to be buried, even these through a single word he brought to life again.

Hades says: And is this man so powerful as to do such things by a single word? and if he be so, can you withstand him? It seems to me that, if he be so, no one will be able to withstand him. And if you say that you heard him dreading death, he said this mocking you, and laughing, wishing to seize you with the strong hand; and woe, woe to you, to all eternity!

Satan says: O all-devouring and insatiable Hades, are you so afraid at hearing of our common enemy? I was not afraid of him, but worked in the Jews, and they crucified him, and gave him also to drink gall with vinegar. Make ready, then, in order that you may lay fast hold of him when he comes.

Hades answered: Heir of darkness, son of destruction, devil, you have just now told me that many whom you had made ready to be buried, be brought to life again by a single word. And if he has delivered others from the tomb, how and with what power shall he be laid hold of by us?

For I not long ago swallowed down one dead, Lazarus by name; and not long after, one of the living by a single word dragged him up by force out of my bowels: and I think that it was he of whom you speak. If, therefore, we receive him here, I am afraid lest perchance we be in danger even about the rest.

For, lo, all those that I have swallowed from eternity I perceive to be in commotion, and I am pained in my belly. And the snatching away of Lazarus beforehand seems to me to be no good sign: for not like a dead body, but like an eagle, he flew out of me; for so suddenly did the earth throw him out. Wherefore also I adjure even you, for your benefit and for mine, not to bring him here; for I think that he is coming here to raise all the dead. And this I tell you: by the darkness in which we live, if you bring him here, not one of the dead will be left behind in it to me.

Chapter 5 (21).

While Satan and Hades were thus speaking to each other, there was a great voice like thunder, saying: Lift up your gates, O ye rulers; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting gates; and the King of glory shall come in!

When Hades heard, he said to Satan: Go forth, if you are able, and withstand him. Satan therefore went forth to the outside. Then Hades says to his demons: Secure well and strongly the gates of brass and the bars of iron, and attend to my bolts, and stand in order, and see to everything; for if he come in here, woe will seize us.

The forefathers having heard this, began all to revile him, saying: O all-devouring and insatiable! open, that the King of glory may come in. David the prophet says: Do you not know, O blind, that I when living in the world prophesied this saying: Lift up your gates, O ye rulers?

Isaiah said: I, foreseeing this by the Holy Spirit, wrote: The dead shall rise up, and those in their tombs shall be raised, and those in the earth shall rejoice. And where, O death, is your sting? where, O Hades, is your victory?

There came, then, again a voice saying: Lift up the gates!

Hades, hearing the voice the second time, answered as if forsooth he did not know, and says: Who is this King of glory?

The angels of the Lord say: The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. And immediately with these words the brazen gates were shattered, and the iron bars broken, and all the dead who had been bound came out of the prisons, and we with them. And the King of glory came in in the form of a man, and all the dark places of Hades were lighted up.

Chapter 6 (22).

Immediately Hades cried out: We have been conquered: woe to us! But who are you, who has such power and might? and what are you, who comes here without sin who are seen to be small and yet of great power, lowly and exalted, the slave and the master, the soldier and the king, who has power over the dead and the living? You were nailed on the cross, and placed in the tomb; and now you are free, and have destroyed all our power. Are you then the Jesus about whom the chief satrap Satan told us, that through cross and death you are to inherit the whole world?

Then the King of glory seized the chief satrap Satan by the head, and delivered him to His angels, and said: With iron chains bind his hands and his feet, and his neck, and his mouth. Then He delivered him to Hades, and said: Take him, and keep him secure till my second appearing.

Chapter 7 (23).

And Hades receiving Satan, said to him: Beelzebul, heir of fire and punishment, enemy of the saints, through what necessity did you bring about that the King of glory should be crucified, so that he should come here and deprive us of our power? Turn and see that not one of the dead has been left in me, but all that you have gained through the tree of knowledge, you have lost through the tree of the cross: and all your joy has been turned into grief; and wishing to put to death the King of glory, you have put yourself to death.

For, since I have received you to keep you safe, by experience shall you learn how many evils I shall do unto you. O arch-devil, the beginning of death, root of sin, end of all evil, what evil did you find in Jesus, that you should compass his destruction? how have you dared to do such evil? how have you busied yourself to bring down such a man into this darkness, through whom you have been deprived of all who have died from eternity?

Chapter 8 (24).

While Hades was thus discoursing to Satan, the King of glory stretched out His right hand, and took hold of our forefather Adam, and raised him. Then turning also to the rest, He said: Come all with me, as many as have died through the tree which he touched: for, behold, I again raise you all up through the tree of the cross. Thereupon He brought them all out, and our forefather Adam seemed to be filled with joy, and said: I thank Your majesty, O Lord, that You have brought me up out of the lowest Hades. Likewise also all the prophets and the saints said: We thank You, O Christ, Saviour of the world, that You have brought our life up out of destruction.

And after they had thus spoken, the Saviour blessed Adam with the sign of the cross on his forehead, and did this also to the patriarchs, and prophets, and martyrs, and forefathers; and He took them, and sprang up out of Hades. And while He was going, the holy fathers accompanying Him sang praises, saying: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Alleluia! to Him be the glory of all the saints!

Chapter 9 (25).

And setting out to paradise, He took hold of our forefather Adam by the hand, and delivered him, and all the just, to the archangel Michael. And as they were going into the door of paradise, there met them two old men, to whom the holy fathers said: Who are you, who have not seen death, and have not come down into Hades, but who dwell in paradise in your bodies and your souls?

One of them answered, and said: I am Enoch, who was well-pleasing to God, and who was translated hither by Him; and this is Elijah the Thesbite; and we are also to live until the end of the world; and then we are to be sent by God to withstand Antichrist, and to be slain by him, and after three days to rise again, and to be snatched up in clouds to meet the Lord.

Chapter 10 (26)

While they were thus speaking, there came another lowly man, carrying also upon his shoulders a cross, to whom the holy fathers said: Who are you, who have the look of a robber; and what is the cross which you bear upon your shoulders?

He answered: I, as you say, was a robber and a thief in the world, and for these things the Jews laid hold of me, and delivered me to the death of the cross, along with our Lord Jesus Christ. While, then, He was hanging upon the cross, I, seeing the miracles that were done, believed in Him, and entreated Him, and said, Lord, when You shall be King, do not forget me. And immediately He said to me, Amen, amen: today, I say unto you, shall you be with me in paradise. Therefore I came to paradise carrying my cross; and finding the archangel Michael, I said to him, Our Lord Jesus, who has been crucified, has sent me here; bring me, therefore, to the gate of Eden. And the flaming sword, seeing the sign of the cross, opened to me, and I went in. Then the archangel says to me, Wait a little, for here comes also the forefather of the race of men, Adam, with the just, that they too may come in. And now, seeing you, I came to meet you.

The saints hearing these things, all cried out with a loud voice: Great is our Lord, and great is His strength.

Chapter 11 (27).

All these things we saw and heard; we, the two brothers, who also have been sent by Michael the archangel, and have been ordered to proclaim the resurrection of the Lord, but first to go away to the Jordan and to be baptized. Thither also we have gone, and have been baptized with the rest of the dead who have risen. Thereafter also we came to Jerusalem, and celebrated the passover of the resurrection. But now we are going away, being unable to stay here. And the love of God, even the Father, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

Having written these things, and secured the rolls, they gave the half to the chief priests, and the half to Joseph and Nicodemus. And they immediately disappeared: to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

[trekkele]

I recently saw the post about Jason and Cass not having to get along, and how that adds to their dynamic.

So I was wondering, are there any other interesting facts/headcanons about relationships in the Batfam?

Your own or some you simply stumbled across?

Because what frustrates me is the absolute lack of nuance in relationships in a lot of in most of Batfam centric fan-works.

The extent to which people write Bruce as either an absolute peace of shit, or as someone who will kiss his kids feet and beg them for the slightest bit of attention

(this being the supposedly "good" parenting- which… No? That ain’t it)

Because something I find incredibly compelling about their dynamics is the absolute loyalty Bruce often on the receiving end of.

Even when they are on terrible terms, if Bruce calls, they answer. (Usually, of course there are exceptions)

Some interesting facts/ideas about their relationships I saw were;

Dick hating Jason back when he was Robin. (Because they all a bit possessive of the Bat/insecure about their place at his side)

Tim not being Jasons fan even before the murder attempt (I read somewhere that DICK was the Robin Tim admired, and that made much more sense to me)

Cass and Dick having a tense relationship because Cass can read and understand Bruce so well, when Dick was the one who knew him best for so long.

Alfred and Bruce having a slightly more complicated relationship (I‘m so sick of 'perfect Alfred makes no mistakes' I swear. If Alfred had been as good a parent as everyone pretends (in comics or fandom) Bruce would at least be a SLIGHTLY more well adjusted individual)

Sorry for the rambling- I kinda got away from what I was asking 😅

So yeah, anyone else you feel has a more difficult relationship than fandom would have you believe?

All the kids with the justice league, and specifically Clark.

No listen hear me out, Bruce’s big possibly life changing injuries? They happen with the league most of the time, because thats when he’s fighting a minor god or a sentient star or whatever. But thats also when all his allies are super powered people, thats when he should be safest. Instead he keeps coming back from league missions with close calls and broken bones.

And Clark especially, what do you mean your best friend is Superman and your arm broke in the three places on that last mission. Where was he??

Alfred and Clark having a 😒 relationship is always fun too, because while kids wont see it or realize it Clark has absolutely witnessed how Alfred parents Bruce and how … less then ideal it can be.

Kate and Alfred, because of backstory reasons (did Alfred do nothing to keep the Kanes in contact with Bruce?? Why??) and also because it would be funny.

Cass and Jason is a good one and it makes so much more sense then the usual “cass loves her big little brother uwu” because i think what Cass would love about Jason would be stealing his weapons and hiding them and watching him lose his mind. Stop bringing guns into her dads house he doesnt like them and its his house.

