#volo did a good thing for once.

[lostonehero]

So let's skip forward in the story. *note I haven't written shit down , so uhhhhh here.

Uhhh clear some stuff up apocalypse happened way in the future Emmet was sent to the future

Pokemon exist in the future however they are so removed from present day pokemon its hard to tell

Ingo was sent to the past

Volo can only recall so much from his beginnings he can if he tried but he doesn't care to unless it has to do with his kid or grandkids

Ingo arrived back into the present a year before Emmet returned

The twins need names I'm thinking something to do with mechanics

Emmet holds his severed arm in the air in triumph sparks, fling off the bolts fused into his neck. He turns to the elmolga he found and used as a super charge in his hat. "Thanks, familiar friend. We made it to the paradise zone."

The twins rush behind Emmet and catch him before he collapses to the ground.

"Conductor Emmet is burned out." One says

"He skidded out, going straight for a week." The other says

The twins are identical

The blonde hair man sighed as the smoke cleared. He squinted, spotting a man identical to Emmet. "Girls take Emmet to Lisa now." He looks over as the twins drag Emmet to the train like pokemon? Nobody really knew.

Volo holds his hand up. "Girls leave Emmet there and come to my side. I think it's a history lesson time."

The twins together. "Oh boy, we love story time."

"No, not story. This is history. Whatever gets me the iron thread and my needle, I have to stitch that arm back on."

.......skip the confusion and chaos, and Volo is sitting in Lisa Emmet in his lap out cold as he stitches the arm together it reattached by itself. Volo just wants an extra precatioun......

"Now what I want from you." He points at Ingo. "A shower, geez, I haven't even seen a warm one in like 200 years, I'm lucky if we can do a fire barrel on a good day." He sighs and clicks his tongue. "Girls, be careful they aren't infected. The infection is well over 5000 years away."

"Explain." Ingos loud stern voice makes the twins flinch and hide behind Lisa.

Volo sighs. "Be nice to them they're kids. But alright, so about uhhhh, let's say 600 Years ago, the tensions between Paldea and Kalos started to get out of control, so well I don't know which created which but both were man-made no pokemon were used in this devastation." He sighs as the twins come back around to listen.

"And well, one was called nuclear bombs, and the other was a man made super virus, I don't exactly know who threw the first punch, but it dragged everyone into it. Nobody was spared no region no pokemon no person everyone was effected." He smiles as his twins giggle as he finishes Emmet's arm and starts to use the metal thread as a teaching tool.

"So everything was a mess for a long while, legends fled well, most of them left to a different world to start over. This trapped to the land, or those who wanted to help rebuild were changed and rebuilt. The wave bringer and molten earth resurrected their favorite champions to be helpers they were affected by the virus, but they are quite friendly and help me recall the past. They're the twins' uncle's. Anyhow, other legends were changed into different beasts reverted to basic instincts people crowded around them as idols and gods built settlements around them. And the rest wonder the lands the merged dragons split for Emmet it was quite the site." He pauses and waves his hands.

"I'm getting off tracked, so settlements and villages were built 100s years later, and well, that's when it gets messy." He frowns. "Infected aka the ones that show the most non-human features are forced out only pure humans are allowed in the biggest settlements, and well if you're found out that you are well infected or at the very least different you are killed or abandoned left to die. The twins' mother was asymptomatic and infected, so she easily was welcomed into the city. The twins when born weren't...."

The twins hold onto each other

"I found newborn twin girls in the outskirts of the settlement, and I took them." He smiles softly. "Uh, right infected, what are they? Well, the virus combined with the fallout, so technically, everyone in the present or future is infected, but there are a couple types. The feral , these are complete monsters who eat and maimed anything alive they have no familiar human shape. The confused they are teetering on the edge of feral, they have a humanlike shape, but they only understand basic commands and are like a pet or a guard. Hollows a mesh of more than one infected cults form around them and try to get other infected parts or them entirely to add to the monstrosity.... these are rare and normally just become feral or kill themselves. I've only seen one who accepted the cult." He shudders

"Anyway, there are others, but uhhhhh, I'll tell two more. The twins are born infected, so they will grow old and eventually die. They have abnormal partsThey can survive the worst of the wasteland and are excellent fighters. However, they have limits. Uh and then Emmet which is rare in itself only saw them at the beginning of this and even then only a handful are left and I can count on one hand that haven't turned feral or started a settlement, and became a ruler. He's a turned, which is rare that he didn't lose his mind, and he can control his form, which is even rarer, the Uh bolts in his neck are a great way to track if he'll lose control but we have manged to get him stable after he is quite scary. Off topic again, sorry. Uh, here. " He holds up Emmet who is dead to the world. Soft snores come from his mouth.

He is shirtless, showing off his scars that are horrifying in themselves. He's also so skinny, like starving skinny. He turns him around to show round black bumps with a sliver end to them 3 down each side of his spine and a long tail that seems to have a metal end to it.

"These are his weapons or extra appendages. He has others, but he has to be awake and willing to show them. The black circle bumps extend into tendrils, and the silver parts harden into blades. His tail is like a lightning rod and catches any electricity." He places Emmet down to lay in his lap where he cuddles up. "However, since he is a turned, he won't age past the day he was infected and stay that way till he's killed."

[mossy-rock-in-a-field]

Several weeks ago, my retirement-age mother requested that I play Baldur’s Gate 3 for her because she has trouble with controllers/keyboards and wanted “to see what all the fuss is about with that cute wizard boy.” For context, my mother and I have done this sort of thing in the past with certain RPGs (dragon age, mass effect, etc.), but it’s been a few years since she’s personally requested a game like this. Basically, I control her Tav but let her make all the choices so she can determine how the story plays out without worrying about mechanics. She treats it like a choose-your-own-adventure book.

Anyway, here is a list of some of the things my mother has said and/or chosen to do throughout the course of BG3 in no particular order:

She is (obviously) romancing Gale. She is quite smitten with him and his passion for books and learning; she also thinks he’s polite and qualifies as “relationship material.” She also REALLY likes the things he’s said about his cat so far (my mom is a cat lady), so I know she’s gonna flip shit when we meet Tara in Act III.

She’s playing a normal druid Tav with a generally good alignment. Her favorite spell is Spike Growth because she thinks it’s hilarious whenever enemies walk into the AOE and die. I usually end up having to cast it at least once per battle per her request. Sometimes twice.

Contrary to her alignment, my mother tasks me with robbing every single chest, crate, barrel, and burlap sack we come across; this also includes people and their pockets. The party is always at max carrying capacity. ALWAYS. She doesn’t like selling things because “what if I need them.” The camp stash is in literal shambles. There is no hope of organizing it. She’s got like fifty seven sets of rags and a billion pieces of random silverware.

She MUST talk to every animal and corpse in the game. I think five hours of her total playtime so far (47ish) has been spent speaking to animals as many times as humanly possible. Like, I was thorough in my own playthroughs, but this is on a whole other level.

She did NOT get Volo’s lobotomy, but she did let Auntie Ethel take her eye in hopes of a cure for the tadpole. I did not understand the logic then. I still do not understand it now.

She is far more interested in fashion than equipment stats. Do you have any idea how much gold I’ve had to spend on dyes just to make things match? SO much. Same vibe as that “please someone help me balance my finances my family is starving” tweet but instead of candles it’s thirty thousand fucking bottles of black and furnace red dye.

We broke the prisoners out of Moonrise, but they got on the boat too early and bugged the fight by leaving Astarion and Karlach behind. Wulbren Bongle somehow got stuck in combat mode even after engaging the cutscene on the docks below Last Light; he he kept trying to run ALL THE WAY BACK TO MOONRISE nine fucking meters at a time while I frantically tried to finish the fight with the Warden, otherwise Wulbren would have run straight into the shadow curse. (I would’ve let him go; fuck Wulbren Bongle, all my homies hate Wulbren Bongle. But my mom didn’t know that, and she wanted to keep him safe. So.)

She had me reload a save like eighteen times to save the giant eagles on top of Rosymorn Monastery. Wouldn’t even let me do non-lethal damage just to get past things. I think getting that warhammer for the dawnmaster puzzle took us like an hour and a half alone. (Yes, I know you can use any warhammer, but SHE didn’t.)

She’s started keeping an irl notebook to keep track of her quests between play sessions. She writes down ideas and strategies when she thinks of them during the week, then brings them to her next game session at my house. I think she wrote about three pages on possible approaches to the goblin fortress alone.

She insists that I pet Scratch and the owlbear cub before every single long rest, no exceptions. Sometimes I have to do it multiple times until she is absolutely sure that the animals know exactly how much she loves and cherishes them. She has also commissioned a crocheted owlbear plush from a friend of hers and is very excited.

I’m sure there’s a bunch of stuff I’m forgetting, but those are some fun things I thought of. She’s enjoying the game and is telling all of her retired friends to get it and play it for themselves. She asked me “what is Discord” yesterday and I think my life flashed before my eyes.

anyway shout out to my mom for being neat

Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5

[cambion-companion]

Here’s ya girl who has gone completely feral over astarion. He’s the babiest baby. Okay, here’s the prompt. My characterisation could be a bit (or a lot lol) off bc I haven’t played the game Y E T so feel free to change the things that seem OOC.

Established relationship, but the beginnings of it, on a mission to find a way for astarion to be in the sun again. Reader has given astarion time to work on his sexual trauma so they haven’t been having sex for some time. Reader is 100% ok w that. But they have a big argument over something (not related to sex) and astarion doesn’t know how to resolve the situation other than reverting back to his seductive artifice and using sex as a way to ensure his safety (in this case, emotional safety). Reader figures it out because they (or she) are not dumb. They reassure astarion and he lets himself be vulnerable but also, it turns out that astarion wants that sexual intimacy. But reader decides this will be all about astarion and making him feel good and loved. Body worship, astarion’s praise kink, just everything focused on astarion’s pleasure in a way he has never experienced and that makes him completely unravel once he comes. Not a subby reader, tho. You know me, I don’t do subby.

If this is too long of a prompt, just the sexy part will be ok. Thank you so much, i have such astarion brainrot DDDD:

I Want to Live

word count: 1700

gn!reader x Astarion | Baldur's Gate 3 fanfic | 18+ only

"I don't think we should use the tadpoles for anything, Astarion." You put your hands on your hips, glaring at the sulky Elf in front of you.

This tense conversation between the two of you had gone on far longer than you'd have liked. Astarion seemed insistent on using whatever advantage the Illithids had unintentionally given your party. Despite not yet knowing the implications of doing so.

Astarion's silver hair glinted in the firelight that warmed your back, his eyes shone like droplets of blood. "You might as well leave me alone, spoilsport." He waved an imperious hand in your direction, sneering at you in the way he knew would hurt you most. "Since you insist on being boring and unimaginative."

You ground your teeth. "I'm trying to keep us safe."

"And a fine job you're doing, my sweet." His lilting voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Why don't you ask Arabella how her parents are doing?" He paused, then feigned surprise. "Oh wait..."

Your eyes widened as a jolt of genuine pain lanced through your heart at his callous words. Astarion was aiming to do damage and, like always, he knew how to push your buttons.

Magic sparked at the end of your fingertips as you fought to control your rage. It was the lack of verbal response that alerted Astarion to the fact he might have pushed a little too far with you. His face almost looked regretful for a moment, or perhaps it was a trick of the firelight casting shadows across his features. You didn't gain much insight because of the tears blurring your vision as you quickly turned away and strode as far away from the vampire spawn as you could.

Shadowheart, who always seemed to overhear everything, cast a worried glance your direction before leveling a glare on Astarion who still watched after you with a blank look.

You sat yourself upon your bedroll before the campfire and listened to Volo squeakily tune his lute. Wyll and Gale were over by their tents chatting and Lae'zel sat on a boulder by the river sharpening her sword.

You had thought Astarion would understand and perhaps even agree with you, and the rest of the camp for that matter, that the parasites should not be utilized to gain control of other beings. It was convenient and downright useful, yes...but not worth an unknown cost.

