#ive drawn her so much since she came out

[washiinmachiine]

mental clarity

i dont play league but she is silly ive diagnosed it

[burning-omen]

Happy (Belated) Halloween!

Jason Todd x Demon!male!reader

(A/n: I'm tired, I've been getting argued at and pulled into fights that have nothing to do with me from the time I woke up- had a bunch of chores and shit to do and the fucking grocery store was packed and people keep bumping into me and all the fucking prices went way up since the last time I was there less than a month ago- I'm thoroughly overstimulated and getting home to edit and rewrite certain parts of this shitty little fic was a probably the best part of my day.)

Warning: crack fic kinda, blood, Demon!reader, murder, mutilation, and gore, summoning gone right technically, reader has TWO dicks, size difference, overstimulation, masochism, probably misspellings idk I'm not reading it again that's your job, dom/sub, ownership marking, sacrifice (rip that guy, ive been calling him marvin in my head), going missing for a lil while (consensually), OOC jason todd but this is literally porn who cares

word count: 1981 (short, i know, shut up/j)

Halloween parties were the worst. If the loud, drunk, half-naked crowd wasn’t enough to convince Jason, walking in on an honest to god seance was.

Being dragged to a party by Dick, only to lose him in the crowd of people within the first few minutes. He just wanted some quiet- and under the guise of looking for how brother he managed to avoid nearly every conversation that came his way- except for some incomprehensible drunk girl who insisted on holding a conversation with his even though she sounded like she was under water every time she opened her mouth.

He eventually managed to escape from her, finding the nearest room to recuperate in, only to be greeted by a room of chanting, drunk party-goers, kneeling around a shakily drawn yet intricate summoning circle. The chant was Latin- super old Latin- and Jason really wanted no part in this. He knew that demons were real, he knew a lot of shit that was supposedly fake was real- he had Batman to thank for that. So, after standing in the room for about 30 seconds, he decided to leave.

Turning on his heel, not saying a word to whatever party cult he just walked in on- deadset on leaving when he heard choking, and gasps from the mini cult as they clamored around the chanter who had suddenly collapsed.

Taking in a deep breath, cursing Bruce and the unwavering need to help he instilled in all of his children, before turning back to the group.

Laying, choking in the middle of the circle was a young man-

‘He’s drunk,’ Jason thought, pushing through the group surrounding him, their concern was nice- but unhelpful ‘probably choked on his tongue.’

Tilting his head back, the choking became louder- tears streamed down his face, his mouth agape as he clawed at his throat- his eyes desperate and afraid.

“It’s okay,” Jason tried, but he wasn’t exactly known for his bedside manner. “Just let me look.”

He peered down the man's throat- his tongue was wear it was supposed to be, but blood still filled the man’s mouth. Clearly whatever was happening here was internal, there's nothing Jason could do for him. Before he could ask anyone to call an ambulance- he saw something move at the very back of his throat. Even through the pooling blood, he could tell something wasn’t right- what the hell did he swallow?

His neck bulged as something made its way up- that was good- maybe. Slowly pushing up- whatever it was- caused the man to cry out in pain. He coughed and sputtered as it moved up and up until it pushed past the muscles of his throat and out of his mouth. A hand, clawed- drenched in blood, moving with so much force that a crack sounded through the room as more and more of the form inside him- whatever it was- came out. Breaking his jaw to finally reach out and grab his face- he cried out as pain and panic filled him- he turned to Jason for help as his friends fled but there wasn’t anything Jason could do but sit there in horror as an arm lifted from his broken and mutilated face- he cheeks tearing in as his mouth opened to unnatural length.

The bloody arm clawed at the floor, sharp talon like nails leaving deep wounds in the wood. Jason backed away- fear as well as guilt taking over. The basic instinct that anyone who had even taken the moniker “Robin” knew took over soon after, he needs to call batman- he couldn’t handle whatever this is, not on his own. He reached for his phone right as the candle lit room suddenly went dark. Jason, usually so strong and sure, didn’t know what to do. His communicator clattered to the floor as he stood.

He swore quietly- backing up until he was pressed against the wall- the sound of flesh tearing filled the room- still hot blood splattered across his face.

A soft growl came from the dark, deep and steady and growing closer by the second. Then,as if they had never been out, the candles were re-lit.

A massive beastly thing stood above him, horned and winged- a long tail trailing behind it. Soaked in the blood of the man that was scattered in chunks around the room. Despite knowing that he should definitely be afraid, a man had been ripped from the inside out right in front of him, something somewhere in his mind was saying, “would”. The thought immediately made him cringe at himself- he could not survive that- not only were you massive, you were also very naked. With not one but two just as massive, heavy cocks resting between your legs. He’d die, simply put, torn in half Terrifier style.

“Scared, human?” You asked, voice just as inhuman as your form.

Suddenly unable to find his words, Jason shook his head.

The action made you purr- something was so wrong with this man, not running or screaming, but instead sitting before you, his eyes wandering over your body, face reddened as his heart pounded in his chest.

He didn’t even attempt to move when you reached for him, his breath caught in his throat, but he remained perfectly still as you stroked his hair, then ran the backside of your claws down his cheek. All the way down to his chest, pressing just the tip of your claw in, watching as his shirt quickly became stained with blood.

“Not scared? How brave of you, human. “ You mused, “I require sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice?” he barely managed.

Trailing your claw lower and lower until the point of it rested over the growing bulge in his pants.

“A sacrifice of life is usually offered.” You pressed down, “But, another kind of offering will suffice.”

Jason breathed out- he can’t. Mentally, he could- he’s done all kinds of weird shit, fucking a demon wouldn’t even come close to the worse things he done- it doesn’t even reach top ten with the rest of his family’s track record for weird shit. But physically, that would kill him. One alone would shatter his pelvis and probably paralyze him- two would just straight up kill him. And you really didn’t seem like the kind of demon to go half way- you did come all the way from hell after all.

The obvious thing to do was to say no and call a fucking exorcist- but Jason didn’t do that, instead he speaks, so sure and steady as he spoke-

“Can you shrink?”

The entirety of your form became, your horns no longer scraped the ceiling, but you were still massive above Jason. You didn’t make it easy for him- pressing him into the floor with one clawed hand gripping his hair tightly, knees pressed into the hard wood and legs spread wide open, his cock- which you decided needed to remain untouched for the “sacrifice” to be valid.

Labored breathing, gasping and all encompassing sobs filled the room as both of your cock stretched him to the limit every time you thrusted into him- his nearly blunt nails leaving marks in the wooden floor below him.

With his mouth hanging wide open- he begged- muttering a broken “Please-’’ between moans-

You leaned down, pulling him up by his hair- resting inside him before speaking.

“You want more, human?”

Eyes brimmed with tears, feeling far fuller than felt natural- but so good and warm at the exact same time- deep in his stomach all the down to the very tips of his toes, every nerve so very alive.

He nods, shortly and without hesitation.

You grip on his hair loosens, and he sighs in relief as the burning pain in his scalp stops.

Only to flair up in his hips as you dig your claws into them, literally. Piercing through skin and drawing blood that slid over his skin and pooled beneath him on the floor. Jason, ever the masochist, only gets louder. With the party outside still raging on, you're sure the sound blended into the background- and any attendee lucky enough to have heard the high, whiny moans was listening far too hard.

Thrusting became painful, hard slamming- both cocks abusing his prostate with unnatural accuracy. Pulling out until the tips of your cock were just barely inside of him- then pressing back in so hard his entire body was pushed forward.

Jason’s mind was loud and incoherent - incomplete thoughts running through his head, cut short by either pain or pleasure every single time.

His body spammed unwillingly, muscles tightening and releasing, his hole tightened around you in an attempt to suck you in more- even if more would cause so so many problems for the man.

“So greedy,” you hummed in his ear, and you take cock so well.”

He didn’t respond, he couldn’t, overwhelmed and obsessed with the feeling. His orgasm- the first of many snuck up on him, his body overstimulated and oversensitive as hot, white cum shot straight onto the floor.

He gasped for air as though he’d been held under water- his body burned as he clenched around you- pleasure gone- replaced by what could only be described as fire destroying him from the inside out. He cried out in pain, his body writhes and contorts- and yet he never asks you to stop.

You grinned, “so cute, I might just have to keep you, human.”

You weren’t far behind him, cum seeping from both of your tips as you buried yourself deep inside him- it only added to the burning. Filling him so much until his hole, still plugged with your cock, leaks it back out. Down his legs and onto the floor, mixing with his own puddle of cum. You watched him for a long moment, letting him grit his teeth and cry at the pain, before showing your newest pet a bit of mercy and pulling out.

His body slouched onto the floor the moment you leg go. Jason was on the verge of passing out, eyes barely open, covered in blood, sweat, and cum. He has a high pain tolerance and his stamina was through the roof- but fucking hell he was so tired, and everything hurt, from his over used knees, to his damn near broken hole, and the small wounds your claws had made- coupled with an over bearing overstimulation making everything ten times worse- Jason, without question, was never doing this again.

—--- A couple weeks later—---

Dick realized that Jason wasn’t a party person, but for him to just disappear (and possibly kill someone at the party??? What the hell Jay???) for weeks seemed to be a bit of an overreaction.

But when he walked into the manor, happy as can be, after just being gone for three weeks, Dick knew something was very wrong- or very unusual- was happening.

“I had a date.” Was Jason’s only response, as he leaned heavily against the back of a chair, but never actually sat down in it.

“A date?!” Dick is so glad he questioned him in private. “With who?”

Jason shrugged, “met a guy at the party.”

“Jason you just dropped off of the face of the Earth with some guy for nearly a month?!”

Dick didn’t realize how literal that was- Hell has some pretty nice residential areas, it turns out.

“I was having fun.”

Jason, of course, was never going to tell Dick what he has really been doing- or what he will continue to be doing for the foreseeable future- but it was fun watching him freak out at every vague answer he gave.

The mark (brand?? Tattoo??) on his back still felt weird, sensitive from its spot hidden under his clothes, but how else would other demon, humans, and every other sentient being know that he was yours.

(a/n 2: AND I KNOW ITS LATE BUT I STILL FINISHED IT WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SO EVERYBODY SHUT UP/j)

[atlabeth]

between colleagues pt 2 - anthony lockwood

part one

summary: the morning after and some shopping. this is still a great plan. right?

a/n: lol this took forever to come out but ive been busy asf and dealing with a lot of personal issues but i am really loving these two and they made me feel better so i hope you all enjoy!! they really are just two idiots in love lmao the shop scene was v fun

wc: 4.1k

warning(s): fem!reader, small mention of death in regards to a case, reader freaking tf out for a second. but basically no warnings this is all fluff

also im aware i use this gif a lot but it's like my favorite one of him so uhhhh yeah

Your shoulder was stiff when you woke up, and you had to stifle a groan of discomfort as you rolled onto your back. So much for staying off your injured side, you thought disdainfully. Typical of you to sabotage yourself in your sleep. 

A glance over at the other empty bed proved Lucy was awake, and a glance at the clock on the wall proved she might have been awake for quite some time. 

It was six in the bloody evening. Lockwood’s call with the Caldecotts must have gone well if you were able to sleep for 14 hours. You normally would have had the sense to be a little bit ashamed of sleeping an entire day away, but after the job you’d had and the arrangement you made with Lockwood, you felt like you deserved it. 

You pulled yourself out of bed and went through the paces of making yourself presentable at the very least, then threw on a sweatshirt and made your way downstairs. Lockwood was alone in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a half-eaten piece of toast in front of him and the agency’s case binder in his lap. 

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Lockwood said, glancing up from the files on his lap with a smile. You rolled your eyes at him as you walked into the kitchen. 

“Would you believe me if I said I was still tired?” You took a cup from the cabinet and filled it at the tap, taking a sip as you glanced out the window. Night had already fallen, and you could see the flickering of ghost lamps in the distance. 

“You know, I think I would,” he said. “You didn’t make it the full 24 hours you promised—I think you’ve still got some in you.” 

You chuckled and shook your head. “Where’s Lucy and George?” 

“Grocery shopping,” he said, and he looked at the clock. “It’s taking them an awful long while, though.” 

“Why are they shopping at night?” you asked. 

Lockwood shrugged. “George really wanted to make pad thai, but we have none of the ingredients. Apparently, it’s important enough to warrant a night trip to the store. Lucy offered to go with him, and I made them take their rapiers, so it should be fine.” 

“Of course you did,” you mused. “Did you tell them about our little arrangement?” 

His eyes filled with amusement. “No. I figured you would want the honor.” 

You sighed and let your head fall back. “Kind as always, Lockwood.” 

“You should probably start calling me Anthony,” he said. “Just to get used to it.” 

“What,” you said dryly, looking back down at him, “girlfriends don’t usually call their boyfriends by their last name?” 

“I think your family may frown upon it.” Lockwood checked his watch, then set the binder on the table and stood up. “If you get a kettle going, I’ll make us tea.” 

“Bored of write-ups already?” you asked, crouching down to pull the kettle out of a cabinet. Lockwood chuckled as he took the tin of tea bags out of the closet, and he turned the burner on just as you finished filling the pot up. 

“I try to do my part, but they’re really not my forte,” he said. “You and George are much better at them.” 

“And it comes from filing reports since the tender age of eight,” you said solemnly as you set the kettle on the stovetop.

Just then, the sound of a lock clicking open drew your attention, and you smiled as Lucy and George came inside. George had a reusable bag in one hand and her rapier in another, and Lucy also had hers drawn. 

Your brows knit together. “Run into any ghosts?” 

“Good morning to you too,” George said. You gave him a mocking look in return. 

“No,” Lucy answered, pushing the door shut with her foot, “just being careful. Because somebody swore he saw a Spectre and refused to let a Visitor run away with his goods.”

“I am starving,” George enunciated. “I wasn’t going to let a ghost ruin all my hard work.” 

Lockwood smiled. “Well, I’m glad you’re both intact.”

“I’m glad you’re finally up,” George said with a look at you. “I thought you’d never come out.”

“She slept like a brick,” Lucy said. “I knocked over all the bottles in the shower and she never even stirred.”

You shrugged. “Last night was exhausting. For many reasons.”

The kettle went off and you turned the burner back down. Lockwood took two more mugs out of the cabinet and set tea bags in them, then poured the boiling water into all four. You handed him the sugar container with a pointed look. 

“Remember, half—” 

“Half a teaspoon,” he nodded, taking it from you with a wry smile. “I remember.” 

“Good,” you said. “You’re always a little heavy handed.” 

“Are you saying I add extra sweetness into your life?” Lockwood asked, and you couldn’t help but laugh. 

“How did you know?” 

“You know, we’re also here,” Lucy spoke up, though when you turned to her she was barely hiding a smile. 

“As if I could ever forget you, Lucy Carlyle,” you said. “How’s your day been?” 

“Quiet without you,” she said. “Lockwood’s been on the phone all day, and even though George didn’t sleep quite as long as you, he still woke up at two in the afternoon.” 

“Oh, please,” George said over his shoulder, in the midst of rifling through his groceries, “I earned it. We all did, after the night we had.” 

“True,” she said, tilting her head. “I actually didn’t have any nightmares for once— I’ve never slept so soundly.” 

“See?” You gestured at her. “The charms I put on the walls are working.” 

Lucy gave you a look. “You can’t seriously believe that.” 

“No ghosts have gotten into our room!” you exclaimed. “And both of our nightmares have been getting better. That dragon is protecting us.” 

Lockwood bit back a smile. “I still cannot believe you bought that.” 

“Seriously,” George said, still organizing ingredients. “A week’s wages, just gone.” 

You frowned. “My iron dragon is incredible, thank you very much. Besides, I’m supporting local businesses.” You glanced at Lockwood. “So the supply calls were made?”

“Every last one of them,” he confirmed as he stirred sugar into your tea. “Satchell’s was very happy to get our business again. Salt bombs will be in on Friday, flares come next week, and we’re getting brand new chains tomorrow. Plus a couple new silver glass containers from Sunrise.”

“That’s smart,” you said. “I think I threw our last square container in the furnaces last week.” 

George frowned. “We went into the disaster that was last night without any silver glass?”

Lockwood cleared his throat as he handed you your mug, then set the other two on the table for Lucy and George. “Everything worked out in the end.”

Lucy just sighed. “We cut things too close for comfort.”

“The Lockwood & Co motto,” you said before taking a sip of tea. Perfectly sweetened. “How about the Caldecotts?”

“Rescheduled for tomorrow at half past noon,” Lockwood said. “Do you think you’ll be awake by then?”

You rolled your eyes good-naturedly. “I didn’t forget our deal that quickly.”

George raised his eyebrows. “What deal?”

“Oh, nothing,” you said. “Just sold my soul for a favor from Lockwood.”

Lucy frowned, eyeing the two of you. “Elaborate.”

Lockwood hid his smile with a sip of tea as he also looked at you. So this was still your treat. 

You shrugged. “We’re going to a wedding together.”

“Not exactly selling your soul,” George said. “Congrats.”

You rolled your eyes. “We’re going together.” 

“Congrats,” he said again. “Are we just emphasizing words now?” 

“We’re going as a couple,” Lockwood said. 

Lucy’s eyes widened and George nearly choked on his tea as they blurted out the same thing. “What?” 

“A fake couple,” you added hastily, “to fool my family.”

“…Oh,” Lucy said, glancing at George. “That’s…”

“Less exciting,” he finished. 

Lockwood made a face. “Less exciting? George, we’re going to be lying to her whole family for a whole weekend. I’d say that’s quite exciting.” 

He glanced at Lucy for a moment before he sighed and looked back at Lockwood with a shake of his head. “Sure.” 

“Anyways,” you segued, “I just thought you two should know. It’s not for another month and half, but between the usual ghost-hunting we’re going to be doing a fair bit of planning together.”

“Spend all the time together that you want,” Lucy said. “George and I are good enough at holding down the fort, right?”

“It was just Lockwood and I for months at the beginning of all this, and half the time I was on my own because of investigatory whims,” George said. “At least you’re usually sort of predictable, Luce.”

She frowned. “I take offense to that.”

Lockwood chuckled and shook his head as he set the other two cups of tea down on the table for them. “We won’t impede work at all, I promise. I’ll make sure everything still goes as smoothly as possible.”

“What Lucy said,” George said, finally satisfied with the order of all the ingredients as he got to work. “Spend as much time together as you want.” 

“Maybe you will,” you said haughtily. “Maybe Lockwood’s lying and we’ll completely abandon our duties.” 

“We won’t,” Lockwood assured, and you merely smiled as you took another sip of tea. 

“Speaking of work,” Lucy said, “we ran into Kipps and Godwin on the way to the store.” 

Lockwood’s expression hardened and he set his mug down a bit too forcefully. “Why didn’t you say that earlier?” 

“Because it was nothing,” George said, looking up from cutting vegetables. You were glad he was the one with a knife and not Lockwood. “Just typical Kipps posturing.” 

“He told us about some job they got,” Lucy said. “Some ridiculously rich widow hired Fittes to find and clear out the ghost of her husband, and they were put on the case.” 

“What was her name?” Lockwood asked. 

“I wasn’t really paying attention, if I’m being honest,” she said. 

“Agnes Colville,” George said. 

“That bastard!” Lockwood’s jaw clenched and he moved across the room to a stack of newspapers on the floor, toppling over from the height. He crouched down and began rifling through them, and after a second he pulled out one and held it up for you all to see. The look in his eye was only slightly crazed, which was admittedly progress. “He stole it from us!”

“I do remember seeing her in the paper,” you said after taking a moment to scan the cover. Her husband died of old age, and it was only because of their impressive fortune that anyone knew of it. “A tragedy.” 

“I talked to her first,” he insisted, still crouched on the ground. “I called her right after I got this paper, and she told me she wasn’t looking for any agents.” 

“She changed her mind, I guess,” Lucy said with a shrug. 

“Or Kipps bothered her until she changed it,” Lockwood grumbled. 

“Great,” George said wryly as he pushed garlic off his knife. “We’re going to be working double time to make up for this, aren’t we?” 

“Sharp as always,” Lockwood said, and he finally stood up as he set the newspaper back down. He pointed a finger at you. “After we go dress shopping tomorrow, it’s straight to the archives to pick up a better case than Kipps.”

You raised an eyebrow. “We’re going dress shopping tomorrow?”

“Did I not tell you?” He frowned. “Caldecotts then dress shopping. And now archives.”

“No,” you said, “you absolutely didn’t.”

Lockwood shrugged. “Well, now you know. We’re going dress shopping.”

“Awfully eager to get into this boyfriend role,” George said.

“I take my job seriously.”

“I already have a dress, Lockwood,” you said. “Dorothy Perkins, remember?”

“This is a special occasion,” he said. “You deserve something nice.”

You felt your cheeks warm and you looked right at him. “You’ll pay?”

“Of course,” he said. “Business expenses, remember?”

You laughed and shook your head. “Yeah. Alright, we can go dress shopping. But if I’m getting a new dress, you’re getting a new suit.”

“Fair’s fair,” he said.

“Do we get any new clothes on your bill?” George asked. “Or is that just reserved for your fake girlfriend?” 

“Oh, come off it, George,” Lucy said. “Let them have some fun together.” 

“Thank you, Lucy,” you said as you sat down across from her. 

“Of course,” she said. “You’re saving me from the Caldecotts and a day in the archives. I should really be thanking you.” 

You turned to look at Lockwood. “You’re not going to use this as an excuse to get me to come along on all your errands with you, are you?” 

“Do try and be supportive, love,” Lockwood said. “It’s only right as my girlfriend.” 

You groaned as you leaned back in your chair, trying your best to ignore Lucy’s smile. “Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea.” 

“Another Lockwood & Co motto,” George mused. “How fitting.” 

-

“Is that Anthony Lockwood walking through my door?” 

You looked up when you walked through the door after Lockwood, a grin already on his face as the boutique saleswoman, a kindly older woman, greeted him. A worker at an upscale clothing store knew him by name—already a good sign. 

“Ms. Bridgeston,” Lockwood said, “it’s been too long.” 

“It certainly has, young man!” She pulled him into a hug and he returned it, and the woman looked at you when she pulled away. “And who is this darling girl with you?” 

Lockwood said your name with a gesture, and you smiled and held out your hand. “I’m his associate.” 

