#it started from business partners and now that we're at that level when one of us needs space we just let them alone

[justporo]

To always meet again

Astarion - being as sneaky as the rogue he is - presents you wíth a present. Probably the best you could have imagined.

MASTERLIST | AO3

Author's Note: Written for the "Found Family" prompt of the BG3 Winter Holiday challenge and I'm putting it also down for "Ornaments". Alright folks, we're closing out the Winter Challenge with some big happy feelings! Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate and also lovely, peaceful days to everyone else!

Pairing: Astarion/GN!Tav (You) Warnings: none Wordcount: 2,2k ~~~

Astarion finally decided you’d had enough of a break and led you back home. Your former gloominess you found to your own surprise had subsided. The vampire really had figured out quite well, what might drag you out of a bad mood.

This time it had been taking you on a stroll through the snowy city and just blabbering away while you had eyed the massive snow drifts at the side of the roads, wondering if maybe throwing yourself in one would make your thoughts and anxiety stop racing.

But of course Astarion had noticed and stopped you. With a firm hold around your shoulders he had dragged you away from an especially tall heap of snow and mumbled something about how he hoped you’d know to behave like someone above the age of five.

That had annoyed you and made you pout. And after a while his grip on your shoulders had loosened again because he had believed you'd come to your senses - fool!

You had fallen a few steps behind while the vampire had kept rambling while still trying to distract you from your worries.

When he had been busy rattling off all the reasons why he thought you were incredible and why you shouldn’t worry as much, he’d realised that you weren’t beside him anymore. WIth searching eyes he’d turned around: “Love? Please don’t tell me you’re trying to drown yourself in snow - I’m not dragg-” The rest of the sentence had been interrupted by a snowball smacking the vampire straight in the face.

He had hissed at you angrily while you had simply cackled - which had made Astarion even more angry. Almost too quick for you to see had he then grabbed some snow himself and fired back with impeccable aim.

What had followed had been a fierce snowball fight with lots of laughter and teasing mockery - up until Astarion had grabbed you and dragged you down with him into a huge pile of snow, making you screech and then laugh. You had gotten what you had wanted after all.

Still laughing had you gotten up again and started to make your way home while trying to shake the snow off your clothes and out of your hair. Your face had become a lively pink colour and Astarion had gleamed with admiration and love.

But now as you stood at the steps to your front door you felt some of the worries and anxiety creep back up again. You felt a bit of weight settle uncomfortably in your chest again and you hesitated going up the steps as Astarion was already up and unlocking the door.

When your partner realised that you’d been hesitating he turned around to observe you standing there like a statue and biting your lip because the negative thoughts were already getting the better of you once more.

“My love, we’re not even back inside and all my hard work to cheer you up was already laid to waste? Look, I’m still covered in snow even!” Astarion pouted and stopped halfway through unlocking the door.

He was trying to lighten the mood but when you only looked at him with a pained expression the mocking glint in his red eyes softened.

He stepped down the couple of steps until he was on eye level with you again. His smile was genuine now.

“Darling, I promise you won’t have to worry”, he said softly and cupped your cheek that was tinted a light pink from the cold. Astarion’s thumb wandered over your cheek repeatedly, brushing your worries away one by one, while he looked at you with incredible gentleness in his eyes. It was one of those looks that had the power to make your heart stutter for a moment.

The vampire leaned forward, lightly lifting your face up to his and planted a quick kiss on your lips. And immediately when he broke away you grabbed his hand still cupping your face and then made to stand on your tiptoes again to steal a second kiss - this one longer and quickly becoming something chasing the cold from the weather away.

After a while Astarion withdrew while he was clearing his throat - was he flustered?

The vampire’s eyes flicked from yours to behind you and then quickly back to you. A nonchalant grin was already on his lips again.

But you smelled that something was going on. Your brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. You threw a glance over your shoulder but nothing was there - just your tall living room window with some ice creeping up its corners.

Or wait - you could see some light from the fireplace. That definitely hadn’t been lit when you had left. Had Gale started a fire?

Something was definitely fishy - and you weren’t particularly fond of it.

You turned back around and stared at Astarion judgmentally while putting your hands on your hips.

The vampire immediately became defensive: “What? What have I done now?”

“I don’t know yet, but I’ll preemptively let you know: I’m not up for jesting tonight, Astarion.”

Your partner snorted in offence and mirrored your pose while he pouted: “Why must you always be so judgemental, my heart? You didn’t get that from me, did you?” You saw the grin dragging up one corner of his mouth despite his offended tone.

With a quick step forward Astarion planted another small kiss onto the top of your nose - immediately you remembered a moment some weeks ago, when the first snow had fallen. The smile that now found its way onto your lips was inevitable as you were reminded of how you’d kissed a snow flake off the annoyed vampire’s nose.

“Everything will be quite alright, my love”, Astarion promised you with a big grin right then and there. And then with a wink turned fleet-footedly to take the few steps back up to the front door again. With a hand lightly placed on your back he pushed you along.

Astarion flung the door open wide and pushed you inside in a manner you found a bit overly dramatic - you were quite capable of walking back inside yourself.

And you were ready to tell your vampire as much when you realised there were people standing in your hallway - and quite a lot too.

“Uhm”, you helplessly made and took in the scene.

Before you stood each and every one of your companions - all beaming brightly at you. Well except maybe for Lae’zel who was wearing her perpetual snarl - but even that seemed softened right now as she looked at you.

All of them were here, cramped into the hallway up to the archway to the living room. You had turned into a statue once more, only capable of staring at all of your friends in surprise.

“Hey soldier”, Karlach said with an impossibly broad grin and then she simply stepped forward and enveloped you into an almost bone crushing hug, that lifted you straight off your feet. “I missed you so much!” the tiefling exclaimed while she pressed you against her own body.

You could barely breathe and were almost sure you heard her sniffle while she buried her face in your hair and softly swayed you from side to side, but you couldn’t be happier. Your heart was swelling with warmth and love as simultaneously all worry that had consumed so much of your energy today up until now was driven out of it.

When she set you down again the floodgates had been opened. Almost all of them took their turns wrapping you in their arms while Astarion closed the front door behind you and quickly helped you out of your cloak.

The smug grin on his face you noticed out of the corner of your eye before you got wrapped in another crushing hug by Halsin immediately told you that he had something to do with all of this. But for the moment you were busy happily greeting all of your friends.

Only when everyone had greeted you and the entryway of your cosy home was buzzing with chatter and laughter did you turn around to Astarion who in an uncommon manner for him had taken a step back and was just watching you and the others with a content smile.

“So, what’s your involvement in all of this?”, you asked your vampire while raising an eyebrow questioningly at him.

Immediately, Astarion started an overly dramatic act, behaving much more like you were used to again.

“Who? Me?” he asked and elegantly but with exaggeration placed his hand on his chest as if he was being accused of a dire crime.

You cocked your head at him.

Astarion simply shrugged as he began to grin again.

“I was just - you know me, darling - very convincing”, your partner replied while his grin became almost a bit predatory.

“Convincing, yes,” Lae’zel took up the conversation. You threw a glance at her over your shoulder and saw how she had narrowed her eyes at Astarion while the others around her were mostly busy with idle chatter.

“He threatened to gut us if we’d dare to not show up here for this ridiculous holiday festivity”, the githyanki hissed.

“Oh, Lae’zel, you’re so bitter. Don’t say it wasn’t an invitation after your own liking”, Astarion exclaimed cheerfully as he stepped up to you and put an arm around you. The githyanki just gave him another death stare while the vampire kept up his unfaltering smile.

“You also kept us waiting long enough”, Shadowheart chimed in with pursed lips. “And then on top of that you also made us watch you make out on the front steps,” she continued and you saw how her eyebrow jumped up in annoyance.

Your eyes widened and a blush crept onto your face as you realised that that must have been what (or rather whom) Astarion had seen when you had kissed on the front steps. The cleric just shrugged at your reaction and you saw that she was suppressing a laugh.

“Yeah, gods be damned, get a room, right?”, Karlach barged into the conversation and started laughing immediately while you felt your face grow even hotter. It had been a while since you and Astarion had been called out by your companions about your lovey-dovey behaviour. And obviously you weren’t used to it anymore.

“I’ll happily remind you, Karlach, that all of these are our rooms and you are merely guests here”, Astarion retorted while he wrapped his arm firmer around you and pressed a quick kiss to your lips and then - before you could even react - slapped your butt. Which earned him another howling fit of laughter from Karlach and some sensible chuckles all around while Shadowheart and Lae’zel looked ready to throw up.

Still in his embrace you felt how your face must’ve become even redder. You turned to Astarion, ready to wipe his smug grin off his face. But he swiftly stepped out of your reach.

“Apropos, guests, my love,” he began and quickly brought some distance in between you two.

“Don’t you want to invite our guests to sit down for dinner”, Astarion quickly continued and motioned towards your living room with an outstretched arm.

You were trying to protest - nothing was prepared there yet.

But when you stepped over your words died on your lips.

The living room looked like a winter paradise. Small mage lights were dancing all around the room making it sparkle. Holly, mistletoes and even whole fir branches seemed to have sprouted from the walls and the ceiling. And when you stepped into what you had thought was your living room you were irritated by the crunching noise that your footsteps made. Looking down you realised that the floor was covered in a layer of snow - even though you were inside. You could barely believe it.

The whole room looked almost like it had been teleported to a wintery forest. Only the furniture and the tall living room window with a view of the outside were reminders that you were still inside.

Your mouth fell open in disbelief. And then you took in the centre piece: in the middle of the room stood a huge banquet table decked with space for everyone, all the dishes you and Gale had prepared and lots more of wintery decor and candelabra that threw their warm light onto everything.

It looked magical and you immediately knew you had a certain wizard to thank for that - and of course your vampire who had made sure that everything would turn out perfectly.

The others who seemingly had already taken in the wondrously decorated room came swarming around you then, taking up spots at the table.

When Gale passed you, you shortly grabbed and squeezed his hand in passing to thank him. He winked back at you kind of awkwardly before he went to sit down.

For a moment you stood there and took in the scene while Astarion stood beside you, looping his arm around your waist once more.

All of your friends here, laughing, talking while the love of your life was by your side. This was absolutely the best of all possible outcomes. Your chest swelled with happiness and your eyes with tears as you took it in a moment longer before you turned to your soulmate who was softly and adoringly smiling at you.

“Thank you,” you whispered so silently it was almost inaudible.

“No,” Astarion whispered back and leaned in close, touching his forehead to yours, “thank you for everything that brought all of us here.”

And to that you had nothing more to add.

Tag list: @spacebarbarianweird @sunfire-ancunin @tragedybunny @dependsonthedream @tallymonster @magazzne @micropoe10 @aoirohi @my-bunny-prince @lumienyx @fayeriess @darlingxdragon

#astarion #baldur's gate 3 #astarion ancunin #fanfiction #astarion x tav #bg3 spoilers #baldur's gate iii #baldurs gate #astarion x mc #astarion x oc #bg3holidayfluffle23 #astarion x you #astarion x reader #bg3 #halsin #karlach #laezel #shadowheart #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep

[onehundredandeleventropicalfish]

every so often i see people complaining that the rules that govern the endless are unfair and shouldn't exist, and it's always just kinda funny, bc im here like oh you do NOT want to get rid of the rules, trust me

is it unfair that desire gets away with so much bc they're the only one willing to break the rules? yeah, probably. but the solution to that is more rules, not less, because we're dealing with 7 immortal siblings who've been around since the dawn of time and have the maturity levels of teenagers

and in that context all of the rules make so much sense

like there's probably more rules than we know about, but let's focus on the main three - no loving mortals, no interfering in each others' affairs, no spilling family blood

1) endless can't love mortals. the one rule we know was instated later than the rest, almost entirely because of dream. for two reasons. the more obvious is that dream and desire are never gonna stop fighting, and when you put a mortal in the way of that, they are almost definitely gonna get murdered or worse. but also, there's lifespans to consider. not every dead mortal can end up in the dreaming, and not all of them want to. dream dating someone mortal means at some point, he is going to outlive them, that's not in question. and dream... doesn't take loss well. he stood outside in the rain without moving for three weeks when thessaly left, and they'd only been dating a few months. and then we have lucien's word on what happened after nada...

if the dreaming entirely comes to a halt for weeks or years or centuries after a girlfriend leaves him, dream grieving an actual death of a partner is actively dangerous. you can't stop dream from dating, and from those relationships going poorly, but at least it has a much higher chance of being a mutual breakup if death has been taken out of the equation

(and, you know, might as well make it a universal rule, both just in case, and so dream isn't constantly aware that this one was made because of him)

2) no interfering in the affairs of other endless. think, for a second, about the sibling rivalries in this family. and that's just the ones that exist now, when several of them have had a chance to grow up - it's said they were all a lot more immature and prideful, even death, back in the day (she grew into the older sister position).

i saw someone say once that everything in the dcu makes sense when you consider that the universe is being run by seven warring siblings, and honestly i'm inclined to agree! they're all a mess

but at least they're messes that mostly leave each other alone. which means their domains are at least protected by the fact that they all individually care about what they were created to do - there's only one person making decisions and that person generally wants the best for those that enter their domain

death in the show talks about how when she was young, she had a hard time seeing her purpose, because everyone seemed to hate her and she didn't know what to do about it. what she says in the comics is that she did stop. once it really started to get to her, she refused to collect souls. no one and nothing died. and it was only through realising how much more that was hurting the world that she started to learn how to be okay with it

when any of them stop or get distracted or kept away from their jobs, it's the mortals who suffer. and even if they all meant well, which they often don't, have you ever tried running important projects with seven people leading? at best, it slows you down, at worst it can ruin the project entirely. given how much they try to tell each other how to live their lives already, if they were allowed to get up in each others' business, you might as well be jamming up the cogs of the universe

3) can't spill family blood. so, it's easy to look at that and see orpheus, and rose walker, and all the traps that dream almost or did fall into. but as far as i'm aware, other than orpheus and unity's descendants, we don't know of any other kids of the endless, and those were all pretty recent, on a universal scale. honestly, given how dream is the only hopeless romantic of the family, i'd be willing to bet orpheus was the first. so it's extremely unlikely when this rule was put into place that children were on anyone's mind. time and night are on such a cosmic scale of power i don't think even all of the endless combined could kill one of them. which means this rule is about each other

and given everything we just said about interfering with each other, can you imagine if they were allowed to kill each other? because endless reincarnate, death amongst their family would lose all meaning. you could kill one of your siblings for annoying you and get back a potentially less annoying version of them almost immediately. but every time you did that, you'd be disrupting the functions of the universe. and with siblings like dream and desire, who don't see the other's domain as important at all, they wouldn't care. if they'd been doing it since the start, it's possible none of them would see that as a bad thing

you'd have the universe falling apart before it could even really begin. and they might not even notice

#sandman comic spoilers #dream of the endless #death of the endless #desire of the endless #delirium of the endless #destiny of the endless #despair of the endless #destruction of the endless #mine #meta

[layce2015]

Supernatural (Dean Winchester x Female!Reader)

Crossroad Blues

Masterlist

"So much for our low profile. You've got a warrant in St. Louis, and now you're officially in the Fed's database." Sam said as we sit at a table in a diner and Sam was looking through his computer. "Dude, I'm like Dillinger or something." Dean said, grinning. "Dean, it's not funny. Makes the job harder, we've gotta be more careful now." I said to him and he shrugs.

