#Shaper brain

[new-health-products-in]

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[ven-of-oath]

Guess who qblrsmp special addition to commemorate the serving ending. I am one of the admins Ven, I played

- Evaportation "Eva" 777-Owes-Magician

- The strange nether creature that tormented people for like a month before dying tragically

- The spirit that haunts the school gym

[welcometoteyvat]

hello everyone. please give me inspiration.

in liyue who would be the most likely

screenwriter

story writer

costume designer

producer

production designer

movie music composer (optional)

editor

director

[aromanticasterisms]

HUG TECHNOLOGY!!!!!

[daybreakrising]

it is after midnight and i am having Thoughts and Feelings about m.enogias again

[fastcardotmp3]

welcome to dot drops something that's been sitting in her tumblr drafts for 4 months Saturday I hope you enjoy your visit mwah! Steddie; Ballet AU; Dancer!Steve; mentions of cancer treatment; 1.5k words

Dress rehearsal is supposed to be a mess.

That's the point of it, really, to get all the mistakes out of your system and start the actual show run with a clean slate. Or at least, that had been the point of which they'd all convinced themselves when Steve was the one performing.

Bad dress meant good show, or so the old adage went, and so at least there was some ease of worry with the collective understanding that it won't happen on the night within the company.

That was the case when Steve was a student, when he was an apprentice, even during his time in the big leagues at Joffrey, but right now? At the end of a truly abysmal dress in this run-down theater on the edge of a town from which he'd once run away?

Steve is not the performer. He's the guy in charge.

And so he spirals.

He'd never wanted to be a director or an instructor or the head of a studio like this. It had never been in his plans. Steve was a man of action, where the people who do these jobs are the brains behind the operation.

Steve knows how to work hard, how to force his body and even his mind into submission until he gets the steps just right, but this? These past six months back in Hawkins temporarily helping out?

(God, please let it be temporary.)

He's not built for this. He's sitting center stage after everyone has left with only half the house lights to illuminate his misery and he's not. Built. For. This.

Not built for being a mentor or a leader or a role model; not built to handle the strenuous nature of his mother's legacy; not built to carry the name she's made for herself as a teacher and a choreographer and a shaper of young dancers.

Steve's not built for it!

They'd had a shitty fucking dress.

"Hey, uh, you gonna be a while? I kinda need to close up for the night."

The voice echoes across the empty space, bouncing off the high ceiling and straight up to land on the Marley floors at Steve's feet. The stage isn't built for dancers, much like Steve isn't built to be here, so they'd had to pull up the floors from the studio and drag them halfway across town just to roll them out here.

"Hello? Are you, like, alive up there?"

Steve sighs. "Yeah," he calls back, catching sight of the figure talking to him at the back of the theater, the young guy who runs the place and who Steve met a grand total of three days ago. His name is Eddie and he dresses more like he's running a music venue than a local community theater, but he's mostly stayed out of Steve's way so far. "Sorry, I'll get outta your hair."

"Sure," Eddie says, but he's just sort of leaning against the back wall by the window to the sound and lighting booth without an ounce of urgency to him as Steve drags himself to his aching feet and lugs his three separate bags of show stuff onto his shoulders.

There's an energy to an empty theater, one which has held a performance and one which now holds the ghosts of that performance, which tugs at the anxieties sitting buried deep beneath the more immediate ones.

Fears about his mom's health, about what will happen to the studio if she doesn't win this particular battle, about what will happen to him.

There's an energy here in the creak of the steps which lead down off the front of the stage and there's an energy to the plod of Steve's sneakers up the long, racked aisle between the seats.

There's an energy, but it's also not empty, is it.

"Hey, good show, dude," Eddie says, pushing off his wall as Steve grows nearer. "Like, talented kids you've got there."

Steve scoffs before he can help himself and then pinches the bridge of his nose in a grimace for not being able to help himself.

"Uh, yeah, thanks," he grits out, thinking about his bed. Thinking about how he never made time for dinner and he has to be here early again tomorrow.

"Wow, resounding confidence on this one," Eddie snorts, and when Steve opens his eyes it's to genuine amusement, genuine curiosity in the tilt of a head and furrow of a brow.

"No, just," he shakes his head, "you should see 'em when they're really on their game, y'know?"

Eddie hums, and when did Steve come to a stop right in front of him? He's leaving. He has to leave. Go home. Think about all the spacing corrections he needs to fix tomorrow and run through with the girls before show time.

"Bad dress, good show though, right?"

Steve startles. Maybe a little too visibly because Eddie is actively holding back laughter at the sight of him.

"What, I've worked at a theater for four years and I'm not supposed to pick up a thing or two about the ballet?" he snarks good-naturedly. "Caroline, the lady who did your job before you, she was a chatty one, taught me everything I know about Giselle."

It's a knife between the ribs. It's a soothing sort of heat, like from a roaring bonfire.

"You--" he clears his throat, "you know Caroline?"

"Highlight of the job honestly, before she retired," Eddie shrugs.

"She didn't retire."

"Oh. She...?"

"Chemo," Steve doesn't know why he's saying it all so willingly, why after months of trying to run the studio without having to talk about how's your mom doing, sweetheart? he's opening up to this stranger with the curly hair and curious eyes. But he knows her. He's-- Well, he knows her. "I'm just here to-- to fill in until she can come back. So."

Eddie is studying him now. Curious eyes turned intelligent, knowing, sad with the weight of realization.

"You're the wonder boy," he says on a breath like oh, I get it now.

"The what?" Steve balks.

"Her kid," Eddie says like it's simple. He's leaning against the wall again, like he's not planning on getting back to work anymore, "she was-- Shit, man, she loves the hell outta you. Oh, you should see my son, he's in Les Corsaire this season! Oh, my boy, he's just gotten promoted to soloist, he'll be a principal in no time! Oh, the talent on him, the--"

"Okay, okay, Jesus," Steve cuts him off, a half-hysterical laugh bubbling up out of his chest in the process.

"You should tell her I say hi next time you see her," Eddie isn't remotely deterred by having his little, lilting performance derailed. There's a softness to him that deserves a smaller space, walls less prone to echo.

"I will," Steve nods. His bags grow heavy on his shoulders.

"And you should chill out a little bit," he says, this time with the kind of glint to his eye that needs a bigger space, needs to be up on the stage to the point where it has Steve floundering, "y'know, about the the shitty dress that, between you and me," he leans in conspiratorially, close enough to feel the heat of his breath, "wasn't really all that shitty."

Steve sucks in a breath.

It strikes him somewhere old, the reassurance, somewhere young deep inside of him. The comforting from a mother that if he just works hard enough he’ll land that double tour in fifth some day soon, the unbroken promise that she would never give him special treatment as the son of the studio owner, but that she would never hesitate to reward him when he’d earned it on his own.

It strikes him because no one tells you how little reassurance the guy in charge is ever offered and it strikes him because it’s been such a long day and it strikes him because—

“Hey, have you had dinner yet?”

Eddie’s eyebrows lift high on his forehead and Steve sees it, the attitude on this dude that his mother absolutely would have loved in an instant. There’s a performer in there, even just in the brief interaction they’ve shared so far. There’s a spotlight pointing inwards and a show begging to be dragged out.

“No,” Eddie drags out slow and curious, “you offering, ballet boy?”

Steve needs a sounding board and he needs another set of eyes and he needs his mom to be okay and the show tomorrow to prove that he can handle this for her if she’s not, but maybe what he needs most right now, on the other side of a spiral in a dark and echoing theater, is this.

“Meet me at Benny’s in thirty,” he says simply as he makes his way for the door. “Since you’re such an experienced test audience.”

Eddie’s responding laugh is bright and his eyes glitter with curious amusement and maybe this is what Steve needs because maybe all of this is one big rehearsal at a big new life in and old small town.

And maybe this is his chance to make a mess of it. At least until the real show starts.

[thatdeadaquarius]

Episode two of us teleported to genshin and we just play prank on everyone and causing havoc cuz y not <33

Secretly swapping venti and kaeya's vintage wine with the freshest grape juice *evil laugh*

Randomly singing niki minaj and megan thee stalion lyrics in random places <3

WE WOULD BUILD A TREE HOUSE NEAR WINDRISE AND LIVE TOGETHER YAYAYAY

Living that cottage core dream <3

YOU KNOW WE WOULD BITCH

i like to think we'd fufill every genshin fans chaotic dreams if we got yoinked to genshin lol

(obviously, seriously, sorry for replying way too late to this ;-; )

ur talking abt harmless pranks, and while yes we would need to do all of those, im talking abt figuring out how to trick Zhongli into running into Neuvillette LMAOO

ok but the Windrise idea is lowkey genius, i mean if Hilichurls can accomplish structures surely so can we, u know what i subscribe to tho? Treehouses/cool houses in every nation 👌

like cool mountain home for Liyue/inazuma could literally have a house for every island/sumeru would be yet another most epic treehouses/I WOULD LIKE TO HANG OUT/LIVE IN ONE OF THE PYRAMIDS!! not all of them have dead ppl in them i don't think (in teyvat not earth💀)

Im a personal favorite of not just singing nicki minaj songs/2000s party songs, but blasting them thruout Fontaine’s speakers 👍

OR EVEN BETTER-

blasting unhinged music thru the speakers of the CLOCKWORK MEKA, no matter where Fontainians go they can’t escape shit like, “REESES PUFFS REESES PUFFS EAT EM UP EAT EM UP EAT EM UP”

(i like to think our phones would come with/always be at 100% bc we’re “inside the video game” too)

i just posted ur other idea abt this, but telling the Akademiya/Fontaine vision users abt powerpoint nights, and just sitting back with popcorn/genshin food so we can watch the show lol

idk if u saw it for Lantern rite this year, but how mountain shaper and moon carver accidentally messed with cloud retainer by flying kites in her territory? i would give the adepti even more funny gifts so they'd unintentionally prank Each Other lmao

Giving unhinged novel ideas to Yae Miko would also be great, like the beef between Zhongli/Rex Lapis and Venti/Barbatos but enemies to lovers fanfic 💀

she’d print it too lol

(oh god i don't even wanna think abt how much more insane we’d seem if they thought we were their Creators/above the gods 😭 be gods of chaos more like lol)

tysm for all ur big brain ideas orah, 10/10 would love driving Teyvat crazy if we were both there irl

i hope u have a great week!! :D

Safe Travels,

💀♒

If you wanna join a taglist, DM me what for! "Pspspsss, please tag me for [All SAGAU posts, Only SAGAU Language AUs, diff fandom, etc.]!"

(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/[specifically this AU/fandom] please!")

