#he's one of those mages that give mages a bad name i cry

[seithr]

Randomly remembered the half-reason i call my oc-verse by the name it has while laying in bed. One-half of the reason i still knew, but I had forgotten what had truly, really cemented it jointly until now

(it was a song from my favourite band I haven't listened to in a while.)

(the song fit so well at the time, still does, that i needed to hold onto it for the main protagonists forever, by partially naming their story in reference.)

Does this explanation make any sense? Does anyone know why I'm tearing up remembering this. Aahh

#(I'm emotional because I've been feeling bad about it all lately. enjoying things I make I mean—art or ocs or frivilous things.) #(So remembering that song and when it came out. That I couldn't see them in person. But i held onto it my own way. As something I loved) #(Something I still do love a lot... Parts of me saying no—you don't hate it. No. I'll help you remember more. I'm a little misty about it.) #The song is just The Killers - Run For Cover. I couldn't see them in person all those years ago—family went without me. #All my new oc rework with Zin and Hunter and Caia were like a year old or so. #It's a little silly. But the character Zin's derived from was a lightning mage so I stuck to it—I like monhun's zinogre for what its worth #So there's recurring theme and imagery. Thunder's not lightning but the sound and the feeling after the flash the flame and strike. #There's that meaningful thought—the story is the aftermath of a big tragedy. It matches what I like in monsters and other chars. #And at that time—my favourite band I missed out on puts out a really good song I download everywhere and it goes like: #He motioned me to the sky/ I heard heaven and thunder cry/ Run for cover/ Run while you can baby don't look back/ You gotta run for cover #And it goes on of course. The rest of the song's still really good. There's more that fits but point is; More evocative imagery. #So there. Why my bundle of OCs—Zinadia Hunter and Caia's story—is called Thunder 20XX. minus the 20XX. That's tongue-in-cheek #About some day I'll manage to make something tangeable or broadly shareable with them. I guarentee this century! #Thunder... oh my darling Thunder. Eight years man. More than that if I really want to count pre-rework INTO the complete original work. but #I like that it's definably 8. I like that I remembered I've always loved them a lot. Always been my thing to lean on even by name... #I need to get to sleep. Ive gotten a little more emotional over one song than I'd rather regularly be. Give it a listen maybe? Goodnight #Armour clanking #I need an oc tag #What have you gathered to report to your progenitors?🎶Are your excuses any better than your senator's🎶He held a conference #and his wife was standing by his side🎶He did her dirty but no-one died🎶 #I saw Sonny Liston on the street last-night black-fisted and strong singing🎶Redemption song🎶 #He motioned me to the sky🎶I heard heaven and thunder cry🎶RUN FOR COVER #What are you waiting for—a kiss or an apology?🎶You think by now you'd have an A in toxicology🎶 #It's hard to pack the car when all you do is shame us🎶Even harder when the dirtbag's famous🎶 #I saw my mother on the street last night all pretty and strong singin🎶The road is long🎶 #I said 'Mama I know you tried!'🎶But she fell on her knees and cried🎶RUN FOR COVER #Just run for cover - you've got nothin left to lose...

[yuri-is-online]

Sorry for making you explain all the yutus but can you do Jades? Bros gotta be so overprotective 😬

Jokes on you I am always down to talk about Jade Leech (my beloved)

notes: they/them used for Yuu, for context on the fyuuture kid au can be found here and here. I think I typed up way more for this than anyone else up to this point, I'd apologize but it has been a second since I brain rotted about Jade, so excuse me for feeding myself (づ_ど)

Put yourself in Jade's shoes for a second.  He is a merfolk from the coral sea, only able to appear human through the use of a potion but still retaining his inhuman features.  He tries hard to appear human, he goes to a boot camp where so many things have to be explained that he is able to mimic but doesn't fully understand.  There's no reason for you to like him, he knows that better than anyone; he doesn't fully understand why he's attracted to you himself but he is.  And he longed after you for so long, he was drowning in his desire that had such a little chance of being reciprocated but by some miracle it was.  You stay in Twisted Wonderland, you let him take you under the sea and agree to be kept there.  You're going to give him a family, he's beyond excited and filled with feelings of love he didn't think he'd ever get to have.

And then it's gone.  There's no evidence as to why, no one to tell him where you went.  Azul starts off confident, excited at the prospect of revenge and encouraging Jade.  They'll find them, between him, Jade, and Floyd they'll find Yuu and someone will have a very bad day.  But there's nothing, they're being lied to and stonewalled at every turn and when finally (it's been 10 months 3 weeks and two days, he could count down to the hours and seconds but who would listen?) Riddle of all people contacts them with a lead, he's dead almost immediately.  Turned into a phantom, all of those friends of yours he was so jealous of too… no one is telling him but he knows.  You're not coming back, he's never going to meet your child, he failed at a moray's one job of protecting his cleaner shrimp.  When he's alone he talks to you both sometimes, nights when you can see the stars are becoming increasingly rare as the sky flares up with ink but he likes to think you found your way up to the sky.  

When he loses Floyd and Azul he sort of loses his will to live.  The only thing that keeps him going is the promise of one day being able to lay them both to rest eventually, but until then he bar tends at NRC and listens to all the little things people talk about when the world is ending. If he was in a better place he'd probably find it funny how lose people's lips are getting, Azul’s business would be doing so well if he were here now…

That's what he's doing one day in September when one of the mage students runs up to him out of breath, Sehrish he thinks her name is?  

“The headmage needs you in the hospital wing!”  She sounds scared, out of breath like she's run the whole way and Jade is just curious enough to go.  Something spurs him on to run himself, through the mirror and into the wing and-  

He doesn't even hesitate, his body acts before his brain does launching him towards you and grasping desperately at your hands.  They're cold, you're going cold and he doesn't have the warmth in his body to give you.  Something has mercy on him and let's your eyes open just the bit as you reach just as desperate to be close to him as he is to you and he feels your strength pass into him.  

“Don't apologize.”  He manages to whisper.  

“But I'm sorry.”  You cry.  “I love you so much and I couldn't forget even though they wanted me to.”  

“Who did this.  Who took you just name them and I promise you my pearl-”  he gets to kiss you one more time before your gone.  Jade doesn't move, he thinks Crewel is yelling for his attention but he can't move, he wants to stay here forever he has to protect you, why wasn't he able to protect you?!

“Oh holy fuck that tastes bad.”  There's a dazed voice Jade has never heard before, heavy with sorrow, and though he doesn't quite have it yet, Jade feels purpose begin to return to his heart.

Jade! Yutu is a menace.  I like the idea of him being some form of punk or goth, with piercings and a few tattoos that Yuu doesn't know anything about.  He grew up with a small group of close knit alt friends who would come over to Yuu's house and shoot the shit.  Yuu was really popular with Yutu's friends actually, he had mixed feelings about that. (No, his parent isn't accepting step-father applications, Joshua, keep running your mouth and see what happens)

Has a mixed ranged of emotions about his parent's amnesia. When he was younger not knowing who his dad was made him really sad, he'd listen to other kids talk about doing things with their fathers and he'd dream about doing them with his dad, but the picture was always blurry and felt just... wrong somehow. As he gets older and starts forming his world view he starts to think his dad might have left Yuu for any number of reasons. Did it happen before or after their amnesia, that's what he wants to know.

He has a pretty big problem with authority, residual trauma from the trip across worlds he thinks now… but back in your world he just didn't see the point of respecting someone just because they have more money and power than him.  Almost everyone does, that doesn't make them special!  But he's so sneaky about it, if it weren't for his clothes or his friends Yuu would hardly know what he gets up to in his spare time. It put a bit of strain on their relationship, Yutu sees his lies as something he does to protect his parent, while Yuu sees themselves as well.  A parent.  Who is the one who should be protecting their child not the other way around.  

When he tries to pull similar stunts with Original Timeline! Jade he gets a rude awakening. He tries sneaking out to meet up with some friends only to find his dad sitting with them, polite smile on his face clearly reveling in how awkward he is making this.  Oya, did Yutu think he was being slick?  He's hurt, no really this is the first time Jade has had to fake cry in years, he'd almost forgot how.  Didn't Yutu ever wonder where he got this from?  Because he had to know it wasn't Yuu.

Jade! Yutu also played in a band in middle school and also played bass, it just wasn't a jazz trio or an upright bass.  He would have liked continued to play in bands, but he shares his dad's issues with stage fright which makes it sort of difficult. He has tried his hand at writing his own music from time to time, but he's waaaaay too shy to ever play it for anyone other than the woods.

He really likes horror stories and cryptids, so he wasn't super afraid of the monsters when he first arrived in Twisted Wonderland.  One round with Phantom Riddle changed that nonchalant attitude quick, and while he still is very attached to the stuff he read about back in your world he hates blot monsters and Twisted Wonderland fiends in general.

Speaking of those monsters, Jade hates Yutu fighting them.  Father and son are an absolute nightmare for Crewel to deal with, one is threatening to drown him if Yutu is allowed to fight, the other is screaming curse words and saying it doesn't matter what Crewel does, he's going anyway.  He needs a drink (but not from Jade's bar he's going to get poisoned) 

I don't think Yutu actually told Jade he was planning on going back in time because he was angry and just assumed that he would try and stop him.  He's really proud of himself for the first few weeks he spends in the past thinking he got one over on his old man finally (he didn't, but he did hurt him quite a bit), but the more he interacts with the younger version of his parents the more he starts to regret that decision.

Past Jade is so… fun.  He thinks his dad is fun?!  His weird obsession with mushrooms was never something they talked about beyond a few compliments his dad gave to a mushroom patch he had on his jacket; watching his old man prattle on now he never would have guessed any of this.  Yutu never doubted that Jade loved you, but he didn't really think about what that looked like, or what you might have meant to Jade.  They just didn't talk about it, now that he's forced to think about it Jade was probably trying to focus on having him back and how lucky he was to even have that.  And instead of being honest about how angry he was to have lost you he lied and said he was fine.  With how good his dad was at knowing when he was lying Jade had to know that's how he felt, but respected his boundaries and didn't push. All those comments about being there when he's ready to talk, all the times Jade said he loved him, and those long nights he watched from afar as Jade sat with tea next to your grave, just talking to you as if you were still there are put into context. Yutu isn't able to sleep for a few nights after that.

Jade finds Yutu interesting.  He's a potential source of information about Yuu, a lot of his quirks remind him of himself and he finds the new kids blatant disrespect for authority to be hilarious! And hilariously good blackmail material, now now don't be afraid he really is just here to help...

"Nice try old man you won't pull shit out of me." Yutu sounds smug, but Jade knows when his spell has worked and when it hasn't; how delightful he doesn't seem to remember someone ever being so cocky about it before.

"That's a shame." He makes sure to make his face fall to keep the new kid off his guard as he continues his questioning. "It's just I am curious where did you come from? I thought Yuu's world doesn't have magic."

"I mean it doesn't, probably never would have been able to come back in time if I was still stuck there." Yutu blinks, clarity starting to come into view as Jade pushes through the surprise to ask a final question.

"Oya? And just why did you come back in time, were you worried about Yuu?"

"Of course I'm worried about my parent what sort of stupid question is-" Yutu returns to himself and treats Jade to a look of shock so rare and downright delightful he can't help but smile himself. "Hey just what did you do?"

Old man? What a disrespectful thing to call his father, no wonder his future self never told his son about his unique magic. Jade doesn't have time to doubt his affections for Yuu, once Yutu realizes he's fucked and can't get out of admitting that was the truth he tells Jade who he is and a bit about what the future is like. Jade can tell he's keeping a few details back, but he knows himself well enough to know that everything Yutu is describing would have changed him to a degree that he might not have been in the best mental space to help his son through the loss of Yuu.

Speaking of Yuu, Jade asks Yutu to keep his existence to himself for a bit. He wants to win over your affections without the help of the future looming in your thoughts, he only gets to have this part of his life with you once and he intends to savor it. But the confidence boost he gets from knowing you do end up as his mate does have him acting a bit goofy for a bit. Floyd and Azul are legitimately scared.

They are brought up to speed as Jade insists on introducing Yutu to them "properly" and he is every inch the proud father showing off their new baby to the relatives even though Yutu is practically his height and has a bunch of piercings. Floyd takes a liking to him immediately while Azul is a bit more awkward, not that he doesn't like Yutu he's just a lot different from anyone Azul has ever met before so he's unsure how to sell himself. Luckily he doesn't have to because Yutu appreciates his genuine self just like Floyd, Jade, and Yuu do.

Jade gladly invites Yutu to join the Mountain Lover's Club and is very excited when he says yes. Yutu finds a lot of enjoyment in helping his dad work mushrooms into Azul and Floyd's food by pretending to agree with their complaints. Floyd is so mad he calls Yuu and tells them to come get their kid.

The over protectiveness doesn't end exactly, but Yutu is more willing to understand and Jade is more able to explain himself. They're both extremely protective of Yuu and in sound agreement that nothing like Yutu's future can ever be allowed to come to pass. Jade wanted a family, so to learn that he got that and someone took it away from him? Future him was overwhelmed with grief but current him is overwhelmed with rage. Remember book four? He described what he would do to someone who betrayed him, and it wasn't pretty. His plans for whoever did this to his precious mate and child is going to get so much worse.

#<3 asks #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #jade leech x reader #jade leech x yuu

[phoenixblaze1412]

HII!! happy new year!!! Can I get some fluff hcs with dottore (+ segments) and reader whos child is sucrose? This can be seen as a part 2 to the having a kid hcs if u want! - 🐓

It was you who gave your child the name Sucrose. Dottore didn't really mind any name you gave your offspring, his segments have weird names, why should he stop you from giving your child a chemical compound name?

Theta (Webttore) though... was curious of it.

"So.. why Sucrose exactly? Could have easily rhymed such a name with glucose, fructose or even lactose?"

"Because sucrose is sugar and what does sugar taste like? Sweet. And my daughter is the most sweetest thing in Teyvat."

"...both you and 'him' are bad at naming things. Naming your own kid table sugar, what a dumbass."

Sucrose prefers to stay with her father in his laboratory whenever you're busy, she's not much of an outdoor person and doesn't really want to interact with more people aside from you, Dottore, and even his segments who she can already tell who is who. She's just a shy little bean with good memorization.

Ever since the day Sucrose was born, everyone has been more restless, mostly you and Dottore since the segments don't even need sleep to energize themselves.

You would find her crawling around a room, searching for things that catches her interest and even reaching places a child shouldn't even reach.

One time when you, Dottore, and Sucrose were sleeping together on your shared bed, you were immediately woken up in the middle of the night due to the sound of your daughter crying but was nowhere to be found.

It took you and your husband at least 20 minutes to find that Sucrose was at the top of a cabinet and couldn't get back down.

Sucrose, your sweet daughter, apparently has taken in her father's footsteps, studying the world of science at just four years old. What got her interest the most is alchemy.

She immediately learned the chemical components of the things around her. Even creating and mixing a few chemicals into a test tube to see the reaction, Dottore stood beside her just in case something bad happens so he could pull his child out of the way.

One time when you were about to visit your family in the lab after coming home from a mission, you were immediately welcomed with a loud explosion which made you panic and run down to where it came from.

Once you reached the lab, you were greeted with your husband and child's faces all covered in soot. Both of their hair was messy and in every place, it was as if someone had electrocuted them which cause their hair to stand.

"What did you two do that caused this?"

"Welcome back, dearest. We wanted to see what kind of reaction we may get when we mix fuel oil with ammonium nitrate fertilizer."

"We got an explosion.."

Next time, before you went to another mission and leaving your two scientists behind, you asked the segments to keep an eye on the two and make sure they don't cause any more explosions.

Surprisingly, Sucrose has a few segments that she favored.

Omega and Prime, aside from being almost as perfect as her father, the two segments would teach her more about the chemistry field whenever Dottore is busy.

She finds Zeta's quiet behavior comfortable since she too is also shy and meek around others. They both communicate with a few sentences and it's already enough for them. Both Sucrose and Zeta rather prefers to do work than talk over it.

There were some fatui soldiers who would mistaken your child as a cicin mage due to her hair. Dottore suggested on dying her hair blue but you immediately declined his suggestion.

It's you who would be the one to style both Sucrose and Dottore's hair every morning, making sure it wouldn't hinder them whenever they work.

This caused the other segments to also want their hair get tied up, even those with hair as short like Theta's.

Dottore would always find ways to be able to spend time with you. Which is why he would hand his child over to his segments before sweeping you off your feet and carrying you out of the lab to spend quiet moments between you two.

All in all, Sucrose is happy to have her parents and guardians, if you could even call the segments as guardians. With her curious mind, she even learned about the other nations.

Oh, how cute Sucrose was when she asked her father if she could go to Mondstadt and study alchemy there.

"Absolutely not."

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #dottore #dottore x reader #zandik x reader #il dottore #gender neutral reader #female reader #il dottore x reader

[herbeloved82]

The echo of laughs that are no more

“Mom, mommy, look at how pretty that is,” A young girl screamed in a high voice, so typical of children her age. She pointed at the palazzo, framed by the light of the dying sun that colored the marbles in red and orange, like the fire that was said once destroyed it, with her chubby finger and her eyes shone with marvel when she looked at the beautiful place, but the mother did share the same joy at the view. 

She ran to where her child was standing, her little hand still raised, and grabbed her with more force than necessary before she ran away, her precious cargo safely in her arms. 

“Mommy you’re hurting me,” The child protested, but the mother didn’t care and she moved faster between the calli and porteghi of the old city, disappearing from view. 

From her full lips, cracked by the cold wind, a prayer fell. Latin mixed with Italian words like every prayer of someone who came from the two worlds. The young woman, whose face was already wrinkled by the weather from working outside day in and day out, was Catholic, but also held old beliefs that never faded with time. 

Only when she thought they were far away enough from the palazzo did she let go of her daughter, but before the child could protest, she knelt in front of her and with a shaking hand signed the child's forehead with a cross. 

“How many times have I told you not to do that, Giovanna?” She said when she was sure the young girl was okay and still her. 

“But mommy, the palazzo is pretty.” 

That was what worried Ofelia. The palazzo was pretty, it lured in men and women since Ofelia could remember. The stories went on and on for generations, even her own grandmother once told her about the strange figures dressed in old capes that would dare to enter the place to defeat the devil living there. But the palazzo never gave back any of those who dared to walk inside. 

