#reminder to be easy on yourself when learning something new oh best beloved

[asheurbanipal]

Hand in Unlovable Hand

Ao3

Summary:

It's a century after the events of the game. An Ascended Astarion and his most beloved spawn are now installed in the Crimson Palace, spawn flooding the walls of Baldur's Gate. The Vampire Lord rules with an iron fist, his consort in hand. Oh how mighty he must be to pull the leash of a child of Bhaal, of the once hero and terror of Baldur's Gate who destroyed the elder brain, who ended the grand design. Unless...he's not the one who actually wears the collar....

Baldur's Gate 3

Ascended Astarion/Resist Durge

Explicit

Words:2,873

One-shot

Content: Toxic Relationship, dub-con, reference to sexual violence, they're fucking villains y'all

I’m not sure that Astarion ever loved me. Not really. Not in any way that mattered. I would come to learn that love, true love, the kind that dragged its victims into death, was soft and delicate. Slow. We had simply never had the time. He had only just learned to walk in the sun when I found him on the beach. He was free of restraints for only as long as it took him to carve the infernal poem into Cazador’s back before he’d surrendered himself to a new master of his own making. I was born fresh anew from the tank on that nautiloid. I had only just regained my memories of my place in Bhaal’s service before I offered myself, naked, to Astarion’s will. Only just became myself again before giving it all away.

I might have loved Enver once. In whatever way I was capable of such things in those days. I felt a strange halo of…something…when I met him for the first time again at his coronation. Even when the flashes of my life returned, the weight of the more nuanced emotions behind them were overshadowed by rage at Orin’s betrayal. He was dead before I had the chance to relearn my feelings for him. 

And by then, I was Astarion’s, body and soul, and nothing else mattered. 

“Lover. Where have you got yourself to? Not out and about, I hope.” Astarion’s voice is sharp but lilting as it drifts up through the floors and corridors of the manor. Somehow I can always hear him no matter what. I don't understand the magic, but I accept it. 

“The balcony, darling.” It was an early addition to the Crimson Palace, a prominence off our shared bedroom from which to watch the city below. We were the first vampires to ever be able to take in the sun, and Astarion wanted to revel in it. For the first few decades, he would stand at the railing every sunrise, imposing his presence across the roofs of the city. The habit fell off when the city no longer needed reminding. Now it’s usually me that haunts it, tracing the patterns of the stars as they weave around the moon. 

Astarion’s hands drop around my shoulders then over my bare chest. His lips and the teeth underneath trace down my neck ever so slightly. He’s sticky with someone else’s insides, and I feel it drip down my back. His body presses closer, feeding his soft hands down into my calloused ones. 

“Waiting and naked. Just as I prefer.” His voice slithers and creeps, wrapping through me like catgut thread and cutting my insides apart. He says “prefer,” but after close to a century I know it’s “expect.” I can get away with being clothed to some degree, but were I not home when he expected me, I’d see some time locked away in a small dark place. It was something to Astarion’s credit that confinement is the best he can come up with when pressed. He doesn't have the guts for an actual beating or general bloodletting, and delegates such things if it's ultimately required. Killing, yes. He's quite fond of that, of course. It’s an easy way to be rid of problems. But death is barely a punishment. That’s something quickly learned with a father like mine.  

“Not completely,” I say, plucking at the square blanket I’ve laid across my lap to spare the public below from my indecency. 

“All the better. That way only I get the best bits.” One hand lifts from mine and ducks under the throw, going straight for the most sensitive part of me. I let him stroke up the length of me a few times, both of us knowing that it's little more than a greeting, not the prelude to anything more intimate. Not yet, anyway. The night is still young. It always is. 

“I have a present for you,” Astarion whispers.

“Is this a before or after bath present? Because yours is ready.” 

He perks in delight, then draws his lips against my ear. 

“You always do know how to treat me, pet. Come see what I’ve brought you.” His hand trails along my shoulders as he moves back into the bedroom, leaving behind a streak of hellfire along my skin. 

I already know what’s waiting for me as I pull a loose robe over my body, something I keep nearby for when my lover-master has been given his due greeting. The "gift" is certainly a pretty thing, long ginger-blond hair pulled up above his ears and dark horns stark against his dusk-red complexion. He’d been placed on the bench at the end of the bed, and he’s laced his fingers around his calves, knees brought up to his chest, tail wrapping around his crossed ankles. When he sees me, he moves to his feet, hands touching each other over his belly. His neck stretches, chin tilting down. He’s got the pale impression of old bite marks. Most of Baldur’s Gate does, at this point

“Lord Consort,” he breathes, voice deep despite its volume. The sound of water and a gentle, bereft humming suggests I can talk to him freely without Astarion bothering to eavesdrop. 

He’s my gift after all. 

“I understand the appeal of being a vampire’s favorite meal, but it was a piss-poor idea getting yourself picked up by on of the foot soldiers. You had to know they’d bring you to the palace.” And people don't leave from the palace so easily…at least not the same as they came in. 

“I thought I might secure myself an actual status of some sort. I’m starting to regret it, I’ll admit.” He looks around uneasily, but his body relaxes. That’s not entirely uncommon. When I speak to them like an equal they think I see them as one.

“What’s your name?” I ask. His eyes flash wide in surprise. Whoever gave him those healed scars hadn’t bothered with names. 

“Lokezer. Lok.”

I step forward, and touch his chest, gesturing him back down on the bench. There’s wine in the cabinet, and I find us something of a reasonable vintage for the occasion. Astarion is more natural at this part, but I make due with memorizing a list. 

“If you’re looking to become a consort to a foot soldier…well...I wouldn’t recommend it, for one. They’re animals. But I can provide some advice.” I hand him a glass, and he takes a sip without questioning it. 

“I had my sights set higher, actually.” Lok gazes around. “This room. I had hoped to see it someday.” He takes another sip. I haven’t had any of mine, and I set it back down on the table behind me. 

“If you think to get the attention of our Lord Astarion-“

“Not exactly.” It’s not a coy voice. Not seductive like spawn have grown accustomed to using. More matter-of-fact. I watch him stare at me over his wine glass for a moment. 

“Most people do well to avoid me all together.” In the early decades I was out among them in our city of spawn, an extension of Astarion’s hand around the heart of his people. Then I grew tired of being someone else’s knife and not my own. Tired of holding

back for the sake of our own grand design. Tired of existing as a ghost of what I was truly capable of. 

“There’s a rumor,” Lok says delicately. “That the reason the living still exist in the numbers they do along the sword coast is because of your influence.”

Now this is interesting. Abandoning my glass entirely, I sit on the bench next to him, maybe a hair’s breadth from the heat radiating off Lok’s body. 

“I’m not much for books or poetry. But I’m practical. If we fill the world with spawn, who will we eat? Astarion can see the truth in the pragmatic when presented.” The whole truth is trickier. More complex. Astarion doesn’t actually know how to plan and scheme in the long term. He’s driven by passion and lust. For two-hundred years, every waking moment was assigned to him. Despite his desire to rule the world with a vampire army, he didn’t actually know how when granted the power to do so. He still doesn’t. I do. I was the architect of both the rise and destruction of the Netherbrain. For better or ill, the state of the city and much of the coast is greatly in part my doing, in the end. Astarion just has the physical power and charisma to execute on my plans. 

Lok glances down through the dark red of the  wine, through the glass, to the floor at the end of the bed, staring a hole that could tear the castle in half. 

“My great grandfather said he knew you. Before all this.” He gestures with his thin, clawed fingers. I cast over him. How many of the grove tielfings settled in the city? How many of them would have stayed instead of fleeing immediately once the spawn started flooding it? I can only think of one.

“Is Rolan still alive?” I ask.

“He died a few years ago.”

“That’s a shame. I liked him.”

“He said that you offered to make him a spawn.” 

I feel my chest tighten. Even all these decades later, I remember the conversation clear as sunshine on the waterfront. I was trying to offer him a way out as the city began to turn. He could have been an early addition to the army. A senior foot soldier. He said he’d rather die. I told him I could oblige him that way, too, whenever he wanted. It was my specialty, after all; he only need say the word. It was the last I spoke to him in person. When he retired ownership of Sorcerer's Sundries, I lost track of him completely. I didn’t even know he had a familial line, much less that they remained in he city. He should have left when he had the chance.

“So curiosity got the better of you?” I ask. “You wanted to see the real monster at the heart of everything, and you were willing to risk getting drained for it?”

“I risk getting drained walking to the fruit stand too close to dusk. It’s part and parcel of living here. And even if I had the money to leave and start somewhere new, what’s to stop me from being dragged into the hells or turned into a mindflayer or ripped apart by shadow creatures? At least here, the danger is consistent, and I’ve gotten at least one chance to look my tormentor in the eye before I die.”

A sound of draining water suggests that Astarion is done. Our time alone is short. I snap his jaw up in my hand, turning his face to me forcefully.

“Your body’s going to be used in some way or another tonight, Lok. You had to know that.”

“I did…” he admits softly. 

“Then I’ll give you a choice. Quickly now.”

He gasps, gulping through his long neck. 

“I don’t want to die. And I don’t want to be a spawn. Not yet. I want more time.” 

“Alright.” And I grip his jaw tighter in my fingers. 

“Oh!” Astarion’s surprised voice is sharp in my ear, cracking the tension. “I just assumed I’d come out to guts scattered across the floor.” I feel Lok clench tight under by hand. 

“Oh, he’s too pretty for that,” I coo. “And he worked so hard to get this far. I thought I might play with him for a bit then kennel him. As long as you’ll permit it?” Astarion flutters to the bed, robe barely tied, exposing every beautiful line as he sits. 

“Of course, dearest. What kind of gift would it be, otherwise?” 

A pretty typical one for him, honestly. He lives to give just to take again. This time he seems more sincere. Lok’s deep brow grows tight, tense. Desperately questioning. Poor thing really thought there was some kind of softness in me. I appreciate the vote of confidence, at least. 

I’m not gentle on Lok. His optimism inspires me to at least try, at the start, to see if it's something I'm capable of. I know I must have been at some point, but whatever was left of that is gone. Long gone. 

He isn’t torn apart, at least. I let him live, allowing him that requested privilege. And he’s only actively bleeding from the puncture wounds on his neck and chest. The bruises won’t start showing up until tomorrow, and the one I thrust into the back of his throat is mild, at best. I even let Lok rest on the bed afterward, allowing him to curl up at the foot of it. 

“You held back,” Astarion sighs into my chest, hands running down my sides, kissing and nipping at my flesh. He likes to start slow, build up, pretend for a short while we’re something different than what we are.

“I’d like to get some uses out of him, but he seems more delicate than most. I don’t want to ruin him too fast.”

“Hm, you’re so clever.” He drops lower and sinks his teeth into my proffered inner thigh. I push the groan of pleasure down. Make Astarion work for it. He pulls back after a few quick drags, letting me free bleed on the bed as he lifts up to straddle me. “He made rather a scene when the foot soldiers brought him to me. Prostrating himself. Begging. ‘It would be my greatest honor to give my body in service to the Lord and his dread Consort.’ Cute as a button.”

“You usually drain them on the spot when they do that.”

“They don’t typically offer themselves to you, as well.” He crunches another bite into my shoulder, enjoying the feeling of a deep muscle puncture. I trace my fingers down the length of his spine slowly as he drinks in more of me. 

“So you wanted to see why. I get it. I’m afraid it’s not something terribly interesting. Just a touch of morbid curiosity. He's an odd little thing.” I think, truly, that he came here to die, but when faced with the practicalities of death, he recoiled. Retracted. Regretted. But a bit of mystery will keep Astarion from getting bored of having him around. Astarion pulls away, again, dragging my own blood across my body as he bends his face to my chest. 

“You’ll have to tell me when you’re done with him. He’d make a rather delightful spawn, I think. Pretty to look at. Eager to please.” Astarion hums in consideration. 

“Maybe. I’ll break him a bit, and find out.”

“I look forward to it.” This time he doesn’t bite, just lays his body across mine as though he were listening to a heartbeat I don’t have. “Why did you let me turn you?” His fingers dance across my clavicle. 

“Because I love you,” I respond automatically. 

“Yes, yes, of course.” He taps a bloody finger to my lips. “You could have left. You could have forced me out. All while still loving me. Yet you kneeled.” I sigh. He was going to use some manner of torture or another to get this out of me, and he was going to start with pouting. I would have preferred he go straight to sending me to the flayer. 

“I knew that once we got the tadpoles out, I would still be a child of Bhaal. I’d never really be free from him. I’m literal flesh of his flesh. So why not charge someone else with the keeping of my body?”

“You could have been free.”

“Maybe. Maybe I don’t really want to be free. Maybe I don’t know how to stand on my own two feet. Maybe I just prefer to be the vassal of someone I choose. Someone I love.”

“You do still love me,” he says.

“Of course,” I reply. Neither of us are sure if these are statements or questions.

After a few more deep bites, he pushes my knees to my chest to take what he wants from me. He isn’t gentle. He never is. It’s what I want. What I deserve. What I demand of him, my master. But for all his bite and snap, there always comes a pivotal moment. When on the rise to ecstasy, his knife pauses at my belly. When he hesitates to sink it into my flesh no matter how I beg for it. He sets the blade aside under some pretense of disinterest or denial of my pleasure. Pretends its his will that my innards remain in their home. The truth is he can’t do it. He never will. Because he never actually does his own dirty work. He hasn’t the stomach for it.

His sadism will never match my masochism. 

And in that gap is where the truth lies. He needs me more than I need him. And when I’m done being his, when eternity grows too long, too stretched…I will simply end it all. 

If I’m kind, I’ll take him with me. 

[electricbluebutterflies]

jessleto + “Touch yourself.” 🫡🫡

"Actually not dead" canon-divergent AU continuity, vaguely nsfw, also on ao3.

It occurs to Jessica that she might not be questioning her current circumstances as much as she probably should.

To have her lover come back from the dead is… not beyond the realm of possibility, she will give it that, but what details he gives her are so mundane and the few days surrounding the attack such a blur in his version of events and-

Stranger things than this have happened, she reminds herself, but the worry remains.

She watches carefully for days, for anything that might seem off. She has known him half of her life and closer than anyone else ever got to her knowledge, and there is nothing new that cannot be explained by circumstances. A few scars he did not have the last time she saw his skin and a story behind each, and they have both done what they had to do to survive, and-

Perhaps she’s just being paranoid. Perhaps this really is a miracle.

Still, she sleeps lighter than usual, and she does not have the needle-thin knives she once hid in the seams of her dresses, and she worries and she waits, and-

They are in her space here, perhaps close to nightfall but it is harder to keep track of time as deep in the catacombs as she has been placed, when she breaks.

She has learned not to cry on this barren planet as she once did, but the rest of her distress is still visible, heavy breathing and flitting eyes and-

“Is something wrong?” her beloved asks, and she hears what is not said too, his first thought that something might be wrong with the child cocooned inside her and-

(It has occurred to her all too often that her daughter might be getting the wrong idea about the dynamic that created her, but that is a problem for years down the line, for-)

“You returned to me and I still question it,” Jessica murmurs. “You have done everything right and I still-“

“Does something make you-“

“You of all people should know better than to-“

“Forgive me for hoping your paranoia might have dropped a few notches.”

Oh, if anything she’s gotten worse since they’ve been apart, nothing like an apparently temporary widowhood to make one realize just how much one actually relies on one’s partner for emotional stability and-

“I cannot believe such an ending for us after everything-“

“Do you not want?”

She does, she wants to say, she had six months of haunted dreams and she has been so much calmer in these recent days but oh the things she had to become and she is still unsure-

“I have had vivid dreams before. Perhaps this is just another. Perhaps-“

And that is a best-case scenario, she thinks but does not say. If this is something more dangerous, it is unusually patient, but-

“What would convince you otherwise?”

She is uncertain, and she hates to admit such a state, and-

An idea occurs to her, perhaps not ideal but the best she can do under the circumstances. They have attempted intimacies but the state of her body has been distracting; she has yet to get a decent look at him, and-

“Undress for me, please. Let me see what is mine.”

He gives her a questioning look but complies after a few heartbeats. If there is an advantage to their circumstances it is that there are less layers to deal with; in the months to come, if they are still here (please let them not still be here), it will be much easier to undo each other in the quiet of night, and as it is-

She circles him, first assessing with her eyes. She knows his body as her own, or at least she did; some of the lines have changed in their separation, structure adapted to a more physical life, questions she will not ask and-

She runs a fingertip up his spine and feels him respond to her touch. It was always so easy to make him want her before, she never had to do much, and time was kind, and-

“Do you trust me?” she breathes.

He turns his head to look at her, and another questioning look but the bond they have built is not for nothing and-

“Completely, my storm.”

“Continue.”

She stands behind him, looks over his shoulder at the beauty of him. It has been some time since she’s had this, even before tragedy struck; their intimacies were always easier for her in the dark, familiarity combined with lower odds of a comment about the sight of her and she knows he always meant well and-

He wants her. She has barely done anything and his body still responds to her presence. And she is in no state to do anything about it, responsibilities be damned, and-

“Touch yourself. I… I cannot-“

She could find a way, at least with her own hands, but she will keep the fragility of her condition, and-

There are still new things between them, she thinks as she watches him take his prick in hand. She has never asked for… this was not their way, before, and she knows she kept him sated, and-

It is pleasing to see that he is as deliberate and cautious with his own body as he is with hers. There is no need to do this quickly, and from her current position she sees what she wants to see, slow movements and the ache of him and in another life-

In this one, she turns her head and kisses the curve of his neck and feels how that changes his breathing, and her own warmth pools between her thighs and she will do nothing with it, and-

Her arms wrap around his waist, and she wants him wants this wants-

“Do you mean to torture me?” he breathes.

“Only to make sure needs are met, beloved. This does please me, and-“

“You are rarely so-“

“Perhaps I have also been reborn,” she murmurs.

She traces patterns on his skin and this is the opposite of what they usually do, and she feels his body tense and his movements change and-

He falls apart into his hands with her name on his lips, and she finds the confirmation she needs in the aftershocks, desire-struck eyes and-

“What memory did you use?” she asks when she assumes he can speak again.

“If I say not anything specific…”

“That does make me more curious, but-“

“I have had nearly twenty years of the warmth of you, it is impossible to-“

She moves around him and takes a kiss, and she will apologize later if need be, and-

“Is it alright if I become… more assertive, in our spaces?”

“If you were to do what I have always hoped for? Of course.”

“You have wanted…?”

“Sometimes it is hard to tell with you. The line between delight and obligation is always-“

“You know how long it’s been since I’ve had trouble denying you, and-“

“There were still times… it doesn’t matter. If we are made new, and you are more confident…”

“Six months apart may have made me-“

“I will love you regardless of how you change, but-“

She feels her emotions break again, and she would cling if not for the state of him, and instead she moves to find a cloth and oh she did not think this plan through and-

“As I you,” she murmurs. “Although it is in my favor that you have changed so little. I have never… you do not know how awful things were without the stability of you and-“

“I would hope better than they were for me, but-“

“Horrific,” she breathes, returning to him and taking another kiss. “I would prefer for that to never happen again, but-“

“I am unsure if I can promise you so much, but-“

“Try for me.”

[theotheroccassionalfanficwriter]

Heyhey! I think the cryo archon chlde one. Sorry for not being specific. Thank you

It's okay anon! No problem! This one has no smut and more murder couple and politics. I had fun writing this, thinking about how could you get kidnapped under lock and key and realized that it could only happen if it was allowed to so ta-da!

CW: descriptions of cruelty and gore.

The curse words, in order, are: bitch and whore

--

In a Quiet Lagoon, Devils Dwell

Summary: It was easy to forget that there was more to the Cryo Archon's face than a besotted husband and loving father. It was easier to forget that the beloved Tsaritsa was a dutiful Harbinger.

For all of Tartaglia’s meticulousness, he was not infallible as his worshippers made him to be. You knew that there were times he could be blindsided by things he didn’t take into consideration. As his wife, you took it upon yourself to ensure to cover for his blind spots, both in the battlefield and in running Snezhnaya. It required meticulous planning from both him and yourself, to ensure that the work would not interfere with your family’s life.

Tartaglia and his harbingers dealt with Snezhnaya’s foreign relations and problems. You dealt with the domestic problems; spies and dissidents that partnered with the Abyss Order, the occasional gods that wanted to dethrone Tartaglia, and on very rare occasions, traitors.

You cocked your head as you observed the room you were held in. Fine furnishings and lavish interior designs that were popular among the upper middle nobility of Snezhnaya. You were glad that your beloved son was with Tartaglia since it meant that you’d be able to get information out of this.

‘Well, at least before this reaches his ears’ You thought as you dreaded the bloodbath that would await you once this was over.

You stood up from the bed, gauging your current strength and frowning at the visible after effects of the drug.

“How troublesome”

You couldn’t locate your vision at your person, you applauded your captors for being thorough in that regard but pitied them for their worthless effort. You wobbled as you slowly walked around the room, inspecting the decors and checking out the windows. The door was locked with magic, you could tell with a cursory glance that the magic was intricate and would result into a backlash if opened with brute force.

‘Smart’ you praised them.

You moved to the windows and found the same magic. You sighed at the minor inconvenience this put you through. You could only forlornly stare at the white expanse of snow that was outside your window. The scenery was familiar to your eyes but its name eluded you.

‘And I wanted to welcome him when he returned.’

You sighed once more. Hoping that your captors would show themselves soon, you wouldn’t want to waste an opportunity to do some spring cleaning after all.

--

The moment Tartaglia returned to Zapolyarny Palace, the entire capital of Snezhnaya had drowned in his frosty wrath. He barely restrained himself from plunging the entire nation into frost, the thought of his darling son fearing him had kept him mostly sane. Pulcinella had taken his son away from the crime scene, a wise choice for the Harbinger if he wanted to keep on breathing.