"Well, what do they got on you two?" He asked Sam looks through the computer. "I'm sure they just haven't posted it yet." He mutters. "No accessory? Nothing?" Dean asked. "Shut up." Sam growls and Dean starts to laugh. "You're jealous." He said. "No, I'm not!" Sam said, angrily. "Uh-huh. All right. What do you got on the case there, you innocent, harmless young man, you?" Dean asked and I roll my eyes and shake my head.

Sam shuts his computer, annoyed, and pulls out several pages of research. "Architect Sean Boyden plummeted to his death from the roof of his home, a condominium he designed." Sam said as Dean and I look through the pages. "Hmm. Build a high-rise and jump off the top of it. That's classy. When did he call animal control?" Dean said. "Two days earlier." Sam replied.

"Did he actually say Black Dog?" I asked him. "Yeah. A vicious, wild, black dog. The authorities couldn't find it, no one else saw it; in fact, the authorities are a little confused as to how a wild dog could get past the doorman, take the elevator up and start roaming the halls of the cushiest joint in town. After that, no more calls, he doesn't show up for work, two days later he takes a swan dive." Sam replied.

"Do you think we're dealing with an actual Black Dog?" Dean asked. "Well, maybe." Sam said, shrugging. "What's the lore on the Hound of the Baskerville?" I asked and Sam chuckles a bit at this as he passes some pages to us. "It's all pretty vague. I mean, there are spectral black dogs all over the world, but...some say they're animal spirits, others say death omens. But anyways, whatever they are, they're big, nasty..." Sam said as Dean flips to a picture of a large black dog.

"Yeah, I bet they could hump the crap outta your leg, look at that one, huh?" He said as he holds up the picture and smirks. I let out a snort while Sam glares at us, making Dean's smirk slip. "What? They could." Dean said.

In a posh, well-lit room, the boys and I were wearing suits and interviewing a man about Sean Boyden. "So, you and Sean Boyden were business partners for almost ten years, right?" Sam asked him. "That's right. Now one more time, this is for...?" The man said, suspiciously, before I talk over him. "A tribute to Mr. Boyden. Architectural Digest." I said and the man laughs.

"This funny to you?" Dean asked him. "No, it...it's just, a tribute. Yeah. See, Sean always got the tributes. He kills himself, leaves me and his family behind...well, he gets another tribute." He said. "Right. Any idea why he'd do such a thing?" Sam asked. "I, I have no clue, I mean he lived a charmed life." The man replied.

"How so?" I asked him. "He was a flat-out genius. I mean, I'm capable, but next to him, I...and it wasn't always that way, either." The man replied. "No?" We said, questionable. "You wanna know the truth? There was a time where he couldn't even design a pup tent. Hell, ten years ago he's working as a bartender at this place called Lloyds. A complete dive." The man said.

"Right. So what changed?" Sam asked and the man shrugs. "You got me. But overnight, he gets this huge commission, and he starts designing...he starts designing the most ingenious buildings anyone has ever seen. It was like, the level of Van Gogh, and Mozart..." then the man cuts off abruptly.

"What?" Dean asked him. "It's funny. True geniuses, they seem to die young, don't they? To have that kind of talent? Why...why just throw it away?" The man asked us.

Later, Dean exits the Animal Protection Agency, still wearing the suit. Sam and I were waiting in the car and DeN gets in the driver's side. "So." We said. "Secretary's name is Carly. She's twenty three, she, uh, kayaks, and they're real." Dean said and Sam let's out a sigh as I flick Dean's ear. 

"Ow!" He exclaimed and I glare at him. "You didn't happen to ask her if she's seen any black dogs lately, did you?" I asked him and he holds up a page. "Every complaint called in this week about anything big, black, or dog-like. There's nineteen calls in all. And, uh..." he said as he pulls off a Post-it note. "I don't know what this thing is." He said.

Sam takes it, reads it, and laughs then glances at Dean "You mean Carly's MySpace address?" Sam said, smiling, while Dean and I look at him, confused. "What the hell is that?" I asked and Sam laughs again. "Seriously, is that like some sort of porn site?" Dean asked with a smile. "Is everything in your world linked to porn?" I asked him, annoyed. Dean looks up, thinking, then said. "Yeah." I shake my head, annoyed, while Sam chuckles.

Afterwhile, we approach another white suburban door and knock. "I swear, if this is another freakin' Pomeranian barking in the neighbor's yard..." Dean grumbles. "Aw, don't worry, I'll protect you from the big, bad Pomeranian." I said in a mocking voice and Dean glares at me as the door opens to reveal a young woman.

"Afternoon, ma'am." Dean said as we pull out our ID. "Uh, Animal Control." He said. "Oh, someone already came yesterday." She said to us. "Oh, we're just following up. We're looking for Dr. Sylvia Pearlman?" Sam asked and the woman let's us in.

"The Doctor, well, she, I don't know exactly when she'll be back, she left two days ago." The woman said to us. "Okay. And you are...?" I said, curiously. "I'm Ms. Pearlman's maid." She replied. "So where did the Doctor go?" Dean asked. "I'm not sure. She just packed and went, she didn't say where. That stray dog, did you find it finally?" The woman asked.

"Oh, not yet. You know, you didn't ever happen to see the dog yourself, did you?" Sam asked her. "Well, no. I never even heard it." She said as I look around and take a photograph off the wall: it shows a woman, presumably Pearlman, at a bar with two friends. "I was almost starting to think the Doctor was imagining things, but she's not like that, so..." the woman said and I turn to her.

"Hey, you know I read she was, uh chief surgeon at the hospital. She's gotta be what, forty two, forty three? That's pretty young for that job." I pointed out. "Youngest in the history of the place. She got the position...ten years ago?" The woman said and I give a surprised noise.

"Huh. An overnight success. Ten years ago." Sam said as he and Dean come up to me. "Yeah, we know a guy like that." Dean said and I look at the photo closer. "Oh, look at this." I said and I hold up the photo and flip it over to show writing on the back. "Lloyd's Bar." I said.

We pull up outside Lloyd's Bar and get out. As we walk towards the bar, Dean looks to the side and stops in his tracks. "Hey." He said and Sam and I stop. "Yeah?" We said. "That's weird." Dean said as he points at the yellow flowers that are growing on the sides of the road.

"What?" Sam asked Dean. "Think someone planted these?" Dean asked. "Middle of all these weeds?" I said, disbelief. "These are, uh, what do you call 'em." Dean said as he looks at the flowers. "Yarrow flowers?" Sam said and Dean nods. "Yeah. Used for certain rituals, aren't they?" He asked. "Yeah, actually. Summoning rituals." Sam replied.

"Heh. So, two people become sudden successes about ten years ago. Right around the time they were hanging out here at Lloyd's." I said as I look around to see that we were in the middle of a crossroad. "Where there just happens to be a crossroads." Sam said then he turns to us. "You think?" He asked. "Let's find out." Dean said.

Then he walks to the center of the crossroads and looks around, measuring. "This seem about the dead center to you?" Dean asked us and we nod. He digs a few inches into the hard soil and hits something solid. He stops. "Yahtzee." He said and he drops the shovel and digs with his hands, pulling out an old rusted box.

He opens it, revealing that it contains several small bones, a picture and a small stoppered jar that Sam takes out. "I'd be willing to bet that's graveyard dirt. And a black cat bone." Sam said. "That's serious spellwork. I mean, that's Deep South Hoodoo stuff." I said. "Used to summon a demon." Sam said.

"Not just summon one. Crossroads are where pacts are made. These people are actually making deals with the damn thing. You know, 'cause that always ends good." Dean said. "They're seeing dogs, all right. But not Black Dogs, they're seeing Hellhounds. Demonic pit bulls." I said and Dean nods. "Yeah, whoever this demon is, it's back and it's collecting. And that doctor lady? Wherever she's running? She ain't running fast enough." Dean said.

"So it's just like the Robert Johnson legend, right? I mean, selling your soul at the crossroads, kind of deal?" Sam said and we nod. "Yeah, except that wasn't a legend. I mean, you know his music." Dean said to us. I nod but Sam shrugs. "You don't know Robert Johnson's songs?" I asked him and he shakes his head.

"Sam, there's, there's occult references all over his lyrics, I mean, Crossroad Blues? Me and the Devil Blues? Hellhound on My Trail?" Dean said and Sam frowns, then Dean rolls his eyes and I sigh. "The story goes, he died choking on his own blood, he was hallucinating, and muttering about big evil dogs." Dean explains. "And now it's happening all over again." Sam said. "Yeah." Dean and I said.

"We've gotta figure out if anyone else struck any bargains around here." Sam said and Dean scoffs. "Great. So we've gotta clean up these peoples' mess for 'em? I mean, they're not exactly squeaky clean. Nobody put a gun to their head and forced 'em to play Let's Make A Deal." Dean said, annoyed.

"So what, we should just leave them to die?" I asked Dean. "Somebody goes over Niagara in a barrel, you gonna jump in and try to save 'em?" Dean asked me. "Dean." Sam and I said, exasperated. "All right. Fine." Dean grumbles. "Rituals like this, you've got to put your own photo into the mix, right? So this guy probably summoned this thing, let's go and see if anyone inside knows him. If he's still alive." Dean said, holding up the picture, and we head inside.

"What's this guy's name again?" Sam asked as we walk up a set of wide, wooden stairs to the fourth floor of an apartment. "George Darrow. Apparently quite the regular at Lloyd's." I said while Dean looks around. "Though this house probably ain't up next on MTV Cribs, is it?" He said. "Yeah. So whatever kind of deal he made..." Sam trails off. "Wasn't for cash. Oh, who knows. Maybe this place is full of babes in Princess Leia bikinis." Dean said and Sam and I laugh.

"No, I'm just saying, this guy's got one epic bill come due. Hope at least he asked for something fun." Dean said as we reach the landing and stop in front of apartment 4C. The floor is dusted with a fine black powder.

"Look at that." I said and we crouch down, fingering it. "What is that, pepper?" Dean asked when the door opens to reveal a middle-aged man with graying hair, wearing a grimy t-shirt and open button-down. 

"Who the hell are you?" He asked us, in a threatening tone. "George Darrow?" I said. "I'm not buying anything." He said as he starts shut the door. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, looks like you went for the wrong shaker there. Heh. Usually when you want to keep something evil out you go for the salt." Dean said to him as George looks between the three of us.

"I don't know what you talkin' about." He said. "Talkin' about this." Dean said as he holds up the small picture. "Tell me. You seen that Hellhound yet?" He asked and George stares at us. "Look. We want to help. Please. Just five minutes." Sam said to him. George looks at us for a moment then opens the door to let us in.

George shows us in and pours himself a glass of whisky. The studio apartment is filled with paintings, completed and half-finished, and a table holds painting supplies. "So what is that stuff out front?" I asked him. "Goofer Dust." He replied and we look at him, blankly.

"What, you three think you know somethin' about somethin' but not Goofer dust?" George asked us and he tosses Dean a brown sack, tied close with twine. He catches it. "Well, we know a little about a lot of things. Just enough to make us dangerous." Dean said to him.

"What is it?" Sam asked, nodding at the brown sack. "Hoodoo. My grandma taught me. Keeps out demons." George said. "Demons we know." Dean said. "Well, then. Maybe it'll do you some good." George said as he walks over to a chair. "Four minutes left." He said.

Dean glances at us then Sam takes the lead. "Mr. Darrow. We know you're in trouble." Sam said. "Yeah, that you got yourself into." Dean said. "But it's not hopeless, all right?" I said, half-directing that towards Dean. "There's gotta be something we can do." I said as I turn to George. "Listen. I get that you three want to help. But sometimes a person makes their bed, they've just got to lie down in it. I'm the one called that demon in the first place." He said.

"What'd you do it for?" Dean asked. "I was weak. I mean, who don't want to be great? Who don't want their life to mean something? I just...I just never thought about the price." George said. "Was it worth it?" I asked him. "Hell no. 'Course, I asked for talent. Shoulda gone for fame. I'm still broke, and lonely. Just now I got this pile of paintings don't nobody want. But that wasn't the worst." George said, angrily.

