#to this day this fic makes me crazy

[god-of-this-new-blog]

Tell Me I’m Good — by @translightyagami

[zarnzarn]

The doors to Olympus are sturdy and strong, given everyone's preferences for drama and slamming said doors open and sending them cracking into the wall whenever the opportunity arises. Which is why it's a surprise when they creak open during the once-a-decade pantheon meeting; less so because no entity worth their salt would take so long to open the doors, and more so because everyone who is anyone is already there.

But if everyone is being honest with themselves- which no one is, usually- these gatherings are boring enough that the bland conversation is dropped immediately in favour of craning their necks to catch a glimpse of whatever is coming to relieve them of their boredom.

When the doors finally open however, several of the pantheon murmur in surprise.

"Odysseus," Athena whispers, wide-eyed as she pushes herself off her throne to her feet. It is him- in the king's garb he was buried in but the face he has when he reached home, hair till the shoulders and speckled with grey, face oddly blank. His feet are transparent.

"What are you doing here, sceptre?" Poseidon booms, hair the color of a stormy sea. Zeus, beside him, looks reserved, observing the ghost with something approaching curiosity- eyes flicking to the lightning scars on his daughter's face and back. "Your time has long passed, and Hades-"

"It is a temporary agreement," Odysseus says curtly, barely sparing him a glance as he approaches his patron. "Athena."

Her armour clinks as she steps forward and the gods all twitch, trading glances. Owls are silent creatures- to have her aspect so affected to make noise was... uneasy to say the least. She even holds herself different than usual, something like confused delight shining in her eyes. "How did you-"

"Did you sleep with my wife?"

The throne room is silent. Several jaws drop.

Athena straightens back up, blinking in surprise. She looks a bit shifty, some of the nymphs closest whisper to each other, which- well, almost every single god present owed some part of their existence to the mere story of Odysseus loving his wife.

Would he fight his own patron goddess over it in front of Mount Olympus, though? He certainly was unbalanced enough; Athena herself looked rather uncertain of her odds, even though-

"Are you addled in death, King of Ithaka?" Artemis drawls, looking amused. "Did you forget that your own patron is celibate? Whatever rumor you-"

"No, I-" Athena says suddenly, shifting her spear to her other hand. "I did."

Artemis chokes on her breath and several assorted divine beings gasp in shock and the rest shouting for explanations, although everyone is nearly drowned out by Aphrodite's loud, "WHAT?"

Odysseus inhales sharply and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I cannot believe you."

"She asked-" Athena starts, only to be drowned out by the din of various beings screeching and shouting about the scandal.

"ATHENA!" Hera hisses, peacock tail fanning behind her sharply as she pushes herself up. "Explain yourself!"

Athena half-turns to face her, face creased in a frown. "Mother, I-"

"LET ME REPHRASE!" Odysseus cuts in loudly, and the shouting settles down into silence. He walks to his patron, eyes blazing. "I cannot believe," he throws his clenched fists wide as he growls the last word, "-you took Penelope to bed-" Athena surprisingly stays still as he reaches her, mouth falling open as he grabs her by the chiton to yank her down, uncaring of the gasps of horror from all around as he snarls, "-before you ever kissed me."

And then Odysseus grabs Athena by the face roughly and kisses her.

This time Aphrodite's shriek cannot be escaped by anyone.

"Aphrodite, please," Zeus says a few moments later, wincing as his throne reforms around him, stained oddly pink. Quite a few minor entities have discorporated, and the ones nearest to her are still trying to regenerate their hearing. "Control yourself."

Their eyes land back on where Athena has dropped her spear- dropped her spear, Ares in the corner seems to be having some minor hysteria over this, well warranted- and is also on the floor, still being thoroughly kissed by that insufferable, mannerless hero of hers, perched on her stomach to reach. Zeus inhales in fury, Poseidon close behind him as the shock wears off, lightning crackling around his fingers as he opens his mouth to shout- of all the indignities-

"If you two ruin this for me," Aphrodite thunders, warping in front of them and glaring. "I will make you both regret it."

Both gods visibly blanch at the threat, taken aback for one brief moment. Threats from Aphrodite are far worse than any of her more violent siblings, at the end of the day.

Zeus visibly gathers himself just as Athena's helmet clatters to the floor, and he gains a second wind immediately, eye twitching as he spreads a hand to the spectacle in the middle of the hall. "WHAT MANNER OF DISRESPECT IS THIS? TO BARGE INTO OUR MEETING AND THROW ONE OF THE OLDEST GODDESSES TO THE FLOOR LIKE A COMMON WENCH-"

"Zeus," Hera says quietly. Everyone falls silent, although it's not quite enough to stop the two tangled together on the ground. She clears her throat, which finally seems to get through to Athena, who had finally seemed to have gotten over her shock enough to reach out, hands hovering over Odysseus hesitantly. Still, at the noise she seems to remember herself, pushing herself up on an elbow and dislodging him enough to break their necking. He pouts at her, but Athena's eyes are too glazed over to notice, heaving for breath.

Hera opens her mouth to speak, crown manifesting on her brow as she steps in front of the throne, but closes it as the door rattles again.

This time, the spectre shimmers with a faint hint of scales that comes with a freshwater nymph's heritage and excited whispers starved for drama explode across the room as the Queen of Ithaka steps into the room, skirts hitched in her hand and panting as if she'd been running.

"Your Graces," She bows respectfully before entering, Spartan princess through and through, until she catches sight of her husband and Athena, the former of whom seems to have taken the opportunity to start kissing the wisdom goddess again, fingers in her curls.

"What are you doing?" She snaps, rushing over. The entire courtroom holds its breath. She slaps her husband upside the head, making him yelp and move back to shoot her a betrayed look. Athena looks even further dazed than before, cheeks red. "Argos has more manners than you! No wonder Lady Athena wanted nothing to do with you- ah, hello, darling, by the way."

"Penelope," Athena murmurs hoarsely, and the Queen of Ithaka leans down to kiss her as well.

Odysseus chuckles, then jumps with everyone else as Hera slams a hand down on the throne elegantly, cracking it to the base.

"Ah, goddess-" He says, clambering off Athena to bow.

"Silence," Hera interrupts, holding up a hand, eyes cold. "You will not say anything to me apart from an explanation. My agreement for your release from Ogygia was due to the assurance that your marriage was one of the truest I have ever witnessed, conveyed by Athena herself when bartered with all of us to let you go. Tell me, was it a ploy? Because from the disgraceful looks of it, this seems to not be the case in the slightest."

