#im glad i got the resolve to draw for a bit at least

[volvolts]

its nice and warm in there so long as they hold on tight

[so-bitya]

yeah hi as a manga only fan way before the anime and barely remembers the plot, my hot take is that ummm.... laios should get assassinated or something so someone actually competent at resolving conflict between people like kabru can step up to the plate. yknow, the guy whose actually been doing all the legwork to keep war from breaking out? actually understands inherent power imbalances in society? unlike mister special interests over here, mister "everyone's innocent golden retriever 🥺" who unloads horrifying facts about the monster that killed kabru's mom and gives kabru a monster meal as a ~sign of friendship~ making his ptsd resurface. (maybe laios should learn how his interests are burdensome and painful to others and not dump them without warning on his so called friends? 🤔 nah, it's the men of color that are wrong.)

also keeps little miss "lover of all races," "goes on her little tirade about how the orcs deserve their oppression to their face," as an advisor so dunno how trustworthy those policies are my liege! well at least he keeps kabru as his babysitter/therapist/boyfriend to do all the behind scene work! (wow another brown caretaker/white ship! how original! and wowie kabru how come you get stuck in this role for two whole ships! 😍 how original!!!)

oh and ryoko kui should come out and confirm laois isn't autistic too, just your average awkard guy with some overbearing interests, and actually the autistic one is kabru, cause yall got real selective with your coding there for a second (kabru has a narcissistic disorder? lol ok, dont cry cause of this post then)

talking about self inserts, saw a lot of people get real hot and excited at the sight of laios punching down toshiro, wishing they were him. so ryoko can confirm toshiro is autistic too as a treat 🤗. also to make up for the fact that the manga is mostly entirely in laios pov but she put toshiro enduring his microaggressions in the manga extras?? (like thats gonna be in the anime.)

dont worry tho, im not really trying to punish her, like forcing her to draw a fat female protagonist thats not attributed to race (according to her!). yall can cut the hype a bit. miss "shes so great at portraying race! cause everyone's racist!" yeah ok. explains why all the main protagonists are white.

anyway, glad I'm not apart of the fandom at all cause I'll hate to pretend I respect any of you! ❤️

[jadzio]

My costume submissions for pansear-doodles halloween contest!

@pansear-doodles made a contest some time ago and since its over now i wanted to post my submissions and talk a lil abt them

Artificer

This is a costume of arti as Artemis from Hades. I love goddess Artemis and i thought it fitted arti pretty well, as well as hunter tho i had a different idea for them. I wanted to experiment a bit with maybe just being inspired by the Hades version, with some sort of creature bone/skull mask/helmet, as well as adding a bit more flare. I love Hades god designs, but Artemis was always my least fave ngl. tho i wasn't able to experiment much and stuck around to the Hades version due to time and not having many good ideas.

Enot

Im so glad the Once-ler Enot got through and the other shown costume ideas i love em so much. I love joke characters, but i'm clearly isn't the best at designing them heh. This is gamer Enot with all the cringe gamer merch, dressed up as their computer having an LED gamer keyboard and mouse. Maybe now looking at it i should have added maybe some consol (tho they struck me as a religious pc gamer) or some LOL or other popular game merch to sell the gamer look. Maybe also add some doritos and mountain dew.

Gourmand and their pups (matching set)

I for the longest time could not decide, if i wanted to put gourm as dt asgore or ut asgore. Because it had to be asgore no questions asked, i mean look at the guy! I choose ut cause the way asgore is treated in dt just kill me internally. Also ut asgore family is much more functional. For the pups I wanted them to look like they’ve been face painted. Idk if chara and asriel really work for their personality, but i didnt really have any other idea with them. Also the one as asriel could’ve brought those like galaxy swords and some cool stuff from asriel dreemurr fight.

Also i wanted the drawing to resemble those monarch painted family portraits, so that’s why this style.

Hunter

I didnt have any good ideas for hunter, until i was scrolling through my reblogs and saw puss in boots the last wish fanart. It worked so well with the hunter's personality i had to!

Iterators (matching set)

It was so hard to have a good idea for those 4, because tere were 4 of them. You have so many trios everywhere, but 4 gang nahhh. I thought at first to dress them as their slugs u know a classic really, but too basic for me i knew someone would submit that. Maybe cult of the lamb bishops not a bad idea either tbh, but something didn't vibe right. So

I shit u not

the iterators were suppose to be

for the longest time

glamrocks from fnaf sb

yeaahhhhhhh i did have any better idea for a 4 gang and fnaf franchise was the only thing coming to my mind that vibed with me. But then i was scrolling through my alt for reblogs and i saw inscyption fanart i reblogged at some point, and i had that moment: NEURONS ACTIVATE, and decided to not be cringe and make them into scribes ighodghgdoa. I had i lil moment wondering between srs and nsh and leshy and magnificus, but it was quickly resolved by pushing nsh into a bush. and 5p as po3 and lttm as grimora was a no brainer.

Martyr

i dont know why i thought this was a good idea, but i vibed with it. I thought to make them a Julius Caesar from asterix and obelix comics.

This guy:

Monk and the lizards

Monk was always supposed to be a pokemon trainer. It works so well with them. At first i thought to give them Reds outfit, but then i decided to make them an N, a character from Black and White. His closeness and kindness to his pokemon, tie well with monk and their lizards.

Lizards are painted as spindas. i thought abt giving each individual pokemon, but i also wanted to make it quick and easy for the comics, so spindas! infinite patterns for an infinite amount of friends.

Survivor and Nightcat 9matching outfits)

Okay so this reference is like really obscure. It's the main characters from the movie Mune: guardian of the moon. I think i watched it only one time, long ago, i think the plot is really basic, but the lore and the art from it is great. it's one of those: if it was 2d it would’ve been so beautiful.

Anyway i wanted to do a lil swap: survivor is mune and nightcat is glim, cause it worked better personality wise.

anyway go watch it or look up art for it, its really cool

Rivulet

Big big thanks to @kociamieta, because i really could decide where i wanted to go with this. I had an idea for a shark hoodie, undyne, a sci fi speedster and perry the platypus. (if it comes up that someone submitted perry the platypus costume and it didnt go through, idk what i will do) So they were like: why not combine the shark hoodie and a sci fi speedster and jaga u are a genius. im not too proud of this one, the colors could be a lil better and the suit needs some work, but it was the last day of the competition and didn't have that much time.