You had thought...since that night when the two of you had become intimate...that he'd maybe come to care for you. But that jab about Arabella's parents, who you'd failed to save, only confirmed that the vampire did not have your best interests at heart.

Sighing, you moved your bedroll away from its usual place beside Astarion's and arranged it next to where Karlach slept. You could feel multiple pairs of eyes watching you move about but you didn't much care at the moment.

Karlach gave you a curious and concerned look as she came over and got comfortable for the night. "Are you alright? I could hear you and Astarion going at it...and not in the fun way."

You grunted and moved your body to the side so you could scrape out a rock that had been digging into your back. "It's fine. He's just an ass." You said these words loud enough for him to hear.

Karlach shrugged and nodded as if this were common knowledge. She gave you a jolting pat on the back before getting comfortable in her own bedroll.

As the breathing patterns of your companions slowly deepened in slumber, you could not find any rest. You tossed and turned as best you could in such primitive sleeping arrangements. You missed your bed back in Baldur's Gate above the taproom of the Shadowcat Claw, the familiar bustle of voices and a mug of ale in your belly lulling you to sleep. Out in this wilderness, with the thought of your argument with Astarion tugging at your thoughts...you had to get up.

As quietly as you could, you slid out of your bedroll and got to your feet. A quick observation of your companions told you they were all in a deep sleep. All except Lae'zel who sat on the boulder still, keeping silent watch. She nodded at you curtly as you passed and didn't ask any questions, for which you were grateful.

You crept through the foliage down to the place in the forest by the river where you and Astarion had had your midnight tryst. You could still feel his moonlight hair running through your fingers, his fangs on your neck as you arched it just for him. The trust...you thought you had at least earned a little bit of his trust.

"I thought I'd find you here." His voice was velvet, it shivered straight through your defenses to your heart.

"I wanted to be alone, Astarion." You tried to keep your own voice cool and collected, but you ached to hold him in your arms again.

Astarion had followed you from the campsite into the woods. He'd been fully aware of your restlessness, of course he had. He entered your line of sight now, looking very much like a cat stalking its prey. His ruby eyes were dark and trained on your face. "Come now, you're far too obvious for all this bluster. Do you not want to feel me again?" He gave you a crooked smile, showing his teeth. "A second taste, perhaps?"

You felt the hollowness of his words and saw the carefully arranged expression he wore like a mask. Beneath the facade you could make out the telltale twitch of a facial muscle, the tenseness of his eyes, indicating anxiety.

You sighed. "I thought we were passed these games."

"Games?" Astarion's tongue flicked out to wet his lips. "Games are all part of the fun, my dear. So good at getting the blood pumping."

You folded your arms. "I want an apology."

This tripped him up. For a moment the facade slipped, and he seemed genuinely taken aback. "Apologize?" Then he was back to his usual bluster. "Me? Apologize for what?"

"For having a go at me today. Bringing up Arabella's parents when you know how upset I am about it." Astarion made a noise as if to speak but you cut across him. "That was cruel, Astarion, and I deserve better from you."

"I didn't..." Astarion sighs heavily, his eyes glancing down to the ground then back at your face. "I apologize." The words seemed to pain him in some way. "I wanted to get a rise out of you, that's all. Now let's forget about that and have some fun."

You raised an unimpressed eyebrow, saying nothing, simply watching his face lit in the silver moonlight. His unconvincing grin slowly slipped off his face, a troubled frown replacing it. The two of you looked at each other for a long moment. Finally, you spoke.

"You're testing how much I care for you, aren't you?" Your voice was soft, almost inaudible over the rippling stream.

Astarion seemed momentarily taken aback, he seemed to consider taking shelter once more behind his mask of pompous indifference. But then his shoulder's slumped slightly, the fists at his sides loosened. That was all the answer you needed.

You stepped forward and placed your hands around his, tugging him closer. He did not resist, his footfalls light as ever as he drew near. Close enough to feel his breath warm your lips.

"I care about you, Astarion." Your voice was still soft amidst the rustling leaves and sparkling water. "I discourage you from using the tadpole's powers because I couldn't bear to see your will overtaken by yet another monster."

Astarion was silent for a long time, his scarlet eyes turned silver as a moonbeam fell across his pallid face. When he spoke, his voice sounded strained. "What if it's too late for me? To be anything other than a monster? My only choice is which one." He laughs forcefully, bitterness twisting his mouth.

"I won't let that happen." You encircled him tenderly in a hug, pulling him to rest flush against your body. "We're in this...together."

"Together." The word was echoed back to you, his voice framing the syllables as if it were a foreign tongue.

You turned your face into him and kissed his neck softly, feeling his body tense in your arms and then slowly relax. You kept your lips against his skin, over where Cazador had sunk his fangs all those centuries ago.

Astarion's hands slowly slid up your hips to rest against your lower back as he held you close. Your lips caressed his neck, throat and trailed up to his jaw until you pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. "I love you." You murmured.

You felt him tense again, not pushing you away, but his hands tightened on your back. "I..." Astarion hesitated. "I'm not quite ready to say those words back to you, my dear."

"I know." You felt no anger, no hurt. You accepted him however he wished to come to you, grateful for this rare moment of vulnerability beneath the stars.

You pushed him back gently until his back made contact with the base of a large sycamore tree. A huff of air left his lungs, quickly claimed by your mouth as you kissed him hungrily this time. Your hands made quick work of his clothing and Astarion became eager to help the process along.

"Vixen." He murmured and you laughed against his lips, your tongues teasing each other.

"You're beautiful, Astarion." You held his face in your hands and kissed his mouth lightly, not allowing him to turn away even as the compliment made his eyes search yours for hints of disingenuity. "I want nothing from you in return." You said firmly, reading his emotional turmoil through your shared Illithid connection. "This is just for you." You kissed his mouth, his cheek, his forehead. "To keep."

Astarion's head fell back to rest against the tree trunk as you continued lavishing affection upon him. He moaned your name softly to the night sky as you slowly sunk to your knees before him, the dirt and rocks digging unheeded against your knees. His fingers twisted in your hair and guided you to where he wanted you most.

"Good, my love." You praised him, your words causing his body to shake with increasing pleasure. "Show me."

The night was long and full of bliss. A genuine exchange of pleasure, without the previous facades and plays at affection. You felt the change as surely as he did, and when the others awoke in the morning it was to find your bedroll pulled back right next to where Astarion lay curled against you.

~

"You owe me five gold, Shadowheart." Gale mumbled.

[awesomechocolatesauce]

"Y'all would really kick babies just so Astarion would approve."

Um...no? Do you realize you don't have to be pure evil to get him to like you?

I'm over here playing my bard as a chaotic good/neutral little shit and I gained his approval REAL fast in Act 1:

I screamed "BAAA" at the redcaps

Defended Karlach against Wyll, and then later Mizora

Told Kagha "I just wanted to see what would happen" after saving Arabella from her

Fed the Owlbear cub and later pet him

Shouted "Boo!" at Volo's singing

Threw dung in a goblin's face after he tried to get me to rub it on my face

Intimidated another goblin to kiss my foot after he tried to get me to do it to him

Refused to accept Raphael's help upon first meeting him

Let him bite me

Listened to him talk about Cazador and offered my support

Let the Laviatar worshipper beat me

And I did all of that before I even encountered the Gur monster hunter that's tracking him, found the necromancy book that I ended up giving to him, or started his romance. I didn't even do all of these before his approval was in the High range. Not once did I hurt an innocent person.

It's really not unheard of to follow the "good" path and still have him like you. Granted, he does call you "a bit naive in the ways of the world" later on in Act 2, but at that point, he still respects the hell out of you.

No doubt that there are some players who would do cruel things to get Astarion's approval early on, but not all of us.

[lucky-clover-gazette]

(for the request thing) sometimes i wonder how Volo would feel/react if someone (like arceus’s chosen 👀) took a blow for him from a wild Pokemon or another person. From his perspective, Volo doesn’t have anyone in Hisui that cares about his wellbeing, and the game alludes to him having a troubled and lonely past, and with him having planned on erasing all life in Hisui in pursuit of his desires, would he feel guilt if someone showed him a level of care that would make them sacrifice their safety for his, when he was ready to potentially sacrifice them for his own sake when it came to Arceus?

(also wanna say ive loved your fics on Ao3, so talented <3)

(also on ao3)

You really prefer not to die in front of other people.

The edges of your vision darken as you shove Volo aside, taking the full force of the Alpha Vespiqueen’s attack. You manage the subdue your attacker with a well-aimed sticky glob and ultra ball, but not before suffering an undoubtedly fatal blow.

The consummate merchant comes to you at once, leaning over your fallen body with an oddly indecipherable expression. Usually Volo is abundantly obvious with his feelings, whether he’s passionately rambling about ruins or earnestly praising your efforts as the hero of Hisui. But the man you see now, as your vision begins to blur, simply stares.

“Caught it,” you brag.

His grey eyes widen slightly. You haven’t shared this with him, but you’ve always found them rather beautiful.

“You shouldn’t have…”

“Saved you?” you ask with a dry chuckle. “That’s why I’m here, remember?”

Volo furrows his brow. Reaches out to touch you, then pulls his hand back.

“I sincerely apologize,” he tells you, bowing his head. “If you are to perish in these circumstances, you deserve to know—”

You die and can’t hear the rest.

And then you open your eyes.

You stand on your feet now, in the last place you felt safe before the Pokémon’s attack. Volo still kneels in the distance, seemingly unaware that your body has been replaced by a fallen satchel containing your entire supply of ultraballs, a fire stone, and exactly four medicinal leeks.

You frown. This is going to be awkward.

“Hey, buddy,” you say, coming up carefully behind him. Volo’s back goes rigid at the sound of your voice, his head turning around at once.

“You—you!!”

You rub the back of your neck, sheepish. “Surprise?”

“You died!” Volo exclaims with an accusatory finger-point. “I just saw—” His head swivels to the satchel on the ground, then he turns back to you. “How?”

You sigh and sit down beside him. “Chosen One perk. I die, Arceus says my work isn’t finished yet, I get another shot. It happened for the first time when I fought Lord Kleavor. I had no idea what I was doing, and it took like a dozen tries before I got good.”

Volo looks horrified. “You’ve died a dozen times?”

“Of course not!”

“Then why—”

“My death count’s definitely in the triple digits now. Lord Arcanine was ten times worse than Kleavor, because of all the fire and bullshit arena. At least Lady Liligant was a total pushover.”

“Did it not hurt?” demands Volo, his face growing noticeably pale.

“Oh, it totally hurt,” you admit. “But somebody’s got to deal with it, and I’m the only one around here who’s been made invulnerable by God.”

Volo looks as if he’s been slapped. You suppose that’s fair, considering the shock of witnessing your death and resurrection. But to you, this really is just another Tuesday.

“I know it’s disturbing,” you sigh, putting a hand on his shoulder. His muscles are tense. “That’s why I try my best to make sure people aren’t around to see it. Just easier that way, you know?”

Volo wears another unreadable expression.

“Sucks to lose a satchel, though,” you say, lightly. “Thanks for keeping an eye on it. Without witnesses, I usually lose some of my stuff. Never the plates, though, don’t worry.”

He still looks lost in his thoughts, which is no good. You don’t know how to explain that this happens all the time, for much less important reasons than protecting your favorite person on Hisui. The pain is a small price to pay for his safety, and you’d readily pay it again.

“I thought you died,” Volo eventually says. “Saving my life.”

You elbow him playfully. “I guess Arceus is looking out for you too.”

His expression darkens. “No.”

“No?”

He looks you dead in the eyes, with a different sort of intensity than you’ve come to expect from the eccentric wanderer. “Under an unjust god, endless life is endless pain. Do you truly wish that for yourself? For the world?”

Distantly, you wonder what exactly Volo had thought you deserved to know before your presumed demise. You have a feeling he’s not going to tell you now.

You offer him a hand. “Well, unless you’ve got a better god laying around somewhere, I think we’re stuck with what we’ve got.” And I like what I’ve got, you absolutely do not tell the merchant. I like that I’m here with you.

