#although i have encountered an unseen complication....... | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

paganwitchisis · 2 months

Text

A Chance Encounter

Rated - Explicit. RATED 18 PLUS

Relationship - Tav (Female AFAB)/Astarion

Trigger Warnings/ Warnings of sexual content and Violence- Child Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Child Abuse, Abuse, Physical, Mental and Emotional/Verbal Abuse. Asked to cancel themself mentioned, graphic depictions of violence, Smut, P in V Smut, Dead Dove (For the Violence/abuse depictions), Panic Attacks, Love

Word Count : 13.6k (It is a longer one!)

Check it out on AO3 -A Chance Encounter AO3

Summary: What if 1 year after beating the Netherbrain, established spawn Astarion and (AFAB) Female Tav roam the Sword Coast and run into a complication? Instead of being heroes, they accidentally find Tav’s abusive parents? This becomes a hard situation for Tav, and Astarion has to help her through it. Bonus! Add to this a greedy god getting involved and a deal being attempted against our favorite couple? Astarion has his hands full, but there will be a happy ending! Heed the tags for trigger warnings.

Note: I have a master list pined to my page and other Baldur's gate work. This was made as a trauma dump for coping so it is based on real life stuff. it is my worst work yet in my opinion but I wanted to share it. I have 23 stories in progress and in different degrees of progress. This is intended as a one shot but can be changed if there is support for more.

Story: The past year after defeating the Netherbrain has been almost a dream. After finding the Sunwalker’s Ring almost three months ago, Astarion and Tav have been enjoying everything that life has had to offer in the sun. The couple has done everything together since setting off together from Baldur’s Gate. They have taken on missions together and spent long nights tangled together under the stars. Astarion has been enjoying what freedom has truly been like, but occasionally he would wake to his lover having nightmares and terrors in the night. It was in these moments he wished he had the tadpole again. Tav was always there for him, and although the hold Cazador has had on him was dissipating, it was still there. Astarion wanted to return the favor that Tav had given him. The problem was, Tav was still struggling with something unseen and she still wasn’t comfortable discussing what was wrong. Of course, Astarion was sure if he asked she would say something, but Astarion didn’t want to do that. Astarion wanted to let her talk to him on her terms. In the mean time, he would support her the best he could. He suspected it had something to do with the scars on her body that she refused to discuss, The same scars he worshiped when they made love. It was the only thing that made sense, considering what she said during her nightmares.

“We’re near Evereska. You think we can stop there for a break? I’d love to get a hot bath, Astarion. Just a break, then we can keep going.” Tav asked Astarion who broke from his thoughts to consider his half elven lover’s request.

“I’d love to give us a room at a tavern, darling, but isn't that the pretentious city that only lets…certain people in?” Astarion replied worriedly. The history of Evereska is a well known thing to most elves. They snub their nose at anyone who isn't a pure blooded high elf and follows strict customs.” Astarion might be able to get in but Tav…

“I thought that through! They will let me in.” Tav smiled brightly but Astarion was confused how and why they would do such a thing. “ I never pull the title but they will let me in temporarily for the hero of Baldur’s Gate”

“You think that will work? I mean…they could easily not care.”

“Only one way to find out. We’re not far.” Tav rationalized as she drew close to Astarion and looped her arms around his neck. Astarion wrapped his arms around her waist and replied.

“Alright. If that’s what you want. We’ll try it but only for a night. I don’t want to stay there longer than we need to. However I’d be happy to give you a wonderful bath, my sweet.” Astarion gave her a lewd smile. Tav replied with a smile of her own before kissing him deeply. Astarion wasted no time moving his hands to Tav’s backside and gripping her ass cheeks while his tongue delved inside her mouth. Tav couldn’t help the moan that escaped her.

“Later, my love. Tonight, I’ll make you scream.” Astarion murmured against her lips as he pulled away.

It only took an hour to get to the heavily guarded gate that surrounded the border of Evereska. The city was magnificent even without entering. It was clean, surrounded by forests and elegant. When the couple approached the doors to the border, the guard held up his hand for them to stop.

“State your business” He called out. Tav noted he was in generic heavy armor and wielded a great sword.

“We’re the heroes of Baldur’s gate looking for a place to stay for one night only. We have no intention of interacting with anyone or anything beyond a room, some food and a bath before setting off to continue helping those on the Sword Coast. We respectfully request a special exception due to our services against the armies of the Absolute and Netherbrain. The Mindflayer invasion would have spread beyond Baldur’s Gate had we not intervened.” Astarion pleaded their case and Tav merely looked in awe at her lover. She was reminded how much of a silver tongue he had as he stared down the guard and reminded them that they, too, would have been in danger if they did not do something about the threat.

“What are your names?” The guard asked.

“Tav Elleth and Astarion Ancunin.” Astarion answered and noticed the guard quickly looked at Tav and looked surprised. Astarion wondered why this guard reacted this way and drew close to his lover.

“One…one moment.” The guard stuttered and left while the other guard eyed the couple wearily.

“How in the world did you two beat an army?” The remaining guard asked out of curiosity.

“It’s complicated….we had to kill a devil, to get a hammer, to free a Githyanki prince, to control a Netherese crown after defeating a dragon and killing a giant brain, and evading or killing their minions…Oh, and killing the chosen three of the gods of death and such.” Tav was listing everything while counting it off on her fingers. “Like I said. Complicated. It took months and started off in a grove not far from Baldur’s Gate.”

The guard looked stunned, and Astarion could do nothing but chuckle. In the meantime the guard had returned and opened the gate.

“You may enter, but you are only permitted to remain for a week. We are aware you said you wished to stay one day but in case anything…comes up, we permitted you both a week. Stay beyond that and you will be considered enemies of the city. The tavern is north in the city. It is called The Hearth. You can’t miss it.” The guard explained. As the couple entered the city, Astarion was highly suspicious as to the reasoning and his gut was telling him to leave and take Tav with him. Something seemed off.

Tav and Astarion made their way inside and Astarion held his lover’s hand. His lover was normally a strong, independent and wonderfully powerful woman, but when they walked up the path and made their way to the tavern, they ran into a couple on the path, and this was the moment that things began to change.

Astarion didn’t think much of them at first. The man was larger than a usual elf and had a strong demeanor. He seemed like someone you didn’t want to cross, maybe a fighter, potentially? He had large arms and legs, fairly muscular and was capable looking. The man had a resting face that looked angry. The woman looked upset. She looked thin but agitated. She seemed like a normal elf in other regards, but what struck Astarion the most was how the man looked so much like his lover. It couldn’t be though…could it? Astarion never did talk to his lover about her parentage though except to know that her mother passed after her birth and her father remarried. Astarion stopped walking when Tav abruptly stopped after seeing the couple before her. He could hear her heartbeat speed up and hear her essentially go into a panic. Astarion squeezed her hand to remind her he was still there but she didn’t respond. Astarion was very concerned at this point.

“There you are. The guard said you were here but I couldn’t believe it.” The man said. “I heard you wanted to go to the tavern. Is that true?”

Then, in a meek voice Astarion had never heard come from his lover, she replied “Yes.” as she looked at the floor. If she could shrink down, she would. Astarion wanted to growl, wanted to grab her and leave. Something was wrong.

“That won’t do. You will come home.” The man looks finally at Astarion. “ Who the fuck is this?”

“This is Astarion Ancunin. He is my…” Tav looks at Astarion pleadingly. “…Husband.”

Astarion understood without the use of the tadpoles. Whoever these people were, she had to make them believe they were married rather than otherwise. Astarion didn’t mind. Not really. What he did mind was who these people were and why she was acting different all of a sudden.

“Tav, darling, would you mind introducing me?” Astarion asked nicely which seemed to make Tav more anxious.

“Yes, honey. I didn’t expect to find my parents here, so forgive my manners. This is my father, Aias Elleth, and my step-mother Saida Elleth. Mother, father, This is my husband and love. Astarion Ancunin. He is a fellow adventurer who helped me save Baldur’s Gate last year.”

Astarion noted the man didn’t seem too pleased with the moniker of husband nor did he seem too pleased with his daughter’s accomplishment of being a hero for Baldur’s gate.

“Fine. Come with us. You will stay with us the week at least and then we will discuss further. You will regard our rules.” The man was speaking as he walked along the path away from the tavern. “You may share a room, but that is it. No sex. Bathing and changing clothes you both will be separate. I will not invite temptation in our home. Do we have an understanding?”

“Yes, dad.” Tav replied right away when Astarion wanted to protest.

“Tav, honey. I thought we were going to the Tavern? We only planned to stay one night. Not that I don’t appreciate the generosity, We just had prior plans.”

“Either you stay with us or you don’t stay in the city.” Aias said as he interrupted their conversation. By now, they finally arrived at their location. A large and beautiful house stood before them with manicured grass and well paved walkways. The house had maybe 2 or 3 floors and was white with a wonderful trim. It was obvious they came from money.

“Do you both have children?” Aias asked out of nowhere, which was surprising, yet at the same time it wasn’t. Elves were notorious for having a difficult time procreating.

“Er…no. We haven't been….blessed with children yet.” Astarion replied as they entered the dwelling. Aias gave a cold stare to Tav and commented.

“I trust you can find your room. 3rd floor, your leftover belongings were moved there already. You have half an hour before dinner to get ready.” Aias instructed before they disappeared inside the house. Tav grabbed Astarion’s hand and bee-lined for a room on the third floor and closed the door. It was a basic room with a queen sized bed. Astarion wondered how Tav knew this was her room out of all of them. Basic furniture but nothing that would indicate anyone ever lived there before let alone a guest room or Tav’s old room. She closed the door and Astarion noticed the lock was broken off the back of the door, as if by force.

“We don’t have much time. I need to talk to you.” Tav said in a panic.

“What’s wrong, love?” Astarion asked

“I don’t know where to start. I wish I could just show you. Gods, I miss that damn tadpole.” Astarion drew her into his arms and hugged her close. This did little to alleviate the panic or tension within the woman but she appreciated it none the less.

“Should we be getting dressed in the mean time? Or getting ready for battle?”

“Let’s get ready for dinner. I don’t know what they want, or if they changed. But I can tell you as we get situated.”

“I thought we couldn’t get changed according to his rules?” Astarion joked.

“I’m not listening to those rules. I love you, Astarion. I need your touch. I want to see you and be with you as much as you want me…even if….”Tav began to shake slightly at some thought that Astarion could not see. Astarion held her tighter and leaned down. Astarion kissed her lightly and was not expecting Tav to push back on his lips and request to deepen the kiss. Astarion complied and deepened it, but only briefly, as they needed to talk and get dressed before their time was up.

Tav began changing soon after pulling away from her lover’s lips, Astarion following suit.

“I had to call you my husband for my father to let you be in the room with me. I hope that is okay.” Tav went looking for something in the bag. “Ah! There it is! Here, put this on your left ring finger…assuming you’re okay with the ruse.”

Astarion noticed it was the lover’s ring they found in the Shadow-Cursed Lands over a year ago. He didn’t know she still had them. Astarion put the ring on and kissed her again. “I’m okay with it being real as well, darling, but now is not the time for that discussion. Please tell me what’s up with your folks”

“Wait…did you say you would marry me?” Tav went to kiss him tenderly again, albeit chastely.

“Yes, now focus, darling. We can celebrate later.”

“Sorry…it’s just this is hard. Very hard.” Tav curled her hands around herself and backed away from the doors and windows. Astarion, who was holding her before she backed out of his arms, followed her to a corner as she crouched to the floor and waited for her to speak which only took a moment. Thankfully they had plenty of time until dinner would be ready. Tav went from crouching to siting on the floor with her legs drawn up.

“Growing up was pure hell. I was beaten, manipulated and abused in almost every way imaginable except one. I wasn’t touched sexually, thankfully, but the rest was severe. The scars I have on my body? None of them are bandits. I lied. I would tell you the details but we don’t have enough time. Lets just say there was severe physical abuse, I was told I was repaying being born, I wasn’t allowed to eat because they said I was too fat and my brother was treated as the best person in the world while I was treated less than dirt. If my brother was bad, I was beaten. I was the bad one. I was neglected. I had to sew my own skin together. I had to figure out how to find food and stop the bleeding when I was so small I didn’t know what first aid was. This started when I was a toddler. I was dragged about the house and outside by my hair.”

“That’s why hair pulling, spanking, restraints, and things of those nature are a hard boundary for you during sex?” Astarion asked gently.

“Yes.” Tav looked away until Astarion used the tip of his fingers to guide Tav’s chin up to look back at him. Astarion gave a supportive smile before he sat down next to her and ran his arm behind her shoulders and drew her close. Tav continued to talk once she felt safe again. “ Weapons were used too on me. It wasn’t just fists. I broke 26 bones by the time I was a legal adult, triple that sprained. I missed over half of school every year because my parents would try to hide the marks. Every time my step mother felt upset at father she would point out how much of a disappointment I was, why I never had a significant other, why I was ugly or how I had to earn love. I was yelled at for hours every day about how I was the problem in the family, how I should end my life, how worthless I was and more. I believed it all…I mean, I was a kid. I didn’t know any better. I used to cry out ‘I’m sorry , I’ll be good! I love you mommy or daddy’ and when I found they didn’t care as I grew older I would stop screaming when being beaten. My step mother would tell my father I wasn’t screaming enough and to hit me more. Sometimes that meant while I was asleep.” Tav looked at the time and looked concerned “ We don’t have much time, maybe nine minutes left. I’ll tell you the details tonight in bed but please don’t make a scene at dinner. I just want to get through dinner and see what they want. I’m….hopeful for closure and change. I’m hoping that they aren't the same people they used to be.”

