#the cure for the infection was pure love

[tsukikokm]

The infection AU has been infecting my mind for the past few days now….so now this exists in my camera roll

[teamhawkeye]

one of the biggest things i will never forgive RE8 for is how dirty they did Mia

in 7, she is partly a damsel in distress, yes - but that’s semi-subverted in her playable segment where she has to rescue Ethan from Eveline and proves she’s competent and a badass. in 8...she gets sidelined before the game even starts and then plays an entirely passive role in the fate of her husband and child in the like 15 minutes she’s actually involved in the game

she also spends all of 7 telling Ethan she’s going to tell him the truth about everything: all the secrets she’s been hiding from him since they met and married, her role in Eveline’s life and how she came to be in Louisiana and doomed the Baker family...to then in 8, being shown to have told the BSAA to conceal all that information from Ethan and never sharing anything with him like she promised to

such a disservice to her character, it genuinely makes me mad still

[hexxedcore]

What would Yandere Viktor be like in this 2nd season? Of course if you want, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable making this yandere topic

not an uncomfortable question at all, anon! in fact i love viktor and i love yandere tropes even more ❤️

WARNINGS: YANDERE, unhealthy / toxic relationship, manipulative behaviour, delusion (mostly religiously fuelled if i’m being honest), codependency

I’m a firm believer that Viktor wouldn’t be a yandere who imposes him physically. This is a man who is speculative and used to hiding away in the shadows — he demonstrates everything with well planted seeds of deceit and doubt.

Now, Season Two Viktor? With what we know, it’s up to so much speculation regarding what his motives are and what’s going to happen next — but this specific trope is so rich in the potential it has depending on who you present yourself as to him. A devoted follower? An estranged lover who sought him out after he abruptly left? A Zaunite attempting to stop the hold he has on his vulnerable disciples?

I’ll be covering the disciple trope below but will gladly create more posts for the others.

DISCIPLE READER:

You come to him in a moment of desperation, having heard of the whispers scattered through dark alleyways of Zaun that there was a mage who possessed the capability to heal any wound he was presented with. A miracle worker in the flesh.

It was a opportunity impossible to pass up. Everyone had been scrambling for an opportunity to meet him, have him cure their lung ailments or their Shimmer addictions.

Despite being tentative going into the belly of Zaun, you were admittedly shocked by the abundance of life in what had once been deemed the slums. People who were rumoured to be disfigured and marred purple were walking around, regarding you with inviting smiles, soft skin, full eyes.

When Viktor first spotted you wandering his growing compound, lost, he was absolutely entranced. For a moment he was left wondering why everyone was so adamant on worshipping him, when the obvious miracle here was you. You’re just so pure, so perfect, that even the Hexcore is adamant in prolonging your visit.

You approached him with hopes of a cure to the infection that had been riddling your lungs due to the Gray being released to the Undercity. Viktor wasn't in a state to do anything but oblige.

For as much as you heard of his cures being instantaneous and life-changing, yours had been painfully slow. Viktor reassured that due to the unique nature of the Gray, the Arcane was reacting in unpredictable ways. Therefore; you should make yourself at home. Stay, for the time being.

It wasn't difficult to settle in with how amiable the other 'followers' were, as they enjoyed calling themselves. It also wasn't surprising, considering how reverently respectful Viktor had been treating you. As though you were a deity of his own, despite your lack of impressive actions.

It almost made you forget about the swelling cough that persisted in your chest, or the fact you’ve forgotten how long it’s been since you’ve even begun your stay.

Needless to say, you don’t plan to leave this routine anytime soon. He doesn’t plan on allowing you, either.

[la2yn0va]

Yo! I got an idea how with some of the character from the self aware au (honkai) with react with a reader that has 8 pure white angel wings and has a warmth and comforting aura. The aura is soo potent that just by being near or close to the reader can cure or calm anyone down (For example: it can cure or calm Jingliu or blade down from their marastruck state). Basically it removes anyone's bad intentions and cures evil thoughts. However this kinda has a down side as spending too much time with the reader can cause addiction, as the aura is too strong

As if they needed any other reason to be obsessed with you. But then again, what did they expect?

Of course you’d have such divine power. A true and pure healing power, not the fraudulent healing powers of Yaoshi.

When everyone sees your 8 wings of purity, they can feel the addicting effect of them, or perhaps YOU infecting them immediately.

Two smaller wings on the side of your head, like Robin and Sunday. Then three on each side of your back.

Luckily, or UN-luckiky, you’re able to retract your wings into your body, subduing the addicting effect greatly but not entirely.

But, the damage has already been done. The seed planted. Everyone loves you AND your wings, you shouldn’t be hiding your wings! They COMPLETE you!

But, it’s healing power makes the people of the xianzhou alliance deify you more than you already are AND more than anyone else in the cosmos. Your wings are the key to annihilating the abominations of Yaoshi and those filthy borisin.

They pray to you and your statues harder and more perfect then anyone else, They suck up to you whenever your around, on their knees begging and praising you nonstop.

Eventually, you accept their prayers, and let them… ‘cook’ medicine and weapons to kill or cure Mara struck individuals. But, you only allow lingsha and jiaoqiu to touch your wings.

Jiaoqiu is eternally grateful that you allowed him to partake in this… ‘cooking’ and that you accepted his prayers and begging. Lingsha is more so honored and prideful you chose HER to use your wings as a way to make the xianzhou a safer place.

First jiaoqiu tried to pluck a feather from you, but when he touched your wings, your knees buckle as you felt weak instantly, making jiaoqiu yank his hand away.

Lingsha quickly ran towards you as the two healers began asking a myriad of questions. But you stopped their questions, stating that the pain was gone.

This time, lingsha grasped your feathers and immediately noticed how sensitive you were to the mere touch of your wings. Honestly, their first thought was that you were cute like this, before they plucked two feathers from you.

The pain was unbearable but quick. It came and yet yet the shock from the pain even if it was just for 5 seconds, knocked him on the floor unconscious, due to the shock from the pain.

The two panicked, seeing that they had cause indescribable pain to you. They immediately put you on the table, getting rid of your shirt and beginning to perform CPR, But they stopped once they felt your breath and pulse.

They felt guilty, wondering if they should even use your feathers for what they wanted. But, after only two minutes, you woke up and…didn’t feel pain?

Seeing you not in pain seemed to solidify their choice, beginning to use your feathers to make medicine and weapons to cure others. While they did that, you stayed around people like feixiao and jingliu, giving them the freedom they desperately needed.

As lingsha and jiaoqiu took their SWEET SUCCULENT time, feixiao and jingliu slowly grew addicted to you and your wings, fighting each other to be in your comforting aura longer then the other.

It was until the two doctors finished their preparations, the two became normal, cured. Every Mara struck person was cured and you were always treated as a god in the xianzhou, more then you already were.

But, you always stayed around feixiao, jingliu, lingsha, Moze, and jiaoqiu. They treated you like a normal everyday person, and can joke around with you without fear of you ‘smiting’ them.

-The End-

[eiswolfzero]

I love some of the Infection AUs I see going around and thought, I want too, haha.

The mane six are infected by a strange phenomenon where they slowly turn into their G1 counterparts. Twilight, the one working relentlessly on a cure, is one of the more affected.

Already she can't move her right wing, the strange pony she's becoming apparently pure unicorn. She catches her self mumbling strange things too. What is she wishing for?

And then she keeps seeing her friends but also her friends. Who are these ponies?

[merakiui]

Where do you think Skully would land in the Twst Apocalypse Au? (more twst apoc au crumbs pleaseee)

He travels alone and isn't affiliated with any particular compound or group. All of the previous groups he's attempted to befriend and join didn't really understand him. They're trying to survive, but Skully is just so fascinated with the macabre state of the world. As a result, the very expressive, whimsical Skully and very serious groups don't exactly see eye to eye. ^^;;; so he's all alone, searching for anything and everything. Maybe a friend... someone he can chat with about all of his interests. Perhaps they might also know of Lord Jack Skellington!! Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Maybe he meets you, a solo traveler just like him! Or he stumbles into the Ramshackle compound and you allow him to stay, much to the hesitation and suspicions of the other survivors dwelling there. Or he's captured by one of the dorm compounds and they keep him there in hopes that he might have useful information for them. Maybe it's there where he meets you, wife of the compound leader, and is immediately enamored.

