#for once I wasn't shouting to the void and it feels good

[bluewolfangel01]

I feel uhhh so silllyy for requesting this but what if sheep mc snapped at like the brothers cuz there’s no way their 100+ year old asses are still acting like angsty teenagers (MC has a delusional joy moment😔😔😔)

It's okay, this is a very interesting request and I'm glad to do it 😁

I will specifically be writing Mc as a sheep like in the manga cause tiny pissed off sheep going off on tall and powerful demons is hilarious (sorry for the wait btw)

angy Mc is funny Mc and you can't change my mind

(I headcanon that the brothers sense their sin on Mc/you btw)

-Angy Mc-

Satan was the first one to sense something was up after a few minutes after his brothers and him started arguing

At first he wasn't sure what he was sensing, until he realized that he felt his sin, pure festering wrath

The worst part? He realized that it coming from Mc, who oddly enough was just sitting quietly on the couch, blankly staring at their phone in front of them

Satan went quite

Which caught the attention of the other brothers, who also turned their shouting at Satan, and even though Satan was very tempted to strick back at them, he held his tongue for once

Mc: "Can you all not fight, argue, or yell FOR ONE DAY?!"

It was at this point the brothers knew, they f#cked up (and went silent)

Mc: "Honestly, I know yall are brothers and demons so this kinda stuff is bound to happen but for Diavolo's sake this is getting ridiculous!"

Mc: *points hoof at Belphie* " Belphie. I know you're the avatar of sloth and therefore sleep a lot, but you can't solve all your problems and grief by sleeping the time away constantly, and the youngest brother brat thing doesn't always make you endearing!"

Mc: *points hoof at Beel* "Beel. I know you have survivors guilt but Lilith ended up living with humans like she wanted, Belphie doesn't need you standing up for him all the time, and you needn't continue to try to fill the hole inside you by eating in a restaurant that has no more food when you could just go down the street to another food place!"

Mc: *points hoof at Asmo* "Asmo. I know you ~get it on~ mainly to distract yourself from your troubles, to make yourself forget even just for a bit, sometimes but you can't push those feelings down forever, so actually talk with someone, anyone, about whats bothering you rather then trying ignore it! And stop hitting on your brothers, it's kinda weird!"

Mc: *points hoof at Satan* "Satan. I know you have an inferiority complex when it comes to Lucifer, but for the love of Diavolo, you wouldn't be called Satan, avatar of wrath, if you were like Lucifer in the first place. You have blonde hair and like cats, Lucifer has black grey-ish hair and likes dogs. AND THATS JUST THE START OF THE CONTRASTS! You are your own person, get that through your thick skull!"

Mc: *points hoof at Levi* "Levi. I know that it's easy to compare yourself to others and not at least feel somewhat bad about yourself but how do you not realize that you're the best tech wiz we got, an amazing gamer, and the most dedicated being I've ever seen in my life! So if you think that you're not good at something think again!"

Mc: *points hoof at Mammon* "Mammon. How in the whole Devildom is the Avatar of Greed almost always poor?! Also I know you are a material gorl, but items and things can't fully fill the void that you feel, so stop acting all emotionally constipated and just ask for affection if you want it!"

Mc: *points hoof at Lucifer* "And you Lucifer. I know you're the eldest and the prideful one, but there is such a thing as shouldering too much and being stubborn to a fault! Ask for help and for Diavolo to lessen your workload every once in a while! And stop not telling your brothers important things, rather then being all secretive to try to 'protect them' youre just hurting yourself and them cause of it!"

Silence was all that could be heard in the House of Lamentation, the brothers still as statues with varying amount of widened eyes, staring at the small being that they cherished that had just ripped into them so aggressively

After a minute ofa dead silent pause, Mc turned off their phone, hopped off the couch and started walking to the living room exit

Mc: "Honestly, I didn't expect to become a therapist for demons when coming here, and now I can't even read my enemies to lovers book in even somewhat peace.... I don't get paid enough for this."

They then disappeared from the brothers' sight, left to wrap their heads around what just happened

And the arguement that started it all? Who was going to make dinner that night

[kotton-kandy953]

━ 𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙳𝚂𝙾𝙼𝙴 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝚆𝙴𝙰𝙻𝚃𝙷𝚈

➛ yandere!shoto todoroki x fem!reader

CHAPTER ONE ━ INTRODUCTIONS

2,036 WORDS

⤷ ❝ 𝕾𝖔 𝖙𝖊𝖑𝖑

me, Shoto,"

Your mother smiled softly as she began asking the young man various questions.

You glanced over at your mother and father then sighed. You hated being here, you'd rather be at home than some formal family introduction.

Your subconscious began to tune out the unnecessary chatter around you. It wasn't as if you cared if this meeting were to go good or bad.

My parents are always trying to tell me what to do. What the hell do they not understand about me being an adult? You tried to mask your anger with a fake smile, but it was hard to keep up the front.

Your parents M/n and F/n L/n sat on your side, kindly making conversation with the richest, most intimidating family in all of Japan: the Todoroki's.

They specifically sat who we came here for, the youngest son of theirs, Shoto Todoroki, across from you. Great.

If you were to describe him, Shoto, by appearance, you would say "split in half." It was as if his right side was his mother and the left was his father.

Another thing about Shoto was that you couldn't help but notice how stoic his personality was. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but you've never met anyone so void of emotion like him.

When his cold, heterochromic, eyes made contact with yours you couldn't tell what emotion he was feeling then.

Is this guy seriously going to be my... my future husband? You pressed your lips together as you broke eye contact with Shoto.

Despite everything that you have mentioned so far, you found Shoto a very attractive young man; Although you wouldn't admit to that directly in his face.

Moving onto his family; There was his father, Enji Todoroki, also know as Endeavor, Japan's number one hero. It felt like every time he gave you a glance he was judging you. It made you even more nervous than before.

His mother, Rei Todoroki, was a kind, soft spoken woman. The complete opposite of Shoto's father.

The Todoroki's are... You glanced at Shoto then looked back down, something...

But you felt like you didn't have any room to judge here. Not all families are perfect, especially ones that are popular among the media, but seriously, there was something off-

"-Y/n would have to transfer to UA this coming school year?" Your father asked, catching your full attention.

Your lips parted in shock, What the hell were they talking about!? You looked over at your mother whom sat closest to you.

I only tuned them out for a few minutes!

No one noticed your change of demeanor, no one except Shoto.

Actually, ever since your family entered the room he has been stealing glances from your figure.

In contrast of what you thought about him, he found every aspect of you perfect.

Leaning in close to your mother, you whisper, "What do you mean, 'transfer to UA...?'" You cut your eyes at her with a frown. You didn't understand why they didn't tell you long before this!

"Oh, Y/n, sweetie, it must've slipped your mind, haha! We've been talking about this for months!" Your mother forced a fake smile onto her face as she pushed the lie through her lips.

'Sweetie?' She never calls me that. What the hell is she on about...?

You and your mother exchange glances with one another before you respond to her lie with yet another, "Oh... oh yeah, we have."

Your father then butted in, "We're going to have Y/n's dormitory set up tomorrow."

Tomorrow!? You almost shouted.

"Y/n is almost done packing up her things, actually."

You nodded, These bitches can't go two minutes without lying...

The parents in the room proceeded to converse amongst themselves once again, leaving you and Shoto to stare at each other in awkward silence once more.

Shoto noticed your nervous fidgeting, wanting to say something but he just couldn’t get his mouth to open.

After about 20 minutes of talking, your and his mother and father decided to leave the room so you both could get to know each other better.

You visibly frowned when your mother left your side, Their off to go fucking yap again... you thought angrily.

You peered up at Shoto, trying to tell by his body language how he felt at the moment. But to your avail he was harder to read than you thought.

All he did was sit across from you with a blank expression on his face. Was he thinking of something to say to start a conversation?

Trying to catch his gaze, you fiddled with your fingertips nervously.

"Uhm, Todoroki—“

"-Call me Shoto," He stopped your sentence, "since you will be my fiancé in the near future."

You stiffened at the word "fiancé."

You hated how you barely even knew this man but you and he are going to be sharing the title of fiancé.

It was like a spell your parents have placed upon you, cursing you both of being with each other until one of you die.

You began thinking of something to start a conversation with him, but what could you possibly talk about? He has no social media nor obvious interests.

Is his whole personality just being Mr. Perfect-

"-Would you like for me to address you as your first name as well?" Shoto suddenly asked, taking you by surprise.

You weren't expecting him to be the one to talk first, "Uh, Sure."

You reach to shake his hand, he glanced from your face down you your hand reaching across the table.

He reached out and grabbed onto yours firmly before you both simultaneously pulled away.

You failed to notice how he looked at his hand as if he was amazed or something. When you looked up at him again he had the same expressionless face as before.

His dead silence was very unsettling for you. The way his heterochromic eyes never ceased to staring at the table.

Was he... nervous?

What else would explain his quiet and reserved demeanor. Then again, he was harder to read than a foreign language.

Maybe he's just an introvert and hates being in social situations... you thought to yourself, honestly, I can relate.

As you were strategizing how you would start up a conversation with the seemingly dry male, he just couldn't keep his eyes off of you. He just found you very... interesting.

He couldn't explain it.

"Y/n," He spoke again, and you jumped slightly in surprise. "Ye- Yes, Shoto?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

Holding in our to you, he then proceeded to speak, "Could we exchange phone numbers?"

"I am aware that our parents are in contact with one another, but they haven't given me your contact information yet."

You thought about it for a second before handing him your unlocked cell phone, "Yeah, of course."

After a few moments you both swapped back phones and sat in that damn silence again.

Did he run out of questions or something? You cut your eyes at him, well I shouldn't be talking. I haven't said shit until he spoke first.

It wasn't long until both the Todoroki's and L/n's entered the silent room again.

"Well it was very nice having you all, Mr. and Mrs. L/n," Mrs. Todoroki gave a small smile as she shook your parents' hand's.

You and Todoroki stood up from your seats and said your goodbyes until you and your parents were in the car.

"Finally that shit's over with," your mother sighed as she slammed the passenger seat door. Your father turned up the cold AC in the hot car as he said, "But at least we've gotten one step closer to our goal."

He glanced up at the rearview mirror, making eye contact with you, "We just need that Shoto boy to marry our Y/n."

You diverted your gaze from your father's to the window. The Todoroki family's home growing farther and farther away in the distance.

The Todoroki's were pretty decent people... you shot dagger into the back of your parents' heads, They're the problem.

"I knew they'd love Y/n!" Your mother chimed as she pulled out a cigarette, "Her quirk is somewhat similar to that brain-dead son of their's. And transferring her to UA will be a breeze with their help."

"Then once they're married, all that money will be ours!" Your father stopped at a red light and looked back at you, "Isn't that right, Y/n?"

You nodded silently, not caring for their stupid rambling.

You had absolutely no say in any of the events building up to today despite being a grown woman.

Your parents are money-hungry sharks willing to do anything to get some change.

When you were still in elementary school, you overheard your parents plotting to sell your older brother before he ran away.

And allegedly got himself murdered.

But you refuse to believe that it wasn't your parents doing. Despite lacking solid proof or evidence.

With that in mind, you still have no idea how your parents got in contact with the Todoroki's.

You also don't know why they still believe you give a fuck about them.

You only still live with them because they refuse to let you out of their sight in fear of you running away like your deceased brother.

They're going to have a rude awakening when they find out that UA has a dorm-only policy, You smirked to yourself as you scrolled through the UA University website.

You silently looked through the website until suddenly receiving a text from an unknown number.

unknown

Hi

It's Shoto

At the last text it finally clicked, you both exchanged numbers.