“This explains the people pleasing quirk and the praise kink you have, my love, not that I’m judging. If you want me to play nice, I will, but understand that you will be safe with me, so if for any reason you are in danger, I will act. I will not be separated from you either and I don’t care about the circumstances. I will also be completely honest with you. I am livid. Not at you. Never at you darling.” Astarion said as he brought her lips to his own and took her lips thoroughly, his tongue slipping against her own. It didn’t take much for her to moan against his lips but she stifled it. Astarion caught it none the less.

“Tonight my love. You can tell me whatever you wish to tell me, then we have our engagement to celebrate. Maybe we can leave the house tonight so I can properly find a place, maybe out of Evereska, if what your parents have to say isn't worth it, where we can make love under the stars, and I’ll make you scream my name the right way.” Astarion chuckled “Maybe your parents will hear us make love if I don’t kill them first.“ Astarion joked and kissed her once more chastely before pulling back. “We should go to dinner, love, but stick close to me.” Astarion stood up, held his hand out, and helped his fiancé up. He wiped her tears away, tears that she wasn’t aware she was shedding, and helped straighten her clothes and fix her hair.

“There. A bit better.” Astarion kissed her forehead and took her hand into his. Astarion opened her bedroom door and walked down the stairs with her. They left their armor and main weapons upstairs inside their magically enchanted bags. Thankfully Gale had enchanted their bags as a gift during the party six months ago. Only the two of them could access their bags, so they felt safe to put their weapons and armor away in their bags. Additionally, if anyone tried to take their bags, the bags would retaliate with a witch bolt against the person, and the bag would gain weight equal to six times the weight of the person trying to take the bag. Tav was so happy and grateful to Gale for these gifts. Gale also gave them a tent where the inside was as large as a house but the outside did not take up the same amount of space. It was used often during their travels. Even Astarion shook his hand for that one, which surprised Tav, but then again, Astarion had changed a great deal since the fall of the Absolute. Of course Astarion had a dagger in both of his boots and hidden on his being. He wasn’t going to go against a man who hurt his beloved the way that he had without having a weapon or two at his disposal.

Astarion also had a scroll of Detect Thoughts just in case, tucked away as well, although he hoped he wouldn’t have to use it.

Astarion held her hand tight and they made their way to the table. The table was as opulent as the rest of the house and they arrived to find Tav’s parents already preparing to sit down.

“Where is your brother?” Astarion whispered before they drew too near, as Astarion noticed he did not live at home.

“He passed a few years ago. The Pox…”

“Oh…sorry.”

Astarion sat down after seating Tav and pushing Tav’s chair in. He drank the wine but didn’t eat, claiming to have eaten a large meal earlier. Instead he watched Tav eat and noticed how she ate small bites, something different than how she would usually eat. It wasn’t like she ate like an animal, but she wouldn’t eat like a mouse either.

“Desha salen A'Sum vesta Al nodel Quessir?” Aias said obviously to Astarion as Tav only knew common and not elven. Astarion could reply in common so his fiancee could know what he was asking, but he wanted to play nice as he was asked to do. Aias was asking if his daughter married a Moon Elf and so he would play that up. In reality he suspected he may be, but he wasn’t sure, thanks to Cazador.

“Avavaen, sal'm Al nodel Quessir” Astarion basically only replied that yes, he was a moon elf, but Astarion suspected the man spoke to him in elven for another reason. Maybe he did it to test how much of an elf he truly was? Regardless of the true reason, he didn’t want to let this go on for much longer. He didn’t like leaving Tav in the dark. She was already helpless being back in her childhood home.

“Your father asked if I was a Moon Elf, dear.” Astarion muttered for Tav to hear.

“I taught you elvish when you were a kid, Tav.” Aias accused. But Tav shook her head.

“You taught Felaern elvish. My brother. Not me.” Tav replied with a measured voice in her defence.

This upset Aias, who stood up and placed his hand on his belt while he spoke. Tav lost what little color she had, her heart beat sped up significantly, she began to have a tremor and her breathing came quick. Astarion turned to Tav as Aias spoke.

“Don’t you dare speak back to me, young lady! We have important information we need to discuss, and I needed to make sure your husband was a true elf…unlike you.”

Astarion ignored the man and placed his hand on Tav’s cheek, drawing her face to look at him.

“Tav. Tav, look at me.” Astarion pleaded until Tav’s eyes finally landed on his and began to recognize him. She was pulled onto his lap by the vampire’s strong arms and Astarion heard a scoff from the step mother of the family.

“She is just manipulating you. She is good at it. The bitch always manipulated people.” Saida said “She probably told you some bullshit story about us, too.”

Astarion just held Tav and tucked her head under his. “Actually, I didn’t know anything about you both until just now. So tell me, why do you insist we stay a week when we prefer to stay a day?” Astarion lied in a bid to gain information.

“To be put simply,” Aias stated now, “We lost our son some time ago, and Tav is our only child remaining,” The elder elf said as he took his seat again. “As you may be aware, considering you are a high elf as well. It is very difficult to have children as an elf. We have to wait for a soul to pass and be reincarnated, and so I was lucky enough to have been blessed with two children at the time, but when a disease took my son from me. Tav became the sole surviving child to the Elleth line. Now I find out she got married and I knew of no such thing? Thankfully she had the wits about her to choose a respectable high elf to marry, instead of another mutt or lesser race, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are certain rituals we would like to see done. It shouldn’t take long, not even the full week. Just a few days and you would be free to journey again.”

Astarion rested his head on top of Tav’s before he spoke next.

“What does this ritual entail, and what’s in it for you?” Astarion demanded as he held his fiance tighter.

“You don’t really think I would tell you the details of a sacred ritual, do you?” Aias snapped back, looking straight at Astarion. Astarion wanted to react brashly, but instead, pulled out the Scroll of Detect Thoughts out of his boot and uttered the words against Tav’s shirt in barely a whisper. The table and table cloth hid the scroll and the effects, thankfully, and no one heard what he said except Tav this time around.

What Astarion found was abhorrent, and Astarion had to stop himself reacting right away. He had to plan and escape with his love. He needed to not raise suspicion and get out as soon as possible.

Apparently Tav’s parents ran Evereska, which was a surprise there, so they would have to flee the city on foot and gain distance as fast as possible without arousing suspicion for as long as possible.

Secondly, although Tav was right to fear them, they were, by all accounts, stupid. They could not figure out how much information he gleamed on detect thoughts, now coupled with what plane shattering revelations he just found out? They were playing with fire.

When Astarion had used detect thoughts shortly after asking what the ritual was and what he got out of it, Aias said in his head

“ Corellon promised us another heir, you prissy half elf lover, If you would just shut up and come with us tomorrow night.” Astarion knew who Corellon was. Corellon was an androgynous deity who is considered the leader of the elven pantheon, but why help them? Corellon was a chaotic good deity and not a malicious one, yet they wouldn’t change the balance of life and death for nothing. Aias continued his train of thought. “All you two idiots have to do is go to the temple and lay with each other. Corellon said they would inhabit the damn high elf’s body, and impregnate our good for nothing daughter so they can have a mortal body or avatar to walk Fae’run. It was a good fucking deal and we are not letting it go.”

Astarion ended the link lest he be found out and said out to the table “It’s a bit late and we walked quite a lot to get to the city. We’re gonna turn in. Can we talk about the ritual in the morning?”

The man waved them off and Astarion took a confused Tav and retreated back to their room. Once there Astarion donned his armor and encouraged her to do so as well.

“Whats going on? We didn’t walk much today so I am assuming you found out something and needed to get us away?”

“Get ready for battle my love. We need to sneak and get out of here as soon as possible. Your father means for us to do a most dreadful ritual. He wants us to fuck each other at a temple so a deity can be born. The fucker would inhabit my body for the deed. The best part is what they get out of it. A child. They want an heir.” Astarion had finished strapping his armor and his favorite blades he acquired from Orin’s defeat - Bloodthirst and Crimson Mischief. When Astarion looked over, Tav had her Adamantine armor on and Soulbreaker attached. Astarion grabbed two regular daggers and although he knew she wasn’t proficient in them, he placed one in Tav’s boot as she stood and looked down at what he was doing. The other he placed in her belt.

“You can never be too careful. If someone breaks your defenses and gets too close for your greatsword, I’d rather you be protected my love. We need to give it some time before we leave. Maybe let them go to bed first but be ready.”

“This may be a good time to tell you everything….the details I have been too scared to tell anyone.” Tav said as she sat on the bed, her great sword in hand just in case. Astarion sat down next to her and held her against his lithe body.

“You don’t have to, but if you wish, darling, I’m here.”

Tav hugged him back and buried her head into the chest piece of his armor.

“I want to tell you. If you’re going to be my husband one day, I want you to know why I have all these scars…or the nightmares.” Tav was so meek in her reply that Astarion leaned down and kissed her lovingly as a reminder that he still had her back. He still loved her no matter what and would support her.

“I’m here for you, my dear.” Astarion reminded Tav. Tav kissed him again and tried to make it deeper but Astarion wouldn’t let that happen.

“Not yet darling. When we get out of this horrid place we can celebrate any and every delicious way you can think of, but right now we need to be on high alert.” Astarion replied, his hand drifting up and down Tav’s spine. Tav sighed and then began to recount the horrors of her past.

“My earliest memory was being burned. I was maybe four years old and I forget what I did to anger my step mother but I had an iron placed against my hand. The skin bubbled and I was then forced to push my brother around in his stroller as punishment for two hours with the burned hand, and the bubble filled with liquid. I was terrified and in so much pain. Then maybe six months later, I remember being bound but my wrists were too small for the binding to properly take hold. My father sucked at binding my hands and when my arms came loose I was beaten for that. My father used closed fists, the belt buckle, the belt, brass coasters he would lob at me, swords, knives, fire, glass, electric spells to ‘test’ how strong they were, a baton which is like an extremely heavy bat, books, and basically anything he could get his hands on otherwise. He, when I was seven, knew I was afraid of heights and dangled me by the neck outside my window a few floors up. I could hardly breathe by how scared I was. I didn’t do anything wrong either. I just know if I heard his boots on the stairs, I was being hurt. I guess that is another perk of why I am with a man who is light on his feet.” Tav half joked but was obviously dejected.

“You will always be safe with me, my love.” Astarion said as Tav continued to recall her childhood.

“I had to figure out how to stop the bleeding when I didn’t know a lick about fist aid. I had to sew my own flesh together on my own thigh once but I was so young. Maybe eight when a good chunk of my wounds happened that I struggled greatly to put myself back together. That’s why I have so many scars. Then, when I was eleven, my step mother cheated on my father. She fled to Neverwinter to meet and sleep with another man. I was taken with. When my parents got back together, I was severely beaten. My body was contorted in a weird and wrong way by my father and punched, beaten and bruised…broken. My father had to travel to Neverwinter to get my stepmother. I was beaten the whole way and made to give him directions at the same time because after we came home, she fled back to the other man. I was rarely allowed sleep or food. They were eventually okay and such, but I was the black sheep. I was constantly blamed for the affair and beaten randomly for it. I would, as a child, fill my clothes with thick books to get hurt less when I was beaten but they would just take them out or yank my pants down. If I hid? My father would destroy my room looking for me. He would beat me for the messy room then and task me with cleaning it in an impossible time limit. If I failed, which I would, I would be beaten again. I remember I couldn’t see out my right eye once. It was bloody from a brass coaster being thrown at full force at me because I asked my father to play with me. It took a while for my vision to come back. “ Tav was shaking and breathing short stints. She was rocking when Astarion replied.

“Do you want to take a break? You aren't okay, my love.” Astarion was concerned Tav would have an anxiety attack and did what he could to ground her and give her support.

“No. I need to get this out.” Tav took another breath to steady herself. “No matter what I endured physically, I still have more that I sealed away. I buried the memories as far away as possible and never dealt with them. I started getting nightmares at thirteen and terrors. I began having flashbacks. It was like I was a kid again, everything was so real….all over again. I still have them, certain triggers like smells or words. The boundaries we have during sex, for example, trigger the flashbacks. I think I have most of them mapped out but I still get triggered by things I don’t realize are problematic for me. My step mother did more damage than my father though. She did mental abuse and verbal abuse. She would make me stand in front of my friends for hours as she berated me about how bad of a person I was and how much trash I was to them. I was nothing. I was worthless. I should cancel myself. I am paying back being born and that is why I get nothing in life. I am a bitch and don’t deserve love so I have to earn it. I am not screaming loud enough. I am not worth two cents. I will die alone. I-”

“Stop!” Astarion interrupted. “At this point you’re doing their work for them! You’re abusing yourself. I got the point.” Astarion chastised Tav and held his fiance tightly in his arms. “You’re none of those things! You’re beautiful and worthy of love. You’re amazing, and I am so fucking happy you’re alive and with me. I love you more than life it’s self. Please know that I thrive because of you!” Astarion muttered “Fuck it.” and passionately took Tav’s lips into his own. His hands explored her gorgeous and curvaceous body as he pinned her to the bed. Tav couldn’t help the low moan that escaped her. That is until she heard the familiar sounds of her father’s footsteps on the stairs. Tav began to panic and curled within herself and away from her fiance. Astarion was none too pleased to see her fighting with her demons and took up a stance in front of her in case her father came through that door. The noises got louder until it got near the door, changed direction, and left the area. It went down the hall to another room. The damage was done though, Tav was stuck in her head and having a panic attack. Her demons were out and against her in full force and Astarion briefly wondered if this was how Tav knew what to do with him when he struggled.

