#need me some magic fruits to fuck w my body

[ace-with--a-mace]

Stuff I Found In Old Wells

[nutal]

Okay, before i start to explain on what the HEIGH is going on inside my tiny little cranium of mine, the Adam angst (my headcanons) I invented is pretty much inspired by multiple stuff on tumblr, so it may not really be original + it may age as bad as milk (tho idk if it really matters, the angst was just made for fun and nothing else, im just here to share my imaginary scenarios with u + i started typing this whole ass paragraph essay at school + it may prob go against canon but these are just theories for fun soooo ye here we go)

T W: intense angst, may delve in some serious topics

Lemme start off my storytelling with the magical, splendid place that is so-called “The Garden of Eden” This is the place where Adam and Lilith were born from the very specks of dust (a very splendid way of saying that they just *POOF*, appeared out of nowhere).

Now since Adam and Lilith were God’s creation, it’s pretty obvious that the both of them would be prideful and childish, even if Adam and Lilith were created as adults (not really their fault, they were barely just created and are just babies in adult bodies about to be traumatized later on in life + they’re kinda in a forced marriage when u think about it)

While Adam (the dumbass) was like: “I do what I want UvU” in a dumbass, but funny way, Lilith was like: “I do what I want UnU” in a more subtle and feminine way.

I can just imagine Adam being like: “Yo, Lilith, I’m gonna climb up that tree bc i want to!” and Lilith being like: “Bro, no, you will literally fall off of it, because you don’t even know how to climb, you fucking dumbass.”

Adam climbs up the tree anyway and falls flat on his face and Lilith just face slaps herself bc Adam is a dummy.

One day, Adam and Lilith would meet the angel “Lucifer”, basically Luci wanted to visit the humans bc he was curious. Of course, the 2 would be really excited to meet Luci, and they would have a lot of fun together, playing games and such, especially Lilith, who basically all of her attention to Lucifer, ignoring Adam’s existence completely. Even to the point of ghosting Adam for days just to hang out with Lucifer. Adam would notice this, and decides to confront Lilith about this.

Adam keeps asking her why she has been so distant with him, but Lilith keeps denying, being like: “Dude, stop being so controlling! Mind your own business, and stop being so paranoid!”

Adam: “BRO, EVER SINCE YOU’VE HANGED OUT WITH LUCI, YOU’VE BEEN GONE FOR DAYS ON END WITHOUT EVEN TELLING ME ANYTHING! ARE YOU NOW WITH LUCI OR SOME SHIT?!”

In a moment of absolute annoyance and fury, she snapped: “WELL, MAYBE I AM! HE’S SO MUCH BETTER THAN YOU AND I LIKE HIM WAY MORE THAN I EVER LIKED YOU!”

At that moment, Adam was just… stunned. Those words coming from Lilith hurt deeply.. and i mean, REALLY deeply, not only because it hurt his ego, but he actually really liked Lilith, so hearing this, it really just, destroyed him.

Lilith: “I NEVER NEEDED YOU ANYWAY!” As Lilith fled from The Garden, Adam yelled at her in the distance, trying to hold back his tears: “I NEVER NEEDED YOU EITHER!”, turning his back to the opposite direction and crying silently.

After the incident, God decided to give Adam a second chance, in exchange for a rib (Adam’s rib), and created Eve. His second wife. Now Eve, Eve was a little more special. While Lilith was more upfront and independent, Eve was the opposite, being dependent and really sweet. At first, Adam would be cautious at first, but eventually, starts to fall in love again, in fact, he fell harder for Eve than Lilith.

Lilith’s abandonment pretty much caused him to not only be really protective towards Eve, but also more affectionate and caring. Cherishing her more than his first wife. He was happy again.. at least for a while.

You see, in The Garden of Eden, there was a mysterious tree, to which there was something whom God warned Adam and Eve not to taste from: “The Fruit of Knowledge”. Not only did it grant free will to whoever takes a bite from the apple itself, but also show them the difference between right and wrong.

Eve, being as sweet as she was, was also very curious about the apple, but Adam would always warn her NOT to eat the apple. Ever. Eve would beg him to let her take at least take one bite from it, and maybe even Adam taking a bite too, to which Adam always said: “No.”

Eve: “Please?”

Adam: “No.”

Eve: “Pleeaassee?”

Adam: “No.”

Eve: “Plllleeeeeaaaasseee?”

Adam: “No.”

Eve: “PlleeEEEEAASSEE?”

Adam: “No.”

Eve: “PLS PLS PLS PLS PLS”

Adam: “No.”

Eve: “PLS PLS PLS-“

Adam: “NO.”

Eventually, one day, Adam would wake up to see that Eve was not next to him. He starts having a panic attack and tries desperately to look for her. Meanwhile, Eve just decided to stay next to a tree, being pretty upset that Adam wouldn’t let her taste the apple.

Then, Lucifer and Lilith see Eve. In Lilith’s mind, Eve is another victim of Adam’s controlling behavior, like her. So, to help her out, she tells Lucifer to give Eve The Fruit of Knowledge. Luci agrees, and shows Eve the apple.

Eve gets really enthusiastic, and despite Adam’s warnings, her curiosity got the best of her, and eats the Apple.

When Adam finds her, it’s already too late, Eve already ate the apple. Adam would be mortified to not only seeing Eve eating the apple, but also seeing his first wife, Lilith, and Lucifer. Eve immediately realized her grave mistake, but then basically, the roots of sin would reach earth and humanity as a whole, and from there, God would tell her that she’s banished from Eden and she falls down to earth… but then realizes.. that Adam fell with her.. even is he hasn’t ate the apple, he still decided to fall with her.

After Adam and Eve have fallen from Eden, they pretty much had to struggle to survive and it wasn’t easy. They had to actually hunt down for food, even killing some animals in the process unwillingly. Eve would start to become really bitter and cold with him. Adam also noticed this, but not wanting to lose Eve like he lost Lilith, he wouldn’t confront her like he did with her. But eventually, she leaves him aswell. Adam would desperately try to find her to no avail. He would start breaking down, his world would start spinning. Feeling as if.. as if he wasn’t good enough for anything… for ANYBODY… that he’s worthless… and has no purpose. Eventually he would die because of starvation and grief…

Then.. he wakes up to see that he’s… in the middle of nowhere. He notices that now, he has golden-like wings and a halo on top of his head. A tall silhouette would appear, revealing to be none other than “Sera”.

Obviously, Adam would be cautious at first, but the Seraphim would tell him: “Greetings, The First Man. I’m Sera, the High Seraphim. Congratulations for being the first human soul to arrive up in heaven!”

Adam would be surprised, but then ask: “Huh?.. wha?..But, what I am doing here..?”

Sera: “I’ll show you, follow me.”

Adam still being gullible as.. heaven? (PUN) would follow Sera, all the way to a… room. Then, Sera would show him his robes and his, uh, exorcist army (that just *POOF*, appeared just for his role), but.. most importantly.. his LED mask.

Sera: “You are now promoted as the Leader of the Exorcists, Adam.”

Adam would put on the robes, still not really knowing what’s going on, but he just accepted it. Then, Sera would explain to him in more details about what he’s supposed to do in his specific role (basically saying that he has a harem army of killing machines, that kill Lucifer’s and Lilith’s citizens [sinners] every year to quote on quote ‘protect heaven’, but saying it in a splendid way)

And.. this made Adam feel.. absolutely empowered, being able to take revenge on Lilith and Lucifer by exterminating sinners in hell every year, …and.. in his own twisted sense of mind.. he was able to have a purpose again…right? He eagerly puts the mask on, without even questioning whether this was even right or not, for he doesn’t even know the difference between right and wrong. (Nightmare moon phase coming up rq)

And because he felt.. like he had a purpose again, thinking that.. maybe he still had importance to someone or something, he truly respected Sera, and never even DARED to question Heaven.. bc thats basically his purpose.. and if he questioned it, its kinda game over.

The kinda disturbing part about this is that, if he didn’t eat the apple, that would mean he doesn’t have free will. Which basically, he didn’t even choose to do this kind of thing, he just went to heaven by default and becomes the leader bc ‘he dah first man’ without him actually having any kind of saying to this. Kinda like a puppet on strings, if you think about it. (but it’s a game theory so i digress)

Also like, considering that angels and winners probably just showered him with blind praise, not even really addressing his actual issues, so basically, his deep emotional wounds barely got any kind of healing (if not even more), and his narcissism (being his possible coping mechanism after just drowning in negative emotions for so long bc heaven doesn’t even really care for him that much) continued to grow stronger and stronger, until it was basically his other identity. Basically kinda like Nightmare moon, where Luna basically drowned in resentment and became Nightmare moon, Adam drowns in the negative emotions of “not being good enough”, so he creates some kind of ‘shield’ to protect himself from ever getting hurt deeply again.

I remember when I watched JaidenAnimations video: Why I don’t have a “face reveal”. That video alone.. it basically made me realize that people could be struggling without even having the slightest realization of what’s going on. This also reminded me of Adam, then I thought that.. maybe,.. maybe Adam also feels kinda the same way as Jaiden, lemme explain further:

So, in JaidenAnimations video, she basically explains on how her standards became so high that she was TERRIFIED of ever having a face reveal bc she had a deep fear of disappointing everyone around her. (I still thank u Jaiden, hope u doin well bro, i love ya 👍👍)

There could be a possibility that, Adam may have had such high standards for how he needed to look, since he didn’t really looked like other angels, he just looked like a normal guy, that it became an insecurity for him and he basically just hides his face with his LED mask, terrified of what others may think of his actual face.

god, this took a whole DAY to write this and i may have still not executed my ideas well, or may have missed some ideas cause i forgot, but hey i tried, im gonna take a breath bro- *inhales oxigen tank intensely*

OH MY GOD THIS IS CRAZYYY YOO HOLD ON??? Dude omg yes yes i def agree he would fall WAYYYY harder for Eve than Lilith and I absolutely see what you mean that Adam and Lilith were like a forced marriage type situation cuz i mean yeah they literally did LOL. Adam for sure genuinely cared for Eve though, they had something a lot more special and I can only imagine how badly that must’ve hurt for Adam when she ate the apple and left after him begging her to NOT do that!

And yes yes YES him feeling empowered after becoming head of the exorcists being able to take revenge in that way like RAAAGHGHGEHH HELL YEAH!!

And I have ALWAYS been a huge believer in Adam using his narcissism as a coping mechanism from the very start. Like that just seems very on point and canon to me. Because this man is very clearly insecure, you can just tell. Especially with the whole mask thing, which I’ve actually brought up in the past. But yeah, this dude does not like people seeing his face. He def def DEF feels very average or even below that so he covers up for it through constantly flaunting about how great he is n shit so that nobody’ll suspect a thing.

THANK YOU FOR THIS ESSAY BTW I LOVED EVERY BIT OF IT AND AGREEEE!

[kaiyeti]

Ambrosius: Okay. So what horrid abomination are you going to ask me to make tod- Oh its you. This is a surprise.

Cinder: I would assume so.

Ambrosius: What’s the reason you summoned me?

Cinder: You can create anything right? Even living flesh?

Ambrosius: Siiigh, I hate having to keep telling people this but I can’t bring back the dead.

Cinder: This fine. *Removes her eye patch and holds up her grimm arm.* I want you to make me a new arm and eye that Ruby Rose destroyed.

Ambrosius: Interesting. Hehe, Do you have a reference?

Cinder: ... For and arm and an eye?

Ambrosius: Yes. You don’t want one that is too big or small do you?

Cinder: Just copy my right side and make it for my left just a mirror image of it.

Ambrosius: Okay. That covers the outside but what about the inside?

Cinder: Are you Serious!? You made that robot into a human and you-

Ambrosius: Her name was Penny and she was one of the most brilliantly made creatures I have ever seen. So you what be wise to show some respect towards her. *The spirit said in a serious tone.* Besides, her friends gave me her blue prints.

Cinder: Fine. *Pulls out her scroll and shows he detailed anatomy sketches* There. Now make me my new arm and eye!

Ambrosius: Very well. *He said and began to move her hands as his powers activate.*

Cinder: *Cinder blind as he field of vision widen as a smile grew on her face.* It’s... It’s working! It’s actually Wor-ah. WHat? WhAH! WHAT’ HAPPEEEAAAH! *Cinder screamed as a new human arms began to form from her stomp and around the grimm arm causing the arm to become disformed.* STOP! STOP! STOP! 

Ambrosius: No need. I am finished.

Cinder: NO YOU ARE NOT! *she hissed in agony* YOU MADE MY NEW ARM OVER MY GRIMM ARM!

Ambrosius: Well that’s on you. Honestly I don’t know why you asked for this when the next thing I create your new arm and eye will just disappear.

Cinder: W-WHAT!? GRRRR!! BUT YOU MADE THAT GIRL HUMAN AND THE PORTALS! GODS THIS HURT MORE THAN WHEN THE SILVER EYES BITCH DESTROY IT!

Ambrosius: Yes. But I made Penny’s new body from her old one without creating any new material. So unless you can give me the things I need to-

Cinder: THE GRIMM!

Ambrosius: Excuse me?

Cinder: MRRRRR! Use the grimm inside of me to fix your fuck up!

Ambrosius: Are you sure about that?

Cinder: JUST DO IT! *In pain she watched the spirit shrug and work his magic once again and with a flash of light the pain left Cinder’s arm and as she looked down she sees her arm restored.* Ha... Haha.. Hahahahaha! It would!

Ambrosius: Of course. Though, question? What was that light?

Cinder: What?

Ambrosius: The light that came out of you? It was magic but what was it for? A gift for your boss to keep the grimm from destroying you?

Cinder: ... *Tries to summon her blade but nothing happens.* ... No...  NononononoNONONONONONO!!

~Meanwhile~

Blake: I don’t think that is safe to eat Ruby.

Ruby: It looks okay. *looking over a odd looking fruit*

Weiss: Ruby. Its glowing.

Ruby: And?

Yang: I say go for it. WHo knows you may get super powers.

Ruby: Bet. *eats the fruit*

Blake: WHy would you say that knowing that would make her want to eat it more?

Yang: Calm down. Small would let us know it it was- *There is a sudden gust of wind and flashing light as Yang, Blake, and Weiss Look back at Ruby how is now floating in a cyclone with flaming silver eyes.*

Ruby: @O@ GUYS! GUYS! YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS!

[cirillafionaelenriannon]

ranking the barbie media ive seen. worst to best.

19. princess charm school

no.

18. a perfect christmas

okay, i have some feelings about this movie because i was only a little too old for it when it came out, and i did rewatch it a few years ago and it was heart warming, but it unfortunately falls prey to the faults of new barbie movies still, and is therefore lower on the list

17. barbie: thumbelina

my god i wouldnt have had the self control not to keep those little fucked up fairies in my room as a kid.

16. barbie fairytopia

this is EXCLUDING MERMAIDIA because that movie is on another level. however this includes the first film and the gay rainbow one. i am not fairytopias biggest fan, i found it actually pretty boring when i rewatched it a while ago, even if it does feature bibble. i also dont like that alina is given wings at the end. 

15. barbie: a fairy secret

RAQUELLE AND BARBIE HAVE ROMANTIC TENSION IN THIS MOVIE.

14. barbie: a fashion fairy tale

i have some nostalgia for this movie. i love the closet metaphor. and the music was nice. i barely remember the plot tho this ranking is solely on Vibes. 

13. mariposa

love mariposas voice. design amazing. nothing that special abt it. 

12. barbie and the three musketeers

omfg i love this movie. the musketeers. im obsessed w them. i had the video game on ds as a kid and i cry thinking abt how i dont have it anymore. i hated the cat though.

11. rapunzel

its. ughahg. eh? im putting it this high because of the bEAUTIFUL SOUNDTRACK!!!! also because i have so many positive memories associated w it like watching it w my bff a few years ago and her commentary...lmfao. i love that fucked up rabbit. 

10. swan lake

i barely remember this movie but it makes me hungry and i fucking love the costume design and the soundtrack.

9. island princess

omfg okay. this movie. so many thoughts. firstly that the music is absolutely amazing, and i cry every single time i watch this movie. everytime. i cant explain. i cant. the scene where she remembers being lost at sea, and when she reuinites with her mother. i sob so fucking hard. i hate the plot though i think its awful. that red headed woman disgusts me. also that elephant is horrible. otherwise the rating would be higher. ‘i need to know’ is a beautiful duet. and ‘right here in my arms’ AUUAGHAHGHAHGAHGHAHG

8. mermaidia 

THIS MOVIE. i love it so much. nori is one of my favourite barbie characters ever, and im obsessed w her design as well as the plot of this movie actually being really fucking good. the design of those freaky little baby mermaids, and their mermaid food? i loved the giant sea snail and her huge Body. alina was a really compelling character in this because of her relationship with nori, and this movie gave us one of the best scenes ever with bibble and those fruit. 

7. barbie in a mermaid tale

literally i just have so much nostalgia for this because i was like 10 or something i dont know but something about it like has me in an iron grip. the intro scene, the music, the animation. reminds me of being a kid. sobbing. 

6. barbie in a christmas carol

WHEN HAS THIS MOVIE EVER NOT MADE ME CRY. god as a kid i hated this movie because the blonde girl pissed me off but i was totally missing the core message. i cant believe barbie fully told a story about child abuse and neglect, and did it well, making me feel for that horrible woman. but i still cry in that scene where that lady cant adopt the little girl because shes like. totally dead. so tragic. 

5. 12 dancing princesses

not much 2 say abt this one! i kind of despise half of the plot but the costume design was amazing, the theme song is . PHENOMENAL. and the love interest was great. also, a talking bird. im listening to the song rn and holding back tears. magical experience. 

4. barbie in the nutcracker

CRYING AND SOBBING. so much nostalgia...oahhg man. i want to marry the nutcracker but only in his nutcracker form hes kind of ugly as an actual guy. the theme of magic in this movie is palpable, the dancing scene is absolute ass in hindsight but its one of the first barbie films using computer animation so i can forgive it. its literally just so beautiful. the only complaint i have is that i WISH it had ended in tragedy, with clara fasding away forever, unable to return, but always remembering..i wouldve pissed y pants. 

3. barbie and the diamond castle

OKAY I would make this number  2 but number 2 HAS to be number 2 i cannot change it. this movie is just so gay like actually. for real gay. i love the flirting, the touching, the love between the two girls. its also beautiful, i loved the colours in this the palette is so bright and fun. (also the song at the start of the movie makes me cry like a baby)

2. barbie and the magic of pegasus. 

i want aidan carnally. 

1. barbie and the princess and the pauper

MY GOD!!! LITERALLY THE BEST BARBIE MOVIE. i wish mattel would go back to its roots of music with violins and cello and anything orchestral instead of droning pop music, because its so so beautiful. lyrically the songs are Amazing, the story is just. literally the best barbie movie story ever like. the themes of acceptance, duty and profound love and friendship. dominiks relationship with erika, julian and annelieses relationship, erika and anneliese friendship and unbreakable bond. the cats as characters!!!! premingers BANGERS????? phenomenal. 

okay thanks. 

