#toto was such a troublemaker

[sinstae]

Sweet Dreams ☁️

Pairings | L&DS!Sylus , L&DS!Zayne , x fem. reader

Genre | ☁️ fluff, 💋 smut

Word Count | 2.7k

Warnings | ⚠️ minors DNI ⚠️ , smut smut SMUT, established relationship, Zylus, poly, throuple, Dom!Sylus, Dom!Zayne, pet names, size difference, Sylus teasing 😩, use of Evol, manhandling, stressed!Zayne, voyeurism, male & fem. oral, masturbation, rough sex, squint for face fucking, creampie, bigdick!Sylus, needy!Zayne, aftercare, cute couple 🤧

🔖 m.list♡

🌄 ; Till Dawn♡

a/n ; I hate being sick, this SUCKS. Thank you everyone who participated in the poll! I will be doing more of those to gauge what my audience likes so yeah please feel free to leave feedback via comments/asks, I strive to improve each time! Thank you again & hope you 'njoy! c;

"Luke! Kieran!"

I belt out their names as I storm out my bedroom down the vast hall with my crow plushie in two parts. They expressed how cute they thought it was and it seems like their jealousy ended in decapitating the poor crow.

As I turn the corner into the living room I catch a glimpse of their coats flying in the wind from their rushed steps into Sylus' hallway leading to his office.

Off limits to me.

"Of course! Run to Daddy! You damn rough handed freaks!" I slap the dark wooden doors in frustration and if his office wasn't soundproofed I'm sure I'd hear them cackling.

I spin around, ready to storm back to my room, but my face collides with a hard sternum. I look up and meet Sylus' crimson eyes. His face is stoic and neutral yet I can almost hear his questions.

"Ah~ Sylus. Welcome home- uh I promise I wasn't trying to snoop or anything." He raises an eyebrow, looking over my head at the double doors before looking back down at me with the corner of his lips rising.

"Kitty got her claws out for the troublemakers again?" He pulls a hand from his pockets to gently pat my head.

"Look!" My anger that simmered down at the sight of him returns as I lift the crow plushie, dramatically holding the two pieces together then separating them. Mephisto materializes on Sylus' left shoulder with a caw. "I know Toto, we're gonna get them back."

Sylus chuckles and with the hand he was using to pat my head he gently pinches my cheek. "Darling you know I can just get you one from the supply."

"Of course I know that but this one was special. You got it for me when the collection first dropped through the claw machine." I roll my eyes and look down at the sad plushie.

"You're right, Kitten. I'll have a word with those two." His long finger tucks under my chin into a grip with his thumb as he guides my eyes back to his. "I have to ask though. Who's Daddy?"

I completely understand why he's asking but it's how he's asking. Eyes full of amusement, voice dropping into a whisper and I notice the quick glance he takes at my lips. No denying it now.

"You."

"Me?" Sylus chuckles again and Mephisto takes flight back down the hallway. "Mmm, unless you have an announcement for us both, I don't think so." Without moving or looking away from me he opens the door behind me slightly by using his Evol. "Luke, Kieran come out."

They clumsily slip out of the office, closing it behind them with their heads bowed. I look back and glare at the both of them while Sylus returns his hands to his pockets and stands to his full height. It's cute to see him be all soft around me and Zayne but others he rarely shows that side with Luke and Kieran being an exception.

"Apologize."

"We're real sorry Miss!" They speak in unison and I turn to face them with my arms crossed. They bow deeper and a satisfied smile graces my lips.

"This is me forgiving you but we certainly aren't even." They say nothing as expected and suddenly my hips are within Sylus' strong grasp and he lifts me from the floor, resting my ass onto his chest as he turns and walks away from them. "Sylus!"

I sway a bit, fear striking my heart that I'll teeter over making me instinctively grip his silver locks. He hisses, tightening his hold on my thighs. I apologize and smooth his hair down with a pat.

"'Evening, Doctor." Zayne?

"Good evening. Something happened?" I check my wrist and my workout band reads back at me a bold 7:00 PM. He's home very early.

"Zayne! Welcome home!"

"Thank you, Snowflake. What do you have there? Oh-" Zayne looks shocked to see the crow in my grasp.

"Yeah, the twins. They were probably fighting over my plushie and welp. . ." Zayne walks over to us after sitting his briefcase down on the black marbled counter top of the bar in the living room. He doesn't even question me perched on Sylus' chest and since he can't reach my lips he opts for pressing a kiss to my calf.

"Shame. I can repair him for you if you'd like." I nod and thrust the plushie into his hold and he grabs it with gentle hands. "I can have this done on my off day."

"Now if you'll excuse us, I have to talk to this Kitten about a certain Daddy." I slap a hand over his mouth a bit too late, not expecting Sylus to tell Zayne.

Poor Zayne's eyes widen, surely thinking the worst without context. "Has the implant failed? After all this time-?"

"No, no-"

"I wish."

"Sy!" He chuckles and playfully bites my thigh. "No it hasn't, I was teasing Luke and Kieran."

"Wanna join us?" Sylus tilts his head towards our bedroom and Zayne doesn't waste a second nodding once. "Eager are we?"

"I had a stressful surgery today." Zayne loosens his black tie and three buttons as he walks past us to lead the way.

"Did it go well?" I ask.

"It was a success. Just. . . My sleep wasn't great last night." He releases a deep sigh as he pushes open our bedroom doors with one palm and closes them behind us.

"Well of course not you- Ah~!" Sylus moves quick with dismounting me as if I were a cheerleader and tosses me gently onto the soft bed. "~Sy, jeez. But you slept at the office again. We missed you."

"I'm sorry. I didn't plan for it but I was able to fit in another surgery that way." Zayne is taking his time yet his movements are quick with precision as he undresses himself starting with his sleek wristwatch and vest following to join the injured plushie on the desk.

"You work so hard, Zay, you should really come with us to the bungalow. It's never too- ah~ late." Sylus is kneeling at the end of the bed with my panties in his back pocket and lips against my clit. He's sucking so softly it's leaving me on the line between pleasure and overstimulation.

The lit fireplace isn't helping the warmth rising beneath my skin causing me to scrunch up Zayne's sweater I'd been drowning in. It helps me see Sylus better this way; his long pink tongue wet with both his saliva and my cum creates the prettiest gloss to his lips. I moan as he licks his flat tongue harshly against my clit causing me to grind down and arch into him.

"I gave it some thought." I hear the drag of a chair and I look over at Zayne to see him sitting down into the dark red velvet arm chair near the foot of the bed. His black button up is completely open exposing his chest and his slacks are undone, his hand rubbing over his black briefs. "I'll join you both."

"Come." I reach my hand out and Sylus grabs it, pulling it back down to my side. I look down at him and he pulls away with a wet string, licking his lips.

"He wants to watch, Sweetheart." I look back over at Zayne, his head slightly hanging forward with his hand now beneath his briefs.

"You do?"

"He does. I saw it soon as we locked eyes earlier. He allowed me to see into his thoughts. So you," Sylus leans onto the bed with one knee and helps me out of the sweater fully to leave me naked under both their eyes. "Relax that pretty head of yours and be our good girl." Oh.

Zayne wants to watch how things are when Sylus and I are intimate. I want to get lost in the thoughts of Zayne stepping from his comfort zone to be in place of Sylus, handling me with less care but Sylus keeps me rooted.

He delivers a firm slap to my inner thigh and the sharp pain warms into my skin. "You were bad today too, Y/N." His rough hands slide up and down the outside of my thighs, gripping at my love handles. "Fighting with Luke and Kieran again, tsk."

"I wasn't-"

"Silence." His tone is demanding but gentle. I clench my thighs and blink up at him. "I know you're gonna tell me you didn't start it and I understand but-" He forces my thighs apart and leans his other knee onto the bed, red and black engulfing his frame in seconds to dissipate and reveal his naked body. "I believe I told you three to behave when we aren't at the estate."

Sylus' large frame cages me in and Zayne still has a clear view of us from the side. "I prepared you enough, tonight I'm giving it all." Oh fuck.

I suck in a deep breath as I feel his tip breach my opening, stretching me out over the warm skin. He barely gives me enough time to adjust as he sinks in with one fluid thrust upwards. A sharp pain shoots through my lower tummy and I try to push up using my heels to no avail with Sylus' grip on my hips.

"Deep- too deep, Sy- ah~!" I can barely focus my vision as my eyes start to water but I can still see the smirk adorning his beautiful face. I reach out to him and he allows me as I run my hands up and down his torso as if soothing him would soothe me through his deep strokes.

"How cute, are you telling me that's where I am?" He teases with a quick thrust, making my body jerk and clit come in contact with his pelvis creating the sweetest pleasure. A loud drawn out moan leaves my lips and rings like a mating call into Sylus' ears. He grabs my face in a firm grip and we make eye contact, his eyes burning a bright red as my head turns fuzzy, body relaxing. "As you wish."

Sylus tucks his hands underneath me to grip my ass and elevate me from the bed, angling me until his skin is flush against mine just how I like it. My eyes roll back as he starts at a bruising pace, working my nerves until they're red hot and tingling from my building orgasm.

