#But at least she got to calculate the actual power of their spells? Because she can’t do that when they’re fighting monsters

[janamensch]

Wow today’s episode of Aerois was so fun!! I really enjoyed the part with the Spellclash so I wanted to draw it, really good episode!

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: ML Season 5 episode 12 Perfection

(As mentioned, this is airing before episodes 10 and 11. So obviously, spoilers below)

-Chat noir absolutely bragging about being in love while helping Ladybug pull a fishing rod. Good for him.

-Also not gonna say I called their dynamic when Adrien and Marinette are in love with eachother, but I TOTALLY called it.

-They fished a boat out together. So someone who handles calculations get on that feat analysis.

-Ladybug’s turn to brag as they fight mr.pigeon

-oh… not everything is perfect. Ladybug still hung up a bit. But more of in a communication way.

-Alya and Tikki trying to calm

-Kagami’s calling and Marinette is panicking because she doesn’t want to let Kagami down.

-My bet is this misunderstanding will be capitalized on by Lila

-Marinette thinks she’s a bad friend for not being at talking with Adrien.

-Now cut to school, Oh Nathanael and Marc using them as models (but totally doing this to set them up)

-Side note where was MY school life of having my class trying to help me get my dream girl? Jk

-the art class totally pretending like they don’t know this is planned.

-I’ll take Nathanael’s Ladrien sketch

-Turns out it isn’t ladrien, but if you squint it is

-EVEN THE ICE RINK GUY

-honestly that went EXACTLY as expected

-oh they got meditation in schools

-wait… Lila helped? She HELPED?

-I’m suspicious

-Oh they beat friends now. Sabrina betrayed.

-They don’t even show the disaster, but consider the mat went flying. I’m really curious what happened.

-Nathanael is out of ideas

-Marinette is trying to practice. Baby girl

-Marinette held that fit several hours? Damn.

-Also please just answer Kagami. She is worried

-moo

-Moo! I’m done.

-OMG HE WROTE HER A SONG

-Side note, Luka is exactly where he should be, pushing for the couple to get together and not wasting his energy. (His eyes still creep me out tho)

-“WHERE CAN I GET A DOLPHAN!?” Kim, you himbo I love you.

-Kagami be sad but thankfully Alya explained what was up. (Wow… good on Alya for doing that. Such a good friend right there)

-Of course it doesn’t help that Marinette is awkward af, and feels awkward with Kagami, since she wants to make her proud.

-The Adrigami is cute. She’s proud of Adrien. Since he is dealing with his emotions

-Marinette’s moo is adorable. It’s cringe and cute

-oh s*** here we go!

-I’m going to make SO MANY MEMES

-no cap… it’s adorable

-KIM GOT THE DOLPHIN!

-DO YOU SEE IT! Look! The Dolphin

-I FEEL terrible for Kagami. Adrien Litterally putting in 100x more effort to woo Marinette than he did with her.

-Also Luka too, since he’s actually helping with the song. But… he seems chill with it

-oh Marinette is entranced.

-(I’ve taken too many screenshots)

-HE SAID IT! He said he loves her

-This is middle school cringe in the best way possible

-And the spotlight on her… oh this is gonna end poorly.

-you ever just… know something is gonna happen but it still causes physical pain? That’s me right now.

-What is Kagami writing?

-Marinette is trying to make excuses for herself.

-Kagami showed up, and now I can just sense what’s gonna happen next.

-it’s a checklist…

-oh no… Lila! I f***ing knew it

-Lila set up a checklist and Marinette failed it, Kagami is playing into Lila’s hand.

-Kagami no! Don’t do it.

-she deleted both contacts

-Lila cutting out Marinette’s face in pictures. Ah like a true psychopath.

-KAGAMI SWEETIE no.

-and monarch is here to ruin everything

-OH BULLSHIT, I doubt you make friends.

-(so it went into her ring… making note of that later)

-Kagami calling out monarchs bulls***

-Giving her the powers she once had… irony

-Sure is Evangelion all of a sudden

-Ladybug rejoicing over an akuma? Well at least she realized it was messed up.

-I want to give Kagami a hug.

-She’s just vibing, yet everything outside is chaos.

-Ladybug and chat noir can’t reach her. Honestly monarch picked an akuma that can’t even react…

-Oh she isn’t a threat.. Nvm she shoots lightning.

-oh they spelling it out for her, clever

-now she on the war path

-ironing beads? Lucky charm

-Oh I think I got it!

-chat noir driving a truck.

-baby girl, Kagami needs a hug

-DAWW! That’s so cute. She deserves the world

-KAGAMI BROKE FREE! That’s my girl!

-SHE DOES DESERVE THE APPLAUSE

-Marigami is so precious.

-I feel Kagami’s pain

-KAGAMI IS JUST AS MUCH A BEST FRIEND AS ALYA! Girl damn!

-Kagami social link maxed out

-NO KAGAMI! Don’t be Lila’s friend

-well I’m sure Marinette will figure out what is holding her back

-Tomoe! I loved how she did that! Also, I mean I know we knew. But her saying it made it real

-He OWES HER, oh snap!

__________________________________________

7.5/10

I feel like it was good. Nothing too earth shaking. But I did enjoy the cuteness. The adrinette is great and I don’t care what people say, the platonic ladynoir is great. The Post relationship pre reveal is good.

Adrien singing was cute. I do want to know exactly what is holding Marinette back.

I do feel I’m missing what happened during kwami choice.

But I enjoyed it.

[goddevouringserpent]

💯❤️😊 for kaija please!

💯 HUNDRED POINTS SYMBOL: share three random facts about your OC that others may not know

-Loves to have her hair touched and played with, as well as playing with other people's, should they allow it.

-She really, really likes dancing, but never had the chance to properly learn. At least until the Crusades. I like to think that, after retaking Drezen & during their small yet precious pockets of free time, she talks her companions into teaching her whatever dances they know. Seelah and Sosiel would for sure; Daeran, too, although he would certainly be an ass about it at first, but Kaija just finds it amusing.

-Not sure if this counts as a fact, but it's a little headcanon that has been bouncing around in my mind for a while now: after the events of WOTR and once she is properly settled as the ruler of Drezen, she opens her own brewery. (Meant to be a hobby and nothing but, mind you—she neither wants nor expects to turn that into an actual job, especially taking into account how much she's got on her plate already.) Her first attempts at brewing… make for adequate poisons, to put it diplomatically, but with time she does get pretty good at it!

❤️ RED HEART: what are three of your OC's positive traits?

-Exceedingly clever and resourceful, to the point where her smarts are probably the main reason why her Crusade is successful. Like, sure, having mythic powers—at least for a while—helps, but in the end the one thing that keeps the Crusade afloat is Kaija's intelligence. That's not to say Galfrey or any previous Knight-Commanders weren't intelligent, but Kaija has a way of seeing things that turns the Crusade upside-down. She's calculating, she thinks outside the box, she brings a new and refreshing strategic perspective that works surprisingly well... etc, etc.

-Very brave, which is a wonderful positive trait to have when you're your universe's equivalent of Doomguy. This bitch does not have a single fearful bone in her body. She gets hit with a Fear spell and goes "lol. lmao even" and shakes it off.

-I was about to say "loyal", but… her loyalty can be both a positive and negative trait, really, given some of the people she's loyal to cough Camellia cough so instead I will say that she is a lot of fun! In that respect she is precisely the kind of person you want around when the world is burning down and going to shit on account of all the demons and ghouls and gargoyles and assorted terrible beasties—the Crusaders are having a large-scale mental breakdown & Kai is like "OKAYYYY GUYS TIME FOR THE #DEPRESSIONBASH" and manages to set up a party for everyone to enjoy and distract themselves. She has a lot in common with Seelah in this. The two of them together are very good at keeping up morale.

😊 SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES: what are your OC's career/general life desires? what do they want to get the most out of life?

Her main goal in life has always been "survive", closely followed by "enjoy myself as much as possible." She does mercenary work because she likes fighting and she has very little in the way of ethical qualms. You point and—as long as there's good coin involved—she punches. Doesn't get much easier than that. Simple, efficient, satisfying.

And she would've been more than happy to have things remain like that forever! In fact, even after becoming Knight-Commander of the Fifth Crusade there is no denying that she is very self-serving about it. She gets shit done, but she consistently chases after her own profit, her own gain; her one and only priority is to make sure she always comes out on top. She HAS to make sure that, after the Crusade is over, she has benefitted from it as much as possible. (In a material way, I mean. Kaija is undoubtedly a materialistic bastard.)

So… at first her career desires were not career desires as much as they were a vehicle through which she could achieve her general life desire of being So Filthy Rich, & then when she was shoved into the position of Knight-Commander she was like, "Might as well make the best out of this bitch of a situation!" and proceeded to steal Drezen from under Galfrey's nose. And NOW she's found that, huh, being the ruler of Drezen is actually much better than she'd thought it would be, maybe she'll keep it up long-term, not like anyone can do anything about it, & she gets all the luxury and comfort she'd been craving since she was a child while simultaneously having plenty of opportunities to go out and kill something with her Overpowered Mythic-Infused Besties and Boyfriend!

and also being the ruler of Drezen gives her the chance to provide a safe place for two of her overpowered mythic-infused besties (Arue and Daeran), & lets her share all that comfort and luxury with her boyfriend Woljif who coincidentally is also a big fan of comfort and luxury! and also also it doesn't hurt that her fucked up ex-girlfriend Camellia, whom she is still very much obsessed with despite any and all protests to the contrary, remembers their secret rendezvous spots and has been known to pop in for a visit every now and then, to their mutual delight AND detriment

[sariels-world-ella]

Since It's Mermay, I guess I could draw my AU's Shyren, then I also decided to draw Napstabot as well, I don't draw these two from my AU enough, which is a shame because they are total goobers so here's some poster style thing of them, and I tried to make signatures for them

AU - Sw!Fallenswap .

Undertale by Toby Fox

Here's some info on both of them below the cut:

Napstabot

Birth name Name: Napstablook (sometimes spelled Napsta A'blook)

Alias: Blooky, Dapperbot, Napsta

Biological Sex: None

Gender: Masculine

Pronouns: He/they

Age: late 30s

Mass: 152.119 pounds / 69 kilograms (according to my calculations)

Weight (W = mg): 676.2 N

(according to my calculations)

Height: 6ft 2in

Density: ~1.477 g/cm3

(unknown what materials he is made out of)

Volume: 1.76 - 1.95 cubic feet

(according to my calculations)

Force exerted while running: 474.4 N

(according to my calculations)

Running Acceleration: 6.9

(according to my calculations)

Running speed: Estimated 15.38 MPH

(according to my calculations)

● Rocket boots calculations

(yes I did actual math equations for these)

- Mass of his feet: 2.9325kg

- Feet total volume: 39.702 cubic inches (19.851 cubic inches in each foot)

- Density: 4.51 g/cm3

(which means Napstabot's feet are made of titanium)

- Mass flow rate: 141.748 kg/s

- Estimated Work: 1087913.84 joules

- Estimated power: 302.2 Watts

- Rocket boots thrusters combined area: 5.8 square inches (2.8in for each foot)

- Single back foot thruster area: 2.0106192983 square inches, Diameter of .994 inches

- Single front foot thruster surface area: 0.776001659771 square inches with a diameter of .8

- Velocity: calculated velocities came out to a wide range of numbers from equation to equation, from 177 M/s (V = F/m*√(2d/a), 4.774 m/s (mass flow rate * velocity = m*a), 1.073 m/s (m.f.r *v = thrust) 6636.7 m/s (V = F/m*3600), and 204347.64 m/s (v = p(m*g))

- Horsepower: estimated 3991.75 hp

- Acceleration: 230.759

Romantic preference: unknown, at the very least feminine monsters judging by the fact he is with Shyren.

Status: Undead

Birth year: early 1970s

Species: Monster

Type: Undead

- Variant: Modern

- Category: incorporeal

Race: Ghost (possessing a robot)

Relationship status: Dating

Occupation: Musician, DJ, Singer and songwriter

Romantic Relationships: Shyren (long time girlfriend)

Known Family: Happstablook (cousin) Maddie (cousin) unnamed abusive parents, Sans (“legal” guardian, though Sans was not legally responsible for Napstabot, Sans did fill in the role of legal guardian when Napstabot’s parents were inadequate, and Napstabot does occasionally call him "dad")

Strongest Attacks:

heat seeking explosive projectiles: extend your arm and launch your miniature missile projectiles towards your target

SoundSlice: - eject out your DJ board and send out orange or blue magic attacks out of them.

Shyren:

Full Name: Shyren

Biological Sex: None

Gender: like all sirens, she presents herself as female and is referred to femininely

Pronouns: she/her (like all sirens)

Age: most likely close or the same to Napstabot’s age

Romantic preference: unknown

Status: Alive

Birth year: Unknown, presumably near Napstabot's

Species: Monster

Type: Mythical

Race: Siren

Relationship status: Dating

Occupation: Singer

Romantic relationships: Napstabot

Known Family: Lemon bread (Sister)

Strongest Attack: Unknown

Strongest heal: healing melody - sing a song that heals everyone in the party.

---

Shyren and Napstabot's Backstory:

We know very little about Shyren's background, we do know she was born in Waterfall, she met Napstabot in high school which is located in Waterfall, she was a literature minor in Snowdin college of The Fine Arts, where she got a bachelor’s degree in Music. After finishing college, Shyren went to, and graduated from, University in a Hotland Theater School, We also know Shyren had a past career in theater and opera singing before joining Napstabot.

As a child, Napstabot, then Napstablook, and Undyne knew each other as children, along with Alphys (which Undyne had a crush on since childhood).

Napstablook’s home life was notoriously bad; he did spend most of his childhood not sleeping in his own house but either in Undyne’s backyard or The Gaster Brothers’ sofa, and Sans Gaster did fulfill the role as guardian in many school activities for him as Napstablook’s actual parents as they were, to quote Sans: “probably OD-ing in a ditch somewhere because they can’t bother to put down the alcohol and be an actual parent for once so a random skeleton doesn’t have to pick up their slack, but of course they aren’t here and I am picking up the slack, so either we get on with this or we wait for eternity for some sorry excuse for parents that won’t be showing up”

Napstablook from a young age took an intense interest in music, and did wish to pursue it as he got older, though he didn't major in music as he went to college, but he did major in songwriting and has a degree in fine literature.

Undyne after graduating worked on a project to try to get the open position of head royal scientist, so she did her best using her robotics and engineering skills to try to make a robot powered by the consciousness of a soul, so she decided to get Napstablook to possess this prototype of an idea to see if the concept will work, she presented the idea and the robotic body Napstablook possessed to show it off to Toriel, Toriel who was impressed by the technical ingenuity and curious to see how this project will go if taken further, gave Undyne the spot. Napstablook was allowed to keep the body which helped him greatly with his music career.

Napstabot’s bad homelife did play a role in his high functioning depression, but he seems to be able to manage it with his support systems he does have, and he led a very successful life before the civil war, becoming a well known musician and songwriter and began dating his vocalist Shyren (who he originally met in highschool) sometime in the height his career. He maintains a very good relationship with Undyne and Alphys from childhood but he did grow distant from his cousin Happstablook.

By the time Chara falls down and reaches Hotland, Undyne is very dead set on trying to capture Chara and bring her soul to Toriel to prove she is still worthy of her position after her major failure regarding the uploading consciousness experiment going severely wrong, Napstabot on the other hand, very much disagreed with this notion believing Undyne didn’t need to prove her worth to anyone and Chara deserves a fair chance on getting home, which leads to Napstabot helping Chara get away from Undyne and other threats until they reach the end of the core.

Throughout that part plays similarly as it did with Alphys and Mettaton in Undertale, but Napstabot doesn’t try to kill nor harm Chara in any way unlike Mettaton did, Undyne is the one hostile since the beginning, interrupting Undyne from trying to kill Chara when they first meet and trying to do shows with Chara in hopes to disway Undyne from attacking and making Chara feel less scared by trying to get Chara to have fun which Undyne ends up turning it dangerous.

You do not fight Napstabot at the end of core, instead you fight Undyne, Napstabot does aid you in your battle against Undyne and it ends with Undyne storming off stage. When she leaves, he escorts Chara to the exit, this is where Napstabot parts with Chara wishing them luck and apologizing that they can’t come with because he needs to make sure “Undyne doesn't go off and electrocute herself.”

After Chara kills Toriel and absorbs her soul, the underground went into panic, but everything was still okay with Undyne and Napstabot, until Alphys got controlled by Frisk and tried to overthrow the government and establish herself as ruler with a ragtag team of prisoners and cultists. Napstabot was forced shut down and captured, but he was able to override it a few hours later and escape custody. For the next 11 years he put together a rebellion in Hotland which worked very closely with the Snowdin resistance (lead by Sans and Papyrus) in Snowdin, and helps civilians escape to Waterfall, which is a neutral territory during the civil war, and maybe find refuge in the more populated and urbanized (on the border of suburbanized) Snowdin instead of the rural Waterfall.