>> contact name changed to "Shotodoroki" <<

you

Hi

Did you need anything ?

shotodoroki

no, I was just making sure this was the right number

You frowned.

That was a waste of time.

「 EARLIER ᡣ𐭩 」

After your family had left the Todoroki family home, Shoto grabbed his things and began walking out of the house.

"Where are you going, Shoto?" His father asked sternly.

Shoto didn't even give Enji a passing glance as he spoke, "I came here to meet the L/n's. I did as you asked and now I'm going home."

Shoto put his shoes back on and opened the front door. His father was about to shout at his son before Rei quickly calmed him down.

Shoto shut the door behind himself without bothering to look back. He has never fully forgiven his father for what he's done, even after all of these years.

Shoto only agreed into going to his home again because he heard that his mother would be present.

He couldn't stand being alone in room with his father.

Getting into his car and slamming the driver seat door shut, Shoto drove back to college.

The only place he could truly call his "home."

He parked his car in the shade to block the hot rays of the summer sun. The campus seemed so dead when school was out for summer break, but it made no difference in his eyes.

He only had one on his mind at the moment.

Grabbing his phone out of his pocket, Shoto started texting an unregistered number in his phone.

>> contact name changed to "Y/n" <<

you

Hi

Immediately after sending the text he thought, Was that too vague?

you

Hi

It's Shoto

He waited no time for a response back. He desperately wanted to have a conversation with you.

Once reading your last text, he failed to think of a way to respond. So instead, he made up the excuse about verifying your number.

Knowing you'd believe it anyway.

Shoto got out of his car and shut the door behind himself.

It won't be too long until Y/n moves into her dorm here, He thought while locking his car door and walking away.

But that doesn't matter right now.

I know where she lives, anyway.

Back to Title Page?

Proceed to Chapter Two?

[anothersadsimp]

Musical Detour

Astarion x Bard!Reader

Words: 3000

Synopsis: Imagine that scene in Tangled where they're all dancing n stuff but Tav does the music. Thats pretty much it. FLUFF

A/N: THIS STARTED AS A SMALL CUTE IDEA AND HERE WE ARE OVER 3000 WORDS LATER FUCK. Okay back into the void bye.

You and your party had just arrived at Wyrms Crossing after defeating a used to be immortal and a literal god. Tensions were high as well as the exhaustion that flooded your minds and bodies, but there was an elder brain to be stopped. Refugees surround the lower levels of the city, bickering and groaning from long travels. 

“So many people seeking refuge.” Shadowheart mummers. 

“All hoping to get into Baldur's Gate, where my father is held. They won’t get the help they need until we save him.” Wyll notes.

“One problem at a time. Why don’t we set up camp? Me, Astarion, Karlach, and Gale will take a look around.” You suggest, trying to keep your tone light. 

“Sounds good, be safe.” Shadowheart nods, before leading the others to the area we scouted. 

“Well, where are we off to now, oh fearless leader?” Astarion chides. 

You sigh, looking around the surroundings overwhelming you. You see a cobble road to your left which leads to multiple buildings with people bustling about. You turn and nod your head towards the road, “This way seems like a good start.”

You start walking down the path where it leads to the main road. Once you reach it there's a line of people waiting in front of a gate. You were about to start maneuvering around them when one of your companions stopped.

“Oh. My. Gods. It’s the Circus of the Last Days! My mum and dad would bring me when I was a kid.” Karlach exclaims, stomping in place for a moment in excitement. “Tav we have to stop in just for a little bit. Please?” 

Her excitement brought a smile to your face, and you couldn't help but want to go just for her enjoyment. Who knows what silly mischief your current company will get into going in, it certainly piqued your interest. You looked around Karlach’s large frame to the others behind her with your shoulders shrugged, and a natural smile gracing your face.

You knew just how to convince Astarion into getting into trouble, more than he actually realized after you became official. It wasn't just the effortless smile that seemed to radiate off of you that convinced him, but your eyes grew wide as soon as they met with his.

He sighs, “Fine, but if there's any clowns, you’re on your own.”

Karlach jumps with excitement, which makes your smile widen. Suddenly she grabs your wrist and pulls you towards the entrance. Astarion frowned for just a moment after your face, holding an expression that rivaled the sunshine on his skin, was ripped away.

“No stopping those two once they’re together. They seem to be the only one that can keep up with Karlach’s energy.” Gale comments before following behind them. 

Astarion watches a moment longer before jogging up to stand behind you, Karlach taking his spot next to you still holding your wrist. He is still as close to you as he can get, his chest just barely rubbing against the back of your armor. The feeling causes you to turn your head to the side just so with a small smile, always acknowledging his presence. 

Your attention gets turned back ahead of you as the line moves up. As you step up you see an elf in some of the most colorful clothes you’ve seen, along with a ghoul dressed up as hideously as the elf.

“Hello, hello, and welcome to the Circus of the Last Days!” He greets enthusiastically.

“Hello, we’d like to enter please.” You say.

“Ah yes! Come and forget your worries! Benji just has to check if you're a vicious murderer first.” He says with a smile. “Benji!

The clownish ghoul stalks up towards the four of you and begins sniffing the air.

“BLOOD. TASTY BLOOD, SO DELICIOUS” It shouts and laughs maniacally.

“Well, I gotta say that's the first. Sorry folks, I'm afraid you cannot enter. Have a nice day!” He dismisses. 

After seeing how excited Karlach had gotten, and how her shoulders drooped, you refused to take no for an answer. Even if you could feel Astarion perk up behind you at being turned away, and Gale sighing somewhere behind. 

“Oh! Did I forget to mention, I’ve been recently hired! Meet your new bard! And their band of misfits.” You exclaim, gesturing with your arms and showing your violin. 

“Oh! No one tells me anything around here. Well, welcome to the family. You’ll want to talk to Ringmaster Lucretious once you head in. Good luck!” He says before moving to open the gate to the circus.  

You smile awkwardly towards the strange gatekeeper and continue into the entryway. Once through you could see colorful booths lined up, each with a different character expressively trying to get customers. You slowly walk past each one, taking in every detail you can of each vendor. Clearly they’re swindling. Years of being a bard on the streets had taught you a thing or two about how con artists work, and sometimes having to be one. 

“Surprising to see how many people fall for these silly games, just a waste of gold.” Gale comments. 

“Common, I want to play at least one game, the point is to have fun!.” Karlach whines. 

You reach into your pouch and pull out some gold holding your hand out towards her, “Go crazy Karlach.” you say with a smile.

A fiery, playful grin adorns her face, “Thank you!” She grabs the gold from your hand and quickly brings you into a bone crushing hug before racing off.

You, Astarion, and Gale continue walking, checking out the rest of the booths. As you venture deeper into the circus you start to hear music. It sounds like a few people playing together playing a familiar song. One you know by heart. You couldn't help but follow the music, your pace increasing.

“Something catch your attention, my dear?” Astarion asks behind you, but it doesn't quite register in your head and you continue walking.

You round a wide corner to see a little band playing just a few shallow steps down. There's a gnome holding a strong steady beat, while a drow plays strums on a lute. Alongside them was an elf carrying the main melody on their flute. The music begins to take you, the beat drumming in your chest, becoming your new heartbeat. The rhythm of drow’s strumming makes it feel as if you could float away with its voice. You tracked the elfs movements as he played the main part of the song. He’s floating around the crowd, trying to keep them engaged. 

You close your eyes for a brief moment, really listening to the flute. The key they’re playing the song in, each particular note to the beloved melody they play. Slowly you grab your violin strapped to your back with its bow. You can hear the notes in your head, and you know just the right moment to jump into the song.

“Everything alright?” Gale asks, but once again the question falls upon deaf ears.

The three musicians look at eachother, and the tension and volume of the music increase. It’s about to happen, and your eyes coles once more. The main part is coming up and that's when you’ll jump in. You keep your eyes closed counting to drumming that took over your heartbeat. 

1

2

And

You leap down the 3 shallow steps to be on the same level as the other musicians starting to harmonize with the flute. Your eyes were closed, lost in the melodies the four of you create. Your body moved with the music stepping, skipping, turning in whichever way the music desired it to.

People nearby cheered, some throwing gold at you and the three others. Eventually the cheering turned into a gathering of dancing and laughing. Random circus patrons and even workers stop to watch your merry band. The laughter made your eyes open to see wide smiles surround you. Couples and children dance around you causing a wide smile to shine on your face. 

Meanwhile Astarion and Gale stood right where you left them staring at the scene before them. Astarion shifts his weight onto one leg, and his arms cross. He tilts his head to the side as he watches you, and swears your smile blinds him momentarily. Without realizing it the corners of his mouth curl up as you start to interact with the crowd. You crouch down in front of a small human child and poke them lightly with the tip of your bow during a small break. The child giggled, hands coming out to try and catch your bow but you pull away with a twirl and begin to play once again.

“Always up to something.” Gale smiles, his body relaxing.

“You mean always causing a scene? Then yes, they’re quite good at that.” Though the words seem a tad harsh, there's no sense of malice in them. That soft smile of his refusing to leave. 

After another twirl you stop a moment, out of breath but refusing to stop playing. You look over towards your companions and see them looking at the scene unfolding. Only Astarion was staring straight at you. You stare into his blood red orbs the best you can from the distance between you. Even though you’re already breathless it feels as if he took your breath away, and not the performing. Warmth spread through your body from his gaze making you feel both giddy and shy. 

You force yourself to turn away from Astarion to look at the ensemble beginning to end the song. The drum slows, the rest following its beat as the flute dies off. You begin to improv with the strums of the lute as the drum slowly fades. You lock eyes with the drow ready to finally finish the song. They strum the last chord, as you play the last few notes while slowly bowing. You draw the last note out and stop, bowed over in a small lunge-like stance and your chest heaving.

The crowd erupted into cheers, and shouts. Gold clattered onto the stone beneath your feet, which made you stand to full height. Everyone around you had wide smiles, applauding you and the others for the show. You walk over to talk to the other musicians, and help them pick up the gold.

“Did you know they could play like that?” Gale asked, one hand holding his chin clearly amused. 

“I-I had no idea.” He said in disbelief. 

They both knew you could play, have even heard you practice no matter how hard you tried to hide it. But they had no idea how well the practice had really paid off. They had no idea how well you actually perform in front of people. Astarion briefly wondered how your name wasn’t well known for your talents. 

You turn away and leave the group of musicians behind you, violin packed on your back, and head towards your companions. About half way there the small child you poked ran up and tugged on your pant leg. You crouch down to see they have a few small wildflowers in their small fist held out towards you.

“Thank you! These are beautiful.” The child lights up at your words and runs back towards their parent. You stand back up and continue to walk back towards your friends. You look down at the flowers and pick one to put behind your ear.

You stop in front of Astarion and Gale, still too preoccupied with the flowers to see their astonished faces. Once you were satisfied you looked up at them, and you can’t tell if the warmth you’re feeling is embarrassment or residual from all the dancing. 

“That was amazing!” Gale exclaims, his smile wider than you’ve ever seen. 

You let out a little huff of a chuckle, a bashful smile adorning your face, “Thanks.”

“So, you do really have talent after all.” Astarion teases, with a wicked smirk to match.

Somehow you can't help but relax from his silly teasing, a genuine smile coming back as you hit his shoulder. “Shut up” you mumble. 

“It’s really a shame Karlach missed that. She’ll be sad when she finds out, no doubt.” Gale comments. 

“Please, she would’ve burned her heart out from dancing if she were here.” Astarion cracks.

