#hooooo boy this took a while

[lemurzsquad]

Hand Sanitizer

Pairing: Sakusa x gn!reader (platonic or romantic, up to interpretation)

Summary: You and Sakusa hate each other with a passion, and it's almost always a disagreement over hand sanitizer. So when you leave to wash your hands and don't come back, Sakusa learns why exactly you avoid using it so adamantly.

A/N: Okay so this fic. Hooooo boy. This fic. I've been wanting to write it for a while and finally have. It started as a "Reasons why I'm pretty sure Sakusa would hate me irl" and turned into this.

So I have a skin condition known as aquagenic wrinkling of the palms (or AWP), which affects my hands when they come in contact with water, which is what this fic is about. I never hear about this condition anywhere, and it's very lonely sometimes, and there's no real treatment for it (from what I've seen). So this is essentially a vent where I take my skin condition seriously for once instead of just making water allergy jokes to cope lol

(More info about AWP here)

Word count: 3898

cw: skin condition (non-graphic descriptions and discussion) (AWP - please read above), hurt/comfort, angst, crying, enemies to friends...?, emotionally constipated apologies from Sakusa, hand sanitizer is evil /j, vent, not proofread because I just wanted to get this done and posted to do literally anything else, (please lmk if I should tag anything else)

(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and everything written here is purely from my own experiences and observations. If you would like to learn more, please do your own research; this is not designed to be informative. It's purely for myself and for awareness.)

You and Sakusa had never gotten along.

You were certain you knew when it started, having been completely oblivious of one another up until that point.

It was when you were both first years in high school, and there happened to be a lizard in the classroom. You, upon seeing it, immediately proceeded to pick it up and ask the teacher to let you put it outside, to which they agreed.

You came back to the classroom, dusting off your hands, when a curly-haired boy took it upon himself to comment, “Go use some hand sanitizer, would you?”

You squinted at him, partly confused as to why he was talking to you and how you had never noticed he sat there before. “No thanks,” you answered, “I'd rather just wash my hands.”

“I don't think just washing your hands would be enough,” he rebutted with a sharp look behind his bangs. “You probably don't even know how to properly wash your hands.”

“Well, too bad! I'm not using hand sanitizer!” You were starting to get annoyed, crossing your arms.

Somehow, that seemed to make him even more disgusted, possibly at the thought that you were spreading whatever it was on your hands onto your clothes now, too.

The two of you threw jabs back and forth until the teacher separated you, which you were both happy to oblige. The animosity between you never seemed to quite dissipate even as the year went on and you became second years. You almost felt bad for the misunderstanding, knowing it was entirely your own fault, but how were you supposed to explain to this random kid that you couldn't use hand sanitizer even if you wanted to? At least, in your head you couldn't.

At some point, you and Sakusa became something of enemies within your class—renowned ones, at that. People would often ask the both of you why you hated each other so much, but your answers were vague at best.

“He's just so pretentious,” you said once.

“They're just so obstinate,” he said once.

And thus, an impasse stretched between you. You hadn't even learned his name until months after your first encounter, too bitter to really care.

Despite the efforts you both went through to avoid being within the presence of the other, you somehow still ended up nearby. Maybe it was your teachers attempting to make you get along—maybe it was the universe laughing in your face.

Throughout that entire time, you still faithfully avoided hand sanitizer like the plague. The one time the nearest bathroom was out of order for a little while and you couldn't wash your hands, you used as little of the accursed substance as you could. Whatever microscopically thin layer that coated your hands there was, you shook it off almost violently, simultaneously disgusted by the feeling of something on your skin and afraid of what it might do.

The disapproving look Sakusa gave you when he saw that was palpable.

At some point, you hated each other mostly out of principle. You'd both kept it up this long—it would be weird to suddenly just let it go since your flimsy justifications seemed enough until now. To admit that you were being unreasonable would be worse than getting along, you separately reasoned.

So when you were paired up for a project, you couldn't help but grimace. Sakusa was the first to go up to the teacher about it.

“I can't work with them,” you heard him say. For once, you agreed with him.

The teacher, however, dismissed his concerns with a wave, saying, “In life, you don't get to pick who you work with. Sometimes you'll have to try to put aside your differences to get your work done.”

It sounded stupid to you, like some half-hearted excuse so they wouldn't have to rearrange seating or partners. But it's not like you had any place to argue, so you resigned to just sucking it up.

Instead of working together, you both divvied up tasks as quickly as possible and did what you assigned yourselves—separately.

All was going well; you ignored each other and worked on the project silently. Despite other groups discussing their plans and the room being filled with chatter, your share corner was dead silent save the sound of pen on paper.

Which didn't last long when suddenly the tip of your pen snapped off. The now open ink tube spilled onto your hands, and when you tried to minimize the damage, it only got worse. By the time you dropped the pen onto your open notebook, raising your hands in surrender, they were absolutely coated in black splotches. A sense of defeat washed over you as you watched your words get covered and your paper stained in ebony.

Taking a moment to glance at your already ruined hands, you just resigned to picking up the pen and throwing it out. It was your favorite pen, which was unfortunate. It couldn't be helped, you told yourself.

Sakusa had noticed you flailing about your desk, silently judging you for the clumsy mess you made when you should have just thrown out the pen the second it broke to avoid the noir crime scene that now covered you and your area. He scowled knowing you would now have to redo whatever you had written for the project.

It was nearing the end of school, the class you were currently in being the final one of the day. You approached the teacher's table and asked if you could go wash your hands. They checked the clock to see about twenty minutes left before replying, “Make it quick.”

You walked past Sakusa's desk on your way to the door. He made the snide remark, “You could get the ink off really well with hand sanitizer.”

It took everything in you not to snap back at him, but you just hurried past, careful not to touch anything on the way out.

Sakusa knew he would never understand you. From the moment you met, you stubbornly refused what seemed to be basic courses of action. Touch something dirty? Use hand sanitizer. Eating? Wash your hands before and after to keep from touching anything.

The couple of times he had seen you wash your hands, it was very brief, and you seemed to avoid using the air dryer, opting for paper towels that were arguably undoing whatever progress you made in washing your hands.

At the same time, you avoided any task that would require you to touch dust or water. You always asked to sweep or clean windows, so much so that everyone just ended up giving you those tasks to get you to stop asking. If you did get something on your hands, you immediately wiped or shook it off, seemingly disgusted. You would even briefly run it under water just to dry it on your clothes so they weren't wet. It seemed there were things worse than water if you were willing to rinse them off.

But it was still that one avoidance that came between you: the hand sanitizer. It was practically the same as water, and it dried quickly. Even if it was comparable to washing your hands, it was still much more convenient in most scenarios. Yet you continued to adamantly refuse to ever use it. At some point you declared, “I would rather die,” when he had tried to squeeze some on your hand, earning him his wrist grabbed and pushed away. 

He just didn't understand.

So when he found you sobbing in front of the stairs, opening your hands and clenching them closed into loose fists repeatedly, he was beyond confused.

You hadn't come back to class after leaving to wash the remnants of your broken pen, so the teacher decided it was your project partner, Sakusa, who should find you and return the belongings you left behind. He went over to your open notebook that remained just where you left it and noted the handful of words that were still visible. 

Sakusa folded the cover over, enclosing the now dried puddle of ink. The remainder of your things he scooped into his arms, leaving the room once the halls had cleared a significant amount. As much as he wanted to just leave your things and go to volleyball practice, he figured it would end poorly.

Plus, what could possibly have kept you out of class for so long that you would have left everything behind? There was no way it had taken that long to get most of the ink off of your skin, so either you had just skipped the last bit of school or something happened. Since you hadn't taken your wallet with you with your IDs (he checked your bag when he put the notebook back inside, sure that it was completely dry), he reasoned it was probably the latter.

“Tsk.” They would have been able to get it off with hand sanitizer, he thought, brows furrowed. This is such a waste of time.

Sakusa wandered through the halls when he didn't find you by the bathrooms. He was starting to think it was a lost cause trying to return your bag; he even had to text his cousin to tell him why he would be late. It wasn't until he got to a particularly empty hallway did he hear something.

Quietly, in a dark alcove with a set of stairs leading up, a figure was huddled against a wall. Their tears were soft but anguished, stifled because it was in the environment of school. Sakusa had tried to ignore them until he realized it was you.

You held your palms up just past your knees that were pressed against your chest. You opened and closed your hands, a fresh cascade of tears painting your cheeks as you choked back a sob. You pressed—with more pressure than could have been painful—your thumb into the center of your other palm, nails digging into the back of your hand. You set your closed eyes on your knees with the hope that it might stop the water that leaked from them.

Sakusa, with great caution, approached your hunched figure. He didn't want to, he really didn't. You were the person he probably hated the most at his school, but somehow he knew he'd seem like an awful person if he didn't at least give your belongings to you directly—he wouldn't give you the satisfaction of another thing to hold over his head.

And yet those thoughts went to the back of his mind when he crouched down in front of you. His mask and curly hair obscured his focused expression as he tried to study your current state. The moment you seemed to hear him there, you held your breath and repressed your already quiet cries.

When Sakusa got close, you buried yourself further in to hide your face behind your knees and clenched your hands even more.

He frowned and something in his chest tightened. His brows furrowed deeper over his eyes and he huffed. He saw your nails digging into the skin on the backs of your hands.

“That's going to leave a mark if you keep doing that.” It came out more biting than he had meant it, but he was being serious.

It was then that you could no longer hold back your sobs, almost choking on your own tears. The grip you had of your hands softened and unlinked; instead, you lightly shook them apart from each other. Sakusa had to take a moment to process, but it almost seemed like there was something wrong with them. 

He just wanted to get you to stop crying so he could give you your bag. As much as he hated the gesture, he asked, “What's wrong with your hands?”

You curled your lips in to bite down on them, fighting back hiccups. With your eyes tightly screwed shut, you upturned your palms.

The sight alone made Sakusa's eyebrows fly up in shock. 

He didn't mean to, but he grabbed your wrist to get a better look. Ignoring the ink stains that faintly persisted, there were pale, patchy splotches in the center of your palm and on the side edges of your fingers; there were even some tiny pale rings on the periphery of the bigger splotches. But underneath that, the skin seemed as if it had soaked in water for hours or maybe even days. Not only were there dozens of deep crevice lines trailing from the tips of all of your fingers to their bases but the lines on your palms were more prominent, surrounded by profound, dense wrinkles that spanned the entire surface.

His eyes darted around your hand for a few moments just trying to comprehend what he was looking at. It looked unnatural—it looked painful. And when he met your gaze, he saw unidentifiable emotions flash across it. Was it shame? Regret? He couldn't be sure aside from the blood that seemed to drain from your face.

You tried to pull your hand away, but Sakusa wouldn't let go. His eyes never left yours, searching for some kind of answer. When he couldn't find it there, he asked, “What happened?” It was soft, calm, and even, enough to make you tear up a little again.

The second time you tugged, he released your wrist. You pushed your thumb into your palm again, looking away. Hiding your hands away in the space between your stomach and where your legs were still tucked against your torso, you sniffled a few times and tried to even out your breathing.

“I-It's normal… it just h-happens when I-I touch water…” You stuttered and mumbled between hiccups.

“That is not normal,” Sakusa said a little too quickly and curtly, realizing it probably would have made it seem like he was berating you.

With another sniffle, you said, “It's a– it's a skin condition.” You started to scratch your palms partly out of stress and partly out of the persistent stinging. “It reacts to water i-if I touch it for too long.”

His eyebrows knitted in concern. “Was that from washing your hands then?”

You gave a small nod, still avoiding his gaze. “I couldn't get the ink off and ended up w-washing them for too long…”

“You could have just used hand sanitizer,” he said genuinely. For the moment, he almost forgot he was supposed to hate you, more focused on being worried than anything.

Your answer was your head shaking rather fervently. “No, I can't.” You lowered to set your forehead against your knees again. “Well, actually, I don't know. I-It just scares me and I don't want to r-risk any more pain than I already have. I haven't h-had good experiences with it…”

“What did hand sanitizer ever do to you?” It came out snarkier than Sakusa had meant. He slowly lowered himself to sit with his legs crossed in front of you, your bag still next to him.

You let out a heavy breath. “I was a dumb kid in elementary,” you started. “I had an obsession with scented hand sanitizer for probably a few months. I used it multiple times a day, and even though I don't know for sure if it's related, my hands got worse after that year I think. Only after that did I finally go to the doctor to get it diagnosed after my mom did a ton of research. I agreed to avoid hand sanitizer from then on. I just don't want to risk being in more pain…”

You both went silent.

“Oh…” It was all that left Sakusa's lips. A sudden wave of guilt crashed into him. All of the times he had berated you for not using hand sanitizer and all of his snide, rude, annoyed remarks resurfaced in his conscience. He felt terrible. He felt bad. Someone was hurting and all he did was throw lighter fluid on their problems—for months—and it seemed there was finally a spark to set it all ablaze. The thought that he started it all made it worse.

“Stop with whatever weird look you have on your face.” You squinted at him and his downturned, scrunched face. You'd calmed down enough to be making quips, it would appear. “It's not like I can do anything about it.” You shrugged, half-hearted.

He searched your face again for any sign of emotion aside from blank resignation, but he couldn't find anything. “Is there no treatment?”

You shrunk down further into your huddle, not vocally answering, but the answer was still clear.

Something about the whole situation made his heart hurt; it made him upset, he realized. “So what, you just have to avoid water?”