Astarion sat with her and rocked with her, saying soothing words as he held her and kissed her forehead. Astarion eventually got her back from her head and held her tight. He got her to calm after what felt like a tenday although it was more like half an hour. Astarion knew they didn’t have time for this but he couldn’t let her stew in her head. This was a trigger for her flashbacks and after what she disclosed to him, she had every right to be scared.

“Darling, are you feeling better?” Astarion finally asked after some time. Tav merely nodded while burying her head in the crook of his neck.

“I don’t expect you to be completely yourself, my love, but we need to get moving. We will revisit this once we are safe, and I will make sure you know how loved you are. I want you to know how wrong they are and if it was up to me, Id slaughter them where they stood for daring to lay a finger on you and saying what they did. Instead, for your sake I’ll make everything up to you the best I can. I’ll remind you for all time how valued and precious you are to me. “ Astarion kissed her gently and chastely before taking her hand. “You ready to leave, and never return?”

Tav nodded and Astarion picked Tav up bridal style and snuck outside the room and down the stairs. Astarion was on high alert, as he used his darkvision to his advantage. Astarion got out the front doors and hugged the wall of the house to get out of sight. Astarion placed Tav on the ground, and they crept to the side boundary of the city. Thankfully, the house wasn’t far off from the eastern perimeter of the wall, however the wall, itself, was a problem. The wall was tall and tipped with barbed wire. The walls sides were slick so even if they could traverse it, which they couldn’t, there was no way to get past the wire. They were going to have to get past the guards to get out, a feat Astarion was not looking forward to. About two hours later as they approached the eastern gate, the gate that Tav and himself entered that very day, they noticed the guard had grown.

“I guess our disappearance was finally noticed” Astarion muttered to the still pale Tav. “We’re almost out, Tav. We just have to get through the gate.”

“Leave that to me.”

“W…What? There are four guards!” Astarion exclaimed.

“True, but remember the one who asked how we defeated the Absolute? He is still up there. I might be able to get through. I have to try!”

“I don’t understand. How in the world does the guard’s curiosity have to do with our escape in this situation?

“Just stick with me, and be ready to draw your weapons if it doesn’t work. Let’s try this my way, and if not, then we just do things your way, like we were going to all along.”

Astarion couldn’t help but grumble but he placed his hands on the handles of his daggers regardless, and followed his beloved. He watched as Tav, who appeared to be perfectly okay although Astarion knew better, walked up to the guard she spoke to before regarding the details about their defeat of the Netherbrain. The guards reacted as expected, drew their weapons, and aimed them at the couple.

“You are under arrest. In violation of our rules and customs here in Evereska, you will come with us.”

Tav put her hands up and continued to walk towards them but began to speak.

“Is this how you treat someone who saved you all? Do you have any idea what we went through to protect you all from a mind flayer hive mind and murderous god’s with their chosen who thought it was a good idea to steal a magical artifact from a devil, to bind the mind flayers to their purpose and attempt to take over the world?

“Devil? Gods?” One of the guards asked confusedly.

“Yeah, Mephistopheles. Gortash thought it would be a good idea to steal a crown from him and try to control the Netherbrain with three stones. Each were given to the dead three’s chosen. It led to an imbalance and we had to act. There was Orin, who was with Bhaal, and was a shapechanger. Kethric who was with Myrkul, and was immortal because he was siphoning the power of an Aasimar. You may have heard of this Aasimar, she was dubbed the nightsong but her name was Dame Aylin. She is the daughter of Selune, which is where her powers came from. We had to free her to kill Kethric, but he became an avatar of Myrkul first. That was a pain in the ass fight. Oh, but by all means, if you think you can take us by force.” Tav smiled and stayed where she stood. Astarion finally understood what she was doing and smiled. Gods, he loved this woman. It was a gamble, but she was goading them to fight them. Making them seem larger then life and lauding their accomplishments to get them out of trouble. If it didn’t work, there was always his way, of course.

“You all are dismissed. I’ll take care of the prisoners.” The main guard said, the one whom Tav spoke to initially. With that the other 3, still in wonder, trudged along and left. Once they were far enough away, the guard said to her “Here is your chance.”

“You’re letting us go?”

“I grew up in Baldur’s Gate. I am a proud Baldurian, and so I am happy it never fell. I just ask you knock me out on the way out to make it look like I was overtaken.”

“Thank you” Tav said and gave him a pommel strike to the temple to knock him down. At this, the couple took off on foot and didn’t look back. They ran, far away from the city. Astarion was more cautious than Tav, as Astarion knew that there could be people with crossbows or bows in general that could still get them, so Astarion carefully always had himself covering Tav’s back when they ran off. Eventually, night fell again, and Astarion and Tav had made it to the coast, which was a good distance away from Evereska. They eventually found their way to the Marsh of Chelimber which was connected to Serpents Tail Stream. The stream would go all the way to the west and dump out to the ocean, the Sea of Swords.

“Are we safe?” Tav asked.

“Darling, I won’t feel safe until we’re quite a bit further away.” Astarion looked around his surroundings, and glanced at the map they had to spare in their pack “There should be a dock here somewhere. Maybe we can book passage to Baldur’s Gate and go home for a little.” Astarion said, and noted the happy look that Tav gave him. It had been some time since they returned home from their missions. “Why don’t we settle down for a little. Not permanently, but maybe a month or two won’t hurt. What do ya say?”

Tav showed her approval with a tight and rib breaking hug as she snuggled her head into his armor.

“Thank you!”

Astarion smiled and held her back as they began to approach the docks thanks to the map they had. They were exhausted, filthy and hungry after their jaunt and escape from the situation in Evereska.

“Hello, kind sir. Are you by any chance heading south?” Tav asked kindly while Astarion stayed close behind, ready to strike if things turned sour. Since her disclosure, he had been protective of her. She just hadn’t noticed it yet due to the circumstances around everything.

The captain was obvious to pick out. Aside from the fact he was giving orders to the entirety of the crew, the man seemed to bow to no one. He was an older gentleman but he looked like he saw his fair share of scraps. He had tailored clothes that had an embroidered name of “Rook” of the jacket. The man was handing out assignments, but the couple didn’t speak to him until they saw the crew addressing him as captain. You never knew who could pose as a captain nowadays just for a lick of coin or other pretenses.

“Yep! My crew and I are heading to Baldur’s Gate and then we are turning around to make another supply run to Waterdeep.” The man eyed them wearily and sighed “I take it you’re looking for passage?” The man is rather short. He is about five foot one, grey hair and slightly pudgy. He is older and in his sixties. He has a glass eye and seems to look at both Tav and Astarion quizzically. “Wait a moment….it can’t be!” The man grew excited as he exclaimed.

The man started to circle Tav and looking her up and down. The action was making Astarion uneasy and his instinct was to pull him away. Nothing could be done, however, before the captain acted first.

“I’ll be damned! You’re the Hero of Baldur’s Gate! If you and your husband are looking for passage, I’d be honored to have you sail with us! Hells, you can even have my room!”

“Th..That isn’t nessec-” Tav started to say when she was cut off.

“Bullshit! You saved my little girl’s life directly and my wife would have died twice over if you didn’t act in the battle and save us all! You even saved my wife directly too! I literally have a family because of you! Thank you!” The man praised Tav’s actions, partly holding tears back in his eyes as he grasped Tav’s hand in his own and shook it before Tav tore it back. Tav still struggled with her past and what she disclosed to her fiance just a day ago.

“if…if you insist. We are looking for a way to get to Baldur’s Gate. If you would be so kind to help us, we would appreciate it.”

“Well, what are you standing over there for? Come on board! Welcome aboard the Stingray, the fastest carrier in all of Fae’run! My name is Rook! I’m the captain of this amazing ship.” Rook introduced the couple to the crew who seemed fairly harmless, even if Astarion bristled at a few of them checking Tav out. Finally, Rook gave a tour and showed them their accommodations for the next tenday. Tav was surprised! For a ship, it was surprisingly modern. There was a large bed, a large bath tub and other luxuries including a decent library of books.

“But, where will you stay? We can’t possibly put you out, Rook!” Tav exclaimed.

“Nonsense! You aren’t aware, but my wife and I met last year in Baldur’s Gate. She just had a child from a man who sadly passed away. She would have lost the babe if you didn’t interfere. Even more, you helped save here later against a hag.”

“Oh my! You’re saying your wife is…”

“Yep! Mayrina is the love of my life and she has told me so much about you. Please, let me do this for you both. I will bunk with the boys. It will help us bond more and by the look of you two, you both could use a nice bath and some sleep.” Rook observed and expressed.

“Well…I can’t argue with that….”

“How soon till we set sail?” Astarion interrupted, eager to gain distance between them and the warriors at Evereska. Tav would have glared at him if she didn’t share the same concern.

“Oh, we can leave now, even. We just finished loading the shipment. Everything is where it needs to be. Give me a moment, I’ll be right back.”

With that, Rook left, although he wasn’t gone long. Tav had just enough time to take Astarion’s lips when Rook returned and startled the two away from each other.

“Ah, you two are rather cute together. Anyways, I just wanted to say we have taken off from the shore and are officially on the way to Baldur’s gate. It may take a day or two longer than a tenday but we are hopeful that we can gain some speed and make up some time. Supper is usually ready in the evening and should be ready in a couple hours.” Rook explained and went to leave. “Enjoy the room, you two…oh! The walls are sound-proof and the create water spells are next to the tub.” and with that, Rook winked, closed the door, and left.

As soon as the door was closed, Astarion took three large steps to the door. Within seconds the door was locked, and Astarion had picked up his lady love and deposited her on the bed. She yelped and giggled at his actions.

“Now, last I checked we have an engagement to celebrate and I have so much I want to show you. I want to show you how wrong those fuckers that you call your parents are.” Astarion crawled on the bed and caged Tav under him. “What do you say to that? Want to scream my name tonight while I worship your body?”

Tav’s chest felt tight and her fiance’s words went straight to her groin. He knew where he was going. He was offering a distraction. Tav nodded. She trusted and loved her fiance. She needed and wanted him. She wanted to be distracted. She wanted to feel good and feel needed.

She wanted to feel loved.

Astarion made quick work of her armor so that she was only left in her underclothes that she had on under her armor, so it didn’t agitate the skin. Tav took in his unique smell of bergamot, rosemary, and brandy with a base of cedar, amber, and musk. He smelled divine even after trying to escape the guards and being on the run. Tav was unsure how he always smelled so good, even when living with him, but she adored his comforting scent.

Astarion dipped down and took her lips, offering her a deep kiss from the start as his dexterous fingers found both her breasts and the hem of her shirt. Tav moaned into their kiss as Astarion used his hand to message her chest before he pulled back and in one fluid motion, removed her shirt. Astarion worked on the cloth that held her breasts when he drank her in again. Astarion felt her hips rut against his own as they sought relief.

“Eager, are we? Don’t worry, my love, I’ll see to your pleasure.” Astarion unhooked the material binding her breasts and easily undid the laces of her trousers. He then pulled them off her along with her undergarments in one swift motion so she laid bare before him. “Hells, you’re a goddess…you’re gorgeous, Tav” Astarion nipped at her shoulder.

“It’s unfair. You’re fully dressed.” Tav mentioned while Astarion chuckled.

“For now. Patience, darling. Just relax and enjoy.” Astarion replied as he kissed her jaw and neck thoroughly, purposely avoiding the pulse point.”you’re radiant and worthy of everything this world has to offer, Tav. I can also promise you one thing your step mother said is not going to come true”

“Wh…what’s that?” Tav asked as she moaned from Astarion taking her breast into his mouth.

“When the time comes that you pass from this world,” A thought Astarion did not welcome. “Which better be a very very long time from now my dear. You will not be alone. You will never be alone from now on, so what your step mother said about you dying alone? That is bullshit. Because when that time comes, you will be in my arms. You will be safe and at peace my love. You will pass with my lips on yours and most likely quite a few tears. Then, I’ll follow you…”

“No!” Tav replied as Astarion gazed up at her from his ministrations.

“ Please, don’t kill yourself! Please live on for me!” Tav recalled something she was told before. “Elves are reborn, and we hold on to our memories. Even half elves like me! They’re just buried. It may take a long time but I know we can find each other again. I want you to live…” Tav pled her case.

Astarion crawled back up to be on Tav’s level and replied with a scowl. “If that is what you want…then who am I to deny the woman I love?”

Astarion pushed his feelings down. He didn’t want to deal with the thought of Tav’s death. Not yet. They still had many, many decades together. As a half elf, she had half the life span of a high elf, so this meant she had a good four to five hundred years to enjoy life. Astarion closed his eyes and kissed Tav again before resuming his onslaught to her chest. Astarion took the other breast into his mouth and used his tongue to flick and suck, twirl and lap at the precious nipple adorning the mass he was fondling. Tav moaned loudly and tried to squeeze her thighs closed but couldn’t. Astarion dropped his hips and rolled them which gave her sweet friction in the apex between her legs. Astarion smiled as she moaned and rocked on his hard cock that was still clothed. Astarion moaned and lavished his attention on her breasts, his hands now dropping to her labia. Astarion used his dexterous fingers to spread her lips wide and using the pad of his thumb, he went in a circular motion over her clit. This caused Tav to buck her hips.

“Please, fuck me!” Tav begged as Astarion shook his head.

Astarion positioned himself after kissing her stomach and hip bones between her legs. He kissed her inner thighs and then replied.

“No. You’re gonna come for me on my face, my love.”

“Then you’ll fuck me?” Tav begged while Astarion kissed her thighs and paused over an area with a pulse

“No.”

“B…But…you said...!” Tav stuttered and was confused. Astarion merely laughed, his breath hitting her wet core.