No one can seem to get a solid read on him. Despite his seemingly friendly exterior, it's difficult to know what he's truly thinking. The apocalypse doesn't seem to faze him, nor does being taken prisoner by an unfamiliar compound. He's just happy to be included, perhaps. ;;;; he is a very talkative prisoner, willingly sharing all that he knows without putting up a fight. But for all of that yapping, no one really knows anything substantial about him.

I like to imagine he's infected and knows it (or perhaps he doesn't mwahaha), but he's good at hiding it. Maybe it's very early stage. Something something Skully who thinks you can cure him because you're so pure of heart,,, something something "romantic love conquers all" mindset. >:)

[fanfic-obsessed]

Pit Magic

This one…This one is going to start a little strange, and with a bit more world building than I let myself indulge in for my Tumblr ideas, but the set up is a bit necessary. As always there is no Canon to see here.

The first important note here is magic and how magic works. Magic here is both sentient and not. Magic does not necessarily have thoughts, but does have opinions about who and how it is used.  With Spells powerful enough to leave remnants behind, those remnants do not work well going against their original purpose or used by people whose intentions are too different from their first caster. All magic, after enough time, can be corrupted (made to work against its original purpose- so remnants of a spell made to kill used to heal would also be a corruption) but even corrupted magic is, for lack of a better term, protective of anyone or anything that matches the vibe of its pure form. 

This brings us to the Lazarus Pits. There is no recorded history of the Pits, with its mystical water that cures the sick and kills the healthy.  No one ever recorded its true origin. The truth is the original Lazarus Water was a non magical spring in a cave system in what is present day Turkey, a location that was long lost even before Ra’s Al Ghul began using the Pits.  This cave was the home to a small tribe in the middle of the last ice age. An illness struck this tribe, nearly wiping out the entire tribe in a matter of hours. All except the daughter of the tribe's leader, who had a natural magic. Though grieving, her main intention was to help, to save those she loved no matter the cost to herself. Her magic reacted creating a powerful spell to revive her tribe and kill the illness that afflicted them. She gladly gave her life so that they would live. 

The spell was so powerful it left long lasting remnants that sunk into spring water, turning the water of the spring into a healing elixir, the predecessor to the Lazarus Pits.  The spell also changed the tribe irrevocably, making them heartier, slower to age and more resistant to illness and infection; these resistances and the healing that came with them passed through the blood of the tribe, which then passed to most of humanity as the generations flew by.  Though no one had ever had cause to make the connection, the more of that lost tribe's blood that flows through a person's veins the better the Lazarus Pits work for them, the less the madness affects them.

By the time Ra’s Al Ghul took control of the Lazarus Pits, the original spring was lost to time and the remnants of the original spell were hopelessly corrupted.  

This brings us back to what this is setting up for.  Due to the nature of the League of Assassins, who their clients are, who their victims are, no one in living memory who had been exposed to Lazarus Water had come face to face with someone whose vibe matches the love and need to help of the original caster. This vibe check can only be done in person, not through surveillance equipment, or photos or reports. 

Until Jason Todd attacks Tim Drake at the Titans Tower.

Stubborn, self sacrificing, loving Tim Drake. Feral, protective, willing to do anything for his loved ones. And he loved so deeply, so desperately.

The exact match of a girl so long ago who poured everything she was into a spell to heal the people she loved. Who died gladly, with no regrets, creating a healing spell so powerful that it changed humanity itself.   

Jason Todd had broken into Titan’s tower, mind drenched green with Pit Madness, intending on hurting the little Replacement Robin. That is until he entered the room the Robin in question. The madness did not clear, instead it switched from Anger to ‘Mine! Protect!’.

The Pit Madness in Jason’s head screams that this is not a safe place for Tim (someone intending to hurt him had just broken in).  Running on adrenaline, madness, and an overwhelming protectiveness, Red Hood scoops up the little Robin and exits the tower stage left to get somewhere safe (depending on which is funnier, he either manages to escape with a struggling Robin over his shoulder-no knocking out Robin, that would be hurting him- , or said Robin figured out that Red Hood was Jason Todd and went quietly for ‘It’s Jason’ reasons).  Somehow Jason runs with his captured Robin straight back to the only safe place he can think of, Nanda Parbat. 

Later, after he is not running so fully on strange instincts, Jason would not be able to say how he got from San Francisco to the League of Assassins in the middle east, but somehow he did.  

While not every Assassin in the League has had a dip in the Lazarus Pits, most have and every single one of them, from Ra’s Al Ghul to Talia to Damian to the lowest Assassin who had been dipped in the Pits takes one look at Tim Drake and go ‘he is our precious cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure’.  It should also be noted that they do not want Tim to become an Assassin, not even Ra’s; this really is a ‘we must protect the innocent boy from all the evils of the world’ kind of situation (Which is hilarious given the age difference between Damian-who has declared himself Tim’s personal bodyguard- and Tim).

So now Tim Drake has been abducted by the League of Assassins and they all want to give him…hugs? Like Tim knows he’s a bit touch starved, ok, but he didn’t realize it was so bad that an actual villain organization would get concerned.  And there is talk about how he needs to be protected. Yeah, they are not letting him contact anyone or leave, but they are also not torturing him or trying to kill him. It is a little strange that he is getting more maternal affection from Talia Al Ghil than from his own mother, who he is not even sure knows he is missing yet.  AND Jason Todd is there, which means Jason is alive, so Tim is trying to get Jason to come home. Tim is also trying to figure out if this made his life weirder or not.

Back in Gotham, Batman is losing his whole mind. He has video from Titan’s Tower of The Red Hood abducting Robin, now one has heard from either since. It has been weeks.  In addition no one has reported Tim Drake missing. It has been weeks and there is no one outside their nightlife that would notice if Tim disappeared? Bruce has been trying to get in contact with Drakes for all of those weeks (in between his frantic searching for Tim himself). The messenger he sent to find them, one of the Justice League undercover, was told essentially not to bother them about Tim, just talk to him directly and refused to listen when being told he might be missing. 

Listen when Bruce gets Tim back from wherever he has been abducted to, he is going to be concerned about the implications of his parents actions. Right now he and Dick are scouring all of their contacts to find their missing Bird. Crime is at an all time low in Gotham, in spite of the Bats not patrolling. 

There was precisely one(1) Arkham breakout since Robin went missing. Instead of the normal round up, where the various Rogues all had time to get to their preferred battlegrounds before being gently (and until that breakout none of them would have ever considered that the Bats were actually being gentle with them) recaptured, with fights that served as enrichment in all of their enclosures the four rogues that escaped that night were all put down fast, and with broken bones to would put them out of commission for months, by an impatient Batman or Nightwing.  Neither have time for the normal crime fighting until they bring Robin home, they are on a Mission.   And everyone knows not to bother the Bats on a mission.

[leahnardo-da-veggie]

The Tragedy of Love, Death and Maggots part 13

Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12

My fingers found Mrin's hair as her murmurs slowly died off. “It's over,” I told her. “We're safe. Come on, let's get out of here.” 

She nodded unsteadily. “Right. Get out. Get away. Move.” Her voice was hardly more than a whisper, a thought leaking out of her tongue. With a heave, she hauled herself out of our hidey-hole. Out in the open, I could see blood dribbling out of her lips. Whatever she had done had cost her something, that much I could tell. 

I followed her out and pressed her into a seated position. Her eye was blank, glossed over like she was high. “Come on, Mrin,” I coaxed. How quickly the tables had turned. Me reassuring her, her protecting me, me healing her- it was an endless cycle, like a satellite's orbit of Earth, always falling and never hitting the ground. I needed to get her back on her feet, just like she had me. Well, not her physical feet. Her metaphorical ones. Damn, my head hurt. It was getting hard to think. All that running about with

I peered into her mouth. Her gums were what bled, raw-red and potentially infected. No, not potentially. Definitely infected. When had it happened? She hadn't complained of such issues previously.

