#they r like an ineffable family

[victavare]

Godfathers

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Propaganda:

For Vanoe: "vanitas promised his canon love interest, as a romantic gesture, that if she started to become a monster, he would kill her so she wouldn't have to suffer. and then later when discussing how vanitas will eventually turn into a monster himself, he said he wants noe to kill him when that time comes. pretty yuri. also i'm a lesbian and i like them"

"Idk they have such a homoerotic shoujo manga dynamic but they're guys. Or maybe not that much but you gotta admit this would be exquisite yuri if they were girls. Noé the gothic romance heroine etc etc"

For Wenzhou: "Basically in their family unit Wen Kexing is the wife but Zhou Zishu is the mom. Also there are lots of genderbends of them around but the best ones are those where Wen Kexing goes super hard on femme but Zhou Zishu deadass has the same personality and appearance - like shoutout to those artists/writers u r the real ones. Also lesbian Zishu still being called "husband" by Wen Kexing, mwah chef's kiss! He would SO be a butch."

"Wen Kexing is compared to a wife twice in the show and at least once in the book iirc. Canon malewife + wears red eyeshadow and rocks a red robe in his Ghost Valley Master getup + his husband is an emo assassin, they are so incredibly yuri even if they're guys"

For Ineffable Husbands: "Well due to neil mentioning that they was plans for a fem presenting 1960s scene of the two of them that never ended up happening, there's a lot of fanart of that. Plus, they are an angel and a demon, and both technically don't follow the gender rules of humans and many other species on earth, so while they do present very masculine throughout the show, they could be any gender and therefore they seem very fitting for this.(I do apologize as I don't quite understand what guy Yuri is despite your definition so I am guessing and have no clue if they count."

"Looks like m/m on first glance but they don't actually really have gender and Crowley dresses as a woman for a good few years canonically"

"theyre male presenting in the show but they dont really have gender so they could be wlw if they wanted to"

"While both characters spend most of their time presenting as male, they are supernatural beings without any real sex or gender. Crowley appears as a woman multiple times, and one scrapped scene included both Aziriphale and Crowley as women in the 1960s. Additionally, it’s very common to find “Ineffable Wives” fanworks, with both characters appearing as women. As well as having been an immensely popular fandom ship for many years, it has been confirmed that Aziriphale and Crowley are canonically in love with each other."

"Regularly turned into women in fanart. Both Aziraphale and Crowley are incredibly gender. They have been together in some sort of way for 6000 years. Heavy yearning. Cringefail. Divorced and married at the same time. Literally an angel and a demon. What more could you want?"

"theyre literally genderless and can be anything ever!!!"

"Their genders are ineffable and they have hopelessly pined for centuries"

[lexical-lushes]

[Shivers, Vampiric] so, m-me, specifically. one of my facets.

there's two versions of me, r-really - one that's modern urban fantasy and one that's eberron-specific - b-but they're both fundamentally similar.

a g-girl wants desperately to have friends, and she does a lot of s-stupid things to keep people around. she becomes the girl that will do p-pretty much anything for attention. mostly, it means she hangs out with p-people older than she should be and going to parties she should know better than to attend and drinking too much and doing whatever drugs people offer her even when she's scared. she ends up keeping a lot of beds warm. she ends up a lot of places without beds.

but at least people keep her around because she's fun, right?

(this is how a lot of shiverses' stories go.)

but then one night with her head spinning she catches the wrong boy's attention, and the next thing she knows she has a set of fangs in her neck and she's dead not long after that.

but she doesn't s-stay dead.

she wakes up the next evening, and everything is different.

...in one version, she never sees her sire again and her life falls apart. she can't bring herself to feed the horrible hunger she's developed. she can't bear to see the few friends or family she still has left.

she rots away under an overpass, gnawing on her own arm, until someone kind starts to take pity on the weird homeless girl she walks past every evening heading back from work.

she makes a friend. she makes something more than that.

and she finds ways to earn her keep. a kind heart still needs blood to keep pumping, can only give so much to feed a hunger that never abates.

but perhaps there are people out there, people who have hurt such a kind heart, that might deserve to die for it.

...in another version, her sire sticks around. he's a pirate, a bloodsail, and he wasn't, strictly, supposed to sire her. undeath must be paid for, you see - immortality is a privilege. but all she knows is her utter certainty in serving her sire, her undying love for him, the bond between master and spawn.

until the rest of the bloodsails catch wind of what he's done and kill him for good.

they let her live, though. maybe they even help her get back on her feet, set up a payment plan. she's done nothing wrong, after all, but still - undeath must be paid for.

so she does what she's good at. she still has her body, and oh, it can take so much more punishment than it ever could before. sometimes someone wants a punching bag for a night just as much as they want to share a warm bed. her prices are cheap - she needs to eat, a-after all, but if you'll let her bite you you can do whatever you like with her before you pay.

a little bit, she likes the pain.

a little bit, she feels l-like she deserves it.

time slips by. she doesn't grow older. she covets what her clients have - experience, wisdom, some ineffable quality of maturity that she always wanted for herself. she can taste it in their blood and s-she's so certain that if she listens hard enough to what they say and stays near enough them she can, somehow, absorb it for herself.

so she does what she's good at. time had been passing by so quickly until that night, and then... it wasn't anymore.

...and then one day adventure finds her and sweeps her off her feet.

[stylesfics-xx]

stylesfics-xx 2020 Fic Recs

These are the fics&oneshots I have really enjoyed this year, in no particular order! Thank you to all the writers who share their work with us.

Complete Fics

you feel like home by @luminescencefics

nuclear family by @writingsfromhome

Doctor Harry by @loudsuitlover 

Only Human by @hsogolden

One Thing Led To Another by @halfwaygones

Office Neighbours by @atlafan

Fine Line, ‘Cause Nothing Feels Like Home, Look At You With Your Mouth Watering by @harryforvogue

Strange Tides by @theasstour

Stay With Me by @hstylespal

Someday, Someday (sequel Twenty Good Reasons), Sail The Wildest Stretch by @beautifulletdownfics

Collide, January in Japan by @oh-honey-styles

Matchmaking For Experts, Alone Together, Hate & Other Words by @booksncoffee

Rumour Has It by @stylishmuser 

Unplanned, Two Years Too Late by @idkthisisjustforfanfic

Habits of My Heart by @paynethecreator

Pure Feeling (sequel Higher Feeling, ongoing third book Endless Feeling) by @embloomfields

Styles&Co. by @imagine-that-one-thing

Three Rules by @goldenbluesuit

Loving You’s The Antidote (ongoing sequel All I’ve Ever Known) by @sweetcreatureinthedark

Girl Crush by @padfootagain

Temptation, The Only Exception by @bopbopstyles

Who’s Your Daddy? by @inyourhaven

Lighthouse, As You Held Onto Me by @for-fucks-sake-h

Flatmate Series and My Girl Series by @heyyyharry

Hell of a Life by @alexandragramz

Valerie by @watchmegetobsessed

Always by @kind-heart

Tarnish by @hes-writer

Could Be Lethal by @idk-who-she-is

Ongoing Fics

Can’t Stand To See You Lonely by @wroteasongabouther

In My Feelings by @harrystylescherry

The Young and Famous by @verorax

Reconcile by @talesofstyles

Quarantine Harry by @all-things-fic

Less Than Lovers, Baby Love by @paynethecreator

High Noon by @younghearts-stories

Personal Best by @curlsgetgirls

Call Me Cat by @idkthisisjustforfanfic

model!Y/N and ceo!Harry by @and-im-okay-with-it 

All I Ask Of You by @cherrygoldenharry

hold my hand by @harrytheehottie

Pinky Promises by @bouquetofkissesxo

Muse by @inyourhaven

Blurred Lines by @permanentcrossfics

Another World by @sunflowerstache

Sweet As Honey by @c-h-e-r-r-y-y

Alien Crossing by @rosegoldsweetpea

Trick of the Light by @andwhenshesays 

Cloudbusting by @starsstruck

Something About A Feeling by @oh-styles

you’re someone i just want around by @adashofniallandasprinkleoflunacy and @sunflowervolvimp3

Ma Petite Chérie by @svnflowervol666

Oneshots

Can you do mine? by @sadorangejuice

try try again by @snlhostharry

baby it’s cold outside by @havethetimeofyourstyles

only we know, when I look at you by @stylesharrys

quarantining with h, beautiful people by @canyon-moan

kissies, the importance of I love you’s by @sweetsbfreex

the same page by @writingsfromhome

1:32AM by @parkersroses

Holiday Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses, the gala (honeybee) by @berrynarrybanana

Love You, That’s All by @hsluna

Only Wish (This Year) by @cocochannel00

green eyes by @harrystylescherry

santa’s elf by @lovealwaysvictoria

grammy nominations by @muffindaddystyles

Purple Clouds and Tangerine Skies by @mysweetestcreature

Till Death by @heyyyharry

Something New by @atlafan

Our Little Family by @angeliccry

Banana Pancakes by @ill-be-your-honey-bri

“I could just hold you and listen to your voice all night long.” by @pinencurls

Friendly Competition by @hewearsgucci

you won’t want me anymore, make up shows and foot casts by @all-my-love-for-harry

untitled by @harryforvogue

on your side by @harryimaginedstories

reason to hate you by @wellbeafinelime

Liability (Reprise) by @kissypoets

Keep It by @honeyedrasp

flowered hands by @stylesmessiah

changes by @sunflowervolvimp3

sold by @harrywritingsbyme

Zane Lowe Interview by @svnflowervol666

Score by @andwhenshesays

a gingerbread family by @adoremp3

All I Want For Christmas Is You by @goldenbluesuit

Fake, Repeated Proposal by @stardusthes

Falling by @mellowstyles94

Behind The Bar by @bopbopstyles

backpedal by @botanicials

apologies by @autumn-sunflowers 

Adore You, Frosty The Snowman by @gucciwins

A Better Place by @harry-writings

Open, Desert by @bfharry 

The View From Both Sides of The Mirror by @milfzaynmalik

Keys of Truth by @watchmegetobsessed

Mistletoe and Holly by @heart-attack-harry

Bangles by @kissme-hs

Vampire!harry Christmas by @moonchildstyles

if I could go back by @luvelyhs

La Paloma by @for-fucks-sake-h

Girl by @sweetcreatureinthedark

Fics I Keep Going Back To/Think About

Sugar on the Asphalt/Tennessee Teacakes by @justanchorandhope

Awkward Beat/Pregnant Pause by @finding--cat

Forever Hold Your Peace by @cheesewithchips

Boys Don’t Cry by @oxygenstyles

Intrinsic Grey and 1999 by @sammarkumismyhomegirl

Nom de Plume and Dandelion and Burdock by @stylesprimes

Butterfly Boy and The Faux Affair by @looselucy

Salute by @bioluminescentwriting

Not A Bad Thing by @booksncoffee

Journeyman by @littlebird006

Slow Burn by @allywrites

Pure Feeling/Higher Feeling/Endless Feeling by @embloomfields

Come and Fade Me and Bring It Back by @paynethecreator

Bloom by @absolutestyles

In Your Atmosphere by @fromherlips

Love is a Laserquest by @lifeinblueprint

The Golden Hour/Young Blood by @standingfacingwest

The Nice Guy and Valley of the Dolls by @onismanxiety

Twinkle Toes by @konstantine11-11

With the New Crowd by @likeamisfit

Stardust&Silk and Passive Aggressive by @ineffably-styles

Fresh Eyes by @americanowrites

Above Average, First Base by @roselirry

Matched by @mrsmiresa

Snowbound by @permanentcrossfics

Stuck in the Storm by @giantbandgeeks

Fic Rec Pages

@harry-stylesarchives

@bfharryficrec

@harrysficrecs

@harryficlibrary

@ficsr

@harrystylesficrecs

@harrystylesficsienjoy

@harrystyles-conceptsn 

@harryfanfics

@hsfics

@reveriehs

@harryswinterberries

[ngkiscool]

This week’s spotlight is Greasy Johnson, the surplus baby. He appears only on the book and even there very shortly. 

All the fics rated G and without cw, except the last one.

As always - for feedback, suggestion and recommendations (including self recs) comment here or massage me. Enjoy :)

The Birth Of a (Tropical Fish) Champion by OtterFi - 842 words, Greasy and R. P. Tyler.  Summary: Greasy thinks it's alright being known as a 'menace', because at least 'menace' is cooler than 'clumsy.' But it'd be nice to be able to go around and not break something (or someone) for once. The latest act of destruction (a football kicked through a window at Mr Tyler's house) turns out to be the opportunity he's been waiting for.

Always Picked Last by Quefish - 568 words. Summary: A small boy is always picked last, until he makes sure people pick him first. Then he picks up something else that was picked last.

Englishman In New York by ngk_is_cool - 590 words, Greasy and Warlock. Summary: Walter Johnson, AKA Greasy Johnson, meets Warlock Dowling in New York. Or: even the local thug deserves a second chance.

Begin at the End by another_daydream - 778 words, Greasy, Adam Young, Warlock and Crowley. Summary: Upon his exit from Angel Aquarium in Islington, with arms loaded with salts and chemicals, George Johnson was not expecting to hear his childhood nickname of “Greasy! Oi, Greasy! Over here!” echo along Essex Road. 

The Tadfield Expatriate Club Of Allegheny County by Lanna Michaels (lannamichaels) - 2K, Greasy,  Adam Young and Warlock. Summary: It's the year 2000 and the Antichrist walks in Pittsburgh. Sometimes he takes the bus.

Adam believes in karma, so it exists by Stinastar - 209 words, Greasy and The Them. Summary: If you mess with Adam/the Them, it will bite you in the butt. 

and the antichrist makes three by pepperfield - Greasy, Crowley and Aziraphale.  Summary: It almost sounds like the start of a joke: an angel, a demon, and a superfluous baby walk into a bar, only the baby can’t walk yet, of course, and the demon’s odd stride is more of a saunter than a walk, really, and by “bar” we actually mean “domestic family situation."

The Tadfield Secondary Players by attheborder, malicegeres - 14K, Greasy, Adam Young, Crowley and Aziraphale.   Summary: Colin "Greasy" Johnson's aspirations as a prodigy playwright are put to the test by a panel of judges. After all, who better to evaluate a play about the apocalypse, than an angel and a demon who were really there? Even better: three pairs of angels and demons, each from a slightly different universe.

Mitzvah by Jenrose - 24K,  Greasy, Adam Young, Crowley and Aziraphale (and more). Summary: Three boys, call them a shell game, call them a card trick, the fact is that they’re all struggling as they turn thirteen, and Adam decides it’s time they know the truth. Featuring the Lord Almighty in an epic Grandma Photobomb, and the potential formation of an Ineffable Footie League (IFL) because war is nonsense.

