#what mathias family name??

[craxxez3]

Mathias -Rykter series

[the-kr8tor]

Salt in the Wound

Pairing: Pirate! Hobie Brown x fem! Reader

Word count: 6.6k

Tags: Use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader, CW food mentions, CW innuendos, TW blood, TW death, CW violence.

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Between the Devil and the Sea Masterlist

CHAPTER 11 >>> CHAPTER 12

Tears run down your cheek as you see the sailboat get to the island as fast as its rickety wood can handle. The wind is on their side, blowing the sails towards the small patch of land.

“Y/N,” Hobie's voice echoes above your sob, he tentatively cups your elbow, and like the sun, you let him pull you in. “They're alright,” he whispers atop your head, sighing, letting himself meld into you. “We're alright, yeah?”

Pulling away, you nod, “go, I'll be here.”

Shaking his head, he cradles your face, you can still smell the soil clinging to his palms, you don't mind it simply because it's him.

“We'll greet them together. They're as much your family as mine.” His words spill over you like the tears brimming in your eyes. Leaving your side, he encourages you to follow with a nod and shining eyes. “C’mon, scuttlebutt, let's meet the crew halfway.”

Your poisonous words are still stamped in his mind, clinging to him like invasive vines. But he's not going to be cold around you, or it might prove your words right. He's still figuring everything out, every syllable of your words is sticking to him. He'll do better, he promised himself right on her empty grave, but how could he do that when his hunger for revenge claws at his bones?

He wishes he could do both.

“Alright.” You utter quietly, “I'll be behind you.”

Sparing you one tender look, Hobie sprints towards the shore with a grin, salty water crashing against his legs. You lag behind, watching Gwen jump from the boat even though the water still reaches up her neck.

Swimming towards each other, Hobie tugs her hand, pulling her close, embracing, squeezing and laughing in relief. Pavitr and Miles follow a second later, completely drenched, wading the water towards Hobie and Gwen. They join them, hugging and clinging to each other like barnacles on a ship.

Hobie does his best to embrace the trio in his arms while James tackles the four of them to the sand. With a splash, they untangle themselves. They yell happily even when they get a mouthful of salty water.

The water laps at your feet, drenching your shoes, tears still streaming down your face. Your weeping gets Gwen’s attention. She weeps when she sees you standing, heart still beating.

“Y/N,” she says through a wet sob, reaching towards you, the men waits for you to join them in the sand.

But before you could even get close, you hear loud splashing, Yuri swims towards you speedily.

“My wife!” She yells, eyes welled up and red, arms at the ready.

You open your arms to her happily. With how fast she's running, Yuri crashes her body to yours then you both land on the wet sand with a loud *plop.

Embracing her middle, she hides her cry on the crook of your neck. With your eyes facing the heavens above, your vision slowly fills with their faces. Smiling down, sniffing and tearing up, you reach up and they take the invitation to lay on the sand with you, letting everything out like Yuri.

Hobie watches the pile of pirates as they all have a good cry. He can see the relief in their faces, shoulders shaking yet their muscles are relaxed. Letting the tides wash over him as he sits on the soft sand, he observes your hands and how it holds on to everyone tightly.

He gets reminded of what could've been if not for Mathias. The fire that was quelled by you roars back to life inside his chest. His eyes train towards the empty graves, the ugly beast of revenge hungers once again.

One call of his name from your lips calms it down immediately even if it's brief.

With your smile, he thinks you've found what you've been looking for.

Miles leans away from you first, untangling his limbs, he makes his way towards Hobie with a wobbly smile. The navigator clasps his shoulder for only a second before deciding that a proper hug is better.

“Took care of ‘em for me?” Hobie asks, holding Miles by his shoulders, eyes brimming with tears when the kid he watched grow up nods at his question.

“I'm glad we found you because I'm never doing that again.” He jokes, earning a laugh from Hobie.

“Good, you did good.” Hobie pats Miles’ shoulder before tugging him in, hoping that he shows his gratitude through the hug.

Yuri lifts her head up from your neck, sniffing then groaning at the weight on top of her. “You all smell! Get off!”

“We're having a moment, Yuri! Could you not ruin it?” James exclaims from your side, his hand cradling the back of your head.

Everyone laughs at their bickering, you look at the fishing boat, expecting two other bodies to appear. With heat behind your eyes, you cry again.

“Look what you've done! You two made Y/N cry again!” Pav wipes his eyes with his sleeve, choking back a sob. “And now I'm crying too!”

“Pav!” Yuri, now sitting up, her hand holding yours, beckons him over. Her voice cracks but she still comforts Pavitr.

He frowns, sniffing and closing the small distance to get to Yuri's open arms. “They're alive.” His words squeeze your heart.

Yuri pats his back, “They're good, Pav.”

You and Hobie look at eachother at the same time. He smiles softly, mouthing something you can't decipher. Opening your mouth to ask, Gwen lays her head down on your chest, you think she's listening for your heartbeat.

“I'm alright, Gwen.” You brush her hair away from her face, her cheeks are red and sunburnt, frowning lips moving to ask you a heavy question.

“Is he alright?” Her voice is merely above a whisper, sitting up, you follow suit. “Are you alright?” You know what she's truly asking.

Shaking your head with teary eyes, you glance at the graves hidden behind the trees. “I really don't know, Gwen. But we're getting there.”

As the others head towards camp and away from the sun, Gwen helps you up to your feet. “I'm just glad you're both alive. That's all that matters.”

James suddenly exclaims, “you were living in damn luxury! Look at this camp!”

Pav calls for you and Gwen, wiggling his eyebrows towards you with a teasing smirk. “And only one bed oho!”

The blonde next to you raises a brow, a smile slowly spreading across her lips.

“Don't—” you warn nervously.

“I wasn't even gonna say anything.” Gwen puts her hands up in surrender, walking away from you with a smirk similar to Hobie's.

Yuri cackles loudly, arms full with your stash of chocolate. “You're holding out on us, Hobie!”

“That's not yours, you goblin!”

“You already have her, let me have the chocolates at least! Learn to fuckin’ share!”

Hobie has his hands on his hips, shaking his head whilst Yuri gives him a shit eating grin, tempting him to say otherwise. He doesn't.

Chuckling, you make your way towards the group. Hobie notices you coming and he gives you a small flitting smile before he leaves you and Yuri to your own devices. He then drags James away from the makeshift tent.

Grabbing him by his feet while James shrieks, yelling out, “I was just checking out your place! It's so tiny, how'd you two fit in there?!”

The tears turn into laughter, and the frowns shift into smiles.

Pav elbows your side, “you cuddling our captain?”

“Oi, Pav, I just realized I haven't hugged you yet.” Hobie stomps over to him, arms wide open, eyes glaring at his teasing.

“Yes you did—” With Pavitr’s surprised oomph, the captain tackles him to the ground, James joins in, adding himself to the dogpile.

—

James chews loudly, pomegranate juice sliding down his chin and arms. Ruby liquid leaving thin pink lines on his skin.

“Christ” Yuri says under her breath, wiping her hands clean on her pants.

Everyone sits around the fire, fishbones and pomegranate skins used as kindle, turning the smoke into an unsavoury mix of smells.

Hobie sits across from you, watching him chat with Pavitr through the flames. The orange and reds cackling around him, you think he fits right in. But he shouldn't be.

All the while, you feel eyes on you. Blinking, you crane your neck to look at the source of the disturbance. Miles’ eyes are narrowed into slits, not angry or frustrated, like he's trying to find something that has changed in you.

“Miles, what the fuck?” Your words turn heads. Hand limp around the stick you use to poke the fire.

“You look well,” He makes a face. “Considering you were stranded here for a month.”

Pavitr hides his laugh behind the fish he's eating. Yuri and James share a look while Gwen waits for the scene to unfold. Hobie warns Miles with a stare. He doesn't budge.

“Do you want to trade places?” You jokingly say. “We've got plenty of room.”

“Hmm” he contemplates, flicking his eyes at Hobie. “You also look alright. I mean you both look really well.” he said teasingly, a smirk playing on his lips. “Took care of eachother huh?”

With Miles’ last sentence, the crew lets out a loud guffaw that has the birds nesting in the trees to fly away frightened.

If only they knew.

“Come off it.” Hobie throws a wet pomegranate seed at him. Hitting him right on his head.

“What?” Miles asks, still giggling. “I was just saying how well you took care of eachother! I mean compared to us who were just trying to live day to day in the capital, you two were living like royals!”

Pav nods at you. “Very jealous right now.” You give him a wordless look, saying ‘really?’ through the simple stare.

Yuri elbows your side. “Did he give you his magic fingers?” She wiggles her own fingers, eyebrows dancing.

“Yuri!” You gasp while Hobie almost chokes on his pomegranate seed.

They all giggle, Gwen has a disgusted look on her face. You hear her audibly groan despite her suppressing it with her hand.

“Sorry,” Yuri says without genuine apology, still laughing. “I meant his ‘magic hands’ y’know Hobie's great at massaging. Even though he rarely shares that gift.” She jokingly glares at her captain.

“You don't deserve my magic hands.” Hobie adds, flicking a fish bone at her.

She dramatically sighs, “after so many years of service, I still haven't reaped the benefits of having a masseuse as a captain.”

It's your turn to chuckle, the sound getting Hobie's attention.

Yuri flicks her eyes between you two with a soft smile and raised eyebrow. “Shit, I should flutter my eyelashes at you too eh, cap? I might get that massage if I do.”

“Oh I want a massage too!” James exclaims with his mouth full, he then blinks rapidly towards Hobie who turns James' face away with his whole palm atop his face.

“When we get Mathias everyone gets a bloody massage.” Hobie didn't let the teasing go under his skin, he just couldn't take the way you were smiling at him. If the joking got any further and with your smile all carefree and filled with genuine happiness, he won't be able to resist himself.

Then the teasing will definitely get unbearable.

“Better yet, once we get to the mermaid’s head we all line up to receive our massage compensation.” Yuri adds, Hobie's smile flattens into a line.

“I agree,” Gwen proudly says. “I think we all deserve one after what happened.” she smiles at Hobie, it fades slowly once she sees his eyes alight.

He throws his half eaten pomegranate at the fire, the flames roar to life, illuminating the lines on his sharp face, and you see the same Hobie you met. The grey clouds warn you of a storm coming, warning you to hunker down and hide, but instead you want to greet it so you could calm it down once it's all said and done.

The air is suddenly thick, the searing heat singeing your skin. And they all feel it too.

“We'll talk about that later. For now you need to say goodbye, we need to leave before nightfall.” Standing up abruptly, he makes way towards the trees.

“Goodbye to who?” Pavitr asks you, confusion on his face, voice tensed.

“The crew” you answer sadly.

It was enough for them to join Hobie.

—

You sit on the sand, eyes down, chin tucked atop your knees, fingers drawing mindlessly on the sand— flicking away pomegranate seeds that were left discarded. Listening to the crashing of waves, you let it wash over you, tempted to join it.

You're happy that they've found you and Hobie, grateful to whatever entity paved their way towards safety. Your heart swells that Hobie can finally breathe again now that he has the knowledge that they're all alive and in one piece. But the muffled cries behind you bring tears back to the surface.

You gave them space when Hobie showed them the graves, letting them say their goodbyes without you– you who was a complete stranger back then, who, compared to them, was just a visitor in their lives. You thought they would appreciate it, but his grey eyes never left your back, silently inviting you in. If only you had eyes behind your head.

Fingers brush atop your hair, you would've thought it was him but it's somebody else just based on the different callouses.

You know him by touch alone.