The nod of your head to the side looked pathetic as you avoided his eyes. After several seconds of silence, you said, “I used to love swimming. It's not like I can't, it's just… it hurts and it makes me feel gross. I don't even like the beach anymore because if I go in the water and get my hands wet, there's no real place to dry them off.” You laughed humorlessly. “It's stupid. You'd think I would get more used to it and get over it as I got older, but it just made me more upset. Why me? Why did I have to get stuck with a condition that's rare and isn't really bad enough for people to care enough to find a treatment? At least, it feels that way…

“I know it's awful, but I sometimes wonder, ‘Why didn't I get stuck with something worse? Then I might have a way to treat it. Then people might care.’”

You glanced up to judge Sakusa's reaction, instantly regretting spilling your feelings and questioning why you did. Tears threatened to flood over again and spill from your eyes. You felt helpless; not only from your condition but also from being stared down by the person you were certain despised you more than anyone. You were giving him more ammo to be disgusted and to detest you, too.

But you couldn't find his face. His ebony bangs hung down like a curtain and his mask further obscured your view, his downturned line of sight completely blocked out.

When the silence was beginning to crawl around on your skin and became almost deafening, you took in a sharp breath and held it for a moment before breathing out a tiny apology. “Sorry… you don't wanna hear about this…”

“No.”

“...No? No… what?”

“No…” 

Sakusa was struggling to get out the right words. How does he say sorry to you in a way that you might actually believe? How does he tell you that you're allowed to be upset, that you can talk about it? How does he make you understand that it's okay?

And how is he supposed to get you to believe it when it's coming from him?

His voice sounded almost angry but not at you—it was for you. “You can be upset,” he said between gritted teeth, hands clenched into tight fists. “No one deserves to have to live everyday avoiding something so common just to not be in pain. And no one deserves to have some jerk constantly making light of it even if they don't know.”

The way your eyes widened and water dripped down your cheeks in sudden streams said it all. “Oh…” was all you could muster before you completely broke down. No one you had ever told about your condition had seemed to fully grasp how much you were hurting inside, how every day was a struggle to avoid reminding yourself of how awful your hands were, how even looking at your own hands sometimes made you ashamed and loathing of yourself. It was a constant reminder that there would always be something wrong with you; you would always be broken, and there was no way to fix it.

Sakusa let you cry with the renewed emotional rush. He remained firmly planted where he sat, not moving an inch. He was not going anywhere.

And he didn't, even as your sobbing slowed to quiet sniffles and wiping mostly dried tears. It took a while before you finally muttered, “Thank you… No one's ever said that to me before…”

“Well, they should.” His words were curt but lacked any sharpness to them.

When you looked up to meet his eyes, he turned them away from you. Hesitantly, he uttered, “Look, I can't promise you that we'll get along, but I can assure you I'll try not to bother you anymore. No more stupid hand sanitizer comments anymore, either.” It was the only peace offering he could make for a chance to pave a path towards making amends.

You let out a breath through your nose that was close to a laugh before hiccuping, “Next thing you know, you'll be telling me we'll work on our group project together.”

“Don't push it,” he answered, quickly and humorlessly. It only made you laugh, although he couldn't comprehend why.

“It's getting late,” Sakusa tried to divert. “You should head home.”

You reached for your phone, and the little numbers on the screen confirmed his statement. Suddenly, a flash of panic crossed your face. “I don't have my bag,” you state frantically, “or any of my stuff.”

It was then that Sakusa held up the original object of his search for you, gently lowering it to the ground. “The teacher told me to bring it to you since you never came back.”

Relief washed over you in a calming rush, and you finally seemed to relax. You pulled your knees away from your chest and sat with your legs crossed. Confirming that everything was in your bag, an immensely relieved sigh left your lips in a gust.

“Thank you.” Your gaze was earnest, trying to convey just how much you meant your words to make sure it sunk in.

Sakusa just grumbled, “Whatever.” He was back to his usual self despite how he stumbled embarrassingly when he got up and realized his legs had gone numb. He reluctantly offered up his hand to help you stand, but you only looked at it for a moment, mouth pressed into a line, before you got to your feet on your own.

He pretended he hadn't tried to assist you, instead pivoting on his heels and shoving his hands in his pockets with a slouched posture. Without another word exchanged, you both headed towards the school's entrance.

The air fell into a comfortable quiet until then. When you did reach the entrance, however, you both stopped in your tracks. You turned to Sakusa, giving him a soft smile and a small wave, and headed down the street. Only when you turned the corner, out of sight, did he head back towards the volleyball gym. He was so horribly beyond late that it was almost laughable.

But he didn't care, knowing it meant someone was there in that very moment for you when you needed it most. So what if he also started to mend whatever nonexistent relationship was there in the process? What mattered was that someone told you that it was okay.

And Sakusa was okay with that. Being late to practice wasn't nearly as pressing as his long overdue apologies. What could be more important than that?

Do not copy and/or repost!! Any likes or reblogs are appreciated, though! (c) 2024 LemurzSquad

#haikyuu #haikyu!! #haikyuu!! #sakusa x reader #sakusa x y/n #sakusa x you #sakusa x gn!reader #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x y/n #haikyuu x you #haikyuu x gn!reader #sakusa kiyoomi x reader #haikyuu sakusa #sakusa kiyoomi #hq sakusa #lemurz writing #hurt/comfort #angst #enemies to friends trope #skin condition #writing #fanfic #haikyuu fanfiction #hand sanitizer #platonic or romantic

[ohbo-ohno]

Horror movie obsession goes brrrrr

One can imagine a group of typical annoying young adults drinking, getting high and having sex in the forest near Ghost and Soap cabin. And it would be alright, just have to ignore one another but nooo, the Team(TM) had to be annoying and obnoxious. Maybe seeing Soap becore they got in the forest, and they are very demeaning and generally rude.

Except for Reader!! She is nice, apologizing for everyone's behavior and tries to soothe the conflict. Soap sees a girl with good manners and pops a boner immediately. She is so contrasting with her friends, too soft for that company but too nice to tell them no!! Soap had to save her, poor girl is going to contract all possible STDs from her friends!! So obvious answer is to gut her friend group! Basically like in the House of Wax but in the forest. The only thing waxed here is Johnny(kill me)

Simon is literally wearing a slasher-worthy mask already, and they have amazing military experience so killing a bunch of drunk 20-something won't be hard. And they get to fuck our girl primal style and then to drag her back in the cabin. Now she doesn't have to pretend to like those annoying pricks!! Ghoap lives for the contrast between her and them even if they have to lock her up in the creepy bloody basement for a few nights :/ if she is nice, they can bring her blankets!!

Or!! Reader is as much annoying brat as everyone else and they have to teach her a lesson! This is their forest, she can't just go there and be slutty, it's their job!

🎷🐛

happy halloween to ME!

ghost and soap torturing and murdering all your "friends" and then locking you up in the bloody basement hooooo boy. they clear out the corpses so you don't have to deal with the stench but can you imagine how terrified you'd be?

when they're ready for you johnny comes down first, and he coos and tries to comfort you but you're just scared out of your fucking mind. can't help pushing away from him, flinching and hiding your face in your shoulder while you sob. you don't trust him, don't trust when he says he's not gonna hurt you. eventually ghost has to drag you up the stairs kicking and screaming, rolls his eyes and calls you dramatic

and johnny wants you to thank them. who knows what trouble those jackasses would've gotten you into, what diseases you could've caught? you should be grateful he and simon took care of the risk, saw you and knew you were good and reacted accordingly. and you're still thinking you're going to die, so maybe you do thank him, in a shaky voice while biting back sobs. johnny just turns to ghost, big ol smile on his face, and says see? knew she was a good one.

eventually you can't pretend anymore, you freak out and scream in their faces, call them every name in the book and try your best to run. they both get this flat look on their faces - johnny's disappointed, it makes you want to scream even louder. they drag you down to the basement, lock you in the dark space and say you can come back out when you learn to behave again. maybe simon threatens to teach you your manners the same way he taught your friends :/

they leave you down there for days. the door only opens for one of them to drop a tray of food and a bottle of water on the top step, never stays open long enough for you to actually have a chance at getting out. they leave you a bucket, one blanket, and nothing else.

there's a day where you don't drag yourself up on hands and knees to reach the food, instead staying curled up in the corner and shivering. you wake up to johnny crouched above you, a concerned look on his face as he strokes down your naked side. he says you ready to behave now, bonnie? and you nearly launch yourself at him, blubber and beg and wrap your arms around his neck, determined to never let him leave you locked up here again.

that's the first night you share a bed with them <3

also this version of ghoap 1000% let you escape consistently so they can hunt you down and fuck you in the dirt.

#asks and answers #ghoap x reader #bo writes #gremlingottoosilly #serial killer ghoap x reader

[ollypopwrites]

From Depths Unknown; Part 1

Rolan x F!Tav (AFAB, she/her) *Tav is a Storm Sorcerer, but no actual reference to her appearance.

Rating: M

Tags & Warnings: [18+ MDNI] Language, Canon-typical violence, drinking, sexual content (very brief, very not detailed BUT slight dom/sub dynamics), slow burn, slightly enemies to lovers but not quite, background Bloodweave, the use of ‘idiot’ as a term of endearment.

Series Summary:

The entire first half of Rolan’s life was spent feeling helpless and angry. Even after escaping his childhood home, Elturel and then the Grove, fate seems to be intent on reminding him of how small he really is.

Tav is the gallant hero, always swooping in to save him and it is infuriating. To add insult to injury, despite himself, he actually likes her.

Notes: hooooo boy. This got crazy. It was supposed to be vignettes leading to some smut and now we have a whole multi-part fic exploring both Rolan’s character as an outsider of the tadpole crew but still closely acquainted and the weight of responsibility on Tav during the entire narrative of the game. Smut will happen, promise, but first — some light whump and heavy yearning.

Read below or on Ao3

“Did you lose something, darling?”

Tav had upended her pack, a huge pile of random junk, valuable magic artifacts, potions and rations by the fire. She was

Frantically digging through it, sorting through jewelry and shoving it aside.

“You haven’t seen my necklace laying around have you? The one with the pearl pendant?”

“I haven’t stolen it if that’s what you’re really asking,” he replied.

“Sounds like something someone would say if they did steal it.”

“Ha-Ha,” Astarion snarked. “Last I saw it was when I fed from you last night,” he sighed, “such a lovely chain wrapped around an even lovelier neck.”

“It was a gift from… someone special. I can’t find it.”

“When did you last remember having it?”

“I wear it everyday,” she groaned frustratedly. “I noticed it was gone when I got dressed after my bath upstairs.”

“And before that?”

“We fought off that horde by the lake,” Tav frowned and then gasped. “Shit. It must have broken during the fight.”

In her mind’s eye she could imagine when it may have happened. She had been positioned directly in front of the portal in which Halsin had gone into the Shadowfell. Gale and her kept directly in front of it to hold off stragglers, while Karlach and Shadowheart flanked in front of them. A flock of undead Ravens had descended upon her and Gale, clawing a scratching and she had lost her balance careening into the water. Some undead Harper’s had made an effort to keep her from climbing back up on the stone outcrop.

She had made it back to her position, but only barely. Tav still felt herself tense and worn down after what was the longest five minutes of her life. The dead just kept rising, new apparitions of horror springing up when they finally had the upper hand.

“I’ll be back.”

Tav stood and left the camp they had set up near the docks below the Last Light Inn. Her feet took her to the same edge of the lake where even now there were remnants of their battle littering the ground. She checked up on the stone outcrop where the portal had been, dancing lights guiding her eyes as she scanned for a glint of metal from the lights.

Nothing. She danced the lights closer to the water but it was impossible to see through. Tav dug for the last dredges of her magic to cast detect magic, she felt something below. Not too far but hard to pinpoint exactly where with her magic so spent.

Tav examined the water. It was just as dark as the rest of this place, and who knew what lingered below its surface. With a sigh, she took off her shoes and stripped down to her small clothes. She dipped her foot in, the water was as cold as it was when she was pulled in earlier that day.

Then she leapt in. Darkness surrounded her, the muffle of the water creating a sense of pure nothingness around her. In a way, it was peaceful, and quiet, but she had to find her way to the bottom and find that necklace. It was not too deep, but she had to fully submerge herself to reach the floor and when she did she tried not to think about what she was grabbing as she blindly felt around.

With only the vague sense of detect magic to guide her, she grabbed blindly. She felt the metal of armor, maybe a rock or a long rusted weapon, but nothing that felt like a thin necklace chain. She had to thrust herself up to the surface to gasp a breath of air.

Just as she went to dive under again she heard a shout, “what the bloody hells are you doing?”

Her head whipped around to the stone she had jumped from. Tall and lithe, standing rigidly straight with fists balled at his side and eyes glowing slightly in the dark. It was Rolan.

“Are you insane?”

“I lost something!” She said back. “Just a minute!”

His call of, “wait!” Was cut off as she dunked under again. Her hands frantically searching, focusing on the detect magic spell that would fizzle out any moment now. She let it lead her, let it show her the pulsing of the magic it was picking up from the bottom of the lake. There was no way of knowing if it was her pearl, but she had to try.

Her hands dug into the muck of the bottom of the lake, pulling some up and bringing it back to the surface. She could barely see, but there in her hand the pearl sat amongst rot and mud. She choked on a gasp, her eyes stinging either from tears or the grime that no doubt was in the water. The chain was long gone, but the pendant was there.

The gold of the delicate clawed setting that held the Pearl of Power was dirty and dented, but the pearl itself seemed to be in good shape.

“I found it!” She called.

“For the love of — get out of the water!” Rolan yelled.