"Go on." Sam said. "Demon didn't leave. I never counted on that. After our deal was done the damn thing stayed at Lloyd's for a week. Just chattin'. Makin' more deals. I tried to warn folks, but, I mean who's goin' to listen to an old drunk?" George said. "How many others are there?" I asked him. "Uh, the architect, that doctor lady — I kept up with them, they've been in the papers. Least they got famous." George grumbles.

"Who else, George? Come on, think." Dean said. "One more. Uh, nice guy too. Hudson. Evan, I think. I don't know what he asked for. Don't matter now. We done for." George said. "No. No, there's gotta be a way." Sam said. "You don't get it! I don't want a way!" George yells.

"Look, you don't--" 

"I called that thing! I brought it on myself. I brought it on them. I'm going to hell, one way or another. All I want is to finish my last painting. Day or two, I'm done. I'm just trying to hold them off 'till then. Buy a little time." George said then he starts to get up, interrupting Sam. "Okay, kids. Time you went, go help somebody that wants help." He said.

"We can't just —" 

"Get out! I got work to do." George yelled at me. "You don't really want to die." Sam said, firmly. "I don't? I'm...I'm tired." George said as he turns to his painting. The boys and I share a look before we leave George to his painting.

The boys and I approach Evan's front door and I go and knock on the door. A moment later, a man opens the door. "Yes?" He answers. "Evan Hudson?" Sam asked and he nods. "You ever been to a bar called Lloyd's? Would have been about ten years ago." Dean said. Terrified, Evan slams the door and latches it. 

"Come on, we're not demons!" I said as we hear him run then Sam turns to me and Dean. "Any other bright ideas?" Sam asked us. Dean steps back, sets himself, then kicks the door down in one go. "Well, that's one way." I said and we enter the house.

Once we make it to the back room, Dean prepares to kick down that door too but I catch his leg, stopping him. "What—" Dean start to say but I look at him pointedly. Then Sam turns the handle and pushes the door open gently. The room is quiet as we enter.

"Evan?" Sam calls out and Evan jumps out from behind a bookshelf. "Please! Don't hurt me." He pleads to us but Sam and I hold our hands out, pacifying. "We're not going to hurt you, all right? We're here to help you." Sam said to him, kindly. "We know all about the genius deal you made." Dean said, angrily.

"What? How?" Evan asked. "Doesn't matter. All that matters is, we're trying to stop it." Dean said. "How do I know you're not lying?" Evan asked us. "Well, you don't, but you're kinda running low on options there, buddy-boy." Dean said and Evan swallows and starts pacing.

"Can you stop it?" Evan asked us. "Don't know. We'll try." I said and Evan looks over at us, with fear. "I don't want to die." He said, tearfully. "Of course you don't, not now." Dean sneered and Sam turns to him. "Dean. Stop." He said, quietly.

"What'd you ask for anyway, Evan? Huh? Never need Viagra? Bowl a perfect game? What?" Dean asked. "My wife." Evan replied and Dean laughs. "Right. Gettin' the girl. Well, that's worth a trip to hell for." Dean said and I grab his arm. "Dean, stop." I said to him, firmly.

"No. He's right, I made the deal. Nobody twisted my arm, that...woman, or whatever she was, at the bar? She said I could have anything I wanted. I thought she was nuts at first, but...I don't know how to—I was desperate." Evan replied. "Desperate?" Sam and I asked, confused.

"Julie was dying." Evan said and we stand there in shock. "You did it to save her?" Dean asked him. "She had cancer, they'd stopped treatment, they were moving her into hospice, they kept saying...a matter of days. So yeah, I made the deal. And I'd do it again. I'd have died for her on the spot." Evan said and I give him a sympathetic smile.

"Did you ever think about her in all this?" Dean asked him. "I did this for her." Evan replied and Dean advances on him. "You sure about that? I think you did it for yourself. So you wouldn't have to live without her. But guess what? She's going to have to live without you now. But what if she knew how much it cost? What if she knew it cost your soul? How do you think she'd feel?" Dean asked, angrily, and Sam and I put a hand on Dean's chest, pulling him back.

"Okay, that's enough." Sam said and Dean turns and walks away. I sigh then turn to Sam and Evan. "You just sit tight, all right? We're going to figure this out." I said to Evan then I look at Sam. "Stay here with him, I'll talk to Dean." I said and I follow Dean into the hallway.

"You all right?" I asked him, concerned. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be? Hey, I got an idea." Dean said and he pulls out the Goofer dust. "You and Sam throw George's hoodoo at that Hellhound, keep it away from Evan as long as you guys can. I'm gonna go to the crossroads and summon the demon." Dean said and my jaw drops.

"Summon— are you nuts?" I asked as I look at him like he was insane. "Maybe a little. But I can trap it. I can exorcise it, and I can buy us time to figure out something more permanent." Dean said to me.

"Yeah, but how much time?" I asked. "I don't know, a while. I mean, it's not easy for those suckers to claw their way back from hell and into the sunshine." He said and I shake my head. "No. No way." I said. "You're not allowed to say no, (y/n), not unless you've got a better idea." Dean exclaims.

"Dean, you can forget it, all right? I'm not letting you summon that demon." I said. "Why not?" Dean asked me, angrily. "Because I don't like where your head is at right now, that's why not." I shouted.

"What are you talking about?" He asked me. "You know, you've been on edge ever since we found that crossroads, Dean, and I think I know why." I said and he rolls his eyes. "We don't have time for this." He said and he brushes past me.

"John." I said as I turn and see that he stopped in his tracks. "You think maybe John made one of these deals, huh? Hell. I've been thinking it. I'm sure you and Sam have been thinking it too." I said and Dean lowers his head. "It fits, doesn't it? I'm alive, Dad's dead. The yellow-eyed demon was involved." He said, softly. "What if he did? What if he struck a deal? My life for his soul?" Dean asked, quietly, as he turns to me.

Before I could say anything, we hear Evan shouting. "I think I hear it! It's outside!" We look towards the door as Sam said. "Guys!" Dean and I look back at each other then Dean said. "Just keep him alive, okay?" 

"Dean..." I said, worried, but he shakes his head. "Go!" He said and I frown, slightly, then I walk up to him and kiss his cheek. I pull back and I could see a shock look on his face then I placed my right hand on his cheek. "Be careful, okay?" I said. He nods and leaves then I head back into the office room.

After explaining Dean's idea, Sam and I started sprinkling the dust in a line before the windows. Then we start making a circle of it around Evan, who stands in the middle of the room. "What is that stuff?" He asked us. "Goofer dust." Sam replied.

"You serious?" Evan asked. "Yeah. 'Fraid so. Look. Believe us, don't believe us, whatever you want. Just whatever you do, stay inside the circle, all right?" I said to him and Evan nods then hugs himself.

He stands in the middle of the circle that Sam and I just finish as I shake the bag to get out the last grains. "That's the last of it." I said then we stand there and look around until Evan whirls around, like he could hear something.

"What?" Sam and I asked him. "You hear that?" Evan asked us, fear etched all over his face. "No, where?" Sam asked then Evan looks at the door. "Right outside the door." He said then the doors begin to rattle violently. Sam and I then step inside the circle.

Side by side inside the circle of dust, Evan, Sam and I stare tensely at the rattling door. "Just don't move, all right? Stay where you are." I said to Evan. The rattling became louder, and more violent, then suddenly it stops. 

Sam and I exchange a look before we, cautiously, look around. "Do you still hear it?" Sam asked Evan. "No. Is it over?" Evan asked us. "Don't know...maybe." I said when rumbling sound comes from  the wall. The three of us whirl to stare at the grating just as it bursts outward, kicking dust into the room. 

"It's here!" Evan screams as we see a visible wind coming through and surrounding us. "No! Back inside the circle!" I shout and we gathered close together in the middle of the circle.

Deep claw marks gouge into the floor in a path towards the circle; they stop just before the edge. We back away slowly, while the wind started to eat away at our protective circle. "Circle's broken. Come on!" Sam shouts and we pull Evan out of the room and down the hall.

We dart into a storeroom and slam the door behind us. Sam and I braces ourselves against it while the Hellhounds start to pound it down. Dean, hurry up! I thought, frantically, as the pounding on the door got more and more violent. Suddenly, the pounding stops and Sam and I look at each other then over at Evan, the three of us panting.

After making sure Evan was okay and Dean returned from the crossroads, Dean drives us down a dark road as he explains what happened. "Demons lie all the time, right? Maybe she was lying." Sam said to Dean, referring to the demon telling Dean that John made a deal to save his life. "Come on. That really what you think?" Dean asked Sam and Sam looks down.

"How could he do it?" Dean asked, disappointed and angry. "He did it for you." I said to him. "Exactly. How am I supposed to live with that? You know, the thought of him...wherever he is right now. I mean, he spent his whole life chasing that...yellow-eyed son of a bitch. He should have gone out fighting. That was supposed to be his legacy. You know? Not bargaining with the damn thing. Not this." Dean said, angry.

"How many people do you think Dad saved? Total?" Sam asked. "That's not the point, Sam." Dean growls. "Evan Hudson is safe because of what Dad taught us. That's his legacy, Dean. But we're still here, man. So we gotta keep going, for him." Sam said to him and Dean stays silent.

"Dean?" I said, softly.

"Yeah." He replied and I swallow, nervously, fearing for the answer to my question. "When you were trapping that demon, you weren't...I mean, it was all a trick, right? You never considered actually making that deal, right?" I asked him. Dean told us that the demon would let Evan live if Dean would trade his life for Evan, ten years of course he would get but after that....he would be gone.

Dean stares straight ahead, then turns his head towards the window. He reaches forward and turns the radio on full blast and doesn't say a word. Sam and I flinch then Sam looks over at me with a worried and nervous glance.

I bite my lips then let out a sigh and lean back in the seat and look out the window at the passing scenery.

#fandom #fanfic #fan fiction #reader insert #x reader #supernatural #dean winchester #dean winchester x you #dean x you #supernatural dean #dean x reader #deanwinchtser #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester imagine #fantasy #supernatural fanfic series #supernatural fandom #supernatural fanfiction #tv show fandom #tv shows #tv

[dovahkiin796]

This Damn Room Finally Explained.

I'm so glad we FINALLY got an explanation for this iconic bedroom in Fnaf 4. It's fake. Everything in this room is fake. It along with the hallways, the Plushtrap hallway, bathroom, kitchen, and living room is just one big test chamber built by William Afton to test his hallucinogenic gas on children he had kidnapped so he can measure their fear levels.

Hard to believe some people actually called this years ago. Well, not the fear gas, but this room being used for an experiment.

To address Afton measuring the children's fear. It can be assumed that he knew of the existence of Agony. Agony is used as a blanket term for all negative emotions and fear would be the easiest for kids to express.

It does makes sense William would eventually come across Agony as Remnant is only made when someone dies. Afton knows he can't go on a killing spree in the hopes he can collect some Remnant. That would draw too much attention even if he does get away with the murders. Afton is not dumb, he's an intelligent man who started a business with his partner and best friend Henry. He even ran his own business, "Afton Robotics". What got William killed was his own arrogance. Believing hiding in the suit he wore to kill the missing kids would protect him.

Now onto the hallucinogenic gas. It was a surprising reveal that this whole-time gas was being pumped into the bedroom. Causing whoever was inside to hallucinate the Nightmare Animatronics. Who turned out to be mannequins with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy costumes on them.

There have been debates if the Nightmares were real, given they have the word nightmare in their names. But in the world of Fnaf. It's entirely possible for William Afton to make actual physical Nightmare Animatronics.

With the reveal of the hallucinogenic gas. These tanks make so much sense now. In UCN they're oxygen tanks, but in the real world they're tanks that hold Afton's fear gas. The main character Rory from Dittophobia comes across them after escaping the bedroom.

There are a few people who don't like this reveal of the gas as it makes William Afton come off as a Mad Scientist. Something the games never hinted at. Which is true and the thing is... he isn't. He's a Mad Engineer from my point of view. But Afton does have to study Remnant and Agony in a scientific manner if he wants to understand how it works and then make himself immortal. Do you want to see Afton brew up some potions, cackle like a witch, and stand around a cauldron, chanting? Cause I sure don't. He needs science to study this supernatural element he discovered to achieve his goal.

Like The Mimic, the fear gas is a welcome addition. It is MILES better than the Illusion Discs and people REALLY don't like them.

I should address Rory since I mentioned him. He's the main character of Dittophobia and he's one of the kids Afton kidnapped for his experiments. NO, we don't play as Rory in Fnaf 4. It's kind of confirmed we're Micheal Afton in the fourth game and I don't think Willaim was experimenting on his own kid.

Anyway. Rory is the last surviving kid of the experiments, and he has been doing this for TEN YEARS! This is because the experiments are automated and at this point William would've already been dead and trapped in the safe room in the Fnaf 1 location. So, no one can stop the experiments. What's mind blowing but something we already knew was the Fanf 4 bedroom connecting to Circus Baby's. But the Funtime Animatronics still being there. Confirming Sister Location is AFTER Five Nights at Freddy's 1 and not before. Like everyone thought it was. Mainly because of Micheal being fired due to his bad odor making people believe he was corpse when working at the Fnaf 1 location.

Dittophobia finally gave us the answer we needed to put to rest a theory that has been in the fandom for years. Great job to whoever wrote Dittophobia.

#five nights at freddy's #fnaf 4 bedroom #fnaf 4 #tales from the pizzaplex #fnaf dittophobia #my thoughts

[tartrazeen]

For the new Willy Wonka movie, I'm watching someone on YouTube explain how the Oompa Loompas are still a problem.

They are. Hugh Grant doesn't fix that.