The palazzo was a place that everyone learned to fear. Venice was full of stories of ghosts and powerful mages, evil witches and even alchemists looking for eternal life, but nothing could compare with the palazzo. 

“Promise me you will never go there, Giovanna.” 

She was openly crying now, knowing how her curious daughter could disappear one day, never to be seen again. 

Ofelia grabbed her little shoulders, her hardened fingers sunk in the delicate flesh that still had so much of the baby fat Giovanna didn’t shake off yet. She was so young and naive, how could Ofelia keep her safe? 

Giovanna screamed in pain, but her mother didn’t let her go, shaking her slightly, until Giovanna yielded. 

“I promise mommy. Please don’t cry.” 

When Ofelia let her go, Giovanna threw her small arms around her neck, comforting her, the promise she made still echoing in the alley where they lived. 

***  

It was a terrible night outside. The wind howled all day and only got worse when the weak sun disappeared, leaving its place to the darkest sky Venice saw in months. It wasn’t just the storm that worried the people, who preferred to stay inside, safe in their houses. No, it was something else, something that had no name, for the people of Venice refused to say the word. 

“It’s a bad night for the business.” The owner of the bacaro sighed. There were only a few people tonight, two or three customers brave enough to challenge the night for a glass of wine and something to eat. 

They were lost souls with nothing to lose. No families waiting for them home, or the warm body of a woman to keep them from slipping into despair. 

The place itself was shady and it smelled like old food that had long since gone off and watered down wine - the one some owners would give away when the patrons were drunk enough they wouldn’t even notice the difference. 

A young boy, not older than ten, with too pale skin spread on high cheeks, was slowly pouring stale beer from abandoned glasses into the jug he was holding, the same jug that soon enough would end up on a table, offered as fresh to some unknowing idiots. 

From upstairs came the loud noises of drunk customers taking advantage of the merchandise offered by the owner, and the counterpoint voices of the whores used against their wishes were the only noises that could be heard over the storm outside. 

Riva degli Schiavoni, that’s the new name of the place, was since forever the place where the brothels were. Founded by the mercenaries who fought for the Serenissima, it had changed names many times in history and yet it always remained the same, a place where young boys and girls would see their innocence taken and burned to the altar of the only god people would always worship: money. 

“The palazzo will claim other victims tonight,” someone said. The voice of the unnamed man, intent to drink himself to the grave, sounded hollowed and broken, but when he looked up at whoever was interested in listening, his bloodshot eyes burned with horror. 

“I know. I was there when it happened.” 

No one paid him attention but for one man, hidden in a corner, unseen. He was hidden under a thick cloak that covered his face. If anyone had paid him any attention, they would have seen red eyes shining in the darkness, for this man with the face of an angel and the heat as dark as pitch, was a demon escaped from hell to torment humanity. 

“When what happened?” 

The most beautiful voice filled the bacaro with its melody, and no one dared to deny him an answer. 

“Don’t pay him attention, good Sir. he’s crazy.” Another answered, hitting his temple with his index finger, to indicate the man was touched in the head. 

“I’m not crazy. I was there.” The other screamed, fear clear in his voice. “I was there, I tell you, when I heard them laughing. Children. So many children. All dead, burned -” 

The jug the boy held crashed on the ground as he signed himself, more scared by the man’s words than his owner’s punishment. Like him everyone else signed themselves, muttering the holy cross between their lips. 

“Burned children?” The stranger asked again, and like under a spell, the mad man told him the story of the palazzo and how it was burned down by mad people, killing the Maestro who lived there with his children. 

“Don’t mind him, Sir. It’s just an old story, but people are so simple. They still believe in evil. If the fire ever happened, it was centuries ago…” 

Before dawn the stranger was done. Of the people inside the bacaro only the young boy was still alive when the day came and the guards arrived, called by the screams of the whores who went downstairs to begin a new day. 

***  

“You have been out all night.” 

“And that’s your business why?” 

“You should be more careful. Venice is full -” 

“I know Venice better than you do. Don’t forget who I am and what I can do.” 

That ended the short conversation the stranger had with a servant as soon as he came back to the place he rented. 

It wasn’t opulent or anything, but cozy and above all it was private, exactly like the man loved the place he called home. 

When the servant moved away, the stranger took off the cloak and reached for a secret room behind the bookshelves, where a coffin laid on the ground and went to sleep, with more questions than answers. 

***  

“Did you find the answers you were looking for?” Armand growled. He was barely awake yet and the servant was already there, busying himself with mundane tasks, keeping an eye on him. 

Armand knew the old man wasn’t even loyal to him. Coming from a long line of humans who for whatever reason helped vampires during the day, the man was now his property, and yet he wasn’t his servant.

However Armand found him useful. The old bastard knew how to navigate the human world and its intrigues. When members of the different covens began to disappear, and among them Santino himself, the situation became dire enough that Armand had to act. 

At first no one seemed to know anything and even now after decades the only trace he managed to find was a link with Venice. Nothing more, nothing less. His inability to find a solution to a problem he couldn’t fix undermined his power above the others and he knew it wouldn’t take much to push those unhinged monsters he called his to betray him.  

The coven wasn’t really his, the power he believed he held was just a pale reflection of what Santino once had. No, he wasn’t naive enough to believe he was equal to the man who took him from his maker and tortured him into the twisted and perverted creature he now was. 

“Just stories created by frightened minds. The only common ground is the palazzo, but I can’t find any information on when it had been rebuilt.” Armand answered, remaining vague. He wasn’t going to reveal his secrets to someone who could still be in touch with Santino, if he was even still alive. With that snake, one never knew, and Armand had learned the hard way to never underestimate Santino and his madness. said he would investigate what was happening in Venice, but his reasons were his own and no one else was entitled to them. 

“That’s because no one ever rebuilt it. It was just there, one night, restored to its ancient splendor, like nothing happened.” 

That was something Armand already heard, but how could it be possible? He was there when the attack happened. He was there when his maker and his brothers had been killed by the same person who he had called Master. 

Shame made him sick, how easy it was for Santino to twist him enough he forgot everything that Marius taught him. The beauty of the world he had seen through his eyes was forgotten as the poison instilled in his ears took roots in his mind, for Santino gave him the one thing Marius could never do, a belief that was as extreme as the one he held dear when he was human, in a vengeful God that would punish the sinners. Santino gave him purpose when Marius had tried to give him hope and he chose the first, given through violence and pain, over what his beloved Maker had freely offered. 

“That’s just a legend. No places can rebuild themselves, not even the palazzo.” 

How bittersweet that simple word tasted in his mouth, so many memories connected to the place where he had been happy once, until the very night when he had lost everything. 

“It’s no legend. It’s what happened, and you above anyone else should know that in this world there are more things that happen than what a human eye can see.”

*** 

Armand waited until the night had engulfed Venice in a blanket of cold and fog. No one was brave enough to be out. It was the perfect time for him to stroll the streets like he owned them. 

He gave himself a moment to remember and when he did, Armand was back to being Amadeo, running along the streets with Riccardo, free and careless as only someone who had known the true meaning of slavery could be once freedom was at their disposal. When the weight of memories became too heavy to carry and too painful, Armand locked his mind once again. Red tears stained his flawless skin and he harshly wiped them away with the back of his hand.

His silent steps led him where he never thought he would return, and along the way poor souls filled with despair and loneliness laid on the cold ground, their throat ripped open and their blood stolen by a beast. 

Yes, Armand reminded himself. He was a beast, the dread of Paris, the fallen angel who would drown the world in blood, nothing of the young man who lived in Venice so long ago was left for he didn’t have any place with the new person he became. He was there to look for Santino and discover the truth of what happened to him, and once his mission was complete he would go back to Paris, where the echo of his past couldn’t follow him and he would take full and complete control over the cult there, so that those nonbelievers would see the truth, or perish under his wrath. 

Those were the thoughts that supported him as Armand stopped in front of the palazzo and let out the shaking breath he was holding. It looked impossible and he still didn’t believe it himself, but the palazzo looked exactly like it was before the fire. If he didn’t know it was impossible, he would believe that those rumors were real after all, but legends were just that, stories that the commoners would tell themselves to exorcize their fear.

Armand didn’t have any fear, they had been purged from his body with fire and violence, torment and starvation. Nothing of the weak fledgling who couldn’t save himself was left, he was the master of his own life now and soon he would uncover the truth of the mystery surrounding this place. 

Just a few more steps, he told himself, and he would step on the land that once belonged to Marius. Just a few more - then he felt it and froze. 

The whole place was reeking of power. Armand felt the moment the mind gift engulfed him; whomever was inside the palazzo was ancient and so powerful. In the gift he felt fury, like a feral animal trapped in place. It was madness and rage and bloodthirst all at once and it took Armand’s voice away. 

How could this be happening? Who could be so powerful to create something like this? 

Suddenly all the lies he said, about being the most ancient vampire still alive, came back to him and he knew he was nothing compared with whoever created all of this. 

The unknown power pulled him in, and even if he tried to fight and step back, there was nowhere he could go but forward. 

*** 

In front of him stood the beautifully carved front door, imposing and alluring at the same time, like it was when Armand knew it, when it represented the entrance to the only place where he had felt safe. 

Memories assaulted him, of a time long gone in which he had been happy, and tears fought their way out of his unnatural red eyes. It was with great struggle that Armand managed not to allow them to wash his face, proof of how much he was still grieving inside, where no one could see him so weak and pathetic. 

Before he could even think about touching the wood, the gate opened in front of him and Armand took half of a step back. What was this treachery? He thought, for he knew someone was making things happen like this. Not for a second he believed there could be any other explanation but an immortal playing with all these human minds. 

Only it wasn’t the scent of mortal blood that greeted him when the door slammed closed behind his back, locked by a strength Armand couldn’t hope to face and win. Armand’s heart raced in his chest when the first bit of blood invaded his nostrils. Stale and rancid as it was Armand couldn’t miss the fact that it was immortal blood, a revolting mix of too many people to prove to estimate how many. 

It was when his mind was running in circles, trying to find answers for questions he couldn’t even fully form, that he heard it. The laugh, like the old man said. Laughs of children and young boys. He pivoted on himself, ready to attack, but he saw nothing behind him and yet the laughs filled the silence once again, and this time they came with the tip tap of running feet. 

Armand turned again, furious, and looked towards the stairs, in his mind he could see himself and Riccardo rushing there, to prove who was faster. He remembered how slippery the marble was under their shoes, but neither of them was ready to slow down. Furious, his long fingers curled into shaking fists by his side, Armand shook his head to clear it and marched towards the sounds, ready to call out whatever scheme he just stepped into and destroy whoever dared to play so cruelly with his memories.  

His steps rushed towards where the smell was stronger, and he found himself in the ballroom, the one that was once full of life and joy. The one where Marius had hosted his parties and where Armand and the boys had been allowed to play and study, knowing their presence wouldn’t bother their Maestro but bring joy to his heart. He stopped dead in his tracks. No, it was impossible. His eyes filled with tears once again and his hands flew to his mouth, slapping it closed. No, he begged in his mind. It wasn’t possible. 

His immortal eyes had to play tricks to him, what other explanation could it be for what he was seeing? There, in the middle of the room, standing on the marble floor, where his brothers. He could see them like he did that morning, before doom fell upon them all. When a strangled sob left his mouth, making Armand jump, they turned and looked at him, as shocked as Armand felt. 

It was only then that he saw that there was an ethereal nature to them. Their bodies, once warm and solid, were now too light. Their feet didn’ really touch the marble and it was like they were floating in the air, without really doing so.    

When Armand moved a step towards them, their eyes grew wider in shock and they ran away, too fast for even his senses to catch up with them. 

“No. No please. Come back.” He cried, uncaring of the tears now free to run. “Please come back.” He sobbed again, but no one answered his call. 

Blinded by tears and pain, lost in the memories of a time when he had been happy, Armand began to wander, lost like he had been when he first stepped into the palazzo, from room to room. 

Once he knew them as his own pockets. He had explored, alone and with the other boys both, every nook, every hidden spot where he could wait for his Master to come back and from where he could watch and learn about his secret. Now those same rooms, but were they really the same? Was all of this even real, Armand thought, or just an intricate plot to trap him somewhere, for he still couldn’t believe anything of what he was seeing. 

“You were always like that.” Armand froze once again, unable to even move. The voice came from him from behind and it echoed in his mind at the same time. How could this be?

“You never believed, until you saw.” 

The same voice kept going. A voice he knew and had once loved. Albino, gentle Albino, lost to madness and cruelty like the others. 

“Even now you are like Saint Thomas.” 

He remembered when they used to talk about religion and Saints, the same in both of their religions, sometimes just with different names or different details in their stories. A new wave of tears fell from his eyes, now kept tightly shut, so that Albino couldn’t see their color and that he became one and the same with those who had taken him from life. 

“You are not real.” He tried. “You can’t be real.” 

“Saint Thomas.” The voice said, in a mockery voice and yet not malicious, just the voice of a brother making fun of another. 

When Armand turned, he saw no one there. 

***  

Lost and alone, his heart heavy with sorrow and longing for those he always missed the most, Armand kept walking, hoping to meet them again, to hear them again, but the place had gone silent, like a haunted mansion full of memories and nothing more. 

For a very long time he didn’t even realize that he couldn’t reach the exit, every time he was sure he was close to the stairs he couldn’t find them. It was like the palazzo had claimed him to stay, and for the first time in years he felt at peace. 

Maybe this was his punishment, after all, to be forced to stay forever, in the company of ghosts that maybe were just in his mind, starving to death where he had been alive and happy with his brothers and Master. 

“A house is built from the foundation up.”  

His heart broke when he heard the new voice. Riccardo, his dearest friend, the one he has killed in his starvation induced frenzy. 

“You are not as alone as you fear.” 

But he was, Armand wanted to scream. He was so alone, always alone. He lost everything and now he didn’t even know who he was anymore. He never wanted to be the monster that terrified Paris, or Santino’s perfect heir. 

Armand didn’t even know who he was anymore, but one thing was clear to his mind. He was alone in the world and no one would ever love him again. 

It was when he was thinking those gloomy thoughts that he saw stairs again, not the one that would lead him outside, but the ones that would take him to the basement, the deepest place in the Palazzo, closer to the foundation than any other place he could imagine. 

***  

Unlike the rest of the palazzo, where there was light everywhere, the way downstairs was dark and menacing. As he went down, Armand felt like he was being swallowed by hell itself and he knew it would be a fitting ending for his life. 

If this was how it ended, he thought, at least he wasn’t going to die under Santino’s gaze. He never deserved any part of him, and certainly not his demise. His only regret was not having the opportunity to kill Santino to avenge himself and his brothers. 

The basements were like nothing Armand ever saw before, with long and intricate corridors, not at all like what he remembered. At the walls, a long line of lightened torches casted their shaking shadows on the nude rocks. 

There, in the orange light Armand saw Jacopo, sitting on the floor like he used to do when his short legs wouldn’t carry him in his plays with the older boys. He looked up when Armand approached and after a moment of confusion, when he realized that Armand could see him, a huge smile blossomed on his face and he waved his small hand towards him. 

Armand felt what was left of his heart to break in his chest. In all the centuries he had lived as a rat in the sewers, no one has ever shown so much happiness in simply seeing him. 

“It’s scary inside. Do you want me to keep you safe?” 

It was that, some simple words said by a child, that broke Armand. Gone was the cult leader or the monster, killed by a dead child’s innocence. 

Armand fell to his knees, the echo of the bones breaking because of the force so loud that Jacopo had to cover his ears. Armand wailed and screamed, all the pain that he kept hidden inside finally free. 

He cried and cried and as the blood soaked his clothes he couldn’t stop, he couldn’t breathe or think, all he could do was to break. 

In his state of distress he felt Jacopo’s little hand petting his hair. He wanted to hug the boy, to beg for his forgiveness, but when he tried it was only air that he met. He screamed even louder, but the presence was still there, comforting him at best of his possibility. 

“Don’t be sad, Amadeo. Il Maestro doesn’t like when you are.” 

Il Maestro. Could it really be possible? Could Marius be still there, tied like the boys to the place where he had lived? He needed to know, he needed to see with his eyes if Marius was still there. 

Slowly he got back to his feet, feeling weak and defeated and yet he could only move forward, Jacopo by his side, holding his hand. 

“It’s scary, but you must be strong.” Iacopo said before they stepped into what was once the cellar. 

If only his brother knew what he became, Armand thought, he would be the one afraid to be with him, not the one comforting him about whatever it was that was hidden behind the heavy door that, even with his strength, barely moved when Armand pushed. 

The door finally gave up its resistance and shuddered in a deafening noise of bent metal and splintered wood, but when Armand looked he understood Jacopo’s fear. He looked at the child by his side, and even knowing nothing could hurt him anymore, he felt the urge to send him away from what his eyes couldn’t bear. 

Like he understood his thoughts, Jacopo was gone after waving to him for one last time. 

*** 

The first thing that assaulted his senses was the overpowering smell of rotting blood. He hissed under his breath, unable to contain his reaction, but then he saw it. The room, as large as the whole palazzo, was filled with dying vampires. 

Their clothes in pieces, rags that were impossible to recognize for an untrained eye, but that to Armand spoke of decay and cemeteries no one visited in a very long time. What little remained covering the emaciated bodies so close to the final death, were the old robes and cloaks that the Children of Satan wore for their sacred rituals. 

Those walking corpses were just a pale echo of what they had been before. Among them he could recognize those who had attacked Marius and the palazzo, vampires so old and yet now weak and dying. 

Their hands didn’t have claws anymore, or meat to cover the dry bones. Those shone, white and fragile, as even the blood was gone. It was like they dug and dug and dug until they consumed themselves. 

Armand looked around for corpses, real ones, rotting, that he knew weren't there, and he was right. The only source of food those prisoners could have found in their slow agony was eating each other, partaking in the most extreme form of blood communion, something he knew well, the old coven was above doing, and yet, it looked like that old habit died inside them like everything else. 

“Help,” One of those shells whispered. “Help us.” They finished. 

Armand couldn’t even say if the person who just spoke had been someone he personally knew, so unrecognizable he was under those layers of dry blood and dirt, with gaping wounds over their bodies that couldn’t be healed. 

When they spoke, Armand understood. Where their fangs were supposed to be, two holes were left behind, the wounds cauterized shut. Whoever did this to them made sure they would starve to death, slowly, and there was nothing that could be done. 

