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ladyduellist · 4 months

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Epistles of Saints & Sinners

Chapter Summary:

Tav finds a way to fed Astarion blood.

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Story Summary:

When Astarion meets the humble bard, Tav, he soon finds out he's the only one between them that knows they are bound as soulmates through their marks. Deciding it's more trouble than its worth, he refuses to tell her along the course of their journey across Faerûn.

But, unbeknownst to him and their companions, Tav is harboring a gruesome secret that she only thought was nothing more than a traumatized period in her life.

As they both come to face to face with their pasts and presents, will they choose to move forward or let it consume them?

Healing isn’t linear—after all.

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Chapter 17: Poison

Ao3

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Word count: 5.7k

Pairing: Astarion x female bard Tav

CW: Language, Violence, Act 1 Spoilers

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♫ Traveling under the sunless sea, We were both trying to breathe, Tied with an invisible thread.

When colors seem less monochrome, And the soul doesn’t want to roam, Emotions felt with everything unsaid.

Little by little it starts, Devotion of a once vacant heart, The dawn’s shard’s bringing light.

Moments of sweetness and inner strife, Holding on to each other like a knife, So that our tale will be worth the fight. ♫

— Tavelle Swiftchoir, a song entitled ‘Genesis

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“Do you trust it?”

“Hmm?”

“The dream guardian. Do you trust it?” Gale persisted, biting softly into an impeccably made cheese sandwich.

Shaking herself from focusing on the shoddy stitch work in her lap, Tav amusedly spied a couple breadcrumbs becoming lost in his unkempt beard “No? Hells, I don’t know. It certainly told us a convincing tale. What about you?”

“I typically like to err on the side of caution, but I’m in agreement with you: it did tell us a convincing tale. The fact that it conveyed nearly the same story to us through our dream state, makes me think we are its only hope,” he pointed out, brushing away flakes of bread from his robes. “But this could be yet another trick. Let us carry on and see what comes of this protector of ours for the present.”

The bard took a deep breath, carefully mulling over their current state of affairs. “At any rate, we do have the creature to thank for us all still being alive.”

Around them, a chilled breeze in the late afternoon warned of the beginning transition into sunset. The day had been wrought with conversations surrounding the group’s mutual restlessness about where the lines of reality and dreams blurred pertaining to the abnormal guardian angel inside the prism. Dreamy’s narrative certainly seemed believable enough, but Tav was concerned that it appeared to each of them in a different form—craftily tailored in the guise of familiarity, blindsiding them to gain their trust. Yet, not a single one of her companions opted to reveal who’s shape it took on, as if they, too, had been unsettled by the imitator’s projected image.

And honestly? She probably understood the need to conceal such unbosomings better than anyone, given the shapeshifting protector’s introduction in Algos’s body. There was very little doubt that her companions would be understanding about why she murdered her husband, but what they didn’t know—what she hid—was that she would one day face extreme public scorn in the pillory before having her neck kiss the bladed edge of a guillotine, for misdeeds far graver than Algos’s demise.

They can’t know. They can’t find out. It would put them all in danger.

It terrified Tav, the knowing that time was running low before everyone discovered her real identity. That a condemned woman as she was on the path to possibly become a hero—unexpectedly following in her mother’s footsteps—except her accused transgressions would see her dead before the first opus honoring her deeds was composed. But she had, in some sense, accepted that she would offer herself up to Faêrun’s judgment when the bell tolled for her fate. Taking as much as she gave to the world by balladeering her final mortal liturgy, while still protecting those in need to the very end.

The wizard took another large chomp into his snack while he plopped down onto the crate, moaning in culinary bliss. “‘av, ‘o yoo wa’t ‘um? I’s ree’y goo’!” he excitedly said, pointing at the sandwich with his mouth full.

“I’m sure it does taste good—judging by how loudly you’re chewing—but I’ll pass this time, Gale. Thank you,” she hastily replied, growing more frustrated with the lapse of her sewing needle determined to create a crooked line.

“Ah,” he jetted out, swallowing more chunks of Waterdhavian down his hatch. “Honestly, all that’s missing is a bottle of Athkatlan clarry wine.”

The needle pierced the tip of her finger, making her wince. “Bollocks! I can’t deal with this right now,” she huffed out, tossing the tailoring kit and torn shirt aside.

Gale turned to her, a fair amount of worry dimming his bark colored eyes. “Want to talk about it?”

How could she ever possibly explain her constant hindrances to him? Whenever she began to dwell, she could feel herself packed to the brim, ready to burst through those seams at any moment. The tadpoles. Algos. Their journey. The dream guardian. Whatever the fuck her involvement continued to be with Astarion. Tav had taken on so much in such a short period, that she was wound like a rubber band ball about to unsnap.

The bard lifted her knees to rest the side of her face against them. Her hair unplaited, captured the last chirps from the evening songbirds upon each strand blown in the wind. “I’m not even sure where to start.”

“The beginning may be as good a place as any. After what you did for me—standing for my honor against the others concerning the Netherese orb—listening is the least I can do for our worrisome leader.”

Tav seriously pondered over his words, quickly electing to keep her sentiments to herself. “You don’t owe me anything. None of you do. Being here is sufficient.”

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Is it? Sufficient, I mean.”

“What are you implying?” she asked with a hint of unease in her soft pitch.

Gale raised his head to peer out towards Wyll and Karlach preparing the evening campfire. “You know, when I locked myself up in my tower for that fretful year, I had nobody except for Tara,” he proceeded with his thoughts. “One full year, waffling in my depression and consuming whatever magical items I could to stabilize this infestation in my chest. One full year of never reaching out to another to relinquish some of my misery, convincing myself it was my own burden to bear.

"Maybe I could have blamed some of my pride on my lack of seeking another’s sympathy, but I will say, after I was captured by the mind flayers and settled with you all, I realized just how starved I was to share my struggles with those that would have my best interest in heart.”

As she listened to the wizard’s voice attempting to lull her into a vulnerable place, Tav began to trace all their companion’s names in elvish Espruar letterings into the dirt. With each elegant curve she made, her index finger either thickened or thinned its script. She wondered if amongst her digit’s fluidity imprinting these names into the ground, which of them—if any—could lay their hands over her metaphorically slumped body in an act to invoke a holy dove for her healing. Yet, her impulse to safeguard what was still left within her reverberating heart took precedence, leaving her with bouts of emptiness where trusted connections should form.

Astarion had been right all along: nothing was holding her hostage except herself.

“What I’m trying to say is that perhaps it’s not me you wish to unload any of this haul of yours onto, but I have zero doubt that a single one of us would turn you away if you wished to do so,” Gale ended, fixing his gaze on her.

Tav froze her mindless scribbles in the middle of drawing Astarion’s name. She lifted her head to gently grin at him. “You are singing to the bard here, Gale,” she replied, laughing at her own corny joke. “But know that it is never something to take personally. Maybe after I’ve found time to think more clearly? Would that suffice?”

He patted her on the back, grunting a noise resembling a throaty “yes.”

Familiar post-mortem gouge, A skewer through her vitals. Rearing bestial head, With another cycle.

Scraping and howling, Blow down the bricks to her castle walls. From high above the turrets, Tearfully shoot the animal until it falls.

And then mourn its lifeless shape, For the offense of trying to see inside.

“Ahem,” an unreserved voice cleared itself, announcing himself specifically to the bard.

Leisurely strolling by with his impossibly straight nose pointing down into a book, Astarion sank in his cheeks to follow up his known presence with a “tsk.” His loose curls relaxed along the nape of his neck as his chin tucked a little further into his chest.

Gale sat up straight in his seat, running a hand through his brown hair to find relief from the assaulting tresses tickling his face. “How many times has he passed by us now?”

“Three. He’s pouting and hoping I’ll change the terms of my arrangement with him,” Tav responded, sighing. If Astarion meant to hold up his boisterous charade, she was resigning herself to her bedroll for the rest of the evening.

“Arrangement? As in feeding or…um…something…well,” the wizard inquired, shooting her an embarrassed glance.

Her lower lip hung open, the sound of a forced dry chuckle leaving her diaphragm. “Are you asking about my sex life, Gale?”

“WAIT, I ONLY MEANT—” Gale held up his hands, face turning every shade of pinkish red one could imagine.

She casually covered her mouth, hiding her raspy titters. Gale reminded her of jam spread upon a biscuit: reliable, easily abashed, and sweet at the same time.

“Do I simply not exist?” the vampire sneered, keeping his garnet view studying the pages in his book. “You do realize I’m able to hear the two of you gossiping hens from here, don’t you?”

“Hello again, Astarion,” Gale called out. “You’re sounding rather optimistic tonight. Is there anything we can do for you?”

“Oh, Gale, you really need to stop flirting with me—I’m not interested,” Astarion scowled, turning a page in his book.

He’s more agitated than usual, Tav reflected. And his skin…is it possible for him to be any paler? Unless he hasn’t—damnit!

Tav jumped to her feet, giving the ties on her stays a quick glance over to check for their support. “When’s the last time you fed?” she asked aloud.

Astarion lifted his head to peer over at her. “Does it matter? I think you’ve made it perfectly clear where you stand on that particular concern.”

Gale nervously lurched his nutty eyes between the two ex lovers, seemingly deciding it was better to stay clammed up on the subject by the way he pursed his lips together.

Slowly approaching, she nibbled at the inside of her cheek, ruminating on her last interaction with Astarion during their spar. Did he believe she was trying to punish him with the boundaries she set? Of course she was undeniably irate over how he treated their riptided companionship, but she refused to be held responsible in any way for his fickle stubbornness.

“You need blood,” she composedly pressed, stuffing her hands into her pant pockets. “This isn’t healthy, especially with us facing the gith tomorrow.”

