#this man's playlist was atrocious

[pedgito]

Joseph 'DJ' Quinn, everyone.

[evanpetersmybf]

All he asked for was you

Tate Langdon x female!reader

Summary: Tate loves you too much. He would do anything for you, to keep you by his side, to make you love him forever. He would cross any line to make you his, it doesn't matter how evil it is... But was it really worth it?

Genre: ANGST!! and some smut

Word count: 5,104

Warnings: Obsessive, stalkish and violent behavior, implicit toxic relationship; mentions of weapons, murder, mental health issues, family issues, school shooting; use of Y/N, swearing, cunnilingus, fingering, unprotected p in v. (i hope i'm not missing any...) NOT PROOFREAD !!

A/N: English isn't my first language!! Sorry if I have some mistakes and if Tate's a bit ooc (i tried to keep him in character as much as i could). I wasn't sure (and still not) if this is good but I spent days writing it, so I had to post it.

A small playlist with songs that inspired me for this: monster by meg and dia, pacify her by melanie martinez, all i want is you by rebzyyx, skyfall by adele, psycho by doko, paparazzi by lady gaga, dark red by steve lacy.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ཐི ♡ ཋྀ

Tate never believed in love, nor was he a romantic one. 

In fact, he despised it. How could he even believe in that feeling when he never felt loved by his own mother? At least that’s what he pretended.

The blond always had the facade of a tough guy, although he couldn’t fool anyone. Constance knew well he was a sensitive boy. Probably the most crybaby ever to exist… And the most unstable one.

Now he was here. His chest going up and down, breathing shallow and fast. His eyes were darting around the room, looking for something or perhaps someone. Some silly tears were rolling down his cheeks while he anxiously fidgeted with a ring on his finger. The clock on the wall continued its tick-tack. The time kept running. His heart kept beating. It was getting late.

He refused to look at the wooden floor. He didn’t want to accept reality. If Tate did that, he would feel like the biggest monster on Earth.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t stay like this.

He had to do something real fast.

Today, 18:40

You were supposed to arrive at 19:00.

But he remained there, next to the corpse of his rival. A bloody ax beside the dead man’s bleeding head.

Whom he thought was his worst enemy, was someone really dear to you.

Well, Tate fervently believed this was something justified. He couldn’t stand that fucking asshole anymore! That scumbag needed to be put back in his place. And Tate only did that. Furthermore, he actually helped him. He took him away from this shitty world. It was a favor.

He had already killed his mother’s boyfriend, so why was he feeling guilty?

Maybe because his victim was special to you. Because his death would hurt you. And Langdon swore to God he would never let anybody or anything hurt you, including himself.

He loved you.

He wanted to be the one to hold your hand forever.

Tate snapped back to the present and frowned. He picked up the weapon, putting it in his backpack. He didn’t even mind cleaning it. Then, he proceeded to knelt right next to the lifeless dude and cleaned the blood surrounding his body; afterwards, he dragged him to the basement and…

19:00

A knock on the door.

You arrived.

“DAMN IT!” 

He left his dead foe lying limp on the cold basement ground and quickly ran upstairs, straight to his room. He also left the backpack there.

Tate spent the last twenty minutes cleaning the mess he made in the living room after he atrociously smashed your friend’s head, forgetting that had poor time to get ready. 

He desperately looked for clean clothes, scrambling the entire closet in search of fresh garments while he cussed at himself, at his mother, at that freaking boy, at the entire world but you.

Finally he found some jeans and a striped shirt. He looked at himself in the mirror after changing and cleaned the tiny drops of blood that stayed on his face and hands. He never realized he left the bloody clothing on the bed.

Another knock.

19:07

Tate opened the door, immediately throwing himself at you and giving you one of the warmest hugs. His demeanor with you was completely different; you were the only creature capable of changing his fucked up mind into something more beautiful, more peaceful. The issue was that it only happened when he was with you, otherwise he would be aggressive and rude as usual.

You got the best of him. 

“Missed you so fuckin’ much, babe…” Voice muffled since his face was buried in the crook of your neck. Tate always did the same thing; clinging onto you like a small koala would.

“Heh, me too, hun!” You spoke with the same soothing voice he adored. Tate giggled and placed a tender kiss on your jawline, then another, and another, and another.

Soon enough, he was peppering kisses all over your neck, making you moan softly. Oh those sounds. He could hear you melting under his touch, his embrace, for the rest of eternity.

He loved making you squirm, making you laugh, making you feel loved.

He was way too sweet.

Only if you knew.

Four weeks before today…

Tate has always had the bad habit of stalking you. Yeah… He wasn’t proud of it. But can you blame him? He’s constantly afraid of you leaving him. He wanted to make sure you never did so… Otherwise he would die. Literally.

Don’t ask how he would die. You already know the answer.

You two were supposed to have a date, albeit you had to cancel your meeting.

And that, of course, made him overthink. It didn’t matter how many times you told him you were going to study; he felt betrayed, as if you were rejecting him. And Tate hated and feared rejection to the bone.

“Pretty please? Please, Y/N! I don’t wanna go home early, mom’s gonna be there and-and–”

“Tate, I can’t skip this. I have like, a test every day next week and I must study. I don’t wanna fail. Please, sweetie. I promise I’ll make it up to ya’, mhm?” 

He rolled his eyes and whined, almost throwing a tantrum. He didn’t try to manipulate you on purpose. It came out naturally. “But I need you, Y/N! Why do you always do the same, huh? Am I not that important? Don’t you love me any longer?”

His childish crying continued for a couple of minutes, until it stopped and the blond agreed a deal with you.

You thought he was calm now, but no. How naive.

You went to the library to study as you said… Without noticing he followed you.

Quietly, he got into that maze of books after you and hid behind some shelves.

Tate noticed you sat on an empty table. Thank God. Oh?

Who. Is. He.

A man Tate didn’t know sat next to you. Really close. Too close for Tate’s liking. He tried to think he was a stranger, that he wasn’t going to talk to you… He was wrong.

He clenched his hands into a ball when he saw that idiot talking to you, and the worst part was that you followed suit. It seemed you two were friends or something.

How DARE YOU talk to another man? No, how dare you talk to another HUMAN BEING!?

Tate was insecure 24/7.

If you weren’t there, Tate was falling apart. It was simple.

No Y/N, no happy Tate. Was it too hard to understand?

Three weeks before today…

It was Friday. Tate was impatiently waiting for you outside the campus, hanging a small bouquet of flowers he picked up.

Once he spotted you coming out from the building, he waved his hand and embraced you tightly once you were in front of him. He gave you the adorable present.

“Tate!”

“How did you do? Did you pass your tests? Don’t tell me, I’m sure you did.” Said, grinning from ear to ear. He was away from you for an entire week. How did he survive? He didn’t know, but he was glad to have you with him again. “Tell me about your life in the last days, baby. Please? I feel like I haven’t seen you in years!”

There he was, the one and only drama queen Tate Langdon.

You talked about the tests, about how the teachers were being a pain in the ass (which clearly triggered in him the intense desire of hurting them because they stressed you), and… About a guy. The same guy from the library, with whom you spent the entire last week studying. He couldn’t stand it. He saw him as a threat to your relationship, especially since he was an old friend that you met many years ago. 

As the days went by, you gave him more reasons to hate that jerk. Why? Well of course because you spent hours at the library doing homework or studying with him. Or even hanging out with him and other people.

In reality, you went out with him to a museum just once, and then skating with other colleagues. Nothing compared to the time you spent with Tate; in a week, you would hang out with him almost daily, and if you were way too busy, he would go to your place and spend the night there. He was so attached to you to the point he had to see you at least once a day. And that’s why he was so jealous of your friend. Tate couldn’t stand the idea of you sharing your life with someone else who wasn’t him or your family… And he also got jealous of them, but he was handling it.

Two weeks before today.

After Tate’s pleas, you decided to introduce your friend to him.

Probably a big mistake.

The date was really awkward; your friend tried being nice, and Tate acted surprisingly kind. Of course it was odd; usually, he despised all of your friends and treated them badly, yet this time was different. You were stunned, however, you tried to ignore it and instead got happy as he finally accepted a random person as your buddy. 

Still and all, he hated that moron. It didn’t matter how much he tried liking your pal, he was jealous of him. He was getting on his nerves. He denied the fact that you had more love for other people that wasn’t him. Tate desired being your only one. Your number one. Your entire world. Because that’s what you were for him. And he was willing to do whatever to keep you with him.

Tate exchanged numbers with him and meticulously plotted a plan to ascertain he would never talk to you ever again. At first, it came out as a simple “I’m gonna scare the shit outta him”, nonetheless, it turned into a darker idea, very likely involving physical violence.

One week before today…

The last few days, Tate won Peter’s trust. Ah yes. That’s your friend's name. You were glad that he finally opened his warm heart and began to meet more people besides you.

You thought he needed a friend, an empathetic person who could support the blond when you weren’t available, that way he would feel less lonely and depressed.

They went to the cinema, to the arcade, even to a music store. Everything was going according to what he planned.

Eventually, he invited Peter to his place to play chess and other board games on a Sunday afternoon, before you arrived and had a date with Tate due to your anniversary. 

Today, 16:00

Peter and Tate were eating pizza and having a great noon, talking about their lives and random stuff, like school and music. They both enjoyed Nirvana, and since Peter played the guitar, he agreed on teaching your boy how to.

If it weren’t for Tate’s twisted mind, they would’ve been best friends.

The guitarist wasn’t a bad guy. He was a great buddy that really appreciated you and the crybaby, but Langdon had something else in mind.

18:00

The men watched a movie. Tate didn’t even know its name; in fact, he didn’t even pay attention to it. Instead, he was focused on his next actions, plotting them carefully.

“Crap, mom’s gonna arrive soon…” Tate mumbled with annoyance, biting his nails and tapping his foot on the floor. He was lying. You were going to arrive, not Constance.

“Damn, bro. Well, I don’t have a problem. I wanna meet her.”

“Huh? No no no, you shouldn’t. That bitch is crazy.”

Peter scoffed, disagreeing with Tate’s rude manner to call his own momma.

“Hey, you shouldn’t talk like that. I bet she loves you!”

That pissed him off. “You don’t know anything, Peter. Your family is different. Your life’s different. You won’t understand!” He yelled, standing up from the couch and now pacing around the room, trying to keep it calm.

“Dude, calm down!

“NO! I fucking won’t!”

The screaming continued for a while. Tate revealed his unstable and crystal self. Even something so insignificant could drive him to the edge, like what happened today. That definitely surprised the other one, who used to think that Tate was a sweet boy. “I dunno why Y/N is dating you.”

“What did you say?” Tate abruptly stopped pacing.

“Y/N. Y/N doesn’t deserve you.”

“WHY WOULD YOU EVEN SAY THAT!?” He pounced on Peter, gripping his neck with one rough hand, applying enough pressure on the sides to stop the blood circulation in his carotids and make him lose consciousness.

Before passing out, Peter, getting pale, managed to croak out: “Because she deserves better…”

Soon enough, he fainted, giving Tate minutes to think about what else to do. 

Your boyfriend wasn’t planning on murdering Peter today. No, he didn’t have time. He also was supposed to meet you.. But this was the perfect excuse! And not only that; he indirectly admitted he was in love with you! Or that’s what Tate interpreted with his delusional point of view.

Peter didn’t feel anything romantic for you, he was just worried Tate might be too unhinged to be your partner.

Thus, he went to his room and grabbed his backpack. Then, went to the garden shed and picked up the ax that belonged to his father, and a bottle of lye.

He had to get the job done quickly, nevertheless, he lost track of time.

18:30

Tate came back to the living room, just to notice that Peter wasn’t there anymore.

“FUCK IT!” Langdon got nervous. What if he escaped? What if he told you that Tate was crazy? He couldn’t allow this, not at all.

Thankfully, or maybe not, Tate found Peter crawling towards the front door, the poor dude still feeling dizzy after being choked.

Tate didn’t have any mercy.

“Where do you think you’re going, lil’ piece of shit!?”

18:38

Tate finally did it. He brutally murdered Peter, smashing his head several times with the ax.

He got rid of that little issue. He took him to somewhere clean.

Once he assured the other man wasn’t breathing, he dropped the weapon on the floor, making a loud metallic thud.

19:10

Tate was pinning you down on the couch, the same couch where your dead friend was sitting just an hour ago.

His hands were traveling all along your body, tracing sweet patterns on your skin.

Eventually, his fingers were clumsily pulling down your panties, not minding to take off your skirt. “Did you bring this for easy access, baby?” Tate chuckled and buried his face between your legs, holding your thighs in place; his lips plastered messy kisses over the warm flesh, biting it and leaving tiny marks after sucking.

Your reaction was alluring to him; he enjoyed listening to your pleas, to your whimpers. If it was for him, he would spend the entire day making you cum over and over again.

He finally got rid of your underwear, tossing it aside. Without further ado, the boy spread your folds with his large digits, and continued to lick your throbbing wet cunt.

“So fucking pretty… So wet for me, huh?”

His tongue lapped your small clit two or three times, then, traced a zigzag and circles on the sensitive nub. While he devoured you, he inserted his middle and ring finger, pumping them in and out of your cute hole, curling them and hitting the right spot to make you feel butterflies.

Tate could feel his arousal growing; his erection being restrained by the tight fabric of his jeans. He was desperate, yeah. But he always put you in the first place, and that included pleasuring you before him.

After a while, he replaced his fingers with his tongue, fucking your pussy with the agile muscle and now rubbing your clit with his thumb, applying pressure that sent electric waves through your body. He stopped using his tongue on you and instead looked at that stunning face of yours. He was delighted with your flushed cheeks, with every single gesture you did, with the way your eyes rolled to the back of your head. He wanted to take a picture of you to remember this moment forever.

His thumb increased the pace, while his free hand lifted up your blouse and tried to undo your bra. He couldn’t. You giggled when he groaned in frustration; he was too horny to think straight and that’s why you helped him to take off the garment.

Tate sighed and after that awkward and funny moment, he kept rubbing your bud, using your own juices and his saliva as a lubricant, intensifying the sensation. His left pinched and pulled your nipple, making you gasp and twitch beneath him, whilst his mouth abused your other one, greedily sucking on it.

“Tate, ‘m gonna cum! I-”

Tate cut you off by kissing you harshly; his tongue invading your warm mouth, exploring it and then nibbling your bottom lip until it bleeded. He licked the tiny drops of blood, savoring the metallic taste of it.

Unable to hold on any longer, you reached your orgasm, coming undone while Tate kept caressing your pussy, decreasing the velocity while you finally calmed down.

He left you panting; your heart beating so fast just like his.

You tried to sit up on the couch, breathing deep for more air, but the blond prevented you from going away.

“Where do you think you’re doing? We’re not done yet, you’re gonna cum again!”

Tate carried you bridal style and went upstairs straight to his bedroom. He threw you on the bed.

Without stopping looking at you, he unbuckled his belt and pulled down his jeans along the boxers; his dick already erect and throbbing, the veins thick and the tip leaking precum.

Using the clear liquid as lube, he stroked his shaft for a while, jerking off to the sight of you. He groaned and whimpered, closing his eyes as his hand pumped himself.

One of your hands went to your breasts, massaging them softly as your right went down between your legs, slowly teasing your womanhood and coating your index finger with your arousal, using it to rub your aching bundle of nerves.

Tate’s dark room was now filled with both of your moans; Tate calling your name several times and you begging him to fuck you.

He couldn’t stand this anymore. He NEEDED to be inside you, to feel your warmth enveloping him. “On all fours. Now.” You immediately obeyed, feeling as eager as him.

“Look at me, mhm?” He positioned behind you and rubbed the tip against your wet folds, teasing you for a bit. Afterwards, he slowly entered his cock inside your slit, moving it slowly at first. His thumb went to your clitoris, toying with it just like minutes before. He picked up the pace and fucked you fast and hard; his cockhead brushing your cervix. Grabbing a fistful of your hair, Tate pulled your head towards him, still with the deep thrusting.  “Fuck, Y/N! You’re so pretty… So fucking precious, so fucking mine!” Moaned against your ear, voice raspy and agitated.

Panting, you stopped looking at him and instead looked to the bed. Why? Who knows, but you did it. And you saw Tate’s dirty clothes. Dirty with blood. A lot of blood.

You froze. Maybe it was red paint? 

“U-uh, Tate?” You muttered, feeling already bewildered by the sight. You tried not to jump into conclusions, although you knew Tate and he has always been… Secretive.. And aggressive, of course. 

After your boyfriend heard your shaky whisper, he stopped moving, even if he wanted to keep going. “Hm?”

“What’s this?” Tate sighed and pulled out from you, not understanding what you meant. 

“What’s what?”

Without saying anything else to him, you grabbed the shirt and touched the weird stain. It was still fresh. You took your fingers to your mouth to taste it; and the metallic tang was too obvious. “Tate, what the fuck is this!?”

You threw it at him. Freaked out, you stood up and picked up your clothes, putting them on again, all meanwhile Tate connected the dots and realized he was probably going to get caught.