Tartaglia could tell that the guards and maids stationed in your wing were all shaking. He spared no thought for them, postponing their inevitable demise for the kidnapping of his beloved wife.

“Your majesty” Dottore called from behind him.

Tartaglia kept on investigating the crime scene, scouring every detail so as to not miss any possible leads.

“The maids and guards have been questioned” Dottore reported, steeling himself to the cold hard stare of his Archon. Being subjected to it was suffocating, and he wondered how you could maintain eye contact with the Tsar when he was like this.

“I trust that you’ve brought me good news?”

The calmer Tartaglia was, the more pressure Dottore felt. His archon was fickle at best and volatile at worst. Most myths that surrounded him were almost never far from the truth and Dottore had no want nor need to be used as an example.

“Almost” He answered, “While we’ve yet to determine who is behind this attack we’ve narrowed down the list from the means used and there is ample reason to believe that the Tsaritsa has not been harmed.”

The silence was deafening. Dottore couldn’t wait to get out of Tartaglia’s warpath, seclude himself in his lab and experiment on the fools who had let this happen.

“Throw everyone stationed in this wing in the dungeons. Zapolyarny Palace will be in lock down” Tartaglia ordered as he moved out of your marital room and headed towards his former wing.

Dottore hastened to follow from behind, awaiting further orders now that the Tsar had made his move.

“Bring back everyone who entered and left the Palace. Those foolish nobles must have forgotten their place.”

For all of Tartaglia’s genial smiles and affable personality, it shouldn’t be forgotten that he was a man born to fight. One of the three archons from the original seven. A god who could stand toe to toe in the battlefield with Morax.

“As you command!” Dottore replied, face grim and yet he could not hide the excitement in his eyes. He had heard rumors, stories about the days when the entirety of the Snezhnayan ancient noble houses were almost culled in a blood bath.

There was no clear reason on why it had happened and no one dared to ask. But the one detail that remains in every iteration of the story was that the blood from those nobles were the reason for the odd patterns on the low parts of the wall of old establishments within the capital. Patterns that oddly resembled blood stains when seen from a certain angle.

--

You hummed as you saw the snow storm picking up from outside, a visible sign that Tartaglia had already learned your disappearance. You remained at your position by the window, back turned to the door as you listened to the rushing footsteps that were getting closer.

‘I do hope they can amuse me’ You thought just as the doors banged open behind you.

“How did you contact the Tsar?!”

‘Oh~ so it was them?’ You thought with mild amusement, you didn’t bother turning around to greet them.

“Is that the proper tone to use when speaking to your Tsaritsa?” You mocked them, eyes watching their angry face from the window’s reflection.

Behind you was the Count Potemkin, current head of the ancient noble House of Potemkin. Standing beside him was one of your former fiancé candidates, the heir apparent, Matvei.

“Answer me, you disgusting Сука!” Potemkin cursed making his way towards you.

You slowly turned around, a smile on your face just as he reached out to grab you. Before he could even breach your personal space his hand was pierced by ice protruding from the ground. He screamed in agony, clutching his arms as he squealed like a pig.

“Gosh, would you lower your voice? It’s unbecoming for such an ancient bloodline to act like an animal” You chastised as you took a step back and observed the damage.

“Ah, what a shame, I didn’t break your wrist at all” You commented as if you had not precisely calculated to pierce his hand through the most excruciating way.

“You Блять! Let my father go!” Matvei cursed as he struggled on his restraint “You’re no match for our family’s knights!”

You blinked at his words, tilting your head to the side, as if considering his words. He smirked on seeing your action, “That’s right! Even if you’re a harbinger you’re still just one person!”

“Would you stop squealing like a pig? It’s been minutes now, you should have gotten used to the pain!” You turned around to shut Count Potemkin’s mouth. Ice formed on his mouth, starting from the tongue and making its way outwards.

“Ah~ That’s better!” You ignored the pale looks from the father and son, “If you behave, I might just let you keep your mouth but if your son keeps on pissing me off…”

You trailed off, maintaining eye contact with the Count. Your eyes were filled with malice and sadism, “My hand will slip and blow your brains out~”

You smiled, sweet and disgustingly vile as you made your way to the couch and sat in it. The snow storm outside had turned stronger, hail fell through the skies, mixing with the rapidly falling snow. Just from that alone, you could tell that your time to wring out information from them was running out.

“What reason did you have to attempt something as stupid as this?” You asked as you formed ice shards that floated on top your fingertips.

Matvei remained silent.

“Not talking anymore?” Every move of your body was designed to mock them, a display of power that showed how easy it was for you to trample upon them, “I just remembered, the Count was raising his precious daughter outside wasn’t he? A pretty blonde child with green eyes…”

Matvei flinched and stared at you in horror, dread pooling in the pits of his stomach as you spoke,

“Inessa Yakova Potemkin” You laughed softly, “No wonder the Countess died of anger, her dear stupid husband had acknowledge his bastard child, sent her to the palace to be a handmaiden.”

“Imagine what kind of face the Tsar would make if he knew how the Potemkin family insulted me by sending an illegitimate child as a handmaiden” Your ice changed its shape into a dagger, “Even if House Potemkin is an ancient bloodline, it doesn’t erase that your house is lower than my duchal household.”

Matvei screamed in pain as your dagger cleanly sliced off his left ear. You smiled at them coldly, “Start speaking, you should know by now that any resistance would only lead to a painful death...I can’t guarantee your darling sister would be spared from it either.”

In another life, you wouldn’t threaten another’s family. You would have shown mercy but this wasn’t that life. You were the Tsar’s wife, a Harbinger, and most of all the child of Snezhnaya’s strongest ducal house. A slight against you was a slight against everything you stood for.

“Time’s running” You reminded Matvei.

“We couldn’t let you threaten the Tsar’s power! You’re Lord Pulcinella’s niece, a child of House Yusupov. We needed to remove you from the seat of power, at first we planned to get rid of your child but all of our attempts were foiled.”

Another dagger found its way to his thigh. He screamed in pain, wet stain growing on his crotch and you clicked your tongue in disdain.

“Please that’s all we know!”

This time blood spurted out from his father’s left shoulder, some of it landing on you, some on the table in front of you. You didn’t flinch, merely wiping the blood that landed on your face with your gloved hand.

“Father!”

“Let’s do this again, shall we?” You smiled.

“I-I really don’t-”

Spikes of ice burst out from his right thigh.

“Duke Izmaylov! It was him who planned all of this! Duchess Tolstoy funded the operations! Please spare me!”

“How disappointing” You sighed as you made his father’s eyes burst.

You sneered in disgust as Matvei vomited on the marble tiles in front of him. You looked up as you heard heavy footsteps and the sounds of scream echoing beyond the open doors. Moments later, Tartaglia was visibly walking towards you from the other end of the hallway.

“Ah. Time’s up.”

You stood up from the couch and made your way towards your husband, the Tsar, Tartaglia. His cold eyes melted and looked upon you with relief, his hands patted your body, looking for non-existent injuries. You let him do as he pleased, both of you ignoring the dying count and the vomiting Matvei.

“I came as fast as I could” Tartaglia burrowed his face on your neck, ignoring the discomfort from the height difference between the two of you “I thought I’ve lost you.”

You felt your heart ache at his tone, your arms automatically hugging him in comfort, laying a soft kiss to his cheek as you spoke, “I’ll make sure that will never happen.”

You signaled the Fatui waiting behind him to start rounding up the two.

“We’ll have to clean up Two ducal households and five Countdoms” You reported as you gently and comfortably let Ajax’ hand settle on your waist as he led you out of the mansion.

“I’ll handle that. You should take a rest with Teucer, our son was worried today.” Ajax replied as softly as he could but the tenseness had yet to fade away.

You leaned further into his embrace, “Mhm. By the way, the insider was Inessa, you should get rid of all the staff that had a relationship with her. It wouldn’t do if one of her lovers got the idea to avenge her.”

“As you wish.”

--

Three months later the public bore witness to a new cruelty of the Cryo Archon. At Krasnaya Square, a stage was set up, in it were the shackled and chained members of several noble households. Some from the ancient noble houses, and the others from the new nobles.

Tartaglia had intentionally spread the news of your capture and subsequent rescue. He wanted to make a show of power, one you approved of, if only to ensure that his plans for world domination and eventual downfall of Celestia would run smoothly.

Teucer, your 5 yr old son, sat on your lap watching the proceedings from the balcony area. The two of you were surrounded by Fatui guards, new ones. The entire area was secured and security was tight, there was no way a rescue for the condemned would occur.

Tartaglia had made sure of that.

“Close your eyes, dearest” You whispered to your son’s ears.

From below, all of the traitors had blood bursting out of their heads, spikes protruding from the inside of their brains as Pulcinella finished declaring their crimes and their sentence. You hummed a soft tune as Teucer asked, “Mamochka, can I open my eyes now?”

“Not yet dearest, not until Papa comes back.”

You gazed down at the crowd, watching as they rejoiced at the culling before your eyes were drawn at the corner. You smiled at the familiar blonde hair of Inessa, your eyes merciless as she stared at you with hatred.

'Ah, how she must have looked like once she realize all of it was a sham~'

You waved at the crowd from the balcony, pleased that the nobles would now learn to step back in line. You felt your husband’s stare and gave him a loving look.

“Mamochka?”

You sighed in fond exasperation, you figured that he could look now that the bodies were being carted away, “You can open them now, give Papa and the rest a good wave okay?”

Teucer did as you said, more cheers erupting from the crowd upon seeing their beloved Tsarevich waving at them. From his position below, Ajax smiled warmly at the sight of his family being safe and sound. The sun shined brightly in Snezhnaya’s eternal winter.

An auspicious sign from their Cryo Archon.

[edenmemes]

assassin’s creed valhalla starters

words within ‘()’ are additional, optional choices! more maybe to be added at a later date. some n/sfw present. 

❝ you should see the other man. he got the worst of it. ❞   ❝ and who better to lead us to glory than me? ❞ ❝ i am most at home helping others. ❞       ❝ i’ve waited long enough for you, and you for me. ❞   ❝ thank you for not saying anything about my past. ❞       ❝ know that however far away, you’re always in my thoughts. ❞   ❝ when you see your god, tell them i sent you. ❞   ❝ what you make up in muscles, you’re lacking in spine. ❞   ❝ i almost envy you, to see the world through such a muddy glass and live with such petty concerns. ❞   ❝ i smell the stink of a dozen kingdoms in your beard. ❞   ❝ this feud is not yours, yet you fight it all the same. i find that strange. ❞   ❝ by the look on your face, you have lost your will to live. ❞   ❝ my arms are numb from battle. does it need any dressing?    do you think it is a serious wound? ❞   ❝ oh dear. this is not how i foresaw things. not at all! ❞   ❝ should we take this to your chamber? ❞   ❝ i want this. i want you. ❞   ❝ turn around, walk away, and you keep your insides inside. ❞   ❝ stay back! back! i will fight you! ❞   ❝ you look like reddened shit. what happened? ❞   ❝ i have always wanted to experience the world as you do. ❞   ❝ you come like a valkyrie out of a fog. but i have no dead to give you. ❞   ❝ all right, stay close and do as i do. ❞   ❝ home. or...it was home, once. now it is nothing but bone. ❞   ❝ i’ll have no qualms wiping clean your grin. ❞   ❝ just take care. such hatred can make you careless. ❞   ❝ away from your table for a day and you are already lusting for blood. ❞   ❝ if i did not know any better, i would say you are teasing me. ❞   ❝ the dream of new lands is a powerful lure. ❞   ❝ i love climbing up here. makes me feel as high as a raven. ❞   ❝ if i don’t find your horse, i will steal you a new one. ❞   ❝ i feel somewhat trapped. in this room, in this settlement, in this life. ❞   ❝ you are lost in a sea-storm of your own making. ❞   ❝ the poet in you sings once again. ❞   ❝ tonight, we will eat and drink like gods and wake in a kingdom made new. ❞   ❝ i wish i understood you better. for those i do not understand, i do not trust. (and i cannot stomach a lack of trust.) ❞ ❝ i’ve been called worse. ❞   ❝ you have nothing to fear from me. i bear you no ill will. ❞   ❝ you are a shadow of your father. weak and witless. ❞   ❝ what is this? is this...are we in hell? ❞   ❝ keep company with kings and you will soon have a crown of your own. ❞   ❝ a toothless cub may grow to be a dangerous wolf. ❞   ❝ you are far too young to speak so wise. ❞   ❝ i need clear, sound judgement. i need you. ❞   ❝ kind and courageous people live the best lives, but it can be a difficult path to keep. ❞ ❝ i want to say...i love you. and i have for some time. ❞ ❝ you smell that? the stink of jealousy. (of our budding friendship, i think). ❞   ❝ ah, while i have you, i’m reminded...i have this for you. ❞   ❝ your lies are just like you. big and bold. ❞   ❝ don’t excuse yourself. you enjoy this too much. ❞   ❝ you've come back. why are you wasting your time with me? ❞   ❝ care to sing a song? helps me pass the time. ❞   ❝ that is twice you have earned my admiration. ❞   ❝ you have only the setting sun to tell you when to stop. ❞   ❝ i want to know what you know. name your price. ❞   ❝ people like you deserve something worse than death. ❞   ❝ they called me a lout, a disgrace. they were right. ❞   ❝ i will have to get used to watching the sights of war from afar now. ❞   ❝ there’s no other way. fight or hide. it’s up to you. ❞   ❝ do not think me a coward. i am not afraid of war. ❞   ❝ friendships end. often at the point of a spear. ❞ ❝ i will make you beg as your father begged. ❞   ❝ (until that time,) it would be best to keep all discussions about...    about us to yourself. ❞ ❝ without you i would have lost my way a thousand times. ❞   ❝ you have no other friends. so tread lightly here. ❞   ❝ be it a blessing or a curse, family is always first. ❞   ❝ let’s not walk too far with that idea. i need you right where you are. ❞   ❝ you bested me. yet, i’m the one left standing. ❞   ❝ it’s a pleasure to meet you at least. ❞   ❝ you and your people here have done more for me than i could ever repay. ❞   ❝ you have my highest respect, regard, and trust. ❞   ❝ you’re not shy, are you? ❞   ❝ if we do this, you’ll earn the right to call me friend ten-thousand fold. ❞   ❝ does this have the stench of betrayal to you? ❞ ❝ today has meant so much. we rode, we fought, we drank, we laughed. (you showed me your world.) ❞       ❝ your end was written the moment you came for me. ❞   ❝ i am a sellsword. i ask what i please, and i take what i’m owed. ❞ ❝ you move and i will take your eyes. you hear me? ❞   ❝ i will leap first. on my word, you must follow. ❞   ❝ many times i wished to tell you. wished to say what was in my heart and what i desired. (but duty kept me from it.) ❞   ❝ these wounds will heal quickly. you’re lucky. ❞   ❝ anything to help you feel at home. ❞   ❝ our friendship is the best thing to come from this mess. ❞   ❝ you will be remembered for this, for years to come. ❞   ❝ i thought i had lost you. for good this time. ❞   ❝ you have shown me a great kindness. it is only fitting that i do the same. ❞   ❝ the mess you’re in...you don’t know the half of it. ❞   ❝ you have drawn a dark conclusion about me, haven’t you? (that is all well and good. i’ve drawn some about you as well.) ❞   ❝ you seem...strangely familiar. ❞   ❝ here i am, an upright man who never once learned how to bend the knee. and yet...i shall try. ❞ ❝ that’s a bread knife. do you mean to butter me? ❞   ❝ is that not something you worry over? ❞   ❝ a blind pursuit of vengeance has made you predictable. ❞   ❝ no matter where you are, or how far you travel, i will hunt you down. ❞   ❝ i came for you, looking for a friend and ally. ❞   ❝ people change.    it may be that you change with them, or you go your separate ways. ❞   ❝ i wish you whatever peace you may find in this new life you’ve found. ❞   ❝ i want your word: you will follow my orders. ❞   ❝ the day is new, and the air is bracing. are you ready for the fight ahead? ❞   ❝ er...good to meet you as well? ❞   ❝ what riches are worth so much misery, and the deaths of honorable men and women? ❞   ❝ my destiny is mine to weave. ❞   ❝ my road forward has been a muddy one. slick with blood and tears. (but we can reach its end together.) ❞   ❝ it is a wise leader who considers the needs of others. ❞   ❝ i think my mouth has gotten me in enough trouble today. ❞   ❝ at the end of all things, you will find yourself with nothing but your regrets. ❞   ❝ you saw fit to keep me guessing through your fits of madness. ❞   ❝ by all the gods, what was that? ❞   ❝ i was...restless. a quiet walk alone clears the head. ❞   ❝ when winter is past, summer will come and wind you in a flowered skirt, for you are beauty and shall not wither. ❞   ❝ ...unless you had a more interesting day planned for us? ❞   ❝ i do hope you see it now, for all you have done for me. ❞   ❝ your passion, your strength. i have never met such a burning soul. ❞   ❝ i have no guilt nor regret for what we have done, but we should be careful. ❞   ❝ i see before me a person full of passion, vigor, and a love for their people. ❞   ❝ if i wanted to hear you talk shit, i’d cut out your tongue and shove it up your ass. ❞   ❝ you! you look stronger than most of the others. ❞   ❝ your hatred for me burns bright. i could warm my balls on it. ❞   ❝ you’re quite like your arms: incredibly thick. ❞   ❝ i fought as i do, as hard as i do, to survive. (for i know what awaits us in the end. only darkness.) ❞   ❝ a shameful trick. you are your father’s child. ❞   ❝ you destroyed my life. i will take yours. ❞   ❝ you snore a little, like a wounded bear. ❞   ❝ that’s when i knew i would live and die for you. ❞   ❝ i’m going to pretend your last words were taken by the wind. ❞   ❝ i might still kill you yet, if your prattling doesn’t cease. ❞   ❝ you are weak like your father was weak. (you dance better than you fight.) ❞   ❝ have you ever seen muscles as massive as mine? ❞   ❝ i’m honored by your faith in me. and your confidence. ❞   ❝ after my missteps, i worry what you must think of me. ❞   ❝ with so much blood in the water and death in the air, i’d like to know your name and purpose. ❞ ❝ i have a good feeling about this place. ❞   ❝ you helped me reclaim what i had lost in myself. ❞       ❝ you speak of honor. where’s yours? ❞       ❝ you will throw away all reason to defend what you sworn to. ❞       ❝ you really are like a hero out of folk tales. ❞       ❝ how much would you sacrifice to be freed of fate’s shackles? (would you give your tongue, your hand, your sight?) ❞   ❝ there’s no power strong enough to do what you say. ❞       ❝ please, you must fight for me.    who knows what vile people might come to harm me? ❞   ❝ i have no need to count my kills. they number too many. ❞   ❝ i appreciate you for all of your qualities. ❞ ❝ not even the gods can change fate. ❞       ❝ i think it is time i take my leave. ❞ ❝ you really thought my life was in danger? (and you risked your own life...) ❞ ❝ the path ahead is bright, with glory at its end. ❞ ❝ it is easy to lose one's way on the road to glory. do not let false victories blind you to what is true. ❞ ❝ the act of leaving so beloved a home, there is a sadness to it. ❞       ❝ so there’s nowhere...you call home? ❞   ❝ all things end. ruins are not a warning, they are a testament. ❞   ❝ be nice to sleep in a real bed when this is over. ❞   ❝ in my sleep i dream. and in my dreams i see an end to the doom that will grip the earth once again. ❞   ❝ even when we win, we lose. ❞   ❝ i am as good with my lips, as i am with my tongue. ❞   ❝ is this your idea of a pleasant ride through the country? ❞   ❝ no whispering god brought me here. i brought myself. ❞   ❝ i would like very much to pass some time with you. ❞   ❝ ...and that’s how i got that scar. ❞   ❝ do i now haunt your dreams? ❞   ❝ it was never in their character to lead, it was always within yours. ❞   ❝ so easily wounded by words. imagine the ruin my axe would inflict on your flaccid ego. ❞   ❝ i have felt this way for some time now. i care for you. ❞   ❝ i have not felt safe since then. not really. ❞   ❝ how long have you been chasing me? seventeen winters? eighteen? ❞   ❝ you are not always to be trusted. your passions overcome you. ❞   ❝ i like you. you may help me here or step on me...and by the look of you i’d welcome either. ❞   ❝ it is good to have you in this fight. ❞   ❝ you need only know my impressive scale and flawless build. ❞   ❝ i am better than any man here. ❞   ❝ i can tell by looking at you, you are not a great warrior. (you know it too, there is no reason to deny this.) ❞   ❝ i am looking for honor, and have become lost as a result. ❞   ❝ many apologies. you are no child, simply a frail and fully-grown fool. ❞   ❝ i was stupid, selfish, reckless, blind, boneheaded, and i smell like blood and shit. ❞ ❝ anything to say for the mess you led us to? ❞   ❝ how was your...first kill? ❞   ❝ you squirm like that and my axe will miss your neck! unpleasant for both of us. ❞   ❝ i know you would defy me to the death, fighting for a glorious end.     that i will not allow. ❞   ❝ most men choose to be loud or stupid. impressive, that you managed both. ❞   ❝ you are a great warrior. conquerer of this land and that of your birth. ❞   ❝ you’re chasing shadows like a madman howling at the moon! ❞   ❝ quite a hit you took. how many were lost? ❞   ❝ well fought! even if your wits were somewhat rattled. ❞   ❝ we suffered no losses in this fight, and the men who humiliated us are dead. what is there to say? ❞   ❝ i would like to be close to you. ❞   ❝ if you are a warrior with honor running like sunlight in your veins, then you may help me fulfill my destiny. ❞ ❝ you are a long way from any warm hearth, warrior. Is this where you call home? ❞ ❝ am i to go the rest of my days without love or attention? i think not. ❞   ❝ the gods favor you. they always have. ❞   ❝ the others, they are like clubs. blunt and ungainly, you are nimble, like a knife. ❞   ❝ people with eyes that gleam like yours are always up to something more. ❞   ❝ only a fool stays awake all night worrying. you are tired when you get up, and the problem is still not solved. ❞   ❝ i liked you from the first. i saw something in you that captivated me. (as if a forgotten memory of an old friendship had suddenly resurfaced.) ❞   ❝ you've done nothing but give me your blind word! ❞   ❝ did you bring me any treasure? ❞ ❝ the woodsmoke from your firepit does sting the eyes. but the warmth is welcome. ❞ ❝ it is not something i can speak on. or wish to. ❞ ❝ i'm with you. only say the word. ❞ ❝ until we cut off this serpent's head, it will poison us, day by day, drop by drop. ❞ ❝ get some rest and return here at first light. ❞ ❝ i missed having you at my side. how i wished i could have taken you along on my travels. ❞ ❝ i do not like this, but i will not stop you. ❞ ❝ i have waited too many years for this day. when ___ stands before us, give me the final blow. ❞ ❝ why do you carry such a useless burden? let it go. ❞ ❝ i have waited years for this, but i will not risk losing it through rashness. ❞ ❝ i cannot fathom your game. you are either a young fool...or deceptively wise. ❞ ❝ your confidence blinds you to so much in plain sight. ❞   ❝ it’s good to be here, with you and your people. (i feel my life has found a new road.) ❞   ❝ there has always been war, even among the gods. ❞       ❝ my honor has been stained. until it's wiped clean, i want nothing else. ❞ ❝ i lack the patience for pole fishing. i would have better luck with my bow. ❞   ❝ if we tell all our stories, we’ll be here for a week. ❞ ❝ can you teach me the art of archery? ❞   ❝ bury the past. build the future. ❞       ❝ i missed you. your clear head and your courage. (we have not had enough of both in recent months.)   ❞   ❝ i have a good feeling this war is near its end. ❞ ❝ explain in plain words why you have willfully disobeyed my commands. (do you mock me?) ❞   ❝ the gods favor you. they always have. ❞   ❝ my love for you rises tall and strong, like the tree of life. ❞   ❝ the prize is some of my time. (a walk in nature, maybe more if that is where our conversation takes us.) ❞ ❝ together, we are unstoppable. ❞ ❝ it is natural to fear change. to resist it. (but all things change, and all things end.) ❞ ❝ you said nothing of this to me, not a word. ❞ ❝ so long as men and women fight to secure honor and freedom, their allegiance hardly matters to me. ❞ ❝ i care for you. i do not know how to say it any other way. ❞   ❝ love can burn brighter near death. ❞ ❝ i knew this would be difficult, but sometimes the weight bears down heavily. ❞ ❝ you are young and still foolish, so i will spare you your life. (but cross me again or harm anyone i cherish, and you will join your friends in hell.)   ❞ ❝ if you are as brave as you appear, you will come. ❞ ❝ this is not a natural quiet. it's as if a curse has befallen this place. ❞ ❝ there was a curse here long before i came along. ❞ ❝ we’ll forge a warrior from your softness, hammered on the anvil of war. ❞ ❝ you are different than the kind my flights of fancy attract. burdened, decorated and…delicate. ❞ ❝ i do not know what else to say. m-my memories are faint, hazy. ❞ ❝ how are you doing? you survived a serious blow. ❞   ❝ we’ll weave our sagas together, thread upon thread. ❞ ❝ i try to use my knowledge to help others. i am only a threat to those who fear the unknown. ❞   ❝ slap some moss on that gash and wrap it well. ❞   ❝ a knife to the back is a wound that never heals. ❞       ❝ with me you have wisdom! glory! power! what more do you need? ❞       ❝ if your hell is real, i’m glad you’ll get to see it. ❞   ❝ to fight beside such legends is an honor. (i've only heard tales of your conquests. now i get to live them.) ❞   ❝ i have tried to live well. it is enough that the gods know that. ❞ ❝ a cloud hangs over you. is something wrong? ❞   ❝ you have plunged my city into chaos. ❞   ❝ my sword is gore-greedy. i am ready to fight. ❞   ❝ accept your fate and die a coward, here before your people... and i will spare the rest. ❞   ❝ you would take the rescue for yourself, so the victory song is written about you? ❞   ❝ kneel, and i will spare your life. ❞   ❝ it has been some time. what brings you so far to see me? ❞

