#this ascension is really good okay.

[actual-haise]

[tamajam]

iiii like to hc that someday in the future when tav dies and astarion doesn't because he's immortal that he goes down into the underdark and finally makes amends with all of the spawn he brought to cazador all those centuries ago. where he can see that all of the work he did, that impossible choice of giving up ascension to be better, that it all paid off in the end because the spawn have built themselves a civilization that's thriving and happy. that he can sit down next to sebastian and properly, truly apologize. sebastian has no obligation to forgive him, certainly, but there's an understanding between them of the position astarion was in at the time and the fact that, no matter how horrible what he did was, he did not have a choice. and id hope by that point that maybe astarion would have healed enough as a person to understand that and not hate himself forever for his part in ruining these people's lives, but also i feel like he'd be just as likely to take a place there beside them for a time just to feel like he's making up for just a sliver of it. idk i really want a fic where astarion and sebastian just talk post-game, because their interaction in game shattered my heart

[no-te-lo-voy-a-dar]

tagged by @fullfledgedegg ohmygod my url repeats so many letters let's see New Men With Old Man Names - Schmekel

Ocean Breathes Salty - Modest Mouse

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Te Hubieras Ido Antes - Julión ��lvares y su Norteño Banda

Every Hundred Years - David Buckley (The Sandman S1 OST)

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La Rosa De Los Vientos - Mägo de Oz

Orbit_ - ONEWE

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Violet Hill - Coldplay

Ostara - Moonloom

You In Me - KARD

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Anpanman - BTS

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Days gone by - DAY6

APOCALYPSIS NOCTIS - Yoko Shimomura (FFXV OST)

Rock Me Amadeus - Falco okay done! took me like 40 minutes to put this together bc i ended up listening to the whole songs again and others i didn't add lol - the links weren't necessary but i wanted to. i love music. also, not a requirement but also no repeated artists. so. that's 13 letters. 13 people (u all are not obligated to do something) @4humankind @raelwrites @fangirling-phoenix @novasonthenormandy @rasninja @alexxuun @catmanbowser @maraschinomerry @beardedtreedestiny @tsikuri @alenseress @rainy-days-and-nights @rururinchan

Tag game: URL song

“Spell your url with song titles and then tag as many people as there are letters.”

Prev thread got too long so I'm starting a new one. Thanks for the tag @frogayyyy !

Mountains O' Things (Tracy Chapman)

Angeles (Elliott Smith)

Regulars (Allie X)

Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream (Ed McCurdy)

Independence Day (Elliott Smith)

Neon Sisters (Thomas Dolby)

Sea, Swallow Me (Cocteau Twins)

Pissing In A River (Patti Smith)

Insomniatic (Aly and Aj)

Rosie (Joan Armtrading)

Killer Queen (Queen)

Happy (Mitski)

Anyone But Me (Joy Crookes)

Leave A Tender Moment Alone (Billy Joel)

Lyin' Eyes (Eagles)

No pressure tags: @blue-jello-queen @herenya-writes @convenient-plot-device @jimkirkachu @hurt-spock @renthebarbarian @ellisper @systemadministratorclu @redshiftsinger @joybates @beauty-grace-outer-space @detectivehole @gayspock @ifdragonscouldtalk @transxfiles @soft-and-certain and also, open tag to anyone who wants to do it!

[kingofthe-egirls]

RUBBER: LUFFY x Y/N

(cw: kissing, est relationship, gear 5 shenanigans, sex, rubber bed)

(a/n: this was a struggle but i hope you like it!)

words: 1.2k

“Y/n!!” Luffy chirps your name as he bounds up beside you. The sun is shining through scant clouds, warming your face as you relax on a lawn chair. You sip the pink, fruity drink Sanji made for you; the ice clinks as it melts. Luffy rubber-stretches his head down to steal a taste. You swat him away, smiling despite yourself as his noodley neck snaps back into place.

“What’s up, Luffy?”

He giggles, conspiratory. He pushes his nose against your cheek. “Let’s go to my room.”

It’s a command, spoken with reverence and a slight rasp. You know exactly what he means.

The crew is all exploring the island you’re docked at, leaving Luffy and you alone. You’re not sure how much time you two have to yourselves, but it seems like Luffy doesn’t want to waste it.

You smile, and set down your drink. “Okay, Luff.”

He grins, manic, and stretches his arms to throw you over his shoulder. “Let’s play!” He giggles, bounding over to his cabin.

Once inside, he throws you onto the bed, which bounces beneath you. Luffy rips his cardigan off, hair already foaming white. Starlight.

He clambers over you to press a messy kiss to your lips. You run your hands over his muscular shoulders, squeezing at his biceps.

“Fuck, Luffy~”

He snickers, pressing sloppy kisses over your cheeks and jaw.

“Ya like how strong your captain is?”

“Mhmm!” You nod eagerly, reaching up to run your fingers through his moon white hair. It’s soft as feathers.

You start to feel your body warm and melt as Luffy’s Gear 5 powers render you as rubber as he is. You giggle, slap happy, as hearts burst into being around you and Luffy. He cups your face in his hands, kissing you deeply. Little ducklings swirl around your head as he pulls back. He takes in the drool on your chin, the stars in your eyes, and giggles, pleased.

“You’re having fun, aren’t ya, kitty?”

“Mhmm!” You moan again, pulling him back in for a kiss. He tastes like your fruity drink he stole a sip from. “Tastes good, Luff~”

He smiles, and kneels back to help pull your shirt off over your head. You’re left in a black bralette and silver necklace. He kisses your collarbones, licking hot stripes up to your throat. You moan beneath him, twisting a little in the sheets.

“Wanna try somethin’,” he mumbles, manhandling you to sit backward onto his lap. The bed bounces with him, like really bounces, like a trampoline. The floor bounces too, which makes Luffy giggle and you gasp. “Wanna try bouncin’ ya on my cock,” he whispers, breath hot on the back of your neck. You can feel his hardness pressed up against your ass. You let out some sort of strangled moan, already arching backwards for him to slide your shorts down your legs.

“Cmere, baby~” He holds you from behind, his arms strong and supportive around your waist. He hooks his chin over your shoulder, hands dancing up and down your torso. He squeezes at your stomach, your hips, you ribcage, your tits.

“Ready f’me?” He asks with his cheek pressed against yours. You nod, suddenly hot and bothered with Luffy’s hands all up on you like this.

Luffy unbuttons his shorts, lifting you up with one arm as he does so he can shimmy them down his thighs. Luffy loves fucking you like this, clothes still halfway on as you’re both too needy for each other.

Luffy positions you over his cock, his chest pressed up and supporting your back. His fingers reach the place between your thighs, finding their way to your sensitive clit. He nips at your earlobe, whispering dirty praises, all “sweetheart, baby girl, dontcha wanna take captain’s cock?”

You hum an ascension, and then squeak as he sinks you down onto his cock in one, fluid motion. It fills you up all full, and you moan at the feeling. Luffy’s cock is always so big.

“S’big…,” you whine, twisting in his arms as you accommodate his length. He snickers behind you, before placing messy kisses along your shoulder blade.

“Dontcha like it, though? Dontcha like captain’s cock?”

He whispers the dirty words with his lips in your hair, kissing all along the nape of your neck. He uses one hand to delicately move your hair to the side. He sinks his teeth into your shoulder.

“Luffy!” You cry, arching off him from the sudden pain. Luffy just laughs, smooching at the bruises. His tongue laves at the curve of your neck, as he starts to slowly lift you up and down his cock. The bed rocks gently, still rubbery and fluid.

“Lu—!” You gasp as the momentum of the bed’s bouncing rocks you, too. Luffy’s fucking you in time with the bounces: as you lift up from the bed, his cocks pulls out, and as you bounce down it pushes back in. It’s a mind-boggling rhythm that’s so cartoony and wild and it’s filling your body with sparkles—

“That’s it, sweets, take my cock f’me~” Luffy murmurs in your hair. He kisses the back of your neck.

You surrender to the rhythm, to the rubber, and when wolf whistles sound you don’t even care.

Hearts are fizzing around you both, with little pink fireworks that burst in strawberry patterns in front of your eyes. Steam starts pouring from your ears. Gear 5 Luffy is wild.

You like wild.

“Luffy!” You scream his name as an orgasm rips through your lower belly. Your pussy is aching now, squeezing around his cock with every thrust. The bed boi-oings with his rubber powers. Your eyes roll to the back of your head.

Suddenly, Luffy is manhandling you onto all fours, opting to fuck you in doggy as hard and fast as he can. He’s pushing you away from him: chasing you with his reckless thrusts.

“Like that, slut? Ah! Ya like that?”

He’s asking now in earnest, always wanting to please you, and you scream out another strangled cry of his name. He snickers, speeding up his demonic pace.

“That’s what I thought,” he grunts, and you turn your head to the side to see his eyes squeezed shut and his jaw set. He’s biting his lower lip as he pummels into your cunt.

Luffy, Luffy, Luffy

It’s all there is.

Just him, just you, just the steam filling the room. Fireworks are still going off, arhythmic and fizzling. The floor still bends and bounces, and Luffy’s laugh starts pouring forth from the overstimulation and pleasure.

“Hahahaaha!” Luffy laughs, speeding up inside you. He cums with a stuttering thrust, falling forward on top of you. His weight crushes you into the bed, which bounces from the force.

“Luffy,” you chide, wriggling out from under him. His eyes are closed, a snot bubble forming at his nose as he snores. You smirk, before slapping his ass to wake him up. “Wake up! I want aftercare!” You demand.

He snorts himself awake, before smiling sleepily at you. He’s still bent over, ass up with his head in the mattress. “Huh—wuh?”

You roll your eyes.

“Come shower with me!”

You drag him up, pulling him off the bed and toward his cabin’s bathroom.

[ayselluna]

Spawn Astarion Recommendations!

So I heard you guys want Spawn Astarion Recommendations too! I heard you :) Apologies if it took awhile it got hard to compile everything I read.

I honestly have read more one shots Spawn Astarion than series tbh. but here are some series I love! These are Astarion x Tav / You / OCs following the story from the game! I'll be happy to make another list for AU's! Another Ascended list is on the way too~ :))

I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND FOLLOWING THESE WRITERS TOO as they have really great HCs and One Shots!

The Arrangement by @fangswbenefits - This is one of the first ones I've read and how she wrote Astarion is just so ASTARION! The lines, the slow burn and the smut are exquisite as hell. I do suggest reading her oneshots too! Her smuts are so good I suggest reading it ALONE. XD ONGOING!

The Fangs Between Us by @feyascorner - Not your typical Lovey-dovey Astarion and Tav. Astarion actually felt betrayed and actually tried killing you! Can love still blossom? is it still there? Would you guys even be friends?! So much angst and but oh so goooood! ONGOING!

Shadows of the Past by @pastshadowsff-blog / PallidMoon - What's an Astarion story w/o the angst? I would definitely be devastated the moment Astarion left me! The process of healing and loving, the confrontations here are soooo on point! Have a good gale on the side too~ ONGOING!

Love at First Knife by @bg-brainrot - DEFINITELY A FAVORITE! Aside from the romance from Astarion and TAV you get the WHOLE GANG TOO! I'm a sucker on everything on this series! I can't count how many times I've re-read this while I wait for my other fics to update. ONGOING? I'm not sure but it gets updated!

When He’s all but Forgotten How to Love Again by @bg-brainrot - okay another one from the same author, at this point just read everything!! okay, but what if TAV died and got reincarnated?! If you got an elf TAV this is definitely one for the books! I LOOOOVE this one a lot. Getting your memories back and seeking your lover out, would it be the same? Would he even remember you?! Surely he will right?! but what if he don't? hmmmm READ IT! ONGOING!

