#so when they kill them off then it's like well at least you had the lgbt+ story at all!

[flowersforthemachines]

Some facts about Lucanis (and also Spite and the Crows) gathered from the banters

I went through all companion banters on DanaDuchy's channel after playing the game to write down all facts about companions/the world that I haven't seen brought up anywhere in the game as a writing reference (and for funsies).

Note: the list isn't 100% exhaustive. I may have missed something or didn't write something down because I had heard about it before or considered it common knowledge. If you think there's something that can be added to the post, please DM me or send an ask! (do specify what banter the information is coming from)

Other characters' posts: Bellara, Davrin, Harding, the rest to be added later this week

About Lucanis: 

Family and the past:

Lucanis learnt to cook while helping the kitchen staff at the villa when he was a little boy. One of his motivations was learning how to make churros

Side note: Lucanis mentions that cioccolata calda was his favourite drink when he was a baby, and he serves churros to a romanced Rook who picks cioccolata calda as their favourite drink. It’s all coming together! 

Lucanis wanted to be a Crow when he was a child (at least most of the time)  

All of Lucanis's relatives were Crows as well, and all of them were killed by a rival Crow house

Lucanis says Caterina would be proud of Illario hiding his plans well, as well as killing her 

Lucanis says that the hard part about setting Illario free would be convincing Caterina 

Lucanis says that nightlife was more of Illario's thing, and he never got out as much

On Crows and Antiva:

Viago still stares daggers at Lucanis for throwing his (Viago's) pet snake out of the window in a dream

Lucanis doesn't like it when people confuse murder and assassination ("Murderers are hobbyists, we are professionals")

Lucanis has taken contracts in Orlais

Lucanis doesn’t know Treviso as well as he once used to 

Heir didn’t train Lucanis

Lucanis says he has never killed an innocent “by his count” (other people may disagree) 

Lucanis doesn’t think of the Crows as a “big organisation” (unlike the Inquisition) because they stab each other too much

Lucanis became a mage-killer at Caterina’s behest (she wanted to tap into new markets)

The nickname “The Demon of Vyrantium” came from Tevinter news-sheets, though Lucanis thinks Viago started it

Lucanis says that there aren't any special tricks to killing mages. Though, if nothing else works, you can try pissing them off, as that could attract a demon that would eat the mage

Lucanis once killed half a dozen venatori while stuck inside an elevator 

Lucanis doesn’t consider himself a gentleman assassin, manners are less important than getting the job done

Lucanis sometimes spares his targets. He mentioned letting go of a servant who killed her master, as well as a 14-year-old boy. He thinks it’s wrong to kill people so young because they still have time to change

Lucanis doesn’t accept contracts without merit, and the merit is decided by the talon of the house

General:

Lucanis can make bread

Lucanis has never been to Ferelden

Lucanis isn’t interested in killing wyverns, just looking at them :)  

Lucanis has a pet snake 

Lucanis stays awake at night by cleaning his gear, exercising, studying Orlesian and knitting ("it’s just another kind of blade work") 

Lucanis doesn’t understand a lot of things people find attractive

(In a conversation with Harding) Thinking about cooking was one of the things that helped Lucanis stay sane in the Ossuary (the other was thinking about killing his enemies) 

(In a conversation with Davrin) Lucanis survived the Ossuary by shutting down and not thinking about anything except escaping

These two points sort of contradict each other. Either an inconsistency or Lucanis describing his experience differently to different people. 

The Wetlands ruined at least one pair of Lucanis’s boots

(If Rook chooses to save Treviso) Lucanis offers to pay for any supplies the Shadow Dragons may need 

Lucanis doesn't get a better bed because he's afraid of accidentally falling asleep 

Lucanis can identify the killer’s weapon and the height difference between them and the target just through the blood splatter left at the scene

Lucanis considers Grey Wardens dangerous 

Lucanis doesn’t like necromancy, because bringing people back to life is a waste of hard work

Lucanis finds the ice coffee from Minrathous offensive (Harding describes it as “snow, but made of coffee, sweet, and with cream and toffee sauce on top”)

Lucanis had never been in a romantic relationship before Rook/Neve

Relationships with other companions: 

Lucanis gets into reading Bellara’s serials (very passionately - they chat about it a bunch)

Lucanis is outraged that the Veil Jumpers don’t get paid for their work and offers Bellara his contract negotiator

Lucanis made biscuits for Assan

Lucanis is sceptical that the griffons will be safe with the Wardens

Lucanis think that Assan shouldn’t go soft (referring to the time he took care of a halla) because he is a predator at heart

(If Emmrich becomes a lich) Lucanis offers to hold a funeral for Manfred

Lucanis and Harding talk a lot about dreams (mostly silly things like showing up naked for the job, getting chased by someone/something etc.)

Lucanis thinks Harding is deadly with her bow

Lucanis offers to pay Harding for being his lookout/aide at the rate of 6000 gold per contract

Lucanis offers the help of his contract negotiator to Neve after he finds out she doesn't have one

Lucanis made deep-fried peppers for Taash

About Spite: 

Emmrich can hear Spite even when he doesn’t take over Lucanis’s body (at least from a close distance)

Spite is impartial to Emmrich, believing him more than Lucanis

Emmrich says it’s impossible to separate Spite and Lucanis without killing them

Emmrich encourages Lucanis to read to Spite to bring them closer. Lucanis agrees to let Spite pick a book

(If Emmrich becomes a lich) Spite asks if he and Lucanis can get rid of their skin too 

(If Manfred is revived at the Necropolis) Spite asks Emmrich to teach him how to use fire magic. Lucanis isn’t thrilled by the idea

Emmrich sets up wards to prevent Spite from leaving the room when Lucanis is asleep

Spite no longer sleepwalks after “Inner Demons” because he apparently understood the concept of space

By the end of the game, Spite has agreed to stop sleepwalking completely

Spite controls the wings (confirmed in banter with Harding) 

Spite wants to try swinging off the astrolabe at the Lighthouse

Spite is very excited about Manfred having hands and feet (Curiosity. Has. Feet!)

Spite finds the wisps in Neve’s room unnerving (as do Lucanis and Neve)

Spite likes to play with whetstones Bellara got for Lucanis (Bellara got them from the Irelin who supposedly got them from somewhere in Arlathan) 

Spite wants to try eating self-lightning candles at Blackthorne Manor

About the Crows: 

Crows frequently visit Nevarra and have received 20 contacts to assassinate the king. The King has been poisoned 7 times

Crows get a lot of contracts for Divine Victoria

Some seers in Rivain are powerful enough that there are contracts on them as well

Caterina once killed a man with a thimble

When Crows kill someone, most of the time they want others to know it was them (rather than presenting the death as an accident) 

The crows buried six different Eight Talons and rarely take contracts in Ferelden after the Zevran fiasco

[fancyfeathers]

Always Prey But Never A Bird

Based on the Yandere Batfam w/ Wife/Mother!Darling & Daughter/Sister!Darling series

Previous Chapter <- Chapter Four -> Next Chapter

You woke up with a groan, your chest feeling so much heavier than before, your head felt as if you had just slammed it against a brick wall. It felt hard to breathe and your right arm and leg felt numb. You shifted on the bed you laid on, opening your eyes and you were blinded by the light above you which drew another grown from you.

“No, no, no, don’t move.” You heard a voice that you could not fully process as a hand came onto your upper chest, pushing you back onto your back, it was probably Dick’s voice you think, or maybe it was Tim. “You’re pretty badly injured from the crash, the old man is pretty upset right now, probably best to not to push anymore buttons tonight.”

You slowly came to, your vision clearing up and you would have felt sick if you did not feel terrible already. You laid on a very comfortable bed, your old bed, your current bed was rough, something you could just barely afford after saving expenses for other things. There was an IV in your left arm and bandages on your right arm, leg as well if you had to guess but your lower body was covered with a blanket. Your clothes had been changed, a pair of pajamas you remember having just got a day before you left. You turned your head to see Dick sitting there, a chair pulled up to your bedside, he had changed his clothing, black sweatpants and a dark blue shirt.

“What happened-“

“You skinned the right side of your body on one of the bridge wires, tore right through your suit, along with a bruised lung.” Another voice added on, Tim Drake, he was sitting on the other side of your bed, opposite side of Dick. “You could have died if it wasn’t for Dick.”

“At least I wouldn’t be here.”

“Someone tried to kill you and that’s what you have to say? God…” You heard Tim sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You can’t even be grateful for having your life saved.”

“They weren’t trying to kill her, someone who was trying to kill her like that would have just tried to take a shot at her.” Dick spoke to Tim, speaking as if you were not even lying between them. “They wanted her alive, but they failed their mission cause she went flying off the bridge and would have died.”

“Can you two just shut the hell up, I already have a headache.” You threw your head back on your pillow, closing your eyes, but you were certainly aware enough to grab Tim by the wrist when he tried to brush the hair out of your face. “Don’t talk to me… just get out.”

“Nah, Bruce said not to leave you alone.” Dick responded, his fingers prying yours off of Tim’s wrist. You groaned at hearing his words, keeping your eyes screwed shut while trying to drown out the throbbing pain in your limbs. “You should try to eat or drink something, I think Alfred made you something in-“

“I’m not hungry, pass.” You felt a creak in your bones as you turned your body around onto your non injured side. The moment the side of your body shifted onto the bed you felt Tim’s hands on your skin, shifting your body and his body to bring your head to rest on his lap as if you were some small kitten who needed to be held. “Where are my things?”

“Why do you need them?” You heard Tim ask from above you, his fingers coming to run through your hair, scratching at your scalp. “You’re not going back out there like this.”

“My friends… they could be in danger-“

“They don’t matter right now-“

“They matter to me, Dick!” You cut your oldest brother off when he cut off your answer to Tim’s question. “If anything happened to them I would never be able to forgive myself.”

There was a thick silence in the room after your words, you heard the chair Dick sat in shift against the wooden floor of your room as he stood up.

“Bruce has your gear right now, he’s reviewing the footage from it to see who did this to you. I’ll see if he’ll let you use it.” You heard the door to your bedroom open and close after Dick’s words in response to your shout.

“…What happened to you?” You heard Tim ask, his fingers pausing in your hair. “You used to be so sweet.”