Astarion waved her off disdainfully. “Sorry darling, but I think my palette is evolving to a taste that’s less…stale.”

“So, you would rather hold out for a different ‘thinking creature’ than the woman standing in front of you still offering her neck?” Tav frowned, knitting her brow. “I’m not going to chase after you about this.”

Yes, you will.

“Don’t mislead yourself.” He gently closed the book, skimming a hand over the front cover before fully regarding her. “We both already know that you have quite the tendency in refusing to give up on anything.”

Astarion knew exactly how to rile her up, sucking upon her good character like he was the village witch. With pitchforks and orders of decree, town riots were held because of men like him. There had already been plenty of occasions when he knew she couldn't turn away from his dilemmas, premediating he wouldn't even have to ask. Killing Gandrel. Drinking her blood. The promise to fell Cazador. Examples upon examples of the way this captivating rogue had kept her within his apocryphal sepulcher.

“And you’ve taken advantage of that knowledge, haven’t you?” she retorted.

Astarion took a few steps closer to her, tilting his head to the side. “Haven’t I? Don’t you mean, haven’t we? I’m not the only one that’s pursued a special interest amongst the two of us.”

The bard narrowed her eyes. “Y-you think I used you only for intimacy?” she choked out, fighting back the watery spouts in the nooks of her eyes. “...Astarion, that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“Again, don’t mislead yourself. Everybody wants something from someone else,” the pale elf goaded, slanting his body inwardly to gawk at her underneath his black lashes.

A dull ache unspun in her chest as it began to propagate from the words of Astarion’s morose piano sonata he unexpectedly disclosed to her. Her previous fears had come true: he honestly thought she was using him for little more than sensual rendezvouses.

“I want to talk more in depth about this,” Tav murmured, staring at the tome in his hands. Was it just her imagination or was it lightly trembling?

“And I want to leave,” Astarion shot back, abruptly turning away from her, unwilling to share any further exchanges. “I bid goodnight to everyone not named Gale.”

“Yes, well, please do let us know how we can inconvenience you yet again on your fourth stroll around here!” the wizard shouted as Astarion roamed away towards a set of ruins overlooking the mountainous valley.

Tav started to sluggishly pace, thoughts scattered as she ran the risks of martyring her self appointed walls over and over again. Usually, she would pay no heed to his sarcasm and mockery—which was half of his personality—but the steady quakes jumbling his grip around the book, nettled its way beneath the five million nerve endings of her skin. What was he hiding?

“Tavelle,” Gale said unevenly. “Are you okay?”

An idea struck her. Impulsive and dangerous. She laughed at herself for the mere consideration of it, and furthermore, at Astarion’s prediction of her defiance to throw in the towel. He surely must’ve laced his fangs with poison with the way he continued to seep into her veins.

Wiggling a dagger out from its sheath tied to her belt, she placed the sharp blade against her right forearm. “Gale, do you think you could find me an empty bottle?”

Confused, he observed her impromptu actions. “Let me jot down that bloodletting is an active interest of yours. Whatever are you doing?”

“If Astarion continues to be stubborn in his feedings, I’ll just have to concede to a different way in helping him. He’s not the only one that can tempt another,” she half-jested, discerning on the proper area to slice.

Mouth agape, pupils larger than copper coins, Gale ran off to retrieve her request with his robes swishing fastidiously behind him. Almost instantaneously, he returned stumbling over his feet with an empty bottle, clean bandages, and a quartered-filled healing potion.

“Here, this should do. The healing potion should stop most of your bleeding, but not right away—hence the dressings.”

“Greatly appreciated,” Tav beamed. “Actually, this may go better if you could hold the bottle for me. If I die, lie to Shadowheart and tell her I forced you to help with a charm spell before she resurrects me.”

Gale silently assented, standing close enough to hold the container under her arm. “I realize this may be none of my business, but why even bother? Is he really worth continuing to sacrifice your own health for? You and I have had this disagreement before and I can’t help but think it’s best to still leave him be. Nobody wants to see you hurt; we need you just as much as you need us.”

The bard grit her teeth together, slowly cutting through several blood vessels in her arm. As her crimson dripped in hurried rivulets, she positioned the wound over the glass.

“I-I care about him, Gale,” Tav weighed in, starting to feel lightheaded. “There is something inside my gut that tells me not to abandon him, no matter how much of a pretentious asshole he can be. I don’t think he understands what living a good life means and, gods help me, I’m determined to at least help give him a real chance to do so.”

He took a deep breath, careful in the way he spoke his next words. "Do you think this could just be your affectionate emotions speaking and not your logic? It's evident you have a strong bond with Astarion, regardless if you feel something deeper with him or not. I'm not trying to deter or judge you, but I went through a similar situation with Mystra. I loved her and it cost me everything."

Tav elevated her head, taking in the warmth of his stare. "Isn't that what life is all about? Putting your heart on the line and hoping everything works itself out," she proclaimed, sheepishly smiling.

A sympathetic expression washed over his face as he held tighter onto the small container while it filled with her blood. “I didn’t before, but I think I slightly understand now why you protect him—us—as you do. You’re too good for this world and I pray Astarion sees what your compassion is capable of doing.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,“ she timidly blushed, resheathing the blade as she scrambled to unravel the bandages to tie around the gash. “Mayhaps I am being preposterous, but I want to believe Astarion has something good inside him that’s been suppressed in growth for 200 years just so he could survive. Would it be so terrible of me to help him search for that?”

“Terrible? No. A damned lunatic? Yes.”

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Rosymorn Monastery Trail was a location that appeared suspended in time. Vast jagged mountainous rocks reaching high into the heavens above. Overgrown trees refused mercy to the ridges they shoved their roots into, leaving behind a surreal sight to behold. Built alongside the trail were shrines and statues dedicated to the dawn god Lathander—some in literal ruins, others standing proud. All forgotten, left to nature’s decay.

The dusk showed the first presentations of celestial bodies over the breathtaking scenery, dimly twinkling as they labored to shine brightest through refracted streams of light. They reminded Tav of the vampire she was on foot to visit, peacocking his demeanor as if he wanted to be noticed while a preferred distance remained a tumultuous comfort.

In her hand, she clenched the bottle of her prepared blood, wondering how Astarion would receive the expiatory truce. Gale’s woes weren’t without merit about the spawn’s needs extending beyond her remediable efforts, but her memories of the past decade were a potent drug denying her withdrawal from him. She had been alone. Frightened. Traversing the lands with no support. Her name: a stain on her people and her family’s triumphs. Because of this, Tav vowed to herself and the incorporeal buzzards circling overhead waiting for her collapse, that nobody else she knew would have to face their suffering alone as she had.

The tiniest granule of real unfettered hope could change everything for Astarion.

Hope. A word Algos used to berate her for even suggesting the power it could wield, contrarily believing fear held more dominance. A decade later, she could still hear his voice echoing in leftover thoughts germane to him. Though, she was confused as to why her recent trances were constantly enthralled by him, hounding her into turbulent—sometimes insomniac—nights. Could it be her mind trying to warn her of the similarities between Algos and Astarion? Both had exhibited behaviors of egotism, manipulation, cruelty, and concerns that were border lined obsessive with outward appearances. Comparative personality quirks, yes, but didn’t they hold their differences?

Astarion was the only one between the two men that had treated her as an actual human being despite his historical flaws. He respected her autonomy, although he loved to disagree with her. When she announced her boundaries, he didn’t barge through them to try and control her. Most of all, he never took anything from her unless she first offered. To Astarion, perhaps these actions meant naught to him other than some part of his personal compass he routinely enacted. Whereas for Tav, these were exhibitions of consideration for her well-being that he may never understand what they truly meant to her.

Still, the songstress couldn’t shake the parallels betwixt them.

Maybe she really was a lunatic caught within her own patterns, blinded by her feelings. Maybe she was some idiot who couldn't help but to throw herself into another man’s haunted house. Or maybe her muddled head was overthinking so many disorderly thoughts, that she failed to notice her arrival at the wrecked archway attached to what was left of an abandoned sanctuary.

Shivers prickled down her spine while she briskly searched the area for any evidence that the spawn was closeby. “Astarion, are you here?”

Over crumbling and desolate blanched stones, she berthed herself with the foundation of her lower body. The bard’s eartips perked up, attuning to the awakening eve’s sonances. Save for the mating cricket chirps, it was pleasantly silent. She walked through the open arch, peering out towards the empty cliff behind the building.

“‘Starion?” Tav whispered.

“Ah, and thus does the bouquet arrive to offer unto me chastisements for biting words,” a nasally voice odically narrated on the other side of a neglected wall holding the arches afloat.

“Oh my gods!” she yelped out in surprise, nearly dropping the vessel of her sanguine fluid.

He was leaning back casually against the ruinous wall with his eyes peacefully shut, letting her ogle bluish thin capillaries webbing his lids. The black and plum coat he often wore was unbuckled, opened wide, revealing a plunging neckline above his usual ruffly shirt underneath. And, oh, did the moonlight ever decide to accentuate the forbidden dips of his collarbone and pointed jawline right when her gaze fluidly crossed his path.

Tav’s view dropped away, cheeks reddened as if she had caught him in a private moment. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over vampires' corpselike stillness,” she noted with a jittery chuckle, coming down from her adrenaline spike.

The vampire’s right eye opened, appraising her gestures as he inhaled heavily through his nostrils. “Are you wounded? You smell like you’ve been doused in your own blood.”

“Something like that,” she confirmed, lifting up the bottle and confidently pushing it in his direction.

“A potion? Darling, you shouldn’t have! How did you know this is what I’ve always wanted?” Astarion mocked in annoyance, pushing off the wall to grip the bottom of the glass.