“Wait, Y/N! It’s not what it looks like, I swear, damn it!” He yelled and grabbed your arm, not wanting you to leave like this. He had to save his reputation, he couldn’t let you think bad of him even if you had all the right. Because, why the fuck the fabric was soaked in blood?

“Then what is it, Tate? WHY DOES IT HAVE SO MUCH BLOOD!?”

“CALM DOWN, PLEASE!” 

You attempted to get away from his grip, struggling with him until, somehow, you managed to do so. However, you tripped with his dirty shoes and fell, realizing they were also stained with the red liquid. “Tate, what…? Why? What is this?”

“Nothing, I swear!” He didn’t have any excuses. Saying it was paint would’ve been lame. You were too smart and he knew lying wasn’t a good choice.

Feeling overwhelmed with the matter, you went downstairs, walking as fast as you could. Passing through the living room, a very familiar bag caught your eye. It was definitely Peter’s. You decided to grab it and realized it had his phone inside. Something was off.

Tate was standing behind you; fists clenched and heart beating like crazy. He tried to approach you, still thinking about what to do or what to say. 

“Tate… What is this doing here? Peter’s here?” 

“Huh? Yeah… He— He came earlier and had to go soon, he left this accidentally, yup…” You could see him fidgeting with that ring on his finger, again. 

“Bullshit!”

Tate scowled and grabbed your chin, making you look at his dark orbs. “Tell me, Y/N, do you trust me or not, huh? Look me in the eyes and say you don’t!”

The struggle continued for what seemed eternity. You trying to run away from the house and he trying to make you stay. “Please, Y/N, just listen to me!”

“You did something to him, right? I know him, Tate! He would NEVER leave his phone like this! Is this a joke?”

“Why do you care so much about that asshole!? What has he done for you!? Tell me!”

“Oh my, you’re jealous! I knew it! All that crap about being his friend was a lie, right? Tate, you’re being delusional! I can have friends, I can hang out with whoever I want, whether you like it or not!” 

Tate pressed your cheeks between his thumb and the rest of his fingers, squeezing the flesh with his veiny, big hand, pressing it tightly enough to leave the mark of his long digits on it.

“You can’t! You’re mine. Only mine. Since the day you were born you were meant to be mine. Not his, not anybody, just me.”

“Tate… We should end this…” You thought this was the best for both. Being in a relationship with him was draining; always being careful to not hurt him, make him jealous or mad. He was such a sensitive boy that always took everything too personally. He felt everything a little too much.

Since the beginning you knew he was unstable and that he had many issues, but you tried to see beyond his sick mind, you tried to understand him despite being so different.

Tate felt so safe with you. You were the only person who understood him, or at least made attempts to. 

He felt rejected by the entire society, even by his own mother, until he met you and he had a minimum spark of hope that the world didn’t suck that much.

That’s why he clung to you. That’s why you were his everything. He would lose his mind if you leave him.

He felt like dying when he heard you wanted to finish the relationship.

He couldn’t breathe. 

Some tears were now falling to the floor, his eyes puffy and an ugly frown on his face. His mouth twisted as he sobbed loudly, tugging the hem of your shirt while he begged you to stay. He was crying like a newborn, like a baby who had to be apart from his mother for a second.

“No no no no, you can’t do this to me!” He whimpered, his speech cracking as he tried to hold you close whilst you were stepping back. You were slipping through his fingers, you were leaving him.

“Tate, if something happened to Peter, I will never forgive you! Can’t you see you’re hurting me?”

Tate swore he would never hurt you, nor let anyone. But here he was, finally snapping out of it and seeing the cruel truth. 

“You’ve been hurting me the whole time, Tate! I tried to understand you, I really did, I tried to help you, to save you from yourself! But it’s impossible. I’m losing myself here with you, I don’t even know who I am anymore! You don’t want help, do you? ‘Cause it doesn’t matter what I do, you’re never satisfied! You suffocate me!”

All those words were like daggers penetrating his skin, touching his nerves and making him die of pain. You were tearing him apart, just the way he was destroying you.

He finally let go of you, feeling a tornado of emotions. Tate felt depressed, mad, resentful, like he was going crazy. Though, he knew he had to leave if that’s what you wanted. He couldn’t bring himself to break another promise.

Thereby, he confessed his crimes to you. He explained he killed his mom’s partner a few days ago, and that now he had killed your friend. Why? He was jealous, he was scared you’d left him. You did it before you discovered the cruel reality, anyways. That’s why he told you. Because he couldn’t lose anything else.

The situation was utterly disgusting. Tate was sick. He murdered an innocent man and then proceeded to fuck you, as it was the maximum test of love, as if his life meant nothing.

You knew he wasn’t what people often considered “normal”. But this was definitely more than just being a “weirdo”. Tate needed psychiatric help… And being arrested, of course.

“You make me wanna puke, Tate! You’re the evil!”

Without hesitating, you left Tate behind, running as fast as you could from that living hell.

You just wanted to cry, curl up into a ball and wake up from this nightmare. You wished it was merely a bad dream.

Tomorrow morning, you’d go to the police, but for now you needed to sleep.

Monday morning, 11:05

You couldn’t sleep all night. You spent hours thinking about everything, about how this looked like a cruel joke to you. Eventually, you fell asleep at 4AM, and didn’t wake up at what seemed almost midday. 

An intense sound of police sirens woke you from your slumber. Startled by the loud noise, you rubbed your eyes and went to the window, trying to get a glimpse of what was happening outside.

Police cars and SWAT vans were going in a specific direction… Towards Tate’s street. It couldn’t be, right?

Did his mother find the corpse? Or perhaps something else?

You looked at the clock, realizing it was late and you had to go to class. 

08:00

After the most painful night of his life, Tate decided today everything would be over.

He had to cleanse the world… To take people to somewhere else, to some place full of peace away from the piss and the vomit that runs down the streets.

He was doing this not only because of your breakup, but also because of many other reasons. Your split up was the straw that broke the camel and drove him to the edge.

10:40

 After shooting the school, Tate left the place, looking unfazed about what he just did. He was unhinged. 

He peacefully got into his place, went to his room and stayed there for some minutes. 

The blond sat on the edge of the bed, leaving the gun right next to him and stared at nothing. His gaze was empty, but also there were some tears threatening to spill.

His mind was a whirlwind. Some part of him was satisfied, but the other was confused, wondering what was he thinking, what had he done?

What would you think of him now? Were you even there? Did he kill you too and he didn’t even notice?

In the end, he recognized he indeed was the evil you said. Damn it. You were right, again, as ever.

Tate wanted to hear your voice, to comfort him, to hear you saying everything was okay. That he’d be okay. He desired to hear “I love you” from you once more.

11:15

You went downstairs to find your family apparently mourning you.

They thought you were at school when the shooting happened. They believed you were gone, but here you were. 

Eventually, they explained to you what happened.

The first thing that popped into your mind was Tate’s wellbeing, still unaware that he was the culprit. You were afraid something terrible could’ve happened to him, you were regretting your last words to him, but you also had to get him prisoner.

Your heart dropped when they explained to you he was the shooter.

No, it couldn’t be possible. 

It was possible. After all, he had already killed two men.

Even if you despise what he did, some part of you still longed for him, still was in love with his once kind heart.

A terrifying feeling of dread filled your body, making you feel numb, as if none of this was real… 

11:25

After running to Tate’s house and seeing it surrounded by the cops and the SWAT team, everything stopped. Constance’s distressed cries and pleas were heard from outside, followed suit by the sound of bullets. It was over now.

Tate was certainly a troubled individual who dedicated his entire life to searching for something, to feel something, to feel loved.

All he asked for was love, to be loved, to love. All he wanted was you.

But at the same time, your love led him to an never-ending obsession that ultimately broke both of you.

He became your biggest regret.

All he feared, all his nightmares came true. Everything he was so afraid of was him and only himself. 

[castleaudios]

Hi Castle, hope you’re having a wonderful day! Do you have any songs that you associate with characters and listeners? I’ve started to make character playlists and was curious if there are any songs I should add to said lists 👀

Thank you! Hope you’re having a wonderful day as well 💛 But oooohhh I am so sorry to admit that I am absolutely atrocious at character playlists 😂😭 But I did my best to include all the songs that I've listened to recently that I would associate with the characters or songs I've listened to while writing their scripts (And man oh man am I outting myself with all these artists 🤣)

For Beth, Knight, and Claire:

Brother by Madds Buckley

Claire:

Driver's Seat by Madds Buckley

Reliable Narrator by Chase Petra

Too Sweet by Hozier

Beth:

De Selby pt 2 by Hozier

New Beginnings by NEFFEX

The Moon Will Sing by The Crane Wives

Evie:

Red Wine Supernova by Chappel Roan

HOT TO GO by Chappel Roan

Knight:

De Selby Part 2 by Hozier

All For Us by Labrinth

Ranger:

Abstract (Phychopomp) by Hozier

Shameless by Camilla Cabello

Lydia:

Which Witch by Florence and the Machine

Francesca by Hozier

Labour by Paris Paloma

Rose:

It's Called: Freefall by Paris Paloma

Soldier, Poet, King by The Oh Hellos

Dear:

People Watching by Conan Gray

Inertia by AJR

Abby:

Yes I'm A Mess by AJR

Open Arms by Jorge Rivera-Herrans

Rachelle:

Wolf In Sheep's Clothing by Set It Off

Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga

Harper:

Pretty Girls by Renee Rapp

Something In The Orange by Zach Bryan

Rogue:

Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youths

Panic Room by Au/Ra

[missrosegold]

and if my body should fade i'll trust you with my soul part II

Part I can be found here

Synopsis: You’ve always been able to see the man with white hair and charred skin around your village, even though it seemed that nobody else could.

Or, you ended up making a deal with death, and now he’s come to collect.

Word count: 30k

Paring: Dabi x Reader (fem reader)

Warnings: Mentions of death, strong language, smut, so Minors or ageless blogs DNI. This is rated 18+ Additional tags listed below. This does take place in a somewhat medieval inspired AU so there are some misogynistic tones in some parts of the story.

Playlist: Sparky Deathcap – September (we got fire) instrumental version, slowed.

Thank you once again to the lovely @candycandy00 for editing this for me, and another massive thank you to miss @kimkaelyn for making the banner for me! (I love it so much!)

You sigh to yourself as you check medical supplies in your village’s apothecary, making a mental note to tell the healer you’re training under that you’re running low on Feverfew and Echinacea.

Fall has arrived in full swing. The dense forest that surrounds your town has changed its leaves from vibrant green to beautiful shades of red and yellow. It’s beautiful, but you’ve never been much of a fall person. You know what comes next. The autumn months mean winter is close behind, and you’ve never liked the cold. For some reason, you can’t shake the feeling that this upcoming winter is going to be a particularly bad one.

You shake your head and return to your task at hand, but you can’t stop your mind from wandering as you continue to take stock of the medical inventory.

After the mysterious disappearance of your betrothed, your parents didn’t try to engage you to anyone else, and you can’t help but feel relieved. Marrying one of the men from your village was never in the cards for you, a fact that you made very clear to them after your formal betrothal’s disappearance. You weren’t interested in marriage or raising a family of your own. Not right now, possibly not ever.

In the end, you decided to train under your village’s healer – a kind old woman named Chiyo, who’s been the town healer for longer than you’ve been alive – as a means of getting out from under your parents.

Despite word of your betrothal’s mysterious disappearance quickly spreading throughout your village, there had been some other potential suitors that had come to you after you had started training at the apothecary. While none of them were rude or malicious, you always turned them down with a gentle smile before sending them on their way.

Besides, none of them held your heart the way a certain pyromancer did.

You haven’t seen Touya for a few months now, not since the disappearance of your betrothed. You’re not completely sure what happened after Touya found him – you’re not sure if you want to know, even though you have a pretty good idea of what happened if the fresh burns he had come back with had anything to say about it. You know better than to ask though, knowing full well that Touya will never tell you the full truth, even if you already know without him having to say it.

You sometimes wonder if there’s anything left of the blacksmith’s son.

You know that you should feel shocked, horrified even, that your pyromancer was capable of doing such an atrocious thing. But all you feel when you think about it, is a strange sense of relief.

You wonder if that makes you a bad person.

Inwardly, you know it probably should, especially when the blacksmith came looking for his son not long after his disappearance. When he had asked you if you knew anything about why his son had seemingly taken off without so much as a word to anyone, you had said no, of course, because what else could you have said to him? It’s not like anyone aside from you could see Touya to begin with, and there no way to explain to the blacksmith the fate that had most likely befallen his son.

Regardless, all you knew was that you’d never see him again. Touya had made sure of that.

There are still search parties that go out every once in a while, looking for him and a part of you wants to tell them that it’s a waste of time, that he’s nowhere to be found, but you won’t. It’s yours and Touya’s dirty secret to share now, and it will stay that way until you take your dying breath.

You suppress a sigh as you take a break from checking inventory, and your thoughts wander back to Touya of their own accord. He had warned you that he wouldn’t be back for some time after he had brought you home – he had serious business to take care of in the eastern part of the country, and he wasn’t sure when he’d be back. You hope he’s doing well, wherever he is.

Your heart clenches when you think of him. You’re not sure what you are anymore. You told him that you loved him, and even though he didn’t say it back to you, you’re certain that he loves you too.

“You know why.” Those words have echoed in your head since he said them to you. You’ve known that the two of you have been bordering on the cusp of something for a while now, and that solidifies it.

You promise yourself that the next time he comes to see you, you’ll ask him what you are to him. What this is.

Eventually, Chiyo dismisses you in the midafternoon, and you find yourself taking the lonely path up towards Dabi’s temple. You’ve started going there a lot more in Touya’s absence. Ever since you kissed the white-haired pyromancer in Dabi’s temple, you had started making a habit of coming back to the derelict temple, in an effort to clean it up a little.

For some reason, Touya seems to have a fondness for the place, and you’re starting to understand why. Despite its outward appearance and dust covered insides, you’ve never once felt unwelcome in the temple itself. It’s calm and quiet, and the more you visit the abandoned shrine, you realize it’s really a shame that it was abandoned by the priests, because it was probably quite beautiful back in the day.

With that thought, you had decided to take it upon yourself to try and restore the temple back to its original glory.

When you had brought up what you wanted to clean Dabi’s shrine to the priests at Hawks’s temple, you had been met with disbelieving looks, as the temple itself had sat vacant for well over a century. But once you had assured them that you weren’t there to cause trouble, and that you only wanted to clean it up a little, they had relented, and even gave you cleaning supplies, telling you that if you needed help, all you needed to do was come and get them.

You had laughed to yourself as you took the cleaning supplies back with you to the temple. The only reason why you had gone to them in the first place was to tell them what you planned to do, regardless of whether they liked it or not. Hawks’s temple was the closest to Dabi’s, and you’d end up walking past it to get to the secluded shrine more often than not. The last thing you needed was them assuming that you were doing something strange, when it was the exact opposite.

You soon found yourself in front of the large double doors once more, but unlike the first time you had entered the temple, you didn’t hesitate to let yourself in this time, shutting them softly behind you. You set your shawl down by the entrance and take off your shoes to avoid tracking any dirt in from the outside. You breathe in deeply as the faint smell of incense hits your nose, looking around the large room with a content smile on your face.

It’s not perfect, but its far better than what it was previously. You’ve washed and cleaned the floors and walls, sweeping out almost a century’s worth of dust and other debris. You’ve scraped the ancient remains of melted candle wax off the alter in front of Dabi’s statue, and replaced the melted down prayer candles with new ones. You brought in some pillows and plush rugs from home that your mother was about to throw out, not wanting them to go to waste, and also wanting to make the temple more homey, in case anyone aside from yourself wanted to visit. You keep incense burning constantly to get rid of the musty smell that has always lingered around the temple, and it finally seems to be working. Lastly, with the help of two priests from Hawks’s temple, you were finally able to fix that damn hole in the ceiling above the statue of the Cremation God.

Now you’re at the temple to do one last thing: clean the giant marble statue of the Death God himself. You didn’t see much of a point cleaning it before the hole got fixed, but thankfully, the sculpture doesn’t seem to be very dirty. Still, you want to go over it, and wash down what you can reach – it’s only polite after all.

Besides, after what you learned about him from Touya, you figure that it’s not a bad idea to stay in the illusive god’s good graces--

“Hello Princess.”

You jump at the sound of a familiar smoky rasp, and whirl around, only to see Touya standing a few feet behind you, a smirk plastered across his dis-coloured lips.

“Touya! When did you get here? I thought you said you didn’t know when you were going to be back! Did you finish with whatever you were doing in the East early?” you gasp delightedly, as the tall man strides towards you. He shakes his head.

“No, the situation there is a bit more… serious then I originally thought. I’m probably going to be there for a while yet, but I had some time, and I wanted to see you.” He stops directly in front of you, and his smirk becomes softer. “How have you been? I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve been… keeping busy.” You tell him, lacing your hands together in front of you. “I’ve started working at the village apothecary. Chiyo runs a tight ship, but I’m learning a lot from her and she’s good to me.”

“What did your parents think about that?”

“Well… they weren’t pleased, but that’s more to do with me telling them that I won’t be courting anyone anytime soon. I told them I wasn’t interested, nor will I ever be. My mother isn’t happy, but at least she hasn’t forced me into any other engagements… not after what happened before you left.” You tell him honestly, and Touya only nods, his expression not giving anything away.

