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starlitangels · 1 year

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If It’s a Lie (I Don’t Care)

So. If y’all haven’t read my Bastard Warrior high-school-English-style essay (<- link), you’re probably not going to be aware of what musings of mine inspired this... maybe go give it a read? (The TL;DR is that Albus’ subconscious put him in a fantasy instead of his happiest memory, like Devlin was in, because Albus doesn’t have happy memories. I was confused why Faithful didn’t feature in the fantasy considering he’s so in love with her and knew exactly how to make the fantasy even happier for him) 5.8k words (holy sh!+ this one got away from me. I was expecting 2.2k)

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“Alright, I know you don’t really need to hear this from me, but… please, be careful,” Devlin said, eyes flicking between me and his younger brother lying on the medical bay gurney. “I’ll keep an eye on everything out here.”

I nodded and set the Key against Albus’ forehead, feeling the sinkhole of psychic power drag me into unconsciousness.

—

Quiet grunts and a gentle sigh were the first thing I heard as I emerged into Albus’ mind. My eyes were closed and I was pleasantly warm. Everything around me was soft and I was lying down.

“Good morning, princess,” a familiar voice said quietly.

My eyes flew open.

“Albus!” I whisper-shouted, scrambling to get over to him, realizing I was under sheets and blankets, before throwing my arms around him as best I could.

“Oof,” he muttered as I impacted against him, holding tight. “Is… everything alright, darling?” He held onto me in the hug, but slowly released me, leaning back to look me in the eye, and I started to take stock of where we were.

Albus was lying beside me, shirtless, in a bed of white sheets and fuzzy blankets. His hair and beard were tidier than I’d ever seen them before—and the scars on his face were gone. Instead he sported a new one on his left temple that wasn’t even half the length of his real facial scars. His warm, dark eyes held concern in them, but none of the anger I’d come to recognize every time I looked at him. They were more open and honest than I’d ever seen them. There were no walls. No guards he had in place between him and the rest of the world.

His bare chest and arms had a peppering of small scars too, but not the ones I’d patched up from the demon when we first met, or every injury I’d bandaged since.

I realized I wasn’t wearing anything either. Not even a nightdress or a slip. The sheets covered my modesty but I could feel them against every inch of bare skin that I usually kept covered by clothing. My heart started pounding.

“Everything’s… everything’s fine. I’m just happy to see you,” I said.

He scrunched his eyebrows. “You saw me last night when we went to bed,” he said in a tone that sounded like he was trying to politely point out something obvious. He lifted a hand and pressed the back of it to my forehead. “Are you feeling alright?”

I shoved his hand off my head. “I’m fine,” I retorted. Then my eyes caught sight of a flash of light.

There was a bright gold ring on his ring finger.

His left ring finger.

He smiled at me when I shoved his hand away. “There she is,” he said. “There’s the woman I love.” He removed his wrist from my hands and trailed the backs of his fingers down the side of my face before moving them to trace idle patterns over my shoulder. “You had me worried for a moment there.”

I looked around, taking in our surroundings.

What… what was this? Where were we? I was in his head, sure, but this place looked and felt real. When I’d delved into Devlin’s mind, I’d seen… glitches. Wavering in the scenery. Tricks to reveal the workshop was just a memory.

But this place looked nothing like anywhere in our world. The architecture was wrong—I’d never seen wood the shade of the planks used to make the walls. This wasn’t a reflection of our home-world.

This wasn’t his happiest memory, as Devlin’s had been.

“Where… where are we?” I asked tentatively.

His eyebrows knitted together again. “Our… bedroom?”

Our?!

I didn’t say that out loud, but I couldn’t stop my eyebrows from arching in surprise and confusion.

“Are you sure you’re alright? Why are you acting like this is new?” Albus sat up just enough to perch on his elbow and look down at me. I’d seen him shirtless before when I’d patched him up a few times, but this time with him actually conscious I tried much harder than usual to not stare. The conspicuous lack of the Bastard’s Mark over his heart was throwing me off just as much as everything else. “Darling? Are you having nightmares again?”

My first instinct was to snap at him to cut it out with the pet names—but the words died on my tongue. The concern on his face—the way his eyes looked at me…

Visceral memories of Knight-Captain Bran threatening me at the Wall of Dawn and the terror on Albus’ face shot through my head.

I swallowed and hid myself under the white sheet. “Kind of,” I said quietly, still trying to figure out what was happening.

With some shuffling, Albus climbed under the sheet himself.

“There’s no ‘kind of’ with nightmares. Either you are, or you aren’t,” he said sharply. And for a moment, the softness and tenderness vanished, leaving behind the rough, sarcastic tone I was used to. Then his eyebrows twitched and the rest came back. “I… I don’t know why I said that. Forgive me.”

Before I could say anything, heavy pounding resounded off the door. “Do you two plan on getting up while it’s still morning?”

At this point, I’d know Devlin’s voice anywhere—and that was definitely him.

Albus rolled his eyes. That much, at least, was familiar. He rolled over to face the door. “We’re already awake, brother!”

“Well then how about you consider getting out of bed and—”

“Dev, are you really going to interrupt a husband and wife who finally get a lazy morning to themselves?” Albus snapped.

A who and a who?!

I looked down at my hand. Albus was wearing a ring, I’d seen that. I wasn’t though.

I didn’t know how to describe the noise Devlin made. It was almost akin to a squeak. “O-oh. Well. Then. I’ll… leave you to it. Come downstairs when you’re ready.”

Footsteps thudded down some stairs nearby.

Albus sighed and glanced at me, both of us still under the bedsheet like children playing in a blanket fort. “I know it was my idea to live at the inn and help my brother run it but if I’d known he was going to be this nosy, I probably wouldn’t have ever suggested it. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” I said automatically. But also because Albus apologizing felt weird.

“Still. Feel like I should.” He inhaled and then slowly breathed out. “So… kiss and then get ready to head downstairs for the day?”

Kiss? Kiss?! First the husband and wife thing and now—

“Yeah.”

Maybe it was better to play along for the moment? I didn’t know how long Albus’ body had back in the real world and whether time moved slower here—the way it did in dreams. How long could I put off the reality check?

Albus shuffled over the mattress to be closer to me. I tried to relax into the kiss, but couldn’t.

The second he pulled away, I rolled over so I was facing away and peeked out from under the sheet at the floor beside the bed.

Oh, thank the gods, I thought.

My usual clothing—that I did recognize from home—sat in a pile on the floor.

I slipped out of the bed and started pulling on my underthings first. Keeping my back to Albus and trying to keep my modesty as covered as possible.

I heard the blankets and sheets get thrown off and then Albus’ chuckle. “Trying to hide, princess?”

I scowled.

“C’mon. We’ve been married for a year. There’s no need to be modest,” Albus said. There was no sarcasm in his words. Just gentle encouragement.