I think. Oh this is going to be a hot take. I think Bruce resents when Tim tries to patronize or parent him. You know exactly what i mean right, that very specific flavor of infantilization you see in Tim-and-Bruce fics where Tim is a genius brilliant boi and Bruce is just led around by the nose? Hate it and i think Bruce hates it and knows exactly when Tim is trying it. Does he look like Jack Drake?? No?? Good because he was getting worried. (Bruce loves Tim. He loves how much Tim cares. He does not love how Tim thinks caring means permission to run his life).

Another hot take, i dont think Alfred and Jason got along as well as they did until after Jason resurrected. I think baby Jason treated Alfred the way Alfred treated him, so more like two people living in the same space who mutually respect each other them like grandparents. I think Jasons death and his anger at Bruce and Dick made him want/need a neutral person to project his happy memories onto, and Alfred was that person.

Duke being wary of Jason and Red Hood - because he remembers how many people lost people to Red Hood when he first arrived, and i dont care what comics told you there is no way he did what he did without collateral damage.

Damian and Dick should have a messy, complicated, resentful relationship. Damian wanted his father, no matter how good a replacement you write Dick as that isnt what he wanted. Dick also wanted his dad, and he didnt want to be Batman or a parent or any of it, and the fact that Bruce was actually alive and if hed only moved faster, if the JL had only been smarter, if someone had been paying attention, he never would have had to do any of it. And im going to he so honest right now the way fandom writes their “good” relationship is so bad sometimes. I hesitate to use the word toxic because yaknow its been done to death but seriously.

Anyways i think i hit enough hornets nests here, but will leave with, good parenting does not always look like you think it should. Allowing your children to violate your boundaries, always taking full responsibility for mutual miscommunications and misunderstandings, and never letting them suffer consequences for actions they take is just setting them up for failure.

[oh-my-may]

I'm still alive omg!

Lots of irl things happening atm, BUT I managed to play through Penacony 2.2 (stretched over 3 days, no less)

Woah. Just ... woah. So much happening, so many characters interacting, so much lore, IT WAS GOING ON FOREVER but I loved it nonetheless. Of course they had to make the finale of Penacony long and epic.

FIRST OF ALL I KNEW IT! I TOLD Y'ALL!!! Literally in my post about 2.1 I talked about how Misha definitely has some close connection to Mikhail/the Watchmaker. I suspected him to be a child of his or something but the actual thing was close enough, I guess. My sweet boy. I love him. Mikhail being a Nameless was so cool. I'm really glad we're finally getting more lore and info about Akivili and previous Nameless, but I feel this was only the beginning.

I'm still madly in love with Sunday and Acheron. Robin is such a cutie too. I'm not gonna pull for her because I need my savings for Mr. Boothill and then Jade but I'll try and pull for her on a rerun. Sway to My Beat in Cosmos is such a banger. Caught myself constantly singing "riiise into my wooorld" (ofc much worse than the one and only lol)

On the topic of Boothill... my god. Love him. The way they can't make him swear so they just make him say??? Whatever??? Whose idea was that 💀 mother loving instead of mother fucking?? What the fork?? Wubbaboo?? I would die for this man. He looks so hot too. Again I have to say that HSR never misses with male character design. THEY'RE ALL SO PRETTY.

On the topic of pretty men... SUNDAY. My little radicalized bird man. I cackled when Sparkle called him chicken boy. She's just a hater, love her for that. Serious question... is he straight up dead now? I have only played the main quest so far so in case it'a mentioned somewhere in game don't spoil me but if it's not... tell me will I get to see him as a playable character... pls...

The whole thing with Ena the Order was so interesting to see. The fact that they made Order so similar to Harmony... AEON LORE. Love it. Resurrecting an Aeon is possible, you say? Kind of? The way they make Sunday'a motives understandable... he's just a boy

So I had the feeling that facing the boss Dominicus was a bit too easy the first time around. Wdym he has only one phase. I should have known there was more to it. Nevertheless loved to see IL and Jing Yuan cameo. They slayed (literally)

But then the eerie feeling I got when Black Swan talked to us on the Express... the way she makes us question everything that happened... GENIUS. I did kind of get flashbacks to Sumeru act II. The line between dream and reality, who is dreaming, what happens outside of the dream, the repetition of events... not critiquing or hating, but the concepts were just similar to me and I liked it :) Penacony just put a different twist to it.

The final fight was still very cool. The several toughness bars to break is really interesting, and the fact that you get a shield value the more bars you break. Also the Astral Ecpress literally crashing into Sunday??? I barely realized what I had just watched ghe first time around. Idk why, but the concept is hilarious to me. And the question remains... is Sunday dead now??? What about Robin?? Are they both dead??

Aventurine isn't dead either?? What about the present that Sparkle gave out to several people? What was it and what did it do? Is there smth I don't remember about that rn? Did I miss it? Also if Robin didn't actually die, how come we saw her body? If she just got transported to Dreamflux Reef, then there wouldn't have been a body, right? ALSO is Firefly dead too? She didn't make an appearance throughout the second part after we see her leave and she talked abput the way that the script said she would die 3 times in Penacony... I'm so eternally confused. It's part of the reason I think there's still gonna be more in the next patch... They're not gonna give us playable Firefly without at least a Story Quest for her, right? And Jade, too? She had one appearance in a throwback during the story, the Trailblazer hasn't interacted with her in person yet so the IPC probably hasn't finished their business with Penacony yet?

And since I mentioned Trailblazer... HARMONY MC??? LOOKS SO GOOD? LOVE THE MOVES?? THE HAT? The Significance of it had me 😭😭 my MC obsession ks back y'all. He looks so good. Caelus ily. The silly little dance with Clockie 😭 Can't wait to build him, I heard Harmony MC is really good.

I also briefly have to mention my girl Acheron. So they've literally just casually confirmed that she's Raiden Mai? I actually don't know what Bosenmori means or it's significance BUT RAIDEN MEI. And her whole flashback with Tiernan... I had my suspicions about his identity but the reveal was interesting, anyway. I've got the feeling this is not the last we've seen of Acheron. I never played HI3rd far enough to fully understand Raiden Mei's story, but I'm really intrigued with the whole thing. How come her and Welt exist in noth universes, how did they end up in HSR and what's their motive?

One thing I'm also still hung up on is the Annihilation Gang... no more mention of them? We don't get any real eyplanation as to why Acheron killed Duke Inferno? No little animation of the scene? I'm guessing it's gonna play a role later? The reason they talked about it is probably to tell us that Acheron was dangerous but like... idk what to think of it. No question the other members of the Gang are gonna appear later and maybe then we'll get more background? But if they don't play a large role in Penacony, why introduce them to the players prior to it in such a grand way?

Anyway, I judt have lots of questions still but no doubt the game is gonna answer them when the time is right... I had a really good time playing the quest, went through a whole lot of emotions during it, fell in love with even mlre characters... the new maps are GIGANTIC and look so cool and let me just say rhe music was so so epic too. Can't wait for the OST for this to get released.

I also wanna mention here (outside of discusaions about the story) is that having a fully leveled Acheron with pretty decent relics paired with a tank Aventurine feels like playing the game on easy mode. Nothing can penetrate a fully def stacked Aventurine, and Acheron's damage is straight up insane. Gonna take a while before I get tired of using them. They helped me clear basically all Stage V of every SU World I hadn't done yet... legends.

Now we wait for Boothill... The grip that Hunt characters have on me is unbelievable. Meta wise I know I should invest in Harmony characters... Ruan Mei or Robin but... HAVE YOU SEEN BOOTHILL? HAVE YOU???

Alright, that's it for now. Really excited to dive into exploration and events and quests of the new maps. Might post a little about it.. or maybe not. I still have to tell you about my thoughts on the Arlecchino quest and Remuria exploration, I began a post about that and never got around to finishing it.

As always, have some cool screenshots from the story!

[dreaming-of-mossballs]

Happy New Year, Captain. - (Gepard x florist!reader)

Summary: The Captain of the Silvermane Guards is away for a military expedition. Although he isn’t here to celebrate the new year with the rest of Belobog, you’re determined to make sure he knows he’s loved. By both you and everyone around him.

▸ Genre(s): fluff

▸ Word Count: 7k

▸ Tags: Gepard x reader

▸ Warnings: food mentions

A/N: This is part of my florist!reader series, but can be read as a one-shot. Check the masterlist for more! If it’s broken (I swear to fuckijg god—) you can use the tag search function. Type in Mossball_Writing into the search bar.

Love you all and Happy New Year! (SHUT UP I KNOW ITS FEBRUARY I MADE THIS TWO MONTHS AGO)

MASTERLIST

Midday in Belobog was as crisp as ever.

You stood in the open-air plaza of the administrative district, leaning against the wall of the quaint little newspaper shop.

Vaska— your co-worker and friend at the Eversummer Florist’s— had her back turned to the blustery winter wind, which was only offset by the mocha-colored coat draped over her head and shoulders. Her teeth chattered like a broken phonograph, and her cheeks had been burned red by the cold. You stared at her, brow knitted worriedly.

“Hey uh… Vaska? Don’t you think it’s time we get going?”

Tilting your head at her and pulling your coat closer to your form, you gave her a sheepish smile. “We’ve been here for forty-five minutes,”

Her head shot up from where it was buried in the book grasped between her hands. The trademark green beret of the flower shop clung onto her head for dear life.

“What??” Vaska protested. “No, no, no. I’m a hair’s length from the good part! Just—,”

She resumed staring at the page again.

“—a few more pages. I swear. I can’t afford this book until next week. By the time I can get it, spoilers will be everywhere!”

You sniffled, wincing at the cold air that nipped at your nose. “If you want, I can always stuff potting soil in your ears. Free of charge, too,”

“Five more minutes,” she said, pursing her lips. “You won’t regret it,”

“Maybe I won’t, but you will,” you retorted. “Your lips are purple!”

Vaska raised a mitten in a visual effort to block your words. “I can survive a cold. What I cannot survive, however, is someone SPOILING the long-awaited sequel to Tale of the Winterlands,” Your friend tossed her head dramatically, causing strands of light brown hair to catch on her eyes and mouth. She spat them out indignantly.

You lowered your head, dragged your palms over your cheeks, and let your jaw go slack with a groan.