[straydawg-writing]

𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦.

- 𝓚. 𝙯𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙮𝙘𝙠

• hunter x hunter series

⋯✰⋯

Chapter 2–

You knew that if anyone outside of this car saw you right now, you might just pass away. To put it simply: You were sitting on Killua's lap.

All because Kite's truck only fit seven people.

The way this predicament came about would have been comical if it weren't for your burning embarrassment. Unfortunately, you could remember very clearly how it all unfolded:

"Hmm, it seems that there aren't enough seats for all eight of us, so one person will have to squish in," Kite said, opening the car door to check the seats.

"Who's the smallest one here?" Gon asked. All seven pairs of eyes turned to look at you.

Great. The benefits of never having had your growth spurt.

Killua was the one to open his mouth, snickering, "Obviously it's Y/N. She's like a midget!"

"Killua, you are literally an entire 2 ½ feet shorter than Kite over there," you defended yourself.

From a distance, you had guessed Kite was around 6'3. Once you got a closer look at him, you discovered that he towered over you like a skyscraper. Your curiosity got the best of you and naturally, you had asked him what his height was. The man was a whopping 7 foot 10.

"It's okay Y/N, you can squish with me," Gon offered.

Killua shook his head. "No way. Squishing will just make everyone uncomfortable. It's better if only one person suffers. Y/N, you can sit on my lap."

He had left no room for argument. Sighing, you knew that even if you tried, you had no say in this anymore. You would just have to suck it up for the next 4 hours.

Now you were here, sitting on him, worrying about whether you were cutting the circulation off to his legs or not. Or perhaps you were too bony and it was hurting him.

You could feel his warm breath on your neck, and it sent goosebumps across your entire body. This was beyond awkward.

"Stop it," Killua muttered, right in your ear.

Oh, you'd done it now, hadn't you? Killua was gonna push you off onto Gon instead.

"Stop what?"

"You're so stiff, just...relax," he paused, "I don't mind sitting this way."

Hearing his voice so close to you sent butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

Maybe this was okay.

You untensed, trying to adjust yourself to a more comfortable position, but the bumpy car ride wasn't making it very easy. Kite ran over a rock, and without a seatbelt it sent you jerking upwards. Thanks to his fast reflexes, Killua gripped your waist, holding you tightly to his body.

"The seatbelt won't reach over the both of us, but this'll keep you from flying."

"Heh, thanks Killua. I think we should reach the beach in a bit..." you said, hoping that the thought of it being over soon might offer him some relief.

It doesn't matter who it is, being this close to someone could send anyone into a frenzy. You were hyper-aware of every one of his fingers grasping onto your waist. He wasn't lying. He was keeping you right there.

You'd just have to stop thinking about it, you told yourself. Or else you'd go crazy.

Trying to relax back into Killua like he had asked, you let your mind wander to the reason you were driving in the first place. The day before, the three of you had decided to stick with Kite and help him investigate the Chimera ants. The beach you were headed to now is supposed to have a clue about where the ant queen is located, so you could bring an end to the destruction before it starts. During the car ride, you had learned they were a truly deadly species. One bite of an innocent passerby, and they had the means to bring the entire human race to extinction.

You felt like something was starting. And your intuition was rarely wrong.

Gazing at Gon who had been talking with Kite for a while now, you noticed how his eyes crinkle into little smiles whenever he talks. You knew that having Kite around, his father's best friend, surely excited him to the bone. Gon was just oozing with optimism, without even trying. You could tell that just by being himself, he was keeping the spirits up of all eight in the group, not allowing any room for doubt or fear to creep into anyone's minds.

At that moment, you swore that whatever happened, you would be there to protect Gon and Killua. Even if it costs you everything.

Hopefully, this wasn't one of your friends' last few moments of tranquility. But if it was, you were determined to spend it well.

Resting your head against Killua, you hoped that he wouldn't mind if you indulged in this for just a moment. You were tired, having not gotten much rest since completing Greed Island and meeting Kite.

It didn't take much time for you to fall asleep to the rise and fall of Killua's steady breathing and his sweet vanilla scent. If you'd been awake, you might have even heard his heartbeat racing beneath you.

⋯✰⋯

You had finally reached the beach.

Killua had nudged you awake once you'd gotten there. You remembered how his blue eyes stared back at you as he poked your face, calling you an idiot for falling asleep, and you chuckled.

There was one thing you were clueless about; Killua had made sure not to move even once the whole rest of the car ride. He was nervous that he might disturb your peacefully sleeping form.

You were still pretty groggy as you looked out at the sea, the bright sun reflecting on the ocean's surface. You wanted to wiggle your toes in the sand, but you were there for a reason. To find anything that might lead to the Queen.

You searched in bushes, behind rocks, under seashells, and even used your nen to sift through as much sand as you could. So far, the group had ruled out the forest and deemed it difficult to know if the ant even ended up on the same island. That's when they decided to release the hellhound. Well- it wasn't a hellhound. It was the little dog you played with yesterday. Along with Gon.

Gon was following behind the dog on all floors, sniffing the ground as he went.

"He can do that?" You asked no one in particular.

"His nose is as sharp as a dog's," Killua responded, watching Gon with an amused look in his eye.

A couple minutes went by with no luck. The only thing the dog had found was a tree to pee on. It looked like the ant wasn't going to be on this island, though Kite had an idea.

"It may have washed ashore somewhere else. Which direction do the currents flow here?" Kite asked the two that had brought us down to the beach. One was short with brown skin and grey hair that sprouted up like hay, while the other had large glasses and two front teeth poking out from his mouth.

"The direction is reversed between day and night. And it also changes with the seasons. I've even heard it's different on certain days. So it'll be tough to pinpoint a location..." said Chipmunk Teeth. That's what you'd call him, since you hadn't gotten his name.

So basically, no one had any idea on how to find the Chimera Ant Queen.

"Continuing to search blindly is pointless. We should return to YorkNew and see if we can find any new leads there."

You heard the group around you agreeing with Kite. He and his friends began walking back to the truck already, but you stayed put. You would catch up to them later.

The ocean reminded you of your home. You thought you should say goodbye to it first.

Ripples of water lapped gently at your feet. You always had a connection with nature. Having lived in a small village located in the middle of a jungle most of your life, the earth had become your dearest friend. One of your earliest memories was from exploring the coves back at home. You stretched out your arm across the water, and watched the liquid softly rise to your hand as you called it.

That's why you chose this nen ability. It tied you to the elements. When you fought with it, together you were one body.

"Y/N, come on! Kite's threatening to leave without you," Gon waved you over. Taking one last look at the sea, you turned away.

The sun was already setting by the time you left for the city.

⋯✰⋯

Going back to YorkNew was the right decision. Now you all knew where to look.

Kite had discovered that the possibilities of the Chimera Ant landing in NGL were the highest. Apparently, NGL was a country populated with people who wanted to get away from machine civilization and live in nature.

You loved nature too, but you thought that was a little extreme. There was a reason you had to leave your beloved jungle behind.

"There may very well be a giant swarm of Chimera Ants already hunting humans down. If that's the case, my top priority will be saving them. You must be able to protect yourselves," Kite warned us.

"And if I am the one in trouble, you should escape without me."

At that, Gon and Killua looked unsettled. But backing down now was not an option.

"Got it," you said, breaking the silence and offering a kind nod to Kite, "and until the very last moment, the three of us will have your back."

"Yeah!" The other two boys concurred.

Now, you sat with Gon and Killua on an airship to NGL. The three of you were sitting on a bench, looking out of a window that framed velvet-peach clouds displaying brilliant silver linings.

Gon was reflecting on their last conversation with Kite.

"You said that Ging had a reason for bringing me and Kite together," he rested his arms and head on the window-frame.

Killua broke his sight from the clouds and looked at Gon.

"Yeah, I did."

"You're probably right. I don't know the reason, but I can't give up halfway, no matter what's going on. Otherwise, I'll disappoint Ging... And I'd never be able to forgive myself either. So I won't run away," Gon continued, resolved with his decision.

There was a moment of silence as the three of you let his words sink in.

You admired Gon's determination, but you hated that Ging had a son risking his life just to avoid disappointing a dad he's never met.

"Man, you had this totally serious expression, so I was expecting something big. But it's just business as usual," Killua smiled.

"Huh?" Gon's mouth hung open. "I thought about this a lot, I even ran a bunch of mental simulations! And I liked what Y/N said earlier, about having Kite's back until the very end."

"Think all you want, but you'll still be Gon. If someone said to abandon them, you'd never do it," You lightly punched his shoulder.

He pouted, cradling where you hit him, and you rolled your eyes.

"Drama queen."

Gon chose to ignore that and turned back to Killua. "Then what would you do?'"

"I'm a spontaneous guy, so I'd think about it once the time comes."

"So, you'd run away?" Gon questioned.

"Depends. I can't say until it actually happens."

"Say for instance..."

Killua threw his hands up, beat, "I can't tell you what I'd do in a hypothetical situation!"

"Then, what about you Y/N?"

"Gon!" You whined.

Truth be told, you hadn't thought about what you would do. It depended like Killua said. But you did know one thing...

"I would never leave you two behind. Even if that meant I'd have to die."

⋯✰⋯

[yandere-wishes]

//Yandere Obey Me//

I’ve been addicted to this game since it’s relese! I just had to write a quick something something! Enjoy!

Lucifer

Lucifer is a sadistic and controlling yandere who wants his darling's pure devotion. He wants his darling to obey him to devote her entire soul to him. To be at his beck and call. In reality, the views his darling as a pet of sorts more than a lover.

He takes a long time to select a darling wanting one that Is already somewhat superior compared to others of their kind. Someone who will be slightly easier for him to mold. He kidnaps you the moment he's sure that you are the right one.

"(y/n)...."

He has so many strict rules that you must follow. They're even worse than the laws set for the other members of the house of lamination. He controls every word you speak, every direction you step in, every person you talk to. He suffocates you with his presence and commands, depriving you of your thoughts until all you can think of him and what he wants.  

His punishments are harsh and frequent, even the smallest mistake will earn you many cuts and bruises. He adores physical torment, leaving markings on your flesh, bruises on places you can't cover-up. He relishes in it and the sounds of agony and pain that you make are hymns to his ears.

He also finds pleasure in degrading his darling. Reminding them of how weak and useless they are and how powerful and flawless he is. He even likes to make a show of it sometimes calling you names and even punishing you in front of his brothers.

"Behave yourself!"

Additional notes

He always dresses you in the finest and most lavish dresses. They vary in length and brand but are always in shades of black, grey and red. You always have gold necklaces around your neck, earrings that may be a little too long and bracelets that shimmer far too brightly. He even has a custom made ring with his name in graved in it. It one of his "rules" that that ring is never to leave your finger.

Lucifer loves to hear his darling beg, it proves to him just how much control he has over her. He also enjoys humiliation making you feel ashamed and pleased simultaneously gives him another boost of pride.

Mammon

At first, Mammon views his darling as a possession that he can do with as he pleases. If they're using full he'll keep them around. If they start to bore him then he'll simply get rid of them right....?

Wrong! It doesn't take long for him to notice just how much he wants his darling. That they have to stay close to him for him to remain sain. He has to have them, only he can have them, touch them, hold them, own them.

He shifts so quickly into a possessive obsessive mix. He puts so much time and effort into learning everything about his darling, even certain details she may have not known herself. Still, it's not good enough, something is missing.

"Look (y/n) I don't love you, I own you!"

So he kidnaps them, locking them up in his room away from everybody else. He doesn't see it as a bad thing though. In his eyes, this is the safest option for his lover they are secure and safe and his. What else could they possibly need?

Mammon spares to expenses when it comes to his darling. He gets them the most expensive dazzling jewelry that he can find. All their clothes are over the top and a bit too revealing. Anything they have ever wanted is swiftly given to them. In a sense, it's the only way Mammon knows to show his affection for his lover.

“...Okay maybe just a little”

Additional details

He has a solid gold collar with his "property of the great Mammon" engraved into it. He insists that his darling wears it at all times.

He's very kinky and has very odd tastes in sexual activities. One thing he adores his laying his darling stark naked on a bed covered in grim and other jewels. It's a mix of his two favorite things; wealth and his darling!

Mammon's punishments are usually isolation. It's mostly due to his oversized ego. He believes that depriving you of his "great: presence will be enough punishment. To an extent he is right, Mammon is the only social connection that you have left. Having him leave you for so long crumbles you. By the time he gets back you are quick to hug him while sobbing and promising you'll be a better lover and do anything h says!

He also enjoys soft touches and sweet praises coming from his beloved. It means they like him! It has to! All he really wants is for them to love him.

Leviathan

Levi is very possessive and very easy to drive into a jealous rage. He believes that he knows what's best for his darling, that's why he pushes his interests onto her as much as possible.

He keeps them locked up in his room alongside himself and Henry 2.0. Making them partake in playing video games, watching anime and reading manga with him throughout the day.

"You love me right (y/n)?"

He always dresses you up in "cute" clothing, usually mimicking Ruri-chan's outfits. He even does your hair to look like hers, heck he's probably already died it the same color too.

He's also very clingy wanting you to constantly be touching you. He makes you sit on his lap when he's on his computer. He always has an iron grip on your waist when the two of you are sleeping. Making it hard for you to move and sometimes even breathe.

“Or are you just lying to me?!”

Additional notes Levi loves to role play it's his biggest kink. He loves to reenact scenes from his favorite shows or books with certain sexual twists.

He constantly has you shackled as a sort of reinsurance for himself. He loves you but he doesn't trust you. No matter how well behaved you are there is always still an inkling in the back of his mind saying you'll turn on him somehow.

His punishments are physical and sometimes degrading. If you make him too mad he might not even notice that he's gripping you too tight and leaving bruises. If you go over the board he may even start to punch you while screaming about how much of a "normie" you are and how useless you would be without him!

Satan

Satan is a sneaky and manipulative yandere, he twists all your emotions and thoughts to better suit himself. At first, he may seem like the perfect boyfriend, kind, caring, a true gentleman. And he's happy to play the part to hide his true for just a little while longer.

Slowly Satan will convince you that you don't need your friends or your family members. That they never cared about, that he is the only one that ever truly cared. The thought hurts like salt to a wound. But the more you think about it the more the likely hood grows. It soon becomes evident to you that Satan is the only one that ever loved, ever cared about you! It's the truth it has to be!

Oh, how wrong you are...

"(Y/N) haven't you found out that I'm not the innocent flower..."

He tries all so had to make you into the "perfect darling". Teaching you all formes of etiquette, making you read his favorite books and memorizing the most famous quotes.  

Satan will even try to outdo Lucifer. Wanting you to dress and look even more glamorous than his brother darling. He wants everyone to talk about how well behaved and stunning his darling, he wants them all to drip in envy of him and his lover.

"...I'm the serpent underneath"

Additional notes

Satan isn't too big on physical punishments. He prefers scolding you and turning your own emotions on you. He morphs whatever it is you've done to upset him making you believe that he'll leave you and never come back. Despite the hatred you posses for him you still can't bear the thought of him leaving you. It sends you into a maniacal fit. You need him, you don't know why but you do.

He'll have you crying and begging for his forgiveness, clinging onto his leg pleading with him to stay. Promising that you'll be good that you'll never upset him ever again!

Satan likes to keep you close by at all times. One of his favorite things to do is to have you sit on his lap while he reads. Of course, that usually turns sexual very quickly.

Asmodeus

Asmodeus is a very tricky yandere to pin. He's not loyal to his darling he cheats constantly, always has a new "lover" clinging to his arm. At first, he doesn't even really "care" about his darling, they can do whatever they please as long as they always come running when he calls.

But then he sees you with someone else, talking and touching and kiss and... It's too much for him! The sight sickens him to his stomach! He doesn't get it. It shouldn't bother him that you have other lovers, God knows he has plenty. But he can't push the thought away. He needs you to be his to only touch him, to only kiss him, to only be with him!

"(y/n) put this on..."

One night he simply decides to take you. To keep you locked away forever as his own little pet! It's not a difficult task to accomplish, he simply uses calls you over to spend the night. It's happened so many times before that you don't even think twice about it.

The shock -and hindsight- hits you in the morning, when you can't move your aching body. Legs and arms spread at different angles. Asmodeus his sitting next to you tracing pattern of hearts and stars in your bare skin. He's never been so happy! Your all his now!

"...You’ll look so sexy!"

Additional notes Asmodeus uses sexual punishments for when you misbehave. He gets you all turned on and then just leaves you for hours on end. When he gets back -most likely from a party-  you'll beg him to take you. Apologizing for misbehaving and vowing to do anything he asks if only he'll take you then and there.

If you've really made him angry than he'll make you watch as he "plays" with another one of his lovers. It'll break your heart but it'll also teach you a valuable lesson. That to him, you are replaceable.

He always dresses you in the most revealing outfits -if they can even be considered as "outfits". He personally does your hair and make up, wanting you to be almost as stunning as he is.

Asmodeus is very clingy he'll always be touching you in some way. It's not always sexual sometimes it's even very casual. Of course, it'll take time before you realize what Asmodeu's version of casual really is.

Beelzebub

Beelzebub is a soft yandere but also very possessive. In his mind, he owns you just as much as you own him! You belong to each other and no one can ever separate the two of you.

He treats you like a goddess, giving you everything you could ever dream of. The cutest stuffies, prettiest clothes, most delicious foods! Anything! Anything at all, say the word and Beel will do anything in his power to obtain it for you.