“We should probably find her.” you say trying to change the topic, “The games couldn’t have taken that long. I saw her run off that way” you point. 

“Right. Well let’s make sure she hasn’t burned anything, yes?” Gale rhetorically asks as he leads on the way in the direction you pointed towards. 

You turn to follow Gale but stop when you don’t feel the vampire's presence behind you, “You coming?” You ask.

You turn around after asking to see if he’d followed but you still see him standing there. His arms were no longer crossed, he had one hand on his hip that was jutted out and the other resting at his side. His eyes were still trained on you almost as if you had put him in a trance. He finally made eye contact, and that subtle smile that naturally came to him when looking at you grew. 

Astarion started making his way to you, never once looking away from your widened eyes. You couldn’t look away from him as he stalked towards you, Gale and Karlach forgotten from one endearing gaze from your vampire. You take note of that cute little smile that adorns his face. It’s small, but it's rare to see a smile like this one from him. Once that's genuine.

He stops in front of you, one hand coming to grab your waist to bring you closer. You raise your hands up to his chest, one hand still clutching the other flowers the child gifted you. You’re nearly chest to chest if it weren't for your arms trapped in between you two. The hand on your waist now further towards your back as his arm wraps around you. The other hand comes up to the one holding the flowers, running his fingers gently over the back of your hand. 

“You really are something, you know that?” His voice is deep, and low enough for just you to hear. 

“That I am, though I do hope you mean it in a good way.” You tease, head cocking to the side. 

“Depends on the day, really.” He says with a dumb contemplative look on his face, that smirk never leaving. “But yes, I do mean it in a good way.” 

He looks back into your eyes, before the drop down and he leans closer. Both of your eyes close in unison as he gives you a gentle, chase kiss. You unintentionally softly sigh into the kiss, loving the feeling of him close to you. He pulls away and you’re still momentarily dazed, eyes taking a second before opening to see him looking back at you.

A little chuckle escapes him at your dazed expression, “Aren’t you just an adorable little pup.” 

You hum at his teasing comment, slowly coming out of the trance he put you in. You look at the flowers still clutched in your hand and grab the small red one with your other hand. 

You somehow get closer than you already were, your lips grazing his ear, “Same can be said about you, my love.” you whisper. 

As you tease him with your breathy words against his ear, the hand holding the small dainty flower comes up to place it in his luscious locks. Your hand brushes his other gently as you work causing the smallest of gasps to escape his lips, you would’ve missed it if not being so close. You step back after twining the flower into his curls, taking in every detail of his face and your work. The red hue flower perfectly matched the highlights of his eyes as they shine in the sun that bathes the entirety of Baulders Gate.  

“Perfect.” You smile. “Anyways where did the other misfits go?” You wonder, starting to turn around looking for them. You start walking in the direction you saw Gale disappear to, leaving Astarion behind. 

He stared in bewilderment as you walked off, not quite ready for you to turn the table so fast on him in more than one way. ‘Certainly is something’ he thinks to himself as a small smile of disbelief graces his lips, before walking after you. 

BONUS:

You and Astarion were still looking for Gale and Karlach. The circus really wasn't too big, and how does one lose a tall, rambunctious, fiery Tiefling. You were coming up on the last few booths, and still no luck. Did you pass them?

“Where in the hells are they?” You wonder out loud, beginning to get tired of walking in circles. 

Astarion was cut off, from what was no doubt a teasing or snarky comment, by running footsteps approaching the both of you. People part as you see Karlach jog towards you, you can tell she’s burning hotter than usual. You brush it off knowing it's from excitement, judging by the smile on her face. You then notice she's holding something rather large in both of her arms.

“Guess what I just got!” She shouts.

She raises a large owlbear blush closer to her chest as to showcase it, arms around its middle as if she's carrying a real owlbear cub. You’re surprised it's not being chared by her excitement.

“He matches the one we got at camp, now he’s got another friend!” She screams in excitement. “That game merchant had no idea what hit him!”

“Oh, no. Please tell me you didn’t set anything on fire.” You groan

“No, but they will need a new strength gage, and hammer.” Gale chides in, strolling behind Karlach. “Quite an impressive display nevertheless.” 

“Somehow I’m not surprised. Now I heard something about a terrible clown? Let's see how terrible.” You say with genuine curiosity.

“You’re really gonna drag me to a clown show?” Astarion scoffs.

“Come on! It’ll be fun, well fun to make fun of him.” You say, having to think halfway through after listening to yourself. 

Your hands grab one of Astarions before dragging him along with you to the circus stage. He groans and reluctantly lets you lead him away. The other two follow behind you, Karlach distracted with her new plush and Gale wondering how he ended up with such fools.

[tenebraevesper]

Shatter Me, Entry 0: Fight Together

''Let's leave before the dawn shows. Let's go meet a tomorrow we haven't seen yet. There's no regret about this decision. (Oh I know what I'm supposed to do). What kind of trial awaits ahead? My heart just can't stop beating fast. The place I want to reach is just one. (Fly to the light!) The bonds I got at the end of the fight, I won't let anyone break them. If I just open the fists I grasped, I find my strength lying there.''

– Fight Together by One Piece

xXxXxXx

''Goodbye, Roses…''

Shadow's ears flicked as he heard Sonic's weakened voice, bidding goodbye to his friends who came to escort him to Green Hill. Unfortunately, with the ship being too damaged, it was up to Shadow to help Sonic in the last stretch of their journey through The Void.

Having placed Sonic's arm over his shoulder, Shadow held onto his waist with his other hand, the two leaping from one crystal to another. Sonic was in a very bad condition, his body fading fast. Shadow sneaked a glance at his rival, the sense of concern only growing when he saw that, while he still could hold onto Sonic, he was becoming more and more transparent, like a ghost.

''Agh!''

Sonic gasped in pain as he felt another jolt coursing through his body, his shape distorting for a brief moment. He fell on his knees, with Shadow still holding onto him. A sense of dread and panic set in, with Shadow taking a quick glance at the gate that led to Green Hill, estimating the distance. Then, he quickly scooped Sonic up in his arms, placing his hands under his legs and back as he carried him towards Green Hill, towards safety. He was speeding across the crystal they had landed on, aware that Sonic had little time left. He needed to get him to Green Hill as fast as possible, not wanting to think about what would happen if he failed.

''I never knew you were a hugger.''

Shadow felt his heart leap when he heard Sonic again, glancing down at him. The once azure hedgehog had a cheeky smile on his fawn lips, only to get interrupted by another jolt of pain. Clearly, even at death's door he had to get at least one more quip in. Shadow couldn't help but respond in a snarky tone.

''Do you want me to save you or not?''

Shadow saw Sonic flashing another grin, clearly amused that Shadow decided to continue the banter, only for another jolt of pain to pass through his body. Shadow's eyes widened in horror, and he almost felt his heart stopping as Sonic suddenly fainted, his limp arm swaying.

This was bad. This was really bad. Shadow picked up the pace, skating faster and faster. He leapt from the crystal onto another, aware that Sonic's life depended on him. If he failed to get Sonic to Green Hill… No, did not want to think about that. But still, the gateway seemed to be still too far away.

Gritting his teeth, Shadow focused all of his energy into this one jump, flying through The Void like a shooting star, followed by several sonic booms. His heart was now beating rapidly as his gaze fixated on the Green Hill gateway, the light coming closer and closer.

''HANG ON SONIC!''

He could feel Sonic's limp body almost fading out of his hands, and he tightened his grip. He refused to lose him to The Void. He refused to let go of him. Nothing else mattered aside from this one moment. Shadow narrowed his eyes as the bright light of the gateway illuminated them. He had to make it! He simply had to!

Then, he passed through it… and everything went white.

xXx

Shadow opened his eyes, feeling a sense of dizziness. His arms were light, too light for his comfort, and he realized that the reason for this was because he wasn't carrying Sonic anymore.

''No, no, no… Sonic! Sonic!'' Shadow shouted as he looked around for the azure hedgehog, the dread and panic swirling inside him like a storm. He refused to believe that Sonic was gone. He had to be somewhere here… in Green Hill.

Shadow stopped for a moment, breathing heavily as he finally took a good look at his surroundings. He was back at Green Hill, and everything looked like it used to be before. Green Hill was back to its lush and vibrant colours instead of looking like a shell of its former self. They had managed to restore their home.

Shadow's gaze then turned towards the mountain where the Paradox Prism cave was, and he quickly leapt, rushing towards it. He sped past Big, skating towards the mouth of the cave, only to be washed over by an overwhelming wave of relief. Sonic was there, and he was still alive, sticking close to his friends as they defended the Paradox Prism from Dr. Eggman.

While Shadow did not completely understand the situation fully, he did realize that by entering Green Hill, he and Sonic were brought back to the moment right before the shattering of the Paradox Prism. However, the previous time Shadow arrived at the cave, he was too late to stop Sonic from shattering it. Now, it was clear that Sonic actually listened to his friends, keeping close to them, with this one change preventing their reality from shattering once again.

Shadow had to wonder whether Sonic remembered the events, only to get a confirmation a moment later when Dr. Eggman approached Sonic and his friends. Sonic looked up, gazing past the doctor, his jaw dropping when he saw Shadow at the entrance to the cave.

Their exchange was wordless, with Shadow swiping his hand across the air, revealing the green Chaos Emerald, that had miraculously returned back from the decaying space of The Void, and Sonic nodded in response, agreeing with his plan.

Both knew in that moment that their memories of the Shatterverse were still there, but for now, they had more pressing matters to deal with. Even if Sonic didn't shatter the Paradox Prism this time, they still needed to deal with Dr. Eggman before he could use the Prism for his nefarious plans.

''This world is mine!'' Dr. Eggman exclaimed, only for him and Sonic's friends to be surprised when Shadow appeared seemingly out of nowhere on top of the Paradox Prism. ''Huh? Shadow? What the heck are you doing here?!''

''I am the Ultimate Lifeform,'' Shadow declared in a firm tone, holding the Chaos Emerald tightly in his hand. ''I go wherever I want.''

''Wh-huh?''

Dr. Eggman was left as confused as the rest of Sonic's team, while Shadow held up the Chaos Emerald.

''CHAOS CONTROL!''

Shadow and the Paradox Prism then vanished, leaving Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Rouge immensely confused and with a lot of questions on their mind, as Shadow was the last person they had expected to appear and help them.

''NOOOOOO! What have you DONE?!'' Dr. Eggman screamed, punching the mech in frustration.

Sonic, in turn, felt elated about the turn of events, leaping onto the empty rock where the Paradox Prism once was and turning back to the mad doctor with a wide smile on his expression. He knew that he would have to seek out Shadow later on to thank him for everything he had done, but now, it was time for some heroic last words in the wake of Eggman's defeat.

''Sorry, Eggman, but when you've got a crew like mine, there is nothing that can stop you.''

Links:

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#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

[trulybetty]

Drip | Joel Miller x Reader

Pairing: Joel Miller x Reader (no use of Y/N) Word Count: 1,243 Warnings: References, but doesn't reference, events in TLOU2, so if you want to avoid conversation around that and comments - might be best to pass on this. Summary: I've got nothing - just me and my feels. AO3: Linked

A/N: This piece or whatever you want to call it leaves it up to interpretation if Joel came back from golfing or not. Not sure I'll go anywhere with this - but I wanted to get it out of my head. Don't think it'll get much traction, but one of those fics that I wanted to write for myself.

Drip.

You can hear Maria arguing with Tommy. You can’t make out what’s being said, but you can hear them going back and forth.

The water is getting cold, but you can’t bring yourself to get out of the bathtub. 

