#stalemates ARE wins i do not want to hear it a stalemate Is A Win debate Non Existant

[moonchild1]

min yoongi fic rec list (Ⅵ)

she's back bet you didn't think i'd post another list this quick but since they've been building so much i figured why not soooo this week is yoongs and next week with be taehyung i've been reading alot lately so i wanted to share them asap so before my week gets hectic again i thought i'd post it, i honestly loved these ones i am exploring a little bit for with certain genres and i must say it like a whole new world i'm enjoying it and i hope you like them too. remember too always show lots of love and support to these amazing writers they dedicated so much time to writing these fics and they are absolute geniuses and deserve the world for sharing them with us so please follow them and take a look at their masterlists cause i will 100% guarantee that you will find your very own favourites there as well, leave the a little comment i know they will appreciate it so much and send them all the love in the world... i will reblog these through out the week and as usual minors do not interact i will block those who do.... happy reading everyone see you next week with taehyung's list and if you have anything you would like to share with me or you just wanna ramble about a fic you loved my asks are always open i love hearing from you🖤✨

a- angst s- smut f- fluff

series

stalemate by @shina913 f s a

↬"The truth is, I'm not afraid to take that gamble anymore...in the off-chance that I get lucky again and feel the way I felt when I was with you. I'd happily make that bet over and over."

oh, my darling by @yoongiofmine f s a

↬ starting your second semester at one of South Korea’s most prestigious universities should be stressful enough. Between juggling classes, good grades and a social life, your plate was full. Hoping to spice up your academic career, you thought it was a good idea to enroll as an assistant for your literature professor, whom you've held a very secret and very forbidden crush on for the past several months. What will happen now that you’re forced to work closely together? And what if your crush isn’t as one sided as you thought?

little bit of your heart by @/yoongiofmine f s a ft. jjk

↬You had everything you could ever dream of; the career of your dreams as a music producer, the best friends you could ever wish for, and a exes-turned-friends-turned-fuck-buddies relationship with Min Yoongi. You knew you and Yoongi would never move past that and you were okay with it. Until a friend from your past comes back into your life, offering to give you everything you deserve, everything Yoongi couldn’t. Will Jungkook show you what you’ve been missing? Or will the new guy threaten Yoongi enough to do something about it? 

sinful lust by @oddinary4bts s a ft. jjk

↬ in an attempt to spice up your bedroom life with your boyfriend Min Yoongi, you suggest bringing another man into the action. Yoongi seems reluctant at first, but when you mention his friend Jeon Jungkook, he can’t deny his attraction. All that’s left to do is to convince Jungkook into participating...

after hours by @archivedkookie f s a

↬ staying after hours with Yoongi for months proves to be a mistake when your heart falls for him.

Vows by @hamsterclaw f s a

↬ You're five years into your arranged marriage with Min Yoongi, and he's never once retaliated for anything you've done to him. One day you realise you've lost your appetite for provoking him, and you set about trying to win his heart instead.

sutures by @farfromsugafanfic f s a

↬ There was only one thing you and Min Yoongi had in common that night. You were both brokenhearted. You only intended to be together for one night, but when you both end up in the hospital the next day you discover that you are soulmates. It could kill you to be apart. As you and Yoongi attempt to sever the bond between you, will another be formed?

and so it goes by @prodagustd f s a

↬ You and Yoongi have been hooking up, having dates and spending most of the week together for almost seven months. He was comfortable without a title, until the last two weeks, when you couldn't see him because of your busy schedule, Yoongi can't understand why he misses you so bad if your relationship is just sex to him. Or maybe he does, but he's too much of a coward to admit it.

collateral by @theharrowing f s a ft. jjk & knj

↬ Your ex-boyfriend gets in over his head working for the local mafia, and Boss Min has come to collect his payment: You.

till death do us part by @colormepurplex2 s a

↬ Marital bliss isn't always a guarantee, especially when you find yourself marrying into the family responsible for your own family's demise. Sometimes, marriage is just a game of kill or be killed. Even when there is love involved, bullets still hurt.

grey area by @blushoseoks s a ft. jhs

↬ you spent the days staring at your wrist and tracing the skin where your soulmate’s name would one day appear. the nights were for telling your wrist about your day, as if the person whose name would one day stain itself there, like red wine to a dress, could possibly hear you. for years you thought up countless scenarios, imagined numerous possibilities, formulated conversations and rehearsed them over and over, until your mouth ran dry. outcomes and conclusions performed in your head on a repetitive loop. but out of everything you thought up, out of all of the time spent towards thinking about your soulmate, about what could possibly occur, none of it could ever prepare you for what would actually end up being. none of it ever came close to the way it happened when you finally met him. and now, after it’s all been said and done, you were left asking yourself one thing, and one thing only: “was it really worth all of this in the end?”

isn't it romantic by @jeonqkooks f s a

↬ Many things in life have a polar opposite: left and right, night and day, yin and yang, you and Min Yoongi... Hopeless romantic meets gloomy cynic. The only thing you seem to share is a magazine column but even then, you still can’t seem to understand how Yoongi can be called ‘The Love Doctor’ when he is the antithesis of everything love represents.

Flux by @yoonia f s a ft. jjk

↬ One of them is your longtime secret crush, while the other is the man with whom you had shared many heated nights filled with lust and forbidden desire, forever kept as your biggest secret of all time. You had sworn that those sinful nights would end, and that your secret crush would remain a secret. (poly au)

mean yoongi by @jjkpls f s

↬ Min Yoongi asks you to take care of his plants when he’s gone. It doesn’t go as planned and well, he has to deal with your misbehaving ass.

pretend by @gimmesumsuga s a

↬ “You know what they say: the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else, right?” idol au infidelity

naughty little kitten by @jungkooksxo s a ft ksj

↬ Jin figures out that you’re super into the idea of Yoongi listening in on you two having sex. Yoongi is super into listening to you and Jin having sex. Jin invites Yoongi to come play with his naughty little kitten.

babydoll by @jungcock s a

↬ Your childhood crush, now famous and successful, comes to visit you while you’re drunk and have a lot to prove.

eleven months by @bratkook f s a

↬ it’s been years of yoongi living his routine life, accustomed to his pace of living, going with the flow and simply existing. until you come along. yoongi absolutely can not see the logic in the way you live, but he weirdly craves it. craves the feeling of not being afraid of not knowing what's coming, being able to just let the cards fall wherever they land. and maybe you can help with that.

pause by @whatifyoulivelikethat s a

↬ Life is like a cassette tape. It seems like it’s constantly repeating, flipped from side A to side B, and the songs can’t be skipped. You can only pause, rewind, fast forward, play after you’ve already heard the song. After you’ve already lived it. All Min Yoongi knows is his own tape, until it smashes right at his feet, and then he has to learn to dance to a different beat.

darksided by @eoieopda f s a

↬ It all started with a bad joke and a bottle of Tanqueray.

three squeezes by @nomnomsik s a ft jhs

↬ Yoongi is notorious for his grumpy and emotionless behavior as director of an upcoming company. Yet, it’s a mystery to everyone how manager Hoseok always seems to soften him up. The truth is that the two are actually engaged. Unknown to this fact, you happen to take an interest in Hoseok… and he does too. 

one-shot

bad decisions by @jjungkookislife f s

↬ Jimin is desperate to get his apartment back to himself. He’ll move hell and earth, and even drop to his knees to beg you to take his brother, Yoongi, out of his hands. Who are you to say no to that pretty face and sinister grin?  

breakfast in bed by @joonbird f s

↬ “Min Yoongi, a grumpy Ikea employee, is wondering who you are and why exactly you’re sleeping in the display bed at his Ikea.”

Tricks of the Trade by @stutterfly f s a

↬ The convenience store across the street from your apartment carries your favorite energy drink. That's why you frequent it. It's definitely not because you have a big fat crush on the owner you've been flirting with for the better part of a year. Of course your brand of flirting can also be misconstrued as bickering. When a strange man wanders into the store, he thinks you need a little nudge to embrace the strings connecting you. Next thing you know you're waking up in a body that definitely doesn't belong to you. You can't decide if it's the best or worst thing that's ever happened to you.

threads by @yoonia s a ft. knj

 ↬ Life is full of surprises, just like how people are full of secrets. Just when you had thought you have been lucky enough to have your life figured out, life decides to throw you a curve ball when you least expect it. And there is nothing you could do to avoid it, except to hope that you could hold your secrets as tightly as you possibly could before everything blows up into smithereens.

under the willow tree by @orchidyoonkook f a

↬ The town outcast shows up in the one place you find solace from it’s residents. The people you force yourself to fit in with, even though you never want to be anything like them. Will he ruin your only place of salvation, or become the most unlikely friend?

mami by kithtaehyung s ft. knj

↬ you somehow have a conversation with yoongi, and you tell your roommate about a date date.

the devil wears valentino by @orchidyoonkook f s a

↬ Having known him for years—from a small mistake on your behalf, and a favour on his—you’re one of the only people he seems to be able to put up with for company. Certainly the only one he’s half-way decent with. But what’s more surprising to you is that despite his name, reputation, and the fact he’s always joked he’d have killed anyone else by this point, is that he’s never once tried to cause you harm. 

angel by @sailoryooons f s

↬ Yoongi never meant to keep coming back. You never meant to become Yoongi’s favorite. Being Min Yoongi’s favorite has dire consequences

a boy like you by @cinnaminsvga f

↬ for whenever you are feeling low, always remember that there is a boy you know who would lift the sky for you. {or alternatively: Min Yoongi loves you, though he never says it. He’s always been a firm believer in that actions speak louder than any words ever could.}

last nite by @tayegi s a

↬ This is a zombie apocalypse AU based on The Walking Dead, The Stand, World War Z, and elements of Attack of Titan

zombie bites by @luffles424 f s a

↬ Your friends have always been willing to assist you when you need a model to practice makeup on. And with the upcoming zombie film on campus is no difference. But something feels different this time, can a zombie movie be more than just a zombie movie? 

heaven's winter by @jksangelic f s a

↬ your duty as the village daughter places you in line for the season’s Offering; a tradition not to tread lightly upon. as the snow falls slow and heavy, and the seraph awaits in the shallows of the mountain, you fail to realize what the winter has in store for you.

heavy sugar by @kinktae s

↬ The Roaring Twenties were a time of great economic wealth and social change. But beneath the jazz music and colorful speakeasies were mafia led organized crimes and bloodstained cash. You knew this well, but try as you might, you just couldn’t ignore the dark and enigmatic gangster whose eyes lingered on you from across the room.

all that holly, jolly shit by @daechwitatamic f s

↬You haven’t seen or heard from Yoongi since he broke your heart five years ago, laying out a logical list of reasons why you were better off breaking up. When a Christmas Eve blizzard traps you together for the night, you have no choice but to examine how few of those reasons are still true. And if they’re not… where does that leave you?

calling the shots by @chans-room f

↬ College basketball captain Yoongi

until death by @kpopfanfictrash s a

↬ Jade has always shaped the island of Kekon. Mined from the mountains, it enhances the abilities of Green Bone warriors who wear it and allows them protection from outside harm. No one understands these threats better than you do, second-in-command of the mighty No Peak clan.  When a new danger appears, seeming to come from within, everything you once took for granted is called into question. Including the bonds you’ve made, some more dangerous than the others. None more so than Min Yoongi, head of No Peak and the only one capable of destroying your heart.

whatta catch by @aredheadedmess f a

↬ One, two, three strikes you’re out. When opposing opinions find you roughing it up with the university’s star pitcher, he makes it his mission to show that you’re wrong about college sports—and maybe your feelings about the player himself.

shatter me, embrace me by @95rkives s

↬you longed for him, yearning for love, yet all that awaited you was heartbreak.

you're losing me by @/archivedkookie a

↬ ❝ He’s losing you, and yet, he lets the flower die in front of his eyes instead of doing everything to save it. Alternatively, Yoongi and you are losing your love toward each other. ❞

spotlight by @back2bluesidex f a

↬ No matter how much you run away from Yoongi, Yoongi always comes right back to you.

all the wrong places by @mrworldwideshoulders f a

↬ After getting separated from your friends during a night out, you get stuck with a hefty bill – one that you can’t pay. So when a handsome, emotionless stranger covers your tab in a random act of kindness, you’re determined to track him down and pay him back. inspired by 24K Magic by Bruno Mars.

now we reign by @/oddinary4bts f s a

↬ when working on a collab together makes you and Min Yoongi seek comfort with the other, you discover there’s more to life than loneliness. Only, hurdles mark your path in Min Yoongi’s life, and it’s unclear what the outcome will be. Will you be destroyed by him and his world, or will you learn to reign over it, together with him?