Odysseus frowns, face twisting in confusion. "Athena bartered with...?" He turns to look at his patron, who stares back, unspeaking. His eyes flicker to the lightning scar over her right eye as Penelope traces it with horrified eyes and a gentle thumb, and understanding seems to dawn.

For a moment, rage seems to fill him, glaring with a hatred towards Zeus that everyone whispered later wasn't met by the god king with anger, but a flicker of remorse- before he visibly throws it away behind Athena's old smile and bows.

"God-queen," He says formally, gracefully. Hera twitches a bit, and they'll all talk later about how odd it was to so clearly see Athena's younger mannerisms in the man, down to the curl of the letters. "My marriage to Penelope has never been false, never been broken, this I promise you." He takes Penelope's hand and squeezes it for emphasis, and she raises them as acknowledgement. "But... can you not argue that Athena has been part of our marriage all this time? From its start, where she advised me on courting and her on what to look for, to the twenty years she spent with both of us- me on the battlefield and Penelope in the court; to say nothing of how she helped raise our son and lived in our palace in the days after. And is she not so unbearably beautiful that even my Penelope couldn't wait-" He shoots a glare at her, which Penelope returns with a smile. "-when the chance was presented? How can you fault us for disgrace, after being so long apart from our wife?"

Hera raises both eyebrows at the impudence, the kind of disbelieving expression that hides a warning to tread carefully. "So you claim to be both married to Pallas Athena?"

"In every way that matters except legality," Odysseus says, fearlessly. He is dead, after all, what much can you do to a shade that they didn't already put him through when alive. He is sort of worried about Athena, though, as they both help her back to her feet, Penelope busy whispering compliments and updates and endearments in turn- she's not usually one to be quiet in face of a problem.

Hera tilts her head. "Ah, but you see. I need the legality, if I am to finally-" A helpless, excited smile pulls at her lips once, twice, before unfolding into a bright grin, peacock tails unfolding to their full wingspan. "-finally arrange for a marriage for my eldest daughter who has not once- oh finally, I can hardly believe this day has come-"

"I do not like the way you grabbed her, Sacker of Troy," Ares steps forward as Hera starts ranting half to herself, half to an equally loud assemblage of joyful entities about wedding arrangements, eyes narrowed.

Odysseus barks an incredulous, loud laugh, gesturing to Athena with a slightly crazed look in his eyes. "This lady has broken- and I do not exaggerate- every single bone in my body before I saw my sixteenth year. I have punched her a hundred times in the face when she taught me how to fight. We'll survive, thanks."

"That is fair," Ares steps back, hands raised.

"What duties will you provide as spouses, Ithakan Queen?" Hestia questions, stepping forward.

"Oh, the same we did when we were living," Penelope huffs a laugh. "Keep her busy, make her laugh, be of mild frustration to her, love her well, worship her-"

"I do not. Need to know," Hestia closes her eyes and raises a hand to cut her off, stepping back. Around them, the din catches speed and volume as no further objections arise, excitement spilling into the air.

"What is happening?" Athena says faintly, looking around as if she was just waking up.

"-oh, and we can get out the decor once more! Hebe, Aphrodite, loves, do you remember where we kept the fountains-"

"-finally, a reason to celebrate! Call them all out of hiding-"

"-can't believe this is finally happening, oh sister, what songs should we-

"Why am I getting married," Athena says with much more alarm and horror. She turns to Odysseus and shakes him by the shoulder, eyes wild. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!"

"How is this nothing? Do you have any idea the headache-"

"Athena, sweetheart, will you consider changing into that beautiful piece you made for the ceremony?"

Creakily, she turns her head to Hera, disbelief pasted across her face. "Mother," She says slowly. "They are both dead."

"Oh, I'll make a deal with Hades or something, you hush!" Aphrodite leans forward and snaps, before her irritation melts back into a manic joy. "Oh, what paint shall we do?"

Paint, Athena mouths, looking afraid for possibly the first time since her conception.

Penelope laughs and tugs on Athena's hand to make her turn, tucking dishevelled curls behind her ear. She wonders if the goddess knows how beautiful she is when she's flustered. "Take us away," She whispers. On Athena's other side, Odysseus leans against their patron with a besotted, helpless smile as he stares up at her, her helmet and spear in hand. She'd missed Athena like a limb, missed her deep laugh at night when they'd discussed the day's court, the dry jokes, the hands over hers as she weaved- but Odysseus wasn't himself without her, happy though they were in Hades' lands together, all of them.

"I'm-" Athena wavers, then looks around once more at all the excited screaming, something unreadable flashing in her eyes. Almost against her will, her eyes fall to Zeus, who is sitting silently and staring back at her. Poseidon looks like he still wants to start a fight, but clearly by his wary looks below can tell he will be heavily outnumbered by the overexcited crowd to not try, but Zeus just stares back at her, face blank of any emotion.

"We ask you formally this time," King Odysseus says, walking in front of her to take her attention away, holding onto her hand. His voice has strength in it, drawing the eyes of the murmuring crowd, but he's deaf to it as he stares up at her.

"Will you be our wife?" Queen Penelope asks, joining him, watching their beautiful patron shudder for breath she does not need as her eyes flick to one of them and then the other.

"Yes," She whispers and cheers erupt all across Mount Olympus.

"Finally!" Odysseus complains, and then pulls her down once more to kiss her, all three of them fading at the edges as one of the generous gods present there- who seems to realize that they're not very inclined to stop anytime soon- thankfully teleports them away into a nice room with a large bed.

"Finally," He whispers as he breaks apart to lay her down, cupping her face, voice heavy with the longing of a full lifetime and more. Penelope circles to the head of the bed and starts undoing Athena's braid, staring at them both lovingly.

Later the ones closest will murmur, as the silhouettes faded away, that tears had slipped from proud Pallas Athena's eyes as she placed one hand against Odysseus' cheek, trembling.

"I missed you," She will whisper back, and all three of them fade away to their own story, yet to be made.

[myokk]

my first attempt at digital art (never again🥲) for mctober💘

Eloise Babbit✨

slytherin

5th year

favorite subjects: arithmancy & ancient runes

least favorite subject: beasts (animals make her nervous🥲)

hobbies: reading & thinking (IT’S A HOBBY OKAY??)