“I wont fuck you because I’ll be making love to you. You’re too precious to me not to. Now, relax, enjoy and come on me.” Astarion said as he got to work dragging his tongue up the slit between the lips of the labia. He hooked his tongue around her clit and twirled it around the clitoris, pleasuring her nerves and gently sucking on the sensitive bud. Tav moaned louder and threw her head back. She threaded her fingers through his light locks of hair and bucked, still needing more. Astarion began using the flat of his tongue to stimulate her clit and then took two fingers and began probing to see how ready she was to take his cock. Thankfully she was satisfyingly wet and so Astarion slipped two fingers inside her and bent his fingers in a ‘come hither’ motion which hooked onto the rough patch of flesh that he knew to be her erogenous zone. With this, Astarion flicked and sucked the clitoris harder and faster and additionally added a third finger. Tav was in a wave of bliss. She was loving the pleasure she was being given and she loved how attentive he was to her body. He was very focused on her body’s small reactions. Astarion looped his arm so that his arm would hold his fiance’s hips down.

“Bite me!” Tav begged as she felt the familiar pressure inside her build. Her core burned with desire and burning electricity snuck down to her toes with each flick of his tongue and stroke of his fingers.

“Gods below, are you delicious! Are you sure about me biting you?” Astarion asked as he worked her bud. She was close, so very very close.

“Please!! It feels so good when you bite me!”

Chuckling to himself, Astarion commented “ We really were made for each other” Before licking and kissing a spot on her left leg and then sinking his teeth as nicely as he could. Astarion punctured the skin and began to draw the blood to the surface. As the blood hit the back of his throat, both of them were in ecstasy. Tav felt Astarion use his fingers on her clit as well as speed up. Tav went over the edge in a cry of elation as she called out his name. The hand threading into his hair tightened and she heard him growl in pleasure at it. Astarion was grinding against the bed, his hard-on painfully obvious. Astarion helped her ride through her orgasm until she was growing overly sensitive. Astarion pulled back from drinking too much and sealed the wounds on her thigh. Astarion straightened out and looked at the woman below him. She looked ethereal.

Astarion quickly yanked off his light armor after wiping his face with the back of his hand, then tossed his under shirt to the side of the bed. Astarion couldn’t work fast enough to undo his trouser laces as the pressure was too much between his legs. Tav at this point was able to sit up and helped her fiance out of his clothes by yanking his pants down. Astarion keeled on the bed in his light blue underwear, the head of his cock peeking out of the top of the briefs. Tav licked her lips and carefully pulled his underwear down so his cock and sack could finally be free. With a hiss of pleasure, Astarion finally had his clothes pooled around his knees. Tav reached out and leaned forward to take him in her mouth but Astarion took her lips into his own first.

“Please don’t, my love. I know what you want to do. I won’t last long if I’m in your succulent mouth, and I’d much rather be buried inside you.”

Tav pulled Astarion down with her, his lips on hers and their tongues against each other’s. Astarion kicked his pants and underwear off. Astarion rocked his hips gently into the crux between her legs, his cock rubbing against her clit deliciously. Tav would grind up to meet his motions as they drank deep of each other. Astarion pulled back, unable to take the teasing much longer, he aligned his cock with her vaginal cavity and in one quick motion he sunk himself deep to the hilt within her, eliciting a moan from them both.

“Gods below. How the hells are you always so tight, darling?” Astarion squeezed his eyes shut and waited a moment to give Tav time to adjust. When he felt her thrusting and moving against his hips, Astarion began to slowly roll his hips. Astarion dropped his lips to her left ear as he made love to her so he could huskily gasp out.

“I love you Tav. I love you so much it scares me. I’d either still be a slave and be horribly tortured for being abducted, or I’d be viscera on the floor from Cazador’s accession without you. You saved me. You complete me. Gods, sing for me, my love. Feel how much I love you.” Although Astarion did possess a silver tongue, He usually withheld expressing his love as much as he was now because he struggled with his own self worth but he recognized it in her. He saw how much she needed the reminder to her self worth and the reminder of his commitment.

Tav moaned as Astarion picked up the pace and sped his hips up. He began pulling back until the head of his cock was the only part nestled inside her and would drive himself home. Home was definitely the most appropriate word as when he was one with her, he felt complete. It was more than just sex, more than just the physical act. It was an expression of his soul. It took him a long time to realize this but he would be damned if he didn’t acknowledge it now. His hips would piston his manhood deep inside her as a hurried pace as it glided against her soft inner tissue and struck sensitive nerves and erogenous areas. Tav was singing his name by this point, his name a mantra upon her sweet lips. Tav stretched her neck to the side and Astarion knew what that meant. It was an invitation for his fangs once again to find themselves inside her flesh.

“I can’t . You haven't eaten in so long. Maybe our next round…” Astarion tried to rationalize even though he was craving her blood like a siren’s song. Astarion couldn’t get enough tasting her lips as her need for him grew muffled by their lip lock. Astarion shifted so he could grab hold and lift his partners leg by the knee. This gave him a better angle he could use to roll his hips against her and cover more of her sensitive tissue inside her. His length drove deeper than he had previously and Tav panted as her breasts bounced with each thrust. Astarion couldn’t help taking one in his mouth as his fiance grew louder and called out to him.

“I’m going to come!”

“Good. I can’t hold it much longer. Let go while I fill you.” Astarion choked out as his rhythm had long since faltered and his speed had increased to a punishing pace. The only sounds in the room save exclamations of pleasure and moans were the obscene wet noise and the slapping of the skin as Astarion pounded her special place. Astarion felt her walls contract around him before he heard her shatter in bliss. Astarion only got another stroke in before he too finished and spilled inside his fiance, slowing as he rode out their orgasms together. Astarion let out a groan of relief fill him as he grew almost overwhelmed by the intensity of his climax.

In an effort to not collapse on her, Astarion rolled off her and to the side where her drew her in and held her close. It took several minutes for their sweat soaked bodies to begin to tame their breathing and by then, Astarion had kissed her forehead and gotten up to ready a bath for the both of them.

Once the pair were lounging inside the tub while sensually maintaining an intimate hold, Tav finally perked up enough to ask a question she was wondering.

“You said that you’d feed next round. Did you mean you wanted…you wanted to make love again?” Tav asked as she sat between Astarion’s legs and laid against his naked physique with her back to his chest. Astarion was gently cleaning the filth and grime from their adventures off her body with a soft rag and their bars of soap. Astarion smiled to himself and kissed her cheek before he ran the water over her hair to wash out the shampoo and then conditioner he worked through her locks.

“Of course my sweet. You think I can keep my hands off you that long? Just look at you! You’re a vision! Of course it may have to do with the fact that I love you more than Gale likes to talk about himself…so that is quite a bit.” Astarion joked towards the end earning a playful shove from Tav. Tav who was now clean, reciprocated towards her partner and lovingly wiped his body down and washed his hair (even with some hair hijinks) as well. Tav finished with his body, spending a few extra minutes teasing him below the waist, before they had fun tickling each other in the tub. Tav admitted defeat early on while Astarion took a moment to take a prize from the one he loved. He kissed her with love and passion, slipping his tongue against hers once against before a soft knock came at the door.

“Dinner’s on deck!” the unknown voice spoke out.

Astarion pulled away and helped his fiance out of the tub and get dried off, before he used the towel on himself. Tav threw on some basic clothes that wasn’t revealing after seeing Astarion become upset over a few deckhands who let this eyes wander earlier in the day. Astarion did something similar but it wasn’t because of the same reasons. Astarion knew his only source of food on the trip would be Tav and so he had to focus on her health the most. He also had a personal vested interest in this situation considering how he felt about her. Of course the more he fed off her, the more he’d want her. It was a grueling cycle that made Astarion wish he had animal blood on hand so he could be in better control of himself. Knowing what he knew, he resigned himself to the fact that by the end of the trip, they’d be sore but damn would it be worth it. Astarion secretly liked the idea of Tav not being able to walk off the ship by the end of a tenday.

Astarion reached out and held Tav’s hand as they left the room. The captains quarters were located on the deck of the ship under the wheel while, as they were shown prior, the mess hall was under the deck. As a result it wasn’t a surprise to find that the deck was clear when they emerged. All the sailors were eating and the wheel was tied down. Astarion didn’t think it was the safest idea, but he also knew he wasn’t a sailor. As the couple approached the hatch that would lead them to the level they needed under the deck, Tav stopped. It was then that Astarion felt the air around them seem to charge with electricity and Astarion knew magic was at play in some regard. Before them and over the hatch a swirling blue circle had formed and Astarion knew exactly what it was. Cursing, Astarion drew his blades while Tav didn’t have her great sword due to the size of it and the quick trip for sustenance.

Astarion stood in front of Tav and braced himself for a fight. Who appeared out of the teleportation circle was not as expected however. Astarion and Tav expected warriors of Evereska to be pursuing them yet when Tav’s step mother and father emerged, it was surprising to the vampire and crippling to Tav. Aias and Saida Elleth were somehow on a moving boat on it’s way to Baldur’s Gate in an attempt to rectify the situation Astarion and Tav removed themselves from.

“You know how much I despise using my scrolls Tav. What the hell got into you both? We didn’t ask for much! Just a damn ritual since you couldn’t be bothered to find us when you decided to become an adventurer and get hitched as soon as a fine piece of meat strolled by.” Saida snapped at Tav who seemed to wilt under Saida’s verbal onslaught. “You have always been willful and stupid. You’re impulsive and…”

“Shut the fuck up you cow” Astarion seethed. He was incensed and would not allow this woman a chance to harass and hurt the woman he loved any longer. “Who do you think you are? Both of you? To think me and Tav will conceive a god for you just because you miss having a fucking boy. If you may not have realized, the woman you both abuse is also your child, but I guess it doesn’t matter since she doesn’t have a dick.” Astarion was sorry for Tav’s loss of a brother however the idea their heir needs to be male bothered him. Tav was a remarkable and frankly stunning woman. She was a natural leader and deserved everything good in the world. Astarion would protect her and her heart till the day his undeath was over.

“So you knew,” Aias said as he took a step towards the vampire. “You may not understand, but Tav does owe us. She had to be disciplined, yes, as she grew up. Most children do, which you will find out soon enough. Tav, let’s go.”

“Owe you? For what? Being born? That’s right, I do fucking know. I know you won’t touch her if I have anything to say about it” Astarion was still so outraged that he cursed frequently.

“And what will you do, child? I’m double your age by the looks of it. I have much more experience than you whelp.” Arias threatened.

“Maybe if I was just an elf it would be a problem, but I’m not, you piece of shit. I won’t do this ritual with Tav for your benefit, and I wont let her get hurt by you again!” Astarion growled as he backed up a little to feel Tav whose breath and heart rate concerned him.

“We don’t need you for the ritual. We’ve had a backup the entire time to take your place. It was just fortuitous she showed up with you. What do you mean you’re not just an elf?” Arias eyed him suspiciously when Astarion gave him a large toothy grin which exposed his fangs. To the elf’s credit, he displayed a perfect poker face except when Astarion had revealed his fangs, Astarion could hear his heart rate also increase and almost smell the fear on him.

“I mean, you will not touch or hurt a vampire’s fiance. I will fucking drain you dry, gods know how parched I am.” Astarion snarled at the next thought he vocalizes “And are you telling me you would have your own daughter raped if she didn’t have an elf in her life?”

Arias pulled out a dagger of his own but only one compared to Astarion having both of Orin’s daggers from a year ago.

“We do what we must to ensure the survival of our name.” was the only justification for something so vile and reprehensible. The thought made Astarion nauseous and very angry. How dare they think to hurt her that way!

“Your life is forfeit.” Astarion growled and launched an attack. Surprisingly Arias put up a decent fight, however he was nothing to a vampire’s enhanced strength and agility. Arias would parry and almost clipped Astarion’s cheek however in a move that was like a blur, Astarion had gotten behind the man and without hesitation he jumped on the man and bared his teeth. Astarion drank from the man who was powerless to fight him off. Astarion didn’t sink his teeth gently into the man like he did his beloved. Instead he tore open the skin savagely and as painfully as he could muster.

Astarion drank deeply of the man and was surprised her father’s blood tasted so rancid. He thought his fiance and her father would share something in common with their blood when he sank his teeth in but was astounded the man’s blood was little better than the rats he had to partake in under Cazador’s command. Astarion was only partly through the man’s blood when he saw something in the corner of his eye move.

His wife had begun to move, no longer stunned into silence she cried out.

“You piece of shit! I should have forced your mother to abort you and done the world a favor! I should have-” As the woman ran forward and grabbed the dagger Arias dropped. She went to attack Astarion physically while attacking Tav verbally. Tav, at this point, ran forward, grabbed Saida by the hair and yanked her back. The woman landed on her back on the floor with a thud and a curse.

“I’m tired of it, Saida!” Tav regarded her step mother by name and no longer by the title of mother. “I’m always so horrible yet you always need something from me! I’m better than this. I am better than you!” Tav screamed and pulled the dagger out that Astarion had gifted her earlier before plunging it into her step mother’s stomach, halting her advance on Astarion.

“But…but he is a monster!” Saida tried to reason with Tav. “He will kill him!” Saida held her stomach after Tav withdrew the blade.

“I only see two monsters here and it’s you two. That man is not a gods damn monster. He is my everything, my partner, and if he wants to kill my father? He had it coming.” With this said, Tav drew the blade against the thin skin of Saida’s throat, killing the woman as she drowned on her own blood.

Tav withdrew a bottle from her pack and bottled what she could of the woman’s life essence while Astarion brought the man closer to death. At the end, when he was not far from killing the man, Astarion stopped. Astarion let his body slump down on the deck floor as he retrieved Tav.

