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nicolos · 7 months

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stew

The sad part of it is really that it takes Nile two months to realise she’s never seen Andy cook.

“Wait,” she says, “what do you mean she’s not allowed to cook?”

Andy just shrugs, perfectly unhelpful as she loves to be. The Andy sitting across the kitchen table from Nile is a far cry from the woman who shot her in Afghanistan, and not just because she’s now mortal and prone to problems like hangovers that last and back pain. More importantly: she looks less tired, somehow, hasn’t made fun of Nile about her Cross again, and gets a sick sort of satisfaction from watching Nile flounder over the important things, like which famous historical figures her new friends-slash-family-slash-anti-dying-club had slept with or the weird set of unspoken rules and laws and tripwires they all have built in that everyone else can see and Nile can’t. Yet.

“It means Andromache has been banned from our kitchens,” Nicky says coolly. Joe raises his brows, probably at the full name, but he’s grinning.

Nile ignores him, because he’s an instigator, and says, “Why not? Andy, what’d you do?”

“Who said I did anything?”

Nile narrows her eyes at her. That tone of voice elicits many things: trust is not one of them. Joe outright snickers.

Nicky says, voice low, “You know what you did.”

Joe mouths, “She does,” and then says out loud, “It’s not so bad, Nile. Nicky’s banned from football. And I’m not allowed to do any plumbing.” He says this like it’s a bad thing.

Nile suspects that they’ve also put an unspoken ban up against her audiobooks. Every time she puts one on doing her laundry, somebody comes up to speak with her, until she’s forgotten all about it. She also keeps losing the old iPod she found with the books on it, and whenever she finds it, it needs to be charged.

It’s ridiculous is what it is. She says so. “Andy is four thousand years old.” Andy raises her brows but doesn't comment one way or the other. Joe makes a so-so face, which really just means Nile’s wrong. She soldiers on. “I don’t care how bad she is, she should be able to cook!”

Andy shrugs around her bowl. “I can cook.”

“We’re all adults. We should have a roster. It’s not fair that it’s just Joe and Nicky.” Of them, Nile herself is probably the weakest: she can make a few comfort foods, but she’s never mastered the art. She’d like to, though. Part of it is wanting to hold onto the food she remembers before she can’t get it anymore and she’s forgotten, and part of it is that it’s just practical. But left to her own devices, she just eats whatever’s there. A roster will help.

And it wouldn’t feel right to leave Andy off it. Nile tells herself this is about fairness and house chores and not about the strange panic that takes over her whenever she imagines never eating her mom’s good again and then remembers that (a) Andy looks like she's maybe five years younger than her mom, and (b) she, too, is mortal. Which is dumb. It’s not like she thinks of Andy as anything like her mother. If anything she’s the bad influence friend everyone’s mom warns them about, but who everyone wants to—

Anyway.

“I don’t mind,” Andy says. Nile turns to Nicky.

Nicky says, “If you wish,” and then looks at Joe like he’s expecting Joe to speak up on his behalf.

Joe grins. “I have no objections.”

Andy’s turn on the roster comes up two days later. She spends the morning out of the house and comes back with two bags full of groceries. When Nile goes to help her with it, bewildered, it turns out one of the bags is half filled with low shelf life candy, and that Andy doesn’t need help, though she looks amused that Nile would offer.

Then she gets to it. She’s not what Nile was expecting, which was someone a little unsure of herself in the kitchen. She chops fluidly and fast, as good with a knife on meat and veg as she would be with it as a weapon, and she moves like she knows what she's doing.

But what she’s doing is—strange. At first glance, the dish is beef, with thick chunks of meat cooking in enough oil to thrill her grandma. But then she throws chunks of apple in alongside the potato. As it cooks, she starts rolling out some dough, with more eggs than make sense. Pie, Nile thinks, even if it's not a pie she knows of, but she rolls it out by hand into sheets of pasta, all while stirring the beef concoction. A bar of the dark chocolate she's munching on goes into the pot, followed by a concerning quantity of nuts. When she grabs an orange, Nile thinks it's for a snack, but she peels the whole rind into a neat spiral and tosses the rind into the pot before offering Nile a slice. When the pasta is cut, she just—starts flipping the sheets into the pot.

Nicky looks into the kitchen as he passes by and starts muttering to himself in Italian. When he opens his mouth, Andy only says, “If you’d rather do it yourself,” and Nicky walks away.

Oh, Nile thinks. “You won’t get out of the roster just by making bad food, you know,” she says, though she suspects she probably will. If it's terrible, she figures she’ll get takeout. She already saw Joe surreptitiously hide a bag of something in the back of the fridge. She hopes he got enough for her.