Volo still seems distracted, but he takes your hand anyway. “Right,” he mutters, and then smiles. “We live to fight another day.”

You rub your thumb against the side of his hand. “And maybe someday, we won’t have to fight. We’ll have everything we need.”

You can picture it, with him. You wonder, maybe foolishly, if he might feel the same way.

Supporting you is actually an investment in my own fortunes, Volo had told you once.

You would protect him regardless of your personal relationship, of course. Just as you protect the rest of this world. You want things to be better, for everyone, and intend to use your god-given powers to ensure that your dream becomes reality.

Volo nods, his sharp gaze fixed on your joined hands. A chill runs down your spine as he squeezes.

“Yes,” he agrees. “Someday.”

You smile softly.

“I think I can live with that.”

[leggerefiore]

Archer, Volo, and Grimsley reacting to the reader having a crush but not knowing it’s on them? In the mood for some silly miscommunication rn and I’d love to see them all be like “idc who you like haha” (actually cares very much)

I saw ur other ask so I got you lol

cw: confessions, jealousy, misunderstandings

characters: Avery, Archer, Volo, Grimsley

🎩Avery🥄

🔮 When you began seeming more out of it during your times out together, Avery first worried that you were no longer interested in being friends with him. He was fully aware of, while trying to ignore, the way he felt about you. But, it was soon obvious by the way your eyes lingered on your phone that it might be something else. He was quite a bit oblivious, in truth. The idea of you having a romantic interest in anyone did not cross his mind until you plainly said that you did to apologise for your absent nature while being together. For a moment, the psychic screamed in his mind for the abilities that the rest of his family had. Who? Who could you have interest in? He desperately needed to know – his heart raced in response to this, and his laser focus on telekinesis slipped.

🔮 “Well, there is someone I like… They've been on my mind a lot lately,” you told him simply while having tea with him. Avery's glasses could have fogged up from the temperature shift of his, quickly his face warmed. He nodded for a moment, taking in your words. Silently, he pleaded for you to continue on and tell him. For once in his life, he bit his tongue. Part of him desperately wanted to know, while the other half screamed for ignorance. You were too flustered, it seemed. He felt himself slipping. His feelings for you… Were they not obvious? His focus was almost entirely on you – despite his ego, he let you remain at his side so openly (granted, you did often feed said ego with compliments). He tried to think of anyone you could have mentioned that you would have feelings for. He even tried to turn back to telepathy, but he was still quite unable to read minds despite his desperation in that moment.

🔮 Eventually, you spoke again, seeing his intense reaction. His face shifted into an almost pitiful expression. Smiling at him, you shook your head. “I like you, Avery,” sublity was not an art best used on the blond. His slight inferiority complex did not allow for himself to put himself as your first option, despite wanting that most of all. His face became even more mortified for a moment… Pupils shrinking from the shock. Then, he felt his smug expression return. He blinked. Of course, it was him. Who else would it be? All his previous worries flew out the window in the face of this. Instead, he accepted your confession with ease. It was like he was never panicked in the first place. Avery knew everything would end up like this… A Future Sight told him, of course… He will never admit to his immense worry that you had feelings for someone else.

💫Volo📜

⭐️ The merchant is observant of everything. His eyes took note of every little thing – It was part of what made him good at being a salesman and his hobby of history. That eye for detail let him catch on quite quickly to who was a threat to his plans or who was not. You ended up being on the threat side – naturally, since you fell from the sky and seem to just have everything fall into place for you to dismantle everything he worked so hard to create. But, whatever bitter feelings were held mixed horribly with this strange affection in his chest. You were an outsider – like him. You both shared such horrible experiences of being othered. He felt this sick attachment grow deeper and deeper as he spent more time at your side. Your trust… He adored it more than anything. How you looked to him for aid… Which is why he felt himself pause when you suddenly exclaimed that you had feelings for someone.

⭐️ “I… I have this person I love so dearly,” you had told him, while staring into his eyes, “I don't think I can tell them. I doubt they return my feelings…” The first thought in Volo's mind is he certainly hoped they did not return anything you felt. Cruelty meant nothing to him – He did not want anyone else to be with you aside from himself. His new world… His initial intentions to remove you entirely had shifted into keeping you at his side. That was your place. It was with his usual amicable facade that he smiled at you and inquired simply into who that might be. He could give you advice, he claimed. He was familiar with a lot of different people, after all. You refused, saying it was too embarrassing. Volo sighed. Forcing you to admit it might ruin the precious trust he worked so hard to build with you.

⭐️ He then found himself stewing on it for days. Who? Who could it be? The Diamond Clan leader? He always seemed popular. That professor? It was unlikely, but he supposed not impossible. He found himself following you more often, trying to figure it out. Nothing came to him. Who could it be? It was rare that something was so well hidden from him. How could your supposed romantic interest be more elusive than Arceus itself? It was maddening. That was, until you caught yourself alone with him again. You shifted uncomfortably before declaring your feelings… for him. “I… I like you, Volo!” Those words… He felt taken aback for a moment before he could not help but chuckle. Of course… Right… He happily reciprocated your feelings. This was how it should be, after all.

♠️Grimsley❤️

♤ The gambler would consider himself a master of reading people. You, in particular, were an easy read for him due to your closeness. He understood you well. Which is why he noticed quite quickly when your behaviour shifted. It was not like he was intentionally paying too close attention, but whenever he invited you out, he quickly spotted how distant you seemed to be. The first few times, he shrugged it off as off-days, yet it was unchanging. He felt himself growing concerned before it hit him. Teasing you, he asked first, naturally. Though some part of it was definitely sick curiosity. He was well aware that he was straightforward in his attraction to you, but there was an obvious rejection of his advances on your behalf. He wondered who had caught your attention.

♡ “Who's on your mind, hm?” the gambler asked with a teasing lilt while he leaned against the table across from you. Your reaction was to shoot him a glare and refuse to answer. The subtle shift of embarrassment in your expression was noted by him. He wanted to chuckle. Really, who? He wanted to know. It would be a gambler to prove himself a better option, especially with his reputation and vices, but he would try. Giving you up would be a mistake that he would never forgive himself for making. His eyes narrowed as you simply denied that anyone was on your mind, despite it being obvious to him. He gave a smirk in reply.

◇ It did weigh on him despite everything. Really… He was trying far harder than he did for anyone else to charm you. He did not understand what would appeal to you. Truthfully, he was at a loss. Part of him needed to meet whoever interested you so he could grasp what they had that he lacked. (Integrity, he assumed.) But, it barely had time to fester before you caught him off guard for the first time in your time together. “It's you, Grimsley,” you said simply after he pushed you to tell him again. He stood stunned for a moment, mouth falling open and brows going up. Him? Really? Why had you…? He barely had time to consider it too much before chuckling. Well, whatever. He would figure out that later. It seemed that you were not immune to his charms, at least.

🐕Archer🚀

♦️ It was rare that he felt any kind of attachment towards anything unrelated to Rocket or Giovanni. But, you certainly had managed to keep his attention. An annoying rival – a nuisance to everything he worked so hard for. He only agreed to be around you to keep an eye on you. It was obnoxious, observing what you did and listening to what you said. He despised the idea of you pulling a fast one on you. Despite this, the Rocket Executive supposed it was not the worst experience. There were definitely worse tasks to be assigned, he knew. He knew you somehow had come to view him as a friend – how, he did not know. And, well, unfortunately for him, his own feelings began to make him react strangely to you.

♦️ “There's this person I'm interested in,” you told him during one of your various outings that you bad invited him to join you on. Those simple words had unleashed a strange sense of madness in his mind. Interested in? Who? Part of figured it would be good to use against you if you kept being a nuisance for Rocket, but the other half genuinely seethed at the thought of you liking someone. Why? Were they as good a trainer as you? He only wanted someone worthy to be with you. … And he only found one person worthy. Though, he dared not admit that to himself. He bit his lip and kept his cool facade to ask who it was. He simply needed to know.

♦️Your gaze shifted onto him as you smiled far too sweetly. It was not something that he often saw in his line of you. “… Well, it's you, Archer,” you admitted. He blinked. For a moment, he has heard your words but failed to process them. Yes… Him, right. That makes sense. Then it hit him. He blinked. Him? You were interested in him? It was like… a golden opportunity. He could hardly believe it, but he supposed you found him to be a friend despite everything, getting a crush was not so far off. He swallowed. The idea of being with you did not bother him as much as he expected, either. It was with a trained ease that he accepted your confession. This might prove fruitful in actually stopping you… And he supposed he was allowed to indulge himself now and again.

[onestepbackwards]

It would be so funny if the player could still send texts on their arc phone and decided to send every complaint directly to Arceus

Everything from "Those ungrateful bastards banished me" to "My tummy hurts :("

Bonus points if they hand the phone over to Volo or Ingo and let them rant at god for screwing them over

Tbh if it were me I would let Arceus know every single inconvenience I had with being thrown into the past with no warning.

You let Arceus know no peace, making it very clear of your feelings on the matter.

[There is a leak in my room. You know what didn't have a leak? My old home.]

[They deadass are sending me into the wild??? On my own?? Assuming I have no experience?? They want me dead, Arceus.]

[THEY DONT HAVE COFFEE]

[Why do I have to fight the big scary pokemon?? WHY IS IT A STRANGERS JOB-]

[I think Cynthia's ancestor is stalking me.]

[I REACHED TEN STARS FUCK YEAH]

[WHY do I have to solve this village's problems. How am I the only one doing anything to help here.]

[WHY IS THE TRAIN GUY FROM UNOVA HERE.]

[ANSWER ME ARCEUS.]

[ISNT THIS GUY A CELEBRITY???? ARCEUS. HOW LONG HAS HE BEEN HERE-]

[When i invent mac n cheese, its over for these assholes.]

[Do you think I could piss Cyrus off by adopting his great great grandmother as my own mom?]

[They fucking banned me, Arceus.]

[AFTER EVERYTHING I DID-]

[Volo is def stalking me btw. WHY is he the only one wanting to help me besides the nice lady who also looks like Cynthia-]

[THE SKY IS RED.]

[Did Kamado seriously send Beni to assassinate me or did I just hallucinate that whole encounter.]

[WHY IS IT I KEEPING MEETING PEOPLE WHO WANT TO DELETE THE UNIVERSE WITH GIRATINA]

[If i had a dollar for every time this has happened, i'd have two dollars. It isn't a lot, but its weird its happened twice-]

[HOW COME HE GETS LIKE THE EQUIVALENT OF 8 POKEMON AND I CANT]

[If you had just said hi to him we could have avoided me almost dying TWICE.]

Arceus almost never responds unless you have a genuine question, or need help. But you do find solace in complaining to it.

You later tell Volo that hey, like, you know things are kinda awkward, but you have a means of directly messaging Pokemon God-

He's shaking as you hand him the phone and show him how to use it. At first, Volo for once, doesn't know what to say. He had dreamt of unloading his problems onto Arceus many times, but now?

He is almost at a lost for words.

That is, until you reach around him, showing him your previous conversations.

"Yeah, see here? I kinda bitched at Arceus last week because I'm still not allowed to go home yet. I kinda just use the chat to vent about things most of the time."

Volo stares for a moment, until he's furiously typing. He doesn't stop typing for a good few minutes, sending one very long, winded message, before handing the phone back to you. It's the longest message you have ever seen sent on your phone

The merchant is awfully quiet after that for a little while.

[volos-togepi]

Intentions - Volo x reader

“heyyyy i loved ur last fic!! do you think you’d be willing to write another? i thought this sounded like a fun idea: a volo x reader fic where the reader is just as secretly unhinged and resentful as him and have the same goal. they think they’re manipulating each other into what they want, but then they realize that they’re both after the same thing and escalate their friendship into something more? 🤭 thanksss <3” - anon

i FINALLY got this one finished!!! it only took me a month and a half :')

i hope you enjoy! <3 (also thank youuuuuu!!!!! <333)

y/n - your name 2k+ words (2,076) friends ⟶ lovers

Plates.