Tav shook her head. “Not a potion. Open it.”

He skeptically gaped at her as he popped the cork out. A single sniff into the dense bottled air, bathed his expression in euphoric and ravenous delight. The tips of his fangs glistened with a string of saliva connecting one of them to his tongue when his mouth fell open. Low groans, short and reverberating, slipped out, leaving the woman’s heart fluttering.

Seconds passed before he spoke, his accent thickly laced with hunger. “What did you do?” he mumbled, bringing his sight to level with hers.

Tav removed her hand from the object, allowing its heft to nest in his grasp. “The day after you told me you were a vampire, we made an agreement for you to drink my blood as needed. I mean to uphold what I promised to you regardless of what’s going on between us.”

“Where?” he breathed out.

“Where what?”

“Where did you cut yourself open?”

She held up her forearm, swathed in fresh bandage strips. “It doesn’t hurt much; I drank half of a healing potion to stop the bleeding. I wanted to catch up with you before it chilled.”

Astarion narrowly squinted at her arm, then back to her shy simper.

“Don’t do this again. Not for me; not for anyone. If I need your blood, I’ll feed from you when the others are around—per your suggestion,” he firmly stated, frowning.

Like a hallucinogenic taking effect, there was a waxing vagrancy in his eyes. Tav assumed some recollections of his chronological life, where the electric wirings in his brain became polluted, had swam through his cerebral nerves.

That was not the reaction she had anticipated. Tinges of guilt cratered themselves in her stomach, like bombs being dropped onto the ground. Amid their last tiff, Astarion had been absolutely resilient—dubious even—when Tav proposed a new feeding arrangement due to his disassociating incidents. Why did he suddenly change his mind?

She resisted sinking her teeth into her lip. “Have I upset you? I’m sorry if—”

He combed his thieving fingers through his fluffed coif, ending with a sigh. “You haven’t upset me, songbird.”

Tav clasped her hands together, avoiding his unreadable guise. “Okay, good. That's good."

Loud barking at the camp’s site saved her from the awkward silence they were wallowing inside. Someone shrieked—possibly Wyll—at Scratch for stealing their underclothes off the temporary clothesline they erected. The distracted bard merrily puffed away a chuckle, imagining the feisty dog darting through their tents with a pair of shorts in his muzzle.

As she directed her attention back towards Astarion, swift torrents from her bottled crimson cascaded into his gullet as he swallowed. Her lips were consumed with a summery smile as she watched visible glowing pinks tint his pallored skin from her blood filling his body. Engrossed by the sight of him, Tav allowed a single memory of teeth marks and tongue frisks branding her. She introspectively touched the side of her neck, finding that she missed the two punctures that had mended.

But then her yearning was replaced with antipathy aimed at herself, remembering how mortified she felt when he inferred she was only using him for sex.

Astarion wiped his mouth, gingerly swiping up blood droplets. “Something wrong?”

Tav swallowed the constricting ball in her throat. “What you said prior, it isn’t true.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

“That’s not why—you know I didn’t sleep with you because I only wanted sex, right?” she replied.

“Are you actually sullen over that? I only said it to make a point, not to have another one of our famous parleys,” he threw out, obviously deflecting. “In fact, I’ve already forgotten most of what I told you.”

Her vision roamed to his fingers tightly wrapped around the bottle, thinking back to those faint tremors from earlier. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Do what?”

“Pretend that you’re unbothered by things when they do bother you. I would never be upset with you for expressing your wants and needs."

Seconds flew by without any movement from Astarion. She observed as his pupils dilated and undilated, battling through miles of his ageless carnage until he finally blinked at her.

He raised the blood-filled container to his mouth, muffling behind the glass. “I highly doubt you’re done prattling on, so do soldier on.”

“Right.” She studied him under gossamer lashes as he ingested another red mouthful, unsurprised by his interpolation. “Us being intimate came as a bit of a surprise to me. You see, you were also my first—“

“What?!” he coughed up after gulping a huge liquidly glob.

“In a decade!” Tav giggled, obliviously fixing her bangs. “I’m sorry! I meant that you were the first man I’ve slept with since my ex.”

“Bloody hells! Had I a functional heart, I think it would have seized just now.”

It wasn’t that she hadn’t been propositioned during her ten year drought. On the contrary, plenty of men—sometimes women—pledged marriages, endless wealth, distinguished titles, even rare treasures, to have her in their company since her last relationship flatlined. Compelling words they undulated into the flue of her ear about tasting her skin until she would give her heart to them. Oaths were recited about helping her to become the most famous bard in Toril, like enticing wildfires from treacherous tongues.

But, none of it mattered. Tav already knew she couldn’t trust them. They never offered her what she wanted—what she needed. Never bothering to unfasten even a fraction of her armor to see what was moored underneath. All her fragility and sorrow waiting to be exposed like a creature sliced open upon a taxidermist’s table.

Until she met Astarion and he saw right through the remnants she tried to mask.

Astarion swigged the rest of the bottle’s contents, releasing a pleased keen. “Call me a scamp all you want, but if you had asked me to deflower you, I would have at least treated you to a romantic dinner of half-eaten apples and stale bread beforehand,” he teased, spryly reaching out to brush the back of his knuckles along her jaw.

She playfully pushed his furled fingers away. “Knave!”

“Oh, forgive me. Would you have preferred tenderized lamb shank and white wine?” he taunted, examining his spread fingers out in front of him. “Our options are clearly limited to a more—bleh—provincial lifestyle.”

Laughing, she lightly thudded her back against the wall, pulling fountains of hair over her shoulder. Astarion mirrored the elf, resting his body next to hers, shoulders inches apart. Their breaths tapered into steady and mellow flows, each trying to match the other.

“So, was your ex love your first?” he curiously asked after a time, wiggling his brows.

“No, thank the gods,” Tav informed. “Aah, my first was a young elven man. A sailor visiting his family in Highmoon. It happened so fast, I barely remember anything from it aside from the—ahem—initial pain. He was sweet and a gentleman, so I suppose it could have been worse.”

“Tsk. Had it been me, I would have taken my time with you," he boasted.

She blushed, crossing her foot one over the other nervously. “What about you? Who was your first?”

Astarion’s face tensed. “I can’t remember,” he said softly.

The songstress looked at the ground somberly, simultaneously saddened he may never regain his memories and confounded that the person that had hurt her the most amongst their group was also the one she felt the most comfortable with.

The spawn shifted, placing a loose fist under his chin in thought. “Ten years without so much as a single caress, huh? No wonder you were so…” he trailed off.

“So, what?”

“...sensitive.”

“Oghma’s right nut! I should’ve taken that one to my grave,” she lamented, florid embarrassment heating tender skin down the length of her ear from pointed tip to lobe.

Astarion laughed at her, showing his upper row of teeth. He rotated his head, focusing on her with roguish eyes aglow. “If you would like to do the honors of fluffing my ego, why choose me to be your first after all that time?”

Under the cosmos, they connected by flesh. Lonely wanderers: drifting, searching, waiting to be free. Under the cosmos, they did part. Runaways still enslaved by scars of old stones.

Though she discovered through their brief reverie that they may not have been meant for each other, the bard confessed she had wished for more with Astarion. Yes, she had every justifiable reason to abhor the man—especially with how he had caused her immense grief—but Tav could not forget how he made her feel that her heart could stir once more, even if he didn't feel the same.

There lay something bittersweet in that insight as she clung so tightly to her whirl-winded emotions. The former lovers were both guilty of different failings and with everything they had already been through, Tav knew death's hand could claim their lives at any moment with no pardons for final contrition's, unless they meant to absolve their mistakes. Which begged the question: would they be able to give themselves over to forgiveness and acceptance in order to move forward?

She gazed up at the stars, focusing on a smaller troupe overhanging them as she gathered the courage to bare a part of herself to him. “Do you remember when I said we needed to get to know each other better before we had sex?”

Astarion gradually nodded, quelling his expanding lungs. “Yes.”

“I said that because I wanted to learn more about you as a person. You are attractive. You are a fantastic lover. But, that’s not all you are. And if I ever made you somehow believe that wasn’t true, then I wholeheartedly apologize."

Twisting her neck, Tav swept her overcast dewy-filled eyes up the scope of his neck, directly meeting his widened ruby stare. “You’ve hurt me, Astarion. Badly. Some of the trust I extended to you has been broken and I’m admittedly struggling with that. Yet, I can’t help but feel like maybe you’ve harmed yourself too.”

“How so?” he inquired, leaning away from her.

Before she could dab them away, a few tears sprung free, seeking shelter in the crevices of her nose. She placed a flimsy hand in the middle of her chest, above her troubled heart. “Pushing yourself to have sex with someone when your heart doesn’t truly desire it, is wrong. It’s a complete violation to your body and soul.”

The weary creases between his brows deepened as he evaded her eye contact by squeezing his eyes shut as if he was in pain. He was deathly quiet, drooping his shoulders so he appeared vaguely hunched over. Perfect white hair waves subtly moving along with the clouds above, were the only indication that he hadn’t left for the land of the damned.

“Please say something,” she weakly begged.

He opened his eyes to glare at her. “I certainly wasn’t expecting us to be acknowledging our sins in the god’s acres, but what do you want me to do?” he hissed.

“This isn’t only about what I want, it’s about what we want. About what you want,” Tav intently replied.

Astarion flaccidly touched his forehead as if to nurse an oncoming migraine. Mouth opened, he audibly exhaled mid chafing laugh. Whatever vagrant demons were crusading inside his head, he seemed to be frantically fighting against them gaging by the rapid shifting in his sight.