“Darling? How are you feeling?”

“Better, lighter, maybe? I’m not sure.” Tav explained.

“Maybe you’ll feel more complete once Arias is taken care of? Go ahead and finish this. Take back what they did to you and let’s not worry about them any longer darling.” Astarion gave her a tender look and care. He was not going to rob her of her chance for closure. He got a chance to kill Cazador, so she should get a chance to kill her demons, too.

It was a tense moment for Tav to respond, but when she did, she took his dagger and stalked towards the incapacitated man. Astarion was with her the entire time and stayed with her, but at a distance, so she could do what she wished.

“Did you think that beating me would get you anywhere? Or the torture? You made me fear you for too damn long!! Now you will learn, you bastard!” Tav screamed at him and she launched into her own attack. Tav held the dagger vertically and jammed it between the neck and the collarbone. It made a sickening crunch as she pushed it to the hilt towards his heart. He would not survive this as the artery was also nicked, let alone the internal damage that was just inflicted. Astarion also always coats his blades in poison so Arias would soon die.

Seeming to know this and gasping at the pain, Arias said “ You bitch!!! You’re with an abomination and yet you think to tell me off? I wish I killed you, you pathetic excuse for a…”

Astarion had heard enough and punched the man in the face screaming at him to shut up, and further expletives.

Tav the took the dagger and stabbed the man through the eye. This was a killing blow as his body fell over the rest of the way - dead.

Tav sunk to her knees and held herself as she rocked. Astarion, seeing the carnage around them, quickly disposed the bodies and cleaned the scene before he returned to his fiance. Astarion helped her ground herself, as if he was her anchor to the world. He soothed her and held her as Tav dealt with the demons in her head from the horrific abuse she endured. Eventually, she calmed down enough she could function to a degree.

“Hey, my sweet, how are you feeling?” Astarion asked as he kissed her forehead. He continued holding her and rocking with her to help her come back to her senses.

“Empty. Void. I’m not sure how to feel after this.” Tav admitted

“Give yourself some time, my love. When I killed Cazador, I needed time to process it all and what it meant. You were there by my side through all of it. Now I will be by your side as well. Let’s get you some food and we can retreat to our bedroom to rest.” Astarion summized before kissing his fiance on the cheek and helping her to stand up.

The couple retrieved some food and no one was wiser about the carnage that had occurred on their ship. Once in the room, Tav showed Astarion the bottled blood she had which made Astarion very happy to see he had fresh blood waiting for him. Once in their room, Tav drew Astarion tight and kissed his neck.

“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Astarion asked, considering the silent request that passed between them.

“Make me forget. Please.” Tav begged before Astarion kissed her sweetly.

She asked Astarion to make her forget and that is what he did. Throughout the voyage they made love without abandon, They spoke and cuddled until she felt a semblance of herself again creep back into her personality. Astarion was happy for this, and by the time they reached Baldur’s Gate, Astarion was also happy he had to help carry his beloved down and off the boat.

Things remained peaceful as they lived back in the house that was gifted to them a year ago. Astarion fiddled with the wedding rings in his pocket, only three more days to wait. He was beyond nervous but things would be okay. Tav and himself were healing and supporting each other the best they could. Astarion felt like a new man after Cazador’s defeat and Tav was getting to be her old self again. Things weren’t where they wanted to be, but they were improving. There was no shortage of love and care between the two and no matter what life threw at them, the couple would always work together to endure and preserve their family.

So imagine Tav and Astarion’s surprise when she ended up pregnant….

Note: Please let me know what you think! My Ao3 is linked as PaganWitchIsis

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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cantuscorvi · 10 months

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What are Raum's thoughts regarding the Devil and why is he after them? Is it out of pride or does he have other motives?

@distopea

This is a bit of a complicated question to answer but I hope you'll bear with me.

In Raum’s ‘lore’, (and I’m using that term loosely because it’s just a bunch of ideas I’m sticking together with duct tape at this point) the existence of a One/God/etc ( who they call ‘the Almighty’ ) and a Devil/Satan/etc ( who they call ‘the Adversary’ ) are under doubt.

Both of those entities have been missing for an extremely long time, to the point where even their supposed creations are struggling to believe in their existence. They are close to a mythic status. Even those who claim to have seen or met those beings are met with suspicion and they also doubt themselves, each encounter feeling like some sort of dream, hallucination or false memory.

The Ninth Circle, the place where Raum lives — the lowest, coldest reaches of Hell — is said to hold the ‘tomb’ of the Adversary far below it. A place where they are perhaps trapped, dead, or resting. Although again, they haven’t emerged once since the birth of Hell, so the issue is up for debate. Some assume it to be just a story, some believe it’s an empty tomb while the Adversary moves unseen elsewhere, and some imagine the tomb is literal and only the corpse of the Adversary remains there.

Originally Raum didn’t live in this circle, instead he lived in a higher ring, in the City of Dis, but he made the journey there when he became curious about the existence of the Adversary, and ended up claiming territory there when he found the environment suited him far better than before.

You could say it’s out of pride — but his motives are fairly plain. In the end, it’s about power. The reason Raum moved to Cocytus in the first place is to get closer to the bottom of Hell and figure out if the existence of the Adversary is real; and if so, to try and claim that power that has been sleeping for so long.

Incidentally — when Raum fought with Malphas, he trapped him under the ice at Cocytus after grievously wounding him. Malphas was dragged under the water by the spirits inhabiting the lake, and he felt as if he was stuck in the tomb for years — exposed to something terrifying under the depths which he believed to be the actual existence of the Adversary.

#distopea #ask #( ;corvinum )#[throwing the rat meme] WOE. LORE BE UPON YE #okay it's actually nice to talk about the worms rolling around in my head about this. so thank you for the question!#hehehehe. in conclusion. he wants to eat them.

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endlessandrea · 3 months

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Lauren Berlant / being happy to encounter our ordinariness

Hans: But then working on these platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, requires an enormous amount of labour that goes unseen, and which is exploited by those platforms. Lauren: People are into self-exploitation if they can make something through which other people will find them. You and I are writers, what’s the difference? Most posters are not influencers. How people want to put themselves in the position to be found – that’s a really complicated thing. Of course, I don’t disagree that we are providing monetisable value in exchange for our circulation of interest. It would be better if there was no property relation to art and performance and other forms of labour.

Hans: It does seem a depleting way of having to be found. You constantly need to post on these platforms again and again without any guarantee of being successful. Lauren: But what work isn’t depleting? People are just putting it out there, like rap and house music in the early days too. Maybe it’ll have a hook. The whole idea of a hook is so central to pop culture and in The Female Complaint (2008) I argued that the central message of pop culture is ‘you are not alone.’ And even the gesture of making is a sign that you know you’re not alone. The question is, will you be found and in the way you particularly want? I do a lot of writing exercises in my classes and I tell my grad students: you write because you want to be found. But I don’t mean you want to be idealised although that’s often what wanting to be found means, because if you’re not idealised, you’re nothing in many registers of mass society. To my friends suffering from writer’s block, I always say that the thing they can’t bear is that their writing is a demonstration of their ordinariness. All of their grandiosity is in their head and then they put words on the page and their approximateness produces dread and the sentiment of, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I can live.’ And I have experienced it, and everybody experiences it, but I love my ordinariness. I find it comic. There is no middle ground when you have to be a star in order to be anything and I much prefer the middle. There are a lot of goofballs on TikTok who are not trying to be famous but who are showing up to be part of the aesthetic. So we turn to the question of the intimacy or the impersonality of belonging – a genre of intimacy. On social media there is a desire to be found whether or not your thought is spontaneous or worked on: it’s live, you want people to go there with you. That’s the thing about the impasse: how do you get people in there with you to help to move it somewhere? But I agree with you that it’s better for life if you don’t confuse the idealisation drive with world-building. If everybody needs some space of self-idealisation, can we think of the space where they’re happy to encounter themselves as distinct from being perfect or being invulnerable? And would that shift change people’s relation to their action, production, aesthetics?

#Laurent Berlant #finding each other #ordinariness #the comic

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enigmaincrimson-personal · 2 years

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Debating tinkering with the To Love Ru variant at some point...

It was kind of assembled in a bit of a hurry...

The Lancaster Group

It's a family business, owned and managed by a wide range of relations scattered across the stars and beyond.

Known to the universe at large under a wide variety of brands, names, and businesses.

If you can name it, they've got some sort of involvement, whether it is legitimate or not so legitimate.

The actual Lancaster Group brand is only used on Earth.

The heiress inherits the entire empire once she comes of age. However, she's not aware of this.

Custodi

Custodi are rarely seen or heard of outside of folk tales and the occasional random encounter. There are many such stories and it's not clear how many of them are true.

Most sightings are near the Galaxy's edge by stranded travelers. Whether that goes well or not depending on how the travelers treat their rescuers.

Cid Deviluke is aware that they aren't a space equivalent of an urban legend. Although it isn't clear what happened other than he came out alive and inspired.

The legends and rumors are one of the inspirations of the transformation weapon line. While powerful, they pale in comparison to the original.

The Heiress

Would have arrived some time before the series starts... Kind of that quiet girl in the back (Or another classroom) with her typically serious looking classmate.

She's staying at a place her aunt owns, likely by herself or with Kiera, her personal companion.

Probably nice and peaceful compared to the complicated politics back home. However, it is rather boring.

She's taken up a side hobby of watching her neighbors between reading, messing with her computer, tinkering, and everything else she does on her free time.

Is only just becoming aware of her Custodi heritage and is trying her best to keep that part of her to herself.

Likely has been using "girl next door" tactics to get a small peek into the goings on at the Yuki residence. However, later events would end up drawing her deeper and deeper into the inner circle whether she wants to or not.

For example, the school doctor likely would have her help part-time in her clinic, partially to get her used to being around aliens and feel more comfortable with her own powers.

However, due to being a rare occurrence of a living archetype of the infamous transformation weapons would end up drawing trouble of all kinds if it were to ever leak out.

The Aunt (Unseen)

Her aunt is some sort of media mogul. Everything from movies, idols, books, television shows, and more.

She tends to be very busy and is usually out somewhere for business reasons.

She is aware of aliens, and anything related to them. Not surprising, considering how many of her clients would be hybrids or immigrants.

Kirisaki Kyouko is one of her clients. It's possible her aunt might have introduced her to her niece through work.

Mikado Ryouko is familiar enough with her aunt to be marked as a medical contact. Although, treatment is limited to what she knows about transformation weapons... which are not the same.

Odds are that she was the one that recommended Run's participating in Kyouko's show.

The Companion

Dark haired beauty with ruby red eyes, speaks little and rarely seen apart from the heiress. Despite the general quiet demeanor, her and the heiress are good friends.

Rare example of a pure-born Custodi. However, as they are so rarely seen up close with, so maybe the aunt of the heiress and Cid Deviluke being aware of some extent.

Tends to be very good at dodging Rito's accidents, usually resulting in him uncomfortably faceplanting. That or she tends to um... punish Rito if that happens around the Heiress.

Can surprisingly be quite the tease if she ever opens up to anyone... providing they can handle the psychic migraines.

Will sometimes take the form of an "adorable house pet" and take long naps, much to the heiress's frustration.

Still trying to straighten out my thoughts... mostly since almost all of the RP blogs I was able to find haven't been active since 2013, so... I haven't had much luck finding partners or the motivation.

The main ideas I had were...

The heiress starting off initially as an observer and being dragged into the mess by mutually affiliated cast members.

She's probably more aware of Doctor Mikado and Kyouko being aliens before the main cast... providing her aunt tells her about it.

Her initial interest in her neighbors might have first been piqued by the noise coming from their upstairs bathroom (And bedroom) and emphasized further when the transfer students start showing up.

The Heiress's lineage would eventually become a topic if it was ever revealed... Not that her inheritance wouldn't be a problem on its own.

So...

The nosy neighbor and her odd companion.

The niece of a powerful media mogul.

The lost Princess of forgotten nation and living relic.

The heiress of a powerful corporate empire.

The classmate whose friend tends to kick Rito in the gut whenever he starts to have one of his accidents.

The offspring of a mysterious race that inspired the transformation weapons.

And so forth.

In all though... the idea is that she starts off as a bit of a background character that starts coming into the forefront as events gradually drag her out of hiding.

Most of her initial introductions are because of her aunt's connections or her fellow classmates... which would have likely happened prior to the story's start.

The school doctor probably would have introduced her to others at later points. Thus, she'd probably be familiar with them more than the main cast.

Thus, she'd likely to know at the beginning...

Kirisaki Kyouko (Through Aunt)

Doctor Mikado Ryouko (Through Aunt)

Kiera Bronwyn (Family connection)

Fellow students and classmates

Introduced later

Run/Ren Elsie Jewelria (Through Aunt)

Yami (Doctor Mikado)

Celine (Doctor Mikado)

Doctor Tearju Lunatique (Doctor Mikado)

Generally, anyone that shows up at Doctor Mikado's clinic... since she works there part time. (in disguise)

And so forth.

#enigmaincrimson #insane ramblings

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yurimother · 4 years

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LGBTQ Game Review - A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986

Before diving into the meat of Oracle and Bone’s A Summer’s End, I want to talk about the women behind this game Tida Kietsungden, and Charissa So. So and Kietsungden have done nothing but impress me since the announcement of A Summer’s End. They have repeatedly demonstrated their immense effort and dedication to creating a beautiful and thoughtful experience. Through conversations with the studio and reading their blog entries, I gained a remarkable understanding of how this game is both a tribute to classic cinema and a love letter to the Yuri and LGBT community. Through careful research and thoughtful expression, the two women navigate and acknowledge complicated issues, including Asian LGBTQ history and Hong Kong’s delicate political situation with grace and maturity. I am in complete awe of both women and their work. However, regardless of my profound respect for these creators, I still endeavor to offer my unfiltered thoughts on the visual novel, giving praise and criticism where appropriate.