[monteruu]

recently reread one of the fics ever so i drew some of the scenes that i think about alot :)

[image id: 3 digital illustrations of reigen arataka and serizawa katsuya from mob psycho 100.

first image: serizawa and reigen holding onto each other hip to hip without their suit jackets on as rain falls on them soaking them. they both have content looks on their faces and serizawa is laughing as he looks up into the rain.

second image: they are tightly clutching one another closely as they look disheveled and both have scratches on their suits and skin. reigen is looking up sadly at serizawa as serizawa holds the back of reigen’s head and hides his face in reigen’s neck. a golden light comes from the left side of the image highlighting parts of them.

third image: they are sitting at a bar together with their backs to the camera and without their suit jackets but we see their profiles smiling at each other and red with drunkenness. reigen is resting one of his hands on serizawa’s thigh and in reigen’s other hand he is holding a lemon sour that is sloshing around. serizawa’s umbrella is sitting on the floor behind him covered in rain droplets. end id]

[eggsplice]

They’re parasites. You know what it means to be a parasite, right, Tommy? You know it real intimately.

(Excerpt from 'when a house is both hungry and awake' by logsteds)

[amogus-real-not-clickbait]

part 1 of a little comic / art sequence that i've been working on! :D it's part tribute, part experimenting with brushes n colors and trying new thingz :]

| 1 | 2 | ... |

and thus continues my endless quest of spreading the carrot fics like a plague! if you've seen my art floating around you probs already figured that this au holds a very special place in my heart, forever and always!!

if you haven't heard of it, it's a fic series by @crowned-ladybug called carrot soup!! it made me wish i could speak colors and i need more people to share my struggle xd

go check it out if you're into sweet voice lore and qpr level gayness and just wanna feel warm and soft and warm (hurt/comfort my beloved) <333 there are some heavier themes cos everyone's traumatized but they're working through it! be sure to check the tags and stay safe! <3

[guzhufuren]

true and canon, ficwriters have the biggest brains (link)

[izloveshorses]

anya + flinching at loud noises and sudden movements (vs dmitry noticing, adjusting his behavior, and becoming a source of comfort)

[hauntingofhouses]

yeah taimizu IS toxic and off putting actually ‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️

EDIT: TO BE CLEAR THIS IS A POST IN FAVOUR OF TAIMIZU!!! I AM A DIRTY TAIMIZU SHIPPER!!!!!

[kevindavidday]

writing kandrew is either like throwing a rage tantrum and pushing things off a desk and wrecking your entire room and trashing your car with a pipe OR it's like running down the street high as hell going woohoo! yippee! wahoo! yehaaa!!!! and trust me pls trust me there is NO in between

[doyelikehaggis]

7 Days of Scarepairs: Sciles | Scott McCall x Stiles Stilinski (Teen Wolf) + “Grief”

Requested by @joanthangroff (TW mention of suicide attempt)

It was a long ride back from the motel. At least, it felt longer. Stiles' gaze burning holes in the side of his face wasn't making it go any faster, either. Scott could see his bouncing leg, hear his racing heart and smell the anxiety radiating off of him. Even if he were oblivious to all of that, he would still know something was wrong with him.

"Stiles," he said wearily, looking at him properly for the first time since Coach snatched his whistle back off of Lydia and told them to sit down. "Are you okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. All good."

The way he glanced at him said otherwise. Scott raised his eyebrows pointedly and the leg bouncing stopped. Stiles ran a hand over his thigh and nodded jerkily as if reiterating that he was fine.

"Look, we're gonna figure this out, okay?" Scott assured him as best he could. "From what Ethan said, there's a good chance that Derek is alive. Once we get back to Beacon Hills, we can find him, and we can make a better plan. No one else is going to get hurt."

He just managed to bite back a promise. He knew he couldn't. He only hoped that it was the truth.

But Stiles stared at him like he could see right through him, his eyes narrowing. He parted his lips like he was going to retort, as he usually would, but instead, he just shook his head and turned to face the back of the seat in front of him. As he ran a hand over his face, Scott frowned.

"You're angry," he blurted out.

Stiles shook his head again and sighed. "No. No, Scotty, I'm not angry." His heart skipped but he acted like Scott couldn't hear it. "I'm just... I'm tired. Last night was..."

"I know," Scott said softly. His own heart skipped. "But the darach's not going to catch us by surprise like that again."

Stiles nodded, but he didn't say anything else. In fact, he didn't say anything else for the rest of the ride. Scott wanted to, but something stopped him. He took to staring out the window and letting his eyes unfocus as he repeated his plan to find Derek in his mind the whole way home.

*

The bus dropped them off at the school. Stiles insisted on driving Scott home, even though he had his bike. He didn't put up a fight - he just wanted to go home and see his mom before he did anything else. That phone call back at the motel had felt too real. He just needed to see her.

Of course, she was at work. Scott sighed when he found the note on the fridge, but he told himself not to overthink it. She was fine.

"Alright, well, I think we should go to Derek's loft first," he said, turning to Stiles who was lingering by the back door, his arms folded. "He'd most likely have gone back there to try and heal."

He frowned.

"Although, if the alpha pack are looking for him, that might be too obvious. Maybe we should try the animal clinic first. He could've gone to Deaton, right?"

He waited for Stiles to agree with him or suggest something he hadn't thought of because right then, all Scott had was a handful of guesses and maybes.

But Stiles didn't chime in. He shrugged when he realized Scott was looking at him.

"Stiles, are you sure you're okay?" he asked gently.

Stiles dragged a hand over his face and sighed again, his tongue in his cheek, and he could smell the irritation on him, just like when they were on the bus.

"You know what? No," he snapped, throwing his hand up. "No, Scott, I'm not okay, and, quite frankly, neither are you, and I don't get why we're just pretending that last night never happened. Because it did."

"Do you mean..." Scott couldn't quite get the words out, his throat closing up around them and forcing them back down. He shifted his feet, his gaze dropping to the ground for a moment. "The wolfsbane?"

"Yeah, I'm talking about the wolfsbane," Stiles said, his voice thick with emotion he was failing to contain. "More specifically, what the wolfsbane did to you, Scott."

