#Very fucking ambitious when he wants/needs to kill someone

[cxpperhead]

Rate your muse’s traits 0-10!

Compassion: 2/10 Bitterness: 2/10 Happiness: 4/10 Politeness: 8/10 Chivalry: 3/10 Pride: 8/10 Honesty: 6/10 Bravery: 8/10 Recklessness: 5/10 Ambition: 9/10 Loyalty: 9/10* Love: 7/10 Sense of family: 1/10 Attractiveness: ?/10* Agility: 10/10 Sex drive: 5/10*

Tagged by: @belost-the-watcher (♡) Tagging: @ataviisms, @caestusvulpes, @celerem, @cxpedcrusxder, @question-marked, @qu-tipie, @messeduphood, @red-hemlock, @sanguine-salvation, @whxlmedwing, @the-arkham-librarian, @the-rorschach-mask, @twcfaces, @umbrellamedic and anybody else who'd like to do this?

[vampiric-hunger]

⊱─ 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕤𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟: 𝕔𝕙. 𝟞 - 𝕖𝕟𝕧𝕪 ─⊰

➺ 𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘:Ascended Astarion/f!reader

➺ 𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕤: no y/n is used, rating - E, jealousy, arguing, asphyxiation, bondage, breast play, dubcon, underwear as a gag, smut, vaginal fingering, cunnilingus, teasing, PiV, praise kink, vampire bites, caught while fucking, creampie.

➺ 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 𝕤𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕪: you're skilled, driven and most importantly - ambitious. but even as someone in your position, a trained assassin and a leader of your own Guild, you still lend yourself to jobs that are of importance. even if those jobs sometimes mean attending parties. tonight - it's a masquerade and you're bored out of your mind, until the man who hired you to protect him leaves you alone, at the mercy of a stranger who suddenly took a keen interest in you.

➺ 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥: 6,407

𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕖: and we're getting close to the end! what a ride so far! i loved writing this chapter because writing jealousy and envy is always a lot of fun for me, but i digress! enjoy ♡~

➺ 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥: [link]

Upon your return you didn’t have a chance to send Astarion a message of any kind because the day after you came back the Duke himself demanded you accompany him to a celebratory ball. It appears one of his generals performed well in battle while you were away and begrudgingly you agreed. It would not do you well to scorn the ruler of Baldur’s Gate.

But as you are preparing for the ball, finding your finest dress and making sure that it’s clean and ironed, you wonder if you really have no time to send a message or if you simply don’t want to.

The answer comes simple – you don’t want to.

Not because you regret what happened in this very house two weeks ago before you left on a assassination mission to kill Princess, as you code-named her for secrecy, but because the thought of him turning you into one of his spawn haunts you.

He didn’t tell you that he abandoned the idea. No, he said nothing about that at all. And that’s something you cannot ignore.

While you dress and doll yourself up, you keep thinking about it, about the idea of being his like this and you realize that you really don’t want to be his thrall. That you don’t want to be his to command whenever he wishes. It’s already hard to assert yourself without that and how he cast Dominate on you proved exactly that without a shadow of doubt. It hangs heavily over you like a dark cloud, threatening to erupt in rain at any moment.

You know that before you see him next – you need to think, a lot. You need to figure out a way to give yourself what you want without giving Astarion what you are sure he will ultimately seek: your eternity.

When you finish preparing by hiding some smaller daggers on your person, you hear a carriage and a sound of horse hooves coming closer. You suspected that the Duke will send someone to pick you up to ensure that you show up. You find the man extremely predictable if not slightly paranoid. You don’t have an issue with that, you rub elbows with paranoid men every day.

The trip to the city center doesn’t take too long but you use that time to keep pondering upon the conflict in your mind and heart. Yes, you have to really and truly admit to yourself – you like Astarion. And it stretches beyond just carnal desire or the thrill of danger. You don’t even know why, you can’t answer this, what it is that exactly draws you to him like a moth to the flame, you just hope that the flame won’t consume you. And as you watch houses and people pass by the carriage window you feel a knot of dread in your stomach – you’re playing a very dangerous game with a man that holds unforeseen power in his hands.

Is risking your life really worth it? For something that could be just a fleeting fancy for either of you? And yet you realize that it’s too late for this already. While the carriage navigates the streets and begins slowing as it approaches a massive mansion in the middle of the city, you understand with a sinking feeling that you should’ve been honest with yourself and had this ‘conversation’ with your inner self before Astarion showed up at your house. But you didn’t know then that you will agree to… what exactly did you agree to? Another tryst? No, it didn’t feel like this sort of transient proposal from him. Not a relationship either, surely, too early for that, all you two did so far was fuck and shout at each other, a proper pissing contest between two very prideful people. Then what? You have no answer to that and have no time to think about this further as the carriage stops at last and the door opens, revealing the Duke in his best ensemble, offering a hand to you with a smile.

“Good evening.” he greets you before you take his hand and your skirts as you climb out of the carriage.

“Good evening to you too, Duke Sanolin.” you smile, easily slipping into your role of a perfectly pleasant, well-mannered noble woman. You don’t hate the role, but your words feel empty and shallow even when you greet the Duke.

“I take the road here was pleasant? City planners made sure to increase quality of the roads leading out of the city. Merchants have easier and swifter time traveling this way.” Duke starts boasting and you nearly recoil when you notice him offering you his elbow, but you just squeeze out a smile on your face and hook your arm exactly how he wishes.

You don’t reply because he doesn’t need you to speak. You are here to stay close to him as he mingles with patriars. You are here to look pretty while you discretely protect his life. You are here to smile and to nod and to be vigilant. Oh how you loathe these jobs.

However, when Duke Sanolin leads you inside and servants greet you both, offering wine and small snacks on silver platters, you scan the guests and see nobody you should keep an eye out on. There are some dangerous nobles among the masses of them in Baldur’s Gate. Some of them have relations with other Guilds, some are simply unhinged and unpredictable, some have grievances and revenge on their minds, but tonight you see no familiar faces, faces that you have memorized for safety. This makes your shoulders relax. Sure, someone undesirable might come yet, rich people are rarely punctual, but for now you feel more at ease than you expected yourself to be tonight.

And Duke is not some secretive heir like Lord Goldbrith or a boasting sex addict like Lord Witdale. No, Sanolin is a very educated man and a very social one to boot, so the moment you two enter the main ballroom, he quickly becomes surrounded by ladies and lords alike. Everyone wants to be on his good side and you too get acknowledged as someone who is accompanying him tonight, asking where his wife is. When Duke explains that his wife isn’t feeling well thus he decided to bring his ‘niece’ with him, most seem to stop questioning your presence, although you do notice a suspicious glance or two from those who don’t believe Duke’s innocent lie because they don’t know who you truly are, which is not that many of them, you suddenly realize. This party seems to have been assembled from people who rub elbows with the ruler of the city very closely, including yourself, and that makes your job easier – protecting someone of this importance is near effortless when he’s surrounded by his allies instead of enemies.

And then something dawns on you – could Astarion be here? You immediately begin to look around watching for signs of him, but so far you see nothing, yet it still doesn’t alleviate the panic beginning to claw at your chest and throat. You don’t like feeling paranoid but this is exactly the feeling that now overwhelms your mind, making your hands shake slightly as you hold the glass of wine and take small sips from it while keeping your eyes on the crowd as Duke Sanolin is talking to his political allies with you at his side.

You don’t fear Astarion, not really, you’re too proud for that, but what do you fear is a scene that he could cause if seeing you back instead of getting a message from you informing him about your return could lead him to anger. And you already know that Astarion’s anger can get pretty explosive with no regards to anyone around him unless forced to stop and think better.

For an hour or so you feel rising panic trying to replace all other senses in your mind and body, but thankfully Sanolin doesn’t notice anything, chatting away about things that dull your mind: trades, fashions and council meetings. Nothing useful for you to pay attention to. And when you finally feel like you can relax, that Astarion might not show up, you freeze, paralyzed with near animalistic fear when you notice him entering with a loud laugh, teasing the servant and making the young man blush.

Shit.

You turn your back to him and try to blend in with the nobles chatting up the Duke, trying to hide behind his own body and you empty your glass of wine in one gulp to calm your nerves. What is wrong with you? You faced enemies and threats bigger than Astarion’s possible anger for not receiving a simple note from you, but you immediately understand why – because you want to be with him and you feel like you betrayed whatever fragile start you two agreed upon those two weeks ago.

“Good evening, my dear.” you hear Astarion’s all too familiar voice croon behind you and your fingers clench the glass so firmly that you have to remind yourself to relax before it shatters in your hand.

You slowly turn to him, not bothering to plaster on a fake smile, and his crimson eyes immediately locks onto yours. Duke and his allies fall silent at the greeting and turn to Astarion as well, making minstrels that the host hired for tonight seem unreasonably loud even though that’s far from the truth.

“I was so hoping to see you tonight.” Astarion says and you hear traces of poison in his words, you notice the cold edge in his smile and hardness in his eyes.

“You know my niece?” Duke interrupts the stare-down and Astarion turns to the man, shaking his hand.

“Duke Sanolin, delighted to see you tonight. And yes, I do know your niece.” you near flinch at vampire’s emphasis on your fake title and you look at Duke, seeing that he and Astarion are exchanging some silent understanding, most likely about who you really are, the hired assassin.

“She’s a delight, isn’t she.” Duke smiles at you now and you feel his hand on your lower back as if trying to reassure you, it makes you feel like your heart is being squeezed and a flash of sorrow replaces your anxiety with the wish that your own father was ever this comforting. Alas, you quickly discard the self-pitying thought and smile back to him.

“I’m glad to be here tonight, surely.” you speak and sense Astarion’s gaze burn into you, but you pretend that you don’t feel it or see it.

“Duke Sanolin, would you mind if I stole your niece for a moment or two? There’s something I want to ask her about her… mother.” Astarion pauses as he tries to think of a lie on the spot but since Duke is perfectly aware of your line of work, after all that’s exactly why you’re here, he just gives Astarion a curious look and nods, his hand leaving your back.

“Just for a moment.” he says and Astarion laughs, waving his hand dismissively.

“You’re a powerful opponent in a fight, Duke, I’m sure you don’t need a small girl like her protecting you, do you?” Lord Ancunin says with a taunting grin and Sanolin narrows his eyes for a moment, but when his companions burst into lighthearted laughter, he relaxes and laughs along.