stay by sugarwithtea f s a

↬ what happens when you get stranded in a remote town with no place to live except for a lodge owned by a dangerously handsome but annoying man? yeah, a lot.

when the stars align by @itskimtaehyung f

↬ With cuffing season approaching its end, you thought you had escaped the pressures of finding a boyfriend for the holidays. That is, until your friends set you up on a blind date that goes horribly wrong. This prompts you to enlist the help of your roommate, Yoongi, to fake a relationship so your friends will stop meddling in your love life. And it turns out Yoongi is a lot better at this romance thing than you originally thought...

egotstic by @pasteljeon s a ft. knj

↬ The timing was never right. He loved you when you were kids, knees scraped and cheeks red. You loved him when pimples bloomed across his skin, voice cracking and he found solace in the scribbled lines in his notebook. The stars never seemed to align for the two of you, but perhaps it was because you were meant for someone else.

on the court by @centerhaechan f

↬ As captain of your school's winning women's basketball team, it is only understood that you despise the men's basketball team and their captain. Your main rival, Min Yoongi, enjoys testing your patience while he attempts to lead his own team to a championship victory. Your coaches believe you both have problems with teamwork, and insist that working together will produce a promising solution.

sugar by @zehakoo f s

↬ desperately in need of sugar to make coffee in order to ease down your headache, you find yourself knocking on a strangers door who happens to be your best friend’s friend and the finest man you’ve ever encountered.

from the ashes by @fortunexkookie s a

↬ Someone is sobbing ugly, wrecked sounds that shatter the silence in the room. You need them to stop; it’s distracting and you need to focus. You need to clean the ash from his skin. You need to comb the knots from his hair. You need to dress his beautiful body in something befitting the king you know he is… but the sobbing is too loud, and your vision is blurry. It takes Yoongi wiping your tears away for you to realize that the gasping cries echoing off the stone are coming from you.

the dark by @/bratkook s

↬ your small town thrives on the occult, luring tourists in with endless themed festivities, but the only place you’re determined to see is the mysterious club that comes to life the week before Halloween. what makes The Dark so exclusive, and what secrets are they hiding behind closed doors?

Triplicity by @kainks ft. jhs

↬ Distance is a cruel thing, and when you find yourself going astray, they are there to help remind you of just where exactly you belong.

fermata by @jeongi f s

↬ fer·ma·ta: from fermare, it means to stay or to stop. min yoongi teaches you exactly how to let go.

private lessons by @dntaewithluv f s

↬ Your little sister finds it odd how you’ve been taking private lessons from her piano teacher for over a month now, but she hasn’t heard you actually play even once…

first love by @geniuslab f s a

↬You learn a lot of new things in your first year of university, including what it feels like to fall in love.

↬looking for other myg fics or the other bts members check out my library

[baldurs-gape]

True Freedom

Tadpole or not, 200 years of habit was hard to break. The fact Cazador had offered to ally himself with the party in exchage for Astarion had been sickening. Even worse was that the answer wasn't an immediate "no" or "fuck off" which Astarion had really been needing to hear. Instead they had reached a stalemate of sorts that was to be resolved over a glass or two of wine and blood. If only Astarion hadn't been pulled aside into a lavish room and told to make himself presentable; which meant finery, demurely revealing clothes and a complete wrapping up of the personality Astarion had managed to tease out during his freedom.

While Astarion was sorting himself out, Cazador glided back to the rest of the party with a small, almost apologetic smile.

"You'll have to excuse the boy, he's been acting under my orders."

"Your orders mean nothing, not when a tadpole has ousted you," Gale replied, finger raised and wagging to drive his point home. "Astarion's been free for the first time in so long."

Something akin to pity made Cazador's face twist into a mockery of emotion. "My dear, you are too young to understand such things. I didn't want to hurt you, but allow me to prove my point. Astarion, as always, has been loyal to me and only me."

Even Halsin looked a little put off by that, face scrunching up in concerned disagreement.

"Are you saying he feigned being in love?"

Laughing lightly, Cazador shook his head. "I am so sorry if he has hurt your feelings. Astarion has always been a bit on the greedy side when it came to feeding his ego. But the only thing that boy loves is himself."

"I refuse to believe that!" Gale stood up, helpless to do anything in the face of such words. No spell could refute the words, make them fall on deaf ears.

"Very well. Allow me to prove my point. If you'd be kind enough to make yourselves invisible, I'll permit you to be present while I talk to the boy."

Exchanging glances, the group nodded to each other. Vials of potions of invisibility were distributed and murmurs for scrolls and spells filled the air. Eventually, they were all invisible and headed to the room where Astarion was veritably lounging, a goblet of something deep red in his hand. He looked comfortable and cocky in a way he hadn't been at camp. In fact, he looked right at home.

"Tell me, my boy, how have you ingratiated yourself with the be-wormed group?" After a beat, Cazador added, "Tell me like you'd tell Petras, be concise and clear so he could easily understand."

"Master-" Astarion swirled the liquid in the goblet before setting it aside, "-even Petras could do it with ease. As long as he can remember who is who."

"And who, exactly, is who?"

"The group is made up of six core members, they each have their weaknesses. Take Wyll for example, a desperate boy at heart in need of feeling like he could be a hero and his daddy would approve of him at long last. Simper about monsters to him, present one bigger than yourself and he'll be eager to become the shining night to your damsel in distress."

"Good. Who else?"

"Lae'zel, all that's needed to win her over is to give her a decent fight. I've calculated that a 60-40 ration of losses to wins is enough to keep her at peak attention. Let her win 60% of the time so she's not disheartened but grind her to dust the other 40% of the time. Give her a hard fight plus a hard fuck and she'll do all the fighting for you."

"That's two, what about the other four?" Through it all, Cazador stayed impassive, watching Astarion who seemed hesitant for a moment until Cazador pressed, "Tell me, little one."

"Shadowheart is a mean bitch. A bottle of wine and some barbed comments and she's your new best friend. Meanwhile, Karlach is the opposite in a way. She wants a friend, she craves touch since her engine has been contained. A friendly shove, a pat on the back with some praise and she's putty."

"That leaves Halsin and Gale, am I right?"

"As you always are." Astarion smiled though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Pitiful really. A tree hugger who likes sex almost more than nature. Bend over in a field of flowers for him, let him be as animalistic as he wants and he'll be like a pathetic puppy, ready to roll over and do as told." Swallowing, Astarion looked away from Cazador who stood, waiting and immobile. "Then there's Gale. Discarded and demoted. Marvel at his silly little cantrips, praise him for any spell and give him a bit of good old mortal romance. All he needs is some admiration to wrap him around your little finger."

Cazador nodded. "I see. That will be all for now. Be good and stay quiet until Godey comes to fetch you."

Like that, Cazador marched out and the invisible group followed like disillusioned ducklings. Back in the room Cazador had set aside, they all slowly turned visible again.

"As you can see, he has always been working for me. He needed your protection and needed to bring you to me. Initially you were to be a meal but I see now your value in fighting against The Absolute." Looking them all in the eye in turn, Cazador spoke, "Drop the foolish endeavour of keeping him 'safe' and being his 'friend'. Allow him to return to my side and I'll offer assistance in the fight to come with some of the bravest and best spawn. They'll make you forget Astarion and the heartbreak he's wrought."

Anger and disappointment made for a bitter mix. Without having to really even discuss it, the group trailed out, Halsin's arm around Gale. The soft "but I loved him" was met with "I know, me too", voices drenched in heartbreak.

With the group out of the way, Cazador sent for Godey to fetch Astarion. His wayward spawn was harshly shoved to his knees even as he glanecd around desperately for the others.

"What have you done to them? Where are they?" Panic clawed at Astaion's throat.

"Left. They weighed up your worth against mine and made the obvious choice. Did you really think you could win against me in any race, little one?"

Face falling, Astarion snarled. "You monster! I hate you!"

Staring impassively down at him, Cazador watched. "When you're quite done." He waited a beat but Astarion remained silent. "If you're so miserable here then I release you. No more compulsions. Go if that's what you desire. I have no need of you."

For a moment Astarion didn't move. Then he was scrambling to his feet and staggering towards the door, eyes wild at the prospect of escape.

"That's it," Cazador sneered. "Run if you want to. I've already replaced you, no doubt so has your little party of so-called friends. You'll be crawling back here in no time, you'll see."

"Never." The word was near enough spat as Astarion turned and scurried towards freedom. He had to find the rest of the group, give them a piece of his mind about being left behind. But he could maybe forgive them because, deep down, Astarion knew his help was worth less than Cazador's. Maybe, if he hadn't given his cold dead heart to two people in the group, he'd have chosen the same.

It was only back at the Elfsong that Astarion caught up with his friends. Near enough tumbling through the door in desperation to get home and share the news of his freedom, he clattered through the door. Icy silence greeted him and cold eyes stared.

"Well," he huffed, trying to break the strange mood, "an apology would be a nice start."

"I don't think my father would approve of me apologising to a monster," Wyll called, eyes narrowed to a glare.

"If you want an apology, I'll need to start winning our sparring sessions under my own merit." Walking closer, Lae'zel had her sword in hand in a rather unfriendly merit. "Even if by some miracle our ratios swap."

Gulping, Astarion tried to place the words and the hostility. He eyed as Halsin approached, looking more heartbroken than angry. "I would have helped protect you without you needing to trample my heart. Gale's heart. You could have always said no to my advances, especially if my wildshape caused you more harm than pleasure."

Helpless, Astarion glanced towards Karlach who snorted. "Don't look at me. Even your gaze repulses me now, let alone your touch."

"I had to say all that!" Astarion's voice buckled. "What did he tell you?"

"Nothing." Gale stepped next to Halsin, eyes red rimmed and puffy. "You did all the talking. Were we ever worth anything to you?"

"Just take what's yours and leave," Shadowheart butted in. "You're not welcome here but it seems I'm the only bitch mean enough to say it. Gather your belongings, you have a minute."

The group parted and Astarion hesitantly walked past, head turning to keep an eye on Lae'zel and her sword. Once past them, he darted for his bed where he kept things stashed. Except, truth be told, none of it was his, not really. Everything was stolen, borrowed with no intention of returning. There was only one thing that was his and only his. Grabbing the flimsy, moth eaten blanket he'd taken from Cazador's palace, he had one more thing to do. Dressed in his old clothes, the only ones he could truly call his, he headed for the door.

"I didn't mean any of it. You don't understand, if I didn't say what he wanted to hear, how he wanted to hear it, he'd have killed me! Now he's set me free." His words went ignored as the group sat on the couches, turned away from him. Desperate, Astarion threw one more thing out, wanting Halsin and Gale to look at him, to maybe see the truth in his eyes. "I love you!"

Shadowheart approached and gave him a flat look. "Your silver tongue isn't going to get you anywhere. Go running back to your master, little spawn. You already took more than your fair share from us. There's nothing left for you here."

Just like that, Astarion trudged out of the Elfsong. He looked back over his shoulder and watched as Shadowheart closed the door in his face with a finality that made something ache with terror in his chest. The whole world was his oyster yet the only place he wanted to be was now forever denied to him.

In the tavern, the mood was somber. Nobody quite knew what to say and Gale intermittently sniffled as his broken heart's jagged edges caught on hiw raw emotions. It was safe to say they were all in various states of shock, the betrayal of their companion sat heavily upon them. They stayed up late into the night, half expecting Astarion to try and sneak back in. Instead there was a knock on the door.

"Do you think it's him?" Gale whispered to Halsin.

It was a blessing yet a curse to find Dalyria on their doorstep. She looked behind Wyll, as if searching for someone. Shifting to block her view, Wyll tried to be kind. "Can we help?"

"Please. I don't know how you did it. He was always the favourite. But if Cazador has let him go, maybe he'll let the rest of us free too."

Nostrils flaring in annoyance, Wyll shook his head. "We did nothing. Astarion returned to his master as he wanted, of his own volition."

A small laugh escaped Dalyria. "No. Astarion would never return by himself. He was always plotting his escape, even when he could barely move, he promised me he'd get out and he'd try and take us with him. Promised through a broken jaw and barely intact throat."

"If he set you up to this, please, just leave. We know what he thinks of us, heard it right from his mouth. You'll need to take up the matter of your freedom with Cazador, that's not something we can do for you."

Dalyria's face fell. "I don't know what you heard. But I had to help him get ready for his meeting with Cazador. He said that if anyone can help it would be you. Even if you didn't think him worthy enough not to trade away for more firepower. I've never seen him so hopeful. Or healthy."

Uncertainty took root in Wyll. As much as he didn't want to believe Darylia, wanted to stick to his own truth that Astarion had used them, it just didn't feel so true now that the harsh burn of hurt had ebbed away.