"I love kissing you..."

But there is another side to the affectionate demon. He's lost so many that he's cared about, he can't lose you! It will destroy him. It's for your own safety that he keeps you locked away in his shared room. It the only way to ensure that no harm comes your way.

Out of the seven brothers, Beelzebub is the most relaxed when it comes to showing off his darling. He wants his brothers to love and accept his darling as they do with him. He also wants his darling to befriend his bothers and their respective darling.

"...Your flavor is so addicting”

Additional notes Beel has a bit of an "older brother" complex especially after the "death" of Lilith. He may treat you as a sibling sometimes other than a lover.

He'll definitely want you to get close with Belphegor and his darling. It may even end up that the twins might share their darlings or go about choosing the same one.

Beel never uses sexual punishments. He prefers to keep sex as a reward much like food. He does, however, force his kinks on to his darling, under the pretext that they'll "learn" to like it/them.

Beelzebub's punishments are typically leaving you on your own. He hates getting mad at you or even hurting you. He'll probably just storm out and come back later after he's let off some steam. Then he'll sit his darling in his lap and ask them why they misbehaved and try to talk it out.

Belphegor

The most delusional yet also most lax of all the seven brothers. In Belphi's mind, the two of you are already dating so there's no need to lock you up or even constantly follow you around.

Sure he gets jealous when he sees you with someone else. But even then all he does is drag you into his room after telling the other person off.

"(y/n)..."

Belphegor has every inch of your flesh marked with wither hickys, love bites, bruises or cuts. He doesn't mind seeing you in pain if it's to "prove" his love for you.

He gets slightly tense when you go outside worrying that something bad might happen to you. That fear is enough to leave him awake. Eventually, he'll give up and just follow you around until you return home.

However, when it comes to school or the house of lamination he'll just leave you be. His brothers are around so you're practically untouchable. Sure some of them (*cough* Mammon and Asmodeus *cough*) are useless but Beeluzbub and Satan are trustworthy enough.

"...Come sleep with me"

Additional notes Belphegor has a very low sex drive. He enjoys marking you and even watching you touch yourself. But that's usually as far as it goes.

He really likes the idea of sharing a darling with Beeluzbub and maybe even Lilith if she was still "alive". It means his darling his much safer than if it was only him looking over them.

100% of the time he will cuddle his darling while he sleeps.

Bonus!

Diavolo

Diavolo is an obsessive type with certain manipulative tendencies. He desperately wants to keep his darling safe from all three species and thinks the only way to do so is to keep them locked up in the devil king’s castle.

He uses blackmail as a means to keep them cooperative. He might just threaten to annihilate their family and friends or maybe he threatens to hurt them.

"I love you.."

Overall Diavolo tires to be as sweet and caring as he can. He rarely uses any painful punishments and even buys them rewards when they've been bad. He's so desperate to prove his love to his darling that it honestly sort of frightening.

Really it wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't always so close and frantic. Always touching you and praising you, kissing you. It's just so so much...

He always has you wearing long heavy dresses that rival those of the victorian era. Delicate golden crowns are elegantly placed in on your head. Nomerues rings and bracelets decore your fingers and wrists

"...My queen"

Additional notes

Diavolo loves to show you off. He wants everyone to see just how amazing you are!

He holds so many events/ parties in your name. "Oh, it's your birthday? Well, now it's going to be celebrated as a national holiday in the Devildom!"

Diavolo regularly plans to get together with Lucifer and his darling. They're mostly quiet tea parties where the boys can discuss matters regarding the student council and how to better control their lovers. While the two darlings whisper about how frighting and annoying their self proclaimed lovers are.

[mysterioh]

Saajanji Ghar Aaye - Prologue

Bucky Barnes x Desi!Reader 

Synopsis: After a brisk romance in London, Bucky follows you back to your home in Upstate New York where the preparations for your marriage to the son of a family friend are well underway. As the inevitable countdown to your wedding begins, Bucky remains optimistic in his pursuit of your love and your family’s acceptance. 

Arranged Marriage/Forbidden Lovers AU

“Saajanji ghar aaye” means “your beloved has come to your home”. 

A/N: A completely self-indulgent fic from a desi girl who is starving for love and affection and a dash of cultural appreciation. Everyone is welcomed to read, but please respect the culture and traditions. 

I’m a Punjabi Indo-Pakistani. So tidbits of Punjabi/Urdu will be incorporated into the dialogue because I AM HUNGRY FOR VALIDATION. Ngl my language skills aren’t the best but I will put it in anyway. I’ll put translations at the end.

This fic is heavily based off of Bollywood movies.

Natasha was never one to cower in front of a man—or anyone for that matter.  With a personality as bold and fiery as her scarlet red locks, she exuded a sultry confidence that made even the manliest of men take their seat.  

But here, in front of your father, she stood slightly intimidated. It took every ounce of boldness within her to look the man in the eye. And every time she did she found his beady black eyes looking back at her with an empty stare.  Unimpressed and judgemental. 

Natasha had been a friend of this family long enough to know that this was just his normal face.  She knew the stoic front he held melted with just a simple smile from one of his daughters. She just hoped it worked right now. 

“Who is he again?” he asked. 

“He’s my brother,” she blurted. 

"Your brother?"  he repeated with a raised brow. 

"I mean my cousin," she corrected, wrapping her arms around Bucky's arm, shaking him gently as she giggles. "But he's like a brother to me." 

The older man's eyes fall upon Bucky, who looks up at him sheepishly. He's only a inch or two taller than Bucky but stands over him like a formidable iron gate with you peeking from behind. 

"Mr. L/N," he extends a hand. "It's so nice to meet you."  

He looks at Bucky's hand for a split second before diverting his gaze to Natasha. Bucky brings his hand back to his side slowly. 

"And what is he doing here?" He asks. 

"Well," Natasha smiles with a nervous laugh. "He just got back from England—studying at Oxford." She pats him in the shoulder. "He's supposed to be living with me but since I'm here to help with the wedding I was wondering if he could stay here with me?" 

"I-I can't leave him alone, uhm–" she trails off, "his dad told me not to." 

“I don’t run a hotel here,” he deadpanned. 

She laughs nervously.“True. Very true.” She looks over at you silently, signaling for a little help. 

"Abbu," you place your hands on his broad shoulder, pulling him down to whisper into his ear. "We have spare rooms. Why don't you let him stay?" you ask innocently. “Bachara itni door se aaya hai.”

He turns his head to look at you fully with a disapproving look on his face. “It's not nice to deny a guest,” you coaxed with a pout. 

“I don’t trust him,” he states flatly. 

Your mother rolls her eyes at her husband. “Your cousin can stay, Nat. We don't mind at all," Ummi says with a smile despite Abbu shooting a glare in her direction. He was a wise man and knew that retaliation was useless. 

Bucky's face lights up the same way yours does. "Thank you! I will–" 

"But should you cause me or my family any kind of trouble I will kick you out immediately,” your father interjects with a pointing finger. 

Ummi hits him softly on the shoulder. "Oh, stop being so stiff," she hushes him then turns to Bucky. "Consider this your home." 

Bucky lets out a breathy laugh, his grip on the strap of his bag growing tight. He peers over your father’s shoulder to find you standing behind with a quaint, lovely smile brimming with happiness. 

"Don't worry about me," he replies. Abbu's eyes narrow as he crosses his arms. A shiver runs down Bucky's spine. Geez. Does this guy eat nails for breakfast or something? "I promise to stay out of your hair. Thank you so much for letting me stay."

"Thank you so much, Uncle," Natasha says. "It means so much to me."  

Abbu simply nods with a tired sigh and turns to retreat to his study. 

Your mother takes a step towards Bucky with an easy smile and the kindest eyes. A wave of nostalgia hits him, washing him over with the warmth and aroma that were entwined with the memories of his own mother. 

“It’s nice to meet you…” she trails, not knowing his name. 

He quickly takes her hand in his, the strap of his satchel slipping off his shoulder. “James,” he shakes her hand, “but everyone calls me Bucky.” 

“Nice to meet you, Bucky,” she smiles. “So your Natasha’s cousin?”

“Yeah, her mom’s my aunt,” Bucky replies smoothly.

Lying to such a sweet person felt so wrong. 

“Natasha has been a friend of Y/N’s for so long, she’s practically a part of the family,” she says. “And any family of her’s is a part of ours.” 

A tint of pink brushes over Nat’s cheeks. “Oh, you’re too nice,” she chuckles to herself.  

“Thank you,” Bucky blushes. “I’m so grateful.” 

“Things are a bit chaotic at the moment. My daughter’s wedding is coming up and there's just so much to be done,” she explains. “I hope that won’t cause you any trouble.”

“Oh, it’s no problem,” Bucky shakes his head, the rest of his body tense. “Congratulations,” he strains.

When his eyes meet yours, you look away, anxiously tugging on the sleeve of your sweater. A small smile forms on his face. He's not worried. Clear and set on his goal, it’ll take a lot more than one overbearing father and an impending wedding to make him back down. 

"Y/N, why don't you go show our guest to his room?" your mother asks as she walks down the hall. "Natasha, if you could just help me with something real quick?" 

"Sure," Nat nods and follows behind her. 

You nod with a sheepish smile as you motion Bucky to follow you. 

He hooks his bag on his shoulder, quickly following you through the grand foyer. His scuffed white Nikes squeak softly against the gleaming marble floor. The interior of the house was designed with the days of antiquity in mind. High ceilings with hanging chandeliers. Romanesque ornaments were engraved into the border of the walls and doused in creamy colors of gold and ivory. You walk up the staircase that curves along the side of the wall where large paintings and portraits hang proudly, displaying the rich history of your family. 

Bucky whistles in awe as he reaches the top step. 

“Damn, Y/N, I knew you were rich, but I didn’t think you’d be this rich,” he gasped. “You’re fucking loaded.” 

“Don’t curse,” you admonished, walking down the hall of rooms. “My parents don’t like it and I’m not rich. My dad’s rich.” 

Bucky chortles. “Yeah, I’ve seen him on TV before, never thought I’d be following his daughter around for a house tour.”

You turn halfway to give him a smile. “Life takes you to unexpected places.” 

“It brought me to you,” he confessed in a whisper.  

You pause and the smile on your face falls. He looks at you with his head tilted slightly to the side and gleaming blue eyes admiring every part of you. It makes your heart ache. 

You turn around and walk towards one of the guest rooms. You open the door and walk in. 

He gapes at the size of the room. Coming from an upper middle class family, Bucky knew he was better off than most, but standing in that room, he started to feel incompetent. 

The room was spacious and the perfect mix of traditional furniture with modern fabrics and accessories. In the center against the wall was a king sized bed covered with cool daring colors and fluffed up pillows. A fireplace is against the wall across from the bed with two matching tufted chairs in front of it. Wide windows with white sheer curtains filtered sunlight into the room with an assorted array of sconces and paintings decorating the walls 

“This room is as big as my entire apartment,” he marveled. 

You smirk. “Too much for you to handle?” 

“No, no,” he shakes his head. “I think I'll be fine.” 

“I’ll let you settle in then,” you respond with a giggle, heading for the door. 

Bucky takes you by the wrist and pulls you into him. 

“Bucky!” you hiss. Heat rises to the tip of your ears as you try to pry from his grasp. His arms are locked around you tightly with no intention of letting go. “Let me go before someone sees.” 

He rests his forehead against yours. “I’ve missed you,” he cooes. 

Your shoulders relax when you chuckle. “I’ve missed you too,” you smiled and nuzzled your nose against his. 

The scent of his cologne takes you back to your time in London. Back to streets of smooth grey stone and rain-splattered windows. It's crisp and cool like the air after a mighty storm. If only you could go back to a month ago and stopped yourself from falling for the man who held you so lovingly. If you had just avoided him instead of falling for him, maybe your heart wouldn’t ache when it realized you could never truly be his. 

You push him away. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Why did you come?” you asked. 

Bucky swallows. You knew why he came. “I came for you.” 

“But I told you not to,” you replied. “My parents won’t allow it.” 

Bucky places his hand on your cheek. 

“Whether they do or not, Y/N, you’re mine and I’m not going to let someone else take you from me. I refuse to let you go without a fight.”

You avert your gaze to the buttons on his shirt and pick at one. “I'm getting married in two weeks, Bucky,” you reminded him. “What can you possibly do in that short amount of time?”

Bucky raises your chin so you'd look at him. He locks his eyes with yours and sees just how deep they really are. Your dark brown eyes—flecked with specks of gold—possessed a sorrow that covered the glimmering happiness that he knew of. 

You’re afraid. More so for him than yourself.  You fear the outcome of your father learning who he really was and the real reason why he was here. 

“Do you love me?” he asks. 

Your lips part, ready to say the words, but hesitate. 

It’s not right. 

You’re engaged to another. Yet, it rests on your tongue, begging for a release. 

“I do. I love you.” 

Bucky lips curve upward, wiping the single tear that falls from your eye. 

“Then don’t worry about anything.” 

You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him into a tight hug. 

He kisses the top of your head, letting his lips linger there. “Nothing’s gonna keep me from you.” 

For you, his word was more than enough.

Permanent Taglist: @murdermornings​ @marshyrebelcloud​ @chuckennuggets1213​ @miraclesoflove​ @fckdeusername​ @undiadeestos​ @hailmary-yramliah​ @andiebell2023​ @gabbie-is-sad​ @drayshadow​ @anjali750​ @the-wayward-robot​ @vxidnik​ @ivvitm1109​ @myboyfriendgiriboy​ @thecurlsofgod​ @sesyeuxocean​ @fanfic-fangirl​ @thinkaboutmara​

Bucky Barnes Taglist: @infinity-saga​ @marvelloonie​ @chewymoustachio​ @fiannaofficial @my-drowning-in-time​ @shoesonpointe​ @buckybabyy​ @inactivewhore​

[yakocchi]

The Bewitching Full Moon // Count

smh they’re never gonna release points-based event cards ever again are they guess I gotta make my own 5-min headers

This event is another one of those “His POV” events. I guess the reception on those has been very positive (which, good, bc I like them too) so they’re pushing them out more and more. They’ve also been pushing the envelope on these ooh lala so sexi ma gah stories with these scandalous avatars. yea sexy ok w/e but are they fashionable? idk abt that one chief... and according to the twitter surveys the community has been comparatively lukewarm too. I mean if they’re gonna make event avatars harder to get why are they getting uglier man

also holy crap the resulting doc for this thing got really long i hope tumblr doesn’t destroy me copypasta

edit: here comes me “slept on it” day after edit, fixed formatting issues and grammar errors that stuck out. if it made it even worse imma cry-

Spoilers under the cut! Please credit if you take any of it, thenk u (･ω･*) image-heavy!

Under the full moon, which shimmered with an ominous violet light - a single stagecoach wheeled through the city. (I wonder how many times it has been where I’ve left the manse like this with her.) I sneak a glance to my side, and gaze at Kara’s dress-clad form. (Dress, shoes, gloves, necklace, hair ornaments...) (I give you every single object, article to wear - and with that you are dyed in my color.) (I experienced that joy even before, but...) Now that we have become lovers, that joy is becoming more and more difficult to come by. (Whenever I look at you, there is this emotion - one that is difficult to put into words - that surges within me.) (Frankly, I try my best to simply suppress it.) (...Well, there is particularly something that is too much to entirely subdue.) I recall that sweet sensation of the very moment where I get to strip off the dress I give her– While deep in my thoughts, a smile cracks my features.

count: the joy from dressing her up is becoming rarer me: ? o whys that count: bc the horny supersedes it me: sir

[Kara]: “Count?” (Oops- if she learned of the things like the carnal passions I bear, she would surely grow disillusioned with me.) [Count]: “It’s nothing. You are just so stunning that a smile eased onto my face.” [Kara]: “D-Don’t play around, please…” As if to hide her face, she lightly puts her hands on her cheeks. She takes small breaths, apparently to temper her heart, before looking up again.

[Kara]: “Um… Tonight’s banquet is opening quite late, isn’t it?” The typical banquet opens its curtains at approximately sunset, where the usual routine is to have dinner together before taking pleasure in dancing and chitchat. However, the time now is already past 10. (Will this be your first time going to this type of evening gathering?) [Count]: “There are nobles who grow tired of the same old pattern of the typical party.” [Count]: “So occasionally, evening parties with fascinating themes appear.” [Kara]: “Fascinating themes’?” [Count]: “Costume parties, calling on an acrobat…” [Count]: “Which reminds me of this one gathering where all the lights of the mansion were to be off. It was quite the fascinating party, yes.” [Count]: “Well, now I’m wondering what tonight’s party will be like.” [Kara]: “Hehe, I’m looking forward to it.” (Whenever you so innocently accept the circumstances at hand like this– because it’s you, I get worried. But...)

With a hand I quietly turn her waist towards me, and bring my lips to her ear. [Count]: “I don’t mind if you enjoy yourself, but I would like if you could firmly avoid being careless.” [Count]: “As in these kinds of parties, the dangers lie hidden.” [Kara]: “What do you mean by ‘dangers’…?” She quietly stares at me, visibly failing to catch the meaning behind my words. [Count]: “In a space separated from everyday life, reason easily crumbles away.” [Count]: “And when instinct conquers reason, the floor changes into a hunting ground for love.” I smoothly stroke her back and hug her waist. [Kara]: “Coun-…“ [Count]: “I do not have even the slightest intention to present my adorable lover to such wolves.”

[Count]: “Because you only belong to me, after all.” [Kara]: “—Nn,” I wrap my arm around her body that had slightly jumped, and as if to engrave my touch I press my lips against hers. [Count]: “…So that you will absolutely not separate from me. Understood?” [Kara]: “…Under, stood…” [Count]: “—Good girl.” I narrow my eyes in satisfaction at her answer, and intertwine our hands against my knee.

(Back before we became lovers, I feel that I still had my wits about me.) (So it was quite unexpected of me to become brimming with emotion like this from simply spending time after time together.) (But, tonight… it has become more difficult than usual to tie down…) I shift my gaze to the window, and the moon that floats in the sky above radiates this violet. (—It couldn’t be… Well.)

When we step inside the noble’s mansion, a different world stretched before us. The saloon was colored a brilliant red, and several tables had been arranged in a line where aristocrats entertained themselves with card games and roulette.

[Count]: “So you’re surprised by the casino.” [Kara]: “Wow… I’ve seen Arthur and the others play these sort of games, but this is the first time I’ve ever set foot in a place like this.” [Kara]: “So there can even be things like casinos in the parties of nobles, huh?” [Count]: “In the beginning, gambling was an activity popular within the elite. So it has been as much as a long time for me too.”

“get it cuz im old as fuuuu”

Her eyes swelled of fresh expectations as she looks around the saloon. (We came here to enjoy ourselves, so yes, I would like you to have fun. To be honest, I would rather not teach you how to play the more dubious games, but…) (If it’s just something like cards, there shouldn’t be a problem.) While I survey the surroundings, right in the direction of the bar counter a voice calls out to me.

[Baron]: “Ah, the Count. It has been a while.” [Baroness]: “After this we’re playing a bit of poker, but would you like to join us?” I turn my eyes to see a baron who I was acquainted with and his wife beckoning me over. [Count]: “Kara, would you like to try?” [Kara]: “I only know the very basic rules, but I’ll try.” [Count]: “I’ll teach you, then.”

[Count]: “…And with that, I have shown you more or less the fundamental rules– but is there anything else that you may be confused about?” [Kara]: “I think I’ll be okay from here…!” [Count]: “Then, let’s put it into practice.” [Kara]: “Please go easy on me.” [Baron]: “Well, young miss, when it comes to winning or losing there’s no such thing as leniency.” [Baroness]: “Oh, you! You shouldn’t scare such an adorable little lady like that.” During our pleasant chatter, the cards are dealt before the four of us and we each check our individual hands. (A King, another King, a Three, a Seven, and a Jack… With only these, I can form One Pair with my Kings. A rather mediocre hand.) (Or, I could discard the other three cards and aim for a Three of a Kind?) (Well then. And Kara…?) While maintaining a poker face, I slide a glance and— [Kara]: “…” Within the tension her cheeks were slightly flushed red, and her mouth was shaped into a faint smile. (It appears that good cards have come to her.) (…But I probably should have also taught her the techniques of forming a poker face.) Though subtly smiling bitterly, I pleasantly watched my beloved to whom I shall compete with in her first poker game – She was fixated on the five cards in her hand before suddenly lifting her eyes. The moment our eyes met…—

(Huh…?) Almost in slow motion, my fingers move… [Count]: “—kgh,”

My fingers pick out the two Kings from my hand and throw them into the muck without a moment's hesitation. (Why, am I acting like…) (For a moment, it was almost as if someone had taken over my body—) Akin to a marionette, my actions had disregarded my own will. In my centuries of living, it was the first time I had ever experienced anything like that. (Just what on Earth was…) 

[Baroness]: “My, it’s rare for the Count to lose his poker face like that.” [Count]: “Perhaps it’s also all just an act?” [Baron]: “As you’d expect from the Count, you can’t underestimate him.” While playfully exchanging banter, my consciousness was once more preoccupied with some thorough reflection. What rose from my mind was the suspicious moon that had risen in the sky. (—The “purple moon”.) Much like tonight - once every several centuries, there is a night where moon gives off a violet light. (That moonlight sharpens the vampiric senses, and additionally…) (On the night of the shining purple moon, vampires cannot oppose their loved ones.) As for my loved ones, it is undeniably Kara. (In other words, tonight my body is – controlled by Kara.)

If this is the case, then it would explain the cryptic behavior from just a minute ago. (If I cannot go against her wishes…) (Right when I met her eyes, it is highly probable that she had wished to beat me.) I turn over the new cards that were dealt to me in exchange for my discarded ones. (An Eight, and a King.) (If I hadn’t thrown away those Kings, I would have formed a Three of a Kind...)