[cvastals]

look i kno i said i wasnt gna bring a 6th until i was caught up w replies bt i kno gunner well n therefore felt like he deserved his time to shine in the rp so i beg of u pls plot w him looks at u all like :B

* axel auriant, cis man + he/him | you know gunner paxton, right? they’re twenty-two, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, four years? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to bizarre love triangle by new order like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole curling up for days in bed wearing a hello kitty comfort shirt, stuttering in the face of affection, and hand me downs two sizes too big thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is july 31st, so they’re a leo, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( bri, 23, est, they/them )

background.

middle child of the paxton family, cliff being the eldest and wyatt being the youngest :D

they lived at the top of a hill in a trailer in a trailer park neighbourhood in laramie, wyoming so to say the least that fucking sucked for everyone involved

the trailer was so small that all 3 boys ended up sharing a room, gunner and wyatt sharing a bunk bed bc they cldnt fit 3 beds into one room it really was every childs nightmare bt they quickly grew used to it tbh

gunner was always more of an artsy child than invested in sports - though he does enjoy baseball and continued even to this day after their dad made him join SOMETHING in middle school - so he never rly earned their father’s respect, but he was always close with his mom since they had the same calm temperament

(depression/anxiety tw) he also gained a list of mental health issues that their mom had as well, including social anxiety and major depressive disorder

(violence/abuse tw) their father always encouraged pretty volatile behaviour and it caused a lot of physical fights and arguments between the brothers when their dad told them the best way to get over it was to start hurting until someone tapped out, it was just a chaotic and pretty abusive household but no one knew and their mom definitely wasn’t going to say anything about it to their dad

(missing child/kidnapping/anxiety/depression tw)  wyatt went missing on a weekend that their parents were gone because of a trip they won, and things just got worse from there, high school was really rough for gunner, his anxiety grew worse as time went on that no one found wyatt, their dad grew more hostile towards them, cliff left home in the middle of the night never to be seen again (merely leaving a note so that the family didn’t think they had a case of two kidnapped children), and their mom just grew sicker, it was rare that she would ever leave her room and if she did it was in fits of random energy where she would do something spontaneous and completely unnecessary to their house as a way of coping

the two years that gunner was at home after cliff left were pretty brutal and as soon as he could, he was fleeing wyoming and going to school in irving

(internalized homophobia tw)  things are far better now that he’s out of his home situation, but ofc he still has a few personal things he’s working thru; the paxton’s were raised in an incredibly religious household, and he’s got some classic Catholic Guilt going on upon realizing that he’s not jst attracted to women n he avoided talking abt it forever/stayed in the closet fr far too long bt he’s sort of come out now in his own way even tho he does still get a bit nervous talking abt it rly

he’s also ‘dealing’ rn (just pharmaceuticals) which is frankly funny to think abt bc this man is abt as threatening as a care bear bt money is tight all things considering and a librarian job doesn’t rly cover it, and with the amount of meds he’s on, plus incredibly frequent doctor’s visits, needing to pay for extra epi-pens, inhalers, etcs. bills add up so he’s cutting back his meds n selling wht he can spare which is . so unhealthy bt thts life in corporate america baybee!

details.

is literally allergic to everything. grass, cats, most fruits, milk, most nuts, bees, latex, probably more i cnt even keep up w them its pathetic

u can catch him strutting around town w his blinged out epipen holder (aka blinged out w pins of his fav horrors movies) LKSHDGKLHSKLDG

if things cldnt get worse he also has quite intense asthma so he carries an inhaler with him at all times

n to make matters even WORSE he frequently has dizzy spells n bad memory problems bc of all the concussions he’s suffered from (about 8-9 at this point) as well as consistent migraines that can b literally debilitating sometimes

awkward n jst a bit of a Weirdo to b frank like he barely knows how to converse with ppl

didnt have any friends in high school so took the time to teach himself rly weird things, knows a fuck ton of magic tricks, can yodel, juggle, solve a rubix cube with his eyes closed in under 30 seconds, just extremely weird and specific things

can honestly b a bit mean/barbaric to ppl he’s not close w/doesn’t kno - has told ppl to their face before he doesn’t enjoy talking to them bc he has no concept of social constructs/norms

loves 2 film random things at parties, makes him feel more comfortable at them n he makes short films of them all after

going off that fact he did a film internship in nyc during the summer and is trying to find a job in that field

doesn’t realize demisexuality is a thing so he’s never been that fond of sex but has this stigma in his mind that that makes him Broken so he still Tries n it jst doesnt go well tugs my shirt collar

connections.

ppl who r more into under the counter meds than Hard Drugs n buy off him?? probs wld have to kno him some way hes too scared to sell to Random randoms

ppl he went to school w? :D

some friends………. hes awkward bt he means well…………

ppl he has a crush on/unrequited crushes either way wtvr floats ur boat he crushes quite easily but never does anything abt it fr the most part

a mans he wld Risk It All fr (aka a guy tht he actually has a crush on n is Extra Awkward probs a lil mean to bc hes still New to That)

some enemies tbh, he has a temper n he tends to blow up rarely bt it happens n when it does it actually can b quite scary JKSHDGLHSDG

a muse….. mayhaps?? someone he always wants in his film projects

awkward past hook ups/one night stands where one of them cut ties off cuz every time they got together gunner acted like he was embalming a body for a funeral

current hook ups/fwb’s w ppl he’s actually close w/is comfortable w so its nowhere near as bad SDKHSLDGHKLSDGH

Anything u Desire

[poormeowmeowcollector]

Let me give you my life

Pairing: Loki x Tesseract

Warnings: Major Character Death, Mourning, delusions, mental illness, alcohol, Original Character Death, Odin, fantastic racism

Summary: After Frigga's funeral, Loki starts hearing a voice. It changes their life completely.

Chapter 2: Verse 2

Chapter warnings: alcohol, depressive symptoms, fantastic racism, stuttering written by someone who doesn't stutter

Chapter summary: in which the Stone starts to influence

Previous chapter, AO3, next chapter

My church offers no absolutes / she tells me "worship in the bedroom" / the only heaven I'll be sent to / is when I'm alone with you

"How was the dining with the good masters?" the Tesseract asks. Loki swears it's sarcastic.

"Terrible. The ones that didn't demand for me to leave were whispering and staring, and some even pitied me… I should have never told Odin that you showed me," they sigh as they lay down, seiðr creating a glass of wine in their hand. Usually, his magic has a tickling sensation, playful and livid. But since Frigga's death, it's numb.

"You're right, I don't belong here… I don't belong anywhere…" they sigh, staring into the goblet with the red liquid. Perhaps, if he could find the strength to end it all…

"No, this is not the solution to your problems. You won't find your family there," it cuts off the train of thoughts before Loki can even process it.

"The only person I ever knew as family is there, Tesseract. Why can't I join?" they don't cry from the mention of Frigga, they haven't done it for weeks. He's just as numb as his magic now, the talks with the Tesseract and goblets of wine being the only things that can make him feel something, but they start weakening too.

"She lied to you, like Odin did. They taught you your magic, yes, but also how to hide what you feel and who you are. She is to blame for the nothingness you feel now, just like Odin is. Tell me, is that what family does?" it argues.

Loki opens their mouth, but closes it again. "No… then, what do I do?" he asks, staring at nothing.

"You live, until you find something worth dying for," it responds, voice softer than ever. He just scoffs and brings the golden goblet closer to his lips.

A blue light makes the goblet vanish before Loki can take a sip, filling them with the dark red liquid. "Hey! That's my favourite tunic, you needn't stain it!" He glares at the top right corner of his chamber.

"You have not taken it off for a week,"

"Because it's my favourite tunic,"

The stone lets a sigh. "Go take a bath, change to your second favourite tunic, try eating something that's not wine and act like you're the heir of two thrones for once or I'll teleport you to Muspelheim and let you burn,"

Loki sighs and gets up, following the shower order (especially because they've started to feel their hair going oily and gross). He had almost missed the feeling of scorching hot water on his skin, even though it started to hurt since his Jötunn form came to the surface.

When they walk back into their chamber, damp hair dripping on their second favourite tunic, they spot a tray of fruits and tea on their bed. "Thank you, Tessie," he smiles and sits beside it, his stomach begging for him to raid it.

I was born sick, but I love it

"I am not negotiating. Not until this monster is out of your house!" Gæirasson spits, small vacant eyes glaring at Loki. They don't shift their face or posture, but the room still freezes.

"Please, reconsider your words. One should not offend a prince like this," an elf notes, as if Loki cannot speak for himself.

"You're to ask for permission before you speak, Gæirasson will only get angrier with you." Odin had told them before the council.

"Please, learn how to manage your fury. You'll start a war without realising it if you keep going like that," Frigga had said countless times.

"A prince of monsters, yes. Isn't worth any more than the Giants I've sent to Hel," the outrageous man growls.

"Do not let him speak to you like this, you're worth much more than these words," the Tesseract says. Loki breaks his posture to take a deep breath, and then turns to Odin with a calm face.

"Father, may I answer to those words the way they deserve to?" they ask, never breaking the collected face. It fools Odin enough to nod a yes.

And Loki lets a grin appear, showing his fangs.

The water inside the goblets turns into ice as Loki rises from their seat, pale skin fading to reveal a blue and marked one. With his new height and black horns, he barely fits in the room, bloodshot eyes glaring at the old man enough to make him think that the thin irises would turn into daggers and stab him.

The man shivers, but not from the cold

"We are not afraid of your riches or your army and your bravado is fooling no one, G-Gærasson," they state, not breaking eye contact as their tongue strammers.

"You think you can scare me when you can barely speak, Giant?"

The negotiation table breaks in half as Loki slams his hand on it. "You have spoken enough!" they yell, summoning a new wave of shivers down the lord's body.

"You will leave this room unharmed only because of my mercy, and you know well that your words have given me every right to kill you right here and right now. You want to bring war to my house, I don't give a fuck. You know why? Because we both know very well that I can chop your soldiers to pieces without using neither my Frostbite nor seiðr and with ease. Go ahead and start a war, I have no problem to end it. The only demand the palace has is for you to pay us with the gold you owe and get lost. Or else, your house will cease to exist and will stay in history only as an example of what happens to those who anger me!" he growls, never breaking eye contact with the lord and not mouthing a single lie. Gæirasson loses his colour, stands up and leaves, panting like a dog.

"Loki, enough. You have your war, are you satisfied?" Odin asks after the door closes.

Loki's fiery eyes turn to the king.

"Satisfied? You should be the one to do this! This man offended our house and the throne greatly, they canonically deserve execution! And you made me sit there like a coward and listen to those insults!" they yell, this time out of frustration. The old Loki would never raise his tone at Odin, good thing he's gone.

Odin takes a deep breath, trying to keep themselves under control. "My son, I understand that you're going through a bad time, but there's no need to lash out like this. Would your mother like seeing you growling and yelling and cursing like a sailor?"

"You have no right to bring her up, she has nothing to do with it!" Loki's fury only gets wilder after this. But Odin does not coward away.

"I said enough! Shut your mouth and leave right now! And you'll be in charge of the war, since you can end it with such ease," he yells back, ten times louder and more intense. Loki lets the Æsir glamour return but doesn't lower themselves more as they walk away.

"You started a war, do you regret it?" the Tesseract asks as long as they're alone in a corridor. Loki grins.

"Not a bit."

Command me to be well / Amen, Amen, Amen

Loki walks around in his room, his fingers picking up each other once again. They tried to quit this habit after Frigga's death, but to no avail.

"Te-te-tesseract," he calls out, biting his tongue at the stutter. Since they've started the war, this annoying stutter has come back at full force, probably from the stress.

"You summoned me, Entropy?" it asks, more like states. Usually, Loki would find comfort only with the stone. But now, it only makes him move nervous.

"Y-y-yes. I did-I did call you to-to…" they puff out some air, closing their eyes with shame.

A hand grabs his hands, making them calm down. Loki raises their head to face an illusion of the Tesseract, trying to mimic contact.

It's a form of a body, tall and lean and glowing blue. Its eyes are looking at him with sympathy, face soft. It's the most breathtaking person Loki has ever seen.

"You can speak freely with me, don't fear," it smiles, tilting its head. Loki lets out a sigh.

"You said that, w-wh-when I'm r-ready, I-I'll agree to your-to your commands. I-I am ready," they speak, not even trying to mask up some confidence.

"I'm glad to hear. But, you'll have to acknowledge that there'll be a cost-"

"I don't care. I-I've lost ev-ev-everything already. You're th-th-the only one left," he lowers his head.

The hand moves to their face, cupping their cheek and brushing its thumb against their cheekbone, huge blue eyes staring into them. He can't help but tilt towards the hand, closing his eyes and breathing slowly.

"Perhaps you shouldn't… I've caused you enough pain, why seek out for more?" it doubts. It's almost funny, listening to doubt in a voice Loki knew to be so determined.

"I-I-I'm sure. Ple-please," they whisper, opening their eyes again. The form nods.

"Very well, Entropy," the serious and awe striking voice Loki knows returns, moments before the blue form vanishes in a light.

[alexlabhont]

I didn’t mean to fall in love with you

Chapter Eight.

Book: Queen B - Choices (Universe)

Pairing:  Poppy Min-Sinclair x Trans!Male MC (Beck Hughes)

Genre: Canon re-write (Because I can)

Rating: Anyone can read it, really

Tags: @dopeyouth @theymakemegayer @save-me-the-last-dance @poppysmc (If anyone want to be tagged in, just tell me)

This is me trying to write by and for the Trans community, specially FTM community, meaning, trans guys, but I actually took the liberty to use They/them pronouns for everyone out there who´s interested (Also, the name Beck was the most neutral one I could find, trying to use the cannon Bea Hughes)

If you have any comment, PLEASE BE RESPECTFULL and patient with me. This is also my first english fanfic and english is not my mother language, so... i’m sorry fo the grammar errors

CHAPTERS 

Chapter seven

ONE-SHOTS 

Just a dance (Zoey x MC)

—————————————————————— 

When Poppy told that guy to send a pic of her and Farmsville kissing to The T, she wasn't trying anything but to declare a message, to make clear to everyone in Belvoire, especially to that Wonder Warden Wade of theirs, one little thing: Beck was hers now.

But no.

As usual, things with Beck were completely out of her control, whenever Poppy did zig, somehow Beck always managed to do zag. And this time "Zag" were lots of photos where Beck was hanging out, laughing and even hugging Zoey Wade. Sharing classes, walking side by side. Being together.

Students were talking, The T was speculating. That girl’s happy face making fun of her right from inside the photos and that stupid threat of hers didn’t. Leave. Her. Mind! That New Money was winning, and there it was just one person to blame: Beck Hughes.

So when she finally saw them in the hallway, she was decided to tear them down for good, hiding behind her reputation, behind a failed plan, when she knew deep down herself that she was mad for something else… Sometime hurtful…

But it all went down to shit when what she saw a few seconds later was Beck’s back hitting hard against the wall, and that stupid animal grabbing them by the clothes. For a moment, she completely forgot how to breathe, a loud gasp taking all the air in her lungs, and the pain and rage clutched her heart with such a lightning force and speed that Poppy couldn’t understand; all she knew was she couldn't stop looking at the scene, wanting so badly to be in the middle just to kick his balls so hard that they'll stop working forever. The strawberry blonde really tried to end the fight sooner, but that bunch of assholes that Belvoire had as students started to stand around as disgusting moths, hungry for a fight, so the last thing Poppy saw of the attack for a moment were Beck’s smile and then the pain written all over their face.

And that was it.

She could feel her blood boiling, something weird taking over her body. She was familiar to this feeling, the blonde felt it each time Farmsville proved to be a pain in her ass… but this one's was stronger, deeper, and incontrollable. Her nails were eager to meet Carleton's face until nobody could recognize him ever again. But when she finally got there it was Beck who was doing her job, smashing their fists against his face over and over, growling each time. A quick twist.

Naturally, that bastard was expelled latter that day, everyone totally noticed it because… well… she had her ways. And although it was one less problem without him, that didn’t make up for Beck’s rib.

Yes, she literally dragged them to the hospital to get that X-ray, what was that I'm-Tough-I'm-fine shit? Who were them? Rambo? Beck had that stupid frown through all the way, like a spoiled baby, but it didn't matter, because now everyone was sure that Beck didn't have a broken rib. They were fine.

“Told you.”

“I don't fucking care, Hughes. Now hold that tongue of yours, would you?” The silence she asked for only lasted two seconds.

“You know I told you.”

“Oh, my god. What are you, five?” she rolled her eyes quickly. “Why are you so mad about it anyways? Of course I needed to know if you were ok!”

“I told you I was fine!”

“You’re not a fucking doctor!” Neither of them giving a shit about the driver hearing the conversation. “You don't have anything to prove when it comes to your health!”

She said, why it was not basic information? Why was it something so hard to swallow?

“Poppy?” God, this one just won't stop, right?

“What now?” The blonde didn't even bother to look at them, focusing her attention to what was outside the window.

“You’re right.” Wait what? “I shouldn't be upset about it. After all... You were just taking care of me, so… Thank you.”

Poppy will never admit it to anyone… but that weird but honest and beautiful smile she received made her tremble a little~ bit. Just a little bit. It was kind of like seeing them for the very first time, discover them, a fraction of their very own core shown to her…

But anyways

Right after that, just right after all she did, after that fucking day Poppy hadn't heard a word from that bastard.

So all Belvoire may be asking themselves: what was doing the great, the beautiful, the one and only queen Poppy Min-Sinclair walking through the campus with a fruit tree in hands? Obviously not her hands, an employee's hands, but whatever. Same thing.

Well, the answer was simple: Nobody, and that’s nobody…, could ignore her. No one. Poppy can and do ignore people, but be ignored? Hell, no. She hadn't seen Beck in school neither, no text messages, no social media updates, nor shit, so she was going to pay them a visit, giving them something that surely will make them to never forget about her.

So yeah, a fruit tree. That was an acceptable get well gift, right?

Poppy knocked at Beck's place, waiting, of course, for a quick answer… and waiting, and waiting… and waiting.

“Ms. Min-Sinclair…” shyly spoke that man whoever he was. “Can I put the tree down for a second?”

“No.” Maybe if it were any other time the guy could do it, but not today. Today, when she was going to deliver it personally. Today, when she was giving one of the very few gifts meant from her kind spot. Today, when she was getting angrier and angrier because she hated to wait.

She knocked again. Harder this time, but the results were just the same. And that's when something weird started to happen. Yes, she was still angry, but a stitch-like feeling started to grow inside her. She knew for a fact that Beck was in there, the doctor was clear: They needed to rest and there it was no absolutely way Zoey would let them do anything else. So they had to be there.

“Maybe they're taking a nap or something. Nothing weird, right?” She thought while her eyes wandered through the hall, searching for some magic and very hidden way to get inside the dorm. Because maybe… maybe… they weren’t sleeping.

“No. They’re fine! They’re just doing something stupid like playing the ukulele or whatever musicians do.” Her mind chuckled a little, if she could joke about it, then there it was nothing bad going on… But it didn't work quite well. She was starting to feel preoccupied.

“Er… excuse me?” Poppy turned, a deadly, cold, scary glare piercing that poor bastard's self so hard as the blonde knew she was capable of, making him tremble. It would've been funny if it wasn't for the situation.

“You have exactly two seconds to tell me why anything you have to say is relevant or I'll fire you. Starting now.”

“There’s some guy behind that corner watching us for quite a while now.” The employee said, the strawberry blonde followed the man's sight direction, what kind of creep were stalking them? Seriously, fucking weirdo.

To her fortune in at least this case, Poppy recognized that nerdy, greasy hair guy above a pair of glasses and a suspicious look behind them. Ew, Benji What’s-his-name. Well… desperate times call for desperate measures…

“Hey you!” Poppy called him as demanding as only someone like her could be. “Come closer.”

“W-why?” He asked, reserved.

“Because you’re last place and I basically command you. So stop talking and get your pimpled ass over here.” The guy walked towards them, looking hurt, angry maybe, but who cares? It wasn't her fault he was a looser that nobody cared about. Eat or be eaten, there’s people in this world with the potential to be a force of nature, and there it was people like Benji as well. They’re just there to be used. “I need you to open this door for me. ASAP.”

“What?! But that's against the dorm's ru…!”

“Excuse me, do I look like I care?” Poppy was pretty close to lose her patience completely, but she managed to behave a little, after all he was right. If they get caught, most likely the problems would arrive sooner than later. “Just do it and you're free to leave. Nobody’s gonna know.”

“God, they’re gonna know…” he whispered, playing with his own fingers, making then crack. “But let’s make this quick, ok?”

“That is so what I actually asked you to do, you dumbass.”

Benji looked around like if he was about to rob a bank or something, Poppy rolled her eyes at this, tapping her foot to try and give him pressure to do the job in that instant; the only “big move” he did was swiping his master key on the door, then nudged it open with his foot.

“See? It wasn’t that hard, wasn’t it?” Poppy said, not even looking at Benji. “Now disappear before someone see us talking.”

The strawberry blonde didn't even know if Benji did go away or not, she just went straight into Beck's bedroom, opening the door of the first room she saw.

Bingo.

Beck was sitting on their bed, their laptop over their lap; a pair of big, black professional headphones covering their ears and little Fran--- Pepes comfortably sleeping, snugging next to Beck’s feet. When they saw her, their eyes went wide, taking off the headphones completely surprised and confused, a what's going on written all over their face, especially when the employee came along with her gift.

“Poppy? What the…? How the hell did you…?”

“Shht.” She didn't let them finish, chuckled a little of the incredulous expression they had. The reality was that, now that she knew Beck was ok…, she was… weirdly relieved… and pissed, but that's something she could deal with latter. “I want you to place the tree over there… next to the window… perfect! That would be all. You're no longer required.”

The employee left the room almost immediately, the sound of the principal door closing was the only indication that both of them were completely alone.

“Well… are you going to tell me now what are you doing here or not?” Beck spoke.

“I was just passing by and suddenly I wanted to come. Why? Is there a problem?”

“And what's with the tree?”

“It’s a get-well gift from yours truly.” Poppy shooted a playful wink, receiving a flicker of their eyes, disbelieving.

“A tree?”

“It’s a fruit tree.”

“Right…” Beck said, sarcastic painting their voice as they put their headphones around their neck, placing their attention on the screen once again. Like… hello? Poppy was right there!

“I was knocking for a long time out there. Where are your manners? Did you leave them in the farm?” She joked trying to make them mad, while petting Pepes softly, who kept sleeping as if nothing happened right after opening one eye and closing it again.