I bring my hands up to squeeze at my breast, just as he'd foreseen. Sylus slides his right hand up to grip the back of my knee and bends it towards my chest to reveal more of our bodies connecting to Zayne. He has his dick out now, leaking precum all over his hand mixed with his own spit as he strokes himself in time with Sylus' thrusts.

"There! Fuck! So good, Sir- mmph!" Sylus releases under my knee leaving my foot bracing against his chest as he slides two fingers into my mouth.

"Such a dirty mouth. Suck." I leave his fingers coated in my saliva and he brings the same ones down to toy with my clit, breathy moans struggling to leave my throat as he knocks the wind from me with a numbing orgasm. "Breathe," He lowers us back down to the sheets while stretching my leg back down to lean over me and blow air onto my face.

I take a moment to catch my breath as he slowly rocks into me and peppers my face with kisses. "Green. . ." I moan softly.

"Good girl. On your knees, face Zayne." He slowly pulls out of me taking thick strings of cum and saliva with him as he helps me into position, fighting against my aching muscles. He moves into position behind me sliding his tip up and down my folds, snagging at my hole to thrust in slightly then repeat. I tap my foot against the bed in frustration, shaking slightly from the sensitivity and wanting him back inside filling me so perfect.

In one abrupt thrust he gives me what I want and Zayne is standing in front of me now, still stroking his long dick, teasing his tip with his thumb. His other hand reaches out and he tucks his thumb into my mouth to press down on my tongue.

Sylus props up a leg, planting it firmly onto the bed and pounds me into an arch, Zayne's hand following as I suck and drool down his wrist.

"So damn pretty." His hips stutter as a small squirt of cum lands onto my cheek, head pressed into the bed. "Look at me, Y/N." I blink as the tear swelling at my waterline spills onto his hand while he guides me with his thumb to look up. "Open."

He removes his thumb and coats my lips in my own saliva as if it's lip gloss then he guides just the tip of his dick past my lips, jerking the rest of him off. Zayne throws his head back, pleasure clearly taking over him as much as it's taking me from Sylus' constant unyielding pace.

Sylus spanks me hard, causing me to clench around him, hips stuttering as I grow too tight for him to properly thrust. Another spank for that and he rubs a hand over my burning cheek, pressing kisses to my spine as his pace finally slows into deep thrust to ease my suction.

"This ass will me the death of me, Sweetie. It colors so well, mhm, the recoil just right." I moan around Zayne as Sylus thrusts into my cervix, remaining still there as he presses a kiss to the back of my head. "Ready?" I can barely decide if I am, knowing he's about to grow another inch when he releases into my womb.

Thing is, Sylus will have his way whether I respond or not. I give a weak nod as I keep my eyes on Zayne who's looking down, sweat gathered along his collarbones and torso to match his flushed face. It's scrunched in pleasure, mouth agape as he releases heavy puffs of air, eyes zeroed in on my lips wrapped around him.

Sylus' hand slides up from my lower tummy between my breast to grip my throat, raising me higher for Zayne to slip further into my mouth, the man releasing a sweet moan as he now leans a knee onto the bed from his weakening stance feeling his own climax approaching.

"Take it all." Sylus whispers into my ear then kisses down to my soft spot to relax me further as he starts to grow an inch further into my cervix, thrusting harshly in three swift movements as he fills me with his cum. I suck Zayne harder, starting to fight against what little oxygen I have just as I feel him grow stiff against my tongue then one last thrust as he fills my mouth.

I suddenly tighten around Sylus, sucking him in a bit deeper and trapping him there as another orgasm rips through me. He groans into my neck and eases me off of Zayne by the throat, closing my mouth before any spill could happen.

"Swallow. Good girl. So precious, Y/N. You did so good for us." A soft kiss to my temple. "I know you're tired Sweetie, rest. I'll clean you up." I hum and flop down onto the bed, nuzzling into the warm sheets as Sylus gently pulls out of me, propping a pillow beneath me to stop any mess from hitting the bed.

I hear them moving around but slowly I feel the exhaustion taking over. My limbs are jello and even if I could move I don't want to. In my half asleep state I feel a warm towel cleaning between my legs and my face then more moving around until I'm being lifted and laid properly into the bed beneath the sheets with Zayne spooning me and Sylus' chest beneath my head.

Zayne presses kisses to the back of my head and neck, inhaling deeply as he intertwines our legs. In my last moments of consciousness I hear Sylus' deep, sultry voice. "Daddy loves you, sweet dreams."

[bunni-v1]

Okay so the traumatised!reader not forgiving Jamil was absolutely fantastic!

Would it be alright if I requested the same premise but for Riddle after his overblot (he did insult us, attacked us and was the very first to overblot)?

Overblot Trauma: Riddle Edition

TW: Mentions and discussion of PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, Childhood abuse, and most things in that vain!; Swearing!; Mostly un-edited, this took too long to write lol

Info: Ace, Deuce, Grim, Trey, Cater, Riddle x Reader (platonic (especially in grim’s case)); gn!reader, unless I managed to fuck up!

🍓Hi. Yippie, new writing, I did it! Anyway, I went for a different approach than Jamil's part simply because... well... Riddle's whole scenario is completely different! Btw, I wanted to make it clear that I ADORE Jamil, and me giving Riddle forgiveness isn't a bias thing! I simply believe that this is how this scenario would go! Love you all, mwah!

Tags: @kitsun369 @bloomstruck @squidsailing @roseinbloom02

Jamil Part

This year was going to be yours, at least it was supposed to be. You were the top of your class, the best in your field of study, and you had nothing but the best opportunities in your grasp. For once in your life, you were exactly where you wanted to be… until you weren’t.

A horse-drawn carriage wasn’t too big of a shocker for you. You knew that some farmers would try to socialize their horses by taking them through town. Maybe a bit odd for where you live, but you could accept it. Until it started coming straight at you, whinnying as it clomped toward you at Mach speeds. 

You tried to outrun it, you really did. You ran as fast as your legs could carry you, but this horse was determined to ruin your life. And, oh god, did it. 

When you woke up, it was dark and you could hear voices muttering outside your… box? You were convinced you had died, and this was your judgment day in the afterlife. 

But no, it couldn’t be that simple, of course not. Instead, it was inter-dimensional travel, and you were now stuck in a Hogwarts-esque world with no way back home. You didn’t have any ruby red slippers to click you back home, not Toto to keep you comfortable. No, you got stuck with Grim who was anything but a comfort. 

You wouldn’t let it ruin your perfect year, though.

You��d decided to make the most of your shitty situation. You cleaned up your awful dorm, befriended the little troublemaking cat, and even fitted your janitorial uniform so that it was more comfortable to wear. 

Then… you meet Ace, and everything spirals. Again.

Statues caught on fire, chandeliers were broken, giant sludge monsters were fought, and unfair punishments were dished out upon you. That was fine! You could handle that! The monster in the mine was scary, but whatever, magic was going to be scary to you regardless. You could do this! You were going to handle everything life threw at you!

What you couldn’t handle, however, was Ace and Deuce’s tyrannical Housewarden: Riddle Rosehearts.

He was a selfish, entitled crybaby who had a stick shoved so far up his ass you wondered how he could walk without limping. All of his dorm members seemed terrified of him — except Ace, who also had the entitlement stick shoved up his ass, but this isn’t about him.

Riddle caused more than a handful of issues for you by kicking Ace and Deuce out — over a tart. Well, in Ace’s case, it was a tart. It was ridiculous, and it was more trouble than it was worth for you. More mouths to feed, more whining to hear, you couldn’t put up with it.

So you rush Ace and Deuce back to the dorm to find a way to apologize and end up meeting their far more responsible upperclassmen, Trey and Cater. The two of them were far more sympathetic to your position than Ace and Deuce ever were. You wished you’d managed to attract them instead of your bumbling idiots.

Still, they help you, and things are looking up for the idiot quartet… until they aren’t. 

The tarts that Ace and Deuce worked so tirelessly on were mouthwateringly delicious. Marron tarts with extra chestnuts! If they weren’t for Riddle, you would’ve torn into those things!

Things were looking good, especially when Riddle seemed more than pleased to accept Ace’s forgiveness gift…

Then, Riddle, stick somehow shoved even further up his ass than before, blows a gasket because of some stupid arbitrary rule. Something about no tarts on the billionth day of the month… ugh. So stupid.

He tore into Ace, he tore into Deuce, he tore into you. He just kept going and going on and on like a little child. You can’t even blame Ace for punching him, you were about to do it yourself if he hadn’t.

But.. something was wrong. You expected Riddle to just scream louder, but this time he didn’t. He was quiet, and you could see that his face was twisted up in a mix of anger and pain.

The first thing you noticed was the smell. It was thick and suffocating, crawling down your throat like it wanted to rip your lungs out. Only when you saw the black sludge leaking from Riddle did you realize it was ink invading your senses?

You watched with your mouth agape, body trembling, as his body morphed in front of your eyes. The clean, well-presented Riddle you knew changed into a disheveled beast who could hardly be described as human.