“Glad they’ve finally taken the hint. What else have you gotten up to, pretty girl?”

“Take a look around, you tell me.” You tell him with a tiny smile. You watch his brows furrow together in confusion, and he looks around the room, only for his eyes to widen, like he’s seeing the temple for the first time.

You watch as he investigates the plush rugs and pillows you have scattered around the base of the alter, how he takes in the sight of fresh prayer candles lit at the bottom of the statue – how clean and bright and warm you’ve managed to make it, since you were both here last. He seems overwhelmed, like he’s at a loss for words.

“I did it for you.” You admit softly, feeling your face heat up with your admission.

“You did this… for me?” he asks slowly, not looking at you, as he takes in everything that you’ve done. You smile softly at him even though he can’t see it.

“You seem to be pretty fond of this place, and you know so much about its history, I thought that maybe I could fix it up a little so I could have something to show you when you came back.” That gets his attention, and he fixes his azure eyes on you, locking you in place.

“You did this for me.”

“I… yes… Do you not like it?” you sputter, suddenly worried that you’ve done something wrong.

“No, Gods no. You did this for me.” He says breathlessly. “This is more than I could have ever hoped for.” He closes the remaining space between you, and his obscenely warm hands find your waist, while yours automatically come rest on his chest. “God’s you did this for me.”

“Yes.” You whisper. “Touya? I don’t understand--?”

The words die on your lips as Touya surges forwards and presses his rough lips to yours. You feel the grip he has on your waist turn bruising, as he kisses you hard and deep, bordering on desperate.

“I love you.” He tells you, pulling away momentarily to bring one hand up from your waist to cup the back of your neck. “I love you. You were the first person to see me in so long – I knew you were different, I knew you were for me, and then you did this-“

He smashes his lips back onto yours, and you wrap your hands around his neck. Normally, you’d be mindful of his burns, but you’re so engrossed in his feverish kisses that you squeeze him tightly, and feel him moan into your mouth in response. He pulls back slightly for air, and pants heavily against you.

“Let me have you.” He growls against your lips. “Right here, right now. Gods help me I can’t wait any longer. I need to have you. I need you.”

“Okay, I—okay—yes.” You hear yourself gasping, and suddenly you’re swept off your feet. You feel your back hit something soft. Turning your head slightly to the side, you realize that Touya has placed you down onto a small pile of pillows. The realization of what you’re about to do hits you full force, but you don’t feel scared. You want this, you want him. You’ve wanted him for a long time.

Touya looms over you, caging you in, and runs the back of a heavily scared hand over your cheek. You shiver from the sensation of his feverishly hot skin and the cooler tones of the staples in his hand running over your skin. He gives you a wicked smile, as he sits back on his haunches, and starts to push your skirts up, revealing your bare legs.

You lurch up and grab his hands, forcing him to pause. He chuckles low in his throat at your actions, and pries your hands off of his own, placing a kiss on the back of one as his azure blue eyes meets your flushed face. “Relax my love. Let me take care of you.”

“It’s just- I mean, I’ve never done this before. I’m-“

“I know.” Touya damn near purrs, and you feel heat pool in your belly. “I’ll take care of you. I’ll be so gentle with you, I promise.”

You nod shakily and lower yourself back down onto the pillows, as Touya hikes your skirts up, revealing your legs and bottoms. He groans deeply as he kneads the plush of your thighs. “Fuck Princess, you’re perfect. Just like I knew you would be.”

“You’ve thought about me?” For some reason, his words of endearment strike a chord with you.

“Of course.” Touya murmurs, coming up to kiss you briefly, before taking your hand in one of his own. “Whenever I’m away, or I’m in the middle of a mission – alone and lonely – I think of you.”

He brings your hand down to his crotch, and sure enough, you feel a bulge underneath his pants. “See what you do to me?” he growls as he releases your hand so that he can work on shimmying your panties down your legs. You go to move your hand away, but he fixes you with a stern look. “Keep it there. Don’t move until I tell you to.”

You nod as he hooks his fingers into the band of your panties and leans back slightly to pull them down your legs, almost ripping them off in his haste. As soon as the offending material is gone, Touya gently wraps his hands around you knees and pulls them up so your feet are planted on the ground, before nestling his way back in between them, not taking his eyes off of the junction in between your legs.

“Gods.” He whispers. “Fuck.”

You feel him throb in the thick canvases of his pants as he runs a finger through your folds, causing you to shudder and clench around nothing. “God love, you’re fucking soaked.” Touya hisses, as he pushes your hand away from his hardness and rips his cloak over his head, revealing his bare chest to you.

In all the years that you’ve known him, you’ve never seen him this exposed. His chest is a patchwork of scars and staples just like his arms and face. Most of the skin is dead and badly burnt, but you do see some spots where there are still glimpses of healthy skin amongst the mess of purpled burns. Just like you suspected, his body is lean but ripped with corded muscles that bunch and flex with his every move. He looks like he was built by a god – a god with a twisted sense of humor – but you could care less. You think he’s perfect.

“You’re beautiful.” You tell him honestly – not wanting him to think you were focusing only on his burns – and he looks almost bashful at your words, letting a small chuckle escape him as he gently picks up one of your hands to press a quick kiss on the back of your knuckles.

“Look who’s talking.” He fires back at you, as he uses his thumbs to spread your lower lips apart. It should be embarrassing how wet you are from a little teasing, but Touya looks absolutely enthralled. 

“Is all this for me?” he muses to himself softly. Before you can ask him what he’s doing, he bends down and swipes his tongue through your folds, causing you to moan loudly and try to slam your legs closed on impulse, but Touya is faster – forcing them to stay open with a hand on each inner thigh as he continues to lap at your pussy.

You whimper involuntarily from the ministrations, and Touya squeezes your thighs as he comes back up. “I know, I know love. I can’t wait any longer either. Goddamn-“ he almost snarls; his hands immediately going to his belt, as he unfastens it and tosses it to the side somewhere.

“I can’t believe someone as beautiful as you is letting someone like me do this to them.” he mutters as he pushes his pants down to just past mid-thigh, allowing his dick to spring free – and through you’ve never seen a man’s cock until now – you’re certain that it’s the prettiest one that you’ll ever see.

It’s long and thick and curves slightly upwards. It’s as pale as the undamaged parts of his skin and you think it looks quite lovely. You’re a little nervous about the size of it, but Touya doesn’t allow you to look at it for long, before he’s lining himself up to your entrance.

You swallow thickly as you feel how big and hot the head is pressed up against your tight entrance, and Touya must sense your hesitation, because he drapes himself over you, supporting himself on his hands, as he takes both your hands in one of his own, and gently pins them above your head, stooping down to kiss you once more.

“Breathe.” He murmurs, his breath ghosting over your lips hotly. “I’ll make you feel so good. Just lie back and breathe for me, my love.”

And with that, he slowly pushes himself in.

The stretch is delicious and you know that he’s ruined you for any other potential man. But there’s never been anyone else, has there? From the moment you officially met, it’s always been him. It will only ever be him.

Touya is cursing above you, but you can’t hear him – too lost in your own pleasure. It isn’t long before he’s picking up a steady rhythm, his hips hitting against yours with a wet smack. You’re so wet from his earlier teasing that he glides in and out with little resistance, and you feel your legs starting to shake from the waves of pleasure he’s inflicting upon you.

“Gods, how are you so tight?” Touya groans as he leans down to capture your lips with his. You kiss him back eagerly, wishing that your hands were free so you could wrap them around his neck, but he only tightens his grip on them when he feels you start to resist against his hold. He pulls back after a moment to take in your pretty face and glassy eyes, his hips not slowing down, as they continue to rut into yours.

“You’re mine.” He snarls hotly, swooping down to suck a mark onto the junction of your neck and shoulder, causing you to cry out and clench around him.

“You’re mine- fuck it, you’re mine, no one else’s.” He sucks another mark onto the other side of your neck, and you feel your eyes roll to the back of your head, as something in your lower stomach snaps – the wet sounds of your union becoming louder as you cum around his cock. Touya’s hips falter for a fraction of a second as he registers what happened, before he the last shred of restraint he had snaps, and starts pounding into you relentlessly, ignoring your sobs as he stimulates your already oversensitive insides.

“When you told me… that they had engaged you to that bastard-” He hisses lowly in your ear, as you continue to sob. “-I almost burnt your damn village to the ground. How dare they try to take what’s mine?”

A dark look enters his blue irises. “I wanted to fuck you right here in this temple afterwards – send a message to your parents and anyone else who thought they could have you, that you were spoken for.”

“Touya- I’m-“ you barely manage to choke out in between sobs. Your body feels like it’s on fire from his words. You feel the tell-tale signs of another orgasm quickly approaching, and you didn’t think it was possible for you to feel so good with the way he’s now mercilessly drilling into your insides. You had talked with your married friends about sex before, that was a given, but even they didn’t describe it as feeling this good.

“Tell me who you belong to.” He pulls away, his eyes never leaving yours. “Tell me who you belong to, and I’ll give you everything.”

“You!” You manage to scream out, voice cracking as he hits a particularly sensitive spot in you. “It’s you! I’ve always belonged to you—you alone! I’ve only ever loved—Oh GODS!” you wail as you cum around his length again. The glint in Touya’s eyes become frantic and his hips stutter as you spasm violently around him. He finally let’s go of your wrists, in favour of grabbing your hips with both hands to pull you down onto him and meet his powerful thrusts.

“That’s what I wanted to hear.” He breathes. “Fuck love; I’m going to fill you full of me. Let the whole world – the gods – all of them, know you belong to me-“

You keen at his words, and he manages to grind out a breathy, “Shit-“ as he spills himself inside you, swooping down to capture your lips with his rough ones again, as he fucks his cum into you. You’re so blissed out, all you can do is wrap your arms tightly around his leathery neck, until his hips still; still buried deep inside of you.

Eventually you break the kiss, but Touya makes no move to get off of you. He moves his hands up from your hips, so he can take some of his weight off you, and rests his head on your collarbone, as he struggles to calm his palpating heart. You wriggle your hips and Touya grimaces, mouthing over one of the marks he sucked onto your neck.

“Wait.” He mumbles. “Give it a minute. It’s sensitive.” His comment pulls a laugh from you, and you feel him grin against your skin.

You stay joined like that until you feel his dick soften inside you, and Touya gently pulls out of you. You whimper at empty feeling, and close your legs as you feel a rush of fluid that you already know is a combination of both of your releases, leak out from in-between your legs. Touya smiles at your reaction, the staples in his face pulling slightly as he strokes the leg closest to him gently.

He rolls onto his back on the pillows beside you, and pulls you onto your side, so your head is on his chest. You listen to the rapid beating of his heart, and watch as his chest rises and falls with each breath he takes. It almost lulls you to sleep, but Touya suddenly speaks up after a moment, catching your attention.

“I am the only one allowed to see you like this.” He rumbles low in his throat, running a warm hand down your side, feeling the muscles jump underneath his touch. “No man, no one. You belong to me. I’ll take such good care of you.”

“But you’re going to leave me again.” You whisper, hating how you feel tears prick at the corners of your eyes. “You said so yourself: you have unfished business in the East still. Who knows when you’re coming back…Besides… No one can see you aside from me. How can I possibly explain this to anyone?”

“It’ll be different this time, I swear it.” Touya shushes you, smoothing a hand over your hair. “I’m going to be in the East for a while yet, but when I come back, I’m going to stay here with you, for a long time. No more disappearing acts for a while.”

You lift your head off his chest to stare at him in shock, to gage if he’s saying it to make you feel better, but you see nothing but honesty in his eyes. He touches your cheek. “I promise little one. I’ll make it work. I will stay with you. For as long as I can.”

You don’t mean to, but you can’t stop the tears that well up in your eyes and spill past your cheeks at his promise, as you place your head down on his scared chest and cry. You don’t know how long you stay like that, but Touya makes no effort to get up – simply holding you close and murmuring sweet nothings into your hair as you weep.

It’s getting harder and harder to say goodbye to him every time he leaves. You feel like your heart is breaking inside of your ribcage, whenever he has to go. This time is no different, but it will certainly leave you feeling hollower than the other times that came before.

Eventually, once your tears have dried, you separate to get dressed and fix yourselves up. You’re straightening out your skirts as Touya tosses his dark traveling cloak back over his torso, obscuring his muscular chest from view. He must see you blushing, because he tosses you a grin over his shoulder at you, moving to grab your shoes and shawl for you from the front of the temple.

He kisses you as you wrap your shawl around yourself, and rests his forehead against yours. “Thank you.” He tells you, gesturing around the temple. “For doing this. It means more to me than you know.” You nod in response, and he intertwines your hands together as he leads you to the temple entrance and you exit together. 

He kisses you deeply once more outside the temple. He has a pained expression on his face when he pulls away, and he looks like he wants to tell you something important, but something is holding him back. He’s quiet for a moment before he squeezes your hand.

“I need you to promise me something while I’m gone.” He tells you seriously, and you nod, signaling for him to continue. He sucks in a sharp intake of breath.

“Promise me that you’ll take care of your health while I’m away. If someone comes to the apothecary with a strange sickness, or any signs of odd infections outside of a normal fever – I want you to go home and stay there.”

You furrow your brows, not understanding what he’s saying, but one look at his face tells you that he’s deadly serious and it’s not open for discussion.

You agree that you’ll be careful, and you’ll keep your eyes open for anything strange, and that seems to put him at ease. He kisses you once more before letting go of your hand, and slowly backs away from you. Once he’s a good distance away from you, he smiles sadly at you, before a raging torrent of blue flames engulf him once more, and he’s gone.

Life in the village goes on as normal for the next two months. The brightly coloured leaves that once decorated the trees surrounding your village have started to fall off the branches with large gusts of wind as winter draws closer.

You throw yourself into work at the apothecary, grateful for how busy it keeps you. You haven’t heard anything from Touya for a while now, and you can’t help but wonder what’s going on in the East that has him so tied up. You haven’t heard any news from the Eastern part of the county in a long time, so if something big is going on, your town will probably be one of the last places to know. You don’t see much sense in worrying about it though, so you divide your time between visiting Dabi’s temple, and Chiyo’s teachings.

You’ve almost forgotten about Touya’s cryptic warning – until the stranger shows up in town one day. (Or rather, stumbled in – since he didn’t even make it three feet from the town’s entrance before collapsing in the streets, leading to several concerned townspeople finding him and bringing him to the apothecary for treatment)

He’s malnourished and sicker than you’ve ever seen anyone in your life. You and Chiyo spend days caring for him, with no results.

He dies one week after arriving in town, and is buried just outside of the village borders. An unfortunate tragedy, but you can’t save everyone. A harsh lesson that your mentor has drilled into you. You never even figured out what was afflicting him, though Chiyo think’s it may have been an advanced case of pneumonia.

At first, it was just him.  

Then, another man got sick with symptoms eerily similar to what the stranger had.

Then it was two.

Then three.

Then twelve people in one day.

The number of infected only skyrocket from there.

Before you know it: there is an entire epidemic in your small town. Chiyo eventually figures out what it is, but by that point, eight people are dead and the number of people sick is quickly spiraling out of control.

Plague. The black plague of decay. Death.

Your parents beg you to come home, as they don’t want you around such a deadly sickness, and truthfully, you don’t want to be anywhere near it either – but you can’t leave Chiyo by herself. She’s the town’s only healer and she’s old. You know if something happens to her, the whole town is screwed, so you grit your teeth, mask up, and stay by her side.

For a while, things are going about as well as they can be. People are still dying at an alarming rate, but you and Chiyo somehow manage to stay healthy, and you keep trying to treat those who aren’t as sick the best you can with what you’ve got.

Then one day, you feel light-headed and nauseous out of the blue and you look down, only to notice an alarmingly dark black spot on your arm that you know wasn’t there the day before.

Everything goes downhill from there.

-----

Winter has arrived in your village full force, but you can’t see it. You haven’t seen anything outside of the four walls that make up your room for a while now.

You had caught the plague. The second you had shown Chiyo the black mark on your arm, she had immediately sent you away with some herbs crushed into a tablet for you to take to slow down the spread of the sickness.

Slow down being the key words. There was no cure for the decay plague. Once you had it, it was a death sentence. It was only a matter of time before it took your life.

Your parents had grabbed you and locked you in your room the moment they had seen you stumbling back from the apothecary. You hadn’t seen them face-to-face since. You only saw brief glimpses of them when they opened your door to slide food into your room on a tray, or when they came back to collect your dishes, though these days, you didn’t have much of an appetite.

They didn’t even have to let you back into the house once they saw the mark on your arm. But they still did without any hesitation. Despite knowing how ill you were going to become, they still insisted on taking care of you. You may not have agreed with their choices when it came to your personal life, but it was comforting to know that at the end of the day, your parents still loved you. Even if you went against everything they wanted for you.

A violent fit of coughing racks your frail body, and you automatically lift your arms to cover your mouth. When you pull your arm away, you cringe at the sight of red splattered across your forearm, before dropping it back down beside you on your bed with a muffled thud.

