#this totally bodes so well for the party!!

[kd-is-sus]

Watching c3 ep78 and heard Laudna say *that* and I made the exact same face as Travis.

[hitlikehammers]

time for that age old question: is love enough to beat back the apocalypse?

Because Steve's right there to protect everybody like the self-sacrificing asshole he is help Eddie make the music he's not strong enough for yet help them all put Vecna in the ground for good this time, right?(!??!)

or: what's the song for your walkman, baby? does it even matter?

I Could Be Your Nurse (or something)

Or: Five Times Eddie Has To Ask For Help, Plus One Time He Doesn’t Need It Anymore (but asks anyway) ✨ for @penny00dreadful 💜

<<< three: sleep 🌗

🎧 🎹 four: play 🎶 🛡️

To tell the whole truth of it: it comes too quickly—Vecna’s last stand. Of course it does.

But probably, if he’s being fair: they’d never have been really ready. Not for this, and so maybe it’s best that they’re not fully healed, not at full strength when it all comes to a head, not least because that means Vecna and his petal-toothed brigade aren’t at full strength either. And that choice, for their side, is sloppy; the Party stands on the right-side-up against the attack because they have to. Vecna makes his move because—or else, Eddie’s fairly sure—because the sadistic ballsac is losing his fucking mind.

Which is terrifying, sure, but fuck if it doesn’t help their cause.

It’s actually over pretty quick, even compared to Spring Break which, while it felt like a lifetime for how much it changed Eddie’s own, it’s only been those handful of days—but it’s kinda like the grand finale at a fireworks show: everything all at once then, done. In the everything’s though: he might not like it, but Eddie’s not so foolish as to believe he’s not still too tender, still too deep in healing the finer points of being gnawed alive to be anything but a burden in the thick of it. He refuses to be sidelined, though, and he thinks it says a lot for the long-term health of this glorious impossible thing he’s…building? Yeah, he, umm, he, Eddie Munson, is building a real goddamn thing where he doesn’t even just let someone into his heart and treasures them there, no, he’s building a thing where he gives his heart and gets on new and soft and trembling in kind and they both get to work at the treasuring of something more precious than just their own vulnerable insides, but yeah, yeah:

Eddie thinks it bodes really fucking well for the hopes he has that lean hard toward forever, already, in Eddie’s chest at least when Steve looks his way as they’re planning the teams and he locks eyes with Eddie and Eddie doesn’t even get his mouth open to breathe, to plead don’t cut me out, don’t send me to Wayne to be ‘safe’ or ‘out of harm’s way’ or whatever, don’t leave me so fucking far from you my heart hurts just because it’s beating in the middle space unmoored and shaking around all bruised up with it for not knowing and I know I can’t do what everyone else can but it’ll be bad enough not being next to you please don’t push me far enough that I won’t know the moment you’re safe, just—

Steve meets his eyes, and Eddie’s breath catches before his heart trips, and then Steve speaks up—and he doesn’t, not all that often when the nerdiest among them are shoring up the battle plans—but he watches Eddie without blinking when he pipes up:

“Eddie’s on medical and audio, with Erica and Jon.”

And maybe it’s his tone—this almost wholly novel thing in Steve that’s steely and unquestionable but no one pushes, they nod and get back to work, totally seamless and, and…yeah. That’s all Eddie wanted. Best he could hope for. Just outside the gate they go through. Close enough to hold a hand on the way down, and reach for purchase on the journey back.

Steve swallows hard, and nods at Eddie before he looks away and starts gearing up, twirls his fucking nailbat so it catches the sunlight even thought the metal’s mostly rusted, now and just…Eddie hadn’t needed to say a word. And Steve wanted to send him to safety, the way his throat had bobbed made it real clear there was something heavy he’s held back but: he’d said what he said. He’d laid the line in Eddie’s favor. Eddie wants to hold him, wants to pull him close and feel him breathe, and—

Yeah. Eddie kinda feels like the way it goes is a really good sign for their future as a couple. A couple. Them. Together.

With an always on the other side of all of this that could be kinda fucking magnificent, maybe. Given the chance.

Point being: Eddie gets himself set up with at least a full ambulance’s supplies for first aid, definitely not acquired legally, and a stereo set up he really wishes someone had been kind enough to outfit him with in not-the-apocalypse, holy shit is it gorgeous, but since the strength in his hands is still a work-in-progress, he’s gotta be ready to crank up the noise as a distraction from arm’s-length. It’s actually driving him fucking crazy—or, was; it was, pre-active return to the regularly scheduled world ending—the whole not being able to make music, to translate the noise in his head into sounds on the strings but even that, even that’s been tolerable, survivable because of Steve—who he loves, he gets to love Steve Harrington holy fuck—but Steve’s not just there to be everything and more than the air Eddie goddamn breathes, to become the music just by existing, nope, he one ups that shit: he asked Eddie if it’d be enough to learn the chords he needs. So Eddie could match the words with the notes right, so Steve could be a—

“—kinda piss-poor substitute but,” Steve had shrugged for it with a crooked grin; “but even a bad translator gets a message across, and you’d know when it’s wrong so we can figure out how to fix it and—“

And Eddie’d grabbed Steve’s chin and yanked his mouth close to fucking consume that man like a soul goddamn starved.

“I’d be a shit teacher,” Eddie had mouthed against Steve’s lips after they were sucked well-swollen; “if I still can’t lift the fucking neck for more than a minute,” but Steve had heard none of it, just shot right back:

“You don’t think we’ve beat steeper odds than that?”

And in the face of that raised brow, those red lips parted, that pulse in that neck still a little bit visible like a tease: the fuck was Eddie supposed to do but dive back in and love on the man who’d somehow agreed to be his, and to claim Eddie of all people in turn?

Which is a whole other reason why everything’s gonna be fine: Steve’s gonna make music with him. Steve’s gonna be Eddie’s muse and the vessel for what he inspires. It’s gonna be like Greek fucking poetry, except it’s gonna be them.

So Eddie’s all stocked up, s’got everyone’s floaty-bone-breaky songs queued up on blast for immediate deployment as necessary, and Steve’s the last to go through—he always is, in Eddie’s experience, waits for everyone to be safely accounted for before he spares a thought for himself and it might kill Eddie one day but not fucking today, because it’s gonna be fine—

“Eddie.”

It feels a little like history repeating itself, the way Steve huddles him in a little. Henderson’s through, with Lucas and Hopper and the weird stray Russian, but it’s not like history repeating, because Eddie’s got different words to see him off with; so fucking different.

“Last time I didn’t have,” and Steve reaches, cups Eddie’s cheek, drags down to press on his chest as his voice strains hard: “and it almost killed me,” and Steve usually pinches between his eyes to keep his feelings in check but instead of using his free hand to hold back the tears he reaches for Eddie’s and laces their fingers as his voice cracks and he chokes out:

“Please,” and it’s for everything. For all the almosts from last time; for all the possibilities rife this time. For all the hopes Eddie thinks they share beyond how this shakes out.

“Exceptionally underqualified field med,” Eddie breathes, and squeezes Steve’s hand so, so hard like a promise, because it is; “exceptionally overqualified DJ,” and Steve chuckles, wet but real and it’s enough, because:

“I got it, Stevie,” Eddie bends his forehead to Steve’s to say better than with words that he’s not in this to be a hero, he’ll be right here the whole time, but that doesn’t mean he…that doesn’t mean he can help but to ask this time:

“Just,” and the breath in him punches out unexpectedly as he damn-near begs:

“Only bring me back the little things, yeah? That I know how to fix?”

And they both hear what’s said underneath it:

Don’t turn around and die down there, and kill me in kind..

And—if anyone’s keeping track—they turn out not to need it but: the way the kiss is a wholeass wartime farewell, man.

And then: Eddie waits, and fucks with the speakers for less than an hour before the earth shakes, and his heart drops, but then he hears it.

The fucking whooping of those shitheads echoing through the cracks.

And then he sees it, runs, grabs the first hand that’s clinging to the rope this time and pulls with strength he doesn’t have, is probably more a hindrance than a help but he steadies them each back on the ground and hugs them so tight, kisses more than one of them on the head or the cheek as he doesn’t pretend not to be sobbing through the laughter because they did it, they fucking did it, somehow it’s over and he loves these people and he’s so fucking happy they’re alive and safe and here and—

And the person he loves more, loves most, brings up the rear, a little bloodied, a little scratched up, dingy with the fucking air down there but smiling and Eddie…

Eddie falls into him so fucking hard they both hit the ground and just, just grab onto one another. Just hold and breathe and catch lips every few seconds like an afterthought because they feel each other’s heartbeat where their chests are pressed tight and it’s, they’re…

Steve’s got four broken fingers across both hands. None in a row. He’s basically giving a Vulcan salute by default for how they’re taped.

Eddie loves him so goddamn much it hurts.

And Eddie’d obviously known—once things start to settle in the days that’ve followed—that teaching Steve guitar with those Spock-y hands was on the back burner, but he does ask Steve to sit, and to rest, and to help hum back the tunes in Eddie’s head while Eddie jots lyrics with a hand that’s still shaky but steadying out more every day, and it’s kind of perfect, and Steve adds some things into the melodies either on purpose or by accident but they’re better for it every time and—

Muse and vessel, man. The light of Eddie’s whole goddamn life.

With fucking Vulcan hands still, though, so: excuse Eddie for being…bewildered when his boyfriend—boyfriend, that’s his boyfriend—but his taped-up-healing-Vulcan-handed boyfriend is propping the front door open and lugging in a long, not-recovery-friendly thing that looks close to dropping on his toes and—

“The fuck are you doing?” Eddie asks with a little more panic in his voice than he’d hoped for as he rushes as best he can to where Steve’s kicking the door shut behind him, fluttering his hands around uselessly as Steve maneuvers past him, leans across for a peck at the corner of Eddie’s mouth and calls—“It’s fine, it weighs, like, nothing”—over his shoulder as he settles the, the thing down on the coffee table in the living room they’ve started actually using for, y’know.

Living.

Eddie follows him in, though, because of course, he’s half-a-dog on that man’s heels, whole-caught-in-the-gravity-of-his-everything: but Eddie follows as Steve tosses himself backward with something in his hand, rolls and rucks up his fucking absurd Hawking Middle tee across the sweet curve of his hips, the way the soft give of skin tempts Eddie to run his tongue over the trail of almost-curls, like baby-curls where they lead under the waist of his jeans: Eddie would happily volunteer to survive on the taste of that musky-delicate space until the end of goddamn time—

But then Steve’s huffing a breathless ha from behind a chair where he’d been stretched to reach and a light catches Eddie’s eye from his periphery where he’d been staring unblinking just at Steve: the big long black thing on the coffee table. It takes a genuine concerted effort not to keep at the Steve-staring—not an uncommon state of Eddie’s existence, in all fairness—and check what’s glowing on the table: something turned on. Was plugged in, right, that’s what had Steve rolling on the floor without Eddie on top of or being deliciously pinned down by him.

The something being the big long black thing that Eddie takes in for the whole of it, now: a keyboard.

“Jon picked it up for me second-hand from the place next to Fox Photo when he drove down for his camera, and Rob vouched that it’s a good brand and like, really good condition,” Steve’s raised up on his knees, now with his hands braces on his thighs as Eddie studies the keys, fingers the ends of a every few of the naturals.

“Rob helped with those, too, so I’d know the right, like, chords,” and yeah: they’re stupa of masking tape stuck to the keys with letters in blue, black, and red pen, alternating so they don’t get mixed up, some with and arrow, Eddie assumes, to indicate a sharp.

“I only remember like half of one song from when my parents thought it would look good to have me take piano lessons,” Steve huffs in whole-ass judgment; “my mom wanted the endorsement of the guy who was stepping down from city council, and his wife taught private lessons, so, y’know,” Steve rolls his eyes; “super convenient leading up to the election.”

“What song?”

Steve blinks, tips his head in askance for what Eddie recognizes very clearly as something closer to a croak than a question, his throat all tight. He tries to cough, to clear it.

“What song do you remember?”

Steve snorts at that, leans back on his palms, and fuck is he beautiful.

“Clair de Lune,” Steve grins crooked; “the one song I was allowed to pick, instead of just being assigned.”

“Why’d you pick it?” Not that Eddie doesn’t like it or anything. It’s more that…he knew Steve could more than just drum fingers on keys, if only just, and that a baby grand used to sit in the corner where there’s a stereo cabinet now, but.

