#with as familiar as they are once she gets him to start using informal terms I doubt she'd let him go back to the formal

[daycourtofficial]

Deceptive Domestication

Pairing: Azriel x reader | WC: 7.7k | Warnings: sexism, misogyny

Summary: The two of you have to pretend to be a married couple for a mission. Can you live with this false reality? Or will your feelings for Azriel eat you alive when it’s over?

Author’s note: started making it, had a breakdown, bon apetit

“Angel, where are you?”

Azriel’s deep voice moves on the wind, finding you at the back of your cottage. You twist the new ring adorning your fourth finger, the skin beneath it showing no tan lines, “I’m back here, just one second!”

Azriel laughs, his voice sweet and full of honey, “the wife’s an avid gardener. When we were first considering moving here, she insisted we check the soil to make sure she would be able to have her prized blackberries.”

You appear from the side of the house, wiping your hands on the apron around your dress. Azriel’s arm reaches around you, clasping you on your shoulder as you get next to him. 

“He’s right, I love my blackberries greatly,” you say, reaching out to shake hands with your new neighbors. They lived in the house closest to yours, a red thatched roof adorning the black building. Delicious smells came from it, and judging by the smoke from the chimney, they were likely preparing dinner when they saw you two.

“We just wanted to come by and meet the two of you, we saw you come in last night and wanted to introduce ourselves. I’m Arben,” the male points to himself, “and this is my wife, Alija.”

You nod to both of them - they looked to be a good bit older than you and Azriel, wrinkles adorning their tanned faces. “Thank you, this used to be my Uncle Sal’s home. Since he passed away recently, he left the home to us and we wanted to leave our home village.”

“I’m so sorry about Sal, sweetheart,” he says, a sympathetic look in his eye, “he was a nice male, talked about you all of the time. Alija has to finish dinner, but we’ll see the two of you around, yeah?”

You press your lips into a firm smile, nodding before pressing into Azriel’s side and turning back to the house. His arm on your back guides you to the door of your new home, his touch a familiar warmth amidst all of the new. Once you cross the threshold, shutting the door behind yourselves, Azriel’s hand falls from your back and he immediately puts distance between you two, walking towards the bedroom he was staying in. His smile drops, the air in the room frigid. Rhys’s words clang through you, a shock to your senses.

Go to this village as a married couple. I’m unsure how long it will take.

You jolted as Azriel slammed the door behind him. Sighing, you move to your own room, taking in the bags left to unpack. You had taken great care to pack enough to last you as the season changes. The two of you were here indefinitely, marooned in a quaint village of about forty-three people.

Move in, become friends with the neighbors, find out what you can.

There was a circle of villages in the western part of the Night Court where females kept disappearing - six had gone missing in the last month. The villagers were not speaking to outsiders, but Rhysand thought a long term mission might allow the spies to get close enough to get some questions answered.

So he decided on you and Azriel.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

It had been strange seeing Azriel play this version of a spy, even if it had only been a day. You were so used to him lurking in the shadows, it felt so strange to watch him play the part of a doting husband, and to do it well. Introducing you to the neighbors and random villagers, a hand kept on your skin at all times - on your lower back, your waist, your shoulders. It was so easy to get swept up in the illusion you two were selling - even you were convinced you were newlyweds, moving for a fresh start.

Until he slammed his door, reminding you it was all fake, a farse for information.

Things between you and Azriel have always been easy. You two were the best of friends, most of your free time being spent with him since joining the Inner Circle two years ago. The two of you spent countless nights sitting together when sleep wouldn’t find you, you two had even developed a code - open bedroom doors at night were a silent invitation for the other to come in, spending most nights in each other’s rooms, wrapped up in sheets that smelled of the two of you.

All of that ended very suddenly a few months ago. Suddenly his door was always closed to you, your own cracked every night. A call to him, begging him to acknowledge you.

You started keeping your door closed a month ago. It didn’t feel right, shutting him out, but clearly you had done something wrong. Your entrance into a room would cause him to leave immediately, changes in his training schedule to avoid you, abruptly turning around when he saw you.

It was all pissing you off.

The rest of the Inner Circle were just as clueless as you were as to what happened to cause Azriel’s sudden distance. Cassian tried to interfere - making plans with both of you for dinner at a restaurant and ditching, trying to force you two to spend time together.

Azriel just left once he caught sight of you.

That was your tipping point. You stopped going to training, you pulled back from family dinners. They were his family first, and you wanted to give him whatever space he needed. Everyone protested, telling you it was his problem, and in Cassian’s words “if he’s going to be a jackass, I don’t want him around anyway.”

Still, you retreated, hardly seeing much of the family you had forged over the past few years. No matter how much it hurts you to do so.

Once you began accepting this new Azriel-less reality, Rhys had called you into his office. The high lord looked almost conflicted, your entire family aware that something weird was happening between you and Azriel. None of them dared to ask Azriel, his darkened mood making it incredibly easy to anger him, and anytime they asked you they were met with a shrug and a soft, “I don’t know.”

All of them had been scratching their heads, desperate for an explanation for the sudden iciness between you two. It had been weeks of this, and everyone missed seeing the two of you exchanging whispers in the corner or watching Azriel’s shadows wind through your hair.

Which was why Rhysand decided to insert himself into the situation. He called you into his office, and after asking you to take a seat, he began asking after your week. Your eyebrows knitted, confused about the formality of it all, when you realized you haven’t actually seen Rhysand in almost a month. 

You had taken up residence in the House of Wind - since you were a scholar it lended easy access to your work, and whenever you wanted to leave, you asked Azriel to ferry you around. You tried to remember the last time you saw anyone in the inner circle that wasn't Cassian or Nesta, and it was when Cassian offered to fly you into town to get lunch with Feyre three weeks ago.

You’re not certain how to tell Rhysand the past few weeks had been filled with silence, whatever happened between you and the shadowsinger led you to avoid Cassian and Nesta, avoid training, avoid anything that wasn’t being buried in your work in the library.

You look into violet eyes, and you check your mental shields because he’s looking at you as if he already knows how sad this whole situation has made you.

You take a deep breath, shrugging. “Time is passing, I suppose.”

Rhys’s face falls a bit at just how dejected you sounded. It wasn’t supposed to be like this - they all knew there was something between you and Azriel, they all saw how you two gravitated towards each other. Neither of you would open up about whatever it was that shifted things so quickly and easily and it was pissing all of them off.

“I need your help with something.”

It was the best plan they could come up with to try to salvage things.

-

You woke up early the next morning, determined to tend to the garden before the sun reached its peak in the sky. You had plans later in the afternoon to meet with a few of the women of the village, but you had to get to working on this garden. There was no time table on this mission, and the two of you only had food stores to last you a few months.

If you were to be stuck in this purgatory that long, you needed new food to replenish whatever you use.

Your story to tell the villagers was that the two of you were quite young from the other end of Illyria. The two of you were extraordinarily lucky that one of the older fae males in this village happened to pass away a few weeks ago, allowing the two of you an easy in. You merely reviewed some family records, and were posing as his beloved niece, here to lead a new life with her husband.

You tended to the garden behind the house - the weeds had grown wildly in the previous owner’s absence. Your ‘uncle's absence, that is.

You spent all morning pulling weeds, making quite an improvement to the garden before you decided to go in and make yourself lunch. You came in, rinsing the dirt from your fingers, the water feeling nice against some of the minor cuts you acquired outside. After drying off, you pulled out a loaf of bread, slicing the bread to prepare some sandwiches. 

You hummed to yourself, trying to fill the silence of the house. It wasn’t large - a quaint two bedroom house with two bathrooms, a nice little kitchen, and a sitting room. You were a bit surprised at how well the interior of the house had been maintained by your ‘uncle’. 

Azriel was headed with the rest of the males to the war camp, spending his day training as a lesser ranked Illyrian. He was glamoured to look enough not like himself to the other Illyrians that they wouldn’t think anything of him. You had also glamoured some of Azriel’s siphons, only allowing one on his chest to remain. He was not happy about it, not wanting to seem so much weaker than he truly was. He wouldn’t listen to any of your points about it, but Rhys eventually convinced him to allow your glamour to cover six of his siphons because “it’s quite obvious who you are”.

Azriel’s refusal to listen to even your opinions on the mission was grating. You wanted to get to know the local females, and Rhys agreed with you, but Azriel kept arguing that ‘it wasn’t safe’.

Stupid Illyrians and their stupid pigheadedness, you suppose. If you’re not supposed to speak with the other females, why were you even here?

You knew this mission would be difficult for Azriel - his hatred for his own people fueling centuries of anger and resentment. You thought being trapped here was an appropriate punishment for how he had iced you out of his life.

You had just finished making your sandwich when there was a knock at the door. You brushed your hands down your dress, glamouring wings back to life behind you, breathing deeply before you answered the door.

An Illyrian woman stood in your doorway, her dark curls slightly hiding her tanned face that was turned down. She was taller and broader than you, but still small for an Illyrian. Her demeanor told you they treated her that way as well. Her wings were tucked in tight behind her and her shoulders shook lightly before you.

Her voice was weak as she told you, “we go every day, bringing lunch to the males, if you wish to accompany us.”

Wish.

You knew the reality of coming here - you knew they would give a few days of grace to settle in, set up your garden, bereave your uncle before they assigned you to a chore rotation. In communities like this one, everyone had to pull their weight.

It was just astonishing how ‘pulling your own weight’ made the females seem two to three times heavier than the males.

You nod your head to the female, closing the door behind you as you meet her outside. You had no idea where the war camp was, knowing it mustn’t be too far from the village. You vaguely remember Azriel and Rhys discussing the three villages that filtered into the camp, how all three were short walks from the villages.

Dirt crunches beneath your boots as you walk alongside the female, her deep brown eyes downcast towards the ground, shoulders hunched to make herself as small as possible as you walk. “What’s your name?” You ask, your voice causing her to flinch. Her eyes were wide as they looked at you, shock at being addressed you presumed. It was astonishing how awfully they must treat her, because her face resembled a wounded dog’s.

“Kaltrina.” Her words are mumbled, and you have to strain your ears a little to hear her. 

“Kaltrina - it’s nice to meet you. Um, are you married?”

Not your usual first question, but around these parts marriage was as good as social standing. Also any unwed women over the age of 24 were considered ‘unwanted’ or ‘untameable’. This village was harsh on women - even by Illyrian standards. The males of this village made Devlon look forward and free-thinking.

“No, not married. I live with my brother, Dardan.”

Her tone didn’t suggest anything about him, but you weren’t sure exactly what it meant. She offers you a smile and a soft nod, “is your husband nice?”

You offer the same soft nod before you hear her say, “he’s quite good looking, too.”

You pause, trying to remember everything Cassian and Rhysand had told you about Illyrians to prepare for this - they told you males were incredibly territorial, treating their wives more like trophies and laborers rather than spouses. A male would take this as a compliment - one mention of a good-looking wife would be something to boast about, mentioning it more than once would be an offense.

But how did the females treat their husbands, how did they speak to each other about them? It was the biggest gap in your knowledge, but you suppose you can explain away any discrepancies on how far away the two of you came from.

“Yes, he’s quite pretty.”

She giggles at your words, and you feel a swell of pride at getting it right. She walks next to you, standing a little straighter for the rest of the walk.

The two of you made it to the war camp, joining the other females to distribute food to the males. The males look at you like you’re not much more than a piece of meat or some dirt on their boots, but your eyes scanned the crowd for Azriel, not finding him the entire time you’re there.

You do get a chance to speak with a few of the females as you all head back to the village, carrying leftover food with you. Most of them seem to welcome you - suggesting what crops grow best in the area, telling you to reach out if you need any help with anything.

The other females head off at the fork in the road, telling you and Kaltrina they would see you the next day. You breathe deeply, looking to Kaltrina once more. She hardly spoke once the two of you had met up with the other females at the war camp, keeping her distance from them the entire time.

“How’s your brother?” You ask, the innocent question causing Kaltrina to flinch. 

“He’s a fine male.”

Her answer feels so dry, so rehearsed. You don’t press the issue, changing topics instead. “How will you spend the rest of the afternoon?”

“Chores.”

You listen to the birds singing around the both of you, their song a beautiful melody across the skies. You eventually pass a house similar to your own, but a bit smaller, the roof not well cared for. Kaltrina gives you a small wave before turning down the path to her house, disappearing behind the door. 

You kept walking towards your own house, but you did see her appear in the window briefly, watching you walk down the road. It made the hairs on your neck stand up, but you quickly looked forward again, making your way back to the house, determined to finish unpacking this afternoon.

-

You had finished unpacking by the time you heard the door open, Azriel traipsing through the house. 

“Hello my loving husb-“

Your sarcastic words die as you turn to see his face, a cut on his lip and a black eye. He shakes his head, trying to tell you it’s nothing, and he starts moving to just head to his room, but you’re not having it.

“We have some bandages in the bathroom.” Your words don’t have a command in them, but he heads towards the bathroom. You pick up a bottle of alcohol, dabbing some on a rag. You motion for him to sit on the edge of the tub, and he goes.

You’re a few inches from his face, the closest you’ve been in months. His scent was so comforting, you just wanted to wrap yourself in it and stay for a while. He stays silent, his face a blank slate you could slap any emotion to. 

His shadows have been having fun whizzing around the house. He had told them they had to stay completely hidden if they were to come to the war camp with him, otherwise they had to stay in the house or go off wherever they wanted. They didn’t like the options, but most of them stayed with him, tucked into his boots, his pants, the hilt of his sword. Now that he was back, they scattered across the house, energetic wisps of darkness moving through the house, through your hair, against your skin.

“What happened?”

He huffed, his fingers dancing on his thighs in irritation. “I’m a new male, they’re just seeing if I can take it.”

You nod, and from the irritation in his voice, you know he’s shutting you back out. You hold the alcohol covered rag up to his lip, cleaning the blood from his face. He had healed a good bit since he received the beating, and you notice his knuckles are bloody. 

Hopefully he put up a good enough fight. 

“I went with some of the women to the war camp to distribute food.”

His eyes snap to yours, his wings rustling behind him. His eyes were dark, a look to them you’ve never seen directed at you. He reaches his hand up to your wrist, his grip tight but not uncomfortable.

“Why the fuck would you do that?”

You’re taken aback by his tone - even if your relationship was tenuous, he never took such an aggressive tone with you. In all your years of friendship, the most strain in his voice you had heard directed at you was when you were free climbing up the cabinets of the kitchen to get to the top shelf for some cookies.

“Because Rhys thinks-”

“I don’t give a damn what Rhys thinks when it comes to you, I said it was a bad idea and to stay away from them.”

“They’re battered females, Azriel! The males treat them like dirt! And their friends and sisters and mothers have gone missing. I can help them, I know I can - that’s why we’re here!”

His hand tensed around you before he pulled his hand away from you. He looks away from you, his harsh breathing echoing through the small bathroom.

“You’ll only get yourself hurt by talking to them.”

He snatched the rag from your hand, pushing past you out the bathroom and into his room, slamming the door on your once again. You want to scream or stomp your feet at how ridiculous he was being.

“I’m not a kid you can boss around, Azriel.”

His silence didn’t make you so certain about that.

-

The next week goes by much like your first full day in the village - you wake up after Azriel’s gone, tend to the house (your ‘uncle’ left it in semi-decent shape, but it did need a few repairs), head with Kaltrina to the war camp to feed the males (where you were even able to meet Kaltrina’s brother and several of the female’s husbands), and spend your afternoon preparing dinner for the two of you.

You’re not on speaking terms with Azriel after his outburst while you cleaned him up - every day he’s returned with some minor cut and scrape, and all you do is point to the alcohol and provide him with fresh rags. You won’t clean him up yourself, you’re too pissed at him for that, but you still urge him to do it himself

You still care, despite it all. 

Despite the ice between you and Azriel, the females of the village began opening up to you, accepting you as one of their own. You join them every day to serve lunches to the males, and several of them even invited you to their homes to help teach you how to cook with the regional vegetables. 

“Your husband’s too skinny,” one said, “I’ll teach you how to cook.”

