#border is a bit bigger than the rest

[onrainynights]

it took me literally all day but I finally finished my second needlepoint

[ID: A small needlepoint project. It depicts a blue chicken from Stardew Valley on a light blue background with a very dark blue border made of a binding stitch. The project is a bit smaller than 2 inches by 2 inches. The border is slightly uneven. End ID.]

[vigilante-3073]

Fast Car

Dean Winchester x Female Reader

Summary: The three times that Sam watched Dean and Y/N sing along to one of their favorite country songs and the one time he didn't.

TW: Pre-established relationship, fluff, dancing, kissing, marriage and children.

Sam sat at a small table in the corner of the crowded country bar as he looked through news stories on his laptop. They had just finished a case in Oklahoma and Sam had the responsibility looking for their next hunt.

He looked up from his screen, eyes quickly finding his brother across the bar. Dean's hands were resting on his girlfriend's hips, holding her close as they sang along to Fast Car by Tracy Chapman.

"You got a fast car

I got a plan to get us out of here

I been working at the convenience store

Managed to save just a little bit of money

Won't have to drive too far

Just 'cross the border and into the city

You and I can both get jobs

And finally see what it means to be living."

Dean pulled away slightly, taking her hand and spinning her around with a wide smile. She laughed, leaning into him as he pulled her back in. Y/N had always loved country music and she had been slowly expanding Dean's musical inventory to include her favorite songs.

Fast Car had quickly become their song and they couldn't go on a road trip without playing it at least once. Sam couldn't bring himself to be annoyed because of how happy it made his brother.

How happy Y/N made his brother.

They were perfect together and there would always be a part of Sam that hoped to find a love like that again after he had lost Jess.

Dean's hands slid from her waist into the back pocket of her jeans as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

There was something almost sad about the song, it was something that he and Dean would probably never be able to experience.

A simple life.

Settling down and starting a family.

And Dean deserved it more than anyone in the world.

...

The impala sped down the highway, the music was blasting and the windows were rolled down. Sam sat in the backseat, staring out at the vast field that ran alongside the highway.

The summer air was hot and the roads were empty as they drove back to the bunker after a successful hunt.

Y/N was in the front seat, body turned towards Dean as they sung along to the song.

"So I remember we were driving, driving in your car

Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk

City lights lay out before us

And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder

And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged

I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone."

Dean looked over at her, watching the wind blow her hair around as he drove. His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her over to his side before his eyes returned the road ahead of them.

Sam watched them for a moment, smiling to himself as Dean drummed his hand against the steering wheel to the beat of the music.

Y/N turned her head, pressing a kiss to Dean's cheek. He smiled, thumb stroking across the material of her t-shirt fondly.

She rested her head down on his shoulder, hand resting on his knee as she listened to him sing along to the music.

...

Sam made his way down the hallway towards the kitchen after his run, glancing at his watch with a frown as he paused in the doorway.

Music was blaring from Y/N's speaker as her and Dean moved around the kitchen making breakfast. Y/N chopped up strawberries on a cutting board while Dean flipped a pancake in a pan with bacon crackling away on another burner.

Dean suddenly turned towards his girlfriend, using the spatula as a microphone as he sung to her.

"You got a fast car

We go cruising to entertain ourselves

You still ain't got a job

And I work in a market as a checkout girl

I know things will get better

You'll find work and I'll get promoted

We'll move out of the shelter

Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs."

Y/N smiled widely, abandoning the knife on the cutting board before singing the next line into the spatula. Dean reached out and grabbed her hand, spinning her around before pulling her back against his chest.

Y/N laughed, hand resting on his forearm as they swayed together. Dean spun her back around before releasing her with a wink.

He turned back to the stove, flipping the pancake before sliding over to his girlfriend and pressing a kiss to the back of her head. His hands found her hips before pulling her away from her cutting board and into his arms. Dean spun her around in his hold, taking her hand and wrapping his other arm around her waist before guiding them in a few practiced steps. He held her close to himself, singing along loudly before pulling away and spinning her around.

Dean pulled her back against his chest, pressing a kiss to her temple before sweeping her back into their dance.

They glided around the room, he spun her a few more times before wrapping both of his arms around her waist and pressing his lips to her's in a gentle kiss.

Y/N's fingers tangled in his hair before they reluctantly broke apart and returned to their tasks.

Their relationship almost seemed effortless to Sam.

It was almost like everything else faded away when they were together. It was the purest form of love that anyone could hope to find in this messed up world.

...

Dean turned off the television, tossing the remote aside with a sigh, "Nothin' on, buddy," He muttered, looking down at the Terrier mix who blinked up at him from the floor. Dean grabbed his phone from the coffee table, clicking the power button and feeling relieved when he didn't see any notifications on his screen.

Sam was supposed to come over for dinner to see some of the renovations that Dean had done on the new house. Dean still couldn't believe how many changes had occurred in the last few years.

Dean had made the decision to leave hunting behind and finally made a life for himself. Sam was finishing up a quick case a few states over before going into his own version of hunting retirement. They had both given so much of their lives to hunting and now it was time to live for themselves.

Dean looked over at the bookshelf, his eyes finding the stereo sitting between the books. Dean stood up, making his way over and turning on the power. He flipped through the channels, quickly turning up the volume when he heard the familiar tune start.

"No way," He muttered.

"So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car

Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk

City lights lay out before us

And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder

And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged

I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car

Is it fast enough so you can fly away?

You gotta make a decision

Leave tonight or live and die this way."

He straightened up with a smile, "Baby, c'mere for a minute," Dean called. Y/N made her way into the living room of their home with their daughter held against her side.

"Is that-?" "Yeah... I thought that maybe my two favorite girls would wanna dance," He said.

"Of course," Y/N smiled.

Dean carefully took their daughter from her arms, cradling her in the crook of his arm before holding out his hand.

Y/N rested her hand in his, gold wedding band catching the soft afternoon sunlight pouring in through the window.

She wrapped her arm around him, smiling down at their daughter as he guided them around the living room. Dean carefully spun his wife before drawing her back in, singing down to their daughter as they swayed together.

This was the life he had always wanted and now he had it.

His beautiful wife, his baby girl, his brother, a house and the dog.

Dean never would have thought this kind of life would be possible for him and now he couldn't dream of living any other way.

He had everything he could possibly want and he was finally happy.

[marlynnofmany]

Catching Things in Zero-G

“Reach over the border,” Captain Sunlight directed the Frillian twins. “Make sure they’re touching the floor when they cross into gravity.”

I watched from well out of the way as Blip and Blop nodded, holding muscular arms out for the oncoming guests. No one here was new to gravity fluctuations, but that didn’t mean they were fun.

The first person to cross from the damaged ship to ours was a bright red Heatseeker whose name I’d forgotten. He stumbled a bit on landing, grateful for the assistance. Blip and Blop released his hands when he was stable, looking like parents helping their lizardy toddler off a swing set.

Hard on his heels was Bopburt, the big gray Strongarm whose name I did remember (along with his extreme and hilarious dislike for pizza, from when I’d talked him into trying it that one time). I’d worked briefly on that ship before getting a more long-term position on this one. Nobody had changed since then. Bopburt was still a bigger octopus alien than the Strongarms on our ship. He was surprisingly talented at navigating in zero-g, though.

“No need,” he said, waving a tentacle at the waiting hands. He launched off the wall and landed with a splat just on this side of the seam between airlocks. “Thanks, though. They’ll want help with the cargo. Ah, here we go.”

He tentacle-walked over to stand near me as several other crewmates appeared at the hatch with an expensive-looking shipping crate. I couldn’t tell how heavy the thing was about to be, but it was a cube about the size of the bedside table in my quarters, and it shimmered with pearlescence. Even the label on the top was embossed in gold, matching the seam around the edges. Four different crewmates worked together to guide it oh-so-gently toward our ship.

“What’s in it?” I asked Bopburt. “Do you know?”

He made a rude noise. “Clients wouldn’t say. Rich jerks.”

Captain Sunlight watched with concern. “Is it heavy? Should we get a hoversled?”

“No, just don’t drop it.”

“Right.”

There were far too many people involved already, so we just watched as the whole procession made their way awkwardly through the airlock. Captain Kamm showed up during all this, along with the rest of their crew waiting to cross over. She and Captain Sunlight started a conversation over everyone else’s heads.

It was getting crowded. I moved back toward the hallway, where a few of my own crewmates had gathered to greet the guests. It’d been a while since we’d seen our sister ship, and while a damaged gravity generator wasn’t the best of circumstances, it was still nice to visit.

A furry shape trotted past my ankle. I scooped up the cat before she could get in the way. “Hang on there, Telly. You don’t want to get stepped on. I know it all smells new and interesting.”

Telly ignored me, watching the proceedings with great interest. Her mismatched eyes were wide, and she didn’t react when I ruffled her two-toned fur. This was more focus than new arrivals usually got. She hadn’t run out the airlock yet, but there’s always a first. I kept a close eye on her.

“What kind of animal is that?” Bopburt asked, looking up at the tense shape in my arms.

“A cat,” I said. “Humans keep them for companionship and…”

Telly was chattering — that distinct “I see prey” noise.

I turned toward the hall, but too late. She launched off with a kick to my ribs and flashed toward the gravity barrier.

“Telly, no!” I exclaimed, like that had stopped any cat ever.

Some crewmates looked up at me while others jumped aside with startled noises. Blip nearly caught her, which was pretty impressive honestly, but Telly jumped right past and into the other ship. She immediately careened toward the far wall, meowing and clawing at the air.

“Sorry, I’ll get her!” I dodged through the crowd. “I don’t know what she’s going after.” I ignored the conversation behind me and dove into the zero-g. It was just as disorienting as it always was, but I was heading in the right direction.

I caught up to Telly in midair where she’d bounced off the wall and been unable to catch anything with her claws. Those claws immediately tore into my sleeves, leaving more than one scratch that would probably need to get patched up, but I was busy offering comforting noises as I focused on holding her close with my arms while getting my feet into position to hit the wall.

I landed gently, making sure to take it slow before pushing back off, and in that half-breath pause, I saw something skitter past. “Ah!”

“What is it?” called Captain Sunlight.

“Something moved!” said, trying to look for it while shuffling the cat to get an arm free, and also searching for a handhold before I drifted away from the wall. I found a little hook that had probably held decorations once, and that was good enough. I clutched it tight. Telly tried to scramble onto my shoulder. I did my best to hold her in place. The creature had disappeared.

But Telly was chattering again, looking at the ceiling.

Somebody shouted about wire-eating pests. More people were coming back over the gravity barrier, a jumble of motion and urgent conversation about which tools had the best shot at catching something so fast.

“That’s why the gravity’s out! I knew it wouldn’t fail suddenly!”

“Do gravity wands work in zero-g?”

“Better to use a stun gun. Just nobody shoot anyone else.”

“What about that net in the cargo hold? We could—”

I tuned it all out when I spotted the thing Telly was chattering at. It was a flat little silvery beastie with lots of tiny legs and segmented plates on its back, every bit the kind of thing I could see wreaking havoc in the guts of a spaceship. It clung to the ceiling with stillness that could break into astonishing speed in an eyeblink.

The wall below it had pipes sticking out, curving into the living space in the type of ship design that was a little unsightly but immensely useful right now.

With one hand firmly holding Telly against my shoulder and the other on the hook, I turned in the zero-g until I could stick a foot through the loop of pipes. Then I used both hands to grab Telly, holding her out in front of me as I did a sit-up toward the ceiling. “Get it, girl!”

Telly didn’t disappoint. The thing saw her coming and tried to dash away, but she twisted in my grasp to launch off my wrist in a way that was incredibly painful but worth it. She snatched it off the ceiling and brought it to her mouth with a crunch of exoskeleton that I could hear from there.

Then she dropped it, shaking her head in comical disgust as the crowd cheered. Somebody caught it easily. I caught Telly before she could fully realize she was drifting again. After that, it was just a matter of making my way back to gravity without use of my arms. I ended up crowd-surfing, which wasn’t my plan at all, but everyone was appreciative and eager to help.

When I got my feet back under me, the first thing I did was find Eggskin the medic. “Was that safe for her to bite? She doesn’t usually react like that.” Telly wasn’t trying to jump free, busy licking a paw with vigor.

“Yes, I remember it from her original bio scans,” Eggskin told me. “Definitely on the safe list. These are a known pest with a strong flavor. They’re actually a sought-after delicacy in some circles.”

Eggskin was also the cook, which had seemed strange when I first joined the crew, but it made perfect sense these days.

“Oh good,” I said. “All right, kitty, great job. I’ll get you some treats to take the taste out of your mouth, okay?”

Captain Kamm appeared at my elbow, standing on the tips of her tentacles to get a good look at Telly. “Does your little predator like fish?”

“She does!” I said.

“Then we will be happy to reward her with some.” She waved a tentacle at a maroon-and-teal Frillian who was carrying a mesh bag of various things. “It’s the least we can do after she caught the source of our woes. Thank all the stars that it’s a small one, not old enough to spawn more.”

“Hey captain!” someone yelled. “There’s a gap in the seam of that expensive crate! And the bio-scanner shows traces of droppings!”

“More excellent news,” Captain Kamm said with an angry smile.

Captain Sunlight asked, “That crate has a scanner block, doesn’t it? No way to scan for hitchhikers.”

“Oh yes it does,” Captain Kamm confirmed. “How kind of that pest to leave its droppings by the hole where we can detect and record them.”

“They signed a waiver, right?”

“Oh yes.”

When I realized that the rich jerks had set themselves up for paying to repair the gravity generator that their negligence had damaged, I broke into a grin as well. “Such great news!”

Telly moved again, making me tighten my grip instinctively, but it was just to get at the tray of fish chunks that the Frillian was holding out. I took the tray and held it for Telly to eat from. She made some adorable happy noises.

