#im a sucker for this trope

[gathoscorner]

Huntlow week 2022

Day 3. Nightmares

Using his heartbeat as a lullaby to keep the nightmares away~

Set some years into the future

*edited to change the format a bit

[cosmic-crafts]

Have i seen this movie? no, are they adorable and taking over my fyp. yes. yes they are. (click for better quality)

[mixedupberries-notsoverymixed]

In my ideal universe where all the victims are alive and well, these two are together being each other's therapy (happy sobbing)

[hiyokxre]

#001 || Tutor lessons — lance.cr

── .✦ Roots from “Douceur || MASHLE: MAGIC AND MUSCLES” — A collection of MMAM one shots.

ᯓ★ Notes: A few details here are inspired by “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint”, do you know where, what, and who I’m referring to?

╰┈➤ ❝ In which you got assistance from the Adler’s house genius amongst the first year, Lance Crown, and found out how smitten he has become around you. ❞

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

— My heartbeats resonated with yours, and that fact to me, is more than enough to prove my love for you.

ᡣ𐭩🎵Show Me How - Men I Trust

She was a troublesome individual. And Lance didn’t like that.

From the first time they met, he was sure his sister would hardly accept her as his friend, for which she was considered to be a hassle by many. For some, like a blazing inferno, she was radiant and festive, while others complained about how much distress she’d caused. 

Undergone its way through constant negative views and judgments with absolute perseverance, the rose continued to grow, with thorns and spikes, willing to wound those who dared to come close. 

Lance found her actions to be relatively entertaining. Once she poured a bucket of green liquid down one of her classmates' heads, for they had made her befuddled with inquiries about Potion and Mathematics. How unfortunate, for them to experience her childish and mischievous antics. 

Bearing witness to all of her mischief and knowing the reason why she acted that way, the school's esteemed headmaster, Mr. Wahlberg Baigan, decided to assign her to a special student who seemingly could aid her to the best of his ability. 

Amidst the loud gossip of pupils, gusts of wind traveled through oval-shaped windows, gently caressing one’s ocean hair as he ventured his way through the vast empty hallway of Easton Academy. Despite the cooling air of Spring’s morning, his body embraced the heat of Summer day’s afternoons. After the trip to the counselor's office, he became much more cautious. He didn’t understand what was happening, after all, he was a mere passerby who barely knew the girl. She only piqued his interest and was seen as the main subject of amusement.

Curiosity is one of human’s biggest enemies, and for him, it ultimately led him to his demise. Like a cat trapped in a lion's den, he was chosen to be her tutor. 

Once the glowing orb of fire had set down into the far horizon, the school’s library turned into an unexplainable dark void, swallowing one whole with tranquility and silence. Upon entering, she heard the flutter of turning pages, as they were rifled by the wind. Nervous, perplexed as to why a student would arrange a meeting at that time of day, she hurriedly navigated through the seemingly never-ending corridors, each lined with towering bookshelves filled with a vast array of books and manuscripts.

Turquoise, brilliantly shone like a lost ancient jewel found on a frosty night, its gaze piercing through every page with such intensity. Impatient as he was, waiting for her in the quietest section of the school’s education facility, where he would spend most of his time reading, aside from hanging out with Mashle and others.

“You’re late.“ 

Slowly approaching the figure looming over the table, who was constantly tapping his finger onto the cold wooden surface, her body jolted slightly in response to the monotonous dullness of his voice.

“Half an hour late, to be exact. I thought you would be more responsible, [Last Name]. How many times have you been told to be punctual to class?“

First year of Adler’s house, an exceptional student with top grades, his demeanor spoke with such eloquence of a first-rate master. Lance Crown, talented as he was, had an odd interest in his sister. She always knew he was a weird one, though peculiarly enough, she harvested great fondness for him. Perhaps being close to beauties did make her weak after all. 

Excluding herself with a few apologies, she later learned from him about the primary after-school tutor lessons and it was against his will to be her temporary guidance. Shameful as it was, she had to admit she was failing potion classes as well as other science-related subjects. Having been blessed by the gods with a relatively well-athletic physique, which excels in sports, her wits were far from it. Blood was deemed to be thicker than water, her family wasn’t known for their intuitive sharpness, but instead for their physical toughness as they were once renowned knights whose strengths and power rivaled the heavens above. 

