#lily's lore floored me i LOVE her!!!

[janesociety]

how different marauders characters would act at a taylor swift concert w/ you ⭑

inspired by this post by the lovely @bealovesmarauders

(0.7k)

remus knows her discography by heart. he was originally a little insecure to sing the whole time, but he can’t help but sing along when you look so cute dancing and screaming the words to each song. he probably would’ve been the one to buy tickets after you came to terms with your chances of getting them being so slim, so when he surprised you with them you were over the moon. he would’ve gotten you two lower bowl seats so you would be really close but also able to see every single visual. he also would’ve offered to stand and wait in the merch line during the openers and before the concert started so you could have fun and watch them and have a cute t-shirt to take home.

james “swiftie” potter would be going absolutely feral. he would’ve gotten floor seats that were at least in the first ten rows so he could feel everything. he would’ve made a huge ordeal about surprising you with the tickets. i just know he would take you out to a fancy brunch before you guys got ready for the concert. he would probably want you two to go as miss americana and the heartbreak prince and people would definitely use your pictures as inspo for their shows. i also think he’d be the type to propose during lover or love story if you were at that point in the relationship. he would’ve been all cute about it too and told everyone around you so they could film and take pictures for you guys during the moment. he would also make a show of carrying you back to your car after the concert, even if your feet didn’t hurt that bad from the extremely uncomfortable shoes you inevitably would wear.

oh, sirius. i feel like he’s a total music snob and was really only going originally because you were so excited about it. but then he gets to the concert and he’s awestruck. he would’ve gone insane during the beat drop in don’t blame me but also prob would’ve teared up during my tears ricochet. he would’ve loved every moment of it and would immediately regret not learning all her songs before the concert. i think he’d be so obsessed that the minute he got home he would’ve gone online and bought you two more tickets for either the second night in your city or the next closest show. he’d also probably make you explain all the lore and stories behind everything on the way home. you just know that next time, he will be so prepared he will outshine every other swiftie boyfriend in the crowd. he’s also a rep girly.

lily is a swiftie through and through. there’s not doubt in my mind that she’s not an evermore and lover girly. she would’ve fought hard for those tickets and she would be so proud when she surprised you with them. you and her would spend so much time picking out the perfect themed outfits for the night and would definitely end up in a few of those “my fav outfits i saw at the era’s tour!” videos. she definitely has a note in her notes app where she keeps track of all the surprise songs and which ones she wants (she was heartbroken after dbatc and clean were taken in the same night, but she also knows that there’s not a single song that she’d be disappointed in getting). it honestly doesn’t matter where your seats are because no matter what you two will be having so much fun it won’t even matter in the end.

regulus, unlike sirius, actually prepared for the concert. he was definitely doing his research before hand. he was never a big taylor swift fan before, but when he saw your eyes light up when you told him you got tickets, he knew he had to be ready. he spent months listening to each album one by one, making playlists, attempting to learn words, and maybe even looking into the meaning behind the songs. he may get a little too caught up in connecting each song to one of her relationships and prob would wear and “i <3 T. S.” shirt to the concert. like james, he would’ve offered to carry you out of the arena, but unlike james, he would’ve listened to you saying no and would’ve been content simply holding your shoes in one hand and your hand in the other.

[romsabombs]

malevolent 43 was insane so here are my notes. my live reactions while listening. enjoy :)

god i feel so sick already

EW AD☹️

okayyyy voices

is it kayne watching

oh god this again

hes way more dramatic this time i think

ermm??

yuck😨

omg queen!!! indeed queen💅💖

i have no idea whats going on

ohhh dang

IS HE GETTING CHAINED UP

im so nervous and scared and afraid

yorrick lore episode?? :3

ohhh yeahh he was the prince's skull

JOHNNNN🥳🥳🥳

omg yes talk to eachother!!! bond!

HAHA JOHN WHY ARE YOU TELLING HER ALL THIS

yesss KING AND QUEENNN

omg hastur he-who-is-not-to-be-named lord of carcosa thats the thing kayne said

OKAYYYYY 💅💅

WHO😐 HAHAAA💀💀

yesss you tell him girl!! they broke into YOUR house‼️

ohhh erm what😶

"i am the king in yellow" SHE DOESNT CARE JOHN

ermmmmmm erm erm uhh

i have no idea how to describe kingqueen relationship rn

"you are no god i have witnessed" "no. but i am a god" such good lines

she should read oscars note lol

LORE LORE LORE yess tell us about this world queen🎀

"and yet you moan on a table beneath my knife👹" okayyy shes vicious💅

YORRICK SNITCH

"my transition" okay🤨🏳️‍⚧️

yo i have no idea what's going on

she said i know what u are🤨

LILY MENTION LILY MENTION

👹LIES👹 girl we're having a moment

"you gained humanity as a prisoner" okayyy true hmmm..

gosh this is heavy

bestiary mentioned :))

her ass is NOT listening

i have no idea how to picture this scene in my head

ohh she was hurt by humans☹️ because her ass is a witch

two sides of the same coin

YOUR MOTHER? omg a name

arthur is straight up dead and we're doing the traumadumping hour

😀☹️😞 :( :( oh darling

mother darkness is my drag name

okay shes got a point tho🫡

YORRICK DONT HAHA shut up!!

oh!! :3

ermmm third wheeling over here

yorrick finally does something good (shuts the fuck up)

death for the undying⛓️💔

hell brings about the truth in people🔥🔥🔥 these lines go hard

im sure you did😒😒

can you believe this episode is 52 minutes long

imagine arthur laying on the floor family guy pose while all this emotional stuff is happening

BEDROCK RAAHHHH

"our" :3333

even the witch knows hes a child

"silent to all but those who can hear🗣️🗣️🗣️"

"i am not forgotten. not by him" :((

i remember you my king!! 🤓🥰

larson mansion arc throwback

"i saved him" erm you're the reason he went crazy in the first place

FUCK YOU👹 does she even know that word

john finally gets therapy not clickbait

ok shut up john my headphones are dying

ok we're back

"i tried to kill a man who i felt was in my way" 💀💀

HAHA SHES SO MEAN

okay now arthur is the child

dont go to the dark side pookie🙏

bro this shit is none of her business stay out of it

MY LOVE FOR ARTHURRREEE🥳🥳 WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!🔥‼️🗣️

ermm 😶 come on johnn🙏

arthur said i can fix him and then did!!

WOAHAHSHFHCBXNSN WHA😨😨

WOAHHHHH WHATATTTT QUEEN??

HAHAHA WHY DID YOU DO THAT

ERMMMMMMMM HES WHAT

😀😀HEAVY BREATHINGGG

OKAYYYYYYY JOHNN🥰🥰

RAHHHH👹👹👹 hes so sigma

yo what the hell is happening

😨😨😨😨HUH

this witch sure loves stabbing arthur

TRUEEE we r in her home!!

his ass is not really gone come on

do true loves kiss or whatever or like shed a tear and it'll land on him and he'll be alive again because magic

"🤢JOHN🤢" okayy rude🙄

mm yeah true why did you leave

😀john stay with us🙏🗣️ pretty pls

i miss arthurs voice its really nice

FRIEND MENTIONED like from s1 :3

HIS ASS ISNT GONE what would the show be without him bruh

jesus christ

NO NONONONOOO NO COME ON

🫣🫣 ermm 😶

man arthurs only purpose is to be a vessel huh :( :(

isn't john like bound to this body

what a mess :/ how will we fix this

girl u barely know him why do u care

"ignorant false morals" 😒girl

i wanna know what she thinks about the trolley problem

maybe don't listen to her she just murdered your boyfriend twice. thrice

GIRL YOU DONT EVEN KNOW HIM

shut up🙄 dont piss me off you killed my boy

ohh arthur i miss him already

erm john!!!! dont say allat😀

GOD DAMN IT we got so far man

hail to the king🗣️🗣️🗣️

NEW BODY??

ok now shes worshipping him😒

:( he says arthurs name so coldly. absolutely no emotion in his voice☹️

DONT TELL HER!!!!

ugh hes back to his kiy voice

im gonna kill myself actually

"think of the object you desire to find" imagine a rosetoy just appears

OH OH OH OH HAHA YEAHH HAHAA

this is awesome actually

faroes song goes hard

ohhh hes back :3

yorrick is so cutiepatootie

oh wait is he okay😨

OH NO

OH :3 HAHA YORRICK💀💀

insane episode

aye we cant save arthur without another deal with the devil i think

where's kayne when you need him

john this speech is embarrassing you're not an alpha wolf

john non binary arc🙏

..meaning??🧐

"i choose you. to be a part of you" ☹️ pokemon reference for a sec

yorrick embodiment of sillyness

yeah doll him up before reviving him

"your love for your friend" yorrick is so third wheeling

oh he feels human :3 i feel so sigma

cant we just let arthur stay dead let bro rest in peace he's been through enough

ARTHUR :33 WOAHHH😨😨

yeah i guess that musta hurt huh

yo is his ass okay😀😀

arthur is in Pain Painnn

ima have dreams about this one

[aconites]

happy 2024! as it's a new year, i thought this was the perfect time to post a plotting call for those who might be interested in writing with me!  if you want to do threads with someone who will message you at the crack of dawn with random headcanons, musings and create graphics (manips, gifs manips, crackships, etc​ )  for our characters — look no further. i also have no triggers, am sm.ut friendly and i love to do multiple plots with the same partner. bellow the cut you’ll find a list of wanted faceclaims, opposites, ships and plots that i would love to do and if anything catches your interest please give this post a like and i’ll message you. this is for mutuals & non mutuals, so feel free to like this even if we have threads/plots happening already!

faceclaims i’d love to play! * melissa barrera** * greta onieogou* * ana de armas* * phoebe tonkin* * margot robbie* * camila queiroz** * sydney sweeney* * ayca aysin turan * hande ercel * alycia debnam-carey* * simone ashley * melisa pamuk* * adria arjona* * olivia cooke * grace van patten * jessica alexander* * madelyn cline* * madison bailey * priscilla quintana* * meghann fahy * benedetta porcaroli * camila morrone * riley keough * suki waterhouse* * adelaide kane* * florence pugh * sophia bush * ester exposito * lily james * lily collins * gabriella wilde* * sofia carson * josephine langford * danielle rose russell * danielle campbell * abigail cowen* * halston sage * camila mendes * brianne howey * gemma chan * eiza gonzalez * lindsey morgan * zendaya * sabrina carpenter * candice swanepoel * elsa hosk * jasmine tookes * emily ratajkowski

faceclaims i’d love to play against!

* all the ladies above * pedro pascal** * ben barnes** * joseph quinn* * joe keery* *christopher briney* * henry cavill * ricky whittle * casey deidrick* * jd pardo * jamie dornan * adam demos * richard madden * sam clafflin * carlos miranda * scott eastwood * garrett hedlund * drew starkey * clayton cardenas * jonathan bailey * jeffrey dean morgan * rudy pankow * felix mallard * dj cotrona* * charlie hunnam** * sebastian stan* * alex fitzalan * dylan o’brien* * nick robinson * manny montana  * chris evans* * harry styles * jacob elordi * boyd holbrook

some ships i’d love to do! * any of the above fcs combined tbh. ( m/f or f/f ) * click here for full list since tumblr has a text limit.

plots id love to do! * this unhappily married dad/babysitter plot. * * this angsty/fluffy my best friend is having my baby plot. * * this zombie apocalypse/last of us inspired plot* but also any za plot. * celeb plots! especially this one. something like two super famous actors hiding their relationship or famous person/non famous plots?* * single dad/nanny plots! give me something cute and angsty. * * escort/client plot where she breaks the most important rule… don’t fall for your client* * grumpy ceo/soft assistant plots.* * royal plots! bridgerton esqued plots! * * f/f socialites plot… blair/selena/upper east side inspired muses but make it gay* * college professor/teacher’s assistant plot.  * college professor/student plot. * crimey plots? sons of anarchy inspired? or maybe m.afia/m.ob/gang stuff?* * bodyguard/client plots bc i’m a sucker for them* * soulmates plot. i have a whole lore i’ve been wanting to write out for ages so * sugar b.aby / sugar d.addy plots *  * best friends to lovers plots ( gimme angst) * WHEN THE M.OB PRINCESS MEETS THE M.OB PRINCE: forbidden love is always angsty so why not do that and add rival g.angs to the mix?  muse a is the daughter of the head boss of the local g.ang and is sick and tired of having her life controlled by her overprotective father. so, to rebel against his wishes after an argument, muse a decides to go to a nightclub that her father had always forbidden her to attend. unknown to her, the club is run by the rival g.ang’s boss’ son, muse b, and not knowing who she is, can’t stop looking at her on the dance floor. they eventually bump into each other and after having a few drinks, end up at muse a’s apartment and they hook up. i was thinking they both never brought up their families and their true professions and maybe start to hang out/go on dates and then bam, the truth comes out and drama begins. especially when they can’t stay away from each other.