“No, sorry. I didn’t hear you… How did you get in?”

“I have my ways.”

“Gosh, that’s so messed up…” Beck murmured, their gaze still on the laptop.

“Seriously? That’s it?”

Feeling like a fool, Poppy clenched her teeth. She was waiting for Beck to do something, to look at her again, to ask her to leave, anything! But no, they kept tapping and clicking while biting the insides of their cheeks.

“Jesus, Hughes!” tired, Poppy walked towards them and took drastically their notebook away...

“Hey!”

… and replaced it with herself, sitting over Beck’s lap trying not to hurt their rib. They were warm, pajamas still on, messy hair and even though the bed was made, you could tell they hadn’t gotten up from there in a while.

“Give me that back…” The determination was in their eyes, but Poppy knew better. She knew for a fact they didn’t want her to obey. Their hands around her waist, the whisper in which they were talking and that dork yet attractive smile on their lips were telling otherwise.

“No.” She said. “I came all~ the way here just to see you. The least thing you could do is give your full attention to me.” Poppy demanded.

“I thought you were just passing by.” Beck said, a mocking grin lighting up their face.

“Just shut up already.” She said, causing them to laugh a little.

“Make me.”  

Oh… that’s new.

But she was happy to oblige, so she kissed them. A spicy, hot kiss where her lips and her tongue played with theirs, trying to take control, to make them forget about the whole world, their own name, and focus on her taste, her touch on their neck, her fingers caressing their skin, traveling down, discovering Beck’s clavicles… but it was hard, because she wasn’t the only one trying to take over the other one… Beck was doing it so as well, so how could Poppy concentrate if she could feel the warm moves of the tip of their fingers tracing an intense map on her back, that she could almost feel as if it was on her bare skin? How can she prove herself superior when Beck’s slow bites in her mouth, savoring her, burned so good?  

“How are you feeling, Tushi-face?” Poppy murmured, ending the moment just before she completely loses control. This was still a plan, and the blonde always had to be the one who they can’t live without. She needed them to be hopelessly devoted to her to make it work, not the other way around. “I’m not hurting you, am I?”

“Nor a little bit.” Beck took a deep breath, regaining their lost air. But there it was: that lamb face. “I was just trying to pick a good song for an audition.”

“Audition? To what?”

“A metal band. You know, some… stuff.” Poppy frowned, why would them wanted to be on a band? Beck had recognition on their own, fans all over Belvoire and, she can surely bet, even New York. Beck didn’t need anyone else, that’s why she had choose him. Because she knew the potential they had alone. Together… they both would be the power couple of the entire school… and, with her guidance, even more than that.

“Why would you do that?” Poppy asked. Beck responded with a shrug.

“I don’t know. Sounds fun. Besides, there is going to be a battle of bands and I want so badly to show them who's the boss...”

That’s when Poppy saw it for the very first time. The spark on their eyes made of ambition, confidence… arrogance.

“I see…”

All this time, she thought Beck was one of those people that just were going with the flow. A diamond in the rough who couldn't see its real potential… But she was wrong all along… There were more on Beck than they show, and she just figured it out a little more. The music was the answer all this time. She should've seen it before.

“Uhm… Ok. Just pick a song that reminds you of me.” Beck cracked a chuckle, letting their mind wandering thought their music repertoire.

“Oh, I think I have one.” They suddenly said with a playful grin on their face. “I’m sour candy … so sweet then I get a little angry, yeah… Sour candy, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…”

“Seriously, Hughes? Blackpink?” They didn't care, they even closed their eyes and kept on singing, dancing their arms in a funny, annoying way.

“I'm super psycho, make you crazy when I turn the lights low… sour candy… yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…”

That was it. Two can play the game just fine.

“Ask me to be nice and then I’ll do it extra mean… tteutbakke pyojeong hanae neon danghwanghagetji...” Poppy sang suddenly, surprising Beck so hard that she couldn’t help but laugh a lot because of their face. “Oh, honey… let me close that for you.” The strawberry blonde used her hand to gentle taking their jaw up. God, how can they be so cute while being dumb?

“You speak Korean?!”

“What kinda question is that? Do you actually know what the Min on Min-Sinclair means?”

“I-I mean, yeah. I just didn't want to assume… what does it mean? That thing you sang?” The blonde raised an eyebrow.

“I thought you knew.” Beck shook his head, that surprised look still into their eyes, but now had a taste of interest and wonder… A chance that she didn't miss. “Well… it actually means this…” Slowly, like a panther hunting her prey, Poppy reach out for Beck's neck, pouring out sweet but dangerous kisses over their skin… Oh, their reactions… Beck sigh, shaking a little, their body was tense, but slowly begun to relax, enjoying the attentions.

Both of their hands started to touch Poppy's body, eager, needy, intensely. Beck's caressed burned more and more over her body to the point where the blonde couldn't take it anymore. She needed them to take her clothes off…

Beck kissed her lips hungrily, tasting her as if they were starving, gripping her hips while doing so. She grinded down on them, stealing a gasp from their lips in between the kisses, driving her mad. Poppy needed to touch them, to feel them, so she put her hands under their shirt, enjoying the burning skin of their actually hard abs… touching careful and slowly up, and up…

“No, Poppy, wait…” Beck suddenly said, nervous and sounding a little scared. Confused as fuck, Poppy moved a little away, shooting them a question-mark-look. What happened? She wanted so badly to ask, but the stupid door opened abruptly, an annoying voice right behind it.

“Beck, I'm home! I got you some soup…”

Zoey was literally in the house. The stupid look on her face when she realized what was happening make Poppy really angry.

“Fuck you, Wade. Don't you see we're in the middle of something?” Something clicked inside the girl, because her astonished expression chance in one second to an indignant one just before slapping the door.

“Shit…”

—-

Next

[dhwty-writes]

Curses

Part 2 of my entry of @thewitchersecretsanta for @heyabooboo. Have fun reading!

Summary: Jaskier, panicked and unsure what else to do upon finding an unconscious Geralt, brought him to Yennefer's current residence. There, the sorceress has some bad news for him.

Moodboard by the amazing @petrificustotaluss

Warnings: none

Read on AO3

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7

"How is he?" Jaskier leapt to his feet and rushed towards Yennefer, though the expression on her face was the only answer he needed.

She raised a finger to her lips as the door behind her shut with a quiet creak. As if Geralt was just sleeping in the next room and not- "He's alive," she answered with an air exhaustion he had never seen on her.

"That's- That's good." He wet his lips with the tip of his tongue as he nervously started fidgeting with the strap of his lute that was still uselessly slung over his shoulder. Hadn't he put it down? He could have sworn he'd put it down. "That's good, right?" he asked, suddenly unsure.

She closed her eyes and breathed heavily. "It is," she breathed. Was that a tremor to her voice? It couldn't be, surely. 

He frowned. "Is that all you've got to say?" fear made his voice sound shrill. "Please tell me that's not the only good news you've got, there has to be more, there-"

"Jaskier." Her violet eyes blinked open again. "I won't lie to you to make you feel better. It's bad."

"What- but there's something you can do, right? There has to be something you can do."

"Maybe," she conceded. "But for that I need you to tell me exactly what happened before-" She waved her hand at the situation at hand. "-this. In as much detail and little words as possible."

Jaskier wanted to scoff in offence and tell her what exactly he thought of posing such a request to a master raconteur such as he was. In any other situation he would have. But even as the fool he was, he was well aware of the severity of the situation.

"Right," he whispered and finally set his lute down. With trembling hands, he tried to work the clasps of the front compartment open. "Give me a moment, I've documented this quite thoroughly; my notes must be here somewhe- oh, bollocks."

His notebook had slipped out, scattering loose pages everywhere. "Oh, Yennefer, I'm so sorry, I'm such a mess, let me-"

He crouched down to gather them up again, but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Jaskier," the sorceress implored and pushed him to sit down on the bench again, "breathe." She bent down to gather them up herself, her hands trembling just as much as his. "You're not much of a use if you lose your head."

"Right," he gasped. "Right." He closed his eyes and focused on breathing like Geralt had shown him. Slowly he felt the panic receding.

When he looked up again, he saw Yennefer offering him his notebook. "Try again," she ordered.

His hands trembled still, but he didn't drop his journal again when he began leafing through it. "There was a contract, a two-day ride from here," he began. "Spectral apparitions in an old ruin it seems. Nothing strange, as far as I can tell. Not until we started gathering information, at least. It seemed there were wildly different accounts; the more we asked, the more they differed.

"Some talked about a beast of nightmares stalking the abandoned keep, griffins and wyverns and trolls. I believe there was talk of basilisks, as well.

"Others told tales of virgin maidens to tend to their every need, and beautiful orchards, their branches so heavy with the sweetest fruits they grazed the ground with so much as the barest breeze. There was talk of powerful mages and mighty warriors defeating a thousand foes up there. The blind could see, the cripples walk; it was paradise on earth for them.

"And others still saw nothing but a ruin."

He flipped his page over and frowned. "Then there were the apparitions, of course. A deceased beau, a beloved mother, a pair of twins that had died in the cradle. A husband who had beaten his wife, as well; bandits, soldiers, the former alderman who had a preference for the young men of the village. There was no pattern to it. It was- strange."

Yennefer scoffed. "Why on earth didn't you turn around and got as far away as you could?" He shot her an incredulous look, and she nodded in understanding. "Right. Geralt."

He huffed the semblance of a laugh. "He prepared well," he continued. "I never saw him so thoroughly armed for a scouting mission. I had offered to go ahead; so far as we could tell nobody had gotten hurt, but-"

"But he would have none of it," she concluded correctly. "So, he went into the ruin, you followed him, stupid as you are, and found him in there?"

"Not quite," he disagreed. "Geralt was gone for nearly a day when I decided that I had waited long enough. I walked to the ruin, but I didn't even have a chance to scale the hill, because there he was; lying at the foot of it, unmoving and unconscious. Roach was next to him, grazing peacefully, her reins untethered. I heaved him onto her back and came as fast as I could."

The sorceress frowned and closed her eyes. After a few moments she said: "What was the last thing he said to you?"

"I-" Jaskier faltered. "I don't remember," he breathed.

"What do you mean, you don't remember?" Her eyes snapped open, violet pools of sparking anger. "You have to remember, come on, Jaskier, he doesn't talk that much."

He shook his head helplessly. "I'm sorry, Yennefer, I don't." He gulped his tears down, passing his trembling hand through his hair. "It was- it was something mundane, something he told me so many times before. 'Don't eat any berries' or something. 'Don't pee on an ant hill.'"

She glared at him for a moment and he felt himself cower under her stare. She turned away with a quiet: "Fuck."

"What?" He leapt up again. "What is it?"

"I don't know, that's what it is!" she snapped. "The only thing I do know is that whatever Geralt encountered in that ruin was no mere spirit."

"But he wasn't in the ruin, Yennefer, I just told you! He was at the foot of the hill, with not so much as a scratch, no sign of a fight around him. Just... out cold."

"I know, which makes me think whoever put that... curse on him wanted us to find him. Else there would've been nothing left at all."

"A curse," Jaskier repeated. "There's a curse."

Her fingers drummed out a furious rhythm on the wall. "There's something that appears to be a curse. There is no chaos, though, so it was no magical being."

He looked at her in pure unadulterated confusion.

With a heavy sigh she sat down beside him. "Geralt's body is sleeping," she began explaining after a very long time, "but it's... completely empty. His soul appears to have been sent somewhere else. A netherworld, if you will; between life and death."

"A netherworld?" he gasped. He had heard tales of such places when he was a child, but so he had of devils and winged horses, and Geralt had disproven those quickly enough. So, he had never paid them any heed. "What on earth could send him there?"

"Nothing," Yennefer answered with a wry laugh. "Nothing I know of, at least. Not like this. Not against his will." She made another pause before continuing: "I think whatever he found there was... divine. It's a sliver of hope, at least; even the White Wolf shouldn't be able to kill a god. That means, he has only trespassed and after serving his penance, he'll likely be allowed to go again."

Jaskier took a while to process the words, but then his face lit up. "He will?" He leapt to his feet, barely containing the urge to weep of joy. "He'll return to us."

A pained expression crossed her face. "No, Jaskier," she murmured softly. "Gods don't think as we do. They cannot grasp the meaning of a year; it passes in less than a moment for them. They think in eternities, ages, millennia."

Jaskier slowly turned to her in horror. "A thousand years?" he whispered.

"Or five or ten or fifty," her voice was scarcely more than a whisper. "No-one knows."

"But-" He frowned as the true meaning of the words slowly settled into his consciousness. "I'll be long dead by then..."

Yennefer averted her gaze.

"You- you coward!" he accused her. "How dare you think of giving up? How dare you suggest to leave him to his fate?"

"There's nothing to be done!" she retorted. "He's gone, and we don't even know where!"

He threw up his hands. "How many netherworlds can there be?"

"Just the one, but-"

"Just one?" he interrupted her. "So, you know where he is."

"I know enough to see that he is far beyond my reach." She scoffed and shook her head. "Go home, Jaskier. There's nothing here for you."

He couldn't help but gape at her. "No," he croaked weakly. "Geralt's here. I- I can't." He took a shuddering breath. "I refuse. I refuse to spend the rest of my life wasting away at his bedside-"

Her touch was too soft, her eyes too gentle when she said: "You don't have to stay. I'll keep him safe." As if he was a child. As if he was an idiot.

"Of course, I'd stay!" he howled. "He's my- my- my Geralt! Half my life I spent at his side. Without him there's... nothing left."

"Jaskier-" she tried again.

"Please," he begged. "Please, you love him, too, do you not? This can't be what you want. There must be something- Anything-!"

Her eyes hardened. "There might be," she whispered. "But I do not know enough of the netherworld to know for sure." Abruptly, she stood. "Give me a week." With that a portal opened behind her and swallowed her whole.

Jaskier didn't know how long he just sat there, staring at the place where she had vanished. "Fuck," he whispered after what felt like an eternity. And finally, he let the tears flow freely.

  ~*~

  It was exactly as Yennefer said; a week went by with just the two of them. Jaskier barely left his witcher's side; only when he feared he might succumb to hunger or thirst he took his eyes off him to run down to the kitchen that was mercifully well-stocked. He supposed he had passed out from exhaustion a few times as well, though he wasn't quite so sure about that.

He was nibbling on a bit of stale bread when the medallion on Geralt's chest started humming and a portal opened on his other side. He barely recognised the woman who stepped through; with her hair in disarray and the dark rings under her eyes, Yennefer looked just as horrible as he felt.

"Jaskier," she croaked, her throat raw from days of not speaking, or speaking too much, who was he to say. The sorceress stumbled, but before he could even get to his feet, another woman stepped through and caught her by the arm.

She was a mage as well, he guessed; she was just as otherworldly beautiful as Yennefer with thick auburn curls and unsettling dark glinting eyes. “Bard,” she greeted him.

"Umm...," he said in lack of a better answer. “Do we… know each other?”

“I am Triss Merigold,” Triss Merigold answered as she guided Yennefer to sit down. “I know of you. I met Geralt quite some time ago.”

“Ah.” That name rang a bell, although he didn’t quite know what to make of that statement. What did that even mean, ‘I know of you’? Had Geralt talked about him? Yennefer maybe? Both options sounded equally absurd. “And, umm, forgive me for asking, but you are here because…? Not that I am ungrateful, mind you, but-”

“She’s my friend,” Yennefer interrupted him sharply. 

“And a healer,” Triss added with a kinder voice. “I am fairly familiar with…” She waved her hand vaguely in Geralt’s direction. “...similar situations.”

Yennefer snorted. “Overstatement of the century,” she muttered. 

“Yenna.”

“Triss.”

Triss sighed and shook her head. “I’ll go… make tea.” With that she strode over to the door and disappeared downstairs, leaving Jaskier to glance awkwardly between where she had just vanished and the crumpled pile of sorceress next to Geralt’s bed. 

“Umm,” he spluttered clumsily, “are you alright?”

She barked a laugh, barely looking up from her fingernails. “Do I look alright to you?”

“No,” he blurted before his survival instinct had a chance to kick in, “you look a bloody mess.

"I guess that’s fairly accurate," she answered with a wavering voice. Was that a sob he hea- oh, yeah, that was definitely a sob, for now wet tears glistened on her cheeks.

‘Fuck.’ Yennefer of Vengerberg was crying. Jaskier was entirely unsure how to react to that impossibility. Yennefer of Vengerberg didn’t cry. On principle. She was the most terrifying and powerful person he knew, and that included several witchers, a Child of Elder Blood and Queen Calanthe herself! He was in no way equipped to deal with her crying of all things. Not on top of all that… Geralt stuff. Besides, that was his thing, not hers.

But shit, she didn’t stop. ‘I have to do something,’ he decided. There were few things as shitty as crying on your own. He spoke from—rather recent—experience. He took a first tentative step into her direction. She barely dignified that with raising her gaze. Only when he was less than an arm’s length away did she look up. “What are you—?”

“I’m going to hug you now,” he warned her and without further ado he pulled her against his chest. Yennefer stiffened and— ‘This is it,’ he thought, ‘this is how I die.’ 

To his surprise, nothing happened. Well, nothing bad at least. Instead of transforming him into a toad or reducing him to a heap of ash or something, she relaxed against him. She even raised her hands to cling to his doublet. 

Violent sobs still shook her as he gently stroked her hair and babbled some nonsense. He was good at that. Babbling nonsense. After a while the sobs subsided and she loosened the death grip on his torso.

Only after a minute of controlled breathing he allowed her to pull away, but not before giving her one last tight squeeze and saying: “Don’t lose your head, Yennefer. Breathe.” 

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she wiped at the string of snot connecting her nose and his shoulder.

“Don’t be,” he answered as reassuringly as he could. Which wasn’t a whole lot, to be fair. “We all have bad days.”

“Your doublet—” she protested weakly, but he just waved his hand.

“Believe me, it’s seen worse than a bit of snot and tears.” 

“Do I even want to know?”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Probably not.” To his relief, she chortled as well.

“Well, it’s certainly been a week.” They both whipped around to Triss Merigold who was standing in the door with a tray of tea and biscuits. 

“Triss,” Yennefer sighed. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.” She set the tray down and thrust tea cups into their hands. “Don’t be embarrassed, Yenna, I’ve seen you in worse states.”

She made an undignified noise and Triss laughed. “Oh, the bard’s the problem, then? Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Feel free to keep up your play at enmity.”

“Excuse me?” Jaskier gasped. “There’s no ‘play’ at anything going on here. I despise Yennefer just as much as she does me-”

“Do you really think now is the time for such nonsensical theatrics?” Triss asked with raised eyebrows and it was enough to shut him up. No, he supposed it wasn’t. 

That, however, plunged the three of them into an awkward silence. Not because they had nothing to talk about, of course. It was just that there appeared to be no incentive of the two sorceresses to start the conversation, and while he certainly had a lot of questions, asking them seemed awfully rude, considering the state of exhaustion Yennefer was in. 

In the end, the burn of the tea did nothing to alleviate the burn of the questions on his tongue. “You mentioned similar situations?” he blurted out as soon as he had drained his cup.

Triss winced. “Well. Yes. Similar. Not quite the same. I’m a healer, after all.”

“I fear I don’t understand.”

“Coram Agh Tera,” Yennefer answered darkly. 

Jaskier frowned. “What has the god of fate to do with all of this?”

“God of fate, death, and destiny,” she began listing, “who is also known for his powerful curses.”

“And nightmares,” Triss added. “The only deity known to meddle with mortal affairs to this blasphemous degree.”

Jaskier snorted. “A blasphemous god?” he asked doubtfully. “Really?”

The two sorceresses regarded him with equally terrifying glares. “Shut up, bard,” Yennefer hissed and he immediately raised his hands innocently.

“I’m just saying, I’m sure there could be a better expre-- Yeah, shutting up. You were talking about Coram Agh Tera,” he prompted. 

“I was,” Triss agreed. “Theirs is the netherworld of those neither dead nor alive." 

“And Geralt got trapped there? How?”

They exchanged a wary glance. “We don’t know,” Yennefer said finally. “Our best guess is that Geralt disturbed Coram Agh Tera’s residence in those ruins. And now they have retreated and taken Geralt with them.”

"So Geralt is trapped in there until they take up residence somewhere else?" They really had to give him a bit more to work with if they wanted him to connect the dots.

"No, Jaskier,” Triss answered almost patiently. “Have you ever- When someone is badly injured, they tend to be unconscious for a long time, yes? Until their body finally withers and they die. Or they wake up with their mind torn to shreds. Those are the denizens of the netherworld. Though there are no known cases of a soul just vanishing completely. Our best guess is that he is staying with them there and likely, that’s where he’ll stay until they inevitably grow bored of him."