Astarion Talks In His Sleep by  @littlejuicebox - This is a short series but this was just memorable coz WE'LL LOVE EVERYTHING in it. It's one of the happy endings you'd totally wish for and how this story got me gasping and giddy was just chef's kiss! You'll love her DADSTARION series too! I LOVE THIS FAMILY A LOT. :))

Cursed To Put My Hands On Everything by @maladaptive-menace - I recently found this and I got hook immediately on the concept! I also love the titles on this series, as the title says~ :)) So imagine you're doing your mundane things IRL and one tiring night you found yourself Isekaid IN the GAME?! You know you're effed up, how would you survive?! well at least you got your dream come true of meeting the gang in the flesh…specially the Pale Elf~ ONGOING!

Winter Holiday Challenge Fills by @justporo - So this is an all fluff from the Winter Holidays! I know it's not christmas anymore but if you missed it during that time who cares?! READ IT! Get all the fluffiness you need from this series! Check that full masterlist on their profile too while you're at it~ :)) FINISHED!

The Currents of Destiny by @lendeah - You and Astarion fights after he didn't go with the Ascension, left and scorn you to die screaming! But what if he sees all the what if that could happen?! Would his decision stay the same? FINISHED!

An Adventure in Making a Life by @redlittlefoxari - okay something different but maybe a PREGNANCY fic anyone? :D This was one of the fastest story I binged! You both just learned you're pregnant but an invitation from a friend comes forth! Maybe keep it a surprise for the gang? How would this pregnancy on the road takes you? ALSOOOO FREAKING LOVIING HUSBAND ASTARION UGGHH i can't~

I have more authors to recommend but we'll keep this list for now! I urge you to follow these authors too and check their other works.

Let me know if you guys are up for more recommendations! I have more to share! <3 Hope you enjoy reading them as I did! More reading buddies!

[astroyongie]

ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐October Pick a Card ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐

ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐Welcome to our day 6 of our schedule! This pick a card is easy and i hope it can bring you some enlightment <3 Close your eyes, breath and choose the sticker you feel most attracetd to. If you don't connect with any it's okay! it means that these readings aren't your you <3 ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇

ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐

🍂 Pile One - The Ghost 🍂

It seems like you have been going through some harsh times, there’s a lot of things that have been happening. lately you feel lost, stuck in your own head, in your dreamland and it is so hard to get out of it right? but it does seem like there will be some clarity appearing in your life very soon. And if I can even add, it does seem to some of you, there’s love in the air, there’s attraction, there is someone who has such a crush on you. keep an eye open since this is possibly the beginning of a new pretty relationship. give them their chance, and allow love to heal your heart and mind. 

Like i said earlier the cards show that you were in such a lonely situation, there’s so much solitude in your heart and soul, yet the ascension to happiness is right in front of you. Sometimes staying in the dark is comforting, melancholy can do tha. but don’t stop yourself, follow your instincts. If you wish to heal your body and mind, if you wish your health to get better you need to take that step toward the light. This will also allow nw people to come into your life 

And finally remember that of course during your life there will be dark paths, and there will be moments of bigger fragility. be courageous, be brave. Despite the hardships that will come your way in the future, remember to keep your head above the water simply by choosing yourself. choose life. That is the most precious thing you have. fight for it. don't let it go-

ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐

🍂 Pile Two - The Cat 🍂

The energy around you is quite heavy, there’s so much emotional manipulation here (for some of you it's you being manipulated and for others it's you manipulating others due to your own condition). I know that you are completely lost in your life, so many decisions to take, so many things to think about but everything is indecisive as you can't make any move. this confusion will subside, and you will have an opportunity for yourself to grow, so please don't lose sight of that one! In order to grow and self develop yourself, search for perfection in a way that makes you feel good. take the talents you have and perfect them. 

It seems the cards are also here to warn you that in your future, in the next weeks or months depending on everyone, you will have a few setbacks, a few blockages concerning your projects or your life in general. that is normal to happen, and try not to panic. take your time to make discernment on what is happening around you, and most importantly: do not fall into pretty words. a lot of people around you aren't really the ones with good intentions. don't put yourself in situations only because someone is swearing to you that it's an amazing idea 

Finally, I want to let you know that you don't need to be scared in taking decisions and actions. If there's something you want to do, a project, or a goal that you want to pursue, just go for it hun. It is time to let go of the fear and go forward with what you desire, as the cards are showing good luck and abundance if you do so. fear won't make you grow, taking risks will. but remember, only those who come from you, not others.  ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐

🍂 Pile Three - The Jar 🍂

The energy here is a little chaotic and complicated to read, but basically what’s happening is that a lot of you are having some huge issues when it comes to finding your path in life, your beliefs, your spirituality, your place in life and earth in general. Despite that, there’s so much success and recognition that is waiting for you to reach and grasp but things are just so tribled at the moment. The good thing is, that it seems the end of your current situation is approaching in big steps so be ready to see your life turn in a brutal way for some of you. there will be delays and there will be lack of foresight and a sense of loss. yet. If you are patient enough and if you push through, you will see that it was the last challenge before your success. 

There’s some warnings in there as well, the first one being that you need to be careful with all the outbursts of energy that you often feel. don’t revolve around hetero or auto violence and aggression because that won’t put you nowhere. violence isn't the answer despite sometimes anger being the only emotion we feel. try to work in your patience and your perseverance if you wish to be able to let go of those energies 

Another two things I wish to tell you is, first and foremost, do not accept any type of opportunity or proposition from someone, unless you are 100% sure of the accuracy and the threfuk+llness behind it. do not engage yourself into projects or ideas, or secrets and gossips until you are sure the person isn't lying to you. The last thing is that it seems like your angels or spiritual guides are trying to contact you and having a hard time doing so. try to open yourself more to meditation, dreams or just your spiritual self to let your angels contact you and deliver their message to you. 

ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐

🍂 Pile Four - The Skeleton 🍂

This is such a heavy reading and I am very sorry. I feel like there’s so much emotion here that isn't being taken care of properly. you feel overwhelmed with the choices and with life in general depending on your situation. For some of you, I am seeing some financial issues and complications. For some it is relationships that aren't working and arguments happening and finally for others it is issues with your health and disease in general. Please take care of yourself and seek the proper help if needed. the cards are also showing that some of you (most of you) are feeling helpless, hopeless, like there’s no light in the tunnel. For some I also see issues with authority, with paternal figures or men figures in general. I want to let you know that I am very sorry and that this is indeed a complicated situation that only time has the power to solve.

The inner conflicts inside of you are mostly due to a few things that I will try to cover. first because there’s a necessity of balancing yourself, of knowing who you are and what you want for your life. stop pretending to be a person that you are not and try to stick with the true self. make peace with yourself. make peace with the things that you have done, and get rid of the guilt so you can move forward with your life. be also careful with someone around you who hasn't sincere feelings for you (romantic or friendship). Some people pretend to care when they don’t. If you are sexually active, please be careful and use protection and don't engage in dangerous sexual activities.

 I am now going to give you some advice so you can find some joy, some light in yoru current situation. try to spend more time with people you love, with friends or family to find that inner laugh and joy again. spending time outside in nature IS VERY IMPORTANT, especially to recharge your energies and change your toxic environment. start on working on something, on a goal or a project or try to keep yourself occupied with something that would be manual and helps you to put your cognitive self into something instead of rotting somewhere. It sounds harsh, I know. but baby, only you can pick yourself up 

ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐

🍂 Pile Five - The Pumpkin 🍂

It is time for you to let go of your toxic behaviors (depending on you, it can either be: alcohol, weed, drugs, other substances, food, codependent relationships, ect). you know what is causing you hurt and harm, and it is time for you to finally let go of this and to focus on your success instead. you need to move fast, and to use the energy around you to do something. For some of you I also see travels, if that is your case use that travel wisely to let go of bad old  habits. Furthermore, I also see a lot of lies and secrets being kept away from you, so be careful who you call friends. love, if you keep yourself focused on your routine and on your work you will be able to achieve success and that is what we want!

If you start putting your energy into good use, if you start to do the things for yourself, I can promise you there will be a lot of victory and recognition for you. so please just let go of everything that has been trapping you and keeping you away from your success. fight for it! If you put effort into it, you will see your life getting better.

By the way, you aren’t really listening to your instincts and your intuition, so try to open yourself more into spirituality or at least to try and connect to your inner self. be aware of a woman in your life that will help you come out from a complicated period. she will be the light in the tunnel or at least she will be the one giving you the rolls to find it. a guidance in your own darkness

ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐

🍂 Pile Six - The Scream 🍂

Okay, you are currently very overcommitted with everything you have to do and deal with and that also is making you disorganized (but your energy is equally disorganized). These burdens that you have on your shoulders, for many that are related to school or work (or other depending on your situation), will only be dealt with if you stop procrastinating and start to work on it with meaning and purpose. I also see that it is important at the moment for you to show gratitude to the people around you and for your life in general. spend more time with family, with friends. and also allow yourself to be more romantic and to seek love. For many of you there’s possibilities to reconnect with people or even find relationships. 

For some of you the major theme is “birth”. of course this isn’t literally. For some of you I see new projects starting, new beginnings flourishing. but also for other this means new relationships starting (love or relationship) and some even birth of babies or pregnancies to be announced or even marriages. 

For many of you, there’s this entity/deity or spiritual guide that is protecting you and has been trying to protect you, but your passiveness is making their work well. try to reconnect with those energies and make sure to thank the spirits for protecting you throughout this period.  And finally, I want to let you know that you need to stop trying to fix and change people. you shouldn't use your authority or your influence on people. they will change by themselves and you are not responsible for their actions or their words. 

[utilitycaster]

okay sorry i’m not a Lore Person but is the beginning of downfall the start of the Calamity? why are they falling out of the sky like what is it that’s happening at the start? would you mind giving me like a suuuuper simple timeline? like just a list of events in order to the best of ur knowledge? u seem to know a lot about the lore and i really enjoy ur posts :)

Hi anon, sure! Here is a rough timeline of Downfall and some of the Calamity events we know:

The opening of Downfall is a telling of how the gods came to Exandria, and is new information to us as the viewers - the lore is out there indicating the gods were not originally from Exandria, but this shows that they were once eternal and infinite beings of light whose home and many of the others of their kind were destroyed by nothingness (very possibly Predathos) and who, in fleeing that danger, were forced into the concrete, physical forms of the gods as they are now. They then crash-landed on Exandria, where the Primordial Titans lived.

We then flash forward within the episode to about a century into the Calamity, and the rest of the episode takes place then. To back up into some key events (this is extremely high level and noncomprehensive, so lore people who are reading this, do not @ me if I like, don't cover the Luxon or Alyxian and so forth because at this point they're not particularly relevant to the Downfall story, but if I get something totally incorrect let me know.)

The Founding: Sometime after crash-landing the gods create mortals (elves, humans, etc). It's unclear what the primordials are doing at this time. The gods also give people divine magics. (This info is specifically from sourcebooks and a retelling of it episode 1x43 by Highbearer Vord; we haven't actually seen this play out)

The Creation of Ruidus: After quite some time - mortals had already built civilizations - Predathos came to Exandria and ate two of the gods, Ethedok and Vordo, as well as created its own forms of mortal life. The gods sealed Predathos away in Ruidus and tried to send it away, but it remained as a moon (Retold in episode 3x43 by Planerider Ryn from texts from Vasselheim; plenty of other explorations of this in C3).

The Schism: The titans rose up against the mortals (precise reasons why unclear; this is all from various retellings including 1x43 and the sourcebooks) and the gods split in what they felt they should do: The Prime Deities (all good or neutral aligned) believed they had an obligation to their mortal creations and should assist them. The Betrayer Gods (all evil aligned) believed they should let the titans kill everyone and they (the gods) all should leave. When the Prime Deities would not leave, this led to the Schism. The Prime Deities granted the mortals arcane magic, which (per the sourcebooks) they used to destroy or seal the titans and seal away the Betrayer Gods as well. Two titans, Rau'shan and Ka'Mort, were sealed in Mount Ygora on Domunas, which later became Avalir and Cathmoíra.