“I was only like that because if I acted up I would be punished.” You sat up, pushing his hands off of you and your right hand pulled out the IV out of your left arm, and you could hear the sharp intake of breath from Tim beside you. “Don’t think I never knew you put cameras in this room or that I never realized that when I misbehaved at all or pushed any of you away that you would spike my meals with a sedative and call my teachers at school and just tell them I was sick.”

“You never listened to us!”

“I shouldn’t have to! I should have grown up with just my mom because that is what she wanted to do!” You stood up, slipping out from the bed, you glanced at Tim and he had shifted as if to catch you as if you were going to fall. You were in slight discomfort but you had built an extremely good pain tolerance over the years so you were fine, but clearly they would never recognize your current strength. You scoffed at Tim’s worried reaction to you standing up on your own, shaking your head. “You still think I am weak… oh my god fuck you.”

“You know you’re not supposed to say things like that.” Tim scolded you at your usage of foul language. He stood up from your bed, reaching out for you, his hands coming to grip both of your shoulders. “Just stop-“

You leaned back, shifting your weight so you fell back, dragging Tim back with you. You extended your left leg up so it kicked him right in the gut, knocking the air from his lungs and sending him flying and crashing into your bedroom mirror, shattering it and digging into his skin.

“I will say the good thing about being seen as weak by you all is that I am always able to take you all by surprise, especially now, like I said that to Dick to get him out of the room.” You spoke simply before grabbing the chair Dick was sitting in just moments ago and hurling it at your bedroom window, breaking it with an extremely loud shattering sound that echoed through the room, probably the manor. You saw out of the corner of your eye, Tim slowly getting up so you did not waste a second, you went running to the window, jumping out.

You heard Tim shout your name, your birth name as you landed on the ground, but you did not stop running. You ran straight to the back of the garden, you knew that behind a bush, against the tall iron fence that surrounded the manor, there was a divot under the fence that you dug when you were bored as a child. It was perfectly hidden from view so that no one else could see it or find it, even now it was still there, water and rainfall over the years only making it deeper so you could crawl out of it still.

By the time you were on the other side of the fender you could hear shouting from back at the manor, at least Tim told Dick by now if not the whole house if they did not hear the shattering of the mirror and window. You did not look back, just kept running and running…

_______________________

“Hey, stop squirming so much!” Nettle scolded you as he pressed a disinfectant covered cloth against one of your broken window induced wounds on your arm. You had made it back to the warehouse in one piece due to running into Clove by chance when she was looking for you as her civilian self. “I’m almost done, ‘kay?”

“…fine…”

You sat on the dining room table while Nettle cleaned your wounds from the jump from the window, the others were all near, Foxglove digging into a pear for her breakfast as she leaned against the kitchen counter, Clove laying across one of the couches and Henbane’s lap as the two of the scrolled on their phones. Nettle snipped off a bit of bandage after he wrapped it over your wound on your arm before setting the roll of bandages and scissors down in the medical kit.

“There, all done, that wasn’t so bad was it?” Nettle asked you as he held his hand out to you to help you down from the table, you just mumbled out a response in thanks, far too tired to form actual words. “Let’s get you to bed-“

“My room is too far.” You whined, glancing up at the metal staircase on the back wall that led to the rooms which were old storage rooms that you renovated into your bedrooms. You let Nettle lead you to one of the couches instead, helping you lay down on it and pulling a thick weighted blanket over your shivering body. Your whole body was in pain now, you were barefoot when you slipped away from Wayne Manor which resulted in your feet ending up being fifty shades of messed up, bruised and bloodied. “Thanks, Nettle.”

“Anytime.” Nettle sat down on the ground next to your couch. He glanced up at you with a smile. “You’re off patrol for the next week.”

“You’re fucking kidding me.” You groaned, throwing your head back which drew laughs from Clove and Henbane on the opposite couch.

“Look Mr. Austen needs to make a new suit for you and the tech is custom made because your old one is back… ya you get my point.” Foxglove chimed in, her voice trailing off. “But hey, you could take some time off for yourself, go get drinks, maybe have that boyfriend of yours over that you visited the other night.”

“H-how… how do you know about that?” You shot up, groaning in slight pain as you moved too quickly and your response drew laughter from everyone. “H-how- I turned off my comm line…”

“No you didn’t.” Foxglove spoke, her voice full of laughter. “No, you see you turned your camera in your mask on, looks like the rush of the moment got to you both.”

“…you… you all heard us have sex…” You lay there on the couch, wide eyed in the realization.

“Heard it… and saw some of it.” Clove answered and your face turned the brightest shade of red. “But hey he is really cute, definitely a keeper.”

“…my best friends saw me have sex with my boyfriend I haven't seen in four years.” You stared up at the ceiling and buried your face in your hands. “I wish I fell off that bridge.”

“Hmm well if you want you can have him over tonight, show him around while everyone else is on patrol and Foxglove is working the comm lines, have a nice stay at home date.” Clove suggested as she sat up from Henbane’s lap. “I think I picked up a really good red wine if you two want to split that.”

“Clove, thank you for your idea, but his idea of a stay at home date is getting food from a five star restaurant and watching a movie in his home theater. Or sometimes he’d order chocolate covered strawberries and we would hide in his mother’s office when one of my siblings, normally Tim, came looking for me.” You explained and there was a long silence from your friends as the reality of your old life set in. “And that red wine you bought cost fifteen dollars, the stuff his family bought cost five hundred dollars at the very least. I just- look I don’t know about him coming here, I mean we live in a warehouse, a nice warehouse but still, he is rich, like one of the oldest families in Gotham rich.”

“Well then… I’m sorry for what’s about to happen.” Clove said in an awkward silence taking hold of the room. “I messaged him on one of his social media accounts and asked him to come over and surprise you since you are sort of stuck here… I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine… he probably never saw it anyway, he’s busy-“

“Not too busy for you.” You made the mistake of looking away from Foxglove, not seeing her get up to go get the door with her crutches and letting in the guest that came knocking. You all turned your heads to see the familiar blond boy you spent that night with just the other day. Gabriel was let in through the back door, carrying something that you assumed to be a gift basket, all dressed up in his thick wool coat and scarf along with those Italian leather gloves he always wore. He smiled at the sight of you laying down on the couch, he set the gift basket down beside the couch and bent down to press a kiss to your lips as you opened your arms to him in your tired state. “Hi angel.”

“Hi love.” You responded, before gesturing to Gabriel and looking at all of your friends. “His is my boyfriend, Gabriel Christel. We met back in middle school when I first moved to Gotham after my mom married my father and then we started dating in high school and well you all know the rest.”

“It’s lovely to meet you all, thank you for looking after her.” He looked around at all of them before his eyes fell over to Clove and a look of recognition came across her face at the sight of her. “You’re Clove, right? Thank you for reaching out to me, I think we are going to be very good friends.”

“I hope so.” Clove smiled as she stood up from the couch, glancing around at everyone else in the room. “We… we should go, we got patrol and… ya… you two have fun.”

“We will.” You replied to Clove as she pulled Henbane up from the couch and Nettle quickly followed behind her as well, going to get changed and prepared before patrol. You looked back up to Gabriel who was standing over you and as soon as he saw your eyes were on him, he kneeled down onto the carpet, on eye level with you so you could press a kiss to his cheek, just under his eye. “Hello handsome.”

“Hello beautiful-“

Gabriel was cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat and you both turned your heads to look at Foxglove standing just a few feet away with her crutches due to her injury on her foot that she was recovering from. She smiles at Gabriel, looking him dead in the eye.

“I like you a lot, but hurt her at all and we will destroy you.” She spoke those words with a smile, but there was a certain chill about them that would probably even make your father shudder. “Do you understand?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good boy.”

_______________________

“My bedroom is the last one on the left.” You spoke as your boyfriend carried you on his back, one hand reaching back and holding your thigh and the other carrying that gift basket, your arms wrapped around his neck. He pushed open the door and stopped for a moment, before walking forward and setting you down on the bed. “Thank you, lovey.”

He looked around your bedroom as he came to sit down beside you. Old floorboards creaked beneath his weight, the walls were brick with white pants covering them, slowly chipping away from the top down. The ceiling was high with all sorts of pvc pipes and air vents, the windows were tall but the glass was thin. The bed was an iron bed frame, polished and then painted over black and then the dressers and nightstand were all sorts of different pieces you found and painted over the years.

“Foxglove is downstairs on the comm lines tonight.” You said as you laid down on the right side of the bed, propping yourself to sit up against your pillows. “So it’s just me and you until patrol is over.”

“Ya… I suppose it is.” He set the basket at the foot of the bed and reached in and pulled out a bottle of red wine and a glass, you watched as he filled up the glass halfway and handed it to you. “Here you go, dove.”

“I love you.”

“Mmm, are you saying that to me or the wine?”

“Both.” Small laughs escaped from both your lips and he wrapped his arm around you as you took a sip of the red wine from the glass. You sighed and leaned your head on his shoulder. “I missed this… I missed this a lot.”

“So did I.” He replied to you, there was a palpitate pause in the air and he took a deep breath in and out. “Angel… how long are you going to be doing this?”

“Doing this?”

“Living in a warehouse, being a vigilante, hiding away from everything? I mean look at you, your body is so fucked up and I don’t even know what caused most of it.” His voice took on a heavy tone of concern which felt like a large weight on both of your shoulders. “I want to settle down and have a life with you, I don’t want to worry about where you are.”

“I… what are you saying?” The air left your lungs as you watched Gabriel stand up from the bed and walked over to your side of the bed, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling over a small navy blue velvet box and getting down on his knee.

“Marry me.” You just stared down at him and a bit of a bashful smile came across his face as a small chuckle slipped from his lips, shaking his head slightly. “It was my great grandmother’s ring and I know I couldn’t ask your mother or father for their blessing but no one hardly sees your mother anymore and your father… well he doesn’t like me and well I don’t know if they know you’re around anymore and-“

“I… I don’t know…”

[atsadi-shenanigans]

FSBE 3 - No Strings to Bind Your Hands

You have a crucial conversation. You like to think you learn from your mistakes.

On AO3.

It takes you a long few seconds to parse out the fuck he just said. You end up squinting at him and saying, “The fuck?”

Astarion steps away from the pillar he’d draped himself against. Uncrosses his arms so his right can flit around as he talks.