You can’t even look at your arms right now. Your skin, which used to be sun-kissed and clear, is now pale and speckled with ominous looking splotches of black, as the sickness makes its way through your body. You don’t even want to know what the rest of you looks like. You haven’t looked at yourself in a mirror since you were confined to your room. You’re not sure you’ll be able to handle what you see.

The room starts to spin around you and everything hurts. You close your eyes in a weak attempt to stop the jarring movement, but it does little to help you. Opening your eyes doesn’t make things better – your vison has become burry lately, and you can’t focus on anything anymore. Normally this would upset you, but you don’t have any strength left in you to care.

You know that you don’t have much time left. You don’t want to say it out loud, but you know your time is drawing closer. Based on the few times you’ve heard your mother – and on occasion, your normally stoic father – sob outside your door as they collect your untouched dishes, they know it too. You’ve held out longer than most people have, but you know that soon you’ll be making your way to the Underworld, it’s inevitable.

You only pray that all the visits you’ve made to Dabi’s temple over the last few months have paid off, and the Cremation God will be kind to you once he comes to collect you.

Dabi. His temple. Touya.

You feel tears prick at the corners of your eyes at the thought of your white-haired lover, as a single tear falls from your eye, and crashes onto your pillow, humble and silent. 

You’re never going to see him again. You don’t want to acknowledge it, but it’s true. As far as you know, he’s still in the East while you’re here, dying in your room. As tempted as you’ve been to use his name to call him to you one last time, you won’t.

Powers or not, you don’t want him to potentially end up with the plague too. Not to mention, you don’t want him to see you like this. You don’t want him to remember you sick and frail as you are now. You’d rather have him remember you fondly: full of life and happy. There’s no need to put him through that kind of anguish.

Still, it doesn’t stop you from wishing you could see him one last time-

Suddenly, your room feels unnaturally warm. It’s been very cold lately, and you don’t know if it’s because you’re dying that it makes your room feel colder than it should, but now your room is borderline sweltering.

You swear that you see a faint blue glow out of your blurry peripherals, followed by the tell-tale smell of something burning, before the glow dissipates into nothing. The intense heat remains and even though you can��t see very well, you know that someone is in the corner of your room.

“Who is it?” you manage to rasp out and you hear the stranger’s breath falter, as if they weren’t expecting you to be awake. The stranger takes three slow, purposeful strides until they are at your bedside, hovering over you. You blink hard, trying to see who the intruder is, but your vision must be getting worse, because all you can make out is a tall, white being above you.

You have no idea who, or what you’re looking at and are about to panic, until the figure bends slightly, and two familiar, warm, rough hands cradle your cheeks like you’re the most delicate thing in the world.

Choked sobs rack your body despite how much the movement hurts you, because you know who’s by your side, even if you can’t make out his finer features. Your suspicions are confirmed the second you hear his low, gravelly voice.

“Beloved… what has happened to you?”

“Touya… is that you?” you whisper, and you feel his fingers tense under you. His thumbs swipe at your cheeks, even though you can’t seem to make any more tears to shed.

“I’m here beloved. I’m here now.” he rumbles quietly. He falls silent for a moment, then you hear him ask “ Why didn’t you call me to you?”

He sounds… sad… heartbroken even.

“I didn’t want you to see me like this…” you trail off, not knowing what else to say. Touya doesn’t seem to know either, but from the way he sighs, you think he’s holding back tears as well.

“Did I not tell you to be careful?” There is no anger behind his words. Just defeat. You don’t think it’s directed at you though.

“I know.” You tell him, wishing desperately that you could lift your arms up enough to touch his face like he is doing yours. “It just happened so suddenly. There was a strange man who got sick, and then the next thing we knew, almost the whole town was plague-ridden. I couldn’t leave Chiyo by herself.”

“I know.” Touya sighs. “Are you… are you comfortable?”

“I can’t see very well anymore… I think I’m dying very soon.” You admit softly. You manage to reach up to cover one of his hands with your cold one. “You shouldn’t be here… as much as I love seeing you one last time, you might catch the plague as well – I don’t want that for you.”

“The plague doesn’t affect me. Don’t worry yourself about it.” Touya murmurs gently, and you swear you faintly see something red and thick, roll down his face. He leans down to press a light kiss to your forehead, and you’re not sure why, but suddenly your vision clears, and you’re able to see the best you have in weeks. You look up at him in wonder, only for your breath to catch in your throat.

Instead of his normal dark clothes that you’re used to seeing him in; Touya is dressed in a flowing, white burial shroud that exposes his chest. It makes him look eirthral, like a ghost that had come back from the grave. What really concerns you though, is the right side of his face – the side closest to you. The burnt flesh on his lower jaw by his mouth is gone, and you swear that you see the bone underneath starting to appear.

“Touya—Touya what happened to you? What have you done to yourself?”

“Don’t worry about me. It looks worse than it is.” Touya grumbles, dismissing your concerns. “The person that you should be worrying about, is you.”

“I think it’s a little late for that, love.” You tell him softly. “I’ve been sick for a while now… I’ve held out longer than a lot of other people have, but I think my luck is running out fast.”

This time you know you’re not seeing things. You watch in shock as a large droplet of blood oozes out from underneath the burnt skin under his eye and slowly rolls down his face, leaving a shiny red trail behind it as it makes its way down his ruined skin. You try to bring a hand up to wipe it away, but Touya beats you to it, releasing your cheeks long enough to turn away from you and compose himself.

“That crusty bastard. He promised me that he would keep it away from here… guess it got past him too-“ you hear Touya mutter under his breath. “It doesn’t matter now, gods… fuck.” He turns to face you again, and you see a red streak running along the side of his face, where he tried to wipe the blood tear away. His hands return to yours, and he wraps them up tightly.

“I tried… I tried so fucking hard to keep it contained. I thought, if I could contain it to the East, then it wouldn’t spread and it wouldn’t come here, to you. Even though I’ve seen it happen, so many times over the years. I thought I could change it.”

“Touya what are you talking about, you’re not making any sense.” You beg him, but he doesn’t seem to hear you, too wrapped up in his own head, as he squeezes your hands in his own.

 “It’s not fair. You’re so full of life. I don’t want you to die like this.”

Something in his gaze shifts and the sadness from earlier is gone. Instead, a determined look has appeared in its place. He cradles the back of your head and neck with one of his hands as he gently lifts your head up to him, flinching at your pained whimpers.

“Do you trust me?” he asks you urgently.

“Of course.” You whisper, your vison is starting to darken again, but you try and keep your focus on Touya’s bright blue eyes.

“I can stop this.” He murmurs. “I can stop this and save you and what’s left of your town. But you need to make a deal with me. Do you accept?”

“A deal…? Stop this… I don’t…” you whisper, and Touya squeezes your hand, desperate to keep your attention on him.

“The full extent of my abilities come with a price. I can save you, but at a cost.”

“What’s the price?” you find yourself asking. You’re not sure how he intends to save anyone from something as severe as the plague with no cure; much less yourself, considering that you’re almost certainly on death’s doorstep, but you’re curious. Even if you’re beyond saving, maybe your town still has a chance.

“You.”

“Me.” You echo, still fighting to keep your gaze on him. “Why?”

“I told you already, you’re mine, you’ve always been mine. But this will bind us to each other indefinitely. Your life will become mine in exchange for me removing the sickness from you and your village. Do we have a deal?”

“Am I really worth that much?” you tease hoarsely, as you feel your eyes start to close against your will.

“You mean more to me than anything in this pathetic life.” You hear Touya grind out. “Let me do this for you. Please.”

He squeezes your hand, and his next words sound almost desperate. “I’ve never begged anyone for anything in my lifetime and I’ve lived a long time. Please let me do this for you.”

You know that under different circumstances, you wouldn’t agree to anything like this. Touya’s words are carrying an underlying weight to them, and you know there’s something that he’s not telling you. Normally, before agreeing to anything, you’d make sure everything was out in the open and that there weren’t any catches to your deal… but really, how much time did you have to ask about the finer details?

You were out of time. You knew it, and he knew it too.

Really, how bad would it be being his? Wasn’t that what you always wanted anyways?

“I accept.” You whisper, as your world fades to black, not even sure if Touya heard you or not.

He did.

The next few moments are a whirlwind. You feel Touya stand up above you and his hands go to your left forearm – to the spot where you first noticed the sickness. It’s arguably the worst spot on your body. The darkness has spread underneath your skin and takes up almost your full forearm now.

You feel his warm hands press into the skin of your forearm, and for a moment, nothing happens. Then his hands start to heat up, hotter and hotter, and you can smell something burning. You don’t know whether it’s your flesh or his, but you don’t have the energy to scream out, even though the pain is excruciating.

There’s a bright blue flash and you feel something being seared into your arm – in the same spot where your original plague mark was. Heat spreads through your body like a wildfire, and you feel like you’re being burned from the inside out. Suddenly, as quickly as the pain started it’s gone.

You’re shaking, gasping for air as you try to control your rapidly palpating heart, but you can’t open your eyes. Exhaustion hits you full force, and you feel what little strength you had left in you bleed out. Touya is still there, and you feel him slowly ease you back down onto your pillow, placing your arm down at your side once more.

“Rest now beloved. I’ll see you soon.”

No sooner than he says those words, you feel yourself slip off into slumber, and you allow the darkness to take you.

You wake to the sun streaming across your face

It’s the first time you’ve seen any hint of the sun in months, and at first, you think that you’ve died, but the tell-tale signs of stiffness in your muscles tell you that you’re still very much alive, if not very dehydrated.

The thought draws you up short.

You’re alive. You’re alive when you probably shouldn’t be. That means… Touya�� he’d done it.

A burning feeling races through your left forearm and draws you up short. You slowly bring your arm up to look at what’s causing the pain, only for your eyes to widen impossibly.

The dark stain under your skin caused by the plague is gone, as are all of the other signs of sickness that had marked your body. What is on your arm, is nothing short of confusing.

A strange symbol is on your arm, in the spot you remember Touya gripping the hardest. A long, straight line runs horizontally done your forearm with three smaller lines running through it. Another long, straight line along the top of the first line completes the marking, and you stare at it in shock.

It covers the spot where you had your original plague mark, almost as if you’d never had it at all.

You reach out and gingerly touch the mark, only for your door to open suddenly – causing you to yank your nightgown sleeve down in a hurry. You glance over to see both of your parents standing in your doorway. It seems to take them a moment to process that you’re awake, and seemingly plague free, before they rushed to your bedside and have pull you into a tight hug.

“You’re awake! Thank gods you’re awake! We thought that we lost you for sure!” your mother sobs, as she clutches you to herself. You’re shocked, and you ask her what she means, only for her to hold you tighter.

“You’ve been asleep for three days. You wouldn’t wake up! Nothing we did worked.” Your mother cries, and you feel your heart drop.

Three days? What did that mean for everyone else?

“We’ve heard from Chiyo that all of the patients at the apothecary have also recovered. She’s not sure how, but the plague seems to have disappeared.” Your father states gruffly, as he strokes your hair. “It’s some sort of miracle.”

Yes, and his name is Touya. You think to yourself. Just what was he, to be able to have the power to dispel a sickness as deadly as the decay plague from an entire town?

“We do have a visitor downstairs, if you feel up to meeting with him.” Your mother informs you as she passes you a cup of water. “Some of the priests are visiting homes on Chiyo’s orders, to check in on families and see if anyone is still sick. The head priest from the Endeavor temple is here. I’m sure he’d love to check in on you now that you’re awake.”

You don’t particularly want anyone to see you right now, knowing that you must look awful and you would much rather go find Touya, provided that he was still in town somewhere – but you nod anyways. Your mother tells you to take your time getting ready, as she and your father leave your room, saying that she would tell the priest to wait downstairs.

The process to get ready is painfully slow. Your muscles are weak from a lack of use, but you’re able to wash yourself if you move carefully. You slip on a clean dress, making sure that the mark on your forearm is fully covered, and run a brush through your wet locks before deciding that was enough, and gingerly make your way downstairs.

You slowly make your way into the living room where you see the priest from Endeavor’s temple sitting in one of the armchairs, waiting for you. He’s a large man, dressed in Endeavor’s traditional colours: dark blues and fiery oranges and reds. Your parents leave when you enter to give you some privacy and the priest points to the chair across from him.

“Have a seat girl.” He tells you, and you sit without a word. You fidget uncomfortably as he looks you over carefully, before finally speaking. “Chiyo specifically asked me to come check on you and see how you’re doing. She wanted to thank you for all your help at the beginning of this mess. She wanted to come herself, but she has a few things to take care of at the apothecary. She sends her regards.”

“Oh, it was my honor. I couldn’t leave her there all alone.” You tell him, lifting your arm to wave off his praise without thinking about it. You realize your mistake too late, as the sleeve covering your forearm slowly rolls down to your elbow, revealing the mark etched into your skin.

The priest stops dead the second he glances at your forearm, ad his eyes widen impossibly. He points shakily to the mark etched into your arm. “Where did you get that from girl? Who did that to your arm?”

You hesitate. How can you possibly explain Touya to him? No one aside from you could see him. They’d call you mad if you tried to be honest, and would cast you out from your home. What would you do then?

‘I… I don’t know if you’d believe me if I told you.” You mutter, clutching your arm close to you. “Why, what’s so special about this mark?”

“That is Dabi’s seal.” The priest hisses as he snaps his fingers at you, and you feel your heart drop into your stomach. “I haven’t seen a mark like that for decades now, but he is closely connected to my lord Endeavor and I’d recognize it anywhere. It has been rumored that he puts that mark onto people who enter into deals with him. I’m wondering how you ended up with it on your arm.”

Your world crumbles around you at his words, and the illusion that you had unknowingly walked into, shattered.

Dabi, Touya, Dabi, Touya, Dabi, Touya, Dabi, Touya-

Touya is Dabi.

How could you not have seen it sooner? Looking back on it, the signs were obvious: how he knew so much about Dabi – or rather, himself. How he could seamlessly travel across large areas with very little effort. How he had powers that far surpassed any mage or race you’d heard of. How he never seemed to age… How his body had lasted so long despite the burns that were very clearly getting worse as time passed by-

The thought draws you up short. A hazy memory of Touya standing over your deathbed. A chunk of his flesh missing from the side of his mouth… looking more worn down than you could ever remember seeing him… Suddenly, you have to find him.

And you think you know exactly where he is.

“I-I have to go.” You mutter, shakily rising to your feet. The priest tries to get you to sit back down, but you shove him off. You barely have time to throw a light shawl around your shoulders and put your shoes on, before you’re running out the door in the direction of Dabi’s temple, ignoring the surprised shouts of your parents.

You are reminded how weak your body currently is, as you have to stop and catch your breath several times on the way to the temple, ignoring the looks that a few curious townspeople are giving you, as you eventually make your way to the temple.

This time, you don’t need to reach for the doors, since they seem to open on their own for you. You step through the entrance and they close behind you softly, shutting you away from the sunshine outside. You notice the temple is seemingly empty, but the prayer candles are lit at the base of Dabi’s statue, and the flames are blue.

He’s here, somewhere, you know it, you feel it, but for some reason, he hasn’t shown himself to you yet. It makes you worry and prompts you to call out his name softly.

“I’m here, beloved.”

The familiar rasp of his voice echoes from behind the larger-than-life sculpture. You smile in spite of yourself, and move closer to the sound of his voice, where you can just make out a shadowy figure partly concealed behind the base of the stature.

“Don’t come any closer.” The harsh growl makes you pause.

“Why?” you ask the shadow and you see two familiar blue eyes staring back at you from the gloom.

“You’re not going to like what you see.”

You hesitate for a fraction of a second before you shake your head. “I don’t care. You know I don’t care about what you look like.” You swallow before adding on. “I think you and I need to talk about some things… about you.”

“So, you figured it out?” the figure rumbles, and you nod.

“There are some things I need to know. Things that I need to understand. But please, I just want to see you. Come out.” You extend your hand towards the shadow, and hear him sigh deeply, before shuffling closer to you.

A burnt hand takes hold of yours, dwarfing it, and the man—no, the deity, pulls himself into the light provided by the candles. He watches as your face changes from confusion, to shock realization, then to—

He doesn’t think he can do it; he can’t watch as you reject him. He knows that he doesn’t look pretty. He looks like a walking corpse and he knows this. He looks more dead than alive and honestly, he is. He knew he shouldn’t hang around the temple, knowing that you’d eventually come looking for him once you had recovered enough, but he’d wanted to see you one last time before he made the inevitable trip back home to the underworld – even if it meant you seeing him like this—

“Oh, Touya. Did… did you do this to yourself to cure me?” you whisper so softly; he wasn’t sure if he heard you correctly. He risks glancing back at you, only to see that your face hasn’t twisted in disgust upon his reveal. You’re holding his hand so tightly, like you’re afraid that he’ll crumble to ash if you don’t, and maybe he would, he’s not sure anymore.

Your eyes meet his, and he sees unshed tears in them. There is no repulsion or fear in your eyes like he thought there might be, there is only concern and worry for him, and he feels his once dead heart thunder in his burnt chest.