It’s been a long time since it was just you. A long time since you’ve been on your own here. You’re not sure how it works, being alone, anymore. Maria had told you you weren’t truly alone, you’d looked at her confused. She told you that you had herself and Tommy. But the sentiment hadn’t been as comforting as she had intended it to be.

The tap is dripping, he was supposed to fix it. 

There’s a slam of a door somewhere in the house. Your head is too full of static to figure out where it’s coming from. There are steps on the stairs, hurried and angry. You know who they belong to, but you don’t care because they are not the slow, comforting thumps that bring you peace at the end of the night.

The room is getting cold, the winter wind is seeping through the window you left open. The flimsy curtains that had once served a decorative purpose for the previous owners, fluttered with the breeze. 

The bang of an open hand on the door is resounding in the still of the bathroom, where the only noise is the constant drip, drip, drip of the leaking tap. Maria and Tommy’s voices are clearer now. They’re still arguing, but their raised voices are now directed towards the person banging at the door.

The tepid bathwater covers your face as you lower yourself into the tub, inching closer and closer to overflowing. As close to spilling over the edge as you are to the point of breakdown. 

Your name is being shouted now. But it’s distorted under the water almost like it belongs to someone else.

You wish this was all for someone else. 

You squeeze your eyes closed tight before you resurface.

All three voices are arguing now. 

None of them are from people you want to hear from, but at least the banging of the door has stopped. 

The pile of clothes next to the laundry basket is still there, just as it had been that morning. You want to go back to a time when the only problem within the four walls of that house was getting those clothes into the laundry basket instead of next to it, without argument.

The tap is still dripping. 

Your bruised and bloodied knuckles still throbbed. You’d put up a good fight when they’d tried to take you away, you hadn’t wanted to leave. They'd said it was for the best, you needed to rest. You’d screamed until your voice was hoarse, insisting he shouldn’t be alone, you'd begged and pleaded. Maria had promised you that he wouldn’t be, but here she was with Tommy; how did she know that he wasn't alone?

You haven’t cried. 

The tap. Is still. Dripping. 

He was supposed to fix it. 

When you submerge your head underwater again it’s not the slow slide it was before into the peace the water brought you. No this was in anger, water spilled over the edges of the bathtub, you gripped the ceramic forcing yourself down and under you screamed.

It's a cry of desperation that echoes only in the void beneath the surface. Your thoughts are a torrent of confusion, anger, and loss. 

Finally, you resurface, your breath coming in ragged gasps. The water splashes around you, droplets clinging to your skin. The house is silent now, the voices gone. You don't know if they've moved elsewhere or if they've just stopped talking.

They were arguing about you, about him, about what to do next. It's all a jumble, and you can't make sense of any of it. 

Slowly, you step out of the bath, the chill of the air on your wet skin. You look at yourself in the mirror, it's a stranger staring back at you. Hollow bloodshot eyes and shoulders hunched over as if you're carrying some unseen weight. You wrap a towel around yourself before you rest both hands firmly against both sides of the sink as if it's all that keeps you standing.

The water runs off of you dripping into the sink in chorus with the drip from the bathtub. 

The silence is so fucking loud and you don’t know what to do. 

It’s fight or flight but you’re rooted to the floor in anxiety over what to do next.

The house, your house, which once held the promise of safety, now feels like a fragile shell and you feel open and exposed and the cold from the window is seeping into your bones. Your chest is tight, and a stab of pain at the side of your head reminds you that the headache you had earlier is returning. The damn tap keeps dripping and you cannot decide if you want to run head first to what’s on the other side of the door or submerge yourself back into the water.

The crescendo of intrusive thoughts peaks and your ears pop, your mind is suddenly quiet and it scares you. Your heart hammers in your chest, the abrupt silence amplifying the chill of dread that crawls up your spine that has nothing to do with the open window.

Slowly you step away from the sink, your body trembling, your hand pauses on the doorknob before you tentatively open the door.

The moment you step out of the bathroom you regret it instantly. 

The room is empty. However the bed is still unmade, the sheets are still dishevelled from the morning. 

It's like a freeze-frame of another life, a cruel reminder of the morning's normalcy. You can almost hear the whispered conversation you’d had despite being the only ones in the house, feel the warmth of his skin despite the wintry chill the room clung on to, the soft press of a kiss. It feels like it's from another lifetime, yet it was only hours ago.

You stumble towards the dresser, your hands grappling with the fabric of his shirt, still strewn across the chair from the morning. It smells like him. You pull it over your head, the fabric a comfort against your skin. It's a small solace.

The house creaks, and for a moment, you're not alone. You can hear the echoes of guitar strings, see the flash of smiles, feel the press of hands.

You sink onto the bed, your hands clutching at the sheets. The tears that you still have yet to cry threaten to spill. There’s a dam holding back a river of sorrow, grief, and so much anger, with nowhere or no one to direct it at. You feel broken and lost, adrift in a world that changed in an instant.

The walls of the house feel like they’re closing in on you, and the life you once knew is unravelling at the seams too quickly for you to hold on.

Your body shakes with sobs that won't come, tears that refuse to fall. 

The room is darkening as night creeps further in, the world outside moving on as yours has stopped.

The bathroom door is open.

You can still hear it.

He was supposed to fix it. He was supposed to be there.

But he's not, and the tap is still dripping.

[aussiepineapple1st]

Hello, hope you don't mind if I make a request! 😃

What about something like this? I've always loved the idea of Leon being nearly killed by the removal of the plaga. What if reader manages to remove the plagas from Leon but the process is too much for him and leaves him practically dead and reader is horrified and panicking and feeling like she killed him. Just an idea! 💕

I do love this idea as well! Thank you for suggesting it! I was thinking of doing something with the removal of the Plaga eventually.🥰😈

Plaga Removal

Leon x F!Reader

Words: 1,551 Contains: Plaga infected Leon, Ashley and Reader, Angst, Whump, Death?

You break free from the control of Saddler as he's shot from someone above you. Falling to your knees you look up seeing Ada with her SMG.

"GO!" She shouts down to you and Leon. You scramble to your feet, rushing to Leon's side. Yes you had the Plaga in you as well, But you had only recently been infected, your own progression with the parasite wasn't as far as Leon or Ashley.

Leon pulls himself to his feet with your help and the stone table Ashley was laying on. Scooping her into his arms you help keep him on his feet while you exit through a doorway. The way being closed with the help of Ada shooting free a statue that falls, blocking the entrance. Both of you fall to the ground, Leon making sure Ashley's head doesn't hit the ground. You groan as you sit up, everything ached. The veins covering your entire body as you examine your arms. You see Leon roll off Ashley, laying on his back. Neither of them were looking very good.

"Leon?" You crawl to kneel beside him. He was staring up at the ceiling, his vision swimming with water above him, around him stood shadowy figures of people. "Leon! Come back to me!" You say gently placing your hand on his cheek.

Your voice pulls him from the trance, everything flashing back to reality as he sees you leaning over him. He finally looks into your eyes rather than past you, his hand reaching up to touch yours. "I'm here." He assured, his eyes closing as he groans in pain.

"We have to get these things out of us, Now!" You say pulling Leon's arm to sit him up. Pulling Ashley's arms you spin in just a way to bring her to lay on your back. "Hup"ing as you stand you your feet, your hands holding under the young girl's thighs.

"Can you stand?" You ask your partner still sitting on his butt. There was no answer. "Leon!" You call his name once more, giving his boot a tap with your own as you adjust Ashley on your back.

"Y.. Yeah, I can stand." He says rolling to his knees, pulling one leg up and pushes on his knee to stand. He steps back, loosing balance, but you keep him on his feet by planting the top of your head in the centre of his shoulder blades. "I'm good.." He assures now getting his balance.

"Good.." You answer walking towards the a long hallway. Your own vision flashes to this other reality, shaking your head to try and come back. Hearing the sound of a body hitting the floor you turn around seeing Leon laying on his front. You look towards the doors ahead of you then back to Leon. You had to get both of them to the lab, but you couldn't help Leon when you had Ashley on your back. "I'll be back for you. Just... Stay awake!" You say turning and walking as fast as you could towards the double doors.

Unlocking the door with the key Leon had entrusted to you, you push it open, stumbling down the stairs and into the lab. Seeing a chair on the other side of the room you sit Ashley on it, walking to the computer and turning on the machine.

"Where's Leon?" Says a weak voice behind you.

You turn to look at her and give her a fake smile. "He's going to be fine, I will fetch him after we get this thing out of you."

Ashley nods and is moved into position. You look to the doors hoping you could see Leon, but it was too dark, all you saw was a void beyond the doors. "You ready?" You ask as you prepare the computer. Waiting until Ashley nods, you then press the 'Enter' button and she is instantly zapped. The three prongs above her doing their job.

Ashley cries out in pain as you kneel beside her, grabbing her hand that grasps the rod tight. "You've got this! Almost done!" You say looking back as the computer blinks a green Successful. Sighing, you see the black veins star to leave her fair skin, small groans leaving her assures you she is alright. Gently puling her into your body, you manoeuvre the young lady to lay on the ground to the side.

Nodding to yourself you hurry out into the hall where you had left Leon, who had now propped himself up against the wall. Head leant back on the stone he was leaning on, arms by his side as he pants heavily, eyes closed. You kneel beside him and place a hand on his chest. Your own way of asking him to wake up.

"I'm awake.." He huffs out, eyes opening in a wince. "Did it work? Is she okay?" He asks. He heard her shouts of pain but your smile and nod to his question makes him relax.

"Yeah, she's okay. Now it's your turn.." You lift his arm over your shoulder and wait for him to help you pull him to his feet. You hold around his waist and the wrist of his hand slung around your shoulder. "Easy does it." You encourage.

A few steps into the lab and Leon's legs give way. Ashely now on her feet rushes over to the both of you. She lifts his other arm around her shoulders and helps you carry him to the chair.

"Thanks Ash." You say giving her a small nod and a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine. Much better than before. But is Leon going to be okay?" She holds her hands in front of her chest, worried eyes looking over Leon's exhausted, black veined face.

"If you are okay, then he should be too." You assure. Though you were really hoping you could assure yourself, he was in a much worse state than Ashely had been. Whatever Saddler had just done to the both of you really hurt Leon.

You move to the computer and motion for Ashley to stand back before you press the same button as before. The three prongs zapping at Leon's chest. His body arching up as he grits his teeth. Once again you move to hold his hand, Ashley taking his other. Expecting him to writhe in pain until the computer flashed successful, your heart drops when he goes still mid procedure.

Standing to your feet your eyes widen as you look back to the screen, you could still see the Plaga being disintegrated, so why was he not moving? Your eyes start to prick with tears as you look back to Leon, hearing the computer ding you quickly look back to see it read the green 'Successful'.

"Leon?" You panic, standing in front of him, slightly leaning over his body. "Leon!" You call his name once again, your hand resting on his chest. Nothing, you choke out a sob as you brush his fringe from his face. Sweat on his skin causing his hair to stick to his forrid, but you make sure to brush every strand away. "Baby..? Hey, answer me!" You plead as you press your fingers under his jawline. There was a pulse, but it was weak.

You wrap your arms under his and hoist him towards you, pulling his limp body from the chair. You slip and fall to the ground, landing against a cabinet with a loud bang, but you didn't mind. Tears were now falling from your eyes as you hold Leon in your arms, his right hip on the ground as his right cheek rest on your chest. "Leon Please! Stay with me!" You cry out as you turn him to lay on his back between your legs.

You cry as you hold his head in the crook of your arm, your hand resting on his chest as all you wanted was for him to wake up, to let you know he was alright. "Please. I can't do this without you." You sob into the top of his head.