But: see, there’s like a whole half of his heart that’s dedicated to collecting new knowledge about everything Steve: his favorite food when he was 12 versus the now. How his favorite color became his favorite color. The story behind all the polos. The nitty-gritties about why he’s in a big-ass house alone for approximately 360 days a year, and how long it’s been that way. Eddie’s whole heart is basically Steve’s but every day that half overflows a little, and Eddie’s only keeping it relegated to parts filled with Steve-lore so he can feel the collection break containment every other day, this grand and joyous bursting under his ribs as everything spills over again, and again, and again until it’s all just Steve, and his heart has to burst or stretch, or both.

Eddie thinks both will be amazing.

And right now, in the interest of building toward that amazing-both: he wants to know why Debussy.

Steve chuckles to himself—better music than any dead French guy by a country mile—and eyes Eddie almost slyly.

“Do you remember Claire Reynolds?”

Vaguely. Like, very vaguely. He remembers…uneven pigtails. Very actual-cult-like vibes about her family as a vague impression and now that he’s bringing it to mind he feels a new wave of indignation: those Children-of-the-Corn motherfuckers were just fine but Eddie liked a board game and he was probably a murderer.

“When we were in like, first grade,” Steve’s continuing on; “she asked me every, single, day, to come over and see her sheep.” Steve looks up at Eddie and bites his lower lip, lets his gaze dance and lets Eddie fall into it for a few dazed seconds before he spells it out.

“She had these crazy eyes about it, it was kinda unsettling,” Steve nudges, but Eddie’s doesn’t get it until:

“And it’s not like I do now, because obviously I don’t, but I definitely didn’t speak a lick of French when I was eight.”

It takes Eddie a hot second before he snorts hard enough to hurt:

Claire, da Loon.

“I was eight,” Steve protests Eddie’s laughter halfheartedly even as he joins in, reaches to slap at Eddie’s upper arm which honestly: just makes him laugh harder.

“Anyway,” Steve fights through the last of the chuckling as it peters out between them, drags himself to sitting next to the coffee table and taps his hand to the top of the keyboard.

“I know it’s not the same as learning guitar to help, and I can probably only get the top and bottom notes with these,” he lifts his Vulcan-fingers his a shrug; “but I was hoping that’d be better than nothing?”

And, like, how Eddie was talking about his heart having to swell, for all the things he gets to tuck inside of it that come with loving Steve Harrington?

He might crack a rib, just now, because—

“This is for me?”

Steve purses his lips, lifts a brow:

“Well, technically it’s for me,” steve singles his fingers, which looks absurd with the splints; “but yeah. To help you get the songs out. I mean, once these are free again, you can help me with the guitar like we talked about, until you’re—“

And Eddie cannot be blamed, see: he cannot be fucking blamed for tackling Steve to the floor and kissing him hard enough to bruise because…

“You got hurt,” Eddie half-breathes between kisses; “you got hurt and I was so afraid I was gonna lose you,” and Eddie reaches for those taped fingers and kisses them, too: so gentle and Steve’s expression softens so quick:

“I was scared, too,” he whispers between them, cups Eddie’s face with his unloaded hand; “you were as safe as I could make you within the fucking city limits but I was still so goddamn scared.”

Cue more rib-cracking for the heart-swelling, because Jesus fucking Christ.

“And you,” Eddie exhales, slow and shaky; “you’re hurt, but you went and got,” he nods to the keyboard;

“I know it’s not ideal,” Steve’s quick to, to what, apologize? For being insane and perfect and—

“Shut up,” Eddie says, voice low and watery and he’s still kissing at Steve’s fingers, holding his wrist delicate but also like a lifeline.

“You’re hurt,” Eddie maybe kinda moans it because he hates it, as much as he’s so fucking grateful that’s it’s just this, no worse than this; “and you still—”

“I promised, didn’t I?”

And that…that’s one thing Eddie’s learned beyond reproach; that even to his detriment, Steve keeps his goddamn promises.

And he’d promised to help Eddie get his words out, to place the lyrics to the notes and help unclutter his brain so he didn’t lose his mind.

Holy fucking hell.

“Steve,” Eddie starts, shakes his head, needs to find the right words. “You’re alive,” the most important thing. “You are healing,” another most important thing, for Eddie to oversee and make sure of, even as Steve keeps an eye on the last lingering threads of the long haul on Eddie’s road to recovery in kind, his beloved mother hen.

“This is,” and he runs his fingers too light to draw sounds across the keys, hopes he sounds as awed and grateful as he feels; “but you, you’ve gotta test, you have to,” and Eddie shakes his head and lifts his eyes to just fucking ask it:

“Why?”

And Steve: Steve just studies his face for a few seconds, reads what he needs before he smiles kinda exasperated, mostly fond and answers so simply, while also breaking a few more of Eddie’s ribs when he just says:

“Because I love you.”

And Eddie’s heart’s not so overfull yet of all of Steve, it’s not fair that it just bursts right then and there, Eddie propelled into Steve’s arms to kiss him deep this time, like he’s searching out Steve’s soul to taste and maybe he is, save that he needs his heart to not have exploded for feeling if he’s going to keep the memory of it safe in his chest for always, he needs to patch his heart back up first but he’s too distracted, too drowned in the way love actually fucking feels, fucking shifts his cells around and makes a new version of him, lets his heart grow bigger except it went and blasted apart with the unprecedented immensity of loving and—

And then Eddie’s got Steve’s taped up hands on both his cheeks, and he remembers that night, in the shower, where Steve ripped the seams from his shirt so taking it off wouldn’t hurt him; notices how Steve is wearing that same fucking shirt in this very moment, all in one piece, like it never split apart in the first place.

Master seamstress, tried and tested and true; truer than anything.

So Eddie just dives back in and kisses with everything in him, thinks maybe when Steve tastes the pieces of Eddie’s blowout heart under his tongue while Eddie goes diving for the sweet lick of Steve’s soul:

Eddie thinks Steve’s mouth might know how to stitch up torn things, too. Especially the kinds that are ripped at their seams wholly for the sake of loving that fucking hard.

✨permanent tag list: OPEN (lmk if you want to be added/removed): @pearynice @hbyrde36 @slashify @finntheehumaneater @wxrmland @dreamwatch @perseus-notjackson @estrellami-1 @bookworm0690 @imhereforthelolzdontyellatme @nerdyglassescheeseychick @swimmingbirdrunningrock @goodolefashionedloverboi @sanctumdemunson

divider credits here & here

👾 title credit here

💫 ao3 link here

[chemicallywrit]

Happy Audio Drama Sunday! School is out for me, so I can finally rest. Oh man. I needed the rest. It's great to sit there an not move, isn't it? And I got to listen to so many good podcasts this week as well, it really made the last week of school a treat. Let's take a look:

🍔 I feel like every new episode of @midnightburgr is a precious little gem, and this one is no different. I love getting to see pre-found-family Casper. You can't escape the found family, idiot, get cherished! It's been good to watch his character development throughout the show, and then seeing this little missing piece of it that he doesn't quite remember answers several questions about him. I love him. He's the worst and I love him. Alongside each of the three sisters, this season is promising to be absolutely fascinating.

📼 Oh The Magnus Protocol, you never disappoint. I want to run this episode by the teenagers I know to see what they think of it, because I understood what the influencer was saying, but I know many adults who absolutely would not. Like, I'm on this website. Meanwhile, Alice rejecting help is setting her up for something truly awful and I dread what her fate may be. It's delicious.

👻 @monstrousproductions's Travelling Light is often so soft and good--I neglected to include last week's episode on the AD Sunday write-up, like a FOOL, even though it made me CRY--but this episode settles into a gorgeous little ghost story that's honestly the logical conclusion of creative sentients in space. I loved it. On top of that, there's this tiny morsel of Óli's backstory that I am DYING to know more about. I can't wait for the next ep.

🪲 @cryptonature always hits just right, but this last episode was everything I want in the world. MOSS TIDE MOSS TIDE MOSS TIDE

🧛🏻‍♂️What a treat it is to listen to @re-dracula along with everyone this year. I am loving everyone's analysis and thoughts this go-round and I am once again appreciating the work of Ben Galpin and Karim Kronfli in creating just the most horrific character dynamic. I know droughtula is imminent, so there's still plenty of time to catch up. Join us, join us, join us--

✂️ In Hannah news, Inn Between is starting to wrap up for the season! This week brings the penultimate episode, which is definitely totally fine and won't bode ill for any beloved party members of the Lowlifes. We'll also see the last episode of "Run Rabbit" on The Dead, and I'm so pleased with my actors' work, so I can't wait to hear what the sound wizards have done with it.

Hey! This week is better than last as far as finances go--thanks to my beloveds for helping out--but if you like what I make or enjoyed reading this, would you consider leaving me a tip?

See y'all next week!

[keldae]

Four word prompts - “You love me, right?”

“... So, you love me, right?” Devi abruptly asked as the party made their way down one of the countless alleys in the Lower City. She squeezed Gale's hand in hers as she looked up at the wizard.

Blinking at the suddenness of the question, Gale looked down at Devi with a concerned frown. “Of course I love you, my rose. Why would you ask that? Have I done something to make you question me?”

“No! Far from it.” Devi squeezed his hand again. “Would you love me even if I did something particularly dumb?”

Suspicion crept into Gale's mind; his eyes narrowed as he looked at Devi. Her wide, earnest eyes and the way she worried at her lower lip with her teeth almost hid the glint of mischief in her gaze. “What did you do?” he asked with a sigh.

Devi blinked innocently. “Me? Do something? What makes you think I did something?”

“Darling, you know that I adore you more than life itself – but I know you. And I know that you and Astarion snuck out of camp last night and were gone for over an hour.” Gale glanced ahead to the aforementioned vampire, casually strolling along with Shadowheart beside him. “Where you two are, shenanigans are sure to be had.” He looked back at Devi, just in time to see her lips twitch in a grin. “Ah, so you did get into something! What did you do?”

“... You'll find out soon enough,” Devi said. She grinned impishly. “Just know that it could have been way worse than what we actually did.”

Gale pinched the bridge of his nose. “Am I going to have to bail you out of prison?” he asked with another heavy sigh.

“Nah. That would imply I got caught.” Devi seemed to have a spring to her step, the mark of a miscreant proud of whatever mischief she'd accomplished last night. “Just remember that you love me, and don't rat me out when the time comes.”

Shaking his head, Gale looked forward again. “Astarion, what in the Nine Hells did you two do last night?” he called to the pair ahead of himself and Devi.

“Ask us no questions,” the vampire answered, “and we'll tell you no lies.” He had a grin on his lips as he looked over his shoulder at the wizard. “Just don't set either of us on fire.”

“For the record, I have no idea what happened,” Shadowheart interjected. “I'm completely innocent in whatever wrongdoing these two idiots did.”

Gale suppressed the urge to groan out loud. “Whose fault was it?”

“Hers,” Astarion answered, without hesitation.

“And it was totally worth it,” Devi added, grinning evilly. “On that note, Elminster's left for Waterdeep, right? He's no longer in Baldur's Gate?”

Coming to a stop, Gale turned and set both hands on Devi's slim shoulders, fixing her with a stern look. “What. Did. You. Do?”

“You'll see, first in my heart.” Devi giggled, then stretched up to lightly kiss Gale. “Just know that I regret absolutely nothing.”

Gale suspiciously watched Devi for a moment before he sighed and resumed walking, holding her hand. “I love you, but right now, I'm not sure that I want to admit knowing you. Is this better or worse than you licking the spider meat in that Sharran temple?”

“You know what they say about comparing apples and oranges, my love…”

That made the wizard groan as they came out into the main thoroughfare, running by the Stormfront Tabernacle. “Am I going to wish that you had just chosen to lick another dead spider?”

“... Maybe.”

“That does not bode well,” Gale muttered. He paused as he took note of the crowd in front of the temple, and the excited whispers he could hear. “Huh. Curious–” He looked at Devi, and groaned again when he saw her slyly bumping Astarion’s fist with her own, as if in celebration of mischief well done. “Oh, I have a terrible feeling about this.”

“What on earth could that be for?” Astarion asked with a too-innocent blink. “Perhaps it's just indigestion.”

Gale narrowed his eyes at the vampire, then slipped into the crowd, making his way to the temple’s entrance, his companions following him. Dread settled into his chest with every step that he took to the temple – the anticipation of something awful inside the imposing building.

He finally gained the entrance, and stepped inside, only making it a couple of steps into the building before he was halted by another crowd of gawkers. But he didn't need to go any further – he could see the cause of the commotion, all centring around the statue of Mystra. The sight before him made him blink in shock before he groaned out loud.

He knew, better than almost anyone (save for perhaps Elminster) that Mystra wasn't supposed to sport a moustache and pointed goatee, or a monocle, or a unibrow, or crude devil's horns like what currently adorned her statue, bright red paint standing out starkly against the white marble.

