#nighttime camping activities

[splatashahowlett]

Nighttime frenzy

logan howlett x reader

part.2

you trusted charles with your life, everybody knew it. but sometimes he had the tendency of making the dumbest decisions known to mankind, at least from the outside. one of those senseless decisions was sending you and logan, the person that annoyed you the most in the whole world, on a mission on the other side of the country.

that's how you ended up in a trashy camping car in the middle of texas. what a great spring break! as if the smell of the vehicle or the broken ac wasn't enough, logan had decided to be even more irritating than usual. the begining of the trip could be summarized by unrelenting bickering; like logan tying you to your seat with the seatbelt after you threatened him to jump out of the window while he was driving.

you were conscious that you both acted like children, but you couldn't help it. you both seemed to awaken something in each other but couldn't quite put your finger on it. so you manifestly chose to hate each other. you accepted this mission for charles' sake and absolutely not cause something within you wanted to spend more time with logan.

"stop. it." logan fussed at you, who wouldn't stop pressing every single buttons before you: resulting in turning on the headlights, changing the radio channel, folding and unfolding the rear-view mirrors or activating the blinker. you knew you were getting insufferable but you had to occupy yourself during the trip right ?

"damn, you're so lame. you're the worst person to do a road trip with" you rolled your eyes, wishing it was ororo next to you. logan didn't answer, probably also wishing it was someone else next to him. so you kept going: "you're telling me charles has all those fancy cars and we're stuck with this piece of crap ? how is that even possible ?" logan, again stayed silent, but you knew he agreed on this one.

you both fell silent. the only thing you could hear was the occasional car driving by and honking at logan -considering the truck was going way too slow for everyone's liking- which would inspire logan's need to swear. each time he muttered a "fuck off" or honk in return you would let out a soft laugh, followed by a death stare from logan.

the heat was excruciating and you desperatly needed a shower. so you begged logan to make a stop for the night.

"logan, I know you want it too" you coaxed, giving him a pleading gaze. logan abrubtly stopped the truck almost sending you flying through the windshield if it wasn't for his arm suddenly coming infront of your stomach.

"fine" logan said firmly. you bit your lip, amused but also embarassed by being corrected like a child. "I'll go for a walk while you're showering" he continued, stepped out the truck and slammed the door with enough strength to shake the entirety of the vehicle, including you.

half an hour after your shower logan was still gone and you started to feel dumb for acting frivolous. was he really mad at you? did he get lost? it wasn't your problem anyway, if you could finish the mission alone it would be better for everyone.

so you climbed into the only bed, thinking logan was not going to sleep anwway. you didn't care nevertheless if he wanted to, you would get the bed.

you woke up in the middle of the night, crickets basically singing to death. it was still extremely hot which explained your choice of clothes: a light tank top with a small short. what couldn't be explained was the presence of a monstruous bear in your bed. well, logan had enough of walking you guessed. it's only when your eyes adjusted to the darkness that you noticed logan was bare chest, and even if you hated it, this made your heart flutter.

right as when you were falling asleep, logan started shifting franticly in his sleep. you tilted your head, confused as to what was happening until you heard him mutter somehing along the lines of "let me go". ororo had told you about logan's recuring nightmares and you figured this must be one of those. you didn't really know what to do, being woken up by someone you don't appreciate much must be even worse than having a nightmare and you also didn't want to end up with his claws in your guts. so you found nothing better than to fill an old bucket you found in a cupboard with water and to drown him with it.

logan woke up instantly, claws coming out his knuckles. this definitely wasn't the best idea but at least no one got hurt. logan looked at you, not an ounce of anger in his eyes but more of worry. he got up and seated himself on the stairs leading to the outside off the camping car.

ten minutes later you joined logan by leaning against the doorframe. you didn't love the guy to death, but you knew those kind of nightmares were merciless and left you reliving things you wanted to forget over and over again. you didn't have to get a degree in psychology to guess logan wasn't doing great right now, his arms were crossed over his knees and his eyes fixated on the ground.

"come on, I changed the sheets" you spoke softly, scared to disturb his thoughts more than they already were. logan didn't move at first so you assumed he needed more time. you were about to join the bed when you heard a gentle protest.

"I'm sorry" logan said. you stopped in your tracks, surprised at how logan was acting. this was the first time he showed a sign of weakness. this made your heart melt and you immediatly answered. "there's no need to be sorry logan, you didn't do anything wrong". logan looked up at you and you sweared you saw a glimpse of gratitude and maybe even more. he stood up and followed you in the bed. you were facing him, not wanting him to think you didn't mean what you just said if you turned your back to him. logan looked down, not wanting to show he felt miserable. you took his hand in yours and brushed your thumbs against the back of his hand in an attempt to bring him comfort. you guessed it worked cause when you looked back at him, he was looking straight into your eyes. usually you would find this interaction awkward and immediatly get out the bed, but if logan didn't take his hand back that must mean that he needs you to stay and show him that he is not alone. so you stayed.

"I'm sorry for throwing water at you" you muttered, almost inaudible. the corner of logan's lips twitched upwards and you couldn't help but smile. you scooted closer to him and hid your face in his chest. one of your hand left his and found its way on his back, hugging him. you could hear logan let out a sigh of relief before planting his chin on your head, keeping you close to him.

"thank you".

you would go back to hating each other tomorrow, right now you just wanted to hold each other as long as the moon was glowing.

[khaire-traveler]

🌠 Subtle Nyx Worship 🌌

Go star-gazing, especially out in nature where you can see the stars more clearly

Learn about the different constellations as well as any Greek myths associated with them

Pay attention to the phases of the moon; learn what their meanings are

Try veiling

Get a candle that reminds you of her (no altar needed)

Wear jewelry that reminds you of her

Wear silver jewelry

Keep a picture of her in your wallet

Have a stuffed animal horse or owl; have a stuffed animal of any nocturnal animal

Have imagery of the night sky, stars, space, horses (especially in a chariot), owls, nocturnal animals, or foggy nights around

Meditate at night; try to relax at night; sit in darkness silently for a bit

Get a telescope; use it to observe the stars

Leave a glass of water/salt water on your windowsill at night

Take a bath/shower with only the light of candles/dim lighting (SAFELY!!!!)

Support space-related organizations such as NASA

Learn more about space, stars, planets, etc.

Engage in relaxing activities or ones that you're passionate about

Have a bedtime/nighttime routine

Keep a dream journal; write down your dreams; try to interpret them

Drink black tea or coffee (or anything that relaxes you); add honey if you want

Drink red wine or red sparkling grape juice; raise a glass to her

Pick and save flowers still wet with evening dew; dry or press them; great if the colors are ones you personally associate with her

Feed neighborhood cats, dogs, birds, etc., especially at night (please make sure it's safe to leave food out in your area; do not attract predators!!!!)

Burn a relaxing incense at night; lavender, jasmine, patchouli, etc.

Write poetry about the night, stars, space, etc.; it doesn't have to explicitly name her

Try to practice meditation; practice mindfulness

Ground yourself regularly, especially at night

Make your space comfortable and relaxing for yourself; sleep with cozy blankets, decorate with dim fairy lights for nighttime, sleep with stuffed animals, etc.

Learn getting comfortable with change; go outside your comfort zone, do something spontaneous, cope with stress during an unpredictable situation, etc.

Let go of things that no longer serve you

Dance or sing at night; enjoy yourself at the end of your day

Play with pets before bed to tire them out so that they can sleep better c:

Watch movies or shows at night with loved ones; something you'd all enjoy

Light a bonfire or small fire at night; enjoy the peace of the night around you

Go camping; sleep under the stars

Keep a personal diary; write down positives and negatives; make it your own

Make a list of things you enjoyed and disliked about your day at the end of your day

Feel your feelings; cry if you need to, etc.

Practice listening and observing your surroundings/people around you; don't make yourself paranoid, just passively observe

Practice patience and compassion, especially towards yourself

Spend your evenings decompressing, whatever you need to do to unwind; drink a warm drink, eat something comforting for dinner, read a book, etc.

Try to cut down your screentime before bed

-

I'll likely add more later, but for now, this is my list of discreet ways to worship Nyx. I hope it's helpful, and take care! 💜

Link to Subtle Worship Master list

[tanoraqui]

I watched the new Percy Jackson show and then I reread The Lightning Thief, and my takeaway is…Rick Riordan did some sort of bizarre reversal of the usual adaptation devil’s deal on this one, wherein the key themes of the book are maintained—hell, key themes of the book are amped up and forefronted! The books slowly escalate, not just in the original PJO books but from series to series through Heroes of Olympus and the Apollo books, the idea that this mythological family is fucked up, the parents are doing badly and they need to fix their shit instead of just putting it on the kids. Whereas the show is saying this from day 1! The show also captures the true friendship, the uncomfortable justification of Luke’s choices, the heroes’ sense of otherness from humanity…

But at the cost of so much of the zing of the books? The humor, the absurdist snaps between fantasy and reality like the Minotaur wearing Fruit-of-the-Looms, or the unending quips from Percy that aren’t just rebellious snark, they’re funny. (“…I am the Mother of Monsters, Echidna!” “You mean the thing from Australia??”) And the drama, the fantasy, the mythological stakes—in addition to the total lack of nighttime lighting, I spent half the show thinking everything should be 20% more color-saturated, at least when they’re in Camp Half-Blood or actively fighting monsters, and rereading the book tells me that I was right. Throughout the books, there’s a mounting thunderstorm all across the country, as warning and ambiance of the coming war! Percy only has 1 dream that’s just darkness and a voice; the others include him watching a golden eagle and a giant white horse fighting viciously on a beach! And every god stands out vividly, whereas in the show they mostly come off as Some Guy. In the book, Hades, Zeus and Poseidon are all 10 feet tall (until Poseidon shrinks to tall to Percy), and even Ares is,

vs this? This was the best they could do??

He’s not even throwing fireballs at cops and innocent bystanders in order to make them back the fuck off from his fight with this 12yo. SMH. This is bargain-brand. It’s like they didn’t have the budget for special effects and they didn’t even try.

I guess, as devil’s deals go, I would rather have the themes intact. But damn I wish they’d at least upped the color saturation, and maybe the speed of dialogue. These kids SHOULD spend half their conversations snarking like it’s Avengers (2012) actually. The perfect adaptation remains elusive, until we get both the crushing weight of familial trauma AND epic heroes and villains being fun.