The Age of Arcanum: Human civilization flourished and developed technologically. This is when the flying cities like Aeor and Avalir were created. At some point during this time, the Tree of Names was created to protect the world from extraplanar threats (though it is implied through Loquatius's presence in EXU Calamity that the Feywild had a pass or something). About 130 years prior to the start of the Calamity, the Raven Queen used the Rites of Ascension to assume the station of the former god of death, destroying him and his name in the process (though we do now know that when he was an eternal being of light he was called Nahal!). (Info from sourcebooks and EXU Calamity)

The events of EXU Calamity: Vespin Chloras, a wizard, hoped to replace or reform Asmodeus as the Raven Queen had replaced the god of death, but in trying to do so unsealed all the Betrayers. He became a thrall of Asmodeus. The Betrayers were prevented from entering the world via the Tree of Names, but they developed and were able to communicate this plan to both destroy the Tree of Names and release the sealed titans in Mount Ygora, and had followers begin building a stronghold in Ghor Dranas (eventually to be reclaimed as Rosohna in the Kryn Dynasty, post-Calamity). I highly recommend watching EXU Calamity if you haven't, because it's very good, but essentially, this plan begins to go into motion, and is particularly successful due to various forms of corruption and hubris among the Ring of Brass in Avalir (and like, a lot of other people in Avalir). This begins the Calamity, but total annihilation is avoided because Laerryn Coramar-Seelie is able to redirect the Astral Leywright, which she had hoped to use for extraplanar travel, into instead sending Rau'shan and Ka'Mort across the planes. Avalir is destroyed as is the continent it came from, Domunas, in the southern hemisphere. Domunas becomes the Shattered Teeth archipelago. The ash from this destruction covers the skies for at least a hundred years. A war between the Primes and the Betrayers, who still want to destroy everyone, spanning the entire world, begins.

Between EXU Calamity and the part in Downfall set in Hawk's Hill: This spans about a hundred years. As mentioned, the sky is covered with ash; there is an implied worldwide famine. The only major flying city remaining, by 100 years in, is Aeor (note: Campaign 2 states that Zemniaz, where Halas is from, was still around after Aeor so either Matt and Brennan forgot, Halas is lying, or Zemniaz just isn't very important or powerful) The events of the Calamity are many and there's not a ton of information re: the order, so I'll just link you to the wiki's Chronology for further reading (with the caveat there that again, the order is speculative) but we do know from 3x99/Downfall Part One that Asmodeus's slaughter of followers of The Everlight occurred early in the Calamity as it's already happened. At some point in the Calamity, the gods all realized Aeor had developed the Obtenebrator, which hid them from any scrying/divine spying, as well as the Latimus Princeps which prevented the gods from coming to Aeor. They called a truce between each other (though I think their armies still fought) and formulated a plan for six of the Betrayers and seven of the Primes to be somehow born as mortals (in a way that seems reminiscent of how the Dynasty's consecution works!) so they could infiltrate; some communication also occurred with the gods staying on the outside. Ioun/The Knowing Mistress was the first person in, and her mortal form is Arcadia Cerenvetorix. She learned of Aeor's plans to create something to kill the gods (Factorum Malleus), and sent visions to the others calling them to their mission.

Downfall Part One: Trist is The Everlight; Ayden is the Dawnfather; Emhira is the Raven Queen; and Asha is the Wildmother. SILAHA deviated a little from the plan and was born as an Aeormaton in Aeor already, but joins the others. The Lawbearer (The Wildmother's partner) also deviated from the plan and sent The Emissary instead. They all, as we see in the episode, make it to Aeor in these mortal forms. The Betrayers meanwhile only sent four; Milo Cowst is Asmodeus, and while we don't have hard confirmation yet, it's heavily implied that Zaharzt is Torog (god of torture); Tishar is Gruumsh (god of destruction); and Umleta is Lolth (the Spider Queen). They begin the main part of their mission: to in some way neutralize the Factorum Malleus, Obtenebrator, and Latimus Princeps (and additionally the Eravox Protocol first, a contingency protocol that sends the plans for the Factorum around the world if Aeor is attacked directly).

After Downfall: we'll find out precisely how Aeor ends up crashed into the arctic above Wildemount in Downfall parts 2 and 3, but it does; many people end up in stasis bubbles as seen in Campaigns 2 and 3. The Calamity continues on for an unspecified but significant time; towards the end, Ludinus Da'leth experiences an unknown trauma that sets him on his path. At the end of the Calamity, the Prime Deities seal themselves and the Betrayers all behind the Divine Gate, which shares similarities with how they sealed away Predathos, though permits some degree of indirect influence and communication with their followers (vs. however the Betrayers were sealed originally during the age of arcanum, which did not). This is called the Divergence, and the current era is Post-Divergence. The main campaigns of Critical Role begin about 800 years Post-Divergence.

[feyascorner]

7 | The Fangs Between Us

summary. “It’s too hard to see. We need to turn back.”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little bit of darkness.”

You scrunch your nose at this, and he merely grins. Before you can say anything, he’s back to pacing across the dirt without a care in the world—almost too fast for your liking. “Will you at least slow down?”

“Shall I hold your hand?”

“I’d rather cut it off.”

“A pity.”

warnings. angst, comfort, slow burn, tav reader is a bard, italics are flashbacks

pairing. Astarion x GN!Reader

parts. TFBU masterlist

a/n. 6.9k words !!! this chapter took forever but somehow i managed!! thank you so much for your kind words and patience !!! he's kind of a silly guy in the chapter so pls enjoy this peace offering as the calm before a storm

“Are you sure this is the right course of action? Letting him ascend?” Shadowheart asks as you adjust one of the logs in the campfire, watching the other companions organize their tents from afar. You stop at this, turning to face her.

“It’s what he wants,” you mumble. “I won’t stop him if he’s sure this is the right thing to do.”

You’re still getting used to her hair, which’s now as white as a sheet, but you think it looks lovely against the fire. She seems calmer than she did when she was with Shar. At peace, almost. She casts you a sidelong glance. “Can we really trust his judgment of all people? He’s—I mean, well, him.”

“I know it sounds unreasonable," you say letting yourself sit down beside her on her bedroll. “But I want him to make his own decisions. He’s spent too many years having no choice of his own, and I’d be the worst person to take it away from him again.”

“I just,” her voice softens. “Astarion’s a complicated person, and I’m sure you know better than us. It’s because he couldn’t make his own choices for so long that it makes me think he’s lost his capability to make any choices anymore. Good ones, at least.”

“I trust him.”

“Gods knows how.”

You stifle a laugh, and she sips at her wine, eyes still glazing over the camp. There’s a kind of solemnness to them that makes your stomach churn. “You seem worried.”

“Not worried, per se,” she shrugs. “I just realize that I owe a debt to you for what you did for me against my lad—I mean, Shar. And I myself almost went down that dark path of becoming a Justiciar if it weren’t for you. At the time, I thought it was the best thing for me too, like Astarion believes ascension to be what will set him free.”

You nod patiently, urging her to continue.

“I only fear he might make the wrong choice if he doesn’t have the right guidance as I did.”

The words feel hesitant on her tongue. And although they make the voice in the back of your head, telling you to convince Astarion otherwise, louder, you ignore it, opting to smile at her softly instead. “Is this you caring about our companions?”

“Heavens, no,” she snorts, but there’s a joking tone behind her voice. “But like I said…I’m indebted to you all. Astarion also aided in my personal affairs with Shar, even if he didn’t have to, and even with his incessant complaining…I suppose this is my way of paying him back.”

Your chest warms. It’s soothing to know that even without you, your other companions have enough care for your lover to offer him bits of advice; in a way, it relieves a bit of weight off your shoulders. Even the companions who claim to detest his presence have grown fond of him over the months, and you’re sure it goes both ways. It helps because even if you’re gone, you know he’ll be okay.

“I never told you formally,” she sighs. “But thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me or feel indebted. I just did what I could for you.”

“Don’t be so humble. What you’ve done for me—for all of us—is something we’ll cherish for the rest of our lives,” she takes her last swig from her wine. “But from one messed up person to another, please, be careful.”

Your wrist feels sore.

Two days. It’s been two days since the incident at the Blushing Mermaid, and still, your body seems to burn whenever you see his closed door across yours from the hall, and all you can do is rub shamefully at the healing puncture wounds on your wrist. The bandages looping around the skin do a good enough job of hiding them, but you genuinely wish you could just ask Shadowheart to heal them for you because being able to see them does little to help with the constant thoughts of the vampire muddling the clarity of your mind. 

But you’d rather not let your companions know what happened between you and the vampire on the dirtied floors of the Blushing Mermaid. You’d likely die of shame for letting him drink from you, even after your mutual agreement to specifically avoid just that. What’s worse is that you expect the worst from Lae’zel, especially after her explicit advice to do the exact opposite of what you chose to do.

You tighten the bandages again.

“Did those yourself, did you?”Alfira snorts, and you almost have half a mind to glare at her if it weren’t for the crumpled sheets of paper surrounding the legs of her chair. The ink on the discarded pages now blends into mush as they lie in the puddles forming around her—an aftermath of the recent rainy weather. You don’t tell her, though. She seems frustrated enough as it is, and you fear she might snap a string of her lute if this prolongs any longer. “How’d you get hurt anyway?”

“It’s a bug bite.”

“A rather massive bug, apparently.”

The corners of your lips quirk downward, and she finally sets her lute aside, careful to avoid the puddles as she props it against the side of her stool to focus on her notepad instead. Though most of its pages have now been torn out, the remaining few have scribbles of song lyrics that even you can’t decipher with how messily the ink splatters across the page. She, however, seems perfectly fine reading its contents aside from her glaringly obvious distaste for the words themselves. You raise your brow. “Can you really read that?”

“Oh, hush. Don’t insult my penmanship.”

You snicker, eyes continuing to scan the sheets of paper that had been abandoned on Dalyria’s desk at the Blushing Mermaid. It’d taken quite some time to take apart the pages plastered on the wall and to organize the mountain of doctor’s notes lying across the lair, but you’d managed to fish out something useful eventually. The journal was one that seemed especially important, filled to the brim with Dalyria’s so-called ‘research.’ 

But if the past few days have told you anything, it’s that Dalyria is a terrible note-taker.

The pages are filled with shapes. Some are curved, and others just bend and contort into odd figures that you’re sure aren’t supposed to look like letters. Each page studies a different shape on a random part of the page, leaving them scattered and difficult to decipher.

You’re starting to think this is just some odd attempt at art rather than the studies she claims to be performing.

“And? Why are you here if you’re not here to look at those lyrics I gave you?”

“I’m trying to figure out what this journal says,” you sigh, flipping another page you don’t understand. “And if you couldn’t tell, I’m rather busy trying to find the people responsible for murders around the city, so excuse me if I haven’t had the time to glance at your song.”

“I’m plenty busy myself, you know! I just got hired to sing at this fancy party for some celebration. They even said I could dress all nice for it,” she smiles proudly, and you offer her a crooked one of your own. “It’s my first serious gig—so I’m a bit nervous with how large it is…”

“How’d you land something like that before you’ve even played at children’s birthday parties?”

“Well, I’m not doing it alone, obviously,” she reasons, scratching something on her pages again. “I’m going with one of my friends. She’s a wonderful violinist, and she managed to squeeze me into the event, which I’m so grateful for…I suppose I’m just a bit worried.”

You look up from Dalyria’s notebook. “Worried? What for?”

“That my fingers will lock up, and I’ll humiliate myself,” she admits sheepishly, tucking a portion of her hair behind her sharp ear. “Lihala used to call me silly for worrying about things that haven’t happened–but I can’t help it. It’s the before-show jitters. Pesky things. It’s a bit embarrassing, really.”

Humming in acknowledgment, you look to the murky skies overhead, where dark clouds threaten to pour down for at least another few days. A shame, you think. You’ve never seen the Summers of Baldur’s Gate feel so dreary.