Carefully she tread towards the stone again, reaching it and dropping the pendant onto the stone so she could pull herself out. Just as she lifted herself up, something caught on her foot, and then tugged. She hit her chin on the stone, teeth clacking together and then she slipped into the water again, skin scraping against rock and her vision going dark as the depths.

Rolan’s hand delved deep into the water, clutching at whatever piece of Tav he could get a grasp of and pulled. Her hand emerged, his hand tightly around her wrist as he grunted with the struggle to lift her above the water's edge. When her face emerged she gasped for breath.

“Something’s pulling me,” she yelled.

Rolan had little time to think, and just kept pulling as Tav’s free hand grasped at the rock and started to get herself onto it. As she did, the rest of her torso was revealed, then legs where he saw a long dead, gnarled and rotten hand grasping her calf. He let go of her with one hand to cast magic missile, the angry red jets of magic landing each hit until the hand let go of her.

Tav crawled onto the rock, coughing up water, and catching her breath. She stayed on hands and knees, her hand coming out to grab the trinket she had dived in for.

Rolan turned on her in a rage. “What in the hells is wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” she breathed, “thanks to you. Appreciate it.”

“Weren’t you telling me not to go wandering off into the curse just yesterday?” He seethed.

“I told you not to go alone,” she clarified, “but I guess your point still stands.”

“Thank you,” he said sarcastically. “I watched you and your friends hold off an undead army just here earlier, another truly noble venture I’m sure — “

“We were trying to help lift the curse—“ she stood.

But Rolan’s ire was truly raised and he trampled over her words without acknowledging them. “You cannot truly be this stupid,” he spat, “you know what lurks in this land, what could possibly be so important you need to jump into the accursed lake?” Despite himself he found himself saying, “another hero’s errand, no doubt, the long lost heirloom of a poor, pathetic creature that will simper and whine your praises.”

Tav looked like she might hit him. Instead she grabbed her discarded clothes and started to walk away.

“You’re welcome,” he called after her.

“I already said thank you,” she turned to snarl at him, a spark of lightning curling off of her in her anger. “Would you like me to stay so you can yell at me more or can I go? Will that make you feel better? Will it bring Cal and Lia back?”

Rolan was charging forward before he could stop himself. “They are only gone because you can’t keep your nose out of other people’s business.”

Tav’s angry expression faltered, something he couldn’t quite parse flashed over her face. “Rolan -“ she started and then sighed, shoulders slinking into a hunch.

For the first time he noticed that she looked tired. The kind of tiredness that not even a good night's rest would fix. Bone -deep, mental and physical exhaustion written in the bags under her eyes, the downturn of her mouth. His stomach dropped, his jaw clenched and a new anger flared in him.

Prick, idiot bastard is what you are, Rolan, the thoughts set off in his mind, taking the flashing of rage with them. Can’t save the only family you have, and you kick the one person who can while they’re down. Useless. Idiot.

“Tav? Darling, are you alright?”

Both of them turned to find Astarion, accompanied by Gale who had a suspecting frown on his face. “By the stars, Tav, you’re soaked,” the other wizard said, coming forward, removing the cloaked cape he had and wrapping it around her shoulders.

“And quite underdressed,” Astarion quirked an eyebrow, “not taking advantage were you, little wizard?”

Rolan had hardly thought about her state of undress. Had purely been driven by whatever it was that made him run up when he saw her dunking into the lake. The worst case scenario had crossed his mind, she had fallen to the curse and it was pulling her under. It very nearly did.

Now he was very aware of it. Embarrassment and pure concentration to not look at her legs which were still bare kept him from saying anything in response.

“Rolan helped me, I fell into the lake.”

“You jumped into it,” he found himself saying.

“Why on earth would you do that?” Gale scolded.

“My pearl!” She held it up. “Chain must have broken earlier.”

Gale hummed thoughtfully, eyes slinking towards Rolan, then to Tav. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I believe another bath is in order.”

“Probably best,” Tav sighed, pulling some grime out of her hair. “Goodnight, Rolan.”

Rolan said nothing in return as Gale walked with her back to the shore, his eyes flicked up to the elf waiting for them. Astarion and him never spoke much, he was around and had a smart remark to provide at someone’s expense but they had rarely ever spoken.

There was something unsettling about the elf as he peered at Rolan while he waited for his companions to make their way. A stillness of his body that was unnatural, a look in his eyes that was half warning and half challenge. A predator, guarding its territory that almost immediately softened once Tav and Gale were next to him and they began their walk back to the inn.

Rolan rubbed his hands over his face, and made his way back to the inn. He needed a drink.

Tav had smiled sheepishly at Jaheira after requesting another tub of water. Gale and Astarion had slipped away after whisking her away from Rolan, and now that she was alone she found herself truly feeling exhausted. She bathed and went back to camp, found a chain from the endless piles of jewelry she had hoarded to sell for camp funds and slipped her pearl pendant back on.

The weight of it on her chest was comfortable, a sense of normalcy in a place that was far beyond her everyday life.

Tav played with the pendant as she laid in her bedroll, despite the tiredness her mind was reeling.

Rolan had been so angry with her. When they had rid the path of the goblins and held their little party she had comforted herself in knowing that the two of them parted on friendly terms. Her encouragement of his siblings to stay and help their kin had paid off, and she had spent a good chunk of the night talking with them.

The last time she saw him he was full of laughter, showing off his prowess which landed him a position as an apprentice with a well-renowned wizard.

Her mind played over their interactions. His drunken fury after Cal and Lia were taken, his resigned anger after they saved him from the cursed wraiths near moonrise - he was always so angry with her.

Perhaps he had a right to be. They had rid the path of the goblin threat and sent them straight into a horror beyond imagining. All her talk of doing the right thing, helping who you could and ‘playing hero’ as he put it was for nothing.

Laying in the dark with her eyes wide open became too much and she got up from the bedroll. She could grab some wine from their wares and head inside, not wanting to take anymore of the Last Light’s limited supplies.

“And where are you off to?” Shadowheart asked. They technically did not need a watch shift due to the Harper’s having their own but it was routine now.

“Need a drink,” Tav said. “I’ll be back.”

“No more dips in the cursed lake, if you please,” Shadowheart called after her.

Tav waved her off and headed inside. The Last Light was always somewhat active. Everyone’s sense of night and day was off kilter, at least one shift of Harper’s and the Fists were milling about at any given time. Healers were needed at all hours for returning scouting parties, and the bar with its meager offerings always had someone behind it.

She sat close enough to keep an eye on the children behind the bar, and look out at the space. There was still damage from the attempted kidnapping of Isobel, winged horror guts and blood stained the walls. Tav uncorked the wine in her hand and took a swig.

“You’re cut off for the night!” Umi said, head barely coming above the line of the bar with his hand pointing upward.

“I’ve had one glass, you little brat!”

Tav’s eyes slid towards the tiefling at the bar, robes still a little wet from fishing her out of the lake, and wearing his typical grumpy frown. At least he did not seem belligerent and the irritation in his voice held no bite for the child. Not like it had for her earlier.

“Give him a glass of mine,” Tav held out her own bottle. “He earned it.”

Rolan’s head snapped up and she immediately regretted speaking. It was meant to be a last ditch effort for a truce, but the way his face curled into snarl made her want to shrivel up and die.

“I don’t need any more charity from you,” he snapped.

Her heart dropped, her face got hot and she took a deep breath. Turning on her barstool, she leaned her back against the bar. She never could win with him. She wanted to apologize, she had been out of line by bringing up his siblings before. He had started it, but she was not too proud to own up to her own part in it.

It was clear he wanted nothing to do with her, so she turned her back to save him having to even look at her. She took a long swig of the wine, it was cheap and bitter, but it was what they had.

The scrape of wood made her look over. Rolan had sat in a stool on her side of the bar, not right next to her, an empty seat between them. He faced the bar, not looking at her as he held a tin cup out towards her. Tav leaned over to share some of her wine.

He was quiet, and that was better than yelling. And watching the activity in the inn was better than staring up from her bedroll all night. It would have to do.

“No chaperones with you this time?”

“They went off to… “ Tav trailed off, she didn’t know what Gale and Astarion were doing. Just that they slipped away as they had been doing more often lately. “Well, it’s not our business what they went off to do.”

Another stretch of silence. Tav played with her necklace in between sips from the bottle. They had to make their way to moonrise again tomorrow, finally entering the belly of the beast to figure out if they could free any prisoners and find a heading towards finishing all of this.

“What’s so special about it?”

“Hm?” She turned to Rolan.

His eyes flicked up from where he was watching her toy with her necklace. “The pearl.”

“Oh,” she said dumbly. “It’s a pearl of power.” She looked down at it, “an heirloom. Passed down from my father.” Her thoughts trailed off again, “when I thought I’d lost it…” she shook her head.

There was no world in which she imagined he wanted to know about her or her family. This was a truce, and he was being more gracious than she expected. She thought she may as well keep it as neutral as possible to prevent an argument.

Rolan was quiet again. For a long time neither of them spoke, at one point she heard the clack of tin on the wood and found he had put his cup out again. She poured him some more wine, and she felt at least relieved he was not unwilling to sit with her. Albeit quietly and only with her offering him wine, but it was something.

They sat quietly until the bottle was done. Tav felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. She thought she may finally be able to sleep if she laid down. Her heart still felt full of the weight of guilt, her body weak as if it knew only more horror awaited her the next day. But she didn’t get to rest more than one night, the chain of events of her life recently had made that very clear.

There was a lot she had to make up for, and a storm to weather before she could find harbor.

“If Cal and Lia are alive in Moonrise, I’ll bring them back,” she said, not having the courage to look at him. “I promise.”

She felt him staring at her but she still couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye. Guilt weighed too heavily on her, the weight of the journey ahead looming over her in the face of yet another promise she was not sure she could keep.

Bidding him goodnight, which was met by silence, she walked away from the bar.

Tav had left with a small group to head to Moonrise, leaving behind the Archdruid who was dead set upon helping out around the inn. This encouraged others to pitch in, Dammon was lending strength to fixing up the broken railings and doors at the inn. Rolan made himself useful, he had magic to spare and nothing else to do.

He employed two mage hands to help lift a beam of wood to repair one of the holes that had been created by winged horrors dropping through during the attack. Isobel chanted out on the balcony, while he and Guex worked. Tav had been in the room when it happened, he thought to himself, always in the right place at the right time.

Except by the lake. Even now he had no idea what possessed her to strip out of armor to get inside waters full of bodies in a place which undead walked so freely. In his mind’s eye he could see her bare legs, and though at the time he had not thought about her state of undress now he found himself trying to piece together any snippets in his subconscious of what the rest of her had looked like.

“Rolan,” Guex called. “Bit higher, mate.”

“Sorry.” He said, the mage hands lifting the wood up.

His mind kept drifting to her. The way she played with the pearl she had so desperately been trying to find. Her laughter as it carried over the sounds of the crowd from her camp. More annoyingly the glimpse of her legs he had gotten just a couple nights ago. She was pretty, objectively, he had noticed immediately, but he wasn’t a naive boy so easily distracted by a pretty face.

The storm behind her eyes as she had gone toe to toe with him at the lake seemed to haunt him. what she said had hurt, yes, but he was a little distracted by the vision of her soaking wet and looking at him with so much feeling.

“Rolan, if you need a break just say so,” Guex said.

“No,” he growled, shaking his head, “no, I’m fine.”

He was a wizard. He could control his own mind. He focused on the weave, the sensation of it taking shape into the mage hands before him. Rolan made it a point to close the door on any further thought of her while he went about his business.

Until the second day with no word from any of the party that had ventured into Moonrise. He had even gone as far to venture into their camp, where the remaining four of her companions were sitting around the fire.

“Rolan,” Wyll greeted him warmly. “How are you?”

The Blade of the Frontier was an invaluable asset during their time on the road into the grove. Rolan liked him, although he preferred him when he wasn’t doing his folk hero act.

“I’d rather not say,” he said. “I didn’t come here to dampen your mood.”

“Have the Harpers seen any sign of our companions returning?” Halsin asked.

“Not yet,” he said. “That’s why I’m here. Your tadpoles, they can transmit to each other can’t they?”

“There’s quite a distance between here and Moonrise,” the half-elf Shadowheart said. “I’m not sure our tadpoles can connect to each other so far.”

“Unlikely,” the Githyanki grumbled. “Attempting to do so is an unnecessary risk.”

“How?” Rolan asked.

“The ghaik tadpole could reach anyone, and give away our location.” She explained, haughty as if he was an imbecile for not realizing it.

“If anyone can get your siblings out of Moonrise, it’s Tav,” Wyll said, making eye contact with him.

“If they’re even alive.”

“Take your self-pity elsewhere,” Lae’zel replied. “You chose to save the offspring.”

“Should I have let them get taken?”

“No.”

A strange pause happened, Lae’zel expressionlessly staring directly at him .

“I think,” Shadowheart said, “what Lae’zel means is you made the right choice. Your brother and sister would have done the same.”

The only confirmation was a single nod from Lae’zel. “Your offspring are weak. Untrained. In order to maintain the continuation of your species you must protect them.”

“That’s her version of a compliment,” Wyll clapped him on the shoulder.

“Chk.”

Shadowheart laughed softly, and Wyll stifled a smile. “Join us,” he offered, “we have plenty of room by the fire.”

On the third day, Rolan was at the bar. Not drinking, well, not drinking as much. He liked to sit around with Umi and Ide, it felt sometimes like watching them play a game of pretend. Acting like grown up barkeeps, as if they’d been running the Last Light for more years than they’d even been alive. Everyone was willing to play along, and Rolan found himself playing the part of the grumpy regular.