[syoddeye]

🥺🥺🥺 your drink headcanons are precious 💕 farah, alex, nik, and alejandro’s are my favorites. idk if you do requests but could you do first dates too?

hi friend! i'm glad you liked the asking them to watch your drink post. i do not formally take requests but i love when people pop in with ideas. and i really really like this one! i gave it a go

price. he’s never beating the traditionalist allegations. he is arranging the entire thing, picking you up right on fucking time with flowers, and taking you to dinner somewhere you’d never take yourself. does a poor job of hiding how pleased he is to pay, even worse when he persuades you into a walk and has you on his arm. he asks a lot of deep questions that coming from anyone else would put you off, but he’s not dating to fool around, if you catch my drift.

gaz. this man is so plugged into the music scene. follows bands, artists, and venues religiously because he doesn't get many opportunities to see live music and actually enjoy it. so he asks you for a genre, then sends a redacted screenshot of concert tickets. you grab drinks then head to a hole-in-the-wall. it's always nerve-wracking seeing a musician you know nothing about, but gaz nails it. three dates later and he sends you a personalized playlist. ugh, dreamboat.

soap. listen while i do picture him as a very outdoorsy and active guy, i think for a first date he's going to take you to a drink and draw. it's casual and scales to the mood, meaning it can be both an intimate and cozy experience, or fucking hilarious and a rowdy time. plus it gives him the chance to show off. draws a mini you and him at the end surrounded by trees. what’s that? oh that’s date two. a casual camping trip.

ghost. dinner and a movie. no, he did not just look up 'first date 101'. he's just not big on public places, and he knows that's a hurdle in dating. so he video chats you a few times before arranging the date to get you comfortable with him and to see his place, because babe, he's hosting. he's not the world's best cook so he'll order takeaway if you prefer, and if that goes well, he'll let you pick the movie. what happens after who knows

alejandro. he's the guy that knows the guy that owns the farm that supplies the bougie restaurant you've been wanting to try. and that guy owes him a favor. he drives you out there in his truck and has a table with candles and flowers waiting. he has you sit with your drink of choice and watch him prepare dinner, busting out all the tricks to impress you. yeah, he could’ve taken you to his ranch, but that’ll happen when he figures out he’s serious about you. date three.

rudy. rudy the foodie has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? it’s weird at first when he insists on picking you up in the early afternoon, but when you arrive to a local food festival, you get it. you need the hours to slowly walk around, and to digest the amount of bite-sized dishes and snacks you sample. he gushes about his family’s cooking, how he wishes he had more time to dedicate to cooking and play around with recipes. gets a little sheepish. you have him eating out of the palm of your hand when you take him to a cookbook store on date two.

kate. in my heart she is a patron of the arts. similar to gaz, she doesn’t get a lot of time to soak it up, so she finds galleries and museums through personal recommendations. she’s got a broad network, why not use it? she’s not a snob either. elbow to elbow at some gallery opening, staring at a befuddling piece of art, she’ll swirl her glass of wine and lean over to whisper, “do you want to get out of here? i can’t make heads or tails of this.”

nik. you are going up in that heli. asks if you want to take a nighttime helicopter ride to see the city by night. jokes about this time a young sergeant fell out and he thought he killed him. ha ha ha. the ride culminates with him landing on the rooftop of a friend’s building, and taking the elevator a few floors down to said friend's restaurant. not feeling fancy? that's okay, to the basement then for gambling and drinks.

farah. it's a surprise. she asks for your physical limitations. hm. what is she playing at? but you trust her. you receive strict instructions on what to wear, and then what extra clothes to bring. hmm. you end up at a rock climbing gym. at first you think, oh god, exercise and a new skill in front of someone cute? but farah is so encouraging and supportive. after, when you clean up, she whisks you away to a reservation that just so happens to be at your fave place. you compare biceps over dessert, and she’s shoots you a sly look when she squeezes your muscle.

alex. if you're up for it, he’d love to take you somewhere in nature. a hike or simple walk at the local park, doesn’t matter to him. he’s more relaxed and himself outdoors, and has the kind of energy that makes you open up. you find a good spot to picnic and talk for hours. real sweet, a good listener��so it surprises you when, at the end, he’s a smidge forward. “so next weekend…”

[mrchiipchrome]

Sleepwalking

W.C. - 4,9 k

Warnings: a little angsty I guess?

Talking, snoring and twisting and turning are all usual things that happen when you are asleep, right? You happened to do all the things listed above while unconscious with an additional action, walking.

You didn’t know when it had started, but the best guess was sometime in your early youth when you would go to sleep in your bed and wake up somewhere that was not your bed with no recollection of how you got there.

During your teenage years it had pretty much stopped, only the rare occasion when you could be found wandering around the hotel room you shared with one of your teammates on away trips. But recently it had started up again, likely due to the fact that you had an incredible amount of stress.

This all brought up many embarrassed feelings inside of you, ashamed that you couldn’t control your unconscious form and embarrassed at the locations in which you wake up. These locations include your roommates bed or right beside it, another teammates room, Sarina or one of the trainers rooms, the hallways and funnily enough the lobby of the hotel. 

That was a particularly embarrassing experience as the hotel concierges had to watch over you all night until you woke up and realized where you were. Your face resembled that of a tomato when you arrived back in your room, glad that Lotte was such a heavy sleeper and thankful of your choices to wear a hoodie and pajama pants as your sleepwear. 

Yet the majority of your teammates didn't know about your nighttime activities, only a handful of them actually having caught you or experienced being your roommate.

And let's just say you've had some interesting conversations with your roommates on why they were waking up with a decked out Y/n beside them, or on why they tripped over your sleeping form as they were walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

But you usually had one of three teammates as a roommate; Lotte, Ellie or Beth. They were all rotated around each camp, sharing a room with you every third camp they went to and that brought you an immense amount of comfort as you didn’t have to worry about your other teammates knowing. 

It was also comforting to know that you had someone to stop you from going out of control every night when you went to sleep. Well most of the time anyways, like stated before Lotte is an incredibly deep sleeper not waking to your stomping around.

This camp though you’re worried about who your roommate will be for the first time in a while, with Beth out because of her ACL tear and Ellie and Lotte having been your roommates at the last two camps. This means that without Beth completing your rotation and the other two remaining rooming together, you have a new roommate and they don’t know about your little predicament.

You’re completely zoned out when the people rooming together in this camp are announced, engulfed with thoughts on how to explain why they suddenly had a person in their bed or why they stumbled over a body on their way to the bathroom. 

It’s inevitable, it happens every camp and with the added stress of having a new roomie on top of the stress you’re already feeling is sure to make it worse.

The feeling of an elbow digging deep into your side has you glaring towards the assailant, seeing your blonde goalie friend staring back at you with an expecting look in her eyes. 

She nods her head in the direction of the front of the room where Sarina stands, hands on her hips with the same look in her eyes. You look back at her with a deer-in-headlights look.

“Huh…oh I- I didn’t catch what you said. Could you repeat?” The look in Sarina’s eyes soften significantly at the nervousness seeping into your tone, knowing the trouble you have with big changes especially those having to do with the sleeping arrangements. 

“You’re rooming with Alessia for this camp.” The lack of reaction was a point of worry for both your manager and past roommates, knowing that this only happens when you yourself are worried. Your face holds a blank look, opposed to the panic you’re feeling inside of having your longtime crush be your roommate and her finding out your secret.

You make a point of nodding your head as the entire team looks on confused about the reaction coming from your unusually calm form.

You really haven’t been sleeping well at all, even though you got prescription melatonin to take an hour before bed. No matter what you do, the fear of waking up somewhere you aren’t familiar with beats out the obvious exhaustion expressed in your every action. 

Walking up to Sarina who possesses the key cards to your room, you take it from her hand as you send her a reassuring smile to let her know that it was fine and that you would survive. You continue your walk out of the room, keycard and your bags in hand as you make your way up to room 406.

Taking one step at a time, you quietly think that it maybe wasn’t the best idea to take the stairs in a building where you would need to climb 5 flights of stairs before reaching your room. Hearing your phone buzz with a message has you looking down at the way too bright screen, the text coming from the ‘roomies’ groupchat. 

It contained you and your alternating roommates, usually the texts contained your whereabouts or the room number of the two others in case of emergencies where your roommate can’t find you and needs the assistance of the other two.

‘room 416, come by later’ You shoot away a quick ‘ok’ back before continuing the long, exhausting trek up the many flights of stairs.

After another minute your phone buzzes again, though this time it’s repetitive meaning that someone is calling you. Looking down at your phone once again you come face to face with the profile picture of your injured roomie and a small relieved smile takes over your face, happy to talk to someone you had begun to see as a pseudo older sister/parental figure.

Pressing ‘accept’, Beth's voice instantly falls out of your speakers with a quick greeting before asking about your wellbeing having gotten a text from Leah saying that you weren’t yourself and asking her if she knew anything about it.

You respond with a slight chuckle and tell her that you were fine but that you hadn’t really been able to sleep for the last few weeks, too worried about where you would wake up after realizing that your subconscious now could unlock the front door of your home. 

You hear a snort in the background of the call and soon recognise it as Viv’s, and you start to chastise her playfully.

“This is not a laughing matter Viv! I haven’t been able to sleep properly for weeks and now I have a new roomie. What am I supposed to tell her when she wakes up to me doing a handstand at 3 in the morning while asleep.”

Now they’re both laughing and you let out a small smile before laughing yourself, hearing how completely ridiculous you sound.

“I know kleintje, but you know we’re here for you. Just one call away, at any time even if it means that you have to wake us.” Her voice turned soft and truly genuine as she spoke with you.

Ever since she had started to join in on the weekly, turning daily, calls between you and Beth she had also become like an older sister/parental figure to you. The couple had eventually fully adopted you, in every sense except legally, and you had become part of their family after your move to Arsenal during the summer. 

You fit in perfectly and Viv soon started calling you kleintje (meaning ‘little one’ in Dutch) even though you were in fact taller than her, they also got to know about your crush on Alessia early into your familial relationship.

Arriving at your door, behind which housing the room where you will sleep for the next few weeks, 

you say your goodbyes to Beth and Viv before inserting the keycard and entering the room. You see Alessia sitting on the bed to the left, scrolling through her phone.

She looks up from her phone as she makes direct eye contact with you, while you let out a small awkward smile quickly throwing your bag to the side of the bed on the right side before exiting the room once again.

You start to walk towards Lotte and Ellie’s room before turning back and popping your head back into the room, feeling like an ass for not properly greeting her.

“I’m sorry. Hi Less, it’s nice to see you again and to have you as my roommate. I didn’t mean to be rude by not greeting you before, it just kind of slipped my mind it’s been a lot up there as of late. Would you want to go and get coffee with me, Ellie and Lotte tomorrow? You could bring Ella if you want.” 

The words spill out of your mouth like a waterfall, and you get yourself into another predicament as you haven’t even asked Lotte or Ellie if they wanted to go tomorrow. Alessia smiles back at you, her eyes crinkling and replies to your rushed question.

“That sounds good, I’ll see if Ella wants to join us but she might want to sleep in. Oh and I don’t think that you were being rude, I figured that you had a lot on your mind based on your reaction earlier in the conference room.” 

Nodding your head, you throw a quick ‘goodbye’ over your shoulder as you make your way to room 416 to tell your two other friends about your collective breakfast date. You open the door without knocking and immediately throw yourself on the nearest bed, thankful of Lotte moving away before rejoining you on the bed.

Cuddling into her side has you feeling relaxed for the first time since before you found out you could unlock doors while asleep. Closing your eyes sees you letting out a tired sigh and you can soon feel Ellie joining you and Lotte on the small bed, your tall frame sandwiched between them.

“You haven't been sleeping well lately, have you?” The blonde goalie is the one who poses the question and you give her the same answer you gave Beth, albeit this time you were drifting in and out of consciousness.

You can feel how their heads nod against the pillow and you take that as a sign of them agreeing to you accepting sleep's heavy grasp. 

—----------

Someone shaking your shoulders has you opening your eyes, bleary and still devastatingly tired and you put your arms over your face. Suddenly you realize that you no longer were laying on the bed, instead you’re splayed out on the carpeted floor and you once again have no recollection of how you’ve ended up there.

“I swear we’ll have to pull a page from Moon Knight’s book, tie you up to the bed.”  Your chuckles reverberate through the room at the reference and the suggestion, knowing that you had already tried that.

“Lotte, my darling bestfriend, do you really think that I haven't already tried that? It was one of the first resorts my parents sought when they realized they had a sleepwalker on their hands.”

“Yeah yeah, it’s time for supper. And don’t even try to decline because I know that you’re hungry, your stomach has been rumbling for the past 15 minutes.”

You hate how well they both know you sometimes but that's the result of coming up through the youth groups together, even if you were 3 years younger than them. You had been advanced enough to join the older kids in the youth camps and you developed a relationship with them that soon came in handy.

Rising from the floor, you take the time to stretch hearing the pops coming from your back while simultaneously letting out a loud overly dramatic groan. Following the other two girls out of the room and down to the dining room, you are much more energetic now jumping on their backs and running around the lobby.

