#• in for a nasty weather — musing !

[azrielsdove]

I had the idea late at night so idk if you don’t want to write that, i understand haha

Reader and azriel are mates and have been for a while, nesta and elain were made and feyre and rhys asked cassian and azriel to look after them. Reader was okay with it but elain showed her a different side then the others, where she is rude and is telling her az will be hers, reader tried to bring it up in private but no one believed her because elain is so nice in front of everyone. Elain starts to sit in readers place and stands next to az, so reader isn’t even going out anymore. Az has a lot of other missions as well and tells reader that he only loves her and elain means nothing to him, maybe elain overheard that. After a mission az gives rhys his reports and then fell asleep on the couch, elain lays down next to him but he is so out that he doesn’t even feel her, reader wants to see after az and sees that, when she is trying to leave, rhys finds her and she shows him everything that happened even the parts where elain was rude, reader then leaves for awhile to get away from everything and azriel just loses it. You could add more angst if you want but i would love for a happy end with az and reader maybe where is is also pregnant?

The Other Woman: Azriel x Reader

Warnings: Angst, Spiraling thoughts

***

Elain Archeron was quickly becoming the bane of your existence.

You understood the she had gone through incomprehensible trauma along with her sister, and you understood why Rhys would appoint Azriel and Cassian to help them. You had no issue allowing your mate to help the poor girl come back to life, accepting her new fate. No, that was not the problem.

The problem was that she was a nasty, two-faced, bitch.

The first time it happened you were completely taken aback, shocked by the words that had come from the otherwise soft-spoken female.

“He’s going to be mine, you know.”

You had stilled your movements, turning slowly to see her peeking out from the library doors. “Excuse me?” You asked, certain you had misunderstood.

She gave a sneering smile. “Azriel. I’m going to make him mine.”

You couldn’t help the laugh that had burst from you. “Okay then,” you said, moving to continue walking. You made a note to bring it up to your mate later, warn him that Elain may have gotten too attached.

Unfortunately the following days had been hectic, Azriel was sent on a dangerous mission for Rhys. You hadn’t gotten a chance to speak to him, and with the state he came back in you had no interest in adding anything else to his plate.

It happened again a few days later.

“Why would he stay with you when i’m here?” She asked, looking you up and down.

You raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m sorry? What are you on about?”

She rolled her eyes. “Azriel, obviously. Why would he need you any longer? I’m certain I can satisfy him miles better than you can.”

“Mhm,” you mused, nodding at her wild claims. “Do you understand the mating bond?”

She made a noise of annoyance, crossing her arms in front of her. “I have a mate, and I can’t stand him. That ‘bond’ means nothing to me.”

“It means something to Az,” you said, staring her down. “What has he done that makes you think he’s interested?”

She gave a pretty smile, smoothing the skirts of her dress. “Feyre has Rhys, Nesta has Cassian. It only makes sense, does it not? Three sisters, three brothers. He’s smart enough to have already figured it out. The only thing standing in our way is you.”

You hummed at her delusions, turning to leave the room. “Have a nice night, Elain,” you said, acting as if she had just been talking about the weather. You refused to give her the satisfaction of upsetting you.

Some nights later you were sitting with Azriel as he caught up with his brothers, lost in thought while you sipped your wine. You heard a faint call of your name, turning to meet the concerned eyes of your husband. “Are you alright, my love?” He asked, scanning you over for anything amiss.

You smiled, shaking your head. “I’m fine, just thinking.”

“You’re thinking pretty hard there. Az was calling your name for ages,” Cassian laughed, but his eyes showed the same concern. You sighed, taking a bigger drink of your wine.

“I’ve just been dealing with something, that’s all,” you said, swirling the liquid in your glass nonchalantly. Azriel watched you closely, trying to read what was wrong.

“You can always tell us,” Rhys offered, tipping his glass your way.

You took a deep breath, looking down at your hands. “Have any of you ever had any issues with Elain?”

Three blank stares met yours.

“I’ll take that as a no, then,” you muttered into your wine.

“What kind of problems?” Azriel pressed, worry in his expression.

“She’s just been, a little….rude to me.”

Silence.

And then loud laughter.

“Elain?” Cassian gasped out, pounding on the table. “Quiet, docile, Elain? Are you sure you aren’t confusing her with Nesta?” You shot him a nasty look, Rhys’ own chuckle drawing your attention to him.

“How has she been rude?” He asked, not hiding the smile on his face.

You looked down at the ground, embarrassment coloring your cheeks. “Maybe i’m just reading into it. I thought she was jealous…that she was into Az.” You regretted even bringing the topic up as Cassian and Rhys broke out in more laughter.

“No way! Elain has a mate, remember? Why would she go after a married male?” You nodded at Cassian, acknowledging his words.

“Yea, i’m sure i’m just misunderstanding,” you mumbled, draining your glass in an instant. You stood, heading for the door.

“Aw now, we didn’t mean anything bad! It’s just such a shock that Elain would be trying to get Az!” Rhys called out behind you, trying to convince you to stay.

You looked back, eyes connecting with Azriel’s. “I’ll be up shortly,” he said, his unspoken words hanging in the air. He was not going to let his brothers get away with laughing at you. You gave him a small smile and continued out to your room, leaving him to deal with them.

***

Elain only grew worse after that. She started openly flirting with Azriel, laughing at anything he said and placing her hand playfully on his arm. He always pulled away from her, moving to stand by your side as a silent “Stop”.

She didn’t care.

Azriel spent the nights trying to convince you that Elain didn’t matter to him, that you were the only one for him. You wanted to believe him, needed to believe him, but the comments she made when no one else could hear were getting to you.

“You’re too ugly for him.”

“Don’t you think he would want someone younger? Are you even able to give him children at your ancient age?”

“I know he wants me. He looks at me when you aren’t paying attention.”

“You’re pathetic, you know. He deserves better. He deserves someone who can stand proudly at his side.”

Her words swam around your head, eating away at you. You were sinking down into yourself, drowning in self-doubt. What if she was right? What if Azriel really did deserve better?

You began spending more time locked away in your room, an attempt to avoid Elain’s nasty comments. You had no desire to see her throw herself at Azriel, and you didn’t think you could handle much more of her taunting. A rational part of you knew that this was ridiculous, your husband would never give her a second look. Another part of you was embarrassed that this young girl was so good at getting into your head, that she had rendered you a shell of yourself. The largest part of you, unfortunately, bought in to all she said and hid away in shame.

Azriel was getting progressively more worried about you.

“My love,” he murmured, stroking his hand through your hair as he held you close. “I have half a mind to tell Rhys to send her somewhere else. Why does she trouble you so?” He couldn’t understand how Elain had torn down his perfect wife, leaving this ghost in her place.

You buried your face farther into his chest, wishing you could just disappear. “I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

He sighed and held you tighter, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “You are the stars in the sky, the warmth of the sun, the cool breeze under my wings. Nothing, and no one, is comparable to you. Especially not Elain Archeron. You are all there is for me, you are my everything. My heart and my soul. She is nothing to me.”

Tears fell from your eyes and his words prompted you to look up, the love shining on his face washing over you. “I know, Az. I know it’s foolish to allow her to make me doubt us.” You ducked your head down, ashamed. “Though sometimes I still wonder if you should’ve been mated to someone more powerful.”

Azriel clicked his tongue at your age-old concern, a conversation the two of you had gone over many times. “You know as well as I do that that’s not true. You were the one cauldron-made for me. We were sworn to each other from the day of our creation. Do not ever forget that.” He slipped a hand under your chin, bringing you back up to look at him. He studied your face like it was a painting, like he needed to memorize everything he saw. His thumb came up and brushed away your tears as he pressed a sweet kiss to your lips. “Elain will never be what you are.” He kissed you again and again, swallowing your fears with his adoration.

Neither of you noticed the form of the female standing outside the slightly open door.

***

Azriel was tired, shuffling through the house after yet another mission. He hated that he had been gone so often recently, especially with the issues you’ve been having with Elain. He was sick with worry over the whole situation, and was growing aggravated with Rhys’ lack of action. Even when Azriel had spoken to his brother himself, the High Lord still struggled to believe his quiet sister-in-law was being so horrible. Az even went to Feyre, who got upset that he would accuse her sister of such things.

He ran a hand over his face, making his way to the library to find you. He was disheartened when he opened the doors and found you weren’t there. He took a seat on one of the leather couches, deciding to just wait for you there. Azriel knew that you often came around this time to browse the books, and he was too tired to continue searching for you. He gave a gentle tug on the bond to alert you that he was home before tipping his head back and closing his eyes.

***

Elain was positively delighted to find the sleeping form of the Shadowsinger. She looked around quickly to make sure no one saw as she gently closed the doors to the library behind her. She wasted no time in curling up next to him on the couch, resting her head in his lap. She slowly dragged his arm over her waist, a wicked smile coming across her face. She knew you would be coming to find him, and what a sight you would see when you did.

***

The second Cassian dropped you at the House of Wind you were practically running through the halls. When you had felt the tug that meant Azriel was back, you demanded Cass bring you home in the middle of lunch. He grumbled about not being done as you packaged the food up for him, pulling him from the little restaurant. You were in much better spirits today, Elain hadn’t approached you in days. When Cass suggested going down to Velaris to eat you had jumped at the opportunity, excited to be in the happy bustle of people who lived there.

You slid to a stop in front of the library, one of his shadows twisting around your legs. “Hello,” you cooed, a smile on your face. The shadow started moving faster, almost as if it were upset. Worry took over your heart then, concern that Azriel had gotten hurt.

You threw open the library doors and stopped dead in your tracks. There, on the couch, was Azriel. Uninjured, asleep.

And curled up on his lap was Elain.

You stood there in pure horror, not noticing Cassian coming up behind you. “What?” He said, taking in the sight in front of you. You didn’t realize you were shaking in rage until he put his hands on your arms, trying to pull you away.

“Get off of me,” you ground out, ripping your arms out of his grasp. Cassian called your name, trying to stop the explosion that was about to happen. Your vision was red, the anger and pain of seeing the two of them cuddled up like lovers too much to handle. “I’m going to kill them.”

“You will not,” came a powerful voice, Rhys stepping in front of you. “My office. Now.” You wanted to spit at his feet and tell him to shove off, but one look at his eyes told you that wouldn’t end well. You huffed, allowing him to lead you away.

Unnoticed on the couch, Elain smiled.

***

“Why would you stop me?” You practically yelled, pacing back and forth in front of Rhys.

“You can’t murder my brother and sister-in-law in their sleep.” He said, as if this was a regular occurrence.

“That filthy bitch,” you swore, turning to face Rhys head on. “I tried to tell you who she truly was, and no one listened.” You glared at him, crossing your arms in front of you.

“Elain has never showed signs of what you spoke of. As horrible as it is, could it be that Azriel was a part of this?” He regretted the words before he was even done saying them.

“Why do you refuse to believe that she could be playing a dirty game behind your back? Behind everyone’s back? I had no reason to make up lies about her, Rhysand,” you spat out, power crackling at your fingertips.

He stood, coming to stand by your side. He pulled your hands into his, looking down at your glowing fingertips. “Show me,” he said, voice hardly above a whisper. You faltered, power fading away. You were embarrassed to let him see how badly she had affected you, but you knew he would not believe you otherwise.

“Okay,” you whispered, looking up into his eyes. You felt the strange sensation of Rhys entering your mind, pulling through all your memories with Elain. He listened to all the nasty things she said when no one else could hear, and felt the pain she caused you. When he was done he looked ashamed of himself, upset that he had brushed you off.

“I-I’m sorry,” he said, pulling his hands from yours. “I should have trusted you.”

You nodded. “Yea, you should have.” Rhys looked at the ground, his hands in his pockets. “I want to go away for a while. Anywhere. I can’t stand to be around her any longer, and I certainly have no interest in speaking to him.” You couldn’t even say your mates name, the hurt cutting too deep in your chest.

“As you wish,” Rhys said, “I’ll meet you on the balcony in an hour.”

***

Azriel woke with a start. Something was very, very wrong. Starting with the female asleep next to him.

He didn’t stop himself from jumping up, nearly knocking her to the floor. Not that he cared. “What are you doing?!” He hissed between his teeth, angry that she would pull a stunt like this.

Elain smiled up at him prettily, stretching as if she had been asleep for hours. “I was just sleeping, Azriel.” He hated the way she spoke his name, as if it were a sensual demand. “Your sweet little mate didn’t come to you, did she?” She fake pouted, tucking a hand under her chin.

Azriel’s eyes flared, his shadows whipping through the room. He stepped closer to her, hauling her to her feet with a strong grip on her arm. “This game you’re playing is done. Speak to me or my wife again, and I will make sure it’s the last thing you do.” He couldn’t bring himself to feel guilty at the fear in her eyes as he strode from the room, searching for you.

***

Rhys had taken you out to the cabin at your request. You wanted to be somewhere alone, but safe. “What should I tell him?” He asked as he headed to leave.

“Tell him to figure out what he wants before it’s too late.” Rhys nodded, looking you over once more. “If you need anything, i’m just a call away,” he quipped, tapping the side of his head before winnowing out of sight.

You sighed, sinking down into the plush sofa in front of the fireplace. You stared into the burning flames for what felt like hours, lost in your own mind. Azriel wouldn’t have lied to you, would he? Your mate has always been an honest male, had always loved you with everything he had. You found it hard to believe that he was messing around with Elain behind your back, regardless of what you saw. You knew how nasty she could be, and wouldn’t put it past her to pull something like this.

At the same time, the image of his arm draped lovingly around her was burned into your brain. You saw it over and over again, how well they complemented each other. The strong, dark Shadowsinger and the quiet, warm Archeron sister. Had the cauldron made a mistake? You couldn’t help but remember her words, ‘three brothers and three sisters.’ You and Azriel were mated decades before she was born, it could be plausible that the cauldron had made a mistake.