I scooped up my shirt and temple tunic, pulling them on one after the other. Under them sat the necklace chain with the shiny ring Albus usually wore but I’d put on after the heartripper attack. I slung it over my head and tucked it down the front of my tunic. It brushed against my shirt’s lace ring with a metallic shing!

“Did you say something?” Albus asked.

I shook my head. “No.”

“Mm. Strange. Thought you did.”

More shuffling of fabric behind me and I heard feet hit the wooden floor. I widened my eyes at the ground and made a point of not looking behind me as I shimmed my socks up my legs. Once they were in place, I was fully clothed. So I went to the small vanity in the corner of the bedroom and fixed up the rest of my appearance with the tarnishing mirror, taming my bedhead and then making sure my hair was taken care of the way I usually had it.

Albus wrapped his arms around me from behind, burying his nose in my neck and inhaling deeply. “You forgot your ring,” he said. One of his hands twisted so his palm faced upward and revealed a gold ring with a small, vibrant blue sapphire set on it.

I took it from his hand and slid it onto my finger. It was a perfect fit. I stared at it for a moment, ignoring his bare skin in the reflection of the mirror. “Thanks,” I said softly. I slipped out of his embrace and headed for the door. “I’ll see you downstairs?”

“Yeah. See you downstairs.” He sounded a bit confused but I dodged out of the room before he could ask any more questions.

I stopped halfway down the stairs, hand on the railing, and blinked hard several times.

There was no way I’d be able to keep up any charade—and Albus needed to come back. He was dying and I had to save him. This little fantasy was just that—a fantasy. And Devlin and I needed him back in the real world.

I sucked in a deep breath and sighed before finishing my path down the stairs.

Where I spilled out into a tavern. Mostly empty, apart from Devlin behind the bar.

“Oh. Good morning. I thought you two were going to be another hour, at least,” he greeted when he saw me.

I bit my tongue for a moment. “Nope,” I said.

He hummed, looking a little red around the ears, wiping out glass steins with a towel in his hand. His… his hand.

“Your hand,” I said quietly.

“What about it?” He looked down at it.

“It’s flesh and blood.”

“Of course it is… why wouldn’t it be? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” I insisted. “I’m getting a little sick of being asked that this morning.”

Devlin arched his eyebrows. “I’m sorry. You’re just acting a little strange.”

“Compared to what?” I asked snappishly.

“Well, you and Albus have been living here for nearly a year. I think I have a fairly solid idea of your usual behavior.”

I’m sure you would if you were real, I thought. Instead I just rolled my eyes. “Whatever,” I muttered. I went to the bar of the tavern and leaned against it, watching Devlin’s normal hand—not his forgemaster prosthetic—wipe down the glass. He had the sleeves of his shirt rolled above his elbows. There were a few scars on his knuckles and freckles all the way down his arm.

Heavy footsteps thundered down the stairs. Albus emerged, stretching his arms and back. “Morning Dev,” he greeted.

“Good morning,” Devlin replied blithely. “Sorry for interrupting your morning… activities.”

I dropped my head to look down at the bar with wide eyes, pursed lips, and the fire of embarrassment burning everywhere at the implication—while Albus burst out laughing. I heard his boots click against the wooden floor and he draped himself over my back. Wrapping his arms around me and planting his chin on my shoulder. “You weren’t interrupting anything like that, promise,” Albus said. “We were just talking. Enjoying the peace and quiet for a while. Right, princess?” He tilted his head and planted a kiss in the spot where my cheekbone met my temple.

“Mmhmm,” I muttered.

“Aw, Dev. You’ve embarrassed her,” Albus chided playfully.

“Apologies. I was trying to be delicate,” Devlin said.

“It’s fine,” I mumbled.

Albus chuckled again and gave me a squeeze. “So, darling. Day off for the two of us. What do you want to do with it?”

I spun around in his arms to face him—completely unable to break his grip if I tried—and paused before I could cut to the chase. I’d never seen him in any colors other than blacks and greys. The creamy off-white linen shirt and brown trousers made his dark hair stand in much starker contrast than usual.

It was actually quite the fetching look on him.

I stared for a few solid seconds, eyes roaming the way the shirt clung to his shoulders and arms but the laces up the front were open halfway down his chest.

A slow, smug smile crept its way up Albus’ face. “Mm. Should we go back to our room after all?”

Devlin, to his credit, turned his bark of laughter into a cough.

There was that fire of embarrassment again. No time to think about that now, I thought sharply to myself. Shoving all the mortifying thoughts down.

“Actually, Albus,” I started, “I was hoping to talk to you about something.”

Albus sighed. “Okay. I’m all yours,” he said.

“Let’s go sit down.” I wrapped his forearm in both my hands and tugged him over to a corner booth in the otherwise-empty tavern. He followed me without resisting. But instead of sitting opposite me like I indicated, he sat next to me. “Albus… this is going to… to be hard to hear. But there’s no point in me pretending.”

“Darling, what are you talking about?”

“Just let me explain, alright?” I asked entreatingly, trying to curb my attitude. I set my hand on top of his on the table and threaded my fingers between his. The calluses weren’t as thick or hard here as they were in the real world. “This… this is a dream. None of this is real. We’re from a place called New Tennessee. You and I haven’t been married for a year. I met you about a month ago in a region called the Far Eastern Faithlands.”

Albus’ eyes widened as I spoke and he shook his head. “Don’t… no. Don’t do this to me. Please,” he breathed. His hand tensed under mine.

“I’m sorry, Albus. I have to.” I blinked and felt a pair of warm trails slide down my face as tears fell. “Where we’re really from, we’re both paladins. You’re a warrior, I’m a temple attendant. And… and in the real world, you’re a bastard…”

I kept explaining, watching denial stitch itself into the lines of Albus’ face.

“You’re lying,” he said when I was done. “I just can’t figure out why.”

“Then what’s the truth?”

“I’ll tell you. I was born in Trents. My father taught me to fight when I was a kid and my mother taught me to keep my nose clean. When I was old enough, I joined my brother’s platoon and journeyed across Queria until he decided to take up work outside of combat. I was his right-hand at the time so I was given the position of knight-captain. We settled here, and that’s when I met you. I courted you for just under a year and then just under a year ago we got married and we’ve been living here helping Devlin run this place when I’m not out on patrol.”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes with a sigh. That sounded like a nice life. The kind he deserved after all the pain he’d been through. The pain I’d put him through, and whatever he’d experienced before we met that he was so reticent to talk about. But it wasn’t his life. Not his real one.

“I… I’m sorry, Albus. But I’m not lying to you. I wouldn’t lie to you about something like this. I… I have lied to you before. I didn’t tell you that my brother had kidnapped a child at first. But I would never lie about something like this. Please, Albus.” I squeezed his hand gently.

“No. No—stop it!” He ripped his hand away from mine and shoved out of the booth, stumbling across the tavern floor and nearly crashing into a table. The motion of him pulling away jerked me after him. I hissed in pain—and when I looked up, Albus was staring at me. Wide-eyed. His gaze was on… my chest?