Saint

Saint as snufkins, very original (i wanted for the Jessica Rabbit costume to win). i don’t have much to say here other then my 10000 environment brushes as always carry the piece

I wondered for a bit if I should make them some cosmic horror god. Not with body horror, but those gods that will stand in the middle of the forest and just look at u.

Scav king

Very basic, jack sparrow inspired scav king costume, inspired by the helm comic part.

(king julien for the win lets gooooo)

Spearmaster

My personal proudest one. A simple spray painter, but i put much care into this one. Now looking at it, I should rethink some colors, but i still like it. The spray cans could’ve been swapped out for needles (optional, not a correct). The tail is a paint brush with a swirl that isn't very visible in the colored piece.

Wanderer

Hollow knight gang! I think quirrel works well with wanderer. I mean the name, the character, the mission. They work well, I think.

Thanks yet again to @pansear-doodles for organizing the whole thing. It was very fun! Congrats to all the other winners too!

[woolieshubris]

OK SO IM GOING TO WRITE SOME BACKSTORY THEN CLICK THE CUT TO SEE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE WITH NO EDITING.

OK SO BASICALLY. At this point in the series, (season 1 had been out and season 2 kept getting hints dropped) every main love square ship had gotten their "scene", except for marichat. Marichat, argueably, was the (and still is) most popular ship on the show. Suddenly a still frame (or concept art?) was released of marinette and chat sitting on her balcony together looking out at the stars. This was quickly dubbed the "balcony scene" and many many many ficwriters quickly made fics of the scene, people made art for it, and people were overall, generally super f/cking hyped for it. Then, glaciator dropped, and reviews were... mixed to say the least. So here, presented in its full, unedited glory, was my hot 2016 take.

enjoy.

Yes. I will be talking about THIS episode. The episode so anticipated by shippers everywhere. The episode that was supposed to finally give marichat shippers a chance, and we ended up with this.

I hate this episode, for many many reasons, but do not worry. The balcony scene isn't one of them.

Here is my summary, (which is very long, so if you would rather just rewatch the episode feel free to do so)

The episode starts out, with chat asking lady out. Nothing out of the ordinary. She says no, but chat takes it as a maybe. (Which is already really stupid, but I'll let it slide)

After they wrap up the escapade, Mari goes to Andre the sweetheart ice cream man, and becomes disappointed when Adrian says he can't go. (Which is not his fault, so I'm letting this slide as well)

Mari feels like a third wheel and declines Andres ice cream because she's heartbroken? (You can get ice cream any day? And it wasn't Adrian's choice either, she should know this by now?)

Andres feelings are hurt.

Cut to chat, who is waiting for ladybug, and lady isn't showing.

Cut to hawkmoth who akumatizes Andre, and then cut to mari, who feels bad about the who ordeal.

Chat blows out candles angstily (even though lady clearly said no, AND thought he was joking) and decides that lady doesn't love him.

Mari is sad about Adrian and goes out to her balcony, balcony scene happens and chat brings Mari to his date he had planned.

Mari is surprised that chat hadn't been joking this entire time (ehh it makes enough sense) and now she feels double as bad.

Andre attacks.

Chat leaps into action and ladybug comes right after. Chat is angsty, and ladybug doesn't show any kind of remorse (what?)

She says sorry, but with no meaning. (maybe bad voice acting, so I'll let this one slide as well) chat is still mad. They soon make the discovery that he doesn't hurt couples, so lady asks if they could pretend to be a couple and chat says no. (Which makes sense) then lady like 1 minute later asks the same thing and chat says yes. (What why would he say yes? ) And they pretend to be a couple but it doesn't do anything to help them?

It helps them escape but they could have done that without pretending to be a couple? Anyways, they save the day and then lady comes to go see chats surprise. He offers her a rose, and lady says she only wants to be friends.

(Chat should have still been mad at her, since she never even said sorry properly, I mean I know I would have,) and chat smiles and says that's fine, then he blasts off.

We follow chat to his room and he's smiling in his bed. Plagg tells him it's ok to be heartbroken, and that a little cheese can help, but Adrian says he isn't heartbroken, and that he's glad she sees him as a friend.

Oof that summary was longer than expected, but it was hopefully shorter than the episode.

Ok, so now that we are all refreshed, I will now list m problems with the episode, in order to make it easier to fix.

First problem, Marinette is heartbroken over the ice cream.

We can easily fix this by making it a special day, like maybe it's a blue moon that night, and Mari wanted to see it with Adrien. It could be the same for Chat with Ladybug, they wanted to see the blue moon together. He takes the, "maybe, I have plans" as a, "sure I'll make it a plan" because he really really wants it to happen, maybe even have plagg mention it, say something along the lines of, "She said she had plans," and Adrien says, "She said maybe!" (I know they already say this, but it isn't portrayed very well in my opinion.

Problem two, Ladybug never says sorry, and chat doesn't care.

Honestly, throughout the entire episode, I was waiting for ladybug to give chat a hug and just say sorry properly. Throughout most of the episode, chat looks on the brink of tears, and lady acts like she can't see it, and chat forgives her almost instantly. It would have been much more interesting to see a chat begrudgingly doing as he's told, just to save Paris, and go home.

Problem 3, Chat isn't heartbroken.

As stated in the show, we don't ever see the sensitive side of chat noir, and the show seems to want to avoid the subject. Chat got friendzoned. He says he's happy to be lady's friend, but he always was, from the start. All of this buildup, only for it to be knocked down in a single episode. Adrien should have been devistated, but then again, this is one of those "reset" type of shows, where everything must resolve before the credits roll, and it becomes very obvious with the awkward transition. You can tell that they were planning to have him heartbroken in bed, mad at ladybug, but someone said, "kids don't want meaningful character exploration, they want happy endings!"

Ok, so now I write my script doctored version of this episode. Warning, it's pretty long.