“And my girlfriend,” he added as she shook your hand. You shot him a look over her shoulder with wide, questioning eyes. 

“Practicing,” he mouthed at you with a shrug. He was so ridiculous that you had to stifle a laugh. 

“Yes,” you said, looking back at her with a smile, “his girlfriend, too.” 

“Well, it is wonderful to meet you, dear.” Ms. Bridgeston smiled at Lockwood. “Anthony here has wonderful taste in apparel—he was right to bring you here.” 

“I believe it,” you said with a glance around. “We’re actually in the market for wedding clothes—my cousin is getting married soon.” 

“Oh, congratulations!” She clasped her hands together, eyes shining as she looked between both of you. “Is there anything you need help with, or would you just like to look around?” 

“We’re good to just look,” Lockwood said, “but we’ll certainly let you know if we need anything.” 

Ms. Bridgeston nodded with another smile. “Certainly. I’ll be in the back stocking if you need me.” 

“Thank you,” you said, and you looked at Lockwood as she walked off. “Any ideas?” 

He shook his head. “Get whatever you’d like. This is a very special occasion.” 

You chuckled and nodded, going off to look at a rack of dresses. The agency had been doing well for itself lately. You supposed you could splurge on a nicer dress after nearly dying a couple dozen times. “What are you going for?” 

“Oh, I’m not getting anything here,” he said. “I’ve already got a suit at home, and I’ll get a pocket square that matches whatever color you’re wearing. We’re shopping for you—I’m just having fun here.”

“How exquisite,” you mused as you ran your finger over velvet. “We’ve only been fake dating for a day and you’re already all in.” 

“Consider it getting in character,” Lockwood said. “We’ll already have gotten all our mistakes out of the way by wedding time.” 

“Wise as always.” You took the maroon dress off the rack and continued moving down the line, and you glanced over at Lockwood. “You’ve already got what you want?” 

“Most of my wardrobe is black and white.” He held up a navy suit. “This is different.” 

“Hardly,” you said with a chuckle. “Dark blue is almost black.” 

“This is my version of fun,” Lockwood said wryly, and you smiled as he went into the dressing room. 

You spent the next while picking out dresses that struck your fancy, and by the time Lockwood was done, you had five in your arms. When he walked out, you nearly dropped them all. 

You didn’t know what was wrong with you. 

Perhaps it was lingering sleep deprivation from the near 24 hours you spent awake the other day. Perhaps it was lingering anger from your dealings with the Caldecotts—no amount of money could make dealing with Lorena worth it, but all those zeroes did help—or perhaps you were just already losing your mind. 

Despite your complaints, you weren’t averse to the day Lockwood had planned out. Seeing as you’d spent entire days rooting through the archives with him on wild goose chases, an afternoon after an interview and some shopping wasn’t the worst it could get.

But now, standing in the back of the store as Lockwood emerged, you were beginning to question the wisdom of this decision. 

Because you honest to God didn’t know what was wrong with you. You saw Lockwood in suits every day, or at least something suit-adjacent. Slacks, a jacket and tie, a million white dress shirts that you always end up folding. Pristine shoes, so shiny you can see your reflection in them, getting ruined by cobwebs and plasma over and over—you’ve spent many a night sitting with Lockwood talking as he polished his most recent pair of shoes, determined to get them back to their former glory. 

The point was that you were used to it. You were used to seeing Lockwood dressed up—when you first joined the agency, you honestly thought he slept in suits as well until you ran into him one night on a mission for midnight tea.

So why were you unable to look away from him when he emerged from the dressing room? Why were you rendered absolutely and completely speechless? 

It was nothing special, at least for Lockwood. Just a tuxedo. Navy blue rather than black like he always wore, but far nicer than the usuals. He was fussing with his bowtie as he walked out, muttering things under his breath, and thankfully not looking at you at all. You felt your eyes widen, your breath stolen from you for a moment, and all you could do was stare. Very classy of you, but you could hardly be blamed. He was stunning.  

You didn’t even realize he was saying something until you heard your name for what had to have been the third time, and you blinked and snapped out of your stupor. 

“What?” 

He gave that damn smile and inclined his head slightly, holding up one end of the tie hanging around his neck. “Could you help me with this? I don’t know what’s wrong with me this morning.” 

At least you had that in common. You cleared your throat and nodded, taking a deep breath as you walked up to him in the hopes that you looked far more composed than you felt. “Yeah. Of course.” 

You felt his eyes on you the entire time and you tried your hardest not to focus on it. You’d done Lockwood’s ties millions of times, usually before a particularly important interview or a particularly difficult night. He always said it was good luck, and you always rolled your eyes with a smile. 

“So?” Lockwood spoke after a moment, still watching you.  

“It’s good,” you said with a nod as you finished tying the bow, making sure it was straight before you stepped away. “You look good.” 

“Thank you,” Lockwood said, looking at himself in the mirror with a slight smile. “For the compliment and the help. 

“It’s what I’m here for,” you said. 

“And as much as I appreciate that,” he said, turning that smile on you, “we’re here so you can get a dress too. Did you pick any out while I was getting ready?” 

You nodded and picked up the hangers you’d set down to help Lockwood. “Which one do you want to see first?” 

“Definitely the maroon one,” he said with a nod. “Goes well with your eyes.” 

“You’re too kind,” you said, and he chuckled as he pressed his hand to his heart. 

You went behind the curtain, purposefully taking your time as you undressed so you could try and compose yourself further. It was just a suit, and he was just Lockwood, and this was just a fun little ruse to get your mum off your back for once. 

Just a suit. Just a ruse. Just Lockwood. 

You let out a deep breath and nodded, finally feeling like yourself again. You stepped into the dress and pulled it up, adjusting it around your figure before you zipped it up in the back, but you couldn’t get it all the way up. 

“Lockwood,” you called, “can you help me?” 

“Of course,” you heard him respond. 

You pushed the curtain aside and stepped back out, making some more minute adjustments along the way. When you looked up, Lockwood’s eyes were wide, his lips slightly parted. 

“Lockwood,” you said, staring at him. 

He blinked and seemed to focus back in, his head perking up. “What?” 

“My zipper.” 

“Right.” Lockwood moved just a bit too quick around you, and you shivered as his fingers brushed your bare back for a moment while he pulled the zipper the rest of the way up. “Sorry.”

“Your hands are always cold,” you said. “It’s fine.” 

“That’s—” he cleared his throat, and you turned just to see him shake his head. “Right. Yeah. Thanks.” 

You raised your eyebrows, the slightest smile tugging at you. “For what?” 

His own rose. “Hm?” 

“You thanked me. For what?” 

Lockwood shook his head again. “Don’t worry about it.” 

You chuckled and nodded, holding out the skirt of your dress with your hands. “So? What do you think?” 

“You look incredible,” he said, “obviously. It’s an honor to be your fake boyfriend.” 

“You’re gonna make me blush,” you said, but your cheeks already felt too warm for comfort. 

Lockwood grinned. “Good.” 

You had to turn away at that point. He knew exactly what he was doing to you, teasing you like this. “You’re taking your role way too seriously,” you said, busying yourself with rifling through the rest of the dresses you picked out. 

“I told you,” he said, “I take my job seriously. And as someone who takes their job seriously, I think that dress is definitely the one.” 

“Really?” You held up a sparkling blue dress against you and looked at him. “What about this one?” 

He shook his head. “Maroon is definitely the one.” 

“I agree, dear.” You looked up to see Ms. Bridgeston walking out carrying two boxes, that same adoring twinkle in her eye. “You look beautiful.” 

“Thank you.” You looked back in the mirror for another good, long moment, and you nodded decisively. “I agree. This is the one.” 

“Wonderful choice,” she said. 

“Perfect choice,” Lockwood said with a grin. “If you get changed, I can go ahead and pay for everything. We’ve already used up half our day—we’ve got to get to the archives.” 

You eyed him. “You didn’t just say this was the one so we could spend eight hours in the archives, did you?” 

“No,” he assured. “That is the one—trust me, love. You just happened to pick out the best one first.” 

You chuckled and shook your head as you started going back to the dressing room. “Whatever you say.” 

Soon enough, you and Lockwood were both back in your regular clothes, dress bag in tow, walking down the streets of London. 

“You seriously don’t mind spending all that money for this?” you asked, glancing over at him. 

“Of course not,” he said. “I can always take it out of your paycheck, if it’ll make you feel better.” 

You laughed and hit him on the arm, earning a chuckle in response. “As long as you seriously weren’t lying to me about liking this dress to get me to the archives.” 

“I would never lie to you about something like that,” Lockwood said, and he held up his pointer and middle finger. “Agent’s honor.” 

You smiled inwardly. “Thank you, then. I suppose I can handle spending the rest of the day in the archives with you with compliments like that.” 

“Thank you, then,” he repeated. “We do have to make a stop for tea, first.” 

“Naturally,” you agreed. 

As you continued on your way, not exactly arm in arm but close enough for your hands to brush every so often, you found your mind drifting back to Lockwood in that damned suit. You cleared your throat and shook your head, trying to physically push the thought away. 

“Everything alright?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” you said. “Just got something in my throat.” 

Lockwood nodded, thankfully oblivious to your inner struggle. You let out a deep breath. 

This was definitely still a good idea.

[yourfavoritewitchbitch]

Badge Bunny Part IV

Masterlist here!

Summary: When it all becomes too much, you're ready to leave Lehigh behind but Gator has other plans in mind.

18+ Only! MDNI!

Warnings: Reader is referred to as "Bunny" or "Bun". Minimal use of Y/N. ANGST!!! Gun use mentioned for protection. Unprotected P in V (wrap it before you tap it). Tad bit of size kink. Creampie.

Word Count: 6.4K

You watched him leave, with tears clouding your vision as they began to roll hot down your cheeks. It felt like a stone sat deep within the pit of your stomach.

It was for the best. At least, that's what you keep telling yourself, while your head and heart are at odds with each other.

He was always stuck in limbo. Never fully present with you even when he was home. At Roy's beck and call any and all hours of the day. It made your heart ache knowing he would never be truly yours.

It surprised you when he hadn't fought back, accepting the finality of it without a single protest.

He'd left that morning and seemingly hadn't looked back.

After spending most of the day in bed in and out of consciousness, with your body thoroughly spent of its tears you trudged your way into the kitchen. Your eyes scanning the living room right away, as if they were drawn there.

He'd cleaned up while you had been sleeping that morning, even going as far as cutting out the carpeting that held those wine-colored stains. A fresh wave began to sting and build at your lash line at the thought of him trying to clear any reminders, as if it would somehow erase what happened all together.

It would be the first night of many that the loneliness was almost unbearable. The house was far too quiet.

Every little sound puts you on edge. He'd left his spare gun, so you moved it to your bedside. It had even crossed your mind to go to the pound and pick up a big dog for security mostly, but you'd also have someone in the house.

Nights were when the walls started to press in around you. Anxiety at its highest. Reliving all those moments over and over again. It was enough to drive someone mad.

You didn't want to go back to work, Henry understood and told you to take all the time you needed. Your job would still be there when you were ready. You also knew you couldn't stay unemployed for long.

Maggie came over a couple of times to check on you. Her hard exterior melted at the first sight of your swollen eyes and bruises barely beginning to heal, pulling you into a bone crushing hug.

You were waiting for that “I told you so” that never came. She didn't mention Gator, which was a first, always having something to say about him or his father. You were grateful for the mindless chatter and town gossip instead.

She'd brought you enough groceries that you didn't need to leave the house for a few days, but you were growing stir crazy.

When you'd finally made the decision to get out it was a breath of fresh air. The house was beginning to feel stuffy and small as you got that caged in feeling thrumming through your veins.

The next day you went back to work, opting for the morning shifts. It was shit pay, but it was better than coming in at night. Still worrying that someone could be lurking in the dark. Ready to finish what they'd started.

Gator finally came and got the majority of his things making sure to avoid you, doing it while you were away. You weren't sure how he knew you wouldn't be home. He hadn't reached out, but you knew he had ways of finding everything out in this town.

Your heart ached when you saw the now bare side of his closet. Drawers emptied of their contents. The finality of it hitting you with a magnitude you weren't expecting. You willed yourself not to start crying again.

That very moment you decided you were leaving Lehigh.

It's been two weeks since you last saw Gator Tillman.

You'd finally began to work nights, keeping that gun in your purse for added peace of mind. Pulling doubles as much as possible, saving every penny you can scrounge up. It still doesn't seem to be adding up as quickly as you would like.

It's been a slow morning, when you notice Andy walking through the door, not missing the way he tried to avoid looking directly at you when he sits himself at his usual booth.

You sighed to yourself as you headed over, grabbing him a drink before doing so.

“Hey Andy,” you tried to sound chipper, but you weren't even fooling yourself. Sitting his drink and a menu down in front of him.

“Hey Y/N. How ya’ been?” He asked, with a kind smile.

“Uh, I guess about as good as one could… after… all that.” Waving dismissively.

“I'm sorry. That was a dumb question. I…”

“No, Andy. It's ok.” Placing your hand to his shoulder in a reassuring manner.

No one ever asked about it. You wished someone would say something to get it out of the way, but they never did. Instead, looking at you like a fragile piece of glass.

“You wanna look over the menu or you know what you want?”

He ordered his usual. You knew he wouldn't have come here by himself. He never came in here before you and Gator got together. Gator dragging him here at least once a week while on shift just to see you for lunch.

You made more menial small talk, checking on him here and there.

Before he left you made sure to catch him.

“You can tell Gator I'm fine. And if he's so worried about me he can come talk to me himself.”

He didn't try to deny it, simply nodding his head smirking as he went.

“See ya later, Y/N. Stay safe.”

-

Being completely honest with yourself, you hadn't slept well since that night. A glass of wine quickly turned into a bottle before bed to fall asleep. It didn't help the bags under your eyes, but it took your mind off the pain for a little while. Relaxing you enough to coax your mind into a few hours of rest.

You'd been stocking up at the grocery store each time you went and today would be no different. You made the trek, leaving work at a normal time.

Henry could see your exhaustion and told you to take the night off. Well, more like ordering you to.

You hadn't realized when you left the house, you'd grabbed one of Gator's old hoodies instead of your own, but it would have to do for a quick trip.

Opting for a basket instead of a cart would make it a quick in and out. You browsed the frozen food section picking out a couple of things then heading straight for the wine aisle grabbing a couple of bottles of rosé.

You turned the corner, bumping full force into someone.

“Fuck,” you hissed out steading yourself against a broad chest, looking straight up into hazel eyes that you knew all too well.

“Gator, what the fuck?” He had a hold on your basket, making sure it hadn't fallen from your grasp.

“Sorry Bun… Y/N.” He blurted out, while his eyes roamed over you. He noticed his hoodie immediately, making a small smile creep up on him that was quickly wiped away by your disheveled appearance.

Bags are starting to form under your eyes. The bruise on your cheek is a distant memory now. The cut above your lip is nearly healed but will leave a scar. A small, taunting reminder that this is all his fault.

He'd had a couple of buddies watch you from time to time. His way of trying to keep you safe. Andy had relayed your message earlier today. You were smart he knew you'd see right through him when he stopped by.

He finally realizes the death grip he still had on your basket when you looked up at him with your signature, “what the fuck are you doing?” expression.

He let go and took a step back. Giving you the out he knows you'll take.

“I'm actually glad I ran into you.” You spoke, not meeting his direct gaze, looking back down to the basket not containing much of anything but the alcohol you planned to down for the evening.

“You are?” He perked up at that, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Uh, yeah.” Willing yourself to meet his eyes. “You need to tell your goons to back off. I'm fine. I don't mind Andy so much, but I don't need whatever you're trying to do.”

You weren't fine. You both knew it.

He scoffs. “I… what're you talking about?”

“Come on Tillman.” Titling your head up at him, leveling him with a sharp stare. “That savior complex you've got for me. Plus, you're a terrible liar. It's written all over your face.”

He snapped his mouth shut, gaze falling away from you, and finally noticing the wine. He didn't say anything, it would only make it worse, but you didn't drink. Not like that. And from what he's heard from one of his friends you came by the store daily for it.

“I just worry about you.” He said it so low; you almost missed it.

“You could have called.”

“Would you have answered?” He asked, but when you stayed silent it told him all he needed to know.

“I've got to go. Just… just back off. Please.” You quickly shuffled toward the front, trying not to watch the crestfallen look on his face. You glanced back once you made it to the register, but he was already gone.

As the days went on, you realize that even the doubles weren't getting you enough to move from Lehigh as quickly as you wanted.

An idea struck a couple of days prior, something Maggie had mentioned when you first got into town. The prospect became more and more alluring with each passing day.

You were stuck and it seemed like the most logical thing to do.

Henry was sad to see you go but he understood. Everyone understood. He was surprised you'd stayed around this long with everything that went down.

“I'm sorry, Henry. I just need to get out of here. It pays the bills but not enough to get me out of town.” Laying it all out on the line, giving him your notice.

“Hey kid, don't be sorry. It's ok.” He hugged you. You'd come to see Henry as a fatherly figure. He often rolled his eyes at your antics but always had a listening ear when you needed it.

“Just take care of yourself.” He added.

“Of course! I've made it this far on my own.” You grinned, leaving behind your apron.

You were headed across town to see a man about a different kind of job.

Gator stomped through the door of the Lucky Lizard a couple of days later, a man on a mission.

Henry spotted him as soon as he came barreling in, sighing to himself.

“Where is she?” Asking in a huff.

“Gator, nice to see you too.”

“Don't fuck with me right now. I know she quit her job two days ago. Where is she?” He fixed him with a pointed glare.

“Why don't you ask her yourself?” He turned away from him, grabbing a fresh beer for someone at the end of the bar.

“Because she doesn't want to talk to me. But I need to know she's safe. At least give me that. I know she talks to you.”

“Uh… that's a kicker now. Safe? I'm not so sure but I know she doesn't need you causing an uproar.” He was hesitant, mulling it over. Watching the younger man's expression turn a little more rigid. He was already mad; this would probably send him over the edge.

“Gator, now don't be a dumbass about this, but I know she went for a chat with Jeremy Nash.”

He felt like someone poured ice water over him. Anything but that.

“Fuck.” He hissed. Henry called after him, but it was too late. He was already out the door.

You weren't new to this kind of job, moonlighting as a cocktail waitress a few years ago, but you'd never taken the plunge to actually be an entertainer.

You'd gotten hired on the spot by Jeremy to start the weekend shift, luckily giving you a couple of days to prepare.

You arrived early. He showed you the grand tour giving you a locker and a vanity to get ready at.

The other girls looked at you with disdain and jealousy as soon as you walked in. Seeing you as nothing more than fresh meat and competition to take their money.

They chatted amongst themselves, not so much as a word toward you as they quickly got dressed and left you alone in the dressing room.

“Nice welcome,” muttering to yourself as you continued getting things out of your bag to get ready.

As you were finishing your eye liner, Jeremy came bustling into the room.

“Looking good! Ready to make some dough? You're up next.” He stated enthusiastically, eyes trailing your exposed skin, as if he didn't see tits and ass every day. He was a little sleazy but nice enough.

You were about to go on stage at The Tender Trap.

The only strip joint within 100 miles and it just so happened to be close to Lehigh.

“Uh, sure.” You put on your best fake smile and stood.

“Wow, you look great. What's the stage name again?”

“Ugh, Bunny.” Holding up those bunny ears you'd had stored away in the closet back at home for emphasis. Going with all black, fishnets with thigh high boots, you'd only have white ears. Your body suit covering you until it would be time to remove it. Nothing underneath, leaving those fishnets, making you feel a little less exposed.

He grinned, nodding his head “it fits.”

It felt a little wrong to use the name. But you had the outfit right down to the ears and tail, might as well use it to your advantage. Guys go crazy for that stupid Playboy bunny persona.

He led you to the backstage, curtains drawn as another girl was finishing up.

The bass of the music thumping through you. Doing absolutely nothing to quell the jitters you had.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a special newcomer. Everyone give it up for Bunny!” The DJ came over the loudspeaker as Wicked Games by the Weeknd started to play. It was your cue.

Your hand slightly trembled as you pulled the curtain back. Stepping out into the small spotlight, temporarily blurring your vision.

You smiled at a couple of men to your right as you took a few more steps to the center, hips swaying with the song.

There were some whistles and shouts that spurred your confidence. You continued to look around the stage as you slowly walked forward.

Your smile dropped when you locked eyes with a familiar figure. He stuck out like a sore thumb at the end of the stage, as he loomed over the other men.

His arms were crossed over his chest, staring you down, feeling the heat of his gaze from across the room. You froze for a moment before regaining your composure.

He tilted his head as if daring you to continue, eyes dark and zeroed in on you.

You tilted your head toward him and placed your hand around the pole to go ahead with your routine. His presence be damned.

It was then he jumped the edge of the tip rail, much to the grumbles and protests of the other men surrounding you, shedding his jacket as he stalked over.

“What the fuck, Gator?” You yelled, as he held the jacket up around you, pushing you back toward the curtain.

“I don't fuckin' think so Bunny. Let's go.”

With your heels you were nearly nose to nose with him, standing firm, you just stared him down.

“No.” You spat.

“Hey!” Both of your heads shot toward a very angry Jeremy Nash storming your way.

“Get the fuck off my stage! You entitled fuckin’ prick. Your father doesn't own this place Tillman.”

Gator rolled his eyes then narrowed his gaze back to you.

“Gator, just get the fuck down!” You yelled, pushing his chest but he hardly budged.

Jeremy reached the edge of the stage, pushing himself up and over, grabbing Gator’s arm momentarily knocking him off balance.

It all happened so fast. Once Jeremy grabbed him, he'd turned quickly, his fist meeting the other man's nose with an audible crunch that could be heard above the music.

He grabbed his face with a groan and started backing away immediately, yelling for you both to get the fuck out as blood poured down his mouth.

Without a second thought Gator turned back toward you, bending down, throwing an arm around your waist, and in one fluid motion hoisted you up over his shoulder.

“Gator Tillman! Put the me the fuck down right now!” He ignored your protests, as you kicked your feet and pawed at his back.

“Quit it, Bunny. No girl of mine is working at a place like this.” He placed you back on the ground once you'd reached the dressing room.

