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maybankslover · 4 months ago

Note

Hi lovely!

I hope you're doing good✨️💕

Could you please write something very angsty/hurtish(?) with drew?

here's a little idea:

drew and reader were very best friends they both were born grew up in NC. Reader has been always supportive of drew she also got to know the cast of obx because she visited drew on set sometimes later on they became a couple and they were so in love but when drew had to fly out of town because of a Film project drew grew apart from reader and she found out that he fell in love with his female coworker...and the rest is up to you!

If you are going to write this request thank you! If you are not also thankyou!! Take care of yourself bye💞💕💓💗

love you from a distance- drew starkey

drew starkey x childhood!bestfriend!reader

warnings: angst, no comfort, mentions of infidelity. i by no means agree with the violence used in this fic. everything is for the plot.

summary: will they be able to come back after everything falls apart?

playlist: when we were young by adele - love your from a distance by ashley kutcher

a/n: yes in my mind it is infidelity. this is something that doesn't go well on my books and rules. sorry it wasn't exactly as the request!

growing up a house from eachother made their families become friends and by default it made them become friends too.

their mothers used to joke and pray for them to become a couple which seemed to work out as when they turned 18 holding hands became an habit, the hugs were longer and kissing was now an every day thing.

what else could they wish for? as their colleges were only half an hour from the other.

"drew sent the freaking audition tape." a younger y/n said to her scared boyfriend.

"what if they don't like it?" he looked up from his computer.

"it's their loss but you'll never know if you don't try." she kissed his head. his biggest supporter.

and when he landed the outer banks role a few years later, she was the first one he called, she was the one who started crying when he arrived to their shared apartment and cheered with him.

"I'm so fucking proud baby." she said in between kisses, cheeks wet with tears.

"thank you." he laughed. "I'd have never done it if it wasn't for you."

"I love you so much. you'll be a star." she knew it, she knew it in her soul.

it was as if she was marking his destiny because she was right. everyone went crazy when the first season came out, he was incredibly talented.

"and this is my girlfriend y/n/n." he smiled holding her close with a hand placed on her waist as he introduced her to his co-workers.

"you're even prettier in person." madelyn said hugging her.

they all welcomed her with a special warmth that made them become her friends too. all of them were there at their engagement party when two years into filming the show he proposed to her.

"I helped him choose the ring" madelyn whispered to her.

"I freaking love you clain." they both laughed.

"it was about damn time." logan, his brother, hugged both of them. "ten years down the road the patience you have." he said to his future sister in law.

"you see?" she said looking up at drew who was still holding her from behind.

"oh shut up you both." he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips.

that was two years back and three months into him flying to europe for a film she felt the shift.

his calls were shorter, he didn't smile as much as he used to when they did facetime and there were always voices in the back. she tried to make herself believe it was only the filming schedule, the long hours and missed hours of sleep.

"hey baby." she said as she did her night routine. her phone placed on the bathroom marble. "missed you this morning."

"hey." no baby, no sweetheart. "missed you too."

liar her brain told her but her heart ignored it.

"I don't know if mac told you that we're doing her baby shower in two week's. thought that maybe you could make a short trip?" she changed her t-shirt, there was nothing he hadn't seen before, into her night-gown.

there was no suggestive comment.

"can't make it." he gave her half a smile. "schedule it's tight right now."

"oh." he didn't miss how her eyes gave away the sadness. "maybe I could fly for a few days after the baby shower? what do you think?" she smiled at him and brushed her hair, the ring on her hand shined in his screen reminding him of their commitment.

"I won't be able to be with you y/n/n, told you schedule it's tight." he said shortly.

he used to book her flights even if schedules were tight. he used to make time for her.

"okay." she whispered and bit her lip to stop herself from crying. "I'll leave you to it then. goodnight drew." no baby, no honey. drew.

and he realised he fucked up.

"no baby, wait." but she nodded no and ended the call.

her phone received his calls for almost an hour but she could only look at the screen while hugging the shirt he had left in bed the night before he left. the tears were her best friend's that night.

a picture of them at prom placed in his night stand reminded her of how they used to be.

she dreaded the baby shower. didn't want to be around the people who knew them the most when they hadn't been speaking that much since that call, she had kept her messages short while he started to put more effort after realising how much hurt he had inflicted to the woman he loved the most.

"have you been sleeping well?" brooke, his other sister, said sitting next to her.

"not really." she could be his sister but she also was one of her closest friends. his siblings were hers and viceversa.

"is everything okay between you and my brother?" when she nodded no brooke's cheerful expression was gone in a second.

"I think he's going to leave me brooke." she whispered, they were too many people around them. her future sister in law took her hand before leading her inside the house and into her childhood bedroom.

"what do you mean? there's no way." there was no way her brother would be leaving this girl.

"I don't know, I have this unsettling feeling on my chest. he doesn't want me to visit, he doesn't call, his texts are short. nothing feels right."

"he must be tired y'know how it can get." she tried to comfort her but she knew it was in vain.

"yeah probably." she accepted the hug the brunette gave her.

a month later she woke up feeling as if hell was being brought up in her. she vomited all morning, her head hurted and there was that feeling in her chest.

she just knew. she knew.

she knew when he arrived the next morning without a warning. she knew.

she looked awful, the same sickening feeling she felt yesterday intensified.

"just sat it." she whispered not even trying to avoid what she already knew.

"baby." she closed her eyes at his words.

her eyes filled with tears, her body shivered and she felt her knees trying to give in.

"who is she?" the kitchen that had been the scenery of their happiest moments was clouded with her sadness.

he didn't answer.

"who the fuck is she?" she shouted. she didn't swear, it wasn't like her. she never shouted. it was the end.

"her name is avery. she's my co-star." she didn't have any words in her. only a pain so hard in her chest that she thought it'd give her a heart attack, her right hand pressing down on the left side of her chest.

he watched as she matched past him and down the hallway to their bedroom. he followed.

"baby." he had the audacity to call her by a nickname.

when he entered the room he saw as she took all his things out of the drawers.

"no no no wait. it was a fucking mistake please don't do this." he tried to stop her hands but she pushed him.

"fucking mistake? mistake is anything else but that." she didn't even had the energy to scream at him. "how could you do this to me?"

his eyes filled with tears too.

"ten fucking years drew! we bought a house, the wedding is in a few months." her voice shattered. "we were trying for kids."

"I'm sorry I'm sorry baby i was high and i wasn't thinking." and it was the worst thing that he could've said.

"we've been together for our whole lives." she pushed a finger to his chest. "and I didn't even cross your mind?"

her voice was so raw. he had wrecked her.

"I need you to forgive me." he got down on his knees. forehead pressed to her stomach and arms wrapped around her legs. "I beg you."

she felt her t-shirt get wet and softly placed a hand on the back of his head.

they stayed like that for three minutes, she counted on the clock placed on their vanity.

"I'm so so so sorry sweetheart." he kissed repeatedly her lower stomach. "it won't happen again. ever again."

"yeah it won't." she whispered and moved back from him to continue the taking out his things from the drawers.

"what are you doing?" did he really think he was off the hook?

"you're leaving. it won't happen again because this is over." she kept aggressively throwing his things on a bag.

"no this can't be over. we don't quit." she gave him a broken laugh.

"you think I can move pass this?" she looked back at him. "that I can live beside you knowing you fucked someone else? knowing I didn't even cross your mind?" he tried to interrupt but she didn't let him. "knowing I'm no longer your only one?"

"it was only a kiss. i didn't fuck her, she kissed me." as if it was some kind of excuse. as if he didn't know that for her it was cheating anyway, he wouldn't have flown back home if he didn't know how serious it was.

she sat down in their bed and let the sobs come out.

he took a step closer and sat next to her, pulled her into his arms and kissed her head.

and she let him.

"why did you do this to us?" her hands gripped his forearms. "why wasn't this enough?"

he stayed silent. she, them, was enough.

he was honest, he was high and he wasn't thinking when his co-star kissed him. when he let her.

there was no going back. he had destroyed his family, the one they were building and the one they were part of.

his family was her's and her family was his. no one would forgive him and he knew his family wouldn't accept anyone else. how did he fuck it up so badly.

"please leave drew. if there's an ounce of you that still holds any type of love for me leave." she pleaded.

"I love you, I don't want to go." he listened how a heart wrecking sob left her throat as she teared his arms off of her and went to get her bag.

"I'm leaving then." she took what she saw first and her phone already calling her brother to pick her up, she was in non state for driving.

"idiot." she heard from the other side of the line.

"pick me up please." she heard how her brother rushed from wherever he saw and left in a second.

"are you alright?" jake asked worried.

"he-he cheated." she stood next to the door.

"baby please." jake was seeing red when he processed what his sister had said and the voice of his, ex, brother in law in the back.

"stay right there I'm coming." he had at least half an hour from his place to theirs.

the line went silent and she knew everyone was finding out right that moment. if her parent's heard the news his would also know and by default also his siblings. there was no going back.

"how the fuck could you do this." she gripped a vase that was placed in a table at the foyer.

and at him saying sorry once again she threw it at him. she was stunned at her own reaction and drew stared with parted lips.

"you've gotta listen to me baby." he took a step forward watching as she grabbed another piece of decoration and threw it his way only missing him by a centimetre.

"the fuck im going to listen." she chuckled. "you think she's going to take care of you?"

he nodded no.

"that she's going to look after you like I did all these years? when you had surgery last year and couldn't move so I had to clean and bath you?" she pushed his chest with both hands. "that she's going to stay awake with you when your anxiety goes through the roofs?"

he closed his eyes and let her take it all out on him.

"no." he said.

"of course she won't because the only idiot who would give everything for you happiness was me." her eyes wore a defeated look in them.

"I shouldn't have let her kiss me." she nods.

"it's too late for should've." she moved away and looked around for things that she could continue breaking. "did everything! everything for you. moved city's, helped you with everything I could and after ten years this is what you do?"

"I know."

"stop saying you fucking know!" she shouted and threw a picture frame to the floor. "ten fucking years."

they heard not one or two but three cars driving through their entrance.

she pointed the fragmented glass beside the picture frame. "that's what you did. see how it doesn't have return? how the glass can't be fucking fixed?"

her brother heard her shouts and looked at both sets of parents and drew's brother while his wife held him back from his arm.

"wait jake." his wife said and for once he listened. "she knows we're here, she'll come out on her own."

her sister in law knew her too well. inside the house drew held her by her arms to stop her in the destruction of their home and from hurting herself.

"how could you?" she gripped his forearms and looked him in the eyes. "how could you?"

he had torn her apart. it wasn't only the end of a ten year relationship but also their whole live's friendship and a family that wouldn't reunited the way they once did.

she fought to be let go but he was stronger and held her against him.

"please forgive me. please." he begged, his voice hoarse from trying to hold his own cries but the tears wanted to make themselves known without caring if he wanted them or not. "please baby."

"would you forgive if i was the one doing this to you?" he stayed silent. "yeah that's your answer."

her whole face was red from crying and his wasn't much better. after a while she was able to escape his arms.

opening the door there they were and without saying a word she walked out and got inside her brother's car. jake looked at him like he wanted to kill him, the guy that had been a little brother to him was now someone he had a hatred feeling for.

"gonna kill you if I fucking see you again." he said pointing at drew before going back to his car to drive his sister home. she needed him more right now.

drew watched as she wrapped herself even further into the sweater, his sweater, that hugged her body. she missed him so much she was wearing his clothes.

both set of parents entered the house, the whole place had broken glass around it.

"mom." he said.

"is it true? you cheated on y/n/n?" his mom didn't recognised her own son.

"she kissed me." he heard as her dad let out a dry laugh.

"and you allowed it right? drunk or high was you excuse to ruin my little girl?" mark said.

he looked down.

"c'mon susan." he said nodding to his wife. "don't want to see you around for a long while." the tall man stood in front of him and watched him nod before exiting the house. their next stop was their son's house.

"what were you thinking drew? doing this to her and to you?" todd, his dad, reprimanded him.

"it was a fucking mistake dad." he heard his mother sighed.

"cheating it's not a mistake son." she took his hand in her's. "I hope you do everything in your power to get y/n/n back because you know we won't allow you to bring this other girl around."

he knew it. there wasn't any other girl in this world that his family would accept, it wouldn't matter if she was perfect. she wouldn't be her.

back at jake's home, she hugged her brother as a lifeline.

"how could he kissed someone else? and god knows what else." her brother run his hand through her hair. "we were trying for kids before he left y'know." she chuckled.

his heart shattered for his little sister because he knew she wouldn't believe anything related to love again and he wouldn't judge her. he was the love of her life.

"he was my first everything." she looked at diana, her sister in law. "even my first kiss because I wanted him to be my first kiss."

"maybe you can talk it out sweetheart." diana said. "he loves you a lot."

"he'll cheat again if he know I'll forgive him and I'll never get a peaceful night of sleep again everytime he'll go film somewhere." her head signals no. "don't want to see him ever again."

jake looked at his wife.

"you'll stay here as long as you need." he murmured and kissed her head.

his calls were unanswered and his texts on read.

"for fuck sake I know what I did but I'm going insane. I need to talk to her." drew said to chase.

"drew man I know but you actually did the worst thing that you could've ever done to your relationship." his friend sighed. "give her time."

he knew chase was right but it wasn't only the fact that she wasn't talking to him that made him go insane but the knowing she wasn't alright and that it's his fault.

so the weeding got postponed lucky them as the invitations hadn't been sent yet and the place it was being hosted had an opening to reschedule. it gave him hope.

it gave him hope when three weeks later she told him she was going home to talk. so now they sat in their living room her eyes fixated on a portrait of them as kids that hung beside the tv.

"how are you?" he said.

"how do you think?" she looked up at him. the bags under her eyes showed the sleepless nights. "how are you?"

he took a deep breath in.

"I don't have a right and i know it but I'm not alright either." she scoffed.

they stayed silent for a moment before she spoke again.