Ladybug and chat are talking it up as they help the people get off the bus.

"So, you heard about the blue moon tonight chat noir?" Lady asks.

"Yeah, when there is a full moon twice in a month? It's very rare!" Chat says, explaining to all the kids what a blue moon is. "Well, m'lady, can you visit me tonight? You know, to see it together?" Lady shakes her head.

"I have plans," lady thinks it over for a bit however, "but maybe I can come." Chat looks at the time on his baton, and realizes he has to go back home, his piano practice is almost over.

"Gotta go, see you later ladybug!" He says, as he runs off. Lady goes home and realizes that's she's almost late to go meet her friends. She runs out the door and we cut to Adrien, who is texting Nino.

"Sorry nino, father said I can't come" he's talking as he's texting. Plagg flies by and says, "you didn't even ask your dad, how do you know he'd say no?"

Adrien responds, "I have plans with ladybug remember?"

Plagg rolls his eyes. "She said that she had plans."

Adrien looks at plagg and says, "she said maybe."

We cut away from Adrien and we now see a heartbroken Mari.

"It's the blue moon, the most magical night of all, and we were going to eat Andre's ice cream, the most magical ice cream in Paris!" Mari sighs sadly as she sits down on a bench. Nino shows her the text and says, "It's never adrien's fault, so don't blaim him for not being able to show."

"I know, I know." Mari stands up and they all start looking for the ice cream cart.

Cut to chat, who's has just finished setting up the date.

"I really hope she comes." Chat says this with certainty, showing his trust in ladybug. Without having to OUTRIGHT SAY IT. (cough cough episode 12 cough cough)

Cut back to mari, who is exhausted from the chase to find the cart, and salty about Adrien. She sees alya and nino holding hands as they get their ice cream, and looks at the ground while she sits on the bench, not wanting to see it. "We can never be like them" She says, salty. Andre notices this and gives her the ice cream.

"Perfect, just like your love!" Andre says, with a smile. Mari's twisted salty head decides that she doesn't love him, because she and adrien will never be like alya and nino, so when Andre is passing the icecream to Mari, she doesn't grab it, and it falls to the ground.

"I don't love anyone." Mari says, as she stares at the fallen ice cream. Under her breath Mari says, "because no body loves me." Mari looks up at Andre who looks very sad. She realizes what happened and runs to her house. Cut to chat, who is doing the candle thing he did before because that was a really good and powerful scene and I don't want to change it. Start balcony scene, and everything is the same up until the "reveal" of the surprise to ladybug. This time, she hugs him, and you see chats eyes tearing up as she friendzones him. He lets go of the hug prematurely, and smiles, putting the rose in lady's hair. He goes back home and no more cuts to chat or Adrien so we can let the viewers draw their own conclusions. Everything is the same up until when Adrien gets the ice cream. This time, Adrien looks a little happy/sad when Andre prepares him the ladybug ice cream. Happy because he knows he still loves ladybug, but also sad because he knows she will never love him in the same way.

I'm sorry for making you read that entire thing. If you made it through, please, tell me below, which version you like more, and I really want to see your criticism of both. I'd love to have a conversation about it.

[silver-greedling]

I'd love to request some more fluff with Al if that is okay? ^^ Any sort of fluff is fine! Thank you in advance.

Of course i will! Al is such a sweet boy, he deserves all the love qwq

Thanks for the ask, by the way! I havent gotten asks and requests in quite some time! Im glad to work on one for you! Please tell me if this is good enough, and if there are any mistakes i need to fix! Love you lots!!!

Down by the River

Alphonse Elric x Reader for Anon

If the people of Resembool hadn't been so familiar with Al's armor body, the sight of a suit of armor drawing in the sand next to the river would have been quite strange. His knees were hugged up to his chest, held there by one hand, while the other drew familiar diagrams on the ground. Once his open palm laid on them, they flashed with light and turned the sand into little figures.

"Did you fight with Ed again?" He must not have heard my approach, because he nearly jumped straight into the air.

"Uh, something like that, I guess," he mumbled, the sound echoey and resonating against his metal body. He started to trace another symbol in the sand as I folded my legs beneath me, sitting at his side as he created more figurines.

"What did Ed say that made you leave?" When I reached out to touch his hand, he jumped again, pulling it back as if I was made of fire.

"N-Nothing! He didn't say anything!"

I raised an eyebrow. "That's weird, because Ed told me where you were hiding because you got in a fight about him talking to Winry."

Al went silent, legs now outstretched in front of him with his hands rested in his lap, thumbs twiddling in a nervous manner. "...yeah, there was that..." His voice got quieter as he avoided my gaze.

A sigh escaped me as I laid my hand on his shoulder. He froze, and I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. "You can tell me anything, Al."

"...anything?"

"Anything."

He rose to his feet, and I followed him, now standing face to face with him.

"The truth is...Ed and I were fighting because he wouldn't confess to Winry...and then he said I couldn't say anything because...I still haven't confessed to you..."

My heart thudded in my chest. This couldn't be real. My childhood crush wants to confess to me?

"I've liked you for a little while, but I didn't want to say anything until I get my body back. I was gonna wait until then, so-"

"Al, it's okay." He stopped talking. It was so confusing, not seeing his expression, not knowing what he was thinking. "I like you, too."

"Really?!" Pure joy and excitement laced his words, reminding me of when we were kids and I promised to play games with him.

I nodded in response, smiling.

His hands grabbed mine, pulling me a little closer to his silver steel body. "Then I want to make a promise!" He squeezed my hands a little bit, almost in a reassuring way. "When I get my body back, I'll come right back to you and confess for real, okay?"