“You alright there? We were waiting for you.” Gwen asks, sitting next to you.

“Everybody seems to ask me that question lately.” You don't mean to sound rude, but you couldn't help it after hearing Pavitr calling Finn's name when he saw the graves, it would put anyone in a whirlwind of emotions with how his voice breaks.

Your emotions are running high, afraid of what's to come, afraid of all the uncertainty.

“Well, are you?” She looks at you pointedly.

You give her a tight smile. “What happens now?”

She sighs, fatigue written all over her young face. Staring at the horizon, watching the sea swallow the sun whole as the waves crash on the beach, she closes her eyes; letting the breeze cool her cheeks.

“I'm sorry it took us this long to find you.”

“What happened to the crew after…everything?”

“We docked on the nearest village, surprisingly there weren't any navy waiting for us.”

“I don't think anyone could survive that.”

“But you and Hobie did.” Gwen cranes her neck to finally look at you, “We all did—”she gestures towards the others. “I…” She continues with a pained look. “After we recuperated from our injuries, one by one people started to leave. By the time we were setting up to try and find you, it was just us five left. Y/N, there's no bloodsail pirates anymore. It's just us.”

“I'm sorry,” you feel like it was your fault, from Finn's death to the ship sinking. And you have no idea how you could forgive yourself for it. You might've said goodbye to the perished crew, reigned in your grief but the guilt still presides in your throat. Slowly choking, slowly leaving you breathless. “I'm so fucking sorry.”

How could Hobie still sleep next to you when all you did was ruin what he had?

That's why the island tempts you to stay, let the others leave you here as a penance for what you've done. Because on your island, everything stays how it is. You silently wish you were a part of it, even if he isn't there by your side. But it's alright, as long as he can forgive you.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Gwen says, reading you like the open book that you are. “Finn chose to help, and we chose this life. You have no hand in this.” Her words shakes your guilt ridden self. “Their deaths would mean nothing if you don't live, Y/N.” She grabs your shaking hand, “that's why we're leaving, we're tired and you were right back then, we deserve to live too.”

“What do you mean?”

“We're going back to the mermaid's head, and if Hobie wants to join us he can. But if he doesn't then that's that.” Gwen sniffs, fighting the tears. “There was no traitor, we asked, we interrogated everyone who was left. I kinda wished there was, because it means that Mathias wasn't that good, that he didn't just know everything. That he can be beat.” There's anger in her voice, it's faint but it's there. “You can't fight someone that powerful. Someone that’s always two steps ahead of us.”

She hesitates for a moment. “If Hobie doesn't stop or at least let us breathe then we're all moving on.” Swallowing thickly, you squeeze her hand. “Part ways. We all talked about it, and we'd love it if you could join us.”

“Leave Hobie?” The thought has your heart cracking for him. “What would happen to him?”

Gwen scoffs, “I don't know, but I know he can handle himself.”

“If I can convince him to stop, will you stay?”

You know you can't persuade him, the flames have engulfed him, he's used to the heat and the burn. You've tried your hardest to dissuade him the entire time you've been on the island, thinking your efforts were enough for him to let his anger go, thinking you were enough. But you failed, your promise to Karl lay broken at your feet. But you understand him now more than ever, you understand him more than you understand yourself.

Now all you can do is to make sure he survives the embers, to rise through the ashes when it's all said and done. He has to survive, he has to or the fire would consume you too.

“He won't, Y/N, he said it himself just a minute ago. He's not gonna stop until Mathias' head rolls.”

“But—” It's futile.

“Listen, I've seen him look at you, you could be the only person who can convince him.” She shakes her head, wiping a single tear that escaped from her eye. “He's not the same Hobie as before, we love him but we can't keep watching him destroy himself—”

“Gwen.” Hobie's voice echoes through the clearing.

Your head turns speedily towards him, Gwen looks on with her head held high. His face is unreadable, jaw clenched, grey eyes staring down.

“Time to go.” His strides are heavy on the sand. He's sharpening his knife once again.

You've forgotten he's a pirate with all his soft touches and tender eyes he has given you during your stay. Revenge once again rears its ugly head, and you see him stand tall, answering its call once again.

—

The sky is slowly turning dark, the clouds red and orange in the horizon, stars appearing one by one, dotting the forlorn heavens. With the island fading away from view, you stare at it until it's a mere dot in the distance. The thought that the piece of land has been there before you and it'll be there after you're long gone fills you with ease. The marks you and Hobie left in it will hopefully stay for years to come, with the pomegranate seeds, you wish that it may grow into a tree and one day help someone who needs it.

With the soft rocking of the boat against the waves, you're back at sea.

Blinking away the thought, you watch as Hobie sails the small boat, the small lamp tucked in the corner illuminates his face, all his worry and responsibility brought into the light. he hasn't talked since your conversation with Gwen. And you hadn't had the chance to speak to him.

The sea is rough with wind blowing harshly on the sails, but nothing could compare to the thick tension in the small boat. It's deadly silent, Gwen and the others stand on one end of the ship, whispering to each other; while Hobie stands on the other. You sit in the middle, crouched down, hunkering down for the heavy conversation that's about to happen.

Yuri sighs, footsteps thudding loudly on the wooden floorboards. Suddenly you're brought back to the day that Mathias almost had you in his clutches.

“Hobie.” Yuri calls, voice rising above the loud wind.

“What?” He asks, hand tightly gripping the helm.

“We need to talk.” She's steadfast, back straight, nails digging into her palms.

“Then talk.” His voice is firm, words uttered through gritted teeth.

Yuri sighs, eyes roaming around the small crew. Her eyes stop over to you, so you look away.

“We need to talk about where we're heading and what we're going to do.”

“Simple, we kill Mathias and we go home.” He says without looking at Yuri.

Yuri scoffs, “home? Where the fuck is that even? Our home is now at the bottom of the sea.” You stand up, still avoiding everyone's eyes. “When will you wake up, Hobie?”

Hobie turns around, eyes alight. “Do you think I'm doin' this for fun? He needs to go down, Yuri.”

“I know he does!”

“We’re tired, Hobie, we need to regroup.” Miles pipes up. “Come on, man, we can't beat him in this dingy boat.”

“We had an entire month to rest. We were this close to getting him.” Hobie wavers but he continues on his path. “Just—we need to find a ship, then we hunt him down, and be ready for what he throws at us. Be better.”

“With what crew?!” Gwen cracks, frustration marring her face. “It's just us, Hobie. No one else.”

“We've been through worse—”

“Enough is enough!” Gwen's voice breaks. “I love MJ too, but she's gone, Hobie. She was a navy spy who was supposed to bring us down. And now Mathias is using her against us again. Please, we miss you, you haven't been yourself for a long time.” She quickly wipes her fallen tears, not letting Hobie see it.

You had a glimpse of it, the old Hobie in your little slice of paradise, he's still in there, underneath his tensed muscles and shaking knuckles. You've accepted the other side of him too, all bared teeth and bloodied skin, it's what you were used to. You know he can be both, and you're terrified to admit you love them both.

“We understand your pain, Hobie,” Yuri adds and Hobie scoffs. “We do,” her voice is soft, lacking venom. “Her death has been chipping away at you but can't you see that you've forgotten why we do this? Why we joined you? Trusted you?”

The raven haired stands her ground. “Revenge has blinded you, Mathias was a fuckin’ drop in the sea of assholes we needed to take down but you let that single drop drown you. All this time we could've gone after worse people then came back for him, but you wouldn't listen.”

“Mathias killed Ned.” James pipes up from his corner, arms crossed on his chest. “I miss the little shit as much as you do.” He looks at Hobie. “But we're too weak right now, we can't kill him with seven fucking people and a fishing boat.” He stands next to Hobie, “I'm not gonna leave you, cap, but It's not Mathias' time yet.”

“James—” Yuri calls him sharply.

“I'm staying with Hobie. If he agrees to rebuild.” James waits for Hobie's reply.

Like a cruel twist of fate, Hobie looks at you.

“Don't bring Y/N into this, Hobie.” Pavitr comments next to you. “I don't want to leave you either. You're our captain, but we've been at it for three straight years, put up with all of it, followed you because you're our captain. We just need you to let us breathe. Please.”

“We will never be able to breathe again until he's gone. So we can't let him heal, he's at his lowest and if we strike now—” With Hobie's words, the crew walks away. He turns to you, face full of hidden sorrow.

“Drop us off to the nearest dock.” Gwen says without looking back.

You stand in the middle of everything.

He calls your name, looking towards you for something– anything to help him.

But in truth, you have no idea what to do and which side to choose. The voice inside your head screams for you to run, to get away from what's in front of you.

So you do the opposite. That's not you anymore.

Your feet feels heavy when you walk towards him, numerous eyes dig at your back. But you don't turn around.

They shake their heads, leaving you two alone to head below deck. You can hear their muffled voices, frustrated and angry.

“You leavin’ me too?” he asks, turning back to the helm, trembling hands gripping the wheel, brows furrowed and frown deepening with every second that passes.

You hold his hand, slowly uncurling his fingers away from the wheel, kneading his skin softly.

“Haven't decided yet.” Looking at him through your lashes, you massage his hands like he taught you.

“Not funny.”

“Wasn't joking.”

Hobie blinks, conflicted. “What's there to decide? You either leave or you stay, easy.”

“No, it's not easy.” You avoid his eyes, turning his hands, palms up, you trace the lines over it with your thumbs. “I honestly don't know what to do.” You chuckle nervously.

His eyes follow your hands that squeezes him tender and gentle. Too gentle for someone like him.

“But I do know grief, I may not understand it well but I know you shouldn't adjust your feelings to make other people feel comfortable. But at the same time, you shouldn't neglect the people that are still around you.” You look at the rain clouds in his eyes. “They love you and I—” you pause, and his heart almost stops. “—they don't want you to destroy yourself. Do what you need to do, just don't let him try to kill you the second time.”

You continue, heart thudding loudly like cannons in a ship. “I know you, and that everything you do is out of love. Love for the crew that you've found family in, love for the people that you've helped and the people who you'll help.” Your words are soft and gentle. “Love for your ideals that never waver. And dare I say, love for yourself. You've done so many amazing things against all odds, I know you'll conquer this too.”

“Don't act like you know me.” he says it forlornly like he doesn't want to believe his own words. Truthfully, he wants you to, needs you to know him as much as he knows you.

You smile softly, eyes roaming around his face and all the sadness he harbors underneath. “Hobie” you call his name quietly, shaking your head subtly, you tell him otherwise, conveying that his words aren't true at all.

The dark clouds part in his eyes, and he twists his hand to hold yours. “But you do. Fuck,” he inhales sharply at the realization. “You do.”

“I do.” you take your hand away, reaching up to cup the back of his head, fingers grasping gently at the baby hairs. “And it's alright if you don't know me. You don't have to.”

“What if I do, I do know you.”

You chuckle, “it's an honour to be known by you.” Holding on to him tightly with your breath fanning against his skin, your face is solemn, “just don't make me choose between them—Hobie!” you gasp at the end, gripping on to his shirt, eyes wide with fear at what's behind him.

He follows your line of sight, a large ship looms just behind the boat, and it's heading towards you at great speed. It's sails are all open, stark white against the dark sky.

“Go tell the others.” He frantically twists to look back to you, maybe he shouldn't have, for your fear stricken face would haunt him for the rest of his days. “Love,” shaking you back to reality, he takes your face in his hands. “Go below deck and hide.”

“I'm not fucking leaving you up here.”

“I don't see any flags, chances are it's a merchant ship. I'll talk to them, now go” He reassures you, hiding his own fear, tamping it down for your sake.