“Fine. You win. Just let me get my mail in the meantime, okay?”

Vaska whipped her head towards you with sparkles in her eyes. “(Y/N),” she gasped. “You’re a godsend!”

You promptly turned your heels and headed off in the direction of city hall, chuckling to yourself as you went. You remembered the way you used to bounce with excitement every time a new mining robot was delivered to your division and you got the honor of testing it out.

We all deserve to be a little giddy about our hobbies sometimes. She works as hard as I do, if not more.

You felt the corners of your lips rise into a smile as you strolled briskly next to the flower beds lining the sidewalk. Aside from a thin coating of frost, they looked bright and lively against the backdrop of the yellow brick wall.

Ah. First snow. I wonder if Gepard has had any luck resurrecting those, you pondered, bending over to peer at them. You lifted your head, only to jolt backward at the sight of familiar (and dashing) blue eyes in front of you.

“OHMYAEONS—“ you shrieked before clamping your hands over your mouth.

But a wave of disappointment soon swept over you. Those eyes you longed to see so badly were merely the centerpiece of a poster, advertising recruitment for the Silvermane Guards. Gepard’s eyes stared imposingly at the plaza behind you.

The artist did a really good job capturing his likeness. You sighed. It was almost uncanny how accurate the determination in his face was.

You rested a hand against the worn parchment, trailing it over a caption that read, ‘You are the pride of the Architects. Help defend their city! Join the Silvermane Guards Today!’, and ‘Great dental benefits!’

Of course, you knew that the reality was far less than glamorous.

Your friend, Gepard Landau, the Captain of the Silvermane Guards and a Belobogian noble, had been away on a mission for a month and a half fighting the Fragmentum. You’d had your fair share of run-ins with the monsters birthed from the residue of a stellaron. They dragged their feet and uttered ghastly moans as they wandered about the abandoned sectors of your hometown. You were immediately swept into the undercurrent of anxiety as images of threats he had to face began to bubble up within your brain.

To quell the simmering fear inside you, you slapped your face lightly with your mittened hands.

He’s perfectly fine! He’s the captain, for Qlipoth’s sake. He’s probably been on the field since he was able to walk, you exhaled heavily, your worries escaping into the air in the form of a small cloud of condensation.

Doesn’t change the fact that I miss him, though,

You weren’t allowed to contact Gepard. No one was, for fear of compromising military safety. Since the Fragmentum managed to attach itself to automatons, there was a possibility that they could receive unfiltered transmissions and determine the location of the troops. The thought in itself made your skin prickle.

Shaking yourself to clear the pangs of loss from your chest, you rounded the corner to City Hall, or the Administrative Office, or as others called it.

It had an air of business about it, maybe due to the constant stream of robed officials streaming out from its doors. They all barked orders at each other— filled with unnecessarily complicated words, you might add—, and pushed up their glasses in the same way. It bored you to death. But until you could get a permanent residence on the Surface, you’d have to keep collecting your mail from this labyrinth of grumpy office workers.

But today, you could hardly see the grilled glass doors past a crowd of people. Through the rapid chatter and the collision of bodies, you heard an official’s voice you recognized,

Manya.

You raised yourself on the balls of your feet to get a better look. Her hair, the color of artificially minty ice cream was frizzy and unkempt, and her thickly framed glasses were taped together at the end piece. Her words barely made it past the clamor of the crowd.

“If you want to register for a—“ She grunted in pain sharply. “Ugh! Esteemed citizen, please stop elbowing me. If you want to sign up for a telephone time, please form a single file line to the right of the lamp post. I repeat, the right,”

Any attempt to take a step forward was futile. You immediately got jostled by a heavyset woman from the right, causing you to collide with the metal bearings of someone’s briefcase. Ouch.

Against all odds, Manya’s piercing red eyes landed on you.

“Manya—?” You raised your voice, hoping to reach her above the crowd. “What’s—,”

She pushed through the throngs of people while her robes billowed with fury. Her hand grasped your forearm, harshly enough that you thought it might bruise, and proceeded to drag you into the building, which was heated with Geomarrow lamps and the sweat of panicking managers. It looked like a scene in a thriller opera, where the vengeful protagonist tears an office apart looking for information about his father’s killer.

Manya practically shoved you into the wall of cluster box units. “Get it—,” she hissed, “—and go,”

“Yeesh,” you exclaimed, fiddling with the key to your mailbox (and nearly dropping it in the meantime). “Can I at least ask what the commotion is all about?”

She turned around from where she was stalking off, a vein on her forehead suddenly becoming more pronounced.

“I do have matters to attend to, but I suppose it’s my duty to attend to the concerns of the citizens, no matter how trivial they may be,” she replied through gritted teeth. “For the new year, Qlipoth Fort allows citizens to contact family in the Guards using their telecommunications system,”

You widened your eyes as she continued.

“Although, they haven’t quite flushed out the system yet. The one for organizing time slots. It’s like herding warp trotters,”

“Um,” you paused. “Okay, how would you sign up for a time then?”

She grimaced. “Oh, not you too. Are you actually interested in one or just curious? Because I think I might burst a blood vessel if—,”

“I am interested, I swear!” You cut in. “I know I’m usually just curious, but I wouldn’t waste your time at a time as hectic as this,”

You’d think a City Hall official would actually enjoy answering questions, you muttered inwardly.

Manya sighed heavily. “Fine. Take a ticket from the dispenser outside and wait in line. When you’re called, they have a form you can fill out to make an appointment to speak with your family member,”

And as quick as she came, Manya spun on her heels and went back to managing the crowd at the door. You collected your mail and did as she ordered. The mass of people had since gathered into a more manageable line, although it was anything but single-file. Peering at the ticket, which was printed in very light ink, you were able to discern the number you were given. 122. You squinted your eyes in order to make out the fine print and gasped.

“Expected three hours until service?!?” You choked out.

Well, in that case, I can get back to Vaska, you shrugged. On your way out, you spotted a few complimentary hand warmers stationed at the front desk, along with the latest edition of the* Crystal* Daily at the front counter.

“Actually… you wouldn’t mind if I took some of these, right?” You inquired the bleary-eyed receptionist.

He blinked tiredly in response.

“Sweet. Have a good day,”

❆ — ❆ — ❆

Vaska was looking a little worse for wear when you got back. It had been less than ten minutes, but she had chosen a foldable sign as cover and was squatting behind it. Her green eyes flicked upwards as she heard the plodding of your boots towards her.

“How’s the book so far?” You said, glancing around at the passerby before joining her on the ground.

“(Y/N), if I’m being honest with you,” she paused. “I am so happy I could literally die right now,”

Vaska stared at you stone-faced before her expression became giddy. She pressed the book close to her chest, squealing with glee.

“Whoa there, don’t you think that’s a little extreme?” You said, amused.

“Not in the slightest,” she swooned. “Oh Artem, I missed him so much! His fiery passion hasn’t dimmed a bit,” she stated dramatically while fanning herself with her hand (Which she immediately regretted, as it was the middle of winter).

“Oh Vaska, you’re blushing so hard you could melt a glacier,” you teased.

“Two glaciers,” she corrected you matter-of-factly. Her eyes widened as a sudden shadow fell over the two of you. Fizz, the girl who manned the desk at the newspaper shop, was standing with her hands on her hips, blotting out the sun reflecting off the snow-covered buildings.

“While I do appreciate a fellow Tales fan,” she mused. “This is beginning to get a bit concerning. If you guys aren’t going to make a purchase, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave. Sorry!”

Vaska’s soul seemed to leave her body that very moment.

Clearing your throat, you spoke up. “That’s fine! We’re sorry for overstaying our welcome. I know you have a business to run here,”

“No worries, you two! I’d give it to you, but a girl’s gotta put food on the table,” Fizz shrugged. “I’m pleased you’re interested though,”

Fizz’s cheerful demeanor did little to ease Vaska’s thousand-yard stare.

As soon as you got far enough from the newspaper stand, the onslaught of your co-worker’s crushing despair was unstoppable. She crumpled to the cobblestone-like a wad of packing paper.

You groaned as you bent over to grasp her hood, which you used as a sort of anchor point to drag her across the ground. She made a pitiful sound that resembled a mouse being stepped on.

You sighed. “Come on. Let’s go home,”

❆ — ❆ — ❆

After tending to your wounded slug of a co-worker, you hopped downstairs to beat the frost off your jackets. Your eyes lit up as your phone rang in your apron with the signature ringtone you had assigned to Serval.

“Serval! What can I help a lovely lady such as yourself with today?” You greeted her while picking up the phone.

“Aw, you big sap!” Raucous laughter could be heard on the other side. The corners of your mouth rose into a smile.

“Molly and I just went on lunch break and I figured I’d give you a holler. Are you doing anything this Belobog Eve?”

Before you could say, “Solarflowers,” you had an answer.

“Yes, actually. I went to city hall today, and as it turns out, they’re doing this thing where you can call a loved one using the radios at Qlipoth Fort. All you have to do is sign up!”

“No way! They haven’t done that since things started getting bad in the Snow Plains,” Serval’s voice crackled. “I tried reaching them a few years back with a radio from the workshop, but Pela chewed me out, saying it was a ‘breach of military safety’,”

“Couldn’t imagine why,” you said with a snort.

“Hey, genius. I’m the main arms dealer for the Guards. I know what I’m doing,” she said, a smirk evident in her voice.

“Uh huh, uh huh,” you responded, touching your fingertips to your thumb absentmindedly. “Anyways, I signed up for a slot at ten o’clock, and I was thinking we could all go together to talk to Gepard,”

“Heck yeah! I’d really enjoy that!” Serval exclaimed. “By ‘we’, do you mean Lynx, Pela, and I?”