Yet the cauldron had also given Elain her own mate. It wouldn’t mess up twice, would it? Unless the cauldron had meant for you and Lucien to be mated, and Elain with Azriel. Perhaps something got crossed over and the pairings were mixed. Could all your years of joy and love with Azriel be wrong? You never felt anything was awry when you were with him, always feeling like you were truly meant to be.

You sighed and wrapped a blanket tight around you, willing it to keep away the lonely cold. You couldn’t imagine a life without Azriel by your side, and you didn’t know what you would do if that’s what he wanted.

***

“Where is she?!” Azriel bellowed through the halls of the House, shadows infiltrating every room and hallway. Rhys and Cass stood in front of him, trying to calm their brother. “I know you know! What kind of a game are you playing, hiding my own mate from me?!” He was angrier than he had ever been, angry at himself, at Elain, at Rhys. How could he have let Elain play him like that?

“I won’t tell you anything until you’ve calmed down,” Rhys stated, power rising to match Azriel’s.

“Calmed down? You expect me to calm down when that witch has been ruining my mates life, and now she’s disappeared and no one will tell me where she went?!” Azriel was seething, pacing angrily in the hall.

“I’d watch how you speak about my sister, Azriel.” He whirled around to see Feyre, eyes cool as she took in his agitated form.

“Your sister is a disgusting, selfish, spoiled brat! Someone tell me where my mate is before I tear this city apart!” He didn’t care that he was yelling at his High Lady, at his High Lord and brother. All he could see was red, and he was half a second away from leaving the House and looking for her on his own.

“Enough, Azriel,” Rhys commanded, bringing attention back to him. “Feyre, unfortunately it does seem true that Elain has been acting…undesirably.” There was a silence for a moment, her eyes widening as he shared the memories you showed him.

“Oh, Az,” she soothed, taking a step closer and reaching a hand out for him.

“Don’t touch me!” He shouted, pulling back from her. “I need to know where she is. I have to explain that what she saw was a dirty trick.” The anger was fading from his voice, despair taking over. What if you didn’t want anything to do with him anymore? He wouldn’t be able to handle losing you over this.

“Az,” Rhys started, voice calm. “She asked to go away. You’re going to have to give her time to process what has happened.” He took a step towards his brother. “I am sorry I didn’t listen before. She showed me her memories, of everything Elain had said. She will be dealt with, I promise you. I should have never let it get this bad.”

Azriel knew it wasn’t entirely his fault, but that didn’t stop him from lashing out. “Yea, you should’ve listened. When has she ever lied to you, Rhysand?” He shook his head. “Let me know if she contacts you,” was the last thing he said before storming off towards your shared room.

***

Some time had passed since you left Velaris, and the loneliness was threatening to overtake you. You had felt some tugs on the bond once Azriel realized you were gone, and had shut him out. You didn’t need him bothering you as you tried to figure out what to do. After pondering for days, you still had no idea what was true or not. You felt like you were losing your grip on reality, that you were sinking down into a pit of your own creation. You’d hardly moved from the couch since you arrived, staring into the endless flames.

A knock at the door startled you, but you no longer had the energy to truly care. You turned your head slowly to see Rhys walk in, eyes full of worry. “Have you moved at all?” He asked, taking in that the food he had left was untouched.

You shrugged.

Rhys came and sat next to you on the couch, looking you over. “He’s losing it without you,” he said softly, unsure what kind of mental state you were in.

Your eyes moved from the fire to him, stare blank. “I think you should come home. Being out here alone isn’t doing you any good. You’re withering away to nothing.”

Good. You’d rather disappear than live with the idea of Azriel and Elain. Rhys seemed to read this on your face, gingerly grabbing one of your hands in his own. “She’s been removed from the House. She’s not allowed out without Feyre or myself with her. She won’t hurt you anymore.”

You blinked. “What does Azriel think?” You asked, voice hoarse from no use.

“Az couldn’t care less about her. He’s worried about you.” There was a pleading in his eyes, begging you to come back with him.

“What if she was supposed to be cauldron-made for him?” Your voice was quiet, broken. You could feel the pain of your words as they hit Rhys, the shame of having ignored your attempts at warning him how Elain truly was.

“She isn’t. Even if you and Azriel were not mates, I have never met two people more suited for each other than you. It is clear that the love you hold is a special thing, something most won’t ever experience.” He tugs your hand closer. “Please. Come home.”

You didn’t know Rhys to lie to you, and your heart longed for Azriel. You couldn’t hide from this forever, regardless of how it turned out. “Okay,” you said, allowing him to pull you to your feet and winnow you back to Velaris.

***

Azriel was waiting when Rhys flew you back to the House, eyes wide as he took in the state of you. When Rhys set you down you immediately stumbled, head light from the lack of eating and sleeping. Azriel caught you before you could hit the ground, an alarmed gaze shooting to Rhys. “We will talk later,” he said, “take her to your room. I’ll send for Madja to check her over soon.”

Azriel nodded his thanks and carried you to your room, tucking you into the bed. You sunk into the familiar smell of him, trying to force the spinning in your head to disappear. “My love,” Azriel murmured, brushing hair out of your face. “What have I done?”

You opened your eyes and took him in. Truthfully, he didn’t look much better than you. There were deep shadows under his eyes, and his face was unusually gaunt. The stress of this situation had clearly taken its toll on the both of you.

“Are you in love with her?” You asked, tears pricking at the back of your eyes.

Azriel looked at you as if you had grown two heads.

“I’m sorry? In love with Elain? In hate with her is more like it.” You couldn’t deny the acid that dripped from his words, the anger the permeated the room.

“I saw you two. Asleep in the library.”

He scoffed. “I fell asleep waiting for you. She took it upon herself to take advantage of the situation.” He looked down at his hands, silver lining his eyes. “I never should have let it go this far.”

You sat up slowly, reaching out for him. Azriel moved quickly, gently laying you back down as he laid beside you. “Easy, my love. Your body is weak.” You hadn’t realized how bad you had gotten during your time at the cabin, suddenly feeling dizzy and sick.

“I’m so sorry, Az. I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t handle it,” you sobbed, not even noticing the tears that had started falling.

“No, no. Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. I should’ve fought harder against her, tried harder to get Rhys to listen.” He cupped your cheek, running his thumb through your tears. You curled into his touch, allowing him to wrap his arms around you and pull you to his chest.

You cried until your head was pounding, Azriel whispering sweet nothings into your ears. “I love you. Only you.” Your tears slowly stopped, until you felt confident enough to look up at him.

“I love you. I shouldn’t have doubted you,” you said, leaning up to kiss him.

A knock sounded at the door. Azriel jumped up to get it, letting Madja into the room. She began checking you over, tsking at the state of you. “I’ll give you something for dehydration, and you’ll need to start introducing food again. Start with soup, and work your way up. I have a sleep aid as well, I recommend you take it promptly.” She ran her hands over your arms and legs, ensuring all your bones were still in good shape. She did the same over your head, shoulders, and chest.

“Your heart sounds good, and your lungs are working well. You were lucky the High Lord came when he did, much more of letting yourself wither away and you’d have a significantly harder recovery ahead of you,” she chided, continuing her check of your body. Her hands swept over your abdomen before she paused, bringing them back up. “Ah,” she murmured, Azriel immediately on guard.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” He asked, gripping your hand a tad too tightly.

Madja shook her head. “No, nothing is wrong.” She looked up at you and cocked her head. “You are a lucky girl, you know. Not many pregnant fae could have refused food and drink for that long and still kept a reasonably healthy body and fetus.”

You stared at her.

She stared back.

Azriel stared at the both of you.

“What?” You finally asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.

She smiled, pressing her hands against your abdomen again. “A baby. Healthy, winged, i’d say 12 or so weeks along?” 12 weeks? You did the math in your head, realizing with a start that around 12 weeks ago Elain started terrorizing you. That shortly after that her words began affecting you worse and worse, that you couldn’t understand why she was able to make you so upset.

Now you knew.

“A baby,” Azriel whispered, looking at you. Madja took that as her cue to leave, placing the medicine on your nightstand and slipping from the room. He pulled you into his arms, inhaling your scent deeply. Sure enough, there it was. A lighter, fresh scent hidden under yours. He must have missed it throughout the recent stress and his back-to-back missions.

“A baby,” you whispered back, more tears threatening to fall. “Our baby.”

You saw tears of his own in Azriel’s eyes as he leaned down to kiss you, whispering “baby” in between each kiss.

The ordeal with Elain behind you, you allowed yourself to slip off into sleep, dreams of your future with Azriel and your child playing in your mind.

***

I’m so sorry this took so long for me to finish! I got into a bit of a writing rut, but I hope this was what you wanted. Thank you so much for your request! <3

[sardonic-the-writer]

𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲

↳ summary: the day that landed your coworker in the hospital, and a car in the side of a building

↳ warnings: some blood, mentions of alcohol, some hurt but everyone turns out okay, and murdoc being murdoc

↳ notes: had a close friend that knows nothing about gorillaz beta read this, and they convinced me to post it. enjoy. reblogs and comments are more than appreciated

↳ song: da funk—daft punk

masterlist | commissions | carrd

Business at Uncle Norm’s Organ Emporium had been steady that day.

You remember it being around three in the afternoon when your shift rounded its end. The busted heater of the store rattled with a wheeze as it desperately tried to stay on, and you reveled in the momentary relief it brought you from the cold weather. Customers shuffled amongst isles lined with various vinyl’s and cd’s, occasionally approaching you at the front desk to ask a question or secure their purchase. Only one or two complained about the mold in the corners of the room this time—an overall win for the day, you mused. 

“‘Ello.”

The small shop filled with a tinkling noise as the glass door to the outside swung open. A burst of cold air came with it, and the customers nearest the entrance bundled up tighter for the moment. You just exchanged a polite look with the newest addition to the store, eager to get off your feet and go home.

Stuart Pot’s green eyes flitted to you for a moment as he offered a small smile to accompany his hello. He took a moment to breathe in the warm air of the shop, no longer disrupted by the draft he had let in, before shedding his coat and starting forward. No doubt preparing himself for the beginning of his shift.

Stuart was a man that seemed to be all legs and no brain. Most people upon meeting him assumed he was stupid, walking all over him until he said something to make them think otherwise about their actions. You yourself wouldn’t have made much of him if he hadn’t struck up a conversation one day. Now, he was one of the only people you talked to on a regular basis. Pretty sad, considering he was just your coworker, but not at all unexpected for having just moved here.

You knew he liked roller skating and wanted to be a storm chaser as a kid. You knew he had a girlfriend that played guitar, and spent his spare time painting. And after one unforgettable day when you decided to bring your lunch in, you now knew his lips ballooned up when he ate pickles.

Stuart really wasn’t a difficult guy to get along with. And while your job wasn’t bad, it was always nice to have something of a friend to complain about it with.

“Afternoon.” You settled for nodding at him as he rounded the corner of the desk, pushing yourself out of the leaning position you had been in to allow him space behind the register. “It’s a real nasty one out there, yeah?”

“Only if yew don’t have a car.” Stuart, who had insisted you call him Stu for the past year now, shrugged. In truth, it wasn’t that he didn’t have a car, just that he didn’t know how to drive it. But that wasn’t anything important you needed to know.

You nodded in agreement as he panned away from you to clock in. At that moment across the store, a customer opened the door Stuart had just come from only to have the wind outside blow it closed right in their face. They took a moment to struggle with it before stumbling outside, looking displeased as they did so.

You made a face.

On a nearby chair hung your own scarf and jacket that you’d brought for the walk home. And while your feet hurt something awful, the thin layers you had brought in preparation of the temperature made you hesitate. Clearly you hadn’t thought long enough about how cold it would get. You sighed in defeat before turning back to Stuart.

“So, how have you been?”

The blue haired man blinked at your form leaning on the counter, no doubt wondering why you weren’t heading out. With a huff of air, you tossed the formalities in favor of a more straightforward conversation.

“It’s freezing out there.” You scrunched up your nose. “I don’t want to walk all the way through town in that just to get to my flat and find out my landlord forgot to fix the heat again. At least here has some warmth.”

“True.” Stuart’s voice cracked in its familiar fashion. Ever a man of few words, he just stood awkwardly, biting at a stray fingernail or two as a nasty habit. Thankfully the silence didn’t linger long before someone shuffled up to purchase a new set of guitar picks.

“Have you heard the new album that we got last week yet?” You mused after he was done ringing the fellow up, pushing yourself off and jumping over the front desk to point at a collection of records. “I thought it was pretty good, and it sounded like one of those underground bands you like to talk about.”

Stuart immediately perked up when you started talking about music; as he always did. It shouldn’t have surprised you, really, to work at a music shop with someone that was passionate about the art form. But with the way Stuart rambled on every now and then you’d think that that’s all he ever thought about.

Nimble fingers picked up the artists cover as Stuart turned it over to the description on the back. When you hadn’t been looking, he’d abandoned his post in favor of the possibility of a new song track, moving surprisingly quiet for someone of his height.

“Homework?” Stuart parroted the title back at you as he read through the track names. “Sounds funny.”

“Lot’s of people think the same thing about you.” You grinned with teeth, unaffected by his suspicion. Stuart just looked at you owlishly, letting a small gap toothed smile show as he caught onto the joke.

“‘S nawt my fault I got an accent.” He placed the album under his arm for later, no doubt going to utilize the employee discount you and him were so generously offered. “If anyfing you’re the weird one.”

You would have responded. In fact, your lips had already opened— ready to rebuke his claim —when a horrible screeching noise stopped you.