* MY BEST FRIEND IS A ROCKSTAR: (tw: death) muse a & muse b have been best friends since they were kids and grew up together. throughout their childhood, muse b had always told muse a about his plans to become a famous musician and as he grew older, became more and more determined to make those dreams come true. when they both hit their teen years, feelings eventually grew and the two were head over heels for each other but neither of them was ever able to admit it. they were both terrified that the feelings would be unrequited or that it would ruin their friendships so just imagine the angst of them seeing each other with other people and FGHDFG. anyway, when muse b finally turns twenty-one, he decides to move to hollywood to make his dreams come true, and muse a stays in their small hometown. they keep in contact with one another but as time went on, muse b becomes a huge rockstar with his band and their contact start to drift but they always had each other in their thoughts, wishing they were closer to one another. a few years pass and they still speak but it’s not like before. muse b was hugely successful and enjoyed the life he was now living but always felt like something was missing. that someone was missing… it’s not until he gets a distraught call from muse a telling him that her mother died does he rush on a private jet and comes home to her. after helping her arrange the funeral and being there for her through her grief, he suggests that she comes on tour with him and the band. wanting to run away from everything and everyone in her small town, she agrees. queue cute ass moments on the tour bus, traveling the world and falling in love like they did when they were young. add drama, angst ( because they’re both still dumb and won’t admit to their feels) stadium tours, TENSION!!!, groupies, etc, etc. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE BC TUMBLR HAS A TEXT LIMIT.

[empressawesomecoolness]

Doctor Who: The Ultimate Speedrun Marathon - Series 1 (2005)

Eccleston as the 9th Doctor seems to be a big fan favorite, including among my Whovian friends, so I was especially excited to start his era. Needless to say, I was very impressed! This series really brought Doctor Who out of its ‘80s era funk and into the modern age, so its importance deserves the praise, which I’m about to give in truckloads.

General Thoughts

Right out the gate, Christopher Eccleston was the perfect actor to take on the role! From what I’d heard of the 9th Doctor before watching this series, I assumed he’d be very serious, edgy, and overall just a grimdark take on Doctor Who. The early 2000s was ripe with franchises and reboots like that, so I was pleasantly surprised to see just how three-dimensional he was! I was mainly familiar with Eccleston from the 2010 TV movie Lennon Naked, which he was fucking awful in, so to see him so perfectly embody the Doctor gave me whiplash ngl. He does have darkness in him, which comes out in relation to his Time War PTSD and his hatred of the Daleks, but he’s also really lively and snarky in most moments. Such a great character all around! If Paul McGann makes you fall in love with the Doctor’s personality, Eccleston makes you understand it.

I assume the tragic backstory 9 mentions throughout this series (regarding the Time War, the destruction of Gallifrey, and him being the last of the Time Lords) was a retcon made for this series in particular, since the 8th Doctor was on his way back to Gallifrey at the beginning of the ‘96 TV movie. Maybe he was just visiting the rubble idk. I could be wrong, but I include this just to mention that I assume lore retcons will probably be rampant from here forward, so I’m cool with that.

Moving onto this Doctor’s companion, there’s a few. The main one we follow is 19 year old Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper. I was familiar with Piper as Brona/Lily in Penny Dreadful, which she was great in, so it was cool to see her again in a very different role. Rose starts out really wayward and flat, but over the course of the series and her adventures with the Doctor, she grows more involved with the world and becomes happier as a person. It’s a cool development that really cuts to the core of what the Doctor represents as a traveler and explorer of all things exciting and hopeful. Dr. Grace Holloway gives her a run for her money as my favorite companion so far, but Rose is really interesting and overall just a great human protagonist for us to tag along with.

Along with her, there’s also Mickey (Ricky?) Smith, played by Noel Clarke, and Captain Jack Harkness, played by John Barrowman. With Mickey, I assumed he’d just be a throwaway character, as a teenage boyfriend Rose leaves behind for good to move onto greater things, but he comes back again and again, with a lot of development that really surprised me! He grows from a pretty flat and lame guy into a character with a lot of agency and intelligence. His angst over Rose leaving him for time/space adventures was also really sad :( I felt bad for him honestly, but he grows beyond his need for Rose and comes into his own right

Captain Jack was really fun too. Reminded me a lot of Firefly. I expected him to be one-off character too, but he sticks around and is really fun to follow. It’s cool to have another snarky space/time adventurer around for a little bit. He’s also a bi king so that’s dope as fuck

Back to the 9th Doctor himself, I really liked the parallels drawn between him and the Daleks. This might just be a coincidence, but I think the interior walls of his TARDIS look a lot like the outer shell of the Daleks. Just thought that was a cool detail.

Speaking of his TARDIS in general, the more industrial look contrasts with the 7th & 8th Doctor’s warm homely TARDIS. The spindly concrete pillars and the shiny metal walls/floor are really striking. It’s like a modern-art exhibit. It’s both very 2000s and very classic looking.

Favorite Episodes

Aliens of London

World War 3

The Empty Child

The Doctor Dances

Dalek

The End of The World

Favorite Moments

“You would make a good Dalek”….. omg chills

Rose being there for her father’s death was really sad and moving. That whole episode was great, but that last moment was especially effective

“Kill yourself.” lol

Charles Dickens having his own sort of Scrooge-esque arc was really nice. A bit sad knowing that he would die a year after the episode is set, but still bittersweet and nice.

The Doctor’s joy after realizing everyone finally gets to walk away okay in episode 10 was great! It’s an amazingly emotional moment for someone who’s gone through so much loss and grief, and Eccleston plays it perfectly. Everyone lives!!!

Rose getting super glowy TARDIS powers was cool as hell for her development into a hero in her own right, as well as being dope as fuck overall. I’m gonna assume/headcanon that the “Heart of the TARDIS” that appears in the finale is the same as the Eye of Harmony that appears in the TV movie.

That final regeneration scene… So cool! I’ll miss Eccleston, but he made the most of his time as the 9th Doctor. The way David Tennant also makes his appearance uniquely his was super funny. Just kinda commenting on his new teeth and then shrugging it off.

Alright, that’s it for Series 1, as well as the end of Eccleston’s run as the 9th Doctor. It was a fun ride and an amazing start to this fresh new beginning to the franchise, but I suppose it’s time to move on with him. Now, onto Series 2, with David Tennant taking over as the 10th Doctor.

[ladylilit]

— I AM NO MOTHER. I AM NO BRIDE. I AM KING. ❞

private interpretation of 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍, 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 as adapted from hazbin hotel, inspired by lore & mythology. not affiliated with the creator. as deified by doll, she / her, 18+

temporary rules found @/voxistem.

aesthetic sideblog.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒 & 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐒. the monstrous feminine. the vilification of women in religion. death as a figure of subverted motherhood. cosmic horrors. hunger as a driving factor. woman as the voyeur. the omnipresent male gaze. the gothic & the sublime. the red sea / water motif.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐖𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐇 [ 𝐄𝐕𝐄, 𝐉𝐄𝐙𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐋, 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐇, 𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐀 … ]

𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄. lilith (lilit, lilis), belonging to the night. 𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒. the queen of hell. 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐓𝐒. the first wife of adam. mother of monsters, beasts, and demons. queen of night. the nightbird. patron saint of women. 𝐒𝐘𝐌𝐁𝐎𝐋𝐒. the night, the lunar phases, waters, owls & ravens, snakes, flowers, 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐒. primordial human, turned succubus demon. 𝐀𝐆𝐄. immortal. she's been around since the dawn of creation, made of the same soil as man. 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑. ciswoman, she / her. 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍. bisexual biromantic, heavy fem-leaning preference. 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒. estranged wife of lucifer morningstar. divorced from her prior marriage to adam. 𝐎𝐂𝐂𝐔𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍. queen of hell. politician. socialite & noblewoman of lucifer's court. singer & performer.

𝐆𝐎𝐃𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐈𝐒 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃. 𝐀 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐃.

𝐏𝐇𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐒. tall and strikingly beautiful, lilith was made of the same soil as man to be a perfect creature, though her banishment to hell perverted that beauty into 'sin', lending her charm an infernal, haunting air - she is an ancient terror, the mother of monsters, and she looks it. massive horns curve outward from her head, long & sharp nails, and sharpened canines. 𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓. 8'0 f. 8'5 in heels. 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄. she is fond of floor-length dresses, tight-fitting. her horns and hair are often ornate with jewellery and gems. her pearls are a gift from lucifer, they're very dear to her. 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌. a great winged beast, reminiscent of a dragon. 𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒. siren's voice. shapeshifting. pyrokinesis. occult knowledge & witchcraft. 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌/𝐒. charlize theron.

𝐓𝐈𝐃𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐒:

my portrayal of lilith plays with the idea that, as created equal to man, lilith is a narrative foil to adam in that she is cut of the same cloth — she is unapologetically confident, arrogant, and narcissistic. she is also clever & cunning, the snake hidden betwixt roses.

she is not all evil. she is not all good. she fights for the causes she believes in ( the liberation of women, the safety of her citizens, etc. ) but makes no apology for her aloof demeanour. she holds a lot of anger ... at adam, at god, at lucifer, for having failed her when it mattered.

she loved lucifer, and their family, though perhaps not in the way he wanted. she didn't feel satisfied in that role.

my main verse is based on the presumption that, before she was taken to heaven, lilith was plotting a rebellion against heaven, making political moves behind lucifer's back to wage war against the angels and put an end to heaven's tyranny.

[silentwonderlocks]

Ambrosia's Kiss- Pt.1- {Spencer Reid x F!Reader}

Chapter Summary: The team gets a new case that involves Geek Mythology, Spencer and the reader talk about flowers

Warning: This fic will have depictions of violence, and various detailed crimes. Use of Y/n.

Words: 2383

Pairing: Spencer Reid x F!Reader

So I decided to just add the prologue and first chapter together!

" kiss me yet once again, the last, long kiss,

            Until I draw your soul within my lips

                    And drink down all your love." 

                                                      - Aphrodite

 

The bullpen usually smelled of copy papers, caffeine, and sterilization, a strong clean scent that overpowered Spencer's bitter-tasting coffee as he went to sip from its plastic lid.  This morning was different though, there was a sweet floral scent that started subtly from the elevator. Subtle but enough to make Spencer question what has changed today for there to be such a comforting scent. It's not until he's almost reached the corner of his desk that the intoxicating aroma hits him in full force.

 His nose scrunches up as he scans around the nearby desks, searching for the source. Golden brown eyes lay upon a bouquet of cut spring flowers, brightly colored, varied in size and shape resting in a light blue vase on the desk behind him. Spencer examines the flowers, bending down so he can properly see and identify which ones there are. Lavender, snapdragons, sunflowers, and lilies. From the way the flowers are decorated, Spencer can tell that it's made with love and care, and a small part of his stomach sinks into theories. 

"Good morning Spence!" A bright cheery voice rang into the lanky man's ears startling him into the desk. According to his mother as a kid, he was prone to crashing into things, but now as a man, Spencer was still getting out of the habit. A small yelp escapes Spencer's mouth as he catches the nearly tipped-over bouquet before it can spill its contents all over the floor. He can't help the redness on his cheeks go as he straightens up to wave and give an awkward smile to the smaller woman below him.  "Ah...Good morning Y/n. " Spencer's voice is a bit higher than he would like since he was just caught off guard. 

"Sorry I didn't mean to sneak up on you." Y/n starts with an apologetic smile, then turns into a beaming one as her attention is now on the vase. "What do you think of the flowers??" 

Her hands reach forward to neatly rearrange the flowers from Spencer's little bump, her eyes sparkling full of life. Something Spencer wishes he still had, after nearly giving a decade of his life. He chases that spark, that taste of seeing the good in all of the bad in the world. Truthfully he was a bit jealous of his younger co-worker, she reminded him of his early years too much. Hopeful, Innocent, Naive, and Eager. 

He remembers when she first transferred over a year ago, how she wore a purple jeweled dragonfly pin in her hair which first caught his attention. When she fought to prove herself to the team by showing the fire buried deep inside or she had slipped her way into their family by just being there, and caring for them as they do her. Most important was how Spencer and Y/n cared for each other, they were best friends at work and outside of it. 

It all started on one movie night when Spencer had invited the group for a Halloween movie marathon and only Y/n and Garcia with Morgan as emotional support had shown up. A night well spent gushing over how fake the effects were and any movie lore that Spencer would whip up to tell. After that night they were practically inseparable, taking time in the mornings to converse and joke while the evenings would be work focused as partners. So much in fact that the team would tease each one from time to time about it. 

" They look nice and colorful. I could smell them from the elevator coming in." He answers bluntly, avoiding the elephant of a question in the room. There's no chance for Y/n to ask or respond before he speaks again.  