“You and Wyll, darling,” he says. “You seemed awfully close just now. I only wondered if this wasn’t the end of our late night trysts? Or tryst, rather.”

Which makes even less sense.

Y’all been busy. That thought itself is a wild fucking understatement. He had his fingers all up your cooch, then left you cold, then flirted, then basically told you to go fuck yourself over them enslaved gnomes. Then he helped you kill the fuck outta that cultist sonuvabitch who killed that poor gnome girl once y’all dug his ass out.

You ain’t shared a tent since that beach in the cave.

“Lots’a stuff going on,” you say.

“But not now, and you seem more inclined to spend your newly freed time with our dear, despondent Blade.”

“Because he just got blackmailed by a goddamn devil.”

Astarion waves his hand. “He’s a warlock; it’s part of the territory. If that’s what you’d rather do, far be it from me to stop you. I only wondered.”

He’s making a real show outta checking his nails, his other hand now propped on his hip. The wikipedia picture of “unbothered.”

Except people don’t lurk around in the dark like a creeper if they’re actually unbothered.

“Astarion,” you say. Ain’t no real way to be subtle or delicate about this, and you got the social skills of an unbaked potato on your best day. Now? Flagging and half dead? “You are the only person I have ever kissed and I’d rather keep it that way.”

There. You said it. The weird eggshell-dance y’all have been doing, the both of you so carefully Not Talking about his fingers up your cooch, and you just cracked them shells with your full weight.

Fuck them eggs.

Astarion blinks. “What? Why?”

And there is something to that. A flash of the man behind all the smirking and the smarm. There is the man you caught glimpses of down there in them caves.

“I mean, I obviously understand,” he says, totally not trying to cover himself. Not at all. “We did have a lot of fun. It’s just…you don’t want something, well, more with Wyll?”

One: he used the man’s name.

Two: the fuck does “more” mean?

The rest of the group putters around. Most have disappeared into their respective tents, except for Shadowheart, who kneels in front of hers with her head bowed and eyes closed.

“I was only trying to make him feel better. Getting outta a devil contract? That shit’s gotta weird him the fuck out. It’s called social bonding, jackass. You know, like friends?”

“Friends,” he says, all flat.

“Yeah.”

“And, you don’t mean friends?”

Jesus lord, you dealt with the version of this double-speak “he looked at you” on the farmstead when you was fourteen.

“I ain’t gonna go sticking my tongue into his mouth, if that’s what you’re implying. That…that’s something I only done with you.”

Kill you dead. Rip the soul jar off your neck and smash that bitch with a hammer and let you go full ringwraith. Anything but this horror show.

The sultry slips back over him like an old coat. Fucking goblin man. “Oh darling, we’ve done more than that.”

Astarion is infuriating. You clocked that early on. Started to change your opinion down in the dark, him blinded, you clueless. You both would’a died (you definitely would’a died) without each other. And he’s still a massive, massive dick (what the fuck is his deal with gnomes, anyway) (at least he stopped the sniping after you started the fight with that cultist fuck) (fucking bare goddamn minimum).

You could handle his regular, everyday, mean girl bullshit. Or you thought you could. But now his fingers have been all up in your cooch, and that feels like it should change things. Only things have gotten worse and weirder with him ever since.

And you are drowning.

You ain’t gonna be able to swim along with this. Can’t even see land, much less aim for it.

Y’all have been drifting around, not touching (you are abusing these swimming metaphors) and you…are done. Not talking made things stupid last time. Hurt you in a way you ain’t been hurt before.

You like to think you learn pretty quick.

“What do you mean, ‘more?’” you say.

Fuck subtlety. Fuck whatever y’all have been doing or not doing.

Astarion’s mouth opens for a second before he can recover. “Beg pardon?”

He knows what you mean. Man can hear a pulse at five hundred feet.

“I could have more with Wyll. What does that mean?”

What are y’all.

He blinks all rapid. “I…you…you were fun. Are a lot of fun. I didn’t, ah, expect much more than that.”

You ain’t never hated being right so much in your whole life, as you do right now.

Casual sex ain’t a sin, cause sin ain’t real (Mother). People do that. He offered you that before. And okay, you might’a read something else into it after all the mutual ass-saving and his heated looks and the way he wrapped his arms around you on that lizard. The way he kissed your cheek with drow blood on his lips (gross).

But that wasn’t never discussed. Then you got all swept up in your head in that tent. You were so close. Ain’t used to being touched, and it felt so goddamn nice. Like gulping water after noonday chores in the summer heat (his fingers cradling your cheeks) and you hadn't realized how heat-stroked you been (the sweep of his lips and tongue over you) until you took that drink of cool water and gasped (into his mouth, legs splayed wide over his thighs as he held you).

Oh hey, you wasn’t actually ready for this conversation. Neat.

You’re attracted to the man, for some godforsaken reason. Even now, you look at him and your gaze catches on his goddamn lips. And that means you got feelings. Goddamnit.

But that don’t mean he do.

So now you gotta have this conversation. Because if he’s in this for the casual and you ain’t, you gotta figure that out. Before y’all go further. Before you let him any further in (that’s what she said) (god fucking damnit).

“What’s…” you try. Have to clear your throat. Glance over to Shadowheart who ain’t moved from her prayers or whatever. “What’s more, to you?”

Would he want that, you mean. Do you? Can you do this if he says no, can you have casual fooling around.

When you finally drag your gaze back to him, Astarion looks…adrift. Like you just asked him about the weather in Ancient Greek (except he’d be the sort to know Ancient Greek, wouldn’t he).

The disappointment curls sour and sharp in your gut. Squeezes your throat and prickles your eyes. You knew this was a possibility. Knew it, even if you didn’t want to admit it, when you lowered yourself over his lap.

You can’t force a relationship on somebody. That’s toxic as hell, and ain’t never gonna hold. Not without breaking stuff. But he ain’t the type, is he? Never pretended to be the type. Made it real clear he was, well, a vagabond. Either cause he’s a vampire, or that just his preference, some people ain’t into…whatever it is you’re looking for.

Fuck, you don’t even know what you’re looking for.

You try to smile. Cause you don’t blame him, and however much it feels like trying to carve your heart out by jamming a rusty spoon down your throat, it’s better to do this now. End it amicably. Like a goddamn adult.

“I, uh,” you say. Have to clear your bitch ass throat, who is a traitor. “I don’t know the rules here. About, um. Any of this.”

He watches you intently, gaze flitting back and forth between your eyes.

You take a breath. Like a goddamn adult. “Are we just…just fuck buddies? Is that what you’re interested in? Because, um. I.” A goddamn adult. Gonna tear these words outta you like ripping off whole fingernails, but by god, you’re going to do it. “I do. Uh. Want. You know. Tobewithyou.”

God help you. You did it. Put the whole thing out there. Your actual, beating heart held out in the open air, your chest a gaping, hollow wound, waiting to see what he’ll do as you lock every muscle in your body to keep from running the fuck away.

Man stands straight. His weight shifts to his back foot, and he did that the night he got exposed as a vampire, didn’t he? He wants to run. He always wants to run, you’re starting to realize.

You went and did it. You fucked this up. Wrapped your hands around this thing’s delicate neck and strangled the fuck outta it in its crib.

“It’s okay—” you start.

“We—” Astarion says.

The both of you shut the fuck up.

It’s Astarion who opens his mouth again. “If you want more with me. If…if that’s truly what you want?”

It ain’t fucking about what you want. It’s about not forcing him into it. Not leading him on, until he wises up that you’re weird and damaged and all messed up. Cold. Frigid. That’s what happened with Ryan fucking Meadows. You learn from your mistakes. You have to.

You should turn around and dive into your tent. Hide behind Sweetums. If you were home, you’d put your phone on airplane mode, shut all the curtains, and curl up under three blankets with a whole jar of forty-proof sippin cream (and ultimately stop drinking it like, three sips in, but it’s the thought that counts). Not stand here, all open and exposed and hideously vulnerable, longing for the sweet embrace of death.

“I. Do you?” you say.

Holy fuck, this shit is so nerve wracking. And fucking tenuous. He’s a vampire with a fuckface puppet master y’all gotta kill, and you’re a weirdo alien with no goddamn idea what you’re even doing here.

“We could try?” Astarion says. Soft. Cautious.

You stare.

A relationship. Of some kind. That involves fingerbanging.

On a quest to curb stomp a brainworm cult, and fuck knows what else. And you decide, for the first time in your life, to let yourself tumble into a relationship with someone you wouldn’t’ve trusted as far as you could throw him a month ago.

This is a bad, bad idea.

He looks all uncertain. Quivering around the edges, though his face has gone all stiff like he’s trying to hide it.

If this shit goes south, tentacles are gonna sprout outta your face as your skin sloughs off. So, y’know, why the fuck not.

“Trying sounds good?” you say. You don’t mean it to come out a question, but it does anyway.

Astarion cocks his head. His whole posture loosens and his eyes reshine with their usual gleam. “I suppose that means you’ll need to consider yourself well and truly taken.”

Oh huh. You still can blush in these trying times. What a mortifying discovery.

Then the man brings his fingers to his lips, cups his hand under his jaw. His eyes fucking glitter as he gives you a long, slow once-over. “You know, darling, this has been a surprisingly delightful conversation.”

It’s been nine layers of hell, each one peeling off a layer of skin leaving you emotionally flayed and naked. And in a goddamn relationship.

But maybe, possibly, you wasn’t sinking down through hell. Maybe, possibly, you was going the other way. Maybe there’s a shine up there, a glimmer of light and something that ain’t shit at the end of this. Whatever that end is. That you ain’t really been thinking about cause it’s easier to deal with bad things you assumed was coming, than trying to scoop shattered hope into a sad, crunching little pile.

Astarion makes a soft sound (that lifts the almost invisible hairs on your arms) and steps closer. “Does that mean I’ll be following you to your bed tonight?”

Oh.

Um.

“I…I think Sweetums beat you to that,” you say. And lift up the tent flap so he can peer in. The furry feather-baby is curled into a beach ball of snoring owlbear cub. His ear tufts twitch as he raises his head to blink them huge eyes at you. Gives a sleepy, trilly little chirp.

“Well,” Astarion says. “Shit.”