It’s fitting, almost, considering the state that the city is in.

The painful sound of quill scratching against paper is all you can hear now as Alfira sighs irritably again, ripping out another sheet of paper.

“It’s not embarrassing,” you finally say.

She blinks up from her notepad. “What is?”

“Being nervous. I’ve done more performances than I can count, and my hands would still get clammy in front of a big crowd,” you laugh to yourself. “But when you see how they watch you as if you’re performing sorcery with your lute, it’s like you were never anxious in the first place. The audience is what makes it bearable.”

“Gods, I hope you’re right,” she smiles fondly as you continue to reminisce in your own memories. “It’s a rather shame we never got to perform together. Not after the last time we played at the Grove–and I don’t even count that occasion with how unstable my voice was…”

“I can watch if you’d like,” you offer. “Your performance, I mean.”

Her eyes gleam with excitement, and she reaches to clasp both your hands, beaming brightly. “Will you? I’m sure if you’re there, it’ll ease my nerves, too!-”

As you shift in your seat to follow your hands, Dalyria’s notebook slips off your lap. The simple splash beneath you tells you all you need to know as your eyes shoot down to where the notebook now lies face down into a puddle, and you don’t even have to lift it to know that its pages are soaked.

But you don’t have to pick it up yourself because Alfira’s carefully holding it in an instant, her face pale as she fans her hand in a fruitless attempt to prevent the damage already done. “Dammit, I’ve done it again! I’m truly sorry…I didn’t mean for that to happen! But I’m sure if we just put it in the sunlight for a few days, it’ll–”

You gently take it from her hands, shaking your head. Perhaps it’s because you were just deep into memories you hold dear to your heart, but there isn’t an ounce of panic in your voice. “It’s fine. I wasn’t getting anywhere with this thing anyway.”

“Still…”

The pages stick together in chunks as you flip the journal towards the pages that are at least half dry. You fear they might tear off at the slightest touch, so all you can do is stare at a page you deem to be soaking up the ink from the pages behind it. Alfira groans into her hands, and before you can spare her a glance to remind her it’s alright, you spot something in the middle of the page.

“Holy shit,” you whisper so quietly she doesn’t catch it.

“I’ll grab us a wind scroll. Or maybe that’s too strong? Surely there’s some spell that can dry off books.”

“You have no idea what you’ve just done for me, Alfira,” you blurt, already halfway to stuffing the journal into your pack. She blinks up at you with weary eyes, but you quickly clamber off the stool with no time to offer an explanation. “Let me know when the performance is. I’ll be here next week as usual.”

“Don’t you want me to dry off the pages?”

“No,” you shake your head, your heart pounding. “I need to show this to the others.”

She stares at you as if you’ve grown a second head. Still, as you rush toward the stairs leading to the city streets, she calls after you.

“Don’t forget to look at the lyrics!”

“Runes? As in the ones carved into Astarion’s back?”

“I thought they were random blots of ink, but,” you raise the notebook in your hands, and the soaked pages now show the contents of the following sheets, blending to form a larger image. The placement of the shapes were not random at all, and you internally apologize for calling Dalyria a few less-than-kind words in your mind. “They’re not. They’re parts of the runes that Cazador tried to use for the ritual. There are six sets of runes in here, and each one’s slightly altered.”

“But what purpose does that serve?” Shadowheart cocks a brow, eyeing the page questionably with crossed arms. “Cazador’s dead. There’s no ascension to be done.”

“Unfortunately, just because that haunting man is gone doesn’t mean the threat of an ascension is either.” Intrigued but clearly disturbed, Gale takes the notebook and squints at what it holds. “Cazador himself never needed to be the one to execute the ascension.”

The room goes silent, leaving an uncomfortable tension in the air that keeps you from moving. You’re not sure how many seconds pass before you hear the figure who’s been awfully quiet the past half an hour mutter something under his breath from the comfy armchair beside the fireplace.

Astarion clicks his tongue, seemingly unfazed. “Ah, I see.”

The fists at your side clench tighter. The bandages feel impossibly tight all of a sudden.

“It’s for the ascension, clearly. There’s no other plausible explanation,” his eyes remain glued to the flickering flames, swirling a chalice of wine in his hand. He doesn’t sip from it, knowing that it tastes of nothing but vinegar on his undead tongue, so why he’s poured himself a glass, you don’t understand. You also can’t be bothered to ask. “Perhaps they plan to enact it. Take a piece of all that power for themselves.”

“But they can’t do the ascension,” Shadowheart frowns, turning to you. “You said there’s only six runes in there. They don’t have the last one to enact the ascension because Astarion’s with us. Cazador’s the only one who could have done it because he’s the only one who knows what each of the runes looks like. Without Astarion’s, they can’t—”

“They wanted him,” you whisper the confession, and you swear your voice nearly cracks. “They wanted Astarion. That’s why they wanted to speak with me.”

All three of your companions whip their heads to you, and you stare down at the ground. Shame burns through you, and you can practically feel the disappointment radiating off them as it dawns on you that you lied to them. You lied to your closest companions for the sake of saving yourself the embarrassment that no matter what you do, no matter what you tell yourself, your subconscious forces you to care for the bloody vampire sitting beside the fireplace. Despite the many eyes on you, you can only feel one crimson pair that bore into you like the sun beating down on a hot summer’s day.

Even now, he’s your biggest concern, and you hate yourself for it.

“Then it’s not Astarion they need,” Gale says breathlessly. “They need the marks on his back.”

“And you didn’t tell us this, why?” Shadowheart hisses. “You said they just tried to kill you!”

You blurt. “They did! They said they’d stop killing citizens if I just tossed Astarion over to them, but when I said no, they completely flipped and–”

“You declined that deal?” Lae’zel snarls, and you unwillingly flinch at the venom in her tone. “You swore, istik. You swore you wouldn't be foolish if it came down to you or him.”

The words feel like a knife to your throat.

“Well, obviously, it worked out,” you grumble, ignoring how Lae’zel’s eyes are narrowed dangerously. No doubt, she has questions of her own that she’ll demand answers to later. “If I handed him over, they would’ve had the last key to conducting the ascension.”

“You still lied to us,” Shadowheart steps toward you, but Gale quickly clears his throat.

“I know how deceived we all feel, but must we fight? What matters is the spawns can’t conduct the ascension as of now, correct?” he attempts to calm her down, but her scowl only grows deeper. “As disappointed as we all are, we must admit that keeping Astarion here is the right decision.”

“You’re too hasty, wizard,” Lae’zel snaps. “A vampire’s ascension would mean ridding of all the other spawn wreaking havoc in the city. We mustn’t throw away a chance being offered without considering it.”

Shadowheart is immediately on her feet, her eyebrows furrowing. “Don’t be an idiot–a few thousand spawn is better than a nearly impenetrable being capable of creating even more spawn. That’s asking for just as bad as we are now–maybe even worse.”

They break into a simultaneous debate, one in which two room occupants do not take part. Because even as you try to focus on what the others are saying, all you can feel is the unsettling stare of the spawn in the corner of the room, his hand still swirling the wine. You wonder if his wrist ever gets tired. You refuse to give him the satisfaction of returning his stare, but you watch him from the corner of your eye as his attention shifts to your wrist.

“Are we even sure this is what they’re planning? Do a few drawings prove that they want to go through with this ritual, again, after what it nearly did to them?” Shadowheart’s attention darts to you. “This ritual would kill them. Why in the hells would all of them agree to do it if it only means one would come out alive?”

You open your mouth to respond, but nothing comes out in return. The hurt embedded into her expression is so glaringly apparent that it makes your chest squeeze uncomfortably, and all you can do is look away in shame. “...I don’t know.”

Her face hardens. “Do you? Or are you just lying to us again?”

Cheeks flaring, you shake your head. “I’m not lying, I swear it.”

Her eyes flicker with something you don’t recognize before they flit to your bandaged arm and then back to your eyes. She doesn’t miss how you try to move your arm behind you. A miscalculation on your part since your attempt at hiding it makes your secret that much more obvious. “Then what are those for? You’ve had them on since you returned from the Blushing Mermaid, and you refuse to let me heal you myself. Just what did you get injured from?”

The room is so silent you can hear your own heartbeat.

“I–” you stop, wavering. “There was a—”

Shadowheart clenches her jaw. “Don’t lie. Please.”

But still, no words are willing to leave your throat. 

Your companions await words from you that do not exist. Like a deer in headlights, you stand numbly, unsure what to do. Fortunately, and also unfortunately, before long, Lae’zel has had enough of waiting, and she begins to march toward you in a way that makes you step away.

“Give me your arm,” she demands. “If you cannot say, then show us.”

You can feel all the blood draining from your face as she draws closer. But even Gale cannot hinder her this time because everyone in the room knows what she’s capable of with that blade attached to her hip, and she’s not against wasting a few potions of healing if she has to barrel her way through. You brace yourself for the inevitable, teeth gritting together.

Just as she reaches for your arm, someone else snatches it away.

“I drank from them,” Astarion says as you bump slightly into his chest, eyes wide at his pale fingers wrapped around your wrist. He yanks the edge of the bandage down with his free hand and lifts it for the others to see. The two puncture wounds, where the skin that surrounds it is darker than the rest, make you feel naked under the eyes of others. It’s too vulnerable. Too mortifying.

Your heart hammers pathetically, and whether it’s from the expressions of your companions or the hand wrapped around the sensitive skin of your wrist, you’re not sure. You hope it’s not the latter.

Gale’s jaw drops. “We agreed that this was the one thing you wouldn’t do.” 

“If I hadn’t, I would’ve perished,” the vampire retorts in response, releasing his hold on your arm as it falls back to your side. The place where his hand had been tinges under your skin. “And there weren’t exactly a few boars lying around the damn city for me to feed on.”

You notice he fails to mention there had been more than enough bodies to satiate him, but you keep your mouth shut.

The hurt on Shadowheart’s face is no longer one that throbs your sympathy. Instead, she seems to burn with something you haven’t seen in ages.

Anger.

Her palm flickers with radiant light, and Astarion immediately flinches, hissing as he moves to hide his body behind yours. In your haste, you can’t think of anything to do besides stepping toward her, holding out your hands. Astarion releases a strained laugh from behind you. “Now, Shadowheart, let’s not do anything hilarious, shall we?”

“I’ll kill you,” she growls maliciously, the glow of her palm growing brighter. “Like I should have done the second you came back to ruin everything we’ve done without you.”

You cautiously approach her, focus never leaving her eyes despite the danger festering in her hands. “You shouldn’t, Shadowheart.”

She throws daggers in your direction with just her expression, and you can’t deny how helpless you feel. “Killing him would end all of this. If we buried him somewhere, they’d never find the runes. They’d never be able to follow through with the ascension, and we won’t have to deal with his pompous ass anymore.”

You hate that she’s right. You hate that even though she’s right, you can’t agree with her methods.

“I know he’s—not exactly a friend—but he was once. And I know you considered him one as well,” you insist, inching closer. The hesitance in her motions as you come too close to the radiant light is undeniable. “I don’t want you to bear the guilt of his death.”

Because as much as you’re wrapped up in a world of your own–a world where you fight to hate the man behind you–you know that your companions feel the same way. The sentiments gathered from months of sharing the same camp, months of saving one another from multiple deaths, and months of aiding one another overcome their own pasts don’t just disappear. You know what they shared. Being the most similar amongst your companions, forced under the influence of a power they did not want to be subjected to, you know they considered themselves friends, even if they never voiced it out loud.

You know that deep down, Shadowheart’s hatred for Astarion stems from her own feeling of betrayal when he tried to kill you. When he attempted to harm the only other person who guided her to a path outside of Shar.

“Trust me, I won’t feel guilty,” she finally forces out. “You’re a fool to trust him again.”

“I don’t trust him,” you reassure her, your hands finally reaching hers as they dim and eventually vanish all traces of magic. “But if he’s to die for nearly killing me, I want it to be under my hands. Don’t sully your own for my sake when you’ve just escaped all the bloodshed.”