Plates are what you’re after.

You’ve been searching and searching, seeking them out to meet with a higher being: Arceus. You’ve devoted so much of your time and efforts into studying the Almighty Sinnoh. Laying low is so hard to do. But, despite how much you want to express your true feelings toward this land you call ‘home’, it’s better you didn’t.

You’ve been watching Volo and the new recruit from afar; watching them both gather the plates you’ve been longing to find. You sigh in frustration. 

They were supposed to be yours.

Once you return to the village, you run into Volo. It seems he’s stocking up on wares to ‘sell’. You already knew he had the lowest numbers in the Ginkgo Guild. It’s not that hard to overhear, especially where you like to sit on Kamado’s balcony to do your work. 

“Seems like someone’s heading back out.”

He turns to you with a rather shocked expression. “Y/n! You startled me.” Quickly gathering himself, he calms down and and smiles. “How did you know I’m heading back out?”

“Well,” you begin, tilting your head. “firstly, you’re stocking up on more wares. Perhaps to sell, or… to use for yourself.” 

You see his cheeks flush slightly. “How do yo—”

“Second, your trousers are already splattered with fresh mud, most likely from the Mirelands. Nowhere else has dirt so… red.” You pause. “What were you going to say? I’m sorry for interrupting.”

He purses his lips. You can tell he’s trying to read you. “Nothing… we’ll pretend it didn’t come up.”

“Mhmm…” 

Silence takes over. It’s not like either of you to stay this way for very long, as you both like to carry on lengthy conversations on the interesting facts of the region. Volo finishes stocking his bag and throws it back on, grunting as the weight of it almost pulls him to the ground. “Well, I’m off to… sell.”

“Before you go—”

His eyes widen, eager to hear what you have to say. Any information to him is important, and you know that oh so well.

“Would you mind telling me why you were the one chosen to help the new Survey Corps recruit over me?” 

He’s taken aback by your question, almost offended that you had asked. “You know how well versed I am in these studies, y/n. You wouldn’t understa—”

“I wouldn’t understand?” Your eyes grow angry. “Do you know how long I’ve been studying each and every ruin and artifact I’ve found in the Hisui region? How much time and effort I’ve put in to piecing together this stupid binder for Cyllene, just so I can spend more time out in the open air? I wouldn’t understand?”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“What I don’t understand is why they let an outsider take the lead on this one.”

You’ve offended him.

Oh, how you’ve offended him.

“Excuse me?!” he shouts. 

You glare at him, lowering your voice. “You heard me, Volo.”

—————

It’s been a few weeks since your argument. Volo’s been trying to apologize since the day after is happened, but you don’t want to hear it. 

“Y/n, please! Do you think I want to help Akari on my own?”

“Who?”

“The new recruit…”

You shrug.  “I never bothered to learn her name.”

Volo lets out a hearty laugh. You’ve never seen him so genuine; so true, even in your past conversations. “That was good.” he responds. “I wish I could say the same.”

You both joke around for a while. It’s nice to have a friend back on your side. 

“Hey…” You break the silence, a more serious tone taking over. “What if I… help you? You know, with finding plates?”

A coy smile spreads across Volo’s face. “I love that idea.”

—————

“For safe keeping. You both travel quite a bit, and I would hate for either of you to lose them.”

Weeks have passed. You’d convinced Volo and ‘whatever their name is’ to let you keep the plates in your possession. Volo was a bit apprehensive at first, but the girl seemed to trust you. “I think it’s a good idea, Volo. Y/n does have a point: we do travel a lot.”

“Fine.”

More days pass. You have all but one. You cannot believe how easy it was to just… take them. You smile as you sit on the bank side of Lake verity, taking in the fresh air around you. You feel a hand touch your shoulder. Startled, you look up to see Volo.

“What are you doing here, y/n?” He sits down next to you, setting his bag to the side.

You shrug. “I needed some air, and Lake Verity is so pretty this time of year.”

He nodded in agreement. “And the plates? Are they safe?”

“Of course! Do you think I’d let them out of my sight?”

He smiles, looking to the water glistening in the sunlight. “Good.”

You sigh. “Hey, this may sound strange, but…” You take a deep breath. “Do you ever feel that… the girl is… getting in the way.”

His eyes light up, and even though he’s not looking at you, you can tell he’s interested in what you have to say. 

“I mean, she wouldn’t even know where to look if it weren’t for you. And, if I’m being honest, you know more about these plates than she does.”

“She’s gotta get home somehow.”

You shrug. “All I’m saying is that you deserve this more than her. We deserve this more than her.”

You watch as Volo’s lips curl into this small, almost unnoticeable smile. “You know,” he says, looking out at the water, “I was wondering when you’d come around.” He turns to you, the smile on his face growing bigger. “I mean, it was only a matter of time.”

“I’m not quite sure what you’re getting at.” you reply. “I was only trying to ma— wait… you’re not doing this for the sake of helping are you?”

He laughs.

Oh how he laughs.

It’s a beautiful sound; a melody. Tears start to roll down his cheeks from the laughter. “Oh, y/n!” he chokes out. “I never have been!”

You start to giggle. 

“I was only trying to get you on my side.” he continues. “I figured it would be—”

“Volo,” You interrupt. “Why do you think I asked to keep the plates?”

He stares at you, unsure of what to say. His eyes are wide, and he seems surprised that you, you, would be trying to sabotage not only the girl, but the entire Survey Corp? “Y/n…” His voice is soft; hushed. “I never thought that you—”

“That I’d want to turn my back on the people of Jubilife? Because I’m not.”

He’s silent.

“I’ve always had this intention. It just took me years of acquiring the knowledge and the connections to feel comfortable enough to go for it…” You pause, watching a Magikarp leap out of the water. “Besides… the girl makes it easier.”

Volo gently slides his hand over yours. You don’t think anything of it. 

You’re friends.

“Meet me in the Highlands tonight.” he says. “There’s something I need to say.”

—————

The Coronet Highlands were so pretty at night. You lay on your back in the patch of flowers at Fabled Spring, looking at the billions of stars just above you in the sky. Volo arrives not too long after you, setting his bag against one of the trees. For once, he’s not in his uniform, wearing a dark green kimono and matching trousers. “I thought I’d dress little casual this evening.” He sits down next to you, pulling something out of his pocket to hand to you. “I thought you may like this.”

You sit up and carefully take what he’s holding. “A comet shard!” you squeak. “How did you—”

“I found it in the Mirelands; the day you caught me with mud-stained pants.” He bit his lip, looking to the ground. “The day of our little spat.” 

You’re silent.

“I’d been wanting to give it to you for so long, and…” He looks at you, eyes filled with starlight. “I just didn’t know how.”

“Volo, I…” You exhale. “Thank you.”

He shakes his head. “No need to thank me, y/n.”

You both lay there for a while, listening to the nature around you. It’s so peaceful; serene, the fireflies lighting up the spring.

“I wish every night were like this.” 

Volo squeezes your hand a little tighter. You watch as his lips curl into the smallest, yet sweetest smile. It makes your heart flutter. 

Had you always felt these things?

“Feeling content with sharing the experience of a serene, summer night.” he continues. “It’s easy with you.”

“I agree.” you reply in an almost whisper. “It’s… it’s nice.”

You can feel his eyes on you, even when you’re focused on the stars above. “So what did you want to talk about?” you ask, trying to break whatever tension you were both feeling.

“Never mind that.” 

You look to him once more. “Volo, I—”

“I just want to share this moment with you.”

He rolls over on his side to face you, his hand caressing your cheek. “Do you know just how pretty you are?”

Your abdomen feels like it’s going to explode. You can’t help but to blush as Volo says these things to you. You hope he doesn’t notice, but…

“Do you like it when I say these things?” He scoots closer, his chest barely touching your arm. “Hmm?”

You look at him, and it’s hard to keep yourself contained.

“I did, actually, want to talk with you about something tonight.” he whispers. “If you’ll allow me to.”

You nod. He takes a deep breath, his hand still placed on your cheek. “Y/n, I— if we’re to use the plates for ourselves, and forge this new world, would you… would you mind if we did it together?” He gulps. “Because I don’t want to do this without you.”

“Volo…”

He pulls you in close. 

So, so close.

“I can’t do this without you, y/n.”

You wrap your arms around him tightly, tangling your limbs together in the patch of flowers you lie on. Volo nuzzles his face into your neck. His breath is warm against your skin, his fingers tracing the seams of your Survey Corps uniform. You feel your breath hitch. Volo feels it too, looking up at you when he does. “Are you alright?”

You nod quickly. Maybe too quickly. 

“Y/n, promise you’re not lying to me.”

“I promise.” you breathe. 

His fingers continue to trace your uniform, every seam; every outline; every wrinkle in the fabric. “Y/n?” 

“Hmm?” You watch as his fingers slowly trace their way up to your neckline. 

“You do know I meant it when I said you were pretty, right?” His tone has completely shifted. He smirks lightly as he looks at you, lust in his eyes. “Because you are.” Untangling himself from your grasp, he sits up, pulling you up with him. “My pretty y/n.”

You were feeling those things again.

And he knows it.

He leans in as close as he can, noses almost touching. “Promise you won’t leave me behind.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

He grabs your waist tightly and presses his lips to yours, pulling you into his lap as he does. He’s so passionate, yet so soft; his lips warm against yours in the cool, summer night. He pulls away to look at you, his eyes meeting your gaze as your lips part. You both smile at one another, and Volo is quick to kiss you once more.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for so long.” he says, holding your hands in his.

“Then why didn't you?”

“Because I needed to know where your intentions were.”

You giggle softly at his remark. “Obviously, I made the right choice.”

“That you did.” He pushes a stand of hair out of your face. “Not completely off topic, but how many plates do we have so far?”

“Seventeen.” you respond. “Why?”

He starts to get up, you sliding off his lap into the flowers. Volo extends his hand to you to help you up, not letting go once you’re standing. He looks to the mountain just up above, and a mischievous grin quickly forms on his face. He turns back to you, squeezing your hand tightly.

“Let’s go.”

[ethanharmonia]

The Hisui Trio in my AU!! :D

(they dont know how to dress up 😔)

I wanted to make reference sheets for the three, even though i took a ton of inspo from many things but its for investment i promise i promise

Those three are friends in this AU, they are all in the present world and they are like a family to each other tbh, they might get into a few arguments but they talk it out later on.

To be fair i think those three would give each other kisses, not in a romantic way though, its just more of a platonic thing i guess??

The three of them own dragon type pokemon, from gen 4, 6 and 8 (me like even numbers dont mind me), i kinda felt like these pokemon fit them best by personality (im not exactly sure for 100%)

Dropping the lore here :

The only way Adaman and Irida could go back and out of Hisui was by Volo taking them with him by going through portals with Giratina, of course the two of them got frightened at the sight of Giratina showing up right in front of their eyes for the first time but they got used to it later on.

As a gift of gratitude from Volo for still being accepted by Adaman and Irida even after everything he's done in the past, he made and gave a clone of Origin Dialga and Origin Palkia to them so that they could also travel through the portals or around the world without his help (he's getting tired from babysitting them pls let him live).

Adaman and Irida just live with Lucas, Dawn and Barry in Twinleaf Town, sometimes Volo comes by to visit them and hang out with them. Lucas and Dawn dont have memories of Rei and Akari, so they have no idea of what Volo used to be back then, if they would then oh boy they would try to kill him.

{With Dialga} Adaman possesses Steel type powers (or Metal Bending as they say), he uses it a lot for combat but also for reaching high places if he cant go up there or reach it by climbing, he bends the metal into a form of a long rope in order to get up there.

{With Palkia} Irida has Water type powers (or Water Bending), she is not really the type of a person to fight but she rather heals others, it also works on pokemon too, though sometimes she can kick ass once in a while if anyone drives her mad.

{With Giratina and Arceus} Volo has all the elements, including Dark type powers but he never uses those as he only sees the bad in them and never wishes to use them, reminding him a lot of Cyrus {bro hates him more than anything}, with Volo being an Archon, he can summon pretty much every pokemon, including the legendaries and mythical ones, and the ultra beasts, even though the legendaries are gods too and are feared by many, Volo however just sees them as misunderstood creatures/beings, as he has a better bond with them than with his own people.