Ashley watched, tears streaming from her own eyes as she sits on her knees at Leon's feet. She thought he was dead. "You should have done him first." She sobbed to you.

Shaking your head you look over to Ashley. "No.. You are more important. This would have happened if he was first or n-" You stop instantly as you feel a hand rest on yours placed on his chest.

You look down to see Leon's eyes open, looking up at you. "Hey.. What's with the tears? You can't get rid of me that easy." He croaked out.

You just stare down at him, your tears flowing even faster now as you hug his head. "I thought I killed you!"

Ashley relaxed and wipes her tears away, a smile now coming to her lips as she watched Leon's arms reach up to comfort you, gently patting your arm and shoulder. "Okay.." He responds. You pull back and wipe your face free of tears, spit and snot as you try calming yourself down.

"Your turn." Leon smiled up at you. You nod and he gently placed a hand on the back of your neck to pull you into a tender kiss.

🏷️: @phoenix666stuff @maehemthemisfit @greywardensaywhat @growingupnrealizing @starcrossedreaders

[becca4leafclover]

Thinking about the ending of Purgatory again, how the two people with wings saving people were Philza and Fit.

Phil, everyone knows had the wings. HAS the wings, now, in this miracle of this place, where nothing good grows and yet it's given Phil the chance to regain his lost limbs. Even after they were pushed to their fragile limits and broken again to save Tubbo, Phil's wings still exist on his back after they'd been gone for far too long.

But what about the other person who miraculously had wings? Who never had any sort of phantom pains of lost limbs in all of his life, who touched the sky only through mechanical marvels and the husks of void insects and never craved the feeling of flight as a wingfolk does.

Unlike Phil, who returned from the End challenge nearly sobbing for his children and the healing of his wings, Fit had no such thing when he went through those portals. He went through and grinned at the sight of a pair of elytra, a trusty tool back on 2b2t. He raced through the course and jumped through the other side and physically looked no different.

But who knows how long it's been since the last time Fit touched the void? Since he went to go solve the mystery of his airship's ghost voyage? That was years ago. It was nice to feel- free. Of Purgatory, of Quesadilla, of his mission and all the complications of the past few months. It was just him and the empty infinity below him for a few minutes.

When Fit left the End, he didn't miss the elytra. No, he was no Philza. But his body felt abuzz in a way he couldn't explain. It came and went, a slight background noise or strangely absent. Fit didn't pay much attention to it- his focus was on surviving. Grinding. Winning, for Ramon. But he found himself idly noticing it when he was helping Tubbo, or wandering with Pac, or defending Tina.

Days past, and the end of the world seemed to come from one of their own. Fit saw the writing on the wall of the fate of their kids and knew that he didn't have time to look for a lost cause. He pushed his limits to get to the escape boat. It was intense, but he didn't think for a moment that he wouldn't make it. He knew that not all of his friends would be so lucky. But it was survival of the fittest, and Fit knew it better than almost anyone else.

When Phil and Tubbo made it to the boat on Phil's broken wings, something stirred inside Fit. It was the two leaders of the surviving teams, the two that had just dueled to the death, holding each other like lifelines. These weren't more survivors in a wasteland, they were his FRIENDS. Could Fit really stand here on this boat, knowing if he didn't do something he'd never see them again?

"Give me the lasso, I can save people," Fit offered once Phil collapsed when trying to get up.

The old crow and his young adversary looked at him with wonder. That buzzing feeling was back, stronger than it'd been before. Fit held out his hand for the fraying rope. Fit backed up on the boat's deck and sprinted, planning on jumping over the edge and diving into the water-

But he never fell once he went up.

Fit used all of his willpower to keep going. Find someone- ANYONE, to save one more life so it wasn't just him, the unconscious people he'd managed to get to the boat, and those other two going home. Anyone else.

One minute. Bagi.

Fit screamed her name through the air. She shouted in surprise when she spotted him.

"Fit! You have wings?"

Fit took the second to glance over his shoulder. Wings, on his back, glowing against the hazy red light that covered the island.

"I'm getting you out of here," was all Fit said as he tied the rope around Bagi. He hefted her up, and then took off again.

They made it to the boat with twenty seconds left on the timer. Tubbo had gotten the engine revving and he heard Charlie screaming somewhere inside. He pulled Bagi out of the water, and then everyone's MDA's went off violently with notifications. Their time was up.

The buzzing in Fit's body faded as the boat sped away from the island- and their remaining friends, and the little buddies, and the corpses of their children, and the black dot rising in the sky that spelled total destruction. And the next time Fit noticed, the magic wings that had allowed him to be the hero of the hour were gone too.

It wasn't until they were back on Quesadilla Island that anyone mentioned the miracle Fit had pulled. Phil showed Fit so much trust, in revealing to him his mangled wings that he was able to keep coming back home. And he gently asked- what happened to Fit's? Why did Fit never tell that he had lost his wings too?

"I'm not like you, Phil. I've never had wings to lose."

"...But we all saw them, mate. Were you at least born with them?"

Fit shook his head. "Not that I ever knew. But I don't remember much about where I came from before 2b anyway."

Phil had frowned at that, but left it.

The next person to bring it up was Tubbo, along with Bagi and Pac while they were waiting for their somehow-alive kids to wake up from their comas.

"Hey Fit, what happened to your wings?"

"Oh yeahh! You were my hero, Fit! I don't think I'll ever be able to make it up to you," Bagi said. Fit waved them off.

"Don't worry about it, Bagi, we're all good."

"You have wings?" Pac questioned, his voice filled with such pure wonder. Fit shook his head.

"I... I really don't know what that was. I just knew I had the chance to save one more person, so I did. I wouldn't be surprised if that fucking Eye did something just to try to get under my skin! Good thing I'm tougher than that," Fit said with a smile. For the first time since the boat, that strange feeling prickled along his back.

Bagi frowned, while Pac looked at his whole being with his observant eyes, and Tubbo tilted his head.

"I would have loved to see you with wings... How cool you would look!" Pac breathed. Fit chuckled at that, but couldn't find the words to quite reply.

"What if you did have wings before?" Tubbo said, "Like how Phil had his healed back there?"

"I already talked to him about it. I've never had wings in my whole life. Or if I did, I lost them before I ended up in 2b2t, but that was when I was still a kid. If I ever came from anywhere before 2b anyway."

"They weren't really like Philza's either, when I saw them. They seemed- magical? They weren't really- I don't know the word- they weren't really real. They were all glowy," Bagi added.

Pac hummed thoughtfully. "You sound like a guardian angel that only got his wings in a time of need..."

That struck a chord with Fit. The feeling in him settled pleasantly, like he'd gotten an answer he didn't know the question to. "Maybe, maybe. Maybe you're closer than you think, I don't know. guess we'll never really know unless we end up in hell fighting each other again and have to escape another nuke!"

"Do NOT even joke about that!!"

"I don't know, I kind of want to see my guardian angel fly me to safety..." Pac said, a tease in his voice and cheeks flushed pink. Fit, admittedly, balked at this, and couldn't come up with a response. Tubbo, meanwhile, gagged.

The last clue Fit had to the strange event in Purgatory, was when he was stretching in the new yoga room of Fit's Fitness.

He was alone in the calming space, the tinkling of the water feature an easy background noise. He was doing some final stretches after a workout, to relax his muscles before he called it a day. His sweaty shirt was in the corner by the shoe rack- he really needed to change out of his Purgatory clothes, now that the islanders were slowly starting to be able to put that behind him.

In the mirror as he was just doing a shoulder stretch with his mechanical arm, for the first time Fit noticed a pair of scars on his back.

Now, Fit was familiar with his plethora of scars that covered his whole body. He knew the major ones- the ones that were closer calls with permanent death than he'd like to admit. His scar tissue had layers, with the way that explosions left their marks on the same spots over and over again. But despite the size of these scars, Fit couldn't remember where he got them from off the top of his head. Two long slashes- fairly clean. One was partially covered by the metallic plating that was embedded into his shoulder- maybe that was why he'd forgotten about them before?

It was still weird though. Nothing on 2b2t left such clean slashes. Especially not so symmetrical, or in what really was a vital place... strange indeed...

Fit looked back at himself in the mirror, examining the scars with mild curiosity.

For a moment, pale glowing wings were aligned with those slits. Fit blinked, and they were gone. That fuzzy feeling returned, and lingered as Fit's mind raced.

He had a feeling there was something he didn't know about himself.

[chronologically-challenged]

Hello, I have my little guy, a thirdfrin AU where Siffrin made a wish, but unlike Loop, wasn't as much of a guide. Loop calls him stardust, but he's more aptly named "The Director". Thus, Director AU.

An AU where Siffrin was convinced the loops would never end, that this was always going to be their life forever more, this too sweet existence grating until they feel like they're nothing, he makes another wish.

"I don't want to be here, I can't keep up acting like this, but please give me the power to keep going"

But The Director is not a guide. They are here to ensure that this Siffrin will endure.

Another Siffrin wakes up in the meadow, another try to end these cursed loops. Loop is not as fun of a guide, but they look at this new Siffrin, and calls him our satellite. Loop doesn't play any games, no laughing no fun, the break was lost when stardust decided to give up too. Besides, Loop learned their lesson in trying the same things over and over again and expecting different results. Loop tells them about the keys and refuses to let them leave rooms without taking the ones they would have missed otherwise, makes sure they always go the right directions, all of it.

Perhaps Loop is a good guide, but not much of a friend.

This Loop also doesn't talk with this Siffrin except for the bare minimum. "I'm here to guide you, satellite! Nothing more, nothing less! If you want to talk to someone about the loops, maybe you should talk to your party!"

Loop is a bit more insistent about this whole "tell your party about the loops" thing. Siffrin doesn't get it.

Loop lets Siffrin die to the King; they don't think Siffrin would have believed them if they said he needed a shield. But the dutiful guide tells them of a shield and a secret library. As Siffrin goes to get their needed tools, Loop tries to think of what they can do to make sure their satellite doesn't fall into despair like their stardust did. Because, despite stardust abandoning them, Loop fundamentally believes there is a way out. There HAS to be.

Why would they be here to help otherwise?

Siffrin defeats the King after a few tries. After victory Mirabelle runs ahead. Happily, he guides the rest of the party to the Head Housemaiden and to the end of their journey.

But there's a shout, Mirabelle runs back.

Something is blocking the way. A giant curtain of night as far as the eye can see stretches across the top of the house. There's also a welcome mat sitting oddly on the ground. Everyone tries to read it, but they only get a headache.

Suddenly, the curtain opens, a white glove beckons.

There are two choices, to take it or not.

Curiously, knowing they can just loop if something goes wrong, Siffrin takes it, much to the other's distress.

They're INSTANTLY pulled in. Beyond the curtain, there is nothing but an empty void and a face familiar to their own, but wrong wrong wrong. A star in their stomach, hair of stars, and an incomprehensible shade echoing out from their feet and hair. The being has no eyes to see, but Siffrin knows They Are Looking At Him.

"What are you?" Siffrin asks.

The being opens their mouth and reveals a full row of sharp teeth, made to tear apart and swallow. They speak, but Siffrin cannot hear the words.

The being closes their mouth. And opens it once more.

A single thought echoes and echoes in Siffrin's head.

[GO BACK]

Siffrin.

Loops.

Siffrin wakes up in the meadow.

[Memory of Control] When equipping this memory, your attack speed increases, but you will always do a random attack on your turn.

They immediately go to Loop. Good thing, because the star looks frantic. "I can't see anything past the King, satellite, but I know SOMETHING went down. Now explain."