Shadowheart’s brows soften, but her face turns cold. Thoughts seem to run through her mind like an endless train before she decides that thinking through each one is worth more than Astarion himself is worth. She inhales deeply and nods, allowing you to finally release her hands. She shoots the others one last glance before turning to retreat upstairs.

You’re left in a pitiful silence—one that nobody in the room dares to break.

An entire day is spent with you wallowing in your shame, refusing to get out of bed.

You hope this is just a terrible nightmare, but you know better. If this were a nightmare, you’d already be dead.

You only climb out of your covers when you have to change the bandages on your wrist. It’s a painful process now since you don’t even want to look at the puncture wounds anymore, but it’s better than risking it to get infected. A knock on your door makes you stand from your bed, kicking the bandage rolls under your bed. “It’s open.”

You expect Gale or even Lae’zel, but you’re met with piercing red eyes. You contemplate begging him to leave you alone because looking at him right now only conjures up the guilt that’s been eating away at you for hours now. Instead, you build that wall between the two of you again, your face hardening. “What do you want?”

He’s never come to you willingly before. Not unless you were positively drenched in blood, and he had no choice but to follow his instincts for what he hopes to be a meal other than stale boar blood. Much less approached you in your own room.

Astarion lifts the empty glass bottle in his hand. “A charming welcome, as usual, I see.”

“You just had a full supply yesterday,” you say, brows furrowing. “I checked it myself.”

“Clearly, now I don’t,” he shrugs, and when you shoot him an intense glare, he frowns. “You can’t possibly blame me. I haven’t exerted myself as I did at that dirty tavern since the last time I had that damn parasite swimming around my head. So, unless you decide to offer yourself to me, again…”

You think he’s genuinely lost his mind. “Right now? Seriously? After what just happened yesterday, you want to ask me for blood?”

“Just a suggestion, darling. Otherwise, we always have the other option, as boring as it is.”

Perhaps you should just toss him to Lae’zel and call it a day.

Groaning in exasperation, you march past him, slapping a cloak into his chest. “There’s 15 minutes to sunset.”

He laughs, but it only makes your face turn sour.

The forest isn’t far off from the main square of Rivington. And by the time you reach it, the sun has long gone down, and you watch as Astarion takes off the hood of his cloak, breathing deeply in the moon's bask. And as he glances back at you, you don’t bother trying to walk side by side, remaining on guard and surveying his every move from three steps behind. He comments on it even though you think he doesn’t care for what you do. “I don’t bite, you know.”

“You’re not funny.” He snorts at your deadpan and continues into the deeper parts of the forest.

The entire time, your eyes remained glued to the backs of his heels, palms growing increasingly clammy as you become surrounded by nothing but the soft ambiance of the woods. His steps are as silent as they’ve always been, and it feels like following a ghost into the darkest parts of the forest. It’s becoming hard to see more than a few feet in front of you, and if your training with Lae’zel has taught you anything, you know that you don’t want to be at a disadvantage—especially when the other party is a bloody vampire.

You halt in your tracks. He does, too, turning to shoot you a questioning look. “What is it?”

“It’s too hard to see. We need to turn back.”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little bit of darkness.”

You scrunch your nose at this, and he merely grins. Before you can say anything, he’s back to pacing across the dirt without a care in the world—almost too fast for your liking. “Will you at least slow down?”

“Shall I hold your hand?”

“I’d rather cut it off.”

“A pity.”

You curse his long legs as the forest becomes darker and darker, even as each time you think it can’t possibly get worse than this. You swear his steps become quicker, and a part of you wonders if this is where he attempts to run away and whether you should cast a sleep spell before he succeeds. But the most rational part of you reminds yourself that he’s had plenty of chances to escape. Hells, he could do it even now, considering how much more easily his eyes adjust to the darkness than you.

“Astarion, I swear to the Gods above, if you don’t stop walking so quickly…”

This time, you don’t get an answer.

Suspicions rising, you break into a jog and then into a gradual sprint. Every time you think you finally caught up to him, a branch whips into your face, and you barely manage to swat it away before it manages to cut your skin. You call his name a few times to no avail, and you genuinely begin to ponder if you should’ve brought your scroll for daylight.

Finally, you stumble through a tall berry bush into what you assume to be another branch.

And rather than more darkness, you’re met with a clearing. It’s only a few long strides in width and a couple more in length, but here, it doesn’t seem like nighttime at all. The moon peers down at you in all its glory, and you think this might’ve been Selune’s pocket of the forest if she were here. You blink wide when a speck of light—a firefly—flies barely past your face. And suddenly, you’re surrounded by light rising from the green grass beneath you in fragile wings. 

The tightness in your chest dissipates, if only for a moment.

Only once you’ve taken in the vast difference of your surroundings just a few moments prior do you see Astarion pulling off the clasp of his cloak. He tosses it to you, and it lands on your face before you yank it away with a scowl. “You could have just handed it to me–”

“Stay here,” he says. “I’ll return when I’ve finished hunting.”

You gawk at him. “I’m not going to let you just leave.”

“I’ve proven myself plenty,” he scoffs. “If I remember correctly, you would’ve likely perished were I not there at that tavern a few days ago. And I must remind you that I do have quite the memory. If I planned on betraying you, I would’ve done it then—at a more fashionable time.”

You don’t have much of a rebuttal to that.

While you could bring up the dozens of other times he’s made questionable decisions pertaining to his loyalty, the soothing bath under the moon’s gaze seems to calm you down. So, instead of fighting the internal urge to continue your petty quips, you drop the cloak beneath you. He cocks a brow, surely expecting more of a protest, but you just swallow your pride, plopping down on the grass with a huff. “If you don’t return in 30 minutes, I’m coming to find you.”

“40 minutes,” he tries. “30 minutes isn’t nearly enough time for anything fun.”

You scowl. “20 minutes.”

Astarion smiles wickedly just enough for his fangs to peek beneath his top lip. “Very well. I’ll expect you no later than that.”

And like a predator fading into his natural environment, he vanishes into the darkness.

Time passes slowly when all you can do is pick at pieces of grass. As beautiful as the clearing is, it’s a bit too soothing—enough to make you doze off as you lean against the trunk of a tree. Though you attempt to keep your eyes open, reminding yourself you have a responsibility to uphold, you haven’t had this sense of relaxation in ages. Especially now, in your home with an atmosphere thicker than the butter you use on your bread. It’s almost like a spell as you feel your heavy eyelids droop helplessly.

You pray you don’t dream tonight. Not when you know all you’ll think of is the betrayal you inflicted on your companions.

A rustle of leaves snaps you back awake.

And when you look up, you see two blood-red eyes staring down at you from the branches of the tree opposite of yours.

They look exactly like the spawn in the alleyway, practically a month ago now. The same ones that haunt your nightmares and the same ones that morph into your ex-lover in the ones you despise the most. And while you can’t see their face, you don’t need much more than that to break into action.

Immediately, you’re snatching the cloak and sprinting back into the forest's darkness. You don’t care about the branches flinging themselves at you anymore because you can barely breathe even without worrying about them. Twigs and thin branches flail across your cheeks as you practically barrel through the woods, your legs feeling like they could give up if you were ever to stop running. With only the cloak in one hand and a dagger in the other, you don’t even attempt to fight whoever this person is upfront–you learned your lesson well the last time you tried. So, instead, your boots crunch against whatever plants are being crushed beneath you as you frantically run from the creature chasing you.

The worst part is you can still hear leaves rustling behind you.

Your lungs hurt. Your head hurts. Everything hurts, and yet you cannot stop. You hope the forest itself swallows you whole at this point, especially as you hear the movements getting closer and closer.

Tripping over a particularly large root, you fall through a bush, bracing for impact as you curse everyone you can think of for your luck. But rather than your shoulder crashing into a pile of dirt and twigs, you plant face-first into what feels like…cloth?

“Eager little thing, aren’t you? If you wanted to touch me, you could have just asked,” Astarion teases and you instantly tear yourself away, pushing your palms against his chest with wide eyes. And as much as you hate to admit it, a flood of relief hits you. And as much as it shouldn’t, meeting his gaze makes you able to breathe again.

Gods, what is wrong with you?

“There’s something chasing me,” you say hurriedly, pointing in the direction behind you. “I think it’s another spawn, I saw his eyes–”

His face stills when you practically jump at the bushes moving in ways the wind cannot will it to. Your arm flies to push him in front of you in case something were to leap out, and while you’re sure he’d complain dramatically about this gesture on any other occasion, he’s too busy worrying about what lies behind the bush. His hand shoots to what you assume to be that blasted comb he takes everywhere while you grip your knife, and you hear both your breaths hitch when something lunges out of the shrub.

It’s a small, puny squirrel.

Astarion doesn’t even try to stifle the laugh that escapes him as he throws his head back.

“I swear there was something following me!” you hiss, slapping his arm while the squirrel scurries away back to wherever it came from. He doesn’t stop, having little care about how your face flushes with embarrassment, and instead seems to revel in it. The bastard is enjoying this.

You wish you could throw the damn squirrel at his head.

“Oh, yes, I do believe there was,” he’s barely fazed while you continue glaring daggers at him. “I’m impressed you survived an encounter with such a terrifying foe, my dear.”

“It was definitely following me...” your voice trails off, and the bloodlust that had overwhelmed your lungs is fading away, leaving nothing but the sound of Astarion and his annoyingly loud laughter. 

He stops when there’s a shrill scream from across the forest. One that wails in what is unmistakenly of excruciating pain.

The two of you slowly turn to one another, and a knowing gleam flashes behind his eyes.

“Darling, the smart decision here would be to leave–”

But you’re already rushing toward whoever this victim is, forcing him to groan loudly and trail after you, snatching up your cloak from the ground in the process. You feel him close behind as you practically fly through the forest, with little care of how exhausted you were just moments before as the screams of pain seem to fuel your determination to lend aid. 

Astarion, although displeased, only grumbles as he continues to follow your lead. “Is it necessary to be heroic now of all times? In a dark forest where there’s sure to be animals twice our size?”

You ignore him.

A leaf slaps into your face as you finally reach what’s now been reduced to soft sobs. And you’re not sure what you were expecting, but it certainly wasn’t someone you knew.

“Berry?” you blink at the small girl, who you’re sure can barely even see you with how teary her eyes are. She watches you wearily before she gasps in recognition, and it’s then that you realize that her arm is bleeding.

“Tav!”

“You’re hurt,” you’re kneeling beside her in an instant, assessing her wounds as you reach to dig around your pockets in hopes of any medical supplies you might’ve left in there. “Did something attack you?”

“Yes,” she winces as you lift her arm to inspect it closer. “I’m not sure what it was, but it came out of nowhere, and they—-they tried to bite me.”

A lump forms in your throat. As twisted as it is, you're relieved you weren't actually imagining what you saw earlier. “Did you see if they had fangs? Did they look like a regular person?”

“I think so,” she replies in a hushed voice, wiping her tears. “I was so scared. I didn’t know what to do when it–”

A hand grabs her by the back of her cloak, yanking her in the air with her legs dangling helplessly as Astarion holds her just high enough to render attempts to kick at him useless. “I’d normally entertain tasteless tricks like this, but I’m in a less than forgiving mood, I’m afraid. You’ve cut into the time I have to fill my own stomach.”

You gasp, jumping to your feet. “Astarion, what the actual hells are you doing?”

“Trust me, you’ll thank me later, darling,” he sneers at the girl, hissing at him aimlessly. “Show them, you little imp.”

Having no idea what’s going on, you decide the best thing to do is de-escalate whatever misunderstanding he’s had about the poor girl tied to his hand. “You’ll hurt her. Just let her go and explain what’s going on.”

“Show them,” he pronounces each word harshly, glaring at Berry. 