Our Gentle Sin by BlackUnicorn - 12K, Greasy, Crowley, Aziraphale, Gabriel, Beelzebub, Warlock (and more). cw - Kidnapping Summary: A 16-year-old boy arrives in London in search of something that he cannot name but that he might or might not find in an old bookshop in Soho. Another 16-year-old boy is having a normal summer day, until he isn’t. A third 16-year-old boy is kidnapped by a Demon seeking revenge on another Demon, and all the while an ethereal and an occult being try their best to protect the future.

Don’t forget to comment, reblog and send recs!

[char-lotteral]

Trouvaille

It's two days late but what else is new <33 Happy NHmonth everywan!!

"In this age, in this time, and even in the afterlife, will my soul continue to seek for yours."

She was a common servant. He was a regal prince. He wants her. She yearns for him. But fate had other plans for them

Chapter 1: Kindled Spirits

Hinata never believed in miracles.

The concept in itself was ridiculous to bear.

But the moment their eyes clashed with one another, she saw the ineffable stream of the universe, ebbing and flowing in his cerulean.

He smiled. Her heart stopped.

She’s noticed his silhouette lingering in the palace, his aura too bright to ignore. That sunlit smile, those golden streaks of hair, his sapphire eyes.

His eyes.

The same set of eyes that had once stared longingly at her, the same shade of blue that snuck secretive glances her way.

Her, a mere servant. And him, a grand prince.

She grew up in the palace, raised and taken care of. The handmaidens had brought her in when she was left at the palace doorstep in the night chambers.

Her hands calloused, her clothes wrinkled and not a day went by when she hadn’t had a single misplaced midnight tendril hanging in front of her face.

She had been scrubbing the halls in front of the library when fate happened.

When he happened.

“Crap! I-I’m sorry. I didn’t see you or the bucket, I deeply apologize--”

He bent down, their fingers touched, her world spiraled.

The slightest skinship sent tingles through her veins, a sizzling sensation boiled inside her core, inside her soul, an intangible, heady feeling that made her heart pace, her cheeks flush and their eyes gravitate.

Curiosity.

Intrigue.

Magnetic.

His eyes were blue, so, so blue. His hair a field of marigolds, she wondered internally if they were as soft as they looked.

And there seemed to be the same wonderment in his eyes as well.

Time and time again, they bumped into each other at the randomest places in the palace.

At the library when she would be dusting off the bookshelves, in the garden where she attended to the carnations, at the maid’s quarters where he was prohibited to enter.

They hid behind shy giggles and small talk, shielding themselves from the cruel slap of reality.

“Your eyes.” He had said to her once. “They shine like moonglade.”

Hinata never understood his fascination with her eyes. Neither did she know about her own origin. All she was aware of was that she had no place in his arms nor was she ever allowed in them.

One time, he had been too preoccupied with his books while she had been clearing out the library, Hinata’s curiosity soon took over as she chanced a glance at what he was reading, though sadly enough, she hadn’t understood a single word of it.

Servants like her were never given the privilege to learn how to read or write. They were illiterate, condemned to sweep, clean, mop and cook. A slave to the royal family.

The prince saw this, concern glazed his eyes. “You know… I can teach you how to read, if that is what you wish.”

Her eyes twinkled like constellations. “R-Really?”

“Of course! I believe I still have some free time. Do you… maybe want to start now?”

She couldn’t have been happier.

As he had promised, they studied during his free time. They read folktales together, wrote a few poems here and there, he had even narrated to her the tale of an old classic; Romeo and Juliet.

“It’s a rather silly tale.” Naruto told her. “They both die in the end, nothing much to it really. Poets say this story was highly acclaimed but I could never understand the substance behind it.”

Hinata disagreed. “I think Shakespeare was trying to highlight the naivety of the youth, how love can sometimes bring out the fools in us.”

“Well, if you were to put it that way, I hope I never experience love. I’m already a fool as it is. ”

She chuckled. “Love is dangerous. So, I see what you mean. But sometimes, it can be a remedy for the frail. ”

“Remedy? How so?”

“Take for example…” She sought out an explanation but the minute his eyes bore deeply into hers, she blushed warmly. “Take for example, when you are feeling blue, the mere presence of your loved one can wash  away that sadness. They’re like riptides but for your soul”

“Riptides for your soul…” He repeated curiously. “So like when I’m having a really bad day because of all the workload as a prince, but when I see you, I feel rejuvenated all of a sudden. Is that what love is like?”

She could feel her heart pounding.

“Y-Yes, but I believe… Love is whatever you make it out to be, like the love of your mother and father, the love for your kingdom, or-–”

“Or like the love I have for you?”

Her breath hitched. The pacing in her heart grew rapid by the minute. The blush on her cheeks stained red like berries and she could no longer think of anything coherent.

But all hectic thoughts were thrown at the window when he had merely laughed her off.

“I’m joking. I’m too young to know about love anyway. I’m only 19.”

She laughed with him, somewhat disappointed at his joke.

“But… When I turn 20, I hope to know the complexities of it all. Love, I mean.”

He turned to her so swiftly, eyes lighting up like starlight and she could feel her face flush red again. “Come with me to my ball? I know you’d love it there!”

She shook her head. “A servant like me does not have a place in the upper palace. Surely there are other girls who might cater to your interests.”

“Other girls are boring. They’re all jewelries and frilly dresses and questions on when I become king. They have no interest in me.”

Her hand found purchase on his cheek, thumb caressing the whiskered birthmarks in soothing strokes and he leaned into it, relishing her touch.

“You’ll be amazing.”

***

The day of his 20th birthday had arrived and she didn’t feel particularly festive.

Per usual, the servants dusted and cooked, cleaned and scrubbed, preparing every corner with decorations and flashes of color.

The ballroom was coated in exquisite gold, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling like fireflies.

Every princes and princesses arrived at the foot of the entrance inside grand carriages, dressed in the most lavishing gowns and suits.

While everyone had been merrily singing and dancing to the songs, the servants underground continued to sweep away.

“Hyuga girl! You’ve been summoned!”

Hinata jumped in horror. Surely, she had done all of her duties, right? Not a single spot on the floor was amiss.

She rushed to the exit of the quarters and was immediately greeted with a very elated prince.

“Hinata! Come with me, I have something to show you!”

“Y-Your highness, what’re you doing here! You must be upstairs attending your party, what if -–”

“It’ll only take a minute, we’ll be quick.”

Grabbing her hand, they snuck through the hallways, footsteps gliding on the marble floor, hearts racing, eyes twinkling and their spirits singing a ballad of songs and cheers.

He brought her to the gardens where there laid a fountain flourishing with bountiful water. She sat on its marble stones, head tilting in curiosity.

“Why are we here?”

“You’ll see.”

“With all due respect, your majesty but you need to go back.”

He’d been too busy with the bushes, he wasn’t even listening.

“Your majesty.” She repeated. “Your majesty.”

“Here it is!”

There at his corner stood a lily, purest of white, shining under the moonlit night. It sparkled akin to the diamonds in the inky heavens, glistening in magical ways she’s never seen before.

Hinata was awe-struck. “How did you… How did you find this?”

He shrugged. “I was walking out here one night and then I saw this. It reminded me of you, so I hid it because I really wanted you to see it. Don’t tell the gardeners though, I think they’ve been saving this up for a centerpiece in my mother’s room.”

Her chest was overflowing. He had snuck out of his party, ran all the way from the ballroom to this garden, possibly gotten himself into trouble for stealing a flower just for her.

Wh y ? Why did he do this?

She was nothing but cinder and rubble.

While he was bathed in all the world’s luxury.

A common servant and a regal prince.

It was treason.

It was torment.

It was wrong.

So why was he here, cupping her face with his gentlest touch as they were shrouded inside the walls of the garden labyrinth, nothing but the moon to pay witness to their illicit affair.

“Hinata… I believe you know why I brought you here.”

She did, but she refused to believe that all of this was actually happening.

“I can’t stop thinking about you.” He whispered painfully. “It’s like you’ve poisoned me with thoughts of you.”

“You mustn't,” She answered. “W-What will your family think if they saw you settling for dirt like me? These calloused hands were not meant to touch you, these chapped lips were not destined to kiss you, nor is this common servant fated to be with someone as magnificent as you.”

His golden brows creased, eyes stricken with hurt.

Underneath the night shine, he looked ethereal, a celestial being.

He shushed her with his lips.

For a moment, for just a moment, she believed in possibilities. She believed in fate, in magic, in forever.

Lips simply do not touch as softly as theirs does, hands do not move as lovingly as his, kisses do not feel as intimate as this was, nor should souls connect as innately as theirs did.

He paused, gasping for air. “I burn for you.” His eyes drift to her kissed-swollen lips, his thumb rubbing aimless circles on its pliant curves. “I burn for these lips, night and day, dawn and twilight. I fear I’ve quickly become obsessed with them.” He plants a chaste kiss, smiling. “...And oh, how sweet they are, so much sweeter than any honeydew.”

Her cheeks flushed red.

“And these hands…” He reached for them, caressing the insides of her palm, drawing lazy patterns in its wake. “I seek refuge in these hands. Even with the mere contact of them, I am at ease.” Her skin tingles beneath his touch. He kisses each knuckle, wrapping her tiny fingers in his much bigger ones. “Lest not your scars belittle you, Hinata, rather let them be a reminder that you are a strong person.”

Their eyes clashed. Her moonstones colliding with his sky gaze

“These hands have done so much good for me and my family, and I will always love you for that.”

Her heart quickened. “Say that again… please.”

“I love you.”

“O-Once more?”

“I love you. I love you, Hinata Hyuga. I love you and will continue to love you until the sun and moon can endure.”

It was nights with him when her soul felt lighter, freer.

She was floating, soaring , her wings drawing her higher and higher into the heavens, bright and effervescent, her soul was kindling.

He made her soul kindle.

And so she kissed him back, longingly, ardently.

Within the shadows, their love blossomed in the dark, only glowing more and more each day that went by.

In the dark, his kisses blazed brighter, their souls rectifying into one, immaculate divinity.

In their world, there were no boundaries, no societal status, no expectations weighing them down.

There was only them.

[j2reversebang]