“So you were about to say,” Bopburt said, “That humans keep these creatures for companionship and, and I think I’ve figured out the other thing.”

“Yup,” I agreed. “Valuable predator services.”

“You’re bleeding a bit there.”

“Ah, it’s not the first time. Worth it.”

~~~

The ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. More to come! And I am currently drafting a sequel!

[theladyofmanyfandomsfanfiction]

Imagine Steve’s anger when you go off book during a mission…

“Don’t.” Steve snapped.

He looked at you as a warning, sending a shiver down your spine. He had never looked at you with such fury before. You had been on the receiving end of such looks before - but never from Steve. It was harrowing and cold. 

“What did you think you were doing?” He asked. Your quips were silenced by the level of anger in his voice.

“You blew our cover by coming to my aid and now we’ve lost the element of surprise.” He recounted. “You unravelled months of careful planning, do you know that?” 

“I was trying to save a life.” You countered, voice hardening the more you spoke. How could Steve not see the bigger picture? “I saw immediate danger and made a call.”

“That wasn’t your job. I told you to stick to the plan.”

“But-”

“No, you need to understand that you’re affected by the rules too. It’s not one for us and one for you, alright?” Steve took a stand. All of a sudden, his height and build made you feel inferior and everything that you had to say would be useless. Steve turned, still undeniably pissed and pointed at your chest. 

“I’m benching you from all future missions.”

“What?” You blurted out. “You can’t-!”

“We all agreed that I was the leader of this mission and I’m making the call, just like you did out on the field.” He said, raising his voice to drown your argument out. “You’re out, Y/n.” 

The air was so thick with tension that Clint could cut it clean with the tip of his arrowhead. The rest of the team didn’t expect Steve to channel his frustrations onto one person alone. Normally, he’d disperse it evenly not excluding himself but today he was on a warpath with one of their most valued members.

No one moved an inch or dared to breath loudly in case one of the two lashed out. Steve held you under his gaze, both unblinking until you scoffed and broke the stare. 

“Copy that, Captain.” You remarked bitterly. Grabbing your gloves from the table, you turned and walked into the open elevator. Silently pressing a hand against the biometric scanner until the doors shut with the sole purpose to take you away. 

Steve sighed and looked away, shaking his head as he realised that the rest of the team were still present. 

“Dismissed.” He told them. Quiet like mice, the Avengers left the room without another word mostly out of exhaustion. They only wanted to shower and rest up for the remainder of the day.

Steve felt a presence linger and turned to see Tony staring at him. 

“You’ve got something to say, Tony?” 

“Yeah actually. Y/n made a not-so-smart move. We get that - hell, they get that. But I think you’re being a bit harsh.” Tony said gently. He knew how to coax Steve out of his angry shell by treading lightly on the border. “I understand that you want Y/n safe because you like them but-”

“I love them, Tony.” Steve confessed softly and shook his head, ridding his mind of the delicate emotion and returned to being the disappointed leader. “That’s beside the point. They’re reckless and unpredictable and it can make or break a team out on the field.”

Tony let out a loud exhale and rolled out his shoulders to relax his aching muscles. He took a sip from his green smoothie and patted Steve on the arm before gulping down the drink. 

“Reckless is what Y/n does for people they care for. They would jump into the pits of hell for any one of us.” He explained. “But, Rogers, you need to remember that they’re more than just an Avenger - especially to you - and if you’re not careful, you’ll push Y/n further into the fire. The difference is that they’ll be unscathed and you’re the one who’s going to burn.”

~ More imagines here ~

[nexusnyx]

So much love to you sweetheart! Major congrats on hitting 10! That’s SUCH a huge achievement! You deserve 10,000 more and you *know it*.

Can I ask for…

🖊️ Breath-hitching when they get close with Joel? I feel like it’s such a JOEL thing. His expression stays the same, his body language is stiff, but he can’t deny the way his heart stops when you’re nearby 🥹

SO MUCH LOVE TO U

So, there you go tingling all the right bits in my brain. I love the idea of tension with Joel because he's just soooo serious, isn't he? I wanna thank you first of all, babes, idk if I'll ever make it to 10k more but just knowing you think I deserve it is good enough. — main masterlist | fireplace celebration | 🏷️: established relationship, soft!Joel, pet names, mentions of smut, minors DNI; [WC: 1.2k]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ˗ˏˋ꒰ edges start to burn꒱

This thing with Joel was new. Tentative, and big.

It was like a dip in deep ocean, something you have only one clear memory of.

After dancing around each other for far too long, he’d done something about the tension that was born in the air every time the two of you were alone, and now, it was like getting to know Joel all over again. All the nervousness, the electric shocks whenever he bumped into you or talked too close to your ears—everything it took you goddamn months to get used to, and the fact that it now came with more.

It was torture, and yet, you both loved it.

Since the kiss after the campfire, now Joel smiled at you differently.

You’d seen it the first time after he pulled away, his hands still cupping your neck and his arms around you holding you back from collapsing on the floor in a thousand tiny pieces. He was smiling. It was—shy. Coy. A little cocky, too, specially with the smugness in his voice when he said, “open your eyes, darlin’.”

Joel became a hazard to your health.

Every time he inched closer, it made the oxygen in your body to behave funny—it stilled. His voice and his presence were like the zero degree hit mark, and you became ice under his touch before you melted away.

He takes it slow.

Painfully slow, if anyone asked you, but it’s still fine. Joel’s look has a promise of something bigger, and it keeps you on your toes. It’s better that he grows you used to the curling in your toes when he kisses you long and deep, or trail his hands on your body.

That’s how you’ll survive something more—dosed on him.

Joel crawls inside of you like something wild. He comes in bit by bit, trusting your smiles the more they come. He takes a while before allowing you to caress him the same you he loves doing you.

While his hands have trailed almost all of your body — trembling, shaking, breathing through the assistance of his own breath too close to yours and his gaze holding a dark cloud over you, his whispers of ‘it’s ok, darlin’—feels good, doesn’t it? I like seein’ you squirm like this’ driving you into a foggy haze — that was all that happened. Joel kissed you and ground your hips into his, letting you claw at his scalp and hold onto him for dear life, but it was only you who fell apart at first.

Then, one day, your hands traveled underneath his shirt, and sighed, melting into it.

Not away from it. Joel continued his ministrations, sighing deeper into the kiss, opening up beneath you.

Getting underneath Miller’s layers was similar to bringing an untamed horse inside close borders—it came with drawing boundaries, and going through them slowly. Surely.

Joel opened up about his past before he could feel comfortable to get naked for you.

It was like he needed you to see him before seeing the rest. A map of scars and a long past.

It’s intense, and more than you expected, but not in a bad way. It’s real.

He’s so Joel that you know him better than you knew people who grew up around you. He understood the deepest and darkest parts of you, shrugging them off as if they were nothing.

Joel showered you in compliments whenever he could, much like you did with him. Yours always came out much shier than his, but he blushed at them all the same.

On a Sunday, you wake up to the smell of coffee and find him in the kitchen with your vinyl player turning the whole place into a dream. Maybe it’s the Spring air outside, and the pink light streaming through your glass, or maybe it’s him—

Joel’s leaning on the counter, shirtless. It’s definitely him.

Or maybe you’re still dreaming.

“What are you doing here?” you ask. 

He spins around with the mug in his lips, but you see the smile behind it. Your smile.

He gives you a curt nod, then uses his free hand to make a come hither gesture.

You walk towards him, drunk in sleep and the view you’re graced with, and then walk until your body is all pressed on his. Your arms wrap around his waist, and Joel sips his coffee before putting the mug down behind him. He then hugs properly, putting his face on his neck. “Mornin’ to you, too.”

You chuckle. “Sorry. Thought I was still dreaming there for a sec.”

“Is that so?” His breath tickles your neck, and you nuzzle your nose in his hair. He’s been using the coconut shampoo you gave him, finally. “Didn’t know you dreamt about me being indecent that often.”

Heat burned in your cheeks, and you were thankful for being hidden in the crook of his neck. “Shut up.” You feel him pulling back to look at you. “You know what I mean.”

“I might know what you mean, yeah.” Joel laughs a little. “I told ya I’d be dropping by the first day that it was hot early in the mornin’ to get a look at your window. I washed the dishes and saw the sink was drippin’, too, so I fixed that. Might’ve gotten sprayed in the process.”

“So handy, Miller.”

He leans until his lips were brushing on yours to answer, “You knew that already,” in a whisper.

It was way too early to be trembling like this, “Unlike some people, I haven’t had my coffee yet.” It comes out a little breathless.

Joel hums thoughtfully at you, and presses a kiss on your waiting lips either way.

How could you be so delusional to think you’d need coffee when he was here. Joel’s better than coffee. Sharper, too.

When he kisses you like this, it made you remember the hidden books in Elena’s secret library that you read when you were younger. The ones you wished you could take it home and read until all the light went out of the sky—lines and thousands of words of exactly this; his hands felt hot. They made your body respond like a magnet.

Joel left a trail of heat wherever his hands passed by, and it woke you up much faster than caffeine would dream of.

Your own moans your muffled to your ears by the sound of his soft sighing, and that was all you needed to press harder into him; slithering your body on his. Joel responded by untangling from you with his heavy breathing and his smile turned up a thousand watts. “I really like this ‘just woke up’ look on ya,” he says before dipping to kiss along your neck.

Your only answer is a whine, and trying to control the desire to start climbing him as you had times before.

His skin is so hot under your palms that they’ve been running all over his back as kissed you lazy and awake, and you can feel the dampness in your underwear because of the way he squeezed your thighs and your ass.

When Joel nibbles on a sensitive part of your neck, you whine louder. Whine his name.

“‘kay, ok, I hear you.” Joel then scoops you up by your ass, pulling a surprised yelp from you. “C’mon,” he laughs.

He makes his way to your bedroom, and you think—definitely still dreaming. You’ll believe it’s real when you eat something.

Maybe him.

🏷 @sakuralikestars — @mostardentily — @thegreat-annamaria — @leiticia — @polyglot-noodle — @casssiopeiaaa — @levylovegood — @simply-sams-things — @lavenderhhze — @gracie7209 — @waywardwolfbonklight — @shadytalething — @yesimwriting — @celestialstar111 — @averysblog — @pedrostories — @fleursirvart — @sirtommyholland — @capbrie — @hawsx3 — @superflymaterial — @ashleyforeverareject — @girlofchaos — @queerponcho — @am-3-thyst — @nyotamalfoy — @my-tearsricochet — @ponyboys-sunsets — @peqchsoup

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ* . join my Fireplace celebration. * | send me mail 💌

[lanitalay]

Renegade  Eris x Rhysand's sister!reader

Summary: inspired By big Red Machine and Taylor's song Renegade, Reader can't stand to see Eris suffer.

Warnings: canon typical mentions of violence and injuries

There was nowhere for me to stay but I stayed anyway.

The High Lord’s sister wiped the tears from her eyes before they had a chance to fall. “Eris, please” she’s been pleading with him for so long. He continues pacing “the timing isn’t right, y/n.” She’s not surprised to hear him say that. The promise to overthrow his father so that they could finally be free was something he had said to her the moment the bond snapped, years ago. She looks away from him and out the window.

“It will never be right.”

Eris stops his pacing when he hears the telling quiver in her voice. “My love, I am trying to do everything right so when the time comes you’ll have a stable Court to call home.”

Snow is falling, covering the path to the small cabin near the Winter border. “If you are doing this for me then let me help you.” He walks over to where she is and wraps his arms around her waist. “It’s too dangerous,” he says softly, as if it would make his words less infuriating.

“You need help Eris, you can’t do it all on your own” she turns in his arms and continues “I can ask my brother for back up, Beron won’t stand a chance against half of Autumn and all of Night.” He rests his forehead on her shoulder “you forget he’s allied with Kier and the Court of Nightmares.”

She sags, and this time the tears fall freely. “Eris, I don’t know how much longer I can watch you kill yourself for him” she turns fully and brings her hand to his face. Today he has a gash on his cheekbone, it is already healing but when he showed up the blood covered half his face, flowing down his neck like a fountain. She ghosts her finger over the coagulated blood. “It hurts me more than you know.”

His eyes are closed. Soaking up her touch and wincing at her words. “I am getting closer every day” she retracts her hand at the empty promise.

“I need a timeline.”

He shakes his head “at least another year.” 

She was making soup on the crackling wood stove when Eris came in, dripping blood.

Beron was violent but never like this.

He tumbled in and collapsed on top of the kitchen table. Her stomach turned as she saw hundreds of jagged pieces of glass embedded in the skin of his back.

“Eris, stay awake. Tell me what happened.” She quickly got to work. Finding tweezers and a bowl to begin to take out the shards. “He was going to execute a farmer for stealing grain from the Court’s reserves and I stepped in,” he coughs, “later he called me to his office and he had a bed of broken glass waiting for me. Before I could block his attack he threw me into the pile.”

She cursed loudly. If she knew anything about how Beron deals out his punishments she was sure that once eris was on his back and rendered defenseless his sadistic fathers kept him down, stopping on his stomach with a heavy boot.

“I’ll be fine, love. Just get the glass out so it can heal”.

She takes out a piece so long it takes extra effort to not throw up. “It is not alright Eris, that male is a monster. I’ll kill him myself for this.” He winces as she pulls out another shard.

“You can’t.” She huffs,  “I can and I will”. Half an hour later she has removed every piece of glass from his back, she brings over a disinfectant tonic and gives him a rag to bite down on as she pours the liquid over his raw flesh. His groans of agony twist her heart in and she promises to herself that she will have Beron’s head.

Eris passes out half way through her stitching the bigger wounds shut so they heal faster. She packs snow on his back to help with the swelling and irritation of the trauma and sits down next to him. Running her fingers through his long, red hair and counting his freckles until the sun comes up and he wakes up. His back is better in the morning and he can move around with only a bit of soreness. She helps him bathe and put on fresh clothes.

He kisses her “I’ll be back.” Her hand grabs his before he can winnow “you need help Eris, last night was too close. If you hadn’t had the energy to winnow here you’d be dead or close to it.”

He kisses her hand and says “it was a mistake, but I’ll be fine” squeezing her hand once before leaving. 

The next time they see each other Eris thinks he will die. She was at the Forest House. He could barely breathe. Barely keep his mask on. Watching in horror as she is escorted to Beron's private quarters. Her gaze never meets his as she walks right in front of him and into the lion’s den. 