But how amazing would it have been to have cast a black actor in Hugh Grant's role, and take an actual, proper revisionist stab at it? It's so cowardly to try to imagine it all away as, "Uhhhh, they're white now, so there's no problem here hahahah" when they could've actually tackled it in some Make Wonka The Good Guy way. In fact, this should be the movie.

All they'd have to do is keep saying the Oompa Loompas were enslaved by white chocolatiers. But - like, by other companies. They were "imported" by all those competitors that Wonka eventually comes up against.

And Wonka, who was just starting his career, finds out about these slaves, and even befriends one of them. He can't actually do anything beyond maybe learn how they've been taken from their land, and how going back is the dream but right now they wouldn't be safe to return since they'd be immediately re-enslaved. And Wonka's like, "Damn that sucks, I'm also having an equally hard time, exactly on the same level: I can't find any good employees."

Let that simmer in the story for a bit, until the friend comes back to Wonka and says, "Hey, we talked to each other. We've unionized. We're prepared to walk out and go where it's safe - away from all the [insert the names like whizzsnozzers or whatever that Roald Dahl used, but now that's in reference to those violent slavers who kidnapped them rather than "Africa is v danger 😥" like it is in the book]. So Wonka, if you hire us and treat us like actual employees, properly paid like you said you wished you could, we'll come work for you until we can afford to leave."

And then Wonka can be like, "I don't have enough money to pay all of you. 😥"

And the friend can say, "Okay, let me come back to you about that." And he goes off to have a huddle with the other union reps, then comes back and says, "You can pay us in chocolate."

But this time, it's not referring to literal chocolate bars. It's referring to equity in the company. Wonka is going to go into business with the Oompa Loompas, who now become owners and shareholders of the enterprise. Let's give Wonka some extra Good White Person Hollywood points and say he agrees to a total 50/50 split, which would also explain why they eventually have that contest in the original story: it's not just about convincing Wonka about how a good successor would be, but who the Oompa Loompas would like, which is why they're so pointed about their songs and treatment of the shitty kids discovering consequences to their actions. (Ooh-la-la - there's your sequel hook to end it on. "It'd take a lot to replace someone like you, Wonka. We'd have to search the entire world." / "I think we can do that someday. :)")

So the other chocolatiers are furious, because Wonka's stolen all their slaves and is actually treating them like business partners, and there go all their experts in the factory! They say it's poaching, they say it's to get secrets, they say it's sabotage - whatever, but they take it as absolute war against Wonka, because obviously their chocolate gets shitty once your slaves leave and take their experience with them. That's why those competitors get so personally vicious with Wonka: they all agreed to a 'civilized' market before him, but now he's upset the balance and ruined everything.

Maybe the chocolate gets so good at Wonka's that the other companies - who have stolen and appropriated the Oompa Loompas' cultural techniques and various family recipes for chocolate - agree to sell some of their recipes back. And it's a celebration every time for the Oompa Loompas to see some of themselves being freed from these slavers' hands. Eventually, they're able to put the main antagonists completely out of business, and that money's enough to send the Oompa Loompas home again - even to start their own business to help rebuild what was destroyed, and to remain in partnership with Wonka. The friend stays with Wonka to help run things from their new headquarters though, and it's the beginning of a beautiful new future for them both.

There ya go: you call the Oompa Loompas what they are (slaves), make the token effort to compensate them fairly moving forward, get some reparations from the companies being made to turn over what they stole and the money they were making off of it, and build the whimsical world of mixing Wonka's magical ideas with one particular Oompa Loompa's passion and experience, because not every goddamn Oompa Loompa has to be in love with chocolate, and many won't be after the shit they were put through. And show that too! Some others stay but they're doing the magic of accounting and paperwork, because they hate chocolate. Maybe they all hate chocolate for the harm it's brought to them.

There could be whole subplots around the main Oompa Loompa friend realizing the stolen beauty of chocolate that they've been denied, how it brightens the faces of children in this new land, and how he could take it home to help heal from what's happened - and not even in a big way. In a very Hollywood "I've come home and given chocolate to an Oompa Loompa child and her face lit up so we're not so different after all hahaha chocolate fixes everything" way. End the scene on that note.

Meanwhile you could see Wonka struggling to make his creations a reality, and him and the Oompa Loompa friend bond over the friend being like, "This smells horrible. Why are you doing it like this? No wonder it sucks. Here, this is how I would do it." And Wonka's like, "Damn, that's cool. But what if it did this other thing too?" And the friend's like, "My cousin worked in construction before he was fucking enslaved and abducted by Slughorn - lemme ask him. :)" And then there's a whole bunch of Oompa Loompas with different backgrounds (all experts in their fields before having that stripped away to work in sweatshops) secretly helping Wonka very, very late at night to create his first WOW MAGIC candy that puts him on the map.

And then - oh no! The competition is doing it too?! Because they found out which Oompa Loompas had helped him and forced them to make it there too, and the friend tells Wonka (or overtly doesn't go into detail) about what they did to force that to happen. That's what puts the idea of Wonka saying, "If you worked for me, you and I could make all these dreams come true, and no one would ever do that to you again." Just for the friend to be like, "It'snot just me. It's everyone they brought here. I can't leave without them." Which leads to the whole "Let me talk to the others" conversation.

Like, idk, Wonka's had so much controversy around that and it could've been its own story to focus on. Instead they went Cotton Candy Whimsy YAAAAAY Hugh Grant White Imported Worker YAAAAAAY. You want a grounded and gritty remake like everything else? This is the most hopeful version out there about that: Wonka realizing the horrors of this, working with the Oompa Loompas, maybe a HUGE point where Wonka screams at his friend and the Oompa Loompas exactly the same way the other chocolatiers did and realizes he's no better than them...

... and how great would it be for him to realize that, realize how quickly everything was taken from his friends and how quickly it could be taken away from them again, and the fear and anger on the Oompa Loompas' faces after he yells at them? And then for him to even be tempted by the other chocolatiers to join them in their ways, to realize the "problem" of giving these Oompa Loompas too much freedom, how they get too uppity and interfere with what should be simple slave-jobs. And Wonka to insist that he's 50/50 with the Oompa Loompas, just for one of the chocolatiers to say, "Haha that's pretty good! I should offer them that. Because we all know I'd still hold the real power there."

That's Wonka's big Good White Person motivation to go back to the Oompa Loompas and say, "These are my ideas, but this is your work and your ingenuity. I can't do what you do, and this wouldn't be possible without you. So if you'll let me apologize and do this properly, let's make the deal you should've had from the start: all of us are equal owners. Every single one of us." Which would give Wonka just a fraction of a percentage of ownership as the rest is evenly split among everyone else.

The Oompa Loompas go back to think about it, and the friend - who justifiably stopped talking to Wonka - comes back to give the decision. They talk, they make up, Wonka apologizes, the friend accepts without doing the shitty "We both made mistakes" thing, and the friend goes back to business and says, "Here's the deal: you and I get 25% each. I like your ideas. They're stupid - no one else could ever come up with them. So I want you to work with me, but as equal partners in this."

Wonka says, "Okay."

The friend says, "Every other Loompa gets their share of the other 50%. We'll set up a trust for the kids to help give them a future, and anyone who wants to work in our factories has a job made for them. We can do anything - we're not all just here to make chocolate. We're people."

Wonka says, "Fair."

The friend says, "Last thing: we've been paraded around as those other guys' mascots from the start. We'll work with you, but... you've gotta be the face."

Wonka's like, "I think I can do that."

The friend's like, "I know you can. :)"

And it's very sweet and probably a callback to something Wonka said to him earlier in the movie.

Damn. Damn, I would've really liked to watch that.

Danny Glover as the friend, btw. That's who I'm fancasting in this. 💖

#willy wonka #wonka 2023 #my stuff #good job tartra

[offtorivendell]

Elain Archeron's trauma should not be mocked

Not least because we shouldn't mock any of their respective traumas, but there could also be a plot or magic-based reason that would account for Elain's avoidance of crowds and war camps etc, rather than the typical cries of "she's just weak and pathetic."

Please don't share or screenshot this post without credit.

Disclaimer: this post isn't about any one instance, as belittling Elain's trauma, and her response to it, is pretty much pervasive in the fandom by now. I just hope people see this post and realise that Elain being so affected after she was Made was both a completely reasonable response to what she had experienced, and that there may also be a narrative based reason that she reacted like that. Ship neutral.

TW: mentions of an event being an allegory of rape, as well as canon typical violence, childhood trauma and grooming.

We're all entitled to our character preferences, and I'll never be mad at people for just not jiving with Elain Archeron's character - I have my preferences, too! - but this is just a gentle reminder to ACOTAR's fandom at large that mocking trauma isn't a good look. We shouldn't have to tear down one character to build up another, when their achievements can speak for themselves.

Trauma isn't a competition, though one can absolutely argue that Elain has experienced a lot of hardship over the course of her life, and...

There may be a reason that Elain struggled so much in the beginning, especially during the war, that furthers her character and the plot.

Elain handled her trauma differently, which doesn't mean it was less than.

It shouldn't need to be said, but here we are. People frequently reduce the entirety of Elain's trauma to "a bad break-up." This is unfair, not only because the breakdown of a relationship can and will cause many people to shut down - especially if their ex partner seemed to change over night, as Graysen must have done if Nesta's ACOMAF report that he and Elain were smitten with each other was accurate - but also because she experienced so much more.

Elain experienced period appropriate grooming from childhood, by her mother, who sought to use her as a pawn on the marriage market, equated her worth with her beauty, and thought that she couldn't, or possibly ensured that she wouldn't, ever dream of more. It's unclear how much of this continued after their mother died, but regardless, that sort of belief - or lack thereof - in and about yourself can take years to overcome.

She, like Feyre and Nesta, were impoverished at a young age, when their father's business lost everything. They then fell further, as what little money they had ran out, and they experienced starvation at certain times of the year. If Feyre hadn't taken it upon herself to hunt, they likely would have died. Elain may live comfortably now, but for a good long while she did not, and I'm sure that, like Feyre and Nesta, she does not take their current existence for granted.

Just like Nesta, Elain was kidnapped and Made into a faerie. Disregarding the fact that humans were taught to fear faeries from childhood, and all of the emotions that she (and Nesta) would have had to deal with purely to unpack all of that when they became their biggest fear, Elain's autonomy was ignored, and her body changed without her permission at a cellular level, which could reasonably be interpreted as an allegory of r*pe or SA. Elain went into the Cauldron first with no expectation of surviving the incident, and then experienced the guards around her laughing at her naked form, which was exposed through her shear/wet nightgown, and described in detail to the point Feyre said she hadn't seen Elain's legs for years. Just to be clear, acknowledging this possibility doesn't negate the trauma of any other character in the series, because we have already established that trauma should not be a competition.

After having her species changed against her will, Elain started to experience visions that she could neither explain nor understand. Her sisters, and others, thought she was going "mad," and didn't heed her cryptic warnings when in reality she was lost in her unknown powers. This must have been an incredibly scary time for her, as we have decent evidence that some of what she was Seeing was at least unpleasant, if not outright violent.

After all that she had been through, Graysen - her fiance, who supposedly loved her - cast her off in an incredibly public and painful manner. I personally suspect that Elain knew her marriage to Graysen could no longer go ahead (though I don't blame her for trying to tell him she loved him anyway), and she went to his land to beg for sanctuary for the other humans, regardless. However, his harsh betrayal of her would have understandably left fresh wounds on her already raw soul, and to laugh at this is, in my opinion, pretty shitty; Elain was planning her future with Graysen - running her own home, likely a family (given the times, and associated societal expectations)... everything she had been raised to attain - and it was gone, lost. Even if this was all Elain had experienced, she would be well within her rights to take time to heal before embarking on a new romance, or plotting her new life's course. Throw in the looming war and being a new, magical species, and she had a lot to deal with.

Not only would experiencing a war, and all that it would entail, be traumatic enough, but Elain was kidnapped once more. The Cauldron - we assume - used her remaining love for Graysen against her and lured her outside the wards of their camp, where it winnowed her back to the Hybern army's camp. We don't know who she met, or what she experienced, while there, but we do know that she managed to remain calm and collected, and aid Feyre and Azriel as much as she could in her own rescue, given the spelled chains she still wore (chains that had to be removed by Helion Spell-Cleaver no less, so let's not shame a newly Made faerie for being unable to escape them herself).

Like her sisters, Elain likely saw her father die. Perhaps she even Saw his death, but had to choose between saving him or Nesta (and Cassian). At the "very least," she lost her father, whom she loved, in the war, and was unable to say goodbye.

I'll expand on this below, but isolating herself through the war may have been a way to cope with her Sight, as Nesta used sex and alcohol to cope with her Cauldron/Death magic and PTSD in general. And to clarify, I'm absolutely not shaming Nesta for this, just pointing out the parallel: both sisters found ways to cope with their trauma and new powers. Their methods matched their needs.

If I've forgotten anything, please feel free to add on!

What if Elain was Seeing all the awful potential futures they could live?

Elain spent a lot of time with glazed, foggy eyes, or blinking, throughout ACOWAR. @wingedblooms has discussed this before (here and here), and I agree, that Elain's near constant blinking could possibly hint at her Sight being active. As I suggested in the final point before, her self-enforced isolation may not have only been the result of her dealing with her recent kidnapping, species change and heartbreak.

What if she was secluding herself to manage her visions?

Elain, on her first vision to Windhaven, saw all of the gathered soldiers, then asked if many would die. Wouldn't you know it, she was blinking at the time.