And finally, she tries to bite at his hand. This prompts her to unhinge her jaw just enough for you to see the glint of sharp teeth. Ones that do not certainly belong to an innocent orphan.

Were you always this unlucky, or was the past month just a living hell for you?

“See what I mean? You can offer your thanks to me later, darling,” Astarion smiles proudly, and if you knew him any less than you did, you’d think he’s psychotic for smiling like that in this situation. But then, again, maybe he is. “How you seem to attract so many of us is beyond me, but I believe we should refrain from keeping this one alive.”

Your jaw drops. As much as you feel appalled that the innocent girl you’ve been soothing over the death of her adoptive father for the past few weeks turned out to be one of the very creatures that nearly took your life (on multiple occasions), you can’t fathom the idea of just ridding of her. She’s still a kid—at least, to the naked eye. “Are you insane? No, we’re not killing her!”

“Gods, please don’t tell me you’ll try and make this brat see sense. She’s practically feral! Look at her!” he grits through his teeth, waving his free hand to the girl in question, who’s too busy trying to snap her teeth at him. “This thing doesn’t deserve your sympathy right now.”

Berry manages to catch the tip of his finger in her teeth, and Astarion lets out a string of curses as he drops her to the dirt. It doesn’t even take another second for her to lunge toward you, fangs bared and claws ready to sink into your flesh. You barely manage to swerve out of the way, her sharp nail grazing past your cheek.

“Berry, just listen to me! I don’t want to hurt you!” you practically yell, but she only stumbles on the ground a moment before rushing at you again. You reach for your dagger, fearing you may have to use it on a child until she’s snatched into the air again.

This time, Astarion hangs her by the cloak onto a tree branch, where she screams and grasps at the air, practically throwing a tantrum.

You gawk in utter disbelief; too many things are happening simultaneously.

And Astarion doesn’t help as he slips out the damn comb again, grinning from ear to ear. You notice that this time, he seems to have taken the time to sharpen the tips of the teeth, which nearly look akin to a row of needles. 

He holds the comb in Berry’s direction. “Well? Shall I do the honors?”

As you watch him threaten a child who also happens to be a vampire, you ponder that maybe you should have just handed him over to Dalyria when you had the chance.

Tags:@ayselluna@littleenglishfangirl@bg3obsessedsideblog@iwillpissyourpants@cyberpr1m3@ukeia-uchiha@snowlotr@road-riot@spacekidnova@madislayyy@lordfishflakes@nicalysm@djarinsway@tinystarfishgalaxy@brainz00@hopeful-n-sad@ohdeerieme@madisban@chrismarium@chonkercatto@fanfic-share@bitterrenegade@sleepyred1703@miskouly@ravenswritingroom@iamlowkeycrying@deezus-roy@spiritraves@mariposakitten @dinobae-replyacc@whisperingwillowxox@bdudette@misscrissfemmefatale @atropapurpurea @cosywinterevenings @phoenixgurl030 @generalstephkenobi @shadowsmusical @himesuedi @girlygmer-blog @vulgarfuckinvirgo77 @deezus-roy @hyperfixationwhore @teardropcup @marina-and-the-memes @kiwi-mansanas @woosaaghh @cminr @everybodystaycalm @divineknightmare @bangtanbecks @carolinelec @bitterbeanren @aelieknox Please let me know if I didn't add you to the list or if you'd like to be added! I needed to redo the entire taglist because it wasn't functioning, so please let me know if I missed you :)

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

chaggie and a very important question about vaggie and small helpless adorable little things

Charlie: "Personal question?"

Vaggie: "I'm an open book now babe, I swear."

Charlie: "It's about... heaven."

Vaggie: "Alright..."

Charlie: "It's about heaven's petting zoo."

Vaggie: "??... okay?"

Charlie: "First though- you're sure they won't let you back up there? Very sure? Even for a visit??"

Vaggie: "I wouldn't visit even if I wasn't on their no-ascension list."

Charlie: (sigh) "If you're sure, then.... Vaggie. Do you PROMISE me you'll be one hundred percent HONEST about this?"

Vaggie: "I promise, Charlie.

Charlie: "And I trust you. Um. Okay. During your time up in heaven, did you ever..."

Vaggie: "..."

Vaggie: "Did I ever..?"

Charlie: (deep breath)

Charlie: "Did you EVER visit the petting zoo?"

Vaggie: ".... no?"

Charlie: "....."

Charlie: (bursts into tears)

Vaggie: "SHIT! Sweetie- what-"

Charlie: "Th-they're so FLUFFY Vaggie and SOFT and CUDDLY and, and you don't even KNOW what you missed out on-!"

Vaggie: "Oh hun, nooo, I get to snuggle you, don't I?" (snuggles gf) "You're the loveliest creature in creation, so I'm not missing out."

Charlie: (sobbing) "But you've NEVER cuddled a KOALA!?"

Vaggie: "Well... no."

Charlie: "AND- AND NOW- YOU'RE STUCK DOWN HERE WITH ME, AND YOU NEVER WIILLLLLL!!!! AHHHGHGHGHG AGGHGHaGH..!"

Vaggie: (helplessly holding sobbing gf) (PANICKING)

-later in heaven-

Emily: (answering phone) "Vaggie, hi! How are- huh?"

Emily: "Of course I'm still coming for tomorrow's meeting! Actually I uh, I might be the only heaven delegate who can make it- but I'm REALLY looking forward to it so-!"

Emily: "Bring something? Sure! What did you-"

Emily: "...."

Emily: "...a what? Why..."

Emily: "She was CRYING over it!?"

Emily: "No no I get it! That's a definitely emergency! Of course I'll help, I just, I'm not sure if- I'll ask and find out, okay??"

Emily: "Right, um, tell Charlie I hope the swelling around her eyes goes down soon and... maybe give her a hug from me? Thanks, Vaggie. No- no problem- no owing anything, just sit tight while I figure this out on my end. Okay? Yes, you too- take care! Bye!"

Emily: (ends call)

Emily: (looks hesitantly over at sera) "Um."

Sera: "What is it." (not looking up from paper work) "Trouble in Pandæmonium?"

Emily: "No nothing like that.... I'm just wondering.."

Sera: "Yes?"

Emily: "...hypothetically! IF someone was to bring an animal from heaven and down into hell, would that be-"

Sera: "Animal abuse."

Emily: "Oh." (drooping) "Ok..."

-hell-

Vaggie: "Is there a small animal hidden under your wings or are you just happy to see us?"

Emily: "Both! Charlie, Vaggie- Looooook what I brought!!!"

Charlie: (GASP) "KOALA BABY!!!"

Vaggie: (smile at gf) "And you worried I was missing out."

Emily: (beaming) "Not on my watch!"

Charlie: "VAGGIE VAGGIE OH MY GOSH HOLY SHIT OH FUCK A KOALA-" (grabs vaggie and shoves her over) "-OH YOU HAVE TO PET THE KOALA!!! YOU HAVE TO!!"

Vaggie: "Alright babe." (laughing) "I'm petting, okay? Take a breath."

Charlie: "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVAGGIEEEEEE-!!!"

Emily: "Is she okay?"

Charlie: "-EEEeeeeEEEeEEEEEE-"

Vaggie: "She's fine. Big lung capacity."

Emily: "Oh, from singing?"

Charlie: "-EEEEEEEEE-"

Vaggie: "Sure."

Charlie: "-EEEehehheEHEHEH! So?! Isn't this AMAZING?!??"

Vaggie: "He is pretty cute I guess-"

Vaggie: "......."

Vaggie: "Uh."

Emily: "Aww, he likes you. He's clinging to you like you're his mama~"

Charlie: "OH! MY! GOSH!"

Vaggie: "Wh.. what do I do?"

Charlie: "HOld still I NEED a picture-!"

Emily: "Don't worry. They're good climbers so he won't fall off."

Vaggie: "Shouldn't I keep a hand on him just to make sure?"

Charlie: "-oh this is so SWEET eeeeee-!"

Emily: "You really don't have to look so worried, Vaggie." (giggles) "If you get tired and want to sit down during the meeting, I'll just take him!"

Vaggie: "Wouldn't that wake him up though?"

Emily: "Only for a moment. I'm sure he won't mind-"

Vaggie: "No that's fine, he's not heavy."

Emily: "Well no he's just a baby, but still, if you start feeling stiff-"

Vaggie: "I won't. He fits right on my hip, see? No problem."

Emily: "Okay." (smiling) "Not sure I could pry him off you anyway."

Charlie: (recording this) (awed) "He really really really DOES like you Vaggie..."

Vaggie: "I think he's a bit scared. Poor little fur ball... had to travel all the way to hell today, huh? Hiding in someone's wings the whole way. That's a big day for you."

Koala baby: (squeaks)

Vaggie: (walking around to soothe it) "Shhh no pasa nada, pobrecito. It's okay. Shhh..."

Charlie: "..." (still recording) (tearing up)

Emily: (leaning in) "Getting ideas..?"

Charlie: "No." (smiling) (sniffling) "Not new ones, anyway. Just, thinking she might be having the same ones too, maybe~"

[themissinghand]

Mind if I could have a SAGAU request? So the player is burnt out from the game. Like completely. Some characters find a way to your desktop and ask "Why haven't you entered Teyvat lately?" After explaining that you still like/love them, they are disappointed but understandable. Problem is, they can't go back until you launch the game. So the characters sort of become desktop buddies (Showing my age aren't I?) and perhaps helping you out in the various other games the player would play or just vibing as you surf the web, make arr, write stories, etc. As for the characters... Aether and Paimon at least, though adding Kazuha, Yanfei, Freminet, Bennett, Fischl, Childe, and Collei would be cute too.

Genshin Impact Desktop Buddies

Summary: In which your favourite Genshin characters miss you. 

Or now you have them as your desktop buddies until Genshin Impact is fixed.

Pairings: Aether & Paimon, Kazuha, Yanfei, Childe and Fischl x Neutral! Reader! 

Note: Desktop buddies are ancient now lol, but honestly such a cool thing to have back then. Hope you enjoy! 

Warning: None, just fluffy goodness. 

★・・・・・・★

You’re tired. Like really tired. 

Grinding for artifacts, ascension and weapon materials has worn you out. That includes your wallet too.

They were worth it, no doubt about that, but staring at a screen all day every day could tire anyone out. 

And yea, you need sleep. 

For the first time in a long time, you decided to shut down the game, and take at least a few day break. 

It’s not like it would make a big difference right? 

Little did you know, it most definitely would. 

Just a few days later, not only did your laptop started acting weird to the point where you thought of buying a new one, Genshin also disappeared from your desktop. 

Before you knew it, you see little figures that look oddly familiar on your screen…

“Why haven’t you entered Teyvat lately?”

Aether & Paimon

The player spun around, eyes widening at the sight of Aether and Paimon now out of the game, and...hopping around on your screen.

"Aether? Paimon? How... how are you here?".

Aether stepped forward. 

"Our Creator, we've missed you. The others are worried. Why haven't you been to Teyvat?"

You sighed, has it already been a couple of days? Also, since when were you their creator? 

"I'm just a little tired-” There was a dramatic gasp from Paimon.

“Tired of us? Aether! Our Creator is tired of us!” 

“No! I mean, I still love Teyvat and all of you, but I needed a break and I will go back soon." You quickly responded with reassurance, which luckily appeased the floating companion. 

Paimon floated closer, which was like a weird zoom on her face, her eyes softening with understanding. 

"We get it, but... we can't go back to Teyvat until you' launch' the game." She says robotically, but appeared confused right after.

“Ah, okay. Give me a minute.” 

When you tried to download the game via the Genshin website, it stated that there was a website maintenance. 

“Creator! What is happening? The world is changing!” While you were frustrated, Aether and Paimon were jumping and flying everywhere around your screen, exploring how tabs open and following your mouse as you click and hover.

Their curiosity made you smile, and you slowly explain how everything works slowly as with each passing second, they marvel at how advanced your world is. 

“No wonder you’re our Creator!” 