Siffrin explains what's going on.

And by the end Loop looks on in horror, "oh stardust," they whisper, far too quiet, and almost said without their permission, "what have you done?"

And thus begins their mission to figure out what is going on with this "stardust".

[kittygamer2888]

Time.exe

[Lil' summary]

Story:

One day, Sonic was just minding his own business, running around, seeing his friends, and of course, stopping whatever scheme Dr. Robotnik had planned.

One fateful day, however, things wouldn't be the same once Sonic discovered a strange purple clock on top of a hill. Tails tried his best to research the clock, but there was nothing. They assumed the clock could just be a normal one and thought nothing of it. So when it was getting late, Tails and Sonic decided to sleep in the night, leaving the clock in Tails' workshop. But as they were sleeping, the clock suddenly disappeared and reappeared next to Sonic, as well as a shadow-like figure that would loom towards Sonic and eventually start possessing him.

The next day, Tails would go to Sonic only to find him gone right away. This was normal for Tails since he thinks Sonic went running around other places again.

After a few hours, Tails would begin to worry as he hadn't seen Sonic all day, not only that, but he noticed the clock went missing as well as soon as he went to his workshop, so Tails would go and start finding Sonic. As soon as Tails opens the exit from his workshop, he sees Sonic but with a much more different look. But what Tails noticed more was his eyes. His black void eyes looked so lifeless he thought Sonic was missing them due to the blood pouring out of his eyes. Tails started to think if this was even Sonic at all as he slowly started to back away in fear until he brought out his arm cannon, shaking.

This thing then started to walk closer to Tails as a smile creeped its way on his muzzle, the red pupils staring right back at the frightened fox.

Tails struggled to fire the cannon, so he ran for his life and looked for the nearest window to get out of the workshop, and eventually, Tails would successfully get out of the workshop and flew away with his 2 tails as fast as he could to get away. He needed to warn everyone, but right as he was getting away, he was instantly pulled back, someone yanking his 2 tails and throwing him on the ground, hard. Tails looked up, only to see the same floating figure that was taking control of Sonic. Tails would point his arm cannon shakingly to the figure, tears formed in his eyes as he hesitated, because, after all... this is still Sonic here. Sonic's body was being used, he assumed. So, if his body took damage, it would be a permanent scar for Sonic. Meanwhile, it would probably heal easily for this creature possessing him, but that was only speculation as he wasn't sure, and he didn't want to risk accidentally hurting Sonic in the process, so he just watched with widened, trembling eyes as he looked at the being in utter terror.

The being floated to Tails, he looked like he was going to attack until, suddenly, Sonic was fighting control over the body and shouted at Tails to get away. The being takes control again but with a struggle as he was currently fighting with Sonic inside. Once the being was distracted, Tails did as he was told, he ran. He ran as fast and far away as he could.

Once the demon had enough of struggling for control, he thought it would be a good idea and hit himself; stabbing himself with his own fist to the chest. Since this was Sonic's body the demon was using, only Sonic could feel this pain. So, as it happened, Sonic was unconscious and was now losing the last strains of control he had left, and now letting the demon take over completely.

The demon would mess around with his powers and alter the environment around him. The sky was bloody red, and the sun was grey. The grass and the trees, even the little animals, were all grey scaled except for the characters who were alive. Parts of the ground were lifted up as platforms. This reached its way on to where Tails was hiding as well.

and as Tails was hiding, it was only a matter of time before Time.exe's search would begin.

[End of story].

HEHDHDHFRJEJJDJJJR-

Well, there you guys go, ig👍

Note that I just copy-pasted this from my Time.exe wiki from the Sonic.exe amino, but yea, I did write the story. Idk if I'll be changing the story a bit, but this is how it is so far.

I also edited a few stuffs since Amino's being a pain and won't let me enter my wikis, so I had to resort in google Chrome to copy-paste it, and it actually worked, wo a h! :0

[thatonetwig]

Love your work! Also, I'm a bit of a fan of Hood x Void, and the ship name you gave for them is very cool! Speaking of, what do you think would happen if Hood encountered Void's A.C. form for the first time?

Perfect time to share one of my excerpts!

...

Hood slowly opened his eyes and looked around in confusion while still feeling disoriented.

"What...happened?", he questioned himself.

Suddenly, he looked up and saw Void floating above the arena with purple sparks forming at his feet. Hood stood up, and he realized that Void was now a darker shade of purple than he usually was.

"Void?! Void! Are you okay?! What happened?!", he called out to him.

Void turned around and saw Hood down below.

"Heh...took you long enough to wake up. Just in time to witness the destruction of the universe...", he said in a voice deeper than Void's own.

The realization struck Hood like a meteorite; he wasn't talking to Void. Rather, something entirely different speaking through his body like a parasite.

"Y-you! Who do you think you are?! W-what have you done with Void?!", Hood demanded angrily.

"Oh you simple-minded organism...haha...", the entity laughed.

"You can refer to me as...A.C. And to put it simply, he's gone. Void is gone."

Hood's anger immediately shifted into fear and an overwhelming sense of despair when he heard those words.

"W-what d-do you m-mean...?", he questioned shakily.

"Well, I was something about him that he didn't tell you about. He was scared; scared of you leaving him for what he truly was beneath the surface...honestly so pathetic...", A.C. said in a taunting manner that felt like a knife being plunged directly into Hood's heart.

"H-he...d-didn't tell me...b-because he was scared...?", Hood asked, sounding like he was about to cry any moment now.

"You heard me correctly. Anyway, before everything else is reduced to nothing, I wanted to strike a deal with you.", A.C. said in a casual manner.

Hood raised his head in shock as he stared up at the entity once again.

"A...deal?"

"Yeah. Imma be honest, in spite of the many times I cringed at you two, it did give me a good laugh from time to time.", A.C. replied.

"So, as a bit of a thank you, I'll spare you from the destruction of this universe as we know it if you don't get in my way. What do you say? Do we have a deal?"

Hood lowered his head in despair as his voice trembled heavily.

"Y-ye-"

Suddenly, Hood caught himself mid-sentence and felt something awaken within him. It was a feeling that he had never experienced this intensely before; determination. But it wasn't the kind that urged him to run away from danger. No. it was the kind that urged him to fight against it in-spite of his own capabilities. Feeling this, he raised his head once again and looked the entity directly in the eyes.

"No! We don't have a deal! I know Void is still in there somewhere! You think I'll just let you get away with this after all you've done?! You sure as hell won't so long as I'm here! You ain't destroying the universe! Not now, not ever!", Hood shouted in pure determination as he got into a fighting stance.

"Ha...", A.C. chuckled.

"You know, they really were right when they said that love makes you blind to even the biggest of red flags...gotta laugh at the stupidity, really.", A.C. said as the sparks at his feet grew in intensity.

"No matter...you're just another speck in the universe at the end of the day that will be squashed like a bug under my shoe. You ready?", A.C. asked.

Hood didn't back down and nodded his head and taunted the entity with his fists.

"Hehe...should've run away when you had the chance."

[smoll-stace]

Rage

(disclaimer/ tw) there is a stabbing, conflicting emotions, murder, and also bad guy who hates Donovan, because he never wanted a son, and gets jealous because his wife cares more for Donovan than him. very small scene of gt I never understood why he hated me. I just knew he did. He didn't say it to my face, but as they, say actions speak louder then words. His rare glances upon me weren’t that of pride or happiness, more than enough were stinging with destain or revolution. He saw me as tool more then anything, something that if he handled right he could unlock the secrets of the universe. But his ways were cruel and merely just made me hate him as much as he hated me.

He never treated my mother harshly except when she discussed me, I seemed to be the source of all her problems. Not that she would admit it. Her eyes always snapped with a fire I wished for, as she held her tongue, a rare thing for her. I saw as she left the room, and his eyes followed her before resting on me. I quickly ducked from sight my heart pounding, she found me outside the room and scooped me up into her arms and brought me to her room. She had started packing her bags, the fire behind her eyes dimming as her hands had begun to shake. She crumpled to the ground silently crying.

She never cried, I was the only one who had ever seen her cry, and as a child my only way I knew how to comfort her was to shift smaller and curl next to her hand waiting for her quiet sobs to subside. I stared up at her with all the love I had for her.

She cupped me in her hands, her smile making her eyes glow softly.

“I wish we could run away… I wish there was a place he couldn't reach us, reach you…” Her voice cracked.

“I can't run though… no matter how hard I try… i can't stop loving him…” she sounded helpless, and ashamed she was telling all this to her child. But who else could she talk to that wouldn't think it an act of treason against the king?

And even as a child I understood, maybe not completely, no matter how hard I tried, even though I hated him, I couldn't stop loving him. Maybe it was a version of Stockholm syndrome. Maybe it was just us, caring for someone we knew could be a good person but choose the violence that we saw day to day.

After my mother died, and that long cold year before I killed him. I wondered what he would do if I died, if he killed me, what would he do next?

Once his fury was taken out on me, he would have nowhere else to put his anger into except the world around him or himself. Destroying everything and everyone on the planet till all that was left was a barren planet with him as it's ruler, slowly wasting away till he died with it.

That's when it all came crashing down around me. The reality, that it was either kill or have a whole planet die after me. The finale nail in the coffin that sealed his fate was the night he had bargained me for some of my magic, and when I had declined he had shouted in a blind rage.

“YOU WANT TO END UP LIKE YOU'RE MOTHER BOY?!” Quickly the puzzle pieces fell into place, mother getting sick seemingly out of nowhere after father had a fight with her. The long weary days of watching her fade, but by bit, like she was being drained. She had known. All along what was happening.

She just kept quiet to protect me. Me.

“You killed her?”

“Of course. Thought you were smart enough to figure that out on your own Donovan.” I had never heard him call me by my name. It felt vile in the air, I didn't get even see it as my own name anymore, then the sword, was out and he was dying on the floor, rage in his eyes till the end.

Treason. Treason. Treason. I took a step back lowering my sword feeling my heart pounding in my chest. I had took a life. A living breath loving hating speaking hurting life… tears sprang to my eyes, and I ran. Breaking a window fleeing to the only place I knew was safe. The between. A black void that existed between realty space and time. It's inky black somehow wasn't dark. It just was and I lost myself in it's passages

[tamtam-go92]

Hey there and excuse me for just disappearing on everybody. I was having... quite the time over the last month or how long I haven't been here. Let's just say, I wasn't in a very good health, mentally speaking.

As I already said, the health of my parents has been greatly declining this last year, to the point that I feared I might lose them. Luckily they both are on a good path and I'm looking optimistically into the future.

The thing is, now my partner was diagnosed with a very bad high blood pressure. I know, this usually isn't a thing to be too worried about, it's well treatable. Yet it was the last straw and I just snapped. He's was on very heavy medication, since the blood pressure was really critical and the medication took it's toll on all aspects of our live. As I sometimes mentioned, my partner usually works the night shift, not always but sometimes he works them for like six weeks in row. Now he isn't working since December 6th. And he probably won't return to the night shifts ever again. Aside from them financial cut this means, those are a factor, but we'll manage. I'm really afraid what this turn of events will do to our relationship.

I'm a person that needs a lot of me time, almost all my hobbies require me to be on my own and for me to have my piece. The last month has been... challenging to say at least. I really love my partner, but our secret has always been, that we value the time we have together, as we don't have that much free time together. Now he's always there, when I'm at home too and I somehow can't go on about my hobbies as I used to.

I know, it will get better once he goes back to work (Jan 15.) but from now on we'll probably be out of the house for the same time and at home at the same time and honestly I don't know how to deal with that. Tonight I'm alone at home as he decided to go to the gym with a friend (doctor said he needs to lose weight).