Mor let out a snort that made the Illyrians stiffen. But she shifted, revealing Elain behind her. Elain was just blinking, wide-eyed, at the camp. The army. Devlon let out a grunt at the sight of her. But Elain wrapped her own blue cloak around herself, averting her eyes from all of those towering, muscled warriors, the army camp bustling toward the horizon … She was a rose bloom in a mud field. Filled with galloping horses. “Don’t be afraid of them,” Nesta said beneath lowered brows. [...] Warriors and females laboring around the fires silently monitored us. Nesta stared them all down. Elain kept her focus on the dry, rocky ground. [...] Elain at last slid into the chair near Mor’s, her dawn-pink dress—finer than the ones she usually wore—crinkling beneath her. “Will—will many of these soldiers die?” - ACOWAR, chapter 51

It's likely Elain also Saw Cassian's death, which many think might have been at the hands of the King of Hybern, if she hadn't acted to save him and Nesta.

“Morning, Nesta,” he said around a mouth of blueberry-lemon. “Elain.” Nesta’s nostrils flared, but Elain peered up at Cassian, blinking twice. “He snapped your wings, broke your bones.” I tried to shut out the sound of Cassian’s scream—the memory of the spraying blood. Nesta stared at her plate. Elain, at least, was out of her room, but … “It’ll take more than that to kill me,” Cassian said with a smirk that didn’t meet his eyes. Elain only said to Cassian, “No, it will not.” - ACOWAR, chapter 30

It doesn't seem much of a stretch, then, to wonder if Elain may have been keeping herself in her tent whenever possible to avoid visions of death and destruction that were triggered by her proximity* to the warriors, or the war camp in general. And I wouldn't blame her at all for that. She had been a human, with no personal experience with magic of her own, only a few months ago. She was only told she was a Seer - ie. not going "mad" - no more than two months before the war began. That is a LOT to get on top of in a very short amount of time.

* This could also be why - at least in part - Elain has chosen to lead a quiet life, avoiding large gatherings like drinking halls etc, until she gets on top of her powers; which, I assume, will be in her book.

Feyre suggested, in ACOWAR, that she should have made sure Elain trained as Nesta did; was this not only to ensure her powers would be at their most useful, but because - unbeknownst to them - out of control Sight has the potential to be either painful or unbearable? In an era when historically momentous upheaval - like a great war - is about to occur, would Seers be more likely to experience unprompted visions, due to the uncertainty of the future?

Imagine going from having a mind that was entirely your own, to one that is - hypothetically - being inundated with awful visions of battles and death that you haven't yet learnt to control. Then, because you know how worried your family was before, and you don't want to stress them out again, especially as they're preparing for war, you keep it to yourself and do what you can to manage it all, quietly. If Elain was experiencing such waves of premonition, it could nicely explain her actions, though once again, no one should be shamed for being overwhelmed by a war camp and the stress of an upcoming battle! Avoidance is not the healthiest of options, granted, but that's where Elain's subsequent character growth, and future book, have and will come in.

Just like her sisters, her time will come.

Please remain respectful in the comments/reblogs.

#elain archeron #pro elain #pro elain archeron #please stop mocking trauma #it's really not great #elain archeron theory #elain's powers #elain's sight #elain theory #acotar theory #acotar 5 theory #acotar thoughts #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #tw: rape #tw: sa #tw: abuse #tw: childhood trauma #tw: violence #canon typical violence

[nasuversekinkmeme]

Roundup: Tumblr Prompts (May 9-16)

We're back in business, and that means I have to catch up on the weekly prompts!

Tsukihime

Kohaku healing. most of the prompts about Kohaku focus on her doing fucked up things, but I want to see her heal and recover from her trauma instead. maybe it's Nanaya, maybe it's post-Kohaku route, maybe it's something else, but i want to see her in a good state of mental health

Shiki Tohno/SHIKI Tohno - Noncon, Obsessive Tendencies SHIKI's latent care for his friend Shiki and his current hatred towards him coalescing, and showing love by hurting him. Good stuff like that.

Kohaku from an alternate universe where she is blue. (a glimpse into the author's twisted mind optional)

Shiki(Tohno) decides to fuck around and finds out

Kara no Kyoukai

Something around Ryougi Shiki and time loops, can be about the fifth movie or her falling back in love with Mikiya after the accident or legitimately anything with Shiki and timeloops please

Mahoyo

Aoko’s ‘oh shit i’m gay’ moment

Fate/Stay Night

artoria / issei / shirou polycule , it can optionally be framed as gilgamesh ,rin , luvia & sakura getting cucked

YAY THE ASKBOX IS BACK! To celebrate let's get dapper mustache saber some good head

Saber and Illya drinking. Can be platonic or romantic, I just want these two to share a drink together

smut Listen to me LISTEN to me Kirei and Bazett have ABSOLUTELY fucked. The idea that the two of them got intimate at some point makes Kirei's betrayal SOOO much more delicious.

Souichirou, Kiritsugu, Parent-teacher conferences. An incredibly awkward and/or tense meeting between two ex-assassins trying to put their pasts behind them. I’m kind of sad that I have literally never seen anyone write these two interacting in any way, especially when there are so many interesting things that they could talk about.

in an effort to learn more about his girlfriend, Shirou starts reading up on arthurian myths, like the canterbury tales or le morte d'arthur

Rin's magic powered attempts to grow boobs the size of her sister's go wrong and she's left a hu-cow

Fate/Zero

Fed up of arguing with Saber constantly over tactics, Kiritsugu uses his Command Spells to reduce her intelligence and leave her too dumb to question him

Fate/Extra

Julius, any ship. I need this man to get laid so bad. Hakuno (either gender) would be my favourite choice but anyone is good. No Leo incest though.

BB hacking (or otherwise hypnotising) Hakunon

Fate/Grand Order

a moment during the servant summer camp thing yan qing visits lanling in the cabin and they spend the day doing fun stuff, may or may not include smut

Post-Story Ritsuka rejoins society at large and starts hitting people with The Vibes. Narrated from someone outside the loop. Does not necessarily have to be Uncanny Valley levels of Vibes, but Weird Vibes must be there. Servants and/or Chaldea staff can and are encouraged to show up as co-workers/friends/romantic partners to add more of The Vibes.

smut, weight gain/stuffing Please, please, please, I NEED to see Mephistopheles stuff Guda with sweets (cute German pet names optional).

smut Lancelot keeps seeing Mash as Galahad. Mash keeps seeing Lancelot as a deadbeat father. It sucks! They want to be able to have a normal conversation for once! The solution? The two should have sex. Now THAT has to get them to stop seeing each other in a familial light, right? The more uncomfortable you make your fill the better. Also you don't have to go all the way, if you write one of them quitting mid sex or even just the aftermath of said sex that is perfectly fine by me.

Douman gets punished for messing up the ask box

smut Anything with Douman and their claws? I'm thinking in lines of smut. Preferably Douman X Guda but whatever floats your boat is great

rin & luvia awaken to find that foreigner molay is going to sacrifice them to her goddes. both of them are futily struggling against their restraints when tiamat arrives. but tiamat starts scolding molay for missing breakfast , and after tiamat gives molay the dissapointed parent look ™ rin & luvia are quickly transformed into new versions of the dark young. their minds & souls aren't shoved into plush toys like what happened to ritsuka , rather their minds & souls are stored in a pair of statues adorning an altar & could only watch on in horror as their bodies take up the duty of being the cults security guards.

U-Olga resurrects Lev/Flauros to serve as her apostle

Instead of fighting 7 crypters during the lostbelt, Ritsuka must fight 7 alternative versions of themselves all who allied themselves with a Beast and remade their own Human History according to the Beast's Ideals, Goetia, Tiamat, Kama, Koyanskaya, Draco, Olga Marie and an unknown Beast(This one up to the author)

Mages Association plans on taking Ritsuka's off most of chaldea's servant because they did not plan for a single human to have control over so many servants and gather so much power. Ritsuka is fine with dividing his servant among other master, his servants on the other hand, not so much

I really liked that Goetia prompt. What if sequel where they settle in the Wandering Sea and he sees Nero and Tamamo and warns Guda of their nature?

Anything with Maou Nobu and Third Ascension Draco in it, be they fucking, being friends, fucking around, finding out

May i get Shuten being a mouthy bitch before getting plowed into a cum puddle by the Futa she was teasing? (Much to her own Delight cause that's what she was hoping for)? Even better if her horns are used as Handlebars for further railing power.

Castoria finds out the Chaldea Database lists her and her peers as "Altria" and she is FUCKING PISSED

Hessian and Lobo get tasked with sitting together for all the other dogs which Chaldea has accumulated over time.

MashMorgan, a day at the aquarium. They're yuri enough to have an aquarium date. As a treat.

AmaSali - gore, monster sex (dubcon optional). Third tier Salieri's kinda hot right? Right. Looking for something with a monstrous Salieri losing his last semblance of self control and having his way with Amadeus. Amade can be into it from the start or slowly get into it, but I want it to end with him having a great time whether or not you decide to make it dubconnish. I love the idea of Salieri being incapable of touching Amadeus without hurting him. Use his claws to really screw Amadeus up, even if he's only touching him to move him or the like. Lots of gashes dripping blood would be good, and purposefully harming him would be even better. (would be based as hell to have his intestines hanging out as he gets fucked, just saying…) It would be super cool to have Salieri have inhuman anatomy too! He's become a monster in the true sense of the word, so lean into it! (this is just an excuse for knotting mostly but you can go as ham as you want)

Goredolf Musik, any ship. my man Gordy deserves to get some so get this guy shipped! Any ship is good, and feel free to go wild over kinks and scenarios you want.

loli tw fionn/beni-enma, oral sex. i think they're really cute. fionn eating her out is all i'm really looking for but you can do whatever else you want

Asterios/Habetrot, height difference. Anything about these two would be good but I'd give you my firstborn if you include their massive-ass height difference. porn welcome but not mandatory.

smut, noncon tw KiaraxEmiya Alter noncon NSFW, Noncon, Tentacle (/Demon God) Noncon. On top of the cult massacre and how EmiAlter was implied to end up killing Taiga and her son, Kiara also broke and twisted EmiAlter's spirit by forcing him to drown in her brand of pleasure. Fast forward to (insert any convenient point of time where Kiara already has demon god inside her) where Kiara retraumatized him and tentacle raped him until he no longer has the will to fight back.

smut Castoria gangbang. I need Castoria to be the central point of an orgy. It can be named characters it can be a faceless mob either is fine I just need her to get absolutely RAILED. Bonus point if you get her filled and/or covered in cum. Dubcon/Noncon ok, but I want her to get pleasure out of it please!

U-Olga gets summoned and proceeds to gee bullied and harassed by literally everyone in Chaldea

barbatos possesses BB as an attempt to get revenge on ritsuka. but unfortunately for BB , barbatos has wound up incredibly masochistic due to being farmed so much. barbdos is enjoying a visit to BSDM dungeon & is having the time of their life when they get used as a rubber drone by the other patrons & bb's despair of losing control of her body only serves to make the demon pillar more horny.

I have a MIGHTY NEED for some Gay Girls in Lingerie tbh. Not picky about the fandom but the only one I'm familiar with is FGO so that's the preferred.

Ritsuka has been through a lot, and her body shows it, there is not a single part of her that isn't scared, both physically and mentally, she always tries to hide it and because of that no servant has permission to enter her room, not even Mash. But once Van Gogh is summoned, she breaks that rule before anyone can tell her about it

Altria is confused on why Americans keep insisting her name is Artoria.

i want to see Arcueid and Yu talking in Chaldea about being true ancestors

Buff Marie Antoinette rampaging through France and dominating everyone she met until she subdues Jalter in public. (There is an actual manga about buff Marie Antoinette btw)

Knights of the Round Table having an existential crisis after learning that Caster Artoria is not actually an artoria, but a younger version of Morgan

guda gets jack to put on a pair of pants

smut I honestly want saito fucking okita so hard that not only she passes out, but she’s still sore as hell when she wakes up

Hijikata sending the Shinsengumi… on a quest for pickles and takuan, maybe some mayo too.

Lancelot in extreme anguish(Humorous) as he discovers his child(Mash) is fucking the alternative universe version of his Mom(Morgan, who is also Vivian, who is Lancelot's mom)

guda ends up in a re7 scenario somehow

Koyanskaya of Light slowly realizes that OOPS, she's starting to actually fall for Ritsuka Fujimaru, as told through a series of BDSM sessions with the former as the domme and the latter as the sub. She tries to keep their relationship strictly professional, and predictably fails.

smut Altria fucking Artoria explicitly framed as Arturia getting cucked.

Lancelot undergoing intense mental anguish(humorous) when he realizes his technical child, Mash, is fucking the Queen of (Fairy) Britain

Xu Fu and Ritsuka hiding in the bushes watching Yu Mei Ren and Xiang Yu have a date

David, Romani, or Sheba talking with Morgan to see if they are worthy of dating Mash.

Angra stitching all over Ritsuka's skin as a form of therapeutic harm, recreating the same imagery as his tattoos with the stitches

Among us in fate/go????? I know among us is dead but idc, can either be based on the game or gudao summons the imposter

Gudako mostly jokingly says something along the lines of "I think men should dress sluttier" nearest male servant takes this seriously.

smut What if goetia and master fucked at the end of the world before or after they start beating each other to death

Cleopatra/Caesar, caesar should get pegged by his wife

the servant summer camp event but for some reason it repeats. also gudao/gudako realizes that outsmarting cliches won’t work this time, so he/she has to find a way to avoid the cliche without having to see the others die from the failed attempt at outsmarting the cliches, may or may not include save scumming to achieve it

smut, incest tw In attempt to help Lancelot stop seeing Mash as Galahad/Help Mash stop seeing Lancelot as a deadbeat father, they decide to have sex. Would appreciate if you made it as uncomfortable as humanly possible. You don't have to go all the way through btw if you want to write one of these two quitting midway through that's way welcomed.