--

Napstabot Trivia:

Toriel knows Napstabot is just a ghost possessing a robot, which means Undyne got the job on the basis of her advanced engineering skills not her knowledge of souls, which means unlike UT!Alphys, Fallen!Undyne never lied to Toriel (though she didn't tell Toriel the outcome of thr experiment outside of "failure")

Napstabot did read Undyne's diary on the air to distract her during the trivia game because she kept butting in trying to attack Chara.

It’s unlikely that Napstabot knows about the failed experiment Undyne had with uploading fallen monsters’ consciousnesses to a computer and accidently corrupting their files and their uploading consciousnesses amalgamating together. Despite how much Napstabot cares about Undyne, his moral compass is stronger as he would definitely expose her even if it meant Undyne would most likely receive a death penalty for her actions or at least a life sentence for the unethical and unauthorized experiments, gross negligence, obstruction of justice, falsifying evidence, death certificate forgery and mass mutilation, with either 50 accounts of murder or 50 accounts of involuntary manslaughter. 

Napstabot goes by Dapperbot when they are wearing a suit or other formal attire.

Sans is the only character who continues to call Napstabot “Napstablook” 

Out of his friend group (Alphys, Shyren and Undyne) and his family (Hapstablook and Maddie) we know the most about his childhood and his personal life

Napstabot didn’t have the best upbringing and admits that he spent more time sleeping on the Gaster brothers’ sofa than his own bed as a kid.

Napstabot frequently calls the Gaster Brothers before and after his concerts or events, and likes keeping them updated.

The Gaster Brothers do have some childhood photos of Napstabot hanging in their house.

Napstabot likes boxing and is very skilled using Muay Thai and Muay Boran fighting styles.

Napstabot’s favorite acoustic instrument is a guitar

Napstabot’s favorite music genres are dubstep, pop and funk though he does have a soft spot for classical music

Napstabot has high functioning depression, but doesn’t like talking about and pretends he is okay, which Shyren dislikes

Napstabot protects Chara from Undyne during their time underground and tries to make it fun for them so Chara won’t be scared, and if Chara killed Undyne, Napstabot will be sad but still forgive them as Chara is just a child and it was self-defense, which shows he has a lot of empathy.

Though Undyne and Napstabot are seen to be at odds with each other when Chara falls down, they actually get along quite well normally, Napstabot just valued Chara’s life, safety and well-being more.

Napstabot won’t fight you unless you are doing a genocide route, otherwise he acts as an ally until you reach the end of core and also helps Chara fight off Undyne.

It’s unknown how long exactly Napstabot and Shyren dated, but we do know he met her when he was 14-15 in high school, meaning that Shyren was presumably 14-18 at the time, though it would be weird by human standards for Shyren to be 18 at the time, keeping in mind Monsters are neither legally nor biologically adults until they are 25 years of age means they were still both biologically and legally minors at the time.

Napstabot has a close relationship with Hapstsblook, though his relationship with Maddie is very strained as they don’t get along, but he does still love her.

Napstabot doesn’t hate their parents but he isn’t on speaking terms with them as he hasn't spoken to them since he was 25.

Napstabot has a bad habit of crushing his phone or other objects when he gets embarrassed, flustered and/or overwhelmed. 

Shyren Trivia

Shyren is known to be able to cast enchantments, blessings and even hexes using her voice.

Shyren is one of the few monsters that we see that is from a certain monster race that explicitly only presents themselves as one single gender (feminine), other being Banshees (Little red Slicing Hood)

Shyren’s last name could be “Bread” due to her Sister being named Lemon Bread.

Shyren is a very supporting girlfriend and often seen alongside with Napstabot but not all the time.

Shyren still lives in Waterfall, though might move in with Napstabot if they get married.

As Shyren swaps with Aaron, she takes on a more bold and flamboyant persona though this is really just on a public basis as she is very down-to-earth and modest on a personal basis. As Shyren is regarded as a very friendly and reserved individual when not on stage.

Shyren doesn’t speak English and only knows Monstarian (Underground/Monsterkind’s Official Language), which means any English covers she sings she has no idea what she is saying, though she does know some human languages, those being Greek, Latin and some Italian.

Shyren does deeply love Napstabot and will be absolutely devastated if anything bad happened to him

Shyren doesn’t like Napstabot’s parents

It’s unknown if Shyren knows Napstabot is a ghost possessing a robot body or she just thinks he’s an extremely advanced AI, either way, Shyren does genuinely love Napstabot.

Besides singing, Shyren also likes playing the Piano

Shyren does know Undyne and still does piano lessons with her like she does in Undertale.

Before becoming Napstabot’s bandmate, she had a career history of being an opera singer and theater actress. 

Shyren gets around by swimming through the air, scientifically it’s unknown how she does this, and even Undyne is stumped by this, but that doesn’t say too much considering the fact Undyne isn’t a teratologist (or whatever a monster version of a biologist will be called) as she only went to a vocational college to become an engineer.

Shyren doesn’t know what Undyne did to Lemon Bread and assumes Lemon just didn’t make it, thus completely oblivious to Undyne’s failure with trying to upload Lemon Bread’s consciousness onto a computer and accidentally fusing it with other uploaded consciousnesses’ files, this information would likely cause Shyren to despise Undyne for the cruel and unethical experiment.

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E129 (March 16, 2021)

Tonight’s guests are Matt Mercer and Taliesin Jaffe!

Matt, on DMing Luc’s Revivify: “That was weird. It’s one thing when it happens because of player action and circumstances and the choices they make. When it’s entirely on me, unintentional, and just realizing different chess pieces you’ve set up, that’s rough.” It was especially rough since this was a child NPC related to a PC. “I was hoping somebody had a spell slot left.” He kept in mind that there are two clerics in the room and that they could resurrect the next day even if the Revivify went poorly. “A good chance, since it’s his first time. Okay, okay, okay, okay, I think we’ll be okay, we’ll see how this goes. It was really stressful in the moment! I did not set out to have that happen, but when I realized what was going to happen, I tried to see it through.” He wouldn’t have prevented a chance to bring him back. “There may have been an offshoot short-run series of games to find a way to bring him back. I would have found some way to correct the circumstance so the players could feel good about moving forward with the story and there was no undue punishment beyond their control.”

Taliesin on Cad’s response: “This is a big thing if you’re a cleric. It was very much coming in like an EMT. Everything should be fine... hopefully. Just focused in and got it done. The minute things started to go south it was like, okay, that’s the next problem.”

On Yeza’s feelings: “It is a very complicated situation. I think he, much like how Veth is trying to figure out what it is that she wants, I think he’s trying to help her find that while also figuring it out for himself. I think Yeza’s also noticing that because Veth’s the more active of the two of them she also takes the weight of the responsibility and the blame for things when they go wrong, unnecessarily. Especially when he himself acknowledges that he’s partially at fault for even dragging everyone in with the Conclave. As much as he’s appreciative for them coming back for him, there’s a lot of back and forth. He’s filled with a lot of regret, too, but he’s very much trying to convince Veth that it’s a burden that she doesn’t have to keep to herself, that they can share it and work through it together.” Matt mentions that, as an actor, he really loves exploring interactions between characters first and foremost. “Especially when you don’t know where it’s going to go.” He also praises Sam as a scene partner - “I really cherish that.”

How does Caduceus feel about Revivify and Speak with Dead? “Speak with Dead is an interesting middle ground, because he knows that it’s not actually speaking with the dead. It’s really just-- it’s almost medical, really. This is just reactivating a brain at a certain point. It’s practically just a muscle twitch at this point. That doesn’t really prod him in that direction. Revivify is interesting, because it had never really come up. At first I thought of it as bending the rules, but it’s not bending the rules. You knock over a plant, you replant it, you don’t stare at it and go ‘Well, that’s over.’ This is just doing the work. No, we can bring this thing back to health. This is all part of the circle of life, that sometimes we can save something. Especially given the stress that he’s put himself through over the past year of being with these people. He’s started to think of himself a bit as a battlefield medic, and triage is just part of the deal, and it’s completely acceptable.”

Did Trent really just want to talk? “Yeah, that circumstance, as it came together, Trent would never have arrived if there wasn’t an indication that there was some kind of infiltration or attack. Even beyond that, it was Jester breaking the concentration on her charm on that one guard when she created her duplicate.” The guards’ job is to inform a member of the Cerberus Assembly, and Trent lived the closest. “He didn’t know who it was, didn’t have any expectation necessarily. The minute he saw the illusion, he knew a powerful magic user was involved.” Seeing Caleb was an unexpected surprise. “I don’t think he wanted to throw down necessarily. He was more interested in figuring out exactly what the nature of this was.” Matt had multiple battlemaps that didn’t get used. “They managed to cleverly out-maneuver him in his surprise of seeing them.” The Nein rocketed up his priority list after that very quickly. Taliesin: “We’re so fucked.”

On Cad being “Uncle Caduceus” to Luc: “It’s the thing he misses most about home, is being a juvenile shit. It’s nice to be able to express that part of him again, as opposed to the serious, life-threatening, constant intensity. I’m very at home just being a little difficult.”

Cosplay of the Week: an amazing Beau! (_rumor_king, photography by kourtyardproductions on Instagram)

On Marion: “Like a lot of people in this whole narrative from the beginning, getting swept up in things larger than her and trying to adapt. This is a circumstance she’s avoided for a long time. She’s having a rough time in some ways, but simultaneously, she’s enduring. Like a mother would. She’s adapting, she’s making it work. Without much of a choice, you just kind of do the best you can and lean on the people around you to help you where they can. Luckily she has a daughter there. She’s probably surprising herself at how well she’s doing given the circumstances.” Matt talks about how weird it is to feel proud of character he’s created. “Of the many things Marion is incredible at, she’s a studier of the human condition. She’s seen and heard the stories of so many. That gives her a very special perspective. She can see elements of that fractured individual within Caleb, and knowing the good that he’s brought to his friends, and knowing he’s possibly saved her life from bad circumstances, she couldn’t not speak up. She very easily falls into that role of maternal comforter, because it’s one of the many things she’s really good at, she enjoys it, and she can see well when people need it.” He’s been enjoying having Marion along for this (despite the difficult circumstances) because he was always a little sad that they only got to see her for short periods of time.

On the Blooming Grove’s safety: “He’s afraid that it’s a premonition. He��s not pinned it down, but he’s happy to let his imagination wander. He at the very least feels like there’s a reason he’s having these thoughts, and that there’s a reason to go there. He’s a big believer that these things don’t just happen. He’s more likely to think that there’s a good reason to go versus a danger to go. He’s had a couple of ominous warnings lately, and he’s not used to them and not a fan. He’s more likely to read something like that as, there is something there waiting for you that you have to discover. There is something that is going to be helpful to you, even if it hurts.”

On Astrid: “While maybe not as readable in overall personality as Trent is, I still want to be careful to not discuss things that are still being discussed within the game and tossed around as possibilities. Astrid is another complicated character, as anyone would be who’s been through the life she has. I can’t say too much. I can say she’s definitely legitimately happy to see Bren/Caleb after all this time.” His reemergence definitely caught her off guard. “We’ll have to see where it goes from there.”

On Cad’s successful Divine Intervention: “He’s definitely hit the ‘on a mission from god’ stage. He’s been that way for the entire campaign of, this, this is what I’ve been waiting for. Even when it sucks a lot, it’s been nice that those things have popped up to remind him, no, no, you’re doing it right, everything’s good. Probably not going to survive the next week, but you’re doing good! Not quite 1 in a 100 chance, but I forget so often to make that roll, and it’s such a great roleplaying roll. I don’t know how at level 20 you could deal with the fact that you can do that every day.” 

On Zeenoth getting his comeuppance: the kidnapping was a concept Marisha brought up for Beau’s backstory, and Matt went with it even though it was opposed to the Cobalt Soul’s philosophy because he knew rooting it out would make for an interesting story. “I felt it was an important beat to bring to her, because it was something that she was wronged by. And to show that there are still some good people out there who are trying to make things right.” After the tentative peace, dealing with this became Dairon’s next focus. “I was glad we finally got to it. So many people don’t have the opportunity in their lives to get that sort of justice and vindication, so if I can bring elements of that justice into our world, even for our own hope, I’m going to do that. Especially for my wife’s character, especially for a character that deserves that.” Taliesin points out that if it had come too early, Beau wouldn’t have believed it.

Cad’s thoughts on the Tomb Taker betrayal? “He knew it was gonna come at some point. There was no way that was gonna last. He was hoping it was gonna last a little longer. He was really hoping they had a vested interest in getting them all the way to the end. Nope, this is apparently as far as we go, and he was not prepared for that.” He was expecting the potential for de-escalation. “Caduceus is the only character in there that doesn’t have a history with Lucien. I think he sees him a little more clearly than everybody else does. They’re all looking for this person that Clay, at least, is of the opinion that he’s just not there. This is a very manipulative, very dangerous infernal human. Just smarter than all of them. Really aware that there is no calculating what the hell is going to happen. Conversation is the only way you can deal with someone like that.”

Fan Art of the Week: An amazing Caleb closeup! (rynn_birb on Twitter)

Taliesin on Lucien: “I’m excited he’s the one that’s going to kill us all. Poetic that this is how the game ends.” Matt was delighted when Taliesin handed him carte blanche to do what he wanted with Molly’s past. “I was like ‘shit... oh, wait!’ The character of Lucien was always intended to be an antagonist so that it would have been Molly being chased by the person who wanted their body back. But then it happened that he got his body back.” Taliesin: “He’s so much worse than I ever hoped.”

Matt, on the Holy Avenger: “I hadn’t thought to initially even give that sword.” The good roll was the only reason Kima handed that over. “Well, sure, you get the sword. It was very reactionary, it wasn’t my intent originally. I was like, well, I mean, there’s two avenues she can take with this.” Multiclass into Paladin, or lean into the fact that her subclass is essentially a barbarian paladin. “This really works out in a uniquely beautiful way. Let me see if I can lay out a path for her to earn it.”

On Cad’s attempt at lying blowing up in his face: “He was like that kid that had a really bad day in high school and was like, you know what? I’m going to let loose. This is it. I’m gonna dye a streak in my hair. And then tries to give himself a haircut and ends up with half bangs. Well, okay, obviously I’m not that person. I was feeling a little distraught and I didn’t handle it well. Maybe I’m going dark... no, I’m not going dark. Nope.” Matt mentions how much he relates to Caduceus.

Matt, on the Eyes: “What can I tell you? I’m enjoying the hell out of it. The moment they began to really push to read that book, I was like, okay, this is on you. I’m excited for the point in the narrative where the march continues back to Eiselcross. I am almost impatient - not really - because we’re on the cusp of getting to more of the meat. There’s so much to learn, so much to see, so much to explore. I love instilling my players with absolute terror.”

Thoughts on Jester’s Tarot reading? Taliesin cackles. “Molly made the cards, so. Did it to himself, he did, he did.” Matt: “Once again, another example of things working out unexpectedly and too perfectly for an improvised moment. Fuck.” Taliesin: “Bless the wisdom of chaos.” Matt: “I love that even at this point in the campaign, Molly continues to fuck with people. I’m just so proud. That deeply shook Lucien, for reasons.” Taliesin: “It’s the everlasting gobstopper smoke bomb.”

[mrpenguinpants]

Genshin: University AU [V1]

I love modern au. Or any “everything is fine, no one died, it’s just a fever dream” au. Half of me is thinking, damn maybe I should answer this serious- LOL HAHA no. That’s not happening. Time to crack my knuckles and let my brainworms take over again.

Once again, this is 90% crack 10% content. I want to switch up my characters from the last brainworm post but I included Kaeya and Diluc.

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Today’s appreciation post goes to twistedwishes. Hey! I’ve been seeing you pop up a lot lately and thanks for the support 💕💕 I hope things are going better for you and you’re doing alright^^ I feel kinda bad for making appreciation posts on crack fics but hopefully this is somewhat funny haha. 

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Genshin: Holding Hands [V1]

Genshin: When you’re cold [V1]

Genshin: Roommate [V1]

Genshin: Royalty AU [V1]

[Masterlist]

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[taglist]  <- if you want to be added, please read this first.