Smiling, I stood on the tips of my toes, barely able to press a kiss to the cheek of his helmet. "It's a promise, then."

~~~

Blond hair swayed in the wind, catching the breeze and letting it filter through the locks of gold. He stood there, back straight and rigid, like a wall. There was an air of resolve and a slight hint of confidence surrounding him.

"You wanted to meet me here?" I asked quietly. He turned around, startled. The confidence and resolve all but vanished when he looked at me. "You told me to dress nice, so..." The dress was one I'd had for a couple years, so it was a little shorter than when I first got it. Even so, it cinched my waist without being too tight, and, at the very least, it covered down to my knees.

"I-It looks great!" Al stuttered, face a deep red as he tried desperately to avoid my eyes. "You look amazing!"

"So, what did you need?" I got straight to the point, even though I was sure I knew what he wanted to talk about.

He chewed his lip, looking around like he was searching for the words, and the river would give him his answer. "Well, I...I made a promise to you here a few years ago..."

One of his hands took mine, and I smiled, stepping closer to him. "I remember that promise. That was one of the happiest days of my life."

If it was possible, the red and his face darkened even more, and I had to physically bite back a little laugh at his state. "I...I mean...I'm not gonna...I won't break that promise!"

He took both of my hands and pulled me to stand directly in front of him. Even with his face so red, and his hands so sweaty, and his voice so shaky, he was still very much the child I had fallen for, but he'd changed. He was older, now. Alphonse was an adult, and he was trying his best to take it seriously.

"So, I'm gonna make another promise," he told me, no longer yelling since we were so close to one another. "If you let me, I promise that I'll stay by your side for the rest of my life!"

My heart soared at his words, and I must have smiled, because he did the same. "Of course, I'll let you," I said. "I love you so much, Al." With all the courage I had, I leaned in to press a feather light kiss to his lips.

Just as his face had started returning to normal, it was crimson, again, and I couldn't stop from laughing this time. Instead of shying away, Al pulled me to him in a hug, his nose pressed into the curved of my neck.

"Thank you, so much," he said softly. "For everything. I love you."

[leilabeaux]

In My Sights II

Masterlist | One

Pairing: Ivar/Reader

Word Count: 1885

Warning: Schmut, this part literally starts off with a bang.

Summary: Certain obligations call you back home.

Author’s Note: So much for this being a one shot.

Your hand grabbed the headboard tightly, holding on for leverage as you slammed yourself down onto Ivar over and over again. You bit down hard on your lip when you felt that sweet release slowly creeping up on you again. Trying so hard to hold back your desperate moans, you refused to let him know how badly you were falling apart. But when you felt his thumb start to circle around your clit, you were unable to stop yourself from crying out his name.

He wrapped his hand around the back of your neck, pulling you down to him. “Say it again, say my name again,” he whispered harshly into your ear as his thumb moved faster.

Your head was so cloudy from the pleasure that you found yourself willing to follow his order and repeated the cries of his name. He kissed you deeply while his hand tightened around the sides of your neck. You felt the spasms taking over your body as you became lightheaded.

Digging his head back into the pillow, Ivar groaned out loud as he came inside you after feeling your pussy clench around him. Your senses felt overloaded when he loosened his hold on you, the rush of air you were finally able to take in seemed overwhelming. You continued grinding your hips slowly against his while you both rode the aftershock of your orgasms.

You collapsed onto his chest in a sweaty mess of loose limbs. A part of you was surprised he lasted as long as he did. It seemed like he was determined to make up for all the lost time and make sure you didn’t forget him if you decided to make yourself scarce once again.

“Stay with me for once. It’s the least you could do,” he insisted, pulling you back to him when you tried to get out of bed. It was the same thing every time you two got together, he’d beg you to stay and you’d have an internal struggle while you told him no.

Feeling his arm wrap around your back, you laid your head against his chest. “Because I stole your kill?,” you guessed.

“Because you said no,” Ivar lamented softly. Taking your left hand in his own, he gently caressed your empty ring finger. “I still have the ring if you changed your mind.”

You were foolish to think he wouldn’t bring up the elephant in the room.

This is why you stayed away for so long. You knew if you kept showing up in his life that he would slowly try to wear down your resolve. At least he didn’t have the ring with him this time. It was hard enough just saying no to his hopeful face at the time and even harder saying no to the beautiful ruby stone surrounded by a diamond halo.

“Ivar, you hardly know me.” It was the same response you gave him the last time.

Other than your addiction to labels, luxury, and murder, he only knew of a few small facts you deemed safe enough for him to know. None of which you thought would cause a man to spend at least six figures on the perfect piece of jewelry for you.

“Well if you marry me, then I can spend the rest of my life getting to know you,” he contended as he interlaced his fingers with yours.

“How about we just enjoy the next few hours?” You were grateful that you were looking away from him. You didn’t think you could take seeing the disappointment that you were sure was on his face.

Ivar only hummed in response. You knew this wasn’t going to be the last you would hear of this though it seemed like he was conceding for the night. The truth was that you wanted to be his wife, you wanted to wake up every morning in his arms. But you weren’t naive. You knew that the only happy ending women like you get is one where you don’t end up with a bullet in your head.

You closed your eyes and allowed yourself to be lulled by the sound of his heartbeat.

It was a faint buzzing sound that stirred you from your slumber. After a few moments of trying to wake up, you realized it was all coming from your phone. You looked down at Ivar and was thankful that he was still deeply asleep. Carefully slipping away from his hold and out of bed, you grabbed your phone before going to the bathroom for privacy.

You tried to hold back your disgust as you evaluated the room. You couldn’t understand why he would lower himself to such grimy accommodations when he had more than enough money to buy a whole luxury hotel if he wanted to. Shaking your head, you started going through your phone.