Any Fandom

Pairing of your choice with a prey/predator dynamic. Smut very welcome but asexual kink is cool too. I just want two (or more) people chasing growling & wrestling each other. You understand. I really want either a chase scene or some sort of hide and seek... either playing up the anticipation of "oh man i can't get caught or i'll be (fucked/bitten/lose this really soecific competition)" of the prey or the "boy i gotta WORK to get this lad" of the predator. Any kind of consent (or lack of thereof) situation is fine, but I do want everyone to be into it. Tbh I struggle so much to find stuff for this specific kink feel free to ad lib as wanted I'll be really happy either way ^^

Any Artoria, facial hair. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I NEED BEARDED SABER INJECTED IN MY BLOODSTREAM. If not facial hair I am also amenable to fuckton of body hair elsewhere. Please I just want more hairy ladies in my life.

Aftermath of sex pollen. So your buddy got hit by the curse of Fuck Or Die, and you fucked it out of their system. Great! How do you handle the aftermath? You just fucked your bff (and/or crush) how do you deal with the awkwardness? do you talk about it? do you just kinda ignore it? i wanna know!! (you can write the sex pollen too if you want but i mostly want the aftermath) Preference would go to Guda/Ereshkigal as a pairing, but any other character is fine ^^

Any, kink negotiation. I wanna see characters in the process of trying out a new kink. Not particularly looknig for porn (tho do feel free to include it,) but I mean everything around it. Maybe one character breaking to another character that they wanna try a new kink. Maybe a couple looking for kink gear, or discussing the dos and dont of a scene, or trying to find the perfect person to ask for a threesome.

piss Any Canonical Master/Servant Pair - Piss Drinking. If cum, blood, and saliva can all be used to transfer mana, there's no reason to think other bodily fluids can't do the same. This prompt is exactly what it sounds like - a Master replenishing their Servant's mana with some piss. Any Master/Servant pairing that's been in canon is fine! That said, I do have some favorites I'd particularly like to see - I'm fond of Rin, Waver, and Kirschtaria for Masters, and Amadeus, Nero, and Enkidu for Servants. But if you're not interested in writing for any of those, feel free to write for a pairing of your choice. I'll be happy regardless.

I would like a story based on the phrase "Don't touch me, but please don't leave me" someone who is extremely afraid of connection and of being hurt by it, but also can't stand being alone and left behind, always longing for someone, while being eternally afraid of being seen

Crossover

I've seen some people hold the belief that Arcueid would be super into Ryougi Shiki, but what if it was the opposite? What if Ryougi was super into Arc instead?

personally i wanna see kiara peg gojo.

trigun & fgo crossover where all four iterations of trigun is trapped in a singularity that chaldea has to fix. bonus points if knives is helping chaldea to fix the singularity while vash and his pals is against it

what if fgo servants of trigun cast? but each ascension is different version of them?(tristamp, badlands, trimax, 98 anime)

Planet Gunsmoke/No Man's Land is a Lostbelt that Chaldea has to deal with. Million Knives is the Lostbelt summoned servant(temporary). Vash the Humanoid Typhoon/the Stampede is the Lostbelt's King. Post-Lostbelt is Vash and Million Knives getting summoned as two in one servants like the dioscuri

Vash and Million Knives, Chaldea's newest two-in-one Archer servants interacting with other chaldean servants, preferably siblings like the Trung Sisters, Nobunaga and Nobukatsu, Dioscuri, et cetera.

#weekly roundup

[daintyduck99]

Crush prompts! "i think about you a lot." "aw, really?"[panicking] "no." "oh." screams Sweet Tarts to me, idk why.

Carrie giggles with Kayla as they fly around the dance floor, spinning the night away expertly.

Usually, she doesn't get to enjoy these parties so much. She has to focus on whatever event it's attached to, or her next performance, or one of her many classes.

But now? Now the semester is over.

And she's never felt more free.

The music changes, and she floats into the kitchen, keen on finding more of that peach tea, minus the rum this time, maybe. What she finds is even better.

Reggie's leaning against the counter with a smirk, holding his drink away from Julie. Carrie has to huff a laugh as Julie turns her pout on Alex, then Luke, who caves, of course. Julie's a notorious drink thief.

"What is it that you aren't sharing?" Carrie says by way of greeting, swallowing the butterflies that swarm through her when Reggie's eyes meet hers. They shine.

"Rum and coke. I'm not against sharing, necessarily, but someone—" He playfully pokes Julie's ribs, smiling harder when she giggles and bats his hand away a beat too late. "Someone forgets that she starts Godzilla singing at people when she has too much of it."

Julie pouts again, leveling it at everyone and ending with Carrie. "I do not!"

"You do," Alex replies, placing an apologetic kiss to the top of her head. "Like, full on roaring. But melodically. It's adorable, but sober you disagrees, so. She'll thank us later."

Julie buries her face in Luke's shoulder and mumbles petulantly that she won't, but Carrie knows she will. It's disgustingly sweet, how much she and these boys love each other. They have something special.

It's not romantic, not really, or traditionally, or whatever, but Carrie's heart still twists a little when Reggie looks at Julie like that.

She busies herself by searching for the rum and the tea. Reggie reappears right beside her as she's pouring, and it takes everything in her not to splash tea everywhere. She scowls at him as she screws the cap back on the jug.

"Watch it, cowboy. What'd you do with your partners?"

He just laughs, gently tugging the jug out of her hands. He sidesteps and leans around some people to stick it back in the fridge, and she traces the line of his legs in those jeans, his spine and his shoulders in that jacket. She hurriedly takes a sip of her drink before he can turn back around.

She doesn't think these butterflies are the kind she can drown, though.

"Eh, you know them," he says as soon as he's in her space again. "Alex wanted to dance, and Luke and Julie are probably cuddled up somewhere."

Carrie hums over the rim of her cup. She nudges him in a way that she wouldn't if she were more sober, probably.

"And you?"

"Me?" He gives her a disarming grin, tapping his cup against hers. "I'm hanging out with the coolest person here."

She giggles. "You think I'm cool?"

"I think you're badass," he says sincerely, and she bites down on a grin of her own.

"Thanks." And before the silence can grow too charged, her rum-loosened tongue decides to add, "I think about you a lot."

He lifts his chin with a smirk. "Aw, really?"

Fuck.

Her heart thrums like a hummingbird in her throat, beating out the butterflies. "No!"

"Oh." He shrugs. He's still wearing that damn smirk. "Okay. Guess I'll have to tell my partners that I'm giving up on getting the girlfriend. I was gonna see if maybe that really cool person wanted to go on a date later this weekend, but—"

Carrie mashes her palm against his mouth. He has soft lips, and the way they curl against her skin sends a tingle down her spine, but she blinks hard, shoving the sensation away.

"Ask me. Later, when we're both sober. If you ask nicely, I might say yes."

His eyes sparkle, and she shrieks, cradling her hand to her chest.

"Did you seriously just lick me?"

"I'd do more than that if you'd let me," he murmurs, and she shivers. He's never looked at her like this before, so openly.

She's never seen him look at anyone like this, really.

He takes her hand and kisses the back of it. "I think about you a lot, too, you know."

"Whoa there, cowboy." She threads her fingers through his and returns his smirk, though his has softened back into more of a smile. "Let's start with a dance."

#jatp sweet tarts #reggie x carrie #qpr jatp #fluffy crush prompts #ficlets with ash #julie and the phantoms

[pokenimagines]

NSFW Sycamore. Cockwarming/breeding/being bent over a table/“come sit on my lap, love” if any of the above can be included would be awesome.

Back with some of the fun kinks of the world! Let's gooooo!

Discord (16+) - Request Information 

Warning: This is NSFW so if you’re under the legal age or uncomfortable with content like this, please skip over this one!

Sycamore: Office Rendezvous

You were being a little shit. You knew this. He knew this. Anyone who knew your relationship would know this as soon as they spotted it. Yet you weren't about to back down on your current stance. He started this, after all. When you walked into his office he had calmly patted down his own lap, beaconing you to 'Come take a seat, love." in that lovely kalos accent of his.

Now Sycamore's hands were on you, holding you in place so you'd stop squirming while he kept a level voice, speaking on the phone. You had his cock buried to the hilt inside of you, wanting his attention desperately, but the bastard had a phone call to make. Your original plan of riding him to oblivion right next to his pretty clear and semi-reflective desk had got cut short.

He leaned back in his office chair, the creaking disguising the sound of your whimpering every so slightly. You looked up at him with pleading eyes, wanting to move already, but he was stronger than he looked as he held you in place.

You had no idea when the phone call would even be done. He was discussing things that flew right over your head and made no sense. It was almost like he was speaking a different language when he was on these calls.

No amount of pouting or batting your eyelashes at him was going to change his stance. He had a reputation to uphold, and fucking his partner in the middle of an important business call was not it. His grip loosened a bit as he caressed your bare thighs, trying to sooth you but it was doing the exact opposite.

"So the sanctuary is still und-" Sycamore cut himself off by biting his cheek and glaring at you. You contracted your muscles right as he started speaking, causing an instant rush of pleasure to course through him. He put one of his hands up to his mouth and coughed into it, "My apologies, a froakie was in my throat." His voice came out as jovial and made you pout.

With one less hand on you, you decided to shift a bit as the other person began talking again. Sycamore bit down on his lip, trying not to make any sounds but damn was it hard with you right on his cock, wearing one of his purple button up shirts that had more than half the buttons down, giving him a good view of your skin. You had come in with some shorts on that were now discarded next to the desk.

Then you heard it; Sycamore giving his goodbyes to the people on the other side of the line. You perked up excitedly that they were finally finished. As soon as he clicked his phone off you giggled, "About time you fi-AH!"

Sycamore had lifted you off him and twisted you around, pressing you against his clean desk. He pushed off a few pieces of paper and leaned over, growling into your ear.

"Did you think this was funny?" He asked, spreading your legs apart and you swallowed the lump in your throat, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

"I-I mean..." You murmured into the desk. Your arms were crossed, giving you a bit of a cushion for your head and you wiggled your ass, "Kinda..." that got you a harsh smack on the ass that echoed in his empty lab.

"What would you have done if we got caught?" He hummed, wanting an honest answer from you.

"U-uuuuuuuuh..." You couldn't think of a single excuse you could've come up with. Honestly getting caught was never a worry for you. Sycamore was a professional and could handle your teasing.

"We're not out of the woods just yet, love. You didn't lock the door, did you?" He whispered into your ear and your eyes widened. You looked directly across from the desk as the large door with a window on it. You bit your lip, blushing. The window was thankfully a one way, so nobody could see in but you two could see out.

It was later in the evening, but Sycamore's office was rarely vacant. Other professors under him would stay late with their studies often, and you could see one of them walking past his door right now as he spoke.

"Now you need to keep it down so nobody comes in and sees what's going on, understood?" He said and you nodded meekly. You felt his cock breeching your entrance again as he slid right inside. You held back the gasp of excitement as you felt him hilt, "I want you to take it all, do I make myself clear. Every. Last. Drop." He said between thrusts.

You were biting down on your own arm, trying to muffle the noises of pleasure you were making. The skin on skin slapping was echoing and you prayed to whatever deity was out there that it didn't top anyone off outside of his office.

You could feel your ass jiggle with every harsh, languid thrust into you. You could feel tears prickling your eyes when his hand crept between your legs and began playing with your sex. You audibly gasped out when you saw another assistant walking past the door.

Sycamore stilled his movements, waiting for a moment. The assistant looked around, probably wondering where the source of the noise was, before giving up and leaving.

"That was close." Sycamore's voice was anything but worried as he began his pace again. Your legs were shaking as you finally fell apart, biting so hard you almost drew blood on your own arm.

Sycamore grunted lowly and you felt his warm seed pumping into you, coating your walls. You clenched at the thought of it, panting heavily as you tried to regain your senses. After a few moments, Sycamore slipped out of you and seemed to fumble around his desk drawer.

You looked over your shoulder, wondering what he was doing until you noticed he held a plug in his hand. He slipped it between you, plugging you up so his cum wouldn't leak out and he leaned in to give you a kiss. You giggled, slowly standing back up and he place his hands on your waist.

"No doing that again, understood?" He murmured into your ear and you chuckled.

"No guarantees; if you fuck me that good when I'm being a brat I should do it more often." You teased him as he tossed you your pants and you began sliding them on.

"What am I going to do with you?"

#Pokemon x reader #Pokemon #Reader #Reader Insert #X Reader #Fanfiction #Imagines #Request #Request Blog #Pokemon Fanfiction #Pokemon XY x reader #Pokemon XY fanfic #Pokemon XY fic #Pokemon XY headcanon #Pokemon XY imagine #Pokemon X x reader #Pokemon X fanfic #Pokemon X fic #Pokemon X headcanon #Pokemon Y x reader #Pokemon Y fanfic #Pokemon Y fic #Pokemon Y headcanon #Pokemon Y imagine #Sycamore x reader #Sycamore #Pokemon Sycamore #Reader x Sycamore #Sycamore Fic #spicy salt

[herrscherrofyatta]

Walking a pathless path

Luke x F!reader x Marius

warnings: angst, one sided love with Luke, unedited, my memory is a bit hazy with how Luke's backstory is so forgive me for any errors

a/n: finally decided to come back to ToT after months, the amount of unleveled ssr cards I have and only the Luke cards are leveled to the maxed says I simp for him since the Beta

art credits: Yuli031458

Luke looks over to see you talking to one of the other members sent to this mission, briefly going over the plan to get into this warehouse.

"It wouldn't be smart if we all enter, separate teams should be stationed around while a few go inside, that way, if those who enter get trapped or caught, they would have backup immediately." You ponder as Luke walks up to your side.

A handful of you were selected for this and you wanted to be sure everyone got out safely as you were put in charge of this operation once arriving.

Being the only surviving member of your squad, you were now assigned to this after months of working alone.

"Y/n." Luke calls out to you and without sparing a glance at him, "Pearce." You said rather cold, finishing up the final plans before handing it over.