He looked dead, with skin so sickeningly pale, and his body moving in a way that it really shouldn’t be able to.

He kept moving, and he kept talking and screaming, so he wasn’t — but no one's skin should be that grey. No one should be leaking ink in the first place. 

The battle against him was a blur, you were simply running on instinct the whole time. Dodging, running, and throwing whatever you could to keep yourself safe. Still, you ended up with quite a few new scars and spent a sizable amount of time in the nurse's office.

Sure you got studentship for yourself and Grim, and yeah you helped Riddle overcome his trauma. You felt for him, you did. He was a good person at heart, and you wanted him to better himself and heal from the scars his mother left. 

But what about you? What were you supposed to do now that you’ve been through that? What about your scars? What about the scars he gave everyone else?

Surely you couldn’t be expected to pretend that everything was fine?

Ace and Deuce

-Ace and Deuce hadn’t seen you in a good few days since the last tea party Heartslabyul held. -You being reclusive wasn’t much of a shocker, you spent a lot of time alone, to begin with, but disappearing for this long…? 

-Now, it’s not like the three of you were absolute best friends at this point, but you had become pretty close up until now. 

-Plus you’ve survived a lot of very scary experiences together… surely that meant something?

-It meant something to them.

-Still, you’d practically ghosted them and it was out of character for what they knew of you.

-Even when they were annoying the shit out of you, you still gave them a place to stay and helped them take care of themselves. You were kindhearted.

-Ghosting your (tentative) friends wasn’t exactly a good sign.

-So, them being themselves, they decide to come to pay you a visit at Ramshackle and wrangle some answers out of you.

-They were not expecting you to answer with tear tracks down your face and eye bags so dark they almost looked black.

-Ramshackle wasn’t any better either. 

-You normally kept it so neat and tidy, but it was messy with clothes and dirty dishes scattered about. 

-It was so weird to see you in such a state since you were so happy and full of life and determination before this.

-Then again, it did sorta make sense. You’d been through a lot in the past few weeks, expecting perfection wasn’t fair for anyone in your position.

-All of you had been through a lot, Ace and Deuce were just better at putting up with it than you.

-Grim didn’t seem to be much of a help either, clearly lost on how to handle human depression.

-Luckily, Ace and Deuce are willing to help.

-By help, I mean to annoy you, but they’re doing their best!

-Ace definitely pokes and prods at you a lot, and complains that you have to get up and go to class.

-It’s annoying, but you know he’s right. 

-If he does take it too far Deuce is right there to put him back in line and assure you that you can take it at your own pace.

-The two of them are so sweet though, seriously. They help you clean up the place so that it's mostly back to its former glory (as much glory as ramshackle can have, of course).

-They walk you to class together every morning, even if you have ungodly eight ams. (You do hear Ace complaining a lot, though).

-They eat with you to make sure that you’re eating — and if you don’t eat with them, they come to your dorm with a full meal that they picked up for you.

-Most importantly, they keep you distracted from thinking about how horrifying the whole overblot was.

-The two of them need the distraction too, though they won’t admit it to you.

Grim

-Grim watches you go through everything firsthand.

-He lives with you, of course, he’s gonna see the rough stuff.

-He could tell something was off at the tea party, you just didn’t seem as involved as you usually were, but he brushed it off.

-He was more focused on eating as much food as possible.

-When you got back to the dorm, however, is when he noticed something was really wrong.

-Normally you’d take a nice long bubble bath, and the smell of your soaps would fill up the whole of your bedroom, but not today.

-You just fell onto your bed without a word.

-Still, it was a long day! Grim was pooped too, he wouldn’t wanna make up a bath either.

-Then you started to cry. You cried and cried and cried until you fell asleep.

-He didn’t know what to do, he never dealt with a crying human before!

-All he could do was curl up next to you and let you cry into his fur.

-You’d be better tomorrow, he told himself.

-But, nothing changed the day after that, nor the next, nor the next.

-By the third day of you laying around he was getting antsy. Would you ever cheer up, and could he help you at all?

-He’s grateful for Ace and Deuce coming around when you didn’t make it to classes that day.

-They explain to him, vaguely, what human depression is and how he can help more.

-Really, he isn’t able to do more than he’s already been doing, but you don’t need much more from him.

-He’s the perfect companion for you, and you wouldn’t trade him for the world.

Cater

-Cater doesn’t know you, okay.

-He would love to get to know you! You’re quite a treat to be around, and you keep his pesky freshmen in line, so he does like you.

-Again, he doesn’t know you.

-He does, however, notice that at the little celebratory tea party, you are not doing too well.

-What he’s seen of you, you were a spunky bitch who didn’t take shit from anyone.

-But, here, now… you were quiet. You didn’t seem like you were really here with anyone in the room.

-He decided to keep a close eye on you, just in case.

-He noticed your symptoms, he’s lived your symptoms, so of course he’s looking out for you.

-Besides, the overblot scared more than just you — you just had a lot more to be afraid of than them.

-When Ace and Deuce wander back to the dorm complaining about how you skipped your classes for the day, a million alarm bells go ringing in his head.

-“Go check on them.”

“Cater- you were listening?”

“Hush, just go check on them! Now! GO!”

-Cater is not your friend at this point, the two of you are acquaintances at the very most, but he knows that you need someone there for you.

-Please excuse him for assuming, but he doesn’t think Grim would cut it.

-He also talks to Trey and Riddle about it all too.

-He knows that you and Trey are closer than he is with you and that he’s more likely to be of help than Cater is.

-Tells Trey to make you sweets that Ace and Deuce can give to you. Also give him advice on what to say in case you seek him out — especially since he’s closer to Riddle, you’re more likely to go to him with your worries.

-However, Cater does not expect you to seek him out.

-He was so busy working overtime behind the scenes keeping everyone together that he didn’t even think that he was part of the equation.

-You sought him out simply because he wasn’t Trey or Riddle.

-Trey would be more sympathetic to Riddle and Riddle was the core of the issue. But your reliable Senpai Cater? Surely he’d be more logical about this.

-You figured that he had something to do with everything since Ace and Deuce don’t seem emotionally intelligent enough to help you with something as sensitive as trauma.

-First you really just want to thank him for his help, but as you talk to him both of you just break.

-You, because you hadn’t really been able to talk about what you’ve been through. Cater, because he put everything on his shoulders as if it was up to him to fix it all.

-It’s therapeutic, to just cry with someone over the horrible things that you’ve been through together.

-You sort of become each other's rock when it comes to recovery.

Trey

-Trey is the backbone of Heartslabyul.

-I know we give him shit for being boring and normal, but he’s the reason anything keeps functioning around his dorm.

-He needs to be normal, because if he can’t keep a level head, who will?

-Sevens, he’s having a hard time now though.

-Riddle is going through his own issues, coping with the fact that he confronted his traumas head-on and hurt so many people doing it.

-Ace and Deuce were the core of the issue, and he could tell that neither of them was ready to deal with whatever feelings they’d been feeling.

-He can’t even lean on Cater like he normally does, because Cater is running around like a madman trying to ignore his own trauma.

-So… It’s just Trey, and he’s having a hard time figuring this shit out because he needs time to cope.

-He doesn’t get the chance to, though, because he has to be there for Riddle more than anyone.

-It’s not like he doesn’t want to be there for him, they’re best friends, but Sevens Trey is exhausted trying to get things back to where they were.

-You don’t even cross his mind in the chaos until Cater asks him to make you those marron tarts you seemed to love so much.

-You must be going through it.

-As he bakes them up for you (making some extras for his dormmates), he thinks about how hard this must’ve been on you.

-You’re not even from here. You were just trying to help out, and you nearly lost your life because his best friend couldn’t control his temper.

-You didn’t deserve that. No one did.

-He was supposed to give the tarts to Ace and Deuce, but after his thinking, he figured it was better he went to see how you were doing himself.

-The older brother in him couldn’t stop the worry from taking over now that you were on his mind.

-He knew that Ace and Deuce got you going back to your classes, and you weren’t so scared that you never came to Heartslabyul, but he wanted to make sure.

-When you open the door you look tired, but light up at the sight of the treats in his hands.

-While you and Grim are chowing down on the snacks he made, you two talk.

-Trey finally, finally, gets to talk about how he’s been feeling — because you are so sweet and so kind that you want to hear how he’s been.

-He gets to tell you how tired he is, how he feels as though he can’t allow himself a moment to deal with his own thoughts, how worried he is about everyone. How angry he was at Riddle, and how happy he was that Riddle was changing.

-It’s cathartic to get it all out, but he feels guilty for dumping it all on you.

-He was here to check on you, not pour his heart out.

-But, you tell him that you wanted him to talk to you about it. Ace and Deuce pretend like it never even happened, so to hear someone else be just as angry about it as you felt good.

-The two of you spend a lot of time together that night — Grim is there too, but this isn’t about him — and both of you feel like a weight is lifted off your shoulders afterward.

-Both of you make plans to bake something together later that week.

Riddle

-Riddle is going through it, okay.