Scott shook his head, his eyebrows drawing together as he tried to ignore the sick feeling weighing down on him. "It was just... you saw what it did to all of us. Ethan-"

"Tried to saw himself open, yeah," Stiles cut him off. "Probably something to do with his freakish ability to combine into one even more freakish mutation with Aiden. Isaac - he was hiding under his bed. Boyd and Lydia were hearing things. But you, Scott..."

He took a step toward him, and Scott watched his feet, observing every little detail of his shoes and the kitchen floor.

"Scott, you tried to kill yourself."

"It was just..."

"No. No, Scott, the wolfsbane brought out all of your biggest fears and just - just heightened your true emotions. Boyd's guilt about his sister, Isaac's fear of his dad, Lydia always being the one to find dead bodies. It wasn't the wolfsbane talking when you did that. Was it?"

Scott knew he had to give him an answer. He just didn't think either of them really wanted to hear it. The truth hung in the air between them, as suffocating as the gasoline that still clung to Scott's senses.

"It doesn't matter," he said quietly, then looked up to meet Stiles' disbelieving stare. "We need to find Derek. We can't waste any more time, we need-"

"Scott, stop! Can you even - you nearly died! Twice!"

"But I didn't-"

"Because someone stopped you! Allison literally had to sew you back together because you felt so guilty about Derek being dead that you were going to let yourself die, too! Scott, I had to talk you out of setting yourself on fire, how can you not - how do you not see how messed up that is?!"

"Stiles, I'm sorry about last night, okay? I shouldn't have... I should've fought the wolfsbane, or..."

Stiles just stared back at him, shaking his head incredulously. Finally, in a much softer voice, he said, "Scott, I don't want you to be sorry that I had to save you. I just... I just wanna know that you don't actually believe what you said last night."

It was a simple request. It would take just two words. And yet...

Scott opened his mouth. Then he shook his head and closed it again, looking away with a piercing pain where his healed wound was just yesterday.

"You have to admit that a lot of what we've gone through wouldn't have happened if I hadn't..."

"Hadn't what?" He looked back up to see the reason for the quiver in Stiles' voice; tears shone in his wide eyes. "Hadn't survived being bitten by Peter? That's what you meant, wasn't it?"

He tilted his head but he didn't get a chance to deny or confirm. Stiles already knew. He looked like he might crumble into a million pieces.

"Scott," he said, his voice cracking as he moved closer. "I don't care what's happened to us. I don't care about the murderous werewolves or - or the hunters, or any of the crazy supernatural things that keep happening around us, alright? Because we've survived it, but what I wouldn't have survived was losing my best friend."

Scott bit his tongue, his eyes stinging. Part of him wanted to point out all the bad things - the numerous times he's put his life in danger, the people who haven't survived the craziness of their world, and everything else.

Then Stiles really did crumble. "Scott, I meant what I said last night. And I can't lose you. I can't - you and my dad, you're all... you're all I've got, and I can't - Scotty, I can't lose you as well. I need you. And I know how selfish that is, but it's true. So, if you need a reason to - to believe that you should be alive, then there it is. Me, Scott. Make me your reason if you have to, or your mom, or even Allison, because I promise you that none of us would be better off if you weren't here."

"You'd be safe, at least."

He didn't mean to say it. It just slipped out.

"You don't know that," Stiles countered, then he shrugged. "And even if that was true - I don't care. Scott, I'd rather be in danger every day of my life from some supernatural threat than live without you."

He didn't know what to say to that. All he could do was surge forward and hug him. Stiles immediately wrapped his arms tight around him, as if he never intended to let go.

"I'm sorry," he repeated quietly into his shoulder.

"Just make me a promise, Scotty. Alright? Promise that you'll talk to me, so that, when you start blaming yourself for every bad thing that's ever happened, I can tell you what an idiot you are."

Scott chuckled and nodded. "I promise." Then, he softly added: "I mean it."

Stiles tightened his arms just a little more. Both of them savoured the feeling of the other against them. Solid. Real. Alive. Safe. For a moment, they were as physically intertwined as they were in every other way.

Scott knew they should look for Derek. They should come up with a plan to stop the darach. But he wasn't ready to let go of the first real feeling of comfort he'd felt in a while.

[myokk]

It's a clear, beautiful summer's day, the type of day that starts out bright and full of birdsong, that ends looking up at the stars and the moon while crickets chirp and fireflies show soft bursts of light. When the air is warm and full of life and the smell of hot grass and lavender and honey permeates everything.

The whole summer had been like that, really. Running outside with abandon, chasing each other through the tall grass deliriously happy and lying down in the fields surrounding their village, watching the clouds float by while they eat cucumber sandwiches. It's the summer before their first year at Hogwarts; the Sallow twins know that their life's about to change and are determined to enjoy their last summer of childhood.

Maybe they're too old for this sort of thing - they are eleven, after all, but both of them know that this summer is a turning point for them and they want to cherish every moment for as long as possible. Their parents have been encouraging them, often sending them out for the whole day, piling journals and ink and quills and picnic baskets full of food in their hands, encouraging them to research and be curious about the world around them as they had always done.

This day, however, their parents are almost eager to push the twins out of the house. Their mum's smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. Sebastian feels nervous about this, but doesn't realize why until much later, when the memory is analyzed and remembered during his dreams. (definitely not while awake). When they leave the house in the morning, she makes sure to kiss each of them on the cheeks which she normally never does and Sebastian pushes her away in disgust, much to his future horror. In the moment, all he can think is that he might still be holding on to the last moments of his childhood, but he's too old to be kissed by his mum.

(but now, Sebastian doesn't know if his memory is faulty and he is adding moments that never actually existed in the first place. the mind is a tricky place)

He never allows himself to think about these halcyon days, the perfect-until-it-wasn't summer before they went to Hogwarts; this day in particular is forbidden to remember. His unconscious mind rebels against his iron will.

They spend the morning looking for the fairies that Anne had dreamed about the night before. She's convinced that it's a prophetic dream and they march around in circles in the little copse of trees - a forest to the two children, who haven't really ventured out of their village - as Anne tries to remember where she had seen the fairies in her dream.

Sebastian is happy to follow her even if (maybe especially if) he thinks it's a futile adventure - what else are summer days for?

They're in that strange junction between childhood and adolescence; desperate to just grow up already and become the people they were always meant to be, and yet just wanting to spend their days being kids, without a care in the world.

"Come on, Sebastian," Anne calls to him, a tiny stream gurgling between them. In one hand, she's holding the map that she drew as soon as she woke up; in the other, boots stuffed with her stockings.