With one last look at Hobie, running quickly while he maintains speed, casual, trying not to alarm the other ship. He has talked his way out of situations before, he can get out of this, for the crew and for you.

He hears footsteps, and just like back on his ship, the great sea spider weaves his webs around the crew, instructing them, guiding them like always.

“Hobie,” Gwen calls as they all watch the large ship sail next to them, the shadow casting over the smaller boat, hiding the moonlight from their eyes. “Did you teach her how to swim?”

“Aye, I did.” he whispers, eyes boring into a man with a large frame, his brown hair blowing softly in the wind.

“Good,” she says, hands never leaving her weapons. “We might need to swim.”

The remaining bloodsail pirates stare at the well dressed men looking down at them, their faces unreadable from the height, their swords glinting in the moonlight.

You hunker down below deck, legs tucked, body hidden behind crates, arms braced over your head, waiting for impact. The force doesn't arrive, instead, you hear a booming voice outside, deep and commanding, the sound lights your nerves on fire. Then you hear your name from the man's lips and you close your eyes tightly, imagining that you were back on your island, with him, with the sweet pomegranates and the sand between your fingers.

Maybe you should've stayed.

Hobie's voice is clear as day, bringing you back to the present. Tone laced with anger and resentment, but to you it's the light at the end of the dim cave, without it you would've been lost in the past.

“No Y/N here,” he says convincingly. “Must've gotten the wrong boat, we're just fishin’ ‘ere.”

“What fisherman carries a blunderbuss? Two at that.” The former admiral says gruffly and impatiently. He sighs audibly, “can you at least tell me if she's alive?”

“‘m tellin' you, mate, we don't know anyone by that name.”

“We've got a shipment scheduled for tomorrow. Do you really want our families to starve just because you're looking for a bird?” Gwen adds, her voice is steady.

“I think your father's well fed at the stables, miss Stacy.” You can practically hear their shuddered breaths from below. Holding your dagger close, you watch your mirrored disheveled expression on the steel. “You've been traveling with her for months, I highly doubt you don't know her.”

Hobie seethes, teeth clenched, he masks his voice. “Ah, that one. She's dead, drowned when your old friend Mathias attacked us.”

“He's not my—” Miguel clears his throat. He pauses, then he calls your name once again, louder this time. “I’m not here to hurt you, just please show yourself.” His voice is tired, fatigued. “I have your necklace, and I'm—”

“She is not here” Hobie enunciates every word uttered. “You want her that bad hm? She's at the bottom of the bloody sea, now kindly fuck off.”

You hear the unmistakable click of guns. There's an image in your head, a morbid vision of your friends lying dead on the floor, blood pooling from their broken bodies, head cracked open. Hobie's eyes dark and lifeless, lips uttering your name softly. So you run towards danger, for them, for Hobie.

He sees you come up in slow motion, eyes glossy, irises small and erratic, hands gripping the pommel of the silver dagger. Your eyes meet the hurricane inside him for a second before you stand in front of him.

“I'm here,” you say, stance unwavering despite everything. “Put down your weapons and we'll talk.”

Pavitr and everyone else gets flung back to the day you stood in front of them just like this. Back straight, fingers curled around your dagger, voice as powerful as the sea. Fire licking at their feet, corpses of people they once knew littered on the floor, their blood spilling over the same floors they once called home.

They can't have a repeat of what happened that day.

But all they could do is watch, having no plan and limited bullets. The heated fight before melted everything in them. All they could do is watch and be ready to grab you and jump overboard. Even if they have to swim for a thousand miles.

All Hobie could do is hold the hem of your shirt, subtly, more than ready to yank you away from the danger in front of you. He knows he can't fight the former admiral, he now realizes he can't fight Mathias in this state. It's too late now for he has destroyed the trust of his crew with rotten words he threw at them with his thirst for revenge destroying everything he once held dear to him.

Miguel's face morphs into relief, telling his men to stand down, eyes never leaving your form.

“I meant it when I said I won't harm you. Do you think I chased you across the country and sea because I hold a grudge?” His voice wavers. “How could I when you're a mirror of your mother?”

“Wha– I'm not—” you grow furious. “Jess? Is she with you? What have you done to her?!” Like a caged animal, you take your anger at him, teeth bared, claws ready to strike.

“She's not here, I— can you let me talk for once?” he presses on the gap between his eyes. With a sigh and sympathetic eyes, he tells you the truth.

“I'm your godfather and I'm here to bring you home.”

Your resolve cracks, the word ‘godfather’ is foreign to you but one word echoes through your chest— home. You've got someone waiting for you.

Looking behind you, smiling softly, chuckling with tears streaming down your face, and you see it again, the anguish on his face. Scars stretched on his skin with his deep frown. And you get lost in the silver of his eyes, molten rivers of steel, you'd do anything to protect those eyes. Even if it ends up hating you.

Hobie takes you by the elbow, his own body hiding you from Miguel.

Said man groans, rubbing at his eyelids, exhausted and lacking energy in his sloppy movements. In your peripheral you see a familiar woman trailing next to him, resisting the urge to smack him upside the head with a roll of her eyes.

“What if he's lying?” Hobie whispers, thumbs wiping your tears away. “What if he's only saying that to get you?”

Miles and the rest of the crew circle around you both, never turning their back away from the men watching from above.

“Is he the same guy you told us, Hobie?” He asks, dark eyes trained above, an excuse to avoid Hobie's face.

Your body tells you that you belong in the circle, not outside of it, forever observing as an outsider. Yet your mind screams for you to question Miguel, ask him about your family, ask him where you truly belong.

“You all know?” Your voice shakes as Gwen squeezes your arm. A reassurance that they mean well.

“I told ‘em just in case he tries to chase after you again. It was for a good reason, Y/N, I had to tell them.” Hobie lets your face go after remembering there are numerous eyes on him. They can't know he cares for you lest they use you against him.

“I'm not mad at that, I trust them.” You roam your eyes around their faces like it would be the last time you'll ever see them. “I trust all of you. But you can all leave, sail away far from here and I'll talk to him alone. I won't hold it against you. This is my problem, not yours.”

“If it's your problem then it's our problem too.” Pav says with his whole heart and everyone agrees. “You're part of the crew, Y/N, if you stay, we stay too.”

As you roam your eyes around their faces, faces you've come to care for, it wouldn't be so bad if Miguel was lying. But you have to know, or all the unanswered questions and curiosity will eat at you until your end of days.

With a small nod and sharp inhale, you continue. “Can you trust me?” you smile at them, they can see the sparks in your eyes.

Yuri smirks next to you, hand never leaving the handle of her gun. “Sounds like you've got a plan eh, wifey?”

“I do.” And I hope it works. You think. “I'm not getting on their ship. If he wants to explain himself then he can go to us.”

Hobie smiles proudly, while the others nod approvingly.

“Hah,” Gwen pats your back. “Just like what we did near the coast of Malta.”

“Good times.” James adds, elbowing Pav like there isn't danger ahead.

“If I find out he's lying, I'll cut him myself.” You say bravely.

“No,” Hobie interrupts. “I'll do it. 'm not lettin' you be alone with him.” He knows men like Miguel, skin traders who will lie and sink their teeth in just to get a bag of coins in return.

The crew thinks you would protest until you nod. You'd be crazy to decline, and now they know how much they've missed throughout the month you two have been alone on that island.

“I'll be at the helm,” Pav whispers, “just in case we need to get away fast.”

Hobie clasps his shoulder in thanks. “James, stay near the mast, help Pav steer the bloody thing.” James, thumps his knuckle on Hobie's chest before going to his station. “Miles, be at the door and listen in if we need an extra pair of hands in bringing him down.”

“Gladly.” Miles says, leaving the captain's side to keep watch.

“Gwen and Yuri, you two know where to shoot.”

They look at eachother with determination.

“I'll take the helmsman and you take the gunner.” Gwen instructs Yuri.

“Aye aye.” The raven haired beams mischievously.

Now alone, he opens his mouth to say something but you beat him to it with a simple call of his name.

“Hobie.” Arm slipping out of his grasp to hold his hand properly. Squeezing it, remembering where every single indent and scar on his knuckles are with just your touch. Brushing your thumb around it, without a second thought, you lean towards him, lips pressing like a feather on his cheek.

As quick as the tides, you lean away from him.

Hobie wanted it to last forever, to meld his skin atop yours, to forever be attached to you. But he knows what the kiss entails, it wasn't just your affection bursting at the seams after months of longing; it was a goodbye.

He barely felt it but it doesn't mean his heart didn't skip a beat when he felt your cold lips. With a shuddered breath, he takes you in, simmers in your soft smile, bathes in your eyes. You do the same as his familiar scent wafts over you, sea salt and sea breeze, you now know why men choose the sea.

“I won't let him take you.” He promises.

“And I won't let him kill you.” You promise.

And with your final words, you turn towards Miguel with fire in your eyes fueled by your will to continue.

“Come down here and we'll talk.” In that small ship you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders.

With the loud thump of his weapons falling from his waist to the wooden floorboards, hands up in surrender, he agrees wholeheartedly.

[sunnylolli]

How many au's do you got? and what's their names

Oh sweet mother, that's like counting grains of sand at the beach at this point-

I'll handpick from what I've posted and then add two or three more:

1. "Can I stay for a year or two?"/CISFAYOT- Alfred's Mentally Ill and goes to stay with Arthur to unwind so he can get back to work ASAP. Just to be jumpsacared by Arthur having gotten therapy and who is now enforcing obligatory therapy on Alfred which absolutely works. He has a stern dad-to-president talking to with Alfred's boss after christmas and has him put on paid sick leave so he can start actually getting better.

2. Lighthouse au - Arthur's a lighthouse keeper, Francis is a myserious specter of the sea that lures him in

3. Time Travel au - Alfred forgets to mind his business when out for a walk in the English Woodlands and ends up stepping through a fairy-circle-esque circle of branches and trees and is teleported back to early middle age England to meet England when he was 200 years old.

4. Domestic FACE au/Domestic au: A modern day, human au centered around the FACE-family, but where I've branched into including the nordics for self-indulgence. There's not really any plot, it's just a slice-of-life/Buying groceries kind of au :,)

5. Pirate au: (They are countries in this) Arthur's a pirate on the run from the English Crown, Alfred's a wee lad that hides in a crate of oranges and sneaks onto Arthur's ship. Arthur recognizes that he's a nation, thus let's him stay at the price of menial labor. It's an au where Arthur weren't there to discover Alfred in the 17th century and were held prisoner i England until he broke free and went to sea. Meanwhile Alfred's been growing up with his people around the east-coast but wants to explore and do more things, feeling like he's meant for more, so he finds a ship and sneaks on.

Gonna make a read more so this doesn't go rogue on the dash:

Here are the ones I haven't posted about because there's not really any art of it:

5. Medieval comedy sketch: In which we follow Arthur (Nation) through his very eventful life in the 15th century as a personal guard to an excessively annoying prince. The prince eventually grows on him and Arthur's ready to lay down his life several times for him, but turns out so is the prince. I started it initially as a full-on comedy sitcom (think Monty Python), but it became a comedy melodrama in the end.

I'm not mad about it though, one of the more lighthearted and fun au's to write - It's honestly my favorite one.

6. Big, little empire: This is prime example of biting off more than you can chew for me. This au is also medieval, but much much earlier- It's set in around year 1000, during the reign of King Cnut the Great and is about Arthur's and Asger's (Mathias, once he's properly christened) relations, personal and political. My plan for it was to explore Arthur as starting out watching empires and becoming one himself - Though with the constant nagging at the back of his head that he is not meant for greatness and the doubt is what consumes him in the end.