  @mikeysbike @hanniejji@unionwitch @musekala @twistedsunnshiii @stanzastic @akaasea @xoneaboveallx @adoring-ghost @asheseiler @childelover @dilucsz @dai-tsukki-desu @thicmitten @youaskedfurret @diaxfeliz @wintergreen-aix @dandelily @thegayrubberducky @lovelykittycatmeow @yuunoagivesmelife  @dokidokisama @simpygrimoire @minakohasmanyhusbandos @strwbrry-lia @tigerpriestess @yuu-yuukurotsuki​

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Diluc

Absolute pretty boy who has braincells, but only if Kaeya is not there. In his mind, Kaeya’s presence makes his room loose 40% of their common sense. He can’t prove it just yet but he’s working on it. He majors in accounting but also has a minor in marketing, logistics’ management, fia- he majors everything business related. He’s going to become the next Elon Musk through smarts or by getting the competition drunk. There can be no contest if he’s the only candidate. He’s actually a hard working guy that overworks and stresses way too much. You have daily “Diluc recharge” evenings where he just hangs onto you while you go through your day.

“Don’t fucking talk to me until I’ve had my coffee,” except there is no coffee - he drinks grape juice out of juice boxes and his only energy boost is when he meets up with you - and that’s his constant mood. So he usually only hangs around you and Jean, since she has childhood friend status and is actually an angel. By default, Lisa is added and Diluc doesn’t mind her but if he see’s Kaeya, it’s full on war paint mode. If he's not busy with work or studies, he's usually with you either in your dorm or his apartment.

He has a fanclub and he seriously hates it and tries to do everything in his power to get Ningguang to take it down. Shouldn’t this be against his rights? But she refuses for whatever reason and makes a whole speech about free will. No matter what he does, someone manages to take a picture and it get’s printed in the university’s newspaper. The only bonding time he has with Kaeya is every Monday, where they collect and burn all the universities newspapers before anyone can get their hands on it. You always bring marshmallows to make smores during their arson activities.

“When I graduate I’m going to burn this school down to the ground. That’s not a threat it’s a promise.”

Ningguang

Is secretly the leader of the Diluc fanclub - not that she likes Diluc, she’s in a questionable platonic poly marriage with you and Beidou - but it was the easiest way to gain funds for the student council. Which she is the president of, so rip Diluc the fanclub stays. Ruthless business woman I tell you. But she can run in heels so her danger factor rises by at least 20%.

Majors in social sciences and law but more specifically the political science & government. She saw the Imperial State Crown that the Queen of England wears and says yes, that’s mine now. If she’s not with Beidou and you planning on “how to infiltrate the state government just for lols”, then she’s with Keqing, Ganyu, and Zhongli discussing student council things. Should they or should they not tell the student body that they can see everyone’s search results? Sit back and relax as the school goes into chaos. 

She’s probably the scariest person on campus No, she is the scariest person on campus. She’s the scariest person on campus. But secretly she’s popping 20 aspirins just to make it through a night. She has the digestive system of steel. She still holds the title of "seriously do not try and beat her in a drinking game it's never going to happen" and that's her proudest achievement in life but sadly she can’t put it on her resume. Kaeya is still trying to beat her out of spite but so far it hasn't been working. You’re seriously concerned for her when she get’s challenged but Beidou gives you a way-to-hard slap on the back and cheers her on. If Ninngguang somehow get’s alcohol poisonings she’ll somehow find away to make a profit out of it.

"I'll let him die, I'll get the insurance money."

Kaeya

One day he chugged too much mouth wash, passed out, and somehow woke up in university majoring in law. His idea is that if he is apart of the law, he can therefore stand above it. To be fair, his only goal in life is to say “I am the manager” and he can go live the rest of his life in bliss or as a hermit. He’s secret best friends with you but wouldn't be caught dead beside you. He will stab a bitch if you ever get hurt but will still trip you on the way home. Seriously, you have no idea why people find him attractive. Your guess is it’s the eye patch or the clap of his ass cheeks that keeps alerting everyone.  

He’s apart of the newspaper club and if anyone asks: No, he has no idea who keeps taking all the newspapers and burns them in the back of the campus. Originally, he joined because he was nosy and needed to join some type of club for his resume. He sometimes feels bad for his junior assistant Amber because he keeps tricking her and says that Diluc is secretly a demon that is trying to steal all the jobs and is apart of the lizard government hell bent on eradicating the human race. He even brought out a whiteboard for this joke, he’s dedicated to his job ok? 

The type of guy to try and be humble and say his work is “okay” but will choke a bitch if anyone agrees. He tends to leave everything last minute and says that it’s his drug since actual drugs could land you one year in prison and a maximum penalty of $2,000. You have to awkwardly hold in your concerned mother head shake when you see him speed running his assignment literally right when the professor is walking around to check if students finished. 

“I was taught how to lead not to read.”

Mona

Broke wallet #2. Zhongli is broke wallet #1 but Childe simps for him so is he really a broke wallet at this point? In this essay, I Mona Megistus, will explain why I have the rights to the title “Broke Wallet #1″...

Believes that astrology should be an actual career path but refuses to take astronomy as her major. I can read the stars not a textbook that tells me how to calculate the mass of the sun divided by the fucks I give. Instead she went into Philosophy and cries to Albedo, who is an actual prodigy genius- sir lend some braincells to everyone else please?, that her professor keep turning her paper down because “star reading” is not an academic source.

Fischl wants her to join the occult club because, surprisingly, Mona is very good at telling people’s fates through her crayon sketch ouija board. She thinks first year Fischl is cute but is put off by the cosplay roleplay that she has going on. She would join except that stupid hat wearing gremlin in her lit class would make fun of her if he found out.

You gave her half your lunch one day and bought her a doughnut "because she seemed upset" and "out of the goodness of your heart" whatever the hell that means. She thinks you pensioned it but once that thought comes she takes a bite. Poison from a doughnut is not the worst way to go out, classes are hard enough. She’s waiting for the lord to strike her down anyways. 

“Its not about passing, its about doing better than everyone else.”

Venti

Slept through most of highschool and people question how he got into university. He’s a music major (wow how fucking original is that), and if anyone asks him to serenade someone or just do anything, he’ll do it for the right price. Or if you buy him alcohol because he still keeps getting ID checked. He’s banking on Kaeya actually becoming a lawyer or being on good terms with Diluc so he can finally stop being arrested for looking like a toddler.

Takes one step into classes and quickly nopes out and goes back to bed. Professors have no idea how he hasn't dropped out or failed. He just has some god given talent. He does whine at you to pretty pretty please with a cherry on top tutor him because you're such an angel and would never leave your poor but awesome best friend hanging right? He needs to get this essay down but how he is suppose to explain how the number 10 is symbolic and connects to the universe or the meaning of life. Do you think he can just say it’s apart of his culture and make up some random myth to pretend it looks like he knows what he’s doing? 

He’s honestly going with the flow and put his brain on the back burner all of highschool and only now realizes wait, I actually have to use my brain?

He’s been banned from most club chats since Venti has the no chill card. Someone says “lol I look ugly today.” and he’ll respond "yup, you look like a cow." and he get’s banned. Zhongli keeps a speed run timer on his phone just to document these occasions.

"Sad spelled backwards is das and das how it be sometimes."

Childe

An actual dumbass that somehow does well. He eats sandwiches with the crust off, this heathen. Surprisingly he’s studying to become a physical therapist but most of his experience has come from breaking his own bones. You’re scared how he's going to be if he actually becomes a therapist. If he'll make bets with his patients or try to one up whatever crazy injury they get into. Everything is a challenge to him that sometimes the best way to deal with Childe is to knock him out. 

This man really knows the way to a Zhongli’s woman's heart. Through micro transactions. Mona saw him accidently drop $20 and just shrugged and walked off. She has never been both spiritually and physically offended in her life. She did take the $20 though. As much as you hate leeching on Chile when he’s basically a walking wallet that probably uses bills as tissue paper, you can’t help but give him puppy eyes while planning on how to get into his will. If he even plans on having one, he might honestly write “whoever wins in a gladiator style duel in my funeral’s tournament, they will get my fortune.”. 

Any sport the university offers Childe is probably in it. Which is how he met Zhongli, challenged him to a fight, proceeded to have his ass handed to him, got a backhanded compliment, and screamed to you he was in love and how he found his soulmate. He's secretly very sappy and has cried and watched every Disney and Pixar movie at least 28 times.

"IM NOT TOO SPICY! I’M A TINY BIT ABOVE MILD IF ANYTHING!”

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God if it isn’t Scaramouche, it’s Childe that ruins the aesthetic. This is why I hate you. Why do you people enable me like this, it isn’t even good. This is pretty much a @ yourself moment and I vibe hard with Venti. This entire post was just to make a joke about the clap of Kaeya’s ass cheeks alerting the guards.

This week might slow down since I have classes and assignments. My reply’s are gonna be late too, sorry;; (oh and thank you to everyone that was so supportive and nice when I mentioned it. All of you. Beautiful 💕💕 )

[utilitycaster]

Wizard Breakdown Tracker #3, episode 133

Greetings and salutations to the exercise I have set upon myself, which is to say deciding the relative mental stability of Wizard NPCs who have been subjected to the Mighty Nein. My intent is to do this at least until Trent Ikithon has fucked off this mortal coil and/or been thoroughly deposed and humiliated.

As a reminder Caleb Widogast is a member of the Mighty Nein and a PC and therefore excluded from these calculations. Wizards who haven’t been seen or heard from lately and about whom I don’t have anything funny to say about will not get a full blurb, but as they re-enter the main narrative so will they re-enter the list. Currently, this is the Essek Thelyss Show ft. Trent and the Volstruckers with guest appearances by Yussa and Allura.

Currently sidelined: Oremid Hass, Known Gem Wizard Hotsauce Lutefisk (I am going to reuse this stupid joke name for him until it doesn’t make me laugh at my own joke anymore, which will probably be never), Pumat Sol (who I hope is having a great day), Ludinus Da’leth (who I hope is not but in true laissez-faire rat bastard form, probably is).

Vess D wasn’t there/morning time in Eiselcross or at her job or anywhere/they snuck in and took her life/and we noticed that her spellbook’s gone and that she’s covered in red eyes.

Trent Ikithon: Okay with the caveat that it’s been a very long time since I saw the entire movie and our only update is Artagan taking a moment from his busy schedule of traveling the globe in the direction of the sun such that he is always technically day-drinking to tell Jester that Trent’s biding his time, I’m getting real Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame Frollo vibes. Except instead of Catholicism and lust, it’s nationalism and an unquenchable thirst for power and control, and also he does not feel guilty in the slightest. He’s not at Hellfire levels yet but he will get there and I am slightly disappointed that due to the constraints of a D&D game we do not get an even more fucked up version of the song Hellfire.

Conclusion: 6/10. Slowly stepping it up. Also here’s the great thing: while we know Caleb is going to come after him next, he doesn’t, and the Nein didn’t tell any world governments about the threat of the city unless you count the Tal’Dorei Council via Allura, which means for all intents and purposes they just disappeared into Eiselcross...except Trent also knows Caleb disappeared for five or six years once before and reports of his death were greatly exaggerated. If Caleb weren’t dedicated to the noble goal of ending the Volstrucker program ASAP, he could just chill for a year or so and then pull a really stellar Surprise Bitch move and maybe just get Trent’s heart to explode.

Essek Thelyss: He got a good night’s trance and weird physical affection from a giant ape Caleb and he was healed by Caduceus and he had a serious conversation with the first true peer and one of the first friends he’s ever known about how high-level wizardry may not necessarily corrupt absolutely. And, of course, soup. I mean they are about to head into a terrible battle but he’s at full health and spells and he’s a valued member of the team and his friends love him SO MUCH.

Conclusion: 5/10. There is a distinction between a breakdown and being in a very high pressure situation, and he got some nice moments of respite this week. With that said do I think that post-battle, should he survive (HE BETTER) a whole lot of anxiety will come crashing back? Yeah.

Astrid Beck: With Trent in a holding pattern he’s got to be turning up the mind games on her; I have to imagine he suspects and then she suspects that he suspects and it’s a whole mess, but I’ve said that already. But also just like, in general, I think her speech to Caleb back when he first contacted her was genuine in many ways and specifically I think she was likely to have been Trent’s New Golden Child and then suddenly that got yanked out from under her for still more mind games; I think her difference in demeanor between that meeting and the dinner was partially Trent being present, but partially her having realized in the interim that she will likely never have anything to show for two decades of pain and doing terrible things and nonstop bullshit.

Conclusion: still keeping her at 8/10 until further notice but like. Astrid’s having a bad time.

Um actually Eadwulf is the monster? The hero’s name is Grendel: Okay meanwhile here’s my totally unsupported Eadwulf headcanon of this week which is that he meanwhile always knew he was not the favorite and probably never would be and while I doubt he ever had particularly noble goals I would not be surprised if he had an exit strategy. Personally I hope he tries card-counting in that casino in Ank’harel and gets kicked out posthaste and then tries being a wizard/some kind of divine caster multiclass in Vasselheim and also gets kicked out but finally becomes like an old-school hermit figure somewhere in the woods of Issylra and Campaign 3′s party runs into him.

Conclusion: also keeping him at 4/10 until further notice.

Allura Vyesoren: It’s time to acknowledge that this episode covered a span of like...8 hours? And presuming the Nein are sort of trying to keep a normal sleep schedule, maybe, and using a comparison of Eiselcross being at a comparable time zone to say, Nicodranas, and it’s 5 hours into the night for them, and we know that around mid-day for Nicodranas was early morning for Emon...honestly she’s probably relaxing with a glass of wine. Unless Wensforth contacted her.

Conclusion: I’m going to let Allura have a good day. She’s at 2/10 because the threat of Aeor will be in the back of her mind but also she’s seen a bunch of idiots kill dragons and Vecna and they didn’t even have a wizard.

Yussa Errenis: Experiencing a great disturbance in the Astral Sea, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and then just like, kept doing that.

Conclusion: I decided to really go all out last week on the infinity jokes and left myself nothing to go on, huh. Anyway this breakdown goes to 11 (out of 10).

[honestgrins]

Hi! I have been informed by a little birdie that you are accepting prompts. This is my first time *rubs hands* Klaroline meet at an art gallery + fire. Emergency room meet ugly. And because I truly must- dragon au with a hint of necromancy. Much love! You’re amazing

An Accident || Klaroline

“Of all the works you had to…” Klaus huffed into his fist, clearly struggling to keep his temper from drawing attention from the crowded emergency room. “That was going to fund my next three rites, and you burnt it to cinders.”

Shrugging, Caroline winced at the pull on the tender skin of her bandaged arm. If only her human form were just as impervious to burns or would heal as quickly as her other one. “For someone so desperate to buy dragon scales, you don’t seem to appreciate the reality of an actual dragon. Excuse me for being startled! You were the one who asked for proof they were the real deal in a public place, you should have done more to make sure I wasn’t seen.”

The witch — sorry, sorcerer — scoffed. “I assumed you had a certificate of authenticity from the dragon you procured them from, not that you would transform into a massive lizard in the middle of my gallery where anyone could walk in.”

“To be fair, it didn’t seem like such a hot spot,” she sneered. “And your brother grabbed my tail, he’s lucky I only tried to roast him in surprise. Had I been in a mood, I would have eaten him, too.”

“Luckily,” Klaus sniffed, “Kol has a knack for getting out of the trouble he causes. I do apologize for his lack of boundaries, but burning down my business is hardly a proportional response.”

She shrunk back into the hospital bed, shame burning in her face as brightly as her blouse had when she shifted back among the blaze. “I am sorry about that. I can throw in a couple more scales, on the house, for the trouble.”

That was how they got into this mess, after all. Klaus apparently had a big spell coming up, and few things held more inert power than a dragon scale. It wasn’t her favorite way to pay bills, but she vetted her customers and made sure they weren’t using her magic batteries to do others real harm. Esther Mikaelson was revered in witch circles, and becoming a supplier to the family had to be a lucrative deal. At least, that was what she thought.

She hadn’t been prepared for Klaus, though. His energy was far different from any witch she’d dealt with before, which probably fed into the whole ‘sorcerer’ label he insisted upon while haggling over the value of her scale. But he’d been cute and flirtatious without any idea she was the dragon in question, and there was something incredibly attractive about being courted for more than her magic — and by someone powerful in his own right.

Then, she’d let herself be goaded into transforming before him, only for his brother to lay hands on her before she could appreciate the glint of wonder in his eyes. The fire that erupted from her throat and the ensuing damage, however, drained whatever promise might have lingered between them. All she could do now was try not to make an enemy of him, even if it meant diluting the value of her…service. At the least, it was nice he came with her to the hospital despite healing his own wounds with nothing more than a wave of his hand. She didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved that his magic didn’t work on her, but he still hopped up into the ambulance to stay close.

Though that may have had more to do with ensuring the delivery of the scales, she realized.