2019 Master Post

Title: Pose Artist: emmatheslayer Author: missyswife37 Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Model Jensen Ackles, Photographer Jared Padalecki, Rain Summary: Jensen is a model; Jared is a new photographer and Jensen wants him. Art: Live Journal Story: Ao3 Title: Wonderland Artist: swan_song21 Author: whispered_story Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: N/A Summary: Jensen knows there's something not quite normal about Wonderland and its secretive staff. By buying the small and elusory strip club, he hopes finally to have proof that the supernatural is real. But he doesn't expect to meet someone like Jared, one of the dancers, and suddenly everything else seems a lot less important. Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 Title: Cocky Artist: emmatheslayer Author: storyspinner70 Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Alternate Universe - College/University, Law School, Hate to Love, Explicit Sexual Content, Cocky Jensen, Rich Jensen Ackles, Shower Sex, Switch Boys Summary: Jared went into law school thinking it would be a lot like college - boy was he wrong. It was nothing like it at all. For one thing, his threadbare clothes stood out a lot more in the hallowed halls of Stanford Law School. For another, there had been no one like Jensen Ackles when he went to college. Jared was glad for that. Jensen was everything Jared hated - rich, hedonistic and spoiled. And beautiful. Jared really couldn't forget that - no matter how hard he tried. Art: Live Journal Story: Ao3 Title: If You Love Someone Artist: phoenix1966 Author: amypond45 Rating: R Warnings/Spoilers: non-con (bc slavery) Summary: Jared’s a love slave in a mining colony on the moon. Jensen’s a rising executive at an energy company on the moon’s planet. Jensen travels to the moon and falls in love with Jared. It’s a mess. Art: Live Journal | Tumblr Story: Live Journal | Ao3 Title: The Dragon and His Bonded Artist: kelios Author: tammyrenh Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: non-penetrative sex, fantasy, dragons Summary: Jared lives a simple life, he has his art, his family, the cherished books his grandmother left him But he dreams of a life that is so much bigger, filled with the dragons he has only read about in books, Jensen never stays in one place long, always carefully hiding his dragon self, resigned to living life alone. And then they met.... Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 Title: In Between Artist: bluefire986 Author: jdl71 Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Hurt Jensen Ackles, Protective Jared Padalecki, Top Jared Padalecki, Bottom Jensen Ackles, Were-Creatures, Alpha Jared Padalecki, Human Jensen Ackles, shifting Summary: Jensen is discovered on packlands and taken back to Jared’s cabin to heal. Alpha Jared figures out that not only is Jensen his mate, he’s not exactly human either, he’s something in between. Art: Live Journal | Ao3 Story: Ao3 Title: The Friend of My Enemy Artist: darklittleheart96 Author: wincest_whore Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: barebacking, slash, violence, swearing, dark!Jensen, bottom!Jared, top!Jensen Summary: After witnessing a murder, Jensen is thrown into an unfamiliar house with Special Agent Jared Padalecki who has been tasked with helping him remember who the killer was. Unfortunately for Jared though, Jensen isn't exactly what he seems. Art: Tumblr Story: Live Journal | Ao3 Title: See Spot Run Artist: bluefire986 Author: herminekurotowa Rating: R Warnings/Spoilers: Hurt Jensen, BAMF Jared Padalecki, Were-Creatures, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, werewolf jensen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapped Jensen Ackles, Violence, Bottom Jared Padalecki Summary: After two years in metaphorical Hell, Jensen learns that real Hell actually may be a nice place. Or: The one where Jensen is a werewolf, Timothy Omundson is the baddie again, and Jared is so much BAMF, you wouldn't believe me if I'd tell you. Art: Live Journal | Ao3 Story: Ao3 Title: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall Artist: amberdream Author: merenwen76 Rating: R Warnings/Spoilers: N/A Summary: Jared found an old mirror in a junk shop and thought it would do for this bathroom. But he keeps seeing another face reflected there… Is it haunted? Or perhaps it’s trapped some old memories in the glass? Who knows… Art: Live Jounral | Ao3 Story: Ao3 Title: What it Takes Artist: darklittleheart96 Author: storyspinner70 Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Explicit Sex, Mpreg, Breeding Kink, Insecurity, Non-AU AU (o.o), Knotting, Alpha Jensen, Omega Jared Summary: Everyone knows how Jensen and Jared met and fell in love. What they don't know is how much they loved Supernatural - enough to put off having a family of their own in order to keep the very extended family they made in Vancouver together as long as possible. But the end is in sight, and while both Jared and Jensen are devastated about it, it's not going to stop Jensen from the one thing he wants more than anything - making sure Jared is fat and heavy with his baby as soon as possible. Art: Tumblr Story: Ao3 Title: The Mechanisms Of Memory Author: tsuki_no_bara Artist: merakieross Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: N/A Summary: Jared tends bar in a nowhere railroad town and has no memories older than a year. When strange men try to kill him he's rescued by a man he recognizes but doesn't know, a man who says his name is Jensen and claims they used to know each other. Jared leaves town with him, full of questions – who is Jensen? Why did he risk his life to save Jared's? Will Jared ever recover his memories? And most importantly, why do people want to kill him? Art: Live Journal | Tumblr Story: Live Journal Title: No People Beyond Us Artist: phoenix1966 Author: soy_em Rating: PG-13 Warnings/Spoilers: battle violence Summary: In Celtic Britain, Chief Jensen has to decide whether to support his own people or become a puppet of the Roman invaders. His decision is complicated by the gift of a beautiful slave, offered for his own use or as a tribute to the gods. Jensen doesn't believe in the gods, but those around him are desperate to secure the favour of Cernunnos, putting both Jensen and the beautiful man he's rapidly developing feelings for in danger. Art: Live Journal Story: Ao3 Title: Lesson's Learned Artist: emberthrace Author: annie46 Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: N/A Summary: Jensen doesn’t need this job but he does enjoy teaching; when he meets Jared – sent to teach gym to gain his college credits – he realizes there is something he enjoys more! Can Jared win snobby Principal Julian over or will his can do attitude put him even more on edge? Jensen hopes it’s the former because he doesn’t know what he will do if Jared isn’t in his life anymore… Art: Live Journal | Tumblr Story: Live Journal Title: I Dream of Jensen Artist: jdl71 Author: disneymagics Rating: PG-13 Warnings/Spoilers: J2, fantasy, romance, hurt/comfort, temporary character death Summary: There are many stories about those lucky individuals who find a lamp or a bottle or any other object to which a djinn is bound. Those people have dreams and they make wishes and their lives are changed forever in mystical, magical, fantastical ways. One such notable story tells the tale of a street rat who finds a lamp and marries a princess. But this isn't that kind of story. This is from a different perspective - the djinn's point of view. This is the story of Jensen. Art: Ao3 Story: Live Journal Title: Mate Wanted Artist: jdl71 Author: rocketmojo/cyncitymojo Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Personal Ads, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Cultural Differences, True Mates, Chemistry, Blind Date, First Time, Body Worship, Mating Bond, Mating Bites, Rimming, Anal Sex, Outdoor Sex, Worldbuilding Summary: Jensen recently presented as Omega and he needs to find a mate. Jensen's parents just want what's best for him, especially his mother. But, people don't arrange relationships for their kids as much as they used to. So, she does the next best thing and runs a personal ad. Art: Ao3 Story: Ao3 Title: I See Stars in Your Eyes When We're Halfway There Artist: emmatheslayer Author: dancing_adrift Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: N/A Summary: Jensen's family spends most summer weekends away at their cabin on a lake in the northwoods. Jared's family owns the cabin next door. Jared and Jensen meet one night under the stars. This is their story. Art: Live Journal Story: Ao3 Title: Ineffable Love Artist: jld71 Author: rocketmojo/cyncitymojo Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Wing Kink, Identity Issues, Good versus Evil, Armageddon, Angel/Demon Sex, Angel/Demon Relationship, Demon Powers, Angel & Demon Interactions, Demon/Human Relationships Summary: “Well, it’s an ironic day indeed when Evil does the right thing and Good does the wrong thing. Funny, huh?” The demon’s serpentine eyes finally shining black as he grinned with mischief. Art: Ao3 Story: Ao3 Title: Our Story Isn’t Over Yet Artist: bluefire986 Author: jillmariej Rating: PG-13 Warnings/Spoilers: N/A Summary: Jensen was Jared’s first love. They secretly dated in their small town until Jensen's father’s homophobia brutally forced them apart twelve years ago. A chance meeting at Christmas allows them to see if there’s anything left to rekindle. In other words I somehow turned teen angst into another “Hallmark Holiday” type fic. If you like oblivious pining boys, misunderstandings, missteps, drunken relatives and happy endings this is for you. Art: Live Journal | Ao3 Story: Ao3 Title: The Capering Damned Artist: tx_devilorangel Author: emberthrace Rating: NC-17 Warnings/Spoilers: General violence Summary: It's always been this way in the Division; working for a top secret agency isn't the worst thing, Jensen thought. Until he got to know Jared. All of a sudden, this way of life doesn't seem right at all. Art: Live Journal | Ao3 Story: Ao3 Title: Rich Daddies Artist: tx_devilorangel Author: i_o_r_h_a_e_l Rating: PG Warnings/Spoilers: N/A Summary: Jensen Ackles once substituted his father as a pilot flying the Padaleckis' private jet to Bangkok, Thailand. There he met the family's heir, Jared, who then insisted Jensen coming along with him. However, not everyone is happy about that. Art: Live Journal | Ao3 Story: Live Journal

[nitewrighter]

Hey hey you watched Cats! :D what did you think of the movie, mun? :3c

It was...

an experience.

>I went with 10 other people, all family members. My aunts and my parents were completely confused from beginning to end while my cousins and brothers and I were losing our collective shit.

>there were people in cat ears a few rows ahead of us and at certain points in the movie they would all whip our glow sticks.

>a lot of the dancing was legitimately good!

>while all the cats had a certain horny energy to them, Munkustrap had the most threatening horny energy. I also had no idea what munkustrap’s name was until the credits because the cat name song was just like, aggressively whispered and I wasn’t sure when Munkustrap was being addressed for the rest of the movie.

>They said all cats have three names but Victoria never got her other two names??? Also Victoria had a very specific way of standing when she wasn’t dancing and I don’t know if that was a thing that carried over from the musical but I was always like “why are you standing like that??”

>I was wigged out by how red all the cat people’s lips were.

>James Corden’s whole song was about eating garbage. I had to watch uncanny sexy cat people on their hands and knees eating garbage.

>MIIIIIIIIILLLLK!!!

>Munkustrap’s FACE JOURNEYS oh my god.

>”is this musical just two hours of cats introducing themselves?” —my younger brother. Yes, Ben, yes it is.

>my dad, notorious for falling asleep if a movie has any CGI in it, surprisingly stayed awake (possibly through the sheer strength of his own confusion) until Gus the Theater Cat’s song. Then he conked out until Magical Mr Mistoffelees.

>my older brother: “okay so I think the plot is that the white cat wants to get fucked and all the other cats want to fuck the white cat.”

>Skimbleshanks had one of the best songs but my entire family was caught up on the fact that he seemed to be the only cat who got to wear pants.

>oh god we had to watch cat-people’s eyes rolling back in their heads with sparkling catnip-induced ecstasy.

>Idris Elba going “ineffable!” and “MMRREEEOWW!!” when he teleported.

>*“Memory” comes on* Ben: Wait, this song is from THIS MUSICAL? This song is from CATS?”

>How many reprises does “Memory” need and is Jennifer Hudson’s nose going to be snotty every time?

>Judi Dench sang directly to the audience in the end and it was like, supposed to be like this “if we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended” sort of deal but it went ON AND ON and it only left everyone more confused.

15/10 I have no idea what I just watched.

[kaz3313]

Crowley is a totally very bad demon who does very demonish things. Like take care of a bunch of orphans

Inspired by one of @rainydaydecaf s text post! I wrote this in a day

Also thank you @thetimtimjr for tagging me in the post that inspired this!

( I have only seen to episode 3 so no spoilers in the tags or replies please! Thank you)

Tw: though this is mostly fluffy comedy stuff there is a sucide attempt (unsuccessfully). Also if anyone needs this tagged as anything feel free to ask as always!

(Please reblog and hope you enjoy 😊)

"Misstah Crowley are we there yet?" One of the children tugs at the demons clothes.

"I already told you; were not going anywhere. Were waiting for the storm to pass," he gently pushes the child away but he comes back to his side.

"When is the storm gonna pass then? Can it be now?"

"I don't know kid, now butt off before you're tossed into the sea," Crowley growls. At first a face of horror passes over the kid but it quickly leaves as another child pipes up.

"He won't throw you overboard, Asher, nothing to worry about," She's older than the other but no more than 14.

"I can-" Crowley begins but stops hearing one of the many infants start crying.It took him two hours to rock them all to sleep. "Oh look what you did. Now they all will wake up,". He is right as babies wake up one after another crying in confusion or empathy, as it is rather hard to tell which is which at such a young age, and Crowley desperately tries to calm down each while simultaneously answering the older children's questions.

"So whose ship is this?" A girl in rags asks, he'll have to have Aziraphale miracle her some better clothes later.

"Noah's Arch," he whispers rocking two wailing infants, twins actually.

"Is he a friend of yours?" A boy who looks as well off as she did pipes up.

"Ehhh, I met him once or twice," the meetings Crowley is referring too is when he passed the man by while tempting other people to acts of evil in his town.

"Is they're another arch?" The girl asks. A group of children has formed around some of them helping with the babies or toddlers but others just to listen to what he has to say. Odd to say the least; Crowly has definitely spoke to groups of people at a time, and many listened with such interest, but not often answer earnest questions. Much less earnest questions he's answering truthfully.

"No, no other arch," the one twin started fussing again. "Shut up," he says to the baby but instead of a harsh tone his voice is sing songish.

"Then where are all the parents at?"

"Alright enough questions, I didn't bring you on here to annoy me," Crowley hisses and more of the little ones wake up crying. Great, more to deal with.

"I'm bored,"

"I'm hungry,"

"Alright! Alright! Go-" He looks around. He could always have them mess with the animals but they could get eaten by a lion as well as get caught by Noah. No, keeping them down here is a necessity but he couldn't constantly entertain them. Then Aziraphale catches his eye. He's in the corner reading various books and scrolls he brought with him on the arch. How he could bring those instead of children Crowley will never understand (and quite frankly even though he wished to confront him about it he also didn't want to hear about the 'ineffable' or have him get fussier than the babies and run away for a century). "You see Aziraphale- Yeah, go bother him. He'll read you stories," Many of the children rushed toward the unsuspecting angel and the ones who remained Crowley could manage.

"Cr-crowley?" It is late at night, despite not needing to sleep both demon and angel are exhausted, and he doesn't expect one of the children to wake so soon. Of course he doesn't really know what to expect with kids.

"Yes," Crowley responds.Being a demon, he can see in the dark and her expression of fear is clear. "What are you doing up? It's bad enough I have to feed those little things every hour do I have to do that with you?" At that she gives a small smile.

"No, nothing like that. I just had a scary dream is all,"

"Ah, those happen," Crowley has put nightmares in many a mind before, mostly to sway them, but never in a child's.

"It was about the arch flooding cause there were too many people. It sunk to the bottom of the sea and the fish ate everyone's bones," she states her eyes wide as she recalls the fake memory.

"Morbid," Crowley replies biting his lip not sure how to comfort the child. "Arch is really sturdy though. The instructions to build this thing came straight from God so if it sinks that's on heavens hands,".

"It sank cause we're not supposed to be on here. We aren't are we?" Her voice cracks and tears start to roll down her cheeks.

"Now don't- come on sit here," he taps the place beside him and she follows his instructions. "Everything is uh, complicated to say the least. Whether you're supposed to be here or not depends on which side your looking on it from. But one thing, and the most important thing, is I wouldn't bring you on here for nothing. Like do you think I want to babysit for who knows how long while the storm of the century is outside if I didn't think it was necessary?"

"N-no, " she gives another shy smile and wipes her tears with the back of her hand. "I guess not,"

"Exactly, your obviously a smart kid. If I wasn't absolutely positive this stupid boat was going to hold I wouldn't have even tried," he says and she wraps her arms around in a hug. He pats her back not sure how else to respond.

"Thank you Mr. Crowley, that'll make my nightmares go away for sure! You're a saint!" She says chipperly and before he can correct her she skips off to bed.

"You're so very evil Crowley. What an evil deed reassuring a child," Azriphale says with a grin of his own.

"And how long have you been here? I thought you were taking to Noah and his "holy" family. Never mind, bug off angel. I'm always evil and saving this brats is against the divine plan so its evil," he reasons and the other just shakes his head reading yet again.

Feeding the kids is Crowley's least favorite parts (he had to do it at least three times! Not even Aziraphale ate that much) of the day. They were all whiny like usual only this time is 10 million times worse since they whined about not having enough food despite Crowley giving them as much as they could possibly need.

"She got more then me!" One kid yells pointing at a teen girl.

"Do you want more?" Crowley asks grabbing a piece of bread to give to him.

"Well, no but it's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair and actually this is a very small part of your life that will be fair so deal with it," Crowley snaps and the kid begins to cry. "Damn- Aziraphale!" He calls but sees the angel with his hands full as well as a toddler climbing him. He wouldn't be able to comfort the kid for a while.

"Kid, kid, listen. This is ridiculous. Just stop crying, you're fine. You're well fed and you aren't hurt and-"  Crowley leans down but the kid continues to wail.

"I need to pee," A little girl says in his ear.

"Good to know," Crowley responds.

"I need to go now!" She yells and Crowley tilts his head away from her.

"Then go; you don't need my expertise you've done it plenty of times before," she whines again, kicks his shin, and walks away.

"Timothy is hungry," a teen hands him a baby while she calms down the still crying child.

"Does, Tim Tim need food? Hmmm, little pile of squishy flesh is hungry," Crowley asks reaching for the bottle of never ending milk. The baby cooks in response then hastily drinks the milk most of it going down his chin. "What a messy Tim Tim," he states as the baby sucks the milk down as if it's the last he'll ever have. He takes out a handkerchief cleaning up the giddy baby. "Out of everyone you've got to be the happiest baby. Did you know that? Did you know that, Tim Tim," At saying this Crowley heard a voice call his name and he looks up. Azriphale just mouths the words 'what a demonic demon Crowley is'.

"I'm the scariest demon in hell," Crowley tells the kids and most of them laugh excitedly.

"R-roar then! If your a demon roar like one!" A kid calls out.

"Roar? I'm a demon not a lion! I don't roar," he states.

"How do we know your a demon then? I think your just a weird kind man!" Another kid states.

"A man couldn't all bring us on an arch with plenty of food and drink. Nobody is that kind" A kid scolds the other  " Mr. Crowley is just an embarrassed angel,"

"I'm not an angel!" But many kids already are murmuring in agreement of the severely misinformed kid. The actual angle in the room gives a small chuckle "I can turn into a snake; the one that tempted Adam and Eve!" Crowley states.

"Do it then! Snake! Snake!" The kids begin chanting the word. Crowley sighs closing his eyes and starts to form into the cold blooded creature.