The night sky was dark, painted on a black canvas with streaks of golden shades, the presence of whites gracefully drifting off beneath the placid body of water surrounding Easton’s Academy. Chimes from nearby town cathedrals accompanied by the chilling winds of northern highlands, two students bid their goodbyes after a few light-hearted conversations to make themselves comfortable with one another. Both traveled back to their respective house, marking the meeting as the first tutor lesson. 

Day after day, lesson after lesson, the two grew closer. One might find it odd to have seen how much their relationship has grown. Divinely blossomed under the coldness of rainy nights and the warmth of morning sunshine, to be bathed in such admiration and joy, he and she are fated to become one. 

Astounded as he was, slowly bringing light to his once negative perspective upon her personality and actions, her new image as of then engraved onto his mind and heart, a sense of longing, a strong desire for something he wished to have. It was familiar yet somehow distant.

Two adults who readily cast away their daughter when a disease was eating away her life, the faith in his parents spiraled into utter hatred. It was then he pledged to the gods, and vowed to protect his sister against the Bureau of Magic, against the world even if he had to. He held a deep affection for his sister without second the thought of finding a partner, and yet after several encounters with [Name], in response to the latter, his mind kept on sharing the same fuzziness all over again.

He wasn’t foolish enough not knowing how to distinguish love, between families and individuals. How atrocious! Had he drawn a line to distance himself from her, those lingering attachments wouldn’t have gotten in his way. But how could someone not, when she was that lively and endearing? 

Harsh ringings from an amber, hollow instrument of cast metal echoed through the school’s hallway, signaling the message of dismissal amongst scholars. Blaring talks and loud chatters filled the once-quiet ambiance of the prestigious academy with delights and excitement. 

The pair got seated in a certain spot in the Athenaeum to prepare for the upcoming test as Autumn arrived, the season which danced along the final gospel of newborn leaves, as trees shed their skin, complemented an oasis of serenity with vibrant hues of red, orange, and yellow.

The air was different from what he’d known, Lance was often perceptive, he had a very keen eye and sense on small things, whether it was a smell, sound, or wind current.

Piling racks of sunlight illuminated the place as they advanced their way through blue-tinted window sills, each ray varied from corridor to corridor when a particular one passed by her, [Name] [Last Name].

Beauty is subjective, to others, she might have a few distinctive features that made her stand out from the rest, but to him, being the only witness of her unfamiliar side, the sight of her left him utterly breathless.

Facial features were carefully drawn with the exceptional skills of a refined painter during the most glorious period of art. Eyes are known to be windows to the soul, in the purest form of the color hers owned, it expressed such determination which was molded from vigorous trials and errors, hardships and obstacles. A nose and a chin elegantly shaped in perfect angles, enough to rival the sun, moon, and even the stars. 

If one had not been blinded by the beauty of the rising sun, then perhaps the shadows had always sheltered their life in the perpetuity of darkness with the moon. 

Hey, you’re gonna burn a hole in my face if you keep looking at me like that. Pray tell, is there anything troubling you, my dearest?

-Badump- 

She slightly chuckled, closing the manuscript she was researching, her attention then focused all on him.

“Pardon? My apologies, I must have dozed off while reading.” 

-Badump-

…Lance, do you know, that rivers seek for the sea, fleeting with crashing waves of foam and memories, they long for a reunion. As a rose needs light for its growth, it yearns towards the sun, in the hope of reaching for the warmth it once desired. In truth, I’d harbored affection for you, more than I can wonder. If you allow, perhaps, can we be life-long companions instead of this momentary relationship?

-Badump- 

-Badump-

-Badump- 

The answer was in front of his eyes all along, whether her gentle gestures towards him or the friendly remarks that turned his mind into a hazy dream, she was the one. How slow of him to realize both of them shared the same secret, a similar emotion for which was known to be love.

“…Of course, anything for you and my sister, my beloved [Name].” 

⋆౨ৎ˚Entry #001 || Tutor lessons — lance.cr , END ⟡˖ ࣪

© — hiyokxre, 2024 - All rights reserved.

© — v6que for the amazing dividers!

[buckssuspenders]

Missing Pieces

By AshwinMeird

Summary:

Hen was not sure what to make of the new recruit, Evan "Buck" Buckley. He was reckless and that was about as much as she knew about him.