You weren’t sure if it was a compliment or an insult, but you took it for what it was - an offering. You spent the afternoon with her, learning how to smoke pig ‘the correct way’. She had told you her name was Bora, she and her husband have lived in this village for several centuries, and she has had many, many smoked pigs.

“None compare to my family recipe.”

She was quite intimidating, and you could tell she took shit from no one, not even her husband. You were touched that she would share her family recipe with you so readily, thinking perhaps she took a special interest in you until another female stopped by and, after telling her Bora was teaching you her family recipe, she told you, “it’s how she inaugurates new females to the village’.

You were less touched and your ego deflated a bit, but you were still grateful she would spend so much time with you. The afternoon flew by, time not registering as you helped Bora peel her vegetables while the pork cooked. 

You looked up, noting the dark sky through the window, dropping the zucchini. “Oh no,” you mutter, running out of the house to the road, eyes wide to find Azriel running up the road, blades drawn. His siphon was glowing in the dark, it’s cobalt blue blazing with intensity.

He was frantic, and you could have sworn you saw his shadows frantically zipping around him, moving in and out of houses. His body visibly relaxes as he spots you, rushing towards you. His arms wrap around you, crushing you into an embrace. His breathing is ragged, “I thought- I thought- you-”

His words come out choppy, but he pulls back, his hands on your face. He’s breathing hard, trying to string words together. He swallows, his Adam's apple bobbing with the movement.

“Is everything alright?”

Bora’s voice startles Az, and one of his shadows whips into a defensive position before you shoo it away. He quickly collects himself, moving one of his hands to the back of your head, pulling you to his chest.

“Sorry, I got worried when I got home and my wife wasn’t there.”

He pats your hair, his hands combing through them softly. “Just need her to be safe, s’all.”

Bora nods, perhaps more understanding than she should be of Azriel’s concern. “Ah, to be newly married again. She was safe,” she turns away before adding, “she’s always safe here with Bora.” 

The older female waddles back inside for a moment before coming back out to the two of you, the tray of pork and vegetables on it. “Here’s dinner tonight - Bora’s family recipe.” She winks at you, and the two of you politely thank her before heading back to your house. You carried the tray, but Azriel kept both of his hands on you the entire walk back.

The walk back is mostly quiet, Azriel’s heartbeat slowing as the adrenaline leaves his body. You swivel your head around, noticing no one out in the village at this hour.

“Why were you being so nice and touchy to me out there and anytime we see the neighbors?” Your words come out barely more than a whisper, but you knew he heard them. “The men in this village hardly view their wives as more than livestock, it might be more suspicious for you to be so nice to me.”

He turned, just enough for you to see the side of his face, to watch his mouth as he said, “I could never do that to you.”

You spent the rest of the walk in silence, spending the entire time dissecting the way he said “you”.

-

Your house with Azriel is still quiet, the two of you living separate lives behind the oak door. Sleeping apart, eating dinner in different rooms. You two only spoke when you were outside of the house. 

A few days after cooking with Bora, you and Kaltrina were headed back to the village from the camps for lunch when she offered to help you make dinner. 

“I want to say thanks, for being my friend.”

Her words make you feel terrible over how strange you had found her. Maybe she was just awkward. You weren’t sure, but you knew you’d be safe inside your own home, so you agreed to let her stay. 

The two of you prepare dinner, Kaltrina seeming a bit nervous as she skitters about your kitchen. You make idle small talk, but the air in the room seems so off you can’t put your finger on it.

“What will your brother be doing for dinner tonight?” 

She looks a bit downcast as she tells you, “he has plans tonight, he’s eating at his friend’s house.”

Her tone tells you not to ask anymore, and you don’t press the issue any further. 

The two of you eat in silence, Kaltrina’s eyes moving around your house, taking in every detail. She excuses herself to the bathroom, and you show her where it is. 

In Kaltrina’s absence, Azriel makes his way through the front door, his shadows beginning to spread throughout the house in contentment. You quickly shake your head at the tiny wisps that come to you, sending them back to Azriel. You point towards the bathroom, jerking your head at the noises from behind the door trying to tell him someone was here.

The water runs, and Azriel quickly moves across the room, his arms circling your waist. Your eyebrows pinch, but you quickly relax them as Kaltrina leaves the bathroom. Her steps halt at seeing Azriel, her eyes wide at his sudden appearance.

“Kaltrina, this is my husband. Valon, this is my friend, Kaltrina.”

He nods to her before squeezing your waist and giving a swift kiss to your temple. Kaltrina’s eyes linger on the display of affection, not breaking contact even moments later. Azriel rubs your back, eyes fond as he looks to you, “I’m going to head to bed, take your time with your friend, but don’t leave me waiting too long.”

Was that a signal? You two slept in separate rooms - what did his words mean? You lean up, kissing his cheek before rubbing at his jaw and nodding. He turns his attention towards Kaltrina, “it was nice meeting you Kaltrina, my wife is quite fond of you. Have a good night.”

Her mouth is slightly ajar, her cheeks a harsh shade of red as she squeaks, “good night.”

Azriel nods at her and he slips into your bedroom, a sight that doesn’t go unnoticed by you. You turn back to Kaltrina, her eyes lingering on the door to your bedroom, and you could almost feel the yearning radiating from her. 

“Come on, we should clean up a bit.” The two of you head into the kitchen, cleaning and scraping the dirty dishes from earlier. You two work in silence, the only sounds in the room are the scrubbing of pots.

“Your husband seems quite nice.”

Her voice is full of want and yearning. You stop cleaning pots before you, Kaltrina’s eyes fixed on you until you look. She turns her eyes away, looking back to the pots.

“Yes, he is very kind.”

“He’s unlike any of the males around here.”

This conversation felt a bit dangerous. Azriel said it was fine, that he couldn’t treat you the way any of these males treat their wives - like servants, like cattle, like nothing. But you knew the females of the village would notice how he treated you, if they haven’t already. You start to wonder if they had noticed, discussing the odd outsiders, figuring the two of you out, getting you-

“He’s very good-looking.”

Kaltrina’s voice startles you, and you look to find her not even looking at you, gazing off to some point on the wall. Had she meant to say that out loud? The two of you finish up cleaning, although it is mostly you doing the work, Kaltrina’s gaze is lost somewhere on your kitchen wall. You quickly escort her out, wishing her a good night. You offer to walk her home, but she declines, saying she’ll be fine on her own. 

You close the door behind her, taking a deep breath. Azriel was in your room - your room - the one with the unmade bed, clothes haphazard around the space. You two used to frequent each other’s private chambers, but now you can’t recall the last time he laid in your bed, perused the books on your shelves, or sat in the chair in the corner of your room at the House of Wind.

You push open the door to find him pacing in front of your bed, his shadows lounging lazily on your bed. You nod to him, picking at your fingernails.

“I think it’s Kaltrina. I think she’s the one doing this.”

“Kaltrina?” His voice is full of surprise and misunderstanding. “You think Kaltrina, that little thing is behind all of this?”

“Yes! I just.. Don’t know why.. The way she talks about you…”

“We can’t go off of silly little feelings when convicting someone of a crime, you know.” He stands in front of you, his wings blocking the light from the candles, casting shadows across his face.

“I’m well aware-”

“You have to think - where would she keep them? How could she overpower so many Illyrian women? And besides, why does it matter what she thinks of me?”

Your anger was bubbling to the surface, his condescending tone leading you to yell out, “what the fuck is your problem, Azriel?”

He looks at you, turning away quickly while muttering, “we are not doing this here.” His shadows are ever so slightly trying to push him back towards you, but he ignores their attempts, plowing through them to your kitchen.

“No, I think we are doing this right here, right now. I’ve let too much shit go by and I can’t keep acting like everything’s okay anymore.” You take in a shaky breath. “I’m tired of pretending. Just tell me whatever it was that I did that made you hate me and we can move on!”

“No.”

His curt reply annoys you even more, and you’re directly in front of him poking his chest.

“Just tell me what I did!”

“You didn’t do anything.”

“That’s clearly not the case.”

He groans in frustration, running a hand down his face, but you are unrelenting in your pursuit for the truth.

“We were friends, you used to like spending time with me. I don’t know what happened that made you hate me-”

“I don’t hate you.”

You laugh, “well you could have fooled me. For months everyone’s been asking me what happened between us, and I have no clue! It’s like you woke up one day and decided we couldn’t be friends anymore!”

“That’s not what happened-”

“Oh, it’s not? So you were pretending to be my friend while you secretly hated me before cutting me off one day?”

“I HAD TO.”

His eyes were wide with an almost feral-like look to them. He looked almost more beast than fae.

“I had to. Those fae that were trafficking females and males, they… “ His hand shakes as he curls and uncurls it, his scarred fingers twitching with the motion. “One of my spies found your name in one of their notebooks, reported it to me immediately.”

His ferocity is turned on you, hazel eyes looking into your own, as if he was searching through your soul. “Don’t you get it? They know you, they know who you are.” His voice raised an octave, squeaking, “because of me.”

“So, what? Because someone knew that I was important to you, you cut me off?”

“No it wasn’t-“

“Oh, no, was it that someone pointed out to you that I was important to you and you didn’t like that?” Your voice was raising, getting louder, but you couldn’t care. 

“That’s not-“

“I’m a big girl, Az, I deserve to know everything before making decisions. I don’t deserve my decisions to be taken from me.”

“Will you let me speak?”

His shadows were covering the windows, the doors, the walls. His chest was heaving as he tried to get the words out, tried to make you see.

“I couldn’t let anything happen to you.”

“So instead of explaining this to me, you cut me off like I meant nothing to you? Why couldn’t you just tell me that? Why couldn’t you tell me-”

“You would talk me out of it! Convince me it was in my head. I needed you to be safe, for cauldron’s sake!”

You sniffle, eyes catching on the door. “I have a lot to think about,” is all you say before storming out, closing the door behind you. You walk from the house, your boots sinking into the grass at your feet as you walk aimlessly around the village. Your thoughts whirled and swirled of Azriel’s words, your hands pulling at your hair in frustration.

“Hey, there.”

You whip around, fist raised, to find Dardan looking back at you. You quickly drop your fist - he could still tell the others you showed defiance towards him and you’d be in a lot of trouble. 

“Oh, hey, Dardan, right? I must not have heard you. How are you tonight?”

You try to make your voice sound as pleasant as possible, as feminine as possible. 

“Just taking an afternoon stroll,” he muses, “care to join me?”

You look around, noticing you’re much further from the village than you intended. Even though you were a married female to the rest of the village, it was still disrespectful towards your husband to be seen on the outskirts of town with an unmarried male. 

“Um,” you start turning around, your gut trying to tell you this was wrong, wrong, wrong. “Actually, I should get back to my husband. I need to start working on dinner soon.”

You turned your head just in time for something hard and metal to make contact with it, the last thing in your vision was the ground before complete darkness.

-

Your head was killing you, your neck at an unnatural angle as you opened your eyes. The room was dark, but still too bright for the pounding of your head. You take a deep breath, trying to note your surroundings. 

Your hands were bound behind you, some fabric you should be able to easily pull apart. You were on the ground, some dirt beneath your body as you laid on the cold ground. You began tugging on the fabric, trying to maneuver your hands to slip through the knot.

“Tug all you want, we got a talented witch in these parts.”

Your body goes cold at the voice.

Dardan.

Fuck.

You want to slam your head on something, but there’s nothing. Your breathing speeds up, your mind moving through all your interactions with Dardan.

You thought he was nice. He had been amicable to you at the war camp, you barely even thought of him during this mission. You thought it was Kaltrina. How could you have gotten things so wrong? 

He smiles as he watches your brain try to figure things out. His smugness was a new look for Lee - one that made him look very unattractive. “We knew one of Rhysand’s dogs was bound to show up at some point, just didn’t think they’d bring a pretty bitch like you with ‘em. Color me surprised when my little sister brought you around.”

You snap at his words, “bitches bite.”

He goes by to sharpen whatever knife he was wielding before replying. “We got big plans.”

Dardan wouldn’t say more than that, continuing to sharpen his blade before inspecting it. Once it was to his satisfaction, he grabbed you by the hair, yanking you from the ground. You scramble, trying to get your feet on the ground, kicking at the dirt he was dragging you across to gain some footing. His pull on your hair was unrelenting, even as your arms flailed back trying to hit him.

Eventually you’re able to get your feet beneath you, trying to keep up with his steps. He opens the doors to the structure you were kept in, the light of dusk surprising you. There was no way to tell time in that barn.

“It’s almost sunset, girl.”

You have no idea what he’s talking about, trying to take a big inhale so you can scream. The sound was piercing - a loud screech coming from you. Dardan just laughed. “Screech all you want, no one’s around for miles.”

Rhys’s words echo in your mind.

Stay close to Azriel.

A warning you had forgotten when you stormed off. Dardan’s tight grip brings you towards a clearing full of other Illyrians from the village you had been staying in and several of the nearby villages. You’re about to call, to beg them for help, when you notice six of the males are each dragging a female in some way towards the center of the clearing. You can’t see over the wings and heads in front of you, but the crowd parts for your eyes to land on a stone altar with ancient languages carved into it.

The crowd gave enough space for the six Illyrians to stand in a circle around the altar, each one cradling a woman by their neck with a blade pressed to it. You start fighting back against Dardan, trying to scratch him, hit him, but he throws you towards the altar where two winged males stand, catching you in their arms easily. You throw out your hand, making contact with one of their jaws, a soft “bitch” hissed at you. 

You throw your bound hands into the other one’s gut, but the first one grabs your elbow, twisting harshly. You struggle in the hold, winding your head back to headbutt him, but the other one grabs your head, holding it in place. You start kicking your legs out, hoping for any kind of contact, but a male from the crowd comes up and catches your ankles. 

The three males hold onto you, moving you on top of the altar. Your movements do nothing to stop them as they clamp down your feet, moving towards your hands, shackling them to the altar as well. Your pleas to be let go fell on deaf ears.

You turn your head to the left, two of the females coming into your view. Their wings twitched as their captors held them, not much fight in them. You yell to them, begging for them to fight back against the males at their backs. Tears stream down the side of your face, leaking into your ears as you watch their complacency, what they’ve been conditioned for. 

Nausea rolled in your stomach at the idea of how long they’ve been aware of this fate. These girls have been missing for weeks and months of their lives, kept Mother knows where to beat them into compliance. 

They stood at attention, knives to their throats, unmoving. 

Your eyes water seeing Kaltrina amongst them, her eyes downcast.

It was sickening.

Dardan comes from the crowd, looking down at you over the crook of his nose. He raises a knife to your throat, your skin nicking on the blade as your breathing quickened. 

“Any last words?”

You look up at Dardan, mustering every ounce of defiance onto your face as you pull back, spitting into his smug face. His face falls for a moment before wiping the saliva off. Dardan looks towards the sky, “just a moment until sundown. If only your pretty little shadowsinger could be here now, to watch you become the ultimate sacrifice.”

Breathing gets harder as the seconds tick by, knowing the sun will set at any second. You felt a cool breeze blow over you. 

Not a breeze.

A shadow.

“Get your fucking hands off of my mate.”

Your heart stops in your chest, something sparking deep within you at Azriel’s growl of warning in a tone you’ve never heard from him before. Dardan’s knife is still pressed to your neck, but you’re able to move your eyes enough to see wisps of shadow pulling the knives away from the necks of the other females in the circle. 

You tilt your head back, barely able to make out Azriel standing behind Dardan, his shadows angrily darting all around him. Several more of them make their way to you, almost cloaking you in the scent of their master.

Dardan’s arrogance doesn’t balk at the sight of Azriel, his grip on the knife tightening. 

“You can drop the ‘mate’ act, freak,” Dardan spat out, his words causing the shadows to whirl in agitation. “We need her-”

In a flash the shadows coating you slithered up your torso, slithering around the wrist that held the blade. They pulled the wrist away, the knife narrowly avoiding slicing your throat. At the same time, Azriel moved for Dardan, his fist connecting with Dardan’s jaw causing a crack across the clearing. Dardan hit the ground, but Azriel dove after him, landing punch after punch.