"H-he a snake!" Most kids laugh in glee only a few run to Azriphale in fear. Crowley can hear a kid concerned that "Mr. Crowley got eaten by a snake". The angel is sure to reassure that Mr. Crowley did not get eaten by a snake instead he can turn into a snake. The younger ones don't exactly understand the concept and are happy to see Crowley in his usual form again.

"Only saving kids and teens huh? What about those who were on the edge of things?" An older teen guy asks while the kids eat there bread and listen to one of the other teen's stories. Besides Azriphale the charismatic storyteller has been the most help especially since in the past she had to take care of ten kids. She definitely is the most experienced.

"Not sure what you mean on the edge," Crowley replies sipping a bit of his wine.

"The day the storm came in, the same day you found me at the market, was my sister's 18 birthday," he states. Crowley doesn't say a word feeling the air thick with tension. "We were twins but my birthday was the next day...she wasn't brought here, was she?"

"...no," The teen, or rather the adult (though he still looked like a boy of maybe 16 at the most) stands up.

"Everyone is gone? My family, friends, mentors? My house, destroyed?" He asks but doesn't expect an answer. Instead he walks away, starting to go up to the deck.

"Aziraphale, one of the humans left," Crowley walks over saying in a hushed voice.

"Left?" Aziraphale questions.

"He went into the storm; seems really upset. Just check on him to make sure he doesn't get caught. I have babies to feed in a little bit so I'm asking you. And… I think you might be able to convince him to come down here," Crowley explains.

"Well alright but you owe me a lunch for this," Crowley rolls his eyes but nods agreeing to the favor.

Azriphale found the man getting pelted by rain while he stood on the edge of the ship. He didn't turn around yet he spoke at hearing the angel's footsteps.

"The world from end to end is empty and void of life. Completely wiped out except for this ship here. This ship that has a family, animals, and then about a hundred stow-away children," He says his voice monotone. Azriphale doesn't explain that many places were spared; it doesn't feel right to correct the distraught human."Do you know how many people were out there? I don't even know. But surely all those people didn't deserve death? They didn't deserve to be pushed into this raging sea and drowned when they're body tires of the condition. If God wants us dead couldn't we just be strikes down by a bolt of lightning? Why make us suffer?"

"The plan of the almighty is ineffable; even to me," Azriphale says then adds "But, against many odds, you're alive! So let's go back inside before your clothes get wetter," the human lets out a sad chuckle.

"And after? Once this passes I have no one. I'm alone in this world...God wants me dead? Was that part of the plan?"

"Well, a little bit but something plans go differently then expected especially with demonic intervention and-" Azriphale stops as he sees the human toss himself forward.

The angel's wings jut out and he swoops down to catch the spiraling human. It's an experience that sadly Azriphale has done many times. In total he's saved 1200 humans in the last century who've tried to end their life. Sometimes by spilling their poisonous drink or whispering encouraging words in their ears but only four in total has he caught. This man will most definitely be his fifth.

He reaches him grabbing on and pulling him upward. A moment later and the human would've plunged head first in the icy sea and if not killed by it  would at the very least got a concussion.

"Now, now, it is not your time," Azriphale has his arms around the other's chest and can feel him shivering from the winds whipping around them. He positions his wings to shield the fragile being from the strongest winds.

"Apparently my time is past due; God wants me dead I'm just giving him his dues," He struggles in Azriphale's grasp but his grip doesn't loosen.

"Don't talk like that, let's dry you off and-"

"My sister would take care of the neighborhood kids. She'd feed them, she  raised me and my brothers since she was ten. She taught us manners and we'd attended church every Sunday. We pray before every meal and even after. She stole from a man richer than a king with manners akin to a pig! That is her only crime and yet she's under many feet of unmerciful water dead to this cruel world! Was that fair? Should she have died, angel?"  He yells out struggling against the other.

The man-no he really is just a boy- kicks with such force that Azriphale is forced to use a miracle. He falls asleep instantly no more shouting or protesting follows. He looks so peaceful sleeping, most humans do, and the angel frowns to himself. He'd awake just as agitated as before, perhaps even more, and could potentially try to commit suicide again.

Azriphale clicks his tongue thinking of a way to stop this humans distress. He said something about a sister did he not well...another miracle is performed; this time erasing all memories of her. It definitely wasn't his best miracle but couldn't be called his worst either.

"I'm so sorry," Azriphale mumbles out but over the roaring sea no one can hear him.

"You have wings? Does Mr. Crowley have some too?" A curious child asks touching Azriphale's feathers. A toddler to his right has decided the feathers are an excellent teething device and is trying to desperately get him off.

"Yes I do," Crowley says picking up the toddler presenting him a finger instead of the feathers he could choke on.

"Can we see?" Another asks walking over to him staring at his shoulders as if she could already see them.

"Maybe," He replies. "If you all are good for dinner and go to bed on time you can see them," Cheers follow Crowley's statement.

 The baby babbles at Crowely and since no one else is around he babbles back at her. She giggles continuing 'talking' to him.

"I hear you; pretty cramped place huh? But right now you have to go to sleep; can you go to sleep?" The baby happily replies with nonsense. She's the last baby awake but it quite a stubborn one.

"Go to sleep, little talker and maybe for once I'll get a break," he sings a tuneless soft lullaby. "And with my break, I'll get to bother, Azriphale! And he'll just read his books, or eat his food, and ignore me, because he is gooooood,".

The baby closes her eyes but Crowley continues his made up song "Go to sleep, little babe, and hope we'll get off this ship that's driving me insane," he finishes with a few la la's and the baby is fast asleep.

"Papa?" A small toddler walks running into Crowley head on. He steps back before falling on his butt "Papa?" He asks again.

"Nope, not a Papa," Crowley says patting the confused child head. "Just a demon doing bad,"

"Papa!" He exclaims and Crowley sighs.

"Nope. Very disappointed you didn't get it the first time,"

"Papa!"

"Now this is a little excessive don't you think? How many times do I need to say no?" Crowley asks putting his hands on his hips. He might as well humor the toddler.

"Pa-pa! Papa! Papa!" He claps his hands.

"Can your Papa turn into a snake?" The boy nods. "Really? I doubt that. Can he strike fear into anything and everything?" Again he nods. "Is your dad a demon? If so I might know him,"

"Papa!" He claps again.

"Is your Papa's name Crowely?"

"Yes!"

"I don't think so," but the child giggles in response.

"What a good parent you make Crowley," Azriphale states grinning (and dare Crowley say the smile is devilish?).

"Papa!" The toddler exclaims to Azriphale and he goes bright red.

"It seems the little one doesn't have a big vocabulary,"

"So that's what it is angel?" Crowley gives his own grin. He nods in response.

Six days pass before the rain stops and the sun comes out; and just as Azriphale says a rainbow appears promising to never flood the world again.

Crowley can be thankful for that. He isn't sure he can take care of hundreds of kids again. Though with all the hugs they give him he can't complain too much.

[bewareofchris]

Public Relations 16/??

R atm | Alec Hardy/Dr. Bill Masters | Broadchurch, Masters of Sex | Strong language, eventual sexual situations

“The fact that Alec Hardy was not currently, had not ever, and did not want to date the American sex research did not seem very important at all to the town of Broadchurch.  They did what they had always done with a little bit of juicy gossip: they made a spectacle of it.”

<< prev | Part 1

Apartment hunting had proven to be an exhausting, endless, tedious process.  The most important thing he had learned from it was that despite the existence of a home with his name on the deed, he hadn’t been involved in the search for it.  If he concentrated properly, he could remember Libby with a spread of printouts and flyers at the dinner table.  He remembered her voice caught in a wave of anxiety; remembered how trivial her worries had seemed. 

Libby had been trying to find a home to raise a family in.  Bill had only needed a house in a respectable neighborhood with a well-maintained yard.  Libby had worried about bedrooms, and bathtubs and windows.  Bill had just wanted a place to park his car.

Bill was an ignorant man, standing alone in an empty apartment, half-listening to the agent tell him about how new the kitchen was.  It hit him low in the gut, the growing realization that he was well-and-truly alone.  That his exile had not been an aberration but the start of a new normal.  He was here to select a place to live and he would have to make a home out of these empty rooms.  

If looking for a home to put things in was hell, he couldn’t imagine what shopping for the things to furnish the home would be like.

Bill didn’t even own a god damn pan.  Bill had barely ever cooked a meal in his life.  

Bill knew how to do laundry in theory.  He’d done it when he was a stupid boy sent away to boarding school and an even bigger idiot in college.  He couldn’t remember now what half the symbols on the clothes meant.

He didn’t own a towel.  He couldn’t even shower.

“Dr. Masters?” the lovely woman said from a safe distance.

Bill was clenching his fists, grinding his teeth, staring at the perfectly clean carpeted floors.  He was trying to work through the building panic and remind himself that he was capable.  It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it; it was that he had to.  He’d destroyed the home he’d had for the chance to love someone.  (Had he?  Had he loved Virginia?  He thought he had; it felt like he had.)  “Yes,” he said softly.

“Did you want a moment?”

No.  A moment meant that reality had to settle around him.  A moment meant that he had to accept things as they were.  A moment meant he really couldn’t continue to sleep in his office; that he couldn’t imagine that things were temporary.  He was truly alone; he had to start over at the start again.

(And it was cruel, how desperately he wanted to talk to Libby.  It was like being stabbed in the stomach.  It hurt.)  

“You said there was a two bedroom model?” he asked.

“Yes.  Two and three bedroom models are available.”

Bill nodded, “I have kids.”  He had three kids, and no reason to think that their Mother would ever let him see them again.

The woman smiled.  “Of course.  Well, the basics are the same in all three models. Let me check the availability on the two and three bedrooms.”

“Thank you,” Bill said.  He forced his hands to loosen, and his shoulders to relax.  He reminded himself that he’d done this to himself; that he deserved it.  He reminded himself that it could be worse.  He could buy furniture and learn how to do laundry.  

--

Hardy had not made the decision to stay in Broadchurch.  He hadn’t made any decisions at all, and still he’d ended up with a tiny cottage by the water.  That was the sort of thing that came of agreeing to avoid a decision.  Still, Hardy had signed his name on the contract and he was the proud, temporary owner of said cottage and the furnishings within.

Agreeing to things was only going to take Hardy so far.  He couldn’t agree himself into a life that he wanted to live.  He hadn’t even seen the right doctor to agree that he might want to save his own life.  He was still teetering between the will to live and the likelihood that he would live.

It wasn’t that Hardy didn’t have things to live for.  He had a daughter that he loved very much.  He had a career (damaged though it was by the events of Sandbrook).  

He had this awful little town full of nosy little people, like the checkout girl at the gas station that shook her head when she saw him.  She was fond of saying, “how are you doing?”  

Hardy had heard her say it often enough when he was just trying to get a quick drink or a light snack to know that the way she said it to him was different from the way she said it to anyone else.  Those other lucky bastards got the usual: a blank sort of repetitious statement.  April (that was her name) wasn’t asking how they were; she was repeating a catch phrase.  But she always looked at him with sloping eyebrows and genuine worry and when she spoke to him it was soothing.

“Fine,” Hardy said, again and again and again.

If he had to guess why he got a bit of extra attention, he would say that the town (misguided though it was) was offended to know that he was abandoned by his doctor boyfriend during his critical illness.  Maybe they were upset to know that he was ill.  (Even if they didn’t know how ill.)  Maybe they thought he’d had his heart broken.  

Hardy even had a job if he wanted one.  He wasn’t well enough to be a detective but he was well enough to do something, provided he could prove that he was seeking medical care.

There were a dozen little things to live for, to choose to live for.  

And there was the quiet of his empty cottage, with just the sound of his breathing and the answering sway of the water not so far from his front door.  There was a blanket of silence as heavy as a collapsing house, suffocating him with isolation.

Hardy hadn’t meant to program Bill’s number into his phone, but it felt like it wouldn’t have been a bad idea to have a doctor he could call.  He certainly hadn’t meant to pull the number up, to open a text message that he wasn’t even certain he wanted to send.  It was just long after midnight, in the quiet dark, and it had been days since he’d slept properly.  Hardy was a real idiot typing words into his little glowing phone screen.

I believe the girl at the gas station thinks you’re an asshole.

Hardy had sent the message before he could change his mind about it.  He’d regretted it almost as soon as they went through.  It made him lurch forward, so he was sitting up in bed frowning at the screen.  He was still fumbling, trying to figure out how to cancel the text when his phone buzzed in his hands.

Bill said: Alec?

Hardy could leave it at that, he could pretend like it hadn’t been his thumbs that made those words.  He could have let Bill think someone was sending him random messages.  But, he leaned back into his pillows, holding the phone over his face as he typed out a response:

Yes, sorry.  Alec Hardy.

The response came a moment later: The girl at the gas station sounds very wise.  I feel more like an asshole every day.  With a small pause before Bill added: How are you?

The answer to that question was far too complicated.  Hardy couldn’t send a frown and a shrug through his phone so he said, Not sleeping.  You?

Also not sleeping but its not that late for me.  You should sleep, Alec

There were many things that Hardy should do.  Did you rescue your things from fire?

My assistant saved them.  I’m just moving into an apartment.  I don’t even have a mattress to sleep on yet.  Just a pile of boxes of the things my wife decided I could keep

Hardy snorted at that.  I’ve just moved into a cottage.  It came with furniture

You are smarter than me.

Hardy had nothing to say to that.  He couldn’t think of anything clever, and he couldn’t think of anything generic enough.  He stared at the screen searching for any sort of words that could work as a response.  

Bill said: I hope you’ve fallen asleep.  When you wake up, you’ll have to tell me how Broadchurch is handling our separation

Hardy smiled, and just for that one moment, looking at the dim glow of his phone screen, it didn’t hurt at all.

next >>

@it-is-ineffable, @marvelmisha, @e3105eb, @may-darling, @bigleosis, @jiffry6969, @stardust-andwine, @echelongaga

[k-popmakesmyday]

Hi! Can I make a request? It's a fem reader x Johnny. The fem reader are very innocent girl and whatever she does always make Johnny laugh and lover her even more. In the end she asked for a first kiss but she's too shy to ask. And if u don't mind, can u make the story is a bit longer and full of fluff? Thank u! Take ur time! 💕💕

Thank you for requesting lovely!

Rules for requesting are here

[Monday, 1:02 pm]

“so.. that’s how it happened?” Your best friend, Ten asked you as he sipped his coffee while you told him the events of two days ago

“It was magical Tennie, he asked me to be his girl/boyfriend in front of the fountain and it was like time stopped”

You sighed as you mindlessly played with the spoon that danced around your mug of hot chocolate, Ten laughing slightly at your wonderous antics

“I didn’t think Johnny to be the sentimental and sappy type,” you pouted before Ten shot you a cheeky smile “but I’m happy for you, baby”

Before you could reply to the smirking boy your phone buzzed with a notification

New text from Johnny💝: I’ve been thinking of you.. would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow?