The other girls gawked and cursed at the both of you before practically running over each other to get out the door.

When he rose up, you reared back and smacked him across the cheek.

"In case you forgot, I'm not your fucking girl." You hissed.

He wasn't shocked but he slowly released a breath through his nose before speaking.

“Get your shit. You can scream, yell and slap me all you want in the fuckin' truck but your comin’ with me.”

There was no point in arguing, you knew as much but at least you could let him know how you felt about it.

You gathered your belongings, tossing his jacket back at his chest and pulling a hoodie over yourself. Moving to the back door without saying a word, you let yourself out into the cool night.

You spotted his truck and got in, slamming the door making him wince.

He hauled himself into the driver's seat and started it, easing out of the parking space.

“You fucking humiliated me in there.”

“You’ll live.” He sighed. “As if you weren't about to humiliate yourself.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? At least it's honest work, unlike what you and your goddamn daddy get up to. And don't play dumb Tillman, I don't know everything, but I know enough.”

You crossed your arms and stared out the window as he kept his eyes trained on the road ahead. You expected him to snap back but he didn't say anything which only infuriated you further.

He wasn't the strong silent type; you can tell he was holding back. He'd throw his own tantrums, ending with you two clashing because you were so much alike.

“Goddamnit Gator you can't do this to me. We aren't together. You can't barge back into my life when you think I need saving. It doesn't fucking work like that!”

He slammed on the brakes, making you jolt forward and quickly pulled off to the side of the road throwing it in park.

“I can and I will! Especially when you end up in some shit hole like that! What the fuck were you thinking?” Sounding more disappointed than angry.

"I was thinking I can get enough money to finally leave this fucking hell on earth you call home behind because I don't want to be here anymore! That's what I was thinking. Anywhere is better than here. I won't have to see you, or your fucking bat shit crazy dad anymore.”

"Bunny," he tries.

"No, stop Gator. I'm not… you don't get to call me that anymore. Just drive me home. I'm done.”

He stares at your profile for a moment before releasing a heavy sigh, pulling back out into the highway. Neither of you bother speaking for a while until his calm voice cuts through the silence.

“You should leave, you know. Get out of Lehigh, hell out of the state. Get as far away from here while you still can.”

You were stunned. You'd expected him to beg and plead for you to stay, not this. Something was going on with him. You watched him concentrating on driving, but he was chewing his bottom lip.

“Is… is that what you want?” He didn't immediately answer, instead he pulled back off the road to give you his full attention, turning to face you in his seat.

“Of course that's not what I want, but if it means you'll be safe from… from all of this shit, then yes. Leave for your own good.” His eyes never left yours. You could see he was fighting his own emotions. “I love you, Bunny. I'll always fuckin’ love you until the day I die. It's just not safe.”

You could tell something was there. He wanted to tell you more.

“You… you could just come with me?” You looked up at him with pleading eyes, tears forming at your lash line threatening to spill. “Please? We could leave tonight. Somewhere no one knows us. Somewhere no one would find us.”

“Baby, I… I can't. I…” he reached out to touch you, but you quickly flinched out of his reach.

“No. This is exactly why we broke up. What the fuck was I thinking?” You laughed out, salty tears now flowing freely dripping from your chin.

He'd had enough of seeing you cry. He didn't know what else to do.

“Bunny, look at me.” His voice was stern, pulling you from your current spiraling thoughts, as he placed his hands on your cheeks. The pads of his thumbs wiping away your tears as you nuzzled into the tender touch.

“Fuck it,” he hissed. Quickly surging forward, pressing his lips to yours.

You pulled back, your hand meeting his cheek harshly. Slapping him before you realized what you'd done.

He nodded, pulling his lip between his teeth before releasing a harsh breath.

“I'm sorry… I…” you began, grabbing his collar, pulling him back and pressing your lips back to his, pushing him further back into his seat, swinging your leg around so you could straddle him.

It was messy, full of want. Tongue and teeth. Pushing and pulling at one another.

“It's okay baby, just… just take it out on me.” He mumbled, between kisses.

His hands found your hips, fingertips catching the holes of your fishnets. His touch setting you on fire as he pushed you down onto the tent already forming in his pants. Guiding you to grind against him, as you both moaned out.

“Fuck, I missed you.” You rasp out, as his lips begin trailing down your jaw, finding that juncture right below your ear, sucking a little harshly before soothing it with his tongue.

His hands trail up, pushing the hoodie up, until your barely clothed chest is on display. Squeezing your breasts in his large hands had his hips bucking up into yours. Already so eager to be inside of you.

“Fuck Bunny.” He leans back to take another look at you, slowly appraising your outfit. “I think ya’ need a reminder of who you belong to. Ya’ can't be showin’ everyone this. It's f’me. All f’me.”

“We weren't together.” Rolling your eyes, knowing it would get a rise out of him.

“Don't care.” He pulls the cups of your body suit down haphazardly, as you hear the fabric tear beneath his rough grip. “You're mine.”

“Gator!” Protesting that quickly turns into a moan, as soon as his plush lips meet your chest, sucking harshly at your nipple while he pinches and rolls the other between his finger and thumb.

He pulls off with a pop, smug grin plastered across his face.

“What was that sweet thing?”

“Oh, fuck you,” you hiss, with no real malice behind your words.

“Don't worry baby. We’ll get to that.”

You roll your eyes again, reaching a hand down to palm his very now prominent erection, eliciting a small moan cutting through his cocky demeanor.

“What's wrong baby?” Looking at him with your best doe eyed expression. “You miss me that bad?”

“You know I fuckin’ did.” He grits out, closing his eyes a moment before his hand wraps around the back of your neck pulling you down into another heated kiss.

Your hands quickly get to work as you ease back, reaching for and unlatching his belt buckle, undoing his pants and reaching in, finding him hot and heavy as you pull him free from his boxers.

Your thumb collects the precum from his slit, dragging it back down the length of his velvety shaft, as you swallow his stuttered moan.

You pull back slightly, his bottom lip between your plush ones, sucking before letting it pop back into place. You take the opportunity to catch him off guard, letting a string of saliva slip between your lips landing on the head of his cock.

“Fuck, Bunny.” He rasps out, hips pushing his dick further into your hand, searching for more friction.

He pulls at the hem of your hoodie, pulling it up and discarding it quickly onto the floor, as your hand comes back to languidly stroke him.

“Baby, please. If you keep that up, I'm gonna cum. I need you.” He didn't let you answer before his fingers slid the side of your body suit over. Bare save for your tights.

His fingertip grazes your clit as you throw your head back. He growled when the fabric caught, restricting his movements and further access.

You knew what he was thinking when he smirked up at you but before you could say anything to stop him, he pulled at the fabric, ripping it at the seam.

“Gator! What the fuck!” You hissed, before his fingers found your slit, sliding down catching at your entrance.

“I'll buy you a new pair. Promise.” You nodded, closing your eyes at the feeling, you ceased your ministrations gripping onto his shoulders for purchase. He circled your entrance, gathering slick before sliding back to your puffy clit. Relief flooded your veins as he began rubbing circles against you.

“More. I need more.” You moaned out, your cunt aching to be filled.

“Ride my fuckin’ cock then. S’all yours baby.” He said, gripping himself at the base and slapping it back against your bare pussy.

You raised up, allowing him to line himself up with your weeping entrance. As soon as his head breaches slightly, you grip his cheeks pulling his face up.

Maintaining eye contact as you slowly sank down around him. You relished in the stretch and slight sting, as he splits you open.

Pleasure begins taking over as your eyes start to roll back, releasing the grip on his face, bracing yourself against his chest. Your jaw went slack, as another wanton moan fell from your lips.

You slide down easily, inch by inch, feeling every vein and ridge as he fills you from beneath.

Your ass finally came to rest on his thighs, with his cock filling you to the brim.

He takes your palm and pushes it against your lower stomach.

“You feel me in there baby? Feel how fuckin’ deep I am?” You feel the bulge from where his cock is nestled within you, making your pussy flutter around him. “No one else could fuck ya’ that deep. Huh?”

“No… mmm… fuck, baby. God, I've missed you.” You breathed out, as you started to bounce, giving you both much needed relief.

“Yeah Bunny. That's it. Shit you feel so fuckin’ good. Missed this pussy. Missed you.” His eyes watch your tits bounce with the movement, as his hands grip your waist, helping raise your hips when you slow down just a bit.

Your bouncing begins to slow to a rhythmic grind, the thatch of hair at the base of his cock catching your clit with each pass as heat starts to pool in your lower belly.

“Keep going baby, I know your fuckin' close. I'm gonna… fuck… gonna fill my fuckin' pussy up.” He grabs your cheeks roughly, as your eyes pop open to look at him.

“Tell me baby. Whose pussy is this? Huh? Who do you belong to?” He growled out, holding you still as he begins to piston his hips, fucking up into you.

“You… it's yours… Gator! Fuck!” You scream out.

“Yeah? All mine baby…mmm…play… play with your clit f’me. I want you to cum with me Bunny.”

He watches intently as you hand trails lower, finding your aching clit as he continues to fuck you from below.

“That's it baby. Feels good, huh?” Coming out a little mocking.

“Ugh… yes… feels so fuckin' good. I'm gonna cum all over your cock.” Your fingertip glides over your nub, feeling that electricity licking up your spine.

“Yeah baby? Gonna cum f’me?” Watching his length move in and out of you creating a creamy ring at the base, a mixture of both his and your arousal nearly sending him over the edge.

“Yesssss baby. Fuck…” His cock continues to nudge that sweet spot within you with every upward thrust.

You grasp his shoulders as your orgasm begins to wash over you, dragging you under with a blinding force.

“Baby, I'm cumming… I'm… ahhh…” It was all consuming, your pussy clenches around him like a vice, as those sparks began to flicker behind your eyelids. Your legs trembled as you writhed atop him.

“That's it, sweet thing. My tight, little…mmm… pussy is grippin’ me so fuckin' good.” He continues to push into you from below, as you try to come back to yourself.

“Cum… cum in me baby.” Your voice comes out shaky, as his cock twitches at your words.

“That what you want? Huh? I'm gonna fill this pussy full.” He grips your hips with a bruising force, pushing you down onto him, somehow impossibly deeper as he begins to cum.

You wrap your arms around his neck, as your hips grind down, working him through his own release. Your pussy milking him of every last drop. His face was turned upward, jaw going slack at the feeling as he breathes out a heavy moan. You loved the fact that only you ever got to see him like this.

“Fuck, Bunny. Baby… stop… I…” His fingers tighten on your hips, halting your movements.

You both still, foreheads resting together, chests heaving trying to catch your breath.

You looked into those lovesick eyes that you've missed so much. Unsure of what to say. Unsure of where this left the two of you.

You slowly lifted yourself from his lap, as he slid from you, you quickly moved off and tried to cover yourself. Your tights were in shambles and your top was ripped. You pulled the hoodie from the floor and pulled it back over you.

He sighs, watching you as he stuffs himself back into his pants.

“No matter what I fucking do I can't stop. I still fucking love you, Gator.” You were transfixed on the window, gaze on nothing in particular. He lets those words wash over him. He never wanted it to go this way.

“I’m sorry. For everything. For not being there. For not protecting you. I should have goddamn been there instead of working that night.” You look over at him with tears in your eyes at the pain and regret emanating from his words. You know he blames himself for what happened.

“I know you're sorry but…” you closed your eyes, trying to steady your thoughts into words. “It's not your fault, Gator.”

You reach your hand out, placing it on his and squeezing gently.

“Bunny, I can't go back to pretending we don't give a shit about each other. I'm moving back home.” He fixed you with a serious gaze. Giving you no room for discussion or arguing.

“And there are going to be some nights I get home late, maybe not until morning.” He intertwined his fingers with yours and gave a reassuring squeeze. “You have to trust me when I say I am doing this for both of us.”

“You aren't going to tell me what's going on?” Your voice trembled.

“Bunny, I can't. Just please, trust me. It's all going to be okay.” There was something in the way he said it so reassuringly and unwavering.

“I trust you, Gator. I love you.” The words came out as you reached over wrapping your arms around his neck hugging him tightly to you.

“I love you, Bunny.”

In the following days, he moved his things back home as you both fell back into routine.

He rolled in some late nights, but you didn't ask any questions. He would come home and crawl into bed, pulling you into him, just like tonight.

You'd heard him enter, as a small smile crept at the corners of your lips when his arm wound around your waist with his warm chest to your back. His face buried into your neck, freshly washed hair tickling at your cheek as he sighed heavily.

“You awake baby?” He whispered, lips grazing your skin.

“Yeah, can't sleep until you get home.” He smiled at your admission but his heart aches all the same.

“I have to leave early in the morning.” He kisses your shoulder before continuing. “Whatever happens, I love you.”

You knew better than to ask what he meant. You just closed your eyes, praying to whoever might listen that whatever tomorrow would bring he'd come back home to you.

“I love you too.” You whispered through the dark, as the two of you held each other tight.

-

True to his word, his alarm blared before the sun rose, startling you both awake.

You'd followed him to the kitchen, watching his every move. Boxers slung low in his hips with his hair messy from sleep as your eyes drank in every detail.

“Baby, you didn't have to get up with me.” He chided, back of his knuckles running across your cheek as he sat beside you on the couch.

You curled into him, wrapping your arms around his torso, as he draped his over you resting his hand on your hip.

“Wanted to be with you.” Mumbling from your position, your head resting on his chest. He chuckled into his coffee before taking a sip.

“Whatever it is, you could just stay home. You don't have to go.” You muttered, grip on his waist tightening.

“I wish I could.” He kissed the top of your head, basking in warmth and love that he'd never had from anyone before you. Never thought he would be worthy of it, if he was being honest with himself. If he could bottle this moment and take it with him, he'd never ask for anything more.

He truly loves you more than anything in the world and reminds himself that this is for you. The both of you.

You stayed close to him until he practically had to push you off of him to head out, although reluctantly.

Once he laced his boots, he wrapped his arms around you one last time as you did the same, his hand rubbed your back with his lips pressed to your temple.

“I love you Bunny, but I've got to go baby.”

You hesitantly pull away, as he gathers his vest, slipping it over his shoulders.

“Be careful. I love you.” Saying it as he took his leave. You watched from the kitchen window as his truck left the driveway, taillights disappearing down the road.

You wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so you began getting ready for your shift at the bar. Henry was more than happy to give you your old job back after Gator made it impossible to go back to the Tender Trap with his rescue mission.

It was one of those days that he didn't text very much which usually meant it was a Roy’s business kind of day, always leaving you on edge.

Your shift was going smoothly, which seemed to improve your mood. You checked your phone at break to find a missed call from Gator.

He'd left a voicemail, that you immediately began to play.

“Hey Bunny, I know you're working but I wish I could have caught you. Baby, I know I've been quiet about everything and I'm sorry. Just know that whatever goes down today that I love you. I just wanted you to know that, and… (muffled background noise) shit … I've got to go.”

It caught you off guard. You sat there looking at the phone in your hand, as you swallowed a lump you hadn't realized was caught in your throat.

“What the fuck?” You breathed out.

You dialed his number, but it went straight to voicemail. Your heart rate kicked up with your mind visiting the worst possibilities.

You sent him a quick text hoping he would see it and put some of your worry at ease.

Baby, please call me back when you get this. I love you.

You shoved it back into your apron pocket making sure it was on vibrate making your way back into the bar.

You made your rounds checking tables, as you heard sirens approach, snapping your head up to watch five black unmarked SUVs pass by quickly headed East.

It caught the attention of the entire bar; everyone was silent for a beat as they watched.

“What the hell was that?” Henry, cutting through the quiet.

“I don't know, but it doesn't look good.” You watched them until they disappeared down the road and out of sight.

Andy burst through the door a few moments later, making a beeline straight for you. Looking a little worse for wear, color drained from his face aside from his flushed cheeks. When he'd gotten closer you noticed a cut on his left eyebrow.

“Y/N! Something's going down at the ranch. I think Roy's finally lost his goddamn mind. Feds are headed over there.” He rushed out, breathless as if he'd run all the way here.

So, this was it. His unwillingness to answer questions and sneaking around. It started to make sense. Something big went down and he's known about it, keeping you in the dark.

Gator, what the fuck have you done?

[olde-scratch]

psst hey. chimera!laios. you want it.

(reblogs >>>>>> likes)

(ignore that i didnt add fleshy colors to his hands and i forgot his knuckles on one of them shhh)

my friend @gltchghst and i came up with a chimera!laios for a falin/laios roleswap au that i wrote a oneshot for (link here) (eventually u should check my prof in case i turn it into a series of connected oneshots).

where falin gets chest feathers, laios gets a happy trail. why? well. laios is an adult. and IM an adult.

sketches in read more along with notes about chimera!laios. spoilers, obvi.

did i lowkey trace the sketch of falin ripping her shirt because i couldn't be bothered to make the pose myself? yeah. ive never drawn that angle or pose before and i didn't wanna burn myself out trying to figure it out. im not trying to hide it so its fine.

i was gonna do a little simplified anatomy sketch for it but cannot be bothered so instead have bulletpoints

where falin has feathers, laios has fur. idk if thistle just gave falin feathers or if he combined her with another animal, but laios i think would be happy if we did two monsters instead of one + another basic trait. we ended up using dungeon rabbits, the blades of which you can very faintly see hidden in the fur on his forearms in the second image.

the red dragon itself does not actually have wings, which would technically make it a drake. (eastern dragons are technically wyrms, which also exist.) however, wings are cool, and dragons are supposed to have wings. thistle has wings on his eye of the magician dragons, and those are red. so its basically the same thing.

chimera!laios is significantly bigger than chimera!falin. falin herself isn't as tall as laios, but there's also the fact that falin has magic on her side. she has feathers to make herself appear bigger than she is. this all very much seems to play to falin's strengths, since she is a magic-user. laios, however, is a tank, and this is apparent in his bigger stature (falin's like 35 ft i think, i imagine he's 5-10 feet taller and much bulkier) and the red dragon hide across more of his body which we know is extremely tough.

falin has magic. she has Magic. HELLO. laios gets to breathe fire. ITS FAIR OKAY. laios isn't made to breathe fire so i imagine that it also severely impacts his ability to talk (rather than him being extremely disoriented or just a puppet) by causing burns on the inside of his mouth (and probably the remaining human portion of his throat before it turns into dragon). he also probably couldn't breathe the fire very far, since he does still have a human mouth, but he can also use the wings to fan any fires he does cause. modern problems.

falin has more estrogen in her body than testosterone and isn't a front-line fighter. laios, however, is Male and exercises A Lot, so his fat stores will be empty looong before falin's would have been. on top of nourishing a bigger body, he also cant eat without causing pain to himself due to the open burns on the inside of his mouth. someone else come up with a concrete way to redo the curry scene, maybe tire him out and feed him some medicinal herbs before they freeze him. mf ain't fighting for long.

laios has horns because same reason as the happy trail. my friend and i are into men. if u don't like it make your own chimera!laios design. this is for Us.

yeah this entire thing is just us 'rule of cool'ing chimera!laios and doing our best to use logic to justify it. keep scrolling.

the shirt in the second image is falin's shirt, and i think that even though they are rather similar, falin's shirts might end up being too short for laios. does this mean he got abducted with his entire everything out? no, i think either falin grabbed and salvaged a pair of his pants from their stuff (maybe the extra shirt was one they shared or maybe it got got by a dungeon creature?) or they whipped up/found him a pair of shorts. i think canonically falin borrowed marcille's underwear but i don't think anything they have is fitting laios.

maybe its because im biased considering laios is one of my favorite characters but my friend enabled me so i think laios would be capable of more destruction than falin. she's meant to use magic to locate delgal (tho she isn't often seen doing it to the extent id expect her to be), but i think laios' method of searching would be to pick up where thistle can't and use physical search-and-rescue to find delgal instead of more magic. thistle wont let him leave any more than falin, so this point is moot, but yk. i think laios' ability to destroy would also do more to symbolize thistle's growing desperation to find delgal and his willingness to destroy what's in his path to do so.

maybe soon ill redraw the falin and thistle interactions to do laios and thistle instead, but i know that i do want to draw some wish fulfillment art where thistle gets a nice big hug. it probably wouldn't be as comfy as falin's, and laios has weapons on his arms, and also laios would be really sweaty and gross with no feathers to act as a buffer, but no one said thistle had to enjoy the hug.

[joshusten]

love the sinner (albus york/faith koria, bastard warrior || good boy audios)

Albus York takes a bath and Faithful washes his hair. (angst, slight argument, hurt/comfort)

2.2k+ words [ao3 link] [masterlist] [CW/notes: religious imagery ofc (this fic was basically an excuse to write that), typical albus york language, lots of self-loathing and some suicidal thoughts. albus is just having a bad time but hes also so whipped for faithful. speaking of her, i didnt make faith's physical descriptions vague or made it so that she's a "listener" but rather a character of her own! and i based it off of gba's description of her + my own interpretation hehe.]

once again THANK YOU SO SO MUCH to @slushiepizza for all the AMAZING suggestions and support like omfg i SWEAR i keep on saying this but this fic rlly wouldnt be finished without them!! i appreciate it sm!! and im shaking and kissing my irls that ive also bothered with this fic that will probably not see this THANK U SM!! edit: I FORGOT THE FUCKING READ MORE LMFAO

—

Albus York steadily sank into the half-filled tub of one of the ship’s quarters—stripped of his clothes, and left bare to no witness.

Gentle waves of the bathwater rippled against hardened, battle-torn skin. He dementedly mused that if he could go down further, he might finally drown. 

He chuckled at the thought, shifted his position, and got to work. It's been a while since he last had an actual bath—way before he even agreed to this suicide mission of an adventure—with warm soapy water and scented products.

The constant near-death experiences and whatnot had interrupted the trio to get any time for themselves, much less to do any sort of basic hygiene. Since the route Devlin had charted for the ship to follow allowed for ample downtime, the Forgemaster had practically shoved his younger half-brother into the common bathroom and forced him to take a much-needed bath (Of course, not without a snobby comment about how his stench matched his personality perfectly well.)

Albus’ inexperience was made clearer with the stiff, awkward motion of his large, calloused hands as he attempted to wash himself. The unpracticed movement made the unfamiliarity of it all fully realized. How long has it been since he felt this safe? Does he even remember how to take care of himself?