"Stupid istik!" Lae'zel's words snapped Wyll to attention and he turned to find her. The others were also migrating towards the other side of the large room where she was sifting through what Astarion had left behind. Or rather, all of Astarion's belongings. There were pouches filled with insignificant magic trinkets and the emroidery on the canvas simply read 'snacks' in a rich purple. In another bag were healing potions, scrolls, alchemical ingredients. Not to mention the armour and weaponry that Astarion had been so fond of. "The she'lak only took what was literally his."

"What does that mean?" Gale looked helpless, hands fisted in his robes so he didn't clutch the snacks bag to his chest in place of where he wanted to hold Astarion.

Eyes closed, Halsin took a deep breath. He was beaten to speaking by Karlach.

"I think it means we made a real mess of things, soldier. Astarion always said Cazador was a master manipulator."

"We need to find him," Halsin said softly. "We have connected some dots but missed the picture as a whole."

It was easier said than done. Baldur's Gate was sprawling with ample places for Astarion to hide, especially given his knack for getting into places he shouldn't.

"He used to spend time in the graveyard," Darylia offered. "He probably went there."

An odd place for a vampire to want to spend time. There were a few other places to search first, taverns and houses they'd gained access through via not quite rightful means. Astarion wasn't in any of them. Reluctant to believe Darylia, Halsin and Gale made their way to the graveyard. Shadowheart was already there, searching with Wyll.

"Over there!" Karlach called as quietly as her excitement allowed. "By my parents' graves!"

Sure enough, a lone figure was huddled by the headstone of a grave near Karlach's parents. He didn't move when the others stood around him.

"Astarion? What are you doing here?" Halsin asked. Slowly, he sank to his knees within reaching distance but he held back from reaching out.

Slowly, Astarion turned to look at him and eyed all the others.

"Come to do what I couldn't?"

"Which is?"

A stake clattered on the ground by Halsin's knee.

"No! Little star, never!"

Gale joined Halsin on the cold ground but he didn't hold back from extending a hand and squeezing Astarion's shoulder. "What were you going to do instead?"

"Go to the palace." The words were nothing more than a whisper. "He said I'd go crawling back and he's always right. It's the only place where my presence is accepted in this world."

Swallowing thickly, Gale had to hold back his tears. "But all those horrible things you said?"

"It was what he needed to hear. I didn't want-" Astarion cut himself off, eyes squeezed shut. "I didn't want you to see what he could reduce me to. And you needed him for the fight. Between him and I, we all know who has more value."

"You do," Halsin rumbled. He copied Gale and reached for Astarion. Rather than just touch, he tugged and ended up with a lapful of cold, shivering vampire.

"I have nowhere else to go. Just wanted to see one last sunrise. He'll take it from me, no doubt. Wanted to see my grave in the light just once."

Sure enough, it was Astarion's grave they were sitting by. Something made Gale's throat tighten but he pushed through it.

"Come home. Come back to us."

"I'm not welcome there anymore."

Various murmurs of disagreement went up as the others tried to reassure Astarion that he was actually very much welcome there.

"You left most of your shit at the tavern," Shadowheart grumbled. "I'm not cleaning up after you."

Something akin to a wet laugh bubbled out of Astarion. They had a long way to go yet before things were fixed again, nothing was resolved yet. But there was hope and that had to be good enough for now.

[mushroomates]

gimli headcanons:

likes doing laundry. finds it soothing

history nerd!! loves reading old tombs/biographies of his ancestors

is incredibly intelligent. beats frodo in chess. would beat gandalf but gandalf cheats. has been in a stalemate with aragorn for two and a half years.

well mannered but chooses to forgo his politeness to make a point. especially around elves.

does NOT like horses. not just riding them, which is canon, but actually dislikes the animal itself. the reasons why include (but are not limited to) :

he does not like being not on ground. he does not have a fear of heights so much as a fear of… feet not on ground. as evidenced by refusal to jump, treehouses, and well, horses

he does not like their faces. they are long and have eyes on the side like prey. gimli thinks this is deceiving as horses are very large and can kick in someone’s skull. not his skull.

gimli believes that in a one on one match with a horse, he could easily win. he has thought of several, very specific, scenarios of this and has a detailed plan of attack should this situation occur.

they so easily turned against their home for an evil overlord (read: sauron stole all the black horses from rohan) and therefore cannot be trusted. as a rule, anything that willing you let you ride it cannot be trusted. they can’t be satisfied with this life. they are plotting something.

believes he would be great at drums. it’s just hitting things hard and he’s pretty strong.

ok, another thing about horses: they are fragile to a ridiculous extent. you breath wrong and it breaks. they have bad bones and bad blood flow in their legs, and their legs are all that they’re used for. he doesn’t understand why humans invested so much time into horses when they’re genetically bad at what they are meant to do. he’d feel bad for the horses if they weren’t so awful.

drinks coffee, not tea

takes great with the up keeping of his gear. he sharpens his axes, polishes his boots, shines his armor and waxes his mustache. that’s not gear, but he takes great pride in looking groomed and caring for his belongings.

has an axe for every occasion. battle axe? do you want throwing or slashing. a day on the town? have you seen this intricately carved masterpiece that also is a weapon? doffing a hole? PICKAXE. cutting a cake? how about an axe???

hates the rain because it ruins his hair and beard. also loves the rain because it ruins legolas’s hair and clothes.

will eat anything. has a great tolerance for spice. contrary to popular belief, dwarves are not shy of seasoning but are very cautious around other races in fear of poisoning their friends

will also eat some rocks. salty is his favorite (halite, hanksite, glauberite) but also likes to add chunks of chalcanthite to his food for a slightly sweet yet metalic flavor. this is also slightly (SLIGHTLY) poisonous as evidenced by sharing his trail mix with boromir

also calls dirt the “local seasoning”

will taste dirt to try and get a feeling for the land. this tells him the acidity, weather, possible wildlife, and also pisses off legolas

actaully genuinely likes the taste of dirt. (note: if you desire to eat clay/dirt that is a symptom of iron deficiency. for gimli, he eats spoonfuls of the stuff like their supplements because as a kid it was fed to him like multivitamins)

OK SO HEAR ME OUT: lack of sunlight can cause really low hemoglobin and ferritin (a blood protein that contains iron) sooo being constantly in dark caves can cause some forms of iron deficiency. because dwarves are conscious of their young, dwarf children often grow up not often being in direct sunlight.

the solution? dirt. dirt contains iron and other tasty minerals that are good for the body. charcoal has natural antioxidants. so does clay. am i saying that momma gimli (unnamed) fed her son ash and clumps of dirt? yes. also bits of broken pottery. it’s also good of the immune system.

fr tho clay/dirt/charcoal are the dwarven multivitamins. you have a tummy-ache? here, have a rock. i truly believe this was scientifically proven by dwarves and only FOR dwarves (plz do not eat dirt)

fuckin loves mushrooms. has a mushroom log at home. whenever dwarves find some fungai in a cave they go feral

likes dogs. thinks it’s great that they dig holes. thinks it’s fantastic that the bury things in holes. absolutes loves when they get muddy, and then shake off all water and dirt all over you.

when he came back home with the name lockbearer, a lot of the dwarves thought it was really cool and he has some sort of elven puzzle that requires a code to unlock something. imagine their surprise when he rocks up and is like: no, even better. HAIRS. three of them.

enjoys making mudpies- made them as a kid with his cousins, (mostly with rock slurry) and continues to, even even as an adult.

made them on the fellowship with the hobbits. taught them all about the best types of dirt and the water-to-soil- ratio needed.

while cutting up slices of his pie, he offered one to boromir, who in good nature, took it, clearly thinking it was just part of the bit.

poor boromir was locked in a stalemate after gimli cut his own slice, and began eating it.

to his credit, boromir did brave a few bites, but had to stop once he nearly had a mouthful of maggots

“protein”

gimli is like crazy good at hair. can braid quickly and efficiently in elaborate styles

picked up eleven hair style techniques in lorien (quicker than legolas) and was forced to relay them to the elf through twine as there is no way he’s letting grubby elf fingers to touch his glorious mane that’s been decades in the making

would ask for a drink “on the rocks” and get slightly upset if it did not come back with actual rocks

[heisenberg-simp257]

Hi, if you're still taking requests could you please write four lords with s/o who blushes super easily? thought it might be cute lmao

Sure! It is cute❤

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Four Lords with an S/O who Blushes Super Easily

Alcina Dimitrescu

-She doesn’t understand how you can blush so easily. I mean, it’s not like she’s trying to say things that make your face all red. However, when Alcina figures this out, she may take advantage of it just slightly.

-Alcina may be having a sophisticated conversation with you, but when it’s time to part ways, she makes sure it ends on a note that leaves you red in the face.

-Her daughters also take part in making you blush. To them, it’s like a game to see who can make you light up the most. Usually, Alcina would scold them to leave you alone, but she can’t help but find it a bit amusing.

-She may or may not question you as to why it’s so easy to make you blush. Alcina isn’t one to do so, so she doesn’t really understand it. Obviously, you don’t have an answer for her, but her curiosity grants you some mercy from her teasing for the time being.

-She is the only one allowed to make you blush. If the other lords even try it, they feel the wrath of her claws, especially Heisenberg.

Donna Beneviento (and Angie)

-In reality, Donna probably blushes just as easily as you. However, you would never know because of the mask that is permanently residing on her face. At least her understanding of the situation saves you from teasing.

-If anything, she probably makes you blush in innocence. Donna will just say things that she doesn’t fully grasp the understanding of until it’s too late. This leaves you both blushing.

-Angie just makes fun of both of you. Donna is not spared from her teasing. If anything, the porcelain doll takes full advantage of the situation. She finds it fascinating how the human face can get so red.

-She apologizes whenever she makes you blush. Donna always assumes that you’re embarrassed by something she said or did. You have to persuade her that you aren’t.

-Truthfully, you are at the mercy of the other lords. Donna isn’t going to get aggressive if they make you blush. She may get irritated, but she knows this is a trait of yours that is hard to control, so she’s not going to lose her temper.

Salvatore Moreau

-He is also someone that I can see blushing easily just like you. However, unlike Donna, Moreau tries to use this trait of yours to his advantage. After all, he just wants to feel like he has some confidence in this situation, and he certainly doesn’t mean any ill will.

-Since it’s so easy to make you blush, Moreau doesn’t have to think too hard on what to say or do to you to get your face to light up red. Truthfully, it’s a lot of sweet compliments.

-However, sometimes fire is fought with fire as you counter him with his own words. It becomes a battle of who can make the other blush the most. Truthfully, it usually ends in a stalemate with neither side winning.

-Moreau likes to make you blush, but it’s something he absolutely adores about you. If you think he worships Mother Miranda, you should hear what he says about you when he’s in private. You are truly something special in his life.

-If the other lords try to tease you, he throws a hissy fit. Usually, mostly Heisenberg, don’t take him seriously and keep their antics up. Moreau just ends up pouting.

Karl Heisenberg

-We all know that Heisenberg would take full advantage of the situation. This is why you try to keep the fact that you blush easily hidden from him for as long as possible. But we all know Heisenberg will find out eventually, and the smirk he has says it all.

-He goes way out of his way to make your face light up, and if you try to counter it by trying to make him blush, it usually doesn’t work, and he ends up making you blush more. 

-Heisenberg is the type to make you blush and then laugh that iconic laugh whenever he achieves it. The problem is that you love hearing his laugh, making you blush more, and thus making him chuckle more. It’s a gruesome cycle for you.

-There’s not much more to say besides the fact that he is relentless when teasing you. But even though he teases you, he loves that you can make him smile and laugh so much without even trying. He doesn’t say it enough, but he’s grateful.

-The other lords don’t even dare try to make you blush because they know well enough that Heisenberg would go feral. Alcina doesn’t have the patience for that, Donna is afraid, and Moreau is just oblivious. He did it once by accident, and now has more trauma than ever.

[mlmxreader]

mixed bag of prompts

rules & guidelines - please read BEFORE you request!

rules: prompts can be used multiple times & can be mixed and matched (eg putting song lyrics w situations), and several prompts can be used at a time.

this prompt list is also ONLY for requests to be sent to @mlmxreader; you can reblog but please do not use for your own writing or inspiration.

Dialogue

"I can't think straight when you're around"

"Come here, let me do it"

"Do you have to make so much noise?"

"Careful!"

"Alright, that's enough!"

"Calm down"

"How can you say that?"

"It wasn't me, I swear!"

"My apologies, I didn't mean to wake you"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Just listen to my voice"

"We have to keep marching on"

"Oh how I missed you"

"Nothing is the same any more"

"It was just a nightmare"

"Does it ever end?"