“Very true indeed. Go ahead then, steal my niece away, but I want her returned, sooner rather than later, she’s here to observe and to learn.” Duke lies with such conviction that you wonder if he’s becoming delusional, but you understand that maybe this is exactly why he’s a Duke – a good politician knows how to lie without a shadow of doubt in his own words.

Yet you don’t want to go with Astarion. Even when he pulls the empty glass out of your fingers you look at the Duke with questions in your eyes that you hope he can read.

“Are you sure I shouldn’t stay and… observe the conversations?” you ask as the men surrounding Duke now simmer down to chuckles and Duke pauses, then glances at Astarion, noticing his impatience. “I’m sure you won’t miss too much if you’re away for ten minutes or so.” he nods and your stomach clenches but you nod too and inhale deeply before you look at Astarion again, his gleeful expression looks more dangerous than actually happy to you, yet you don’t say another word.

“I will return her shortly.” Astarion ensures Duke Sanolin and when Duke nods to him as well, he briefly licks his lips. “Follow me.” the vampire gestures with a turn on his heel and begins leading you through the crowd.

With leaden feet and arms just as heavy you follow him, preparing yourself for the confrontation. The crimson daggers he was shooting at you the entire conversation, despite how brief it was, make you easily understand that Astarion is angry. Maybe not as angry as he was when he visited your home, but close enough to make you worry about what’s to happen.

The moment main crowd is behind you both, Astarion pauses and turns to you, then grabs your wrist and begins dragging you after him, ignoring servants and several scattered nobles loitering by the ballroom walls as you barely can keep up with him, your skirts burdening your steps.

“I can walk on my own!” you hiss behind him, not wanting to draw even more unneeded attention but you get ignored while Astarion navigates the hall, pulling you deeper into the bowels of the mansion until he arrives to the end of the corridor and pushes open the door.

You try to glance back, to see if anyone is watching, but don’t get the chance when Astarion pulls you into the room with enough force to make you stumble forwards, especially when he suddenly releases your wrist. When you spin around to face him, you watch him slam the door shut and turn the key in the lock, the snap of it sounding like a thunderstrike in the silent room.

Quickly you realize that you’re in party host’s private study as your eyes catch upon tall shelves, shields and paintings adorning the walls. The desk that you nearly ran into, that is now behind you, was empty when you briefly saw it and now you see two full armor knight suits by each side of the door.

At last Astarion turns to you. His expression is a deep frown and he tugs on the sleeves of his bejeweled white and silver attire, then smirks.

“So you’re back.” he starts and you open your mouth to reply but he swiftly raises his upturned palm to you, silencing your words before they leave you. “You’re back and you didn’t even bother telling me. For how long?” the vampire steps towards you and you move backwards away from him, not yet noticing that you’re doing that.

“Last night. I returned only last night and then this morning Duke’s note came.” you hear yourself rushing to explain but Astarion scoffs, his smirk wide and sharp and then it becomes even wider when you bump into the desk behind you, leaving you with no other place to retreat to.

“So instead of sending me a short, quick message that I know you are capable of, instead you prostrate yourself in front of all these rich politicians like a whore begging for attention. I thought I mattered to you more.” he taunts with fire and brimstone in his every word and you begin to feel sweat beading your forehead. Why are you so stressed about confronting him right now? You have no answer.

“I didn’t know I was married to you.” you bravely taunt back with a crooked grin, your palms grasping the edge of the desk and gripping it tight like it’s an anchor to a ship at sea because that’s exactly how you feel right now, lost in the storm that is about to crack the sky wide open.

Astarion pauses his steps at your words, his smirk faltering for a precious moment, then he tilts his chin upwards ever so slightly and takes couple last steps to end up right in front of you, just mere inches away, so close you can smell his perfume and see the dim light reflected in his irises from the few lit candles in the room.

“Would marriage be more preferable than becoming my spawn?” he asks and here it is, just as you suspected it will be – his desire to turn you into his thrall. You knew that he won’t give up the idea easily and you frown, finding your anger.

“Neither would be preferable. Look how you are acting! I do my work but you have the gall to insult me? Call me a whore?” you shoot back and straighten your back, your eyes harden as they look at him and Astarion’s own eyes narrow at your words.

“You told me you wanted me, to be with me.” his voice is dangerously low as he speaks but you don’t care, because what can he even do here, in the home of city’s general, with Duke not far either. Assured that Astarion wouldn’t risk exposing himself by hurting you - you feel emboldened.

“You came into my home and Dominated me, you bastard!” you raise your voice and Astarion’s hands twitch like he wants to do something, to strike you or maybe silence you. You don’t care either way.

“I didn’t force you to say what you said! You wanted it! You admitted it! Now you’re pretending like you haven’t said a word?!” Astarion’s own voice raises as you shout at each other now.

“I’m not pretending! But you’re insane if you think I will drop everything and just run to you the moment I’m back!”

“Why not?! Is carousing with these old cads that much preferable than coming to me?! You take their money so that they can roister with other fat slobs and you try to tell me that’s not what being a whore is?!” Astarion points his finger at you as he shouts, his features twisted in anger and you slap his hand away from your face.

“I’m not fucking them, you spoiled idiot!” you snap back and Astarion’s hand shoots up, his fingers wrap around your throat and start squeezing it.

“But what if you are?!” he hisses at your face while you try to pry his hand off your neck and it finally dawns on you – he’s jealous, isn’t he. He’s jealous because he saw you with the Duke.

“Let go.” you manage to croak with Astarion barely letting you take in any air while your nails scratch at his hand leaving marks, but it’s like he doesn’t even notice that, his crimson eyes blazing with fury and envy that you chose your work over doing something as small as letting him know you’re back.

“No. It’s time you learn once and for all – you are mine.” a wicked grin suddenly appears on his face and while you try not to panic at all the possibilities that can happen, you feel Astarion use his other hand to pull the dress off your shoulders in several harsh yanks, the seams straining and snapping.

“Astarion, what do you think you’re doing.” your voice is coarse, barely a whisper but he’s not even looking at you.

He’s holding you in place by your neck while he moves the dress down your arms, making you release his wrist when the fabric begins cutting into your skin, the garment then is moved lower, your breasts become exposed and you grit your teeth while Astarion moves the top of your dress to your waist, making sure that your wrists are still in the sleeves, binding them to your body this way.

“I know you want to be mine. You can’t deny it, I can hear your heart beating fast and not from fear, little assassin. I’ll show to you just how badly you want to belong to me” vampire responds with a degree of calmness in his voice and when his eyes finally raise to your face, he notices a traitorous blush on your cheeks. “You’re so beautiful when you are forced into submission.” he whispers and you part your lips to speak but stop when you feel the heat of his palm on your breast, fondling it, squeezing it, then his fingertips find your hardened nipple and pluck at it, making you gasp ever so softly with your neck still being squeezed. Your body responds to the rough teasing, desire begins to uncoil in your lower abdomen and for a moment you hate it.

“Stop it!” you manage a whisper and finally Astarion’s fingers on your neck relent, letting you inhale more air but also making you slightly dizzy in the process. You try to remove your hands from your dress sleeves, feeling like you’re being shackled but Astarion interrupts your attempt by harshly kissing you on the mouth.

Your lips were parted as you were gasping for air and he wastes no time to slip his tongue into your mouth. You try to lean back from him but all you achieve is Astarion biting down on your lower lip just for a moment and grabbing your hips, lifting them so that you drop on the desk on your back with a thud. You lift your head to look at him and notice his eyes scanning your exposed chest while he moves your body for you, pushing it more onto the desk.

“What do you think you’re doing! It’s host’s office!” you hiss with both anger and slightly panicked concern that someone might come looking for you, sooner rather than later, but it’s like Astarion doesn’t hear you.

Annoyed that he’s treating you like this you try to free your wrists again only for him to grab at the fabric in a way that it brings both of your hands together and he tsks at you, his eyes meeting yours for a moment while he grins.

“Don’t struggle little assassin, you know you want this just as much as I do.” he says almost calmly if not for his eyes betraying his passion and desire.

“I have to go back, Duke-“

“Fuck the Duke.” Astarion suddenly snaps at you, clearly unhappy that you still try to resist him, try to argue with him, because obviously he doesn’t care about anything but this moment and you. “I will do whatever I please, to whoever I please, whenever I please.” his words are choppy and you feel your heart skip a beat at this. You realize that his arrogance and assurance that nobody can stop him is exactly what you find so alluring about him.

“Astarion-“

“No, no more words from you.” his brows are furrowed and with other hand he finds his way under your dress, finding your underwear and yanking it down with three swift, practiced pulls, wrangling it down your legs with ease. You watch him with surprise because he’s so different right now compared to two other times you fucked. There’s something else about him now, less charm and more confidence? No, that’s not right.

Dominance.

Dominance urged by his jealousy and his desire to make you finally submit.

And then his eyes flash red at you before you notice him holding your undergarment before he bunches it up in his fist and pauses just for a second. Astarion then quickly leans over you, his hand releasing your dress and now gripping your jaw, pushing his thumb and index finger into your cheeks until you are forced to open your mouth. Not that you resist much, caught completely off-guard by his sudden attack. You make a sound of protest and then your own underwear gets shoved into your mouth. You make another noise, startled and shocked but Astarion only clamps a palm over your lips with a grin.

“I think it’s for the best if you remain quiet for now.” he says with a bitter tone and you know he’s still angry, you can see it in his eyes, the possessiveness that he doesn’t even try to fight, because right now he just embraces it. You are his, that’s how he sees it, and he’s ought to teach you that once and for all.

Your eyes scan the room while you try to figure your way out of this predicament and while you’re not looking Astarion leans back from you, his palm leaving your mouth and for a brief second you try to push the fabric out of your mouth, but then clamp on it with your teeth when you feel two fingers plunge into your cunt. Your eyes immediately snap back to Astarion who’s watching his digits begin to pump in and out of you, enjoying how your body responds by clenching and releasing, getting wetter for him by the second. A smirk widens on his face as his gaze remains locked on your core swallowing his fingers with a wet sound.