In the silence that followed, the distinct sound of breaking bones echoed and Armand watched, unmoved, as the vampire who dared to speak fell on the ground, his neck twisting in a strange angle, too weak to hope to recover from that.

When Armand raised his eyes, glued for a moment on the scene in front of him, unable to really understand how everyone else didn’t so much as move when one of them just died. Too busy with what they were doing, their eyes downcast, smelling like terror to care for their own fallen brethren. Then Armand finally saw him. 

A figure dressed in black, head to toes. The long cloak that finished the outfit embroidered with gold, the only accent of color together with the gold mask he wore to cover his face. This man looked like an angel of death, one that Marius would have made immortal in one of his paintings. By his feet there was a pile of rags, Armand thought. Strange, for the place was neat if not for the dying bodies. Then the lump moved and Armand realized it was someone, not something. 

But thinking about Marius pushed Armand back to the edge of a breakdown, but he couldn’t show weakness, that would be too dangerous in the presence of someone who seemed to be presiding over this torment. What exactly he was doing Armand didn’t yet know, however he could guess.       

“They rebuilt the place they had destroyed.”  A voice that had a known quality but still sounded foreign to Armand’s ears said. 

Muffled by the mask that didn’t have a mouth, Armand noticed, the voice could have belonged to anyone, and yet Armand couldn’t shake the feeling that it could be Marius, hidden behind the faceless mask, even if the voice was cold as ice and full of a cruelty Armand never thought Marius could possess. 

But how could this be possible? For the man standing in front of him, in the middle of all this blood and violence couldn’t be Marius. From him Armand could feel hate and rage and darkness come off of him in waves, and when he thought of Marius, it was light and gentleness and love that Armand imagined. It was everything that Marius had been for him, everything he needed in the shelter he created in his mind, in a place where Santino could never enter. That had been his safe haven, the one Santino could never stain with his poison. 

Unable to speak and ask the only question he wanted an answer to, uneasy with the mask that covered Marius’ beloved face, and still unsure if the person standing there, looking both too real and as though he were something his mind made up. And with what he knew about hell, the latter would be true, and Armand was forced to look away and it was then that he realized how distracted he became. 

In any other place and occasion this could have cost him his life, and yet, even with his mind still unsure of who the masked man really was, he knew deep down, that for whatever reason he was safe in the palazzo, like the place itself would protect him from harm. 

What he thought were rags, was kneeling at the man’s feet, broken and dirty and ugly outside like he always was inside, ruined by fire and unspeakable tortures, was Santino. 

The once proud and unhinged cult leader, the Coven Master who fed him Riccardo, his best friend and anchor in the darkness, was now worse than a beast. A mangy animal for whom death could be a blessing. One that apparently he didn’t deserve yet. 

This time Armand did move and Santino, as though attracted by the change in the air, raised his head to show his nearly desiccated face. So starved was he, that his lips were cracked and drawn, revealing that, like the others, he didn’t have fangs. He sniffed the air between them.  

“Armand,” he asked aloud, his voice broken and yet filled with a renewed hope that had no place to be. “Is it really you?” 

“Armand.” The man said, and never before his name has sounded so dirty and wrong. “A fitting choice. Soldier. I wonder who you fight for now.” 

Armand was the name Santino chose for him, the one he kept to remind himself of everything he had lost. Amadeo was dead, killed by Santino’s cruelty. He couldn’t be Amadeo and survive when everything he was, existed because of Marius’ love and affection, and what he had taught him. 

He needed to be strong and assert his mastery over his own life, so he picked a name that was both a reminder of what could never be again, and a warning for those who could be so stupid to see weakness in him. 

Now he wasn’t so sure anymore, he didn’t feel strong, or at all like a soldier. He just felt like a lost boy all over again, confused and isolated in a world that was bigger than he could ever hope to understand. After everything that had happened to him, Armand was once again faced with the devastating truth that he would lose everything time again. He was, after all Armand, and he was alone.  

“I fight for myself.” He answered when the silence became too much.

He learned to do that, he had to. When he found himself alone, in the hands of Santino and his men, all he could do was to survive, in any possible way. He became everything that Santino wanted and more. He became his soldier, at first, only to take his place by force and fear when Santino disappeared. He fought for Satan in the beginning, and for the darkness when he began to change things. He took pleasure in holding the power but finally, he fought for himself and to keep the power he had tasted for the first time. 

“Yourself? Not Satan himself, or Santino?”

That simple question and the mockery in the voice of someone who didn’t even believe Satan was real, and who hated Santino with a passion rooted in the centuries, told him what deep in his heart he already knew. 

Santino, wrong as always, picked that moment to start talking. Unaware of the turmoil that was torturing Armand, and perhaps also unaware of who his jailer really was. 

“You came. I called for you…” 

But Armand could never hear his call, it fell deaf to everyone’s ears and Armand suspected it was because of the power that permeated every inch of this place. A power that was ancient in blood and fueled by hate and resentment. 

However, the familiarity Santino used to speak to him, like he really believed Armand was there out of loyalty for him, unnerved him like nothing else could. For that Armand decided he would set things right between them, for he knew this was the last time he would talk to Santino. The older vampire was dying and Armand would watch and enjoy every second of it. 

“I came to see you rot, Santino. I came because my only regret in life, if this is where I die, was not to have killed you.” Armand finished for him, crushing under the weight of his words whatever emotion and hope had pushed Santino to speak. 

Next he looked back at the man with the mask, his eyes seething with fury and bloodthirst. 

“Allow me.” He begged. “Allow me to kill him for everything he took from us.” He said as bile rose in his mouth with its bitter and acidic taste. He was now ready to admit what his mind still couldn’t believe, but his heart knew it was the truth, that the man in the gold mask was Marius, that this was how it all ended for them. 

“For my brothers. For the time he stole from us. For Amadeo who died and left only me in his place. For you, Master, and what you are now. Allow me to be the one to end him.” 

Those words seemed to bring a halt to the masked man’s action and thought, like he didn’t expect to hear them and now, he couldn’t believe that what Armand said was true. To believe him would mean that he had been wrong, that Amadeo - no, Armand, he corrected himself - never betrayed him and what they had, as he had believed for far too long. Amadeo was the one Marius had loved and lost, and Armand was the man he now couldn’t trust.

“Be careful what you wish for, Armand.” 

“It’s the only thing I ever wanted. Since I lost you to him, since he killed who you had once loved and created me, all I wanted was the power to avenge us. Let me kill him and then, you can do whatever you think I deserve.” 

Those weren’t the words he had dreamed of speaking to Marius. Alone in his cell when Santino was starving him, Amadeo had wished and hoped that Marius was still alive and would come to rescue him. Armand wasn’t so naive, he couldn’t allow hope to weaken him, so he simply dreamed, sometimes, of seeing Marius again, of having the chance to tell him he never stopped loving him. Never had he thought that in seeing Marius again he would have also given up the power he gained over his life, putting that very same life he so hard fought to keep, in the hands of someone who now hated him, after teaching him what love was. 

“Your sweet words won’t buy you freedom.” The man reminded Armand, but he already knew that. 

“I don’t want freedom. I want revenge.” 

“Revenge shouldn’t be more important than freedom to you.” 

“It is, if it means I can see him suffer.” 

“Oh he already suffered, a lot. His life, slowly drained from him, it's what makes this place so special. With their life, the Palazzo has been restored, Santino’s death will be the last stone on its resurrection.” 

Armand already figured some of this out. “Like Dracula did with the Boiardi, when he decided the price for their betrayal was to die rebuilding his family’s castle.” 

“You remember your history.” Once again he sounded surprised.

“I remember everything that you taught me.” Armand said again, without heat behind his words, just an extreme sadness. “Even if you won’t believe me.” He finished the sentence, words leaving his mouth before he could stop them. 

“Why should I believe someone who still didn’t even use my name?” 

“Marius.” Armand said. “You are Marius, my beloved maker, the one I have loved above everyone and everything else. My savior and the one who left me to rot.” 

“What was I supposed to do, Armand?” Marius asked. 

“When I recovered enough, I heard you were the Coven Master, the cult leader. You were everything I tried to keep you from becoming.” 

His heart had broken when he first heard about Armand. He didn’t know his name back then, when he had still been weak and vulnerable, and yet he traveled to Paris and saw with his own eyes his beloved becoming Santino’s heir. 

“I thought I was alone. I thought you died and left me alone in this world. I wanted to survive Marius, hate me all you want for this, but I did everything to survive.” 

Marius had many words for this. He had imagined many scenarios where he and Amadeo would have met again, and yet, everything faded in the background and it didn’t matter anymore, not when his beloved really believed that Marius would hate him for surviving. 

Was he disappointed? Yes, of course he was. He had tried to keep Amadeo from descending in the blind fanaticism that always held too much power over him. He also was heartbroken that his beloved would choose the path he picked, but hating him? No, that was something Marius could never do.  

“Say something.” Armand demanded, and while he didn’t raise his voice, the desperation behind those words echoed in the room like a scream. “Say something damn you.”

It was then, that Marius removed the mask from his face, showing his features for everyone to see who destroyed them. 

Behind Armand’s command Marius could hear the pain of a lost soul, of someone who desperately wanted to come home, but thought he could never do that. 

“I could.” Words died in his mouth. Never before they failed him like now, in a moment he needed them more than ever. “I could never hate you, no matter how you choose to be named, no matter who you became, I could never hate you.” 

It was Armand’s turn to be shocked into incredulity, but soon he recovered and in his fiery red eyes, a new fire burned. 

“Now you should be the one to pay attention to your words.” 

“It’s just the truth, as hard as it can be to believe it.” For Marius knew Armand wouldn’t trust simple words. He knew he would demand more, but now there was something else that demanded their attention. 

“You let me to rot. Why should I believe you don’t hate me?” Armand asked, for the thought of Marius leaving him without a reason as strong as hate, was unbearable. 

“Tell me something, Armand.” Marius said and his voice was heavy with gravitas. “Look at me in the eyes and tell me if I walked into the catacombs and asked you, in front of your coven, to follow me outside, would have you done it?” 

Leaving Armand behind had been the hardest thing he ever did. It had been his greatest regret and he almost lost himself in the long years that followed that decision. But deep down Marcus knew it was the only thing he could have done. 

Armand had been so lost, so deep into the lies that Santino had created for him, he couldn’t be saved by someone else, not even Marius himself. The decision to walk free from the brainwashing and the lies, but also the decision to walk away from the power he now had tasted, had to come from Armand himself, everything else wouldn’t have been strong enough. 

“I - I would…” Armand didn’t know what he would have done. No one did. The past between them couldn’t be changed. It was painful, it was unfair, but it also was what brought them here and now and Armand needed to believe there was a reason why he was standing in front of Marius as those who wronged them were dying. 

“You needed to decide you wanted your freedom back, Armand, and I couldn’t make the decision for you.” Marius’ words weighed down on both of their souls with their finality. 

“Now you are here, begging me to be the one who kills Santino, even if you know how long I kept him here, even if you can see with your own eyes how long I spent torturing him. Tell me why I should allow you to be the one to end him.” 

Marius was curious. He spent decades torturing his old enemy, taking everything from him, his fangs, his blood, his coven, his eyes, everything he ever held dear, Marius had taken it, he had taken his time, waiting for the right moment to end his pathetic life, and now someone else wanted what was rightfully his. He needed to know why he should concede his prize to someone else. 

“It is my right. He made me the monster I am. He helped to destroy Amadeo, the one you have loved so deeply. He destroyed everything of me you could have loved and left the monster you can’t even look at. You speak of wanting to free myself, his death will be my freedom.” 

Marius felt silent, his blue eyes dug holes in Armand’s soul but he didn’t flinch. He submitted himself to such a scrutiny and at the end Marius must have found him worthy because he simply nodded his head. Yes, Armand had the right to kill Santino. 

Santino followed the exchange as bile raised in his mouth. Blinded by hate and betrayal, prayed to Satan himself to give him revenge against those who betrayed him. He really thought that Armand was meant to be his, why else had he broken so easily and totally? He couldn’t accept he was wrong from the beginning, couldn’t accept that after everything he did, Armand was back to Marius. 

Those filthy words from a dead mouth enraged Armand and a fire burned in his eyes. He knew what Santino was thinking. The man forgot that Armand wasn’t his. It wasn’t his dark blood that created him, and so his mind was open to Armand.  

If I can’t have you and your loyalty, Marius won’t either. 

Santino never had time to wonder how it was possible he had been so wrong,  before Armand slashed his throat with his claws.

The pain of his former acolyte’s claws tore through his throat, and wath little blood remained in his veins, sluggish and black, oozed from the gaping wound.

The gash was deep enough that Armand could see Santino’s spine, but he didn’t feel pity for him. This was right, this was everything he always wanted. 

I won my boy, my monster. How can Marius love you as you are now? 

When Santino’s last thoughts hit Armand, a renewed hate surged in his own heart. To watch him slowly die, as Santino bled to death  wasn’t enough. With all his strength, Armand broke his chest, shattering and tearing apart the ribs until he reached for his weakly beating heart.   

Santino slumps to the ground, the life leeching out of his eyes, though he was still just conscious enough to see the moment Armand let go of his heart. It plopped on the ground between them with a wet sound. There was a coldness in Armand’s eyes that made even Santino shudder as his heart was crushed under Armand’s heel, and in those final moments he knew Armand had neer been his. 

And just like that Santino died, among the rags and bones in which he’d chosen to live, leaving Armand free and finishing what Marius had started. The palazzo was now steady and secure, founded over the blood of those who had dared to desecrate it and who had killed the children the palazzo and his Master had swore to protect. 

After Santino’s death, they left the basement, side by side, close but not touching, both afraid to break thi moment and discover that it all had been just a dream. 

When they reached that ballroom, the children were there, brothers and sons, lost and found again, they ran to Marius and Armand, and for once their hugs felt solid, powered by their love, and when they parted, it wasn’t a goodbye for they would stay with Marius and Armand forever, bonded to the souls and not the place. 

Don’t waste your second chance. 

At first Armand believed Albino and Riccardo had spoken to him alone, but when he looked at Marius he saw the same expression in his eyes, of love and regrets, and he knew he heard the same words. 

They didn’t say anything, but looked at each other. Following an instinct that never left them, but stayed asleep in his hearts, their hands moved at the same time and when they touched, no one could say who grasped  at the other’s with more force and fierce possession. Tears shone in their eyes as they lost themselves in each other but when they felt the boys uneasiness and confusion they both mastered the will to smile. Those were tears of joy, not pain.   

For centuries after that night the Palazzo would stand, a reminder of what it had been before, and little by little Venice found in herself to love it again. Slowly life came back to it with balls and masquerades, but only at night, when few stunning but distant creatures would dare to venture there and mix with humans. They would know the truth and remember Marius and his love for Amadeo. Whispers would tell the story of Marius and Armand, but that story was still unfinished, for their love that consumed souls and lives is still burning. 

Theirs is a story that still doesn’t have the word end on it. Many would think they would still be there, at the end of time and space, together, to say goodbye to the world. Others whisper that eternity is not enough to contain their love.

A story of blood and tears, of revenge and longing. A story that is violent and could, alone, destroy everything in its path, but also a story of love like no one else. 

They bathed in the blood of their enemies, the bodies of which their home still stands upon. Some still say it’s a cursed place, and yet it is never far from the hearts of those who reforged it through blood. 

Stay away from the Palazzo, or, if you are brave enough, embrace what it means and hope you can find a love like Marius and Armand’s but knowing that such a love always requires sacrifices. 

That’s what Giovanna wrote in her book, before she disappeared, looking for someone to love, many said. Her mother was long gone when it happened and she had the stars in her eyes when said her goodbyes to Venice and the Palazzo. 

THE END 

#marius de romanus #marius/armand #Love #They love each other #Armand

[nirikeehan]

kicks down door DID SOMEONE SAY YOUNG CULLEN & SAMSON KIRKWALL SHENANIGANS

ahem. I mean. I'm so normal about this.

aNYwAy, give me those two hooligans with: 'a mage’s staff, splintered in the center' and/or 'templar armor, marked by lightning', please??

Oh my God, Mer, this one got away from me.

As in like, I sat down and banged out 4k in the course of a week.

So I decided to post the whole thing to AO3 here and post the excerpt that fills the prompt here for @dadrunkwriting.

Set up: Cullen and Samson are tasked with bringing in a runaway mage named Danyel. They track him to Darktown, Samson tries to negotiate, but things are about to go sideways.

WC: 1515

CW: Canon typical violence, PTSD, Samson is a shady mofo as per usual

---

Cullen held his breath. This was the crucial moment, when the apostate had to choose between surrender and a less pleasant alternative. Danyel seemed reasonable enough, and Samson made the Gallows far more appealing than Cullen thought he could, especially on the fly. The boy scraped a knuckle against his eye, thin chest heaving. Samson waited, keeping a steady gaze on Danyel.

Danyel’s face scrunched up, and with a frantic cry, he twisted out of Samson’s grasp and dove for his staff. 

“Fuck,” Samson growled, but Cullen moved faster. 

He leapt forward, drawing his sword. The mage swung the staff toward him, summoning a magical barrier along the way. Cullen’s sword clashed with the shimmering shield, its energy crackling and vibrating under his steel. Cullen dug his feet in, throwing his weight against the barrier while he summoned a dampening effect from the lyrium in his blood. He raised his off-hand, spreading his palm wide, and the barrier stuttered. Danyel gasped from the effort of trying to maintain the spell, going pale as the blade broke through. 

Cullen’s sword bounced off Danyel’s staff. The staff splintered in the center, but did not break in two. The force  threw them apart — Cullen recovered and assumed a defensive stance, while Danyel backed up into the far wall. 

By now Samson was at Cullen’s side, blade drawn. Unlike Cullen, Samson favored his left hand when fighting, and the two of them stood before the mage like a mirrored image. 

“This is a bad idea, Dany,” Samson said, advancing on him. The mage threw a ball of lightning that he dodged, and Samson darted to Danyel’s left and thrust. 

The boy stumbled out of the way, herded closer to Cullen. Cullen tried to make a grab for him, but Danyel ducked and spun behind Cullen. 

“I’m not going back!” Danyel spun his staff and slammed it into the ground, chain lightning rippling through the air around him.  