She had sealed off the bond, just like he had a million times before.

An hour after arriving, she left. 

That night, Eris winnowed to the cabin and found her leisurely reading a novel, he scoffed. “Are you insane?”

She doesn’t look up. “I’m reading.” He picks up the book. His eyes were raging with fire. “What was that?” She shrugged. “Y/n I’m serious, you could have a price on your head.” She yanked her book out of his grasp “I handled it.”

He pales. “What?”

“I handled it, by morning you’ll be High Lord.” He grabs her shoulders and looks in her eyes, hoping to see the glimmer of a lie. “It wasn’t time yet.” She rolls her eyes.

“Eris, he was going to kill you. You didn’t see just how close the glass had come to severing your arteries. He had no intention in keeping you around for long and I was not going to stand by and watch it happen.” She grabs his hand and brings it to her chest “you aren’t alone in this, I’m here. I’ll help you every step of the way. Your burdens are mine, remember?” Knowing that bridging their vows up would soften him. A reminder of their commitment to each other. “You’re not the first person to need somebody.” She kisses him and pours all her love down the bond, flooding him with it.

By morning it was a new age for the Autumn Court. News of Beron's death had spread like wildfire.

The villagers were saying he was cursed by a witch. Only y/n knew that his organs were torn up and ripped apart by a million microscopic shards of glass.

[catyo90]

Fighting Fate: Chapter 2

Ch.1,

(Wow you guys really wanted a continuation of this....well who the heck am I to deny yall. Consider this a confirmed series that I will write out. Enjoy!!!)

-

Ganondorf smiled to himself as he overlooked his kingdom, to see the women and children going about their days as the sounds of the desert surrounded the area with the sun beginning to set for the day. He looked over his shoulder to see Zelda at his desk writing out a letter to be sent to all of the realms as to inform of the union that would come to pass. He couldn’t help but find it a bit funny that she needed a plush pillow in order to sit properly as the desk was much bigger.

He knew that this union would be a difficult one to accept, but if he was truly to insure his peoples freedom then he would be willing. But in the back of his mind he knew this union was not entirely unwelcome. She was a fair and wise girl for such a young age and his attempt to wed Sonia was never going to come to pass, he scoffed at the memory of when he first saw Queen Sonia when both of them were teens. She was just as beautiful as she was now, but years of being apart caused them to drift apart, especially when he found out her betrothal to the Zonai. A memory that would haunt him for the rest of his days.

A small tap on his arm made him flinch ever so slightly as he looked down to see Zelda holding the finished letters.

“You wished to over look the letters did you not?” She asked as he nodded to her and took them to read them. In short they were a simple and none showed of any fear or warning of their union. The ones to the Zora, Goron and Rito were straight to the point and offered comforting words in showing that the union was agreed by both parties. The one written to the hyrulian though were written more as a sign of peace, saying more how the Gerudo were treating her fairly and how no hostility was found with him. It was strange to see how she wrote positive words of his people when many hyrulian saw most Gerudo as thieves and warriors with no mercy.

“They are acceptable. I will have my fastest riders send them to your guards at the border then they can deliver them to each realm.”

“Before you do there is one matter you still need to do.”

He gave her puzzled look as she handed him the quill. 

“A show of good faith with your signature and mine on each of them will show that there is no hidden agendas or tricks for the others to worry for.”

He scoffed.

“As if they would care for what I think. They will never truly trust us.” He gestured out to the kingdom.

“Then make them. I promise you...it will help. They will see that you truly wish for peace, trust me on this matter King Ganondorf.”

He was about to speak out once more but he knew there was no point, she was quite headstrong and stubborn, she would make a better Gerudo than Hylian with such traits. He walked over to the desk and signed his name at the bottom of each letter and she signed her own name next to his.

“Perfect, now they may be sent out. She said walking up to one of the women guards who kneeled down and took them bowing her head to both of them leaving them in the room by themselves.

Ganondorf simply shook his head pinching the bridge of his nose realizing that there would be even more political matters in the future. Something a warrior king truly hated...maybe even more the idea of swearing fealty to Rauru.

Zelda turned her gaze to him and softly coughed to get his attention.

“If you would be willing...I would like to see more of your kingdom. Perhaps a walk around the city before it gets too dark.”

He thought on it for a moment before walking over to the throne grabbing his blade in hand. As he motioned for her to follow him. She did so trying to match his speed, every step he took would be equal to three of her own. She watched as he walked ahead of her down the main stairs to see the women guards she had come with were being offered some fruits and drinks as some of the Gerudo women placed fabrics down on the ground clearly showing good faith. The guards noticed her walking with him and for a moment were about to stand up at attention until she waved a hand at them for them to be at ease. It pleased her to see that not all of the Gerudo seemed to hate the Hylians, perhaps staying in his domain would truly help the kingdoms relations.

They both turned at the corner of one of the alleyways to where she saw a few of the small shops, most with food and clothes where she saw other traveling hylians offering trade. She had heard that Ganondorf was open to the trade of the people who were wondering the deserts as not all Hylians were sworn to the crown and preferred the life of being on the open road.

“King Ganondorf!” She heard the sound of multiple small footsteps running their direction to see many young kids run up to their king were he leaned down smiling at each of them gently rubbing their heads messing up their hair in the process. One of the children snuck up behind and climbed up his back making him sigh as they tried to topple him over with no success. Zelda smiled and couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. She saw his gaze fall on her for a moment before the children stood behind him looking over at her. Clearly a bit nervous to see a hylian of her stature. She could see them whispering to him and suddenly he chuckled to himself as he pointed to her and whispered them something that made them all smile and run up to her.

“Lady Zelda come with us! Please you’ll want to meet them.”

“Yes please miss you with love them they are the cutest sand seals.”

“oh I suppose...alright...woah” She said as the girls gently pulled her hand forward and some gently pushed her legs forward. The sigh made Gannon smirk to himself as he walked behind them carrying two of the girls on his shoulder as they gripped his hair laughing as he walked.

Zelda saw the children bringing her to a side stable where a large pen was. The children let go of her hands and ran to the fence to look at the sand for any vibrations. Zelda as well was a bit curious as she looked at the sand with them until a small rumble could be seen but then disappeared.

“Aw no fair, they must be sleeping.”

“Well perhaps all they need is to hear his call.” one of the children said looking up at Ganondorf. He rolled his eyes for a moment as he spoke.

“They are not sleeping children...they are simply waiting.”

Zelda looked curiously at her and then back at the sand when suddenly two of the biggest sand seals she had ever seen pounced out of the ground bringing their heads to the top of the pen.

“In the name of the goddess...they are huge. I never imagined they grew this big” Zelda said as the children laughed and smiled as they walked up to them giving them pets. Ganon walked beside her putting the two children on his shoulder on the ground.

“They have to be, they are mine to command and ride. None of the smaller ones could handle me.”

“Oh...” She said as got a better look at them as they licked the children's hands and faces. One had much more grey than brown fur with a red mane with larger tusks than the other. The other while the same size had blueish fur with a white mane to match. She saw one of the children pick up a whole melon from the side of the pen and offered it to them, eating it in one big bite.

“Miss, here  here your turn.” one of the children offered a smaller piece of melon to her pulling her closer to them. Zelda smiled as she broke the piece in half offering both of them. The seals hummed to themselves as they each ate them so quick that it almost surprised her. They licked her hands and gently nuzzled their mouth toward her hands trying to lick up the juice left on them. She started to laugh at the feeling as she watched the children smiling and laughing with her. Ganondorf watched with a bit of surprise and curiosity. 

Most hylians were not used to sand seals yet she seemed to be completely at ease around them, it was as if she had seen them before yet he knew she had never been to his kingdom before, he simply chalked it up to her having seen them when she arrived but still it was a bit odd.

Suddenly the sound of a spear hitting the ground was heard as two women stood behind looking to the children.

“Children the moon is out, you should head home for the night. You will all need your rest to become great warriors.”

The children looked a bit disappointed as they simply nodded as Ganondorf held a hand out to the warrior women giving the children a moment before leaning down to them and putting his blade away from their sight as he opened his arms out to them and offered a giant hug making each of them smile and laugh as he lifted them from the ground as if they weighed nothing. They all laughed as he placed them down on the ground running off into the directions of their homes. he smiled to himself before looking over to Zelda who was utterly shocked.

The demon king that she knew would never have done that, heck it was almost impossible for her to even imagine. Yet here he was offering them kind actions like a father would to his children. 

“So surprised to see such acts from their King...” He said a bit coldly to her thinking the look she gave him was one of judgement.

“No. Its...its just nice to see they are enjoying their childhoods...I never really had such an option.” She grew a bit saddened as the memories of her father constantly criticizing her for her interests in the tech and the loss of her childhood when her mother passed. She honestly couldn’t recall the last time her father made her smile like that. 

He looked ashamed of himself for what he said. He should have known that being related to the royal hyrulian family was no easy task, after all the responsibility was not unknown to him. She looked to see Ganondorf facial expression change as he looked at his sand seals and then out at the gate leading into the desert and immediately a thought came to his mind.

“Did you still wish to see the lands of my kingdom?”

‘Of course.”

He hummed to himself for a moment as he whistled to the his seals that perked up their ears and immediately ran to the front of the gate. She watched as Ganon tied a small supply back on to the back and checked the ropes tied to the gigantic sled, he stood on it and checked the ropes before offering his hand to her.

“Your not afraid now are you? Tough girl.” He said with a small smirk.

She shook her head as she took his hand letting her stand in front of him with his arms on either side holding onto the handle of the sled. He kicked up the reins and in an instant the seals ran off into the vast ocean of the sand. She felt her whole body hit into the front of his as she tried to keep herself stable until she felt his arm wrapped around her midsection. She couldn’t help herself by grabbing his arm, to be both surprised and maybe perhaps a bit welcome at the gesture . The sand seals rushed into the dunes past multiple sinkholes almost too close for comfort, jumping out of the sand so quickly made her whole body lift off the sled a bit making her laugh but also scream surprisingly as she saw them climbing through the thick desert sand up the hills to see a small oasis that seemed to be void of any people. The cool desert air pricked her skin as she felt the grains of sand cling to her skin and clothes. The seals stopped just a bit short of the small oasis shaking off their fur as Ganondorf looked down at her only to laugh loudly at the sight. Her hair was slightly a mess and still she clung onto his arm with her legs shaking a bit.

“That was....that was not what I expected.”

“Hahaha. Perhaps you would want to try it again so you get used to it.”

“No, no, I'm fine with us stopping here...” She said looking down at her hand on his arm, immediately feeling her ears getting a bit warmer as she quickly moved it to fix her hair. 

“You...you can let go of me now.”

“Are you sure about that?” He said moving his arm lower so she was sitting on it lifting her up to his eye level.

“I wouldn’t want my new bride to hurt herself.”

“Y.....yes I am very sure...please.”

“As you wish.”

He smiled to himself as he placed her back on the ground as he stood off of the sled untying the ropes allowing the seals to drink from the oasis. He looked behind him to see Zelda looking out into the now illuminated sands by the moon. The wind howling into the night as the faint hue of the kingdoms lights could be seen. He breathed in the night air, moments like this reminded why he was fighting so hard for his people. He knew what the other realm thought and in truth he couldn’t have cared less. All he really wanted was freedom, both for his people and himself. For years he hated that the knowledge of Demise’s curse flowing through his blood made all those who looked upon him as nothing but a monster. The moment from his birth he was told that he would lead the people to their true value...yet he would be hated and feared by all. Perhaps it was foolish of him to hope that he could change his fate. 

Suddenly he felt his sand seals leaning on him offering a comforting nudge of their heads as he pet them. He leaned over to the sled and untied the rug that he kept with him in case he was to scout for days on end along with his troops. He placed it down on the hard ground as he watched his older seal sitting behind him as the  younger seal lay down beside him breathing slowly knowing fully well the children must have fed them more than they thought they could handle.

As he looked over Zelda and noticed she was shivering. The moon light glazed over her skin making her look almost like a holy spirit as the dress she wore which was lightly covered in sand blew in the air in time with her hair. Yet she was still a sight for sore eyes, truly one he didn’t expect to enjoy.

“Lady Zelda...” He said seeing her turn around gripping her arms as she noticed him sitting down beside his seals with an arm gesturing to the spot next to him. The moon illuminating his body in a low glow as the gold accessories he wore gleamed in the light. His vibrant red hair surrounding his frame as the loose Gerudo clothes blew in the wind. She was now completely nervous. Why was he being like this to her? They were not wed and yet he was acting completely differently than she ever expected. This man was the reason for all the pain in her time, Mipha, Urbosa, Revali and Daruk. All of them died by his hand, the pain inflected on her kingdom and Link.

Link... She had almost forgotten that he was searching for her in their time. But she knew the choice she made was for the best. By marrying him, all the deaths and suffering that happened will never come to pass. But then again there was no true guarantee that it would happen...after all with the blood of the goddess in her veins and Demise in him...fate might be cruller to them than any past incantations. She would not allow such a fate to happen again...not if she could stop it. 

“You’ll freeze if you just stand there.” He said this time patting the rug as if it were no big deal.

She simply nodded in agreement as she sat next to him as the younger of the seal cuddled up to her allowing all the warmth to return to her body. She looked up at Ganondorf and spoke.

“...Thank you. In truth I did not think you to be like this to a woman you barely knew...seeing as we both have strange fates...”