“This is how I like you best, my little assassin. Submissive and eager for me.” Astarion croons, his jealous anger finally dissipating into nothing, replaced by pure desire. Palm of his other hand presses against the inside of your right thigh then pushes your legs wider apart and the tip of his tongue licks at his upper lip. “You will look absolutely wonderful as you stand by my side in the Crimson Palace.” he speaks more to himself than to you now, his fingers curling and stroking your inner walls, making you shiver and breathe faster as fire quickly spreads through your body, making you forget your fight at least for the time being. “You don’t know it yet, but you will love to be mine, I promise you that, darling.”

Astarion’s eyes do not leave your spread legs when he pulls his fingers out of you, together drawing a muffled moan out of your throat and then his head dips down and you moan around your gag louder when his hot tongue greedily presses against your drenched folds. He licks them, parts them with the tip of his tongue and then rubs against the nub of your clit while his fingers return and spread your entrance, this time making you squirm as your legs shake from tension and uncomfortable position. Astarion has a free hand and he puts it to use, hooking one of your legs over his shoulder while his tongue slithers down from your clit to your wide open cunt and he fills it with eager devotion. You mewl as you watch him with strained from pleasure expression, but soon your neck gets tired and you let your head drop back on the desk while vampire’s tongue explores you as deeply as it possibly can, making you pant out soft sighs at his ministrations.

“Ahh, delicious.” you hear Astarion exhale the moment his mouth leaves you and you exhale with relief when your body relaxes. “But that’s not all, little love.” he coos and your heavy-lidded eyes find his face. You watch him lick his lips, then quickly undo his pants, first the belt, then the buttons and then he pulls out his hard cock, the tip of it glistening with precum, and your throat involuntarily attempts to swallow, the gag in your mouth becoming drenched with your saliva. Astarion laughs. “I see the hungry look in your eyes, but don’t worry, I will give you exactly what you want.” a wicked grin and then he aims his length at you, teasing the tip against your wetness. “So ready for me with so little effort. You’re so easy.” he taunts with a chuckle and you blush heavily because something about how he says it makes your blood run faster and compels you to want to please him.

With a soft hum as he watches himself tease your cunt with his velvety tip Astarion finally pauses, nudging your entrance, pushing in just a little bit and then pulling back. His eyes flick to you to watch your reaction as he does it again and again, making your brain lose any thought except for all-consuming desire for him to stop it, to just fuck you, you’re not used to these types of games, but it looks like this is exactly why Astarion is doing this. He’s enjoying driving you crazy and it’s written all over your face how impatient you are already.

“I wish I could hear you beg, make you put that sweet mouth of yours to good use for once, but alas.” Astarion muses and just as you furrow your brows at his words he wipes everything from your mind by thrusting deeply and powerfully into you.

You cry out, your underwear in your mouth muffling nearly all of it and you watch Astarion smile widely, satisfied by your receptive reaction.

“Good girl, I prefer when you don’t struggle.” he teases and begins pumping.

His pushes are slow in the beginning and Astarion grabs your wrists now, holding them together at your waist as he increases his pace, plunging into you faster and harder. You mewl at his every shove into your core and watch his perfect curls lose their assembly with each passing moment, you see the sweat appear on Astarion’s forehead and his eyes are focused on your breasts that are swinging invitingly as he fucks you on top of this desk and yet he smirks, satisfied with himself.

“You’re perfect. Every time I have you like this I realize it more and more. You’re perfect…” his own voice starts becoming strained, his thrusts hard and heavy, and you wrap your legs around his hips, pushing him deeper into you, making him glance up at your eyes. “Just perfect…” he affirms and bites his lower lip while his face flushes with his physical exertion and his eyes move from yours to your lips, then to your neck.

No, you can’t stop yourself, this feels too good and you bite on your gag as you watch yourself being fucked by a man who you tried to resist for so long. For so long you were trying to escape the truth, deeper truth than that you have feelings for him. Truth, that the thought of being his spawn is not as unappealing as you kept trying to convince yourself. And as his cock strokes you deep inside, making you feel more than pleasure, more than a temporary satisfaction, making you feel like you are wanted and needed, you let go and close your eyes, letting yourself enjoy this fully. But that’s what you were looking for all your life – someone to take charge and just allow you to enjoy yourself. Maybe that’s what you want for eternity too.

You suddenly gasp, brought back to the present as you feel Astarion’s fangs pierce your breast. When you open your eyes you now see that his mouth is wrapped tightly around your left nipple, his tongue moving against it, sucking hard, soothing the pain from his fangs now embedded into your supple flesh. Your eyes meet his when he lifts his red gaze to you and you see nothing but desire in them even through the curl now hanging over his face.

With a wet sound Astarion release your breast and you notice two puncture wounds, slowly beginning to seep blood while he straightens his back, his face covered in sweat and his lips painted in crimson, then his hands move and force your legs open, making you release the grip of your thighs on his hips with ease.

“You’re mine and you will be forever be mine.” Astarion says it with such conviction that you don’t think, you just nod to him as your dry throat tries to make your moans louder. “Yes? Nod again.” he commands and you nod eagerly again while he handles your legs by grabbing underside of your thighs and pushing them up, then down, nearly bending you in half as his cock manages to slide even deeper into you than before. “Good girl.” Astarion’s voice becomes audibly strained but he grins from under his eyebrows and begins thrusting again, making your eyes roll to the back of your head.

Your fingers clench at your dress harder and harder but you don’t notice that at all, instead you arch your neck and let out cry after cry with every mind-numbing pump only to be silenced by your gag. Astarion is panting too, his groans and moans louder and louder each time his body rocks against yours. The sound of skin slapping against skin fills the room alongside your voices and your back arches, you’re so close now, so close to the promised release.

“Fuck, you feel so good, I don’t think I will ever get tired of fucking you.” Astarion’s heat of passion has taken over him and he pounds into you with reckless abandon now, chasing his own climax without caring to tease you or prolong it any longer.

And then a knock on the door. Astarion doesn’t stop, doesn’t even flinch but you open your eyes, trying to gather your scattered thoughts to understand what’s going on.

“I can hear you in there! Come out at once!” Duke Sanolin’s voice barely registers in your clouded mind and more bangs on the door do not delay the orgasm that is approaching you like a tidal wave. “Do you hear me?!” an angry voice, but you don’t care. Rest of the bangs and words fade from your reality when you close your eyes again.

“Get the FUCK away from the door!” you suddenly hear Astarion snap angrily and the banging on the door stops.

You whine with pleasure, ignoring all of this and feel Astarion bend over you, squishing you underneath him as his tongue leaves a hot trail on your skin between your breasts. And then his voice reaches your mind, a strained whisper.

“Come for me, my love.” he nips at your right breast, his thrusts not relenting and it’s like this is all you needed to hear. You let go.

With a scream of pleasure behind your gag you come, your body straining, your cunt clenching around Astarion’s cock and with a loud groan he climaxes, spilling inside of you and filling you while his erratic thrusts try to prolong the bliss even for a second more. You don’t even feel how Astarion’s fingers dig deep into your thighs as he loses control and everything disappears except your satisfaction until it finally retreats and your body relaxes.

You lay there, gasping for air and finally remember that you can just spit out your gag. Yet before you do, you feel it being pulled from between your teeth and when you open your eyes, you see Astarion gently removing your underwear from your mouth. He smiles to you and then places a kiss on your dry lips, wetting them with his tongue.

“You did so well, my love, so well.” he praises as he gently lets you lower your legs and you try to gather your scattered mind, trying to catch your breath.

“Someone was here. Duke… It was the Duke.” you murmur and Astarion only chuckles.

“Yes he was and now he isn’t. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is you and me. Be mine, little assassin. Be mine forever. You can’t tell me that eternity of us doesn’t sound good.” Astarion’s lips that were whispering against yours now move down to your neck and you tense for a moment, only for him to chuckle and look back at you. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn you here.”

“But you are going to turn me.” you begin to find your voice despite your throat feeling raw and Astarion gently rubs a pad of his thumb against your lower lip.

“You want it. I know you do. You want me to take care of you.” he whispers and something breaks in you, snaps in a way you never expected. What’s the point in lying and pretending.

What’s the point in struggling only to die.

The promise of immortality. A promise of eternity with him. Do you feel this strongly about Astarion? But as you look at his tired, sweaty face, as you see his smile that looks genuine and as you see desperate yearning in his eyes you realize that yes, you do.

“I want it.” you respond in barely a whisper and Astarion’s eyes widen for a moment, then he smiles.

“Wonderful.” he says but then pulls back from you, sliding himself out of you and letting his cum seep out of your sore cunt before he helps you sit up and free your hands from binds of your own dress.

You glance up at him as you rub your wrists but you’re allowed that only for a moment before Astarion draws you off the desk and into his arms, holding you firmly. His kiss is sudden and scorching while you still try to recover from everything but his happiness is obvious. Then he leans back before you are even able to kiss him back, his palms quickly move to cradle your face as he looks at you with relief on his face.

“Come to the palace. Tomorrow. I will have everything ready so that your step into immortality is perfect. I promise you this, my little assassin, I will make sure that you don’t regret this.” Astarion whispers and your heart beats faster in your chest. You heard promises like this before, many times, but somehow when it’s Astarion who’s saying them - you believe him.

“Tomorrow?” you ask, still dazed and trying to process everything.

“Leave the details to me. Just come to me when sun goes down. And… don’t change your mind.” he frowns slightly, as if worried you might not appear but you sigh and grasp his waist, pulling your body against his. There’s no fight left in you anymore, just acceptance. So you smile and give him a brief kiss.

“I’ll be there tomorrow evening, as you wish.” you promise and Astarion’s gaze slips down your face, then to your neck ever so briefly before his eyes are on yours again.

“I’ll be waiting.”

[bonefall]

Do you have any plans with Petal? She was so interesting even when she played mom to Misty's kits, taking care of them even when Misty did not do the same for her and Fox, she was dealt a rough hand and I always said she deserved better than to be Clear Sky's Loyal Lackey forever

Petal is still a bit up in the air, but I DO know for certain a few things;

She is now a Tribe cat. BB!DOTC features a language barrier between Park and Tribe cats, so everyone in early SkyClan must come from the Tribe.

Fox Claw and Petal Claw will probably end up being part of the Claw Family.

Fox's death will need to be shuffled, since the set-up is so different. I do like Petal holding a grudge against the person forced to kill him, though.