The front of the store exploded into a brilliant shower of glass mere seconds later. Shards glittering in the grey light from outside threw themselves at you, covering the skin along your arms and face with a tingly feeling. You barely had time to process a slow trickle of something warm making its way down your face before your body reacted for you. 

A poorly carpeted floor felt the weight of your backside as you fell back, bumping your head on a nearby table in the process. Somewhere a few feet away from you, you heard high pitched groaning that sounded faintly like Stuart’s voice, and a gleeful cackle that incited a splitting headache.

Faint sirens wailed in the background as you wobbly stood to your feet. The sight before you was much different than it had been a few moments ago. Pianos and cases of speakers that you had spent the better part of last week propping up were now in pieces. Some made sparking noises as they lay in disarray. You stared at them as your vision swam, not yet aware of the yelling figures around you or of the  small pool of blood collecting at your feet.

But the biggest change by far you noticed, was the giant car sticking through the front of the shop.

At the wheel was the source of the maniacal laughing. In the three seconds it took to give him a once over, you observed more details about the driver than you could ever want in your life.

He had olive toned skin that was lined with sparse scars. His teeth were yellowed and pointed in an unnatural manner, and his hair fell just about halfway over his eyes; which when he opened them you saw were two different colors. One black, and the other a faded pink. It didn’t take long for his gaze to land on you.

“Oi! Did you bloody see that!” He shouted with glee, apparently ignorant to the chaos he had caused. “Brilliant! Bloody brilliant! Can’t even say I’m sorry about the cuts, love.”

His gravelly tone did nothing to snap your brain out of the haze it was floating in. With a far away look, you stared straight through the driver.

Later you wouldn’t remember the way his eyes widened as you mumbled something with a frown before collapsing forward on the hood of his car, fading into a restless realm of black.

You were fine.

Stuart Pot was fine. 

At least that’s what the tests said. 

Doctor after doctor had come in and out of your room with clipboards before they allowed you to even so much as get up. They’d given up on keeping you off your feet after you rolled out of bed as an act of defiance.

Everything was too white. Hospitals had always felt so artificial to you, so being stuck in one was nothing short of a nuisance. Beeping machines in your ear only proved to aggravate you further, testing your nerves. Thankfully, a nurse was sent in to discharge you, bringing news of only a few cuts they had disinfected, and some minor head trauma that should be okay as long as you kept an eye on it.

Now here you sat, just a few rooms over from the one you had just woken up in, sitting in a visitors chair next to your only friend.

Your only, catatonic, unresponsive friend.

Stuart’s hospital room was busier than yours. There were more machines, more i.v drips, and more nurse visits than yours had. It was to be expected, though. He had gotten hit with the car head on instead of just being near it, unlike you and the other spectators. The only thing keeping your stresses at bay was that his vitals were steady. 

Blue hair splayed itself all around his pillow like a halo as he lay almost peacefully. His chest was moving up and down at an even pace, the gap in his teeth making a whistling noise as he breathed. You would have felt more relieved about it all, if it wasn’t for his eye.

It was fucked. That was the simple way to put it. Completely and utterly fucked. Where a gaze of mossy green had been prior, there was now brilliant bloody red. The entirety of it had been consumed by an inky darkness, making it look like the appendage had just popped right on out of his face. You were unaware if Stuart could see you staring at him from time to time, but you figured if he could, all he would see was pain on your face. Pain, not at his appearance, but at the trauma that was sure to come from it when he woke up.

There had been a third party to visit Stuarts bed not too long ago, sporting sunglasses indoors and black lipstick, and proving to be a very useful distraction for you. You hadn’t recognized her at first until she rushed to Stuart’s bedside, clutching at his hand like it would somehow shock him back awake.

Paula Cracker was just as you remembered her; loud and unabashed. The one time she had come by the shop to pick up Stu on her way home hadn’t been particularly interesting, if the way she barely looked at you before screaming along to her radio said anything. Stuart had to assure you the next day that she didn’t mean any harm. She just wasn’t all for meeting new people. 

You had shaken your head at him and said nothing at the time.

But now, in the hospital, sitting by her boyfriend’s bed, Paula couldn’t seem to stop talking to you. She ran right into conversations like they were open doors, barely leaving any room for you to respond before barreling on. By the time she declared that she had to leave, no matter how much she apparently wished to stay, you had counted a total of ten words that you’d managed to get in. You offered her a short goodbye to match. She didn’t seem to notice.

You settled into a morose silence after that. Nurses stopped coming in, and you stopped waiting for something, anything at all, to happen. It was beginning to set in that Stu had been, to out it bluntly, run over, and wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon.

You had just begun to wonder if you should head home when the door knob to the room rattled, and opened harshly.

“Well this is bloody brilliant.”

The door to the hospital room, which you could have sworn Paula had just walked out of, swung open in a wide berth to reveal the very person that landed you in the hospital.

A quick glance at the clock let you know that Paula had been gone for almost two hours, leaving you to sit by yourself as Stu stayed put. 

“What are you doing here.” Your mouth moved before you could stop it, sentence slipping past your lips in a weak attempt to make sense of this unsettlingly human being.

He looked the very same as he had the last time the two of you met. Just this time with an upside down cross for a necklace, and less blood on his hands. Literally.

The stranger made his way over to you, flopping down in a visitor chair and lighting a cigarette with one very dented lighter. He smiled cruelly at you, showing off a familiar row of teeth. They were as pointed as you remembered.

“Charity.” He tacked on a weird laugh at the end through the stick in his mouth. Two fingers lifted to his lips to remove the cigarette, a thick plume of smoke coming with it. He blew it in your face, and if you hadn’t been so lost in thought, you might have hit him for it.

“You don’t seem the charitable type.” Once again, your words were getting ahead of you. But he didn’t seem to be offended at all. Rather, the man gave a bone chilling laugh that was ended with another drag of his fag.

“Court mandated.” He continued with a smirk.

“They already had you tried?”

“What can I say? The law works fast when it comes to Murdoc Niccals.” He shrugged, once again with that strange laugh of his that accompanied nearly everything he said.

You simply eyed him with a tired sort of caution, drinking in the new information like it could kill you at any second.

“What? Not going to share your name with me?” Murdoc sneered. “It’s only polite.”

“When it comes to you, I have a feeling manners don’t really apply.” You grumbled, but ended up sharing your name all the same. Murdoc nodded slowly in response. You saw his eyes flick you up and down a couple times— something that made you clench a fist —before they found their way over to Stu’s bed.

“Hafta take care of him for ten hours.” He continued to explain without a hint of regret for the individual. “Apparently knocking some scrub in the noggin’ is a crime.”

“I wonder why.” You responded dryly, scratching at the bottom of your right eye without thinking about it.

“Wish I’d hit someone better looking with my car.” Murdoc laughed with a not so subtle look to you. “Wouldn’t mind taking care of ‘em for a few hours.”

“You just crashed a car into the front of a building and nearly killed someone. I don’t think I’d trust you with as much as a dead fish, much less Stuart.” You crinkled your nose. ‘Or me,’ your brain silently added.

“Not much you or I can do ‘bout it now, love.” He took another smoke to punctuate his sentence. It left you with furrowed brows and downturned lips. Murdoc snickered at your expression.

“I mean, it wouldn’t that be hard to watch you.” 

“Didn’t know you were into that.” The man sported a shark’s grin, only dropping it when you made a fake vomiting noise.

“God no. I meant watch you while you take care of Stu. Make sure you don’t do anything to him.” 

“I’m hurt you think I’d do anything unethical to Steve.” He scoffed.

“Stuart.”

“Same thing.” He shrugged. You didn’t bother to correct him.

The two of you delved into an awkward pause that was timed by the ticking of the nearby wall clock. While you were busy thinking about what exactly you had just offered yourself up for, you could tell Murdoc was growing bored. You fell back on bouncing your leg as you analyzed him, the bottom half of your body attempting to get out all of the nervous energy you had been bottling up.

“Well—" Murdoc flicked a bit of ash off the butt of his cigarette, putting it out against the armrest of his chair. “—this was a joy, yeah? Let’s never do it again.”

You couldn’t help but mumble an agreement in his direction. He stood up with a twist of his back, letting out a satisfied sigh as it cracked.

“Guess I’ll see you soon, love.” Murdoc chuckled darkly while heading for the door. One leather clad boot was out the exit before he paused, necklace bouncing against his chest as he turned to look at you.

“Say. You don’t play any instruments, do you?” His eyes held an unreadable emotion.

“Uh, I dabble. Stu is more of the music guy than me.” You responded. “Why?”

But he was already gone, leaving you to wonder if he had never been there. But the ash on the chair next to you and the faint smell of booze in the air told you otherwise.

You let your head fall into the embrace of your hands as you groaned, massaging at your temples in an attempt to quell the pounding in your head.

“What have I gotten myself into.”

[erosmutt]

/ thinkin' bout﹒☆

﹒twilight baseball scene w/ ani﹒⌅

𖦹 accompanied by Supermassive Black Hole ⋆ Muse

his white jeep wrangler was splashed and streaked with mud as he pulled up to the empty field. you wondered how the hell you'd be able to play ball out in this. it wasn't raining (for once, considering you lived in Forks), but it was nasty from the storm that happened the night before. after coming to a stop, you wait patiently.

your door opened and your boyfriend, Anakin, had an excited grin on his face. "come on princess," he reaches over and unclicks your belt, then lifts you out of your seat, placing you on the muddy ground. "it's not that bad, trust me." he slams the door closed, then takes his baseball cap off and places it onto your head before walking off to the trunk.

you look down and step in place a few times, the squish of the mud making you grimace. the sound of metal clinking together was heard as Anakin retrieves the bats and balls out of the trunk, slinging the bag over his shoulder. "lighten up princess!" he says, a heavy hand coming down onto your shoulder, pulling you into him. "it's a good day to play ball."

"you and i have different ideas for a good day to play ball, i think." you mutter, walking with him. he chuckles. "get rid of whatever crawled up your ass, it's gonna be fun babes, i promise."

it was a wonder he wasn't cold in this god awful weather - wearing only a white pinstripe jersey and some jeans, not even an under shirt. mist gathered in tiny pricks on his arms as the two of you made your way to the middle of the field, his jeep fading out of view due to the fog.

once at his desired spot, he drops the bag and takes out a bat and ball, then walks to you. "about time i teach you how to pitch, princess." he smirks, positioning himself behind you and dropping a baseball into your hand. getting a feel for the weight of it, you make a face of disdain. "i don't think i'll ever get good at pitching, Ani."

Anakin just laughs and gives your hip an affectionate pat. "you got this baby." he urges. "just reel your arm back, and chuck."

you follow his instructions, but the ball doesn't go nearly as far as you hoped. he grins, then wraps his arms around you from behind, resting his chin on your head. "no worries princess, you'll get better at it soon." he leans down to press a kiss just below your ear. "mm, right?" he murmurs, lips soft against your skin. "what do i always say?"

leaning back into his touch, you smile a little, closing your eyes. "practice makes perfect." Anakin hums in response. "yeah it does baby, yeah it does." he smiles against your skin, lips moving further down your neck. "so let's get to it."

[leafteaposts]

I need to get some Aus out of my head in hopes I can continue working on my actual fics om writing.

So have the one that distracts me the most at the moment,

Lighthouse!AU

The storyline follows canon but there is no Baratie. No restaurant floating at the sea.

In this au Zeff's trauma of losing his crew, being stuck on a rock with a little feral eggplant and eating his own fucking leg takes a toll. When they are saved he wants to leave all behind but the kid has fixated on him and is, after all the only one that actually understands the horror of almost starving to death and surviving the storm that took all he had left. He can't handle the tempo, the sounds, the teeming life around him anymore, as he has ghosts at every corner and a equally traumatized kid looking at him like he is a saviour, like he is worth something.

They are more co-dependent in this au and when the Marines hear that red leg Zeff might be the man saved with a kid from a rock in the middle of nowhere he flees in the night. Taking Sanji with him.

From there they steal a boat and sets out to sea. They drift for a long time, moving in the night and laying low in the days, Sanji has to steal food and help a still weak Zeff that are equal parts caring and hostile as he still has a nasty infection raging inside due to his self amputated leg.

At the edge of the east blue they find a small island surrounded with jagged cliffs and a wind that never quiets. There stands a lighthouse and they make it their home. They do have a small space that serves as a restaurant /sleeping area/ infirmary when shipwrecked sailors finds them or drift ashore. Mostly smugglers, pirates and other shady people, often in bad conditions and Zeff and Sanji feed them with what they have and steal what they deem reasonable.

Zeff have huge survivors guilt (as does Sanji) Zeff want more for Sanji, for him to leave, to find the all blue, but just can't push him to leave, instead they grow ever more dependent on each other, Sanji's own guilt and issues make him much more quiet, not as aggressive as he doesn't grow up in a rowdy restaurant in his adolescence years. Still anger issues but take the form more introverted.

They have a patch of land they grow vegetables on and have some sheep and goats for wool and milk/meat. (Living quietly on the island when they arrived, no people, the lighthouse seems to be a forgotten blind spot in the sea for most. Having been abandoned for a long time.) Due to their living conditions Sanj is foremost educated in foods that can last long times and harsh weathers, but they still make the best food you ever eaten. This is maybe also why, Sanji muses, why he gets a warm feeling when Zoro (and Luffy) never show any signs of disgust over eating frogs, rats etc. At Skypeia much later, he feels all fuzzy when they all devour the rat stew and he can't stop locking at the swordsman.

Patty and Carne find them as smugglers in need and they keep supplying them and are their only steady visitors. Until a boy with a straw hat crashes the peace and brings change with him.

Nami still steals the Merry but it takes much longer time. They stay longer, and the drama with Don Crieg is still happening, just as Mihawks arrives, etc. They get to know Zeff, Sanji and their small world. After a long time at the lighthouse Nami leave with the Merry and Zeff dares to slowly let Sanji free, pushing him towards his destiny.