“Hey arsehole!”

Rolan’s hackles went up at the sound of Lia’s taunt. Prepared to be annoyed at his sister — until he realized that it was Lia. A rush of relief spread through him so thoroughly that it made him shudder as he looked over.

“Oh, thank the gods.”

Lia was beaming, and behind her Cal had a goofy grin. They were there, in front of him. Alive and whole as far as he could tell, no trick of the curse making them strange and hollow. Just as quickly as relief came over him, anger flared. Nights and nights of constant worry not even dulled by multiple bottles of wine.

“Is that all you have to say, to me? Did you enjoy yourselves while I battled that wretched darkness? What were you thinking?”

“I’m sorry, we got captured by murderous lunatics.” Lia was just as ready to fight.

“I thought you were dead, you ass,” Rolan seethed. “Both of you!”

“We’re all safe, Rolan,” Cal finally said, trying to keep the peace as always. “That’s what matters.”

“Good thing you’re back!” Ide shouted from behind the bar. “He’s been drinking about it for a week straight!”

“I was just…”

Worried sick, grappling with the thought that I nearly lost the only family I had, rendered helpless and faced with my own failings.

“Overwhelmed.” He settled on. “It doesn’t matter.”

“I’m sorry,” Lia folded first. “We should have been here.”

And how would they have done that? It wasn’t their fault they were captured.

“No - no,” Rolan winced. “It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have shouted. I’m sorry.”

Lia came up to hug him then. They were never very affectionate physically. Even when he had moved into their home he had shared a bed with Cal, Lia always teased them for the way they had to struggle for space as Cal grew stocky and Rolan grew ever more lanky.

But this was a comfort, to hold his little sister in his arms. Safe, and whole. Not even his pride could overpower the gratitude he felt to have them back, and as Cal’s bulky arms wrapped around them both in a steel tight hug he had to laugh.

“We thought the curse got you,” Cal said. “When Tav told us you were alive —“ his brother’s voice cracked and the rest of the sentence died.

Tav. He opened his eyes, half expecting to find her and her crew watching on as she seemed to be in every major upheaval of his life lately. But the only new faces were some deep gnomes, and a few other tieflings from their caravan from Elturel.

“Where is she?”

“Who?” Lia asked, rubbing Cal’s back as he tried to maintain his composure.

“Tav.”

“They needed to save face in Moonrise. Her and her friends had a big fight with the warden as a distraction while we got out.” Lia replied. “Apparently they’re posing as cultists.” His sister’s eyes narrowed, “why?”

“I — “ he started. “I owe her an apology. And thanks.” He cleared his throat, “but that can wait. I have a room upstairs and there’s baths, you two reek.”

“You’re such an arsehole.” Lia grinned.

“I’m starved,” Cal groaned, the only evidence that he was crying were some trails in the muck that coated his face. “They have food here?”

“We do!” Umi called. “But it'll cost you!”

The light of the inn was in sight. It had been a rough couple of days, but they had found their next heading. Tav was ready to debrief Jaheira, take a bath and sleep.

“The inn will be bursting now,” Gale said, “with the deep gnomes and the tieflings.”

“I hope they all made it okay,” Karlach said. “They’ve been through enough.”

“More than enough,” Tav agreed. “We will check in on them. Add that to the list.”

“Noted,” Gale tapped his temple.

As they passed through the barrier of light around the inn a weight lifted off of them. Traveling through the cursed lands was always exhausting, it was a suffocating darkness that covered the land and something always felt like it was lurking nearby.

After discussing with Jaheira and the rest of the camp, Tav took some time to check in with the rescued deep gnomes and tieflings. Barcus had bounded up to her before she could even take a mental count of who was present, dragging her over to Wulbren Bongle.

The leader of the Ironhands brushed both her and Barcus off, as if the former hadn’t just broken him out of a prison and the latter hadn’t begged so earnestly for her to do so. If she was not so tired she may have made a comment about it, but Barcus looked mortified and Tav didn’t have the energy.

As she moved on, she nodded to Lakrissa who was glued to Alfira’s side at the bar. There was no sign of Bex and Dannis, but she could only imagine their reunion was something they wanted to have in private. She saw the back of Cal’s head at the bar, heard Lia’s loud laugh and approached to find Rolan with them, leaning over the bar.

The two she had saved seemed better than she had found them. Clean, smiling and animated. Rolan’s shoulders were still an even line, but they seemed to have dropped a few inches, no longer settled up to his ears in tension.

“It’s you!” Lia grinned.

“I’m glad you lot made it back alright,” Tav smiled. “He’s been a pain in the ass.”

“Yeah,” Cal grinned. “But he’s our pain in the ass. Thanks for dealing with him while we were gone, we’ve got it from here.”

Tav just nodded. Rolan was staring at her, but she could not decipher his look. She awkwardly shifted and then said, “well, I was just checking in. I’ll leave you to it.”

“Wait,” Cal turned. “Thank you - for saving me. And the two idiots. I never thought I’d see them again.”

“It was nothing,” she shrugged.

“That black eye you're sporting says otherwise,” Lia said seriously. “I saw those hits you took. It wasn’t ‘nothing’. I’m not the best at showing it, but I love Rolan and Cal to death. They’re family - thanks for bringing us back together.”

Tav felt suddenly uncomfortable with the praise. Rolan had suggested before he thought she got off on playing the hero. His siblings' thanks felt like it would only prove his point further.

She just smiled, “I’m just glad you three are together again.” Clearing her throat, “I ought to check on my camp.”

Rolan stood suddenly as she turned, “Tav.” She waited, half expecting another comment about her heroics. “I’ve lashed out at you. Drunkenly and otherwise, and you helped anyway. You didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry. And thank you.”

With a nod she took off for a bath. She checked in on camp, hearing any intel and updates she needed from those left behind. Everyone quickly began discussing strategies and next steps, they needed to find their way to this Balthazar and find Ketheric Thorm’s weakness. There was also the matter of finding Art Cullagh’s lute, seeing if they could find any hint that Arabella’s parents were alive and figure out how to finally put this curse to rest.

Even after a victory there was still so much left to do.

She slipped away to sit on the outcrop of stone by the lake again. Everyone at camp meant the world to her, but every once in a while she needed her space. It was dark and creepy, but if she closed her eyes she could hone in on the lap of the water against the rock. A soothing sound.

“Not thinking of taking a swim, are you?”

Tav jumped, and turned. Rolan stood not far off, a bottle in his hands and to her surprise a small smile on his face.

“Gods, you scared me,” she placed a hand over her heart. “I wasn’t expecting —“ she cut herself off. She wasn’t expecting anyone, let alone him and smiling no less.

“I’ve got a bottle of Arabellan dry, if you’re up for it.” He walked up and sat down next to her, showing her the bottle.

Tav considered him for a moment. “Is it poisoned?”

“Very funny.” He said sarcastically. “I would not waste poison in a wine such as this.”

“And where did you find it?” She looked at the bottle.

“I stole it from the cellar, the last bottle,” he said, popping the cork. “I brought cups, but I know pulling straight from the bottle is more your style.”

“I’ll try a cup,” she hummed.

He poured them each a cup, and held his up to clink against hers before the first sip. Rolan hummed in pleasure. “Gods, that’s so good.”

“It is,” Tav agreed. The flavor bloomed on her tongue, smooth and without the bite of the cheap stuff she had been drinking of late. “What’s the occasion?”

“An apology. A proper one,” He muttered. “You went out of your way to help us, it’s only right you get something in return.”

“You don’t have to —“

“You were right,” he said before she could finish. “I wasn’t really angry with you. I was angry with myself. Angry at the gods awful hands we’ve been dealt on this journey.”

“It’s alright if you were a little angry with me,” she admitted sheepishly. “I shouldn’t have used Cal and Lia against you.”

“That was rather wretched of you.”

“It was,” she agreed. “But I think I more than made up for it.” She was teasing, testing the waters in this new peace they had found.

“I thanked you once already,” he said haughty tone overdone and just as playful, “don’t be greedy.”

Something about the tone, about the smile on his face and the words themselves spurred her imagination into overdrive. Him above her, wrenching an orgasm from her only for her to ask for more. Don’t be greedy, she imagined him saying it again, condescending and admonishing. A truly mortifying high pitched giggle escaped her. She took a gulp of wine, her body hot and shocked at the instantaneous reaction.

She was very glad he did not have a tadpole.

A silence stretched between them that made her itch, he did not seem to mind but she felt like she would start to fidget if she didn’t say something. Luckily, he spoke while she floundered for something to say.

“I never asked, are you alright?”

She did have a black eye and possibly a concussion. She had left camp before Shadowheart could offer some healing. “Bumps and bruises,” she said casually. “Occupational hazards, nothing to worry about.”

“Hm,” he huffed. “That’s what you get for being a meddlesome hero. But I shan’t say more, you’ve done too much for me lately.”

“Karlach, Astarion and Gale were there too, you know,” she said.

“Yes, well, I won’t be sharing my favorite wine with them,” he said stiffly.

“Oh, and what makes me so special?”

He took a drink of wine, looking into his cup. “You are — “ he started, “particularly infuriating.”

“I’m special because I’m infuriating?”

He grimaced. “Yes.”

“You don’t make a bit of sense,” Tav laughed in disbelief.

“I make perfect sense,” he said haughtily. “You’re the one jumping into cursed lakes. Or risking your life for someone who has never been particularly nice to you.” He drank the last of his cup, pouring another as he added, “top up?”

She offered her cup for him to fill. “I told you why I jumped in the lake. A precious family heirloom was at the bottom.”

“And the gallant rescuing?”

Tav frowned, taking a drink. “I don’t know. I just… if I can help, I don’t see why I shouldn’t.”

Rolan didn’t seem to find that worth responding to. The silence stretched on again. He cleared his throat and held out his hand. For a moment she thought he was asking her to hold it, and she felt a strange tingle throughout her body. On his pointer finger was a ring, old and a bit scratched up, but with some kind of inscription in a language she couldn’t read on the flat surface.

“This was Cal and Lia’s grandfather’s ring.” He said looking at it. “Their mother gave it to me when I came to stay with them for good. It’s not enchanted, nor is it worth much but it — it’s proof. We’re a family, bound by something stronger than blood.”

That sunk in slowly for Tav as she pieced it together. She had questions: if Cal and Lia were not his biological siblings what happened to his parents? How long ago had he been one of their own? These felt invasive, and they had been getting along so she chose not to voice them; happy to have been trusted with a small tidbit of his past.

Delicately her fingers came out to run over the inscription. As she did her fingers brushed over his, and perhaps it was the wine, but she grabbed his hand to bring it closer to her face. The writing was maybe infernal, with some sort of emblem.

“What does it say?”

Rolan didn’t respond.

Tav looked at him, finding him very intensely focused on her. She dropped his hand, “sorry, I shouldn’t —“

“It’s fine,” he replied tersely.

An awkward silence filled the gap and she kicked herself internally.

Rolan cleared his throat. “It’s his title and rank, he was a Hellrider.” He pointed it out on the ring and she ran her eyes over it. “The Hellriders protected their lodges with wards, and could only be accessed with ward tokens. This was his.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Elturel?”

“Yes.”

“We had nothing there, even before it fell,” he said.

Tav nodded her head. “So, Baldur’s Gate was always in the plan?”

“An apprenticeship, regardless of where it was, that’s what I was after.”

“Gale says Lorroakan is a well-renowned wizard,” she left out the part where her friend called him a ‘cad.’ They were talking and getting along and she didn’t want to ruin it. “You must be excited.”

“When I get to the gates I'll be excited,” he sighed. “The journey so far has been one disaster after another.”

“We’ll get you there, Rolan.”

He looked at her for a long while. “Another promise, little hero?”

“I know how much you love when I’m gallant,” she smiled.

“That’s the problem with you,” he pointed at her with a smile playing on his lips. “I believe you. I believe you will get me there.”

Tav wasn’t sure what to say. Her face warm and her smile wide as she felt the need to look away from him. She drank the rest of her wine.

“So,” he said, “what’s the promise this time, Tav?”

“Rolan,” she began, “I promise that when we get to Baldur’s Gate, I’ll buy you a new bottle of Arabellan Dry. since you so generously shared yours with me even though I saved your ass from the Shadow Curse. It was rude of me to come to your rescue, and you’re being just so gracious about it.”

He laughed a rich deep sound that made her heart flutter, and the rest of the night her only goal was to get him to laugh again.

Part 2 will be out very soon! Thank you for reading 💜

#rolan fanfic #rolan x tav #rolan x oc #bg3 fanfiction #bg3 fanfic #Olly writes

[bitchyglitterfox]

The Moon Boys Go To Knotts - Moon Boys x GN!Reader

A/N: I don't have DID and am completely basing this fic on how it is portrayed in the show, please let me know if I get anything wrong.

Since I am from SoCal I go to Knotts a lot and during my last trip for my bday at Knotts I got inspired by the ride in the photo. PC: me! I took the picture hehe

Warning: complete fluff and cute date at Knotts, switches and swearing?? Steven being scared and switching mid ride

The four of you decided to head to California for a holiday in September

Marc had heard that knotts was a nice theme park they could visit before they headed to Disneyland.

Since you as well as Marc and Jake loved thrill rides you were excited

Steven on the other hand wasn't much for big rides such as roller coasters but would gladly eat all the food with you and go on the smaller rides with you!