Sebastian huffs as he trudges behind her, arms full with their bags, his shoes, and the picnic basket. Anne had offered to help him carry things, but he refused on principle. Their dad is always doing small things like this for the women in his life, and Sebastian wants to be just like him.

Anyways, Anne has her own role as the leader today, and it won't do to have her bogged down.

And he's eleven, more than old enough to carry everything.

He steps through the tiny creek, mud and slush squishing through his toes, and he smiles. There isn't anything he loves more than being outside, except maybe being outside with a good book.

"Keep your eyes peeled for a tree with a knobby trunk, with lots of knots that look like faces," Anne tells him, glancing over her shoulder, then turns her face back to her map and scrunches up her face. "In my dream, the fairies lived nearby."

They spend the rest of the morning continuing their fruitless search, laughing as they walk in circles, then set up their picnic in the field next to their house.

"What do you think Hogwarts will be like?" Anne asks, a dreamy look on her face.

Sebastian doesn't look at her when he answers. He lies back and stares at the clouds. They've already had this conversation hundreds of times since their Hogwarts letters arrived, both of them have their parts memorized. "Amazing. I can't wait to actually be able to use our magic instead of just reading about it."

Anne rolls to her side and props herself up on her elbow, getting a better look at her brother's face. With a smirk, she says, "I think I'll like Transfiguration the best. I can't wait to be able to turn you into a -"

A huge noise interrupts her before she can continue. Sebastian sees the confusion in her face before he truly registers that something has happened. It's like everything's moving in slow motion and all he remembers clearly whenever he dreams of this day are his feelings of confusion and disbelief and the smell of fire.

There's a huge explosion and the air is full of smoke and he and Anne are scrambling up, the picnic blanket tangled up around their bare feet and -

Hand in hand they run in the direction of the huge black smoke that is billowing up. It coats the air - they can't see anything and the smell of burning fills their noses and the smoke fills their lungs and they're coughing coughing coughing -

Sebastian doesn't want his sister anywhere near the blackened husk of their former house but he is also terribly afraid to be alone. They stand in the middle of what used to be their house, blackened half-walls, charred wood that used to be their table, the old couch they read on every night, it's all smoldering, all gone, the thick black smoke making his eyes water and choking and smothering everything in its wake. His mind can't comprehend what he's seeing. Everything is so familiar and yet so wrong.

He doesn't know how long he and Anne stand there, clutching each others' hands like they are a tether to reality. Which, he supposes, they are. They might be there thirty seconds, ten minutes, one hour, an eternity...

Then, neighbors are running to the twins, coughing, covering their faces in the crooks of their elbows as they conjure blankets with their wands and wrap Sebastian and Anne up and drag them out of what is - was - their home.

This part is always hazy. Sebastian can't remember if he cries. Or if he even says anything. He just stands there with Anne, the smoke thick and oppressive as it pours out of their house. Everything is crumbling apart.

(A hand gently caresses his scalp, fingers light and reassuring as they dance through his hair)

Their neighbors try their hardest to salvage what they can. The daguerrotype that their mother had cherished more than anything, taken a few years before, miraculously survives. Sebastian stares at it, the tiny figures moving and laughing and smiling as though everything is perfect. He wants to throw it and break it or maybe rip it up to shreds but he can't bring himself to do anything but stare.

Their father's wand is also shoved into Sebastian's hand, unscathed. It was found just outside of his father's curled fingers, lying pristine on the ground as if mocking the destruction that it caused.

At some point, their Uncle Solomon, who they've only really seen once a year growing up, shows up with a loud crack and tears through the rubble, tears carving wet tracks through the soot on his face. His voice goes rough with desperation and when he walks up to the two orphans, he is almost unrecognizable.

As if in slow motion - maybe an after-effect of the curse that has destroyed their lives is that the air has turned into molasses - Sebastian watches his uncle stagger over to them. He looks much older than Sebastian remembers.

Later, when Sebastian looks at his reflection in the mirror of his new home, the boy staring back at him also looks much older than he remembers.

Before It Felt Like A Sin, Chapter 14

[sunsetsandsunshine]

~ 𝙱𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 ~

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚𝚃𝙸𝙲𝙺𝙻𝙴𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝙳𝙰𝚈 𝟹-𝟺: 𝙲𝙷𝙴𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚄𝙿/𝚁𝙴𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙱𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴˚*• ̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*＊·̩̩̥͙

𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: 𝙷𝚞𝚛𝚝/𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝

𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜: 𝟸,𝟻𝟷𝟼

𝙻𝚎𝚎: 𝚁𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚢 🏒💙

𝙻𝚎𝚛’s: 𝙱𝚛𝚎𝚎 ⛸️💜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎 🥅💚

𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢: 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙱𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕…𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚁𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚢. 𝙱𝚞𝚝…𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎. 𝚁𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝…𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎…

(𝙰/𝙽: 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚔/𝙽𝚂𝙵𝚆 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚜 𝙳𝙽𝙸!!! 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛’𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚌 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚜! 𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚒𝚛𝚍!!!)

𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝚃𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚒𝚐 𝙰𝙷𝙰𝙷

𝙸𝙼𝙿𝙾𝚁𝚃𝙰𝙽𝚃: 𝚂𝙿𝙾𝙸𝙻𝙴𝚁𝚂 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝙸𝙽𝚂𝙸𝙳𝙴 𝙾𝚄𝚃 𝟸??? 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔— 𝙸 𝚍𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚘. 𝙸 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚌 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚝— 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑!

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚𝙴𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚘𝚘𝚢𝚢𝚢𝚢𝚢𝚢𝚢˚*•✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

“Grace…please. Me and Riley have heard enough of your playlist. Just admit mine is better so we can carry on with our sleepover festivites.” Bree sighed, resting her head on Riley’s shoulder.

“Just one more song! Then I’ll be done.” Grace smiled as she pressed play on Shuffle as she went to her Spotify app, “Whatever song it is…I’m 101% sure you guys will lohooooove it.” 

The song played for a bit, the music bouncing around the room as Riley and Bree slowly started to realize what they were allowing themselves to listen to…

“…I-Is this…Peaches from the Mario movie…?” The blue eyed teen snickered, laughing louder as Bree just sadly facepalmed. 

The glasses wielding teenager got up from where she was sitting, standing up and basically snatching away Grace’s phone from her palms. 