"I can't be without you"

"We are a long way from home"

"We will not live to see the end of it"

"I have seen too much of that"

"You shouldn't encourage me"

"Who cares anymore?"

"I kept your picture in my pocket"

"Hear that? The cannons are silent"

"I was fucking miserable without you"

"I am not fucking wearing that"

"You hit him and I will knock your head from your shoulders"

"We were all friends"

"Can you stay a while?"

"What? I'm trying to get comfortable!"

"This is fucking ridiculous"

"You look great, trust me"

"How stupid of me to think you'd ever love me"

"Come on, you should eat"

"If it would be alright with you, can I kiss you?"

"I fucked it all up again"

"I promised to protect you"

"Fantastic"

"Don't you think we should tell them?"

"Now that's a sight I love to come home to"

"Just one day of rest won't kill you"

"Go! Run!"

"I adore you"

"Give me your hand"

"Please, just trust me"

"Relax would you?"

"Tell me you love me again"

"It really is entertaining to see you so jealous"

"Do not tell anyone"

"Now, would you look at that?"

Situations/AUs/etc

Major Character Death

Dancing in the kitchen

Attending a house party

Overnight stakeout in the car

Friends to lovers

Fake relationship

Bodyguard!AU

Secret relationship

First kiss

Marriage proposal

Museum dates

Staying up all night talking

Werewolf!AU

First date

Zombie!AU

First "I love you"

Getting into a fight to protect the other

Fearing the other is dead

Trapped somewhere together

Playing spin the bottle

Swapping clothes by accident

Insecurity about the relationship

(SFW!) sugar daddy!AU

Requited unrequited love

Jealousy over someone flirting with the other

Sleepless nights

Road trips

Falling asleep together

Making out on the sofa

Horror film marathons

Surprising the other with a gift

Stealing hoodies/shirts/etc from the other

Trying to cheer the other up

Not thinking they're good enough for the other

Morning kisses

WW1!AU

Realising how they feel

Camping trips

Hugs from behind

Lazy days at home

Being haunted by their ghost

Meeting their family/friends

Visiting late at night

Sneaking in through the window

Giggly kisses

Attending a concert together

Going to a music festival

Helping them out of a shitty relationship

Getting caught kissing and having to explain

Tending to their wounds

Song Lyrics

"And I marched and I fought and I bled"

"We were food for the gun"

"I heard my friend cry, and he sank to his knees, coughing blood, as he screamed for his mother"

"I wept as his body grew colder"

"Though it wasn't my fault and I wasn't to blame"

"There's nobody remembers our names"

"Yea it burns a fire that drives a man to win"

"Holding us together while other kingdoms fall"

"But all are not rightful"

"Wait and receive the weight of the fall"

"It’s a stalemate at the frontline"

"Where the soldiers rest in mud"

"All is gone"

"There is no glory to be won"

"Know that many men will suffer"

"Know that many men will die"

"Stuck in a trench with no way out"

"Young men are dying, they pay the price - oh how they suffer, so tell me: what’s the price of a mile?"

"Snipers are moving unseen"

"Fight for land, to lose it again"

"The trenches mean death, better keep your head down low"

"Break their will, as yours has been broken, they’re here alone, dream of home"

"By kings and queens young men are sent to die in war"

"Their propaganda speaks those words been heard before"

"There’s no sign of peace"

"When they face death they’re all alike, no right or wrong, rich or poor, no matter who they served before - good or bad, they’re all the same, rest side by side now"

"You will never survive"

"Show no fear"

"Round them up, look into their eyes, they beg for their lives"

"You'll be the hero of the neighbourhood, nobody knows that you've left for good"

"You've got your orders better shoot on sight, your finger's on the trigger but it don't seem right"

"How many wasted lives? How many dreams did fade away? Broken promises, they won’t be coming home"

"Found their peace at last as foe turned to friend and forgive, and they knew they’d die"

"Oh, Mr. Crowley did you talk to the dead?"

"Blood on your face you big disgrace"

"The boys just call me Camouflage"

"Well, we fought all night, side by side, we took our battle stance"

"So here, take his dog tag, son, I know he’d want you to have it now"

"Smokes and spits and drinks and fights, and his friends all look like trouble"

"Where's that boy I used to cuddle?"

"Says you're a good boy and that you must be goin' through some phase"

"You're the only hell your mama ever raised"

"I don't care what you say, I've got to go and fly away"

"I may be just an ordinary man, but at least I'm someone to lean on"

"I'm a little pissed off today and there ain't nothing you can do about it"

"I'm a little put off today and I could not tell you why"

"I told a little white lie today, I smiled and told someone I loved them"

"I had to say goodbye today to someone that I love"

"I couldn't even cry today, I think my heart is finally broken"

"You can all fuck off today"

"I want you so much. Darling, I want to hold you near"

"I can't stop running to you"

"I feel love coming through you"

"I always used to kiss and run, I never wanted love to catch me"

"You must understand though the touch of your hand makes my pulse react"

"What's love but a second-hand emotion?"

"Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?"

"You'd get along like a house on fire"

"I think about when times were hard, we'd sit and not say a word, share a drink or three, just keeping company and know the other one was there"

"Thank you for lifting me up when I thought the world had won"

"I can't believe it's been so many years"

"And while I wish that you were here"

"I hope you're feeling better"

"I found that perfect life we always talked about, they'll always know your name"

"But if we wanted the truth we wouldn't buy the lies"

"And follow the fools and the battle cry"

"For nothing we'll lose, and does it matter, matter if we live or die?"

"Gather my friends, I'll tell you my story"

"I fought with my steel, I believed in my sword"

"At long last they both would finally be left alone, the tired hero and the dragon. throughout the land they were known"

"We call to follow the wild"

"Don't he look fine and handsome?"

"Don't he look at his most?"

"And he died for his kin"

"I need to know where your loyalties lie"

"Tell me are you gonna bark or bite?"

"I'd sacrifice my life to find you"

"I'll fight for you until I die"

"I would suffer forever to absolve all your pain"

"All that I ask from you was to give me your love"

rules & guidelines - please read BEFORE you request!

[temtoni]

pt.5

KAI KAI KAI!

so the main lineup of my doomed AU is done YAY

if there is anything you’d like to hear about tell me bc i don’t have any idea as to what to continue with…

Timelineee:

So first of all I might get this completely wrong since I haven’t watched crystallized in a while but i will try

-Obviously the start of crystallized already has some major changes with Nya never turning into a human again

-Therefore they also never become the public enemies nr. 1

-In the meantime it’s mostly the new ninja that figure out all the crystal king stuff and boast it all around Ninjago

-Lloyd seeing everything still pretty rational at least compared to Kai (who to be fair just lost his sister and his brothers)so he decides to check this whole crystal thing out he infiltrates the council gets recognized and so on

-Kai after a while realizes that Lloyd hasn’t been checking in as he normally would so he decides to head out to find him

-Kai finds Lloyd yada yada everything as it is in canon

-The big fight starts but the other elemental masters are already there because otherwise they wouldn’t have a chance

-Lloyd and Garmadon go on to fight the Overlord while Kai pretty much leads everyone on the ground

-More and more people show up fighting on their side, people from prime empire, the ocean even some ghosts :)

-But even with all this support the fight seems to be a stalemate until the crystal army start pushing even further

-Kai watching allies and friends alike die in front of him is able to unlock the dragon form and turn the table in their favor

-Lloyd is also successful and wins his fight

-The citizens have a big celebration through the entirety of Ninjago in honor of the Ninja and their great victory

-Sadly ever since the big battle Kai has been growing incredibly tired to the point where he can’t stand for longer than 15 minutes

-At first Wu and Misako believed that it had to do with the dragon form but then decided that it couldn’t be the cause because Lloyd also unlocked his Oni form and while being a little shaken he is completely fine

-So they decide to set of to try and figure out what exactly is happening to Kai

-What they didn’t account for was that Lloyd had Oni blood in him which allowed him to use his Oni form

-Kai on the other hand is fully human and the dragon form that he took back then wants back the control of his body

-Slowly but surely he is transforming into a dragon and not the kind in the finale of crystallized but into an actual dragon

-Things start changing his hands growing bigger, horn breaking through his skull, his pupils changing shape and color…

-And while all this is happening all Lloyd could do was watch, watch as the last brother of his slowly looses hisself

—————————————————————————

Kai even once transformed into a full dragon (the lil sketch in the top left corner) never leaves Lloyds side. Heck, he seems even more protective now or at least more threatening with his fire mane, glowing eyes and black to red scales. Lloyd believes that Kai thinks that he is his clan especially since he has dragon blood in him. But he also thinks it’s weird that whenever Misako, Wu or anyone really tries to get to the monastery without him inviting them in, Kai will either pick them up and fly them to the bottom of the mountain or just throw them off it.

—————————————————————————

Angsty enough?

Just wait till dragons rising starts and people start hunting Kai :D

If you’re wondering why Nya and Kai aren’t digitally drawn but only traditionally… digital art is hard and exhausting

because they will most definitely but it would also cause interesting interactions between him and wyldfire like her believing he is her dragon and he’s just like who is this weird child and what is she doing…

I’m not sure if I’ll do dragons rising but if the interest is there I might

I mean just imagine Aryn having the wildest theories about where the Og’s went and Lloyd just standing there trying not to destroy this little boys entire world view (like he would be pretending that kai isn’t kai and so on)

Or Zane actually being able to get to Lloyd now since the realms have merged

OH the possibilities

[strategicallyignoringmytodolist]

Here's my S3 theory. (I'd be thrilled to hear yours as well.)

I am writing this now so that when S3 finally drops in 24 billion months or whatever, I can look back at my notes and feel very smug and smart. Or laugh at myself for how wrong I got it.

My point is, dolphins. Or rather-- that terrible yet well-written cliffhanger:

At the very very end of S2, as Aziraphale was going up the elevator to Heaven, I'm pretty sure he knew he was going to have to work under cover to prevent the end of the world. Certainly after watching the recordings of Gabriel and what happened when HE protested, Aziraphale would realize that the bureaucracies of Heaven and Hell were determined to get to a final battle.

The Second Coming, from what (admittedly minimal amounts) I've read of it, doesn't have quite as many plot points as the arrival of the Antichrist. Jesus is supposed to show up in a burst of dramatic weather, all the humans who have ever lived are going to be immediately tossed into Heaven or Hell, and... That's about it? (I was actually raised Catholic, but I didn't pay much attention in Sunday school, and as an adult I don't really interact with religion. This isn't my best trivia subject, in other words.)

Anyway, at some sooner-rather-than-later point I think Aziraphale is going to decide to let all the angels and demons who want to fight it out with flaming swords have their go, and he is going to focus on preventing everyone else from getting hurt while that happens. Maybe the final sorting of goodies and baddies is going to involve processing all of humanity through some massive portals. And maybe Aziraphale is going to use his new position of power in Heaven's bureaucracy to change where the portal exit point is. There have been sooo many references to Alpha Centauri in the first two seasons, and that's presumably where Beelzebub and Gabriel went at the end of S2. I bet they would be willing to help with portal setup and receiving refugees on their end.

I'm not entirely certain what Crowley's role will be in S3. I can totally picture Aziraphale coming to him and saying, "Let's run off to Alpha Centauri together, only I've got several billion humans I want to bring with me." Maybe Crowley will have to help with portal setup down in the basement offices of hell. Or maybe he will need to convince Jesus to join Team Save Humanity (Crowley was friendly with Jesus once upon a time and did show him all the kingdoms of the world, after all.)

I think there are going to be some funny bits with the Nazi zombies from past seasons and all the other people who are being raised from the dead.

In the original book, Adam said that Heaven and Hell were a lot like his gang, the Them, and their rival gang, the Johnsonites: They were always trying to beat one another, but it wouldn't be any good if one of them actually did win. Having a rival gives you something to do, after all. I don't think there can ever be a final resolution between good and bad. They're kind of like death -- baked into the system. It's going to be a stalemate.

I also suspect that God is playing a many-layered game. All the demons and angels are helping to judge and deliver consequences to humans for their use of free will. But maybe God is watching all the angels and demons to see whether they understand that being on a team doesn't mean that you can't make your own moral decisions and act outside the party line.

Ultimately I think the battle will end and the human refugees will return to Earth. Our favorite supernatural couple will buy a flat with a garden somewhere, and that's where the story will end -- in a garden, just as it began.

[vigilskeep]

Hi, I am *intrigued* by these tags “#nathaniel admittedly did propose to minerva but he was proposing minerva and zev’s marriage. TO them. its a long story#someone had to do it”. I’d love to hear the story there, if you don’t mind?