"I realised i don't know who i am without you." she sniffed. "my whole live I knew you were it for me."

he didn't interrupt.

"and the thought of you drunk kissing someone else disgust me. knowing I didn't cross your mind because you ended up close enough for her to kiss you" she rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands. "I can't get it out of my mind. you've always been my future husband, the future father of my kids and now I don't even want to look at you."

"baby." he sighed and kneeled in front of her gripping her calf. "you're all that to me too. there's no one else in this world I could want this with." he kissed her right thigh. "you're the love of my life, my soul mate."

"is it the fact that we've only been with each other aside from the people you kiss on screen? like was that it?" he nods no. "then how did you end up so close to her. why did she think it was alright to do that when you have that fucking ring on your finger?"

"we were drinking sitting on a sofa in my trailer because we had just finished filming the last scene." he sighs. "we were talking too much about our life's, the way we created our careers and i don't know, it just happened."

"it was a real life kiss drew." she whispers.

"i know baby i know." he kissed the inner side of her wrist. "just please give me a change to redeem what happened."

"how can i be sure that it won't happen again with someone else?" she finally meets his eyes. those blue eyes she had been in love with her whole life, the one's that brought her calm in the hard times. those blue eyes that had such a broken glint it made her heart hurt even worse.

"because i swear in all our years together and the one's we'll live if you allow them to exist, i'll never let anyone get that close to me again. i'll write a no kissing policy in my contracts." she let him intertwine their fingers. "because i'll never put in jeopardy the life i want by your side. your love, your laugh, the way you always know what to say, waking up next to you in the morning for the rest of our lives and having little one's with your eyes."

she sighed.

"you're the one i've wanted since i was a kid. when at twelve i made you promise me we'd be each other's first kiss." he gained a small smile from her. "i never doubted that you were the one for me not when people told us we were too young and missing on the college experience." he kissed her knuckles. "let me prove you i'll never make you suffer in the way i did ever again baby. please"

the hand that wasn't wrapped in his she placed it on the side of his face and he leaned onto her touch.

"please baby."

she looked him in the eyes and nodded giving him her answer.

a/n: you can decide if she gave him a yes or a no. giving you both options :) PLEASE REBLOG YOUR WRITERS WORK! drew's tags are filled with rafe's fics

masterlist

taglist: @droppedyourhnd @congratsloserr @rafesbabygirlx @gillybear17 @theoraekenslover @silkylovey @frankoceanluvr11 @ethanthequeefqueen @chiaraanatra @chenslucy @ijustwanttoreadlols

#maybankslover #outer banks #drew starkey #drew starkey x childhood!bestfriend #drew starkey x oc #drew starkey x female reader #drew starkey imagine #drew starkey imagines #drew starkey x reader #drew starkey x fem!reader #drew starkey angst #drew starkey fluff #drew starkey fic

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nerdallwritey · 11 months ago

Text

Perfect Every Time

Summary: You got up and joined him in the ankle deep water. “Do you want to try right now?” Astarion thought for a moment and clicked his tongue. “I have a better idea, actually.” He gave you a sideways look, his lips quirking up slightly. “What?” you matched his smile. Rather than answering, Astarion reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. You furrowed your brow. “Looks an awful lot like you’re preparing to swim.” He started fiddling with the clasps on his pants and groaned in your direction. “Swimming is not the only thing one can do while submerged in water, dearest.” He gave you a sensual smile that sent heat to your cheeks. OR Before your party travels into the Underdark, you and Astarion catch one last sunrise together.

Pairing: Astarion x f!reader Rating: 18+ Word count: 7.2k CW: smut, reader is new to sex, hand job, piv sex, water sex, dirty talk, mentions of Astarion's past trauma, blood drinking, extra mild angst, soft Astarion, porn with feelings, reader is an idiot (and a bard), so is Astarion (not a bard, just an idiot), Illmater's blood-stained rack Spoilers: Minor spoilers for Act 1 (in-game dialogue, plot points, etc.), as well as Astarion's plotline Also posted to: AO3 FAIR WARNING: This is PART 4 in my series, "Beauty and the Bard." Find the masterlist here.

a/n: Surprise!! I'm back with a new chapter of Beauty and the Bard! This part is shorter than the other ones (who cheered) because it morphed from a little smut scene into one that deserved its very own part. One million thanks to everyone who's read and enjoyed the series so far, it's so much fun chatting with you guys and hearing your thoughts and it truly means the world that you guys care so much about these goofs. I already have an idea for Part 5, so that will be coming soon, but I have a request to fill first! Thank you all for your patience. In the meantime, please enjoy our regularly scheduled silliness with Astarion and bard!tav :) (Thank you once again to @kermitwazowski for beta reading!) As a reminder, the last part was the Tiefling party!

Taglist: @a66-1, @khaleesiofthewolves, @khywren, @lollipopsandlandmines, @mizuki-nautilus - Let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist for this series!

Several days had passed since the hijinxs of the Tiefling party had taken place. By now, the former refugees of the Emerald Grove were well on their way to Baldur’s Gate, the looming threat of goblins and power hungry druids far from their minds, their thoughts instead replaced with hope for new beginnings in the city.

Just like he’d promised, Halsin had returned the next day to discuss the parasites, officially joining your party of misfits on your journey towards the Shadow Cursed Lands and Moonrise Towers. His calming presence and sage advice was a welcome addition to the group, especially given that this leadership role had been thrust upon you by the others with next to no discussion. Having Halsin around finally felt like there was a responsible adult among you. Not that you all weren’t adults, but you definitely had your… quirks. Sure, Halsin turned into a bear if he let his emotions go unchecked, but Gale was a bomb.

As for you and Astarion, not much had really changed, you were both still yourselves, but now you openly tortured your companions with more pet names and cheek kisses and obnoxiously loud banter. Lae’zel had threatened to cleave you both in half on multiple occasions, but had yet to follow through on that threat. The others would groan loudly or avert their eyes politely.

Your days with Astarion were spent fighting side-by-side and teasing one another, and your nights were spent chatting and reading together. Aside from the physical intimacy and emotional vulnerability that came with being in a new relationship, it was really as if nothing had changed. And those were small prices to pay for where you currently found yourself: wrapped together with a trancing Astarion.

Ever since the Tiefling party, Astarion would worm his way into your tent at night. Whether he asked permission, or stayed a little too late into the night reading or talking or drinking from you; you would never ask him to leave. You’d slept together every night, sometimes beside each other, and other nights wrapped in each others’ arms. You were allowing Astarion to set the pace, as you were in no rush to get anywhere in particular. You simply enjoyed his company and his magnetic presence.

The pair of you hadn’t been too intimate since the party, barring stolen and sometimes steamy kisses. That was plenty for you, and Astarion continued checking in to see if you were okay with his touches and advances. Whenever you assured him that you were, he’d smile and return to your lips. You never asked him for more than he was willing to give, and even though you knew he wouldn’t say anything about it, you could tell he appreciated the courtesy despite the smug mask he so often wore.

Now, you found yourself stroking your hands through his hair as he tranced on your bare chest, breathing quietly; a habit he told you he’d picked up to look more alive when prowling the Gate.

It was funny, honestly, how sweet and unassuming he looked when he wasn’t fully conscious. And yet, you knew the kind of violence and debauchery and bad jokes he enacted and adored when he was awake. A small sound escaped his lips and you paused in caressing his hair to make sure you weren’t waking him. When his breathing returned to normal, you resumed raking your fingers soothingly over his scalp.

The hour was a little before dawn. Truthfully, you hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, knowing that today was the day your party would pack up camp and make your way into the Underdark for the foreseeable future. You’d re-emerge eventually to find the crèche Lae’zel knew to be nearby, but the Underdark was worth investigating for the sake of further answers about the tadpoles and a possible alternate route into the Shadow Cursed Lands. Plus, Shadowheart was adamant about seeing the rumored temple to Shar hidden down there.

All that to say, you and your companions wouldn’t be seeing the sun for quite a while. The thought saddened you immensely, knowing how much the man trancing on you would miss it terribly. How cruel, you thought, that your adventure was leading Astarion back into the shadows after he’d just gotten a taste of the sun for the first time in centuries.

“Why are you awake, my darling?” came Astarion’s raspy voice from the dark. He shifted his head to look up at you, his grip around your midsection tightening a bit, his eyes heavy with grogginess.

“Couldn’t sleep,” you admitted. “You should get a little more if you can.”

Astarion chuckled. “Too busy thinking about me to sleep? I wouldn’t blame you.”

You sighed. “And if I was?”

Astarion’s face fell a little. “Why the hells would you allow yourself to lose sleep on my behalf, pet?” His voice was soft and one of his hands unwrapped itself from your body, taking your hand, and bringing it up to his mouth to kiss the back of your fingers. He cleared his throat. “I mean, obviously I can understand why,” he tried deflecting the sweetness that had seeped into his words by injecting his tone with fake bravado.

You let out an amused breath and allowed your hand in his hair to continue petting him gently. “I want to watch the sunrise with you again this morning.”

Astarion hummed. “And that kept you awake?”

“I didn’t want to oversleep.”

Now it was Astarion’s turn to let out an amused breath. “You could have asked. I would have woken you up.”

“No you wouldn’t, you keep letting me sleep in. It’s like you enjoy watching me sleep or something, you creep.” You poked his nose playfully.

“It’s just amazing how much drool someone of your stature can produce.”

You smacked the side of his head and he laughed softly. The two of you sat in comfortable silence for a little while before you decided to speak again.

“This will be the last sunrise we see for a while.”

Astarion let out a long sigh and remained silent. After a moment, he said, “I know.”

He sounded sad.

“It’s not forever, though,” you assured, moving your hand to stroke his cheek and regaining his attention.

He chuckled. “I know that, too.”

You yawned, a little more loudly than you meant to. “Good. I promise you’ll see the sun again.”

Astarion tsked. “Honestly, darling, did you get no sleep at all?”

“I got a little,” you lied.

He held your gaze, lifting a skeptical eyebrow. “I don’t believe you.”

“What does it matter?” you asked, caught. “I can handle a little lack of sleep.”

Astarion rolled his eyes and sat up to look at you more directly. “It matters because we need you alert. None of us knows what awaits us in the Underdark and I- we can’t have you getting hurt because you didn’t get enough rest!”

“I’ll be fine,” you assured, bending upwards to kiss the corner of his mouth. “Besides, I’ll have you to protect me when I get sloppy.”

Astarion groaned. “You shouldn’t get sloppy,” he complained. “I swear, if you somehow hold us back down there, I’ll slaughter you myself.”

“Promise?”

He groaned again. “Would you, just once, allow me to threaten you seriously?”

“No,” you patted his cheek lovingly.

He sighed and pushed some of his mussed hair out of his face. He took your hands in his. “Just… stay vigilant, alright?”

“Can do,” you said, withholding another obvious yawn.

“I saw that.”

“Saw what?”

He shook his head at you and sat up fully, stretching his arms above his head and giving you a clear view of the scar on his back. You sat up and kissed his bare shoulder.

“I’ll be fine,” you repeated.

“Mhm.” Astarion passed you one of his shirts. “Come on, darling, let’s get a move on.” He tossed on a spare shirt and watched you as you pulled his shirt over your head.

“There’s still a little time before sunrise,” you said.

Astarion snorted and fixed some of your hair that was sticking up from putting on his shirt. “You could stay here if you want. Drown in your own drool. Up to you.”

You huffed at him, making him laugh again.

“Only joking, my love.”

“Sure,” you said, opening the flaps of your tent and crawling out into the blue that preceded dawn.

You went to stand, but felt Astarion’s cool fingers wrap around your wrist and pull you back. He turned you slightly and caught your lips in a kiss, one that wiped away whatever fake ire you had towards him and replaced it with a dopey grin.

“What was that for?” you asked when he pulled away.

“Delicious,” he breathed, raising a seductive eyebrow.

You laughed and grabbed his hand. “Come on.”

You’d only been able to catch two more sunrises with Astarion following the one you watched the morning after you’d slept together for the first time. You’d woken up once on your own after Astarion gently shifted himself away from you, and another time when he woke you up purposely, not wanting to be alone with his thoughts. You’d whine and moan whenever he let you sleep in, despite the fact that it was probably for the best to keep you in tip top shape for fighting and recharging your magic. He’d always find his way back to you, and you knew he needed his own space sometimes, but you still loved to watch him bask in the golden light of the morning and you couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed whenever you felt his gentle hand on your back before opening your eyes and seeing that the sun was already up.

Astarion led you through the forest again, his hand holding yours firmly. You knew your way to the ravine lookout by now, but you liked not having to take the lead for once. He helped you across the little stream that led into the clearing where you first laid together and you felt your cheeks flush at the memory.

“I can hear your heart picking up speed, darling.” He turned to smirk at you. “You’re adorable.”

“Pardon me for still being shy,” you half-joked.

“Mmm,” Astarion hummed. “I’ll pound that out of you eventually.” He furrowed his brow sensually at you and you scoffed.

“Shut up.”

“I, of course, don’t have to-”

You made a whiny sound and he laughed.

“I know, my love,” he said, removing his hand from yours and instead wrapping his arm around you to pull you close. “You’ve been so patient for me,” he nipped at your earlobe. “So good.”

“I’m in no rush,” you reassured on a shaky exhale.

Astarion made his own whiny sound and pulled you closer, leading you to the cliff’s edge where he’d opened up to you willingly for the first time, just a few days ago.

He sat, pulling you down with him, far enough away from the edge, where he knew you wouldn’t be nervous of falling. In the distance, the sky was just starting to indicate the sun’s arrival.

You sighed happily and rested your head on his shoulder. You felt him tense a little. “Is this alright?”

Instead of answering, he leaned his head on top of yours.

“What’s something you want to do in the Underdark?” you probed.

Astarion groaned. “You don’t need to make small talk with me, darling, sometimes silence is golden.”