-Not only is he dealing with the physical ramifications of his body twisting around in ways that it really shouldn’t, and the long-term lung issues he’s going to have thanks to all the ink.

-He’s also dealing with the fact that he acknowledged how awful his mother — whom he’d idolized — truly was. 

-How awful he was because of her, and how many people he hurt because he wouldn’t face the music soon enough.

-Still his life didn’t stop. He still had to ensure that he was fulfilling his duties as a houswarden, and he also had to continue tutoring and running the equestrian club and his own coursework.

-His way of coping with his issues is that he works himself to death.

-Sure, he does take time to tell Trey how he’s feeling, and he has spent many sleepless nights in his room crying, but he’d rather be working than doing that.

-So he does. He works and he works and he uses his work as a punishment for himself because he does not deserve a break after what he did.

-He has to make up for the horrible things he’s done to people who simply did not deserve it.

-He’s so busy working that he forgets to make it up to the person that matters most.

-You and Riddle aren’t exactly avoiding each other, but you certainly aren’t seeking each other out.

-You know that Riddle was going through a lot and you’ve already forgiven him at this point, but you haven’t found the strength to seek him out yet.

-The both of you just happen to bump into each other in the kitchen of Heartslabyul. (Courtesy of Trey and Cater!)

-You were waiting on Trey (he promised he would make some sweets with you today), and Riddle walked in (he was also promised sweets).

-It was… awkward, to say the least.

-What do you say to the guy who traumatized and nearly killed you and your friends?

-What do you say to the person who you nearly killed?

-Well…

-“I’m sorry,” Riddle finally said, snuffing out the awkward silence, “I allowed myself to become so angry, and I hurt and scared not only you but myself. I don’t know how anyone could ever forgive me, but I am truly sorry.”

You stayed quiet, mulling over his words. You knew he was sorry, from the way he’d looked at you since his blot. You could only begin to imagine what he was dealing with in his head this whole time. How harsh he must’ve been on himself since the incident — and isn’t that what started this whole thing in the first place? His unnecessary harshness? He shouldn’t be so hard on anyone, especially not himself.

So, you being you — forgiving and understanding — you sigh and place a hand on his arm. He looked at you, shocked at your gentleness.

“It’s alright, Riddle. Sure, you really scared the shit out of me, and yeah I’m still kind of scared of you, but I know you’re a good guy. It’s not your fault that you’ve been through such awful things.”

-You made him cry.

-Good tears though! Happy tears! It’s the first time he felt seen in a very long time, and he promises you that he’s going to change for the better.

-To his credit, he does start to make those changes, and he does so very quickly.

-He begins to be more open with his friends, and he’s more relaxed about the very stupid rules that he used to enforce.

-He goes out of his way to talk to you specifically at this time too. He offers to become your tutor (which you desperately need, since Crewel is well… cruel.), and you two grow surprisingly close!

-You bond over how much stress Ace and Deuce cause you, and Riddle learns how to socialize like a normal person from you.

-(You surprise him with just how popular you are, despite being essentially bottom of the barrel at NRC. He has much to learn!)

[mysteriouslyjovialcolor]

Russia 2018

-Kevin: p5

-Charles: p7

-Red Bull: huh?

-“Max Verstappen on his 21st birthday”

-Not me unintentionally watching both Maxiel 2018 birthday races (it was fate!)

-Where’s our normal commentator duo?

-So many teammates qualifying right next to each other

-“Valterri and Kimi both playing support roles today” Yay love that

-“How much of a nuisance are Magnussen and Ocon going to be, starting from row three?” Haha love our troublemaker duo

-“No team orders so far” Let’s go!

-“Excellent start from the Dutchman”

-Excellent start from the Monegasque too

-Max double overtakeee

-Don’t ask me the color of anything. Max is currently over taking half the grid!

-Lap 5 and he’s p8

-Both Toro Rosso’s already pitting- not surprised

-Double retirement?!

-Yeah, still not surprised

-Unfortunate for Pierre tho

-Max so easily going past Charles (Probably won’t see that from next season onwards)

-“Was that a little bit naughty from Magnussen then?” Lol what did you expect?

-Daniel p7!! Just one position away from Max (There was less overtaking there and more drivers in front pitting but still cool)

-Renault having a decent race (please let me not jinx it again)

-Love how Max is always just there interfering with the top team strategies

-“And for once, Ferrari’s strategy worked out this afternoon!”

-“Guys how did that happen?”

-Watching Ferrari and Mercedes fighting it out through pit stop strategies gives me such a strong dose of serotonin

-I love watching Lewis and Sebastian fight it out on track too, their wheel to wheel battles are so intense yet so smooth

-“Sergio Perez goes pass Carlos Sainz and then Carlos Sainz goes past Sergio Perez”

-Unfortunately, the next second he gets passed by both the Force Indias

-Max going from p19 to now leading the race

-“We need to push. I have better pace. Can I overtake?” If I ever make a bingo card for the 2017 and 2018 season, Checo saying this in relation to Ocon will definitely be on it

-“No blue flags here” This situation still confuses me

-“Valterri Bottas has just let Hamilton pass” So much for no team orders

-“This was because of Max Verstappen being in the lead” Oh Max

-Ocon having to let Perez go through as well

-A lap full of team orders

-I mean I do understand the importance of team orders in relation to the championship points, but that doesn’t mean I have to like them

-“Bottas isn’t happy” Yeah I wouldn’t be either

-Force India team orders going crazy

-“Working in harmony this afternoon” Well that’s new for them

-“I never thought in a million years that Max would be leading this race when we started off” Gotta count on the “Max factor” sometimes

-Daniel pitting before Max? I wasn’t expecting that

-Oh, they changed his front wing?

-Max going 40+ laps on the same tires and still setting a fast pace- insane behavior

-Am I crazy or is Daniel 53s behind p5?

-“The Red Bull is here? How the heck did that happen?” Same Nico, same

-He actually sounded so shocked. It was funny

-It must be hard to lead the race for so long then give up that track position to pit and go chase after a lower track position

-Still insane to me that Daniel is 53s behind the car in front of him. How did that gap happen??

-“Shoutout to Charles Leclerc” Yes, always

-I may have actually jinxed Renault, but at least they’re still in the race?

-Albeit in p12 and p16?

-Do we think Toto just always has a long continuous headache? Poor guy’s always holding his head in his hands

-So surprised that Max hasn’t done a fastest lap yet with the new tires

-Kevin: p8

-Charles: p7

-Mercedes 1-2!

-“Valterri, this is Toto. Difficult day for you and difficult day for us. Let’s talk about it later” yeaaaaaaaahhh

-“Very good birthday race!” Almost forgot about that!

-“From 19th on the grid, Max Verstappen lead the most laps” Who would’ve thought

-All in all, like Lewis said, “great day at the office”!

[hyrtwynwrites]

Yensday #4 - 28 February 2024

Welcome back to another Yensday! We have two questions today, so let's get into it!

<><><> Q&A <><><>

@purplenidoqueen asked:

I was thinking about my childhood, and how the one thing that stands out more than anything is a little statuette my mother has. It got me thinking about what Yen might have latched onto, considering the youth she had. Whether a thing, or a person, or a creature, or a place... Is there one symbol from her childhood that she most cherishes to this day?

Yen is in a situation where she has a lot of strong memories but not a lot of keepsakes to tie her to them. The enforced meagerness of life for the Ala Mhigan refugees in Quarrymill kind of meant she just didn't have a lot ever.

With that said, she did have a few things to latch onto. Quarrymill, and the area outside its walls, is filled with memories for Yen due to how much exploring she got up to as a child. She was a bit of a troublemaker, and worse, a leader, so her antics would usually become a group's antics pretty quickly.

The biggest symbol linking her to her childhood, however, is more a ritual, and that's dyeing her hair. Her mother started doing it with her when she was nine, and Yen has pretty religiously maintained doing it ever since. Especially since the Calamity, it has tethered her to her childhood and to Aebba, both of which are now long gone... It's an act that is sacred to Yen now, this last little reminder to herself of love.

@vivailwrites asked:

I know a lot of people who make one character in a lot of different properties. I make and remake vivail in various roughly similar forms, as often as i make new characters. One of my favorite streamers makes her oc, voxer, in basically anything. She even made a voxer mech in ac6. Do you think you would ever make yen in another game or franchise or story or is she purely ffxiv

Yen is a character that I think is pretty versatile; you could put her in any setting, and she'll do at least alright. With that said, beyond a handful of times I have aesthetically remade her in other RPGs that I am poking at, I don't personally use her that much beyond the walls of FFXIV.

The main reason is, I think, that Yen was designed for one setting explicitly, and that's Eorzea. While I could pick her up and put her somewhere else, like Faerûn or Tattooine, I would have to change enough about her for her to fit into that world (or worlds) that she would stop being Yen. I think I'd rather create new characters at that point, tell a new story.

She is very near and dear to my heart, though, so I wouldn't be surprised if I transported her for fun on occasion, little one-shots of a woman increasingly out of her depth.