 "Hey, did you know that lavender was used by the ancient Egyptians during mummification?"  Spencer continues with a snap of his fingers as he begins to recall information, a gleam in his eyes.

Y/n snorts, moving the blue vase away from the edge so it doesn't have another fall, as she sits down in her cushion seat. Scooting closer to her desk, Y/n contently hums looking up at Spencer full attention now on him. Dressed in one of his high-end suits, in his favorite colors purple and gray. His brown curly hair unkempt in a mess but messy fit him well.  " Oh yeah? How so? Was it used as medicine or something?"

Spencer pauses for a moment, hesitating to continue for fear that someone will tell him to quiet down.  He side-eyes the room inspecting to see where their fellow team members are. Garcia was more than likely hiding in her bat cave, Emily was conversing with JJ over coffee in the break room while Rossi and Hotch were in their offices enjoying the calm before the storm. Morgan was nowhere to be seen so Spencer assumed he had to be at the firing range blowing off steam. No one was there to stop him, it was just him, her, and the tauntingly bright flowers. 

 "It's really simple actually. After finding out that the Romans were using a plant that created such a scent used for cleaning their laundry. The Egyptians were more about their beauty and hygiene.  They believed that if they scented their deceased then they would be closer to their gods. It's a big part of why most of the mummies discovered are preserved so well." There's something about the way that Spencer rambles that makes Y/n want to have his voice on a tape for road trips. It's soothing and so full of life when he talks passionately. The small movements his hands made exaggerated which points he wanted to. 

"Huh..that is the least disturbing thing about mummification I've ever heard. So…do the bodies still like lavender when they are found?"  As they talk Y/n can't help to lean forward, to take a small sniff from a strand of lavender. The image of a dirty wrapped-up body in a dusty and sandy tomb but with the periwinkle-colored plant's scent pictured clearly in her mind. 

" Yeah! When archeologists first discovered King Tut, they found a jar containing incense and it still was very fragrant!"  Spencer grins eyes darting back and forth between her and the flowers, lifting a hand to push back the front of his curls as he speaks. A mental note was made to himself to ask about them later. 

Y/n wonders what's on Spencer's mind since he won't stop eyeing the bouquet made for her sister. Just as she's about to say something Rossi walks over catching the attention of the two younger agents.  The senior agent seemed to be in a favorable mood no doubt from his late-night wine enjoyment and self–made Italian food. A playful look gleaming in his eyes along with a slight smirk.

“It must be a good morning if Boy Wonder is already talking your ear off. What’s today’s topic?” His tone was teasing but caring nonetheless. A white mug of black coffee in his hand labeled with red words ‘BAU’s Favorite Uncle”, a custom gift that Y/n and Garcia collabed for his birthday last year. The steam rising up from the cup, a sign that it was freshly made moments ago. 

“How lavender was used to help preserve corpses in ancient Egypt.” Y/n simply answered, trying to contain her grin. 

Rossi pauses mid sip of his coffee, the look on his face is one of slight dismay but not surprised. There’s a moment where he looks between Spencer and Y/n, hopeful that they are joking. When no one else speaks Rossi shakes his head to himself, finishing the sip before he responds out begrudgingly.

 “Sorry I asked.” No longer interested in the morning small talk, Rossi turns and begins to head towards the debrief room. A smile appears on Rossi’s face when he hears the mixed sounds of a light giggle and a deep chuckle, silently rooting for the two, he wished he heard more of those sounds often in this line of work.  The smile is gone as quickly as it came once Rossi meets up with Hotch in the debrief room, a look of disdain painted on his face. 

“Morning. Is everyone already here?” Hotch asks as he places down a tablet on the round table, pictures of their newest case visible on screen. 

“I believe so, we already have a new one? Here I was thinking the sickos would take a vacation for my benefit.” A light joke that cracks a tiny smile from the other man, before it goes back to his usual stoic expression.

“Then we would be out of a job. I’ll send a text to Garcia, have her round everyone up.”

True to his word, it only takes about 10 minutes for Garcia with her clicking heels and the rest of the team to trinkle into the room mentally preparing. Everyone grabs their tablets, turning them on to see the uploaded information while Spencer is happily given a mildly thick file. 

“Last night 25 year old Vanessa Garrett was found in one of Warren Valley’s local parks, and just 4 days before she was found, there was another woman. Caylee Danforth, 26 years old and was found in a different but nearby park. As you can see, someone has a sick sense of theatricals.” Garcia speaks, her tone already laced together with compassion and horror as she stands at the board. 

Photos of red-haired women dressed in elegant but vintage black dress, lying in a bed half full of daffodils.  There was discoloration to their skin, bound marks on their wrists showing that they were held captive for a long period of time. Their hands were placed in a resting position on the stomach, a lone daffodil frozen inside of them. There was also plenty of information on both of the women’s lives, giving a helpful insight into why they were chosen. Already the gears began to turn within the team’s heads, JJ can’t help but let out a dismayed noise earning the attention of her colleagues as she inspected the photos closer, her eyes zig-zagging over all of the evidence.

"He's cared for these women in some way, the way he positions the body, they are clean and dolled up." 

"He left them out in the open for the public to see. So he doesn't care about being hidden, he wants the world to know something." Morgan adds on to the flowing thought. 

"There are no signs of violence besides the bruising on the wrists, so what was the cause of death? Suffocation?" Hotch jumps in asking Garcia. 

" No, they were killed with some type of poison according to the M.E.  I have the tox screens being processed right now." Garcia answers back, taking an empty space in between Morgan and Y/n. 

“There’s a lot to go off of this, the clothing, the flowers. It all has some type of meaning.” Y/n finally speaks, unable to put together a fully grounded thought yet.

Hotch’s voice cuts through the air swiftly. “Whatever it is, we need to figure it out before he kills again.”

 

Thanks for reading! Comment, like and reblog to your heart's content! Message me if you want to be added to the tag list!

Divider belongs to @firefly-graphics

Tag list: @hydrangeasplotgarden @louderfortheback

[toxickeyboard]

Trigger warning: Don’t hug me I’m scared | Lesley | DHMIS Family & Death Ep | Mentions of 4th wall breaks and Red Guy’s Death.

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SILLY THEORY ABOUT THE DHMIS LORE

OK SO, Multiple times, the underground is mentioned, both Micheal & whoever “David” is, are underground

Those are also kinda some of the only human names in the series

ALSO THE LAMP MENTIONS “ one's soul after death goes to a place in-between the Earth's core and surface, where it relives its life as a performance to a super-race called "the Council",” WHICH LIKE 🤨

I think that humans (or human-like people) are the “other species” thing, since Micheals one of the only humans shown in the series and David’s played off as a very human name in the show and they’re both underground.

so what if Lesley’s one of the “reincarnated souls” but for some reason shes above ground?

so maybe whatever floor thats above lesleys could be “the council”?

idk

but

but

like

so cool

so like maybe theres a so-called “superior” species and maybe David, Micheal, and Lesley are part of that?

also this could include Lily & Todney & their family since they’re human (and they’re possibly canonically related to Lesley due to the picture of her in the family tree.), but the family could be non-human due to the end of the episode where they eat. but yeye

also this could include “big ian” & the other residents of Clayhill but they might not even canonically exist. ALSO could include the chimney sweep from the time song and the other humans in the song.

WAIT OMIGOSH

IT COULD ALSO INCLUDE THE PUPPETEER CHAPS SEEN IN THE BIG BOY ROOM & IN THE RED GUY HEAD EXPLODING SCENE. ALSO MAYBE BECKY & JOE SINCE THEY MIGHT EXIST IN THE UNIVERSE?

GGGAAAAAAAH I LOVE THIS THEORY HEHEHE 🎉 (/pos

I love Dhmis so much hhhgggggghghg

Also not including yellow guy’s dad in this theory since he makes me uncomfortable to talk about. Srry.

[harleyacoincidence]

*waves* hello! i tried to message you but apparently my messages don't want to work :(

Anyway, I'd love to know what YOU write about?

Hey there! Thanks for the ask! I'm so sorry, but Tumblr seems to have eaten your ask only to spit it out two years later. Since I just found this, I'll answer it now.

I don't really have a specialty genre, but my favourites to write are fantasy, dark comedy, sci-fi, horror, and crime. My WIPs usually include a combination of those genres, some of which you'll be introduced to below. Without further ado, I'll be going over the things I write (and trust me, the list is decently long) below the cut!

Quick warnings: depictions of manipulation, violence, gore, death, mentions of suggestive content and suicide (though nothing explicit for the latter two are shown, just acknowledgements of their existence)

Tales of an Unfortunate Summoner

A three-part WIP series where protagonist Henriette Cellante (a high school student passionate about the creative arts and summoning demons) goes about her life with her trusty emotional support demon sidekick friend, Hadeon

This series has elements of fantasy, dark comedy, and horror (with just a touch of sci-fi, if you know where to look)

This is by far the oldest of the WIPs I'm working on presently, as I started this back in high school (I'm planning to finish the series and then bring it up to my current writing standard, as OH BOY, ARE SOME PARTS EVIDENT OF THE TIME THEY WERE WRITTEN)

This work does contain subjects such as violence, death, and religious imagery (since, well, demons and such)

Here are some snippets (which definitely aren't just dialogue snippets from Hadeon, the character everyone who knows about this WIP has agreed is the best for some reason):

“What, you aren’t scared of me, heck you deny my existence, but you’re scared of a little gun?"

“Elliot. You’ve been here for literal hours, and you’ve spent it lying down on a carpet. You haven’t seen most of the cool things I carefully laid out to torment you with! What the heaven, man? The stuff is literally two steps to your right. That’s it. Get up or I’ll detonate the floor.”

“Hey, hey, kid, don’t worry about it. It’s not like you had anything weird hidden there, like fanfics or something. I’d only be mad if that was the case. Wait, either you don’t read fanfiction or you’ve hidden them from me really well. Where are the fanfics, Henriette?! WHERE ARE THEY?!?”

“I doubt you’ll remember this, but some omnipotent clown came by and removed me from your brain. I can’t get back in. There’s literally an anti-demon wall in your head right now.”

Love Corrupts Fresh Lilies

A WIP novel of mine I'm adapting from poems I wrote years and years ago, featuring protagonist Rafflesia Mallory, who can't seem to get her life together until she literally falls headfirst into another universe and becomes romantically involved with a deity of corruption and evil (don't ask me how, this WIP's novel form is far from complete)

This WIP is comprised of three genres, fantasy, horror, and dark romance (something I'm fairly new to, so this WIP is kind of a test drive for it)

I started this WIP (technically) a few years ago, with the poems dating back to around high school as far as I can tell (at least, the later half), and I've been trying to change it into novel since

I've taken a lot of breaks from this WIP, as it is extremely difficult to go about, especially with the background lore I've dreamed up (literally) for it

This work contains subjects such as violence, death, extreme levels of gore, childhood trauma, manipulation, and suggestive content (it's by far on the darker side of my WIPs, but definitely not the darkest thing I've ever written, that award goes to either the WIP after this or one of my fanfiction projects)

Here are some snippets (warning for gore, violence, and death below):

His blood covered the streets. You could see it for what felt like miles. Everyone knew what had happened to him, even if they hadn’t been in the town square that day. Those who had been there in the moment only had more of the spectacle to deal with. I had been there. I knew. The memory stained my mind as beautifully as his remains did against the stone. I hadn’t thought smoke to be so corporeal, but my darling had shown me his power and proved me wrong once again. He’d been slammed against the cobblestone and pinned there. The more he struggled, the tighter the grip became. When he cried out, he was lifted and smashed back down. Everyone had heard something crack and break. It was not enough. Smoky fingers moved from his throat to his chest and stomach. That was where they remained, until every drop of crimson essence had been wrung from his form. He was thrown against the ground once more, splashing in a puddle of blood and innards that had been grotesquely crushed and pulled apart. He wasn’t moving anymore. No part was lively, not even his eyes, which had been rolled back so far into his head that it was a miracle they hadn’t fallen in.

I could hear music playing in the distance. As I followed it, I found myself in a village square. The tune was upbeat, inviting, almost like it knew I had just arrived. Why would there be music playing now, of all times? A festival? I thought, What kind of festival would be on now specifically? Do they also celebrate a jazz festival? The music doesn’t sound like jazz. I nearly tripped over a tree root while lost in thought. Definitely not my proudest moment, I’m afraid.

“You! You evil, disgusting, potion-brewing, manipulating, unorganized, witchy freak!” “You overly-peppy, cotton-brained, goody-two-shoes pushover!” “They’re in love,” Hemlock whispered to me. “It’s clear as day,” I replied.