You scrunched your nose, knowing he hated pure silence. “I wasn’t being polite, I genuinely wanted to know.”

He groaned again. “Even worse.”

You laughed lightly and felt him laugh too, his arm gently shaking against your own.

He thought for a moment before he responded. “That Zhentarim fellow we met mentioned a cache of supplies hidden somewhere down there. That might be fun to pillage.”

You laughed. “I’m surprised you ever stopped thinking about that!”

“Oh I didn’t, but I wanted you to think your little thought experiment had actually evoked some sort of… thought… in me.” He made a face.

“Want to try and rephrase that?”

“Not particularly.”

You hummed fondly, taking one of his hands in your own and examining how your fingers slotted together just so.

“I suppose you want me to ask you the same question?” Astarion asked, clearly not wanting to ask.

You laughed. “Your interest in my interests always astounds me, Astarion.”

He rubbed his cheek against the top of your head. “Get better interests and I might actually want to pay attention.”

“Rude,” you muttered, a smile on your face. “But since you so desperately want to know, I’ll answer anyway.”

“Oh, goodie.”

You thought about it. There wasn’t actually all that much you knew about the Underdark, aside from the few mentions of it in the books you’d read growing up. One thing did stick out in your mind.

“Singing mushrooms.”

“........What?”

“I read somewhere that apparently there are colonies of sentient mushroom people who communicate through song.”

Astarion pulled his head off of yours to hang it in front of himself instead, groaning loudly. “That sounds like a nightmare.”

“It’s not! It’s fascinating!”

“Sentient mushrooms?”

“Yes.”

“That sing?”

“Yes.”

Astarion shook his head. “Am I still asleep? Do you hear yourself?”

“I’m not making it up!” you exclaimed incredulously. When he didn’t say anything else, you crossed your arms in front of yourself. “We’re going to see the mushrooms.”

“Whatever you say, darling.” He kissed the top of your head almost pityingly.

“You’re an ass,” you said, pulling away from him and sitting back on your forearms. The sky was turning a faint pinkish orange in the distance. You snickered to yourself. “More like Ass-starion.”

The ass in question scowled. “That will not be one of your pet names for me.”

You shrugged. “I’m surprised no one’s called you that before.”

“I’ve been called far worse.” Astarion tilted his head up pompously, as if nothing you could say would hurt him.

“Okay great, so ‘Ass’ is nothing new.”

He sighed heavily. “It’s like you want me to throw you off the cliff.”

“Go ahead,” you challenged, catching his eye mischievously, knowing his threat was empty.

Astarion looked at you and then towards the horizon. He inhaled deeply and rose to his feet.

“What are you doing?” you laughed nervously as he approached the cliff’s edge that gave way into the ravine below.

He peered over the edge, his brow furrowed in deep thought.

You shifted uncomfortably and sat up completely straight. “Astarion, please be careful, you’re making me nervous.”

He ignored you and walked along the edge, looking past a batch of trees and into the distance to your right. He nodded and turned back towards where you sat.

“Up you go,” Astarion approached you and gestured his thumb upwards, indicating that he wanted you to stand. When he reached you, he helped you to your feet.

“You’re not actually going to throw me off the cliff, are you?” You kept your tone playful, but the anxiety you were masking was obvious.

Astarion smirked. “Stop annoying me and I won’t have to.”

You rolled your eyes and began to follow him as he started walking to the right, down a slanted slope and into a patch of trees.

“What’s happening?” you asked when you caught up with him.

Astarion tilted his head. “I just thought an occasion such as this needed a change of scenery.”

“‘Occasion?’” you echoed.

He nodded. “It’s my last day in the sun-” he saw you about to protest and quickly added, “-for a little while. Might as well start the day off right.”

You hummed. “Why do I get the sense that you’re up to something?”

Astarion stopped in his tracks, a hand held to his unbeating heart in mock offense. “Me? Up to something? You’re far too paranoid, darling.”

“Uh huh.” You kept walking, but quickly realized you didn’t actually know where you were going. You looked back at Astarion for help and found him watching you.

He rolled his eyes affectionately. “This way, dear, it’s not much farther.” He walked past you, deeper into the trees, and kept talking. “Did you know that that ravine we’ve been sitting above gives way into what I can only assume is either the Chianthar or the Sea of Swords?”

“I didn’t,” you said. “Though those are two very different bodies of water.”

“Give me a break, my geography lessons occurred well over 200 years ago. And we’re in the gods damn middle of nowhere, might I remind you.”

“Mhm,” you affirmed with a smile. “Go on.”

“Well, it just so happens that that ravine’s mouth isn’t far from our little sunrise spot.”

“‘Our?’” you teased.

“Focus, darling,” he said. He turned to the left, leading you back towards the cliff’s edge that had continued along the treeline.

“Astarion, please be careful,” you called after him, hesitantly following him towards the sound of rushing water.

He turned back and held out a steadying hand for you as you approached the edge. Not too far below you were narrow rapids that gradually became calmer. The cliff that had been on the other side of the one you currently found yourself on had disappeared, forming a mouth where the ravine did in fact empty into a much larger, much calmer, body of water.

You wrapped your arms around Astarion’s middle to anchor yourself and leaned forward a little to see where the cliff you were on ended. A little farther down, you squinted to adjust your eyes to the dim lighting, and saw a tiny beach that quickly shot upwards into a new cliff. Rocks surrounded the shore, keeping it slightly out of view, and gentle waves lapped at the sand, far enough away from the rapids of the ravine to remain serene.

You caught Astarion’s eye and pointed towards the small patch of sand in the distance. “Is that where we’re going?”

Astarion pursed his lips. “Yes, that would be much easier than jumping in, wouldn’t it?”

You scoffed. “You expected me to jump in from this high up? There could be rocks we can’t see! And we don’t know how deep it is!”

Astarion sighed. “You’re no fun. Though I suppose you’re right, I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” With your arms still around his middle, he started walking back into the trees and down towards the tiny beach.

You laughed as he dragged you along. “You can’t possibly be serious. You’d get your hair all wet!”

“Nobody said I was going to jump in with you,” he teased.

“I’m not going in alone,” you narrowed your eyes at him.

“Pity,” he tutted. “I like it when you’re wet.” He smirked and you shoved yourself away from him.

You picked up your pace to put distance between the two of you. When you didn’t hear his footsteps gaining on you, you decided to quickly slip behind a tree, hoping you’d lost him and that you’d be able to jump out to scare him as he sauntered past.

Unfortunately, nothing but silence greeted you. After a heartbeat or two, you peered around the trunk of your hiding spot but saw no sign of his sleek frame or shock of white hair. You started to second guess yourself; was it possible he’d passed you already? Or that he stopped, out of sight for some reason?

“You’ll have to do better than that, darling,” came his voice softly next to your ear.

You yelped and clutched at your heart, which raced with surprise.

Astarion sighed happily. “I do love the sound of your blood pumping.”

“How do you do that?” you asked, breathing deeply to calm yourself.

“Years of practice.” He paused. “Centuries, even.”

You conceded with a nod. “I shouldn’t have even tried.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. The effort was hardly there, either.”

“Alright,” you rolled your eyes and continued on through the trees down to the beach.

“I mean honestly, have these weeks on the road with me taught you nothing about stealth?”

“I play music for a living. My job is making noise.”

“And I don’t know why I even try at this point.” He raised his eyebrows playfully.

“You like my noise,” you said, sing-songingly.

“You’re loud, I’ll give you that.”

It was then that you emerged from the trees and onto a grassy dune that sloped downward onto the flat sand below. You slid down the dune with as much grace as you could muster, only falling on your ass once, before taking off your shoes and sinking your toes into the cool sand that made up the shoreline. Astarion followed after you, his long strides keeping him upright and as elegant as ever. He came to stand next to you, taking his own shoes off and placing them neatly beside yours.

You exhaled wistfully and grabbed Astarion’s bicep, leaning your head onto his shoulder. From here, you had a clear view of the sun on the horizon. The sky was a deep shade of pink, giving way to golds and oranges the closer you watched. You looked at Astarion, whose eyes were focused on the sunrise in the distance.

“What are you thinking about?” you asked quietly.

Astarion looked over at you and blinked. Then he smiled. “Just that it’s truly a wonder you’ve made it this far in life.”

“What?!” you exclaimed, shocked and amused.

You could tell he was holding in a laugh. “You are inept at hiding and fall down sand dunes. What were we thinking when we started following you around Faerûn?”

“I’ll push you into the water, pretty boy.”

“I’d pull you in with me, my love.”

“Touché,” you smiled and released his arm, sitting on the sand. You pulled your legs to your chest and rested your cheek on your knee. Around you, reeds and tall grass swayed in the morning breeze. Astarion remained standing, watching the horizon.

As much as you enjoyed watching the sunrise, you enjoyed watching Astarion watch it more. The way his attention became transfixed on the sky, the way the vibrant light painted itself onto him like a blank canvas, the way his entire body relaxed when the warmth of the sun finally reached his skin.

You heard him sigh and watched as he walked forward a little, allowing the tiny waves rolling off the water to rush gently over his toes. He flinched a little in shock and you let out an affectionate breath through your nose.

“Cold?” you asked.

“You know, it’s funny,” Astarion said, his voice a million miles away. “It’s been so long since I’ve been able to move through water like this.”

“What do you mean?” You furrowed your brow. “I’ve seen you in the lake at camp before.”

“I don’t know, I guess I haven’t given it too much thought until now. Normally, I can’t move through running water like this. Don’t ask me why, it’s one of those idiotic vampire laws dictated by some ancient devil with an infuriating sense of humor. I can bathe, sure, but I haven’t been proper swimming since… before.”

You stayed quiet as he moved further into the water, letting the waves wash over his ankles.

“I have to imagine I knew how to swim at one point,” he said quietly.

“I could teach you,” you offered. “I was going to teach Shadowheart at some point too. You’re welcome to join us if you want.”

Astarion snorted. “And look like a fool in front of the cleric? I’ll pass.”

“You don’t need swim lessons to look like a fool,” you clarified.

“Ha ha,” he said humorlessly.

You got up and joined him in the ankle deep water. “Do you want to try right now?”

Astarion thought for a moment and clicked his tongue. “I have a better idea, actually.” He gave you a sideways look, his lips quirking up slightly.

“What?” you matched his smile.

Rather than answering, Astarion reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head.

You furrowed your brow. “Looks an awful lot like you’re preparing to swim.”

He started fiddling with the clasps on his pants and groaned in your direction. “Swimming is not the only thing one can do while submerged in water, dearest.” He gave you a sensual smile that sent heat to your cheeks.

“Oh,” you said, stiffly watching him undress. “Should I-?” you awkwardly pulled at the collar of his shirt that was currently resting on your shoulders.

He straightened, naked but for his underwear. He frowned a little.

“You don’t have to do anything, my love. I just thought we might have some fun while watching the sunrise.”

You bit your bottom lip, thinking it over. “I do like fun.”

“I know that about you.” Astarion walked towards you and reached for the hem of your shirt. “May I?”

You nodded and lifted your arms to help. He took the shirt and tossed it over to where he’d discarded his own clothes. He stepped closer to you, pulling you to him so that you were chest to chest, and nuzzled his nose into the area where your neck met your shoulder. He placed a slow, gentle kiss there that had you inhaling sharply and exhaling unevenly. He groaned with need before pulling back and readjusting to kiss your lips. He came at it with more force than you were expecting, causing you to stumble back a little, but his hands firmly gripped your biceps, keeping you steady. You suppressed a giggle and instead smiled against his mouth before opening up for him and allowing his tongue to meet yours. Astarion hummed with pleasure, moving his mouth against yours and bringing his hands up to tangle in your hair. When he finally pulled away, he left one more chaste kiss against your lips before fully pulling back.

His eyes were alight with something that morphed into joy when he saw the gooey grin on your face. He rolled his eyes affectionately before looking you up and down and exhaling a laugh.

“You are perfect,” he said, almost in awe.

You smiled. “When?”

Astarion pulled you closer, his eyes narrowing seductively. “Every time.”

You snickered and pulled away from him, a teasing grin plastered on his face. You bent to remove your own pants and watched to see what Astarion would do next. When you saw him reach for his underwear, you averted your eyes and heard him laugh.

“Nothing new over here, darling,” he said, and the soft splashing sounds that followed indicated he’d walked into the water.

“I know,” you replied, embarrassed. You turned back towards him and shrugged. “Habit, I guess.”

“Well, cut it out,” he called, now knee deep in the water. His body was rigid from the temperature, his shoulders rising up to his ears. He turned back to look back at you, still standing on the shore. “Illmater’s blood-stained RACK, this is cold!”

“I don’t know what you expected,” you called back, hugging your arms to your chest and trying to convince yourself to brave the frigid waters and join him.

“I rather expected you would be in here with me to keep me warm,” he said, turning back towards the sunrise ahead of him.

You quickly pulled off your underwear and started walking into the water, tensing at the cold, but willing yourself to keep going.

“If you wanted my blood, you could have just asked,” you said when you finally reached him.

“There you are, darling,” Astarion said and grabbed your hand.

“Hi,” you said softly.

“Brace yourself,” he tipped his head forward a little.

“What?”

Without warning, Astarion lowered himself into the water so that it was just below his shoulders, and pulled you down with him. You hadn’t expected to be yanked so forcefully and unsurprisingly lost your footing. You plunged downward, reaching your free hand out to break your fall and ended up dunking your face below the surface. You were submerged for less than a second, but you came up sputtering and made eye contact with a gleeful vampire. He sucked in his lips to keep from laughing.

“And what was that?” you asked blandly, flicking wet tendrils of hair out of your face.

“Apologies, darling, I didn’t mean for you to get your pretty hair all wet,” he pouted at you and sounded less than sympathetic.