The bard waited patiently for the darkness blotting out his thoughts to disperse. Periodically, his chest inhaled, presumably using the scents around them to hook him away from the undertow.

After a couple of minutes had passed, Tav reached out to graze his arm with a feathery touch. “If you’re unsure, maybe we can start by actually trying to be friends this time? No sex. No forcing yourself. Just looking out for each other and maybe a fist pound or pat on the back here and there,” she suggested, unearthing a compassionate smile. “And if you discover I’m not your cup of blood, then that’s perfectly fine. We can get on without being anything other than occasional allies.”

The vampire peeked at her through his fingers. “Gods, am I ever glad you didn’t decide to try taking up being a comedian as a profession,” he retorted, lips curling impishly. “But a fist pound? Really, Tav, how pitifully atrocious! Sometimes I forget you’re a country bumpkin from the Dales.”

Tav beamed stupidly at him, laying her index finger against his lips to quiet him. “Could we sit here in silence for a little while and watch the stars?”

Astarion nodded, depositing a faint smile she couldn’t see, into the heavens above.

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maculategiraffe · 9 months

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okay spoilers for the little girl who lives down the lane (1976) but here's what had happened: this little girl's dad was terminally ill and her estranged mom was abusive and her dad was worried that when he died she would either go back into the care of her abusive mom or into the foster system. so he was like okay honey listen. you're a smart girl, you got a good head on your shoulders. here's what we're gonna do. we lease a house, the rent's paid up for the next three years. I'll leave you a big pile of traveler's checks in a safe deposit box in the bank, joint account with both our names on it where you're authorized to make withdrawals. I'm going to check tide charts and then go drown myself in the sea so they'll never find my body. and you just pretend I'm still alive to everybody in town so they won't bother you for the next three years until you're old enough to (unclear. not need a legal guardian? I don't know what the emancipated minor laws were in 1976 but they keep saying three years like that's the magic timeframe so whatever. she is thirteen so I guess when she's sixteen she's officially a grownup). and if your mom comes sniffing around just put a spoonful of powder from this little jar in her tea and then read this textbook on home embalming. good? good. okay I love you I'm going into the sea now

which is all fine and good. now here are the dumbshit mistakes her stupid father made:

-chose, for the location of the house, a nosy small town where everybody knows everybody and everybody is all up in everybody's business all the time. it takes two seconds for the landlady to be like I never see you or your father at the market. I get he probably doesn't want her living in a big city (although, why? good public transport, good cultural opportunities, libraries, museums) but at least pick a place that has more than one grocery store

-chose, for the landlady, a nosy obnoxious anti-semitic old bitch who is on the school board and also has an adult son who is a known child molester. have like ONE conversation with the townspeople before you sign this three year lease. literally anyone in this town would tell you about this old bitch and her molester son if you gave them half a chance

-speaking of the school board why is part of the plan that your daughter doesn't go to school. sure she's super duper smart and special but aside from depriving her of a major source of automatic social support not going to school immediately makes her look suspicious and (depending on truancy laws in 1976) possibly puts her in the wrong side of the law. just let her go to school like a normal kid and then come home and teach herself quantum physics in the evenings

-doesn't teach her the slightest bit of common sense self defense. like if it was me I'd teach her to shoot and give her a nice little lightweight handgun of her own but if you don't like that idea then at least teach her to keep the door on the chain and not open the door after dark no matter who knocks. and for christ's sake warn her about halloween

-ya dingus

-come back out of the sea and explain yourself at once

-anyway little jodie foster is fantastic and so is her little manic pixie dream boyfriend and so is his check suited cop uncle. great movie but the father is a dingus

#movies #psir #the little girl who lives down the lane

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persnicketypomelo · 1 year

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Yoooooo!!!U are too sweet to me, @persnicketykumquat ! And my week went well, thank you!♡ I do hope your week is wonderful too, and if not, that's okay. A new week is coming in with more adventures and joy!^^ . I am greedy again, dear... hehehe... I uh would like to see ur perspective of an unrequited love of yn with our Severus Snape.. Since his love for Lily is so deep... like the bottom of the ocean deep, lol. If not, it's cool, yo! I am happy with anything u have! THANK YOU!!! With love ~~☁️

Yet again, you've managed to pick one of my favorite characters to request. It truly is a miracle, haha. I hope you like this one too :)

spoilers, kidnap, obsession

Yandere Snape Headcanons

Snape is a cold and decidedly unfriendly individual

The parental neglect and bullying he experienced as a child forever shaped him

Depending on what time you meet him in his life, how he might form an obsession with you would alter

During his adolescence, I think it would be unlikely he would grow such a strong attachment to anyone other than Lily

Doing so would be a betrayal to his childhood love, even though his feelings were not reciprocated

I think the most interesting scenario would be if you were a muggle, wholly separated from the wizarding world, unaware of the dark conflict brewing in the realm of wizards and witches

Although he undoubtedly has a certain disdain for muggles, he is not such a pureblood fanatic as the people he associates with

Perhaps he sees you in public, and some resemblance you bear to his long lost love makes him falter in his tracks

Your wide, doe-like eyes, your hair, your smile...

Regardless of what it is, he feels some stirrings in his heart

He would very much try to resist his feelings

Emotional impulses are a weakness, he has always believed, and he won't dare fall to the ranks of dunces that are slaves to the whims of their hearts

But he can't seem to get your image out of your head

Even in his sleep, nightmares of you and Lily haunt him

Maybe that's why he finds himself tailing you, trying to observe your daily activities

Snape finds knowledge to be a form of power, and knowing all the minute details about you puts him more at ease…both through stalking and Legilimency

He wouldn't even be conscious that he is developing a powerful obsession with you, as his emotional awareness leaves much to be desired

Severus isn't sure what he expects to find--maybe evidence of you casting some sort of curse on him that haunts his mind

Unsurprisingly, he finds nothing—only your complete oblivion of the wizarding world

Even knowing you can't possibly be a threat, he still finds himself tracing your steps and watching you from afar

I see his obsessive tendencies manifesting in two vastly different ways

Firstly, he could continue watching over you from afar, keeping you out of the wizarding world

He's already lost someone he loved during the First Wizarding War, and he doesn't want to lose to another

You might only notice his presence by the fortunate luck you seem to be having

It's like you have a guardian angel protecting you

Well, more like a sallow-skinned, greasy-haired man, but there's no way you could know that

Alternatively, he might feel the urge to meet you, to bask himself in the presence of someone so reminiscent of his first love

He convinces himself that you are a second chance: a reconciliation gift from the world for all the suffering its put him through

There's no way he'll let you go now

You might be confused to wake up in an unfamiliar room with a strange, sour looking man

But when he speaks, although with a rather quiet voice, it is with such authority that it doesn’t even cross your mind to interrupt him

“Listen carefully, as I am not inclined to repeat myself. I have taken you here for your own safety. There are many in my world who wish for the destruction of your kind. Therefore, if you have any sense at all, you will comply with my orders and remain here. I will know if you attempt to escape, and I am a man with little patience for such theatrics.”

Even though he loves you, he still expects cooperation and discipline from you

Snape has little tolerance for your defiance, and should it wear out, he will simply feed you a potion to make you passive and sluggish

Or perhaps he will brew you Amortentia

Picturing you besotted and trailing around him with such adoring eyes is thrilling. The thought alone is enough to accelerate his heart rate

Severus’s primary goal is to keep you safe, but the bonus of seeing you so compliant with his word, whether forcibly or not, is something he will never tire of

Although he might seem cold and standoffish, he truly does care for you beyond measure

Emotional expression has just never been his forte

It is best for your own sake, however, that you do not test the limits of his tolerance

After all, this is a man that would do the unspeakable to maintain the fantasy of mutual love

#reader insert #x reader #yandere #harry potter #severus snape #snape #obsession #obsessive #headcanons #yandere harry potter #yandere snape

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goldyluna · 10 months

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I just had an impuls of drawing Sara and Shin with wings and it became an AU. Everything began with one "what if"! And then it became this. Your Turn To Die: Purgatory Trials.

In the world between life and death is a Purgatory. A place where people have a chance to go back to live, to their homes and loved ones. But if they can't do that, their existence will stay only in the hearts of living. As everyone suddenly appear in an unfamiliar place, they find themselves with two easy choices. Play Games to Live or Die.

And there are these things. They call themselves Guardians of Purgatory. They looked like fallen angels, with no way to say for sure if they were there to really guard them. Will they be of any help or everyone's destined to perish?

Second part here and third part here

Below, you can read my "little" ranting about characters! (There may be spoilers if you didn't finish the game)

Guardians may or may not be bad. Even if they don't have evil intentions, their own existence makes others nervous and uncomfortable. Their appearance is too grand and too vague to feel secure in most cases. They feel godly-like and omnipotent. Their faces blank, without expression. And even if they can't do anything serious, they can't hurt anyone with their hands... How could you trust someone in a place like this?

I will write their normal names as I have no idea how to name them differently and what they could represent (like "Laughing Doll" or "Crying Doll"). I really wanted everyone to have clothes and elements resembling their oryginal selves. To give them things that symbolize them.

Sara Chidouin - She is our main protagonist in YTTD, but here she is one of the Guardians. Her voice is strong but gentle. Her movements are with purpose. She will most likely try to help children or people who aren't doing well. Sara isn't innocent. We know that in simulations, she could be ruthless. I don't say that she is evil and a demon with angels face. Everyone except Shin sees her as a good person that they could trust. I wanted her to look so open, so graceful and kind, but at the same time, I gave her horns covering her face and dark wings. Not because I think she is more on a bad side, but to highlight how she is. Kind and wanting everyone to live and escape, but being able to wreak havoc if she felt like she needed it. In the end, she could have any personality a player chose for her. I think I did her a justice with her design.