“I see.” He fiddled nervously with his teacup. “Well. That makes a lot of things easier, I suppose. I really would have hated dying to go look for him.”

Triss choked on her tea and stared at him in bewilderment as Yennefer made vague ‘I told you so’-gesture. “You can’t be serious,” the healer scoffed. “Jaskier, you could die; we’re not sending you there.”

“I’m well aware of that,” he replied, as calm as possible. “And I am rather relieved for the modality in this statement.” He looked back and forth between them. “Or do you have a better plan?”

“I will go,” Yennefer volunteered. “It’s why Triss came with me.”

“Yeah, that’s stupid,” Jaskier scoffed. He didn’t wait for the outrage that would surely follow and continued: “Look, I recognise that both of you are very… powerful and downright terrifying women, however, I do not see how that will help you over there. I might not be as learned in the supernatural as you are, but I do know how to open a book. Your nice little library here, Yennefer, is really adamant about the point that there is no magic in a netherworld.”

“There isn’t,” Triss agreed.

“Forgive my bluntness, but in that case both of you are rather useless. You are used to getting what you want. And if you don’t you’re used to taking it. I, on the other hand, am well-versed in the art of talking people into parting with all kinds of things they do not want to part with.”

“People, yes,” Yennefer hissed. “What on earth makes you think you could win over a god?”

“Nothing,” he answered nonchalantly. “What on earth makes you think you’d do a better job?”

“Listen, bard,” Triss chimed in, “this is madness. Did you miss the ‘mind torn to shreds’-part?”

“My hearing is impeccable, thank you very much.” He set down his teacup with a lot more force than strictly necessary. “You might have heard of me, Triss Merigold, but clearly not enough. Else you’d know that I’m as stupid as a turd and as stubborn as a mule with no sense of self-preservation. I have trailed after Geralt since I was eighteen years old. If there is any way for me to follow him into this nefarious netherworld, I will find it.”

“If we don’t agree, he’ll just find the next best brute to pummel him into the netherworld,” Yennefer said with a heavy sigh. 

“That is completely correct. In our shared interest, I suppose it is much preferable for you to do your magick-y stuff and supervise my stay. You can do that, right? Protect my body while my soul’s away. For a while at least.”

“We can induce that dream,” Triss admitted reluctantly. “But we won’t be able to tell if anything goes wrong. We might not be quick enough to pull you back.”

Jaskier nodded. If he was quite honest, this was already so much more than he had expected. "One month. That's all I ask. Pull me back once the time is up."

Yennefer gave a curt nod; evidently, she had expected something of that sort. After a moment, Triss spoke up as well:  "Alright," she whispered. "Alright, you crazy son of a whore, we'll do it."

[anestheticrage]

Be me: Japanese honor student🎓, 15, with half a brain and even less of a plan. Hunting bitches by day and witches by night. Livin that dank only child✌️ life while mom n dad yeet all over the globe, leavin me plenty of time to forget not to make 2 lunches for myself #quirky 😜

no time for socialization or basic electronics skills ???📱??? when your best friends are an alien demon rabbit🐰👽 and the inexplicable Hole ™ in your brain. lmao, btw did i mention im ✨M✨A✨G✨I✨C✨A✨L✨

dreamin bout my 2D waifus again when familiar pink haired cancer patient dances through my brain passin out fliers: Kamihama Meguca Dating Service: Sponsored by Cult of the Magius. 250 stones per session 🤔

seems legit, Mr. Moneybags. wasn't spending my unwieldy sack of gemstones on anything else anyway. lets pull 💎💎💎

first up we have Redhead Radagast and her plethora of plants. 🌿☺️🦎

anndd, nearly dies immediately. 

well not off to a great start but i guess shes pretty cute at lea- oh FUCK its her girlfriend, Tsundere Poseidon😒🔱💦, and their exasperated, straight and single Sword Mom 😔🗡️🔥. fml gonna have to save up for the next pull. might as well play a few rounds with what i got tho. 

get in some good girl talk about things like school, color coded hair styles, body count, permanent soul damage, and our personal demon pacts. ya know, the usual 😚 . realize my dark backstory seems to be missing, so the girls take me to Ketchup Queen Sappho 🍅🥧 (wtf?) to molest my glowy egg stone. whatevs, more action than ive had since Kuroe 🖤 got added to the story anyway

the gang agrees it's time to hunt down the cutest rabbit pimp 🕶️🐇💵 in the city. >> say 🎵mukyuuu🎵 one more time and ill hug you so hard my backstory will pop right out, you adorable fluffy bastard. plz be my new best friend 💕

Form brand new friendship pact with Kyubae, and remember that my lil Sis 🐥 was always the best wingman for pickin up magic chicks, and kept her side of the room so spotless i forgot she existed. whoops 乁༼☯‿☯✿༽ㄏ Maybe if I find her i can stop paying these exorbitant pull fees.📵💎

speaking of which: hot damn this week's featured bachelorette is a 19 year old model and magical detective🔎 with massive levels of PTSD and self loathing 🥵💙💦 more likely to stab you or dramatically jump off a rooftoop than utter a single positive comment. wow, maybe i really COULD find true love…

... if i had MORE THAN A 1% FUCKING DRAW CHANCE. 😡 smh

hard to make much progress finding sis or winning the broken heart of a hard boiled detective amidst the never ending lover's quarrel of the Trident Vine Lesbians. 💔 Sword Mom tells them if they don't behave a monster will take them away. LOL classic mom 🤣

>>>HOLY FUCK IT DID

declare all-out war on urban legends, starting with staircases ⚔️ to reunite the dysfunctional trio, and hope that I net a way better lineup with the next 10x pull. at least sad sleuth lady came to help out. they say combat is the best way to bond wi-   and there she goes off the rooftop again 🙄 fml

alright that got way off track, we need a fresh start, away from all the loli drama. how bout a little B&E🔓🔨🤷🏻‍♀️ at the local house of worship to clear my head. ahh nothing like the unanswered prayers of the masses to get you in the mood for another wasted pull, and the 🔥 MIGHTIEST 🔥 headache you could ask for with a side of Double Cooked Pork 🐖🍜 (meh 5/10🧾)

venture forth into the spiritual unknown with your new human flamethrower🔥🌻🧡 and ask your favorite private eye to please, for the love of Eve, trade Meguca accounts with me~~~ Head through the eastern spirit portal to meet up with hologram propaganda sis and detective crush's evil ex, who joined a dating-app cult (#fuck) and also turned into the moon?🌕?(that's rough buddy)

get ambushed by Acid Horse on Wheels 🌈🐴 and vomit up my soul so hard that its time for a crossover episode. T U R F F F   W A R R R *que operatic harmonies* 💛 Blondie with the hair drills and enough attitude and guns to fill up a noble phantasm tries to ban my account permanently, but PI heartthrob denies her admin privileges. aww babe i didn't know you cared. 😭♥️

get kidnapped by my new true love and go back to her place 😏  defs enough empty rooms to house five emotionally traumatized girls and at least two ghosts hehehe👻 XD 💚🃏💜🎸 decide to form the anti-gossip brigade and recruit my blazing sunflower after getting ambushed by the witch living in my fruit loops🥣

❌outvoted 2:1 that cults are bad. mf. fiinneee one last pull to round out the team and then I'll delete the app. cmonnn Karin 🎃~

OH HELL YEAH TWO FOR ONE.

Always wanted a daughter 💜🔨🐄 with a penchant for pissing off the local Martial Arts & Books Club and drinking suspicious liquids offered by total strangers. Well if it's good enough for her AND the sexy mayadere with enough game to seduce a mermaid, might as well get in on that myself. 

#curseddrank 🤢 0/24 would not recommend to a friend, 'cept maybe Ria

win alot of cash 🤑, blow up a fountain, meet the pied piper²🎶🖕, moon cult, monochrome feathers, something about liberation✊🏻; adopt temper tantrum cow girl. aces 💜🥩

Next up!!! skydiving with DJ Hammer! Jump to apparently-not-certain death after suicidal A.I. 💚💾🗼 tells you to rescue her hostage before they run out of Radiohead albums and have to move on to Thom Yorke's solo discography. save the invisible shield kitten 💚👑😿 from happiness and get chased through the internet by the sexiest homicidal Paint Pallette 💚🎨😈 since Caravaggio. (apparently green is the color of the digital apocalypse. i’m deleting Kako from my friend's list)

that’s it, fuck this app. 250 stones 💎 per-life-threatening-experience is more than i’m willing to deal with 😓 don’t wanna mess with the perfect nuclear family anyway. we've already got: 

✔️the two emotionally traumatized moms with memory and commitment issues

✔️the adhd daughter with anger management problems and a giant hammer

✔️the psychologically abused scizophrenic cat

✔️and the eccentric aunt with crippling anxiety

#squadgoals

now that were done hoarding bitches, its time to hunt the witches. and the bitches makin the witches. btw did i mention the witches ARE the bitches! AND WERE ALL GOING TO DIE!? 📽️⁉️💀 wait fuck lets back up a second

This is Nemo📕 and Token🧪 and they have all the answers but prefer if you only ask vague questions in exchange for vague responses so they can fill in the rest by discussing their superior intellect 🧠 at length. not to mention they built that dating app, so of course everyone in my harem decides to be a FUCKING. TRAITOR.🤬

cept waifu prime ofc 🥰💙. [PTSD > brainwashing] 'yOu CaN bE tHe LeAdEr NoW'. i have been from the very beginning you traumatized Hinedere nightmare. maybe if you weren't so caught up collecting surrogate daughters you would've noticed IM👏THE👏ONLY👏 ONE👏PROGRESSING👏THE FUCKING👏PLOT✨

rescue the rest of dysfunctional found-family™ from selves before my adorable firebender burns down Disnihama🎡🔥😱 during her weekly anxiety attack. (love the makeover T B H) 

CHAPTER 8: Magical Girl Massacre🩸🗡️

   - everyone has like, the shittiest day ever

   - the new Pope really needs to be extradited from the church

   - make friends with a really pretty tree 🌺🌲✨

i swear, if i don't finish this god damn story in time to get that free pull im gonna beat the shit out of every mirror i find in that giant mansion that i haven't even had any time to even mention yet. 🖕🏚️ let alone EVERYTHING happening with the prequel [fuck you, I'm the star] girls 💗💜💙💛❤️️ and their multidimensional melodrama. We don't need that many repetitive af episodes to emphasize that Homo-ra is a shitty person. we've all seen Rebellion. 🙄

NO, I DONT CARE IF YOU WANT SAPPHO'S BACKSTORY, I ONLY HAVE 79 STONES LEFT AND IF YACHAN FINDS OUT I HAVEN'T DELETED THE APP YET IM GONNA HAVE TO GO SLEEP IN WITH SANA 😭💎💸😠

uhhhggggg where were we… Topple a cult and burn down Hotel Denoument only to realize that Sis was fused with the dating app servers this entire madokafuckin time (told ya she was the best wingman 😊). 

Dilemma: Sis =🥚, Triumvirate of Trouble want 🐣. What do? vote now:

Help Hatch - IIIIIII

Not Do That - IIIII

What The Actual Fuck Is Going On - IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Lets just fight everyone until something good happens.

🔥🔫🔥🗡️🔥😱🔥🌆🔥😱🔥🛡️🔥💣🔥

Kill (???) the artist-in-chief of the italian reindeer murder police after teaching her the true meaning of Christmas 🎄 hatch ���lil Sis and realize she WAS your wingman all along🐰 MUKYUUUU! we're just gonna ignore how much trouble it would have saved if you'd just mentioned that. "yOu DiDnT aSk..." 

FUCK YOU SPACE BITCH. ONCE AN INCUBATOR ALWAYS AN INCUBATOR 🖕🐇🔪

anywho, somewhere along the lines we of course summoned the Antichrist ⚙️ because why not raise the stakes to max and still not kill off a single character. Madofuckinkami, can we PLEASE wrap this up. 😩💤

feathers (not the culty kind, tfm) rain from the sky, and the power of friendship and not having the Urobutcher 🔪🩸as a lead writer saves our peacefully sectioned off alternate reality 😇

TL:DR fuck cults, real life waifus DO exist, don't sell your soul to space rabbits, or your stones to megacorporations. Enjoy arc 2 on the JP server with your shitty translation patch you filthy fuckin weebs 

Yours Truly, 

- Thirsty Weeb Eroha 💗💎😘 

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Ash/Athena AU: Unwrapping

In the Honor Bound / Daniel Michaelson’s AU with @whump-tr0pes , Danny sees Isaac for the first time since Corrine took him... and realizes what his mother did

CW: Threats of torture/noncon, nonconsensual touching (not sexual), referenced past torture and noncon. Dehumanization and pet whump.

“If you hurt him, I swear to God, Mom-”

“He’s fine.” Corrine waved one hand dismissively as she met a furious Danny in the driveway. She was already dressed for the party in a short black cocktail dress and a triple-strand of pearls resting lightly against her dark skin, black heels that she walked in with perfect grace. She looked every inch the pure power of the Michaelson group she was. “Oh, you look lovely, Daniel. You and your plaything will complement each other so well.”

Danny shifted, uncomfortable in his Syndicate suit. This one was new, and tailored to adapt to the weight he'd never regained after he came back, but part of him always felt the collar when he had to wear his suits now. Abraham and Ashley had made him wear the one he was abducted in to the parties, so that he’d look more like what he was, until someone paid extra to cut it off him while he was tied to the floor in front of all the guests cheering and screaming and he was bleeding and-

Stop. Focus on Isaac. You have to see Isaac, have to make sure he’s okay. He has to be okay.

“Mom hasn’t done anything more than get your new friend ready for the party,” Patrick said, standing beside Corrine in his own tux, salt-and-pepper hair cut close to his scalp. He leaned in to kiss Danny’s cheeks, one by one, and Danny met the kisses absently, his eyes still on his mother. “I promise.”

Patrick’s voice was low and melodic, with the same charming singsong quality that Ryan had. He and Ryan were the spitting image of each other, from the strong jaw to the sparkling amber eyes to the black curls - although Patrick’s had plenty of gray in this particular iteration of his appearance, and more than a few distinguished wrinkles besides.

“He’s got to be terrified,” Danny said, his stomach twisted in awful knots. He hadn’t been able to eat since he’d thrown up all over the floor, feeling the collar around his neck all over again after watching his mother order Isaac dragged away. 

Nate had fed him broth; it was the only thing he could keep down. 

His nerves were strung so tightly, singing with constant panic that he damped down through sheer willpower. “You could have let him stay with Nate and I last night, he-... he was probably so scared you’d, you’d kill him or something, Mom-”

“Why ever would he think I would do that?” Corrine raised an eyebrow, and when Danny just stared at her, she laughed - a soft, warm sound. “Oh, because I put a gun to his head. Honestly, Daniel. He’s fine. Mrs. Verona fed him a lovely charcuterie with cheese and fruit for dinner, plus plenty of wine. He was reluctant at first, but…” Corrine shrugged carelessly. “He came around, eventually.”

"... Did you get Isaac drunk, Mom?" Danny asked, blinking rapidly, trying to keep himself from getting angry and upset, fighting back the bite in his words.

Abraham got him drunk all the time. He was so fucking miserable and in so much pain, it was easy to just open his mouth and let it burn down his throat, lap bourbon from bowls they put on the floor while they laughed and said you like that, puppy? and then said he had to earn it-

Stop. This isn't about you. This is about Isaac. Nate has a plan. You can do this, Nate has a plan. Just pretend you want this, like you said. Just pretend you want him as a plaything.

Act like Abraham used to. You can do this. You can be like them to get him out. You can do this.

"Oh, hardly. He needed to loosen up, anyway." Corrine held her hand out to Nate as he walked up, wearing his own deep green suit, and he kissed the Michaelson family crest on the heavy ring she wore. "Any news, Nate?"

Nate nodded, straightening up and smoothing his suit jacket with his good hand. "Yes, ma'am. I m-m-may need to skip out early if m-my lead pans out. We have some r-reports - nothing c-c-conc-... Conc-... nothing that's a sure th-thing, but…"

"Of course. Go as you need to. I want them back." Corrine smiled, licking at her thumb and reaching up to wipe at Danny's cheek. 

"I'm twenty-seven, Mom, quit it," Danny said, batting her hand away, stepping back uncomfortably.

"You're twenty-eight, as of today, sweet boy. Happy birthday, Daniel." She smiled warmly, affectionately, and Danny managed a small smile in response despite the nerves still tap-dancing all over his skin. "Would you like to see your new boy? Ryan has been overseeing his final prep for tonight."

The sun was starting to set, lighting everything the peculiarly beautiful golden tinge that made the house seem faintly laced with magic. Danny used to feel comfortable here, at home.

He wondered if Isaac had thought the house was beautiful… or just hellish. Maybe they'd be alone long enough for him to tell Isaac about Nate's plan, to ask…

"Yes, Mom. I want to see him. I've…" Danny hesitated, trying to think of how Abraham would say it if he were here. He forced his voice to sound stronger, more certain, even as he felt ghostly cold fingers card through his hair, and had to hide his shiver. "I had him for five days. I didn't like having to go without. The whole point of having one to keep is that you don't, right?"

Corrine smiled at him - it was such a loving, proud smile, and it hurt Danny to see it. He had fought his whole life for their approval and pride, and had only received it after he had been held in captivity for four years. He had only seen this kind of pride now, now that his mother assumed he was done hiding from what he was and had begun to embrace it.

The thought of what she expected him to be - the very thing that he had been beaten for being, the reason people paid Abraham and Ashley money for time alone with him, for chances to hurt him - made him sick.

But it was what he was, what he’d been born - or adopted - into. Power, and control over their territory. People who did what he said, when he said it. The assumption that he would dehumanize and break down anyone he wanted if he wanted to keep them.

They wanted him to be Syndicate - but Danny’s mind had been broken and shredded alongside his body for the crime of his Syndicate name. He didn’t want to be what they accused him of being. 

He didn’t want to be what he was.

He would have given anything, in the moment he looked into his mother’s loving eyes, to have been in the car with Isaac’s team driving far away from here.

He could live with getting Isaac into the car with Isaac’s team. He had to play his part, and keep it up for a while… Nate had a plan but he had to buy Nate some time.

“Then I won’t keep him waiting on you,” Corrine said gently, reaching up to pat the side of his face. Danny stilled under the unwanted touch, but Corrine had never understood or accepted that he did not like to be touched, since he came back.

Not by anyone but Nate, or… or Isaac.

Danny swallowed.

That didn’t matter. That was ruined, too, now - like the rest of his life had been ruined and wrecked. There was no version of what he was that could not be used to break some new hope he’d had to fight so hard to feel.

Nate fell in beside him as they walked towards the house, his right hand sliding warm against Danny’s back through his suit. “It’s going to b-be okay,” Nate whispered into his ear, pressing a soft, reassuring kiss to his hair. Danny closed his eyes and nodded, fighting the heat that built there, the hint of tears.

He fought the urge to whine, to collapse, to whimper it won’t be okay, nothing will ever be okay again. He was a grown man, and he wouldn’t be weak, not today. Not when Nate needed him to play his part.

Not when Isaac needed to get out of here.

Corrine had Isaac waiting for him in a side room off from the main living area, where the party would be. There were already servants everywhere Danny looked setting up the hors d'oeuvres table, laying out the first platters of food just so, setting up the wine fountain in the corner along with the other loose bottles the guests could choose from. Danny felt trapped in a kind of terrible deja vu - this was his childhood, parties like this.

It had once felt natural.

Now, he kept searching for hooks in the floor that he would be tied down to.

Mrs. Verona popped her head out of the kitchen to wave hello to him and he bent himself nearly in half to reach her tiny height for the kiss to each cheek. His smile was more natural, for her, and the tiny ageless woman’s face was a starburst of cheerful wrinkles as she pinched his cheek, just lightly. “Your young man,” She said softly, “Could use a bit of reassurance, I think.”

“Couldn’t we all,” Danny whispered back, and she winked at him.

“Reassurance and fresh air. But he’ll have plenty of air later on, won’t he?”

Danny straightened, turning to look at Nate, who gave him a perfectly innocent, beatific smile in return. Mrs. Verona is part of the plan? Nate only shrugged and kept him moving through the room, Corrine ahead of them and none the wiser. Patrick veered off to speak with some of the guards, giving them their positions along the walls.

“So many guards,” Danny whispered.

“They’re w-w-worried Isaac will r-r-run, or his t-team will try to come b-back for him,” Nate murmured, keeping a hand on his back. Danny forced a false smile, pretending he was just enjoying the gentle affection, that they were just murmuring the sorts of things to each other they might normally say, on a night like this.

“Will they? Do they… do they know the plan?”