In the chaos of the fight breaking out, the crowd was in hysterics, all of the males attempting to fly or flee, pools of shadows surfaced at their feet, tripping them up, their bodies slowly disappearing into the darkness. Some of them tried to crawl from the darkness, but to no avail. The crowd quickly went from about 30 males to just the six females left, all unharmed, huddling together for some form of protection.

Azriel was choking Dardan out, scarred fingers forcing the breath from Dardan’s lungs. “I will enjoy taking my time with you.” Azriel’s words hung in the air as Dardan slowly slipped into the shadows underneath him, but Azriel remained on the grass. He quickly got to this feet, most of his shadows gone, likely to keep the Illyrian prisoners in check.

He stumbles over to you, quickly undoing your binds before wrapping you in his arms, pulling you from the altar.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” are all he says, his words repeating as you feel tears fall onto your shirt. You gripped him just as tightly, finding it easier to breathe in his presence for the first time in ages. 

“I can’t live in fear anymore.”

He lunged for you, capturing your lips in a kiss. It’s rushed, full of fear and trepidation. 

But by the cauldron was it warm and full of life. 

He pulled back, wiping spit from his mouth, his fingers covered in blood pushing the hair out of your face. “When I heard that your name was on one of those books, the bond snapped for me. I flew in a rage, killing all those traffickers. But I knew there were more like them out there.”

His eyes were full of regret, “I should have told you, but I thought you’d be safer not knowing. Then I figured this mission was my last time to actually have you, to play pretend.”

You laugh at the ridiculousness of it, pulling him in closer to you. You bury your face in his neck, inhaling that deep smell of cedar that you adored more than anything. It felt like coming home.

“I’m still pissed at you for not telling me.”

He chuckles, a deep, warm sound you haven’t truly heard in ages, “can I make it up to you? I won’t keep secrets from you ever again.”

He holds your face in his hands, his own eyes wet with tears. One of his hands pulls away, his tan skin radiant in the moonlight. You bring up your hand, interlocking your fingers with his. You keep your eyes on his, “no more secrets. From either of us.”

He nods, a bargain tattoo beginning to snake its way on your skin. 

“No more running.”

The tattoo wove its way on your skin, dark tendrils solidifying where your forearms meet. When you pull your hand away, the tattoo is incomplete, missing the gaps where Azriel’s arm belongs.

Much like a one-sided duet, your tattoos look empty without the other there to complete the song that echoed in your chest, the song that hummed at the sight of him. The bond didn’t feel so much like a snap as a slow sinking, as if you had finally opened your eyes after so long. 

Wrapped in his arms, the two of you had a lot to figure out - the females, what to do with the strange occult Illyrians, but the two of you could do it.

He promised - no more running.

Permanent taglist: @vanilla-seabass @cyrygher @lees-chaotic-brain @topaz125 @chessebookgirl @fides25 @lady-of-tearshed @ashbatz @fxckmiup @lilah-asteria @justvibbinghere @daughterofthemoons-stuff @mybestfriendmademe @heartless-tate @tsunami-of-tears @idrkwhatthisisimsorry @olive-main @azrielsmate3 @pit-and-the-pen @durgenyx

Azriel taglist: @brieflyclassymortal @thisiskaylin

Thanks for reading 💕

[madkiska]

watching the entirety of jrwi: riptide again. here's some important things from the first few episodes that I feel we forgot (<110 mentions too though)

Jay

Had night terrors similar to those of Kubakinta's curse in episode 5, and they eventually start returning even after Loffinlot's curse is lifted ○ All of them were about her family and/or the navy ○ I simply think people leave her out of the nightmare stuff and she deserves it. Hurt her more, please (he said, lovingly)

was actually very upset at having to use her medal to get a Loffinlot rebellion to shut up ○ This could be because she didn't want them to guess she was a spy, but I choose to believe it's because she felt guilty

"If you're gonna be sailing with someone, you should have a good relationship with them. [nervous chuckle]." She says, while asking him for information about the Black Rose Pirates (ep. 10)

Said "thank god they didn't find me" after a nightmare about the navy attacking. Even when she was supposedly a spy, who one day would have to return to the navy ○ Very unclear if she was scared of her dad, or if it's because she was a secret spy so the navy would've just killed her

Rewatching, she was suspiciously into the plundering and gold and stuff. Like that was real sus. It doesn't fit her current character much

The only one among them who's gambled before

Chip

The entire thing literally starts off with Bizly holding a lit match

Called Gillion "Gill" and Jay "Sureshot" from an early stage

Was SO much more of a bastard. Lied to Gill constantly, didn't care about anything but the money, etc.

Had aggressive hand tremors alongside Jay's night terrors ○ Gill cures it with lay on hands

When he gets drunk married, they talk extensively about how he'd be released when he's dead. Welp.

They did actually break up and it was fine and they were still friends. They parted on good terms

Is really fucking good at chess ○ Beat Earl twice and Jay once. Jay had a point of exhaustion after a nightmare but Earl had no excuse ○ Lost to Gillion though, but only cause of prophetic screwup ○ This kid is smarter than he lets on, y'all

Was the first one to have a backstory dump while Jay is asking him about the Black Rose Pirates, yet still we know jack shit about his life before them other than "orphan"

Gill

Charlie has referred to Gillion with 'they' many times. I can pull receipts.

When describing Gill, Charlie said: "He's more.. elven, if you had to make a comparison. 'Cause I don't wanna be a fish guy". Oh, honey.

Smote a bald person by using his hair as a whip (ep. 4)

Was given anxiety and self-doubt alongside jay's night terrors and chip's tremors ○ "What do you want?" "I want the feeling of satisfaction I've been chasing my whole life." ○ This was episode FIVE.

First mention of the prophecy and how Gillion wasn't their ideal student is ep. 7, after he divine smites + prophetic screwups and deals like 60 damage to some beetles ○ Chip spends the next 30 seconds in gay awe

He refers to the crescent moon Niklaus tattoo as "my zodiac" (probably a bit) ○ It's not a lil basic white girl moon this thing is the entire size of his forearm

Gill had never heard about the Black Sea - it's unclear if the Undersea just don't know, or if that's just how sheltered he was (ep. 10)

Biz: "What would Gillion do. If he just had no goal - was just sitting there." "Gillion always has a goal." "Would his goal ever be to just.. Sit there?" "Absolutely not." ○ Later, Chip expresses that he doesn't know what Gillion likes. What he would want out of winning a bet. Gillion doesn't have an answer

Other

Apple, in a couple of early battles, acted like Gill's familiar (see: ep. 7)

They also pecked at his Niklaus tramp stamp and looked all confused at the idea of eating seeds

The specific crescent of the moon in the Niklaus tattoo is known as a symbol of "corruption" (ep. 9) and its antonym is the sun, for "life", similar to the yin and yang ○ Interesting to consider after what the tree said in 110 <_<

Pretzel has a masters degree in couple's therapy (ep. 10)

The Albatross/Millennium Chipper was described as the colour of rosewood or mahogany

Captain Lizzie's first introduction was a wanted poster, and Chip wanted to turn her in for the prize, then decided to try learn from her instead

Chip/Bizly called Old Man Earl "Erol" for a loooong time ○ Maybe it's an accent thing but I have an uncle called Erol and so this stands out to me

[cloveroctobers]

OUTTA LUCK — Javi Rivera [Fall Crumbles] 🤎

A/N: The final piece to this November collection has finally arrived! It’s also the shortest one as well? I think. Hope you still like it readers for twisters? Or simply readers for Anthony! Also thank you for 3k of you supporters 🤎🥹

WARNINGS: Written in note form since it was a quick write? Slight reference to an old October prompt that was scrapped from being written this year but still works as somewhat of a plot for this, language, questioning of what the heart wants, & regret?

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Javi felt as nervous as he did at 2am as he did later on in the day, not expecting to be face to face with you again after two years. He lets out a string of curse words, stopping in the doorway before the meeting and even made Kate bump into the back of him in confusion at his abrupt stop.

As of lately, Javi found himself up late at night, mind racing over not only his new extension project to Kate’s successful experiment a few years back but he started to feel a sense of emptiness, even if he wasn’t in his bed alone.

He only had himself to blame for that.

The both of you did not end on the best of terms so yeah it was something to see a missed call and hear a voicemail from: Javi Rivera as you checked your phone over breakfast. His contact has been removed from your phone and life but you couldn’t lie and say that the number didn’t look familiar.

That speculation was confirmed once you heard a voice you once upon of time loved listening to.

“Hey, um shit. It’s Javi. I guess it is a good thing that I didn’t get you. Why would I at 2am?! I just wanted to see how things were going with you? It’s been a minute…I hope things are well with you, honestly. I’m still wishin’ you nothing but the best and I wouldn’t even be mad at you if you deleted this—how would I know, right?”

He’s blabbing, which lets you know that he’s probably jittery, fidgeting, and with a clearing of his throat after his pausing, makes you aware that he’s not entirely sure why he was calling.

You knew why.

It’s been a few years and you were still on his mind.

“…anyway! Sorry for holding up your line.”

It was a whole bunch of nothing without saying anything yet you could read between the lines. You deleted the voicemail, not checking to see how many minutes the message was in the first place. Sipping at your herbal tea, you sat in silence for a moment before you got a notification that your driver was waiting for you downstairs.

Time to get the bag.

As a businesswoman, your job was to get shit done and be professional. Some already referred to you as a lioness, taking the silent strike approach when it came to deals. You were thrown into this meeting last minute since your partner decided to back out of it. Talks about this experiment was in the works months ago and you knew he would give it up once your company was officially reached out to since science and the environment was never his “thing.”

It was too boring for him!

Your assistant gave you the run down of what the potential client(s) were trying to accomplish and always the punctual one, you had at least fifteen minutes to get the gist of this major project in full.

“Three out of the seven of The Tornado Wranglers came all the way out here to New York,” You greet as you wait for them to approach the head of the table, “Welcome to Apexi Co.”

Tyler sends a wide grin your way, clasping your hand with both hands, “Ma’am, thank you for meeting with us and so last minute too.”

The trio were informed that they would be meeting with someone else due to “creative differences,” but never dropped any names.

Kate’s eyes were wide as she flicked Javi’s shoulder from behind, “isn’t that…”

Javi hummed out a, “Uh huh.”

Kate’s success with her project was huge but Javi’s idea for this next new thing, required a lot of money and needed an investor. They had one with Kate’s but Javi knew that business needed to keep booming. So he came up with his own idea, that was crazy but brilliant.

Once gaining their friendship back, Javi encouraged Kate to see what could happen with the cow-boy with the grinch laughter lines, Kate couldn’t help but to wonder what Javi’s love life was like. She learned that there was one girl in the service that he commonly hooked up with but apparently he was too stuck on Kate and dealing with grief to dive into a meaningful relationship.

That is until he met you.

It’s been some time since Kate and Javi reconnected. She suspected there was someone else and as soon as Javi spilled that there was? It was over before she and the rest of the wranglers got to meet you.

All because Javi had a pattern of going back to the past.

Kate saw pictures though and even browsed your socials to see that you brought a lot to the table. Not to say that the old vet he was back involved with, didn’t…Kate just never saw the military life for Javi in the first place. She’ll say that!

He got caught on the balcony of your apartment, late at night on the phone with the girl from the service.

It wasn’t as simple as you think and it wasn’t just talking.

“…and these are my partners, Javi Rivera and Kate Carter.”

Your eyes held a flash of something in them before it vanished. You were never one to show your cards but nonetheless, a smile was on your lips as you shook both hands.

“Please have a seat.” You gesture to the empty seats.

Javi felt as if he could just melt into the floor, being in the same presence as you after all this time.

A lot can happen in two years.

A elbow to his side, makes Javi snap his attention back to you. You have a brow quirked up while your eyes slowly blinked, awaiting an answer.

“I’m—I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” Javi clears his throat, lightly rubbing at the facial hair he was now sporting.

A smile stays on your lips, “Certainly Mr. Rivera. Since you are the lead of this project, would you mind telling us how this differs from…Kate’s project?” You peek at the notes, although you had a photographic memory.

Javi glanced at Kate who dips her heard at him in support. He turns back to you and you listen as he goes into depth passionately about the use of androids that would be able to track the change in weather in states that are most affected by tornados. Javi slides over the mock-up design to your view, “They will be able to alert everyone much faster than a simple warning siren. Depending on what they’re programmed for, I have two versions: one that will also go into the tornado to decrease its intensity in a quicker manner than Kate’s project and then the other version will tend to those who need to be escorted to safe zones and assist in the clean up after.”

The room goes quiet, as the three watch you scribble some notes down.

Javi licks at his bottom lip, waiting in anticipation for whatever else you had to say. He watched nervously as your assistant leans towards you, with you whispering in their ear.

“I’ve reviewed the video that was sent over of you giving a test run of your project. Very impressive. The android that was delivered just last night is being analyzed as we speak.” You inform, “Congratulations…we’ll give you a trial run for two months to see your progress. If successful, you’ll be fully funded by Apexi co.”

That almost felt too easy.

Even with the hugs from Kate and congratulatory squeezes on Javi’s shoulder from Tyler.

“Good luck.” You tell Javi on your way out.

Which sent him right to the restroom, sick over not you agreeing to take on his project, but the fact that he was seeing you after leaving a rambling voicemail on your phone. If you listened to it, you gave nothing away. Your business suit was on and that only made Javi miss you more.

He’s holding onto his stomach, when he leaves the restroom, looking around the modern appearance of the company but he knows Tyler and Kate are waiting for him downstairs outside. Javi tries to shake off the nerves and start walking again but not without spotting you by the elevators, typing away on your phone.

It was now or never.

“Hey uh…I appreciate you deciding to take us on, considering…well you know.” Javi speaks from your left.

Blinking, you shift and say, “Considering that you emotionally cheated on me with an ex? You can say it you know. I’m not going to crumble to the floor at the mention of what happened. Plus it’s a great business opportunity and I know how to keep personal business separate…if you’re successful in this you won’t be dealing with me much anyway.”

“What if I want to.” Javi finds himself saying, his honey haze hues peered at you.

Your head tilts to the side, catching the hint, “I’d say your shit is outta luck then if you think this is going to develop into something more.”

Javi feels as if his heart was a balloon slowly deflating. “I…don’t know if I ever apologized.”

“You did.” You dip your head, “and life went on. I’d like to ask how life’s going with her but…I can already tell just by what you’re trying to pull here.”

“I’m not trying to pull anything I just…can’t get you outta my head.”

“That’s unfortunate for you.” You say with a furrow of your brow, trying not to be condescending but it still came out that way, “And also not my problem? You made your choice.”

You’re both entering the elevator, just the two of you with the doors closing you both in. It was suffocating for Javi, who rubbed at the slight ache that formed in the back of his neck, just listening to you be so closed off with him.

So cold…but what did he expect?

Javi hated to admit it but it was his truth, “She’s not you.”

“I know.” You exhale before turning your head to meet Javi’s saddened eyes, “And I know your heart…at least I thought I did. Listen to me when I say this, so that I’m clear. This will strictly be a business relationship…I finally fell out of love. As for you? Look at it this way, this will all just be another project for you to figure out, right?”

A ding is heard, before the doors are open and you walk out first, slipping some shades over your eyes as you blend into the crowd. At this point Javi knows there’s no need to chase after you, he screwed up what was once good for something that should be temporary.

There was nothing else there but lust with his old fling.

And now?

There were no ties to you either, you would make sure of that.

Which is as good as nothing, if you asked Javi.

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FIN.

[vanitas-no-carter-fanfics]

Reader that reciprocates Vanitas flirtatious comments and affection

Happy to take on this request. I do hope you enjoy it! -J --------------- ---------------

(Name) had always had an odd relationship with Vanitas. Of course it was not unknown to her that Vanitas was a well known flirt for his own amusement and entertainment. She had often seen the way he flirted with Jeanne. (Name) although had met with Vanitas on a few occasion, they had all been for work related things with utmost importance so his flirting was rarely directed to her. She was his trusted informant-- and she was a bloody good informant; her skills in deduction and observation and her outstanding charisma made her a cunning sly fox.