The Devoted Musician

This WIP is very dear to my heart, originally taking place as a random story I'd come up with after being inspired by various pieces of horror media including Creepypastas (specifically Lavender Town Syndrome, Godzilla NES, and Hypno's Lullaby)

It takes heavy inspiration from these Creepypastas, but I've tried to put my own spin on them to take small concepts they revolve around and build my own story

Technically, it's an analog horror series, but focuses more on tragedy than horror (I sort it into the genres of horror, dark comedy, and tragedy)

I've been working on this WIP for eight years now, and it's been putting several of my skills to the test (communicating with a team of editors as well as editing videos myself was never my strong suit, but I'm making it work)

This work includes subjects such as suicide, murder, death, loss, cults, manipulation, and overall declines in mental health/stability

Here are some pieces of media/snippets (some of these are concept art/drafts, as I want to keep this one relatively spoiler-free):

I remember the way her hands would glide over the strings…in that moment, they seemed like sinew and the soundbox like bone.

Idealism and Adherence

This WIP is one of the "newer" ones to my collection (one of the newer projects, as I haven't really had an idea for a major project in a long time, as I want to focus on finishing the ones I already have)

This WIP is the one I have the least clear outline for, despite putting a lot of planning into how its world works, but I have a protagonist by the name of Sasha, and she's part of a specific group seeking new members to join its cause

This WIP fits into the genres of dystopian, crime, and satire (the initial idea I had for this work was literally "What if people took fandom way too seriously in real life?")

This work contains themes of religious imagery, manipulation, indoctrination, violence, and suggestive content

Here are some snippets (from my first draft, with Heavy Emphasis on "first draft"):

Sasha recalled what Adrian had said to her before she went out on her mission: “The mayor’s even more impressionable now than he was ten years ago! A little riot with fire, and he leaves us to do whatever we want. He’s gonna senile over the past decade, I swear! Not that you would remember, Sasha,” he had laughed after the two of them had finished watching a news broadcast from their mayor.

High Paradise City had been named years and years ago, and couldn’t be further from its name in the present day. It was safe to say that the original premise no longer applied. From the littered streets and smokestacks to the government which had a minuscule amount of control over the fanatic citizens than ran wild, it was certainly not the place to be.

Undying Service

This WIP, despite technically being older than Idealism and Adherence, has had virtually zero progress since the day it sprang into my brain (the document literally only has the title on the page)

I've aimed to make it surround the death of a religious minister, and how they haunt their burial place

This WIP is aimed to fit into the genres of mystery and comedy

This WIP contains religious themes and mentions of death, grief, and loss

I literally have no snippets to give you (I'm sorry), so please take this map of Italy's land use:

Miscellaneous Works/Fun Facts:

I've written a ton of short stories and drabbles (I'm talking five pages or under this time, not what Tales of an Unfortunate Summoner was supposed to be), with most of them being horror-related

I've posted a few here, but it was a while ago and my writing has improved a little since then, so I won't be putting them here again

I've written a few fanfics, some of them being requests from people I know (I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be writing Transformers or Pokémon fanfiction, but here we are)

The longest fanfiction I've ever written was about 52K words, and it was the aforementioned project in the Love Corrupts Fresh Lilies segment

I had the urge to write whump for Cuphead (a fandom I've been in officially since 2020, and an interest I've had since the game released), and I got a little carried away with what was supposed to be multiple unrelated oneshots

If I ever post it (which I might after I get a few more beta readers and go through to edit it a few more times), you'll know

I also happen to have a writing request blog now, which you can find at @coincidentallyarequestblog (I'm a bit nervous, honestly, as I'm not all that confident in my writing skills, but I was convinced by some friends of mine to make that blog, and they know I can't bring myself to delete it that easily)

Unrelated fact: I do speak some French, and it's a goal of mine to one day write something that's entirely in French (it's a daunting goal, but I'm determined to do it one day)

[storiesoflilies]

school bus love

synopsis: he wasn’t the kind of boy who was noticed first, but when she finally saw him, the world made just a little bit more sense.

pairing: teen!toji fushiguro x teen!f!reader

warnings: none.

a/n: hello my lovelies! here’s a little piece of lily lore, and just a smidgen of my heart sprinkled into it too. this is based on the very first time i laid eyes on my boyfriend when we were young and seventeen <3 if anybody wants a continuation of this, do let me know :) enjoy xo

part 2

how strange it was to leave behind everything you had ever known for your whole life, all in pursuit of the future you wanted for yourself.

the tips of her fingers were ice-cold, with nail beds dipped in a light blue hue, and puffs of her breath came out in whispy swirls. there was no sun in the sky, only grey clouds promising sleet and snow, near slips on the icy asphalt. she stared down the road, shoving her hands into her blazer pockets, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet. she thought of home, knowing it most certainly wouldn’t be this cold there.

her bus buddy was standing beside her, careful not to lean against the wet stone wall behind them, while she typed frantically on her phone. the younger kids around them chattered away without a care in the world, still viewing the cold world around them through rose-tinted glasses, their zest for life seeming invincible.

she thought about how it didn’t seem all that long ago that she was just like them, only on the other side of the world.

“hey, by the way, my friend says she’s going to join us today,” her buddy announced, flicking her hair over her shoulder with an air of nonchalance. “she gets on at the next stop.”

“sure, yeah,” she replied, not really knowing what else she could say, and acutely aware that her opinion held quite little value.

this was a whole new world to her, a completely different way of life than before. she wasn’t used to having to learn all to navigate through the intricate social rules that came with enrolling in a school where students had known each other since they were toddlers. it was hard, and so very isolating. she didn’t like how subdued she had become and clung desperately to the hope that things would get better.

her bus buddy carried herself with her chin stuck in the air, clearly relishing in how much she didn’t know about anything at all, and was more than happy to share and gossip. she told her about who was in each friend group, where they all liked to drink in secret at the weekends, and who was dating who. menial things too, like how they had somehow earned the right to sit at the back of the bus simply because they were older, and how sitting anywhere else would garner harsh stares, as if she’d grown two heads.

not that any of it really mattered to her. she was just living on a big floating rock amidst the stars and inky black expanse of the universe, and was only here to finish her high school education and move onto bigger and brighter things.

hopefully.

as if on cue, the headlights of the bus shone through the misty air, coming to a screeching halt at the bus stop. she breathed out a sigh of relief, taking her hands out of her pocket and blowing hot air into them, rubbing them together in anticipation.

“fuck, fuck, c’mon let’s get on quick and get good spots,” her friend ushered, clearly impatient. “c’mon, before all the boys get here.”

they pushed through the throng of kids clambering onto the bus, and she felt a stab of guilt, although she was grateful to be getting out of the cold. her bus buddy ostentatiously plonked herself right onto a comfy spot in the back corner, and she slowly took the seat opposite to her.

“you think the boys are going to say anything?” she asked, slightly nervous, not wanting to be stuck in the middle of a confrontation.

her friend snorted. “who gives a shit if they do?”

heat rose to the back of her neck, and she rubbed it shyly, placing her backpack onto the floor between her legs. her friend was already texting again on her phone, paying her no attention, and she busied herself with trying to fish for her earbuds, and perhaps an old memory hidden somewhere in her pockets.

soon enough, she heard the familiar sounds of the boys whooping and boisterous voices approaching the end of the bus, and she shrank further into the safety of her crevice.

“hey hey hey! the fuck’s goin on here?” droned the familiar voice of satoro gojo, who was looking at them both with a disgusted crinkle of his perfect nose.

“shut up, gojo,” her friend spat back, sitting up straighter in her seat, glaring daggers at satoru that dared him to try and say anything else. “we were here first.”

satoru seemed to concede, albeit quite obviously begrudgingly. “whatever,” he mumbled, then returned to talking about whatever the rest of them were conversing about before.

the rest of the boys clambered into the seats, with satoro and suguru geto beside each other to the far left of them, with kento nanami sliding politely onto the seat beside her, quietly apologizing for brushing his leg against hers.

and then.

he sat down across from her, right beside her friend.

he, a boy with gorgeous dark hair and even more beautiful green eyes, immediately put his feet up in the tiny sliver of space between her and nanami. he who was big and broad, just exactly her type, and deliciously handsome. she was almost shell-shocked. had she ever seen this boy before in the two months she’d been here? something inside her told her that she had, but this had to be the first time she was really seeing him.

he glanced at her before immediately putting his headphones over his ears, tuning out the sound of the bus engine rumbling and sputtering.

she bit her lip and mirrored him, ignoring that familiar boom! badum! boom! of her heart.

the world flashed with a shade of rosy pink promises.

the universe smirked at her.

©storiesoflilies 2024, all rights reserved. please do not plagiarize, translate, or repost any of my work on other sites! i only post on ao3 and tumblr.

[eorzea80]

As it is Solstice, and as I am wont to [stay up until dawn and worry the heck out of my living spouse, daroga], and wait for some House of Ill Repute to pay out its winnings, I suppose I will weave a yarn. I had always set out for my WoL...if I can call "her" that, to be "the older but wiser [girl]"

[From here on out, I'm going to dispense with qualifiers. While I have a rather casual relationship with gender, my character, despite their obvious Mary/Boy Named Sue qualities uses she/her pronouns. Anything beyond that is for her to figure out in time.] I didn't want her to be a chipper 17-year-old HS senior featured in so many fantasy and sci-fi narratives.

[Please ignore my Sukeban Deka cosplay in the thumbnail].

On the other hand, I didn't think she could carry a hardened Ripley-esque facade. A Merlwyb I am not.

I did want to integrate a few circumstances from my life and reflect the fact that I do have a partner whom I love and respect, but for whom MMO's are kind of a no-go. I want to be able to RP, but avoid some of the complications I've heard about. Please keep in mind that I do not possess the "smells like lore"...ya know, ...lore? I just looked on Amazon for those books and I think I'm going to be sick at the price. I'm just going off of what little I've played over 10 years. Remember, dungeons make me break out in hives, so I only ever got the courage to attempt them in Shadowbringers/Endwalker. [Deep breath] Pryne Caris is the child of researchers on Sharlyan, with family ties to Gridania and Ishgard. As is usually the case, once her mother was with child, she set aside her ambitions in favor of raising her daughter and supporting her husband's research [true story]. Pryne was a quick study. Beyond knowing *of* Y'shtola, who was a few years above her, *of* G'raha, who was a few years below her, and maybe babysitting the Leveilleur twins [THRICE, NEVER AGAIN, true story], Pryne had few academic contacts outside of her year [In theory, Krile should have been a bestie, but I can't find THE LORE to support that]. Nevertheless, she still rose through the the ranks, buoyed by her parents' confidence and competence. It seems to me that she would have sought out the opportunity to become an Archon and possibly been a Student of Baldesion...but a few circumstances intervened. In the years preceding the Seventh Umbral Calamity, Pryne's father began to go mad. As his work became increasingly useless to the cause of Etheirys, he was stripped of his duties and institutionalized in a facility within Labyrinthos. His family, not being current or vested researchers within Sharlyan, were given a choice: Stay in their home and work to subsidize his care, with almost nothing left over for their own needs; or leave and have his care fully funded by the institution. It really wasn't much of a choice. Pryne's research was left behind unfinished; a torch for other students to carry [true story, that's how it works in academia sometimes]. I haven't the foggiest clue what she was specializing in, as she came to her fighting class later in life, but I imagine she was trying to find some woo-woo link between magical and physical classes; something that G'raha may have picked up on as he became our favorite All-Rounder. She and "Ma Mère" left for Gridania, stayed with kinfolk in Central Shroud for a spell, and then splurged on an apartment in the Lily Hills complex. Beside doing academic spec work for Gridanian government and guilds, they established a bar, "Salutations" [Cheers], which is where they turned most of their gil. Within a year, they went from sleeping in a double-bed behind the bar to each having an apartment of their own, one floor apart [true story...you're going to see a lot of those *cough* Mary Sue *cough*] Around the end of their first year in Gridania, as conditions worsened, a regular patron invited her to the Lancers' Guild in town.

"You know, just so you can defend yourself." "I can defend myself just fine, thank you!" "I'm sure you can, but it's much more convincing with a pointy stick!"

Again, she was a quick study. He tutored her and when her researcher's mind absorbed all he could give, he referred her on to the guild leader; and then on to Coerthas.

"Come back to me when you are a Dragoon. Come back to The Shroud and we will be married."

In her head, the peace of The Sanctum and the fires of Carteneau flash back and forth, strobing, blinding.

"We were both there, side by side, hand in hand, ready to meet our uncertain future. We moved but a finger and one of us vanished."

Like most afflicted with post-Calamity amnesia, Pryne cannot remember the fate of her husband on the fields of Carteneau.

Unlike those afflicted, a new vision has cropped up to take the place of those irradiated memories.

Hydaelyn.