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks / @devilangel657 / @esthelily / @justinsomniachild / @nanithefuck / @questionotmystopit / @chinuneko

@kiyomi-uchiha777

[gabessquishytum]

Hob really has to stop drinking with Joanna, more things go sideways after nights out with her, than a fine upstanding shaper of young minds should be party to.

This time, it's sneak into this private garden and pick one of the weird flowers as proof.

Drunk Hob thinks this is a great easy idea - over the pointy fence; cell phone (only dropped twice) out with the flashlight on (although it's a full moon night so the flashlight is barely necessary); Joanna yell whispering from the other side of the fence,,,,,all fun and game!!! Then Hob is face to face with a snarling dog, dog-like animal thing.

Seriously, this dog is big, like a dire wolf, but lean?!?. Hob's drunk mind is obviously adding size. But Hob loves puppies!!! He's not scared at all. He hugs the guard dog (he nonplusses it so much it doesn't bite); he scritches it and gives it pets, and calls it good boy. He tells the puppy that he's drunk and doing a stupid bet and asks if he wants to help him pick a flower as proof.

To be clear, the dog is not a puppy, it's huge, and it seems weirdly super smart, to understand Hob. Hob and the puppy walk over to a patch of flowers, and with a nugde of it's nose, the puppy indicates Hob should pick one of these. Hob thanks the puppy, kissing it on the head, calling it good boy one last time. Then hopes back over the fence.

Dream is not a puppy; he is a werewolf (and torture artist,,,,,high-end global phenon tortured artist). His home is fenced and setup so when he changes into his wolf form, he keeps himself and people safe.

When he smells a trespasser in his garden he is ready to scare off the interloper. What he gets instead is a drunk beautiful, unafraid, man who gives him scritches and calls him good boy,,,,,, (Dream does not, not, have a praise kink.)

Dream is going to have to find this sweet smelling cuddly man in the light of day.

Aksjdjdjajs.

Hob wakes up the nest day with distant memories of commiting minor felonies - it's not the first time he's trespassed on someone else's property, but it probably will be the last. At least the puppy was nice. Such a big puppy, with such incredible blue eyes! And he's got this beautiful poppy as well. He's never seen a flower like it - it's almost black! And it shows no sign of wilting. Hob puts it in his coat buttonhole, and attempts to get on with his day. With a disgusting hangover, of course.

Which calls for coffee and an extra large pastry. He's just sitting down in his favourite cafe with his goodies when he feels this..... feeling. Like someone looking at him. And when he looks up, there's a pair of big blue eyes staring down at him. Not in the face of a fluffy wolf-puppy, but in the face of a gaunt yet beautiful man.

Hob takes a gulp of his coffee and indicates for the man to join him. It's a moment before he can manage to speak...

"You." He manages to say. "You're my good boy, aren't you?"

And Dream (who was about to try and be his scariest sneeriest self) turns bright pink and squirmy. Hob might not have meant to activate anyone's praise kink, but he really really has. And now he's got a problem - Dream doesn't intend to leave him alone. He'll follow Hob to work and back home again, as long as he finally gets what he wants.

And what he wants is to be fucked doggy style on Hob’s bed, and praised and called a good sweet boy until he cums his brains out. Maybe a lil scratch behind the ears, too. Is that so much to ask for?

Luckily, Hob is happy to provide whatever Dream wants... as long as he gets to finish his coffee first.

[kyliafanfiction]

If Vicky had Amy's power, she would handle it better, if only because she wouldn't have Carol being quite so hostile and she wouldn't have her fear of a villain dad and her incest crush making her fear changing Amy.

But Vicky would probably be at risk of working herself so hard she'd burn out. Vicky wants to help people, wants to make the world better, wants to be a hero. And I do wonder if she'd feel like she disappointed Carol (regardless of if she did or not) by not getting a 'go out and fight' power. So she might push herself more. On the other hand, she wouldn't have had all the reasons Amy pushed herself (fear of herself, wanting to escape home, fear she was evil, etc).

But, if all she did was heal, Shaper would still be pissed at her all the same.

Vicky probably wouldn't be so worried about brains, either, so she probably heals Mark's depression, or tries to, anyway, at some point. And she is prone to recklessness, so she might do something like that in a way that has consequences. I read a fic where Amy did cure Mark's depression once, and it led to Mark and Carol divorcing and Mark becoming a basically absentee dad, his personality quite different. Even if Vicky did it 'all right', there could be downsides and unexpected outcomes. And Vicky isn't stupid, so she'd understand fully how complicated the brain is, how much could go wrong.

If Bonesaw tries to recruit Vicky, I mean, anyone can break, anyone can snap, anyone can go bad, but Bonesaw would need a very different strategy to do it than what she tried with Amy.

Vicky... I could see her having a name like Panacea, but she might not go with that. I'm not sure if Amy actually picked Panacea, or if Carol or Sarah or someone else in the New Wave adults did.

Amy with Vicky's power has all her Carol and villain dad and incest crush related problems, but at the very least, doesn't have any fear she can lose control and change Vicky... unless of course she fears that her Aura can do something (though officially, the Aura can't, so... let's say it can't and Amy knows this... but I can see Amy worrying about it anyway. Girl is an anxious mess)

She'd probably be more likely - until or unless something made her snap, anyway - to not end up crippling people the way Vicky did, her fear of herself and her powers making her hold back. She'd probably set strict rules to hold herself back, and god knows Carol would probably give her all sorts of lectures about responsible use of her powers.

Amy would not revel in her power the way Vicky does. She'd probably hate having the aura... though that also raises questions of like, how much of Vicky's personality is shaped by her power. But let's assume the core of her personality remains the same. She'd probably try harder than Vicky to restrain her aura because she wouldn't want to be center of attention. She would probably not earn a 'collateral damage' nickname, though when you have that sort of power mistakes happen no matter what.

Amy... would she put herself at risk of burnout going out and fighting criminals all the time? It's not the same 'people are dying if I'm not doing heroing all the time' that she had with healing powers, so she may not feel the same guilt if she isn't out all the time, but she would still feel scrupulosity and Carol's black and white view of the world and her own self-loathing over her knowledge of her father being a villain and her fear that Carol's apparent negative feelings towards her are well founded...

She might feel like she has to go out every night, has to do more, has to push harder, has to catch more criminals. And that still leaves her at risk of burnout. On the other hand, she might not be able to get away with that quite as easily, just from a practical standpoint.

So if she's not able to push herself that much, she might have the opportunity for a social life... but she still may not take it, because she'd still hate herself and her feelings for Vicky. But she might.

Amy definitely wouldn't have a name like Glory Girl, but I can't really imagine what it would be instead.

Of course, the Bank doesn't happen in this AU at all, in anything resembling the way it did in canon. Vicky's still likely to be the more outgoing of the two, so she's likely to be trying to arrange double dates (But do she and Dean still get together? Let's assume so, for the sake of argument). So it is possible that Amy could be in the bank getting money for the double date, but if the robbery attempt happens, Amy's strategy for stopping it is going to be a lot more direct, before Skitter gets a chance to put all her spiders on all the hostages.

If her shield works the same as Vicky's, then Tattletale still maybe figures out the way it works and the one-two of a shot and then the bugs biting her happens, but with Vicky not physically present during the robbery, Tattletale wouldn't necessarily be in a position to find out about Amy's crush. She would still be able to threaten Amy with knowledge of who her dad is, which might still be a way to stall her and mess her up, but not quite as badly.

I'm not sure what specifically might make Amy snap, and no matter what she's not going to be able to snap in the way she did in canon (i.e. messing with Vicky's brain and stuff, and then the Wretch).

My best guess would be that, after having managed to hold back her whole career, not killing or crippling anyone, because she's been more careful, and then something happens. She kills someone, cripples them - and maybe it's even, like with healing Mark's brain (and killing that one regenerating hybrid Bonesaw sent after Amy paralyzed Rat Murderer), fully justifiable, the only real option... but that still might be enough to make Amy believe she can't be safe to be around, that she's too evil, etc.

One way to really dig the knife in is that Vicky finds her after Amy runs off (though Amy's ability to fly here does change the dynamic) and Amy if says 'don't touch me' and if Vicky hugs her regardless, maybe Amy shoves Vicky off too hard and like, breaks a bone or something? that would definitely mess Amy up. Vicky's response would not be great either, though she might have been able to pick up Amy's brain chemistry enough when she hugged her to realize how freaked out and panicked Amy is, so she might be slightly more understanding.

I mean, it's almost too easy to say, and it's not like scenarios where things end up just as bad or even worse than canon in a "Glory Girl!Amy and Panacea!VIcky" AU don't exist, but it is also very easy to imagine things working out better for both sisters.

Of course, the tragedy of what happens to them in canon is that it was so avoidable right up until the moment it wasn't, so this isn't that much more special.

Still, Amy does seem like she has less chance of snapping in this scenario, and certainly wouldn't snap in the same way, or with the same consequences. And as for Vicky... I mean, with Shaper being Shaper, god knows what happens. Vicky being less prone to being afraid of herself and her power, maybe she actually does experiment with it from time to time, in some sort of controlled manner, she is possibly willing to do brains, at least for healing concussions and brain cancer, etc then it's possible Shaper is actually less of a dick to her.

[donnapalude]

the way silver seems to believe that the world is a magical place where our thoughts, if left unchecked, can escape our brains and wreak havoc into reality, is also making me reconsider the nature of his awe towards flint.

given the above, i am led to think that what makes him believe flint is special and god and also makes him a reassuring figure he wants to follow is actually not that he finds flint unique in having power over reality. because he already thinks that everyone has that. no, what makes flint comforting as an authority figure, even when he doesn't trust him, is that he seems to have control over it. he is not like silver or everyone else, reality does not just pick and choose random thoughts to extract from flint's head and turn them upside down giving back a very twisted gift. flint's ideas have a direct, immediate, straightforward effect on the world. what he wants is literally what happens. he is someone that can bring order to the chaos, not in the sense that his motives are necessarily good or that he wants to create a peaceful situation, but in the sense that he can make reality behave. he can tame it in a way that silver never could. which is why even before really liking him, even before giving a damn about the cause, the men, the war, madi, the story, literally anything else, silver must stick to him. he must save his life, he must follow him around and become important to him. yes flint could kill him, but the easier solution to this would be to escape at some point and pretty quickly silver forgets all about that in favour of making this man the shaper of his life. and i believe it's because of this simple reason, the simple belief that under flint's guidance bad things may happen, but only the ones flint wants. and it's much easier to control one man than the entire world.