Steven was fronting when you both go to the park, you decided to head over to camp snoopy to go on some rides as the park was almost empty.

You saw Sierra Sidewinder, thinking it would be a nice small ride for Steven since it was in the child area of the park you decide to head on it.

How wrong you were

Sitting in the side facing back you were loaded in

"Love, are you sure this isn't a big ride, you know how I don't like those"

"I'm pretty sure? Why else would it be the first one in the kiddie area" you say grabbing his hand

The ride began going up the incline and before you knew it you were going down the track, unknown to you both this ride spins as it going down the track

"Oh bloody hell" Steven screams just before he switches

"Whooooo hooooo!!"

Marc finishes up the ride with you, both ending with smiles on your faces

You apologize to Steven as soon as you get off and promise to check next time to be sure it won't be too scary.

The rest of the day goes on without a hitch

You and Marc go to the Johnny rockets and drink milkshakes together like two teens

Jake goes on Ghost rider with you because Marc said "a roller coaster made out of wood is a no go for me"

Instead he went on Silver Bullet with you

Steven went on the flying swings with you while holding your hand giggling and saying "look love, I feel like I'm flying"

"Darling you fly every night"

You and the boys took a small break to watch the Native American Hoop dancer

You ate, you drank

The guys showed off their skill and were able to win you a giant stuffed cat

Jake took you on supreme scream

When you made it to the top you regretted your desicion

"FUCK!!!!" you screamed as you dropped

Jake cheered

You and Steven ate and shared the most delicious of foods, him being vegan was no problem as Knotts had vegan food.

For dinner you and the boys went to the chicken resturant outside the park, giant cat stuffie in tow; Marc fronted this time as you had your dinner.

"I had fun today, I hope you guys did as well"

"We had the best time of our lives baby" Marc said while kissing your forehead as you head back to the hotel on property.

That night you snuggled your loving husband's and the new toy they had won. Excited to do it all over the next day and enjoy things you weren't able to during the first day there.

FIN

#marvel #oscar isaac characters #moon boys x reader #moon kinght #moonknight x reader #marvel studios #marvel x reader #marc spector x reader #steven grant x reader #jake lockley x reader #bitchyglitterfox writes

[dapplemoth]

Omg I just found your blog, and your art is amazing!!! I didn’t know that Nightcloud and Mothwing was a ship until now, but cute gremlin Mudkit with his two moms were so adorable that I’m hooked lol. For the hypokits, how about Jayfeather and Poppyfrost?

Thank you so much! I didn't know Nightcloud and Mothwing were a ship either but it was fun writing them in the perspective of a romantic relationship. And Poppyfrost and Jayfeather is an interesting combo! For this to work, a couple things would have to change in canon. But here are the kits!

From Left to Right: Pumpkinkit and Briarkit

First off, Poppyfrost comes to a hard decision and breaks things off with Berrynose instead of remaining mates with him. They try to remain friends to raise their kits together, but it definitely takes some getting used to.

Poppyfrost never forgot what Jayfeather did for her, and would try to grow closer to him as the moons went on. It took a bit for Jay to open up enough with her, but Briarlight's insistence to let her in and Poppyfrost's general kind-heartedness won him over in the end. He, Poppyfrost, and Briarlight became greater friends than they already were, and Jayfeather ends up becoming..a lot kinder and happier than he is in the books. The old Jayfeather is definitely still there and he's still concerned with the prophecy, but Poppyfrost and Briarlight enthusiasm are one of the highlights of his day and help him forget about his problems..if only for a little while. (Disclaimer: He doesn't improve his attitude because Briar and Poppy 'fix him', its his own choice to work on himself in order to be a better friend to them.)

Some minor changes here and there, but it remains mostly the same. There’d probably be subtle hints throughout the text that Poppyfrost was seeing Jayfeather as more than a friend now, but nothing overt. Jayfeather doesn’t develop feelings for Poppyfrost until around...before the Great Battle ends? He’s incredibly ashamed with himself since he still loves Half Moon, but Half Moon shows up and one of his dreams and goes “I died like a century ago, you can move on” and thats that.

He doesn’t actually do anything for awhile since pursuing Poppyfrost would be against the medicine cat code and well..his mom did the same thing. But alas, their relationship just kind of..happened. They were dating without knowing they were dating each other and things only progressed from there. 

When Briarlight passed away it hit them hard, they were a trio and it felt like a piece of them had been ripped away. They comfort each other during this period, and share tongues frequently, discussing the best things about their departed friend. The loss is heavy on their hearts, but it makes them cherish the time they’ve been spending together.

It’s in the Broken Code when the kits are born and hooooo boy is it a development. Poppyfrost’s kits were entirely unexpected for them and of course they were panicked (Jay was also angry at himself, for roping Poppy and his kits into this mess) They both came up with a plan to hide the kits true parentage from the clan. However, Jayfeather told Poppyfrost that he wasn’t going to keep the secret that he was their father from his kits, not wanting to repeat what happened to him and his littermates. Poppyfrost agreed and some time later Briarkit and Pumpkinkit are born.

When Imposterstar starts exiling cats, Jayfeather is kicked out for being half-Windclan AND having kits with Poppyfrost which is revealed to the entire clan for the first time. Likewise, Poppyfrost and even their young kits are exiled along with him. Briarkit and Pumpkinkit hadn’t even been weaned yet, and even some of Imposterstar’s most loyal followers are shocked that he would go so far as to punish the kittens. They survive though, and when Ashfur is killed Jayfeather and Poppyfrost are not only pardoned for their codebreaking, but the medicine cat’s having no mates rule is tossed entirely due to how severe the whole Imposter situation was. Not everyone is happy that they went unpunished but nobody cares what they think; Jayfeather and Poppyfrost can be happy and raise Pumpkinkit and Briarkit in peace.

Pumpkin and Briar’s warrior names will be Pumpkinstem and Briarleaf.

#this has been in my drafts for awhile so if it looks odd that's why #sorry it took so long! #hope you like it #hypokits #jayfeather #poppyfrost #jaypoppy #moth arts #warrior cats #wc

[nompunhere]

Hooooo that took a while- I mean, uh, woah, more art! Started this sort of reference sheet thing like a month ago or so, been working on it very sporadically, and brain kept wanting to add more details and shading so it kinda just kept going and going. but hey, twas fun! and I got some more experimenting in, this time with not actually having proper shading and highlight layers and instead just messing around with the brush opacity

So anyway, it's plant boi. Or Moss!T/iso, as I've been calling him. Sort of just to show how I visualize him, and also what he's been up to since his, uh, revival. tho of course the internal there is from while U/nn was still healing him

And also a bit of a teaser for what should be my next fic! Admittedly, I haven't been working on it as much as I'd like to, with college stuff and also working on the art here. for now, enjoy the snack until I can finish the meal ;) (also click for higher quality, I worked hard on this ;w;) (like seriously the Hunter's hood took hecking ages and for what)

and look below the cut for an extra treat~ (warning for fearplay)

oh gee, wonder what happened to our boi here. merhaps a follow-up to that last image? either way, rip Tiso (he'll be fiiiiiiine)

seriously this was supposed to be a quick bonus sketch but as soon as I started coloring in the face and leaving light around the eyes I was doomed. ....WAIT SHOOT THE LIGHT- okay fixed. the colors really do look way better on my drawing tablet than my laptop screen huh

here is the undarkened version

aaaaaaand lineless. because I went out of my way to make sure it looked good without the lines :>

okay that's actually it now eheh bye

—————————————

DNI NSFW blogs, blogs that post exclusively hard and/or fatal vore, weight gain blogs, mpreg blogs, proshippers, TERFs, ace exclusionists, etc.

#soft vore #safe vore #extreme cuddling #g/t vore #half size vore #hk vore #hk spoilers #fandom vore #vore art #my art #tw bugs #fearplay #yeah that's probably enough

[3mutantsinatrenchcoat]

It takes a village to raise a family part 7

Part 6 , part 8

This amazing au is made by the amazing @angelpuns

This is the continued day from the previous part, we have two more parts to seal this 24 hour long segment and then we will be back to our regularly scheduled dibble dabbles because hooooo boy...this is going hammy ham

We started cooking a few hours before we would be there, he cooked what sides we could find in the cabinets. I started on a pie at the table.

"now don't go burning it this time darling" he looked over his shoulder, stirring the pot.

I glanced over at him, rolling my eyes. His smile lit up the room as we got back to work on our food. "It was only that one time, and I never cooked a pie before"

"uh-uh- there was another!" He grins, waving his spoon around. "You nearly burnt down the house!"

"hey! I'm old! I am nearly in my-...huh..." I looked down at the pastry I was making, I couldn't remember my own age..and it seemed he picked up on it because he burst out in a fit of laughter. "Oh hush!" I turned to look at him as he hunched over. If he was any younger he might have fallen dramatically on the floor.

"shush! Get to cooking we have to get this ready-" I couldn't help but laugh. His laugh was.. infectious. I couldn't have asked for anyone different than him. He is truly the love of my life.

We managed to finish with 2 hours to spare, the food put in bowls and placed in a basket with a cloth to cover them. I turned to look up at my husband only to be met with laughter. "You are covered in flour my dear" he wiped his hand across my face, showing his hand. I couldn't help but laugh and took his hand gently. "My dear, your fur is white..I can't see it" I smiled at him, watching his face shift to embarrassment.

"let's go ahead and head over, I want to see the boys" I pulled away and gathered the basket.

"um...darling, you might want to at least change into something cleaner" he ruffled my fur on the top of my head before planting a kiss down.

Once I got changed we left the house, I rarely got to wear my handmade items but I couldn't resist the lovely red fabric of my hakama, especially when paired to the kimono that my husband had bought for our 20th anniversary.

We talked and joked all the way to Splinter's home. As soon as we reached where he lived I could see one of the boys in the window.

"alright game plan" my husband turned to me. "I'll help finish up dinner and you-"

"I'll deal with the munchkins" I smiled back at him.

We knocked as we went inside, my husband went to the kitchen while I went for the boys. I found them all watching me from the living room. I smiled as I got closer, the smile turning into something sinister the boys all picked up on except for Mikey.

And that's when I struck, I ran and snatched up Mikey "RAAAAA!! THE EVIL WOOD GRASS CLOUD DONNIE HAS RETURNED!!" and with that I ran as all the boys shrieked and scrambled after.

I turned into the hallway, booking it away from little Leo and his wooden sword who was accompanied by Donnie and his trusty stick he found outside. Raph turned into the hall, blocking me in.

"sur-..uh- sure-nder-" Leo struggled before raising his sword "evil monsta!"

I couldn't help but giggle before turning to face them. "Oh you fool!" I tickled Mikey earning a shriek and a laugh, the initial shriek causing the boys to charge giving me an opening to escape around them as Leo and Donnie crashed into each other.

I turned to make sure they were okay before I took off, leading the 3 back into the living room. "Leo get him!" Donnie shouts as Leo pushed past him into the living room, Mikey giggling the entire time. I climbed over the couch and ran across it as the boys tried to run after on both sides. I jumped over the end and ran up the stairs, the three followed. As I ran around the upstairs, raph chased after there was a rather dramatic moment at the top of the stairs.

A wooden sword struck in between Leo's left arm and his side, he let out a dramatic gasp before turning to face Donnie. "Don?.."

"an act of betrayal leon-" there was slight hesitation before Donnie reenacted from a play recently held in the village and pushed him.

"Leo!" I ran and fell on my side with a thump, twisting so mikey wouldn't get hurt and caught Leo before he hit the stairs, holding him above them before I pulled him close to me.

I let out a shakey breath before looking at the boys, all of them wide eyed. Donnie with regret in his. "Hey, hey it's okay- it's okay-" I sat up, setting mikey down before I scooped Donnie onto my lap with Leo, leaning against the stair banister.

"i-i coulda hurt em-!" Donnie had tears building up fast, Leo was starting to cry as well.

"but you didn't, you didn't Donnie, and you realized it's wrong. You are okay, you both are look-" I spoke softly, wiping both of their faces. "Leo isn't hurt, just startled"

The two sniffled and looked at each other. "It's okay, you are okay"

"is everything okay?" My dear rounded the corner out of the kitchen and looked up at us. "Heard a noise-? Sounded bad?'

"it's alright!" I smiled at him "just kids learning the power of betrayal-"

He gave me a scrunches up confused look, smiling still. "Alright, well why don't you all come down for dinner?"

It was like nothing had happened at all, all 4 of them screamed for food and raced down the stairs. My husband went around them and climbed the stairs up to me, holding his hand out to me "darling, would you like to go have dinner with me?"

I couldn't help but laugh at him, taking his hand "are you asking me on a date?"

"it would be the greatest honor" he smiles and pulled me to my feet, escorting us down the stairs and to the table.

We sat down beside each other, the boys wanted to sit together.

"so, what was that noise?" Splinter looked up from his food.

I turned to look at the boys who didn't know how to respond so I spoke up. "The great and terrifying wood grass cloud Donnie corrupted the great and POWERFUL Donatello, but he wasnt strong enough! The brotherly love was too much!"

My husband laughed as I made grand gestures, the kids beaming.

After dinner I took the boys to their beds, splinter and my dear gathered the dirty dishes. Donnie and Leo shared the bed for the night, Mikey joined in as well and of course Raph wasn't going to let anything happen to them so he had to join to. "alright, who wants a bedtime story?" I sat down beside them.

Once the boys fell asleep I went to meet the two, overhearing part of their conversation as I walked into the kitchen.