That eventually changes though and all the important parts of Buck's life reveal themselves to her over time.

~~~

Yeah, I did the Army!Eddie and Buck's team doesn't know about him trope lol.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Words: 9,179

Status: Complete (2/2)

[sleepy-hyperfixations]

Any speirsroe hcs?? (I’m curious!!)

my main hc is that everyone sees Speirs as this super intimidating guy and roe's just like 'ron almost cried once when i didn't give him a kiss goodbye' i like speirs basically being a scary guard dog when he's alone but turning into a puppy when roe comes around

[mareposie]

Loid and Anya are basically the same as Nanami and Yuji. Organised and overworked dads with chaotic and unpredictable kids.

[son-n-heir-of-nothing]

Okay but imagine Loki and Mobius on a mission where it's really cold, I can imagine one of them commenting about the freezing temperature while the other takes their hands to warm them up.

I can see either one of them doing this whether Loki complaining about the cold or Mobius making a few comments about not being able to feel his fingers and/or trying to warm his hands. And the other takes their hands in theirs to warm them up.

If it's Loki warming up Mobius I can see him using a lil bit of magic to help warm Mobius' hands while he's gently holding them and ask him if that's any better

Meanwhile, Mobius would hold Loki's hands rubbing them slightly, and say "There now you can shut up 💕"

[the-multiversal-asterisk]

au where unskilled and vance meet in the afterlife

OUGH???

@unskilledpoint @advancement-made I NEED YOUR OPINIONS ON THIS IMMEDIATELY???

[chicxulubimpactor]

character that looks scary and is treated like a monster and lashes out becuz of the treatment ouugh,,,, u will always be so loved by me,,,,

[whump-in-the-closet]

The Small Moments

its the small moments in whump for me, those glimpses right before and after your character loses it all in no chronological order

-- the hitched breath after a blow to the face

-- the sound of footsteps in the hallway, and the flinching when the door opens

-- the soft sound, more animal than human, when whumpee pulls a blood-drenched hand away from their side

-- caretaker leaning over whumpee, whispering assurances that they cant keep

-- when the curses catch in whumpee's throat and all they can manage is a strangled, don't...please

-- when whumpee stumbles and clings to the doorway. better when they look up and meet caretaker's eyes. The slow, dreaded realization. caretaker lunges forward, but not in time to catch whumpee

-- when whumpee's head hits the tiles with a thud

-- the panic they swallow down when they see Whumper for the first time

-- the added details of used knives, splattered with dried blood, faded from crimson to rusty brown

-- the dead, hollowed-out light in whumpee's eyes after they're rescued

-- coughing that turns into whumpee doubling over, and desperately, so desperately trying to hide the fact they coughed up blood

-- a still hand, palm up on the floor, and no semblance of consciousness. The pool of blood around them is growing

-- caretaker pausing-- oh. oh god-- when they rush through the door to rescue whumpee, their eyes widening and stomach dropping, before cutting whumpee down from their restraints

-- Whumper tracing whumpee's jaw with the tip of their finger. "Now, isn't this nice."

-- When Whumper kicks Whumpee when they're already down and all Whumpee can manage is a small curse.

-- When Whumper yanks Whumpee's head up by their hair and Whumpee has to squint because of the sudden, sharp light

-- whumpee clutching a sink for a long moment before turning on the faucet and splashing water in their face to hide the fact they've been crying

anyway.

this.

[emmafrostyyy]

y'all sleeping on Astarion/Lae'zel bc this moment is so...the way the flippant demeanor drops and he doesn't hesitate to call her out for sticking with her version of Cazador like their relationship is so underrated fr...

sitting down writing this bullshit like let me peel it like an onion a bit and elaborate why this pairing is fascinating to me

It's really interesting how during the most cathartic, life-altering moment in Astarion's questline, the reactions of the other companions are more about the moral wrongness/guilt of sacrificing innocent lives. Lae'zel doesn't do that and instead relates to his hurt.

She knows what's he's feeling, the lack of control, the unfairness of being powerless for too long. This is a woman who just found out her entire life purpose was built on lies, discarded and hunted by her own people after outliving her usefulness, and groomed to basically die for an insane power-hungry lich queen. She knows all too well that power isn't always real freedom. Her first instinct is to empathize with Astarion to steer him away from his hate and resentment.

Astarion/Lae'zel is so interesting to me because they're such a classic "can we make each other worse or make a better person out of the other?".