Klaus seemed to sense her distaste for the whole situation as he considered her with a calculating gaze. “I would appreciate that, sweetheart, but even sorcerers pay insurance premiums. More so than the average person, I’d wager — for fire specifically. And I’d like to meet the investigator who officially files ‘arson by dragon’ as the inciting event.”

“Arson implies intent,” she pointed out. “This was an accident.”

He smiled at her insistence. “Of course. However, if you’re offering restitution, I would like to know more about your magic. I know your scales will be invaluable to the spell I intend to enact. Who’s to say you yourself can’t be of greater use?”

Eyes narrowed, she couldn’t help be shrink back from him. Her father was the first to keep her locked away, and she swore he would be the last. “Who’s to say I shouldn’t just kill you right now?” It would hurt like hell to transform, but her freedom was worth the pain. “I’m no one’s pet.”

His brows furrowed in thought, concern and anger playing across his face. “I was thinking more along the lines of partners.”

Now that was interesting. “What kind of spell could bring you to that conclusion?”

Wetting his lips, he shifted in discomfort. “I lost my little brother a thousand years ago,” he said, his voice too low to be heard by the passing nurses. “I intend to bring him back.”

Her mouth fell open in shock, and she struggled to form a coherent sentence. When she did, it was far from elegant. “Seriously?”

[leviiattacks]

Two Faced | Chapter Seven

↳ levi ackerman, the very person who was about to kindly behead you by a surprising turn of events manages to become your loving husband? you would be elated if this was true love, but it’s all thanks to a mysterious magic spell that your life is spared, for now at least.

pairing :: duke!levi x duchess!reader genre :: royal au ??? (at this point idek) angst, fluff, slice of life etc ?? word count :: 2.6k author note :: ofc the reader would still be considered to be a duchess which is why it’s duchess!reader but i guess there’s just more themes of war and titans etc than i expected. so i guess it’s also cadet!reader ?? i promise i have a plan OK! T___T. anyways i hope that’s alright and not very confusing the original premise very much still stands!! :D also i promise levi gets better maybe soon who knows... → click here for the next part ! 

It's understandable why she's noticeably alarmed by the shift in behaviour, the concept of Levi showing any inclination towards caring about you is foreign to the both of you.

"The Duke has also been asking me and Mikasa the most peculiar questions too."

You blink. "What sorts of questions?"

"Ones concerning your past" She begins and your curiosity piques. "Asked if you ever mentioned anything about your old life. Basic information, I don't understand why he would ask now."

"He asked about me?" You question incredulously. This is surreal.

Bobbing her head up and down you stare closely at her trying to figure out if she's serious and she passes your test with flying colours.

You don't know if you should be nervous or afraid, perhaps he shifted back to his loving self for a while? Thousands of explanations surge past you but you can't pinpoint what exactly could have caused him to ask such questions. As far as you know, he's never been interested in you unless a transaction has been involved. That's all it's been since he snapped out of the spell. A purely transactional relationship.

Sasha places a firm hand on your shoulder "Talk to him, figure out what's going on." Her suggestion makes you shudder, frankly you're fearful around him after the events of yesterday night.

Whatever sick and twisted mind game he's playing at you won't let yourself become prisoner to it.

"No," You shake your head simply. "This is another one of his stealthy tactics, I won't give into it out of desperation."

"All the more reason to question where his morals lay." Sasha is persistent. The anxiety is burning itself into your body and it's tough to disregard its presence.

If there's one thing you have learnt in your lifetime it's to put trust in as little people as possible. You have your confidants and are dedicated to keeping your friendships with them. Sasha and Mikasa are loyal at heart and their steadfast nature is incomparable. But, they are anomalies. As much as you would like to admit that there are many diamonds similar to those two you can't.

It's rare to find reliable individuals in this harsh reality full of wealth, jealousy and power hungry survival. Levi, is a man you refuse to put even an ounce of trust into.

Putting any faith in him is hazardous. His unflappable demeanour, self-control, the knack he has for long-winded and gradual manipulation. Distant, bitter and calculating. You think he wouldn't care less if you were to drop dead this instant. In reality you aren't a human being to him, simply a problem out of the very many he already has. So why the sudden interest? Why? What is it he's after this time?

You've signed your life away to this empire under the ruse of becoming an informant. You're risking your life for him. What more does he want to coax out of you?

Those are the thoughts that scuttle past you as you pace in one of the very many hallways within the estate. Your initial destination had been his office but you retreat. For now you choose to withdraw from a battle of words. You aren't prepared.

But life has a way of never letting you pick when you encounter him.

The sound of footsteps behind you is a blunt indicator he's near but you let your naivety pray it's simply a maid. "Cadet." And there he is. Snarling behind your ear, breath blazing.

Cadet?

He must be able to tell you don't recognise the name which rolls off his tongue, especially when the two of you aren't in a professional setting, its placement is odd.

"What? Do you think you're worthy of a better term?" He's taunting you, disgusted that you're dense enough to think you're deserving of any other title.

Arms clasped behind his back he takes a long stride forward, you take a step back in response, he steps forward again and you move in the opposite direction again.

"I'm not used to it that's all. I know I am no Duchess."

His raspy voice creeps into your ear "Get used to it. You are my subordinate, don't assume this is a level playing field."

"Do you hop into all of your cadet's beds very often Sir?"

The question comes out of nowhere and as soon as the words have left your lips you slap your palms over your mouth taken aback just by how easy it is for the impulsive side of your brain to defy him.

"Really?" He asks darkly, and when you narrow your eyes in bewilderment, he coughs, clearing his throat to begin again. "Are you willing to bring this up right now?"

He's as close as ever now, if he moves an inch closer his nose will brush against yours, it suddenly feels difficult to breathe but you swallow the struggle away still unsure if you can force yourself to reply to his question. Is there a right or wrong answer?

For once, you choose to be selfish and put your interests before anyone else's even if that means risking your safety in the process. You just want to understand for once how his brain works.

Balling your fists into two you manage to squeak out what you've been holding back "Do you pry into the personal life of each and every one of your cadets or does that special rule only seem to apply to me?"

"Do you give all of your cadets random days off?"

"Do you-"

He grabs the back of your ponytail with his gloved hands, his skin isn't directly touching yours but the firm grip he has on you doesn't stop your cheeks from flooding with warmth. Fumbling around you're about to scream when he pulls at your hair again jestingly, his other arm moves to securely hold you keeping you stuck in the position you're in.

"Levi." You squirm around awkwardly trying to escape his grasp but he doesn't find this at all amusing.

"Captain." His firm correction catches you off guard.

"Sorry. Captain." Your throat is dry as you croak out the short reply.

Straightening your back you try to shake off the hold he has on your hair but he only tugs your head backwards warning you. Your bare neck is exposed and his eyes slip to your half done buttons. Rolling his eyes he knows if it were any other male member of the corps even the oh so respectable and mature Erwin Smith who caught you like this they would fantasize about how you look underneath that flimsy button up. It's now slipping down one of your shoulders.

Moving the arm that has been holding you down he jerks the fabric back up your shoulder.

"I was under that spell of yours. You're naive to think there's any other reason." He returns venomously, his voice is dripping in poison determined to exterminate any of the attitude you've shown him in the past two minutes.

"Why all the questions about my personal life? I was informed you interrogated a few of my friends."

He tugs at your hair again, you tilt backwards. "What do you hope to get out of this? Find out I have some sort of secret feelings for you?"

In the blink of an eye your bubble has been burst, deep down you did hope that was what this was about. It's not that you would like for him to love you, you wouldn't mind it but, if he loves you your safety is guaranteed that's all that matters. That's what you tell yourself. You don't miss the old him no you don't.

The colour drains from your face when you hear what he has to say afterwards.

"Adorable." His tone is spiked in mockery. "How fond you are of me, but I have no interest in the likes of you."

Heart leaping to your throat the simmering rejection settles.

"And. If you must know, you were given a day off today because Hange insisted every cadet have a day of rest before we all relocate to the training facility's dorms." You curse yourself, the transfer had slipped your mind completely.

"Got it? Fucking prissy princess." The expletive makes you wince.

Then he's silent, it's deafening and bizarrely you find his silence all the more daunting and menacing than when he speaks.

Wrestling yourself out of the grasp he has on your hair is your next move but he loosens his grip without being told to.

Levi allows for you to retreat with no further arguments.

And just like that the rare day off goes past as quick as it happens.

You learn that ignoring Levi is your best bet at living a peaceful life within the walls of this Kingdom. Follow the orders he gives you and you almost always guarantee your own safety. Living. Even if it isn't a happy life you are aware there will be some pleasant moments. Living to experience those moments is the only motivation you have.

Erwin has said you would benefit from working with the rest of the cadets more often. It stops them from questioning why you receive personal training - after all they are unaware of the deal stricken up between you and Levi, it's understandable for the influx of questions.

You don't mind, after all training with Mikasa by your side for most of your days sounds more appealing in the long term. It usually gets lonely and tedious being alone. The prospect of being around the other cadets appeals to you too. You haven't actually had the opportunity to speak to very many of them and a few new members have apparently joined the ranks as of today.

Curiosity is kicking in, everyone is mumbling about the new cadets joining the squadron. You count as one of the new additions you suppose, there's no other explanation for why everyone whispers and murmurs as you stroll into the crowded training area with Mikasa by your side.

"Isn't she the one who banged her head?" muffled chuckles are heard but you pay no mind to the expected response, they'll soon be done talking about you when the next person in line embarrasses them self in your place. Levi's sharp tongue has conditioned you to pay no mind to the commentary of the other cadets. Nobody seems to be able to humiliate you in his fashion.

Mikasa doesn't take the same approach as you when greeted by the unwelcoming whispers, instead she whips her head in the direction of the insults, it looks as if she's thinking about careening one of her steel blades at the group just to instill some respect into them but the simple jerk of her body facing them is enough to make them rotate away in panic and curve the topic of discussion elsewhere.

She mutters something unclear under her breath, you would ask her to repeat her sentence but you're sure all she's done is call the boys infantile and stupid for the way they conduct themselves.

Everyone is introducing themselves and you familiarize yourself with some faces. Krista, the human embodiment of a dainty flower, she's as sweet as honey, A brunette ruffles her hair, she seems close to Krista, she doesn't even bother to introduce herself until she tells her too. Ymir, is her name.

Next you acquaint yourself with Connie, he's friendly and more than happy to converse with you, a breathe of fresh air from the cramped nature of the gossiping group from before.

Everything is going smoothly but then you feel a shoulder slink over your arm, it's not Mikasa it doesn't feel like her.

"You know Jean?" Connie is obviously very surprised.

That's when your eyes bulge out of your sockets in complete and utter shock at the slim chances of this possibility ever occurring, of all the people in all of the places, you just so happen to encounter Jean Kirstein again. He's a wildcard that's for sure.

It doesn't even cross your mind to think he could easily rat you out and ask why a noble woman such as yourself is here of all places. In fact, that concern is at the back of your mind far from your attention. You simply smile, happy to see a familiar face. You barely know him personally but from your last encounter you've been able to discern that he's welcoming and sociable.

He's incredibly friendly patting your head and completely bombarding you with questions "I would have never expected someone like you to show up." If it were anyone else you would have taken it as an insult but he's genuinely curious what brings you here, that much is obvious by his tone.

"Likewise Kirstein, I suppose we live in a small world."

You purposefully choose to not reveal much, you don't know who you can and can't trust.

He seems to catch on because he doesn't follow up on his inquiry. Instead he and Connie ask what part of Paradis you're from, what your parents do, all sorts. You're so engrossed in making up a somewhat believable story you don't even realize Kirstein's arm is still slung over your shoulder.

It's only until Hange yells "ATTENTION!" at the front of the training grounds do your notice the close proximity between you and your fellow cadet.

Slowly edging away from him you're swiftly able to detach yourself with no disturbances.

Hange is introducing themself, hands flailing in all directions and eyes wide describing how their additional role is investigating titans, they say if you're lucky enough maybe one day you'll be able to help with one of their secretive experiments. A towering blonde brute nearby whispers that Hange is eccentric and odd, a few others say it's surprising they're a superior.

Sensibly, you bury the frustration you feel down your throat, but God would you love if those childish fools kept their false opinions to themselves.

Erwin and Levi exchange looks probably deciding who speaks afterwards, it seem begrudgingly Levi agrees to take the stand.

The training ground abruptly falls silent.

Levi taking a step forward surveys the area and not once does he bother looking at you.

"Rules." His voice rumbles. "Which you all must follow." His gaze unusually centers in on Jean, you bear witness to how his form begins to tremble. Just one look from the Captain and he's about to dissolve.

The majority of his rules are basic and can easily be predicted, "You are expected to help with the cleaning. If your personal hygiene is that of a pig you may as well walk yourself out of the door now." His silver eyes are stabbing into the front row, most likely because Eren is there. He's apparently missed cleaning duty for two weeks now, it's miraculous how he's escaped unscathed.

After Levi is done wordlessly threatening Eren he rubs his hands together expectantly. Lips quirking up into one of his sharp cut-throat smiles he stares right at Jean. After a moment of silence he speaks with clarity. "No dating between cadets is permitted. No fucking either, sorry to disappoint Kirstein."

Metallic eyes are piercing into his wobbly form again and all of the cadets burst into a rupture of giggles. You too are about to join them. Truthfully, it is laughable that his notorious womanizing reputation is known even to the Captains.

But before you're able to laugh your breathe falters, you can practically feel jagged daggers twisting and digging into you. Quickly before he swiftly looks away you’re able to note Levi's eyes deliberately flick up in your direction, gaze boring into you, it burns.

You feel guilty but don’t know what it is you’ve done to produce such a hostile response.

Nevertheless, you can feel his scrutiny impale you.

[misterewrites]

Cheers from Newton Haven ( Mirror’s Edge)

Hey everyone E here with a surprising amount original works. haha so you can blame my good friend @hains-mae for this because she enabled me. So long story short I love writing. I love creating ideas, story plots, characters all that jazz. Often there's a lot of leftovers that i put away in word document just so I have stuff to work with or ideas i can use later. Most of the time I might write something just to get it out of my system but it usually just ends up gathering dust in my computer.

I've been getting more into modern urban fantasy stories and watching the unsleeping city which is a modern dnd show (highly recommend it. first season's free on youtube over at the dimension 20 channel) and naturally I wanted to write some so here we go.

I don't know how often I'll be writing this because this accidentally became my side project whenever I need a break from the underground but who knows might turn into another big layered project.

so basic summary is there are a group of friends, associates, reluctant allies, organizations and frenemies who work together to keep the peace of the supernatural world in check and to ensure it remains secret to everyone else while living their lives as best as they can. Today's chapter includes Finnrick Drift a private investigator wizard and his best friend Casey Remington, cleric of the hearth

that's it for me. have a great week! stay safe, take care of each other. wear your mask, wash your hands, get the vaccine if you can and I'll see you soon!

and if you wanna an easier place to read and leave me some good old comments or reviews you find the chapter right here https://archiveofourown.org/works/30599756/chapters/75486005

Not gonna lie i promised I’d try to promote myself more and it’s weird. it feels so weird. haha 

It was a busy Friday afternoon in Midtown. People in designer named suits and dresses bustled across the sidewalks in all directions, too caught up in last minute phone calls or sudden late night work orders to notice anything else. The buildings that scraped the bottom of the sky were clean with a fresh coat of paint and maintenance, a testimony to the wealth and power that was found here.

So naturally Casey felt as out of place as fish out of water in his purple baseball jersey and black shorts just standing outside some fancy restaurants doors with his friend.

“Finny” Casey started awkwardly, his sea green eyes darting back and forth awkwardly “Any reason we’re out here being creepy? I got a Neighborhood Watch meeting at like 6.”

Finnrick or Finny as Casey referred to him, was no better dress than he was for the environment. A long black trench coat that was more stitching than fabric, a matching frayed faded fedora sitting comfortably on his head. He wore a nice collared dark red shirt tucked in a black vest but even that felt cheap and tacky compared to the thousands of dollars worth of clothing that passed them on the street every second. At least his black dress pants were dark enough to hide the patch up jobs and naturally the only kept squeaky clean were his loafers.

Finnrick sucked on the thin white stick for a moment before speaking up “I’m debating if it’s worth the trouble. I didn’t realize you had a meeting tonight.”

“Well we always meet up on the fifth. You know talking about treaties, clean up jobs, if any undead hordes have been spotted. My birthday cake.”

“Ah shit” Finnrick rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, his dark brown eyes apologetic “It’s your birthday? Did you want to go? I think I can handle it alone.”

Casey lifted the hat off Finnrick’s head and playfully ruffled his already messy black hair “You getting old Finny. My birthday is the tenth.”