Does someone like him even deserve this luxury?

The warrior submerged himself lower, down until his eyes were right above water level. He was thinking again. It was all that he had been doing for the past hour. If the gods wouldn't allow him to drown, then he hoped that the water would at least cleanse the grime and sin embedded into his flesh.

But he knew that filth clung to his skin like how a believer clings to the idea of repentance. No matter how hard—how desperately—he scrubbed (until pale skin turned into blood red, until rough turned rougher), it was all pointless. He had learned long ago that a bastard's prayers were never left answered. 

The mark on his chest was a bleak reminder of that reality. Damnation was basically his birthright. Albus York was dead the moment he came out of his mother’s womb—dead to his family, dead to society. 

Cursed to hell for being sin itself.

Life had a funny way to remind him—that goodness is something he can be in the presence of but never be a part of it.

"Albus?"

Speak of the devil, his ever-so-naive angel had arrived.

“Albus? Hello?”

Tender, serene, heavenly.

The voice was melodic—like the somber hymns he used to hear in his youth when his mother would take him into the temple and meet with her fellow brothers and sisters. At that time, he always felt drawn to the choir’s performance, despite not being old enough to understand the words (not that he was any more literate in the present). Back then, he was just a kid, blissfully unaware of the blasphemy he had committed for existing. 

He had grown since then—in every aspect of the word.

"Albus! Are you still in there?"

A deep grunt, muffled slosh of water, and the pitter-patter of droplets on the tiled surface were all that Faith Koria had heard from the other side of the metal door before a familiar, gruff voice answered back.

"Calm ya tits, woman. I knew you were eager to see my dick but I never knew you were this eager!" 

The outside replied with an annoyed groan, a sound Albus was all too familiar with, especially when it came from her. That being said, he couldn't fight the smile forming on his lips as he hastily dried himself up with a nearby towel.

"You've been using the bathroom for more than an hour, just what are you doing in there? Some people want to get cleaned up too, you know!”

The metal door swiftly slid open with a sudden 'woosh!', hot steam dissipating before the runaway nun to reveal Albus’ tall stature, half-naked and slightly dripping wet. Faith frantically averted her eyes on instinct, ears immediately burning with embarrassment. It wasn’t like it was her first time seeing him undressed—for gods’ sake, she treated his wounds like this when they first met! But to have him fresh out of a bath with his toned body exposed and his dampened long hair was—Wait! His hair!

"Alright, alright! I’m out, ya happy? I’m decent too so you don’t have to be a prude about it,” The bastard huffed, a little irritated with how his peaceful bath (or at least, as peaceful as it could be) was abruptly cut short.  

“Albus, your hair!”

The man scrunched up his face in confusion.  He gathered one of his dark locks and examined it with an intense focus. “Huh? Looks fine to me. What, you're not expecting me to be all prim and proper now, are you?”

“No, no, no! It's all matted and uneven!” The woman replied with a horrified concern in her voice that was rare for the warrior to hear directed at him.“It’s probably from all those monster attacks. Some of them must’ve managed to get to your hair! How long has it been like this? Does it hurt? Do you even have shampoo?”

“Uh…what’s that?”

“Ugh, never mind. Just—” Before Albus could process what was happening, Faith grabbed his arm with a surprisingly strong grip for a nun. She dragged him down near the bathtub he just got out of. He can even hear the water still slowly swirling down the drain. 

“Faithful, what are you—” 

“Stay right here. You got that, York? I’m just going to get something and I don't want you to move a muscle.”

A deep chuckle resonated within the man’s scarred chest—he always enjoyed it when she got this bossy. He gave her a mock salute and answered with a hearty “Yes, ma’am!”

The sister paladin made a face, letting out a flustered huff before hurrying to wherever she needed to be. So cute.

Albus had put on his clothes at this point while he waited (lest he risked Faithful suffering from a heart attack). A few minutes had passed by when she returned with a rather large pouch that Albus recognized was packed with the rest of her belongings. He deduced it must've been from her childhood with how worn down the embroidery was. Once vibrant floral patterns dulled from years of usage.

“Lean back by the bathtub,” Faith instructed. “I’m going to start detangling your hair. I might cut off some of the more unsalvageable parts too. If anything hurts or if I snagged on it too hard just let me know, okay?”

“Okay,” The man repeated simply, not really knowing how to react to all of the amount of consideration he was receiving. Abrasiveness was what he was more used to responding to, not the care that she unabashedly gave him.

She beamed brightly at his compliance (and no, his heart did not just skip a beat), soft hands found their way to his head and started brushing away the more manageable tangles before using a wide-tooth comb for the bigger ones. Despite the numerous warnings, her fingers were nowhere near to being rough. She was as gentle as a lamb—her slow brushstrokes eventually formed a rhythm that filled in the silence of the room. Albus decided to break the comfortable atmosphere.

“How are you so good with this shit?” He mumbled, voice heavy with drowsiness. Fuck, he felt like he could sleep until his next life. “Never knew sisters of Cindergorn get to be part-time hairdressers too.”

Even with his sluggish state, Albus could almost sense the nun’s eyes rolling above him, brushing out his hair with a slightly more forceful than usual tug.

“I'm the one usually taking care of the children at the temple. I’m used to seeing this kind of stuff whenever they play too hard. Obviously not on this level but you get the gist.” Faith snipped off the last of a particularly challenging knot. 

“I've also been doing my own hair ever since I was a kid, so really, it's like second nature to me at this point,” she followed up, running her fingers through his hair with a satisfied nod.

Now that Albus thought about it, he had seen Faithful braiding herself earlier on their journey when they had just…tastefully borrowed the flagship meant for his father. He remembered swift, practiced hands twisting sections after sections of dark, coiled hair and had mentioned in passing how it was a hairstyle she often did to withstand the Eastern Faithlands' harsher seasons (Fortunately, it also turned out to be great for going-on-a-quest-to-kill-your-priest-brother-and-save-a-child seasons too.)

Faith’s hands suddenly paused. Before the man could ask if something was wrong, she signaled him to stay still while she rummaged through the pouch to get a small bottle. She squeezed a moderate amount of product into her palm and spread it evenly. As she was about to apply the substance to his head, Albus jerked away, quickly stopping her hand with his own as a furrow formed on his thick brows.

“Faithful,” He chuckled. “Please, I’m a warrior. You don’t need to waste your fancy shit on me. My hair’s going to get fucked up again eventually so what’s the point?” 

Faith struggled to wriggle herself out of his grasp. “Wha–Albus, it’s fine!” 

“No, Faithful, I’m serious. It’s just hair. Hell, it’s my hair. Relax.” The man sat up straighter at this point, the water from his long, damp hair trickling down along the scarred tissue of his back but it was the intensity in those familiar brown eyes that made him feel a chill.

“And I told you it’s fine just let me—”

“Why are you making it a big fuckin’ deal? What do you want from me?” 

“What?” Faith’s voice cracked, appalled and confused. “Albus, what are you even talking about? I’m not asking for anything—”

“I’m just a bastard you hired to kill your brother! I was paid to do the dirty work for you, not to be your fucking toy—”

“Albus, wha—Y–You’re not a toy! Why do you—”

“If I’m not then why are you being like this to me? There’s a catch—there’s always a fucking catch. So what the fuck do you want from me?”

The nun managed to finally yank her hand away from his harsh grip and angrily slammed at the smooth surface of the tub.

“I just want you to stop being stubborn for once and let me do this for you!” 

The silence that followed between them felt suffocating.

Faith’s breath hitched, shocked by her outburst. She immediately straightened up her posture only to look down shamefully at the tiled floor. A shaky sigh left her lips, and Albus was doing everything in his power to stop himself from reaching out to her, seeking salvation he knew she shouldn’t give him because he was not sorry that he was like this. He wasn’t afraid to show his filth to the world because it was all he knew to do—all he was taught to do. There’s no excuse, no justification, no escape. She’s everything good and he’s just scum or worse yet—he’s a bastard. 

Because she’s an angel and he’s far worse than the devil.

“This isn't anything all that fancy…just something to keep it healthy and less stressful on your scalp. I just want you to feel okay. So please…” She trailed off. “Let me.”

“It’s…It’s just hair, Faithful. I’ll be okay, I’m a big boy,” Albus joked, but his words were sincere. He almost found the whole thing amusing—having the ever-so-snappy sister paladin fuss over him—if he didn’t get a feel for how much…his comfort seemed to mean a lot to her.

Faith pursed her lips, her gaze still fixed downward. “I just think…you deserve at least one good hair day.”

It's that word again. Deserve. Does she really think that? That he's worthy of all of this?

The man cleared his throat with a curt nod. Hesitantly, the nun's fingers slowly found their way back to the crown of his head, resuming whatever she was supposed to do. Steady, rhythmic brushstrokes filled the quiet once again. 

After what felt like hours of stillness, the bastard dared himself to shift his head and face her timidly—as if he was afraid he could melt under her piercing gaze.

"Thank you, for…for this," Albus grunted. He hadn't only meant for his hair.

Faith graced him with a dimpled smile—the one that made her eyes squint and showed the tiniest bit of the gap between her front teeth. She proceeded to tuck away a stray lock behind his ear, trailing down to hover over his cheek. Albus can practically feel the nervous tremble on her fingers as if she were hesitating on something. It all came to nothing in the end, closing her hands in a fist before withdrawing to her pouch to start cleaning up.

“Anytime, Albus. Besides, with how you always manage to find yourself in trouble,” the sister murmured, her voice playful (it never failed to leave Albus’ mind racing). Her eyes glinted as they locked into his almost like clockwork. “How can I not?”

Albus York sat by the empty bathtub of the ship’s quarters—fully clothed yet he had felt the most bare that he had ever been in front of someone. 

Faith smiled at him again and he swore he could make out the faintest halo crowning her head under the fluorescent bathroom light. ---- a/n: this is probably my most favorite fic that i wrote and i hope you enjoyed! lemme tell u this fic took way to long and got me so stressed for no reason idk ! i was worrying abt how this would happen in the timeline and all the lil details and then !! its a fic!! and im suppose to be having fun!! i am being self-indulgent!! (although i hope was able to characterize them well) again, feedback and comments r highly appreciated!! :DD have a good day/night and thank you for reading!!

[lunajay33]

Brother Trouble❤️‍🩹

Summary: You went out looking for formula with Glenn and Maggie and came across Merle, your boyfriends lost brother and things don’t go well

•Masterlist•

Ive been with the group since the start at the quarry, I first was drawn to Daryl but was always nervous to approach him when Merle was around but once he was gone me and Daryl grew to love each other and have been together ever since the incident at the CDC

“Let’s get Judith a toy, it’ll be good for her to play with something!” I said to Glenn as he went into the store

After we picked up what we needed we loaded it into the truck and we’re about to leave but I still had a basket in my hand

“Well hello, what are you all doing out here” I heard, turning to see Merle with a gun held up to us, making Maggie and Glenn to take out theirs and raise them

“Merle, you’re alive” Glenn stated

“Woah Woah Woah, Glenn and y/n good to see y’all, is Daryl still with ya, is he alive?” He asked as he lowered his gun

“He’s still alive”

“Can you take me to him”

“You stay here and we will tell him” Glenn said with his gun still held up

“Come on just take me to where you are”

“No like I said we will bring him here”

I could see the anger rise on Merle’s face and I knew there was trouble, it happens so fast, he pulled out a gun from his pants and shot, I ducked and when I looked up he hand his makeshift arm knife to Maggie’s throat

“Get in the car now or she dies” Merle said pushing his knife harder against Maggie

I dropped the basket and we all got in the truck and we drove off to god knows where

~~~~~~

We were all in esperante rooms, tied to a chair but I could hear everything, I could hear Glenn get beat to a pulp and Maggie crying then it was my turn when merle came in with the governor

“Now who do we have here?” The governor asked but I didn’t say a word, I wasn’t really one to talk much, maybe that’s why Daryl liked being around me but I knew from the pasted that merle hated it

“She not talk or something?” He asked merle

“Oh she talks, she just a freak that never speaks when spoken to” Merle said as he walked behind me and held his knife to my throat like he did Maggie

“Where is my brother huh?” He asked as he lightly slide the knife across my neck enough to draw blood

I still didn’t break, the prison was our home I couldn’t sell that out

“Untie her” the governor said and Merle was quick to cut the ropes and make me stand

“Now take off your clothes” he said and I was stunned

“No”

“Oh she does speak, you will take off all your clothes or your buddies in the next rooms will be dead by night fall” he said glaring into my soul

I felt sick but I couldn’t risk the lives of my family

I took off all my clothes with shaky hands and covered myself with my hands

“Do what you have to go get her to talk, I’ll be back later and you better have an answer” he said the Merle as he left the room

I looked at merle scared for my life

He was smirking and started to cut me all over my body, leaving blood drip all over my body, the pain was unbearable and he started hitting on me like he did to Glenn, after a while of this torture I was left on the floor feeling like a shell of a person

I still didn’t rat out or home and he left, I sat in the corner naked, bloody and bruised

I heard trouble in the room over and Maggie and Glenn crying then I heard Maggie tell them about the prison

I sighed but understood how hard it was for them

“Y/n! Are you okay?” I heard Maggie yell out

“Im fine” i answered back not wanting to stress them any further

I waited in that room for a while just praying Daryl would come and rescue me and make me feel alright again and that’s when I heard guns, and fighting

The door to my room was being kicked in and that when I saw him, my savior and my love

“Daryl” I sighed feeling relieved

He ran up to me with the others at the door

He looked so mad but his eyes showed hurt, sadness and concern

He took off his flannel and wrapped it around me

“Come on peach, we’re gonna get you home” he said as he lifted me up and supported me by holding my waist and helping me walk out

We followed the others and I tried to keep up even though I felt so weak

Bullets were flying and gun shots were all I heard, axel got hit but the rest of us got out

We got to the truck and I instantly passed out on Daryl’s lap knowing I was safe now

~The next day~

I woke up in mine and Daryl’s cell and tried sitting up but groaned at the pain, I looked down and I was all patched up and dressed in Daryl comfy clothes

“Daryl?” I called out and in a second he was next to the bed

“Hey peach, how’re ya feelin?” He asked as he brushed my hair back, just the feeling of him near me makes me feel better, but I still have that ache inside

“I’m fine”

“Don’t lie to me, how I found ya that’s not fine, what happened?”

“I’m not ready yet” I said looking away feeling guilty, I know I’m evil and sick with Merle but he was the only family Daryl had left and I felt so conflicted

“I’m here when yer ready my peach, now come on let’s get some food in ya” he said picking me up and bring me out to the eating area

~Few days Later~

I got up late still trying to deal with what happened and when I walked out to help Beth with Judith I saw Merle talking with the others

I felt my heart drop and I felt sick again but this time I physically got sick just from the thought of being near him

I ran to a near by bin and threw up, I felt a hand rub my back and I knew it was Daryl

“Ya alright?” He asked

“What is he doing here Daryl?” I asked as my voice quivered

“He left that place I couldn’t leave him out there”

“Y’all seem pretty chummy brother” Merle said from across the room

“Well ya they’ve been together for a long time” Beth stated

“This is yer bitch” he asked shocked

“Watch yer mouth” Daryl groaned glaring at him

“If I knew I wouldn’t ‘ave…..” he trailed off

“What? Wouldn’t ‘ave done what?” Daryl asked standing up

“The governor he….he made me do it”

“You’re lying, he left the room you could’ve just left me” I stated

Daryl looked between me and Merle and it clicked

“YOU DID THIS TO HER?” Daryl yelled

“Dumb bitch put up a fight I had to get answers” that’s when Daryl got up close to him completely vivid

I couldn’t stand being in here anymore, I snuck out the cell block and sat out side

I tried to get the memories out of my head but it just kept playing over in my head

“You know the governor did something similar to me when we were there” I heard next to me and it was Maggie

“I don’t want to talk about it, I just want to forget, I feel so dirty”

“I think you’ll feel better when you get this off your chest and tell Daryl” she says as she gets up and leaves being replaced by Daryl himself

“I wouldn’t have brought him here if I knew, I’m sorry peach, I hate that I wasn’t there earlier to save ya”

“I feel wrong, I feel so dirty and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel better again, what they made me do, what they did to me”

“What did he do peach?”

I sighed realizing I need to tell him

“They made me take off all my clothes, they said if I didn’t they’d kill Glenn and Maggie, then….Merle tortured me, cut me up until I was just blood, beat me until he got too tired, humiliated me and all the others saw me like that when you saved me, I just don’t wanna feel like this anymore” I said crying feeling Daryl pull me close

“I’ll never let anything happen to ya again, I’m s’ sorry, I’ll get rid of him immediately”

“You can’t kick out your brother Daryl, I don’t wanna hurt you by doing that” I said

“He ain’t my brother anymore after doing that to you, to my peach, all I care about is how yer feeling and can’t have that when he’s around, plus I’ll try and kill ‘im if I have to be near him knowing he hurt ya”

“I love you so much Daryl, more than anything” I said looking up at him

“Love ya too, yer my world and nothin’ll ever hurt ya again”

~~~~~~

Thanks for reading everyone lmk what you thought and leave suggestions for more walking dead imagines

[nuggetglitch]

Random doodles I've drawn while I work on some other silky things. I swear im almost done loll- I just haven't had the motivation to do much of anything since I've been focusing on volleyball these past two weeks and stressing about helping my mom with getting stuff ready for school :')

I don't remember why I drew mlp but I did. I think I was with a friend and she suggested I should draw some mlp for her and how we should make hazbin and helluva boss ocs. The owl is a hazbin oc I made. I have made a helluva one yet so i'll just keep that on pending for now.

And you'll never believe it but I drew rose quartz- while watching Steven universe. Crazy!!!! Ikrrr?!?!?! isnt she so pretty despite that being the first time I actually draw her? She's so elegant. Im already on season 5 so im almost done with it. Then, I can research the movie and finally watch Steven universe future ^_^. I wanted to watch Steven universe future but it felt wrong for me to watch that without even watching the series. Like, ive only known about Steven universe because when I was like 9 or 10, basically when the Steven universe movie came out back in 2019, I had cable! And that was one of the movies I would rewatch allllll the time. Aside from being a mega fnaf nerd when I was younger, I was mega obsessed with the Steven universe movie. It was my tmnt before i liked tmnt. I had only watched a handful of random episodes that randomly played on cartoon network from the first series but never got the whole context UNTIL NOW BABY!!

Anyways, I will eventually finish Steven universe, rewatch the movie and sing all the songs for the millionth time, and FINALLY watch Steven universe future. YAYYYYYY

[ofstarsandvibranium]

Unexpectedly Yours: Part 8

Fandom: Ted Lasso (Regency AU)

Pairing: Roy Kent x F!Reader

Summary: Lord Roy Kent still has yet to marry. He hates the notion that marriage is a way to ensure your status in society. You have delayed your debut to society for years because of the same idea. So what happens when two people who hate the idea of marriage are constantly drawn to each other?

A/N: ive been waiting to use this gif...

Series Masterlist

Roy looked around seeing that everyone had stopped dancing, watching as you storm your way out of the ballroom. Eyes were glancing between your retreating and Roy's stunned look. He groans to himself and mumbles, "Fucking hell," promptly stomping his way out of the ballroom to follow you.

"Hey!" he calls out to you but you're ignoring him, "Stop!" he hollers again, following you to the gardens of the estate.

"Fuck," he grunts, picking up the pace and catching up to you, "Will you slow down for a moment?"

You whip around and push him back, "I've had enough of you!" you're seething, "Ever since you arrived, my world had revolved around you but not by choice! I'm tired of people telling me what to do. I'm tired of having this pressure to be with someone who doesn't want me! I'm tired of all of this!"

"Do you love Goodman?" Roy calmly asks.

"What?" you look at him confused.

"Because if you don't, then you shouldn't be with him. You deserve someone who makes you feel like you've been struck by fucking lightning. Someone who you're excited to be the first thing you see when you wake and the last thing before you sleep. You deserve someone who will worship the ground you walk on, but also someone who challenges you. Someone who admires your tenacity and passion. Does Goodman do that?"

You stare at him in silence and so he continues, "You think I don't want you, but I do. God, I want you," he states. He pauses to wait for any kind of reaction but you remain silent, "Ever since I came here, you're all I've thought about. You've consumed my every being. You've brought life back into me...but I don't think I'm a good enough man for you. I don't think I deserve love and I struggle to let people in. But every time I see you with Goodman, I think about how much I would regret not even trying to fight for you."

"I'm sorry I've hurt you and caused you so much distress since arriving to Richmond. That was never my intention. If you want me to fuck off, I'll obey your wishes. But if you care for me just as much as I care for you, I will do anything you ask of me."

You stare at Roy in silence. You're completely stunned by his outburst of a confession, but hearing his love and adoration for you...it stirs something in you.

You immediately grab Roy by the lapel, pulling him to press your lips against his. He's taken but surprise but then you feel his hands cup your face. His lips moving against yours in the heat of the moment causing a fire to burn in your belly. You feel absolutely consumed by him in this kiss until-

"Y/N L/N!" your mother screeches and you immediately pull away, lips swollen and slightly out of breath.

Your mother is followed by your father, Keeley, Jamie, Jeffrey, and Clara. Your father is trying to calm your mother as she bounds towards you in a furry, "What on Earth do you think you two are doing?! Such a scandal!"

Roy steps forward, "Ma'am, I'm sorry-"

"You'll have to marry now!"

Your eyes widen, "Mother-"

"No! There's no choice now. You have to marry Lord Kent because if word gets out that not only you two were unchaperoned but also found in such a compromising position, you'll be ruined! Not to mention the disrespect on Mr. Goodman!" she gestures to Jeffrey and he looks at you with sympathy, but no malice. He gives you a nod and mouths, "It's okay," which already lightens the load on your shoulders.

Roy clenches his jaw, straightens his back and says, "I'll marry her."

You whip your head to Roy and you look at him in surprise. He completely turns to you and grabs your gloved hand, "I meant what I said, Y/N. Truly. If you'll have me, I will do anything you ask of me, anything to make you happy."

You find yourself breathlessly nodding, "I'll have you," you turn to your parents, "We'll marry."