After getting your food from the cafeteria you sit down at the table which houses the younger members of the team and an overly enthusiastic Lucy Bronze, who could basically be classed as a child. You sit between Lucy and Lotte having a very interesting conversation about the marine life in Guantanamo Bay, you are so invested in the conversation that you don’t notice a certain 5’9 blonde italian striker throwing you heart eyes from across the table.

But just because you don’t notice doesn’t mean that your teammates replicate your cluelessness.

“You’re staring” The raspy voice of your captain cuts off her thoughts and breaks her gaze firmly situated on you. Alessia's head turns so quickly that Leah’s surprised that she doesn’t get whiplash, eyes wide not unlike yours earlier in the day.

“I’m not staring, just analyzing.” The words come out in a nonchalant tone that directly contradicts what she’s feeling, the slight panic of being caught staring mixed with the adrenaline of getting scared accumulating into the feeling of embarrassment.

“Analyzing what? How long it’s going to take for you to fess up your feelings? Or how many times you have to kiss her cheek for her to realize that you like her?” The blush sitting upon Alessia’s cheeks deepen when she realizes just how obvious her crush on you was to her captain and at her being caught more than once.

She turns her gaze back to you only to realize that you have your eyes on her after she meets them with her own. Feeling confident, you send her a quick wink before turning back to your conversation with Lucy and Lotte that had now changed topic.

If possible, the blush on her cheeks darkened even more making her resemble Darth Maul without the black details. Leah gives her another ‘Really?’ look before taking her leave, the rest of the table following her actions and leaving as well. But Alessia remains sitting, frozen in her place until you place your hand on her shoulder softly making sure that you don’t scare her.

“Are you okay? You seem a little out of it today.” Alessia nods her head and remains firm in her stance that she’s okay, even after you give her a skeptical look.

Retreating back to your own room, you decide to settle down in your bed after changing into your normal hoodie and sweatpants and read a book that had been thrown into your suitcase haphazardly. Alessia makes sure to not break your focus when she herself settles into bed, focus directed at her phone.

Rising from your position on the bed, you put your book down on the nightstand before going back to dig in your suitcase this time searching for your toiletry bag. Finding it, you pick up your phone and walk to the bathroom to brush your teeth and make your nightly call to your pseudo parents. 

So like clockwork you call Beth, and like every other time she picks up at the second ring and routinely begins to talk about her day. You did this every evening, regardless of if you had called earlier in the day as it is a sure way to calm your mind just a little before bed and the routine something that you appreciated.

Brushing your teeth and washing your face left only one thing left in your nighttime routine, taking your melatonin. It’s almost like Beth is able to sense the hesitance radiating of you as she encourages you to take it.

“Take it, your doctor prescribed it for a reason.” It’s funny how her words liken those of a mother trying to convince her child to eat the vegetables left on their plate.

“What if I do something inexplicable in my sleep and she thinks that I’m weird?” There is a tone of insecurity in your voice and Beth feels like her heart is going to break on the other end of the phone.

“Who’s your roommate?” 

The realization that you haven’t told her who your roommate is yet dawns on you and you feel like an idiot.

“Alessia”

A loud  “Ha” comes from the other end of the line and now instead of being worried you are confused.

“Viv, you owe me 20 quid” Hearing rustling, you can only imagine that she’s dancing or doing some other dorky things. The small smile situated on your face disappears nearly as quickly as it appeared as her words sink in.

“You bet on who I’m rooming with?!” You express your shock through a swift whispershout, not wanting to alert Alessia to the topic of conversation.

“You seemed more worried than you would with any other teammate, so I told Viv that I thought you were rooming with Alessia and she didn’t agree so we bet 20 quid and a coffee date and I obviously won.” 

The smile on Beth’s face is heard through the call and you can feel yourself replicating it, laughing softly before opening the thick bottle of melatonin and popping one into your mouth swallowing it with some water. You let your toothbrush lay on the counter as you exit the bathroom, still on the call with Beth.

You can see Alessia’s head perk up when she hears the foreign voice flooding from the speakers of your phone. Realization soon washes over her face as she recognizes it as her injured companion up top and you notice her eyes softening before turning slightly confused. 

“Is that Beth?” Instead of answering yourself you just turn the phone in her direction, letting her see Beth’s face portrayed over the facetime call.

“Hey Less, how are you?” Trudging over to where Alessia is now fully sitting up, you pass her your phone to let her continue the conversation. 

Turning around, you hear them talking animatedly over the phone while catching each other up on what’s happening in their lives. You occupy yourself by searching for your headphones in preparation for the bedtime story you always end the calls with.

“Aha!” You let out a sound of accomplishment when you find your headphones, at the same time you hear the two blonde strikers wrap up their conversation and feet hitting the floor in your direction. A tap on your shoulder has you looking up from your suitcase to Alessia, your phone in her hand, the call still going.

“Thanks.” You look down at the phone again and come face to face with your parental figure, her eyebrows raised at the interaction.

“I’m going to brush my teeth and get ready for bed.” Alessia informs you of her plans and you nod your head in response before plugging your headphones in. Hearing the door close behind her, you pick up the stuffed bear laying inconspicuously under a couple of t-shirts and bring him to your bed. You slip under the covers, Flop in hand as the woman on the other line waits for you to get settled. 

You had gotten Flop as a housewarming gift from Viv and you gave him a name to match her own teddy, Flip.

Laying your head on your pillow, you feel the exhaustion of the day wash over you and as Beth’s soft voice reads out the story made for children you fall asleep almost immediately. Alessia notices the silence coming from the main room and she realizes that you’ve likely fallen asleep, so she’s extra careful when she exits the room.

Seeing you, headphones in your ears obviously asleep has her smiling. She then notices the stuffed toy in your arms and her heart feels like it suddenly grew 3 sizes, like she’s the Grinch. 

Turning the lights off, Alessia’s feet carry her towards your unconscious form and she carefully plucks the headphones from their place in your ears before taking the phone laying beside your head. She intends on putting the phone to charge, but that’s before your hand clutches on to her own. 

When Alessia looks up she expects to see you wide awake, instead she’s met with your closed eyes and soft breath coming out in perfectly timed intervals. With a tug on her arm Alessia falls down onto the bed, a soft ‘thud’ accompanying her motion downwards.

Your arm wraps around the circumference of her waist with an iron grip and after 2 minutes of trying to get you to release her, the only outcome being you tightening your grip she gives up on her mission. She reaches out and puts your phones on the nightstand before eventually settling into the feeling of strong arms holding her in place.

Alessia feels the attraction she holds for you grow tenfold with the grip you have on her waist and she allows herself to imagine that this is a normal encounter, that she’s used to feeling your strong body spooning her own.

When Alessia falls asleep that night she can’t realize the scene to which she would wake up. 

——

Bright blue eyes that hold the entirety of your heart between their ridges open to a rather unusual sight. She can remember falling asleep with your arms clutching her waist the night before so waking up to you at the other end of the room, on the floor, nonetheless puzzles her. 

But there you lay, the same peaceful expression on your face as you lay deep in your sleep. She notices the fact that your stuffed bear was in her grip instead of yours and she smiles softly as your smell floods her nostrils from the bear.

Rubbing her eyes, she picks up her phone and her eyes widen at the ungodly hour her body has woken her at. 03:54 glares back at her in big letters and she reaches out to put her phone back into place. 

Glancing over to where your body was placed the last time she quickly realizes that it isn’t there anymore and she feels a bout of panic spread throughout her body. It’s like her head is placed on a swivel as she shifts her body around in a ploy to locate where you suddenly had disappeared to.

Eventually she sees movement in her peripheral vision and spots your body moving around the room in a mindless pattern. Strangely enough it still doesn’t look like you’re conscious, the sluggish movements and the continued closed eyes an indicator.

Alessia’s movements are sluggish in their own right as she makes her way over to where you’re still mindlessly pacing the room and she places a swift hand on your shoulder, effectively making your pacing stop.

“No, No. Stop, I’ll be late. Let me go, I can’t be late, I can’t be late. Mr Ginsley’s gonna get mad, let go, please let go, this isn’t funny anymore. I’m gonna get in trouble, please let go.” Your words are muttered, nearly unintelligible as a quick tear runs down a pathway on your cheek.

The only thing Alessia could do was watch, it felt as if she wasn’t in control of her own body. Eventually coming to her senses she pulls you into her body, enclosing you in a much needed bearhug. You continue to cry into her neck, now partly conscious classified by the way your arms no longer hang by your sides, instead clutching on to her like your life depends on it.

Alessia mutters small encouraging words directly into your ear as she slowly lowers both of your bodies to the floor, all while continuing to let you cry your heart out. She quickly realizes that you need this, you need to cry and just let out exactly what you’re feeling.

So there she sits, you in her arms as she comforts you eventually you tire yourself out as you fall back asleep in her surrounding grasp. Alessia falls asleep not long after you do, the weight of your body like a weighted blanket.

——-

You find yourself waking up to the sight of the horrid pattern of the carpeted hotel floor for the second time in the last 24 hours, only this time you’re not alone.

Something weighing you down has you sobering from the sleep clouding your senses and you look down at your own body rapidly, seeing blonde hair splayed haphazardly across your chest and the accompanying face has your heart speeding up its beats. 

Wondering how you could have gotten into the situation you retrace your steps and come to the conclusion that you’d let out everything you were feeling on poor Alessia during that night.

So lost in your own head, you don’t notice Alessia coming to it before she reaches her hand up to softly caress your cheek. Looking down, you are met with one of the undoubtedly gorgeous sights you’ve ever witnessed. 

A newly woken Alessia Russo, looking up at you through her eyelashes, her eyes full of an emotion you only can recall as love. 

“Good morning.” She starts to lift herself off your frame but you once again stop her, this time with one hand on her waist and one on her neck before leaning in to press a lingering kiss against her lips. You start to pull away when you realize that she isn’t reciprocating, but she quickly comes to her senses and starts to kiss you back.

She lets her body rest on yours once again as you continue kissing. If someone would’ve entered the sight that would meet their eyes would likely be rather confusing, two footballers laying on the floor while kissing.

You eventually break away from the kiss as you feel the need to explain. You move your body into a sitting position and you pull Alessia with you as she sits on your lap this time. Taking a deep breath you start;

“I’m a sleepwalker, something you’ve probably noticed by now. I’ve never been able to control it but my parents tried everything to get me to stop, I mean everything. They tied me to the bed, waking me up at random times during the night, but nothing worked. In the end they decided to take me to this family friend who used to be a physician, Mr Ginsley, and trust me when I say he was horrid. My parents dropped me off before my bedtime and he would make sure that I didn’t even so much as move during the night. Eventually it stopped which meant that I was free from his borderline torture. So yeah…that’s also part of the reason why I am no longer in contact with my parents.” 

Alessia had to take a moment to let everything sink in before tightening her grip on you. It wasn’t like she didn’t know about your messed up childhood, but she had no idea how bad it had been.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you. No one deserves that, but I’m glad that you feel comfortable enough to share with me.”

“It’s okay, I’ve gone through a lot of therapy but I still get nightmares sometimes. Nobody has ever been able to calm me down, except you.” 

She smiles softly before kissing you again. Alessia’s body tensed before she springs out of your grip, swiftly pulling off her shirt and your eyes widen considerably the sight of her in just her bra, different now from the locker room. 

“Woah, Miss Russo. What are you doing? Not that I’m complaining…”

“We’re supposed to have breakfast with Ellie and Lotte, right? By the way, Ella declined ‘cause she wanted to sleep.”