I really hope he'll get a smaller dose of medication soon as those high dosed drugs really don't do him any good. He's not the same since taking them... It's interfering with out want to found a family this year.

I just went through such a shitty time this year and I was hoping things are going to be better but apparently somebody up there (or down there) really hates me... My doctor diagnosed a high-functioning depression due to the stress and all the burdens that were on my shoulders those past months. I'm slowly getting better but I'm still not feeling they way I did before. I feel guilty for not being able to care for my parents the way they deserve so strangers have to look after them. It costs their money, not mine, just because I'm to weak to handle the situation.

And I want a baby? Really, someone as weak as me? I really want a family, I'm just so afraid I will feel as overwhelmed as I do now for the rest of my life. What if my partner never gets better and has to take this medication for the rest of his life? The doctor says not to worry, everything's looking good, the high blood pressure can be a late symptom of an influenza or corona infection and will probably go away. Loosing weight will help enormously. But I'm still afraid.

I'm afraid of my parents untimely decline in health. I'm afraid for my own health. I'm just paralyzed by all those thoughts in my head. I don't know why I'm writing all this down here. Nobody will read a text as long as this. But sometimes it helps to shout my thoughts into the void.

I actually just wanted to say Hi! I'm still alive. I'll continue posting Sims stuff. Actually I'm currently throwing stuff into my queue. I've lost some pictures due to me being stupid and a noob, and I know there are ways to get them back but I'm too exhausted to try. It might be important screenshots, but I'll just summarize to you what happened. New Somerset posts are just around the corner.

Hope you'll enjoy them and I hope you had a great start into this new year. Lots of love and take care!

[super-ion]

Apple & Spindle

Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Chapter 6

Briar was close.

Rose could feel the proximity of him to her body, the magnetic pull between them.

It meant he had entered the chamber where she lay. Something had happened to the dusty room where she had succumbed to the curse, she had felt the magic of the glamour wrap itself around the cottage while she slept.

Briar was in danger. He was in the presence of the fae and he was alone.

She fought down a spike of panic. If Briar was indeed alone, it made her role in their plan even more vital. She had to confront the fae here in the dream, divide his attention so that Briar could have a chance in the waking would.

Distance didn't function the same in the space between dreams and it took her a moment to orient herself. Despite her step mother's instructions and warnings, Rose had been too frightened to return to her body.

There.

The miasmic presence of the fae whirled malevolently through the darkness, patrolling, hunting.

She was done hiding from it. She had face it, for herself and for Briar.

"Hey!" she shouted into the void. "I'm here!"

Its malevolent gaze turned to her and swallowed her whole.

*

Something flickered in the fae's eyes as if he were distracted. The witch had told him that it existed in many places at once, like ink staining through the pages of a book. Did that mean Rose had engaged?

The fae tossed his head and regarded Briar with disgust.

"You!" he spat. "What devilry is this that you have evaded my curse?"

Briar raised his sword.

"So it was you?" he asked. "Cursing a baby? What on earth were you trying to accomplish by doing that?"

"You and your kind are vermin," he spat. "I'm simply finishing what the courts started so many years ago."

Briar stared at him in confusion.

"What… what are you even talking about?" He asked. "The fae courts and human kingdoms have been at peace for hundreds of years. I mean… the nations that fought against you don't even exist any more."

The fae's mouth twisted in displeasure.

"Look," Briar continued, "I have no idea what you think is going on here. All I care about right now is getting Rose out of here."

The fae cast a glance over his shoulder.

"Give me your name and I'll let you see him," the fae crooned.

Him… what?

Oh…

Briar felt a spike of outrage. How dare he refer to Rose as such?

Even as he worked to keep his anger in check, an idea came to him. He could almost laugh from the absurdity of it. He knew in a vague academic sense that one wasn't supposed to give their name to a fae, and yet…

The fae wanted a name? Briar had a name he could give it.

"The name I was given at birth was ######"

The fae's nostrils flared and a too wide smile spread across his lips. He gave an exaggerated bow and gestured to Rose's body as he stepped aside.

Briar rushed forward. When he took her hand in his, her skin was so cold. Her chest moved ever so slightly with the shallowest intake of breath. His whole body relaxed in relief. She was alive.

"What's this?" Hissed a voice behind him.

Briar whipped around to face the fae. His mouth was twisted in distaste add his pointed ears were quivering in rage.

"You!" He snapped, pointing a finger at Briar. "This name is worthless, you cheated me!"

"You asked for my name and I gave it to you," he said. "You didn't say it had to be my true name."

The fae's lips curled back, revealing sharp teeth.

"You… you… cretin! You worm! I will wipe you and your kind for the face of the earth! You are nothing! You are-"

"Oh my god," Briar interrupted. "Will you please just shut up?"

The fae's eyes blazed. Wings unfurled from his back and his fingers began lengthening into wicked claws.

*

Rose woke to morning sunlight streaming through curtained windows. Her bed was soft, softer than it should have been. Why did that seen strange?

Before she could pick that thought apart, a hand gently brushed the hair away from her face.

"Good morning, sleepy-head."

Rose knew that voice. She turned her head to face the person perched on the edge of her bed.

"Mom?"

She was alive and vivacious, exactly as Rose remembered her before… before…

The thought slipped away before it could take shape, but part of her couldn't quite shake the tiniest pang of unease.

She shook her head and smiled at her mother.

"I was thinking we could go in to town today," her mother said, "maybe buy you a gown for the ball? I hear that a certain prince is eagerly expecting your company."

Rose blushed and her mother laughed.

Briar… someone had told her something about Briar.

Her mind was so sluggish. There were thoughts clamoring for her attention, but when she tried to grasp them, they slipped away.

"Rosamund, are you feeling alright?"

"I'm sorry, I just…"

She blinked and she found herself sitting at the dining room table across from her mother. When did they get here?

"Where is…?"

Something wasn't right. Someone was missing.

"Where is who, dear?"

Rose's eyes caught on a portrait above the mantle and her mind stuttered. There were two women and a young girl between them, all of them smiling.

Her mother glanced at the picture.

"Oh, Clara had some errands to run this morning, she's going to meet us for dinner in town."

When Rose had been young, there had been a portrait in her mother's house almost identical to this one. There hadn't been a child between the two women because the copper haired woman depicted to the left of her mother had died before she was born.

Clara. Her mother's first wife. The mother she had never met.

This was wrong.

The girl in the portrait was her. But her mother had never known her as a girl. She died long before Rose had a chance to sort out those feelings.

The woman seated across from her, watching her with kind concerned eyes couldn't be her mother.

And yet… wasn't this something she had always wanted? Something she had longed for furiously in the lonely years following her mother's death? To have known Clara, the woman she only knew through stories and pictures and roses on a gravestone? To have her mother see her as she truly was?

"Rose-"

"No!" Rose shouted as she lurched to her feet. "None of this is real! You're not her!"

Something dark flickered behind her mother's eyes and Rose felt dread settle into the pit of her stomach. The room, previously bright and vibrant changed to something dark and foreboding.

"Oh, you stupid child," the person that wasn't her mother crooned. "You could have been happy here."

Rough hands grabbed Rose's arms from behind. She gasped in shock at the sight of faceless guards that hadn't been there a moment before. She writhed and thrashed but their grips only grew tighter.

The fae lord, the huntsman, reached out and tilted her head back with a rough finger.

"Do you really think you stand a chance against me here? I was walking the dreams of mortals a thousand years before you were born."

*

Briar ducked behind a stone column as a gout of acid-green fire spewed forth from the drain fae's transformed mouth. Droplets of it splattered around him, burning smoking holes in his cloak.

He had spent his youth devouring epic tales of heroes battling monsters to save the damsel in distress. While Rose toiled away at her studies, he had daydreamed endlessly of fighting giants and dragons.

All of those stories failed to mention how absolutely terrifying fighting a dragon actually was. The fae lord and transformed in front of him, growing long and sinuous and covered with scales as hard as steel. Dagger-like claws scored the flagstones and a wickedly barbed trail thrashed restlessly

His official training, once he convinced his parents of its utility, had covered all manner of weapon, the sword, the pike, the bow. His more surreptitious training, the kind his parents never would have approved of, had covered how to hold his own in a brawl, how to fight dirty and win.

Like his fantasies, that training seemed woefully lacking in the moment.

The blast of fire ceased and, seeing an opportunity, dove into a roll. He sprang to his feet and slashed at the legs and belly of the beast. His blade sparked against the scales and glanced off uselessly.

Cold iron could kill a fae, but it was useless if it couldn't actually pierce the armored scales.

The fae hissed and snapped his jaws at Briar, who only barely managed to avoid razor sharp teeth that were longer than his fingers.

He smashed the pommel of his sword down on the fae's snout, but the beast casually knocked him aside with a backhanded swipe of a claw. Briar struck the ground hard, knocking the wind out of his lungs. He blinked dazedly as the fae reared back and opened its mouth.

Briar scrambled once more behind the nearest stone column and the fae let out another blast of fire.

He gasped at the air, trying his best to ignore the acrid stench of the unearthly flames. He couldn't keep this up. He would tire out long before the fae did.

A long serpentine tail smashed into the column, shattering it into pieces. The fae cackled wickedly as Briar sprinted for the next column and dodged falling debris.

Rose's stepmother had said they would likely need to work together to defeat the fae, but Briar couldn't see how he could do anything to help in that moment.

"I really hope you're doing better than I am," he muttered in the direction of Rose's sleeping body. "I could really use a hand."

*

Rose found herself in a cell. She shivered against the cold and damp.

With horrible, sickening realization, she realized her body was not her own. It was a boy's body, the body she would have had if she had not fallen into Briar's room all those years before.

Her stomach heaved at the realization.

"It isn't real," she told herself. "None of this is real. It's a trick."

Part of her began to wish she had just accepted the previous version of this dream. She had been warm there. She had been herself.

No. Briar was in more danger than ever. The magic of whatever was happening in the physical realm vibrated through her bones.

She crawled to her feet only to discover her wrists bound by a set of heavy manacles. She concentrated with all her focus, but none of her spells had any effect on the heavy metal.

A figure stepped into the room and tisked reproachfully.

It was her mother again… but not. It was also the huntsman. It was so many people all superimposed upon one another and her brain couldn't decide who it should be. It was Briar. It was the real version of her own self. It was her stepmother.

The fae glanced at Hilde's hands and a disdainful smirk spread across those elegant lips.

"You pathetic creature," he said. "So willing to believe what you want to believe. So willing to believe that the witch wanted you dead. Your true love would be safe now had you not run."

"You lied," she rasped in a voice that was not her own. "You told me she wanted me dead."

His smirk widened into a wicked grin.

"I said no such thing," he said. "You must know that the fae cannot lie. She sensed you were in mortal peril and sent one of the royal huntsmen to retrieve you. I never told you that she wanted you dead, just that I was meant to kill you."

"Why?"

"Because creatures like you cannot be trusted with magic," he sneered.

Magic? Is that what this was all about?

"…human magic is based on intent…"

"...so willing to believe what you want to believe…"

What did she believe in?

"...your mother would be proud of the woman you've become. I hope you know that…"

"... I think I've been in love with you for a while now…"

Rose felt her heart swelling. She believed. She believed in a world where someone like her could be whatever they wanted to be. She believed in a world where someone like her could fall in love and be loved in return.

None of her spells had worked on the chains, but her will had been muddled and confused by the illusion.

But now she believed. She believed hard enough to bend this place to her will.

She raised her head and the dream shuddered. The fae lord watched her in shock.