“You should know by now that I am not a complete and utter monster. I am a man first and a king second. Whatever the other realms see in me...I will change that fate. No matter how it must be done.”

He looked down at her.

“I can see in your eyes that you wished at some point that you never had the blood of the goddess in your veins...for what reason you need not tell me...but clearly your family sees you as thing to be relished on a pedestal...a holy figure.”

She saw him look up at the stars and sighed. She knew what he meant, living a normal life was never going to happen. She had to grow up fast and learn to fight off the Calamity since she was very young. While the protecting the realm was more than enough a reason to do it...it was never truly enough for those around her. Only the champions and Link truly understood her and yet...here she was sitting with their enemy so to be wed and in truth felt that he too understood her struggle. 

“I do hope that this...” She gestured to both of them.

“Will truly work.”

“We will have to wait and see.” He said leaning back. When he felt her lay her head against his arm which surprised him seeing her gently petting the younger seals head making it hum in appreciation. He could feel his heart beat ever so quickly at the sight as a small blush came upon his face as he ran a hand through his hair trying to ignore it. 

“King Ganondorf....”

“Hmm.”

“I meant to ask, what are there names” she said pointing to the seals.

He pointed to the bigger one and then to the smaller one.

“ Cerbofog and Tuguk.” the seals moved their heads in response but soon calmed down and layed back down in the sand.

“Really...Huh...”

“What? They are Gerudo warrior names. What would you name them?”

“Well...personally they look more like Blubber and Flipper to me...”

The look on his face was one of pure cringe at the idea of the names for him being so...casual. It didn’t help that when she called them that they actually looked up with wide smiling faces barking in excitement. 

“See...even they like the idea of nicknames like that.” She said rubbing their fur causing them to roll over in pure joy as she ruffled up their manes in a friendly manner. He was never gonna the hear the end of this from her. But the sight of her laughing as the newly appointed Blubber and Flipper loved on her even more than before made him sigh to himself...for once...in a very long time did he feel peace.

[reimeichan]

I'm really starting to enjoy the stage of DID recovery I'm at. It's got a funkiness to it that I don't see others talk about all that much, where it's like... kinda hard to pinpoint what state my system is in at any point in time, but not distressingly so? And also not in a dissociative way like before. It's like, I'm able to feel all these bits of me flowing in and out of my consciousness and sense of identity and I lack any sort of solid definition of what this version of me wants to be or what my destination is. I'm just kinda going with the flow now instead of trying to steer us in any particular direction.

It's definitely a lot less stressful than it used to be and it feels like my brain has calmed down pretty significantly. It's less noisy in my head and I'm now realizing some of that was because there were parts of me who felt like they couldn't be heard before now don't feel the need to scream and bang on the walls to be noticed. And because we're less dissociated from each other, we can more immediately share thoughts and feelings instead of having to manually pass those things around to each other.

I've still got that ADHD buzz, but I'm now realizing the way I described it as being "50 trains of thoughts all at once" or "having 50 tabs open and all of them are playing different audio" no longer feels like it properly describes my experiences anymore. It's more like... I have a game running and that's the main thing I'm focusing on, but I also have a youtube video guide for something I'm trying to do in the game, while I'm also got notepad open to take notes, and another window open to crosscheck information. And maybe a couple random tabs open that are completely unrelated. Still got a lot of tabs and windows up, but they're more aligned to the same or similar purpose.

I do still have the different parts and alters and we still have new (as in unknown or undocumented) parts showing up pretty much daily, but they tend to get caught up to speed fairly quickly and even the ones who are very split off from the rest of the system don't feel as scary to handle (and feel less scared themselves) since we have such a strong support network and various other tools and resources at our disposal. I still feel like we're generally different and separate parts, but we also blend and fuse and influence each other in ways that feel a lot more fluid. Instead of having to purposefully communicate things with each other every time it's now a lot more instant and the hard barriers between each of us feel more and more arbitrary as the days go on. Kinda like looking at a map? Where you see the borders on the map, but at the end of the day you remove all of that and the landscape tells a different story and shows how all those "countries" are actually connected and one giant landmass. And those borders are still important to understand how they're there and why they exist, but it's not the whole story and can actually distract you from the bigger picture.

I dunno, I know I'm definitely in a transitional period of my healing and that's why things feel so vague and nebulous but I'm not complaining. If anything I'm pretty excited for what's to come.

[wanderersbell]

hi can i please ask for some scara angst to fluff? maybe like an arguement? anything is fine :) imgoing insane your writing is so good 💜💜💜💜

when you have an argument

wanderer x gn!reader

genre: angst, fluff

warnings: none

word count: 1312

a/n: hi thank you for the request! sorry if it's a bit messy, writing arguments is a little harder than i thought as someone who is very non-confrontational, but i definitely want to get better at it in the future (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ enjoy!

arguments don’t happen nearly as often as you might think. not full blown ones anyways, bickering is a daily occurrence between the two of you, but they’re full of empty words and sarcasm that has become an inside joke over time. 

however, even with all of the progress he’s made, the wanderer’s short temper is very much still an integral part of him. when those moments present themselves, you always find yourself at a loss. 

when those bad days happen, it’s like he’s an entirely different person. his usually empty threats seem to be full of venom, and he won’t engage in any of your typical antics with you. it goes left unsaid that it’s no doubt related to his past, but even that remains a mystery to you still, so you never know how to approach the situation. 

on one hand you know you can only do so much, you can’t force him to open up if he’s not ready and he has every right to want to be alone, but he won’t leave you alone on these days. he follows you around like a shadow, like he’s waiting for you to do something, but you have no idea what.

you know better than to take it personally by now, but it’s an exhausting ordeal all the same. 

“stop doing that.” he snaps, sending you a sharp glare. 

“stop doing what?“ your tone grows increasingly more frustrated by the second from trying so hard to grasp onto the loose ends that make up the wanderer, just to find them too short or entirely broken altogether. 

“acting like you understand,” his voice is strained and just bordering on a shout, as if it’s taking every ounce of his willpower not to yell. “just give it up already, quit trying to make me feel better. you can’t just magically fix what already happened.”

you inhale sharply at his words and dig your nails into your palms in an attempt to keep yourself calm, the dull pain just barely doing it’s job to clear your head and let you think. this argument has been building up for weeks, silently growing bigger in the background every time something from his past started bothering him and he became defensive when you tried to help. 

he’s been through a lot, has a past so full of pain and grief that you’d never be able to comprehend it, it’s only natural that it would be a touchy subject so you know it’s only partially his fault, but the issue lies in the fact that he’ll get equally as upset if you don’t help and give him his space instead. there’s no way to predict when these things will come up, and no way to predict which side of him you’ll see because of it. sometimes he’s receptive of your attempts at comforting him and lets himself be vulnerable with you, but the rest of the time, this happens. 

“what, so you just want me to stand here and ignore you every time you have a bad day?” you ask with more sarcasm than you intended, any possibility of this conversation happening peacefully being snuffed out on the spot. 

the wanderer scoffs. “isn’t that what you do anyways? you sure don’t seem to care most of the time.”

“you-“ the words nearly get caught in your throat as they rush out of you. “because you never tell me anything! how am i supposed to know how to help when you don’t want me to help?”

his eyes narrow as you say this and the intensity of the rage simmering in his irises sends a spike of fear down your spine for a split second. “i don’t want your help, so mind your own business.”

you can only watch quietly as he turns and storms off, probably to calm himself down or take his anger out on something else, and heave a defeated sigh at the whole situation. your heart aches for him as you walk back inside of the house and curl up on  the bed by yourself to wait for him. 

it’s hard to even be mad at him for lashing out like this, given it happens so rarely and you know he doesn’t mean it, but you also know that you don’t deserve to be treated like that so it leaves you conflicted and bone tired as the day fades into dusk while you lay unmoving on the soft blankets. 

when he finally returns a few hours later, his footsteps are light and apologetic as he walks through the door. his eyes are rimmed with red like he had been rubbing at them, and when he notices you laying in bed his face falls and he approaches hesitantly as you sit up. you stare at him wordlessly for a few seconds before finally breaking the silence. 

“are you okay?” 

his eyebrows shoot up like he wasn’t expecting the question and he blinks at you twice in surprise. “you’re… asking me if i’m okay?”

when you nod and tilt your head in confusion he brings his hand up to his forehead and exhales heavily. “of course i’m okay, are you okay?”

you hum affirmatively without even thinking about it and he clicks his tongue before setting his hat down and sitting beside you. “liar,” he says softly. he frowns down at his hands and you can tell he’s trying to sort out his words, so you give him a few moments to do so and cant help but fidget with your top while you wait. 

“i know i over reacted, and i'm sorry,” he finally starts. when he turns his gaze to yours his eyes are full of sincerity, but there’s a deeply rooted sadness behind them as well, one that gives away how fed up he is with himself. “why do you keep me around, even when i act like this?”

the answer comes to you so easily you aren’t even thinking when you reach out and grab his hand in yours. “because you’re important to me.” you respond earnestly, lightly squeezing his fingers. his frown deepens for a moment before disappearing altogether. 

“that’s foolish.” he sighs, trying to ignore the warmth in his cheeks from your touch. “what if i can never open up to you?”

“you don’t need to,” you respond honestly. the wanderer gives you a doubtful look but waits for you to continue. “you don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, i just need to know what i can do to make it better.“

he gazes down at your joined hands with a twisted pout. “and what if i never get better?” he asks quietly and so hesitantly that you almost miss it and you can hear the centuries of hurt in the way his voice quivers. his eyes follow as you slowly lift his hand to your lips and press a soft kiss against his knuckles. “you will,” you whisper against his skin while the tension melts off of his face. 

instead of saying anything else, in a rare moment of him initiating physical contact, he lets his head fall forward until it lands in the crook of your neck, his arms snaking their way around your waist to hold your body against his tightly. you immediately relax into his embrace and rest your head against the top of his, arms curling around his shoulders firmly. 

“i’ll keep trying,” he mumbles against your neck, his warm breath fanning over your skin. you can’t help but smile softly and hold him just a bit tighter, thankful to have him back home after being alone for most of the day. though things still remain unfixed, and many more arguments are sure to come as he continues to heal, you know with absolute certainty that you’ll get through it together. 

[zeestarfishalien]

Part 11: One Way to Shake Me Up

[Master Post | Next]

Jason would like to comment upon an incredible feature humans have which is adaptability. He’s managed to completely reroute his life and daily routine around a body on a dining table and the spectral dog attached to said body.

He has a smaller two person table which he eats at and otherwise ignores the bigger table with its carefully laid artifacts, runes, and body. It’s kind of in the way so it’s rather impressive the way it’s become just another part of the scenery for Jason. At least it’s like that until he noticed that Spooky goes back into their body every night after Jason himself had gone to bed.

The first time Spooky didn’t climb back out of their body when Jason got up in the afternoon, he nearly panicked trying to find the spirit. He’d like to say he’s gotten better since then…but that would be a lie. Jason can’t quite help that spike of fear every time it takes Spooky a while to be coaxed from their body. They’re struggling with something and can’t communicate what it is. It’s frustrating and worrisome and Zatanna says it’s fine but she doesn’t see the way they look at their body sometimes, like it might eat them.

Yet every night they go back…and every night Jason wishes he could communicate fully with his roommate. There’s a desperation in Spooky’s eyes, something in the way they watch Jason talk or cook or fiddle around with gear in his off time. But the quiver in their legs they can’t quite get to stop for several minutes some days cuts Jason deep. His chest aches for his friend.

He’s not quite sure when exactly he shoved out any lingering hesitation about Spooky. A lot earlier than he likely would have for anyone else though and if Spooky does turn out to be bad news, Jason is going to suffer a lot. He’s attached. Very attached. Spooky is fully a part of his life and he really kind of likes it.

It’s the little things, the way that Spooky nudges his hand when they want his attention (usually to show him a bug or random trinket) or tucks their tail over their eyes when they’re pouting or feigning indifference. They watch movies together and Spooky follows him like a little duckling whenever he’s within their prescribed radius.

It’s not until Jason is ranting to Damian, Alfred, and Cass at Thursday tea time that a solution is presented. It’s presented in the form of a delirious Tim stumbling into the room half asleep.

“You should just put the alphabet on your floor. Or just one of those phrase button things people get for their animals.” He then promptly passes out. It’s ridiculously obvious now that Jason thinks about it and he can’t believe it took a nearly comatose genius to point it out to him. Cass is snickering at something dumb that’s definitely not Jason’s face (hint: it is), so Jason jabs her in the side. At least he tries to.

The smug smirks all around the table are all the response he gets for his antics.

“You know what,” Jason scoots his chair out and makes to stand, “I don’t need to take this.”

“Come now Master Jason. I do believe your friend Spooky can wait until after tea,” Alfred points out, painfully hitting the nail on the head. It’s only because it’s Alfred that Jason sits back down and doesn’t even glare.

The rest of their teatime passes uneventfully and all too slowly in Jason’s opinion. It’s all he can do to sit there feigning serenity, holding his legs perfectly still so they don’t bounce in anticipation.

He’d like to say that he made a swift but not suspiciously swift exit, the smirks on his sibling’s faces said otherwise. Even Alfred had a knowing glint in his eye as he bid Jason a good evening.

Well fuck them!