Finnrick waved off his assault “I’m six months younger than you.”

“But” Casey gestured to the smattering of sliver streaks in Finn’s hair “You look older.”

“At least I don’t look like I’m 15. Dude you need a haircut. Everyone here thinks you’re a hippie.”

“A good looking hippie.” Casey gave a dramatic shake, his wavy dark brown hair flowing in the breeze.

The pair burst out laughing, doubling over trying to catch their breath as the business suits eyed them distastefully.

“Alright, let’s get this over with.” Finnrick made his way over, smiles and charm as they approached the doorman.

“Your cigarette sir.” The doorman spoke dully.

Finnrick pulled out the now finished lollipop “Don’t smoke but done anyway.”

The doorman gestured to the nearby trashcan but Finnrick opt to tuck it away in coat pocket. Disgusted but professional, the doorman gave strained smile as he allowed them entry into the building.

Casey nudged Finnrick curiously “Wizards? Warlocks? God not druids.”

“Probably. This is guy doesn’t have an ounce of magic in him but I wouldn’t doubt he’s got some casters on the payroll. Try not to leave anything behind.”

“I’m a freaking walking carpet here!”

“That” Finnrick grinned playfully “Is why you need haircut.”

Casey gave a fake snarl “Shut up and call the elevator.”

Finnrick whistled, amused by the near silence of the opening doors “Such fance. Barely a sound.”

“So what’s the plan?”

Finnrick scratched the little bush of hair he had on his chin thoughtfully “Ask some questions. Probably get no answers. Be threatened more than likely.

Casey cracked the tension in his neck “Think it’s gonna get ugly?”

“Depends on how many witnesses.”

The two made their way to the seventh floor, the elevator smoothly slowing to a stop before the doors opened with a ding. Two burly men in suits were waiting, flanked on either side as they gestured to an empty restaurant dining room.

“The boss will like to speak to you.”

Finnrick and Casey shared a look.

“Sure!” Finnrick beamed cheerfully, patting both the brutes arms as he passed “I was hoping to talk to him anyway.”

The men growled in annoyance but did nothing as Casey and Finnrick made their way to the center talk, unsurprised to find two glasses of wine waiting for them.

“After you” Finnrick joked, pulling out Casey’s chair for him.

Casey gave a mocking smile “Such a gentleman.”

“Only one I bet” Finnrick whispered before taking his seat.

Casey could hear the low hissing of whatever spells were on their chairs being dispelled.

Yep there was going to be trouble.

Casey eyed the room carefully in search for options: The room itself was pretty dark, dark reddish walls with dim lights to set the mood. Most of the tables had been left alone for whatever event this room was scheduled for later with the chairs stacked in the corner. A few feet to their left was the bar, unmanned but well stocked and a window to the outside nearby.

“Well, well, well!” A voice called out from some shadowy part of the room “Who do I have the pleasure of meeting this fine Friday afternoon?”

Finnrick rose to his feet, politely motioning to himself and Casey “My name is Fredrick and this is my friend Charles.”

The man’s hazel eyes shone with suspicion “No last names?”

“Of course” Finnrick grin “But there’s no need for friends, right? We are friends Robert?”

Robert paused, a barely contained rage shimmering just under the surface. His slicked back graying hair and tailored perfect dark blue suit were signs of a precise, irrational control. This was a man that was never told what to do and considered himself above everyone and anyone.

“Of course.” He answered a moment too late. He was not happy. “Of course. What are polite manners among friends?”

“Thanks Bobby!” Finnrick gave a friendly wink before retaking his seat.

Robert fumed but followed Finnrick’s example as a trio of secret service wannabes took their spots across the room: Inhumanly beautiful men with dark suits and shades. Something was off about them but Casey couldn’t put his finger on it.

“What do I owe the pleasure Freddy?” Robert sneered, hoping to see how Finnrick a taste of his own medicine.

“Well Bobby.” Finnrick went on, purposely ignoring the older man’s jab “As you know you have been stealing countless money from your employees.”

Robert chuckled darkly “I am afraid wherever you have been getting this claim is very misinformed. I am a simple, honest businessman.”

Finnrick nodded in agreement “Of course. Of course. That’s how you can say that with a straight face. Honest businessman of mundane practices.”

Casey felt his hair on his arm stand on end as the atmosphere in the room tensed. The brutes growled unhappily, the trio of bodyguards shifted uneasily and Robert’s eyes shone with understanding.

“I see.” He spoke simply “You’re from the other side.”

“Naturally.” Finnrick confirmed “No need to peer around the bush, is there?”

“No need at all. It is refreshing for such transparency. You don’t get that often in the world of business.”

“I doubt you give much either Mister Walker.”

“Enough games. What are you doing here? Some kind of union rep for magical freaks? Blackmailing me?”

Finnrick sat up with pride “Private investigator. Building a case against you actually.”

Robert carefully studied both men before him, trying to piece together their plan, their angle.

“Either.” He spoke after a few moments “You have all you need or more than likely you have nothing and you are simply here to smoke me out, hoping I will give you something to use against me.”

Casey felt Finnrick’s hand move underneath the table and a rush of chilly air brushed his leg.

Casey gave a quick nod to let Finn know he understood.

Finnrick cleared his throat “You’re aware of the works of Tolkien Mister Walker?”

Robert was caught off guard “What?”

“Elves.” Finnrick answered with a calming voice “Elves are the most famous of his characters that aren’t humans of course but there’s more: Elves, dwarves...”

“Hob…” Robert began but Finnrick cut him off.

“That’s a legal matter but yes. Wonderfully fantastic creatures.”

Robert narrowed his eyes “And?”

Finnrick leaned in close, smile mocking and cold “I hate when people take advantage of them.”

Robert was a cold, calculating heartless man who was used to being the smartest one in the room. The one who rigged the playing field in his favor, held every ace in his hand and led his prey exactly where he wanted them to be. He played with people before he destroyed their hope. He was the apex predator in the world of business.

It was satisfying to see that swagger and pride drain out of his face.

The businessman went for the button hidden underneath his side of the table, no doubt the switch to trigger the holding spells on Casey and Finnrick’s chairs. Of course Finnrick had dispelled them first chance he got and since the only other caster in the room was Casey, no one else noticed.

Robert’s face was the second most beautiful thing Casey had ever seen (first being Jaime but there was no need to tell her that). The panic, the fear, the utter confusion. Just poetic justice at its finest.

Finnrick shot to his feet with a surprising speed given his unremarkable build. He muttered the words of power, a magical incantation as his hand made the proper gestures to complete the spell.

The shades squad went for their weapons but Finnrick had gotten the drop on all of them. He pulled his hand back, a burning flame sitting peacefully in his palm. He pitched the flame forward, lobbing directly at the closet goon. The inhumanly beautiful man rose his arms to defend himself in time. The flame, mostly pressurized air, splashed over him harmlessly as the force of the attack shoved him back into the wall.

Casey followed Finn’s example. He stood as well (not as quick as his friend), a soft gentle light glowing from his hands. He glanced at the two remaining shades and aimed directly for them. A bolt of pure light burst forth from his palms. One goon got a chest full of holy energy and skidded backwards but the other was ready. He leapt to the side and narrowly avoided the attack as he slid out of sight.

The brutes charged towards the pair, murder in their eyes. Finnrick barely spared them a look as he snapped his finger. The two flames sigils he had imprinted om them when he grabbed their arms ignited, twin fires eating at their sleeves and sending them into a panic.

“What’s the plan?” Casey shouted, sending more holy bolts towards the shades.

“Up and over the counter.” Finnrick answered, tossing another fireball.

Casey quickly made his way closer, prepping to leap over the bar when Finnrick crashed into him, a strange whistling sound piercing his ears one moment then silent the next.

“Over buddy over!” Finnrick repeated, grabbing Casey by the collar and heaving him ontop of the counter. Casey flailed for a moment before glancing backwards. Finnrick was right behind him, hand outstretched as a blue translucent field of protective magic hung before the two while the shades opened fire with crossbows, the jet black bolts barely visible in the dimness of the room. They bounced harmlessly off the barrier but Casey could see the cracks starting to form.

Casey hopped over the bar gracelessly, struggling for a moment before clearing the jump. Finnrick tucked himself backwards, allowing himself to roll over the counter top and land on the other side with a thud.

“Remember when elves were honorable?” Casey huffed, quickly scanning the various bottles.

Finnrick scoffed “They were never honorable. They just acted better than everyone.”

“Remember when we were kids?”

“Vaguely. Pass the absinthe. I want to really make this hurt.”

“Blue bottle? These are all in German and Russian.”

“Green liquid. Come on Case I taught you better.”

“Right. I miss when the cartoons used to tell us the mafia was honorable.”

“Criminals these days.” Finnrick shook his head disappointingly “Just don’t make them like they used to. It’s all corporate shit.”

Casey began picking other bottles at random, wrapping them tightly with the tape he brought “It’s disillusioning I tell you. How right is he?”

Finnrick smashed a pane of glass. He took the jagged edge and slowly inched it over the counter, catching sight of the trio of shades for a moment before a crossbow bolt shattered the glass.

He flexed his hand, trying to relax his muscles. They were elves alright. They might be dressed in suits and ears hidden by some sort of glamour illusion magic but old habits died hard. Elves habits never died given their long lives. The trio had fallen into a close knit triangle formation: one fires, one reloads with the last taking aim.

“He had this whole operation locked tight. No one was talking. Either bribed them or made an example of them. Broken bones or horns. I had enough evidence to implicate him but bringing him to trial in the mundy court was going to be pointless.”

Casey moved the bottles back and forth to ensure they wouldn’t come loose midair “So what are we doing here?”

“Given his limited knowledge and the numerous magical violations I counted in this building alone, I figured he’s not registered with the Council.”

Casey’s eyes lit up in understanding “Gotcha. How long we got?”

Finnrick shook his hand back and forth “I’d say 10 minutes knowing the Council. Magic in an unregistered area requires a subtler approach for them. “

Casey snorted “Fake beards and stilts for the gnomes you mean? Robert will be gone by then.”

Finnrick’s face scrunched in concentration “He’s still here. Cowering under the table. He’s not used to dangerous wizards up in his face. Let’s scare him put huh?”

Casey spared his friend a glance “Big shot?”

Finnrick nodded in agreement “Aim high Case.”

And with a synchronicity only achieved through years of friendship, the two stood up at once. Casey threw the makeshift bomb high into the air as Finnrick formed the magical shield once more. Arrow after arrow bounced harmlessly off its surface as the bottles sailed through the air. Finnrick focused directly in the center of the payload. The shield dropped but the elves had broken formation and were all reloading at once. Finnrick pinched his thumb and finger together, murmuring under his breath. A small spark of flame fluttered wildly on his finger. He flicked it as quickly as he could towards the bottles. The spark spun and twisted as it floated towards the payload. The spark expanded, growing in size, and intensity, rapidly without warning. The air warmed as the spark exploded, smashing the bottles and engulfing the alcohol within. Flaming liquid, glass and hot air shot out in every direction. The elves were blasted off their feet and crashed against the far wall with sickening series of crunches. The floor above now had a massive hole in it and the brutes sprawled across the floor. Robert himself was thrown onto the ground, ash and soot covering his face as he struggled to breath.

He tried to call for someone but his ears were ringing and everyone was down for the count. He tried to search for the trouble makers but the smoke that filled the room was too thick.

The elevator dinged open once more and three pale suits came scuttling out. They clung to the walls on all fours, unnatural and repulsive. Their blood red eyes shone in the dimly light room, their fangs barred and ready for blood.

“Vampires!” Casey rubbed his eyes tiredly “This fucker has vampires. Loose by the way.”

“Right?” Finnrick shook his head “There are just so many regulations being violated right now.”

The vampires did not care. They dropped to the floor, gliding effortlessly midst the smoke and flame.

Casey took a step closer to the encroaching undead. He outstretched one hand towards them while the other clasped his necklace tightly. The vampires tilted their head quizzically at the symbol that adored the chain: It was a house of all things, a simple shape of rectangles and triangles no different than what a child would draw.

The vampires chuckled, their eyes bright with hunger.

Of course in their bloodlust they had forgotten something important: It was not the symbol but the faith behind it that was their bane.

Casey held the symbol as high as he could. The vampire shrunk away from him as his eyes blazed with holy energy, the symbol of home glowing with a harsh light. The vampires barred their fangs as a symphony of noises overwhelmed their senses: the soft hum of an air conditioner, footsteps thundering about, the chill of winter, the heat of summer, the overlapping sounds of cars and buses as the roar of crowds boomed in their ears. The city, the hearth of so many people, filled this room for a moment.

The vampires drew back, white smoking curling off their charring flaky skins. They ducked back into the elevator, hiding in whatever corner they could manage until the doors shut with a satisfying ding.

“Come on” Finnrick gestured to the window “I don’t want to be written up for unauthorized magic in an unregistered area.”

Casey and Finnrick scampered to the window. Casey’s face turned a sickly green when he realized how high up they were.

“Ugh I don’t feel good.” his stomach churned queasily.

Finnrick broke the window with his elbow, the fresh smoggy air of the city bringing some color back into Casey’s cheeks “I know buddy but it’s only eight floors up.”

“I hate you so much right now.”

“Okay cool jump now!”

Robert regained enough sense to see the troublemakers leap out the window without hesitation. He struggled to his feet when flickers of something began to form. Before he knew what was going on, the previously empty room was now filled with various creatures: Elves, dwarves, a gnome on silts had appeared out of thin air. They weren’t dress in any ancient medieval garb but rather dark blue jackets, jeans and combat boots with the initials M.R.R.D stitched on their clothing. They were no different than any one on the street aside their more unique physical features.

“M.R.R.D!” the gnome cried out, brandishing a strange clockwork pistol “Everyone freeze! We sensed a magical disturbance and a violation of the Arcane Veil!”

Robert rose to his full height “I am Robert Walker and I…”

The gnome opened fire and Robert could feel exhaustion overtake him. Sleepiness began to ebb at his resolve and before he could mutter another word, he closed his eyes. A dreamless sleep until he woke up in a council prison cell a few hours later.

-----

Casey didn’t scream as he fell through the air. He was too busy trying to keep his lunch in his stomach.

Finnrick waited a moment to make sure everything was in place and with a wave of his hand, the two began to fall much slower. They landed on their feet as if they had taken a step off the sidewalk instead of several stories up.

Casey began hyperventilating, trying his best to get his stomach settled. Finnrick began fanning his face when a man walked up to him.

Casey and Finnrick said nothing, waiting for the Arcana Veil to fill in any blanks they were missing. They could’ve told this man anything but they found from experience that it was just easier to roll with whatever the magical blanket that separated the mundane world from the magical decided.

The man peered at them, his gaze unsure and confused.

“Hey, you guys okay?” he asked helpfully.

Casey and Finnrick remained silent.

His eyes glazed over for a moment, a strange shimmering sheen within his pupils telling the duo that the veil was in effect.

“You guys are oddly dressed for window washers.” the man chuckled.

Finnrick glanced back to find a ghostly image of an electrically operated scaffold behind them, water buckets and squeegees included.

They shared a look.

“Would you believe it’s national window washer day?” Casey filled in.

Finnrick added “Yeah, they let us wear whatever want today. It’s only one day out of the year anyway and most of the time we work by ourselves so no harm done.”

the man nodded like that was the most reasonable thing he had ever heard “Right sorry. I’ll just be on my way.”

Finnick and Casey ducked out of the alleyway behind him, heads low and nonchalant as the human M.R.R.D members began to shut down the restaurant from the outside.

“Well that sucked.”

“Just a little. Here let’s go some dinner on me.”

“Damn straight on you Finny. Brutes, elves, vampires?”

“Oh my.”

“Now I’m ordering extra bread for that.”

[evielovebot]

ask no questions and you'll get no lies (chapter 1)

Summary: Right after the Core Four defeat Maleficent at the coronation, King Adam decides the four VKs his son brought are too much of a risk and, overruling Ben, sends them back to the Isle.

Too bad they're not going to just sit still and take it. Even worse for him that they now know there are more options than to work alone and accept the lot they were given in life, and this time, it's personal.

Meanwhile, the AKs are starting to doubt their own parents and aren't content to just follow orders they no longer agree with.

After a few moments, the present crowd slowly started to comprehend what just happened and began to cheer. Even those who had been more than a little against the Villain Kids coming to Auradon were looking at them appreciatively.

Mal was shocked at seeing Audrey, of all people, smiling at her, and thought she might've inhaled some of her mother's green smoke when she saw Aurora doing the same. Queen Leah, at least, wasn't smiling, but wasn't glaring in disgust either. 