With a heavy sigh, the wizard slowly turned to see his companions. Shadowheart's eyes were wide and she had a hand over her mouth – Gale wasn't sure if that was shock, or simply to hide a smile. Devi and Astarion were hiding their satisfied glee surprisingly well, although Gale could recognise the same look of mischief that they had sported after similar vandalising of the portrait of Vlaakith. And he knew Devi's handiwork. “Deviali…” he hissed under his breath, giving the love of his life a glare.

“Just know that it could have been far worse,” Devi whispered, an evil grin on her face. “I could have pissed on the statue too.”

“You only didn't because we almost got caught as it was,” Astarion pointed out in an undertone. 

Devi waved her hand dismissively. “Details.” She eyed the vandalised statue, then looked at Astarion with a grin. “Might be our best work yet,” she lowly said.

Astarion chuckled. “It looks so much more vivid in the daylight, too. The red contrasts so nicely with the white of the marble…”

Gale felt his eye twitch warningly. “You two are going to wind up in hell for this,” he groaned. "A very low level of the hells."

“And you'll be right there with us!” Astarion pointed out, his fangs glinting as he grinned. “Guilty by association, my dear wizard.”

“Don't remind me,” the wizard muttered. “I will not be surprised if she manifests in this plane right now, for the sole purpose of striking you two down!”

That did not seem to sober Devi up in the slightest – quite the opposite, in fact. Her eyes lit up with even more glee. “So I’ll have the opportunity to punch her in the throat like I was planning before she smites me!” she excitedly whispered. “Even better!”

“Shhh!” Gale glanced around, making sure nobody was paying undue attention to the four adventurers. Satisfied that the crowd’s attention was on Mystra’s statue, he looked back at Devi and Astarion. “What made either of you think that this was a good idea?” he whispered.

“She told you to kill yourself!” Devi hissed. Anger flashed in her eyes, momentarily overwhelming the glee. “You needed her help, and she was going to send you to your death for a chance at her bloody forgiveness! Why should I show her any hint of respect or admiration when she threw you away like that? Even if I didn’t love you more than life itself, nobody does that to someone I consider a friend!”

“You really shouldn’t be surprised, you know,” Astarion added. “We all know how Devi feels about throwing hands with deities on behalf of the people she cares about.” He looked at Shadowheart and winked. “Don’t worry, Shar is on the list too.”

“... Thank you?” Shadowheart responded. “I may join you two, once we find out what happened to my parents.”

Gale sighed and shook his head again – Astarion was right. He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised that Devi would take it upon herself to disrespect Mystra so brazenly. It took more courage than he suspected he had to vandalise the idol of the Mother of the Weave, especially in the middle of the bloody tabernacle. And he would be lying if he said that he didn’t feel his own lingering anger towards Mystra for how she had so cruelly discarded him. His conversation with the goddess, only the day before, had been fraught with tension. Would Mystra withhold her offer of cleansing him of the orb if he brought her the Crown of Karsus now, thanks to Devi’s actions? He was inclined to agree with Shadowheart – the gods truly were a petty bunch.

But then again, he had his own moments of being petty, himself.

He turned back to the statue, eyeing it for a long moment, before he looked back at his companions. “... The unibrow is a nice touch that she would despise,” he muttered, and saw Devi and Astarion glance at each other with immense amounts of satisfaction. A little smirk played around his lips before he quickly suppressed it. “Come – let’s get out of here. Knowing our luck, Elminster will be on his way here, if he isn’t in the crowd already; and I would really prefer not having to lie to his face about you two.” “Gods, I can’t wait for tomorrow’s issue of the Gazette,” Devi laughed as the four slipped out of the tabernacle and back to the safety of the alleys – just in the nick of time, as Gale caught a glimpse of Elminster’s pointy hat in the crowd and heard his former mentor ranting furiously about the open disrespect to his goddess. “I’m saving a copy of that for the rest of my life…”

[obaex]

the one that chases you (one) - rafe cameron

summary: jj makes a decision that will alter the course of your summer, driving you to figure out who you really are and who you really want.

word count: 1k

warnings: mention of drugs, heartbreak

a/n: my first series! i hope y'all enjoy it. it's fully written, i plan on releasing a new part every few days. let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

series masterlist

You were laying with your head on JJ's lap, eyes fluttering, heavy with the weight of a day in the sun and the weed that had been passed around earlier. John B navigated the boat to the dock and JJ shifted you off of him to help tie it off and unload the cooler. He had been off today. Distant. When you kissed him, you felt like his mind was somewhere else and he wasn't his usual handsy self. You had chalked this up to a bad day, but you couldn't scratch the feeling that there was something else brewing under the surface. You had been dating for months now and with summer just getting started you were excited to spend your days surfing, going to the beach together and partying at the boneyard.

You were the last one off the boat and JJ pulled you aside as the others wandered off the dock and into the chateau.

"Hey, can we talk for a minute?"

Your heart plummeted into your stomach. This didn't bode well.

"JJ…what is it?" you said, instantly concerned.

"The last few months have been great. Honestly, so fun. But, summer is here and we're going to be so busy with everything and I want to have time for the boys, you know? To hang out with John B and Pope, I mean even Kie really. I think we'd be better off as friends. Just keep things chill, you know?"

This wasn't happening.

Every word was a punch to your gut. Your lip was quivering involuntarily, but you didn't want him to see you cry. Just keep things chill? After six months together spent tangled up in his sheets, your hands running through his blonde hair, blue eyes transfixed on you? Just keep things chill? You had been falling hard and fast, the L-word lingering on your lips, too afraid to say it for fear it wouldn't be reciprocated and now your worst nightmare had come true. You thought you had finally held the attention of the island's playboy, now you were just one in a long line of broken hearts. You felt like a fool.

You knew if you tried to say anything your emotions would get the best of you, so you pursed your lips tightly and nodded like you totally, absolutely understood and agreed.

"Nice! Right on. I knew you'd get it” he said. “So, like we're cool to start seeing other people, it won't be weird?"

Was he really asking you about seeing other people in the same breath that he was breaking up with you?

"Seriously, JJ?" you broke your silence, incredulous. "Un-fucking-believable." And with that, your tears began to flow. "I don't know why I thought I was any different to you, why I thought I was special. Clearly I'm not, so go do what you want to do, I won't stand in your way."

You shoved past him, picking up your pace as you ran down the dock, embarrassed and ashamed that you let him see you crumble. He didn't say anything, he didn't try to follow you, he just let you go.

"Hey - what's going on?" Sarah called from the back porch as you ran past her towards your car. She continued to call after you, chasing you as you got into your front seat, your tears falling heavily now as sobs wracked your body. You fumbled your keys, trying to put them in the ignition and failing.

"Oh my god, he didn't" she said, instantly piecing together the situation. "I am so sorry, come here." She crawled into the front seat next to you, pulling you into her arms.

"Give me the keys, you can't drive like this. I'll take you home." You relented, crawling into the passenger seat, resting your head against the window and continuing to cry as she navigated back to Figure 8.

Just like her and Kie, you were a kook-turned-pogue, enticed by the carefree, laidback nature of life on the cut and the smooth-talking blonde surfer that had said all the right things. So much for that.

Sarah pulled into your driveway, located right next to hers. You had been best friends and neighbors your entire life and you never felt more grateful to have her taking care of you as she came inside and tucked you into your bed.

"Obligatory best friend speech" she said, "I know you cared about him, more than you let him know. I am so damn sorry Y/N, I hate to see you like this. You deserve so much more than him. Seriously, you deserve someone that's going to chase after you and pursue you and only have eyes for you. And I promise he's out there. Everything happens for a reason. But, for now you need to give yourself time to rest and heal and cry and eat the tub of ice cream in your freezer. Okay?"

You nodded, sniffling and reached out to hug her before burying yourself deep in your sheets.

Sarah crossed through your backyard into hers, sliding through the front door and making her way to the kitchen where Wheezie sat on her phone.

"Are you seriously home on a Saturday night right now?" she asked teasingly.

Sarah shot her a look, "Friend emergency."

"What happened?"

"Do not repeat this, but Y/N and JJ broke up. It was awful, she's devastated."

"What!? What an asshole."

"Wheezie!"

"It's true!"

"You're not wrong. He is just not boyfriend material. Promise me you'll stay away from boys forever?" Sarah said, ruffling her sister's hair as she made her way upstairs. She rounded the corner and ran straight into Rafe who was lingering in the hallway. She eyed him suspiciously, “Were you eavesdropping?" she asked.

"What? No? M'just going to get a drink" he mumbled, brushing past her.

In reality, he had heard every word and his mind was running a mile a minute.

part two series masterlist

[chiefbeifongcanrailme]

DVD COMMENTARY (It's Time to Make Time)

“Chief there’s a massive hickey the size of Ba Sing Se on your neck and it’s really hard for all of us to imagine you having a sex life all of a sudden. Just the sight of it paints a very vivid picture of the kind of sex you’re having and the kind of person you’re having it with. Spirits, Chief! It’s purple in color- how are you not in pain? What was he trying to do to you? And no, we know you didn’t sleep well or sleep much last night- because you were having some really wild sex and that mark was not there yesterday and today it’s the first thing anyone can see when they look at you! No but really- what was he- trying to eat and swallow you? Please ask me to stop talking, Lin?” Mako pants. 

Lin gawked at him, thoroughly shocked at his guts to it to her face and even more so that everyone now knew that she was probably involved with someone. 

“Ha-has everyone noticed?” She managed to get out meekly. 

“Yes Chief. Everyone. People are placing bets on who they think you’re sleeping with.” Mako exhales sharply and finally looks her in the eye. 

Have fun!

Ah, It's Time to Make Time, my dearest.

This fic was written to be just a one-shot, and second chapter that followed were also supposed to be one-shot that happened to occur in this universe. The third chapter was just because this fic deserved to be wrapped into that perfect little bow with a cherry on top.

So, coming to the very first chapter where this excerpt is from: I believe I wrote this very early on in my fandom writing carrier- I had all these "need to hide our relationship from Tenzin" ideas for Linumi and I was playing around them.

One such idea, that I borrowed from real life events is- Lin getting caught with a hickey. Canonically, I think Lin would be totally intolerant if a lover left a mark on her- unless, they're in a serious relationship and it was an accident and neither party intended on it/realized it. With Bumi and his nomadic wildness, I can imagine him having a hard time taming himself- especially if he's as in love with and attracted to someone like Lin.

In the backdrop of the plot, Lin is seemingly extremely busy. She's been spreading herself pretty thin and being as sedulous as her, she won't half-ass anything- her job or her "casual" relationship.

I wanted to depict a couple of things here:

From personal experience, I know that being the kind of busy where you don't even have the time to catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror doesn't bode well. Sooner or later, there'll be an eruption. Lin does come across as someone who'd be that kinda busy. There comes a time in everyone's career when they're asked to "take it slow" because of their age and such- and I wanted to show that, irrespective of age, if someone's still kicking, they don't have to slow down for that. They could easily slow down to live their lives on their terms- because they've earned it. I've seen a lot of headcanons that Lin retires because of her injuries, or her age- etc, and knowing Lin, I don't think she'd let things like that hold her back. If she does decide to slow down, it's going to HAVE TO be because she wants to and not because she has to. Establishing both these points were a good two birds with one stone.

Being a woman with power at the workplace. It's really sad when a woman at a higher position is reduced to vapid gossip for having something as basic as a personal life. It's only because people fear Lin that they won't treat her the way that one criminal (Raj) did. Lucky for Lin, her subordinates both respect and love her and so she isn't quite subjected to that- which is something very positive about this phenomenon that I got to portray.

Mako and Lin's friendship. I can draw so many parallels between the two: from being the ever-sacrificing, traumatized older sibling to drowning yourself in work to avoid your personal life. I think Lin sorta sees him as her mini me- and she's both proud of and scared for him. It's one thing for him to emulate good qualities, but she hates that she sees her bad qualities in him too. In coming clean about her personal life to Mako, she's showing him that he need not minimize his life in order to serve. Having love in your life doesn't diminish your power.

Lin handling herself. Lin likes to face her problems head on. Everyone has reached a moment in their lives when they're totally humiliated and it's no different for Lin. She learnt the hard way the price of not accepting things coming your way with grace- that if she tries to fight everything that doesn't go her way, it's going to be her down fall in the end. After reconciling with Tenzin, then Suyin, and then her mother, she realizes that had she just accepted circumstances(Pema, scars and mommy issues) for what they were back when they arose, she wouldn't have had to spend all these decades feeling alone and bitter. She didn't need to isolate herself, and guard her emotions with such high walls if she just accepted the situations(move on, forgive and mommy issues). Having likely being subjected to terrible press in the wake of her breakup with Tenzin, I can see Lin wanting to keep this new relationship- one with Bumi, no less- on the downlow. The last thing she needs to relive is the cruel gossip columns and paparazzi outside her window. So, she decides to take it one step at a time.