I know for a fact that Red Claw is going to be part of this family; either a child of Fox or Petal. Acorn Swoop eventually has children with a member of the Claw family-- her canon love interest is Red but I'm not averse to making it someone else in this group.

Petal Claw is rewarded with the orphaned kits of Misty-- now a Park cat. Tensions are going to rise between SkyClan and the River Kingdom as a result of this.

However. Birch and Alder won't keep those names for two reasons;

Reason One, the more important reason, is that Park Cats are born nameless. They don't HAVE names yet-- just physical characteristics.

But also, SkyClan wouldn't allow them to keep the names either. So, Petal Claw will rename them.

I was thinking it COULD be Red Claw and Snake Claw, but I'm not sure if it's wise to fuse FOUR characters into 2 so hastily. So, I am still unsure.

In any case, eventually one of these kits will defect on learning they have family in the River Kingdom, curious to learn more.

Anyway, back to Petal Claw.

She will be doggedly loyal to SkyClan her whole life, Clear Sky's favorite soldier. She enjoys a lot of privilege within the Clan, and revels in her power and status.

She does eventually die for the cause-- probably in the First Battle, because Sparrow Heart needs room for an opportunity to become the next leader.

Petal Claw is also, unfortunately, a major reason Skystar becomes part of StarClan. She really is loyal to the very end, rallying his other dead supporters to clamor for him when he arrives.

Overall, Petal is an ambitious, scrappy, loyal cat who is a major recurring ally of BB!Clear Sky. She revels in what SkyClan can offer her, and the influence she weilds as a result of her devotion. Better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven!

She's got an important role. If I wrote every cat someone likes defecting I wouldn't have anyone in SkyClan at all lmao

I do have to say though-- the little "bonus chapter" trying to frame Petal taking Misty's kits as "aww shes being so noble when misty didnt do it for her" frustrates me immensely. I'm VERY much not a fan of it. This woman was fucking murdered on screen for her land by a bloodthristy tyrant and Petal jumped foward to prevent the maniac from slaughtering babies too. The way it tries to take attention away from CLEAR SKY'S MURDER to make it about Petal "breaking a cycle" is just plain awful.

Even worse is how the books quickly shift to passive voice after First Battle. "After their mother Died." Mentions of Clear Sky murdering this woman dry up for a looong while until Milkweed.

So in BB I honestly have no desire to preserve that in any way. Petal Claw wanted the kits because a bigger family is a point of status, and the mother was dead now anyway. Someone needs to care for them-- and so it should be her, because she deserves it. Clear Sky agrees, happy that she will raise more cats who are loyal to him.

Thunder Storm will be witnessing this while he is training under his father; and I'll probably end up doing something with the fact that this means he has information that will be relevant to River Kingdom.

(Or perhaps the Wind Coalition. I'll figure out which one works better for political tension here.)

BUT at the very least, Petal Claw won't be getting fridged for Clear Sky's man pain like canon. Seriously what the fuck. What an awful way to send her out; dying of illness but having just enough strength to throw herself at Clear Sky's feet going "ouuuugh i knew youd saave me. Ur so strong and brave and amazing and cool and misunderstood and everyone on the internet who says mean things about you is evil."

We support women's wrongs here. She will die in BATTLE like she DESERVES

[rpstartersinc]

* 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐌 ( 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐕 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒. )

feel free to change pronouns / wording!

" it started with a simple choice, escape or die. "

" he almost killed you last time, didn't he? "

" what about me? you gotta take me with you. "

" i really didn't have a choice. "

" you haven't escaped anything unless you go on to something. "

" the first thing i noticed was the smell. "

" just like day follows night, every man succumbs to his nature. "

" you're lucky i was here. "

" maybe you're my guardian angel. "

" you can stand to eat a meal if you must, you can stand to make love if you're able, but it's impossible to stand and drink, it's the act of a barbarian, an animal at the watering hole. "

" you talk too much. "

" i walked here barefoot 'cause a guy came in my shoes. "

" people will be fascinated with your story. "

" it takes a prick to know one. "

" this is the place they were thinking about when they invented the word 'the pits'. "

" i like that you haven't asked what this is for. "

" you don't think people can change? "

" you're a good listener, it's dangerous - because it's so hard to resist being listened to. "

" what i want is to be master of my own destiny. "

" i'm sorry to have kept you so late. "

" were you gonna say goodbye? "

" there's no redemption for the likes of you. "

" he was looking pretty dead to me. "

" nothing you do will change the fact that they are gone. "

" i knew once you got my message, you'd come running. "

" i wonder what you're so guilty about that playing the hero was this important. "

" i can't go to the authorities, it's not an option for me. "

" i am a man of peace, so please do not be hurting me. "

" they almost killed me. "

" maybe i wanna feel good. "

" we're being betrayed. "

" i don't know why people can't be nicer. "

" it's always love that sends us down the rabbit hole. "

" what happened to your face? "

" i do not have friends, times like this are exactly why. "

" i think you should stop interfering with my business. "

" we have no relationship, i owe you nothing. "

" only a fool plays a game without knowing the rules first, or the other players. "

" you shouldn't be calling me. "

" ambitious men are never content. "

" it's not your fault you're weak. "

" you really need me to keep quiet, eh? "

" everything has its use by date, and everyone. "

" you can be such a child sometimes. "

" you can't spend the rest of your life refusing to care for anyone in case they leave. "

" my life isn't any man's to give or take. "

" we can compel men not to be bad but we cannot compel them to do good. "

" you have a fairly scary reputation. "

" this place means a great deal to me. "

" i can't treat it if i can't see it. "

" i didn't want to wake you. "

" will you come with me to my place? i don't wanna be there on my own. "

" there is no shame in being afraid. "

" you're a long way from home to be making threats. "

" for a man who doesn't want trouble you keep interesting company. "

" i am a businesswoman, this is the price. "

" what, so that's it? try to kill a guy and then eat ice cream? "

" what you want matters little. "

" he saw me alone and he tried to take his chance. "

" you're a hard man to find. "

" do my eyes deceive? is this a ghost? "

" what is this, are you jealous? "

" i liked it when you defended me tonight. "

" i'm beginning to think it's because you're scared. "

" you haven't said a word since we left. "

" please do not ruin my happy thoughts, your face is very... children will cry if they look at this face. "

" you don't have to suffer anything if you're strong enough to deny it. "

" i missed you. "

" it's such an arrogance to love someone and to expect it in return. "

" i never wanna be dependent on anyone else again. "

" perhaps a simple, earthy, no-strings fuck would do you a world of good. "

" just 'cause i left, it doesn't mean i don't still love you. "

" sounds like a date. "

" i'd prefer to get there alive. "

" have they hurt you? "

" where would the fun be if we all did as we are told? "

" i'm leaving you alone like this. "

" you're my friend, even if you don't want any. "

" don't forget who works for who. "

" you don't need to justify yourself to me. "

" you can hate me and still not let the tea go to waste. "

" i'm the one who will get the job of killing you. "

" loyalty comes out of love, or fear, or debt. "

" i never said i was a good person. "

" you can't blame yourself for that. "

" i am too happy you are alive. "

" you are a good man and you think too much. "

" the only thing stronger than love is the hate left behind when it's gone. "

" if you want me to beg, you will wait a long time. "

" the world has no place for me. "

" i don't think you've ever loved anyone in your life. "

" a warrior has to follow orders, even when they don't like them. "

" just 'cause i don't want you here doesn't mean i've forgotten my manners. "

" have dinner with me, just like two normal people. "

" i keep them to remember what a terrible human being i am. "

" you can love someone and do terrible things to them, all at the same time. "

" it's good to be nervous, it means it matters. "

" i think you shot me, you bastard. "

" you're fucking dying, and i'm the only thing that's gonna stop it, okay? "

" i made sure i wasn't followed. "

" i never stabbed anyone in my life, i'm not gonna start now. "

" good way to get yourself killed. "

" is this your blood? "

" how does it feel? knowing you're gonna fucking die and there's nothing you can do about it. "

" i never wanna see you again. "

" if you lie, then a crow will bite you. "

" you are the cause of my problems. "

" we need to keep you out of sight. "

" i almost had it, and then you made me forget. "

" i hate doing nothing. "

" the whole point of you staying is so that you can stay out of harm's way. "

" you're gonna bleed out, you need to stay still. "

" i have never seen so much money before in my whole life, forget all in one bag. "

" stop! they're gonna hear you! "

" you've lost the right to ever say my fucking name. "

" i've had enough of this shit, do you hear me?! "

" short version: it all went to shit. "

" a coward isn't capable of exhibiting love. "

" you'll never need to catch me as much as i need to be free. "

" every time we cage a man, we close him in with hate. "

[snailchasers-den]

What about Tigerclaw x Spottedleaf has made you like the ship so much? I don't dislike it but I don't quite understand it either.

Well, the thing that kicked off my initial interest was the scene they had together in the first book, which I read as some type of flirty banter as a kid, and it later on snowballed from there the more I thought about it nowadays, I think LMAO Since then it's been like, my all time biggest ship in warriors, and I think about them all the time, even if I can't post about them a ton, I check the tag regularly and kinda just rotate them in my brain LMAO

It's customary at this point to mention I'm writing this while extremely tired, as I do most of my asks, so fair warning if any of this is kinda clunky. Other people have explained it WAY more eloquently than me, so if you're curious, I recommend looking in the SpottedTiger tag, cause others explain it in way more concise and understandable ways. I write most shit like I'm a madman at a whiteboard, but if that's your jam, you've asked the perfect person.

It's really a mixed bag why I started liking it-? A whole lot of things added up and got me hooked.

The difference in demeanors is fun, with Tigerclaw being threatening and ambitious and dramatic, while Spottedleaf is sweet and compassionate, yet extremely sassy, I feel like they'd play off of eachother nicely even in just comedic, non-romantic scenes.