[Count]: “…It appears I’m out of luck.” I line up my random assortment of cards by suit and place them down on the table. [Baroness]: “Hehe, I have One Pair.” [Baron]: “I also have One Pair.” [Kara]: “I have a Three of a Kind.” She breaks into a cheerful smile and reveals her hand. [Count]: “It seems that Lady Luck is smiling upon you.” [Kara]: “Hehe… it seems like it.” From that carefree smile, a sweet feeling spreads within the depths of my heart.  (The real thrill of poker is supposed to be the psychological warfare, but) (When you are so innocently delighted I seem to forget all about that.) (This is not entirely the way I would have wanted it, but I got to see something lovely.)

And so, as the game continued— …In the end, I was unable to outplay her. [Baron]: “It surprised me to see the Count so clumsy at poker.” [Baron]: “Are you up for another round?” [Count]: “Please forgive me, but I cannot afford to display such an unsightly side of myself in front of my beloved anymore.” [Baroness]: “Miss Kara, I had fun with you tonight.” [Kara]: “Me too. Thank you for inviting me to play.” We leave the table, and I call on a waiter dressed in black to halt for me. [Count]: “May I have two glasses of champagne?” Receiving the pair of flutes, I hold out one of them to Kara. [Count]: “For your victory.”

[Count]: “So, for the occasion, shall we have a toast somewhere?” [Kara]: “Yes, of course… Um, where are we going?” [Count]: “How about someplace like the balcony?” [Count]: “With your first poker victory, it is a special night.” [Count]: “I want to have a quiet toast between just the two of us.” [Kara]: “O-Okay…”

Between the two of them, the honey-colored champagne sways in the glasses as if to mark the beginning of a sweet night…

Clinking our glasses, the champagne bubbles rise to the surface. [Count]: “Congratulations. Even to the end, I just couldn’t beat you.”

or rather “Congratulations - For I couldn’t win (over you) even at the end.” but that sounds kind of shady hm

[Kara]: “Thank you, but I definitely just got lucky there.” [Kara]: “I guess there really is such a thing as beginner’s luck, huh.” [Count]: “You say that, but you still seem rather happy about it?” I set my glass down and stroke her grinning cheeks with my fingertips to poke fun at them. [Count]: “Are you really that pleased about besting me?” [Kara]: “This is the first time I’ve ever won against the Count with something, so naturally I’m happy about it…”

lol i know they mean by “winning” in the general sense but i like to think they’ve played several types of games together and he just never lets her win

(You are truly not wearing a poker face of any kind right now.) (Even when you do try to hide it, it’s clearly apparent when you are thinking about something else.) [Count]: “But that’s not all, is it?” (I know that you wanted to beat me because the light of the purple moon had affected my body to do so.) (You so deeply wanted, from the bottom of your heart, to win - so I want to know the real reason behind it.) [Count]: “Come, truthfully confess to me.” [Kara]: “I can’t let anything slip past you, it seems…”

She’s at a bit of a loss for words before slowly looking up at me to possibly gauge my expression. [Kara]: “The truth is… back from when you kissed me in the carriage, I had been thinking about it.” [Count]: “That you wanted to beat me in something?” [Kara]: “Yes. At the time, while I was trying my hardest to calm my heartbeat…” [Kara]: “You, however, maintained your composed, collected face, right?” [Kara]: “That moment today wasn’t the only time it’s been like that; ever since we’ve become lovers, it has happened so many times that it’s impossible to count…” She tightly bites her lip. [Kara]: “I just can’t compete with someone like you.” [Kara]: “But then I thought with something like poker, I could perhaps win with luck on my side.”

[Kara]: “Since I’ve always been the one being toyed with…” [Kara]: “Tonight, I thought… that I wanted to see the Count’s– see Abel’s, restless face…”

At that moment, I realized the consequences I had wrought from my prying – but it was already too late. The instant she shot through me with those eyes blurred with shyness, I could hear the sound of my reason shattering into pieces…

[Count]: “kgh—” (—I cannot fight it.) (Kara, I want to… No, I need – to take you.)

So I changed this entirely bc there’s no English equivalent. The original line can be literally translated as “Kara, I want to take you… no, take you.” What he does is change the pronoun he uses for “you” (kimi → omae) to signal the change in the level of intimacy. With most people (mansion residents, people in general) the Count uses “kimi”. Though with those who know him at a closer level, like Leonardo and Vlad, he uses “omae”. (Mostly) men are only really supposed to use “omae” with people they’re close to or it comes off as rude. This is significant with the Count and MC’s relationship because he begins to refer to her as “omae” when they’re alone together (and thus wants to make a point about how personal it is) once they reciprocate their feelings in Chapter… 24(?). The writers are more than aware of this, because all of the Count’s His POV stories in his route are titled 「君○○」 “kimi ____” but the His POV titles for the Endings use “omae”.

[Kara]: “—gh, Abel…” When I strongly embrace her, from the corner of my eye I catch sight of the moon in its sheen of purple light. Paired with this boiling sensation in my blood, I once again realize the meaning of my existence. [Count]: “…As you desire, I shall become just a man for you.” [Kara]: “A, bel…? —Mn, nn…” I steal her lips, as if to take away all of her warmth. (Just simple touches are not enough.) I draw her head closer and entangle our tongues to steal those lips even deeper. (What’s this - it’s sweet… from the scent, the touch, and the taste…) However, my hunger was not sated even by this kiss. (More - I want to taste you, more…) I pull her waist towards me and capture her tongue that had attempted to escape in a fluster. Dominated by instinct, like a starved beast I devour her lips.

(…Seeking her in this way, in an unknown place where someone could come, what in God’s name is wrong with me?) The remains of my reason murmur from the edge of my mind. But, contrary to those feelings, there was a certain kind of a pleasure intoxicating my heart. (The sense of my reason being thrown aside… is this sweet, hm…?) My fingertips, in their longing for her, slowly ride up the hem of her dress.

sir this is a community balcony i’m gonna need you to take yourself out

[Kara]: “Ngh… A, bel…”

[Count]: “Whether to accept or refuse me, is up to you.”

PREMIUM ENDING

The “purple moon” sharpens the vampire’s senses, and additionally– a vampire’s body that basks in its moonlight shall be dominated by their loved ones. [Kara]: “Since I’m always the only one being toyed with…” [Kara]: “Tonight, I thought… that I wanted to see the Count’s– see Abel’s, restless face…” —A loved one’s wishes, for tonight, can be granted under this moon that emits this mysterious light. My fingertips, in their longing for her, slowly ride up the hem of her dress. [Kara]: “Ngh… A, bel…” [Count]: “Whether to accept or refuse me, is up to you.”

Releasing her lips from our deep kiss, I securely hug her from behind and place her hands against the balcony. [Kara]: “Abel, what are…?” The eyes that look over the shoulder quiver in confusion. (Right now, as instinct overwhelms me... I want to take you.) [Count]: “Show me that disheveled form of yours some more.” A hand glides upwards to approach her chest, and wraps around her breast through the silk of the fabric. [Kara]: “Nnn… Abel,” [Count]: “It’s all right. I shall hide you in a way that no else can see.” [Count]: “Even for myself, I do not intend to show that sweet expression of yours to other men.” [Kara]: “That’s not the…” Her eyes were widened, and moistened with shame. [Count]: “And just who was the one who said that they wanted to see my restless face?” [Kara]: “That’s...” The adorable figure of my beloved, trapped with lowered eyes, also makes a bewitching pleasure sharply simmer within me. (If I happened to look into a mirror right now… Without a doubt, I would see that the face I’m wearing is far from that of a gentleman.) [Count]: “I know that you also want to learn of these indecent pleasures, hm?” [Kara]: “I…—nn,” To cut off her words, I rub the peaks of her breasts against the silk with the pads of my fingers. [Kara]: “ah- Mn…” [Count]: “To the point where I can find that out immediately— harden them for me.” [Count]: “Not wanting to know this pleasure... you don’t seem that way at all, or am I mistaken?” (Because of the purple moon, I cannot go against her wishes tonight.) (If she truly didn’t want this, I wouldn’t be able to even lay a finger on her.) (Since I am able to touch her, this means—)

[Count]: “…You truly, want me to forcibly take you, don’t you?” Burying my face onto her nape I move my fingers to agitate her, her body trembling within me. Desperately biting her lip, she stifles her sweet voice. (Whatever it is that you are thinking, I will quite distinctly know what it is.) (Because the one controlling me, is you yourself…) I rub her with my fingers again, and she twists her back with a shudder. [Kara]: “Hah, ah…” [Count]: “It seems that you are feeling it more than usual.” [Count]: “To seek a thrill like this, what a bad girl you are.”

[Count]: “But, if you don’t keep that voice down, you will be heard, no?” [Kara]: “Ha, ah- But… I can’t… hold o-…” [Count]: “There’s no other choice, then.” The corners of my lips raise into an elegant smile before I lift her chin. [Count]: “I’ll stifle it for you.” [Kara]: “Mn, uhn…” Continuing to lovingly caress her breast in one hand I press my lips to hers, providing even more heat. A voice laced with temptation spills out from her wetted lips. [Kara]: “A…bel… if you do, any more than this, I…” [Count]: “Then if I do any more than this, what will happen?” [Kara]: “Don’t bully me…” Her lovely voice cries out between the light brushes of our lips, and my chest sweetly tightens from the sound. (This appetite will not be satisfied until I make her wholly mine.) [Count]: “Do you take me for a man who only teases and leaves you unfulfilled?”

[Count]: “I shall stain your entire body with pleasure.”

…In a certain room. I slip off my coats, vest, tie, and finally shirt to reveal my bare skin…While I fling them onto the sofa one by one, I lead Kara in the direction of the bed. (The part where I drive her to the corner like this… is exceptional tonight.)

[Kara]: “Ah…” Hitting the edge of the bed, she casts her eyes down as there is nowhere else to go. [Count]: “…Got you.” I capture her beloved body into my arm’s embrace, and slowly push her down onto the bed. [Count]: “In here, you can be as loud as you like.” [Kara]: “But… is it okay to use this room as you please…?” [Count]: “When we arrived tonight we had talked about the themes of evening parties, correct?” I move my hand from stroking her blooming cheeks to press a fingertip against her lips. [Count]: “For those who wish to indulge in something rather risqué for the night, they prepare rooms like this.” [Count]: “So I shall receive this room for use with my humble gratitude.” I unravel the ribbon on the back, and the silk dress almost seemed to glide off her shoulder as it fell down.

(I do like to beautifully dress you up – but stripping you down with my own two hands also sends my heart racing.) [Kara]: “gh…” I seize her hands that were about to cover her chest and pin them to the sheets. [Count]: “Without hiding anything, show yourself to me.” Her exposed skin became shamefully dyed with the hue of roses before my very eyes. This color, teeming with vitality, made my vampiric instincts ache painfully.

[Kara]: “n-no… It’s embarrassing…” [Count]: “Then, if I stop looking… I shall have a taste instead.” I meet her breasts and crawl the tip of my tongue along the peak. [Kara]: “Ah, aah… Abel… Mn,” She pushes against my chest in light resistance. But before long her resistance had ceased, and gradually changed to that of her disheveled sighs and sweet gasps. [Count]: “It seems that you’ve become quite honest with yourself.” [Kara]: “To be loved like this – I have no choice but to be honest, right…?” [Kara]: “As tonight will be the only time I’ll get to know of your ferocious emotions…”

My mind is suddenly drawn to her wording. (Does she know about the purple moon…?) But I cannot imagine that she would know about something like a rare phenomenon that occurs only once every several centuries. I stare at her as if to look into her heart, and our eyes meet.

[Kara]: “More… Please, lose yourself to me, more…” (If she does know about the purple moon, and thus is purposefully provoking me, then…) [Count]: “What a naughty girl. Do you want to ruin my composure that badly?” [Kara]: “Yes…” The Count’s body is completely, sweetly steeped in her words, and as if it were alcohol his reason gradually dissolved. (Right now, even the words that I always shower her with will not come out.) For his heart was dominated only by the instinct of a vampire, and only by the instinct to love her as a man. [Count]: “I want to cast away my morality and reason, and just love you.”

FIN

this guy…………is a lot. i thought maybe everyone would be like this for the event but no, leo only gets weird bc essentially his mc was dumb enough to try to pick up broken shards of glass with her bare hands (im not trying to shame her… but i am) and then it’s not really isaac’s fault when he already has the worst bloodthirst out of all of them so sir step into the paddy wagon, the horni police will question u shortly

anyway tl;dr the sweet ending has the mc reveal to him early that she knew what the purple moon does to vampires in terms of the heightened vampire senses and crud but not the obedience to loved ones so he tells her blah blah romanceu talk but he still wants to bone and so they go home to do it instead. 

Make sure to purchase the Epilogue when you have the chance! It’s good stuff ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

So, thanks for reading! (`･ω･´) Sorry if it’s hard to parse through. there’s a reason why editing is a job people get paid for orz

[harrowdubois]

okay, i said if there was interest i would think about making a post listing all the references i squeezed into the locked tomb fic i spent the last month or so writing, and now i’ve realised i don’t care if there’s interest because i want to be self-indulgent SO

under the cut is a (somewhat spoilery) chronological list of all the memes, vines, and cribbed tumblr posts, as well as homages to various books, tv shows, song lyrics, etc. that made their way into blessed with a wilder mind! 

(cw for suicide mention)

this is of course a reference to the legendary bodybuilding forum thread where they did, actually, argue over how many days there are in a week (cw for ableist slurs in the thread)

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buzzfeed unsolved meme. i am dirt and i love to eat dirt

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this is so well-known it’s almost not worth listing it but oh my god they were roommates

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in itself, this isn’t a reference to anything in particular, but if you didn’t do this on your first read then i’d recommend taking another look at this scene and thinking about the specific wuthering heights/frankenstein/rebecca excerpts discussed by harrow and mercymorn but in relation to canon!harrow’s trauma/relationship with the body in htn :~) 

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also not really a reference to anything in particular but when i looked back over the fic for this post it struck me that the ‘sex panther’ phrasing was probably at least partially unconsciously inspired by the shoebox project (professor mcgonagall’s oiled man panther was a formative moment for me, truly)

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cw gross/unsanitary: it’s the tinder poop window incident. i mentioned this in the end notes of the fic as being what i had in mind for that scene but if it’s too gross for you (UNDERSTANDABLY) then feel free to Death Of The Author me to your heart’s content!

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i listened to a lot of orville peck while writing this

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 very very very loosely inspired by this clickhole article

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respectively: fourth of july by sufjan stevens / wuthering heights by emily bronte

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TWO BROS, CHILLIN IN A HOT TUB, FIVE FEET APART BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT GAY

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there was absolutely no need to stretch this across three paragraphs, and yet

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iconic

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i already linked to this one in the end notes of the fic itself, but it’s good, so here it is again

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 i can’t find the actual original post but it’s this fucking horrible thing 

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the last line is a reference to the secret history by donna tartt:

“Could it be because it reminds us that we are alive, of our mortality, of our individual souls- which, after all, we are too afraid to surrender but yet make us feel more miserable than any other thing? But isn't it also pain that often makes us most aware of self? It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from the world, that no one and no thing hurts along with one's burned tongues and skinned knees, that one's aches and pains are all one’s own. Even more terrible, as we grow old, to learn that no person, no matter how beloved, can ever truly understand us. Our own selves make us most unhappy, and that's why we're so anxious to lose them, don't you think?”

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a lyrical double whammy!

from ‘last words of a shooting star’ by mitski: “they’ll never know how i’d stared at the dark in that room with no thoughts like a blood-sniffing shark”

from ‘a better son/daughter’ by rilo kiley: “sometimes in the morning i am petrified but can’t move/awake but cannot open my eyes” 

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*

shout-out to maybe my single favourite video game moment, the encounter with the sky cat in night in the woods: “There is a hole at the center of everything, and it is always growing. Between the stars I am seeing it. It is coming, and you are not escaping, and the universe is forgetting you, and the universe is being forgotten, and there is nothing to remember it, not even the things beyond. And now there is only the hole... You are atoms, and your atoms are not caring if you are existing. Your atoms are monstrous existence.”

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“Nothing is ever fulfilled, not until the very end.” - rust cohle, true detective s1, this reference is VERY tonally dissonant because in context it’s actually grim as all hell but w/e w/e i couldn’t resist the shout-out

also harrow quotes from the goldfinch again here! i had the reference included before i read this post and realised tamsyn muir also quotes from the secret history in htn. terrible synergy 

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they are in fact all real. you’re welcome

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this one’s doing a lot of work lmao. it’s paying homage to this quote by tamsyn muir talking about the draco-in-leather-pants trope in relation to ianthe by loosely referencing drop dead gorgeous, the best drarry fic ever written, in which harry is part veela

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“It's a very Greek idea, and a very profound one. Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. And what could be more terrifying and beautiful, to souls like the Greeks or our own, than to lose control completely? To throw off the chains of being for an instant, to shatter the accident of our mortal selves? Euripides speaks of the Maenads: head thrown I back, throat to the stars, "more like deer than human being." To be absolutely free! One is quite capable, of course, of working out these destructive passions in more vulgar and less efficient ways. But how glorious to release them in a single burst! To sing, to scream, to dance barefoot in the woods in the dead of night, with no more awareness of mortality than an animal! These are powerful mysteries. The bellowing of bulls. Springs of honey bubbling from the ground. If we are strong enough in our souls we can rip away the veil and look that naked, terrible beauty right in the face; let God consume us, devour us, unstring our bones. Then spit us out reborn.” - that’s right it’s another reference to the secret history, with a little bit of mary oliver (tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?) sprinkled on top for flavour

--- 

a small one, but it’s the goldfinch again: “And I feel I have something very urgent and serious to say to you, my non-existent reader, and I feel I should say it as urgently as if I were standing in the room with you...”

---

my FUCKING cinnamon apple

 what if i... put my minecraft bed.... next to yours... aha ha just kidding.... unless?

---

[cw: suicide discussion in these next two]

*

robyn can have little a rust cohle quote, as a treat.

1. “I'd consider myself a realist, all right? But in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist... I think human consciousness is a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self-aware. Nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself. We are creatures that should not exist by natural law... We are things that labor under the illusion of having a self, that accretion of sensory experience and feelings, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody, when in fact everybody's nobody... I think the honorable thing for our species to do is to deny our programming. Stop reproducing, walk hand in hand into extinction; one last midnight, brothers and sisters opting out of a raw deal.”

2. “This... This is what I'm talking about. This is what I mean when I'm talkin' about time, and death, and futility. All right, there are broader ideas at work, mainly what is owed between us as a society for our mutual illusions. Fourteen straight hours of staring at DBs, these are the things you think of. You ever done that? You look in their eyes, even in a picture, doesn't matter if they're dead or alive, you can still read 'em. You know what you see? They welcomed it... Not at first, but... right there in the last instant. It's an unmistakable relief. See, cause they were afraid, and now they saw for the very first time how easy it was to just... let go. Yeah, they saw, in that last nanosecond, they saw... what they were. You, yourself, this whole big drama, it was never more than a jerry-rig of presumption and dumb will, and you could just let go. To finally know that you didn't have to hold on so tight. To realize that all your life - you know, all your love, all your hate, all your memories, all your pain - it was all the same thing. It was all the same dream, a dream that you had inside a locked room, a dream about being a person.”

---

ahaaa this one’s particularly rough. evil monkey no one alive dot jpg

“Later, that dozy embrace solidified in his memory as the single moment of artless, charmed happiness in their separate and difficult lives. Nothing marred it, even the knowledge that Ennis would not then embrace him face to face because he did not want to see or feel that it was Jack he held. And maybe, he thought, they’d never got much farther than that. Let be, let be.” - annie proulx, brokeback mountain

---

a TRIPLE lyrical whammy!

- harrow’s words to gideon in the dream are a bit of a vague reference to the song ‘adventures in solitude’ by the new pornographers (”we thought we lost you/welcome back”) - gideon’s words to harrow are a reference to the song ‘blush’ by wolf alice (”you’ve got two hands to take all you can/but don’t take too long”) - what harrow texts to gideon is a line from ‘about today’ by the national, aka the most devastating song ever written (”hey, are you awake?/yeah i’m right here”...)

---

i CANNOT find a clip of it but harrow’s repetition of “life is short... it’s short” was me paraphrasing from memory a line from pride (2014), because i am the worst

---

spooky scary skeletons! 

“jail for gideon” is obviously a reference to the “jail for mother” tweet that tm also referenced in htn. so, not original in the slightest, but it’s a great tweet

---

one of my favourite tumblr posts

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because naberius tern absolutely would watch rick and morty. he would. i know it in my heart. 

---

and that’s it, i think. hope you enjoyed this horrid little post and my horrid little fic!

[thepaperpanda]

Scream And Shout || Alfie Solomons x Reader

Summary: When reader tries to pull Alfie out of bad habits, he gets pretty mad.

Warnings: Angry Alfie

Words: 1619

Request by: @peakyheckingblinders

Authors: Cass & Rouge

It could have been water in the glass but it wasn't. It wasn't and everyone knew it. Even at three in the afternoon that transparent liquid that was nothing else but vodka and that wasn't even the start of it. There was brandy in his morning orange juice, "just to give it a little kick". If Alfie was ever drinking coffee mid-morning there was whiskey in it too, cream liqueur if he could get it. By dinner time he was slumped in his chair, dribbling between the snores. It really was best to leave him that way, waking him meant him rambling on about the war, about how bad and "fucking shitty those bastards are", about how you were the best woman there in his life that ever was and ever will be.

His workers had already learned that Alfie Solomons wasn't an easy person to deal with; most of time he was moody, nasty, aggressive, impatient and no one could do anything about this.