But on this particular day (Name) was invited for a celebratory dinner. It was from Vanitas' companion Noè addressed to her. She accepted more for entrainment it wasn't everyday that her help was thanked. It will certainly be interesting.

(Name) arrived to the place of the dinner. She was early but stayed by the bar as she simply people watched, she eventually noticed Jeanne walk in. She looked nervous, (Name) observed she looked like she felt out of place to be around so many people. Another head of white hair caught her attention, Noè. He had greeted Jeanne to their table. (Name) caught the glimpse of a woman with long black hair and golden eyes, Dominique de Sade the royal knight. Surprising seeing how the royal knight is always so busy- (Name) noticed a flash in the royal knight's eyes, jealousy. The Vampiress beelined to Noè and grabbed his arm in a familiar way before he could offer his arm to Jeanne like the gentleman he was. (Name) smirked behind her drink as she watched them. When she looked at table that they would be at (Name) noticed how Vanitas seemed distracted as he kept his eyes trained at the entrance and windows.

(Name) arched a brow as she waited longer until they started to get antsy about her 'late' arrival. (Name) looked at her watch and gave a soft sigh as she ordered another drink before walking to their table. A cunning smile on her lips as she smiled at them "Pardon my tardiness" (Name) said with a smile as she took her seat "Although I appreciate that my work is being appreciated for once, thank you Noè" Vanitas hid his startled flinch before he gave a lazy smirk towards his informant "If I had known you wanted to be apricated for your work, I could have arranged for something special for you" he said smoothly.

(Name) arched a brow. Although it wasn't new knowledge to her that Vanitas was rather flirty and particularly flirty towards Jeanne who often shied away from his advances. (Name) was surprised by his smooth words towards her. "Cute... but I'll take a raincheck. Perhaps a private drink for the long term partnership between us" she said with a smirk. Vanitas seemed a little taken off guard by her. (Name) sat down in front of the blue eyed man who continued to watch her with cautious eyes. What was she planning? (Name) ignored him for the mean time as they ordered their dinners and a few drinks for the table. While they ate (Name) kept her eyes onto Noè and the others as they conversed that was until she felt Vanitas' intense stare of her. She glanced at him her lashes fluttered in a way that made his heart race.

He had a confident smug smirk on his face as he looked at her. She arched a brow in question to his demeanor "You are something else Mon Chéri" he said low enough for just her ears over the restaurants noise and chatter "both cunning and beautiful, I can only imagine how many heart you have broken with those lips of yours" (Name) felt the corner of mouth lifted to a subtle smirk. She turned her body towards him as her finger delicately ran along the rim of her wine glass "I could say the same to you pretty boy" she said with a smirk as she watched him "I can understand why Jeanne avoids your advances, that silver tongue of yours surely knows how to move" Vanitas felt his eyes widen as he choked on some of his wine. It was unexpected. Surely she is just jesting. Vanitas cleared his throat as he let out a soft smooth chuckle "I've been told once or twice of how my silver tongue can cause trouble for others" he said with a smirk "Jeanne is rather resistant towards my affections. But its all harmless fun" "You are playing with fire lover boy" (Name) said as she drank some of her wine. As she place her glass down Vanitas couldn't help but watch her fingers run down her wineglass' neck. The way her fingers moved was slow, smooth and irresistibly teasing. He felt him swallow a little, before his blue hue watched her with a feline glint. She was subtly smiling smugly, she had caught him staring at her fingers stroking the wineglass' neck. He leaned back a little letting out an amused chuckle as their companions and acquaintances continued to converse paying them no mind as spoke to one another. He leaned back a little letting out an amused chuckle as their companions and acquaintances continued to converse paying them no mind as "What's wrong with a little fire" he mused as he cocked a brow at her "You are just as addicted to danger as I am Mon Chéri" "Hmmm" she said smoothly like purr "I suppose we are two peas in a pod" She send him a wink and he caved as he felt a light flush to his cheeks. It had seemed he had met his match. She seemed to match his wit and his flirts with the same shameless equality as him, and it was strangely thrilling. He wondered what more entertainment she could provide him.

[cosmic-spider]

Triangle

<< Gideon

A few days after the Gideon incident you were hired by Stan to work at the shake. Since you did a painting of a kelpy. That Mable then put it up for sale.

Surpassingly there was a biding war on  who got to buy it. The customer even started to fight each other at one point.

When Stan saw this happen pluss the fact that one painting was sold at $453. He immediately asked if you wanted to make more paintings like that.

You said yes but only if you got a fifty of the money you get from the sold artwork. Stan was skeptical at first until he was that the painting could be sold at a high price. Plus he would still get a few hundred from just half the profit.

So he agreed to terms and conditions of the agreement. Currently you were chilling in the empty gift shop as you wrote down what you were going to paint.

— — — — — — — — time skip — — — — — — —

You watched as Mable and Wendy were having one of there random dance parties for no reason. As well as Dipper of to the side pretending to write down on a clipboard. As he looked at Wendy this the oh so familiar crushing look he gave Wendy.

"Oh no I know that look." You whispered to your self as you saw the look on dipper.

As Mable told Wendy the story of the lambí dance. You then see how embarrassed Dipper looked.

The clock on the wall then chimes telling that it was now 6pm. "Hey look at that, quitting time." Wendy said as he took of her name tag and started to leave the gift shop.

"Hey wait what if I— I mean we come with you?" Dipper asked as he tried to his the fact that he wanted to hang out with Wendy.

"Oh I don't know my friend are pretty intense." Wendy told us as she stoped in her tracks. "How old did you say the three of you were?"

" W-we're thirteen so technically a teen and y/n is 16" Dipper said rather quickly and nervously.

"Ok I like your moxie kid. Just let me get my stuff." Wendy told us as she then went. In to the employees area to get her things.

Dipper then turned around and looked at us. "Since when we're you two thirteen?" You questioned Dippers with a raised eyebrow.

Dipper then lied about being able to hang out with the cool kids. Mable then started to chant about Dipper having a crush an Wendy.Mable then ran up stairs saying something about getting ready. But before Dipper could walk off. You got up and stoped him.

"Dipper as you're now honorary big sister I have to talk to you about this." You told him as you healed both this shoulders.

"What what are you talking about?" Dipper said as he tried to act like he didn't have a crush on Wendy.

"Dip don't lie to me I know that you have a crush an Wendy. And I just want to tell you that it's not going to work. She's five years older than you. Plus I've been in your shoes before. Trust me when I tell you this." You told Dipper as you see the look in his eyes as the hope fades.

"Hey I know that me telling you this is a let down but I'm just telling you the truth.But hey you can still hang out with her and whatever. I'm just telling you what is most likely to happen.  So just do your own thing."

"Ok I see your point and we'll yeah I can understand your reasoning thanks sis"Dipper told you as he gave you a hug.

The three of you then got out the shake to meet up with Wendy's friends. While they were doing some type of weird game.

"Hey guy's these are my friends from work." Wendy told them as we introduce ourselves. Mable then showed a guy she was chewing and Dipper tried to act cool. But was only meet by silence.

"Hi I'm Y/n." You introduced your self to them. The guy with a stitched heart then made a comment about babysitting.

"Guys this is. Leon and Nate." The two then punched each other.

"Tambry" the girl with diyed hair only said a small hey as she didn't look up from her phone.

" Thompson, that once ate a run over waffle for fifty cents." She pointed guy in a mustered yellow collar shirt. As he told her to to tell us about the small bit of information.

" And Robbie you can figure him out" a guy that looks like your average my space emo boy that tries to act like he has no feelings.

"Yeah I'm the guy that spray painted the water tower." He told us as he tried to act cool.

"Oh you mean the big muffin?" You and Dipper said at the same time. " Jinx Dip you owe me five bucks." You called out.

"Hey No far that was out of nowhere." Dipper told you as he lightly punched your side.

"Um it's a giant explosion not a muffin!" Robbie called out mad as we all turned to look at the muffin.

"Huh? Oh forgot you were here for a second emo." You said as you looked at the poorly made ( explosion) on the water tower. As Nate and Leon laughed at the muffin looking explosion.

"Haha it's really good for a starter ." You said as you then got out a sketch book and finished up one of your latest sketches.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Robbie yelled out defensive.

"Wow there I'm just saying that a good looking explosion for now even if it looks like a muffin." You then show him your sketchbook with a few small sketches of explosions.

"If you want some tips you can give it more of a mushroom shape on the top clouds. You can also switch up the colors so that way you can give it more of a look of a exposing."

Robbie only grumbled as the others complimenting your sketches. "Yeah whatever." Robbie said sarcastically as he just looked away."Well either way let's get going I have plans for tonight." Wendy said as they all get into the van.

"Y'all go ahead without me. I want to go look for more inspiration for my art." You told Wendy as the twins got into the van.

"Ok then y/n see you tomorrow." Mable yelled from inside the van. Then Thompson then drove off.

— — — — — — — Time skip — — — — — — — —

After a bit of wondering in the woods you see many weird creatures. From seeing Ness and there baby in the lake. To going inside a cave and seeing some flaying eye bats.

You eventually got tied and fell asleep on a hill.You slowly then see that you were in a cave like place with water around the bottom that looked like galaxies.  Around the area were floating stars that seem to be made out of crystals.

As you wondered around in the cave you then see that all the stars that were floating around were actually memories each different color for different things.

Y/N MIND

Yellow •   Happy

Light brown •CHILDHOOD

Purple •NIGHTMARES

Gray•FEARS

Pink • Love

Red  • Anger

Blue • Sadness

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Broken stars  •N̵̙̼͎̓̃͘͠o̵̪͚̘͇̟̮͓̠͓͊͂̄̄̀̽̉͊͘ͅ$̵̠͚̜͓̜̪͕̙̞̠̹̬͓͓̂t̴̫̂͋̑̈ ̶̧̘̮̣͉͚̊ţ̴̨̛͓͍͖͈̹̗̮̳͛̄̎̈̇̅́͗̅̕̚o̸̲̭͍̲̯̩̦͖͔̪̬̻̳̰͖̔͆̿͜ͅ ̶̙̞͙̱͇͔̊͂̾̽͗̇̐̒̅̽̓͐&̶̨̧̲̺͖̪̟͙͓̞̝̘͔̩̦̀́̌̎͊͛̂͑̊̐͝@̶̨̥͈̜̮̱̳̯̻͐̈́̅͌̈̃́b̴̢̗͔͎͇̯͉̦̫̲͈̠̼̰̓ě̵͇̪̲̦̮̻̪̉̓͐̎͆̓́ͅͅ $̶̧̞̹͉̘͊̽̊̿̈́̽̍̔̈̅̇̍̅̄̈́͝@̴̢̡̯͚͙̦̠̖̬͎̟̝̼̉̄̓͌͆̽̀̈́́͗͜͠ͅ&̵͙̪̙̩̝̦͌̍̀̀̀̾͆̕&̴̰̠͍̎̽̀̃͊̀͑̅̃̕ś̶͉̣̟̬̤̙̟̞̜͍̲͓͚̫̤̘̈́̋̆̑̓̔̈̄͆̽̐̆͜e̵̡̛̛͙͎͔͖͎̣̱̲͇͒̌̐̾͌̈̉̈́̇́͑̚̕͝é̷̡̧̝͖̺̥̫̲̞͚̹̘͓̓̇̇͛͆̊͜͝ͅn̸̐̌̿̈́̆͝͠��̢̢̟̗̘̩̬̯͐͊̈́͛̆̍̈̃̔

As you keep walking around the cave you then in an area of yellow childhood memory stars. "Hmm, if this is my mind then I can go back to when I was little and see what the other Glyphs combinations are."

You said out loud as you then walked around looking in other areas. Watching were you stepped and not stepping into the galaxy water puddles. Going into a different area you then see some light brown stars and see memories with a smaller version of you in the crystal stars.

As you kept grabbing the stars and seeing throw them and then letting go back into the sky. Continuing to look throw them you then notice something floating of in the distance only to then see a floating yellow triangle?

The triangle didn't notice you as it then went to some stars as it quickly went throw a few then went to another areas.

"Hey! why are you looking for something! Plus who are you? What are you doing in my mind?"  You questioned the triangle.

The triangle only stared at you in surprise as you both stare at each other for a bit. So much that you we're able to see every detail it had.

From the one eye, top hat, and bow tie. To the small libs and brick pattern it had.The triangle then moved its hand from side to side watching you as your eyes fallowed this hand.

" So you can really see me. Huh?" The triangle said as it then put its hand up to its body in a thinking position.

"If I couldn't I wouldn't be talking to you." You told the triangle as you walked past him as you put the stars he was looking throw back into there's areas were they were floating.

"What are you even even doing in my mind while I'm sleeping?" You questioned the triangle as you then continued to look.

"Well don't you just get to the point. Names Bill Cipher for your information. Your not supposed to be in gravity falls for what I know."  The triangle now know as Bill said and he then floated around you.

“I don't live here but still." You said as you continued to look throw stars.

Bill only floats around the place as he then takes a star out your hands. "what I mean is most meatbags aren't able to get to there mind space. For some reason you can. It's unusual?"

“ It's not really something someone that just came into my mind gets to know?" You say as you put your hands on your hips realizing that the triangle looks the same from the one in the journal.

"That's what you think. But I don't work your your logic. So I will do what I want." The triangle says as he continued to float around quickly.

You tried to keep up with Bill but he was to fast. After a bit you lose track of him as he floated of in the cave. As you keep looking for the triangle you then see that everything was started to fade.

You then wake up and see that you were in the hill with your sketchbook next to you. Seeing the sunset was going down and it was getting dark fast. You started to get up and grabbing your stuff you went back to the cabin for the night.

The unsettling felling of being watched was still there, but the moment you went inside the cabin it stopped. 

"Huh? Must be the magical property's of the cabin?" You mumbled as you went to shower and get changed for the night.

[melkyt]

3D2Y Where Law wants nothing more then to stay with Luffy but knows he has no reason too, until he is given one.

Luffy trains every day, he is determined to get stronger, to protect his friends no matter what. Taking out the pain of Ace's death on something he can control.

Law sees his determination and feels as though he is wasting time by just sitting there. He needs to do something. He needs to leave. Only Luffy's presence that he has gotten so accustomed to is making him hesitate. He has not been this comfortable with anyone outside his crew in a long time. The warmth of an enthusiastic hug. The feeling of Luffy's curls brushing over his cheeks as he towers over Law from behind, calloused hand resting on his shoulders.

Luffy taking the time in the few minutes Rayleigh gives him a break to always track down Law and check on him, even if his training is on the other side of the island. This only makes it harder to leave.

Law sighs as he watches Luffy leave for the next round. It's almost lunchtime, if Luffy doesn't fail in today's exercise, he will drag Law to have some food. It will only make Law come up with more reasons to stay another day. He gets up before he starts thinking about those reasons. "Time to go, kikoku"

It seems to vibrate as it senses that they will be back to drawing blood soon. The pain that comes with her curse thrums under his skin, a familiar dull ache that reminds him of his goals. That pain always helps remind him that he is still alive and has to keep going.

"Leaving now is foolish, Trafalgar Law."

Shakky, the previous queen of Amazon Lily. The one who made their safety and Luffy's training possible taps her cigarette, sending ashes dropping down into the sand.

"I have wasted enough time here," he rests Kikoku on his back. "I have a goal that can't wait."

"Strawhat will leave you behind"

Law tenses. He knows that she means in terms of power. That once this training is done, he will be a force most can't defeat. Law never cared about that. What made him tense is that Luffy would leave him behind as a person, that he would never feel his warm touch ever again.

Shakky smirks, immediately more interested in his reactions, glancing over at her husband instructing the boy. She remembers when Rayleigh first came to train on Amazon Lily's adjacent islands as a young man. She looked at him much the same way as Law is looking at Luffy now. "Do you have a plan?" Shakky takes a puff of her thin pipe. "How much do you know about the web of Doflamingo's influence?"

Law bites his bottom lip. He never told anyone his goal. Her information network could rival Doffy's. With the family's love for codenames. Law avoided anyone discovering his past. Yet here she is, knowing seemingly everything with that confident look in her eyes that hints at decades of experience beyond what Law can even fathom.