<><><> Tidbits & Errata <><><>

Kind of spinning off of the first question, I actually had been thinking recently about what kid Yenifer was up to. She lost most of her adolescence to working; the Ala Mhigans needed every hand to make ends meet, and Gridania (and all of Eorzea, for that matter) has no child labor laws. Any time she did have to herself was probably spent similarly to how she spent it as a child: Getting into trouble.

I do like to imagine Yenifer as being a bit of a ringleader, both because it suits her and how she is, and because it echoes out to roles she will assume as an adult, throughout Light's Falle.

As far as how much of the Black Shroud she got to see, the answer is, unfortunately, quite little. The pre-Calamity Twelveswood was a bit of an enigma to navigate, so she could only safely explore a few square malm around the hamlet.

Something mentioned in passing in Gridanian Prelude is Yen finding a mysterious door in the southern Shroud that she was barred from exploring. That was, in fact, an entrance to the Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak, a place she will return to sooner than later.

Another detail that will crop up sooner than later is that Yenifer knows Buscarron, the owner of Buscarron's Druthers, and has since she was entering puberty. This is a bit of a gray area in the canon, when did Buscarron retire, and for the life of me I can't find something concrete. I've set it by fiat to be ten summers ago, in 1567, which means that he and Yen met when she was eleven at the earliest. They have a... complicated relationship, which is to say they tease the hell out of each other, something that I look forward to showing in the near future.

I want to thank you all again for stopping by. This is the first Yensday under my new schedule, and I think it's gone pretty well!

Til next time, may you ever walk in the light of the Crystal!

- H

[pastryfication]

Oscar liking Toto Wolff's oldest daughter would be something else.

Like, the first time Oscar ever saw her was when she was watching her step-brother, Jack, while her parents were doing stuff.

And Oscar practically passed out from the sight until Toto questioned why he is in the Mercedes garage and not in the McLaren one.

love at first sight | oscar piastri

part of the love at first . . . series

pairing: oscar piastri x wolff!reader note: changed it a bit bc i don’t think drivers are allowed in another garage? idk but i hope you like it either way xx

you step out of the car, one hand holding jack’s tiny fingers while your other hand shields your eyes from the glaring sun. the paddock buzzes with activity, and you can feel the excitement in the air as the weekend’s race inches closer.

jack is all energy, bouncing along beside you. he’s buzzing with excitement, pointing out the different cars and asking a million questions. you smile down at him, your heart warming at how much he’s already absorbed of this world. he’s got racing in his blood, just like you.

“come on, jack,” you say, gently pulling him along as you weave through the crowd. the familiar sound of engines roaring to life echoes in your ears, making your heart race. the mercedes garage is only a few steps away, but jack tugs on your hand, surprising you by pointing excitedly towards the bright orange of the mclaren garage.

“can we go there first, please?” jack’s eyes are wide with curiosity, and you can’t help but smile at his enthusiasm.

“alright, just for a little bit,” you agree, knowing that if your dad found out, he might raise an eyebrow. but you’re here to keep jack entertained, not start a team rivalry, so you decide it will be fine. besides, a quick detour never hurt anyone.

as you approach the mclaren garage, you spot oscar piastri standing near the entrance, chatting with a few engineers. he’s laughing at something one of them said, but when he glances your way, his smile fades, replaced by a look of pure surprise.

you meet his eyes for a brief second before looking away, feeling a sudden warmth creep up your cheeks. oscar’s gaze follows you as you and jack make your way inside the garage. you try to ignore the fluttering in your chest, focusing instead on the cars and the crew bustling about.

“wow, look at that car!” jack exclaims, his voice full of awe as he points at the mclaren sitting sleek and powerful in front of you. his excitement draws oscar’s attention back to you, and before you know it, he’s walking over.

“hey there,” he greets, his voice friendly, with a hint of something more. “i don’t think we’ve met before.”

you glance up at him, trying to keep your cool. “i’m just visiting with my brother, jack. he’s a big fan of mclaren,” you explain, your voice steady despite the way oscar’s presence makes your heart race.

oscar kneels down to jack’s level, offering him a warm smile. “is that so? well, you’ve got good taste, mate. do you want to see the car up close?”

jack’s eyes grow about three sizes as they light up with excitement, and he nods eagerly. you watch as oscar effortlessly engages with him, making jack laugh and blush with excitement. you can’t help but feel charmed by the way oscar handles the interaction, his genuine kindness catching you off guard.

as you stand there, observing the scene, oscar glances back at you, his eyes lingering a little longer this time. “so, do you visit the paddock often?” he asks casually, though there’s a hint of curiosity in his tone.

“yeah, whenever i get the chance,” you reply, trying to keep the conversation light. “my dad’s usually busy, so i end up babysitting this little troublemaker.” you look fondly down at your half brother.

oscar chuckles, his eyes softening as he looks at you. “you must be pretty good at it then.”

you’re about to respond when a familiar voice cuts through the air, freezing you in place.

your dad says your name with a tinge of disapproval. “what are you doing in the mclaren garage?”

he’s in full team mode, his mercedes cap pulled low, and his arms crossed as he eyes the scene in front of him.

oscar instantly stands up straight, immediately more formal. “mr. wolff, i was just showing them around,” he explains, though there’s a hint of nervousness in his voice.

your dad raises an eyebrow, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looks at you, then back at oscar. “i see,” he says, his voice calm but with an undertone that makes you wince.

“sorry, papa,” you say quickly, trying to diffuse the situation. “jack just really wanted to see the mclaren garage. we were on our way to see you.”

toto’s expression softens a little at the mention of jack, and he sighs. “alright, but next time, you come straight to the mercedes garage, understood?”

you nod, feeling a bit like a scolded child despite being an adult. “understood.”

oscar glances between you and your dad, clearly trying to gauge the situation. “it was nice meeting you,” he says, his voice genuine and you make eye contact again. “and you too, jack.”

jack beams up at him, clearly having enjoyed the brief interaction. “thanks, oscar!”

you offer oscar a small smile before leading jack out of the garage, your dad walking beside you. as you leave, you can feel oscar’s eyes on you, and you can’t help but glance back. when you do, he’s still watching, a thoughtful look on his face.

toto clears his throat, and you snap your attention back to him. “so, mclaren, huh?” he says, his tone lighter now, almost teasing.

you shrug, trying to play it cool. “jack’s a fan. what can i say?”

your dad chuckles, shaking his head. “just remember where your loyalties lie,” he says, but there’s a twinkle in his eye that tells you he’s not really mad.

as you walk away, you can’t help but think about oscar’s smile, the way his eyes lit up when he saw you. you know it’s ridiculous—he’s a driver, you’re the daughter of the team principal of a rival team—but something about the encounter stays with you.

and as you head towards the mercedes garage with jack and your dad, your hands find your pockets, and in them, you feel something that wasn’t there before. a little note written on a piece of mclaren racing paper.

and you can’t help the smile that takes over your entire face.

[spellbonds]

⸻           FLOURISH     AND     BLOTTS     is     often     somewhere     that     REMUS     LUPIN     can     be     found     reading     in     the     little     window     seat     ,     the     twenty     two     year     old,     that's     often     confused     for     the     muggle     JACOB     ELORDI     is     known     for     being     RESPONSIBLE     ,     but     maybe     that's     why     the     sorting     hat     had     them     in     GRYFFINDOR     while     in     school     ,     but     they     can     still     be     very     CHAOTIC     according     to     their     friends     .     currently     they     are     STUDYING     at     TAUXMARTS     and     if     rumors     are     said     to     be     true     about     the     brewing     war     ,     they     would     surely     side     with     THE     ORDER.           ⸻           (     man     +     he     &     him     +     heterosexual.     )

↴ ↴ ↴ . . . . . . . . . . . . LOADING.

⟶ SIDE A . . . A REMUS LUPIN SOUNDTRACK.

01. good old fashion lover boy . . . queen. 02. superstition . . . stevie wonder. 03. telephone line . . . electric light ochestra. 04. fox on the run . . . sweet. 05. hold the line . . . toto.

A REMUS LUPIN SOUNDTRACK . . . SIDE B ⟵

01. boys don't cry . . . the cure. 02. the logical song . . . supertramp. 03. my generation . . . the who. 04. all along the watchtower . . . jimi hendrix. 05. born to be wild . . . steppenwolf.

teeth clench, a gnarled tongue bloodied. remus lupin was your ordinary four year old when his nightmare began, although his nightmare didn't linger in the recesses of a sleepy mind. no. this nightmare was more awake than anything, revenge on thy father. teeth would pierce tender flesh, a child scraped & scarred in retribution for words one never liked. remus lupin suffered a curse like no other.

destined / subjected to loneliness. even as a boy, remus could be found alone, his mother a muggle & his father a wizard & yet the boy with his mothers curls was simply a monster, the words so plainly said ( though not made for his young ears ) by the tongue of his father, a man who claimed to love him so. while the father sees son as a monster, judged behind closed lips, a mother loves son so desperately that he strike of foulness doesn't reach, instead remus learns the value of love until his mother is no more.

safety in numbers, boys held at arms length. school comes & goes until it is found that hogwarts would be accepting & for a while, hopes were squashed, friends weren't made for him. but, oh sweet boy, friends were found. it took time to break the walls he'd built. steadfast & strong. but three managed & happiness could be found, family wasn't just blood. years continue & with a rat, a stag, a dog at side, anything is possible.