I looked down. No. Not my chest.

His ring had fallen out from under my tunic with getting yanked forward.

“What is that?” His voice went hard and sharp. “Where did you get that ring?”

Promising. “Have you seen it before?”

“Yes. But I… I don’t know where.” He kept staring at it.

Devlin was watching us from the bar, but was no longer pretending to wipe out steins.

I swallowed to try and steady myself. “Do you want to hold it?” I asked gently.

Albus blinked finally, but there was a glaze on his eyes. Almost like he was entranced. “Y… yeah.”

I slung the thick, heavy chain off over my head and held it out. Albus took the chain first, and carefully lowered the ring onto his hand.

The lights in the tavern all darkened to near-blackness before flaring back full force as a pulse of energy rippled out from the point where Albus’ hand touched the ring’s bright metal.

Albus lurched backward, letting go of the chain. My hand lashed out and snatched it from the air before it could fall. A reflex I hadn’t actually expected to work. But was pleasantly surprised when it did.

“Albus? Albus, what’s wrong?” Devlin’s voice demanded—but over Albus’ shoulder, his body faded and vanished as his voice got softer and further away.

Albus whirled to see the last vestiges of Devlin disappearing. “Devlin—Devlin, where did you go?” His looked around wildly, as if Devlin would just pop up elsewhere. The tavern shifted—losing some of its luster, almost going grey. The light dimmed a bit. “What—what’s going on?!” He shot a look at me. “It’s you, isn’t it? This is your doing!”

I slid out of the booth. “Albus,” I said placatingly, holding my hands out, palms toward him, in a gesture meant to show I meant no harm. The chain of his necklace was caught between my thumb and around my forefinger. “Albus, please.”

He jerked and recoiled farther away. “No—get away from me!” He shoved away from the table he’d stumbled into and ran for the front door of the tavern, nearly ripping it off its hinges in his haste to open it.

Despite the sun still streaming through the windows, there was a solid wall of stone blocking the door.

Albus stared. “A wall,” he said. Bitter amusement in the scoff that followed. I didn’t move from where I’d stood from the booth. He didn’t bother shutting the tavern door. Just looked at me. Pain echoed in those dark eyes. “Don’t do this to me, darling. We—we’re happy here, aren’t we?” His gaze flicked between my eyes and the ring on his hand.

I closed my eyes. “Albus, please just listen to me,” I said.

“Listen, I don’t know what it is you want from me, but I want nothing to do with it!” His voice got louder until he was shouting. “Do you understand? I’m no one’s slave!” Shock and confusion creased his eyebrows. “Gods above. I don’t even know what I’m saying! S-slave? Is that what I am? Or—or what I was—to you?!”

Before I could tell him no, never, he shook his head hard and shoved his hands into his thick, dark hair.

“No. That’s not it—that’s not it, right? I… I… I’m in love with you, aren’t I?” He swallowed. “That… that hasn’t changed. I love you. I do.” He met my eyes. “Darling, please. Make it stop. All of this—please.”

“I wish I could. This is such a beautiful life. It’s the one you deserve. Even without me in it.”

“No—no, I… I want you here. I’m happy with you, here. We have a good life together. We’re happy. We’re in love. I don’t—stay back!”

I froze where I’d taken an entreating step forward, but kept my hands low with my palms out.

“Don’t you know who you’re talking to? I’m Albus York! I’ll kill you just for looking at me funny!” He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists in his hair, pulling at the roots but not ripping them out. “Wait. That’s not who I am. I—” He looked around the tavern before his dark, heavy gaze landed on me again. “Stop, please. Whatever joke you’re playing on me, my princess, stop it. Oh gods—I can’t remember!”

He stomped around the tavern in a tight circle before marching over to me and cradling my face in both hands.

“Sweetheart. Please. Whatever’s happening—just stop it. We can stay here. We can be happy. Together. Just you and me being—” He laughed, but it was sorrowful. “—being annoyed by Devlin on a lazy morning. I love you. I don’t—I don’t want—I can’t lose this.” He stared pleadingly into my eyes.

I reached up as though to take his hand in mine and he pulled away again. “Don’t come near me with that ring! It’s evil! I want nothing to do with it!”

“Do you remember where it came from?” I asked.

“No. No I don’t! Don’t even try to—” He bent double, eyes slamming shut, muttering under his breath, “Yeah, I found this ring back in my training stash… no idea where it came from… not sure what but… it felt special to me… so I kept it…” He shook his head like he was trying to dislodge his brain out his ears. Grabbing at his head and recoiling. “Stop it, stop it, stop!” He panted and I wished I could help him, but didn’t want to aggravate him further. “You can’t do this to me. Please, darling. Don’t make me lose this. Don’t… don’t make me lose you.”

“Albus…” I whispered, moving to reach for him and faltering as I caught sight of the ring still dangling from my hand. Albus stared at it.

“It’s like it doesn’t belong anywhere… it doesn’t fit in…” he whispered. I remembered the words from when we were at his mentor’s grave. “Why—darling why? Why are you doing this? Why do you want to hurt me?” He kept holding his head, digging his fingertips into his scalp.

“I don’t want to hurt you. But I need you to come home! This place, this life. It’s not real.”

“Not… not real? What are you talking about? This place is very real! The air, the atmosphere, these tables and chairs—the bar! I can touch them. They’re all real!”

“I wish they were. I wish this was the life you had. But it’s like how dreams feel real while we’re in them. And then we wake up and see everything not right about them.”

He made a face of utter contempt. “Sticking to your story, are you? Fine. Maybe I believe you, huh? Maybe—maybe none of this is real. But I don’t care!” There was a gleam in his eyes of terror and sorrow and anger. He was breathing hard. “The world we come from—from what little I remember from it—it… it… it runs on lies. And blood!”

His hands balled into fists and snapped downward, smashing against a table.

“But this right here. This… this lie you found me in. There’s no blood here. There’s nothing here—there’s none of that! There’s just you and me and my brother—and all of us are happy.” He unclenched his fists and cradled my face again. “Darling, I don’t want to go. I beg you, on my knees—” He dropped to his knees as hot tears ran down my face. “—please. Just let me live this lie. Let me be happy here, with you. Let me fall asleep and wake up beside you, even if it’s only a dream. Let me laugh with my brother. Let me stare at you while we both hide from the morning sunlight under the bedsheet.”

He sniffed hard and blinked a pair of tears from his own eyes.

“For the first time in my life I… I finally… felt… I finally felt like… like I wasn’t a monster! Like people wanted me around! Like they weren’t ashamed of me! Tell me, in that other world, who’s got my back, huh?” My mouth hung agape, unsure how to answer. “No one! Not even you! And even if somehow you did, I’d push you away. That’s who I am in that world, isn’t it? The kind of man who has to distance himself from everyone because… because I’ve been hurt! So many times!” His head fell forward, almost giving him the appearance of a knight kneeling in prayer before going off to battle. But far more desolate and hopeless. “What kind of life is that?” His voice had gone soft. I doubted he’d shouted himself out yet, he was just losing the energy to care.