“Some. I t-t-told them where to w-wait, and when I’ll g-get him back to th-them. We have to hope they t-t-trust me. If they c-come on their own…” Nate frowned, picking up a little shrimp puff off the food table as they passed, ignoring the glare from one of the servants in return as he popped it into his mouth. “They’ll be slaughtered, and w-we can’t stop that.”

“They can’t be killed, or hurt,” Danny said, insistently. “We have to get them out. They trusted us, they were so nice to us, Isaac-” His voice broke, his whisper cracking apart, and he swallowed back the guilt that might eat him alive. “Isaac trusted me.”

“I know. I’m s-s-sorry it happened this w-way. But maybe w-we can make it up to him,” Nate said gently, reaching up to push back a bit of wavy red hair. It made Danny think of Isaac, tucking a little bit of hair behind his ear before the first time they kissed-

His knees buckled, just a little, and Nate effortlessly caught him around the waist.

Corrine glanced back over her shoulder, and saw only Nate nuzzling into Danny’s neck, whispering into his ear - a soft, shy smile on Danny’s face. She smiled to see them together, with a warm maternal affection.

Her eyes flashed a brilliant purple before she turned back to walk into the other room. “He’s in here with Ryan, darling,” Corrine called, and Danny took a deep breath, lifted his chin, and walked into the formal dining room to see Isaac.

Danny came to a stop in the doorway, staring at his first view of Isaac since yesterday, as his heart… snapped. It was the only word for the sensation he felt, pulled tense until he broke at the sight of a man who had trusted him with himself and his scars and who had been betrayed in return.

Isaac looked gorgeous.

And terrified.

He was standing with a guard on either side of him, his hair neatly combed and shining clean, hands folded in front of himself, eyes on the floor, his chin bent nearly to his collarbone. He wore a perfectly tailored suit that was so close to Danny’s, and Danny had sort of wondered what Isaac might look like all dressed up (or more accurately, how it would feel to see him dressed up and peel that clothing off him piece by piece), and now he knew.

Ryan was standing against the wall, arms folded, with a face like a stormcloud. “Say hello,” Ryan said, his voice oddly harsh and grating, and Danny’s head jerked to the side only to see Ryan’s eyes glowing a light yellow in the dim dining room light. Ryan wasn’t enjoying this - he was angry about it. “Danny, fair warning, you’re not going to like-”

There was a sharp intake of breath from Nate standing next to him, and Danny turned to look at Isaac again. He’d looked up, to meet Danny’s eyes with him, and his mouth - God, that mouth - was stretched in a tremulous, frightened smile.

There was a thick band of black around his neck, and when Danny’s mind allowed him to understand what he saw, he felt the collar wrap around his own neck, too, the constriction that dug into his skin and rubbed it raw and bloody over and over until the scars made the skin too rough to break so easily again.

Then he saw the reddened fresh brand - the M with its intertwining vines - on the side of Isaac’s neck.

“Oh,” Danny said softly. Fury came instantly, a fire he couldn’t even vocalize around, burning him too deeply to speak the words. He barely managed a whisper. “Mom… y-you, you put… you said you, you wouldn’t-”

“I know, darling, and I’m sorry,” Corrine said, with a tone that suggested she absolutely wasn’t. “And it won’t be for long. But we had to ensure he would be on his best behavior for your birthday party, and I knew you wouldn’t want to lead him. Isaac has promised to be very good for us tonight, hasn’t he?”

She shot a look at Isaac, and Danny watched him look at her with open fear before looking back to Danny and quickly nodding. “Y-Yes, I, I can… I won’t, won’t try anything.” Isaac’s voice shook so hard his words were barely speech at all, and Danny wanted nothing more than to walk across the room and rip the fucking collar off his neck.

He settled for being able to do one of those things.

He stepped forward, feeling like he was floating on numb legs, and moved up to Isaac - who cringed away and then caught himself when Corrine’s eyes cut at him again. Danny reached up to put a hand to either side of his face, and looked into Isaac’s frightened eyes. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, just for him.

“Y-you didn’t have to do this to me,” Isaac all but whimpered, and Danny’s heart ached, a nearly physical pain he could feel slowly radiating out, right to the palms and the fingertips that touched a man he would never, ever have wanted to hurt. “You didn’t have to-”

“Stop mewling,” Corrine snapped, and Isaac’s mouth shut all at once with a click.

“Wh-why did you brand him?” Danny asked, and bit back the wail to turn his words into something closer to anger than the grief he felt welling up inside. With a brand, Isaac wouldn’t be safe. Everywhere he went, even if they got him out of here, everyone would know he was a Michaelson plaything. 

Everywhere he went, they’d think he could be tortured for Michaelson intel or sold back to them for a reward. Even with Nate's plan, it was a matter of time before Isaac was sold back to them, back into Danny's bed at best or Corrine's tortures at worst. He couldn't hide it, or forget it.

Corrine had trapped him in the lie Danny had told to save his life.

He glanced sidelong at Nate, who was looking at it, too, with that empty stillness he was so skilled at. He met Danny's gaze and gave him a small smile. "Just as l-l-lovely as y, yesterday,"

The plan is still going. Don't falter. Stay strong. Danny knows how to read the words Nate doesn't say.

Danny shook his head, trying to say with his eyes what he couldn’t say in front of his mother, not and have any hope to keep up the charade, to get Nate the time he needed to get his plan in motion. He couldn’t say it if he wanted any chance of getting Isaac out of here. “You’re beautiful,” He said instead, and his voice stayed even, and strong.

Oh, puppy, you look beautiful tonight. Let’s take a ‘Before’ photo, the guys coming over really don’t like your fucking family. Bet you give me one hell of an ‘After’ later on, huh? Smile for the camera, Red.

“You’re beautiful,” Danny repeated, and Isaac closed his eyes, lowering his chin again, shivering under Danny’s touch.

“Thank you,” Isaac whispered.

He hates me, Danny thought, and felt guilt crash into him like a wave. He’ll hate me now, forever. I just wanted… “Take the collar off,” Danny said in a low voice, without looking away from Isaac’s face. “Take it off. He’s already branded, you don’t need to collar him, too!”

“Not an option,” Corrine said lightly. “He will stay in line better with it on.”

“Mom, I said take it off, he doesn’t need a collar to control him!” Danny let go of Isaac and turned to face down his mother, but even glaring down at her and towering over her much smaller frame, he knew he wouldn’t win this one just from the way her jaw set, ever so slightly, and her eyes lit up.

“I am the matriarch of this family, Daniel Michaelson,” Corrine said firmly, a warning edging her voice. "You are my son and you will show me the respect I am due.”

“Mom.” Danny fought to calm himself. “I… I like the suit, you, you did a good job, but I can’t… I can’t, not with him wearing that! Not with our mark on him!”

“I told you not to do it, Mom,” Ryan growled from the wall. He was glaring at the guards on either side of Isaac, and they shifted uncomfortably under his glowing yellow gaze. “You know he hates this shit. You know it. Branding people is all your generation, we don’t fucking brand people anymore!”

“Don’t act like you’re any better.” Danny glared at his younger brother, usually wide blue eyes narrowed to furious slits. “You wanted to do the same fucking thing to him!”

“No, I didn’t!” Ryan snapped back. “I wanted to make you happy and having him stay is one thing, but I wouldn’t have stuck my fucking ring on his neck! I’m a Michaelson just like you, but I’m not a Michaelson like that and this fucking dog-and-pony-show pisses me off just as much!”

“Don’t say ‘dog’,” Danny whispered, feeling blood drain from his face.

Some of the anger left Ryan, and his eyes went back to their usual honeyed yellow. “I’m sorry,” Ryan said, sincerely, putting both hands up in the air. “I’m sorry, Dan. I didn’t-... I didn’t think.” He swallowed, hard. “You, you know that I wouldn’t…”

“No, I know, I just-... shit, fucking hell, Mom, you can’t do this to him!” Danny spun back to his mother, who watched him evenly, with one eyebrow raised.

“Do you want him like you said to me yesterday, or not?” Corrine asked, her voice very low. “Darling, did you lie to me, yesterday? I would be very disappointed with you and upset if you lied to me.”

“I… I didn’t. I didn’t, Mom, I definitely want him,” Danny said, swallowing hard, trying consciously to calm himself even as his hands began to shake. Be Abraham, be Abraham, be Abraham. “He’s fucking gorgeous, and nobody else should get to enjoy the, um, the-the sounds he makes but me.”

“Oh, fuck,” Isaac said, his face somewhere between ash-pale and greenish around the edges. “Oh, fuck no-”

“What did I tell you about language, Isaac?” Corrine said coldly, and Isaac flinched, jerking his eyes back to the floor.

“S-sorry,” Isaac whispered. “I’ll be good.”

Danny’s eyes widened. “What… what did you tell him about language? Is he… did you-... punish him?!”

“Not really. He has agreed to abide by the rules for tonight’s engagement. If he behaves for you, darling, he won’t have to wear it again. The decision is made and my decisions are final.” Corrine clapped her hands together. “If he is not acceptable exactly as he is, perhaps we will simply declare this whole thing a loss and move him to my basement-”

“No!” Danny and Isaac shouted at the same time - one with rage and one with terror.

“God damn it, Mom!” Ryan joined in. The impassive expressions on the faces of Isaac’s guards never changed, and the soft bustle of servants never ceased. This wasn’t the first Michaelson fight any of them had witnessed, and it would almost certainly not be the last. “Don’t fucking threaten to torture Danny’s new man right in front of him!”

“Right in front of Daniel, or the plaything?” Corrine asked, with a hint of a smile that suggested she thought the question very funny.

Ryan rolled his eyes and pushed himself away from the wall. “I’ve read Danny, Mom. He wants Isaac. That’s the honest truth. Come on, give them a minute before the guests arrive.” There was a pause, and then Ryan said, “Nate, you’re with me for now.”

Nate frowned, eyes narrowing. “M-Michaelson, I’ve said it b-b-before, I don’t w-work for you-”

“For right now, you do. I need to talk to you about this tip you’ve got on the runaways.” Ryan and Nate met eyes for a second, and Danny could feel the tension in the room rising, the way the two men always sparked against each other unpleasantly whenever they interacted directly. “I want to know what information you have on them, Vandrum.”

“Not your b-b-business, Michaelson.”

More silence, and Ryan said in a tone of deadly certainty, “I am making it my business, Nathaniel. So get your ass with me or nothing goes the way you want it to go tonight.”

“Wh-what the fuck does that mean?”

Ryan smirked. “I think you know what it means.” They stared at each other for a few more long, drawn-out, tense moments.

“Go on, Nate,” Corrine waved one hand dismissively, already moving back towards the doorway. “Go with Ryan. Daniel will speak with his plaything privately. Guests will be arriving soon and they really should get a bit of time together.” She smiled over her shoulder at Danny. “I know you’re angry at me for this, darling, but please… it’s your birthday. Be good to the guests. This gorgeous boy is your gift.”

“I could never ask for an… anything better,” Danny replied, mostly honestly, watching Nate's back longingly as he left walking behind Ryan with his annoyance and anger all but radiating off of him. Danny's voice was thin but he covered it, he thought, as well as he could. Fury still boiled under the surface, the temper he’d once had that Abraham and Ashley had broken and beaten and bashed out of him day by day. “Thank you… thank you, Mom. He’s a wonderful birthday present.”

“You’re very welcome, dear.” Corrine smiled. “Oh, and plaything…” Isaac slowly raised his eyes, not quite meeting hers, cringing slightly back against the dining room table. “That’s good. Learning to keep your eyes down when speaking to your betters. I want you to look right at this.” She held up a small rectangular disk with a few buttons and a dial on it, waggling it back and forth in her hands. “You will behave.”

“I will,” Isaac whispered, staring at the thing in Corrine’s hands with pure fear written across his face. “I will. I’ll behave.”

“Good. Bring your new toy out in about… oh, ten minutes or so, Daniel. The first guests should arrive right about then, and I’ll want you and the plaything in the receiving line to greet them. Everyone should get a good long look at my baby boy coming back to himself, finally, after all that’s happened. We’re a strong family, Daniel. I need you to be my strong son tonight.”

“Of course, Mom,” Danny said, nodding quickly, shifting himself minutely so he was blocking Isaac from Corrine’s direct gaze.

“Family first, Daniel,” Corrine said firmly. “Never forget that. We are Michaelsons first.”

“Michaelsons, first,” Danny agreed, readily enough. He met his mother’s cool, appraising eyes, and kept his face calm even as the muzzle scars ached, phantom pains and fire that wrapped around his face and made it hard for him to force his jaw open enough to speak.

There is no life before-

“Perfect. I’m sorry about the collar, darling, but it really is necessary. Just for tonight. You can take it off him before you take him home.” Corrine gave him her warmest, most loving smile, and he managed one, although thin and small, in return.

He held it until she was gone.

With the two guards still standing at Isaac’s elbows, Danny didn’t dare drop the act, or tell Isaac about the plan. That there was one, that he wouldn’t have to live this way, that Danny and Nate were going to get him out of here tonight.

He couldn’t tell him anything.

All he could do was step up, and take Isaac’s hands in his - the other man’s fingers felt freezing cold. Danny’s fingers were rough and numbed from his years with the mercenaries, but he held Isaac’s hands slowly up, rubbing gently at them, trying to warm them. “I’m so sorry,” He whispered, lips grazing Isaac’s knuckles.

Isaac jerked, like he would try and pull away, but stopped himself, staring at Danny with wide, frightened eyes. The thick black ring around his neck made Danny feel dizzily sick, and he tried not to see it, not to look. “Please don’t do this,” Isaac said back, weakly.

“I know, I know. It’s… it’s not all night,” Danny said, pulling Isaac to him. He couldn’t tell him. He couldn’t say a fucking thing to actually make him feel better. Not even a real hint. All he could do was put his arms around the other man, feel Isaac stiff and tense and frightened but apparently threatened too well by Danny’s mother to pull away. “It’s not, um, not for the whole night, Isaac. I promise. It’s… just a little while.”

Just a little while before I can save you.

Just a little while before we get you out of here.

Nate has a plan.

I wish I could tell you.

Isaac’s head dropped slowly onto Danny’s shoulder, half-collapsed against him. He’d dropped his head like this after the third time, Danny thought, swallowing against a rush of guilt and worry. Dropped his head on Danny's shoulder but from behind him, laughing, whispering nonsense in Danny's ear until it tickled and he laughed and tried to wriggle away-

Stop thinking about it, she ruined it, you'll never have anyone like him ever again. No one but Nate, not ever, no one she'll see or know about. Don't even look at anyone else ever again.

He couldn’t come back from what his mother had done, what Isaac had heard him say, just to save him.

“Please let me go,” Isaac said into the skin of Danny’s neck, and there was a sense of dampness - tears against his Syndicate suit. “Please, please just let me go-”

I’m going to.

“I can’t,” Danny murmured into Isaac’s hair, pressing a kiss there. Isaac was shaking, and Danny rubbed at his back with one hand, staring at the wall on the other side of the room, trying to think. There was nothing he could do to warn Isaac that the guards wouldn’t pick up on. There was nothing to do but let Isaac think this was real right up until Nate gave him the signal. “By tomorrow, it’ll be better,” Danny said softly, kissing into his hair again. The guards were staring - Danny could feel their eyes, and he slid his hand up to tip Isaac’s jaw, tilting his head back up, to look right into his eyes and press a soft kiss to trembling lips. “By tomorrow, you won’t have to wear that collar again.”

“I don’t want this, Danny. I don’t… I don’t want this. I don’t want to be this.”

“Ssssshhhh, I know, I know.” Danny kissed at the damp tear tracks on his cheeks, at his forehead. He tilted his head to look at the brand on Isaac’s neck, watched the other man clench his eyes shut under the scrutiny. “I’m sorry she… hurt your neck, and put that on you. I would, would never have wanted-”

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you just… ask?” Isaac asked, pulling back just to look into Danny’s eyes. “How can you do this to me, after… after what happened to you? Why didn’t you just ask me to stay?”

It was Danny’s turn to drop his eyes and look away. If he looked into Isaac’s eyes a single second longer, he wouldn’t be able to keep up the act, he’d just tell him and the guards would hear and it would… all be over. Corrine would drag Isaac into the basement, torture him for information, Danny couldn’t keep him safe from that…

“Didn’t know it was, um, an option,” He muttered, and pulled back. “Come on, Isaac. Let’s go get in the line for guests.” He pulled Isaac with him, the two guards right behind them, and he kept his hand resting lightly against Isaac’s back the way that Nate would have done for him. 

Isaac didn’t lean in or pull away - he walked with slow, purposeful footsteps, and kept his eyes miserably on the floor in front of him.

I’m going to save you, Danny tried to think as loudly as he could. Nate and I are going to get you out of here, and we’ll save you, and you’ll be free and safe and far away from me.

Out loud, all he could do was lean in and say, gently, “You won’t have to stay at the party for very long.” 

The way Isaac turned red and closed his eyes against tears told Danny that the words weren’t reassuring at all.

[theoutcastedartist]

No new art really, if you've seen my original post on the MHA amino then you know where this is fucking going. Right down to Angstville because for some reason I'm obsessed with hurting my favorite Goth Jesus. You'd think I'd talk about my "Stain's Redemption" AU first since I've mentioned it but hahahaha

Y o u w e r e w r o n g ;´)

I straight up just copied and pasted my original post because I'm lazy but I REALLY wanted to share this with Tumblr lmao

Warning for (potential) manga spoilersss

Alrighty sinners, Let's get to the post itself then. Shall we?

·············

So let me just address something real quick about how I feel about the latest chapters of the MHA manga:

Seeing Aizawa cry has to be the most heart breaking thing I've seen in MHA (outside of the whole deal with Eri, sweet baby child ;-;)

And I completely FLIPPED when it was revealed that Shirakumo was BASICALLY turned into Kurogiri and just I'M CRYING--Cloud Angel Baby NOOOOOO!!!

They all deserved better than this T-T

Anywho enough about my grieving over fictional characters, let's talk about my AU, inspired by these recent chapters. Note that I'm a terrible writer. I guess this also includes a snippet of what I plan to write for this AU since it transitions from explanation to literature at some point just because I was kinda bored. Imma let you know right now that I'm a shit writer so uuuuh bear with me.

---------

The Reticent AU takes place in an Alternate Universe where Shirakumo is ALIVE and separate from Kurogiri. Instead of Loud Cloud being turned into a Nomu, Eraserhead is turned into one. His appearance for the most part remains the same, minus the scars all over his body, including around the neck, from experimentation.

He barely speaks due to pain he feels when he does talk and has no recollection of his life before being a Nomu, not even his own name. He manages to escape the League of Villains at some point and "befriends" the Hero Killer: Stain, or well more like the other way around (only because I find Stain befriending an emotionless mute to be funny). He finds Stain's views of false hero-hood and admiration for All Might quite contradictory yet amusing and lets him live during their first encounter.

It is rather hard to say whether he is a villain or a vigilante. He'll kill only if necessary but his intentions and motivations are unknown. He despises All Might as the Symbol of Peace. It gives false hope to the people as well as a false sense of security. He found it completely revolting. Aizawa did believe in good people, but All Might isn't one of them in his books. Pretty much considered one only because he's hanging around with Stain.

He never gave himself a name, nor did he care all that much for it, it was Stain who dubbed him with the alias "Reticent", meaning not revealing one's thoughts or feelings readily. He was never one for being open for as long as he could remember.

It's rather fitting, so Reticent keeps the given name.

·············

* I didn't know Shirakumo was tan, not white before I made the art (forgive me)

Oboro Shirakumo A.K.A Loud Cloud is currently the homeroom teacher of our beloved Class 1-A and best friend of our resident screaming banana, Present Mic. They have given up on their dream to start an agency due to the loss of their closest friend from high school. Fifteen years ago when they were still students at UA, Shota Aizawa had gone missing and authorities concluded that he was dead. It was such a heartbreak to Shirakumo and Yamada, that hurt never fully healed.

Shirakumo is still a friendly and nurturing spirit at heart, but not as open with his feelings anymore. He's more reserved with his thoughts and feelings. He's a reticent person.

He takes an instant liking to Ejirou Kirishima and Hitoshi Shinso. Kirishima's friendship with the explosive Katsuki Bakugou reminds him of his friendship with Shota. Their personalities seemed so different, yet their bond had remained solid and strong. As for Shinso, the purple haired teen reminded him of his old friend. He could see the growing potential in these two and takes them both under his wing. The three of them train together outside of school and the Kirishima and Shinso form a close friendship with each other along with their sensei. Both children are like sons to Shirakumo, he thinks that Shota would like them too if he were still here.

·············

So... Izuku Midoriya, the "villain magnet" of class 1-A, ended up finding himself standing face-to-face with the Hero Killer: Stain and... his partner? The news never reported anything on him having a partner. How strange. Either Stain's partner is a very recent addition or this guy was really good at covering his own tracks.