"we can do what we can for the boys while you are gone, the village will be here you know that-" my husband turned to me, I could feel the unease in the room, it was like a rotted flower blooming and draining.

"...I guess it's about time we talked about this..." He turned to Splinter before looking at me.

Splinter spoke up "I'm going back to fight"

"....what-"

#rise au #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #threewrites #rottmnt rural au #rural au #ruralau #grandpa flint #turtle tots #it takes a village to raise a family

[saintmurd0ck]

OK OK OK SO. ✨ Matt x reluctant vigilante! Reader who’s being blackmailed or otherwise manipulated by the people he’s fighting so he unknowingly ends up fighting his girlfriend and hooooo boy when that comes out??? NOT gonna be pretty

my love! i am so sorry this took so long, but i wanted this to be perfect, and i waited until the right spark of imagination hit me. i really hope you enjoy this, because it took me for a SPIN1!!!!!!! and anyway i love this so much oh my god!! and there are songs to go with this ;) (also this is my first time writing any sort of fight scenes, so i hope they make sense! )

under the light of the moon | f!vigilante reader x matt murdock

summary: matt murdock doesn't know his girlfriend is a vigilante, being blackmailed to take the devil down. he has to fight her, every night, until her guise slips, and he finds out it's her.

warnings: a lot of angst (!!!), heavy violence, blood, allusion to the russian mob (although this story does not follow any timeline)

accompanying songs: natural (imagine dragons), teeth (five seconds of summer)

Matthew Murdock was tired.

Utterly, completely and wholly fatigued; he was worn to the bone, sick of having his ass handed to him, every single night.

All he knew was that she had it out for him.

Like a ghost, she appeared out of nowhere, leaving no trace of her identity, or where she came from. She was undetectable… a whisper, a forgotten secret, simply vanishing into thin air. 

And he wasn’t sure if she’d keep him alive long enough to find out.

.

Slinking across the rooftops of Hell’s Kitchen, Matt flinched as the autumn wind scratched at his face, nipping at the uncovered skin of his jaw. Nostrils flared, he sniffed at the air – ignoring the city’s odours of lost hope and garbage – hoping for anything… anything that’d point him towards her. The flames of his sight roiled like molten lava, his world on fire burning brighter than ever tonight. 

Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he leaped from one rooftop to another, breaking his fall with a roll, grunting at the hard concrete beneath his shoulders. A woman’s giggle broke his concentration as he crouched, pressing his back up against an air-conditioning unit, warm from use. He waited, patiently, for the lovedrunk couple to get lost in each other, wet kissing sounds feathering a muscle in his jaw, as he stalked to the side of the building, hands closing around the rung of a rusted ladder.

Matt’s stomach tightened as he thought of the couple on the roof, his mind turning to you. He’d kissed you goodnight before he left, before donning the red suit of his alter ego, before seeking to find the ghost that haunted him. 

You were his biggest supporter, his best advocate, his healer; selflessly tending to his injuries night-after-night, and even more so as he fought his unending battle with someone barely more than a phantom. Guilt bubbled through his blood at the thought of leaving you at home, peaceful and unassuming, all while knowing this night might well and truly be his last. 

Matt didn’t know where he was going, but as he swallowed his apprehension, he figured the looming spires of Clinton Church in the background was direction enough.

.

Matt made it ten feet before his head snapped back, narrowly avoiding the dagger whistling through the air. Gritting his teeth, he squared his shoulders, chin down and head tilted to the side, listening for any sign of movement. 

He chuckled hoarsely, feeling the displacement of air to his right. “Gotcha.”

Stance off-kilter by the smallest centimetre, the next dagger scratched his cheek, pinning him to the brick wall by the fabric of his neck. Grunting, Matt lifted a hand to yank the blade out, twirling it in his fingers before sending it clattering to the other side of the rooftop, elbow flying up to cover his head as her gloved fist hooked around.

“Why.” he demanded, voice dropping an octave, aiming his kick for her knee.

She buckled, but not before swinging her other leg around, foot connecting with his side. Silence.

Unyielding, Matt brushed it off, dodging a punch. He waited for her next advance, until her fist sailed past his chin before catching her bicep and wrist, throwing her to the ground. 

With every ounce of bodyweight locking her in place, he barked. “Tell me who you are, and what you want.” 

Matt scowled as she merely blinked, showing no emotion even as he dug his knee harder into her hip. This was the closest he’d managed to get to her, so he willed himself to focus, to hone in on any detail, any giveaway that’d answer his questions.

Her heartbeat was steady and unfaltering, even as he surveyed her, tongue flicking out to taste the air. Except for the gap in fabric that revealed her eyes, she was covered from head-to-toe, the material of her skintight suit thin enough to reveal her perspiration. Matt gulped, feeling her stare lock onto his form, burning through his helmet, searing his skin. He furrowed his eyebrows, lips contorting into a frown. Something about her felt so… familiar, and it wasn’t just the fact that he was meeting his match every night. It was something he couldn’t place, from the way she carried herself, to the way he felt her lips move into a half-smirk. 

Matt’s eyes went wide as she saw through his lapse of concentration, at the way his grip slackened. So fast he could barely register, she flipped on her side, kicking Matt off, dusting her suit as she stood in her fighting stance, ready for more.

Cursing under his breath, he rolled towards her, kicking out as he aimed at her hip, but she deflected, grabbing him by the collar and punching him square on the mouth. He spat on the ground, the red a stark contrast against the light concrete. Frustrated, he swung his hands out, hearing the crunch of bone under his knuckles as he broke her nose, hearing her teeth chatter as he landed each blow.

She didn’t care that blood streamed down her face, wetting her mask, the front of her chest. She had a mission; a mission she had to finish.

“I don’t wanna hurt you,” Matt rasped, his kick knocking her on her ass. “Stop making me hurt you.” 

Chest heaving and unable to hold back her panting, she lifted a gloved hand to her eyes, wiping away the sweat that beaded on her lashes. She was wounded, worn out, but still, she didn’t stop. Rising again, her knees wobbly, she put her fists up in front of her face, shaking her head as she beckoned him closer. 

Yelling, Matt ran towards her, hook punch skirting her jaw enough that she lost her balance, but she recovered quicker than he expected, trapping his arm in her hands. Slipping him past her, she grabbed onto his shoulder as she drove her knee up into his stomach, skin crawling at the groan that escaped his lips. 

“Good!” called a voice from behind, heavily accented. “Finish him, and you will be rewarded.”

It’s too early, she thought, her sharp exhale turning into an audible ‘fuck!’ as she loosened her hold, heart thundering in her chest, whipping her head towards the voice. 

It was as if time had frozen for Matt, as he lifted his head towards her, raising a hand to wipe at his bloody mouth. It couldn’t be.

She turned her head back towards him, lunging, but with almost no effort at all, possessed entirely by disbelief, Matt stepped to the side.

He reached out, pulling the flimsy fabric of her mask off her head.

There it was.

What she – No.

What you tried so desperately to hide.

Stuck in place, an unfamiliar sensation bloomed in Matt’s chest, filling his body like a helium balloon, except it was dense; an iron brick dragging him underwater.

The Man Without Fear was scared.

No… he thought. No… it can’t be.

He staggered backwards as your fist collided with his jaw, impact reverberating through his body, splintering deep into his bones. Even though his Devil helmet covered his face, shielding the expression in his eyes, you felt it emanating from him. Heartbreak.

Matt fell to the ground, heaving, reeling over as he looked up at you towering over him, stomach sinking to hell as you curled your fists in front of your face.

You would never forget this moment; his crumpled form under the light of the moon, the way he whispered your name;

A silent prayer, a plea…

And it shattered your heart into a million pieces.

.

“I’m sorry, Matty,” you whispered, eyes glistening as he slumped before you. “I’m so sorry.”

His voice broke, the sound like a knife twisting in your gut. “How could you?”

“Hand him over to us,” announced the voice from before, closer now.

Your breath quickened, catching in your throat as you felt the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. “I promise I’ll explain everything to you. Everything. But please, I need you to do something for me. Just one thing.”

Matt scoffed, turning his head away.

It wasn’t supposed to go this way. Biting back your tears, there was an urgency as you turned around to face the voice, whispering under your breath knowing Matt could hear every word. “Yield. Do not show them any weakness in your voice, in your actions. Just yield. Pretend you’re done fighting. Please. They’re watching.”

You fought a sniffle as you stood strong, eyes blazing ahead. “Is my family safe?” 

Agitation settled over you as a tall man walked over, his blonde hair ghostly white in the moonlight. He approached you with a menacing gaze, the long red scar on the side of his face a warning.

“Is. My. Family. Safe.”

The man curled his lips into a smile. “As promised, if you give us the Devil, they will be safe.”

“He’s right there,” you gritted, “now show me where they are.”

The man’s bodyguards hauled Matt up to his feet, gripping his wrists in an iron vice as you were shown a security feed; a video of your parents, home with your little brother. Your heart stuttered, relief stinging your eyes.

Staring into the man’s hooded blue gaze, you blinked, fingers closing around the cool metal hilt of the dagger sheathed by your thigh.

“Let me say one last thing to him before you take him away,” you pleaded, laying it on as thick as you could.

The man nodded, and you turned to Matt, head tipped forward as he bared his teeth.

“Now.”

Your stare was unmoving as you pounced, slicing your dagger against the man’s throat. He gurgled, betrayal crossing his face, hands clutching at torn skin. Lifting your leg up, you looked into the man’s lifeless eyes as you kicked the middle of his chest, sending him to the ground.

Behind you, Matt grunted as he took the bodyguards out, back pressed to the rooftop as he panted, rolling over to drive his fist into the guard closest to him. Clutching your side, you stumbled over to Matt, reaching a hand towards him.

Fingers closing around your forearm, the both of you staggered as you hoisted him up, holding onto each other for stability.  

You turned towards him, one hand on his waist to steady his balance. Raising a hand to his face, you pried his helmet off, setting it down on the rooftop, running your fingers through his messy hair. You chewed your lip at the sight of him: prominent circles under his eyes, bloodied mouth, cuts and raised welts on his cheekbones.

“I’m so sorry, Matt,” you started, feeling your vision go blurry, “I had no choice. They were going to kill my family.”

He pressed his lips together, eyes unfocused but set on your face.

You continued. “T-they wanted me to kill you. I’ve got no excuse for what I did, but… I convinced them to let me capture you instead. They knew we were together, impossible things about my past. They told me you were getting too close to them, to taking them down, and they blackmailed me.” 

Tears spilled down your cheeks. “I do not expect you to trust me, or to help me, but” – your voice cracked – “they had my family. I couldn’t risk that.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you. I lied so they wouldn’t suspect we were working together… they had eyes on me all the time. T-things didn’t go as planned but… they– they worked out anyway.” You cleared your throat. “I hated every second of it, Matty.” 

Matt’s voice rang out amongst the rooftops, even though the word was barely a whisper. “How?”

“What?”

“How did you get away with this? How could I not sense this?”

You toyed with your fingers, skirting over the bruised knuckles underneath your gloves. “Training.”

Matt’s eyebrows were a hard line. “Training?”

“It’s… complicated, but I changed my scent, my clothing… coloured contacts on my eyes. Anything to obscure who I am. Who I was.” 

He tilted his chin down, sucking his cheeks in.

“I knocked you around as hard as I could so you barely had a moment to listen to me, to my body. So you could focus on healing yourself and not pay attention to where I was hurt.” 

“I hid my suit around the city, praying you wouldn’t sniff it out.”

Matt sniffed. “You took care of me, patched me up. Even though it was you who hurt me.”

“I’m sorry, Matt. Listen to my heartbeat. I’m sorry.”

His expression was forlorn as he tilted his ear towards you, listening, concentrating.

“I understand if you want nothing more to do with–”

“I’m sorry about your family,” he murmured. “They were in danger because of me.”

Rage took a hold of you, bursting through the cracks in your tattered psyche. “No, Matt. No. You are not to be blamed. It was me who hurt you.”

“You didn’t have a choice.”

Matt’s gloved hands were heavy in yours. “It’s not your fault,” you mumbled.

“Then we’ll make sure they’re safe. Watch over them, together.”

You stared at him in disbelief. “Matt, that means leaving Hell’s Kitchen. I can’t ask you to do that.”

“Just because you cut the head off the snake, doesn’t mean two more won’t grow back. They won’t be safe until we take down the whole organisation. And you didn’t ask. I offered.”

You bit your lip, ears ringing. “Okay.”

Matt’s lips twitched into a weak smile, hands gripping yours tighter. “Okay.”

“On one condition,” he wrapped his arm around your waist, walking to the roof stairs, “you’re going to tell me everything, and no more killing.”

Under the light of the moon, as his words tugged at your heartstrings, you looked upwards, the prayer falling from your lips a solemn promise you’d never lie to him again.

You nodded, bracing his cheek. “Okay.”

tagging @enemiesandlovers <3

and others who might like it -- @kittymiaow @pedrito-friskito @erosso @murdocksluvrr @freshabogados @phoebe-danvers @e-dubbc11 @splendiferous-bitch @mindidjarin @nelson-et-murdock @mattmurdockspainkink @dropsofprecipitation @matt-erialgirl @simple-lovebot @itwasthereaminuteago @marvelswh0re @briefcasejuice <3 let me know if this isn't for you and you won't be tagged again!

#daredevil #matt murdock angst #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock fanfic #matt murdock x you #matthew murdock #rhi responds 💌 #matt murdock #saintmurd0ck 200 milestone celebration #rhi's mutuals 💗 #rhi writes 💻 #x reader

[cfcreative]

Tav as a compnion 6,4,2 and 3? Pretty pease?