Pryne was not asking for someone to kick her in the pants and out of mourning for her husband. Her mother certainly wasn't going to go there, having barely mourned her own husband's loss as well. Oh, no, no. Our dear Hydaelyn, our Friend From Another End[walker], was there to show us the way out of our grief. Show us = SEND US ON A MESSIANIC QUEST WITH A BUNCH OF OLD CLASSMATES. So now she's here. Saving suicidal bird girls and trying not to see all the similarities between her husband [WHO MIGHT STILL BE OUT THERE] and this five-foot-three flagon of charged Hawaiian Punch. Who may or may not be a former classmate. Who she may or may not have saved from being a giant quartz statue. ----- [I WON THE LOTTERY! I NEVER WIN CRAP! It's kind of a life-changing amount of gil. I have no clue what I'm going to do with it [nothing, I'm doing nothing, I'm saving it for a nest egg and never touching it like in real life].

And now she's back at Salutations, watching careworn former soldiers make terrible jokes on her stand-up stage. Keeping Alisaile from raiding the bar ["Why do I never have this issue with Alphinaud?"]. Keeping gil in the jukebox. Keeping it all from slipping through her fingers a third time.

----- Please be kind to my lore that is not lore. A lot of it is left ambiguous so that I can maybe write my partner in at a later date, if they care to join. Also, because I DON'T HAVE THE LORE BOOKS BUT NOW I KNOW THEY EXIST AND I WANT THEM.

[ssszlami]

Harry Potter characters as things my friends have said except there's way too many characters

Yes, we write down funny things we say, no that's not weird

Harry: “I wanna jump out a castle window but like not die” 

Ron: “WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE GOOD AT SOMETHING???”

Hermione: “It’s feminine to write a paragraph”

Neville: “Lore update: I’m confused as hell.”

Luna: “Hey I can’t come to the party on Friday night, I just bought a bunch of cows and I gotta chill with them.”

Ginny: “I feel like you’re only dating me for my brother.”

Draco: “My chat is in it’s gaslight era”

Dean: “This is a lot like a cult for a Christian movie”

Seamus: “Agility: Setting things on fire and watching it explode... but in different directions.”

Dumbledore: “No one here has committed any crimes, and if you have, they were funny crimes, so it’s fine”

McGonagall: “When u get to the exam its not gonna be helpful that you spent your lessons drinking gatorade and eating donuts”

Snape: “If you’re going to traumatise children at least make it aesthetic”

Sirius: “I’m so alpha that the men around me change their sexuality to accomodate for me”

Remus: “I have four lines of self-hate for you”

Lily: “The milfs in my bag”

James: “No beta we die like parental figures”

Molly: “Goodnight offspring.”

Arthur: “How often a day do you reckon your car gets a boner?” 

Fred: “Love. Truth. Bodacious Booty.”

George: "In this world, it's either meme or be memed. In my case it's both."

Percy: “It is boring! But.....we like boring.”

Bill: “Sometimes you gotta ruin the vibe for the greater good”

Charlie: "Close your face nipples and think about dragons" 

Oliver: “I’m a white man, we always win! Except at sports….except at hockey”

Hagrid: “You can't say fuck you to the dog!”

Lavender: “Not all women want to kiss women. I know, that one was a hard pill for me to swallow”

Parvati: “There is no girl on earth who is so straight she wouldn’t love having another pair of boobs around”

Padma: “Nobody likes princesses!! They’re white bitches who weren’t loved enough as children”

Crabbe: “Pancake....buttplug……pancake…….buttplug”

Goyle: *grunt* “Yes I just farted.”

Cho: “I was like ‘whatever’. Wait no I was really sad”

Cedric: “I just thumbs-upped the roof down”

Krum: “*completely monotone voice* but wait there’s more”

Fleur: “Sexism is bad. Kill everyone.”

Tonks: “Gotta go to the bathroom to change my gender real quick”

Moody: “This is not a time for sassy comebacks, this is a time for SURVIVAL!”

Lockhart: “Because I look cute it’s all my fault. Thats how that works apparently.”

Umbridge: “Oh my god it’s me! Shiny trash!”

Voldemort: “Sorry I’m holding your parents hostage and killing you but your parents can’t hear your screams of terror because they can’t hear you right now”

Bellatrix: “YOU GOTTA KILL SOME CHILDREN TO GET TO YOUR TRUE LOVE”

Lucius: “Have you started another cult?”

Narcissa: “Your son is okay” *sobs and cries*

Kingsley: “I haven’t laughed since 1972.”

Peter: “So, you’re on the floor spooning the rat”

Slughorn: “*loud chewing noises* Wow I hate myself”

Mundungus: “My voice cracked on the crack and im on crack”

Dobby: “I took my ugg boots off for that.”

Winky: “Is she gonna kill me? I’m very excited.”

Kreacher: “It’s just war miss it’s not upsetting at all” 

Myrtle: “I went to the toilet and I see like the toilet seat around her neck”

Trelawney: “Teaching pigeons to be art connoisseurs” 

Filch: “He’s like a really sticky person!”

Dudley: “Screw you I just want stuff”

Petunia: “Is there a reason you’re interrupting me mid-soup?”

Vernon: “So he’s mad” “Yeah he’s cranky” “No like insane”

Pansy: “I don’t hurt them I just legally stab them”

Lee: “Bro that’s rather cringe”

Quirell: “I don’t need an exorcism” “That’s exactly what somebody who needs a exorcism would say”

Amos: “I’m one of the last old white boys”

Karkaroff: “Terrible behaviour…. ur in denial my guy” 

Xenophilius: “EVERY JOB IS A GOVERNMENT JOB, AND I DONT KNOW WHO THE PRIME MINISTER IS”

Greyback: “I… put my hand inside his chest…and ripped out his lungs” 

Cormac: “Closeted homophobic”

Blaise: “He’s more attractive in a suit.” “ALL MEN ARE!”

Regulus: “Lucy it’s my turn to drown!!”

Aberforth: “ME? A member of the TEN COMMANDMENTS??"

Nearly Headless Nick: “Well, if you have to execute me… ok”

Marietta: “You can’t slay if you vape”

Mrs Figg: “Old lady woman man and his dog”

[dreamrecorder]

When the earth crumbles to dust.

Alternatively: "Until then, we will find each other again." <|||>

fluff & angst shot, reincarnation au, modern au

| Zhongli x Guizhong | Zhongli x Reader |

Warning: ptsd, panic attack

He came to learn of the name of the young woman with billowing sleeves. Guizhong.

Zhongli realized, that the Goddess of Dust has become a prominent turning point of his life. Back then when he lived the title of the God of War, he was vicious, cold, and unfeeling. However, because of her, such attributes mellowed and eventually died out.

When the goddess died, cutting off her final words, grief and despair washed over the man. Such emotions, he had not felt before. But because of her, he feels. He felt these foreign yet strong emotions run through him. All these emotions, for her.

Yet, it was too late, Zhongli realized.

It was hard for him to stand back up after her death in the field of wilted glaze lilies. Yet the man hardened himself, as he is the very embodiment of the earth. Thus, he protected her people and his which would later unite to what is Liyue today.

Perhaps, if he had not met her, Liyue would not exist.

However, to this day the memory of her death still haunts him. What would have she said, if she completed her final words?

'If you can unlock it-' then what? If the man was being honest, he was not sure if he wanted to hear those words. However, truth be told Zhongli does know how to complete the puzzle Guizhong had left him.

He was just scared. Afraid even. The Memory of Dust... Zhongli was afraid that if he unlocked it, it would also turn into dust, just as the goddess did. This is why he did not bother unlocking the artifact as it is his final memento of his love... Zhongli knew that the time will come when he is ready to open the artifact. As such, the God of Contracts made a contract to himself.

...

There was a time, actually, when he was ready to unlock the secrets of the Memory of Dust. However, a certain someone made him rewind his emotions of grief and longing all over again.

A woman with long, snow white hair and a pair of red eyes- along with the skill of crafting and constructing proven by the floating chamber above Liyue. Everything about that woman reminded him of Guizhong. It just pains him. In fear of feeling grief again, he avoided her as much as possible. But it didn't help him any further preparing himself to open the Memory of Dust.

So, he waited, abiding by the contract Zhongli made for himself.

...

Sipping tea, Zhongli finishes typing the last of his speech for a seminar regarding the history and culture Liyue. He leaves the cafe, with the next destination in mind- the local museum of Liyue. As a man of culture, Zhongli finds visiting the museum a pleasant experience. However, today's visit made him empty.

Just as he was gazing on a painting of glaze lilies, a young woman with billowing sleeves, stood by him.

At first, he had not paid you any attention. He only did when you spoke.

"You know... when I painted this, most of the time I think something's missing. Even now, actually."

Zhongli's gaze focused on the woman, and he swore he saw her. He gulped.

"I think... the scenery is perfect by itself already. What would you have added if you think your piece is still lacking?"

You pondered a bit, white hair shfting as your head tilted. Your red eyes, suddenly deep with wisdom.

"I don't know..." you began as doubt laced your voice. "I thought of two different scenarios before... But whatever scenario I choose, their outcome would be the same. They would make me... sad?

I'm not gonna lie, I like how this piece turned out. To others, it would seem that scene conveys serenity and happines, but to me... It just seems so... empty."

Zhongli hummed in understanding and agreement, as he, too also sees the emptiness in the painting despite the great skill and detail in it. It was missing her. The painting was empty, just like his heart. "If you don't mind, would you like to share to me what you wanted to add?"

You met the man's eyes and a flick of familiarity whirred in your head, but you ignore it. "Maybe another time? I'm just here for a quick visit the director."

For some reason, Zhongli felt disappointed. "I see. Perhaps another time then. I'm usually here every Sunday evening."

"Sure, I... I think I can work with that. See you then." And with that, you left. Leaving the man in the dust.

The next time Zhongli met you, it was another Sunday evening. When proper introductions were done, again, there was that flick of familiarity, but you did not bother. Once the both of you are seated in the benches just outside the museum, you showed him your laptop. When you did, you saw the the way Zhongli's expression shifted into a familiar sadness. It was almost like the expression you make whenever you face the empty painting.

"The field of glaze lillies, you see... I dream of it a lot. But not as the one displayed in the gallery. There were always two scenarios in the same field of glaze lillies."

Nostalgia filled Zhongli's entire being and he felt the Memory of Dust hum softly within him. It gave him a sense of comfort. The first picture was that of him and Guizhong in perfect likeness of their appearances. And the second... The second was also in perfect likeness of her death.

Observing the man's reaction. Something- sank into you. A realization. "Why... why do you look like him?"

The question brought Zhongli back to reality and quickly recovered himself, replying that it must be pure coincidence and chance. But he knows that you are her.

You were suspicious at his answer first, but brushed it off. Then your phone rang. Looking at the caller, you stood up. It was time for you to leave again.

"It seems that our time together has come to an end. As for the paintings, forget about it, would you?" Then you turned around, about to leave.

Those words... those words were also what Guizhong uttered when she-

The bench creaked as the man abruptly stood up, grabbing your wrist.

"D-don't leave..." Zhongli croaked, feeling... things again.

There was a desparation in his eyes you couldn't ignore. Your heart was beating loudly in panic. Don't leave? Why? Observing the man again, you decided that your worries were not of your priority. Zhongli began to sweat profusely, his grip tightening, his breathing labored, his body shivering, his eyes clouding.

"Shit, calm down, Zhongli. I'm not leaving. I'm not leaving..." you said with a reassuring tone as you sat the two of you on the bench. His grip was still on your wrist but you didn't mind. "Come on work with me, Zhongli. Breathe with me. There, inhale... exhale... inhale... exhale..."

Inhale...

Exhale...

Inhale...

Exhale...

You're not leaving. You're there. You're alive. You're alive. You're alive. You're aliveYou're aliveYou're aliveYou're aliveYou're aliveYou're aliveYou're aliveYou're aliveYou're aliveYou're aliveYou're aliveYou're aliveYou're aliveYou're aliveYou're alive

"You okay?" Your voice brought him back to life again. Trying to reassociate himself, Zhongli took note of his surroundings. Then, he took note of how your hands held his.

"What's this?" The question piqued his curiosity. You knelt down the floor and lifted something, but he could not see. He took another note again, his heart felt emptier. Emptier...

The Memory of Dust!

When you were back at his side again, his panic rose when he saw you holding the memento. His instonct told him to take it back, but the way you held it seemed... right.

"This... How did you get this? I had this when I was five then it suddenly went missing when I was sixteen. How did you get this?"

Zhongli steeled himself. It was now or never. "D-Don't you remember me...? Guizhong?"

And just like that, your name from long before along with the artifact unlocked the memories which presented themselves as dreams haunting you for so long.

You saw everything. A great golden dragon by your side. A man and a crane on a high mountain peak. Battles and deaths. Ballistas. The floating chamber. The death of the dragon. And most of all, the man by your side with you in a field of lovely glaze lillies.

With tears streaking your cheeks, you gingerly held the now glowing artifact. "Are you not going to open this yet?" You asked the man with a teasing grin and an equally teasing tone towards him.