7. Race you to the end: Yet another prime example of too much plot for a skilled procrastinator who gets easily overwhelmed with details. This au is genuinely one of the saddest, most heartwrenching au's I have ever had, and I have MANY.

The au is nationverse and is about Gilbert and Ludwig maneuvering Gilbert's bucketlist once it becomes apparent that Gilbert is terminal. The title itself makes me want to cry, because it refers to the first scene where they're at the beach; Gilbert insists they race to see who reaches a group of seagulls first and ends up winning by tripping up Ludwig. I know it's a spoiler, but Gilbert does die at the end and Ludwig goes back to the beach from the beginning and chases a pack of gulls by himself.

8. Portrait of the modern nuclear family/Family unit: Tw for talk of drug and substance abuse for this one, lads.

This au is about FACE, but unlike my other FACE au's, it's dysfunctional. MAJORLY dysfunctional. Alfred is caught up with meth/cocaine and juggles a failing career on the side that leaves him to take up loans to fund his addiction. Matthew's caught up with weed and alcohol, though he's managing to seek help and make an attempt to get better, because he does not want to end up like Arthur and Francis. Francis is a bonnafide wine-alcoholic ("but it's wine, so it doesn't count!") and Arthur's "just" an alcoholic who has too much to say and too much work for his own good to maintain.

Together they make the perfect cocktail for family get together's like birthdays, holidays and whatnot, because all four of them together always ends up ruining the occasion. But they all want to pretend they're normal, so they keep doing it. Over and over again. (Nationverse)

9. Alfred gets lost in the Canadian winter wilderness au: Exactly as the title says, Alfred's on his way up to visit Matthew over the holidays just to get caught in a blizzard. He sees something in the middle of the road, swerves and crashes. It's just about Alfred wandering through the thick of it surviving and encountering ✨folklore creatures✨. It's a bit of a mystique, a bit of a horror au.

10. Haunted house au: Alfred forces Arthur to come along with him on several trips to American and European haunted or abandoned houses for the thrill of it. They end up in an actually haunted one in the US and things go south very fast. A very cliché horror, but one that I also enjoy writing immensely.

I am ending it here, but know that I do have more 🪩💃

[thelittlestsquid]

How I Met You (1/3) - König x F!Reader

A/N: Graphic design is my passion, yes. Anyways, this is my first fic ever! Yaaaaaa.....aaayyy.. yeah. I'm German, so obviously I had to write about König. Before anyone says anything - yes, I know he's Austrian. I headcanon him having family in Germany that he visits when he's on leave. He speaks standard German so it makes sense to me. I also gave him the name Mathias. I don't know, he seems like a Mathias to me. :,) This will have three parts, so hopefully y'all enjoy it, because we'll be doing it again. Twice. I don't really know how Tumblr works yet but if you want to request anything - I always gladly take requests! <3

Anyways, this is getting pretty long - if you want anymore info on me or the rules for requesting, look at my pinned post! Thanks so much for reading! <3 (I'll translate everything German, don't worry!) Kaufland is a German supermarket btw., it's literally 'buy land' wtf

Summary: König never thought he'd have to worry about falling in love or starting a family. He also never thought that he'd meet is partner-to-be in a Kaufland, trying to reach bread - and failing horribly.

Warnings: (Social) anxiety, König doubts himself a lot, Kinda Meet cute, Fluff, language, Female Reader, German Word count: 2k

From an outsider's perspective, König was a skilled operator, a deadly fighter who was deadset on completing his objectives.

Even if he was built like a mountain, he somehow managed to go completely unnoticed by his enemies, making him a deadly weapon.

That was him. That was all he was supposed to be - all he had to be good at.

And he was, well, he tried. He tried so damn hard to be. But lately, his mind seemed to wander. Suddenly he felt like being this perfect weapon wasn't the only thing he wanted - something he thought would be long lost to him became an option again. A family of his own.

He believed that, if he ever tried to find a partner, they would be military as well. His life was full of murder and misery, he thought that he needed someone who understood his job. He thought only a fellow operator would.

So why the fuck was he here, in a Kaufland, staring at the cute woman at the end of the aisle - clearly not a soldier. Clearly struggling to reach the top of the shelf. His legs started to walk towards her - his social anxiety somehow forgotten.

''Äh, entschuldigung? Soll ich dir helfen?'' (Uh, excuse me? Should I help you?)

--

Fucking bullshit these… tall fucking… shelves in Germany…, you were visiting a friend in Germany for two weeks. Everything went well - until you went shopping and tried to get some bread that was at the top of a giant shelf. Fucking hell, why are shelves in Germany this big?! Fucking Germans…, you cursed wildly in your head, trying to reach that damned bread for more than five minutes now. It was getting embarrassing but your ego didn't allow you to just ask someone to help you. 

A shadow fell over you. You turned around and looked right into a broad chest. Slowly your eyes wander up into the face of the absolute giant in front of you. The lower portion of his face was hidden by a face mask, his blond, long hair in a low bun - some strands of hair falling into his eyes as he slightly bend down to look at you. Blue eyes look down on you but his gaze doesn't quite reach your eyes - he seems to stare at your nose. He says something you don't quite understand - it's only your second day here after all. He seems to understand your confusion, his eyes widen slightly as he clears his throat. ''You speak English?'', he slightly tilts his head to the right. You nod, letting go of the shelf next to you. ''Yeah, uh.. sorry, what were you saying?'', you say as you straighten up a little so that you can actually look into his eyes. 

The mans eyes widen a little as you straighten up. Standing a little straighter himself he points to the bread, his eyes crinkling as he seems to smile a little. ''Do you want me to get that for you? I would not want you to hurt yourself'', without waiting for your answer, he grabs the bag and hands it to you. You take it, glad that this madness was finally over. You put your aquired treasure into your shopping card and turned back to the giant. ''Thanks. What's your name?'', he seemed to think for a while, eyes becoming distant. Did he forget his name? After a short while he cleared his throat again and look back to your nose. ''Mathias. My name is Mathias. And what is your name?'', you could see the ghost of a smile behind his mask. It didn't quite reach his eyes but it seemed genuine. You told him your name and held out your hand. Mathias stared at it but decided to shake it, his large hand covering yours completely. He was insanely warm, like he just held his fist into a bonfire. ''You uh, have a pretty name'', he says, even if it was a little quiet. -- What the fuck was he doing? 'You have a pretty name' - really? Fuck, he should've never asked to help you. He should've just gone into another isle and finish his shopping. Did he really think he could just... chitchat? He was never good with that! When you asked him for his name, his mind seemed to go blank for a second. Scheiße, was he König or Mathias? Would it be weird to make you call him König? Yes, yes it would - Mathias it is. (Shit) You are not on base. This is a civillian. Callsigns aren't normal here. This is not military ground.

He repeated the mantra in his head. So much, that he almost forgot to answer you. After some debating, he shook your hand - reminding himself to be gentle. Civillian, not military. This isn't a seasoned operator.

Fuck, what was he supposed to say now? How would a normal conversation continue? Was he annoying you? Surely you had better things to do as standing here.

He was taking up so much of your time, maybe he should just turn around and walk away, maybe that way he could forget about all of this and just finish his shopping and-

--

His eyes were distant again. Was he okay? Should... should you ask? Something about his entire act was extremely confusing. He was tall, undeniably strong - his face was almost hidden by the mask yet what you saw was... actually really fucking handsome. He seemed gentle and thoughtful - he helped you, a complete stranger, after all. Smiling, you took out your phone. ''Let me buy you a coffee as a 'thank you', yeah? Want you give me your number?'', you held out your phone, opened on a new contact. Mathias flinched a little and blinked down onto the phone. He stared for a few seconds before taking it. ''That would be... nice. Thank you'', the phone looked absolutely mini in his hands, he could hold the entire thing with one hand as the other typed in his number. It seemed to take him a while because his fingers pressed down on two numbers at a time. He scrunched his eyes a little, seemingly very concentrated. It looked really adorable.

After returning your phone, you bid farewell. You still had some shopping to do and surely Mathias had other matter to attend to as well. Whatever it was, he seemed pretty determined to leave the supermarket as fast as possible, almost tripping over himself in the process. You huffed out a quiet laugh as you continued through the aisles.

--

Okay. So you obviously didn't hate him. She gave me her number... She wants to meet me... He stood in front of his mirror, two shirts in his hands. Today was the day you two would meet a cafe, not far from his home. He liked that one, it was quiet, not too full and their menu was amazing.

Should he wear his mask? It would be hard to eat with it on... Should he go with his normal, black shirt? Maybe he could try something new? No. He wanted to be comfortable and not worry if anyone thought his outfit was weird.

König decided on his usual stuff, black pants, black shirt - it became a habit from when he was on base. You couldn't exactly wear bright ass clothes on a mission.

After some spending some more time on panicking, he decided to take his mask with him - put it on once he felt the need to.

König didn't think he was ugly. Quite the opposite, actually. He found himself to be handsome. The thing he was most worried about wasn't his looks.

On missions, he wore his sniper hood - an old shirt he couldn't use anymore since it became too small. It wasn't what he imagined to be wearing when he joined, but it stuck. König was used to hide his face, not caring about his expressions. It was so familiar to him that he sometimes forgot to show emotions when he was on leave. Old habits die hard, eh?

But he wanted to try - he found you genuinly interesting and he loved how patient you've been with him. Since your first meeting, the two of you texted daily. König behaved completely different over text. More bold as usual. You, in return, answered with the same boldness - subtle and not so sublte firts were exchanged over the past few days which resulted in König being even more nervous when he thought of meeting you again.

How the hell did he manage to get into this? Since when did he talk to people, let alone befriend them? Was he trying to be friends with you? Clearly you seemed interested, did you want more too? Wait, too?

Before he could loose himself in his self-doubt again, he threw on his jacket, took his keys and wallet and left his apartment.

This was all so... new to him. On the field, all he had to do was function. He had to set his emotions aside, they didn't matter. What he thought didn't matter, how he talked to his subordinates didn't matter. But he wasn't on base now. He was on leave and he had to remind himself every. single. time. that he needed to behave differently here.

It was hard which is why he usually kept to himself, resting alone in his apartment or going out with some comrades to drink - people who understood him and thought like him.

As he walked down the street, he suddenly worried if you even recognised him without his mask. But König didn't have to worry for long, as your friendly voice called out to him from further away. --

This cafe was absolutely adorable. You arrived a little earlier than necessary to get a good view of the place. It looked really old, baby blue accents and plants everywhere. Almost like a little palace.

Spotting Mathias wasn't hard, as he towered over pretty much everyone. But something seemed different today.

You could see his face - all of it. And fuck, was he beautiful.

He frowned slightly as he walked down the street, his eyes cast onto the floor. You could see some freckles covering his cheeks. His hair was in a ponytail, his blond curls falling over his broad shoulders.

You had to stop yourself from staring. Any time now. But it was so damn hard to look away.

You don't know how it happened but after your short encounter in that stupid supermarket, the mountain of a man didn't leave your mind, his voice basically replaced your inner voice at this point.

He was an absolute treat over the phone and in real life. Especially in real life.

You jogged over to him, calling out his name in the process. ''Mathias, hey! Hi, how are you?'', you smiled up at him. He smiled slightly and it absolutely melted your heart. He had dimples that only became more prominent when he fully smiled at you. ''Hello you. I am good and you? I hope you will like it here'', he nodded towards the cafe.

-

You had an absolute blast. It was nice and quiet, the food was amazing and most importantly - you had just the right company.