That afternoon you had no other option then to step into his office, with few papers in your hands, looking at him sleeping onto his desk counter again.

Being the distiller was too much to handle for him sometimes apparently. You walked to his desk, placed documents on the counter and gently poked his shoulder. "Alfie?"

Alfie woke up pretty quickly, no matter what his mind was never all clouded by alcohol. Probably because of the years of "training" in this matter.

"What? What this fuckers fucked up this time?," Alfie muttered and improved himself in the chair to sit in it properly.

You sent him a brief, warm smile and pushed the papers to him on the counter, pointing at them. "You forgot to fill the agreements so I thought I'll remind you about them," you informed sweetly.

Alfie rolled his eyes highly annoyed, he gently rubbed bridge of his nose. Putting on his glasses, Alfie looked at the paper. "That's all nice and sweet, love, but I will do it may be tomorrow. I don't feel like doin' it now."

"But... It's important, our contractors have to get those agreements signed today...," You tried to explain, still smiling gently at him.

Yes, Alfie was a tough man to deal with, even though you were calling him your boyfriend, partner, lover.

Alfie looked at you with a soft frown. His hands were resting on his knees while one of them bounced.

He still wasn't used to you being around him, nagging, reminding him about stuff. It were just roughly three days since you two became an actual thing. He loved you in his own,weird way but so much attention toward him was starting to drive him crazy.

Alfie shook his head and signed the paper. "Fuckin’.... Here. Happy?"

You shifted in place, slowly raising your eyebrows and wrinkling your forehead. "Thank you, Alfie. You don't have to be rude," you told him taking papers in your hands, squeezing them tightly as if from them your life would depend.

He snorted shortly and pointed at you. "You’ve never ever seen me beein' really fuckin' rude before, woman. This is nothing. You done? Because I could use a drink."

"You drink too much, recently," you told him openly, you sounded worried.

Alfie got up from him seat and walked to one of the cupboards to grab a bottle. "Yea, and? It ain't your problem, really, love. Go look for something to do, okay?," He waved his hand at you and soon returned to his seat with bottle in hand.

Instead of doing what he said, you out papers down on his desk and walked to him, you pulled the bottle out of his hands. "Alfie, please," you asked him.

He smashed his fist against the table. "Are you fuckin' kiddin' me!?Give me that fuckin' bottle back and it ain't a fuckin' joke, Y/N!," Alfie roared at you, without really controlling the loudness of his voice.

You blinked but hugged bottle to your front and stepped away from the man. "No," you replied.

"I won't be fuckin' playing with you, woman!," He growled and grabbed the bottle."And never fuckin’ ever do this again,” Alfie warned you. "Now, go and do your fuckin' work, Y/N."

As soon as you felt how your chin trembled, you turned around quickly and rushed out of the room. You grabbed your coat from the hanger, put it on and left the bakery.

On your way back home you couldn't stop the tears from falling down your cheeks.

Meantime Alfie rolled his eyes, women always were too emotional for his liking. "She will be fine," he muttered to himself before opening the bottle.

---------

The rest of the day went normally for Alfie. He sat in his office, dealt with some fuckers, drank. In the end, he dressed up and went home.

"Y/N! Imma home! Where are you?," Alfie asked as soon as he passed the threshold.

There was no response. No light was lit in the house, it was cold still, filled with darkness that peered out at Alfie from any corner.

"Y/N! What the hell is happening?," He muttered, turning on the lights and walking deeper into the house.

Mean time you were sitting on the wooden floor in your shared bedroom, leaning your back against wooden door that were locked from inside with the key you were hugging to your breasts. You couldn't calm down after his sudden outburst, and even though you loved him more than anything else on this world, you were shocked that he could have behaved so awfully towards you.

Alfie looked around the flat confused as hell, you never left the house alone. He checked every room for you until he got to the bedroom, the locked door didn't let him in. That was weird. "Y/N? Are you there, love?," Alfie asked, trying to push the door harder.

"Go away!," You said aloud, sniffing a little.

"Oh, so you are there. What's wrong?," He asked and again tried to push the door. "Why are you hiding there, little one?"

"Just go away!," You repeated weakly. "I don't want you to scream at me again! Go away! Go and spend another evening with your beloved bottle!"

"Come on, I came home to you. Ain't that a nice thing?,” He asked.

"No!" You pulled knees under your chin, a shiver ran along your spine as you did. You were trembling both in and out. You were being in despair. You took a deep breath to pull yourself together, you got up slowly after awhile and unlocked the door to let him in.

Alfie watched you opening the door, he honestly started to feel bad when he saw you fully. You didn't look good, you looked scared. Such a look he always saw on his enemies' faces, he never wanted to see it on your rosy cheeks. It simply didn't suite you at all. "Love...," Alfie said, slowly stepping inside the bedroom.

"Don't come any closer, Alfie," you warned him by raising your hand and pointing your index finger straight ath im. "Don't you come any closer."

Then you walked to the window and sat at the wide windowsill, peeking at the street throughout the curtain.

"Love, please," Alfie said softly walking closer to you. His hands gently rested on your shoulders. "I am sorry.”

You shivered and squeaked a little at his touch and even though it was a good feeling, yet it made you dizzy.

Alfie moved his hands away. "Y/N, please. I ain't gonna hurt you, love. You are too important for me."

"And yet you didn't have any objections before screaming at me."

"I was just angry, you know me. My temper is short, really short," Alfie explained looking at your reflection in the glass. "I am really sorry, love."

"I only wanted to help you. I wanted you to realize that you drink too much and care too less," you whispered barely moving your lips.

"I know, love," he let out a sigh. "I am really sorry, you are right and I am just an old fool."

You tilted head on the sides lightly, looking up at him.

He looked at you sadly. "I am really sorry, love. I might be rough, harsh, dangerous, I don’t doubt it, but there are things I would never do. Hurting you is one of them," Alfie explained.

You sighed and nodded at his words, you slowly got up and grabbed his rough palm in yours.

"I didn't mean to scare or hurt you. I would never let this happen," he said softly watching you. "I ain't used to love, it's still a new thing for me."

"Love being a new thing to such an old and experienced man like you? That's funny," you managed to smile at him bluntly as you teased his palm with your nail.

"I am experienced in many things, love. Murder, crime... And many other bad things," Alfie shrugged and looked at you. "And you are the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"Stop it or I'm going to believe it," you said as you nuzzled face to his chest.

"But it's fuckin' true," Alfie said before wrapping arms tightly around you. "I love you, Y/N. I would never hurt you."

"Prove it," you whispered and looked up at him.

Alfie smiled softly and pulled you into the kiss. It was slow and tender, your tongues danced together in a soft rhythm. After longer moment the pulled away, looking you in the eyes. "Is it a good proof, love?"

Blushing hardly you nodded your head. "It is. So, let's go to the kitchen. The supper still needs to be made."

Pandies🐼: @imidarogerson @grossograsso @thewildgardensstuff @leven-and-ashley @la-verdura @bearded-steve-rogers @sebbystan-plantlover @atuckyismylife @krispyjellyfishzombie @personality-within @haseki-huricihan  @choppedgardenwhispers @vroobelek @lattimelka @chris-beamz @hidden-secrets69 @purepearls @volcanoxxx @kastrup-sofie @mikkal-akasaki @withoutashadowofhope @radbluebirdeagle @marvel-fan-site @smutloversblog @buquete @super-psycho-love69 @tanglesss @peter-sommer @baysidewest @vegemania @philip-stan @chodiusmmm @subwaystunnel @tykorclint @dagger-dragger @kurant @nothing-can-least-forever @oxfordkipem @deliciousbouquet90 @tuptuptup @hellenna80 @karina-marina9 @latimeriaaa @bratko @wurld89 @scott-evans @kiss-me-rouge @ovonel-espaniol @dancing-tacco @ratugadhi @white-tiger-shangrila  @axn69 @eternal-life-awaits @mrs-laura-harmon @artsy-inside @gleeeeees  @darkllaama @jatut @agawux @fuzzy-tigrrr @jrjohnsson2 @maaargoshaaa @dontgetmewrongman @einexx @nwmtagsb @anini71 @secretlygrantaire @kyloren-supreme-ben @infinity-stones-seeker @thehappyspider @wings4life @huxyluxy @dontbeafraidchild @misafiryanki @electronicpatrolcollective​ @thisismysecrethappyplace @aulika @hidden-secrets69 @a-happy-wolf​ @creative-seahorse​ @biologyforliving​

[goji-pilled]

How about a prompt where Chat Noir is called out about his unwanted advances on Ladybug? Or about his behavior during Syren?

Thank you so much for giving me this prompt as I really had a funtime writing this!Tbh I'm very happy with this one and I think it's one of the better things I've written so far though I might have turned this into some very very salty fic that's rather OOC, especially Chat Noir/Adrien. But that's kind of the point so whatever💅

Btw I just want to mention this for people who want to write an angry comment because how dare I write Adrien salt but I absolutely love Adrien to pieces with every fiber of my being.

If you have more salt prompts or any prompts for that matter please don't be afraid to submit them :D

Anyway please enjoy!

A new Chat Noir

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

And with that all the damage Syren caused was undone. The magical ladybugs drained the city, rebuilt what was destroyed and brought back those who weren't able to escape the flood.

From what Ladybug could gather Ondine was reakumatized because someone wouldn't stop flirting with her boyfriend even though both of them made it clear how they're happy together. Of course Hawkmoth used her feelings against herself and sent his akuma which transformed Ondine into Syren once more.

And of course it was another akmua Ladybug fought on her own since her supposed partner had been refusing to help her for weeks now until she'd finally admit she loves him too.

As much as it hurt that her partner is abandoning her, she was at least still able to defeat the akumas even if she needed a temporary hero or many hours more than usually.

And just like that Chat Noir finally "joined" Ladybug once she was done with comforting Ondine. "So are you finally going to accept that we're made for eachother?", he asked with a smug grin probably thinking she'd finally give in.

Well that wasn't what she's about to give in for. Ladybug took a deep breath to calm herself down. She really didn't want to deal with him anymore, it's not like that Lila is already making her civillianlife hell but Chat Noir making her herolife this complicated really wasn't something she needed on her plate as well.

"Alright listen here Chat Noir.", Ladybug started, her voice was filled with calm anger, "I'm going tell you this one last time. I am NOT in love with you and you're continuous flirting and asking me out on dates is making me uncomftable. And you're ignoring your duties as a hero! Countless people died today!"

Chat Noir shrugged her off as if what she said was some kind of bad joke. "Bugaboo we're soulmates! We love eachother and everyone sees that but you! Besides your miraculous cure brought these people back."

Did she just heard him correctly? Did Chat Noir just shrugged off her feelings and the countless deaths that Hawkmoth caused today? Anger built up inside of her and this time Ladybug wouldn't hold back, "How dare you! How dare you act as if MY feelings don't matter! How dare you play off the serious damage that comes with drowning to death and remembering every damned second of it! These people are traumatized because they died a slow painful and fear filled death and you are standing here throwing a tantrum beause I won't date you?! How fucking dare you."

And then he didn't say anything. Of course he didn't now that he was confronted with his mistakes. It's something she was ised to by now seeing as how Adrien acts the same way.

While all of this happend a lot of people gathered around the heroes with one of them being Alya who was livestreaming the whole thing. Despite how Ladybug was no fan of the Ladyblog anymore, she had to admit that maybe this time it could be helpful for one last time so that the people would learn the truth about Chat Noir and their beloved "ladynoir" ship.

With a beep of her earrings the heroine was reminded how she'll detransform soon so Ladybug took off without another word.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Chat Noir muttered the words to trigger his detransformation as soon as he jumped through the window of his room. Adrien now stood in Chat's place and started to angrily pace around his room. "I can't believe her! Why won't she understand?! We're soulmates, destined to be together!", Adrien growled. He was getting frustrated with Ladybug's stubborness.

The blond heard his kwami mumble something. "What was that Plagg?", he asked.

"I said I can't believe YOU!", Plagg hissed. He flew towards Adrien with a furious expression. "Adrien I was hoping you'd see your mistakes, I was hoping after Ladybug called you out on your behavior you would finally see your wrong ways but NO! Nothing! You blame everyone but yourself for your mistakes.", the kwami's voice became a little softer at the end and his expression was now pleading. "Please Adrien...try to understand that you're no better than your stalking fans right now. You're not acting like a hero anymore...not as Chat Noir and not as Adrien. You let people day today just like during Syren's first appearance.

You abandoned you partner and you did the same thing to pigtails. Both we're counting on you and you left them both. Please try to see how wrong all of this is..."

Adrien looked away for a moment just to make an angry frown, "That she's all alone is Marinette's own fault, she could've just taken the high road! And Ladybug wouldn't have to fight alone if sh-"

"- ENOUGH!", Plagg yelled. "God kid...I was too easy on you...I thought...what does it even matter now. This has been going on for far too long. Adrien your continuous harrassment of Ladybug and ignoring of you're hero duties is leaving me no choice.

You were the best Chat Noir I had...I'm sorry kid.", the tiny god now sounded bitter and shook his head. He stretched out one of his paws.

Adrien on the other hand was confused what was happening now. Plagg never had been this snappy no matter the situation and what was that about him having been the best Chat Noir so far? Adrien meant to ask his kwami about that and so many other things that swirled around in his head but never got the chance to do so as Plagg was faster in speaking up than him, "Adrien Agreste I, Plagg kwami of destruction and bad luck, deem you unworthy of wielding my miraculous or any miraculous ever again!"

Just like the ring on Adrien's hand started to just slip off his finger, nothing Adrien tried helped as the miraculous magically became to heavy and eventually fell on the floor. Desperatly he tried to grab the silver ring lying on the floor shimmering in the sunlight.

While Adrien failed to move the jewel even barely an inch, Plagg on the other hand easily picked it up. The green light shone for a moment and the ring was back in it's normal state in which it was black with the green paw on it.

"I'm sorry, I really am kid."

The teen's eyes widened as he gasped in shock and finally understood what happened just now. Plagg just took away his miraculous, his freedom, the only freedom he truly had.

"You can't do that! I'm Chat Noir! That's my miraculous and you can't take that away from me!", Adrien screamend in his rage.

Plagg just stared at him before phasing through the window and leaving Adrien behind.

Was the kwami happy with this?

No, not even in the slightest but Plagg had to think about Marinette and Paris. Tikki's bug deserves a partner she could trust and Adrien refused to be that. It's not like he gave the boy more than enough chances. Luckily the small god already had someone in mind to give the ring to. Someone that knew Marinette's struggle with her class and Lila, someone that suffered from the brat just like her and lost their girlfriend because of her, a person that was one of the few friends the girl had left and someone who had experience with heroing.

Now Plagg only needed to find them. Easier said than done.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"What do you think Tikki?", proudly Marinette showed off her newest design to her kwami.

"Oh Marinette this is wonderful!", Tikki gushed in return.

Ever since Marinette let out everything she supressed in the matter of Chat Noir a few days ago she seemed happier. Like a huge burden was taken off her shoulders.

Too bad that an akuma alert interrupted Marinette's creative spree.

"Let's see if that cat is gonna help this time...or show up at all...", the ravenette muttered when she rolled her chair away from her desk.

Once transformed Ladybug made her way to where the akuma was spotted, a woman that was akumatized into a villain that creates gigantic vines and had the ability to control plants. After she made sure no civilians were in the area Ladybug was observing the akuma in order to find a strategy to defeat Hawkmoth's newest villain.

A soft thump caught Ladybug's attention and for a brief moment she wondered if maybe Chat Noir finally saw his mistakes and as soon as she turned around she was indeed met with a pair of catlike green eyes, yet it was one that didn't belong to her a partner but a new cat hero.

"I'm the new Chat Noir.", he nervously said but smiled at her nonetheless. He held out a hand for her to shake. Carefully she shook his hand and returned his smile. "It's nice to meet you Chat Noir. I'm looking forward to working with you."

His voice gained some confidence before he replied, "I'm looking forward to working with you too Ladydude."

[headoverjojo]

Hi can I have scenarios of how Bruno’s gang will react to an s/o that can play multiple instruments how will they react ?

Hi there darling! Sure thing :3 here we go!!

Bruno’s gang reaction to their s/o who can play two or more instruments

(Under the cut for length!)

Bruno Bucciarati

Bruno would be amazed. it’s not something so common or easy! it’s already hard to master one instrument, but more than one? It’s amazing. Bruno didn’t think he could appreciate more his s/o, and here they are, more incredible than ever. bruno would be their first supporter and fan, always going to their concerts and, if he can, coming to pick them up from rehearsals. He knows it’s hard, so he wants to be here for them as much as he can!

Right because it’s so hard, sometimes it happens that they feel down, more tired than usual. Sometimes, maybe after a harder rehearsal, they even break down, throwing out, with tears, their tiredness. Bruno’s heart breaks when he sees them like this and he’s immediately at their side, hugging and consoling them. he lets them vent and ramble as much as they want, while gently caressing their back. When they’re calm again, he softly speaks, telling them that it’s fine to feel down, sometimes; they’re human, after all! And that in every moment, high or down, he’ll be here for them, making them smile even in a so demotivating moment.

Leone Abbacchio

Even if he never played an instrument, Abbacchio has an amazing ear for music. He may now know all the technical terms, but, oh, he can recognize a well played piece from a mediocre one. And his s/o can play so damn well… Abbacchio already admires them for this; the surprise when he finds out they play more than one instrument is enormous! And with it, his admiration for them spikes up to new heights. They’re truly amazing, a gift to this world…

Soon, he gets involved in their rehearsals at home right due to his incredible musical ear. He can immediately hear id a note is not ok and, thanks to him, they can can get better and better. Abbacchio never misses one of their concerts, smiling proudly in the dark. That’s his G/N! And, since he appreciates music so much, when he feels down, his s/o plays for him one of Monteverdi’s pieces, softly smiling when he lifts his head and comes to them, attracted by the known melody; he usually sits near them, watching how their fingers graciously run on the instrument, mesmerized by their talent and personal interpretation of the piece. It’s pure magic… and it always manages to brighten his mood. Only they can do it!

Guido Mista

Mista loves simple things from life, things which can be easily found everywhere without being cheap or trash. Music, good music, is one of those; it brings joy and it can be easily purchased. The surprise when he finds out about his s/o’s talent is immense! He admires a lot who can do something as playing an instrument, but playing two or more? it’s incredible!! Even the Pistols show excitement, while they sit on their head and shoulders, to better listen to and watch them playing. it’s so mesmerizing and wonderful!

Mista is a cheerful and proud cheerleader. At their concerts he’s the one who applauds the loudest and who starts standing ovations. Even if it may seem exaggerated, his enthusiasm is sincere; he just loves to much what they do! And he wants to always remindig them how talented they are, even, and especially, when they’re feeling down and unmotivated. He knows it may happen, that they can’t always feel up and bright, especially when they’re tired to the bones after a rehearsal. But they don’t have to worry! Mista’s here to remind them of all their progresses and successes, that this low moment will pass and that it’s right to take a small break! They’re human, not a machine!

Narancia Ghirga

When he was in a bad place, emotionally speaking, music had been one of the few things that could make him smile even when he would have wanted just to curl and cry. Music has a special place in his life and he admires every person who works hard to realize it, even if it’s not a genre he listens to; so, when he finds out that his s/o can play not one, but two or more instruments, he’s dying of happiness. He never imagined that the two things that brings him so much joy, his beloved s/o and music, could be so tightly tied! It’s the best day of his whole life!

Even if it’s not his favourite genre, he happily listens to them playing at home or when they’re in concerts. He loves to see and feel all the passion and dedication they put in their execution, and then to see how they’re paid back with the right admiration and success! He sees the effort and time his s/o puts in music, in playing and playing until they can master a piece to perfection; he sees also the other face of music, the one with low and unmotivated moments, when his s/o is tired to the bone and still practice, when they feel so stressed and anxious before a concert… and he’s always here for them, to encourage them and to bring a bit of light and positivity in moments which are nothing but dark. He’ll never let them down!

Pannacotta Fugo

Fugo had to learn to play an instrument too, when he was a child. His parents wanted him to learn how to play violin; he discovered the joy of playing, however, just some time after he was in Bruno’s gang. Before, it was just a duty to please his parents. However, despite this, he always loved music, in particular classical music, so he’s happy to know that his s/o knows how to play an instrument too! His happiness, however, doubles when he finds out they can play more than one instrument! He knows by experience how hard it is to master just one instrument, but two or more… it’s amazing!

Right because he knows how hard and tiring can be to learn how to play an instrument, Fugo is nothing but extremely supportive to his s/o. If they play the same instrument as him, he plays with them, exercising together; if not, he’s up to play duets with them, if this can help them to exercise properly. He’s ready to do everything he can to help them and to relieve them at least a little from the intense stress that could derive from exercises and concerts! He’s always here also for their concerts, always in the first row, smiling at them and applauding when they have successfully ended the concert. He never stops to praise them and to remind them of all their successes and progresses… they have to know that they’re incredible and appreciated!

Giorno Giovanna

Giorno admires every kind of talent. He admires hard work, dedication, efforts; his s/o has talent, yes, but they also spend a lot of time cultivating it, they put a lot of effort and dedication in it and this is what Giorno admires: how they never gave up and always tried, tried and tried until they managed to master not one, but two or more instruments, something incredible that requires talent, of course, but, more than anything else, a strong determination and willpower. Giorno can’t help but to admire them so much!