The electricity was so close Cullen felt his hair standing on end. He fell back beside Samson, waiting for his friend to make the next move. Samson had an enviable fluidity to his sword work; what he lacked in brute strength he made up for in dexterity and creativity. He saw openings that eluded others, and wasn’t afraid to take risks that templars of noble stock, having been trained in more gentle dueling tactics in their youth, tended to avoid.

Samson feinted to the right, then pulled away when Danyel aimed his next spell there, sliding past the mage and delivering a blow on the boy’s shoulder with the flat of his blade. Danyel cried out in pain, nearly losing control of the staff. 

“That was a warning,” Samson said. “You ought to rethink this, before I lose my patience. You stand down, we stand down.” 

“You won’t.” Danyel turned to follow Samson’s trajectory, giving Cullen a shot at his back.

Cullen summoned another wave of dampening energy. He delivered it on the boy’s dominant hand as he tried to hurl a lightning ball in Samson’s face. The spell fizzled, and Cullen managed to grab Danyel’s wrist, holding tight. 

“Let go,” Danyel cried, but Samson had already seized his other arm, twisting the staff from his grasp. Together, they wrested the boy to his knees. 

“Didn’t want it to come to this,” Samson muttered. “You know that.”

“Would you like to shackle him, or should I?” Cullen asked quietly, while Danyel continued to fight against them. He hoped Samson would volunteer, that maybe if someone familiar did it, that might calm him. 

Samson let out a haggard sigh. “I’ll do it.” But as he reached for his belt pouch, Danyel wrenched his arm free and, with a heart-wrenching scream, aimed a crackling fist at Cullen’s breastplate. 

Cullen did not have time to react. One second he was leaning over the mage, the next he was flying backward through the air. He hit the wall with a stunning force; the air escaped his lungs as he slid down to the floor.

I’m dying, he thought, struggling to breathe. He lie prone on the ground, unable to stand, unable to move.

Above him, Samson and Danyel circled each other. Samson had his sword sheathed, his hands in the air. “Listen, Dany. Listen. It’s not too late. I know a guy, all right? I can get you in touch with him. He can get you out of the city. I just need you to calm down. Just calm down, and you and I can walk out of here, forget this ever happened.”

They’re leaving you. Leaving you to die. The voice slithered through Cullen’s mind, and it sounded so much like Uldred’s that he began to shake. That’s what everyone does to you in the end. 

Samson had his arm around Danyel. “Hey, look. Where’s your staff?” 

The boy turned, searching for the fallen weapon. Cullen coughed, gasping for air. Samson looked up, his deadpan grey eyes meeting Cullen’s own. Samson inhaled once; without breaking Cullen’s gaze, he raised his mailed fist and slammed it against the back of the boy’s head. With a sickening crack, Danyel crumpled to the floor, unconscious. 

Samson stepped over the mage’s body, kneeling beside Cullen. “Easy does it now. Slow breaths. You just had the wind knocked out of ya, is all.” 

He gripped Cullen by the shoulder and helped him sit up. Cullen tried to listen and not let the panic win. With each inhale he seemed able to get more air into his lungs; he felt his pulse, at last, slowing. Samson knelt nearby, keeping silent, waiting him out. 

“I’m all right,” he whispered shakily. “Sorry.” 

“’S nothing to apologize for.” Samson inclined his head. “You’ve got a wicked souvenir, though.”

Frowning, Cullen followed Samson’s gaze. His breastplate had a scorch mark snaking through it, slashed diagonally through the flaming sword emblem. 

“Shit.” Cullen let out a desperate, manic laugh.

He climbed slowly to his feet, relieved that his armor had absorbed most of the impact and nothing felt broken. He’d probably be bruised for weeks, but it could be worse. 

Samson returned to Danyel’s motionless form, staring down at him with a tired look on his face. “Poor blighter.” 

“Is… he going to be all right?” Cullen asked uncertainly. 

“Yeah, yeah. I think so. He’s got a nasty crack on the head,” Samson said, as if he wasn’t the one who had put it there. “But once the healers look at him, he should be fine.” He prodded the boy’s torso with the toe of his boot, searching for pockets full of contraband.

Cullen leaned against the wall. He still felt out of sorts, not entirely stable. He licked chapped lips and wished he was back in the barracks, in his bed, where he could be horizontal for about a month. “What… what was all that about?” 

“What was all what about?” Samson didn’t look up. 

Cullen wondered, suddenly, if he’d perhaps hit his own head without realizing. “Didn’t you tell him… you know someone who could get apostates out of Kirkwall?” 

Samson raised his chin sharply, eyes narrowed. “What — and you believed me?” 

“Well.” Cullen felt as though he were back on that awful ship that had sailed him to Kirkwall, with the ground unsteady beneath his feet. “You sounded very convincing.” 

In the growing silence Cullen feared Samson might be angry with him, but then a smile broke on his lips and he let out a sly laugh. “And a bloody good thing, wasn’t it? I was worried for a bit he’d take us both out and we’d never see him again.” 

Cullen could not share his friend’s mirth. The encounter had been too fraught, and the calls too close. Samson was right — it could have broken bad in far more ways than it had. Cullen felt a little ill, seeing the undignified way the young mage lie there, having his person rifled through. He looked away and cleared his throat. “Well. I suppose we ought to figure out how to get him back to the Gallows.” 

“Right. At least we’ll be able to collect that pat on the head from Meredith.” Samson strode to Cullen and leaned companionably beside him, crossing arms over his chest. “You think she’ll make good on the lyrium bonus?” 

Despite everything, Cullen felt the warmth of gratitude spreading through him. He bit back a wry laugh. “I wouldn’t count on it.” 

“Nah, I guess not. I swear that hag must have a good cackle every time she denies my requisition requests.” Samson shook his head. “Fine, then. We’ll have to go out for drinks to celebrate. Don’t even think of refusing, I can see it in your face that you want to. I think we deserve it for surviving the mage’s onslaught, don’t you?” 

Cullen let out an exasperated breath, but Samson’s enthusiasm was infectious. He smiled wanly. “I guess you’re right.”

“Damn straight I am. Now c’mere and give me a hand. I have a feeling this kid’s gonna weigh more than a sack of Carta dwarves.”

#cullen rutherford #raleigh samson #cullen & samson hours #fics #dragon age drunk writing circle #did i spend an hour learning about swordplay just so i could deem it canonically plausible Samson is a left-handed fighter? #all for one dumb moment of imagery and symbolism? #YOU BET I DID #i'm normal about samson

[writingonesdreams]

Hello, hello, and happy sts to you, Dreams~!

Today, I'd like to ask you about Cam. He's a really interesting character, but I realized I don't know too terribly much about him. Do you have any fun fact about him? What's his backstory like?What inspired you to add him into the story? And what are his dynamics like with the other cast members? And anything else along those lines you'd like to ramble about ^^

Hi Ren! Haha I'm glad about your interest in the new boy.^^

Here is all about Cam:

His whole name is Cameron Blake

Cam was a sad brooding child. He was cursed with the ability to feel things very deeply which led to two things. First, that he can understand emotions very easily, usually better than the person themselves and second, that he became very broody and philosophical about expressing and describing his emotions

Cam is sensitive, thoughtful, incredibly emphatetic and likes to analyse himself and others all the time. This makes him feel special and he likes that, but also misunderstood and lost.

Cam realized early on his biggest gift, feeling and understanding emotions, usually just drives people crazy. Because most people aren't nearly as self-aware or self-critical or even want to do the effort of thinking stuff through

He has been told that his attempts to help are unwanted, uncalled for, out of place, that he shouldn't pretend to understand suffering he didn't experience, and that he can't help people that aren't aware of needing help nor ready to accept help. And that most never will be

To ease his miserable lonely unique sad existence, Cam decided to act out on his desires as much as he can. He gave up on being helpful or waiting for the right moment to become helpful and just says whatever he can read from a person. Even better if he gets a reaction out of them

Cam is paranoid about trusting people. He learned early on that people never say what they mean and even worse, usually believe what they say at the same time. So no one really tells the truth and no one is willing to look for it

So Cam solves this problem by poking at people's most hidden little painful cores. He gives them nudges, hints of their looming problems and the need to understand them. It usually hurts. It usually doesn't change anything

He likes dressing fancy and keeping up with trends. Luxury and buying useless stuff and trinkets. Since he became disappointed with society, he became incredibly free of its expectations and rules. He is wasteful, self-indulgent, bold, brutally honest and shameless

Being attractive is important. Being powerful is important. Ways how to make people jealous, angry, really any reaction to get out of them is good

The more he gets to know someone the more he is thinking about the worst possible thing he could say to that person. The more he likes someone, the less likely he is to say it. It's his safe card. Knowledge he could destroy someone makes him feel safe

Cam is cheerful, tardy, forgetful, moody, flirty, provocative, manipulative, very charming when he wants to be. He experiences all ranges of emotions everyday. Starts out depressed, impresses people and feels amused, comes all serious and returns all giggly

Cam seems to be always in control, because he accepted the total lack of control. He is whimsical, impulsive, adventurous and ready to go with whatever the wind brings

Cam doesn't judge people. He knows their worst sides, makes them come out around him, hopes to do so in fact; but he never judges

His favourite things are tragic romance novels, writing bad poetry, standing in the rain and horror. He likes the opportunity to cry and feel like it had a reason

He is completely defenseless to cats, loves dragons, is actually very capable double mage of aural/soulfire magic and the element of electricity and his analytical mind really means he is a genius in praxis about anything he tries out

The character dynamics will be coming in the next few chapters :D

Thanks for the question set, Ren^^

#writeblr #wip: tears of iron #sts #cameron

[sl33pyperson]

threats on the table: solas (ofc, hes the name of the game), venatori (gotten stronger in power after inquisition apparently? ive frantically been reading wiki pages), red lyrium templars (meredith wants to Wipe Out tevinter.)

this rant got kinda long and im just spitballing so

super scared we’re gonna get the venatori/tevinter vs templars plot treated really similar to the general mage n templar war, “wow inquisitor you chose One Option and now its over congrats! dont think about the consequences or ripple effect of any of these actions it doesnt matter! you just have a different skin on your soldiers!“

solas taking the red templars and using them to cause general chaos? yeah? hes used the venatori for his own means before?? i might just be misremembering what solas actually wants, but tldr its tearing down the veil to bring back old days where spirits n magic was everywhere? red templars seem P Bad for that plan then

WAIT THE BOOKS ARE ACTUALLY IMPORTANT IM JUST. GONNA COPY PASTE ALOT OF THINGS FROM THE WIKI 

“The Carta assassin says that Solas wants the lyrium idol, retrieved from Meredith's statue thanks to a potion” “The Orlesian bard claims that he saw Solas retrieve the idol from an auction house“ “Their stories indicate that Solas has already started the ritual he intends to use to restore the elven empire, that it involves and has already started to affect the Fade, and that it requires the lyrium idol.“ theres another book where a venatori danarius has stolen the idol from something but the wiki says thats probably Before The Dread Wolf Take You

solas is literally using red lyrium to break down the veil!!!!! having meredith and her soliders everywhere would be so useful as conductors for whatever the fuck he wants to do???

screaming crying but its also the taint!!!! if theres another fucking archdemon im going to die!!!! but the wardens literally wanted to prematurely bring along the rest of the “blights“ by killing the sleeping archdemons so aoudhssdafiuhdf

bring along the world you destroyed previously by destroying the current world!!! fucking THANKS solas!!!!!

i got so fucking. distracted by solas i forgot the main bit of why i started this.

Who You Choose As Divine Is Really Important For How Many Templars There Are

also considering that REALLY good post going around about “why tf did divine justinia even make the inquistion in the first place“ “so she could destroy the mages and have the seekers as better templars but everywhere“

LELIANA: destroys circles as a whole, templars would still be around as a form of “security“ and shitty cop sbc i really doubt the chantries everywhere would give them up. theres still demons and possessions and ppl dont let go of the old ways. CONSIDER!!!! you can literally kill leliana in dao. she could be a spirit. shes also in the absolution mission scenes (still think she would do that even as divine but whatever) i really fucking doubt they would choose leliana as biowares canon, bc they hate mages, u can kill her, circles in nevarra are still mentioned in absolution.

CASS: reinvents a new form of circle and templar order. templars still around. she is STILL working for the inquisition tho, so like, i really doubt shes the canon one purely bc of absolution. if they didnt show cass giving those orders i would be less hard about this.

VIVIENNE: hardens up both circles and templars in the old way. oh my god. so many templars everywhere i bet, i forgot specifics its been a really long time but like. it seems like most likely at this point. vivienne is around no matter what, she doesnt care for the inquisition, shes the most “Eh, doesnt matter that much to other character choices“ one around

tldr oh my god if the red templars are actually able to go and infect other templars, and if vivienne is divine, they’re gonna have a huge fucking army and that makes them scary!!! i also hope who is divine changes the number or the tactics of the red templar army in game. but its bioware so prob not alas

#speaking time #absolution spoilers #kinda maybe whenever i mention the templars i feel i have to tag it

[leonthewitch]

CG Chongyun taking his little Xingqiu to Chinju Forest ft. Hu Tao!!

Xingqiu and Chongyun definitely swap being caregivers for eachother and taking care of eachother u can’t tell me otherwise also no totally not another hurt/comfort situation where someone almost gets hurt

CW; cussing

Ah, regressing. The one time Xingqiu feels as if he’s truly allowed to be himself 100%, no hiding.

Ah, caregiving. The one time Chongyun legally can’t be fooled with by Xingqiu because he’s a 3 year old mentally.

Except when he does get fooled

Such as this specific time

He had taken his baby to Chinju Forest for a picnic.

He spent the entire day prepping, making sure he had everything, from the food, to the blankets, jackets in case Qiu got cold, Qiu’s sippy and pacifier, as well as of course a plethora of plushies

Xingqiu doesn’t get to see his plushies often since he’s often hiding them away at Chongyun’s

And so, bag in hand and baby’s hand in the other, Chongyun was quick to take Xinqiu over to the gardens to get them all set up

If we’re being honest: Xingqiu had already regressed the second Chongyun asked to take him on a *little* picnic

He took the closest paci and slipped into his headspace faster than Chongyun could slip on Jueyun Chilies

So once they had gotten there he was anxious to do something stimulating

And so when Chongyun was quick to give him a small— “Bubba’s gonna set up the blankies for us, okay? Be a good boy and stay here for a second,”

Xingqiu definitely didn’t wanna be good

Ahem why be good when u can have fun duh/j

And so Chongyun was quick to finish setting up, but the second he turned around he was met with nothing but a picnic basket

No baby

Oh shit

“X—Xingqiu— Xingqiu!? Baby, where are you?”

Panik

Immediate panic

“Qiu, come on, prince, don’t play like this with bubba? Please?”

Chongyun is totally an overworrier

100%

And THIS?

Oh god

 Living nightmare.

Meanwhile little Xingqiu was babbling around his pacifier just struttin’ about the garden path

Occasionally plucking a few petals from the glowing flowers

“I can make bubs a present…!” He thought

He had a little puppy plushie that doubled as a pouch, and so he was quick to put them away into there for safekeeping

He didn’t even hear Chongyun’s panicking

Or the electro mage coming up behind him

He was preoccupied by his new collection of glowy flowers

It was only when Chongyun rounded the corner to see this occurrence did Xingqiu hear him scream his name

“XINGQIU!”

Chongyun was running as fast as he could, but just as the mage turned to glare him down, a flash of fire hit

The mage was pushed away and out of sight, and Chongyun froze for a second, until those big brown eyes he knew so well met his and filled with tears faster than he had ever seen

He was glad he had put the paci clip on Xingqiu because with the way he wailed so loudly, there’s no way at all that his pacifier wouldn’t had hit the ground without it

Chongyun never ran faster

He cradled him as close as possible, tucking his head under his chin as he breathed a shaky sigh of relief

He was safe

“Oh god… you scared me so bad Qiu…”

He whispered mainly to himself at first but then Xingqiu’s wails grew louder

The poor thing thought Chongyun was mad

“Baby— baby look at Yun,”

Chongyun sat on the ground for a second, not even paying mind to the dirt on him now, to pull him into his lap and make him face him.

“Hey— Bubs isn’t mad, my prince…! M’ not mad, okay?”

There was no reasoning with the baby now

He thought Chongyun was mad

So now In his head Chongyun is annoyed

“Oh Qiu…”

Chongyun just continued to hold him, letting him cry it all out

“That must’ve been so scary… Wasn’t it, baby boy…?”

Silence for a second

“Baby boy”

Xingqiu.exe has stopped working

Sobs were quick to turn into little whimpers, blubbers and sniffles

Chongyun internally grinned

Works every time

He gently moved Xingqiu from where he had hidden in his neck to softly push his pacifier back into his mouth, noticing his breathing was uneven, and knowing that’s what Xingqiu had asked him to do in the past when that had happened before

“Shh, through the nose, I know you can do it, it’s alright, little one…”

“little one”

Xingqiu.exe has stopped working again

Meanwhile a twin-tailed girl was suppressing her squeals from the shadows

Hu Tao, who was the one who quickly took out that mage, had been visiting Inazuma as well on an expedition trip when she saw Xingqiu

She was gonna say hello until she saw his paci

Her thoughts after that were immediately: “wait he’s a little too!?”

And then a panicked; “Wait who and where is his caregiver!?”

No surprise to her that it’s Chongyun

But so, after that all she simply did scope out the area and check to be sure there were no other enemies nearby

Then she let one of her ghost friends carry a silk flower to the two, and drop it into Xingqiu’s lap, before heading out before the two could spot her

The silk flower was the last thing that finally soothed Xingqiu almost fully, now just sniffles coming out every so often while he played with it

Chongyun didn’t even notice it honestly, he was just focusing on holding him the entire time though his breakdown, pressing kisses to his forehead and wiping his tears

“… There we go, that’s my good boy… let’s get some food in you, hm…? How about it? You want nummies?”

He was definitely not cooing not one bit of course not at all/s

Xingqiu’s little nod nearly made his heart melt

“Alright, let’s get you nummies then… Bubba brought some yummy sweets for you…! Xiangling made us some shrimp buns and pastries for today…”

He slowly stood up, first having Xingqiu stand with him as well

But then came grabby hands

And Chongyun couldn’t just say no to those little puppy eyes

He totally carried his baby the entire way back, listening to nothing other than the grass under his feet and the gentle noises from Qiu sucking his pacifier

Once they were back to the picnic spot, Chongyun was even quicker this time than the last to get Xingqiu comfortable and grab the food

“Alright, do you want Yun-yun to feed you, hm?”