AH lmao yes “long story short” probably does not answer all the questions there

so essentially minerva and zevran are in a committed relationship from “that sounds like a proposal” “only if you wish it” onwards, but there’s no further discussion of whether that was an actual proposal and neither of them makes any move to get married. minerva’s perspective on marriage can pretty much be summed up with “why get the chantry involved in a perfectly good relationship?” they’re an antivan assassin and a warden-commander, it’s not like they’re settling into a house and having a family together, marriage is completely not relevant to their situation. she doesn’t remember her parents and then she grew up in the circle so marriage hasn’t really been around to even see in her life. she doesn’t get it. she’s not against it, per se, but what’s the point? she also very strongly dislikes the idea of zevran feeling at all trapped, so why bring up something that would just tie him to her?

we cut to a few years later, and zevran and minerva have had a kid (this was completely unplanned). minerva gets into a bit of a political scuffle/extended stalemate with the chantry over her son because they want confirmation she’ll hand him over to the circle if she discovers he’s inherited her magic and she’s never given them a straight answer. minerva mentions off-handedly to nathaniel, her right hand man and closest friend, that if anything happens to her especially while zevran is away, it will naturally be up to him to protect the boy

nathaniel gets SO stressed about this. he’s thinking about it day and night. he’s losing sleep. to be fair to him, the current score is templars: 1 vigil’s keep: 0 over protecting even people they did have full rights to and now his baby nephew could be next and it’s HIS job to stop that. finally zevran comes by the keep for a visit. nathaniel immediately grabs him and minerva (“reunions can wait we have to TALK” “my my how bold. if you wanted to watch you only had to—” “what’s this about, nathaniel”) and explains why he’s been like this (“ah it’s as i said in my letter zev he’s still being weird about what i said about the baby” “that’s not—you report on me being weird in your letters?” “[flat lie] no”) and he’s like listen. we NEED the best legal position if anything happens to you so you two ARE going to get married so that as long as your son’s magic doesn’t come out zevran has definite full rights to him and that’s FINAL. i mean, uh, that’s final, commander.

anyway minerva throws out the above explanation for why they never got married somewhat snappishly because she’s even more bothered by the idea of zevran being forcibly tied to her because of the templars. nathaniel appeals to zevran to be the voice of reason and zevran somewhat uncharacteristically awkwardly is like, “well, i have no problem at all. in fact i’ve become... rather fond of the idea of matrimony. but if my dear warden’s opinions are unchanging then of course it cannot be” and minerva is naturally AGHAST, not at the idea of marriage but at the idea that zevran wanted to get married this whole time and didn’t say! (for zevran’s part he had taken minerva’s aversion to tying them both down as an understandable fear for her own freedom considering her history of being bound to one institution or another, and never pushed the issue again.) nathaniel just really wanting to get a good legal situation accidentally makes a breakthrough for zev and minerva’s relationship and just to make sure the validity can’t be questioned they end up having the grandest most public wedding of any elves in ferelden in living memory. everyone has a good time except the grand cleric. love wins

[despazito]

i have lived in canada for a while (not as a citizen) and i'm wondering if it's worth it to move up there permanently. You said it's p bad there but I'm in the states. I don't often hear criticism but what do you think? Better or worse overall than the states?

you'll have better rights theoretically but

most of our progressive policies were ratified on the federal level, but provinces are in charge of their own healthcare and education for instance. and most provincial govts now are conservative. so most provinces rn are in a battle/stalemate between ottawa trying to improve shit like hospitals and sending funding to the provinces while the provincial government hoards it and keeps making cuts and taking things away. for instance abortion is legal in canada but my home province of NB has whittled it down to like a single clinic bc of our fundamentalist premier

housing is less affordable, there's fewer huge cities so many careers pigeonhole you into settling in either toronto,montreal, or vancouver so competition for rent can be insane

a lot of shit is more expensive here, telecom is monopolized by 3 corpos and has like the highest data rates in the world. same with our major grocers

a lot of fields like tech will pay lower wages than the same position at an american company so much that some Canadians purposely seek out american employers

our healthcare system is currently being starved in an effort to begin privatizing it, so we don't really have private options atm so you'll wait forever to see a doctor

abortion and gender affirming care is theoretically legal everywhere but NOT equally accessible everywhere. local govts are usually regressive.

if you're disabled and want accommodations they may politely ask whether you'd like to kill yourself instead

its not great but anything looks nice in comparison to a steaming dog turd. there's really no winning unless you have the capital and sadism to become a gentrifier in some poor rustbelt town lol

[normalaboutdntm]

Death Note the Musical @ NYCC2023: Album Listening Party

As described by Playbill: "A late-night listening party of the recently announced studio concept album will follow at 9 PM, with Valdes and John-Wilson joining along with host Louis Hobson and special guest Ashley Loren (Moulin Rouge! The Musical)."

I want to emphasize that the listening party happened almost 12 hours after the morning DNTM panel and on Day 3 of the con. People were exhausted, but so many people still made it a point to come check out the new album for a show that has never been performed in the US. I got there 40 minutes before the start time and there was already a sizable queue. Anyway, here's the deets (I don't have a full recording of this since my phone was about to die so this is just what I remember):

Louis Hobson, one of the producers in London and producer for the concept album, did trivia and gave away merch. He introduced the album sneak peeks with, "Some of these tracks just came to me today and we put them in the show today."

Frank Wildhorn was in Hawaii and couldn't make it, but he recorded a brief video to say hi. I saw it shared as an Instagram story later but I can't find it now so it's possible it didn't get preserved. Luckily I was still recording at this point :)

"Hey everybody, aloha, this is Frank Wildhorn, the composer of Death Note! I wanted to welcome you all to comic con and to this wonderful adventure that we are all on. For a few years ago [sic], when I was asked by my Japanese producers to do a musical of Death Note, I wasn't so into anime and the manga world, but my kids were, and my kids introduced me to the genre, and it's amazing - it's such great source material and of course it has the best fans in the world, you guys. I'm so happy and honored to have the chance to do this for you and i hope you enjoy the experience of comic con. Much love, aloha, arigato gozaimasu, ??? signing off."

Dean John-Wilson performed The Way Things Are:

Ashley Loren performed When Love Comes:

Joaquin Pedro Valdes did not perform due to being on vocal rest but we did get to watch his reaction to hearing the final cut of Where is the Justice? for the first time:

I don't remember all the tracks they showed us but I do know The Game Begins and Kira were two of them.

They had planned to do a cosplay contest, but it was immediately evident that @seximexipapi (IG) should win:

[ID: 1. DJW crouching and JPV standing in front of an elaborate, height-accurate Ryuk cosplay. JPV holds the Death Note in one hand and an apple in the other. 2. JPV holding a microphone to the Ryuk cosplayer, who has pushed up his mask.]

JPV made this video of him walking down the aisle with Ryuk. On the left side you can briefly see Yuzo Kajiyama, the original producer of the Japanese production, standing up and filming in his L cosplay:

They closed the night by announcing the official track list:

[ID: a presentation slide that has the Death Note the Musical logo of an apple on a notebook and says "Official Track List: Overture, Where is the Justice?, They're Only Human, Hurricane, Kira, Ready or Not, We All Need a Hero, The Game Begins, There Are Lines, Mortals and Fools, I'll Only Love You More, The Way Things Are, Honor Bound, Playing His Game, Borrowed Time, When Love Comes, The Way It Ends, Requiem." ]

It's odd that they "announced" this because the track list was previously released on WhatsOnStage.com at the same time the new album was announced; however the previous track list didn't have The Way It Ends on it so I'm glad they did. Not sure why Secrets and Lies and Stalemate were cut but I'm glad to finally be getting The Way Things Are in English.

OH and I remember at the very end Hobson vagueing about big news coming soon :)

[afaramir]

Your ™ (aside from faramir obv) is how unhinged you are about denethor AND having the most correct takes abt him🧡. Oh and also oranges maybe

AAAA...THANK YOU ??? THIS KNOCKED ME FLAT like for real i cannot express how much ive been thinking about this ask all day. like i was in the grocery store thinking about it. i cant decide if it's funnier if you've been here since i was 19 and a hater and watched me have my dramatic change of heart in real time or if youre new here and don't know my tragic backstory. TO ME it's hilarious to be assigned denethor girl bc like teenage me is having a heart attack but i bear the badge with pride nevertheless <3333 and thats what we call character growth!

pj had totally got me with the mad-and-vindictive-with-despair denethor gambit for years and years but literally i started working on the faramir goes to rivendell au and thought for about two seconds about how complex both faramir and boromir's relationships with their father are and how the film changes genuinely weaken all of their characters so much and did a total 180 degree turn on a dime. by doing denethor dirty i would automatically be doing faramir dirty and then i started thinking and went hang on a second he is so complex and interesting actually. like i can't emphasize how much that was the exact logic that allowed me to achieve this development.

i mean okay LISTEN TO ME oh my GOD denethor IS a good leader there's a reason why gondor stood so long alone against the enemy and he NEARLY fucking beat SAURON in 30 years worth of head-to-head knock-down-drag-out psychic stalemate warfare and he only falls into despair when he loses both of his sons. you don't need to like him to respect the achievement!

i almost put a read more here but fuck it denethorposting on main. hit j on your keyboard or do a big scroll if youre sick of me LOL

i am very well known for going totally feral over duty vs love dynamics and that is literally what is going on between denethor and his sons. he cannot be their father and their commander at the same time and they are at war!!! being their commander has to win out above all else!!! whether any of them like it or not!!! do you know what ruthlessness means do you understand that duty wins this one.

do u guys understand that denethor and faramir are a father and son who love each other above else and yet do not like each other at all. there was a schism somewhere there along the line and love without bitterness and political sniping and ideological misalignment is a DISTANT MEMORY. No Of Course He Shouldn't Have Said He Wished Faramir And Boromir's Places Exchanged Jesus Christ No Son Should Have To Hear That From Their Father But Girl Sometimes When You're Grieving You Say Stupid Shit That You Shouldn't Have. doesn't mean you should've said it but [pippin voice] we can understand poor denethor a bit better, huh?

its just so interesting to me to think about faramir and denethor's relationship from a standpoint of like. ok listen good stewards that are not good fathers and dutiful sons who will not compromise their moral compasses for love. i don't like you and i agree with approximately 1% of everything you've said ever and your expectations of me have always been unreasonably high even when i was a child but you also are the only person who could ever understand the terrifying psychic powers that just live inside my brain and you are probably the incarnation of lordly dignity and power that i have had and i have wanted to emulate all my life and i still have the instinct to ask for your approval even if i'm going to hate what you're going to say. and when i'm dying i will call out for you. and i don't like you and your moral compass is going to get you and me and everyone in our city killed and you haven't listened to a single thing i've said since you were fourteen and i fucking hate that you're listening to and trusting the fucking wizard over me but you are my best captain and you are everything that i wished i could've been without the war and you'll never understand that that's why i pushed you so hard i just wanted you to live. and if you couldn't live at least we could die together. LISTEN i am a faramir girl until the death you all KNOW THIS BUT THESE TWO THINGS ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE- [i am forcibly yanked offstage]

[marianperera]

My take on "The Winds of Winter"

Because there's so much speculation out there about this book, I decided to add my own. The rest is under a cut because it got really long.

In King’s Landing

At Cersei’s trial by combat, she’s defended by FrankenGregor, who naturally annihilates the Faith’s champion. But while Cersei believes she’s won, she’s actually played into a trap the High Septon set for her. He has heard about “Robert Strong”, and not being a fool, he suspected there was something strange about the man. Plus, how likely is it that there are two eight-foot-tall powerhouses in the land, and the second one just never happened to be heard of until the first disappeared?

So the High Septon instructs the Faith’s champion to focus on exposing FrankenGregor rather than trying to kill him, and just as Oberyn did, the Faith’s champion wins a Pyrrhic victory. He dies, but he shows the large crowd (Cersei pressed for a large crowd, naturally) that there’s something very… off… about FG. The Faith then spreads rumors about dark magic, so now people hate Cersei even more.

However, with Kevan’s and Pycelle’s deaths, Cersei’s path to power is pretty much unobstructed. Her first order of business is to send Harys Swyft to Braavos (as seen in the “Mercy” chapter of TWOW), partly to do business and partly because she both despises him and suspects he was solidly in Kevan’s corner rather than hers. Her second is to press for Margaery’s trial, but the High Septon refuses to allow Cersei to pressure him into doing anything. He also permits Randyll Tarly to take Margaery to visit her husband occasionally.

Into the midst of this stalemate come Nymeria and Tyene Sand, the former openly, to accept her father’s place on the Small Council, and the latter supposedly to take up duties as a septa. Tyene hears the rumors of FrankenGregor, and the two Sand Snakes are incensed that the murderer of their father might have been resurrected somehow.