“Okahay, yeahhhhhh…no. I’m turning this off.” The purple cladded girl mused as she did just that, giving the electronic back to the green pajama wearing girl. “So, based on popular vote…which was just me, myself and I…I declare myself the winner of Deciding Who’s Spotify Playlist is the MOST Banger! Or DWSPITMB for short.”

“How come you get to decide what playlist is quote on quote 'the best?!' I think mine is pretty suherb.” The smaller teenager huffed. 

Bree adjusted her glasses, raising an unamused brow at her smaller friend as she sighed in disappointment. Riley, though, just chuckled in utter amusement, sitting on her bed criss-cross as she munched on some the leftover popcorn they made earlier in the night.

Bree loved proving people wrong…and Riley loved watching it allllll unfold. 

“First off: it’s superb. And second, no it is not! Your playlist just consists of meme songs!” The chocolate eyed girl said matter-of-factly.

The green cladded teenager scoffed, “Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Goofy Goober…Smash Mouth All Stars…It’s Raining Tacos— shall I continue?” 

Grace crossed her arms, glancing to the side of her as she wallowed in defeat. 

In her defense…although the songs she liked were classified as 'meme songs'…they lowkey kind of ate down…

…Just a bit…

…Juuuuust a tad…?

“No…” The smallest of the three huffed. 

“And you!” Bree said as she pointed at Riley, ignoring the small surprised squeak that came out of the blondie, “Your playlist is just straight up Disney songs!! If that doesn’t scream basic I don’t know what does…” 

The blue cladded teenager swiflty got up and went towards her best friends which resulted into all of them looking like the formation of a small triangle, “Wooooah woah woah woah! Don’t drag me into this! Disney’s songs are peak and they will continue to stay peak!” 

Grace grimaced, rubbing the back of her neck, “After Encanto…Disney kinda fell off I’m not gonna lie, Ri…” She grumbled under her breath. But her dismay, Riley heard it loud and clear..

Crystal clear, to be exact.

“A GIRL WHO HAS 'NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP' IN HER PLAYLIST SHOULD NOT BE TALKING!!!” The girl in blue screamed. 

“IT’S GENUINELY A FUN SONG! YOU’RE JUST JEALOUS YOU DON’T HAVE MY MUSIC TASTE! AND AT LEAST MY PLAYLIST HAS A THEME…unlike someone I know…” The black haired teen snapped back, trying not to giggle at Bree’s loud and dramatic offended gasp. 

“HEY HEY HEY!! DON’T YOU EEEEEVEN START!!” The girl in glasses yelled, “You wouldn’t know good music if it hit you right in the face!”

“Oho I do so know good music! But you have Laufey, Jack Stauber and Green Day all in the same. playlist!!!” The blue iris wielding teenager scoffed, putting a hand on her hip, “And besides, if your playlist is the 'superb' one, what have I been listening to this entire time on my playlist, huh?”

“Trash.” Bree said plainly and simply, the three best friends locking eye contact with one another for a moment or two before bursting into loud uncontrollable cackles. 

The three teen’s laughed at their silliness, all sitting on Riley’s bed as they tried to calm down to the best to their abilities.

“Trash.” Grace exclaimed as she tried her best to match Bree’s voice before breaking character and snickering again, “PFFTHAH! Even the wahay yohou said ihat was juhust sohoho fucking peherfect.”

“Ihi dohon’t know whahat cahame ohohover me…i-ihit juhust happened!” The purple cladded teen snorted, pulling out her phone from out of her pocket, “Fohor the Archives?” 

“For the Archives.” The tallest teen agreed, all of them getting close to one another to take a picture. 

The brown eyed girl pressed the button to encapture the memory through a single photograph, looking down at it happily as she squinted, looking at it more attentively. 

Bree screamed in shock, putting her phone face down on the bed as she pulled her hood up, engulfing her face inside of it as she layed on her back, “MY GLASSES! MY. FREAKING. GLASSES!!! THEY’RE UPSIDE DOWN!! WHY DIDN’T YOU TWO TELL ME?!” She cried in embarrassment. 

Her two friend’s in question exchanged a look with each other, holding back more small snickers, “Ihi thought yohou were gohoing fohor aha look!” Grace grinned. 

“I WASN’T!!!” The purple cladded one huffed, fixing her glasses so they weren’t upside down anymore, “You two are so damn fake…”

“Oho puh-leeeease.” The hazelnut eyed girl sweetly said, wrapping the other in a big bear hug, “You loooooove us.” She teased. 

The blondie leaned on her bed-frame, hugging her knees together as she rested her chin on her knees, watching the other two bicker about absolutely nothing.

And suddenly…out of nowhere, Riley’s fond smile turned to…a small, sad one…

She didn’t know why.

She had no idea why.

But all of a sudden…she just felt…sad.

Not, like, depressed sad…

…But not subtle sad, either. 

“…I’m gonna miss this…” The taller suddenly blurted out, not really carrying if the other two heard or not…

…But, of course…they heard loud and clear…

…Crystal, even.

“…Miss what, Ri?” The smallest of the three asked casually, giving the blue eyed teen her full attention as Bree looked at her as well.

The blonde rubbed her knuckles slightly, anxiously looking away and avoiding eye contact with the other two, “Just…hanging out with you guys, I guess. Just…being here, y'know? School starts in, like, a week and I really don’t think I’m ready…”

“Don’t remind me…” The girl with glasses whined dramatically, flopping on Grace’s chest as the hazelnut eyed teen happily and gladly held her in her arms tighter, squeezing her comfortingly as she took her hood off from her head, “It’s freaking crazy…I remember us cleaning out our Middle School lockers like it was yesterday…” The green cladded girl grinned with nostalgia. 

“Pff…speaking of, you guys remember when I found a year old sandwhich in Ryan’s locker?! That shit was hilarious.” Riley said as the other two laughed. 

“That shit was disgusting. I’ve never seen something so…so…hideous…” The girl in purple pajamas fake gagged, “…Well, besides you of course.” The chocolate eyed teen said as she gestured towards the hazelnut eyed teen. 

“HEY!” Grace huffed, lightly flicking Bree’s forehead. 

The tallest of the three of them let out a short laugh…but, it lasted longer than her usual, genuine laugh…

…This one seemed…forced. 

Her laugh’s started to sound a bit choked as tears ran down her face. In alarm, both Bree and Grace went to her side’s immediately, making sure their friend was okay…

…Well, as 'okay' as a crying person could be at the moment. 