It’s too adorable how flustered Xingqiu gets

Chongyun’s laugh DID NOT help with the pink hue on Xingqiu’s face

“Alright my baby… Then that’s what I’ll do. C’mere…”

#xingyun #Genshin #Genshin agere #Genshin impact #agere #age regression #xingyun agere #Xingqiu #Chongyun

[hinerdsitscat]

Eurovision 2022 as Chris Fleming/Gayle Quotes

Last year I did various Eurovision acts as John Mulaney quotes so this year I thought I’d try a different Comedian Who Deals In Weird Metaphors.

--

Austria (Lumix feat. Pia Maria, “Halo”)

--

Bulgaria (Intelligent Music Project, “Intention”)

--

Croatia (Mia Dimšić, “Guilty Pleasure”)

--

Cyprus (Andromache, “Ela”)

--

Czech Republic (We Are Domi, “Lights Off”)

--

Estonia (Stefan, “Hope”)

--

Finland (The Rasmus, “Jezebel”)

--

France (Alvan & Ahez, “Fulenn”)

--

Georgia (Circus Mircus, “Lock Me In”)

--

Iceland (Systur, “Með hækkandi sól”)

--

Ireland (Brooke, “That’s Rich”)

--

Israel (Michael Ben David, “I.M.”)

--

Latvia (Citi Zēni, “Eat Your Salad”)

--

Lithuania (Monika Liu, “Sentimentai”)

--

Malta (Emma Muscat, “I Am What I Am”)

--

Moldova (Zdob și Zdub & Advahov Brothers, “Trenulețul”)

--

Norway (Subwoolfer, “Give That Wolf a Banana”)

--

Poland (Ochman, “River”)

--

Romania (WRS, “Llámame”)

--

San Marino (Achille Lauro, “Stripper”)

--

Serbia (Konstrakta, “In Corpore Sano”)

--

Slovenia (LPS, “Disko”)

--

Spain (Chanel, “SloMo”)

--

Switzerland (Marius Bear, “Boys Do Cry”)

--

Ukraine (Kalush Orchestra, “Stefania”)

--

There were more acts this year, but due to time I couldn’t get to them all.

Image Text/Sources:

First Image: “Where do you think we are, Italy?” (source: “Davis II”)

Austria: “And everyone’s looking at me like I’m at an Eyes Wide Shut party uninvited.” (source: “Baby Got Back Brings Out The Worst in People”)

Bulgaria: “They should invent something for guys with this kind of affliction, like a VR system where he can believe he’s in a perpetual state of giving you a tour of his house.” (source: “W.U.G”)

Croatia: “Too bad he was married.” (source: “Showpig”)

Cyprus: “NYU is just girls in fedoras trying to get addicted to cigarettes.” (source: “NYU”)

Czech Republic: “Terry if you haven’t made your bed, throw it away, it’s too late to make it now!” (source: “COMPANY IS COMING”)

Estonia: “Hi, I’d like to report a stolen horse? Actually, don’t worry about it.” (source: “Valentine’s Day”)

Finland: “It’s very apparent that they haven’t seen the light of day since ‘94.” (source: “Gayle - Episode 38: Lizard People”)

France: (description: person standing in the woods screaming) (source: “Meeting Boyfriends”)

Georgia: “Why do I feel like that guy washes his hands with strawberry milk?” (source: “Gigi the Christmas Snake”)

Iceland: “Enough turquoise to get into Stevie Nicks’ house (no questions asked).” (source: “Sick Jan”)

Ireland: “I’m like ‘preteen at her Bat Mitzvah disassociating doing “Greased Lightning” choreography.” (source: “Showpig”)

Israel: “I should have known how you kept going on about ‘how welcoming the burlesque community’s been.” (source: “Polyamorous”)

Latvia: “But I was off my face on Terra Juice, so I didn’t know right from wrong.” (source: “Gayle - Episode 3: The Movies”)

Lithuania: “And on ‘sexy chanteuse,’ she punched me so hard in the jaw that I flew against a piano.” (source: “Showpig”)

Malta: “Those aren’t freaks, those are attractive people with heavily-vetted idiosyncrasies.” (source: “St Vincent, Crazy Pete and Kevin Magee”)

Moldova: “He thinks his vibe is all ‘Don Draper’ when it’s really more ‘Hertz Rent-a-Car’.” (source: “W.U.G.”)

Norway: “It may look like a 2010 Corolla, but it’s not: that is in fact his spaceship.” (source: “My Day with the Alien”)

Poland: “Zero qualms about going full Streetcar Named Desire at 2PM at a Bertucci’s.” (source: “Am I a Man?”)

Romania: “I have never just had a twosome.” (source: “Gary Johnson Ad”)

San Marino: “And the boyfriend’s jazzing around, all proud of himself, like a seagull who just pulled off a Dorito heist at the beach.” (source: “What To Do If Your Boyfriend Proposes on Christmas Eve”)

Serbia: “For 51 years of my life, I walked around looking like the leader of a jazz band, until one day, by a freak accident, I messed up in the shower and I used dog shampoo. Sure, I was humiliated, but Terry: the results.” (source: “Gayle - Episode 22: Beef Hutchins”)

Slovenia: “How nice would it be to have the confidence of a teenage coffee drinker?” (source: “Teens Who Drink Coffee”)

Spain: “And he had this big ass, this big proud ass, this Christmas goose, this terrific bassoon player’s ass!” (source: “St Vincent, Crazy Pete and Kevin Magee”)

Switzerland: “You know a guy got into Radiohead too young if even his pocket rejects him.” (source: “Polyamorous”)

Ukraine: “I’m like the kid at the school dance wearing the bucket hat, grinding with the fire extinguisher.” (source: “Gary Johnson Ad”)

Closing Image: “You think that shit happens to John Mulaney?” (source: “Davis II”)

#eurovision #eurovision song contest #eurovision 2022 #esc 2022 #text post meme #chris fleming #chris fleming quotes #gayle #gayle series #image described

[bunn1loid]

 🌿 when you’re overwhelmed◝

➝ Diluc, Kaeya, Childe

✩ warnings: they’re under the characters’ names this time.

✩ a/n: very self-indulgent, and much out of character but i need some comfort so here it is (´･_･`)

❧ Diluc:

➝ mentions of blood, crying until you feel sick (?)

• Diluc is a man who doesn’t give up easily. If there’s an obstacle, he fights his way through it until he succeeds.

• It only takes him a moment to react when he sees you crying in bed in the middle of the night, when he comes home. The pillow pressed against your face is wet and your hands are shaking.

• If you can’t fight back against whatever is hurting you, then he will.

You're hurting.

you clench your fists, gripping the pillow tightly.

Your whole body is on fire, consuming your strength as you cry, face burried in your pillow. Your throat feels like it's been cut from the inside, and the blood is flooding the back of your mouth. You struggle to breathe, with the constant feeling that you might throw your insides out. Your head is pounding terribly, each wave of pain worse than the previous one. Your muscles are ready to explode in your body. You know you're too tense, but you can't calm down. You're a volcano pouring all of its emotions out, and nothing is stopping you.

Not even the warm hand caressing your back is enough as you wail, letting all the bottled sadness out.

No matter how many tears escape from your bloodshot eyes, everything still hurts too much, and the weight on your shoulders is still too heavy.

" Y/n, I need you to breathe. Slowly. "

You hear Diluc taking a deep breath, and understand that you have to imitate him. But when you open your mouth to do so, your breath is shaky, and it doesn't take long for you to suffocate again.

" It's alright. We can try again when you're ready. " He brushes your wet hair away from your face, not minding the sweat on your forehead as he gives you light touches. " I'll stay with you, don't worry. "

It's humiliating to break down in front of him, but his presence is soothing. His voice keeps the demons away, as he once again takes the role of protector. He just wishes he could get rid of your bad thoughts the way he does with abyss mages.

• He's not used to physical affection, but he doesn’t mind it -- especially if he knows you crave it.

• The warmth that engulfes you when he pulls you in his arms is different from the one you felt before. It's gentle and comforting, almost like Diluc is unconsciously forcing your body to relax.

• You eventually grow tired from the overwhelming feelings you've experienced.

• You murmur his name and as he looks down on you, you whisper a tiny " I'm tired...".

• He knows these words imply so much more than exhaustion.

• But he promises to stay with you.

The gentle praises and reassurances diluc whispers in your ear extinguish the fire inside you, and he knows that.

He felt like a volcano errupting once, when he lost his loved ones. It hurt, especially when the guilt and anger became too much for him to handle. Words he now regrets were thrown like burning rocks.

He thought he'd never be able to cool down. even while traveling without his vision, he could feel the flames in his guts. As time passed, his body grew empty of all the anger and guilt he carried. after what felt like an eternity, flowers bloomed on his darkened back, and the ashes flew off his skin. He hopes his support will be enough to help.

❧ Kaeya:

• Behind the facade he carries everyday, there’s a sensitive man. He cares about those around him, and genuinely wants the best for them.

• He sympathizes with you when he sees you sobbing, and tries his best not to cry, too.

• when he sees you gripping your hair, he gently grabs your hands and gives both of them a kiss.

Your hands are trembling as you take the glass of water Kaeya gave you.

" If you want more, don't hesitate to tell me. " A cold hand is placed on your neck, causing you to shiver.

When you put the glass back on the night stand, Kaeya wraps his arms around your and pulls you close, shielding you from the world.

A string of "it's alright"s and "I'm here"s escape from his lips as he repeatedly kisses your face. His voice is uncharastically gentle when he comforts you, but still deep enough to bring you comfort.

You whine and grip his shirt when he moves away, afraid he might leave you here. Instead of doing that, he grabs one of the extra blankets that are next to the bed, and unfolds it to cover your trembling figure with it.

" There. now, no one can hurt you. " He says with a smile.

• Please, stay in his arms and place the blanket on his head. that way you're both underneath it, and it's warmer.

• Being used to comfort Klee, he would treat you like a child: rocking you in his arms, humming a melody that's filled with nostalgia, buying you your favorite snacks...

• Comforting you like this gives him the opportunity to forget about his responsabilities as an adult, too. In moments like these, he's just a friend comforting his loved one in childish and innocent ways. He needs that.

• He would give you the best advice he can think of if you decide to talk about what makes you sad.

• If you can't open up, he'd make a pinky promise with you, promising that you'll both be here for each other, until the very end. Even though he doesn’t expect anyone to be here for him, he wants you to know he’ll always be by your side, and hopes you’ll do the same for him.

• When you finally calm down, exhausted from crying so much, Kaeya would lay you down in bed and place your favorite stuffed animal in your arms.

• He'd run one hand in your hair while softly humming, until you fall asleep (´∀`)

Kaeya sighs softly as he caresses your cheek. You've finally fallen asleep, your face has a peaceful expression.

He wishes he could sleep with you. However, he has to think about  everything you've told him: He thinks about what he can help you with, and how.

❧ Childe

➝ intrusive thoughts

• When he comes home, Childe sees you slumped on your bed. You're immobile, and your eyes look lifeless as you stare at the floor.

• He knows.

• He sees these empty eyes every morning, when looking at himself in a mirror. Although he doesn't know what's wrong yet, he intends to find out.

" Hey, buddy ? " Childe nudges your arm, only to receive a light slap in return. It's not enough to physically hurt him… but now he now that he knows something is wrong, he's worried.

" Dont feel like talking, hm ?" Your body moves slowly as you pull your blanket closer. " That's fine. Just tell me if you need anything. "

It's not fine, and he knows that.

But he also knows you're strong, and you will get better. Until then, he'll stay with you, and will gladly help you.

• It kills him to see you like this, but for your sake, he stays patient. He doesn't force you to get out of bed, and encourages you whenever you have a small burst of energy.

• When that happens, he supports you. Childe knows your energy and motivation are limited, and he sees the way you still move so slowly. If you decide to take a bath, he wants to wash your hair and dry your body while you sit down.

• If he can't stay with you, he orders someone to wait behind your door, just in case you need anything.

• Although he wants you to take your time, he wants to know the reason behind your low mood: is your physical health affecting your emotions, did something happen, or does it simply come and go ?

" I'm going to turn the light off. " The bed creaks under his weight. " We'll try to get some sleep tonight, okay ? "

He chuckles in the dark, still fidgeting to find the right position. You can't help but wonder where he pulls all that energy from, and how he stays so cheerful. But after all… maybe it's normal. maybe you're just-

" Goodnight, y/n. " Childe pulls you close, his thumb brushing against your ear. 

He murmurs a " get some rest. you deserve it. ", and you wonder if he can read your thoughts.

#genshin impact x reader #diluc x reader #kaeya x reader #childe x reader #lol i didn't save properly and had to rewrite everything #anyway <3 #i will cry if i see any grammar mistake or typo

[kurimiaki]

T, R, N and P with Diluc please?

the uncrowned king of mondstadt, diluc ragnvindr.

yandere alphabet via dear-yandere! revisions i made are flaky so. my bad wwwww

cw: dark content, physical abuse, kidnapping, confinement, claustrophobia, extremely unhealthy relationship.

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

Just because Diluc may be attending to business elsewhere, does not mean you are free from his heady grasp. Distant yet coddling; his attentiveness is a curse just as much as it can be a blessing. You’re never without security, that much is true. Dawn Winery is his eyes and ears, every single servant wrapped around his finger, wrapping around and constricting you. Self isolation could never be a possibility, not when Adelinde ushers you out of bed without a minute left to spare, always in such a hurry, as if wallowing in utter boredom for days on end is anything of importance. From the very beginning, Diluc had made it a point to ensure your physical health was a top priority to those surrounding you; strict itineraries have maids silently mourning over their packed workload. A plethora of duties— take you on brief walks outside the winery, never longer than 15 minutes, feed and serve meals delicately planned and catered to your health, eyes and ears constantly watching, watching, watching. They keep you like a dog on a leash, no matter how pampered. They do so dutifully. They must. Who could possibly decline such a hefty pay at the expense of silence?

It would be a blatant lie to say your physical health had declined any whilst under his... care, however, the same cannot be said for your mental well being. He can’t, despite how much he hates his inability to do so, prevent your tears. And by the archons, do you cry. Diluc is unable to approach you some days, those days when the illusion of normalcy and domestic living he works so hard to put up simply melts away, when you can do little more than curl in on yourself and wretch into your silk sheets with a litany of tears flush in your eyes. He wills himself to allow you the mercy of a few hours alone, albeit with check ups and that blatant discomfort of his when you wail at the slightest touch to your shoulder. Of course, it’s a different case entirely when such cries are symptom of punishment— whereas Diluc will weakly attempt to comfort you with softened eyes when you work yourself up, flaky and visibly uncomfortable, his resolution is unflinching and unwavering should you choose to act out of turn. Wail, sob, beg and beg for mercy, for forgiveness, his mask of nonchalance will stay firm.

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

No. Diluc is understanding that the situation he has thrust you into may not be ideal, he anticipates a lack of reciprocation and overall resistance, but he feels absolutely no guilt. In his eyes, this is for the best, the world is much too cruel— who better than him to make that judgement for you? Even if you do prove yourself to be capable of taking care of yourself, (with Diluc himself to measure up to) this Darknight Hero will find every minute, minuscule little thing to prove you otherwise. Just about every one of your shortcomings Diluc will try and use to his advantage, to put himself in a better light. Who else is as capable as he is, who else can prove themselves worthy of your companionship, your devotion, in the ways that he has? The longer you stay in his grasp, not that the possibility of leaving will come otherwise, the more difficult it becomes to prove him wrong. He feeds you with the utmost care, keeps you healthy, entertains you should you need conversation or otherwise, and provides, provides, provides. There may be a lack of freedom on your end, but really, do you have much room to complain? Without him, you may very well be dead. He ensures that point is driven straight to your heart, however many times is necessary until you grow compliant.

His will and rationality is fully reasonable, in his mind, hence why his wishes to keep you by his side shall forever remain solid. Perhaps it is the idea of you keeping close to him that entraptures Diluc so entirely, for he is a distant admirer. He would be contented growing old and without your touch, merely sharing your company for as long as life allows. All the same, he wishes to swallow you whole, skin, blood, guts and tears, if only to keep you with him. It is selfish, but he tells himself that is something of which he is deserving. He must.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

Diluc is nothing if not dedicated to his goals, a driven man in everything he sets his mind to. In order to maintain the position he thrives in, he is forever alert, forever adapting, prepared for any strenuous situation thrown his way. Should you push past a line you are never meant to cross, jab at him a tad too harshly, well... it’s not as if he gives no thought as to how to keep you in line. Rarely are you knowing enough of his inner workings to be able to push him past the point of no return, a point where even you, his dearest, are not spared from his wrath. Emphasis on rare, for he is wholly tolerant and gentle with you, to an extent. Any person has a breaking point, and Diluc, despite his detached disposition and stoic attitude, can only withstand so much. He bottles up so much to remain composed, after all. When he snaps, he is unable to hold himself back any longer.

He is not one to take pleasure from the suffering of others. Lest they truly deserve it, is what he’ll tell himself, to at the very least maintain the illusion of normalcy. Sway not from the path of righteousness, forget not the splendor of dawn. His mind is able to concoct the most horrific scenarios he could possibly put you through, for he does the same with his enemies. In a way, when you act out of turn, an instinctual part of him, cultivated after years spent at the whims of the dangerous and unknown, sees you as just that— an enemy. He doesn’t often choose the more unsavory methods to keeping you in line, ie: beating or threatening you with his vision, further keeping true to said threats should you continue. Diluc is wholly capable of restraining the urge to simply slap the snark off of your face (he had done so regardless, once or twice), and much prefers isolating you on his own terms, away from everyone and everything, even himself. It’s a small room, not even on par with that of your shared bedroom, much more similar to a closet or crawlspace.

