#Raphaël says hi

[kaworusbetterthanme]

Blorbos from my head (and a style try-on)

[theanxiousbookdevourer]

I love learning all these little, weird things about the characters in Disco Elysium. Like, is Bird's Nest Roy not one of the weirdest little guys you've ever met?

He doesn't like beaches.

He doesn't like music...

... but he records random sounds...

... including the Col Do Ma Ma Daqua.

He also spends about 10% of any given interaction spacing out.

But to get a little more serious, I think there's a lot more to him. I even think it's possible to draw parallels between Bird's Nest Roy and Lt. Kim Kitsuragi.

He, like Lt. Kitsuragi with the RCM, was part of a voluntary clean-up organization...

... despite knowing it wouldn't do much good.

He's also very willing to look away and distance himself from things of which he doesn't approve or doesn't want to get entangled.

In this very same exchange, you can see Lt. Kitsuragi try to distance himself from your bad decisions in the same way, if you choose to take Pyrholidion.

I think the biggest difference between Bird's Nest Roy and Lt. Kitsuragi is that Bird's Nest Roy acts like he's a cynic...

... but the fact that he tried to help with the People's Pile makes me think he's not.

In fact, he likes imagining, losing himself in his own thoughts, more than anything real.

Did you see that? Did you get what he's saying?

The Man from Hjelmdall may not have been real before the stories were written and read, but he's real now, because he's in the stories.

I don't think Lt. Kitsuragi agrees with that.

But I do.

And if you're reading this post, I bet you do too. You had no idea who Bird's Nest Roy or Lt. Kim Kitsuragi or Raphaël Ambrosius Costeau was.

But you do now.

[sadcambion]

Headcanon Raphaël (NSFW)

MDNI

He’d be very selfish in bed, and that’s why Haarlep says he’s so bad in bed.

He would be violent most of the time, his sharp teeth would pierce your skin, his claws would cut you.

He likes to hear your cries of pain and mixed pleasure. He likes to see you squirm while he pours your blood.

But if he really loves you (as much as a cambion can) he would make an effort and focus more on you and be sweeter.

He loves to wrap his wings around you while he takes you, it’s both possessive and protective.

If you think that you are spared from its brutality because it is in love with you, you are wrong, it is a cambion, it is so much more powerful than you, and sometimes it forgets this fact, so expect to have bruises and wounds.

Most of the time he would not even let you time to adapt to his size, maybe he love you but he remains selfish.

Its pushes would be hard and deep, he would make sure to reach your cervix.

He has a breeding kink so if you have a womb, he’ll do anything to get you pregnant. He’s very possessive and he wants to be the one to claim your womb.

He likes to shove his tail into your mistreated hole to hold his cum inside.

After exhausting and hurting you, it would be strangely sweet, it would look at your bruised body and full of its seed. He would put delicate kisses on your face, as if to make you understand that he will take care of you.

He’d compliment you, tell you how good you’ve been to him. He would stay close to you, making sure you’re okay after the act.

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

Today I'd like to show all the Thoughts that we encountered in the game, but didn't end up Internalizing. I think that the more you see of these, the more of a complete picture you get of Harry.

GUILLAUME LE MILLION

Temporary research bonus: -1 Logic: Head in the clouds

PROBLEM:

Whatever happened to Guillaume Le Million, who -- with his amber mane and sparkling teeth -- beguiled the tattered remains of the nation? While you suffered and suffered, did he dematerialize in a cloud of cocaine dust? Or did he simply stand in the corner and melt into the slendering *New* lines of some starlit boîte de nuit twenty years ago? Spare a thought for his great ass too! Or wait... maybe he became a police officer in Revachol West! Hmm...

Completion bonuses: +1 Pain Threshold: Blood oxygen is boring All PSY learning caps raised by one

SOLUTION:

Bad news: Guillaume le Million did not become a cop. In '38 he went on a tour to the Hsin-Yao province in Safre, where he died of auto-erotic asphyxiation. His body was found hanging from a decorative dragon tree in his junior suite, amid drug paraphernalia, unwholesome objects, and the Sylvia Trainor single "Wonderland" skipping in the background. And yes, you can take this as a metaphor for Revachol in the Thirties. And also as a warning.

DETECTIVE COSTEAU

Temporary research bonus: -2 Conceptualization: An idiotic idea

PROBLEM:

Detective Raphaël Ambrosius Costeau -- when you say it, it feels like you're taking a bite of lemon meringue while sitting on the terrace of a seaside cafe. On a cool summer day. In Sur-La-Clef. It's everything you're *not*. You haven't created many things during your stay in Martinaise, but you've created this. A fancy, sophisticated name that makes you sound intelligent. And that no one seems to *acknowledge*. Don't you feel like you deserve a reward for coming up with something so special? And what would that reward *be*?

Completion bonuses: +1 Savoir Faire: This one sounds fancy, let's have this +1 Esprit de Corps: Yup, fancy, let's have this one too

SOLUTION:

Monsieur Costeau, the reward for coming up with your classy new name has arrived. What are the attributes Detective Costeau should gain in? *Obviously* Savoir Faire and Esprit de Corps. You know *exactly* what they do and what those words mean. They're *refined*. Like *you*. You have a ton of that fancy stuff. And if the world can't accept Raphaël Ambrosius is your name -- you will always be Detective Costeau to yourself. R.A. Costeau -- sophisticated culture-detective. Specializes in ancient things and art.

BOIADEIRO

Temporary research bonus: -1 Physical Instrument: Astra Country

PROBLEM:

It has been brought to your attention that there are men who live by the law of the land and the strength of their arms. Sunburnt, rugged, smoking men who explored the great rivery veins of upper-Magritte and tamed the Mundi wilds. Frontiersmen, cow-herders, philosophers -- the *boiadeiros*... with a gun in one hand and an unfiltered cigarette between their lips, these men made their own rules. What would it take for you to become one too?

Completion bonuses: -1 Esprit de Corps: Lone wolf Cigarettes give +2 INT

SOLUTION:

Smoking, Harry. It will take a lot of tobacco-smoking for you to become a *boiadeiro*. Twin cigarettes fused to your lips and one hanging out of your nostril. In these tame, cultured times, without the sky’s dome above your head, the only way to be a true Franconigerian individualist is to smoke a lot of cigarettes. Light one up immediately. The smell of coffee brewing over a fire pit, a chestnut-flavoured morning. Welcome to Astra Country.

I'm not sure we ever actually encountered cigarettes in the course of our playthrough. Normally, they give +1 INT at the cost of 1 Health -- this improves the effect.

MAGNESIUM-BASED LIFEFORM

Temporary research bonus: -1 Shivers: No shakes

PROBLEM:

It is generally understood that human beings are carbon-based organisms, fusing little carbon tubes together to form complex, mushy structures capable of thought, love, and locomotion. It is also known that these structures sometimes like to “take the edge off” by consuming ethanol, amphetamine, etc. In such cases, it is important to supplement your body with magnesium. Tired? Mag it! Down? Mag time! Liver damage? MAXIMUM MAG! Some people say magnesium doesn’t really do anything and you just need to quit. What do we tell them?

Completion bonuses: +2 Volition: Magnesium receptacle glands -1 Logic: No such thing, man

SOLUTION:

We tell them: HELL NO. You’re about to become a magnesium-based lifeform. The age of the primitive carbon-man is done. No longer must mankind rely on slow-working background radiation to take us further into our genetic destiny. This is the era of guided evolution, and magnesium is the key. You are the first of your species. The next step in human evolution. An advanced magnesium proto-man who mags it up, drinks it down, and sniffs it sideways!

A pretty useful Thought if you have low PSY.

BRINGING OF THE LAW (LAW-JAW)

Temporary research bonus: -1 Rhetoric: Weird jaw

PROBLEM:

Hey, so a little observation. It's all cool, man. Don't freak out, but every time you say “I am the law“ -- and you say it *a lot*, it's basically *hello* for you -- your jaw does this *weird thing*. It sort of shifts sideways, hanging off your face at a jaunty angle, while the word *law* sounds oddly guttural and low. It's... strange. You wouldn't notice it, but after saying you're the law eighty thousand times, the question *does* come up: why *do* you have Law Jaw?

Completion bonuses: Learning cap for Hand/Eye Coordination raised to 6 Succeed all Hand/Eye Coordination passives -1 Rhetoric: Jaw still weird

SOLUTION:

Okay, so. We now know why you have *Law Jaw*. Why you say *the law* in a weird manner, and why your jaw does that thing. You had polio as a child. You hadn’t gotten vaccinated. It must've been right after the Revolution -- not a lot of vaccine going around then. So you got infantile paralysis due to polio and this jaw thing is a complication from that. Admittedly, it’s not very funny. But you *overcame* it! This little infant survived and became a sharpshooting supercop. So: fuck you, polio!

This is a pretty useful Thought *and* it tells us something, in my opinion, pretty important about Harry.

ANTI-OBJECT TASK FORCE

Temporary research bonus: -2 Pain Threshold: Hurts!

PROBLEM:

Take a look at your hands. See how bruised they are? See those little scars? This is Exhibit A. The material world is holding you back. Containers, mailboxes, doors, chairs -- they are all your enemies. Always have been. Atoms themselves are in on the conspiracy, forming shapes and structures that you hate. You are energy stuck in a body. You are spirit trapped in matter. Break free! Beat up that lamp post! Let it know just how much objects *suck*.

Completion bonuses: Attacking physical objects heals damage +1 Pain Threshold: Thick skin All FYS learning caps raised by one

SOLUTION:

Behold: the Anti-Object Task Force has assembled. God's avenging angel, arrayed against the lower emanations of the Darkened One: shoe racks, tape recorders, motor carriages. And doors. So many doors. You're not just pounding it all to pieces. You’re *reforging* the universe. From the anvil of the heavens to the worms below. Indulge in it. Be bold. Have an *impact* on the shape of Creation. Out of the furnace of your rage -- a new reality! Also, you should trash your room *again*.

The first bonus here is not as useful as it sounds, because by the time you unlock this Thought, you'll have already been through most of the attackable things in the game. The rest is still pretty good, though.

DATE OF BIRTH GENERATOR

Temporary research bonus: None

PROBLEM:

Your face looks like it’s 58 and your body feels like it’s 60. Your mind feels like it’s lived for one day or a hundred. Both longer than they ought to be, the day and the century.... But for how long, then, has this thing attached to your sentience walked the planet’s crust? Time to start racking those brains of yours, Elder One. When and where were you born?

Completion bonuses: Learning cap for Logic raised to 4 -1 difficulty to all Physique passives

SOLUTION:

You were born in the year ‘07, in the last year of the Commune of Revachol, right before it fell. In the Old Military Hospital, on the ground floor where people usually came to die, during a snowstorm. The Revolution had about one year left to go and the fires were still burning bright. There were explosions in the blizzard. This was 44 years ago. You are 44 years old. The bloating might never leave your face, but beneath it -- you still have some years. You still have some hope.

I believe you can talk about this with Kim once you have the answer.