“You got it,” you said with a chuckle. You peered out at Qlipoth Fort through the windowpanes of the flower shop, the sunlight warming your face. “It’s alright if they can’t make it though. I know you’ve all got your plates full with all that military jargon,”

“Nonsense,” she tutted. “It’d be outrageous if they didn’t let us off for the New Year and… I’ll be honest with you, (Y/N). Sometimes us military folk are so caught up in our own business, we forget to connect with each other. It’s really nice to have you here to remind us we’re human too,”

You stifled a squeal of glee that was welling up in your throat. “Ah—“ you stuttered at the compliment. “I’m not sure how to respond to that. Just glad I can help out, I guess,”

Serval snickered. “Don’t worry your little heart about it. I’ll make sure we all be there. Meet you outside Qlipoth Fort an hour before?”

“Sure. See you soon!” You chirped.

She chuckled. “Rock on, (Y/N)!”

❆ — ❆ — ❆

The Belobog sky was especially mesmerizing that night, you thought.

It had a comforting simplicity you’d grown to appreciate ever since arriving on the surface. Every smattering of white against the royal blue backdrop seemed to hold your gaze as you wondered; just how old was that light reaching your eyes?

Some of the tapestries hung around the city attempted to emulate this feeling of smallness. They were woven with silk as if to imitate that same heaviness the night sky had.

Whilst you gazed at the stars, notes of soft jazz floated down from the balconies above the city where a group of street musicians were playing. You could feel the tremors of the bass beneath your feet thrumming slightly like a heartbeat, as the night ambiance blanketed you in a figurative sort of warmth.

Aeons, your neck was beginning to hurt.

“Hey— Jarilo-VI to (Y/N)—,” Serval’s voice reverberated loudly in your left ear.

A yelp of surprise sprang from your throat as you jolted away. Serval, Lynx, and Pela were standing directly in front of you, evidently enough they had been for some time.

“We were worried we’d be late because we were tuning up the instruments for a New Years show, but it seems like our worries were unwarranted,” Serval laughed, shrill and high. The lamplight glinted off of her multitude of metal accessories.

“Ack! You guys—,” you blurted. “Why didn’t you tell me you were here?!”

“You seemed very intent on keeping your eyes glued to the sky,” Pela pushed her glasses up thoughtfully, trying to hide her labored breath. She looked disheveled, as if she had run here.

Lynx sided closer to you with wide eyes. “Perhaps… you observed an anomaly?”

You chuckled. “No, nothing of the sort. I was just thinking that the star I was looking at was really bright,”

She hummed in response— the ears on her adorable fluffy hat bouncing side to side— and reached for your forearm, raising it to point at the same patch of sky you were looking at before.

“Ah, that star?” Lynx closed one eye to better align her field of view with your own. “That’s Altair. The one underneath the edge of the Tundra Star System,”

“Altair? That’s a pretty unusual name,”

“Yep. I heard it came from somewhere far away, from a small planet called Earth. They believed this particular star was waiting to reunite with another,”

You paused in thought for a moment, the silence causing the other two to tilt their heads.

What a cute little story.

Maybe these kinds of stories were easier to think up when you’d lived under the stars all your life. But even before the Underworld had closed, all you had of the sky were distant, blurry memories. These ideas struck an unfamiliar chord within you.

“Does it ever meet the other star?”

“I’m not certain,” Lynx mused. “The only other star we know of that fits the legend died a long, long time ago unfortunately,”

“Aw,” you pouted. “That’s a shame,”

Pela cleared her throat. “I hate to ruin an intellectual conversation such as this, but it’s in our best interest to get going. The line is already growing at the top of Qlipoth Fort,”

“You can see that??” You squinted. “Crud. I got you guys some gifts but those will have to wait,”

Pela nodded. “Yes, let’s hurry while we—,”

Your face split into a wide grin. “Race ya!”

You dug the soles of your shoes in and ran straight for the stairs to Qlipoth Fort. The others followed suit, a string of indignant shouts and laughter echoing into the night air.

❆ — ❆ — ❆

If being in the mines had been stifling, that was nothing compared to the crowds outside the Fort. Red-faced officials cupped their hands and yelled in an attempt to be heard over the clamor of the mob. You spotted Manya leaning against a wall, any light she once had in her eyes totally gone.

“—a line! Get into three lines! Please for the love of the Preservation—,” someone shouted.

Pela received a particularly hard bump to the shoulder, sending her hurtling directly into your rib cage with a squeak. Through the midst of the chaos, you caught a glimpse of Serval’s arm, adorned with wristbands, flailing a ways away. She pried the people in front of her apart with vigor; a grunt that sounded like a creaking glacier erupted from her mouth to the shock of the strangers closest to her.

“Hold tight you two!” She ordered. “I’m trained to deal with this— you’ve seen Luka, right?”

“And just how is that supposed to be relevant??” You barked back before a stray elbow caught you in the face. You let out a pained grunt and held your nose.

Serval’s face peeked over the crowd as she wove closer to you. “His boxing stance— do that. Arms in front of your face, legs a shoulder-width apart. It’s saved a few of my concert-goers from gettin’ crushed,”

You did as she instructed; the next time someone jostled you and Pela, you felt far less shaken up. Swiveling your head, you realized something was off.

“Hey, has anyone seen Lynx?”

You scanned the crowd for her signature blue hat but to no avail.

“Lynx? Lynx???” Pela called frantically. Out of the blue, you spotted a small figure clad in blue and purple clinging to one of the pillars supporting the overhanging roof of the fort. Lynx looked unbothered, a red rope anchored around the pillar and her feet planted firmly into the side in a classic climber’s stance.

Well, that’s one way to get around it, you shook your head vigorously. The hair on your neck stood up as the speakers belonging to the fort’s PA system crackled to life.

“Attention, Belobog citizens,” a male voice announced. “We’re aware that it has been a few years since the Fort has been able to do this, but please refrain from physically assaulting each other… And to the climber on the right-hand side of the building, that was clever, but this is not the Snow Plains,”

A good-humored chuckle rippled through the crowd. Finally, officials were able to sort attendees into lines depending on what time their call was. You were able to take a long, relaxing breath and bask in the warmth of the heaters surrounding the building, your chest rising and falling as you rested the back of your head against the wall. Serval hummed contentedly beside you as Pela combed through her book.

Blinking your eyes open, your hands darted for your leather messenger bag.

“Oh! About those gifts I got you guys… here!” You tossed the items one by one to your companions. “Glasses straps for Pela… a multi-tool for Serval… and fish pot warmers for Lynx!”

Serval’s eyes sparkled as she fiddled with out the multi-tool, and then proceeded to fill with tears of laughter as you wrapped a scarf around Lynx’s head so that only her eyes were showing, and she waved her quilted fish hands around like some sort of pot warmer ninja. The deadpan expression on her face made the whole ordeal even funnier.

“You know…” you spoke up. “We oughta meet up for holidays more often,”

“Too right!” Serval nodded with a bright smile. You honestly thought you could wait there forever with them, laughing and talking like this.

However, you would find that possibility was closer than it seemed.

❆ — ❆ — ❆

“Hey uh— Pela, do you have a watch?” You asked after some time had passed.

“Yes, why?” She replied.

“I just think it’s been a little longer than an hour,” you said offhandedly, flicking your gaze to the side.

Maybe you were just impatient. From your fast-paced life in the mines, of course. (Not because your heart was swelling with more anticipation than it could handle.)

“Erm…” she peered closely at her gilded watch. “No, you’re right, (Y/N). It’s been an hour and 45 minutes,”

You let out a withering sigh as Lynx piped up.

“Maybe there’s a holdup? There’s a lot of people, after all. If one person goes a minute over, the entire schedule gets pushed back a minute,”

“Yeah… that sounds about right, I guess,” you shrugged. Waiting a little more wouldn’t hurt, you supposed.

That is until another 45 minutes passed with you four waiting in the cold.

“Aeons, I am SO. HUNGRY.” Serval pounded her fist lightly on the wall. “What in the Snow Plains is going on in there??”

“Didn’t you get something to eat before you came here?” Pela quipped.

“Yes, but waiting makes me pretty damn hungry,” she groaned. Her stomach growled in agreement.

Lynx looked up at her sister from where she was sitting by a fire hastily scraped together. She outstretched her arm, a tin of sardines in the palm of her hand.

“Thanks, Lynxy,” Serval said wistfully. Her eyes shot open as the large mahogany door to the fort creaked open. An aide accompanied by two guards stepped out into the turmoil.

“Attention, Citizens of Belobog,” she droned. “I know you may be confused as to why this is taking so long. Well… we’ve received reports that the line connecting our radios to the Silvermane camp has been taken out by the high winds. We’re not sure if it will be able to be repaired tonight, but, you are welcome to stay if you are able,”

And with that announcement, the aide whisked inside, her robes trailing behind her as the crowd began to clamor in anger.

“You have got to be kidding,” Serval hissed. Pela nodded, her eye twitching with irritation. “If— if they had trusted me with the handling of the tech division—,”

You stopped listening as your hands fell to your sides in exasperation. But out of the corner of your eye, through the blurry silhouettes of people fettering away for the night— you caught a small but unmistakable glimpse of sadness on Lynx’s face.

Her face was downturned, her nose, scrunched up. You remember making that face in Natasha’s clinic as you did your best not to break down in front of her.

Placing a hand on Serval’s shoulder as waves of anger rolled off her, you spoke up.

“We’re staying,”

“Stay—? I can’t believe they just blew everyone off like that!” Serval snorted, followed by a sigh. “Why don’t we go to the workshop and break out one of my old radios?”

Pela shook her head frantically, curtains of her indigo hair flying everywhere. “We should definitely not do that. The logistics that that would succeed are very, very, low. Also—,”

“Not everyone is leaving,” you commented. You swiveled your head around. At least fifty of the original 120+ people remained. (Belobogians couldn’t be deterred that easily, you supposed.)

You glanced down at Lynx out of the corner of your eye. “If there’s even the off chance that they can get them working again, I want to try. I’ll even run to the florists to make us some sandwiches!”

Serval paused, seeming to think this was adequate.

“Hmph… You know I can’t pass up a good sandwich,” she put her hands on her hips with a smile. “And, you’re right. Maybe we’ll have a better chance of getting in touch with him if we stay,”

“That’s right,” You smiled. “Now, I’ll go take the trolley real quick. Call me if they fix them!”