A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986 is a Yuri visual novel set, as you may have figured out, in Hong Kong in the year 1986. The game follows a young office worker, Michelle (Fong Ha) Cheung, who has a chance encounter with a free-spirited woman named Sam (Ka Yan) Wong. Both women feel drawn to each other, and the game explores this mutual attraction and the budding relationship which emerges from it.

This plot follows the standard girl meets girl story that has permeated the Yuri genre for the past several decades. Like most Yuri stories, the older and more experienced woman, Sam, is rebellious and beautiful, with long dark hair and a dominating persona. Michelle, although far more naive in the ways of love, breaks the trend of this trope by being the more sullen of the two. I would have liked to see the game diverge a bit more from the standard story of the genre. Fortunately, A Summer’s End is a romance story between adults who do not work together, setting it apart from the norms. It even includes a coming out section that creates a more robust LGBT identity than any tale of temporary schoolgirl love.

The story is well put together and well presented. The story is told primarily from Michelle’s perspective. It mostly takes place over a few days, during which Michelle engages in a whirlwind romance with Sam. This story features the struggle between her feelings and passion and her devotion to tradition and her mother. The progression of her affection is unrealistically fast. The story feels a bit rushed, and many of the societal and personal quagmires the game stumbles upon are not sufficiently developed or confronted. Had the game indulged in a more prolonged and tumultuous struggle for Michelle, conclusions would have felt much sweeter, and the story would have gone from good to great.

Even with this massive missed opportunity, there are plenty of exemplary moments and aspects of the narrative. The game pulls no punches addressing Michelle’s slightly overbearing mother and the conflict between the two. It would have been incredibly simple to take the easy route on this one. Still, the developers stuck to their guns and manage to explore a challenging situation satisfyingly, all while keeping the characters realistic and sympathetic. In fact, every scene relating to LGBT rights and history is flawlessly executed.

There are also some fantastic chapters, including a thrilling but refreshing bike ride and a flashback scene that recontextualizes certain events from another perspective. The many references and allusions to classic cinema including some older lesbian films and plenty of Asian works, are particularly noteworthy. However, the best part of A Summer’s End by far is the setting.

The location and time period is intrinsic to Sam and Michelle’s tale, as it is shaped by and reflects contemporary culture and LGBTQ rights. Oracle and Bone create a vibrant and lively world, a jaw-dropping depiction of Hong Kong in the 1980s. Everything helps feed into the creation of this world, including a fantastic and retro UI, small touches such as a Cantonese subway announcement, and objects encountered like a disposable camera help convey a strong sense of the period. However, the soundtrack sells it more than any other element, save perhaps the artwork, transporting the player to the era. While a few tracks are the standard easy listening affairs one expects from visual novels, there are tons of excellent city pop and disco beats, complete with plenty of synths and confidence! Finally, a visual novel soundtrack that contributes more than just background noise!

Sadly, the game’s dialogue choice system and branching paths are far more of a hindrance than a help. I can honestly say that the game would play better and be way more enjoyable as a kinetic novel. Most choices feel inconsequential, changing nothing of the story and resulting in almost the exact same response from other characters yet, they have a hidden points system. If you do not earn enough points, parts of the optional adult content will be unplayable until one goes back to find the right choice. I spent several hours replaying, and eventually skipping through, the game to unlock all the scenes, and finally gave up with one CG left unseen. The only choice with any actual effect is painfully evident in its consequences. One option leads to the bad ending, which is well written, but no reasonable player would go down that path unless they just wanted to see the whole game. The second unveils the true good ending, which no player in their right mind would not pursue, as again, the choice is obvious and adds nothing to the game. There is no reason to put in an alternative ending or tedious dialogue choice.

The characters in A Summer’s End are well constructed. Sam is adventurous without being obnoxious and has a mature though appropriately unrefined demeanor. Michelle is extremely curt and somewhat distant, although she displays a sharp wit and more timid nature on occasion. Both women participate in engaging, deep, and thoughtful discussions, often with each other, although sometimes internally, and thus feel well developed and complex. Unfortunately, their chemistry, while not absent, is not enough to sell the whirlwind romance. There is insufficient expression of their feelings and attractions, both internally or through dialogue and actions, so their inevitable closeness feels unearned.

However, even in the short game, both characters change with each other, especially Michelle, as she becomes more affectionate, confident, and caring. She begins to embody some of Sam’s warmness while never losing herself. Some of my favorite dialogue and interaction came from her towards the end of the game, although I will not spoil it. Additionally, side characters have a strong presence thanks to their firmly established characteristics and a profound effect on the narrative. Each has their own sprite and mannerisms, helping cement them as fixtures in A Summer’s End rather than tacked on assets.

The visual novel contains optional adult content, which is installed in an extra patch and can be toggled on and off. I played through the game with and without it and can happily report that the story is just as fulfilling and complete without it. Although the unlockable nature of these scenes is aggravating, they are very well written and sensual without being exploitative. There were moments I did not care for as much, such as Sam getting carried away at one point, but it felt very realistic and incredibly sensual. The artwork in these sexual encounters is some of the best in the game, embracing darker colors and showcasing intense desire.

Speaking of the artwork, it is stupendous. The game is bright and striking, with amazing backgrounds complete with luminous neon signs, glaring televisions, and life and activity oozing from every corner. The backgrounds are so beautiful and detailed they could effectively serve in place of CG art, although there is plenty of that asides. The character models and designs are similarly excellent, with expressive poses and faces. The various outfits, of which the game has many, embody iconic 80’s fashion. Artist Tida Kietsungden draws both the characters and CGs with a distinctive hand-drawn style, which allows them to play well off each other and add to the beautiful presentation. The detail and care that went into the aesthetics are enormous and elevate the game at every moment.

A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986 is a vibrant and intimate experience. The fantastic setting and flawless artwork surround a compelling and thoughtful story about lesbian love and desire, societal expectations, and the bonds between family and lovers. It is rough around the edges, with a slightly rushed story that leaves little time to wallow in complexity and an awful dialogue system. However, it will win players over with its striking presentation and sophisticated subject matter. I look forward to more from this studio and highly recommend you check this game out!

Ratings: Story – 7 Characters – 6 Art – 10 Music – 8 LGBTQ – 8 Sexual Content – 3 (8 with patch) Final – 7

Purchase A Summer’s End on Steam and itch.io, available April 23

Consider supporting Yuri news, reviews, and content on the YuriMother Patreon

#Yuri #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtq+#queer #gay #reivew #a summer's end #hong kong #girls love #gl #wlw #lesbian #visual novel #games #video games #gaming #manga #anime #reviews

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

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fenristheorem · 3 years

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hello, if your askbox is still open could i ask leiftan (from the origins, i dont like the new wish washed one) with a s/o who doesnt feel pain?

Hello! Yes, my askbox is still open, both when you requested and at the time of posting this!

~Under the cut~

Origins Leiftan with an S/O who doesn’t feel pain:

Oh dear... you remember how he basically obsessed over her much of the time right? How he basically brought her back from death and went as far as saving her life by giving her half of his own life force/energy?

Let me tell you; if he’s willing do to that, then I doubt there’s anything he won’t do for her - even if it’s a bit... overprotective and obsessive.

Now pain is a biological trait that’s typically used for the body to relay that something is wrong. It’s - in a way - a part of the fight or flight response. It’s meant for self-preservation. Usually the pain response is turned off only when fight or flight kicks in so the body can get out of this threatening situation without being burdened by the pain; it needs to focus on getting out of the situation now and will worry about pain later. Pain alerts the body that there is an issue that needs to be fixed, so when someone is born, or at some point loses the ability to feel pain, there can be a lot of issues that can spark from this. Someone may accidentally burn themself without knowing, or break a bone, or have a relatively severe injury, and they wouldn’t know because their body wouldn’t be able to tell them through the pain response.

Leiftan knows this; he’s talked with Ewelein about this as soon as it was recognized that there was something odd about her pain response. Now all Leiftan does sometimes is hover over her making sure she’s not accidentally subjecting herself to anything harmful. He’ll make a point to keep an extra eye out for anything she could accidentally burn or generally hurt herself on. This includes battles, as well. Sure; he can’t keep her from fighting, but there’s no way she’s not seeing Ewelein immediately after - just in case she was internally injured and needs to be taken care of.

If she protests he’ll pick her up into his arms and carry her to the nurse himself. He doesn’t want his beloved angel to suffer complications from something that could have been easily avoided.

Lance becomes a major issue; he keeps trying to hurt her - and succeeding - and Guardienne doesn’t know if she’s wounded from those encounters or not. Leiftan is sure to make his opinions known about that... rather violently. That one fight they had at the Fenghuang Temple after Lance and his mercenaries raided the place? That wasn’t the last fight between the two. Unfortunately Lance is quite elusive, though; it’s hard to catch him to show him a piece of mind, but Leiftan makes due with whatever trouble he can inflict on the dragon.

Leiftan nearly pain-proofs his room. He’ll make a point to move furniture and decoratives around that could possibly wound her without their knowing, and he gives her a good basic check whenever she accidentally stubs her toe or something a bit too hard on a surface.

It seems very oppressive and overprotective in some ways, but Leiftan only means the best for her. He loves her dearly - although it seems like infatuation sometimes - and wants to protect her, especially knowing how she could be in more danger from this due to unseen injuries. He makes sure to back off a bit if she’s irritated at all from his hovering, but he’ll do his guarding from a distance then. It’s not uncommon for her to trip on something and to suddenly be in his arms, even though she was about to recover her balance to keep from falling...

He’s very protective, but doesn’t seek to make her uncomfortable. He believes the best way to approach this situation is to eliminate any threats before they appear - and he does exactly that - but it’s not always possible. Even if he can’t directly protect her or warn her of something (either due to the fact that she’s told him to relax a bit, or if it’s a sudden action he couldn’t have foreseen), he’ll still do what he can to protect her. In the odd case where she is injured, she’s immediately seen to by Ewelein. Leiftan just wants to make sure she’ll be alright; she’s his angel, and the last thing he wants is to see her genuinely hurt.

This is a bit short but that’s all I could think of that’s directly effected by her inability to feel pain. I don’t usually write Leiftan, so I apologize if he’s a bit out of character, but I hope you like this regardless!

Have a request? Ask them here!

But first, please read the rules list for asks!

#eldarya #eldarya origins #eldarya leiftan #eldarya leiftan origins #eldarya leiftan headcanons #fenristheorem writing #askfenris

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irelise · 4 years

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Yassen Gregorovich - Books vs TV

With the excellent new Alex Rider tv show out, I thought I would make a comparison post for one of my old favs, Yassen Gregorovich, who has a somewhat different feel in the books as compared to the show! This post will largely cover the first book Stormbreaker and should theoretically contain no spoilers for the potential future arcs of the show, since the events of Stormbreaker are presumably non-canon now. (Spoilers abound for the episodes of the show already out, though!)

If there’s any interest, I’ll put up a second post covering Eagle Strike and some parts of Russian Roulette that delves deeper into Yassen and his complicated relationship with Alex. Just let me know!

Much like the show, Yassen was the one who killed Ian Rider. Unlike the show, however, he’s known to be active on the field and the first time we “encounter” him is prior to Alex’s first mission, where Mrs Jones gives Alex a warning:

She took out a black-and-white photograph and laid it on the table. It showed a man in a white T shirt and jeans. He was in his late twenties with light, close cropped hair, a smooth face, the body of a dancer. The photograph was slightly blurred. It had been taken from a distance, possibly with a hidden camera. “I want you to look at this,” she said.

"I’m looking."

“His name is Yassen Gregorovich. He was born in Russia, but he now works for many countries. Iraq has employed him. Also Serbia, Libya, and China.”

“What does he do?” Alex asked.

"He’s a contract killer, Alex. We believe it was he who killed Ian Rider.”

There was a long pause. Alex had almost managed to persuade himself that this whole business was just some sort of crazy adventure…a game. But looking at the cold face with its blank, hooded eyes, he felt something stirring inside him and knew it was fear. He remembered his uncle’s car, shattered by bullets. A man like this, a contract killer, would do the same to him. He wouldn’t even blink.

[…]

“Why are you telling me this now?” Alex asked. His mouth had gone dry.

"Because if you see him, if Yassen is anywhere near Sayle Enterprises, I want you to contact us at once."

“And then?"

“We’ll pull you out. It doesn’t matter how old you are, Alex. If Yassen finds out you’re working for us, he’ll kill you too.”

I always thought this was a pretty good introductory scene -- Yassen has a very deadly reputation in the books, which is established at once then hammered in over and over again. Other traits which come up again and again include his coldness and his dancer’s body which is totally something I’m into, gotta love those “elegant and deadly assassin” tropes

(also, yes, Yassen is blond in the books and definitely not a brunet or even a redhead as in the movie. he also doesn’t have a distinctive facial scar!)

Yassen doesn’t actually have many scenes in Stormbreaker, although the shadow of his presence looms pretty darkly over the narrative. Alex only runs into him twice on the mission: once from a distance -- A lean, fair-haired figure dressed in black detached himself from the assembly line and walked languidly toward a door that slid open to receive him -- and the other encounter also occurs from a distance, when Alex is spying on a mysterious delivery at the docks in the dead of the night...