ARNO VAN EYCK

Temporary research bonus: +1 Interfacing

PROBLEM:

The question won’t leave you – why did the melody line from a broken and discarded tape fit perfectly into a song played by some speedfreaks in a frozen tent? Can it be a coincidence? Maybe it’s the hand of the Man-Machine himself, in his attempt to craft a perfect song. Maybe Egg Head is actually Arno van Eyck in disguise!? Eyck? Egg? Hmm...

Completion bonuses: All white Motorics checks unlocked Reveals Arno Van Eyck gig posters in the world

SOLUTION:

Okay, so Egg Head is clearly not Van Eyck in disguise. Van Eyck is an Oranjese disc jockey -- but those people get around. Especially in Revachol, in the clubs on Boogie Street. Perhaps he stayed here for a short stint and discarded part of the song he was working on. Just threw it away. And then it ended up in the hawthorn tree. But why? Did he think it was *retrograde*? It wasn’t. Perhaps he caught a glimpse of the future and did not want for it to arrive just yet. Perhaps the city whispered the topline to him and he was frightened by it?

We've seen variations on this one before for other skill categories. The Arno Van Eyck posters give you additional orbs to click, which synergises nicely with Jamais Vu.

Egg Head also directly told us that his name was in reference to Van Eyck at one point, so that was not really much of a mystery.

SEARCHLIGHT DIVISION

Temporary research bonus: None

PROBLEM:

Missing persons cases just really get to you. It's hard watching people worry about their loved ones – the little nervous movements, the dark rings around their eyes from sleepless nights. And even if there are no loved ones waiting – you like to have all your ducks in a row, and it really bothers you when whole entire people aren't accounted for.

Completion bonus: +2 Perception: Clear-eyed pursuit of truth

SOLUTION:

You've sharpened your senses by being on the lookout for missing persons. Now you notice more of what's happening around you. Perhaps when you're done with this case, you can join the Searchlight Division of the RCM, and find every Revacholian that's ever gone missing without a trace (there is undoubtedly a backlog of such cases). Because you never know, a missing person could be just around the edge, barely out of sight.

ONE MORE DOOR

Temporary research bonus: +1 Half Light: What is behind it?

PROBLEM:

God dammit, it cannot be. A disgrace! That door on the coast... you remember the one, right? The one that leads to the abandoned supply depot? Why, in the name of all that's holy, does it not open? *Why*?! There *has* to be a way to get through that unopenable door. By gods, you're the police -- all doors are supposed to open before you. What will the others at the precinct think if you can't open a goddamn door? There must be a way.

Completion bonuses: -1 Half Light: No fear All PSY white checks unlocked

SOLUTION:

There is no way to open the supply depot door. Accept it. You cannot open *all the doors*. You have to integrate this into your character. Some doors will forever remain closed. Even if every single other door will open at one time or another, maybe to a key, or maybe to some sort of tool meant for opening doors... But this one will never accede to such commands. A realization crucial to personal growth. Crucial.

There will always be one more door.

HARDCORE AESTHETIC

Temporary research bonus: -2 Interfacing: Fuck grammar!

PROBLEM:

Not only have you internalized the Hard Core Aesthetic, you’ve also *contributed* to it. How harder-core could you possibly become? Low-core people come around you to correct your “typos”: it’s “Hardcore” here, “hard-core” there, “Hardorcore” in a third instant -- what’s going on? Those aren’t typos, man, that’s how core hardness works. If you don’t know “hard-core” from “Our Happy Hardcore,” what the fuck are we even talking about?

Completion bonuses: +1 Endurance: Really useful for doing drugs +1 Volition: Same thing, Hardman

SOLUTION:

Oh yes. Drugs. We’re talking about drugs. Let’s face it, these flirtations with the Hard Core Aesthetic have all been leading up to one question: Can I do drugs *harder* now that I’m a Hard Cop? And the answer is: yes. You can. You can do one more blast of pyrholidon and yellow shit-powder, you can even pull a ciggie and a lager on top of that. There. You’ve *truly* made the Hardcore your own thing now.

Despite what it says on the tin, this actually just gives you more health.

THE INSULINDIAN MIRACLE

Temporary research bonus: None

PROBLEM:

You were reminded of a poem, somewhere deep inside you, the translation of which you don't remember… "Nulla sarà cambiato della luce!” it begins. “Colori come grigio e marrone / Tutti stampati uno sull’altro / Trovai un vuoto / Una macchia Bianca / Gli altri guardarono / “Che bella giornata! Che bel tempo!” / Ma sentii la rotativa." You were reminded of it when you heard about the discovery of Insulinde. But what does it mean? And how do you know it by heart?

Completion bonuses: All white checks unlocked

SOLUTION:

It’s easy. You know the poem by heart because you were taught it at school. It is one of the Volta do Mar mantras repeated on the voyage that lead to the discovery of the Insulindian isola. And the words mean: “Nothing will be changed about the light! / Colours like grey and brown / All printed on top of each other / I found a blank white spot / All the others looked up: / ‘What a beautiful day! What beautiful weather!’ / But all I heard was the printing machine." What strange words to celebrate a new world.

You can only unlock this Thought when talking with Joyce after the confrontation with Ruby, making it a really useful tool if you have anything left to do in the game at that point.

And that's all the Thoughts that we encountered in our playthrough, aside from the ones we already saw in the game proper. We did also *technically* get to the point where we could have seen the Thoughts for the moralist and ultraliberal political alignments, even if we chose not to opt into them. So, I'll show those too:

KINGDOM OF CONSCIENCE

Temporary research bonus: -2 Half Light: Calm water

PROBLEM:

Heartache is powerful, but democracy is *subtle*. Incrementally, you begin to notice a change in the weather. When it snows, the flakes are softer when they stick to your worry-worn forehead. When it rains, the rain is warmer. Democracy is coming to the Administrative Region. The ideals of Dolorian humanism are reinstating themselves. How can they not? These are the ideals of the Coalition and the Moralist International. Those guys are signal blue. And they're not only good -- they're also powerful. What will it be like, once their nuanced plans have been realized?

Completion bonuses: Moralist dialogue heals 1 Morale Learning cap for Volition raised to 5 Learning cap for Logic raised to 5

SOLUTION:

The Kingdom of Conscience will be exactly as it is now. Moralists don't really *have* beliefs. Sometimes they stumble on one, like on a child's toy left on the carpet. The toy must be put away immediately. And the child reprimanded. Centrism isn't change -- not even incremental change. It is *control*. Over yourself and the world. Exercise it. Look up at the sky, at the dark shapes of Coalition airships hanging there. Ask yourself: is there something sinister in moralism? And then answer: no. God is in his heaven. Everything is normal on Earth.

INDIRECT MODES OF TAXATION

Temporary research bonus: -2 Empathy: Cold blooded

PROBLEM:

First, if you have a side-bitch ideology cooking somewhere, don't sweat it. Fightin' indirect taxation for the Gossamer State is compatible with *all* creeds. It's cool like that. You're a cool anarchist now. Unless you don't want to be an anarchist. Whatever! Stuff this meal ticket in your eye-socket and let's see if we can steal some *love* back from the robber barons at the customs agency and the *banditos* at The Insulindian Financial Oversight and Competition Committee.

Completion bonuses: -1 Empathy: Thinks he's a hustler or something Ultraliberal dialogue options give +1 real

SOLUTION:

Turns out those Financial Oversight Committee gangsters stuffed millions of hard-earned dividends away in the last place anyone thought to look: the hearts and minds of everyday Revacholians! You need to spread that deregulation gospel to the *people*. Tell them about that foreign fare tax. Preach that 98% gross burden. Preach it, preacher man! Set the brothas free. Taxes are racist.

Even with those, there are still *eighteen* Thoughts remaining in the game that we didn't encounter - either because we didn't have high enough stats, didn't pick the right dialogue options, or chose not to put any points into fascism. Some of them are mutually exclusive with Thoughts we did pick, some require *really complicated* methods to find. A few of them give us some more interesting backstory on Harry and Kim that's worth hearing -- but I'll let you uncover that on your own time.

[dujour13]

A Health to the Company

A little follow-up on our pwotr pals discord RP. Many many thanks to @yunessa for the idea, it was super fun and helped me out of the blues.

cw: Act IV spoilers, alcohol use, angst

For context. A spatio-temporal anomaly at the Bad Luck Tavern resulted in a paradoxical meeting of a handful of Knight-Commanders from different timelines: Siavash, Yunessa (@yunessa), Katya (@three-of-crows) , Lenarius/Leonosa (@undyingembers), Raphaël (@jean-dieu)

Theoven (@offsidekineticist), Kadira (@spyridonya), and Minovae (@silversiren1101).

They gossiped about their companions, shared their hopes and fears—although mostly their angst as this period of exile in the Abyss is a low point in their careers—and bonded (and argued) over a few—or a few too many—beers.

---

“Seelah!” It’s meant to be a whisper. “Hey Seelah, wake up.”

“Hunh? What’s happening?” The paladin sits bolt upright in her bedroll and gropes about for Radiance.

“No no no, sh, it’s just me,” Siavash laughs, stumbling into a squat next to her, even in this position somehow managing to sway on his feet. “I’m uh. I could use your help.”

“Have you been drinking?”

“I’m fine.”

“Yeah… I can see that. Smell that.”

“You won’t believe who I met at the Bad Luck. It was some kind of temp—temporal thing. They were all there. They were all different! And the same!”

“Hold on. Just—sit down, will you?”

“Thanks, yeah.” He plops down heavily.

“Despite what you might think, this is not what the Inheritor lends me her power for.”

“Yes it is.”

She rolls her eyes heavenward.

He reaches out to cling to her sleeve, eyes swimming with sincerity. “Because you have a good heart. And Iomedae says to follow your heart. And your heart says you need to hit me up with some restoration before Wol—“

Too late.

“Whatcha doin’ chief?”

“I’m fine.”

The tiefling stands over them, tail twitching. Somehow, half the camp is awake now even though Siavash swears he was quiet as a mouse when he crept back into the Nexus.

He is formulating his act of contrition as his eyes travel up but he’s suddenly distracted by how cute Woljif looks in his nightshirt and forgets what he was going to say. And then Seelah’s spell takes effect and it’s like letting all the warm bathwater drain out of his mind, leaving him heavy and shivering on the cold floor of the Nexus mine.

“I thought we were on the same sleep rotation,” says Woljif.

“We are. I just went out for a bit.” Siavash uses Seelah’s shoulder to get to his feet, giving it a squeeze of thanks as he goes to wash up. A few minutes later he’s scooting his bedroll alongside Woljif’s and when he closes his eyes the floor is blessedly stationary. Again he begins formulating his apology. “I just needed some time to think. I mean, a distraction. I do my best thinking when I don’t think.”

As usual, Woljif’s mind is already ten paces ahead. He’s figured out what happened, weighed the risks considering the recent Battlebliss incident, repressed any uncomfortable memories pertaining to alcohol and Gran, and debated whether and how to scold him. “It ain’t safe. Next time take somebody with who won’t hassle you. Take Regill, he won’t talk to you.”