[diminuel]

Happy new years 🎉 I wish you a great 2025

Ok with that outta the way, I made the horrific mistake of continuing my rewatch of op yesterday afternoon and finished marineford which is not a great way to spend the last day of the year with but that's on me

I usually am passive with the whole crocomom/dad theory with croc cuz I thought it was only based of that one iva line and thought haha let's add another potential mom to the list(mind you I first heard this theory when I was in wci so memories of marineford was spotty at that time)

Now on my rewatch when I'm not too focused on the anxiety and mourning of ace I'm now realized how ooc croc was after sengoku announced Luffy parentage

I just went ????!?!? HUH WHAT WHAT WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS FOR I DONT TRUST YOU WHAT

There's legit zero reason for him to kill the executioners much less help the whitebeards with akainu like zero reason

You couldn't even play off it's a 'pirate's pride' with croc like he said when he went to help the whitebeards and not letting the navy hunt down the pirate CUZ HE WAS A FORMER WARLORD HE DOESN'T GIVE A FLYING FUCK ABOUT PIRATE PRIDE WHATSOEVER

And you couldn't even argue about it paying back a debt to Luffy cuz he technically did so already in impel down

It's just, it doesn't make any sense unless he has a very strong connection regarding Luffy parentage (regardless it's because he is mom or he owe someTHING to the revs)

Ughhhh my goddd, I don't even think it's a theory anymore, I truly believe crocomom is real now andjshfjsnfj

A happy New Year and a great 2025 to you too!

Crocodile's out of the ordinary behavior during the battle of Marineford is what many people who are aware of Crocodad cite as a main reason for why there could be some truth to the theory! I did read this "live" when it was released in but I didn't like Crocodile at that time so I don't remember what I thought about his motivations. I think the most surface level one is to just accept that what he says is true but it leaves a lot of questions because he goes above and beyond what is necessary to not let the marines win.

Not letting the marines win meant "save Ace, protect Luffy - carry the next generation into the new era". Considering his grudge against Whitebeard, him following his wishes all of a sudden seems strange. But if there was his own interest mixed into making sure Luffy lives... well.

(Sidenote: I like what you say about him not having any pirate pride. I think that's true. Judged by Miss Golden Week's power he still has or at least had dreams to be the king of pirates. But he doesn't do anything to achieve it, so I wonder what being king of pirates even meant to him. (It is Buggy of all people who gives him and Mihawk a lecture about them not being real pirates if I remember correctly.))

Crocodile comes across as a character who makes decisions based on strategic merit, not emotion. But when he saved Luffy, he was clearly upset, even more upset than when he saw WB stabbed by his own crew member. And even that kind of upset surprised a lot of people.

I did write about the specific moment that proceeds Crocodile starting his out of character actions and it is WB's speech about sons, about loving them unconditionally, about doing what it takes to preserve that life. He was talking about Ace and while Crocodile did save Ace, there is way more weight to him saving Luffy - the stakes are higher (it is against Akainu) and Crocodile appears emotionally invested in it as well. "If you want to protect something, do it right." He knows that this is his son/ someone he wants to protect for some reason. He didn't react the moment it was revealed that Dragon was his dad (we didn't see Crocodile's reaction to it, but he also didn't jump into action the second he heard), but only later, when WB made his speech which also seemed to rearrange Crocodile's priorities - he has to let go of the old wounds and old grudges that he's been carrying for decades. Maybe leaving his child behind has also been an old wound, never mind what the realization that he nearly killed him might have done to him. But Luffy's alive, he's here, he needs help and Crocodile is going to provide it.

Ah, I love thinking about this theory!

(Of course he could have other ties or debts to Dragon, or he could just have done it all because he somehow decided to let go of his grudge against WB and stand side by side with the WB pirates because he used to be one of them, but that doesn't bring me as much joy to think about. And while there might have been WB and Croc backstory, the point of revealing that Croc was part of his crew seems to have passed. The WB pirates are no more; they were defeated, we got to see some flashbacks and this chapter seems closed now. Of course Oda could just reveal it in a SBS later as he sometimes does with backstories he knows won't make it into the manga.)

This is quite rambly, my apologies X'D

[mlmxreader]

Eager Beaver | Art the Clown X gn!reader

『••✎••』

requested by anonymous

↳ ❝ Art

42“It sounds stupid, but I’d feel a lot safer if you slept with me”

262“Why do you hang around me so much?” ❞

: ̗̀➛ Art comes to see you in a pretty good mood, although perhaps it's time for him to come to terms with what he thinks about you.

trigger warnings: ̗̀➛ swearing, implied sexual references, blood & murder mention, jealous!Art

•───────────────★•♛•★──────────────•

spotlight fundraiser : ̗̀➛ Help Dr Bashar to evacuate his family from Gaza

•───────────────★•♛•★──────────────•

You always left the bathroom door open and the front door unlocked when you were in the shower, as you had learned pretty quickly that if you didn't, you would open the door to find Art sitting on the floor and pouting and sulking; so when the bathroom door creaked from being pushed slightly, and you heard the footsteps of socks on the tiled floor, you only cleared your throat, and shouted over the stream.

"Just a minute, Art!"

He sat on the toilet seat and tapped his legs to the music from your phone, his head moving side to side with the beat as he tried to distract himself for a moment; he wasn't sure why he came back so often, and he wasn't sure why he never even tried to hurt you, either, but he wasn't going to question it if he could help it.

He didn't like to think about those things. He just liked to focus on satiating his appetite; he could still smell the scent of those three washes his costume had gone through at the laundromat, as well as the thick stench of the complimentary shampoo that had been put in the public shower. He didn't like it.

It didn't smell like your laundry powder or your shampoo at all.

He greatly disliked that, perhaps even hated it. But he wasn't going to question that, either.

The shower turned off, and Art was finally greeted by the sight of you in your towel and the thick smell of your shampoo; he grinned, and mimicked clapping as he slightly turned from side to side, his feet stamping on the floor silently with exaggerated movements.

You raised a brow, and took a quick whiff of him. "You went to the laundromat again?"

He nodded. Gesturing out the scene; he had gone in, murdered the cleaner who had been mopping the floors, washed his costume three times, showered whilst it dried, then walked over. He wanted to be clean when he walked in, and you knew how much he detested the feel and smell of dried blood.

You nodded slowly. "You smell good."

Art beamed, showing off those lamprey like teeth as he gazed at you, not sure if he understood entirely why it made him so fucking happy to hear such a thing. He opened his arms, beckoning you for a hug, but you shook your head as you laughed softly.

"At least wait until I'm dried and dressed."

He folded his arms tightly to his chest, and watched with greedy eyes as you towel dried yourself, thinking about how easy it would have been for him to tear through that soft flesh and strip you down to the bone; he settled once you were dressed, and when you checked your phone, you laughed softly.

"Another guy from that hookup app wants to meet me," you explained, "he can fuck right off he thinks I'm going anywhere this late."

Art scowled. He didn't know why, but whenever you mentioned a new man you would see for a night, it made his blood thicken and boil and bubble; he hated the thought of it, and hated it even more when he could smell them on your clothes.

You were never a couple, though. He knew that.

"Art, can you stay the night?" You asked, and he nodded without hesitation, but you still felt the need to explain. "There's just a lot going on right now, and I know it sounds stupid, but I'd feel a lot safer if you slept with me."

He nodded again, and took your phone from you; his fingers worked effortlessly to type, and when he handed it back to you, you could only smile.

"It's really sweet of you to say you'd kill anyone who made me feel unsafe," you reassured, rewarding him with a kiss to the cheek. "You're a good friend."

He scowled again. He hated that. Friend. He didn't want to be your friend, he wanted to be like those men you saw for a night, except permanent.

He shook his head.

"What?" You furrowed your brows. "What, you don't like being friends?"

He shook his head again. You sat on the edge of the bath facing him.

"So, what do you want?"

He mimicked it out; kissing and hugging and giving each other presents. Holding hands. You laughed softly.

"Wait wait wait," you chuckled. "Why do you hang around me so much? Is that what you want?"

He nodded, pointing to you with one hand and touching his nose with the other.

You nodded slowly, and grinned. "Why didn't you say so, then?"

He shrugged. He didn't know how to explain it to himself, let alone to you, and he wasn't about to try either; maybe he could get Vicky or the Little Girl to explain it properly, but he knew for certain that he couldn't.

There was just something about you that intoxicated him, made him feel all weird and as if his lust for blood and guts and gore had all faded away entirely.

There was just something about you that he liked. A lot.

You moved, and sat on his lap with your hands on his shoulders. "Art, look at me... are you sure this is what you want?"

He nodded eagerly, gripping the backs of your thighs until you could feel his fingers digging into the skin.

"So you'll stay?" You asked quietly. "Permanently?"

Another eager nod.

"Kiss me," you whispered, cupping his face in your hands as you met him halfway.

Art was eager, all teeth and tongue as he refused to contain himself; when you moaned softly against his mouth, he couldn't help it, and his hips bucked slightly. He was disappointed when you pulled away.

"Come with me into the bedroom," you told him quietly. "We can do that all night, if you want to."

Art would have ripped your arm off if he had not been somewhat careful, dragging you to the bedroom as you laughed along and told him to slow down, there was no rush.

[yourlocaltreesimp]

“On the Rag”

Synopsis: Sr!Link is utterly clueless of what to do when you come down with a mysterious and sudden infliction which causes you great, unending pain… it’s just your period.

Tags: GN!Reader, no pre-established relationship, idiots in love

@trippygalaxy

☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★

Quite honestly, Link was worried. Of course, his journey was stressful, with the fate of hyrule on his shoulders and as the Dark Knight had kidnapped Zelda. But that wasn’t the current cause of his pacing. Those were all fixable, identifiable issues.

High orders for him to complete, yes, but he at least had some general idea of where to start.

Your recent sickness, however, was not something he knew how to fix.

Monsters could be fought, dungeons could be solved, quests could be completed, but there was no immediate fix-it to your health, especially when you were so insistent that you were “fine.” When that clearly wasn’t the case. Your eyes were tired and loopy, you winced even as you stood or sat still, he even found several discarded bloody rags.

Hylia help him, if the monsters didn’t kill him, you would first.

He’s beside himself, his boots making consistent thumps as he walks in loops, trying to dispel worry from his gut.