Curse it all. “Mrin, can you hear me? You alright?” She obviously wasn't, but I was running out of things to say. Everything was falling apart. I wanted to get back to falling apart too, but I couldn't. Not when she was like this.

She didn't respond. “Mrin? Please respond. I need you, Mrin.” Her pulse was soft, chest moving ever so slightly. 

“Mrin?” Gods, I was repeating myself like a broke record. My own pet peeve, and I'd stooped to it. “Mrin, please. You got me out of there, and now I need you to get out of whatever dreamland you're in.”

Still nothing. If anything she was fading away. But this couldn’t be it. That was unacceptable. I'd spent a good fifth of my life with her. She’d had my back. She was my friend, my companion, my partner. I couldn't lose her. ���Mrin?” I clasped her face, looking into those unfocused eyes of hers. 

“I love you.”

If this had been a romance or a fairytale, she would have opened her eyes. If this had been a dream, a good dream, she would have whispered it back. If there had been any Justice in this world, something should have happened.

But it wasn't. I was no pure of heart hero, and my knight in shining armour was nobody more than a tired, scared woman who'd pushed herself too far. Perhaps… Perhaps it was all I could do to sit beside her and hope. 

I settled down next to her, running my fingers through her hair. It was matted to hell and back, but I had all the time in the world to detangle it. Not-Athena wouldn't come back here, not so soon, not when it had plenty of prey to pursue.

How were we gonna get out of this one? Was this how all the monsters in the labyrinth were born? From rude, self-obsessed little girls? From the corpses of their soft-hearted boyfriends? From the tears of an old man who had never wanted to care so much?

My tears were silent, landing on the knees I had pressed against my chest. My stomach ached. My mouth was dry from screaming and heaving and all the other vile things my day had been occupied with.

I wanted to go off and find some food, some water, some relief. I had chosen this hidey-hole well, even if I rarely visited it. I knew of a leaky pipe with semi-clean water, and a little stash of only slightly rusted cans of beans. But I couldn't leave Mrin. Not when she was like this.

The part of me that had truly hardened itself to the world told me to get up and walk away. It was sensible. I didn't know how to help her. I was no magician or wizard, to cure wounds caused by magic (or what I presumed to be magic, at least). I was only a useless little boy, who hadn't saved anyone, though he'd dedicated his life to it. 

Some Doc I was.

Taglist: @coffeeangelinabox, @dorky-pals, @calliecwrites, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @shukei-jiwa

@thewingedbaron, @pluppsauthor, @cowboybrunch, @wylloblr, @possiblyeldritch

@tragedycoded, @finickyfelix, @urnumber1star, @ratedn, @ramwritblr

@vampirelover890, @possiblylisle, @illarian-rambling, @the-ellia-west, @differentnighttale

@evilgabe29, @glitched-dawn, @rivenantiqnerd, @dragonhoardesfandoms, @xenascribbles

@drchenquill, @everythingismadeofchaos, @owldwagitoutofyou, @dimitrakies, @beloveddawn-blog

@riveriafalll, @the-golden-comet, @rascaronii, @trippingpossum, @real-fragments

@unrepentantcheeseaddict, @the-inkwell-variable, @paeliae-occasionally, @an-indecisive-nerd, @thecomfywriter

@seastarblue, @wyked-ao3

(Anyone else who wants to get added can tell me in the comments, pm me, or send me an ask about it!)

[letters-to-lgbt-kids]

(TW: Sex - educational context, HIV prevention)

My dear lgbt+ kids,

After my last post about HIV, I received multiple asks like "I feel embarrassed to ask something so stupid but..." - and the pure fact that I got multiple of them already proves that not knowing something is no reason to be embarrassed!

Many people are not super confident in their HIV knowledge. Acknowledging that and seeking more info is a great thing. I decided to put all these questions in one post:

How do you even get HIV?

Certain body fluids can transmit HIV:

blood

semen (cum)

pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum)

rectal fluids

vaginal fluids

breast milk.

Most adults who get HIV get it through sex (vaginal or anal) or sharing needles (or other drug injection equipment). Getting it from oral sex is also possible but less common.

Parent-to-child transmission (birth, breastfeeding) is the most common way that children get HIV.

Can you get HIV from topping?

Yes. Both the top and the bottom can get HIV through penetrative sex (top means you are penetrating your partner, bottom means your partner is penetrating you).

During anal sex, the bottom has a higher risk. That's because HIV can enter the body through the rectum’s thin lining. But: HIV can also enter the body through the opening at the tip of the penis or the foreskin or small cuts/scratches/sores anywhere on the penis.

During vaginal sex, either partner can get HIV as well, through vaginal tissue, the cervix or the penis as described above.

Can you get HIV from kissing?

You can’t transmit HIV through saliva, so there would need to be blood (or another fluid of the ones named above) involved. That means you could theoretically get HIV from open-mouthed kissing if both partners have sores or bleeding gums - but this is very rare.

You can’t transmit HIV at all through closed-mouthed kissing.

Can you get HIV from a public toilet?

The only realistic risk of getting HIV from a public toilet is by having sex or sharing drug equipment in there!

HIV does not survive long outside the human body (like on the toilet seat or door handle) and it cannot reproduce outside a human host. Wash your hands, as there are other germs that do survive on surfaces, but don't worry about HIV.

Can you get HIV from getting a tattoo?

You theoretically could - if the equipment or ink has someone else’s blood in it. This is unlikely to happen unless the person doing your tattoo uses unsterilized needles.

If you get a tattoo or piercing, make sure that the person doing the procedure is properly licensed and uses only new or sterilized equipment.

Can you get HIV from masturbating?

No. The only possible way would be if there were bodily fluids from an infected person on your fingers or sex toys.

It's always a good idea to wash your hands first because there could be other germs/irritants on them - but if you are doing it all alone, there is no risk of HIV. If you are masturbating together with another person, try to avoid sharing toys. If you do share them, use a new condom for each partner.

Can you get HIV from drinking alcohol?

When we talk about transmission via drug use, we are talking about sharing needles or drug equipment - they may have someone else's blood on them.

Alcohol use doesn't involve needles, you can not directly get HIV from being drunk. But: being drunk (or high) can lead to risky behavior that sober you wouldn't participate in, such as unprotected sex! It's a good idea to be careful around alcohol.

Isn't there a cure for HIV by now?

No. Once you have HIV, you have it for life - but the good news are there is treatment available! Someone who is HIV-positive and starts receiving treatment early has a normal life expectancy.

Medicine can reduce the amount of HIV in the blood (this is called viral load). In fact, it can make the viral load so low that a test can’t detect it anymore - and if you have an undetectable viral load, you will not transmit HIV to others!

With all my love,

Your Tumblr Dad

[kasterisk-of-the-void]

My thoughts on Smile Precure!

So, I just finished Smile Precure, the 9th installation of Pretty Cure as a series. And honestly...? This season was a blast! I greatly enjoyed the main characters of this season, and even the MASCOT (very important). I felt like they all definitely grew as people the more the season progressed, which was refreshing. (Review below line!)