“Albus…” I knelt opposite him, tucking the ring into the pocket of my clothes so it wouldn’t be visible anymore. I held his face in both my hands, rubbing my thumb over his cheekbone.

He met my eyes. “Please, please, darling. Please don’t take me away from this. Let me live this. Here. With you. Even if it’s not really you. Please.” His body started to shake with sobs. I wiped a tear with my thumb on another pass over his cheekbone. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to mine. I tilted my head so our noses could touch.

“Would that I could,” I whispered, sniffling against my own falling tears.

The electricity in the lights crackled and the sun through the windows faded. The whole tavern grew dim as Albus flinched in surprise, retreating away from the contact of our heads to look around. “What was that? Why are the lights dimmer? What’s going on?”

“Albus, you’re…” I didn’t know how to say it. I closed my eyes, pressing out more warm tears.

“I’m dying. Aren’t I?” he asked. I nodded. He huffed. “That’s why you’re here.” It was a statement, not a question. “You came here to… to save me.” He lifted a hand and cupped my cheek for just a moment before his eyes looked at where his ring had disappeared from his finger and his hand fell back to his lap. He slumped to the side so he was sitting rather than kneeling. I copied the motion. “Forgive me if I’m not exactly grateful. It seems I have to choose. Between living in Hell, or dying. What kind of choice is that?” He swallowed. His breath shook in and out of his lungs. “Maybe I should just die. I wouldn’t have to deal with this pain anymore.”

I gasped quietly.

“No… no I…” He swore sharply under his breath. “I can’t bring myself to do that. I can’t die. Why? Why—what’s holding me back?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know,” I said honestly.

He met my eyes again. “Tell me, in that other world… is there anything—anything—that keeps me going? Is there anything I’m fighting for?”

I stared into his eyes. My shoulders lifted slightly in a shrug. “I don’t know,” I repeated, barely a breath.

He scoffed, and then laughed bitterly. “My gods. That’s it, isn’t it? All this time—fighting for a reason to live and that’s it.” He huffed. “It’s cute. You don’t know what I’m talking about, do you? Me neither, to be honest.”

“Please come home,” I whispered. “I don’t know how much longer we have.” I looked around at the dimly-lit tavern. “I don’t know how much longer you have.”

He sighed. “I get it. You can stop trying. I’ll come back. But… before I do…” He met my eyes. I was waiting for him to say something about having a drink from this fancy bar, but he just stared.

“Before you do… what?” I prompted.

He lifted his hands to cradle my face again. His calluses were softer than they were in the real world. He swallowed thickly, holding my gaze with those deep, dark eyes.

“Tell me you love me—I don’t care if it’s a lie.”

The smile on his face was heartbroken and sorrowful and his eyes were still shining with tears.

“Albus…”

“No one will ever have to know. Hell, I don’t know if I’ll even remember any of this if-slash-when I wake up—”

I cut him off by lurching forward and planting my lips on his.

He made a noise of surprise before I leaned back to meet his gaze again. His lips were parted and his eyes widened. We were both breathing heavily, staring. I was a bit shocked that I’d done that, and I was even more shocked that he’d let me.

Our eyes flicked to each other’s lips at the same time—

And we were crashing back together. Grabbing at fistfuls of one another’s clothing in a desperate attempt to pull each other closer. One of his arms held me around the shoulders, the other my waist. Mine wrapped around his neck and my hands slid into his hair. Softer than I would have expected.

We kissed on the floor of the tavern until our heads started to spin and I withdrew.

“I love you, Albus,” I breathed. “I don’t know if that’s a lie or not, to be honest.”

“I don’t care.” He pulled me close for one more kiss. This one soft and tender. Gentler than I had ever seen him. I sighed into it. He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. “It’s not just me. He does too. The other me. He won’t tell you that, so… I’m gonna do it for him.”

I remembered the manic look on his face when he told me that after he shot himself out of a broadsword cannon. “He’d be so angry if he found out you told me,” I said softly.

He smirked. “So what if he gets mad at me? What’s he gonna do, give me a stern talking-to?” He snickered. Then his face went serious. “But, uh… yeah. He loves you. A lot as well.”

“How much?” I could have asked something else, but couldn’t think of anything else.

He smiled. “Well, I’ll tell you.” He cupped the side of my face and brushed his thumb gently over my cheek. “He looks at you… and he sees an angel. And he won’t make a move. Because… he’s unworthy of you.”

I closed my eyes. “That’s not true. You’re worthy of so much more than you think. You’re worth so much more than you think. I care about you. I can’t lose you.”

“You’re a lot stronger than he or me—whatever I am.”

“That’s not true either. I can’t… I can’t even fight.”

“You don’t have to fight to be strong, darling. Being strong is sticking to your beliefs no matter what. Which makes you stronger than Albus. Bastard can’t even die right.” He sighed and pressed his forehead to mine. “Maybe this fantasy is no way to live after all,” he whispered. He lifted the ring out of my pocket by where its chain had been dangling out of it and slung it on over his head.

A sob shook his body. “I don’t want to go back. I know I said I would but I—I don’t—” His breathing shuddered. “I don’t want to—” He stumbled over an apology.

“Hey. Hold my hand?” I asked.

Without protesting, he slid his fingers between mine and brought my knuckles up to his lips, pressing a kiss to them. A tear fell on our intertwined fingers. “Oh gods above—I’m such a baby,” he hissed.

“There’s nothing wrong with sorrow, Albus. It was given to us by the gods so that we’d also know joy.”

He shook his head with a sharp inhale and glanced around at the tavern. “This place. It’s nice. Lot of good memories here. Though I suppose none of them are real.” He sighed. “This life with you. This dream. A… a fantasy of the both of us being in love and married… could you, uh… could you do me a favor? Remember it for me, please? I don’t know if I will.”

“I don’t know either. But of course I’ll remember it for you. This is a beautiful life. Maybe you’ll find something similar to it, one day.”

“Just maybe not with you?” There was a hint of his sarcastic teasing in that tone.

I blinked a few times. “You never know. But I’ll remember this for you.”

“Thank you. In that case, let me give you something to remember me by.”

He pulled me close and we shared another kiss. Tender but desperate. I threaded my fingers of my free hand into his hair and held him close to me.

Albus pulled away first. “I love you, my darling.”

“I love you too, Albus.” Still wasn’t sure if I was lying, but knowing he needed to hear it.

A touch of mirth danced in his eyes. His lopsided smirk tugged on the corner of his mouth.

“I’ll see you soon, faithful.”

A tear fell out of my eye at the nickname I never thought I’d miss.

—

I woke up with a gasp, sitting up from the chair next to the gurney Albus was in. The heartrate monitor was still beeping.

“Sister? Are you okay?” Devlin asked. I nodded, a bit breathless. Devlin sighed with relief. “I was worried. It looks like his vitals are stabilizing. You did it, sister!” I tried to smile, but my mind was still back in that dream. “So… I… hesitate to ask but… how was it? Were you safe?”