“Sorry…sorry, gosh…I’m…I-I’m b-being so stupid…” The blondie sniffled, wiping her nose and face with her sleeve. “No…you aren’t.” The girl with glasses reassured as she rubbed the other’s back, “You’re just upset…and that’s okay.”

“But…B-But I’m not upset…” 

“…You’re not?” The shortest one of them all asked carefully.

Riley sniffled once more, glaring at her knees, “I don’t…a-at least I don’t think I am. I’m just…scared, I guess.” She explained as more and more tears ran down her face like they were never-ending, “I…I liked Middle School…a lot. I met you guys a-and s-so many other p-people that changed m-my life for the b-better.” The baby blue eyed teen said softly, a wobbly smile stretching to her features. 

“I-I was able to f-find myself and know who I-I wanna be!! A-And n-not to mention I-I was even a-able to d-do d-dodgeball on Gym days! Dodgeball!” The blonde exclaimed whilst sobbing. 

Grace rested her head on Riley’s shoulder, holding her hand in her’s to stop the taller’s excessive hand rubbing, “Still saluting you for carrying our Dodgeball team...” The green loving teenager murmured.

“B-But now…it’s j-just Middle School a-all over again. A-And I-I’m gonna be the n-new k-kid…” The blue cladded kid sighed as she buried her head on her knees, “A-And I won’t have you guys…”

There was a long enough silence that lasted for a while; all that was heard was Riley’s quiet sobs (well— as quiet as one can get when crying) and Bree and Grace’s breathing patterns.

Grace crossed her arms, giggling, “Uhuh…who said that?” 

“You two are gonna be at a different school—” The blonde tried to explain but was almost immediately cut off by her other best friend, “Still doesn’t mean we won’t be there. Phones exist, Ri-Tie. We have our group-chat! We can FaceTime on the weekends and meet up during holiday breaks!” The girl in glasses happily said. 

“B-But…w-what if we don’t k-keep in t-t-touch? O-Or we g-get in a-a f-fight through text a-and we d-don’t talk to e-each other f-f-for months?!” The blue cladded teenager exclaimed in exasperation and desperation, holding her friend’s hand in her’s as she tried to calm herself down.

The brown eyed girl squeezed her friend’s hand comfortingly, her eyes softening, “…It seems like your less worried about school…and more worried about…'losing us…'”

Riley just quietly sniffled, looking away in embarrassment. 

“Ri…you aren’t going to 'lose us'. We legit aren’t going anywhere.” Grace explained thoroughly. 

“But…B-But what if y-you f-f-find someone…better?” The blue eyed girl probed. 

“…Better?” Her two friend’s questioned. 

“Like…me but…better.” The taller inquired. 

“I can’t promise that we won’t…make friends at our new school…but I can promise there will be no person at that place that can replace you. Heck, no one on this Earth can replace you even if they tried. And you wanna know why?” Grace grinned as she squished other’s hand a bit harder.

Riley smiled slightly at the action, squeezing back, “Pff…why?”

“Because you’re Riley freaking Anderson! AWOOGA!!!” The green and purple cladded girl’s both shouted, causing the other to laugh her tears away as she wiped her eyes, “G-Guys…that was so. damn. cringy. PLEASE never do that again…”

“Alas, it is what we do best.” The hazelnut eyed girl said as she dramatically lied down on the bed, “And speaking of which…I think you need some cheering up Ri-Pie…you still look down in the dumps.” And with that, Grace got up and pinned Riley’s wrists to the bed with one hand as the other wiggled teasingly.

The blondie audibly gulped, a small, nervous smile spreading to her features as she blushed slightly. 

The brunette giggled at the sight, putting her hand’s around her mouth to make her own voice seem like it was coming out of a megaphone, “Houston! Houston, we haaaaave a problem! It seems like Ri-Ri needs some tickle tickle tickles~!” 

“SHUHUT. UHUP—”

“And it seems like she’s insulting me, ladies and gentlefolks…! How unfortunate…” The girl in glasses hummed as she sat where the taller’s head was, using her arms and pinning them up so Grace could tickle her freely, “And to think we could’ve gone easy on you…”

The girl beneath squeaked loudly, hiding her face in her arms, “Guhuhuys w-wahahait! Stahop!!” 

“But we haven’t even done anything!” Grace said innocently as she dug her fingers into the blue eyed teenager’s hips, “See? Not doing anything.” 

“BAHAH— hic! NO!” The tallest one of the three squeaked, tugging on her arms but because of her purple cladded friend’s hands…she wasn’t able to go anywhere.

“BREEHEE! LEHET hic l-leHET GOhoh ahahand squeak— GRAHAHACE!! STAHAHOP!!” The blondie said as she kicked her feet wildly on the mattress, “STAHAP IT NOHOHOW!!”

The teen in purple rolled her eyes fondly, “I mean we cooooould…but you need to tell us what to stop doing.”

“YOHOU. KNOHOW!” The tallest of the three shouted. 

“Hmmmmm…do I~?” 

“Y-YEHEHES!!”

“I dunno~! I don’t think I do~!” 

“YEHES. YOU. DO!”

“I don’t, actually…” The brunette inquired, letting go of the other’s arms and digging her hands into her underarms whilst kneading her ribs. 

Talk about double kill! 

The blue iris eyed kid arched her back momentarily, hugging her middles as she belly laughed loudly, “GYAHAH— hic! NOHOH! NOT THERE! NONONOHOH— squeal! PLAHAHEASE!!” 

“You’re a huge walking tickle spot, huh, Rile?” Grace snorted as she scribbled the blonde’s sides. “SHUHUHUT YOHOHOUR MOHOUTH!!!”

“Nah…we’re good.” The two tickler’s said sassily, giggling with each other as they said the exact same thing at the exact same time. 

Great mind think alike! 

“GEHET. OFF!” Cried the blonde, happy tears springing up in her eyes, her irises shooting out of their sockets as Grace unpredictably blew a raspberry on her stomach. 

A warning would have been nice…

“NAHAHAHAH!! GRAH— hic! GRAHAHACE!?”

“Yeeeeees?” The charcoal haired teen said innocently as Bree started to tickle Riley’s neck mercilessly. 

“OKAHAHAY!! OKAHAY!” The baby blue eyed teen screamed,  “AHALRIHIHIGHT AHAHALRIHIGHT! IHI SURRENDER!!!” 