No, not really…he loves them he’s just anxious and excited and his gut is churning. He might finally have a way to communicate better with Spooky.

He definitely did Not border on the edge of speeding to get back home just a little bit faster.

He’s still careful to make sure no one sees him use the secret entrance to Damian’s little base.

It’s Damian’s. Not his. Not home (but it feels like home).

It doesn’t even have half a kitchen, just a mini fridge and a microwave oven, both of which Jason brought in himself.

They’re gone…

There’s no sign of Spooky in the little one room base they both live in.

It takes Jason 9 minutes to find Spooky pacing the border of their tether to their body. In this case, a rooftop at the end of the block.

Every once in a while they try to go further only for their body to turn to smoke and reform inside the prescribed radius. They return to pacing, eyeing the edge of their limits with a sort of panicked desperation.

“Spooky,” he calls softly. They still startle and skitter farther away. “Hey, it’s just me. Can we go inside?”

They shake their head no, their gaze jumping back to the invisible line they cannot cross.

“I’ve got a way for us to communicate. You can tell me what’s wrong. I’ll do my best to help.”

They spin back to him and he’s seen them desperate but not quite with this same level of agitation, of worry. They’re gaze searching Jason for any hint of a lie or possibly just looking for an affirmation of his words.

“Let’s figure this out together.”

Wowza, here we are. I will fully admit that most of the reason this wasn’t done sooner is that my newest dpxdc fic is taking up my time (and I haven’t even posted any of it yet. Hooo boi…). We’re getting close to some more answers! Next chapter maybe 😉

I’m also back on my Tales of the Land nonsense (a fantasy novel wip) with all the lore building and song writing involved there. Gotta torture my fav half siren thief some more 😈

@rangerhorsetug @treepainting @thatonegirl10 @demiourgias @spooky-fm @antagonisticly @fluffy23sblog @manglethemingle @kyrianclawraith @layyeschips @shepardking @asphyxia778 @ballzfrog @fluffen-spooky @drowningroane @deathsdaisy @malaayna @mistyaltair @potatoeofwisdom @heartsong18 @nixthenerd @icedbluesoul @the-church-grimm @overtherose @sara0055

@dannyphantomphan @nonbinary-disaster @depressed-bitchy-demon @8-29pm @addie-lover-of-stories @lifefilledwithstories @apointlessbox @skulld3mort-1fan @katgirl05 @spookytragedyshark @mandyne-1001 @ascetic-orange @booklover9114 @qualifiedpasta @mouzerequis @fleeting-mists @gin2212 @rollthatcritical @kaitouhime @itsloveleo @litlecameron @phantom-dc @hippityhoppity-iownyourbones @pastalavistamf @kokoroluna @legowerewolf @riasthelustful @agreatcheesecakestudentstuff

@akintoabitch @snowblub @isaactheautobot @jaguarthecat @ventureingonwings

[tigertofu]

Hate to love headcanon between a fem!reader and North Yankton Trevor :)

fuck ya love the whole hate to love thing sm 😭 ...... also im sorry i struggle at making headcanon lists that are just pure n simple LISTS as they should be w/out slipping in some form of narrative sometimes and this prompt just lends itself to a story so well..... so this is some sort of half fic/half headcanon list monster. but hey this was rlly fun to write !!! ty as always for requesting 💞💞

pairing: fem reader/Trevor

summary: headcanons/short fic thing about a hate to love relationship between reader and North Yankton Trevor.

cw's: mentions of sex, alcohol

wordcount: 1,714

for narrative’s sake, let’s say that you are a small–time criminal in one of the many little podunk towns of North Yankton. one day, you catch wind of a new crew that’s set up in the area. four guys: a computer–hacking tech whiz of some sort; a big lug of a brute with a penchant for starting unnecessary barfights; a smaller, scrappier brute who’s already sniffed out and either done business with or scared off all the drug peddlers in town; and a stern ringleader who only barely manages to control his anger issues better than the others.

unbeknownst to you though, this crew has also caught wind of you. and one night, as you’re trudging through the snow to your shitty little studio apartment from the grocery store, a car pulls up alongside you and the window rolls down. the driver introduces himself as Michael. he tells you he’s heard about you; heard about how you’re one of the better thieves in the county. he tells you he’s got work for you, if you’ll take it. and ever the opportunist, you do.

a week later, you head out to meet the rest of the men you’ll be working with. they’re currently squatting in an old, abandoned hunting cabin out in the woods that border town. as you sit down for beers and talk with Michael and the computer guy—who introduces himself as Lester—you get a brief rundown of the crew’s history. they hit banks. this tends to cause a stir, so they’re almost always on the run; they landed in their current safehouse just two weeks before. while Lester and Michael cook up plans for the bigger, more dangerous heists, they make a living off of smaller endeavors. holding up gas stations, gutting truck shipments of electronics that Lester then sells off, sticking up gas stations and liquor stores. this is where you come in: there’s a well–to–do pawn shop in town, and Michael wants to hit it. but the people in your town are weary of outsiders, and the heat from the crew’s last bank job hasn’t died down yet. Michael wants you to go in and case the joint for them and, if you’re up to it, help them hit it.

right after you agree (so long’s you get a fair cut of the profits), the wooden door to the cabin slams open. two men stumble in. their faces are red from the cold and, when they get within your smelling range, you realize from booze, too. one’s tall, built like a truck, blond; the other’s got the scraggly, dark brown ends of a mullet peeking out from the edges of his askew trapper hat. there’s something animalistic in his eyes and in his drunken smirk and when he turns his gaze on you, you realize that despite his disheveled everything, he’s actually quite handsome. and you feel Something. a spark or a pang in your chest.

but then he turns to Michael and slurs, “If we’d’ve known you were getting a call girl tonight, Brad and I wouldn’t’ve stayed out so long!” and that Something instantly snuffs out as you now glare at the man with the mullet. you tell him you aren’t a fucking call girl as Michael lets out an exasperated huff and says “Shut the fuck up, Trevor.” but this Trevor guy has seemingly taken a liking to you. he saunters up to you, wavering on his feet, smirking like a cat with a mouse. asks you if you’re sure you don’t wanna make a bit of money tonight, ‘cuz he’s feeling awful lonely and you’re just a real pretty thing. you roll your eyes, tell Michael to keep in contact with you, and make your leave. you slam the door of the cabin shut on Trevor’s pleas to stick around and have some fun.

as you periodically meet up with Michael’s crew over the course of the next few weeks, your mild distaste for Trevor deepens to downright hate. sure, you think he’s attractive and you find some of his obscene jokes and observations funny, but mostly you just find them disgusting. every time he sees you he tries to coax you into bed with him, or convince you into a quickie in the car, or offers you a hit off his well-loved meth pipe, or asks you out on a date to the local tavern. you decline him every time, each “no” growing firmer and snappier. you don’t know why he makes you so mad. maybe it’s because if only he wasn’t so fucking annoying, you’d have fucked him by now.

the pawn shop heist goes well. so well, in fact, that Michael decides to keep you on for their next job: hitting a electronics store in a town a couple hours’ drive away. he sends you and Trevor alone to scope the place out. at some point during the drive, an argument erupts. Trevor asks you why you hate him. you tell him because. he asks what "because" means. you lose your temper, wondering why he chose to have this conversation now of all times, as you’re driving down an empty country lane through a nighttime snow flurry. you put on the brakes and park up on the side of the road and yell at him that you hate him because he’s disgusting, he’s pushy, and he drives you fucking crazy. as you catch your breath from your tirade, he is ominously silent. and then, in a low rumble that makes you feel things you wish it didn’t, he tells you that you drive him crazy, too. 

you kiss him for the first time then and there, if only to get him to shut up. you fuck him for the first time then and there, too. an intense mix of hatred and lust that you’ve never felt before makes it rough going. while he’s got you twisted into a pretzel in the back of the car, fucking you like an animal, he keeps trying to praise you: telling you’re pretty when you’re mad, that he knew you had nice tits, etc etc while you keep snarling at him to shut the fuck up. 

it’s good though, and addictive. from that day onwards, all your fights lead to angry sex. if you two start arguing in front of the others, you will both “disappear” soon after the yelling stops. if you two start arguing when alone—which starts to happen more frequently because, despite butting heads, you start to be okay with him showing up at your place unannounced—the spat will turn mid–fight into fucking. 

at first, you insist on parting ways immediately after both of you are re-clothed. but then one night, after having sex in your bed, Trevor doesn’t get up to leave right after. he lays beside you, one arm slung over your bare stomach, his head face down in your pillow. and for some reason, you don’t try to push him out of your bed. 

eventually, post–coital cuddling joins the mix. at first it feels wrong and gross. you haven’t quite gotten used to the various bad smells that usually cling to Trevor. but there’s something comforting about being in the arms of someone and having your arms around them after the intense emotional releases of an argument and fast, desperate sex. 

he starts to stick around for long after you’ve both had your more physical needs fulfilled. you start to engage him in non–shouting conversation; start to get to know more about him. and then one day when he comes over, and there isn’t any arguments at all. just talking, drinking beers, and the slowest—which is still rough by most people’s standards—sex you two have had yet. he has a habit of sputtering out frantic “I love you”’s during sex, and it’s always annoyed and repulsed you. but this time is different. you tell him you love him to as you feel him finish inside of you. 

as soon as your feelings are made known, he starts to relentlessly tease you. "Oh, but I thought you hated my guts!" he'll tease you about this so much that you'll start to actually hate his guts again during these moments when he pesters you.

for a few wonderful months, whatever is going between you two turns into a relationship. there isn’t much work for Trevor to do during this time, aside from prepping for some vague, big heist that Michael has cooked up for the crew. 

by now, the other guys have long figured out what’s going on between you two. Brad frequently teases Trevor about it. Michael says he doesn’t care who fucks who, so long’s it doesn’t get in the way of your guys’ criminal careers. and it doesn’t. things go well, until—

eventually the day of Michael's big heist he's been talking up comes around. they're robbing a cash depot in town. you aren’t there for it; banks are a bit more dangerous than the marks you’re comfortable with robbing. Michael knows this and insists you sit this one out. but Trevor promises to swing by your place to lay low for a bit after the deed is done. all day you look forward to it, waiting for him to show up at your door with a big, manic grin on his face, ready to celebrate with drinks and a night in together. but then the time that he told you he’d show up at comes and goes. and then hours pass. night falls, and there’s still no sign of Trevor. you try calling him, but there’s no answer. as you lay in your bed alone that night, unable to sleep, you think that maybe the cash depot heist didn’t go according to plan and the boys had to skip town ASAP. you aren’t too worried, though. you know that Trevor can handle himself and you knew from the get–go that Michael’s crew is one that doesn’t like to stay stationary, so this was bound to happen eventually. so it’s not worry that keeps you awake until the early morning of the next day: it’s a bittersweet gratefulness for what little time you did get to spend with Trevor, and some slight regret that you hadn’t stopped hating him sooner. 

[writingmaidenwarrior]

Sin Eaters Part 7

As promised @cljordan-imperium a new chapter just for you, right before the holidays.

Warnings: talks about sex, mentions of death

After the almost interrogation by Melleis Talindra was happy to have a moment on her own at the border between the backyards and just watch the people come and go while sitting on the stone fence. At least she was a bit wiser now about how to deal with the situation at hand regarding what the higher ups expect of them after hearing how others do it. Still, she had no real idea what the deal with the horns was because Melleis just grinned and stated she will learn fast enough since she was a horned one herself. Her inkling that full grown horns become more sensitive than those stumps she had all her life became bigger and she started to get tempted to test it with Wynthan.

“What are you thinking about with this wicked smile, my little devil?”

Wynthan stepped next to her, a step behind her still, with laughter in his voice. She craned her neck to see him and let out a small, surprised squeal. If Wynthan was already good looking with the long hair tight up in his neck, the short hair with a wild long streak framing his face on the right side he was now handsome as fuck.

“Going through all the things Mel and I discussed, but damn you look good.”

A bit sheepish he pushed the longer part of hair behind his ear, or at least tried it because it was too short. Kimesnin clearly just left it long enough to frame his face and give him a little rebellious air, emphasizing his clear-cut cheek bones but not long enough to make it a hassle. Talindra snickered and reached out to let her hand wander through the short hair. He stopped her midair.

“I don’t think we are at this level of our relationship yet”, he joked.

“But you wanted to do something earlier.”

“I think pulling a prank is a different thing than letting your fingers run through a person’s hair, don’t you think?”

She crunched her face but yielded.

“Yeah, I give up.”

Slowly Wynthan put her hand down and leaned in to press a kiss on her forehead. She just sat there and blinked at him in response. His smile drew her in, and she slowly turned around to face him completely.

“What was that?”

“I just… felt like doing it…”

The smile flickered as a wave of confusion washed over his face. Talindra put her hands on his shoulders and tilted her head slightly. His hands came to rest on her hips, his thumbs pressing slightly into it and made her feel hot and cold at the same time.

“You are acting on an impulse? I thought you were too controlled for this.”

The smile came back full force. Slightly he leaned in again until only half a hand width was between their faces.

“I am less controlled sometimes than you might get the impression the last twenty-four hours. I just like to stay alive.”

“I copy this. I am slightly clingy when it comes to staying alive”, Talindra joked.

“Good, because I am afraid mom will rip my head off if something happens to you. She took a liking to you even faster than she did to Mel or anyone else.”

“Anyone else?”

“You didn’t consider I have more siblings than Gil?”

“I was busy with a nosy Sin Eater.”

“Apology accepted”, he snickered and closed the last distance.

Almost instantly Talindra wrapped her legs around his and took a deep, relaxed breath.

“Gil gave me an idea what this connection is between the two of us.”

“So?”

“We need to ask one of the elders, but if I remember right the bits and pieces it explains why we trust each other and why we sense each other but not the rest.”

“You mean the attraction.”

“Yes.”

She felt his hands moving from her hips to her back. His thumbs started drawing circled over her shirt that ignited something in her blood she hasn’t sensed in ages. Her body reacted with running hot in the most literal way. Wynthan’s snicker relaxed her.

“You are literal a little devil. Keeping secrets still from me.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You also have fire, don’t you?”, he breathed into her ear.

“Only a little. I can’t really control it. Just enough to not burn me.”