"I'll talk with everyone right away." You watch them walk away as you finally look at Luke. "Was there something you needed?"

"It's been a while since we last talked." He starts off, a year and a half actually, you were out doing your own research for something important since you don't have much time. "I'm surprised you accept this mission, it seems like you like working alone.

To be honest, he missed the time where you two were partners.

"Well, it seemed rather important on the research I'm doing so I figure why not."

You grin at him slightly, despite some time apart, although your heart doesn't beat rapidly around him, you feel a bit nervous around him.

'It's not the time to be thinking about that, I'm only setting myself for a heart break.'

You think to yourself as you two walk back to where everyone else is waiting.

—

Your lungs felt like they were on fire as you cough, inhaling the toxic gasses and you fall to the ground, grasping for air as you hear Luke's worried voice form your earpiece.

"Don't...engage!" You yell, "Luke, I repeat stay outside!"

You hear him say something before the door to the room you were in was kicked open and there was Luke standing there, inhaling the gases.

"Y/n, are you alright?!" He runs, grabbing your by the shoulders as your look at him horrified before covering his mouth as he looks at you confused.

"Don't say anything else, we're breathing toxic gases!" You detach the only gas mask you had for yourself and put it on him.

You feeling the familiar burn in your lungs as you grab the little black flashdrive you had, putting it away as you tell Luke to leave.

"We need to—" Your eyes widen as you catch him, his body limp against you, leaving your surprised.

"Luke? Luke!?" You yell, panicked.

A year later

Leaning up against the wall, looking down the busy streets of Stellis city from Pax's CEO office.

Your arms crossed on your chest as your hair covers the distant look in your eyes, lifting your head upon hearing the door open and close.

"I didn't except to see you so soon, Y/n." You look at Marius who smiles at you before gesturing you to sit. "You look more beautiful then the last time I saw."

He's confused upon seeing how you barely react to his teasing, no sight of your rolling your eyes at him or the sound of a groan coming from you, just pure silence as you let out a tired sigh.

He walks over to you, "what's wrong?" He asked quietly.

And in the most valuable, quietest voice he's heard from you.

"I don't have much time, Marius." You say and his eyes widen.

He can't bring himself to think you'll be gone soon when he just got to see you again after all this time. "Much time for your research?" He hopes you say yes but when you look at him with tired eyes that seem to look their shine with each passing day.

"Marius," he knows, "I'm dying soon."

You smile sadly at him, "I was lucky enough to get 5 years left, I know my research won't go to waste if in your hands." You grab his hand, placing the flashdrive on the palm of his hand as he stares at you in disbelief.

"Does Luke know?"

"No, he thinks we have the same time around. I want him to worry about him, let him enjoy his time with Rosa." You look out to the city again as Marius is quiet behind you.

You felt at peace, knowing all the work you've done will be continue long after you're gone, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Go out with me." You blink, feeling Marius arms wrapped around you from behind.

"Stop teasing me."

"I'm serious," you turn to look at him, seeing how serious he was as he looks down at you with a determined face you rarely saw. "I...I thought we would have enough time, I was afraid of rejection but I'm more afraid of losing you."

He leans his forehead against yours, staring into your eyes as his cheeks flush red as yours mirror his.

Your heart beating rapidly, "let me make you happy until then."

a/n: idk why this turned into a Marius x reader but oh well, angst is angst in the end

#tears of themis x reader #tears of themis #luke pearce #luke pearce x reader #marius x reader #marius x mc

[barbiebiddie]

hi!! sorry if this a bit of a weird question, but ive been getting into t&k and have been recently binging t&k content and theres so much out there! but im mostly getting “t&k lore” so to speak from yt comments and the like. and so far their dynamic seemed very straightforwardly platonic to me until watching old videos of unhhh and being like, did something happen? idk they seemed much more flirty and foward w the kisses and stuff then. i watched some of the old mtv livestream w alyssa and someone said that moment at x time when alyssa was trying to get them to kiss was so tense and awkward. and another one being like they made such a big deal of not touching that when they touch now is weird and im like??? and idk maybe its that they been working w eschother for such a long time the dynamics change and thats that but sometimes im like 👁️👁️. and wanted to know what the tumblr side thought?

oh hey!! first of all, welcome to the t&k cinematic universe <3

second of all, i dont speak for all of the tumblr stans and certainly not for all stans everywhere, so this is just my opinion!

(this got quite long, so my thoughts after the post break)

now, when we talk those two's dynamic, we gotta start from what i consider 'the beginning'. so, 2014 up to 2017-ish. back then? their energy was absolutely more romantic and their interactions were heavily based on flirting. now, was this just their organic chemistry shining through or was this played up for audiences to eat up?? nobody knows. hell! i dont think they know. these are the years and the interactions that i consider key to everything else that follows, it influences everything.

then, we have 2018. what happened in this time, i think, is partly responsible for their relationship changing and becoming what is it right now. this is when they realized, by no easy means, just how much they meant to each other and how deep their emotions ran. after that, their energy leveled out and their interactions softened out. as a defense mechanism for self-preservation of their own emotions? as a way to protect their extremely important friendship and their working relationship? i think a mixture of all of those. i dont think the energy that i mentioned is gone, i just think it gets channeled a lot more tamely now that they're in a more mature spot of their lives. (if you dont know what happened back in 2018, i wont try to explain in clumsy words, ill just redirect you to the source. i recommend trixie's documentary 'moving parts' as well as these podcasts x, x, x, x, x,)

now, we have 2019 up until now. i think this is where their 'platonic' era begins. it certainly can be seen that way, and they definitely want everyone to see it that way, e.g 'we're casual friends' 'we're business partners' (shoutout to trixie). BUT, i believe this is outweighed by the intimacy and closeness that they show in literally all aspects of their life. do i think they're romantically involved now? no. do i think the romantic undertones that they used to have has tinted their energy up until now? absolutely.

of course, this is just my opinion. if you want to draw your own conclusions, do it in a safely manner (so dont do it somewhere that t&k could see, like twt, cause thats not cool)

this got so long, so if you wanted a concise answer, im so sorry anon. but these are my thoughts! 😅

#this is why i shouldnt be asked stuff #im an essayist im gonna start saying too much sorry anon

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

Hi,

Can you give me a framework for friendships? What can I expect, when am I allowed to be hurt etc.

I never had many friends that I'd see outside school and I am always very loyal and devoting, but I know that not everybody is like that so I can't just use myself as a blueprint.

I often, when I am hurt, feel like that's on me, since I expect more than what's normal in a friendship. Hence, I need a framework.

For example, I have a friend in another country. We're writing, for 2 years now, some days a few hours and some days not at all. He's started dating (/ using dating apps) since he is very desperately looking for a partner. Every other day he tells me of this person, he just started writing with, that he thinks would be the perfect spouse. I am not exaggerating. Not at all.

He often leaves our chats in mid talking for some days and won't go on with the same chat, once he returns. Which leaves asked questions open, stuff not explained etc. Our chats are often very deep and since we are from different countries and cultures often need a lot of explanation to one another.

And I am pretty hurt. I don't like it when people leave chats without saying "that's it for today". And he told me a few times, that he often only writes with me, when a potential partner doesn't answer him (all people turned out as "not potential spouse" after a few days but then there's another person that can take their role). I am very against this "desperate-dating" but I am even objectively hurt. I think a friend should be worth more of your time than "potential spouse #12", if you know that person for 2 days and haven't met yet. I know he'll be very busy once he'll meet some people in real life and maybe find a partner. And that's perfectly fine. But already now?

He wrote me, after a week in which I really would've needed him, and he knew it, and I don't want to answer. Or, I thought about saying "please answer the questions from our last chat" but on the other hand, I am just a friend. Not family, no partner. I don't feel like I'm in the position to expect anything.

Hi anon,

I’m sorry this has been a struggle lately - and my apologies for a belated reply - perhaps things have improved since you sent this, but either way, I’d like to start with the first part where you wrote “What can I expect, when I am allowed to be hurt etc.”

Your feelings are your own. You do not need the permission, or acceptance of someone else telling you when you’re “allowed” to be hurt. Your feelings exist outside of whether someone sees, validates, or acknowledges them. They are just there, and though sometimes it can be imperative to share feelings to help explain a boundary (for example, “When you leave our chats without saying goodbye first, I feel (insert whatever speaks to you), and moving forward I would really appreciate if you could sign off in some way, thank you.”) - that does not mean they have to agree with you in order for your feelings to have merit.

And because you mentioned a framework for expectations in a friendship, here are some outlines I’ve found (because I didn’t want to provide just one, potentially biased personal view) - ten ways to be a better friend graphic, and this pdf template about potential suggestions when it comes to specific feelings. But I also want to highlight this graphic about the choices available to you to foster healthier relationships.

Understandably my hope is that this situation is nothing but a misunderstanding, a potential for a different level of communication among shifting needs and individual growth, but yes, there is a chance that you could state a boundary, communicate a need, and the friendship tapers off. In the end, we cannot force anyone into a relationship with us - and there is a power in that acceptance, in that no one can force you either! - and if anything, their potential reaction could give you the feedback you needed to make an informed decision moving forward.

Regardless of whatever may happen next, whether it be with this friendship, or future ones, my personal recommendation is sharing your needs and boundaries early on. This doesn’t have to be a venting session, or “info dump” but even casually mentioning how you appreciate a sign off when they’re done with the conversation, might not be a given for others, so once shared, they can hopefully help honor that request, and it allows them to share things they’d like to see in the friendship as well.

At the end of the day, you can do everything “right” and sometimes we just outgrow people, or don’t align in similar end goals, and it’s not a personal reflection on anyone. But again, my hope is that this is merely a situation of communicating needs, and it will be met with reciprocity and compassion.

Lastly, in the end you shared you are "just a friend" - and though it is understandable that someone not ignore the needs of their romantic relationships, it's equally imperative to acknowledge that friendships are important, too. And I do not think you are being too demanding by simply asking for communication and clarity on where things stand.

- Mod Kat

#trauma talks #mod kat #friendships #interpersonal relationships

[amberrskiies]

Comfort Crowd - MC! Monday Prompt #5

Prompt : MC decides it’s time to introduce their favorite to the ones they’re closest to in the human world. What happens? Do they know the favorite’s not mortal? How do MC’s loved ones react?

Characters : Amber (MC), Leviathan && Three Original Characters

Pairing : Leviathan && Amber (MC) [ Romantic Relationship ]

Status : Dating

Timeline : Somewhere in Season 3 of the game

Prompt provided by @obeythedemons ! For the full MC! Monday List, it can be found here!

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

"I'm kind of nervous..." The words left Levi's mouth as he and Amber walked on the road of the Human Realm where she decided to make him meet her closest one.

"You don't have anything to be nervous about. I'll be honest when I say Miss Vivien is a kind lady." She reassured him, lightly squeezing his hand as he sighed.

"I-I know it's just... It's just feels like I am meeting your family..." He breathed out, nervously as the female giggled.

"Well I guess it's kind of like that since she took care of me till I had to leave the orphanage. But trust me, it's going to be okay." Levi listened to her but he couldn't help but feel nervous but for her, he had to pull through.

"Alright. I guess I'll take your word for it." He said, smiling a little.

"Great! Now let's get going! We're not far from our destination." She said, pulling him along as he followed behind.

After some time they came across a house-like building where there was a small playground in front of it and some of the children where playing around.

Levi took a good look at the place. Everything seemed to be well kept and the building in front looked like it has been repainted a month back or something.

Amber then walked over the front steps and knocked on the door as they both waited around for somebody to open it, especially Miss Vivien. After awhile the door opened to reveal a small girl who seemed not older than 10.

"Hello?" She spoke up.

"Hello kiddo. Is Miss Vivien here?" Amber asked slightly crouching down to the little girl's level.

"Yes! She's slightly busy but you can come in." The little girl said, moving out of the way to let the two in.

"Do you want me to get her for you?" The girl asked.

"Oh no it's fine! We can wait arou-" She started but was interrupted by a new voice, belonging to a middle aged lady.

"Ena? Who was that at the do-" The middle aged lady stopped midway as she saw the familiar young adult standing in front of her.

"Hello Miss Vivi! I hope I am not interrupting your work or anything..." Amber said, smiling a little.

"Oh heavens no you aren't! It's so great to see you!" Miss Vivien came over and hugged the tall girl before looking over at the demon beside her.

"Now who's this handsome young man?" She asked Amber as Levi instantly felt embarrassed at the compliment.

"Oh this is Levi! The one I've told you about a couple of times." Amber said as Miss Vivi's eyes lit up.

"Oh! You are her boyfriend. It's very lovely to meet you." Miss Vivi said as Levi nervously smiled.

"I-It's nice meeting you too, ma'am..." He said.

"Please no need for formalities! Just call me Vivi." She told him like a mother a would to their child's friend or partner.

"How have you been Miss Vivi? I hope things haven't really been difficult." Amber spoke up.

"Oh no worries. Some problems are easy to handle. Besides I have some help from time to time so it's no problem." She said and just then a another voice was heard from behind.

"Miss Vivi! I am done stacking the bo- huh? Amber?" The person looked to be a boy who was about five inches taller than Amber but the same height as Levi. He had sandy blonde hair and dark brown eyes.

"Do i look any different than Akito? You're just getting older and older." Amber said in joking manner but she too was surprised to see him after three years.

"Haha! Good to see you too Munchkin! You've grown taller!" The male said, ruffling her hair as she protested.

Levi stared at the two. He had heard about Akito a couple of times when Amber would mention him about how he took care of her when she was in the orphanage. Seeing them like this made him think they were both siblings even though they aren't but act like it.

"So who's this?" Levi snapped out of his thought as he saw Akito looking at his direction.

For some reason this made him a little nervous but he stayed relaxed since he was probably overthinking it.