"Stay, train with the boy." Shakky nods towards Luffy, who is sprawled out on the ground, trying to catch his breath before the next attack that will come too soon. "It will only help you"

Law can't deny she is right. Training with the generation that once achieved everything they strived for will only make them stronger, but Law is a doctor first. That is how his power works. The skills that Rayleigh can teach him are not what he needs.

Shakky senses his hesitation. "The Kuja have a history of medicine, poison, and poultice that can kill or paralyze a man." She can see that is enough to catch his attention. "Thousands of texts in the studies of blood and the mortal body." She takes a step closer, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "They do not allow men, but I could make an exception for you, kid."

Law takes a deep breath. This is access to texts he has never read. It could even have info on his fruit. The discoveries he could make would easily upgrade his power. If he refuses, he will not get another chance. Yet it also means he is wasting two years of his life, the time he could be using to go after Doflamingo. His thirst for knowledge wins out as it does every time. "Fine, I'll stay" he sighs, hoping that he will not regret those words.

"Really?!" Luffy jumps up from his sprawled position. "Traffy, that's great --- ow!"

"Great use of observation haki," Rayleigh chuckles, tapping the stick on his shoulders. "Next time, use it on not getting hit"

"Didn't have to hit me that hard," Luffy rubs at the sore spot. He turns back towards Law with a wide grin. "Let's train really hard together, Traffy! Shishishi"

Law feels a blush on his cheeks. He can't deny that a large part of him is staying for Luffy and the hope of seeing that smile every day for the next two years

-end-

Aka how Law goes from a skinny little gremlin that has never had a good meal ever to getting enough to bulk from just being near Luffy who shares everything he hunts with Law while he has his nose in a book 24/7 and slowly they fall in love with each other in new domestic ways.

Shakky and Rayleigh gossip about the young love that is blooming before their eyes as they train their respective boi xd

[cocoabubbelle-newblog]

Random SCOGUE headcanon because I need to vent and don’t feel like writing coherently I’m sorry 🥲

Angel’s Wings

You know how Rogue and Scott were in that Music Store in 5th Avenue when they overheard some customers talking about Angel?

And Scott was listening to something and seemed into it before Rogue nudged him?

Well…*cracks knuckles to share stuff no one needs or wants to hear*

She was sharing with him her favorite goth alternative music.

Performed by her favorite musician:

GOBLIN QUEEN.

Scott had never heard of her. Rogue then explained that GOBLIN QUEEN is less of a mainstream artist and more of an underground/indie/anonymous one. She goes on to gush about her favorite songs (ex. A Nothing Being in a Nowhere Place) and albums she managed to buy/burned onto cds (ex. LIMBO and ANODYNE), but laments that she’s never been able to find the one called INFERNO.

By sheer dumb luck (aka contrived coincidence à la me), Scott manages to find an authentic copy of the album INFERNO later on. Did he get another cd Rogue liked by another goth band she liked beforehand for her? Of course he did. But he saw how her eyes sparkled and how animated she was talking about that singer. Also, the music he had heard was pretty cool. So he was always on the look out for it.

Unserious (?) sub-headcanon based on what Josh Whedon once said about Buffy Summers from Buffy: The Vampire Slayer:

Scott and Buffy Summers are cousins on his Dad’s side.

They probably were initially on “Christmas Card” terms with each other (maybe their parents had a falling out (Did the series ever mention if Buffy’s surname came from her mom or dad?) or something and that’s why they didn’t reach out after the plane crash that killed Christopher and Kate and separated Scott and Alex or they only took in Scott for a little bit before giving him to foster care.) and barely speak.

He probably reached out again via a video chat during some holiday occasion (some time after the events of Apocalypse), both of them going the usual “how’s life? fine, how ‘bout you? same old stuff. cool, cool…” (bc she doesn’t know he’s a mutant and he doesn’t know she’s a vampire slayer). He offhandedly mentioned the INFERNO CD by GOBLIN QUEEN that his friend really wants and joked that his current Christmas wish was to find it…only for Buffy to comment that one of her friends had that album. Cue Scott begging Buffy for more information on how her friend got it, and he successfully obtains it for Rogue.

At this point, Rogue is dating Gambit (are they serious? is it casual? do they both genuinely like each other but are both knowingly distracting themselves from their unresolved feelings for others?) , while Scott and Jean are either still together (happily or is it strained bc they are starting to want different things in life and each other but are hoping to make it work regardless of each other’s clearer and conflicting focuses) or have quietly broken up.

Scott finally either found a lead via the previosly mentioned sub-headcanon or something else. Either way, it leads him to a random goth girl who looks oddly familiar, though he cannot for the life of him figure out why.

Scott: *trying to place where he has seen this girl before despite most likely never having met her in his life*

Mysterious Goth Gal: you’ll have a better chance of asking me out if you actually use your words instead of thinking them, chum 😜

Scott: ?!

He noticed she is has a tattoo that says GOBLIN QUEEN. He pointed it out and asked if she liked her music. Is unsure why when she answers yes she is grinning at him like she knows something that he doesn’t. She asks him if he’s a fan, or if there was a pretty goth girl he was trying to impress, winking at him.

Cue Scott talking about Rogue, anything and everything about her (save the mutant part), partially how she introduced him to the GOBLIN QUEEN’s music, but then evolves into how even the little things that she does or says he muses about with quiet admiration and fondness.

Mysterious Goth Gal: …*already jumped ship from making moves on him to shipping him like crazy with this girl he’s so obviously in love with like what*

Scott: *mid unconsciously simping for Rogue* and I wish I could find that INFERNO Album for her, but—

Mysterious Goth Gal: WAIT RIGHT THERE I CAN GET YOU A SIGNED COPY.

Scott: Huh?

Rogue was dumbstruck and ecstatic when Scott presented to her what he jokes is her belated Christmas gift when they meet up, asking multiple times how he got it.

He mentioned that it was autographed, so she opened it:

GOBLIN QUEEN: To Rogue: -insert obligatory autograph stuff- + PS. I wanted to give this to you for free, but your boyfriend insisted on paying full. What a boy scout. I’m rooting for the both of you! ;D

Rogue: ………………

Scott: ? What did she say?

[rjmartin11]

As My Lord Wishes

Chapter Three

Summary: Young Madelyn is forced into a loveless arranged marriage with the King of Memphis. Life with Elvis isn't easy, especially when he treats her less than what a queen deserves. Over time, the relationship becomes something more. Love.

Word Count: ???

Warnings: Slowburn, Sword fight

Author's Notes: Welcome to Chapter Three!

If you love this chapter, like, follow, and comment. If you want to reblog, all I ask is to put #rjmart11 or something kind so I can see who's reblogging me.

・ʚ♡ɞ・👑・ʚ♡ɞ・

For the next few days, Madelyn spends her days alone with the company of her handmaids. Unlike most royals, Madelyn is kind or cordial with them. They speak as friends would speak to one another. And Madelyn could use some friends. The maids grow to love and care for her more than the originally thought.

In the afternoons, she strolls through the gardens, familiarizing herself with each flower and plant. Every once in a while, she slowly sashays past Elvis' window, hoping he'd come out to walk with her. After a week of Elvis ignoring her, she starts to give up little by little. She spends dinners alone and cries at night in bed. Why won't he just give her a chance? She wouldn't let him down if he just gave her a chance. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. She's beginning to feel bitter and does her best not to show it.

Another week has passed, and Madelyn feels restless. Elvis has not calked her to court or come to have dinner with her. She's been informed that there's a library in Graceland. Getting lost in a good story is just what she needs. She traipse slowly through the aisles and aisles of books. She stops on a book that catches her fancy. She's accompanied by June, her handmaid.

"Anne of Green Gables."

She pulls it off the shelf, opening the cover. She starts to read a little to see if she likes it. The next thing she knows, she's on chapter two. A smile spreads across her face.

"What are you doing here?" A voice startles her away from the book.

It's Elvis accompanied by one of his men.

"My lord," Madelyn says, bowing to him. "I was just looking for a book."

"Who told you that you had permission to come into my library and take a book or anything?"

"My lord, with so many books I didn't think..."

"Just like a woman not to think," he interrupts, rolling his eyes. "It true what they say. Women are better seen and not heard."

Madelyn pauses for a moment, allowing his words to cut her like a sword. She also has a sharp tongue and as half a mind to use it. That comment was the final straw.

"It's children," Madelyn corrects him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"The term, my lord, is "children are better seen and not heard". I assure you I'm no child. I should have said something the day we met and you insulted me. You are so cold. There's no warmth in you at all. Your manners are less than..."

"SILENCE!" Elvis shouts, quieting her. He can't believe her outrageous outburst.

She can't believe that she let that off of her chest. Her heart pounds at the notion of telling him the truth. Being alone made her more bold.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" He asks her.

"A boy," she replies, looking into his eyes.

"This boy. Is still your king, and I demand your respect!"

"The king would do well to realize that I'm his queen and his wife, and I ask for respect!" Madelyn said. "After being alone for two weeks, I thought you would have at least managed to learn some manners."

Madelyn turns to walk away from Elvis, and then he shouts.

"Stop! You don't walk away from me until I dismiss you!"

Madelyn slowly turns to face Elvis.

"I apologize, my lord. That wasn't ladylike of me. If there are no more insults to be made, may I go?"

Elvis walks close to her and looks into Madelyn's eyes. Being this close to him overwhelms her. The way he looks at her isn't intimidating. It's something else. It's something more. She holds her breath.

"You may leave, my queen," he whispers.

"Thank you, my lord."

Madelyn walks away from Elvis with her book in tow. As she walks away from Elvis, she starts to breathe more. There was something in his eyes that captured her. Something deeper than she's ever known. Will he ever let her close enough to know him? What Madelyn does know is she got under skin. Maybe that's what she needs to do to get Elvis' attention. She needs to get under his skin.

The Dual

For the next few days, Madelyn has her handmaidens doing intel on Elvis. What he does from sun up to sundown. What his activities and daily agendas are. She even feared there would be other women involved, but she needed to know every detail. Her ladies in waiting assure her that there were no other women.

She discovers that Elvis loves to horseback ride and hunting, and he loves guns and uses them for target practice. He enjoys music and reading, and he loves fencing.

Fencing is Madelyn's favorite sport, but he probably believes women don't belong near weapons. She has to find a way to get in the fencing practice room or the piste without him detecting her. But how?

For the next few days, Madelyn, with the help of her handmaids, devises a plan. Elvis likes to fence in the early afternoon on Fridays, so she has to be ready. Her plan will definitely be something Elvis will frown upon, but he will see her. She demands it.

Friday comes around, and Madelyn silently waits for her moment. Her and her handmaidens, June and Anne, sneak up on the baloney that overlooks the piste. It's the perfect spot to see the fencing matches.

Madelyn spots Elvis in the corner of the room, putting on his gloves, and waiting patiently to fight the winner.

*slash* *cling, cling*

Madelyn enjoys the current match. The men are swift, and their footwork is quite prestine. Yet, in their swiftness, Madelyn sees the mistakes of rushing a great fight. The gentleman with the red band on his arm has great footwork but has a bit of a sloppy form. His aim is to immediately go for the kill. As opposed to the gentleman in the blue band, who cautiously counts his opponent's moves. He silently calculates his next blow. Madelyn knows he will win at this paste.

The gentleman in the blue parries well, missing the blow. The gentleman in red quickly attacks with his sabre. The gentleman in the blue band lunges forward, attacks, and foil! His blade hits the gentleman's chest, disengaging the match. The gentleman in the red band wins the match. Meaning, Elvis is his next opponent.

It's perfect. As Madelyn watched the match, she was studying the gentleman with the blue band. His tunic was a perfect fit for her figure.

"June, get that man," She whispers. "It's his clothes I need."

"Yes, my lady."

June quietly runs off to the gentleman while Madelyn and Anne watch Elvis advance his challenger. He's swift and steady with his sabre. His moves are graceful and advanced.

Elvis has mastered this craft; he will be a worth opponent. Madelyn can tell he's a sore loser. His opponent in the red band struck his chest once, and Elvis angrily rushes him to get his point back.

"My Queen, it's time to go if you hope to get there in time," Anne tells her.

Madelyn and Anne race to find June. They find her trying to sweet talk the gentleman out of his clothes.

"I will not," he says.

"Take off your clothes by order of your queen," Madelyn says, turning the corner.

"My Queen," he bows his head to her.

"What's your name, sir?" She asks.

"I'm Lord Jeremiah Shilling, my queen."

"Lord Jeremiah, it's nice to meet. Your fencing skills are outstanding. I saw your match. Do your queen a service. I want to fence the king. I need your clothes."

A look of disillusion crosses his face. She wants his clothes.

"My Queen, I don't think..."

"If you're worried about me, don't," Madelyn says. "I'm a very good fencer. I've had the proper instruction since I was five-years-old."

The Lord Jeremiah doesn't argue with Madelyn. He goes into a private room and takes off his tunic to give to her. She puts on the tunic, puts her hair up so she can place her fencing mask over her head, and takes a sabre. She's ready to face Elvis in full regalia.

She walks to the piste count where Elvis finishes his match. She stands quietly, waiting for her turn. While she waits, she studies Elvis' every move.

*clash, cling, cling*

Elvis strikes the opponent and wins.

"Touchè, my king. Touchè," his opponent says, shaking his hand.

"Always are great match, Sir Lawrence," Elvis says. "Sir Jeremiah, approach."

Madelyn walks to him, sabre exposed and at the ready. She smiles because all his attention will finally be on her. She takes a deep breath and holds up her sword.

"Jeremiah, why the mask? I didn't cut you up badly our match."

Madelyn slow shakes her head, saluting him and pointing her sabre upward. She knows she must remain silent to keep up this ruse. Elvis smirks, salutes Madelyn and aims his sword at her chest.

"My lords ready?" The fencing director asks.

They nod their heads to him and salute.

"Remember, gentleman. You need three direct hits to win the match. En garde!" He shouts. "Allez!"

Elvis lunges at Madelyn, but she jumps out of his way. Elvis believes he's Jeremiah, so that gives her a slight advantage over him. That move would have worked on Jeremiah, but not her. She knows not to rush her challenger.

They are locked in the engagement of their sword play. If Elvis moved left, she moved right. Madelyn missteps, and Elvis lunges at her, striking her in the chest.

"Jeremiah, just because you remain quiet doesn't mean you will winner," Elvis chides, smiling at her.

Madelyn straightens herself, rotating her upper shoulders. Elvis advances at her, and in three moves, she strikes his chest. Earning herself her first point. Elvis fakes a move, and Madelyn parries her sword to defend herself. He attacks at full force to earn his point and dignity back.

*Clash, clash, cling*

Madelyn steps back, rounds her blade near Elvis wrist, and taps his hand, making his sword fall from his hand. Then she strikes his chest. The second point goes to her.

Elvis is physically and visibly frustrated. He picks up his sword, takes a deep breath, and advances at Madelyn. With an attack, two steps, a block, and a strike, Elvis earns his second point.

Madelyn and Elvis square up to each other, knowing the next strike is the difference between victory and defeat. All eyes are on them. This fight is so intense that everyone stands to view and watch. Most allow their king to win all the matches. This is the first match Elvis actually has a true challenge. Madelyn gives him a run for his money. She has to silently admit to herself that Elvis is the best opponent she's ever faced.

Elvis pauses the match to take off his tunic, exposing his chest. The sweat glistens in his chest hair, and his abs are sharp and defined. Madelyn is in awe of this man, but she wants to win this match. She just one point away.

"This is my game, Jeremiah. I win," Elvis says, preparing for the kill.

I'm not Jeremiah, Elvis, and you will lose. She thinks to herself, smirking underneath her mask.

Elvis attacks Madelyn at full speed, but she's up for the challenge. They paste back and forth, blocking each other's advantages.

*Cling, clash, cling*

Their swords clash and ring the piste as they move across the floor. Elvis strikes her arms away from him, knocking her blade to the ground. With the tip of his sword, Elvis knocks Madelyn's mask off of her face. Before he realizes who she is, he strikes her chest.