Mathias was cautious with telling you anything about him but after some convincing he told you about his work. He was a soldier in the military, stationed in Austria but visiting his family in Germany.

That makes sense, you thought. Something about him screamed soldier. His height, the way he dressed, those absolute huge muscles - you kind of already knew.

But all this only made him more attractive in your eyes. Strong, capable but at the same time he seemed so... gentle, so sweet.

The date - as you called it in your head - ended sooner than you wanted it to. But inside you knew that this wouldn't be the last time the two of you crossed paths.

[celepom]

Misfit Mansion

By Kay Davault

Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends meets Hilda and the Troll in this spooky and sweet middle grade graphic novel about a monster girl who sneaks out of her foster home and into a human town in search of a forever family but finds more than she bargained for. Despite her monstrous appearance, Iris has never felt like she belongs in a mansion filled with kelpies and gorgons and unicorns. She longs to find a family. Unfortunately, she and her housemates are trapped in a “foster home for horrors” run by former paranormal investigator Mr. Halloway. So, when a human boy named Mathias breaks the house’s sealing spell, Iris and her companions are set free upon the town of Dead End Springs. What Iris doesn’t know is that Mathias is also a paranormal hunter (the kind who seeks to capture and destroy the horrors), or that there are other dangers ahead. As Iris searches for a home, she makes human friends, explores a brand-new world…and stumbles upon a dark secret that Halloway has kept locked in the basement of the house. Will this long-slumbering mystery destroy the family Iris so desperately seeks?

---

A very homey read, about kids in less than ideal situations with their guardians, but when confronted one chooses to change while the other doubles down (luckily, that kid finds a better home away from that toxic guardian).

[chopinbabe]

Part two of my fav exhibits in the FC Musuem! 🇵🇱

1. Chopin’s pencil ✏️ (Before 1848)

Chopin used pencils not only to make notes in his diary, but also for drawing and to add comments to his pupils' scores. He was known to break them in anger while giving piano lessons. As Frederick Niecks, one of Chopin's first biographers, wrote: 'Madame Rubio [... informed me that Chopin was very irritable, and when teaching amateurs used to have always a packet of pencils about him which, to vent his anger, he silently broke into bits!]

I’m sure he’d break all the pencils and chairs if I were his student. 🤣

2. Chopin’s tie pins and pendant 📍

'Impeccably dressed, he wore, after the latest fashion, a navy-blue tailcoat with gold buttons, fastened over a white waistcoat, pearl-coloured trousers with clasps. A long tie, fastened with a diamond pin, encircled his neck' - wrote Chopin's pupil Georges Mathias

Choppy was very fashionable! ✨

3. A copy of Chopin’s armchair in his last apartment 🪑

This rosewood armchair is the only authentic piece of furniture belonging to Fryderyk Chopin that survived after the auction of items from the composer's last apartment. It was bought by Chopin's close friend, the artist Teofil Kwiatkowski.

4. Chopin’s portrait in 1843 (Teofil Kwiatkowski)

What a cutie!!! 😚

5. Chopin’s portrait (Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1847-1861)

A portrait probably made after a pencil drawing that Winterhalter produced from nature on a May 1847. 👇🏻This one!

In a letter to his family, Chopin related: 'Yesterday I posed for Scheffer again, and the portrait is coming along. - Winterhalter has also done a small pencil one for my old friend Planat de la Faye (about whom I wrote to you once).- A very good likeness. Winterhalter is no doubt known to you by name, a good honest man of great talent'

😍😍😍

6. Chopin’s piano 🎹

Woah😚

7. Chopin on his deathbed😿 (Teofil Kwiatkowski, after 17 October 1849)

In this picture, besides Fryderyk, we see Princess Marcelina Czartoryska, Chopin's sister Ludwika Jedrzejewicz, Wojciech Grzymala, Fr Aleksander Petowicki and Kwiatkowski himself.

Aww🥹🥹🥹

8. Chopin’s travelling hat box 🎩

Choppy kept his hat in this box when travelling. He was known for his sartorial punctiliousness. In a letter to Julian Fontana, he wrote: 'apart from that, I forgot to ask you to have a hat made for me by my Dupont on your street. He has my measurements and knows what light ones I require. Have him give it this year's form, not overstated, because I don't know how you dress these days!’

Omg I don’t even know hat box is a thing, cute! 😍

9. Chopin playing the piano 🎹 (Teofil Kwiatkowski, 1847)

Urghh I love this sketch so much!! ❤️

[bitter-panacea]

Goultard's backstory, comparing the Dofus manga and the special episode Part 3 - The Horrors part 1

Part 1 Part 2

Aka the Katar incident aka everything's just gone to shit

One day, Goultard comes home to an empty house and finds a letter, with a plan, signed by Katar.

Goultard : Oh, dinner's not served... That's not normal.... / Dear Goultard, I've invited your family to a little shindig at my place... You're cordially invited to join us. Katar. P.S. : I've drawn a little map on the back of this letter.

(Look at him... so angry... fangs... so cute)

Here's the letter in the special episode :

Surprise! Tu ne me connais pas mais j'organise une petite sauterie en ta faveur. Comme tu n'étais pas là, nous nous sommes permis d'inviter ta famille. Suis la carte au dos et rejoins nous vite. P.S : N'oublie pas d'affuter ta lame. Katar.

Surprise! You do not know me but I'm hosting a little shindig in your favor. Since you weren't home, we took the liberty of inviting your family. Follow the map on the back and join us soon. P.S : don't forget to sharpen your blade. Katar

First off, this letter (the voice actor's performance of it) alone has more personality in 15 seconds than Katar does in the entirety of the dofus manga. Katar looks and acts very differently in the special episode and in the manga. And I won't lie, the latter is pretty boring, especially in this volume. In general, I don't particularly care about Katar and think very little about him. But I really like what they did with him in the special ep. And of course, how can I not mention Mathias Kozlowski? Who does such an AMAZING job as Katar... He's soooo good. He does many voices in this universe, he's also Kriss La Krass, Guy (in the Dofus movie), Grany Smisse, Ogrest (Giant) and additional voices. (Bruno Choël is also FANTASTIC as Goultard btw... The entire cast is gold actually but I'm not here to talk about french voice acting)

Both letters have Katar use "une petite sauterie". "Shindig" is the closest thing I could find but it's not exactly right. Une sauterie is a small intimate and informal gathering. It's a very old fashioned word and is now only used jokingly. It's a cute and silly word and adding the "petite" in front of it makes it sound even cuter and sillier.

"Surprise!" No comment, perfect. I love characters who act silly but in a very unnerving way....

"We took the liberty of inviting your family" already hinting that Katar isn't alone!! I love that.

And Goultard runs all the way to where Katar is keeping his family hostage.

Goultard : If anything happened to them, I would never forgive myself! (And it's true, he never does)

Goultard : Good grief! I'm finally here! The moutain of a thousand screams.... aka boob mountain... (fucking boob moutain man i dont know)

The dialogue between Katar and Goultard right before they start to fight is a little different too.

Goultard : What... What is this sensation? Every muscle in my body is tensing up and... I'm shaking...

Katar : Impressive! Your body reacts instinctively to my presence! A bit like a sixth sense... I was not wrong about you! / Goultard : Who are you and what have you done to my family?

Katar : My name is Katar and your family is fine for now! They're in the cave behind me! You only have to do one thing to see them again.. Beating me!

Goultard : Very well! Now, let me tell you one thing, Katar! I meet lunatics like you every day. It's my job. But you, You're gonna suffer! I'll be merciless... Because you see... No one messes with my family.

Goultard : Ready? / Katar : I was not asking for that much... A violent fight... Gratuitous, with no justification! Now that suits me wonderfully!

(Can they both just shut up??? Oh my god!!!)

In the episode it goes like this :

Katar : Welcome Goultard. I'm Katar. We were impatiently waiting for you. We've wanted to meet a hero of your caliber for so long.

Goultard : Where are they? I swear, If you did them even the slightest harm..

Katar : Settle down. Let's not get worked up. I assure you they want for nothing. If you wish to see them, grant me a dance.

(WHY IS HE SO PRETTY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH)

It's shorter, straight to the point. Goultard doesn't give a shit who this guy is or what's his problem. He wastes no time, refuses to indulge Katar's sick sense of humor and immediately asks about the only one thing that truly matters to him. You can clearly tell he's furious AND panicked. Terrified of what might have happened to his loved ones.

They have a very interesting dynamic... I think what works so well here is that, Katar dismisses and minimizes the brutality of the situation, not taking it seriously, like it's a joke or a game. Which is exactly the way Goultard behaves most of the time. But in this specific situation and with what's at stake, he can't not take it seriously. Very destabilizing for Goultard.

In the manga, Katar initiates. Goultard is taken aback. At first it looks like he doesn't stand a chance against Katar.

Goultard : Where is he? / Katar : Tired already? Impossible, I can't have been this wrong about you... Move... You can do better... Come on hero, fight! Or i'll kill you, your shitlings and your bitches...

But he manages to turn the tables.

Katar : Seems like you're getting caught up in the game! / Goultard : Believe me... This is everything but a game.

In the special episode, Goultard attacks first and immediately has the upper hand on Katar.

Katar is a sacrier, it makes sense for him to wait until he's injured before fighting back and taking control of the situation.

Get wrecked <3

There's a little moment i like in the manga that's not in the special ep, right before the reveal that Goultard's family is already dead. Interesting to know that at this point Gou holds the belief that hunting monsters is fine but killing humans isn't.

Goultard : I know terminating a human being is wrong.. But I sense an evil too great inside you! You have to disappear! / Katar : Tell me, Goultard... What makes you think I'm human? And above all, what makes you believe you can defeat me? You hit like an old lady, Goultard! It looks like you're holding back, like you're scared to let loose... I think I have the solution! Come over here... Go say hello to your dear family!

Kicking him in the balls, grabbing his hair and dragging him through the dirt. I like that. I really like that.

(baby baybay bayayy bayby baby byabbaby baabyy)

This is horrible.... AND BRUNO CHOEL MY GOD!!! I'm begging them to make Goultard go through the horrors in the next season because I need more of that. He's just so good at crying and begging and whimpering and and and. He did say in an interview that he's very passionate and usually cries for real when playing these kind of scenes so the emotions in his voice feel as honest as possible. Simply amazing.

Part 4

[hetacupid]

Hetalia Human Names

NOTE: This is my personal interpretation and the names may diverge from canon and established fanon. Also I might update this every so often to make it more accurate, depending on the information I find.

Table of Contents

The Main Characters

Western Europe

Northern Europe

Eastern Europe

Southern Europe

Western Asia

South Asia

East Asia

Southeast Asia

Oceania

Micronations

Former nations

The Main Characters

Italy Veneziano: Feliciano Vergano

I chose the name Vergano instead as it keeps the essense of the original surname, but is actually Italian.

Italy Romano: Lovino Vergano

Germany: Ludwig Beilschmidt

Japan: Kiku Honda

Prussia: Gilbert Beilschmidt

America: Alfred Franklin Jones

I like the headcanon of his middle name being "Freedom", but Franklin is my personal favourite.

England: Arthur James Kirkland

I came across this in a fic a while back and never looked back. This man needs a middle name.

France: Francis Bonnefoy

Russia: Ivan Braginsky

China: Yao Wang

Canada: Matthew Williams

Western Europe

Austria: Roderich Edelstein

Belgium: Laura Janssens

Liechtenstein: Erika Vogel

Luxembourg: Henri Janssens

I've also used the name Gabriel before, but it doesn't seem to be used much in Luxembourg, so Henri would be more fitting.