“Oh, um this is awkward. I kind of didn’t ask either of them if they wanted to go, so I guess this’ll be our first date if you want. I don’t wanna assume your feelings or anything, but since you kissed me I hope that-” 

Soft lips being pressed against your own has you shutting up indefinitely, more than content with kissing the person you’re in love with.

“I’d love for this to be our first date.” Her words have you smiling down at her like an idiot before leaning down to kiss her again.

Getting dressed, you wait for Alessia to get ready and you realize that neither of your phones have any battery. 

“Lessi, sweetheart, why doesn’t your phone have any battery?” You call out to her as she’s in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. She reenters the room with toothpaste around her mouth and she gives you a quick smirk.

“Well someone didn’t want to let me go yesterday so I didn’t have the chance to put them to charge” You down with a bashful smile before leaving her to continue getting ready.

As you leave the hotel room, hand in hand with the love of your life, you can’t help but send a quick text along with a picture of your hands to your Arsenal group chat; 

‘Got the girl <3’

This was supposed to be 700 words... it became the longest fic I've currently written, but yeah hope y'all liked it :)

[littlejuicebox]

Mindwinter Carol 6 / The Affliction

Pairing: Ascended Astarion x Female Elf Sorceress OC

Word Count: 2.7K

Story navigation: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Summary/Setting: Based on the prologue/premise from my OneShot "A Midwinter Carol."

Astarion and the OC broke up after his ascension. She left Baldur's Gate for fifteen years, only to return just recently. Following the events of "A Midwinter Carol," Ascended Astarion has been convinced to pursue a new beginning. Will he be able to change who he has become, with the help of his ex-lover? Or will he ultimately fall victim to his pride and desire for power?

Preview:

He’s weak, slow, moody… and above all, he’s hungry. His hunger makes it difficult to sleep.  Eirianwen knows this. She knows he’s struggling. So every night she traces her fingers along his scalp and hums an old Elvish lullaby until he’s fallen into a trance beside her.  When Astarion wakes in the night his hands always search for her, desperate to pull her close. And she is always there.  * He remembers how easy and instinctual it had been to reach for Ani all those years ago.  But now, the Ascendant cannot even bring himself to hold her hand as she trances through the worst parts of the poison’s wrath, forced into a slumber by Jaheira.

Warnings: This will be 18+ / in game spoilers / Eventual Smut / Angst, trauma, fluff / Gore

-----

“You don’t remember anything about your family, Astarion?” 

Nighttime seemed eerily quiet in the Shadowlands; no animals or insects rustle in the barren woods and even the breeze is stunted in this horrifying, lightless place. The low, constant hum of Karlach’s snoring is the only background noise in camp. 

Eirianwen is perched in Astarion’s lap, facing him, her warm limbs coiled around his torso like vines around a tree trunk as he rests his head in the crook of her neck and breathes in the scent of her skin. She smells both crisp and sweet, like fresh fallen snow. The scent clings to his shirt even when they’re apart; a constant reminder of his attachment to the woman. 

Their nighttime activities have consisted of nothing more than cuddles and pillow talk for weeks and yet she’s still here. 

Astarion still doesn’t fully understand why. 

He pauses, searching through the blurred, fractured memories. Most are smattered with hundreds of faces he’s crossed along the way; almost all of the faces are discomforting.  He’s hoping, despite the answer he already knows, for any sign of someone that could be his mother. His father. A sibling, perhaps? 

Nothing. It’s always nothing. 

“No, Ani. I’ve told you before, darling. I don’t have a single solid memory from my past prior to… him. Just vague, fuzzy pieces I cannot associate with a time nor place.” He sighs, his tone betraying his frustration as he nuzzles his head into the sorceress’s nimble hand, searching for comfort. She idly trails her fingers through his silvery curls, lightly scratching his scalp. 

She hums softly but doesn’t say more on the topic. She knows when to stop pushing him. He loves that about her.

He thinks he loves her. He still hasn’t said it. 

“Ready for bed?” Eirianwen asks with a soft peck to his cheek, and Astarion simply nods in response. He’s often much quieter when he’s not in front of the others; when he doesn’t have to perform. 

She climbs off the male elf and quickly settles into the bedroll before patting the space next to her with an adorable, sleepy smile. He settles in next to the sorceress and she resumes running her fingers through his hair. Astarion is sure it’s incredibly disheveled by now, but in front of only Ani’s warm golden eyes, he doesn’t care. 

The Shadowlands have been torturous. The vampire spawn has yet to catch a single living creature out here, and he refuses to drink from Ani more than once every three days, despite her protests. He jokes they can’t both be operating at suboptimal levels or the group would simply fall apart.

They can manage without him, he knows this. He also knows that, like him, they can’t manage without Ani. 

He’s weak, slow, moody… and above all, he’s hungry. His hunger makes it difficult to sleep. 

Eirianwen knows this. She knows he’s struggling. So every night she traces her fingers along his scalp and hums an old Elvish lullaby until he’s fallen into a trance beside her. 

When Astarion wakes in the night his hands always search for her, desperate to pull her close. And she is always there. 

*

He remembers how easy and instinctual it had been to reach for Ani all those years ago. 

But now, the Ascendant cannot even bring himself to hold her hand as she trances through the worst of the poison’s wrath, forced into slumber by Jaheira. The average course of Delilah’s prior torture toxins had always been between three to five days. Most people give up their secrets after that. The ones that don’t undergo a second round of poison, and most of those unfortunate souls die; their bodies simply give up on them. 

He’s sitting in a plush wingback chair not more than a few feet from Eirianwen, staring at the old metal ring he’d slipped onto her finger before rushing her to the Palace. True Love’s Caress and True Love’s Embrace. Two physical symbols of twisted, tainted love. 

How fitting. 

Though, this time around, he’s the shield and she’s the ward. 

In the Shadowlands, when they first found the rings, it had been the other way around. Ani had insisted upon this particular arrangement because without regular sustenance, the vampire had been weak and sluggish. In his mind, he’d been useless. And the sorceress had refused to wear the matching rings otherwise, ultimately forcing his hand. Despite the fact Astarion hadn’t yet told her he loved her, he wanted everyone to know she was well and truly taken.

Fifteen years ago she was his. He was hers. 

Now the vision of the beautiful, silvery-blue haired elven woman in his bed is entirely unfamiliar and he attempts, and yet consistently fails, to sleep in the adjacent office. 

*

The Ascendant lounges idly on a velvet upholstered bench in a well-appointed room of Sharess’ Caress. A golden goblet dangles through his slender fingers as he surveys the salacious scene in front of him. 

The Drow twins are there, as well as three other workers, all engaged in different aspects of bacchanalia. It’s been just over six months since Ani’s been gone; he rents this room and pays for this show nearly every weekend, mostly as a distraction. Astarion only watches, never engages.

He isn’t sleeping well, if at all. He thought performing the rite would make the nightmares cease, but the moment Eirianwen packed her bags and left the palace he was haunted by the visions. Many of them were of Cazador; many were of Ani. Both were tortuous in their own ways.

Every time the Ascendant looks at his still-unfamiliar visage in the mirror, the bags under his eyes appear deeper than before. 

Delilah enters the room with another bottle of wine and a sumptuous spread of mixed fruit and chocolates on a platter. Her straight silver hair is twisted into ornate braids and she is nowhere near as skimpily dressed as the other workers. The half-elf elegantly places the tray in front of Astarion and then pauses to watch the debauched scene before her with mild interest. Sorn is in the middle of performing his Menzoberranzan Love Trick. 

“I don’t pay you to stand there and stare.” Astarion warns snidely as he pops open the second bottle of wine and assesses the woman through judgmental scarlet eyes. 

Delilah emits a haughty laugh in response as she turns her hazel gaze to examine the elf, wholly unphased by the Ascendant in front of her, “You don’t pay me at all, my Lord. I assure you, I’m far too expensive for you to have had the pleasure.” 

She saunters away before the vampire can counter, and he stews at the insult for the remainder of the night, far too distracted by Delilah to appreciate any of the worker’s finales. What a waste.

A few days later, he enquires Mamzell Amira, the owner of Sharess’ Caress, about Delilah, intending to purchase her services solely to prove a point. He’d been ruminating over the insult for days. 

Astarion is informed that the half-elf is a shapeshifter and her lowest rates for different experiences are already three times as high as the next highest paid employee of the brothel. Now that, the Ascendant mused… that was interesting. He could use her services.

Perhaps in more ways than one. 

*

Edmund is held in the dungeons underneath the palace; convincing Wyll to leave the bastard here had been no easy task. But shortly after downing Edmund, the Duke had been called off to another emergency in the lower city, a riot of some sort, and he’d ultimately relented. Nowadays, the Blade’s dedication and loyalty always remained directed at the city. Even his closest friends, his precious Eirianwen, came second to duty.

Astarion is quite aware he has to interrogate the foreign, piece of shit spawn, but he cannot be more than sixty feet away from Ani or the enchantments on the ring cease to work. Plus, a few days without nourishment makes one more inclined to spill their most disgusting secrets. He knows this far too well. 

The silver-haired Lord is signing some documents for his steward, Pascal. The love of his life is in a forced trance the next room over, and yet business must go on and money must be made. His control over the city had already slipped since he and Delilah went their separate ways a few years back; he cannot let past-due documents be his final undoing. 

The rules of bureaucracy are asinine, but in many ways – far more than he likes – Astarion is still forced to follow them. What is the point of being an all-powerful Ascendant when you still have to dance around nobles and patriars, relentlessly pretending you’re part of a society you do not give a single shit about? 

The elf sucks in a sharp breath and abruptly clenches the quill in hand as a burning sensation courses through his system. It feels like pure acid in his veins. The pain emerges from the thin band on his index finger and shoots up his arm in an arc before circling itself around his body, as if following the course of his blood circulation.

It’s truly agonizing. But as the Ascendant, neither a surge of fire through his veins nor the effects of Delilah’s poisons are as potent as they would be on a mortal. He’s certain the rings are not completely doing away with Ani’s suffering, he can see the discomfort strewn across her face, even as she trances. But between the forced slumber and the ring’s enchantments, they’re saving her from the worst of it. 

He hopes. 

Pascal collects the newly signed piles of scrolls and then hands a small folded note of parchment, sealed with red wax, to Astarion. The Ascendant drinks a simple healing potion in order to combat the effects of the ring.

“This arrived just now, as well, my Lord.” The human male, with eyes just a bit too wide and a scar running along his face murmurs. Pascal had been the elf’s first hire when he took over the palace fifteen years ago. Back then, the man had been a spry thirty-something; now Pascal is a graying human approaching middle age. He’d unfortunately rejected Astarion’s offer to become a spawn.

Seems immortality is not as alluring as one might think. Pity, though. Pascal had proven to be quite useful over the years.

Jaheira appears in the doorway of Astarion’s office. It’s clear she’s quite uncomfortable within these walls, but she’s continuing on for Eirianwen. The druid purses her lips and meets the gaze of the Vampire Lord, “There’s been a new development.” 

Astarion leaves the small folded piece of parchment strewn upon his desk and Umber curled sleeping on a cushion underneath it. 

*

“You will regret leaving me… more than anything else you live to regret.”

They are sitting across from one another in their old booth at the Elfsong, a few weeks after their break up. He’d been positive this meeting was called because the sorceress wanted to reconcile. The Ascendant thought he would make her grovel a bit, but then ultimately take her back. Astarion had to punish her, if only just, to ensure she never considered such a ridiculous stunt ever again.

But instead, Ani told him she was leaving the city and going to meet Halsin in Reithwin. Astarion is convinced this is an intentional goad from the elven woman, some sort of manipulation on her end. He said what he did in a pitiful attempt to goad her in return. 