This Sanji have longer hair as he can't be as fancy/prissy on the island, have to groom himself/of have Zeff help him. Takes on the role as the care taker a lot as Zeff has serious bouts of depression in periods. Dissociates a lot and compartments his life a lot to handle the loneliness and his own traumas. Wakes up sometimes with Zeffs hands in his hair and the old man humming sea shantys to bring the light back into Sanji's eyes. He dress smart but clear they are poor and lives of the sea and land. He is good at sewing and mending. After Arlong park Nami makes sure Sanji gets a proper suit, heck she makes sure he gets one in each big port. Slowly he can develop his style and image he has inside and we see more of canon Sanju shine through. He is still a lover boy, still heart in his eyes but much more shy. Clashes with Zoro at the regular, bonds with Usopp the most at the start. Usopp and Nami also teach him about the outside world more, giving him books to read and Zoro often asks him to read out loud so he can practice. Sanji takes it as criticism but Zoro loves listening to his voice and also learns himself. Zoro surprises himself with discovering he is secretly a history buff. Zoro also helps Sanji with math as suddenly working with such large quantities and berries is a little daunting in the beginning. This is also one of the reasons they often shop together when restocking the food etc.

A slow, quiet love grows in those moments, often making them feel confused about their feelings as the fights and butting heads doesn't stop. They have different goals and ideologies just as in canon but complement each other and Luffy perfectly.

Phew. Maybe it will now leave me alone?

[lemmetreatya]

Southern Reiner not being used to the cold at all. Every time the temperature drops below 59, he stocks up on milk and bread and salts the driveway and you can't even step outside for a minute without him going "baby, where's your gloves? You're gonna freeze!"

FINALLY GETTING GRACED WITH A SOUTHERN REINER ANON DO YOU KNOW HOW MICH SCREAMING IM DOING RN?! TOP 3 FAVE CONCEPTS OF THIS MAN UFFUFUFF

Okay but big man would genuinely be so concerned for your health and well being due to colder seasons and itd be so amusing seeing him fuss around you (not like he dont do that anyways) but to suddenly see big burly reiner, who usually isn’t fretful of anything, suddenly worried and apprehensive just makes you swoooon with laughter!! 🤭🤭

Rubbing your eyes of sleep, you stand by the front door of your farmhouse to watch your husband frantically shovelling snow salt onto the drive way.

It was much earlier than he was supposed to rise today, considering it was your turn to give all the animals their feed, but he seemed to be up for a different agenda.

With your hands now on your hips, you squeeze your face at him.

“Reiner, what in the world’s you doing out here at fuck-o’clock in the morning?”

Suddenly hearing your voice, Reiner looks up in panic before dropping his shovel and extending his hand out towards you.

“Baby, no! Get back inside!”

“Why?!” You exclaim.

You stick your head out the door further to check your surroundings. If snow was going to fall, it would have done so in the night. However, all that was on the ground was a thin layer of frosty morning dew.

With a flail of his arms, Reiner continues to talk at you from the bottom of the drive way.

“I’m serious, get back in! It’s way too cold for yer to be out at this time, you’ll freeze!”

Deciding to play with him, you briefly close your eyes and take a deep breath of the outside air. The action only makes Reiner panic more.

Once you breathe out a whaft of warm air that creates a steam of white come out of your mouth, you shrug.

“Welp, it don’t feel too cold to me! My lungs are still warm.” You joke.

“Oi, stop that, you’ll catch a nasty bug!” Bundled in his wooly scarf, hat and gloves, Reiner makes a beeline towards you.

To play with him even more, you step outside the door and stand just on the welcome mat. Still in your sleepwear of silk gown, slippers and hair bonnet, you amusingly start to peel off the shoulders to your gown.

“But the weather feels fiiiiine to me!” You coo.

By this point, Reiner knows you were playing with him so when he reaches you, he has a half grumpy, half tired grin on his face.

“You play way too goddamn much.” He grumbles.

Seeing he wasn’t mad, you playfully turn around to shake your ass in his face, but he puts a stop to it by landing a large palmed slap-and-grab to the bouncy flesh.

Inside, now!” He muses.

[shiorimakibawrites]

Stormy Weather (Daredevil fic)

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Reader

Word Count: 726

Summary: It was a dark and stormy night when Matt returns home with a surprising rescue.

Warnings: Referenced missing child, referenced animal abuse, character experiencing mild hypothermia.

Once again, this for Mandy's Sweater Weather Writing Challenge since that prompt list has really inspired the muses. In this case, the prompt is "Get inside, you're all wet."

Tagging @she-likesorchids because this was inspired by her challenge and prompt list as well as @bellaxgiornata since you seem to be having a rough day (week) and it sounded like you needed some fluff.

Stormy Weather

by Shiori_Makiba

You were worried.

Granted you were always a little worried about Matt while he was out. Being Daredevil, after all, was dangerous. But right now you were feeling especially worried.

An hour ago, it had started to rain. No big deal, you had thought. It wasn’t the first time it had rained while Matt was out. It wouldn’t be the last. Besides, it was just a little drizzle and the suit was fairly water resistant.

It hadn’t stayed a drizzle for long. It had grown and grown until it was storm. A bad one. Rain was pounding down on the roof like a drum while the howling wind rattled the windows. Lightning raced across the skies, chased by deafening roars of thunder. So far the power has holding it but it had flickered more than once.

And Matt still wasn’t home. He had never stayed out in weather like this for so long. It was too dangerous. He had told you once that big thunderstorms didn’t play well with his senses. So why wasn’t he home?

You paced and fretted as scenario after scenario played across your mind, each one each worse than the last.

The storm was so loud that it took you a minute to realize that thumping sound you were hearing wasn’t part of it. Once you did, you also realized where it was coming from. The roof access door.

You raced up the stairs. And discovered that the door got stuck when it was this wet. It took considerable amount of force and a lot of swearing to get it unstuck. And standing there in the pouring rain was Matt, his arms filled . . .

“Are those kittens?” you asked, shocked.

“Yes,” he said. While part of you wanted to know what he was doing with an armload of kittens, the rest of your mind had more pressing concerns. Like the fact that he looked thoroughly soaked and was probably freezing.

“Get inside, you’re all wet,” you said, moving to the side so he could get by. Which he did, immediately heading down the stairs and toward the bathroom. You followed, trying to avoid stepping in the puddles of water he left his wake with your sock-clad feet.

Through he was shivering and his teeth were chattering, Matt was more concerned with the kittens’ welfare than his own. Which didn’t surprise you at all. Deep inside the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen was made out of marshmallow fluff. And in fairness to Matt, their little meows were rather heartbreaking.

Only your promise to tend to the kittens got Matt to start removing his wet suit in favor of warm, dry clothes. While he did, he explained how he had found them. When the weather had turned nasty, he had started to head home but heard a set of parents frantically calling for their son, a toddler who had somehow managed to get himself out of their apartment. Matt had found the little boy hiding behind a dumpster. Who, at first, was too frightened of the storm to come out but eventually Matt managed to coax him out and get him back to his parents, cold and wet but otherwise unharmed.

Given the lightning, Matt had opted to make most of the trip home on the ground. And in alley not far from his apartment, he found the kittens. Who had been literally thrown away in the dumpster. Normally he would take them to the one of the shelters or vet clinics he knew was open at night but given the weather, he opted to take them home instead. You knew the rest.

Half an hour later found you and Matt were curled up on the couch under a blanket, sipping apple cider while the five kittens slept in a nest of blankets and your heating pad on the coffee table. In the morning, you would take the kittens to the shelter or contact your friend who did cat fostering to see if she knew anyone who could take them.

You tried to feel disappointed about that. It was hard. They were so cute and so small, it was hard not to fall in love with them. But there was no way Matt would agree to keep five cats . . .

But surely you could talk him into one . . .

End Note

In the US, apple cider usually means the non-alcoholic version and is called hard cider when its not. In this case, served warm and sweetened with honey to help Matty recover from his mild hypothermia.

It is not recommended to give alcohol or caffeine to someone with hypothermia.

[kemendin]

OC Questionnaire

Tagged by @sweetearthandnorthernsky, thanks!

Gonna answer these for BG3 Dhamari:

1 - Does OC have recurring themes in their nightmares? Why? Are they aware of the 'why'?

This is such opportune timing on this because I was just musing over Dhamari’s nightmare situation the other day!

Does ‘trauma’ count as a theme? Cos he’s got a lot of that - mostly unacknowledged - from his life in the Underdark/drow society. But there’s an added twist now, which was unintentional on my part until I decided to just run with it - he also has prophetic dreams. The most concrete example is from my fic, where among other things he dreams about what it might be like if Gale were to use the orb and blow himself up.

The catch is, Dhamari only dreams of possibilities, of potential futures, nothing definite. And these potentials are usually so tangled up with events from his past or just random brain imagery, that Dhamari doesn’t recognise them for what they are. Occasionally, something will happen and then he’ll remember he dreamt of it weeks or months back, and he’ll sort of squint internally and then go ‘nahhh coincidence’ and carry on without dwelling on it. He’s not much of an overthinker xD

I haven’t yet decided if this is an effect of being tadpole’d, or if it’s more of a general Dhamari thing. But either way I like the idea of him having these bare glimpses of the future and not being aware enough to do anything about it :3

2 - If your OC was to overhear their name in a conversation; what would they assume the conversation is about? Why? Is this assumption accurate?

I don’t think Dhamari would pay much attention honestly. If it’s anyone in the majority of the party, especially early on in the game, he’d likely assume it was something negative about him, given his normal demeanour and behaviour (unfriendly, and he’s well aware of it).

Later, if the speaker is someone whose opinion he actually cares about - Gale, of course, or perhaps Wyll or Jaheira - he’d actually make a point of closing his ears to the conversation, because overall he’d still assume it was something negative about him and he’d rather not hear it. His faith in someone else’s good opinion remains extremely fragile for quite a while, and when he finds it, he’s fearful of having it tarnished. But hey, Dhamari, you should listen in more often - you’ll hear a lot more good about yourself than you expect.

3 - There’s a spider, cockroach, silverfish, or some other nasty bug in your OC’s house/room/apartment/etc.! How do they deal with it? Do they squish it? Capture it to release it outside? Scream and run for the hills? Leave it? Something else entirely?

Growing up in drow society means it’s still deeply ingrained in Dhamari to not harm spiders. If one of the larger varieties attacks him, his survival takes precedence, but if it’s just a little one creeping around, he’ll ignore it. Other bugs and pests he’ll squish freely without a second thought, he’s not squeamish at all about that.

My questions!

1. What is your OC’s preferred/favourite environment? Bustling or serene, filled with people or totally alone? Do they like being out in nature or surrounded by technology etc? Do they have a favourite climate/weather type?

2. What’s something your OC is often conflicted about? A choice they made, their place or purpose in the world, a relationship they have with someone, etc? How does this conflict manifest, and how do they deal with it, if at all?

3. Does your OC have an object that’s particularly important to them? Why is it special? Do they carry it with them, or if not, where do they keep it? How would they react if it were lost/stolen/destroyed?

And I shall tag: @saephrond @jacksothereye @parseolegacy @certified-anakinfucker @pentacass @skullinacowboyhat @tiredassmage

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep7 Musings - RIP Claudeleine

Here we effing go, y'all. 🤧

The coven tortured them b4 the were put on trial--W T F 😱

Yep, in the rat box--what practical PURPOSE or POINT was there to put Claudia in there to get gnawed on by feral rats, other than sick sadistic viciousness? We know Celeste & Estelle used the Mind Gift on Roget--you mean they could'n't've done that to Claudia like Santiago did on Madz? You HAD to stuff her in there? EVIL.

Daaaaang, they used a wombo-combo Mind Gift to tell her to STFU; her effing nose is bleeding!

"In all their chilling premeditation"--yep, this is why criminals should never leave diaries or use social media! 😅🤦‍♀️ And omfg they let the audience read her diaries, I can't. 🫣 And the Baby LouLou fangirls aren't in the front row this time; effing fair-weather fans! 😒

GOD the coven frikkin hamstrung them, too!? 😱 To the BONE!

"Evil of my evil," SAY IT. Claudia laughing like she finna dance in his innards. "It moved Claudia, right up on her [HAMSTRUNG] feet," I was AGHAST. If y'all don't step TF back and give my daughter room to tear his a-hole wide open!

I love how AMC changed Ghost!Claudia's legacy, cuz the diaries were all Lou had, which implied that Claudia died "hating his guts," as Daniel said in 1x7. But by regaining his memories of the Trial, AMC!Lou gets to see that Claudia actually went out DEFENDING him. The one she REALLY had beef with was Lestat. Ofc she resented Lou, but most of all she loved her Daddy Lou, and was traumatized seeing him broken like an EGG from an airplane that SHE tried her darndest to piece back together. And Lestat can't say EFF ALL, cuz he already admitted that he broke him to hurt him.

EXAAAAAAACTLYYYYYYYYY! 🗣️🗣️🗣️

(Girl we all know you ain't sorry, lol. But PREACH!)

SPITE! 😫 Lestat was being SPITEFUL. Yes, this IS his big revenge; he DGAF about Claudia, he came there for Louis, YES! Did he expect Claudia to die? No, he EXPECTED Armand to get TF up and save ALL of them. But he DID go in there ready and willing to throw Claudia under the bus to get Louis out of there.

Claudia called herself "just a roof shingle" that flew off Loustat's townhouse, as she shuffles her way back to her seat. Chile, this whole audience us dumb as a pile of bricks to not notice that she's LITERALLY hamstrung. The unbelievable pain she must be in, omg.