"Stain, leave them be. They are just mere children. Killing them would serve no purpose to your cause. I wouldn't waste your time with Native either. "

Midoriya grimaced at the sore and raspy voice. It sounded painful, but he could hear the underlying threat. The Hero Killer sighed and backed off from Iida's paralyzed body.

The two villains left before Todoroki had arrived.

"I think that's the first time I've ever seen you smile."

Agakuro sat down next to Reticent, who was currently petting a stray cat, and offered him some fruit. The smaller man hummed quietly and took a few slices of apple. Both men sat quietly with the soft purring of the stray.

"I've been meaning to ask, what is your quirk exactly? You can erase quirks, but you can also manipulate basic elements and the blood in people's bodies."

Reticent signed, 'I have more than one.'

"More than one quirk?" Stain cocked an eyebrow.

Reticent nodded and quietly spoke, "Nomu."

"I've heard about their appearances here in Hosu. They are these large looking creatures with their brains exposed. You sure as hell don't look like one of 'em." Agakuro mused as he chewed on some cantaloupe. His friend was making his signals again.

I was suppose to be a more perfected Nomu. All for One took care of my progress himself.'

"Is that why you have so many..."

'Yes.'

·············

"Principal Nezu?" Shirakumo and Yamada stood in the white creature's office. Both men wondering why they were called to see him.

"Ah Loud Cloud and Present Mic! I apologize for pulling you out of your classes, but it seems you both are being called to assist Gran Torino with something he found." Nezu explained. The two men in the room looked at each other confused.

"What does he need us for?"

"Well it seems that they have another one of those Nomus in custody. I think you may remember the name Shota Aizawa?"

·············

Shirakumo was BEYOND annoyed about the situation. It must be a mistake. Their old friend was not some gruesome quirk experiment accompanying the Hero Killer. Shota Aizawa wanted to be a hero, despite feeling that he was inadequate for such due to the nature of his quirk. It has to be a mistake.

"How much longer-"

"Calm down will you! I'm frustrated about this too. There's no way it could be him, but... who knows."

They arrived at the police station withing a few minutes and walk inside. They see Gran Torino standing there waiting for them. They follow him to where Tsukauchi is finishing up with questioning the person inside. Looking through the window, Shirakumo and Yamada's eyes widen with disbelief. The other person looked just like...

"Ah Present Mic, Loud Cloud. Thank you for arriving on such short notice. I know you are both very busy men."

The two Pro-Heros turn to the detective as he stepped out of the interrogation room. Present Mic appeared alarmed and Shirakumo just looked... mad.

"Well it appears that he doesn't remember anything before being experimented on. We have a case of amnesia on our hands."

Shirakumo practically growled,"Experimented on? What the hell are you going on about detective!?" Why was Tsukauchi being so damn vague?

"That man in there is indeed Shota Aizawa. His base quirk of Erasure is still there and DNA results confirm this. From what I'm gathering, fifteen years ago he was kidnapped and had been subjected to illegal drug testing as well as having multiple quirks forced into his body. He's a more sophisticated Nomu it seems."

"More 'sophisticated'? What stopped him from having brains popping out of his skull like all the others we've seen?" The voice hero questioned. Something wasn't adding up here.

"All for One..."

The other three men became tense.

"Isn't... Isn't that the villain All Might fought at Kamino Ward?"

"According to him, it seems that All for One was the one who did this to him personally, there was extra care in your friend's 'recreation'. As to what his added quirks are, we're not sure yet of what they are or even of how many."

Gran Torino turned to the younger men,"We were hoping that you two would talk to him. Maybe to help trigger any memories from before his disappearance."

"So what? You think the 'power of friendship' is going to magically bring back his memories?" Shirakumo scoffed at how ridiculous that would actually be.

"No, but miracles do happen. I've seen many things during my time. They are rare, but they happen."

"Shirakumo," Present Mic started, "if there is even a slim possibility of getting Sho's memories back, shouldn't we at least try? For him?"

Shirakumo sighed at his words, "Fine. For Shota's sake."

The two younger men walk inside.

--------

"Shota?"

'Who were they talking about? Is that his name?'

After the detective had left the room, two other men had walked in. He assumed they were Pros based on the costumes. No normal person dressed in THAT much leather (referring to Present Mic).

"Do you... remember us, Shota? Hizashi and I?"

It looks like they ARE talking to him. He shook his head no. This was the first time he has seen these two men. The way they were looking at him made him uncomfortable.

"Sho...ta? Is... that my name?"

The two men standing winced at his croaking voice. In all honesty, he would sign, but he had no clue if these two even knew sign language. So he just resorted to talking.

"Do you remember your own name?"

"No."

"Do you... remember us?"

The raven haired man shook his head, 'No.'

"Is... Shota my name? Do you know me? I'm sorry I- I'm just... so confused."

His voice was so raspy and weak. Black hair covered the scar under his eye. Hizashi and Oboro wore sad looks on their faces at the sound. The taller of the two, Oboro, knelt down by the man's knees.

"Yes. We do know you. Your name is Shota Aizawa. You were once a member of UA's class 2-A about fifteen years ago." Oboro started as he gently pried one of Shota's hands from the yellow blanket the officers gave him. His arm was covered in scars... like his legs. God only knows what they did to him all those years. Hizashi just observed their movements, unsure of what to do he added on to what Shirakumo said.

"You love cats and taking naps, you were the most rational one out of the three of us. All three of us had dreams of starting an agency together..."

The two pro-heros continued talking for what felt like hours. Shota listened to every word as they recounted their old adventures from highschool. Maybe with enough luck, they could help Shota get him memory back. Shirakumo was starting to think that the raven wasn't ever getting his old memories back until...

"Sushi... I- We had a cat named Sushi?"

Hizashi had flung himself so fast to Shota as he held onto him tightly and cried. Shirakumo also had a tear-streaked face, but he held a blinding smile as he watched Shota awkwardly pat the blond's back.

Miracles do happen.

More of this angst shit coming soon ;)

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Favored Ones, Part 6. (Joel Miller x Fem!reader)

Description: When you spend every evening with someone who’s deeply under your skin, a certain relationship can be developed. So it’s crushing for Joel when Y/N suddenly disappears. But there’s way more to the relationship that one would’ve guessed.

A/N: Inspired by a song named Breezeblocks, sang by alt-J (∆).

Warning: IT'S ABOUT TO GET SMUTTY IN HERE BITCHES. Also, long as fuck, because I had too much fun.

Word count: 4.4 K

Tagging: @xxgoldenhour @missdictatorme @nemodoren @jodiereedus22​

If you like this story, please, more parts can be found here! :): H E R E

The night prior events of the hunt, 2038:

There were no groundbreaking kisses when he told you his yes. There was no locking glances or hands while you walked to his small hut through the snowy night. There was also a complete silence. Only smiles could be seen on your faces. You two were behaving like little children.

Joel didn't lend you his shirt, not even because he didn't want to or that he thought that he'll be too cold without. It was too dangerous for you to walk in his clothes from an evening to an evening.

And he was right. Because you met Jesse and since he and Dina parted, he was a pain in everyone's ass. He was obsessed with details - you didn't think why he's outside when he was in the hall just ten minutes before.

"Where you're two going? I thought that you're at the dance party?" - He asked and he was completely clueless about it. Joel could think of some reason, but you were way quicker.

"Oh, Joel decided to let me go hunt on my own, so we want to discuss the area where I should go." - You smiled at Jesse without a sign of nervousness in your face or voice. Just like it was a sure thing.

"Yeah. I have some maps that I could lend her so she doesn't get lost." - Joel supported you and you smiled wickedly. Such a naughty boy he was, that Joel.

"Alright. I thought you two aren't talking at the moment?" - Jesse's face furrowed with a contusion. Oh hell, you actually lost your arguments. - "You called it off just like that? I would believe this to anybody but you two. " - Jesse said again. This time, Joel was quicker than you.

"It was my fault. I was too aggressive on one of our hunting sessions and I just needed to talk with her and apologize. It was my fault." - He said calmly. Jesse just nodded and continued walking further away from you. You smiled at Joel, shook a bit and your eyes were shining.

"Can w-we go now?" - You hugged yourself and Joel started to talk forward again. He was leading you through the completely empty city brightened only by some lights on terraces and the white night. It had a beautiful Christmas atmosphere, which was creeping in from behind the corner to you.

You loved Christmas. It wasn't about the gifts as it used to be - now it was only people coming together, drinking some ale and cooking together. It had that beautiful, family atmosphere when everybody forgot about the infected or the bandits and just came together.

People always found their way to give someone something small, like on birthdays. Sometimes you prepared a meal as a gift for the others or got some special fruit or whatsoever, sometimes there were absolutely no gifts and sometimes, when you were lucky, someone found you a piece of clothing in the city, like shirts or pants.

And if Joel wanted to give you that night for Christmas, you were more than accepting all of it.

His small hut was cold on the inside and it was a bit messy since Joel wasn't exactly the cleaning type, but it didn't matter to you. He immediately closed the door and started a fire in his small stove standing in the corner, while you sat on the bed and watched his moves.

"Would you let me go on a hunt tomorrow?" - You asked silently when he finally stood up. He looked at you with complete silence and then went to sit next to you. Joel's body was a bit too far away from yours and not even his hand touched you. - "All alone. Like a big girl."

It was your turn to stand up and cover the windows. If anybody could see what was going on, even if you would only sit on his bed until the morning would come, it would look weird to many people.

Then you turned back to face him and smiled. Snowflakes were slowly sinking into your black shirt and your cheeks reddened as the room got warmer and warmer.

"Are you sure you would handle the hunt on your own?" - Joel half laid on his bed, he was holding his upper body up on his elbows and he watched your moves. You nodded with an innocent smile.

"If you show me those maps, I won't get lost." - You slowly walked to the bed and took the hiking shoes off your feet as your knees slowly circled around his upper thighs as your ass slowly sat down at a spot where his knees started.

You needed to say that Joel had some fine, firm muscles on his legs. Somehow you found it sexy at his age that he takes care of his physique. Other old men were not as attractive; they were weirdly furry, fatter or just... Not attractive.

You sat there in complete silence for a few moments, only the cracking of the burning wood was reminding you that Joel wasn't a painting. And that you can actually try to touch him.

And so you did.

You weren't looking at his face because it felt weird to rise your eyes to look him in the eyes. It felt like you were watched. A smile crept on your lips as your fingers slowly dipped into the crook of his neck covered in the rough material of the shirt he was wearing.

With a slow, smooth motion you went lower and lower, feeling his heartbeat under the tips of your fingers and tensing of his muscles. You felt as you found something under his belly button; it was some raw, bulky skin. That was the first time you actually looked at him.

"Can I take a look?" - You whispered and Joel didn't answer at first, but then he sat up and started to unbutton his shirt. It wasn't any delicate, slow and gentle moves, they were fast and rough as he tried to take everything down as fast as he could. You tried not to drool when Joel took even his black t-shirt off.

He was not that typical athletic hunk girls your age were into when the world wasn't crazy. But even though he was well built. His body wasn't soggy at all, his skin was maybe rough, but it had a nice tone. And it was made a bit softer by his hair. You liked to touch him.

But the wound which he was hiding was truly hideous. It was a scar that was still bulky and rough, it had a bright pink color. It looked like it was poorly sewed when it happened, but it was still enough to keep Joel alive.

"I might wanna talk about this, old guy." - You smiled and kissed the tip of your index finger and gently pressed it back into the biggest scar.

"I don't know if I want to talk about it, youngblood." - Joel was looking at the same place you were looking at, smiling sadly.

"I bet I will make you." - You giggled. You were still a bit tipsy from the whiskey and bourbon you've drunk, but it was nothing serious.

Joel was slowly sitting up and you felt that THE MOMENT you dreamt of was finally coming to life. But in this area, you weren't exactly the most skilled.

Yeah. You've kissed a boy before, Philip and one jerk named David to be exact, but it never sparked a spark before. You had your fun with another guy who disappeared three years ago. It was a one night stand, as you were told, and it hurt you, it wasn't pleasant and you didn't enjoy it at all.

But your hormones kept on telling you, that your body begs to have at least one night stand with Joel. His specific smell made you wet and crazy on the spot. But you were scared that it will be hurting as much as the first time.

But even if you were scared out of your mind, your palms slowly circled around his shoulder as he was sitting up. You prepared for the moment with long and slow exhaling and you felt as your muscles tensed for a second. Your lips were dry and you were winking at a fast pace. But Joel was completely calm down like you weren't about to get the most important kiss of your whole life.

In fact, he wasn't even touching you at all. You were roaming his body with your fingers, touching every centimeter of his skin you probably could. When you knew that the time is right, you just somehow did, your palms slowly circled behind the back of his next. Your noses touched and that, of course, was the sign for your lips to lean in.

You messed up the first kiss terribly, let me be completely clear. You almost gulped half of his head. Joel chuckled and stopped you for a minute, he put his finger on your parted lips. Holy shit. You fucked up.

"Have you done that before?" - Joel furrowed at you, but he was still laughing a bit. You felt ashamed and yet he wasn't poking fun at you. So you decided that everything had to be cool about that.

"A few times with boys who were just as inexperienced as I was. Is it that terrible?" - You took his finger out of your lips. - "They told me that it comes by nature, but I am bad at this, I guess."

But Joel sat back up and brought his lips to yours. It felt like your and his lips were only touching until he had done some magic and moved them an itsy bitsy bit, which made your lips oversensitive and reactive to his kiss. That was indeed some spell because you started to take over the pace of the make out. You tried to be dominant and somehow... A content sound came out of your neck.

It made you stop and look at him. He was grinning at you like he knew what's up with you. You furrowed and before you could ask, his face was in the crook of your neck and your breath was gone in an instance. You opened up your mouth, closed your eyes and made another one of those sounds as you tried to keep yourself at the moment.

Your fingers entwined in his brown hair mixed with some gray and somehow, your neck pressed into his lips as your chest rose and fell heavily. You were fucked when he started to unbutton your black shirt. Somehow, you helped him get it off. You sat there only in your bra and the band of your jeans held too low. And his hands were traveling THAT way.

It was tickling a bit too much, but even if your body was uncomfortably tensing and relaxing, Joel somehow held you in one place. His hands were all around your waist and they were rough and warm, as he slowly crawled lower and lower.

"I think that I'm going to explode at any minute." - You moaned out. The sounds were somehow animalistic and your body was making them on its own.

That man's lips were slowly traveling down your body, leaving sloppy kisses everywhere he could. And you just traveled with your hands on his body, feeling the flesh in which you could actually scratch your nails in.

But then Joel got onto the upper hand and threw you onto the bed. You could hear as his boots fell down with a heavy sound and the bed's screeching as he climbed after you. Joel climbed between your legs and hovered above you for a short moment before his face disappeared between your boobs. Holy fuck. Joel was almost unable to hold your body down.

"Will you be kind and take this little thing off?" - He smiled and you almost didn't even notice that his lips aren't on your skin for more than ten seconds. His fingers were tugging your bra, the nicest one you had, so you needed to concentrate on that small task.

That old man would've loved to do it for himself, but your back was pressed into the mattress. So you helped him with taking that piece of clothing off your body.

"Well look at that." - Joel chuckled and traveled from your boobs up to your throat and almost breathless look. You had no idea about what the man is about to do.

Why? First of all, your body was on a horniness shut down. It was completely out of use.

Second of all, you were so inexperienced it hurt. You didn't know anything about your nipples except that they are hard when it's cold outside. Or that they can apparently get somehow hard when you're horny and in need.

How could you have a single idea that they can be sucked on or rolled on someone's tongue? Or that the sensitivity they were about to produce when they bite them; not roughly, just a bit. At that minute you screamed in nothing but pleasure.

It was such an amazing feeling that your body felt immediately responsive. And really everything that was happening was that you had an old man sucking on your boobs. His tongue was slow and going in circles. This man's mouth was magical.

And baby, he had more in stock for you.

Your mouth made another of those sounds, this one was sad, as he left your nipples be. You looked at them, they were swollen and brightly pink, hard as a rock. But Joel only gave you a smile and sloppily kissed the small place above your belly. You wanted to talk, but it was hard to make your tongue swirl in the motions you needed to speak.

But Joel didn't care about that at all. He could only chuckle about your tries to keep it together when you barely knew what he can do next - it was like a surprise. Every move he made was like a surprise. And let's be honest, it was making him hard as well. You were a wild one.

At that time, Joel had the feeling that he can do anything to you - to show you the secrets of making love and rough fucking. When he thought about it, he missed fucking.

It started even before the cordyceps apocalypse. Since he was alone with Sarah, it was hard for him to move on and to find a new woman to add to his life as his partner. After the shit went down, it was practically impossible to find someone who would let him fuck them and mingle with them emotionally at the same time.

It was hard for most of the times, to trust someone emotionally. So it was only fucking. At even if it kept Joel's body relaxed and contained, his soul was crushed. But with that, Joel learned to live. He was just alone for the last... Twenty-five and more years.

But right on the mattress, he might've found it all again. That was what you had on your mind, right? Something like that. Mingling and fucking.

So he was eager to show you everything he could, so he slowly led his lips down to your belly. He dragged his head along the curves of your body, slowly climbing lower and lower. The old bed was shrieking under both of you as you moved on it.

"Take these off. Come on. Move it." - Joel looked at you with a low chuckle. You nodded and started to unbuckle your belt. Slowly, you started to wiggle out of your jeans and it was teamwork because he was getting them off of your body. You were nervous as hell.

Not that you were not confident about the lower half of your body or that you had a huge bush directly between your legs, but it was just making you nervous. And the puddle between your legs made Joel chuckle and look away for a second. Oh great, you weren't joking at all as far as he could tell, he really did something to you. And he needed to test out all of it.

"Should I take even your pants off?" - You sat up and your legs spread even wilder. Your hand slowly caressed your own hair, you were looking at him with a lustful look.

"Oh, no, I think I'm good just as I am, youngblood. But you need to take off more clothes, don't you?" - Joel asked quietly, his voice was calm and humming. How could he always be so calm? He was cool about everything. But you did as you were told - you started to take off the last piece of your clothing.

"Well, come here." - Joel was leading the pace of it and you were into it as hell. He had such a calm voice and playful eyes that you were a complete foul for that.

His lips dipped into the crook of your neck again, kissing it slowly. His beard was tickling you, so you were naturally giggling as he proceeded lower to play some magic with your nipples again.

He was taking a lot of time with you - you kinda were thinking that Joel is more of an in and out guy and that you'll be over in proximately twenty minutes. But it was twenty minutes already and you didn't do a single thing together. Except for some kissing and nipple... Something.

But you finally were naked. At least something, thank God.

As you watched him positioning between your legs with your breath hitched, you leaned down and took his face to your palm.

"What are you doing?" - You furrowed and smoothed his face from the other side. It was a funny sight - his face just hovering above your pussy held in your hand. - "I thought that's how lesbian sex works, doesn't it?"

"Oh, my dear lord." - Joel chuckled back and leaned in to kiss you. He took your breath away with doing magic with his smooth lips. You breathed out as his body leaned into your touch, your breasts crushed into his chest and your knees circled around his waist. It could be felt that he's more than ready, but then he pushed you onto the bed harshly and left you there. - "Stay low. If you sit up one more time, we will need something to keep you down, youngblood." - He was a dangerous man and it could be seen for an itsy bitsy moment like this. The only thing you could do was to nod as his body went back down onto its previous position.

So lesbian sex was the shit apparently. And in the next minute, you could feel why it was such a deal. As he tasted you with his tongue for the very first time, it was like the universe just expanded outside of the hut. It was so... Warm and soft as it danced on the most sensitive spot of your body.

Your body tensed for a second and you shook with pleasure for a moment. Okay. So that's why lesbians did eating out as a preferred way of sex, you could understand immediately. Slowly your hands circled around his head as you pushed in. It was your instincts leading you as you made louder and louder sounds. After a short while, it was like your body recognized his rhythm and started to move in the flow.

But if you thought that eating out was the best thing you've ever done, when Joel put his fingers in use, you were damned. When that guy just shoved himself two years ago, it hurt so much you started to cry. But this was something much different, as he made your brain too occupied by licking and sucking. You couldn't tell if it was pleasurable when he started to move fingers in and out, sometimes rolling with them a bit, but in the end, you could only tell that he knew what he was doing to you.

"Oh my fucking God, Joel, Joel, Joel..." - You breathed out in a fast pace and moaned out again. You were horny like crazy and you took a deep breath when a warmth started to concentrate just above your pelvis. It was concentrating on your whole body, you were shivering because of how pleasurable it was. Joel was showing you a new world.

The next moment, you only you that you were practically screaming, holding his head with your thighs and that you moaned out his name while scratching his shoulders down.