“Oh, yes he will,” Siavash says with feeling.

“Or me. I can keep my trap shut.”

“I don’t mind you.” His heart aches but he can’t tell him he and his shadow are the principal reason he needed the break. Before Woljif can wonder aloud why he didn’t invite him along in the first place, Siavash brushes his cheek with his knuckles and speaks low in his ear, just under his horn. “How are you holding up? Really?”

“I thought Kenabres was bad, and then I saw the Worldwound, and I thought that was bad, and now this. I think my nightmares are gonna start havin’ nightmares.” Woljif sighs, then adds in a tender, embarrassed whisper, “But havin’ you around takes the edge off.”

“Same.” Siavash kisses his shoulder. “I won’t duck out again, I promise.” Even as the words leave his lips he winces at echoes of the same words, uttered too many times in the past, and hastily adds, “I mean it.”

Woljif’s eyes look almost green in the pale light, wide open and searching the vault of the mine far above. “S’aright. You do what you gotta do, chief. Always works out in the end. Or, usually I guess.”

“Thanks for trusting me,” he murmurs, already drifting. He closes his eyes, never noticing the inky pool of darkness that settles between them.

Woljif lies utterly still until he hears the breathing at his side ease into a low rhythm. At last he relaxes just enough to allow his tail to swish beneath the blankets. He clasps his hands on his chest as if he’s praying, or dead, and stares up into the darkness knowing he won’t be getting back to sleep tonight. Waiting and dreading… and presently, like clockwork, it begins: a velvety hiss in his right ear, making him scrunch up his shoulders:

Trust no one but yourself.

A thousand thoughts crowd in in answer: but I want to – but I love him – but he’ll live up to it this time – but I don’t want to be alone.

You’re not alone. I’m here. And I won’t hurt you like everyone else has.

What are you, anyway?

Your shadow.

With a fingernail he taps the gem in the Moon of the Abyss where it’s lodged in the dip in his collarbone. You in here?

It hesitates. I’m part of you.

And that’s how come you’re lookin’ out for me huh? Vested interest?

Correct. That’s why you can trust me: I am you.

That’s a little creepy.

Next to him, Siavash sighs through his nose and shifts. Impulsively Woljif starts to reach over just so his fingertips can steal a little warmth from his skin, but as his hand passes through the shadow it feels cold and he pulls it back and tucks it into his own armpit instead.

I am part of you, and you’ve come home to me.

The Abyss? That what you mean by home?

Home and family. Your legacy, if you have the courage to take what is yours.

Really? What’s mine? Quit talkin’ in riddles and gimme some numbers.

The mansion in the rich quarter I pointed out to you, and everything it contains, and everything it represents.

But I want—that’s not all I want.

He glances over. In the dying firelight all he sees of Siavash is the faint orange outline of his mussed hair and half-elven ear and it feels like if he reached over to touch him, it would turn out to be a mirage and his hand would pass through thin air.

Get used to disappointment. You should have, by now.

But I want—

Forget him. You’ll have to someday anyway. Might as well start now.

I don’t want to! Why can’t I have it all? How come just ‘cause I’m a tiefling I always gotta go hungry?

Oh, stop whining. Yes, you’re a tiefling! Seize the Abyss within you and use it like you use magic—shape it to your own design, dominate it, direct it against your enemies and fill yourself with its power so that you become smoke and shadow, elusive and free. Reach out with both hands! Take what is yours, by right or not!

Whoa, whoa, waxin’ a touch demonic there, ain’t we?

I am part of you. I am the Abyss.

Woljif shudders and pulls the blankets up to his chin.

Use me. That’s the only way for someone like you to take what you are owed.

Someone like me.

He grits his teeth as it starts: the prickling under his collarbone where the necklace rests, rivulets of icy blue fire streaming down his arms to his fingertips, sizzling in his hands, boiling in his guts, making his hair stand on end, making him want to jump up and let loose: power.

His thrashing must have disturbed Siavash’s slumber, because he feels an arm tossed across his hitching ribs. Its warm weight soothes the energy crawling under his skin and forces him to breathe steadily.

Woljif clings to the arm and presses it harder to his chest.

I want it to be real.

Only power is real.

I want someone to really think I’m… important.

Come to me. I’ll give you something real you can hold in your hands. Something yours and no one else’s, that you are free to use as you see fit. Then you’ll be important.

The firelight dies. He can no longer make out even a dim silhouette by his side in the darkness; it’s as if he’s alone in this lifeless, cavernous Abyssal mine and if he reaches out no one will be there but his shadow, seething around him, keeping him safe—and keeping everyone away.

Maybe the Abyss is the only home someone like him can hope for.

Even before he opens his eyes Siavash reaches out for the warm body next to him and his palm slaps on cold, flat stone instead. He’s alone, he’s still in the Abyss, and he’s hung over. A dull hammer thuds behind his eyeballs. Seelah’s restoration took care of most of the consequences of his actions, but not all—probably by the paladin’s design.

Hesitantly he opens one eye and then the other, and is grateful to find that Woljif hasn’t disappeared after all. He’s kneeling over him, carefully draping a cool cloth across his forehead. “Y’aright there, chief?”

Siavash’s eyes widen as he turns to stare at him. “I had the strangest dream.”

He can’t tell anyone. They’ll all think he’s cracked once and for all. Other Knight-Commanders from different timelines? Imaginary friends?

Why does that remind him of Regill?

[hassedah]

Hello, i hope you are fine. Can you write a story where the characters make their engagement request to y/n

The boys propose to MC :

Hi! How are you? I hope you are well! ^^

Here's the headcanons you requested! I hope you enjoy it! ^^

Take care of yourself and have a nice day! ^^

Vladimir :

For as long as he can remember, Vladimir has wanted to get married. He still remembers explaining to his parents, with all the seriousness a child can muster, what his wedding would be like, with the guest list, the food and the music he wanted. He also remembers asking his parents dozens of times about their wedding.

As a teenager, he still thought about it but with a weight on his heart, his understanding of the world had evolved and with it the realisation that nobody really wanted him. And as a young adult, he had written it off. The people he had tried to court had all rejected him and his parents' reassuring words no longer made sense, no one wanted to take the risk of marrying him and potentially having a sick child like him and as he would inherit nothing when his parents died, he really wasn't a good match for marriage.

Ever since he met you, he's found himself believing. You've already talked about it together several times. You've talked about what you'd like to eat, where the ceremony would take place, what you'd wear.

Sometimes Vladimir would start to cry when he realised that his family wouldn't be there. You always managed to console him by promising that everyone in the manor would be there for you on the day.

Lately, he's been thinking about it even more. He finds himself moving on to decorating the manor house for your wedding and thinking about a beautiful spot in the garden for the ceremony.

He just needs to find the courage to ask you to marry him and that's the problem. He knows you'll say yes, but there's always that little voice in his head telling him that you'd never want to marry someone like him, that everything he's been through is wrong and that he'll end up alone again as soon as you realise he's not as wonderful as you think. He chases this horrible idea away every time, but it keeps whispering as soon as he finds himself alone.

He doesn't know how to propose either. He tries out different ways of saying it, but none of them seem perfect enough. He thinks of a nice place to propose in the garden before realising that no place seems perfect enough and sets about reorganising a large part of the garden especially for the occasion.

During this period, you will have to go and look for it regularly in the garden to encourage it to return, as he will even start working there on the nights of the full moons.

Despite her best efforts, the place never seems perfect enough for her, the flowers aren't beautiful enough, the layout doesn't suit her, even though Aaron and Beliath keep telling her every night that you're going to love it, it's not enough for her. It's the same with the ring, of course it's beautiful, but it's not perfect, and yet Raphaël helped her choose it and keeps telling her that everything is going to be fine.

He would like this moment to be one of the most beautiful days of your life. He'd like you to remember his proposal as a fairytale moment. You deserve the best and he feels he'll never be able to give you what you really deserve.

His behaviour is starting to worry you. You know your vampire from the time you've spent with him and you know that he sometimes makes mountains out of molehills, but when you ask Aaron what's wrong he just tells you that he's not allowed to talk about it, Beliath shrugs before saying "It's Vladimir" and Raphael tells you that everything's fine with a conspiratorial smile.

Your concern for him pushes him to go for it. He practises for several days in front of the bathroom mirror to make the most perfect proposal before finally daring to take the plunge. He invites you into the garden on a moonless night, under a pretty rose-covered pergola and lit by little lanterns. You can't miss how anxious he looks that night.

His proposal isn't perfect, he knows that, he stumbles over his words more than he would have liked, he even speaks a little too quickly and he finds it hard to hold your gaze without feeling like his cheeks are burning. When he stops talking, he looks down at the ring he's holding out to you, too stressed to continue looking at you.

He barely hears your "yes" before you kiss him and it takes him a few seconds to realise that you've actually agreed and that he's not dreaming. He responds to your kiss with tears of happiness.

The ring he gave you is of an antique design, as if it came straight from the nineteenth century, it can't have been easy to find one like that in the jewellery shops. It's obviously expensive but discreet, in gold with a small round ruby in the centre, and when you look closely you can see that both your initials are engraved on the inside.

Béliath :

He had never imagined getting married. Marriage doesn't exist among succubi, although there is something that might resemble it, but it's not official and it's frowned upon by the majority of succubi. He only began to be invited to weddings when he started living among humans.

He's always loved being invited to weddings though, it's fun. There are lots of people, good food, good music, it's a great opportunity to celebrate for him. However, Beliath was never interested in the more ceremonial aspect of the wedding. He was really just there to have fun and make new friends.

Since he's been in a couple with you, he's been thinking about it differently. You seem to like the idea of marriage and if it's something you want then so does he.

What's more, it's a good excuse to celebrate and invite people to the manor. The two of you end up talking about it quite a lot together. As a result of hearing you talk about it, he's got a whole Pinterest board full of ideas for decorating, clothes and food that you've said you like. He also asks the other boys what they do at weddings, and was quite surprised that he didn't have to insist when he mentioned his idea of using Vladimir's garden for part of the evening.

Once he was reassured that he could marry you in the manor, he started to think about how to propose. The problem is that he doesn't really know how to go about it, so he often thinks about it and asks Ethan for advice. The doctor isn't much help, though, as he just says, "Just ask! Why are you complicating your life? It's just a marriage proposal, Bel".

Of course, he's partly right, it's only a marriage proposal. But he can't just ask you for it any old way. It has to be organised to a certain extent, you can't expect it, the setting has to be both romantic and chic, and you both have to be dressed to the nines.

This proposal must be engraved in your memory as one of the most beautiful days of your life with him, and you must remember it 100 years from now as a wonderful evening.

He takes Ethan with him on a tour of different restaurants and hotels in and around the city. He needs Ethan's opinion to make his choice; he wants to propose to you somewhere beautiful before enjoying a night alone with you in one of the chicest hotels around.