Gin Ibushi - He, honestly, gave me trouble with the design. Especially with clothes. I knew I wanted him to have a mask and wanted him to be warm. Warm in colors, expression, pose. Warm with attitude to others. He, as a Guardian, is the most liked one. Almost nobody can hate him. He likes to play and usually helps others in a trade for playing with him. He never would do anything bad to anyone, but because he seems as the most naive and weak one of fallen angels, there are people that want to hurt him to try leave any other way than win the Games. Gin would never hurt someone back, but fortunately (or unfortunatelyto those that did the unforgivable), other Guardians aren't that good to not get rid of the offender.

Shin Tsukimi - He and Sara were my first "Angels" to sketch. He is also a little villainous in the game, but he still is one of my favorites. I can understand him, even if I think he could do things differently. His whole persona in this AU may be a little biased by me and my vision about him. Especially that this is an AU. He, as the Guardian, isn't trusted by others that much at first. He doesn't really go all his way to help others and sometimes ignores those who need his assistance. He usually can be seen near Kanna and then is more likely to say something useful. He can help, too, if he thinks someone can give or tell him something he needs. Why would he need anything? Doesn't he know and have everything? And why does he have this key?

He also has the wound on his chest as a connection to someone... that you will see in next character chart xD and kinda to his death in ch2.

I still am figuring this AU and have another 3 "Angels" in making. But for now, have this thee!

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freakshowtwopointoh · 6 months

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Sorry if this is annoying lmao I'm just a weird nerd being a weird nerd. Please drop any weird Jordan Li parallels you've seen in other fandoms or other rants about characters you love in the replies. Be a weird nerd with me.

But! My biggest fandom is Sailor Moon, and I can't stop thinking about Sailor Neptune/Marie and Sailor Uranus/Jordan. Ignoring the obvious, there's a few things that really make me think limoreau.

i will be putting spoilers for sailor moon, mainly the third arc

the lore around the outers and their 'cosmic purpose' or whatever is very interesting to me. so they are basically like lone watchmen, destined to patrol the outer circles of our solar system. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto hold the keys to destroying an entire world if its ever necessary (the ability that saturn has, they like... can summon her? create her? idk im still a lil iffy on that part. but like they each have a thing, put the things together, saturn becomes a human death star.) so like big duty! big responsibility! They take it very seriously.

(all of this is from mainly e106 09:44 - 18:20 ish. I watch the viz dub if anyones curious :) )

either way, what makes me think of limoreau is the fact that neptune discovers her destiny first. she accepts the device, she becomes a guardian. (marie accepts the truth and wants to be a real hero, its practically forced upon her with her history and whatnot). she is the one who comes to haruka and like tells her about her destiny. shes like 'this is not easy, dont do this if ur not ready' and then saves her life and seeing michiru's heroism and dedication (and her love for haruka :) ) and then he chooses to become a guardian. (which just gives me strong 'fuck the rankings' vibes)

There's a scene right before this where they talk about the end of the world and it has gala scene vibes.

But what's the most interesting is the fact that unlike a lot of the other characters, they have very little doubt in their relationship and their choices. They move as a unit because they are united in purpose. Neptune is never doubtful of Uranus and she understands Uranus well. Even Mamo and Usagi have multiple moments of doubt and they are like super destined by fate or whatever

So to me, they are the strongest couple. And it's the undercurrent of devotion to duty that really really reminds me of limoreau. I really view the entirety of season one as matching up with those 10 minutes of backstory. And then imagining that like end of season 1 limoreau as the START of season 3 harukaxmichiru and then how would Jordan and Marie react to fckn sailor moon like jenfkdjdjskndbh the episode with Usagi and Haruka being chained together is one of my all time faves and like... Jordan would act the same. I think it was that that convinced me that Haruka and Jordan match up better than Seiya and Jordan.

And then Neptune. She's kind, sweet, and yet unrelenting. Teasing and serious, driven by duty. Idk she's a very enigmatic character, just like Marie imo? But idk dhjdjdhshksj I need to do some more thinking about Marie.

Anyways, that's my unhinged rant.

#jordan li #gen v #gen v prime #sailor moon #marie moreau #limoreau #sailor uranus #sailor neptune

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isnt-it-pretty · 2 years

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My Cyno/Tighnari Hurt!Cyno fic rec list (no MCD)

If you don't know me, I've written several fics centered around Hurt!Cyno since it's my favourite trope. I decided to make a fic rec list for the ones I've read and enjoyed the most! There's plenty more great ones than what I've listed, but these are my favourites. (Also yes, shameless plug for the fics I beta read.)

Alone in the sand by TFOA

Like a grain of sand in the ocean, he feels more than ever alone in the world.

The moonlight seems to watch over him, and listen to his sorrows.

Or: the consequences of Taj's death in the Court of Desolation.

A wonderful fic centered around Cyno's grief following Taj's death, and the people who support him. In progress.

Memories of Flickering Sun by @bluepastelcat

“If you want, child, I shall tell you a tale of our old days. The tale of how wisdom opened our eyes and blinded us all.”

The boy closed his eyes and listened to the spirit’s words. Though Hermanubis knew it wasn’t just a fairytale or fable….it was his own story.

An assassination attempt against Cyno turned out to be much more than just a plot to eliminate Akademiya's General Mahamatra. Now Tighnari must find a way to bring his lover back or lose him to a conflict thousands of years in the making.

Lovely work about Cyno's relationships with those he loves, centered around his divine spirit. Plus a fun twist to the game's lore! Has the Sumeru Archon Quest characters too. In progress.

as the scarlet sands by @shyjinks

Cyno does not know much.

His memory is a fractured mosaic, scattered across scarlet sands, with only a faint impression of what it might once have been.

He does not think any deeper on it. The consequences will be dire, he knows—

Nothing could be worth the risk.

[aka: cyno has only ever had one thing to protect.]

Amazing AU where Cyno is the guardian of desert ruins and Tighnari is a scholar sent to investigate them. In progress.

a safe place to fall by eiiven

Cyno was all gunmetal bones and sharp wolf teeth. The Akademya made him a hero, a warrior, something to be feared—something to be respected.

Murder and mercy rolled into one boy, they said. He was destined to be a one-man army. The reputation that stemmed from that alone was a long and lonely shadow. It never cast over Tighnari.

Even when his hands were scarred from murder, when his skin was tainted with blood, Tighnari didn't see Cyno as a monster. He trusted him—perhaps more than anyone in the world.

Cyno could never hurt Tighnari. Not truly. He always knew that. They always knew that. It was why he could stare at Cyno's weapon without fear.

Even if it was pointed straight at him.

A simple one-shot about Cyno, injured and vulnerable, going to Tighnari for help.

we can pretend there is silence here by lao_you_tiao

// Major spoilers for Cyno story quest, 3.2 Archon Quest.

Dreams return to Sumeru. After years of emptiness, nightmares come for Cyno once more.

With the help of the one closest to him, the General Mahamatra stops running away.

If you didn't know, I'm weak for Cyno with PTSD, which is what this fic is about!

lightning's glow by yongz

Cyno, the General Mahamatra, has long been known for his ability as a beta to have such an intimidating presence known to even cow alphas.

Imagine Tighnari’s surprise when he shows up on his doorstep in heat.

Non-sexual ABO fic with hurt & sick Cyno seeking out the one place he feels safe.

home is where the heart is by jumyouboshi

After getting seriously injured on an assignment, Cyno finds himself at Tighnari's doorstep.

A nice getting-together fic.

washing machine heart by wisforia

“It looks pretty nice as far as scars go. What do you think?”

“You always look nice.”

“That's not what I asked,” Tighnari teases.

On the first night of peace in Sumeru, Cyno dreams of lightning.

Cyno's fears and emotions after Tighnari was struck by lightning. Includes none explicit sex.

Honourable Mention because this one is a favourite, but it isn't Cyno/Tighnari. Instead it's gen for all the people who care about Cyno.

in the desert by nauticalwarrior

Cyno goes out into the desert. Alone. Which, in and of itself, isn't unusual, and wouldn't be a problem. He is the General Mahamatra, after all.

Except he's a bit careless, and doesn't bring as much water as he should. His only waterskin springs a leak.

In the desert

I saw a creature, naked, bestial,

Who, squatting upon the ground,

Held his heart in his hands,

And ate of it.

I said, “Is it good, friend?”

“It is bitter—bitter,” he answered;

“But I like it

“Because it is bitter,

“And because it is my heart.”

- Stephen Crane

#genshin impact #cynonari #cynari #tighcyno #cyno #cyno genshin impact #genshin impact fanfics #fic rec

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mirersc · 1 year

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MLB AU x SONADOW

What's the result?

A chaotic AU with the most unbearable slow burn of all ages.

Yep, we're doing this. Or at least we will talk about it, because I need to share it with someone. Anyone.

Warning: contains spoilers of MLB movie

So ever since the new movie of MLB came out -btw you should go see it, it's pretty light-hearted and adorable- my head is spinning and thinking what would happen if our two hedgehogs had been instead on the main characters' place, but with their own personalities.

Sonic would take Marinette's role, I haven't thought of a backstory yet, -and no he is not shy and without confidence, he is sly and cocky as ever- but he lives with Tails -when he isn't on one of his trips- and together they attend Chaos High on Green Hill -I'm still planning the settings and the names in my head-

On the other hand, Shadow takes Adrien's role, but unlike him, he's actually moving from his home in Station Square to go live with his best friend, Rouge, for a while, who miraculously lives in Green Hill as the others. And surprise, surprise, Gerald is alive! Does that mean that he is Hawk Moth and that Maria is Emily? To be honest, I'm still debating if Gerald is the real villain, because I want to include GUN in the game as well, but oh man, stuff like that takes time.