Let's start with Miyuki/Cure Happy, our lead cure. In traditional lead-cure fashion, this one has to be the upbeat, happy-go-lucky personality type, but she didn't feel generic at all. Miyuki has shown that she wasn't always so "happy-go-lucky" all the time, she had to GROW from her previous experiences ever since her childhood days. She's courageous, kind, empathetic, friendly, and most of all, VULNERABLE. After trying her hardest to show a smile in the darkest of moments, she admits with mountains of tears that it's HARD. She acknowledges she might be naive with her own hopes, but she never once backs down from what's important in that moment. To me, that's what makes a LEADER. Next is Akane/Cure Sunny, a person so passionate that it infects all she touches. Akane tries her best for everyone and everything, trying to keep the group strong in the face of challenges. Even though she comes off as blunt and TOO laid-back and jokey sometimes, that's who she is as a person. She has her own flaws, naturally, but she never shies away from it. Giving up is never an answer when it comes to those she loves. She's passionate, fun, and headstrong, which is vital to a group of friends and as a cure. Yayoi/Cure Peace is also fantastic in her own right. When we were first introduced to her, she comes off as this shy, meek, and fragile person who has strong insecurities about everything she does. However, we find that she's so much stronger than she thinks she is, and she learns to harness her courage. She may cry, she may fail, and she may get hurt, but it's her courage and the support of those around her that give her strength. Nao/Cure March is my second favorite out of all the Smile Precure. A girl who knows how to shoulder responsibility and show care and affection towards companions and family. Family values are built into her CORE, and I love her for it. We also get to see this reflected in her friendships as she won't hesitate to help her friends. Her sense of justice is what drives her, and she'll stop at nothing to right what's wrong. Her and Akane's competitiveness were always a favorite for me, too. And lastly, there's Reika/Cure Beauty. Naturally, I wasn't too into her character as she played the typical "honorable and elegantly spoken" character in a precure series, but I found myself loving her anyways. Reika above all else is gentle, courteous, and intelligent. She had shown time and time again just how motivated she is when it comes to her own goals, responsibilities, and even as a cure. She came up with plans for her comrades and didn't hesitate to hit heavy hits when the stakes were high. Her confidence and determination are what make her who she is. As for Candy, I enjoyed watching her be more developed throughout the season! She started this season as selfish, whiney, and unable to comprehend her situation, but we got to see her grow from that. She learned how to share, to be mindful of others, and to be a beacon of hope when her friends are in trouble. She wouldn't hesitate to be obliterated if it meant she could protect all of her friends. There is love in that heart of hers, and she wouldn't trade all the things she learned for anything. She was growing up. The plot itself was good, I enjoyed how creative they got with different fairytale-eque gags and themes! Wolfrun, Akaoni, and Majorina were definitely some of my favorite precure villains purely because of how they interacted with each other. JOKER, TOO, WAS ABSOLUTELY A SLAY. I wanted to punt him into the sun several times for his fruity behavior. Though, if I had to complain about anything, I wish we would've gotten to see more of Lord Pierrot. We didn't get to see much of anything ABOUT him throughout the entire season until the last 3 or so episodes. And, of course, I wish the Cures' outfits were more diversified, but I have to remember that this was the era of Precure BEFORE they went crazy with the designs.

ALL IN ALL, I give Smile Precure a 9 out of 10!! I loved this season dearly!!

[greyfection-au-asks]

[ Welcome to the Greyfected AU Blog ]

: Welcome, hello! This is the Greyfected AU, run by @gekooi who created this AU!

~~____________________________________________~~

: There are many characters in this AU, the list will be shown soon. Feel free to ask questions to any of the characters as you please!

: If you would like to directly specify your asks to Gekooi, then please refer to them with their name or "Owner" so that they are aware of who you may be talking about.

: If talking to a character, there will be quotes and possibly colored text.

: Information on characters can be dropped if requested, headcanons too, please feel free to ask whatever, really! Do not ask anything related to NSFW however, it may make Gekooi very uncomfortable and your ask will be ignored.

: This is a roleplay account, do feel free to request for a roleplay, we would love to do any rps involving this AU! You can use OCs, canon, etc.

: We apologize if we take too long or forget to do something, it will likely be edited if inaccurate or be done when we remember or check again!

~~____________________________________________~~

[ Continue for characters and their status currently in the AU: ]

N = Normal, I = Infected, H = Half Infected, ? = Unknown Status, M = Missing, NIM = Normal + Immune, C = Cannot be Affected (Or Creator of Infection), M/? = Might be Missing or Not Confirmed, NIM(?) = Normal but Immunity Unconfirmed, P/IM = Pure Immunity, HI = Hyper-Infected

Bive - H : Broke free from the infection partially as to remain unaffected by Split while working to bring her back.

DrRETRO - I : Following her goal to find and infect MR.

FleshCousins - ? : They simply break and fall apart upon becoming concrete.

Melanie - N : She's dead, but she does come back to life in future events when the infection comes to an end.

Gnarpy - HI : Currently uncontrollable, only obeys Wallter and avoids anyone at all costs with the little amount of consciousness xe has left.

Infected - H : Greyfection gets removed in the future by Infected's other infection.

Jermbo - ? : Found infected by DrRETRO, was witnessed by Sarah and reported to Spud.

Lampert - HI : Infected but protects Jimmy like a bodyguard, keeping him uninfected.

Mannequin Mark - P/IM : He is the cure, but if he loses his other arm, he won't be able to help anyone out anymore, and won't be able to stop the infection. Folly is aware of this.

MRManueverer - I : Infected by DrRETRO, helped MR escape twice before finally falling to the infection, as well before MR is trapped in Wallter's lair.

MR - N : Gets trapped in Wallter's lair in the future and is kept there, unable to escape or use any of his abilities.

Poob - N : Infected by DrRETRO in the future.

Pest - I : Almost fully infected currently, but gets fully infected in the future, he has partial control, similarly to Infected.

Pilby - N : Stays with Spud and Sarah for safety.

Prototype - NIM : Unable to be infected due to being a robot.

Reddy - NIM : Back up and working due to the help of his team, unable to be infected due to being a robot.

Scag - NIM : Unable to be infected due to being a robot.

Split - I : Has some conscience back, remains with Bive for the rest of the time.

Spud - P/IM : Has pure immunity, he is able to bite specifically only a greyfected part of someone and it prevents further infection from that infected part specifically, but he cannot remove the infection.

Unpleasant - N : Jeremy protected Unpleasant no matter what, keeping them safe despite very close calls.

Wallter - C : He started everything.

Clover(s) - I : Completely gone, all have lost complete consciousness and the only person they doesn't attack is Wallter.

Doug - M/? : Reported by Pilby to be infected.

Enphoso - M : Found to be infected by MR.

Jeremy - NIM : Gets his lower hand infected, uses it to fight off DrRETRO, who infected his hand when trying to attack Unpleasant.

Scary Mike - M/? : Nobody was ever able to catch Mike in its maze, so it never got infected.

Cashier - M/? : Found to be infected but never left their store, reported by Pilby. Gained conscience back by Emerson and was given an eye contact to prevent infection through the eye.

Toothy and Toothette - M/? : Toothy was found to be infected by Split, but Toothette was infected by DrRETRO.

Glevil, Boots, and other Mannequins - NIM(?) : Glevil was reported infected by Boots and ":3" (The mannequin with the :3 face.)

Bugbo - ? : Was possibly infected by Split, but nobody can locate him anymore.

Crem - I : Lost conscience after the infection became hyper, chased Spud and Sarah but found Wallter's lair, Mark finds out Crem is there to infect and punches them, this is when Mark finds out that he can remove the greyfection.

Emerson - N : He threw red ball drinks at any infected who tried to attack him, which kept them away. Frequently visits Cashier.

SwibbleDib - ? : Infection is confirmed to others by Yum Zlurplie in the future, abandoned at the Glorp'N'Go.

Yum Zlurplie - N/? : Got infected by Bive, of course, deadass just because Bive doesn't like Yum Zlurplie.

Uno - M : Infection is confirmed to others by Dos in the future when people actually find Dos with Tres.

Dos - M : Protected by Tres, and Tres was unable to infect them due to a special connection, the same went to Uno, but Uno resorted to physically attacking Dos for reasons that Uno has not admitted yet.

Tres - I : Was the third person to personally be infected by Wallter, coming third after Split and Clover, Split being the very first.

Gregoriah - ? : Was already infected, becomes fully infected in the future and uses the flood to trap and infect anyone.

Mach - HI : Unrecognizable, can immediately infect upon contact, found by Wallter and is used as a bodyguard.

Jimmy - NIM(?) : Manages to never get infected, though finds out that he is not truly immune to the infection, is protected by Lampert.

Sarah - N : Her arm gets infected in the future, but Spud prevents further infection, so she remains safe.

WilliamPlayz57 - NIM : He was secretly persuaded by Wallter to help them take over and infect others, he was the cause of MR being unable to escape Wallter's lair after they teleported there. Can be found lurking around Wallter's lair.