Eirianwen tips her chin up pridefully as she smoothly stands from the table and evaluates the Vampire Ascendant. He feels his fingers instinctively flex with nerves as he watches her. Ani is far too calculated and far too unemotional as she glosses her eyes across his face looking for… something, though he still doesn’t fully understand what. In this final, painstaking moment, the male elf realizes this is truly the end between them. She is done. He almost retches on the spot but his pride forces him to shove the visceral reaction down.

“You’re nothing like the man I fell in love with anymore. I don’t know who you are. I hope you find the pieces of him still within you, someday.”

She would regret leaving him, that much was true. But Astarion would regret letting her go far more.

*

When Jaheira and Astarion enter the room, Ani is drenched in sweat and speaking in strings of broken Elvish as old memories flicker through her mind. In the moments Astarion had spent sitting at her side, the sorceress mentioned someone named Calinion more than once. The Ascendant assumes it’s a lover from her travels and the thought makes his skin crawl; he desires to know nothing more about the man and therefore ignores most of her mutterings.

Astarion’s garnet-colored eyes immediately notice the marred flesh of Eirianwen’s right hand. Small pinprick ulcers are beginning to form along her inner arm; parts of her smooth, vitiligo-patched skin are turning black. It’s starkest against the spots on her arms where her depigmentation has made the skin almost as pale as his own. 

Her vitiligo was beautiful. The appearance of this affliction was anything but.

Astarion had never witnessed this from any of Delilah’s previous concoctions. But the changeling was known to experiment with new tinctures quite often; she excelled at torture and seemed to delight in finding new, innovative ways to inflict pain. It had been one of the many reasons the Ascendant had remained involved with her for years; she’d been an excellent informant. 

“Necrosis.” Jaheira explains, her voice clinical but grave, as she brings a plush towel to Ani’s face and dabs at bits of sweat along the sorceress’s brow, “I suspect that, despite the rings, this poison — or curse, perhaps — isn’t targeting you because as an undead, nevermind an Ascendant, you are highly resistant. Try as it might, it cannot touch you. But it has to enact its damage somewhere.” 

“There must be something you can do.” Astarion responds, brow furrowing as he takes the cloth from Jaheira’s hands and gently resumes the task, mostly to distract himself. He’s angry, and frustrated, but he tempers all of it down because Jaheira is his — their — only hope. 

As the vampire blots along the sorceress’s face, his eyes focus on the small patch of vitiligo underneath her left eye. He wants nothing more than to bend over and press a gentle kiss atop it.

If true love’s kiss were more than a silly notion in a child’s fairy tale, he would have kissed her already. 

“If there were anything I could do, I would have done it by now. But as you said yourself, Delilah’s concoctions are unlike anything we have seen. The remnants along Eirianwen’s wound contain highly unfamiliar ingredients; your old paramour must source them from quite far.” Jaheira murmurs and then sighs dejectedly, “The most I can do is try to limit the spread. But even my magic and medicinals are struggling to compete against this… atrocity. The poison should be out of her system in another day or two; the most we can hope is that it simply runs the rest of its course with minimal damage.”

Astarion twitches his fingers as he assesses the ill elven woman in his bed. 

“I would not think about turning her now, Astarion.” Jaheira warns, reading the Ascendant’s mind as his eyes roam across the sleeping sorceress’ face, “She would never forgive you, and you’re risking Eirianwen remaining frozen, damaged like this for all eternity. Is that what you want? And more importantly, is that what she would want?” 

Astarion inhales a slow, contemplative breath. Moments of silence pass between the two conscious beings in the room and then the male elf simply responds, “No.” 

Jaheira isn’t sure which question he’s answering. She hopes it’s both.

He leaves the bedchambers without another word. Enough is enough. The Ascendant may not be able to travel down the several flights of stairs to the dungeons, but Edmund can be brought to him. Some of the worst things that ever happened to Astarion occurred in the many halls and rooms of this palace, rather than in the dungeons themselves. Cazador found ways to torture and punish his spawn no matter where they were.

Astarion is certain he can do far worse than Cazador ever did to the bastard responsible for Eirianwen’s affliction in the first place. Because unlike Cazador, the Ascendant has little reason to keep this fucker presentable. Or alive, for that matter.

Edmund will not remain tight-lipped for long. 

*

Special thank you to my friend and lore queen @chickywickers for telling me the owner of the brothel is, in fact, not Sharess. Edited to fix. 😊

[thirstyforcharacters]

Reconnection

Part 2 of the Mistakes Series

Part 1: Mistakes. Part 3: Healing

Summary: You walked away from Joel after the confrontation at Bill and Frank’s. You thought you’d never see him again. Until you did.

Warnings: angst!!!!! reader is lonely :( Joel and reader are getting better at emotions!!! mentions of canon typical violence, allusion to sexual activities, happy-ish ending

WC: 2025

Notes: soooo here is the sequel to Mistakes!! I had originally planned on only having this series be two parts, and then I thought it would be three or four, but now I’m kind of back to only doing two bc I really liked how this part ended!!! Lmk what you think about that!!

Walking out was simultaneously the best and worst thing you could’ve done for yourself. You didn’t wake up feeling unwanted. You did what you wanted when you wanted because no one was there to hover over you. You lived in the woods, trading with other people like you, dodging Infected, and killing raiders who tried to make your life more of a living hell than living on this earth already was.

But you were lonely. You missed the times you had with Joel and Tess before everything happened. You missed the feeling of having a family, even if they weren’t a great one at the end. They were the only two people you trusted, and not having that safety net was terrifying. But you made your choice and you stuck to it. On April 23rd, 2023, you left the Boston QZ and didn’t look back, not even as Joel pleaded with you to stay. Not even as you saw tears start to fill Tess’s eyes for the first and last time. Not even as you snuck through the gate and slit the FEDRA agent’s throat who tried to stop you.

For a year, you wandered. Slowly, you traveled, going from Boston down to Pennsylvania, then you made your way through the Midwest. You didn’t really have a destination, you just knew that you wanted to be as far away from Boston as you could get.

And on April 23rd, 2024, you found Jackson, Wyoming.

Well to be more specific, the residents found you.

As always, you were wandering on your own. What was snow covered terrain in the winter was now grasslands in the spring as you hiked over prairies and rolling fields, slowly approaching the Rockies to the west. At some point, you crossed a few rivers, but honestly, so much of what you traveled had blurred together at this point. It was nighttime, and you laid down to rest, setting up a small camp as always. You slept for only two hours, which wasn’t abnormal for you. But what wasn’t normal for you was to be surrounded by three people on horseback pointing rifles at you when you woke up. Immediately, you put your hands in the air. You could take three people easily if they were on the ground, but on horseback, you were at a major disadvantage.

“Who’re you?” the one in the center asked.

His accent was familiar. You searched for his face, blinking your eyes open in the dark, slowly adjusting to the low light.

“‘M Y/n. Just passing through.”

“You by yourself?” he asked again.

Your eyes widened once they were finally adjusted from the dark.

It was Tommy, Joel’s brother.

You knew him back in the day, before he ran off to join the Fireflies. He was always a bit friendlier than his older brother, despite everything he’d gone through. And he was handsome, though you had always preferred Joel in that regard.

“Tommy?”

Your voice was much more confused than you would’ve liked, but it made him stop in his tracks. He studied your face, searching for something in it until the light turned on.

“Oh, shit, you’re that Y/n! Sorry I didn’t recognize you at first, it’s been a while.”

But his gun was still pointed at you. And you knew why.

“I’m not Infected. You can check me yourselves if you want.”

You rolled up your sleeves and your pantlegs to prove a point, showing off the lack of bites and claw marks on your body.

The person on the right, a woman with dark hair jumped down from her horse. It was at that point that you noticed a dog beside them, growling at you.

“The dog will know if you’re telling the truth,” she said.

You tensed up. Despite knowing that you were clean, the large creature baring its teeth at you was still unnerving. But you allowed him to approach, and soon his growls faded as he nudged you with his nose. You couldn’t help but smile as you scratched his head, the animal giving you some comfort as you looked up at the people who were now getting off of their horses. Tommy offered you his hand and you took it, allowing him to help you off of the ground. The dark haired woman smiled at you, and the other person, a man with light brown hair and glasses looked you over.

“It’s good to see you again, Y/n. It’s been a long time,” said Tommy with a smile.

“It’s good to see you, too. Always enjoyed your company,” you responded honestly.

His smile grew a little wider, but then dropped as he asked you, “What are you doing out here by yourself? Always thought if I saw you again, it would be with Joel and Tess.”

You tensed up, and he noticed.

“Long story. Don’t have time to tell it,” you offered simply, “what about you? Still with those Fireflies?”

He chuckled, “Not exactly. I’ll show you when we get there. You can share my horse.”

Despite not seeing him in many years, you trusted him. So, ignoring the sleep that wanted to retake you, you gathered your few belongings and got on the horse, along with the two others. During the ride, you learned their names were Maria and Allen.

“Maria’s my wife,” Tommy said, beaming with pride, “we’re parents now, can you believe it?”

You smiled at them both, “Congratulations!”

But why would they want a child in a world like this?

As the sun was rising over the Wyoming mountainside, you arrived at your destination. You couldn’t help but gasp out loud at the wooden gates and stare in shock at the beautiful town sprawled out before you.

“Holy shit, Tommy!” is all you could think to say.

Tommy laughed, his eyes crinkling at the sides, “Welcome to Jackson.”

Maria smiled and said, “We’ll find a place to put you up. I’m sure you’re tired since we interrupted your sleep. We can take you on a tour in the morning.”

Suddenly, your exhaustion hit you, your eyes drooping involuntarily as a yawn escaped your lips.

“That sounds great.”

You honestly didn’t even remember falling asleep, but when you woke up to knocking at the front door of your new house, the sun was high in the sky. You yawned, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as you trudged through your bedroom and the rest of your house to reach the front door.

“Hey, Y/n! Feel a little better?”

Tommy was on your doorstep with a smile.

You nodded, “Still a little sleepy, but much better, thank you.”

“Good,” he said, “you ready for that tour, now?”

“Sure.”

Tommy led you through town, pointing out the important buildings: the stables, the bar, of course, and the clinic, while explaining how things worked in town.

“Oh, and since you’re capable, we’ll probably put you in the patrol rotation as soon as you’re settled in…”

But you weren’t listening anymore. The two of you approached the school, since Tommy thought maybe you could help teach there, and there you saw something you hoped you’d never see again.

Joel.

He was talking to a teenaged girl with brown hair and a bright smile. He was laughing at something she had said, his eyes twinkling with a brightness you had never seen in them before.

Blood rushed to your ears as your heart pounded in your chest. You couldn’t help the way your hands shook as adrenaline rushed through you.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. You weren’t supposed to see him again.

“Y/n, you okay?” asked Tommy softly.

Joel’s head whipped around upon hearing your name. It couldn’t really be you, could it? Your hair was too long and tangled, your clothes too torn and dirty, your shoes barely staying on your feet.

But those eyes were unmistakable. They carried so much weight, even more than the last time he saw you. They were filled with fear, anger, sadness, but worst of all, loneliness. And it was his fault.

Joel never stopped blaming himself for what happened. He missed you every day, and no one, not even Tess could pull him from his misery. Ellie filled the Sarah-sized hole in his heart, but there was still a you-sized hole from the past year. And now that you were before him, he was determined to get you back.

“Y/n.”

The soft murmur of your name was enough to shake you of your stupor.

“Joel.”

You said nothing more. What else was there to say?

“Hey, Ellie, you want to come to my place? Maria’s baking cookies,” Tommy asked, giving you both a meaningful look.

“Sure! You’d better come around then, too, Joel!” the girl, Ellie, said cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to what was occurring.

“I will, Ellie. You run along now,” Joel replied, smiling softly at the retreating figures of Ellie and his brother.