“Uh huh,” you narrowed your eyes at him. You crawled closer to him, made weightless by the water, and sat beside him, the water level reaching slightly higher on your chest than his. You scooted back a little and dragged your arm out behind you. You pushed it forward quickly, creating a splash that soaked the back of Astarion’s head. He instantly hunched forward and yelped.

“How dare you?!” he exclaimed, his curls flattening and falling partially into his face.

“Whoops,” you shrugged. Your eyes widened when you saw him wind his own arm back in retaliation and quickly dunked your head below the surface to avoid his onslaught of water.

When you reemerged, you heard Astarion snicker.

“Look at that,” he said, his tone mocking, “you’re all wet for me.”

You wasted no time in splashing him directly in the face.

“Let’s not do this,” he said flatly, his eyes closed. He brought his hands up to wipe the water off his face, even though his hands were equally wet.

“But now you’re all wet for me,” you teased.

“I’ll show you what I am,” Astarion growled and took your hand underwater. He pulled you closer and led your hand to his cock, which was already rigid with desire, despite the temperature of the water.

You made eye contact with him as you started pumping your hand up and down his shaft and he hissed out a breath.

“Easy, darling,” he said shakily.

“What’s the matter?” you asked, close to his ear. “Don’t you want to cum while watching the sunrise?”

Astarion groaned and you moved your hand up to swipe your thumb across his tip and then back down to continue pumping. You lifted your weightless body up and swung your leg around so that you were sitting between his legs, facing him head on with the sunrise at your back.

“I know what would make you even harder,” you cooed, wiping wet hair out of his face with your free hand. Instead of finishing the thought, you tilted your head to the side, offering up your neck to him.

Astarion’s eyes, half lidded with lust, went wide and looked at you. You nodded to him, and he pulled you closer to his chest, kissing your throat feverishly upon contact. Your hand was still wedged between your legs, twisting around Astarion’s length. He moaned as he nosed along your throat for where your pulse thrummed the strongest.

“Thank you,” he said before sinking his fangs into you.

You let out a moan of your own, your mouth falling open as goosebumps broke out along your arms. The cold water mixed with the ice in your veins created a delicious mixture of pleasure and pain. The hand pumping Astarion’s length started to slow as you felt yourself focusing instead on the satisfyingly dull thrum that came with him drinking from you.

“Don’t stop,” he murmured against your skin, kissing your throat and licking a few wayward drops of blood that had escaped before returning to his meal.

You made a noise of affirmation and squeezed his dick before continuing to twist your hand up and down, from base to tip and back down again.

Astarion whined lamely and dug his nails into your scalp and shoulder, which in turn made you moan wantonly. You rolled your hips, trying to find some relief of your own and ended up brushing your clit against the base of his cock. You both groaned in pleasure and you brought your free hand up to tangle into his hair as you continued rolling your hips.

“Hah,” Astarion huffed sweetly as he pulled himself away from your throat, his cool breath made warm by your blood. He licked at the wounds he left behind and kissed them gratefully before angling his head to kiss your mouth deeply.

The metallic tang of your blood on his tongue sent a chill through your body and you opened your eyes when you felt Astarion’s hands make their way to your hips. You broke the kiss to give him a curious look.

He returned your look with a blissed out smirk. “I want you to ride me,” he drawled.

Your eyes widened and the hand that was still working his cock slowed to a stop.

He surged forward to kiss you again and moved his hands to your ass, where he lifted your weightless form to position you over his length.

“Are you sure?” you asked. “I thought I was close to getting you off.”

“You were, sweet girl, but I’d much rather finish inside, if it’s all the same to you.”

Your lips quirked up. “I think we can make that work.”

Taking his cock into your hand again, you guided the head to your entrance before sinking down on him slowly. Astarion’s eyes closed in satisfaction and he tipped his head up to the sky, golden light painting his beautiful face into something ethereal. You sucked in a breath and rested your forehead on his shoulder, taking a second to adjust to this new sensation. You hadn’t ridden him yet, nor had you ever fooled around in water, by yourself or otherwise.

Astarion kissed your ear before encouraging you: “Use me, my love. You’re deliciously warm.”

You nodded and tested lifting yourself up a little and bringing yourself back down. Your mouth dropped open and you adjusted your legs so you were resting on your knees, making it easier to bob on his dick. Your arms wrapped around his neck as you lifted yourself higher and brought yourself down with more force.

“That’s it,” Astarion cooed, “take your pleasure from me.”

“Touch me,” you whined, rolling your hips and picking up the pace of your bouncing.

“With pleasure,” he bent forward to kiss your neck, bringing his hand down to circle your clit. His other hand came up to squeeze your breast.

“You make me feel so good,” you sighed, raking your nails over the ridges on his back.

“The feeling is mutual, d-arling,” his voice caught when you brought yourself down on his cock. “And I’m the only one who can make you feel this good,” he grazed his fangs across your collarbone.

“I don’t know,” you said, your body shuddering with euphoria, “Halsin seems like he could give you a run for your money.”

Astarion raised a disbelieving eyebrow at you.

“Teasing, my love,” you kissed him softly before letting out a loud “Ah!” when he started raising his hips to meet yours.

“Oh really?” he asked, his voice coming out like a growl. “You think Halsin could fuck you as well as I can?”

“Hah,” you half laughed, half moaned. “I think technically, in this position, I’m fucking you?” A lopsided grin graced your lips. “But I don’t know, I’m new to all this.”

“Funny,” Astarion remarked sarcastically and pulled his hand away from your clit, making you whimper in protest.

“Hey!”

“Take it back.”

“Take what back? I already said I was teasing!”

“Say I’m the only one who can fuck you like this.”

You smiled, panting and still riding him beneath the surface of the water. “Are you jealous or something?”

“Hardly,” he rolled his eyes. “But you’re mine and it wouldn’t kill you to remind yourself of that.”

“Sounds an awful lot like jealousy to me.”

Astarion groaned in what sounded like frustration and pleasure. “Do you want to cum or not?”

You leaned forward and kissed him deeply, moving your mouth slowly in time with the rhythm of your hips. When you pulled away, a string of saliva connected you to his lower lip.

“Astarion,” you said softly, “I don’t ever want anyone else to fuck me. Only you. For as long as you’ll have me.”

The smirk on Astarion’s face was smug. “Because?”

You rolled your eyes. “Because I’m yours, you stupid bat.” You kissed him, then whispered conspiratorially, “And I like you the most out of everyone at camp.”

“You flatter me,” Astarion said, immediately returning to his ministrations on your clit. You gasped at the contact, which quickly morphed into a moan of delight as you rested your forehead on his shoulder again. His hips rose to meet yours once more and the moan he let out as a result sounded as if he’d been holding it in for a while. Perhaps it was to sound eloquent during your back and forth, but the noise was music to your ears.

“Am I making you feel good?” you asked a little shyly.

Astarion opened one of his eyes to look at you. “My sweet, you’ve only ever made me feel good.”

“I know that’s not true.”

“It’s not, but it is true about the sex.”

“Thank the gods,” you laughed, though you shut your eyes tightly when Astarion hit a particularly pleasant spot inside you with a roll of his hips. “Whatever you just hit felt heavenly,” you relayed to him.

“Good to know,” he said mischievously, and repositioned you on his lap so he could rise to meet that spot every time you sank down on him.

“Oh, Astarion,” you sighed, a grin overtaking your features.

“You like that, love?” he nipped at your shoulder.

“Yes,” you sighed again.

Your bounces on his cock were starting to become sloppy as the knot of your climax began to build low in your stomach. You moved your hand to his and reversed the direction he was currently circling your clit.

“I’m close,” you confessed.

“Thank the gods, so am I,” Astarion’s voice was strained.

You opened your eyes to watch him as he approached his own peak and exhaled dreamily at the sight of him, bathed in the orange glow of the sun which was now halfway risen.

“You’re so beautiful,” you whispered, “and I like you so much.”

“Don’t make me throw up when I’m trying to cum,” he opened up an eye and smirked at you. “You’re not half bad yourself, gorgeous thing.” He groaned when you sat back down on him forcefully. “Now, would you cum for me already? I’m dying here.”

“Almost there,” you laughed. “And you’re dead already.”

“You’re making this very difficult, darling.”

“Let me help you then,” you said, reaching a hand forward and lightly caressing his balls.

Astarion’s mouth hung open in silent pleasure, his fangs glistening in the emerging sunshine. He watched you wordlessly as you leaned forward.

“You’re so powerful,” you purred next to his ear. “You make me feel so good, and you’re the only one who can fuck me this well. The others will never know how good I feel because I’m yours and I’ll only ever be yours. You’re the only one who will ever be inside of me.”

“That’s right,” he groaned. “Your cunt is mine and I love the way it feels around me. The way it grips me so tight. You filthy thing, letting a vampire take your innocence. I could have killed you and instead I brought you the most pleasure you’ve ever felt. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes,” you moaned. “Astarion, please. Need to feel your cum in me.”

“You want this cock forever, darling? Prove it. Prove you want it by cumming for me and screaming my name.”

His command brought you to your peak and you wailed out in pure ecstasy. His name fell from your lips like a prayer, over and over, and your cunt gripped him like a vice, as if claiming it for itself. In return, Astarion groaned loudly and spilled inside of you, moaning your name repeatedly and throwing his head back in rapture and delight.

As you came down from your high, you leaned forward to place sloppy kisses on his exposed throat. He brought both his arms around you and pulled you closer as he returned from his climax.

“You are-” he didn’t finish his sentence before crushing his lips into yours, moaning pathetically and you giggled in response. He bit your bottom lip with his blunt front teeth before releasing it and peppering kisses along your cheeks and jaw.

“Go on,” you teased, encouraging him to finish his thought.

He looked as if he wanted to argue, but instead gave in and said, “You’re wonderful.”

The words caught you off guard and you bent forward to kiss him in a way that you hoped conveyed your gratitude.

“I think you’re wonderful, too.”

“Obviously,” Astarion smirked.

You pushed him backwards, causing him to slip and submerge his head fully underwater briefly.

“My hair was just starting to dry, you wretched beast!” he sputtered, looking appalled.

“Aw, but you’re so pretty like this!” You brushed some wet hair out of his eyes.

“Um, hello? I’m always pretty, darling.”

“Ah, you’re right, how could I forget.” You gingerly lifted yourself off of Astarion and floated yourself to sit beside him, facing the sunrise.

“Perhaps you’ve had the lovely head of yours hit in battle one too many times.”

“That must be it,” you agreed jokingly, resting your head on his shoulder.

He leaned his head on top of yours in return. You sighed happily, enjoying the vibrant hues of the sky above, still filled with the euphoria of your high and the presence of the man beside you.

“I really do like you, so much,” you said softly, accompanied by the quiet lapping of the waves on the shore nearby.

“Ugh,” Astarion groaned. “Let’s not get sentimental, darling. After we just had such an excellent time together.”

You laughed. “Pardon me for wanting to express my feelings.”

“You are pardoned.” He gave you a sideways smile.

“Thank you, Mr. Magistrate.”

“Of course, beloved citizen.”

You both laughed quietly and returned to a pleasant silence. The sun rose steadily up into the sky and you knew you’d have to head back to camp soon to help pack up, but for now, you were content to sit and watch the horizon with your favorite traveling companion.

“How are you doing that?” Astarion asked, breaking the silence.

“Doing what?”

“Tickling my thighs. Did you cast mage hand or something of the sort?”

You sat up a bit more to look and snorted.

“Astarion, my love, I think it’s a fish that’s tickling you.”

“Ah,” he said calmly. Then he shot up, flinging you backwards and underwater. When you came up for air, he was rushing towards the shore, barreling through the water.

“At least it had the decency to wait until we were finished!” you called after him.

Astarion ignored you. “Slimy, disgusting, vile creatures!” He shook out his entire body as if he couldn’t rid himself of the sensation.

You watched him with adoration as he muttered to himself about how irredeemable that particular fish was as he pulled on his pants. It was then that you felt your heart swell with something big and alarming.

Oh no.

You were in love with him.

Fuck!

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liketwoswansinbalance · 5 months ago

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what wouldve happened if the Saders (especially Marialena) didn't foretell the prophecy? What wouldve happened if Rafal didn't leave?

This has been in my ask box for months. I hope anon is still around if they still wanted the answer.

@fourleafclovxr Feel free to ignore this, but if you're interested, do you have any thoughts about this question—since it deals with seers and Saders?

⸻

If the neither brother had knowledge of the prophecy then there's a slight chance it may not have happened in a self-fulfilling way with their attempts to prevent it from coming true only furthering its completion. They might've been able to maintain peace.

Yet, even if the prophecy were not told, well, their world is still governed by fate, and considering how much of an inescapable grip that predestination has over everyone's lives, how fates that can't be circumvented—I'm not sure if the innate genre they lived in could have changed from "tragedy."

Even if fates can be subverted by being fulfilled in unconventional ways (as any room for interpretation could be exploited by participants) I don't see how fratricide and there being just One left standing(?) could contain some kind of exceptional clause.

Regardless, this possibility would mean that some sort of "user-friendly" loopholes could exist in their world, like how Chaddick's blood on the handkerchief allowed Rhian II to pull Excalibur when he otherwise wouldn't have been able to.

That instance of cheating is the best example I have at the moment. The rightful son didn't pull the sword, but the event itself, of the sword being pulled, still was able to happen given situational factors. The rightful heir's blood still came into contact with the sword, the sword was pulled (by someone), and the "right" candidate became king by the end. What happened between seminal events may not have mattered in the grand scheme of things.

Thus, prophecies may well work in a top-down way, only going as small-scale as they need to, to ensure outcomes.

So, from this, we could take away that the endings may be predetermined, but that the path to such endings could be open to interference—only to the degree that the ending wouldn't change as the result of any meddling, even if unanticipated third parties involve themselves.

The parties not affected by the prophecy, outside its bounds, could plausibly do whatever they wanted, and have free will (ostensibly, everyone has free will though), but I could venture to say that the consequences of said, seemingly free actions could be manipulated by the hand of fate, to produce those certain outcomes.