And then the tower opened and a man climbed out, stretching himself in the cold morning air. Even without the half-moon, Alex would have recognized the sleek dancer’s body and the close cropped-hair of the man whose photograph he had seen only a few days before. It was Yassen Gregorovich. Alex stared at him with growing fear. This was the contract killer Mrs. Jones had told him about. The man who had murdered Ian Rider. He was dressed in grey overalls and sneakers. He was smiling. He was the last person Alex wanted to meet.

[…]

Meanwhile, the guards from Sayle Enterprises had formed a line stretching back almost to the point where the vehicles were parked. Yassen gave an order and, as Alex watched from behind the rocks, a metallic silver box with a vacuum seal appeared, held by unseen hands at the top of the submarine’s tower. Yassen himself passed it down to the first of the guards, who then passed it back up the line. About forty more boxes followed, one after another. It took almost an hour to unload the submarine. The men handled the boxes carefully. They obviously didn’t want to break whatever was inside.

By the end of the hour they were almost finished. The boxes were being repacked now into the back of the truck that Alex had vacated. And that was when it happened. One of the men, standing on the jetty, dropped one of the boxes. He managed to catch it again at the last minute, but even so it banged down heavily on the stone surface. Everyone stopped. Instantly. It was as if a switch had been thrown and Alex could almost feel the raw fear in the air.

Yassen was the first to recover. He darted forward along the jetty, moving like a cat, his feet making no sound. He reached the box and ran his hands over it, checking the seal, then nodded slowly. The metal wasn’t even dented.

With everyone so still Alex heard the exchange that followed.

“I’m sorry,” the guard said. “I won’t do that again.”

“No. You won’t,” Yassen agreed, and shot him.

Largely a reaffirmation of what we saw from the photograph scene, this time in person: Yassen is generally quiet, understated and deceptively relaxed -- up until the point he murders somebody without blinking. I think the show does a good job capturing that aspect of Yassen, with scenes like Ian’s death and Dr. Greif in the car coming to mind in particular. Gotta love that pairing of Yassen’s generally calm demeanour with the bursts of restrained yet lethal violence!

Some other minor but interesting character notes: despite being one of the most highly-paid and successful assassins in the world, Yassen is perfectly comfortable doing grunt work (passing boxes, dressing in shitty grey overalls). Similarly, despite being (presumably) more comfortable working alone, he’s also at ease with giving orders and coordinating large groups of people.

Now, moving onto the last time Yassen shows up in Stormbreaker. This is right at the end of the book after Alex successfully foils the plot of the big bad (Herod Sayle), only to get kidnapped by him while his guard is down. Sayle takes them to a rooftop where a helicopter is coming to whisk Sayle away, but first he wants to have some revenge...

"That’s my ticket out of here!” Sayle continued. “They’ll never find me! And one day I’ll be back. Next time, nothing will go wrong. And you won’t be here to stop me. This is the end for you! This is where you die!”

There was nothing Alex could do. Sayle raised the gun and took aim, his eyes wide, the pupils blacker than they had ever been, mere pinpricks in the bulging white.

There were two small explosive cracks.

Alex looked down, expecting to see blood. There was nothing. He couldn’t feel anything. Then Sayle staggered and fell onto his back. There were two gaping holes in his chest.

The helicopter landed in the center of the cross. The pilot got out.

Still holding the gun that had killed Herod Sayle, he walked over and examined the body, prodding it with his shoe. Satisfied, he nodded to himself, tucking the gun away. He had switched off the engine of the helicopter and behind him the blades slowed down and stopped. Alex stepped forward. The man seemed to notice him for the first time.

"You’re Yassen Gregorovich,” Alex said.

The Russian nodded. It was impossible to tell what was going on in his head. His clear blue eyes gave nothing away.

"Why did you kill him?” Alex asked.

“Those were my instructions.” There was no trace of an accent in his voice. He spoke softly, reasonably. “He had become an embarrassment. It was better this way."

"Not better for him.”

Yassen shrugged.

“What about me?” Alex asked.

The Russian ran his eyes over Alex, as if weighing him up. “I have no instructions concerning you,” he said.

"You’re not going to shoot me too?”

"Do I have any need to?”

There was a pause. The two of them gazed at each other over the corpse of Herod Sayle.

“You killed Ian Rider,” Alex said. “He was my uncle.”

Yassen shrugged. “I kill a lot of people"

“One day I’ll kill you.”

“A lot of people have tried.” Yassen smiled. “Believe me,” he said, “it would be better if we didn’t meet again. Go back to school. Go back to your life. And the next time they ask you, say no. Killing is for grown-ups and you’re still a child.”

He turned his back on Alex and climbed into the cabin. The blades started up, and a few seconds later, the helicopter rose back into the air. For a moment it hovered at the side of the building. Behind the glass, Yassen raised his hand. A gesture of friendship? A salute?

Alex raised his hand. The helicopter spun away.

Alex stood where he was, watching it, until it had disappeared in the dying light.

HOO BOY where to start! This is a longer scene compared to the rest but I love it so much, it’s probably the best part of Stormbreaker for me and obviously it’s fairly different from the show. I adore the last scene of the show since the tension was delightful, but this hit in a different way. Alex! And Yassen! Actually talking!!! It’s a sparse scene (like most of AH’s writing), but very atmospheric and loaded with meaning all the same.

Let’s start with the obvious stuff first - book!Yassen is fair-haired and blue-eyed (or grey, depending), and has a very measured way of speaking without any accent at all. He very much falls into the archetype of “inscrutable Russian assassin with a mysterious connection to the protagonist” and it’s delightful.

I do like the fact we only really see Yassen in person for two scenes in the entire book, and both times he kills someone ruthlessly and efficiently. (...yes, he did kill Sayle while piloting a helicopter) His reputation is well-deserved and I think the show does an excellent job with that too; every time we see Yassen on screen there’s a feeling that shit is about to go down and somebody is about to die.

The show also does a pretty good job hinting at the connection between Yassen and Alex (ughh Yassen’s expression when he sees Alex for the first time kills me every time). In Stormbreaker, Yassen does (initially) seem colder towards Alex, emotionless, just a man on a job. But even then, we get little hints of warmth shining through such as the way he smiles when Alex promises to kill him, and of course the salute! It’s pretty clear that Yassen has some measure of fondness for Alex, because no way an assassin would normally just let somebody go after they promised to kill him, even if that person is only a teenage boy (especially considering that teenage boy is driven by a desire to take revenge on his uncle’s killer). I also think it’s interesting that Alex reciprocates his salute. He’s clearly aware (even if only subconsciously) of the connection between the two of them.

Though I think what hits the hardest for me is the fact Yassen is the one to tell Alex that he belongs in school, that he’s a child and he shouldn’t be part of this world. Alex in the books is much, much lonelier compared to the show. There was no Jack or Tom there for him, since Jack was kept completely out of the loop and Tom doesn’t even exist in the book. Wolf and the K-Unit largely either ignored or bullied Alex. As for Blunt and Jones, Alex just saved thousands of kids in England yet the only thing MI6 tells him afterwards is that his actions can never be revealed to the public, his youth will make him useful for future missions, and then the only thing they give him is a doctor’s note(!!!) to explain his absence from school.

If that sounds all sorts of terrible and unfair, Alex agrees:

In the end the big difference between him and James Bond wasn’t a question of age. It was a question of loyalty. In the old days spies had done what they’d done because they loved their country, because they believed in what they were doing. But he’d never been given a choice.

Nowadays, spies weren’t employed. They were used.

And of all the people to point out how fucked up the whole situation is and how Alex needs to get out...it’s Yassen, the contract killer, his uncle’s murderer. And Yassen says it straight to Alex’s face instead of just making token protests about how wrong it is to send a teenage boy into danger and then doing it anyway. I think the moment had a fairly big impact on Alex, and I was sad it wasn’t included in the show, but ah well. Another time, maybe?

BONUS

OK i know this was meant to be a book vs tv show thing BUT I WOULD BE REMISS IN MY DUTIES NOT TO LINK TO THE LAST SCENE AS DEPICTED IN THE OLD MOVIE

‘2 minutes of questionable everything’ from the video description about sums it up. the violins. the closeness. the long lingering looks. “i’ll never forget you.”

Anyway, hope this was interesting and at least a bit informative! Do let me know there’s any interest in a part 2 of this post covering Eagle Strike and maybe a bit of Russian Roulette!

#alex rider #alex rider tv #yassen gregorovich #stormbreaker #anthony horowitz #meta #mild spoilers

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charmerquilled-aa · 3 years

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"What is your view on humans? Do you see any worth in humanity beyond the greed and selfishness most if not all humans have shown ?" {From League of legends AU Pranee}

“Now, that’s a mouthful of a question.” Attention was DRAWN back. Moments ago, his gaze had swept across her form like wind upon strands of grass. Pranee was INCREDIBLY fuzzy, oh how he wished he could pet her gorgeous mane. Although, he knew better than to bounce into the wrong dance with a creature such as this one. Dragons. Such proud and extravagant beasts. Respect had to be given to their incredible presence. But now he tapped one talon against the ground and arms crossed at the question at hand. Brows furrowed, and he allowed a heartbeat or two of momentary silence so he could think. He wonders what he should have for dinner tonight.

No. Not that thought! Focus. “Humans are complicated creatures. But aren’t we all? None of us are perfect.” He stated quite simply. Before Xayah, the golden illusionist frequented many human towns to perform. Much like some of his own kind, he encountered many rude pigs. If he had any say at the time, he would’ve roasted them upon a spit. Yeesh, he was hungry. Now he wanted bacon.

Much to his displeasure, those humans were the types who made him question his purpose. They made him feel worthless. A failure. As much as he liked attention, he absolutely loathed them for not taking his message to heart. They were tone deaf to the magic. Yes, there was a point the great Rakan, the bringer of peace and understanding of magic, started to RESENT humans as a whole. He was already losing his kind due to expansion and loss of magic, but he felt as if he couldn’t go back to his tribe after he had so boldly boasted he could make a change by himself.

He simply could not go back. That would be embarrassing. His tribe already had little faith and called him a Mu’takl - A blood traitor. To come back empty handed? He would be a laughing stock, and not in the ‘ha ha’ good way.

When the golden one joined Xayah’s cause, he was in his LOWEST of moments. Trapped within deep crevice, the Rebellion was his guiding light to place his heart back upon the right path. Funnily enough, it opened up opportunities for him to be re-introduced to the humanity that people showcased during times of war. He was re-introduced to their kindness. To their willingness to help at the expense of their own lives.

He doesn’t remember every face, and boy, was he bad at names. But he does remember the feeling of warmth that had bloomed like a rose within his heart.

Those were the humans that he saved from Xayah’s feather blades.

“ I feel there is a GLIMMER of hope for them. All the bad apples are the LOUDEST in comparison to the good people who are talked over or spat upon for their unique views. It causes them to work like mice underneath a cupboard. Unseen.” A finger gestured in a powerful manner, showing that his point was about to be wrapped up. “And that’s why our eyes are sometimes blind to the GOOD in humanity”

#praneedatu #&& Rakan ( V: MAIN )#&& Rakan getting deep on main?#&& It happens more than we think!!!#&& but thank you for the ask!!#&& This got hella long omg #&& He had a lot to think about

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shemakesmusic-uk · 3 years

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As JUNO-nominated singer Kandle Osborne prepares to launch her new project, Set The Fire this spring, she shares the album’s third single, 'Misty Morning.' From being penned on a napkin while abroad to a Vancouver studio, 'Misty Morning' is a sonic journey that echoes soulful vulnerability and an honest reflection of realizing true love. For the video, Kandle reconnects with 'Honey Trap' director, Brandon William Fletcher, to create classic 40s noir-inspired cine-magic, filmed along the Vancouver coastline and within the lush landscape of Stanley Park. Kandle says: “‘Misty Morning’ is my first real love song, captured on a napkin while in Ischia, Italy when I was truly happy. My songwriting usually comes from a place of turmoil and catharsis, but this was simply a snapshot of a perfect, vulnerable moment. In recording it, I wanted to hide behind lush orchestration, but my producer/ best friend Michael Rendall had other ideas. He wanted to strip it down to just piano & a single vocal to take me out of my comfort zone and re-capture the open-hearted feelings I had while writing it. The song and the recording both hold for me a time when I dropped my guard for pure authentic love in spite of all my flaws and failures. In that moment, I felt my true value as a whole person for the first time.”

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On 'Vertigo,' Alice Merton’s first single of 2021, the 27-year-old describes the long road from uncertainty back to self-confidence. It emphasizes the unrest that seizes her again and again, the thought: “Why can’t I just let it go?” These contradicting thoughts and emotions that are so familiar to all of us sum up to an overwhelmingly positive effect - 'Vertigo' leaves you empowered rather than anxious: A powerful indie pop arrangement with distorted guitars, plus Alice Merton’s crystal-clear voice. The result is reminiscent of the British Invasion, with no air of self-doubt. With its energetic live qualities, 'Vertigo' feeds an appetite for summer festivals and concerts that will definitely return at some point. Largely responsible for this is the Canadian producer Koz, a multiple Grammy nominee, who has worked with Dua Lipa ('Physical') among others. Here, too, he adds on to what has already made Alice Merton stand out from the crowd in the past - her classic pop appeal - with an uncompromising and indie attitude. This enables Alice to take another big step: She equally encourages a shaken generation and herself that there will be easy summers again. That you can dance again and lie in each other's arms. That it is absolutely fine to have many facets, to not always be clear, and that strength and weakness are not mutually exclusive.