Volo despises humans, he only sees the bad in them as he has only seen the bad things that humans did, and with Volo being isolated in Arceus's realm and being there for about 280 years (met Arceus at 20), he cant really change his opinion about it, even if he has friends that are different than the rest of the humans, Volo still has doubts that humans are good, unless proven to him. Sure, Volo is the archon and savior of this world and he is trying his best to make the world a better with no wars or catastrophies, he hates humans, but he just wants peace, but he is aware that even if this happens one day then the peace wont last forever, the world cant remain peaceful for eternity, theres always going to be something happening all the time and he will have to deal with it on his own.

This would be Volo and his Dragapult (canon)

Imagine praying to god, and this is who you're praying to

[legacyshenanigans]

Marvolo x MC 🐍💚

Just a little NSFW thing 😌

Teasing and temping him was something she did often. Entering his office at the Den, she saw him deep into his paperwork, his eyes not even looking up towards the door as she walked in. She closed the door, locking it behind her, and made her way over to his side, a smirk curled onto her lips, leaning down and whispering his ear.

MC: I know you're working..But how do you feel about filling up this wet, little pussy right now?

She giggled. A shiver ran down Marvolos spine, raising a brow, putting down his pen, and looking up at her.

Marvolo: *low chuckle* Fucking hell...Quite a tempting offer.

He stood suddenly, his frame towering over hers and grabbing her hips to pull her into him. She could already feel his hardening cock, pushing against her.

MC: Hard already? *naughty smile*

Marvolo: How can I not be..After what you just whispered in my ear..

In a swift motion, he grabbed the back of her head, pushing her down onto his desk and bending her over it. A small gasp left her lips, a smirk falling onto his own.

With one hand on her head, still holding her down securely, his other reached under her skirt from behind, moving her panties aside, and sliding two fingers into her heat. A small moan pushed out of her throat, feeling his digits toying with her, feeling her out.

He took a moment to slide his slender fingers up against her sweet spot, moving them back and forth over it in a smooth rhythm, relishing in the little moans that escaped her. His hand that was in her hair slid down her back, and delivered a sharp spank to her ass, making her yelp.

Marvolo: How badly do you need my cock?

MC: Badly.

Marvolo: *clicks his tongue and chuckle lowly* I'm going to need more than that..

MC: *blushing* I..I need you..Please..Please, Volo.

A satisfied grin fell over his features as his eyes narrowed.

Marvolo: Good girl..

His fingers still worked her, his now free hand unbuckling his belt and undoing his trousers, letting his now leaking cock spring free. His fingers slipped out of her, bringing them up to his lips to taste her.

Marvolo: Mmmm. Fuck..

He delivered another hard slap to her cheek, causing another yelp to leave her. He took hold of his cock, rubbing it teasingly against her slit, pushing in the tip just enough to secure him before bringing his hands to her waist and gripping hold, his fingers digging into her flesh. Before she could process the feeling he began bucking his hips behind her. Instantly her eyes fluttered closed, her mouth slighlty agape, feeling his cock pounding in and out of her at a brutal pace from the get-go. He smirked down at her, the sounds of her loud cries and moans along with the creaking of the desk which violently moved in rhythm with his motions. After some time of being lost in this session, he heared the change in her breathing as she chased her climax, spurring him on to start chasing his own. He leaned over her body, placing his hands on the desk, making his length hit deeper as he continued to roll his hips against her. His low grunts now vibrating in her ear. The pair of them losing control of themselves in the moment. With a hard, final thrust he let out a deep moan, his cock pulsing, sending her over the edge. Her legs buckled beneath her, shaking slightly, a harsh cry leaving her lips throughout her own release.

Marvolo kissed at her shoulders and back as the pair came down from the high. She gave him a breathless giggle before he stood back up, letting out a satisfied sigh, tucking himself back into his trousers and sitting down on his desk chair once more, watching her as she adjusted her underwear and skirt. She looked at him, smirking slightly.

Marvolo: *charming smile* Will that hold you for now?

MC: For a little while *giggles*

Marvolo: *narrows his eyes and grins* As I said, it's only for now  *knowing look* I'll give you all of me when we get home..

~

[missygoesmeow]

missy's tips for honour mode :) (it's very long I'm sorry) (oh and here be many spoilers) (but pictures too!)

please note I am not a pro gamer or anything. I sucked so bad when I first started this game (I had no idea wtf I was doing). Like seriously. I didn't know what an action was. what a bonus action was. "No movement left". WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO MOVEMENT LEFT. I had played DnD once before.

I literally bought this game because of Astarion.

I usually play one game and that is Overwatch. the only other time I stopped playing OW was to play Resident Evil: Village because of Lady D. vampire marketing works on me. specifically evil vampire. damn u Neil and Maggie.

if you have any questions about a specific boss or something feel free to ask! I didn't fight everyone though - like I did not do House of Grief because I didn't need to and also it's hard :)

I think a lot of it just came on down to...

ANYWAY. letsa go! this is very rambling!

Like I said in my reply to anon, the best tip is to do tactician FIRST. You’ll get destroyed otherwise. I didn’t finish my tactician run but I did get to act 3 and I did most boss fights (Gortash, Raphael, Cazador). Bosses have legendary actions in tactician and it’s fucking annoying. All the homies hate radiant retort….

Another tip is fucking collect everything. It’s hard to get gold and certain potion ingredients later on. Potion of Speed (you need hyena ears for this) is the BEST. I used them for my Ketheric fight (second phase) and killed him in three turns. I also used them for the final fight and used one or two with Raphael and Orin.

Smokepowder Barrels. I think people call this Barrelmancy? I didn't use them much. I hoarded them for one reason and one reason only.

To blow Raphael.

His soul pillar towers that is. To blow up his pillars. His big long pillars.

Okay I'm done.

(also I did use three in my last fight against the brain - popped them next to it and blew 'em up) Elixir of Bloodlust - sooooo handy with Astarion!

Invisibility Potion is a must - I used this to escape fights when three people were deaded (this happened a few times😅) and get my good friend Withers to bring them back.

bonus tip: don't go into a fight with half your spell slots because you think "she'll be right". she won't be...as seen above

HOLY FUCK WITHERS. You can pickpocket Withers. I used Astarion to get our money back anytime I resurrected, changed class or got a hireling - he doesn’t care if you fail either, just keep trying.

DON'T BE DUMB LIKE MISSY Don't be like me, don't half pay attention in cut scenes and accidentally press the wrong dialogue option. Or else your good friend Lae'zel will turn on you and you will have A Bad Time.

Gale has a stressful day💗

The githyanki are scary and actually now that I think about it, those were usually the fights I had to run away from like a leetle biatch.

Halsin has a stressful day 💗

I forgot that Psionic Backlash is like a thing that does damage and that if your entire worm filled party does it and the person you are casting is at like...say 19 health...they will die because that is not Passive Damage.

And then Jaheira will leave because you murdered her friend.

Oopsie.

(I lost Shart, Lae'Zel and Jaheira in this run) GENERAL STUFF

Always surprise the enemy if you can, it’s a massive advantage!

Get the eye from Volo. This run was not about looking pretty, it was about getting any advantage I could get. Let that man poke out your eyeball. And make sure it’s your Tav, you will mostly likely swap companions and it’s just better if it’s you. It's helpful in a lot of fights but especially Auntie Ethel

Become half illithid. I did this with my Tav, Gale and Minthara. Astarion was a little bitch about it so I didn’t give it to him but I wish I had made him do it.

She looks Not Great but she can fly (sorry Astarion but Z'hera only likes pussy)

Being able to fly is just SO helpful and cull the weak is OP! Also mmmmm worms :)

MY BUILD/PARTY

A Giant Woman (my tiefling) as a Paladin - Oath of Vengeance.

I broke my oath when I ascended Astarion but you can just get it back. Oathbreaker is still good (that’s what I was in my tactician run) but I wanted my channel divinity charges. I started with the Everburn Blade from the cambion Commander Zhalk on the Nautaloid (when you get Shart, give her the Command Spell and use “Drop” so you can just yoink it off him and save a fight). My final weapon was the Nyrulna which you can get in Act 3 at the Circus. To get this you must pickpocket the genie to take his ring and then play his game. He will accuse you of cheating and send you somewher. The prize at the end is this weapon. I love it. I just went invisible and walked through, I didn’t fight the creatures there.

Astarion - the classic gloomstalker/assasin. I had one level assasin and then did 6 levels ranger before going back to assassin. So he was 6 levels in each. With him ascended, he does INSANE damage. I never swap out that vamp, he’s too useful.

Shart/Minthara - I lost Shart in the Shadowfell - wouldn't let her murder Dame Aylin.

a simpler time. before I killed my beloved and my brain was full of worms.

I had to fight her (it was very sad). I changed her class to Life of Domain Cleric. I then made Minthara my cleric when Shart died (same build). She replaced my lover and my cleric <3

i love my new evil girlfriend

Gale - Evocation Wizard so I didn’t change him at all!

he's so hopeful. and Z'hera is very gay.

TIPS FOR POTIONS

If it’s throwable (like invisibility) group the gang together to throw one on the ground to get you all - saves using multiple.

Potion of Speed has an effect called lethargic that is active for one round after the potion ends. This means you miss a turn. HOWEVER! If you drink another one on the last active round of the potion, your Tav will become lethargic immediately and next round you’ll be fine :) I did this for the Ketheric fight.

It’s also helpful (because of lethargic) to not have all characters take the potion in the same round (if you give it to everyone). I never did, I usually gave them to Gale and my Tav.

I hoarded so many scrolls. I had so many dimension door scrolls at the end.

I did get the Necromancy of Thay and did all the things. And then I never used it :)

BIGGEST TIP ONCE YOU'VE UNLOCKING LEVEL 6 SPELL SLOT WITH CLERIC (ALSO AVAILABLE WITH DRUID)

I saw this on reddit! Pretty much what I did was get a hireling - Cleric - and have that Cleric cast Heroes' Feast on my party.

The affected entity is immune to Diseases, Poisons, and being Frightened, it makes all Wisdom Saving throws with Advantage, and its maximum Hit Points are increased by 12

Lasts until long rest!! I also then cast Freedom of Movement on everyone in the party. I then cast Warding Bond on someone - usually Gale because he's a squishy boy :) If I knew it was a BIG FIGHT! I got another Cleric to cast Warding Bond on another party member.

you can see Heroes' Feast (the condition is called Thoroughly Stuffed) and Freedom of Movement. These all last until long rest!

Pretty much any other companions were respeced as Cleric (though I made Jaheira a Wizard same as Gale so I could use her). I did this so that I could use Divine Intervention multiple times within the game!

I used Opulent Revival and nothing else

KEEP IN MIND.

anything can kill you in honour mode. even an elevator.

it crushed me. somehow.

thanks Larian

(if you want proper guides definitely go to Reddit!)

[r0-boat]

Can I please request sfw slice of life headcannons for reader and Volo? (Ps. I hope you had a great Easter!)

Thank you so much and I hope you have a good *looks at calendar* April 27th

Volo x gn!reader slice of life hcs

Sfw cut for length

Cw: slight Angst with a happy ending.

Scars heal, although some take longer than others... after years, you finally begin to accept that you may not be able to go home ... however, slowly but surely, you begin to cultivate your new life in the strange lands of Hisui. Still hurt knowing that you could never go back home, but you knew there was your second home.

The village was remorseful of how they treated you, offering to all help and build you an actual home. You now live in a small humble Cottage a little ways outside the village you could still get there easily on your Pokémon's back. While the boarding that Cyllene gave you was nice you wanted something else...

Sometimes you wonder how he is doing. After he disappeared, he left your heart better and broken. Making you question if the time he spent with you was real... if all the things he did to you and said to you were honest and not just to lull you into a false sense of security... you knew the village would never accept him back, but you also knew how painful he was. You saw in his eyes when he threw out his Pokeball; underneath that mad smile was a scared, confused man, who had no one in his life other than a dream. Volo claimed he hated you, but was it true?