I thought about the tavern. The soft bedsheets and the morning sunlight. A pair of gold rings glinting. The kisses. “Better than I thought,” I said wistfully.

“Well, that’s good at least. I really am glad you’re safe, sister. Having you around… it really makes me feel a lot stronger. Just something I noticed when you weren’t around. I wanted to say something sooner but… well. You know. I, uh… I was wondering… if we—no, when we—get out of this place, maybe we can—”

“Ugh. If you’re gonna start making out, can you do it somewhere else?” a familiar, gruff, grumpy voice grumbled.

“Albus!” Devlin and I exclaimed at the same time, whirling to see him trying to sit up.

—

Tagging the GB peeps who I think would enjoy: @palilious @gwenifred @zozo-01 @halscafe @ryn-halo26 @staplesmainbitch @miloeveryday38

#Good Boy Audios #fic #female reader #goodboyaudios #GBA BW #GBA Bastard Warrior #GBA Albus #GBA Faithful #GBA Devlin #Starlit Fic #GB's version is better for the story #mine is worse on the heartstrings i hope #Good Boy Audios Fanfic #Good Boy Audios Fanfiction #Albus York #Devlin York

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just4unowgoods · 2 years

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Get one of the hottest games of Zelda ever made for Gameboy Advance,Free Shipping

#for sale #facebook #classifieds #forsale #getitnow #loveit #twitter #retrogaming #video games #nintendo game boy advance gba sp nes classic edition system ags 101 brighter new nintendogameboyadvancegbaspnescheap dealebaynintendogameboy #zelda fanfiction #zelda minish cap #gameboy #shopping #shopping deals #ebayfinds #ebaylife #ebayshop

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4dorks-1windmage-1shadow · 1 month

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#for science i must know!!!#four swords #poll #i read the scanlations on mangafox in 2011 and never looked back

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audioroleplayconfessions · 6 months

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https://www.tumblr.com/audioroleplayconfessions/733894052580327424/i-cant-get-into-other-audio-roleplays-because-the

Answering the questions!

Thank you Admin! ♪⁠ ⁠\⁠(⁠^⁠ω⁠^⁠\⁠ ⁠)

I like a heathly combination of fluff and plot though I don't mind either on their own. I prefer cinematic stories with more parts!

Slow burn is definitely a favorite of mine! I like all genres but I do have a preference for fantasy storylines.

I absolutely avoid the fan made y/n-esque audio rp with already existing characters i.e Midoriya, Todoroki, Bakugou, no hate to the ones who like or make those, props to the voice impressions. I find it amazing they could imitate the voices but they just aren't for me though. Original characters are much more my thing.

Otherwise I'm fine with regards to everything else!

So far I only like GBA, Redacted and Sundew. I prefer soft, gentle mid-ranged to deeper voices. I like deep voices but I don't think I'd like a voice as deep as the mariana trench lol. Higher pitched voices also aren't my thing and if it's too whispery then it won't do it for me as well.

I'm pretty picky ain't I? Apologies if this is inconvenient, I have no one to ask for recommendations and I'm particularly new to the community (⁠*⁠´⁠ω⁠｀⁠*⁠)

Warmest regards, much love, numerous thanks and salutations,

Oh, I have some recommendations for you! My opinions are a bit biased here (I have a very strong preference for plot-heavy audios over fluff) but it looks like a lot of my favorites suit your tastes. I dislike fanfiction stuff too, especially MHA stuff and I also prefer gentle voice ranges that aren't too high or too low.

I'll give you a few recommendations.

#1: Escaped Audios! He's the very best VA at making you feel like you are living in a movie. All of his stories are heartfelt and exciting, most have slow-burn romances. Most of his characters have a gentle, mid-range voice that isn't too high or too deep (though he as a couple deeper voiced characters). I like his style of acting because he sounds very sincere and "real" when he talks. My two favorite playlists from him are Matador Gothic (his dramatic vampire slayer adventure) and The New Jersey Rats (a mafia-themed Romantic comedy).

I've followed him since Matador Gothic came out a little over a year ago but he's only recently started to gain hype after being super under-rated for a long time. If you like GBA's style of story telling you'll probably like him too. The only downside you might experience is that his stories usually don't leave a lot of room for fluff, so there are no cuddle audios or sleep aids etc on his channel. That said he's my current favorite, is incredibly creative and original, and he's amazing at supercharging my brain with serotonin.

#2: Obsidian Lantern. He has some of the most immersive sound production of any VA I've ever seen. Some of his earlier stuff is a little weird and clumsy but once he catches his footing he's great. His voice is very gentle and comforting to me, and he'll even speak a little Spanish sometimes.

His Gator Boys series is great and actually ties in with the lore of a few other VA's universes! I also really like his Merfolk series. He also plays around with common tropes while putting his own unique spin on them and I really like that too. He also makes all of his own art, and he not only draws thumbnails but actually makes illustrations of the scenes in his audios which is super cool. Overall really great, I think you'd like him.

#3. ZSaku VA. His playlists start out a little slow but over time his style evolved to be more cinematic. I really like his Vampire series (the Xanthus playlist) and his two interconnected crime series (The Elias and Issac playlists). They're good from the outset and just get better. Lately he's been making higher-stakes stories with more collabs and I love that. He's also collabed with a bunch of the other people I mentioned, which I love to see.

He has a nice balance between fluff and story-telling, and lots of his plots/characters connect to one another. If you like Redacted Audio you'll probably like ZSaku. The only downside is that he takes a long time in between episodes of each series, and works on multiple series at the same time, so if you really get into one playlist you might end up feeling a bit impatient.

#4: YuuriVoice. He's got a rotating cast of characters and he's one of my long-time comfort channels. He has ongoing plots throughout all of his series, but his stuff is mostly character-based. It's worth listening to everything and getting attached to his characters, as their development gets better and more complex over time.

He can do a pretty broad range of voices too, and they all feel unique and fresh. He has done some MHA/fanfic type audios before in the past but over time he transitioned to focusing on his own original characters and I love all of them.

#5: Shining Armor ASMR. I like him more as a comfort/fun/fluff channel. A great channel for listening to little bite sized audios with fun character concepts and lower stakes. I also like his voice and his accent, and it's fun seeing him do different voices within his accent. Definitely more on the fluff side but I think you'd appreciate him!

That's about it! There are more channels I like but based on your tastes I think you would like those channels. Also, honorable mention to Desmond ASMR. I love him but he's been on hiatus for like a year now!

Feel free to leave your own recommendations/cosigns/etc in the comments and reblogs.

Love, Ringmaster.

#audio roleplay #boyfriend asmr #redacted audio #yuurivoice #desmond asmr #zsakuva #escaped audios #good boy audios #asmr roleplay #recommendations #Shining Armor ASMR #Obsidian Lantern #ZSaku VA

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missis-maple394 · 1 year

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04.02.2023 - FFVI - XXIXTH ANNIVERSARY

DO NOT REPOST / EDIT / TRACE / MONETIZE MY ART FROM OTHER SITES.