Monaco: Louise Bonnefoy

The name Louise and it's masculine variant, Louis, appear a few times in the Monaguesque royal family.

Netherlands: Willem Janssens

Willem appears a few times in the Dutch royal family, and it sounds a bit older than other suggested names, which reflects his age and general vibes imo. I really like this name.

Switzerland: Sebastian Zwingli

Personally I see his name "Basch" as a nickname for Sebastian. It's also easy to adapt to his official languages: Sebastian/Sébastién/Sebastiano. The Romansh variant would be Bistgaun, but the archaic version seems to be Bastgaun, which is more similar to Basch. I headcanon that he goes by the name "Basch" in all languages to make it more cohesive.

Northern Europe

Denmark: Mathias Rasmussen

I'm from Scandinavia myself and I don't know if it's widespread, but I've heard people say "all Danish people are named Rasmus" more than once, so I like to incorporate that into his surname.

Estonia: Eduard Kaasik

Around 50% of Estonia is covered in forest, and one of the most common tree types is birch. Kaasik is a common surname and means "birch forest".

Finland: Timo Väinämöinen

Iceland: Eiríkur Steinsson

Steinsson means "son of Stein (given name meaning stone)",. Also Emil isn't traditionally Icelandic, but it's widely used. Personally though, I prefer the name Eiríkur.

Latvia: Raivis Bērziņš

The surname Galante corresponds with the modern Latvian opera singer Inese Galante, but I couldn't find anything to suggest it's commonly used or that it's Latvian at all. Bērziņš is one of the most used Latvian surnames and means "birch tree", like Estonia's surname. Personally, I don't see the Baltics as siblings, but I think this would be a cute reference.

Also, based on what I read, surnames became common in Latvia around the 19th century, with Bērziņš being one of them. Latvia could have picked up whatever the people around him (Estonia) was using and made it his own.

Lithuania: Tolys Laurinaitis

Norway: Sigurd Bondevik

Sweden: Berwald Oxenstierna

Eastern Europe

Belarus: Natalya Arlovskaya

Bulgaria: Mihail Petrov Isporov

Isporov is the family name and is derived from an alternative name of Asparukh, the first king of the First Bulgarian Empire.

Czech: Tereza Novakova

Hungary: Erzsébet Héderváry

Moldova: Marcel Popescu

Poland: Feliks Łukasiewicz

Romania: Vladislav Popescu

Slovakia: Jozef Novak

Ukraine: Iryna Chernenko

Southern Europe

Greece: Herakles Karpusi

Portugal: João Silva Ferreira

Spain: Antonio Fernandez Carriedo

Western Asia

Cyprus: Stasinos Karpusi

Stasinos was one of the first European poets who wrote the epic poem Cypria.

Turkey: Sadiq Adnan

TRNC: Tarkan Adnan

South Asia

India: Rajesh Thakur

East Asia

Hong Kong: Leon Wang / Wong Kulung

Macau: Chen Wang

South Korea: Im Yong-soo

Taiwan: Mei Lin

Southeast Asia

Thailand: Prasert Chakri

Vietnam: Lien Nguyen

Africa

Cameroon: Emmanuel Mawdo Ahidjo

Many of the most commonly used forenames in Cameroon are of French or English origins, such as Emmanuel.

Mawdo means ‘elder’ in Fulfulde.

Ahidjo refers to the first president of Cameroon.

Egypt: Gupta Muhammad Hassan

Seychelles: Michelle Mancham

Americas

Cuba: Carlos Machado Rodríguez

Oceania

Australia: Daniel Kirkland

New Zealand: Zachary Kirkland

Micronations

Hutt River: Christopher Kirkland

Kugelmugel: Leopold Edelstein

Ladonia: Erland Oxenstierna

Molossia: Jacob Jones

"JJ" :)

Sealand: Peter Kirkland

Seborga: Romeo Vergano

Okay listen. I have no explaination, I just really like this name. Also, if the names of the trio is Peter, Wendy, and Romeo, they're all named after characters from literature. I think that's fun.

Wy: Wendy Kirkland

Former Nations

Ancient Egypt: Neferure

References the only biological child of Hatshepsut.

Ancient Greece: Helene

Ancient Rome: Marcus Valerius Maximus

Marcus is the praenomina (given name) and refers to how Romulus and Remus were said to have been twins of Mars, the god.

Valerius is the nomen gentilicium (hereditary name) and means “to be strong”.

Maximus is the cognomen and means “the greatest”.

Germania: Alaric

Holy Roman Empire: Otto Beilschmidt

Personally I like the idea that HRE and Germany aren't the same person, but share the same body.

[alpaca-clouds]

My fucked up Belmont family headcanon

Or: Let me talk about medieval religious persecution!

Okay, my exam is done, weekend is near. And a couple of days ago @autumnmobile12 posted about the child skull in the Belmont family hold.

So let me use this chance to talk about my headcanon both about the Belmont family - and the role of dhampirs in the Castlevania anime universe.

Please note, this at times outright contradicts the game canon. But in quite a few ways the series already does that either way, so to quote one Trevor Belmont: "I don't care."

When the trio comes to the Belmont Hold, Alucard expresses his disgust saying it is like a museum to the eradication of his species. And it kinda seems even more than that, given there are also quite a few other skeletons and what not from other monsters littered throughout the hold.

And, well... That is kinda messed up, right?

Now in the games the story somewhat goes "Leon is a knight and friends with Mathias, fiancé gets kidnapped, lays down his title, Mathias turns into Dracula, Leon swears to kill monsters, Belmonts become monster hunters." And while this gives a nice through line tying the family to Dracula... historically speaking it is also kinda boring.

So, I decided to tie the entire story back to something else.

And yes, this is mostly just another excuse for me to talk about history. Sorry about that.

Let's talk about Constantine and the late Roman empire.

If you have read up on your history of Christianity, you might know that first Christians were in fact a persecuted minority, who would in fact often be killed and burned by the Romans. But then in the late Roman period, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and suddenly Rome was a Christian empire. Now, there are myths and legends around why he converted. Stuff like him receiving prophetic dreams and what not. But in the end it does not matter. What matters is, that Rome was Christian now and Rome did its damnest to spread Christianity. Moving the capital further East to be closer to the holy land and what not.

Now, with Christianity suddenly being the main religion the tables were turned. And suddenly Rome began to outlaw pegan religion, which included the old Roman religion. You know, the one with Jupiter, Juno, Venus and what not. First it was just small stuff. Like animal sacrifices became outlawed and temples were taxed. But it quickly escalated from there, with temples getting looted and burned. And then, not too many years later, Theodosius I was the new emperor and the violence against the pegans escalated. Temples were burned down and pegans were hunted down, forced to convert or killed.

You might ask now: What does this have to do with the Belmonts?

Well, I will tell you. See, when we look at history, we usually do our damnest to distinguish fact from fiction. But that is usually not history is written down. Especially not religious history. That always comes with a good helping of god-killing.

So, yes. According to myth in fact there were heroes, that came the high medieval period would turn into knights, who went out to kill monsters. And I mean, probably everyone can name at least a handful of dragon slayers at least.

In real history of course we see these myths are embelishments and symbolism. As myths. But... If we look at the Castlevania world, we can obviously see that in this world monsters are real.

Sooooo... My headcanon for the Belmont family is, that they were in fact employed by the Vatican in the early medieval period to hunt down those monsters as the Vatican saw these monsters as an offense against God. That did not only include vampires, but all sort of other creatures that often were linked to old pegan believes of all sorts.

This means that in my headcanon the Belmonts did in fact hunt monsters before Mathias became Dracula. Even more so: Mathias was a monster hunter as well, which was what gave him the knowledge to become what he became in the first place.

In fact the church had them hunt down monsters of all sorts, making monsters all but extinct by the late medieval period. Which is in fact why the church turned on the Belmont family. They had lost their use and at that point the Belmont family were a constant reminder that those monsters at some point had been real.

To put it differently: The Belmonts have actively partaken in the genocide of several - at times intelligent - species. And have done their utmost to also eradicate vampires and their dhampiric offspring.

They didn't do that out of wickedness or anything like that, but out of religious fervor, because they did in fact believe that they were doing the right thing.

The entire Mathias-Leon-Thing mostly just lead to them having it especially out for the vampires.

Funnily enough though, this also meant, that within Europe where all the monster hunters were, the places that became safe for monsters and other supernatural creatures were either those areas ruled by vampires because vampires did not care too much if there was a griffon living up the mountain as long as it did not hunt down the humans. The other safe place? Granadia, aka the place that later on would become Spain. Because it was under majority Muslim rule and while Muslims were rather stern about not practicing sorcery they did not persecute religious minorities and did not have it out for the monsters so much.

See, my issue is that the entire "Belmont good, Belmont hunt monsters" does not really gel with what we see in the series. While in the game canon we see that monsters and vampire are creatures of pure evil, this is not what the show is depicting. Vampires are as much complex persons, as the humans are. And as such they absolutely can decide to be good.

And yes, that very much means that I have Trevor later grapple with the fact that maybe his entire family history is not quite as heroic as he had believed it to be before. And that in fact his family also did not quite know as much about the monsters, as he had believed, given that after he has made friends with vampires he finds out that quite a few things he had believed about vampires are just plain wrong.

[beevean]

Netflix Lament of Innocence

I do have to wonder what we’d get if they decided to tell Leon Belmont’s story in the Netflix Castlevania universe.

Leon would not be connected to the Church, because they’re corrupt in this world, he would just be some underdog bum whom wanders the world, killing vampires with whip. He begins the tradition of his clan when he is given knighthood by some nomads, and fights Walter just to get his jollies, not for vengeance or to save anyone.

Sara won’t be the damsel-in-distress, she’ll be a hard working woman who don’t need no Leon, and try to do cool things, need saving anyway, and never admit how bull-headed she’s being. Eventually, this gets her killed for nothing.

Mathias’ motivation to become a vampire is told to us right away, with the opening narration saying “Leon Belmont was the first of his clan to battle Vlad Dracula Tepes. But back then, the vampire went by another name.”, and unlike the original game, he fights Leon, but he never has to do any strategizing or scheming to get what he wants. He also won’t have any reason beyond wanting to bully his “friend”. There won’t even be any Ebony or Crimson Stone to seek.

Walter would not be playing any sadistic games out of boredom born form his immortality, but would actually be a loner whom isolates himself because mankind was racist to him and other vampires, and he has taken extreme action against everyone, even innocent bystanders, in return, but is deep down a man who wants company who will make him feel like he belongs.

Rinaldo will be more morally questionable, utilizing underhanded tactics and tapping into forbidden magic in order to cure his grief over the loss of his family and act on his hatred of Walter, and it’s those powers he harnesses that allow him, after expressing remorse at what a screw-up he is, to create the ultimate whip, the Vampire Ki- oops! I mean, the Morning Star. How does he make it, exactly? Just a lot of silver and enchanted gunpowder.

Death won’t appear.

As for Joachim… he’ll just be a completely different character with the same name. He’ll probably get a single episode, and might be the one who vampirizes Mathias for the convenience of the plot’s progression.

Reply: love that it’s still somewhat similar to what was told in S2, that Leon went to fight Dracula just like that. No Sara, no Stones, no Death, no Mathias, no Walter and Joachim since Dracula was called the oldest vampire ever, just... a dude named Trefor lol.

Although he still was a Crusader, so I suppose he didn’t go fully CHURCH BAD mode. (which is hilarious because LoI paints the Church in a more negative light for once! The Church’s refusal to allow Leon to rescue Sara is the reason he had to renounce to his titles.)

anyway now I’m picturing N!Joachim as the residental thirst trap, like N!Olrox. You know they’d do it.