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Canadian artist Olivia Lunny's new release 'Sad To See You Happy' is a shamelessly poppy track centering an acutely relatable break-up narrative. The Canadian artist follows up her breakthrough success with a bouncy cut to soundtrack 2021’s long-awaited spring. There's a relatable tale of break-up at the heart of the gloriously poppy new single, belied by percussive instrumentation that creates a warm, nostalgic feel. [via Line Of Best Fit]

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After sharing the single last month, Charlotte Adigéry is now revealing the brand new video for ‘Bear With Me (and I’ll stand bare before you)’. The first new music since her 2019 debut EP Zandoli, Charlotte says of the video, “The video is about being confined thus confronted to the way we live. The cruel irony of having the privilege of standing still, questioning and observing my life in all safety while others are fighting for theirs. On the other hand, the video is about trying to stay sane while feeling that the walls are closing in on you. Embracing boredom and finding joy in the little things in life.” Director Alice Kunisue adds, “When I listened to Charlotte’s song and what it meant for her and Bolis, I wanted the video to visually encapsulate that feeling of being stuck inside and confronted to our deeper selves while paradoxically sensing the chaos going on in the outside world without being able to do anything about it. Choosing to film an apartment room from one single angle was a way to reflect that narrowness of thought that we all experienced, but also a constraint that allowed us to explore and develop visual ideas within a narrow system, in a way having to think only inside the box, which artistically was a fun challenge.” [via DIY]

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Millie Turner has shared a video for ‘Concrete Tragedy’. It’s a cut from her upcoming mini-album Eye Of The Storm, set for release on May 16, which also features a rework of breakout song ‘(Breathe) Underwater’. “This video is a visual representation of dancing on your own,” she says of the clip. “Combining the many parts of who we are when we’re by ourselves, I wanted it to feel like you’re entering a world of imagination that comes alive when we express ourselves.” [via Dork]

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Doja Cat and SZA have come together for a new single called 'Kiss Me More.' When the song was announced Wednesday night, the internet flipped out, which is to be expected with these two — especially Doja Cat, who is regularly going viral these days for all kinds of reasons. When it comes to collaborations, she always finds the best people. That includes Saweetie, who appeared on Doja’s recent 'Best Friend' but then claimed that it was released against her wishes. Given SZA’s long history of public frustration over TDE Records holding back her new album, she is probably happy to have any new music out. Despite recent single 'Good Days' hitting the top 10, her restless fanbase is still awaiting a follow-up to 2017’s iconic Ctrl. 'Kiss Me More' is the first single from Doja’s new album Planet Her, scheduled for release this summer. It returns to the disco vibes of Doja’s #1 hit 'Say So,' this time with no apparent resemblance to any Skylar Spence song. [via Stereogum]

#videos of the week #wallice #kita #dance lessons #laurel smith #laica #emily c. browning #holly humberstone #crumb #st. vincent #sour widows #kandle #alice merton #olivia lunny #charlotte adigery #millie turner #doja cat #sza

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diyunho · 5 years

Text

The Joker x Reader - “Darkness”

The Messengers of Darkness have a clear purpose: to always create havoc and destruction no matter where they go. Lately one of them slowed down for a weird reason: the entity fell in love with a mortal. Such transgression is bound to attract unwanted attention from its peers, yet the Dark One posing as The Joker won’t let anything stand between his kind and the woman he will protect at all costs.

The sound of distant thunder makes you snuggle to The Joker’s chest; you feel your forehead being kissed before another rumble disrupts the gloomy dawn.

“Is there a storm coming?” you yawn and open one eye. “Should we close the windows?”

“No, it’s fine,” J replies, carefully listening to hidden whispers scattered in the breeze making its way around Gotham.

“Ok…” you mumble and pull the covers higher until your nose sticks out from behind the thickest comforter. Your steady breathing queues J you’re dozing off again and he rolls out of bed, displeased about the unwanted presence he senses nearby.

“I know you’re here,” he growls while sniffing the air.

A low humming confirms his suspicion and The Clown Prince of Crime sneaks outside on the terrace in order to greet the emissary sent with a clear assignment.

“Why are you hiding?” the question echoes in the quietness. “Show yourself!”

“I’m not hiding.”

As soon as the words are spoken, the sinister apparition materializes in front of The Joker: it has human shape, yet is made only of Darkness. The being and its counterpart posing as The Clown Prince of Crime were born from the same abyss: one could say that makes them siblings, although the notion of family doesn’t exist in the Shadow Realm.

“What do you want?” J mutters, unhappy his early morning is interrupted by a visitor bearing ill news.

He can tell.

“The High Council demands your attendance for a meeting.”

“Regarding?” the green haired King bites on his cheek, already guessing on the answer.

“Your relationship with the mortal.”

J is watching the lightning chaotically striking inside the creature’s body since The Dark Ones are in a permanent state of mayhem: their blackness is carried within and enables them to travel between different dimensions.

“What relationship?” The Joker huffs, pretending to brush off any attachment that’s out of character for his kin.

“I was told you slowed down your activities in the past six months after you’ve met the woman.”

“I didn’t slow down. I’m actually planning for more anarchy,” the explanation prompts advice from the entity:

“I hope you won’t dare lie to the members of The Council like this; they will immediately know just like I know.”

The Joker exhales, glaring at the grey clouds above.

“What are you doing anyway?” the wraith lectures out of pure spite. “We don’t engage with these maggots; they’re useless and their lives are gone in a blink of an eye! We’re immortals and unstoppable, designed for a simple purpose: to reign this miserable planet and ensure its doom! So I’m asking: what are you doing?!”

For the first time in the whole eternity, he doesn’t have a reason for his behavior.

“I can’t rationalize what I feel,” J approaches the specter, “but allow me to demonstrate,” he transforms into the wretched monster that he truly is, identical to the one standing before him.

There is a big difference though: the fire bolts illuminating his frame are not randomly striking at once, they keep on hitting the same spots in a very organized pattern.

“What… what is this?!!” the uncanny sister marvels at the view.

“Not sure, it happens when I’m around Y/N. Here, you can feel it also,” he takes her right hand and places it on his chest.

She gasps at the unexpected sensation: quietness. Complete quietness; no crazy havoc, no evil thoughts, no urge to kill.

“How did you do this?!!!” she inquires, dumbfounded.

“I have no clue,” The Joker reclaims his human shell, waiting for her to snap out of trance.

“The Council won’t like this,” the evident truth is spoken aloud. “How did you even connect with the girl on such a level?!”

J lifts his shoulders up, confused.

“I really have no idea.”

Awkward stillness.

“We must leave,” the apparition urges a troubled Joker; it’s strange for him to worry about someone and for the moment he’s concerned about you while dreading the encounter with his kin:

How did a twisted devil like him actually learn the definition of such complicated emotions? How can he justify such abomination to his peers?

It most than likely won’t end well because The Council is already suspicious regarding his bizarre actions.

“I’ll return shortly,” he snarls. “I have to say goodbye.”

*************

You stretch under his weight, J yanking at the sheets to expose your face.

“I have an emergency meeting,” he grumbles in your ear.

“Baaaby…”, you cuddle to his neck half snoozing. “Can I take a shower and join you?”

“No… Stay in bed; I promise I’ll come back for you.”

Y/N smiles, totally oblivious at the meaning.

“You’d better Mister J; your girlfriend might get cold and she’ll need company,” you pout and he stands up, bending over to kiss you.

“I will,” the grin disappears from his face as your eyelids close; he wishes he could linger on the premises yet the messy situation requires hasty measures. Another kiss and he vanishes into thin air, abandoning the woman at The Penthouse.

You sigh in your sleep, the sudden cold gust of wind filling up the room. In a few minutes the chillness intensifies and Y/N is unaware of the grave danger she’s in: another Dark Messenger is there to annihilate the target she became after changing the laws of nature.

The meeting with The High Council was a pretext to send your protector away; The Shadow known as The Joker is a powerful entity among his kind and they didn’t want to risk any trouble. Your faith was sealed the second you bonded with him and although you aren’t guilty of anything, it doesn’t matter: you are guilty to them and that’s the sole logic they bow to.

Invisible to the human eye, the enemy is near: it watches you turn on your side, wondering what’s so damn special about an average mortal; nothing peculiar to indicate you could create trouble and switch the balance hanging in their favor. A woman like so many others.

And yet unique in a way The Dark Ones will never understand.

The wraith awaits for a little bit longer: your guardian has to be far, thus he won’t have an opportunity to save his cherished human. Ten extra minutes… fifteen…twenty…thirty…

The creature unravels his claws, quickly closing the distance between the two of you. Another step and it’s here, smelling your scent with disgust.

“Repulsive being…” he sneers, touching the lump of skin and bones peacefully resting without a care in the universe.

There is no warning, no escape: your body instantly disintegrates, the silver ashes flying on the pillows you were hugging.

The specter chuckles at the sweet victory, reckoning the reward for its mighty deed will be greatly remembered in the centuries to come.

If only…

Ironically enough your demise will set things in motion unseen neither in the world of the living or the Shadow Realm: the ordinary girl might have been just a grain of sand passing through infinity, but they forgot one important detail: she was HIS GIRL.

************

The two companions are almost reaching their final destination at the end of the 7th Gate of Darkness, when the twisted spirit posing as J halts.

“Something is wrong,” he mumbles, the unbearable emotion of impending doom growing stronger.

“What is it?” his escort curiously inquires as the lightning inside his celestial shape strikes chaotically again: no more steady pattern since you are gone.

“Something is very wrong; I can’t feel her anymore!” he shrieks, preparing for an interdimensional jump. “I’m going back!”

“We’re practically home; I’m sure she’s fine,” the soothing lies have the exact opposite effect. “We are expected and The Council hates delays.”

“I don’t care! I’m going back!”

“Wait, I’m coming too!” she offers because the whole charade points out at the ugly reality: they used her to lure him out of the nest without sharing their plan.

************** Ten minutes… fifteen…twenty…thirty…

“I told you I can’t feel her anymore…” his sister hears as soon as she catches up to him in the master bedroom where you were left to nap. “Did you know about this?”

He keeps on caressing the soot scattered on the blankets, numb to her sentences:

“I didn’t know! They just entrusted me with an easy mission and I obeyed. I was only told to bring you in front of Council for questioning; they didn’t share the bigger picture with me.”

The more she defends her innocence, the more her voice fades within the infernal ruckus shaking the building from the ground up.

“Ummm… What are you doing?!” she asks even if she can sense his intentions.

The decorative objects scattered around The Penthouse shatter into tiny particles drifting towards The Joker and he buries his face in the lifeless ashes on the bed, the only proof you were once there.

“You can’t do that!” she screams over the deafening commotion. “You can’t turn back time, it’s forbidden!”

“I want her back!!!!”

“Stop!!!! You can’t control it! You’ll lose your powers for the transgression; how will you even find her?! You’ll end up before you’ve ever met and she won’t know you!”

“That’s my burden to worry about, not yours!” the Dark One hisses amidst the hellish storm created in order to reset The Clock: the sands of time are moving backwards and he doesn’t care about consequences.

It’s better to take the risk and try to recover the lost connection than endure ages of solitude in the eternal murkiness.

*************

You drag your feet on the concrete, squeezing the bag full of groceries to your chest; three more blocks and you’ll finally be home after another exhausting day at work. You keep on admiring the nice clothes and shoes exhibited by the chic boutiques on Main Street: that’s all you can afford anyway….lots of window shopping.

You manage not to cry at the harsh disappointment of finding yourself in a desperate situation courtesy of your boyfriend Mark; I guess ex-boyfriend to be more specific. God knows how difficult it was to save money together for almost a year for a downpayment on a condo situated in a better neighborhood since this one is going downhill!

And the unthinkable happened: you had another terrible fight thus he took his stuff and moved out the following week. You were at work so Mark came to gather his last items; he was supposed to leave the spare key, take half of the money prepared for him and flee. But he didn’t have the decency to split the cash: he snatched his envelope and also searched for your share hidden under the stairs, grabbed it and skipped town.

All ten thousand dollars and the hope for a better future is gone; right when you think you know someone… damn…

Why do you have to be stuck in this district you hate?! So many weirdos popping at every corner, for example the creep that just stopped behind you. You can discern his reflection in the glass: a strange man with toxic green hair, his mouth slightly opened like this is the first time he sees a woman. Jesus!

You shiver at the view, taking one last glance at the pair of earrings displayed by “Zales Jewelry Company”. Maybe if you speed up the guy won’t be able to track you in the crowd. Or maybe you’re paranoid and a glass of wine in the safety of your apartment will make you laugh at how stupid you are while watching a movie on the couch. And then you’ll probably sobb until you doze off…

Every few moments you look to ensure he’s not pursuing; the spooky man gave out an unsettling vibe you can’t shake off. Although you’re dead tired, you find the energy to hurry and you’re finally home.

You place the grocery bag on the counter and freeze: the anxiety you felt earlier is crawling back in your heart. Oh, you know why: did you lock the door?

You instinctively glare at the exit, concealing a scream: the individual you saw earlier sneaked inside! He’s staring you down and it clicks: the mace in your purse! If you can get to it before he does, you could have a better chance of escaping the intruder.

You count to three in your head, gathering your courage; you rush for your handbag yet the guy is faster: he cuts you off and pulls you in his arms, tightening the grip as you fight to break free. You are completely terrified when he swiftly kisses you; you struggle to escape but you realize he’s not attempting to do anything else. He loosens his embrace, still firmly holding on to Y/N’s waist.

Does it sound insane that his touch feels familiar?!

You part from his lips and gaze at the hypnotic blue eyes, faintly whispering:

“Who are you?...”

The devilish smirk gets wider as he utters the words:

“My name is Jay.”