After that, you just laid there with your eyes closed. Your head was dizzy and the world around you was spinning. Your pressure was too high just as your heartbeat rate.

"What the fuck was that?" - You asked when he Joel laid next to you. He was chuckling at you as he smoothed your lower belly.

"It was your first time?" - He laid next to you. There was more to do, but you needed to lay down for a minute.

"Having lesbian sex? Yeah, DEFINITELY." - You turned to him and snuggled his side, your lips itching to kiss him slowly. So you leaned down and did it.

"No. Having an orgasm, I mean. You were pretty wild." - His arm circled around your shoulder as he brought you closer to him. Your hand traveled down to the belt of his jeans which were still on his body.

"Nobody had ever done it to me, only I did. So this was a premiere. And you were fucking great. I think that I'm okay with something more." - You kissed him again and moaned into his lips. There was still something more to do, and so your palm went on an explanation with unbuckling his belt.

You didn't exactly know how big should a penis be, so you couldn't say if he is an average one, too small or too big. You just didn't have a clue. But you had that irrational fear that you can't take all of it. Every single girl had this fear at least one time before they were about to have sex.

Your brain told you that you should start to play with him. That was called jerking off as far as you were informed.

"Okay." - He hummed and caught your hand to stop you. - "You're good... If I consider that you've never done anything like foreplay. But we'll need you to learn some things." - With that, he took the upper hand again and began to undress. He took the place between your legs again, positioning himself as his hips ground into yours. You had no idea why it didn't hurt as much as with that other guy.

But this was... Nice. This was nice. Pleasurable. You smiled at him and opened your mouth as your breath rose up. This act was everything as that man found its tempo, as he started to moaned into your neck and kissed a few spots there. You loved to have sex like that.

Maybe it was the foreplay as he called it. Maybe it was all the time he took with the preparation which made your heart bump so loud. But soon as you had the chance, your body started to grind into his moves. Joel's thrusts were quick and rough, almost violent. And the pace was getting quicker.

Not even five minutes after that, let me say, you were like two animals. You even tried to kiss each other sloppily, but it was impossible when you moved the whole bed around the small hut. Maybe you were even moving the hut around, you wouldn't be surprised. The only thing you were capable of was locking your hands together and entwining fingers so your bodies were always close to each other.

Faster and faster pace made you all warm again as the tempo got even rougher. The orgasm this time was even more violent than it was the first time as it didn't come in place. It was just one thing at a time and it escalated. After one minute, you were a crumbling and moaning mess as your body shook violently against his.

You held his head in your hands, scratched his neck and his back, seriously screaming at the top of your lungs. Joel came just a second after that, but you almost didn't notice.

Don't be silly, it was making him proud of himself in a way; making a beautiful, young chick scream. You pulled him even closer when everything was over, nuzzling him into you. Your smile was happy and contained, your body was tired but relaxed.

"We need to be up by the sunrise. Will we make it?" - You giggled, hugging him with your legs and smoothing his hair. He was still inside you, but his arms hugged you as he wasn't planning on leaving from the inside of you any time soon.

"I hope so." - His nose nuzzled the crook of your neck again as he left there smooth and warm kisses.

"I think that I'll take a shower and then we can discuss the hunting area, huh?" - You kissed the temple of his head slowly and smiled.

"Good idea, youngblood." - He hummed as he climbed down slowly.

The shower was one of the warmest and best you had ever had in your life. You maybe were a bit too tired, tipsy and happy, but who would wonder after such a beautiful night? You used his shower gel and shampoo before leaving the shower, making your hair at least a bit appealing and taking one of Joel's shirts.

He was already clothed and sitting at a table made a few snacks from cheese and grapes. He gave you an apologetic look. - "This is the only food I found. Shall we?"

And so you discussed over the maps, laughing and talking about nonsense a lot too. You left when the sky was getting brighter, so you could both catch up at least an hour of sleep.

It hurt to see you leaving, having you only on his mind as he replayed your last kiss of the night. But you were smiling at him; still having his shirt on your body.

And that's how it all had started.

[hiddenhearthwitch]

📓College Witch Tips📓

I’ve gotten a lot of asks for college witch tips and small living space witchy advice. I wasn’t practicing while I lived in the dorms but I did start practicing(in secret) while I was rooming in a studio apartment my sophmore year of uni so I figure it’s sort of similar. Anyways, I hope this helps someone out there ~ 🧡

🕯️So, no candles, I totally get that and it’s a fucking bummer. You can always get fake candles though! There’s such a wide variety of picking between pillar sizes, tea lights, or you could even get ones where you pick the color so you can use it for any spell. 

On another note, have you tried string lights? It doesn’t matter if they’re fairy lights, Christmas lights, or bulb strands. I had a specific set of white strands that went around my part of the room and whenever I want to do a spell/feel magical/etc. I would turn them on ~ bonus you can get fake ivy and flower garlands at the Dollar Store to braid with them and it’s suuuper cute.

💧Water magic is a pretty sneaky go to! No one is ever going to be suspicious of water. You could leave a water bottle out near your window “on accident” for Full Moon water! There’s two big areas I think of so let’s break it down!

Bath magic! Everyone has to shower at some point. Without anything else, pure hot water is wonderful for a pure cleanse of your energy, mind, and body. @beau-witchery has a wonderful post on shower magic you can find here. You can also bring some of your crystals or something you want to charge into the bathroom with you(assuming you have private shower stalls) and let the steam from your shower charge them! You can even sprinkle some salt on the shower floor to help you release negativity and feel charged.

Water bottle magic! This is super universal tbh and I use it for so many things. You can put crystals in your water bottle to charge your water with whatever you need. Red jasper for strength and vitality, quartz for charging and cleanings, amethyst for magic and protection, rose quartz for beauty and love, etc. There are a lot of water soluble crystals so please do proper research first. I would inherently recommend not using anything under a hardness of seven, so do your research!! You can also put in fresh herbs or slices to fruit to enchant it with corresponding properties or to boost your energy.

📚Speaking of research, it’s a fundamental part of magic and college! Use your university library! They’ll definitely have books on the alchemy of plants, gemstones, and I’ve been able to find a few on magic at each uni I’ve visited so give it a look. You can also check out your local library and check to see if your library has an online database for e-check outs. The Akron Public Library has a huge database for online books, PDFs, and articles to “check out” and read online. See if your library or one in your county does as well - it’s typically the main library.

♌Sigil/stave magic, I know this is probably the most recommended thing for college witches but they’re honestly so helpful. You can design your own sigils/staves or use one that other witches have created.  Here’s a link to a tumblr tag for college/student based sigils. 

Now what to do with the sigils? Well, this is up to you. You could stitch or draw a “sigil to stay safe” on the inside of your backpack, draw a motivation/focus sigil inside your notebooks/binders, draw a good grade/”I’ll do well on tests” sigil on your pencil pouch or draw it on the side of your pencil! There’s so manyyy things you can do, just be creative and don’t feel obligated to do it one way just because someone else is.

🌱Plants may not seem like your first choice since you live in a  dorm but there’s a lot of small, low maintenance plants out there. You just need to know where to look. Keeping a plant in your room can help keep you grounded, feeling closer to your craft if your nature/plant based, and generally help keep the energy and air pure. You can also keep plants around for their metaphysical properties ~

Here is an online database to find local plant nurseries. I always suggest going through a nursery vs. a home or grocery store because the workers actually know how to upkeep the soil, when to water them, feed them, repot them, etc. plus I find they tend to have less root mold or disease when coming from a nursery. Some suggestions for small and low maintenance witchy plants would be: lucky bamboo, air plants(specifically Tillandsia maxima, Tillandsia bulbosa, Tillandsia ionantha, and Tillandsia chiapensis), small breed cacti and snake plants.

🔮Crystals don’t always have to be a giant slab of quartz on an altar. We’ve already talked about how you can use them in your water but you can also, carry small tumbled ones in your pencil pouch, wear them as jewelry, put them in your planters if you have plants, and so much more! You’re not limited to the “traditional” use of crystals. Think outside of the box! If you want to labradorite to keep you safe on campus make a key chain to hang on your bookbag or something like that! Some of my favorite crystals in uni were amethyst(memory), clear quartz(knowledge, cleansing), rose quartz(self love), labradorite(magic/protection), and sunstone(joy, knowledge).

☕Drink magic kind of ties in with water bottle magic but it’s more varied! Drink coffee or black/green tea in the morning to start your day off with grounding. When making your coffee or tea draw a sigil on top with your spoon before stirring. If you’re using honey draw it on the bottom of the mug first. Stir counterclockwise to bring in positivity. Use the properties of your tea, coffee, or creamer in your morning magic.

✨Enchanting would work with just about anything. You could enchant your backpack to keep your grounded, your pencils to keep you motivated, your doorway to ward off negativity, etc. If it’s an actual item you’re enchanting I used to do in secret by using water. For example, I enchanted my favorite sweater to help me feel motivated confident by using the machine cycle as a way to cleanse it + instill positive energy and the dry cycle as a way to infusion act and warmth. I mumbled some words about motivation and stuff when loading the clothing in. You could also use warm water to “clean” a water bottle, gemstone bracelet, set of earrings, etc. as a way to enchant something. 

🎮You don’t need an altar to be a witch! I don’t know where this misconception came from but honestly fuck it. If you would like an altar anyways and can’t have one out in the open you can set one up inside one of your drawers, a shoe box, or even a jewelry box. You can make small portable one’s with Altoid tins or other small boxes like match boxes! If you’re tech friendly and want too, you can say fuck it to all of the above and just make an online altar via a tumblr blog, pinterest board, etc. 

Bonus: do you like vidya gamez? You can do a lot with altars to both deities and for witchcraft in video games. You can build an altar in Minecraft or the Sims. You can build homes dedicated to your craft and gods in Skyrim, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, etc. be creative! 

💖The rest of these suggestions are small things anyone can do to feel more connected to their craft or “witchy”. It can be really hard to feel connected to your craft or like a witch at all when you don’t have time or energy because of school, work, depression, etc. So these are just some of my favorite low effort suggestions.

Meditate in bed for five to ten minutes before getting up!

Put cute witchy stickers or washi tape in your agenda, notebooks, etc. use colors and symbols to correspond with your intention

Go for a walk! It can be around campus, your local graveyard, tbh you could just use your walk to class as a chance to feel connected to nature and refresh your energy.

Witchy!! Playlists!! Seriously, get jammin’.

Star a grimoire or bos! It can be a word doc, tumblr blog, or an actual notebook. Whatever works best for you. ✨

Meditate! In the shower, on the way to class, when you wake up, when you’re making breakfast, whenever. Find a few minutes a day when you’re by yourself and focus on calming your thoughts.

Use ambient videos on youtube to help ground you and feel more connected to your craft. Basic ambiance w/moving video links: Forest w/waterfall, Woodland, Night, Ocean, Rain & fireplace, Nighttime train ride, Sunrise, Wheat field, River, Campfire, Swamp, Snow

Wear colors that correspond with your magical needs.

Hide your pendulum as your necklace or just use your favorite necklace as a pendulum!

Look on amazon, clearance racks, and thrift stores for tapestries and blankets to hang up that make you feel witchy! 

Wear scented oils ~ different intentions for different days

Pls love yourself and remember I’m sending you so much love

Patreon | Shop | Instagram 

[moeruhoshi]

Witch AU

I wrote so much of this that I’ve been on such a long fucking block bruh

~000~

“Lucy darling, are you ready for bed?” Layla hummed as she slowly peeked into her daughter’s bedroom, finding the little blonde tightly tucked in with a broad smile spread on her lips.

“Yes, mama! Virgo tucked me in!” The younger Heartfilia chirped as her mother approached her bedside. “Will you tell me the story now?”

“Yes, yes, I promised, didn’t I?” She giggled as the little girl nodded and beamed with bright eyes as Layla took a seat with a leather-bound book ready in her hands.

“Yes!” Lucy snuggled her doll close to her chest as her mother began her most favorite tale again. 

The Boy and the Witch.

It was a love story that began with the life of a young boy in a rural village devoid of magic.

It was entirely unheard of, a sin even. The world had yet to learn that magic was not as inherently evil as they’d all assumed; it was pure and light and brought happiness. Although, it wasn’t terribly easy to teach a concept to people too afraid to even speak of such a thing.

The boy knew of such things but found himself indifferent, neither scared nor obsessed. Magic had yet to even cross his eyes or pierce his soul, so where lied his worries? 

After the boy, would appear the witch. Every now and again, a little girl would be born into the world; one who was beautiful and charming, gifted, and blessed with the powers to do and create anything.

The witches coven existed to teach these girls how to manage their abilities. They were eventually given a choice; to stay in the safety of the coven or leave to live amongst humans.

One girl, in particular, left the coven when she became of age and happened upon the small but busy town amidst her journey. Her beauty allowed her to fall in the accepting arms of the people, a home soon built and full of mortal things she longed to have.

And it was there that she went to the market where she met a boy, the boy unafraid of magic.

Love at first sight, for the young witch. It was a witch’s curse to experience such a mad desire, intense and petrifying, one that clung to the very being of hers meant to be and would never let go. 

He too felt drawn to her favorable beauty, and sweet smile prepared to protect her secret and to hold her heart close always.

“Will I find my love like the good witch in the book?” The tired reflection of the sun yawned as she fell deeper into the fluff of her pillow, smiling softly as her mother placed a kiss upon her forehead. 

“You will, little one, I promise.”

As Lucy grew, she grew with the thoughts of hope and a heart full of the shadow of hers genuinely meant to be. It was not a curse to her but a blessing, to know one day she would be graced with the eternal love of another, somewhere upon the mortal earth.

But her faith shattered one day as she walked about her home, elder witches and sisters happy in the streets until the breakdown of one broke her dear dreams.

“Mama…what happened to Aquarius?” Lucy whined, afraid as she clung to her mother’s skirt, shivering at the sight of her dear friend raging by the stalls, others too afraid to restrain her anger.

“She’s upset, maybe it would be best for us to go home,” Layla quickly turned and held tight to her daughter’s small hand, pulling her through the overcrowded road. 

“M-Mama!” The older woman walked much to fast for the younger to catch up with her, their hands losing each other in the building disarray.

“Lucy!” Aquarius snatched her small body back, frenzied eyes staring at the poor child now stricken with an almighty fear. “It is a lie! The stories are not true!”

“W-Wha––”

“Men lie and kill, hurt for fun! There is no joy in the arms of a man who has no need to keep true to his beloved! Nonesuch rule exists in the mortal realm, love is not true! They love only themselves!”

And why would her sweet sister lie? Why would her most trusted and dearest friend lie? Madness filled her heart, and pulled her into its arms, destroyed her mind and tainted her powers. That was all that lied ahead of love; anger, hate, pain. Stories were only that, stories.

Humans surely had no knowledge of true love. Even if a witch found her destined one, he would not love her as she loved him, no. She would only be pining for a soul never meant to belong to her in the first place.

How dare a man to trick her sweet sister? How dare a man to ruin her most trusted and dearest friend? And how dare the thought of a man almost steal her pure heart as well?!

She would not stand for it! She would do anything to avoid that cruel fate, curse any human who dared even to think of leaving her in that devastating state. After Aquarius had spoken to little Lucy, Layla tried to clear up the misunderstanding with the truth, saying;

“It’s very uncommon for a man to ever betray his witch, please don’t think too much about what she said, dear.” 

But Lucy didn’t buy it. She had no longer had any faith in love.

Lucy bitterly ignored the soon-coming day of her future, the day when all young witches had to leave their coven. It was customary to at least spend a year traveling in the mortal world before settling on the decision whether or not they would return home. 

Lucy planned to begin her travels and move around as often as she could, hoping to avoid anyone that dared approach her too casually. Eventually, she would come right back home and perhaps begin teaching magic to the following generation as her mother had done.

“It’s much…brighter than I imagined,” Lucy sighed as she held her hand up to hide the sun from her eyes, taking in the full view of the field before making her way towards the rocky path sure to lead her into town. No longer trapped behind the faux wall hiding her people, she could begin her journey into strategic hiding.

She soon happened upon a village much like her own, full of busy people moving to and fro, all excited to sell and buy things.

The book she used to love so dearly at least got one thing right, the people were attracted by her masked aura and comparative beauty. She was given food, even money, and a place to stay at the inn free of charge for the next couple of days.

From there, she would charm her way onto the back of merchant carts with a smile or sob story, hiding her true feelings of disdain behind every word. She would ride into different towns with a wooed human taking her somewhere new every week, getting a general feel for how she should move about and interact, calmly moving from place to place as to avoid the man of her future.

Aside from her hassle to avoid her fate, Lucy lived a quaint life. She rarely used her magic outdoors, conjuring money or food in the safety of her own room. She was also efficient in attack spells, could transport and mind wipe; yet having a reason to use such skills.

These abilities proved to her that she was strong, stronger than her heart, stronger than the weak woo of a human. Her magic would be her strength, and she would not fall into despair.

But fate was fate, and fate had no plans of letting her escape its almighty grasp. Witches were meant to fall in love and painfully so. Avoiding fate would only result in its quicker approach, brewing a massive storm of meant-to-be’s. In other words, the day the witch dreaded came upon her suddenly and unfortunately; the day she fell in love.

It was in a seaside town, the name of which she hadn’t bothered to remember. There was a lively marketplace, and she wanted to enjoy some quiet shopping, luckily having found an empty cottage upon the hill to occupy. It seemed like a charming town, far away from other places and only the seventh or eighth rural city she had traveled to. She could settle in that house until it was time for her to go home without a broken heart or impaired magic.

It was only the third month outside of the coven, and no witch had ever met their beloved until the sixth, so she was positive such a meeting was impossible. But her plan to stay holed up quickly came crashing down once she set her eyes upon a boy just her age or possibly even a bit older. 

He was buying fruit it seemed, haggling over the price of honeydew melon with the vendor at a stall. There was a sword sheathed at his side, leather boots on his feet, pants tucked tightly into them, and a billowy tunic hiding his broad chest.

Their eyes met as the wind rustled his long bangs, filling the witch with an indescribable longing. Her heart pounded, and her skin turned hot, even her magic began to spark at her fingertips. His eyes were sharp and pierced her soul, forcing their way into her deepest parts, quickly violating her and melting away the ice that clung to her veins.

Lucy quickly dashed in the opposite direction, running back into her home, crying for the world to take it back.

She felt her mind had gone and was swiftly replaced with obsession. An obsession with seeing him, with touching him, with wanting to hold him close and never let go. But Lucy was quick to reject such a passion for this mere human.

“I cannot…I will not..!” 

But oh, how he’d looked so darling…so beautiful and perfect, absolutely enchanting. This is what the witch in her story felt, how her body burned with delicate flames when she met her true love. Even as her eyes had only set on him for the briefest of moments, it was all her heart needed to be swayed. 

Sleep finally graced her, thoughts calmed from the beautiful man; though dreams filled themselves with the immortal moment that the boy argued for his fruit.

…Maybe…hopefully, she would see him there tomorrow.

But no, he wasn’t there. Nor was he the next day, or the one after that. A week passed, and then another, he was entirely and absolutely nowhere to be found.

She was restless and oddly itchy, twitching with nervousness. Her body buzzed with a whirlwind of…whatever she was feeling; something that continued to build up and practically overboil inside of her. The frustration of being unable to find him grew unsteadily, her stomach twisting with nausea as she could not control anything within her heart.

Lucy would stalk the marketplace and mildly stare down each person who walked in front of her, making sure none of them could be the boy she had seen. As much as she hated to do it, she could not resist the urge that called her to continue a search for him. The swimming feeling reminded her of hunger, something that became rapidly natural for her body to do. 

How hard was it to find someone with such distinctive curly brown hair anyways?! In the wake of foolish desperation, she begged the fruit vendor to know if she knew the boy.

“Oh, that boy? Sure, he lives quite a ways away, though. Only stops into town every once in a while. Idiot that one is though, always paying triple the price for food and never lettin’ anyone return the money.” The woman chuckled and shook her head. “Why don’t you take a melon since he already paid for it? And it’ll be a good snack if you want to walk up to that house of his. Can’t say you’ll get very far even if you do, the fella’s second prince of this nation.”

Second prince, Natsu Atlas Dragneel, born to the King Igneel Atlas Dragneel and name omitted lowly maid of the royal palace. The first prince and rightful heir to the throne were Ignia Giltena Dragneel, born to the King and his Queen.

Such facts were easy enough for her to look up in the town’s library, but Lucy wished she hadn’t been so desperately interested to seek out such answers in the first place.

It was equally as easy for her to gain gossip on the royalty amongst other townfolks, no one was very tight-lipped when all she did was bat a soft eyelash.