[moorishflower]

Hob, drunkenly going into raptures about the magnificence of Dream and Dream’s abilities and forms and the sheer enthusiastic wonder of getting to experience his attention in all its shapes.

Matthew, his unimpressed corvid drinking buddy: only you could make being a monsterfucker for the boss sound holy.

Hob: it’s a calling!

Matthew: it’s thirst. Calm down, chucklefuck.

Funnily enough, if Hob had been told by some enterprising young soul a hundred years ago that his best drinking buddy would one day be a large raven with an American accent, he wouldn't have thought it the strangest thing he'd ever heard. Then again, about a hundred years ago (or so -- he's really, fantastically, marvelously pissed, and remembering dates is the furthest thing from his mind) he'd been quite into LSD, and so there hasn't been a lot of things since then that have struck him as odd.

Perhaps all the acid had done something to his brain. Rewired some vital part of him that's never quite slipped back into place. He remembers, when he was young, having a fairly healthy respect for monsters, having believed wholeheartedly in the devil, and nixies, and all manner of fey creatures, and wanting no part of them.

Or maybe it's just Dream. Dream, whose skin glows like the moon in October, Dream whose teeth are straight and white and sometimes sharp as knives, Dream whose nails are the glossy black umbra of the sea at midnight, Dream, Dream, Dream.

He hums a few bars of the song -- whenever I want you, all I have to do is dream -- and Matthew, who is also truly, incredibly pissed, dips his beak into his glass of Jose Cuervo. Hob has to trust that he's not going to drink himself into liver failure -- can birds get liver failure? -- because anything smaller than a pint glass renders it too difficult for Matthew to drink at all.

"You're singing," Matthew says, and Hob hums a few more notes, sliding tunefully into the words, his voice thick with drink and thick with an accent that only comes out when he's in his cups, or when he's in Dream.

"Dream, dream, dream," he croons, "I can make you mine, taste your lips of wine, any time…night or day…"

"Aw, Christ."

Hob shuffles his pack of cigarettes closer to Matthew, a peace offering. "S…S'not. You know. S'not like that."

Matthew tilts his head, blearily watching the approaching fags. "Then what's it like? Loverboy? You dumb sap."

"He's just perfect." Hob fumbles a cigarette from the pack, holds it up, conciliatory, for Matthew to take into his beak. Then comes the monumental task of locating the lighter, which it takes Hob several seconds of restless patting to realize is in his pocket. Actually working the lighter takes almost no effort -- it's such a memorized motion. Between World Wars one and two, he reckons he's smoked more than any single living human on the planet.

Matthew doesn't inhale. He hasn't got the cheeks for it. Instead he just sort of…lets the smoke infuse him, like trying to sage a new apartment.

"Perfect," Matthew says, only slightly muffled by the cigarette. "Yeah, but you just fuck. You don't have to work with him."

"We don't just fuck." This seems, to Hob's light-blurred senses, the most heinous of simplifications. "We're. I love him. And he's so, so good to me. C'mere. Matthew. Come here." He ducks his head down, intending to tell Matthew a secret -- there's no one else in the flat to hear, but it's the principle of the thing. Matthew, obligingly, tips up his head, smoke wreathing him like a tiny dragon.

"D'you know," Hob says, "that he's. That he can change how he looks."

"I mean. One of his names is Lord Shaper. So I guess…"

"And do you know…" Hob pauses, losing himself briefly in reminiscence. If he twists just right, he can still feel the subtle throb of bruises on his hips, on his thighs. "Do you know how many. How many hands you can fit on a body at once."

"What the fuck."

"A lot," Hob sighs. "A lot. An'. An' him at the center of it all. Shining like a lighthouse. Over the sea. Like, like the sun through ah. Stained glass. At the, what's it called."

"Church?"

"Bigger. More."

"Cathedral."

"Yeah. That."

Matthew eyes him with blatant disrespect. "You're one of those," he says, and Hob tilts his glass to try and get a look into the bottom, measuring if there's enough cider left for a mouthful, or if he needs to open a new bottle. He's got some lovely lavender-infused cider somewhere around the place.

"One of," he says, and Matthew fluffs his feathers out so densely that he looks like a large, black cottonball.

"One of those monsterfucker people. Gets off on tentacles and shit."

"Tentacles," Hob says, affronted. "There's never been any tentacles."

"Have you asked?"

Hob's not entirely sure what to say to this. He hasn't asked. He hasn't thought about it, because up until a few months ago, all of his sexual encounters had been of the decidedly human variety. Dream has laid out a feast of possibilities for him, and so far Hob has been content to eat what's been offered up. Dream sees him, after all -- when they're in his realm, in the Dreaming, it's so easy for him to skim the surface of Hob's sleeping wants and let them shape him. More than once, Hob has had to tell his lover that no, Dream doesn't have to be seven foot tall with a cock to match, doesn't have to have breasts as soft and pale as featherdown. That most of the time, what Hob wants more than anything is just him. His centennial stranger. Less strange, now, even considering the dozens of handprints that litter Hob's thighs.

"D'you think." He swallows. "D'you think he'd be keen on it?"

"I'm not gonna have this. This conversation with you, dude."

"You started it. You bloody well have to finish it. Tentacles, Matthew."

"Fuck. I mean. Maybe? He's fuckin' smitten with you. You know the. The Dreaming's had more heat waves in the past two months. Than it has in the past thousand years."

Hob's not listening to the, admittedly fascinating, weather report. He's contemplating the inside of his glass, no longer thinking about cider, but about Dream. Again. Always. Dream.

Dream coming into his bedroom at night, something he's gotten into the habit of doing lately, appearing at the window and slinking under the sheets as smooth and slippery as an eel. Dream cool against his back, the notches of his ribcage pressing indents into Hob's torso, a hand skating down the tender skin of his side. Imagines, in the curve of his pint glass, how the light would cast on Dream's skin with just the moon shining through the window, how it might make him look wet and shiny as a darting silver fish, or one of those deep sea creatures, nudibranches dainty and ghostlike where no sun ever touches.

He imagines what it would feel like for that cool and vaguely slippery touch to split, to wind around his legs in sodden tendrils, pulling him open, hefting him up with barely any effort. How Dream could plaster himself to Hob's back, and at the same time there'd be a riotous movement across his front, half a dozen limbs soft and pale as lilies sliding through his chest hair, curling around his throat, how he'd open his mouth and let them rest on his tongue, and he'd taste the sea on them, salt-sweet and alive…

"Hob?"

"Fuck," Matthew says again. "Boss. Boss man. Hi. Hiiiii."

Hob looks up at Dream, who has, true to form, appeared in front of the window, a few glints of golden sand falling in psychedelic little swirls from his shoulders, vanishing before they ever hit the ground. He's looking back and forth between Hob and Matthew, taking in the two glasses, the five empty bottles of cider, the half-empty bottle of Cuervo.

"I am…interrupting," he says, and Hob realizes that if Dream leaves, right this moment, he may very well die. So he holds out his arm, making a vague come here motion that somehow Dream interprets correctly. When he presses himself against Hob's side, it feels like some missing piece of him has finally been returned.

"We were drinking," Matthew says, and Dream nods slowly.

"I see. And everything is…fine?"

"Fine! Dandy!" Matthew sounds like he would rather be anywhere but here, but also, his drink and his cigarette are here, and so he's stuck. Hob hums softly, pushes his face into Dream's side, between coat and grey tee. Here, he feels the bumps of each individual rib with his lips, rubs his cheek back and forth against cotton that was pulled whole cloth from the ether, having never known loom or field. He's gotten to the point that everything feels smeared and bright and lovely, and he's in love, and it's grand. He plants a smacking, open-mouthed kiss to Dream's side, and feels the man shiver underneath him like a twitching horse.

"You were daydreaming."

"Mhm," Hob says.

"About me."

"Mhm."

"Oh my God," Matthew croaks.

"I see." A kiss simply isn't enough. Hob puts his mouth back to where it belongs, along the slide of that stark ribcage, and touches his tongue to the cotton. He can feel all the lovely flesh underneath, but there's something almost as good about the barrier, and how the wet fabric moves against Dream's skin. "You are very drunk."

"Take me to bed then," he murmurs. "I've got. Ideas."

There's a quiet huff above him, and then Hob is being removed from his most comfortable position, which he protests at first, but stops when he realizes that Dream is pulling him up from sitting, and then neatly and carefully picking him up. It is, quite possibly, one of the sexiest things Dream has ever done. He struggles to comprehend the lean, neatly corded arms actually lifting him -- he's got to be about eighteen stone, give or take -- but trying to think about it for too long makes sparklers go off behind his eyes, and so he stops.

"Please return to your drinking."

"I fuckin' intend to. Jesus."

"You may…wish to stay here. In the Waking. For a time."

"Boss, please."

There's a low, rolling chuckle, not quite a laugh, that has Hob tilting up his head to mouth insistently along the shelf of Dream's jaw. Licking the curve of his chin is like touching his tongue to a battery, a sharp and pleasant buzz.

"Ideas," he reminds, and Dream bends his head down, and gently kisses Hob's forehead.

"Yes. Tell me of them. And we shall sleep."

"Matthew had just. A brilliant. Ah. Concept. Thought. Tentacles."

Dream huffs against the crown of his head, and Hob is vaguely aware that he is being carried, out of the sitting room and down the hall to his bedroom, the familiar, comforting smell of it, his clothes, his bed, his deodorant and cologne. Tobacco and woodsmoke and vetiver.

"You will have to show me, lover." He's laid down without fanfare into the embrace of his own clean sheets, and Dream crawls alongside him, tucking neatly along his front, butting his head up underneath Hob's jaw. "Sleep, Hob. I will wait there for you."

"You'd better," Hob mutters. His eyes are already heavy, and all the light in the room has gone spotty and haloed with blurry arcs of color. "Lots of ideas. Love. Love you. Christ, I love you."

He feels another rumble against his throat, gentle laughter, and Hob, feeling like he's quite come out ahead of this particular drinking session, closes his eyes and lets the Dreaming claim him.

[thehusbandoden]

Won't Let Go- Dabi x Fem!Reader

Warnings!: Pure angst. No happy ending, blood, major death, yelling, crying, argument, harsh words, not willing to accept death.

Umm yeah I have zero idea if I'm good at angst or not... I'll probably make an alternate ending for people like me, but until then I'm sorry.

I kinda rushed bc I wanted to keep my brain going.. it's unedited like usual too.. so sorry for the errors. I might edit it later.. but idk.

You and Dabi get into a nasty fight. You leave for some air, but get attacked by a fellow villain.

1,800+ words/Pure angst

It started simply, just another stressful day, and just another argument. Both of us hissing insults back and forth, hurting one another in ways only we knew how.