FACTS! 😫👏

"Took the air out of the place with that one" EMMYS WHEN 😫 "Got a lot less fun real quick" EMMYS WHENNNNNN 😫

("'RHIIISE!" Santiago's campy accents & pronunciations STAHP.) WHY ON EARTH would anyone wanna join this nasty AF coven after seeing the hypocritical effed up way y'all treat people!? Y'all shoulda just kept her hypnotized and made her say yes, which proves that y'all really didn't care if Madz joined or died anyway! She was just collateral; and I guarantee if she'd joined they'd've used her in their actual mock trial plays, making her relive her shame the same way they did with Baby LouLou.

I get that Claudia shook her head, only wanting Madz to join so she'd stay alive, but I'm with Madz--they'd've killed her for some bogus reason sooner or later. Might as well die with her companion.

😭 MY COVEN IS CLAUDIA, TOO! 😭 Claudia finally feeling like someone in the world picked her first. 😭

STFU Santiago. 😡

STFU Lestat. 😡 (I had to make a separate post for this, cuz it's both ironic AF but also wildly in-character that Lestat of all people would mock Madeleine for doing this.)

Flip them all off, yaaas! 🤬🤬🤬🤬

I was on the edge of my seat; I knew my BAMF daughter was gonna do or say SOMETHING crazy. 👀

My daughter said "Until you do right by me everything you THINK about gonna fail!" 😤 Armand said moment of defiance; PLEASE! ALL HER LIFE SHE HAD TO FIGHT!

Rest in power, Claudia! ❤️👸🏼👸🏽👸🏾❤️

My life every time a new IWTV episode airs.

That's the same flute dude AND SONG playing when Armand set that Children of Darkness/Satan vampire on fire. Execution dirge WTF 😭

The ultimate gaslight.

Not Claudia embracing Madz as she singing that effing song take me out back and end it. 💔

Look at Lestat's bish arse standing back there watching while HIS BLOOD DAUGHTER burns to ash--Mr. I Could Not Prevent It #2! The last thing she saw on earth was her deadbeat father not doing a effing thing to help her--

--but Louis leapt through FIRE and a whole burning building to save his daughter; a girl he didn't even KNOW, and already loved unconditionally! Blood ain't thicker than water, eff what ya heard! 😤

EXCUSE ME!? 😱 Santiago I hate you so much, wow.

"Tweedley deedly dead" written on the mirror in Claudia's (or Santiago's?) booth at the Theatre; you can see her yellow dress in the corner too; omg this coven is nasty. That BETTER NOT BE her ashes.

We been expected this my guy; the movie's like 30 years old and the book's 50+, be serious. But y'all did an AMAZING adaptation; adding in things I definitely didn't expect, like Claudia singing the song. 😭👌

Claudia's the GOAT. 🐐

[andiwriteordie]

Byler camping under the stars or pinic date

OH I LOVE BOTH OF THESE PROMPTS YOU HAVE NOOOO IDEA

it's pouring rain where i live, so here you go. a little byler picnic date ficlet <3

—

drop everything now (meet me in the pouring rain)

The weather is supposed to be bad today.

“Bud, you sure you want to go for this picnic today?” Hopper had asked, gracious enough to interrupt his early morning coffee and contemplation to gesture to the weather channel playing on their family’s television. 

“Everyone, grab your raincoats!” the meterologist on the TV had declared in a tone far too cheerful for a person about to ruin Will’s entire day. “Today, we’re looking at a seventy-seven percent chance of rain. Those storm clouds will be rolling in right around noon today, and they are here to stay for the next couple days at least…”

“Might want to reschedule your date,” the grocery store clerk had suggested in response to Will’s offhand comment that his groceries—the entire list of ‘romantic’ foods that he’d compiled based on suggestions from Jonathan, Lucas, and Dustin, plus a handful of Mike’s favorite snacks—were for a picnic date. “Weather’s supposed to get real nasty today. Your girlfriend might not appreciate getting soaking wet.” 

Good thing I don’t have a girlfriend, Will had wanted to say, but instead, he’d just smiled politely, paid for his stuff, and high-tailed it back home to pack the picnic basket El had so graciously let him borrow for this date.

As it turns out, it’s a really good thing Will doesn’t have high-maintenance, afraid of rainwater girlfriend like the poor grocery store clerk had assumed because… well… you see… 

It’s pouring rain.

The weather is, in fact, very bad today, and even though the rain had held off for the better part of the day—the meterologist’s forecast calling for showers at noon, then at one, then at two—the rain is finally here with a vengeance unlike anything Will has ever known. It’s as if the heavens just decided to open up right above them, completely out of the blue, just to mess with Will.

“Oh, come on!” Will yelps, and both he and Mike sit up quickly, untangling their limbs from one another and covering their heads with their hoodies, as if that might help keep them dry. “Are you kidding?” 

Mike just laughs. He seems calm and completely unphased by the sudden interruption to their date, and honestly, it’s a little bit surprising. Between the two of them, Mike has always been the one to make the plans—and the one to become grumpy when something throws a wrench in those plans. Will, on the other hand, has always been a little more go with the flow—content to just be with Mike, in any and every circumstance. 

And that’s exactly why Will had wanted to plan this date for their six-month anniversary.

Six months isn’t all that important in the grand scheme of things, and both of them know it. But when you’re eighteen years old and have survived countless near death experiences, including an interdimensional war against different monsters capable of getting inside your head and also ripping you to pieces, you learn to celebrate the little things. 

Six months is a long time to get to be with someone, and Will knows, without a doubt in his mind, that these have been the best six months of his life. He’s never been happier than he is with Mike, and these six months have felt like the beginning of an entire new chapter of their lives that they get to figure out together.

Feels a bit like cosmic irony that the universe would decide to rain on their parade today.

“My mom did say it was gonna rain today,” Mike muses, reaching for the plate of strawberries the two of them had been munching on and carefully pulling the saran wrap back over them. He seems entirely unbothered by the fact that the rain keeps falling, harder and harder as more storm clouds roll in. “I told her we were going on a picnic today, and she asked if that was a good idea. She didn’t seem to think it was.”

Will pauses, hands clenched around one of the bags of chips they’d gotten out, and he glances over at his boyfriend hesitantly. “What’d you tell her?” he asks, unsure if he actually wants to hear the response.

Above them, thunder rumbles in the distance, and seriously, where did the thunder even come from? Jesus, the universe hates Will. It’s official. That’s the only explanation for this.

Mike’s quiet for just a brief moment, before the sound of his laughter mixes in with the rolling thunder. “I told her I didn’t care,” he says with a nonchalant shrug. “And that I just wanted to spend the day with you.” 

Despite the fact that this—the two of them and their relationship—isn’t exactly new, warmth rushes to Will’s cheeks. His hands unclench, and the bag of chips unfurls again, before dropping onto their now sopping wet picnic blanket. Will looks up, meeting his boyfriend’s eyes, and he finds in them an oh so familiar softness characteristic of Mike Wheeler. 

The rain continues to pour above them, soaking them both to the bone. It’s cold, and the wind is picking up, and there’s thunder, and Mike Wheeler is right here, dark hair plastered to his forehead, a tenderness in his eyes, and the sweetest smile on his face. 

And God, Will loves him. 

“Come here,” Will breathes, and he doesn’t give Mike a chance to react before he reaches for his boyfriend’s hand and pulls him to his feet. The two of them are clumsy on the way up, stumbling over the rain-soaked plates and bags and food, but neither one of them cares—or at least Will doesn’t think they do.

“Okay, okay,” laughs Mike, allowing Will to pull him away from the blanket and into the grass. Already, the ground is quickly becoming muddy, clinging to the bottom of their sneakers, but Mike pays no attention. Instead, he keeps his gaze on Will, holding onto his hands tightly and smiling, expectant and waiting. “What are we doing now?”

“Improvising,” Will whispers, moving one hand down to Mike’s waist and pulling him close. “Dance with me?”

And there it is again—the Mike Wheeler look, the one that still gives Will butterflies to this day. The one where he looks at Will as if Will is somehow his entire world and the one that says I love you in a million different ways without having to say it at all. Will doesn’t think he’s ever going to get tired of seeing that look on Mike’s face. 

The smile on Mike’s face grows, and he holds Will’s hand, placing his other hand on Will’s bicep and leaning close. “You want to dance with me,” he says, slowly and a bit skeptically, “in the pouring rain?”

“Maaaaybe.” Will smiles innocently, standing on his tiptoes and giving him a sweet kiss. “Only if you want to though.”

Thunder rumbles overhead, but it barely registers over the sound of Mike’s soft laughter against their kiss. “Of course, I do,” he breathes and kisses Will again, soft and slow. 

And so, that’s how the two of them end up caught in the middle of a spring rainstorm, their blanket and picnic basket full of food long forgotten in favor of a slow dance made just for them. Their only music is the sound of the rain pattering, the thunder rolling, and the wind whistling in their ears. And though the rain is cold as it falls from the sky, causing thousands of little goosebumps to form on Will’s arms, here with Mike, he finds nothing but pure warmth. 

The rest of the world disappears as the two of them dance together, careful steps taken through the muddy grass. Mike leans down, pressing his forehead against Will’s own, and he runs little circles into Will’s bicep—a careful, calming motion. Neither one of them says a word, but Will doesn’t think they have to. 

The two of them have never really needed words to say what they’re thinking, after all. Will knows, from the simple way that Mike presses a kiss against his forehead or the way that he pulls Will closer to himself until their bodies are flush against each other, that Mike loves him. And in the same way, Will knows that Mike understands, in the way that Will rests his head against Mike’s shoulder and the way he keeps his hand pressed, gentle but protective, against the small of his back, that Will loves him too.

There’s no place in the world Will would rather be in this moment.

“Sorry the rain ruined our picnic,” Mike murmurs, and he pulls away, just enough for the two of them to meet eyes. “I know you worked hard on this.” 

Will just laughs, glancing up at the sky as it continues to drop buckets and buckets of rain on them. “Should’ve known the universe would wreck our plans,” he muses. “I wouldn’t say our picnic was ruined though.”

A teasing smile forms on Mike’s face, and he leans forward, kissing Will’s forehead again. “The water-logged chocolate strawberries would probably beg to differ,” he points out. 

“Good thing I don’t care about their opinion,” quips Will and smiles back, tilting his head up to kiss Mike sweetly. “Just yours.”

“Lucky me,” Mike murmurs. He goes quiet after this and closes his eyes, content to just sway back and forth, back and forth with Will in the rain, but finally, after a few moments, he opens his eyes once more and looks down at Will. “Thanks for this… I had a lot of fun today.”

“Of course,” Will whispers back, and the two of them share a smile. Above them the rain continues to fall, soaking both of them to the bone, and as Mike rests his forehead against Will’s own, Will can’t help but just feel happy. 

I love you, he thinks to himself. He doesn’t say it aloud, but somehow, Mike gets it anyway. The smile on his face grows, full of that familiar softness, and he reaches one hand up, cupping Will’s face gently. 

I love you too, Mike seems to say as he runs his thumb across Will’s cheek. It’s together that the two of them move, like puzzle pieces slotting into place, and when Mike kisses him, it feels like pure electricity, still just as exhilarating as the very first time the two of them kissed, sparks flying and lighting up both their worlds unlike anything either one of them has ever known.

And Will knows, deep in his heart, that there’s no place either of them would rather be.

[guild-snail]

UNUSUAL MUSE ASSOCIATIONS

Seasoning: Croutons in soup

Weather: Overcast, sun peaking through tiny gaps in the clouds, fleeting

Colour: Red duh

Sky: Its up there somewhere

Magical Power: Spiteful Stubbornness

Plant: Amaranth

Weapon: Gun

Subject: Engineering

Social Media: Gossip, hushed whispers, rumors and word of mouth, social but only to revel in hearing the nasty little tidbits that makes him feel better about his life (im 100% sure some asuran somewhere has invented txwitter, Vino would be on twxixxter)

Makeup Product: 12 step skincare routine, thoughts and prayers

Candy: Red licorice

Fear: The crushing weight of other peoples perceptions and expectations, living up to an ideal version of yourself that you project for others to see, spicy imposter syndrome and the horror of being known(tm) while still craving praise and validation

Ice Cube Shape: Diamonds

Method of Long Distance Travel: Airship, anything fast, no time for dawdling and if you have the cash why not use it

Piece of Stationery: Mechanical Pencil with way too many alternate parts

Three Emojis: 🍝💣🔥

Celestial Body: The Sun

I just wanted to do it too lmao <w < I tag everyone else thats staring at this post with ocs, go on, do the meme

[offworldlamb-writes]

Chapter 2 of my Stardew Valley Fanfic, now called "The View From The Farm". Find it here on ao3.

Chapter 1.

---

He could forget how quickly the weather changed when he was working in his room. Through the kitchen window it often looked exactly the same, either sunny or cloudy, and if he went out he didn't pay all that much attention to the actual temperature. So his first real indication that Spring was in full swing was when his mum burst into the room with a covered hanger that filled him with cold dread, holding his head in his hands with a groan as she laid it over the arm of the couch.

"Come on Sebby, don't be like that!" she tried to laugh off, pulling the sky blue suit into view once the cover was unzipped. "It'll be nice for you to go out and see everyone! Plenty of people have been asking after you-- you really need to get out of the house more."

Apparently his agonised sneer at the suit wasn't enough of a hint, and he groaned softly as he turned his seat more towards Robin instead. "I really, really don't want to do this, mum..." Just looking at it brought cold bile to his stomach, but Robin only tutted as she went to the cupboard and started rummaging through his shoes, despite him asking her not to.

"A few hours outside in the sun won't kill you, Seb," she said with another laugh, and muttered about all the clutter in the cuboard before pulling out three different pairs of shoes. "Abigail is going, and I'm sure Sam is too. Come on, it'll be fun."