REMUS LUPIN ; QUICK HEADCANONS !

scars. like always, skin grows around ruin. once pale flesh will now always be marred, from brow to lip a pinkish risen scar travels along features. chest & arms, though always hidden from searching eyes ( mostly. ) too, are marred & littered with self inflicted wounds from the monster within.

troublemaker. never a saint. while intelligence breed responsibilty, the lycanthrope was very much as terrible as his friends, charged with keeping them in line. but more often than not, detention was where they could be found.

romance. as marred & undeserving as he thought himself to be, later years of hogwarts, green eyes & fluffy curls always caught the girls. while never one to date, a monster he deemed himself, he could romance as well as any.

bad habits. the taste of butterbeer & cigarettes. the smell of nicotine, old books & chocolate. unique in smell, one could always tell when he was close by. nicotine soothes the qualms within, feeding the monster. chocolate feeds & kills, once reading that it was harmful to dogs, he'd try anything to kill the beast. old books always in reach, margins filled with personal anecdotes.

hobbies. fingers always itch to do more, to keep busy. lazy days didn't exist ( the day post full moon excused ) muggle guitar learnt, followed by drums, things to occupy school holidays before his mother was no more. muggle transport, like a normal child, taught to drive at sixteen. record players & a collection of vinyls kept close.

[tcrmommabear]

Merry Christmas Wolfie!

Oh, my dear @wolfiethewriter, I had a lot of fun writing this!

It’s funny how ideas and connections will hit suddenly. And then you wonder where they’ve been hiding for you to not have noticed before!

I hope you enjoy this short story about Toto, and his life before the Bureau (and a brief snippet of his life with them!)

All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.

-E

There was a tapping at his window.

The two things in question- his window and tapping sounds- weren’t typically a cause for concern. But the two coming together, at the dead of night, on a second story window, was reason enough to be concerned. Maybe a touch frightened.

It was storming terribly outside. Snow buffeting against the walls and windows, the old home creaking slightly under the stress. Perhaps a tree branch, or a stone? Yes, surely he could reason away the tapping that had awoken him from his dreamless sleep.

Except there were no trees and stones near his window, and as much as he didn’t want to admit it… There was the shape of a raven pecking at his window. Was the creature seeking sanctuary? He’d seen them be clever creatures, in odd ways. Never often enough to prove a thinking mind behind the eyes, but enough to be curious.

He arose from his warm bed, crept to the window, and threw back the latch. Within a moment, the window roared open, grasping fingers of wind and cold caressing his cheek. The bird flew in, racing to the shelf above his bed, and he shut the window soon after, locking the panes back into place.

“An unfortunate time to be compassionate,” he muttered, eyeing the wet floor and strewn about (thankfully blank) papers. He glanced at the bird, who sat preening at the moment, nudging wayward feathers back into place. He shook his head, stepping around the mess to the chair and fire, tossing another log.

With the bird in his room, he’d rather hold off on sleep, so neither were trapped with the other. His leg bounced, hands clasped in his lap. It was fascinating to see such a creature up close, some sort of haunting feeling lingering in the air. Like the bird was all too aware of everything around it.

“I don’t suppose,” he asked lightly of the bird, “you could spare an apology for waking me from sleep? Or for the mess left upon my floor?”

It stopped its preening, turning instead to focus remarkably intelligent, black eyes upon him. He felt exposed for a moment, like staring down at the dizzying height of his home, the ground unreachable.

The bird gave a smile.

“One is due, in any circumstance. Along with my thanks,” a deep voice spilled from the beak.

He scrambled, limbs frantically working to get him up and away. He crammed himself into the corner behind the chair, never breaking eye contact with the bird. He grabbed the fire poker, held it up with shaking hands. As intimidating as a mouse to a lion.

The bird watched him. Waited. Cocked its head as the two stood there together, opposite corners of the room and battling for the space. At least, he felt he was in battle. An outright war between his logical, insistent mind that none of this was real, and the morbidly curious side of his mind. The one that watched crows peck at the leftover corpse of a squirrel.

“Surely,”- he licked his lips-“surely those words were not spoken by you, bird? Otherwise, I may have to admit that I’ve gone completely mad.”

“But I did speak. Specifically to apologize and to thank you. I thought I might frighten you, but you’re taking this all really well,”  the crow laughed, slightly. The sound, though disagreeing with his understanding of the world, was warm, kind. He didn’t quite know what he had to be afraid of. It’s a crow.

A talking crow.

“If I may, sir,” the crow began, flapping wings and jerking his head towards the fire, “might I take a perch by the fire? I’ve flown all day and night in this snow, and I’d like to get warmth back into my bones.”

He used the fire poker to loosely gesture over towards the fireplace, dropping it when the bird took flight and landed near the flames. He slowly worked his way around his chair, dropping into it without breaking contact with the bird. Surely, there must be some reasoning or idea behind this madness.

“You’re just a dream, yes?” he asked hopefully, pressing his clasped hands against his mouth.

“That’s a question with an answer only we can decide for ourselves,” the bird answered, simply, “but I like to think of myself as quite real.”

“Right, of course.”

They lapsed into silence, the wind’s howls and the fire’s crackles more than eager to fill the space. The bird seemed as content as could be just to watch the flames, quiet company and all that. He felt like a bomb ready to go off, examining ever feather and piece of skin he could find.

“You speak well,” he blurted out once the fuse lit the dynamite, “taught by your master? Did he give you a name?”

The bird blinked in surprise, if he had to guess. He felt foolish at the idea of asking for a name, expecting much of the creature that (he was beginning to reason to himself) could only speak what little its master had taught.

“I’ve had many names over the years,” the bird told him, staring into the flames, “none have really stayed. Call me what you like.”

He shifted, fraught with nerves. He glanced about the room, searching for a bolt of lightning to strike him. A small bust caught his eye briefly, the features sculpted delicately, the war helmet upright and sure.

“Would “Pallas” be a suitable name?” he asked after a moment of thought.

The bird gave a bark (caw?) of laughter, fluffing its feathers while it turned to catch his eye.

“After Pallas Athena, I see? I’d be honored to take her name,” he chortled out.

He gave a relieved smile, still flicking between the two, looking for some sort of riddle to be solved. Hardly noticing the final, mournful howls of winter’s snow. But the crow- Pallas- took off towards the window ledge, pausing to glance about what survived of his desk.

“I thank you for your kindness and warmth,” Pallas called out, reading his works that he’d tried and scrapped. “Could I have your name to thank you properly?”

He hesitated a moment, before responding, “Allan. You can call me Allan.”

“Sir Allan,” Pallas said, puffing their chest, “I thank you for the fire and the company.”

“Will I see you again?” he blurted, crossing halfway to the window with a hand raised. He had questions, needed answers, wanted to discover how far reality and dream came to be. How mad he really, truly was, to seek after a bird.

Pallas cocked his head, left then right, then read his papers one more time.

“Morning nears, and the storm has finally stopped. But perhaps I can stay in town a few more days, just to be sure the snow will leave us.”

Pallas grinned at him, jerking his head at the window, and he realized the crow lacked what was needed to get outside. Cold air burst against his cheek, the wind tugging stubbornly at the pane to fly open.

Pallas took off into the night, gone with the inky black sky, and he quickly closed the window after. He stumbled into his bed, pulled the covers up to his chin, then to his eyes, hiding under the blankets as he counted down from ten. Twas just a dream. A dream within a dream, and one so curious and frightful.

“Never again,” he whispered to his heart, “never again. Nevermore shall that crow visit me.”

***

“Baron, who’s this a bust of?” Haru called, standing before the stone torso of a Greek woman, dressed in robes but bearing a helmet upon her head.

The plaque saying her name was Greek (literally) to Haru, having travelled to said country for a Bureau investigation that she wasn’t entirely sure was going well. But hey, a day spent at public places that don’t care if you’re suddenly calling out for a person who’s not nearby was a day she could enjoy.

Toto flew in, landing a foot or two on the ground, trying to look as casual as a crow talking to a human girl could be.

“Baron’s over trying to stop Muta from attacking the gelato cart,” he told her when she gave a confused look, “which bust are you talking about?”

“This one,” Haru said, flapping a hand at the woman and nearly smacking her hand on the stone.

“Pallas Athena,” Toto replied, “or plain Athena for those who don’t know epithets. Famously known as the Greek Goddess of wisdom and strategy.”

“Huh,” was Haru’s response, tilting her head, “that explains a lot about that poem.”

“Poem?” Toto asked.

“Yeah, the one by Edgar Allan Poe. He mentioned a bust named “Pallas” and I was always really confused on who that was.”

Toto narrowed his eyes at the bust, echos of memories just barely coming through.

“Haru, what was this poem called?”