Your mother nods in satisfaction, "Good. We'll be taking our leave then," she immediately grabs you by the wrist and starts dragging you away.

Roy then steps up to your father, "Will you be available tomorrow afternoon to discuss affairs, sir?"

"I will, my Lord."

Roy nods and sees to walk back towards the house leaving behind your father, Keeley, Jamie, Jeffrey, and Clara.

Jamie claps Jeffrey on the shoulder, "Sorry, mate, looks like that courtship isn't happening."

Jeffrey shrugs, "As long as she's happy. However, I thought her and Lord Kent didn't get along."

Clara sighs, "It's complicated, but it seems they've uncomplicated it...finally."

_________________________

You don't listen to your mother as she scolds you throughout the entire ride back home. You stare out of the carriage with a small smile on your lips. The lips that Roy kissed.

Your father, noting the dreamy look on your face, sighs and places a hand on your mother's lap, "Darling, I think that's enough."

"But-"

"I'm not sure why you're upset, honestly. You wanted them to be together, yes?"

Your mother huffs, "Yes, but I didn't want it to happen so scandalously!"

"The only people who found them were us and her friends. I doubt they'll tell anyone."

"But-" your father gives her a pointed look and she drops the subject. She looks back at you, also noting the look on your face and she's no longer upset. You look so...in love. Your mother hopes that Lord Kent will keep his word and do everything to ensure your happiness.

____________________

When you arrive back home, you bid your parents good night and head upstairs. However, instead of going to your room, you head straight to Cece's.

You slowly open the door and peek in, "Cece?" you whisper.

You watch as she rolls in her bed, "Y/N?" she sits up, rubbing at her eyes, "Is something wrong?"

You slip into her room and sit at the edge of her bed, "I have some news that I think you'll like."

That seems to wake her up as she sits up in bed, "What is it?!"

You chuckle at her excitement, "Roy and I will be getting married."

Her eyes widen and jaw drops, "What?! Really?! Tell me everything!"

You giggle, "I will but let me change and I will come back and tell you everything."

She groans, "Y/N! No! Tell me now! I've been waiting for this for months!"

"Fine, fine," you pull your young cousin close and tell her the events of the night. She was squealing and jumping in her bed.

"I knew it! I knew it! I told you he loves you!"

"Ssshhh!!" you pull her back down, "Mother and father will be upset if they knew you're awake!"

"Well, that's your fault for waking me!"

You softly smile at your cousin, "You should go back to sleep now."

"I can't! I'm too excited to talk to Phoebe about this!"

You quietly laugh, "Well try your best to go back to sleep, hm?"

"I'll try," Cece says as she slips back under her covers. You pull them up to her chin and you kiss her head. As you walk back to her door, she calls for you, "Y/N?"

"Hm?"

"I'm glad you and Roy are finally together. Now you live happily ever after."

You nod, "Thank you, Cece. Good night," you exit her room and softly close the door behind you.

You let out a deep breath and head to your room, ready to sleep after such an eventful night.

[bluebittypie]

idk if anyone will read this but honestly, this coming out post is mostly for me. ex-philosopher and youtuber Natalie Wynn (Contrapoints) said in her lesbian coming out video that if she didn’t come out now, she might never and she might never accept herself as a lesbian and that’s why im writing this. putting these feelings into words makes them real and makes me confront them. i’m a transsexual (i think nonbinary people are valid, i just think that sex isn’t binary and unchanging and ive taken steps to change/trans aspects of mine), and until i was almost 21, i lived as a femme gay man. i was raised as a boy and the intersection of my dysphoria, heteronormativity and father inflicted abandonment issues is something im only now starting to disentangle. ever since i was little, i felt like a girl. i didn’t have the words for it but i always was drawn towards femininity and women. and when they first started separating the boys and girls in like pe in 1st grade, there was this profound sense of wrongness in being forced to go with the boys. i had a necessity to not only be with the girls but to be one. in elementary school i had crushes on girls irl and in media but i only had crushes on men in games my dad played and things i watched. dante from devil may cry, leon from resident evil, danny in danny phantom, ben and kevin from ben 10 to name a few. but i didn’t have crushes/attraction on any boys that i knew. that didn’t start until 5th grade when i started experiencing a male puberty. testosterone is one hell of a drug that i am so grateful to be off but it raised my libido like crazy suddenly i was sexually attracted to people and a year later in 6th grade i started being attracted to boys too. growing up with mormon extended family and christians all around me, i was taught that my feelings for men was wrong. but deep down i felt like a girl and i felt that being with another girl would solidify that im actually male, in patriarchy having a woman makes you a man. so to feel feminine and because the church focuses so heavily on it, i focused on my sexual attraction to men. i still had crushes on girls but i felt dysphoric about it an because i wasn’t really a guy, i felt that i was inadequate. so i started thinking that i wanted a romantic relationship with a man. in high school i came out as gay and repressed my feelings for women entirely. i thought that because i had sexual desires for men, i must have romantic desires for them too. at the same time, i would joke about how id be bi if i was a girl and when i saw sapphic love in media, not sex, something in me felt fulfilled. i wanted that. i wanted to love and be loved by a woman as a woman. the idea of being an old woman with my loving wife was heaven, but i thought that i wasn’t allowed to have it, not in this life. but because i felt like womanhood was unattainable, that a man would affirm my femininity and my sexual attraction to men, i think i tricked myself into thinking i wanted to be in a relationship with a man. i don’t think i was really attracted to men, i was attracted to their attention. when i finally started to transition, and pass as a cis woman, i looked back at my life and realized that i had been attracted to women the whole time. i identified as bisexual and heteroromantic to dismiss my feelings for women. but then i went on a date with this girl. she was beautiful and smart and talented. and i realized that i could spend the rest of my life with a woman. the reason i didn’t pursue women was because it made me dysphoric and because the thought of being rejection from a woman hurt so much more than rejection from a man. i currently have a serious boyfriend and he’s making me realize that i don’t want this. men are hot but do i want to spend the rest of my life with one?? did i ever?? i didn’t ever consider a relationship with a woman as a valid option for me but i’m

realizing it’s the only one. my bf is kinda mean and impatient but even is he was gentle and kind, im realizing i don’t want to be with him or any man romantically. i don’t think i have the capacity to love a man romantically and i don’t know if i ever did. i can love men sexually and platonically but when i wake up in the morning, i want to wake up next to my gf/wife. i want to have a common understanding of womanhood that a man, including my trans bf, can’t really have. i want to come home to my gf after a hard day and let me cook and bake my worries away for her. i want to be able to comfort her when she comes home. being domestic and romantic with a man, especially a volatile one, is making me realize that i can’t keep doing this. i might want to hook up with a guy here or there, but i want to give my heart and my body and my self to a woman. being financially dependent makes it hard to leave though 🙃

[coolcattime]

heyy i saw u reblogged the "please ask me abt my ocs" post, so. here is me asking about your ocs! gimme the deets

WARNING THIS IS 8,600 WORDS LONG

So in originally trying to answer this, I ended up just overwhelming myself because I have a lot of OCs and as it turns out trying to write everything about them all at once caused me anxiety and that was incredibly silly for an ask that was meant to, like, bring joy (which it did). So I've decided to just start again and focus on more simple descriptions. Some of these OCs are mine, some of Atlas’ (@theiratlas) and two are Alex's (@gayb0wsr). And I've colour coded them to easily show whose is whose and I've grouped them in a way they're grouped the only story that features all of them at once.

Below the cut is 31 backstories for 31 OCs! They are vaguely sorted - though sorted in a way that they are grouped the same way they are in the only story where all of them appear. So while the groups have titles, the titles don’t matter all that much and were mostly for me to keep track of the groups.

Also here is art of them all! All the art has reference links under the cut and was all either drawn by myself, friends, done in picrews, or commissioned. Basically, these are all images made just for these characters ^-^

To just explain a tiny bit about the world of Libris, The Great Book. It is, as the name does imply, a flat world in the shape of a book. It was originally created as a custom D&D world that now is just kinda a hub world for all the OCs.

Balor Crew

Idric Ba'lor (He/Him) - Tiefling Glamour Bard - Early to mid twenties

Art reference: https://coolcattime.tumblr.com/post/746469835526078464/ive-finally-had-the-brain-space-to-draw-so-ive 

The merchant captain of the Balor, having hand-picked her crew since he took the position.

He was taken in by the previous captain after escaping a compound of religious zealots that were enslaving tieflings. He named himself after the ship.

Was taught his musical skills (violin and singing) by the tieflings looking after him in the camp, but his bardic talents are entirely self-taught.

Incredibly powerful Bard, probably the most powerful Bard on Libris. Beat the headmistress of a Bard College in a violin contest when he was a child (said headmistress now hates him with a burning passion). Has created spells.

Mostly a merchant/con-artist (depending on who you ask) but also is very much an adventurer for hire. But above all else, Idric considers himself a storyteller and prefers to tell the stories of others rather than his own.

Medli Mistwalker Ba’lor (She/Her) - Water Genasi Whispers Bard - Late teens to early twenties

Art reference: https://coolcattime.tumblr.com/post/722939088269901824/a-little-redrawvery-slight-redesign-of-my-oc 

Was raised on the island of Mistwalker within the walls of Mistwalker College as the prodigy of the schools Headmistress Lady Clarissa Mistbreaker.

Was abused and bullied throughout her life which led to her being a pacifist.

Met Idric when they were kids and he tried to con her. Medli ended up hiding under the stall table when teachers came looking for her and Idric lied to them about not seeing her. This situation ended up with Idric beating Clarissa in a violin contest and him gifting Medli the item he had been trying to con her into buying. The two have been friends since and Medli frankly idolised Idric.

Medli ends up running away from Mistwalker when a “test” turns out to be a fight to the death between herself and another student. She's found half-dead by Idric and Anastasia who are thankfully able to heal her.

Now works as Idric’s apprentice and is a lot happier. Ends up changing her last name to Ba'lor due to disliking having a connection to a place that caused her pain.

Knows a lot about magical theory and is doing research to try and bring back lost magic. 

Anastasia Gulp (She/Her) - Merfolk Twilight Cleric - Early twenties

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1414503

The navigator of the Balor.

A lot more comfortable in the water than she is on land. Very skilled deep sea diver and navigator, mostly on instinct.

Very typically doesn't realise she is included in a group unless it is directly specified. 

Will often say that her parents are great adventurers and that’s why they abandoned her. This is not true and she is not very convincing about said fact.

Despite appearances has had a very normal life. Doesn’t know where her cleric powers came from.

Myla Soliel (She/Her) - Simic Paladin - Late twenties to early thirties

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1706331

Hired security aboard the Balor.

Originally a human, but when she was a kid she left to work for Dr Braedan Thaxx - a scientist who had burnt every other bridge the scientific community had to offer attempting apparently impossible research - who fused her with features from other humanoid origins, animals, and monsters to create a superhuman bodyguard.

She worked with Thaxx for her entire adult life until, without warning, his research concluded and he never contacted her again, completely abandoning her.

She ended up working as a mercenary for hire, which led to her getting hired by Clarissa to kidnap Medli. She successfully did this, but was talked out of actually completing the job by Medli. When Idric arrived to find her breaking the legs of the college merchant that had come to collect Medli and hired her as security for the ship. 

Altair Delphine (They/Them) - Aasimar Divination Wizard - Late Teens to Early Twenties

Art references:

https://frolis-maneuver.tumblr.com/commissions

https://ko-fi.com/aurelia_r?action=gallery

A divination wizard that uses tarot cards as a magical focus. They are also quite gifted in regular non-magical divination using the cards. 

Altair was once enrolled in the most prestigious magical school on Libris: The Penattrey Embark Academy. Despite being intelligent and an incredibly natural divinator, formal education led to them being perpetually stressed. They ended up leaving to avoid seeing their exam results and think about their future for another second.

They briefly attended Mistwalker College as a “non-taught specialty student”, where they met Medli. However they left not long after Medli did due to their stress in formal education not having disappeared overnight, or over many nights (or ever), and due to Mistwalker sucking in general. 

They end up staying in a tavern in a small town run by a friendly elderly dwarven couple. They attempted to earn money by doing tarot readings, but didn't actually advertise they were doing this and any curious patrons found Altair’s bedside manner lacking even if their information proved correct. Needless to say, they didn't actually earn much money. 

They assumed they were being sneaky and koy in not paying their tab - the couple was actually just letting them stay for free, going along with Altair’s antics. 

They ended up reuniting with Medli kinda randomly and getting a job as an assistant on the Balor to help on market days (and get roped into helping out on adventures).

They also ended up as the apprentice of the head of a mysterious magic guild known as Atlanta. They did not apply for nor ask for this job, but it pays well and very very little is expected from them so they have accepted the situation. 

Storm's Rest

Katherine Delaney (She/Her) - Half-Elf (Eladrin) Wild Magic Sorcerer - Mid to Late Twenties

Art reference: My current WIP

The adopted daughter of the human noble family of Storm's Rest.

At a young age she was exposed to an extremely high level magic that left her blind and with an overwhelming magical force within her body. Her father found a source of magic water that with a small ritual could be turned into eye drops so she could see, though she needs to apply the eye drops every day.

The massive amount of magic in her left with wild magic surges that occurred no matter what type of magical training she attempted. She ended up honing her powers as a sorcerer to gain some control over this with the help of her mother who is learning this alongside her daughter. 

As part of a family tradition, she goes off to adventure for a while after becoming an adult. This ended up in tragedy as Katherine and her party were captured by a green dragon and its cult. One of Katherine’s friends was eaten, the other lost a leg, and her brother (who came to rescue her) lost an eye. Worse, the dragon and the cult leader both escaped alive.

Katherine ends up with survivor's guilt over the situation, especially as she ended up with no long term injuries. She ends up unable to stand remaining at home and taking off in the middle of the night hoping she can prove herself somehow. 

In practice this looked a lot like hiding in a tavern three towns over until a cute (please read as: weird) mushroom girl, claiming to be her retainer, showed up. 

Rupert Delaney (He/Him) - Human Swarm Ranger - Late Twenties to Early Thirties

Art reference:

https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1706331

https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/582810

The biological heir of the Delaney noble family, and Katherine's older brother. 

Typically seen with a charm of hummingbirds following him which fight with him in combat.

He's stopped adventuring since the dragon incident, deciding to focus on learning to run the family shipping business, rather than risking worsening his injuries. Despite his happy-go-lucky nature and less than stellar academic history, he’s found great success in this.

He has always been incredibly protective of Katherine, and is incredibly worried about her since the dragon incident and her disappearance having been a big part of hiring Leontine as Katherine’s retainer.

Leontine O'Dora (She/Her) - Wood Elf Spore Druid - Definitely Always Twenty-Four Exactly, No More, No Less, 24 mmhmm exactly yes, that’s what that guy said that one time, i think it was a good year ago now. He said I looked twenty four and he wore a cravat so you have to assume he knew his stuff :))) 

Art reference:

https://x.com/Edlinklover?t=GRwLt_wHWVqEj369CDl0zA&s=09

https://www.tumblr.com/gayb0wsr

Leontine woke up in an abandoned mushroom infested estate with no memory of who she was and with a wound in her chest that had been infested with and closed by mushrooms.

The mushrooms spoke to her, greeting her as a friend, and acted as a guide when she realised she wanted to leave wherever she was. 

For a while, she adventured around the general wilderness surrounding the city she had woken up in. She was oddly skilled with a quarterstaff and the mushrooms aided her with necrotic damage and absurd necromantic powers. She was immediately a more than formidable fighter. 

She made enough of a name for herself as a fighter that she was approached about becoming a retainer for the daughter of a local noble family. She went to look into this job, however when she arrived she was given an apology. The daughter had disappeared, and the best detectives in the city currently had no leads. Leontine offered to track her down with the help of the mushrooms, an idea that was not really believed by anyone but the son but the family couldn't exactly turn down help. 

Leontine found Katherine a few towns over without taking a singular wrong turn. Though Katherine was not exactly hiding, she definitely did not expect to be found. She definitely was not ready to return home. Leontine decided that this was fine as her job was to be her retainer so as long as she stayed with Katherine, she was doing her job. She did however persuade Katherine to send her family updates to let them know she was safe. The two have been travelling together since and have been dating since shortly after the arrangement began.

Marshanne “Marsh”  Springharrow (She/Her & He/Him) - Hagkin Warlock - Late Teens

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1564386

The created child to a powerful yet closed coven - designed to the most powerful hag there ever was. The coven began “training” her at a very young age in advanced polyphormic magic, giving her nearby towns folk to “play with” (traumatise). 

As Marshanne grows a little older and more of a problem to the local populus, he becomes a folkloric type monster to the nearby town, which very much makes her kinda sad. 

A renowned magic school then approaches the coven with the proposal of using and educating Marsh in exchange for studying his powers. The coven agrees but makes it very clear that they will come back to retrieve her as soon as she begins her transformation into a full hag and that even the school will not be powerful enough to stop her once it begins. 

Marshanne, upon waking up in the school, is told that he is being given a choice: accept the pact with the school’s patron to supercharge her powers, be given top tier support and care from the staff all while allowing her to do good in the school's name before being killed kindly when her transformation begins or to be horrifically slaughtered in front of the student body as an invading monster.

Marshanne accepts this, desperately wanting to be a hero and the school reserves the right to take that “kindness” whenever they see fit. After a year or so of this dynamic Marsh is sent on placement to support / learn under Rupert Delaney as he rebegins adventuring after an unknown hiatus. Rupert does not believe in the school’s binary regarding Marsh’s life, though will figure those details out later.

Rupert is also the person to give Marshanne, his usual nickname, Marsh.  

The Cult Busters

Anshide Munroe (She/Her) - Drow Twilight Cleric - Forties (mid three hundreds)

Art reference: https://neuroticdoodle.tumblr.com/

Born in a particularly religious drow city, Anshide grew up with a number of clear rules. The absolute clearest being that no one was allowed to leave and that there was only one acceptable deity to follow. When she was approaching adulthood, she found an abandoned book on a different deity, one of the star deities of Libris.

Anshide became infatuated by what she read, and secretly began to pray to this new goddess. When her secret was discovered, she was arrested and ultimately exiled from the city. From there she left the tunnels under the World Mountains to the surface of Libris where she saw the stars for the first time and was amazed.

She was blessed by the goddess she was exiled for as a cleric and ended up working for a number of years as a mercenary. During this work she met the man who would become her husband - Himo.

The two settled down and ended up having a child - Kaya - before her past ended up returning. An inquisition from her birth city, tracking down those they had previously exiled to be made an example of to help cement the rule of a new priestess. 

Realising the risk they posed to her family, she found a place for them to hide while she took on more mercenary work to keep herself on the move with armed company. And it worked well enough, but it was not a real solution. 

After far too long of having to build her strength, Anshide returned to the city where she was raised and found the priestess. With power and experience behind her, Anshide gave a very clear ultimatum: stop with the crusade on the exiles or she would burn the priestess and the church to dust with starlight. 

What precisely happened, Anshide kept to herself, but she returned to her family. Rather she returned to where they should've been, that was now a house ransacked, walls and floors covered in symbols and runes that she didn't recognise. In the centre of it all was her husband's severed hand.

She set off to find her family, ready to track down every cult in Libris if need be. 

Rhell O'Hara (she/her & zu/zuff) - Human Zombie Fighter - Late Teens to Very Early Twenties

Art reference: 

https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1342558

https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1419391

Rhell’s mom raised her, trying to avoid exposing Rhell to her real job, a back alley doctor for a mob who’s dealings focused on anthropomancy, information dealings, blackmail, and general assorted mafioso nonsense.  

As Rhell got older and their relationship grew more strained, Rhell learnt to vent this anger physically growing to love sport and develop more into a regular person. Unfortunately this is also when Rhell’s mum’s role within the mob grew and she began to rely on Rhell’s help to do so. 

Although a physically imposing presence, Rhell was almost exclusively given runner jobs and normal tasks that could be a part of any other assistant’s life, buying odd things with name’s zu’s never heard of, carrying “carpets” to the edge of town, cleaning apartments at half past four in the morning - the usual. 

At some point in this, Rhell completes a drop off in an abandoned quarry, though this turns out to be a sting operation and in running through the quarry, Rhell steps upon loose stone and over fifty feet to her death. 

When her body is found, her mum is able to use her sway to get ahold of the corpse, cover up the fact the fall ever happened and bring Rhell back, though due to the substantial damage to the vessel, this took more than what would usually be possible. 

However the mother was able to do it though, Rhell came back, now physically unable to die ever again, simply awakening again and again but with an incredible hunger to serve others and more than a few stitching scars. Though it comes with little in the way of magic or impressive feats, Rhell is yet to find something zu couldn’t shake off in an hour or so plus her body has became the perfect vessel for divination, allowing her to gain insight into the future whenever she is harmed as blurry as those insights may be. 

Rhell continues working for her mother in a similar capacity. 

Libra Linustep (She/Her) - Tiefling Star Druid - Early to mid twenties

(Her name is pronounced Lib-ra, not Le-bra. She's named for the world of Libris, not the starsign ^-^)

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1564386

Born into a cult, Libra has always been told that the work they're doing is going to help all of Libris. A collection of divinators, they were going to read the stats to reunite the twelve star gods holy relics and bring unity to Libris.

Libra was one of those in the community blessed by the stars, she could see into the future and into the unknown. Her talents were only natural, her brother their current leader had such visions too. Libra followed her to guide herself to people or objects that can help their community, but she's sure that one day her visions will lead them to the holy relics they're looking for.

VI of Swords (any/all) - Slime Girl Arcane Trickster Rogue - less than a year of sentience, over 800,000 without 

Art reference: https://www.instagram.com/sug4rmush/?hl=en

Once VI was nothing more than a dungeon slime. Very deadly, completely mindless, acting as corpse/general adventurer cleanup for a lich. When said lich ended up evolving to godhood, the magic left behind in the dungeon went into VI and she became a sentient slime (still extremely dangerous and occasional corpse eater).

Not quite knowing what to do with himself, VI found a tarot card on the ground with a figure on it that looked an awful lot like them. Thus they named themself “VI of Swords”.

For a while she hung about on the surface of Libris acting as a con artist giving tarot readings using cold readings and performance rather than divination. Then, as fate would have it, he started to get actual visions of the future. 