Sorry, I kinda got carried away there. Now, coming to excerpt itself: Mako is always a little nervous around Lin. He has very confusing feelings about her- he thinks she's cool and hot and he has that "do I wanna be her or do I wanna be with her?" dilemma. But either way, keeping those feelings at bay, he has a lot of respect for Lin as his mentor and cares for her like family. Lin knows he's the only one who'll give it to her straight- that he could be a confidant of sorts and that he is not to be judged by the company he keeps. She trusts him to the fullest, and we see here how it only substantiates that trust when he's the only one to tell her what's really going on, and return, is the only one to learn of her big secret.

Mako kinda gets lost in his rambling of course, because Lin makes him nervous and the idea of her having a sex life only further escalates the "do I wanna be her or do I wanna be with her" dilemma since he gets to view her in a sexual light for the first time. Either way, Mako's a serious guy, and pointedly conveys his exact thoughts until he realizes, physically, he needs to stop talking.

Lin's shock has more to do with the contents of his ramble as well as some to do with the length of his chatter. She knows he can't look her in the eye, but appreciates when he finally does as he tries to sound more comforting. Lin doesn't do well with feeling embarrassed, and Mako knows that- very few people can sense that about her.

I think it's somewhat in this moment, when Lin makes a decision. Old Lin would've immediately broken up with Bumi, without any explanation and sent him running. But as for new Lin, who 1) cared about Bumi and 2) wanted him to know that she cared him, she had to be better. So she not only admitted to herself that she cares for Bumi, but also to Mako that being in love and having a relationship is not a weakness or a vulnerability.

I hope you enjoyed this commentary!

[esta-elavaris]

Would we ever get some idea of what the Boromir fic would be like? Totally fine if not! I’m just really excited to read your next (fandom!) work and would love to pick your brain about it. I love LOTR a lot :)

Otherwise excited to read your novel at some point! Is there a summary available yet?

Without getting into specifics (because I don’t want to spoil anything) — So I really don’t want to just write CTW 2.0 as far as that’s concerned, so it won’t be a “modern girl in X” scenario again, but I just can’t think of a scenario where they would bring a woman along with the Fellowship unless she had some sort of “knowledge” or ability that might help them that they really couldn’t do without, and I ended up thinking I spent so long with CTW talking about how there were rumours that Theo was a witch/her even pretending to actually be a witch, that it would be fun if this OC actually had those abilities. She won’t be a super ridiculously overpowered OFC who could like, take on Gandalf and Saruman in a 2v1 fist fight, if anything she’d be a witch in the sense that people today are considered witches, with a lot of it lying in things like basic knowledge of herbal remedies (which also has potential in like, the different races would have different attitudes to her - the Elves would just consider her well-versed in her herbology, maybe even in some cases being a wee bit condescending towards the “visions” she has, but more superstitious folk might be much more distrustful, especially given the state of the world during the story), just with certain gifts being a bit more tangible, but still up for debate enough that people who don’t want to believe her will easily be able to write her off as just “addled” in the mind.

Also considering a lot of my OCs up ‘til now have been pretty assertive characters, this one is going to be a bit more quiet and subdued in comparison, partially because I have an idea of how she’d bond with Boromir that way, and also because I don’t want to just write different flavours of the same OC over and over. Not necessarily a doormat, but she couldn’t go into a dinner party and banter back and forth with Groves etc. like Theo could.

Nothing is set in stone just yet though - it’s been a hot minute since I reread the books, so I’m going to need to do that before I even think about drafting things to make sure everything checks out and that where I diverge I’m doing so mindfully rather than out of sheer dumbassery, so these are just the bones rn. I’ll probably end up leaning more towards the movieverse with a healthy dose of mindfulness/awareness towards the books, just because the movies are so much easier to emulate and play off of while the books are, uh, terrifying as far as fanfic goes.

Aaaand as for the novel, I can’t get into much as far as it’s concerned right now, I play that shit ridiculously close to my chest just because it’s how I’ve always been with that one. But it’s high fantasy, a lot of it is inspired by the Vikings and paganism in general, it has some Tolkien influences (because it’s impossible to write fantasy without that at this point let’s be real), as well as some tinges of Skyrim and ASOIAF, but I’m pretty happy to say that it definitely feels like a whole thing in and of its own rather than just a mash-up of the greatest hits. It’s also has pirates pretty heavily featured. There were a few aspects of CTW where I was basically test-driving some of the stuff that’s going to go into the novel to see how people would respond to it, and the results bode well!

[alfredosauce50]

Just coming in here to say that I absolutely adore your characterization for 1p and 2p America, and for 2p Canada!!! 😸💖💖 and if you're taking requests, can we get some general headcanons for 2p America? 😳 thank you so much in advance!!

Thanks! They’re really something, aren’t they? And no, they technically aren’t open, but you know, I just have to make an exception for Allen 🤫 I tend to sprinkle a little bit of my personality into all my muses, but he has a decent handful of it...

2p! America headcanons

Appearances can be deceiving, and this guy is the textbook definition of it. With his striking red eyes, sharp grimace, and panther-like walk, he intimidates everyone who looks his way. Sure, he might be a troublemaker, but he means well!

Appearance

Just like Alfred, his “second-rate poser,” Allen has short hair parted in a cowlick. Only it’s dark maroon, not blonde. He has quite the boyish charm too. But being a little older, he has a mature appeal and sharper features. If you asked him to describe himself in one word, he’d say, “sexy, I guess.”

He has tawny skin, so he hardly ever burns. He just tans. He’s pretty tall, standing at around 6’2”. He’s also the biggest gym rat. He always keeps a few dumbbells laying around so he can work out between activities. Along with the healthy vegetarian diet he eats, Allen is in great shape—he’s totally ripped. He also has a lot of tattoos.

Allen doesn’t put a lot of thought into his wardrobe. So long as it’s comfortable, cheap, and shows off his arms, he’s good to go! Tank tops and muscle shirts are the absolute essentials. You can also see him in a lot of Metallica, Ramones, and Harley-Davidson. Oh, and can’t forget his dog tags.

Personality

Allen is mostly introverted. Don’t get him wrong, though. He’s a great talker when he wants to be, and won’t think twice before oversharing. It’s people he isn’t familiar with that throws him off. They tend to judge or fear him, which annoys him to no end. He ends up having ‘fuck off’ written all over his face, and it does the job.

On the other hand, if someone is kind to him, he will return the favor tenfold. He’s the type to stand up for the nice cashier when an entitled customer decides to throw their weight around. “Look, lady. I’m trying to eat here. And nobody gives a crap what you want, so why don’t you like, get out or something?”

He has a great sense of humor. When he’s in a good mood, he’ll make it known by being the life of the party. That doesn’t mean he’s good with crowds, though—he prefers it on the down-low with the people closest to him. “What do you say we get out of here, doll face? Just you and me. ‘Cause there’s another bar down the road, and it’s way better than this one...”

Allen is incredibly smiley when he’s having fun. Great company dampens his aggressive and broody emotions—he ends up grinning a lot. When he’s around someone special, he won’t stop looking at them with that goofy grin until they laugh at him. “Is there something wrong with my face? What’s so funny, huh?”

He can be hot-headed. What he can’t stand is people getting in his face and ruining his vibe. Allen gets road rage. When he drives by the person who cut him off, he makes sure to give them the finger without taking his eyes off the road. “Safety-first. Except for that guy. I hope he flies out of his fucking windshield.”

He’s pretty imposing. His sharp tongue doesn’t bode well for how confrontational he can be. Someone could be next to him and breathe too loud for his liking, and he’ll turn to them and say, “hey, pal. Did walking from your car to the store take that much out of you?” Allen isn’t afraid to speak his mind, regardless of the ‘should.’

Allen has a strong sense of justice. He doesn’t appreciate bullies of any kind, and isn’t above getting physical if the situation calls for it. If some asshole shoved someone else for no reason, he’ll scowl and shove them right back. “Quit pushing people around, asshole. You’re asking for it.” He warns them with his fist up.

He isn’t just fiercely loyal. He’s too loyal to the point of being problematic. He will go as far as being a home-wrecker just to have his baby back. He doesn’t care how inappropriate it is. Allen listens to his heart and nothing else—he will do what he thinks is right, or just what he wants, even if other people don’t agree.

Interests

Allen is good with cars. Anything that has a motor in it, he can fix. But he prefers using motorcycles the most because they’re cooler (and cheaper!). If you asked him if he was worried about crashing, he’ll just laugh and say, “with you sitting behind me? Not a chance.”

He’s not career-driven. He has the experience to be a mechanic, but he doesn’t wanna be stuck fixing other people’s stuff. Allen is too flighty to stay in one place, and in a job at that. He can find ways to chase paper without being tied down.

He enjoys drawing. He’s not great at it, but he really tries! Allen keeps a scrapbook and doodles in it from time to time. And he isn’t shy about it. If you asked to see his drawings, he’ll show them to you rather proudly. He’s also left-handed.

He makes a lot of Indian, Middle-Eastern, and Greek food. Those cuisines have a lot of tasty vegetarian options.

Allen works out a lot. He doesn’t like being inactive. If there isn’t any equipment lying around, he’ll get on the floor and figure out the rest from there. You’ll sometimes find him doing push-ups and sit-ups around the house.

He loves 80’s rock. Some of his rock essentials are Pour Some Sugar On Me, I Was Made For Lovin’ You, and Girls, Girls, Girls. The guitar riff in Beat It is his favorite part of the song. Allen also listens to genres like rap, heavy metal, and synthwave. But he isn’t picky—he will save any songs he likes and bump to them.

Allen owns a gun. If you ask him what he uses it for, he’ll scratch his head and say, “oh, you know. Just self-defense and stuff. There’s a lot of weirdos out there, you wouldn’t believe it.”

He’s kind to animals. Allen understands their capabilities and is very accommodating when he plays with them. Be it a turtle, bunny, cat, or dog, he always handles his furry (or slimy) friends with care. He seems to know how to train anything, and gets really invested in the process.

He’s the type to get down on the floor to keep his pets company. Otherwise, he’s doing something ridiculous for them to copy. Before he figures out how to potty train a puppy, for example, he will crouch on the newspaper and pretend to take a dump. Then, he will feed himself a treat (a fruit). “See? Isn’t that easy? Now, try and do it on the newspaper this time...”

Psychology + romance

Allen is a serial romancer. He’s a flirty person by nature, so he won’t have trouble chasing someone he likes. But after a few one-liners, dates, and maybe a fling, it never ends well. They don’t approve of his bum lifestyle, lose interest, or just can’t stand his attitude. If you accept him for who he is and return his energy, you’re already off to a good start.

He starts off the relationship by dating, not friendship. Allen is physical, and he loves to be, so he starts off with kissing and sex. What gets him to stay around you is respect, chemistry, and eventual friendship. Finding one-night stands is easy, but someone that can understand him? He’s not letting you go anytime soon.

Once you and him become an item, Allen will always take you out for long drives. It’s never about the destination, it’s the intimacy that comes from the closeness and conversation. He likes putting his hand on your thigh when he steers, or when he’s backing up. “This is why I had to get good at driving one-handed, doll.”

When the destination is important, he takes the motorcycle instead. Allen will never get enough of your arms hugging his torso. But what gets his blood pumping is seeing you close your eyes. It tells him that you feel safe riding behind him. “You know what, I’m gonna take a detour.”

Allen and you are a package deal. He has a lot of time on his hands, and he gets quite attached, so he’ll follow you around at every chance he gets. It doesn’t matter where—in the house, in public, or even around your friends. If you plan on going out, he’s always ready to pop the question.

“Can I come?” Allen lights up.

“You came last time, Al.” You reply as you get dressed. “Don’t you wanna stay home and do something else? You’ll get bored.”

“But I’ll get even more bored at home.”

“But it’s weird bringing your boyfriend everywhere.”

“It is?” He crinkles his nose.

He loves surprising you. He knows your size, and won’t hesitate to walk into a store you might like. People could stare or give him weird looks, but he’s too busy picking out something nice for you to care. If you don’t have any preferences, he will always go for the dress. And if he’s not getting clothes, he’ll get you teddies or home goods.

Allen will do anything to make your life easier. This extends from errands to emotional support. He might mess up with the chores, but you can’t even be mad because he tried so hard. Knowing how to do something is irrelevant to him, because it’s the thought that counts. “Babe? I think I cross-contaminated the cutting boards. And the cutlery. And the plates. And the—yeah. Why did you have to eat beef tonight?”