Getting up from his seat he had to pull the shoes from her hand before she listened to him properly, but then came the doe-eyed look that beat him into submission every time she asked him for something. "Please, Sebastian. I don't want to be there with everyone and see you're the only one not taking part. It'll mean so much...!"

Not being there meant not dealing with the entire village in one go but he knew, even with the horrible twisting feeling in his gut, that skipping it would be worse for him in the long run. Sam would never let him hear the end of it, and if Abigail went and he didn't she'd give him hell... and that wasn't even going into how his mum would be for the next few days. Her face lit up the moment he uttered that defeated sigh and she threw her arms around him for a quick hug, before taking the trainers back from him and shaking her head with a tutt. "These won't do at all. I'll see if Demetrius has a pair that'll fit you," she mused out loud, before giving him a firm pat to the shoulder and heading back upstairs.

Following her to the door he gave the suit another nasty look, the cold dread sinking deep in his stomach again at the sight of the sky blue jacket and trousers, but instead of closing the door he went through instead, checking his pockets with a pat for his cigarettes and lighter as he headed up the stairs. Ever since they'd made participation in the stupid dance mandatory to make up the numbers he'd hated everything to do with it; Sam and Abby's participation was one of the only things that kept him from outright refusing to join in, as at least then he wasn't the only one out of the three of them making an absolute twat of himself in front of the entire village. Getting out of it would be much better, but ever since Sam rigged the stereo three years ago the mayor watched them like a hawk and had the monster guild guy guarding the sound system, so 'technical difficulties' were out of the question.

The weather was warmer than he anticipated, and as he walked up to the lake he realised dismally that the year was well and truly on the upswing now. It'd be summer in a heartbeat, and despite the blissful grace of a basement room to keep cool in he knew there would be a fresh wave of interest in his job prospects from his mum. There was something about the change of the seasons that always had her banging on about it ever since he'd finished school, and no amount of explaining the complexities of freelancing made her understand that he was working when he was at his computer. If he wasn't out of the house and getting his hands dirty then it just didn't count, at least in her eyes-- working on his bike made her back off a little but then it was the constant hints about getting a job as a mechanic in the next town over. It was never ending.

At least up by the lake he had a bit of peace. Sitting beneath a tree to keep out of the sun he took a long, deep breath, enjoying the breeze rolling across the surface of the water, which glittered with sunlight. As much as he rathered the comfort of his room he enjoyed coming up to the lake, particularly around this time of the day; everyone was busy with work in some way and he very rarely saw anyone, which meant a peaceful few minutes or half hour in his own company without worrying about any disruptions. And no one complaining about his smoking, most importantly of all. The wind carried all that away.

When he moved away he knew he'd miss this place the most. Any time he visited Zuzu it was constantly buzzing from the sheer volume of people, constantly on the move with somewhere important to go and making it hard to catch a breather. He knew from one day to the next what it would be like in the valley and though he was desperate to get away he wasn't sure he was ready to let go of that just yet, but at least in the city he wouldn't be forced to get up and dance in front of a crowd if he didn't want to. It would just be him, working for himself, with no one cutting into his privacy to remind him of the terrible time he was going to have tomorrow. Well, he'd miss Sam too. Sam was always good for a laugh.

Was there any quiet like this in the city? He'd probably have to carve it out himself, wherever it was that he managed to get a place to live. When he moved there, he'd have his own space. No one would be able to just barge in on him. No one could force him to go to stupid festivals where everyone was staring at him. Just him on his own, working a job he loved, finding a partner and settling down in a penthouse somewhere in the heart of the city. What he wouldn't give to get started... But as it was he still had a shit-load of money to save up to get a flat and get his things moved out there, and with the lack of proper jobs in the valley freelancing was his best bet. So he was stuck in the basement for a few more months at least.

By the end of his cigarette he'd managed to calm his nerves a little, and sat and watched the shimmering water for a few more minutes before getting up and heading back down to the house. He'd live next to a park for sure. Somewhere he could go out and go for a walk in some greenery. That was a must for sure, though maybe he could get by on just coming out to visit home every few months instead.

---

The looming pressure of the flower dance didn't do much to help him sleep, unfortunately, and after a few broken hours he was jarred from a doze by a sharp knock on the wall at the top of his staircase. With a cheerful tone his mum called him up for breakfast, and ten minutes later Maru was calling down to him a little more calmly, greeting him with a sympathetic smile when he finally found the energy to get up and come join them. She mentioned something about the flower dance but his head was spinning from the lack of sleep, and he mumbled a dismissive 'yeah' in response as he passed her on his way to the kitchen.

A stack of toast sat waiting on the table with a pot of coffee, while Robin stood next to the stove with a frying pan in hand and a plate of freshly cooked bacon and eggs at her side on the counter. The smell alone made his stomach turn when he felt so rough, but her only comment as he grabbed his mug for some coffee was how much time he had left to get ready. "We've showered so the bathroom's all yours. Make sure you're ready before eight thirty or we'll be late," she warned him, and reminded him that he agreed yesterday to go when he huffed his reply.

When he moved away he wouldn't have to deal with this. That was all he could think of when he was in the shower, which was for all of five minutes, and when he was back in his room getting ready. Once he'd moved out there would be no more forced participation, no more village faires, no more tacky suits he had to wear to please his mum. When did he even start doing that, anyway? Why did he care so much if his mum was upset? If he didn't want to go, he should just outright refuse and they should accept that. But when eight thirty came he left his room when called, dressed in the horrible, tacky suit. For the sake of his own dignity he stood firm when his mum complained about his hoodie pulled over it and thankfully she gave him that, at least, but she made it clear that he had to wear the jacket once the dance was in full swing and he wasn't about to argue her on that.

With it still being mid-spring the weather worked in his favour, considering the double layer of terrible shirt and dark hoodie. Pushing up his sleeves worked well enough to keep him cool as they made their way down through the village and into the woods, where he managed to break away from his mum and the others when he spotted Abigail and Sam waiting for him down by the river. They were hard to miss as they were already wearing their outfits as well, and while Abigail had tried to put her own spin on it with her old denim jacket Sam seemed content on fully embracing the look, right down to the tacky red silk tie. "Does your mum know you're wearing that?" he teased with a wide grin, giving the hoodie over Sebastian's arm a playful tug and sniggering when he was elbowed away. "Don't be such a downer! It's free food all day for a five minute dance."

Already patting down his pockets for a cigarette Sebastian cast Sam the most withering look he could mustre, only to be caught around the shoulders and urged into a walk down towards the clearing at the other end of the woods by Sam, who'd done the same to Abigail at his other side. "Where's your festive sprirt, guys?"

"It died when they made me do this last year," came Abigail's flat response, though she soon looked past Sam at Sebastian when his pace slowed down as his pocket-searching became a little more frantic. "You alright?"

Since he wasn't wearing his usual jeans he'd put his cigarettes in the pocket of his hoodie, but he couldn't find his lighter anywhere on his person. Swearing softly under his breath he ran a hand through his hair in frustration: hiding away beneath the edge of the clearing and smoking his way through most of the festival had been his plan but that was clearly out the window now, and the way his mum was looking back at them he knew he'd never get away with doubling back to fetch them.

Already frustrated from knowing he'd left his lighter behind and unbelieveably uncomfortable with the upcoming dance Sebastian hid away behind some of the taller decorations at the edge of the clearing, scouting the crowd for the adventure guild guy or Willy in the hopes of borrowing a light from one of them, and spotted a face he didn't recognise out amongst the rest. A sharp spike of nerves struck and he lashed put to grab Sam by the arm, putting a stop to his and Abigail's conversation with Penny with a whimpered 'ow!'. "What the hell-- who the fuck is that?"

It took a moment of scoping to figure out who Sebastian meant and Sam yanked himself free with a laugh. "Who, the farm girl? Haven't you met her yet-- she's been running all over town for weeks! She won the egg hunt, remember? Abs was super pissed."

"Why is she here?"

"Because she lives here too! Damn, man, no need to get so mad about it!"

Sam and Abigail shared a snigger, and promptly split. While Sam went to say hi to the guy he worked with Abby went to check the buffet, and Sebastian made sure to stay out of sight in case any other strangers turned up. No one else was supposed to be here. She wasn't in a costume either-- did she come here voluntarily? He grimaced, disgusted by the thought of socialising at this thing by choice, and reached into his pocket for his cigarettes again only to be hit by disappointment for the second time. That lighter was staying in the pack from now on.

The music kicked off just after lunch, ominously perky and drawing everyone in like blue and white flies. Hayley donned the Flower Crown just like last year, and they spent ten awkward minutes going through the steps for the dance just like-- if not worse-- than last year, and his mum gathered him and Maru together for a mum hug and a photo to add to the collection, just like last year. It was never any different and he didn't understand how anybody could get excited about such a pointless fair, year after year.

He could see his mum making a bee-line for the empty food table as things started winding down and went to make himself scarce before getting roped into helping, only to be flagged down by Sam's mum with a wave and an eager smile, with Sam and his little brother in tow. Within two minutes he had a bin bag in hand and was sent to clear up any stray rubbish, and wasn't allowed to leave until all the equipment was packed up in the back of Mayor Lewis' pick-up. He went to wait for Robin at the edge of the clearing, but at seeing her lost in conversation with Abigail's mum and the farmer he huffed and left, ready to burn the suit the moment he found his lighter back home.

[theofficersacademy]

Things have been quiet across the continent of Fódlan, physical rebuilding and political reknitting continuing apace even despite midwinter's chill. Actually, the weather's been pretty mild this season, for better or worse. Life goes on, but there is one constant throughout:

you need money!

And, incidentally, so does the church.

Enter: some obscenely rich bloke thinking about buying an island, but they're picky! The island they've settled on is gorgeous but it does have its share of problems - problems that, thankfully, can be washed away with the clink of a few gold pieces. Removing monsters? Easy. Laying down infrastructure? No problem. Transport of expensive cargo? Consider it done!

All of this is where the Church of Seiros comes in, deft faculty in tow - helping out with these commissions is, after all, a good way to ensure the aforementioned faculty continue to get paid. Plus, Garreg Mach needs to ensure they've funds enough if they want to stay in the list of Top 10 Academies To Study At!

A trip to a semi-tropical island in the middle of winter is a nice little bonus, one supposes.

Faculty and Staff Mission: Top up the treasury!

Though the mission is labelled for the “faculty and staff,” this Mission Season is for all muses unaffiliated with the student Houses. So if your muse is affiliated with the Church of Seiros, the Knights of Seiros, the Town of Garreg Mach, Abyss, the Ashen Wolves, or Those Who Slither In The Dark, this is their time to shine!

Like always, threads using tasks from the Faculty and Staff board must contain an Unaffiliated character as a participant (which means that faculty affiliated with any of the three houses do not count), but there are also non-mission tasks available to everyone without restrictions.

Faculty and Staff Mission Task Board

Right, so, about those monsters! It turns out they might be smarter than you are, because you can't just walk up to them and start swinging, and they also look to have little interest in your cute traps and snares. You're going to have to get creative about it, before the hunters become the hunted. [Grants Any Skill +1]

You quickly learn that it isn't just an island you've set foot on - it's a whole archipelago! That said, there are no bridges connecting these separate isles, so when a real nasty storm rides in, sucks your barges out to sea, and leaves you in the lurch... Surely help won't be too far at hand, but in the meantime it's best you do what you can to survive. You know, just in case you've got to hunker down for longer than anticipated.

It's time to put all of your recent building experience to work toward a tried and true marvel in engineering: bridges, intended to connect all of the various islands in the archipelago. This job is a perfect workout for those itching to use their muscles, as there are tons of metal and wood to lug about. The supervisors in charge of the project, however, are a bit demanding. They drive you hard and have even begun prohibiting breaks! Will you write a formal complaint to the eccentric owner of these isles, or will you perhaps instead take matters into your own hands? [Grants Authority +1]

There's something calming about island life when you're not in the thick of work. The odd breaks you've managed to carve out for yourself offer the opportunity for an activity unique to coastal surrounds: exploring tide pools! These little pockets of seawater dot the intertidal zones of the rocky beaches about this section of the archipelago, and are treasure troves of marine microbiomes waiting to be discovered.

If there's one thing the incredibly rich are known to enjoy, it's their exotic imports. This mysterious benefactor of yours is no different; your task for the day is to shuttle some rare creatures from port to the stables. They're perfectly docile, supposedly, but whispers are quick to spread. Those from Magvel recognize Gargoyles and Deathgoyles when they see them, but you don't have to come from afar to know that whiplike tails and talons that can tear through flesh with ease might just spell trouble. Aaanyway, be sure not to harm a hair on these exorbitantly expensive beasts' heads! [Grants Flying +1]

NEW! Rumor has it there is a beautiful cave at the northern end of the archipelago, and if that isn't enough to tempt you, then how about the promise of treasure washed in by the waves? It is not a trek for the faint of heart, however, requiring climbing, rappelling, and even jumps to navigate. Adventurers heading in had best come prepared with plenty of rope, but be warned: though the sights and loot are said to be more than worth the danger, danger indeed there be! You had best not be caught inside after the tide begins to flow. [Grants Bow +1] 

NEW! 'I caught a butterfly fish! Did it change from a caterpillar fish?' ... 'I caught a ray! A few more and I'll have a tan!' ... Such lines as these have been heard shouted from aboard your client's large boats (some strange manner of ship called a 'yacht' apparently), and they all share two things in common - the first being delightful wordplay, and the second, everyone's favorite: it's an ocean fishing tournament, baby! Take these large fancy ships for a spin and see about landing the biggest and rarest catches out there!