Author’s comment:

The second day, one of my favorite chapters of FINAL FANTASY from GBA/SNES port! The SNES Port released on April 2nd, 1994. The 6th epic chapter is such a memorable game with all diverse casts, engaging story and a massive improvements from previous 1-5 gameplay and graphics!

I drew this fan art of Terra Brandford and Mog the Moggle! I really want to pick green palette on game version for experimenting green colors, and It suits her more. It sounds like she’s a contrast with Gau, the feral child! I couldn’t resist to draw Mog too, he’s a sweet & cute little dude wants to aid your help!

Author’s note:

Do not start a roleplay/venting/fanfiction using replying / reblogging / DMs with my artworks.

Do not tag and marked as a kin/me/morally questionable content etc.

DO NOT claim my artworks belong to you, and removing / cropping my watermarks away.

Please DM me for inquiries such as commissioned work or reporting my artwork has been reposted or edited.

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messenger-of-stupidity · 11 months

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Sleep

Relisten to Albus's playlist from GBA while I wrote a long winded fanfiction that stems from me being drunk off of sleep deprivation?

Time to go get my headphones 😈

#messy rambles #good boy audios #gba albus

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jellyfishxxi · 1 year

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There are two people who mainly got me into the story-based ASMR roleplay world, and that's Erik and GBA

Or I guess I should say GBA and Erik because the very first one I watched fully was Space Pirate Saga and I can remember waiting each Monday for a new episode of season 2

Hell on my rewatch of the series I still cry when lyr dies nearly 3 freaking years after it got posted, so yeah, that man is one hell of a writer if he can make that happen

But Erik, o Erik

The man who got me to make my blog in the first place just so I could still read all this fanfiction and see all the art and memes

The very first video I watched from him was the FUCKING INVERSION

Yep, March 2022 I was coming home from school, watching the inversion, watching the aftershock series and not understanding a thing

AND NOW LOOK AT ME

So yeah, Erik and GBA got me into this world and now I'm here to stay

-SparkleDragonXI

#redacted asmr #good boy audios

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t1meslayer · 2 months

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Going in for round 2!

I had a lot of fun with my Debrief for "Stone-Cold Lovers (Ch. 3)," and I think there's a bunch of interesting, insightful aspects to my writing here given Splatoon's setting offers plenty of aquatic-themed worldbuilding.

So, let's get into it! Check out my full author's commentary below the cut — but only after you've had the chance to read "By Moonlight," my latest Splatoon fanfic.

I've been playing Splatoon since the 2015 original on Wii U. But to be completely honest, the series never hit me until Splat3. I never bought Octo Expansion (though I did watch most of it), so "Return of the Mammalians" may have just become the first time I truly appreciated how insane the series' lore is. Playing through the final battle during a road trip back from San Francisco with a couple of buddies is something I'll remember forever.

I also fell in love with Shiver and Marie as a couple, spawning a whole host of fanfictions.

But that's neither here nor there. Because this story is about Pearlina.

(The featured image evolved over time)

Another consequence of my foolishness circa Splatoon 2 is I didn't realize how much I liked Off the Hook's music. In fact, the origins of this very fanfic came from a brief obsession with Marina's piano-playing prowess on songs like "Tentacle to the Metal" when Splatoon 3 released in 2022. A connection to the 1st Movement of "Moonlight Sonata" was baked into the premise by their similar set of three notes playing in succession.

Though, I should be clear: I am not a classical music nerd, nor any kind of music nerd. I have a pretty terrible ear for music, and as a result don't listen to much (video game soundtracks notwithstanding, most of my ambient noise is YouTube videos, TV, or podcasts).

If we want to get really deep into the weeds of how pathetic I am, my main attachment to "Moonlight Sonata" stems from Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak (2002) on the GBA.

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My rendition of Marina playing the song even ends at essentially the same point as this game's usage, since it's baked into my soul.

When's Hamtaro coming to Nintendo Switch Online, cowards?

That being said, I largely based the in-universe playing on this video by Rousseau, a YouTube channel that creates fancy visuals for piano covers of classical and pop music:

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My original plan was to have Eight gift the Beethoven book to Pearl and Marina as an oddity acquired through raiding Grizzco facilities following "Return of the Mammalians." However, the idea came back in full-force with the release of Splatoon 3: Side Order. There was a brief period where I considered applying to the Pearlina zine "You and Me Against the Universe!" with something similar, but that was before I fell into my drive to write for zines.

Side Order definitely feels like a test run for more fleshed-out Roguelike modes in future Splatoon games, but I'm enjoying it all the same. And I just had to include tidbits of lore like Eight joining Off the Hook's world tour.

As one final note on "Moonlight Sonata," this is the first time I've written a musical performance as prose. My Mariver fic "Harmonic Frequencies" ends with a bit of choreography for Deep Cut's tribute to "Calamari Inkantation," but that's about as far as it goes. Luckily, my sister is studying Music Education and Music Performance in college (and she graduates soon!), so I was able to lean on her as a source of knowledge.

She just had to suffer through my insufferable gay seafood to get there.

Her main advice was to think of writing musical prose not as a literal translation of sheet music, but instead to really hone in on the emotions of listening to music. It took a bit to figure out the right balance between describing the performance itself and the more emotive images it conjures in Pearl's head, but I love the outcome!

My sister said, "Also the moonlight stuff is fire af." Clearly I've peaked.

===

Fun Fact: She told me I should look into the creepier aspects of "Moonlight Sonata" while writing. Did you know that the song is dedicated to then-16-year-old Countess Giulietta Guicciardi (per Brittanica), a student whom he fell in love with (per New York Times)?

Because I didn't.

===

My presentation of Pearl changed a fair bit over the course of this writing. Pearl's They/She pronouns were pretty spur of the moment, and the idea of They/She Napoleon has since become a running in-joke between me and my beta reader, the incredible artist Trybard (who was the source of my great screencap preview post that I blocked out for anonymity of personal socials).

Pearl with full tattoo sleeves was also a sudden decision that's entirely inspired by a Twitter post; I unfortunately cannot find that post anymore, it disappeared after I shifted pages. Likewise, Pearl learning Octarian is part-cute girlfriend stuff, part-excuse to use the joke about them reading Beethoven as "Beat-Havin'" that came to me in a flash of divine inspiration.

Marina doesn't get nearly as much love in the personal headcanon department, it was Trybard who suggested she might wear a citrus-y perfume smell. I added the motor oil.

I also added the fact that she's living it up in Pearl's downtown apartment, and lending out goofy manga-themed sleep shirts.