Giorno knows how important is to have the right amount of support and love when someone’s doing something so hard and energy depriving as playing every day more instruments, so he’s going to be their first supporter and fan, no matter what happens. He happily listens to them playing at home, when he sees they are starting to feel tired he stops them to make them take a break, ignoring their protests with a “If you don’t take care of yourself properly, you can’t play at your best.”; he has just their well being in his mind. He also is here to support them if they feel down, listening to their vents and cuddling them to calming them down; with his constant support, there’s nothing they can’t do! Even learn how to play one more instrument…

[poppymuses]

@scnsei gets a f*cking book B)

There were always whispers among the servants. He hears them speaking, voices hushed and low, lest they be overheard by the royal family or the nobles that the whispers were typically about. Lu Ten had always been keen on listening to them. Oftentimes, silly rumors about the latest meeting, or some even about himself, had brought him a sense of relief to feel his tender age of seventeen. There were even a few late nights, where they’d stood around in the kitchen together: the crown prince and new, young servants, close to his own age, telling stories, gossiping, even laughing.

Now, he hesitates around a corner, having backtracked when he’d heard a certain name. He wonders, perhaps, if the group knew he hovered nearby. Lu Ten bites down on his lip at the words he hangs onto-- “crown prince’s tutor” and “execution”.

He swears his heart stops before he takes off, looking as calm and composed as ever, even as a sickness overtakes him, and he heads towards his bedroom, in desperate need of the safety and privacy that could only be brought by a closed door.

It shuts behind him and he presses sweaty palms against the door. He is stuck and desperate for breath. What had he done? Lu Ten had been attempting to be on his best behavior. Had Iruka done something? Said something to the wrong someone? No. No. He would never. Iruka was careful, thoughtful, to protect both of them.

(What was there to say, anyway?)

What could be done? Take the blame for an act (a word?) that he was unsure of?

Oh, how had he let this happen? How had he screwed up so colossally?

With his back to the door, he slides down until he’s sitting, pulling knees close to his chest. His thoughts are racing: what had pushed them over? would he be required to attend? forced to watch? if he reacted would Azulon do the same to him?

No--Azulon had never been one to beat around the bush. The way his grandfather referred to him (“my heir”) with such pride (like some prized possession). His treatment of Ozai, it was clear even Azulon would not decry his precious heir; the one beloved by their people, already respected by their generals and admirals. No. Lu Ten would live and he would suffer, if need be; (“there is always a lesson to be learned.”). 

He stands on legs that shake beneath him and begins making his way down corridors. (What was the lesson?) The servant he’d overheard steps aside when she sees him and bows her head. How did she hear it before him? How much did they know? Had they..?

How did they know everything? He feels eyes on him as he passes, but has no interest in checking to be sure.  How did they always know?

Lu Ten rounds corner after corner until he arrives at a pair of large and exquisite doors, where two imperials firebenders stand guard outside his grandfather’s bedroom. They bow, but show no other signs of acknowledgment but, still, he feels their eyes on him. He knew they gossiped just as well as the servants; the only difference was they were quieter about it.

His life was on display from the moment he was born, it hardly belonged to him. It was a spectacle for others to view.

His lifts a hand to knock.

And stops.

Fist rests against wood. The guards don’t move, they say nothing and he owes no explanation. He is their Prince, after all.

He offers something anyway.

“I need a moment.”

Heads turn, the guards exchange a look, trying to decide if the prince is asking them to leave. What was he doing? What could he possibly say? He had envisioned this a thousand times. Begging, pleading, in horrible desperation to spare Iruka’s life, all for reasons he could not fully explain. Reasons he did not want to explain. What happened between the two of them, whatever emotions passed between them, was no one’s business but their own.

Would it come to that? Would he go that far? 

Lu Ten takes a breath, straightens his back, and knocks. Armor clinks as the two face forward again.

“Let him in.”

Azulon’s voice through the doors turns his stomach. A guard obliges, opens the door for him, and closes it behind him.

He walks, head buzzing, the room fuzzy around the edges, towards his grandfather. It’s easy for him to forget how old the Fire Lord really is; he looks a different man now, sitting up in his bed, reading over scrolls, versus the powerful man who ruled with no mercy in the war room. Azulon does not look up as Lu Ten approaches him, but with a simple wave of his hand, the boy stops.

“You have got nerve to disturb me without first requesting my presence, Prince Lu Ten.”

His grandfather’s golden gaze finally flicks towards him. The malice in the man’s face is not present in his eyes, he looks almost....amused? Lu Ten swallows and kneels, arm resting on his raised knee and head bowed in typical greeting. “My apologies, Fire Lord Azulon. I had no intention of interrupting--”

“Yet, you have decided to. Tell me what it is you want.”

Lu Ten lifts his head. Azulon did not like being kept waiting, and the prince realized as soon as their eyes meet that he had not prepared a word of what he intended to say. He’d always been quick witted, sharp and able to roll with whatever came his way, but he hesitates for a brief moment: knowing Iruka’s life rests in his hands, but in that moment, the look in Azulon’s eyes changes. The humor gone, replaced by certainty--smugness and anger rolled into one.

This was an expected visit.

The last lesson Azulon had taught him--restraint, was one he had learned well. The burns across his shoulder blades a constant reminder. His time with Iruka had been filled with nothing but restraint as his feelings towards the boy morphed into something entirely new to him. Lu Ten had dreamt of gentle hands wrapping his bandages, of smiles and whispers, of kisses while lying underneath his favorite tree in the city.

His voice, formal, confident, lacks the emotions that his pounding heart tells him. The room grows hotter as his body temperature increases, a nervous habit he’d never gotten control of. 

“I wonder what crime my tutor has committed to deserve death. We have only executed traitors and deserters in the past, My Lord. Is there something he has done to deserve such punishment?”

He had taken Iruka there every time the pair had a chance to be together outside of the palace; they had taken to taking walks together on the days they had class together. They shared no kisses beneath the tree, but had laid apart, fingers just barely touching in the grass.

There was no one around. No one to see.

Azulon’s smile is dark.

Had he done this?

(Oh, how he wanted to kiss Iruka then.)

“Is distracting my heir not treasoness?” A pause. “Did I not warn you to restrain yourself, Prince Lu Ten? You think I have not noticed? That this common boy has made you soft. I have looked away long enough while you have conducted yourself so brazenly.” The elderly man’s brows have knitted together, and Lu Ten sees Fire Lord Azulon as he is in the War Room once more. No mercy. 

“You think I have no seen the way you behave?” He scoffs. “I have shown both you and this boy mercy for allowing it to go on this long. He has no place here. I allowed you to sully yourself with the company of servants--” Lu Ten’s eyes close and he is bowing his head again, lower than before. He can hear the sneer in his grandfather’s voice without looking. “Oh, do not play shy now. You are my heir, the son of the Dragon of the West, and you will behave as such. I have seen you seek out the servants for company and thought nothing of it. Your father did the same as a boy. Now, whatever spell he has on you will be broken.You will be there. And you will give the orders to-”

“No..!”

The word leaves before he can stop them. His head snaps up from the shock, brown eyes wide. Azulon looks pleased to have caught him so off guard. “Grandfather, I--” he feels sick. Their eyes meet, Lu Ten’s chest is heaving as panic settles in. Oh, spirits, please don’t make him give the orders. Not Iruka. “Fire Lord Azulon,” he corrects himself; this was not a chat amongst family members. This was a private political meeting.

Lu Ten had the keen feeling that he did not take to being called grandfather the way he did to being called Fire Lord. He was Fire Lord Azulon first and foremost. The slip-up had clearly made him angry.

“What is the problem, Prince Lu Ten? You have ordered other men to their deaths, have you not?”

Head falls lower, his knee drops, and Lu Ten bows lower still, until his forehead is pressed against the marble of the floor. “Please, Fire Lord Azulon. Let the boy live. I’ll do anything.”

The heat around the room swells once more: candles, this time. The flames grow, brighten the room, and Lu Ten clenches his eyes shut tighter. Lu Ten’s anxious mind merely warmed the room, enough to make one sweat, but Azulon’s anger had scorched men in the past; had scorched his own grandson just a few months prior. “The time for doing anything has passed! You have had your chance.”

No. No, no, no, no.

“I had only shared the information a few hours ago and you race here to change my mind? That behavior is not befitting of the future ruler of my nation. The boy makes you weak!”

Lu Ten’s thoughts drift briefly to his grandmother, a woman long gone before his birth. He had never known her, rarely heard talk of her, beyond knowing that his own father had been named for her: Ilah and Iroh. Surely his grandfather must have had some fondness for her. Some love.

“I beg of you, Fire Lord Azulon. Anything at all. I swear to you, I’ll never see him again. All contact will cease immediately.” He presses his head against the cool marble, focuses on it. Cool against the increasing hot room, he was unsure which of them was the blame for it. Tears swell behind closed eyes and he lets out a shaky breath.

If never seeing Iruka again meant he would live, Lu Ten would suffer the remainder of his life in silence, but it was one promise he would keep.

Tears roll out the corner of his eyes, but he does not look up, cannot allow him to see him like this. “You should not be seeing him outside of your class or any supervised sessions at the palace. You truly must believe me to be a fool to not know the things you do. My mind is made up. The commoner will be put to death and you--”

“Please, no! Is it not punishment enough that I won’t see him, when you know what he means to me?” His voice raises but it cracks and quivers with fear. Desperation. He’s running out of ideas. The hands, flat in front of him, curl into fists and shake. What has he got to offer? 

He does not know what Iruka means to him (goodness, kindness, in a world that has shown him very little). The way his heart felt the first time he watched Iruka talk with Zuko and Azula. It was that moment he realized he wanted to run away with them; just the four of them. His cousins, safe and happy, away from their father. All of them away from Azulon. When had he come to despise his grandfather?

“I will be by your side, I swear it. I am your heir. I have proved my loyalty to you time after time and I will do it again. I will follow in your footsteps, in my father’s footsteps. Allow me this one thing, I beg of you, Fire Lord Azulon. I will not ask you for one more thing. I will not let you down again.”

No more weakness. No more mercy.

Azulon had risen without him noticing until the footsteps near. This is too familiar. His body tenses, preparing for what happened the last time he had bowed his head so low (his back aches at the thought).

“Your weakness is like that of Fire Lord Sozin, towards the end of his life. How will you prove this to me, Prince Lu Ten? That you will not go back to your ways when I am gone.” He pauses as though he had just come up with the idea, but Lu Ten knows him well enough to know that the next words have been prepared all along. “Shall I send word to your father, to ensure he keeps you in check? Or perhaps it is better to just handle the issue at hand now, as I have said.”

He dares not look up. Think, think, think, Lu Ten, you fool. What had he to offer to the most powerful man the world had known?

“General Iroh told me when he was a boy he dreamed of taking Ba Sing Se. We will take it for you, Fire Lord Azulon. I will take it for you.” He had been training to join the military. He could outdo his father’s strongest men. He had been born to fight, to burn, to conquer like his forefathers before him. His voice steadies as he goes along: strength and confidence returning. He could do this.

“You said it was my destiny to finish the war Fire Lord Sozin started. I will finish it in Ba Sing Se. Let the boy live. That is all I ask, and I will give you everything.”

[nikkalia]

Storytime with Auntie Dragon: Betrayal edition

Gather round, children, it’s time once again for “Storytime with Auntie Dragon.” Today’s episode: NYC & Betrayal, a tale of adventure, excitement, and how a certain actor is seemingly easily impressed with modern technology. Hey, it’s pretty snazzy stuff…

We begin our tale at the dawn of November. Your dear Auntie D had just purchased a house, and because closing fell in such a way that I had no housing payment in November, there was some spare cash to be had. A friend of mine who lives in the UK (@mrshiddleston-uk) had been talking about her upcoming trip to the states to see our beloved Mr. Hiddleston in his Broadway debut, and after careful scouring of countless calendars, I decided that the Boychild could miss a day of school to make the trip and decided to go. Another friend ( @silverink-goldenlies) came along for the ride and the trip was set. 

THE TRIP: Bloody hell, why is it every time I drive north, roads are torn up? I mean seriously. I spent more time on the brakes because of construction than I did with the cruise control engaged. For 698 miles! I did not, for those who may be curious, drive up I-95. Oh, the hells to the NO. I have driven that stretch of disaster quite enough to know that it’s a toss-up as to whether you get Hell on earth or a multi-lane, multi-hour parking lot. And that’s just around Richmond. D.C. is worse. Much. Worse. But I digress…

I-78 is (mostly) a beautiful drive. Lots of mountains, rolling hills, farmland, all that. From southern Virginia up through parts of New Jersey, there are lots of farms. LOTS of farms. With cows. And steers. And horses. And even an alpaca - dude had a long neck. Somewhere along the way, every time we passed a farm with cows, @silverink-goldenlies would just blurt out “cows.” In the middle of a conversation, “cows”.  Passing silence for miles and suddenly, “cows.”

And occasionally, “cows. And horses.” The boy child would even chime in now and again. 

THE ARRIVAL: We made it to NYC around sunset. When we were 25 miles or so out, I spied the city skyline and told @silverink-goldenlies to look out the window. Poor thing was so excited I think she almost cried. We took the Lincoln Tunnel into the city because I missed an exit. Which reminds me, Google Maps, get your turn-by-turn shit together. I spent more time on the road than necessary due to a lack of “in 500 feet, turn here.” Waze doesn’t treat me like that. It just crashes. And Waze has Cookie Monster voice. Anyway…Lincoln Tunnel. That was fun, kinda. I kept having flashbacks of Independence Day with the fireball coming up the tunnel following the alien attack. Not cute.  

We emerged in the city and I very quickly learned that upstate NY driving is totally different than NYC driving. I lived in Albany for a couple of years, and in upstate, you can use your signal and mostly expect someone to let you in, or at least get out of the way. Not NYC. Nope nope nope. You signal, insert the front fender of your car and hope the person you’re essentially cutting off is paying attention. It only took one missed turn (thanks Google) for me to learn the ways of the natives and navigate correctly through the city. Which I did successfully. At rush hour. Praise Asphaltia, Goddess of the Road. 

Cows.

NYC: After a night of bullshit sleep thanks to the rock-solid beds of the LaQuinta - Queens, our party was up and in the city by 9:30 am. I’ve always had this mental image of NYC being small because of how tightly packed everything is. My friends, that is absolutely not the case. The city is M A S S I V E in both size and scope. I was totally a tourist, videoing everything in Times Square and looking up like I expected the sky to fall. I learned something I never knew, and never really thought about: they leave the big crystal ball on top of the building after New Year’s. It’s sitting up there, pretty as you please, changing colors all year long. Who knew?

We hit the highlights of Manhattan like my son speed runs through Dark Souls. Times Square, Hard Rock New York, the M&Ms store (3 floors…3 FLOORS of chocolatey goodness), one of two Lego stores, and Rockefeller Plaza. The tree is up, but not on display. I need them to slow down on the trimming it back. There won’t be any tree left, and it’s looking a little scrawny, to begin with. Ice skating was in full effect, but we didn’t go. I knew I had a show and another 10-hour drive back to NC to get through, and doing it on a seriously bruised ass would not have been a good look.

Noon hits and we head back towards the Jacobs theatre. By the time we got there, the box office was open and there was already a line. Thank the gods for online purchases. Easy in, easy out. Around 1 pm, we met up with the lovely @mrshiddleston-uk and attempted to get lunch at some Irish pub. @mrshiddleston-uk briefed us on all things stage door and helped to craft a plan of attack to get the best spots for meeting the cast. The line to get into the theatre was already formed and growing by the time we decided to bail on the never appearing food. 

THE JACOBS THEATRE: This is a gorgeous space. The theatre is on the small side, but I genuinely believe that there isn’t a bad seat in the house. We were in the balcony house left and could see every bit of the stage. Beautiful architecture, comfy seats - if not a little (LOT) short on the legroom - and a pretty chandelier made the place feel cozy and warm. The staff was wonderful as well. I’d totally see another show in this space. 

BETRAYAL: So here’s the part you all came for, right? Right. Cows. To be honest, I’d never heard of Harold Pinter before Tom Hiddleston took the role in the London production, much less read any of his work. I didn’t know what to expect except for what I’d heard from @mrshiddleston-uk after her viewings of the London show. The concept of the show is intriguing enough - following a love triangle in reverse order with a minimalist set and lighting design. I’m a tech nerd anyway, so I was excited to see how well this would work. 

Oh. My. Goddess. This show was AMAZING. It’s been a very long time since I’ve been to a show that totally sucked me in to the point that I was actually invested in the story. Betrayal did just that. From the moment the curtain rose (more on that in a sec) until the stage went black, I was sucked into the world of Robert and Emma and Jerry and how the affair went from disintegration to conception. I have absolutely no sympathy for any of these characters at the end of the day. They are all seriously flawed and have caused themselves the pain that they experience in this story. But, that’s what makes good drama, right?

The sheer lack of set made it easier to pay attention to the actors and the script, which is a huge perk in this game of verbal tennis. The characters go from normal speech patterns to the famed Pinter pauses to this back and forth without missing a beat (or a syllable) that will make your head spin. The boychild told me later he found it a little hard to follow, which is understandable if you’re not used to hearing it in an English accent. 

There was a lot of play with light and shadow in this show. It’s no secret that all three actors are on stage for the duration of the play, with the “odd man out” lurking somewhere in the shadows. It was thrilling to see, to be honest, because you catch yourself looking around to see what the odd man is doing while the two in focus characters are speaking. Robert standing against the back wall facing the wings; Emma curled up on the floor eating an apple; Jerry sitting off the side with his back against the back wall. All making little gestures or motions that hint at what that character is experiencing in that moment in time. 

Even the shadows themselves told a part of the story. The sharper focused shadows cast by Robert and Emma when she confesses the affair created a tension that doesn’t exist when Robert is lurking in the background of scenes involving Jerry and Emma or Emma hiding almost when Robert and Jerry are in the forefront. I found myself watching the shadows in this scene more than the actors themselves. It’s that intense. 

One other tech geek note: the back wall moved. Now, I’ve seen plenty of moving sets. Hells, I’ve moved a few in my time. But this simple change had a tremendous impact. When the wall moved forward, it cuts the surface area of the stage down to 1/8th of what it was at the beginning. It puts the confession right in your face. You can’t get away from it, just as the characters can’t. There’s nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. They, and you, just have to deal with it. Absolutely brilliant on the part of the designers. Enough about the sets, or lack thereof. Cows. I could go on all day. 

THE CAST: We’ll start with Zawe Ashton. She’s a perfectly lovely woman, all smiles and bubbly at the stage door, very sweet. I don’t know that I like her as an actress. Or maybe I don’t like her character, Emma. I haven’t really decided yet. But, if there was a downside to this show, she was it. Her laughter was fake to the point of cringy, and there was something noticeably self-absorbed about her on stage. The other thing I noticed is that she was never standing or sitting straight. She was always twisted, curled up, or otherwise contorted in some fashion, and that gave me a twitch. An acting choice? Maybe. It would stand to reason that this was some subconscious outward expression of Emma’s mental/emotional state. She struck me as whiny, and maybe a little “woe is me” to boot. My thought throughout the play was, bitch, you got yourself into this. Suck it up.

Charlie Cox as Jerry. Great guy at stage door, seemed to be enjoying the fans. Again, I haven’t read the play so I’m not 100% on what Jerry is supposed to be, but Charlie was giving some serious lovesick puppy vibes for this show. And that’s all I got from him. Maybe bits of remorse here and there, but not much. Some great comedic moments, but otherwise, he really didn’t stand out for me. 

Tom Hiddleston as Robert. We’ll discuss stage door in a minute. I’ve worked in the arts and journalism long enough to know that you often hear about how someone “is” but that’s not really who they really are. They pretend to have a presence that doesn’t exist, or they’re not as talented as they, or their agent, would have you believe. And sometimes that “wonderful” actor is really just a prick in real life. Children, I am here to tell you that Thomas William Hiddleston is EVERYTHING he’d cracked up to be.  

When the curtain goes up at the show open, Robert is sitting in a chair, and all you see of him is legs. The man has legs for days…digressing again. Cows. Tom has such a presence that you know exactly where he is. When Charlie and Zawe are sharing their scenes, your eyes can dart straight to Tom. I remember actively looking for Charlie and Emma in scenes they weren’t involved in, just to see what they were doing. Never, ever had to do that with Tom. He was always there, always on the edge of the shadows. 

His performance as Robert is an emotional roller coaster. I watched him run the gamut and back again several times over the course of 90 minutes, and really wonder how the hells he does it every day (and has been since June). No wonder he looks exhausted. He was giving that trademarked smile in some scenes, growling with anger in others (your Loki is showing), and on the verge of tears in still others. I looked down at him during the confession scene and his eyes were brimming, reflecting the bright white light that was shining on him. That one hurt my heart.  Dude can do anything, and I need someone to give him more meaty roles on film. And for the love of the Gods, cast him in a romcom, comedy, something! He’s proven time and again he can act - let him have something besides Loki. 

Disclaimer: I love Loki, don’t get me wrong, but I hate to see talented performers pigeonholed into one role. Tom is so much better than that, as most of them are. 

STAGE DOOR: The show ends, the lights come up, and I can’t get the damn Hard Rock Cafe bag out from between the seats. So this is how it’s gonna go down, eh? WRONG. ANSWER. I get downstairs in record time only to be blocked by old people who can’t decide if they need to pee or not, then distracted by Tom speaking on stage about the fundraiser the theatre is doing. That voice, those long assed legs, and holy hells is the end of the stage right fucking there??? 

FOCUS WOMAN! Cows. Eldery folks having determined that yes, in fact, a stop by the loo is in order, I’m out the door, still struggling with the bag and my coat and not being run over by those who are sprinting to the barricades set up to queue for stage door.  Sprinting. Really? It’s like, 300, 400 feet maybe, from the entrance to the stage door. I wanna have 0.5 seconds in front of Tom too, but damn y’all. It ain’t that serious. 

Secure in our spot upfront and personal by the lovely @mrshiddleston-uk, I got myself squared away and place the Facebook group chat video call. We all agreed that since @firithariel, @igotloki, and @mischeviousbellarina couldn’t be there in person, we’d bring them along digitally. For once, my phone behaved. Did I remember to put them on speaker? That would be a no. 