Basically, in the Woods, no matter what you try, since you at least have the freedom to try, you won't change a thing with your actions. All those actions would still snowball to produce the exact outcome that's set to happen. (And, if this were true, trying to change your fate would be futile. E.g., think of how Sophie and Agatha were locked into their true natures. They couldn't switch sides.)

(Keep in mind that this post just represents my view of things. We don't necessarily have canon confirmation of anything I'm speculating about.)

Applied to the prequels, if Midas' or the Pan's presences/roles were never predetermined, then they just helped the inevitable end along. If neither of them had been there, perhaps the prophecy still could have reached the same ending by other equally-as-effective means. (Different potential plot(s), one outcome.)

We could also argue that Adela's wording was vague enough to exploit.

So, the same thing could apply to the twins: the prophecy of the One and Adela's betrayal, war, death could happen, and lead to the same outcomes, but the specifics could unfold differently. Or, the events could all happen in the same way but hold different meaning/implications for the future (no 200 year curse despite fratricide or death of another form for Rafal?). Or, none of the events could happen in the same way, but the final ending would be fixed, like I proposed before. I guess we don't really know how malleable or interpretable prophecies or visions are.

And seeing that it's Marialena, I wouldn't put it past her to use red-herrings or mislead, even without saying a word of prophecy. Lying, other methods, or other dialogue/persuasion could produce the same results.

It's hard to separate out the cause and effect to me. We should ask: did (early) knowledge of the prophecy affect how it played out? Or was it set in stone? Or was it inevitable that Rafal's particular combination of character traits (the extorting, the threats, etc.) and the situation (in Monrovia) would have led him to finding out about the prophecy and that that very moment was also a part of the prophecy in action, happening or beginning?

⸻

Second, if Rafal hadn't left, I think the characterization that would hold true was the bit of internal monologue we saw in Fall, that he intentionally cedes some minor(?) arguments to keep the peace with Rhian.

Rhian might not even realize anything were wrong or that Rafal were (probably) hurt by his side being devalued.

I would suspect if Rhian were aware, not much would change. Rhian is prone to burying conflict and truth after all. But, I couldn't see him dwelling on the conflict Rafal lay to rest, unless he had good reason to, or lasting guilt/shame over it.

Rafal on the other hand holds grudges, and while we know he isn't the Evil brother now, he has Evil tendencies, of course, so he could easily let his resentment accumulate and fester inside until he found it in himself to do something: either leave, like he did, or perhaps, display passive aggression?

Outright anger against his brother would not be productive, but if his resentment became that severe, he could potentially lash out, and Rhian would see Rafal's "unprovoked" response as coming out of nowhere. Then, Rhian could accuse him of being irrationally antagonistic, like a villain without motive, or Evil that "always" (often, as of late) loses and that has to deprive Good of an ending to gain one for itself, as we would see the beginning hints of Evil's losing streak no matter what.

By that point, Rafal might either drop the issue, but secretly continue to hold the grudge for the rest of time, a reasonably moderate and functional if not flawless happy ending for the both of them. (Would it last? I'm doubtful.)

Or, Rafal could argue back, setting off the prophecy, even if it had a delayed start this time since I suspect any major enough argument could have set the brothers down the wrong path, no matter what the argument was about, Aladdin or someone/something else, if their bond had weakened over the decades, like it might've been implied to have done in canon.

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samwitcch · 1 year ago

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mad max, the party's zoomer - apoc au character details under the cut!

---

max's role in the party:

a runner - fast and quiet, tends to be the one who makes out with the most supplies

mechanic - knows best about cars and is one of the party's designated drivers (the other being mike)

medic - not as skilled with plants and medicine like will, but is good with first aid and physical treatment!

thief - who the party sends out if they need to "borrow" from other groups (second nature to her)

skills + hobbies:

incredible with melee weapons and hand-to-hand combat -> everything she knows was taught to her by billy

decent shot, but prefers using melee way more!

stealthy, like a ninja - her and el are the quietest in the party! max's fighting style is much more brawler-like despite this

good with card games (likes poker, speed and BS) -> likes to play them with the party a lot, but in particular with dustin and lucas

skateboards whenever she can -> her favorite thing to do next to driving!

really loves listening to music (fave artists are madonna, taylor swift and destiny's child) -> likes having el or will in shotgun so they can listen together!

quirks / fun facts:

whenever dustin goes to bed, max takes his current handheld and tries to beat his high score on whatever retro game he's currently playing (dustin does not know its max who's actively beating his ass on dig dug and tetris)

she took billy's jacket and baseball bat and made them her own - very complicated relationship with him and her upbringing with her stepbro made her very skeptical and suspicious of others (especially the party when she first met them)

when she steals things, she tries to keep the party in mind when grabbing extra :')

--- other notes: ladies and gentlemen, our newest addition - maxine! i'll admit, the two characters i think i'm most shoddy on for their characterizations are dustin and max. since max's story in my au is so heavily tied to her issues with trusting people again (specifically men) and family, i'm scared that it will make her character intrinsically tied to relationships instead of having her own character. i'll try my very best for it not to be that way, of course!

for now, she's how i imagine her in the show - she's still a cheeky, sarcastic, stubborn and awesome tomboy with insurmountable trust and distance issues, and i love her for that! the circumstances that drew her to the party are currently a secret, but i will establish now that billy is tied to her storyline and how the party meets her for the first time - while billy's an interesting character in his own right, i straight up don't like him :P so i'm warning people now that billy's more a plot device for max's arc and i probably won't be diving incredibly deep into his character. this is a party centric au after all!

when i was thinking of max's character, i was trying to keep the things she liked in mind and why she was so cool in the first place! ofc, she had to skateboard, even if it was only a little, and she's honestly just great at games in general (to dustin's dismay).

her upbringing in canon and the way she acts is pure "survival instinct" behavior. she knows first aid, she knows how to drive, she escapes vecna, she's incredibly independent! she's a fighter, through and through. she's also not really one to hesitate often to be hands on, and i can see it in the way she acted seasons 2-4 :')

lucas is almost done - maybe a few days give or take!

#max in a tanktop covered in blood she is everything the lesbian in me swooned just a bit #max mayfield #lumax #stranger things #stranger things fanart #st apoc au #sammi's art

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bitingdrivers · 8 months ago

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Bones AU

Recently my brainrot got to the point of me mashing two of my favorite things together, so I present you this Bones AU I cooked up

If you never seen Bones here's a excerpt from Wiki:

The show is a forensics and police procedural in which each episode focuses on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth to the forensic anthropology team of Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan

So now that you know what Bones is, here's my thoughts on the characters (get ready. I have a lot of thoughts)

Max as Dr. Brennan

Max is forensic anthropologist (one of the best in the World!). He is cold and rational (love is a chemical reaction). He comes off as a little off putting and doesnt get social cues or customs.

In the show Dr. Brennan is also a renown writer with a best seller book series. I'm not sure I can see Max in this role, but I desperately want to keep the plot of the episode with lab being a club every character works at (in the episode Brennan writes a story about a club called The Lab and reads it out loud to Booth who is in a coma)

A very important part of Brennan's character is the fact that she is an orphan. Her parents left her and her brother alone when they were teens. I think in this au Max can also be an orphan, but unlike Brennan, his father will not be redeemed. My idea is Max's father was actually a really dangerous fugitive and his family had to run away and hide from him. And maybe in order to hide her kids from Jos she decided to put them in the system. Maybe she comes back later and then tries to mend their relationship (basically the plot between Brennan and her father in the show)

Daniel as Agent Booth

Daniel is a fbi agent and a former sniper (also one of the best) who went through war. He is emotional and up beat, goes by gut feeling and loves to joke around. Daniel is a pop culture fan and loves sports. He is the one to "thaw" Max out. Gives Max little pet names (Bones, Maxy, Maximus).

At the start of their relationship Max and Daniel argue a lot because of their different views on life and Daniel sometimes thinks that Max is emotionless and doesn't have empathy. But when they start getting closer, Daniel starts seeing Max as a caring and emotional person that he is.

In the show Booth's character is built on his role as a protector. His father is an alcoholic who used to abuse him and his little brother Jared. Maybe Daniel is the same in this au, but I'm not sure I want to make Daniel's father an abuser. but this au is still in the works so.

Charles as Angela Montenegro

Charles is an expert on computers and reconstruction of victims identities / crimes. He is a free soul, an artist who never really wanted to work with dead bodies and only does it to help his best friends Max and to make enough money to go to Paris and live his artistic life full of sex, muses and parties.

Charles is very emotional and empathetic, but also impulsive and doesn't stay in one place for a long time.

Carlos as Dr. Hodgins

I'm not completely sure about this casting but the relationships with other characters work really well. idk I need to think about this more.

Carlos is an entomologist, botanist, and mineralogist. Most of the time he is very calm, but when it comes to things and peoke he loves he can be described as enthusiastic and eccentric.

A big part of Hodgins' character in the show is his upbringing. Hodgins' family is millions rich and is one of the sponsors of the Jefferson University and the lab. But I don't really see Carlos as a millionaire (even if Hodgins himself doesn't act like that). The part of the rich sponsor family in my mind belongs to Strolls (obviously), so maybe Carlos is a normal guy. idk

Also an important thing is Charles and Carlos relationship. It is very sexual at the start but after some rocky moments they build a very loving and strong relationship.

Oscar as Zack Addy

Oscar is studying to be a forensic anthropologist. He is truly a Max's student. He sees Max as his true mentor and role model. Oscar is very smart and a little nerdy about it. He also is rational and calm, but very impressionable due to his young age.

Has a very close relationship with Carlos because they live together (Oscar lives in the attic of Carlos' house) and work in the same office.

Lando as Sweets

Lando is a young fbi psychologist who was assigned to Max and Daniel to asses their relationship and then basically imprinted on the pair. Lando is a geek, he often makes references to pop culture and freaks out over a new Avatar movie. He is also very awkward and vaguely intimidated by Daniel at the start of their sessions.

Lewis as Cam

Lewis is a coroner. Despite being the official boss of the lab, he and Max basically run things together. He is cool and approachable down to earth boss, but very strict about the rules and paperwork. He and Max have a small rivalry (bones vs flesh thing) .

Other characters

The rest of the grid will be squinterns (squint interns) and other workers of the institute!!

I imagine George as Clark, a very reserved and serious guy who tries to keep things professional, but turns out to be a big gossip.

Seb plays the role of Gordon Gordon. A weathered psychiatrist who has to sort Max's and Daniel's relationships.

I think I'll end this post here because there's so many things I can talk about. Maybe I'll make another post about squinterns. OK hope you liked it bye

#can you tell I love this show? can you tell I watched this show so many times I lost count??#i don't have the skill of writing but maybe I will just talk about the scenes and characters more #f1 #i'm not tagging all of them #how the fuck do I tag this #f1 fic #I guess?#maxiel #charlos #bones au #my writing

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girlsdogmotif · 6 months ago

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HIII!!! YOUR ONE SHOTS ARE SO COOOOL!! LOVE THEM <3333 are you planning on writing series or books? IM SURE THEY COULD BE STUNNING!! Also I saw your recs and THEY ARE SOMETHING 100% MY TASTE, if you cam give me some recs? Preferably if the main characters are males? I don't mind either way tho!! Thank you very much. <3

AHHHH THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!! I really need to finish the few one shots I've started and post them because people are actually reading them ! which is crazy ! but makes me very very happy :)

I would definitely be interested in writing some series, once I think of some characters or a rough plot I might try it out, but in the meantime I would also love to continue any one shots I post if people are interested 👀

For my recommendations (which is why this took me a while to get back to apologies):

(also you might have already seen the first few bc I can't stop telling people to read them!!)

@whumblr The "Home is Where the Hurt" series is one of the BEST stories on this app and has the best whump, if you haven't read it yet GO READ, and also "Crossed Out", the main whumpees and whumpers are male in both those series; but I also can't go through a whump rec post without recommending their other series Bookish!

@chaotic-orphan another blog I can't recommend enough, i'm literally part of the #notifcationsquad I'm obsessed with Intoxicating Fear, Vendetta, Defiant Leader x confident villain, Partners in Crime, and everything else as well, Heroic Betrayal is also my ALL TIME fav and features my one of my fav female whumpee Morgan <3 all the stories are somehow both funny and heart wrenching at the same time and I feel like I'm watching a movie every time I read them

@there-will-always-be-blood I talk about The Crow and The Dove so much but I will forever kai and kyriel are so fascinating and the world building is so good in the story and the WHUMP. UGH truly unparalleled. you know it's good characters, world, plot, and writing when I-ME wants a character to have a break and not get tortured more (well okay I also still want him to get tortured more) only thing I will mention is the story does contain nsfw stuff and pretty dark whump but everything is tagged so avoid if it's not your thing but if you're okay with it (and over 18) then I highly recommend!!!!

@defire also has a TON of writing to read, stories, prompts and general whump musings that include some whump tropes that you don't see that often. Back to The Dregs is FANTASTIC angsty and whumpy and it also maybe kinda reminds me of one of the first whump stories I ever read when I was like 11 that was a newsies modern au fan fiction so I think I'm also partial to it

@holidayinhell literally every single piece of writing is so well written and give me whumperflies (do people still say that? I rarely see it anymore, am I old now im 20 I can't be) anyway Role Reversal is so good but THE CLIFFHANGER (nsfw)

@save-the-villainous-cat has such great stuff, really anything you're in the mood for there's a piece for it particularly I love the hero villain stuff

@jumpywhumpywriterlove's Vampire Captures Vampire Hunter to Use as Bloodbag series I def recommend if you like vampires, even if you don't I'd give it a shot, also Drugged Hero Whumpee used as Party Favor at Villain's Party is great. I have to admit I haven't read her whole blog but the few series I've read are amazing and she has SO MUCH WRITING (im not gonna make a Hamilton reference I've already made a newsies reference I've embarrassed my self enough)

and then here's a few other whump blogs that I enjoy and would recommend checking out!!