You typed back a quick yes before blushing profusely and giggling out what just happened to the black-haired boy who sat across from you.

[Tuesday, 12:05 pm]

You checked your outfit in a stores window as you passed by practically bouncing along to see your favourite boy, you couldn’t stop thinking about his text since you had recieved it, so you were essentially buzzing.

Smoothing down your clothes before you stepped into the park that Johnny told you to meet him at, you felt your breath hitch upon the sight of him and the surroundings.

The chestnut-haired boy sat on a red-and-white checkered blanket payed over some grass by the lake. The blanket littered with various dishes and cutlery that your heart melted at the sight of. Johnny himself was dressed in a simple shirt and jeans but still wore a jacket despite it being the end of summer, still he was the epitome of perfection.

He met your surprised glance and gave you his signature warm smile before making his way over to you, he enveloped you in a warm hug engulfing your smaller figure with his tall one. You sighed contently as you rested your head on his chest.

“Hey you,” you could hear him smile in his voice “I hope you’re hungry”

You nodded feverishly before pulling away and looking at the beautiful spread that lay out before you

“You did all this?” You blinked in utter awe at the boys effort

“Of course,” he replied “you deserve the best and now that I can call you mine, that’s what I’ll give you”

You blushed an embarrassing shade of red before settling down on the soft blanket, your knees tucked under your body to the side. Letting your gaze wander to the nearby lake and how it glistened in the afternoon sun, you watched the many couples and families ride on various swan boats, not noticing that Johnny had sat down beside you and was carefully unpacking all that he had brought.

When you looked back your eyes widened in surprise, seemingly endless plates of triangular-shaped sandwiches with the crust cut off (just how you liked them) lay before you with various meats, spreads and veggies filling them. There was freshly baked scones with cheese and fruit and little cupcakes with pastel frosting of all colours.

“Wow,” you gasped “did you make all these by yourself?”

The boy giggled sheepishly before replying

“Well I had Kun send over some recipes but mostly, yeah. Do you like it?”

“Like it?” You scoffed “I love it, thank you”

“Well, Bon appetit, madam/sir”

And that you did, you devoured the various treats, each one tasting better than the last with every flavour blending perfectly together. Perfect, just like the boy who made them.

On the other hand, Johnny simply sat back and watched you enjoy his culinary creations with a childish delight sporting your features. He sweared he fell in love with you more with each bite you took as endless ‘thank you’s and ‘this is so good!’ Spilling from your lips every few seconds.

[Wednesday, 9:28 pm]

“And then, he took me on a swan boat ride across the lake all through the park. Although a duck flew in the boat once and he was so scared we almost capsized!” You giggled upon remembering the endeavour

“I would’ve payed to see that” Ten chuckled from beside you as the both you layed on your couch upside down in strange positions.

It was a tradition with your one and only best friend to meet up and have a movie night every Wednesday since Ten was off work and you didn’t have any class that day. Pizza was ordered, shows were binged and tea was spilled, a lot of tea.

“Is it bad that I already miss him Tennie?” Your best friend rolled his eyes before taking a bite of his pepperoni pizza, purposely avoiding the slices with bell pepper with a disgusted glance (look I know it’s fruit he hates but I refuse to put pineapple on pizza I’m sorry it’s just w r o n g and I can’t handle it)

“Y/n, you know I love you, but if you keep pining over my best friend I will throw up on you”

You pouted up at the dark-haired boy before shifting your gaze to the rom-com playing on the tv while taking a sip of your drink

“-plus I invited him over for movie night because I knew you wouldn’t do it”

Your eyes widen before spitting your drink all over your bewildered best friends face, the liquid burning your throat and your nose.

“WHAT!?”

Ten glared at you before wiping his face with nearby napkins, originally for your greasy pizza hands, before continuing;

“I invited him over because I knew you’d never have the guts”

“He’s my boyfriend, Tennie, of course I would’ve invited him.. but movie night is always just me and you”

Ten rolled his eyes playfully before shrugging

“Kun hyung invited me out for drinks so I think I’ll live”

“Why didn’t you tell me~~” you shook your best friends shoulders lazily before you heard a melodic knock at your door, and you froze

“That’s my queue to leave, babe” Ten grinned at you before kissing your cheek and heading to the door and giving Johnny a quick hug before leaving.

You silently padded over to your boyfriend as he wrapped you in a warm embrace, you instantly relaxed

“Hi” you squeaked, in such a child-like tone Johnny swore his knees almost gave way

The brown-haired boy chucked before answering you “hey, you”

[Thursday, 7:04 am]

You awoke to the smell of toast being cooked in your apartment before a smile spread across your face. Due to the lack of wanting to leave your boyfriends warmth last night, you whined at him until he agreed to sleepover.

“Good morning” you mumbled while taking a seat on the kitchen counter as your beloved boyfriend buttered two pieces of toast.

“Morning, sunshine,” your boyfriend smiled upon taking in your dishevelled appearance, his love struck grin grows wider when he remembers how you fell asleep so peacefully in his arms last night causing him to ever so carefully carried you to bed while he slept on your couch (not before sneaking a small kiss to your forehead but you didn’t hear it from me) as your relationship was still new. “I know it’s not fancy pancakes or anything, but I thought you’d appreciate your apartment not burning to a crisp”

Your heart flutters st the thought of your caring boyfriend even considering making breakfast for you, and you shook your head.

“No, it’s perfect. Besides this is fancy toast,” you smirked as Johnny raised an eyebrow at you

“Really? How so?”

“They were made by the Johnny Seo, this is the finest piece of toast in all the land” you dramatically gestured with your hands before Johnny swept you off of the counter, twirling you around your kitchen, causing you to giggle like a five year old.

“Only the best for the prince/princess of the land”

After breakfast you gathered all of your things for class before practically running out the door

“Y/n, wait!”

You whipped your head around, what could possibly be so important that it risked you being late for your lesson

“Yeah?”

“You forgot your keys, silly” the giggling boy said before you grabbed your keys that were dangling off of his index finger

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver!”

“You’re welcome. Have a good day, angel”

“You too! Love you!” You said before rushing out the door.

It took a few minutes to register what you had just said. You just told Johnny that you loved him. Was it too early for that? You had only been official for a week! You cringed as you shoved the thought to the back of your mind.

[Friday, 10:29 am]

You shifted your weight from either foot as you awkwardly rubbed your elbow with your other hand. Staring down your boyfriends dorm door-bell with rage ad you tried to force yourself to announce your presence. You mentally counted down from three before squeezing your eyes shut and pressing the doorbell and hearing the echo from inside the dorm.

Your breath hitches and your panic level rose as you heard what seemed to be a stampede towards the door, followed by a lot of bickering and shushing.

The boy who opened the door was ineffeably beautiful, ‘it must run in the group’ you thought as the light haired boy stuck his hand out for you to shake, you glanced over the boys shoulder to see 7 seven pairs of eyes peering right back at you in wonder

You timidly shook the boys hand as he smiled brightly at you

“You must be Y/n, right? We’ve heard a lot about you from Johnny-”

“Yeah, a lot” a sarcastic voice erupted from near the back of the sea of boys, he was shorter than the others and had sun-kissed tan skin

Taeyong sighed, “you’ll have to excuse them, they’re idiots.” he shot the boy a glare before looking back at you “Come in, won’t you? Johnny will be home soon, he’s out running some errands”

You smiled slightly at Taeyong before stepping into the dorm as you took in your surroundings. The entire place reeked of boy, the floor littered with clothes and the coffee table scattered with unfinished drinks and dishes.

“I’m so sorry,” Taeyong muttered as he rushed around the living room, picking up various bits of trash and throwing them away “I thought I told someone to clean up as we had a guest coming over” he seethed through gritted teeth

“Oh, it’s okay” you giggled “it’s not like I’m used to a bit of mess”

Over the next twenty minutes, you learned the names of the other boys and you fell in love with their friendship as a group. Even if Haechan, the boy who made the previous remark, drove them insane. You helped them clean up the dorm despite Taeyongs protest by the experience found to be quite enjoyable in the end.

When Johnny returned home from his errands, he smiled at the sight of you laughing along with his members. If he was being honest, he was slightly nervous for you to meet them due to the fear of you not liking their rowdiness. He stood in the door waiting for you to notice him for about two minutes before he became too impatient and maybe even a tad jealous.

You yelped at the feeling of arms wrapping around your waist from behind, relaxing instantly when you saw your boyfriends smug expression

“Guys~ stop stealing my girl/boyfriend, they’re mine”

The boys ‘ooh’d and hollered at you and Johnny rolled his eyes at them and carried you off to his room

“I’m sorry you had to go through that” he rolled his eyes playfully at you

“It’s okay! They’re actually really nice.. and not scary at all”

“Scary?” Johnny cocked an eyebrow at you

“I was kind of nervous to meet them to be honest” you giggled sheepishly

Gazing at Johnnys endless brown orbs as they sparkled when he talked about his members, your eyes carefully studied his features until they landed on his perfectly plump lips. You watched in amazement as he formed each syllable flawlessly, all you could think about was kissing him.

“Johnny?” You whispered, your voice barely audible

The boy stopped his rambling and gave you a soft glance

“Yes, y/n?”

“Could you- um- c-could you-”

You struggled to force out your request as your eyes flickered from the boys confused gaze and his lips, until a knowing expression washed over his features.

“A kiss, baby? Is that what you want, hm?”

You shakily nodded as the boy cupped your cheek and leaned in, pressing his pillow-like lips to yours for a few seconds before pulling away and smirking.

“How was that?”

“Hm.. one more time to make sure”

Your lips met once again like two puzzle pieces that were made for each other as Johnnys hands went around your waist as he gently brought you closer to him. When he pulled away you chased his lips, making Johnny giggle.

“Y/n?”

“Y-yeah?”

“I love you too”

You couldn’t wait to tell Ten. Although, on second thought, maybe you’d keep this one between you and your beloved Johnny.

K so this turned into a fic in the end lmao, we’re not gonna talk about how long this took bye hope you enjoyed -Em

[ao3feed-goodomens]

Armageddon Actually

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2XA8OSu

by muzakchan

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the departures gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that everything’s getting a little bit better, but I don’t see that - it seems to me that Armageddon is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly noticeable or newsworthy, but it’s always there - fathers and mothers (and their respective lovers), sons and daughters, businessmen in sweatshop-made suits off to negotiate another war. When Armageddon was subverted, everyone in Heaven and Hell lost a lot of morale, but I think we only delayed the inevitable - or, the ineffable, if you will. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaking feeling you’ll find that Armageddon actually is all around.

Part of the Good Omens Rom Com event!

Words: 9277, Chapters: 1/9, Language: English

Fandoms: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Good Omens (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, Gen, M/M

Characters: Aziraphale (Good Omens), Crowley (Good Omens), Anathema Device, Newton Pulsifer, Anathema's Family, Gabriel (Good Omens), Michael (Good Omens), Beelzebub (Good Omens), Dagon (Good Omens), Hastur (Good Omens), Satan | Lucifer (Good Omens), Angels (Good Omens), Demons (Good Omens), Adam Young (Good Omens), Pepper (Good Omens), Wensleydale (Good Omens), Brian (Good Omens), Dog (Good Omens), Sergeant Shadwell (Good Omens), Madame Tracy (Good Omens), Death (Good Omens), God (Good Omens), The Four Other Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Good Omens), Pepper's Mum (Good Omens), R. P. Tyler (Good Omens), Pepper's Sister (Good Omens), Warlock Dowling, Agnes Nutter, Thou-Shalt-Not-Commit-Adultery Pulsifer

Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Anathema Device/Newton Pulsifer, Beelzebub/Gabriel (Good Omens), Sergeant Shadwell/Madame Tracy (Good Omens), Lesley | International Express Man/Maud

Additional Tags: Inspired by Love Actually, Love Actually AU, Good Omens Rom Com Event, Swearing, There's a lot of swearing, Light Angst, Romance, Teen Romance, one year after the apocalypse, heaven and hell team up, Humor, Fluff, Smut, Non-Graphic Smut, (like a character will take their shirt and pants off but that's probably where it'll end), Original Character(s), to flush out the story

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2XA8OSu

[ineffable0husbands]

For Lost Boy - one of my fav songs btw - here! :) He sprinkled me in pixie dust and told me to believe Believe in him and believe in me Together we will fly away in a cloud of green To your beautiful destiny As we soared above the town that never loved me I realized I finally had a family Soon enough we reached Neverland Peacefully my feet hit the sand

Warnings: Heights, flying, and a tiny bit of self doubt

Ship(s): Ineffable Husbands

Tag list: @adoratato @iamdevilantlysatan @bri-cas @that-gender-bender @scum-of-the-earth @pieces-of-annedrew @scampycat4999 @elrilsf @my-emo-child @always-reading2 @larrklopp @l-garnxtt @halbarryislife @ninjacatinsanitycrazy @impossiblynervouscycle e @audder17 @boredafsposts @i-really-dig-the-purple @mycrappylife01 @lostwolf-fandomlover r @hamiltrashphannerd @she-who-must-not-be-named @sundry-whovengerslocked @deceitfullyanxiousprince @booklover223 @whats--a--sexuality @drunkinfandomstuff f @catsarebestest t @sonic-spade @reprehensibleghost @to-dance-among-stars-in-dreams @afternoon-sunlight @danifandxm @oddpopsicle @rise-abxve @shipping—hell

Aziraphale loved the feeling of flying. The wind in his hair, the freedom of movement, it was all so wonderful. He loved flying beside the love of his life even more.

Crowley laughed and spun in the air, shooting upwards like a rocket, his black wings splayed out. His eyes were closed as he grinned widely, letting himself freefall until he almost hit the ground, swooping up at the last second. Aziraphale followed him closely, eventually catching up and grabbing his hand. Crowley opened his eyes and beamed at his angel, his eyes gleaming. If any humans saw them, all they would see were two magnificent birds dancing around one another that they couldn’t pin the name of.

“It’s been so long since I’ve flown!” Crowley said happily, holding Aziraphale’s hand tightly as they flew together. “Now that all those bastards are off our backs, we can do this whenever we want!” Aziraphale’s smile fell slightly at the mention of heaven and hell, and Crowley must have been able to tell because he squeezed his angel’s hand. “Hey. Angel, look at me.” Aziraphale did as he was told. Crowley looked at him with soft eyes. “You don’t need to worry about them anymore. It’s just you and me now, love. For the rest of eternity.” Aziraphale’s smile returned and the two hovered in the air for a moment, foreheads pressed together.