Zhongli, still processing, could only blink at your question. "W-what?"

You chuckled at his state. "Has your brain finally eroded, Morax? I asked when are you going to open the Memory?"

Morax?

Zhongli swiftly pulled you into a hug as he buried his face on your shouldef. He was holding onto you for dear life as you reciprocated the gesture as well.

"It's really you..." Zhongli murmmured, voice muffled, when you took notice of the interval shivers of his body.

"Come on, please tell me those are happy tears?" You asked curiously, still caressing the long hair of his. Zhongli could only nod and you laughed once more.

The moment the man nodded, the Memory of Dust crumbled away and Zhongli understood.

A/n: brain dead thoughts empty but i need more guizhong lore but happiness is the way to go lol

[badass-at-fandoming]

Just Little Ventrue Things ~

I finished a Camarilla Ventrue run of VTMB. Mostly, the only thing Ventrue these days know how to do is Dominate, run screaming, eat hot chip, and lie, and [high falsetto voice] here’s a list of other nonsense I discovered:

PC’s name is Christina; she’s a Dominatrix because I’m bi. Her sire was one of her clients, and she’s actually very, very angry about his death. She doesn’t mind being a vampire. She’s Wiccan and part of a coven

In this Camarilla run, I decided I would only do quests given by Camarilla members. My justification was that, while Christina is intelligent and curious about lore, she focuses on tasks that immediately relate to her and her goals. She’s not curious about others; won’t go out of her way to talk to them. She’s not a bleeding heart, like my other PCs, and she believes in the Camarilla’s laws. She just hates LaCroix for killing her sire. Her plan during the game is to curry as much favor within the Cam as possible and cozy up to LaCroix so she can stab him.

Enough backstory

Nonsense time

Smiling Jack laughs at you if you don’t eat a rat in the tutorial. LOL. The Ventrue dialog is like “I could barely choke down the homeless man: please don’t make me eat a rat!”

The blood in the Santa Monica haven’s fridge is now blue blood. Does regular blood make Ventrue sick? I was too scared to experiment.

[spots Mercurio] I am going to steal that ghoul

Rosa: The people you’re looking for are up there. Christina, assuming Rosa is a Cam agent: Okay, thanks, bye

Never spoke to the Thin-Bloods again (sorry Lily baby ;-;)

Everyone except Julius still leaves when the PC reaches Hollywood

If you try to feed on Julius, he WILL kick you in the head and you WILL glitch into the fire, be on fire; run away screaming in Prada

You can skip the whole basement of the Ocean House Hotel if you manage to jump over the hole in the staircase???? Like?? You mean the spookiest fucking level has been optional this whole time I”M

[ghost appears] [Christina smacks it with an axe] None of that.

Club girls speak to Christina and I’m on the FLOOR

Therese “kills” Jeanette, even though I had enough oompa to make that not happen.

Therese joins the Camarilla and says she’s in good position to be the next Prince??? Hello??? Where is our Prince Voerman ending????

Went straight to LaCroix, called him “sir,” and he name-dropped Napoleon.

LaCroix tells Christina to go visit the Anarchs. She blows the Anarchs off (Nines made a growly face, Damsel dialog yowl-exited out after I asked if she wanted to join the Cam; Skelter threatened to murder me twice). When LaCroix told Christina that, while he admired her Cam loyalty, she must listen to her enemies to understand what they wanted, it felt like he was actually being a good sire and mentor.

That’s weird.

When Christina asked for his history, he very carefully explained his lineage, like the important part of Ventrue culture it is.

Overall, I found LaCroix-being-nice-to-me extremely unsettling.

Sir. Stop smiling at me, sir. Stop being impressed I don’t ask for money. STOP MAKING ME UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE LIKE YOU, SIR.

In contrast, LaCroix sounded genuinely betrayed at the end

Also made it more obvious when he started to lose track of his marbles

Ventrue PC seems juuuuuuust tall enough for her forehead to glitch into the ceiling of literally any confined space

The dirty Elizabeth Dane policeman didn’t psspspspsp at Christina so the whole ship was 15 white-knuckled minutes of making police dance and scuttling about

There is!!! A lot less!!! Talking in this game!!! Than I remember!!! She is only good at talking and ordering people around i am bEGGING

All EXP goes to Dominate and making Christina extremely charismatic and buff.

Ventrue himbo????

Beckett un-himbo-ifies her

She insults Beckett on their first meeting, spitting out “What do you want, wolfie?!” I thought this was appropriate because she died like, 4 times on that warehouse mission and was Extremely Stressed And Under Duress

Beckett’s response of “Oh, you’re too young to have mouthed off to the truly old ones yet.” makes his later snide remark of “the young ones are so temperamental” 900% funnier. Yeah, LaCroix! Beckett thinks I’ve grown and am now more mature than you! XD

Missions involving sex workers hit different when you’re a sex worker.

Christina was incandescent with rage at the Brotherhood

Grout’s mansion mission was a lot of “I have no interest in this nonsense.”

For the first time ever, I didn’t kill anyone during the Museum quest! This is because Christina ran very fast and Dominated every guard as quickly as possible. Every single fucking guard knew she was there, but could do nothing about it, because they were dancing. The door to the sarcophagus locked (it will do this if too many guards are agro), but locked doors are no match for noclip hack.

Entertaining image of a tall woman absolutely blasting into this museum room and Beckett tackling her to the floor like wait! I must snark at you! You are legally obligated to speak with me!

Isaac is still somehow a pretty chill guy to work with if you’re Camarilla.

Christina didn’t visit VV or Ash. Interestingly, Ash didn’t show up at the hunter monastery later. Did he just die in his club? Is he still there, waiting, deciding?

Christina @ Andrei: what the fuck is this shit

“I don’t care. It’s ugly. Clean it up.”

SEWERS.

Not as bad as I was expecting

Did take shortcut, run away from fights, ducked out in the middle for a snack, and bring 7 blue blood packs tho

Gary threatened to shred her face with a cheese grater, which I thought was Toreador only dialog?? It must be connected to the Appearance Stat. Which Christina has maxed out.

When Heather became Christina’s ghoul, I was delighted because I thought this meant Christina would always have fresh blood.

No

If you ask to feed on her too soon after the last time, Heather says she feels light headed and wants to lie down. The dialog exits out

I love you, Heather bb

Perfected the art of nudging NPCs into corners

Mitnick’s quests now feature Enforced Nap Time for all guards

Seriously, Dominate is ridiculously powerful, hooooly shit. I get why people like it. I also like it when people do things I ask them to do.

Christina can’t sneak, but she CAN strongly encourage everyone to choke on their own tongues.

Very high contrast in the beginning of the game: 2 punches would knock her over, but anyone she spoke to would obey immediately and without question

Chinatown goes by ridiculously fast if you can’t sneak and don’t do any sidequests besides Mitnick’s.

For the first time ever, Zhao survived! This is because Christina made him take a nap.

He just told her to leave

You’re welcome, my good dude

IDK if it’s a game glitch, but Christina would vocalize? In battle, she grunts with effort and pain.

Got to the point where I kept expecting Dominate dialog in every interaction and would get disappointed if it didn’t show up. What do you mean I have to actually convince people? That’s lame.

Christina was polite and charming to Ming Xiao, who also conveyed a deeper betrayal than normal at the end. ;-;

I promise to give you a Ventrue boy toy soon, Xiao

Finale arc quests went by VERY FAST because Christina can’t sneak for shit. Just run in, Dominate blazing

You can skip the outside bit of the Hallowbrook Hotel if you find the open door on the top level what the fuuuuuuuuuCK

[“A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” plays while Christina wipes out the Sabbat in 10 minutes]

Andrei disappeared mid-fight and didn’t come back until I complained that only I was allowed to run away from boss fights

I’m categorizing “triggering the interaction to save Heather” as something quite difficult to do. The timing has to be just right. I’ve missed it twice now. BUT hacking into the game to save her is easy.

I love you, Heather bb

Final Beckett talk had the vibe of “You’re a very different person than me, but you’re also High Humanity and trying to do good. You don’t deserve to die.”

Damsel threatens to kick the shit out of Christina and is extremely reluctant to tell her where Nines is

“Out of all people, they send you? All right, let’s just talk terms.” - Nines because Christina was short with him one (1) time

WEREWOLF HARD

You can just?? Walk out of your haven?? Without speaking to Jack at all???

I didn’t do that

But I could have

[”Dust in the Wind” plays while Christina kills entire Camarilla hit squad in 3 minutes]

You can visit Mercurio and Trip on your way out of Santa Monica??

Mercurio makes no comment on the blood hunt. Business as usual with him. This is fine.

Christina: I’m SO going to adopt that ghoul. And perhaps Isaac can be convinced to part with Romero...

(For the first time ever, my PC boinked Romero. Twice, to receive the break up email)

This is definitely a glitch, but Christina brushed up against Caine, and a worried voice said, “Are you all right?” It sounded like the same voice actor, but a higher pitch?

Always nice to think about Caine demonstrating care

Christina asked Caine who he is, and Caine replied that he “gets people where they’re going. [He’s] a driver,”  which is a nice nod (lol) to both his literal job as a driver and as a shepherd/creator/god to Kindred. Caine creates and makes fate.

Caine triple checks with Christina that she’s sure Strauss won’t betray her. Thanks, Vampire Dad. :’D

For some reason, only other Ventrue guarded LaCroix’s tower. I wonder if this is intentional. Like all the other Camarilla Clans backed Strauss and left? So only LaCroix’s Ventrue lackeys remain? Anyway, it created some weird moments where Christina fought her double.

KILL YOUR DOUBLE

Sheriff laughed in haughty joy that he was to kill Christina. I don’t remember him laughing in other playthroughs.

Christina ruining Caine and Jack’s prank oh noes

[wheres-sam]

I binge-watched the spn anime because of the brain rot

It’s bad except for the parts that are good, and it’s pretty to look at. Here’s a comprehensive list of pros and cons. Spoilers ahead!

Pros:

- more psychic kid backstories: Max (Nightmare), Lily (Darkness Calling), Jake (Loser)

- more psychic Sam

- more Azazel

- basically if you want more about the psychic/demon kids, watch the anime

- more young Winchesters

- the monsters, the superhuman abilities, the fight scenes, it all looks really cool animated. (But PSA it’s violent. It doesn’t shy away from blood and gore.)

- Sam and Jessica backstory

- more of the brothers being cute and funny together

- Missouri isn’t forgotten

- includes some Japanese legends/mythology

- the impala looks great in every scene. They did Baby good

- the “Supernatural” intro title

- the outro sketches of the boys hanging out with Baby

- Episodes adapted from the original show are different, but I like some of the changes? It’d be boring if it was an exact retelling and the visual medium wasn’t utilized. (I know I said spoilers before, but this is when they get detailed. If you wanna skip over, I’ll tell you where they STOP.)

Nightmare goes more into the abuse Max has suffered. Instead of locking Sam in a closet, Max sends Sam through the floor and covers the hole by breaking his bed in half, and it’s extremely sexy how Sam shoves the 2 halves apart with his mind. Later on Dean puts bandaids on Sam and they talk about demons loudly in front of a fast food intercom.

In My Time of Dying highlights the guilt Sam feels over Dean. In both the og and the anime John verbally blames Sam for not shooting Azazel, but where in the og Sam goes right on arguing, in the anime he reels back for a moment like he was slapped. Dean’s spirit touches Sam’s shoulder, and Sam knows immediately that it’s Dean. He doesn’t even question it. Instead of “Are you here?” it’s “I know you’re with me. I can feel it.” And I love that. Dean figures out right away he’s dealing with a reaper, and the reaper takes on the appearance of Mary to convince Dean to move on to the afterlife. Instead of a Ouija board, Sam uses a laptop to talk to Dean, and the first word Dean types is “Sammy!” Dean is so fond of his little brother and Sam is so baby.

Rising Son is an anime only episode, but it draws inspiration from John’s journal. Dean has a proper breakdown over his dad’s death and the possibility of having to kill Sam. Ms. Lyle, Sam’s favorite teacher who turns out to be possessed, is explored. John takes Dean hunting, and in the journal Dean hesitates to shoot a buck, and little Sam shoots it thinking it was endangering Dean. In the anime, Dean’s cornered by a moose and Sam makes it explode with his mind and it’s so !!! How little Sam’s first words are, “I’m glad you’re okay. It didn’t hurt you?” The boys are covered in blood and guts and Dean’s like 👁👄👁 “Why are you here? Did you do this?” And then Sam starts freaking out a little, the shock sets in. “I don’t know. I don’t know, honest.” And he’s staring at his hands, and I am a big fan of Sam showing superhuman signs as a kid. Like in the journal, Ms. Lyle tries to take Sam. She gives Sam the illusion of a choice to come with her or stay with Dean, and Sam chooses Dean. This ep is pretty much when John figures out Sam has demon blood. He kills another hunter that wants to kill Sam.