@whump-queen

@whump-in-the-closet

@shywhumpauthor

@kira-the-whump-enthusiast

okay for now I'll cut myself off but obviously there are so many more amazing whump blogs and stories out there!!! I hope this list can help you find something you like, thank you again for your kind words!

#whump #general whump #whump community #whump recs #whump series #mar writes

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cwritesforfun · 10 months ago

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please please please i beg you write another Emma Darcy x Fem!reader pleeeeeeasssee

Emma D'Arcy x Fem!Reader: Fake Dating

You work as an actress as well. You were Alicent in House of Dragon.

Prompt idea from @prompts-of-the-pond - “I’m auditioning next month for the love interest of a new movie they’re making, but I’ve never been in a relationship… Can you tell me what it’s like? Or, actually, show me, it’ll be easier.”

Y/N = Your Name using She/Her/Hers pronouns Emma's pronouns are They/Them ** I do not own any House of Dragon plot points briefly mentioned

Masterlist

Y/N's POV

You call Emma.

((Start of conversation)) Y/N - Heyyyyy Emma - Hi are you drunk? Y/N - No and you took forever to respond. Emma - What? I answered immediately. What are you drinking? Y/N - A whiskey neat. It's not usually what I drink, but I needed a drink tonight and it was all I could find in my house. I don't even know whose it is. Emma - Haha are you going to be sober for our interview tomorrow? Y/N- Yes of course. I know how to hydrate. Water water water! All anyone talks about is water. Emma - You crack me up. Why did you call? Y/N - Wanted to hear your voice. Emma - Ok well I'm actually busy, but I can call later to talk more. Y/N - No, I'm fine. Bye. ((End of conversation))

You fall asleep immediately after.

Your interviews with Emma for House of the Dragon are borderline flirty every single time. You've thought about asking them out, but you're worried about what would happen if season 3 happened, and what if you didn't work out? It's messing with your head to think about dating your co-worker. Not to mention, you drank too much last night and it went to your head. You have a major hangover and are struggling.

The next day, you finish making a home-cooked dinner and pour yourself a glass of wine. Emma arrives on time and is excited for the dinner.

Emma asks, "So what's the occasion?" You answer, "I had something to run by you. It's kind of help for an upcoming role." Emma asks, "Oh and you need my help? You're more than capable of anything you put your mind to. You don't need my help." You reply, "Thank you, but no. I’m auditioning next month for the love interest of a new movie they’re making, but I’ve never been in a relationship… Can you tell me what it’s like?" Emma asks, "You've never been in a relationship?" You answer, "No, I mean I've made out with plenty of people at parties and been on a couple of dates. But, I just thought of it as something fun that happened for a day or a night. None of them felt long-term." Emma asks, "You say people, so you're into everyone?" You answer, "Yeah, I'm pansexual and like just about everybody, except for jerks." Emma laughs and says, "I can show you what it's like to be in a relationship, it’ll be easier.” You ask, "What do you mean?" Emma answers, "I mean, we take each other out on dates and we act like a couple. It'll be good for me too. I haven't dated a woman in a while and I already like you, so it'll be easy for me." You reply, "I like you too. I just don't want to ruin our friendship because we still work together, especially with the renewal for the next season." Emma replies, "Every great romantic relationship is based on a friendship." You reply, "Ok. So what do we do now?" Emma answers, "Now, we enjoy a nice meal together and maybe watch a movie then we see where the night takes us."

You spend the next month going on dates and you feel yourself starting to fall for Emma.

You're watching TV when you hear someone knock at your door. You open the door to see Emma standing with roses and dressed very sexily. Emma exclaims, "They’re offering a free bottle of wine to couples on Valentine’s Day. I made us reservations for 2 hours from now. Get dressed. We need to leave in 30 minutes to make it." You nod and Emma follows you to the bedroom. You show Emma outfit options and they decide on the outfit that matches theirs.

You arrive at a restaurant that overlooks the valley and its sunset. How did Emma score this prime space on Valentine's Day? OMG! The waiter walks up and exclaims, "Welcome lovely couple. We're running a special promotion for those who booked a month ago to receive a free bottle of Chardonnay wine to thank you for booking early. May I pour you both a glass?" A MONTH AGO?!?! You nod and Emma answers, "Yes for both of us, thank you." The waiter tells you the special menu and then they bring out the appetizer.

Emma asks, "Hey Y/N, you went silent when we got here. What's going on in that pretty brain of yours?" You answer, "Um first off, the location is beautiful and this is so perfect at sunset. And second, the waiter said you booked a month ago. Did you mean to take me here or did you mean to take someone else? I'm so sorry if you couldn't bring who you wanted to this because it's truly spectacular." Emma places their hand on yours before saying, "I like this spot too. I came here once with my parents, but we didn't get to sit by the window... I made the reservation right after you asked me to date you to help you with your role. I knew this holiday would fall within the month, so I knew you had to experience Valentine's Day as my girlfriend... I did want to bring you here. I don't want to be here with anyone else." You reply, "Ok uh cool. Thanks then." Emma nods and smiles.

Emma drops you home after your dinner and you go back to study your lines for your audition. It's tomorrow.

Emma drives you to your audition because you're way too nervous to drive right now. Emma tells you that they'll be at the coffee shop across the street until you're done.

You wait your turn for your audition and it comes pretty quickly. You walk in, deliver your dialogue, and then they ask you to read with one of your character's prospective love interests. So you do. You think it went well.

Emma takes you out to eat afterward and then you decide to go back to your place where you both spend some time in bed.

You keep dating... you start to fall even more in love with Emma. More days and weeks pass...

You're sitting eating lunch at Emma's place when you get a call from your agent, which you answer and you get the role of the love interest.

You stand up and start jumping around. Emma asks, "What is this about?" You put your hands on either side of Emma's head and exclaim, "I did it! I got the role of the love interest! You helped me get the role! Thank you!" Emma asks, "So we're done dating now, is that it? It was all just for the audition?" You move your hands to Emma's and answer, "No no no. I don't want to stop dating you. I want to keep being your girlfriend who is falling madly and deeply in love with you, Emma D'Arcy." Emma smiles and asks, "Are you being serious?" You answer, "I've been falling for weeks. You're everything I could have ever dreamed of as a partner." Emma kisses your cheek and says, "I'm falling ... what did you say? Oh yeah, I'm falling madly and deeply in love with you, Y/N." You smile and you both kiss.

More Emma D'Arcy fanfic - here

#emma d'arcy x reader #emma d'arcy #house of the dragon alicent #house of the dragon #house of the dragon x reader #fanfic #fanfiction #hotd #rhaenyra targaryen

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comikas-fandom-dump · 4 months ago

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Opinion on sasu saku ?

I know that many of my mutuals and followers dislike SasuSaku, but personally, I don't have the strongest of feelings about the ship. If you ship it, that's fine and I support you. If you don't, that's fine too and I support you as well (as long as you don't harass the shippers). My feelings about it aren't strong enough to have any feelings about both critics and fans, just enough for me to have a personal opinion on the ship.

Sakura: Loving a Shadow

To me, Sakura is loving a shadow. For those of you unaware, "loving a shadow" is a trope describing a character's wishful projection onto a love interest. They have fallen in love with a fantasy rather than the person themselves.

A young Sakura fits the description perfectly as her feelings for Sasuke don't appear to be tied to Sasuke as a person but rather the misinterpretation she has developed of him. For example, she listens to Sasuke having no likes - hobbies or otherwise (depression?!) - and plotting the murder of his brother, and rather than recognizing it for what it is (trauma, obsession, and self-destructiveness), Sakura thinks it's "cool". There's not even an "I can fix him" attitude about her because, to her, this is desirable behavior in a cool, brooding guy.

But no, Sakura doesn't know Sasuke. She doesn't even know he is an orphan and she doesn't express any curiosity about him - to get to know him and learn about those things - either up until it's too late. Instead, it's like she already knows him (except she doesn't) and she proceeds to daydream about the generic forms of affection any boyfriend at all could provide, such as kisses and meaningless flirting. This very early version of Sakura views Sasuke as nothing else but the desires she projects onto him.

And yes, I'm aware that it's unfair to shit on Sakura for not grasping the seriousness of Sasuke's trauma with the psychological understanding of a licensed therapist at the ripe age of 12 or having childish romantic fantasies. But that's the point!

Sakura is not being malicious. She is literally a 12-year-old child whose concept of romance is too underdeveloped to realize that even she herself is not a product to be advertised and that romance is more than just a transaction between two parties. Arguably, she objectifies Sasuke in the same way that she objectifies herself, which is evidence of her immaturity and insecurity. Her mind judges the both of them by each of their respective aesthetic appeal and not their value as people.

Sakura is a child and allowed to have those flaws. But that also means that she is living in a flawed, childish fantasy.

Later on, it can be argued that she has escaped that fantasy as she learns about Sasuke's past and her own role as a ninja, but she still hinges what seems to be her entire emotional well-being on this boy she claims to love. She begs Sasuke to stay, tells him that revenge will only further hurt him, claims he is more important to her than friends and family, and, in the end, shows herself willing to leave it all behind so long as she can stay by his side. Nothing else in her life seems to matter if it isn't Sasuke. Needless to say, this reads as an unhealthy obsession.

But again, Sakura is also a very insecure character who used to get bullied and gained confidence not on her own but through the confidence of others. Defining one of your main characters by an unhealthy obsession won't ruin them but the self-damaging nature of said obsession needs to be addressed and/or outgrown unless you want to upset your audience and/or supply them with unhealthy role models.

So, was it addressed? Not really.

And did she grow out of it? Uhm. Somewhat?

Toward the end of the manga, she is still begging and crying for Sasuke to stay but at least she no longer offers to betray her values and loyalties for him anymore. Also, during the Kage Summit, her intention to kill Sasuke proves that Sakura is willing to detach herself from her dependence on Sasuke. That gotta count for something, right? Right?? (Not really)

Then, as an adult, Sakura's relationship with Sasuke is nothing like the childish scenarios she once made up in her head. All of a sudden (or perhaps through years of practice) she can do without constantly being in Sasuke's presence. She can do without kisses and compliments. She now knows that Sasuke was never a "cool guy" but instead a deeply troubled youth. So if her relationship doesn't revolve around her childhood obsessions, then what is it?

Perhaps Sakura has actually grown up (though off-screen). Perhaps she has found the confidence to define herself beyond the attention and acknowledgment that a romantic interest may or may not give her. Her love for Sasuke might no longer be a matter of dependency but one of understanding. She might finally have broken out of her fantasies. Their new relationship dynamic could showcase this growth.

But does it?

Sasuke: Disinterest

(This is a much shorter part, simply because there isn't as much to be said)

Symbols of affection don't define a relationship but that doesn't mean they are merely superficial. Time, effort, and physical presence are not superficial.

In Boruto, Sasuke is out on missions all the time. He can neither provide time nor physical presence. Instead, Sakura must have decided to forgo her need for affection to accommodate Sasuke's lifestyle. All of this begs the question: Did Sasuke also change anything at all about his lifestyle to accommodate Sakura and her needs? Is there some sort of effort he is putting into the relationship at least? Or is their marriage just that one-sided?

Yes, I know that Sasuke isn't an absent father/husband because he wants to but rather because he is bound by guilt and duty and I'm sure there's some canonical reason as to why he was unable to pay a visit to his child even once. But Sasuke has been unable to stop by his own home, say hello to his own daughter, or see his wife outside mission briefings for 10 whole damn years. However unwilling Sasuke may be to spend time away from his family, relationships still need maintenance and their marriage is entirely void of it.

And then also please consider that Sasuke has never definitively (and unambiguously) expressed any romantic interest in Sakura right until the epilogue decided that they should have a child together. And now that the two are married, their relationship seems to run on the bare minimum. So fans have begun asking the question: Does he actually love her?

My Opinion on SasuSaku

You see, I am neither criticizing Sasuke nor Sakura as people. I am criticizing Kishimoto's decisions as a writer because SasuSaku is not believable as a functioning relationship. Really, it is so bad that fans have unironically gotten into conspiracy theories about how Sasuke and Sakura are in a fake marriage and that their child is secretly a SasuKarin ship child.

When I look at their relationship, Sakura is as dependent on Sasuke as ever so that she will accept any scraps she's offered whereas Sasuke himself simply just ✨exists✨ as the other party of their marriage. Not that this is necessarily what Kishimoto intended, but it seems like Sakura doesn't have her needs met and Sasuke doesn't need their marriage. Hence, due to its execution, I dislike SasuSaku. I don't think that their relationship is inherently doomed - I just think it was poorly written.

Sometimes, however, you can instead like/support/respect a ship conceptually because the concept itself has potential, and I believe that SasuSaku is one of those ships. After never feeling safe enough to depend on others for nearly his entire life, Sasuke should've been given the chance to develop a healthy degree of dependency on the people he loves. Meanwhile, after years of making herself miserable chasing after Sasuke, Sakura should've learned that over-dependency is actually quite harmful. Those two journeys could've complemented each other.

I don't know what caused Kishimoto to write SasuSaku's married life to be what it is today instead. I can only guess because maybe he was projecting his own married life of busy schedules and tight deadlines onto his characters. Maybe he just likes his female characters to be loyal. Maybe he just wanted a little more drama in his story. Maybe he thought that this was actually good character development. Either way, it sucked and, much like all of the Next Gen content, the decision ended up harming existing characters.