Depending on how you want things to play out, you can basically sway how they effect eachother in however many different ways you want- Want an evil Spottedleaf AU? Tiger manages to convince her to join his side and we have a fun evil medicine cat. Want a however good Tigerclaw and a fluffier AU? Spotted is what he needs to soften him up just enough to not go feral and try taking over the clans. Want to tear them apart and have it be super tragic and kinda fucked up? Tiger still gets Clawface to kill her because he knows he can't bring himself to do it and knows she's his weak point. Something more canon-compliant? They were had a secret relationship before she died, and he sees her in Tawnypelt (I have a fic based on that idea, I love it. Obsessed with Tawnypelt resembling Spottedleaf by coincidence.) They're super flexible in that you can basically tweak and twist their story in so many different ways depending on how much you adjust the scenarios or their actions.

Make them mushy and sweet! Make them a badass medic/leader villain couple! Make them divorce eachother 3 different times and be bitter exes who throw snark and cold one liners! Make them be a tragic failed love story! Make them somehow make it work? Make them gay toms! Make them lesbians! Make them polyamorous with a cat of your choice! They're so versatile, and I love seeing anything people do with them.

I also like to throw a lot of religious/Starclan related things into the mix personally, because in different ways they both have connections with it in ways a lot of cats don't, and it can be both a good connecting point, and make it have an extra air of tragedy which I play VERY hard into in my False Prophecy AU. LMAO Spoilers for the AU that aren't really spoilers since I've drawn it before, but Tigerclaw doesn't actually commit a lot of his atrocities in that AU (Hence why I don't call him Tigerstar) and still goes to the Dark forest primarily due to literally lying about Starclan's word when they already wanted him dead from the moment he was born and 'corrupting a medicine cat', (And whatever else they could get him on, probably him being a bad mentor or having bad thoughts. They just wanted him in hell.) meanwhile, Spottedleaf, the golden girl of Starclan, despite being the one who ACTUALLY directly lied about their word and broke the code, is given a second chance and let in because 'She only loved too much'. (Because if they're going to say that line for someone like ASHFUR, I can twist it and use it for my AU in a more sinister manner, since Starclan is morally questionable here.) The ending of the AU's story also heavily relies on the afterlives, and though I won't go into it here since that's not what this ask is about and I genuinely do want to write it someday, I think it's a really fun way to twist things for them. It has such a poignant, vivid energy it carries with it, and I don't think it would feel the same with really any other pairing.

They're closer in age than most ships with them seperately, which is super nice, and makes it really fun to imagine them interacting as apprentices and their feelings building from those times into adulthood-

If you want to consider Spottedleaf's Heart, that could actually add to it too, seeing as they were both victims of Thistleclaw, likely even around the same time, and could seek solace in eachother over it- They're the only ones that truly understand, and that could drive them to want to protect eachother from other threats because they know they've been hurt in similar ways and don't want that to happen again.

I tend to imagine Tigerclaw to be a big ass Maine Coon while Spottedleaf is fairly small, and that just adds to it for me, since I think it makes the fluff between them 10 times better. My favorite warriors ship dynamic is when one of them is very, very fluffy and the other can basically just. Sink into their fur like a pillow. Hence why I also like MothCrow. I'm both unpredictable and incredibly predictable.

I also just don't really like a lot of Spottedleaf ships? She's one of my favorite characters, but I don't like basically any of the other pairings I've ever seen for her. Definitely don't like SpottedFire and never did, I see Mousefur as very very aromantic and relate to that, so SpottedMouse is very much not my jam- Anything else tends to be a rarepair or just something I don't really vibe with- She's not shipped with as many people as you'd expect. SpottedTiger was like striking gold for me- (Though Spottedleaf/Runningnose is also a nice one I think about from time to time, and is where I got Snailchaser as a character from LMAO)

Tigerclaw has always stood out to me and registered in my mind as being a romantic in a way too? It's a unique trait for a villain, especially in warriors, so I love emphasizing it, since god knows the Erins don't and won't. I know a lot of people like to joke about him kinda sleeping around or being a womanizer with him having two mates, but I love taking his multiple mates and interpreting it in more of a romantic sense- (And also I headcanon him as Polyamorous, but that's just me) He wasn't a good partner at all in canon, but something about imagining if he was makes him 10 times more compelling to me. He's a romantic! He's a family man! And he's a sadistic wanna-be dictator with the ambition needed to wreak havok and take over Shadowclan! Those traits 100% clash and that's the point. Putting him with Spottedleaf further complicates that by pairing him with a compassionate medic who does not at all share his lust for power. (Or might deep down, who knows! It's up to the writer!) I think it'd be fun to see internal battles and how the actual good traits he has fuck with his plans.

Though, if you know me at all, I'm also just really weird and love rarepairs and crack ships for Warriors. Hell, I basically made up the MothCrow tag on here by cautiously posting about Mothwing x Crowfeather- Even if my stuff's not completely canon accurate, I write in much more 'what if' scenarios and heavy AU usage. It's more fun and interesting to me to write in a more speculative "I love the version of this character that exists only in my brain" way, and out comes the stuff I make.

[lambtotheslaughterr]

Hi ! I just finished Rise and I have so many thoughts:

At first glance, this has potential to be a wholesome romance but I know dark!rafe is coming… my mind is going to potential kidnapping and false imprisonment ? Since he keeps saying he would not leave without her 🤔

I am still debating if I am scared for or of the sister. She has as much potential to be a nuissance to rafe or for wanting to take revenge against any eventual slide against her brother !

Sayyed is an interesting character, in real life he would probably get on my nerves a little not going to lie but he seems to be self aware and not afraid to apologise to people when needed. We’re dealing with someone a little more emotionally mature than Rafe there… We’re in for a ride I feel like 🤣

Also wanted to commend you for taking the time to build an entire dystopian world for your fic ! This is not as common on fan fictions but oh so cool. Truly incredible !

Hope you’re doing well and I’ll see you soon ❤️

rise as a wholesome love story would definitely be worth the opportunity to write another time (perhaps one day lol). but i’m liking your theories about where the story may go! i can neither confirm nor deny of course so i hope you keep reading to find out😉

as for nuha, this i don’t mind spoiling. i haven’t had much opportunity to flesh her out since i have so many characters & that’s my b, but nuha is a soft character. protective, yes, but she isn’t capable of true harm. but hey! if you’re feeling conflicted thoughts toward her then i feel very satisfied w that as i prefer writing characters that are more than one-dimensional.

the sayyed hate train is killing me🤣 i definitely didn’t intend for him to get on people’s nerves but i’m not mad about it. but yes, hes very emotionally mature & well aware of himself, which 100% makes him & rafe strong adversaries (there will indeed be much more turmoil between the two moving forward)🫣

thank you!! i definitely feel this is a more ambitious work for myself & sometimes feel i’ve bitten off more than i can chew (in my non-fanfiction writing i rarely explore outside my genre of choice & dystopian is very very outside my comfort zone). but your praise means a fuck ton to me so THANK YOU💛

i hope you’re doing splendid as well! again, your thoughts & review means everything to me so thank you for taking the time to share😭 rise will be updated sometime this weekend!

i adore you!

[thesupernaturalhouse]

The mroe I think about it the mroe I realize I don't know what exactly I was to do with Adam and the exorcists in the hazbins fallen au

On the one hand, I want to keep it close to canon, on the other hand, I want to show that really nobody is at fault, and it's just a bunch of miscommunication and mistakes

Like, I highly doubt the exorcists had a choice to be exorcists, and it's not like they can just- retire

I just really want to expand on heaven and how it works and is flawed

Cause like I don't think heaven is doing anything out of maliciousness, like, Sera obviously doesn't like doing the exterminations but allows them out of futy and fear of having hell residents destroying heaven and tormenting their victims who amd eit to heaven further

Like, if I was told rapists and murderers were coming to my house, I'd grab a gun to!

The exorcists likely had no choice but to kill, and overtime just, grew into it

Adam.....well, an asshole obviously, but even then, he wouldn't be a real problem if he wasn't put in the position of being the exorcist leader and able to take out his aggression in the dude who stole both his wives. He'd still be a dick but not a threat

Honestly, idk if I want to have him die in the fallen, I feel like there's a lot more that could be done with him. The finale battle is obviously gonna be included I mean- it has to be, but maybe Adam lives in this au

Or, at the very least, comes back as a sinner/fallen angle. That's gonna be difficult to write, though, if I do go with that

Like, I think the biggest reveal in the au is gonna be that heavens rules ARE rigged....but not on purpose, the rules were made when the archangels ruled and it was just left uo to one seraphim to deal with everything

They were written when humanity was starting out, written when they thought humans woukd stay the same- but they don't, they change, they ahve reasons for doing bad things

But the rules are just that, rules. They can't look at someone's past and see that they stole to provide for their family. They just see stole and send them to hell.

The system is rigged, but it's not anybody's fault. It's just a bunch of miscalculations and mistakes

And even though it's not anybodies fault, the actions that have been taken have affected innocent people, intentionally or not, and they need to fix it

So I mean, I'm not sure how ambitious that is of me, but it is what I want to at least TRY to do

I wanna add another more detailed layer rather than just have 'heavens actually bad and hell is actually good'

I mean, maybe the archangels oversaw people's sins and backstorues and stuff and decided where they went, but then they left for some weird reason. Hey, maybe I make them the real villains, and they dip cause the human project wasn't going how they wanted, so I left it to Sera/the rest of heaven and just dipped to go do smth else

Like, nobodies at fault for what your ancestors chose to do. And even then, I mean their angels. They can't really realize their actions caused so much chaos so even then it circles back to no one's really wrong people just fucked uo and made bad mistakes/choices

Cause like, Sera being portrayed as the bad guy rubs me the wrong way nd Emily saying "killing innocent souls" in cnaon also runs me the wrong way. Like, Emily, I love you....but I can guarantee that MOST sinners are not innocent. You might get some who were falsely condemned or have minor crimes and can change, but you also have people like Valentino for fucks sake

Side note I think what she shouldve said was "you are killing, possibly innocent souls" or something similar

I guess the main theme? I wanna go for in my fic/au is 'change' and that people can be wrong without being in the wrong, or being the bad guy

So that is a LONG rant, I honestly didn't mean for it to be this long- it was jsut meant to be like "idk what to do with the murder angles please help me" and turned into a rant.....

Anyways, I'll save the main theme talk for another day

[drpepperhateblog]

HOT D - The End

Remember before House of the Dragon came out when I listed my hopes for the show? 