Crossroad is based on Crossroad Blues, and I love how the crossroads demon shows up. It’s hard to describe, but it’s so neat, like she’s walking underneath Dean in this mirror world, and then the mirror world takes over the regular world, so you really get this sense of otherworldly seclusion, existing outside of time.

What Is and Should Never Be shows Dean is a firefighter in his ‘Mary never died’ world, and Sam got to play soccer growing up like he wanted. The brothers hold each other after Dean is saved from the Djinn.

AHBL part 1. When Azazel shows Sam that he fed Sam his blood, Sam gags and slaps a hand over his mouth, and I like that reaction more than the live action. The psychic kids get to go more anime with their powers, and that’s a lot of fun. They don’t need weapons. Ava slams Sam into the brick side of a building and cuts him without touching him. Jake snaps Ava’s neck with one hand and then catches Sam in his arms. When Jake attacks Sam, there’s no gun or knife. He’s relying on his super strength, his fists. Sam throws his arms up to protect himself, and (accidentally?) pushes Jake back with his mind, and the collision creates a crater in the ground. Jake puts his fist through Sam’s chest to kill him. It’s brutal and it’s rad as fuck. These kids are terrifyingly powerful.

The Sam and Dean reunion before Sam is killed is not as emotional as the live action imo, but what the anime does intrigues me. Hurts in a different way. Because Sam is stunned after he uses telekinesis again, on Jake, and when he hears Dean behind him Sam freezes. He doesn’t look relieved to see Dean, but wary and weary. It’s Dean taking steps towards him, not the other way around, and it has to be because Sam doesn’t know if Dean saw him push Jake back. Sam doesn’t know how Dean’s going to respond to all this, to him, having powers that come from a demon, the demon, Azazel. Sam hasn’t had a chance to process anything. He’s scared. He’s tired. And the way the anime focuses on Sam’s eyes here. Gah. “Dean. Dean, I’m...” I’m sorry. I’m all right. I’m glad you’re okay. I’m a monster. There’s also this one shot between Sam and Azazel that sends me because of how anime it is.

AHBL part 2. I love how Sam brought back to life is animated, with all the color returning to his face and a light wind rustling his hair and his lips parting to indicate his soul returning to his body. Jake attacks Dean, and, a lot like how Sam activates telekinesis to save Dean from Max in Nightmare, Sam gets a burst of superhuman strength. He rips Jake’s arm off and tackles him to the ground and beats him to death, punches holes into his body, and it’s so savage and bloody and scary, and I love it. The Devil’s Gate opening looks so cool animated. Same goes for Dean shooting Azazel with the Colt.

Not to turn this into a meta post, but I also noticed how the last couple times Sam uses his powers they’re colored green-yellow, the same colors as Mary’s ghost when she reveals herself in the anime’s Home, and I don’t know if that’s intentional, but it’s neat how it draws a connection to Sam’s biological family instead of Azazel’s blood.

The Spirit of Vegas is like Bad Day at Black Rock, but Dean has all the bad luck instead, and it shows off the silly cartoony physics that make animation fun. The boys sleep outside and split a chunk of bread for dinner. Also this lil bit of Dean’s hair tied in a bow.

- (STOP) the brothers are pretty. I am not immune to animated Sam and Dean Winchester.

Cons:

- Jensen doesn’t voice Dean until the last 2 episodes

- The English dialogue is really bad sometimes. I wish I could’ve watched the sub, but I couldn’t figure out how to change the language

- Some character designs are really different from the live action, and maybe that’s petty, but if you’re gonna change the characters diversify them? Don’t just make them unrecognizable white people

- Missouri’s design as a stereotypical witch doctor is racist

- Gordon is replaced by some British guy named Jason?? Why

- There’s an LGBT character who is not accepted by her family and, while that bigotry is always shown to be negative and she dies the hero of the episode, she still dies ://

- In the English dub Lily’s gf is made into her roommate instead. Idk about the sub

- Bobby’s pretty much a totally different character

- Sam and Dean are OOC sometimes

- Dean’s hair usually looks darker than Sam’s and it drives me crazy

- The storytelling is, overall, not nearly as good as the live action

- The non-Japanese lore in some episodes makes no sense. Sometimes it’s just plain ridiculous?? Like there’s a giant robot made of cars and scrap metal controlled by a demon? ? I wish I was making this up

- Meg’s role is severely reduced

- No Harvelles or Roadhouse

- Shadows are overused, but maybe that’s because the og show is so dark?

- I don’t mind the art style. I like the aesthetic, but I wish it was a little more expressive. It doesn’t do Sam’s puppy eyes justice.

- AZAZEL’S SHADOW?? PROPORTIONS?? PEA SIZED HEAD

- Idk why they mashed season 1 and 2 together? The story feels rushed

- there’s not as much chemistry between Sam and Dean, but that’s a given without J2 on screen

- Nobody tells you!! That there’s scenes after the credits!! And some of them are important! Why are important scenes after the credits??

The anime would not be good on its own, without the heart and depth the live action brings, but it works as supplementary material you can cherry pick from. I would watch more if there were more episodes.

It hasn’t turned me off from wanting an spn anime. I’d like to see it continued or redone, with updated animation and better scripts. There’s a lot of potential in exploring more about the psychic kids and Sam’s powers, storylines that were cut short in the og show. Animation is a great medium for showing off the supernatural, getting creative and creepier with the designs, dramatic with the fight scenes, without having to worry about bad CGI. I don’t want a live action reboot, but I think a redone animated series could be a lot of fun! (As long as it’s not an excuse to make any romantic ships take over. SPN is a platonic love story, and I like it that way.)

If you made it to the end here and are interested in watching the spn anime, you can watch it for free on the CW Seed app! You can probably stream it elsewhere, but idk where!

[the-con-she-called-conscience]

your mutuals as aesthetics ?

Hello, Anon. Thank you for this absolutely wonderful ask. If I missed you or you'd like me to do you, just let me now! Let's see:

@biganimeaesthetictree: retro futurism. Game boys of every age, controllers with wires spread around on a fluffy bed. It's not messy but highly precise. Chocolate flavoured milk in coffee cups, spreadsheets of an ever growing YT channel, monitor set against New York Skyline. Unused guitar in a corner of the room, entirety of MHA mangas shelved in order. Edits and edits of his own mangas and comics, working till the sun goes up. Mail chock full with stuff from friends and fans.

@somethingpretentiouss: bitter orange cake with buttercream frosting and topped with crumbs. Clear transparent everyday stuff with cursive quotes. Black bomber jacket set against lavender tulle skirt, multicolored mosaic notebook with a well worn ukelele. Foggy mornings and lazy afternoons. Faint smell of traditional marigold-patchouli-rose mixed with moss and wildberries. Unending blue sky. A person in her own right, lives like that one light blue butterfly you once saw but can never forget.

@chaoticneutralcinnamonroll: Cinnamon and ginger, mixed into bronzed teas. Gold tipped cups, multitude of magazines and newspapers. Air charged with zangy energy, almost blaring punk and rock. Well worn snickers and side sling bags. Goes onto adventures due to intelligence, laughs hard, loves long and fierce. Toes the lines never even touched. Silver jewellery. Loves the sun. Simple yet almost paradoxical. Lives on her own terms. Coconut scented perfume and handful of Doritos.

@weirdkindoflove: reads multiple books at the same time, will mix up words from different languages. Loves Dante and tells everyone how it is the oldest fanfiction, has the nicest gloss and notebooks chock full of equations. A maths whizz, warmest hugs, is the embodiment of sense of security. A determined ally, least person you'd expect to meet in a protest, strongest and most resilient person you ever knew. Multiple neon vintage posters, Spiderman comics, and corded bracelets. Revolution in carbon-based life form.

@screechingnightchild Monster drinks, wears a lot of black. Unflinchingly human and inexplicable. Can beat you in a theology debate, anytime, anywhere. Sometimes feels like a forest god. Long bus rides, some handmade luck charms made by their friends on their backpack. Drinks Coca-cola in the glass bottle itself for aesthetic. Knack for finding sinners in places of worship. Should always be loved and appreciated, as is the most likely to fist fight god and win.

@tuliharja Kind, appreciative soul with the nervous system and skeleton made of steel. Feeds birds from her cookies. Pastel coloured shirts and hair in shades not yet discovered. Has a knitted Halloween pumpkin, loves reading lore. Is the person who gets called to the hospital when her friends get hurt. Changes the world and lives with a flick of her hand and doesn't realize it. Home-made mead and fleshy fruits. Cats, specifically lynx figurines. Freshly baked fruit pies and herbal infusions. Soft classical tunes that you have to strain to hear, canvases filled with color, opened bottles of turpentine. Her existence is what magic is made of.

@narut-oh-shit : fluffiest jackets imaginable. Knows politics down to its woven fibres. Unknown and rare comics, metallic earpods, unbreakable metal bottles. Probably 1.47 GB of memes in their RAM. Wry wit, and a soul made of fire crackles. Has a plethora of diverse acquaintances. Perpetually broke college student with mad editing skills, sends in the most well written essays and analyses. Has sticky, fruit flavoured balms, and an almost definite goal in life. Rice crackers spilled on their lap, and ink spills on their desk. Shades of mahogany, cheap mechanical pencils kept with metal-bodied proper pens. Most likely to dimension hop.

@psycho-mocha : Boba with jaggery, star themed wall papers. Loves the texture of velvet, and owns posters or merchandise of their favourite brand. Has dedicated shelf space for fantasy genre, and is fascinated by sleight of hand. Wraps the string of ballons on their wrist, and feels oddly connected to certain historic monuments. Dreams of cool, refreshing river which tastes like mint, sometimes of midnight with a shovel and dirt under their nails. Feels a sense of longing when they think about their likes. Hits back xenophobes at every chance.

@microwavedsaladisevil : looks for their favorite childhood book in shops, stores and fairs. Lives in a treehouse with iced tea and peaches. Share oranges with friends during bus rides, wants to take a train across countries. Has chains of daisy and lilies, hates capitalism. Knows ocean like it's her hometown, records it's lores long forgotten. Will intern at marine facility on an island, and hates people polluting the water. Feels as if their heart crumbles like paper, and keeps stones as paper weights. Will dive head first into the water and come out surfing at the other end. Something about them screams victorious.

@oscarwildeismyidol jangly bracelets, sits under the tree. Embodiment of hope and positivity. Steadfast, and looks into the void to find secrets. Knows obscure trivia about Wilde, writes the most humorous book reviews. Flavoured drinks hit the back of their throats, idly they wonder the meaning of life. Achieves and achieves but at the cost of no one, presses flowers and leaves into books. Walks barefoot on wooden floors, and loves watching the sun in early mornings. Wears plaid in Autumnal evenings, sips tea and watches the world turn. Fears disenchantment. Has the most compelling smile, and as long as they be, they know it's going to be alright.

@notyouraveragejulie : makes the best potato salads, wears her adventures and achievements as a jacket. Walks into vintage stores chock full of opera memorabilia and assorted knickknacks, always befriends the monsters living upstairs. Sketches down frescoes on the roof of theatre, works part-time and is never disappointed by the night. Pages and pages of music scores and books fluttering with plays, computer idling with a paused opera. Writes down neatly the plans to conquer the world, and she will. Just after finishing this cast's version of her favorite opera. Listens to the magical flute while washing dishes, and feels the nervous flutter and maddening hum of life. Never makes a wrong choice.

[beanie-on-a-string]

Finally - Modern AU! Dark Crystal AOR

Hey! So, a few months ago, I posted a Dark Crystal AOR Modern AU post, and someone sent in this ask:

And a few months later, here I am. With the fic. Idea by @canadachild9​

If you want, you can read my Dark Crystal Modern AU post first for context HERE

“Gurjin, that’s a terrible idea.”

“Aw, come on!” Gurjin rolled over from his sprawl on Brea’s couch, moving into a sitting position and leaning in closer to Brea, who was sitting on the floor in front of him. “We’ve tried everything else.”

Brea scrunched her face up a little. “I still don’t know. Maybe it’s –“

“What’s going on in here?” Tavra poked her head into the living room. “I heard… how shall we say… heated conversation.”

Brea turned to face her sister. “Hello Tavra. What, no Onica this time?”

“Oh no, she’s in the kitchen.” Tavra gestured to the doorway. “She’s cleansing her crystals. Anyway,” she said, smirking, “I didn’t forget the reason I came in here. What’s going on?”

“Gurjin wants to put Rian and Deet on a boat together,” Brea replied. “He thinks that they’re going to confess their love for each other or something.” Just as she said this, Lore, the family pumi, shuffled into the room and curled up into Brea’s lap

Tavra laughed lightly at Lore, then looked back at Gurjin. “You’ve been watching too much Disney lately.”