“Hmm? Oh, uh, “The Raven”, I think.”

Toto cawed out a laugh, catching Haru by surprised.

“I always thought he lied about his first name. Truly scared you, didn’t I, Sir Allan?”

Haru blinked, turned towards Toto, and ignored a surprised audience when she yelled-

“Wait you knew Edgar Allan Poe?!”

[totogreenleaf]

I didn't have service while I was originally freaking out about this but y'all I got to ride a horse last week! It was only for an hour but it was amazing! He was this short little round thing named Hubcap and he used to be a wild stallion that they caught in Nevada I think and trained and he was such a dear. Of course he kept trying to stop and eat which wasn't allowed but I loved him nonetheless.

[daeva-agas]

Ayakashi Koi Meguri/Ayakashi Romance Reborn production behind the scenes (part 8 & 9)

(full series of Behind the Scenes posts)

Part 8 

Artist’s commentary on the “Ten Night of Dreams” event to match the writer’s remarks in the previous one. The character art includes items that are relevant to the stories they’re based on.

Aki’s key item is the dagger, Toto’s is the goldfish, and Aoi’s is the hat (a “Panama hat”)

Koga’s card has white lilies. It’s inspired by the “first night” story of the Natsume Souseki collection mentioned in the previous one. In the story, the narrator was asked by a dying woman to wait for her by her grave. 100 years pass, and a white lily grew on her grave. 

The kanji for lily is 百合, which is shortened from a Chinese phrase meaning “100 years of harmony” (lilies are native to China). 合 in Japanese sounds similar to 会, which means "to meet". So the artist drew this with the image of “waiting to reunite for 100 years”. 

(I have not read the card stories so I cannot confirm what the stories are like)

Part 9: Koga and Kuya behind the scenes. 

Beware of spoilers

Koga

The Ayakoi staff’s goal is to create characters who are cool, but also “human” (relatable) , with realistic weaknesses and struggles. Koga’s design was a reliable leader who is fearless, but also considers himself not worthy to be a “hero”. This characterization makes him someone who embodies the “theme” of the game very vividly. Perhaps it was why they chose him to be the “poster boy” of the game? 

The writer feels a bit complicated with how they didn’t write Koga declare his love more than once. Still, they felt it was more in-character for him to be that way.

They said they got player feedback saying there’s not enough uwu in the route, but according to them it’s because they want to convey love in different ways than just direct “I love you”s or kisses.  The “route” is actually more of a “budding romance”, so the uwu stuff will be more in the events or cards.

In one of the events there is a scene where Koga and MC looks at the sunrise. This midway between light and darkness was something that ties to Koga’s character. He looks forward to the hope like a dawn after the darkest night, full of positivity, but also knowing the inevitable darkness. It’s a particularly poignant scene.

(event was released in Eng around January 2021, forgot the Eng name of the event OTL) The writer commented that the text design had Koga’s horns and a feather, and that was a neat detail. 

Teaser: Koga’s father will be important to the plot somewhere in the future (!!!!)

Kuya

When they were making Kuya the prompts they use was “Trouble child from the mountains” and “really lazy”. 

The image they had was this type of character from shonen manga (why always shonen LOL) that is super lazy, doesn’t look strong, but actually can do a lot of things and is super strong ONCE he stops being lazy. The dynamic with MC is like a “nosey class rep and a lazy troublemaker”

Ayakoi’s cast have a number of people with mature, big brotherly characteristics, but Kuya has a more “smart younger brother” vibes. He’s a bit careless, but not obnoxiously so, and that’s what makes him cute. 

He shines in the first Ayakoi event, the autumn one, where he encouraged the girl who’s looking for a script. He is a kind person after all. In the Dawn routes, Aoi and Kuya also butt heads over differing approach, but they can still understand where the other is coming from because they can understand the good heart behind it.

Kuya really likes ice cream and Ouji’s omelette rice. Writer is like “hehe did I overdo it with the food?” 

(I really hope this gets translated someday BTW... these Behind the Scenes are almost like personal blog posts by the writer and artist, so it’s really better to see a direct translation of how excited and adorable the staff are being)

[masterjedilenawrites]

Jedi: What songs are on their playlist?

Anakin 

“Semi-Charmed Life” -Third Eye Blind

“Short Skirt / Long Jacket” -Cake

“Highway to Hell” -AC/DC

Ahsoka

“Troublemaker” -Weezer

“Despacito” -Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee

“I Am The Best” -2NE1

Rey

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” -Nirvana

“Sandstorm” -Darude

“My Way” -Frank Sinatra

Obi-Wan

“Monday, Monday” -The Mamas & The Papas

“Livin' la Vida Loca” -Ricky Martin

“One” -Three Dog Night

Yoda

“Jump Around” -House of Pain

“Africa” -TOTO

“Non, je ne regrette rien” -Edith Piaf

Luke

“Old Town Road” -Lil Nas X

“Roxanne” -The Police

“Barracuda” -Heart

Mace

“Low Rider” -War

“Feel Good Inc” -Gorillaz

“Policy of Truth” -Depeche Mode

Qui-Gon

“Only Time” -Enya

“Trouble Man” -Marvin Gaye

“Beautiful Day” -U2

[zaruba-needslove]

Shit posting first.... because this cracks me out a lot and I need to release my amusement. lol. Or else I can’t stop looking at this and laugh like crazy lol. (Totally love the fact that Giseok was practically labelled as Vinny’s ultimate fanboy lol)

That aside... can’t help feeling MIGHTY familiar about this. I mean.... there’s a Fiery Priest version of this before. Which is JUST as amazing wwwww

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

I love Park Jaebum 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Anyway, it’s nice to finally find out about the other Geumga people’s secret pasts lol. Like... no wonder most of them turned out to be good at fighting. Which also explain the scene from first episode on how Ms Kwak kept randomly box her son to discipline her son and why she hate it that he smoke in secret. Also why Chef Toto had the air of a ‘ruffian’ suddenly changing his life path to open a restaurant.

No actually... almost all of the Geumga residents had the air of them being some troublemaking people trying to awkwardly hide their pasts and live ‘decently’. Which is funny since that explain why having Park and his ‘kids’ trying to set up their travel agency in Geumga Plaza didn’t feel so weird anymore cos that’s basically THE identity that all of the resident have in common.

In retrospect, this makes me look at Jipuragi a bit differently now. Cos now I had the image of Hong Yu-Chan being this caretaker for all these troublesome ‘kids’ lol

[neonbutchery]

TRILOGY APPRECIATION WEEK — day five: maxlio banis

posting this a little bit late than usual, but this post is for all the turian fans that follow me. i still haven’t figured out how to draw them spiky metal birds, but here’s my humble attempt.

this is maxlio banis, but nearly everyone calls him max or dad when they start realizing he’s become a father figure to them. he’s a fifty-year-old childless man who is the parental figure you never had but deserved and who unironically calls you stuff like “sport” and “champ”. also he’s one of those men who go fishing and has pictures taken of him holding huge fishes.

(art by eageali!)

despite all that life has thrown at him, he has a heart of gold and remains a kind person among the criminal underbelly of the terminus systems. he grew up in a turian pacifist colony that had split from the hierarchy’s military doctrine before it was attacked when he was eleven, after the first contact war, and he and his siblings lost his parents in the incident. max was sent into foster care and soon became a troublemaker who eventually, ended up joining the blue suns in order to get away from the system. however, after the reaper war, he realized it had been a mistake and went freelance. he works as a pilot, transporting cargo from system to system. 

max mostly likes fishing, those nature magazines, and whatever the turian equivalent of dad rock is. he’d probably have africa by toto on a loop if he were human. or just has it on loop, because africa by toto is probably canon in the mass effect universe. he calls his ship, the aurora, a she, and it’s probably his one true love. i have to draw it someday because it’s just like your dad’s car but it can fly across star systems. he’s also really good at grilling.

you can learn more about max in his oc tag!

[theothermercedesdriver]

Ranking Photos of Pronto Binotto In Honor of His Birthday

How old is he? Who knows. Between -5 and 78,000.

10.

What the f*** is this? Why does he look like a high school principal taking a goodbye photo with the school troublemakers? The vest, the lighting, the total lack of coordination... no. Just no.

9.

Poor Mick looks so threatened by this Ghost of Christmas Future clasping his shoulder. I like that they’re matching but Binotto’s smile looks forced and I don’t adore either cardigan.

8.

Classic. A little dry, a little boring, but getting better because at least they’re looking professional in the Ferrari red. However, neither driver look like they want to touch Mattia at all and WHY does Seb look so much younger than Charles?

7.

I’ve never seen Charles look more akward. The boy wants to SPRINT tf out of here. Mattia’s pose is a little too friendly (and borderline dominant), but I like that his expression seems genuine. I also appreciate the intimidation factor and the fact that submissive Charles has clearly bowed to his overlord’s presence.

6.

A soft Binotto. He’s alone, but this is more emotion than I’ve ever seen the man express, and I appreciate that. He reminds me of a turtle in an alarmingly adorable way. I would accept more shots of him like this.

5.