NEW! Now that you're done clearing out the monsters, there's a spot of infrastructure you've been asked to attend to. It's not buildings you're constructing on this particular island, however. No, the more you look at the blueprints, the more obvious it is: from pitfalls to swinging axes to strange walls that punch out at you, it's clear what you're doing. You're setting up a maze of traps. At the end of the day though, you're being paid good coin, so you'd better put your back into it, yes? You will, after all, be testing your work for quality assurance. [Grants Lance +1]

Non-Mission Task Board

Trends are cyclical, so they say. The latest and greatest in fads sweeping Garreg Mach is the return of ~penpals~ except, erm, this time it isn't just for fun. No, this time it's a school-wide assignment! Students (and faculty!) are intended to be paired at random, so you could wind up with just about anyone as your partner. Of course, if you'd rather exchange letters with your friends, there's nothing saying you can't rig the system just a little...

Every year it's the same: there is a need for voluntolds-- ahem, volunteers-- to clean up after the Ethereal Ball has rung its last, and this iteration is no exception. Between food fights and burn marks, there is much to tend to. Worried about being shorthanded, the Church has come up with a fun little game: the more you clean, the more points you rack up! At the end, those with the most points can supposedly look forward to a reward, although... No one really knows what the exact reward in question is supposed to be...

Master your fears, lest they master you. A strange guru has just pulled into town, here to spread his agenda of curing people of their fears. For a small fee, he will treat you with exposure therapy, pushing your greatest ick into your face until you are forced to accept it. Scared of creepy crawlies? He's got those. Heights bothering you? He has a course. Existential dread weighing on your shoulders? He might have to check the back. Come on down and get your remedy today! [Grants Faith +1]

Brace yourselves for the arrival of the Garreg Mach Chronicle, the monastery's brand new tabloid, premiering post-Ethereal Ball. Coincidence? Probably not! They do however have one problem needing solved before they can launch: a lack of proper news-worthy stories. Grab your parchment and pens and maybe a friend and get after them 'scoops'!

Who doesn't love learning about epic battles of yore from various other continents? But everybody knows that sitting around reading dusty history books is dull; instead, you are being made to reenact your assigned battle yourselves in a show-and-tell to the rest of the class. The seminar leader has even provided a dress-up box to aid you in your endeavors. [Grants Heavy Armor +1]

NEW! The librarians are at their wit's end. There are far too many overdue books signed out right now, and so they have decided: until each and every one is accounted for, no more library access! Got a class you need to do some research for? Tough luck. Want a quiet place to hide from the hustle and bustle of lunch break? That's too bad. Get out there and shake down your fellow classmates and faculty for their tardy books!

NEW! Ain't no party like a slumber party! The latest fad of late has been to host secret sleepovers. Unlike the church-imposed roommates from a month or so ago, these are unauthorized get-togethers testing your stealth, comradery, and bravery. After all, it takes guts to follow through with the main event at most of these gatherings, whose main purpose is to perform summoning rituals for tiny 'demons' meant to grant wishes, cause trouble, and anything in between. Are you part of the problem, or are you on the other side wondering 'who keeps summoning these things?!' [Grants Reason +1]

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the divided task board work?

This season’s mission is assigned to the Unaffiliated Muses. Therefore, tasks from the ‘Faculty and Staff Mission Task Board’ must be undertaken by someone that is affiliated with the Church of Seiros, the Knights of Seiros, the Town of Garreg Mach, the Underground Citizens, the Ashen Wolves, or Those Who Slither in the Dark. However, they may choose to perform the task with someone who is not from their group as well. In logistical terms, this means that if you play a non-Unaffiliated muse and want to do a mission task, you must ask someone who plays an Unaffiliated muse to thread with you. All thread participants will still receive any skill point rewards. Tasks from the ‘Non-Mission Task Board’ have no house restriction and can be undertaken by anyone.

These aren’t the only threads I can do, right?

Of course not! These are just prompts to help give some ideas of possibilities. You’re always free and encouraged to make up your own threads.

If my muse is not an Unaffiliated muse, can I still write an open starter for the mission tasks?

Yes, but only the non-mission tasks. Your character must be Unaffiliated to write an open starter for this season’s mission.

How do I claim the skill points?

In order to qualify for the skill point, the thread must clearly allude to the listed task and preferably feature the task being completed. You do not need to message the masterlist to claim your skill point.

Can I only do one task?

Nope, you can do as many as you’d like with as many different partners as you’d like! You can do the same task with more than one person! However, you can only claim any skill point once.

What if my partner leaves or drops a skill point thread?

If the dropped thread has at least 2 reblogs and you have hit at least 400 words on your end, you may still claim the skill point.

Remember to use (and track!) the #toa open tag for any open threads, and you can also post a link to your open thread on the appropriate Discord channel! If you have any other questions or concerns, shoot us a message through the masterlist or on Discord!

- The House Leaders

[aurorabayrpg]

Hello, everyone!

We announced in our discord that we will be working on a little newspaper for Aurora Bay called the Aurora Bay Times, and here is more information about it:

Firstly, this is not a gossip blog. From our experiences, gossip blogs can sometimes be hurtful and even cause ooc drama, which is something we never want here. We strive to make Aurora Bay a group that allows our muns to feel safe and a place where they can have fun-- especially since for a lot of us, roleplaying is an escape from our busy (and crazy) lives.

Here's how this will work!

Every few weeks, we will make a post written like it's a newspaper, sharing things about what the town is doing, discussing hype for upcoming events, and most importantly, it will have little pieces from our muns!

We want you guys to get join us with it and get creative! If business owners want an "Ad" in the paper, submit it to the AB Times blog. You can write something as simple as, "I want an ad for X business", and you can leave it at that or you can give us more info if you'd like! You can even write a whole paragraph on it if you want!

If your character wants to leave a review for an establishment, submit it to the AB Times submission box. Or even to drum up a little ic drama, if your character gets into a fight with someone outside of the Four Leaf Pub and want a little news blurb about it, submit that to the submission box!

Anything pertaining to specific characters or locations will need to be off anon and sent only to the submission box. That way we can easily discuss with the muns it involves to make sure they're totally okay with it!

There will also be a gossip column for our paper, so if you want to add something about your character (like a fight mentioned above, a nasty breakup, or someone just running amok in town) or if you've plotted for one muse to have wide-known tension with another and there's some juicy gossip there, submit it to the submission box! Again, please make sure there is nothing mean or malicious about someone else without explicit consent, and anything submitted specifically for the articles, especially if it's involving specific muses, must be off anon!

To keep the page going, we will have a character "running" the AB Times. Alejandra Gutierrez (Salma Hayek). She will be well-known around town, but she won't be on the dash anywhere other than the AB Times' blog. So assume "articles" are written by her.

Of course, if you have written an "article" yourself, we will tag you to share that it was written by you!

The only thing that will be allowed to be sent anonymously will be advice questions. You may send anons to Alejandra to ask her for her wonderful (or sometimes not-so wonderful) advice, and some will be answered right on the spot while others will be posted in the paper along with everything else!

Articles, reviews, interviews, updates from Aurora Bay police, the weather, what's going on in town, etc, are just a few things that will be going on in the newspaper. So again, get creative! We'll even ask around for stories for each article we do!

There will a short list of guidelines for the Aurora Bay Times ask and submission boxes, but it's just to ensure everyone has fun with this and no one gets their feelings hurt!

We're so excited for this and we hope you guys are too!

follow: @aurora-bay-times

[melanodis]

8. What’s your favorite show to binge?

14. How would you spend a million dollars?

18. What tattoos do you want?

23. Who are five of your favorite bands/musical artists?

26. What’s your favorite season?

29. What’s the most overrated movie?

32. If you could live in a fictional world, what world would you pick?

33. If money was no object, what would your wardrobe be like?

37. Have any tattoos?

40. Do you have a crush on any of your mutuals?

47. If you could marry any celebrity, who would you pick?

50. What’s your favorite kind of weather?

8. What’s your favorite show to binge? fuuuuuuuck i can't choose. gotta be ghost in the shell: stand alone complex.

14. How would you spend a million dollars? dump as much as i can into a roth ira every year (which i think is like $6,500?), set aside like 20% for emergencies, then spend whatever on like. a house that isn't dogshit. necessities, hrt, etc. with the rest? fuck if i know man.

18. What tattoos do you want? honestly, no idea. nothing concrete enough to want permanently on my body.

23. Who are five of your favorite bands/musical artists? 1. muse 2. arctic monkeys 3. celldweller 4. floating room 5. mindless self indulgence

26. What’s your favorite season? fall !!

29. What’s the most overrated movie? ALL THE MARVEL MOVIES

32. If you could live in a fictional world, what world would you pick? warframe. i want to have nasty robot sex

33. If money was no object, what would your wardrobe be like? all the baggy t shirts and sweatpants.

37. Have any tattoos? nope!

40. Do you have a crush on any of your mutuals? not really as I have a girlfriend but there are several i would like to make out with

47. If you could marry any celebrity, who would you pick? eh. no.

50. What’s your favorite kind of weather? ouughhh. misty/very very sliiiightly rainy but not actually dripping. 50/60/70f but not hot enough to be humid.

[perfectpaperbluebirds]

🥶+🌡+🤧 for the Tenbusch family, please!Preferably at big holiday family gathering, though your choice who is sick!

- @fever-comfort

CW: Internalized homophobia.

Title: The Last Christmas

Words: 3311

Prompts:

🥶 shivers

🌡  fevery cuddles

🤧 sick for the holidays

Hello, anon, and sorry this took so long to get out. I was wanting these things to be simple drabbles, but the muse demanded plotty angst intead. I hope you love the Tenbusch's, because this might be more than you bargained for. However, I really really love how it came out, and I love how much depth this adds to the characters. And it is angst with a happy ending, I promise.

As I said above, there is quite a bit of homophobia in this, but it's important to the overall story of this family. But as always, read at your own risk and stay safe.

"I'm really worried about JB. He's getting worse, not better. His fever just keeps climbing." 

This was how Thad announced his arrival in the kitchen the morning of Christmas Eve. Theo, Audra, Thalia, and Mrs. Theresa Tenbusch had been sitting around the table eating breakfast, and most of them jumped at his intrusion. Had Thad taken a moment to observe them, he would have seen Thalia wolfing down her food in her haste to escape the room, her face like a storm cloud as the anger and tension from the previous evening continued to linger, while Theo and Audra ate in awkward silence. Thad did not notice any of this however, and didn't bother to greet any of them but instead went right to the medicine cupboard, rummaging around.

"I'm going to give him some Tylenol. I have a bad feeling he picked up something nasty on the way here." The worry in his voice was evident as he sorted through the available collection of medications.

Mrs. Tenbusch set down her spoon with a sigh, dabbing at her mouth daintily before she spoke, choosing her words with care. "Perhaps if your friend is under the weather he should go home. I wouldn't want him to risk getting anyone else sick."

Thad's back stiffened. "And how do you propose he go home when I was the one who drove him here, mother?" he said icily. 

"Well surely someone can come and get him and bring him back to his house."

"No. They can't." Thad slammed the cupboard door shut with a snap, turning to level a stare at their mother. "We're five hours away from home. No one could come get him."

"Well I just think if he's so sick then he shouldn't be here. His parents or someone should come get him."

Thad's eyes narrowed to a glare. "Let me make this very clear: If JB leaves, I will be leaving with him."

"Oh but Thaddeus you can't leave! We're going to have a lovely FAMILY Christmas!"

"So JB can leave, but not me. Thank you for explaining so fully," Thad said quietly. 

"And what about Audra? If JB should go, shouldn't Audra go as well, for our FAMILY Christmas?" Theo chimed in. 

"Oh no no no. Audra IS family," Mrs. Tenbusch said, patting Audra's hand fondly. 

Audra quickly pulled her hand away, her face reddening. 

Theresa did not acknowledge this. "It's only because Thaddeus's friend is sick. I just don't want him getting anyone else sick."

"And what about Bella?" Thalia said quietly, her knuckles white on the edge of the table. 

Mrs. Tenbusch didn't reply, but returned to her cereal, which was all the reply anyone needed. Thad stormed out of the kitchen and stomped upstairs, clutching the Tylenol bottle in a clenched fist. 

He slammed the door to his bedroom open a moment later, waking JB from his latest fever nap with a jump. Thad yanked their suitcases over and began throwing all their belongings in willy-nilly. 

"We're packing up and leaving, babe. I won't stay under the same roof as that homophobic bitch another minute," Thad spat. 

JB struggled to sit up, coughing as he did. "Wait, Thad. Don't do anything you'll regret. I feel like running away isn't the best option here."

His voice was hoarse and strained, nothing like his usual lovely baritone, and Thad couldn't help but go to his side to kiss his hot forehead in sympathy, handing him the Tylenol. "Well what do you suggest?" Thad asked. "She essentially said she doesn't want you and Bella here. Again. I refuse to stay where we're not welcome, Christmas be damned."

JB swallowed a few pills, then leaned his head against Thad's side. "She's still your mother. I would rather you try to reconcile with her this weekend, if nothing else for the sake of the season." Here he had to stop to cough, rubbing his chest. "But more than that, I feel like absolute shit and I don't want to spend five hours in the car on Christmas Eve. There's a warm bed right here, and at this moment that's all I have the capacity to care about."

"Ever the pragmatist," Thad chuckled, which turned into a soft cough of his own. 

"Which is one of the reasons you love me," JB murmured around a yawn. 

"Keep telling yourself that," Thad said, pressing his lips to the other man's hair. "But if you're really feeling that bad, I guess we can stick it out. As long as I don't have to be in the same room with her for very long."

"Nope. And we'll never come back here again if you don't want to," JB mumbled, drifting toward sleep again. 

"Thank gods," Thad said emphatically, which turned into another barking cough. 

JB cracked an eye open, frowning. "You better not be getting sick too. Then we'll really be in trouble."