For sure though Maria takes Emily's place.

There's a high possibility though that she isn't dead. Just pretty sick. For now at least ;) *cough* I meant, she will be fine!

Tikal is the guardian so she takes the place of Master Fu and there are no kwamies. Yes, that's right. Instead of kwamies -do I even spell that right?- we have chaos, thus and why Tikal is the guardian of them. And instead of having a plethora of them there are only seven of them, each of them bearing a chaos emerald.

So skipping into the plot we have first day of a new year with everyone knowing everyone and Shadow being the new transfer student, who clings to Rouge's side and his personal robotic assistant Omega -yeah we're bringing him because we stan Team Dark!-

Introductions are made and oops, the two hedgies make a brief eye contact while at class. Neither of them shows any interest. Ouch I know, but wait, we have track. That's right. And where Sonic believes that his only rival is Jet here comes Shadow to steal the spotlight with his AIR SHOES, even if Sonic deems them rocket shoes. And just like that the blue blur finally pays attention to the stoic new student. Not as if he's fallen in love, but he is intrigued by him! I mean, have you seen any other running as fast as him?

Note; there are no super powers in this world, but Tails still is the smartest of the group, lol. That's just his nature. However he doesn't know that he can fly with his second tail. That's something that he'll discover later.

Anyways moving on, Hawk Moth -or however I'll remain the character later, because I'm not keeping those names for copyright issues- suddenly awakens the purple emerald, thus and the chao with it that have been lost in the fight that have broke between the echidna race and Tikal is forced to call upon the chaos of the dark blue and red chaos emeralds, named -that's actually a good question, I'm debating on Azul and Shade, but that's just basic? Or nah- Anyways, both chaos don't go well with each other and decide like in the movie to select on their own their champions.

Long story short, because there's no way I'm revealing everything, Azul ends up with Sonic and Shade with Shadow and they both activate their powers -after a lot of convincing by both ends, I know surprise for a specific blue hedgehog but sus- I was thinking that the could say, “Chaos Activate” with their respective chao on the start of the sentence, but working on it. Oh they are on their super forms, when powers activated, because I couldn't think of something better and thus their original abilities are unlocked, a.k.a Sonic's speed and Shadow's manipulation over chaos energy.

So the heroes meet while trying to discover where the corrupted with dark chaos energy is -yep, no akumas either- and they do not get along. Shadow having thought of it more, had already picked a name for his secret identity, named -I'm bad at names, but I was thinking something to do with Chaos, like Chaos Controller, but that's just too big so I'll think of something better-. Sonic soon realises that he still haven't thought of his own name, but then the corrupted arrives and interrupts them.

So they fight, they banter, Sonic haves a panic attack, Shadow almost loses his emerald, but they work it out. But like in the series they forget to cleanse the dark chaos energy something that BOTH Sonic and Shadow are able to do with the power of the chaos emerald.

They both find their way after that, working together, learning from their mistakes. Surprisingly, it is Shadow that finds a name for Sonic. Without even thinking of it too hard. He just calls him something and Sonic likes it so he keeps it.

And here's the moment that you all waited for.

The love matter.

Which takes a LOT OF TIME to finally come.

So to put it simple.

Sonic loves Shadow.

Shadow loves Super Sonic.

-this is where you all start clapping and fangirling-

There I said it. You can all just toy with the idea now, if you haven't thought of this already. And oh they both get refused by the other like the movie. But first is Shadow who declines Sonic and then Super Sonic who declines Super Shadow. Why? Because one thing led to another and Sonic accidentally reveals his like to the other hedgehog. Shadow of course is taken aback, because he didn't expect Sonic to like him. Not that Sonic would like to change anything in their current relationship, because it's perfect as it is. He just wishes to know if Shadow would like to keep it like that and after graduation. Shadow, however, likes Super Sonic and thus declines Sonic. Of course he doesn't express this in a harsh manner. He is considerate of the other's feelings. But Sonic of course is hurting. So imagine the SAME time in the evening to getting asked by Super Shadow, if he would like for their relationship to grow into something more. Sonic just can't and he leaves immediately like he'd done a prior hours ago.

Of course I'm not telling you how they get together or how they overcome this, because where's the fun in that? Don't know, if I'll make it into a fic this idea yet, but feel free to send me asks, if you have any questions.

Furthermore you can even take this idea and turn it into something unique. Just be sure to let me know so I can keep an eye out of it. I wouldn't mind reading an AU like this or seeing art of it.

Thank you for managing to come this far. I am super grateful and hopefully my next posts will not be as big as this one. Be safe and be happy! Gotta love our two hogs.

#sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #sonadow #queerplatonic relationship #mlb x sonic au #miles tails prower #rouge the bat #tikal the echidna #e 123 omega #sonic au #super sonic #super shadow #chaos emeralds #maria robotnik #gerald robotnik

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the-ninja-legacy-whip · 1 year

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how will the ninja getting future suits and vehicles work are they gonna be 1 to 1 with the show versions or are you gonna redesign them and will jessie get matching suits to the main 6 and will you introduce any of the other future vehicles that the ninja have

In the Case of Suits:

They'll get upgraded as the show demands, but I do plan to redesign them. Not because I think I can do ~better~, just because I want to differentiate them from the show/movie proper + make something I can reliably and consistently draw ahaha

Though, the redesign idea mainly started because having the DX gi made no sense if the dragons weren't around, hence GX instead (Guardian X-treme)

I'm probably not changing much on the Elemental Robes, though. Can't top perfection *chef's kiss*

Jesse (and Nya) will get suits matching the others, although neither of them are present for nor able to earn the Elemental Robes. Jesse's also gonna get something different from the Airjitzu suits for obvious reasons. As much as it pains me.

Skylor also eventually gets in on the rotation too

Fun Fact: Mystake is the one that made the GX + Zen GX Suits.

In the Case of Mechs:

Small spoilers! But, I've been dying to talk about this SO—

Currently, everyone (finally) has their Movie!Mechs. Cole and Nya also have much smaller, much less destructive motor bikes. All vehicles and mechs of the ninja will be kept at the warehouse (which, unlike the Bounty, does not get consistently destroyed).

Movie!plot dictates that Garmadon destroys the Movie!Mechs in the bid for the Ultimate Weapon (which in our case would just be the Golden Weapons).

Nya rebuilds the Ultra Sonic Raider (2.0!), which can divide into four smaller vehicles for the Core Four, which eventually takes the place of the Movie!Mechs.

However, once Kai gets the X-1 Ninja Charger, Nya takes his place in the Raider (if she doesn't borrow/steal the Charger first)

Lloyd is Lloyd and can just build whatever as he needs, plus gets control of his Energy Dragon way before anyone else, thus isn't exactly hurting for a mech anyway...at least, at first.

I'm probably not going to use *every* mech that ever crops up (I definitely cut out a couple of things in S2 already) especially since the lesser mechs have a tendency to get lost/destroyed/left behind anyway.

So unless it's a mech/vehicle with a) great importance or personal significance, b) has a very specific use that cannot be utilized by mechs/vehicles we already/currently possess and have access to, or c) is deeply intertwined with the plot, probably don't plan on seeing anything beyond what's been established.

#and that's all i can explain without combing deep into season specifics #cuz lloyd does get a cool car eventually ahaha #ninjago #legacyverse #the ninja legacy whip #info tag

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holographicbegonia · 1 year

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Bro I am so confused.

Okay, Miraculous Season 5 Finale, uhhhhh

SPOILERS AHEAD

————

Mega confusion and discussion spoilers under the cut

I thought it was going really well! There was a lot happening in a little time, but it all seemed to be explained at least a little bit. I literally just finished it so here’s my thought process:

I love me a good ol’ crossover in film and animation when they bring in all the past characters from movies, old episodes, etc. And I thought it was really cool! Bringing the United Heros, Fei, Alice, hehehehehe and

*spongebob voice* hiii lukaa

Luka, Jagged, and Penny become part of the Order of the Guardians? Okay yeah whatever I’m not gonna question it. No I am: LIKE I UNDERSTAND LUKA BUT WHY IS JAGGED DOING MIRAKUNG FU-

it was a cool fight scene. Seeing everyone use their powers and working together was fun!

On the other side of the episode-/ we all got thrown for a LOOP man

Does anyone else think it feels really weird how, Prior to the end of the episode, Adrian had like- two scenes? While, yes, he can’t do much without his miraculous, it was weird not getting an update on him and kagami while they’re in confinement. Also while we’re here, lately all we’ve been talking about is how they’re finally revealing the whole sentimonster thing, and why Adrian responds to every command of his father, YET EVERYTHING HE DOES IN THE BEGINNING HES DIRECTLY DISOBEYING GABRIELS ORDERS?? I’m confused

And the big thing, the miraculous’.

I’m a little surprised you’re even able to unify tikki and plagg considering using them together for a wish summons REALITY BITCH OVER HERE/

Marinette immediately gets her cover blown to Gabriel, same with him. So now, it’s personal. Marinette had a pretty calm reaction to EMILIES BODY (dead? Comatosed? Idk anymore) and caught on pretty quick to what Gabriel wanted- and I thought it was going so well! Marinette talked him down, the boomerang trick was cool, the butterfly miraculous, one of the only og miraculous left, so we should keep it safe, GETS FLUNG INTO WATER// which also, Lyla walks in the Agreste Manor mid-fight, but unless I missed it, isn’t seen until the end with the miraculous. You’re telling me she swam through that green ass basement water and got the miraculous?