Their eyes meet, and Madelyn feels her face flush with embarrassment. Elvis eyes widen. He just realized he was fighting not only a woman but his queen.

"Touchè, my lord," she says, pushing his blade away with the back of her hand.

"Madelyn," he whispers, lowing his arm.

Everyone around them bows their heads to their queen. Elvis is dumbfounded. He has no words to scorn her. He quietly admits to himself that he's impressed by her. Madelyn is a prime example of beauty and strength. Everything he was looking for in his queen, but don't know.

Taglist: @missmaywemeetagain @beeandheroddobsessions @headfullofpresley @everythingpresley @epforeverohyes @vintagepresley @pianginferno @powerofelvis @ab4eva @foreverdolly @searchingforgravity @thatbanditqueen @daffieapple @18lkpeters @dkayfixates @epsgirl @richardslady121 @literally-just-elvis-fics @eptodaytommorowforever @vintageshanny @iloveelvis @dreamingofep @aliypop @littlehoneyposts @msamarican @i-r-i-n-a-a

[ivpapaemeritusiv]

Chapter 19: That Glitter Wasn't Gold

Summary: With Papa coming to terms with his biological lineage, Addeline gets an unwelcome surprise of her own.

Word Count: 2k

That evening at the dinner table was fraught with tension, a heavy silence enveloping the room. Sister's simple request for the peas sparked a chain reaction of passive-aggressive exchanges between The Cardinal and Nihil.

"Why don't you ask Nihil to pass it to you," he locked eyes with the ghostly figure.

Nihil responded sarcastically, "Don't you mean, father?"

Having had enough of their constant bickering, Sister hammered the table with her fist, "That is enough you two, now just stop it."

"I'm sorry Seestor.”

"Sorry..." Copia grumbled.

Addeline, sensing the escalating emotions, quietly excused herself to fetch a cup of tea. She wore a tight-fitting dress that accented her figure, catching the attention of her husband. He couldn't help but notice that she seemed to have gained weight.

Once she returned with her cup of tea, Copia commented, “Darling, you’re looking a bit thick in the tummy, aren’t you?”

The woman's eyes widened with embarrassment as she took her seat. Imperator, taken aback by her son's comment, scolded him, "Cardi! How rude!"

Nihil decided it was best for him to disappear, earning a disapproving head shake from Sister, “That good for nothing…” she trailed off, “Cardi, how dare you say such a thing to your wife!”

“It’s fine, Sister,” Addeline said as she addressed her husband, “You’re displeased with the way I look?” she asked, almost disgusted with herself.

“No, Amore. That’s not what I meant. You are beautiful.”

“Kaisarion was my second pregnancy, Papa. It’s harder to lose the baby weight the second time around.”

“Of course it is, child,” Sister placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder and shot Copia a look of contempt, “It was a nasty thing to say.”

Papa shook his head, knowing better than to think this was just residual baby weight. Addy’s tummy was round and tight, and he noticed that she couldn’t even suck in. It was a familiar look to him, one that he had seen before.

“My dear, did your monthly return to normal?”

Despite the fact it had been months since Kaisarion’s birth, she still had not started her period. She considered it normal, not to begin right away, especially since she breastfed.

But the gears in Addy’s mind started spinning as she processed the suggestion from Papa. It sent an impulse of horror through her. Addy never expected it to happen again so soon, but the constant nausea she had been feeling made her wonder, “Could I actually be pregnant again?”

Addy panicked, blurting out as she turned to Copia, “Papa, do you think I’m pregnant?”

Sister interjected, “Dear, you haven’t started your period yet?”

Copia stayed calm, taking a sip of water, and another bite of bread, “You definitely look pregnant to me.”

The woman leaped up, holding her belly, and started hyperventilating. Her sudden actions caused her to knock over her tea, prompting Sister to quickly come to her aid, "Addy, just calm down."

"I can't be pregnant."

Sister, gripping her shoulders, tried to soothe the distressed woman, "We'll call the midwife to come immediately."

Imperator fixed her gaze on Copia, "Isn't there something you could be doing right now?" she snapped.

"Oh! Why, yes... should I..." he hesitated, seeking approval from his mother, who nodded, signaling he was close to a resolution, "I should call the midwife."

With a sarcastic grin, she gestured for him to go and make the call.

“Right!” he announced, “I’ll go call Saoirse.”

Sister continued to console Addeline, helping her to sit back down while Copia made the call. No sooner had he left, he returned to the kitchen to inform the ladies that the midwife could come first thing in the morning. "Morning?" Addy groaned, "That won't do." Sister sternly informed her, "Now, Addy, whether or not she comes tonight or tomorrow will not change the outcome. All you can do is try to get some rest."

“Yes, Amore, let us finish our meals and get to bed. Morning will come faster if we go to bed early.”

Addeline felt like jumping in the car and driving herself to the nearest ER, but she knew Papa wouldn't give her permission. She had no choice but to wait until morning. All this time, she had planned on speaking with her husband about the possibility of being through with having babies, just to find she had been pregnant all along.

*

Addy awaited the midwife in the bedroom. The kindhearted woman walked in, her eyes bright and full of enthusiasm as always.

“Top of the mornin’ to ya, Miss Addy!” she greeted the new mother, “Are we reckonin’ we might be expectin’ again?”

Papa was seated in a chair in the corner, poring over plans for the band's upcoming North American Fall tour.

“Mornin’ Cardinal,” the woman greeted the father as well.

Saoirse measured Addy’s stomach and asked her about her last period. She completed a physical exam of the woman and with a stethoscope in hand, she carefully placed it on Addy’s tummy, hoping to detect a fetal heartbeat. Addy’s nerves were on edge, fearing the news she dreaded. She didn’t want to be pregnant again, especially not so soon after her last delivery.

In that moment, she couldn’t help but feel resentment towards Papa for not heeding the doctor’s advice and for not considering her feelings. Making babies may have been easy for him, but the journey of having them was a different story altogether for her.

“Three wee ones in such a short span, sure would be a blessin’ indeed!” the midwife continued, not knowing that Addeline abhorred the idea.

The woman pressed her stethoscope to Addy’s belly, focusing intently. Addy felt a growing sense of fear as the woman’s steady movements and lack of news left her unsettled.

“Oh, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” Saoirse finally said out loud.

“What is it?” Addy raised her head slightly to look down at the woman.

“I’m detectin’ two separate heartbeats, me dear! Twins, perhaps?”

Addy went momentarily deaf and felt like she was blasted off to another planet. Did she just say twins? Two little bundles of joy? Addy didn’t even want to be pregnant with one, and now Saoirse was saying she might be having two? “Papa!” she hollered at the top of her lungs, making sure he heard every bit of her surprise.

Upon hearing her cries, the cardinal quickly stood up and rushed over to her, “I’m right here, dear. You don’t have to shout,” he said in a soothing voice, assuring her that he was close by.

“Did you hear her?”

“No, I didn’t,” he admitted, “I was working. What’s the verdict?”

“Papa, I’m pregnant again.”

Papa was over the moon with joy, exclaiming, “Oh, that’s absolutely fantastic, darling! What an incredible family we’re building together!”

“Papa, it’s twins.”

“Twins?” the man repeated, confused, “We’re having two babies?”

He was so taken aback by the news that he nearly fainted. The petite midwife quickly rushed to his side and held onto him to prevent him from collapsing.

“Congratulations, Cardinal! Ye’ll be havin’ four wee ones before ye know it.”

Copia thought about the tour they were going on in September. Addy would have to go back on the road pregnant yet again.

“How far along is she?” he asked.

“I can’t be 100% certain, but I reckon she’s about 13 weeks along. She’s already into her second trimester, so it’s a grand time indeed!”

Saoirse looked to Addy, “You’ll be needin’ to confirm it with a doctor, but I’m about 90 percent sure of everything I’ve told ye!”

A sudden rush of nerves threatened Addy’s peace of mind. She couldn’t help but remember the scare she had with Kaisarion, when preterm labor almost took him away. Now, here she was, pregnant with not just one, but two babies, seemingly only five weeks after giving birth. She knew all too well the challenges of carrying twins to full term.

Papa saw the fear in her eyes and quickly reached out, grabbing her hand gently as he tenderly caressed her cheek. He knew just how to comfort her in that moment, his touch a soothing balm to her worried soul. With his loving presence, he reassured her that they were in this together, ready to face any challenge that came their way, “Do not fret, Tesoro,” he said, “Everything will be just fine.”

*

Copia awoke in the stillness of the night after his wife had long drifted off to sleep, her soft breaths being the only sound in their room. Seeking solace, he rose from bed and made his way through the halls, the moon casting a ghostly glow through the stained-glass windows of the mausoleum. He found himself in the main room of the crypt, where the glass caskets of the previous Papas stood as silent sentinels of the past.

Lit by flickering candlelight, their features frozen in eternal repose, they held a haunting presence in the dimly lit space, surrounded by the whispers of history and the weight of legacy. It was here, among these figures of authority and power, that Copia sought moments of contemplation and reflection.

Someone else occupied the space that night, Sister, her presence a silent echo in the mausoleum. Her hand rested upon Nihil's casket, her gaze fixed upon the figure of the very first Papa, the man who had shaped their world. The dim light danced upon her features, revealing a mix of reverence and contemplation, as if seeking answers from the silent figure before her.

“Sister?” Copia called out from behind her, careful not to startle her.

He noticed her wipe away a tear, her emotions bare as she turned to greet the boy. "Cardi," she spoke softly, extending her arms in a welcoming gesture. "Come, dear boy, I was just visiting with--"

"My father," he interjected, finishing her thought.

An annoyed sound escaped Sister's lips, "Yes, with Papa. Are you quite angry with me?"

The tension between them hung in the air, a subtle undercurrent of unresolved conflict and unspoken truths.

Copia took a deep breath, contemplating his response, "I... I am not, no. In all honesty, I have always thought of you as a mother, so the adjustment for me will be smooth."

Imperator smiled warmly, reaching out to rub his back. "But this guy?" Copia gestured towards Nihil's lifeless body, "I mean, come on, Sister."

"Ah well, I think the two of you butt heads because you are really quite fond of each other," she remarked, her voice filled with understanding.

The cardinal met her gaze with a blank stare, his tone serious, "Sister, please, give me some credit. You think I have respect for this guy? All my life, all you've done is talk about how he's hurt you. How can I possibly respect this... decrepit, old drool bucket?"

Sister chuckled softly, "Ah, well. He did hurt me, yes, but it was so long ago. And despite that, I never stopped loving him. He's spent his whole life trying to make it up to me."

“Please, spare me the details,” Copia begged, “I don’t want to hear of your sexual escapades.”

"How is your wife?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, she is fast asleep. I get the feeling she might not be too thrilled with the idea of being pregnant again so soon."

"Well, it is her duty, although I can appreciate how difficult it must be," Sister remarked, acknowledging the challenges of motherhood.

He nodded in agreement, "Yes, she is very strong. I admire her."

Sister shared a personal reflection, "You know, I had you all on my own. It was quite terrifying. She should be happy she has a partner who cares for her enough to be there."

The man expressed gratitude, "Thank you, mother."

It was the first time in her life that she had heard the words "mother" fall off her son's lips—words she thought she’d never hear. A twinkle in her eye shone brighter than the flickering candles surrounding them, and another tear escaped. Moving closer to the Cardinal, she wrapped an arm around him, embracing the acceptance and connection they shared as they stood together, silently staring upon the deceased.

[hypocriticaltypwriter]

what's Talaney-Anne's relationship/dynamic with the rest of the cast, other than Billy?? (Nancy, Steve, Max, Joyce, etc.)

OoooO! Gonna write put as much as I can and how much I read on the characters with how much of the series of watched so far! [NOTE: at this point I've only seen clips of later seasons and only watched Season 1 episodes 1-3 FULLY through, so Talaney and her relationships with characters might change once I've finished enough of the series!] This is a long one so WOOP

I'll just say with characters like Karen, Claudia, Sue, are on good terms with Talaney since she's been babysitting Mike, Lucas, and Dustin, when they were quite little and she was in junior high/late elementary. She does of course get a bit more familiar and closer to Joyce considering Talaney gets involved with the whole Upside-Down shenanigans- and fun fact! She never really babysat Will often when she was younger due to the Byers house being very hostile during Joyce and Lonnie's relationship. Who she babysits the most and sometimes still does is Dustin! Of course he isn't much of a fan.

Talaney knew Steve in Junior High vaguely- and it's what comes up when she talks to him after her bike had gotten a flat on her way back home from Cheer practice and Steve offered her a ride. They talk a bit and catch up as he takes her back home, and from then on its when their friendship starts to grow and she is added to the team!

That's when I feel Talaney would start becoming a bigger character in the series as season two starts - and also begin her love triangle with Billy and Steve. [Im thinking maybe Billy watches as she gets into Steve's car at school and the challenge is on..👀] They're relationship starts off pretty strong, both very protective and looking out for the kids and the danger they all get themselves into, and she's always helping him out with girls or advice, and it's vice versa as some confusing feelings start to bubble up in between their relationship. I'm thinking around late season three or four, the feelings between the two fizzle back into a strong friendship, knowing Talaney is still recovering from Billy's breakup/death and Steve still hung up on Nance, Talaney-Anne knew that the two of them together when they were still so vulnerable and still trying to pick up their broken pieces was a recipe for disaster, even if she truly did care for and love Steve.

Nancy and her relationship started of sort of awkward- they never hated each other for a while there, but I wouldn't say that they didn't dislike one another either. After confrontations and such at Tina's Halloween party, Nancy and Talaney sort of... Kept their distance, respected boundaries and stuff in the group, but of course, when you got to fight off a bunch of crazy alien dogs and tentacles, the universe sort of... Forces you to bond. There on much better terms, and the two can be a total kickass team blowing up demogorgan faces with shotguns.

The same goes for Johnothan! Again, knew him very vaguely due to Will, but Talaney also knows him cause she use to take some cookies and such that her grandmother made to the Byers and Johnathan would answer the door. They'd share some small awkward talk for a minute before she'd head back home. He also noticed how he'd come home to a few wrapped up slices of cake or tray of cookies on the doorstep after Will had gone missing, with that same signature pink bow wrapped up on top. He remembered there'd always be enough to split it evenly into three servings..

Robin and Talaney bond just how Talaney did with Steve- girl advice. Talaney was very subtle and did her best to sound as if she was dropping simple conversation or gossip, when she was really more giving some hints or offering a little something something for Robin to take note of. She was less secretive about the information and gossip when Robin will happily trade her for it with some free ice cream and scoops ahoy when Talaney comes by for her cravings. She'd die for the strawberry cheesecake and chocolate fudge flavors okay?

Hopper knows Talaney mostly for the expense of her brothers and there trouble. Smashing mailboxes, vandalism... Accidentally chasing their cow and goats into mainstreet.... Yea. But she's grown to know him well because of it! And since her older sister is a Forest Ranger, she's acquainted very well. He's a good older figure to look up to, given Talaney doesn't have her father around in her life. Talaney has to give up/quit babysitting due to some events later on planned for her in the seasons, and Hopper offers her a job as a receptionist for the department- knowing she needs the money and support.

And since this is getting pretty long already, I'm going to make a second post soon with Talaney and her relationship to the kids of the series! [Max, Dustin, El, Mike, Lucas, Will, Erica.]

[polybiusplayer]

i am once again thinking about ninejuice (for the first time in a whole month wow)

thats all! have a nice rest of your day

ME TOO OML!!

Oh boy I’m gonna take this opportunity to rant about them.

Nine Juice rant below, read at your own risk.

I’m thinking about them so often…. ITS LIKE!!! I can totally understand people seeing them as only platonic!! And I’ve always actually felt kinda nervous to ship them for some reason… the 17776 enjoyers haven’t been much to do shipping, especially since romance is not really the point of the story, at all. but I just really believe they have a bond that just, is a lot.

There is a level of understanding and compassion that Juice shows to Nine in his own ways, he knows exactly how to help Nine cope after the intermission, he knows what they’re thinking when their communications fuck up. (Nine was indeed cussing him out, they said “fuck you.”) He is teasing as always, but not hesitant to reassure them afterwards.