Off the Hook's apartment setting only includes the windowed hallway and main foyer (which I hope adds to the sense that Pearl is rich enough to afford the most ridiculously huge apartment of all time). However, there are two tidbits about the setting that I quite enjoy:

First, did you catch the bit about the charred piece of hull? I wanted to keep it subtle in writing, but my intent was referencing the NILS Statue! Did Pearl or Marina take the trophy? Who knows.

Second, Off the Hook's wall of records went through hefty trial-and-error. I settled on the idea of giving them Gold/Platinum/Diamond records (ala the real-world practice of Recording Industry Association of America certification) while listening to the collective works of Off the Hook. Given this is pre-Splat3, I imagined that the new recording of "Nasty Majesty" and their Splatfest theme "Color Pulse" would have among the most attention.

I also imagined that Splatoon wouldn't just use an exact 1-1 copy of our record certifications. Thus, the Recording Industry Association of Inkadia (RIAI) was born.

Rather than using precious metals to delineate sales, I decided to go with the more Splatoon-feeling marker of "neon records." I actually did a minor amount of research, predominately leaning on the website of Brigham Young University physics and astronomy professor Harold T. Stokes to figure out Neon's color spectrum.

Using this, I equated:

Violet = Gold (500,000 sales)

Green = Platinum (One Million sales)

Yellow = Double Platinum (Two Million sales)

Red = Diamond (Ten Million sales)

I even formatted the text to look like an actual RIAA plaque, just with the color's name rather than a literal record. AO3's HTML formatting can only go so far.

I used the "acronym" formatting to add extra context in the form of each song's to-date sales, which was all I originally planned to say. Learned all about that option in my horrific opening chapter to the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet fic "Paradiso," in which Arven has a nightmare that breaks the text "House of Leaves" style.

And that, my friends, is all she wrote.

I could go way deeper into the minutia Pearl's boisterous tone or Marina utilizing mechanical terms, but the broad strokes of where certain ideas originate seems like a better use of my "Debrief" time. Let me know what more you might want to see me discuss going forward, or what ideas for Splatoon fics you wanna see added to my eternal backlog! (The poll-winning Stardew Valley piece has to take priority now — no more game release distractions~)

Though, as one final note: Yes, the title is a Sailor Moon reference.

youtube

You're welcome.

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durotoswrites · 11 months

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🎁 - Favorite NPC?

💐 - Most overrated bachelor/ette in your opinion?

☘ - Which game was the most fun in your opinion?

🎁 - Favorite NPC?

I have quite a few! In a previous ask, I had mentioned Pastor Carter. Another favorite of mine is Saibara. I first found myself interested in learning more about him when he was shopping in town and mentioned how hard things were when he first became a widower and had to learn to do everything all on his own. He didn't sound like he was complaining, but I remember the words and expression seeming really sad. He's definitely too rough on Gray in some respects, but he really does mean well. We catch instances of him telling the main character how he wants to make sure he can teach his grandson as much as he can before he leaves this world, and I just get such a lonely vibe from him. Thus, it is my mission to befriend him, hehe. He might seem gruff on the surface, but there are times when he's actually really gentle, and I love that.

💐 - Most overrated bachelor/ette in your opinion?

Uh-oh, time for an unpopular opinion, hehe. I know that my reason for this is based on the times that I used to read fanfiction and also for the way I write this character. I do love writing this character and there are so many interesting facets to write.

Sorry, y'all, but I've gotta go with Popuri on this one (Mineral Town Popuri in particular).

Things have changed in the fandom/fanfiction world for the Bokumono series, and I feel like there is a larger variety out there, but several years ago, I distinctly remember 90% or so fics featuring the bachelorettes to have Popuri. There are so few fanfictions that feature bachelorettes as opposed to bachelors, so it was easy to feel oversaturated by Popuri.

I have learned to appreciate her more over the years, but I feel that her events have some of the weakest writing in the GBA games. I really liked that in Back to Nature, her first event is her running off to cry after leaving the chickens outside and a coyote gets to them. It really showcases that she's still learning about chickens. I guess they replaced it with a runaway chicken in the GBA games so that it wasn't as dark(?) but I think it really lacks that punch that she's a novice and a little immature. Plus we missed out on some great expressions, like the one below!

I feel that the entire Chicken Li'l/Popoultry family could have had some more impactful events. But I guess that's what fanfiction is for - write the stuff you want to see, hehe.

☘ - Which game was the most fun in your opinion?

Oooh, this is a HARD one. My favorite parts of the games are the farming sim aspect, and I love how Back to Nature/Mineral Town have everything accessible with no hand holding. If you wanna save your money to buy a ridiculous golden lumber fence, that's your choice. It's not something you have to wait several seasons to come into stock. The speed of the day feels just right to me. I have to carefully plan what I want to get done. I remember playing Grand Bazaar and adoring the Bazaar portion, but it was the first one I played with the slower timer, one second per minute. I like to milk as much as I can out of each day, so I would just end up jumping in the water over and over in hopes of getting a piece of ore and using up all the stamina that I had left over because the game was too easy in that respect. I think I like the events in Back to Nature/Harvest Moon for Girl more than the handheld Mineral Town games, so my vote's going to go for Back to Nature/Harvest Moon for Girl. If only you could play after marrying as a girl! I'm still frustrated at that. I really would've loved a remake of those games. They could have taken out all of the casual sexism in For Girl and kept all those fun extra festivals, like the Tomato Festival, the Goddess Festival, and special events like Ann's birthday party.

Harvest Moon Ask Game!

#ask box game #harvest moon ask game #emeraldhazeart #harvest moon #story of seasons #thanks for the ask! ❤️

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6ad6ro · 6 months

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since the year i was born, they released at least one genuinely good castlevania game pretty much yearly. and that went on for almost 25 years. then 2010 hit and we got a game that almost singlehandedly killed the series. leading to a drought that's lasted almost 15 years (aka it's death).

i remember when the gba and ds games kept coming out, how people were claiming the series had "gotten stale" and that they were releasing "too many". and i thought they were fuckin crazy. to me, each release was like a holiday. my dracula day. a day i looked forward to every year.

i never truly realised how good i'd had it. but i certainly feel it now. bloodstained is okay but it's (a stereotypical example of a forever-unfinished kickstarter game). i enjoyed the first curse of the moon, but it just hasn't been the same. and the animated series feels more or less like fanfiction.

yes, we've had some great indie games like hollow knight. also i can't lie, dead cells weirdly comes REALLY close to feeling like the real deal. and of course we've lucked into a couple of new proper metroid games (finally). but ACTUAL castlevania? is gone now. and i just miss it so so much.

#blasphemous would come the closest #if it didnt play like darksouls crueldesign dogshit

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starlitangels · 1 year

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The Spare Room

Alternative title: “[ASMR] Nightmare Comfort With Giant Dad” Well. The new little series for Hades made me want to write a short but sweet direct sequel to the episode we just got because I was feeling ✨inspired✨ I know there’s not a lot of GB fans around here but those who are around are delightful people and I hope this makes you happy! Despite how short it is 1.3k words

—

“Hades? Oh, Hades?” the beautiful, familiar voice singsonged softly. “Have you fallen asleep in your workshop again?” A gentle brush of fingertips down his cheek accompanied by light laughter like the wind through budding trees. He stirred slightly, but his eyelids were too heavy to open.