Folly - P/IM : She possessed Wallter, was the true cause of the infection the entire time.

Slimyim - H : Is too powerful for the (Hyper)Infection to take over.

Racerman - I : If anyone were to come across his floor, he would force them to participate in his race otherwise that person, unless they have Immunity in general, would be infected.

Sab - N : He managed to remain hidden away from any infected in the Dance Party floor.

Brock - H : He isn't infected much, but there's infection on him. He takes care of Sab, since Sab was a bit traumatized from witnessing people get infected.

Giggler - P/IM : It exists as a spirit who is currently working to protect the uninfected and send messages to Mark through his mind that unfortunately come in through beeps, specifically beeps that are for morse code, which Mark does not know. Wallter often notices the annoyance in Mark's expressions if he is there while Mark is receiving messages from the Giggler.

~~____________________________________________~~

Mozelle - N : She remains hidden away with her critters on her floor, protecting them with care and making sure nobody finds them, she can often be found scoping around alone on other floors, sometimes being found with Jeremy and Unpleasant for safety before she can return to her floor.

[ Tags: ]

Art: #greyfection art

Asks: #greyfection asks

Reblogs: #greyfection reblogs

Roleplay: #greyfection roleplay

General: #greyfection au

Comics: #greyfection comics

Designs: #greyfection designs

Lore [Facts about the AU]: #greyfection lore

Shitposts [Random out of context stuff]: #greyfection shitpost

Animations: #greyfection animation

Extra // Fanart for the AU: #greyfection fanart

Special Things // Announcements: #greyfection announcements

~~____________________________________________~~

We would love to talk, come say hi!

[that-tmr-girl]

Aris Smut Masterlist

Requests Open

🟨 Light spice

🟧 Medium spice

🟥 Super spicy

🟩 Short

🟦 Medium

🟪 Long

⬜ Fluff

🟫 Story line

⬛ Pure Smut

Tempting 🟧 🟦 ⬜ ⬛

Aris gives into temptation and has sex with you by the pool.

Unconventional Love Confessions 🟧 🟪 ⬜ 🟫

Despite the circumstances Aris can't help but pay attention to you.

Extra Sweet Breakfast 🟨 🟦 ⬜ ⬛

After making Aris a birthday breakfast a lot more happens in the kitchen than planned.

One Night 🟨 🟦 ⬛

Hatred for the only boy in your Maze ends with unexpected sex.

A-Z Smut Challenge 🟧

Competition 🟥 🟪 ⬛

You both see how far you can go in public without getting caught.

Movie Night 🟧 🟪 ⬜ ⬛

He takes your virginity on movie night.

Good Boy 🟥 🟪 ⬜ ⬛

You take control and praise him during sex.

Betrayal (Part 1, Part 2) 🟥 🟪 ⬜ 🟫

Because of the betrayal with Teresa, he makes love to you to prove you're the only one he needs.

Break Me 🟥 🟪 ⬛

Aris dominates you during sex for the first time.

Quiet Head 🟨 🟩 ⬜ ⬛

Aris gives you head in your dorm of the WCKD facility.

Songs That He Would Rail You To 🟩

You Flip Him Over 🟨 🟩 ⬛

You Say The Safe Word 🟩 ⬜

The Rules (Part 1, Part 2) 🟧 🟪 ⬜ 🟫

When breaking up doesn't take away your feelings you keep doing things "just friends" wouldn't.

His Past (Part 1,

{On hold}

Staring 🟥 🟪 ⬜ ⬛

When Aris keeps catching you staring he teases you until you can't take it.

Crank (Part 1, Part 2,

When you get infected you have to find the cure and get rid of your urges.

Vanilla 🟨 🟦 ⬜ ⬛

Despite the way people keep saying vanilla lovers are no good, you know just how wrong that is from personal experience.

Dirty Talk 🟨 🟦 ⬛

When Aris's southern accent shows up you figure out exactly what to say to take him.

For You 🟧 🟪 ⬜ ⬛

Aris rails you on your period.

My Pretty Thing 🟥 🟪 ⬜ ⬛

When you're finally alone with Aris you both take full advantage of it.

Imagine 🟨 ⬜ 🟫

Imagine 🟧 🟦 ⬜ 🟫

Imagine 🟧 🟩 ⬛

Whatever You Say 🟧 🟪 ⬛

When you top Aris for the first time, he agrees to do whatever you say.

A Munch 🟨 🟪 ⬜ ⬛

Despite the reasons it could go wrong, Aris sees no downside to going down on you.

Morning sex for kinktober 🟨 🟩 ⬜ ⬛

Love bites for kinktober 🟨 🟩

Car sex for kinktober 🟨 🟩 ⬜ ⬛

Make Me Tired 🟨 🟦 ⬜ ⬛

When you can't sleep, Aris fucks you until you can't even keep your eyes open.

Intoxicated and Clingy 🟨 🟪 ⬜ 🟫

What starts as a way to get in the club ends with head in the bathroom.

[ohno-the-sun]

Guess what? >:D I didn't realised that you updated the luca fic since last time I visited, sooo... here we go :3

‘Wh– bah! Where are you going?’

I love how he unconsciously switched to "mind communication" ♡♡

Precious baby

‘You were trying to drown me!’

Oh you sweet, innocent baby you!🥺🥺🥺🥺

I also like how Moon was like "I will kill this bi-" and then after he actually arrived, he was all worry, and no anger "shit, this dumbass will kill himself. I will cure him. I should help."

Love the paralell, that Moon hates his human form and disgusted by it, meanwhile Sun do the same for his siren form.🥺🥺🥺 my poor babies. They need someone to tell them, both is ok.

‘I don’t think being a siren is an infection. It sucks sometimes–’

😭😭😭😭😭my babyyy. He is so pure. They are both so pure. Moon got some answers Sun slipped...he wants to relate to him. And he is so concerned about Sun's well being😭😭🥺🥺

There is so much they have to talk about.

But in the same time, I can imagine Bright pacing in the kitchen. Hearing this strange noises and warbling as they speak with eachother😭😭 I am so glad this communication is mind-bounded, because if Bright hears any of this out of context...

“Hey Sun are you guys done in here ‘cause I have to get dressed and–”

Oh no.... here we go...

–"only to notice the very obvious fact that I was stuck in the bathtub– as a siren– who couldn’t talk."

Oooooooooooooh :000

Now I feel dumb. I thought they could speak still human too, but chose not to.

“I’m naked"

The laugh I just let out😂😂😂😭😭😭😭 Oh nuuuu😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

‘I mean yeah– we need to suck it to breathe.

Ba dam css! 🥁😂😂

I love their banters♡

‘What’s family for?’

😭😭😭😭😭🥺🥺🥺♡ the way I melted🥺🥺🥺🥺

I imagine Bright watching Moon walk out without a word, like "wtf??? Where is my partner, what did you do to himmm!! >:(" and then wanting to give Sun a bit time to recover (which gives Sun time to soak in the water and get dry)

I am still interested tho how Moon got there :3 ... did he... really stole a car? He knows how to drive??

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

(Next chapter)

"Sun had suggested taking the car to the bank, but considering it was just a block down the road, I figured walking was better"

Oh no😰😰😰

Oh ok. Sun is smart about it. Or as smart as he can be without saying no to Bright ^^

"Alright, Mr. Fredrickson..."

Frederick??👀👀

Freddy??

Freddy got a new job?

Or this is a reference for another freddy👀👀

Not the glamrock one?👀👀

"My heart sank at the thought. Maybe I had been too pushy asking about Moon? Or maybe I was being annoying, or maybe he didn’t love me anymore–"

No no no Bright😭😭😭 don't internalise it!!! It is not your fault darling🥺🥺 this is not a healty for you...

"But before he could, a horn blared as a giant truck rushed past us. A wave of dirty street water filled my vision."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

IT IS HAPPENING.... khm... I mean its very sad :(

....AAAAAAAAAAAA >:D

-_-

Nevermind...

You got me good...

With the glasses...

You! >:( /pos

“Sun I am not in the mood for a performance right now. Could you please just use your words and help me dry my glasses?”