“I love you, Crowley,” Aziraphale said softly, eyes opening to look into his demon’s gorgeous golden irises. Crowley’s eyes crinkled in a smile and he kissed Aziraphale’s forehead.

“I love you too. More than you could ever know.” The moon watched and the stars shone with joy as the angel and the demon shared a sweet kiss, holding one another as they soared through the air. They only needed each other, and that was that. Heaven and Hell couldn’t stop them if they tried.

[melodiouswhite]

J&H/Tam Lin crossover or How To Steal A Fae’s Boyfriend

(A/N: Due to popular demand, I have given into the temptation of writing a crossover of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with a well-known Scottish folk tale. And it’s a modern AU, because I can. So here you go, I hope you like it! :D

tw: sexual coersion and abuse. Also, Utterson is a trans guy and I probably didn’t get that right)

Gabriel had heard the stories, of course he had.

Of course he had heard the warning, that he shouldn't go there without bringing a cloak or ring as a token, lest something entirely else would be taken from him.

But being a young man in the 21st century, he had thought it was just old folk tales.

Who the hell took a green cloak or a ring to a forest, just for the purpose of leaving it there?

And so he had thought nothing of it, when he had gone into the woods of Carterhaugh without bringing either.

It was his property, after all. His family had acquired the surrounding lands and given the woods to him.

So here he was, walking through the woods with nothing but a book, a pocketknife (you never knew) and his smartphone, when he saw something odd: a saddled white steed was grassing at a well, generally minding her own business. But where was her owner?

Hesitantly, he stepped closer to the horse.

She wasn't disturbed by his presence and stood completely still, when he gently petted her and examined the saddle and bridal. Such a magnificent creature.

But the saddle and bridal looked so elaborate and fancy, they couldn't be from anywhere nearby. Actually, he had never seen anything like it.

Strange, he thought and decided to walk further into the woods. Perhaps he could find the person the steed belonged to.

But when he looked around, it was already dusk.

Huh. Had he really been here for that long?

He changed his mind and turned to go home.

After walking for a few minutes, he stumbled over a path where wild roses grew.

That wasn't here before …

Normally Gabriel wasn't the rose type of guy.

But never before had he seen anything like this. They were so ineffably beautiful, bright and radiant, that he had to take a closer look.

One particularly caught his eye; a white double-headed rose.

This one would be beautiful in my home, he thought, pulled out his pocketknife and carefully cut it off the bush.

But before he could tug it into his jacket, someone cleared their throat behind him.

He gasped in shock and whirled around.

There stood an otherworldly handsome young man dressed in green.

He was tall, well-built, broad-shouldered, had wheat blond hair and chocolate brown eyes. His skin was paler than his own, but not too much, just that perfect, healthy and rosy complexion.

The young man was frowning.

“What are you doing here in Carterhaugh?”, he asked in the most gorgeous voice Gabriel had ever heard. “Why do you cut off the roses? Haven't you heard the stories?”

The black-haired man could only blush and stutter.

After a while, the blond seemed to grow impatient. “Can you articulate yourself, please? I would like an explanation as to why you strolled in here like you own the place.”

Now Gabriel finally pulled himself together.

“Actually, I do own the place. My parents bought the land and gave the woods to me”, he informed the other man calmly. “And therefore, I don't see why I should need your permission to be here.”

The handsome stranger shrugged indifferently. “Really now. Well, I regret to inform you, that this is my realm and the laws of this world mean little to me. Now, did you know the story or no?”

“You mean the story of Tam Lin? Yes, but I assumed that, if they were true, he would be straight. And I'm not a girl.”

The blond shook his head and laughed (the loveliest laugh Gabriel had ever heard, but that wasn't the point): “As you can see, I'm very real. And I don't care about what your sex is.”

This was just surreal.

He was talking to a folk tale character, who turned out to be – waaaaaiiiitaminute!

“Okay, hold it! Just to make this clear: I just stepped into a magical forest, you're Tam Lin and because I didn't bring a ring or a green cloak – whatever you need them for – I won't get out of here, before you get something else from me?!”

“Pretty much.”

Normally, the black-haired man would've thought this was just a sick joke.

But the person in front of him obviously wasn't of this world. The entire forest wasn't normal and the roses definitely weren't. It was so plain that even a sceptic like him had to acknowledge it. So in other words, he was trapped in some kind of magical forest with someone who wouldn't let him go, unless-

The stranger, seeming to sense his discomfort, spoke up, “Listen, Gabriel John Utterson-”

He knows my name?!

“-how about you give me your smartphone instead? Then you come back tomorrow with a ring or cloak to get it back? I believe, that you thought it was just old tales, but this is still a faerie forest. I can't let you go without a tribute of some kind. And the phone is the second most precious thing you have, after your innocence.”

“How do you know about smartphones anyway?”

The blond shrugged. “You'd be surprised at how up to date the Fae are. Makes it easier for them to mess with humans these days.”

“Oh, okay. And I really can't get out of here without leaving anything?”

“Well, you can try, but this forest is enchanted, so you'd just keep running in circles.”

Gabriel thought for a moment.

It was nice of the ghost/elf/faerie/whatever he was to try and accommodate him.

But there was something about that guy that awakened something in him.

“You know what? Screw it. Off with your clothes, you virginity-stealing creep! Chop-chop, I don't have all night!”

“W-wait, what?!”

“You heard me!”, he snapped and began to undress. “Now hurry up. I'm a gay, frustrated 23-years-old, you're hot and I don't like the folks around here!”

“Okay, this is unexpected. No one has ever actually-”

“Well, it's about time then, isn't it?”, Gabriel snapped and threw away his shirt, “Now what part of 'I don't have all night' did you not understand? I'm a lawyer, I have to go to work early tomorrow!”

Tam Lin – or whatever that man's name was – chuckled and began to take off his own clothes.

“Why, if I didn't know better, I'd think you came here because of the legend.”

“If I had known that this forest actually was haunted by a sexy ghost, I would have!”

Tam Lin snorted: “You wouldn't be the first. But …”

Gabriel felt his cheeks heat up, when the blond's chocolate brown eyes wandered up and down his body. And he felt a little uncomfortable, when they lingered on the chest binder he was still wearing.

“You're the loveliest person I've ever met.”

“R-really? So you don't mind that I'm-?”

“Did I call you by your dead name?”, the blond replied and shook his head. “No. If you identify as a man, you're a man. Whether your biology corresponds with that or not doesn't matter.”

Gabriel felt a lump in his throat and swallowed it.

“This is fine”, he whispered hoarsely, took off the binder and lay down.

“Certainly is”, Tam Lin agreed and followed.

Gabriel shuddered, when the other let his hands wander over his tanned skin.

“You really are quite handsome”, the blond murmured.

The black-haired man smiled and dared to steal a kiss.

…

“Wow”, Gabriel breathed, when they were done and getting dressed. “This was wonderful! If that's what I get for coming here without a token, I should do it more often. Uhm …” he blushed awkwardly. “… You wouldn't mind, right?”

“I …” To his surprise Tam Lin also blushed. “I would love to see you again”, he admitted quietly and took his hand.

…

When Gabriel went home, he felt like he was walking on air.

Never in his life had he been so happy and he wondered, if this could be love.

Later, as he lay in bed and the flowers were in vases, he thought about what had happened today.

He fell asleep smiling and remembering what the elven knight had said, when they had parted.

“You're the only rose that still grows fairer after being plucked.”

How theatrical …

…

When he returned to the enchanted glen, Tam Lin was waiting for him.

After spending an hour of passion, they sat beside each other at the well and talked, while the white steed was grassing nearby.

He went home with another bouquet of flowers and feeling just as blissful as the first time.

In the following weeks, he continued to see the mysterious blond.

He found himself falling for him more and more.

But then things became problematic.

First off, Tam Lin listened with interest, when Gabriel talked about himself. But he became oddly cagey, when the black-haired man asked him to talk about himself too.

Why was the blond so secretive?

Worse, his father and grandmother had noticed that something was up and now they wouldn't leave him alone about who “the lucky guy” was. But how was he supposed to tell them that he was sleeping with a mysterious elf from a haunted forest? Not to mention, when he knew next to nothing about him? 

What was their relationship status anyway? Were they dating? Or was he just a fling to the other man?

Damn, he didn't like how uncertain everything was!

And to add insult to injury, he hadn't thought about using contraceptive measures and guess what, he was pregnant! How could he have been so careless?! Now he was carrying a child he wasn't ready for!

He cursed his own stupidity and desperately hoped, that no one would find out.

…

Of course he wasn't that lucky.

It was Sunday, 31st October, when his father found out.

To Mr. Utterson's credit, he didn't freak out as much as Gabriel had feared. Instead he just took a deep breath and demanded to know who was responsible for this.

That made Gabriel really angry. “The only one who's responsible for this baby is me! Oh, and my boyfriend who lives in the woods.”

“What?!”

After an argument, he persuaded his father not to press charges.

(“I'm going to call a lawyer!” - “Dad, I am that lawyer!” - “Oh. Right.”)

But now he was upset and needed to be somewhere else. So he ran back to Carterhaugh and somehow ended up in the enchanted glen, as usual. There he crawled behind a rose bush and cried.

This was just too much.

He was a pregnant man, who wasn't prepared to care for a child, the entire situation was just so muddled and he didn't know what to do!

Although … there was an emergency exit, he suddenly realised.

He had been sleeping with Tam Lin for about two months, so he could be no further on than that.

It wasn't too late for a safe abortion …

“Wait, please.”

He jumped, when Tam Lin appeared before him.

“Gabriel”, the blond said gently and crouched down before him, “I know that you're desperate and overwhelmed, but please consider; it's my child just as much as it's yours.”

“You can say that so easily”, he sobbed, “You're not the one carrying the baby! You could just as well run off and pretend that you never knocked up some unfortunate human, while I'd be stuck with a child I wasn't ready for! You can go off to faerie land and do whatever elves or faeries do, but I can't work as a lawyer and take care of a baby all by myself! And what will I say, when they ask me who the father is? That it's some elf bloke from an enchanted forest, who will never be with me, because I'm just some insignificant human, who will grow old and die?!”

The blond looked beyond hurt. “Is that what you think of me?”, he asked in disbelief, “Do you really think that I would be so heartless and irresponsible?!”

“I don't know!”, Gabriel wailed. “I don't know anything about you! Not even your real name! You can't convince me that Tam Lin is actually your name! I'm pregnant and the father is a man I know nothing about, because he never bothered to tell me anything about himself!”

Tam Lin was silent for a while. But he looked so sad, that the black-haired man almost regretted snapping at him. Almost. Gabriel was in the right and they both knew it.

“You're right”, the blond finally sighed. “I should have been more open. But I chose to be a coward instead and kept my mouth shut, because I feared that you would be disgusted and want nothing more to do with me.”

Gabriel stared at him. “What gave you that idea?”

The blond sat down next to him. “You will understand, once I have told you my story.

First you need to know that I'm not actually an elf or faerie, like you thought. I'm human like you. I'm not even the first Tam Lin to haunt these woods. Although that should be clear, because the legend is older than I.

My real name is – was – Henry Jekyll. I was a medical student and my lifestyle was … well, not exactly proper. When my parents found out that I had slept with both men and women, they threw me out. I needed a while to find a steady place to live and it happened to be the farm you live on now. Then WWI happened, I was sent off to France and returned to Scotland as a shell shocked* war veteran.

One year after the war ended, I was taking a stroll through the woods and decided, that climbing that oak over there would be a good idea (don't ask). And wouldn't you know it, I fell off and right into the arms of the Queen of the Fae, who took me to the kingdom under the hill, where the Fae live. He (and yes, the Queen is a he) made me his consort and named me after the real Tam Lin, to loosen my ties to the human world. Do you see the ring on my finger? It's a magical chain. As long as I belong to him, it won't come off.

You know, Gabriel, most people have a completely wrong image of faeries. They're not like those cute tiny pixies from children's books. Even the more benevolent Fae are dangerous and the ones I live with aren't benevolent. They are Unseelies**, mischievous at best and outright evil at worst. They assault humans and make them suffer for their entertainment. And if they like one, they steal them away and keep them as slaves for all eternity. Mostly children, because they're purer and easier to lure.”

“But the Queen of the Fae is one of the nicer ones, right?”, Gabriel asked hopefully.

Tam Lin – no, Henry Jekyll – stared at him.

Then he broke into a horrible cackle: “One of the nicer ones?! Him! I've been there for a century and I never met a faerie worse than him! He has hundreds of child slaves and abuses them to his heart's content – that is, if he had a heart! One day we went on a walk and there was a big puddle. Of course he didn't want to get his robes dirty. And do you know what he did?! He ordered a 9-year-old boy to lay down and make a bridge, and then he just walked over him! And he was going to do it again, when we went back on the same path. But I lay down and had him walk over me instead. Then I called him out and he would have struck me, if the Queen Dowager hadn't stepped in. She's one of the less malevolent Unseelies and the only one he respects.”

Gabriel gasped in horror. “That's awful”, he whispered. “Oh my god!”

Henry sighed and continued: “Yeah. Well, I guess he was somewhat impressed, because he stopped with the child trampling altogether. The upside is that I can use my privileges to try to be a good influence on him. I try my best to be kind to him, because … well, there must be a reason why he is like that. But he never lets me forget that I'm just a toy to him. And do you know what the sickest part of this is? I like it. The way he smirks at me, talks to me, touches me, makes me melt like butter. When I share his bed, he bites me, scratches me, bruises me and whispers hurtful things into my ear and I can't get enough of it.

At first I thought that he had bewitched me. But when I confronted him, he laughed and said that it wasn't necessary, I'm just that corrupted. I didn't want to believe it, but the Fae don't lie, not even the evil ones. That's their one redeeming quality.”

Gabriel felt his heart ache and touched the other's cheek. “I'm sure, it's not true”, he tried to comfort him, “He just said that to hurt you. I've seen that kind of people, they know how to take away people's sense of self-worth.”

Henry just lowered his head. “It doesn't matter. After being there for a hundred years, I'm starting to forget who I was. The Queen Dowager told me that I can be saved, as long as I preserve my humanity by remembering who I am. But there are so many things I want to forget and the more faerie-like I become, the more power the Queen holds over me.

Anyway, I had come to terms with spending eternity as his slave. But then I found out, that the Fae have some sort of obligation. Every seven years on Halloween, they pay a tithe to hell. Of course they won't sacrifice one of their own, if they have humans to use instead. This year I'll be the sacrifice. When I found out, I didn't even care, because hell can't be much worse than my life so far. But then … then I met you.”