He wishes he could feel the texture of your soft hands on him again, but the burns are deep and have spread everywhere now. All he can feel is pressure on his hand where you’re holding it in your own. Suddenly, he feels more vulnerable than he has in a long time.

You stare back at him, trying your best not to shed the tears you feel forming – knowing that they won’t help anything. What remained of Touya’s once beautiful, pale skin is gone. His entire body is covered in deep russet scaring. The mess of staples that he hadn’t bothered to remove or replace, were scattered across his body where they had once held the damaged and healthy skin together. Parts of his body – where you assume the skin had been thinnest on him – are burned almost completely down to the bone. The skin by one side of his mouth is almost gone, and the flesh near his wrist on his other hand – the one that he didn’t give you – has been burnt down to where you can see the tendons flexing when he moves.

He's still wearing the white robes from before. He looks like a wraith, a sight that would terrify even the bravest of people, but it stirs no such feelings in you.

“Does it hurt?” You whisper, not knowing what else to say. He shakes his head.

“I can’t feel anything anymore.”

“Oh.” You croak, not sure if his answer made you feel any better. It doesn’t, but you try not to let it show on your face.

The deity gently removes his hand from yours and moves several paces back from you, as if he’s trying not to upset you. You feel a lump rise in your throat, but push it down. “Did you do that to yourself to cure me from the plague?” you ask him again and he only nods once.

“You and what’s left of your town. I told you; I make good on my promises. It’s the blowback that gets me. Shigaraki won’t like what I’ve done, but he can’t do anything about it.”

You frown at the mention of the other name. You swear that you’ve heard it before somewhere, but you can’t place where from. Maybe if you remember, you’ll ask him about it later, but right now, you have other things you need him to clarify.

“Can I ask you something, my lord?” Dabi snorts at your formalities, and waves you off.

“Please. None of that from you, Princess.  If I wanted you to call me by my titles, I would’ve made you do it when we first met.”

You can’t help the small smile that pulls at your lips. You’d been slightly worried that knowing his identity would change the dynamic of your relationship with him. Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case.  

“How come I could see you when no one else could?” you question him. Dabi pauses for a moment, seemingly trying to figure out how to explain himself.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” He responds after a moment. “We walk amongst mortals all the time; we’re just hidden in plain sight. Some humans are different than others, and are able to see us for what we really are, but most mortals can’t see through our disguises. I choose to be invisible, it’s much easier to do my job that way. Normally, the only time humans can see me is when I come to collect their soul, or when I let them see me purposefully. But you,” he fixes you with his intense stare that you’ve grown used to.

“you were an abnormity. I’ve only ever met one or two other mortals in my time alive that were able to see me, even when I was invisible to everyone else.”

“What did you do to them?” you don’t know what prompts you to ask. Dabi looks away from you.

“I killed them.”

“Why though?” You’re not sure if you want to know his reasoning, but this may be the only time you get to ask him.

“Because no one is supposed to see me – it’s taboo. The only time I’m supposed to be visible to mortals is when I come to take you to the Underworld with me. I can’t let people wander around telling others that Death himself is coming. Do you know how much chaos that would cause on the surface?” Dabi snickers to himself.

“But I could see you, and you didn’t kill me.” You press. Dabi lets a small smile pull at what remains of the muscles in his cheeks.

“No, I didn’t.” he agrees quietly.

“Were you going to?” you ask, remembering how tense he was the first time you met face to face.

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you?” You’re not mad about the revelation. You’re just curious. What made you so different from the others that came before you?

“I was going to… But something told me not to.” Dabi trails off, seemingly not having the words to describe why he did what he did. “I couldn’t tell you why I hesitated back then… but I’m glad I did.” The hint of a smile ghosts across his face. “You’re so beautiful. I couldn’t predict everything else that came afterwards. But I’m certainly not complaining.”

Your face flushes a brilliant shade of crimson when you realize he’s talking about when you fucked in this temple… his temple.

You can’t bear to bring yourself to meet the smug look in his eyes, so you try to compose yourself best you can, but it’s hard when you feel his oceanic eyes boring into your being.

“I… I just have one final question to ask you.” You stammer out, trying to fight down the colour in your cheeks that you know he can see. The burnt deity nods, signaling for you to continue. You suck in a breath, suddenly nervous for some reason.

“What… what exactly does this mark that you’ve given me mean? To you, that is.” You ask, touching the mark on your arm with your other hand, and you swear that you hear Touya- no, Dabi, bite back a moan.

“It marks you as mine. To humans and other gods alike, it means you are mine and under my protection.” He growls, a possessive edge in his raspy voice.

“Is that all?” you probe softly. Dabi bites back a laugh, and fixes you with a warm expression, blue eyes glowing like a cat in the dimly lit temple.

“What do you think?”

He answers your question with another question, but it’s weighted. The mark definitely has another meaning to it, you’re sure of it, but you want to hear it from him.

“I think it means something more… but I want to be sure. I don’t remember the finer details of our conversation, since I was… well… dying.” You shrug, trying and failing to look nonchalant. You don’t particularly want to be reminded of that time.

Dabi must see it in your expression, because he immediately drops the teasing act and takes a hesitant step towards you, slowly, as if he’s trying not to scare you.

He points at your arm and you lift it up so he can see the symbol burned into your skin. “That is my personal mark. It means that you’re not only under my protection… but it also marks you as my consort.”

Your eyes flick up to meet his, and you can tell that he’s not joking. He’s deadly serious.

“Your consort? You mean, like… like a bride?” you breathe, hardly daring to believe it. Dabi cracks a smile.

“So that’s what you humans are calling it these days. Yes, you are. Unlike some of my kin, I don’t take multiple wives. It’s just you.”

It takes a moment for his words to sink in, but when they do, you have to fight yourself to stay upright.

“Oh gods. I’m the bride of a god.” You mutter, swaying slightly in place. “You’re a god. You’re an actual god.”

The burned deity only chuckles. “I can’t believe that you never figured it out. It’s not like I was trying to hide it from you at the end there.”

“I mean… It’s obvious you weren’t human, but I didn’t think you were a God.” You mutter. “You just… you acted so… casual. Not like what I’d expect a God to act-- not that I’m complaining of course!” you add on as you hear Dabi let out an amused snort.

You point up at the statue of Dabi- or rather, him. “Besides, it’s not like I knew what you looked like. You’re always depicted with a hood over your face.” You frowned. “Why is that exactly? You’re not wearing a hood. You’ve never worn one when you’re with me. The only time I ever saw you with one was when you were traveling. Not as you are now. You never let any of your disciples see you?”

“They depict me like that because it’s easier that way.” Dabi explains smoothly. “My face changes depending on what part of my… cycle I’m in. Sometimes I look like how I did when we first met – other times I look like… well, this.” He gestures to himself after a brief pause. It makes your heart ache.

“My kind are supposed to be divine beings. Perfect. I am not. I don’t need to be depicted looking like a walking corpse to the few people who still worship me and visit my temples.”

His gaze flicks back up to you. “You were never supposed to see me like this.”

You know that you shouldn’t psychoanalyze him, but you can’t help but find him endlessly fascinating. He may be a god – a divine, primordial being – but his emotions were so very human.

He may go by many different names, but Dabi was Touya. Your Touya, the man you fell in love with over the years you spent getting to know him. The man who would willingly burn down your village to keep you by his side, only to save it in its time of need, for you.

What he looked like was irrelevant.

“What you look like doesn’t bother me.” You tell him softly, taking a hesitant step closer to him. “It never has. You know that.” Touya’s muscles flinch, like he’s fighting against moving away from you, but he stays rooted to the spot as you slowly advance, until you’re close enough to place a hand on the exposed part of his chest – right above his heart.

“I will love you no matter what form you take, because no matter what: you’re still Touya. You’re still the man I love. God or not, you always will be.”

You lean forward and press your lips to what is left of the flesh around his mouth, and you feel him release a shuddering breath, as his arms come up to wrap themselves tightly around you. You pull away slightly to tuck your head against his chest, returning his embrace, ignoring the burnt smell that always clings to him; and you feel him rest his chin on your head.

You don’t know how long you stay like that for, but eventually Touya reluctantly removes his chin from his spot on your head, and lowers it so he can speak directly into your ear.

“I have to go.”

You try and pull away so you can look him in the eyes, but his arms keep you tightly pressed up against him, like he’s afraid that if he lets you go, you’ll turn to smoke and disappear.

“But… you said that we’re bound to each other now? You promised me that you wouldn’t leave again-“

“I know, but this will be the last time I leave without you, I promise.” He rasps in your ear. “This cycle is at the end. I’m dying.”

You feel your heart clench painfully at his words, and suddenly, you’re taken back to the spring, where he took you to his temple for the first time, and where he unknowingly to you, explained his history. Where he also revealed that gods themselves could die, however difficult it was.

“You’re… you’re dying? How, why? I thought you said it was almost impossible for you to die?”

You feel Touya shake his head and squeeze you again. “It’s different in my case. I die a lot. But the difference is: I come back. It just takes a while.”

“I don’t understand, please Touya, what do you mean?” you feel frantic, and cling to his robes like small child. “I-I can’t lose you!”

“You won’t.” Touya promises you firmly, pulling back to fix you with an unwavering look. “It’s difficult to explain, but I’m more like a force of nature then a ‘traditional’ god. My power is great, but it destroys my body and I ‘die’. However,” his eyes narrow dangerously as he thumbs over the mark on your arm, “I’m a god of the Underworld, and we play by different rules than those that reside upstairs.” He points a finger mockingly up to the roof of the temple.

“I have what you humans call a ‘cycle’. Whenever I ‘die’ I return home, so that I can rest and regenerate my body. Eventually I come back to how I was before I got all of my scaring, and start again. The cycle repeats itself over and over again on an endless loop.” He sends you a crooked grin.

“That’s the other half of my secret: Cremation and Reincarnation tend to go hand in hand. But nobody needs to know that except for you.”

“How many times have you done this?” you breathe, but Touya only shakes his head, shooting you a forced smile.

“More times than I can count. I’m not the oldest God in the pantheon Sweetheart, not by a long shot, but compared to you, I’m ancient.”

“Oh.” You murmur. trying to fight down the blush at the stark differences in your ages, and Touya’s smile becomes more relaxed. You fist your hands at the front of his robe and try your best to return his smile. “So, you’re going to come back… for me?”

“Yes. I’ll eventually return to my original form. But it’s going to take me a while to regenerate.”

“Oh gods, you mean I’m going to be an old woman by the time you come back to get me.” You joke, trying your best to lighten the somber mood, and Touya barks out a laugh.

“No, no. It won’t take that long, I promise… but, that being said, it won’t be anytime soon either. I’m sorry.”

You nod, and try to relax your grip on his robes. You smooth your hands over the soft fabric, and inwardly you hum in delight, as you feel Touya’s abnormally warm hands run down your waist. He brings one hand up to your chin and gently tilts your face up to meet his.

“I will be back for you. Make no mistake about that.”

You feel his other hand glide up to your left forearm, the one that now bares his mark, and press on it possessively. “This binds us together. I’ll make good on my promise, and when I come back for you: I’m going to take you around the world with me, just like I promised you I would. I’ll give you everything.”

You feel your eyes water with his declaration. The sincerity in his eyes tells you that he’s not bluffing. He will be back for you the next time he comes to your humble village, and he will show you the world if you so choose it.

“…How will I know?” You finally manage to ask him quietly.

“How will you know what?”

“How will I know that you’re coming back to get me?”

Touya lets a deep laugh rumble out of his throat, and pushes his face close to your ear so he can whisper directly into it:

“Oh, don’t worry… you’ll just know.”

-----

Three years have passed since that day.

Spring has come again, symbolizing rebirth and renewal, and yet seemingly nothing has changed in your little village. You still work at the apothecary with Chiyo, but now you spend most of your time at Dabi’s temple, keeping it clean, and trying to educate those who visit it, more about the reclusive Cremation God.

More people have started to visit the temple in the three years since you last saw Touya, and you’d like to think that he’d be pleased if he could see it. You’re headed to the temple now to do your daily cleaning, and make sure that everything is orderly, before you head back home for the night.

You smile as you watch a group of small children run past you, as you think back to the day that Touya had left you one final time.

Word had spread like wildfire after you had returned from the temple that day – about how you had made a deal with the elusive Cremation God himself to cure the town of its plague, and how you now bore his mark on your own skin, binding you to him.

You thought that you’d be ostracized, a pariah in your town – but surprisingly, the majority of people seemed to accept it with very little backlash. You suppose that’s the closest to thanks that you’ll get for playing a part in saving your town from destruction, but you’ll take it.

More people do tend to keep their distance from you now, largely in part due to your lover’s fearsome reputation, but you don’t hold it against them.

They’ve started calling you Shaoha – Death Woman. Normally, it’s a derogatory name for a demon or witch, but you know they don’t mean it in that way, and you can’t help but find it fitting given the circumstances and your ties to the Death God himself.

You smile sadly in spite of yourself as you make your way through the forest trail towards Dabi’s temple, leaving the village behind you.

You dress mostly in black or deep blues these days, mourning the fact that you haven’t seen your god in years now. He promised you that he would eventually be back for you once he had healed, before you were old and gray, but you wished that he would have given you a rough estimation of how long that would take, because with each day that passes, you miss him more and more.

Your friends have started families of their own, and while you never had the urge to have children of your own, seeing them happy with their husbands makes you wish that Touya was here with you. Your friends give you sympathetic smiles, and try and comfort you best they can. While you’re grateful that they try, it’s not the same.

It’s strange: you’re surrounded by people who care for you, and yet; you feel more alone now then you ever did before.

You reach Dabi’s temple and push the doors open, finding a few people milling about, paying their respects inside, and the sight pleases you greatly. Ever since it was revealed that he had been behind the disappearance of the plague, the townspeople had started coming to the temple more frequently to pay homage to him. You’re glad that you had cleaned up the temple beforehand, even if it was just for you and him initially.

Several of the people take notice of you, and they quickly file out to allow you to do your daily inspection. After deeming everything to be orderly, you make your way back to your home, just as the sun is starting to disappear behind the tree-line.

You reach your house just as dusk has fallen, and you talk with your parents over dinner for a while before heading to bed. As grateful as you are for their company and their efforts to keep you occupied, the constant ache in your chest never fully dissipates, even when you aren’t alone. 

As you lay in bed, waiting for sleep to take you, you send out a silent goodnight to Touya, hoping that he can hear you, wherever he may be. Just as you have done every night for the last three years.

You hope that wherever he is, he knows how much you miss him.

You don’t remember falling asleep. You open your eyes again and your room is pitch black, letting you know that it’s the dead of night. For a moment, you lay there confused, wondering why you’ve woken up at a seemingly random time, only to realize that you feel different.

You don’t feel physically sick, and the sensation that is coursing through your body like liquid fire in your veins doesn’t feel ominous or wrong, but you suddenly have the intense urge to get up and leave. Like you have to go somewhere urgently.

Your forearm – the one that bears Touya’s mark – feels hot. You trace it absentmindedly, quietly musing that the last time it burned like that was when he gave it to you--

Something clicks in your sleep addled mind, and you slowly sit up and push the covers off of you as you stand. You get dressed in long, dark skirts, and throw a traveling cloak around your shoulders for good measure – knowing deep down that you won’t be coming back.

As you walk through the hallways of your dark home like a ghost, you crack open the door to your parents room to gaze fondly at their sleeping figures. You send them a silent I love you, before closing their door, thanking them for everything. You pad silently through your house until you reach the front door, and pull it open soundlessly, stepping out of it for the final time, before shutting it firmly behind you.

You don’t look back.

You feel like a wraith as you walk through the deserted streets of your town, taking in each and every shop as you pass. The bright, pale moonlight is your only source of light as you walk, and before you know it, you’re standing in front of Dabi’s temple.

The burning in your forearm has lessened considerably and you know this is exactly where you’re supposed to be. You step inside, and slowly make your way to the foot of the hooded god’s statue. You smile slightly and take a seat facing the entrance doors that you didn’t bother closing, allowing moonlight to spill into the dark temple. You sit and you wait. You vow that you’ll wait all night if you have to.

You don’t have to wait for long.

There’s a tell-tale flash of blue outside the temple and a blast of searing heat follows, before everything stills again. The sound of slow, deliberate footsteps approaching the temple makes your heartbeat quicken, and the tall silhouette of a man spills across the floor to where you’re sitting at the altar.

A familiar man dressed in white funeral shrouds enters the temple, and makes his way towards you. You can’t help but smile lovingly as you take him in. Even though he looks incredibly different from the last time you saw him, you’d recognize Touya anywhere.

Gone are the dark scars and staples that wreaked havoc on his skin. The man, the god, that stands before you, has skin as pale as snow, almost blending into the white of his shroud. He looks like he’s bathed in moonlight, with eyes as bright and blue and beautiful as the flames he wields. Upon closer inspection. you still see faint seams in his skin where his burns were previously. A remanent of his past life, and one that you find incredibly endearing.

He is not perfect, but neither are you. You selfishly think that maybe you were made for each other.

He stands before you, seemingly at a loss for words, but his deep turquoise eyes tell you everything you need to know. You, however, have quite a few things you want to say to him. So, you start with the obvious.