Nine is very observant. They make note of Juices usage of grammar, how he capitalizes thing that are important to him. I can’t remember exactly which chapter that’s in, but I’m like 100% sure Nine pointed this out. Obviously, Nines name is almost always capitalized . This is a notable exception

Has he EVER used this many exclamation points?!

I also love the way the infodump to each other. Ten by this point has heard Juices rants a billion times before, she loves him, but is sick of them! Of course he sees no problem in that. But then suddenly there’s a new listener who is intensely eager and interested in what he has to say! It feels special, because Nine never seems to get bored of it. They love to hear him talk, about anything really, but especially what he’s passionate about. -

Which is mostly football. Football is how he processes the world. With sports and all the things that come with it he was able to come to terms with reality. He looks at it through such a unique lense in order to make sense of it all. Even his own football game is not just insane rules strung together all willy nilly, it’s truly a work of art with a deeper meaning. It’s like he’s painting with the fields, you know?

Nine understands this, and if they don’t, they WANT to. In my mind, Juices voice and rambles about lunchables or whatever start off confusing to them, but once they understand where it comes from and why and what Juice is trying to attempt with all this, they understand a lot.

Nine copes with history, they look into the past for comfort and familiarity. they feel so intensely behind, at first it started as a way to catch up and feel up to date with their friends, but then they discovered that the history of this world was just sort of a safe space for them. Juice loves to hear Nine talk about stuff even he never knew about. Nine is quite the researcher, and is always able to pull up SOMETHING. He is too, but not to this level. They share facts and information back and forth, intently listening to each other and trying to understand. Always.

Juice knows what Nines going through, it’s quite obvious with what he says here.

They ground each other in this reality, they give each other a person to talk about football with. Someone to try and not think about things too hard with. And then when things DO get hard? And the thoughts are too much? They’ll always be there for each other to help.

An underrated aspect about Juices character is how intelligent he is. SURE, he spends a lot of time joking around, that’s just his thing!!! But he is by no means stupid, he’s a little silly, but so so much more than that. He also cares, a lot! He is lonely, he loves his friends so dearly although he doesn’t express it nearly as much as Nine.

Nine is also a lot more than their troubles. A lot of their arc has to do with coming to terms with the state of existence, but they’re also incredibly compassionate and loving. SO SO loving. They’re blindly trusting, showing no hesitation with their love for everyone. They’re observant, and also a bit of a jokerster! They got that from Juice.

I don’t know where I’m going with this, I just really like the two of them, I love their dynamic. I feel like if they could, they would hug for a real long time. Unfortunately they’re way too far apart and made of nuts and bolts. But they still love each other, nothing changes that, not in a billion years

[blackjackkent]

So. Very large building with statues that look like THIS outside of it:

My initial guess was that this was Cazador's mansion, but it turns out it is the antiques shop that hides the portal to the hells!

So I guess we're taking a break from sidequesting and going to get the Hammer! ^_^

Super cute banter between Karlach and Jaheira as we wander up towards the door:

"So, erm, Jaheira. Do you like to... that is, what do you like to do?" "As in... hobbies? Oh. [pause] Well... I like to play music? I suppose?" "I'm just picturing you strumming on a harp so hard the strings snap and trying not to shriek. What do you play?" "Eh. Mostly the same children's rhyme, on a battered whistle of tin. I do not get a lot of time to practice. Oh, spare me the sad eyes, girl. Not every daily deed is worthy of song! Certainly none I can play."

I love them. XD

I'm very torn here, because realistically, Hector does not want to force Karlach into the Hells, even for this temporary raid on the House of Hope, but I as the player want her along at all times for any potential Romance Content.

So we're going to start out by bringing her but if she makes sad puppy eyes too aggressively we will switch her out for Shadowheart.

It's a rather elaborate but nice looking shop.

The lady at the front gives Hector a bright smile as he approaches.

"I welcome thee to the Devil's Fee, where every hellish curio's a rarity! So merry be and shop with glee!

"Oh, no," Karlach mumbles under her breath with a groan. "Definitely something up with this one. Trust me."

Hector always trusts her, so he is giving the shopkeep a very careful lookover as he inquires, "Did you help Lord Gortash retrieve some hellish curios by any chance?"

The shopkeep's expression remains admirably still, but Hector can see her eyes narrow sharply.

"You must be awfully familiar with our esteemed Archduke to know about a thing like that," she says smoothly.

"We were lovers," Hector says, in his driest deadpan. "It was all very steamy."

Behind him he hears Karlach choke on a sudden fit of laughter (which was, of course, his intention).

"My," the shopkeeper says, raising an eyebrow. "What a juicy morsel. I didn't think he liked your type. Anyway..." She shrugs one shoulder carelessly. "You seek answers, Lord Mammon seeks coin. I will happily mediate - make me an offer."

The laughter dies from Karlach's eyes at once. "Mammon," she snaps. "I knew it. I did!"

Hector considers. Any devil Karlach makes that face about (which is all of them, presumably) isn't one that he's entirely interested in making deals with. He's not short on gold if it comes to that, but it couldn't hurt to try a different approach first. [MONK] "Material wealth is a vain illusion," he says gravely. "If you seek meaning and purpose, try compassion - give us a hint."

This time it's Jaheira who snickers softly at his elbow.

The shopkeeper rolls her eyes. "You're telling me wealth is an illusion? What part of 'Mammon worshipper' do you not understand? You want answers, you pay. Just like everyone else. Mammon is nothing if not egalitarian."

Well, it was worth a shot.

"Here's 100 gold," Hector says wearily, slapping ten platinum coins on the countertop.

The woman smiles slyly. "Hmm. The King of Avarice accepts your humble offering," she says, sliding the coins off the counter and into her pocket in a single smooth motion. "You stand before Mammon's Picklock. Latchkeeper of the Nine Hells. My business is not information, nor hellish curious, not really. I break people into the Hells. That's my thing." She shrugs. "I can reveal to you that I opened a portal for Lord Gortash."

Now they're getting somewhere. "Where in the hells did the portal go?" Hector asks.

The shopkeep smiles broadly. "My word, this is embarrassing; perhaps I should have explained our terms better. You asked what I did for Lord Gortash, you paid the fee, and I answered you. Our pact is complete. Would you like to make another transaction?"

Hector feels a muscle in his temple start to twitch. Clenching his jaw, he pulls out another hundred gold and sets them on the counter.

"Oh, yes, I should think that'll do deliciously," she says brightly. "Lord Gortash wanted to steal something from Mephistopheles, so I punched a portal into the Archdevil's dusty vaults. And then I... Gosh, my fickle memory fails. If only something would jog it."

She holds out a hand to him expectantly.

Hector sighs, reaches into his pocket, puts down another hundred gold. Infuriating, this - he's out three hundred gold and hasn't even gotten to the main question they came to ask. Not that the gold matters much to him per se, except insofar as if he runs out, he won't be able to ask more questions.

She snorts. "I mean... I suppose that'll do. Stingy bastard." She pockets the latest round of coin and lounges back on her heels. "Gortash stole the Crown of Karsus. Pissed off Mephistopheles, but rather intrigued another devil by the name Raphael. His house of Hope is furnished with a great deal of treasures, many related to Karsus. But, alas, he lacks the crown itself."

She raises her eyebrows pointedly. "He's rather ambitious. One can only wonder what he has planned for the Crown. The answers to that can probably be found within his house..."

Karlach grins savagely. "Let's poke around the rat's nest. Maybe set it on fire on the way out."

Hector relaxes a little. Finally they're talking to the point - and Karlach is on board with coming along, which is a relief.

"Can you help me break into the House of Hope?" he asks. In spite of his irritation with the woman, his voice is still perfectly steady.

The shopkeep's eyebrows lift. "What a fascinating proposition!" she says brightly. "Ludicrous, of course, but fascinating nevertheless. Very well, if you wish to die in Avernus, that's your business. Mine is charging you for it." She sticks out a hand and gives him a significant glance. "Of course, such a task will require quite the substantial donation to Lord Mammon's coffers."

"Such a task would be tantamount to suicide," the Emperor whispers in Hector's mind. "Do not even entertain it."

The Emperor, of course, doesn't know the reasoning behind Hector's plans here. It doesn't know this is the first step in Hector's betrayal. Better, then, that it think for now that Hector is simply being foolish, reckless, entirely unlike any way the Emperor has seen him act before. Perhaps it thinks Hector has finally snapped, or is desperate to find something to save Karlach, or simply wishes to spite it. Anything, so long as it doesn't realize the truth.

(A/N: This requires TWENTY THOUSAND GOLD? TWENTY THOUSAND? Sheesh. We currently are sitting at around 6k, so this is going to take some doing if Hector can't talk her down. We have two options here, a [ROGUE][PERSUASION] and an [INTIMIDATION]; neither of them are particularly characteristic for Hector but the former works because he has definitely had some practice breaking into things at this point and the latter works because he is Incredibly Irritated with this woman by now. We'll start with the persuasion, though, because it asks for free passage rather than just half price.

...And Hector critted it on the first try. XD)

"I'm a skilled thief," he says, as casually as he can manage. "Give me free passage; I'll bring you back a 'souvenir.'"

She tilts her head thoughtfully. "You put me in a difficult position, mortal. You are almost certain to fail. Almost. And so there is a chance you might succeed." She purses her lips. "Fine. I'd like to be able to carry all of my precious stock without the need of a team of oxen. There are Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength within the House of Hope. Free passage, and you fetch them for me. Deal?"

(A/N: Well, shit. This would be a good deal except HECTOR WANTS THOSE GAUNTLETS HIMSELF - my guess is that would relieve of us of our dependence on popping hill giant strength potions once a day. So this won't work. I'm going to have him turn down the deal and take a look around and see if we can maybe figure out how to do this without this lady's help.)

[unreasonablekiwi]

Introducing Orchid Valley Investigation Services

(All art included is mine, most of it being made late last year)

Orchid Valley Investigation Services is my currently running DND horror campaign set in a fantasy 1999, where magic is rare and dying, between October and December.

The campaign follows party of four detectives who were transferred to the shitty fairytale tourist trap of Orchid Valley to replace the many missing (and dead) investigators, leading them to look into the odd and highly magical events in town with the help of an odd radio host and a potentially malevolent being. From magical doors and eldritch gods to one massive time loop and a magic bubble keeping them in town, this town is kind of crazy and crazy familiar. Can they figure out what's really going on in Orchid Valley before time runs out? Or will they die again and keep the cycle moving?

This campaign is heavily inspired by various songs from the Lemon Demon album Spirit Phone, as well as various horror games and the StarKid Hatchet Field series.

I have a written recap for pretty much every session that I may share in the future once I find a good platform for it! Feel free to ask questions or look for more information using the orchid valley investigation services tag

But if you're interested in further details, feel free to keep scrolling but be warned

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Also, a lot of words, like a lot.

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Player character info

Now let's talk about our four detectives, aka my friends player characters.

Bwink (any but she/her) - a tiefling with a crap ton of money due to being one of the many children of Mammon. Bwink is a sweet guy, but only talks through signs and covers their body in a shadowy cloak due to being bullied in their youth. This is due to their belief that they cant be bullied if no one can perceive them. They also have access to futuristic technology due to Hades/Hell being accessible to a multitude of worlds. Bwink was transferred to Orchid Valley due to the others at their station finding his behavior weird and not liking xem.

Dav aka Conner (he/they) - a changeling who left their family on bad terms due to having different views on how to live life, with his parents wishing to stay in one disguise forever while Dav wanted to live and try out various lives. Conner the boring and very normal detective is one of these many lives, but this time it fulfills his dream of becoming a detective to help others. Conner was transferred simply due to the station needing to send people over to Orchid Valley.

Dagfinn Rusten (he/him) - your classic human noir detective inspired by Dean Supernatural, Edward of Full Metal Alchemist Fame, and some guy from Bioshock Infinite. Dagfinn was always interested in science at a young age, with his hobby accidentally convincing a bunch of adults that he was responsible for the house fire that killed his parents at age 7 or 10. He went to juvy for two nights before his aunt came to fetch him. He grew up with his aunt and her boyfriend Detective Withers, the lead detective on the case of his parents death, until he was old enough to become a detective himself to try and finally solve his parents case. But this would lead to his Aunts death, Withers disappearance, and Dagfinn losing his hand while trying to escape a kidnapper who sent him a false lead.

Dagfinn would be alone as he made his own prosthetic hand until a mystery salesmen gifted him an odd raven, claiming it was a gift from his dear aunt. He'd soon then transfer himself to Orchid Valley years later after getting a letter from a mysterious person claiming to know what happened to his parents...

Gregory Gigante (he/him) - and last but not least we have the goliath Italian mobster wizard Gregory, who became a cop to be a mole in his hometown Allentro in order to lead the police away from his family's affairs. But that plan was ruined when he was transferred to Orchid Valley due to the low staffing.

None of the party members started out knowing eachothers secrets, and they're currently being slowly revealed in character arcs. Dagfinn is the only one to have been fully explored yet, with Gregory's secret currently being built up to in, unfortunately, the worst mystery I've done for the campaign yet.

We only have like. One or two more session before it finally ends though.

Story Summary (Before the Show)

As briefly hinted at in the beginning, this story is a time loop adventure. So let's lay out what's already happened before the campaign began...

This here is Arthur Graves, the local radio host of Orchid Valley.

Him and his sister Adaline were orphaned at a young age and were kicked out once they got too old for the system. He barely survived school with the others looking down on him until him and Adaline were taken in by the old radio host: Johnathan Graves. The two would go on to help their father with his show while he'd help support them with their dreams, with Adaline wanting to become an actor and Arthur wanting to go into the older art of potion making. Things were pretty good until the two had to drop out of college to take care of their dying father, with them taking up the mantle of radio hosts once he was gone... Now that Arthur was older, and way nicer to look at, him and his sister started getting more attention. More friends. But Arthur still felt like an outsider. That was until the party first arrived to Orchid Valley.

Before the time loop he had befriended the party through Bwink, who he had fallen in love with. While the party would investigate, Arthur would kind of work as a "Man in the Chair" type of guy and try to research and help them when he could. But when they mysteriously went missing while investigating the death of the local rich guy Bloodworth, Arthur got pretty worried. For the first couple weeks he remained positive since he knew Bwink had the power to save them from death, being a prince of hades, but they never came back.

Months passed and he couldn't wait any longer as the case was dropped. He grew worried, antsy, and began to have strange dreams of blue moths. He didn't know what to do until a blue moth faced man visited him, claiming to be a god. Claiming tha he knew how to save his friends. Claiming that all he'd need to do is find a book kept in the abandoned west side of town... Desperate, Arthur took the deal. Beginning the time loop.

Now, let's switch over to this so called gods, or Hurtragas Ervs, perspective.

In this world, multiple timelines and universes exist. And Hurtragas Erv, or Arthur Graves if you scramble it up a bit, is from an alternate timeline where he never managed to save his friends and was completely corrupted by the dark magic from the book he used for the timeloop.

He became so corrupted he lost his true sense and accidentally destroyed his timeline before being scooped up by the entity of time Record Keeper and placed into time anaomly jail. From here Hurtragas attempted to use his powers to escape, but could only find a way to project his mind into other worlds, where he found the current timeline Arthur freaking out. Recognizing the time and place, Hurtragas had the great idea of helping this Arthur save his friends with his knowledge of what and what not to do so he wouldn't end up like him. Communicating with Arthur through technology and his dreams, they began their work.

Things were going well for awhile but as they worked together Hurtragas started to get upset as this Arthur used their knowledge to come up with better solutions faster then he did. So Hurtragas Erv began to get jealous as he watched Arthur interact with his friends.

So Hurtragas came up with a new plan. Once Arthur gets closed to saving his friends, he'll take over Arthur's body and replace him! It sounded easy enough, but Arthur was already starting to notice something was up as Hurtragas began getting more aggressive towards him when Arthur started asking questions like "why are you helping me?" with no answer but yelling. This behavior lead Arthur to come to the prediction that he'd try to replace him so Arthur warned his friends to get rid of him if he showed up and was acting weird.