Communication is crucial. He can be down sometimes, but that can be solved by regular conversation. It doesn’t have to be something deep or meaningful. So long as you respond to his emotional bids, he’s a happy camper. Allen tends to make mindless comments, but in reality, he’s looking for your attention.

He can get anxious when you’re not around him. Allen is used to being around you 24/7, and he can’t have it any other way. If you’re away for days on end, he will sleep on your side of the bed to feel close to you. When you finally show up, he’ll be pretty clingy and expect a lot of affection. “Where the hell did you go anyways?”

Allen doesn’t work well with boundaries, physically or otherwise. He could try to adjust to them, but he usually ends up forgetting. If you get annoyed at him for constantly barging in on you, in the bedroom or bathroom, you might have to remind him to ask first.

“You want me to ask?”

“Yeah.”

Allen is already taking up most of the space in the bathtub, but he’s only getting closer and closer. He leans into your face and looks at you coyly.

“Okay. Can I wash up with you?”

He hates arguing with you. Allen would rather compromise and make things harder for himself than have conflict of any kind. When he does fight with you, it won’t be long before he apologizes. He can’t stand the distance, and will do anything to work something out. “Come on. I’m sorry. Don’t be like that. Hey—don’t close the door! Let me in. We’ll work something out.”

Allen gets jealous very easily. Seeing you with other people will ruin his mood, but he knows to not hold it against you. Instead, he’ll pick you up and drive home in silence to hide it. If you squeeze his arm, he’ll slowly warm up again. He knows it’s not good because you’re your own person, but he can’t help wanting you to himself.

He’s frisky. Allen lives for your touch, so he’s always putting his mouth and hands on you. When he’s not kissing you, he’s licking or biting you somewhere. If you two are out and about, he’ll wrap an arm around your waist and pull you close. “C’mere. Gimme some sugar.”

The bane of his existence is self-acceptance. Allen doesn’t care for big dreams, success, or money. But that’s the problem—his indifference to material wealth and class is unconventional, which fuels his cycle of self-doubt. He’s broke, ‘improper’, and the last guy you could ever want. If you stay with him regardless, he knows he’s found his ride or die.

[mango-bango-bby]

Hiiiii i sent the ask for dadzawa maybe he couldn't get a babysitter so he took her to work and then got jealous from all the attention on her (or you could do g/n idc what ever you prefer) so when they got home they snuggled for the night 🌉

♡ Bring Your Kid to Work Day ♡

(A/N: Ahhhhh, I love platonic yanderes 🥺🥺 I’m happy to be writing for them again!!! I hope you like this and it’s what you wanted!! Let me know if you liked <3)

Summary: Your father takes you to work with him for the first time. You have a lot of fun, making new friends. Your overprotective father, Aizawa, didn’t not have as much fun (Platonic!Yan!Aizawa x Child!fem!reader)

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Shouta takes a small glance in his rear-view mirror, looking back at you to see you happily coloring in your coloring book. Your babysitter had something to do today, which he could tell was total bullshit and her wanting to play hooky. However, he let it slide. He never passed up an opportunity to spend time with his four year old daughter.

Although, that meant that you had to go to his work with him. While Shouta liked taking you out to do fun things, like going to the park or the zoo. However taking you to work with him was very different. He worked at a hero academy, a place where villains constantly tried to attack! And Shouta was... overprotective, to say the least. So being somewhere that’s constantly in danger, didn’t bode well with him.

Yet, you happily hum the theme song of your favorite cartoon, swinging your legs back and forward. Your legs being short enough that they don’t even hit the back of your papa’s seat. You’re so young, completely unaware of how horrible the world can be.

You reach over to the cup holder, eating the rest of your left over french fries that your Uncle ‘Zashi had so generously gotten for you. You happily continue coloring with your crayons, you loved going to your papa’s work today! You got to see your uncles and aunts, and you made some new friends with his students!

You look up as Shota pulls into the driveway of your home, leaving the drivers seat and going to yours so he can get you out of your car seat. “Papa, I wanna go to your school again!” You squeal, being picked up out of your car seat and put on the ground. “Probably not, Sen will be able to watch you tomorrow” Shouta says, watching you grab your Sanrio themed backpack out of the car. The backpack filled with your dolls, crayons, and snacks.

You loved your babysitter, Sen, but you wanted to see the new friends that you had just made! “But, papa!” You whine, running a bit to catch up to him while he unlocks the front door. “I wanna see my new friends!” You whine even more, pouting at your father. Him only chuckling at the pout on your small face.

“So what? You love them more than papa now?” Shouta teases, reaching down and picking you up. Although he may have a teasing tone to his voice, there is a genuine question there. When Shouta looks at you, all he sees is the baby that he rescued three years ago. One day, you’ll grow up. You’ll leave him and forget about how much you love your papa and how much fun you had while having tea parties with him or playing heros.

“Wha? No! I love papa the mostest!” You say, looking at your father with the most serious face that you can put on. Wrapping your arms around his neck to give him a hug. About ten seconds after, he puts you down on the floor of the mudroom. “That’s enough of that” Shouta mutters, he was never super big in physical affection but he could make small exceptions for your hugs.

Before he places you on the floor, you grab the capture weapon off of his neck. You drape it around your own, giggling as you run off to chase the cats and have fun. Shouta wishes you could stay so young forever, keep you safe forever. Sadly, he can’t make you stay young forever, but he‘ll keep you safe until hell freezes over.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵ Thank you for reading, darling!!

[makeste]

BnHA 326: What’s up Kids, It’s Me, Your Old Pal Stain

Previously on BnHA: Ochako shamed the U.A. Clown Mob into letting Deku go back inside his own fucking school by giving them an hour-long speech about how not to be humongous dickheads. Kouta and Gigantic Fox Lady saved the manga by being the only ones brave enough to give Deku a hug. Shouto was all “man, all this togetherness sure does remind me of that promise you made that we would handle Touya together which you immediately bailed on, doesn’t it, Dad.” Aizawa was all, “for the one and a half people out there who thought that my losing an eye and a leg might actually make me less sexy, I’m very happy to prove you wrong.” All Might was all, “[standing outside the U.A. fortress alone in the rain talking to someone or something??].” Like seriously, what was up with that though.

Today on BnHA: All Might is all “here I am in Kamino having a belated mid-life crisis because Deku abandoned me and I’m a terrible mentor and everything sucks and I hate myself.” Stain is all, “don’t make me come over there and give you a ten page speech about why you’re still the goat while menacingly holding you at swordpoint the entire time” because idk if you knew this guys, but Stain is pretty crazy actually. Anyway so he does that, and then All Might gets all emotional, and then the lady from chapter 92 shows up and gives All Might’s statue an encouraging pep talk, and then Horikoshi is all “and it even stopped raining lol can you believe this shit I’m not even a little bit subtle,” and he really isn’t. But I still got emotional anyway, because seeing people reassure All Might that everything he’s struggled for his entire life hasn’t been in vain just got to me okay. Horikoshi knows I am weak to the All Might feels and he just goes for the jugular every time, that bastard.

lmao. “in the neverending downpour, All Might is...” yeah, thank you, glad we’re getting right to that then

“All Might is driving 95 mph in his busted ass car in the pouring rain, is what he’s doing.” huh

so basically a day or two after his adopted child refused to accept the handmade bento that he packed with love, my man is out here acting like he’s got nothing to live for anymore. this sure bodes well for certain prophecies on which the clock is still ominously ticking down

his fucking face though omg. is it weird that I’m kind of hoping more people ambush him just because I think it’d be funny to see them get their asses kicked like the last bunch

(ETA: or maybe he will just stand there openly not giving a fuck and basically daring them to stab him!! get it together please All Might.)

side note, “anti-hero supporters” is such a strange way of saying “people who hate heroes”, which I’m assuming is what they actually wanted to say?? this makes it sound like it’s a group that really loves antiheroes. “these Hannibal stans have been a real menace lately. time to go deal with them”

ha ha ha, fucking ouch

are you really gonna do it Horikoshi you bastard. are you really going to let that be the final encounter between the two characters whose relationship you once described as the vertical axis of the entire fucking story. are you really gonna?? huh??

huh

you’re telling me you were driving 112 mph and you still didn’t get there in time. you’re losing your touch old man. lol Todo’s ice is almost fully melted already, how late were you

(ETA: so apparently this is taking place after the end of chapter 325, meaning he went to U.A., hung out for a bit, saw the kids come back with his bedraggled half-dead protégé in tow, watched as they shamed the civilians into some long-overdue character development, and then was all “welp, time to go argue with the hero-hating faction or something because I’m feeling useless.” and Edge just let him go, just like that. though to be fair I have to imagine it’s pretty hard to say no to All Fucking Might.)

also belated lol at the fact that the kids were all “yeahhhhhhh we are definitely not gonna touch that thing, let’s just leave it here, he doesn’t need it anyway.” probably the right call to make since they couldn’t get a hazmat team on such short notice

fuck. ha ha ha fucking ouch part two

All Might please put that thing down before you get gangrene. also yeah, you dropped the ball, good for you to acknowledge it. nobody’s perfect and you did your best. but yeah you could have handled a lot of things completely differently. but I still love you

is Horikoshi really putting this flashback here. are you serious. what kind of fucking sadist

look, I swear I’m not one of those people that runs up and down the street shouting “DEATH FLAG!!” at every third panel lol. but this shit screamed Death Flag when we originally got it, and it’s screaming DEATH FLAG!!! even more now. like with the capital letters and exclamation marks and all. and that’s just a fact. I don’t like it but that’s how it is

ffkdjslk

“DID YOU READ THE SIGN??!” Horikoshi asks while zooming in maniacally because he thinks we’re blind or something. lol what

-- though actually, it only just occurred to me that this sign is actually written in English. I never really paid attention up until now and had been assuming it was written in Japanese and translated by the scanlators, but the writing here is clearly part of the original image. anyway so maybe that’s why he’s zooming in?? just to make sure everybody pays attention lol

okay fuck this

see, this is the whole problem right here. once again All Might is all on his own. Deku’s self-destructive angst spiral was fortunately brought to a grinding halt because he actually has support from his friends and family and teachers and classmates. but All Might never had that same kind of support, and it’s made all the difference between the two of them, and not in a good way. Katsuki wasn’t wrong when he said All Might and Deku were both cut from the same cloth. but now when it’s All Might’s turn to go all “I WALK A LONELY ROAD~~” once again, there’s nobody in sight

just, after forty plus years of him carrying this torch, I just wish someone would finally come along to let him know he doesn’t have to. all those things that he wanted to say to Deku are also things that he needs and deserves to hear himself. Aizawa was making a little progress there, but now he’s got his sad zombie cloud boyfriend situation to deal with, and we can’t expect him and his perfect hair to solve all our problems. someone else has gotta step up

oh my god

“you rang?” never mind I take it all back sob

omg why am I laughing. shit

this man truly has the best PR game in the series. we were truly convinced he was gonna suddenly become a good guy and defend All Might against the other villains or some nonsense. as if this wasn’t the same man who decided on a whim that Iida Tensei deserved to be paralyzed, and that his fifteen-year-old brother deserved to die for daring to be upset about it

lol even All Might is all “I genuinely never saw this coming” lmao

just want to say, for the record, I have always harbored a very sensible hatred toward Stain. feeling very vindicated right now. good job Past Me

adsfklwkfsdwgkj

ffffwefjslkg. ghsdlkg. dsfkkkslkjldwkjrg

STAIN: heard you talking shit old man

ME: smh that’s what I thought you’d say you dumb fucking Stain

STAIN: how dare you talk about All Might that way

ME: gljfljgk

(ETA: in hindsight I have no idea how I didn’t clue in sooner that he didn’t recognize him -- or, well, ~didn’t recognize~ him, to be more accurate lol. I think it was the whole “is that a slight against the heroes?” thing that threw me. Viz’s translation makes it much clearer that he’s offended on behalf of All Might specifically, not heroes in general. anyways.)

sob. so All Might is all “yeah I don’t blame you for not recognizing me in this sweet leather jacket”

good thing he still knows how to do this party trick

A+ reflexes on Stain’s part presumably pulling the sword back a few inches to keep this dumbass from impaling himself with his whole pufferfish routine. can you imagine if that was the gruesome death Nighteye foresaw. and he was just too embarrassed to say anything

lol anyways guess I was wrong about Stain everyone

way to fucking go, Past Me. you really biffed this one

oh wait

Stain sure is one wacky rollercoaster ride

oh fuck me lol I forgot how much I did not miss this

(ETA: “this here is the sacred ground where All Might gave up the last of his power and turned into a shriveled old man!! please ignore the part where I admit to knowing all about that, and yet pretend not to recognize said man when he’s standing two feet in front of me.”)