They both have genuine appreciation for violence and respect each other's ruthlessness. Astarion was used as a weapon of seduction while Lae'zel was of warfare. Sex with people is meaningless and not real intimacy for them, and while both have little understanding/experience of interpersonal relationships beyond the physical, they still feel and love very deeply. They have no frame of reference for things like friendship and warmth, but they badly want all of that and more, even if they don't know it yet.

In-game they can sleep with each other, which is basically the foundation of the normal Tav/Astarion romance. Lae'zel saw him during combat and got horny, who knows. Astarion who's used to luring people with his charms, takes up Lae'zel's blunt offer because she's a strong hardened warrior that can provide protection and be a worthy ally, and he doesn't know how to say no. Navigating the complications between one who wants to be seen beyond as a sex object, and one who comes from a totally alien culture with no concept of love/family/connections and only sex is honestly really compelling to me. It's a transactional, mutually beneficial thing with no emotional expectations. Once you get past the skeevy rockiness of their early relationship, I really like the idea of them slowly seeing something past the exterior and realizing they may have harshly misjudged the other, an unspoken friendship blooms, and in comes the realization that they are essentially loners longing for kindness and a comforting touch in the most desperate of situations.

Lae'zel is prideful, direct, has no sense of courtship talk, and doesn't hold back her thoughts the slightest--she's not sweet/agreeable and what you see is really what you get, which I imagine would be disarming for Astarion who's used to vacuous flattery and has difficulty trusting others. But she's also insanely protective, passionate, loyal, and an initiator-- every romance scene is triggered by her first and she's always showing effort towards her relationships, which would mesh well with Astarion who does need someone to nudge him.

She doesn't purposely suppress her feelings, she's just simply at loss at how to express them sometimes due to her wildly different upbringing. She stops the sparring match you agree to and an easy vulnerability slips instantly out of her: "I don't want to hurt you. I want to protect you, and for you to protect me." and "Thus far I've taunted you, devoured you, battled you. Now I want more than anything to soothe you." are romantic as fuck and Astarion of all people really needs to hear that tbh.

Astarion is also someone who struggles with reinforcing his boundaries, and a key theme in Lae'zel's romance is that she encourages and wants you to challenge her and learn to stand your ground. It's not gentlest method, but hey, relationships are about having to make an effort to learn each other's language.

I think he also would take pleasure "educating her on the matters of Fay-run" (I believe there's a whole banter with him teasing her and teaching her pet names) and would get a kick out of coaxing Lae'zel out of her shell with her shyness at showing public affection, and making her blush. Also it simply would be fucking funny to see Astarion who's used to easy seduction, trying to pass a persuasion check just to get a smooch and generally having to work to earn regular kisses from Lae'zel lmfaooo

Lae'zel also initially struggles to see her chains as chains. When she learns about Vlaakith's betrayal, she copes instantly through denial and shuts it down. Astarion is NOT having it and calls her out, he knows her well enough to recognize that she would value blunt honesty above all.

I imagine he also despises her lack of self-preservation, the way her entire identity is tied to duty and being in service of others, and doesn't understand her desire to still help/liberate the people that want her dead and are hunting her down. He wants to make this duty-bound soldier realize that looking out for herself, and putting herself first may not be the worst thing in the world.

They're so similar to each other but are also polar opposites in some ways that make a more equal, balanced romance I think. It's not a simple, one-sided, feel-good "she/he can fix her/him" fantasy because both of them have to earn each other's love, actually cut through the other's flaws, and actively motivate each other to be better versions of themselves.

They're not at all the other's ideal guiding hand. It's rough, jagged, and imperfect, but that's how healing goes. It's so far from being the healthiest relationship -- but even if their belief systems differ, their moral compass does often align. I imagine it's a slight relief for them to have a partner where there would be less shame and judgment when they expectedly, occasionally slip up and fall into their bad habits.