A room, but a cage all the same. Splintered wood floors, dank cobblestone surrounds you and few cracks in the stone leaves room for bugs of all nature to crawl through, allows the elements to rain hell upon you should you end up locked up during the harsher months. A lone maid, not even Adelinde, the head, attends to you, sparing meek glances should you call out when she gently places a meal of one roll, a piece of meat, and a few shoddily cut slabs of potato. No begging and weeping and screaming you may do will soften Diluc into coming back for you- again, his resolve is akin to that of steel, his will forever unyielding. He decides when you are thoroughly broken in, and when it is time to hold you in kind, he shines through like that of The Darknight Hero the people proclaim him to be. In the end, what is necessary is that he shows you how much better off you are when with him. He’s much too possessive and to a point, coddling, to ever consider discarding you into the wild and at the whims of hilichurl camps and abyss mages alike.

His hold is firm and grounding. Had he always been able to hold you with such ease? Had he ever truly held you in kind, as he does now? He’s warm. A familiar, comforting scent of smoke and acidic wine fills your senses and him, oh, him. He had left you, left you alone, all alone, in that room, not even a room, all alone, and yet you can do little more than gag and writhe and latch onto him with pleas of his name whispered hoarsely— ‘Diluc, Diluc, Diluc’. A cry of your savior.

He can’t look at you, won’t look at you. Won’t give you the mercy, but he couldn’t be angry. Not anymore. He holds you tighter and so flush to himself, with a ferocity narly shown to anyone but you, not in kind, not with this passion. You smell of dust, a husk of yourself. Faintly of his sheets, faintly of iron, of vomit, of filth.

Fresh memories of your betrayal burn hot in his mind. He’s contradicting himself. He cannot relent. It comes out as a whisper, barely even heard to himself, and he curses his very soul the moment it passes his lips.

“Strive to do better. Lest you want your time there to increase tenfold.”

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

He can bear with defiance and unwillingness on your part, to an extent. He can anticipate as much, for he is not delusional enough to fool himself into thinking your relationship is even somewhat typical to that of a normal couple, no matter how much he wishes that to be the case. No, for the initial few weeks of your captivity (he’s always gotten so mad when you refer to him as such, a captor) Diluc allows you to lash and sob and attempt to reason with him, attempt to soften him, attempt to hurt him. He’ll allow you to do so, but he himself remains impenetrable, unblinking, almost uncaring. He is prepared for about anything and everything, always expecting the worse possibilities as to save himself from further harm. For you, as well, he is constantly anticipating and observing. In hidden, minute little ways. It may even come as a shame to him if the fact that he enforces the maids to note down your every little move ever reaches your ears.

All in all, Diluc’s complete preparation for anything and everything you may throw his way makes him extremely patient, for better or for worse. Difficult to crack, impenetrable, almost— on one hand, the distance he keeps from you to accommodate for your lack of reciprocation may come as a blessing, but it makes it all too difficult to try and pester him into letting you go, to try and understand his goals and motivations in keeping you locked right away. Your complacency is inevitable, sooner or later, Diluc will begin approaching and weaseling his way into your routine in the smallest of ways, gradually and unconsciously causing you to grow fonder of his presence. It’s a slow process, one he had planned from the very moment his wishes of a domestic life with you grew much too much to handle. He loves you completely, yearns for your love, and for it, he will wait as long as necessary.

Blazing red eyes leer down upon you, your shame increasing tenfold for each second that passes subjected to that gaze of his. A fit of expaseration, you will admit, had sent the cutlery dear Hillie had so delicately prepared flying off of the white tablecloth and onto the hardwood floors, further staining the expensive rugs with wines and crumbs and oils from his favorite meal, a concoction of pasta and steak and cheese. He had prepared yours alongside with it, striking tonight as a tad more special than the rest. You didn’t blame yourself for what you did, not when he had proposed something as outlandish as marriage.

He keeps silent, leaning back in his seat, his throne, as if he were a king observing a mere peasant begging for mercy— quite frankly, you should be. But perhaps tonight he will be more lenient, you ponder, averting your gaze to the flickering embers sparking from the fireplace beside you.

He sighs, suddenly, worn and thoroughly put out by your antics, further embarrassing you by his facade of nonchalance. No, you could tell from the way his leather gloves creaked from gripping himself too hard, he was barely concealing his own anger.

“You hardly let me finish my scentence. Come, we’ll continue this conversation upstairs.”

#yandere cw #yandere tw #tw dark content #yandere #yandere x reader #x reader #genshin #yandere genshin impact x reader #yandere genshin #genshin impact oneshot #genshin impact #yandere genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin diluc #diluc ragnvindr #yandere diluc #yandere diluc x reader #yandere diluc ragnvindr #yandere diluc ragnvindr x reader #diluc x reader #diluc ragnvindr x reader #tw abuse #tw claustrophobia #my writing

[wordsbyarwen]

It’s been a while, lads. a small drabble taking place after this preemptive post-coup fix-it. playing with book canon, doing what i want with it, etc. satisfies ‘bedside vigil’ prompt on the Bad Things Happen Bingo i’ve been neglecting.

the same warnings apply - namely discussion of attempted suicide.

"I didn't see Geralt. Afterwards."

The room is quiet, the only sounds the crackling fire and Tissaia's too-quick breaths. It is early; Tissaia is bleary-eyed and terribly pale, but she is awake, floating at the edge of consciousness as if it were a wide lake, and she a swimmer resting her weary limbs.

Only recently had Yennefer moved from the bed, and out of necessity alone; Tissaia was awake, and dehydrated, and her wounds had needed re-dressing, so she had forced herself into the tasks at hand, fetching water and bandages. Her work had held—the flesh beneath the poultices closed over in delicate pink scars. She sits nearby now, looking steadfastly into the hearth; if she looks anywhere else, her eyes will be drawn to the bloodstained carpet, or the delicate bone penknife, or the undisturbed letter Tissaia had so recently penned.

It is not Geralt that Yennefer wants to discuss, but it feels much safer than what has transpired in this room, given that he has already been brought up in discussion. In truth, he has held his own against mages before, and he has no real part in the political strife between them in the first place; she expects that whatever has become of him, he will be fine in the end. Yennefer's concern since the coup has been for Ciri—Ciri, who had flown through Benavent's Portal in the heat of the battle. Ciri, who she still has not found.

Tissaia appears puzzled for a long moment, her mind a fog. And then, weakly, she murmurs, "I had forgotten."

The cryptic response does nothing to assuage Yennefer’s concerns, but Tissaia swallows against the dryness in her throat and continues.

"He is in Brokilon. With Triss."

"He was injured," Tissaia says quietly, and it is unclear if she is unfazed or simply unfeeling. "Triss begged for help, to save him." For a moment, she is quiet, and Yennefer merely watches, throat dry. "The battle was no place for him. I opened a portal."

Yennefer's head snaps around to stare at Tissaia disbelievingly. There is too much to unpack in those few words. "In Brokilon? Why—How do you know that? What the fuck is he doing with Triss?" Yennefer cannot forget that her cowardice led her to the Lodge, at Philippa's heels, nor her history with Geralt.

"To Brokilon."

"He has been among the dryads before. I knew that they would heal him."

Yennefer sucks her teeth, looking away from Tissaia again, back towards the fire. There’s a long span of silence, which she uses to settle herself, to make her fingers stop twitching in her lap. Finally, swallowing against the lump in her throat, she says darkly: "Well I don't suppose you know where Ciri is too."

Tissaia makes a quiet noise, for the first time looking truly attentive. Pushing herself slowly up onto one elbow, she winces, a pitiful noise leaving her as she brings her free hand to rub at her eyes. "You've not found her," she musters, and Yennefer can feel her discomfort.

She stands, crossing to the bed and lowering herself to it, coaxing Tissaia back down into the pillows with a hand on her shoulder. "No," she answers. Tissaia resists the pressure on her shoulder, and Yennefer sighs impatiently, giving Tissaia the best scolding look she can muster. "Rest."

"And there I thought you were taking me to Nenneke."

"I hazard to guess you know what could happen to you if I take you through a portal in this state," Yennefer says, adjusting the blankets so that they cover Tissaia's shoulders again.

"My darling girl, you are no medic. At some point, you will have to accept the risk or let me die."

It takes every bit of Yennefer’s self control to remain quiet, to keep a level head—to avoid crying out in rage or devastation. She battles with herself, heart pounding in her ears, eyes brimming anew with tears.

Finally, bending, she takes Tissaia’s hand into both of her own, lifting it to her lips. She presses a slow kiss into her damp palm, another to the heel of her hand, and another to the bandages covering her wrist, tracing the path her lips had traveled hours ago, before she had wrapped her body around Tissaia's out of both need and want. Lowering her cheek into Tissaia���s upturned palm, she murmurs: "If you will not live because I love you, will you live because I need you?"

Tissaia's fingers curl, thumb stroking a bit of hair away from her face. "What is it you need?" she asks, tender as she has ever been. Her inability to grasp the intricacies of their conversation makes Yennefer squeeze her eyes shut.

It seems futile to discuss it now, but still she withdraws, tangling her fingers with Tissaia’s. She isn't sure if she is trying to ground Tissaia or herself with the action. "I need to find Ciri," she says, horrified to find that she seems to have lost control of her voice. "I need your help."

"Mm. I barely know the girl."

"But you know Chaos " Yennefer insists in the same, watery voice. She stops trying to modulate her tone. There will be more tears yet—that truth is inescapable. "You're the only person I know capable of finding her."

For a moment, all Tissaia offers is another noncommittal sound. And then, squeezing Yennefer’s fingers weakly, she asks: "Aren't you cold?"

Yennefer is caught off guard by the change in subject. She is silent for a moment as she eases Tissaia’s arm beneath the blankets. Then, taking the delicate crystal goblet of water set beside the bed, she moves closer to Tissaia's shoulders. "Drink a little, and I'll warm you," she says, voice surprisingly even again. Having a purpose steadies her, it seems, but does nothing to comfort her.

Tissaia nods, a tiny movement of her head, and levers herself a little off the bed again. Yennefer hooks an arm beneath her shoulders, sliding in behind her to let Tissaia use her for support. She guides Tissaia's unsteady hands, one of her own hovering beneath the goblet as she drinks. When she has finished, Yennefer settles the glass on the side table again and shifts, encouraging Tissaia to roll onto her side.

Drawing the blankets up over their heads, she wraps herself around Tissaia's body, taking a long, settling breath. Tissaia still smells like herself, she realises belatedly, her hair sweet and sharp with sage and pepper and bergamot. She nestles her nose into the loose braid, covering Tissaia’s hand with her own, and murmurs a few quiet words in Elder.

She had channeled much more difficult magic in times of desperation—had inverted the energy of particles to steal the heat away from Tissaia after Sodden, when Yennefer had been certain she would die of fever. Focusing her Chaos on the nearby fire, using its energy to warm her skin, is child's play by comparison. She lets the heat creep through her, careful not to warm her blood. Tissaia shivers in the wake of the sudden warmth against her back. Yennefer ceases her incantations, already unbearably hot, and presses a kiss to Tissaia’s shoulder, through the thick material of her gown, drawing their hands close to Tissaia’s breast.

"She will have to use her power," Tissaia says suddenly, quietly, thumb twitching to stroke across Yennefer's knuckles. She shifts slightly, bringing her other hand up to their joined ones. In the silence that follows, she uncurls Yennefer's fingers, pressing her open palm to the center of her chest and holding it there.

Yennefer leaves her fingers splayed, following the unspoken request willingly and letting a little more warmth pool in her palm. Tissaia presses her clammy  palms against Yennefer’s hand and wrist, the cool damp against Yennefer’s Chaos-warmed skin making her shiver in turn.

"She will," she says quietly, desperately wanting to believe it. "And you will know it when she does."

"As you say," Tissaia whispers, and drifts into unconsciousness again.

#Tissaia de Vries #Yennefer of Vengerberg #Yennefer #Yennaia #The Witcher #Netflix The Witcher #fanfic #badthingshappenbingo #r:m #500 #cw: suicide attempt

[jvnluvr]

my genshin relationship headcannons!

featuring: xiao, diluc, kaeya, & zhongli! (reader doesn’t have a specified gender, you can decide that for yourself :)

spoilers are mentioned during zhongli headcannons!! please do not read if you have not completed the archon quests for liyue. 

author’s note: i really wrote this more for myself but i decided to post it anyway to share it with all of you. reminder: these are just my headcannons. you might think differently of them and that’s your opinion. anyways, please enjoy this piece of fluff! if you want me to write headcannons for any other male character, please ask and i’ll try my best. i’m going to make this a series :)

• xiao doesn’t understand the concept of love. but he does find it terrifying. how could two humans share that bond? when he realizes that he feels more than just nothing when he’s with you, he freaks out. he’s not himself, and you start to take notice of that.

• when these feelings for you start to emerge, he’s washed over with an overwhelming feeling of protectiveness. over you. he feels the need to protect you, even when his brain knows your completely fine. you know how to fight after all.

• he can’t help it, however. xiao will always ask you to leave the fighting to him, because there’s this one little voice stuck at the back in his mind that tells him that something bad will happen to you. when he realizes you mean more to him, he just can’t afford to lose you. not when he’s lost everyone else.

• “let me protect you, please?” he feels a bit embarrassed asking this, but he’s very serious about it. he’s always there when you are fighting. he wants to help you. and he usually never wants anything to do with humans. because he’s afraid to hurt them. but he’s more afraid to hurt you. you’re so precious to him, more than anything he has ever encountered as an adepti.

• when he confesses, it’s not even a confession. xiao doesn’t know how to love. cut him some slack. he would probably say something like; “let’s be together.” i don’t know. you don’t know how to comprehend what he just said. you guys are already together? like literally. but when you ask the meaning behind his works, he gets all flustered. “how do you not understand? love, that word. that’s what i feel for you.... stupid.”

• after he confesses, and you guys are together, be ready to take it slow. xiao is new to all of this, and most of the time won’t understand the gestures of affection you provide to him. but later into the relationship, he realizes his love language is indeed physical touch, both receiving and giving. he secretly loves it when you cup his face with both of your hands. it makes him feel relaxed. for giving, he likes holding your hands or giving you head pats.

• there’s a certain fondness that forms when he holds hands with you. it’s warm, a feeling that xiao isn’t used to, because all he has felt is the cold. if you don’t touch him for a while, he gets upset, but more so confused. why did you stop? did you not like it, or are you scared to touch him. surprisingly, he would approach you about it. “why are you being distant? did i do something to upset you?” he cares about your feelings, so he asks with caution. when you hear this, your face betrays you as you start to smile widely. now xiao would be both flustered and confused. “hey! why are you smiling that? dumbass, you find this funny, don’t you?” you can’t help but laugh after that. poor boy needs his daily affection and physical touch, don’t forget to give it to him.

• when xiao calls you, he would always call you by his name. he didn’t understand nicknames of affection in a relationship, so one day when you call him with such, he’s confused. “are you calling me? why did you call me like that?” you get flustered and try to brush it off, but he grabs you and you can see the blush dusting his face. “i like that, can you do it more often?” he’s quiet about it, but you never the less agree. he also picks up on it and often calls you by saying ‘love’ or ‘sweetheart.’ of course, these names are reserved for when the two of you are in private.

• dates with xiao would be a rare occurrence. as much as he loves to spend time with you, he has his own duties and he can’t abandon them. this is one thing you have to understand if you were to be in a relationship with xiao. he can’t have you clinging onto him all the time when he has things he needs to fulfil. when you guys do get to spend some time together, it would be exploring out in the wild. i think xiao finds this very comforting. it’s nice to see the world when it’s not in chaos. you both would walk hand in hand, probably picking some qingxins and mist flowers. and i could definitely see you both just watching the sunset from the balcony at wangshu inn. 

• xiao needs to sleep with you every night. he has nightmares quite often, and your presence subdues those nightmares. if you don’t sleep with him for one night or more, his nightmares get worse, sometimes involving you in them. this causes him to become more overprotective. there would be a night where it got so bad that he started crying. it was just a couple of tears, but the sight genuinely broke your heart into pieces. he didn’t know himself as to why he was crying. he should be used to this, and more importantly, he let himself become vulnerable in front of you, xiao had this perception that he wouldn’t allow you to see him like this, but after he said that to you, it’s safe to say that you both had a long talk that night. after this incident, he allows himself to express his feelings more to you.

• overall, your relationship with xiao really changes him. and i mean in a good way. he’s learned to become more expressive with his feelings and he’s found love. even way later into your relationship, it still baffles him how he found someone like you. on your end, you’ve learned to be more calm and understanding. it would be amazing to be able to experience a relationship like this with xiao. he’s more than happy to stay with you for the rest of your life.

• a relationship with diluc would seem impossible at first. he’s always so busy with work, and he seems to ignore basically everyone. diluc thinks that social interaction is a waste of time. people don’t understand him, and it would be a waste to try and explain why he is the way he is. not that he really needs to though. the only way i could see a relationship happening between you two is if he sees you fighting or if he saves you during a battle.

• if he sees you fighting, he takes notice of your skills. he’s fascinated to say the least. once you finish off, you see him gazing at you from afar. you get nervous, because diluc is staring at you with such an intimidating stare. in that moment, you don’t realize that it’s his usual face. so you start to walk towards him. he sees and he also gets nervous so he just stands there awkwardly. (he thinks he looks awkward, but really, he’s just crossing his arms.) when you get close to him, he suddenly mutters out, “um, your fighting skills are good.” you just stop dead in your tracks and start blushing because you didn’t expect him to compliment you. so you just a utter a small thanks and dash away from him. he thinks that he scared you off, so he gets angry with himself.

• if he saves you during a battle, i can see it being very romantic. it’s a big battle, and the enemies just keep coming, your body is starting to give up on you, and you have dozens of scratches on you. since your so tired, you lose track of your surroundings and get a deep gash somewhere on your body and you fall limp. diluc is just ‘passing by’ and he senses the hillchurls and mages so he runs in your direction. when diluc sees you all helpless, struggling to fight off the mages, he’s filled with a strong fighting urge. he takes out his claymore and finishes off the rest of the enemies for you. you find yourself leaning against a tree in order to get a grip, but diluc just carries you all the way back to monstadt. like casually. you pass out midway through the trip and you wake up feeling all warm and in a nicely lit room. but as you try to get up, you’re pushed back down by someone. you look to your side to see diluc sitting in a chair. mans been taking care of you the whole time you were unconscious.