He also asks the people at Moondance for their advice, and he gets a lot more help there than he does with Ethan. Some give him lists of the best hotels and restaurants, while others advise him on the best places for a honeymoon. When he returns to the manor, he sorts through the suggestions with Raphaël and Vladimir.

You notice a few changes in his behaviour during this period, not enough to worry you, but enough to intrigue you. You know you can't ask Ethan anything about it, because he'll be as mute as a grave, so you tackle Vladimir, who stammers out a few panicked excuses before fleeing the room like a thief. That's enough for you, you know that your partner is up to something and that everyone but you is in on it.

Your curiosity forces him to hurry, so he goes out in the middle of the day with Ethan to buy the ring and spends several hours choosing the one that looks best, under Ethan's weary gaze, who nearly falls asleep several times in the various jewellery shops they visit. Then Beliath books the restaurant and the hotel, having hesitated for a long time over the final choices.

He invites you to a restaurant just a few days later, which doesn't surprise you too much given that Beliath has got into the habit of inviting you to private evenings quite regularly. Your partner's behaviour seems a little stranger than usual, however, as he rarely seems slightly stressed.

He proposes at the end of the meal. If you don't like having all the attention focused on you, he tries to remain discreet, but if you don't mind, he doesn't hesitate to make himself noticed. Beliath talks at length about you and all the reasons why he wants to marry you and spend eternity with you.

When he stops talking he feels a slight tension in his muscles that he hadn't noticed until that moment, and he realises for the first time just how much stress he's under. He looks at you with the impression that you're taking hours to answer, even though he knows that only a few short seconds have passed, and when you finally accept he can't hold back any longer and gets up to kiss you.

The engagement ring he's given you looks very sophisticated, but it's still fine and discreet. It obviously cost a lot of money, is in white gold and is set with several small diamonds.

Ivan :

He had never asked himself if he wanted to get married. As a child, he attended all his parents' friends' weddings and he remembers not enjoying them: everything took too long, he had to wear uncomfortable clothes, be good, not make a fuss, not bother the adults and sometimes there weren't even any children his own age to play with.

It was the same thing when he was a teenager, marriage often rhymed with boredom and a whole day wasted congratulating people he didn't know. He would have preferred to stay at home playing video games or reading or going out to see Constance and Loïc.

Now that you're together, he thinks differently. You've often talked about marriage and you seem to like the idea of marrying him. He can't say he doesn't like the idea either, he even thinks it might be fun. Of course, there wouldn't be any of his family or friends from his previous life, but he would be marrying you and there would be members of the manor to attend.

He discussed it a little with Aaron and Vladimir to get their opinions and above all to make sure that they would be present if he were to get married. Once this was done, he started looking for a nice place to propose. Initially, he'd thought of a restaurant, but he still has trouble eating human food and he still doesn't feel safe enough in a crowd of humans. Aaron has suggested that he propose in the forest and has even pointed out several places he finds charming, but Ivan is hesitant. Sure, the forest is pretty, but it's not personal enough. He wants somewhere that means something to both of you, not just somewhere beautiful.

Finding the place isn't his only problem. He's also looking for the perfect way to propose. He's written dozens and dozens of sentences in a notebook and he had Raphaël and Vladimir read them, but even though the two vampires kept telling him it was perfect, he wasn't satisfied. It's not that perfect isn't good enough - he's not a perfectionist - but he can't help feeling that it's not personal enough.

The closer the moment gets, the more anxious he feels. He knows you'll accept, you've discussed it so many times together, but a small part of him can't help thinking that it's just an idea he has. Constance has lied to him about her feelings for years, of course he knows you're not like her, he knows you really love him, but the event is still traumatic.

You've noticed some change in your partner's behaviour because of this. Ivan seems much more thoughtful and writes things down in a little notebook that he always hides whenever you come into the room. He's also more clingy with you, which doesn't particularly bother you because you know that your partner sometimes needs reassurance that you love him.

Vladimir and Aaron try to look neutral about it, but, listen, their adorable little Ivan is going to propose, of course they're happy. That's what's got you suspicious - you don't know what's going on in the manor, but Vladimir is in a strangely good mood and Raphael often interrupts Aaron mid-sentence when you're there and he's talking about Ivan. However, no matter how hard you try to find out what's going on, Ethan, Beliath and Raphael act as if they don't know anything about it, which is all the more suspicious given that secrets don't normally stay secret for very long in this manor.

When the day finally comes to propose, Ivan is incredibly anxious, but he tries to put on a brave face and look as normal as ever, which fails given that he's already tripped twice walking with you through the forest.

You arrive at your destination after several minutes' walk. It's the big tree you used to climb with Ivan. You climb the tree with him and sit on a branch for a chat. It's a particularly pleasant spot, far too far from the town for humans to approach, and no-one from the manor comes here.

After a moment, Ivan takes a deep breath and pulls his notebook and a small box out of his pocket. At first he tries to read what he's written, but the words don't seem to make sense and he feels like he's being incomprehensible, perhaps because he stumbles over his words a lot and his stress sometimes takes his breath away. Finally he puts his notebook away and closes his eyes before handing you the box. He speaks more slowly this time, he doesn't need the notebook, he needs to tell you clearly how he feels about you without a filter.

When he stops talking, he shyly opens his eyes to look at you. Your smile is a response in itself, and he almost falls out of the tree as you lean in to kiss him.

It's a very simple engagement ring - Ivan didn't go for complexity. The only stone in the ring is a heart-shaped topaz. On the inside of the ring, Ivan had "I love you" engraved.

Aaron :

When he was a child, he liked to attend weddings in his village, which were held quite regularly and were always a great day of celebration. He wasn't really interested in the ceremony itself, preferring to play with the other children and enjoy the festive food that had been prepared. He also liked to explain to his mother what he wanted for his wedding, but when he was a child it mainly consisted of games and lots of party food, especially biscuits, pastries and sweets.

As he got older, he became a little less utopian. First of all, he needed money if he wanted to have a good wedding and be able to provide for his family, which wasn't likely to be the case if he just stayed living in the village. And then, to get married you need a partner and Aaron has never managed to find someone who's perfect for him, of course he's met and had partners but he's never felt the need to get married. In the end, he even gave up on the idea of ever getting married altogether.

Things have changed since you've been a couple. He knows that marriage is something close to your heart, and you've often talked to him about it, whether it's at night when you're lying together amidst sheets and pillows, or during your long walks in the forest when you've spotted a particularly beautiful spot that would be perfect for holding a wedding. The more you talk about it, the more he likes the idea. Sometimes he'll be surprised to notice places in the forest where he could take you to propose or to stop for a moment in front of a jewellery shop to look at engagement rings.

He spoke to Raphaël and Vladimir about it and, of course, his two friends were very enthusiastic about the idea. Vladimir offered to hold the wedding in the garden, and even said he was willing to make changes to make the venue a little more to Aaron's taste. Beliath, Ivan and Ethan found out shortly afterwards. You often walk into a room to see them all stop talking abruptly before looking innocent.

Their behaviour immediately tells you that something was going on in the manor. What's more, Aaron seems more pensive than usual. You've tried to get them to spill the beans, but none of them want to admit it and they all play dumb when you ask them questions.

Aaron already has an idea of where he might propose. There are several particularly beautiful places in the forest that might be suitable, but he's thinking mainly of the lake near the manor. He loves to come and walk there with you, whether it's to stand by the bank and chat or to take a dip on a hot summer's night. It's also far enough away that his flatmates won't bother him there, and he wants to be alone with you when he proposes.

He doesn't have too much trouble with words and already has a good idea of how he wants to propose. Aaron isn't looking for something grand or exceptional, he prefers something much simpler that will be more likely to express his feelings for you frankly.

On the evening of the proposal, you went for a walk in the forest with Aaron as usual. It wasn't yet a full moon and you were walking together, chatting. However, your partner seemed slightly tense, you could tell by the sound of his voice and the tension in his muscles. He kept one of his hands in his pocket and you could tell he was playing with something without really knowing what.

When you reached the edge of the lake, you both stopped for a moment to take in the scenery. The forest was calm, there were a few insects flying around you, pretty fireflies giving the lake a mysterious appearance and the slight reflection of the quarter-moon on the water. Aaron took a deep breath beside you and you immediately turned your head to look at him.

It took him a moment to stop playing with the ring in his pocket and turn to you. In this landscape, he finds you even more magnificent than usual. When he starts to speak, he speaks each word slowly and thoughtfully, repeating his love and desire to spend eternity with you. It's simple, but breathtakingly sincere; he feels like he could talk for hours about the love he feels for you.

When he finally stops talking, his gaze doesn't leave you, he watches every feature of your face, every reaction, he can feel his heart beating faster and faster in his chest and when you finally accept he can't hold back any longer from kissing you.

It's a very simple engagement ring, but it's also very old-fashioned. It feels solid and you wouldn't be afraid to wear it even when working with your hands. There's a small amber stone in the centre, but it doesn't protrude from the ring at all, so there's no risk of it catching on anything. It looks so simple that you're surprised when you see the first words of a love poem written to you by Aaron.

Raphaël :

For as long as he can remember, Raphaël has loved weddings, even as a child he was always happy to go with his parents. He could wear pretty clothes and play with the other children, he was allowed to eat a lot more sweets than usual, his parents' friends complimented him on his beauty and he loved hearing his mother tell him that he looked like a magnificent little prince.

He often told his mother what he wanted for his wedding, pausing at length to talk about the musicians and performers who would liven up the party: there had to be drama, music, games and food galore, and while he was at it he also wanted a show with bears, jugglers and acrobats.

After his parents died, he completely forgot about the idea. It's not that he didn't want to get married any more, but that when your own family is fighting not to get custody of you you seriously start to doubt that anyone will love you. Marriage is all very well, but what's the point if your partner is going to abandon you one day? The story with Margarita didn't help matters and slowly convinced him that everyone disappears one day.

Now that you're a couple, he's starting to feel hopeful again. He likes to hear you talk about marriage and listen to your ideas and wishes on the subject. He writes them down in a notebook so that he doesn't forget them. He thinks it would be nice to marry you. He knows that he has clothes that would be perfect for the occasion and even if nothing suits him, he also knows that Vladimir will agree to give him money to buy a new suit.

He was quick to tell Vladimir and Aaron about his idea, of course, and talks to them every chance he gets. And given that he's the darling of the manor, you can be sure he'll have everything he needs to organise your dream wedding.

He couldn't see himself making his proposal outside the manor, going out seemed too complicated and he knew he would be anxious enough as it was, so Vladimir's garden seemed a perfect alternative. He knows that the area around the little bench is particularly pretty when lit by lanterns.

As for the proposal itself, he doesn't really know what to do. He's usually good with words, but he knows he has a tendency to be a bit too talkative, especially when he gets carried away with his emotions. He could talk about you for hours without getting bored, so he can't see how he could propose without overdoing it. He asks Vladimir and Aaron for advice, of course, but his friends just tell him that if you're in a relationship with him, it's probably because you appreciate his sensitivity.

So he continued to write different marriage proposals, which he then rehearsed to make sure they sounded right.