Oh dear... if he could, he would have done so🥺

"The rest of the evening was spent ordering out dinner and watching an old sitcom on the television. We laughed and joked into the night."

This is the dream :,) ♡ man... what I would give for such a peaceful night...

It’s fine.

I’m fine.

I’m Sun.

Her Sunshine.There’s no rain on sunny days.

AAA😭😭😭😭😭 DON'T MIND ME!!!

just bawling my eyes out😭😭😭😭

I, as a doctor, prescribe Sun a platonic cuddle session with Bright🥺

Waaaa entyter aaaawawaaawa!!

I always love your thoughts you noticed so many little detail ough waa im so happy!!

[ultra-raging-ghost]

op the best thing your parents can do is get the divorce bless, im sorry about the fighting :( i get you it's the WORST but at least you got to play a cool game🔥🔥 now cmon spill some batjokes go go go

this is the FUNNIEST ask to get without context and i feel like im finally living up to the expectations of an ao3 author, also ty anon i was just super fucking stressed, i got an hour of sleep sunday night/monday morning and then when i was at my friends place i crashed really hard and slept for 14 hours straight and it really helped but anyway okay BATJOKES

okay so i played both seasons i dont have a pc myself but my friend does and they have both seasons and brooooo..... i played the vigilante joker route and i loved it

i sacrificed the FUCK out of catwoman im ngl.... my friend was so surprised but dude i was SO DOWN BAD FOR JOHN!!!!!! IDGAF !!! i was so down bad for john the whole time dude and at the end it was like "oh you were manipulating him into thinking you liked him to get info" NO!!!! I WANTED TO FUCK HIM!!!!!!!

when harley debuted i chose the option of asking john if he was in love with me AND HIS ASS SAID NO BUT ISTG HE WAS IN DENIAL!!! PURELY BECAUSE HE BELIEVED HARLEY TO BE HIS SOULMATE, SHE HIT HIM SHE DOESNT DESERVE HIM LIKE I DO !!!!!

like at some point with catwoman i chose something like against her for john and i was in the MINORITY like it was a 95%/5% Ratio and i was in the 5% and i do NOT regret that shit ‼

otherwise aside from my mental illness about batjokes i had a lot of unpopular opinions according to the peanut gallery (my irl who was watching me play it) like im ngl i gave up batman to keep alfred like HES OUR DAD???? THATS OUR DAD RIGHT THERE AND HIS POINTS WERE VALID, IMMA LISTEN TO HIM HES SMART IDK.....

Otherwise dude... i felt SO bad for harvey (2face)!!!!!! aside from his main storyline (i was very merciful and understanding with him, actually i saved him over catwoman in that one scene so his face didnt get fucked up just his arm in the fire) i read his file on the gotham news reports and dude..... like everything surrounding him is just SO SAD

Also i cannot say this enough tbh i side with mr. freeze every time.... i may be a sucker for romance but that man was trying his hardest to save his wife and from what ive seen he does that in every iteration of batman, like he becomes a villain and gets into illegal shit because his wifes sick and idk man..... like even if he is a villain i really empathize with him??? in the playthrough i offered to keep his wife safe and alive and i took mercy on him when he got infected with the virus and i froze him, like i have confidence in him idk.... i know he probably died bc it turned out the reason the riddler survived was because of the cure that also made him go insane but like my fingers are CROSSED!!!!!

also will say the only thing id change was i was kinda iffy about taking that selfie with john at the funeral, like i didnt do it but idk..... afterwards i thought abt taking that back like dude i NEVER WRONGED that man!!!!!! he was my POOKIE!!!!!! and i lowkey feel like him going crazy in the vigilante route was pushed for by the writers bc it felt a lil.... idk..... like forced but i get it its part of the story line......./silly

my friend played the villain!joker route and from what ive heard its EVEN GAYER and they let me watch them play the last 15 minutes of the villain route so i could see how differently they handled selina and that doll scene was kinda.... idkkkk 👀 like heyyyyy/f

i also heard theres a line from harley in the villain joker route about how he could never get over me and how john always liked me better than her which was SO satisfying because i made batman so jealous over her and john hanging out like im ngl i was so up harleys ass in s2

OH OH other thing id change, i wouldnt sip from harleys slushie, i didnt understand why she was offering it to me but now that i know i wouldnt take it ngl, making john jealous was not worth that slushie !!!!!

uhhh thats all, ty anon :D

[heyzeil]

Out of all of your ocs . which ones do you think would survive a zombie apocolypse

OOOOOH this’ll be fun (I spent way too long thinking about this)

Crinkle - Probably not. She would try to find some kind of cure but get infected/killed in the process.

Mocha Bark - Well, in present day he’s dead, but if he was alive maybe?? If he had competent adults with him perhaps. I feel like he would be one of those characters to get their arm bitten or something and the group would have to amputate it.

Sugar Paper - Similar to Mocha Bark with having competent adults helping, but I feel they’d be a bit more independent. They would probably be with Crinkle until she gets infected and then learns to survive on their own. They’re the “resilient child that survives at the end of the movie with trauma” trope.

Lemon Zest - You’d think she’d survive, but nah. Well okay she would last a while. Like, she’d get infected right before the cure is found probably protecting others. She goes out with honor.

Confetti - Survives by pure luck. Everyone he knows is dead. He’s forever ridden with the intense pain of survivors guilt.

Fondant - Dies like halfway through. They aren’t really that athletic, but is very good with quick, rational decision making so they’d be a valuable asset. His lack of physical strength would come back to bite him though (literally lol)

Moringa Leaf - Survives. He’s the one to find the cure. Moringa is actually pretty sly and nimble when he needs to be so even if he can’t physically overpower the zombies, he’d be clever enough to either slip by, or trick them.

Rose Checker - Guy who dies first energy. I’m sorry Rose Checker I love you, you’re great, but you wouldn’t last a day. Though I can maybe see them dying with honor distracting or fending off the first few zombies so Moringa Leaf can escape and warn everyone.

Choco Checker - She’s a smooth-talking loan shark who has to hire her own assassins. I’m sorry girl, but your sly vocabulary skills can’t save you here. Plus, mostly everyone hates her so it’s not like she’s getting any help from anyone.

Rose Water - Would just give up. She wouldn’t even want to try, but Bosc Pear would drag her along with her. Wouldn’t even matter though because they both die together when they are eventually cornered.

Belladonna - Would survive by any means necessary. She feels no remorse to those who need to be sacrificed. “Oh no! The only way to get out of this enclosed space surrounded by zombies is to sacrifice one of our own!” “Sacrifice the 8 year old child, they’re dead weight anyway what are they gonna do for us??” Zero hesitation.

Bosc Pear - She had to talk Rose Water into trying to actually survive the apocalypse, but they both end up dying together anyway. She’s actually pretty strong physically so she would have an advantage, she just got unlucky. At least her girlfriend would be the last thing she’d ever see.

Withered Asphodel - Is upset that the infected cookies can’t fully die. Business is running a little slow now and they are NOT happy about it.

Overall:

Survives: Mocha Bark (maybe??), Sugar Paper, Confetti, Moringa Leaf, Belladonna

Dies/Gets Infected: Crinkle, Lemon Zest, Fondant, Rose Checker, Choco Checker, Rose Water, Bosc Pear

Just Kinda Annoyed: Withered Asphodel

[mt-musings]

The Last Silverboughs

Halsin struggles to put his past to rest, but it's haunting him in more ways than he realizes. He'd thought his time in the Underdark was long behind him, an unpleasant pitfall of youthful hubris, but remnants of his captivity remain, the youngest of which unwittingly stumbles to his rescue.

Lythra can't stop running from her past--hasn't, since she managed to make it out of the Underdark. She has no love for Menzoberranzan, or her House, or anything she left behind in the dark. Or nearly anything.

Still, she'd rather die than return--a prospect all the more likely with a tadpole jammed behind her eye. But perhaps, with the help of a renown druidic healer, she can go back to what remains of her half-life in the sun.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Read on AO3

Halsin pressed himself against the furthest wall of the cell, shoulders hunched against the lingering pain of his wounds and the rocks thrown hard against his flesh. He’d exhausted his spells healing what damage he could long ago.