I was skeptical of the series due to the fact that in the books all the characters are horrible, irredeemable people. While I could accept some outright villains on each side, I hoped the potential rulers, Rhaenyra and Aegon II would at least both be sympathetic, at least at the beginning.

Unfortunately, the Dyana scene has confirmed that they will not be doing that at all. House of the Dragon has instead chosen to make Rhaenyra more sympathetic and turn her into the protagonist of the story. While Alicent is more sympathetic in this version too, she is also not the ruler! There is no reason for the audience to root for the Green faction now. That sucks. That’s not “the human heart in conflict with itself”. You might as well replace the Greens with Sauron and they’d be about the same level of sympathetic.

What’s perhaps more striking is that they have not only chosen to not make Aegon II sympathetic, but they’ve outright made him even worse than his book counterpart.

With that being said, I have to write down all my thoughts.

The Dyana thing is infuriating. Aegon II is now confirmed to be irredeemable. Of course they had to go down the rape route. It wasn’t enough to have him be someone who sleeps around or is surrounded by sex workers á la Tyrion Lannister. The decision now means the only “right” thing to do is to support the Blacks, whereas in the books while everyone were fucking terrible, at least they were all terrible and didn’t receive clear favoritism as Rhaenyra very clearly gets here. It’s disappointing.

Targaryen memorabilia being replaced with stars of the Seven did not happen in the books as far as I know, and it’s quite obvious the showrunners want us to think Otto and Alicent do so because they’re the bad, ambitious, greedy, power-hungry Greens who want to replace the Targaryens with themselves. Boring! Suggestion on alternate ways to do this if they wanted to make it more interesting: Maybe have the Hightowers and other noble lords grow discontent with the Valyrian traditions, like the incest for instance, and be grossed out by it. This would however also require separating Aegon II and Helaena, so that would need to be rewritten if they wanted to go down that route. Or just, you know, don’t write it at all.

Happy to see Criston with the Morningstar that he was supposed to kill Joffrey Lonmouth with. But isn’t it a tad too dangeorus to use against an unarmored prince of the Iron Throne during practice? I do admittedly know nothing about weaponry however.

Why does Jace and Luke not get proper time to talk about the fact that they are bastards? Luke inheriting Driftmark that he knows he has no actual claim to. Jace being next in turn to the Iron Throne that he knows is not his, since he is a bastard. Surely they have some feelings about that?

Why does Rhaenys not advocate for Rhaena and Baela inheriting Driftmark? First off, she believes Daemon and Rhaenyra had her son killed. Explore that, properly. Secondly, Rhaenys was the eldest who was passed over in favor of a less competent and younger man. Laena was older than Laenor. Baela and Rhaena’s claims to Driftmark are just as good as Rhaenys’ (and Rhaenyra’s!) own to the Iron Throne. Instead she doesn’t even try to argue in favor of them but settles for a marriage match, when she knows that last time she did so HER SON DIED! When Laena married Daemon, she died due to his choice to stay in Pentos and not get help from physicians in Westeros (Rhaenys’ words, to be fair, Corlys claims the Pentos physicians are just as capable). When Laenor married Rhaenyra, she and Daemon ordered him to be killed (or so Rhaenys believed). Why on earth would Rhaenys think marrying her grandchildren to a family of people who caused the deaths of her own children is fine?

“I thought I wanted it” Rhaenyra tells her father regarding herself and the throne. Rhaenyra, you did not want the throne. You said so yourself, so many times that Criston even thought you’d be willing to run away from it.

Vaemond should have argued that he is a closer blood relation, being the Sea Snake’s brother rather than his grandson, and also that he is older and more capable. Book Vaemond could not really pull that argument as he was a nephew. But I guess Show Corlys is fine with his brother dying?

Daemon goading Vaemond into calling the Strong boys bastards makes no sense considering it undermines the claim of himself and Rhaenyra too.

Instead of Rhaenyra ordering Vaemond killed Daemon just straight up publicly executes him, because I suppose no one possibly could step in the way or ask the king for orders? The Kingsguard? This is a relative of the royal family! The silent five are also excluded for some reason. Likely because it shows that Rhaenyra is an awful person.

I guess the event where Alicent wears green and Rhaenyra wears black is just straight up removed.

Of course we had to add Aegon II being an ass at dinner. Lord forbid we give him good traits. Helaena also publicly insults her husband, because we needed additional reminders that Rhaenyra is the only good choice and the Greens are bad. Further attempts to make Rhaenyra look good by being the first to arise and compliment Alicent, despite the fact that Alicent’s strength is supposed to be that she is politically competent whereas Rhaenyra is not. At least they added Luke giggling at Aemond and his eyepatch, which does make his “Strong boys” toast a bit more justified. But again, why the hell is Aemond being made more sympathetic than Aegon II?

Excluding Rhaenyra and Alicent having different opinions on what maester should best treat Viserys was unfortunate in my opinion, especially when Daemon acts as if Otto and Alicent are drugging Viserys into being completely incapable.

Where the hell is Daeron?

Alicent misunderstanding Viserys does give her some additional reasons to crown Aegon II, which is nice. But they already have a good argument, and the show seems to forget that frequently: the Great Council of 101.

[seducipher]

something about @severepink 's mini-essay on adam (fantastic analysis btw check it out) knocked loose in my brain lilith's voice

and how that's definitely who alastor made a deal with.

like i KNOW it's been heavily implied but with the (garden) green magic and a voice that pervades all of hell? it's as good as confirmed for me.

like, alastor has such a red themed palette, and it looks like magic colors in this show typically match or complement the user's main colors, so where did this lime green come from? especially when a lot of alastor's marks and sigils appear as bright red in some lower-power scenes, but change to green when he really needs to pack a punch.

also the voice thing. lilith's voice pervaded hell in the beginning, it tracks that if she were lending her power to someone else it would take a similar route. plus, why would radio be so special? there's a lot to be thematically done with it, but it acts as the perfect, anonymous vessel for lilith's power.

personally i think lilith contracted alastor to kill lucifer, or at the very least replace him and let her be ruler of hell. that's why he ingratiates himself to charlie and supports her projects even when other overlords are very surprised with him doing so and think it's not like him to be so heartless. lucifer remains the most powerful being in hell (even moreso than lilith) but it was lilith who thrived there.

would you wanna live there, though?

i think lilith's power grew, she made a power grab to take heaven or take earth seven (haha just like genesis) years ago, and adam was the one who had to deal with it (either because lilith came for him first or sera deputized him). i think he let her stay in heaven on the condition that she quiet down and remove herself as a player, so she agreed (and had a vacay).

but of course here's this up-and-coming demon who seems pretty fucking ambitious. alastor may have approached her first, or she summoned him, but i think he came into the game pretty quickly as lilith's proxy so she can maintain distance but still get her work done. alastor gets to use her power to amass more of it and try to incapacitate lucifer.

what's alastor's endgame? idk, i think he's just weird as shit and likes to eat people or wants to go back to earth to accomplish something.

what's lilith's endgame? probably revenge on the people that gave her the two shittiest options from the get go: be with adam in a living hell or live in hell with lucifer.

[lazuliquetzal]

4, 5, and 6! :) <--- asks good questions because I love you

I ASK YOU NICE QUESTIONS ALL THE TIME

4. What detail in [insert fic] are you really proud of?

“Besides,” his dad continues, “even with Misaki and Mari, we’ll need a grandson from you to carry on the Narumiya name, huh?” "Don't worry about that,” Mei tells him, more even than he feels. “There will be lots of people naming their children after me once I'm the greatest pitcher in Japan.”

Okay, so this is from Disappearance, which is a fic about aromantic anxiety, and honestly--making Mei aroace just blew his character WIDE open for me. He's usually characterized as this very flamboyant, almost happy-go-lucky asshole? But honestly when I was reading Daiya no Ace Act 1, idk, I just kind of felt this simmering, very controlled anger in him. Everything we know about him is through the eyes of a rival character so that probably biases the lens, but he's just so ambitious, and the ONLY time I ever felt any real vulnerability from him was when he was stressed about sucking at baseball.

But anyway. This detail. Part of my Asian American Aromantic Asexual experience was processing the shame of never continuing the family line lmao. And I imagine, as the ONLY son in a family within a patriarchal culture, that guilt is probably amplified, especially if your dad has this weird insistence on passing on the family name. It's a really queer fear, and a really aromantic fear.

So for Mei, part of what fuels his ambition to be the best pitcher in Japan is this sense that: this is the ONLY way I can give my dad what he wants, this is the ONLY way I can give him a legacy to be proud of. It's not his entire ambition, but it's part of it. I have feelings about Narumiya Mei.

5. What do you wish someone would ask you about [insert fic]?

"Hey, what the fuck is up with the fight scene in That One Time That Dink Dinked Up?"

GLAD YOU ASKED.

There's this concept in musicals (I think Howard Ashman coined it?) and I'm paraphrasing horribly, but it's something like: when the characters get too emotional to speak, that's when they burst into song. Anyway, I've been trying to treat fight scenes as songs in musicals. A lot of writing advice regarding fight scenes is about the actual prose itself (which is great, and I definitely need it) but I also think it's important to lay the plot-emotion-etc groundwork for a fight scene.

In the rough draft, Dink and Time had a really horribly melodramatic conversation, and it was just Too Much. So I went back and turned it into a fight scene, which was MUCH better. Dink, internally, is fighting the idea that he's an unloveable piece of villain trash, and for him, Time represents the ideal heroic father figure he doesn't deserve! So he tries to kill him, or be killed by him. And Time is like, "no don't hate urself ur so funny haha".

In this household, we love turning the ideological conflict between two character's viewpoints into a literal conflict between those two characters!

6. What's one fact about the universe of [insert fic] that you didn't get a chance to mention in the fic itself?

LKDJFAKLADJFADS OKAY THIS IS SO SUBTLE AND VERY VERY STUPID, BUT--

I establish in DotF that Sky needs sleep because he gets mean when he's sleep-deprived.

Anyway, the reason why "giving Legend a laxative, spilling ink on his bag, and invading his privacy" is his first and only plan upon hearing of Baby Time's ocarina hunt is that he hasn't been sleeping properly due to having dozens of nightmares about Legend's rotting corpse.