One of his hands moved higher where her spine laid closer under the surface close to the neck and softly pressed a finger onto it. She yelped, jolted into him, and felt something surging through her hot and fierce that was clearly no arousal.

A second later Talindra breathed a deep breath of freedom. In a strange way it felt as shackles had been taken from her chest and she could breathe freely for the first time.

“What did you do?”

Her voice still shaky she tried to look at him, but Wynthan held her in his embrace.

“Helping you with your magic. Your fire was blocked because you are a horned one trying to pass as human.”

He stopped to nestle his face into her shoulder and sigh.

“That was this relieving sensation…”

“Just breath and sit for a moment. You might feel dizzy for the next hour.”

“How did you know what to do?”

His laughter vibrated in her body in a good way.

“Funny thing about our kind. Our magic sometimes gets blocked like muscles get cramped. Knowing where to press for each kind of magic is basic knowledge for all of us. Fire is up here. Earth down here…”, Wynthan pressed gently on the small of her back right above her ass and moved to the middle of her back right underneath the level of her ribs, “Here is the area for water, and air user get really funny.”

“Funny?”, Talindra repeated.

A moment later she felt his thumb on the base of her head, gently tapping the spot. She felt her magic immediately reacting to it with a soft wave inside her body. With a smirk she lowered her arms and wrapped them as good as possible around his waist.

“That means, I need to remember to massage your back well.”

A soft hum was the answer. She felt him smiling and anticipated him to pull another silly thing.

“You know, I might haven an idea where the attraction part comes from.”

“You do?”

Wynthan lifted his head from her shoulder what made her whimper subconsciously. He simply raised his eyebrow at her but kept his remark to him.

“We both have fire. No one knows why but those with fire magic are always more likely to be drawn to each other.”

Talindra started to get where his thoughts were going.

“The weird connection and us both having fire is what this is all about?”

“This is the current working theory. We can’t say for sure until we met with an elder and until then..”

She squinted at him not amused.

“I am afraid I know what you want to say now.”

“What do you think?”, he teased her with another kiss on her forehead.

“Not going further like this here until we talked to an elder.”

“That’s my smart little devil.”

“I hate you.”

“I hope you don’t.”

“Why?”

The spark of mischief in his eyes gave Talindra goosebumps in anticipation. He brushed his nose over hers.

“You know waiting makes things more exciting.”

“And?”

“And you forget the Festival of the Eternals is soon. We should sort it all out until then.”

“What is so special about it? It’s boring”, Talindra lamented.

“Maybe on the human side of the city but not in hell. We celebrate it with stories, good food and drinks, little games, and I am sure you will be especially fond of the nights.”

“Color me intrigued.”

“There are always houses and apartments empty and prepared for Sin Eaters during the festival. The nights are for the adventurous singles.”

The way he smirked and played with his eyebrows as he stated this gave Talindra the feeling it was meant exactly the way she understood it.

“It’s an adults only event at night.”

“It is. With special performances and many things, I don’t want to tell you beforehand.”

Leaning back to get some space between them Talindra tried to remember when the festival would be. Wynthan waited patiently for her to come up with it.

“Three weeks?”

“More or less, yes”, he confirmed, “But this gives us a lot of time to get to know each other and sort things out.”

“I have the feeling you have a plan beyond this.”

The grin on his face was beyond naughty and Talindra was baffled it was even there after all. From what she had noticed so far, she thought he would stall everything physical.

“I do, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

“What changed?”

This sudden change made her skeptical and the fact he nodded and licked his lips before answering told her there was some recent event that changed his careful approach to this straightforward one.

“I had a longer talk with mom and Gil while she cut my hair. You probably got told from Mel how she and Gil are as couple?”

With a small nod Talindra confirmed it and nudged him to continue.

“It appears I might have been a bit too careful. With you being on the same page as me and us clicking right away like to cogs meant to work together we still need to watch out of course, but not as much. The higher-ups care for only one thing: children. If they get them from us because we are actually in love, or just have sex like some crazy rabbits or if I would force you as I got trained to, they don’t care.”

Her gaze dropped down to her lap. The deep breath she took went through her whole body before she nodded.

“I see. No walking on eggshells.”

“No walking on eggshells. No game of hiding. It is not uncommon for horned ones to take their partners to the festival on our side. Many children happen to come into this world like this.”

Both snickered about this because it was obvious with the horned one version of festival being a celebration of life like that. A moment later Talindra frowned.

“I need to ask your mother something.”

Gently she pushed him away and jumped down the fence. Kimesnin stood on the stove stirring something that looked like a sauce when Talindra entered.

“Kimesnin, how long are horned one pregnancies?”

“Hello and welcome back. Why do you want to know this now?”, Kimesnin replied without looking up from the pot in front of her.

“Nat and I talked about the festival and how it differs from the human version, and I think I might be one of the children that got created during one of the festivals.”

This got Kimesnin to look up and stare at Talindra in confusion.

“If the horned one is female and got pregnant from a human it is usually around eleven months of pregnancy, but since we know your father must have been part horned one already it is possible that it was shorter, around nine to ten months.”

“My birthday was two months ago. That means technically I could be a child from a festival.”

“Mom?”, Wynthan asked behind her with a weird tone.

Kimesnin, Gilmyrn and Wynthan shared a strange look until Melleis burst out laughing.

“You didn’t tell her?”

“Tell me what?”

“That should have been one of the surprises”, Wynthan sighed with a snicker.

With a waiting position Talindra looked at Melleis who looked at Wynthan with a silent “She is your partner” in her gaze.

“Part of the nightly potion of the festival is burning certain herbs that make you more relaxed and more likely to engage in sex. It is not uncommon for orgies to happen because of this.”

Talindra sucked in her lower lip to stop herself from laughing.

“In other words, there is a chance the human partner of my mother isn’t my father but a horned one?”

“Or another human with more horned one blood in him”, Kimesnin added, “Once we get you to an elder, we can get that sorted out as well. We have ways and methods humans never learned to trace bloodlines. Until then you might want to find your birth notification and your parents Sin Eater logs. If things haven’t changed in those last thirty years, you still might get access to the archives.”

Gilmyrn nodded from the side and waved with the kitchen knife in his hand.

“She is right. We have the highest security level a soldier outside the higher ups got. And yes, we still get access. One from our unit used it two years ago to find family after her parents died. In some way it is a thing most Sin Eaters do at one point.”

With the try to not laugh at the absurd picture of Gilmyrn with the kitchen knife, Talindra turned to Wynthan with a sweet smile.

“Sounds like we will spend our time getting to know each other over dusty logs.”

“I can imagine worse”, Wynthan joked and went to take the knife from Gilmyrn.

“Before anyone imagines anything far into the future, why don’t you start setting up everything outside.”

Kimesnin nodded towards the backyard with a motherly smile.

“Setting up?”

Talindra watched how Melleis and Gilmyrn went outside and pulled her with her.

“Just come with us. I guess Kimesnin wants to talk to him alone.”

“Why this?”

The face Melleis made put more question marks in Talindra’s head. Gilmyrn sighed and gently pushed her down the next chair. A quick glance inside later he took a seat opposite of her.

“Besides Nat and me, there are three more of us. One brother and two sisters, and one of the sisters had no horns”, he explained in a low voice.

A grim smile on her lips she huffed.

“She could have said something to me.”

“You have to understand this isn’t easy”, Melleis stepped in, “It is unusual that the horned one can raise their children. With their fifty years as Sin Eaters, they usually have to serve all of their children are taken away and put into the care of family. You probably noticed the amount of older folks with young kids when you went through the streets.”

With Melleis pointing it out like this Talindra realized there were mostly older folks with the children. Gilmyrn snickered as he saw her realization.

“You don’t need to feel bad. You probably thought it’s nice the grandparents spend time with their grandchildren.”

“Yeah, I did”, Talindra admitted sheepishly, “What happened that Kimesnin could raise you?”

“Nat was barely a year old when she and our father got dispatched for a double A monster with some others. Half the unit got killed. Our father was one of them, mom came back with half her bones broken and more dead than alive. She got retired because she never healed completely. With weather like today it isn’t noticeable but once it gets rainy she is in a lot of pain.”

Melleis sighed and looked towards the house.

“She probably is every day. Nonetheless she fought to be able to raise them. Stubborn like a rock this woman, and her son’s as well.”

“I have no idea what you mean, love.”

“Of course, you don’t.”

With a snicker Melleis pressed a quick peck on Gilmyrn’s cheek but Talindra’s mind was too occupied by the new information. That explained a lot of the strange questions Kimesnin asked about how Talindra grew up and how she dealt with her horns and all those things. A growing suspicion Kimesnin was afraid her allegedly human daughter was like Talindra started to grow.

“Natty was right.”

Gilmyrn’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. His amused smirk looked a lot like Wynthan. For a moment Talindra wondered if they got it from their father.

“Right? With what?”

“You are smart. I can see in your gaze you got the right idea what mom probably will ask him to do when you go to the archive.”

“This is all rotten from the top to the core”, Talindra growled, “I need to make a list of things I want to ask the elders if they want to see me. If they have answers to my questions.”

“You won’t change it, Talindra”, Kimesnin’s voice waved over soft and defeated.

The look in her eyes told of too many fights she already fought against the system just for her children.

“I know but hopefully I won’t. You can’t tell me I am the only one who thinks this. Things will get into motion once my secret gets revealed. Even if I am safe, they will hunt down every civilian who pass as human but is a horned one. I just realized it. If I let them grow as planned, I will put a target on everyone like me and that means either I will stay in hiding or we use it as a start signal to push for changes.”

All eyes went from her to Wynthan who bit his lips with a smirk and looked at Kimesnin with a gaze that held something along the lines of “I told you she would go there” and something Talindra deciphered as proud.

A deep breath later Kimesnin smiled.

“The triumvirates have no idea what they did when they matched you two. They won’t see it coming until it’s too late.”

“Wouldn’t be fun otherwise.”

Melleis and Wynthan snickered at Talindra’s remark, but Gilmyrn groaned almost unisono with his mother.

“Eternals watch over us. We will either go down in flames or finally be free.”

[adobe-outdesign]

Thoughts on Munna and Musharna?

I am obsessed with how perfectly Round Munna is. I wanna stick it under my arm and carry it around like a football

Anyway, I've heard some people say that if this line was made nowadays they would've just made Munna a regional Drowzee, but personally I'm happy they get to be two separate lines. First, the two really have little to do with one another beyond just being baku. Secondly, they do a cool thing and acknowledge the two lines as having a common ancestor (complete with the shinies swapping palettes):

And thirdly, I always saw the two lines not as similar to each other, but opposites. The Drowzee line is creepy, the Munna line is adorable. Musharna sleeps almost constantly, while the Drowzee line have insomnia as an ability. Munna evolves into a bigger tapir, while Drowzee evolves into... whatever the hell Hypno is. It makes for two original takes on the same concept and allows both to be fully fleshed out, instead of forcing the two together just because of some basic shared inspiration.

All that aside, while I personally like the Drowzee line more I do like Munna's design quite a bit as well. It always reminded me of some kind of porcelain figurine or something, and the flower patterns work with Musharna's patterns while being unique to Munna (and are a nice callback to that one NPC in Gen 1). I also like how the middle spot where the dream smoke emits from kind of looks like a third eye. I do wish there was more to break up the forehead–maybe another flower or some ears or something–but other than that, it's solid.

It's nice that Musharna stays a tapir for those who just want a bigger version of Munna, though rest assured that it still manages to keep a bit of Hypno's creepiness in there:

fear.jpg

Terrifying eyes aside, I like Musharna even more than Munna. I love how the tapir markings become PJs of sorts, with the floral pattern referenced in the scalloped border and the feet resembling those on onesies. Even the little blush stickers are perfect.

The dream smoke also fixes the issue I was having with Munna's empty forehead, and integrates a neat incense-burned theme in there as well–though unfortunately, it looks terrible in-game. For some reason GameFreak/Creatures refuses to use particle textures in their Pokemon models, so the smoke always looks like flesh and Thank You I Hate It.

Poor modeling aside however, I have no complaints with it. It's cute and sleepy and I want 10.

(Side note: I feel like there was a missed opportunity with not making this line psychic/fairy. I know that not everything pink needs to be fairy-type, but a few yokai-based 'mons are fairy anyway and it would make sense compared to the hypnosis-based Drowzee line being pure psychic.)

Overall, a refreshing take on an old concept with some neat, easy-to-read designs. I like 'em a lot.

[pangtasias-atelier]

Can I make a request for Gilliam and Garcia mutual gaining in a domestic setting (without ross of course) both at around 500 lbs, with Garcia having a bigger gut and Gilliam being chubbier all around, appreciating each others gains? Thank you

Ahhhhh I definitely struggled with this one ajsnjsb. I do very much like the pairing, I just think I've legit never used either of them in like all 7 of my playthroughs lmao.

I hope you enjoy it regardless cause I did have fun writing it after looking up all their supports ajnjbhns

Warning: This is a fetish story!

In a small yet lively cottage that mostly everyone in the bustling border town knows of, its two residents are the very cause of such an atmosphere. The residence is nearly the exact same as all its neighbors; like all the rest, the house is built from a combination of Frelia's fine lumber from its abundant forests and Renais' rich minerals derived from its vast mountains.

Despite the average appearances, its occupants are anything but average looking.

The two married men are busy in the kitchen. The room is currently being made a mess while also being cleaned up at the same time with both of the men working together.