A wholesome selfie by two Dads. This appeals to me more because it has Toto, which automatically makes it 10000% better. However, Mattia should be smiling and I wish they had included Guenther or Cyril. I bet they feel left out :(

4.

A genuinely decent photo. They’re all smiling, all looking very nice in formal Ferrari attire, and somehow this is even a flattering angle for Mattia? Is that possible? The only thing I don’t like is that I can’t see where his hand is on Charles and I don’t love that.

3.

First, I LOVE the color coordination. Very nice. I also love the height difference between the three, I feel it really expresses who is in control here. I also like how this photo looks like the promo for next HBO sitcom about three brothers who are all wildly different, but learn to stick together through the power of family. I have no issues with this pic, and Charles’s expression is the biggest mood I’ve ever seen.

2.

This photo is stellar only because it’s the one photo where Binotto himself looks threatened. Perhaps it’s Seb’s natural power, perhaps it’s the neck beard, who knows.. But I love how vaguely disturbing Seb looks as he grins madly into the face of his captor. Excellent.

1.

ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS. The pose. The smile. The presence. The manic energy emanating from this photo is beyond insane. Just look at Charles. That’s fear, right there. Binotto has finally morphed into his final form, a gleeful spirit of chaos, and I couldn’t love this photo more.

[fairykukla]

All my children part 3

Tiny troublemakers!

"Hey! The big kids are gone! Avengers Assemble!"

"Icky, I thought you were Batman?

"Yeah, you're making Marvel references now?"

Here's Bogie (Spark from The Mushroom Peddler), Icky (Goodreau Critter), and my Impling (Silverbeam's Magic) who needs a name.

Thimblina says, "You're not the only ones with wings around here. Ooh, a chaise!"

She's a Bonbon from Sleeping Elf/Tinybear.

"Did someone fall an assembly?" Pucker runs up on foot.

"Yeah, Icky is trying to be Iron Man and Batman at the same time."

"I am not. I'm Captain America."

Zipper whispers to Spool, "And he thinks he's George Washington, too."

"Spool!"

Here we include Bobbin (Daisy Dates Moth), Zipper (Island Leshy), Spool (Fairyland Kaka), Crikey (The mushroom Peddler), and Apple Pucker (Goodreau Critter Sid).

"Hi there everyone.. uh... I'm new?"

"Oh, hey there Thistle! Come sit by me," said Icky.

Thistle is a Ringdoll Ming.

The sea creatures join in. Sassy (Obitsu), Ringo (Silverbeam Octoboy), and Uyoo (Soom).

"Ok, is this everybody?" Icky started counting noses.

"Don't forget ME!!" Barb the bat flapped her way onto Icky's chair. (@nyxyscreations Luna)

"Ahem!" Scotti the dog stands in front. "You almost forgot Chartreuse and I."

"Rude!" Says Charie.

Both are Goodreau critters, Toto and Sid, respectively.

Here they are! All my Tinies! They're all so darned cute...

"Don't forget ME!" Twinkle is visiting from my Mom's house.

"None of you would be here if it weren't for me!"

Crikey says, "I thought Icky was the first one?"

"Uh, sort of?" Icky looked embarrassed. "I arrived at the same time as Twinkle."

"You stowed away with me, you mean!"

Now now, kiddos. My Mom and I won Twinkle in a Goodreau photo contest, and Paulette offered me a second doll so we could each enjoy one. I specifically asked for Icky the Bat. So you are equals, ok?

"I'm still the reason why the rest of these guys are here!"

Ok, Twinkle. You're the "first".

[springsteenicious]

Somebody probably beat me to this, but can we get a basic list of family trees + maybe some basic character outlines?

You're the first to ask! And yes! I've done something similar with Picrews (found in the kid fic tag), but this is a more straightforward run-down.

This is... a lot, so here we go:

The Burkhart-Hydes

Cassiopeia (Born December 15, 1984) - Loves music, pretty cheerful, good fighter, protective of her siblings as the eldest, pansexual, strong bond with WB

Nicholas ((Nicky)) (Born February 14, 1986) - Perpetually excited, pretty popular at school, athletic and on the soccer team, shares Jackie's music taste, gay, best friends with Nancy Forman (See below)

Rosanna (Born August 19, 1988) - trans girl (born male, birth name is Ben, transitioned at 15), named herself after the TOTO song, smartest of her siblings, has kind of a mean demeanor but she's actually really nice

Patti (Born August 19, 1988) - the baby of the family even though she's only a few minutes younger than Rosanna, dresses in bright colors and has a bubbly personality, listens to grunge and hard rock and intense music, loves baking, will listen to Pantera while making pink frosted cupcakes

The Kelsos

Betsy (duh) (Born sometime in 1979 I forget) - Has really bad eyesight (nearsighted), super funny, lesbian, smart in terms of facts and school-related stuff but not the smartest in terms of common sense, sarcastic

Tommy (Born July 23, 1982) - born completely deaf, really sweet to everyone except his siblings (big sibling rivalry thing between him and Max), loves to read, writes out what he wants to say when he can't sign it fast enough, gets really excited about things he passionate about, named after the album by the Who

Max (Born December 15, 1984) - birthday buddies and close friends with Cassie, plays bass guitar, polyamorous but heterosexual, kind of a fuckboy in late high school and college, not the best at school but kind of smart

The Formans

Nancy (Born September 12, 1985) - quiet, shy girl, fights for equal rights, plays flute, writes poetry, has social anxiety, has lots of righteous anger over social issues, loves listening to showtunes

Robbie (Born June 4, 1988) - super dorky (Star Trek and Star Wars mostly), athletic, close with Red, troublemaker along with Rosanna and Mari (see below)

Mari (Born November 24, 1987) - Laurie's only child, conceived during a one night stand and Laurie didn't ever tell the father, nonbinary and very close with Rosanna due to them both being trans, not athletic at all, creative

Technically, Fez has no kids, but he, Kelso and Brooke consider the Kelso kids to be his as well. He's in a poly relationship with Kelso and Brooke in this story, so the three of them end up raising the three kids.

[thecodeisveronica]

Hola Issu :3 Mayhaps Joseph or Billy for the character ask? 💖

I’ll do both for ya ness ;)

How I feel about them:

Billy: !!!!! I LOVE BILLY AND I MISS HIM!! WHERE IS HE CAPCOM??!! Billy is such an underrated character and he deserves so much more love! Playing through 0, I really enjoyed his character and interactions with Becca. At first he seems like this cool, kinda stand-offish prisoner dude but it becomes obvious that he’s very capable of feeling and he has such an aura about him. The fact that he disobeyed orders from his squad leader without question shows his sense of justice and compassion towards other people — honestly the fact that he was on death row really makes me sad ok? The poor dude deserves nothing but love ;-; 💞 I also just loved watching his relationship with Becca flourish. The two went through a lot together and seeing their trust slowly build was super sweet. (When she took his dog-tags 🥺)

Joseph Frost: MY BOY!!! JOEY!! Omg I love my S.T.A.R.S. boys so much ;-; Ok, so I love Jospeh with my whole being and I have A LOT of headcanons. Right, I see Joe as a joker, a troublemaker but also a high-spirited and optimistic guy. The dude was canonically ex-navy seal AND fought in the gulf war when he was around 19-20 so he probably had to go through so much 😔 Despite all the things he saw, he still kept his cheerfulness which is shown by his bond with Chris and Forest (AKA best boys). Headcanon time: he was totally hot-headed and threatened with being dismissed SO many times thanks to the way he dealt with things 😬 But that’s part of his personality and I love him for it 💕💕 Lemme tell you I am holding back a lot but the amount of headcanons I have for Joey would literally create a whole essay.

The people I romantically ship with them:

Billy: Myself. Becca but I love their friendship just as much! Their dynamic just works so well in a lot of different ways. Kind of a crack ship but him and Leon would be super interesting 👀👀

Joey: Also myself. Poor dude didn’t last long enough 😭 Althoughhhh, I get the feeling he was probably a bit of a player (friendly though!) and had a lotta one night stands. I can see him with a guy or gal who likes mechanics and Toto (just like him) or maybe he’s just happy with messing around lmao :P

My non-romantic OTP for them:

Billy: Becca again :D I JUST LOVE THEM TOGETHER SO MUCH!!! I can’t remember fully but I think in the S.D. Perry novels he was actually connected with Chris so I can totally see them getting on. (I LOVE THE AU WHERE BILLY’S IN S.T.A.R.S. 😭)

Joey: This one is a no-brainer. Chris and Forest. Those lads were a troublesome trio and I live for it 😌🤚

My unpopular opinions on them:

Billy: Yikes, no idea honestly skdkdjdk

Joey: He is one of the best S.T.A.R.S. members I don’t make the rules.

One thing I wish would happen:

Billy: I WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN. PLEASE! I NEED TO SEE MY MAN! Hopefully in Rev 3 or something like that 😔 I miss him so much it hurtsssss

Joey: I wish he had never died so I can hug him and tell him how much I love him ☹️ (also want a prequel with him in 👁👁)

Handsome lads 🥺💕