“I’ve missed you.” You tell him quietly, and he smiles, cerulean eyes looking sad.

“I know. But I’m here now, so that’s got to count for something right?”

“It means everything.” You confirm breathlessly as he cups your cheek, running his thumb across your soft skin. You shamelessly lean into his touch and watch as he smiles at you.

“Ready to go?”

You nod. “I’ve been ready for a long time. You kept me waiting long enough.”

He laughs, the sound deep and rich in your ears.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you. There are so many things I want to show you.” His free hand sneaks down and intertwines with yours. “I make good on my promises, you know.”

You give his hand a squeeze. “I do.”

His heart – the organ in his chest, that he was sure had stopped working after his fall from grace – thunders into irregularity in his chest. Now he’s sure that it beats for you, and you alone.

You, the first person in a long, long time, who’s made him feel something aside from hatred and scorn. The first person to see past the scars, the first one to see him at his worst and still show him unconditional love where others couldn’t, or wouldn’t.

He loves you, and he always will.

He lifts the hand that’s still laced with his, to his mouth and presses a kiss to the back of your knuckles, sending you a smile that makes you melt.

“Let’s go home.”

FIN

[terrak0]

5 for Lee Everett, 10 for Louis, 12 for Clementine, 13 for Carley, 6 for Javi, 23 for Violet 🫡🫡

5. (Lee) What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Hmmm probably “We Carry On” by The Phantoms, just cause I listen to that song a lot while drafting out my twdg fanfics and I’ve come to associate it with him. Either that or “Way Down We Go” by Kaleo

(Speaking of songs, the some of the Lee playlists I found on Spotify are atrocious. Who thought that this man would unironically listen to Its Been So Long from FNaF? 😭)

10. (Louis) Could you be best friends with this character?

Oh definitely. I think we’d mesh pretty well. I like to joke around a lot with people I’m close with and keep things light, so I think we could easily be friends since we have a similar sense of humor. We’d be up playing card games all night long.

12. (Clementine) What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Little random headcanon, but Clem really likes bugs and thinks they’re cool. When she was younger she always got in trouble with her parents for bringing them in the house. She had no trouble catching them to spook other people, like hiding bugs under Ducks pillow.

As she’s gotten older, she appreciates butterflies and moths the most. It’s the small things in life you learn to appreciate the most. One day she shows AJ how a caterpillar changes into a butterfly and it blows his mind.

13. (Carley) What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

Carley would be spamming that 🤨 in the group chat. Idk that’s just the vibes I get from her lol.

Carley when she’s talking to anyone else in the group: 🤨

Carley when she’s talking with Lee: 😏

6. (Javi) What's something you have in common with this character?

Me too Javi, me too. On a side note, I’m about to try and play through S3! (And try super hard to not just be biased towards what Clem wants)

23. (Violet) Favorite picture of this character?

This was the literal first shot we get of her, but I love it, from the moment I saw her sitting up on that wall the first time I played the game I was like “ohhhh you’re about to be one of the best characters in this game”

[damonjuicyscock]

Playlist- Chapter 6: Freedom (90s Noel Gallagher X Reader)

Pairing: 90s Noel Gallagher X Reader

Warnings: mention of PTSD and blood but nothing else

Words: 1720

Summary: You are healing. You pack your things from your ex's, travel with Oasis and give Noel a history lesson.

A/N: I AM BACK MOTHERFUCKERS ! I'm a bit late I know, but re-education lasted a bit more than said. Here's the chapter you've all been waiting for ! I now have a work again so instead of being published on Fridays I try to publish the fanfic chapter on weekends but can't tell if it will be on Saturdays or Sundays. I also said that a new character would make its appearance in my masterlist. And now I can tell you who it is... Let's welcome Ville Valo ! At the moment I won't take requests about Ville because I have a lot of requests for the other three, but I'll let you know when you can !

At the moment, enjoy the new chapter lovies !

Ahhh it's good to be back !

“I think there's something you should know

I think it's time I told you so

There's something deep inside of me

There's someone else I've got to be

Take back your picture in a frame

Take back your singing in the rain

I just hope you understand

Sometimes the clothes

Do not make the man

All we have to do now

Is take these lies and make them true somehow

All we have to see

Freedom”

 is that I don't belong to you

And you don't belong to me

May 1992:

After a whole month of feeling like shit, being scared, and hurt, I finally decided to take control of my life again.

Noel was motivating me, giving me hope. I was feeling like a free woman again, but I still was scared and Noel had to sleep with me practically every night because of my atrocious nightmares.

I decided I needed help for this, and having Noel sleep next to me with his arms around me would miss me. I wanted the nightmares to stop, but I didn’t want to let go of him.

The past month, I realized that even if I still was in love with him, I was still falling more an more in love with him everyday. I didn’t know it was possible.

This day was the day I had to fight my demons. I was going to go back to the apartment I shared with Kenneth. It would be hard considering what I endured back there. But happily, Kenneth wouldn’t be there. He was in jail for what he did to me.

Everyone with here with me: Liam, Guigsy, Bonehead, McCarroll and of course Noel. They all wanted to help. And they all would be useful because Kenneth had in fact just got out of jail.

Liam opened the door, and at the moment him and Noel saw him, they stood directly in front of me, their arms protecting me.

Y/N, don’t come any closer! Liam exclaimed

I freeze on spot, seeing Kenneth, who acted as if nothing happened in front of the boys.

Oh hey love, ye’re coming back to me! I missed ye so much!

Kenneth started to approach.

Don’t! Stay away from me you degenerate! I shouted, afraid

Oh come on love, ye know ye shouldn’t have filed a complaint against me. Ye’ve made a big mistake. And who would believe all this bullshit? I never touched ye. Ye know… I have some friends in the justice system and stuff… Why’d ye think I got out after a month? My criminal record is as clean as the Virgin Mary again. He said with a threatening tone as he continued to approach

Oi ye bastard, she told ye not to approach so ye don’t and ye shut the fuck up! Liam answered, pushing Kenneth back

Ye think yer bodyguards scare me? Ye think ye scare me Gallagher? Kenneth pursued

Come on Y/N, let’s get yer things and we’ll be leaving, it’s starting to smell like a sewer in here. Noel said

I walked past Kenneth and towards the torture room aka my old bedroom, Noel’s hand glued to my back, still offering me protection, as the boys made sure Kenneth didn’t move an inch.

I expected to see the room as it had been left when Noel found me there, tied up. But Kenneth had cleaned It up, so that no trace could be found. No evidence, no crime. And yet, the police and paramedics who had seen the room had evidence. But as Kenneth had said, he had connections in the justice system. Maybe there was no evidence and therefore no crime.

I collected my belongings and heard the boys shout.

Panicked, I ran to the living room, followed by Noel, and found Kenneth lying on the ground, and Liam held back by the other boys, his nose bleeding.

Don’t worry Y/N, this motherfucker passed out. He said

Liam for fuck’s sake!

He deserved it sweetheart. I never like when Liam uses violence, but he was probably right for doing so. Noel answered

And both were right. So right.

So I took my things and we left.

A new life could start. My new life could start. Freedom.

*

May 31st, 1993- Glasgow- King’s Tut’s:

A year had passed, and thanks to the boys and my therapist, I was gradually rebuilding myself. I didn’t have nightmares anymore. I did tell Noel, with whom I was still living. But I insisted that he kept sleeping with me. Firstly, because it was his bed I was squatting in, secondly because he had the right to sleep in his own bed and get a good night’s sleep, and thirdly, because it made me feel safe.

But mostly, the reason was I loved and wanted to feel his arms around me.

By his side, he had insisted that I stay in bed with him too because “A gentleman would never let a young woman sleep on the couch” and it wasn’t for me.

Even when we were away, we were sleeping in the same bed. And we were inseparable. It was like we never broke up, but there weren’t just any kisses nor sex. Just hugs and holding hands.

Hugs helped him a lot when he was about to go on stage. AT least, at the beginning, because when Oasis became famous, he was more self-confident.

But this day in Glasgow, he needed it. And we were swaying together while he was taking deep breaths. And Oasis went on stage, slaying it I stood backstage, having fun.

After the gig, Noel hugged me again. Suddenly, we heard a man clearing his throat. Our bodies separated as we both looked at him.

Hi? I said

Hi! I wanted to congratulate the band and I found the guitarist first. This was some good stuff ya got here! He said, handing his hand to shake

Thank ye man, and ye are? Noel answered, shaking the man’s hand

I’m Alan McGee. Could we join the others? I’s like to congratulate them as well and there’s something I’d like to talk about with y’all.

Huh yeah f’course, are ye someone important? Noel asked

The other man smiled.

Actually, I work for creation records.

Fucking hell! I said, smiling at Noel

Fu… Yea, of course, follow me! Noel answered

Can I join you? I asked

What a stupid question, of course ye’re coming love. He said, handing me his hand to take

I smiled and took it, walking fast with them.

*

Now that creation records had noticed Oasis, everything went pretty fast. The label signed them, and they started recording the songs Noel had written in studio.

At first, they kept touring to make themselves known around the country, even supporting The Verve. Then they had their own tour, introducing songs that hadn’t been recorded yet. Of course, with Noel’s insistence, I was following them. I quit my job, being with the band but by my side, I insisted to play the roadies so I wouldn’t feel useless.

A bit less than a year after, problems started in the band. Because except Noel and I, everyone fucked up. It was during a particular day in February 1994, on a Ferry on our way to Amsterdam for a gig.

February 17th, 1994- The ferry to Amsterdam:

Noel and I were in a cabin reading books on the bed. I was reading something about the Tudors when Noel was reading a book about the Beatles. And we decided to play a game: we decided to test each other’s knowledge about the books we were reading.

Okay, me turn now. Who was John Lennon’s hero? Noel asked

Elvis. I answered

Fuck, how did ye know this?

We grew up together and we dated listening to the Beatles you dumbass. Can’t you remember this documentary we watched about John Lennon?

Oh yea, my bad.

Now, how many Tudors monarchs were there in total?

Hmm dunno… five?

Almost. You remembered our history classes?

I remember this particular era because we studied the Tudors on a Valentine’s Day, and on the walls of the high school, there were effigies of Henry the eighth, with a stall with volunteers handing out roses for the girls, and the effigies were saying “Do ye want to be me Anne Boleyn for this day?” It’s pretty funny, considering he had her beheaded afterwards.

No way! So you really remember then?

Yup. So how many were there?

Six.

Noel was unsure about what I was saying and started counting.

No, I’m sure they were five.

I am the one reading and holding the book in my hands Noely.

Noel put his book on his knees and counted again.

Henry the seventh, Henry the eighth, Edward the sixth, Mary the first and Elizabeth the first… No, they were five!

What about Jane Grey?

Oh come on, she was only there for nine days, and she wasn’t even a Tudor.

Huh she was, considering she was Mary Tudor’s granddaughter.

Which one?

Henry’s sister.

Forgot that part. But still, she was there for only nine days and wasn’t even crowned. Does it still make her a queen?

And at the moment I was about to answer, someone banged at the door. Noel and I looked at each other, and I went to open the door. It was a cop, with a very strong accent asking if Noel was there. As you all know, the rest of the band got into trouble. They drank a lot and fought with football hooligans, turning themselves into hooligans. Bye bye to Amsterdam gig, welcome back to England.

Noel and I went to find them at the back of the boat. They were handcuffed. And I never saw Noel in such a rage, shouting at the guys, but especially at Liam. I was trying to calm things down even though I was disappointed as well.

That’s when Noel called McGee. And we heard him shout at the other end of the corridor:

What’s fucking brilliant in that?!

[randomvarious]

Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch feat. Loleatta Holloway - "Good Vibrations" 1991 Pop-Rap / Hip-House / Hip Hop / House

I really don't care who you are, this shit still fuckin' bangs, man. This music video is such an incredible document in which Mark raps atrociously, but his swagger and bravado is so entertainingly silly. He's shirtless most of the time and throws lots of punches, lifts lots of weights, and has lots of sex. And he also swears off drugs too. He was such a positive role model back then!

Donnie D's on the back up Drug free, so put the crack up No need for speed I'm anti D-R-U-G-G-I-E My body is healthy My rhymes makes me wealthy And the Funky Bunch helps me To bring you a show with no intoxication So, come on, feel the vibration

And although they merely sampled Loleatta Holloway for this song's electric chorus, she still appears in the video and is also credited as a featured artist!

More fun videos in this playlist.

[seth-burroughs]

for the ask game how about both seth and yomi?

MY BOYS >:))))))) THE BOYS

Seth:

favorite thing about them

I can't. fucking. The poncho that tricked me into believing he's a short king but he's like fucking 5'9. The glowy hood belts. How he looks like he's gonna keel over any minute. The bouquet. Him needing to use a megaphone since he just mumbles me too buddy I was pointing at the screen saying "me too buddy" when Yomi was being Yomi about his voice ME TOO BUDDY (it's fine I forgave him). Him taking bribes from the Nail Man because his boss told him to and how he saw nothing suspicious about it. Him ALSO trying to make a deal with the detectives when they get close to finding out. Him being a literal saint compared to all the other peacekeepers (what is wrong with them) and kiiiiiiiind of actually doing his job. His monocle. That shit eating smile. The green. Him existing in (and making) the best chapter in RC. Him getting hit with a helmet so hard he bleeds (guess by who). Him getting progressively less intimidating and more pathetic and cringefail with every scene he's in. The concerning Burroughs family loading screen trivia. Him being good at chess and liking wind instruments. Him hating untuned instruments. His birthday being in pride month. His winx enchantix form in the ML. Should I keep going

least favorite thing about them

How he appeared completely unannounced out of fucking nowhere to be the best character in the game in like 4 scenes total and they then just. hauled him off.

The disrespect is unbelievable I was in denial the whole game every chapter I was waiting for him to show up again. He's not even the only peacekeeper that shows up out of nowhere and then we never see them again, hello Swank Guillaume & Dominic. Dare I say MDA:RC should have been longer - not as in, more cases but like. More downtime between chapters to get to know the Guys more. Please

favorite line

"You need to get your watch repaired. Oh dear... the watchmaker is currently detained as a suspect. Just throw away that piece of trash then." you just KNOW he was so fucking satisfied with himself after that he was giggling internally the whole time. What if I killed him

brOTP

Seth & Guillaume nominated for Kanai Ward's most toxic friendship. I hope you die I hope we both die (platonic)

OTP

Seth x therapy and a different job best ship

nOTP

Seth/Yakou I just don't vibe 😔

random headcanon

Most polish man in Kanai Ward he pickles fucking everything. Goes mushroom picking every autumn and dries all the boletes and boletuses to use for pierogi filling. Always makes his own pierogi store bought are disgusting. Puts atrocious amounts of frozen dill on all his surówkas and mashed potatoes. Cucumber soup enjoyer. All of these are about food. I love food I wish I could eat it

unpopular opinion

Don't have any. I agree with mostly everything they're are saying about him here I approve of the RC tumblr community Seth opinions👍👍

song i associate with them

Hmmmmm.......... Sometimes by Nick Lutsko - You see with Yomi I could make an entire playlist, but there is literally only 1 song in the whole world (that isn't like. an instrumental lmao) that reminds me of Seth. My music taste is fucking Sethless.

favorite picture of them

I don't care what the masses say his phantom fucking slayed. People are being so cruel to him fr calling him cabbage head. I mean they're right but

Yomi:

favorite thing about them

How he's so terrible and evil and so fucking sexy about it. Every single time he appears on screen gets a fake zilch zombie esque response from me

least favorite thing about them

I legitimately cannot think of a single bad thing about Yomi

favorite line

I have three!

1. "That's even more impossible than a chance meeting between an umbrella and a sewing machine on an operating table!" what is wrong with him.

2. Not a single line but like. The conversation he had with Yuma when they were alone for a few minutes after we talked to Huesca where Yuma just tries to break the awkward silence with "umm" and Yomi just hits him with the "WHY DO YOU EXIST. WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE"

3. [after Makoto says he has a duty to watch over Amaterasu and Kanai Ward as a whole] "... What? What have you ever done for Kanai Ward? All you do is look down on it from high. The peaceful order you see when you gave upon it is thanks to my righteous justice. I'm the one guiding these lazy fools! I brought civilization to this place! I don't need you messing with the proper order of my city!" :]] I'll leave it without comment go make up your own mind about it~~

brOTP

Him and Fake Zilch. Not because I see them as platonic but because Fake Zilch was like... literally the only bro option that exists for him lmao

OTP

How dare you make me choose between Fake Zilch, Makoto & Yuma

nOTP

Yomi x Martina. I remember when he got introduced and right after he sent Seth to the electric chair, spat on Yakou then left I thought to myself "well at least he's a big wife guy" hoo boy.

random headcanon

Has two beds in his apartment. One shaped like a cool racecar where he has sex with Martina, and one three days grace themed four story bed where he has sex with everyone else. He doesn't sleep in either of them because rest is for soyboys and omegas. Speaking of omegas h- *audio cuts off*

unpopular opinion

Yomi haters are WEAK as FUCK Also he should be allowed to do whatever he wants actually I cheered and clapped when he hit Vivia right on the face with his whip you and me both Yomi you and me both.

song i associate with them

I have an entire playlist for that lmao so I'll limit myself to five: Dear Dictator by Saint Motel, Autotheist by Baby Bugs, Digital Silence by Peter McPoland + The Reason They Hate Me by Daughters. If we're talking about his relationship to Makoto then Want by Recoil and Men by The Dodos are PEAK makoyomi I beg you to listen to them. Pleas e

favorite picture of them

Sigh *pulls out the Yomi folder and starts picking them out extremely carefully*

[chronicallybloodless]

Heavy to Hold - Chapter 12

Cold Blood

Pairing: Astarion x enby!tav Status: in progress Rating: Explicit (18+ only) Genre: angst/comfort | slow burn Alternating second-person POV Contains spoilers for the whole game basically TW: it's an astarion fic: descriptions of trauma, abuse, sexual violence, etc. | smut | full tag list on AO3 Read from the beginning: AO3 | Tumblr Listen to the Playlist

You recalled what he had told you about spawn—that their master had the power to compel them to do anything. You hoped this was one of those cases. A terrible thought crossed your mind. Was what he told me true?