Past Me, I know we’ve had our ups and downs these past ninety seconds, but I’m really starting to think you were on to something. this dude has always been kind of insufferable. always acting like his high horse is a fucking giraffe when it’s actually a Shetland pony

dammit now he’s got All Might going off on a depressed monologue

oh my god my heart

shit

why the fuck does that hit so hard. he became a hero because he couldn’t bear to just sit back and let bad things happen to people who didn’t deserve it. I mean that’s basically the same as every hero ever, right? so why does it still hit so fucking hard every single time though. what is it about seeing someone so determined to stand up for other people and fight on their behalf. it just never loses its impact no matter how many times I see that determination mirrored in so many of my favorite characters

“I wanted to make the world a better place.” omg. but you did, though. like seriously, I feel like people are always dogging on him for not being 100% perfect, and fandom really doesn’t give him enough credit for everything he still managed to accomplish. this man came of age at a time when Japan was by all accounts a total shitshow, and singlehandedly managed to bring about an era of peace that lasted for four fucking decades. can you imagine having peace for that long?? that’s longer than I’ve been alive. shit

and he gave people hope. he inspired them and protected them and made them feel safe. and no, he couldn’t save everyone, because he’s only one fucking dude (and also because the whole time AFO was also out there desperately working to undermine him so that he could keep preaching his narrative of “heroes are bad actually”). but you know what he did do, is inspire multiple new generations of heroes who, if they can all manage to work together, will finally be able to accomplish everything he never could

so yeah. forty years of peace, and inspired the “that’s how we all became the greatest heroes” generation -- that’s a fucking win in my book. talk about having a net positive impact on the world. lol anyways now I’m all fired up and ready to fight anyone who tries to talk any shit about you, All Might

“but what if I talk shit about myself” okay listen up All Might I’m gonna need you to try just a little bit harder to work with me here okay. please calm down and stop blaming yourself for every single bad thing that’s ever happened in the world. do you remember that time Bakugou was blaming himself for Kamino, and you gave him a hug and told him it wasn’t his fault, and that he was only a boy, and that even though he was strong, even strong people can struggle with the burdens they place on themselves, and that you were sorry for not seeing that earlier? do you remember all of that? that’s what I want someone to tell you too, dammit. anyway please stop breaking my heart please and thanks

wtf

are you dead All Might

um

I don’t even have the slightest idea what’s happening lol

oh snap did he grab him so they could hide??

hold the fucking phone. don’t tell me this person in the background with the umbrella is here to actually do something decent??

oh my godddd

and here come the feels. oh boy. okay don’t mind me, I’m just gonna sit here sobbing over this fictional lady and her simple act of kindness in this weekly shounen manga that I care about way too much

FUCKING DAMMIT AND HERE’S A SECOND HELPING

DON’T MIND ME, I’M JUST GETTING DISPROPORTIONATELY EMOTIONAL OVER THIS WOMAN’S DETERMINATION TO HONOR A MAN WHO SACRIFICED EVERYTHING TO SAVE HER AND COUNTLESS OTHERS. I’M JUST HAVING SOME FEELS OVER HERE ABOUT HER HEARTFELT, DOESN’T-EVEN-KNOW-ANYONE-ELSE-IS-WATCHING FEELINGS OF GRATITUDE THAT COMPELLED HER TO COME OUT HERE AND MAKE THIS SMALL BUT POWERFUL GESTURE. I’M JUST OUT HERE GETTING ALL PROFOUNDLY WORKED UP ABOUT STATUE MAINTENANCE AND THE HUMAN RACE. NEVER MIND. JUST IGNORE ME AND CARRY ON

holy shit. I was not even remotely prepared. you can’t just do that to me. you can’t just leave all these death flags on my lawn and then suddenly shift gears to show me the best of humanity in a chapter where I was expecting the worst. that fucks a person up lol

OH ARE WE STILL GOING

my heart. you see that, All Might. your legacy is so much more powerful and meaningful than you think

...has. has Stain actually been giving All Might a pep talk this entire time

I give up lol. this dude is a fucking enigma

YAYYY

it may just be a metaphor panel, but I’ll take it lol. I missed them. nice to see the traffic light trio front and off-center. I know the whole “this is the story of how we all became the greatest heroes” thing had left some questioning whether certain characters would continue to play a central role in the narrative, and hopefully this will help to ease those concerns just a bit

anyway, so idk if it’s getting a bit chilly down there in hell, but damned if Stain didn’t just give an actual decent fucking speech

I have to say, earlier when I was whining about All Might not having a support squad, I really was not expecting Stain to be the one to come over and pat his head and reassure him that he made the world a better place

-- okay LISTEN

YOU CAN’T JUST COME INTO MY HOUSE AND HIT ME WITH THOSE ALL MIGHT TEARS AGAIN GODDAMMIT THIS ISN’T FAIR. my god. first 317 and now this

holy fucking shit

“I’m just gonna pretend like I haven’t been stalking him for two days and didn’t see the entire Deku bentogate thing go down, and then I’ll give him the whole big speech that I rehearsed, and then I’ll turn around and be all ‘BUT IF YOU’RE A TRUE HERO’, and then I’ll toss him the super-secret AFO wifi password that I stole from Tartarus. god I’m such a badass. fucking give myself chills”

so basically what you’re telling me is that this whole time my “what’s up kids” characterization of Stain from this shitpost has actually been 100% accurate. just want to make sure I’m understanding this right. okay then

“and then I’ll dramatically spin around and be all NOW COME KILL ME BITCH”

it must be so much fun to write Stain. drawing this coked-out maniac who talks like a chatbot that was trained to speak by reading Alan Moore monologues. that must be a trip

anyway so All Might is still crying, the awesome lady from chapter 92 is admiring her handiwork totally oblivious to the batshit insanity going on fifty meters to her right, and it’s finally stopped raining lol

“THE RAIN WAS A METAPHOR YOU SEE” yes, yes, we got it lol. thanks for that Horikoshi. don’t think we needed any help putting the pieces together on that one but I appreciate the effort

so that’s the end! and as I mentioned in another post, I had the count off by one chapter, but next week should be cliffhanger week! so break out your U.A. Traitor bingo cards, friends and fiends. either that or something else happens that I’m completely not expecting at all. which, based on my success rate with Stain predictions, I’d say is more than likely lol

mmm but anyway, so now that the Hug Deku 2021 campaign has finally come to an end, what’s it gonna take to get a hug for my struggling bento-preparing jacket-rocking world-weary death-flag-waving husband who is the worthiest man to ever live and deserves the fucking world, goddammit

[solomonish]

Shy MC Likes to be Traditionally Courted! (Simeon, Barbatos, Lucifer, Solomon)

here you go! i went ahead and only did the courting ask, but you’re more than welcome to send in another ask if you so please!

Lucifer

I feel like this would be the style he would default to. After all, it wouldn’t be very befitting of him to be the subject of some hot and heavy scandal, now would it?

I mean, Lucifer, if left to his own devices, might be the type to go for one of those relationship where the “stolen moments” are a bit heavier (you know, like “oh mc how random for us to be in this empty classroom that i totally didn’t usher you into lol wouldn’t it be funny if we started making out though”) but if you indicate that you’d prefer a more...traditional route, he certainly won’t complain.

Really likes to walk with your hand on his arm. It reeks of class and he can’t fight the satisfied smile on his face when you instinctively reach for him.

His favorite dates are ones where he can justify bringing you to some small Diavolo-related business party. He only makes sure you’re going to the smaller ones where you won’t be overwhelmed or aren’t supposed to be as an exchange student, but having a human there does bode well for Diavolo’s exchange program so you’re always extended an invite. Even if Lucifer says he doesn’t need a break from the business side of things, Diavolo always encourages him to dance with you so you get “the full experience.” 

He really loves having his hand just above your waist as you dance with some of the other demons around you, allowing him a chance to breathe outside of the stuffy political conversations he has to sit through with Diavolo. It’s calming to him, and since these events are technically business related, it’s easier for him to steal you away without the other brothers accusing him of hoarding you.

Barbatos

Another one where this style really meshes well with him just in general. Barbatos naturally falls into this sort of servitude mode - though he knows how to keep it balanced in a more equal relationship dynamic such as significant others as opposed to prince and butler - and the little affections he gives you throughout the day will make you feel like you’re courting him even if that wasn’t what you explicitly wanted.

Honestly, you might feel like you’re engaged in some sort of forbidden affair within the palace walls on some days too, even if you both know Diavolo is probably the most supportive of your relationship.

He’s already in the habit of pulling out chairs for you and planning small dates in the middle of his day, and he has no qualms about making a little extra time to allow you to take his arm as he walks you to and from your classes.

One thing he really likes to do is to call you after he gets home from dropping you off after one of your dates. He thinks it’s nicer than just sending a text that he made it home, and he can normally keep you on the line while finishing up his nightly duties when he’s not quite ready to quit talking to you for the day.

Solomon

While I don’t think this is what Solomon would expect to be asked to do (and you would have to ask him, or hint at it at the least because he’s watched general dating expectations shift from traditional courting over time and will probably default to the norms of today), I don’t think he’d be upset by it. Actually, he might find he likes the idea of courting.

What can he say? He finds the whole “taking it slow” aspect relaxing and it helps him get out of his own head. There’s a lot less guessing involved this way and he finds it pretty easy to just enjoy the time he spends with you rather than worry about getting what you want to do right.

Will probably shoot random facts at you while he’s taking you to and from RAD - “did you know that some people used to carve spoons for the person they were courting? i can give you one with my name on it”

“wow, cool fact. did you know that before or did you look it up a few days ago?”

“...do you want a spoon or not, MC?”

Would definitely scour the internet or books or anything for some of the weirder customs to present to you just for the purpose of getting a rise out of you.

BUT! He does also take it seriously. He knows how to get tickets to any orchestra playing in town and will never leave you at the door to the House of Lamentation without a kiss to the top of your hand. (it becomes a habit eventually and he’ll be kissing the top of your hand every time he leaves you at a door, whether it be to a classroom, your house, whatever. even if he’s in the middle of a sentence. it’s kind of cute actually but don’t tell him that. or do.)

His favorite thing to do is to take you out on a romantic picnic at night when you’re supposed to be finishing your tasks. The whole “sneaking out the window” thing might be a little out of your comfort zone, but sometimes Lucifer just won’t let you out and hey, the stars ARE beautiful.....

Simeon

Simeon notices you aren’t responding as easily to the more casual affections he initiates at first. So he asks you about it straight up - “Is there any particular way you’d like me to go about this? I want to make sure I’m making you happy.”

And when you shyly answer that you’d like to try something a little more old-fashioned, his eyes light up.

He takes it seriously! But he also can’t help but feel like he’s in some historical romance, and maybe he’s getting inspiration for a short story, but let’s not get into that before it even makes it onto paper!

As an angel, he’s familiar with how a lot of people court, keeping the intimacy to a “respectable” level and focusing on compatibility for commitment. But he has to say, he likes your version a little better, how it’s less about two families testing the waters and a lot more romantic. He thinks it’s unbearably cute how you still get flustered at the smallest gestures.

His favorite thing to do is to walk in the Devildom botanical gardens, strolling at a leisurely pace and paying more attention to each other than the flowers. He thinks the whole experience of the pleasant weather and the sweet scent of the flowers wafting through the air is the perfect backdrop for what definitely feels like a dream come true for him.

[skellebonez]

Prompt 76, MK accidentally lets it slip to Pigsy that Monkey and Macaque are “seeing each other” as in not quite dating but been on a few “dates”...again. Pigsy who is on a low profile and hasn’t told MO who he really is, let’s it slip how he thinks “his eldest brother can do better” and MK is very confused.

Feel free to ignore!!!!! I’ve never asked for something like this before and if I did it wrong feel free to ignore it!

I may or may not have a soft spot for protective younger sibling type scenes in media so I had way too much fun writing this.

It could be worse. They could be dating. Wait? They are?!

"I don't understand what that damn monkey is thinking half the time," Pigsy said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his snout with a groan. "Just... let Macaque on the ship, yeah, that totally isn't going to backfire. Not like he has ulterior motives at all, not like we just learned all the stuff he pulled over the last year including trapping three of us in a lantern to fight you and teach you some kind of lesson.”

Things had been tense on the drone ship for the last month. They’d barely begun on their journey before a certain immortal monkey managed to catch them off guard and chase them for multiple days under the White Bone Spirit’s influence.

It became apparent very quickly that she was using him to toy with them, a sort of gloating in her victory. Well, joke was on her. Sending him after them meant they were able to see just how far her influence and control actually reached and they were able to find a way to free him from that with more than a little force and some stolen artifacts.

The fact she hadn’t sent anyone else, however, was... concerning to say the least. If she wasn’t worried about losing her grip on Macaque, of all people, that did not bode well for them.