❆ — ❆ — ❆

A few of the amenities you brought back included: a large wool blanket, a picnic basket with sandwiches and cookies, and the hand warmers you had grabbed earlier, which were especially for when the queue moved away from the heaters.

Serval was right. Waiting did make you hungry. You licked your lips contentedly after fishing a chilled veggie salad wrap. With your belly full and your body finally warm for the first time that night, you nearly drifted off to sleep until the doors flung open once more.

“Alright, everyone. We’ve gotten permission to fire communications up again. Thank you for being patient,” the same lady from earlier announced. “Please come this way and form a single-file line,”

Your head whipped around in confusion from the sudden turn of events.

“What happened? Just how long was I out?” You inquired Lynx.

“Approximately seven minutes,” she stated. “It’s around 23:50 right now,” The golden-haired girl turned away from you and darted into the building, along with Serval.

Things are finally coming along, you smiled to yourself.

In contrast to the curt PSA earlier, the inside of the Fort was well-rounded with good customer service. It ran like a freshly oiled automaton, with workers directing attendees to different booths, each with a trained operator. The room was filled with chatter echoing off the tiled floor and the sounds of dial tones coming from the radios, which were large blocks of metal with a handheld receiver attached by a wire.

The operator at your booth handed you the radio first, much to your surprise. The other line picked up with a slight buzz of static. Your heart began to race.

“Who would you like to speak to?” The voice on the other end crackled.

“Ah— Gepard Landau, please. Is he available?” You said, with a little less confidence than you’d have liked.

“The Captain? I’m sorry, but I don’t think we have the security clearance for that—,”

Serval vaulted across the table in the booth and grabbed the phone.

“Tory? Tory is that you?? We need to speak to Gepard,”

Pause.

“Like, right this instant. Could you go get him? Thanks. No— if anyone asks tell them I told you to do it. Now go get him!”

She smiled self-satisfactorily, sat down, and tossed the receiver to you while kicking her legs up. You swore you saw a bead of sweat roll down the operator’s face as you fumbled with the device— it was only saved by your pinkie miraculously hooking on the wire.

You tilted your body closer to Lynx and Pela as you listened to the sounds of idle chatter on the other end.

“[—for me?]”

You knew that voice. Your heart leaped as you held the receiver closer to your face.

“[Ahem— Hello?]”

“Why— yes. Um— h-hello!” You blurted out, caught off guard. You craned your head away from the radio with a start towards the jittery-looking operator. “Is there any way to turn this thing up?” You hissed.

“Yes, but please take care not to be too loud,” He rotated a dial at the top of the radio as your group sided closer together.

“[(Y/N)? Is that you?]” You caught a note of surprise in Gepard’s voice, which also had an edge of roughness to it as if he had been shouting orders earlier that day.

“Yep. Not just me though. We got Serval, Pela, and Lynx here too!” You smiled, making eye contact with the others. “Say ‘hi’ everyone!”

A chorus of greetings rang out, the words “big brother” and “Captain Gepard” sneaking into the mix.

“Geppie! So happy to hear from you,” Serval’s blue eyes sparkled as she chimed in. “How’s it holding up out there?”

“Ah, hello, Serval. I’m glad to see you’re doing well,”

Gepard wasted no time getting her up to date, just like a military briefing. You stood by, perplexed.

“We’re working hard to clear up the remaining Fragmentum. The weather has been on the unpredictable side, and it’s caused some of the tech to freeze over, but it’s nothing the Guards can’t handle. At the rate we’re going, we might finish early,”

You let out a small cheer.

He continued. “I hope you and Pela aren’t too swamped before the new year,”

“Hardly,” said Pela, who was pushing up her glasses. “Lady Bronya has done a wonderful job of managing the workload in the intelligence division,”

“That’s no small relief. How about you, Lynx? You’re not doing anything risky in the Snow Plains, are you?”

The golden-haired girl’s shoulders dropped petulantly. “Yes, brother. Our team is doing quite adequately, and it will continue that way as long as I am leading it. Don’t worry about me,”

Her cheeks began to puff up. You smiled. No one had ever worried about you like that before. (Although now that you had Vaska, all the worrying was done for you.)

Lynx handed the phone to Pela first, who cycled through her greetings in a somewhat robotic manner. Next came Serval, whom the operator had to tell to quiet down more than four times. It seemed that their banter never ceased even when they hadn’t seen each other for a whole month. Maybe she was taking this time to catch up, you thought to yourself. She nearly shouted goodbye at him by the time Pela had the sense to drag her away from the table.

You reached for the handheld radio next, confused at where to place your fingers because it was nothing like a traditional phone—

“[Ahem. Ahem— is this thing working? Captain, can you hear me?],” A pause. “[It’s Bronya,]”

Pela’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. You held the phone in your outstretched hand awkwardly as you eyes the others to see if they’d tell you what to do.

“[Lady Bronya, it’s a pleasure. I hope all is well in Belobog?]” Gepard inquired.

Bronya held steadfast conviction in her voice that struck you to your core.

“[As well is it could be, Captain, much due to your unyielding diligence in the Snow Plains,]”

You heard him exhale through his nose slightly. “[I’m not sure I deserve a compliment so grand, but I appreciate it nonetheless, Lady Bronya,]”

You stood rooted to the ground as you heard them hurl very formal-sounding compliments back and forth like snowballs. It was like a soap opera.

“[Ah, and don’t let me forget. (Y/N), thank you for your routine delivery of flowers to Qlipoth Fort. It really does boost morale,]” Bronya said.

Your heart swelled with pride. “It’s no matter at all, Lady Bronya,”

Something compelled you to bow to no one in particular. When you raised your head, more than one person had a raised eyebrow at your spectacle. Serval picked up on your sheepishness and leaned in close, her breath tickling your ear.

“I may have clued her in a bit,” she whispered to you. You covered your mouth with a devious smile.

“[Now, I’ll have to let you go now. There are a few last-minute orders I have to take care of. I wish you all a Happy New Year,]”

“You too, Lady Bronya!” Everyone cheered.

What an honor it was for the Supreme Guardian to grace you with her voice— you swooned. Oh dear. Is this how all Surface-dwellers felt?

It must be contagious, you thought as you wiped your forehead nervously.

“A-anyways, Lynx, how about you take the phone now?”

“Me—? Oh,” she seemed startled.

She picked it up gingerly. “Hi, big brother,”

Something about the way her voice sounded made you take a small step away from the table.

“[You sound healthy, Lynx,]” the Captain said with a softness to his voice you weren’t familiar with. “[Is everything all right there? How is father?]”

Lynx seemed to cradle the radio in the crook of her neck like a penguin would its chick.

“Yes, everything is fine, I— uhh— sorry,”

She paused for a moment, seeming to have lost the words she wanted to say. His voice filled the silence she left.

“[I hope you all know I do miss you, and I’m happy you decided to call,]”

Lynx’s eyes were locked on the table and you could see her feelings churning inside of her. You reached towards the radio slowly, turning down the dial that controlled the volume, and motioned to the others to take a few steps away.

Whatever Lynx wanted to say was her business and her business alone. You could wait a bit.

For a few minutes, she whispered into the phone, her eyes still downcast. When she called you all back over, her cheeks were tinted light pink and it was almost as if a large weight had been taken off of her shoulders.

The orange-haired operator interrupted your moment of bliss. “That was a nice gesture… but please don’t touch the radios,” he pleaded with you.

Your cheeks felt hot with embarrassment. Oops.

You grinned sheepishly, turning back to the radio as the others gathered around you once more.

“So… Gepard,”

The sound of clanking metal reached your ear as you looked off to the side. You could almost imagine him leaning in with that trademark intent expression on his face.

“I’m happy we were able to reach you today,” you spoke, a smile creeping into your voice.

“We really, really miss you. It’s because of you that we’re able to gather here today safe and sound,”

How badly you wished you could see him right now.

“We wanted to wish you a happy new year, so—,”

You cut off for a moment to build up anticipation. Everyone’s eyes were trained on you as you dipped your head down with laser focus and mouthed a countdown to them.

Three.

Two.

One.

“Happy New Year—,”

“Gepard!”

“Geppie!”

“Captain!”

“Elder brother!”

The other families at the other booths looked at you quizzically as a wave of silence swept over the high-ceilinged room.

“Um,” you cleared your throat. “Anyways, we’re almost out of time! Keep fighting hard out there, okay?”

“[Thank you. May the new year bring us prosperity,]” he said with steadfast resolve.

You smiled a soft smile, one filled with so much longing that you could no longer put into words.

“It will, I’m sure of it,”

“[Wait, (Y/N), listen closely. They’re firing the cannons,]”

They’re what?

Your next breath never made it past your throat. The faraway boom of three cannons firing reached your ears, followed by the raucous cheers of soldiers.

“[Happy New Year,]”

And with that, the dial on the side of the radio rang, signaling that your time was up.

You glanced at the group around you in the silence that followed. Lynx’s eyelashes were slightly wet.

“Well, I guess we should get going then,” you sighed.

“We didn’t even get to say goodbye,” Seval pouted, crossing her arms. “We’ll have to make up for it later when he comes back,”

Lynx and Pela nodded, gathering their belongings and pushing open the door to the chilly night air of Belobog.

You trailed behind the others as you exited the building, glancing up at the sky one last time. It wasn’t often you were out long enough for the lights of the city to finally dim and give you a splendid view of the nighttime theatre.

The others turned around, hearing you gasp out loud. A streak of light filled your vision, passing right next to the bright star you were looking at earlier. Than another. And another.

“Guys— look, it’s a star shower!” You pointed excitedly at the sky and spun around quickly; which in turn, caused your messenger bag to hit Pela in the face.

“Now that’s a stellar lookin’ sky if I’ve ever seen one,” Serval raised her hand above her eyes and laughed as you apologized profusely to Pela.

Now, you wondered, was Gepard seeing this too? It was the same sky, after all.

Lynx bounded up to you excitedly and with a slight smile, asked,

“Do you have a wish?”

A wish?

“I think…” you rested a hand on your chin thoughtfully.

“My wish? I want all of us to be safe and happy… For many, many years to come,”

❆ — ❆ — ❆

Bonus scene:

As you all went your separate ways, you noticed the light at the newspaper stand was still on.