Then his attention was on you. And quite frankly, you didn’t know what to do.

Joel stepped toward you, closing the gap until you were face to face with the man that had been haunting your dreams for the past year.

“Didn’t expect to see you around here,” he said.

You heard the weight his voice carried. Even if others couldn’t read the stoic man, you could. You knew him too well, even after all of this time.

“Well that makes two of us.”

The bitterness still tinging your voice makes him wince slightly.

“It’s good to see you alive,” he offered, “that you’re okay.”

“No thanks to you.”

The tone was sharp, offered no room for friendliness or forgiveness.

Joel sighed softly, running his fingers through his graying hair, “I know. I’ve thought about it every day.”

That made you pause, the anger simmering below the surface beginning to give way.

“Me too.”

You wouldn’t say that you missed him. That you dreamed about a world where the three of you were still a team. That when you felt really lonely, your fingers would slip below your waistband, still thinking of him. That you often wished desperately that you never left. But you felt like he knew.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

His smile was tight lipped and his eyes swam with the ghosts of your shared past.

“No Tess?”

Her absence was noticeable to you. In the time the three of you had worked together, you didn’t go anywhere without the others.

Joel shook his head, “Dead.”

“Raiders?”

“Infected.”

“Oh,” you gasped, “I’m sorry.”

And you were. Tess was a good friend and a strong ally. Her death was unexpected to you, and you knew Joel had to have been there to see it. You wouldn’t wish that upon your worst enemy.

He looked at the ground, breaking eye contact with you for the first time, “Losing her was hard. I had already lost you, and then I lost her. Just like Sarah.”

Joel was never one to talk about his emotions, but you had broken down that wall during your partnership. And though you didn’t let your guard down to him, here he was using a wrecking ball.

“Joel, I-” this time you ran your fingers through the tangled mess that was your hair, trying to search for something to say.

But he continued, “I know what I did to you was wrong. Shutting you out wasn’t the answer, and I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t. But maybe leaving wasn’t the best answer for me, either.”

That was the first time you had really admitted that to yourself.

“I should’ve talked to you, like this, before making a choice so rash. I’m so-”

“You don’t have to apologize. You did what you had to. You have to do what’s best for you in this world,” Joel interrupted, returning his gaze to you.

You nodded, “Well, maybe this is a chance for us to start fresh. Maybe it was meant to happen.”

The ghost of a smile appeared on his lips, “Maybe it was. Let me walk you home.”

And you did, with the feeling that you’d let him do it again and again.

[jasontoddsmommyissues]

I have some fics I’m working on, but in the meantime, please enjoy some fluffy Summertime with Eddie Headcanons

-One of your guys’ favorite things to do is to get ice cream. If you get yours in a cone he makes comments about how he enjoys watching you “use your tongue” like that.

-Eddie’s not a big fan of summer weather. In fact, he’s pretty much constantly whining about how hot and miserable it is. You’ve tried pointing out that he might be able to tolerate it better if he didn’t insist on wearing a bunch of layers and leather and the color black all the time, but he ignores you.

-Eddie’s an absolute menace in the pool. He’ll swim along the bottom and mess with your legs when you aren’t watching, he tries to make as big of a splash as he can when he jumps in, sometimes if you’re distracted he’ll just come up and scoop you up into his arms.

-Eddie likes to camp, but hates to fish. Wayne’s taken him a few times, but he simply doesn’t have the attention span for it.

-Eddie knows how to get a good fire going. However, you have to handle any marshmallow/smores related duties, because when he tries, he’ll start getting impatient and end up catching it on fire instead of waiting for it to roast properly.

-Eddie gets hot at night, so in the summer he sometimes sleeps either in just boxers, or on certain occasions, butt naked. You very much enjoy this if you happen to be sleeping over.

-One of his favorite nighttime activities in the summer is sneaking into rich people’s yards and swimming in their pools

-Eddie also knows a few good swimming spots in the woods near town (the two of you have even been skinny-dipping a few times)

-Per Wayne, Eddie is forbidden from using any sort of firework/firecrackers/etc. It’s been that way since before you two even met. You’ve never gotten the full story there, but you’re pretty sure it has something to do with a neighbor's roof.

-Eddie can’t afford to go on an actual vacation or anything, but he’ll take you on fun little adventures and road trips to nearby places. Sometimes he’ll just drive you to some obscure place a few hours away and you’ll just stay in his van for a day or two while you explore.

-One time, you even went up to Lake Michigan. It was Eddie’s first time ever seeing a beach and he was impressed. After that you make a promise to take him to see the actual ocean one day.

-Eddie’s absolute favorite thing about summer is spending it with you. He loves seeing you in your bathing suits and sundresses, he loves going on those little trips with you, he loves how happy and carefree you always are in summer. He’s never been big on it in the past, but now that he has you in his life, summer has become one of his favorite times of the year

[chimachapterbooks]

Wolf Games - From the Wolves and Crocodiles activity book

"This is boring," a white Wolf named Windra muttered.

Worriz, resting against a nearby tree, said nothing.

Windra glared at him. "I said—this is BORING!"

"I heard you the first time," Worriz snapped, "but we have to stay here.Cragger wants us to guard this pass to keep the Lions from getting at the weapons the Crocs have stored, so that's what we're going to do."

Windra stood up and stalked over to Worriz. She looked at him with suspicion in her eyes. "Is that the only reason we're here?" she hissed.

Worriz knew better than to lie to her. Windra could smell deceit a mile away. Though she was one of the prettiest Wolves in the pack, she was also one of the most vicious.

"Cragger says we move around too much," Worriz finally replied. "He never knows where we are. 'How am I supposed to beat the Lions and get the CHI if I can't count on you to be where I need you?' he says. So we're supposed to stay here and guard the Crocs' secret stash of weapons."

Windra's eyes narrowed. "Since when do we take orders from Crocodiles?" she sneered.

"Since we joined the Crocs in the battle for CHI," Worriz answered. Then he flashed a savage grin. "At least until we take the CHI from them. Now, come on. We need to check the bottom of the mountain to make sure there aren't any Lions sneaking about."

Windra Followed after him, though she wasn't happy about it. Staying in one place wasn't in her nature.

In fact, it wasn't in any Wolf's nature. This was the third day in a row that the Wolves had been stuck in this spot, and the entire pack was going crazy.

A group of Wolves watched Worriz and Windra head down the mountain.

"I'm so bored," a Wolf groaned once they were out of earshot. "I don't know how much longer I can take this."

"Hey, l've got an idea." Another Wolf suddenly ran up alongside them. "Let's play Hide-and-Go-Howl!"

Everyone nodded eagerly. Hide-and-Go-Howl is the packs favorite game. The rules were simple, one Wolf was “it” and all the rest went and hid. (If there was one thing anyone knew about the wolves, is that they loved to hide.)

When a hidden wolf was found, he became “it” and had to howl to let everyone know.

Plus, it was nighttime. That meant they could play Hide-and-Go-Howl-in-the-Dark!

While Worriz and Windra were off scouting the rest of the Wolves quickly determined who would be "it." Then they ran off and hid while the "It" Wolf counted. Some darted behind trees. Others dug holes and jumped inside. One wolf even dove into a nearby creek.

"Ready or not, howl I come!" cried the "It" Wolf.

He began searching for the other members of the pack. Everyone was relieved to finally have something to do other than just stand around on the Crocs' orders.

Little did they know, they weren't the only ones enjoying themselves. A small group of Lions was hidden nearby, watching the game.

"Come on," whispered Laval, the Prince of the Lion Tribe. He grinned. "This is our chance, while the Wolves are busy playing!"

Under the cover of darkness, Laval led the Lions through the pass and right to where the Crocodiles were storing their weapons for their next attack. The Lions took as many as they could carry and slipped away again without being spotted.

The next day, after Worriz and Windra had returned from checking the base of the mountain, Cragger came to visit the camp.

"Are my weapons safe?" he snarled.

"Of course," said Worriz. "When Wolves guard something, it stays safe!" The two went to see the cave where the spears and axes and swords had been stored. To their shock, they discovered that most of the weapons were gone!

"I thought I told you Wolves to stay here and protect these things!" Cragger cried.

Just then, Winzar came bounding into the cave. "Ha! Found you! Now you're 'It!' Great hiding place, by the way."

Before Worriz or Cragger could respond, the Wolf scampered away, howling as he went.

While Worriz gathered the pack to reprimand them, Cragger went back to the swamp very, very angry. When he finally calmed down, he decided that maybe the Wolves just weren't meant to stay in one spot and be guards.

Maybe it would be better to let them go where they wanted and cause trouble for the Lions. At least then something productive would come out of their wandering.

He went back to the pass to tell Worriz the Wolves could leave... only to find they had already left. Off in the distance, the Crocodile heard a Wolf howling, "I'm 'It!' I'm 'It!' Howl I come!"

—————

This is the cutest the wolves have ever acted.

[littlemourningstarr]

Something All its Own

Shadowheart can never bring herself to turn Astarion away, when he shows up fed and wanton at her bedroll.

Kinktober 2024, Day 16: "Fingering / Handjobs"

Read below or on AO3!

Pairing: Shadowheart x Astarion

Tags: handjobs, anal fingering, kinktober, kinktober 2024

Shadowheart fought hard not to grin down at Astarion, as he arched along her bedroll, biting at his lip to keep himself quiet as she stroked along his cock. So close, the rest of camp rested, slumbering away. Exactly as Shadowheart should be.

But she was loath to push away the pretty pale elf when he came to her, belly full of some beastie’s blood and eyes hungry for release. She was quite sure the rest of the party was very aware of their nighttime activities- Karlach had even made jokes, which had made Gale blush the prettiest pink.

“You’re drifting,” Astarion managed, looking at her with sanguine eyes that tried so hard to hide the fact that he wanted her there, with him. Tried, but failed. She had begun to see the cracks in all of his walls- weeks together battling gods and trying to avoid sprouting tentacles would do that. “What are you thinking about?”

She paused her hand, letting her thumb slowly tease under Astarion’s cockhead. “That Gale is rather adorable when he blushes.”

Astarion groaned, head dropping back, staring up at the ceiling of her tent. “Do not tell me I have lost so much charm that you’re distracted by the wizard when I’m naked in your bedroll.”

Shadowheart let herself grin, releasing Astarion’s cock completely and choosing to rub her thumbs in comforting circles against both of his thighs. “Jealous?” He said nothing, and she bowed over him, placed a kiss to the hollow of his ribs. Gods, he was still thin. She wondered how many years of proper feeding it would take to make him less wraith and more…

Well, no matter what, he’d always be dead.

“Your charm is something all its own,” she whispered, pushing his thighs slightly wider. “What are you feeling like tonight, lover?”

She felt him relax, just a little. So needy for praise, for validation, he was. Shadowheart didn’t blame him. Astarion was, at times, a horrifying mirror that she simply refused to acknowledge. She watched him bite at his lip, and oh, was he pondering asking for her mouth, or for her to climb up and sink down onto his cock, to ride him slowly-

“Your fingers,” he offered, very softly. Shadowheart quirked a brow at that, but gods she wouldn’t deny him. She placed another kiss to his ribs, then down, at his navel, trailing slowly until she reached the base of his cock-

And then, as she straightened up, she placed a single, ridiculously tender kiss to his cockhead. She heard the smallest breath escape him. Dramatic, as he didn’t need to breathe. But she prided herself in the fact that she made him forget that.

She reached over his legs, rummaged around in a pouch, pulled out a small bottle. She poured the oil along her fingers, holding them up so Astarion could see it, in the single ray of moonlight that crept through the closure of her tent. A line of oil trickled down her arm, Astarion’s eyes tracking it.

“Would you like to lay out like a princess?” Shadowheart asked, “Or be on your knees like a whore?”