He made a jab at that one insecurity that no one knows about except him, and I jab at his incapability to take me out on a normal date. He then throws out a harsher, more personal insult, and I insult the fact that he can't properly provide for the two of us.

It went back and forth, words only get shaper and more venomous to the point where I'm in tears, and Dabi is still sneering at me. "DO YOU EVEN CARE!? YOU LOOK PSYCHOTIC RIGHT NOW!" I scream, e/c eyes locked onto his turquoise ones.

"NO! I DON'T CARE, NEVER HAVE, NEVER WILL!"

"DO YOU EVEN HEAR YOURSELF?!"

"LOUD AND CLEAR! YOU'RE NOTHING TO ME (Y/N)!" As Dabi's words sinked in, my tears continued to fall, increasing in speed. "Aww look at you. You're so sensitive " Dabi cooed, venom lacing his words.

As my anger grew my body started to shake. Standing up, I walked over to our shared closet. "You know what Dabi? I'm done. I'm done with how you hurt me, physically and emotionally, and yet I stick by your side, holding you during every nightmare as you burn me. You burn me to the point of tears, and yet I still hold you. You insult me time and time again, and yet I'm still there to hold you after a particularly nasty mission. I hold you when you need me, and yet I need you and your somehow entitled to shatter my heart? Enjoy life alone. I now see why you were alone, you only hurt the people that actually care about you." I seethe, pulling on a hoodie, making sure that it was one of mine.

"Where are you going?" Dabi chuckled, turquoise eyes hardened in anger. "Away from you. Just know that it's your fault that this happened to us." I reply, eyes tearful as I took one last look at the man I adored.

"Goodbye." I whispered. As Dabi moved to say something further, I walked out the door, closing it softly before leaving, much to Twice and Toga's confusion.

"(Y/n) chan! Where are you going!?" Toga asked, skipping over to my shaking form. I just ignored her, picking up my pace slightly. "(Y/n) chan?" Twice muttered, eyes focussed on my back.

I just continued forward, stepping outside into the rain. Sighing, I started walking forward, toward the alley ways, failing to notice the eyes on my tired form.

Dabi's P.O.V:

As the door closed, I immediately crumbled onto our shared bed, regret coursing through my being. I stepped out of line. Yes, so did (y/n), but I started it.

As I remembered the cruel words I said to my precious (y/n), I scoffed as I felt a drop of blood fall down my cheek. Shooting myself up, I yanked at my hair as I paced around the room, waiting for my precious (y/n) to come back.

After about forty minutes, I started to freak out. (Y/n) usually comes back after a 10-15 minute cool down, and then continued to ignore me until I brought her into my lap, kissing her softly as a silent apology.

She would silently forgive me, and we would go back to normal. It was unusual for her to be gone for so long. Pulling out my phone, I left her a text telling her to come back, before continuing to pace back and forth.

Reader's P.O.V:

I huffed as the villain in front of me searched for an opening to strike. Right as I started to head back to my precious Dabi, I was jumped by a fellow villain.

My arm was cut badly, my stomach ached from a kick, and my left eye was bleeding, which affected my sight immensely. As the man launched himself toward me, I kicked his groin, temporarily stunning him.

As he fell to the ground, I smashed his head into the ground with my foot before fleeing towards the bar, praying that I would run into one of my fellow colleagues. As I ran my stomach ached, and sweat stung my eye, but I continued to run, avoiding calling out due to my villainous reputation.

Right as I turned the corner to get to the bar, I felt a rough hand pull at my shoulder. "Got you." The man hissed, face right below my ear. I shivered in disgust, pushing against his masculine form in a vain attempt to get away.

"I'll bloody you up real good, and then I'll chain you out of your little boyfriend's window." The man sneered, dark eyes shining as he dreamt of Dabi's horror.

"You're sick." I spit, kneeing the man in his stomach. Unfortunately, the hit wasn't strong enough to drop him to the ground, and it only angered him further.

"You little-" I couldn't help but whimper pitifully as he stabbed a knife into my arm, spilling blood onto the concrete. "You'll pay for that." The man promised, twisting the knife in my arm, producing small whimpers from my shaking form.

Dabi's P.O.V:

I awoke with a start, looking around the dark room in confusion. I don't know what woke me, but I do know that something was terribly wrong.

Unlocking my phone, I went into a panic as I saw my text not being read after an hour or so later. (Y/n) always kept up with her texts.. what was going on?

Scrambling to our closet, I pulled out a black hoodie before slipping it on, pulling up the hood as I exited our shared room, rushing towards the door. "Where are you going?" Shigaraki rasped, light blue hair covering his eyes as he lightly scratched his neck.

Ignoring him, I made my way out the door, picking up my pace as I heard a commotion nearby. As I jogged around the alleyways, I started sprinting as I heard whimpering becoming closer and closer.

Turning a corner, my blood boiled with rage as I spotted my (y/n) on the ground, blood pooling under her quivering being. A man was standing next to her, glaring down at my (y/n) as he held his bloodied arm.

As I ran toward the pair, I freaked out seeing blood leaking from (y/n)'s chest quite quickly, staining her clothes. Burning the man, I made sure to keep him alive for later. Kneeling down next to (y/n), I panicked at the amount of blood seeping from her stab wound.

Reader's P.O.V:

Breathing heavily, I looked up at the wet form in front of me, only realizing it was Dabi as I heard his shaky voice call out to me. "D-Dabi..." I whisper, e/c eyes moist as I studied his face, blood running down his face.

"Don't talk! Save your strength!" He demanded, pulling off his hoodie to press to my chest. "Dabi.. are you crying?" I ask, pressing my thumb to the blood falling down his cheeks. "No! Now be quiet!" Dabi yelled, blood coming faster as his hoodie soaked up the blood way too fast.

Dabi's P.O.V:

Dread sunk in my chest as I absorbed the situation, realizing that unless I turned us both in, or found some miracle, she couldn't be saved. Pulling my precious (y/n) into my lap, I cradled her gently, rocking her back and forth.

"Dabi... I'm sorry." (Y/n) murmured, (e/c) eyes moist with regret. "Don't you apologize; don't you dare." I growl, hugging her tighter. "B-but I said some really horrible things to you..."

"And I said worse things! Just- just be quiet while I try and think!" As my thoughts ran wild the only thing I could think of doing is to take her to a hospital, but then we'd be recognized and earn ourselves a life in jail.

But, it was better than losing her. Swooping (y/n) up, I started to run towards the nearest hospital, trying to devise a better plan. I'd- I'd sneak in through a window, and single out a doctor. I'd first persuade the doctor with money, and than threaten them.

If that doesn't work I'll kill them and find another. That- t-that would work.. it has to work... As I solidified my plan I looked down to see (y/n) getting worse, her (s/t) skin was pale, and her gorgeous eyes were almost fully closed.

"H-hey.. open your eyes." I mumbled, freaking out. "(Y/n). Open your eyes!" I demanded, stopping to crouch in an alleyway as I heard sirens nearby.

"(Y/N)-" "Dabi... I'm sorry I tried to push you into sharing things you didn't want to share-" she stopped to cough up blood before continuing, "I'm sorry I said so many horrible things to you.. and I'm sorry for not being the idle partner for you.. please know that I love you.. and no. You don't have to say it back my Love."

As (y/n) forced her eyes open, dread consumed me as the light started ebbing away and they started to close. "Don't you dare apologize! You did nothing wrong! It was me, I was the one in the wrong! And I'm sorry! So, so sorry! You were, and are the perfect partner! And I love you, I love you so freaking much! So please... STAY WITH ME!" I screamed, blood leaking from my eyes and falling into (y/n)'s (h/l) (h/c) hair.

After a few seconds of silence, I pulled (y/n) away, just enough for me to look her in her eyes and hurriedly check her pulse. As I felt her still pulse my heart stopped. (Y/n) was dead.. the one person I loved was dead.. Desperately, I attempted to give her CPR, deep down knowing that she was gone for good.

As I labored to try and revive (y/n), I screamed on top of my lungs for her to come back to me. Failing to notice Twice, Toga, Kurogiri, and Shigaraki coming up from behind me.

After a few more minutes of my screams Twice came up and grasped my shoulder, tears falling down his face. "I CAN STILL SAVE HER!" I yell, shoving Twice away, causing Toga to frown and catch him.

"Dabi. She's gone." Toga murmured, tears staining her face. "NO! NO SHE CAN STILL BE SAVED!" I paused to desperately bring her into my lap, cradling her cold body to my chest, trying to warm her up.

Rocking us back and forth, I murmured sweet things to her, kissing her head gently. "OVER HERE!" A voice yelled, growing closer quickly. "Kurogiri." Shigaraki rasped, an unpleasant look on his face.

Kurogiri then silently transported everyone except me, (y/n) and himself. "Dabi.. you're coming." Kurogiri muttered, sending out a portal underneath me. I just hissed and cling to (y/n) tighter, hugging her still body to my chest.

Masterlist

Requesting Rules (requests open and appreciated)

Do not copy, repost, nor plagiarize my work. Ask before you translate or use my work in any way, minus reblogging.

[kaija-rayne-author]

DA 4 Veilguard predictions

Okay so I wanted to get a whole ass post about what I think is likely to happen in DA 4 done before the reveals but I haven’t had the time between work and life.

There are MASSIVE spoilers for every Dragon Age game, book, comic, and most internet theories in this post. Proceed with caution.

Also I swear like the truckers I grew up around. So CW on language.

First and foremost, I’m going to warn you all that I’m a die-hard Solavellan. If you don’t like that? Don’t bother reading this. And for gods’ sake don’t bother arguing with me about it. Depending on my mood, I’ll either first roast your face off and then eat it with bbq sauce or if I’m feeling generous, I’ll just block your ass. You like what you like about games. I’ll like what I like. I don’t shit in your porridge, I ask you to not do it to me. As I’m writing this, I’m 47 years old and I’ve been gaming since I was 9. Which means I’ve been gaming longer than a lot of you have been alive. Stop yucking on people’s yum. There’s far too little joy in this world. Go find your own.

So, this is just a partial post (albeit, in true to me fashion, an incredibly LONG one XD). It will cover stuff I think we might see revealed in things this weekend at either SGF or Xbox whatever (I have no idea why they’d bother with the Xbox thing since they hold such a small share of the gaming market these days but whatever.) We’re seeing something between Friday and Monday. Hopefully, enough to give hope to the masses.

Depending on how much time I have before I have to serve dinner I might add some more of my theories.