And that's exactly what the party did once Arthur(?) showed up and greeted then differently.

With the loop reset, Hurtragas tried to cover up what he did, hoping that maybe Arthur would forget. But if anything, he forgot that Arthur was the only one who ever remembered what happened during the loops and their deal was broken. Hurtragas got upset and left, promising to make Arthur's life hell while he continues the loop to try and save his friends. And make his life hell he did, from misleading the party to not trust Arthur, to trapping Arthur in his own apartment, and to possessing their dear sister Adaline to kill Arthur before he can try and save the party from the final event. Loop after loop, Arthur began to slowly start loosing it until the newest loop, leading us to where the campaign is now.

But before that, here's what Arthur used to look like (what the party thinks he looks like from posters) to what he looks like now after multiple loops and uh. Being stabbed.

Campaign summary so far, and the future of the campaign

The campaign takes place during two loops, mainly for the reveal to my players that it's a time loop! I'm going to do my best to make this summary a lot uh. Shorter then everything else-

Part one - Before Loop Reveal

The party meet for the first time as they arrive in Orchid Valley and get to know eachother whole they wait for their meeting with their boss Diana Widower. In this meeting they learned that they're here due to all of the other staff going missing or dying a horrible tragic death and that most of them were specifically chosen to visit Orchid Valley due to being seen as expendable. But! Diana clarifies that as long as they can do their job right, they well. Get the job and free housing in the neighboring apartment complex. So the party takes a few days to get settled in and meet their new coworkers Ve, Mary, and Guy Mann before shit starts getting weird.

Gifts of various flowers from two anonymous A.G's, and the strange feeling of familiarity as they wander around town putting up warnings to avoid any out of place doors after being sent to investigate one of the doors at an abandoned church in West Ridge and finding the dead body of the teen server that vanished after making them breakfast.

From this first job they learn how shitty of a detective Guy Mann is, and meet one of their mystery gifters Arthur Graves over a radio tip line where he quickly starts to help as if he already the situation, and laying the grounds of the timeloop.

From there they go the rest of the first month investigating a magic office at work and revealing the fate of a coworkers missing father, failing to find stolen case files, attempting to find where the new radio station is, committing various food crimes, communicating with a suspicious voice over the phone, finding stolen antiques, helping a ghost pass on, talking with a shadow monster in a magic store, saving a girl from cult an meeting an oddly friendly(?) eldritch god of creation, releasing furbies into the wild, saving Mary from her ghostly date, acting as security at a Halloween Festival, learning Bwink's uncle Lu is the Lucifer, having a really weird shared dream, reenacting the dream to save a few coworkers, and last but not least.

Meeting Dagfinn's uncle Detective Withers to investigate an eerily familiar case when compared to Dagfinns past, and learning he was the monster all along as Dagfinn has his heart rippef out and the loop resets. But not before confronting the being of death in his train, unfamiliar and confused.

Part 2 - After Loop Reveal

Simply starting back at the first day of Dagfinn's arc and mentioning a few events that are different now, the party now have to try and solve the mystery again.

But now the players have information their characters don't know of due to the party's memories resetting, so they have to ask more questions and try to do things to trigger a characters memories or past feelings - a mechanic from the very beginning foreshadowing the timeloop. Oh and the only sign that something is different to the characters is Dagfinn finally noticing the scar on his chest from his heat being ripped out in a few loops, Bwink's upgraded phone, and a feeling that all of their flowers were swapped out. Which surprises Arthur when they call about it as he, for one of the first times ever, shares that something is new. What exactly, he doesn't get to say.

This time they stop Withers and save the visiting Allentro cop Mike, who was attacked this time because he came along with them this time.

So with new vibes from the past, the party works on investigating newer mysteries such as the bubble keeping them in town, why Mike can't leave town, trying to find out why Arthur is being censored magically, why Arthur is trapped, who the mystery spooky phone voice (or Electro) is, and helping Mary's murderous ghost date pass on. All while they're trying to solve two murders, which is starting to look like the Allentro Mobs affair...

And that's about where we currently are. Not many of the mysteries have been officially solved, but Conner's player has gotten really close to a lot of the plot points through theorizing. Like. Predicting the future but having such low confidence they don't think they're right.

Future of the Campaign

The rest of the campaign will roughly be as follows (minus mission specifics):

- discovery that Gregory is a criminal but is now more willing to work with the police due to their unique situation.

- more Arthur and Adaline interactions through missions.

- Dav changeling reveal at his own birthday party.

- Bwink heritage reveal at Thanksgiving.

- Arthur counting down to the date he agree to meet Bwink, starting December 1st, while giving odd advice and hints to... something?

- The mansion murder happens and the party try to investigate it the first day.

- The second day the party is going in for investigation but is side tracked by Arthur's recently concerning behavior and the sounds of him getting attacked while on air.

- Them helping Arthur and finally reuniting, before leading into part 3 of the story.

And that's about everything!

If I end up sharing more art you now know the context. Hurray, I guess.

Hope you enjoyed and feel free to ask me about my characters and such!

- Unreasonable Kiwi

[bitty-bytes]

Selfshiptober 2024: Day 1

Prompt: Confession/Night

Wordcount: 876

Ship: Hades (Kid Icarus Uprising) x Lionne (OC)

Description: Lionne decided to do something about priests who worship the enemy at a large ball. Little did she know, her lord had known she'd be there... so he ends up getting an idea.

@sennamybeloved If you wanna see!

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Tonight was a special night in the kingdom Lionne lived near. Tonight, there was a large ball with all of who's who in the kingdom in attendance. Lionne wasn't much of a person for these sorts of events, but once she heard some high priests in the Church of Light were to be there, she saw a good opportunity. Perhaps if she went, she could scout things out for her lord.

Getting an invite was rather easy when you had all manners of forbidden magic on her side. All it took was a hex or two in order to charm a gullible nobleman who she lured in with sweet words. With this invite, she would be able to enter.

It was rather lonesome though, seeing all these noblewomen dancing with their lovers. She sighed longingly. It was too bad her true love was of such a high status that he was unattainable in her eyes. She scanned the crowd for the priests she had tasked herself with finding, but was snapped out of her search by a familiar voice.

"Well well, I figured you'd be here."

Letting out a surprised gasp she swiveled on her heels. A devilishly handsome man stood before her. With sideswept dark purple hair, brownish red eyes, and a dark complexion, he was hardly recognizable. However… The voice was a giveaway to her. She knew he could manipulate his size, but she didn't realize he could assume a human appearance too!

"Milord, what're you doing–"

"Hush now, remember we are within mortal ears." He said in a hushed voice. "I knew you'd try to seek out those priests. Pretty reckless, you know." Lionne pouted a bit. "I just wanted to help–"

"Don't fret, little lady. I've already managed to use magic to knock them out, so they're dealt with already. We'll have plenty of time to squeeze out information from them after this."

Lionne looked confused. "Then… What brings you here? Couldn't you have just told me this after?"

Hades smiled. "Well, I suppose I was curious what a human gathering looked like. A ball, is it? It's rather charming in a way." As he asked this, the musicians began a new song. It was an extremely lovely waltz. Lionne was then asked a question she wouldn't have even dreamt of.

"I suppose idle chatter can wait. How do you humans say it? I believe it went something like… May I have this dance?"

Lionne blushed at this question, looking down at her lord's extended hand. "I never was a good dancer!" She squeaked out.

"Just follow my lead, little lady."

Hades took the initiative and gently took her hand in his. Getting in position, he took her other hand too.

As they swayed and waltzed, Lionne's heart was beating against her chest. Was she dreaming? This had to be some kind of dream. She was dancing with her lord, the deity she had worshiped for so long. Their relationship had evolved over the time they've been around each other of course, to the point they considered each other a companion. Yet in all her wildest fantasies, she never could've imagined she was going to be waltzing with him.

As the song drew to a close, Hades released her, giving a small grin. "Now, Lionne… Let's go somewhere quieter, shall we?"

Leading the way, they headed outside to a balcony. The new moon meant it was dark, only lit by the dim light emanating from the ballroom inside.

Hades sighed before turning to Lionne. "You know… I never thought I'd end up so close to a mortal."

"Well to be quite honest, I never would've imagined I'd meet you, much less become your companion."

He looked down and chuckled. "Well, I suppose it does sound odd, doesn't it?"

Silence hung between them for a moment before he stepped slightly closer to her. "You know…" He started with a flirtatious tone. "Companion may not be the exact term to describe it for me."

Lionne shifted her posture. "What do you mean?"

"...Perhaps I'm growing soft." Hades muttered this to himself. "You look beautiful under this darkness, you know."

Her face turned red as she averted her gaze with wide eyes. "Well, um… I think you're looking pretty handsome yourself." She blurted out. At this, Hades took another step. There was barely any room between them now.

"In that case…" He placed a hand on her right cheek, causing her to gasp slightly. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give you one last surprise. Consider this a gift for your loyalty and companionship."

He slowly began to lean in. Her heart thudded against her chest as she instantly recognized what was happening.

Her mind was racing. Part of her mind was screaming that she wasn't worthy of this. Surely she couldn't be, right? …And yet, there was another part of her that knew that their companionship has grown past her being a simple priestess. After all, Hades has grown from being her god to being her dear friend, and it seemed mutual.

She started leaning forward slowly on instinct. Her head tilted and her eyes closed.

Their lips connected, and it felt like fireworks were going off in her head.

"...I love you, Lionne."

[bookish-monster]

BOOK REC

Exodus 20:3

by Freydís Moon - find them on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok

the storygraph link for this book contains information such as page count, publication date, and community-created content warnings.

Exodus 20:3 is a standalone love story centered around Diego, a Mexican-American trans man, and the relationship he forges with a Brazilian angel named Ariel as they refurbish an abandoned church in New Mexico together. It’s a beautiful blend of queerness and religious eroticism that comes in at around 100 pages on my Kindle edition, and has been recently updated with a new cover (see above) that is absolutely gorgeous. There is prayer, body worship, divinity kink where the divinity is no fantasy, hemipenes, and more eyes and teeth and wings than humans are used to experiencing in their love affairs. I absolutely loved it.

A note about body terminology for trans readers: Diego’s genitalia (he has had top surgery but not bottom surgery) is referred to using feminine terms such as “cunt” and “clit.” Some trans readers might find this dysphoria-inducing or otherwise upsetting.

Diego is what many people would call “troubled.” He does camming out of desperation for money, has recently quit using opiates illegally, and is struggling to deal with his mother’s disappointment once she found out about the latter through Diego crashing a car and getting sent to jail once the cops found said opiates inside the car. Basically, he’s not having a fun time as the family disappointment, so he reluctantly agrees to his mother’s plan for him to earn enough to pay her back for his bail money via refurbishing the church in New Mexico.

Ariel is the church’s caretaker. Diego is attracted to him from the jump, but that attraction is tempered with the wariness of a prey animal who has been hunted down and abused one too many times. Diego isn’t used to tenderness or genuine love from his sexual partners, and he isn’t interested in getting mixed up with someone and used in ways that don’t make him happy in the long term. I really loved how complicated Diego is—he’s tough as nails because the world hasn’t treated him gently, but also desperate for real affection because of how love-starved he’s become over the years. 

Ariel isn’t smothering when offering that affection, nor parental in caring for his new laborer. Initially, he comes across as enigmatic and perfunctory, reclusive and emotionally distant. But as he insists on digging into Diego’s past, so too does Diego start putting the pieces together and realizing that Ariel isn’t quite the man he seems. During their first sexual encounter with each other, consent is kind of iffy, but it gets talked about later between the characters. The sex scenes are lavish and drawn out, abstracted by Freydís’ beautiful prose into things elegantly rendered yet primal in their intensity.

The writing in this novelette is exquisite, by the way. Freydís has a command of language that I’m nakedly envious of, and there were multiple points where I stopped to re-read certain passages just to savor the taste of them, as well as the beautiful wordplay and turns of phrase. I keep a list on my phone of 1-2 sentence snippets I read in various places that are too good not to write down, and that list gained several entries from this book.

Finally, I really liked Exodus 20:3’s frank discussions of trauma and oppressive systems. As a Mexican-American, Diego is no stranger to the violence constantly forced upon brown bodies by the United States government, and as a trans man he’s equally familiar with transphobic violence from cis people. Although Freydís makes absolutely zero attempts to gloss over or divert attention from real-world issues inherent to their characters’ identities, nothing ever felt hopeless. Diego is initially very cynical, but as his relationship with Ariel evolves so too does he undergo a change of heart toward the nature of faith. You can get a side of religious philosophy with your steamy monster fucking in this book, if you choose to accept it. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and cannot recommend it enough to anyone who’s in the mood for queer Latino romance stories. I can say with confidence that nobody who chooses to pray at Freydís’ altar will be left unsatisfied.

find this book on Amazon Kindle (US)

[shit-talk-turner]

I don't reckon there was anything romantic going on with Alex and AS. IF there ever was I think it would've been casual at least on Alex's side. I do think like any young musician familiar with Alex's work she was most likely very excited about the collaboration, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a little school girl crush mixed in also.

I think there falling out was more due to professional differences as opposed to personal/romantic feelings. Alex S said once on their working together that she was more open to hanging out/chilling during some of BoS making but Alex had a more serious, focused approached. I think if I recall correctly James Ford has talked about Alex's ability to be laser focused and also his obsessiveness when it's comes to his work whether it's playing a riff for 3 hours or rewriting his lyrics until the 'job' is done. Alex has also described himself as a 'control freak'.

I think Alex S also made a comment once that she was able to 'steer' James Ford more than he perhaps liked in terms of creative and artistic decisions. I could be wrong here but I think the line in TBHC "That here ain't no place for dolls like you and me" was possibly a line Alex wanted to use for 'Girlie' I could imagine that perfectly blending in with the rest of the song but Alex said the person he tried to give it to didn't like it.

I definitely think Alex S felt like she had to maybe 'fight' her way to have her creative choices on top, I could imagine it being hard to have your voice heard when you're speaking to two people with decades of experience in the business and with one another. I think Alex S has given us some telling information when she has voiced the opinion that she didn't feel as "attached" to the record and that her favourite song on the album was the one she considered 'her own/"mine". Pair that with the press being fixated on Alex being a part of her album and giving her little credit for it as well as her label dramas, I could understand that putting a major damper on things.

As far as for Alex it is possible he perhaps was thrown off and maybe not so happy that Alex S wasn't as willing as both he and Ford might've liked in regards to the decisions being made. It wouldn't be surprising to me given how 'obsessive' Alex can get if he forgot the fact that the record was meant to be for and made by Alex S, therefore overriding and taking control more than she was comfortable with. Alex 'losing interest' toward the end of the recording could've been due to the fact there was some conflict between them, that he had started to become inspired for TLSP new record, that he was in his partying/drug using era and also that in his own words (StuBru interview with Stan & Miles) had 'fallen in love' with Taylor.

I think it's without a doubt Alex S definitely inspired him and brought out something new in him creatively, even if it was just in the way he composed and wrote music - TBHC. I do think it's possible some personality clashes happened along the way due to the recording experience, how BoS was received and Alex mostly praised instead of Alex S and perhaps his lack of professionalism and interest in her once the recording was 'done'.

I do think it's interesting Alex S and Taylor did end up becoming close after the end of T & A's relationship..nothing bonds two girls more than being let down by the same man LOL! I also think they could possibly relate to seeing a side to Alex many others don't get to see nor are aware of. It's also interesting to me that in some songs (Miles & Alex S) believed to be referring to Alex suggest a person who is wearing a mask, is not as they appear and/or has a Jerkyl and Hyde way about them; Not forgetting to mention that Taylor has potentially hinted to Alex being a convert Narcissist ( I don't know if anyone has the screencaps for this) but I personally don't think he is a Narcissist.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Apologies for the length!

I think we definitely agree with a lot of this- or the possibility of a lot of this! The only big thing for us is that if their had been major creative differences that caused tension or a falling out we think that may have been more obvious in their interactions from the get-go? In early videos and even in the hotel cafe video, we feel like there isn’t that kind of tension at all. But it’s possible it built up over time or him losing interest clinched the falling out. So many possibilities