He growled as he surveyed the iron bars, skin crawling. He’d promised himself he’d never let himself be caged again, not after the nightmare of Menzoberranzan in his youth, not after those three years spent leashed like a not-quite pet. His cage them had been perhaps a bit more comfortable in the barest sense, but it had still been every bit as much a cage.

He’d been a fool then, and it seemed he was still a fool, blinded by his quest for a cure for the Shadow Curse. And now he was locked in a cell next to a pair of half-rabid worgs beneath a camp overrun with mad, blood-thirsty goblins. 

He knew the only reason they hadn’t done worse yet was because they thought him simply some sort of trained bear, that if they realized he was a druid he’d be clapped in iron and tortured until he died. He didn’t have the strength to fight his way back out, hardly had the strength to hold this form—but he had to, lest they learn of the Grove. He’d have to come up with something to get himself out, to warn the Grove and the refugees.

He glanced up at the sound of footsteps, spotting a group of newcomers entering the worg pens. None were goblins, which was enough to spark momentary hope within his chest. There was a dark-haired half-elf in chainmail, a githyanki warrior in shining half plate, and a pale elven man in leather armor. The trio parted to reveal a fourth figure, smaller than the others, an elf even paler than the other with pure white hair haphazardly bound back with a leather cord. Something about the figure set him on edge, more so than the others. He watched her nod subtly to the other three, watched as they set themselves around the upper platform while she descended the crumbling stone steps.

He was drawn from his revery by the bite of another stone slung hard against his shoulder. He howled, gnashing his teeth as he turned his attention back to the wretched goblin children being schooled in the ways of torture just through the bars of his cell. 

“Again! Hit it again!” One of them squealed in delight. Halsin roared as the first child scrambled for more stones. 

“You need sharper stones, to make it through hide,” the elf said, voice quiet and measured as she stooped, picking a large, jagged stone from the floor and hefting its weight in her palm. She stared at him for a long moment, a strange sort of intensity in her gaze as she flicked her pale eyes to the goblin woman next to her and then back. 

“Listen to the drow, children, she speaks true,” his head tormenter crooned, delight dripping from every syllable. 

Drow. He saw it then in the delicate features of her face, more so than the elves of the surface—delicate futures that were wasted on the cruel twist of her mouth, of her narrowed eyes. She was the worst of her kind, then, a szarkai, a ghost spider, a wretched infection to those that desired peace on the surface. 

Halsin growled as the goblin children scrambled for sharper stones, bearing his fangs at her. She would be no savior, just another tormentor, another foul monster he’d have to tear limb from limb to be free of this place, to save his Grove. 

He braced as he watched her haul back, waiting for the biting sting of stone against his flesh, but instead of hurling it through the bars she smashed it down of the skull of the head torturer, the stone tearing slightly through the hide of the goblin’s helm. The goblin children screamed and Halsin wasted no time in slamming against the steel bars and bringing them crashing down on one of the little goblins. The drow stepped lithely out of the way, pale eyes meeting his as her mouth twitched into a microscopic, lopsided smile and she gave him a small, sharp nod before turning away from him, attention focused solely on the other goblins now scrambling for weapons. 

He couldn’t help but wonder what sort of fool turned their back on a rampaging bear, but that would be a question for future him. The only thing that mattered now was ensuring the alarm wasn’t raised and the entire horde wouldn’t descend on them while they were cornered like rats in the pens. 

The others of her party made quick work of blocking off the only exit, something he now realized had been her plan from the beginning. A stupidly risky plan, considering it left the smallest of their number alone with a furious bear of dubious affiliation, and the vicious beast master and two incensed worgs who had just burst free of their own pen. 

Halsin took a vicious swipe at the beast master, head whipping around when he felt something across his back. It was the drow, leaping over him as she aimed a hand crossbow at the goblin, the bolt piercing their chest as she landed lightly and drove a dagger into the chest of one of the worgs, who sputtered and collapsed. 

Halsin transformed back into a man, watching the back of the drow woman as she yanked her blade from the hide of the worg, breathing heavily. She waited a moment before turning, strange, pale eyes searching for something from beneath furrowed brows. 

Something about them made him linger, something almost familiar. He brushed it off as she wiped off her blade on her thigh and stowed it at her hip. 

“Master Halsin? Of the Emerald Grove?” She asked in the same measured tone as he’d first heard her speak, now recognizing the faint remnants of ilythirii lilting her words. 

“Just Halsin is fine. It would be presumptuous to demand honorifics of those who have just saved my hide,” he said, smiling easily through he watched carefully for any twitch towards the blades at her belt. 

“I’ve been told you’re quite the healer,” she said, looking him up and down as if that alone would be enough to confirm or deny what she’d been told.

“Are you hurt? You reek of blood, child, but I did not see a single blow land on you,” Halsin said, searching her for injuries, hazel eyes sharp.

She shook her head, just as the pale elven man barked out a laugh.

“That would be from the little devotional she paid upstairs,” he replied, mirth clear in the edge to his voice. The drow said nothing, merely stared back at the towering druid. He reached out, laying a hand on her shoulder, unable to ignore the way she flinched back, murmuring a few words to heal her. He furrowed his brow, trying to work out what the elf had meant.

She was indeed wounded, great lacerations ripped across her back as if she’d been lashed most ruthlessly. He let his healing magic seep into her skin, let it knit back together, nearly as good as new. There would remain scars, for the deeper wounds, at least. Sometimes it was beyond prevention. Still, something else tugged at his magic, something behind her eye.

He felt his stomach swoop nauseatingly. Another tadpole.

“Oakfather preserve you, child,” he said as he drew back, pity furrowing his brows. Her mouth thinned at his expression. She huffed out a humorless laugh.

“You can’t remove it then. The tadpole.”

He shook his head. “So you’re aware of it, how strange. I cannot, not without killing you. There is strange magic preventing its extraction, stranger still than what’s keeping it in stasis. I believe there may be a cure at Moonrise Tower. That is where the other infected go, and those that are to be infected.”

“Moonrise Tower?”

“Deep in the Shadow-Cursed lands.”

“Of course it is,” she spat dully, turning on her heel towards the exit. 

“I could—I could aid you in your journey there. If I knew the Grove to be safe from the like of this scourge. The leader’s need to die and then the goblin forces will fall with them. The Priestess Gut, the hobgoblin Ragzlin, and the drow Minthara.”

She stared at him for a long moment, face unreadable. 

“You wish for me to kill a drow?” She asked, letting the question hang for an uncomfortable moment before the ghost of a smile tugged at her lips. “Alright, get out of here, we’ll handle it.”

“I won’t leave until they’re dead.”

“Suit yourself, big man,” she said, striding back over to the rest of her companions. The pale elven man glared at her, nose scrunched up in anger. 

“You better have a plan,” he snarled.

“Course I do,” she replied, unbothered by his fury. In fact, she seemed almost bored by it. 

Maybe she was.

He watched them disappear back through the door to the rest of the temple, hoping that they just might mange it.

~~~

Lythra hated being in the pens, the scent of damp, of rot and blood—it was as if she were small again, locked once again in the cell that served as her room. She needed to leave, to get away from the cells, the chains—all of it was too familiar. She could practically hear her mother’s voice, her sharp reproach that always came before a blow.

If she hadn’t been ready to kill the leaders before, the thought of her mother certainly was enough to get her there. Five years wasn’t enough to dull any of her rage or hatred, though she wasn’t sure there would ever be time enough for that.

The shadows within her screeched and clawed at the bindings she held them in, desperate for release, to be used. It would make everything easier, she knew, but she couldn’t, not after what happened the last time.

Especially after what happened the last time. 

She’d thought the pain of the lashing would settle her, but if anything, it had done the opposite. 

Astarion grabbed Lythra’s wrist the moment they stepped from the worg pens and the door shut behind them. She fought the urge to hiss at him and break away. After all, he held it firmly, but not so much to make it bruise, to leave a mark. 

“Are you quite insane? Look, we found the damn druid, and now that we know he can’t do anything about these brainworms, I say we cut our losses and see what this Moonrise Towers has to offer.”

He was furious, as she expected him to be. As he usually was, whenever they decided to help someone. She couldn’t blame him—not exactly. Still, they seemed to have an understanding—or at least they were usually able to reach one easily enough. 

“And just leave all the goblins to massacre the refugees and the Grove?” She deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. 

“Why do you insist on helping every wayward wretch we com across? It’s not as if we have time to waste, what with the tadpole burrowing into our brains!”

“Because they need it, and we can,” Lythra said evenly, twisting her wrist from his grasp.

“What sort of reason is that?” he snarled back.

“What more of a reason do you need?”

“I didn’t sign up to play a pompous hero, you know—“

“I’m killing the bastards. You can either help or go back to camp, I don’t care which,” she rebutted sharply, eyes flashing as she turned to look at him.

He glared at her for a long moment before shaking his head, giving in a long suffering sigh. “Fine. Let’s go kill the damn drow.”

She smiled at that and gave him a nod. His gaze lingered on hers for a moment longer before he too nodded, pulling out his long, wicked daggers. 