Also, man, the "You showed me the betweens and beyonds. Beyond war and peace, beyond passion and obsession, most importantly, you showed me freedom.", "First you were my wound, now you were my cure.", "But you saw something else in me - someone else I could be. Someone who could break the cycle of power and terror that started centuries ago.." lines really hit hard when applied to them.

Of course, they can also make each other worse, feed into the other's negative traits that will bring out the worst part of themselves. It's this duality of their pairing that is very interesting to explore, the way it can steer in either direction because it's an intense, fraught relationship at its core.

[astradella]

BABY LETS BE LOSERS‼️‼️

[satanghulu]

Thnks fr th Mmrs

✦ PAIRING: barbatos & reader (no romantic relationship but you can read it as such) ✦ SUMMARY: A collection of photos throughout his life. ✦ WARNING: FLUFF!! Tooth-rotting fluff to be exact; one use of MC instead of Y/N ✦ WC: 1.8K ✦ tagging my fav barbatos stan @romcomeon huehue, hope u enjoy it!! also huge thanks to lupe & kelo who had to sit thru my rambling while i talked abt this fic 🧍‍♂️

| MASTERLIST

══════════════════

For a demon who has been there since the beginning of time, Barbatos has never seen the need to be captured in history – he is not the kind of person who has photos of himself in his D.D.D. He doesn’t see the need to. His gallery is filled with pictures of paperwork, the young master in all sorts of situations, sometimes Lucifer makes an appearance along with the other demon brothers. But regardless, there are hardly any photos of himself.

That is until the exchange program happened.

Lately, his gallery seems to be filling up – he has been taking pictures of his baked goods with Luke smiling proudly in the background, (he keeps this photo close to his heart. In a way, this reminds him of the young demon prince.) and he even has pictures with the other angels when there are events organised in the Demon Lord Castle. 

Luke sends him pictures of himself – he saves all of them into a folder on his D.D.D. and sometimes, he pulls them out if he needs a pick-me-up. But most of all, his gallery has been recently populated with pictures of you. Of course, the Demon Prince would be the first in terms of photos in his gallery but following close behind, he has amassed a collection of you.

They’re not even anything special. They are just photos that you have sent over during conversations with him. He categorises them into folders – there is a collection of your selfies, food photos that you send over, photos that reminds him of you, and another one of your daily life.

Maybe it’s the age catching up with him, but he thinks he is becoming softer.

Lucifer tells him so as well.

(“You’ve been smiling at your phone more often nowadays.” Lucifer says. The conversation was unexpected, coming out of nowhere as the two of them were buried deep in paperwork in the Student Council Room.

Barbatos nods, hands paused mid-air in the middle of checking his notifications. 

“Luke sent me photos of Simeon, MC, and him going on a picnic.” He replies instead. His hands were busy moving to place the D.D.D. back into his pockets. To be exact, both Luke and you had sent him photos but saying it in front of Lucifer felt like losing, an uncertain feeling in his stomach.

Lucifer stopped and looked up from his document, tired eyes wide open in surprise.

“I see.” He says after a moment of silence, turning back to his stack of paperwork. The grating noise of pen scratching paper fills the air again.

 “This expression is a good look on you.”  

Barbatos blinks in surprise, mulling the sentence over in his head.)

.

He has a recent new favourite – it’s a photo of the young master, you, and him in a selfie together. It was taken after an expedition to the human world with you being their guide. (There was honestly no reason for you to be the guide but both the young master and him insisted on your help.)

You’re in the middle, face squished in between his and the young master’s. The three of you are wearing accessories; a huge bow headband in matching colours, squeezed into the small photo booth. The demon prince and you had given him puppy eyes to convince him to wear the headbands and it didn’t take much for him to give in.

You’re also holding a huge teddy bear plushie, bestowed by the young demon prince who had wanted to repay you for your time. The maroon teddy bear had taken up most of the space in the photo and is blocking half of your face, but the genuine happy expression on your face is clear as day. 

The picture was adorned with silly doodles, courtesy of both the young prince and you. He places the picture behind his D.D.D – no one knows it’s there, he uses a simple black cover that Luke had gotten him when the little angel had realised he hadn’t changed his case in decades.

The young master has it proudly framed in the office and Lucifer’s eyebrow twitches a little every time he comes into the room. Barbatos finds it funny, really. But he doesn’t comment on it for the sake of the ever-growing stack of paperwork.