Read on AO3

Read on Tumblr ↓

Tav's POV

“Do you recall how I said I wasn’t accustomed to sleeping in the dirt?” Astarion asked as he swatted away a horsefly.

“Yeah?” You answered. He hadn’t been particularly keen on today’s adventure into the swamplands, and he wasn’t being quiet about his displeasure.

“This is worse. By far.” He stepped into a patch of mud with a wet squelch as it sunk around his boot. “Why do I still follow you around?”

“My winning personality?” He glared at you in response as he struggled to take another step. Wyll stopped to help him dislodge his foot, only for him to immediately get stuck again. Shadowheart stifled a chuckle as she watched him struggle.

“C’mon Astarion, it’s not so bad out here.” Wyll added in his usual optimistic tone. “Besides, we’re lucky Shadowheart picked up on the enchantment. At least we can see how gross it is rather than falling into it unwittingly.”

“Perhaps, but that does not change the fact that it is gross.” He scowled. “Gods I need a bath.”

“Speaking of needing a bath, do any of you smell that?” Shadowheart frowned and held her nose as an atrocious smell of metal and sweets wafted over you.

“Pardon me, travelers!” A voice called out from deeper into the forest. A man stepped out a moment later, bringing the stench with him. “Oh, forgive the smell—keeps monsters away. Can never be too careful in these parts.”

“A clever trick!” Wyll nodded approvingly. “Well met stranger, what brings you out into these woods?”

The smell of the man’s monster ward was starting to give you a headache. You were surprised that Astarion hadn’t commented on it. You turned towards him to see if he was suffering the same way you were, only to find him frozen in place, his eyes wide as he took in the stranger.

“Oh I’m on the hunt for a particular monster. Haven’t had much luck, so I’m seeking out the hag of these woods.” The man moved closer as he engaged Wyll.

“A hag?” Wyll cocked his head inquisitively. “Surely a hag is a worse monster than whatever you’re hunting, friend.”

“Normally I would agree with you,” The man sighed. “But this monster—a vampire spawn—stole a group of children from our clan some months ago. We’re hoping that if we can capture it alive, we could rescue them.”

You heard Shadowheart take a sharp inhale in, seemingly in pain. You turned to see what had happened to her. From the corner of your eye, you saw Astarion quietly unsheathe his knife.

“A vampire spawn?” Wyll questioned. “I thought vampires tended to prefer urban environments? Is there really one this far out?”

“Normally yes, but the head of our clan got word that this one, a particularly nasty piece of work that goes by the name Astarion, recently flew the proverbial coop and left the city.”

Gods no.

“Astarion?” Are you sure?” Shadowheart asked, her arms folded.

“Positive. A group of spawn attacked our camp at nightfall—they all called each other by name. While the others fought our warriors, the one they called Astarion snuck in and stole our children from their beds while they screamed. Some of the women who were nearby said they heard him laugh.” The man balled a fist. “It isn’t natural—vampires are monsters, but a coordinated attack like that isn’t their usual method. Our leader wants to know why.”

Your heart sank. Astarion had told you that there was a lot that you didn’t know, but you hadn’t expected it to include kidnapping children. You recalled what he had told you about spawn—that their master had the power to compel them to do anything. You hoped this was one of those cases.

A terrible thought crossed your mind.

Was what he told me true?

“But don’t spawn have to obey their master’s orders?” You questioned the man, hoping he would corroborate what Astarion had told you. Shadowheart raised an eyebrow at you. “Why go after the spawn and not the vampire himself?”

“Believe me, if we thought we could get our hands on the master we would.” The man frowned. “This spawn being away from the nest is our only shot at answers. That’s also why I have strict orders to capture, not kill.”

“Seems like it’s the spawn’s lucky day.” Wyll grimaced as he shot a glance at you.

“Indeed it is.” Before you realized what was happening, Astarion had moved past you and plunged his dagger into the man’s eye. The man fell backwards, but his screams were cut short as Astarion slit his throat.

Shadowheart and Wyll turned to look at you, their hands on their weapons. You gestured towards them to hold still.

Astarion was standing stock still with his back to you. You approached him cautiously, walking around him until you were face to face. He didn’t seem to notice you were there. Blood dripped slowly from his pale face, his expression frozen in a look of sheer terror. He blinked as he realized you were there.

“My apologies, Tav.” His voice didn’t convey any of the emotion you had just seen on his face. “I couldn’t bear to listen to any more of that Gur’s lies.”

“Are we, well, you know, safe?” Gale questioned.

The group had returned to camp after your encounter with the monster hunter and the hag. Astarion had gone out hunting shortly after, skipping dinner entirely. Wyll and Shadowheart took the opportunity to convey the day’s events to the others.

“What part of anything that has happened to us recently is safe?” Karlach responded.

“Easy for you to say—you’re too hot to bite.” Gale added. “It’s the rest of us that might wake up with teeth in our necks.”

“If that were going to happen, don’t you think it would have by now?” Shadowheart shot you a look as she spoke. It would seem that she finally figured out what you were spending your evenings doing.

“Tav was right about spawn having to obey their masters.” Wyll nodded sagely. “If that man was right and it was our Astarion, he may not have had a choice in the matter.”

“Well given that the man is now dead because Astarion killed him, I think we can assume that it was our Astarion.” Lae’zel grumbled.

You were sitting there in a daze. Given everyone’s shock, you had apparently done a good job of keeping Astarion’s secret from them.

Now you wondered whether that was the right thing to do.

You wanted to talk to him about it, to get his side of the story, to hear his explanation of why he killed a man in cold blood and then proceeded through the rest of the day as if it hadn’t happened. You wanted to ask him why he had looked so completely terrified.

But you were stuck here having dinner with a group of people who were deciding whether they wanted to introduce him to the pointy end of a stake.

“Tav?” Shadowheart waved a hand in front of you. You must have been lost in your own thoughts.

“Yes?”

“I said, what do you think we should do?”

“About?”

“About Astarion.” She frowned.

“Well….the man’s story was horrible.” They were all looking at you, various expressions of anger and skepticism on their faces. “I mean….kidnapping children? And laughing about it? I can understand why they would want to try to find him.”

You paused, trying to consider your words carefully. You could tell them Astarion seemed to be acting out of fear and encourage them to try to see it from his perspective, but you weren’t sure he would want you to tell them everything he had told you. You weren’t even sure if everything he had told you was true.

Perhaps he had spun you a web for just such an occasion as this, twisting you around his finger so that you would defend him. Would he be as quick to kill you if he felt he needed to?

You recalled all the nights you had spent together and the way he had held you. The thought that it could have all been fake made your stomach twist in knots.

“I don’t think he did any of it by choice.” Your voice was quiet as you spoke.

“I think we can all agree that we have things in our past that we would rather not talk about.” Shadowheart added, noticing your discomfort. “And I think we can also agree that if anyone showed up looking to capture any of us, we wouldn’t stand for it.”

“Hells, we already did that once.” Karlach nodded appreciatively at Wyll.

“Precisely.” Gale added. “So, the more important question is whether Astarion is a danger to us now, not whether he may have been in the past.”

“I think that’s a question we have to ask him.” You stood and walked towards the woods. The others started to follow you, but Shadowheart shook her head at them.

You needed to do this alone.

[tobeflyhaikyuu]

The K-Dramas I've watched

Playful Kiss

Possibly the first kdramas i've ever watched, it was either this one or The Miracle. I enjoyed it at first but i found it was an adaptation of Itazura na Kiss and went to watch the other adaptations and hated the story as a whole. Also when I found the Thai version it was game over cus that version is so much better than the source material.

Weighlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo

It was cute!! And very funny, I don't have much to say about it tho.

Goblin

Ignoring the fact he is idk how many years old and she was 18-19 when they properly meet... it's kinda cute. And heartbreaking. The Goblin and Reaper duo is also just iconically hilarious.

Doom At Your Service

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE EVER!! The writing is so good and the story is so beautiful and I mean, Park Bo-Young is one of my favorite actresses for a reason. I just cannot properly put into words how much i adore this show, honestly.

While You Were Sleeping

How I meet both Suzy and Lee Jong-Suk and i loved them and their characters both so much. The story was very engaging too.

Strong Woman Bong-Soon

Park Bo-Young and Park Hyung-sik <3 Do Bong-Soon and Ahn Min-Hyuk <3 They were too good in this man, I'd love to see them in another drama together. One thing that felt uncessary to me was the gangsters and their whole screentime, it just wasnt entertaining or important to the story afjsahfkdagj

True Beauty

Very funny, very entertaining. Also how I feel in love with Cha Eun-woo. Also yes I loved Seo-jun but it made a lot more sense for Joo-kyung to be with Su-ho, me thinks.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Entertaining but the depiction of mental disabilities is really just... atrocious. It's a little hard to rewatch tbh.

Business Proposal

Kim Se-jeong is a treasure. And this show was very funny and cute.

Alchemy Of Souls

Amazing, showstopping, spectacular, no wonder it was so popular.

My Only Love Song

Also one of the first ones i've watched, hilarious too. But i dont remember thinking much about the romance tbh. At least it's on the shorter end so if you dont feel like committing to 16+ 1-hour long episodes, this is a good one

W: Two Worlds

I. LOVE. THE. CONCEPT. OF. COMIC CHARACTERS. BEING SELF AWARE!!!! It's so interesting and I think W explored it so well, I'd love more kdramas like it.

The Miracle

I remember very little about this one lol but i do remember the over fatphobia, like yes its what the show criticizes but i remember feeling so uncomfortable watching it. it's been like 7 years tho so i cant properly talk about it

Extraordinary You

comic book characters being self aware <3 also think this was did a fantastic job with that concept. it also made me cry so badly, my heart still aches for Haru and Dan-Oh

Pinocchio

This is the one last one I finished, and I binged it. Was not expecting to be so enthralled by a drama that's essencially about news reporting but I was.

Why Her

Reccommend to me by a close friend who adores pain... I was also not expecting to be so engaged with this one but I was and it was so painful, omg but so so good!

+ unfinished ones

Hotel Del Luna

Mr. Queen

Rookie Historian Goo Rae-Hyeong

Destined with You

Magic of the Abyss

Uncanny Counter

King: The Eternal Monarch

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha

Run On

Crash Landing on You

Hospital Playlist

Celebrity

Crash Course In Romance

Romance Is A Bonus Book

A Love So Beautiful

King The Land

See You in My 19th Life

The King's Affection

Judge vs Judge

Happiness

Tale of The Nine Tailed

Law School

Dr. Romantic

++ dropped

Shooting Stars

The Glory

Love Alarm

My ID is a Gangnam Beauty

Legend of the Blue Sea

Boys Over Flowers

The Heirs

[dragons-and-dwarves-are-nice]

To the Shadows that Cry Witch /// Chapter 13

Okay so I lied about posting earlier, turns out I had a lot more stuff to do in very little time, and this residential trip I’m on is keeping me far too busy to post this chapter. But here we are! You guys now get to finally discover what was in the chest. Also fyi I’ve had to write this out on mobile, so the layout may be a little weird. Enjoy! (Edit from Monday me: So the first post of this chapter was atrocious, and I apologise lol, but everything has been sorted out, parts have been rewritten and all links should be there.)

Summary: Magic was real, but it came at a price. So when two girls end up in the one place they never thought they could reach, strange things began to happen. Good or bad? That's up to them to find out.

Tags: Kili x oc/reader - Fili x oc (POV to be written soon) - Thorin's company × ocs/reader (platonic) - fluff - angst - EXTREME slow burn - crack - Bagginshield

Word Count: 2624

Warnings: Descriptions of EXTREME PAIN and being UNABLE TO BREATHE, Mentions of Minor and Major Injuries from last chapter.

A/N: PARTS OF CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN REWRITTEN

Taglist - comment or message to be added!

PLEASE START FROM THE BEGINNING IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY OK LOVE U

Want some background music? Check out my Soundtrack Playlist!

Now available on Wattpad and AO3 (please let me know if links aren't working)

< Chapter 12 // Chapter 13 // Chapter 14 >

Part 2: Chapter 13 -

Item: Suspicion

Conundrum (Definition): A problem or puzzle which is difficult or impossible to solve. (Noun / Origin: Pseudo-Latin / kuh·nuhn·druhm)

“Since when did you bring your suitcase?” I said as we both stared at the rectangular object.

“Since when did you bring your suitcase?” I said as we both stared at the rectangular object.

“I didn’t!” Kay exclaimed, “I went to put the stuff from my rucksack in the chest and it was just there!”

“Huh.” Was all I said, rather perplexed, as I kicked at the plastic.

Kay swatted my foot away with her own, darting her eyes back and forth between me and the suitcase, before quickly kneeling down and grabbing the zips. Pulling them around she then hauled the top half open, laying it down to reveal her belongings cramped inside. It was everything she had packed for the trip but had left at the hostel when we were sucked through the portal. Clothes, makeup, wash bag and books all piled up. The relief on her face was obvious when she pulled out her toothbrush and toothpaste, but all was forgotten as she snatched up a set of clean underwear and her pyjamas, sprinting out the door to the bathroom on the other side of the hallway. I snorted at her antics and knelt down myself, checking out what was there whilst I waited. Barely a minute passed and Kay had returned, stuffing the dirty clothes and underwear she had reluctantly been wearing since we got here under her bed.

“These are getting set on fire later.”

I laughed out loud, whilst also relieved that one of us could feel somewhat nicer. Bilbo had kindly offered us baths, which we desperately agreed to. We also recycled the left over water to wash our clothes in, but only the smell seemed to leave temporarily – the mud and blood stains had practically cemented themselves into the fabric. Standing back up, I checked the chest once again, seeing if anything had been missed in the dim candlelight. Not spying anything, I returned to the suitcase and unzipped the flap that was currently hiding half of Kay’s belongings. Lifting the material up, I was met with a familiar face.

Picking it up I flung it in Kay’s direction, watching in amusement as it bounced off her head, causing her to whip her head around, and we both watched as it landed on the duvet. Letting out an eager gasp, she leapt on the bed, snatching it up.

“HELLO KITTY!!” she shrieked. Embracing the teddy with a grip tight enough to strangle a man, she buried her face into the short felt fur. “Ohhh I’ve missed you so much.” She mumbled.

“Everything alright in there?”

We both froze at the sound of Bilbo’s voice calling through the door. Looking at the stuff that had appeared, I got to my feet as quickly as possible, despite my ankle, and beckoned for Kay to put the stuff back in the chest, which she began straight away. I turned towards the door and called out to Bilbo.

“We’re fine! Kay just uhhhh..-” I scanned the room, spotting the teddy on the bed, “She thought she saw a cat outside!”

It was silent for a moment before Bilbo responded.

“Ok then… As long as you’re both alright!”

“Yeah! Yea, it’s chill.” I went to go help Kay before he spoke up again.

“Chill?” He questioned, “Are you both cold? Don’t tell me I forgot to put your blankets back in there?”

I looked at Kay, who was busy gripping the chest in an attempt to stop herself from laughing out loud. I took a breath to calm myself.

“No it’s ok! We’re both fine, there’s nothing to worry about!” I called back, slapping Kay lightly on the shoulder when she snorted slightly.

“Oh ok then, call for me if you do need anything.” Bilbo replied.

We both called out our thanks as we listened to his footsteps fade away, and we waited a beat before speaking again.

“Why don’t you check your room to see if your stuff has appeared?” Kay piped up from behind me.

I shot up in realisation. “Oh yeah!”

Swinging Kay’s door open, I sped-walked to the other side of the hobbit hole, past a very surprised Bilbo as I ducked and weaved under beams and chandeliers. Barging into my room, I looked around for anything that could potentially hide a large and very overpacked suitcase. I rummaged through drawers, opened chests, and even stuck my head under the bed, but I felt disappointment dawn on me as I realised that nothing of my own had appeared. Feeling disheartened, I brought myself out from underneath the bed frame and sat slumped on the floor. Looking around for anywhere I could’ve missed in my search, nothing revealed itself, causing my mood to lower even further.