By her side, Jay wasn't looking so surprised at seeing Aziz waving at him from behind his parents, both looking confused but in good spirits. He noticed a group of boys excitedly whooping and felt warmer than expected when he realized it has his teammates gesturing at him and Carlos.

The shorter boy wasn't expecting anyone to react like that to them, but seeing them cheer for him felt good. He saw Jane smiling from where she was hanging on to her mother, and heard Dude before he jumped on his arms, and couldn't help but smile disbelievingly.

Snow White was smiling and cheering at someone, and it took a moment for Evie to realize it was aimed at her. The older princess opened her mouth, but whatever she wanted to say was lost when King Beast stepped forward and straightened himself.

"Guards! Take them away."

Everyone quieted down, all eyes turning towards the man. His wife and son included, who stared at him in confusion.

"Darling, please-"

"Dad, that's not fair!"

And then volume picked up again as people started to voice their own opinions. The VKs were once again shocked to hear most of them seemed to be in their defense. 

"You can't be serious!"

"They did nothing! They saved us!"

"They helped us! Leave them alone!"

"You can't do that!"

They recognized Lonnie, Jane, Doug and even Audrey piping in their defense, and they weren't the only ones. But it didn't matter, because Adam Florian the Beast listened to no one but himself. Not even to his son, as everyone saw when Ben stepped closer to try and reason with him, but the first word hadn't even left his mouth when his father interrupted.

"Enough! "

His shout could be better defined as a roar, and the presents went quiet under the deafening volume and the sight of fangs once more protruding from his mouth. He clasped his hands together, and smiled through it.

"You forget, children, that I am still High King. The coronation was interrupted, and it's obvious you aren't ready for such responsibility." The last part was aimed at Ben, said as the Beast picked up the crown and placed it once again on his own head. "I can do as I choose, and it will be fair if I say it is. Trust me, I know what's best for Auradon, and for all of us."

The four friends, tired from weeks filled with nerves and stress, adapting to such a change and feeling pulled in two directions, a confrontation with an actual dragon and the emotional aspect of their choice, took more to process what was happening than normally would. It was only when the guards closed in on them, and one slapped heavy iron shackles on Mal's wrists as her eyes glowed and she started to recite a spell, draining her power immediately, that they realized what would happen. That this was never meant to last, not for them. It was obvious by the way they were approached and restrained that the Beast had been ready to send them back since they arrived. Carlos was saying something, but even he wasn't sure what, and the others couldn't hear him as they were pulled away and the yelling of the crowd drowned it. The last thing they saw before new guards approached them and plunged syringes into their necks were the bright yellow and blue colors of the Auradon flags, standing proud and mocking everywhere their eyes could see as they blacked out.

☆

"If we got the same punishment for being good that our parents did for being bad, does it even matter what we do? Because it looks like we'll be judged and found guilty either way."

Evie looked up at Carlos, and tried not to wince when their eyes met. They'd been back over a week, and anyone who saw them could tell their mothers hadn't been happy about the attempted betrayal that went down at the coronation. There was a purpling bruise over his jaw, his left eye could barely close, and the shadows shaped like fingers around his neck matched the ones around hers and her arms in a grotesque way. She’d been staying in their hideout since the fourth night, when the Evil Queen moved her to her old room and she was finally able to climb out the window and run to the place closest to “safe” on the Isle. Evie had waited every waking hour for someone else to walk in, painfully aware she could not go looking for them in her state; she woke up in the middle of the night to the familiar sound of rocks hitting a metal sign and started crying as an even more familiar head of white hair appeared from the stairs. Carlos was as bruised and bloodied as she had been, but they held each other tight ignoring the sting of their wounds even when they ended up kneeling on the floor and resting against the other. Two hours later, they had helped each other clean up and they were finally talking about the elephant in the room.

"So what do you propose we do? Show them how bad we can actually be?"

"No, not really. Just do what we need to, and forget what they might think. Everyone has obviously already made up their minds about us. Now it's time for us to do what's best for us."

"Where do we start?"

It was impossible to ignore what he was saying, especially with the notable absence of the other two echoing through the hideout. Evie remembered the way Jay looked at them before his father dragged him off, the effects of the drug still weakening them enough that their parents had no difficulty imposing once again their will over theirs. There was nowhere else to go for them, their safe place too far away for them to reach like this. It had been far too easy for Jafar to get to Jay while Cruella and the Evil Queen closed in on their own children. They caught glimpses of the painful hold his father had him in as he literally dragged him by a dislocated arm to make sure he couldn’t tear away even if he regained his strength.

And Mal... Evie closed her eyes to try and forget the terrified look on Mal's face as she faced her mother, in human form again, and realized she didn't have her magic to protect her (to protect any of them). They hadn't seen any of them since. The blue haired witch opened her eyes, and exhaled slowly through her nose. Over a week alone with their parents would be cause of worry under normal circumstances; with the current situation, it was incalculably worse. Carlos and Evie had been able to get away relatively faster and more easily because their mothers had very few henchmen anymore, but Jafar had plenty men that would still listen to him, and Maleficent had the most men working for her other than- Muffling a curse with her hand, Evie looked at Carlos; by his grimace, she knew he had reached the same or a similar conclusion as her.

“We don’t have any other option, do we?”

“Not really, no one else has enough people for it to work.”

“And how are we supposed to convince them?”

A quick glance around the hideout was enough to spark an idea. Evie started to smile, ignoring how it hurt to do so.

“Say, C, do you remember that device you made a couple years back? The one that was meant to 'change things' completely?”

“Which devi- oh yeah, but it barely did anything.”

“Would you say you learned enough in Auradon to try again? If you had the necessary materials.”

She stayed quiet as he mumbled calculations and lists, and saw the answer in the set of his jaw and the rise of his eyebrows before he even lifted his head again. Carlos grinned, and his eyes darkened, and Evie had hope for the first time since they crossed the barrier for the second time.

“We have plenty of work to do, then.”

[thoughtfulpaperback]

CHARMED 03X10 REVIEW!!!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!

GENERAL THOUGHTS

Well Damn! This episode was far from perfect, but as far as excitement and moving the plot forward it sure enough stepped up from the last two episodes. Solid 9/10 for me.

Some things to note though are as thus follows:

We might now know who made the Tomb of Chaos and why, but we still don't know how the heck the monsters started getting out in the first place. They could just go the route of the whole fiasco last season (magic dying) caused it but that would mean there is not big bad for this storyline and we'd have to fall back on Abby's storyline for one. Unless the Perfecti are gonna become a problem which they definitely have the potential for.

The writers still can write a solid explanation for how magic works in this world. Josefina obviously is a witch or some magical being (even if she doesn't have a "main" power like telekinesis) proven by the fact she can create spells and apparently is affected by the charmed ones magical allergy. But arguably last season mortals/non magical beings were able to harness magic through combined magical elements and science so maybe anyone can use magic???

The lore is still messy as heck and the effects and vibe still feel more alien/sci-fi than magical. The tallness and the look of the perfecti are giving me star trek realness.

Anyways onto my dislikes ⏭

DISLIKES

1) Effects for Macy's Powers

Last time I mentioned that they changed the special effects for Macy's telekinesis, some of y'all suggested that it was only the force field or magical slow down/motion freeze that had a blue effect. This episode disproved that as Macy threw the dagger and used her powers to push the dagger forward with more force. The effect was blue and again I hate it.

Season 2 motion stop was a whole different color and looked different than this sort of blue force effect. I stand by what I said previously it feels more sci-fi than fantasy and I am vehement against that shift in vibe

2) The writers don't think well clock them for the board?

So the witch board has been programed to find rifts now and we didn't get to see that? I mean Harry said he figured out the calculations to predict where they'd be but not that the board could be programed to figure it out. I mean that would have been a nice feature the episode after he figured it out....I mean come one I know six days have passed but a quick line at least bringing attention to the new feature would be nice.

3) this lore is messy AF

Ya'll i think maybe I need to give up hope that the writers will ever make any of this make sense, but like okay so far we have a source of all magic that apparently isn't affected by a magical tree that -when tainted- can cause magic to die. And now we have advance ancient magic and magical tribes which predate charmed ones. So why are there different lines of charmed ones and when did they come about and why were they needed? Also magical tribes organizing enough to giving up magic to create basically magic AIs to lock up big bads, but apparently in enough chaos to have the problem???? That suggests maybe a time before the chaos of thier were organize tribes. Maybe chaos is subjective here?

Also as far as canon goes, apparently the source of all magic can give people powers (macy got all the powers when she took on the source) and we don't know what the heck happened with that since they used it to fix the tree. Like I'm sure it didn't just go away since it is the source of all fricken magic. Maybe they should look into that or Let Josefina try spending quality time with the tree and some black amber since they cured it.....just saying.

Also I guess the whole consequences for using magic for personal gain is 100% gone because I think self-medicating with your powers would fall under that category.

LIKES

1) Hacy moments that both cure depression and remind me that there are still issues afoot.

I love me those hacy scenes where they support and care for each other as a couple. I awwed, but it looks like Harry got a taste of that mortal life and won't be letting go of it as a possibility, while Macy looked a bit off put by the idea of what mortality for Harry might mean. So there is the promise of some drama in the future.

I love whitelighter Harry. I think that since the show is really shifting vibes Harry's whitelighter status and abilities (which still are vague tbh) still tether it to the OG or at least the idea of it being in the vein of the OG Charmed. If there are no more whitelighters at all then I feel like they might as well have renamed it and or just as easily have it be a different show completely. I hold onto the idea that that fantasy feeling and demons/whitelighters were the core of What made charmed (the og) charmed. So I am glad Harry hasn't permanently lost his powers and hope he never will. I mean the book of shadows had a spell that took away immortality without taking away powers-as seen in season 1- I mean macy used it along with a voodoo spell. The writers mean to tell me that Macy can't remember and rewrite a spell she used but Mel can recreate the book of shadows and possible spells we've never seen them use?!?!?

2) Pacing and energy

I dont know about yall, but the last few episodes weren't very exciting and some felt like they dragged on without moving the plot along. This epsiode was actually quick paced and I felt there were actual stakes here.

3) the messages

Love anytime a show advocates for people getting help with thier mental/emotional health. Love that the show hasn't said that Josefina isn't a witch without powers, love that they are pushing the message of not needing to prove what she is to anyone.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

So the Board detects rifts now...

Maggie forgetting the Marble

Mel being the new Harry as far as overprotective of Josefina and her "readiness"

Dagger dripping green ooze

Perfecti coming through the portal

"I am never gonna stop fighting for you..."

Perfecti coming in to solve all the problems

[seancekitsch]

Strictly Confectional.

a/n: part whatever of the prize buck series, slight spoilers of tua season 2 so you HAVE been warned but like if youve read the comics nbd, smut warnings, klaus being sorta dominant for once, slight sensory deprivation kink, unprotected norty bits (wrap it up folx), canon drug references, rehab references, drug use, cursing, the title of this fic is from a lemon demon song which warrants its own warning, my usual run of the mill warnings etc. 

Halloween is a fucking ordeal when you work at an occult shop and date a personified ouija board, and that’s putting it lightly. Even more of an ordeal considering Klaus decides to go cold turkey for the holiday week without warning you. Of course it was easy to figure out what was going on. The his and her’s morning joints you typically had resting on the windowsill became yours and yours joints. He had exactly one beer since last saturday, and halloween was still a day away. It was starting to get a little spooky. Your boss Margie hated Klaus on a regular day, claiming he threw off the vibes her store was supposed to give off. She was a highly superstitious woman and you wouldn't put it past her to actually notice if Klaus agitated any of the spirits that were probably attached to the things you sell. Realistically, Klaus’ presence did in fact stir up the spirits in her store. Lots of victorian era mourning hair bracelets and taxidermy probably made before your birth would do that. He always claimed the store was extremely loud, but still liked to visit you when your boss was running errands because you were there, and he can't help that he gets bored easily. Klaus’ being there never went unnoticed by your boss, even if he was gone by the time she came back. But this whole cold turkey thing was new for him. Even Diego and Ben said he had only tried to do this one other time, and it was during the apocalypse that never happened that you still think might have been a case of mass hallucination. You weren't sure what his reasoning for it was, since he was just sober enough to conjure Ben any time enough for you to see him and speak to him, even if he was a glowing blue apparition that you compared to the Tupac hologram from Coachella that only appeared for a few minutes. This week was a lot of Klaus having the usual headaches and shaking that come with coming off alcohol, but probably heightened because you know the ghosts don't just shut up when he wants them to. He hasn't been sleeping well unless spooned by you and hushed to sleep with the cool beginnings of fall air blowing through the window.

Friday morning you get your first cryptic answer as to what's been going on with him. 

“The veil is thinner on Saturday, I want to try something I haven't been able to do since the sixties,” is the only explanation he’ll give as he kisses your fingertips and holds the door open for you at the shop. Of course, it has something to do with the sixties. Normally you wouldn't pay much attention to his family’s antics because you knew something was going on there that probably didn't concern you, the exception being that time he pulled you back to the sixties briefly and you were handed a briefcase meant for an old man before ending up back at home. You still aren't sure how you made it back to your shift at work that day but Margie hasn’t looked at you the same since. She probably thinks you're a freak like your partner. Which, fair. 

His answer doesn't give you that much clarification, but it's better than nothing which is usually what he gives you in warning for his ideas. But anything testing the limits of his powers is usually good for the both of you, because it's a testament to growth and confidence just as much as the pieces of furniture you're slowly accumulating. Sure, there are still bad days. There are still terrible days for the both of you. The more he learns to control his abilities and the more furnished your apartment becomes, it's almost more like you're becoming real functioning people and you can consider yourselves part of that human race you've heard so much about. 

Your shift at work is… different. Friday is typically a slow day, but the holiday weekend packs your store in a way you can barely keep up with. The quiet baroque music generally wafting through the air is interrupted by quiet “ewwws” and “what is that?”s from people who normally wouldn't be setting foot in a store like this being dragged in by their spookier friends. You've sold hundreds more than you usually would, but the quiet almost holy spell of the place is broken today. At least the day passes quickly with all the sales you make.

You can feel Klaus coming before he even presses his face into the glass window, smushing his lips and cheek into the glass like one of those slugs in an aquarium. Maybe there is something to be said about the veil being thin and all that. When his tongue darts out to join the rest of his face on the cold surface, you giggle, but then begin to wonder if you're getting a taste of what all the ghosts see when he tries to get in contact with them. He pulls back and waves before putting a hand on the door, a silent question of if it's safe to enter. You shake your head no because your boss is in the back room, but he only has to wait ten more minutes. 

Those ten minutes pass slower than the entire shift before that. Just knowing he’s outside has you almost itching for his touch. Since when were you so needy that ten minutes felt like torture? Blame it on the fucking veil or whatever. Your hands are clammy by the time you clock out and bid Margie goodbye,while she reminds you to show up at work in costume tomorrow. Only she doesn't know you fully plan to come dressed in one of your partner’s silly superhero outfits from when he was a teenager. 

Klaus is all too happy to kiss you open mouthed the second your figure is out of your workplace, and you willingly ignore that it's the same mouth he just smeared all over the side of a storefront because you're all too happy to kiss him back. One thing about his little cold turkey experiment that you’ve been loving is how potent his sex drive has become. His hands grip your hips like a vice as you continue kissing on the short three block walk and up the flight of stairs to your apartment and travel down to your thighs as you fumble with the keys in the dark of the setting sun not facing the only window in the building that faces the front door of your apartment. It's always a testament to your will when he gets like this as there's nothing you'd like better than to just ride him on the steps in front of your door, but there's just something about doing it in the privacy of your apartment that you like better.

But it's seconds before you feel the key sink into the hole and the tell tale click of everything being pushed into place, and the door gives way almost not soon enough for the two of you to clumsily barrel through it. Now Klaus under normal circumstances is a sexual being, but this cold turkey sobriety and focus is new, and makes you feel wanted- maybe loved- in a way you've never felt before in your life. It's not just that he wants to get off, he wants you. He wants to get off with and for you. Specifically you. Which is the sexiest feeling in the world, you've decided. 

You barely put your bag down before he's pulling your coat from your shoulders behind you and growling in your ear. 

“Now we’re trying something new tonight, okay baby?” you barely get out an affirmative nod before he finishes, “good, just trust me, I've got you in safe hands.”

You let him take the lead as he strips you bare in the middle of the studio apartment, which feels much bigger than usual, maybe because he’s still fully clothed. His movements are greedy, hands sparing no touch on even an inch of your skin, grabbing and caressing as if it was his property, which in a way, you'd be glad to grant him ownership. He takes control of you, your body not moving in any direction he does not will himself. 