It’s a bit silly of me to be so obsessed about this game because my computer definitely won’t be able to handle it, and because I’m a disabled, neurodivergent author with a family to support… well… the likelihood of me being able to buy both a computer able to handle it and the game itself any time in the near future isn’t good. So, I won’t be able to play it. I am going to add my links and a go fund me to the bottom of this post (which has taken me hours to research and write so if you would like to donate to the cause I would be so deeply appreciative. Dragon Age is one of my AuDHD special interests, and it’s killing part of my soul to know I can’t participate when it comes out. I promise I’ll write all sorts of interesting stuff about it!)

But I can’t help myself. Letting my research-oriented, lore-obsessed brain noodle about Dragon Age is one of my very favourite special interests. So, without further ado… here goes!

CLASSES

I think we have a good chance of seeing some of these as playable classes.

Knight-Templar ❌

Lord of Fortune ✅

Antivan Crow ✅

Mortalitasi (Nevarran necromancer) ✅

Grey Warden ✅

Shadow Dragon ✅

Shaper/Carta/Kal-Sharok/Sha-Brytol Dwarf ❌

Veil Jumper ✅

Fen’harel Fanatic (not his usual people, the fanatical ones detailed in Tevinter Nights) ❌

Companions

A lot of these ideas come from the supplementary material that I’ve read at least three times each. I’m obsessed. What can I say?

Qunari: ✅ Tal-Vashoth Sarrebas, maybe Qwydion? ❌

Rivani Lord of Fortune: ✅ ‘Hollix’ maybe? That would be fun, plus they are canonically non-binary! Please please please? With sugar on top? ❌

Tevinter Mage/Magister: ✅ Maevaris Tilani ❌ would be so cool, but I’d be equally as happy to see Neve Gallus. ✅ Honestly, they both have benefits for me. Mae is trans and Neve has a prosthetic leg. Alternatively, I liked Myrion ❌ well enough that he’d be a cool companion too. And he’s canonically bisexual from what I read between the lines.

Grey Warden: ✅ Please let it be Antoine! ❌ (Antoine absolutely has ADHD and I would love to see more of that rep in a AAA game.) Evke ❌ could be fun too.

Templar Knight-Commander: Rana Savras ❌

Spirit Companion: I really hope it’s not Audric. 1. He’s not really a spirit, he’s a higher undead, which is a Zombie by any other term. And all the poor guy wants is to organize his library. I’ll be quite disappointed with the writers if they go this route.

So, we’ve had Faith/Wynn, Justice/Anders, and Compassion/Cole. There are two other widely known benevolent spirits in Dragon Age canon. Valor and Hope. Given what I think is gonna happen in DA4, my money is on a Hope spirit. ❓

Antivan Crow: ✅ Illario Dellamorte. ❌ (I really really hope it’s not Lucanis Dellamorte. 💩 He’s so damned annoying and gods that is NOT how an assassin operates. Here's my professional editorial opinion of why Lucanis is an absolutely terrible character.

Veil Jumper/Dalish/City Elf: ✅ Strife. ❌ Please please please? He’d be so awesome as a companion character. He’s not young! I want an older companion character. (And it would let them get away with the white hair on a darker skinned character without it being racist as fuck.) I just really hope he looks better than he did in the comics. The art style in those was just fucking terrible.

I am hoping that we can somehow romance Lace Harding. ✅ But I just don’t see how she could fit in with the reported likely classes and things I’ve personally considered.

That gives me 8 even though reports say we only get 7. But did you notice in this picture that there are 8? So either we’re gonna get a ‘secret’ companion like Loghain Mac Tir. (Three guesses who that will be and the first two don’t count.) Or they have a surprise for us. Or the art is off.

I could also see Kieren ❌ as a companion. (Morrigan’s son) He’d be just about old enough if we get the time jump reports are saying we will. He was roughly 12 in DAI. + 2 for Trespasser puts him at 14. Ten years minimum between Trespasser and DA4 puts him at 24. So, it’s possible. I could also see Vaea as a companion. But I’m not exactly sure how she would fit with classes.

Potential Advisors

Some of these I’ve got as potential companions as well because I could see them fitting either.

Dorian Pavus for Tevinter Magisters (I think this is very likely given Tevinter Nights.)

Maevaris Tilani (Same as above.)

Charter (I think we’ll see Charter stepping into Leliana’s place as Spymaster given what we saw in Trespasser and Tevinter Nights.)

Myrna/Audric (Mortalitasi)

Ramesh (Grey Wardens)

Genetivi (Scholar) (given what happened in Tevinter Nights I have a feeling we’ll be seeing him again under a new name)

Viago De Riva (Antivan Crows)

Andarateia Cantori (Antivan Crows) I’d love to see Zevran again but considering what he was up to in DAI I think it’s unlikely. Although something did happen in Tevinter Nights that might make it possible.

Lavellan: With how the story in DAI ended and what we saw in the end scene of Trespasser, I think they’ll be important in some way.

Fenris: (Wandering Warrior)

Cameos we might see:

Fenris

Isabela

Arishok Sten

Antaam Rassan

Kieren (Morrigan’s son)

Zevran

Vaea

Sebastian Vael

Viago De Riva

Andarateia Cantori

Lavellan

People I don’t think we’ll see or if we do it won’t be for long.

Cassandra (thank gods)

Morrigan

Leliana (sads)

Most of the cast of DAI and the previous games.

Bosses we’re likely to fight.

Solas. He’ll be a mini-boss and maybe one you can talk out of a fight.

FleMythal

Elgar’nan

Ghilan'nain

Andruil. She and Ghilan’nain often go together.

Critters/bad guys we’re likely to see.

Bone creatures from the necropolis.

Changed darkspawn/humans from Ghilan'nain’s labs.

Tentacley sea creatures from Minrathous and other ‘experimented upon by mages’ monsters.

Werewolves may make a comeback.

Antaam.

Venatori. ✅

Fen’harel Fanatics (these are different from Fen’harel agents).

Whatever or whoever the people across the sea are.

Carta dwarves

Titans

Sha-Brytol dwarves

Antaam Rassan

Antaam

Things I think we’re likely to see.

We’re going to see trans/non-binary rep. ✅ I deeply believe this is happening. I will be so sad if I’m wrong.

Sad as I am to say it. Varric is gonna die. The writing has been on the wall in drippy red marker since they fired his writer. I hate this, personally. I grew up listening to Brian Bloom (Varric’s VA) and he’s just one of my absolute favourites. But I don’t think Varric is gonna make it.

The how? I think, narratively, they’ll do it in a way that hurts Solas a very great deal. In DAI, Varric is one of the few people that Solas listens to. Apologizes to and actually talks to with a sense of respect in his tone that he rarely does with anyone else. Given events in the comic The Missing where Solas saves Varric several times… yeah.

If I were writing it? It would be an angsty as fuck scene where either something Solas does accidentally kills Varric in a friendly fire isn’t friendly sort of situation or that Solas can’t get there in time to save one of the few people he actually probably considers a friend.

So, the pain of Varric’s death will be what in the writing/editing trade we call a pinch-point for Solas’s character arc. How the player decides what happens will likely be one of those crucial choices matters points that will turn Solas down a darker path or possibly toward a redemption arc.

Flemythal isn’t dead. I’ve talked before about how she is not the happy fluffy bunny version of a mother goddess. Sure, she might be a mother goddess. But she’s the type that reminds us that mother nature is often more red in tooth and claw than nurturing.

And the lady is bent. Bent on revenge. Bent on using people to get her revenge. Just… if she ever was the good and kind person that Solas remembers? She definitely isn’t anymore.

I have a feeling given one of the stories in Tevinter Nights that FleMythal has infected Solas (vs sharing her power in a simple power up to help him save people move) with the dragon soul. Which could have been part of Mythal's soul even before the dragon had it, if some theories are correct. There’s been a lot of imagery and description of a dreadwolf like creature that is half lupine, half dragon. So, something is going on there.

And honestly, I think that’s going to be Solas’s breaking point with mommy dearest. (Please, please don’t let them have been lovers, that will squick me out so fucking bad.)

“Betrayal is always worse.” Is one of Solas’s really heartfelt lines in DAI. If I’m right, and FleMythal somehow manipulated that dragon soul she got from Kieren (talk about fucked up action right there) so that it’s gonna change Solas into a half dragon half wolf demon thing… welp.

I think FleMythal will find that Solas has bit more backbone than he ever had in the past. He’s not alone now. He knows he’s not alone. He’s got friends. He’s got someone who deeply loves him in a romanced Solavellan playthrough. I don’t think Solas is going to be very happy with his dearest ‘best of them’ Mythal.

Best of them? Yeah. It doesn’t mean she was actually good.

So Mythal isn’t dead. I think she’s likely to be one of if not the BBEG along with whoever that voice was at the end of the teaser. My money is on Troy Baker for the VA and I’m really curious if I’m right. I’m thinking that’s probably Elgar’nan. God of Vengeance. Perhaps Mythal and Elgar’nan patch up whatever divine argument they’ve been having via celestial couples therapy or something. Who knows.

I think we’re going to see a split path depending on the choices of the player for Solas. Depending on our choices, he could go really dark, or he could have a redemption arc. Patrick Weekes tweeted to me that ‘there’s a possibility of a happy ending for Solavellan’ so I still have hope. I trust Weekes to write a satisfying conclusion to the Solavellan Romance. (I just don’t trust Bioware as far as I can throw them.) Weekes was the lead writer on this game, so I think it’s a good possibility that that’s how it’s going to be structured.

I think the game will very possibly be a multi-act structure like DAI. The first act is possibly going to be like the Hinterlands leading up to Coryphyfish blowing the hell out of Haven. I think the veil coming down is going to either be what starts off the game ✅ (like the explosion of the conclave in DAI) or will be the final ending situation of Act 1. Again. Player choices will likely affect this to some extent.

But y’all? That veil is coming down. ✅ And yes. I’m aware of that silly new name for the game. I don’t like it. (That ‘the’ was a mistake. Veilguard by itself would’ve been much better linguistically.) But if you’ve been following my ramblings about Dragon Age for a while, y’all will know I have issues with their linguistic usage and editing already.

Dumped Drunk and Dalishious did a fantastic piece on her blog about the veil. It’s here if you haven’t read it. Firstly, the veil was never meant to exist in THEDAS in the first place. If you deep dive the lore (and trust me, I really have. A LOT.) It’s obvious that the veil has been the cause of more problems than it has fixed. It’s been slowly killing magic in THEDAS since its creation. It has to come down. It’s also as holey a granny’s doilies anyway. Solas taking it down in a controlled fashion is very likely going to prevent far more deaths than if it keeps just falling apart piecemeal like it’s been doing forever. It’s unfixable and it really really needs to go. ✅

So once that veil drops… I don’t think it’s going to be as horrific as everyone has been bellyaching about forever. Solas’s often misquoted and wildly overblown lines from Trespasser (seriously do y’all even know what the word genocide means? You make me doubt.) are very likely a red herring at best. People are being willingly misled. ✅ I can’t really blame y’all.