You moseyed your way over there and rapped on the shutters with a fist.

“Hello? Is anyone still there?”

A shuffle and a groan was heard. Fizz, the bookkeeper, rose from behind a pile of boxes rubbing her eyes roughly.

“Oh! Aeons—,” you couldn’t stop yourself from exclaiming. “Are you okay??”

“Urgh…” Fizz stumbled over to the counter and checked her watch. “I must have fallen asleep while reading. I should have closed up four hours ago!” She groaned again. “What can I help you with?”

You stammered for a second. “I’m not sure if this is the appropriate time to ask, but do you have any of the sequel to Tale of the Winterlands?”

“Ah, I’m afraid we don’t. I can check when the next shipment is coming in though,” she replied helpfully. Fizz pushed aside a sheaf of papers. “Oh?”

You peered over the counter inquisitively.

“It looks like we do have one,” she said, matter-of-factly, turning back to you. “You want it?”

“Yes, please!” You bounced on your heels.

“That’ll be 2,500 credits. Would you like a bag?” She bent over to grab a notepad for your receipt.

You nodded. Fizz handed the book to you, taking less than a minute to prepare a card and tissue paper. She obviously had a lot of experience under her belt.

She handed the brown paper bag to you and you took off towards the hills.

“Thanks!” You shouted back at her. “Happy New Year!”

“You too,” Fizz said as she watched you sprint like a soldier coming home.

❆ — ❆ — ❆

Quiet as a mouse, you discarded your boots after entering the florist’s and started towards the back, not bothering to turn the lights on. Everyone was likely already asleep— the shop was all closed up for the night and the plants were bathed in comforting blue moonlight.

You climbed the small spiral staircase to the second floor where everyone slept, wincing as the floorboards creaked. You could spy a small sliver of light emanating from the bedroom you and Vaska shared.

Tapping the door lightly with your fingertips, you opened it. Vaska was in the midst of getting up to answer the door; she had a small candle in her hands and her favorite book lay on the hardwood floor. You didn’t even have to look at the cover to recognize the trademark dog-eared pages and dirt stains.

“(Y/N)!” She whispered. “Where on Jarilo-VI were you??”

“I’ll tell you in the morning, as I’ve had quite the eventful night,” you chuckled. “On the other hand, I got you something!”

You hoisted out the brown paper bag decorated with simple printed patterns to her. She took it from you and peeked inside.

A glass jar of popping candy and a book lay at the bottom of the bag. You watched in real time as she forgot how to breathe.

Vaska pulled the book out with one hand. Glanced at you. Glanced at the book again. She made a sound resembling a whistling kettle and flung herself at you with the force of a soldier, wrapping her arms around you.

“Shh—! Vaska, it’s like, one in the morning. If the boss hears you, you’ll be DEAD,”

You shot a warning glance towards the door. Thankfully, no sound was heart at the end of the hallway, where Meg’s quarters were.

She sniffled, her grip as tight as iron. “I’ll die happy then,”

You sighed. You patted the back of her head in the crook of your arm. How lucky you were to have a friend like her.

“Now, let’s get some sleep, shall we?”

2024 - Dreaming-of-Mossballs - Do not repost/translate without my permission - NO AI

[enchantra35]

Reflections upon V6 by a first time watcher

As I have just finished v6, I'm jumping here to write this right away now that's everything's fresh and all.

-I think this is when the plot solidifies and takes a far more serious turn. We finally get the full story of the world, which is tied with Ozpin and Celium. The Ozpin/Dumbledore pararels continue. I had a hintch Ozpin was related to Salem some way or another - romantically or otherwise - especially when he claims very early on that he has made more mistakes than everyone else, and I was right. Their past is so tragic. It made me think however, that Ozpin lied about his resurrection. He claimed in previous volumes that he was being resurrected again and again because the Gods punished him for failing to stop Salembut that's not the case at all? He was given that ability to stop her, not as a punishment. Unless, he himself sees it as a punishment for siding with her at the very beginning. Now, as for Salem's immortality... I'm sure there is a way to get rid off her and I think it's very much relates to Ruby's silver eyes.

-The number 4 is a prevalent motif in the series from the beginning, but it was while watching volumes 6 that it solidified itself in my brain. The four members of team RWBY (or any other team in that regard), the four kingdoms/schools, the four maidens, the four artifacts and Ozbin and Celium's four children. Coincidence? I THINK NOT!

-Pyrrha is truly haunting the narrative on both sides huh? The parallelism between Jaune finding Pyrrha's statue and regaining his hope vs Cinder who speaks about destiny (although in a much disrespectful manner as she doesn't even name Pyrrha).

-Bumbleby in particular but also Whiterose bloom this volume (haha, get it?). From Blake awkwardly trying to make things as they used to (although they will not quite be and that's okay) to the fight against Adam? Poetic cinema.

I loved the parallels between Blake holding Yang's prosthetic arm, a signifier of her promise to protect her, to her holding Yang's trembling hand during the fight with Adam, symbolizing her realization that she doesn't need to protect Yang, only for them to protect each other. Adam could tell something was going on before the hand holding though, LFMAO. Speaking of which, I'm not going to go into details about the Beauty and the Beast parallels because people have already discussed this thoroughly and better than I can articulate it. Another point for poetic cinema.

What kills me the most is the way Yang INSTANTLY runs to Blake and hugs her. Literally, right away. And don't get me started on the way they talk to each other:

-I will not break my promise. I swear.

-I know you won't.

The voice acting here was INSANE. The way Yang's voice breaks - ARE YOU KIDDING ME? And the touching foreheads? The way they hold to each other's hands and arms? THEY INVENTED ROMANCE. I also find it very funny how insufferable they instantly become, like they're already holding hands every chance they get. NO DISCRETION AT ALL.

-"I'm so glad Yang was there for you", Weiss Shnee YOU ARE A REAL ONE since day one, God BLESS.

-Speaking of Weiss, her and Ruby too had their moments this volume, albeit a bit more discreetly, so to speak. We see just how much they trust each other. Ruby has so much faith in Weiss, even when Weiss is like "what if I didn't catch you?", her response is "but you did!". That said, I don't think it's a coincidence that they show us Weiss helping Ruby back on her feet in the opening.

-Ruby is really lucky to have Weiss this volume because Qrow was an absolute mess this time around, and although his response is humane, he also let a bunch children do all the work while he was getting drunk in his misery. The absolute AUDACITY when he tells Ruby she has grown up. SHE WAS FORCED TO!!!!!

-The Grim Reaper is such a fascinating character. I feel like she's going to be essential in teaching Ruby how to use her silver eyes.

-First glimpse at Summer Rose 👀. Excited to learn more about her.

[catholic-character-tournament]

Round 1 - Resurrect Bracket (Losers Bracket) Side B

ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to [make it to the finals]

Propaganda below ⬇️

Kirei

He fucked up so many people's lives so badly in just one decade (not on purpose) that the universe put him in the summoning pool of all world influencing souls. He doesnt really have any special powers but he does serve as a vessel for rasputin at one point. He's the guy who says "people die when they are killed"

please please please there's literally a type moon character in the gif on the top of this form so it's typemoonphobic if none of them get in but it shouldn't be her it should be kirei bc he's 50x funnier & more iconic than jeanne. funny lil murder priest who's fucking THE gilgamesh (from the epic of) in the church basement and dies in a knife fight w a 17 year old whose dad he wanted to fuck back in '94 before realizing that he was actually kinda lame and he's been bitter abt it ever since. he has an orphan torture factory in his basement but he's also canonically good at being a priest. he's so funny you should def try his mapo tofu i swear it's totally safe for human consumption and not made with any california reapers. did i mention he's a deadbeat dad.

View on Twitter

Priest claims to be Pro Life to make Sakura Matou the most miserable girl on the planet, but he dies anyway.

bro became a catholic because he loves suffering

He’s a priest. Kind of. Not a very good priest obviously. There is something seriously wrong and fucked up with that man. It’s so entertaining.

he's gotta be one of the most insane catholic men ever with a very in-depth and interesting relationship with his religion and his relationship with god also he's the sexiest man ever to be conceptualized in the known universe and all of time

Will never forget the 40+ minute monologue in heavens feel being a thinly veiled metaphor for abortion

he wants to torment churchgoers and make them face their failures and suffering but all he ends up doing is motivate them to improve themselves. cringefail moment for him

he's absolutely insane. the coldhearted mercenary that barely reacts to anything is terrified of kirei. he's super fucked up. his ult in stay night is literally him channeling divine power into something called kyrie eleison. he's the vessel of rasputin (on account of being a priest with a huge....no i shant say) the biblical beast in grand order among other things. he gets drunk with and tops gilgamesh from the epic of gilgamesh in the church basement after gilgamesh from the epic of gilgamesh bats his eyes a little too hard at kirei in some of the horniest shot scenes ive ever seen. he also used to be a heretical "fixer" for the church, cleaning up scenes that would expose shit to the public. uhh what else. he holds cool swords between his fingers like a kid pretending to be wolverine but in my favorite route he just squares the hell up with the protagonist and they fight to the death outside planned parenthood

Soap

Religious trauma coded. Popular hc that his family is Catholic.