The blond smiled at him so tenderly, that he felt his heart flutter and his stomach went fuzzy (and not from nausea).

“I've never met someone like you before. You walked into my life and it was as if the sun was rising for me. Suddenly I had someone waiting for me here and something to look forward to. You made me feel warm, at peace and most of all … you made me feel loved.”

His smile faded. “That's why I was afraid of telling you the truth. That the man you have slept with – the father of your child – is the whore of a psychopathic Fae Queen and will be sacrificed to hell tonight. Can you still look me in the eyes and say that you're not disgusted?”

Gabriel cupped his face and looked him dead in the eyes.

“I'm not disgusted. Why would I be? No one deserves this kind of life. And how could I not want to have anything to do with you? I never knew that I needed someone else in my life, until I met you. You make me happier than I've ever been. What you just told me changes nothing about this. Actually, it just makes me want you more. I will keep our child, but only if I can have you too. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, make you feel happy, safe and loved. I love you, Henry Jekyll.”

He was surprised at how easily those words came out of his mouth.

But it was the honest truth.

Henry stared at him. Then he burst into tears and hugged him tightly.

…

“We have to figure something out quickly”, Gabriel spoke up, when they both had calmed down enough. “You will not be sacrificed to hell tonight! There must be a way to prevent this!”

The blond thought for a moment. “Hmm … now that I think about it, there is a way for you to win me.”

Gabriel's sky blue eyes filled with determination. “Tell me.”

“Alright”, Henry said seriously, “Listen closely …”

…

After a short trip home, he had come back to wait for the faerie procession.

Now he was hidden between the bushes, wearing a green coat he had borrowed from his father.

He was incredibly tense.

When was it finally midnight?

Couldn't the procession show up already?

Well, at least it wasn't raining.

At last green lights appeared at the end of the path and grew bigger.

The procession had arrived.

Finally!

He crept behind a bush and got into position.

Figures came into view.

In the front a small, dark-haired faerie with a crown, riding a black horse.

The next was a yellow-haired faerie on a brown horse.

But he ignored them and concentrated on the man riding the white steed.

Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed him by the arm and yanked him out of the saddle.

The two riders before him whirled around, when Henry yelped in shock.

When the dark-haired faerie saw, that Gabriel was holding the blond in his arms, he screeched in outrage: “HOW DARE YOU TAKE WHAT'S MINE!!!”

And promptly transformed the man in Gabriel's arms into a lizard.

Then a snake.

Then a bear.

Then a lion.

But all the while Gabriel remembered what Henry had told him:

“As I'm the father of your child, there will be no way for me to harm you. So whatever they turn me into, don't let go. You have nothing to fear.”

So he didn't let go, not even when the Queen of the Fae turned his lover into a chunk of red-hot iron. It was only when the Queen turned him into a blazing flame, that he promptly dumped him into a conveniently located well nearby.

Now Henry emerged from the water as himself, but naked and now obviously a normal human. Gabriel quickly bundled him up in his coat and hugged him protectively. The blond stuck out his hands and tested, if he could take the ring off. It slipped from his finger effortlessly.

The Queen, seeing that he held no more power over him, shrieked in fury and … wait, was that anguish?

But then the yellow-haired faerie with the ice-blue eyes – probably the Queen Dowager – put a hand on his shoulder from behind and said something in a language Gabriel didn't understand.

The dark-haired faerie took a deep breath and composed himself. Then he smiled grotesquely.

“Congratulations!”, he purred sardonically and his glowing acid green eyes were full of hatred. “You caught yourself one stately groom! Curse you, Gabriel John Utterson! May you suffer a horrible death! My fairest companion, taken away by a mere mortal man in a girl's body! And you!”, he turned to Henry, “If I had seen this night coming, I would have turned your eyeballs into wood!”

Henry glared at him and responded by throwing the ring at him.

The Queen of the Fae caught it and stared at the blond. For a second, his hateful, angry grimace slipped and Gabriel caught sight of something that looked suspiciously like grief.

The dark-haired faerie gave off one last terrible shriek and glared at the black-haired man.

“This is your fault! But do enjoy dealing with his issues and the bastard he put in you and think of me, when you gaze into his lovely brown eyes!”

Gabriel tightened his protective hug and snarled: “With all due respect, your Majesty, you're an arsehole and you brought this upon yourself! You abducted Henry and coerced him into becoming your sex slave, he owes you nothing!!!”

The Queen responded with a “Tsk!”, then turned his back on them and returned to continue the procession.

It was only after the figures were out of sight, that the two men relaxed.

Henry took the other's hand and kissed each finger. “My hero. My saviour. I am yours.”

Gabriel grinned. “Let's go home, you damsel in distress. It's cold and you're still wet and half naked. The next months will be busy. We're going to be parents and you'll need legal papers.”

“I know – wait, did you just call me a damsel in distress?!”

---

*shell shock - an old word for PTSD, used esp. for the war traumata of WWI soldiers

**Unseelie - “Unhallowed/Unholy”, a Northern/Middle English word for dark, malevolent faeries

[ngkiscool]

This week - Warlock Dowling!

The Warlock Chronicles Zine is available for a till the end of the month, don’t wait till the last moment. All the details are here:  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,  Tumblr.

Starting from G to T, no cw unless specified. If I missed something, let me know and I’ll add it.

As always - for feedback, suggestion and recommendations (including self recs) comment here or DM me. Enjoy :)

Switched and Baiting by OtterFi - 755 words, G. Focusing on Warlock, Adam Young, Arthur Young. cw - Thaddeus Dowling displays canon-typical prioritization of work over family. Summary: A young Warlock and Adam happen to be at the same pond for a fishing weekend with their fathers, and both are having very different experiences. That is, until they happen to meet and Adam offers to share fathers for the day.

Pennies From Heaven (Pound Notes From Hell) by Ineffabilitea - 3.2K, G. Focusing on Warlock, Aziraphale and Crowley.  Summary: Warlock just wants to feel special again.

Making Things Right by ngk_is_cool - 2.5K, G.  Focusing on Warlock, Adam Young and Crowley. Summary: Warlock discovers he has a roommate in university, and it was not what he was excepting.

Peace Is Our Profession. by Lanna Michaels (lannamichaels) - 3.9K, G.  Focusing on Warlock, Adam Young and Pepper. Summary: Warlock goes back to Tadfield when she's twenty-four.

A Little Understanding by sosser86 - 500 words, G.  Focusing on Warlock, Nanny Ashtoreth and Crowley. Summary: Six year old Warlock Dowling woke up from a bad dream. He scrambled out of bed, and ran into the corridor. In one direction was his mother, in the other was Nanny's room. He chose Nanny.

Stacking The Deck by Pendragyn - 1.8K, G.  Focusing on Warlock, Harriet Dowling and Agnes Nutter. Summary: We got to watch the first shuffle, but someone else has decided to stack the deck.

Don't listen to him, listen to me by fenrislorsrai - 498 words, G.  Focusing on Warlock and Nanny Ashtoreth. Summary: Sometimes kids turn words back around on you.

Raising Warlock by Luinlothana - 2K, G.  Focusing on Warlock, Nanny Ashtoreth and Crowley. Summary: A few glimpses at Warlock being raised by his Nanny. Which, despite him being a diplomatic kid raised by a demon from Hell, turned out to be surprisingly normal.

Seventh Birthdays by Ineffable lawr (LawrVert) - 1K, N/R. Focusing on Warlock and Adam Young. Summary: Warlock and Adam celebrate two very different seventh birthdays.

A Wizard and A Warlock: Or, How Adam Put the Romance into Necromancy by Thestarlitrose - 6.7K, T.  Focusing on Warlock, Adam Young, Aziraphale and Crowley. cw - MCD (Warlock is a ghost, nothing graphic). Summary: Something strange is going on at the American Ambassadors estate and Adam is determined to get to the bottom of it. Only, he wasn't expecting to like the ghost and he certainly wasn't expecting to grow so attached to him.

Next week - meet the authors of the zine!

[artemis-entreri]

[[ This post contains Part 7 of my review/analysis of the Forgotten Realms/Drizzt novel, Boundless, by R. A. Salvatore. As such, the entirety of this post’s content is OOC. ]]

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Generations: Book 2 | Legend of Drizzt #35 (#32 if not counting The Sellswords)

Publisher: Harper Collins (September 10, 2019)

My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Additional Information: Artwork for the cover of Boundless and used above is originally done by Aleks Melnik. This post CONTAINS SPOILERS. Furthermore, this discussion concerns topics that I am very passionate about, and as such, at times I do use strong language. Read and expand the cut at your own discretion.

Contents:

Introduction

I. Positives I.1 Pure Positives I.2 Muddled Positives

II. Mediocre Writing Style II.1 Bad Descriptions II.2 Salvatorisms II.3 Laborious “Action”

III. Poor Characterization III.1 “Maestro” III.2 Lieutenant III.3 Barbarian III.4 “Hero” III.5 Mother

IV. World Breaks IV.1 Blinders Against the Greater World IV.2 Befuddlement of Earth and Toril IV.3 Self-Inconsistency IV.4 Dungeon Amateur IV.5 Utter Nonsense

V. Ego Stroking V.1 The Ineffable Companions of the Hall V.2 Me, Myself, and I

VI. Problematic Themes VI.1 No Homo VI.2 Disrespect of Women VI.3 Social-normalization VI.4 Eugenics

VII. What’s Next (you are here) VII.1 Drizzt Ascends to Godhood VII.2 Profane Redemption VII.3 Passing the Torch VII.4 Don’t Notice Me Senpai

Note: This was written before the unveiling of the final book’s title. As such, the predictions are outdated.

What’s Next

While Timeless inspired confidence I haven't had in Salvatore for a long while and made me hopeful for the future, overall, Boundless hammered my heart back down into my stomach. Whereas Timeless felt like Salvatore actually had some degree of emotional attachment to what he was writing rather than making a bid to have his characters stick out in Forgotten Realms lore, Boundless backpedaled from this quite a bit. He has some solid turns of phrases in Boundless, but unlike the ones in Timeless, I wouldn't have remembered them if I hadn't specifically noted them down during my reading. In Timeless, we explored more than the constantly-revisited areas of Menzoberranzan, Gauntylgrym, Luskan and others, delving into Ched Nasad. In Boundless, we're back to Menzoberranzan, and furthermore, with most of the action happening in the same area of Menzoberranzan, specifically, in and around The Oozing Myconid tavern. This is reminiscent of how basically all of the action in the city of Helioglabalus during The Sellswords trilogy is condensed to one area, around the cul-de-sac Wall Way. The small but interesting bits of detail that we were treated to in Timeless about characters that we're so familiar with already, such as Jarlaxle, Malice, and the rest of the Do'Urden family, did not continue in Boundless. Gone too is the Realmsian feel that Timeless achieved, for Boundless feels very much like a standard Salvatore insular and tweaked Forgotten Realms. Boundless hammers the lore-rich and location-rich Waterdeep into something with fewer dimensions than Salvatore's current timeline Luskan. While the scenes from the past are still more interesting than the ones set in the present in Boundless, they don't hold a candle to their counterparts in Timeless. There was heart in Jarlaxle and Zaknafein's past in Timeless, and it felt as though it was something that Salvatore had thought about for a long time. By contrast, in Boundless, those scenes feel rote and rehashed, cobbled together from half-formed ideas. Those scenes only manage to not be sleep-inducing because they don't focus on the Companions of the Hall. While Timeless seemed to take a break from the disagreeable conclusions made in the novel preceding it, Boundless is right back on that track again.

All of the above is pretty bad, but things may even get worse. There are in fact many indicators that suggest some of my darkest fears concerning this franchise will come to pass, and  I sincerely hope that's not the case. That said, much of what I say in this section about what might come in the future are speculatory. They are extrapolations based on what I've learned from reading almost all of the over three hundred novels published for the Forgotten Realms, D&D sourcebooks through the editions, and talking with Ed Greenwood and other creatives who have officially worked on the setting. 

Drizzt Ascends to Godhood

Boundless still doesn't tell us where Zaknafein's soul had been. It isn't specifically stated, but I think it's fair to say that it definitely wasn't with Lolth, otherwise, she wouldn't send one of the two souped-up version of the Retriever after him. One could argue that Lolth might've done so because she is fickle and chaotic, but there's fickle, and then there's impractical. Bringing something as powerful as Salvatore's Retriever is supposed to be would tax her no small amount, and even a goddess of chaos, especially one whose resources are already spread thin warring with other demon lords, would not do something that's simply foolish. So, Lolth didn't return Zaknafein, and Yvonnel knows that she isn't getting spells from Lolth but she doesn't know who is granting them to her. If Salvatore weren't obsessed with erasing Eilistraee, the obvious answer would be that the Dark Maiden is looking after Yvonnel. That would be the most logical in-universe explanation, but as far as Salvatore is concerned, Eilistraee doesn't exist unless using her as the subject of ridicule and denigration. Eilistraee's brother Vhaeraun is similarly ignored, but at least is spared the dismissal that Salvatore places upon Eilistraee. It's possible that Yvonnel is getting her spells from someone in the elven pantheon, for aside from Eilistraee and Vhaeraun, the drow pantheon doesn't have any other non-evil members. While some of the Dark Seldarine might want to help Yvonnel simply out of spite for Lolth, that's also unlikely, because it's been clearly stated that Zaknafein was in a good place, and in the realm of one of those evil deities would not constitute a good place. But, it seems unlikely to me that someone from the elven pantheon is granting Yvonnel spells, for while Salvatore doesn't erase their existence, he doesn't acknowledge them either. A person who only reads the Drizzt books wouldn't know the existence of even Corellon Larethian, the patron god of all elves, including at one point the dark elves who were turned into drow. 

So who, then, is granting Yvonnel cleric spells? It might very well be left as a mystery forever, but what I suspect and fear is a rather convoluted scenario. Specifically: Drizzt, the god of goodly drow in the future, is granting the spells to Yvonnel in the present. Sounds crazy, right? I totally agree, but sadly, despite how many D&D creators warn about how bad of an idea time travel is in D&D, it's not implausible, and in fact, many things hint at the possibility, especially in Boundless. First, there's Drizzt's strange disappearing act at the end of novel that I discussed earlier. This could very well be him ascending to godhood. Second, it's been building up throughout the novels that Drizzt has become a beacon to all male drow, including a maverick like Jarlaxle. In the Realms, the power of belief is what grants gods power, and it is so strong such that races like the kuo-toa have believed gods into existence without there even being an individual to elevate with that belief. Drizzt, as represented by Salvatore, certainly would have enough "followers" to elevate him into demi-god status at the very least. Furthermore, Salvatore has demonstrated an eagerness to do everything possible to his golden boy, and while Drizzt himself, if he were true to his character, wouldn't want to be a god, making him into an actual god is getting pretty near the only good thing that Salvatore hasn't done to Drizzt yet. 