You had two missed calls from the same contact. There was no name saved under it, only a single emoji of a cross. Your finger hovered over the screen as you dreaded having to return the call. You knew the voice on the other end would be displeased over being ignored. A single message popped up just when you were about to hit call.

You are due for a confession.

Kind of early for that, ain’t it, Padre?

Do not call me that and you are due whenever I say you are due.

Fine, I’ll be there as soon as I can.

Good. I will have a plane waiting for you at the airport.

That was not good. If he knew where you were, then it was very likely he knew what you were up to. Cracking open the door, you peeked to make sure Ivar was still sleeping. So much for staying till morning.

You quickly freshened yourself up, taking care to wipe the mascara and lipstick smudges from your face, before stepping out and quietly putting your clothes back on. Gathering his clothes, braces, and crutch, you set the items by the bed so he had easy access to them.

You didn’t take a chance on kissing his goodbye, fearful that he would wake and give you too many valid reasons to stay. Hopefully, your parting gift would ease his frustration when he woke up alone.

——

You said you would be there as soon as you can but that was a lie. After your long flight back to Wessex, you decided to take a much needed soak in the bath. It was just before midnight when you texted that you were finally on your way.

Though you never missed an opportunity to get dressed up, you knew walking into the church wearing a high-end dress and a pair of pumps at this time of night could possibly draw some unwanted attention. Instead you were dressed in a well-worn University of Wessex hoodie and plain jeans. To the few people currently occupying the pews, you were just a normal college student looking for some spiritual guidance.

You entered the confessional booth and knelt down on the step, clasping your hands in prayer. “Bless me, father, for I have sinned. It has been three weeks, twelve hours, and six minutes since my last confession.”

You wondered if you had the wrong booth when all you got was silence. Usually the exchange was simple, you would say the code—twelve hours and six minutes—and then the priest passed along a memory stick containing your next assignment. The remainder of the time was spent with listing your unabsolved sins.

“Hello? Is this thing on?,” You jested, giving a few raps on the partition. When it did finally open up, you could tell it was him even though the screen obstructed most of his face. “Damn,” you softly whispered.

Heahmund stared down at you, slowly exhaling as if trying to control his annoyance. “Hello, Sister Mary Julian. I am glad you could finally join me.”

The Bishop was very careful to limit his interactions with you which you took no offense to. The rare times he made an appearance was either to make a very special request or to lecture you over your work. “So, this assignment must be a juicy one if you’re personally delivering it to me,” you hoped.

“I think we both know that there is no new assignment. I had been informed that you have been away for the past few days.” It looked like you were in for a reprimand tonight. Raising his brow at you, he continued, “Tell me, Sister, what was the purpose of your trip? And I think it is in your best interest if you do not lie to me.”

“Pleasure, mainly.” Technically, not a lie. The only reason you took the job was to see Ivar again. “Just needed a bit of R&R.”

“I found it very interesting that the son of a well known diplomat was also there getting some ‘R&R’. A diplomat who is a very generous friend of the church.”

“That is interesting.”

“And even more so that his son unfortunately died due to a severe allergic reaction.”

“Should have avoided the shellfish.”

“I did not get to that part yet.”

“Damn.”

Heahmund pinched the bridge of his nose while he roughly sighed. “While your creativity in your work does amuse me, I thought we agreed that you would not take a contract on your own. Remember I handle the clients and I pick your assignments. All for your safety. Or do I need to remind you why?”

“No.” Your hand instinctively went to scarred skin below your ribs, remembering when you first met him. You were a bloody mess, passed out at his feet after being betrayed by a client. But that was a few years ago and you felt a few years wiser now.

“Do not go behind my back again,” he warned. “Your set of skills have proved useful to me and to the church and I ensure that you are well compensated for it. We would both hate it if I had to cut ties with you now.”

Rising up from the step and brushing the dust off your knees, you were happy there was no mention of what or who else you were doing while away. Heahmund was willing to overlook the sinful acts you had to commit for work purposes but, as a bride of Christ, any personal intimate relationship was nonnegotiable especially one with a man whose family was considered an enemy of the church.

“I have not excused you. I told you that you were due for a confession.”

You didn’t care if he saw you roll your eyes as you kneeled back down. You made quick work running down the list of sins you committed since the last time you were in the booth. Murder? Check. Grinding against a married man? Check. Not dressing modestly? Check. Obsessed with material possessions? Always.

Still Heahmund held back on giving you your penance. “Anything else you might be missing?”

Your mind shifted to the image of Ivar looking up at you from his position between your thighs, his tongue flat against your clit while his hands pinned yours down on the bed. You felt yourself getting wet just from the memory alone. “No, nothing I can think of, Bishop.”

——

Tags: @youbloodymadgenius @spotgaai2000 @castielsangelsx @walkxthexmoon @multifandom0-0 @placetokeepstories

[tigerdrop]

ive been absolutely losing my mind this past week but today i have escaped the thrall of brain demons and i would like to show u a sneak peek of my geralt/jaskier sex pollen fic, Sacrificial Rites. (this part is safe-for-work tho.)

its roughly halfway done but this is all im comfortable sharing right now BYYEeee