Sometimes doubt assails him to the point of waking him up suddenly: maybe you don't really love him, he probably doesn't deserve you. He'll end up bringing you bad luck, just as he brought bad luck to Margarita and Alessio. His restlessness always ends up waking you up, and even if you don't understand why he's suddenly so anxious and still refuses to tell you what's going on, you always manage to reassure him. Once he's calmed down and is lying in bed with you, he relaxes again, of course you love him and he's not bad luck. You're both safe.

You suspect that something is going on, it would be quite complicated not to understand it anyway. Ethan elbowed Aaron several times when he was talking about you and Raphael, Vladimir swears he's not hiding anything from you but he stammers as soon as you ask a question about Raphael before fleeing to his room, Beliath and Ivan are playing innocent. You know it's suspicious, you know them well enough now to be certain that their behaviour is hiding something from you.

On the evening of the proposal, Raphaël invited you to take a stroll in the garden. For once, the garden was lit by multiple small lanterns. You sat down together on the garden bench. Raphaël listened to you talk without interrupting, while he tried to summon up the courage to propose, his hand gently caressing yours, the crickets chirping around you soothingly. He took a breath before gently closing his eyes under his blindfold. This was the moment, he clasped the small box containing the ring in his hand before beginning to speak.

His voice was as soft as ever as he concentrated on telling you everything he felt. He felt he had far too much to say and not enough time. In his stress, he clasped your hand in his and wouldn't let go. He would have liked to talk at greater length about everything he loved about you and all the reasons why he wanted to spend eternity with you, but he didn't want to be the only one talking either.

When he stopped talking, all his concentration was on you. He listened to the rhythm of your breathing and paid close attention to your every movement. He waited for your response with great tension and the faint but present fear that you would refuse. When you agreed before kissing him, he felt tears of happiness well up in his eyes.

The engagement ring is expensive and has a complex design, with several twists intertwining around a central diamond stone. It looks quite old, and inside the ring is a line from her favourite love poem.

Ethan :

He wanted to have a partner when he was a kid, but he didn't want to get married. He followed his parents to a lot of weddings and he hated it. You had to sit still, listen to the adults, not stain your clothes, not bother the adults, it was a bore! He wanted to play, have fun and make noise. OK, so maybe he stained the wedding dress of one of his mother's friends at a wedding… maybe two, well, he was considered a disobedient little devil always on the lookout for something new to do, but in his defence, weddings are very boring when you're a kid.

When he was a teenager, he stopped going to weddings and instead went out to have fun with his friends in town. It was much more fun and enjoyable that way and, above all, he wasn't stuck all day with people he didn't know and aunts and uncles wanting to know more about his love affairs. After his transformation, he didn't think about it at all. It was bad enough that he wasn't sure he'd ever have a partner who would love him despite his transformation into a vampire, so a wedding?! All his old friends were dead, all the new friends he made ended up running away from him, he no longer had any family. According to him, he had more chance of running into an alien while shopping than of ever getting married.

His point of view changed when he started to be in a relationship with you. You often spoke to him about marriage and the joy you seemed to feel at the idea was infectious. The more you talked about it with him, the more he found himself considering the idea of marrying you.

Initially, he just wanted to ask you to marry him, nothing grandiose or grandiloquent, just a simple proposal while you were alone together. Beliath stopped him, telling him that he needed something memorable, and so did Raphael and Vladimir, much to his dismay. But that's not how he sees it. He loves you, isn't that enough for a proposal?

He doesn't want to propose to you in a restaurant, it's too cliché and not discreet enough. It's not that he appreciates discretion, but he's not like Beliath and he doesn't want people sharing this moment with you - it's your moment, after all. But no matter how much he thinks about it, he can't find anywhere that suits what he's looking for. The forest is Aaron's place, the garden Vladimir's, the library Raphael's. He doesn't want to propose to you at the Moondance because, once again, he wants to be alone with you.

Meanwhile, you suspect that something is going on, your partner seems a little off every time, as if he's worried about something. At first, you simply asked him if anything was wrong, but Ethan denied it completely. When you asked Beliath if he knew what was worrying Ethan, the half-incubus told you there was no problem at all. You didn't believe him, of course, Beliath lies well, but you've lived with him long enough to know when he's lying.

Weeks went by and he still couldn't find the perfect place for his proposal, but he keeps the ring in his jacket pocket in case a good opportunity arises, and it stays there for a long time before it does.

There was a big funfair in town and, as always, Ethan insisted that you go with him. By the end of the evening, you were tired from the rides and the hours spent browsing the stalls, so you decided to take a ride on the Ferris wheel. The vast majority of people had long since left and the two of you climbed into a large gondola. You leaned back comfortably against Ethan to admire the scenery around you.

At that moment, Ethan realised that this was the moment he'd been waiting for. You were alone in front of a magnificent landscape, the streets of the old town dimly lit below, the music from the funfair barely audible, the sky clear so you could see the stars that dotted it.

Your vampire clutched the little box containing the ring before calling out softly to you. You raised your head to look at him before smiling and kissing him, which reinforced his idea, there was no better moment. He took the box out of his pocket and started talking. He's never been good at being romantic, he knows that, he also knows that he'll never find words strong enough to express clearly how he feels about you. But he knows that if this evening could last forever, he would be the happiest of men. He tells you how he feels about you, how happy he is to spend time with you, how much he wants to see you happy.

When he stops talking, you're still against him, and the love he sees in your eyes makes him blush. You straighten up a little so that you're not leaning all the way against him before kissing him, maybe his eyes are a little wet as he responds to your kiss by pulling you closer to him, but he never thought he'd feel so loved.

It's a fairly simple ring, Ethan didn't go for complexity. It's in white gold, topped with a single sapphire. The stone is very small, but the colour is magnificent and reminds you a little of the colour of Ethan's eyes.

Neil :

Neil had attended many of his father's weddings when he was still a very young child, and he had already understood that love marriages didn't exist among people like him. However, he appreciated this, as he also understood that weddings were above all a manifestation of power and wealth. All his father's weddings dwarfed the weddings of the kingdom's noble families in terms of pomp and money.

The concept of a love marriage always seemed a little strange to him, and he sometimes heard his brothers talk about it without really understanding what he meant by it.

He married many times, never for love, always to consolidate his power. That's not to say he never appreciated the women he married, but he didn't love them romantically; at best, he shared their sense of humour and their desire for power; at worst, they pretended to put up with each other and spent as little time with each other as possible.

Since you've been together, he's found himself thinking about marriage in a different way. You seem to like the idea a lot, even more than that you talk about it often and seem enchanted by the idea of marrying him. He can't deny that the happiness you seem to feel at the idea of marrying him touches him, he would never have thought it would do anything to him, but it does. He loves to hear you talk about marriage as you lie against him on the sofa in the living room. He takes a good long look at you and thinks how beautiful you would look in your wedding clothes.

In the days that follow, he looks for a place to propose to you. He wants the venue to be magnificent, after all, you deserve the best. He immediately thought of a great restaurant, but he can't just book a table in a restaurant, it has to be much better than that. He takes advantage of the times when you don't feel like going out to tour the city's top restaurants.

Once he's found the perfect place, he starts looking for a ring, just like the restaurant, he doesn't want to settle for something simple and it takes him a long time to find what he's looking for, often it doesn't feel grand enough, not unique enough. He wants you to feel like the most precious and important person in his life, so he can't be satisfied with a simple ring, even one from a luxury jeweller.

His behaviour intrigues you, of course; Neil goes out more often than usual and always avoids answering your questions on the subject. It quickly becomes a little game between you, after all, eternity is sometimes long and you have to know how to have fun. You try to spy on him to find out what he's up to while you're away, but it's hard for you to get an answer because your partner goes to such great lengths to keep his secret.

Finally, after several weeks, he invites you to the restaurant and gives you a sumptuous outfit, as usual, Neil's taste in clothes is perfect, the outfit couldn't have suited you better, you spend a moment admiring yourself in the mirror before joining your partner who is also dressed up.

He takes you to the most expensive and chic restaurant in town. You go up to the top floor of the restaurant and when you enter the large room there are just the two of you. The large picture windows give a magnificent view of the city below and the mountains in the distance, the room is lit by subdued light and soft music can be heard. Neil invites you to sit at the only table in the centre of the room. In this setting, you have the impression of being the main character in a great romantic film, and that's not unpleasant - all your vampire's attention is focused on you.

The two of you talk for a long time and you observe your partner sometimes playing with one of his locks of hair. You know that this is a little habit he has when he's feeling stressed and it intrigues you.

Finally, at the end of the meal, he straightens up in his chair to stand even straighter than he already was before taking your hand in his. Neil speaks softly but with a sure voice and you feel lulled by the sound you like so much. He hasn't thought much about what he wants to tell you, which is what's so wonderful about you, he's not playing a chess game, he can be frank and tell you how he feels without being afraid that you'll take advantage of it to hurt him later. He feels free, free to express his love for you and to give you everything you want. Neil talks at length, about the time you've spent together so far, about all the things he'd like to do with you in the future.

When he stops talking, he doesn't let go of your hand. He's never had any doubts about your answer, and when you stand up to kiss him he welcomes you with joy.

The ring is very expensive and it shows. It's in white gold and looks as if it's been tailor-made to fit your finger. You'll never see another like it, because it was made for you and you alone.

Léandra :

Since marriage doesn't really exist among succubi, she has never been interested in it. The only thing that could resemble it is a small ceremony that is not recognised as official by his people.

Léandra has already taken part in human weddings, but she enjoys being invited more, for the hunting and the festive atmosphere that always accompanies weddings. She has never wanted to get married herself, nor has she ever understood what would make a human want to get married.

Since you've been a couple, her opinion has changed on a lot of things. At first, she would never have thought she was capable of falling in love, but it's been the case, she's fallen in love with you, your way of being, everything that makes you the person you are.

You often talk to her about marriage, it's not an idea that would have occurred to her on her own, but she enjoys hearing you talk about it. You seem so happy with the idea and your happiness is contagious. She knows she'd do anything to make you happy and see you smile, so of course if you want a wedding she's ready to go with you without the slightest hesitation.

Léandra has even considered inviting her brother, as she doesn't have many friends among the succubi who could attend her wedding with you, not many friends who would look favourably on it, and she doesn't want to put you in any more danger than you already are by going out with her.

The more time goes by, the more she likes the idea of marriage. Yes, you could get married together. She could see you in your wedding cloth, beautiful as usual. The only problem is that she doesn't really know what a human wedding is like, admittedly she's been to a few, but that was for the party, not the ceremony.

After several weeks of reflection, she finally asked her little brother for advice, and he stammered in surprise for several seconds before asking her if he had understood what she meant. Once she'd got over the shock, Beliath tried to advise her as best he could, but his ideas didn't suit her: a restaurant is nice, but she doesn't particularly like the atmosphere or the idea. She's not very good with words either, and she's not sure she'll be able to tell you clearly how she feels about you - no one has ever taught her to be sentimental, let alone express emotions like love.