.

The young prince was currently on an excursion with the Avatar of Pride and hadn’t wanted him to tag along. Thus, Barbatos had busied himself with assigning the Little D’s chores and re-training them on the basics. Really, he hasn’t been taking care of them much lately and their skills had deteriorated. It seemed that he would need to be stricter in his future training.

From the corner of his eyes, his D.D.D flashes with a notification. He slowly took his time to walk across the room to check on the message. (The Little D’s would beg to differ. They would say that a gust of wind almost sent them flying when Barbatos got up to check on the notification.)

Surprisingly, it was a message from you and not Lord Diavolo. 

.

[02:14PM] You: barbatos, would u be free right abt now? could you stop by HOL? i need ur help with something :<

[02:20PM] Barbatos: I am free right now, thankfully. I’ll head over to the HOL in a minute. 

He’s curious as to what is the issue. It is a given that you have become independent due to the harsh settings of the Devildom and it’s almost unheard of for you to request help, especially from him and not the demon brothers.

.

The doorbell rang, a long chime of an anime song that rings throughout the house. Levi had installed it a few months after moving in and none of them had figured out how to change the tune.

He patiently waits.

The door swings open. He is greeted by the sight of you, eyes bright and wide open as you huff loudly. It seemed that you had run down from somewhere in the house to not keep him waiting.

“Hello.” 

He bows his head slightly as a form of politeness. You stand there, hands on your knees as you try to catch your breath. His lips twitched in amusement but he fought to keep it down. Finally, you cleared your throat and straightened up.

“You’re here! Come with me.” You turned on your heels to walk off, leaving Barbatos in your wake. This strange behaviour left him even more puzzled, yet also entertained. 

He follows behind you, noting that the house seemed quieter than usual. As far as he knows, only the young prince and the firstborn should be out of the house. But he digresses. It’s not his responsibility to keep track of their schedules.

Lost in his thoughts, he only realised that the final destination was your room. He watches as you knock on the door and then immediately pushes him forward to open the door handle. Bemused, he did exactly as you motioned.

“Happy birthday!”

Multicoloured confetti fluttered in his vision, twirling to land around his feet. He stares at the air for a while, the stark contrast of the rainbow-squared paper against the wall somehow made his throat develop a lump.

A tug on his coat caught his attention. He chances a glance down to see a mess of blonde hair sprinkled with colourful paper, bashfully holding the end of his tailcoat.

“Luke.” He says, hand automatically landing on the top of his head to pick out the confetti.

The small angel pushes a gift into his arm, before quickly scuttling away to Simeon’s side. It was a box of macarons and a limited-edition baking cookbook from the Celestial Realm. It was truly sweet how much the little angel catered to his preference.

“The gifts are from Luke and I.” Simeon chuckles, as he pushes Luke in front of him. He arched an eyebrow towards Barbatos, gloved hands placed on the shoulder of the younger angel.

“Thank you.” He said, hands wrapping around the gifts tightly. “I will prepare something for your birthdays next year as well.” The older angel smiles at him peacefully, gesturing for him to turn around.

You stand there with a beam, a present clutched in your arms. He badly wants to pick off the confetti in your hair but he knows it isn’t appropriate.

“We know it’s earlier than your birthday but we wanted to do something for you too.” You pipe up, offering the vaguely book-shaped present to him. 

“Luke and I need to head back to the Celestial Realm on your actual birthday.” Simeon quips in, fingers picking out all the confetti that Barbatos had missed earlier. “And Luke also really wanted to celebrate with you.” Barbatos couldn’t help but find the miniature pout on Luke’s face cute.

“Anyways, open it!” With excitement evident in your voice, you dragged Barbatos to sit on the bed. Dimly, he notes that the teddy bear that the young master had gotten for you was taking up almost half of the bed. (Maybe for the sake of your quality of sleep, he should magic it down.) He carefully tears the wrapping off, and what’s inside makes him let out a soft appreciative noise.

“Do you like it?” You gave him a big toothy grin, eagerly pointing at the book. “I noticed how much you liked the photo we took together during our trip in the human world.”

Barbatos stays silent, staring blankly at the book. The moment everything sinks in, he looks up at you with eyes wide and searching.