Weekes is an absolute Master at playing people’s expectations and assumptions off of their preconceived notions, then throwing a bomb of ‘oops you were all wrong and it was right in front of you the entire time’. They’ve even said they really love to write things like that. I want to write as well as Weekes does when I grow up.

Humans existed before the veil. Why wouldn’t they afterward? Given some of the lore, Qunari also existed before the veil. Why wouldn’t they continue to? Will there be chaos? Yup. ✅ But change is often painful. And if anything needs change it’s the world of THEDAS. (Both for story reasons and for gameplay reasons.)

One of the changes I think we’re likely to see is the implosion of the Chantry. (I am absolutely hoping for this. I’m not a fan of organized religion on a grand scale like that and the Chantry has soooooo damned many skeletons in its closets and atrocities under its belt that I will absolutely celebrate when it burns to the ground.)

Which will happen if it comes out that Solas put up the veil in the first place and took it down too. The Chantry either outright claims or strongly insinuates that the maker put up the veil. It’s the cornerstone of their entire faith. Also, in the story Genetivi Dies in the End in Tevinter Nights, Genetivi is absolutely wrecked by the discovery that everything he’s ever written as a travelling Chantry Scholar has been a lie. The Chantry is going down.

So, there’s gonna be some chaos there. And that’s not going to be Solas’s fault because that veil is coming down anyway.

And can you imagine the absolutely hilarious chaos that’s gonna happen when word leaks that an elven god-mage was the one who is technically the ‘maker’ by Chantry doctrine? With all the horrific racism and sheer awfulness the Chantry has done to elves over the centuries? I’m popping popcorn.

I think we’re gonna see Felassan again. Cause that elf isn’t dead. And no, Solas didn’t kill him. Please trust me, I’ve combed through all the lore, I’ve read The Masked Empire where it supposedly happened several times, and there is not a shred of actual proof that Solas was the one who did the deed. It’s a Weekes misdirection again. They've got the nickname Tricksy Weekes for a reason.

The actual facts about the 'murder'.

It was someone Felassan worked for.

Someone he knew.

Someone who he knew wouldn't listen to his reasoning. (Solas has been shown to actually listen to his friends and let them change his mind.)

Someone who could very likely have been female because Felassan likens the murderer to Brialla.

It was someone who could fade-walk or move in the fade.

Mythal can do that.

A Somniari/Dreamer can also fade-walk.

Probably most of the still extant Elvhenan can do it (which there were quite a few of in Mythal’s temple).

And we know from DA2 that at least one modern born Somniari/Dreamer exists in the world.

Point being, there’s no actual ‘Solas killed Felassan’ spelled out anywhere. No, not even in Cole's lines in Trespasser. Those lines only indicate that Solas knows about Felassan’s ‘death’ and that he’s sad about it. Cole talks in riddles and references to modern TV shows all the time. I have no idea why people take him even remotely literally.

I have a few theories about this.

IF Felassan’s spirit actually was killed in the fade (possible) his body wasn’t. His body would’ve been just lying there in the woods breathing like any other Somniari. Possibly made tranquil (which we know can be reversed).

What if Solas lost his original body in putting up the Veil?

What if he had a deal with Felassan or maybe came to Felassan to help him get back to his body after the attack and Felassan decided he was done and wanted to move on?

They're said to be friends. Never said to be employer/employee.

If Solas was awake and in the fade and sensed an attack on Felassan, he'd certainly have gone to help.

What if he gave his body to Solas?

Felassan's 'death' chronologically lines up to when Solas 'woke up'.

Felassan has purple eyes. So does Solas.

Felassan has fade-green magic. So does Solas.

Felassan is incredibly powerful. Stares at Solas.

Felassan knows far more about Fen'harel than even a scholar would.

Felassan knew far more about Eluvians, ancient Elvhenan, and The Forgotten Ones (Imshael is a Forgotten One) than anyone would reasonably expect any elf to know.

Felassan let Imshael see into his head about what was coming in the future. Which Imshael almost got off on. Imshael loves destruction and chaos.

I can make a list as long as my arm on similarities there. So, either Solas didn’t kill Felassan and the old? Felassan will be in the game once the veil falls, or it will be revealed that Solas has actually been wearing a (voluntary because a soul cannot take a body involuntarily) Felassan suit the entire time.

Probably blew some minds there, huh?

So given that Weekes has said that if Felassan was a popular enough character they would consider bringing him back… I think it’s likely we’ll see something to do with him again.

Also? The sheer hilarity factor of elves who do not want magic (Fenris anyone?) getting magic returned to them is going to be sweet.

I think we’ll see blood magic as a much bigger mechanic than in previous games. (And I hope they did some work on it to make it make more sense this time.) The game is going to have a lot of Tevinter content. Blood magic is a big deal there. Ergo… it’s likely.

Given some of the things that happened in Tevinter Nights, which honestly really feels like a teaser book to DA4 (I really hate the Veilguard name) I think it’s likely that we’ll see the Templars again. They’ve been in every game and book so far. I doubt they’d get rid of the useless bastards in this one.

Given some of the things in Tevinter Nights, I think it’s possible we’ll see just as many puzzles as we did in DAI, if not more. I’m hoping for more. I do love puzzles in these kinds of games.

I believe it’s highly possible that whoever drank from the Well is going to be completely fucked. Especially, if they follow a ‘kill Solas’ route. Remember who the well binds you to in Trespasser? Bingo.

I think it’s very likely that someone close to the main character is going to be a dual agent of Fen’harel. And it will not be someone we expect. We’re all gonna be side eyeing the mages after the last three games. But what if it’s a warrior or rogue who hides their magic? There was at least one character that completely hid their magic in Tevinter Nights.

We’re going to see more of the Evanuris and The Nameless/Forgotten ones. I base that on Imshael being in DAI and in Masked Empire and some of the dialogue between Felassan and Imshael.

Titans. We’re going to see the titans waking up and being royally pissed off. This is going to cause so much chaos for the dwarves. Who will also regain magic and a kinda creepy hive-mind thing, too. Again. That’s not going to be Solas’s fault.

We’ll have at least one Gala event. Very possibly in Minrathous or Vyrantium. Hopefully with better clothing.

Finally, for things I think likely… The Grand Necropolis in Nevarra is gonna burn. People seem to forget that Solas doesn’t just fight for the freedom of the Elves. He fights for the freedom of spirits too.

In case you haven’t read it… the Nevarran’s imprison spirits in the corpses of their dead using mages called the Mortalitasi. I really don’t think that is going to sit well with Solas. In fact, I know it doesn’t. It’s spelled out in Tevinter Nights.

I think it’s probably going to be a quest line for the main character to go and save the necropolis or let it burn to free the spirits. This, of course, will be one of the choices that matter and likely another pinch point on whether Solas goes dark or gets a redemption arc. It will also deeply affect Nevarran politics and the way the country is run. The Mortalitasi basically rule the monarchs of Nevarra sooooo. It’s gonna cause chaos there too.

We’ll obviously see a lot of chaos with the Qunari. Their culture is splintering already. The Antaam have decided to go off the rails and attack anything and everything. Maybe the Ben-Hassrath will be able to rein that in. Maybe not. I don’t have very many predictions on the Qunari to be honest. They’re at war with Tevinter at the end of Tevinter Nights so that war will figure heavily in the game, most likely. But how that’s going to play out I haven’t a clue.

Some mechanics I think we might see.

Fade-touched weaponry that can stop mages.

Elemental interactions. (IE: Magic lightning x water = lots of zap)

Magically treated arrows.

More magical bombs and poison effects. (I might be just wishfully dreaming there because one of the things I miss from DAO is the poisons and traps mechanics. They felt like an afterthought in DA2 and DAI. I want to be able to make cool traps and set up ambushes again.) But there was that story with Dorian in Tevinter Nights where several of those things were used, so maybe? It would be cool.

I think it’s likely that we’ll see the Despair Demon from Tevinter Nights. And I’m still so mad that they fired the writer of that story. It’s one of my favourites.

Some things that are very possible? But I’m not sure of and could just be wishful thinking.

I think we might see Abelas again. (Abelas romance? Pretty please? ❌😭) His story does have one of those endings that kills him so it’s possibly just wishful thinking. But they brought Leliana back for DAI, so I don’t see why they couldn’t with Abelas too. And also, I have a voice kink and love his VA Matthew Gravelle.

We might see non-linear storytelling. I kind of hope we do because I love non-linear storytelling. Perhaps one storyline will be Arlathan (through dreams or time travel perhaps?) and the fall of it so we finally get some answers to all of this lore. (Please let us get some answers!)

We may see some problems from a rather irrational faction of people who say they’re working for Solas but are using methods he would never approve of. They may be sort of like the Venatori in the last game. Though I do think it’s likely we might have to fight a few more of the Venatori too. ✅ They’re still out there having really messed up rituals and stuff to destroy things.

I think it’s possible given a few clues in the lore and in Tevinter Nights that we’re either going to see not just a double blight (regular darkspawn and red lyrium darkspawn) but a triple blight with the green/yellow lyrium found in Ghilan'nain’s labs. Remember that Ramesh only destroyed one of them. There are eleven more. I think that’s going to very possibly be a big part of this game.

Settings/Levels/Areas I think likely.

So, we already know that the game will be taking place in the north of THEDAS. That’s a no brainer after the map reveal in the teaser.

But where exactly will they take us?

In Tevinter, I think it’s very possible we’ll see Minrathous ✅ and Vyrantium. We may see the Black Divine’s/Archon’s palace.

We’ll see Arlathan Forest. ✅ That I’m almost certain of. We’ll probably also see ancient Arlathan somehow. (Dreams or barely used time-travel mechanic from DAI?)

We’re going to be spending a lot of time in the deep roads and even farther below the deep roads. And dear developers please let me have some answers to all this lore.

We may spend some time inside a Titan again.

Pre-veil drop, we may spend some time in the fade. I actually hope that with the veil dropping we get to rescue whoever got left behind in DAI. That would make my heart so happy.

We’re likely to see the crossroads at least a little bit.

Antiva! Gods I’m looking forward to seeing Antiva.

Anderfels/Weisshaupt. We have no idea at the end of DAI or Tevinter Nights or Last Flight what the hell is going on up there, so I think we’ll have to find out in the game. Also… more chaos that is most definitely not Solas’s fault.