Astarion, in response, simply arched his back, remaining as he was. Princess it was then. Shadowheart had to admit, as delightful as it was to see Astarion on his knees, face buried in her pillows, shoving his ass back against her fingers, there was something that always felt right about treating him like royalty.

Not that she would admit that.

She settled back between his milky thighs, sliding her hand past his balls, slipping overly slick fingers between his ass. He was good at lying still, as she traced his hole, spreading the oil all over it- but when she pushed not one but two fingers into him to start, he let out a little cry, quickly reaching up to slap a hand over his mouth, stifling the rest of the sound.

“Shh, shh, shh, quiet now Astarion. Wouldn’t want to wake everyone up.” She eased her fingers fully inside, gave him a moment to breathe as his body accommodated them. He was subtly warm, around her- she had whatever his meal had been to thank for that. She’d had him like this before, when he hadn’t fed, and he had been like ice.

She pumped her fingers, slowly, watched the way his eyelids fluttered, pretty silver lashes hiding his eyes. He finally let his hand fall away, so she could watch his pretty mouth as he panted already.

“Does it feel good?” She pushed harder, sliding her fingers along his walls, finding the spot that had his shoulders digging almost painfully into her bedroll. He was sensitive, she could tell. He must have fed almost directly before coming to her bedroll with those wanton eyes that she couldn’t deny.

He managed a nod, but no words. That was fine- she didn’t need words from him. She felt almost beyond that. She continued to rub that sweet spot inside him, tore her eyes from his face to the way his cock was leaking all over his belly, a mess of precum openly flooding him. His cock had the same flush as his lips, his cheeks.

She reached for it, rubbed her palm, the heel of her hand, up along the underside, pressing it firmly to his belly. The vampire squirmed, one hand reaching up to grasp at her pillows, the other twisting into her bedroll.

He gave a little whine, and Shadowheart felt the next rush of precum, sticking to her palm. “You’re so wet,” she teased, “what a messy little thing you are, Astarion.” His eyes fell fully shut then, chest moving in ragged breaths. She felt him go tight around her fingers, and unable to stop herself, she eased a third in, spearing him fully. Astarion gave another cry, this time of her name.

There was no way they were going unheard tonight.

She continued to curl her fingers, massage his most sensitive places, as she wrapped her hand around his cock, stroking up slowly. “Let’s see about finding you some release, hm?” He gave a desperate nod, hips rocking up to meet her hand, before pushing down onto her fingers- setting a rhythm that had Shadowheart’s own heart pounding, heat coiling in her belly and between her thighs.

She squeezed his cock tighter, her fist bumping along the crown of his cock, once, twice, thrice-

And then Astarion was moaning her name, smiling so she could see those pretty fangs, painting his belly with his own seed. It splashed along his navel, dribbled down her knuckles, as his body clenched around her fingers, held her close so she could drive his orgasm harder. She didn’t stop her hand or fingers, until his cock had nothing left to give, and he was relaxing slightly, into her bedroll.

She pulled her fingers from him, taking in the sight of him- satiated but a mess. She clicked her tongue. “You’re really a mess, Astarion.”

He lifted a hand, only to let it flop over his eyes, working to catch his breath. “Give me a few minutes,” he offered, “and I can leave you a mess as well, darling.”

[khaire-traveler]

🌫️ Subtle Erebos Worship 🌑

Sit in stillness for a while, especially darkness; meditate or become comfortable in the quiet

Take time each day to decompress from the events of the day; relax and rest

Drink herbal tea or a warm drink you enjoy before bed; preferably something soothing

Get a candle that reminds you of him (no altar needed)

Wear jewelry that reminds you of him

Keep a picture of him in your wallet

Start a bedtime/nighttime routine

Try to avoid screens an hour before bed; try reading a book, drawing, or another relaxing and screenless activity

Fall asleep/meditate/study to music reminiscent of emptiness, stillness, or liminality (links included to videos I sleep/listen to c:)

Have a stuffed animal that reminds you of darkness, stillness, or The Void™; nocturnal animals work well (Stygian owl, trust me)

Have imagery of fog, darkness, the night sky, what you believe the creation of the universe looked like, or The Underworld (his name is sometimes conflated with The Underworld itself) around

Dedicate a collection of coins to the souls passing into The Underworld who don't have coins to cross the Stygian

Watch the sunrise; watch the sunset

Learn about the night sky; learn the different constellations and myths they have

Learn about space; learn about cave systems; learn about anything you consider mysterious, expansive, and a bit frightening

Visit/tour a cave (SAFELY!!!!)

Leave water outside for nocturnal animals that stop by; leave out water for a bird bath

Listen to the morning bird songs; listen to the sounds of the night

Press/dry a flower still wet with evening dew

Practice mindfulness; practice meditation

Go camping, and sleep under the stars; take time to be present in nature, in the night

Watch a scary movie in the dark; you're also welcome to watch a comfort movie instead

Collect animal bones (thank the animal's spirit after doing so)

If fog rolls in, go outside in it; take a walk in it (SAFELY!!!)

Plant seeds in the ground; start a garden; tend to plants

Grow your own herbs or produce

Honor your ancestors or passed loved ones; engage in spirit work if comfortable

Visit a cemetery; leave flowers on graves if given permission to do so

Reflect on your deeper beliefs; what do you believe about the different mysteries/uncertainties of life (the afterlife, universe creation, purpose, etc.)

Dance/sing to music that makes you feel ancient, mystical, mysterious, or generally cool

Take a walk during a new moon (if it is safe to do so your area)

Learn about self-defense; be sure to take a weapon with you when going out at night (if you feel it's necessary mostly)

Wear black or darker colors

Take a relaxing bath/shower at night, especially with herbs or in dim light (SAFELY!!!)

Write/read ghost or mystery stories

Light a bonfire; gather around it with loved ones; share scary or mysterious stories

Support space, deep ocean, or deep cave exploration organizations; support nocturnal animal preservation organizations

Learn about the different phases of the moon; learn about what each one means

Practice patience and restraint

Find healthy outlets for extreme emotions; drawing, writing, boxing, dancing, crafting, etc.

Learn to become comfortable within your own presence (this takes practice, it'll be ok)

Sleep with a small bag of soothing herbs under your pillow (lavender, jasmine, etc.) or charms

Keep a dream journal; try to interpret your dreams

-

This is my list of discreet ways to worship Erebos! He is rarely talked about, from what I've seen, but he is the God of Darkness, born from the primordial Khaos at the creation of everything. He is paired with Nyx often, and the two have had several children, including Hypnos and Thanatos. His name was used interchangeably with The Underworld sometimes. I'll likely add more later, but for now, I hope you enjoy what I've made. Take care. ❤️

Link to Subtle Worship Master list

[kirwell]

It's been a minute since I've memorized myself with the og four arcs, but I still feel like the modern warrior clans don't show the things that make them unique as they used to in the older books. Actual culture in the clans has become such a background thing, and the clans' mostly acknowledge each other by overused stereotypes. "ThunderClan gets in everyone's business" "ShadowClan can never be trusted" yeah we know And then WindClan and RiverClan just kinda exist… they don't get involved enough to get slandered at gatherings.

It would be nice to see each clan acknowledged for their odd traditions and unique mannerisms too. And I would love to see the clans themselves DO MORE with their own clanmates that make their clan feel special. Especially now that we're getting more POVs not just from good ol' ThunderClan.

Have RiverClan show their skill for swimming more often. Have them swim to gatherings, unbothered by their slick, drenched coats. Imagine them leaving a gathering, dramatically submerging back into the dark water and disappearing into the night. "How unnatural..."

Have them incorporate water into their fighting technique, as we see in the opening of Into The Wild. Ambush rival cats from the water, or pull them into the water where they have the advantage. I want to see RiverClan excel in water and completely have the upper hand in some battles.

It says RiverClan decorates their nests, but it's rarely shown or appreciated. Let them have the most beautiful camp out of everyone, decorated in shells, pebbles, foliage and feathers. Let the other clans think "wow. why is it so pretty here?" or "ew, why do you decorate with fish scales?"

I want their ceremonies to involve dressing in elaborately made accessories that every cat learns to make. Have cats be given unique shells when they're born, and these shells are given to their chosen mates as a sign of true affection.

Show downtime, where cats just relax on the shoreline, kits playing in the sand, apprentices challenging each other in the water, and elders sunbathing on the rocks.

RiverClan was basically founded by a hippie. Let the clans see them as typically laidback and the type to stop and smell the roses. But when they step up, they have skills that no other clan can match.

Have ShadowClan be excellent at stealth and use the literal shadows to their advantage. Have other cats not notice a ShadowClan patrol until they suddenly burst from the dark.

Imagine they cover themselves in different smells, like mushrooms, moss and pine, to mask their natural scent. I like to think ShadowClan cats have the strongest tolerance for strong or icky smells.

I think it would be cool to have Shadowclan cats know how to mimic night critter noises, like owls, frogs and crickets, to trick prey, or to communicate with their own patrol without drawing away from the natural ambiance.

Show ShadowClan as being able to move in the dark better then any other clan, and let the clans think it's UNCANNY. During nighttime battles, have them lure rivals into the darkness where they can gain the upper hand. Have them work as a team to confuse and disorientate rivals in the darkness, before striking.

Show Shadowclan cats being more nocturnal and more active at night than other clans. They thrive in it, and do most of their training and chores when the sun sets.

I want ShadowClan to be known for more than their bad history and terrible taste in leaders. I want them to be seen as mysterious night dwellers, whose talents best shine in the dark. You will never see them coming until it's too late.

Windclan used to have a lot more goin on, in Tallstar's revenge, having a whole tunneling system with different ranks like Moor Runners and Tunnelers. We could have something similar to this again. Windclan navigating an elaborate abandoned warren underneath their moorland, for quick escapes, safety or even traps.

Have Windclan use the tunnels to outsmart invading clans or predators, or trap them in dead-ends. If their camp was ever overtaken, they could rely on the tunnels as a temporary home, a place no other clan knows how to navigate.

SHOW them as the fastest cats of all the clans. It's not shown all that much, except when WindClan shows up to mee a rival patrol. Show them being able to outrun rival cats, run circles around them, chasing off patrols with unmatchable swiftness.

Birds of prey used to be more of a thing in the books, but they seemed to have disappeared. Have dangerous predators around that only WindClan really knows how to evade or kill, taking down hawks and such, similar to how the Tripe of Rushing Water actively did.

Have Windclan be excellent at camouflage, since the moorlands are so open, they have to learn to blend in with shrubbery, or shroud themselves in plants and mud that blend in while patrolling. For battles, imagine they come dressed in full camouflage / warpaint.

I love the idea of cats singing and the winds just carry their voices away. It would be neat to see ceremonies directly involve the wind, singing different songs with special meanings, or releasing flower petals into the breeze when cats die. Let the other cats think that WindClan is strange, since no other clans have songs that pass through generations. Cat singing is weird.

WindClan once prided themselves for "being closer to Starclan" literally because they lived under the open sky. Imagine they're the only clan to recognize constellations, stargaze and create stories based off them.

WindClan gets wrecked more times than not, but they've got spirit, and I want the clans to see it.

SkyClan had a pretty rich culture prior to moving to the Lake, and lot of it tied into their environment, so understandably, they lost so much because of Darktail. I love Skyclan honestly, and I want to see them thrive again so much.

I wish we got to see them climb trees a bit more in public, using them during patrols, jumping from branch to branch. We saw them use this method in battle, jumping down from above and landing on their enemies, and I would love to see more of this!

Show SkyClan cats as excellent climbers who don't fear heights. Causally hanging out in trees and other precarious places for pure enjoyment. Let the other clans think that it's weird and dangerous, and they're stupid for doing it. But also it makes them uneasy, cause Skyclan could attack from ANYWHERE if there's trees.