“What’s got you all wound up” Wind stood in his path, the sound and light that’d usually come from the medallion not catching his attention, too busy spiralling. He looks around to find the lobby (or at least the small side room he’d begun his breakdown in) blessedly empty with no one to see or hear him be spooked by ghosts of heroes past.

“It’s-“ He begins to talk, only to be interrupted.

“His Lover is sick.” Worlds leaned over his shoulder, countering from all the weight being in his heels. Afterall, he was still leaning back after being spooked.

“They’re not my-“ He’s now doubly mortified. Not only were you in possibly grave dangers he can’t prevent, the group had all got the wrong impression. Good goddesses themselves-

“Oh please” Time huffed, unamused with the musings of his descendants, “With their stubbornness they’ll die, sooner than recover” Link felt the blood drain from his face. Any previous blush left him. Cold. He couldn’t actually lose you, right?

“Awe stop it” Sky managed to shove the others off of him, fussing over Link as though he were a mother cucco. That is, to say, frightening to every other hero.

“Everything will be alright, you hear me?” Still, he felt as if something wasn’t quite right about the whole situation. There was something he was missing. If only you would talk to him.

“What will be alright?” Wild arrived after all his brothers, curious to see what the fuss was about if the rest of them couldn’t fix it.

“It’s just-“ Link could feel the concern and worry break him “I don’t know if they’ll be ok, and they won’t talk to me and I can’t fix it and I know they’re in pain-“ He shudders when he breathes, more than a little embarrassed.

“Hey hey, tell us exactly what the issues are. I’m sure one of us will have an answer!” A chorus of ‘Yeah!’s ensued and it felt as if maybe it will be ok.

“Well- They’ve spent a lot of time resting, still look really tired though… and they wince a lot, even if they aren’t moving. Like something sharp” The others nod along, following the symptoms as Link explains.

“And I've found a few bloodied rags. If it was any extreme wound, a red potion would work, and yet they refuse to take them. As if it wouldn’t work” He looks upon his mentors to find them equally as puzzled as him.

“And their mood- it’s as if they’ve been cursed! They wept like there’s nothing to live for when we met the stable dog when arriving. And they lash out as if i mean harm-“ That does get a few pitiful stares from Sky particularly.

Everyone oohs and aahs over the strange set of symptoms and behaviors. They murmur quietly about poisons, curses, hexes and the like.

“Are y’all jus’ that naive?” A very concerned, slightly exasperated, looking Rancher looks over all the heroes.

“What? You know what it is smart guy?” Worlds raises a single eyebrow in judgement.

“Their period?” He pauses, looking at the group who now resemble a parliament of owls.

“Y’know, ‘on the rag’ ‘shark week?’” He offered, expecting more of a response. There were mumbled ‘Oh’s and nods of acceptance. Twilight couldn’t stop himself from laughing at the absurdity of them debating whether you’d been cursed, meanwhile your body is just doing as it’s supposed to.

“Don’t worry, kiddo. That sweetheart a’ yers will be jus’ fine” The blood returns to Link’s cheeks, flushing them a healthy red.

“Naw go on, i’m sure a hot water bottle and some comfort wouldn’t do em’ any harm”

“And you’re sure that’s what this is?”

“Positive.”

Roughly a half hour later, Link found himself outside your room at the Inn. His arms were full; a hot water bottle he’d gotten from Twi, some chocolates from Wild and a cup of tea Sky said would help with healing.

“Hey, can I come in?” He called weakly, fine to leave the gifts outside if you weren’t up to socialising.

“Mhm” Your equally soft voice called from the other side of the door, drowsy and pained.

“I have some gifts… to uh- help you feel a little better” His smile was as boyish and crooked as always. He always felt a little giddy around you. Like that uninhibited joy from his childhood could worm back into his life, no matter how hellish it got. He set down the tea and the chocolates in favour of helping you sit up.

Now that he knew he had nothing to worry about and you weren’t dying imminently, he managed to find your tousled hair and sleepy smile endearing. He padded your back with pillows and made sure there was a layer or two between your skin and the bottle so there wouldn't be any burns.

“Is that any better?” In all honesty, he was at your beck and call. You could ask him to seek healing from the hottest spring in the depth of hebra and he’d set out without hesitation. He chuckles as you respond in a pleased hum, eyes closed as you’re relieved of some pain. He feels himself settle in his feet. Sure. Calm.

“I have some tea here too, and chocolates. I won’t be offended if you don’t want them. I mean I just heard that the hel-

A finger is haphazardly pressed to his lips.

“Shh.” You demand, and his protests die in his throat.

You pat the spot next to you expectantly, looking back at where he stands, frozen, as if upset he hadn’t moved yet. He sat awkwardly on the bed beside you as you silently shuffled about pillows. He was about to fuss that your back would be sore without padding before you flopped back into the bed and dragged him with you. A noise of surprise leaves him as you decide that you, indeed, wish to be horizontal. He takes a few deep breaths, letting himself settle in the moment and except cuddling with you for a little bit.

For the pain of course.

As friends.

(Bonus: From inside the Medallion, the Twili King had a decent enough understanding of what had transpired. The newest, and perhaps emotionally densest, hero has finally been able to shove it all aside in exchange for some intimacy. It’s so odd. He remembers being so scared to talk to Midna when they were courting, but it all worked out in the end. He’s sure Link will get his happy ending too)

((bonus bonus: Twi has an aneurism upon the discovery that the cuddle session was only seen as “platonic” by the clearly lovestruck idiots))

[welivetodream]

Started the new year on the wrong foot by watching DIABOLIK LOVERS;

Is it wrong to call it my guilty pleasure, mostly the anime; the game is 😱😨😨😨😳🫢🫢

So naturally here's a rating of the boys; DISCLAIMER---- I KNOW they are terrible and would never be hot irl but this is fiction and we love mentally ill mfs in this house. I do not condone violence and assault. And I don't think this is a good representation of bdsm community. It is a work of fiction that should be taken as such.

1. Shu Sakamaki: babygirl

10/10

When I first saw him, he was already my fav. Lowkey the best choice despite his actions, he's the least likely to harm you, cuz he will just ignore you. And man is PRETTY. He looks like a prince okay? If he calls me a perv and a slut, I will just accept it cuz I am FOR HIM. (I am just gone, bye bye my long lost sanity). He was okay in HDB, but in Dark Fate, with the cat, I am sorry, I can't take it 💓💓💓💓. Shu takes first place mostly cuz this is an Otome game and I find him the most attractive, but this also might be cuz he is more laid back and older, which makes me feel more interested in him. His backstory makes sense of why he is so distant, if my brother killed my best friend and HIS ENTIRE VILLAGE I would stop giving a fuck too. Also while we are at it, Fuck Reji, Shu did nothing wrong 😡😡😡🤬🤬🤬. If he is a red flag, I am colorblind.

2. Subaru Sakamaki: baby tsundere

9/10

I have a history with loving tsunderes the most, so naturally his whole "....I lik---fuck off" made me giggling and kicking my feet. But not for long, his violent behaviour actually fucking scared me (all of their behaviour ofc) but the fact he is a walking rage ball doesn't help his case. BUT he is definitely the least perverted out of all of them (Shu isn't, he is on level with Laito when it comes to it). He blushes from the start of the game, he warns you multiple times not to get close and leave. And when he says "I love you" I believe it okay. Cuz I think he does truly love Yui. He doesn't make fun of her looks, he likes hugging her and while violent at the start, by Dark Fate, he is just a big old softie. I don't think any of the Sakamaki's love Yui as much as he does. I just want to give him a hug okay? I feel so bad for him at times. Fucking Karlheinz, fuck him. When he kissed Yui while she was sleeping ahhhh, he also apologize to her, asked for consent, as well as felt embarrassed when he saw her in a bath. Him and Yui also bicker like an old married couple and she doesn't hold back when it comes to him. I dock points at his wall breaking 😭😭😭 and the fact he feels a bit too young for me now (I don't like younger guys sorry).

3. Ayato Sakamaki: dumb jock energy

7/10

I didn't like him at first, his whole "yours truly" drove me insane but he kinda grew on me. Mostly cuz of the fanarts and stuff. I didn't think I'd give him this much credit but I had to. He's the main guy after all. With marrying Yui in all good endings and just generally being the one who wants to claim her the most (all of them do but I think ayato especially hates seeing her with anyone). He gives off massive jock energy, and his "pancake" made me mad at first but that became funny (I should not be laughing at the scene where Yui was reading his magazines but I did 😭😭😭). Now he is SUPER aggressive with Yui, my girl never deserved any of this, at times he really gets on my nerves cuz he is so contradictory. Like if you want her just say it, throwing her in the pool and then rescuing her??? Bitch, you are stupid. But his whole stupid behaviour feels charming to me, I love dumb guys they are funny as hell unintentionally. Cordelia can rot in hell, that's all. To me, the best looking and the best choice out of the triplets. I understand why him and Yui are the best Dialovers ship cuz I get the memo.

4. Laito Sakamaki: hear me out---call cops

4/10

Dumbass fedora wearing little----

I thought he would be lower in the list when I first saw him. But...he's kinda funny to me. Idc but his whole "bitch-chan" made me laugh so much. Maybe I was just looking for the bare minimum to like any of these guys, cuz I think Laito doesn't suck as much as I expected. Would I run from him? Yeah. Everything he does is overtly perverted and sexual. But there is a reason behind all this. Cordelia really DID HIM BAD. She fucking groomed him, I understand why he went all crazy in the head. HIS MOTHER...IM SORRY I CAN'T TAKE IT. While I don't like his route and in terms of the romance aspect I don't want him. But he gives SO many funny moments and is just such a goldmine in memes that I can't help but like him. Also being a thigh guy, huge respect. I definitely don't hate him, unexpectedly, he can become one of my "hear me out---". If he didn't fucking assualt Yui so many times, I might have put him above Ayato.

5. Kanato Sakamaki: Demon child

2/10

He looks mentally ill. He actually looks like a malnourished victorian boy. He looks possessed. And I DON'T LIKE HIM.