“But we didn’t even get to your favorite spoooooot~!” The black haired teenager smirked, poking the blondie’s foot. “AHAHUGH!! NOHO! I-IHI hic DOHOHON’T HAHAVE hic hic OHONE!!!”

“Oh yeah…that’s right…you have four.” The hazelnut eyed kid taunted lightly, blowing more raspberries on Riley’s stomach as she squeezed her sides. “GRAHAHACE— hic hic NOHO PLEHEHEASE—” The taller squealed, happy tears rolling down her face as the purple cladded one of the three wiggled her fingers over the blondie’s ribs and neck.

“GUHUHUYS— SQUEAK!! IHI’M GOHOHONNA DIE!!!”

“Then. perish.” Bree said simply, tickling Riley’s neck and ribs as the tallest of the group went absolutely mad with laughter. “As I said, no one can replace you, Ri…seriously…I don’t think I met anyone who’s laughed this loud…” The girl in glasses giggled. 

“Agreed…we’ll keep in touch, go to resturants and it’ll be perfectly perfect…ish. It won’t be the same like last year but we’ll just learn to adjust—“

“IHIHI GEHET IHAT!!!” Riley screamed, her cackles dying down as her best friend’s lied down next to her; Grace on her left whilst Bree was on her right. 

“Promise?” Grace asked once more.

“Prohohomise…” The blonde snorted, wiping her eyes as she playfully glared at her best friends, “Don’t think for a second you guys are off the hook…sleep with one eye open…”

“Will do.” Bree yawned, stretching as she quietly went to sleep, Grace soon following as her eyes closed and drifted to slumber.

Riley smiled fondly at her friend’s…

…Her best friends…

Riley might not go to the same school as them anymore…but that didn’t matter.

The distance that was going to be between her and them would be…strong.

But their love and appreciation for one another was stronger…

And no damn distance would change that…

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚𝙵𝙸𝙽˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙ 

(𝙿.𝚂.: 𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚌, 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚐!!!)

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Man.... I can't stop thinking about Pac and the Risus Pill arc

Pac saying he took the pills because he didn't have any other choice, he was so hopeless he wants to take them until he doesn't remember anything

Pac saying "At least I’m not crying in some random corner in the Island expecting my friends to come save me, and nobody comes save me"

And then the thing he said immediately before that: "I lost my friend, I lost my friend’s friend, I lost my Egg, I lost my child, I lost everything, I'm– I was completely hopeless– so yeah, maybe I wanna be drugged and live my miserable but happy life. At least I’m not in that saddest place anymore."

The blood at Chume Labs

The three graves at Chume Labs

The message he wrote to Cellbit asking Cellbit to kill him if things got too bad, then changing it and saying "lock me up" instead.

The conversation with Fit, Fit pleading with him, and Pac saying "I don’t want to go back to that bad and sad place."

Pac, despite his grief and depression, finding an antidote and saving himself (with the help of his friends)

Literally everything from the Risus Pill arc makes me so heartbroken

[lovesickeros]

lord its so dark in here the sahara desert of tsaritsa content you are like a shining oasis. your characterisation of her compels me & mihoyo would be hard pressed to top it imo.!! caaaaan i humbly request yr thoughts on her first meeting w a reader of any kind, or maybe even multiple kinds (sagau, sagau god au, isekai, etc) if you so desire...

it really is like a desert here. being the fan of a character we aren't getting until the last damn nation is driving me up a wall but i will persevere bc if nothing else i support morally bankrupt women in media. we r in a severe drought over here but i do my best. unfortunately nothing i say is ever coherent so pull out your translation notes its abt 2 be messy

also this got out of hand but thats bc first meetings w the tsaritsa are tricky to write + a LOT of her characterization lies in deeper exploration then just surface level yknow...NOT A DIG AT YOU this is just my excuse for rambling. gently pats the tsaritsa she can hold so much complexity i do not have the word count to delve into it completely :]

gonna talk cult au for a bit here though because that's 99% of my content. and honestly? she thrives in sub au's of the cult au like villain au + imposter au. it's basically made for her. i mean, early days, the imposter au had been going around for a little while but one of the first few ideas was the Fatui taking reader in so like. it kinda technically actually was. pretty sure cult au Tsaritsa popped up because of the imposter au. a lot of it's writers kinda left though which. man am i getting old or.

anyway.

there isn't much of a chance her first impression is all that positive. at best it's usually neutral, imo, but rarely if ever positive. specifically because i view the Tsaritsa as someone who isn't as fanatical as most of the acolytes typically are towards the creator. she's not exactly going to worship the ground you walk on unlike a certain geo lizard. which is partially why i think she thrives in the sub au's i mentioned.

imposter au, for example. she meets you at your lowest. there's no gaudy extravagance or pampering from the acolytes waiting for you because your own acolytes have turned on you. for all intents and purposes you aren't a "god" at all. which is why i don't think she meshes well with normal cult au reader. the Fatui are made up of outcasts, basically, and imposter au slots right in just perfectly. you're weak, at your lowest, when you meet the Fatui in the imposter au. and the Fatui can help you, too.

a mutual exchange, really. the Tsaritsa sees a tool she can use to one up the rest of the nations and especially Archons, and she has no qualms about you using her and the Fatui in turn. you both want something out of it, after all. whether you just want to be safe from the rest of the acolytes, or you want revenge, or whatever else..she'll give you the power to fulfill it, and she gains the strongest piece on the chessboard when all is said and done.

the best way i can describe the first meeting is "practical", i suppose. she sees an opportunity in you. the ultimate gamble. because if she "saves" you, and you dont trust anyone else because they tried to kill you, well..she holds all the cards, doesn't she?

but the Tsaritsa, imo, is just as capable of being just as fanatical towards you as anyone else. she just won't worship you as the creator. but as yourself? clawing your way back to your divine power and taking back what belongs to you? the Tsaritsa is, to me, a character who's character flourishes in long-term fics more because she changes a LOT between "just met reader" and after having been with reader for some time. she's practically apathetic at the beginning but a lot of her character, in my characterization, shines through LONG after the first meeting.

[vaperarmand]

cutting teeth

eric/assad, m, 1.9k words

tags: Biting, Character Bleed

Assad hates the feeling of prop fangs in his mouth. Eric helps, until he doesn't.