[thestobingirlie]

Hello!! Just wanted to say thank you for your absolutely refreshing takes. It makes me feel like I'm not the only one which is so nice. I love checking your blog and reading through your responses, they're always so insightful!! Especially about Steve, Robin and Nancy

One thing ive been thinking about lately  that ive been wondering if you have thoughts on (but no pressure if you dont!) - is Nancy's plan to take down Vecna in s4. She saw the vision , she's ambitious and determined to take Vecna down, but she's also unempathetic, doesn't think about consequences and always needs to be right. She bulldozes over everyone and a part of me wonders how differently it could have gone if they didn't follow her plan. Or adjusted it. I mean, Steve has severe road rash up his whole back and arms, has been bitten, strangled, and is breathing in the toxic Upside Down air - and she still wants to go back into the Upside down relying on him. She dismisses his concerns about the bats and then the bats kill Eddie. A lot of this is probably just the Duffers writing decisions but get this boy some medical attention please oh my god take his injuries seriously. Nancy gets herself another gun even though they don't work on Upside Down creatures.

Sorry this isn't more coherent! Nancy is just so complicated and fucked up and interesting to think about!

thank you so much! i love compliments <3

thanks for calling my responses insightful! i try not to get too lost in what i want for characters and my interpretations and stick to what canon presents us with. obviously my opinions will always seep through, but i’m glad you like them!

i think the thing with nancy’s plan is that the duffers don’t want to make nancy look like an idiot, but her plan was designed to fail.

so everything that goes wrong is kind of outside of her control. there’s an earthquake, and they get caught by vines. eddie chooses to run back into the horde of bats. jason shows up and breaks max’s walkman.

the duffers didn’t want the audience to look at the plan and blame nancy for how it went wrong, because she’s their girlboss.

the thing is, when you look deeper into the plan, it’s just kinda stupid. she has someone majorly injured on the main vecna hunting team (and god someone please help this boy, he’s bled through his bandages nearly the second they’re on), she’s using a gun against an upside down creature when she’s never seen that work (steve has an axe that he just doesn’t use against vecna?), eddie and dustin aren’t given any kind of firepower to defend themselves, and everyone completely forgot that jason was after them.

i think if we’re going within the realm of canon, no plan they came up with was ever going to work because the vecna defeat has to wait for s5.

but within fanon, i do think if they’d waited a little more, if nancy had been a little more willing to listen to the others, planned a little better, this much shit wouldn’t have gone wrong. nancy finds it difficult to consider other people, she can’t always see the big picture when she’s focused on saving people, she’s not super emotionally in tune with others, and as a result the boy that’s seen two people get horrifically killed in the last few days gets put on the suicide mission.

though we also have to remember nancy is traumatised by what vecna showed her, so i don’t know if she ever would’ve been able to think clearly. she’s feeling guilty, and desperate, and so she reasons out max putting herself in danger as for the greater good.

sorry this didn’t end up being more about nancy! nancy is very fun to dive into, and her role in the plan is super interesting, especially because i don’t think she’s a particularly good leader figure, but i think the plan sucked because the duffers needed it to suck. and if the duffers wanted vecna defeated in s4, her plan would’ve worked, and nancy wouldn’t have girlbossed her way too close to the sun.

[kantraels]

Future

OC Asks

future: What's the worst possible future for your OC? Are they taking steps to avoid that outcome? Are they even aware it's a possibility?

Luckily I have thought extensively on this. And then didn't answer the actual question salute emoji sorry I'll do that

Rite - Ever the pragmatist (and the idealist, paradoxically), and the loyalist, and the ambitious... you get the picture. After a few years of service, Grendyl calls him up to become an Explicator. He does his time, learns well, fights well. He becomes an Interrogator. He does his job. He makes no mistakes. He slips into each role he must fill with the ease of somebody who's been filling roles for a long time. He becomes an Inquisitor in his own right, a hard-won and well-earned victory, and either remains near Atoma... or goes elsewhere, bringing his own retinue with him, and then spends many distinguished years bringing the Emperor's light to darkened and heretical places. - Rite is the kind of person to weasel out of bad ends with the grace and expertise of somebody who's been doing that shit forever. The bad end for him would be... captured by heretics. He hates that. It's the worst end. He's doing his best to avoid it and he knows it's possible and probable if he ever slips up.

Kal - Is lucky enough to be considered part of Rite's retinue, even if he's drifting and of most use when he's being pointed at something that needs to die. That's fine. Inquisitors can find much use for blunt, dogmatic instruments. And Kal is... happy. Over time, though he will probably never fully shake his demons, he finds better ways to make his mind quiet until he finally dies in battle as a glorious martyr like he's always wanted. And then Rite will mount his armor on the wall. - KAL'S bad end is literally him drinking himself to death or being... captured by heretics. His other bad end is falling a little too passionately into anger and bloodshed and his energy ending up fueling Khorne. He doesn't think it can ever happen because he's totally loyal to the God Emperor.

Zed - Zed didn't expect to live this long. To be honest, it expected-- and kind of wanted-- to die after it was first discharged and then reassigned to the Ordo Hereticus. Crawling back up from that black pit has been a long time's effort. Still, once it settles in with the veterans (#frat) and makes an effort to act a little less Krieger-like it will happily continue fighting for Grendyl until it falls. (Or Rite tries to poach it for his retinue. It has mixed feelings on him, but can't deny that he's wickedly charismatic and gets things done, and it's very difficult to tell an Inquisitor no.) - The Zed bad end is it going down against the Karnak Twins (as it did too many fuckin times! oops) and being broken into a chaos cultist. I have written on this extensively. no I am not sharing any of it.

Kenna - So apparently Rite IS just fucking off and taking his friends. Go king. Kenna is, however, Grendyl's prize through and through. They were spared by Grendyl's grace, continue to live through Grendyl's mercy, and their only lifeline is that they kill heretics exceedingly well and are a living morale crusher to the CoA. The ideal good end is that one day they ask to stop and be allowed to live in their dream for a little while and they just get to paint portraits all day until someone puts them down with a single, loving bolter shot to the back of the skull. The probably end is that they lose the everlasting battle of possession against the Lord of Change they bodyshared with for a few months. #girlboss. - The bad end is getting daemonhosted again, this time for the Inquisition. They're aware that it might happen. They're very afraid.

[herohikara-wol]

FFXIV Write 2k23 - Day 28

Blunt - Emperor AU

“Absolutely not.” Varis frowned as Hero sulked in his seat. “I’ve told you before, it would reflect poorly on both of us if you did.” Once again they were fighting over Hero’s potential romantic prospects, and once again, Hero was being insanely stubborn about them.

“Every single suitor I’ve met so far, I can’t trust as far as I can throw them! I’ve met half this list during the different balls, festivals, senate meetings, state dinners and even the military meeting I’ve had to attend in the last six moons. I don’t feel comfortable with any of them. Certainly not comfortable enough to bed them, much less wed them.”

“There’s the other half of the list, your Radiance.” Varis was only growling in frustration, “have you considered using your echo to do more than just reject your suitors?”

“My echo warns me of danger, ill intentions, and lies. They aren’t interested in me either, they’re interested in my power and position. I refuse to have a loveless marriage, I want a partner I can trust.”

“Zenos keeps trying to kill you every time you train with him, how is that a sign of trust?”

“All he’s doing is trying to find a way to fight me at my full strength, when we’re not in the training room he’s docile.”

“Lazy.”

“Tired and bored. I’d rather have someone smart and a bit lazy than stupid and ambitious, Varis.”

The high legatus cringed a little, he couldn’t fault Hero for that one. Smart and Lazy were a wonderful combination, they were the ones who could make a system more efficient just so it let them do less work. Smart and ambitious people made things happen, they were the go-getters who ensured everything ran smoothly, much like Asahi was. The pair were becoming a very effective combination whenever they were left alone with a single problem to focus on. It’s the people who were both ambitious and incapable of rubbing together two brain cells to spark a single idea that were the real danger. All the desire to run the world and none of the critical thinking skills to do so.

Framed like that, he could understand why Hero preferred someone like Zenos who had no desire to control him, and instead would lounge about like a feral cat who’d found a warm spot until he found something to hunt. Zenos was, relatively speaking, safe. The sons of the political upper crust in Garlean society were raised in a society that was as cold and cut throat as his grandsire once was.

Still is, if the damned ascian was so intent on hanging around and haunting the palace after his supposed demise.

He inhaled slowly, counted to ten, and tried again. “If you court Zenos officially, the senate will rake me over the coals for trying to groom you into giving me the position of power I would have had if my grandsire had chosen me to succeed him. They will see it as a naked attempt at a bid for power from me, not a choice you made willfully with all due consideration.”

“So you need me to meet, flirt with, and reject literally every other option on the table before I’m allowed to court Zenos and Asahi openly.”

Finally, progress. “Yes, exactly.”

Hero growled softly, his face contorting into the most sour look Varis had ever seen the young Viera make. Still, he picked up the data pad before him and started going through the list of potential consorts and wives he had yet to reject. “Fine, but I’m not going to enjoy it. Mark my words.”

“Does anyone ever enjoy the prospect of an arranged marriage, your Radiance? I’m sure at least a dozen people on that list are only there because their parents put them there and they had no say in the matter. Your rejection would be a blessing to them.” He noticed one of the suitors and sighed, “she’s one of them actually. Her lover is actually on the palace guard, the lovely lady on the morning Library rotation.”

“Okay we’ll make that plan b then, I marry a lesbian and fuck your son on the side.” Varis wasn’t sure how to feel about the candid way Hero mentioned it, and it had to have shown on his face because the young Emperor smirked up at him. “You told me to give it all due consideration, so I’m considering.”

“Could you consider using less vulgar language when referring to my son, your radiance?”

“And miss you making angry dad faces at me? Never.”

[ruvviks]

AND!!!! inner life for reid. please. please. pl

oc asks!