My feelings towards Kanato are so complicated. Like I do find him funny at times but he usually makes me roll my eyes. In terms of the romance aspect, just no, no, NO. Even my 14 year old self wouldn't like him, he looks like a CHILD. There's nothing attractive in him, the other boys have something, Kanato is just a demon child. And his teddy, I want to burn that teddy just cuz it makes Kanato even more annoying when he's talking to it. Did you not take your pills Kanato? Why are you the way you are. Ofc it's all his deadbeat dad and especially his bitch of a mother's fault. She had affairs in front of this little boy, no wonder he is so ill. He's definitely the most unhinged of the brothers, even they find him scary at times. He would just kill you for funsies. He would. I don't hate him but I don't like him either.

6. Reiji Sakamaki: Bleh Bleh Bleh

1/10

I am sorry I can't take this man seriously. Everything he says and does makes me go "ughhhhhhh" so bad. When he got mad at Shu for leaving their weekly dinners, aura point loss, loser behaviour. The only reason I gave him 1 point is cuz he's hot...sometimes. I generally love glasses guys but no Reiji just gets on nerves each time he opens his fucking mouth and says smtg on the lines of "um....akschully 🤓"

Fuck you. Fuck Reiji. His entire backstory is just being jealous of Shu. And then he spends his entire life trying to get on Shu's nerves and the fact Shu doesn't give a fuck drives Reiji even more. When he killed his mother and wanted to revive her just to kill her in a satisfying manner...bro... 😭. His relationship with Yui sucks, his little tea parties suck, he just sucks. I know Reiji has his fans, but I am a hater. With Kanato I don't like him romantically but with Reiji I don't like him at all. And when he spanks Yui and is like "don't drink her blood assholes" and then does the SAME thing. He actually made me mad. I was ready for whatever came my way when I got into this but Reiji is so annoying that I would take fucking Latio over him. All of this rage just cuz his mom didn't listen to his poem or whatever. I am sorry you are parentless Reiji, I just cannot care less about you 🍵.

And....

I love you Yui. Such an adorable girl. I feel so bad for her the entire time. She deserves so much.

Top 3 ships ranking:

1. Ayato x Yui

2. Subaru x Yui

3. Shu x Yui

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

[gyaruhana]

Can u please write wlw smut for my glorious queen se-mi player 380

Se-mi/Player 380 - hatefucking

Synopsis: You and Se-mi can't stand each other so what better way to deal with that issue then fight for dominance?

A/N: i did combine this with another request for hatesex bc they both were wuh luh wuh so.. hope you don't mind!!

Warnings: smut content, choking, degradation, slight fight for dominance, fingering, it's hatesex..

If there was one thing you avoided, it was arguments. You preferred to avoid making enemies because; what was the point? It was far better to make friends than enemies who’d plot your death on the daily. Friends would be there to make you happy and comfort you when you're sad. Enemies would just laugh at you and pull you further down into the depths of sadness. That's why you always opted for only making friends and allies.

The only exception to this little rule was her. Se-mi.

Se-mi had been getting on your nerves from the moment you had both spared a glance at each other. There was something about her that reeked of over-confidence and judgement. The way she would look at you with that smirk on her face as if she thought she was better than you. It pisses you the fuck off and all you wanted to do was punch her face in so she could never smirk or scoff at you again.

Whether it was for good or bad, Se-mi felt the same way. You were always so nice to everyone, even to those who didn't deserve kindness whatsoever. It pissed her off that you'd try to be friends with everyone. Were you naive or just plain stupid? Whatever it was, she didn't like it. You were so happy-go-lucky as if you weren't trapped in this hell hole where people are being killed left and right. She didn't trust you at all because you seemed like the type who'd willingly stab someone in the back sooner or later.

In short, the feeling of hate was mutual between you two and, everytime you were near each other, there was a silent tension of unspoken dislike. Neither of you had actually communicated your dislike through speech, it was all just glares from across the room and the purposeful avoidance of each other.

Today, you unfortunately didn't have the opportunity to avoid each other like you two usually opted to do.

It was the third game and it was called ‘Mingle’. It wasn't a difficult game as long as you weren't one to crack under the pressure of a short time limit. All you had to do was form a group of whatever number was called out and then run into a room with them. The first four rounds went well for you since you were friends with practically everyone here and could always find a group to join.

When the fifth round came, the number two was called and chaos broke out quite quickly as people realized not everyone will be fortunate enough to get a room. As chaos broke out and lights flashed, you found it rather difficult to see who was on their lonesome and needed a pair. Luckily for you, you managed to spot the tall silhouette of someone who was on their own so you ran towards them and grabbed a hold of their wrist, dragging them into one of the last free rooms. You quickly shut it behind you as you let out a relieved sigh - glad you managed to find someone before it was too late.  

When you turned around, you were met with the unimpressed face of Se-mi. You almost let out a groan of annoyance at the sight of her. Maybe you should go back out there and just get shot. At least then she'd die as well and you could rest peacefully knowing she'd never plague anyone with her ugly personality again. 

“I'm not happy to see you either,” she says as she folds her arms across her chest and leans against the wall behind her. You let out a scoff of annoyance as the doors finally locked indicating the timer was up. Considering you'd probably be trapped in this room for a while until they clear out the bodies, maybe now would be a good time to confront her about her behavior.

“What's your problem? You're always such an asshole to me,” you say as you step closer to her. Your words may have been slightly aggressive but you couldn't help it when she was around. She just naturally got on every nerve in your body. In response to your words, she pushes off the wall and uncrosses her arms to step closer to you.

“My problem? You're the one with the problem,” Se-mi spoke as she looked at you with annoyance. The audacity you had to call her a bitch as if you were any better. Seeing you like this made her believe all your kindness really was an act for your own personal gain. That only fueled her hatred for you.

“You're the one who's been glaring at me since day one. You're a total fucking dickhead with your arrogant attitude,” you speak as you point an accusatory finger in her face. You were sick of how she'd act and the way she'd judge everyone silently. She needed a wake up call or something so she'd stop standing on her high horse. After all, she glared at you first. What were you supposed to do? Let her treat you like that? Hell no. You might be all for making friends but that doesn't mean you'll back down when someone chooses to be your enemy.

Then suddenly, out of the blue - her hand wrapped around your throat and she pushed you onto the wall. “I'd watch your mouth when you speak to me,” she says with anger bubbling inside her. Calling her arrogant? Who did you think you were? Someone needed to put you in your place.

You were taken aback by the sudden violence before grabbing her wrist tightly and glaring at her. “Or what? What are you going to do about it? Kill me?” you spoke sarcastically. You didn't fear her at all or the hand around your throat. It's not like she'd kill you. She couldn't have the guts to murder someone. You knew her type. Assholes on the outside, total pussies on the inside. They all just made enemies with people they assumed were weak so they could act tough.

She was quiet for a moment as she thought about your words. She couldn't kill you, no. You wouldn't learn anything that way (and she might get in trouble for that). She'd have to take a different approach if she wanted to make you learn a lesson about your bitchy behavior and, thankfully, she knew just how to make someone learn a lesson. She smirked for a moment before nodding her head.

“I won't kill you, no. I'll teach you a lesson,” she spoke before suddenly pressing her lips to yours. Her hand stayed wrapped around your throat, lightly squeezing to serve as a warning. You didn't expect her to kiss you of all things. It left you frozen in shock. Her kiss wasn't gentle either. It was rough as if its purpose was to silence you. There was nothing loving about it and, strangely enough, you found yourself actually being turned on by it. You didn't have feelings for her, no. You hated her but you were stuck in a place like this with no guarantee of a tomorrow so maybe a little hatefuck wouldn't be a terrible idea.

“Fuck, you're a shitty kisser,” you speak when she pulls away. She lets out a bitter chuckle at your words and shakes her head. “Thought I told you to watch your mouth?” She said as her free hand trailed down to the waistband of your pants. Oh, Se-mi was going to make sure you submit and watch your attitude towards her from now on.  “You think I'll listen to you?” You respond snarkily. 

“Oh, you will,” she says, her hand making it to your underwear as she gently traces the fabric of it. She moves her hand beneath the fabric and gently feels your entrance. “You're wet. You're just a whore, huh?” she spoke with a mocking smirk. She found it amusing that you were turned on by something like this. 

You were about to make a quick comment in response when she quickly slid her index finger into you making you let out a moan. God, you didn't expect her to do that so suddenly. She was full of surprises today. You quickly recovered from the initial shock as you noticed the smug look on her face. It drove you insane. If she thought she was teaching you a lesson like this, you'd have to teach her one too.

“Don't think you're in control,” you speak before grabbing the back of her head and pressing your lips to hers. Se-mi would be lying if she said she wasn't a little taken aback by the sudden kiss. She had assumed you'd fold immediately but apparently you were much more of a challenge. She smirked into the kiss before pulling her finger out slowly and then teasingly thrusting it back in. You let out a muffled moan at the feeling as you bring your free hand to the hem of her shirt. You lift it up slightly before putting your hand underneath and slowly trailing it upwards. 

“Might want to try harder to please me. You do a poor job at fingering a girl,” you speak after breaking from the kiss. She shakes her head with the smirk not leaving her face as she starts to thrust her fingers in and out of you quicker. “Oh really? Your body says otherwise,” she says, her hand tightening around your throat once more to serve as a silent warning. 

“I'm not even close to getting to cum. Can't you do any better?” You say as your hand that had earlier slipped under her shirt pinched her nipple. She tensed for a moment as her breath hitched, making you laugh. “What? That sensitive?” You tease and she sends a glare at you. She could try to dominate you as much as she wants but you weren't one to submit so easily.

She suddenly presses her thumb to your clit and starts to rub it roughly. The sensation makes you lean your head back against the wall as you moan. “Seems like you're the sensitive one,” she says as she watches your reactions carefully. As much as you wouldn't ever admit it, she was actually quite good with her fingers. She knew exactly how to move them and get someone to cum quite quickly. 

“if we weren't stuck here, I'd show you how good I could really fuck you,” you speak with a smirk as you look back at her again. “sure you could,” she responds sarcastically as she continues to thrust her fingers at a quick pace. She could tell you were close now as she felt you clench around her fingers.

“You're close, huh?” she says, clearly mocking you. You laugh breathlessly as you shake your head and look to the side. God, she was still such a cocky bitch. You looked at her before pulling on her hair and glaring at her. “When I cum, I'll make you lick your fingers clean, yeah?” you speak and the smirk on her face seems to grow bigger. Fuck, she really didn't think you'd still be acting so dominant. It was actually turning her on more - getting to fight for dominance like this.