I genuinely though Gabriel was gonna fold. After seeing the video on Natalie’s phone. Knock some sense into him that, this isn’t what she wanted. I mean, SURLY they’re not gonna let him do the Big Bang thing this entire show over the course of 8 years has stopped him from doing. Yknow since it’s been explained multiple times over 8. Years. Surly with the amount of destruction it does, and we have new seasons coming, they won’t let him do the thing.

He DOEs THE THING.

Also, side note: the kwamis real form look really really cool but I NEED to see Pollens real form cause ik it’s BEAUTIFUL.

So, Yknow how Sass explained in pretty EASY TERMS to Luka how the wishing works?

Red Pen, Blue Pen.

This entire time we’ve been under the impression that in exchange for bringing back Emilie, everything would change. The people, the earth, everything currently in the world. A completely alternate universe where everything is different, except that Emilie is alive. The whole reason we’ve been rooting for Cat Noir and Ladybug to win, is because Gabriel winning was, morally, wrong. Romantic and sad, yes, but his entire mission was to destroy everything and everyone in his way to get his wife back. People DIED (kinda) Families ruined, worlds changed, and this was all before he made the wish. The whole conflict of the show so far was that yes, we’re rooting for our superheroes, but we also feel bad for Adrian and Gabriel losing Emilie: so we understand where his anger comes from.

This IS THROWN OUT THE DAMN WINDOW. bro idk if I blinked and missed something, if I did, lemme know, but/ everything was fine???? Are you kidding me??? i THINK what they were trying to get past, is that the person making the wish, would also choose what happens? I’m still trying to figure out so heres the possibilities in my brain.

Gabriel wished, and realized he was dying, so he gave his life in return for Emilie. (Unrealistic? Emilie (or her sister) is shown in the end, but if that were true and for some reason everyone remembers the past before the wish, Adrian would be freaking out a bit.)

Gabriel wished, knew he was dying, had his reunion, and gave his life for Natalie. This is why they didn’t have him outright say the wish, and instead have Gimmi read his soul. (While this is a little more realistic, after he saw the video, it leaves a lot of plotholes and issue to figure out.)

Gabriel wished for Emilie, and by pure chance, he was the trade. (Also unrealistic?)

It really depends, Natalie is seen at the end, much more healthy than previously, sitting next to either Emilie or Amelie. If it’s Emilie then there’s a whole issue, because the characters shown still had a memory of the world before? People would notice she’s there, while in comparison, a lot of people didn’t know Natalie was sick.

The end just, ticked me off. Five seasons, the emotional heartache we went thru believing that Gabriel would ruin the whole world, just for something so…anticlimactic? I know they’ve been building up Lyla as a villain much more recently, but completely killing off Gabriel takes out so much conflict out of the still-ongoing show. It’s an event we never thought would actually happen. We were built up to believe everyone and everything in the show would be gone, and that’s why it couldn’t happen. That yes, Gabriel knew the wish would destroy the world, but that he would give the entire universe for his Love, and his son to have his mom again. That’s what made it SAD and ROMANTIC and THEY THREW IT OUT???? Instead we get the same world, where everything kept going on. The destruction from the battle was fixed, Ms. Bustier won the election and changed a lot around Paris. The kids are all hanging out summer-style, Luka gets to stay in Paris (yes!) Adrian and Marinette get their kiss, and everything is good. I believed it was explained to Paris that, Ladybug and Gabriel Agreste worked together to defeat Monarch, and Gabriel died in battle? And yet in this last scene there’s little to no mourning or confused feelings from Adrian. He has the ring scene, but besides that: his father whom he recently has come to hate, because he started to see just how selfish he was to his mission in Paris, was actually cool and killed supervillain so it’s okay. LIKE- YOU CANT JUST DO THAT.

Marinette still remembers what happened, everyone remembers the day before the present. Everyone remembers their Kwamis and their powers. Lyla still had the butterfly miraculous. Ladybug and Cat Noir are…still needed? For something at the end? Is this the bad alternate reality where they defeated Monarch, so they went into retirement and had the ugliest children known to man? ITS JUST CONFUSING.

If we knew that Gabriel’s wish would just sacrifice one thing, we would have been fine with him wishing long ago because we didn’t have empathy for him yet. However, our explanation was Red pen, Blue pen. Not Red beans in exchange for Green Strawberries. Gabriels now death leaves too many open holes.

Is Alliance not a thing now? Is Tsurugi-San off the hook? Does she know what happened? Marinette knows Adrian is a sentimonster now, and in turn, SHOULD HE EVEN BE ALIVE RN? There’s a lot of rules for sentimonsters, but with what’s all happened I’m suprised Adrian still exists? Is Lyla just going to take over as Hawkmoth-Lyla? Is she going to have some big ol wish now, because we as the fandom had too much empathy for Gabriel?

It’s confusing, it’s also 8 am. So I’m going to eat and reread everything I just wrote to try and process. Have a good day everyone and PLEASE Use this to have a discussion on the episodes cause I’d like everything to be a little clearer. Thank you!

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupen chang #miraculous #miraculous finale #recreation #mlb #cat noir #ladybug #gabriel agreste #spoilers #miraculous spoilers #miraculous memes #miraculous fandom #emilie agreste #mlb marinette #adrian agreste #show discussion

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angelthefandomobsessed · 2 years

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Where Kingdom Hearts III Went 'Wrong'

I should probably open this by saying that I love Kingdom Hearts III. I love KH for what it is, and the usual "Omg it's so weird, the plot doesn't make sense, eVeRyOnE iS sOrA" thing doesn't strike me as the best form of criticism for the series.

Instead, I wanted to highlight why things got so convoluted (in my opinion, anyway, it's not like I was in the writer's room or anything). I think the direction KH has gone (and is going) serves as a good lesson for any aspiring writers out there - we can learn from these shortcomings and love a series. Wild, right?

So... where did KH3 go 'wrong'?

The writers wrote themselves into a corner in DDD. That's it. It doesn't seem like a lack of planning that came back to bite them, but rather, that they went about planning in an inefficient way.

Let's look at the conflict of KH3.

(Warning: There will be a few spoilers for KH3 ahead!)

Xehanort has put together the 'real organisation' so that he can do a keyblade war reenactment, forge the χ-blade and summon Kingdom Hearts. His main goal (as I understand it, which might be very, very incorrect) is to create a new world where darkness and light can be equal, quashing the imbalance of power that is skewed towards light.

It's not a bad conflict to have. KH has very strong motifs of 'light vs dark', and having a villain fight the inequality between these sides is interesting.

The big problem is the setup behind it. The complicated, hard-to-grasp, tedious setup.

Thirteen darknesses have to fight seven lights. Cool, okay, we can see the imbalance between the sides, we have slots for our characters to fill, roles for them to play... Except, there's not enough room in the plot for them all. By sectioning off each side with neat, numerical values, the bloatedness of the cast becomes obvious.

There are seven lights:

Sora has to be one of them. He's the main character, not to mention the poster child for the light.

Riku's been there since the start, plus he's had the most fleshed-out arc by far, having overcome his own darkness. He's a worthy guardian of light and a true keyblade master.

Kairi is a princess of heart and has been there from the start. This ties a bow on our three main-est characters.

Mickey Mouse. He kind of has to be there, it's a Disney game, right?

Axel/Lea. Roxas and Xion are out of the picture, and he's a fan favourite, so sure, why not?

Aqua. A keyblade master who's suffered for ten years, torn apart from her best friends... Sure, maybe a war isn't great for her right now, but she's a lost master, so she should be.

Ventus. Pure cinnamon roll Ven, newly awakened and ready to beat up some Xehanorts.

Okay, but... what about Donald and Goofy? Oh, okay, they can just... hang out with the seven lights. As moral support, I guess? At that point, why not make it nine lights?

Double but - what about Terra? He's going to be saved at some point, so he can just... join the herd. And Roxas? And Xion? Eh, they can act as sub-ins in case anyone accidentally dies.

Oh, what's that? Kairi's dead? Wow, sucks for her, call in the reserves. Wait... If the 'Guardians of Light' can be swapped out, then what's the point in having a set number of them?

It's almost like it's entirely arbitrary.

Right. So our seven lights are more like ten-ish lights + friends. It happens, maths is hard! How do our darknesses fare?

The thirteen darknesses are (in no particular order):

Xehanort

Xemnas

Ansem

Young Xehanort

Terra Xehanort

Riku Replica

Saix

Vanitas

Marluxia

Larxene

Luxord

Xigbar

Xion

Somewhat hilariously, the dark side also has a team of reserves.

Demyx

Vexen

The wiki lists 'Replica Xehanorts' as reserves, but I'm not about to unpack that one

Imagine being Vexen, the guy responsible for dealing with replicas, the invention sustaining this organisation, and being benched in favour of teenage angst incarnate Replica Riku. Ouch.

By this point, you might be wondering how this use of arbitrary numbers actually impacted the storytelling. Organisation XIII only had thirteen members for like, a week, so clearly counting isn't a strong suit of Xehanort's.

It all falls apart when the writers say (in DDD):

"KH3 will be about this, where this happens, with this many people, at this specific place, so get your popcorn and buckle in!"

On its own, that's not a problem. But when there's a giant pile of other plot points to worry about (Aqua's in Disney hell, Ventus is napping, Terra is somehow, kinda sorta, three different people whilst also being trapped in heartless thingy (whilst also being a suit of armour, but not quite), Roxas is stuck in Sora's heart, Xion has been wiped off the face of the earth via memory nuke, Naminé is in Kairi's heart, Sora needs to discover the mystical (and vague) 'power of waking' to deal with half these problems, Lea and Kairi need to train, and Riku needs to go to the 'Heartless Barbershop in Disney Hell' (the most relevant plot point of all)).