#anti sasusaku #sakura #sakura haruno #sasuke #sasuke uchiha #naruto #naruto ask #naruto discussion #ask #anon #anon ask #anti sakura #anti sakura haruno #anti sasuke #anti sasuke uchiha #putting in all those anti tags because i don't want fans to get upset over me criticizing their relationship haha #i know that a lot of sasuke fans also dislike what the ending did to their favorite character but i am not taking chances over here #idk what the sasusaku and sakura fans think about the writing however...#anyway. let's hope I survive this lmfao

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butchhamlet · 2 years ago

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are there any shakespeare retellings you recommend? i really enjoy retellings but it's also difficult to find ones that like. actually understand the source material... i've read your novella duodecimal and really liked it btw! excellent take on twelfth night :-)

THANK YOU SO MUCH WAH... yes, i can recommend some retellings! i keep intending to make a big post with my recs, actually, but there are so many out there that i haven't read yet... so for now here's an incomplete list:

a thousand acres by jane smiley: the first one that came to my mind seeing this ask. it's a retelling of lear set on an american farmstead, and the adaptation is done beautifully and smoothly--it's just distinct enough from OG Lear that you can judge it as a book on its own but also as a lear retelling. and it's sooooo good. it starts a little slow, but the character work is so excellent and it almost made me cry (i will note that there's a pretty hefty cw on this one but... saying what it is is technically spoilers? but feel free to send another ask or message if you want to know up-front)

the last true poets of the sea by julia drake: books that made me have to turn my camera off in zoom class so i could bawl properly. books written for me specifically. this is a loose YA retelling of twelfth night (looser than some of the other retellings on this list) and it's like. perfect. the teenage dialogue actually sounds like teenagers. every emotional beat clubbed me over the head. the love triangle is present--and done really well; it's not present for drama but because sometimes being a teenager is confusing--but more than that this is a book about the relationship between violet and her sibling, and about mental health, and god it makes me CRAZY. also girls kiss in this one

rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead by tom stoppard: i mean. i think most people into shakespeare know r&gad. but in case you haven't read it yet, it's an absurdist play from the point of view of rosencrantz and guildenstern and it's absolutely fucking brilliant. not sure what else to say about this; you've really just gotta read it

teenage dick by mike lew: another play, this one on the modern side--a retelling of richard iii set in a high school, focusing explicitly on disability issues. kind of more a reimagining than a retelling, honestly, but i really like the exploration of r3's themes and also it's fucking hysterical. although i will say there's a kind of jarring tonal shift in this one near the end, so don't go to it for something 100% comedic

american moor by keith hamilton cobb: okay this isn't exactly a retelling but if you've ever read othello you have to read it. you just have to. please god if you've ever read a shakespeare PLEASE. it's a monologue from the perspective of a black man trying out for the role of othello, half-resigned to being pigeonholed into playing that specific role in a very specific way as directed by a white director, but also half-chafing against that resignation, and also exploring the complexities of loving shakespeare as a black man, and it's soooooo so good

exit, pursued by a bear by e.k. johnston: this one is kind of cheating because it's not really a retelling, in that it has next to nothing to do with the winter's tale except that there is a hermione character and a leontes character and a paulina character. i still think it's a very very well-done YA book, though, and one of the only ones i've read that deals head-on with abortion

foul is fair by hannah capin: okay, i will admit i read this one some years ago when i was more into YA, so i'm not sure i would still go crazy over it now, but the plot of this book is that the modern lady macbeth character gets assaulted by a guy at a party and decides to kill everyone who let that happen. and then she does. and idk i read it in two days it felt like being on crack

the wednesday wars by gary schmidt: this one is DEFINITELY cheating, because this isn't a retelling of anything. but if you like shakespeare and you're open to reading historical fiction about a kid in the 60s using shakespeare as a lens through which to understand the chaos of his life (from the vietnam war to his school crush)... it's so good. it made me nearly sob. beautiful book

i'm also a fan of ryan north's shakespeare choose-your-own-adventure books, but those aren't exactly retellings and also the humor will probably not work for everyone. but i like em <3

and finally, i would be remiss not to shout out the fact that @suits-of-woe wrote an INCREDIBLE retelling of the two gentlemen of verona that, like, redeemed the fact that that play exists. if you've read that play and you thought, "wow, i wish this were explicitly homoerotic, or not a rape apologia, or good in any way," you will LOVE macy's book. unfortunately it isn't fucking published yet but WITH YOUR HELP--

#max.txt #feel free to send me recs for shakespeare retellings at any time btw!#i've been collecting a list #i just haven't gotten around to most of the books on it yet #asks

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hotvintagepoll · 3 months ago

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last poll of the quarterfinals!

Gene Wilder (Bonnie and Clyde, The Producers)—Gene Wilder's first starring role was a pathetic little guy who was lured into committing crimes and panicked about it, then continued committing the same crimes in prison!

Peter Lorre (The Maltese Falcon, Arsenic and Old Lace, Casablanca)—to me he DEFINES scrungle hes the first person i think of every time the term comes up! i want to fold him up like a paper accordion and put him in my pocket. guy that spawned a million voice artists and impersonators. they made a ghost version of him for halloween cereal staple boo berry. bewitched by his nervous mania and tooth gap <3 (for the purposes of propaganda im linking a photo from his extremely short appearance in muscle beach party bc ive been obsessed w it for years and i couldnt find any video for it :/ anyway imagine youre frankie avalon spending the whole movie battling a bodybuilder faction thats taking over your beach and your girl and then you find out this fucking guy is their mastermind mystery leader and hes stronger than all the bodybuilders combined. like Huh. What.)

These are the the quarterfinals for the scrungly little guy contest. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. If you’re confused on what a scrungle is, or any of the rules of the contest, click here.

[additional submitted propaganda + scrungly videos under the cut]

Gene:

youtube

"Excellently scrungly, even in his debut film. And the Producers requires no explanation. Big this energy":

Peter:

youtube

he's pretty much the archetype of the scrungly little guy. the blueprint. the example by which all other scrungly little guys are judged

The entire point of his iconic role in Casablanca (apart from introducing the central plot mcguffin) was to be LITTLE and SCRUNGLY to make Bogie look even cooler. And Maggot in Corpse Bride - the littlest scrungliest guy in that film - was a parody of him.

Between his big eyes, wheezy laugh, short stature, and expressive faces, Peter Lorre achieved icon status as the scrungliest, littlest guy in Hollywood. His scrungly little guy energy was often contrasted with the more typical masculinity of the leading man, but whether this contrast was meant to make him seem especially sinister, comedic, or pathetic, it always left an unforgettable impression!

The perfect sniveling character actor, “scrungly” is the first word that comes to mind when I think of him.

I'm sure somebody else has already submitted him (if not then ???) but he's a cute kind of scrungly little guy. He's got a distinctive nasal voice with an accent that is instantly recognizable and often imitated. His later horror movies are so much fun, especially when he's playing off of Vincent Price. He's so good at being unhinged, creepy, or manic, but also pathetic and sympathetic.

Classic scrungly hollywood golden age little guy who was friends with Humphrey Bogart and still played some of the wettest most sniveling characters ever committed to celluloid (complimentary) there is a deep despair and darkness in many of his characters that enhances his scrungly

youtube

To be clear, I am one of those people who will argue that Lorre is one of the most underrated film actors, but the POINT is that he's also just a scrungly delight. A delightfully pocket-sized man. Somehow endearing even when he is being actively amoral (see esp. Casablanca. "I found myself much more reasonable!") The faces he makes while doing the Russian cossack dance with a butter knife between his teeth in Silk Stockings make me laugh just thinking about them.

Wikipedia described his typical characters as "timidly devious", lots of weird little villains and evil sidekicks that are pretty horrifying but still manage to be sort of pathetic and the very definition of "poor little meow meow". His look and voice and mannerisms are so iconic they're still imitated

Cartoons for the next century have and will continue to include Peter Lorre-esque characters when needed to up the scrunge factor (see Bugs Bunny and so many more).

Youtube link for characters inspired by Lorre [editor's note: I'm not actually sure how many of these characters are directly, verifiably influenced by Peter Lorre, so take with a grain of salt. tw for suicide depiction.]

I think Arsenic and Old Lace is his quintessential "scrungly" performance. He's so put-upon and tired...all he wants is sleep and some schnapps! I love the way his shoulders fall slowly when he thinks he's caught (he looks like a sad puppy!), only to gleefully sprint out the door when he realizes how dumb those police officers are.

youtube

#peter lorre #gene wilder #hotvintagepoll #scrungly 6 #Youtube

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k-s-morgan · 6 months ago

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Hello, I recently finished reading your ATLWETD and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I particularly loved the duels between Harry and the Order of the Knights (your depiction of the duel scenes is superb, and I also appreciate Harry's insights into each person's combat moves!). I was also captivated by the strategic game between Harry and Riddle, as well as the nuanced emotions, which were very touching! I am very much looking forward to the update of Chapter 7!

More: *Continuing from the previous message:By the way, I noticed that this article has the "Triwizard Tournament" tag, and I'm wondering if there will be content related to the Triwizard Tournament later in the story? (I'm really looking forward to it!!! Will this part of the story start when Tom and Harry begin their seventh year? I remember there was a transfer student from Durmstrang mentioned in the earlier chapters, and I'm guessing this is a clue?)

Finally, I hope you are safe and sound, in good health, and that everything is going well for you. (This is my first time using this question feature, and I hope you don't mind the intrusion. I love your work!)

-------

Hello! Thank you so much for your reviews - I'm so happy you're enjoying this story! Describing Harry's duels was very exciting for me, and I can't wait to get to some of his inventions and innovations in the future. I wasn't planning on it at first, but as the plot continued to unfold, I realized this Harry will be pretty much a BAMF. I maintain that he's a rather average wizard, but he's capable of great things when pushed or under the right circumstances, so he'll get a chance to shine in ATLWETD.

And yes, we'll be getting into the Triwizard Tournament very soon! This is a rather challenging concept for me because I don't think anything can beat the tests from Train to Nowhere, Consuming Shadows, or Death of Today. Still, this is something that will be important for the plot, so I'll be presenting my take on it.

The Durmstrang student will play her role in it, but probably not in the way you might expect.

The justification for the Triwizard Tournament should come up in the next update already.

I most look forward to the second task, the Ball, and the post-third-task party, which will take its place around the New Year (my tournament will have a tighter schedule than the canon one - again, for plot reasons). Some exciting Tomarry-related moments are ahead))

#my fics #tomarry #harry potter #atlwetd

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itsahotminuteinbetween · 6 months ago

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HI MINUTE

I WANT TO ASK ABOUT YOUR AUS

I was literally just thinking yesterday how clever and unique they are

Okay so

I was curious about the Narnia au like do you have characters in mind as roles/like taking the position of the Narnia characters and if so who do you see of the fnaf cast being which characters? If y/n stumbles upon sun and moon in the wardrobe, rather than the siblings in the books, do you envision y/n as coming to rule Narnia alone in this universe?

Okie ty!! I'm really intrigued :333

WAHHH okay I’ve been waiting for someone to ask about them for ages but it’s not going to be super in-depth because my net is stabbing itself-

Okay so originally I had very rigid roles for everyone and then it sort of devolved into something less in-line with the original narnia plot but-

Basically! Sun is a Mr. Tumnus - esque character, and his brother Moon works for the White Witch, aka Afton, or the Rabbit. They were originally both guards under the Rabbit when he took the Throne from the Bear and his party (the glamrocks…sort of, that part I’m still working on), and they’re tasked with finding any Children of Adam and bringing them to the palace. Moon ascends the ranks sue to his knack at luring them, but Sun is uncertain about whether or not he should partake. Eventually, he and Moon grow further apart, and their relationship severs entirely when Sun finds out what exactly Moon has been tasked with - tending to the status of their former charges in the Stone Garden. Moon fails to understand the moral implications of their actions, and Sun runs off to a secluded part of the forest.

Unbeknownst to either of them, the Rabbit has been tampering with a sort of corruption magic and performing it on some of his charges - the effects are unknown (for now). So, Sun secludes himself and tries to resist the compulsion to find a child and bring them back, keep them, make them safe.

Not that he could anyways - children stopped coming to Narnia long ago. On the other side of the Wardrobe, however, our y/n has recently arrived at a very old house that somehow came under their possession, and, finding a singular furniture piece left behind in an otherwise completely vacated building led them to investigation.

And so, they meet both Sun and Moon, with Sun selfishly trying to keep them to himself under the guise of protecting them from his sibling (it’s been so long since he had any light down here…), and Moon trying to lure them to see the Stone Garden out of ignorant intention and single-minded desire for company, no matter how cold and quiet and still it may become.

As for y/n becoming ruler, well…we’ll see :)

#sorry oddstar our power went out and our cellular is really bad here so #I had to rewrite this multiple times but uh #thanks for the ask!#oh gravity no one understands i love this au so much #narnia au #minute answers

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disappearinginq · 27 days ago

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We've seen Luke and Steven and Leigh in your Haunting of Hill House wip, do Theo and Shirley make any appearances? I really loved the snippet you shared with Luke finding Steven in the kitchen, I loved seeing their relationship. I think it's such a great idea to expand more on Steven's relationship with his other siblings. (I really love everything I've read from your wip and it's been on my mind recently)

Oh boy, do they. Shirley less so because I don't like her as much as the others, but I'm willing to accept that's likely because she plays the role extremely well and it's a little to close to real life people I know that are UnFun. But yes, Shirley and Theo are a large part of the plot, and it generally is a Found Family story in the sense that they have been lost to each other for quite awhile, and the story is them reconnecting and becoming an actual family again - this story essentially fills in the gaps between the final scene where everyone is happy and having moved on (Luke, 2 years sober; Steven and Leigh expecting; Shirley still married; and Theo engaged/married). Mostly because Found Family is trope you will pry from my cold, dead hands (which is hilarious given this is a ghost story). Annnnnnnnnyway. Onwards to the snippet:

“You know what always pissed me off about that last night? And how dad refused to tell us anything?” Steven asked quietly. He leaned back against the sofa, resting his head against it so that he stared straight up at the ceiling.

“Besides everything?” Theo asked.