As your Pokemon snooze is away while you brush its fur you hear a knock at the door... you weren't really expecting anyone today you opened your door expecting to greet Lavington, Cyllene... your eyes widen seeing a blonde-haired man standing in your doorway. His standing failed looked like the days alone in the wilderness had not been treating him well recently, and his face filled with regrets and sadness. "V-olo?" His name Falls from your lips.

After years of searching for Arceus, he knew he finally had everything.... his life dedicated to one God sacrificing everything he had and everything he built. To him, it was worth it... until he found you, he first saw you as your stepping stone, a simple obstacle in the way of his true dreams... But after he spends more time with you, something that he has never felt before begins to stir inside of him... it scared him... he tried to push it back as much as he could, thinking that nothing would matter once he finally reached his goal.

After Spear Pillar, he couldn't look you in the eyes anymore, he fled...

He has been better in recent days, choosing to live with you instead of chasing a dream till it drives him to Madness. You made him realize that he deserved a normal life that he earned his own path.

He reassures you that the feelings he has for you is genuine that he was an idiot for leaving you on Spear Pillar, Volo expected you to hate him... But you didnt?

The two of you now live in the cottage together every morning when the weather was nice volo goes outside in the garden and either relax or studies some old historical texts (still a history nerd)—occasionally going out on his own Adventures to look for more ancient ruins. Your Pokemon who once stood as great enemies now frolic and play as friends.

Volo's heart melts when he wakes up to the smell of your cooking no, he does not miss being a gingo guild member and finding what he can eat. He claims your homemade potato mochi is far better than the ones they serve in the village.

Volo does claim that he never once cared for that Village since how they treated him and you, but Volo did regret his actions and what he did even if the village would never accept him even if the gamegoeso Guild would never accept him, he still wanted to grow as a person and have everyone remember him as what he is now.

Volo has learned how to cook when he was just a traveling Merchant. He would only eat the wild berries he would find and had no time to cook..., but with you on his mind, he wants to make you smile with something he pours as hard into.

Sometimes you still have nightmares of The Village casting you out alone and cold as Giratina staring down at you. you wake up in a cold sweat, ready to cry, only to be held by Volo. I am making you remember that you are safe now and you are not alone.

Volo also still has nightmares of Giratina swallowing him down to this Distortion world where he belongs or Arceus standing before him to judge him on his sins of Pride and envy, greed, gluttony, and Wrath... but he feels at ease when he holds you close

Volo once asked you what was life like in your old time... you told him everything he seemed a little lost on the topics of technology and buildings however he seemed more intrigued when you told him about the many different kinds of Pokemon and places that you've seen... there is a bigger world out there.

Maybe one day the two of you should leave Hisui and travel the world just like in your stories...

No more worries no more expectation just you and him and the wild Untamed Wilderness and the Pokemon within them.

[the-mic-drop]

Zelink gets Isekaied into BG3 Pt8: Goblin Camp

Zelda- High Elf Draconic Lineage Sorcerer

Link- Half Wood Elf Champion Fighter

So far: Team Zelda explored the Risen Road, Team Link dealt with Lady Ethel and Mayrina, and the Dream Visitor did an oopsie.

The party approaches the Goblin checkpoint outside the camp proper. Zelda, with the confidence of her mental victory over the Dream Visitor, uses her aura of authority (unrelated to the tadpole) to get the past the guards.

Right before they cross the bridge, the voice of The Absolute begins to dominate the party's minds. However, instead of the artefact, the Triforce symbol lights up on Zelda's hand and silences it with the sound of the bell of creation. (The sound that goes off when Zelda uses her power in BotW.)

The glowing Triforce fades and becomes a tattoo on her hand. In the confusion afterward, Gale asks to analyze the new tattoo. Once he does, he struggles to convey what he's found. Whatever power Zelda... used(?) was magical, but not of the Weave. His mind is racing, but Wyll steadies him. They have only conjecture and theories, so they resolve to continue on and wait for camp to get Gale to do more research.

In the Goblins' courtyard camp, the first thing they notice is Volo. Link is the only one who met him, since he left after interviewing Link about his encounter with Goblins. He gets dragged off into the Shattered Sanctum by Gribbo as usual.

Zelda plays with the Owlbear cub, Lae'zel humbles Crusher, Gale tricks Klagga out of the poem, and Astarion works his magic on Grat.

Inside the Shattered Sanctum, they first meet Priestess Gut. Zelda puts on a pretty good show of claiming that she's received a "divine message from The Absolute" that she needs to tell her in a more private setting. On the way to her chapel, she tells the party via tadpole link to ambush her on her mark. The assassination goes off without a hitch and Zelda says a prayer.

The party starts to investigate the Defiled Temple and takes out Polma the Ogre. During the short rest they take there, they discuss the strategy for the rest of the camp. They were unable to do recon due to running into Gut immediately upon entering. Link suggests a plan of recon and sabotage. Scope out the floor plan, locate Dror Ragzlin and Minthara, find and/or free any prisoners they can, destroy as many war drums as possible, and take out and hide as many patrolling guards as they can manage.

By exploring a bit further, Gale finds the Selunite puzzle room and decide to explore a bit before carrying out their plan. They find the Selunite Outpost in the Underdark. As fascinated as Zelda is, they have enough on their plate and go back up to carry out their plan.

The plan goes pretty well. Volo and Liam are freed, several drums and even more guards are taken out, Abdirak has no takers.

The party enters the worg pens and instead of demanding for the Goblins to leave the bear alone, Zelda tells the party to be ready to attack.

The fight's a bit chaotic, but it is a successful fight. Link and Zelda are the most surprised to see the bear turn into Halsin.

The conversation with Halsin goes as normal, no great solution to the tadpoles and the Grove is still in danger.

The party plus Halsin discuss the remaining Goblin leaders and how to go about dealing with them. They decide that Minthara is in a secluded enough area to take her out without alerting the rest of the camp. Then Ragzlin will be a full battle.

For the sake of stealth, Zelda asks Halsin to stay in the Worg Pen while they deal with Minthara.

The Minthara operation goes a bit sloppy, but luckily Zelda inadvertently hits Minthara with her staff in a pressure point as the Drow lunges at her, knocking her out. Minthara is left on the floor there since the Goblins in the room needed a bit more attention to eliminate.

The party fetches Halsin and in a glorious battle, the defeat Dror Ragzlin and claim the cult's treasure.

Right before the party warps back to the Grove, Link leans out the front door, sounds Lump's Warhorn, and they leave to let the Ogres have their fun.

[gachats]

Gods of ancient slavs: Perun and his imaginary friends

Let's deal with what gods in Ancient Rus' were, and what were not.

The gods of pagan nations are a rich and interesting topic. Their images, in some ways unique, and in some ways similar in different nations, inspire many modern authors. Including in the genres of fantasy, sci-fi, and magic realism.

Back in the 19th century, attempts were made throughout Europe to reconstruct ancient beliefs and understand what gods were worshipped by ancestors. And, of course, the myths of ancient Greece were taken as a model.

The only thing is that we were usually talking about non-written cultures, which left behind very few sources. And if the Scandinavians, for example, had the Eddas, written down already by Christians, but quite early, as well as inscriptions carved in stone, then with the Eastern Slavs everything did not work out so well. We have no recorded epic stories about the gods, and we have to rely on fragmentary evidence in chronicles and denunciations against the pagans, as well as scanty archaeological data. That is why there is so much speculation and outright fiction about the gods of the Eastern Slavs.

In this text, let's try to figure out what we really know about them, what we can assume, and what is quite far from the truth.

The Pantheon of Knyaz Vladimir

The most famous source of information about the gods worshipped in Ancient Rus is the enumeration of idols installed by Knyaz Vladimir in Kyiv, from the "Tale of Bygone Years":

"And began to reign Vladimir in Kyiv alone, and put idols on the hill, outside the palace yard: wooden Perun with a silver head and golden whiskers, Khors (and) Dazhbog, Stribog, Simargl and Mokosh."

Vladimir puts idols of gods in Kyiv. Late 15th c. Radziwillov Chronicle, Library of the Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg

It should be kept in mind that Vladimir pursued quite specific goals: he tried to unite Rus around Kyiv through a single set of beliefs. That is, it would be wrong to say that the erected idols are an exhaustive list of gods or that all popular gods got there. For example, we are talking, apparently, about Slavic gods, and on the territory of ancient Rus lived also Finno-Ugrians, Turks, Balts.

In addition, it is important to understand that any paganism (even Greek) at the level of practice looks not as the veneration of a once and for all definite pantheon, but as the worship of numerous local deities - patrons of rivers, hills, forests, cities. People turned to them for any reason: for good luck in war, for a rich harvest, and for protection from evil forces. Different gods could merge in one area, and in another, on the contrary, one god was divided into two characters or more.

We do not know on what principle idols were selected in Kyiv. For example, Veles (Volos), often found in other sources, is not mentioned among them. In addition, the "Tale of Bygone Years" was preserved in lists XIV-XVI, not in the original, and the lists were often made with errors. And Nestor did not aim to accurately convey the pagan ideas. But we have what we have - there is nothing to choose from.

So what do we know about the 5 (or 6) gods mentioned in the Tale?

Perun

We know relatively much about Perun. He is often mentioned in various sources, he was worshipped by the Western Slavs, about whose customs we know a little more. He is also close to the Baltic Perkunas, and many of his features and related legends were attributed to Ilya the Prophet and remained in this form until the Revolution.

Perun is a thunder god. The very word "Perun" in Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian is used as an obsolete and poetic name for lightning. This was an important god for the inhabitants of Ancient Rus, commonly known and honored. He may well be considered the supreme god, if it is necessary to emphasize such a figure. The Byzantine Procopius of Caesarea wrote back in the 6th century that the Slavs (it was about the South Slavs) above all venerate an unnamed thunder god to whom they sacrifice bulls. The connection of Perun with warriors and militancy, oaks, weapons - all this is characteristic of the gods-thunderers - looks quite plausible.

Worship of Perun among the Muscovites. Engraving from the book by G. A. Shleizing "Ancient and New Religion of the Muscovites", 1698

Later sources mention rituals in honor of Perun. For example, Novgorod fights were described, which were associated with the commemoration of Perun. There is also a mention of the rafting of Perun's idol down the river, similar to the description of the overthrow of his idol from the Tale of Bygone Years. Some researchers suggest that the chroniclers simply incorrectly conveyed the regular ritual. The motif of such funeral-conductions is rarely associated with thunder gods, it is more characteristic of the gods of the sun and fertility. This may mean that Perun had such functions as well.

Various assumptions about Perun's family ties, specific features of his veneration, sacrifices, temple construction, etc. should be treated with caution: they are based on controversial scientific data.

The overthrow of the idol of Perun in the painting "The Trampling of Old Russian Gods" by E. Shtyrov

But one can look at the peculiarities of popular veneration of the "formidable saint" Elijah the Prophet. His image began to converge with Perun even before the official baptism of Russia, as pagan and Christian legends converged (such a merger is more than characteristic of the pagan picture of the world). Most likely, this is what made Ilya one of the most revered saints in Rus'.

It was believed that the prophet rode across the sky on a golden or fiery chariot and struck devils and various creeps with lightning arrows. In some regions it was believed that Elijah should pray in a thunderstorm all the time, so that a demon would not enter a person, because then the prophet would strike him with lightning. Caution should be observed on Ilya's day at the end of the harvest (August 20): on this day it was forbidden to work in order not to anger the saint. In addition to striking devils and people with lightning, Ilya also sent down rain and drought. These legends about the saint probably go back to the image of Perun.

Elijah the Prophet on his chariot

Various Peruns by lugvelesasrz, A. Klimenko, Mikado13

Mokosh-Makosh

Makosh by Viktor Korolkov

Mokosh is the only female goddess in Knyaz Vladimir's pantheon.