So, Zawe comes out first, signs programs and chats with fans. She really is adorable. Charlie comes out next and follows the same route, and then the man of the hour (and really the whole point of this trip) emerges in the “uniform”, looking a little frazzled. But, he makes the rounds of autographs, even going so far as to sign a Thanos Funko. 

Really? REALLY? Thanos? How you gonna do my boy wrong like that? Grrrr….. Amusing thing was that Tom really didn’t even acknowledge it, but he looked annoyed by it. 

That’s when Tom got to our merry little band. @silverink-goldenlies showed him the tattoo done by her husband of a Loki helmet with runes surrounded by flowers. He seemed thoroughly impressed with it. I’m next, with our video chat going strong. I asked him to say hi to the girls, and he got a weird look on his face until he saw the phone. He did a double-take, “There are four people on the screen! How did you do that?” We told him about Facebook group chat and where the girls were located. There’s a video floating around Instagram/Twitter of his reaction. It’s entirely too cute. He leaned in and smiled, said hi to them, showed them an autographed program, and handed them to me. He looked me right in the eye for about a second and a half then moved on. I can still see it in my mind, and it makes me smile every time. 

Tom finished the autographs and came back around for selfies. Mine is blurry AF, because of course, it is. It’s the only one I have of him. Maybe I’ll try to fix it in Photoshop. A fucking photographer can’t take a damned selfie. SMH Oh well, you can tell it’s him. @mrshiddleston-uk got some great shots, and I’ll always know I was there, that we spoke, however briefly. 

I’ll spare you the details of the trip home because, well…traffic. And cows. 

And so ends the tale of the very long too short awesome weekend in NYC where I got to meet Tom Hiddleston. 

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[lilithpooped]

Always Be With You - Choi San

Song Request: Always Be With You by Standing Egg

Requested by: @8liralik-armin-albumu

Genre: PURE FLUFF AND ROMANCE

A/n: This song got me all romantic!!!!!! Ahhh, it reminded me of the silent support that comes from a lover. A lover who supports their beloved one from the shadows, silently and fully. I hope you like it 💕 (and I chose flute cuz I play flute and it is a naive and beautiful instrument in my opinion, just like y/n)

“San, I don’t wanna go.” You told him while lying in bed together, the day after your dinner, cuddling.

“I know baby, but you have to.”

“Why would I? I can go on my education here.”

It was a nice, cloudy and rainy afternoon. You two were lying in your bed. Your head was on his chest, he kissed your hair while playing with its strings.

“You know I will never stop loving you..” he mumbled.

“But I’m scared..”

“I know baby, but it will be so much better for you to use this chance. I mean, you have so many classmates and no one got the invitation for that art school except you..”

“But what if I can’t keep up with the students there. That school is one of the biggest ones. Am I enough? Will I ever be enough?”

“Don’t worry, y/n. I believe in you. You’ll be able to create amazing things with them. You’ve impressed me with your skills, you’ve impressed them with your skills.. You’ll be able to impress anyone. You’re more than enough, don’t worry baby. I will always be here, supporting you.”

“But what if we fall apart?”

“I’ll still support you.”

“Do you promise me?”

“Yes, I promise.”

~~~~

You were invited to one of the biggest art schools in world. You were studying music and were very good at playing flute. Of course your talent for it didn’t go unnoticed. When one of your professors told you that you were invited to that college, you literally jumped out of happiness. Your family accepted this news with so much joy and excitement. They even threw a small party for you that afternoon. It was like a fairytale until you realized.. This might’ve meant the end of your 3-year relationship with San. You totally forgot to tell him since he was busy that day and you two hadn’t texted since that morning. It suddenly dawned on you. How would he react? What were you going to do? How were you going to tell him?

You decided to call him over that night and talk to him face to face. You prepared a dinner for two and a nice ambience, and waited for him to come. When finally the door bell rang, you took a deep breath and prayed all Gods for talking to him to be easy.

“Hi babe!” He handed you a single white rose before stepping in. He knew it’s meaning and he always loved to call you his white rose. Instead of the classic red rose, he loved to give you white ones as they symbolized purity, innocence and sympathy. You were as tender and elegant as an angel for him and he always loved to see you with white colored things.

“Hi, welcome baby. Thank you for the rose, it’s beautiful..”

“Not more than you.” He smiled while hugging you and kissing your forehead.

“Are you hungry? Let’s eat. I prepared everything you like.”

“Let’s eat then, thank you.”

You were mostly silent during the dinner and it didn’t go unnoticed by San. He still waited for you to finish eating and tell him yourself.

“San.. I have something I need to tell you.”

“I can see,baby. What is it?”

“Umm, I- I got an invitation for a college in Germany. An art school. One of the best ones..”

“WHAT- OH WOW Y/N!!!! I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WERE SO TALENTED AH I’M SO PROUD OF YOU!! ARE WE CELEBRATING THAT?? YOU SHOULD’VE TOLD ME SOONER I WOULD’VE BROUGHT A GIFT!! Ah I’m so proud of you!”

He stood up from his chair and hugged you tightly.

“I love you so much, I’m so happy! You made me so proud!!” He mumbled in your ear after kissing your hair.

“But, I won’t go..”

He pulled himself back.

“What? Why? Why baby?? What’s the problem ?”

“I realized if.. If I go.. You and I won’t be able to see each other for a long time. I just don’t wanna do this.”

“Y/n! Stop being ridiculous! Do you want me to get mad? Of course you’ll accept that invitation! Of course you’ll go! Do you really think I can sit here and be with you happily, knowing that I caused you to miss such a chance? Have you not learn anything about me? Baby.. I know it will be hard but please.. How can I go on with my life knowing that I caused such a thing? I promise I will always support you even when you’re away! I promise I will be with you even when you’re away!! I will never stop loving you, please don’t decline that invitation. I’ll be fine, please think about your own future..”

“But..”

“There’s no ‘but’, y/n.. Please.. If you stay I will never forgive myself.”

“Will we be okay?”

“Yes.. I promise we will.”

~~~~

Now that he knew you would accept the invitation even though you say you don’t want to, San was aware that this was one of your last afternoons together.

“Yes, I promise I will keep supporting you even if we fall apart one day.”

“Thank you San. You’re always so understanding and so kind to me. I don’t know what would’ve I done if I were in your shoes.”

“You would’ve done the same, baby.”

He tightened his arms around you.

It was a nice afternoon after all..

~~~~

Finally it was the day of your flight. Everyone was there including your family, friends and San. Everyone was happy, smiling. Well, everyone but San. You could see the sadness in his eyes he tried so hard to hide. You believed if you looked at your reflection you could’ve seen the same expression on your face. One by one you hugged everyone leaving San last. When it was his turn, you hugged him so tightly, he laughed slowly but there was something missing in his laugh. The actual joy.. It was missing. You knew it was hard for him too even though he never showed you until that moment.

“San,” you whispered in his ear, “be happy.”

“You be happy too” he whispered back, taking your hair’s smell in one last time.

“I probably won’t be able to come here in this year..” you said.

“I know.”

“San,” you pulled yourself back, and looked in his eyes.

“I want you to be happy with whoever you want.”

“Y/n,” he laughed “you’re being ridiculous again. You know I only want you.”

“I know.. Just wanted to let you know it’s okay for me.”

You kissed him one last time before leaving for your plane. When you turned back to look at all of your beloved ones, you saw San’s back. He was also walking, but to the opposite direction of yours. You took a deep breath and finally left that place.

~~~~

It was a long flight and a tiring one for you. Once you landed, you let everyone know that you arrived safely. And then-

Then you blocked San from all of your social media, you blocked his number,too.

You believed it was the best for both of you. You knew it would be hard for you without san but it would’ve been harder if you tried to keep your relationship going while you’re away. It would hurt both of you. Whenever San saw a couple, he would’ve thought about you and would’ve felt miserable. You knew it, because it was the same for you too. So blocking him out of your life would be letting him find someone to be with him forever and it also would be letting yourself to adapt the new place better. That was what you thought, at least..

~~~~

It had been four years since you left San. Of course the common friends tried to talk to you about it, they tried to tell you about San’s condition in the first year but you never listened. You never turned back to your country for four years, both because of the lack of money and because of San. And it was over like that. Now that you turned back to there for the first time as the main fluttist of an academy’s orchestra, you reminded of San immediately.

It didn’t matter how hard you tried to convince the chef to take another fluttist instead of you, he insisted on taking you and there you were. At the backstage of a theater trying to calm yourself down.

“I will always support you even if we fall apart.”

San’s voice echoed in your ears. Would he support you after so many years? Your mom told you about the posters of the recital and she told you that your name was written in big characters. The posters were everywhere in the city. She told you that all of your friends called her and congratulated her after calling you. She didn’t say anything about San. But he must’ve seen it by now, you thought to yourself.

“Okay, is everyone ready? Let’s go!”

After hearing your chef’s voice, every voice disappeared for you except for your heartbeat.

Would he be there?

Would he support you?

Would he be there for you still after so many years?

You got on stage, reverenced kindly and got your position on stage. You saw every one of your friends clapping crazily, you saw your family with big smiles on their face. But that was all.

He wasn’t there.

You smiled shortly to your friends and family before starting the piece.

It was the first time your hands trembled that much on stage.

It was the fist time your hearth clenched this much.

You closed your eyes and focused on your instrument trying not to mess up with metronome.

First piece ended perfectly. You heard applauses everywhere. It took you a while to bring yourself to open your eyes.

And you saw him as soon as you opened your eyes.

Clapping slowly with a broken smile on his face, there he was.

Applausing from afar.

Away from all of your friends and family..

He was standing there alone.

He suddenly became the only thing you could see in that big theater salon.

You could hardly pick up what he mouthed you.

“Amazing, I love you.”

—————

Masterlist

[catflowerqueen]

While it’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment things went wrong for Darkrai, it can be pretty much be boiled down to three things: people not understanding/liking what his job actually is, the consequences of that whole fiasco with Pupil and her family, and a few lines in the Time Gear Legend.

Darkrai’s job: Darkrai has dominion over nightmares. No one likes having nightmares. These are facts. But what are also facts is that your nightmares can tell you a lot about yourself—things you’re scared of, or what you’re worried about. So, having a nightmare can sometimes be considered a trial run for what’s going on—they aren’t real, but if you know what the worst-case scenario is, it helps you to prepare for the real thing. This could involve something like making contingency plans or extra preparations to realizing how absurd your fear actually is. Think of the Krabby Claw story—no one is terrified of it, at all, because how realistic is that scenario, actually? In theory someone could probably hook up some sort of electrical current to make the nerve endings or muscles of a detached claw contract (like those videos of soy sauce and octopi), and its possible that a ghost-type could possess it, sure, but are either of those scenarios likely? No—and even if they did happen, it would involve outside force acting on the claw.

 Darkrai’s job is to cause nightmares in order for people to learn something from them. He can show worst case scenarios, break down barriers of denial, or make up absurdly scary things with bits of symbolism so that when dawn comes and people stop to think things through, they’ll realize how silly the whole thing really is. On the other hand, non-stop nightmares would help no one, and at a certain point they would be more debilitating than helpful. That’s where Cresselia comes in—she can provide the succor of a good dream to help ensure that people get the rest they need or to act as further supplement to hit Darkrai’s lessons home. And afterwards, both are supposed to be available to help talk things through.

 Because the thing is—neither of them are omniscient. Cresselia does not cause every good dream, and Darkrai does not cause every nightmare. So, if they step in, it’s generally because they’re actually needed and so tend to stick around afterwards if someone needs to talk it through. Though, admittedly, that’s typically more necessary in the case of Darkrai’s gifts, since symbolism is confusing and fears—and fear responses—aren’t necessarily rational. And that very irrationality is a problem, because people, as I’ve said before, don’t like nightmares, and typically aren’t very friendly in response to someone deliberately causing them. Ergo, most people do not like Darkrai, and wouldn’t be open to listening to him.

 Darkrai tried his best, for a long, long, time, but it’s understandable that he got disheartened by it all, especially as issues like jealousy and superiority drove a wedge between him and Cresselia. Mind you, it was a slow process, and Darkrai’s issues didn’t hit the rapid deterioration that led to his canon actions until, oh, roughly a thousand years ago.

 Which leads to the second thing—The consequences of the whole Pupil fiasco:

 I’ve already addressed the basics of what went down there in an earlier post, but, to summarize, a thousand years ago there was an incarnation of the Rainbow Child with the nickname Pupil who came to the Pokémon World with her family so that she could have the chance to relax and de-stress before ascending. But her family, and especially her relationship with her siblings, had some major issues and she and her siblings got into a fight which ended with her falling off of a tall cliff and becoming mortally wounded. This was the first time that a Rainbow Child got so close to dying before ascending, and since no one knew what exactly would happen if that were to occur, Relatia got extremely freaked out and decided that from then on, she was no longer going to bring the Rainbow Child for visits to the Pokémon World, nor was she going to go herself unless she was specifically called.

 This was not a good thing for the psyche/morale of many legendaries left behind—Darkrai included. It also dovetails nicely into the final thing: A few lines of the Time Gear Legend.

 The first line of importance is “Many pokémon came to the Beach—where Relatia and her worshippers had first arrived—to see them off, for they would be greatly missed; especially the Rainbow Child, who was beloved of the legendaries.” The legendaries adored the Rainbow Child, completely and absolutely, and Darkrai was no exception—especially since she actually understood him, and what he was supposed to be doing. They had a special relationship, and—unknown to anyone but him, and the first—he helped her to make some big decisions which impacted a lot of how her role was portrayed and evolved during and after that first visit by Relatia. And even though she couldn’t really remember that in subsequent lives, her feelings about him and his job never changed. He was also one of the legendaries that chose to continually seek her out—or at least to not deliberately hide from her if they happened to cross paths—whenever she came to visit. Others (such as Giratina) deliberately hid, in part because she couldn’t remember their meetings between incarnations and it would have hurt them too much to try and re-forge that bond over and over again. But it didn’t bother Darkrai—or at least, not as much—partially because of the aforementioned thing he helped her with and partially because it was actually rather nice to renew his friendship like that and get to savor and compare differences—and to tell her embarrassing stories about her past lives while still treating her as the unique person she became each new incarnation.

 Her renewed support each time also helped to bolster him when the stress of his duties and all the rejection came to be too much. It’s a tough job… but knowing that she cared, and getting those reminders fairly often since she came around semi-frequently (considering the lifespan of a legendary, even if she only came once per incarnation, it still seemed like she was coming, say, every month or so rather than the actual decades to half century-long breaks in between—because when you live that long, time can honestly become rather meaningless, and its pretty easy to lose track of things like dates, or when the last time you left your lake was *cough* looking at you, Uxie *cough*) helped him keep afloat mentally and emotionally.

 But then the aforementioned Pupil fiasco happened and… well.

 At first it wasn’t so bad—there wasn’t really a hard and fast rule about when those traditional visits happened, just that it had been, up until that point, usually at least once per incarnation. But that meant that the gaps between could be anywhere from thirteen to hundreds of years, depending on when in the Rainbow Child’s life, they came, and how synced up Earth’s time was to that of the Pokémon World’s for any given visit. And sometimes they did have to skip an incarnation, for whatever reason, or some incarnations would come more than once. It was really the finality of it all—since Relatia outright made an announcement that this was the last time she was bringing a Rainbow Child (though, admittedly, it wasn’t like it was widespread or anything—she didn’t go out seeking any legendaries besides maybe Dialga and Palkia, so most people only found out via gossip), coupled with the fact that no legendaries even got to see Pupil before she died, and her prior incarnation only visited once, shortly after her own ascension, and then proceeded to live a very long life, that really impacted everyone’s psyches.

 As Azelf told Corphish (and which we can now fully understand given hindsight and knowledge) “Those two (Relatia and the Rainbow Child) left, and then he (the Golden Child/Mason—because celebi are extremely long-lived, despite me having them be only pseudo-legendaries here, so it is entirely possible that it was, indeed, our Mason who was the incarnation of the Golden Child during that period) became depressed, and then everyone sort of… lost contact with each other.”

 He wasn’t just talking about him, his siblings, and Dialga—every legendary (save for those, like Giratina [again] who more or less deliberately kept themselves out of the loop and away from everyone) was hit with the same thing. Those who tried to keep in contact with each other slowly stopped over time, and any sort of support group Darkrai may have had vanished—due to a combination of his grief, their own grief, and the usual issues he had to face given his duties.

 It’s not too surprising, then, that Darkrai would start to spiral and get a little… desperate. Leading us to the other important line in the Time Gear Legend: “But it was then that the Golden Child made a shocking announcement: he would not be returning with Relatia. Instead, he, along with a handful of other servants, would stay behind to ensure that there would be some way of calling upon Relatia for help if ever tragedy struck the world and she was needed. Relatia was reluctant to part with him, but she agreed that it was a wise idea.”

 In short, the legend promised that if Relatia was needed, someone would call her, and she would come help. And given what the whole Time Gear legend is about in the first place… what’s the most likely reason her help would be needed?

 Darkrai’s intent in damaging Temporal Tower was never to create a dark, paralyzed future. He just wanted there to be enough damage that things would start to get a bit wonky and someone would call Relatia for help. Hopefully, that help would entail her bringing the Rainbow Child along—and even if she didn’t, he wasn’t above begging her to please let her come back to their world, or let him visit Earth, just so he could see her at least once more. But for whatever reason… she didn’t come. No one called her. Maybe it was because he overestimated the damage, or because people forgot about the Time Gear’s true job (or assumed that they would be able to recharge Temporal Tower from afar or something), but the end result was the Dark Future.

 Understandably, this did nothing to help with Darkrai’s growing issues and, in fact, actually made them way, way worse. Much of the reason the pokémon in the Dark World went insane as quickly as they did was probably a combination of Darkrai either accidentally lashing out in his own pain and grief, or doing it deliberately. Maybe at some point he’d half convinced himself that this was what he wanted all along, or that it was some sort of revenge—a, “if they want me to be a monster, then why should I refuse them?” sort of deal.

 But that state didn’t last forever, because eventually… he came into contact with Laura. Because that whole “beloved of the legendaries” deal didn’t only apply to him, and, for some reason that would be unfathomable if he hadn’t tried to do the exact same thing (if in a more indirect manner), a fellow legendary (Primal Dialga) had succeeded where he couldn’t, and brought the Rainbow Child back to the world of Pokémon.

 …A world which, upon further reflection, was actually really, really dangerous for her to be in, for a few reasons, one of which being that ordinary pokémon would not care at all that she was a nascent Rainbow Child, and would not hesitate to attack her… or possibly even kill her… and, oh yeah, it was still up in the air what would happen if a Rainbow Child died before ascension and he really, really did not ever want to figure that out. So, after an initial plan to get her back to Earth failed, he decided to do something which some of the more canny readers (*cough* @citrus-chickadee *cough*) have managed to figure out—he joined Team They Didn’t Have One (much to Grovyle’s initial displeasure) in order to fix his mistakes.

 Initially he—like his teammates—didn’t realize that changing the past would make everyone in the current future disappear. But when they all figured it out, he was rather upset. Not because he was worried about himself or Laura—he’d used Dimensional Holes and things to jump around in time a lot during the initial stages of the world’s deterioration trying to figure out why no one was calling Relatia, so he was technically in the same boat Paula was and would be considered a denizen of the past when it all went down, and he’d already figured out that Laura was from Earth—but because he actually got rather close to Grovyle. Also, considering that this whole situation was his own fault in the first place, Darkrai was definitely feeling guilty, and a bit cowardly, and didn’t want to be the one to pull the actual trigger—even though he totally kept secretly following them around at times, at enough of a distance that neither of them would notice.

 But then, he found out that Laura was planning something really, really stupid, dangerous, and self-sacrificing. He really shouldn’t have been surprised… but he also couldn’t let her go through with it—so he attacked her and Grovyle as they were travelling back in time. He wasn’t aiming for the canon result he got, but he figured that the amnesia would be enough to stop her plans so he just let her be after seeing her safely ensconced in the Wigglytuff Guild and then went to shadow (literally) Grovyle for a little bit to make sure that things were on track as far as gathering the Time Gears went. Then he just basically wandered off and tried to decide what to do with his life, and whether or not he could (or should) try to change Laura back into a human after all was said and done and the world was saved.

 He really, really shouldn’t have been surprised when Laura got involved anyways and things went haywire… and yet he was. The world should feel very lucky that he was too numbed with shock and grief to actually do anything for those few months that Laura was MIA, because if he was in full control of his faculties at the time, he probably would have ended up recreating the Dark Future again, but this time deliberately and with much, much worse results.

 As it stands, when she eventually came back he realized that Relatia may have had a point when she decided to keep the Rainbow Child away from the Pokémon World, so he decided that he was going to do something about it. His initial plan to get her back to Earth way back in the Dark Future might have failed, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try again. It just meant that he needed to use his own power to do so—or, at the very least, to make enough of a mess of space that someone would actually call Relatia this time and he could basically throw Laura at her and get her to fix things and take her back where it was safe. At least… physically, if not mentally.

 Thus, he concocted his post-game plan, which had multiple different parts and directions he could take things if someone started to foil it.

 Ultimately that all failed… but not because of the reasons one may think. Mainly because when Cresselia gave that speculation about what happened to Darkrai given that Palkia attacked him while time travelling… she was basing her assumptions on Darkrai’s words, and what happened to Laura. But the thing is… he wasn’t being entirely truthful on the matter. Also, Cresselia had no idea at the time that Laura was a nascent Rainbow Child—because that does matter.

 Luckily for everyone, Darkrai ended up right where—and when—he needed to in order to give up those sorts of insane plans.

 …Which isn’t to say that he’s given up plotting entirely, or that he isn’t going to show up again…