It starts when Jaskier hears, in the near distance, something like a cannon firing. Well, if he were to think about it, actually, it starts some time before, in a little spit of a village to the north of the Temerian capital. Theirs is but a humble farming community, and it smells the part, which Jaskier reminds Geralt of. Frequently. But the air’s tinged with the smell of smoke, too, and the snow-dusted trees that knot themselves through the village are adorned with bright, multicolored muslin ribbons. Jaskier thumbs some of them as he passes by. Their coin purses are light, and there’s always something, somewhere, in need of slaying, and when a stream of young girls brushes past them, boughs clustered in their hands like bouquets, Jaskier suspects all he’ll have to do is join in whatever festivities are at hand and he’ll drum up work for them in no time. And by “them”, of course, he means Geralt. But that’s not the part he says out loud. True enough, it takes just one bawdy song about Geralt’s prowess at ghoul-slaying and lady-killing for someone in the local tavern to recognize him. A puffy-eyed man, calls himself something Jaskier can’t parse. Or pronounce. But his coin’s good, and Jaskier’s not yet had occasion to sing about the creature he describes - a cikavac, heavy on the sibilants; a gangling, bird-like thing that’s stealing the milk from their cows and the honey from their hives. Jaskier lets out a laugh. “Really? And what does a great big bird want with cow’s milk, anyway?” “Not for eating,” says the man, tugging at his mustache. His voice has a heavy accent, like the words are punched out of his mouth. “Cikavac works for someone. Maybe in another village, maybe someone here. Takes the milk back to them.” “Glorified theft,” Geralt mutters. “Well, what’s the bird get out of it, then? If it were up to me, I’d rather get to fly around, and sing, and, er, whatever else it is birds get up to. Preening? That sounds nice.” “That’s all you do anyway,” says Geralt, face stony, and he steers Jaskier away from the tavern by his shoulder. They almost bump into a woman and her children just outside. Jaskier shimmies past them, narrowly avoiding trodding on their embroidered skirts. “I’m deeply offended, Geralt,” he laments with a hand over his heart. “I’ll have you know, I’m a man of many skills and talents. Like… Oh! You wouldn’t happen to have any cherries on hand, would you?” “No,” he says, like this is obvious. “More’s the pity. I’ve got this fascinating trick of the tongue, you know. Lets you tie a knot in a cherry stem, no hands necessary. I picked it up from some ladies in Novigrad.” Geralt turns his head back to look at him, eyebrows raised, but doesn’t dignify that with a response. Doesn’t say much the rest of the afternoon, either. All Jaskier can squeeze out of him is a rudimentary description of the thing - gawky, uncomfortably humanoid, and bearing a long, narrow beak with a fleshy pouch where it keeps its spoils. “Like a pelican,” Jaskier supplies helpfully to no one but himself. There are preparations to be made, but Jaskier mostly tunes them out. More interesting is the smoke, growing thicker as they approach the outskirts of the village. Lot of torches for the middle of the day, he thinks, until they resolve themselves as effigies of cloth and straw, bedecked in dried husks and rudimentary skirts to give them the shape of a woman. Jaskier’s mouth closes mid-word. “Oh, that’s alright, then,” he starts up again, “they’re just setting a bunch of little girls on fire. No big deal. And— and then putting them out again. Sure. Seems a little counterproductive!” His voice breaks on the last word, coming out unnaturally loud. A handful of people glance his way. “Don’t be rude,” grunts Geralt. “Not looking to get chased out of town before I get paid.” “Geralt of Rivia, telling me not to be rude? My goodness. I guess I must be rubbing off on you.” Most of the participants gather around a creek that splits the town from the thicket. They cross its shallow waters between a group of boys taking turns to toss their own straw dolls into it. Back to their familiar rites: gathering herbs, laying traps, establishing a stakeout. Jaskier’s gotten quite good at it by now. He sings while he works, mindless things about sad women with lush black hair, so thick you could drown in it. Geralt tells him to knock it off. It only encourages him to give Geralt a winning smile as he cooks up another verse. They’ve got a nice little vantage point where the valley swells up into rolling hills, affording a decent view of the— of the— “Geralt, what’d that alderman call himself?” The witcher looks up from where he’s crushing seeds in a mortar. “Zduhać.” He mouths the word silently, and finds it cumbersome. Of Zduhać’s farmstead, then, where he’s kindly left his prized goat tied up this night for them to use as bait— “It’s a title,” continues Geralt. Jaskier blinks at him, surprised. “Means something like ‘dragon man’.” Of the zduhać’s farmstead, then. Glad they got that sorted out. “So, what, am I to believe that that old man killed a dragon? He didn’t seem much for that kind of thing. A bit too much gout, if you ask me.” “That’s not what it means.” Jaskier waits for a moment, but Geralt just keeps pounding his pestle. “And what, pray tell, does it mean?” he asks at last, as he crosses one leg over the other and rests his hands on his knee. Geralt keeps silent in a way that Jaskier has come to interpret as I don’t know, so don’t ask. Now, they wait. And wait. Geralt keeps his eyes peeled, as sharp as ever, but sometime after the moon rises high in the sky, Jaskier’s fingers stop strumming quite so fast. The air’s balmy and supple, ripe with moisture and the pollen of countless plants unfurling again, and he finds himself nodding off. Jaskier comes to all at once when he hears, in the near distance, something like a cannon firing. He clambers to his feet, against all reason, really, because the last thing he should do is make himself a bigger target for - for whatever that was from. His lantern’s been put out, enveloping the forest in darkness, and he is suddenly aware that he is alone. “Geralt?” he calls out to the trees. His voice warbles in a way he doesn’t like. There’s no response, but he’s sure that sound came from this way. Or maybe it was that way? Jaskier may be no witcher, what with those keen senses and all, but he is clever enough to follow the shuffling and rustling in the trees until he’s sure he isn’t just hearing things. It’s not until he’s well and truly lost track of where he started from that he stumbles through a cluster of flowering bushes, and with it, Geralt. What he should say is something like “Geralt!”, or “Geralt!”, or even “Thank goodness you’re alright!”, but instead what he says is, “Lords have mercy, you’re filthy,” because his eyes have a direct feed to his mouth that bypasses his brain entirely. Geralt’s hunched over and trying in vain to clean his face, covered as he is from head to toe in a translucent, yellowy slime. So is everything else in a ten foot radius. Geralt spits. “No shit.” “What’s— what in the world happened to you?” He steps forward gingerly in an attempt to avoid the mess. “Damned thing. It ate one of my pouches.” Jaskier draws upon his dabbling knowledge of witchery and alchemy to come to the conclusion that something inside it didn’t play nice with the cikavac’s insides. And now its insides appear to be its outsides. “Well, you’re not hurt, are you? Not missing any limbs, from what I can see.” “You’ll put me out of a job with observational skills like those,” says Geralt, unimpressed. He wrings a thick glob out of his hair. All that’s left of the poor beast is its beak, glossy, orange, and befouled with the same stuff. Jaskier lets Geralt pick it up himself. They can’t go back to town looking like this, or at least Geralt can’t, as Jaskier kindly reminds him. There’s a secluded bank downstream from the villagers