A little panicked, they returned to the dungeon they were from only to be greeted by a newly formed cult. The Cult tried to fight them, a lot of its members got killed, and barely managed to trap VI in the central chamber which now has more locks, traps, and enchantments surrounding it than the most secure vault in the land. VI is now snuck waiting for someone to let her out so she can figure out what exactly these dreams are about. 

VI’s main talents are a) being terrifying and psychological attacks in combat and b) transformation into different (always slimy) forms, mostly a dog.

Orla Waspchild (She/her) - Human Pre-Eldritch Warlock - Literally like nine

Summer Camp

Art reference:

My unposted art

https://www.tumblr.com/gayb0wsr

https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1706331

A young child with two parents who are controversial high ranking naval officers. She has a very black and white view of mortality due to this upbringing. 

She was being raised typically on ships stationed around blockages. On one such blockage around an island, she ended up eavesdropping on her parents and overhearing them planning something terrible.

In attempting to escape the ship, she lept overboard determined to swim to shore. Quickly learning exactly what a current was, she began screaming for help, when none came, she instead screamed to the waters themselves, and boy did they answer. And so when Orla should've gone under and drowned, she instead turned into lightning striking the water over and over until she reached a safe store.

Said safe shore happened to be at an adventure camp for kids, where the counsellor coming to see the commotion assumed Orla was a kid that simply skipped checking in to head straight for a swim. She got a mild telling off about swimming without telling anyone and a safe place to stay.

After more than one reckless and impulsive decision, Orla quickly realised that the whole surviving death thing wasn't a one time thing and in fact now whenever she is in danger, something happens and Orla doesn't. She doesn't know why this is, but decides it means she is a hero and the adventure camp is as good a place as any to stay while she figures out how to do that. 

Flaire Sandvik-Darling (They/Them) - Half-Elf (Sea) Lifeguard - Late teens / early twenties 

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/170832

(Flaire is actually blue with light fish features)

The lifeguard at Libris’ best adventure fun camp for junior adventurers, having felt most at home near the water. Flaire is an incredibly confident swimmer and calming presence for many of their friends, despite not always seeming it.

Flaire grew up taking trips to the adventure camp, with stretching days of fun that made adventuring seen like a field trip rather than a dangerous occupation. Flaire would spend their days swimming or exploring the woods with their cousin that never quite seemed to have the magical effect on them that they had on everyone else. 

During their teen years, Flaire got lifeguard training and got a job as a counsellor at the camp. 

As a young adult, Flaire was enrolled in a prestigious magic school. This was when they learnt a rare quirk they had. Whenever Flaire looked at magic, it stopped. No one could explain the ability, though a good number of professors did discuss theories a bit too loud, but Flaire was very much stuck with it. They attempted to persist at school, but frankly anti-magic vision at a magic school was never going to work.

They ended up having what amounted to a year long breakdown before leaving during exam season to go back to their lifeguard position at the camp. Flaire had developed incredibly complex feelings about having to leave school and so chose to keep this news secret until they decided what exactly those feelings were, hoping to see their old friends, relax a little and return to their old life before things felt too real again. However, said friends no-showed the reunion being too busy with jobs, partners, and parties and Flaire was left in their little clubhouse alone, having just put up a little banner :((

With camp starting the next day, Flaire did what they could - smashed up the clubhouse and awaited the children’s arrival confident that at least things would be normal with their cousin, a new counsellor and someone they had been really close with prior to school. Even if they hadn’t really spoken in nearly a year things would go back to their usual rhythm quickly, right? … 

Flaire, batting 0 for 2 at this point, is more than a little surprised that their cousin seems to have gained an incredibly abrasive personality since the last time they met and more than a touch of hostility to them in particular. 

Sparrow Sandvik (She/her) - Half-Elf (Wood) Sorcerer/Cleric - Late teens to early twenties

Art reference:

https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/170832

https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1473879

The rope keeper at the adventure camp.

Flaire's cousin on their non-elven side.

Much like Flaire, she grew up with trips to the adventure camp. She's always found a connection with the magical woods that the camp hosts. She never got lost in them like the other kids, they seemed to like her, and Sparrow found them to be her special place where she could retreat when needed.

When she was a kid, she always idolised Flaire, seeing them as a super hero of sorts. This dulled over time as Flaire was around less and less and eventually disappeared for a full year.

Sparrow, during her turn to adulthood, had been dating a religious girl and ended up attending a religious college focused on training this with an interest in becoming clerics or paladins. Against the odds, Sparrow was blessed by one of the Gods and became a cleric. When she told her girlfriend, expecting her to be happy she instead got dumped. 

Sparrow returned to the adventure camp and took a job as the rope keeper. She was one of the only people who could reliably travel through the woods so it seemed like a perfect fit.

She is not over the breakup.

Cassidy Reeves (He/Him) - Elf Bard - Mid twenties

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1349935

The song leader of the adventure camp.

To be honest, Cassidy is not that developed in Libris yet. He was originally from Liminal Horror where he was a very cool country musician that managed to survive flicking a cigarette butt onto a giant ratking zombie (barely, BARELY, but he did survive).

Mercenaries

Isaiah (He/Him) - Tiefling Wild Magic Barbarian - Late twenties to early thirties

Art reference: https://www.tumblr.com/gayb0wsr

Isaiah was originally raised in a compound of religious zealots that were enslaving tieflings that ended up being destroyed by a mercenary guild run by a human named Noah.

Noah adopted Isaiah and raised and trained him to fight. He is now the second in command of the guild.

At some point, Isaiah managed to find the entrance to Libris’ plane of magic, The Lining, which ended with Isaiah getting impaled through the chest by a massive crystal. How exactly he survived this, no one is entirely sure but now Isaiah has a crystal in his chest and the ability to unleash devastating magical effects on the battlefield.

Darien Morosi (He/Him) - Human Rogue/Fighter - Early to Mid Twenties

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1473879

Darien has at one point been living a perfectly ordinary life in a perfect ordinary town. He'd been a law student and would've become a pretty ordinary small town lawyer. Instead the apocalypse hit. Seemingly every natural disaster hit at once. If that wasn't bad enough, zombies whose bites spread their form like a disease began to appear.

This baffling turn of events broke any sense of reality Darien had, he locked himself in a library half as a safezone but mostly to research everything he could on surviving, disease, zombies, infection transmission, biology, and anything else to the much neglect of his physical form.  

When he finally left the library he had just enough survival skills that alongside some new friends he managed to make a safe haven in what was once a spire temple in the centre of the city. It quickly went from feeling like a safe haven to a prison as one man, Logan, was determined to fill the leadership void he was so adamant was there. He tried over and over to take charge, to the point where suddenly facing every natural disaster possible and possibly turning into an undead husk doesn't seem so bad.

He's caught in an attempt to escape with one of the survivors that started this haven leading to her being badly injured. Darien is blamed (and blames himself) for this, so he is given the option to either stay and work with Logan having learnt his lesson or be exiled without supplies. He chooses to leave. He walks for weeks, barely surviving by clinging on through sheer spite.

He just kept walking. Until, as suddenly as the apocalypse hit, Darien found himself in a mercenary camp. He looked around confused before promptly passing out from exhaustion and malnutrition. He ends up joining the mercenary guild once he's back to health.

He ends up learning that the town is literally in a pocket dimension now cut off from the rest of Libris.

Marcoh “Roe” Daava (He/Him) - Human Warlock / Barbarian - Mid to Late Twenties

(Daava is pronounced Da[R]-va)

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1414503

Roe made a deal with the Divine Fragment of Hands and got roped into a cult formed by them. With Roe having been the one to bring the cult together.

Roe is an incredibly well spoken man having had elocution lessons at a young age and holds incredibly composed demeanour. For those that have seen it, however, would note Roe has an incredible puissance and love of inflicting damage.  

That said, Roe grew up dirt poor and the very definition of a street rat, openly stealing from stores, getting in random fights with other teens, and shouting matches with strangers.

One such fight, got infinitely more complex when Roe was shot in the side of the head. Said shot being in response to Roe having clawed out the eye of what he assumed was just Some Mouthy Fuck. Turned out said Fuck was in fact an incredibly well protected mobster.

Luckily said shot was not lethal, unluckily however Roe’s body was taken in by the gang so “proper revenge” could be had, afterall being humiliated by a child in combat is a pretty bad look for any respected highwayman. 

The back alley doctor tasked with keeping Roe alive took pity on him, claiming Roe had died suddenly. But when questioned, the doctor was forced to impale Roe in the chest with a scalpel. This is where the fragment of hands made its deal, using its many hands to cover Roe’s mouth and ensure the scalpel bent just enough to miss anything vital. In return Roe gained the horrifying ability to touch at a long distance and use a mass of hands for grabbing, killing, stealing and, occasionally mixing drinks.  

Elaina Gauis (She/Her) - Human Warlock - Late twenties to early thirties

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1414503

Elaina made a deal with the Divine Fragment of Mirrors and got forced into a cult formed by them. She's a lot less chill about this than Roe.

Originally a career criminal, Elaina met the fragment during a heist. She was offered a portion of the fragments power which she impulsively agreed to, not realising the cost would be her sight. 

Panicked at her sudden blindness and realising the guards were on their way, Elaina ended up burning the top portion of her face, making herself look like a victim of those that owned the house she had been robbing. This worked and she avoided arrest.

Is incredibly pissed off about being forced onto the cult believing that she has already paid more than a high enough price for her powers. The divine fragment disagrees, happily pointing to her contract of servitude. 

She is still working in the criminal underworld, though now as a dealbroker more often than doing heists herself. However, those who see her as a weak target quickly meet their match as Elaina's quick thinking and intelligence hasn't dulled, and her new power over mirrors and reflections leads to nasty surprises for those fighting her.

Libi's Ship

Rhys Mourningdove (He/Him) - Half-Elf Grave Cleric - Mid Sixties (Early 40’s appearance)

Art reference: https://twitter.com/nooskadraws

Rhys is the best doctor on Libris. This is just a fact - one that he's frankly egotistical about but is true nonetheless. 

Notably, he got this title before he became a cleric, using non-magical methods. He had been asked about this and even offered blessing by the Gods as a way to help more people, but he always refused. He didn't need the power of the Gods to help people. 

The Gods were not best pleased with this answer and set Rhys a test. Rhys wasn't actually told about this test, he just found his wife getting ill without explanation. Ill with a sickness that he could not cure.

As he realised there was nothing he could do, he prayed to the gods for any way to help her but received no help and instead instructions to just wait, which Rhys ignored, continuing to try more and more outlandish methods.

Eventually a divine gave him a solution. They gave him a potion. Though confused why now, Rhys didn’t have much time. 

Giving the potion to his wife did cure her sickness. It also turned her into a lich and hasn't been seen since. The specific trickster god that answered Rhys was very amused.

The god that set the initial test appeared to Rhys, frankly annoyed that he had turned what was meant to be a test of patience and faith into unleashing a powerful undead creature onto Libris. Rhys blames them for this but finally agrees to receive cleric powers though he still actively avoids using them during his work as a doctor, mostly to prove a point.

Libitina Puch (She/Her) - Winter Eladrin Undying Warlock/Assassin Rogue - Unaging early 40s (early three hundreds)

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1706331

Libitina was born as the only child of an elven noble family and knew one day that she would inherit the house and, so long as she could keep public favour, would rule the city by herself. At least, that was her belief as she studied both law and economics for running the city, etiquette and customs for dealing with nobles, and poisons and blades for dealing with threats.

Her plans of a solo rule were apparently not taken seriously by her parents who arranged a marriage for her with another elven noble who was pleasant enough, but Libi had never really had any interest in men and quickly grew frustrated with the courting process.

Getting more and more annoyed at her life plans being ruined, she began to go out more into the vast wilderness surrounding the city. A place where legend had it there was hidden a crossing point to the realm of the fae. Libi mostly used the place to gather natural poisons. But one day when out, she met the woman that would change her life. An archfey of the Undying Court.

The fey was the most beautiful person she had ever seen and she addressed them as one would a noble ruler. The two did an interesting dance that night, one that most would call flirting but both participants were too pretentious to call it anything so simple. Libi left the encounter with a charm, some strange new powers, and the promise for more if did favours for the Undying Court.

Of course, she still needed to figure out the mess of being engaged. But that was an easy enough problem to solve. All it took was a bottle of wine, a gift from her parents to herself, a single glass and he was gone. Poisoned. The forged documents she had left in her parent's study detailing the purchase of poison and plans to kill her got them out of the way as well.

Of course, her involvement is just rumours, the official judgement by the high court of The Elmmyu’rra States that her parents had tried to kill her and just happened to kill whatever his name was first and thus were sentenced to execution. Libi was just oh so sad about this, she couldn't possibly think about getting engaged again for at least a couple of centuries.

She's proven herself to be a surprisingly good ruler given her tendencies to allegedly assassinate nobles and do the binding of the fey in exchange for immortality. After all, she did her work to get to this position, she was going to put effort in now she actually has what she wanted. It's those living outside her city that need to be worried. 

Piper Re'leshi (She/Her) - Drow Dream Druid - Child to early teens (Between 50 and 100).

Art reference: https://coolcattime.tumblr.com/post/624895502460338176/i-found-a-picture-that-i-realised-that-i-never

Piper has always been told by her parents that she is the prodigal princess that will lead their family back into the ruling class of the underdark and while it's been since she's seen them, she still believes that with all her heart.

A drow with stark white skin and only a few dark patches, being born onto the surface of Libris was far more inconvenient for her than most as even brief sun exposure can leave her burnt and in pain. Eventually this became too much for her parents to deal with and, in what was meant to be a brief visit with her uncle, they left her with him with no intention of returning.

Piper had always admired her uncle. He was an arachnologist - which she thought was very important as spiders were very important - and his house is connected to old smuggler's tunnels which connect to caves - places that Piper can explore without fear of the sun. She misses her parents, she wishes she knew when they were getting back, but in the meantime she enjoys exploring the tunnels and learning from her uncle. Plus her uncle lets her have a pet! Her very best friend, Mr Dog the goliath birdeater spider.

One day when exploring the tunnels, Piper runs into another elf. A wood elf boy around her age. He's carrying a wooden sword and seems as surprised to find Piper as she is to find him. She asks what he's doing and he explains that he's looking for the tunnel monster. Piper has never heard of the tunnel monster but happily agrees to look with him when he gives her his spare sword.

They become good friends as she helps guide him around the tunnels and he tells her about the wilderness around the city that has a crossing point to the realm of the fey. He's in training with a druid with a circle that uses the power of this point for their magic. Finding the tunnel monster is a secret mission from them so he can become a fully fledged member. He invites Piper to meet them and even though she wants to, she explains her issues with the sun so he decides that, until they can figure out a way to stop the sun from hurting Piper, he'll just teach her druid stuff.

All in all, Piper's life is going great until one night her uncle pulls her out of bed completely panicked and tells her they need to leave. She's confused as he pulls her through the house down towards the tunnels, until she sees them breaking down the door. People in shiny metal armour with giant weapons. Piper grabs Mr Dog and her sword and tries her best to lead her uncle through the tunnels. But she's scared and a kid, and her uncle isn't an adventurer. The scary people catch up. They keep saying things about them being evil and a dungeon and Piper doesn't understand. She tries to defend them with magic and her sword but it doesn't work very well. 

A saviour comes in the form of a woman in a ballgown who appears out of mist and seems quite annoyed at the armoured men being in her city. Piper isn't quite sure what happened to them, but she and her uncle don't need to worry about them anymore. Lady Libitina was very nice and gave Piper a charm that let her go out in the sun without it hurting her skin (it still hurts her eyes, but she likes exploring nevertheless) and she got to meet her friend's druid circle and start really learning magic. Plus her friend apparently found the tunnel monster (neither her nor her friend know when, but the Druid circle leader said he did) so all's well that ends well.

Sigourney Romero (She/Her) - Human Enchantment Wizard/Storyteller Warlock - Late twenties to early thirties

Art reference: <https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1342558>

Sigourney is a playwright. She and her brother used to travel through the towns and cities of Libris putting on plays that told the stories of the Gods. She would write the plays and use her magic to create living puppets to act as creatures and monsters. Her brother, Leigh, was an actor, able to portray gods as if he actually was one. The rest of the actors would be hired locally and their plays were seen as important work as in Libris if the Gods are not remembered, they stop being gods, so spreading their word and stories was necessary. 

One fateful night in the climax of a performance everyone in the theatre - cast, crew, audience, everyone - blacked out. It was as if times skipped forward by ten minutes. One moment Leigh and his co-star, the son of a local noble, were acting out a climactic scene the next, Leigh was standing over the corpse of the other actor covered in blood. Chaos erupted.

Leigh was arrested. Sigourney's head ached trying to figure out what had happened. He had to have killed him, there was no one else who could've and he had been covered in blood. But her brother didn't have the powers to make everyone forget ten minutes and if he did he was at least smart enough to make them forget more time so he wasn't so obviously the criminal. But they didn't have enemies, anyone who would want to frame them, except for the Gods themselves. Obviously no one believed her on this idea. Leigh was found guilty and sentenced to life in the gladiatorial arena.

Knowing she didn't have the power or money to do anything about his fate, Sigourney left. Always saying she didn't care, that he was a killer, why would she care, but always searching for anything that could give her any sort of chance to help him. She kept travelling, continuing her shows as puppet only affairs now just as likely to tell the story of the Gods inflicting terror on some poor mortal than to tell their origins or myths. And during her travels, she heard of someone, possibly something, that could help her.

She travelled across two continents to find the place, hiring a mercenary to make sure she had protection as she left the well travelled roads. It took months, but she finally reached the charred library in the middle of a long since abandoned town. In the centre of the building, to an audience of seemingly no one but herself and a hired thug, she began to tell the origin story of Libris. Of the powerful entities that had created The Great Book to tell stories only for the people of the world to feel terrorised and create gods to seal away their creators. Of how, while they mostly died or disappeared, a remnant powerful entities does still exist.

The story is interrupted with the mercenary kicking over the puppets and pointing his sword at Sigourney's throat. Fed up with what seems to be madness, he demanded that she shut up, pay him everything she had, or he'd kill her and take it any way. Before she could answer, a new voice echoed through the library lecturing that it was awfully rude to interrupt a story before it's concluded. The mercenary's eyes widened and he suddenly turned into a book that was picked up and inspected by the new presence in the room. A being made of paper and cloth and ink, a combination of the reminding energy of the creators of Libris. Before Sigourney was The Storyteller.

Impressed by the story, they questioned what precisely Sigourney wanted and she said she wanted a patron. She knew that they still touched the world of Libris, occasionally touching a person's life to make it more interesting, and she wanted to be granted powers that could let her fight back against the Gods. The Storyteller agreed, on one condition: Sigourney needed to tell her own story, the truthful story that she had been avoiding for so long. Reluctant but desperate, Sigourney told the story of herself and her brother and that terrible moment.

Sigourney was granted the powers of story, and was given a book that she could use both to communicate with her patron. She could also write in it to make things happen. They had to be interesting, had to make sense and not create plot holes, but so long as she could write them Sigourney now had the power to use stories to influence the world of Libris. And Sigourney had quite a few stories she wanted to tell.

Mind control Crew

Wyme Fletcher (He/Him) - Human Aberrant Mind Sorcerer - early to mid twenties

Art reference: https://www.tumblr.com/netoey/188189654012?source=share

Wyme grew up in an orphanage and lived quite a normal, if a social life of most people in the small town he was born in. When he was 18, like most of the rest of the people who grew up here, he left to see what else was out there. 

Fortunately for the narrative, that was a town that had just been eradicated by an Aboleth. Meaning as Wyme entered its population had just became one. Deciding to stay, steering others away, and just learn to avoid the limits of the aboleth’s mind control, Wyme found a new motivation in his hatred for that fish but also extreme paranoia.  

His proximity to the aboleth awarded a horrible and wet form of psionic power, similar to that of the aboleth itself, plus some physical transformations like a long tail and third eye.  

Amanda “Am-Mi” Miriam (She/Her) - Human Mastermind Rogue - Early to mid twenties

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1342558

The daughter of a prolific (if corrupt) prosecutor who wants to follow in her father's footsteps.

Lives in a city with a famously harsh court system where simply lying in court can result in the destruction of one's soul. Of course this can be avoided if you know the right methods for dishonesty, something Am-Mi's father is quite happy to share with his daughter.

Am-Mi cares little if the people she's prosecuting are actually guilty, she just wanted to be the smartest person in the courtroom. If people were smart they wouldn't have gotten arrested. After all, she's gotten away with murder so if anyone manages to get themself arrested, they deserve everything she can throw at them. 

Island

Tabitha Dissimulo (She/Her) - Tiefling Illusion Wizard - Early twenties

(Dissimulo is not trans, just resentful of the name “TaBiThA”)

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1564386

The daughter of two magic school professors.

Dissimulo was born named simply “Tabitha” and told she could have a last name when she graduated from a magic college with honours. She got annoyed at this idea quickly and started going by the virtue name of Dissimulo meaning she wouldn’t even need a last name.

She has enrolled in the study of Illusion magic, which she does have some interest in, but she's far more interested in linguistics and translation. She currently speaks and can read seven languages. She's only attending the university due to the presence of an apparently untranslated tome that she wants to decode. 

She also ended up as the apprentice of the head of a mysterious magic guild known as Atlanta. She did not apply for nor ask for this job, but it pays well and very very little is expected from her so she has accepted the situation. 

Lance De La'Fluer (He/Him) - Human Monk - Early twenties

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1706331

A professional fighter in the dwarven fight pits where he plays an elf - these fight pits are a travelling event of flamboyant faux-violence. He’s also Dissimulo's college housemate.

He’s also been recruited by Atlanta, though less scouted and more that Dissi brings him to work with her and no one’s stopped her.

To be honest, Lance doesn't have a backstory. He was invented as the Ultimate Professional Wrestler for a Danganronpa AU and hasn't devolved much backstory wise but I love him and he's the best. 

He has a sister though :))) (we think)

Villains

Taurus Linustep (He/Him) - Aasimar Cult Leader - Early to mid thirties

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1706331 (This art is of a human version of Taurus - it was for an AU and I've just not gotten around to drawing his actual form)

Taurus was born into a cult looking like the miracle child they had been looking for. An aasimar with halos surrounding most of his features, he was from a young age marked as the next leader of the cult and taught their true goals and ambitions and his words were followed like prophecies. 