Thad waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about me." He kicked off his shoes and slid into bed beside his partner, wrapping him in his arms as JB had begun to visibly shiver. "You just worry about getting better." 

The pair spent much of the day in bed together napping on and off. Thad only left the room when JB required medications or water. The eldest Tenbusch sibling was only reluctantly coaxed out of the room later that evening by the other two for the most sacred of holiday traditions: the decorating of the family Christmas tree. 

Theo and Thalia were waiting with their parents in strained silence when a headachey Thad arrived, scrubbing at his face and yawning, having just woken from another nap.

"Where's Bella and Audra?" Thad rasped, glancing around at the assembled company.

"Bella chose not to join us. She didn't want to interrupt the FAMILY tradition," Thalia said, shooting a glare over to her parents. 

"Audra felt the same way," Theo said quietly, staring at the ground.

Theresa smiled, pretending she hadn't heard. "Now that we're all here, we can get started! Thom dear, fetch the angel. Oh I'm so happy we're all together this year!"

The siblings elected not to reply, keeping the peace for the time being. They fell into the familiar rhythm of decorating the tree together, not speaking much. Thad had developed a nasty cough over the course of the day, eerily similar to the one JB had had the night before, and at first everyone tried to ignore that, too. Finally, compassionate Theo couldn't take it any longer. 

"Are you okay, Thad? You don't sound so good," he quietly said after Thad had turned away to cough for the dozenth time.

"I've definitely been better," Thad said thickly.

"Oh this is just perfect," Thomas Tenbusch said, throwing his hands in the air. "Now he's gone and gotten Thaddeus sick for the holidays. He shouldn't have come with you."

"Who exactly is 'he'?" Thad asked, turning to level a black stare at his father.

"You know who I mean," Mr. Tenbusch grumbled, jerking his head toward the ceiling. "Him. Upstairs."

"You wouldn't be referring to JB would you? My partner, my boyfriend, the man I'm going to marry someday? Because if you were talking about him, I would hope you would use his name." Thad's voice was deadly quiet, daring his father to continue.

"Don't say that. He's your roommate and nothing more," sniffed Mr. Tenbusch. 

"And why exactly shouldn't I say it if it's true?" Thad said. 

"Because– because if you're going to marry a man, it would be better if you were never born!"

A shocked silence hung over the room, with everyone frozen in place. Thad glared at his father for a long moment. Then, with slow deliberation, he released the hold on the ornament he was holding, one of their mother's favorite blown glass bulbs, and let it fall to the ground, never breaking his father's gaze. Mrs. Tenbusch gasped as the glass shattered into thousands of shards. Thad then turned and left the room without another word. 

He stormed up to his bedroom just as he has that morning. The suitcases were where he'd left them, half packed. He knelt in front of them again and resumed packing, even as tears rolled down his face. 

"Thad? Wuz wrong? Wuz happ'ni'g?" JB croaked, startled awake once again. 

"We're leaving. Now. I'll get your stuff together for you." A painful, stabbing coughing fit prevented him from elaborating further. 

JB slowly sat up, trying to shake off sleep, and thoroughly confused by the sense of deja vu from that morning. "Thought you said we could stay?"

"Not anymore. They made their choice." 

The dangerous intensity in Thad's voice told JB there was no point in protesting. The sick man slid to the edge of the bed and carefully stood, gripping the headboard for support during the initial rush of dizziness. Once his head cleared, he slowly began to collect his clothes and pull on extra layers, preparing to go to the car without question. Thad shot him a grateful look, but didn't slow, trying to pack as quickly as possible.

Just as the pair was almost finished with their preparations, Theo, Audra, Thalia and Bella appeared in the doorway of their bedroom. Thad forced himself to look at them, tears still streaming down his face. Thalia pushed past the others and ran to him, falling to her knees and crushing him into a hug, her own tears starting to flow. Thad hugged her back just as fiercely. 

"Jesus, Thad, you're a furnace right now," she laughed through her tears as he buried his face in her neck. 

"I know, I'm sorry. You should probably be keeping your distance, Lee. I'm gonna get you sick," he mumbled, half-heatedly pulling away. 

"Like I give a f*ck," she shot back, hugging him all the tighter.

"I'm so sorry, Thad," Theo said softly. "I'm so sorry they said that."

"You're not the one who needs to apologize. And even if they apologized, I wouldn't forgive them." He gently pulled away from Thalia and stood with a chesty cough, hefting both suitcases with a glance at JB, who sat huddled on the foot of the bed in a feverish daze. "We're leaving right now, and we're never coming back. We'll drive home through the night. JB is too sick to be anywhere besides home."

"I don't know if you should be leaving right now with how feverish you look, though," Theo said hesitantly. "Are you sure your mind is clear–"

"Bella and I are leaving right now, too," Thalia said sharply.

"We're ALL leaving right now," Audra cut in, leveling a glare at her husband before turning back to Thad. "You're our brother. And they've proved that they no longer want to be your parents. So we're sticking with you."

Thad's eyes filled with tears again. "That's not necessary–"

"Yes, it is," Audra interrupted. "They made their choice. We're ALL leaving tonight." 

Her unknowingly repeating Thad's own words convinced Thad that they meant what they said. Thad heaved a tiny sigh. "Okay. If you're sure."

"... We'll just need a few minutes to pack, then," Theo said with a small sigh. "Would you be okay waiting until we're all ready to leave? That way we can stay mostly together."

Thad nodded. "It'll take us a few minutes to get settled anyway. We'll wait." He turned again to his sick partner. "Sit there for a bit, love, while I get the car warm for you. I'll be right back to help you downstairs." 

JB nodded, arms clenched around himself as he coughed and shivered miserably.

Thad stepped past everyone carefully, still carrying both suitcases. As he emerged from the dim bedroom into the light of the hallway, Audra surveyed him and frowned at what she saw. 

"Are you really sure you're okay to drive, Thad? I can see you shaking." 

Thad tried to smile. " Don't worry about me. I already slept most of the day. I'll be fine."

Theo and Audra gave each other a quick look as he turned away, but let it rest for the time being. 

True to their word, the others immediately began to pack as Thad loaded up the car and got JB settled in the backseat, bundled under three blankets. He didn't see his parents as he went in and out. He heard them in the living room, apparently still decorating the tree. 

In no time the others also began to emerge from the house and load up their cars. Once they were ready, Thalia and Theo went to Thad's window. He rolled it down, coughing harshly at the breath of cold, dry air. 

"Do we want to meet at our usual gas station just outside Chicago to regroup in case we get separated?" Theo asked.

Thad raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize we were staying in a group. 

"Why wouldn't we? We're all going to roughly the same place," Theo said. 

"I mean not really. But okay, if that's what you want to do," Thad said, too tired and crummy-feeling to argue. 

"Good. Rendezvous there in about three hours, then."

"Over and out," Thalia said, turning on her heel and getting into Bella's car. The pair started off immediately. 

Theo lingered a moment longer. "You're sure you're able to drive all night? I'm really worried about how tired you're looking."

"I'll be fine. I've driven further feeling worse. We'll get there. I'll get a hotel if it's too much, I promise."

"You better," Theo said, stepping away from the car at last.

 With a firm nod, Thad rolled up the window and put the car into drive, rolling out of the driveway of his childhood home without a backward glance, though he couldn't keep a few last stray tears from falling. 

~~~

Around midnight, the trio of cars arrived at their predetermined meeting place to fill up, stretch their legs, and regroup. Thad pulled up next to a gas pump and staggered out of the car in a weary haze, struggling to get the gas pumping due to the shaking in his hands. JB didn't stir when they stopped, and remained sleeping against the car door, his fever-hot face making a halo of condensation on the window. 

Lost in his own misery, Thad jumped in surprise when Theo and Audra appeared at his side. 

"How are you holding up?" Audra asked tenderly. 

Thad shrugged. "I'm surviving." The nasty cough that followed his statement belied it however, as did the wracking shudder that followed the cough. Seeing all this transpire, Theo and Audra exchanged a brief nod, then Theo intervened. He grasped the pump handle and forced his brother to relinquish his grip on it. 

"Get back in the car, Thad. I'm driving you guys the rest of the way," said the professor gently, zipping his coat up higher against the cold night air. "You're in no state to do anything except sleep."

Thad sputtered in protest. "I'm– I'm okay. I can drive. You don't have to… you should stay with Audra."

"Audra is perfectly capable of driving the last few hours on her own."

"I prefer driving on my own if I'm being honest," she laughed. "Then I can listen to MY music. Besides, I'm not the one running a fever."

Thad still hesitated, though exhaustion was clear in every inch of his frame. "You of all people shouldn't be driving us, Theo. You're going to get sick."

"I was probably going to anyway after you coughed all over everyone while we decorated the tree. Might as well speed up the process. The sooner I get it, the sooner I get over it."

Thad shook his head, a tiny smile creeping across his face. "You're an idiot. But I don't know what I'd do without you." He gave his brother an awkward, one-armed hug, then shuffled to the back door opposite of JB, climbing in and immediately cuddling against his partner, heaping blankets over both of them. JB stirred with a soft whimper but didn't wake. Soon Thad was snoring against him. 

The pair didn't move from their pile of fevery cuddles for the rest of the trip. In fact, they had to be shaken awake when Theo pulled into the driveway of their condo, closely followed by Audra and Thalia and Bella. Thad was quite disoriented upon waking up to find everyone in his driveway, unloading bags and talking and laughing merrily. 

"What's goin' on?" he croaked, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. "Why is everyone here?"

"You didn't think we were going to just drop you off and leave, did you?" Theo asked, popping the truck and unbuckling his seatbelt with a yawn and a stretch. "It's still Christmas and we're still family. We're gonna spend today and the rest of the weekend together, just like we planned." 

Thad ran a hand through his hair wearily. "We don't have any food or anything, though," he mumbled. "We didn't even decorate. And there's not enough guest rooms–"

"Thad. It doesn't matter. We're going to make it a great Christmas no matter what."

Thad could only reply with an exhausted smile before Theo hopped out of the car, coughing in the dry air, and began to unload his brothers' bags. 

The next hour or so was rather chaotic as the six of them got themselves and all their bags into the small condo and decided what to do for food and sleeping space. Since he hadn't had any medicine in hours, poor JB was too feverish to be of much help, groggy and sluggish as he was. They found him medicine right away and got him set up on the couch with plenty of blankets, where he tried to be helpful by feebly directing traffic, though he dozed off immediately anytime there was a moment of silence. 

After weighing the pros and cons of all the options for sleeping arrangements, it was decided that they would have a giant sibling sleepover in the living room, at least for the first night. They pooled together every blanket and pillow they could find, changed into pajamas, made hot chocolate and popcorn, put on a Christmas movie, and settled in for the night. JB and Thad claimed the couch while the remaining four spread out on the floor cheerfully. They didn't talk much beyond coordinating everything, but they didn't need to. Everyone was exhausted or sick or emotionally wrung out or all of the above, so no one minded the lack of conversation. 

Though he was physically miserable, Thad couldn't help but smile as he looked at the faces surrounding him in the candlelit room. JB sleeping in his arms, roastingly warm the touch, yet somehow still shivering; Theo propped up against the couch, already coughing and sniffling more than Thad liked and Audra leaning against her husband's shoulder and rubbing his back; Thalia and Bella reclining against a stack of pillows, their limbs tangled around each other. This was it. These were his people. Tonight clearly marked the end of one era of their lives and the beginning of another. He knew they would always think of this as the last Christmas, for better or for worse. 

And for better or for worse, the lovely weirdos surrounding him had chosen to stick with him, to have his back. Gratitude was too small a word for what he was feeling. Whatever else happened going forward, he still had a family. Tonight, that was all that mattered. 

Thad shifted JB slightly so his arm was less pinched, sighing in contentment. They would be sick for Christmas Day, and before the weekend was out, they probably wouldn't be the only ones sick, yet he realized that didn't matter much this year. It had still started off so far to be one of the best Christmases ever.

[hoodedchishiya]

♠️♥️Repost because my dumbass deleted by accident: Random starter from Chishiya for anyone who wants to interact with it either as a canon character or an OC, I don’t mind! Just reblog with your reply.

The plot is that Chishiya got hurt during a Spades game. What will your muse do and how will it change their relationship?♣️♦️

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The rain cascaded down from the heavens, forming an array of puddles at his feet. Maybe lounging around on the rooftop of the hotel, soaked from head to toe in such weather wasn’t exactly the best idea he’d ever had, but Chishiya found a certain sense of calm that accompanied the heavy downpour, framing the corroded city of Borderland through the fog like a beautiful picture. The sound of the droplets bouncing off the ground echoed in his ears, dulling out the migraine that riddled his brain from the earlier Spades game he’d been unwillingly thrown into.

Maybe if he focused hard enough on the sound, it would tune out the searing pain the accompanied the nasty gash on his side left behind by a careless player who’d gotten too riled up and started swinging a knife around. The same careless actions that had landed them dead. What a fucking idiot.

His hand only clutched tighter at his side as he shifted to sit himself down on the ground, back pressing firmly up against the nearest wall and jaw clenched tightly shut to suppress the pained grunt threatening to slip past his lips. Showing vulnerability wasn’t exactly his thing, and although there was no one around to witness his moment of weakness, Chishiya was still wary of letting his guard down.

Rightfully so, it seemed. Unfortunately he wasn’t as alone as he’d hoped. The sound of footsteps wading through the puddles was enough to draw his attention to the silhouette in the distance that had come to a standstill upon being noticed by him. Given how hard the rain was coming down now, it was hard to make out the outline of who it could possibly be. Still, Chishiya’s hand remained protectively over the crimson stain saturating his usually white hoodie.

“Enjoying the show?” That usual cocky tone called out despite the hint of pain laced deep within his voice. Fuck. Never before had he experienced pain like it.