She rose to her feet, shedding the form of the boy that had never been, like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. The chains that had bound her flaked away into nothing.

She took a step forward and the dream rewrote itself so that she was standing before the fae. No cell bars separated them now.

He was afraid. He drew a short sword, but she caught his wrist before he could strike. Her eyes blazed with light and the fae covered his face with his free hand. He began to struggle in her grasp, but her grip was like iron.

The fae's skin beneath her fingers curled with smoke as she poured all of her love and heartache and desire to live into that point of contact.

*

Briar was all but certain of his impending doom when the dragon howled in mixed terror and agony. He peered out from his latest hiding spot to see it crash to the ground with a thunderous crash.

He stared as light shown through cracks in its armor.

Cracks.

Rose had done something.

This was his chance.

With renewed hope and vigor, he ran forward and slashed at one of the beast's limbs. His sword caught on one of the cracks and sliced into flesh below. Silvery blood splashed across the stone floors and the dragon reared back as it bellowed in pain.

It's chest exposed, Briar seized the opportunity and thrust his blade upward into the dragon's chest.

There was a sound like a thunderclap and Briar was thrown across the room. He clambered to his feet to see the dragon wreathed in blinding green flames. He threw an arm over his face and watched through slitted eyes until the flames burned to nothing, leaving only his sword.

He stood staring at the blackened spot, barely daring to believe it when the door wrenched open with a grinding crunch. He whirled to see Hilde standing in the doorway, dirty and bloodied and more disheveled than he had ever seen her before.

She did not look at him or the still smoking blade. Her eyes were for Rose alone and she hurried to the dias where she lay.

He hurried after her but stopped short as she hissed through her teeth as she took Rose's wrist in her hands.

"What?" Briar demanded. "What's wrong now?"

Hilde looked up, her eyes wide in a way that terrified him.

"She spent too long away from her body," the witch explained with an edge of worry. "The shock of the fae's death has set her soul adrift. We need to act quickly if we are to save her.

[leopoldainter]

Snyderemark it's as good to onow that in the great whit neuf

Do not do it

It's super smash brawl, feel like Elon Musk in your own home

If not now then get me a cell"plan.Who then huh? More like sexy dumbdumbs the new chef

Also the mother of the kidnapped newscaster wants you to know all tho there are better soups, she and the president of NBC now owned by a regular guy /possible post genocidal maniac/and his neice opened a borscht restaurant,

It's basically the second, yet set in the past the hell with characters hip this is kotor and you are still on the mining vessel

ahhh

just the one ah please, fuck she's useless cast her on taken

That is not princess carolines condo

Yeah, that wasn't hungover naked bojack

Jeep is not hanging on its own if they're just driving by the airbus or... k coke bought all, I'll go to pepsitown brown Thanks page, it's Keri Russel in her jetsons outfit

DONT FORGET YOUR ONE GLOVE I WANNA GO TO SLEEP TONIGHT fuck she's useless the found her in Bermuda...

She doesn't know he's black, it's a confusing first season

Interesting, as the paper work mashes degrassi one could admit towards astonishment that all this would be bound for naught

At the docks and Jerry's nowhere to be found.

Dang

-Phil Jennings

Outstanding as per eujshe

Jerry shouting from... a pharmacists void

How they know for sure when it'll be too late us beyond me

?

IS

not there anymore get over it!

Heinous

Anus

Anus

Anus

We can just leave

You drive

蓖acne

膩bacne

油inerrearny

Found it!

Woah, are Yankees northerners or Danes de hamelton du Gras hund lac leamy fireworks competition duh. For once in your life admit that the Italian anthem's aim Asquoris(Rats, regrets even, but not dil, benign)

Otherwise Algonquin college is on the bus roof

Maybe try A Sandra Bullock imitation hamlet

Your "friend" just offered us beer water

I'm a ghost stan

.

No I'm just reading the sift

No way am I going all the way down there to say cut to Tod's apartment for a sneak peak at margarine testing zinfandel til it turned white rosé

That's foreshadowing fore yeah, the emperors new groves theme song is you messed up the emperors groove that's a windows iii how bout yeah it is

Pretty pretty noisy.

The perms not making much of it tho hun

I'm not explaining why again just look at there emotions

I don't know did you push the knob in?

Oh, I don't smoke

Night

Ranger

What's that crunching

I don't know maybe a notebook and Somethings

[annmarcus63]

I really like the latest fic post! Very few fics deal with the calm acceptance that Jaskier's emotions for and relationship with Geralt are one-sided and have him actively take steps to put himself first and make himself happy instead of moping over the state of affairs before reluctantly accepting it while watching as Geralt plays happy families. I'm very into reading more of this if you want to write!

I'm sorry my dear and beautiful anon, this take more time than I anticipated.

Here's what happens when Geralt realizes Jaskier was right and needed him there with and for him. Is it too late, though?

Previous here In which Geralt fails once again

It's funny how loneliness comes in the strangest of forms. He's surrounded by dozens of people shouting his name from the square in front of the stage. Wasn't this what you want it? his mind supplies unhelpfully. Yes, he did want this, the love and admiration of the masses. He is, after all, the artists of the decade. But, well, in retrospective he was young and with little knowledge of life. It's only natural that your aspirations may change thru the years. Don't get him wrong, older Jaskier wants the same than younger Jaskier, but now, he understands that the love of the masses can't fill the void of being unloved unwanted by people close to him, or people he thought were close to him. So, he accepts the award with the biggest smile on his repertory, mocks Valdo Marx and goes to the tavern with a bunch of scholars like him. He drinks, he laughs, he sings a lot of his songs, flirts and play gwent.  And with every sip of wine and ale he peels a little bit of his sorrow, his wounded self-esteem, his beaten heart, and self-pity. He wished Geralt was here, with him, but he's not, so be it. Enough of wanting, enough of this ever-present loneliness. He's resolute. He'll find a place to call home, and he won't resent Geralt.

Maybe a little.

The celebration has reached the part where everyone is drunk enough to dance and sing at the top of their lungs. Jaskier is standing on top of a table surrounded by the locals, he's leading the song. He's sweating all over, his hair a brown wet mess. He's happy. When the front door swings open. It's Geralt. The witcher removes his hood and instantly locks eyes with the bard. Like a hunter finding his prey. Jaskier stops singing, right there and then, fortunately no one notices, the song continues its course.

No, no, it's too late. Jaskier thinks. I've already made my mind. The bard climbs down from the table and pushes through the crowd. His mind it's a volatile compass, pointing at his resolution and to Geralt. It tries to decide how to proceed. It tries to decide which path will hurt less.

"What are you doing here?" Jaskier is proud of his steady voice. Not even the ale could break it.

"I thought I'd make it on time" Reply Geralt, his eyes trying to find Jaskier's, but the bard is looking at a spot on the witcher's shoulder.

"You're late" In that moment the blue eyes look up to meet yellow ones, defying Geralt to name the issue. To name the hurt on Jaskier’s eyes two nights ago. To name the emotion that is now on the bard's eyes.

They both know this isn't about the ceremony, not anymore.

"I'm here now" Geralt sighs heavily and Jaskier laughs cause it's funny really. i'm here now so it must be enough.

And that's the thing, he forgave Geralt many times thanks to sporadic care and attention that would be forgotten later. His heart is screaming within his chest, the poor thing wants to take Geralt back. But no, Jaskier won't listen to it anymore.

"And you are late"

A girl walks past them holding a tray of beers, Jaskier takes one and drinks half of it in one go.

Geralt watches him, anxiety sewing itself on his veins. He can feel the goodbye hanging between them. He fucked up, again, but this time for good.

"I thought Yen’s message was important" Jaskier wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, cursing internally, his tongue is loose by the alcohol. He sounds bitter and resentful. He hates it.

"It is, but this is too" and oh the witcher is trying but instead of being charmed Jaskier gets angry.

"Oh, now it's important, I see. Well, maybe if you have arrived on time for the actual ceremony..."

“…I tried”

"Maybe it wouldn't be too fucking late" A young couple turn to look at them, feeling embarrassed Jaskier lowers his voice and continues. "I appreciate the effort, Geralt, but is an unnecessary one. I’m sorry, my friend” says Jaskier reaching out to place a hand on the Witcher’s muscular arm, trying to convey comradery, an olive branch if you will, for Geralt to take and be gone without blame. If Jaskier dared to look at Geralt's face one more time, he would find sadness, grief, shame, and fear. Every emotion that the witcher always tried to conceal from everyone, especially Jaskier.  “There's an open bar, enjoy the celebration. Rest. I'm going to sleep" In that instant Jaskier heart broke even more. How he wanted this man, how he long for him, decades on end. Even in his resolution he still wants him.

He needs to rest too. He's not young anymore, his feet hurt, and his thighs are trembling from the exertion. So, he turns around up the stairs to his room, closes the door behind and with clothes and all, he gets into bed and sleeps like death.

[undertale-writing-times]

error sans with number 3, can't hurt your soulmate? thank you :]

Hey man, no problem! Thanks for sending in the prompt! I hope you enjoy it ^^

Error never really thought that they would have a soulmate. Yes, they had a soul, but that didn't mean that they should have a soulmate, and they didn't want one.

The idea of not being able to hurt your soulmate was annoying. It was literally their JOB to hurt people, why would the world tell them that that's what they're supposed to do then make it so there was ONE person that they couldn't hurt?

Today Error went to a new AU, watching it for a little while then deciding that that one would be the best one to take out today. It was a stupid looking AU, they were above ground which was oh soooo good but whatever, that wasn't the real world, so they didn't deserve to be there.

Error came out, starting to do things to erase the AU, seeing the glitches form which would slowly take over the AU, and erase it. They would tear out parts of the code, having a bit of fun.

That was until some humans ran over, shouting about how Error needed to stop. They had weapons.

They couldn't stop Error.

The last one was a human, (Y/h/c) hair and eyes that held so many emotions. They felt a strange feeling in his soul, yet they assumed it was nothing.

"oH WhAt aRe yOu gOiNg tO Do t-tHaT ThE O-O-OtHeRs cOuLdN'T? jUsT LeT ThIs wOrLd bE E-ErAsEd aBoM-A-AbOmInAtIoNs cAn't tAkE OvEr tHe mUlTiVeRsE. iT'Ll j-jUsT BeCoMe cLuTtErEd" They would say, rolling their eyes at them.

They raise their hands, grabbing at the strings strings, and sending them out at the human. They sliced a few of the strings, yet Error was able to grab the sword, flinging it away and they move their hands to grab them with their strings but the strings got knocked backwards causing Error to blink, a small frown coming to their face "wHaT?" They try to send their strings at them again, this time they dodge.

It kept going on like that for a while, Error trying to hit them with their strings and either it just not working, or them dodging out of the way. Error was starting to lose their temper.

"s-sSsStOp mOv-vV-MoViNg sO I CaN KiLl y-y-y-yOu!" They shout, feeling annoyance filling their bones.

They could hear the voices of other people getting closer, shouting, and could sense large amounts of magic. Damn it, this was taking too long!

With a shake of their head and a wave of their arm, they open a glitch jumping through it to go back to the Anti Void and stares through the hole as it closed, seeing the human panting looking at them, with big eyes.

Once it finally closed, they stare down at the ground, then reaches up, dragging their fingers down their skull letting out a groan. Damn it damn it DAMN IT! They wished that they had things to break, Error goes to a different AU to destroy that one, all while they couldn't get their mind off that random human.

There was no way that that was them, right? Their soulmate? Tsh, as if! They... would just keep an eye on that AU, you know, to make sure it was going well... so they can mess it up later.

Yes! Exactly.