He's gay and has a funny hair cut. Is that not enough to be Catholic?

he was such a bad bitch they had to kill him off in the third game bc he would've mopped the floor with the main antagonist otherwise. rip soap keep thotting it up in heaven we miss u every day

`!!!6ths -- propaganda by my kitten

[kelin-is-writing]

well well well... i bet you've been feeling quite safe lately bc of all the fluffy asks huh?

my specialty however is and always will be angst >:)

ok imagine this:

you're quirkless and dabi is secretly extremely relieved bc he knows how bad some quirks' drawbacks can be. he also takes pride in the fact that his dad would most likely be very upset by you not having a quirk hehe

and then it happens - you accidentally get wrapped up in a fight and dabi wasn't fast enough. the only thing he can do after you got hit by the attack of a random person (that dabi burnt to ashes right after) is hold you while he watches you taking your last few breaths.

what neither of you knew however is that you aren't actually quirkless. poor baby can't believe his eyes when you suddenly stir to life again. a resurrection quirk is the last thing either of you had expected and dabi has no idea what he did to deserve to be so lucky. despite your power he swears to never let you get hurt again :')

- 🥛

MILK— FOR GOD'S SAKE YOU MADE MY BLOOD FREEZE IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS ASK!!!!!

was about to cry like— 😭😭

one of the worst things that dabi could ever go through, after what happened to him as a child, is losing someone special to him the moment he finally opened up after years of holding back from creating actual bonds with others.

his huge fear of losing you, in every way, is the reason he has never wanted emotional bonds to begin with, but once he had a little taste of what it feels like to simply be with you, dabi got addicted and there was no way back, so he always does everything within his power to never make you regret choosing him or sticking with him, because he wouldn’t be able to handle seeing you go away.

GOD— the way he would wake up every single morning scared and in pure panic at the idea of not finding you anywhere, his heart would sink not seeing your figure laid beside him but the moment you peek from behind the door dabi would relax right away.

you are there with him and that’s everything that matters.

I KNOW THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT US BEING QUIRKLESS, NEARLY DYING, DABI PANICKING AND THE BOOM OUR QUIRK APPEARS—

but i really couldn’t hold myself back from talking about how your existence and presence would mean the world to dabi for real...

[paperglader]

Thoughts on C3EP77 of CR (I hyperfixate on imodna constantly, but I swear that I talk about the rest of the characters as well)

Delilah fucking briarwood. It has not gone past me that we got to have this great laudna moment on the same ep where they announced the book. WHICH I AM SO FUCKING EXCITED ABOUT.

Imodna will never not be iconic in the middle of a fight. That one moment when laudna was being cornered by the ghosts, and she kept going back and forth between acting like Delilah and pleading for them to understand that she wasn’t the one they were after, to finally Imogen killing two of them, and as they vanished, her gaze was finally visible to laudna as the cloud of smoke dissipated and she told her that it would be alright, only for laudna to lash out once again and unleash her attacks on the rest of them. Chef’s kiss. What a scene.

Imogen calling Delilah Briarwood a bitch will never get old.

Laudna making Imogen promise her to move on and be happy if she died- I can’t. My sweet farm girl was so heartbroken the entire episode. THERE WAS ONE MOMENT TOO, when orym was talking about missing Will every day, and how he would want him to live and be happy, and Imogen was just like 😣. She needs a hug. Someone has to give her a hug

FEARNE FINALLY KNOWS ABOUT IMODNA. The moment that laudna said “she makes me so happy!” I literally fell to my knees.

Fearne’s soft little “you are??” After Orym said that he was so glad that she was there with them broke me into a million pieces. Ashley Johnson you’re an ✨actress✨

Laura deciding to end imodna, not because of the moon, not because of the gods, or Delilah briarwood, but because marisha made a bad vex impression. I respect it.

Imogen still has her yellow scarf. This is very important to me.

Imogen praying for laudna to be alright- Destroyed, heart broken, I’ll never recover + Laura and marisha’s little smiles after the scene, when Laura was wiping off her tears😭 + THE FUCKING RAVEN QUEEN. She better scram the fuck away from the girls, cause I’m not ready for vaxleth 2.0. I’m just like imogen, I refuse.

CALLOWMOORE AT THE CLOCK TOWER. I was giggling, kicking my feet - then by the end of it I was like wtf taliesin, what are you cooking? And then fearne ran away 😭

Terrified of the amount of potions being distributed for the next episode… also, excited.

Ashton. It’s just so funny because Imogen was so hesitant about it all the entire way, but she had the circlet. She wasn’t inside Ashton’s head so he got away with it. Marisha’s innocent “what is happening?” To then being explained Ashton’s plan and saying “you’re gonna die” so incredulous, so sad, and everyone’s face after she said that. My heart started speeding up. Just what the actual fuck. The way he treated fearne… I will not be ok with him for a while because of that. He almost killed himself, he almost killed them all. They just burned a bunch of spells and potions and they’re going to the moon… honestly, I don’t think I’ve been this stressed since laudna’s resurrection

It’s just so… Ashton advocating for down time, so that they could remind themselves that they loved each other before anyone did anything stupid… I EXPECTED SOMETHING BUT I DID NOT EXPECT THIS

Just… Fearne… I understand being an asshole, but I do not understand being an asshole to Fearne. The way that he used their friendship to make her do his bidding, straight up awful.

[adorablebanite]

15 & 24 for the edgy oc ask :)

Well hello :} thank you so much for indulging me!!

15 - OC face claim??? Oh no I haven't even thought about it! Both Destri and Lilla are from one of the CC mods (I'm sorry I'm on mobile I can't remember which one, but it's probably obvious to those who use it!)

I hope some screenshots will suffice? 🥹

And 24 let's see ummm - What's an alternative path your OC could have gone down? What different choices etc!

This question is so fun!

For Lilla it's kind of funny because her destiny was kind of set for her because she was made via a Banite ritual where two Banites boinked (that's a Banite word, I swear, look it up👀) and Bane infused his essence into it somehow (I dunno how copulation. rituals work I'm just assuming it's something like that - but later on I was like "what if Bane possessed the male and-" nevermind 😈).

Basically he wanted the ultimate Banite supporter for his next Chosen so make sure things go well, and Lilla's kind of infused with the will to be as loyal as one can possibly be to Bane's Chosen, but it kind of got botched and the Banites who did the ritual couldn't put her through the ringer of bringing her up with the edict. Ultimately she ended up in the same place she would have regardless if the Banites could follow through with her traumatic training or not, so with Lilla all roads really just led to Gortash, as he's the chosen. She sees it more like she was made for HIM rather than the chosen, but it's foggy whether things would be different if the chosen was someone else - chances are she'd be just as enamoured with someone else because it's wired in her blood to be devoted and loyal (and ultimately love) the chosen.

I kind of liked toying with Gortash's reaction to this - like he's always wanted someone to love him unconditionally - and here she is (even though she can't be an equal, it's still nice) - but when he finds out she had no other choice but to love him, he struggled with the idea of Lilla's love being disingenuous (which is honestly laughably ironic from what we know about him).

Long story short Lilla's path always leads to where she is now- she just may have been a bit different and less sweet and adorable, but that's what makes her a fun Banite, imo xD

-

Destri's struggle is the epitome of being torn between two worlds! May I answer with a self-indulgent excerpt that basically puts it into words easier than I can explain it? (I'm also sorry I've I've shared it before my brain is smooth like a bean and my memory is -45)

Warning; uncharacteristically soft Gort! I am highly aware but do it anyway xD because dopamine.

---

“Remarkable!” Gortash scoffed while pacing his chamber in agitation, “Absolutely astounding . We unfold a grand scheme to usher in a new dawn in the name of the Dead Three, and all Myrkul’s Chosen can think about is resurrecting his dead daughter!”

Destri was stretched comfortably across his bed, silently re-reading her lewd novel while the tyrant fumed.

“The insinuation as well…” he spun on his heel to roam the length of the room again, clenching his fist, “Such disrespect towards our lords’ alliance. Myrkul no doubt expects full fealty from him, but it’s clear the general has his own agenda, and is using his god to serve himself - just as he had with all the previous ones he’s abandoned…”

Destri looked up with a tired sigh, “You truly are so impassioned about the bone lord’s relationship with his patron gods?” she drawled, flipping to the next page in her book, and flicking the tip of her tail playfully.

“Well…” Gortash scratched the back of his neck in aggravation, “Perhaps not that specifically…but it’s the implication of it all.” When Destri merely rolled her amber eyes, he strode over and snatched the novel from her hands, “What have you been reading all this time, that you’ve been so eager to avoid me seeing?”

Body tensing in abject embarrassment, Destri was probably the closest she ever had been to outright gutting the tyrant. Thanks to her oath to him, she stayed her hand, but she soooo very itched to gore him with her horns at the way his face fell when he read the colourful words on the page before him.

“Tyrant…” she pushed herself up off the bed, and stepped over to him with such sensual calmness, it made his skin crawl, “Return that to me now, or suffer the consequences.”

Despite the divine pact that protected him from her bloody wrath, Enver dropped the book back into her outstretched claw, swallowing dryly, “That was foolish of me, Bhaalspawn,” he muttered, “I apologise…”

Now THAT took Destri off guard. She narrowed her piercing gaze at him, awaiting some smug addition to his admission, but he only followed it up with a sincere look. She pursed her lips, and shook her head at him, but spun around to return to his bed, rather than leave the chamber altogether - however he caught her elbow, stopping her from moving away.

“Wait…” he murmured thoughtfully. She turned around to face him with an exasperated glare, but his soft expression immediately muted her anger, “Is this-” he gestured to the novel, “due to anything I can…help with? I rather didn’t take you for being touch-starved, but if there’s anything I can do…”

Destri gawked at him for an awkward moment before bursting out with a hysterical snort of laughter, “Are you rubbing it in, tyrant? Having a laugh? You can’t help yourself, can you?” Her anger was further aroused with each question, but the look of befuddlement on his dumb tyrant face told her he was being sincere… which was much worse. She couldn’t stifle a flowery guffaw, and flashed a fanged smile at him, “You’re serious? Tyrant, I am not touch-starved …This just helps…” she faltered, realising the fact she hadn’t really thought through exactly why she consumed such smut - her own experiences with Enver were drastically more licentious than the scenes in her novel, “...To get my mind off things, is all,” she said finally, uninterested in clarifying further.

It was to get her mind off him , and the blasphemous feelings she harboured between them. Debauchery and bloodless flesh games were never a complication - but the infuriating way the tyrant occupied her heart was . When she first stalked him, he sat politely behind her heart and around the corner where her Father couldn’t see…But now he damn near enveloped it- filling it to the brim with his exasperating voice, and his chewable face, and his detestable chest, and his unbearable smile, and his stupid. Fucking. Haircut.

Enver cleared his throat, considering his next words carefully, “Well…I could help with that too, if need be.”