Gilliam has his back to the stove. Clearly enjoying the peacetime in Frelia, his figure has bloated out. His trusty pants cover up the entire expanse of his blubbery rear. Standing at an impressive stature next to even tall men, Gilliam's height is made extra impressive with his weight. Weighing 508 pounds —last he checked two weeks back— that came about from extensive sessions involving food and groping. The entire shape of his ass is outlined by his tight clothes, every fold and roll of his plump, shapely ass visible for Garcia to gaze upon just by turning around. Gilliam's entire figure is rotund, his lovingly stuffed figure eagerly accepting the extra weight everywhere. The width of Gilliam's hips are almost the same measurement as the kitchen sink; his thighs fill out his pants. Gilliam's large thighs bulge from his weight, the upper half of his thighs straining against the fabric much more than his smaller yet still doughy lower half of his thighs and calves. His thighs squish together from Gilliam’s feet brought together.. It’s a bit difficult to see just how smushed Gilliam’s thighs are with his plentiful ass fat blocking the view, though.

Not that Garcia minds, turning away from his task to give it a playful smack. “You almost done? I’ve got a couple more things ready for you,” Garcia asks. Two turners in his right hand, he reaches around Gilliam to dump them with the last remaining dirty dishes. Garcia gets a handful of Gilliam’s stomach, his own flabby arm covered and sinking into his husband’s blubbery gut as he hugs him with his right arm. Garcia also gets to feel the back of his husband but his gut does most of the feeling. Garcia’s stomach is absolutely immense; the large flabby sack of fat is the retired warrior’s largest feature.

“I’m getting there. It’s a bit difficult,” Gilliam faces down at the last few utensils left despite his husband’s distractions. Gilliam’s difficulty comes from his own size. With him being rather tall, he always had the issue of several things not being made with people his own height in mind. And now with his growing waistline from too many binges —sessions that involve being fed or feeding or both more often than not— Gilliam’s troubles with things being too small are only doubled.

The kitchen sink forces Gilliam to stand at a slightly awkward angle. His thighs come up to the countertop which didn’t use to be too much of a problem before, nothing that a slight hunch or bending couldn’t fix. But his bigger, rather large belly makes it a bigger problem. His large belly sags down to rest on the counter despite it being tucked behind his shirt. Which, when combined with cleaning dishes makes for not the best of combinations. So Gilliam takes his time washing dishes and stands an extra few inches back from the counter. A few drops of soapy water do manage to collide with his belly and the lower roll of his stomach flab is damp from the splashes of water that manage to wet the countertop that his belly does inevitably touch whenever Gilliam reaches forward to grab something.

Garcia also makes washing the dishes a bigger issue than it usually is.

His husband cooking behind him, the two’s kitchen was clearly not made with two obese men in mind. Garcia pigging out just as much as Gilliam, if not more, left him at around the same weight as his husband. At least a whole quarter tonner of a man according to last month’s weigh in, Garcia’s slightly shorter stature has him looking much rounder than Gilliam. A large portion of his weight went to his over bloated stomach, the large gut representative of his new eating habits. Garcia wears his white shirt untucked. His gut spills out from his shirt, the hairy expanse of his lower gut exposed. His chest isn’t that far behind his gut in terms of size. The two large breasts spill out of the shirt’s extremely low neckline; his doughy, hairy chest pressed up against the neckline that struggles to hold back his meaty chest. Not that Garcia minds, the warrior proud of his weight. Though he does move around carefully while he cooks, always mindful of his wobbling belly as he takes slow waddles to adjust himself. His thighs help him move around slowly, the two thick legs crammed with enough fat at his weight to make sure he has to swing one meaty thigh past the other just to walk now. His thighs are free for the most part; Garcia wears a pair of ill fitting shorts. The fat on his thighs curve inward from the tight fit along with his ass. His ass bulges out from the small clothes.

Next to Giliam, Garcia is completely underdressed. A fact that he takes a complete advantage of.

“The food’s almost done. Shouldn’t you be hurrying up?” Garcia slots himself right up next to Gilliam. He bumps his husband with his large hip. Like gelatin slapping gelatin, neither of the now jiggling men end up moving from their spot. Garcia’s gut spills onto the counter, the cool material nice on the underside of his belly that envelops and smothers the countertop.

Gilliam keeps scrubbing at the used pan. “You slow cook everything. The meat won’t be ready for another thirty minutes,”

“And it’ll taste great cause I made it. You don’t get to be this big without knowing your way around a meal,” He pats his belly, the large pile of blubber wobbling in return. Garcia reaches for a kitchen rag and starts drying at all the pans and utensils Gilliam has washed. He makes sure to dry extra vigorously; his blubbery arms that are still as big as his days as a warrior wobble, his biceps filled with lard instead of muscle now.

Gilliam keeps a straight face as he now rinses the sink, all the dishes now washed.. But, he does glance over to see Garcia’s nonsense every once in a while.

Garcia dries the larger dishes now. He uses his gut for leverage, his doughy stomach sinking under the weight of the pans as Garcia makes sure to remove every last drop of water. Clearly not careful to remove most of the water immediately, Garcia’s already tight top is wet. His skin begins to show through the translucent fabric.

Gilliam pats at his forehead with the hand towel as he finishes his task of cleaning. His task finally complete, he focuses his attention over to his husband. Which he nearly snorts at with a grin.

“You’re finally taking some time to look at what a handsome husband you have?” Garcia grins right back. He also puts down the pan he dries, already done drying it some time ago.

“I always have time,” Gilliam brings himself closer. He pushes at Garcia with his gut, slowly using his bulk to turn his husband while also guiding him with his blubbery left arm. “But if I don’t do the chores my husband asks me to do, then what does that make me?”

Garcia allows himself to be guided by Gilliam. Their guts touch up against each other, both of their stomachs smushed as they take slow waddles. “It’d mean you're not such a hard-ass,” Garcia smiles when he sees a blush form on Gilliam’s face.

“Then I guess I won’t listen when you tell me to eat another plate,” Gilliam quips back.

“Like you need the encouragement,”

“Neither do you,”

His retort thrown back at him, all Garcia can do is laugh. “Guess all we can do is blame ourselves then. Not that I have any complaints,” Their left hands still interlocked, two sets of pudgy fingers happily held together, Garcia uses his free hand to grasp at the other’s belly. His thumb in Gilliam’s belly button, Garcia’s palm is smothered in belly flab as he holds the underside of such a doughy gut.

“I have no complaint,” Gilliam’s smile widens as he reaches the wall, well, as Garcia reaches the wall, his husband’s ass pinned to it. He himself stands a couple feet away from it with both of them so round and taking up so much space. Gilliam uses the extra couple of inches of height he has on his husband to pin him to the wall. Which he doesn’t even need to use, Garcia allowing himself to be in such a position.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Garcia asks. He gives Gilliam’s belly a small shake, staring at the way his husband’s belly slowly jiggles like waves crashing onto a beach.

Gilliam does his best to reach around both his and Garcia’s guts to grope his husband's ass. “We are tied once again. You want to break my winning streak?”

Garcia grins at the touch before suddenly becoming stiff. “Not if the food burns!”

Giving his husband a kiss, Gilliam presses both his hands on Garcia’s gut, reaching underneath his shirt to rub at it. But only for a brief moment, pushing himself off his husband by using his massive belly as leverage. As swiftly as he can move out of the way, lugging one large thigh past the other, he does his best to make enough room for Garcia. “I’ll set the plates,”

“Good, I’m starving so I’m sure you must be too,” Garcia rests a hand on Gilliam’s belly as he waddles past him, his fingers slowly grazing over the soft, blubbery stomach.

After Garcia makes his way through, Gilliam waddles over to the cupboards. “Make sure you eat everything,” He pulls out extra large dishes, the set purchased to allow them to eat more per serving.

“I’ll gladly eat my fill as long as you do. I know you can’t resist my cooking,” He slowly brings the pot roast over to the already set table.

The table really mostly meant for the two of them, the furniture is made extra long for the two to sit side by side. Though now they have to sit across from each other, the poor bench most likely not able to withstand an entire half ton of weight. As Garcia places the pot roast and goes back to retrieve the other side dishes, he smiles at his eager husband already sitting down.

As Garcia sits down and makes himself comfortable —after adjusting his gut multiple times— the two grin at each other in anticipation.

Neither wait for a single confirmation. Instead, they dig in and start their competition, both somehow even more eager and competitive now when it comes to eating compared to their arm wrestling so many years ago. Not that either mind, the obese married men content with each other.

[truly-morgan]

[Haunted house (w.i.p)]

Jiang Cheng + Juniors | Mo Dao Zu Shi Modern AU + Ghost AU 06-02-2022

[300 Followers prompt winner: #JiangCheng & #JuniorQuartet, haunted house]

The group of friends had decided to go to Ouyang Zizhen’s house for the summer break, to see a bit of the more rural regions of Yunmeng.

“I am curious about where my mom is coming from,” admitted Jin Ling when his friend asked why the sudden request to spend a part of the summer with him (not that he was complaining about the suggestion). Of course, Lan Jingyi and Lan Sizhui decided to tag along.

The train ride was pretty uneventful, Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen sleeping through a big part of it. It was to be expected, they did take one of the earliest trains.

They were picked up by the young man's mother, three of them squeezing at the back (Lan Sizhui in the middle to avoid a fight between Lan Jingyi and Jin Ling). Thankfully no fight happened, as they were more occupied with talking with their friend's mother.

Truly a nice lady she was, asking how college was going for everyone.

Once they were at their friend's house they took the rest of the day to settle in their rooms and visit Baling. It was truly a different atmosphere from the big city Jin Ling had grown up in.

It was only the next day that Lan Jingyi came up to them with an idea.

"I found some old abandoned house that is said to be haunted," Lan Jingyi said, "although the outside picture gives more mansion vibes than a house".

It had already been a couple of years since the group of friends had gotten into visiting an old abandoned building, it was a bonus if it was thought to be haunted.

They always went the four of them, as to make it safer in case something happened, thankfully nothing serious ever happened before.

“Do you know since when it has been abandoned?” Oyang Zizhen asked out of curiosity, scooting over closer to look at his friend’s phone.

“It says the fire happened nearly three decades ago!” Lan Jingyi informed, making his friends all surprised.

“So long ago? Are you sure the place is still up?” Lan Sizhui asked, looking over his shoulders at the faraway picture that did look recent.

“after so long I am surprised no one did anything with the land, it does look pretty big,” he remarked.

Jin Ling nodded at his friend’s comments, it was indeed pretty peculiar that the place was still up after so long.

No one ever brought the land? No one ever tried to put everything to the ground and rebuilt over it?

From what Lan Jingyi had told them, the mansion was on the border of Lotus Pier, which was one of the bigger cities close to Baling.

It was probably a good twenty minute drive to this place from here. “Are there any buses with a stop nearby?” Lan Sizhui asked, everyone, looking clearly interesting to go check out this place.

“I could drive us here” Ouyang Zizhen mentioned, getting everyone’s attention.

“You have a driver's licence?!” Lan Jingyi asked, surprised by the news.

The young man only smiled at them, unsure why this was such a surprise. “Well, it can be useful and my dad made me take the lesson” he explained.

"It would be easier and faster if we did this, I am sure I can borrow my mother’s car for it”.

They all decided this would indeed be a pretty good idea, so they took the day to prepare for their little expedition. It was not every day they found such a big abandoned house, even less with such a large land around it that no neighbour could see them snooping around for fun. It wasn’t like they were going there to steal anything or break things up, they were just curious as to what was still there.

It wasn’t hard to convince their friend’s mother to let them borrow the car, pretending they would go visit Lotus Pier. They were all pretty excited, trying to guess what they might find in the house.

The previous owners had probably taken some of the things that could be salvaged, maybe some people came to steal, but they still wonder if some of the old furniture would be left behind.

“Did you manage to find out why the house is said to be haunted?” Ouyang Zizhen asked Lan Jingyi who had been searching about the history of the house with Jin Ling throughout the previous day.

“Some passersby said having seen the figure of a man inside despite the house being vacant for so long,” Jin Ling said, “Some people who went inside the house were scared away by a ghost, everyone’s description seems to be the same man”.

“Apparently someone died in the fire of thirty years ago” Lan Jingyi added, “So people assumed it’s the same person now haunting the place”.

They had often gone to supposed haunted houses and had yet to see any of these. It was pretty weird that people always seemed to see the same man, but they could also have been tricked by their own beliefs about the house.

They nearly missed the entrance to the driveway, the place being so unkempt that plants were taking over the original entry. They tried parking more behind a large bush, not wanting for people to notice the car too easily and call the cops on them either.

“Let’s check out the outside first, see if any doors are unlocked or opened” Jin Ling suggested. Plus, since the house had been abandoned for so long after a fire, it would let them see which part of the house was really damaged and to be more careful around.

They looked around the front for a while, seeing many of the windows which had been broken over the years. The front door was unlocked, which wasn't that surprising. The place has had people coming inside in the past decades, it was bound to not be locked.

It was to wonder if the place even had any owner anymore and if that owner has even stepped foot here in the past years.

Despite all the crawling plants blocking the view they still determined the house was a little old-style.

Well, it was three decades old already and the place had probably not been constructed only three decades ago.

"Such a nice house" Lan Sizhui commented, "what a shame the place had such a terrible accident".

"I wonder why the owner did not try to salvage it, '' Ouyang Zizhen added.

"Maybe the fire caused too much damage to it and it needed to be destroyed," Jin Ling suggested as he made his way around the house.

"But you heard Lan Jingyi earlier, someone died in the house, maybe the family couldn't stand living where one of them died so terribly".

They did not argue, their friend had a good point.

It was understandable if someone couldn't stand living in the house after what had happened, especially if the spirit of this person was still trapped there.

"Did you find out if it was a child?" Lan Sizhui asked, frowning a bit at the idea.

It seemed even more tragic if it was indeed the case. It would be even more understandable to not want to live there anymore, although it was already understandable in any case.

“People who said having seen the ghost describe it to be a young man, or at the very least a teenager” Lan Jingyi replied. No report seemed to be talking about a young child.

They entered the courtyard of the house, more crawling plants covering the walls just like the front. The windows were a little less bad here, although many were still broken.

The courtyard looked good, despite its overgrown grass. It was pretty big, enough to have a small pond with a platform in the middle. It looks like a set of chairs and a table was there in the past, where one could enjoy the weather under the shade made by the structure.