With a sigh, I decided to go with my last resort, and pushed myself to my feet. Opening the door, I trudged disappointingly through the house, ducking my head into each archway as I searched for our host. As I bent to look into the kitchen, I finally spotted Bilbo as he stirred his evening cup of tea.

Hesitating a little, I took a small breath before knocking gently on the doorframe. Though not gently enough apparently – the noise still sent a jolt through the hobbit, but he managed to gather himself soon after.

“Ah, Kate! I was just about to bring these to you two.” He gestured to two steaming cups of fresh tea on the table. “Thought you could use something to warm you two up.”

I felt a smile make its way onto my face at the adorable thought of him worrying about us, and I swiftly ducked through the arch.

“Oh, thank you!”

He pushed a cup towards me with a warm smile, taking his own cup as he sat down. Remembering what I came here for, I sat myself down on one of the small chairs. Placing my elbows on the table and resting my chin on my hands, I looked around nervously and hesitantly opened my mouth to say something. I eventually looked back at Bilbo, who was now staring curiously at my behaviour.

“I… don’t suppose you’ve seen anything a little strange appear out of nowhere?”

Bilbo blinked a few times before replying.

“…What?”

I shuffled in my spot as I thought of what I was going to say next.

“Ok so, really weird question, but,” I clasped my hands together and pointed two fingers at him. “Do youuu, somewhat, believe in magic?”

Bilbo just stared for some time, his eyes squinted in confusion, until he slowly began to nod slightly.

“I – I suppose, to a certain degree?” He replied with a strained voice. I took that as enough of an answer.

“Right. So I think that’s how, we got – you know..” I gestured around, “– here. Anddd, some of our stuff that we left behind may have also appeared –” I pointed at the table, “– here.”

“I’m sorry?”

I tried to come up with the words to explain, but when nothing came, I stood up from my chair and grabbed both mine and Kay’s tea.

“Follow me.”

Bilbo quickly scrambled up from his own chair, gripping his own tea as if it was all that was left of his sanity, and followed suit. As we neared Kay’s room, I turned to him.

“I know it’s a little much, but I wanna make sure it doesn’t seem like we’re trying to keep secrets from you.” I said in an attempt to reassure him.

He blinked up at me a little surprised. “Oh! Well uh, I’m glad to hear it.”

I smiled at him, of which he returned albeit a little wobbly, and I turned back around as we finally reached Kay’s door.

Passing Kay’s tea to Bilbo, I knocked on the wood. We both listened to the shuffling from inside, and the door eventually swung open. Kay grinned at us both, though she was soon distracted by the extra cup in Bilbo’s hand.

“Oo, you made tea!”

Bilbo went to pass the cup over, but froze halfway as he caught sight of what Kay’s fresh pyjamas.

“I uh, see what you mean by new stuff.” He said.

Kay looked down at her clothes, before sheepishly looking back up at us.

“Yeaaa, about that.” She began nervously.

“I’ve already began explaining part of it.” I intervened

Kay let out a small breath of relief and opened the door wider, gesturing us both inside.

“I guess that means we can show him?” She asked. I nodded.

“Show me? Show me what?” Bilbo exclaimed, looking between us a little fearfully.

“Nothing bad!” Kay tried to assure.

We brought him over to the chest and opened it up. The hobbit stared in wonder as I hauled the suitcase back out and Kay unzipped it. He took a step back slightly at the unusual sound of the zip, but was stepping back in half the time as the contents poured out.

“Are those supposed to be.. clothes?” He asked incredulously, kneeling down to join us. He eyed at us both with his hand hovering above the case, and went to pick up a top when Kay nodded.

The first half of the case was emptied, the clothes pile next to Bilbo growing as he inspected each piece with equal intrigue, though he had a different expression for each. Some were confused, like when he took a minute staring at one of Kay’s Batman t-shirts, but some were a little shocked, like when he unravelled a roll of fabric to reveal a lacy vest top, of which, in a flash, he had neatly folded up and placed on the pile. Luckily Kay had already stored away her underwear, which would’ve sent poor Bilbo into a coma if he had seen.

The hobbit soon moved onto the second half, using a zip for the first time to remove the material I had closed back up earlier. He opened the flap, but soon jolted backwards.

“What in Yavanna’s name is that?!” He cried, and I looked down to see he was pointing at a portable hairdryer.

“Oh that’s where I put it.” Kay said, picking the electronic up.

Bilbo stared with wide eyes, but it seemed that his Took side encouraged him to reach out at prod at the object. He tapped a fingernail against it, listening to the sound.

“What is it made of?” He pondered.

“It’s called plastic.” I explained. “You see anyone trying to invent it here, assassinate them. Immediately.”

Bilbo stared at me. “…Ok?”

He began to eye some other things, and picked out a sketchbook. He asked Kay if he could take a peek. Shuffling next to him, she took the sketchbook and flipped through the pages, stopping at the drawings she wanted to show.

Looking back down at the suitcase, I observed the objects left over, and saw a few things that would be unexplainable to anyone born in Middle Earth, such as a phone charger, and an electronic toothbrush. So whilst Bilbo was distracted, I zipped up everything and lifted it back into the chest, knowing we were too tired to even try explaining.

“Did you have any luck with your stuff?” I heard Kay from behind me.

I turned around and gave her an annoyed shake of my head. She pouted mockingly at my inconvenience.

“Is that why you asked if I had seen anything earlier?” Bilbo questioned as he helped tidy away Kay’s clothes into the chest of drawers adjacent to the bed. I nodded once again. “Well I can’t say I’ve seen anything I’m afraid.”

My shoulders slumped dejectedly and I picked up my tea.

“HA!” Blurted Kay.

I frowned in return. “You’re not the one who’s permanently dirty!”

“Well you’re saving Bilbo from turning his room into a hoarders den.” She retaliated.

“I’m not a hoarder! I’m –”

“A collector with a maximalist aesthetic.” She finished, “I’m well aware.”

“Plus, I haven’t brought any trinkets, so you can’t accuse me of that.”

“Yea but you’re a chronic over packer, so you would’ve done so with out realising anyway.”

I grunted a noise in frustration, taking a sip of my tea with a grumpy expression. Kay just laughed at my surrender, so I shuffled around to face away from her. Bilbo on the other hand was just switching his eyes between us, a weirded out look on his face.

“Well, it should come soon?” Kay suggested through her laughter, changing the subject in an attempt to get me to turn back around. “If my stuff’s here, then so should yours. Maybe it’s delayed?”

I perked up at that, an idea coming to mind, and I quickly spun back round.

“You went through first, then I did a little later, so that could mean the same for this!” I said eagerly.

Kay nodded excitedly in agreement.

“I’m sorry, went – went through what?”

We both froze as we realised Bilbo was still in the room with us. And that we had definitely not told him exactly what had transpired before we ended up in his garden. I turned towards him, my mouth slightly open, but nothing but a drawn out ‘uhhhhh’ came out. The longer we spent in silence the more unease we could see develop on the hobbits face. Kay turned back towards me, her face scrunched with uncertainty.

“I think we should tell him.” She said sheepishly.

“Tell me what?” Bilbo demanded, now visibly troubled at the enigma of a conversation going on in front of him.

I nodded at Kay, and we both faced ourselves, with serious faces, back towards Bilbo, who looked a little frightened at the sudden change in mood. Kay sat up straight, placed her tea to the side, and began to speak.

“We’re not f–”

She quickly doubled over with a shriek, her hands flying up to claw and grab at her hair. We watched in horror as she contorted, attempting to stop whatever was causing her pain. Bilbo and I were over in a flash, both of us calling out for her. I went to reach out, when her screaming stopped. But it wasn’t over.

She looked up at us with glassy eyes, her face strained from the pain and glistening with fallen tears. But I soon noticed that her hands were gone from her head and were not clawing and gesturing to her throat. Her mouth gaped open and shut, and we both realised that she wasn’t breathing.

I shot up in panic, crying out her name. I knew what to do if someone was choking, but Kay hadn’t eaten anything? She just couldn't breathe. Bilbo on the other hand, had scrambled to his feet in fright, too in shock to do anything. Though he didn’t get far, the rug underneath his feet giving way and he crashed to the ground with a thud. The noise from his impact did something – and Kay’s frantic ordeal stopped as quickly as it started.

It was as if the noise had snapped her out of it, as she now sat on the floor heaving, whilst watching Bilbo flail around on the floor, the rug still half-wrapped around his ankle. He eventually calmed down and pushed himself up from lying on his back into a sitting position, rubbing his lower back with a slightly reddened face.

I placed a hand on Kay’s back, lowering myself to her level where she had rested her forehead on her knees, her hands on the back of her head as she tried to calm herself down. I whispered, asking if she was alright. I got a minute nod in return. Bilbo crawled over, leaning down slightly himself, to see if he could peek at Kay’s face, then leaned back up to face me.

“What in Yavanna’s name was that?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[skoople]

im a cyborg but thats ok. and or the muppets (2011)

I'm A Cyborg But That's Okay

I haven't heard of this one before (I'm woefully bad at keeping up with international releases) but the premise of a young woman institutionalized because she believes she's a cyborg and the only man willing to believe her seems interesting. Content warning for self harm if you decide to sniff this one out but it seems to be worth a sniff indeed!

The Muppets (2011)

if i had to rank it i would give it an 8/10 for a kids film, a 7/10 for a muppets film (extra points for not being as racist as treasure island), and a 12/10 for when i'm really sad or i have a bad cold.

it's just genuinely really funny in a lot of places. multiple songs from this movie ended up on my spotify wrapped playlist because theyre catchy and well performed and because i have a sickness. tex richman is like a conceptually hilarious villain to me, and i loved that uncle deadly got more screentime than usual. the celebrity cameos are rather grating and miss piggy's outfits in particular are a little 2010s-dated (she is always on the cutting edge of style after all). i really hated the transmisogynistic joke about miss piggy's stunt double. walter was a welcome and charming addition to the classic cast, and it's great that he had jim parsons of the big bang theory portraying his gender dysphoria. overall i think the script could have been tighter and MUCH less meta, but there's joke that make me laugh out loud and i'm glad the muppets are still around. side note we should rip the meat off of bob iger's body for what the disney corporation has done to the muppets. there's an atrocious amount of disrespect towards the craft and the heart and artistry of the muppets as a cast, the workshop, and jim henson's legacy that manifests as wasted potential. make a puppet yourself and start having fun. 🏴‍☠️ watch the old variety show; it's good!

this joke about 80s robot makes me smile every time, and i think this clip gives you a good idea of amy adam's chipper cartoon energy (the performance comes off weird because nobody else is matching her, not even the muppets). also keep in mind that every time you see a puppet in a car (there's three here) there is a puppeteer hiding under the seat doing the acting.

[jotun-philosopher]

Good Omens S3 speculation playlist

These pieces have sort of drifted into becoming the soundtrack for all my wild speculations about what Season 3 might bring, acting as placeholder music until David Arnold works his Euterpean magic -- see what you think! :D

Dies Irae (Karl Jenkins Requiem (link goes to youtube playlist of the full album, 'cos it's awesome and seriously worth listening to)) -- this is far and away my favourite version of the Dies Irae; it feels particularly appropriate for GO because it's borderline bebop and sounds like something Crowley'd have playing loudly in the Bentley while driving like fury to save the world (or possibly invading Heaven to rescue his True Love) if he felt Queen wouldn't quite cut it. Plus, per this post, the four-note Dies Irae motif appears a few times in the score to S1 (appropriately enough!) -- why not try listening to the OST again and finding them all? ;D

Dancing Mad (Nobuo Uematsu FF6) -- bit of an oddball association, I know; I happened to be reading a post making jokes about Kakfa (as in Franz Kakfa) shortly after the release of S2, only I mis-parsed 'Kafka' as 'Kefka' (as in Kefka Palazzo) and was promptly deluged with mental images of the Ineffables being badass adorable together to the tune of Dancing Mad! XD Plus, I like the image of Heaven suddenly hearing the organ notes at 11:32 crescendoing in the background, and the elevator doors slamming open right when the vocal-ish bit kicks in at 11:51 to reveal a certain VERY cheesed-off serpent who's in a rescuing mood :D (He does love to be dramatic, after all ^^)

Adiemus (Karl Jenkins Symphonic Adiemus) -- I just really like this track, and it feels kind of appropriate for a moment of renewed hope and building optimism after a moment of what Tolkien called 'eucatastrophe' and TVTropes calls 'Near Villain Victory' -- something we're almost certain to get in S3

In Caelum Fero (Karl Jenkins Symphonic Adiemus) -- from the same album as Adiemus above (In Caelum Fero is the first track, actually, so I've make the link one that takes you to the start of the playlist). It sounds threatening and dramatic and hopeful by turns -- appropriate for the Apocalyptic situation that's brewing for S3 -- and the title translates from the Latin as 'I will bear you to Heaven', which matches up to The Final Fifteen in two or three different ways! ;_; (#FuckTheMetatronWithACactus)

Sanctus (Karl Jenkins The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace) -- ever since I first heard this track waay back in 2001, I've associated it with the image of hordes of angels marching to war; it certainly sounds ominous enough!

I'll Be Your Mirror (Velvet Underground) -- I got into Velvet Underground entirely because of Good Omens! I love this track in particular because it sounds so utterly perfect for one of the Ineffables trying to bolster the other's confidence (in my imagination, it's usually Crowley trying to boost Aziraphale, 'cos that poor angel's self-esteem is atrocious :( *hugs*)

Pale Blue Eyes (Velvet Underground) -- Crowley's fave VU song, I gather :D Plus, despite the title, this particular love song was apparently written for someone with hazel eyes (just like our angel!) :D

I Found A Reason (Velvet Underground) -- I can't offhand remember seeing this song mentioned in fandom discussions of VU, which seems a bit of a shame; it feels just so darn PERFECT as a summary of how the Ineffables feel about each other! <3

Edit/addition 18/02/2024:

The Dark Morris Song (Steeleye Span, Wintersmith album) -- this one's an absolute bop, is connected to Discworld (so Aziraphale would probably approve!) and is very thematically appropriate for the Ineffable Husbands; Pterry thought up the Dark Morris (danced in secrecy and silence, in black costumes, deep in the forest, to welcome the winter -- first mentioned in Reaper Man, becomes a plot point in Wintersmith) as a counterpart and counterbalance to the traditional Morris dance to welcome the summer. The whole 'balance of light and dark' thing is a big part of the Ineffables' story <3

The Good Witch (Steeleye Span, Wintersmith album) -- also a very good match for the Ineffable Husbands' vibe; the first half of the song is about a witch being good and loving and caring even if she is 'ugly' or gets tagged as 'wicked' for whatever reason (A. J. Crowley, anyone???), and the second half is the actual Terry Pratchett doing a spoken-word reading of his passage about what 'cackling' means for Discworld witches -- which matches up uncomfortably well with what the impossibly high standards Heaven imposes on Aziraphale have already done to his psyche in terms of c-PTSD and compassion fatigue, and what they might still do in the worst-case scenario...

Stranger In Paradise (Alexander Armstrong version) -- I just feel like this coincidentally matches the Vibes (tm) of bits and pieces of the Ineffable Husbands' story! "Won't you answer the fervent prayer/Of this stranger in Paradise/Don't send me in dark despair/From all that I hunger for!" -- The Final Fifteen/Ineffable Breakup, anyone? "If I stand starry-eyed/That's a danger in Paradise" -- danger of angel/demon relationships being discovered. "I saw your face/And I ascended" [...] "Somewhere in space/I am suspended/Until I know/ There's a chance that you care" -- bits of 'Before the Beginning' and The Final Fifteen! Plus, the title alone feels perfect for Azzy's feelings/situation at the end of S2... Brb, crying!

[lonelyplanetfag]

she let me hit cuz i make the most atrocious playlists known to man

[peppermintbuttlemon]

https://www.tumblr.com/peppermintbuttlemon/756693576117895168/anyone-have-the-link-to-joes-spotify-how-do-we?source=share

Got curious about what he listens to (if it really is his Spotify) and I went and snooped and man what the hell are his playlists?!? His music taste is atrocious and random. Also he might own a peloton with the peloton playlist? 🤣

Yeah that’s the general consensus. He has terrible taste in music 🤭

[lengthy-artery]

got tagged by @secretaryofthebirds so here we go

last song?

.............it was the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme. I was running a game of The Price Is Fucking Atrocious for some friends and it was on my silly gameshow playlist.

favorite color?

oh man idk. Orange???

currently watching?

I don't think I'm actually watching anything right now..... I recently rewatched Interview With The Vampire though!

last movie?

I watched The Winter Soldier literally this morning. Saw a tumblr post and decided that I needed to rewatch it right then and there. Good film!

sweet/spicy/savory?

Savoury and spicy

relationship status?

I am still very single so if anyone wants to change that hmu

current obsessions

I'm going to be honest, I don't have the time or brainspace for obsessions right now 😔 I've been listening to a lot of Pratchett audiobooks to fall asleep though if that counts.

last thing you googled

"popeye cartoonists are crazy people who can see pictures in their heads"

selfie or another pic you took?

dice palette :)

i'm not tagging anyone because i am so tired but if you want to do this go nuts