What we get is a tangle of 'this can happen when this happens, but first we need to do this one thing, and to do that we need this other thing' (i.e. "To find Ven we need to find Aqua, who is evil and needs to be good again, and Sora needs the power of waking to deal with this... probably, let's put a pin in it and hang out with Buzz Lightyear").

The plot is murky. The plot is confusing.

This entire plot raises the question of 'Why don't Sora and co. just... not go?' That's a good question, which should have a simple answer (if they don't, the org will do baaaaad things, wooOOOoooOOO), but instead what we get is "If they don't, Xehanort will use the new seven hearts (because there are new ones now for some reason, but Kairi's still one of them, dw about it) instead, guaranteeing bad things... probably?"

Xehanort's a bad guy who needs to be stopped. That's it, that's all we needed. But that avenue was closed off once they said 'nah, it's more complex because of prophecies, I guess'.

So, what's the moral of this long, drawn-out post?

Sometimes, it might seem like a super cool idea to have a group of characters band together to defeat evil. Sometimes mashing them into a prophecy can seem appealing (the five great owls will do the unholy hoot, defeating the nine-and-a-half orange rats at sundown in Mississippi). But sometimes, this kind of self-restriction won't work for you.

KH3 could have just had 'the bad guys' and 'the good guys', and nobody would have to worry about the arbitrary parameters set by the writers.

Keep your options open and don't overcomplicate things just for the sake of it! It'll only give you and your consumer a headache.

All that being said, KH3 really delivered on the emotional payoffs so like, forget the randomly numbered groups, let's appreciate the joy that (most of) these characters are allowed to feel now.

#kingdom hearts #kh #kingdom hearts iii #kh3 #writing advice #spoilers #xehanort and his ridiculous plan #man really said “I'll just confuse them into doing what I want”

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tragicclownwrites · 11 months

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How old is everyone in "F" is for Family?

First things first, I hope you're excited for the second to last chapter(s) of "F" is for Family! 🥳🤩 Thanks for sticking around!

Given some of the timeline specifics that come up in this chapter, I felt it might be helpful to give you an explanation of how old everyone is supposed to be in my fic, so these time skips don't feel as random.

Math admittedly isn't my strong suit but I've double-checked my calculations repeatedly and am feeling somewhat confident in the numbers I came up with.

DISCLAIMER: Like most things that come up in my fic, these ages are just my headcanons. Don't take any of this as actual fact or canon! The one thing you should take away from this is that cartoon logic is weird AF which makes it hard to say anyone's ages are canon tbh.

Explanations/ramblings - and SPOILERS - below the cut!

♥️ Tragic 🤡

SpongeBob

I'm starting with our favorite little yellow friend here because I think he is where much of the age discussion first came up - starting with a certain driver's license that showed up in the episode, "Sleepy Time."

It says he was born in 1986, which would mean that we just celebrated in 37th birthday in July. However, there is one problem with this... the episode in question's debut air date is January 17, 2000.

If we go off the idea that he is canonically 37 as of July 14, 2023, this would mean that he was only 13 YEARS OLD in January 2000. In my country (the U.S.), if SpongeBob was 13, he wouldn't be old enough to:

Work at the Krusty Krab, especially not full-time.

Live on his own without a parent and/or guardian.

Attain a driver's permit, let alone a license. He'd have to wait another two years just to do the former.

I've considered the possibility that perhaps this episode doesn't actually take place during the actual air date. However, SpongeBob's driver's license also kinda debunks that theory. The expiration date is listed as December 14, 2003. Driver's licenses typically expire up to five years of issue date (depending on the state or country). This would, thus, confirm the episode takes place during 2000 or even earlier than that - making SpongeBob even younger than 13.

Seeing as SpongeBob is confirmed to be an adult during the series and is eligible to do the things listed above, this doesn't really add up.

Therefore, while I do think SpongeBob is an adult who is likely in his 30's, I don't think he's actually 37 years old (assuming he even ages).

It's also worth mentioning that they removed his birthday from later appearances of the license, leading me to believe they didn't really think that through initially. Interestingly, the expiration date has remained mostly consistent so... 🫧✨cartoon logic✨🫧

Now, to put my fanfic headcanon hat on for the duration of this post.... 🤠

Based on the timelines in my fic, I actually think his age is closer to 32-34 years old at the absolute most.

I believe I've mentioned somewhere in the story about how he and Squidward started working together about a decade prior to the events of the fic. This would mean that SpongeBob was in his early twenties when he began working at the Krusty Krab. which makes much more sense than him being 13 lmao

Squidward

So, I don't actually know how I came up with Squidward's age in this fic aside from general fandom headcanon, though I did see somewhere that his birthday is October 9, 1977 - making him 45 years old.

However, given what my analysis above revealed, I'm going to take this with a truckload of salt (especially since the actual year isn't confirmed in any official capacity). If this were true, he'd be ~21 years old in May 1999 (i..e, when "Help Wanted" premiered), which I don't think is accurate for him not to mention super awks. He was likely closer to that age when Jim was still working there.

I do think he's at least close to BlackJack's age and a bit older than SpongeBob, Todd, and Stanley. Therefore, my headcanon age for him is about 38-40 years old.

Harold & Margaret

In Harold and Margaret's origin story during this chapter, Harold and Sherm's ages are the only ones explicitly given. At the time of the story - which takes place roughly 53 years ago - Harold was confirmed to be 15 years old and a freshman in high school. Given that she was also a freshman at the time, Margaret is likely the same age.

If we do the math, Harold - and presumably Margaret - are about 68 years old at the time of FifF.

Sherm & Jolie

As previously mentioned, Sherm's age is also confirmed: he was 12 years old and just started junior high (6th grade in U.S.) when Harold and Margaret's story takes place.

In his and Jolie's own story - which happens about 46 years prior to the present - Sherm and Jolie are both freshmen in college, making them about 19 years old at the time.

Again, if we do the math, Sherm - and likely Jolie - are about 65 years old in the present day.

Blue & Sally

Unlike Harold and Sherm, Blue's age is not directly confirmed in Harold and Margaret's story. However, it is confirmed that he was a senior in high school, and he was old enough to drive. Based on this info and his younger brothers' ages, Blue was about 18 years old during this time.

In chapter 4, Blue also mentions that he'd been on the police force for 35 years. It's worth noting that the average amount of time people spend in the police academy is between 2-4 years. Assuming Blue enrolled right out of high school (as the story implies) and joined the force ~20 years old, he would've been around 55 years old when he officially retired. I like to think he was more ambitious/eager to climb the ladder when he was younger but grew more content staying in his police captain role since its already pretty senior and he had a family at that time.

Blue and Sally's origin story takes place about 41 years in the past from the fic's start.

In this story, Blue is described as being "one of the youngest lieutenants the force has ever seen." I can't recall how I got to this number if I'm honest, but I rounded his age to about 30 years old here as it is still young but not too young as to be unrealistic. I also felt it made more sense in the timeline for him and Sally to have had BlackJack a few years later (I.e., after she got released).

If we do the math from there, Blue would be around 71 years old during the time of the fic.

It's not mentioned anywhere, and she is deceased, but my headcanon for Sally is that she's about 1-2 years younger than Blue. Therefore, she'd likely be about 69-70 years old if she were still alive. In chapter 5, BlackJack reveals that “[Sally’s] been dead for ten years,” so she was ~59-60 when she actually passed.

Todd

From this picture, it's clear Todd shares some physical similarities with SpongeBob. Therefore, I felt that it would be likely for them to be close in age as well.

Starting from chapter 2, when we first meet Todd and the rest of the family, it's implied that Todd is at least "slightly older" than SpongeBob. He is also explicitly mentioned to be Stanley's older brother throughout the fic.

In chapter 5, we get the following exchange between Todd and SpongeBob:

Todd: “Besides, I am the oldest one here, so it only makes sense." SpongeBob: “Todd, we’re the same age –” Todd: “But I’ve got two months on you so that still makes me older."

Based on this, we can discern that Todd is also somewhere between 32-34 years old. Since he's two months older than SpongeBob, his birthday would take place sometime in May.

Stanley

While Stanley's canonical age is also not given, I got the impression that he was a bit younger than SpongeBob in his episode, "Stanley S. SquarePants." Stanley's curiosity about the world around him and his absentmindedness could be contributing factors to this, though that's not really indicative of age. In actuality, I felt it was SpongeBob taking him under his wing akin to a mentor or older sibling that really solidified this idea.

Therefore, in FifF, he's the baby of the group. 😇

Speaking of which, in chapter 13 (mini spoiler for next chapter when it goes live), it is mentioned that he was a baby while his older brother was a toddler - which would make Todd between the ages of 2-3 years old at the time.

With this range in mind, Stanley would be a few years younger than both Todd and SpongeBob, making him about 29-31 years old in the fic (assuming the other two are ~33).

BlackJack

BlackJack's age (in my headcanon) was more dependent on Blue's age between the time he met Sally and when they realistically would've had him together. I also felt he'd be closer in age to Squidward than he would be to his younger cousins.

Assuming his parents had him shortly after Sally got released from prison, BlackJack would be roughly 37-38 years old in the present day.

Grandma & Grandpa (Dotty & Simon)

Grandma and Grandpa SquarePants - or as I've named them, Dotty and Simon - met about 76 years ago.

While most prima ballerinas are slightly older than this (~25-30), Dotty was about 20 years old when she met Simon. He was likely a few years older than her, so I'd presume he was about 23-24 at the time.

With these numbers in mind, Grandma is about 96 years old during the events of FifF. While he is deceased and I didn't mention how long he'd been gone, Grandpa was likely between 97-99 years old when he passed.

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