• when he realizes he has developed feelings for you, he tries to push them away. he tries to convince himself that he doesn’t want it, that it will be a waste of time. really, he’s just trying to list out all the bad things. but as it keeps piling up, soon it’s starts to spills. and all of his feelings and emotions spill fast. he tells you quite early on that he likes you, but you happily accept and reciprocate his love. from then on, diluc completely changed his demeanor around you.

• nicknames with diluc would be also be reserved for when you two are behind closed doors. he wouldn’t want someone like kaeya hearing him say such things. he’s not embarrassed about your relationship, but he hates how kaeya or anyone else will keep nagging at him for it. but he calls you so gently with the sweetest names. i personally think he would use ‘darling’, ‘sweetheart’, ‘my love’, or ‘my little dove.’ i think diluc would appreciate small compliments like calling him handsome or something of that sort. he gets very flustered when you call him by an endearing nickname. not to say he hates it though.

• diluc loves kissing you. of course, he wouldn’t allow himself to do so in public, but when the two of you are alone, he gives your forehead kisses and kisses on the cheek because he can’t help but find you so adorable. he gives short kisses to your fingers because he finds them so soft. compared to his rough hands from handling a claymore, he loves the feeling of your hands. vice versa, you love how warm diluc’s hands are. this is expected, handling a pyro vision, diluc always keeps you warm, especially when the two of you explore dragonspine together. he secretly adores it when you come to him when you feel cold, and he’s more than happy to warm you up.

• diluc is an amazing chef, and no, i do not take criticism on this. i believe that diluc would have picked up his culinary skills from his father when he was younger. and even now, working in the wine industry, he had decided to keep learning. so diluc would always cook you meals, whether it be after a long night of expeditions or early in the morning. it’s quite the sight to see, when you go downstairs into the kitchen to see him making lots of delicious dishes.

• since diluc is so busy, dates would most likely never happen. even if he is free, he doesn’t see the point in going out. so instead, dates would be at home. it would include snuggling together on the couch watching movies, or making things together, and this could be anything you want it to be. on very rare occasions, and i mean very rare, diluc tells you to get dressed up because he’s taking you out for dinner. in all honesty, he probably feels a little bad that he doesn’t take you anywhere, so he tries to compromise. 

• diluc loves it when you lay your head in his lap and vice versa. he enjoys combing through your hair with his fingers, no matter the length. he also like doing your hair, whether it be braiding it or adding any accessory into it, including flowers!! you guys would definitely make flower crowns for each other. he diluc likes it when you play with his hair because it makes him feel warm and comforted. he sometimes just takes your hand and puts it against his hair because he wants you to run your fingers through it. you can’t help but slightly giggle when he does so.

• diluc can be very overprotective and controlling. he doesn’t want to cage you or restrict your freedom, truly. but he is quite terrified of what could happen to you out there. he has already suffered the consequences of this cruel world, right in front of his own eyes. he doesn’t want to lose someone who means so much to him, not again. this would be the main reason you two argue, but you both understand each other’s point of view so you make a compromise.

• all in all, diluc is so in love with you and it’s an amazing experience. you both take comfort in each other’s presence and it really shows diluc that it’s okay to not be so vigilant and distant. he melts around you, so please, just give him the love he has long been yearning, and you will find yourself in many interesting and surprising situations.

• beginning a relationship with kaeya would be so unexpected. he’s not looking for love, he’s merely there just to live his life. i believe that kaeya thinks that love is not meant for him. kaeya is the type to self sabotage his own relationship, intentionally. he doesn’t mean to hurt the other person, but he doesn’t want them to love him, so he makes them hate him. he’s fine with it, simply because he’s not up for that. when you come into the picture, he goes through a rollercoaster of emotions, and he does try to fight it off. but of course, everything does come crumbling down eventually.

• how do you and kaeya meet? it’s a meeting at the tavern, one kaeya somehow remembers well, despite being drunk. you’re just sitting there, but he’s across the room, sitting there and thinking how you are indeed the prettiest thing he has laid his eyes on. does that make him go over there and start flirting with you? absolutely not. he knows all too well about how it’s gonna play out. so he keeps drinking. you however, take notice of the drunken man. his gaze is not at all subtle, so you decided to make the first move. 

• he’s taken aback to say the last. he didn’t expect one to just casually walk up to someone who’s in the knight’s of favonius. you ask him what he’s doing getting all wasted when he clearly has work to do, but he merely responds with; “none of your business.” kaeya doesn’t mean to be so rash, but he knows the outcome. you persist however, and that’s what catches him. he finds himself indulging in the conversation, and it doesn’t matter how much he wants to resist doing it, he can’t help but learn more and more about you. 

• he plays hard to get. you would think it would be kaeya who goes after his partner, but it is quite indeed the opposite. you don’t mind the challenge though, in fact, it makes you want him all together even more. he eventually grows more and more fond of you, and he confesses behind the closed doors of his office. it’s a rare sight, kaeya blushing profusely as he pours out his feelings. of course, you happily accept, and from then on things change for the better.

• ah, a relationship with kaeya. where do we begin? since you two met at a tavern, it’s only fitting if you two go to said tavern together. it depends on you, if you’re a heavy drinker like him, he would gladly enjoy the two of you getting wasted together. if you aren’t the type to drink, he really pays no mind. he still takes you out with him anyways. one could call it a date of sorts. he would also offer that you could come along with him on expeditions, missions, or other affairs. this however, is only if you bear a vision.

• this brings me to my next point, and it is that kaeya, just like his brother, is very protective of you. it shows in the way he always brings you along with him, wherever he goes. he’s already lose his family, and even though diluc is still there, their bond is distant. he already let his walls down around you, so another person who he cares for deeply leaving him might just absolutely shatter him in the worst way possible. of course, he doesn’t wanna cage you freedom, that is never his intention. but sometimes he can’t help but lash out at you. and at those times, it can get pretty serious. he always sincerely apologizes for his actions.

• kaeya is such a flirt, and it’s canon. the spark in your relationship would never fade because this cheeky man is always spewing compliments at you, one after another. he enjoys it so much, it’s written all over his face. and he especially does it in public. a man is trying to flirt with you? well kaeya is there to steal the show. all you can do is giggle and play along because it’s just so fun. he loves to see your face light up in happiness which is why he keeps doing it. 

• it’s no hidden fact that kaeya is a captain for the knight’s of favonius. if you see where i’m going with this, kaeya is a busy man. and he hates it. trust me, he much rather be getting drunk in diluc’s tavern or doing absolutely anything instead of working. but he has to do his job, so he’s gone more often then you would think. of course, he much rather be with the love of his life, but duties still call his name. he tries to make your time together very memorable, whether it be doing something crazy or something small. kaeya’s actions speak a lot to you and he always tries to finish whatever he has on his list as fast as possible just to be able to see you again. <3

• this man loves learning about you. the more you tell him, the more fascinated he is. kaeya finds everything about you, your past, your personality, everything so intriguing. he could just sit there and watch you talk for hours because you just look so adorable talking about yourself. if you see yourself rambling a lot, you might apologize for talking so much, but what does kaeya do? this man will just kiss you and tell you: “keep going darling.” even if you try to keep talking, you just keep getting flustered, stumbling over your words and kaeya just starts to laugh at you being an adorable mess. and then he’ll kiss you some more. wholesome moments. <3

• he loves seeing you in his clothes!! definitely the type to purposely leave his clothes out just so you can steal them. he’ll sometimes let you take his jacket, just to see how good you’ll look wearing it. if you don’t get the hint, he’ll straight up tell you to get your ass in his shirts. you shouldn’t even complain. kaeya has an amazing scent to him, so just relax and drown in it. if you could design clothes he would love to wear some pieces you could make! he’s so in love with you please send some help.

• all in all, kaeya would die for you. he loves you so much and he always remind you of it in his own special ways. he never thought it was possible to love someone this much, but here you are. be patient with him, love with him, do everything with him, it’s amazing to see what you two can do together. 

• zhongli would be the best partner. he has experience, and he takes the relationship slow. this is because he wants to learn about you. he wants to take the time and see what your likes and dislikes are. zhongli is so genuinely in love with you. you get flustered when he asks sometimes but he just doesn’t understand why you feel that way. “i just want to get to know you better, my dear.”

• zhongli would take notice of you strolling around the harbor. he has a lot of free time of his hands, and it doesn’t take him long to notice how you sit nearby the flowers or helping the people around you. he would invite you for a small chat with tea, and you would simply melt at his gentleness. these occasional gatherings would become more frequent, and he would become closer to you, eventually developing feelings for you. you couldn’t help but share them back.

• zhongli addresses you so endearingly it makes me burst into tears. he would definitely call you ‘my dear/dearest’, ‘my love’, or ‘darling’. it’s always said in a gentle voice, that you have to turn your head towards him. he doesn’t mind calling you affectionately in public, but he does ask for your permission. if you agree, he says in a quiet voice in public, usually when he’s worried about losing you in the crowd. if you aren’t quite familiar with such names, he would reserve them for when the two of you are with close acquaintances.

• zhongli loves holding hands with you. chances are, his hands are quite larger in comparison to yours. (even if your hands are bigger, he loves them the same.) he loves feeling the warmth of intertwined hands. he’ll hold your hand everywhere, it’s kind of how he shows his protectiveness over you. also expect a lot of headpats. it’s a habit he’s developed from dealing with people younger then him. (ahem.. hu tao..) 

• further into your relationship, zhongli would come clean about being the geo archon. he trusts you, and he doesn’t want to hide anything from you, otherwise it slowly eats at him until he finally gives up and confesses. the way you take this information can have an effect on your relationship. he trusts you, but if you betray that trust, and start to reveal his secret, he will have no choice but to ‘take care of you.’ 

• dates with zhongli are very.. informative. the guy will keep talking about anything honestly. it’s an old habit, but you don’t mind. it’s relaxing to hear him ramble about such topics. he notices that when he gets carried away in his story, you’re sitting there staring at him with a soft smile. he gets nervous, but that doesn’t mean he loses him composure. expect for the two of you to stroll around liyue harbor or the guili plains. the date will mostly just consist of grasping the scenery of liyue or maybe eating out in a restaurant. it will most likely be in a private setting, since he is so well known in the harbor, he doesn’t want anyone interrupting while he’s with his partner. 

• but more than anything, zhongli loves staying at home. like diluc, he will show his affectionate manners in the comfort of your house. it’s adorable, really. the saying “actions speak louder than words” really sticks by zhongli. he’ll show his love for you in many ways, no matter if it’s cooking a meal for you, helping you with chores, or just sitting together in each other’s presence. you both discover new things together, and it really does warm zhongli’s heart. 

• he never wants to see you upset. no lover would want this, but it hits zhongli in a different way. if he sees even a little tear forming, he gets very worried. zhongli always wants you to be happy, as cheesy as it sounds. if you are quite sensitive or cry quite a bit, it’s no need to worry. zhongli will always be there to wipe your tears away and comfort you. i can imagine during night if you were to breakdown and cry, he would just take you in his arms and cradle you, telling you that you’re so strong fot pushing on: “you’re okay my love, shh i’m here for you. i’m always gonna be here.” i’m crying oh god. never be afraid to let your emotions show around him, he’s always gonna be there.

• zhongli carries a lot of burdens. being the oldest out of the archons, he has quite legitimately seen everything. it’s painful to live with the thought of having slaughtered thousands, maybe millions of people. being with you subdues that burn by a good amount. if anything, he learns to be forgiving from you. not only to other people, but also to himself. he’s also learned to not be so uptight with everything, since it’s quite hard for him to let his guard down around people. 

• truthfully, zhongli would have never thought it was possible for him to love someone as much as he loves you. even if he knows you will soon leave him, it’s overshadowed by the love he holds for you. zhongli is a very intimate lover once you get to know him, so during your relationship things are always lively.

#genshin impact xiao #genshin imagines #genshin x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact diluc #genshin impact kaeya #genshin impact zhongli #genshin fluff #genshin headcanons

[keibea]

alright here we go the moment you've all aimee's been waiting for, my final thoughts for dragon age 2 LETS GOOOOO

CONTAINS SPOILERS!! this ones a long one guys theres a lot to cover and beware probably many spelling mistakes and opinions you may not like you have been warned. but tbh i love all characters so let that be known. even anders. sometimes...

this is for you @amuhav 💗💗

so like wow, just wow. like i knew kinda what was going to happen but like WOW to see it just made like everything more real, now for my chaotic commentary

lets start from the beginning of act three. firstly didnt i bloody have like half ownership of the bone pit??? yeah well that went down the drain didnt it stupid dragon. that could've been very profitable to! also dragons are big, can confirm, previous suspicious were indeed wrong.

the qunari are gone which is bloody depressing. i mean not all of them, those damn tal-vashoth are still hell bent on stopping me from minding my damn business THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MOTHER TRUCKERS BTW and attempting to kill me, which like varric says, is suicide.

i freaking hate those stupid gangs. like why. also 'followers of the she'?? seriously? they are so annoying. like leave me alone. im not trying to kill you, im just suspiciously walking around the docks at night in heavy armour with weapons leave me ALONE. so many of them too UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH piss off

also went to visit orsino after one of the main quests and he gave me robes. im a warrior. what the f am i going to do with those????? does my hawke LOOK like she wears robes? NO she's always wearing armour i give the frick frack up.m

i hawke has a cousin which is coooool her name is charade for some reason. also gamlens still an ungreatful prick what a shocker. i was so nice to him too and he like "stay out of my business" HELLLOOOO i just reunited you with your daughter you bastard suck a toe

aveline was starting to piss me off. LIKE GOSH GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS BITCH. idk if i mentioned this last time, but i gave her a shield and she got all mad at me. LIKE SORRY FOR BEING CONSIDERATE AND WANTING YOU TO HAVE A GIFT. she didnt even take it in the end! i was like fine you salty bitch im going to keep it hmph. also she got all mad at me when i questioned her about the rumours cullen told me to look into. SORRY BITCH FOR WANTING TO DOUBLE CHECK. she's so touchy. like do i need to remind her I WAS THE ONE THAT GOT THE BITCH MARRIED??? i give up on her shes so mean

merrill is still a bitch, but less of one. but still a pain none the less. the mother trucker was still going ON about that stupid mirror. okay fine so it's not a stupid mirror i have played the dalish elf opening but STILL. so when the option was given for her to maybe get possessed for a demon, therefore leaving me HAVING to kill her, i took it instantly. cause bitch. unfortunately the selfish bitch instead had the keeper die. and then she was crying so i just said I TOLD YOU SO. yeah she still doesnt like me much. and by that i mean she hates me, but quite honestly suck it up i dont care. so i couldn't kill her :( not that my hawke would want to anyway. and i accidently ended up killing her whole clan. I DIDNT MEAN TOO, i accidently said "stand down" because i thought that was what my hawke would do i didnt realise id have too kill anyone FRICK but tbh if i was in her clan i would want to kill her too couldnt even blame them, felt kinda bad for stopping them ngl i said what i said

the mages really werent helping me help them. i supported them none the less but the least they could do was not resort to blood magic so i could make them look a little bit better. but i understood why, it was just really inconvenient LOL

get.rid.of.the.spiders.

sebastian, good old sebastian. yes i did buy all dlcs before the sales came on, yes it did cost me 30 bucks, yes i kinda regret not waiting a month to buy it but in my defence i wanted to play the WHOLE game straight away so. i like him sometimes. sometimes he's a bit pretentious. ALSO LELIANA??? HELL YES!! i saw her in the mark of the assassin dlc but we actually got like a really meeting that counted in this. if you didnt know, my warden originally romanced her before moving to zevran so i have a soft spot. she still looked like a baked potato, like come on do them some justice bloody hell.

follow up on this, poor bloody cullen, he looked like dry spaghetti.

meredith was getting increasingly crazy which i loved. LOVED her hair btw, always like perfectly stunning. honestly she had the best vanilla hair of everyone else in my opinion.

varric is the best thing ever. like what an absolutely babe. the whole haunted house thing was funny lol. like a bloody chair was stuck to the roof at one point and all i could do was laugh LOL. i let him have that shard, my come back to kick me in the ass idk.

isabela was good this act, and didnt stab me in the back, which was very nice.

fenris OH FENRIS gosh i love him. still needs to learn when to shut the f up in some situations but gosh hes so cute. and whenever he says "im yours" (and yes i did keep clicking on him to hear him say that leave me alone) i just melted and said "yes you are bitch!" gave him a sword, he seemed to like it. it glowed, pretty cool ngl. still grumpy as frick but the end scene before they went to war like HAD ME OH MY GOSH when he said and then hawke said and then they AWWWWWWWWWWWW okay im a sucker for romance leave me alone.

bitch im dead

also bethany stopped being a massive BITCH so thats nice.

anders (lovers of anders dont come at me im fragile) is a bitch. like WOW. like what a dick. firstly when i was helping HIS ASS with HIS QUEST which i didnt even need to do because he was just going to explode the chantry anyway, he had the NERVE to come at my relationship with fenris. when you start a mother freaking sentence with "i know it's not my place" STOP, because bitch it is not your place leave me and my bae alone you unhinged mother trucker. WOW sorry lots of aggression towards him whoops. probably because i did everything i could to be his friend and he still stabbed me in the back the dick. so i stabbed him back in the back. yes i killed him, kinda regret it, because im pretty sure my hawke wouldve spared him but my own feelings got in the way whoops. seriously though, i bloody swear that blowing up the chantry did nothing but start a war what the frick was he thinking come on bro.

also this game only took me 46 hours?? which is weird because origins took me AGES to get through, and although ive started and stopped inquisition many times, i still have like 200 hours on it. and let it be known, that because of my ocd i did finish every single bloody side quest (well except for the awiergan scrolls and all the swords and one other one where it wouldnt show in the map which probably meant i would have to search every single damn cave again and kill spiders and i just could NOT be bothered. other than that, every signle thing was completed. is it a shorter game or did i somehow manage to get through it quickly? then again i did get a mod that made combat easier (LEAVE ME ALONE OKAY, IM A LOVER NOT A FIGHTER. im also a lore and history nerd so the main reason im playing these games is for the storyline leave me alone) so that probably made everything a lot quicker but idk.

in the end i sided with the mages because

A. meredith has lost her marbles

B. i wasnt going to let her kill all of the just because anders is a crackhead.

C. i felt like it idk

so yeah battle won, meredith turned to stone or whatever, all is right with the world and i am on to inquisition. TO WHICH i actually bought the whole game + bonus content + DLCs for 5 bucks. im so ready to romance cullen lets go. still debating whether to be a human or an elf. i think i might go mage for once but idk let me know what you did aimee and anyone else who read this whole essay

all in all INCREDIBLE GAME and im so glad i went back and played it. yeah the places got a bit repetitive sometimes but it also felt nice not being lost in the hinterlands for 8 hours so idk. the characters were amazing, and looked much better, although the nobles look like they have no dick with those weird pants but whatever. definitely recommend so much fun, and really funny at times too.