But for the moment that was neither here nor there. What mattered in the moment was that in the month since the immortal monkey had managed to be dragged onto their ship to recuperate Wukong had become far too comfortable with letting him have free reign over whatever he wanted to do on the ship (within reason).

And Pigsy didn’t like that. Aforementioned soul trapping in a lantern and trying to turn MK against his teacher and all that. Pigsy didn’t trust Six-Eared Macaque as far as he could throw him.

"It's been a month and nothing's happened yet?" MK offered not so helpfully, shrugging with an awkward nervous chuckle. “I mean... unless he’s playing a really long game he’d probably have done something by now, right?”

"Well... It could be worse," Pigsy admitted with a chuckle as he stretched out and started to cut up the ingredients for his lunch dish. "They could be dating."

MK made an awkward choking sound as he inhaled his water.

"Wait...?" Pigsy turned around slowly, leveling the young man with a half glare. He stared for a moment, watching as MK refused to meet his gaze. Looking left and right and literally anywhere not at Pigsy’s face. "THEY ARE!?"

"I didn't tell you!" MK shouted, jumping up and hiding behind the table and pointing at Pigsy dramatically. "I said nothing, you cannot pin this on me!"

"YOU KNEW AND YOU KEPT IT A SECRET!?" Pigsy yelped, tone not angry but loud enough to make MK freeze with wide worried eyes. The chef stopped, sighing again as he took in a calming breathe before continuing. "Ok... ok... MK, I ain't mad, being mad at you would be ridiculous. But exactly how long have you known?"

MK frowned, looking up at the ceiling in thought before a tentative but curious look passed over his face.

"...I can neither confirm nor deny that I caught them smooching in the med bay two weeks ago."

"TWO WEEKS!?"

“You didn’t hear it from me!” MK said, pointing at himself as he backed away with another nervous laugh. “I have plausible deniability, you figured it out on your own!”

“Of all the hard headed thick skulled bad decisions that stupid-” Pigsy mumbled to himself, burying his face in his hands as he held back a scream of frustration. “There are so many men. So many men! So many ex-enemies even! But no, he had to go and hook up with his actual ex that tried to take over his identity and kill his entire travel party!”

“To be fair he kinda seems to be changing for the be-wait...?” MK started to offer, watching at the chef paced around the kitchen. “How... do you know they used to date? I don’t think even Tang knows that.”

“He could have dated literally anyone else and he chose to get back with Macaque,” Pigsy said with another sigh, removing his hands from his face with a scowl. “I knew he was dense but elder brother can do so much better.”

“I’M. SORRY?” MK yelled, this time being the one to startle the other. “ELDER. BROTHER?”

Pigsy froze, eyes wide in horrified realization. “... you didn’t hear that.”

Pigsy ran out of the room, MK hot on his heels.

“PIGSY COME BACK YOU NEED TO EXPLAIN AND NOT MAKE RASH DECISIONS!”

Pigsy did not go back to the kitchen, instead heading straight to the rec room that he knew the two monkeys were spending most of their recent time in when not off alone who knows where (now he knows where). MK was following right behind, trying to both get an explanation out of him and to dissuade him from confronting the Monkey King and also looking generally very confused and concerned.

He didn’t succeed before the pig demon slammed the rec room door open.

"WUKONG!" Pigsy shouted from the doorway, startling the two immortal monkeys from whatever conversation they were engrossed in . "You. Me. Deck. Now."

"I-"

"NOW. ELDER BROTHER."

The facial journey through confusion to realization to horror on Sun Wukong's face was worth the delayed reaction shout of "WHAT DO YOU MEAN ELDER BROTHER!?" from the other immortal sitting next to the Monkey King.

“BAJIE!?” Wukong yelped.

“YOU’RE ZHU BAJIE!?” MK yelped in much the same tone.

“Oh fuck,” Macaque whispered under his breath.

“DECK!” Pigsy repeated.

“BAJIE WHAT THE FUCK!?” Wukong repeated himself.

“ZHU BAJIE!?” MK also repeated.

“How many other enemies did I piss off that are on this ship?” Macaque continued, seemingly resigned to his fate.

“YES I’M BAJIE STOP YELLING MY OWN NAME AT ME!”

Needless to say that conversation was the most incoherent non-productive mess they had on the ship in the last month. Until Sandy burst into the room and forced them all to talk it out peacefully.

Macaque did, in fact, learn how many old enemies he had on the ship when Sandy came clean that he was also Sha Wujing.

And Pigsy did not, in fact, manage to talk any sense into his elder brother given how much MK was yelling at him for keeping his identity a secret from him.

Wukong just sat with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands wondering what in the actual hell his life had become.

(The next day, after a night of rest and a day talking to MK and apologizing and explaining everything, Pigsy caught the two immortal monkeys asleep cuddled on the couch of the rec room and decided that his elder brother could make his own decisions. And maybe MK had a point, given Macaque hadn’t done anything. Yet.

If he pulled a blanket over the two of them while they rested and they noticed no one said anything about it. And if Macaque snuck off the ship and there were, coincidentally, some rare ingredients for some dishes Pigsy missed making and a few scrapes and bruises on the immortal when he resurfaced... well, he didn’t say anything either. But he made it a point to have more mangoes and plums on hand.

Just in case.)

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

Tues 16 March ‘21

Zayn liked a post of singer Ingrid Michaelson wearing a Zayn shirt. How odd, I (and everyone else) thought, Zayn never publicly likes things what is going ON. Well SURE ENOUGH – Ingrid and Zayn collab OUT TONIGHT! WHAT! To Begin Again comes out Midnight EST tonight, omg, and not only that-- there’s a Zinterview coming out!! GQ (using a very cool aesthetic gif with the tag line Everyone is Watching) announced an interview with Zayn coming out TODAY (on newstands in Spain :| available everywhere else sometime later)- they say Zayn “discusses his latest album, his relationship with fans.” ZOMG!! We don’t have the whole thing yet, not being able to pop to a newstand in Spain personally, but there’s a cute picture of Zayn looking young and fresh in one of those gucci disney stripey shirts and his blue hair (so from last Dec-ish), and we got one teaser quote-- “I continually go against the grain when people tell me to do things a certain way, but my stubbornness and willingness to want to do things differently help me get through it.”

Niall is everywhere today in advance of his show tomorrow! He’s back on the golf (promoting) circuit, getting the word out about the Modest tournament- he says “I think some of the female golf professionals who currently play need to be celebrated more so these young girls have icons to look up to, and that was a part of the reason I was so passionate about making our event,” and that he wants to “educate these young girls and get rid of some of the pre-conceived ideas of golf being an old man’s sport.” He also mentioned the old Rio bread van story but with a twist, saying “often that was the only way of getting out of the hotel to see things or to get a bit of golf in” hmmm I feel like that was just your priority Neil but he does talk about how he used to play with Harry “out on tour for a bit of downtime” and says “Harry Styles was a pretty keen player at the time and the golf course was somewhere to chill out for us” (at least he doesn’t call him ‘grammy winner Harry Styles’ and I know it isn’t actually weird but the full name thing sounds so funny from him). There’s a sneak preview of him in the promo for Dermot O Leary’s new podcast series which looks awesome, and he congratulated Roman Kemp on his new documentary about the mental health/suicide crisis among young British men, calling it “eye opening and beautiful” and saying, “we must all look out for each other. The two ok rule, always ask twice.” And of course he’s promoting his SHOW, that’s TOMORROW-- he says he’s put together an acoustic set and makes a cute lil face and tells us “don’t you worry” about not going out this year “cause this little Irishman has got you covered”! THANKS little Irishman! But hey-- what about that Anne Marie collab from way back? Niall and Anne Marie both respond to a tweet asking just that to say… well literally nothing. They both just posted eyeball emojis. Hmph.

Grammy winner Harry Styles was spotted out to eat in Malibu in his favorite personal-time look, the bode ship jacket and floppy pants, and an official portrait with his grammy is up, very cute, an excellent Mona Lisa smirk and boa. Alicia Silverstone (Cher from Clueless herself!) took to twitter to compliment Harry on the “Clueless vibes” of his grammys look- “Cher would be so honored (and totally approve!!) of this chic look,” but backing vocalist India Shawn shows some regret after braving the world of twitter harries all week-- “some of y’all are annoying.” Very mildly put, I can only imagine, I hope Alicia doesn’t get any trouble. Oh and Brazilian artist Fiuk spilled that someone in 1D flirted with him back when they partied in 2014 and he now regrets not going for it (even though the reason he didn’t was that he’s straight). Pictures from that party of him being firmly gripped around the waist by a happy looking Harry circulated, but all five of the boys were there and drunk and of course there’s no reason to believe (knowing what we know about how they are, ie casually flirty) that whoever it was was actually prepared to follow through on any flirting, but who can’t relate to “I’m the wrong sexuality but is there really a WRONG sexuality to want to smooch a member of 1D?”

A couple of the guys from Only The Poets talk about Louis and how amazing Kill My Mind is (“that is a FUCKING CHUNE THOUGH”) and reveal that Louis agrees with me that Ceasefire is the OTP tune that matters. Twitter louies started Louniversity, an account that helps louies with school, so if you trust twitter stans to give accurate info that seems very sweet, and dusted off the Buy Defenseless push, which is always nice right, love that song- except when people are doing it to be dicks about Fine Line pushing back up in the itunes (and probably other) charts due to Harry’s grammy win, which is stupid. FFS if you’re not into someone just ignore them, not everything has to be so hostile all the time jeez.

[amintyworld]

Dream SMP Fusion AU:

Certainly not me thinking about a Steven Universe AU for Dream SMP because fusions

Also, just to note: Not all fusions are for romantic relationships, so please no shipping since many of the creators are uncomfortable with that. The one somewhat romantic relationship fusion mentioned is between the characters Schlatt and Quackity, and are the only ones classified as such for the lore and story already created - I do not ship them whatsoever. Thank you.

Also, feel free to use these ideas with credit!

TW: Abusive Relationship, Toxic Realtionship, manipulation.

So like, what if during the L’manburg Independence War L’manburg was the only ones who really fused with each other, and the Dream SMP just never really thought it was useful and therefore didn’t really use it all that much for battle, pvp, etc. 

They discovered fusion one day while building the wall when a bit of debris was about to fall on Fundy and Wilbur swooped in to save him, and suddenly... a whole completely different person stood in their place. It didn’t last very long, but Wilbur from then on was determined to learn all he could about it and understand it. 

Wilbur couldn’t seem to explain his findings much scientifically, but he wrote up a journal on all he learned - how the fusion seems to combine and showcase the best parts of each individual person.

An iconic Steven Universe Scene takes place (For you SU fans, when Smoky Quartz first came to be) when Tommy in a effort to get his discs back one day tries to take Dream head on, pushing away Tubbo’s help. Tommy gets throughly beat up by Dream and in a heartfelt moment Tommy tells Tubbo that no matter what he does Dream will always win against him because he’s not strong enough. Then, Tubbo says that that’s not true, that Tommy doesn’t have to be like Dream, if anything Tommy’s like him because they both aren’t like anybody else, and it sucks, but they have each other. Finally Tommy accepts Tubbo’s help as they fuse for the first time.

Eret and Niki fused once while hanging out and dancing one day, which led Wilbur to discover how to trigger the fusion in a more controlled manner - through dancing. 

The war happens with the revolution holding better against Dream and his posse for the short fact that they had fusion on their side - they weren’t totally confident in the ability yet, which lead to some close calls to unfusing at the wrong time, but a few prominent fusions came out of it. In the end, they won and Wilbur continued to write his findings in the journal.

The election came about, and with it the exile of Wilbur and Tommy - this time the two were on the receiving end of fighting with fusions.

Wilbur even suggested on fusing together for survival - together they were more combat skilled, and better focused. After all, there was lesser chance of hurting one target than there was two. So, for a while they stayed together, at least, until Technoblade came to help.

Techno was very awkward at the whole fusion thing - it seemed stupid, and the poor pig hybrid didn’t exactly dance very well, though he was often too embarrassed to admit it. Techno didn’t understand how his two brothers could fuse so easily while he just... couldn’t. (I’m imagining Wilbur coaching him in Pogtopia while Tommy has to wear paint cans in order to each his height)

While out together, the sight of Tubbo causes Wilbur and Tommy to become so distressed they unfuse as Tubbo tells them he wants to help, and becomes their spy.

Back in Manburg, a certain goat hybrid finds Wilbur’s fusion journal and does some light reading. Schlatt thinks that he needs fusion soldiers to fight for him - from what he’s reading, these fusions are practically unstoppable. If he were to have that kind of power at his disposal, no one could stop him.

Being the ‘selfless’ leader he is, he uses himself as a test subject as he fuses with his militia - Punz, Ponk...