Unlike his younger sister, Taurus didn't have any real powers of divination and instead is faking it to lead the cult in the direction he wants and to make sure he maintains power.

He wants to gather the relics of the star deities to reconstruct a broken superweapon and use it to take over Libris and the stars beyond.

Logan Charles (He/Him) - Human Paladin - Late Twenties

Art reference: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1706331

Darien's ex-friend, from Logan’s POV, Logan took a very different view to the end of the world, finding a desperate need to be in control.

He eventually ended up in charge during the apocalypse due to his Paladin training letting him cure injury and disease and the zombies’ surprise weakness to fire. Leading to the rift that formed between him, Darien and their other friend who helped start the haven in the first place that would lead to Darien leaving and the friend being badly hurt. 

Furious and feeling betrayed by Darien abandonment, the tower is now a literal prison for his friends to make sure none of them can leave or disobey him. Turning him from hapless leader to fullbore dictator overnight. He’s grown to love this power.

Kinda sorta planning to break the bubble dimension and unleash the apocalypse on the rest of Libris so he can further his dictatorship.

[moxielynx]

So as I know little to nothing about Epic The Musical(only listening to snippets of like, 4 to 5 songs-) I really wanna know more about it and the AU you made with it and Tetrax-

Oh my god it’s happening it’s happening it’s finally happening

everything is under the keep reading cause this is going to be a LOOONNG post

OKOK SO basically the epic au follows the musical almost exactly, story wise, with some kinda major changes

I wrote about it all on my priv twitter then transferred everything over to a txt document so excuse the fact that it’s formatted as a twitter thread cause it literally came from one!!!!

Also I made a couple of changes ever since the Circes Saga was released and there will continue to be changes until the musical is fully completed so I will list all the changes after this

SO CHANGES!!!!!!

1. Ares has a name now, it’s Orion!!

2. I’ve decided that all the gods are just gonna be named after the actual gods they’re supposed to represent, I can’t be bothered to come up with a bunch of new names for them

3. In the "Circes Saga" part Circes, instead of threatening tetrax to never return she helps him get to the underworld, having a new respect for him cause not only was he able to resist her power but also he tries to show as much respect to her as possible by kneeling and begging for his crew to be set free instead of resorting to trying to kill her

4. Tetrax meets Clockwork directly instead of having a dream with him in it since Circes helps him go to the underworld

HERE ARE SOME OF THE DESIGNS!!! The first 3 are Aeolus, Circes and Hermes and the other one is just concepts for the others, the designs are all subject to change

ive also started an animatic for one of the god games songs!!!! its still only a ""storyboard"" so stuff is messy+needs to be adjusted/added but heres what it looks like atm!!! i used this animatic to practice drawing azmuth and orion since i hadnt drawn them at all prior to making this, i hope that i can finish this by making a cleaned up version

i hope i can make animatics on at least "The Horse and the Infant", "Just a Man", and "Done For" in the future

i genuinely dont think ive ever put this much time, thought and effort into an au, tetrax makes me so happy and these songs makes me so happy too, tysm for asking about the au i love love loooovvvee talking about it

playlist of all released songs !!!!! playlist of all the unreleased/unfinished songs!!! (that i talk about here in this post, theres a BUNCH of other unfinished songs yall should check out as well)

extra art of it :3

[pansy-picnics]

ugh if there’s one thing this world needs is more Cass and Eugene interaction, like I don’t just mean bickering and the sort. Like actually being there for one another when they’re upset and helping each other out.

I’ve literally found about 2 fanarts where it’s just them and they’re not getting at each other! I still think that they would bicker but it would actually be way less intense and spite-fuelled after the series and they’d find some common ground, especially since they are the only ones (beside Pascal ofc) who know what it’s like to have died and come back to life, I can’t imagine how relieved Eugene would be to get to talk to someone about it and have them actually understand.

I hc anyway that after Cass came back she was like super out of it, and Eugene knew exactly how she felt and could help her, I think Cass would also be relieved that someone else knew what it was like and could sympathise with her.

I think though one of my absolute favourite hcs I’ve seen for them is that after Cass comes back Eugene defo sorts out Cass’ haircare routine and looks after her hair for her, cause he more than likely has wavy/curly hair too (but just straightens it most of the time). And although Cass is like super reluctant to let him help at first, she eventually gives in and it’s like the best her hair has been in forever so she just lets him do it regularly from then on and it’s just their thing. Also it gives Cass a chance to open up as well (no eye contact, relaxed and something to distract her if it gets too bad) which she definitely needs especially straight after coming back to the castle post ziti.

But yeah I neeeed more of these idiots interacting cause they literally have my heart istg (and also the show did nothing for them really post s1)

Hah realised I’ve just gone on a rant but like it 2am and I’m sleep deprived, sorry! :)))

anon you’re so right and let me just tell you ive felt exactly the same way for SO long so youve come to the right person

^ obviously theres been more since this was posted but THIS is a rlly good masterpost of art of them. THIS is a cassgene/uknighted dream triad fic and i dont know if thats your thing but it basically captures the exact bonding moment that you mentioned imo it fits them SUPER well both romantically and platonically!!

ur so right about the hair thing also omfg cass is the WORST out of all of them when it comes to taking care of her hair. like whenever it gets too long she just grabs the first sharp object she can find and cuts it all off. her ends are so broken and frizzy its SO bad. but eugene and rapunzel force her to do little spa days with them all the time. cass is very practical and really doesnt understand the point but she just likes spending time with both of them.

honestly as much as i love them i havent drawn a lot of art of cass and eugene individually….but theyre best friends actually. like they have banter and they tease each other but my general interpretation of them and uknighted dreams relationship is just. Comfortable. theyve come around to accept their differences and have a shared sense of solidarity with each other. and not just bc of rapunzel either!!! they hang out without her just as often and they genuinely have come to understand one another. they like to spar together and rapunzel watches while she works on anatomy sketches.

they’re not going out of their way to be physically affectionate or anything, but i try to make it obvious in my uknighted dream art that they arent averse to it either. it’s always the little things for me man!!!! the subtle affectionate gazes or the casual hand on the shoulder or just a gentle hand hold its so. IMPORTANT ok!!!!!!

they understand each other on a deep psychological level and yet they regularly tell the other to kill themselves. they are literally everything to me. i need to draw them soon

[thatcatbasil]

so, first impressions with endless ocean luminous

there are a lot of changes i absolutely Do Not Like but i would be lying if i said i wasn't having a good time with it so far

unfortunately i'm not gonna have screenshots in here since my phone quit letting me download pics from the switch and i don't feel like going through the hassle of tryna figure out getting the microsd into my computer right now

so first, stuff i don't like just to get it out of the way

yeah elephant in the room is the randomly generated maps. when the first trailer came out i did a lot of mental gymnastics to arrive at the conclusion that the veiled sea was just one map that was randomly generated and we would get other maps that were not but Nope you're only in the veiled sea and it's all randomly generated. makes you really miss the established locations from the first couple games. it feels really ephemeral now and the locations don't really stick with you as much

really miss the hayley westenra/celtic woman tracks. the ambient music's okay but i think the appeal of endless ocean's soundtrack has always been the licensed music to me. 30 mins in i unplugged my earbuds from my switch and put em in my laptop so that i could put on carrickfergus. then i put on jenny nicholson's evermore park video and had that playing for the entire rest of the time i was diving

the main menu's UI is kinda plain compared to the previous games. i miss the marine encyclopedia being an actual book you could flip through. this UI's a lot more sleek and modern but it doesn't have the same charm

no zoom mode makes me a little sad. i miss the little detailed environments! i miss looking for the coins in them! i like that the coins made a comeback as salvage though.

haven't played too much of the story mode cause i was mainly drawn to the solo dives buuut yeah hasn't really gotten hooked me yet. i've only done the first 3 parts of it so far so we'll see if i end up liking it more down the line. i think since it's just the first chapter(?) they're treating it more like a tutorial. i like david though he's silly

there are. a lot of legendaries huh? i do very much like the fact that they brought back the ones from the first two games (ran into ancient mother on my first solo dive and i was like !!!!! there she is!!!!!) but you see them so frequently it kinda takes away the feeling of them being "legendary" in a way? ive done three solo dives and cacao maharaja has shown up in every single one. on my third one i saw three grave diggers all in the same location. i've seen five different apollos. feels like there should be more of a distinction between the new "rare" creatures (the ones that just have funny patterns like the white orca i've seen several times) and the more unique named legendaries where the legendaries spawn a lot less often. but then again i could see that being an RNG nightmare for completion when it's combined with the randomly generated maps.

text to speech lady. i muted her as soon as i had the opportunity LMAOOO. maybe i'm just too used to the previous games not having any voices at all. oh shoot maybe that's why there's no licensed music tracks? cause text to speech lady would distract from them? damn.

not really into the customization. looks like you can only change the colors of your equipment and there's no unique gear

but excluding all that the creature models and most of the environments have been absolutely fantastic. i say most of the environments cause there's been a few situations where the map would have these decently big areas of empty sand with nothing in them (reminds me of manoa lai f-5 and e-4 that kinda area leading out of deep valley around where the pirate ship can spawn where it's a lot of empty sand and no critters except for the pacific white-sided dolphins) and i didn't find it as interesting as the actual coral reefs wrecks etc.

but the creature models! they're really awesome! they look great! i guess it's to be expected since it's on better hardware but it's still so cool to see the improvement.

also on my third dive something that was actually pretty cool happened. so i came up with a system for exploring the maps where i would just go around the perimeter and then go in like a spiral so that i could get a general sense of everything. when i reached the bottom right corner of the map the water turned green and i was like Oh this is the water color from the prehistoric areas in the trailers. so i go down a little deeper and run into an icthyosaur (forgot the specific name. could've just been icthyosaurus). and i felt like this

then i turned around to see a GIANT icthyosaur (shonisaurus) and i felt like this

the prehistoric critters in this game are COOL AS HELL. since we only got three of them total in the previous games (and couldn't even see em up close since they swam outside the boundaries of their respective maps!) it's really awesome to get to see them up close. and so many of them, too! excited to find anomalocaris later on. i love anomalocaris

miscellaneous other observations/comments/etc

honestly i don't really mind that the animals attacking you from the second game was omitted. it does feel a little weird to run into thanatos and not get attacked though (especially since he was doing the exact attack animations from the second game. side note i always thought it was a lil funny that all the creatures would slap you with their tails instead of biting you)

on my third dive i ran into the okeanos's guardian in a cave and i really like the glowing eyes effect it has now. thanatos was chilling down there too. shark party

i'm guessing that you can have creatures follow you? haven't gotten the chance to do it yet though cause i don't have enough points to get the creatures i want to follow me haha. i need to make friends with the orcas

oh yeah this game does have its own unique named legendaries! i found the seal that likes to wear jewelry that i unfortunately can't remember the name of right now. that was cool. trying to find all of those critters to get it to appear is a bit of a hassle but i guess that's why there's so much emphasis on the multiplayer.

but yeah. tl;dr it's absolutely no blue world but luminous does have some good things in its own right. maybe i've just been starved for endless ocean content for the past 14 years though

i think i'll do a proper full write-up for this game that i'll put on the neocities site at some point after i finish up the story mode and do some more solo dives and really let everything soak in. might be some time before that though since it's finals season and i need to work on stuff. see ya

[callsign-magnolia]

I Hope You Dance // Chapter 53

MATURE CONTENT (18+)

A/N: This is cross posted to my Wattpad, so if this seems familiar that is why!

TW: Mental abuse, emotional abuse, slight physical abuse, death and loss.

Description: When Caila meets Rooster, sparks fly. But, she's already married, to a man who she thought loved her, and won't let her go. Rooster will fight for her, he just has to convince Caila to fight for herself.

Word Count: 6.2k

Chapter 52 | Masterlist

I sat on Bradley’s bed the rest of the night, my fingers running through his curls and occasionally I placed kisses on his head. I took a picture and sent it to Mav, telling him he was awake and not to come till the morning. I would text and call everyone tomorrow, I don’t want too many people in here at once. That night I slept the best I had since he’d been in here. His arm stayed around my waist and my fingers in his hair as his head rested on my chest. The next morning I woke up to voices and turned to see Mav standing on the other side of the bed as Penny sat in the chair. “Oh, hey.” I said and sat up. “I guess you got a little more sleep than last night.” Penny said and I nodded. “I definitely did.” I said as I looked down at Bradley, kissing his head. “I’m starving.” He said, his head falling back on his pillow. “I’ll go see if you can have breakfast.” I said before getting up and making my way out to the nurses station. His day nurse, Ella, had been kind but quiet. “Hi.” I said and she looked over at me from her screen. “Good morning.” She said, “Um, Bradley was wondering if he could eat?” I asked and she looked back at the screen. “It says he can after some blood work and a CT scan. He was talking and I didn’t want to interrupt.” she said and I smiled. “Want me to ask?” I asked her and she nodded. I peeked my head in and he looked at me. “You can eat after blood work and a CT scan. Want her to go ahead and draw your blood?” I could see him pale slightly but he nodded. “He said yes.” She nodded and stood. “I’ll get everything ready.”

Within a few minutes she came back with a few tubes and a needle. “I have an IV in, can’t you get blood from that?” He asked and she shook her head. “There’s no blood return.” She said quietly as she got set up. “I really don’t wanna be stuck again.” He whispered to me. “I already have a tube sticking out of my chest and I’m scared to move.” He said and I felt for him. “One quick stick and then you're done.” I said and he turned his head into my chest and I squeezed his hand. “You’re still afraid of needles?” Mav laughed out. “Yes! I am okay!” He snapped and Mav just grinned. Ella got his blood drawn and removed the tube. “Now time for your CT.” She said. “I’ll be right here when you get back.” I said as I stood from the bed. He grabbed my hand, kissing it as Ella pushed the bed out of the room, his hand holding mine till the very last second. “I think he’ll make a great recovery.” Penny said, her hand rubbing Mav’s arm as he stood next to her. “Me too.” I said. He already seemed to be doing pretty good.

Bradley was gone for about an hour and just as he came in he was brought his food. “Eggs, bacon, french toast? Am I drooling?” He asked, looking up at me as I ran my fingers through his hair. “A little. Eat up.” I said and he did. “It can’t be that good. It’s hospital food.” Mav said and Bradley shook his head. “It’s actually really good.” He said, food still in his mouth. “Okay, no one's gonna take it from you and don’t talk with your mouth full.” I said and he swallowed. “Yes, mom.” He said. Soon Mav and Penny left and I took a shower in the bathroom attached to his room. “Oh I feel so much better.” I said as I came out, I looked at Bradley and smiled. He had Mr. Snuffles up on the bed with him, tucked into his left side and he read the card attached to the flowers mom sent. “Your mom send these?” He asked and I nodded. “She did. Her and dad were gonna fly out but there was nothing they could do so I managed to talk them into staying put.” He chuckled. “Should we call them?” He asked and I realized I never text anyone but Mav to say he was awake. “Sure. Let’s surprise them.” I said. I facetimed moms phone and it rang so long I thought she would never answer.

“Hell-OH!” Mom yelled when she saw Bradley grinning at her through the phone. “Oh thank god! DAVID!” She yelled and she rushed through the house. “What?! Something happen to Bradley?” He asked and my heart swelled knowing my parents care about him so much. Mom turned the phone towards him and it took dad a minute to register what he was seeing. “Wha- YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Dad yelled with a smile on his face. “Good to see ya, son!” He said, making us laugh. “When did you wake up?” Dad asked. “Yesterday evening.” He said. “We hadn’t told anyone but Mav till now.” I said. “What about the team?” Dad asked. “I’ll text them once I get off the phone with you. Bradley wants them to come in a few at a time. He doesn’t want them crowding.” I said and I turned to him. His eyes were drifting closed and I could tell he was exhausted still. “Well, we’ll let you go. Text us with updates, we can talk later.” Mom said and I nodded, letting her go. “Get some sleep, honey.” I said, kissing his head. His arm went around my waist and I smiled, knowing I wouldn’t be able to go anywhere any time soon.

Throughout the week the team came in to visit, all cheering and crying tears of joy to see Bradley awake. Cyclone even came in to speak with him. Bradley had been worried that he wouldn’t be able to fly again, but his doctor and Cyclone reassured him that he would be back in the skies but only after ten to twelve weeks. He was bummed about it, but it was all worth it if he made a full recovery. Come Saturday we were getting ready to go home. I packed all of our stuff, Bradley was dressed and ready, the only thing left is for the doctor to remove his chest tube. “You may have some slight discomfort as I remove this.” Rooster squeezed my hand and buried his face in my shoulder. The doctor cut the stitches and slowly pulled the tube out, a hiss escaping Bradley as he did so. “All done.” I could immediately tell a shift in Bradley, he seemed more relaxed, relieved. “Macy will be in with your discharge paperwork and care instructions in just a few minutes.” We nodded and he left. Roo sat up and swung his legs off the bed. He’s only been up a handful of times this week and he’s a little unsteady so I immediately reach for him. “Need help?” I asked and he shook his head. “No, I just need off this bed.”

He stood and stepped away, slowly wandering around the room. “Feels good to just use my legs.” He said, stretching his legs as he did so. I just watched him. There was a moment where I never thought I’d see him alive again, let alone up and moving. “What?” He asked, noticing that I was watching him. “I’m just glad you're okay.” I said, leaning back on my hands as I leaned against a table in the room. He smiled, walking over to me, his hands falling to my waist. “I told you, I’m not going anywhere.” He said before leaning down and kissing me. There was so much passion behind it, something we’ve been missing since he’s been in here. “I love you, Mags.” He whispered as he pulled away. “I love you too, Roo.” I wrapped my hand around his neck and kissed him one more time before Macy came in. “Alright. These are your care instructions.” She handed the packet to Rooster, he couldn’t get incisions wet for three more days, no physical exercise for six weeks. “The physical exercise also includes sex.” “WHAT?!” He asked loudly and I slapped my hand over his mouth. Macy tried not to giggle but one escaped. “Yes. No sex. It could increase your heart rate and your stitches could pop. If they pop, you’ll bleed out in minutes, before anyone can get there to help you.”

I turned to him and he looked at me with pleading eyes but I shook my head. “No sex.” I said sternly and he huffed. We went over the rest of the instructions before we signed the paperwork. “Thank you so much.” I said before pulling Macy into a hug. She seemed shocked but hugged me back. “You’re welcome.” She said before forcing Bradley into a wheelchair. “I can walk.” He said and she chuckled. “Hospital policy, I’m just doing my job.” She said and he pouted the entire walk to the front doors. Macy stood with him while I pulled the jeep up to the doors. Macy helped him in and soon we were off and headed home. “It’s weird being the passenger.” Roo said, reaching over and taking my hand. “Thank you.” He said, lifting my hand and kissing the back of it softly. “For what?” I asked, squeezing his hand slightly. “Staying. Not leaving me alone in there.” There was something in his voice. I couldn’t read it and that bothered me. We stayed quiet the entire ride home, the only noise being the road and the radio. Once we pulled into the driveway I put the car in park and turned to him. “You know I’d never leave you, right?” I asked and he nodded. “I do. But you easily could’ve sat here at home, waiting for a phone call instead of sitting in that uncomfortable chair.” I just smiled at him, sitting up and running my fingers through his hair. “I wanted my face to be the first thing you saw when you woke up. So I wasn’t going anywhere. Plus if anything happened I wanted to know immediately, not twenty minutes after the fact.” He just smiled at me, his hand gently gripping the hand in his hair and holding it. “I’m glad you were the first thing I saw. It sounds weird, but god I missed you.” I smiled, leaning down and kissing him. “I missed you too.”

I pulled away and slid out of the jeep. “Now, let’s get you inside. I’m hungry and I’m sure you are too.” I said as I opened his door. Thankfully the jeep doesn’t sit too high off the ground so he could easily slide out. “Your cooking sounds amazing.” He said before reaching into the back. “EH! You’re not allowed to lift anything over ten pounds!” I stopped him. “I got the bags, you just take your ass inside and sit down.” He huffed but didn’t argue. He did reach inside and grab my purse and the flowers, neither weighing more than ten. Pick your battles. He likes helping out, so I’ll let him do little things here and there. He’ll go crazy if I make him lay in bed all day. We got inside and the dogs lost their minds. “Sit.” Bradley said and both dogs immediately sat, tails going a mile a minute. Rooster set my purse by the door with the flowers before sitting on the floor. I put all of our dirty clothes in the washer and put everything else away before I went into the kitchen. Amelia ate a good bit of the food, mostly stuff that would go bad like sandwich stuff. I pulled out some chicken to put in the airfryer and some pasta. I seasoned the chicken lightly before tossing it in then prepped everything else.

As that cooked I walked back into the living room to find Rooster had moved to the couch, Dahlia’s head in his lap and Sadie curled up next to him. “How does chicken pesto pasta sound?” I asked as I leaned over the back of the couch. He turned his head to look at me, smiling widely. “It sounds so good.” I smiled and kissed him before coming around and sitting next to him. I grabbed his hand and leaned my head on his shoulder. “It’s good to be home with you.” I muttered, leaning up to kiss his cheek. “I agree, pretty girl.” Once dinner was done we sat down and ate just enjoying the time together. There was a moment that I thought I would never have time like this again. After dinner I got him settled upstairs in the bed and went to take my shower. “I wish I could take a fucking shower. Those sponge baths did shit to make me feel clean.” I felt bad for him. The man showers religiously and after a week, he probably does feel like shit. “Are you sure I can’t take a shower?” He asked and I sighed. “You heard Macy. You can’t get your incisions wet for three more days.” He huffed and leaned his head back. I could tell he was frustrated and I hated it. I turned and took notice of the giant jetted tub that we have yet to use.