The romanticist researchers largely invented her cult from the folk veneration of St. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, associated with weaving and needlework. From weaving made the transition to the threads of life, and Mokosh turned into the goddess of fate. The problem is that unlike Perun and the prophet Elijah, we do not know anything about Mokosh at all, except that she was a woman. For example, we have no data that she was depicted with a spinning wheel. So there is simply nothing to draw parallels between her and Paraskeva.

Sometimes the figure of Mokosha is brought closer to such a folklore character as Mother raw earth. This is a common image in bylinas and fairy tales, and we can conclude that in the Slavs' ideas the earth occupied a very important place. But it is hardly worth talking about the personification of the earth in the form of a goddess. Most likely, the earth as a living element was meant, which reminds ancient religious ideas, for example, the Chinese. However, it is possible to correlate Mokosh with Mother raw earth. This is much less of a stretch than many other theories about the Slavic gods.

Who else could be the only goddess included in the new unified pantheon? For example, the goddess of women, patroness of childbearing and women's crafts. Or the goddess of fertility, possibly acting as wife of Perun. Or maybe a warrior goddess like Ishtar, the embodiment of power and luck in battle. Such a woman could well be on the princely hill, where, judging by the "Tale" did not take the "cattle god" Volos, despite his great importance. Historical data in no way limit the flight of our imagination.

Mokosh by BirnaAlicja

Khors-Dazhbog

Khors by Igor Ozheganov

The further things are worse. Between the names of Khors and Dazhbog in the "Tale" there is no union, but between the other names there is. This may be a reproduced mistake of the scribe. Or it may be an indication that these are two names of the same god (Khors-Dazhbog). In other sources both gods appear separately, but are never mentioned together.

In the "Conversation of the three saints" there is such an answer to the question where lightning comes from: "There are two thunder angels: the Hellenic elder Perun and Khors the Jew - these are the two angels of lightning". What it means and why these national epithets - who can tell. Some researchers believe that this is an indication that the cult of Khors came to Russia from the Jewish Khazaria, but this is a controversial statement.

Khors by Andrey Shishkin

There are also questions with lightning. This is the only mention of Khors with its functions. But there is a popular theory about the etymological connection of Khors with the Iranian-language root "khur", "khvar", meaning "sun". Linguists dispute this point of view, but so far it remains dominant, and the idea of connection of Khors with lightning, which does not fit into this concept, is often rejected.

In the "Tale of Igor's Campaign" there is an ambiguous phrase: "in the night trotting wolf: from Kyiv to Tmutorokan kurs, to the great Hrsovi the way was broken". Interpreting "Hrsovi" as "Khorosovu", romantically inclined researchers conclude that the "Khors' way" and consisted in "trotting wolf". And so Khors was actually connected with wolves, werewolfism and acted as a dark god of wild beasts and witchcraft. But it should be remembered that the only direct indication of Khors' functions is connected with lightning, and in the "Tale" it is quite possible that he was not meant at all.

In short, the god Khors was, but what he was doing - we will never know.

And what about Dazhbog? Let's see what Wikipedia calls the most informative source about him - "Chronography" by the Byzantine John Malala. He wrote, however, about the Egyptians, and the name Dazhbog was used to translate the name of the sun god Helios mentioned there, which in turn symbolized Amon Ra. From this we can conclude with some tension that the translator associated Dazhbog with the sun god. Also the word "Dazhbog" is mentioned in Ukrainian songs, including as the one who ends winter and begins summer. This also confirms the solar version.

In "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" knyazs or all Rus' people are called "Dazhbog's grandsons". Although there are different opinions about what this means, perhaps it is about the fact that Dazhbog was perceived as the forefather, the god-grandfather of the nation or humans in general.

Dazhbog by Andrey Shishkin

Stribog

Stribog by Igor Ozheganov

Stribog is another character about whom we know nothing. Practically the only mention - in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" it is said about the winds as "Stribog's grandsons", who direct arrows against Igor's army. On the basis of this not even a passage, but a sentence, theories were built that Stribog is the god of winds, as well as an evil god, an opponent of men, who was opposed to Dazhbog (mainly because both words are arranged in the same way).

From here went the identification of Stribog with St. Kasyan - a very curious character of folk Orthodoxy, evil, hostile, crooked (oblique) in one eye, guarding hell and sending winds and diseases. Kasyan deserves a separate story, but the grounds for his correlation with Stribog are very shaky.

Worship of Stribog at the Muscovites. Engraving from the book by G. A. Shleizing "Ancient and New Religion of the Muscovites", 1698

Simargl

Semargl by V. Korolkov

And the most mysterious character of Vladimir's pantheon is Simargl. In the "Word of a certain Christ-lover and zealous for the right faith" there is a quote: "believe… in Sim and in Rjgl (Erjgl)". But in other manuscripts Simargl or Semargl is written in one word. Who this person or persons were, what they did, is unknown. At some point his name was correlated with the Iranian Simurg on the basis of the similarity of the words. Simurgh is a mythical king-bird whose image probably (probably!) derived from Senmurv, a half-bird half-dog. The odious researcher Rybakov suggested that it was the half-bird-half-dog that stood on the hill in Kyiv, that he was the messenger of the gods, and was also associated with fertility and much more. All this does not stand up to criticism from a scientific point of view.

Simargl by Irdeorum-III

Who wasn't taken to the hill?

Volos / Veles

Veles by baklaher

Volos, judging by frequent references in sources, was a popular god of Ancient Rus. His name was sworn along with the name of Perun. He is often called the "cattle god", i.e. the patron of cattle, and therefore of wealth. That is, we even know what functions he had.

"The Tale of Bygone Years" does not mention Volos among the idols of Knyaz Vladimir's "pantheon". Much later "Kyiv Synopsis" mentions, but there and all the rest of the list differs, except for Perun. And in "The Life of Vladimir" it is said that the idol of Volos was thrown into the river, where in the "Tale" the idol of Perun was thrown. And here it is not clear: the idol of Volos was, but stood separately, as some researchers claim - for example, at the market? Or stood together with all, and Nestor did not mention it? Or some of the gods described by him is actually Volos?

Veles by Milica Cvetic

All information about Volos besides the fact that it was an important god of cattle looks extremely shaky. There is a theory that he was an opponent of Perun. It is based on the correlation of Volos with the Baltic Vels and Velnyas, a spirit connected with the underworld and cattle, and the opponent of Perkunas the thunderer. However, it should be realized that the sources telling already about this character are rather late and of ambiguous authenticity.

When contrasting Volos and Perun, it is sometimes said that Volos was the earthly god of gold and the common people (apparently, farmers), and Perun was the heavenly god of war and the rulers' retinue. This idea is based largely on the text of the oath, which mentions both Perun and Volos, as well as gold and weapons: "let us be cursed by the God in whom we believe, Perun and Volos, the cattle god, let us be as yellow as gold, and let us be cut with our weapons".

But, first, there is no obvious distinction here. Secondly, gold is mentioned in the context of yellowing of the skin and speaks rather of disease. It would be more accurate to conclude that these were powerful gods ruling over life and death. Hair was indeed most likely associated with wealth, but expressed primarily in livestock . And the possession of wealth is not very peculiar to the "common people" who are usually poor.

Perun fights with the serpent by A. Fantalov

The further development of the idea of the enmity between Perun and Volos turned him into a serpent, because the motif of the battle between the thunderer and the serpent is archetypal and is found in many peoples. The opposition of heavenly birds with earthly snakes, "creepers", in the culture of the Eastern Slavs occupies a very important place. But there is no reason to believe that it goes back to Volos.

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" contains an indirect reference to Volos. Bayan, the legendary narrator, is called Veles' grandson. This can be understood as an epithet referring to his gift of words. And on this basis Veles is sometimes considered the god of poetry.

Veles by A. Klimenko

A more creative interpretation says that it refers to the gift of sorcery or volkhovanie. The idea of Veles as a god of wisdom, as well as many of his other attributes, entered popular culture from the "Book of Veles", a forgery from the 50s of the 20th century. For sure we can only say that there was such an important god Volos, and he had power over cattle, and thus welfare.

Veles by Andrey Shishkin

Svarog and Svarozhich

Svarog by Igor Ozheganov

Svarog is mentioned in the "Tale of Bygone Years", in the above described "Chronography" of John Malala. There, I remind, we are talking about the Egyptians, and the word "Svarog" is used to translate the name of Hephaestus (which is called, apparently, Khnum). Other sources mention Svarozhich, and it is probably the same character. Svarozhich was honored by the Western Slavs and was associated with fire. Whether he was honored in Ancient Rus is unknown.

Even if he was, a fire god is not always the same as a smith god, as Svarog is usually represented in popular culture. A fire god can be a god of hearth and sacrifice, a mediator between gods and humans, like the Indian Agni.

All others

Rod by Maxim Kuleshov

For example, Trojan is the demonized emperor Trajan. His image is found in the folklore of the South Slavs, but it is more of a fairy-tale character. In "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" Trojan is also present, but there it is said about "time" or "trope" of Trojan, so it is not very clear whether it is about some ancient ruler-man, mythological character or deity, or whether there is some mistake of the copyist or translator.

It is also known as Dyj or Diy. Sometimes it is mentioned among the gods worshipped by pagans, but more often it is used to translate the name of Zeus in the retelling of ancient myths.

Pozvizd by Andrey Shishkin

Rod and the Rozhanitsy are not infrequently mentioned. But usually in the same lists, where in addition to gods it is said about the worship of vilas, ghouls, bereginas. Which, undoubtedly, were important characters in Slavic folklore, but they are rarely called gods, singling them out as a separate category (like nymphs, alves and other spirits). How far this is actually legitimate - the question is debatable, but this is the tradition. And it is quite possible that under Rod and Rozhanitsy meant the worship of ancestors and patron spirits.

The "Kyiv Synopsis", compiled very late, in the 17th century, gives an alternative list of idols erected by Vladimir. In addition to Perun, called the god of thunder and rain in human form, Volos, the god of cattle, as well as Pozvizd, Lado and Kupalo are mentioned.

All of them are associated with the book tradition: the authors of later sources, in imitation of the Greeks, invented gods themselves and then copied them from each other. Sometimes they relied on parallels with the same ancient mythology, sometimes - on grassroots folklore, folk rituals and festivals. And when odious researchers began to study such sources, Lado or Uslad, appearing in several later sources in the male gender, turned into the goddess Lada. That is, here we see layers and layers of fiction.

To such a mythology invented by scribes belong also Lel, Lelya and Polelya. The last three are chants like "la-la-la-la-la" deified in a desperate attempt to find some pagan gods.

Marena was hardly a goddess either, no matter how attractive her image in popular culture as a strong woman who commands winter and death. In fact, she is a ritual character, an effigy or tree burned when winter is spent, like Maslenitsa - or ritually mourned in later spring, like Kostroma. The latter connects it with the death-rebirth cycle: it is a metaphor for the sowing of seeds into the ground ("funeral") and their subsequent germination ("rebirth").

The second reason for the appearance of the image of the goddess of death is the similarity of the name Marena to the Latin root mor: "death", i.e. the fact that Christian authors and early researchers were engaged in folk etymology (this is when words are attributed a similar meaning because they sound similar, a headache for any linguist). But of course, the gothic ice maiden is beautiful.

Another popular image popularized by Gaiman's American Gods is Chernobog, the malevolent god of evil. The character is also very spectacular, moreover, most likely, really former god. It is described, however, in the Baltic Slavs, but in Russia and Ukraine there are toponyms referring to this name. We do not know much about him, except that because of the ominous name of Chernobog very much loved Christian authors, boldly writing him in the devils.

Often he is mentioned together with Belobog, his antagonist and embodiment of good. But in recent times, the opposition between Chernobog and Belobog has been attributed to the fantasy of authors impressed by Manichaeism (a dualistic religion that asserted that evil and good were equally powerful).

Chernobog and Belobog by Maxim Shukharev

As for Chernobog himself, if he was not invented by Christian authors, it is not a fact that he was such a villain. Black color does not always mean something bad, it can be associated, for example, with black soil - fertile land. It is not excluded that the black god could be called different characters depending on the area or specific idols made of black stone or wood.