She likes the idea of giving you an engagement ring but… Léandra knows that for demons getting married, it's customary to give a dagger, but it's not just any dagger, it has to be enchanted to have the ability to kill a demon. It's a symbol of trust to offer such a weapon to your partner, but she hesitates, as it's not very common among succubi and she's afraid you'll find it aggressive in some way. It's a far cry from the customary human engagement ring. But you love her, you're not afraid of her and who she is, so maybe you wouldn't mind after all?

You soon notice that your partner is not in her normal state, although you can't say exactly why. Léandra's head often seems to be elsewhere and she sighs more often than not, as if something were preoccupying her mind. It's a far cry from her usual good humour and it worries you a little. You know that not all succubi take a very positive view of your partner's relationship with you, but Léandra reassures you that you're both in no danger. She's worried about something else, but despite your questions you can't work out what it is.

Time goes by and she still doesn't know how to propose. There's always her brother's idea of inviting you to a restaurant, but try as she might, it doesn't suit her. She's already not very good with emotions, let alone in a crowd of people, and she needs to be alone with you to tell you how she feels.

Her hesitation leads her to wait a little longer, until one night. You are alone with her in a large hotel room, lying on the bed with your back against Léandra while her wings cover you both as if in a cocoon. Her thoughts wander as she smells your scent against her and watches you wrap a lock of her hair around your fingers. She realises she's never felt so soothed, having you against her has made her feel good in a way she's never felt before.

Léandra doesn't really know where to start - talking about love has never been one of her skills. She hesitates over words and phrasing, far from her usual self-assurance. There's so much she wants to tell you, but doesn't know how.

But she talks to you about how she feels, about the moments of happiness she shares with you and how she wants them to go on forever, her voice has emotions you've never heard from her before, her eyes look at you with love.

When she falls silent and awaits your response, you gently turn to face her before kissing her, her arms closing around you more firmly as her wings flutter slightly.

The dagger she offers you is magnificent and undoubtedly required a great deal of work on the part of its creator. The blade is a bewitching deep black, engraved in a demonic language, and the pommel and the cross-guard are encrusted with precious stone. It looks as fearsome as it is magnificent.

Farah :

Farah grew up in a small village in the countryside, and weddings were always big celebrations where the whole village got together to celebrate the event, sometimes even strangers passing through were invited to join in. When she was a child, she used to enjoy these events immensely, playing with the other children, running among the guests and tables, eating until she couldn't swallow anything. It was also a chance to put on her best clothes.

She never forgot the happiness she felt at these events, even after she and her brother had run away from her father. They were still sometimes invited to weddings where they didn't know anyone but where people wanted to share their happiness. After being transformed into a werewolf it became more complicated, although, but the pack evolved, she attended fewer weddings, isn't very common among werewolves, but there were some organised all the same. Most of the time, these took place deep in the forest, to make sure they were not disturbed by humans. Those who knew how to play music brightened up the forest with their songs, and the party lasted until the early hours of the morning.

Since you've been in a relationship, she's already thought about proposing to you many times, even more so since you told her what you'd like for a wedding. She briefly discussed it with the other members of the pack and of course everyone was very enthusiastic about the idea, so encouraged by them, she decided to go for it.

However, she doesn't really know how to propose. She imagines something quite romantic, a proposal in a beautiful landscape, telling you how much she feels for you and how happy she is to share her life with you. Words aren't always her forte though, she knows she tends to be a bit too direct, she wants you to feel like you're someone special on that day, because you are to her. She'll go round the forest looking for a romantic place to propose to you, and then she'll head into town to go round the jewellery shops looking for an engagement ring that suits you.

You've noticed some changes in Farah's behaviour and in the behaviour of the pack. Your partner often seems to have her head in the clouds, she sometimes goes off without telling you where she's going, she whispers things to the other members of the pack before looking at you innocently when you ask her what they're talking about. And that's not all, Willie sometimes looks at you both and smiles, and for an old grump like him that's pretty unusual. Hellébores comes out of her usual shyness to silence Mathéo and you've already seen Ashlynn and your doctor signal the child to be quiet several times. In fact, everyone seems to know something you don't, and that only makes you more curious.

On the night of the proposal, you followed Farah through the forest for a while before arriving at a large flower-covered clearing, the quarter-moon overhead lighting up the place with a fairy-like appearance, you spent a brief moment observing the place before seeing Farah turn towards you holding a small box firmly against her. Gently, she takes one of your hands in hers before taking a breath.

There are lots of things she'd like to say to you, the responsibilities of the pack seem lighter to her now that you're there to help her, she never tires of waking up next to you, your breathing when you sleep next to her soothes her and gives her a feeling of security she hasn't felt for a long time. Every day, she has the impression that she loves you a little more than the day before; your facial expressions, the way you speak and your smiles flood her with a happiness she never thought possible. Spending eternity with you has become a matter of course, because she can no longer imagine the world without your presence by her side.

When she falls silent to let you answer, she knows there's still a lot she'd like to tell you. Her heart is pounding in her chest, but she can't take her eyes off you for even a second. And when you lean in to kiss her, she closes her arms around you to pull you closer. Farah feels as if she could spend eternity in this position.

The ring has a very simple look, you can wear it for any occasion and she's even bought you a little necklace to go with it if you prefer to wear it around your neck, which can sometimes come in handy when you have to work with your hands, so you don't lose it or snag it while you're working. It's adorned with a tiny orange topaz that reminds you of the colour of the sky when the sun goes down.

[talonabraxas]

The Rose Cross Talon Abraxas symbol of the heart chakra in full bloom When the spirit enters a human body it takes up a cross, the cross of matter, the synthesis of the four elements. There is not much point in wearing crosses round our necks or putting up crosses in churches and cemeteries if we fail to understand that it is humans themselves who are the cross. Man is the cross, and it is this cross that we must work with.

We often associate the cross in our minds with death and negation and that is a mistake for, when the spirit enters into the cross, it becomes the beginning of life. When an Initiate prays he faces towards the four cardinal points of the universe in turn, thus marking the sign of the cross to show that his spirit is about to work on matter.

What it means to cross oneself Each of the cardinal points is ruled by an Archangel: in the East is Mikhaël, in the West Gabriel, in the North Uriel and in the South Raphaël. This rite of turning to face the four cardinal points before praying has been perpetuated in the Christian religion in the form of the Sign of the Cross.

When a Christian touches their forehead, their solar plexus, their left and then their right shoulder with the fingers of their right hand, saying ‘In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen’, they are communicating with the four dimensions of space, the matter on which their thought and love are about to work.

The Rose Cross is the symbol of the perfect human being The Rosicrucian symbol consists of a red rose in the centre of a cross. The rose represents the heart, the full flowering of the heart chakra in man, seen as the sublimation of the cross. This chakra can only be made to blossom by love, the colour and fragrance of which are those of the rose. This is why the Rose Cross is the symbol of an Initiate who has worked so diligently at his own nature that Christ’s love, the divine love that transforms and gives life to matter, has flowered within him.

One who walks in the way of Christ becomes a Rosicrucian even if their name never appears in the membership records of the Society. The rose at the centre of the cross, therefore, is the perfect human being whose heart chakra is in full blossom --Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[electrosquash]

Follow the news. The Folkwang Museum's cancelling of Anaïs Duplan's exhibition (and still profiting from his work) is not the only institution overreacting preemptively in light of the current crackdown of israel-critical voices on a slippery slope to fascism.

These developments didn't just start with Hamas' attack on Israel of Octobre 7th:

But the political landscape is using its performative solidarity with Israel to restrict fundamental rights more and more especially with the rightwing parties heating up the migration debate again and the Ampel dropping all semblance of a backbone. And they aren't nearly done - keep in mind the upcoming elections where everyone wants a piece of AfD's fascism pie as they are projected to reach majority in three states.

[jean-dieu]

OC Mannerism! Feat. Raphaël, Ziel and Lazare

Inspired by @the-raging-tempest, @dujour13 and others!

Raphaël:

He looks taller than he really is. Sure, the horns add quite a few centimeters, but he always stands very straight, tall and proud, almost imposing.

He has a perpetual frown on his face. He doesn't even notice it most of the time, it's just his resting face. When he's angry or nervous, he tends to tap his hoof nervously on the ground.

He tugs on his shirt a lot to straighten it often.

Tends to run a hand through his hair, especially when his shaggy bangs are getting a bit too long. He has been thinking about changing his haircut for years now but he never does it.

He likes tapping his claws on his desk when filling reports.

Bites his lower lips when lost in thoughts.

Usually good at controlling his tail except when he's really excited or happy. That's a better giveway on his current mood than his facial expression.

When he's angry, he can snarl and growl.

Likes cracking his neck and fingers.

Smiling is very unusual for him. Really. At best, he stops frowning. No frown + restless tail = a very happy Raphaël.

Tends to wrap his tail around Sosiel's legs or waist when they're together.

His voice is naturally low and deep, and he always sounds like he's scolding you.

Absolutely loves when someone run a hand through his fur but will never admit it. Sighs softly when Sosiel does so.

Sleeps on his back, all straight, staring at the ceiling.

When he's alone and a bit overwhelmed, closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep sigh.

When he gets angry he can hit things around him just to pass his nerves on something. He tries to control it though.

Ziel:

Scratches his scales on his arms very often, or picks them.

Bites his claws, and they're quite jagged.

As a kid, he used to bite his tail while teething.

His ears are very expressive, and can lower even more when he's sad or perks up when he's surprised or excited.

Forces himself to smile more normally to not flash his sharp, crooked teeth and snake-like mouth. So he's usually just smirking.

Twists his tongue in his mouth a lot.

Is very fidgety in general. Struggles to sit down. Always moving his legs, bending on his chair, doing something with his tail or fingers.

Slouches quite a lot. Very bendy.

Sits weirdly in general.

Tiptoes a lot.

Makes jokes at the worst moment to make up for his nervousness.

Makes self-depreciating jokes all the time to avoid hearing them from others.

Enjoys making a burrito of himself in his cloak.

Likes heights a lot. Loves spending time on Absalom's roofs on his own.

Likes to bury his face in his dog's fur.

He's an edgy, sarcastic teenage boy EXCEPT with his dog who he showers with love and cares and caresses and everything.

Forged himself a mischievous laugh as a young teen. He can't stop doing it now.

His way of talking is a bit peculiar. A bit of a posh accent from the Absalom bouregeoisie yet knows his way with street slangs.

His voice is coarse and raspy, as if he's always a bit sick.

Likes to pull up the middle finger at any little inconvenience.

Wears many layers to hide how scrawny he really is.

Lazare:

Can't stop trying to fit his tongue through his front tooth gap.

Shakes his head a lot to not have curls in front of his eyes. Also likes to do this to make his earrings move.

Likes to make sounds while walking in heels.

Likes to twist and turn his rings. Likes to play with his numerous pieces of jewlery.

When he's talking, he uses his hands a lot. He likes to make grand gestures and theatrical movements. He tells any little anecdotes like if it was a tragedy.