“You know. If we’re really careful, you could take a bath.” He sat up immediately. “You think?” He asked and I nodded. “I’ll have to help you to make sure you keep your incisions dry.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me. “So you’ll get in with me?” He asked. “No. I will sit on the edge of the tub and help you, but I will not be getting in the water with you.” He pouted but slowly stood. No matter what he says, he knows he’s weak and he knows he has to be careful. “Why not?” He asked as he slowly walked by me. “Because, I know how you get when I’m naked and I will not have you dying in our bathtub.” I said, referring to the stitches in his aorta. “Fine.” He huffed. “At least help me get undressed? It hurts if I lift my arm too high.” I gave him a small smile and nodded. I helped him carefully pull his shirt off and helped him with his pants before starting the water. I didn’t let it get too high, not wanting the water to reach the incision on his left side where his chest tube was.

Once I turned off the water I helped him in and he sat down. “Just being in the water feels nice.” I smiled, brushing his hair back. “I love you.” He said as he looked up at me with those big brown cow eyes. “I love you too.” I leaned down and kissed him gently before I carefully helped him wash his body and his hair. Once we were done I could see he felt better, more relaxed. “My turn. Go lay down and I’ll crawl in bed with you once I’ve had my shower.” He smiled and leaned down, kissing me softly. “Okay.” He whispered and walked into the bedroom while I cut the shower on. I washed away all the stress of the last few days. It was nice to be home, in my own shower, knowing my fiance was peacefully laying in bed waiting for me. Once I was done I dried off and slid into one of Bradley’s t-shirts before walking into the bedroom.

There, lying on the bed was Bradley. He was on his back, arms outstretched as his chest slowly rose and fell. I smiled and made my way over to the bed. I pulled the covers back, moving his arm before I slid in. “Mm, honey?” I couldn’t help but grin as I curled into him, my hand resting on his chest, right next to his incision. “I’m right here.” I whispered. His arm curled around my shoulder, pulling me close before he drifted back off to sleep. I just laid there, taking in everything. This was real. He would live. We would get to sleep next to each other, have meals together… we still get to have our wedding. Losing Rooster was a hard concept to grasp, but never being able to marry him made my chest ache. It felt as if someone took their hands and pulled my rib cage apart before reaching in and ripping out my heart. Part of me wanted to stay awake, soak in every moment of this, to know it was real. But his even breathing made me sleepy and soon, I was drifting off to sleep right next to him.

The next day we were lazy. Roo got up and walked around the house, we took a short walk on the beach to get him up and moving, but other than that we laid on the couch and cuddled. Of course Mav called to check on him. That would become a daily thing for a while. I know Mav was terrified of losing him, and he has every right to be, but I think Rooster is already annoyed after the third call today. “I’m fine.” He said after he hung up with Mav. “I know.” I said as I rubbed his back. “But you aren’t acting like that.” I pursed my lips and nodded. “But I get to see you all day, touch you, talk to you. All these things that solidify that you’re really here. Mav was… really scared. I think he’s still scared, scared that he’s going to call and you will never pick up.” I said and he sighed. “Maybe you call him tomorrow, or send him a meme every now and again. Something to help solidify that you’re still here and I’m sure he’ll calm down soon.” I said as my phone dinged. “Is it Mav?” He asked and I shook my head. “Penny. She’s apologizing for Mav calling so many times. She said she’s hiding his phone from him now.” Rooster chuckled. “He may just drive over here.” I nodded in agreement. “He really might.”

The rest of Sunday was spent in the kitchen. I was prepping stuff so Bradley could have easy and healthy lunches. Lots of protein and foods that would be good for his heart. He helped a little, getting tired easily so he would occasionally go nap or just rest. Going to bed Sunday night was easy. It was getting up Monday morning that was hard. It was storming outside, a very uncommon sight for San Diego. “You think you’ll be in the air much?” Roo asked as I pulled my hair back into a bun. “Knowing Mav? He’ll use this as an excuse for severe weather training.” Roo gave a light chuckle from the bed. “Probably.” He laid on his back, arm tossed over his eyes to shield them from the bathroom light. Once I was done I grabbed my flight suit and slid it on. “You gonna be okay today?” I asked and he nodded. “I’ll miss you.” I couldn’t help but grin and walk towards the bed, leaning over him as I got close. “I’ll miss you too.” He moved his arm and I kissed him gently. “But I will be fine. If I need you, I’ll call.” I nodded as I laced my boots up.

I went downstairs to get my coffee ready, Bradley and the dogs close behind. We silently went about our routine. Bradley let the dogs out and fed them while I got my coffee ready. “Okay. I love you, I will be home soon.” I said as I turned to him. He smiled down at me before leaning down and kissing me. “I love you too.” He followed me to the door, his own mug of coffee in hand before I opened the door. I turned for my bag, yelling as I saw him bend down to grab it. “You cannot lift anything heavy yet.” I scolded as I hoisted my bag over my shoulder. “Yes ma’am.” He sassed. “I’ll check in around lunch time.” I said before he kissed me one more time. “Okay, honey.” With that I walked out the door, pulling the hood of my rain jacket over my head. I quickly tossed everything in the jeep before practically diving in myself. Bradley stood on the porch waving as I backed out of the driveway. I waved back before heading off to work.

“Today you will be doing some severe weather training.” Mav announced in our morning briefing. “I told Bradley we’d be doing weather training.” I leaned over to Coyote as I whispered. “I want you in groups of threes. We’ll be practicing flight maneuvers.” We all nodded. “Dismissed.” With that we stood and made our way out to the hangar. First up was Phoenix and Bob, Fritz, and Coyote. I checked over my jet as they went up before Mav walked over. “How is he?” I just smiled at him before I sat in a chair. “Doing surprisingly well.” I answered. “No pain or anything?” He asked. “He’s on a lot of medication for pain and infections and everything in between. His incisions still look fresh and he’s dying for an actual shower.” Mav nodded and sat next to me. “I’m worried about psychological effects.” I nodded in agreement. “So far he sleeps like a baby. No nightmares, but I keep waking up intermittently to check on him.” He just nodded and smiled at me.

“I’m glad he has you.” Mav said, tossing his arm around my shoulder. “He wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for me.” “Don’t start that.” Mav snapped. “Stop blaming yourself for every little thing that goes wrong in your relationship. I’m tired of hearing it and so is Bradley.” I was stunned by his response. Mav has usually been level headed with a few exceptions. He sighed and it was silent for a moment. “Caila, I’m sorry.” I shook my head and stood. “No. You’re right.” With that I walked away. I couldn’t really be mad at Mav, he was right. But so was I. Soon it was my turn to get in the air with Hangman and Omaha and Halo. We were doing so good. “Get him off me, Magnolia!” Omaha called out. “Hang in there! I’m coming!” Just as I almost had Hangman in my sights, lightning struck way too close for comfort. We had multiple other lightning strikes that followed. “Should we land?” I asked through the comms. The rain was splattering against my canopy, making visibility next to nothing. “You’re team leader Magnolia. That’s your call.” Another lightning strike and I made my decision. “Everyone bring it in.” We all landed one by one, my landing last as I wanted everyone else to land before me. As soon as I got my jet onto the tarmac, I was out and rushing inside. “I’m already sick of this rain.” I said as I stormed past Mav and Phoenix, soaked to the bone.

I didn’t shower on base, deciding it wasn’t worth it. The rain hasn’t let up all day and after work was no different. I hit a stupid amount of traffic on the way home and by the time I actually got there, I just wanted to curl up with Rooster. I made it inside, bringing in just a little water and not a whole damn puddle and as I set my bag down I saw Rooster napping on the couch. He looked so peaceful. He was lying on his back, one arm tossed back behind his head, the other resting on his belly. As I stepped closer I was startled by Sadie who poked her head out from under the blanket. “Keeping daddy company?” I asked, reaching down and petting her before she laid her head on his leg. I left Bradley asleep as I went upstairs and showered. He needed his sleep. Sleep would help him heal and a lot of the medications he’s taking right now make him sleepy. Once I was done, I found he was still asleep as I came downstairs. I needed to figure out dinner so I went into the kitchen and started rummaging around. I decided to just grill some chicken, brown rice and lots of fresh veggies. Most of it is good for his heart and I wanted him to feel as good as possible as quickly as possible.

When dinner was almost done I went to wake him. I sat next to him on the couch, smiling at how peaceful he looked. I brushed some of his curls back gently and he inhaled deeply. I kissed his forehead, his cheeks, his chin and as I kissed his eyebrow his eyes opened. “Mm, hi honey.” He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into him. “Careful, Roo.” I said, pulling away slightly. “I just wanna hold my fiance, is that too much to ask?” He groaned and I chuckled. “No, but I don’t wanna hurt you.” He smiled up at me as his hand threaded through my hair. “You never could.” He pulled me down into a kiss and I couldn’t help but relax into it. After a minute I pulled away. "Dinners almost ready." I told him and he inhaled deeply. "Okay, I'll be in the kitchen in a minute." I stood and held out my hands, helping him up gently. His face scrunched as if he was in pain as he stood. “When was the last time you had any medicine?” I asked and he looked at his watch. “Five hours ago.” I pursed my lips. “I’ll set out your medicine with dinner.” I said before standing on my toes and kissing his cheek.

I plated everything and set all his medications out on the island and he came in just as I put all my food on my own plate. He was rubbing his chest just around his scar. “Here.” I slid some water to him as he sat down. “Thanks.” He muttered before taking the handful of pills and swallowing them with the water. I smiled before sitting next to him with my own food. “How was your day?” He asked as he cut into the chicken. “Long. The rain never stopped and we had to end our exercise early because of all the lightning. I was soaked all day.” He chuckled. “Kind of glad I wasn’t there to endure that.” He said and I glared at him. “I love you but you get cranky if you get soaked from the rain.” He said, grinning before he leaned over and kissed my cheek. “You’re not wrong.” I replied. We talked and ate and once we were done poor Bradley looked like he would fall asleep. “C’mon. Let’s get you in bed.” I said quietly as I cut off the kitchen light. He slowly got up and I wrapped my arm around his waist. “I really want another bath.” He muttered and I sighed. Bradley is a man that showers every day and I can’t really tell him no. “Okay. We’ll get you a bath and then bed.”

We made it up the stairs and he sat on the toilet as I pulled out some towels for him and cut on the water. “Will you get in with me?” He asked as I leaned over. His hands rested on my hips and pulled me back till I stood between his legs and he rested his forehead on my back. “I’ve already showered.” I answered. “Please.” I let out a slow breath. I wanted to tell him no, but then I remembered how close I came to losing him. “Okay.” I could feel him smile against me. We both stripped and I helped him in before getting in and sitting on the opposite side, facing him. He gave me a small smile as I tossed my legs over his. “We should make use of this bathtub more often.” He said, leaning his head back and winking at me. “Mhm, I know what you want to use it for.” I said with a smile. “You can’t tell me that you don’t want to use it for the same thing!” He said as he leaned forward, gripping my thighs and hauling me into his lap. I gasped loudly. I knew he wouldn’t let me go so I helped slide myself into his lap, not wanting him to overexert himself. “You shouldn’t do that.” I scolded him.

“I didn’t hurt myself, so don’t worry.” I huffed, shaking my head. “I’ll always worry about you.” He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me as close as he could get me, my forehead resting on his. I smiled at him, my thumb running across the scars on his jawline. “I love you.” I whispered and he grinned. “I love you too, pretty girl.” I kissed his lips gently before I sat up. “We should probably get you washed up before the water gets cold.” He nodded and I leaned back, grabbing the soap and a rag. His arms stayed around me as I lathered the soap across his body. “I did something today.” He blurted out. I raised a brow at him. “What’d you do?” I asked, carefully cleaning around his incision. “I made some changes to my life insurance policy.” I stilled. “What?” I asked, my eyes moving to his. “When I met Nat and we became friends, she was the beneficiary. I knew she’d use it to pay off any funeral debts if it came to that. When we got together I never really thought about it. But after what happened, I didn’t want you to have to worry about anything.” I stared at him for a moment. I dropped the rag and my hands drifted up to the sides of his neck. “Bradley. I don’t want your money.” I said and he nodded, one hand coming up and lightly holding my wrist. “I know, honey. I know. But if something does happen to me I just want the peace of mind knowing that you’re taken care of. Just to know that finances is one thing you won’t have to worry about makes me feel better.”

I sighed, tears coming to my eyes. “Financial ruin doesn’t matter. Because if you’re not here I don’t know how I’d go on living.” He furrowed his brows, his handscoming up to my own cheeks. “Hey, don’t say that.” I shook my head. “It’s true though. When you were in the hospital I had this god awful dream.” I took a deep breath, willing the tears away. “You died. You didn’t make it. Mom was helping me get ready for your funeral.” My breath caught in my throat and he shushed me. “Hey, I’m here.” I shook my head. “Seeing you in a casket Bradley, even in my dream I just wanted to die.” I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and held him tightly. “It’s okay. I’m here and I don’t plan on going anywhere for a long, long time.” He said as he pressed a kiss to my neck. His words sat heavy on my chest and only one thought crossed my mind, and I’m sure it crossed his. Goose didn’t plan on going anywhere for a long, long time either. I didn’t dare say it out loud, but we both knew it. Anything can happen in our jobs, even outside of it. Once I calmed myself, I sat back and wiped my cheeks.

“Come on. Let’s finish up and get in bed.” He said and I nodded. We finished in the bath and finally got out. Rooster slid into some boxers and I slid on some panties and one of his old Phillie’s shirts. With that, we climbed into bed, his arm going around my waist and pulling me into his side. “You’re gonna have to stop pulling me, I definitely weigh more than ten pounds.” I said and he chuckled. “I’d pop a stitch for you anyday.” He said, turning on his side and nuzzling his nose into my cheek. “Well let’s not do that. Remember what Macy said?” I asked, closing my eyes and resting my hand on his chest. “Yes, honey. I remember.” He huffed and then it went quiet. Within minutes Rooster was out like a light and I wasn’t far behind him.

The next morning I got up and left early, deciding I needed to hit the gym. I left Rooster a note just so he didn’t worry. I walked into the gym, immediately heading for the weights and saw Hangman on the leg press. “Mornin’.” He grunted out. “Mornin’.” I replied quietly. Hangman finished as I headed for the leg curl machine. I got set up and started. “You okay?” Hangman asked as he finished his set and stood up. “Hm? Oh, yeah. I’m just tired.” I replied. “How’s Rooster?” He asked. “He’s okay. Sleeping a lot. He can finally get his stitches wet today so I know as soon as I walk through the door he’ll be begging for a shower.” Hangman scrunched his face. “Has he not bathed since he came home?” I giggled. “Yes, he has. But it’s been baths and the man showers daily. He’s begged me every night since he came home for a shower.” He nodded. “Why can’t he just take one when he gets up?”

I shook my head. “If the shower gets too hot, which is likely because he loves steaming showers, he can pass out. I’d rather be home so if anything happens I can get to him.” He nodded. “He hasn’t… hasn’t had any nightmares has he?” I shook my head. “No. I hope he never does, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. It was all so traumatic. I’ve been waking up at least twice a night to check on him.” He gave me a small smile. “Worried?” He asked and I nodded. “Worried something will happen in the middle of the night and when I wake up he’ll be dead.” I finished my reps and sat up. “He told me last night that he changed the beneficiary to his life insurance policy. He changed it to me because after what happened he was worried I wouldn’t be taken care of.” I chuckled. “As if that would happen.” Hangman chuckled and agreed. “Well what matters is he’s still here and on the mend.” I nodded as he pulled me into a side hug.

We finished working out and I showered before getting ready in my flight suit. We went through the motions of the day, sitting in lectures, going through simulations and flight training. Finally when the end of the day came, I didn’t bother showering in the locker room and just made my way home. Like I predicted, Rooster was standing in the living room in only his boxers when I got home. “Hi honey.” He seemed tired but happy to see me. “Hi, why are you up?” I asked. “I was waiting on you to get home so I could shower.” He had a large grin on his face. “I figured you would be. Just didn’t expect you to be standing in the living room waiting on me.” I said as I set my bag on the floor. “Have you had a shower yet?” He asked, coming closer and resting his hands on my waist. “I knew you’d ask so I purposefully drove home without one.” He grinned and laced his fingers through mine. “C’mon honey. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

He grinned at me as he pulled me upstairs towards our room. He slowly unzipped my flight suit, his lips attached to mine. “Don’t get worked up now.” I told him. “You’re only telling me that because you’re getting worked up.” He said before attaching his lips to the skin just below my ear. “You’re right, I am.” I said as I stepped out of my flight suit. We finished stripping and Rooster got into the shower. The water was warm, but not too hot. Bradley carefully washed his incision and I helped him wash everywhere else. “I never thought a shower could feel so amazing.” He said, standing under the shower head. I smiled, running my hands through his hair, washing out the shampoo. “I’m just glad you feel so good today.” He nodded. “I feel better today than I have since it happened.” I gave him a tight smile. “That’s good.” Bradley lathered my body with soap before helping me wash my own hair. It was quiet, sweet even. When we got out he helped me make dinner and we ate, curled up on the couch. “Bradley?” I asked after we were done eating. I was laying down on the couch, him between my legs with his head on my stomach. “Yeah, pretty girl?” He asked. “I love you, so much.” I said, running my fingers through his curl. He buried his face in my stomach, his mustache tickling my skin as he smiled. “I love you too, pretty girl. So much more than you could imagine.” He said before placing a kiss to my stomach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist: @mak-32 @rosiahills22 @fanboyswhore9 @kmc1989 @sunderland-6 @mygyn @halstead-severide-fan

[obsidian-jaw]

one part of a ~10k (and increasing lol) word fic i started awhile ago that ive been debating posting since i've literally never written anything before. but the Zevlor brain rot is so incredibly aggressive rn that i needed some kind of outlet before i exploded. so here's me testing the waters.

also i've never posted something like this before so apologies if i tagged/posted this incorrectly in some way.

Zevlor x Tav (MDNI / +18)

The following night, Tav made sure to check in with everyone, catching up on the day’s events and any idle banter they were interested in having. It had been a long day, and everyone was looking forward to an early night after dinner.

Once she had made her rounds and enough people had vanished from sight for the evening, Tav slipped out of the cave undetected in search of the Hellrider.

She found him in his usual spot overlooking the west forest, sitting casually on a large wooden crate. His location was far enough away from the main entrance to not be seen, but close enough to hear someone’s approach.

Their initial casual conversation was short lived. Tav was once again straddling his lap, their lips locked with a similar intensity as the night before. His arms wrapped around her waist, keeping her close to him as his hands began to toy with her shirt, tucked neatly into the top of her pants.

He was the first to release their kiss, straying to her jaw, then to her neck. His lips brushing her skin sent shivers up her spine. Tav tipped her head back, exposing more of her to him as he sent waves of heat through her body with each kiss. Her core was pulsing, the longing within her burning hotter.

Zevlor’s movements were still somewhat hesitant, but there was more familiarity in him now. Memories of past intimacy had unlocked and come back to him - what it sounded like, felt like, tasted like.

Once he had freed her shirt from her pants, he slid his callused hands carefully up her torso, his touch warm and delicate. A quiver ran through her as his thumbs just barely grazed the bottom of her. She could feel his arousal, his need for relief, pressing into her.

A deep rumble sounded in the tiefling’s throat as Tav began to grind into him. She felt his hips roll towards her from his seated position, his grip on her thighs tight. It was painfully obvious how much he craved her, needed her. And Tav was all too delighted to give him the release he ached for.

Tav relinquished his lips with one last drawn out kiss, their eyes meeting for a moment as she pulled away. A look of confusion spread across his face, questioning. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she carefully dismounted from his lap to kneel between his legs. His puzzled expression came and went as Tav reached out and started to unbuckle his belt, understanding snapping into him.

“W-wait,” a panicked Zevlor breathed, “someone may see us.” His hands shot out to hers in an attempt to stop her, but weakly.

Tav stopped, pulling back a little, understanding his concern. “Do you want me to stop?” she whispered, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

Silence hung between them as Zevlor considered, his eyes flickering between hers. She could see the internal battle he was having, uneasy that they were in a semi-public location but the anticipation of what she was about to do taking hold of him.

He swallowed before his quiet “no", then lightly guided her hands back to his belt, helping her to unbuckle it. His hands then laid on either side of his thighs to grip the edge of the crate, muffled clicks from his claws sounding as they hit the wood.

Once his arousal was free from the confines of his trousers, Tav regarded him in moderate awe. She was not at all surprised by his size, for he was rather large for a tielfling. A deep, beautiful scarlet red. Infernal ridges similar to others on his body. Thick and regal.

Zevlor was completely frozen in place. But Tav gave him a reassuring smile as she curled her fingers delicately around his length. Bringing her mouth to the tip of him, she kissed him gently. She felt him pulse in her hand, eagerness flooding him.

Silence filled the space between them other than the sounds of her lips dancing across his skin. She was slow and gentle, letting him adjust to her. After not having been with someone for awhile, she did not want to rush him. He deserved leisure and tenderness.

“Hells,” he groaned as she wrapped her mouth around his head, sliding him into and out of her with ease. The wood creaked under his tightening hold with each one of her steady pulls.

A strained moan passed his lips as she took more and more of him in, slow and steady, as her tongue pressed firmly to his underside while her lips continued to glide smoothly across his head.

It didn’t take long for Zevlor to come undone, body abruptly rigid and breath hitching. “Fuck,” he hissed quietly under his breath. His eyes had slammed shut from the intensity of his orgasm as he suddenly spilled into Tav’s mouth. Small splinters burst from the crate as his claws dug into the wood beneath him.

Tav gave him a second of stillness before lazily pulling him in and out of her mouth while he came, prolonging his climax. There was a hollow thud as Zevlor let his back fall heavily against the stack of crates behind him.

She pulled him delicately from her mouth, kissing the tip of him one last time. “That didn’t take long,” she teased softly.

“Forgive me,” he exhaled with slight embarrassment, his head spinning. “I-I have not had a moment for pleasure in…quite some time.”

She hummed to herself, wiping the side of her mouth with her sleeve.  “Please don’t be embarrassed,” she reassured the tiefling, letting her hands linger on his thighs as she stood up. “It’s fine.”

Zevlor eventually found the strength to stand, Tav offering support as they straightened themselves up.

“You made this old tiefling feel young again,” he said, running his hand through his hair.

She smiled, taking his hand in hers to pull him down to her, kissing his cheek affectionately. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she whispered under half-lidded eyes as she left the content and relaxed Hellrider to return to her tent.