Gurjin huffed and sprang into a standing position. “We’ve been trying to get these two idiots together for – what, a year now? – but they’re both so dense that they refuse to believe they’re liked back. It’s literal torture, you know. I’m always telling him that Deet very clearly likes him, but then he’s all,” Gurjin’s voice shifted into a mopey impression of Rian, “ ‘Oh no, I don’t know, Gurjin. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t.’ It’s so stupid I could cry. Neither of them have made anything even close to a move yet, and anytime we try, they undermine themselves.”

“You have got a point there,” Tavra murmured. Brea emitted a little cry of betrayal as her sister said this. “I mean, whenever I’m around them, I want to kick myself. And trust me, I have come close to actually doing it.”

Brea huffed. “Usually I’m up for these ideas, but this sounds like the equivalent of locking them in a closet, you know?”

“It’s not really like that, Brea,” Gurjin insisted. “A closet has… implications. But a boat? If it goes wrong – and let’s damn hope that it doesn’t – they could just have a conversation or something. And if they don’t like it, they could always swim back to shore.” That last remark earned him a slight dirty look from his friend.

After a moment of thought, Brea spoke up again. “I’m still not convinced. Too many things could go wrong.”

Gurjin pulled at his bun and inhaled. “Okay. Brea. If you don’t do this with me, I will make sure that you find a pigeon in every room in this house.”

Brea’s eyes widened, whispering a soft “no,” as Tavra doubled over.

*

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Brea scowled as they stood at the line where the dock met the grass, watching Rian’s silhouette approach them. “Correction – I can’t believe you dragged me into this.”

“Look, it’s nice to drag someone into something instead of being the one dragged into everything for a change,” Gurjin shrugged. Brea shouldered him lightly with a soft “you’re lucky we’re friends.”

“Hey guys!” Rian jogged to them, pulling Gurjin and then Brea into quick hugs, then casually placed his elbow on Gurjin’s shoulder.

“Hi Rian,” Brea giggled as Rian softly poked Gurjin’s bun, the mass of hair slouching to one side.

“Give me a break, why don’t you?” Gurjin lightly bumped his friend off of his shoulder as Rian gave an exaggerated huff. Gurjin rolled his eyes but smiled as he took his hair down to fix it. “Now all we need to do is wait for Deet. Right?”

“Deet?” Rian’s eyes widened. “Deet’s coming?”

“You didn’t know?” Brea asked. “I thought we’d told you.” She turned to Gurjin. “I thought you’d told him!” She hissed quietly.

“I must have forgotten,” Gurjin whispered back. “Sorry. I had to help Naia prepare for a trip, and it completely slipped my mind.”

Brea shook her head a little. “It’s fine. Sorry.” She turned back to Rian, who was quietly waiting, fingers absentmindedly lacing through his necklace.

“So. Deet.” Rian laughed a little nervously. He brushed his bangs out of his face. “Yeah.”

Gurjin resisted the urge to facepalm. “I forgot to tell you about it earlier. She got pretty excited about observing all the plant life out here. She also got pretty excited when she heard you would be coming.” His delivery was one of someone who had gone through all the possible options and was now on his last leg.

“Oh?” Rian’s eyes lit up slightly. “Well –“

“I’m sorry I’m late!” Rian’s gaze snapped over to the girl racing towards them, cheeks flushed from running. She stopped, chest heaving, by Rian, who was staring at her with a wide-eyed mixture of fondness and nervousness. She turned to him and uttered a ‘hello’ with a small smile, and the two observers could swear Rian melted.

“Hello, Deet,” Rian softly said back, all confidence replaced by a flustered air that he never had around anyone else.

“Now that we’re all here,” Brea said, causing Rian and Deet to jump, “we should probably get to the boats.” She approached the rental booth, beckoning to Gurjin, who followed behind, leaving Rian and Deet alone together. For a moment, they did nothing, simply looking at the grass, then each other, then back at the grass again. Finally, Rian spoke up.

“You’ve got a – you’ve, uh –” Fumbling on his words, Rian decided to just pick the leaf out of her hair himself.

“Oh!” Deet’s hand flew up to the spot where Rian had touched it. “Thank you! Are – are there more?”

“I don’t see any more,” Rian said. “Wait, hold on.” He moved closer to her, turning to peek at the back of her head. “Yep, no more.” He pulled back, then frowned. “Deet, you alright?”

Deet furrowed her brows in confusion before realizing that she was holding her breath. She exhaled. “Yes. Thanks, Rian.” She smiled.

He smiled back, pink coloring his cheeks, and was about to say something else when Brea and Gurjin returned, life vests draped over their arms.

“So,” Brea said, clapping her hands together. “We got two boats, each one holding two people.”

“Brea and I are going to take one,” Gurjin said, “and you two can take the other.”

“…Us?” Rian asked after a beat, pointing to him and Deet.

Gurjin gave an exasperated sigh. “Who else? Now let’s get these on.” He threw a life jacket to Rian, who was too busy gazing at Deet to catch it. Deet giggled at the vest lying limp on the grass as she put hers (which Brea had simply handed to her) on. Flustered again, Rian made haste in acting like nothing happened and putting on his vest.

Soon enough, the two boats were on the water. While Gurjin and Brea were comfortably chatting (and sneaking glances at the other boat), Rian and Deet sat on opposite sides of the small rowboat, doing everything they could to keep their feet from touching (and sneaking glances at each other).

Rian cleared his throat. “Deet.”

Deet looked up. “Rian?”

Rian looked up at the sound of his name, surprised for some reason that Deet actually responded. “Oh. Yes. Um, lovely day, isn’t it?”

She giggled, her large black eyes glittering. “Oh yes, absolutely! It’s absolutely beautiful. Everything looks so alive.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I can see what you mean. How’s Fizzgig?”

“He’s alright,” she replied, referring to her pet dog who seemed more like a pompom with teeth than an actual canine. “He’s been a little more feisty than usual these past few days, but otherwise, he’s okay.” She grimaced. “I bet Hup’s got quite a few bandages on his fingers.”

Rian clucked his tongue, shaking his head a little. Hup was a boy who lived a couple houses away from Deet. He had big dreams of becoming a knight and was never seen without his trusty sword in hand. (It was actually a large wooden spoon, but everyone chose not to say anything about it.) He was often seen fighting dragons (Fizzgig) and saving a damsel in distress (often Deet, or a halfway enthusiastic Brea).

“I wonder what Brea and Gurjin are up to,” Rian mused. Deet followed his hand as he ran his fingers through his bangs to keep them out of his eyes, then squinted through the sunlight to watch the other boat. Turns out, the other boat was watching them, and Deet laughed as the other two waved to them.

“They can be so strange,” she giggled as she leaned cautiously to observe a particularly large lily pad. As she did this, Gurjin started waving frantically to Rian. Rian furrowed his brows, mouthing a “What?” Gurjin mouthed something, and Rian grimaced, circling his pointer finger in an ‘again’ motion. Gurjin mouthed again, and this time Rian understood.

Tell her.

Ah. So that’s what this was. Rian ran his hands through his hair again, this time in slight annoyance, as he pulled his phone out.

You: Really?

You: Did you set us up?

Gurjin is typing…

Gurjin: maybe

You: DUDE.

Gurjin: I’m sorry I’m just rlly rlly tired of watching you two making goo goo eyes at each other

Rian rolled his eyes.

You: We don’t make goo goo eyes. Please

Gurjin: yes u do

You: Shut up

Gurjin: tell her and I will

“Rian? Is everything alright?” Rian’s head snapped up, and his eyes softened immediately at the sight of Deet, hand just touching the surface of the water with a small, concerned frown.

“Yes, it’s all good,” Rian replied as he tucked his phone away.

“I was wondering... may I braid your hair? I mean, there’s not much to do on this boat, and –“

“Of course, Deet,” he said, already turning so that his back was to her. “Shall I scoot back, or…”

“No, no, I’m on it,” she said, the boat creaking quietly when it shifted under her weight. Rian could feel her breath on his neck as she gathered his hair up and gently tugged it away from his neck.

“I can never believe how long your hair is,” Deet murmured as she combed her fingers through his hair. Shutting his eyes at the sensation, he leaned into her touch.

“It’s beautiful,” she continued as she sectioned his hair into parts. “My hair could never be this soft. It’s like it’s made of silk.” She made to brush away a wisp that had fallen away from a section, but her hand caught the necklace instead.

“Nngh,” Rian’s eyes fluttered open and he winced as the necklace began to grow tight against his neck. “Deet…”

“Hm?” She felt a tug against her finger and saw the necklace wrapped around it. Then she saw Rian. “Holy Thra!” She twisted her finger, and the necklace fell back onto Rian’s neck. She could hear him suck in a breath. “Rian, I’m sorry-“

“No, it’s alright,” Rian quickly waved his hand.

“Should I stop?”

“No! No, please continue.”

“Alright then,” she said as she adjusted again, picking up the sections. After some braiding, she spoke up again. “I’ve never asked about your necklace.”

“Oh.” Rian’s voice was deeper, more relaxed. Deet could feel the blush growing on her cheeks at the sound of it. “It was a gift from Mira. She left before you moved here. A year before, maybe.”

“That’s lovely. What’s the bottle in the front?”

“Ah. The vial.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “A few years back, Mira and I… we used to date.”

Deet blinked. “You did?”

“…yeah, we did. We eventually broke up. Well, obviously,” he said, the smile back in his voice. “but it was on good terms. When she was about to leave, she gave me this. She made it herself. The vial was… something of an inside joke that’s kind of a long story to tell – don’t worry, I’ll tell you eventually – and something to remember her by. Oh, and it glows in the dark.”

She laughed. “I like glow in the dark things.”

“I know you do.” His words were interlaced with a chuckle.

“Okay – done.” She leaned back a little to admire the French braid in his hair, smiling at the streaks of blue peeking through the brown.

“Can I see?”

“ ‘Course you can! It’s your hair, after all,” she said as she pulled out her phone. Leaning back just a little bit more to get the right angle, she snapped a picture. “Here.”

Deet leaned back in to show Rian, and he twisted to look.

“It’s amazing,” he breathed, sounding as awed as the first time she had braided his hair.

“Thank you,” she whispered back. Rian was suddenly aware of how close they were, and that their hands were touching, and-

“I like you.” The words tumbled out of his mouth, and he couldn’t catch them in time. Deet froze.

“What?” Her voice was quiet, shaking. He slowly looked up at her. Her large eyes were on him, wide and surprised.

He inhaled. “I like you, Deet. A lot. It may even be more than a lot. And I understand if you don’t feel the same way –”

“Are you crazy?”

Damn it, Rian, he cursed himself. You were an idiot to think she’d ever return your feelings. He looked back down, shoulders beginning to sag.

“Of course I like you.”

What? “You- you-” He looked at her again and nearly melted. Her eyes were soft, and she was beaming. “I thought you didn’t –”

“I thought you didn’t!” Deet began to laugh, which caused Rian to do the same. Soon, the two were laughing so hard the boat began to sway dramatically, and the laughter died down as the gripped the edges of the boat to keep from capsizing. Rian met Deet’s eyes, a silly grin wide on his face.

After some time, she spoke up. “I would really like to kiss you right now.” She blinked, her eyes wide. “Sweet Mother Aughra, did I just say that out loud?”

Rian chuckled, scooting closer to her. “Yes, you did. And I would just like to say that… I wholeheartedly accept your offer.”

“Oh, good, ‘cause I-” She wasn’t able to finish the sentence before Rian had brushed his lips against hers.

“Sorry for interrupting,” Rian muttered, face impossibly close to hers. His voice was low again, but heavy this time. Deet was sure she was blushing furiously.

“It doesn’t matter,” she muttered back. She saw his eyes flick down to her lips, then back up to her.

“Can I kiss you again?” He asked quietly.

Deet answered by closing the distance between them. She could feel Rian’s arms wrap around her back, gently pulling her closer. She slowly moved her hand to rest on the back of his neck, her fingers lightly tangled in the wisps of hair too small to stay in the braid. She tried to soak up the moment as best she could. She wanted it to last forever.

“FINALLY!”

Deet and Rian jumped back in surprise, Deet emitting a little yell of shock. Gurjin was close to standing, Brea attempting (and failing) to tug him back down as her laughter resounded across the area.

“I’ve been waiting for goddamn ages. Ages!”

Deet turned her head slightly to Rian, her eyes meeting his. She raised a brow, clearly amused. “Rian, how long exactly have you liked me?”

“Uh…” he ran his hands through his bangs. “Around since you moved here, if I’m being honest.”

“Oh?” Two years? Deet began to giggle. “Two years? Rian, I- I-” she couldn’t find the words, so she settled on pulling him close again and pressing her lips to his.

xxx