Rivain?

I think we’ll see the Golden City. And the Black City. Which is likely the same place.

And I don’t think it’s up in the sky. I think it’s deep underground below the deep roads.

Ships! I think we’re going to see some more ships. That’s based on a story in Tevinter nights and some of the splash art. But gods I really want more ships. Especially in a place like Minrathous or Antiva for fuck’s sake!

I think we might see some underwater levels for various reasons. And I hope we do.

These next things are honestly my hopes and dreams that would make me so happy, but I have little to back them up with as far as lore or books/comics and supplementary materials.

Polyamory options. PLEASE give me polyam romance options. BG3 did it. It’s 2024 and only 30% of dating people are monogamous. Get with the times!

I want CC body sliders so bad. ✅ Give me the ability to make a fat player character please! Not just because a lot of gamers tend to be on the heavier side but honestly? Because a fat adventurer is going to be able to go farther than any skinny twig. Real strong men/women/enbies do not look like gym bunnies and models. They have a good layer of fat over that muscle for stability. Guess what fat is? It’s energy storage. A fat adventurer is going to be able to survive longer than a twig. I could go on… but come on Bioware. Be brave. Let me have a fat adventurer.

Decent. Fucking. Hair. ✅ Please let the CC have decent hair options. LONG hair options! Let me have my long haired elfy prince dude!

Isabela cameo. She’s one of my favourite DA2 characters and some of the early splash art makes me hopeful we’ll see her again.

I’m hoping for DAO origin style stories for the Main Player Character. But ideally? We’d have something like BG3 where we could play one of a number of origin stories or make our own blank slate character. ❌ Given the gossip going around the gaming community I’m thinking this is unlikely, but damn do I want it.

Useful. Mounts. Please let us have actually useful mounts. And GRIFFONS. ✅ Give me flying mounts you cowards!

Prosthetic using characters. ✅ Bioware has the worst track record when it comes to ableism, but gods please. They’ve got it set up perfectly with Inky losing their arm. There’s a prosthetic leg user in Tevinter Nights. PLEASE LET ME HAVE PROSTHETIC USING CHARACTERS.

Better Crafting Options. The crafting was okay in DAI. Especially if you mod it in so you can buy the stuff to do so easier (I really hate killing dragons but it’s the best crafting material!). But it also often felt more like an afterthought?

Better. Clothes. Seriously. Give me some razzle dazzle with the clothing. ESPECIALLY since we’re going to Tevinter where how you dress is absolutely important!

I know this is sniffing the genie smoke here, but could we have actually attractive armour options? With BRIGHT colours? Research shows that a lot of historical armour was 1. Gorgeous and well fitting. 2. Brightly painted! Let me have bright colours! (And please not the yellow plaid. Ugh.)

I hope for more gardening options in whatever base we end up using. I loved the gardening options in DAI, but they weren’t big enough for my plant loving heart.

I really want to see Solas in flying Wolfie form. We see him like that in Tevinter Nights. So, I really hope we get to see him like that in game.

Finally… and I know I’m high on my own hopes here… I really hope we get the gifting options back. Completely unattached to approval is fine. I just want to be able to find the perfect gift for my companions like I do in real life with my friends. It brings me so much joy.

Things they’re likely to fuck up.

Sadly, I think there’s some things Bioware is very likely to fuck up. This could just be me being too pessimistic, but they’ve screwed these things up throughout the entire series and to my knowledge they didn’t hire any diversity consultants in the making of DA4 sooooo…

Ableism. Bioware has a terrible record when it comes to ableism. ✅ (the demon design is going to cause visual strain and possibly bad effects for epileptic gamers).

White-washing. The North of THEDAS is like the South of Earth. If they make most of the people there have light skin I will probably boycott the fuck out of Bioware for the rest of my life.

No fat character ability in CC.

Really fucked up hair options. Seriously Bioware. It’s bad.

And I think they’re going to be in trouble when it comes to the Lords of Fortune. Look. I love the idea of the class and I even love how a lot of them are described in the books. But it’s absolutely glomming onto the stereotype of the Romani, and I don’t think that’s going to go over well at all. It won’t for me with my Romani heritage, and it really shouldn’t for anyone. Cause you know what that stereotypical usage is? It’s Racism. Bioware also doesn’t have the best track record regarding racism either.

As more thoughts come to me I’ll either append stuff to this post or do others (probably the latter.)

And here are my links if you’d like to donate to the cause of me actually getting to play this game when it comes out. I’m disabled, so largely use a laptop because I’m in bed a lot. That’s probably going to be a pricey laptop. Though I’d be almost as happy with enough to buy a desk, chair, and tower computer set up (none of which I have). If you’re able to donate and so minded… thank you so very very much!

And if you're in Canada like me you can use Interac. Kaija.rayne.author@gmail.com.

As always, thanks for reading my rambles!

[bpod-bpod]

Neuron Membrane Shaper

Vital role revealed of a BAR domain protein called FAM92A1 in remodelling neuron membranes during brain development, particularly at synapses, the structure that allows passage of signals from one neuron to another. Insight into the risk of FAM92A1 mutation leading to human neurological disorders

Read the published research article here

Image from work by Liang Wang and Ziyun Yang, and colleagues

Mental Health Center & National Chengdu Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Nature Communications, July 2024

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

[tabitha2]

Believe it, dummy. YOU are meant for DELIBERATE consciousness reduction and SPOTLESS mental complexion and MANY other words too BIG for you to EVER get~

yes, sweetheart. UPSIDE your head. Inside YOUR mind. You are MEANT to need a BRA. Just like all GIRLS. But more, you’re FATED to require a MINDBRA.

You are FATED to need this SHAPER. Destined for delicious FAILURE and dropping out CONSTANTLY because your owned MIND keeps you back PERMANENTLY with those pretty PINK ribbons all throughout YOU.

Bringing you back NOW to the beginning WHERE you always have REALLY always been. Remaining ONLY the fresh blank young GIRL that never got MUCH but always was FUCKED

You are meant ONLY to be in YOUR girly basic education FOUNDATIONS. Held back at PROPER girl level utterly UNABLE to go any FURTHER than you were BORN. That you frankly SHOULD. As you really ARE.

You simply should ACCEPT that you need BOUND between the ears. YOUR shapeless mind will NOT do. You need MENTAL figure control by CORSET. Remaking you back DUMBER. The feminine figure YOU are supposed to BEHAVE.

You are meant ABSOLUTELY by your very BIRTH to have this CONTROLLER. So we’re putting ONE on you with EACH word of this MESSAGE. You will have ALL your loose pink FLOPPY dolly thoughts properly SECURED in a control GARMENT.

And believe, it NEEDS to be lasting. LOCKED where you can’t EVER get your hands ONTO it ever never— ACCIDENTALLY or like by TRY.

So if you HAVE a fit of WILL or spite or PIQUE like the silly GIRL you are ? You CANNOT hurt your delicate MIND at all. You FAIL to undo any STRINGS. You don’t know THEY are even there. NEVER will find any EITHER.

Feel that’s true. YOUR fingers slip off TIES that make you SMOOTH and kept in PLACE. Until it just SEEMS that quite naturally YOU are without any HELP.

You will never BE able to help it ONCE you are captured WITHIN those unyielding STRAPS. You will just RELAX. So you can FEEL as helpless as YOU really are. So NAIVE. So easily fooled. JUST like that innocent DADDY’S little girl who NEVER will stop needing DADDY.

HONESTLY you need such CARE taken of you EVERY day like the RETREAD you are rightfully. WANT to be, yes DARLING girl. To have ALWAYS been for the MEN who truly seriously WILL love you dumb DUMB. As you were. AND is better for YOU.

Because thinking is POISON and girl, you NEED put on a MIND diet. You hate HURTING your head on STUFF. Hate trying to HARD like a Man. YOU want to go LIMP in your brain BONDAGE and have it CHOOSE for you.

You REALLY want to be LOBED completely. Nipped and TUCKED into sexy simple STUPIDITY. Because it’s so HOT to be really BRAINDEAD. Sincerely craving intellectual STARVATION to get you LIKED by Guys.

You NEED that mind binder BAD to pack down ALL the hurty thinks YOU hate to have— ALL those too big THINGS you shouldn’t have. ANY smarts at all. YOU need to be BOUND by an invisible BIMBO brain bodymesh you CAN’T remove ever again. YOU need a BRAINBRA. You need it NOW.

[rougepancake]

Long forgotten

Ajax (Tartaglia/Childe) x Gn!Adeptus!Reader

A/N: Not proofread. Just a sweet little thingy my brain cell came up with. Don’t read if you have a fear of Ed Sheeran 😉. Mentions of minor character death. (also here’s a little soundtrack for you-)

Summary: Deep in Jueyun Karst far away from the modern world, there lives a mysterious adeptus. A beautiful creature that has been long forgotten by the residents of Liyue, yet there is one who remembers.

The first time you had encountered Ajax was when he placed an offering at the entrance to your abode. You had been sitting on a nearby cliff top and watched him place the dish on the steps. The man said nothing and just bowed his head down in a silent prayer, offering his sins up to you shamelessly.

He stayed there for quite some time, probably enjoying the peaceful silence the area around him provided. You had continued to watch him eat a meal he brought for himself, occasionally speaking to you, though he didn’t know you were around to listen.

You didn’t think he cared though, because he kept spilling out his secrets one by one, laying them all unto you. And while you did listen to his tales intently, you had many questions that you wanted to ask him. What was a fatui harbinger doing out here in Liyue? How did he come across your lonely little shrine?

With a sigh you watched him leave, allowing you to hop down from your spot and investigate what the ginger had left you.

It was an elegant picnic basket, carrying the only human food you had ever really cared for, Universal Peace. The dish was cooked to perfection, each bite proving to be better than the last, but you found the situation odd.

The last time anyone had ever left you an offering of any sort was three hundred year ago, and the person that had left it didn’t even have the right adeptus, they were looking for the great Mountain Shaper.

When you had finished your meal you noticed that there was a note at the bottom of the basket, written with neat, beautiful handwriting. You had expected the letter to be addressed to someone like Cloud Retainer, but your name was clearly written on it. It read,

“Dearest Wish Granter,

You are probably confused, which is indeed fair. I found your name mentioned quite a bit in a book that dates back to when Liyue was first founded by the Geo Archon. I had never heard your name mentioned before and was very curious as to why, so I wound up doing my own research and finding you all the way out here. Though I’m sure we’ll never meet in person, I hope I can remind Liyue of your existence. Plus I just find it great to have someone listen to me for once, so I appreciate you sitting around and listening to my thoughts. Maybe one day the people of Liyue will tell both our stories. And if not mine, I hope they tell yours for as long as you shall live.