and their celebrations. It’ll have to do. This, too, is another thing Jaskier’s gotten good at over the years. Scrubbing Geralt clean, that is. He knows which oils to keep on hand to best maintain Geralt’s hair, which salves to apply to all the places Geralt can’t reach, and which temperature Geralt likes the best when they’ve got a choice in the matter. Things that should be degrading. Beneath a man of his stature. ‘Should’ isn’t often found in his vocabulary, however. His fingers knead through Geralt’s hair to coax the last of the slime out of it. It has an odd texture, not unlike a whisked egg, although he’s to understand it’s just a foul mixture of honey, milk, and assorted intestinal fluids. Muscle memory takes over. The rote nature of it quiets a buzzing in him. It’s the same buzz that makes him turn rhymes over in his head, over and over, keeping him from a good night’s sleep unless he’s worn out or fucked out. Hence his predilection for the finer things in life - wine, women, washing. Geralt’s kind of like a cat, Jaskier thinks idly, how he leans into the firm drag of Jaskier’s fingernails against his scalp. It’s hard to beat back a smile. Those eyes of his, normally beady slits, balloon in the dim moonlight. Jaskier pushes down on his shoulders to get him to submerge himself. He goes easily, lingering under the surface for a moment, where his silver hair hangs suspended around him in a filmy cloud. Then he bursts back through the surface like a quenched sword, hot and steaming. Maybe there was something to those strange rituals after all.

[pinpep]

An unexpected talk

"Hey guys. It's been awhile. Times are tough. It seems like the world and my life are on the brink, and ive never been so torn. I wonder if it was as easy as you two made it seem. I almost gave up. Sometimes I still want to. I'm trying. I miss you. I'll be brave."

The trees around her felt as empty as ever. The graves, as graves always were, remained silent, but the air a short distance behind her was another matter entirely.

“Oh, wee lamb. Th'easier it looks, th'arder it was. Forged in fire, hey?”

The voice surprised her, knowing she was supposed to be secluded out here, but the young gnome calmed herself, certainly a well-meaning passerby judging by how the tone had no malice whatsoever.  She turned her head around to greet the stranger.

Seated on the grass next to a large oak stump, a woman bearing the not-quite-sharp, not-quite-round features of a middle-aged mother sips carefully from a steaming teacup. Her hair is dark and held up off her neck by a kerchief across her forehead, and her clothing is simple, but fine. The light-colored dress seemed a bit dirty, but it was hard to be sure since she, cup and all, was a softly-shimmering translucent green. “Don’t mind me, luv.”

Calmly adjusting to the fact that a spirit had decided to reveal itself, the gnome can’t help but smile at the ‘luv’, it gave away where the woman was from, anyway, and it did make her think of Leon, almost an uncanny feeling, really. “Oh, it’s no trouble, i’m not far away enough from town to expect privacy.” Adjusting her seating, she turning to face the woman.  "I enjoy coming out here to talk to my parents, pretty place. You on a walk?“

When she chuckled, the slight reverb was much easier to pick up, but it didn’t make her sound particularly alien, rather giving her voice a more songlike quality as she set her cup down. "I do like t'wander in my free time these days. It is a lovely little spot you’ve found for yourself. My apologies for intruding on you, by th’ by. Couldn’t quite 'elp myself. It sounded so …mm, familiar.” Pin gave her a smile. Spirits, though she had rarely encountered them, were rarely malevolent, and in truth she found this one to be pleasant enough that she didn’t want to cause her any discomfort.  "Familiar? I suppose everyone has their troubles.“

"Very much so. First thin’ y'learn that’s worth learnin’ once married, luv; nobody’s marriage is without stumbles. Th’ longer they go, th’ more there are, o’ course, but that’s just probability, innit?”

“Personally, I talked t'my pillows about it.”

She chuckled, “I like to air this stuff out there, or at my training dummy if i’m mad enough.” a brief pause, followed by a deep breath, “There have been ups and downs, but this was the first time I thought I was making it worse. Still feel it.” “Well, in a way, you’re right, luv.” She set her cup down, drawing a second one out of nothing and pouring from a homey little teapot that hadn’t been on the stump before. It certainly smelled nice, lots of bergamot, a little orange. “We’re all responsible for our own lives, aren’t we? So if it’s not goin’ th'way we want it, that’s always a little bit on us. Not quite s'much as we’d gen'rally like, I think, but still.”

It was not a great feeling, to hear those words, but she had a kind way of saying it that put that initial panic to bed, and… well, she was right. “True…. true.  Guess I just let it get to me, though, tried to get away from it, saying it was for the greater good. Guess i’m still a bit of a greenhorn with this love thing.”

“Tch, you are ev'ry ounce his li'l girl, aren’t you? Ideas an’ words bigger'n than you a dozen times over for ev'ry li'l success an’ hiccup.” She gave a silvery laugh as she pressed the teacup into Pin’s hands, feeling solid and smelling heavenly.

“You’ll only ever be a greenhorn, luv. Life never runs short o’ surprises, least of all in love. Dwellin’ in th’ valleys makes climbin’ t'th’ peaks take all that much longer, though.”

The words took a little while to sink in, all of them, and the young gnome held the ghostly teacup in her hands, looking into the woman’s eyes for awhile, her brain catching up with the implications. She took a deep breath… “You… you knew dad?” her voice cracked a bit.

My but meeting that gaze was a familiar sensation, green shimmer or not. Pin looked into eyes like those almost every night. Come to think of it, her smile turned up just a little higher on the same side as Leon’s, too. “I’d be surprised if 'alf o’ creation didn’t know that man by now, luv. 'E’s got personality enough t'man a warship on 'is own.”

Almost by instinct, Pin lifted the cup to her lips, taking a sip of the ethereal, but… very real liquid, best tea she’d ever had, really. It was the only thing keeping her from tearing up. Dad… he was… around. She knew it, of course, proof of spirits and all that, just… to -know-. And as the gnome met her gaze once again… she knew. “You…. you’re Bettany, aren’t you?”

Almost bashfully, she nodded her head and picked up her cup in a half-toast. “Sorry for th’ theatrics, luv. I 'ave t’ find my fun where I can.”

Trying to regain a bit of sanity via levity, Pin gave her a bit of a wry smile, “Well, I suppose i’ve no room to judge on theatricality. I came back from the dead in golden armor.” giving herself a few halfhearted chuckles, she met Bettany’s eyes again. “I…don’t know why or how but… I… really wanted to meet you. Leon really thought the world of you.”