Thanks for the asks! 💕 Sorry it took a while but I went in-depth on (most of) these…

6. How would the player go about meeting them in Act 1? What is their introduction?

(You know, at first I was wondering why you asked for 6 first, but then I read the prompt—why wasn’t this 1 on the list?)

In the area of the sunlit wetlands, Tav & their current companions would see what appears to be a wounded dog lying on the ground—as Tav gets closer the narrator notes that it is not a dog, but actually a wolf (this happens regardless of if wetlands illusion is up or not). The player can then choose to try to help the wounded animal or back away.

If Tav chooses to back off—either because Shadowheart is in the party and alarmed or because of their own worries—a passive perception check triggers. A pass of this check reveals that behind Tav the wolf is transforming

If Tav chooses to lean in there is a harsh noise and a raven with bright green eyes dives at Tav, startling them away from the wolf and causes them to spin around following the bird, triggering that passive check…

…in both cases the raven then swoops in, and as she hits the ground Korydass' transformation drops. She whips up her staff to cast spike growth between the party and the “Wolf.” The Dragonborn says, without much preamble or explanation “Not a wolf—!” and then a fight starts between what is, in fact, a Shadow Druid and the party. The Shadow Druid is higher level but has already lost quite a few hit points.

After the fight Korydass is examining the body and murmurs something about not understanding why there are shadow druids here, and the player can then say “Would they be after the Grove?”

Kory is a little startled that Tav is still there and still paying attention, and asks “What Grove?"

This is how the party discovers that Kory is a lone druid, and was on the Nautiloid with them. Her thoughts are an absolute cacophony compared to her exterior presentation. She gets growly and snaps “NEVER do that again!” Then immediately seems cowed and murmurs that she’s sorry, that was rude.

(One of the fastest ways to tank Kory’s approval in the game is to prod her mind with the tadpole to figure out what she’s thinking, rather than wheedle it out of her via dialog trees and checks!)

2. Describe their tent setup! What’s on the outside? The inside?

Note: directions are based on if you were looking at the tent straight on!

In general, Kory’s tent is a wooden pergola made out of thick branches held together by living vines, rather than carpenter-crafted beams of wood. There is a herb-drying rack leaned up on the left side of it, and no matter where the crew sets up camp, there is a bed of grass and wildflowers expanding from the interior of the pergola our a short way into the environment. A roughly-hewn log table is on the left side of the entrance. On it is a mortar-and-pestle, an ink bottle and paper, a raven skull, a bundle of flowers, and some herbs (similar to the ones on the drying racks).

Kory’s tent would have a fairly distinct day vs. night difference!

During the daytime you can see closed pods on the vines, and the top of the pergola is open so that sunlight hits the flowers and grass inside the pergola.

At night the vines grow thick over the top of the pergola and the pods on the vines open to reveal gently-glowing blue flowers, and there are fireflies in the grasses and flowers.

3. What would their character quest be titled? Why?

The Dragonborn Druid

It’s obviously very on-the-nose, but so are “The Pale Elf” and “The High Harper,” etc. Etc.

Yes, I am dodging the further implications of that question…

4. What would your Tav’s romance scenes look like? How many would they have?

Deep inhale....

Hooooo boy you, you asked for it.

For reference: Korydass uses Voice 6, to give you the vibes of what she sounds like.

As mentioned in this thread Kory’s first full romance scene would be at or after the tiefling party, largely because she will turn against you and attack you if you kill the tieflings or the druids.

Paraphrasing from the original post: Once you hit the right approval level, every long rest or two Tav would find trinkets (perception highlight) next to their bedroll. If they ask Scratch/Owlbear cub about it they deny placing them. After a couple nights, Tav will catch a crow with vibrant green eyes placing this item there; the bird startles and flies off.

At the tiefling party Kory would present Tav with another gift; if asked about the crow/other gifts Kory becomes flustered. She admits that she’s not used to being around this many people and feels overwhelmed/isn’t sure how to talk to anyone, including Tav. If Tav expresses sympathy and suggests they take a break from the party/their companions (depending on when it triggers), the first romance scene launches.

The Act 1 romance scene largely revolves around Korydass expanding on her inability to to express her feelings more directly:

If Tav makes the mistake of volunteering that they could use the Tadpoles for communication, Korydass refuses [disapproval] and abruptly transforms into a crow and leaves, ending the scene. This will lead to an alternate scene the next evening [!] where Kory explains that while she’s not as fanatical about it as Lae’zel, she is vehemently against the tadpoles, and would rather die than turn into “An invasive parasitic species.” If Tav apologizes and promises not to suggest using the tadpoles, there’s enough of an approval bump to even out the disapproval from the previous scene—the consequence of this being if you later try to make any persuasion roles to get her to use the tadpoles/astral tadpole you get a DEEPER disapproval hit even if you are successful with the persuasion rolls!

If Tav suggests they simply talk about things they like, or declares that there’s no rush and they can just take in the the evening, Kory will be quiet for a bit [the narrator expands on the rhythm of breathing and idle movement of her claws] and then start pointing out constellations. She eventually points at one and trails her claw down from it in a particular direction, opposite of Baldur’s Gate and explains “That’s where my Homewood is,” and then points slightly off from that direction and says “…and that’s where I grew up.”

A very low-level passive insight check notes that she’s hiding some strange feelings about “where she grew up.” Tav can remain silent, ask her about it, or talk about where they grew up. There’s an approval bump for the third option.

Shortly after she’ll note that they should probably get some rest and stand up. When Tav does so she asks “Um, what do people typically do at the end of an evening like this?”

Here Tav can essentially say “walk back together” [the “let her down easy” option] “embrace” or “A good-night kiss wouldn’t go amiss,” [Tav/Kory follow through with the action, and there’s a big smile from both and pan up to the stars/fade to back].

There’s a bonus Act Two Kory romantic scene under very particular conditions: Halsin’s quest cannot be resolved yet, and the party needs to be long resting in the Last Light Inn area. Essentially Tav hears a lot of thumping and investigates—to see Kory is aggressively pulling draws out of bureaus and checking in dressers and grumbles about Inns “always having spare beard oil or horn brushes but never what I need,” and scratching at her horns. There’s a passive perception test here. Failing the perception you can ask her “Do you need help?”/ “What are you looking for?”/ or remain silent.

A success will note that she seems to be trying to pick grit out of between the scale-plates on her horns and neck. There are two unique options here: [Dragonborn]: “Do you need help with scale care?” [Tiefling/Wyll]: “Do you need help with horn care?” if you are neither you can ask her “Is something stuck in there?” Kory will react with a loud “YES!” which visibly startles Tav, and she apologizes.

In all cases she winds up explaining that she’s been incredibly stressed out since you arrived in the Shadowlands because “Something has so deeply wounded nature here.” While she would normally throw herself into a body of water and—she admits this with some embarrassment—scratch up against bushes to get the grit or grime out of her scales, she can’t do that here because of the curse. Tav can then offer up a brush that they have in their pack and help Kory clean up… the scene doesn’t turn spicy because Kory winds up being so soothed/comforted by the assistance she winds up nodding off, and in her embarrassment upon waking, she blurts out at thank you, turns into a cat and darts away.

Act 2 has a spicy romance scene, but it can only trigger AFTER Halsin’s quest is resolved. The romance and her attitude going forward are directly affected by how that is resolved. Success at fixing the curse means Kory still stays soft and kind but is more outspoken and open with her friends. Failure means Kory shifts into a more… feral creature, resenting those around her and becoming territorial. The scene reflects this change by starting with Kory either expressing relief that she can feel the potential for healing return to the land, or Kory declaring that “People broke this place, and they would not, could not heal it. Now it will break them, and they will not heal.”

Feral!Kory’s romantic encounter boils down to her wanting to feel something in this desolation. It is ultimately leading into her Bad Ending.

Korydass otherwise is bubbling, joyful, showing Tav with druidcrafted flowers that nature is already healing, though it’s imperfect as Kethric still lives. She turns to Tav and exclaims, “I’m so happy I could kiss everyone!” Then she looks a little sheepish and says “I will, um, refrain as that’s extremely forward and inappropriate… but I would like to kiss you? And… maybe more?”

[Cue the mood lighting and romantic music]

The Act 3 romantic scene takes a bit more time to get.

When you first encounter Exxvikyap in Gyldro’s shop, there’s a variable event (with the same ultimate outcome). If Kory is with you, Exxvikyap will ask “Oh! Here for the Fayencrux order?” Kory, startled, says no, and Exxvikyap insists that it is ready already, so she should take it [it is a decorative piece of armor with no stats]. If Kory is not in the party, Tav can say “Oh I know a Bronze dragonborn like you,” to which Exxvikyap says “No, no, I’m brass, easy mistake to make! But… bronze dragonborn around here, you must be talking about the Fayencrux clan! I have an order for them but I can’t leave Gyldro alone with the shop… here, can you take to them?”

If Kory is not in the party, and Tav does not mention Bronze dragonborn, as the group is departing, Exxvikyap will bemoan that the Fayencrux order is done and nobody has come to pick it up yet. One of the companions will mentions Kory’s surname is Fayencrux, prompting Exxvikyap to foist off the armor on Tav & company.

At the end a series of events that are not romance-related (Feral!Korydass will break off the relationship with Tav at the conclusion of those), Tav finds Korydass in the Baldur’s gate park, sitting on the grass, basking in the dappled sunlight. The general conversation is about belonging at the conclusion of which Kory says “…you’re my family. You’re my home.”

After a kiss Kory lays her head in Tav’s lap and the camera follows a trail of flowers growing out from where they both sit.

—————

I hope you find that all that interesting Anon!

...And for my own sake I’m going to beg that anyone who wants to ask any of these to send them in separate asks in the future. I DON’T mind if you want to ask about multiple numbers, just send them in one-by-one, I beg you. I wound up spending soooo much time on this and I really would have liked to spaced these out, hahaha. 💕

One further note: I would prefer any depictions of a “feral” Kory are NOT done by others. I have included it as a “Bad Ending” idea to be thematic with the concept of companions in BG3 but I do not enjoy that idea nor would I depict it outside of an ask like this.

#OC: Korydass #Korydass as BG3 Companion #CF Answers! #(More Accurately: CF Rambles!) #my tav #tav lore #bg3 #baulders gate 3 #baldur's gate iii

[sandtastesgreater]

Part 11

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Masterpost

HOOOOO BOY, this took a WHILE to upload. Sorry for ya'll that were waiting LOL. Let's see how late I can get the next one in.

#wandersong #wandersong fanart #audrey redheart #wandersong audrey #wandersong aftermath #wandersong comic #wandersong dream king

[heyitsthatonesmolgay]

🦃🦅🐤

Hooooo boy. Okay. Y'all just love choosing violence, huh? /lh

🦃 a big, meaty quote -

"Come to interrogate me again, Uncle Dearest?" SQ asked, sarcasm dripping from his tongue as he leaned back and crossed his arms. "This isn't an interrogation, SQ," his uncle said, as he always did. He offered SQ a chocolate chip cookie. It was one he had favored the last couple times his uncle had come down. SQ elected to ignore his uncle's offer and picked a snickerdoodle up from the plate. "I don't understand why you don't just give up," SQ spat. His uncle looked hurt, before Constance interjected, "He's using his powers again."

🦅 an angsty quote -

SQ wasn't sure if his powers were growing enough that he could use them without thought, or if his aunt were just truly that irritated with him, but she snapped. "You want to know?! Fine! They care about you. Only you! They never stopped to think about me! They never came back! They promised!" her voice broke. "They promised that we'd stay together, when the fire broke out in that courthouse! Then they were whisked away to some orphanage or another while I was stuck with my mother, who lasted two months before she gave out, and I never saw them again! They don't care about me," she took a deep breath, stretching her neck as she did, and SQ thought it bore an eerie resemblance to his father, "They only care about you."

🐤a mystery quote -

His aunt stared at him with her face impassive for so long that SQ was starting to feel the urge to squirm. Then, she broke into a grin. "Devious," she purred. "You learned something from your old man after all." "Learned a great deal from him," SQ agreed. "Shame that most of it didn't turn out to be useful."

#connie.txt #ask game #mbs fanfic #😇😇😇

[dragonmuse]

So I know there’s cultural expectations of queer people to look a certain way (ie lots of transfems feel pressured to be thin, fat phobia and ableism in the gay male community), do any of the main “cast” (for lack of a better term) feel pressured or insecure?

Yes, they absolutely do. Putting this one under the cut because it got long.

Oluwande almost doesn't continue his drag career over it. He blames dancing etc, but he is acutely aware of how how people respond to him before he says a word. When it seems like just another place to get rejected, he closed it all down. When Jim pushed the subject, he decided he could put up with it just a little longer if he didn't have to face it alone. Jim didn't find out about the extent of it until they were already settled into their act and successful. It's a long hard discussion, but they both come out better for it.

It's also the reason Frenchie, John and Pete have such a strong bond. None of them move effortlessly through the community, but they accepted each other right from the start.

Pete because he is sexually active and spent years going to bars to hook up, experienced way more sexual rejection. He doesn't give up because he's a stubborn man, but it wounds him. In Baby, I'm Amazed, Pete asks Lucius that first time if he finds him attractive in or out of drag because he gets far more interest from guys with a fetish for drag queens then for himself. That does things to a person. He's excellent at bluffing, but it's only when he stopped wearing a wig consistently while in drag, that he accepted himself more.