“What’s this!?” Before you knew it, you pulled up multiple websites, and the one you landed on was Disney+.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” 

“What’s that?” Aether asked, curious, followed by Paimon’s cute little head tilt.

(You wished you could just squeeze those cute little cheeks-)

“It’s like telling a story, but you get to see it unfold right before you. Here.” You pull up ‘My Little Mermaid’ and they jump seeing the video move, with everyone inside move. 

“Woah…it’s like another world!” 

Aether seemed to marvel over it, and for a moment, he wondered, maybe, you could traverse worlds too. 

Seeing the stars in their eyes made you feel guilty, as if another misunderstanding arose, but you let them be, as their cute little figures sat down and watched the movie. 

You too, watched it with them, and for the first time in a while, you didn’t feel lonely. 

Throughout the movie, you patted them on the head with your mouse, which the two seemed to like very much. 

(And yes, you did pinch those cute little cheeks)

Kazuha 

“I’m glad that you didn’t abandon us, Your Highness.” 

Never in your wildest dreams did you expect to see THE Canadian Aether, Kazuha, on your screen, bowing respectfully to you.

“Let me know if I can help you in any way. Although my form is…not in the most helpful form, I will do my best.” 

You held back a giggle when you saw a shy little Kazuha looking at himself and then at you shyly, and you really wanted to tease him, but you chose not to. 

Instead, you pull up your incomplete art project. 

Might as well since you can’t download Genshin now and might have to wait for a few days.

“Actually Kazuha, I was hoping you could help me finish my art.” He immediately perked up, a serious expression overtook his shy one.

“Of course, Your Highness, let me know what you want to draw and I can help you!”

“Great! I’m trying to draw a handsome and cute man, he has platinum blond hair…” Slowly, you list one by one, the characteristics of the person you want to draw. 

Kazuha learns fast. Soon, he was able to figure out how your art platform worked. 

At first, he hesitated, and didn’t want to interrupt your drawing, but slowly, he learned to add in his thoughts and feedback, and guided your mouse to smooth out the lines, and perfect the colouring.

“He has red eyes…” 

Calming and soothing, his voice made you feel at peace, just like how you would hang out with him at the top of a mountain somewhere and listening to the game music. 

But this time, he was a little closer, where he felt more real albeit still in your screen. 

“Your Highness…isn’t this…me?” His little cheeks was dusted with pink as he quickly covered it with his hands. 

“It is you.” 

“But why…”

“Because you’re one of my favourites, Kazuha.” 

It was all it took for him to become shy again, and he began to cough awkwardly as if to mask his embarrassment. 

“Thank you…Your Highness.”

Yanfei

“Phew! We were so scared that you left us Your Eminence! But…I suppose we can’t do anything until you open up Teyvat again, until then, let me know if I can help you!” 

Yanfei's cheerful voice made you smile as you leaned against your palm. 

Then she turned around, as if taking in her surroundings before looking back at you. 

“Your Eminence, if I may, may I help you organize your…space?”  You blink, and that was when you notice the amount of files littered across the desktop screen, and you realized that from Yanfei’s view, it must’ve been very unorganized.

“Sure.” 

Yanfei brightens at your acceptance, and hopped a little to show her excitement. 

“Okay! I’m good at this, so leave it to me! Just follow my lead.” 

You were gonna clean up your PC eventually, though you did not expect it would be today. 

Either way, Yanfei was like a referee and a police, asking questions but also making sure everything was organized correctly. 

In a way, Yanfei felt like a Mom asking her child to clean her room.

Even so, it was so cute to see her marching everywhere like a soldier and asking you to organize it in a neat manner.

“Okay, next, let’s organize this folder!” 

“Okay-” Before you knew it, you immediately hit backspace. 

“Your Eminence…who was that-”

“Let’s move on.” But Yanfei stared at that folder with an intense stare. Did she see it? 

With a little nudge and push with your mouse, Yanfei eventually moved on, but she constantly had a smile on her lips. 

It was you cosplaying as her for an event. 

Yanfei would be sure to tell her friends back home. 

Childe

“Well, I’m happy to hear that, Your Highness! But…what were you doing? Away from Teyvat?”

Childe’s smile was a little bit menacing to look at, so you pull up what you were doing before to distract him.

And it did, surprisingly. 

“What is this?”

“It’s a game called Valorant.” 

You start the game, and once you get prepared, he too was locked in. 

With each attack and maneuver, Childe slowly became hyped up by your skill and admired it. 

“Your Highness! Why didn’t you tell me before?!” He became to gush, albeit trying to remain civil as he looked between you and your character in game. 

“Again.” In the end, he asked (begged) for another show. 

This time, you changed your agent to someone else, and once again, showed how skilled you are even in melee, which Childe initially advised against. 

But you blew his expectations away. 

“Your Highness, can I duel you?” 

You blink, before you laugh jokingly, but you knew in real life, Childe would absolutely crush you.

But you leave him be, and instead start another game. 

Honestly, Childe would be a great hype man. 

Fischl

“Ah, of course! How the stars seem to be against us this time…regardless! With me, Fischl von Luftschloss Narfidort here, there is nothing you need to worry about!” 

As expected, Fischl is quite the actor and storyteller as she spews on about how she faced something similar before, something just as interstellar as this. 

You don’t mind it, after all, if you did, you wouldn’t have Fischl on your team the entire time would you? 

Fischl deserves more love is what you find in the fandom, and while she may be annoying at times, you found her passion admirable, and even a little sad when you think this is her way of happiness. 

So you respected that, and listened as she rambled on, and moved as if she was on the stage. 

Perhaps…she would do good on stage with Furina in Fontaine. 

“Fischl, I do need your help on something.” You asked when she finally finished, and she straightened herself with grace as expected from the Prinzessin der Verurteilung. 

“I need your help with my stories. I want you to create elaborate and dramatic narratives for everyone to love.” She froze for a moment, but her grin immediately hid her surprise. 

“Why of course, I would be delighted. Allow me!” With just a few seconds to think, she immediately began her storytelling. 

With her little graceful steps and hops, she almost dances away, but she doesn’t stop sharing her fantasy story full of magic, fate, and stars. 

It was hard to keep up, but you didn’t want to disappoint her, so you did your best to type her word by word. 

Luckily, she seemed to slow down to match your pace, as if the two of you were a duet with the piano and violin. 

When she stops, you end off the story with a dramatic click, and you match her prideful smile. 

Truly, Fischl is a character not everyone can handle, but that’s alright.

After all, you love her for who she is, and maybe, Fischl appreciated that more than anything else.

[blueteller]

Cale Trying to Order Slacker Life in a Restaurant

[Part 2 "spoiler" warning]

Fate: Good evening, welcome to Power Restaurant, may I take your order? Kim Rok Soo: Yes, I'd like to order some Slacker Life, please Fate: Hm…. We might be out of that… Wait, did you by any chance order Death Vow Curse (Light)? Kim Rok Soo: …no? I literally just got here- Fate: Oops, there must have been a mistake somewhere. Let me talk to my manager Kim Rok Soo: … Kim Rok Soo: (looks at his watch; 36 minutes passed) God of Death: Hello, I'm the current manager. So we might have mixed up your order with the White Star's… Kim Rok Soo: Well then- God of Death: We might be able to fix it if you exchange seats with Cale Henituse Kim Rok Soo: There's really no need- God of Death: Right this way, sir! Cale: …Okay? I guess this seat isn't so bad- Deruth: This seat comes with exclusive Count Heir Rights, would you like some? Cale: I'm really- Deruth: Excellent! I'm sure Basen won't mind Basen: Not at all, I wasn't hungry for Heir Rights anyway Cale: I didn't order any- Alberu: The sit next table offers free Prime Minister tea, if you're interested Cale: No thanks. But I'm seriously getting hungry (looks at the Menu) I might as well order a couple of Elemental Power side dishes… an extra Vitality salad… oh, Scamming Aura on discount, nice…! Eruhaben: What's this, you ordered 4 Elementary Dishes on your plate? Cale: It just kind of happened- Eruhaben: This won't do, this isn't healthy at all. You have to take supplementary 5th Earth Power to balance out your plate. As for the mineral deficiency… You should also replace that Fire Suppressing Water drink with some real Sky Eating Water. Cale: This is getting a bit much- Alberu: You requested the extra large Commander Steak too, right? Cale: Yes but- Wait. I thought I only ordered Temporary Commander's Small Nuggets-? Alberu: Nope, I'm pretty sure you ordered the full Commander of Two Continents Steak Cale: …let me speak with the manager again- White Star: I see, so you're the one who ordered all those dishes! I'm impressed! Are you hungry for some Dragon Slayer Legacy as well? Cale: (grossed out) I'm dead certain I am NOT-! God of Death: You called? Cale: Yes, I'd like to register a complaint- God of Death: Oh, we also recommend Saint's Signature Dish for today! Cage: Don't listen to him! Saint's Dish is total trash! They're not even serving alcohol with that!! Cale: Is anyone even listening to me-?! Clopeh: Sir, I brought you some Legendary Fame lemon tea!! Cale: Get this disgusting thing away from me! Sealed God: …Would you like bitter Demonification Noodles sir? Last chance to sign up, we're out of stock after this! White Star: W-wait, I ordered those-! Earth 3: Oi, was someone ordering an extra Commander's Stake around here? Xiaolen: (begging) Would you like some Purifier's Exaltation dessert? It's on the house! Central Plains: (puppy eyes) A-and, some Nature Realm Level sushi, i-if you don't mind... Cale: ….what the f*** is even happening anymore God of Balance: (shows up out of nowhere) ...What's this about someone messing around with too many orders? God of Death: Oh s***. The Power Executive is here-! God of Balance: (leans over Cale's seat from behind, menacingly) You should just order the Full Course Godly Ascension Dinner. Or ALL of those other dishes will land on your bill Cale: I… I... I just wanted some Slacker Life… God of Hope: (pats his shoulder) Cale… They never servered Slacker Life here in the first place… Cale: ... Cale: (┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻━┻

[sunderwight]

had a thought of what if Airplane had leaned a little more into the self-insert idea for Luo Binghe when he was still at the early stages of writing, with an end result that Luo Binghe actually Looks Like That because he basically looks like Airplane but with long flowing hair and a more idealized figure

SQQ going "why the fuck did you make his face so pretty???" and Airplane bullshitting about plausibility while trying really hard not to blush. twisting his fingers and scuffing his toe like jeez bro he's not that good-looking...

which of course sets SQQ off because how DARE!?! not 'that' good-looking?!?! just look at him! he's xianxia Helen of Troy with a face that launched a thousand harems! like okay sure with looks like that it does make sense that half the female population was willing to timeshare a marriage with him, but it's also totally unfair to SQQ, who has no recourse against those looks either! and who could? that is the most beautiful face ever!