I'd LOVE to see Skyclan continue to take in kittypets/strays/loners as Daytime-Warriors, and have this general acceptance of outsiders. The OG clans are very prejudice, as we know, even against each other, so it would be neat to showcase Skyclan's tolerance for non-clan-blooded cats. If Skyclan is ever in danger, imagine a legion of outsiders rushing in to aid their SkyClan friends, much to the other clans' shock.

Skyclan to me have always felt like they'd be storytellers, given how much they've been through and how their clan came to be. Would love to see them talk more about their experiences and history to the other clans, and encourage openness and change.

SkyClan is new to the Lake, but I want them to bring in what made them special and show it off. They've got so much heart, how can you not admire them for their strength?

And of course ThunderClan. The protagonist clan that's begun to feel so bland to me personally. We spent the most time with them, and I miss seeing what made them unique. (I'm very nostalgic for into the wild vibes)

ThunderClan has lived in their new home beside the Lake for years now, and I feel like it's barely talked about or used in any special way. I want to see them use their environment more.

Have it tradition for young cats to learn how to scale the rocky cliffs, in case of emergency. Have ThunderClan cats excel at scaling uneven surfaces, like little whiskered mountain goats. Oh, a Thunderclan cat was pushed off a cliff in battle? No matter. They manage to keep their cool and catch onto the surface, and scale back up or down with ease.

ThunderClan has lived through so much history, and have been at the center of it many times, so I would love to see them have more downtime together, sharing legendary stories and reliving old memoires of the past so it's never forgotten. Or fuzzy stories, just pleasant memories from a time in the past, where they learned valuable lessons or enjoyed time with loved ones.

Let everyone do fun activates and team building exercises, to strength their bonds, like hunting or cliff scaling competitions where they must work together. ThunderClan have their unsavory moments, but let's be honest, they're the heart of all the clans, holding them together more times than driving them apart. Anyway, that's the end of that. I just wanna see some inner clan chemistry, OK??? Is that too much to ask?

[riseoftheclansrpg]

STREAMCLAN - RISE OF THE CLANS

OVERVIEW

A Clan with a tumultuous past carving out a better future for themselves, StreamClan is best recognised by their unique talent to swim. More often than not, they are viewed as haughty by their fellow Clans thanks to their eye for detain, enjoying spending time grooming themselves and others. Their territory is not easily traversable for the uninitiated, with streams and rivers dominating the land. While the Clan sleeps, they are carefully guarded by their dutiful Rangers, who patrol the night.

TERRITORY

StreamClan territory is dominated by streams and ponds, varying from a few tail-lengths deep to merely a pawstep deep. In greenleaf, this territory is rich in prey and healer herbs. No cat has heard of a thin StreamClan warrior; they are always well fed. Cats that live in this territory typically have webbed paws that help these warriors swim, and typically have thick, beautiful pelts. The main prey found here are freshwater fish, minnows, and the occasional forest creature like squirrels and mice. The main predators are foxes, badgers on the outskirts of the territory, and large birds of prey. Predators can be uncommon, however, due to the abundance of water running throughout the territory. Besides swimming, the only way to access this territory is by the dangerous stepping stones found on both sides of the territory. In times of rain, these stones are anything but existent, submerged by water.

DAILY LIFE

StreamClan cats often share tongues as a bonding activity, to help maintain their thick pelts. As a result, they often come off as vain and haughty to other Clans. It's not uncommon to see StreamClan warriors use flowers as a way to help add color to their pelts. Swimming is also another activity StreamClan cats love to participate in, especially during the hot midday of greenleaf. With bountiful prey, most StreamClan cats also love to eat, to the point that cats have the freedom to be extremely picky with what they eat. Border patrols are lax with rainy days, as the rain causes the streams to swell and cover the only way into the territory; only a truly foolish non-StreamClan cat would dare try to swim through those rapids.

SPECIALTY RANKS

Sleek and stealthy, StreamClan’s Rangers were introduced by Quillstar in an effort to stop nighttime attacks on the Clan. Unlike the typical warrior, these cats work primarily alone at night, patrolling StreamClan’s vast marshlands or standing guard at camp. Due to the irregularity of their active hours, Rangers are not required to participate in daytime patrols, but are encouraged to do so if they wish. Rangers are required to know basic herbal knowledge in the circumstance that they, or another Ranger, are injured and unable to be quickly seen by a Healer. For covert missions, Rangers are the first choice, and it is preferable that they are able to be stealthy and able to quickly hide themselves from potential foes for sneak attacks or quick getaway. They are required to work closely with StreamClan’s Leader, reporting their findings for the night and participating in any covert operations that need them. A cat can begin training underneath the Rangers after completing their Warrior’s training. 

[liltaventures]

Careful, we bite~

RP Thread with @theautumnpicker The nighttime air was cool and the dark sky was covered in a blanket of dark clouds. Stars decorated the sky and for once Quillen felt like he could relax. The rogue had been sitting on a small log reflecting on the events of the day and taking some time to enjoy the peace and quiet of nature.

Things at camp had changed since he had befriended his small group of tadpole-infested misfits. Who would have thought he of all people would find himself in good company?

There was still a ways to go in terms of gaining the trust of a few people but overall the half-elf could count on them to have his back when the situation called for it. Hells, he’d even have their backs too. After all, they needed one another if they were to ever find a cure.

The dhampir smiled softly to himself and looked up at the night sky. A soft exhale escaped past his plump lips and his bright red eyes softened as he noticed a few constellations had been visible. The sound of chatter broke his concentration on the night sky and he turned his attention to the rest of camp, watching as a few of his companions retreated into their tents to settle down for the night.

Quillen retreated to his accommodations and made quick work setting a soft blanket out by his bed roll. Once he was satisfied with his work he turned back towards the entrance of his tent and slowly pulled the flap back before he slinked away silently into the woods. The dhampir needed to feed and now that activity around camp was dead it was the perfect time to find himself something to satiate his sanguine hunger.

All he needed to do was find something to sink his pretty little fangs into. He trailed his ruby orbs around his surroundings and hummed quietly to himself. “Now, what will nature bless me with tonight I wonder?”

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

@ninjakk

🌠💞🌶️

Night has fallen long before they've made it close to the next town over, so Wei Ying and Lan Zhan set up camp in a small clearing deep into the woods they've been exploring for the past few hours. The spiritual activity around abounds and, naturally, Wei Ying became curious about it, which is why their plans to spend the night in a cozy inn have been delayed for a night under the stars instead.

Wei Ying lays down on his outer robe and invites his husband over with a pat of his hand on the soft grass. Lan Zhan places his own robe down before enveloping Wei Ying in his arms. They sit in silence for a while, sharing warmth, watching the first stars light up the night sky.

"You know, I haven't stargazed since I lived in the Burial Mounds."

Lan Zhan's hold on him tightens a little.

"It wasn't often. There were clouds most of the time, or a thick fog that hid even the sun and moon for days on end."

A smile. "But sometimes, it cleared up. I'd watch the stars for hours, wondering if it would be the last time I'd get to do it. I was so grateful whenever I got to do it next time. I even taught A-Yuan the constellations!"

Lan Zhan smiles, leaves a kiss on Wei Ying's forehead. "Mn. He still remembered them when I took him in. He does even now."

Silence falls between them again. Wei Ying admires the plethora of stars above, wonder and a certain type of grief in his eyes that Lan Zhan couldn't even hope to ever understand.

"There were no stars when I died." Wei Ying says, his voice small, "I remember I was staring up at the sky, I knew it was supposed to be nighttime... but I couldn't see them. I was so disappointed..."

Lan Zhan cups the side of his face and pulls him into a soft, slow kiss. This isn't something he knows how to respond to, so he tries to show Wei Ying he is there and loves him enormously instead. Wei Ying has told him before that's all he needs to do, and Lan Zhan is glad to do it.

When they finally separate, Wei Ying seems to feel a lot better. His eyes are no longer sad, and his lips are a healthy shade of red. Lan Zhan wants to make them even redder.

"Anyway, enough of me being depressing. Say, Lan Zhan, what would you wish for if you saw a shooting star right now?"

Lan Zhan kisses Wei Ying again, more forcefully this time. "You", comes the breathless answer.

"That's really hot, don't get me wrong, but now I feel bad." Wei Ying laughs. "Because personally I'd wish for some chilli."

Laughter escapes Lan Zhan before he knows it.

[kindheart525]

What do the Thirdverse Mane 6 couples do for their dates, when not preoccupied with work and their kids?

Twilight Sparkle x Sunburst: They have a sort of book club that’s just the two of them, where they both read a book and then take one or two days a month to write a thesis together on it. They get extremely passionate and in depth about it, with a number of papers easily exceeding 50 pages. I would imagine they publish some that they especially want the world to see but not always; it’s all in good fun as an intellectual bonding activity. It really brings them closer together as they engage in healthy debate and learn more from and about each other. Also they still love to go antiquing together just like in the show!

Applejack x Sugar Belle: They send the kids on a few days away with Big Mac or Apple Bloom and they take the kitchen to themselves for a baking weekend! It’s a passion both of them share and I think they’d spend the time not only discussing different recipes but also the goings on of their life and their personal values and whatnot. Much like when they were dating; it makes for a healthy and communicative relationship. The kids would certainly come home to tons of apple-flavored treats to enjoy (and even some with other flavors thanks to Sugar’s more varied palate)!

Rarity x Filthy Rich: Rarity would 100% love to take extravagant trips so she and Rich would absolutely go on a lot of those, distinct from obligatory travel for business or other high society commitments. They do bring their kids along, not wanting to leave them to miss out on any once-in-a-lifetime memories, but they hire a babysitter/nanny to come with them so they can reserve some of the itinerary for just the two of them. There are pretty much endless opportunities for what they could do together, depending on where they travel to. Rarity and Rich thrive on these experiences giving their relationship so much variety, but with how busy they are all the time, I imagine they’re also happy to spend a date night alone at home with wine and rose petals.

Rainbow Dash x Big Macintosh: I can see Big Mac loving nothing more than to lie back against a sturdy old tree and watch his radiant love perform dazzling tricks in the sky. Rainbow Dash loves the attention of course, knowing she’s admired so much for her talents, but I imagine she would also wish he could join her up there. Thus leading to her trying to carry him with her (she’s so strong yet so small - would she succeed?) or otherwise looking for some other way to get him up there. Big Mac would appreciate that even more than the stunts she performs, the fact she thought about him. If not that, they might race around with Dash flying through the trees and Big Mac running along with her, letting loose for some good lighthearted fun.

Fluttershy x Quibble x Pharynx: Nature hikes or weekend camping trips would be their favorite pastimes; they sometimes go with the kids and sometimes without. Fluttershy has lots of fun talking about all the fauna and flora while Quibble is enjoying learning new things, definitely taking notes along the way. All the while Pharynx is playfully joking about being their bodyguard, even going so far as to stand outside of the tent and keep watch at night. (I’ve recently developed the headcanon that only juvenile changelings need regular sleep and that adult changelings can stay up for days).

Pinkie Pie x Tempest Shadow x Luna: Since all three of them have a sense of humor in some way, I think they might enjoy lighthearted, harmless pranking sessions even as grown middle aged mares. Or they’d have dates at Sugarcube Corner, like Pinkie and Tempest before they became official, which holds even more meaning because Pinkie no longer lives there so it’s nostalgic for her. They would also love stargazing or watching fireworks (created by Tempest herself). Luna would love their nighttime dates the most, and she and Tempest would both find it adorable how enamored Pinkie gets with the colorful lights or how she always seems to find unexpected and unique constellations among the stars.