When we meet John in Someone to Watch Over Me, he has assumed that no object of his affections would ever love him back. Even years later, he almost didn't respond to the library's general call for queens who would be willing to read to children because he thought they would prefer someone that looked entirely different. It took a lot of convincing for him to go and now he loves it and gets a lot of validation from it.

Frenchie has more innate confidence, in general, but a lot of that comes from having to develop a subtle 'Fuck You' attitude as armor. He's more careful than he is insecure, but there were bad days, especially before he figured himself all the way out.

Lucius has a lot of insecurities, but as he famously says in canon 'I've decided to hold myself like I'm cute'. He has his days where he compares himself to 'cuter' men, and feels shitty about himself. Wanting to be absolute dynamite in bed started from a place of compensating for his perceived shortcomings, before he found out he just really loved it and was able to derive tremendous confidence from it.

And Eddy. It's so complicated for her. In some ways like Frenchie, she has strong 'Fuck You' armor, expect hers was reinforced by violence. On top of that they only really came into the gay community at the same time they met the love of their life.

Before that, they were able to get laid just about every time they had an interest to because they were only trying with people fairly close to their inner circle or at least would want to be close to that inner circle. No one was going to make mean passive-aggressive or sarcastic comments to someone who has no issue with extreme violence or sending their horrible lap dog to do a more predictable, but possibly final violence. (There was much debate in the company on which was worse, Eddy delivering her own form of erratic 'justice' on the spot or having Izzy just show up where you live a day later. This is neither here nor there for this ask, but can you just imagine? Yikes).

Eddy's insecurity issues far predate having sex with men, let alone being a part of the community. But hooooo boy, once they are in the there, they are rapidly made aware of some stark issues. The moving target of being femme 'enough' whatever that means comes up more than they would like both internally and externally. Layer that with race and disability and yeah, she has some bad days. After all, Stede isn't unfamiliar with finding her in ensconced in the tub with the lights out.

What makes them all able to push through is strong sense of self. The Revenge staff are a deeply anchored bunch and despite all of the shit that they may have to shovel, none of them are willing to change to become more palatable to the people that make them feel that way.

It's the one thing they all have in common and why they're able to hold together as a unit. Sure Buttons is weird and often off-putting, but he's always going to be Buttons and if you say something shitty to him, you deal with all of them now.

It's also the thing that Stede needed to learn the most and accidentally fell into surrounding himself with. Chameleon pre-Revenge Eddy needed it too.

(Personal note here: I have a deep craving for community and I think that's where almost all of these stories spring from. I sincerely thank all of you that have read all of these stories and get to the end of answers like these, interact or reach out because it makes me feel a part of something.

This has taken me way longer to do than most asks. I've gone back through and fixed and added and adjusted. I'm still not sure I nailed it, but I have to go to sleep at some point.

Let's say if nothing else, they all get by with a little help from their friends. )

#leda house and the kraken verse #ask answered

[100yearoldcomics]

May 21, 1922 Krazy Kat by George Herriman

Wait a minute, Ignatz has a wife? Well, that wrinkles things.

Also: most well-aged sentence of the week this time is, "The House of 'Mouse' will harbor no 'artists.'" Forgive my roasting of Disney, but they took a lot from Herriman, so I'm willing to take a bit back.

Caption: That which comes to every mother, has come to Mrs. "Matilda Mouse", she who is wife to "Ignatz Mouse." [ID: Matilda stands outside her adobe home, weeping into a handkerchief. Beside her, three of her children paint lifelike likenesses of Krazy Kat and Officer Pupp on a brick wall. One stands on a crate to reach high enough to paint Krazy's face. /end] Matilda: Oh, my little "Milton," my little "Marshall," my little "Irving." Oh-h, my little children. The world has called you away from me. And "Momma" has no more babies. Ooh-hooooo.

[ID: Ignatz walks in the front door, greeted by Matilda, still sobbing while she sits in a rocking chair under a painting of a tree. /end] Ignatz: H'lo, "Matilda," where are the children? Matilda: The children, ooh-hooooo. THe children, "Ignatz," have winged their way from babyhood to manhood. Oohooooo. There are no children in this house any more, they who once were children are now men, and those men your sons. Ooyhoooooo...

[ID: Ignatz stands, peeved, beside a fainting couch while Matilda lies on her face, weeping still. /end] Ignatz: Well, they had to grow up sometime, woman. So what's the use of moaning about it? Matilda: My heart is torn within me, grief consumes me, for while I still am a mother, yet am I also without children. Oohooooooooo...

Ignatz: Well, and what kind of business, or trade have they decided to get into? Plumbing, banking or bootlegging!? Or what? Matilda: They are going to be "artists," "Ignatz." Painters of pictures.

[ID: Ignatz jumps up in fright. Matilda sits up, drying her eyes. /end] Ignatz: Artists, hey? Is that so? Waal, let me tell you woman, they ain't!! There'll be no starving artists living in garrets in this family, I'll not have it. Matilda: But artists are so genteel, "Ignatz."

[ID: Ignatz runs off. /end] Ignatz: The house of "Mouse" will harbor no "artists." Not while I have anything to say about it. Y'bet!!!

[ID: Ignatz runs out to his front yard, where he finds his three sons hurling rocks at the images of Krazy and Pupp - they were targets, not portraits. Ignatz is shocked. /end] Marshall: Good shot, "Milton"!! Milton: Atta boy, "Irving"!! Irving: Just like "Poppa" can do. SFX: ZIP ZIP ZIP ZIP, ZOW POW PLOP POP ZUNG

[ID: Ignatz goes back to his wife and comforts her, patting her on the back. /end] Ignatz: S' all right, "Matilda," they're going to be "artists," great "artists"!!! And an honor to the name of "Mouse."

[ID: Krazy Kat and Officer Pupp stand together, watching as Ignatz happily walks past them, whistling to himself. They both look suspicious. /end] Krazy: ? Pupp: ?

[ID: They turn to follow with their eyes as he walks off-panel to the right. /end] Krazy: How heppy he was, eh, "Offissa Pupp"? Pupp: Happy, me foot. That was all bluff. Sheer bluff, & bravado, "Krazy," that's all. I know.

#newspaper comics #vintage #history #1922 #krazy kat #transcript available #1920s #seriously Ignatz has a wife and kids??? #biggest twist of the century

[squishmelo]

for the tea ask thing - chamomile & sugar 🧡

Oh no, these are terribly dull questions for me, i'm sorry!

chamomile:comfort movie?

I honestly don't..have a comfort movie. I'm not the kind of person who wants to rewatch something over and over again. I think the closest I have to a movie I'd always switch to on tv, is The Princess Bride.

I also really love About Time, which isn't comforting at all times, but terribly compelling and touching to me.

sugar:tell me about your first crush

Hooooo boy. Wow. Okay. I was not a crush person. I ..did not have crushes. There were people I found attractive and took notice of, and that was about that.

My first was a guy named Derek, who was I think a sophomore when I was a freshman. (So, 9th grade vs 11th grade) We had Algebra together - which was a class he had decided to retake to get better grades for college admissions. He was also in the same spanish class as me, but one period earlier, so he'd sometimes walk out when I walked in.

I sat in front of him in Algebra, which he was typically pretty quiet in, and very relaxed. He leaned all the way back in his desk and knew all the answers but rarely participated.

I have very few memories of him. We chatted sometimes, had to mark eachothers work a lot because he was the last in the row and we were paired up. He had blonde hair, and a truck. (Which was common. It was south dakota, after all).

The next crush I had was in a video game (duh) on an MMO, on a guy nicknamed Pez. He was a canadian guy a year or two older who was also a bowmaster, and always like 10-20 levels higher than me. His parents were immigrants from Jamaica, and we talked long hours into the night, sometimes the only ones online in our friends lists. Sometimes we trained together when I got higher up in levels, and we'd do the all-level new events that would come out together. We were in the same guild for a while, but it disbanded eventually.

I've included them both because one I saw in person but knew nothing of, the other I never saw besides his avatar, but I spoke to very often.

#this is a post #this is a response #like literally i dont think derek counts as a crush #more a person i took notice of #but w.e.

[amfictheatre]

‘Hooooo boy here we go,’ Isabel thought to herself as she stepped into the comms room. She tried so, so hard to keep her cool when around officer lambert, but oh my FUCKING GOD he was infuriating. Enraging. Aggravating beyond description. He fucked her right off, and even for someone who quite regularly found herself in other peoples beds, she found being around him the most utterly unpleasant experience. So of course, it was only natural that he was her second in command. How the world loved to punish her hubris.

“Sam.” Her voice came out confident and powerful but inside she simply felt exhausted. With a sharp breath, Lambert responded instantly. “Captain! Haven’t I told you before you should never interrupt me while working? Never mind, don’t answer that, we’ll be here for days,” He muttered out the last bit under his breath. “Also, for the record, you’re meant to refer to me as Officer Lambert.”

Isabel rolled her eyes, desperately clinging to her calm façade. “Sure thing, officer. Just came to give you an update on the paperwork regarding the greenhouse. I figured you’d know what to do with it.”

Lambert smirked. “Are you insinuating, captain, that you are unaware of the protocol in this situation? I thought, as the commanding officer of this ship, that you’d be competent enough to realise that any matters involving the greenhouse fall under Dr Selberg, the BIOLOGIST’s jurisdiction.”

Oh that was enough. After a day of having to sit through a four hour meeting with Hui and Fourier where the sexual tension between them was so thick you could spread it on toast (revolting) and then another hour doing maintenance in Selberg’s lab due to Fischer having broken his wrist two weeks ago (honestly being in the same room as the man made her uneasy, let alone him basically breathing down the back of her neck for an HOUR) her patience had been wearing thin, but Sam somehow knew just which buttons to press. His honey-coloured eyes bore into him, his signature look of superiority leaving a taste in her mouth like gravel mixed with piss. She began slowly, quietly. “listen here, Sam. And you better listen close, you stuck-up, self aggrandising pain in my ass, cause you might not have another chance. I am a very very busy, very very stressed out woman, and I am not in the mood to take any of your shit,” it was barely louder than a whisper, but the stress she put on the sibilants betrayed the fact that she was quite ready to throttle him until he blacked out if he made one wrong move.

“Now, Sam, you are going to take these documents. you are going to give them to selberg or whoever they need to be given to. Then you’re not going to even think of bothering me about anything, I repeat any-thing until tomorrow.”

She was honestly shocked when he replied “Of course captain. As you wish.” He averted her gaze. “I will do my best to avoid you for the next thirty-six seconds. Make that thirty five. Thirty fou-“ of course it was too good to be true. Of FUCKING COURSE. She wanted to scream until her ears were bleeding, but she had no time for this shit. “Fuck you” she turned on her heel, attempted to swallow the lump in her throat and slam the door behind her, but she took only two steps and her vision was swallowed by darkness.

__________________________________________

Sorry it’s so late!! I’ve been v tired recently with exams and all that. Anyway enough excuses here’s the next lovebert (lamlace?) chapter I’m going to get a drink I’m parched I wrote this in like less than 20 mins I have no idea what I’m doing

Xoxo amfi (idk that’s just what I’m calling myself on this blog ig it’s pronounced am-fee)

#w359 #wolf 359 #isabel lovelace #w359 spoilers #fanfic #f/m #angst? #angst. #lovelace #samuel lambert #sambert #lovebert? #lamlace? #I’m so bad at ship names honestly #in other news I’m addicted to tomodachi life

[ensrensage]

19, 26, and 38 (also I did eat a food)

Thank you for eating a food

19: Share a snippet from a WIP without giving any context for it. (No context, but because I’m proud of this section-)

Israel’s gut tied itself into knots at the question. It had been early in his career as a pirate, but not theirs, and early in their relationship, the friendship they’d both ruined eventually. Calico Jack had gotten cruel and handsy where he had no right to, and Des had downed him in a display of spectacular violence before Izzy could even step in - as newly minted quartermaster, he had been rather protective in the early days, fresh from deserting the Navy. He recalled in great clarity their bloodied sneer as they threatened Jack’s manhood with a sword stabbed close enough to have been called a miss, recalled the roiling arousal at hearing them growl Next one makes you a eunuch, you fucking cunt— it was the same arousal he’d felt with their boot on his neck the day his ship was captured, watching them look to their captain for word of whether to kill him or render him unconscious. What he also recalled was that Edward -Blackbeard- had made it a point to flog them in front of the crew, and handed Izzy the whip.

Anyway that’s not gonna see the light of day for forever, but it’s the first time I’ve been proud of a wip in a while instead of just wanting to set the whole iPad on fire.

26: What would you describe as OOC?

Hooooo boy you’ve gotten some of my rants about this. For me, I’d describe OOC as actions or behaviors that I’m unable to reconcile as potentialities from a canon character, even if I took them two steps in any other direction from the text. Obviously, everyone has their own headcanons and how they interpret media - I’m a slut for writing self-inserts and refuse to feel cringe about it, for example. This one is weird to answer because I’ve mostly gotten to the point where if I feel something is too out of character for me to suspend disbelief, I give a kudo and hit the back button, so beyond the italic, I really don’t??? Know??? What I would describe as OOC??? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Regardless of what I feel about something coming across as what i feel might be OOC, I keep it in private channels to get it out of my system instead of taking it to the writers.

38: “This never happened” fix-it fics or “this happened but” fix-it fics?

I don’t have a favorite child. You know well that one of my AUs is a “this never happened” fix-it (if we wanna nitpick about it), but I like and can often see the potential for both? It really depends on the media itself and what the circumstances are that swings me one way or the other. Fix-it fics are also a love language lol

#ask game #writing