With a few more thrusts of her fingers you came undone with a quiet moan. She slowly pulls her fingers out of you and you don't waste a second to grab her hand and pull it out of your pants. “C’mon, suck,” you say as you bring her hand to her mouth, her fingers wet with your cum. She looks at you for a moment before slowly putting her fingers into her mouth and sucking them clean of your cum. She pulls them out of her mouth after a few seconds and, as if on cue, the door unlocked meaning the guards had finished cleaning.

You both looked at the door before looking at each other again. “If you make it out alive of this place, I'll have to fuck you on my dildo next time,” she speaks as she steps back from you. “Looking forward to it- seeing you embarrass yourself, i mean,” you respond before walking out without another word and leaving her alone in the room. She watched you walk out before scoffing.

“She better make it out alive,”

[leoivys]

𝑵𝑬𝑾 𝒀𝑬𝑨𝑹'𝑺 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑭𝑬𝑺𝑺𝑰𝑶𝑵 — 𝑱𝑨𝑺𝑶𝑵 𝑻𝑶𝑫𝑫

– contents; fluff, a hint of angst and implied smut

– summary; spending new years with your childhood best friend with who you spent a night with

– word count; 1.2k

– a/n; This is rushed, late, and my first time writing smut. But happy (late) new year! ♡

Your friendship with Jason goes way back, even before he became the vigilante he is today. When you used to play in the garden of the Wayne Manor and always ended up getting a bit too rough, leaving your knees bruised and bloody before Alfred would fix them up for you. The young boy would sit by your side and hold your hand as he muttered butchered apologies – he wouldn't hurt you. It was never his intention.

The small frown of pure concern etched on his face every time you got hurt as he rushed to your side in order to help in any way he possibly could always give you a feeling of security.

He was always there for you like you were for him, earning titles like his most trusted associate in the militia, his closest friend before and after what happened to him in Arkham, his first time.

That night, when you promised no romantic attachments to each other – even after you saw a grown man who had missed so much of his life due to what he had to go through so vulnerable under you; reacting to your every touch, letting you taste the desperation on his tongue as he pulled you in a bruising kiss to muffle any sounds of weakness his mind was encouraging him to let out for you to hear. A man people have learned to fear in such a short period was writhing – no, begging, for you to not take your hands off him.

Where had his innocence gone? You couldn't help but wonder how this messy, broken person that was currently kneeling before your frame was the same one you grew up with, and God help him, for he was so far gone. His cold hands rested on your thighs, keeping them in place; his touch gentle against the softness of your skin in contrast to his rough one as he made his best efforts to impress you.

Jason took his time, his logic skills? Long forgotten. A faint smile tugged on his lips. He allowed himself to feel the taste of your ‘essence’ on his tongue overwhelm his senses – visibly shivering while he found himself mindlessly admiring you as much as each and every one of your pleasant reactions. Communication skills? Completely turned off, and you could tell when you noticed him mumble incoherent gibberish all in a pathetic attempt to beg.

You were brought back to the present when Jason's sigh of disappointment echoed in the emptiness of the room, another group of militia soldiers had lost their base to the one person he made a promise to kill – the Bat.

His expression grew tired. You could tell, regardless of the mask that he hid himself beneath and all the armor he used to protect his scars, you knew him that well. As soon as the fuzz of the mask's robotic effect faded, you spoke up, “I hope you follow along with the plans we have.”

Your intentions were clear; try to get Jason to cheer up a little, and the bare minimum was to at least help him get his mind off of everything he had going on. Although, your remark earned you a huff of air before his mask was lifted by the press of one button. “Alright… You're a pain, you know that?” He responded with a playful hint to his usually serious voice, a look of defeat settled in his expression.

In your books, that was a win.

It's funny seeing how people ignore the cold for the sake of getting the preparations ready for their guests or those who are lucky enough to expect family members to come back to spend their holidays back at home. The house filling up with chatter and laughter in every corner is a miracle not everyone had the chance to enjoy.

Sometimes life doesn't turn out exactly how you expect. The kind of thoughts that consumed your mind weren't anything other than what you had done in your course of life, leaving your vision clouded.

“You're uncharacteristically early.” Jason pointed out with a tinge of playfulness to his tone. He never had the difficulty of calling you out on your bullshit. New Year's Eve. You had arranged something casual, changing into another year and hoping for the best atop a rooftop where the big screen of the city's center was visible, and a champagne ready to be opened after the countdown and emptied into the two glasses he had brought along.

It wasn't long until the countdown had already begun, people's voices echoing in the city's filled streets along with yours harmonizing with Jason's rough one. The light of the bright screens brightened its surroundings, making the thin layer of snow shimmer in the darkness the midnight sky had to offer – a sparkle that reminded you of Jason's eyes, but you quickly snapped out of it.

His drunken smile was a sight for sore eyes, bearing all of his teeth like he used to when he was less broken – his little smile. Jason’s gaze seemed focused on every part of you, and at the same time, he looked so out of it. You couldn't feel even just a little grateful that the alcohol had gotten to his head and momentarily lost the mask he had grown such an attachment to, so much that he preferred it.

It was the same Jason under all the walls he had built up around himself when his the most important years of his life were snatched away from his shaky hands, the very same that cradled you after nightmares that left you heaving and searching for your sanity among the most vulnerable pieces of yourself, the ones that you held onto during the freezing nights like this to stabilize yourself upon the ice that had settled on the ground.

Jason, with his fucked up past – one of the few ones who had every right to be mad at the world and rough around the edges to the world for turning its back, yet you were his world and he chose to be gentle. You were his witness as a feather-like touch ran down your arm and made itself comfortable over your hand.

The scent of the bubbly drink on the tip of his tongue brought you back to the present. It was clear that he was lightheaded, but part of him was still aware of his surroundings. Well, he was anyway, until he rested his head on your shoulder without a single care in the world. “I love you.” He muttered, his breath coming out in a cloud of fog in contrast to the coldness of the world.

The words slip out easier than he could ever imagine, but he means it. This time was unlike any other time before. He wasn't comforting his best friend or hugging them goodbye because he was leaving for a mission. It was a confession and a drunken one at that.

Jason hadn't lost himself. “Happy New Year, Jay.” You muttered. A sharp sigh escaped him as he allowed himself to get overwhelmed by the feeling of your hand rushing through his hair.

A new year comes with new beginnings, and maybe this year can be better than what you expected.

[strange-anni]

What happened to Nancy Wheeler on Wills 8th birthday?

Long story short I do believe that the events of S3 namely Mayor Larrys Fun Fair/The Mind Flayer/ The Battle at Starcourt Mall could all give us some clues as to what really happened when Will got 8 years old in 1979.

Read this post if you want to know more. If you don't you may not understand what I'm talking about in here.

This time I mostly want to talk about Nancy Wheeler and what I believe could have happened to her on the 22nd of March 1979.

The Hawkins High Marching Band was at Mayor Larrys Fun Fair in 1985. This likely means that wherever Wills birthday party took place in 1979, the band was there too. Probably not directly because of him but they were at the same place at the same time.

Since the Marching band was there, Robin was most likely too as well as Vickie.

But

In S1 Steve also assumes Nancy took part in band practices. She denies it though but I don't fully believe her. I think Steve is right that she was in band at one point in her life and therefore was also present when Will had his birthday party. I'll get into why later.

That doesn't bode well considering that it's likely something horrible happened at the same day. Something Will only has vague memories about. El distinctly remembers killing a bunch of kids in the lab in S4. Even though it turned out that she didn't do it and it was 001 who did it, I do think there is a bit of truth to it as these memories are most likely altered memories of Will.

So a bunch of children died back then and it's the year 1979 we are talking about. Nancy, Jonathan, Robin and Vickie would have only been about 12 years old at the time and Steve about 13 years.

Kids.

This is what Robin had to say when she and Steve were drugged and in the elevator with Erica and Dustin. Ominous to say the least.

But back to Nancy

I think she got shot in the chest.

Her sweater is white and it's pure fuel but it's not coming off. The fuel blood just won't come off.

And it's Larry who gave it his best shot at the Fun Fair. Larry who shares the same name with Lonnie. Both are short versions of Lawrence.

Nancy like many others got killed on that day but something else also happened. Will got a box with 120 crayons and drew a big space ship, a Rainbowship. Joyce told us it's the only thing Will wanted to do. He didn't care for his new Star Wars toys and only wanted to draw. If that Rainbowship is so important, it's for a reason I think. It's purpose is to bring a lot of people into space/the UD to save them and then bring them back to earth so they can live again.

Karen is right I think. Nancy did get swapped in the hospital. She died there and then seemingly came back to life but it's not really the same Nancy. She looks like her and mostly acts like her but it's not her.

It's the Nancy that got transported back from Space/the UD with the Rainbowship after she died in the hospital. She was swapped.

She's what an eight year old Will believed her to be like. His best version/interpretation of her along with some deliberate alterations. If being in band was what killed her on that day, she can no longer be in band. So that aspect of her life got erased. It's why I don't believe her when she said she wasn't in band. She can't remember ever being there and this version truly wasn't but the old one was.

The new car which looks just like the old car but isn't the old car. A metaphor for many things in this show

[skyheld]

"You can't blame yourself." from asharen to ameridan

ASKBOX MEME 059 / ARCANE S02E07-09 | selectively accepting | @mercysought

It's the second time he leaves a place where he was meant to die.

Stands up on shaking legs, brushes the dust of time off his clothes and picks through the remains of his old life for things he needs to keep. There isn't much left, now. He gave most things away when he joined clan Lavellan, to the few friends he has made in the last ten years, or to the clan itself. He had no need or interest then in riches or treasure. Only a few keepsakes.

Some people watch as he comes out of the aravel. The last few weeks as his strength waned he left is more and more rarely, and while many come to visit him, there are some faces he hasn't seen in all that time --- faces of those he was never close to, or who felt too uncomfortable to sit in a room with a dying person, seeing the way life left him a little bit more each week. When he steps out now with a small pack slung over his shoulder and the staff in his hand, he stands straighter than they've ever seen him. There's strength in his legs, carrying him down the landing, and in the hand that holds his staff. His eyes are unclouded, his lungs draw deep the air of the forest around them. But he doesn't look at those faces, even the ones he loved most dearly. He's afraid they'll turn away.