SELF: how is your oc's relationship with themself? does your oc like who they are? is there anything about themself that they would change?

for the sake of not writing six billion paragraphs for each question i will stick to the current reid which is the reid who is no longer a cunt and is niceys and good =^)

so basically reid hates himself and that could already answer all these questions but i'm going to continue talking anyway. his past is definitely haunting him big time and the more time passes and the closer he grows with the people who used to oppose him and the more he learns about them, the worse he's starting to feel and the more he spirals. he's constantly making an effort to be the best version of himself now that he's realized his past mistakes but it's exhausting him because he's trying way too hard. does not now how to relax at all. could kill him one day

he mostly just hates himself for the things he did to cassidy specifically and even though cassidy is already over it and is just enjoying the time he has with his friend now, reid can't let it go. he would love to be able to go back in time and do it all over again, but also doesn't mind having been the villain in cassidy's story if that at least meant that cassidy would end up with his current partner and be in much better hands because of it. he's so complicated

KNOW: how well does your oc know themself—their wants, their goals, their motivations? do they engage in any sort of self-reflection? is there anything about themself they willfully ignore?

reid has had a lot of time to think. and reflect. he was basically held in captivity in a safehouse for about a year and he didn't really talk to anyone other than the occasional guy who came to bring him food or whatever and mostly himself. wasn't fun but on the other hand it made him very Very aware of some of his flaws and shortcomings that had led him in that very position. so. both a loss and a win. a neutral if you will

he was always very ambitious and mainly just wanted to be influential and. well. good enough. for who??? who knows!! not me!!!! not him!!!!!! nowadays he still really just wants to be needed. he wants to be able to make himself useful and he doesn't want to feel like a waste of space or like he's bothering people and he really just wants to feel part of something. but also feels like he doesn't deserve it. HE'S COMPLICATED OK

he still has. um. some Issues. that he is definitely ignoring and pretending to not see. i won't elaborate. secret. this is unrelated to him falling in love again at some point btw like we already know who he ends up dating. this is a New secret. don't even worry about it

CARE: how does your oc engage in self-care, if at all? if they don't, why not?

lol reid is stupid he doesn't know what that is. his parents never went to the doctor with him how is he supposed to take care of himself when he doesn't even know what Care is </3 that's a lie actually he takes care of those around him so much but he just thinks he's making himself useful. which is different than taking care of people. or something. he cannot make himself useful by taking care of himself.? AS I SAID. COMPLICATED. HE'S STUPID

FOR GOOD: is there anyone in your oc's life who had an undeniable positive impact on who they are as a person? how did knowing this person improve your oc's life?

right now it's mostly four people. i will try to keep this brief

kitty: reid's older sister who is so fucking important to him. he will kill for her he will die for her he will live for her. he will not try to like her husband for her though. which is why they ended up growing apart. but kitty divorced her husband and now they're on speaking terms again =^) kitty taught him so much because their parents just hated them and well someone had to make sure reid wouldn't fucking die once he would move out. so. there's that

cassidy: reid is still alive because of cassidy first and foremost. cassidy didn't want reid to die and that's the only reason he's still here right now and reid KNOWS this. and cassidy's kindness and forgiveness has done more for reid than maxtac has ever taught him. which i'm normal about

luci: reid is also still alive because of luci. they met at aubrey's club bodytalk when luci started working there and was the first to befriend reid from a completely neutral perspective because he didn't know about reid's past. HE DOES NOW DON'T WORRY but him not knowing at first has been vital for the development of their relationship. it's shown reid that he Can move on from it and is Allowed to move on from it

seb: i'm not going to elaborate this one yet it's just funny to put his name here without explanation. for everyone who doesn't know: seb wanted reid dead for a good while <3

FOR BAD: is there anyone who had an undeniable negative impact on your oc’s life? how did your oc deal with that change? have they been able to move on?

HIS FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT FATHER and also every single corpo cunt he had to work with. reid is so easily influenced by other people because he feels this strong desire to just fit in and be considered Normal. and it ruined him. turned him into a shell of a man and just some other corpo cunt and it caused him to never have an actually good and healthy relationship with cassidy and he still beats himself up for it

as for his father. reid has deleted the guy from his memory. but he won't be able to keep doing that for long. sorry

INTIMACY: is your oc the type of person to engage in long-term relationships, or are they more casual in their intimacy and affection? how do they feel about intimacy and relationships in general?

reid used to have a lot of flings and used to be very casual about it all. loved physical contact with people but only when he was in control of it because people coming too close to him would cause him to shut down. but he didn't really know that and didn't really know how to handle it so he would always just get angry because that was the default emotion that was behind all of it. he deals a lot better with it now don't worry

nowadays he prefers to actually take things seriously because he needs deeper (lol) connections with people. none of his shallow relationships survived and he can't put himself. or others for that matter. through all of that again. he wants to be close with people and still likes to be physically close with his friends but nowadays hesitates with initiating anything because he no longer feels like it's his place to do so. COMPLICATED

[ambivalent-auguries]

❣ ace, steve, and anton

send me ❣ for 3 pros & 3 cons of dating my muse!

Pros:

He is very supportive and enouraging - he will always be there to support you when you need it and cheer you on as you're following your passions!

He can play guitar and dance quite well, so you can expect him to be serenading you or slow dance with you - definitely a romantic!

He is physically strong and doesn't tire easily (wink wink) - this man can help you move and he will carry you to bed when you fall asleep with him on the couch, regardless of how tall you are or how much you weigh - he's built for farm work loool

Cons:

It doesn't take much to break his trust - lie to him once, even innocently, and he will be having a whole identity crisis about y'all relationship lol

He tries to please everyone, which is impossible so sometimes he burns himself out trying or he gets overwhelmed, sometimes at the detriment of his romantic relationships.

You can't just hit it and leave it with him... If he thinks you're only interested in a one night stand, he will be disappointed and even bitter.

Pros:

SO charming and loving - he will kiss the ground you walk on and look good doing it lol He does wonders for people's confidence and he genuinely sees his partners as otherwordly and wants them to feel cared for!

Smart and attentive, it's genuinely fun to be around him. He can talk about a range of subjects and will always have an interest in your passions and share his with you. He also picks up on small things easily and uses them to surprise you, like oh, you mentioned you wanted to buy a particular book on a random Tuesday? Yeah, expect him to gift you it out of nowhere, complete with a personal note from him lol

He's ambitious and passionate, but also prioritises his partner's comfort and loves communication, so you get the best of both worlds haha He never assumes you're on board with something and that carries to the bedroom, where he definitely puts your pleasure above his own - we love a man who listens ugh

He loves building habits with you - he can be domestic to a fault and loves nothing else than feeling his partner is fully part of his life ;;

Cons:

He is in the public eye, but he's also quite private as a person, which can be hard to navigate if you're not used to it.

He gets frustrated and can be moody and even have a short temper - he requires patience and support and someone who can pull him away from work and the daily crushing feeling of overwhelming responsibility he carries...

He doesn't date easily... He needs to be friends with the other person to begin with, but then you add the fact that he chooses the people around him very carefully and the fact he's always so busy and yeah... He's tough to date lol

Pros:

Get you a French man who can cook - YOU KNOW that food is fucking stellar lol In all seriousness, cooking is definitely one of his love languages. If you have a sweet tooth, that's even better - let him bake you to bliss!

He is impulsive, but in a fun way! He will surprise you with gifts, travel, romantic gestures - if you think you know what to expect out of him, think again lol

He is truly a romantic at heart and if you get him invested, he is incredibly gentle and loving, despite the appearances. He is also very protective and will burn the whole world down, if that will make you smile.

Cons:

Girl... He's a CRIMINAL. The likelihood of you being unsafe while with him is very low, but do you really wanna bother with his duplicitous, gang boss ass?

He doesn't trust people. You won't get his name, you won't get to know him past what he feels like is safe to reveal. If you do, it's because he thinks you're everything to him and at that point, there is absolutely no way you can have a normal life lol

He can be very calculated and cold and, honestly, his consciousness is nowhere near clean. You have to be prepared for the reality that he is not just this artsy French guy who bakes - he might kill people, he might engage in torture, he might show up in the middle of the night smelling like sweat, gunpowder and blood. And you have to be okay with that...

[izartn]

LONG LIVE EVIL SPOILERS

So originally, we infer Key as the Emperor was in love with Lia. I can see how, because Key was truly just wishing for someone to be kind and good, loving, to him so he could be real again (for putting in into this book "to be love is to be real" philosophy) but the irony here is that I think we're given reason to think Lia is a lesbian. Or at least completely uninterested in exploring any desire for men given how she describes their looks (in contrast to Marius who I think we can all agree is in love with the Cobra/Eric and very repressed or likely demi).

Now given what Key did for his adoptive father, I'm not saying he wouldn't lay waste to enemies, look for a way to resurrect Lia etc if she was like, his bestie (aka an equally strong platonic love) instead of his lover but I think we can all agree the og book and Rea herself said this was romantic attachment.

With that as baseline and from what we get of Lia's true personality and interests in LLE is that:

1. She is ambitious and talented and wants to do good for the people of Eyam.

2. For that she needs to be queen and she's willing to do whatever the king wants of her (as long as it fits her "good and pure" image) in order to have that power.

3. Despite the above, she's repulsed by men's attraction to her. Confirmation that she slept with Emer (so we know she likes women) and forgave her for the betrayal (and in the og saved Emer life even after she betrayed her to Rahela) implying attachment and attraction. Right now I'm assuming she's lesbian, aka exclusively attracted to other woman. We don't have her PoV so it can't be certain like with Emer but all the signs point to that.

So I think that what happened on the og was that Lia saw that Key responded to her kindness, and she used that accordingly and treated him well because as her guard she needed his loyalty; that he seemed ready to kill when she was stuck having to be perfectly sweet and defenseless would been a plus. And I bet she told him of her plans to do good for the poor and unnobled, and backed that with actions. Only that worked a little too well, and with the extended timeline they had more time to know each other.

(extended timeline bc it seems like Key went down voluntarily the dread ravine like a year or two after our canon. I have to reread all that part bc the confusion with Octavian is not helping >< Rae does say in the ending she fucked Key over bc he was older and more secure on himself on the og and he wasnt sent down as a corpse after dying for her and being betrayed)

So I think Lia saw where the wind was blowing once Key came back with the crown, fulfilling the profecy and completely willing to marry and adore her. And she said yes to being his Empress, but she wasn't ever in love with him which makes the Emperor reaction to losing her all that more painful. Poor Lia whose body becames literally what she hates most, an object for the Emperor to fixate in his grief and obsession regardless of her true feelings or ambitions.

Right now I'm thinking that both Lia and Key avoided a hellish future when Rae was sent to lady Rahela's body and derailed destiny, even if as of LLE ending it seems grim.