“I hear the prince isn’t so interested in politics, too rowdy and energetic for that sort of thing,” A bartender spoke as he absentmindedly dried wooden beer steins with a dishtowel. “Don’t go tellin’ anyone, but I can’t let him back in here after the mess he made when a couple of us guys gave him his first sip of ale. Was pretty funny though, drunk youngins make for good entertainment,”

“Why does he live so far from the capital?” Lucy asked as she twirled her finger passively in the drink she’d ordered moments ago.

“I heard the first prince has a pretty bad temper, doesn’t really like the boy though he don’t care any for the throne. I’m sure Ol’ King Igneel ordered it as a precaution; his highness comes through town to visit the boy often. But I’m sure a lot of folks around here would like it better if he were runnin’ things in the future. A real smart one he is, even as a natural-born idiot,”

“Any reason, in particular, you’ve got an interest in the kid?” Another man snickered, drunk and flushed with red as he hiccuped in the barstool beside her. “Infatuated, are ya? Lot of pretty young things think he’s quite the catch,”

“I do not!” Lucy quickly snapped, although the men could see her apparent embarrassment, more than tipped off by her attempt them to push their thoughts in the ‘proper’ direction.

“Royalty marries royalty, I’ll have you mind. Loving that boy will get you nowhere,” The bartender offered her the advice as he continued his work until others shouted his way and asked for another pint.

Love, the curse, the horrific end of her life. It was already happening, her magic suddenly submissive to the feet of a man. He would tame her, crush her, and throw her away as had Aquarius’ man had done. She would soon become mad and unhinged, such an ending was inevitable. The bartender was right, loving him would get her nowhere.

[roseamongroses]

W.A.L: “Hold My Hand” (25)

s u m m a r y

Eden was the lowest of the low, a monster, hardly human, and was set to be executed. Roman was on trial, perpetually stuck in time until it was time to atone for his families sins.Neither cared much for staying trapped.So when a Stranger offered freedom, offered peace, offered power, it was hard to say no.Even if it put them on the wrong side of history.

v i b e s

time is irrelevent, homophobia who?, magic and beasts, demigods

w a r n i n g s

Imprisonment, Mentions of execution, Blood/ injuries,  Mentions of past Death, repression, cursing, some  dissociation

c h a r a c t e r s

Deceit(Eden) Sanders, Remy Sanders, Logan Sanders, Virgil Sanders, Patton Sanders, Roman Sanders, Emile Picani, Elliot, Kai, Lauren, Dot

Ship: Roceit

1) (2)   (3)  (4) (5)

(6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11)

(12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17)

---

Deceit entered with the sunrise, the bed creaking as they eased in beside Roman.

Roman sighed, turning and curling into their lap, “You smell funny,” he mumbled, voice still heavy with sleep.

Deceit arm wrapped around Roman’s shoulders, careful to avoid his exposed wings, “Good morning to you too,”

“Did you get much sleep?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Deceit sighed, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

Roman opened his eyes, folding his arms to support his head, “Is there something I should be worried about?” he asked, coy.

Deceit’s lips twitched, “Don’t be nosy,” he said, not missing how Roman’s eyes narrowed, “I’m fine, just get some rest,” he added on quickly.

“I dun’wanna,” Roman pouted, all puppy dog eyes, but Deceit could hear their anxiety edging into the tone.

“Stop that,” Deceit scolded, prodding their face, “I’m fine—” another poke, “Sleep.”

Romans face twisted away from another poke, sitting up abruptly, “Okay so you’re fine,” he said, “You’re used to fine and obviously fine isn’t doing shit for you,”

Deceit met their state head-on, jaw ticking, “I’m working on it,”

“Are you?” Roman challenged, somehow managing to look smug with his disheveled clothes and adorable half-dazed look—

“Yes, I am,” Deceit gritted swallowing that mess of emotions. He was half annoyed at Roman’s persistence but he was more annoyed with the fact that he knew it didn’t make him magically be able to hate Roman. Ugh. “Even if I wasn’t, that doesn’t mean you’d be able to fix me,”

At that, something flickered in Roman’s eyes and for a brief, terrifying moment Deceit had to seriously contemplate the extent of Romans persuasion. Roman couldn’t really—

“I can’t,” Roman agreed as he tucked his legs, “I won’t.

“But…” Roman sighed, “Janus, that isn’t the first time you’ve been like… that. And I understand that you can’t just make yourself stop but, “ he paused, wringing his hands, “That doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to make it better. If you’re hurting I don’t want to add onto it just because I make I stupid mistake or can’t read you right. I’m trying to talk about it now because a lot of the times when you do shut down you can’t talk to me. - you can’t say ‘don’t do this you’re hurting me’ and it’s just… scary not knowing what to do.”

“I…” Deceits chest clenched, “What if I don’t know what to tell you,” he said, face darkening, “Sometimes I want to be touched sometimes I… need to be alone. And other times… I feel like if you do stay near me you’ll only get hurt,”

“Well it’s a start,” Roman said, “So what do you need right now?”

“Need?” Deceit scoffed, “I don’t need anything,”

Roman rolled his eyes, “Okay tough guy, “ he said, “What do you want,”

Deceit opened his mouth then he froze, promptly closing his mouth, eyebrows knitted as he thought. After a few seconds he patted the space beside him, not looking at Roman, “I’m tired,” he said, cautiously, “I don’t want to be alone right now.”

“Okay,” Roman eyed curiously, “Are you fine with cuddling or no?”

“Yes,” Deceit said, a bit too quick.

“Yes to what?” Roman teased.

“Don’t be a dick.”

Roman smiled, crawling beside Deceit and slipping back under the covers. He wrapped his arms around Deceit’s waist, face nestling in the crook of their neck as Deceit relaxed.

The bed wasn’t as luxurious as the one in at The Offerings, but it wasn’t as cramped as the one they had prior--it was just right. Everything was new, but Deceit felt it all clicking together just right, as if maybe he stumbled onto being something of substances after all. Something that was his to choose and share, as if he had something of worth and for once the world was finally letting him be.

The sun rose steadily outside, it’s patches of light warming Deceits skin as he slowly fell asleep.

---

You don’t really comprehend being in the same house with four kids until you experience it. Sure, Deceit’s dealt with the brats, but they were all teenagers and he didn’t feel the same degree of anxiety when they were being dumbasses. Hell, he didn’t even feel comfortable saying the Sanders kids were being dumbasses because they were actual children.

After Lauren, there were the triplets; Sofia, Vivian, and Marie. All adorable and strikingly resembling their mom with thicker, kinker hair and soft, dark eyes. They apparently had chaotic tendencies, with them invading Roman’s bed and dragging him out of bed a, seemingly unbothered by Deceit’s presence if not a little curious. Deceit told them apart by how many baby teeth they were missing and how clingy they were to Roman.

Roman stood at the counter fixing some food, while Marie remained attached to his waist, “Aren’t you going to wake them up?” he asked, head gesturing back to the hallway towards the brats rooms.

Deceit dumped more sugar into his coffee, “Mm, not today,” he said, idly watching as Vivian and Sofia arranged their dolls at the smaller table-- aka Sofia bossing around Vivian who looked increasingly agitated, “Apparently dickhead is taking us on a field trip later today, so I thought it’d be best to let them get some sleep,”

“Who’s dickhead?” Marie frowned.

Roman inhaled, giving Deceit a dry look, “He’s a bad man that you won’t ever have to meet,” he explained matter of fact, setting aside a plate a food, “Make sure you eat your vitamins,”

Marie’s face scrunched up for a moment before she nodded, detaching herself and grabbing the plate. After the other two girls grabbed their plates, taking them to their table, Roman turned to Deceit with a raised eyebrow, “Really?”

Deceit lifted the cup to his lips, “Am I not allowed to curse?” he mused, leaning against the counter next to Roman.

“Try to keep it to a minimum,” Roman sighed, “Especially around Tami, she’s like a sponge,” he mumbled, picking at his own bowl of fruit.

“I thought she was still nonverbal?”

“She is,” Roman popped a blueberry in his mouth, “But she learns quick. So if she does have her first words I’d never hear the end of it from Ma if it’s something vulgar,”

Deceit snorted, “Your mouth is filthier than mine,” he said.

“You like my filthy mouth,” Roman muttered.

The two looked up at the sound of footsteps softly padding into the kitchen. Mrs. Sanders looked visibly disheveled, Tami holding her hand--eyes trained on the ground. She yawned, “Mornin,” she said to no one in particular, her eyes flicking between the two, something akin to exasperation settling on her face, “Roman, dear, I thought you outgrew sneaking boys into the house,”

“I didn’t, I just got better at it,” Roman shrugged, “There’s coffee still in the pot--” he offered, his gaze flickering down to Tami, “Do you want me to make her something?”

Mrs. Sanders rubbed her eyes, before pulling out her glasses, “That be lovely, just make sure it isn’t sweet she hates it--,” she sighed, “Also I’m not your father, and you’re not the heir anymore so you don’t have to hide your boyfriend. But,” she pursed her lips, “If he stays here, you’re going to have to use protection.”

Deceit choked on his coffee and Roman cleared his throat, face straight, but Deceit could spot the vines peeking from their sleeves, “There are seven kids in this house, hon,” Mrs. Sanders continued, gravely serious as she poured a cup, “I’m not taking care of anymore,”

“Yes ma’am,” Roman said. It was only when Mrs. Sanders left the kitchen for the porch did he side-eye Deceit, “Stop that,”

“Stop what?” Deceit set his cup down in the sink, watching them curiously.

“You’re staring,” Roman said, walking to the pantry and pulling out the lone box of oatmeal, “Stop.”

At that, Deceit grinned, moving himself in Roman’s way, “I thought you liked having my attention,” he mused.

“I do,” Roman said, easily sliding past them, “Which is why you need to stop,”

“Uh-huh,” Deceit said, following close, “You’re cute when you’re embarrassed,”

“Fuck off--I’m not embarrassed,” Roman huffed, setting aside the box.

“Mhm,” Deceit said, winding his arms around Roman’s waist, pulling them close just as they turned around, “Kiss me?”

Roman’s glare faltered before slipping off altogether. He couldn’t mask his laugh, ducking his head to close the distance.

“You do realize we still have to talk about that?” Deceit murmured against their lips, “I know we’re not in any rush, but seeing as we don’t exactly have the same biology...”

Roman’s face twisted, hands resting on Deceit’s chest, “I’m fine with talking about sex it’s just… I don’t like talking about my body.”

“I know. I don’t either.” Deceit admitted.

“I…” Roman paused at that before nodding, “Later,” was all he promised.

---

Upon seeing Kai, Lauren, and Elliot successfully break into some magical zoo in less than an hour, Deceit began to consider that maybe, just maybe, he was surrounded by criminals.

All the faceless guards were taken care of, some in soundless pain, others passed out completely, so they slipped inside without issue. Once everything was secured, the Stranger strode inside leading the way with no further comment.

The moon hung in the sky. It was almost full.

All around them silver bars glinted, the cages themselves shadowed with the peering violet eyes hidden among the foliage.

Something about this place just wasn’t right, but the brats seemed to be having fun

Lauren was talking about some rare plant she spotted and Kai seemed placated by the rippling furs of creatures just out of reach. Of course, Elliot seemed uncomfortable, but they generally were whenever they went out with the Stranger.

The Stranger stopped abruptly, head craning to address the brats, “Y’all scram,” he shooed them, “This lesson is for Deceit,” he said with a smile.

That is when Deceit knew he was fucked.. But to the rest of them, it was normal and they all took the orders without comment or question, leaving Deceit with the Stranger once again.

Once they were out of sight, The Stranger’s smile slid off. He resumed his path forward, knowing that Deceit would follow.

The further Deceit walked the more the pit in his stomachs grew. Something was just wrong. He knew it and his mind scrambled trying to figure out if he did something wrong—which wasn’t helpful since he always did something wrong, but—

The Stranger stopped in front of a dark, cavern-like entrance. It was further away from all the cages, but it still held a commercial presence with cheery signs in odd languages and bright arrows pointing inside.

The Stranger propped himself against one of these signs, popping a lollipop on his mouth, “It’ll be a full moon soon,” he said to no one in particular, “You know…” he crunched the lollipop hard, spitting out the stick, “You’ve lasted longer then I expected.”

Deceit stared blandly and The Stranger sighed, “Still, you aren’t good enough,”

Only then did Deceits eyes narrowed, “I’ve been doing everything you asked,”

“Yes-Yes I know, you’re a good little dog aren’t you huh?”The Stranger said, “Still,”

“Still?” Deceit gritted. He could feel his anger sharp through the haze of worry.

“You’re getting a bit too—“The Stranger clicked his tongue, “Distracted—now don’t look like tha--t I won’t touch your little boy toy, that would be counterproductive to our cause,”

“So what do you want me to do?” Deceit managed, forcing his eyes to unslit, and ignoring the scales searing up his sides.

“Ah,” The Stranger laughed, “Now you’re asking the right questions and as a reward for not being entirely useless—” He flicked his sunglasses down and Deceit stiffened, “I’ll ask you a different question; what is our cause?”

“None of my business,” Deceit shrugged, “I am simply a tool who will benefit.”

“Very good,very simple right?” The Stranger hummed, “It’s easy for people to get scared of the bigger picture, but aren’t you just a little bit curious?”

“No,” Deceit lied.

“Good,”The Stranger flipped his glasses back up, covering his relentless gaze, “You’ll learn soon enough. Until then you need to push yourself further and I won’t tolerate any failure,” he gestured towards the cavern, “But just in case, here’s a little reminder about what you’ll be worth to the world if you do decide to fuck up,”

The Stranger didn’t follow him into the cavern, but Deceit could feel their mocking, cold gaze the entire time. Inside were fluorescent-lit exhibits, brightly colored informational posters and those arrows and—and—it was all terribly wrong.

Because behind each glass panel, were skeletons of all sizes; some with painted on whiskers others, with ancient feathers sticking from their arms, or scales carved deep into bone.

An exhibit of dead shifters, propped and polished for the public’s consumption.

As if they were nothing but monsters.

[livayl]

Veiled In Nocturnal Shadows Part 2

I had a request to continue this. I hope you`ll like it. :) And please only re blog it to other kink/ fetish blogs, thank you. :) Warning for: A little cussing. 

It starts right after Part 1 had ended but I´ll include the last sentence anyways.

Shokhrakka wordlessly patted his companions flank and closed his eyes once more. Enjoying the newly descending silence as well as his friends company which finally managed to gently appease his vigilant senses towards a much needed sleep. A faint notion of threat crawled the foggy edges of slumber, lurking just beyond reach with eyes glowing crimson like smoldering coals. Blazing beacons around them approaching with deadly silence echoing newly deceased woods. Dreams formerly caressed by fond memories now had turned to a dizzying whirlwind of a dreading calamity. A shiver ran down Shokhrakkas spine, rising fine hairs in alarm and waking dormant muscles. His body raised to a crouch in one fluent motion, eyes wide awake, ready to face any approaching danger.

Through the wickerwork of their magically grown nest he faintly detected moving schemes crawling closer in the darkness. The figures moved in odd swaying motions, their flaming eyes more than 3 meters above ground. Voiceless themselves they seemed to have swallowed all other natural sound around them as well, marching forward in deadly silence. As if all other nocturnal creatures had stilled or fled upon their arrival and left him only with Lillandlians irregularly rattling breath. The creatures bodies seemed flowing and in constant change, resembling distorted shadows of trees painted on a field in moonlight in one moment and melting to fantastic beasts in another. As hard to grasp as icy water running trough ones hands. Strangely, while the Orc could not detect any specific smell, the scent of woods and nature became more pungent with every breath while glowing amber glances traced their way closer and closer. Shokhrakkas hand silently grabbed his great-axes handle, it´s weight and well worn leather a trusted comfort. All his muscles seemed buzzing, already singing the song of war. The tip of his armored boots dug deep into the soft moss as he got ready to lunge. The creatures had formed a still narrowing semi-circle around their little hideout, towering above it while swaying in a breeze only sensed by beings akin to them. By now, the air felt heavy with tension and was deeply saturated with the sickly sweet stench of decay. Thickly coating his nose and lungs with every breath it had become more and more impossible to breath. A frantic gasp, followed by gagging coughs from behind had him on his feet within a heartbeat. Without turning he sensed his companions desperate attempts to get his body upright between choking on what seemed to be worse than just rotting trees. "Don´t-" Lillandlian tried breathlessly, hooves still uselessly scraping against the soil, but could not finish as the deeply entwined vines above them were ripped open. Showering them with dried leaves a big, claw like wooden structure had breached the natural ceiling. Crawling branches reaching to grab Lillandlians body. Shokhrakka jumped forward and swung his ax, ready to cut the damned thing in a half before it could reach its destination. "DON´T ATTACK!" Lillandlian screamed hoarsely. His eyes flickered with magic as lively thick, much too flexible limbs seized the Orcs weapon arm and forced his body back down. "Are you out of your FUCKING mind?!" Shokhrakka yelled back as he helplessly watched the dead woods wrap around Lillandlians shaking, white belly. They tightened and raised the Centaurs body only to.... Leave him standing on his four hooves. Trembling, still out of breath and more moonlight pale than ever, but unharmed. "Why are you worried about it?" Asked a voice so deafening and yet incredibly heard to grasp. So low it resounded deep in Shokhrakkas guts and yet unearthly high it made his ears ring at the same time. "The Orc.... Is my friend." Lillandlian answered between coughs. His bestial chest felt restricted by the wood that still tightly embraced him. "We did not come here to do you harm. We are fugitives and haunted as well." "People always harm. The question is just how much. They rob our fruit, kill our residents and destroy us with no other reason than greed. They take with no limits and are poisoning with their existence alone." The echoing voice answered in a slow, lurking tone. "People may do all that but we did not. We respected and valued your rules." "Yet take a look at yourself, child of the forest. We heard your suffering. We felt your heated pain. We came to find you only to witness you wither in its presence." "Oh you fucked up tree things have no damned-" Shokhrakka started to growl. "Shhh! I am not withering. I am ill and it is not my friends fault." "Ill?" "Yes..." As to prove his point, the slim Centaur was forced to cough until nearly gagging again. "...I must have caught an illness some time ago and had no chance to rest. But the Orc, Shokhrakka, protects and helps me." Lillandlian sniffed, a thick and pathetic sound that again ignited a dreaded itch. "You could have said something sooner though." Apparently, the Orc had adapted to the strange situation fast. "It just got woh--hah-IDZSCHHIIIEW!" Lillandlian belatedly tried to fend off the sudden, almost burning tingling sensation. "Ugh ndot that agaidn... I got worse because I slept on my full bo-ho-dy-hdt-KZZSSSCH! hhh HA-IIZSCHH-HIEH!" "You´re no fucking horse." "Still it is snfff bad if one has an respiratory infection. Especially with a body fused like mine." "I thought you were just sniffly!" "So..." the reverberating voice interrupted, seemingly unfazed by the previous sudden and copiously wetting outbursts and odd conversation it was witnessing. "Your state of being is not the result of that Shokhrakka thing?" "That Shokhrakka thing .... Can´t tell how much it wants you to eat the ax now..." The muttered insult got lost in the creatures unified pealing hum as they... Thought... Contemplated.... Deeply. Completely unaware of Lillandlian squirming in the still steeled grip that made it impossible to successfully tend to his openly running nose. "Shokhraah-PTSCHHHIEH! Could you pleheease hhh HADZZSSCH~IIEW!" "It is not going to blow the nose for you, buddy. Go and ask your new friends." "Why are you so - AH-PTSCHHIUH! hhh- HA-IDZSCHH-IEH! Mean to me?" Lillandlian complained, sniffling urgently in a fruitless attempt to still the steady flow that now trickled down his upper lip. He almost cried out in relieve as he felt the corpse like branch-wood loose his grasp and retreat back. "There is a clearing not far from here. All you need to do is follow the silver current. As it curves through, look at a fallen friend. There grows a plant that my brethren believe will help with this so called illness or yours." Came the vibrating, delayed answer that was accompanied by an almost louder, deliciously relieving nose blow. "But do not stay here longer than necessary or start harming any other lives. These are times where one has to insist on boundaries all the more." "What is a silver stream curving around your friend?" Shokhrakka asked quietly as the creatures slowly, soundlessly retreated. "We are supposed to ssnnf follow a stream to a clearing...." Lillandlian explained, still half submerged into the soft folds of his handkerchief. "And where it turns is a cut down tree with healing plants growing near it. I am supposed to use them and we shall leave as soon as I am able to." "And what kind of plants where those?" Shokhrakka muttered towards the tall, fading silhouettes. "No plants but guardian spirits -pdTSCHHH-hieh! hdtIZZSSSCH-uh!- of this forest." The Centaur answered, swaying slightly with exhaustion. "Will they come play boogeyman again if you´ll try and rest till tomorrow? Don´t think you´ll make it far tonight." "I think that snnnf will be acceptable...."