Likes to lay down or sits on the ground.

Likes to twirl curls around his fingers.

Has an incredible voice range and is good at voice acting. Can speak and sing in a very, very low and deep voice or very high pitched.

His natural voice is quite high pitched though.

Speaks incredibely fast, with a strong accent. Can be hard to follow through whatever he's saying, especially since he's terrible at focusing on something and he can ramble for hours.

Can fall asleep in any circumstances. Two chairs in a middle of a party is a decent bed enough.

Winks a lot.

Tail has a mind on its own.

Has the bad habit of interrupting people when they talk, but often stops right after doing it, apologizing.

Has always a bit of candies or biscuits on him. He is the snacks provider.

Pockets are full of random trinkets. An earring, two funny rocks, a coin from another country, a half eaten gummy, crumbs of biscuits and a button or two.

Doesn't care about being naked or not in front of others.

Is in general kind of childish. With his youthful appearance, he's often seen as younger than he really is.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jon Henley, Jennifer Rankin, and Lisa O'Carroll at The Guardian:

France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, has been accused of gambling with French democracy after announcing that he will dissolve parliament and call snap legislative elections in the wake of his allies’ crushing defeat to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) in Sunday’s European parliament elections. On a night that saw far-right parties make significant but far from conclusive gains in Europe, the RN won about 32% of French votes, more than double the 15% or so scored by Macron’s allies, according to projections, with the Socialists just behind on about 14%. The first round of elections for the national assembly will take place on 30 June and the second on 7 July, Macron announced in an address to the nation, in a huge gamble on his political future three years before the end of his second term as president. The outcome of the European parliament elections was “not a good result for parties who defend Europe”, the French president said, noting that, led by RN, far-right parties in France had taken almost 40% of the national vote.

“I cannot act as if nothing had happened,” he said. “I have decided to give you the choice ... Therefore I will dissolve the National Assembly tonight.” He said the decision was “serious and heavy”, but called it “an act of confidence”. Less than two months before the start of the 2024 Paris summer Olympic Games, Macron said he had confidence in “the capacity of the French people to make the best choice for themselves and for future generations”. He added: “This is an essential time for clarification. I have heard your message, your concerns, and I will not leave them unanswered … France needs a clear majority to act in serenity and harmony.” Others were less convinced. Raphaël Glucksmann, who headed the Socialist party’s list, said Macron had “given in” to Bardella. “This is a very dangerous game to play with democracy and the institutions. I am flabbergasted.”

Another critic, Valérie Pécresse, a senior figure in the conservative Les Républicains party, said: “Dissolving without giving anyone time to organise and without any campaign is playing Russian roulette with the country’s destiny.” “Emmanuel Macron is a poker player, we’ve seen that tonight,” said a Green party MP, Sandrine Rousseau. But Marine Le Pen, the RN figurehead who is seen as the front runner in 2027 presidential elections in which Macron cannot stand, said she welcomed the decision. “We are ready to put the country back on its feet. We are ready to defend the interests of the French people,” she said. Her party’s lead candidate for the European election, Jordan Bardella, 28, said voters had delivered a “a stinging rejection” of the president. Macron’s Renaissance party currently has 169 deputies in the national assembly, and the RN 88. If the far-right party wins an outright majority in the upcoming election, the president would effectively lose control over most French domestic policy.

[...]

Although exit polls indicated that the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) had made significant gains in Germany and was in second place on 16.5% of the vote, the opposition centre-right was on course for 29.5%. The AfD’s success came despite a slew of scandals, including its lead candidate saying that the SS, the Nazi’s main paramilitary force, were “not all criminals”. In Austria, meanwhile, the far-right Freedom party was forecast to come top, with a projected 27%, ahead of the conservative People’s party and the Social Democrats, on 23.5% and 23% respectively. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders’ far-right party was running a close second behind a Left-Green alliance. The Freedom party looked set to win 17.7% of the vote, while the Left-Green alliance, led by the former EU Commission vice-president, Frans Timmermans, was on 21.6%.

But it was far from a clean sweep for the far right, which fell short of expectations in Belgium. And crucially, parties on the extreme right remain divided, making them less influential in Brussels. According to an initial projection from the European parliament, MEPs from the four pro-European mainstream groups were forecast to retain a majority of seats in the assembly, but a smaller one than in 2019, which will make it increasingly difficult for them to pass laws. The European People’s party, Socialists and Democrats, the centrist Renew group and the Greens were on course for 456 of the 720 seats, a 63% share, compared with their 69.2% share in the slightly smaller outgoing parliament. These groups often find themselves on opposing sides – the Greens, for example, did not support Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission president in 2019.

The 2024 EU elections were a disasterclass for non-right-wing parties, especially in France, as that’s nation’s PM Emmanuel Macron announced the dissolution of parliament and called for new elections in the wake of the far-right surge.

[stevespookington]

Ted Lasso S3E6, Sunflowers. A friendly match takes the team to Amsterdam, where one night out unlocks truths for many.

Or, from sunflowers to Wilde to Whitman to Van Gogh and back to sunflowers once again.

Her Voice

"Oscar and sunflowers are a valid conjunction because perhaps no figure in history has been associated with a single flower as closely as Oscar Wilde was associated with the sunflower in 1882, when he visited the flower’s native America for the entire year." (Oscar Wilde’s Reception in Kansas and the Sunflower Soirée)

"Manufacturers of household items such as wallpaper, paint, and thread created thousands of business cards depicting Wilde in a variety of poses and postures, typically with sunflowers and lilies, the flowers that became his hallmark — he became known as 'The Sunflower Apostle.'" (The Wilde Woman and the Sunflower Apostle: Oscar Wilde in the United States)

Wilde has been mentioned in relation to Ted Lasso before in this interview with James Lance.

Regarding Oscar Wilde, is there any work of his that you would like to be in, any plays or any of the stories of his or even like a you know biographical thing — anything of his that you would like to to be involved in?

I don’t know — all I know is that the most interesting bit of Oscar Wilde’s material that I’ve read so far is the transcript to the court case, the trial, when he got sentenced. I think his last words were as he was walking out the door, “Is there nothing more I can say,” as he was being shunted downstairs for two years hard labor, which was ultimately kind of a death sentence.

Which is the interview that gave us:

In addition, there is a program of one of Wilde's plays in the Van Gogh Museum.

Theatre programme for Raphaël by Romain Coolus and Salomé by Oscar Wilde (Théâtre de l'Oeuvre, 11 February 1896) in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. In Sunflowers, there will be many truths unlocked.

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

No reporters were invited to witness the meeting between Whitman and Wilde. This was a strange choice for two dandyish men who loved self-promotion, but it was a canny one: they would each give separate interviews afterwards, and double the attention they received. In the two hours they’d spent together, both said they’d had a very pleasant time. “One of the first things I said was that I should call him ‘Oscar,’“ Whitman told a reporter afterwards. “’I like that so much,’ he answered, laying his hand on my knee. He seemed to me like a great big, splendid boy.” When Wilde Met Whitman. (and also, A Wilde and Whitman One Night Stand?)

'"Be Curious, Not Judgmental" ― (Not) Walt Whitman. Quoted by Ted during the dart game in season 1.

All is Truth.

In 1888, Vincent Van Gogh wrote of Whitman in a letter, “He sees in the future, and even in the present, a world of healthy, carnal love, strong and frank- of friendship- of work- under the great starlit vault of heaven a something of which after all one can only call God- and eternity in it’s place above this world.” (Traces of Whitman in Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night”)

Sunflowers, study (F377), Oil on canvas, 21 x 27 cm, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Venus False Sunflower has masses of beautiful yellow daisy flowers with gold eyes at the ends of the stems from early summer to mid fall, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its serrated oval leaves remain green in color throughout the season.

Many consider Sundance Kid to be the oldest dwarf sunflower. The small plant reaches a maximum of two feet, and it has semi-double leaves that are red and yellow, with a small brown disc in the middle. Sundance Kid flowers early and is easy to grow. It continues to flower longer than most sunflowers, allowing you to enjoy the beauty they add to your home for a longer time.

“The sunflower is mine in a way.” ― Vincent van Gogh

[asterrrrion]

I'm french and I'm also an Ace Attorney fan.

The thing is, I have NEVER before today interacted with the french part of this fandom, I've never even seen screenshots of the french translation before today.

And let me tell you, my shock when I learned that they changed the name of Miles Edgeworth to Benjamin Hunter

I-

Benjamin.

I have no idea how that name is perceived in English speaking countries but let me tell you : in french it does NOT send Miles Edgeworth vibes. (Could be worse : his name in Portuguese is Eduardo. I laughed over this for 30 minutes.)

Like there's no way I can buy the Apollo remaster now, how am I supposed to take him even the slightest bit seriously??

Some names are good in french, Larry to Paul is a great transition, Lotta to Eva is good and I approve of Ron being an Henri, Gaspen Payne being named Oscar makes me extremely happy, Simon to Raphaël isn't that bad of a change even if Simon is like also an actually perfectly respectable french name (weirdly enough Raphaël is starting to grow on me, seems like an edgy name now that I've finished reading Balzac).

But Vérité for Trucy ?? (Vérité literally is Truth and has never been a name in any circle ever) mean come on, Trucy sounds at least cute.

DeKiller's John Doe being transformed into Alonso Bistro feels criminal (Alonso Bistro isn't an equivalent to John Doe, it's 1) not an actual name and 2) it's literal translation is Letsgoto Thepub), and in a general way the emphasis on puns way more than in the English version kinda pisses me off. Like Dick Gumshoe is funny while actually suiting the character, Dick Tektiv is funny but less so and also the Dick part is untranslatable.

Another thing that pisses me off !! They don't actually translate names that could be translated easily ! Like Apollo is still Apollo even though he should definitely be called Apollon (to make the ridiculousness of his name actually come across), why bother translating Edgeworth's name at all if it's to give him an english surname ? Why's Pearl still Pearl if she literally could be called Perle ? Why bother translating Joe Darke into Joe Sinister dude you could've just said Joe Sinistre and it would've been ten times funnier. Why ruin April May's name by saying Masha Vril even though Avril is an actual name even if it's rare ?

Worst part is though : they changed Klavier's name to fucking Konrad. That one I'm afraid I can't forgive.

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Raphaël (Italian, 1483-1520) La Délivrance de saint Pierre, 1511 Chambre d'Héliodore, Vatican Acts 12:3–19 of The Bible says that Peter was put into prison by King Herod, but the night before his trial an angel appeared to him, and told him to leave. Peter's chains fell off, and he followed the angel out of prison.

[sadcambion]

The wrath of the devil.

Raphaël x Reader/f!Tav. It's just porn with no plot.