“Close your eyes,” he whispers as his hands find their way to your chest, and you do. You hear him sigh, and maybe a breath of “that's right” as his hand slides up to touch your face, making sure you listen to directions as well as he wants you to. You can hear him start to breathe a little heavier as he presses his leather clad crotch into your ass. He chuckles as you return the pressure, wiggling your hips a little to entice him, before he spins you around and presses your hand into the buttons that hold his pants up on his bony hips. Your eyes are still closed, that’s good, he thinks as he rewards you with a kiss. Your hands make quick work of the buttons, despite your impaired senses, and he shimmies the pants to his ankles, where his boots prevent them from falling any further. 

“Wait a tic- wait, just…” he trails off and falters a little, you notice, before commanding you again, “stand there and touch yourself. I gotta get these boots off but if you open your eyes it'll ruin what I have planned for us.”

You comply and focus on the smells and sounds of the room as you part your legs a little further and trail your fingers down. There's a heady scent in the air from stale weed smoked this morning and the sickening sweetness of the strawberry hookah set out and packed for tonight, which now would probably be left to the wayside, you note, as you feel wetness collect on your fingertips even at first contact. You focus on the sound of his laces as they smack the hardwood floor as your middle finger rubs slow calculated tight circles on your clit. You don't dare pick up the pace or try to touch yourself in earnest at first, unsure of his intentions for the night as a soft sigh of a moan leaves your parted lips. You hear a loud dull thud, and then another. He must be done, you think, as your fingers pick up the speed, just a little, just enough to make you whine at your own actions. And he is, his boots are discarded near the door, but this isn't a view he's going to give up that easily. Its not every day someone is obeying his commands, fucking themselves and whimpering his name uninhibited like this. He smiles as he watches, and you can feel his eyes on you. You wonder what you must look like, shameless, wanton, on display for him. But then you feel a hand wrap around the wrist of the hand that's between your legs and he pulls it away from your body. Then the chill of the fall air hitting your wet fingers, then his wet mouth engulfs them, sucking. The action sending shockwaves up your arm to the joint of your shoulder, the entire arm pliant for him to use as he wishes. This is what being with Klaus does to you. Your body instinctively wants him to use it. Once he's content with licking every drop of you off your fingers, he moves your hand from his mouth to on his shoulders, and surges up to gather you in his arms, yours moving to grab him and stabilize yourself in return. He carries you to what you assume is your bed and settles you on his naked lap, his hard cock finding shelter between your thighs. He kisses you hard and deep, focusing on his tongue greeting yours, then pushing it out of his way as he explores your mouth. You've been so good, keeping your eyes shut for this long, and tells you so as he grinds up, the head of his cock just barely brushing against where you want him most.

His hips rock up and down, up and down, tantalizing and teasing you. Your moans and keens whenever he happens to hit the mark are music to his ears, something he holds so incredibly dear to him. Even with your eyes closed, when he looks up at them he can still see the love behind them. It's an acceptance he’s been struggling to find in modern times, until you. It’s the full trust you give him with your body and mind. He remembers every scrap and detail you’ve given him since he first tucked you into bed that day in the clinic, and hoards it like treasure. The way you’ve slowly opened up to him like dropping a trail of breadcrumbs for him to follow, your willingness to work to give him what you can. You’re guarded for a lot of the reasons he’s so open. But you make the choice to be open to him, and he’s thankful. And as he shifts your bodies to thrust inside you, as your mouth falls open into an ‘o’ shape, he decides he wants to take everything you’ll give him, bask in the affection you readily shine on him, as long as you’ll shine on him. Tonight he wants to impress you.

You’re being so good, really so good. You haven’t opened your eyes once, not even to peek. You’ve just held on tight and let Klaus take the lead. It’s kind of kinky; really. Letting him be in control, losing one of your senses, blindly kissing the parts of skin you can reach, which you think is his chest and shoulder. Even as he shifts you, holding your legs now as he shifts the position a little more. It’s not uncomfortable, but never a position you’ve been in before. You can tell by the way your thigh muscles quietly burn that you’re pretzeled up in his lap, with him thrusting deeply up into you.

The way his thrusts hit inside you is delicious, each time he bottoms out earns him another moan falling from your lips against his skin, always vocal for him. This time your moans are uncontrollable, the way he controls the action is undeniably sexy and undeniably the Klaus of it all, the way he can toe the line between gentle and rough, the care he puts into every motion. He makes sure to use his entire body to get you off, and tonight he’s really trying to go above and beyond.

“Okay-“ a moan from deep in his throat, “open your eyes. Don't scream!”

The first thing you see is the blank white smoothness of the wall, specifically where it kisses the ceiling. At just above eye level. Your head has to be, what, inches from the ceiling? and. wait. What?

If you weren’t clinging to him for dear life, you certainly were now. He hisses then groans at the feeling of your nails digging into him, sure to leave shallow little crescent moon marks on the tops of his biceps. The ceilings are tall enough that Klaus can stand on top of it without his head brushing the ceiling, and you were somehow floating right up there.

Immediately Klaus sees the panic that crosses your features and shushes you, comforting, but not unlike how someone tries to calm a child or a pet.

“Hey, look! I haven’t levitated since 1963. I thought it would be a nice surprise, I can stop if you need, we can lay down,” Ever the sweet man, he’s instantly trying to make sure this is okay or if he’s crossed a line. But you shake your head no. Honestly, fucking freaky at first, but then its fucking freaky, and you are down with it. Up with it.

“No, no... I like this. Do your worst.”

The words are barely out of your mouth before he leans back, bringing you with him. Now you can sit up, and give your body a little bit more space than he had been giving it before. You figure you could ride him like this and push against the ceiling for support, which actually, was Klaus’ whole idea behind this. Great minds think alike or whatever. So as he keeps thrusting you start to shift your hips back to meet his. It’s weird not having anything below you for leverage for your legs, but maybe if he does this again you can figure something out.

Instead it’s this steady grind, him up, you down. Now its less of an honest to god fuck and more of a writhing midair to make each other come.Instead of his worst like you’d asked, its incredibly intimate in a way you usually aren’t. But that's enough for the both of you. The ceiling does wonders to help your arms press you down into his pelvis, rocking yourself up and down on him while your legs dangled. You were honestly impressed by the way he was able to keep himself so horizontal. Maybe his being trained in combat as a teen gave him core muscles you didn't realize he had. All of these thoughts of muscles are quickly swallowed by Klaus, Klaus, and nothing but the way Klaus was making you feel at this very moment.

If any one would have seen the two of you climax, which happened at the same time for once in the hundreds of times now that you'd fornicated, one would have seen from the top of your window two legs go rigid before two bodies floated down back to where human bodies should be with surprising grace, the owners of those bodies kissing everywhere one each other that they could reach. He kissed your neck, your chest, your face, long strong fingers brushing your hair soothingly as his back hit the mattress. He slides out of you unceremoniously, at which you pout at the loss of him, but only to shift and tuck you into his side as his arms still cradled you close. 

“So, as lovely and thrilling as that was, why did the veil or whatever need to be thin for you to do that?”

“Well, it didn’t, but I wanted us to get in the holiday spirit a little more, like that scene in Poltergeist.” He punctuates the sentence with a kiss to your temple as he slides off the bed, and gingerly walks over to the kitchen. He’s turning on the stove, then using tongs to place a coal onto the heat.

“If I torch this for hookah, will you take this bowl with me?” as if everything that just happened was commonplace. An everyday occurrence.

All you can do is nod.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Outsider (pt 1)

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Hurt/Comfort Characters: Mechanic, Scott

A peculiar thing whereby I got a particular idea in my head and then reverse-engineered a scenario in which it might be vaguely plausible, because Scott&Mechanic interests me so I’m gonna play with it a bit.  This is ostenably a two-part fic, and the second part is mostly written so should be up in the next day or two, with any luck...

He’s not a member of International Rescue, but when someone ends up in trouble, he can’t walk away.

The man still didn’t really trust him.  The Mechanic knew that, even without sharp blue eyes watching his every move with something that looked a lot like suspicion.  He was tolerated, an understanding that he hadn’t wanted to do what he had under the Hood’s control, but that was as far as the civility extended.

The Mechanic understood that.  He wouldn’t trust himself, either.  Didn’t.  In a way, it was a relief that one of the Tracys hadn’t followed the rest of his family as leaving it in the past, water under the bridge.  It validated his own emotions, assured him that he wasn’t over-reacting.

Assured him that it hadn’t just been a product of his own imagination.  That it had actually happened.

“I don’t need your help,” Scott Tracy told him.  It was a lie they both wished was true.  If it was true, they wouldn’t be here.

The eldest Tracy brother had sprained his wrist on a rescue two days ago.  Nothing serious, but enough to leave him grounded until he could fly a plane again.  Predictably, he hadn’t taken well to the idea; the Mechanic knew enough about him to know he hated being inactive.  Having his brothers out on rescue, and even his father away on the mainland for business, while he was forced to remain behind and recuperate made for a volatile Tracy.

The Mechanic had gone out of his way to avoid the man, an endeavour that had managed to remain entirely successful until outside forces interfered.

In this case, ‘outside forces’ translated to ‘Mrs Tracy’.

A sprained wrist hadn’t stopped Scott from pounding out his frustrations through a run across the island, something the Mechanic hadn’t known he’d gone to do until the family matriarch entered his lab.

“You need fresh air,” she’d told him bluntly.  “Staying cooped up in here all day isn’t good for your health.”

There was no arguing with the diminutive woman, even when she continued to tell him that her eldest grandson had gone out for a run two hours earlier and wasn’t back yet - nor was he answering her calls.

“Why don’t you go and see what’s taking him so long?”  It hadn’t been a suggestion.  He’d been packed off with a first aid kit – just in case – and reluctantly found himself following a largely unfamiliar path around the island until he’d found her grandson.

There were signs of a recent rockfall, and the younger man was a little way off the path, sitting on the ground.  From the unnatural angle of his left leg, it wasn’t an optional rest he was taking, and the recent rockfall had been very recent.  Coinciding with Scott Tracy’s run recent.

He’d looked relieved to be found for all of half a second, before recognition hit.

“Your grandmother sent me,” had been enough to stall any outright dismissals or otherwise defensive snarls, but still wasn’t enough to return relief to his eyes.  It was obvious Scott would have rather been found by literally anyone else on the island.

The Mechanic didn’t want to be there, either, but living with International Rescue was contagious. When combined with his need to make up for what he’d done, both to this family and the world, no matter what the younger man thought, he couldn’t leave him there.

“What are you doing?” Scott demanded as he crouched down next to him.  “Don’t touch me.”

“I might not be trained to the same standard as International Rescue,” he said, ignoring the protests and rummaging through the first aid kit, “but workshops are dangerous and I’ve got more than enough training to treat a broken leg.”

He could see there was a retort on the tip of Scott’s tongue, but the other man swallowed it down, clearly remembering that they were at least attempting to remain cordial to each other, even if trust wasn’t on the table.

The fact that, whether they liked it or not, he was very much at the Mechanic’s mercy no doubt had something to do with it, too.

It wasn’t a bad break, and Scott suffered through the splinting process in silence, or so he obviously wanted to appear.  The Mechanic dutifully ignored the muffled groans and occasional whimper that escaped through grit teeth.

The complication came when it was time to get him back to the house.  There was no stretcher in the first aid kit, which meant he either had to leave the man to retrieve one, or wait until one of the Thunderbirds returned so Scott’s brothers could take over.  Scott, unsurprisingly, was in favour of the option that had his brothers helping him, rather than the Mechanic.

He was in favour of that one, too, but there was a problem that Scott clearly hadn’t spotted, and the Mechanic had.  It was one that left him reluctant to leave, or wait for backup.

Not all of the fallen rocks were stable.  There was a large one that almost necessitated the label boulder instead perched a little way above them, and the Mechanic wasn’t entirely certain how long it would stay put.  What he was certain of was that if and when it fell, Scott was directly in its path and would be unlikely to escape serious injury.

“I’ll be fine,” Scott insisted.  It was another lie and this one he couldn’t let slip past unacknowledged.

“I cannot leave you here,” he said firmly.  “Your grandmother would have both our heads.”

Scott’s unhappy and stubborn response was overlapped by a faint roar, and the Mechanic looked up to see the red of Thunderbird Three streaking down towards them.

Despite everything had had happened since the original Zero-X, there was one thing the Mechanic knew, and that was that he was good at what he did: calculations, variables, everything that went into the core of being an engineer.  The boulder was perched precariously at best. Thunderbird Three was so powerful she always shook the island.

The vibrations caused by Thunderbird Three’s engines were going to dislodge the boulder. Imminently.

Scott had to be moved now.

“Hey!”

Scott was not a small man, but nor was the Mechanic.  With vibrations echoing in his ears, a promise of danger that couldn’t be ignored, he slipped one arm around Scott’s back while the other snaked under his thighs, and with the flexing of muscles built from years of lugging around heavy machinery, he surged to his feet and staggered backwards just as the boulder tipped.

Any additional complaints from the younger man were cut off as the Mechanic scrambled out of its path, the large rock missing them by scant inches as it thundered down, exactly where Scott had been sat moments earlier.

The first aid kit, left on the ground as the Mechanic prioritised getting Scott out of the way, was smashed.  His chest rose and fell, heaving from the sudden adrenaline, and in his arms, Scott’s breathing was equally shaky.

Thunderbird Three, entirely oblivious to the near-disaster she’d almost caused, continued her descent into her silo.

“You can put me down now.” There was a deliberate evenness to Scott’s voice, and the Mechanic looked down at him.  His face was white, most likely from the pain of the sudden movement, and he was staring at the crushed first aid kit.

The Mechanic looked around, accessing the situation.  It was unlikely any other boulders were going to cascade down, but after the near-miss he was reluctant to leave the younger man vulnerable.  Despite their strained relationship, he still held a decent level of respect for the commander of International Rescue, not to mention a very healthy level of respect for Mrs Tracy.  He could not, in good conscience, leave him there.

Scott wasn’t light by any means; his height alone saw to that, let alone the fact that he was pure lithe muscle, but the Mechanic had carried much heavier equipment without breaking a sweat.  It would be no challenge to carry him back to the house.  His leg was splinted, and as long as he was careful, had no reason to be jostled.

Carrying Scott would be just like carrying heavy but fragile equipment.

“This way is faster,” he replied, carefully picking his way back to the path.

“What?”  Scott shifted slightly, before obviously realising that if he forced him to drop him only one of them would come off badly and stilling. “No!  Put me down, Mechanic!”

“The sooner we get back, the sooner your grandmother can look at your leg,” he pointed out.  The mention of Mrs Tracy was like a magic spell; Scott’s resistance melted away.

Well, most of it did. He was still tense in the Mechanic’s arms, and he doubted pain was the sole contributor.

Their journey passed in silence, Scott clearly uninterested in conversation and doing his best to ignore who was carrying him.  It didn’t bother the Mechanic either; he’d always been bad at small talk.  If Scott wanted to pretend it was his brother carrying him home, that was fine by him.

The villa came into view, white and artificial against the natural craggy backdrop of the island, and Scott shifted again.  Instinctively, the Mechanic adjusted his grip, determined not to drop his cargo – precious cargo, despite their personal relationship.  There was a reluctant sigh from the man in his arms.

“Thanks.”  It was said quietly, and when the Mechanic looked down, startled, Scott was steadfastly staring straight at the villa.  “You saved me.”

While it was true, those were words he’d never expected to hear, and certainly not from the Tracy that still refused to trust him.

“You’re a good man,” he replied, if only to stop the words hanging awkwardly in the silence.  “The world needs you.”

He didn’t know Scott well enough to translate the huff of air that erupted from his mouth, but that didn’t matter because they were back, and clearly someone had spotted them because Alan was running out to meet them, hoverstretcher in tow.

The Mechanic was more than willing to set Scott down on it, passing the responsibility of care to the teenager as the young astronaut effortlessly began fussing over his brother, dragging the hoverstretcher back inside.

He stayed outside, content to stay out of the way now his role was done.  He wasn’t one of them, wasn’t a Tracy or International Rescue and had no reason to be involved now there were other, better-suited, people around to ensure Scott was safe and would heal.

Still, as he looked at his hands – hands stained with blood that would never wash away, hands that had just saved a man – he felt that something had shifted, just a little.

Part 2>>>

(the ‘particular idea’ I got was “the Mechanic carrying Scott”)

[aedwritesfic]

Hi! Can I have a Ginny x Luna smut story where they finally admit there feelings to each other and they are madly in love with each other and it’s at the burrow in Ginny’s room? Thanks can’t wait to see it I know it’ll be amazing! :)

Hey nonnie, I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to reply. Thank you for your patience. I had so much fun writing this fluffy and smutty Linny for you! Once I started writing, I just couldn’t stop. I hope you like it!