And anyway, how can he ask for them to look at him? How can he deserve a heartfelt farewell from these people when he failed them so utterly? They took him in so he would be safe, so he would know peace. He risked their lives, allowing a demon to possess him. He brought them war.

Thanks to that they live, but he isn't sure that matters.

"I do not blame myself", he tells Asharen as they meet below the aravel's deck. She sees through him, of course, sees the guilt clawing at him from the inside, but it isn't blame. "I did what I did to save them. Now I live with the consequences. I just wish... I wish there'd been another choice."

Hakkon looking out through his grey eyes, seeing the things he sees and adding his thoughts and emotions to Ameridan's mind, blurring them both. Hakkon coming to him that night when the clan was attacked, Hakkon's strength in his dying body, Hakkon tearing their enemies to shreds, laughing with Ameridan's voice but not his laugh, not his joy in the killing.

He wishes the others didn't have to see it. That they didn't have to look at him now and know that the one they called hahren and bestowed the name of their clan is an abomination. That his back is straight and his hands strong and that he stands in the sunlight again because something else is standing with him.

Ameridan Talvas Lavellan, he was for a while. But he cannot use that name anymore.

"We should be off", he says. A little further away, others are waiting for them to catch up. New faces, but they seem like good people. The one they call Rook has put together a capable group. Harding. He'll need to tell her too when they reach their sanctuary.

He's not sure if it's grief or shame that wells up and fill his eyes with tears, but he turns quickly, lowering his head to brush them away. He wanted to stay here. He didn't want to die, but he was ready to let it happen as he knew it would; he got the peace he always yearned for, and if it had to end, at least it would end in the best way possible. But now all that is different, and that peace is gone.

You are making this so much harder than it is. Hakkon has been quiet in his mind, and now that he speaks it sounds like mockery. And yet he is right in a way. Staying here, thinking about what he's walking away from makes the walking harder. He needs to just leave. Without another word he brushes past Asharen and joins the others, giving a single nod of his head when Rook asks if he's ready for the walk to the nearest eluvian, if those are all his things, is he is alright---

But before they've reached the edge of the camp, where signs of recent battle are still visible, blood drying brown in the grass where Hakkon's battleaxe tore throats and chests open, someone cries out behind them. A girl has escaped her parents' vigilant eyes and come running, calling his name.

Elirin. She's lost two front teeth since last he saw her. When he was strong enough to sit by the fire and tell stories, she'd ask for ones with Da'harel in them, then curl up with her head on his leg and pretend to be a very small wolf while he spoke. Now she wraps her arms around his legs and sobs into them until he manages to untangle himself from her grip so he can crouch down and hug her properly. Her parents wouldn't want him to. They'd worry about the demon. But he can't push her away, and he knows there is no danger.

She's holding a straw hat, like the ones the members of the clan make for themselves and to sell. At first he thinks she must have just been working on it when she saw him leave --- it's clearly her handiwork, childish and clumsy and therefor lovely --- but she presses it into his hands.

"Oh", he says, as his hands close round the brim. "Is it for me?"

She nods, her face set with determination.

There clearly is no fighting that. He would hurt her if he tried to decline. Blinking away more tears he takes the hat and puts it on --- it's a little large, probably not made for him to begin with, but it stays in place if he's careful. There are places where the straw sticks out and places where the woven pattern breaks. He loves it. One of the adult's perfectly crafted hats wouldn't have filled him with as much love as this one. "Thank you", he says, voice brittle. "That should keep me safe from the sun in Antiva."

Satisfied, Elirin turns to run back to her parents. Ameridan straightens up. The straw hat casts a shadow over his face until he turns back to the others, facing the sun.

Ameridan Talvas Lavellan. Maybe he keeps the name, at least for now.

"I'm ready", he says, and this time he feels it. "Let us go."

[thefreelancebioexorcist]

Though his body was quite literally dead when in Downtime, his mind was not. Internally, Betelgeuse was in front of an old chalkboard, writing down everything he could about their situation past and present that could prove to be relevant. After a time of scribbling, he had filled most of the board with information on their previous lives and their current lives up until now. From all this information, he came up with the following questions, which he had written off to the side:

Where has Delores been this entire time?

Why hasn’t she appeared before this?

Why now?

Was she after him?

Was she after Lydia?

Was she after both of them?

These were the questions he’d take to Juno, and hopefully it would give them some direction. He didn’t think it was possible that Delores wanted a quiet afterlife. That she wouldn���t seek retribution for her murder, even if she had deserved it.

Feeling better to have a starting point, Betelgeuse came back to himself, only to regain consciousness to Lydia straddling his lap, kissing him sweetly. Of course, he didn’t move at first, savouring being woken up in such a way, but soon he couldn’t help himself, and his hands moved to her hips, the ghost looking at her fondly when she pulled back from him. He nodded at the suggestion of pizza, his grip on her hips going slack as she hopped off his lap.

Betelgeuse watched her place their order before she disappeared into the kitchen, and he sat up on the couch and stretched his arms high above his head, feeling his bones creak as he did. Then he got up, and followed her into the kitchen after a moment or two, watching as she busied herself with tidying up before grabbing something for them to drink. He eyed the bottle she had grabbed with interest. That was a rather expensive bottle from her father’s stash. He wondered where she had been hiding it, and if this was better saved for a special occasion rather than a stressful one. He was pulled from his thoughts as the door rang, and he moved to answer it, only to be immediately told off with a look. “Hey now, Netherworld delivery folks woulda killed fer that quality o’ lizard, honey,” he explained. “It was one o’ my best ones, too…”

The pizza was excellent. At the sight of the container of dried crickets, Betelgeuse pulled her in for a kiss. He knew she wouldn’t kiss him after the crickets. At least until he brushed his teeth.

When they were done, and Lydia went to the kitchen to put away the leftovers and grabbed their drinks, Betelgeuse popped into her bathroom to clean his mouth out. By the time she returned, he was back on the couch. He took the offered bottle and after taking another look at her face, he opened the bottle with a quick twist of his wrist and poured them each a serving. Lydia’s was, of course, a smaller helping. He was well aware of her limits with alcohol. And even though they had joked about getting drunk, even he didn’t think it was the best idea at the moment.

“This ain’t easy fer me t’ admit, babes, but…I’m uneasy about this whole thing, too. Delores killed both of us, an’ I killed her fer killin’ you. Furthermore, she didn’t even get what she wanted, so I imagine she’s pretty pissed. But I don’t know if she’ll be more angry at me…or at you in order t’ get back at me.” He took a sip of his drink. “As fer what you’ll do when I’m gone, it’ll be like any other time I’m not here. Yer gonna get up in the morning an’ go t’ class an’ work as usual, babes. I don’t think I’ll be gone fer long. I’ll be back every night, promise.” He indicated the many different watches on his wrist that would help him with that. “Y’ just can’t go with me at the moment…not until I’m more sure of safety fer both of us.” It was one thing if he put himself in a little danger, but it was another thing if he put Lydia in danger.

“An’ as fer Juno…Maybe she’ll know where Delores has been all this time an’ why she’s surfacin’ now. Anybody who opens a business in the Nether, especially in the downtown area has t’ file a bunch o’ paperwork. Maybe she’ll let me leaf through it. Or maybe she can tell me who Delores’ caseworker is an’ I can get information out of them.” As Betelgeuse spoke he seemed to get more and more agitated, and his gestures became more sharp. His voice even got louder. Not enough to be yelling, but he was obviously unhappy and angry with the whole situation. “Fact is, babes, I-I don’t know. I’m flyin’ blind with this one an’ I can’t—“ He downed the rest of his drink in one gulp. “I gotta do somethin’. I can’t lose y’ again, so Juno’s the best place t’ start gatherin’ information. An’ don’t worry. I won’t be goin’ out in the Nether like I would normally. Other than th’ Monsters, I got some family I can call upon t’ do some snoopin’ fer us. A certain royal has eyes an’ ears everywhere in th’ Nether. An’ Donny’s got his ear t’ th’ ground with all th’ gossip among the shop owners, so…” Betel gave her a hopeful, though still nervous smile.

“The best thing y’ can do fer me, babes, is keep yerself safe an’ outta trouble,” he responded with a smile, taking ahold of her hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss the back of her palm. “An’, no powers? Babes, not only can y’ see ghosts, you can quite effectively pull me out of states that no one else can AND calm me down….Of course y’ got powers. I can even feel it in yer fingertips right now. Might even be stronger than it was before, given yer connection t’ me an’ yer extended times in the Nether. Yer powers now are just untapped, not unlike I was when you taught me everythin’ before.” He grinned, then sighed. “We can start workin’ on that when I get back from Juno’s.”

“As fer fightin’ her…well, as much as I’d rather y’ not do that at all. I guess it’s best t’ be prepared fer every possibility…” He considered. “Damn, t’ see the look on her face if y’ were t’ beat her ass with witchcraft. She’d be pissed.” He looked delighted. “And you’d look smokin’ hot, babes”

Roadhouse Redux

Continued from here

Slivers of early morning light had begun to filter in through the curtains of Betelgeuse’s bedroom windows when Lydia’s eyelids fluttered open. Slowly rolling over, she smiled sleepily when she caught sight of her ghostly husband. She took a moment to admire his profile in the early morning light, something in her chest warming at the sight of him in such domestic comfort. The most feared poltergeist in all of the Netherworld and here he was, propped up in his bed reading a book, a pair of spectacles resting at the bridge of his nose. 

“Morning,” Lydia said quietly and smiled, propping her head up with her hand. Her hair was a wild tangle of inky black tresses around her head. “Guess all the excitement from yesterday must have worn me out. Last thing I remember, I was jotting down some ideas for the new Roadhouse.” Sitting up to lean against the gravestone headboard, she reached up to try and finger-comb her hair. “Are we going to head over there again today? See how much we can get done? I’m so excited to see it all come together.”

[shannonsketches]

[liquidstar]

sleepovers save money on hotel rooms while on missions 👍

[heytheredeann]

“Yes, there is a place where someone loves you both before and after they learn what you are.” ― Neil Hilborn

[puppppppppy]

Atla live action 😐