TW : extremely questionable consent, angry sex

The half-devil is angry. You hear Raphael growling furiously. You know you’d better stay away from him when he’s in this state, but the way he looks at you clearly means he won’t let you out of this room. Originally he is not angry with you. No, originally he is angry with Mephistopheles. His dear father wants to prevent him from fulfilling his dearest wish, to become the supreme archdevil of the nine hell. He even sent him a gift to calm him down in his quest, a gift. An incubus. Raphael was a power-hungry cambion and he would not let an incubus distract him from his plans. He would not let anyone, and certainly not his father, stand in his way. As soon as possible he would send that incubus back to his father.

But in the meantime, he looks at you, the little mortal at his service. You never knew why Raphael keep you at the house of Hope. He never showed you love or tenderness, except on rare occasions. Raphael was a ruthless master and you often performed missions for him when he didn’t fuck you. The rumbling voice of the cambion rose in the room.

"On your knees, little mouse."

You say nothing and there is nothing to answer. You get closer to him. You know him and in this kind of situation you know that if you do not want to end up with broken bones you must obey him. You kneel in front of him and your knees touch the soft carpet.

He does not bother to be soft, his pants fall down and you see his hardness stand in front of your face. It grabs your hair so that you take his cock in your mouth. You suffocate a gasp around its length and you feel your nauseous reflex activate. Too rough and too deep in your throat. He doesn’t take care of you and you feel his claws on your scalp. He doesn’t push them in, not yet. Your mouth looks almost too small around his cock. He fucks your mouth pulling your hair. His grip, his violence is in the image of his anger.

Your pale hands cling to his thighs and you moan around him as you seem to choke. You don’t enjoy it, it’s too brutal, too violent for you. But you’re used to it, he’s already done that. You’re his thing after all. All he needs is to let off steam. Tears run down your cheeks, you hurt because of his grip, he doesn’t give you time to breathe while he hits you in the throat. You feel your hands almost sink into the red skin of his thighs and you struggle to keep air in your brain.

He is the devil, the son of Mephistopheles, prince of Hell and future archdevil, obviously he is ruthless with you. He knows he can do anything he wants with you. Use you and throw you away once he’s done.

At the same time, he moves his hips synchronizing the movements of your head and you hear him sigh with pleasure. His sex throbs in your mouth, it’s on the edge, you know, you feel it.

But at the last moment, Raphaël repels you and under the blow of surprise you fall on the back on the carpet. You make a big noise, the air enters your lungs again and your cheeks are streaked with tears, your lips are red and swollen. He seems satisfied with this view, but you still perceive a dull rage in his eyes. You breathe in a jerky way. He always hard.

He snaps his fingers, you’re in a bed, his bed. And you’re naked like the day you were born. Your body is so tempting to him, your skin is so pale, without a scar, he wants to mark you, and he will eventually do it. He looks at your breasts as they rise and fall in the sandstone of your breathing and it seems that you still haven’t taken your breath completely. Your nipples point, so tempting and provocative.

You see that he is also completely naked. Without losing a moment, he crawls on you. Your voice is hoarse, trembling because of what just happened, and what’s going to happen.

"Raphael…"

"Shut up."

His voice is cold, full of anger. His wings overhang you and his tail beats furiously. His face is cold and it’s clear he won’t back down. Even if you say no, even if you don’t want to. And you know that if you say one more word, he will bleed your immaculate pale skin.

You belong to him.

You feel his tall hands grab your thighs and spread them, the tip of his claws sinks into your skin without piercing it. It seems to hold back so as not to ravage you and tear you to pieces. The tip of his cock is positioned against your entrance and he leans over you to kiss you while he penetrates you. You moan brutally. It’s big, it’s too much, and he didn’t prepare you. It hurts. It’s a soft suffering. You love these sexual relations as much as you hate them.

The kiss is not sweet, it is brutal, messy. His tongue enters your mouth in a sloppy manner. He puts his dominion over you, he shows you that here he is the master, he commands, not you. Her hips begin to move, slowly, as if out of pity for your suffering. He feels merciful for this short time, after all, you’re just a mortal, you don’t have his resistance. But you know this slow pace won’t last.

He breaks the kiss and grabs your thighs harder. You’d almost feel his sharp claws pierce your epidermis. Blood flows, little drop by little drop. Your walls are narrow, tight. And it makes him gasp. You moan strongly when you feel it at the bottom, against your cervix. He moves faster, we hear the sound of the skin that collides in a unholy dance. The ridges of her thick sex rubs places in you that are pleasurable and you feel the pleasure rise. You can’t stop the shrill, hoarse moaning coming out of your throat mistreated. His movments is hard and relentless as he hits your cervix every time. Your hands squeeze the sheets and your eyes close under the intensity of the sensations.

One of his hands leaves your thighs to grip you hard in the chin, he gives a violent blow of the pelvis which rips you another moan.

"Look at me. Don’t close your eyes."

His hand on your chin is painful. You open your eyes. Your eyes are foggy. You feel about to reach your climax, and he knows it the way you squeeze around him. He growls. You open your eyes wide, he will finished inside of you. His hand on your thigh squeezes you tighter and you moan in pain feeling him make you bleed even more. Despite this, your orgasm turns devastating and is pushes him to the end. You feel its warm seed flooding your insides and you tighten one last time in response.

Your body is soft after being used in this way and you are tired. It withdraws and the glow in its eyes has changed, it seems calmer. His semen comes out of your abused pussy and stains your thighs and the sheet. It drops next to you. He is disheveled, sweaty, and his breathing is slightly jerky. He sees you, exhausted and full of his semen. The blood of your cuts flows slowly. He reaches out to you. His claws gently touch your cheeks. His tone seems almost soft when he starts talking.

"Rest, little mouse."

But a mischievous smile adorns his lips and you look at him, not knowing if you should be afraid of it.

"We are far from finished."

You would definitely have trouble walking tomorrow.

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

2. "Thanks, I'll pass. I'd just go wild."

CALL ME MAÑANA - "And then we might go wild together, which sounds fun. But I guess I have a strike to watch."

"So, anything else you wanted to discuss, boiadeiro?"

5. "Good talking to you. Gotta run." [Leave.]

BOIADEIRO

Research time: 6h 30m Temporary research bonus: -1 Physical Instrument: Astra country

It has been brought to your attention that there are men who live by the law of the land and the strength of their arms. Sunburnt, rugged, smoking men who explored the great rivery veins of upper-Magritte and tamed the Mundi wilds. Frontiersmen, cow-herders, philosophers -- the *boiadeiros*... with a gun in one hand and an unfiltered cigarette between their lips, these men made their own rules. What would it take for you to become one too?

🎵 Martinaise, Terminal B

CARGO CONTAINER DOOR - You're back before the cargo container. Its draw has not lessened since you were last here. If anything, it seems to have grown slightly.

3. [Rhetoric - Impossible 18] Persuade the door to open.

+1 Erratic, yet thorough. +1 Been in the world for two days. +1 Been in this world for many days. +1 Precarious world. +1 One more door. +1 Icosahedral Dice Set "Sirens"

RHETORIC [Impossible: Success] - Despite the dirt that surrounds and trails you, a beacon of light emerges from deep within you.

"Hello, is there anybody in there?"

CARGO CONTAINER DOOR - The door stands silent.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Satisfied, detective?" A wry smile crosses the lieutenant's face.

RHETORIC - Try again.

"If there's someone in there, I'd like to talk to you."

CARGO CONTAINER DOOR - Just like that, you hear a click. Then a rattle. Some mechanism unlocks itself inside the door.

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - From deep within the container, a voice: "Ahoy! Come on in!"

+5 XP

KIM KITSURAGI - The smile disappears. "You can't be serious."

As we approach the centre of the container.... the amount of real we have increases?

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - The man stands at the far end of the shipping container. It's hard to say anything more about him. You cannot make out any of his details, but you do feel the overwhelming presence of... capital.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Trivial: Success] - The feeling causes all the hairs on your body to stand at attention like soldiers preparing for review.

Squint.

Cover your eyes…

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - Something's amiss. The light beams bend around his face and scatter in a thousand directions. It seems the laws of physics do not apply here. They are suspended, distorted, an echo.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Impossible: Failure] - Trying to visualize the physics at play is liable to give you an aneurysm. Don't think about it too hard!

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - In the general stillness, only your tongue moves, flickering as you utter...

"Hello!"

"What's going on in here?"

"Wow."

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - "Welcome, welcome! Not too much, actually, just pleasantly surprised to have company today."

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Trivial: Success] - You can't *hear* him, exactly, yet you're able to understand every word he says. It is very strange. An overwhelming hum covers everything -- voice doesn't escape from him.

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - "Now." He claps his hands together. "What can I do for you gentlemen?" What you can see of his body appears composed. In a sharp summer suit. And yacht shoes.

"Who are you?"

"We should get back to our investigation. Thanks for your time." [Leave.]

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - "Who *am* I? Oh, I haven't been asked that question for such a long time." There's genuine surprise in his voice. "I don't meet a lot of people outside my circle these days..."

"Anyhow, my name is Roustame Diodore -- investor, licence holder, and extremely high-net-worth individual. And you are?"

+5 XP

KIM KITSURAGI - "Mr. Diodore, I am Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi of the RCM, and this is my partner..."

"Harrier Du Bois."

"The name's Raphaël Ambrosius Costeau. Most likely."

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - "Pleasure to meet you, Harrier Du Bois," he says warmly. "I must admit, the name suits you very well."

"Who are you?"

"How did you become so rich?"

"What are you doing in this container?"

"You're a rich investor, right? Can I have some money?"

"We should get back to our investigation. Thanks for your time." [Leave.]

KIM KITSURAGI - "Oh, lord, not this again."

"What's the matter, Kim?"

Ignore him.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Oh, nothing. It's just that we've got this *murder* to solve, and yet you go around asking everyone about *money*. And every time I ask, 'Are you sure this is related to the case?', you say, 'Sure, Kim. I think it is'..."

"And yet it never seems to get us any closer to solving the case."

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - The man chuckles. "It's quite alright. I'm used to the question by now. To be blunt, I inherited my fortune from my grandmother, who, herself, was an extremely high-net-worth individual back in Graad..."

"All I did was take her fortune and invest it prudently. Believe it or not, it takes more than a bit of skill not to blow a vast fortune on sailing boats, bad choices, and *unsupervised* state policy."

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - And blow.

"What's it like being an extremely high-net-worth individual?"

"Cool. But I want to ask you about something else."

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - The man exhales with a whistle. "I gotta tell you, at first, being rich is a lot of work. You've got to work hard because everything's so darn expensive. You know, prices increase exponentially at this income level..."

"But then, once you've reached my position, it's nearly impossible for me *not* to make money. My assets are so diversified that I'm bound to come out ahead no matter what..."

"Some of my lower-net-worth friends say to me, 'But doesn't that take all the fun out of it?' and I tell them, 'Not really.'"

[4alarmfirecracker]

You can find the drive link for ep “4x02 - 1001 nuits” in the discord. Hope you'll love this episode and don't forget to say a little thank you to translators and timers ♥

The charred body of an Iranian man is found in his home. Spontaneous combustion or diabolic crime? Astrid and Raphaëlle quickly realize that he was living under a fake identity.

Discord link: https://discord.gg/Dx6K5bR