It Happened One Night

“Shhh!” Ginny tried to suppress her giggles, but they seemed to be bursting out of her like a child’s accidental magic. She cast a silencing spell at the door and the walls, hoping their laughter and conversation wouldn’t wake the rest of the house.

Luna stood on the bed, her riot of blonde waves cascading over her shoulders as she attempted to examine the rafters for Blibbering Humdingers or other such nonsense. They may have snuck a bit more of the Christmas brandy than they were necessarily allowed, but honestly, what did it matter? They would be of age before the school year let out and there was a war on. Now was the time for teenage rebellion. Now was the time to throw caution to the wind—in some regard at least—and truly allow yourself to live. 

Smiling, Luna crouched back down on the bed and continued her animated impromptu lecture on beings the average Wix could not see. Ginny tried to pay attention, she really did, but she found herself completely captivated by the woman’s hands.

Long, pale fingers danced along to her lilting ethereal voice, almost telling a story of their own. The still slightly pink scar on the side of the left index finger from an incident with a bread knife last summer, the almost translucent smattering of white-blonde hair along the knuckles, the deep lines on her palm that Ginny had studied during Divination, it all told the story of a life well-lived. A life that Ginny had been privileged enough to be involved in.

Luna’s hand accidentally brushed against Ginny’s and without thinking, Ginny captured it, lacing their fingers together tanned and freckled against alabaster. She allowed herself to gently manipulate the other woman’s hand, transfixed by the beauty and the power someone so light and unassuming could possess. With those hands, Luna could build something beautiful or tear everything down. People at school had been horrible to Luna, yet every day, she chose to share kind words, lend a hand, and love unconditionally. It was a marvel.

Ginny hadn’t noticed the stillness that came over the room. It wasn’t until Luna gently pulled her hand away that she came back to herself. Ginny blushed furiously and tried to think up an excuse as to why she had just been playing with her best friend’s hand.

Before she could say anything though, Luna leaned forward and tucked a strand of coppery red hair behind Ginny’s ear. “Please don’t,” she whispered almost shyly. “Not unless you mean it.”

“What?” Ginny asked, shifting under her friend’s penetrative gaze.

“There was a fire in your eyes,” she explained quietly, crawling over to sit beside Ginny. “You’re slightly impulsive, now especially because of the brandy, and whatever it was that flashed through your head… if you acted upon it, I think you would regret it later.”

She straightened her shoulders, sitting up a bit further. “I’ve never regretting anything a day in my life.”

“No, you haven’t,” she sighed. “But I don’t think it would be wise. There are too many Wrackspurts about as it is. I’d rather not have to deal with an infestation.”

“Why would you have to deal with Wrackspurts, Luna?” she murmured.

“Because whatever it was you were going to do, I doubt that you would have really meant it, and that would… that would be cause enough for an infestation.”

Ginny’s breath caught in her throat. For years, she had quietly harboured a crush on her best friend in the entire world. Luna had never shown any romantic interest in anyone and so she had just assumed that such things didn’t matter to the woman. Ginny had stopped herself from saying anything so many times, had forced herself to attempt to move on, but no matter how hard she tried, her heart always beat for Luna.

Turning to face her friend, Ginny grabbed Luna’s hand again, squeezing gently. “Luna, what makes you think that I wouldn’t mean it? I’ve…” she took a deep breath, pushing away her nerves and throwing caution to the wind. “Luna, I have cared for you for so long. Why would I lie to you?”

Luna smiled sadly, “I know that you would never intentionally say or do anything to hurt me, but—”

Ginny couldn’t stand it any longer. She surged forward, capturing Luna’s face in her hands and rested their foreheads together brown eyes staring imploringly into silver. Merlin, Ginny could get lost in those eyes that so resembled the early morning mist.

“Do you really not know?” she whispered. “You know so much about the world, you see what others don’t even bother to take the time to look for, and yet you really don’t know just how wholly you affect me?”

Luna sat back a little, cocking her head to the side like she did when she was drawing a conclusion. “You love me.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.”

“As more than just friends.”

Ginny nodded and vigorously tried to blink away the tears that threatened to spill over. “I do. And, I completely understand that you don’t feel the same or are even remotely interested in anything other than friendships. I just… How can you think that I don’t mean every single thing that I’ve ever said to you? Every touch that I’ve given you?”

“No one has ever wanted to be more than friends with me before,” Luna said in a small voice.

“Well, I have.”

Luna stared up at her, a calculating look flitted across her face as she took in all the data that surrounded her: the slight tremble in Ginny’s hands, her eyes which implored Luna to believe, the way she bit her lip at the bottom left corner like she did whenever she was nervous.

“I didn’t realize…” Luna whispered. “You’ve only been with men, so I never thought—”

Again, Ginny reached for her hand, holding it between her own, cradling it as though it were something precious. “I couldn’t give a shit about what’s between someone’s legs. It’s about the person. I’ve loved you for so long Luna, but I thought you weren’t… interested in that type of thing.”

A pretty pink flush stained Luna’s cheeks. “Not usually, no. But it’s different with you. I can’t quite describe it, but it’s like all the rules change when it comes to you.” She averted her eyes and bit her pretty pink lip as if trying to decide whether or not to share a secret. But after a moment, she leaned in close and whispered against Ginny’s ear—the warmth of her breath tickling freckled flesh, “You make me feel safe.”

Before Ginny could fully grasp those words, Luna’s hands came up to run through her fiery locks tugging gently at the roots. She sighed and leaned into the touch. Luna knew that she loved having her hair played with. Ever since they were girls, the two had constantly been braiding each other’s hair or just touching it absentmindedly. But now, this touch, it was completely different. The pull was purposeful, it was meant not to calm or play, but to arouse. She allowed Luna to guide her so their lips were only a hairsbreadth apart.

“I love you, Ginevra,” Luna sighed before crashing their lips together in a searing kiss.

Ginny had experienced many first kisses in her sixteen years, some tentative and sweet, some passionate and sloppy. None of them had prepared her for this. They had not prepared her for the overwhelming softness of Luna’s lips, the way Luna seemed to be embracing her soul, not merely pressing her lips or shoving her tongue into Ginny’s mouth. She wasn’t being kissed. She was sharing a kiss. Though earnest, it didn’t feel as though Luna was trying to conquer or lay claim to her. It felt like they were joining together and making something brand new.

Ginny wound her arms around Luna’s waist and drew the woman into her lap, soft thighs straddling her athletic hips. She didn’t want to rush things, but the pool of heat in her core begged her to get closer, touch, taste, feel. But she held back. Luna said that she wasn’t normally interested in these sorts of things. She wasn’t going to push, no matter how badly she wanted to.

As if reading her thoughts, Luna pulled back slightly, breaking their kiss. Staring deeply into her eyes, Luna moved Ginny’s hands from her waist to breasts. “I want you to touch me,” Luna murmured. “Will you make me feel good?”

The breath caught in Ginny’s throat. “Are you sure?”

The woman smiled serenely and nodded. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want you to.”

Ginny groaned, burying her face in the crook of Luna’s neck. She allowed herself to become intoxicated by the woman’s words.

“I’ve sometimes touched myself at night, wishing that my fingers were yours. It was nice, but I got the feeling that it would have been exquisite if you were the one actually doing the touching. That maybe then, I would really know what the fuss was all about.”

Sitting up, Ginny stared deeply into her friend’s eyes, that in the dark of her bedroom looked like starlight. “Luna, I haven’t actually touched a woman before. I don’t know if I’ll—”

Luna silenced her with a kiss before moving Ginny’s hand back to her breast and squeezing.

“Are you sure?” she asked again, wanting to make sure Luna understood. “It’s okay if sex isn’t something you find enjoyable. We don’t need to do anything that you’re not interested in.”

“Just touch me how you touch yourself,” Luna said breathily as Ginny’s deft fingers absently plucked at her nipple. “If we don’t like it we’ll stop.”

Not giving Ginny another chance to speak, Luna leaned forward and placed a kiss just below her ear, on top of the smattering of freckles that resembled the Pleiades. Ginny gasped and allowed her hands to start slowly unbuttoning Luna’s pyjama top. She marvelled at the pale smooth skin as gooseflesh rose beneath her touch. It was perfect, and she longed to leave her mark.

Unwilling to wait any longer, Ginny trailed hot open-mouthed kisses down Luna’s chest, from the place where shoulder meets neck, down the clavicle in the valley between the woman’s ample breasts. She darted out her tongue and allowed it to ascend the swell of flesh that led to the rosey mountain’s peak, cataloguing every moan and sigh she wrenched from Luna’s lips. Her fingers played with the twin’s peak, plucking and caressing.

Without even realizing it, the women had tumbled backwards onto the bed, Ginny nestled into the perfect cradle of Luna’s thighs. Luna gasped and arched when Ginny blew cold air against a pebbled nipple, hips bucking against Ginny’s own as if they were crying out for attention too. Luna moaned something under her breath. With a slight shiver, their remaining clothing disappeared leaving them bare.

Ginny took a moment to revel in the sparking rush she felt in every place their bodies touched. Skin on skin. All of it. At last. She drew up level with Luna and kissed her firmly, unable to think of anything else she would rather be doing until the woman broke the kiss with a desperately pleading, “Please.”

Unable to resist the temptation any longer. Luna’s breasts had tasted like strawberries picked at the height of summer and she needed to know if the rest of her tasted just as sweet. Ginny dove down, placing kisses and caresses along the way before coming to rest at the thatch of golden curls between her friend’s—her lover’s—legs. She looked up into grey eyes, silently asking one more time.

Luna reached down and buried a hand in Ginny’s hair, using it to direct the woman to her wanting core.

Ginny paused for a moment. She closed her eyes and tried to recall the few times anyone had ever kissed her there. What she had liked. What she had wished they had done. Ginny allowed herself only a second to marvel at the beauty of Luna’s cunt. How it glistened with arousal just for her. Knowing that she had done this. That she was the reason her friend was wet was because of her. That knowledge bolstered her confidence and pushed her forward as she licked Luna firmly from opening to clit, stopping only to suck gently on the perfect bud.

The reaction was instantaneous. Luna bucked her hips so violently that Ginny had to press down on the woman’s hips to keep her in place. When another lick brought on the same reaction along with a litany of moaned nonsense, Ginny hooked Luna’s knees over her shoulders and pulled her lover even closer to her by the hips, feasting on her lover’s pretty pink quim.

Not being able to resist, Ginny reached down to her own aching cunt and began rutting against her palm. The delightful friction had her moaning against Luna’s clit. Luna’s grip tightened in her hair, almost painfully as the woman screamed out her orgasm, squirting her release onto Ginny’s mouth and chin. The rush of warm liquid combined with the sounds of ecstasy and the delightful friction of her palm sent her over the edge, quivering and panting against Luna’s thigh.

The next thing she knew, gentle hands pulled her up into a warm embrace. Sweet words of praise were murmured into her hair while fingers lightly caressed her skin. When she came back to herself, Luna brushed the hair away from Ginny’s eyes and placed a soft kiss on lips still damp from her own release.

“You’re perfect,” Ginny whispered, clutching Luna close.

The woman hummed. “No, my love. We are perfect together.”

[grayintogreen]

It’s technically WIP Wednesday (even though it’s 1 AM...) and I don’t have Inventory today BECAUSE IT WAS CANCELLED AGAIN THE DAY BEFORE. SO WHO WANTS TO SEE SOME OF THAT CLIFFHANGER RESOLUTION FROM SHATTERED STAGE???

Lucien is on the world’s worst field trip with like 10 HP left and no weapons, everybody. It’s not going great.

“If the whole world is destroyed, what makes you think you won’t be destroyed along with it? The Chained Oblivion doesn’t seem the sort to negotiate even for his most loyal.”

She chuckled, drily. “You assume that I don’t want to be destroyed.” She spun on her heels again so fast that he almost bumped into her. “Your beloved pattern was endless creation, limitless and undying, but it is the most unfathomable, horrific idea of existence. A prison of flesh and thought united under one common mind that can never die and never truly live. You want to know my dream, oh Nonagon of the Eyes of Nine, the martyred dreamer who came back to his precious Somnovem a tyrant? My dream is the end of existence. I want to see this world salted and burned.”

Lucien stared at her. “Why?”

She canted her head. “Oh no.. You think there’s an excuse. My father didn’t buy me a pony. My mother ignored me. I was picked on in school for being unique and setting fire to small animals. I had an uncle who touched my hair a little too much. Is that what you’re imagining?” Every word dripped with condescension. 

She leaned closer and spoke slowly, making sure he understood every word in her lilting accent clearly. “Everything I have ever done and will ever do- womb to tomb- has been in pursuit of this singular goal. For four generations, we have been his loyal priestesses waiting for the time when one of us would be called to break the chains and release Oblivion. My mother thought it would be her, but I got her first, and I’m sure she was very proud of me. So no, Lucien, there is no excuse. There is no tragic narrative. I do this because I am fucking crazy, just like my mother and her mother before her and so on, and I like it.”

And with that, she took a step back, smiling sweetly. “Not all of us have an excuse, because when it comes down to it, what excuse is really good enough to justify the systematic murder of millions of people?” She pivoted and continued her walk. “Now come along. Don’t make me put you on an actual leash.”

“It’s going to be glorious when I get my hands around that lily-white neck of yours,” he snapped, falling into step behind her- not necessarily because she ordered it, but because he felt his options were limited.

“Promises, promises. One more hit from me and you’re dead, which would be inconvenient, but fixable. You have no weapons; most of your tricks aren’t that useful on me, and all that power in your blood doesn’t matter a bit if you have nothing to bleed on. Also I’m sure you have the upper body strength of a fucking child.” She glanced over her shoulder, tilting her head eerily. “You’re a bit fucked.”

She wasn’t wrong, but hearing it laid out like that didn’t make him any less livid. He stalked behind her, trying to calculate a means of attack- she had magic, yes; she had additional, dangerous abilities, yes; he was fucked, yes.

He swore under his breath. “Where the fuck are we going?”

“Back to where it all began,” She glanced over at him again. “Do you remember how to get to the Aether Crux?”

“It’s been ten years,” Lucien snapped. “Why would I remember that?”

“That was a rhetorical question. We both know you do. You’d know it blind.”

Why the fuck did this woman have to be right about everything? She tortured him, trapped him in the monument to his sins for the sake of probably torturing him more, and then she had the gall to think she was smarter than him, like she had firsthand knowledge of precisely which buttons to push to make him crazy.

Well. Two people could be fucking insufferable. “You seem to know everything. Why don’t you know where it is?”

“Because I’m asking you to take me and I think I’m being quite polite about it. I could do to you what I did to your wizard friends at any point, but it’s not enjoyable taking people’s free will when they’ll hang themselves with enough rope without it. 

“So this is really just a game to you?” Gods, and people called him crazy. At least he’d had a plan, an excuse, a fucking sense of reason. Jayne had none of those things- well, clearly a plan of some kind, but it seemed to be entirely based on releasing Tharizdun and profiting from the impending destruction using himself, Kingsley, and Molly. “Tryin’ to wear me down so I’ll bend to your will.”

Once more, Jayne spun in place and then backtracked to get right back into his face. “Now you’re getting it.” 

She reached up and squeezed his jaw again and this time his hands were free. He could grab her by her wrist and squeeze it until it snapped. She had delicate, bony little caster wrists. His so-called upper body strength of a toddler was more than a match for those twigs. He wrenched her wrist backwards, trying to break it, but she pivoted along with it and swiped his legs out from underneath him, dropping him back onto the ground. She followed it up by slamming her equally bony little knees right into his stomach and grinding down. He felt his vision go gray for a moment before he forced himself to remain conscious. Gods, he was fucked up. By all rights, he shouldn’t be able to even walk. Most of his wounds were internal where Jayne’s touch had tried to eat his vital bits from the inside out, and it was only sheer stubbornness that kept him motivated to keep moving. 

Jayne lifted her hand and he recognized the sickly green glow around her hand as she danged it precariously close to his face. He’d seen plenty of blight spells between Fastidan and Caduceus, and he didn’t particularly enjoy the idea of having one this close to his face.

“You know for someone who values politeness, you’re shamefully rude. Is it something I said?”

He didn’t dignify that saccharine sarcasm with a response. If he did anything to her, she was going to melt his flesh from his skull and then who even knew what would happen. Would she bring him back? Could she just take the lock around his neck and throw it into the Abyss and be done with it? He couldn’t possibly guess. All he knew was he didn’t want to die in Cognouza again.

So he went, seething and bitter, docile once more, and Jayne dismissed her spell and stood up, brushing her dress off as she did so. “I’m glad we’ve reached an understanding,” she murmured. “Now would you kindly show me to the Aether Crux?”