“Per… Persephone…” Hades mumbled.

“Yes, my darling,” she said. He felt her kiss press to his hairline. “You’re working too hard again.”

“No, I… I’m not.” But he knew his voice was too tired to be convincing.

Persephone twisted the ends of his hair through her fingers. “Oh, my dear Hades. I do worry about you.”

“Don’t worry about me, Persephone. I’m alright.”

“Is that so?”

“Mmhmm.” He definitely sounded sleepy.

“Alright then. I’ll believe you.” There was a smile in her voice. She placed a kiss delicately to the corner of his mouth. “And who is the little one in the spare room?”

“P… Pandora.”

“Oh what a delightful little name. Where did you find them?”

“Ess…”

“Esselheim?” Persephone gasped softly. “How lovely. Are they a friend of Prometheus?”

“Yes, my dear.”

“How wonderful. You’ll have to introduce us when you wake.”

“When I… wake…” Hades agreed, nodding. “When I wake!”

His eyes snapped open and he was instantly alert.

His workshop was empty, precious Persephone nowhere to be seen. The fire had burnt down to embers and charcoal. She had been another wishful dream lingering on the edges of his consciousness. Making his heart ache, yearning for her return. One he sometimes wasn’t sure would ever happen.

Hades got to his feet and heaved a sigh.

He left the workshop, moving as quietly as one his size could, toward the now-occupied spare room.

He pushed the heavy door open just enough to peer in. To check and make sure everything was alright.

Compared to the giants the bed was made for, the sleeping Joten was minuscule. Despite the darkness, Hades could see them sleeping peacefully. Unaffected by anything around them. The more mechanical of their biomechanical functions in stasis for the night.

Pandora.

They’d allowed him to choose their name by the culture and conventions of his people. Hades still wasn’t entirely sure what about the gesture had touched him so deeply on an emotional level. Perhaps it was the trust. Perhaps it was whatever connection of responsibility he’d developed for them back when Odin first brought their head to him and he’d done his best to bring them back to life. The little Joten, small even for their own kind, who bore a name with no meaning. Now bearing a name of his kind.

Pandora…

He really needed to write to Persephone. To let her know about his new assistant. He had a feeling she would adore them, just as she had in the dream, still tugging gently at the edges of his mind. How he wished she was home with him.

Pandora shuffled in their sleep, cooing quietly. Hades smiled, fondness fluttering in his chest. How sweet and serene they looked. So unlike the worry that had plagued their features through the entire adventure they’d shared with him, Odin, Ulysses, and Fenrir.

They deserved the rest. Uninterrupted by woe.

He thought to leave them, but just as he was twisting to go, he heard a slight yelp. He whirled. Their face had twisted. Stricken with stress. “Fen… Fenrir!” Their whisper was urgent and terrified. “No… no! Leave him alone!” They started squirming, mechanical functions activating. “Odin!”

Hades hesitated only for a moment at the threshold to their room before slipping in. He crossed to the bed and crouched beside it. “Little one, it’s okay,” he soothed. “It’s just a dream. Come back to the waking world. Sh, sh, sh. You’re alright.”

They gasped, eyes flying open and sitting bolt upright in bed. “T—Hades!” They almost seemed surprised, stumbling over not calling him by the name they were used to.

“You’re alright now, little one. It was just a bad dream.” He opened his arms, offering them a hug.

They scrambled out from under the blankets and crawled over to him, grabbing him in a hug. They were too small to fit their arms all the way around his waist or shoulders, but they could almost reach around the circumference of his neck. So that was where they held on. He held them against his body with his hands, too much larger than them to even use his arms.

“There we go. It’s alright. You’re alright, little one,” he reassured them. “I promise. It was just a bad dream.”

Their heavy breathing slowed down a bit as they clung to him. He didn’t even mind the way their hands had caught in his hair in their haste to hold onto him. Making sure they were comforted was more important.

“Hades… you’re shaking,” they said quietly.

“I had a dream as well.”

“A bad one?”

“No. A sad one. But only because I woke and it ended.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh, Pandora, do not be sorry for me. I’m alright. I just want to make sure that you are also alright.”

They didn’t respond immediately. “I’m… I’m okay,” they said softly. “I dreamt about one of the times Fenrir found out what had happened to him. The time he attacked Odin.”

“Ah. I can see why you were so distressed.”

They nodded, their chin digging into his shoulder with the movement, but it didn’t hurt. “Yeah. It wasn’t… wasn’t fun.”

“No. But you’re alright now.” He placed a hand carefully on the back of their head. “I’m here. You’re safe. I promise.”

“Thank you,” they whispered. Still a bit shaky.

“Of course, little one.”

“Will… will you stay with me until I fall back to sleep?”

“If that’s what you wish, I would be happy to.”

They nodded. “Please.”

“Of course. I’ll be right here. Would you like me to continue the story I was reading earlier?”

They shook their head. “Not this time. I don’t think I’d be able to listen properly.”

“That’s alright. We can just stay here until you drift off.” He moved so he was closer to the bed, waiting for them to climb away from him and get back under the blankets. But they didn’t. They just held onto him and rested their cheek against his shoulder, eyes closed.

He rocked back and forth, comforting instincts activating, holding them close.

The trembling in their limbs from their fear eased to stillness after a while. When Hades looked down, he saw the peace had returned to their face. Their breathing had deepened and the soft lights of their mechanical functions had faded back to stasis.

A soft smile tugging on his mouth, Hades leaned forward so their body tilted back into his hands, letting go of his neck. He gently set them back down on the bed much too large for them and pulled the blanket up to cover their body.

Their small hand took a fistful of the top blanket and they burrowed beneath it, snuggling up.

“That’s it, little Pandora,” he breathed. “Get some sleep.”

He used the barest tip of his finger to brush a bit of the blanket off their face before getting to his feet and easing out of their room and shutting the door. As quietly as someone his size could, of course.

He thought for a moment to return to his workshop, but decided, after taking time to ponder, to go to his own room instead.

It would be preferable to dream about Persephone in bed, rather than dozing off in a chair. He just hoped that she would grace him with her presence, even in sleep, once more.

—

Tagging some GB Fans who might enjoy this: @palilious @gwenifred @ryn-halo26 @daveyistheloml

#Good Boy Audios #fic #GBA Tyr #GBA Hades #GBA Pandora #Good Boy Audios fic #Good Boy Audios FanFiction #Good Boy Audios fanfic #my tags felt kinda bare so I filled them up with some extra fluff #hoping they'll be found by whomever else enjoys GB #I can post two fics in one day if they're for two different channels #and I know this one is gonna be mostly ignored by the bulk of my followers #this one's just a bonus treat #tonight's fic is gonna be the main one of the day #Starlit Fic

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