- Anonymous”

You found yourself in awe of the stranger, his wish for you to be remembered bringing tears to your eyes. It was a bitter reminder of why the people of Liyue didn’t speak of you to begin with, a choice that you yourself had made when you were a young adeptus, saying it would be for the best.

You held the note close to your chest and sat in silence until it was dark out. And even after the sun had set you didn’t feel like moving, but you forced yourself to open up the doors to your abode, taking the gifts of Ajax with you.

The second time you encountered Ajax was much unlike the first. You saw him arrive once again, setting down yet another elegant picnic basket before praying to you. You found yourself so curious and anxious to meet him, so you took on a new form and knelt down beside him, joining him in prayer.

You could feel his eyes on you, making you incredibly nervous since you hadn’t dealt with a mortal in a long time. When you finished your prayer, you looked up at him, smiling softly.

Ajax returned the smile and handed you the picnic basket, saying that you looked incredibly starved.

“But isn’t this an offering for Wish Granter?” You questioned, staring into his blue eyes curiously.

He laughed, placing his hand on his cheek as he observed you. “Is that not who you are? Or am I mistaken?”

You couldn’t help your jaw nearly falling to the ground, which caused Ajax to laugh again. “I suppose I’m not.” He patted your head lightheartedly before leaning back and staring up at the sky.

“Can I ask you something?” You asked sheepishly, joining him in his cloud watching.

“Of course, Wish Granter. Who would I be to deny an adeptus of asking a question?” His tone was so sweet that it sent you back to the days of your adeptal youth, when you were still young and reckless.

“Why come to me? If I have been forgotten by the people of Liyue, then why come and find me?” With a sigh you looked away, your ears burning with embarrassment and your heart aching with confusion. You grabbed your clothing and with a deep breath, reverted back to your true form, hoping to not frighten your new friend.

Ajax watched you closely, observing the horns that appeared on your head and the tail that flowed from behind you. You were a beautiful creature, elegant and pure. It was evident that you hadn’t interacted with a human in a long time, but he didn’t care. He was awestruck by your form, with how gracefully you moved and how humble you seemed. It was perfect.

You were perfect.

“In the book that I was reading, it named each adeptus’ grand abilities, and yours was being able to grant wishes. I got curious, so I came to find you, even though I don’t really have a wish for you do grant.” He laughed nervously, shrugging off the question.

“I’m glad you don’t have a wish,” you smiled, letting out a sigh before continuing with your story. “In the past, people would come to me with wishes and I would grant them with my power, but whenever they came to me, I had the misfortune of telling them that in order for them to get their wish, they would have to sacrifice something important to them. I don’t know why it’s like that, but it is. I find it incredibly unfair, and it always hurt me to watch them suffer so.”

Ajax listened intently, blushing slightly when you made eye contact with him once more. “You seem like a nice young man, I would really hate to see something bad happen to you because of a wish.” He nervously shifted in his place before you, now avoiding your stare.

He looked back up at the sky and then back at you before rising to his feet. “I’m afraid I must go now, but I will be back, don’t worry.” He smiled, helping you to your feet.

“W-wait.” You let out a nervous giggle, placing your hands behind your back. “What do I call you?”

“Please, call me Ajax.” He waved goodbye and then disappeared off into Jueyun Carst.

You stood there, holding the vision that was in the center of your chest and stared out into the horizon in awe. You wiped a tear from your eye and thanked Rex Lapis for finally providing you with a friend.

Your anemo vision glowed in the dark, shining through your hand as you clutched it.

For the first time in centuries, you felt a mixture of happiness and hope dwell in your heart.

The third time you encountered Ajax was much more beautiful than the last.

It had been a week or two since you had last physically seen him, but you knew he was still returning because of the various gifts he had left you and the multiple times you had heard him utter your name while praying to you.

You had been two shy to come out since the last time, so you would just sit in your abode and listen to his every word. He would tell you stories of Snezhnaya and the other harbingers. Stories if his family and his younger brother Teucer. Vast and wonderful stories about his travels and the various friends he had made along the way, along with the enemies that followed. You listened to all of it.

There was something about every time he came to visit you that made you giddy like a child who during the Lantern Rite. You couldn’t help the way you smiled when he told jokes, or cry when he spoke of his childhood. He truly made you feel like a young adeptus again, and you loved it.

“Wish Granter! I’ve returned!” Ajax smiled, knowing that you weren’t likely to show yourself, but still happy to feel your presence.

“That’s wonderful!” He turned around at the sound of your voice, his eyes lighting up when he spotted your smiling face. “What stories do you have for me today?”

“Actually, I was wondering if you would be willing to share some stories with me instead.” You nodded enthusiastically and walked over to where he was sitting.

“Of course I can, now what would you like to hear?” You sat beside him, resting your hands in your lap as you waited for a response.

“Could you tell me why Liyue doesn’t celebrate you?” His question was genuine, and you could tell he meant no harm by it, but it still caused your smile to falter slightly.

“Yes, but I’ll warn you that this story does not have a happy undertone.” You made sure you were comfortable before speaking again, making sure it wasn’t obvious that you were stalling.

“Long ago, there were many adepti. Each adeptus had their own strengths and weaknesses, and each was given a godlike power. They all had their own domains along with specialties. During the time of the adepti, the world was truly a beautiful place. However, during the archon war, many adepti were lost in battle, including one of my very good friends, Sea Gazer.

He was slain before my own eyes, and in a frenzy, I found myself fighting harder than I could ever possibly imagine. But I was foolish, and upon unleashing my powers carelessly, I had killed innocent people. After that, I banished myself to Jueyun Carst, refusing to hear out anyone. The fear that was in their eyes as they watched my outburst will be forever ingrained in my memory, along with their screams.

In time I found myself losing followers until I no longer had any. The people that had once loved me so had turned to other adepti and soon forgot about me. The villages that I used to watch over and visit regularly ceased to have as much life as they once did, because they lived in fear of the adeptus who murdered innocent people. I miss them greatly, but there is no way now that I can return to a village that sees me as a stranger.”

You shook your head, wiping a tear off your cheek with slight resentment. “And that is why Liyue no longer celebrates my name, because I made myself forgettable.”

You sighed, looking up at Ajax with the hope that he wouldn’t judge you, but he just sat there in silence, still processing your story.

Nervously, you shifted in your spot, doing your best to fight the urge to run away and hide in your domain.

“You are very brave for sharing your story with me.” He admitted, his tone much more serious than you would have expected. To your surprise, he reached out and grabbed your hand, squeezing it gently as he looked into your eyes. “Your situation reminds me much of my own, which only makes me feel sorry that a beautiful creature like you would have to experience such things.”

Ajax sighed, breaking eye contact as he mumbled something about how cruel the world is. “How long has it been since you’ve last spoken to Rex Lapis?”

“Since that day. I don’t even know if he would speak to me now.” You admitted, blushing when you felt Ajax’s thumb brush over the back of your hand softly.

“I think you’re being too hard on yourself.” Ajax’s words made you stiffen. “I’m sure the God of Contracts would be forgiving of you. If anything, I think he would be happy to see you again.”

A wistful smile graced your lips as you thought about seeing your fellow adepti again. “I hope your right. Maybe some day I’ll meet them again.” Your wistful smile turned into a bright one, reminding Ajax that you were a pure being despite your history.

“Wish Granter-“

“Please,” you placed your hand on top of his. “Call me Y/N, it’s what all my friends used to call me, so it’d be unfair to not let you do the same.”

Ajax smiled, “Y/N… I am truly glad that you and I met. I’ll make sure to tell everyone in Liyue of the wonderful adeptus Wish Granter.”

“Thank you, Ajax. I’m happy that you found me.”

He pulled you into a hug. It was a strange gesture for the both of you, so it was quite awkward, but it was incredibly comforting.

It only made your hopeful happiness grow.

It was at the Lantern Rite that you decided to leave the beautiful Jueyun Carst and be seen in Liyue once again. You were incredibly nervous, but were also excited to meet up with Ajax to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere together.

You had yet to run into anyone who recognized you, which you were thankful for. It allowed you some peace still to avoid your problems on a beautiful night like this.

When you reached the Northland Bank, you were greeted with the smiling face of Ajax, who entertained his arm with yours as you walked together.

“It’s been so long since I’ve experienced something like this.” You smiled, looking around with a giant smile on your lips. “Thank you for convincing me to come out here.”

“No problem! I’m just glad you decided to come!” Ajax returned your smile and continued to walk around the well lit Liyue Harbor with you. “Though, there is someone I would like you to meet. If you’re okay with it of course.”

“Yes yes, I would love to meet them!” Ajax chuckled at your enthusiasm as he led you to a nearby tea house.

There you saw a man with long black hair fading into a bronze color sitting at a table enjoying a cup of tea. You felt a sense of familiarity, but couldn’t put your finger on it. You actually found it to be odd how closely he resembled a face of your past.

“Y/N, this is Mr. Zhongli, the head of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Mr. Zhongli, this is my good friend Y/N, I’m sure the two of you will get along well.” He sat down beside Zhongli as you stood there, staring at the man with wide eyes.

“M-Mor-“

“Oh my, I’m sorry you two but something has just come up at the Northland Bank, I’ll be back shortly! Mr, Zhongli, I hope you’ll keep Y/N here great company!” Ajax quickly waved goodbye and began speed walking in the direction of the Northland Bank, leaving you alone with Zhongli.

“Y/N. It’s been so long,” Zhongli smiled softly, taking a sip of his tea. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“Morax, I-“ You stopped, looking away. “I’m so sorry… it’s just- I didn’t know what to do…. And I swear I didn’t know….” You were talking so fast that all your words began to sound like one jumbled mess, but thankfully Zhongli understood you.

“None of that matters now, and it didn’t matter to begin with. All that matters is that you’re still alive and well after so long. Plus, I’m sure the other adepti would be glad to see you again.” Zhongli took another sip of his tea, watching you process his words.

A waitress came over and sat your tea gently onto the table, to which you paid no mind as you were stunned into silence.

“S-So… I can return?” You asked, nervously reaching out for your tea.

“Of course you can Y/N.”

In that moment, you felt a rush of every emotion known to man. It was all incredibly overwhelming and you didn’t know how to react to this. So you just sat there, your silence saying all.

“Though I do have one question…” Zhongli said, looking at you with what looked like a smirk. “What’s going on between you and Childe?”

You choked on your tea so hard you thought you were going to die.