Nymeria realizes at once that Cersei is utterly paranoid about the Tyrells. She tricks Cersei into believing that Margaery will take advantage of the lax security during her next meeting with Tommen to escape to the safety of Highgarden. Cersei sends FrankenGregor with Tommen, and orders FG to kill anyone trying to help Margaery escape. The Sand Snakes stage an escape attempt that’s fake as all hell (a tip of the hat to their pathetic performance re: Myrcella in the show) but which isn’t intended to help Margaery at all—it’s meant to force Cersei’s hand. It succeeds, and FrankenGregor tries to murder Margaery. Tommen gets in the way, and is killed instead. The Sand Snakes and Randyll’s surviving men get Margaery to safety (the irony of Reachmen and Dornishwomen working together, except they have very different goals, since the Sand Snakes want to fan the flames of Cersei’s paranoia even higher).

Cersei, meanwhile, is happy to be reunited with Myrcella, who returned on the same ship as the Sand Snakes. Naturally, her joy turns to ashes as she’s told about Tommen’s death. She immediately decides that the stories about FG’s rampage are lies, and she’s convinced the Tyrells murdered Tommen, since Margaery has disappeared. At first she doesn’t want to crown Myrcella, though—for one thing, Myrcella is traumatized by the murder of her younger brother and by her own brush with death, and for another, Cersei remembers the prophecy only too well. Maybe if she doesn’t give Myrcella a gold crown, Myrcella won’t have a gold shroud either.

Then Cersei hears about Aegon’s march on the capital. With the Golden Company, with the support of Dorne, and with more lords flocking to his banner every day. And since Cersei now feels backed into a corner, she insists that Myrcella be crowned. The High Septon is inclined to suspect the Tyrells of Kevan’s/Pycelle’s murder, especially given that Randyll Tarly has decamped southwards with Margaery, but the demand for Myrcella’s coronation pushes the High Septon further from Cersei. However, he says to Cersei, he is willing to not only accept a queen ruling in her own right but to throw the Faith’s forces behind Myrcella if the stain of dark magic is washed from the new regime.

Cersei is hesitant, but she decides that since she’s got FG, she doesn’t need Qyburn, who’s becoming something of a liability. He’s not a very good master of whispers, since he was unable to find whoever murdered Kevan and Pycelle, and now he’s the subject of rumors about vile magic. So she tells him he has to leave, hoping this will buy her time to shore up her crumbling foundations. She actually fires him with as much tact and generosity as she can muster, because she remembers how Qyburn visited her when she was imprisoned, but Qyburn literally has nowhere else to go, so he turns against her (a parallel to Tyrion, who she treated abominably but who never really worked against her). Qyburn manages to get away from the Faith with the help of a few other zombies he’s constructed from the various people Cersei gave him, but in revenge against Cersei, he informs the Faith that it's true, Cersei dabbled in dark magic and human sacrifice and now has an undead monstrosity by her side (a parallel to Ned being forced by the Lannisters to confess to something he didn’t do).

King’s Landing descends into chaos. Cersei crowns Myrcella, but it makes no difference, because Cersei no longer has the power to enforce her authority and with the revelations of what Qyburn was doing under her aegis, the entire city now wants her dead. As an enraged mob attacks the Red Keep, she flees with Myrcella and a handful of guards, making for Casterly Rock, and the Sand Snakes part ways. Tyene follows Cersei’s entourage, while Nymeria decides to take on FrankenGregor.

In the Riverlands

Jaime realizes that something is very wrong, not just with Brienne’s entire demeanor, but with what she’s claiming. Jaime is a terrible judge of character when it comes to his family, but he’s generally better when it comes to other people (kind of a low bar to clear, but anyway) and he doesn’t believe that Sandor Clegane, for all his faults, is so vicious as to murder a little girl. Suspecting something is up, Jaime hides a dagger somewhere on his person (shout-out to Littlefinger’s “the hidden dagger”), and he’s never been more glad to have one than when the BWB surround them. Brienne can’t even meet his eyes, she feels so guilty, but she tells Lady Stoneheart that she brought him, so Pod and Hyle Hunt are released. Lady Stoneheart orders Jaime to be restrained so she can kill him. Jaime manages to kill one of the BWB. Brienne, Hyle Hunt and Pod take advantage of the distraction and fight back as well. Hyle Hunt is killed, and for a moment it looks as though Brienne and Pod are going to be cut down too, but Gendry joins their side unexpectedly (he saw how Brienne was willing to sacrifice her life for the children, and he’s had enough of what the BWB has become).

The four of them grab horses and escape. Pod is shot in the back by an archer (so the readers feeling pleased about Hyle Hunt’s demise get whacked with the empathy cudgel) but Brienne, Gendry and Jaime get away. Brienne asks Jaime to forgive her, but he says there’s no need for that, he understands about conflicting oaths (a contrast to his relationship with Cersei, where there’s neither forgiveness nor understanding). Brienne and Jaime bury Pod, like two parents laying a child to rest, and when Jaime sees that Brienne is sinking into despair—she couldn’t save Renly, she couldn’t save Catelyn, she couldn’t save Pod—he knights her and then gives her another mission. Get Gendry to safety, because Gendry is Robert Baratheon’s son.

With both Brienne and a stunned Gendry as witnesses, Jaime makes it clear that Cersei’s children are not Robert’s, so the Lannister regime has no claim to the throne. Not only is he done with lies, after seeing Lady Stoneheart, he realizes that his father’s machinations have done nothing but corrupt and destroy in the end. And at that point, outriders find Jaime and inform him about the complete collapse of order in King’s Landing, and Cersei’s flight from the capital. Jaime gives Brienne a what did I tell you? look and kisses her goodbye. While he suspects that the undead Catelyn Stark will have it out for Walder Frey and all his ilk, Jaime couldn’t care less about them, and there’s no way to warn Daven before the second Red Wedding, so Jaime (“I am amply provisioned in cousins”) writes Daven off and rides for Casterly Rock.

What Jaime doesn’t realize is that the BWB also knows about Edmure being sent to Casterly Rock, thanks to Tom o’Sevens. And the BWB has been growing in numbers, taking in northmen and rivermen who are survivors of the Red Wedding and who want revenge. Lady Stoneheart splits her forces, sending a smaller group to intercept Edmure’s captors and a larger one, led by herself, to the Twins. The second Red Wedding takes place, and it’s just as bloody as the first, though instead of Walder Frey sitting on the dais enjoying the slaughter, it’s Walder Frey sitting in the same place frozen with terror as he watches his family being cut down. Finally Lady Stoneheart approaches him and he begins pleading for his life, saying he’s an old man and he regrets what he did, can she forgive him? She chokes out, “Mayhaps” (or mayhaps not) and guts him.

In the Vale

At the tourney, Sweetrobin collapses and it’s clear he’s dying. In the confusion, Ser Shadrich grabs his chance and kidnaps Sansa, or tries to. She struggles, and the two of them end up falling into a pool of water. Brienne arrives and intervenes. She’s still got one arm in a splint, but on his best day Shadrich will never be as strong or as determined as Brienne, and he’s quickly overpowered, while Gendry helps Sansa. The commotion attracts attention and the Vale nobility arrive. Harry, a day late and a silver stag short, brings up the rear, and he’s stunned to see that the water has washed most of the dye from Sansa’s hair. Bronze Yohn recognizes her at once now, but before he can say anything, Sansa tells the gathered crowd who she is and asks them to defend her birthright from the usurpers.

She’s picked her moment brilliantly, and the crowd goes wild. Brienne is the first to swear fealty, but Harry is not far behind, since he’s delighted that instead of being forced to marry “Littlefinger’s bastard”, he’s actually wedding the trueborn heir to the greatest estate in the north. But Sansa realizes at once that Brienne didn’t fight to save Sansa Stark, she risked her safety for some girl she didn’t even know, and that means a lot after so many people valuing Sansa mostly for her claim to Winterfell. 

The happy moment is blighted by the news that Sweetrobin has died. Harry makes the appropriate sounds of regret, but it’s clear all his birthdays are happening at once. Sansa is much more broken up about Sweetrobin’s death, especially since she knows who’s culpable here, but she manages to keep it together. She knows Littlefinger is watching for any sign that she’s going off script. As Harry organizes the knights of the Vale for their ride north, Brienne and Gendry tell Sansa about her mother and sister. Sansa is horrified by the news of Lady Stoneheart, and sad that Arya has disappeared, though she holds out hope that having survived so much, Arya will live through whatever else happens. Gendry tells her a bit more about Arya, in a way that shows he still has a soft spot for her (even after meeting Sansa, it’s clear he likes Arya more). Sansa, Littlefinger, Brienne, Gendry, and the Vale nobility set off north.

In Dorne

Areo Hotah and Obara Sand track Gerold Dayne down and kill him. So passeth the Darkstar of Dorne, we shall never see his like again, and we are all grateful. However, in High Hermitage, they discover that Edric Dayne was apparently a milk brother to Jon Snow, Ned Stark’s bastard, and they also find out about Rhaegar bringing Lyanna to the tower of joy, which is where Arthur Dayne died trying to keep Ned from reaching his sister.

Then word arrives from Sunspear—Arianne has confirmed that Aegon is Princess Elia’s son, and Dorne is going to war. Obara rides to join the Dornish forces, while Areo returns to Doran’s side and discovers that firstly, Aegon has offered for Arianne’s hand, and secondly, King’s Landing is in chaos and the Lannister regime toppling. Doran has a glimpse of the vengeance for Elia and the Targaryen restoration that he’s dreamed of for so long. Except Areo then tells Doran about everything they learned at High Hermitage, and Doran starts putting two and two together. Is it more likely that the Kingsguard most loyal to Rhaegar died to defend his mistress, or died to defend his son?

In Winterfell

The atmosphere in the castle is claustrophobic. Everyone is paranoid and teetering on the brink of violence. Ramsay is having the surviving spearwives and Abel the bard interrogated, but it’s clear that none of them know where Theon and Jeyne are, and there’s no chance of Ramsay getting them back unaided. Then comes the news that the first attack on Stannis’s forces has failed spectacularly, resulting in the death of Aenys Frey. Hosteen Frey takes control of the surviving troops and regroups them for a second strike, convinced that Stannis’s men must be starving and frozen by now, unable to effectively fight back. He rides out to do battle, but the Manderly forces with him turn back at the last minute. In the blizzard, Hosteen Frey and the rest of the Frey-Bolton loyalists are lured to the frozen lake, and the ice gives way under them.

A survivor makes it back to Winterfell, and before he dies, he manages to tell Roose what happened. Wyman Manderly has been waiting for this, and he makes a dramatic entrance, injured but triumphant. He tells Roose the Stark boys are alive, Davos Seaworth is bringing one back, and the Manderly forces are declaring for Stannis. As a final crowning touch, he tells them about the Frey pies. The Boltons slaughter him and his few defenders, but the Boltons have lost and Roose knows it. Not only is the news of the Frey pies such a shock that it sends Walda Bolton into premature labor, but Roose discovers that the reason Wyman made this suicidal speech, with only a few loyal men about him, was so he could distract the Frey-Bolton men in Winterfell long enough for the rest of his men to escape, and of course they’ll be joining Stannis.

Barbrey Dustin decides to cut her losses. Ramsay is like a cornered animal at this point and just looking for anyone to vent his rage on. He turns on her in a misguided attempt at intimidating the Dustin-Ryswell faction. Roose tries to put Ramsay back in his place, and Ramsay snaps completely. He murders Roose. In the chaos, the Dustins and Ryswells make a hasty exit. Ramsay seizes control of Winterfell, and though it’s obvious to everyone that he’s got hours at best to enjoy his rule, Ramsay isn’t intelligent enough to see this. He sends the Pink Letter and braces for Stannis’s retaliation.

The Manderly forces meet up with Stannis and present him with a letter signed with Wyman’s seal, telling him the truth about Davos. Stannis desperately wants to believe this, but can’t be sure—what if this is a trick? He’s pretty sure, though, that the Frey-Bolton forces have been seriously weakened, and one assault on Winterfell should be enough. The northmen want the old gods placated before they make this assault, though, so Stannis turns Theon over to them to be executed before a heart tree. That’s when Bran speaks through the tree, and Stannis realizes that Wyman was telling the truth—Bran and Rickon are still alive. Theon confirms this, and the northmen reluctantly decides to spare Theon, though there’s a definite sense of “he’s going to be executed somewhere down the line, just not now, since he didn’t kill his foster brothers and we might need to find out more from him”. The one thing Theon doesn’t tell anyone is that “Arya” is actually Jeyne.

Stannis’s army takes Winterfell using intel provided by Bran, and Ramsay is taken prisoner. Turns out the Bastard’s Boys aren’t so loyal when their lives are at stake. Stannis has Ramsay sacrificed to R’hllor. His men are fortifying Winterfell when news arrives from the Wall that Jon Snow has been murdered.