Another loud, full-bodied laugh for the armor comment really hammered home the truth of her identity. “And oh 'ow your poppa glowed fit t’ match when y'did, too! If not fer all th’ bloody nebulous rules of it, 'e’d 'ave already come t'you, luv, and don’t think for a moment that 'e wouldn’t.” Her smile faded just a touch at the edges at the mention of her son, sad but resigned. “'E still does, luv. An’ just like yours, I’ll come to 'im when I can. An’ when it won’t crush 'im further.”

There were the tears. She managed to ward of the outpouring of emotion with a few deep breaths, but it was good to hear… that he saw, that he knew. “I… i’ll do my best to help get him there. I’ve been scared… but he seems to be doing better.”

“It’s very 'ard not to once there’s so much less t'fret over. From what we could see, your time on that side o’ thin’s wasn’t quite th'same.” She waved one hand in an absent sort of swat, and she sipped from her tea again. “'They’ve never been anythin’ less'n’ ecstatic t'see you go, luv. ”

“I do wish 'e 'adn’t gotten t'talkin’ with Graeme fer a while, though.” A long-suffering, but not quite actually upset, sigh. “Thank th’ gods they can’t get themselves killed again, that’s all I’ll say.”

The thought of that scenario made the gnome smile, “I actually was referring to your son, Ma'am, but it is good to know all the same.”

“You’ll pardon me sayin’ so I 'ope, but I’d assumed y'would without needin’ said. I’ll admit I never knew what 'e needed was you, but it’s clear as day now.”

Her cheeks darken a bit as she takes the compliment, she briefly looks down before meeting her gaze again. “Thanks. You raised a wonderful man, Bettany. Heck, two of them, though the other one does have a smart mouth sometimes.”

“Terry never did quite like 'ow much like 'is poppa 'e wound up, but if 'e did, 'e wouldn’t be much like 'is poppa at all. Leon… I’m glad 'e came away from th’ man 'e was becomin’ just after.”

Pin takes another sip of her tea, only to find it just about finished. “Me too. He got me to believe in myself again. Got me to love myself as well as him.” “Always th’ nurturin’ type, that boy.” She set her teacup on the stump where, after a moment, it faded off into nothing. “I think y’ deserve each other, an’ yes, that can be interpreted any number o’ ways, not all of 'em kind. I’ll leave it up t'you t'decide which one I mean just now, hm?”

She nods slowly, “Something to think about, at least. I… anything you want me to say?”

For the first time, Bettany stopped smiling, looking thoughtfully off into the trees around them. “… a great many. But they’d all be selfish. It wouldn’t 'elp Leon any t'hear from me th’ way 'e is now.” It wasn’t something that made her happy to say, but she’d resolved to accept it.

“I’ll ask y’t'keep this chat between us for now, on that note, please.”

“Yes’m.” Pin couldn’t help but go with Leon’s choice of words there.

A knowing smirk followed that familiar utterance. “At least not till I’ve gotten t'ave words with th'other girl.”

At that, Pin smiled, “i’m glad you are, Kae’s a bit lost, and you’re pretty good at this.”

She lifted her chin in mock imperiousness and sniffed once. “I raised one boy through puberty and another almost as far, all th’ while keepin’ their great dafty of a father out o'trouble. I should very well hope so.”

“You certainly lived up to the talk, ma'am.”

With a soft chuckle, Bettany gave pin’s nose a short tap. If she blinks, she’ll simply be gone by the time Pin opens her eyes again. If not, she’ll see the form of Leon’s mother softly pop into a million little green sparkles and whisk off with the breeze.

A faintly amused voice lingers just a few moments longer. “Don’t be a kiss-ass, darlin’.”

Pin can’t help but laugh, cogs, she could tell why Leon was a momma’s boy.

[ask-the-amazing-helix]

(very sorry for that long delay i’ve been havin trouble stayin motivated to draw, plus im a lazy butt who keeps gettin absorbed in every game i play >.< 

anyways another wordy story bit below the break and lets hope i can keep myself from procrastinating another month before the next part >.>

if you enjoy the story and/or my art please be sure like leave a like and consider reblogging it, its greatly appreciated and helps me improve)

it was late into the night and helix hadn’t slept yet as he had been watching over trixie the whole night just in case.

Helix: I can’t believe i let this happen if only i hadn’t of taken it easy on him you wouldn’t be here right now...i’m sorry...

The door opened and someone walked in

??? It’s not your fault you know?

Helix looked back to see luna walking in next to him and looking at trixie

Helix: Miss Luna what are you doin here?

Luna: I am here because there are ponies here trapped in slumber and i have been unable to access their dreamscapes from the castle so i have come to resolve the situation directly. 

she saw the guilt on his face and paused for a moment

Luna: I’ve only just arrived buti’ve been informed the pony who did this is very strong and it was foolish of you to try and fight him...however it was very brave of you to try so instead of chastising yourself for for what you couldnt do you should rejoice for what you could. It is thanks to you nothing worse happened to you very few have survived being attacked by whoever this is so theres no telling what would have happened to her if not for you.

Helix stared at the ground still feeling like he had failed

Helix: Maybe but i was so sure i had him, i mean i blasted him so hard and i thought i had him but there’s just something not right about him... i mean i’d heard it was pony wearing a costume but he was a skeleton, that was no costume. on top of that with how hard i hit him i was afraid id accidentally killed him and yet he just got up like it was nothing, he didn't have any barriers near as i could tell so its not like he blocked it, it was like he WAS a grim reaper or at least some kinda zombie. I don’t know i just, i’m disappointed in myself but i think i’m more confused then anything. What even happened? What the heck is he? and how many more ponies will get hurt before he’s stopped?

Lunas eyes narrowed after hearing that as if she were upset

Luna: Are you sure he wasn't just wearing a costume, with the everything that has occurred are you sure you just haven't been taken in by the stories into believing they were a skeleton?

Helix: I’m pretty sure, i burned away his rope so there was no mistakin what i saw. He was definitely a skeleton or something but how?

Luna: If you see him again do not engage him, alert a guard right away and have them inform me immediately. He will be dealt with even if i must do it myself...for now you need to rest and i will take care of your friend and i have preparations to make in order to wake these ponies from this slumber.

Helix: I just wish there was more i could do...but thank you miss luna im glad youre here so i know trixies in good hooves.

Helix yawned and reluctantly headed back to his hotel to get some sleep before meeting with eco in the morning.