“They have Lotus here too” commented Ouyang Zizhen after checking out the pond more closely. This made Jin Ling walk over, only to note that it did look like what they had in the garden of their house and where his mother would often enjoy some tea. It looked too similar even.

“This is so nice, their courtyard even connects to a lake!” Lan Jingyi commented as he followed a small ditch connecting the pond to the lake. “It looks perfect for hot summer days, they even have a pier”.

Despite the yard connecting to a lake, it still had a pool too. Although none of them would even dare set foot in it. Even though the pond was looking alright since it was connected to the lake, this pool was just the worst.

Algas had clearly grown at the bottom of it, the stagnant water looking green with many debris floating in it. They all made a face when they even found a dead toad floating in the water. They quickly left that alone.

At the back near the lake was a small building, most likely where all the gardening tools were stored. They did check it out, but the place was pretty much empty, aside from some old-looking gardening tools.

Clearly, no one had touched these in years, even the door was a bit hard to open.

These were really the highlights of the courtyard really. They could guess that the patio had a table and some chairs before too, but it was now only a wooden platform.

If anything had been left behind, it was already taken away now.

“Guys look at this,” Oyang Zizhen called out as they were standing in the gazebo in the middle of the lotus pond.

“It looks like a part of the roof caved in” he pointed out when they all looked towards where he was pointing.

“I guess we will need to be careful around that place of the house” Jin Ling mentioned.

This was partly why they usually tried to check out the place beforehand if it wasn’t too big. It was better to know this before getting inside the place. “Let’s get in now, I don’t think we’ll find anything more out here” he suggested.

They all agreed, going back to the front of the house to get back to the door. They checked quickly to make sure no one seemed to have seen them and had parked near the house, before finally going inside the house.

"It sure doesn't smell like roses" Lan Jingyi commented, only for Jin Ling to roll his eyes at this.

"When have we ever found somewhere that does smell good?" asked Jin Ling with a click of his tongue. He ignored the reply his friend was giving him, fishing around in his bag for a flashlight.

The inside was surprisingly dark despite it being the middle of the day and sunny. Maybe the crawling plants outside weren't helping by blocking the view.

The place looked clearly abandoned, old furniture looking dirty and about to fall apart from all the years that passed and the tragedy it went through. The couple hint here and there of things having been moved around throughout more recent years of the house’s vacancy.

“The furniture still looks good though, although it is a bit dated” Lan Jingyi commented next, letting himself fall on a couch that squeaked under his weight. Jin Ling made a face at his action, looking at the armchair next to him.

“I swear I will never understand how you never caught anything when you touch everything that is most likely mouldy, I bet some wild animal peed on this couch” he commented, his nose scrunched up in disgust at the thought of sitting on this couch.

This sure made his friend stand up quickly, looking down at the couch. It was a bit hard to tell exactly if it was truly that bad or not.

Their friend laughed a bit at their usual bickering, moving around the room to see if there was anything left to see about the family.

All Lan Sizhui and Oyang Zizhen managed to really find were already pretty damaged by the years and the fire. Old framed pictures barely allow you to see clearly who was on them with all the dust, ashes and water damage.

Still, they found a couple of them that were still vaguely alright.

“Guys I think we found a picture of the old owners” Oyang Zizhen smiled as he turned back towards the two other friends who were still arguing while trying to lift up an old heavy cabinet that had fallen down.

They quickly finished pulling up the heavy hardwood cabinet before coming over, looking at the picture.

“They sure look like people who would live in such a big house” Lan Jingyi commented. Jin Ling took the picture to look at it more closely, but it was a bit hard to see the faces, especially with the quality of the picture. Yet, from the little he could see, he felt like some trait looked familiar, but he couldn’t say what it was.

He gave back the picture to his friend so he could put it back above the fireplace, turning back to look at the cabinet. Suddenly something caught his attention in the corner of his eye, the beam of his light quickly moving to the top of the stairs.

The young man couldn’t help but frown a bit, eyes darting around a little bit.

“Something’s wrong?” Oyang Zizhen asked, also looking in the direction of the light, shining his in the same spot.

“...Nothing, I thought I saw something moving, maybe it was just a squirrel or my imagination” Jin Ling answered, turning back towards his friend.

“Is our young mistress scared now?” Lan Jingyi teased, gaining a roll of eyes from said ‘young mistress’. Soon the friend moved on, going back to the cabinet the two of them had lifted up, curious to see if there was anything interesting in it.

Jin Ling couldn’t but look back up at the stairs. He simply couldn’t shake off this feeling he had earlier. He was certain he had seen someone up there. He bite his lips a little, wondering if he should tell his friend, after all, it could be dangerous meeting other people in the middle of nowhere like this.

Still, he felt like it was probably just his imagination. No one could move around so quickly without being noticed or making any sounds, especially with all the things on the ground that would have surely made a little bit of sound in this weirdly silent house.

He was taken out of his observation by his name being called out again, quickly joining his friend after one last look.

Yeah, he was just imagining things.

(tbc)

Original

[dragoncookies]

(PT 2) STELLARLUNE ANALYZATION: Chapters 3-5

(foreword) This is a series where I go through each chapter of Stellarlune and dissect it for y’all. I bring up things you might have missed, the importance of what is said and what happens in each chapter, how it might relate to the book as a whole or how it might relate to the series as a whole. This book might seem boring and useless, but when you look at it, it’s really just a book that steps back and reflects on the whole series. It’s like the series is taking a refreshing deep breath and putting everything from the past together, so it can go and deliver a WILDLY  wonderful ending. All I can say is that the book gets way sweeter on the second read, and it might be too early to say, but my guess is that it’ll age finer than wine.

(excuse my grammar/spelling mistakes)

Chapters 3-5:

I’ll be honest, these chapters were a little sluggish, but at the same time...it was interesting to read about Gisela and Cassius lore. I’ll say why later in this post, but It was dark and creepy and tense; well written. There’s also a bunch of notable tid-bits in these scenes from Cassius’s memory and just what he has to say. He’s not a useless character or a 2d character, that’s for sure. Lets dive in, shall we?

SUMMARIES:

(because I forget too)

Ch 3 summary: Sophie shows up at Cassius’s house and they banter for a bit after Sophie tells him that Keefe ran away. Sophie originally went there to get Cassius’s pathfinder so she could look for Keefe in the Forbidden cities, but Cassius tells her he’s working on another assignment from the Black Swan that has to do with the trollish treaty and such after what happened at Everglen (in flashback). He also has a memory he recovered that Lady Gisela tried to wipe from his mind, so Sophie agreed to watch it. 

Ch 4 summary: Sophie and Cassius watching the memory

Ch 5 summary: Sophie and Cassius banter about the following→ Cassius’s parenting, whether or not Sophie should keep looking for Keefe (she shouldn’t) or if letting Gisela finish the final step of Stellarlune on Keefe is a good idea.

Ch 3:

Sophie REALLY hates Cassius. Like, the Cassius slander is HEAVY throughout this chapter. She just gotta quip at his behavior for every reason. 

One thing that is made strikingly clear by Sophie’s conversations with Cassius is how emotionally driven she is, especially when compared to Cassius’s almost purely objective approach to things. They’re almost foils of each other, in this sense.

Also, the dialogue in the first few pages of this chapter is lowkey entertaining, even from Ro. 

“’If Keefe had come home with me-’

‘he would’ve run off even faster,’ Ro finished for him. ‘Probably would’ve left a Keefe shaped hole in one of these walls.’” (page 36). 

Haha funny for no reason. Anyways.

Ro is REALLY given an actual purpose (as are a shocking majority of the characters) as I continue to reread through stellarlune. As much as I cannot stand how nosy and obnoxious Ro can be, her background has a whole chunk of the dialogue in this chapter. I will have far more to say on Ro’s character when we get to the part where she actually leaves later on so stay tuned for that.

Now, with Lord Cassius here, we have been shown an important revelation on the current state of political affairs in the Lost Cities, and a reminder that the Black Swan is a little bigger than we thought. It makes me curious as to what other things go on behind the scenes in the Black Swan. 

Also: Sophie said she really does hate secrets. Why did sophie say she hates secrets when her wanting privacy is literally the whole point of conflict between her and Fitz for the entire previous book and the rest of Stellarlune???? Smh.

The troll treaty negotiations are stalled at the moment!!!! Empress Pernille has closed the borders and doesn’t want the elves messing with them atm, basically. This means there MIGHT be more mutant trolls. Wild. The trolls want to be isolated from everyone…which is kind of what the neverseen wants if we’re being honest…scary. 

One question: Why does the black swan want to protect the councilors from being overthrown if there’s so much emphasis on how the councilors are flawed? What is the point? 

CH4:

This is where I notice things really start to get interesting in this book. 

I love when Shannon describes telepathy. Like all the “swooping and spinning” and “sinking into warmth” and describing the mind like a room makes me imagine Sophie and everyone else as little glowing people in the mind, navigating the endless maze. She describes it so vividly, its so fun to imagine being Sophie when she gets blasted by wind or goes on a rollercoaster-esc loop, or goes somewhere small and quiet, or just somewhere blue. Like that is so cool, who goes ahead describes a mind like that? And every mind in the series is different too. It's just so cool. Anyways. Back to Gisela and Cassius lore. 

This chapter really makes you think about Cassius’s and Gisela’s relationship. Its important to understand, since Gisela is like a main villain giving her character depth (like what her relationship with Cassius was exactly like) makes her feel like a REAL person, more like us. Which makes her scarier. 

This scene is where Gisela throws away her act of just wanting Keefe to be strong to make her and Cassius look good. 

Man, from the first read, it really seems like Shannon is trying to redeem Cassius with this memory. “gosh Shannon, please don’t redeem Cassius…please stop trying to redeem him”, but it’s less “poor Cassius” and more we just get to understand Cassius, because what I get out of this is that Cassius really loved Gisela, and Gisela was just using him to have a strong baby (which is sort of like the entire flaw of matchmaking…hmmm…). Like when Gisela starts explaining all these wack things she’s doing, he’s just completely shocked. Like she really flat out told him that his role was done, and he’d already provided his DNA so she didn’t need him anymore. No wonder Cassius said the memory was personal, I would be HEARTBROKEN. He’s not the best, but maybe there’s a reason he’s so cold…

If you hadn’t before, you REALLY start to see how creepy Gisela is, too. At the end of this chapter, Gisela just drugs him, and as his world slowly fades to black she whispers “don't fight it, it’ll all be over soon enough” (paraphrasing page 57). Damn she's creepy. Just, her carelessly messing with Cassius’s heart for her own gain, and doing painful horrible things to herself, to Cassius and to their relationship...she’s so sick omg. She really built Cassius the whole illusion of a happy marriage. What if Cassius was actually a happy surfer guy before Gisela? Maybe thats why his getaway is on the beach. Who knows? Maybe Gisela ruined an avid beach-boys listener and a regular cowabunger. Its all so messed up, but the theme of the importance of family is strengthened through all of this. 

What I start to wonder as I read through this chapter is…why? Why does Gisela want Keefe to be super powerful? WHY does she want to rule the world? 

She mentions she wants to harness all the elements because she believes it will make her ultra-powerful, but for WHAT? 

Gisela talking about the elements also reminds me how elemental elves are. They really are such nature-y beings. Little hippies. Talking to plants. Never killing animals. Using scrolls. No technology and A LOT of living with nature’s cycles. They see so much power in elements that Gisela is convinced she can be all-powerful if she uses all them. I ought to start seeing the elven world in a more woodsy aesthetic lmao. Alas, Shannon’s world-building never ends. 

The most important thing we learn in this chapter is that Keefe needs to go through one last step to really finish his transformation of his abilities. Yay!

Ch5:

Cassius’s mind was really messy after the memory, so he definitely did love her and he’s definitely messed up by that. Even Shannon’s most hateable characters get backstory and understanding, so you don't have to like what they did but it makes the story she’s telling so enriching. 

This chapter highlights how stubborn or blindsighted by emotions Sophie can be, but at least she can be persuaded. She neglects that Cassius has an OBJECTIVE approach and thinks he has a COLD HEARTED approach, and struggles to wrap her brain around the concept that Cassius could actually, in fact, be right in his suggestion that Keefe needs to finish the process of his new abilities to function properly. The fact that she sees “cold hearted” and “objective” as synonymous proves that she’s just a very emotionally driven person, which is important to understand, considering the entire series is from her point of view and if we really want to understand the story we have to understand how Sophie might tell the story. 

Also, Sophie JUST NOW realizes how she probably should have read through the archetype before she burned it. Nice one girly. I’m sorry I bag on her so much during these first few chapters, it gets better later I promise.  AND WHAT WAS THIS SHANNON:

“Lord Cassius couldn’t be right...

...

...

...could he?” (page 62). 

TAKE AWAY HER ENTER BUTTON. Made me chortle a little but like Shannon what. 

Not much else to say about this chapter. The last page was a masterpiece, though. 

“Let him take care of himself, he’s been doing it his whole life” (page 66). 

I’m not all about the endless Keefe sob story we get throughout the series, but the way it's told on page 66 is quite sad and impactful. Like oof, the self-actualization from Cassius and the cold hard truth…ouch Shannon. That hurt. Chefs kiss to the writing but yeowch. 

Overall, these few chapters are pretty satisfying because both Cassius and Sophie change a little. Cassius starts off presented as his usual hateable self, but by the end of these chapters you feel a little heavier, a little older and a little colder because of him. He just gets deeper as a character. Sophie changes her mind about finding Keefe and actually listens to Cassius’s reasoning, which is important because it changes the trajectory of this section of the book. It would have been ooc for her to just not care or decide on her own not to find Keefe because she cares about Keefe ALOT (a lil too much sometimes I’ll be honest), but it did take 5 chapters to get to this point. She also could have gone on a mission to look for Keefe, but thank goodness she decided not to, for the sake of the plot and the other characters. Victory!

She really does talk to herself a lot. 

Anyways, stay tuned for more!