He meant that sincerely too. He was genuinely trying to be courteous - even though he didn’t understand at all. He was so stupid . So irritating. So damnably excruciating - she needed to flay him. That would fix things, really. To pull her favourite pieces off, and chew them up, and spit the pinkish pulp out, right off the balcony into the lake in idiotic little pieces. Plop. Plop. Plop. (Like that).

“Help me by doing what, tyrant?” Destri scoffed flippantly, trying desperately to evade his sentimental approach, “Tie me down? Pull my horns? Tug on my tail?” As she said this, she brushed the stubble under his chin with the tip of her tail, but his expression didn’t falter - he continued to gaze at her with gentle concern, which made her want to bite his eyeballs out.

“That’s not what I meant…” He started, trying to find the right words, “It doesn’t have to be like that. I just…I would like to ensure you are…well…happy…” He loosened his shoulders, as if finally saying this released a world of tension, but Destri only scowled, baring her fangs. He was making things much, much worse for her.

“You think because I’m reading some indecent novel, I’m not happy?” She purred with a forced grin, “You could roleplay as the daring knight, if you want - Or, no! The swashbuckling necromancer…”

Gortash’s patience was fraying at the edges, and his soft expression began to harden into frustration. Good . It was better he was angry at her, than whatever this was.

“Well what do YOU want, Bhaalspawn?” he pointed a clawed finger directly at her, exasperated, “Is it not obvious I only wish to be kind with you? Is that somehow not appropriate now?” His obsidian eyes bored into her, smouldering with emotion, “I am clever in many regards, but clearly am I in no way equipped to appease you - barring slicing my throat and consuming my innards - or whatever it is you always rant and rave about…So you’ll just have to tell me , how to appease you. If you would…”

Rendered speechless, Destri only stared at Enver while he turned away to pace, but immediately lunged back again with an antagonistic finger directed at her as he continued, “I may not have experience with laying my emotions bare for you to witness, but forgive me, for my experiences perhaps hadn’t entirely been nurtured as perhaps it should have…” his expression dimmed to a gentle frown, “...But should I be so mercilessly tormented for trying? ”

Destri swallowed a painful lump, pouting with defeat, and fear. She couldn’t tell him that her destiny - her very soul - wavers on the edge of her Father’s ever-parched blade. Under Shar’s horrid curse, Bhaal would struggle to peer into her soul - but if she entertained the tyrant’s heart wrenching plea, she would surely know the Murder Lord’s wrath, once she returned to the city. Even if she could somehow hide her heart from his hollow, crimson eye, Orin would know. Orin was always looking. Searching. Stalking. Scrutinising. Always waiting for her to slip. Then wha t ? Bhaal would not let his own flesh and blood free so easily. She wouldn’t be permitted to frolic through the fields and forests with the tyrant like they had in their false memories, drawn on by consuming each other’s blood potions. Oh no. Ohhhhh no. If her Father didn’t tear her mindflesh to ribbons, Orin would at his behest, with gleeful giggles... Then Destri would have no tyrant, no mind, and no soul of her own. Her birthright was to be elevated as His Slayer; to ultimately offer her body and spirit for Bhaal to twist and contort for His wretched desire… That or to be disgraced, and exiled as a living, mindless murder-husk.

Those were her two options…‘A bleak prospect,’ the tyrant would say, if he truly understood. But he didn’t. And he never would. There was no third option, where she fell in love with Bane's Chosen and they lived happily ever after.

[otakween]

8-Man vs. Cyborg 009 - Volume 2

Love a good 2 volume, short read every now and then. Unlike BGOO Parts, this one didn't outstay its welcome. Nothing ground breaking here, just some crossover fanservice like in the Devilman crossover. Fun times. Interested to see what's next for these franchises.

Ch. 7

8-Man tells Joe and Francoise about his past romantic drama with his secretary Sachiko. Francoise apparently "saw" Sachiko's presence when they were in 8-Man's office and wanted the tea lol.

If they're not gonna let Francoise fight, like ever, can they please introduce another female fighter or something? I'm getting really fed up watching her smile blandly on the sidelines or be a damsel in distress. Like if she's a pacifist, fine! But she's also the only girl cyborg so it feels insulting.

The two page spread of the demon God statue was a good jump scare. Let the final showdown, begin!

Ch. 8

Lol I guess the manga heard my complaints because they finally let Francoise shoot a gun at least. Also, her heightened senses finally did something useful. Alright, fine. You win this time mangaka...

Wait, what the hell!? Pyunma's back to his old racist design! THIS MANGA CAME OUT IN 2020 WTF??? (Good thing I didn't pay for this one lol).

Honestly, it seems ridiculous that Skull would just ignore the other numbers cyborgs. There's no way they wouldn't come after their kidnapped friends...just makes him look really stupid.

The Black Ghost minions were drawn all cutesy in like a chibi form. They look like they could be villains from a Mario game or something lol. Not very intimidating.

Ch. 9

Yaaay 008 pointed out the 8 thing =D lol. Glad he gets to contribute to the battle even though there's no water around lol.

Francoise has a weird bonding moment with Dr. Daemon because he saw her in a ballet once. He's definitely the chiller of the two evils but he's still actively working towards world domination and perpetual wars? I don't think this is really a "there's good in him" moment...

8-man sure loses his arms a lot. Guess they're just trying to emphasize his mechanical body.

I swear they used the EXACT same tactic to topple the demon God statue that they used to topple the Atlas-type robots in BGOO Parts! (006 digs a hole and then 005 pushes the big enemy over). Felt weird to see that used back-to-back in manga published so close to one another. Both times they emphasized it as some kinda ingenious strategy.

Ch. 10

Awe, I really liked this finale. They wrapped everything up in a nice, neat bow and sometimes that's all you want.

So Dr. Daemon was actually playing the long game and never allied with Black Ghost at all! Rather convenient lol. Does they mean the gang wouldn't have been able to defeat both enemies at once?

I completely forgot about Joe's juvenile delinquent backstory. Why do I feel like that doesn't fit his character at all? He's such a bland do-gooder now...Anyway, having 8-Man explain that he was a cop on the scene at the time of Joe's escape attempt was a clever way to tie the two series worlds together in a believable way.

So I guess Dr. Daemon is still not a great guy but not that evil either? I don't know enough 8-Man lore to make a conclusion lol. He seemed pretty okay with the heroes dying earlier, so I guess he's just all for himself.

This chapter got all Ghost in the Shell-y with the reveal that Skull isn't a real person, just a robot with implanted memories. Pretty brutal that he decapitated his own lackeys to prove a point what the heck...what if they weren't robots!?

So Black Ghost is dead "for real" now...riiiight. Until they inevitably get resurrected again for some future manga.

I was kinda shook to find out that Joe's hair is a wig (or maybe it's actually implanted into his scalp? IDK). It doesn't actually make any difference, I just never realized that was the case.

Dr. Gilmore and Dr. Tani being science bros was cute. Also enjoyed seeing Ivan (and his one eye) very briefly.

Nice picturesque ending with Joe and Francoise dropping 8-Man off at Sachiko's house and validating his humanity. Wholesome cyborgs supporting cyborgs.

Omake - Duel

A closer look at some 8-Man/Dr. Tani lore. I kinda wish they didn't include this tbh because it ended this volume on a depressing note.

Damn, if I was Ken I'd probably resent my dad too! Ken was like "you only love 8-Man!" and Dr. Tani was like "that's not true!" but then the second Ken dies Dr. Tani's just like "meh, at least I have 8-Man" lol. Poor Ken!

Speaking of poor Ken...that's one severe widow's peak. On top of having a craptastic life, he's also balding? Oh the humanity!

Dr. Tani acted like Ken being a cyborg with a human brain was a revelation of some sort? Sooo...if Dr. Tani wasn't the one to turn Ken into a cyborg, who did?

Ken's hero suit (or villain suit, I guess) literally just looks like he sharpied some fake pecs on lol. What a weird design choice.

As far as 1960s manga go, I think I prefer Cyborg 009's art style because it's more over-exaggerated and stylized. I think this allows it to hold up more. 8-Man feels more traditionally drawn (more proportional characters).

I'm kinda glad I got a glimpse into the authentic, OG 8-Man for greater context, but I'll also probably just read this again someday if I ever get to that part of MAL haha.

[rxtualistic]

halloween plots round one.

we both work at a horror house and i swear what happens here is not normal. you have noticed the groups always leaving missing one or two members too, right?

i was about to viciously murder you and your boyfriend but what the fuck? did he just leave you to die??? that's a huge red flag. let's kill him together.

silent hill only we used to live here when it was a normal town and now we have seen all our loved ones get murdered and are trying our best to survive in a world full of monsters. alternatively, one muse lives there, the other muse is a family member of the original game characters looking for them and instead finds muse a.

"innocent" girl meeting a serial killer and manipulating him into doing whatever she wants.

witches. witches. witches. in every version.

charmed inspired plots where we play sisters and their significant others. give me the angst of one of them falling for a demon. the heartbreak of forbidden love between a witch and their guide!!! the breaking the rules. the sibling dynamics. the fights!!!

witches that are evil and conspire to bring chaos into people's lives.

witch and werewolf falling in love. think penny dreadful.

witch and witchhunter falling in love. bonus points if we set it in the past and the witch is just trying to help the people but they are scared of her and so hire the best witchhunter in the realm. the only problem is that something evil is actually after the town and so they have to join forces. the angst the drama the guilt on both sides as they reluctantly start falling for their sworn enemy!

plot based on hotel california. maybe they are witches that lure people in to sacrifice them. maybe it's a cult that worships an old god that demands blood. maybe they are vampires that need victims. maybe they are just cursed to always remain inside the hotel!!

a modern telling of frankestein in which muse a grows obsessed with death and bringing people from it and so when muse b (whom they have been obsessed with since always) dies, they steal the corpse and start working on resurrecting them. alternatively, muse a and b work together to bring muse c back. or muse b finds what muse a is doing and joins them.

bluebeard but maybe instead of a man it's a woman and she kills men. or maybe instead of brothers the wife has sisters and they team up to kill him and make it look like he disappeared so she can live a lavish life.

anything on here.