"Oh! This is Levi! I told you about him a couple of times!" Amber said as Levi was stunned that she told Akito about him.

"Ah! You're her boyfriend. Nice to meet you Levi." He greeted the demon, extending his hand.

"L-Likewise." Levi said, shaking his hand, still slightly tensed.

"While you two talk with each other, I'll just steal Amber for a bit to help me with somethings around here." Miss Vivien said as Amber nodded.

"Sure I'll help out! See you two in a bit." Amber said, following Miss Vivi at the back, leaving the two boys alone in one spot.

"So... You're Akito? I heard many good things about you from Amber." Levi spoke up after a bit which caught Akito's attention.

"Hm? Oh yeah it's the same with you. She said really good things about you too." He said before continuing.

"I am honestly glad to see her happy with someone who cares about her. Though I never expected that someone to be of a different specie." He said, which instantly made Levi's eyes widen as he looked at him questioningly.

"How do I know? She told me. She pretty much has my trust so she told me. She didn't know how Miss Vivi would react upon finding out so she told me instead. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." He told the avatar of envy who had relaxed.

"Demon or not, I'm glad that you're taking care of her well along with your brothers and friends. I think you know about her ex-crush and so-called friends back in highschool?" He asked him as he slowly nodded.

"Yeah she told me about them." He confessed.

"Yeah. It was pretty hard for her to make friends afterwards. But I see how happy she has become after befriending you and your brothers and how she's happy with you. I hope it stays like that. I'd hate to see her heartbroken all over again." Akito said as Levi nodded.

"I'll keep my word." Levi told him as Akito smiled, fully knowing that he will stay true to his promise.

"Good to hear." Right at that moment, footsteps were heard.

"Aki! You never told me you recently got engaged to your girlfriend!" Amber said, looking betrayed in a joking way.

"You never asked." He said, laughing a little.

"Well you better let me know about when the wedding will take place and then you're forgiven." She said.

"Sure sure I will." He said, patting her head as Amber's D.D.D. went off as she saw a text from Lucifer.

"Do you have to go now?" Miss Vivi asked.

"Ah yeah sadly. Wish we could stay a little longer but we have to go." Amber sighed, putting her D.D.D. away.

"Well you're welcome to come back anytime. I always love it when you visit." She said as Amber smiled.

"Of course! You're on the top of my list for visiting! There's no way I'll forget!" She said, making both Miss Vivi and Akito smile.

"Come on Levi, let's go." She told him as he nodded.

They both bid Vivien and Akito farewell as they exited the orphanage and were now on their way home where everyone was waiting.

"It was a really nice visit. Did you enjoy it?" Amber asked Levi who nodded.

"Yeah. I guess you were right. I was worried for nothing." He admitted as she smiled.

"Told you! So... what did you and Aki talk about while I was gone?" She asked.

"Eh well somethings I guess. It's kind of between him and me." He told her as she rolled her eyes playfully.

"You're no fun." She said, letting out a small smile before grabbing his free hand on the side.

"We should get going or Lucifer will have our heads for being late." She told him as he sighed.

"Yeah let's go." He said, holding her hand the entire walk back to her home.

A/N - yeah no I feel like I butchered this one ;-;

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me one master to rule them all #obey me leviathan #leviathan #obey me levi #obey me mc #obey me x mc #obey me leviathan x amber #obey me leviathan x mc #obey me levi x mc #obey me levi x amber #leviathan x mc #leviathan x amber #mc! monday prompt 5 #mc! monday #obey me mc: amber

[the-hoarse-bard]

The journey into Utah was shockingly uneventful, giving Masterson plenty of time to fill me in on the details of what exactly we were doing. The expedition was funded in full by the Happy Trails caravan company, to reestablish contact with the settlement of New Canaan. The New Canaanites were... Something like a cult, but they were fair and honest traders, making them good business partners.

Jed also warned me against mentioning the name Joshua Graham to anyone we might run into. A former legate of Caesar's, the very one that had been behind the battle that leveled most of Boulder City. He had been one of the New Canaanites at one point, joining Caesar made him a pariah among them. After losing at Boulder City, Caesar made an example of him. He had him doused in pitch, set on fire and thrown into the Grand Canyon. They say he didn't even scream on the way down.

Some say Joshua survived his ordeal somehow, and now walks the wastes as The Burned Man. The more superstitious types out there consider him some kind of ghost. Jed implied that Joshua might be the reason New Canaan has gone quiet. Maybe Joshua Graham finally found his way home...

It was around noon when we stopped to rest at the end of the trail. I stood at the edge of the canyon, looking out across the valley and downed the last of my cup of coffee, trying in vain to keep the light rain from watering it down, as Jed addressed the rest of the group, "All right, people. Been a long couple of weeks, but here we are. Zion. I know your feet hurt, I know you're tired, but I need everyone's mind on the trail ahead," I held out my empty mug to let the rain rinse it out a bit before I returned it to my bag and shouldered the duffel again. One of the guards responded to Jed, a woman named Stella, "Ain't the trail ahead that worries me, Jed. That descent we made through that slot canyon back there? Ain't no way we're gettin' back out the way we come. And then what?" Jed stopped her, "Goddammit Stella, I heard you the first time, and the fifteenth too. The New Canaanites will know a way. And if they don't, we've got the maps on our friends pip-boy over here," he patted me on the shoulder, and yelled, "Alright, enough lollygagging! Get moving, and keep an eye out for hostiles!"

Everyone picked up their bags and we continued down the trail. I overheard Stella grumble, "Sorry to bother ya with reality, ol' Jed. Who cares if we can't get out the way we come? That ain't a problem," She picked up her laser rifle and joined the walk forward after I passed her by. A pebble fell down a nearby cliff, and one of the guards held up a hand, "Shh... Hold on now! Think I heard something up ahead." I grabbed Lucky from it's holster at my side, and watched the cliffs for movements. Everyone stopped and was silent. You could cut the tension with a knife.

In a boom of thunder, the gunfire started. The distinctive rattle of tommy guns rang out from the cliffs. I dived behind a rock as the leading caravan guard was riddled with holes. Jed ran behind the canyon wall, shouting, "God dammit, White Legs! Take cover!" There was a pause in the gunfire, and I peeked out and hit one of the shooters I had picked out against the grey sky. The fire resumed, and took out another guard as he aimed his grenade launcher, his shot going wild and taking a huge chunk out of a rock up the cliff. A pair of white legs ran up the path, finishing the third guard. Stella hit one square in the eye, and I got the other. Jed came out from his hiding place, and started spraying the cliff tops with his pistol. One body fell from the cliff as he ducked back into cover. Suddenly, a grenade came flying from over one of the rocks. It bounced up next to Stella, and she shouted out, "Shit!" before it blew her to bits and knocked me flat on my ass. Through my ringing ears, I heard Jed yell, "Goddammit! Stella! You bastards!" He came out and started taking pot shots at the cliff again. He got off about half his magazine before he was full of holes. I propped myself up on my elbow and retrieved Lucky from where I'd dropped it. I took aim at the remaining laughing figure up on the cliff through my hazy vision, and fired, taking his head clean off.

I sighed, and my arm gave out, leaving me face down in the mud. I rolled over and lay there a moment to catch my breath and wait for my head to stop pounding. I heard voices from up the trail. Unfamiliar ones. I stuffed Lucky back in it's holster and stood up shakily. I had to get out of here. I pulled my shotgun from my duffel, and did a quick ammo check... Five in the tube... And eight in reserve... I swallowed hard. Thirteen shells. I shook my head, returned the shells to my belt, and cocked the lever. No time for that now. I did a quick check of the bodies for extra ammo. No extra shotgun shells, but I wouldn't let their deaths go to waste.

I limped down the trail and saw a rickety rope bridge ahead. As I got close to it, I caught a pair of White Legs out of the corner of my eye waiting in ambush. The voices I heard earlier. I dove backwards, landing in the mud on my back as they opened fire. Before they could adjust their aim, I fired two shells at each of them, killing one outright, and causing the other to stumble off the cliff to his demise on the shore of the river below. I sighed, and stood up out of the mud for the second time in as many minutes. At least I had that number off me. I loaded four more shells into the tube. It was going to be a long day. And it was barely half over.

#story post #Will #fallout new vegas #Honest Hearts #White Legs #Happy Trails

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

Hello! Come to you with a question that's probably impossible to answer, but I gotta give it a try. Me and my partner had an amazing sex life that lasted for years, then we started taking SSRIs and we simply don't have a sex life anymore. I'm adjusting my meds so my sex drive comes back, but he has tried lots os treatments before and this is the first combination that works, so he doesn't have much room to experiment. This is no deal breaker but we're both disappointed and soon my libido will come back but his will not :( How to deal with that?

hi anon,

this isn't impossible at all; you're gravely underestimating me - and yourself and your partner!

I think the two of you are actually coming at this with a HUGE advantage, in that the two of you already know you're probably about to enter a period of mismatched libido and are already talking about it. generally speaking, I would say that the VAST majority of relationships with mismatched libidos usually stems from both partners simply assuming that either their sex drive or their partner's must be wrong somehow, taking it personally, and all communication on the matter falling to shambles. from the sound of things, you and your partner are already avoiding that particular pitfall since you know exactly what the issue is likely to be and why it's happening - and crucially, that nobody involved is at fault for it.

so, first off: the two of you are about to enter an experimental period that could be REALLY FUN if you let it. as your sex drive starts returning to you, make note of what that feels and looks like - and how often he's interested he's interested in going along. while he may never be the one initiating, there's every chance in the world that once you get things moving he'll find himself feeling similarly - or at least interested enough to keep things moving with you.

speaking from my own experience, there are a number of ways that a good ol' SSRI can make your libido funky. while my sex drive burrowed deep underground for a good year or so after I first started lexapro, the opportunity of partnered sex still would have pulled it right back out - and masturbation was absolutely still on the table, even with my libido flatlining, because it still felt nice even if I wasn't particularly horny.

am I suggesting that the two of you make a fun little couples' activity out of comparing notes on your wildly fluctuating levels of sex drive and what you think each of you might still be into? oh my god, absolutely yes. are you kidding me? that's hot as hell. do that.

also, when in doubt: schedule it out. scheduling sex gets a REALLY bad reputation, usually painting it as the desperate last ditch effort of a failing relationship, but I think that's horseshit. listen, most adults are busy anyway; scheduling things is so good and helpful, especially if it's something that's important to your relationship! plus, in a potential mismatch situation like this, setting a specific date for sex will help set reasonable expectations for both partners and help them know what and when to expect it, and help each of them get into the right mindset accordingly.

additionally, this is a GREAT period to explore other forms of intimacy together, including ones that could be entirely non-sexual if your partner ends up finding that sex is going to be a hard no for him altogether. there's never a BAD time to talk in-depth with a partner about different ways in which you might want to show and receive affection and spend your time together, but right now you have an absolutely banging excuse to kick that conversation off and talk about what a relationship with a vastly altered sexual component will look like for both of you.

#sex edventures 2022

[ask-reno]

hey reno, im really scared, i don’t want guys harassing and flirting me when i start traveling all over the world bc im now a flight attendant, so can i wear an engagement ring and say you gave it to me ?

💛

Okay, look. Real talk for a hot sec.

Like I can see what you're doin' here.

Contrary to popular belief? I actually ain't the lowest level of materia in the company-provided box. I'd say 'well-played,' 'cept honestly you're bein' obvious as fuck rn.

(And hmu again about this, my flight-attendant babe, bc we should probably talk about it one-on-one sometime, yo. I mean it. I wanna talk to YOU.)

But babycakes, if you wanna buy yourself a damn ring? You can claim it's from Bahamut himself for all I care. That's YOUR prerogative. You don't need my permission if you wanna say it's from me, an' I got no business stoppin' you if you wanna play that game. You do you, do what you gotta do to feel safe, etc.

I already said I ain't the marryin' kind, tho. And every grunt to SOLDIER to exec in this whole damn beast of a company knows that about me. So truth be told, you probably ain't foolin' no one with the engagement line, 'least not so long as you're talkin' to anyone who knows me even a tiny little bit.

Not to say I won't show up like I'm raining down the damn Knights of the Round if I so much as hear someone's claimin' to threaten my 'fiancé' or whatever. Even if I don't fuckin' know you, yo. Even if I got no fiancé I ever heard about. You got me for that much, if nothin' else. You got Reno of the Turks at your back... IF I can be there.

THING IS. (And this is where the warning happens, okay? This is where I gotta get serious and I HATE gettin' serious so I'm only gonna say this ONCE.)

I mostly can't fuckin' be there. That's the kicker.

Because I ain't your fuckin' boyfriend.

I ain't your boyfriend or your fiancé or your partner in crime or even you damn friend, if we're bein' honest here.

I'm a Turk.

I got one partner, one job, one loyalty.

So as much as I love that y'all love me and usually I'm all for fun and games... don't let's be foolin' ourselves, okay? Don't ever forget WHO I AM. Don't be fooled by the fool.

I might come runnin' if I'm off duty and bored, make no mistake. But what I gotta make crystal clear is: the games only go on so long as no one gets too serious. Because I am NOT a serious guy and I'm 'specially NOT the guy you want to rely on. Ever.

I am not YOUR guy. I am ShinRa. Always.

(But seriously, to my yellow-heart flight babe: call me. Let's talk.)

#reno rp #reno #reno of the turks #ffvii turks #ffvii rp #ff7 rp #final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7 #ffvii #ff7 #final fantasy vii rp #this one got long #this one got accidentally serious #sorry to my asker #sometimes even reno gets real #he doesn't mean to be mean #but there can be no confusion #the company man #the shinra man #the turk #the turks #this was coming for all askers tbh #since people keep asking about marriage and shit #sorry for writing a novel #but srsly og asker should pm me reno would love to talk