~~~

Halsin glanced up as the doors burst open, already calling forth his wild shape. But instead of horde of ravenous goblins he saw the same motley crew as before, lead by the little drow, who looked as though she’d bathed in blood. The others hardly looked better, the pale elven man shooting murderous looks at his leader from behind her back as he limped behind. 

“They’re dead, as is most of the camp,” she said evenly, surveying him in a careful, guarded fashion. 

“Truly?” He asked. She nodded.

“So much for ‘taking the sneaky approach,’” the elf sniped. The drow simply ignored him.

“Praise Silvanus! No—praise you, for I wasn’t sure it possible. Now the Grove will finally be safe.”

Halsin stepped forward, hands already gleaming with healing energy. Each of the adventurers sigh in relief, straightening up, all except the drow, who actually stepped backwards slightly, not that the distance prevented his healing word from doing its work. 

“Will you tell us what you know of Moonrise, now?” She asked, pale eyes locked on his face. 

“I—of course. Meet me in the Grove and I will tell you all I know.”

She stared at him a moment before nodded, eyes searching his face for something he wasn’t sure if she found. 

~~~

Lythra refilled her glass of wine, surveying the party around her—she’d never been to a party before. Certainly not back in Menzoberranzan and never on the surface.

Still, they’d managed to save someone. A few someones, including the tieflings. 

She glanced over to the far side of camp where the druid stood alone. He’d stood apart since he joined them, as if unable to join in the revelry. He’d washed the dirt and grime from himself, healed the remaining bruises that had lingered across his skin the last time she’d seen him, but his gaze was still haunted. 

That, at least, she could recognize. 

She grabbed another glass of wine and crossed the camp

“You alright?” She asked, offering him the glass.

“Oh, none for me, thank you. Goes straight to my head. Before you know it I’ll be singing or professing my love to the first person I laid eyes on,” he said with a laugh. She surveyed him a second before nodding and pouring the wine into her own glass and discarding the spare on a stump. 

“You didn’t answer my question,” she said. He smiled in a way she knew meant he hadn’t meant to, unless she cornered him into it. 

“How could I not be, now that I’m free of that wretched dungeon? I am very much in your debt, and yet, I realize you still haven’t told me your name,” he replied, the picture of jovial gratefulness, but there was still a stiffness to his posture, a wariness in the way his hazel eyes pierced her. 

She didn’t blame him—he knew what she was, after all. A szarkai. Or at least, he enough to know she was dangerous, that she shouldn’t be trusted. 

None of them knew just how much.

She paused a moment before nodding. “It’s Lythra.”

“Huh,” he mused, expression peculiar. “An unexpected delight.”

She furrowed her brow. It was an odd, inaccurate thing to say, but then he was an odd man—far too open and forthcoming and entirely too trusting—she doubted he’d have ended up in that cell otherwise. 

“I didn’t mean to offend, I assure you—“

“You didn’t offend me. Just, no one has ever called me a delight before,” she replied quickly, forcing a smile, enough to diffuse the situation. He laughed, the sound deep and earthy. 

“Perhaps you need to rescue more old druids from goblins, then,” he jested. She huffed a laugh, shaking her head. She didn’t want to think about the cells any longer, didn’t want them to warp and twist with the restraints of her memory. She took another sip of her wine, wishing for something stronger.

“Perhaps,” she replied. “I—I’m glad we were able to free you. I am sorry we hadn’t managed it sooner.”

“I am thankful you managed it at all.”

“What do you think awaits us in Moonrise? And what exactly is the Shadow Curse—“

“Such dreary topics are for the morning light. Enjoy the party, we will discuss it all tomorrow.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but then shut it and nodded, wishing him a pleasant remainder of his evening before slipping over to where Astarion stood in front of his tent, glowering at the dancers around the fire. 

A small part of her wished to join them.

“Have you tired of the others already?” he asked, not looking at her. 

“I don’t think I’m one for parties,” she replied quietly. She didn’t know if it was really true, she just knew she felt out of place. He scoffed.

“You could hardly call this a party. A half tone-deaf bard and vinegar for wine? Please!”

“The wine’s not bad.”

“That’s because you like swill, my dear,” he shot back haughtily, though there was a slight smile curving his lips. She huffed a laugh, knocking back the rest of her glass. 

He made a face. “Well, some of us have standards.”

She took the bottle of red from his hand and took a sip—it was rich and dry, much better than whatever she had been drinking.  He stared at her face, watching her reaction, eyes slightly narrowed.

“See what I mean? Awful.”

She shook her head at his theatrics. She was rather sure he preferred having an audience to the complaining itself most times. 

“All I want is a little fun,” he continued, swiping the wine back. “Is that too much to ask?”

“Killing goblins was fun,” she replied, finishing off her cup of wine. Or if it wasn’t fun, it had sated something in her, at least for now. Astarion laughed.

“You would say that, you vicious thing. So, what happens next?”

“Well, Halsin said he would tell us what he knows of Moonrise and the Shadow Curse tomorrow, so I think we should wait until we hear what we’re up against before making any real plans—“

“By the Hells. I meant sex, my dear. A night of passion.”

Lythra could feel herself flush to the tips of her ears, freezing for a moment. Did—did he mean with her? Surely not, she was off-putting and utterly unalluring. Not to mention she hadn’t the faintest experience in that department. He made jokes, sure—but that’s all they were. 

No, surely he was talking about Wyll or perhaps even Gale. They were both refined and scholarly, after all. He was just telling her because they were friends. Were they friends? They must be, or whatever passed. That was it. Astarion was just about the most beautiful person she’d ever seen, he would never—

He gently took hold of her chin, tilting her face up to meet his gaze as he traced her lower lip with his thumb. A rush of heat filled her, a sudden electric sort of anxiety—or was anticipation closer to the truth?

“Still so shy. Don’t worry, darling, we’ll wait until the others fall asleep. What do you say?”

“I—“ she started, stumbling over her words. “Are you—are you sure? I mean, are you sure you mean me?”

He laughed at her. She dropped her gaze to the ground to hide her mortification. 

“Of course I’m sure, who else would I mean? Besides, I know you like me too. I could feel your little shakes of excitement as I was getting lost in your neck.”

Had she? She’d been so concerned with pushing him off before he dried her. 

Most of the time she thought he hated her, with how much he liked to argue with her, second guess her decisions whenever they involved helping anyone else. Still, they both always seemed to gravitate towards each other, perhaps because they were both such stupendously broken creatures, because neither was capable of real trust—they understood each other, at least. 

Was it because of today, about what he’d learn—was it because she was a mean little drow? Or was it because of what had happened with the priest. He’d looked hungry, then, but there had been something else in his gaze, something that she didn’t quite understand. 

“So? What do you say?” He asked, voice nearly a purr. She just nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Why should she say no, when chances were she had perhaps weeks to live? She might as well try and fit in a few life experiences before turning into a soulless mindflayer. She was nearly sure this wasn’t a scam to lure her into the forest and kill her, and it wasn’t like it meant anything. 

A life experience, she told herself, while she still had one.