At the Wall

Fighting breaks out between the Night’s Watch mutineers, the Night’s Watch loyalists and the Free Folk. Melisandre receives a vision about burning Jon’s body, but when she does this, with Ghost in attendance (because GRRM loves his puns), Jon comes back to life. Melisandre tries to make him use the miracle to calm everyone down and unite them, but Jon’s understandably not in the best state of mind. He says his watch ended with his death, and he leaves for Winterfell (still thinking that Arya is there). Melisandre goes with him. The situation at the Wall becomes even more chaotic… until the Wall itself begins to tremble.

In Braavos

Justin Massey and Jeyne Poole arrive in Braavos, since Justin heard about Jon’s murder, so there’s no one to return “Arya” to now. In Braavos, Arya hears about her supposed arrival, and recognizes Jeyne. She also hears that they’re returning north, to Winterfell. The Faceless Men discover what happened to Raff the Sweetling, and they decide this is the last such deliberate insubordination from Arya. Wearing a new face, she grabs Needle and persuades Justin or “Arya” to take her with them. Justin has managed to hire all the sellswords and mercenaries Stannis needs, so they return. En route, Arya tells Jeyne the truth (she’s returning home, she’s reclaiming her identity), but they keep it a secret for now.

In the Dothraki Sea

With Drogon’s help, Daenerys takes over Jhaqo’s khalasar, then feeds him to her dragon before she tells the khalasar that she is going to Vaes Dothrak (she remembers her vision in the House of the Undying). Most of the khalasar follow her there, but messengers peel off to contact other khalasars and bring them all to Vaes Dothrak. The dosh khaleen resist initially, but perform a ritual which convinces them (and incidentally, gets blood all over them, which mirrors the ritual they performed back in the first book and explains why they’re crawling naked from the water in Dany’s vision). The khalasars arrive, and Dany unites them, then leads the ride back to Meereen.

[cranehusbands]

the sharp end of a dull blade

felix hugo fraldarius/hubert von vestra; canon compliant; white clouds; pre-relationship, realisation of feelings; one-sided(?); no cws. 2791 words

a/n: yippee i did it. after realising im a little sleepy bitch and not wanting to fight my wifi to post, i ended up going from seven fics to four and im saving one of my original plots for edelgard rarepair week at the end of july so. we stay silly. happy fire emblem everybody

likes < reblogs, any comments in the tags are appreciated!

ao3 mirror in the reblogs!

“Do you think there is any merit to his incessant exclamations?” 

The question posed to Hubert was one he should have answered quickly as assuredly, as he did with most everything else. This time, however, it had been a query that did not, in fact, register to him as anything more than white noise. Hands behind his back, stood in the shadows of the training grounds as if the sun would burn the flesh from his bones, the mage was enraptured by the scene before him. It was like some wanton war dance, watching two bodies go back and forth in training, at something of a constant near stalemate, though it was clear to most anyone who was winning. The two artists in question were as different from each other as one could conjure; the first was Ferdinand von Aegir, the irritating, annoying pest that he was, hair sticking to his forehead as he grinned through exhaustive breaths. The second, and clearly not struggling as much to keep up with a constant barrage of strength and speed, was Felix Hugo Fraldarius, a future duke from the Kingdom, armed with his sword and a stern expression. For every time Ferdinand launched an attack toward the boy, Felix parried with ease; and every time Felix took advantage of Ferdinand’s momentary weakness, it was a wonder he wasn’t knocked over onto his behind. His eyes narrowed, watching Ferdinand swing to the side at a rather wide angle in some grandiose, but predictable, sweeping motion, giving Felix enough time to jump back before striking just at the base of his opponent’s ribs in a fierce jab, the blow finally strong enough to knock the wind out of Ferdinand’s metaphorical sails, and more literally to the floor, with a loud and rather surprised cry.

The win of their little duel had been decided the moment it had been proposed. While a talented lance man- a compliment Hubert would take to his grave, for he suspected if Ferdinand knew his training was being both observed and praised, no one would hear the end of it- he was simply too far outmatched in this particular duel. Though lithe and of shorter stature, Felix carried strength in all the correct places, his sword an extension of himself and that power rather than some glorified flagpole to wave around. His weapon struck true at every opportunity it could, and remained reigned and close enough to defend himself when there was none. He was a burning flame, patient, powerful and well-trained for now, but he had the capacity to burn brighter, and faster, and wilder still- perhaps, if he were not from Faerghus, he could make a fine addition to the Imperial army- 

“Hubert? Are you listening to me?”

Hubert blinked himself out of his trance, watching as Ferdinand pushed himself to his feet with a gleeful, too-loud laugh, looking to Edelgard stood at his side. The two of them had taken refuge in the shade, together, at the insistence of the future prime minister (“I want the both of you to witness my might and resolve!” he had said, stupidly, with that stupid smile on his face). That was the only reason he had ventured out here at all. 

He gripped onto his wrist behind his back tighter, silently admonishing himself for such a childish display of distraction. “I… apologise, Lady Edelgard.”

The young woman raised an eyebrow up at him, apparently disregarding his shame and simply repeating herself instead. “I was asking about Ferdinand.”

“And what of him?”

“Do you think his claims hold any merit- about his ability to surpass me?”

Hubert ran his tongue alongside the back of his teeth in minor vexation. He knew of what she spoke- after all, it was harder to not hear of such assertions, spoken so assuredly as if they were already true, despite how inexcusable, childish, and overall- incredibly, undeniably wrong they were. But more importantly, he understood her true meaning. They were, after all, so close to seeing their plan to fruition. She wanted to know if this was going to be a threat- if someone such as Ferdinand could undo most everything they had worked hard to achieve. Such a thought could have made him laugh out loud, but Hubert kept himself measured and schooled with ease. “Absolutely not.”

Edelgard hummed, as if this was the answer she expected, looking back out to the training grounds again. “And has anyone else caught your attention?”

The mage paused, glancing down at the floor to consider for a moment. He knew exactly what she meant by such a statement, and had no interest in sabotaging their plans for the future by asking for clarification. Through his bangs, he was slow to meet the slender form of the swordsman he was just observing, cleaning his training blade and trying to pretend his opponent was not there, begging for a rematch. “...Perhaps so.”

The day continued on quickly, soon turning to night. And, just like most other nights, Hubert did not find sleep easy. Years spent watching over his charge, in case the night decided to be cruel to her, in combination with his own afflictions of paranoia, meant that the night was not for rest. It was instead meant for keeping busy, be it in his own experiments or other various machinations not known to his classmates or even his lady whom he served so loyally- dealing with problematic elements that may get in the way of their plans for the future, such as enemies within the school and faculty, or those who simply knew too much, as well as seeking out any possible sympathetic individuals. Edelgard doubted their professor’s loyalty- Hubert needed to make sure to pad out their armies for the oncoming war as much as possible. That was the excuse he used to return to the training grounds, lamenting where his feet had taken him as the moon hung over him like an ever present watcher, full of ire as he stared at the door. Just what was he hoping to find there? A glimpse of that same fire he had seen in the afternoon, flickering and burning just as it was then, now all for himself? Hubert growled to himself as he pushed through the door with both hands-

-And the fire still flickered, just as he had dared to hoped it would.

Felix did not turn to face him as he entered the training grounds, despite the loud groaning of the old doors, continuing with the repetitive swing of the sword he once again held, or perhaps never put down again. He was still in the training grounds by the time Hubert had left with Edelgard and Ferdinand for lunch, already taking a new challenger after all attempts his last one made to gain a rematch had failed (as they had been thoroughly ignored, with admirable decorum), so he did not doubt the boy had remained throughout the afternoon late into the evening, that had swiftly become night.

The mage kept his arms behind his back, watching with mild interest at the strength Felix carried in his movements, how his shoulders moved and strained beneath his uniform with the swiftness of the weapon cutting through the cool midnight air, almost as efficiently as any well trained soldier. He really would make a fine general. If only he was to fight on the right side of history, then such skill would not be put to waste. 

There was a moment or two more, where the wind was cut in two, before the movements stopped and Felix straightened his posture. A sigh left him, annoyed and heavy, before he lowered his sword to turn with a glower, just enough to shoot it in the other man’s direction. “You. What do you want?”

Hubert did not know. He lied anyway. “I came to watch you train. Is that an issue?”

“You watched me enough this afternoon. What more could there possibly be to see?”

Behind his back, he flexed a hand, with a gentle hum of acknowledgement as Felix fully turned to face him, stance defensive (though not fearful, or even apprehensive, as many other students would be, if they were to face the mage this late into the night) and sword still in hand. “There’s no gauge for ‘enough’, with things of this nature.”

“Fighting is not a spectator sport.” He had little patience for most people, and Hubert was not exempt from such a rule. “Either you pick up a weapon and duel me, or you leave.”

There was something of a subtle grimace that passed over the mage’s features, there and gone just as quickly, at such behaviour- though, such inhospitality could hardly be criticised, especially by him, a man whose few conversations began and ended with his devotion and his purpose, but never himself. It wasn't as if he considered Felix’s sentiments to be wrong, either- time was a precious and finite commodity, and needed to be used wisely, whether it be for training for an unspecified purpose or following the whims of a woman meant for greater things. 

Hubert’s eyes moved over to the rack of weapons towards the back, to the sword and axes and lances maintained to perfection. He has not picked up such a martial thing in many years, not since he was a small, stupid and weak boy of barely seven, attempting to try and wield a lance far too big for his tiny, frail form, in some futile attempt to follow a nonsensical pipe dream of becoming a pegasus knight. This, of course, had been before he'd had the sense knocked into him, metaphorically and literally, and the idea that he was anything more than an extension of his lady’s will of change was snuffed out soon after. His attention had been turned to magic after that, and it had served his purposes far better than a weapon of traditional means ever would. Still… even despite himself, he found himself considering it once more, a feeling stirring in him that hadn't been there since he could remember. 

Hubert looked back to Felix, still staring at him expectantly, standing entirely still. “...I am hardly the strong opponent you seek.”

There was a hum of consideration, as the mage was observed again, eyes sweeping up and down, as if evaluating the worth of facing an adversary that wouldn't advance his battle prowess. It was odd to watch, the sweeping of feelings in subtle changes in features, from disinterest to curiosity to want- want, Hubert thought with some bitter amusement- before Felix spoke again. “...I don't care. Now arm yourself, or leave me be.”

He considered the swordsman for a moment, as he turned away once more, assuming the same position as before, as if expecting the door to the training grounds to open and close again. Hubert ground his teeth for a moment, biting down to stop an unnecessary errant comment, still holding onto the feeling that recalling a time before his vassalage, and the feeling of being wanted, if only for a moment, and only for a purpose. He swallowed, pausing for a moment more, before striding past Felix towards the weapon rack, and unsheathing a wooden lance, the weight unfamiliar in his hands. 

And for a moment, he swore he saw the beginnings of a smile on Felix’s face. 

Such joy, however, did not last long. Like Hubert had said, he was not strong with a lance, not experienced in such a field. Though he held the advantage of height over his opponent, it was a factor that hardly mattered at all- Felix just had too much strength and ferocity for Hubert to block and, much like the bout he’d witnessed earlier in the afternoon, his own swings with the lance were too wide and too sloppy, easily being dodged out of the way like passing wind His anger at his own inadequacy only made this problem worse, too, especially with the off-handed comments about his technique that we're spoken so assuredly, as if they were wanted or asked for. If this had been a match between the sword and his magic, perhaps it could have been more evenly matched- a manipulation of Mire, maybe, to make the terrain temporarily difficult, or make movements more sluggish. But even then, the assault was relentless, and the margin for victory was only slightly more open, if the mage was able to use the tools he was more comfortable with. 

Even in the cold air of the evening, he could feel his shirt sticking to the back of his neck from the sweat of exertion. His lungs felt like they were on fire, though not more ablaze than the man in front of him, caught in the rush of the fight as he went for another swing to the side. Hubert barely had time to block with the length of his lance, but by then, it was already too late- the end of the sword jabbed into his ribs, sucking the air out of his lungs as he stumbled backwards, the world around him going white for a moment as he fell backwards.

The lance clattered to the floor, unceremoniously landing a foot or so in front of him as he joined it with a sharp intake of breath, fire shooting up his spine at the pain of his tailbone hitting the dirt. Hubert gritted his teeth into a grimace, before he growled, hair hiding his face in his embarrassment, "This is useless, and a waste of my time.”

“You’re not taking this seriously.”