“That we could guess anyway.” Steven absently twisted the glass in his hand. “If you took all the pieces from that night and saw them for what they were, we could figure it out on our own. He wasn’t protecting us from shit, except a definitive answer from a goddamn adult.”

Luke shot a worried glance to Theo, but his middle sister didn’t say anything. Shirley, on the other hand and as per usual, had something to add.

“Yeah, Steve?” she pushed, needling in that way only she could. “And what exactly is that? How did you manage to solve the mystery of the Crain family when no one else could?”

Steven didn’t move, and Luke found himself looking at the same spot in the ceiling his older brother fixated on, trying to figure out what was so interesting, even if he half expected a ‘made you look!’ joke.

“I listened to you. To Nellie, and to Luke. We had all the pieces. We just…didn’t look. Not really. Maybe because we just didn’t want to know. Not for sure. But when you take away the imaginary parts - the ghosts and the tea party and all the little kid stuff - what does the story tell you?”

Shirley scoffed quietly. “You never listened to me.”

“Just because I don’t listen doesn’t mean I don’t pay attention,” Steven admitted, and finally he pulls his head up with herculean effort, and for the first time, Luke sees parts of Hugh there. Steven looks older, wearier. That same weight that always seemed to be pressing down on their father had settled on his brother, and Luke worries how much more Steven can carry. “You said Mom never left. She didn’t go see Aunt Janet. You came down for food that night, and you saw her in the kitchen with the tea set. It’s strange, sure. But not menacing, not by itself. So something you saw, something in the way she behaved, made you run for Dad. You were twelve and weren’t exactly what I would call imaginative.”

Shirley bristled at that. “I had an imagination.”

Theo shot her a glare. “You wouldn’t play pretend with Nell ever, and you kept trying to pawn her off on me every time she asked about having a tea party.” She didn’t mention that Shirley continued to pawn off her siblings on Steven, or even each other, well into adulthood.

“I’m not complaining about it, I’m just saying - you weren’t the type to overreact. You didn’t scare easily from imaginary things. And still, something about Mom made you afraid.” Steven glanced over at Theo before letting his gaze slide back to his own hands. “Then, according to Theo, she runs into Dad on his way out of the house, and he has both Nellie and Luke with him, and he orders you out to the car because he has to come get me and you. But not Mom. When Dad came and got me, he made me promise not to open my eyes, and he carried me out of the house. He didn’t walk, he ran, and he didn’t put me down again until we were almost at the bottom of the stairs. We got in the car, the girls were crying, Luke was screaming about Abigail, and Dad took off. He didn’t look back, he didn’t turn around, he didn’t stop until we were at the motel. And all he told us was that’s not Mom. Luke said Mom looked hurt - that they were having a tea party with Mom and Abigail in the Red Room, and Mom fell. And do you remember what Nellie said?”

“’That wasn’t Mommy’,” Theo supplied. She’d almost forgotten that conversation in the motel. It seemed more like a dream than an actual memory. Or maybe nightmare was the better word.

“So, break that down and we have,” Steven said, raising a finger with each point, “Mom acting so bizarrely even Shirley noticed. That six year old Nellie and Luke noticed. Mom did something so bad that Dad had to get us away from her, and for him to not even think about bringing her with us when we left. That something had to do with a tea party with Nellie and Luke and…and Abigail. And that something had to be so bad that Dad reacted in violence. Something bad enough, Mom couldn’t live with herself afterward. Put it together and, with what the prosecution accused Dad of, you can guess well enough.”

“Which is?” Shirley prompted.

“They call it ‘filicide’- when a parent murders a child,” Steven continued, his voice still in that same flat, monotone. “Parents are responsible for sixty one percent of children’s death under the age of five. Sixty one percent, Shirl. Seventy two percent at six and under. So, yeah. When you ask me which version I believed - Mom was killed by a haunted house, or Mom’s mental health was allowed to deteriorate so far that it took her trying to kill our siblings before anyone took it seriously - of course I thought the second one, because it happens to other people. It wasn’t just us. Or Mom.”

Well…fuck.

I really must finish this. It's been like...75% finished for ages, but I don't really know how to end it, so it just sort of flounders in WIP Land without a destination. So - if you have suggestions, or thoughts, you can always either shoot me an ask or a DM. I am always down to discuss this show.

#haunting of hill house #The haunting of hill house #steven crain #theo crain #shirley crain #luke crain #It's kind of like a fix it fic but more like a this is the detailed explanation of how they got from A to C #part of it is just deciding how their 'powers' all work together

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fuckyeahbaldursgate · 2 years ago

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Viconia - Plot Support extraordinaire

Just to preface this as I don't want this to seem like I am hating on BG3 as a diehard fan of the original series because I really do love BG3. I've completed it twice now and think it will absolutely be joining my annual rotation of BG1/SOD/BG2 playthroughs but it has its problems, much in the same way that the originals themselves have problems as well.

So after my Sarevok post I wanted to treat Viconia to the same critical analysis as unfortunately I think she also gets the short end of the evil plot stick. I get it, evil characters can be hard to get right but again similar to Sarevok, in my opinion, her character regresses to evil Shar mook number one rather than actually being Viconia. Worse still she's entirely at the mercy of being wrapped up in ShadowHeart's backstory.

Anyway this is a bit of a deep dive into Viconia's issues in BG3. Spoiler warning for both BG3 and BG2.

1. No Grey DeLise.

Again, similar to Sarevok, another prolific voice actor that has done recent video game work seemingly not approached for the role. I can't help but think that some of this is down to the rushed nature of act three generally and Larian just having to get whoever they could for the job in the time that they needed it. Unlike Jaheria and Minsc there's no attempt to mimic her original VA or get someone who sounded like her so she ends up sounding completely and utterly different.

This version of Viconia sounds haughty and stuck up which while the original Viconia VA has a degree of arrogance, she is also pretty sultry. Haer'dalis even comments that she has 'the throaty voice of the most expensive courtesan' and Viconia deliberately plays on the stereotype of the sensual female drow with certain male party members for her own benefit e.g the male Bhaalspawn, Edwin, Sarevok and even Anomen (I cover this a bit here and here).

2. Her in game design...just isn't great.

Let's be honest, combined with the voice, Viconia's design basically makes her unrecognisable. She looks like a generic old drow lady to the point that I did have 'Is that meant to be Viconia?' moment when I first met her.

Now I appreciate there is minor controversy with Viconia's original BG2 portrait (which is probably the most recognisable image of her) because the artist actually used a famous porn star as the base for it.

For info, this was a common practice at Bioware at the time as they used to use lots of different images as bases for portraits. They finally got into legal trouble for it in NWN where due to various copyright claims they had to change quite a few portraits.

More recently, I think that Beamdog actually did quite a good job of recreating a faithful adaption of her original portrait in Siege of Dragonspear while presumbably navigating the original copyright issue.

In comparison to her BG3 portrayal, my first impression was she looks incredibly old. Now as far as I'm aware we've never been given a canon age for Viconia but we do know she was around for House DeVir being defeated by the Do'Urden house so she has to be at least 100 years old by the time of BG1... but her character level is between 2 and 6 (depending on the party's XP) so a relatively inexperienced cleric. With that in mind I definitely assumed she was on the younger side (maybe 200-300?). Either way 5e elves can live between 750 to 1000 years although there are instances in the Forgotten Realms books of drow living to over 2000. Now tack on the additional 120 years for BG3 in my mind it would definitely put her in the middle aged category but not necessarily anywhere near the end of her life. Critically she would be aging much slower than Jaheria but with those wrinkles she looks WAY older than her. I honestly feel cheated of an interaction between the two about how hagged and old Jaheria looks in comparison to herself.

In terms of her outfit, although initially she wears the Sharite mask and hooded outfit, which is good for concealing her identity, we eventually end up with Viconia in a spider adorned dress. This seems like a strange choice given the spider motif when she literally stopped worshipping Lloth for Shar - maybe she's being ironic? The lack of armour,when she's a cleric that knows there's a good chance she's about to have a fight seems kind of stupid. If you do choose to fight her, she then looks entirely comical in her light dress accompanied by an enormous oversized shield and mace.

For me though this really identifies her design problem: her leather armour was a critical part of her original design. Given that we only see portrait style headshots of BG characters, the decision not to include her leather corset with the three straps and the head band is really what makes her unrecognisable. It would be like removing Minsc's head tattoo or Jaheria's braids or Sarevok's armour (which even with all the problems I talked about in my post, at least he got to keep that).

My hope is that some enterprising modder out there makes a more BG2 accurate version of her in future. Larian, please give my lady her leather armour back or maybe even a justicar outfit!

3. Ignores her BG1/2 alignment, motivations and twists her original epilogue.

Now I do appreciate BG3 deliberately assumes that the events of BG1/BG2 are a little bit fluid, which Jaheria confirms this when she talks about the bards that tell stories of her slaying gods or bedding them depending on which one you listen to. But the game goes onto confirm certain events in Viconia's history that don't really make sense:

A.) The game confirms that Viconia did travel with the Bhaalspawn but not for the entirety of the game. Minsc informs you that after trying to dissect Boo she was expelled from the group. I have to admit this story didn't gel with me at all because it implies Viconia is some sort of chaotic evil idiot (reminder: Viconia is neutral evil with a 16 INT score and 18 WIS score in BG2) who would deliberately provoke a giant raging berserker man by murdering his beloved pet. Like that's the sort of thing I could see Xzar (who is completely and utterly mad) doing but not Viconia. What benefit would she get out of it? Maybe it would be a good tribute for Shar but that would be a pretty short term benefit. In fact in BG2 Viconia offers begrudging respect to Minsc for his effectiveness in battle, she knows he's powerful and she wants to be on the right side of that. Minsc for his part does what he does with many of the female characters, particularly in BG2 and makes her a proxy substitute for Dynaheir offering to protect her. That's not to say she won't insult people (Aerie and Jaheria or characters who she perceives as weak often get the brunt of it) but she's generally smart enough to stay out of an actual fight. Important to note that in any of NPC conflicts that end in a fight in BG1/2 (e.g. Kivan, Ajantis, Keldorn) it's never Viconia that's starts the fight.

B.) The Waterdeep cult.

In Viconia's epilogue, which you only get if you kept her for the end of Throne of Bhaal and you didn't romance her, Viconia goes on to do a few things which you can see below (obviously massive spoilers for BG2) :

So it feels like Larian has taken the first part of this ending but nothing else, which really leaves a lot of questions. We know Shar isn't entirely happy with Viconia based on her diary entries so why is Shar still giving powers to a woman that basically killed a whole bunch of her followers? Why is Viconia still working for a goddess that hates her? Why is she so accepting of Shar's plot to groom Shadowheart as her replacement? Why on earth hasn't Viconia got the fuck out of dodge, which is pretty much what she has been shown to do in the past? And this comes neatly onto my next point.

4. Viconia is just a plot device for Shadowheart.

I love Shadowheart and I love her arc but honestly Viconia being the Mother Superior just felt like a way of inserting her into the game in a way that didn't really fit especially when Viconia's diaries in BG3 show that she knows that Shar intends for Shadowheart to essentially replace her as one of her prominent followers/chosen. The whole plot ignores two critical points about Viconia and her backstory:

Firstly the reason Viconia left the Underdark in the first place was because she refused to sacrifice a child to Lloth and Lloth turning her brother into a drider after he saved her from being sacrificed. Now Viconia is many things, she's self serving, cruel and dedicated to her own survival at the expense of anything and anyone else (quintessential neutral evil through and through) but at the same time she threw away her position, caused the downfall of her house and got most of her family murdered to save a child. You're telling me she would then willingly go along with Shar's plan to deliberate plan to kidnap and repeatedly torture a child for YEARS whilst also training said child to replace her? My girl doesn't have many lines in the sand but harming children definitely seems like one of them. I actually wandered whether Shadowheart not liking to harm children / prefers saving them is not just about her being a secret Selunite but also a potential a hint of Viconia's influence.

Secondly, that plot seems to ignores Viconia's other primary driver, which is to survive: it's why she leaves the Underdark, it's why she travels with the Bhaalspawn, it's why she worships Shar and it's why she murders an entire cabal of Shar's followers after one person betrayed her. Now if we ignore that she has qualms about children, you're telling me that she would instead essentially train her replacement to be an amazing cleric who is 99% likely to murder her? I'm pretty sure Viconia would have tried to kill Shadowheart way before her becoming a justicar or simply skipped town as she has done before.

The alternative?

Personally I would have liked to have seen Viconia ultimately involved in a plot to overthrow the Mother Superior or maybe doing something even crazier like going after Shar herself out of revenge following her fall from grace after the events of the Waterdeep cult. Maybe she works with the Absolute to get her revenge and keep her divine powers - hell who better to help Ketheric with the Nightsong in Shar's temple then an ex priestess of Shar?

If not the Absolute then Shar's got plenty of enemies and Viconia has converted before. Maybe she could have joined the team to achieve a particular goal while giving fans of the original series the opportunity to have one of the original evil characters to join the crew. I would have loved to see the contrast with Minthara who is still fairly fresh from leaving drow society and a complete blunt instrument compared to Viconia's more subtle ways. Maybe Viconia would take the paladin under her wing, maybe introduce her to a new patron god (something I don't think is ever explained is how Minthara still retains her divine powers given neither Lloth or the Absolute are fueling them anymore). Shevarash the elven god of revenge, would be a fantastic fit for both of their back stories (which would also be a nice little throw back to Viconia's heated / sometimes fatal arguments with Kivan in BG1) presuming that Viconia could get over her disdain for the elven pantheon by that point in the timeline. The fireworks with Jaheria of course would be grand while Minsc I feel would be very conflicted given his mind's tendancy, as noted above, to sub in any female magic user as Dynaheir.

#baldur's gate #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate 2 spoilers #baldur's gate 3 spoilers #viconia #viconia devir #discourse #spoilers

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