[maristelina]

Mikoto Trikoto Theory Thread

Why do some ppl still think there are 3 personalities? Even songs' names are "MeMe" and "Double" which represents "two", plus there were only two people standing in that mental world..

I think this is a very valid question! And thus, I present an analysis.

How can you be sure that it's the same Mikoto alter that appears on the same shot instead of another Mikoto? They practically look the same!

Double doesn't have to mean 2. It's either, there's two of you (1+1) or there's another set of two (1+2). Japan is also known for a lot of word play. Language is also very complicated if left ambiguous.

Let's check the NEW lyrics for Undercover.

Me, Me, I (2+1). It's important to know, Me, Me and I are all capitalized. Symbolizing different people. It's also theorized that they are not aware of the 3rd personality (color green).

An important thing to remember, Green colored things are called Blue in Japanese. Considering we have "Aokoto" and "Mido(ri)Koto" (Red Green Blue), it's possible for people to mistake Green and Blue for each other. And MILGRAM seems to be making use of that.

IF Trikoto theory is true, then Yamanaka is doing a great job representing DID.

And since I have a bad habit of giving random language lessons. Indulge me as I present to you a riddle.

At his own funeral did Mathias see, gathered by the open grave, his family of three. Father, mother and brother, and a couple more who didn’t bother.

From 1-6, how many people do you think were in the funeral?

It's 6. (Mathias, Father, Mother, Brother, +2)

The riddle is a word play.

It's possible that the two additional people were absent from the funeral, and the phrasing "who didn't bother" implies that they did not see it as important to attend.

However, it's also possible that the two additional people were present at the funeral, but were not close family members or friends of Mathias, which is why they are described as "a couple more" rather than being named specifically.

So what I'm saying is, don't take everything in just face value. Especially someone as complicated as Mikoto.

[craxxez3]

I forget they all 15. Always thought they are like 17 maybe. Almost forget Mathias throwing big birthday party for Felix too. Things really went wrong between them. Nrk shows some sad reality in life not all childhood friend last forever, guess it's true.

[chaoticunicornsworld]

This is what i think happened with Astarion, when he tried to escape with the dear boy he loved. I think he never will be able tell it to you completely. It's to painful for him. It's defining him. But he will be able to outgrow it with your healing presence. Enjoy ... or suffer.

His name was Mathias.

Astarion lied to him about Cazador. Astarion lied to him about his vampirism. He told Mathias, he has a very strict father, and he wants to run away with Mathias. He told a tale about how the sun bothers him, without telling the ugly truth. Astarion was deeply in love, and he was so afraid that Mathias wouldn’t accept his true nature. Cazador's poisoned words penetrated into his mind, and he thought he can’t be loved, because of what he is. 

But it doesn’t matter anymore.

They were in the ballroom. Cazador, Astarion and the few spawns, who brought Astarion back. Astarion cursed, kicked, bit everything he reached. He squirmed, but his power was pathetic against Cazador’s enchanted shackles. Still his capturers struggled to bring him home. He fearsomly hurled curses. He promised every one of them, to kill them in the most disgusting ways, he could figure out. Despite every curse and wriggling, he was but a weakened captive. Cazador never let him feed on thinking creatures, only the most inferior animals. Astarion just dreamed about the power of killing his siblings. 

But it doesn’t matter anymore.

The ballroom’s lights were dimmed. Shadows ruled the corners, and crawled upon the walls. Wobbly candlelights made the figures tainted and indistinguishable. But Astarion saw everything clearly, especially Cazador. Astarion grinned his teeth. “Let me go!” Shouted and yanked his body to escape from his shackles. Cazador smiled. There was something madly horrific in his smile. Astarion’s stomach twitched. Cazador wawed absently with his staff, and Astarion’s shackles stretched him out. He was lifted in the air, his tendons tensed, his breath quickly escaped from his chest. ”Let me go!” He groaned without conviction. His face was overwhelmed by dread. He knew he was in grave danger, and he would be punished. But Astarion had a lack of imagination, how inconceivable would he be punished. He immediately changed his tone, when he realized how enormous trouble he is in. “Father please!” Cazador insisted on pretending they are a family. ”I’m here, I’m back, i will never run away again, i promise!” Pleaded in a tiny voice. He hated to humiliate himself, but he knew if he have a chance to avoid the punishment then this is it. Cazador smiled. Horror crawled upon Astarion’s spine. The hair on his nape stood on it's edges. “No!” He squeeked. “Please, father!” His face distorted in fear. From the corner of his eyes, he saw his spawn siblings whispering between each other. Their faces mirrored fear and pity. The ballroom's vast doors are opened. Astarion heard bones rattling and a familiar voice  “Nooo!” He screamed terrified, before he even saw Mathias. “No, father, please. I will do anything. I will be your slave, I’ll do everything. You can take my life, you can take everything. Father please just not this. Please!” He bargained crying. Godey brought Matthias in the middle of the ballroom. “Please Father, I’ll do anything, I’ll be a good boy. I will be obedient. Father please” Astarion screamed from his heart. If he went  on fear of his own life that was nothing compared to this feeling, how he went on fear on Mathias's life.

Cazador finally spoke. “You ARE already my slave child. You couldn’t  offer me anything I don't already have. Your life? Ha! It’s worthless.  You are nothing, I made you what you are. And I can unmake you if it pleases me. Maybe I will, after all. But not until your punishment” Cazador walked toward Mathias. “Please, no, please don’t hurt him, it's not his fault. It’s mine. Please hurt me instead, I can bear anything, just not that, not him. Father, I beg you!” Astarion's voice thinned out in shiver, and tears started to flow down on his face. ”I was wondering how we can make your fault even, and i find out you couldn’t do anything child, but this gorgeous boy… hmmm.. maybe, maybe he can makes it even” Cazador turned his head to Astarion, and caressed Mathias’s face. Astarion squirmed, tried to break free, but he ended up more stretched than before. He wept, sobbed, he begged, but Cazador just smiled with malevolent shine in his eyes. “But first, let me take care of you” Said Cazador and his voice was like honeyed poison as he descended Astarion from the air. He walked beside Astarion. “You don’t deserve my blood in your veins, no more. I’m taking it back” Astarion didn’t know if it was possible, He didn’t know what would happen if Cazador took all of his blood. Cazador leaned towards Astarion's neck and brutally ripped out his throat, and  drinked his blood in big gulps. The wound was so wide, his blood flowed on the floor. Astarion terrified screams filled the ballroom, and echoed from the walls, until he had no power to scream only to moan weakly. He lost his voice, but his lips still moved begging for mercy. He thought he would die. Hunger overwhelmed him, but he wouldn’t be able to hunt, he wouldn’t be able to move. Even if Cazador let him free, he would fall to the floor as a ragdoll. He was finished, and this was just the beginning. Cazador put a collar on his bloody neck, and with a chain leash he binded Astarion to the floor. There wasn’t need for enchanted shackles anymore. Astarion was pathetically weak, as he lay on the floor trembling. His silver haired head falled onto his own blood puddle. His tears and saliva mixed with his blood. He barely even breathed. His breath was superficial, faltering. “Now my children” Cazador turned to the spawns “How about if i make a feast?” “No, please” Shaped the words Astarion, but no voice left his lips. His vision was blurred, but he tried to search Matthias, with his glassed eyes. “I’m sorry” He breathed the words towards his lover continuously. He tried to reach his hand toward Mathias, but he barely was able to move his fingers. ”Am i dying?” Ran through the thought in his mind. He fainted. He didn’t know how long it lasted, but he woke up, to the screams of his dear lover, Mathias. Spawns swarmed around him, and he bleeded from a thousand bites. Cazador walked up to him. “Look what have you done, my child” Taunted him. “Father, please i learned my lesson, let him go” Supplicated Astarion. “No my child, you learnt nothing, but you will. You will” Said Cazador, as he took the leash in his hands. “Come now!” And slowly started to pull Astarion towards Mathias. Astarion wasn’t able to resist, his body helplessly glided on his own blood. The spawns scattered away in Cazador single motion. He lifted Mathias' body in the air, and pulled Astarion under him. Cazador opened a wound in Mathias' throat. His blood slowly flowed down on his neck and dripped on the floor near to astarion lips. “If you want to live, my child, lick it up!” Cazador commanded. For so many years Cazador never let Astarion drink anybody’s blood. This was just another form of torturing him. Drinking his lover to death to live. How ironic. “No” Breathed out Astarion. But his hunger was so powerful, that his tongue tried to escape from the cage of his teeth. Cazador pushed his body just enough that the blood started to drip on his face. “Lick it!” Said with hurry in his voice. “No!” Cried Astarion between his clenched teeth. His mind finally gave up, and he lost his consciousness. 

There was nothing but delirium. Astarion didn’t know where he was, was he even alive. He didn’t know anything about himself. He dreamed about feasting on Mathias, he felt the taste of his blood in his mouth. He has the sweetest blood, what Astarion ever tasted. He dreamed about breaking free, and living an ordinary life with Mathias. He dreamed about the punishment that never ended. He trembled, he squirmed, he sweated, his eyes opened and shouted again. Finally a terrifying thought woke him up. “Did I drink Mathias’s blood?” Astarion opened his eyes in shame and fear. But he couldn’t see anything. The darkest dark surrounded him. He tried to move just to find out he was in a tight tomb. But he wasn't alone. His lover’s dead decaying body was next to him. “No!” He screamed. “No! let me out! let me out please!” But there was no answer. He cried and screamed, he tried to scratch his way out. He scratched his fingers to the bone, but nothing. Was it hours? Was it days, or months?  He couldn’t count it. And the hunger never left him, neither does the shame. “Did I drink Mathias blood?” He tried to search for the scent of himself on Mathias, but the decaying body’s scent suppressed everything. He tried to track his wounds with his fingers, but there were so many. He cried again, he cursed, he prayed to every god he knew. Nothing happened. Once he heard the rattling bones of Godey. He tried to talk his way out of the tomb, but Godey just laughed. He wriggled, he screamed, he tried to rip out of his own throat and kill himself, but he hasn’t left any blood in his vein. “How can I be alive? ” Nothing happened. “For months? For years? For a hundred years?” He lost track of the time. He mourned his lover, he cried his voice out, he sickened because of the rotting corpse beside him. He let his anger rule him, he broke his bones, he cursed all living and dead, he cursed the gods he knew, and the gods he didn’t. And finally he silenced. He welcomed the death. He didn’t feel anything anymore. He didn’t feel love, shame, or caring. He was dead inside. And he wanted to be dead for real. He stopped moving, he stopped breathing. He just lied for centuries. Sometimes he heard Cazador’s steps, or Godye’s rustle, but he didn’t care about it anymore. 

It doesn’t matter anymore.

Astarion, the soft kind loving boy, was dead.

Whatever rised up a year later from this tomb it wasn’t Astarion. It was the monster that Cazador made. The soulless selfish cynical beast, who can’t afford himself to be vulnerable again.

His name was Mathias.

[writersarea]

The Last Belmont

Chapter 10

Overall Summary: Like any twelve year old would, Trevor ran when he realized that someone wanted to kill him. Better put, Trevor ran when he realized that the Church wanted to kill him and had been happy to light his family's home on fire.

So he ran.

Right into Lisa Tepes.  