The mage gave a huff of indignation, as his eyes shot up again in a glare. “Now why, pray tell, would I not be taking this seriously? You were the one who insisted I stayed, and I obliged, in a way I now see was a regrettable decision, so I ask that you don’t speak of this to anyone and-”

His ramblings were cut short by the feeling of the training lance hitting his foot. Hubert glanced up, assuming from posture that Felix had kicked the weapon over to him again.

“…What are you doing?”

“Pick it up.”

“What? No, this is absurd, and pointless. Now if you don’t mind-”

The end of the blade (not sharp, but the formation of the weapon tricked his brain into thinking as much for a second or two) pressed against his throat, just under his chin, bringing the mage to disconcerting silence and stillness. Hubert looked up again at the future duke, amber eyes narrowed in a mix of discontent and curiosity, but most importantly a hunger- to fight or to teach, he could not surmise.

“You aren’t a lost cause, mage. Your lancework needs improvement, but it isn't hopeless. Now pick up your weapon and fight me.”

His throat bobbed in a swallow against the dull point of the training sword, unable to take his eyes off Felix standing over him, barely breaking a sweat from their fight, and a star as cool as steel. If this were a battlefield, if that had been a real sword, Hubert may have delighted in the thrill of having the weapon pressed further into his skin, where blood more than likely would have begun to trickle from a superficial wound, dripping down the lines of his throat and into his shirt. He may even dare to delight in it now, staring up at a face of power and irritation. 

Lady Edelgard needed strong soldiers- powerful soldiers, willing to fight until their dying breath. Felix’s loyalty could not be spoken for, but he was certainly discontented with his position within the Kingdom. If that discontent could be twisted, moulded into something new if the fire could be tamed, it could burn even brighter on new coals. And, perhaps, this was something selfish as well, if Hubert could allow himself that. If he could allow himself a want, to see this wild thing grow into himself and his craft, with the right force at his back to guide his sword. If he could allow himself to want to be that guide, if only to keep the man close to him. If he could allow himself to simply want a man, one as strong and as stubborn and as worthy as the one in front of him, goading him on with naught but a narrowing of his eyes.

Never tearing his gaze away, Hubert reached by his foot, and once more grabbed the lance in a grip tight enough for it to show. If only to watch Felix huff a laugh and pull his sword away to prepare for another round, stoking a fire within himself.

[ghostofasimov]

Unfortunately, while not Vitrification nor an update to Symposium, I’ve been getting back into my writing projects after a really rough summer and have a 10k one-shot I’m close to finishing to offer as a treat for you all for being such patient readers!

If anyone is a fan of angst leading to a very steamy spar session with an established secret relationship, this one is definitely for you ;)

As an added treat—here’s a little preview snip below!

Spock dipped his head, his voice low and breath not close enough in the space between them.  “I will remind you, we made the terms clear to one another that our involvement would not impact the ship’s affairs.  Do not allow it to do so.”

Jim could feel his nostrils flare, and his temper seep out from under his control “I’m well within my right as your commanding officer to question your ability to participate in a landing party after a severe injury, Commander.  You saw the instant that explosion happened and not a moment after it.  You didn’t see the wreckage.  The rest of the landing party.  You didn’t see all the—“  He stopped as his throat constricted.  “When I saw you under that rubble, I thought you were dead, and you’re expecting me to clear you for the duty roster, just like that?”

“I am asking you to understand that I am not human, and that your standards for personnel recovery do not apply to me.”

“You’re not.  But you’re not indestructible, either.”  He wanted to see red, but all he could see was green.  Too much green.  Spilling, seeping, staining, even as he’d rinsed it down the drain.  

Spock didn’t respond to that.  “At any rate, the decision will lie with Doctor McCoy whether or not I am fit for duty.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that the duty roster is still mine to decide.”

“And if the medical data agrees with you, I shall respect that decision unquestionably.”

Jim shook his head, turning reaching for his towel to wipe the sweat from his brow.  “I’m sorry, Spock.  But even if McCoy thinks you’re ready, I’m not willing to put you on anything more than light-duty.  Not right now.  That’s what I believe will be the most beneficial to the landing party.”

“Their benefit, or yours, Captain?”

Something in him snapped, a jaw trap deep in a wound as he whipped around, closing the distance between them and making no effort to hide the fury on his face.  “Fine.  If we’re at a stalemate and neither of us is proving his point to the other, we’re doing this the hard way.  Spar with me.”

Spock was taken aback by the demand, his eyes softening as they raked over his body.  “You are exhausted, I do not think it wise—“

“Spar with me, or its a hard no,” he said, his tone strict and eyes unwavering as he issues Spock the challenge.  “You win, I let you on the duty roster if McCoy clears you.  You lose, and I don’t want to hear you countermand my decision on this again. Understood?”

[aterabyte]

i absolutely wanna hear the spicy elden ring takes for 7 & 12

12. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

Okay okay so. The main ones are Radahn and Godfrey, especially Radahn. Godfrey is ultimately just dudebros being kind of annoying about how big and strong and masculine he is (tbh I wouldn't be inclined to like him to begin with even if I think his voice is hot). Pretty standard stuff tbh.

But! BUT! Radahn's fandom is FILLED with people who love to ignore that Radahn was also a belligerent in the Shattering, and hate Malenia out of blatant misogyny, insisting that Radahn curb-stomped her, that he was only her equal because he was holding back, that she bloomed because she was losing and her ego couldn't handle it (when she's stated to have been in a stalemate and to have "cast aside her pride" or similar, suggesting that her blooming was rather the opposite of being for her ego), and all around being just the fucking worst lmfao. This is especially unfortunate as I think Radahn is a genuinely good and interesting character! I just can't muster up anything more than resigned ambivalence because of the fandom.

Also I hate the Soldier of Godrick but that's just because the Rick jokes are oversaturated, not because I actually think there's a problem with them.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

First of all, I like Gideon Ofnir in that I love to hate him. He has a great voice that's fun to listen to while I fantasize about reaching his boss fight because everything he says with that voice is terrible and awful and he's the worst. Also he's a lazy little bitchboy who, even as bad a fighter as he is, is still very powerful and could've easily curb-stomped all of Stormveil plus Godrick (not to mention, until the end of the game, he's the only other tarnished with the will to keep going for the throne, and is thus the only one still guided by grace, which to my understanding means that he still has infinite lives just like you) and yet he prefers to just tell everyone else to do his dirty work. What a pathetic and awful old man I love him.

I mean I am forever a Malenia stan. Obviously I support women's wrongs and would frankly love her even if all that I'm about to say didn't apply, but also like. Not in that I don't think she's ultimately to blame for nuking Caelid lmfao but I think there's a lot more factors at play here than just "she chose to bloom because she couldn't risk losing" (regardless of whether the take posits She Just Couldn't Handle It or a more sympathetic and accurate reason like feeling it was the only way to accomplish her brother's goals).

Like for one, I get the impression that the Scarlet Rot actively wants her to release it, and she spent her whole life fighting against the will of an Outer God that constantly wanted her to let its rot out.

For two, I suspect she thought the damage from blooming would be more limited than it actually was in practice—not because I don't think she'd knowingly do horrible things to win (she'd do anything to achieve Miquella's goals) but because a) I doubt she'd nuke her own army like that, even though they're clearly willing to die from her rot just by being in her presence and b) this one is more conjecture but I'd bet money she figured whatever damage she did cause Miquella could undo once the stars were set back in motion.

For three, we just don't know how aware she was that if she died she'd bloom anyway. That's kind of a big one and frankly as far as I can tell there's literally no indications in any direction. Maybe she had no idea and she bloomed because she felt she needed to win and move forward. Maybe she did know and didn't think she could win or didn't think she could win fast enough for her heavily outnumbered army to survive. Maybe she did know and had reason to believe that if she died and bloomed it would be worse than if she bloomed willingly. We just don't know! This one is entirely up to personal interpretation!

Of course ultimately even with the most charitable take, she did still choose to be there, she chose to carry out Miquella's plans and lead her army across the Entirety of the Lands Between to Caelid. She is still a terrible person—just like literally every demigod lol. It's kind of a running them that they're all monsters, some well intentioned, some really not, but even Ranni, who provides the best outcome by far for the Lands Between, orchestrated the event that precipitated the Shattering in order to carry out her schemes. Anyone who thinks any of the demigods (at least that we've seen) are good guys has missed the whole point.

Now if you'll excuse me I'll also be over here stanning Rykard, whose most notable material contribution to the Lands Between is robot iron maidens on wheels with axes. that are on chains.

[odyssey-owl]

TGTB&B Rewrite Scene 12

(Note: This is a rewrite of the AIO episode "The Good, The Bad, And Butch." The original episode dialogue was written by Marshal Younger. Any added/removed/altered dialogue and actions were written by me!)

The boys sat cross legged on top of Sam's bed, a chess board in between them. It was their third game that afternoon. Sam won the first within minutes, but they called off the second game because it had turned into a stalemate. It seemed that Sam would win the third game, too.

"Check."

"Where?"

"My bishop."

"Oh." Butch stared at the board, calculating his next move. "You know, there was something I wanted to tell you, something funny." He blocked with a pawn. "I can't remember what it was."

"If it's a dirty joke, I don't want to hear it." Sam slid his knight two spaces up, and one to the right. It hit the same space as the pawn, so Sam removed it from the board. "Check. Again."

"Look, I'm sorry." Butch shifted his king a space backwards. "We usually don't do that at our meetings."

Sam looked up from the board. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Why are you in the Bones of Rath?"

Butch folded his arms, and leaned back. "What do you mean?"

"Whenever you're with them, you just get into trouble. Why do you want to do that?"

He shrugged. "I dunno."

"How can you even stand being with them?" Sam shuddered. He moved the knight again. "I couldn't wait to get out of that meeting yesterday. With you guys telling those jokes..."

Butch cut him off. "I quit."

"W-What?"

"I quit the Bones."

"Really?"

"Yeah, yesterday," Butch stuttered, "After the meeting, uh, I quit."

Sam nearly leapt over the chessboard. "Butch, that's great!"

"Yeah," He laughed nervously, "I don't need those guys."

"I didn't even know you were thinking about quitting."

"Oh, sure, f-for a while now. A couple weeks, even months. Months."

"This really changes things."

"Yeah." Butch looked back down to the chess board. In their excitement, neither of the boys had noticed that Butch was now in checkmate.

Sam didn't even seem to care about the game at that point. He slid off the bed and walked past Butch, to the bookshelf on the opposite side of the room. "Hey, listen, I found something I wanted you to see."

Butch wished that Sam would turn around, holding the tickets. If Sam brought up the banquet in conversation, Butch wouldn't even need to ask.

No such luck. Sam ducked down to the shelf below the tickets, searching for something.

It was now or never. Butch stood up and moved behind Sam. "Look, I gotta go, but I wanted to ask you about the banquet?" He took a breath and talked quickly. "Do you have any extra ti-"

A Bible was shoved into his hands. "Here," Sam's eyes hovered on the Bible for a moment. "Look at this."

"It's... a Bible."

"Do you remember it? It's mine, but I let you borrow it for a while 'cause you lost yours." Sam reached over and flipped open the front cover of the Bible. On the paper was scrawled a short prayer in Butch's handwriting. "Read it."

"Dear Jesus," Butch started. "Thanks for the trees and the sun and the water and dogs. And for my best friend Sam. Thank you for moving him next door to me." Butch looked up as he finished reading the prayer. "Amen."

Sam met his eyes. "After I found it in there, I read it over and over. Memorized it. You were the best friend I'd ever had."

There was a long pause between them.

Sam finally broke eye contact and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I thought you might like to see that." He walked towards his bed to put the chess pieces away. "Now, what did you say about the banquet?"

Butch was shaking. When he didn't answer, Sam turned around. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Butch was deathly pale. "I-I just..."

"You look like you're going to be sick." Sam dropped the chess pieces and rushed over. He held Butch by the shoulders.

Butch froze. "I'm okay." He let Sam take the Bible and guide him to a chair, in which he sat down, then pulled away. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering..."

"Wondering what?"

Butch took a deep breath. "Could I go with you to the banquet tonight?" He tried to play it off, although his voice wavered. "I mean... You still got an extra ticket, right?"

Sam hesitated, thinking. He made his way back over to the shelf. Placing the Bible on top and reaching for the pair of tickets, something dawned on him. "Why?"

"I just... I want to go." Butch's eyes stayed glued to the floor. "I've never been to one."

Sam shrugged. "It's not really that exciting."

"That's okay."

"It's two hours long."

"That's fine, I wanna go, okay?"

"Okay," Sam handed Butch one ticket. "You can come."

"Fine, I'll see you tonight. I'll meet you here." Butch squeaked the chair back. "I gotta get out of here." His hand reached for the doorknob.

"Okay, well..." The door closed. He didn't even look back. "Butch?"

He was gone.