Of course, it is a pity that we are not left with at least our own Edda to learn more about the gods worshipped by the Slavs in the territory of Ancient Rus. But this is not a unique situation - in many countries, ideas about the pagan past are also based on romantic speculations, controversial etymological constructions and Christian or Roman sources.

And if you want to learn more about mythological representations of Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians - turn to the rich grassroots folklore, folk orthodoxy, fairy tales and songs. There you can find a lot of beautiful and interesting characters, images and themes that are undeservedly overlooked in attempts to find gods like those of the ancient Greeks.

Original by Maria Solntseva Translated by me :)

[wellthebardsdead]

Did a doodle of my pretty tiefling twink and cleric of Selûne, Falûne. I forgot how much I enjoyed shading lips over doing an outline, his nose was fun too, its not the usual soft look I’d go for for a character like him but it’s a strong yet oddly romantic shape.

Curly White hair neatly tucked back, Big silvery white eyes, gold grafted horns, very pale pastel blue skin, always glossy and very kissable blue/grey lips, shorter than Astarion, heart shaped tail because he’s full of love.

He’s very kind, gentle, sheltered and naive. He left the safety of his cloister in baldurs gate to take up his studies at the now ruined chapel to Selûne near the now blighted village and immediately got kidnapped by absolute cultists. After escaping the nautiloid things continued to just go downhill for the poor thing. Everyone keeps bullying him and the pretty vampire keeps drinking his blood and corrupting his mind into indulging in sinful activities. Yes I made him specifically for ascended astarion to absolutely ruin him~

Relationships with others:

Shadowheart: low, she keeps bullying and threatening to hurt him for being a selûnite when he’s never said a thing remotely mean towards Shar. Has made him cry more than once.

Lae’zel: very high, she said she wanted to taste him and he got so frightened he fainted, he thought she wanted to eat him.

Gale: exceptional, when channeling the weave he thought about holding gales hand and having never had a crush before got so flustered he ran away in a panic. It took several hours for him to stop blushing.

Astarion: exceptional, Astarion clocked his gentle and naive nature from a mile away and manipulated him fully to his advantage, but then developed feelings for him, really, quickly and Falûne did so likewise. After luring him to a quiet place for some fun astarion so gently untied his collar and had a nibble while he made the cleric scream out his gods name for an entirely new meaning~ yes astarion holds him by his tail.

Wyll: very high, Wyll sees him as a best friend and a little brother figure.

Karlach: very high, sees him as an almost son like figure as well as a friend and wants to protect him. She calls him moonpie.

Halsin: High, he finds Falûne to be very good company and enjoys teaching him what he knows. Falûne on the other hand likes Halsin in his elf form, but is cripplingly terrified of his bear form and bears in general… they’re why his horns are grafted.

Minthara: Very high, after being rescued from moonrise her disposition towards him improved massively very fast and she found admiration in a surprising number of his aspects. Falûne however is extremely intimidated by her and her attempts at flirting scared him half to death.

Jaheira: high, she admires him but will rarely admit it. He keeps going despite his fear and keeps trying to do the right thing. She is keeping a firm eye on how astarion can easily sway him though. Falûne admires her likewise but Astarions convinced him she’s not as good a person as he thinks given shes threatened him repeatedly and drugged him.

Minsc: high, minsc thinks he’s adorable, so does boo. Falûne is often left too rattled by how loud and abrupt minsc is to walk away with any impression of him other than he’s nice and he’s loud. And boo is very cute.

Volo: dead, the whole group let him get killed for chasing Falûne with an ice pick.

Withers: very high, he admires Falûne and likewise Falûne admires him. They both enjoy tea and little sandwiches.

Raphael: high, it wasn’t hard for the devil to sway the poor cleric, especially since astarion wanted to make a deal. He’s still trying to convince him to join him and Harleep in the bedroom. Falûne is petrified at the mere thought of being around him because of how hard it is to say no to him.

[leggerefiore]

Wishes

an ending to this

cw: Volo succeeds at being a homewrecker, a break up, slight angst,

pairing: Previous Cyrus/Reader, Volo/Reader

It had been a difficult time since you began to distance yourself from Cyrus, but your head did feel much clearer. The unfortunate truth of the matter had become easier to understand as well. The Cyrus that you had loved was long gone into the depths of an alternate world. He had refused to leave it, opting to abandon you and everything else of the world that you lived in. An alternate version of him was only a bandage on a gaping wound that likely would not heal. It hurt. Letting go hurt, but staying with him was not any better.

Though, you supposed both situations would ultimately lead to the same conclusion. This Cyrus would one day be returned to the world he originated from, and you would be left here without him once more.

That was why you made the decision to end things with him. It was more than difficult to do, as he attempted to argue that whether he was from a different world or not made little difference, since the feelings towards you were all the same. But, they were not. You were not the same person he loved, just as he was not the same for you. That was why you ultimately did what you did, despite how much you did not want to. It needed to be done before you were both in too deep and forced to experience such great pain again.

It felt lonely when you had returned to your hotel room that night. Empty. Much like you had felt after what happened on Mount Coronet. You only get sigh at the now distant memory. Why had this world sought to play with your feelings in such a manner? It kept dangling him in front of you to just threaten to rip it all away again. Maybe it was a way of forcing you to finally let go of him. You had wished that it had been done with more tact, yet… You pressed the pillow into your chest as you stared out the window.

The setting sun… You had already said goodbye to your own.

Perhaps now it was time to turn your attention elsewhere. Focus on things that made you happy instead of dwelling on things that were ultimately never to be. You wondered what to do. Pasio was full of activities, however. There was certainly going to be something to do here. And, if not, you could return to Sinnoh. The region was full of natural beauty even still. Wonder was always around with the ancient sites all over.

~

“Boo!”

The loud voice nearly made you jump out of your skin. In fact, you fell forward onto your knees from your squatting position at it. A chuckle came from then as a hand came out for you to hold. Begrudgingly, you took it. The blond helped you to your feet again with a smile. Volo had made one of his sporadic appearances again. It was impossible to find him when you searched for him, yet he was always able to find you. Especially when you were alone somewhere.

The very same artificial ruins where he first brought your world crashing down on you was the location of this meeting once more. He readjusted his bag. You dusted off your knees. Volo never appeared to have a down moment. It was honestly impressive, even if it was just a facade he used while attempting to sell things. You shuddered to think about him in a modern retail position. He would either be terrifyingly good at it or end everyone in an instant.

“Oh, what are you doing here?” You asked him, a bit startled by him as usual, “And, why did you do that?” Volo simply shrugged at your words. It had been over a week since you had last seen him. His Togepi was slowly trailing behind him. You felt a little bad for the poor thing.

“I was simply investigating the ruins,” he replied nonchalantly, “They may not be real, but they were built after an example, surely? I find them fascinating from that perspective…” His attention appeared to fall onto a wall with engraved text of some sort imprinted onto it. A hand came to hold his chin as he was lost in thought. “… This text must come from a real language,” Volo spoke again before turning back to you, “Ah, I apologise! I simply find sites like this too fascinating… There are so many to explore within Hisui that I often found myself distracted from my mercantile duties.”

You wanted to laugh a bit. It seemed that trait was ingrained within Cynthia's bloodline. Was Volo that origin point, or did it go back further? You got up to stand at his side and gaze at the text. It was not any character system that you were familiar with. Volo moved closer to you.

His presence was a welcome change to the loneliness that you have been facing over the past few days. He began to speak about his theories about what these ruins may have once “been” had they been real. It was easy to listen to his voice explain things. His passion and interest almost bled through within his words. Small details were noted as he went around and motioned to each and everything of importance.

Somehow, you felt happier than you probably should have.

~

Volo became a common thread in your day-to-day life. His appearances became more and more frequent, alongside arranged meetings at various places. It was strangely fun to get out and do things with another person. The merchant's inexperience in many modern things only added to the pleasant nature of it all. If you found yourself in a similar situation, you could both be confused together as you attempted whatever activity it was. Feelings seemed to share between you both naturally as you spent more and more time with him.

Introducing him to modern concepts was always an experience, while you listened to his harrowing stories of situations that were commonplace in Hisui. Needless to say, he seemed both entertained and disappointed by social media. Especially when he saw how people spoke about Cynthia. You have no idea why he thought to look up her name, but it appeared that he learnt his lesson quickly. His own name yielded as few conspiracies about him being some distant relative to the champion. He only chuckled at those.

He also seemed enamoured with cameras as photos seemed to be a common thing for him to snap. You often wondered what he was taking pictures of, but he really was not so keen to let you see his phone. Was it something embarrassing? You could only wonder. He spoke about how difficult photos were to take in the past and how the convenience of modern technology made it easier to capture so many moments. His words felt so genuine as he turned his phone to show the picture he had just taken. It was of you standing on the beach watching the sunset. Your cheeks grew warm.

Naturally, you spent more time with him, the two of you grew closer. It was hard not to. Volo just felt so approachable. He was there when you needed him in your hardest moments. And… Well… It was hard not to acknowledge him. He was oddly beautiful. The way his golden hair was tied back and styled to cover his left eye felt so oddly purposeful. His face was hypnotising to stare at, and you regularly found yourself lost in thoughts while staring at him. If he noticed this, he did not appear to be bothered. That friendly smile of his remained on his face.

When he invited you out to the forest, you had thought little of it. Another evening walk while it was cooler on the island. You found yourself at his side following a path. A few bird pokemon made tired calls through the trees, and a lonely Ninjask seemed to desperately call for a mate. The last light of day shone through the leaves on the dirt path as you both walked deeper and deeper. Eventually, you came to a small clearing with a wild flower field. Floette danced around with Cutiefly. It was quite an unexpectedly beautiful sight in the low light of the hour.

“Quite a nice location, is it not?” Volo's hand grasped your own as he brought you closer to the flowers. You followed along with little hesitation. The pokemon mostly appeared unbothered by the presence of you both. Instead, they continued to focus on the flowers alone. A small nod was given by you in reply. The blond perked up mostly. “I'm glad,” his hand tightened around yours as he turned to you, “I wanted to find a place memorable for you.” You felt a bit confused, but Volo pulled you closer to him. His impossible to scale height had him looking down at you with a bright smile.

“I suppose I should be honest with you, shouldn't I?” he sighed, “I'm quite fond of you.” The forest seemed to grow quiet with his confession. Even a light breeze swaying the leaves of tress barely made a sound. Your breathing was the only thing in your ears as you processed his words. Fond… of you? It was not a plain “I love you” or “I want to date you,” but it could be assumed to be something in the same vein. You blinked. How did you feel about Volo? It was hard to say, but… You found that you did not feel so opposed to the idea of being something with him. The quickness after ending such a long-term relationship had its concerns, yet…

“I am, too,” you mumbled out in reply. The blond's eyes closed in contentment. He brought you into a tight embrace, holding your head to his chest. His heartbeat was loud in your ears. It was slow… Calming… You really did feel at ease with Volo around. Trusting him almost felt too easy at times, despite your distrust of him at first. You felt so far from your worries about his possible attempts at doing what Cyrus had done. Volo had never really brought that up again. It seemed it really must have been some phrase that you had misinterpreted.

Your eyes met his grey ones as Illumise and Volbeat began to light up the darkening scene. He leaned down to press his lips to yours, and you easily reciprocated the affection. His arms held you tightly. You found yourself deeply lost in him. He was an anomaly through and through, but you truly find his knowledge and kindness something desirable. Something about him was just so similar to Cynthia that it was far too easy to trust him.

You allowed him into your hotel room that night.

~

Volo felt at ease as you slept in his arms. All his hard work and careful plays had given him the result that he so desperately desired. You were at his side again, just as you had been before that incident. That blue-haired annoyance had almost entirely been removed from the equation, too.

Now, all he needed to focus on was forcing out the Alpha pokemon before him once and for all.

This world would be remade into something better than the unbearable state it was in.

And, you would be at his side.