Rating Teen Audiences and Up

Tags:    No Archive Warnings Apply, Dracula/Lisa (Castlevania), Dracula Vlad Tepes | Mathias Cronqvist/Lisa, Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya & Trevor Belmont, Trevor Belmont, Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya, Lisa (Castlevania), Dracula Vlad Tepes | Mathias Cronqvist, Trevor gets adopted, Adoption, death mention, Grief, Depression, Lisa can't pass up a wounded kid, Orphan - Freeform,  Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Teenagers, Dracula did not sign up for this, Canon-Typical Violence, Pre Canon, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Pre-Canon, POV Third Person, POV Third Person Limited  

Excerpt:

“I think it’s the day we actually try to get you out of that bed! What do you say to picking out your own books?” Adrian asked, grinning as the door shut behind him. They always kept the door shut. It made Trevor feel more secure knowing that it would have to open for anyone to come inside, namely Dracula.

Trevor blinked at him in surprise. “Your mother will kill you if I’m not supposed to be out of bed yet, you know,” he warned, though he was already swinging his feet out bed to get up.

He was so tired of being stuck in one place. Before, he had always had something to do. Chores, training, a tree to play in. Something that wouldn’t require him to wait around for his ankle to heal or the burns on his hands to go away. Even going for a brief walk sounded much better than being stuck in this room for another minute.

And it drew a laugh out of Adrian. “Then we’ll die together,” he offered, moving to steady Trevor as he shakily stood, keeping him close. “But I came up here with her permission, so I think we’ll be ok with not angering her. Plus, there’s no stairs between here and there to give you problems.” It earned him an eye roll.

“Ah, yes, stairs, the scariest thing ever,” he responded dryly.

Read More Here

[metakazkz]

Comet of Evermore Characters and Info (update )

Name: Kathia

Info: She works in the pastry shop (le Gâteaux du ciel). Kathia lives in Serenity town. A peaceful town where normal people live their daily lives. She had amnesia as a child. she therefore has no memory of her past. She was adopted by Sir Mathias and considered him a father figure.

Name: Samuel

Info: This guy will always give you  smile or annoy you all day. He works at the supermarket. Due to its small size, he doesn't have a lot of job availability. But it alright because he doesn’t mind at all. He used to be a scientist back in his old days. He therefore prefers to work on his current work rather than his previews. He is actually Miles' older brother. Because people can be confuse Samuel being the little brother.

Name:  Miles

Info: This tall guy is Samuel's little brother. Like Samuel, people confuse him being the older brother. Miles works on the mechanic The Diamond Wrench. He enjoys building machines and builds his car with the help of his brother. He like joke but everything he was about say joke or pun. His brother was always one step ahead off him. That infuriated him to the points that it feel like competition  than telling an actual jokes.

Name:  Edward

Info: Edward is the citizen of Serenity town who lives longer than Kathia, Miles and Samuel. He has a little sister named Aria. He used to be in  the military. But retired after the accident that nearly killed him. Since Aria is the only family he has. He can't leave her alone. So he decided to retire from the military and it took him many years to recover from his trauma and resume a normal life.

Name: Aria

Info: Aria is the little sister of Edward, She is kind, smart and compassion for other people. She work as nurse at the hospital in Serenity town. The only person who can help Edward on the road to recovery is his sister.

(update design )

Name: Xavier

Info: He is the son of the famous scientist robotic engineer in Serenity town. He work as his assistance. The reason was because he was worry about his father stated to become too old and shouldn't push himself too hard.  So he keep a eye on his father to make sure he was going to be okay.

Name: Zachary

Info: He is a Serenity town policeman and a friend of Xavier, Edward and Aria since childhood. He seems serious and cold at first. But he just seems until you get to know him that he's really nice.

Name : Hilda

Info: She is Zachary's grandmother, since his parents died in the car accident. She takes care of him. Despise her old age, she still has good memories and  She hates doing nothing, unless she needs a rest.

Name: Mathias

Info: Sir Mathias is Kathia's adoptive father and the leader of The Star Guardian. Its role is to defend the world against wars and terrors. Mathias is a noble man who fights for what is right, even as he makes tough decisions to solve the problem.

Name: Donovan

Info: Donovan is a mysterious man who travels across the worlds. Rumors said that he came from a place full of knights who likes adventure and treasures.

Name Sunny

Info: Sunny is an energetic and full of life guy who makes the days a little brighter when thing are getting difficult. He may not seem like a good fighter. Because he doesn't like violence. But he will always be there to help his friends in need.

Comet of Evermore characters and Art by me metakazkz

[darcymariaphoster]

Hahaha, who posts things on time anymore anyway, right? @sunorweek2023

PT1: Taking Care of Iceland

[Collab (Britpicked and nitpicked (affectionate)) with @pvffinsdaisies]

NAMES:

Aksel: Norway

Ari: Iceland

Björn: Sweden

Mathias: Denmark

Aksel taps the tabletop absentmindedly as he watches his little brother play with his toys in the family room. Several papers are strewn about on the table; he's flipped through each of them at least three times already. The interviews are done, and he knows which ones Ari liked best, based on how they interacted. He, of course, wants to find someone who will be able to properly look after Ari, but also someone that his little brother approves of. He rests his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand as he watches Ari for a moment longer. “Hey, Ari, do you think I could pull you away for a moment? I have a question.” 

Ari pauses in his game, giving him his best annoyed glare as he puts down his toys. He toddles over to the table, gripping the edge of the table and peering over it. “Yes?”

“I need you to help me pick someone to help me with you,” Aksel tells him, pushing the chair at the end of the table out so Ari can climb into it. He watches him with some fondness, a bit regretful that he has to task someone to help him raise his brother at all. He wishes he could afford to stay home more, or all the time for that matter. When he’d been tasked with being Ari’s guardian, he’d been more than a little overwhelmed and concerned. How was he supposed to handle this? For the first few months, he’d been able to keep Ari in daycare and take a cut in his hours at work to accommodate. But that period is over. His bills are adding up, and he needs help at this point. As Ari gets settled, Aksel pushes a couple of pictures towards him. “They were nice, weren’t they?”

“Yeah, that one told some fun stories,” he answers, pointing to one of the pictures. He smiles a bit and launches into a story of his own that has Aksel smiling a bit as he listens, nodding a bit here and there. “But there was the man, who told better stories. He was nicest.” That is exactly what Aksel had expected. He hands Ari the picture of one Björn Olssen, a rather stoic man at first sight, but who had proven to be rather gentle where Ari was concerned. “That one!” Ari cries enthusiastically, snatching the picture and beaming at Aksel. “He told me a story about trolls! Just like you used to tell me!” When he’d had time. His smile falters slightly, but he listens to Ari prattle on and he’s also made up his mind. He’ll have to call Björn tomorrow and tell him he has the job. 

~~

“Guys actually apply to positions like that?” Mathias asks as he accepts his coffee and pastry. Coffee and pastry, it was his and Aksel’s morning bad habit before work. “I mean, like, I’m glad you got it figured out and everything, I guess.”

“Just because you wouldn’t want to do the job.” Aksel rolls his eyes as he collects his coffee as well. “He was really kind, and knowledgeable. Asked the right questions, just like the other candidates -- you know, medications and if he's allergic to anything, likes, and dislikes. And he told Ari some fun stories that he really enjoyed.” He sips at his coffee thoughtfully. “He wasn’t the one I thought I’d pick, I’ll give you that much.”

Mathias snorts as they start the walk to work. It’s not a very long walk; just a couple of streets away. Aksel usually justifies it as his daily exercise. “I guess as long as he gets the job done and Ari gets on with him, I’ll hold my tongue.”

“No, you won’t,” Aksel retorts, because he knows his friend better than anyone. They'd been friends since they were kids. 

"You're right, I won't." Mathias grins at him. "You picked him 'cause he's hot, didn't you?" 

Aksel gives him a rather withering look. "No, I picked him because he's responsible and Ari likes him. That's all I need." Mathias doesn't look convinced but shrugs and changes the subject.

~~

Aksel is being spoiled, and he knows it. But like hell he’s going to cave and admit defeat. It's been a couple of months now. Björn has been keeping the house in order, and now he's taken to coming early and starting coffee. He usually arrives about forty-five minutes before Aksel has to leave for work, immediately gets the coffee going, and then takes breakfast demands from a rather sleepy Ari who doesn’t want to miss out on anything but will definitely crash later. 

“You don’t have to go through the trouble of making coffee or getting dinner ready, you know,” Aksel tells Björn as he pours himself a cup of coffee. But he doesn’t really want Björn to take him seriously and stop, either.

Björn shrugs, a hint of a smile on his lips. “I don’t mind. You’re the head of house, and when the head of house is happy, the rest of the house is happy. Or something like that.” 

He’s the sole guardian of a single child with no one else in the house, but the implications of his statement still make Aksel smile. “Careful, or I might get used to it.” He’s already used to it. Sometimes he forgets he’s paying Björn to be here, because Björn is slowly becoming a permanent fissure in the house. The amount of stuff that Aksel has to do on his days off is dropping drastically because Björn is keeping up on it all -- he takes to doing quick clean ups of the house when Ari is napping, apparently, and gets dinner ready every night. 

Now he’s getting coffee in the morning and an almost uninterrupted morning to get ready for work. Plus, a really good conversationalist. Aksel hadn’t expected that when he’d hired Björn. He’d been soft-spoken the first time they’d met, and he’d sort of been surprised that Ari liked him at all. But then again, Aksel and Ari are very similar in that loud and demanding personalities aren’t all that easy to be around constantly. 

“What makes you think that I wouldn’t want you to?” Björn asks with a note of playfulness. Before Aksel can respond, Ari wanders into the kitchen and reaches for Aksel while demanding breakfast from Björn. Aksel’s heart thuds rather loudly in his ears as he peeks at Björn, who is very seriously listening to Ari’s requests. 

Damn.

~~

Aksel had never set out to be involved with Björn. In fact, quite the opposite. Who gets involved with a babysitter unless they’re looking for trouble, anyway? It’s just…Björn spends so much time at his home, and he’s honestly good company. He’s tried to up Björn’s pay, to compensate for the time he spends not taking care of Ari, but he took it almost as an insult the first time he brought it up and he hasn’t tried again. And, honestly, who is he to argue with him when he’s got a dinner date almost every night. 

It’s a cool summer evening when he realises just how in it he is. Björn has Ari outside when he comes home from work, letting his little brother run off any excess energy from the day. He leans against the doorframe and watches them for a bit. Part of him is a little jealous. All this time that he feels should be his rightfully with Ari and Björn has it all instead. He knows, logically, that he’s doing what’s best for Ari in the end, but it doesn’t always make the decision easy. The other part of him, however, doesn’t mind. He gets to spend extra time with Björn. 

“Are you going to come out or haunt the doorway?” Björn teases, looking over his shoulder at him. Aksel smiles slightly as he closes the door behind him and steps out, sitting down in the grass beside Björn. “Long day at work?”

“Every day is,” Aksel replies, crossing his legs and picking at the grass. “It just makes coming home nicer.” It’s quiet between them for a moment before Ari comes over and occupies several minutes of their time, telling quite the stories that they both nod to. 

When he takes off again, Björn says, “I was wondering… Maybe one of these nights, I could stay a little later than usual, and we could watch a movie or something?” 

Aksel glances up at him, barely even daring to smile. “I think I’d really like that.” A lot, if he’s honest. It’s not like their developing relationship is new, per se, but he really likes the idea of a proper date. “But you have to call it what it is. If it’s what I think it is.”

“A date?” The corners of Björn’s lips curl upwards a bit. “I’d like it to be.” He reaches over, rather subtly, and takes Aksel’s hand. 

With the tips of his ears bright red, Aksel intertwines their fingers and nods shortly. “A date, then.”