“I pulled some strings and went around collecting photos from everyone.” You continued bragging, tugging the book away from him. You flipped through the pages to point at each picture, the two angels crowding around the bed to listen intently.

“I had the most trouble collecting this particular--“

“--Thank you.” He says once. “Thank you all.” He speaks out louder again, feeling like his heart was laid bare for all to see. In retrospect, a photo album and a cooking book are considered nothing in the larger scheme of things but the thoughtfulness behind the gifts makes it feel…different.

Most of his usual composure has been lost due to the embarrassed flush on his cheek but no one in the room points it out. Instead, you smile softly at him as you reach out to tap him on the shoulder once for reassurance.

“Picture?”

Simeon brandishes a camera, a model that Barbatos vaguely recognises from the Celestial Realm. You squeeze up beside him, wrapping an arm around his waist as you push Luke to sit on his other end.

“You can add this photo to the album too.” You whisper into his ears as if you were telling him a top-notch secret. “I left some slots blank so that we can fill it up in the future.”

He ponders your words in his head even as the timer goes off and the resultant flash blinds his vision for a bit.

We, huh?

He supposes that it has a nice ring to it.

══════════════════

a/n ▸ i’m of the agenda that barbatos adopted luke as his nephew/son or whatever but i just know he showers luke in love (as he should) also the photobooth photo is just because im a huge huge sucker for photobooths. I love wearing headbands and taking silly photos <3 also, first barb fic. do not perceive me too much. im struggling. /j ;; also can this be accepted as a very late barbatos birthday post

[ipostmysimpingstuffanonymously]

My entry for a prompt week we organized on the SatoSho Discord Server. The prompt was Soft Touches

[jasmines-greentea]

pointing out a small detail, when greg mistook ellie for ichabod’s girlfriend, ichabod DID NOT correct him. he just talked about her with so much adoration 🥹🥹😭😭😭😭

Okay last TSS post for now I promise but…it’s the way so much of Ichabod‘s character is steeped in this subtle self loathing, this dislike of himself and this fear that he is inherently monstrous. And he tries not to think about it, he doesn’t want to know about himself or what happened to him. He ‘tries not to dwell on it.’ He just charges forward, throws himself into work (often to the detriment of his own slowly decaying body.)

But then here’s Ellie…here’s this kind, funny, compassionated, fundamentally good person who shows up and saves his life…and he becomes friends with her. They trust each other, they connect, they get close, and you get the sense this is probably the closest he’s truly been to someone in 5 years. And he wants to keep getting closer to her, perhaps even likes her in a romantic way…but then there’s this apprehension, this fear. The fear of not being accepted. Because the thing is, there is something wrong with him…something seriously wrong, and you get the feeling he’s afraid that if she really knew everything about him…she might not like what she sees.

It’s the same fear that drives Greg to stay away from Mercedes, and the narrative even parallels the 2 to a degree.

And then later in season 2, Maris tells him Ichabod he needs to tell Ellie the whole truth about himself and what’s wrong with him and he gets defensive about it (in fact he gets defensive about things in relation to his sense of self in general). Because he’s afraid, he’s still being driven by that fear Greg overcame.

And there’s this subtle line in the arc where Ellie finds out, and it’s just so perfect. “Expectations are powerful things.”

Because what does Ichabod think she expects? Does she expect him to not be as big of a mess as he is? To be at least slightly normal and not falling apart at the seams? To not actually be the monster he fears he is? And of course there’s what HE expects, which is for Ellie to think he’s a monster and a hypocrite and want nothing to do with him.

And later when they’re dancing…he’s the one that suggests it, or at least acts on it. Because he likes her, he cares about her, he wants to get close to her. But when Ellie brings up dancing for real—without ‘the ghosts or monsters,’—Ichabod pulls away and decides he needs to tell her the truth. Because she has to know. Because he can’t let himself get any closer to her without her knowing…because if they ever did go dancing for real…there’s a chance there would be a monster there no matter what.

And of course, they get interpreted but Ellie finds out anyway. She finds out there’s more to him. She sees his hands without his gloves. She hears his story. The truth comes out with all it’s horror and monstrosity. And expectations are powerful things yes, but they aren’t always the truth. That’s what so beautiful about this story, what’s so good and why it makes me unhinged.

Because Ichabod finds that same acceptance and understanding and love that Greg did.