Quackity at first makes fun of his attempts as always within five minutes the fusion quickly falls apart. This only pisses of Schlatt more, until he comes up with an idea. 

He confronts Fundy and tells him that if he was loyal to Manburg, and their desires aligned, they’d be able to fuse no problem. Fundy agrees and they become the first completed fusion in Manburg - Fundy only does it because he wants to keep suspicion low and his cover a secret, and it somehow works. Schlatt doesn’t question Fundy much after that.

As the festival gets planned Schlatt continues his tactic of sniffing out traitors through fusion, which does not bode well for Tubbo, who keeps narrowly escaping having to fuse (Looking at the ‘I’m pregnant’ excuse-).

Back in Pogtopia, tensions rise as Wilbur and Tommy become more and more distant as Wilbur plans to blow up Manburg during the festival. 

Festival happens, not much really changes except Schlatt tries to get Niki to fuse with him to prove she wasn’t a traitor and not get killed like Tubbo - Wilbur overhears and intervenes, running away with Niki back to Pogtopia, fusing with her to help both of them escape.

When Quackity tries to leave, Schlatt forces him to fuse to stop the traitor from escaping, and for the first time, the two get trapped in a mixed up mess of a fusion - nothing is combined of the two, it’s all a mish mashed up mess - thankfully they aren’t fused for long and Quackity escapes, but both have the feeling of agony, sorrow and pain of the forced fusion in their minds. 

They take back L’manburg with some awesome fusion v fusion fights.

In a last attempt to keep from dying, Schlatt forces Quackity to fuse with him again in exchange that he release Tubbo, who was on his last cannon life (Schlatt held up a knife to his throat.) Once again, Quackity is trapped down in the painful and dark abyss as their fusion makes mass destruction. Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo, and Techno all fuse to take  the unstable fusion down.

They succeed in doing so, fatally wounding Schlatt enough to corner him, the stress, drugs, and alcohol combing into a panic attack and he dies. 

From there, things proceed as normal - Techno releases the Withers, Wilbur pushes the button. 

New L’manburg is thriving with Tubbo as the new president... everyone can finally be who they want to be - wounds of course are still healing.

Quackity talks with Tubbo about his bad experience with Schlatt, and Tubbo is there to listen and always tells him that he doesn’t have to fuse if he doesn’t want to... of course fusion can be helpful (Some fusions have been helping repair the TNT and Wither damage) but, Tubbo insists, you don’t have to fuse to be able to help.

Ranboo gets a crash course in fusion basics by Phil and Ghostbur. (It’s like gem classroom, it’s all so cute guys-)

Phil also helps out Fundy who’s still iffy about Wilbur and all that he did for him... namely, fusing with Schlatt to avoid suspicion. It’s all wholesome and sweet, even with Ghostbur and his failed attempts to help in the background.

Things play out as normal in terms of plot - Techno retires, Tommy gets exiled...

Dream, at first, is very committed to blowing up Tommy’s stuff - one day, he says he won’t do it only if Tommy fuses with him, because he’s curious in how it works. 

This turns straight up unhealthy during the Beach Party when Tommy remembers all the times he used to have and how he feels so lonely, and Dream tells him that he’s always gonna be there for him even if they don’t, which results in Tommy and Dream fusing for a while whenever he comes to visit so Tommy won’t feel as lonely or as depressed. Tommy becomes dependent on Dream and the fusing and clings to it to an unhealthy amount, though Tommy of course wouldn’t admit that.

Eventually, Dream blows up Logstedshire and leads to Tommy running away in a brief moment of clarity. 

Phil gets under house arrest as the Butcher Gang try to take Techno down to kill him, but Phil, the ever to clever, gets there before they do and fuses with Techno to help take them down. They unfuse when Quackity threatens Techno’s horse, revealing that Phil snuck out. Techno covers for him and tells them that he broke Phil out, that it’s his fault and Phil had nothing to do with it. They believe him and Phil is in the clear.

The attempt fails, Techno finds Tommy and the two continue to practice fighting while fused - Tommy’s idea from his experience fighting with Wilbur - and they’re pretty strong. Ranboo and Ghostbur hang around and ooo and ahh over their moves.

Tubbo visits Tommy and as in cannon believes he’s dead but for a different reason - he finds evidence of when Tommy and Dream were playing around while fused and thinks that they’re permently fused - Dream forged a letter claiming that exact thing. Tubbo of course blames himself for losing his best friend.

Back in New L’manburg, the Butcher Gang gets fusion training too (except for Quackity) and Ranboo finally fuses for the first time with Fundy, the fusion turning into what a 12 year old would be like on redbull.

While on house arrest, Phil tries fusing with Ghostbur and to his surprise... it works - not for very long, but it works. They come to the conculsion that since Ghostbur is a ghost, that maybe it wasn’t two people fusing but instead a soul and a person, leading to the imbalance.

While Techno and Tommy are fused, they hold Connor captive and ask for ransom... leading Tubbo to be extremely confused when someone he doesn’t know is asking ransom from him who appearently knows him-?!

Only after they unfuse... Tubbo realizes that Tommy’s still... here. He’s still here and not in a fusion with Dream. Things go as in cannon.

Finally, after Dream figures out where Tommy is and tells Techno, any chance he gets with Tommy alone he tries to tell him that they could fix everything if they just fused again, and Tommy keeps finding himself refusing.

Anyway, what do ya’ll think? Should I do a follow up post for the fusions?

[theroyalsims]

QUEEN AND PRINCE JACQUES “NOT THRILLED” WITH RUMOURED #CLEANORE ROMANCE; ORDERS STAFF RESHUFFLE

Uh-oh! Is #Cleanore already in trouble before it even began?

Palace sources say that the whole “Pinkie-Gate” scandal has caused some tension inside the Palace walls. As it turns out, The Queen and Prince Jacques aren’t too happy about the whole idea of Eleanore dating Clive. The Palace shares:

“The Pinkie-Gate Scandal has caused quite a bit of stress on Her Majesty and His Royal Highness. They aren’t thrilled at the idea of Eleanore dating Clive, so much so that HM and HRH have ordered a staff reshuffle. Basically, Clive will no longer be a part of Eleanore’s team, and she will be assigned a new personal aide. But Clive hasn’t been let go, that much I know. He remains a valued member of the Royal Family’s most trusted aides. The Queen, especially, thinks that the reshuffle will give Eleanore and Clive some valuable time apart to re-evaluate their feelings, if at all.”

(Above: Throwback to a few months ago when Princess E. attended a wedding as a bridesmaid. The photos from the event went viral, because it showed Clive longingly staring at Her Royal Highness. With the rumoured staff reshuffle, will we ever see these two together anytime soon?)

Apparently, The Queen, especially is  not keen on having a Princess Alice + Adam Dorsey repeat. The source further adds:

“They have nothing against Clive, he’s a brilliant and dependable young man. He’s actually one of Jacques’ scholars, so there’s definitely a history there, which includes trust. However, The Queen only sees this ending badly not just for Eleanore but for Clive, too. The last time a royal paired off with one of the staff ended up in pain, bitterness, and misery for all parties. 

The whole Adam Dorsey incident has been a dark chapter in our Royals’ history, and if Her Majesty can prevent it from happening again, you can bet she will do everything in her power to do so. She has privately spoken to Eleanore and Clive about the rumours, albeit separately. She and Prince Jacques are opposed to the idea of Eleanore and Clive being together, and they’re doing their very best to nip it in the bud.”

Ouch! But the source further adds that we shouldn’t be holding our breaths for a public or official comment from any of the members of the Royal Family. “They’re trying to control this as quietly as possible. Expect total silence from the royals on this one.”

(Above: Photos of Prince Jacques and The Queen from an official engagement earlier today. Despite the smiles, things are reportedly quite tense in the Royal Household as of late.)

Perhaps that’s why during today’s engagement, the security was kept very tight, and the media was kept at arms length to avoid them from asking any untoward questions. 

Sigh. This does not bode well for Cleanore. Also, a reshuffle?! Does that mean we won’t be seeing those two together again?

[nervousladytraveler]

More from "Duty" (Ch 2).

(NSFW!)

----

“Why did you come with me? That night, after we left the party? Surely you knew what I had in mind?” Ross asked.

“Of course I did. You just about said the words,” Demelza laughed.

I want to undress you and take you to bed right now.

Or something like that. It was, in retrospect, a bit clumsily worded. He should have just told her he wanted to fuck her. Indelicate but direct. Still, she’d understood.

“But if that wasn’t a typical thing for you,” he tried again.

“Not my usual Thursday night routine, you mean?” she laughed

“I meant to go home with a man…”

“I recall it wasn't your home you took me too.”

“Demelza…” He stubbed out his cigarette and exhaled, but couldn’t help smiling. He was starting to see she liked teasing--or sparring. He also saw she was going easy on him.

“I knew what I wanted, if that's what you're asking. And yes, I'd made up my mind of what I wanted that night, before you and I danced together. Maybe earlier that month? When St. Stephen’s was bombed. It was the first time I truly felt afraid of dying, it was no longer in the abstract but very real. So I wanted to live--but not just stay alive. Experience life and all of it. Sounds daft, doesn’t it?” she explained.

“No, I understand. I think there’s probably thousands of people doing the exact same thing right now, here and behind enemy lines. It's a natural instinct,” he said.

“To create life when extinction looms? I should tell you, I wasn't looking to do that part. I should have taken better precautions...” She twisted her lips as she finished the sentence in her head.

“No, I should have...” He hung his head. “I swear I thought I hadn’t…” Now he dared to look her in the eye.

“Well that's water under the bridge, now, isn’t it, Ross?” she said breezily.

“I’d hardly dismiss it as inconsequential…” he sputtered.

“Another drink?” She clearly didn't want to talk about the predicament at that point.

“Yes, please but not if it’s your last…” He looked to the bottle to be sure. It was still more than half full and good stuff. He wondered where she’d gotten it. Or for whom? “Tell me, was I part of your plan? I mean, did you deliberately pick me…” he couldn’t resist asking.

“And all this time I thought you picked me, Ross?” She laughed again. “Well in truth there was a short list of the lads in our office who I thought could make it worthwhile.”

“Glad I made the cut,” he said sarcastically.

“Don't tell me I was the only woman you undressed with your eyes that night or whose bum your hand brushed when you were dancing. If it hadn’t been me you took back to that room in the Westbourne, it would have been someone else,” she shot back. “And I'm not even asking about the other women you've had in your life, Ross. Not your parade of affairs, not your quick interludes with hat check girls...not your wife.” Her eyes snapped.

It was a worthy retort although he’d never actually fucked a hat check girl. There’d been one years ago, at the Grill Room, whom he’d only drunkenly fondled whilst she reached into his trousers and offered some half-hearted tugs.

“But if you must know, I liked your hands best,” Demelza explained.

“My hands?” Ross stammered.

“Yes, when we danced, You held my hand and also my back--you were strong but gentle still. I thought it boded well that you could temper so much strength.”

As inexperienced as she was at that point, she’d known enough to suspect she’d be disappointed by half measures, tentative fingers, too much softness and all that. But she also didn't want someone who would run roughshod, get himself off, and not care for her pleasure--it was supposed to be about her after all.

And as she’d expected, Ross had been quite attentive.

“Do you like that? How does it feel for you?” he’d asked more than once as his palms and mouth traveled over all the terrain of her naked body. Even when inside her, he’d been responsive, listening to what she told him in her gasps and moans, slowing down when he sensed that was what she needed.

Since then she’d wondered if he’d truly cared about her enjoyment or if he was just maintaining the self-conception that he was a good lover. It was a role he seemed proud to play, that was important to him somehow. Perhaps by fooling himself that he cared about the women he bedded, he might keep the guilt at bay. Guilt that he was, after all, a married man and shouldn’t be caring about anyone’s pleasure other than that of Mrs. Poldark, wherever the hell she was.

But whatever drove Ross as a lover, Demelza had liked what she found with him. Very much in fact. And had it not been for the unfortunate yet totally foreseeable consequence of falling pregnant as a result, she would have been proud of her experiment in seduction. She still felt it a certain triumph.

She had chosen wisely.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Demelza asked from across the kitchen table. Her long finger absently rubbed out a trace of her lipstick from the rim of her tea cup. Her tea, forgotten or perhaps willingly abandoned, had grown cold.

“Maybe I wish I could go back,” Ross began then looked into his own drink, unable to withstand her piercing gaze. But why speak? Surely she must be able to read his thoughts.

“Back?”

“Back in time, to October, back to the Westbourne…” he said.

“And undo our night together?” she laughed.

“No, redo it. I want you again. Like that.”

“Even though…” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said and looked up again, “Even though.”