Airplane's getting flustered. tries valiantly to make the case that objectively speaking Luo Binghe isn't that good-looking, it's just that SQQ is biased, but boy does that not go over well. SQQ has hitched the tattered remnants of his self-perception as a straight man onto the idea that Luo Binghe is just so devastatingly attractive anyone would want to hop into bed with him, and he is not letting go of it, so Airplane is just gonna get wrecked with inadvertent compliments

bonus if the Shang Qinghua look is actually the result of several illusions because when Airplane first transmigrated in, he got the same face too, and foresaw potential problems if the half-demon protagonist turned up looking like him. so he used illusions. he doesn't actually look all that different, in fact! the illusions just make it so that when people see him, they get a strong impression that he's unremarkable, so they don't really register what his face actually looks like and their brains fill in the assumption that he must just be kinda plain

oooh ooh double bonus if the system inserted a behind-the-scenes explanation for it too, which is that Shang Qinghua is actually unwittingly related to Su Xiyan!

and the whole thing comes to light post-epilogue when Shang Qinghua's illusions get stripped away by some monster-of-the-week, while everyone except Mobei Jun has a freak out about why do you look just like Luo Binghe?! (Mobei Jun isn't freaking out because he already figured out how to see past the illusions and just assumed everyone else wasn't mentioning it for some human cultural reason or something) and then Yue Qingyuan calmly explains that Luo Binghe's mom is Shang Qinghua's matrilineal cousin. Shang Qinghua's mother and Luo Binghe's human grandmother were half-sisters.

what? how does Yue Qingyuan know? you think that Cang Qiong doesn't check up on the candidates for the peak lord positions before handing off power, doesn't make sure there are no conflicts of interest or divided loyalties to other sects? what sorts of things do people imagine Qiong Ding's diplomats do? (I don't know either but, for the purpose of this scenario at least some of it is tracking down this stuff -- YQY handled most of it personally for his generation's ascension because he didn't want anyone else digging into his and Xiao Jiu's pasts) anyways, the connection could have been troublesome for its ties to Huan Hua Palace, but by the time it came to light Su Xiyan was deceased and there was no evidence that Shang Qinghua had ever even met her. so it wasn't deemed significant enough to matter, was just made note of and then mostly forgotten

so Shang Qinghua is like "oh THAT is why you kept bringing her up to me back then?!" because at the time he'd just been fully in "haha how would I know anything about the impending plot and the tragedies I am both partly responsible for and powerless to prevent haha that's so funny shixiong I KNOW NOTHING" mode, which luckily at the time was easily read as him just not wanting a dead cousin he never met to tank his chances of securing a promotion

SQQ is floored. he is having issues about this. Shang Qinghua is related to Binghe? Shang Qinghua looks exactly like him?! wait. Binghe has human family? still alive? like grandparents and stuff out there, who might want to meet him...?

Luo Binghe decides to step in at that point because he does not want to meet any more relatives! no more surprise relatives! no!

luckily this distracts Shen Qingqiu from thinking about all of the things he's said to Airplane about Binghe's looks for long enough for Shang Qinghua to flee the scene

[donascozylivingroom]

LET GO OF THE STRESS AND HUSTLE TO 'GET THERE'

I was scrolling through tiktok and i found a post by someone who told me if i am comfortable in my life i shouldn't be, because i am not working on my next level. i got annoyed and skipped, two videos later: "if u want to be more comfortable..." ... skip!

i'm tired of society convincing us where we are is not ok. i either must want to be more or less comfortable, never accept my life and improve upon the life i have right now with as tiny steps as i feel i can right now.

guess what - I AM COMFORTABLE! And I love it.

I used to be a master at hustling, doing everything i can to get my million dollars and NYC Penthouse. Manifesting didn t work for me until i learned to robotically affirm and persist, and since then i am getting everything i want. And yeah I still have resistance to 2 of my only big desires, everything else i'm getting affirming 1-3 times because i assume i only need to affirm once and i get it, i repeated that for a while and ever since manifestation has been so easy.

And yeah just because i didn t get my 2 main desires yet, I AM COMFORTABLE. I understand that those things I want so much are part of my soul lessons and why my soul came here. God/Source/myself before this life decided to make some things harder than others, and that's okay.

My whole life i was either uncomfortable because i didn t get something external, or worried - why am I so comfortable?

I learned to never do anything that is not easy because my plan for this life is to FLOW, but still i was fed by the media that i am not perfect as i am, or where i am. It's not true.

Wherever you are, it's your starting place, your zero point. And if you are experiencing it, you are probably meant to be there. I mean look around u in the present moment, not to your mind. Are you okay? You're meant to be here, boo.

How can you make your life more beautiful where you are? How can you be more grateful for what is around you? What you already have.

There s no rush, you don't have to get there tomorrow. I know when you are young it seems like you have to do everything very fast, and the speed of manifestation on this planet has improved since i was a kid, everything seems to be more light and fast, BUT...

There will probably be a few more years until the speed of manifestation will be instant, especially for every single thing.

You are part of a collective, a collective consciousness, and everyone must be on board until they push the START button from above 🤭😁

We are literally on this mission together, it's not just about you, it is about the ascension of Earth and its citizens.

Don't stress! Make it your job to relax whatever happens and you will see small improvement after small improvement which will lead to an easy, chilled life that is financially supported by the Universe enough that u have time to do your affirmations, your journaling, your shadow work, etc. Make it a habit to not stress, because stress is always misaligned since it doesn t feel good.

My life currently: affirming, journaling and pinteresting most of the day while in bed...earlier i did groceries and got a lot of things i love to eat and would be considered expensive where i live. Spent 120 euro today and i am in europe. I don't work. I only manifest haha. I'm yet to be at the financial level i want (one of my two desires i'm working on) but i still live a comfortable life, a life that energetically i wish i will have once i have lots and lots of money, because the vibes are amazing. I'd rather have this warm house and bed, friendships and good vibes than a view from the last floor in NYC from my bed, while ridden with anxiety and loneliness.

Ya know.. Everything will be ok, if you struggle to affirm meditate and try your affirmations just once to check how it feels with eyes closed within your inner being..and then check more affirmations one at a time... and ask yourself, your inner being: what do i really need? what do i really want? and when you are clear, then start repeating and manifesting.

good luck!

[cosmerelists]

Renarin Gets Advice About Being A Main Character

"Renarin gets help" list requested by anon. :)

[Stormlight Spoilers, including a WOB about Stormlight 6-10 in the Intro Paragraph!]

According to a WoB, Renarin won't be a main character until the back half of Stormlight (source). So, in preparation for his presumed ascension to Main Character Status (which I'm sure he knows about through his future sight), Renarin is going to get advice from the characters around him about how to be the best main character he can be.

...It made sense in my head, okay? Let's do this!

1. Shallan

Shallan: I think complexity is key. Renarin: In what sense? Shallan: You've got "weird guy" nailed down--really solidified that back when you were crouching in the corner saying ominous things during the onset of the Everstorm--but of course, you can't JUST be the weird guy. Shallan: You need, like, a tortured past and various schemes and a deeply faceted and nuanced characterization--just keep the readers guessing! Renarin: I don't know how you define "tortured," but my dad did kill my mom. And I am canonically the one piece that even the Diagram cannot account for. Shallan: Yes, yes. That's good stuff. Now you just need to put those tortured flashbacks and maverick energy on the page! Shallan: Honestly, I cannot wait to hear what's going on in that head of yours. Renarin: ...thank you?

2. Kaladin

Kaladin: Cool entrances. Cool one-liners. Kaladin: Remember when you followed me, Shallan, and Dalinar up like the entirety of Urithiru just so that you could step from the shadows at a dramatic moment and announce yourself as a Knight Radiant? Renarin: I, uh, do remember that, yes. Renarin: It was a really long walk. Renarin: I can't believe none of you spotted me that whole way. Kaladin: Readers don't need to know the details.

3. Dalinar

Dalinar: Your journey is your own. Dalinar: You don't have to be the strongest fighter or the most charismatic leader to be a main character. Dalinar: You can do it in your own way. Renarin: All right but I might want to do some of the fighting though. Renarin: You've seen me rush heedlessly into the fray multiple times now. Dalinar: I'm just saying you don't have to. Renarin: ... Renarin: Now I kind of want to do it more.

4. Eshonai

Eshonai: You might expect me to say "don't die." Eshonai: But I actually got a lot of character building post-death. Eshonai: ... Eshonai: I think it's still better not to die, though. Renarin: Yeah.

5. Lirin

Lirin: Do you care if fans like you? Renarin: [considering] Renarin: I would not say it's my highest priority, but I think I'd rather be liked if possible. Lirin: Sure, sure. Lirin: Then just don't be mean to Kaladin. Lirin: Trust me when I say that is the one thing you cannot do if you want to still have fans. Renarin: I'll...keep that in mind, I guess.

6. Jasnah

Jasnah: Being a main character simply involves having a lot of plot, yes? Jasnah: You are a Knight Radiant. Insert yourself into the most important matters of the day. Jasnah: Your accomplishments will drive the narrative, and then you will be the narrative. Renarin: You make it sound very...simple. Jasnah: But not easy. Jasnah: But that is all right--I know you can handle it.

7. Moash

Moash: Good main characters are a dime a dozen, frankly. Moash: Have you thought about going evil? Really makes a guy stand out from the crowd. Moash: You can even thin out the competition by killing other main characters. Moash: Ups your evil quotient and makes you even more of a main character. Moash: It's just math. Renarin: ... Renarn: Why did I ask you again?

8. Navani

Navani: Just don't let anyone stop you. Navani: Oh, people want to leave me off-screen in Kholinar? Too bad. I'm coming to the Shattered plains. Navani: Oh, one of the view point characters is trying to avoid me? Too bad. I'm dating him. Navani: Oh, I'm too human to be the second Bondsmith? Too bad--I'm all you got. Renarin: I'm not sure--that sounds awfully forceful. Navani: Let me put it in your terms. Navani: "Oh, people think my condition means I can't fight? I'm going to jump into a 4v1 duel while holding a sword that psychically damages me, just to help my brother." Renarin: ... Renarin: Thanks, Aunt Navani. Navani: Any time.

9. Adolin

Adolin: Advice about being a main character, huh? Adolin: Well! I know that readers like three things: romance, cool swords, and epic fights. Renarin: ...Aren't those things that YOU like? Adolin: Yes, exactly! Readers are just like me! Adolin: And that's why I know you'll be a good main chacter. Adolin: You got potential romance with another fan-favorite character and you have a living Shardblade (which is inherently cool). Just get a couple of on-page fights and you're good to go!

10. Wit

Wit: Readers just want originality. Renarin: All right. Renarin: Do you have any advice about how to achieve that? Wit: [puts a hand on Renarin's shoulder] Wit: Trust me, my friend: you can just do what comes naturally.

[creature-wizard]

Okay, so this ex-New Age-now Christian lady is bringing up something that aligns with something I've observed. Read this:

I was experiencing like these constant highs from new information and knowledge and finding the "truth" and fulfilling my reason for coming to Earth, but objectively, my life was actually getting worse. Fighting with my husband more than ever and I was just getting disenchanted with my life, I couldn't be present, I was finding it really hard to be present. But the weirdest thing was that I was feeling extreme - like when the high of the knowledge would die down, I was feeling like extremely anxious and that feeling of dread and doom that I started to get, was just anytime I would get down off that high of learning something new.

New Age spirituality isn't designed to be a form of spirituality that can sustain and nourish you for a lifetime, much less sustain and nourish generations of people. It's designed to provide bursts of short-term excitement in the form of conspiracy theories, occult lore, new trinkets to collect, celestial events, spiritual awakenings, and the always-imminent-but-never-arriving ascension into 5D. It's got dragons and fairies and angels and mermaids and aliens. And ultimately, it's all a bunch of empty fluff that alienates you from the real world, and from a truly meaningful existence.

When you think about it, it's really the perfect spirituality for a late-stage capitalist society, where you are expected to find fulfillment in short-term bursts of pleasure from a never-ending stream of consumer goods.

Meanwhile, when you look at spiritual traditions that have been practiced for a long time, you don't really see things like a huge focus on an imminent new era, or on some big necessity to discover the secret hidden truth. Sustainable spiritualities are more focused on continuing the cycle of life in the here and now. Trying to figure out what planet your soul is from so you know what your very special purpose in bringing along the new age? Obsessing over the next cosmic portal? Trying to learn the secret hidden truth they don't want you to know about? That's weird.

[tapetum-lucidumb]

Wholesome Gale headcanon:

Okay, hear me out. There's this one line where Gale offhandedly mentions that he writes poetry, and I mean, well, look at him. Of course he does. But what if his poems...are actually really, really good. You'd never suspect it from Mr. "I once read a book about feeling horny," but a lot of socially awkward people are better at writing than talking–ask me how I know. Maybe in private, writing something he knows no one else will read, he's able to say what he really means instead of stumbling around it. And–spoiler alert!–the letter he writes Tav in the ending where he dies mid-ascension is heartbreaking.