What has me the most suspicious that this is where Salvatore is going is the talk between Quenthel and Sos'Umptu about a "spark", one that "resided in Zaknafein before Drizzt". The word "spark" is often used in Realms material when referencing godly essence, for instance, Chosens are imbued with the sparks of their gods, mortals ascend to godhood when a divine spark is passed onto them, etc. The mention of the spark that father passed to son happens amidst a discussion between two very powerful priestesses of what was pre-fated and the intervention of higher powers. It feels very much like the Child of Prophecy scenario in the Naruto franchise, with Zaknafein being the parallel of Nagato and Minato in that his superiority marked him as a potential candidate to fulfill a great prophecy, but ultimately he failed to do so and the responsibility is passed onto the next worthy candidate, in this case, Drizzt. I'm not fond of this possibility because it's completely unnecessary and uncharacteristic. The only reason for Salvatore to elevate Drizzt to godhood is to further erase Eilistraee, to write his own name over the tapestry some more, and I suppose to garner more money from unthinking sycophantic fans who lack the ability to critically examine anything. Drizzt as a god would also be superfluous, for what he'd stand for is already covered by Eilistraee, with what she doesn't cover instead handled by Vhaeraun's portfolio. It isn't uncommon for gods' portfolios to overlap, but those overlaps are more like the intersection between circles of a venn diagram rather than a nigh-total eclipse. I suppose Drizzt could be the patron god of sanctimony, melodrama, preachiness and self-congratulation, but those traits hardly deserve a patron god. Realistically, if Drizzt is to be wedged into the drow pantheon, what would happen is that he would weaken the already goodly forces there. People of the Realms are polytheistic, but many have a main god that they worship, and with that taken away from existent gods, so, too, is the power they get from their followers' belief. At least it's consistent with how Drizzt is written, if not how he is supposed to be, for him to, yet again, be a damaging force to true good.

Profane Redemption

Salvatore seems to have this notion that Artemis Entreri needs to be "redeemed", and his definition of redemption is to become similar to Drizzt and the Companions of the Hall. It's as though he only knows how to write one character archetype, and seeing how he forces all of his characters down the same path, I honestly don't know if Salvatore simply can't write other archetypes, or doesn't feel like he should out of some sense that there is only one "correct" way for people to be. The idea that Entreri needs to be "redeemed" at all is questionable. What, exactly, does Entreri need to be redeemed for? For killing many people? Certainly, this is a sin, but Drizzt and the Companions of the Hall have killed many more, and yet they are celebrated heroes whose every action is unquestionably right. One could argue that Drizzt and the Companions only killed the "bad guys", but by whose definition are "bad guys"? Salvatore's definition of good versus evil is as inconsistent as his work is with itself, and comes from a position of privilege. We're told that Entreri never killed anyone unnecessarily, so really, is he deserving of the same fate as the old lecher, who at best was a child trafficker, and at worst, a child molester? Salvatore apparently believes so, with how the adjudicator "demon" possessing Sharon subjects the two to the same fate. I'm not arguing that Entreri did nothing wrong. He was absolutely a villain. Whatever his reasons might be, he did murder people. He did kill innocents for his personal gain, for instance stealing the life force from passed out drunks in alleyways to heal himself. He does have sins to atone for. However, what troubles me is Salvatore's stated reason for the need to redeem Entreri in an interview during the release of Timeless: 

Artemis Entreri surprised me quite a bit in the Sellswords trilogy, in Road of the Patriarch. That was supposed to be the end of Artemis Entreri. Road of the Patriarch was the perfect redemption, that redemptive moment where you could have hoped that Artemis Entreri ended on the right track. But after I wrote the book I got so many letters from people who had gone through similar traumas that Entreri had gone through when he was kid. They said, “You can’t end it here. We have to see him redeemed.” I got dozens of letters from people saying, “Please continue this character. This is personal to me.” And I was like, well, maybe I’ll learn something by continuing with this character. And I did. That’s a good thing.

What I came to realize about Artemis Entreri is that a driving force in him was why he couldn’t look at himself in the mirror without self-loathing: it was guilt. And it was guilt over things that had been done to him, not things that he had done. I don’t think I ever understood that until after I put him on the road of redemption.

I am honestly not sure what to think regarding Salvatore's claim that people who had gone through similar traumas as Entreri wants to see Entreri "redeemed". Young victims of physical abuse, sexual assault, parental neglect and betrayal have not done anything wrong, and while Salvatore is right about people that go through such horrors carrying guilt over what happened to them, I'm skeptical about whether Salvatore correctly understood his fans. My own background falls into that category, and I've interacted with others like me as we desperately tried to make sense of why the universe apparently deemed we deserved what happened to us. With the internet bringing greater connectivity between people, I found countless others like me, and have managed to arrive at a point in which I at least logically believe that what happened to me wasn't deserved. What I know from my own experiences and what I've learned from others differ so much and so consistently from Salvatore's recount that I can't help but wonder if some words got crossed with him. With people like me, "redemption" isn't what we fundamentally want. We want our scars to heal and we want to do it at our own pace, in our own way, to feel valid even though we have trouble fitting societal norms. Trauma victims are often misunderstood and dismissed because they are different, and really, all they want is for that to not happen. Salvatore's "redemption" of Entreri is to make him more like the very social-normative Drizzt, which is the opposite of what a trauma victim would want. In reality, a trauma victim who is being pressured to conform to another's perceived notions of normalcy, like what Drizzt does to Entreri, would react very badly to it. Furthermore, traumas, especially childhood ones, don't simply go away through the performance of some deeds, or even a great amount of deeds like helping others, which those privileged enough to have never experienced abuse at the hands of another seem to believe is the key to salvation. Traumas go away only with the passage of time, and the presence of people in one's life who understand the individual and accept them for who they are, who try to help them be the best version of themselves rather than the best societal model of a person. It's only normal for victims of trauma at the hands of others to resent and distrust people as a whole, and their traumas tend to be exacerbated by being told that they won't recover unless they help others, which often translates into, "I need to help those who will hurt me" in a trauma brain. Salvatore represents Entreri as having gotten past his childhood traumas because he received some degree of fulfillment from helping the people of Port Llast. Furthermore, Salvatore makes it appear that Drizzt's influence in Entreri's life is what led him down the path of "redemption", but realistically, what Drizzt has done is push Entreri to be like him. The reality of what should be happening is actually very damaging to Entreri. If Entreri isn't self-aware enough of what he truly wants, which is the case for a lot of trauma victims, he might be going along with Drizzt, even earnestly, because he's led to believe it'll help him feel better. The thing is, each person's recovery from trauma is unique, and has to come from within; following someone else's path more often than not leads to more damage, especially when it's the path that someone who doesn't bother to understand them lays out for them, as is the case for Drizzt with Entreri. If Entreri is self-aware enough, he should be resisting Drizzt, but he doesn't, which suggests it's the previous example, and that in turn has a lot of dark and problematic undertones, with one standing out in particular: Drizzt's behavior is abusive towards Entreri. 

While many were unhappy with the way that Road of the Patriarch concluded, especially back when it seemed to be the last that we'd see of Entreri, it was, in so many ways, a much kinder treatment of him than what's being done in continuing his saga. Over seven decades of enslavement by the Netherese would've deepened his trauma and made them more difficult to dislodge, but Salvatore doesn't seem to understand this at all. It would be less cheap and contrived, not to mention less invalidating, if Salvatore had Entreri's issues cured via magic or psionics. By espousing the belief that anyone can be "fixed" through a set approach, or needs to be "fixed" at all, Salvatore damages more than his own character, he helps spread an idea that will further hurt and invalidate real trauma victims. Sadly, things don't seem like they will get better. The artificial "development" forced onto Entreri in Hero was so depressing to me that it made it hard for me to read anything for almost two years. Timeless was a break from that, and indeed seemed like Salvatore was abandoning that tack, but Boundless dashed those hopes thoroughly. Entreri gets caught as a result of putting others before himself, and while it's conceivable that he'd save Dahlia before trying to escape, him doing the same for Regis without a second thought is a Drizzt characteristic, not his. Furthermore, he'd saved Regis before saving Dahlia. Without intending it, the events that Salvatore creates are actually an accurate metaphor for what happens to a damaged individual who is made to believe that another's path is their own: they unsuccessfully see it to completion, and get themselves mired in greater suffering. 

What appears to await Entreri in the future, as suggested by Boundless, is pretty disheartening, to say the least. As we see in the case of the old lecher, "Sharon"'s cocoon, in addition to killing its victims, apparently ensnares the victims' soul and damns it to an eternity of suffering. Furthermore, that cocoon apparently also informs the victims the reason why they are thusly damned. I can't help but feel that the cocoon is more than an analogy, I suspect that Salvatore is employing it as yet another cheap and lazy character development device. By the end of Boundless, Entreri has realized that his agony will be an eternal one, and is due to his many victims. I suspect in the final book, Entreri will be saved from the cocoon, but he'll emerge as a redeemed butterfly, changing the last of his non-conforming ways and becoming another boring good guy Drizzt clone. His reasons for doing so might be due to his realization in the cocoon that he'd have suffered for eternity unless he changes, which Salvatore could pretend is more in line with Entreri's character. However, the entire thing is incredibly artificial. Whatever "demon" possessing Sharon is doesn't exist in FR lore and was made up solely to use as a cheap plot device. Furthermore, the "demon" just randomly finds Entreri and Dahlia. Its own affiliation with the Margaster plot is that it happens to possess a Margaster child, but otherwise, it wasn't an obstacle to a specific goal. It was just sort of there. If there was a situation in which the conflict of judging good versus evil was relevant, then the creature could've been a meaningful obstacle. For example, if Entreri or any other character on a path to "redemption" exposes how the kind of judgment the creature passes is flawed and arbitrary, and then manages to make a step towards overcoming that internal conflict, that would make Salvatore's definition of "redemption" more palatable. As it is, it's just really random and being shoved down our throats. The fact that Entreri doesn't casually toss about the word "friend" like he does in Timeless is little consolation if Salvatore is indeed using the cocoon how I suspect he is using it. Entreri the redeemed butterfly would be truly a tragic and terrible closure for his character, or any character for that matter.

Passing the Torch

The title of the next book hasn't been revealed yet, but I've got a feeling that it will be "Endless". Thus far, "Timeless" and "Boundless" both suggest something without constraint, and "Endless" would fit this as well as following the -less format. I'd like the Drizzt books to end with the Generations trilogy, but it seems unlikely with the name of the trilogy, and even more so if the title of the last book is indeed "Endless". I do wonder if perhaps there's more truth to Salvatore's words that the legend of Drizzt is over and that a new era has begun. He might not have been successful with that in Timeless, nor was he with the endless amounts of tedious recaps in Boundless, but the allusions to the Stone of Tymora series, as well as "Generations" for the trilogy title, makes me wonder if he intends to pass his legacy to his son, Geno. Catti-brie is very pregnant and will give birth soon, so perhaps Salvatore means to pass the torch down to his next generation as his characters do the same. Geno's writing style as displayed in Stone of Tymora wasn't anything to brag about, but there was at least a refreshing quality to it. Furthermore, Geno has shown himself to be what his father isn't, a true ally to LGBT+ folks, through actions such as posting publicly in defense of fans who ship same-sex characters of the Drizzt series. While Entreri doesn't need to be redeemed, the Drizzt books certainly do, and perhaps Geno is the one who will bring that redemption. I certainly hope so, for as it is, I'm back to dreading a reality in which the Drizzt books are the only Forgotten Realms novels that we'll get forever.

Don't Notice Me Senpai

I've been very critical of Salvatore, but I don't hate him. What I'd really like is to respect him, but as his work currently is, I'm unable to do that. In my review of Timeless, I wrote, "I suppose it wouldn’t be fair to Salvatore to completely attribute all of Timeless’ writing improvements to his editor(s). He had to be willing to listen, to accept that what he’d written could be improved". Boundless did backpedal quite a bit, but perhaps he did listen. My significant other has long suspected that Salvatore reads my long ramblings that I doubt anyone reads, for there have been some really startling coincidences between how his writing changes and the stuff I point out in my reviews. I'm not exactly nice about Salvatore, so I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't read my criticisms of him, as he's always seemed really thin-skinned. Still, it is a bit scary how things line up, and really, he doesn't have to like me, he can even hate my guts, but if he did indeed decide to even read one of my articles about him and his work and took some of it to heart, I'd completely redo my evaluation of him. To give a few examples of the coincidences, in the past, I'd mock him quite a bit for how often he'd use "six hundred pounds of panther". This has wholly disappeared. I'd criticize him harshly for gratuitous lesbian sex scenes, which have also disappeared. I pointed out that he'd failed at making Timeless an appropriate starting or restarting point due to how much it ties into so many past events that aren't explained, and Boundless took explaining the past to a ridiculous level. I criticized Salvatore for how "magnificent" is used in Timeless, and it's greatly improved in Boundless. I'd chastised his weird use of "fashioned", and it doesn't appear at all in Boundless. These are just some of the many coincidences, and ultimately, I do think they are coincidences, even if the amount of them and how well they line up freak me out more than a little.     

On a final note, since I'd berated Timeless' cover art, I wanted to note that the cover art for Boundless is an improvement. The artist has changed, Aleksi Briclot did the covers for the Homecoming Trilogy as well as Timeless, but the artist credited with Boundless' cover is "Aleks Melnik/Shutterstock". I can't help but wonder what happened. Boundless' cover seems to have abandoned the attempt at Sumi-E, which I described as, "if you're going to appropriate my culture, at least do it justice". There's still a wispy and abstract feel to the cover of Boundless, but there's no longer that pseudo brushstroke work. I don't personally care for the art style, but I have no strong feelings about it either. I'm not too worried about my brutal honesty having had any affect on Briclot. While I felt the cover for Timeless was only slightly less of a travesty than the novel preceding it, I have a great deal of respect for Briclot as an artist. His technical skill is solid and his attention to detail is superb. Briclot's Artstation portfolio shows pieces from major franchises like Thor: Ragnarok after his work for Timeless, so most likely, he's too busy with higher visibility projects to bother with Drizzt anymore.

If you've made it to the end, congratulations and thank you for tuning in! As always, I'm happy to discuss your thoughts and feelings about these books, but fair warning: in case you haven't garnered from this piece, I'm far from an unconditional Salvatore fan. I care deeply about the world as a whole, and would love to share with you its beauty. I care deeply about doing justice to the characters, but am not above goofing off with them. My views are my own. I am not affiliated in any way with Wizards of the Coast or HarperCollins.