BYEEEEEEEEEEEEE

#da2 #dragon age #dragon age 2 #hawke #nonsims #saviourhide

[ignitedbynatsu]

Are You Really That Dense?

A/N: sooo what we've learned is that when I say I will upload the next day, you should probably expect an update a day or two later 😅. Anyway this one is requested by @enchantingpeachherocreator I hope you like it as much as I loved writing it ❤️

Warnings: swearing

Genre: angst tot fluff

👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅

"So when are you going to confess your unconditional love for him?" The green-haired mage took a seat beside you as he caught you staring at his friend once again.

"I will once you admit your own feelings" you shot back, not taking any relationship advice from someone that wasn't even ready to accept their own feeling.

"I'm afraid that I do not know what you are talking about" he tried to play the dumb card which only earned him an eye roll from you.

"I doubt he even sees me that way" you mumbled, breaking your one-sided staring context, leaning your head on your crossed arms in front of you.

"Why don't you hint that you see him as more than just a friend?" Freed suggested at which you scoffed "if the obvious flirting isn't gonna do it, then I don't know what, I bet even Natsu has noticed how I feel, and he hasn't even noticed how Lucy looks at him like he has hung the stars in the sky"

"Yeah... Even I'm surprised that Bickslow hasn't caught on yet. It's almost getting painful" he agreed

"Maybe he's deliberately ignoring it like Gray's doing with Juvia" you mumbled. You'd rather have him straight out reject you than just stringing you along just 'cause he thinks it's fun. You weren't a toy he could play with and just throw away when he lost interest.

"How about one last big gesture? If he doesn't pick up on that then maybe it's indeed better to move on" your friend proposed. You finally lifted your head up from your arms to look at him. "Like what?"

"I don't know... Something personal" he pondered his own suggestions for a second before he suddenly snapped his fingers like an amazing idea just crossed his mind "isn't there a saying like the way through a man's heart is through his stomach?"

"Freed! You're a genius!" At that moment, your eyes got reignited with a sparkle of hope that you had lost over the past weeks.

You knew that you were probably settings yourself up for failure, but you didn't care because you had hope. Hope that Freed, his and your best friend, had given, and he wouldn't give you false hope if he knew you had no chance, right?

Due to the anticipation for Bickslow, you could hardly sleep that. Possible outcomes swirled through your mind that went from a picture-perfect scenario to the most heartbreaking rejection. You hoped with every cell in your body it would be the first.

"Hi Bickslow!" your usual cheerful self was amplified, and he didn't have the slightest clue as to why.

"Hey (Y/N), what you got there?" His eyes fell upon the box that you were carrying in your hands.

"Oh you know, I was a bit bored last night and thought I'd do something sweet to show how much I appreciate you" you explained as you opened the box to reveal his favourite cake.

"Just for me? If I didn't know better I would think you'd try to confess something" he gladly took a slice and let his teeth sink into the sweet dessert you had poured all your love in last night.

A nervous chuckle escaped your lips "about that..."

"(Y/N), this tastes horrible" he laughed as he placed the half-eaten piece back into the box "you trying to poison me or something?"

"I didn't think it tasted that bad" the hope left your eyes as soon as it came as you watched the man in front of you ridicule your baking skills.

"Then you should let your taste buds get checked out. No wonder you only wanted me to taste that garbage" he took the box and threw it into the nearest bin, along with your heart.

You were devastated, heartbroken and humiliated as the whole guild looked at what Bickslow was making such a fuss over. Perhaps he was just stringing you along. "Sorry"

Freed and Laxus sighed as they saw the heartbroken girl ran out of the guild and their clueless friend staring at her retrieving form "what's her problem?"

"Even you can't be that dense" Laxus scoffed in disbelief at his friend's question.

"What do you mean?" Freed was getting more and more fed up with his friends acts, especially since it was hurting his other best friend, so when that final question left his mouth he decided to draw the line.

"Stop it, Bickslow. Just stop it. I cannot believe you just did that to her. You really wanna keep playing the dumb card and act like you don't know how she feels about you? How she has been feeling about you for the last couple of months? You could have just turned her down softly, but no, you wanted to make a big deal out of it and humiliate her in the process. I hope you had a good laugh out of it, asshole" the green-haired mage didn't even wait for a reaction as he stormed out of the guild as well, determined to find his best friend.

"... She likes me?" He was doing his best to process Freed words. Words he had longed for so long to hear. He could have never imagined hearing them in this situation.

He didn't mean to hurt you. That was never his intention. He thought you had done something in the cake to mess with him. How could he have possibly known that it was part of your confession? Something he could've never hoped you'd do one day. After all, he always thought you were way out of his leak. He was certain that any chance of you reciprocating his feelings, was now completely out of the window. The worst part, he had nobody but himself to blame for that.

"You fucked up" Laxus also got up to leave him but Bickslow stopped "Laxus! You have to help me. I didn't mean to hurt her. I really didn't know. Please, I don't know what to do."

His pleas were to no avail as the blonde shook his head "I'm sorry, but, you're on your own for this one"

Some may say that it was unfair the way Laxus treated him, but he knew that if Bickslow wanted to make things right, he'll have to do it on his own. He had to show her he really meant it. Plus it was also a bit of payback for making his friend cry, but that was just a bonus.

He tried talking to you, he really did, but you were always busy. If you had no excuse, Freed was certain to step in and guide you away. It frustrated Bickslow, but he knew he had no right to feel that way. Not at your nor at Freed. He fucked it up.

You on the other hand were torn. You wanted to listen to him, have to hear what he had to say, but you couldn't. You wouldn't survive opening your heart back open to him only for it to be shattered moments later again. Yet, you still cared. Noticing every little thing that changed from his quietness to his slouched posture, nothing passed by you.

That's how you noticed the bandages around his fingers and the one covering his cheek, making him not able to put on his helmet.

"Where are you going?" You ignored Freed's questions as you made your way to where Bickslow was sitting alone.

You towered over him as you stopped right next to the table he was sitting at "what happened?"As soon as he heard your voice it felt like the wind got knocked out of him. He had practised the words he wanted to say to you countless times in his head, yet when you were standing here, next to him, all he could say was your name. "(Y/N)..."

You tilted your head a bit to the side as you waited for him to continue, but no words left his mouth. You nodded your head once as you understood that he didn't want to talk to you. Had you been reading the signs wrong again? You weren't surprised if you had.

But as you turned on your heels to leave again, Bickslow grabbed your wrist. He wasn't going to let you leave again. Not this time "wait!"

You stopped in your tracks and turned back around to face him. His pleading eyes looked at you, begging you to stay. Those dark red orbs you loved so much but didn't get to see very often. All of it was enough to make you stay put and just listen to what he had to say.

"I- uh- I'm sorry" he apologized as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. Once again you waited for him to continue, but nothing came "that's it?"

He was alerted by your reaction. You didn't sound mean or dismissive as he thought you would, no, you sounded tired and heartbroken, making his heartache all the more. He did this. He was the cause of your pain 

"No, that's not what I meant, I mean it is what I mean, I am really sorry for what I did, it's just..." Your eyes softened as he struggled to find the right words. You knew you should keep your walls up, but how could you when he still held your heart?

"Let's start with what happened" you suggested as you motioned to his hands.

A faint colour of red coloured his cheeks as he looked down on his hands as well "Well, funny story actually, well not that funny, but uh-" he cleared his throat and took a deep breath. He never had a problem talking to you before, so why did it seem so impossible now? "I was trying to make you a cake, and it didn't really go as planned"

Your heart swelled at thought of his gesture, but then you remembered the way he belittled your baking skills, making you narrow your eyes again slightly "what happened to your cheek?"

"The cake kind of blew up and burned my cheek" your eyes shot up at his explanation. How do you blow up a cake? Let alone burn your cheek with it in the process?

"Anyway that's not what's important" he dismissed the story as he once again sucked in a large breath. It was now or never "I am really sorry for the way I treated you that day. I never meant to hurt you. I know it's hard to believe, but I really didn't know that you liked me back. I guess I just placed myself in the friend zone from the moment I met you because I didn't think I had any chance with you, to begin with. Because of that the thought of you actually liking me never crossed my mind."

"Why'd you think you weren't good enough for me?" You asked confused. To you, he was perfect. Sure he had done some questionable things in the past, but he showed he was a man worthy of redemption. He was a man worthy of your heart.

"I can't even put in words how perfect you are. You're everything I wished my dream woman to be and more. I always thought you'd deserve someone better like me. Someone who could treat you the way you deserved to be treated. Someone like Laxus or Freed" he tried to explain.

A soft smile played along your lips as you heard the names of your friends, who were clearly in love with each other, fall from his mouth. He really was just incredibly dense. "So please, (Y/N). Give me a chance to prove myself. I'd love you unconditionally, I will treat you the way you deserve to be treated, I... I'd even worship the ground you walk upon-"

"How about we take things slow?" You stopped him before he'd spew even more nonsense.

"Wait! So you forgive me?" He couldn't contain his excitement at the thought of you agreeing to give him a second chance, and when you gave him a sheepish nod he couldn't help but pick you up and spin you around "How about we go on a date? I take you to the best restaurant in town!"

"I'd love to you" you agreed and placed your lips softly against his cheek, making him a stuttering mess once again.

#bickslow imagine #fairy tail #fairy tail imagine #gray fullbuster #fairy tail imagines #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #fairy tail x reader #laxus dreyar #lucy heartifilla #natsu dragon slayer #bickslow x reader #fairy tail bickslow #fairy tail lucy #fairy tail gray #fairy tail jellal #fairy tail natsu #fairy tail bickslow imagine #fairy tail bickslow imagines #fairy tail bickslow x reader #ft bickslow #fairy tail angst #fairy tail icons #fairy tail headcanon #bickslow #bickslow angst #bickslow imagines #ft #freed justine

[jekde04]

There’s Something About Juvia

For Gruvia Week 2021: Day 1 - Beguile

Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Pairing: Gruvia (Gray Fullbuster & Juvia Lockser)

Fandom: Fairy Tail

Genre: Romance/Humor/Friendship

Word Count: 1,562 words

Summary: His memories were still hazy at best, but Gray swore that damn potion did something weird to him. (Based on the aftermath of Episode 50, "Special Request: Watch Out for the Guy You Like!")

You may also read it on FanFiction.net and AO3! Check out my master list for other Gruvia fics.

Seriously, what did that woman do to him?

His memories of the incident were still hazy at best, only pieced together by bits and pieces he heard from his guildmates.

Apparently, Juvia unwittingly used a potion that made rivals out of each other. He ended up facing off with Happy of all people – err, cats. That probably explained why he kept seeing different versions of a terrified Happy in his mind.

But what he didn't understand was while everyone else stayed inside the guildhall (hence its dilapidated state), he ended up all the way to Galuna Island, where he finally came to his senses.

Just what the hell happened to him?

The door to Master Makarov's office closed with a thud, and Gray watched Juvia as she made her way to one of the guild's tables, eyes guilt-ridden and downcast. It didn't seem that bad, though, as he saw the Master wave her off with a grin on his face as if he were more amused than mortified of the whole situation. That was a big deal, considering that any form of guild renovation angers the tight-pursed old man.

And he wasn't the only one who seemed to be uncharacteristically taking things in stride. He watched Cana as she sat beside the water mage, draping an arm over her shoulders (the other wrapped around a keg, what else?) and whispering something that made the blunette turn bright pink. On Juvia's other side sat Erza, who pressed the timid girl close to her breastplate in what appeared to be a bone-crushing hug.

Gray scoffed at the unfairness of it all. If it were him or Natsu who destroyed the guild, Erza wouldn't be that merciful. He shivered as he imagined all the scary things she would've done to them.

But everything was back to normal now – all the damages repaired and the effects of that damn potion having worn off. At least, for most of them.

Gray couldn't say the same thing for himself because truth be told, there was a funny feeling at the pit of his stomach that would show up now and then. Though he didn't remember much about what happened, that feeling often surfaced with the memory of floating in the warm sea, the rays of the sun hitting his face...

... and a blushing Juvia cradling him in her arms, a soft, almost loving look shining in her dark blue eyes.

The thought of it made blood rush to his cheeks. If he didn't know any better...

Something clicked in his mind.

A love potion.

But no, she wouldn't dare.

... Would she?

Gray sighed audibly, raking his hands over his face. Ever so slightly, he snuck a peek at Juvia and saw her still uncomfortably sandwiched between Cana and Erza, both of whom looked to be teasing her about something.

Sure, she hung out with him a lot, but it was no big deal. She was still quite new to the guild, and he was one of the first ones she met, though the circumstances could have been better. Still, he was probably one of the few people she easily grew accustomed to, as he had gone with her on missions until she got used to being part of Fairy Tail.

In other words, they were friends. And friends did not give love potions to each other. Besides, why would he be the only one affected when almost the entire guild took that potion?

He dismissed the ridiculous thought.

Gray hadn't realized he had been staring at Juvia for quite a while until she looked up and locked eyes with him. He quickly looked away, but the sight of those big doe eyes brought back a rush of fragmented memories that made something in his chest flutter.

Juvia holding him in her arms. Juvia looking affectionately at him. Juvia's voice calling his name.

Really, what the hell was wrong with him?

"Gray-sama?"

He was so distracted that he hadn't noticed Juvia come up to him. She seemed to be a little on edge, her hands clasped tightly in front of her and her eyes looking everywhere but him.

But if there were anyone who could finally answer all those goddamn questions running through his mind, it would be her.

Gray cleared his throat. "Hey, Juvia. That was some wild potion stuff you did, huh," he said, followed by a tiny smirk.

It was meant to be a joke, but the way Juvia flinched as if burned made him immediately regret what he said. Honestly, he was just trying to make small talk! He really had a knack for making things awkward.

He was about to say sorry when Juvia beat him to it. "Juvia's sorry, Gray-sama! She didn't mean to cause so much trouble. She didn't know it would affect everyone that way!"

Her eyes started to water, and Gray felt panic rising in his throat. He could not deal with crying girls, let alone Juvia, who had the ability to flood the guild with her tears.

He quickly shook his head and said, "Hey now, don't worry about it! Worse things have happened here. And no one's blaming you for anything, see?" He gestured towards their guildmates, each one minding their own business as if the guild were not in total shambles just the day before.

Juvia looked around her, then returned her eyes to him. She didn't seem pacified at all. "But you're not mad at Juvia, are you?"

Gray's lips curved into a tiny smile. "Why would I be mad?" It amused him how Juvia looked more concerned about his opinion than the rest of their guildmates. It even filled him with a certain pride that she would have such high regard for his feelings.

Plus, she really looked cute with that bit of crease on her brow and that tiny tremble on her lips.

Wait, what?

Gray narrowed his eyes. "Unless... you did something different with me?" After all, he still didn't have the tiniest idea how he ended up on an island, for goodness' sake.

Juvia looked taken aback. A blush bloomed on her pale cheeks as she started to fiddle with the hem of her top. "Umm, well, Juvia... sort of made you drink the whole potion."

"What?!" Gray asked incredulously. Well, that definitely answered how he made it to Galuna Island. And why he kept on seeing the image of Juvia holding him in her arms. "But why did you do that?"

Juvia quickly turned as red as a tomato. "U-uh... Ju-Juvia... Uhm..."

Suddenly, it all made sense. Why Juvia was always so shy around him. Why she spent a lot of time with him. Why she always invited him on missions. And why she made him gulp a whole potion and not someone else.

A smirk crossed his face. "Oh, I know now."

"Y-you do?" He didn't know it was possible, but Juvia's face got even redder. He was definitely spot on.

"It's because..."

Juvia gulped.

"... you want me to be your rival! Right, Juvia?"

He grinned at her. Juvia might look sweet and innocent, but he would never forget the fact that behind that timid exterior lies a badass mage. Not only had he struggled to battle against her before, but he also fought beside her several times during missions, giving him a pretty good idea of how strong and awesome she really was. He felt a sense of pride swell within him that such a powerful and accomplished mage would choose him to be her rival.

"Err... does Gray-sama want Juvia to be her rival?" she asked him. He chuckled at how she looked so unsure of herself.

Gray was about to answer, "Of course!" but stopped himself. Yes, he was honored that Juvia wanted him to be her rival, but...

"Well, I was thinking more of partners, you know," Gray started. "Don't get me wrong, Juvia. I think you'd be a great rival, but our powers are so alike, so it might be a better idea if we team up instead of –"

Gray wasn't able to finish what he was saying as an ecstatic Juvia suddenly lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his torso. He froze at the sudden contact as he was not expecting such a reaction from her.

Juvia looked up at him and asked, "Gray-sama really wants Juvia to be his partner?" Her eyes were so bright, it looked like a ray of sunlight cracking open a piece of blue sky.

That funny feeling stirred in his stomach again.

"Why not?"

Juvia let out a squeal, hugging him tighter. He wondered how this sometimes shy, always excitable girl could be the same gloomy rain woman he first met months ago. Though he didn't have anything against the past Juvia, he decided that he liked this version better.

Even if she was squeezing the heck out of him.

"Uh, Juvia, could you –?" he asked as he tried to push her away. She relented, smoothed her dress over, and gave him a sweet, loving smile.

There goes that weird, fluttery feeling again.

At that moment, Gray concluded two things: One, that those odd stirrings were probably due to his potion overdose. And two, that they were going to fade over time.

He had never been so wrong in his life.

A/N: I entered the Gruvia fandom during the 100YQ, so it’s challenging to write Gray not yet having strong feelings for Juvia. But their wild ride from enemies to lovers is what endeared me to them the most, so hopefully I get more inspiration to write fics encapsulating their journey. I hope I somehow captured their early friendship here (and Juvia’s little crush on Gray, obvious to everyone except him, lol).

#gruvia week #gruvia #gruvia fanfic #gruvia fanfiction #Gray X Juvia #gray fullbuster #juvia lockser #fairy tail