Andy only winks at her. Nile sits down.

In go raisins, cashew nuts, sticks of cinnamon, the stalk of some plant she doesn't even recognise, more garlic than even Nicky uses, and a whole tablespoon of turmeric. Then come the chillies: long, with the heads sliced off, thrown in whole. When the room starts smelling like heat, she cools it with cups of milk. More vegetables follow: large chunks of carrot and beet, strips of cabbage and slices of—ugh—eggplant go in along with a store-bought sauce she can't read the label of, spoons of cream, a quarter of a bottle of alcohol she's pretty sure isn't meant to be used to cook with, and—somehow—even more chocolate, and some of her favourite morning cereal.

This is the point at which Nile decides to stop watching. It feels a little like tearing herself away from a car crash, but she makes herself go look for her iPod. She finds it between two cushions of the sofa twenty minutes later, at 3%.

Andy calls Nile in to help carry the food out when she's done, half an hour later. Nile’s a little bit afraid of the monster she's created as she looks into the pot. It looks less than appetising, a deep brown that looks thick and has things floating in it and cheese melting on top. On the sides of the pot, she can see bright red oil floating in place.

When she carries it out, her iPod is already gone from where it was charging by the kitchen table. Nile glares at Joe and Nicky, who look back innocently (Joe) and distractedly upset (Nicky). It has to be Joe, she figures.

Andy serves them the frankenstew in deep bowls with toasted slices of Nicky’s last sourdough next to it. With no ceremony at all, she grins and says, “Dig in.”

Then, without waiting for the rest of them, she starts eating.

A little relieved that Andy isn’t going to leave them to eat it alone, Nile takes a small, tentative bite.

The dish is—not bad. She takes another bite, and then another.

The stew is delicious. Nile can feel her arteries clogging with every bite, immortality or no immortality, but she thinks she doesn't even care. It's hot enough to leave her tongue prickling after just a couple of bites, but she wants to keep eating it. It's sweet and salty and sour; the meat falls apart in her mouth but the nuts crunch. The pasta is not really pasta at all, thicker and softer and melting in her mouth like soft bread. The broth is creamy and thick, and none of the vegetables are too mushy or draw too much attention to themselves. It's the best thing she's ever eaten, she thinks. She never wants to eat anything else again.

When she looks up, she must look a little guilty, because Joe pats her arm comfortingly. “I know,” he says.

Andy hums around a mouthful and says, slowly, “It’s not as good as I remember it.”

Nicky looks despairing. He’s staring into the bowl like it insulted his mother. Maybe it has. “That’s what you said last time,” he says.

Nile considers things like nostalgia and pride and cholesterol and having more of the pot for herself, and slides Andy’s half-full bowl towards herself. “You’re off the roster, Andy. And you’re banned from cooking again,” she says authoritatively.

“I thought making bad food wouldn’t get me off the roster?”

Nile nods. This is worse.

Joe grins, ducks into the kitchen, and comes back with the box he had hidden in the fridge, which now that Nile looks closely says Andy Dinner. Andy laughs at her as she eats it.

Nile decides to stop looking for her iPod.

#the old guard #tog fanfiction #mine.#minefic #nile freeman #andromache #i like this one. idk if the characters feel Quite right. but this particular evening i dont care if they dont

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ya-world-challenge · 1 year

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18 Afrofantasy Worlds to Read after you watch Wakanda Forever

So I see you guys love these lists and, hey, I’m not going to complain, I love looking at these sets of beautiful cover art. This theme is... Afro Fantasy Worlds! ♥♥ From alt-Cairo to alt-Johannesburg and many magical worlds in between, I’ve chosen 18 books full of African magic.

Add your favorites in the comments, too! I only ended up with two male MCs... that’s sadly a shortcoming in YA fantasy in general, although not every book here is YA.

Support my blog and read at the same time when you buy from the linked titles below, which go to Bookshop.org (where you support small bookshops, too!) Or get a free trial at Scribd for ebooks & audiobooks.

Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray Fate binds two Black teenagers from different social classes together as they strike a dangerous alliance to enter a magical jungle and hunt down the ancient creature menacing their home--and discover much more than they bargained for.

Daughters of Nri by Reni K. Amayo A gruesome war results in the old gods' departure from earth. The only remnants of their existence lie in two girls. Twins, separated at birth. Goddesses who grow up believing that they are human. Their epic journey of self-discovery as they embark on a path back to one another.

Everfair by Nisi Shawl A steampunk alternate-history novel set in the Belgian Congo. What if the African natives developed steam power ahead of their colonial oppressors? This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated.

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi A fantasy trilogy with its roots in the mythology of Africa and Arabia, three women band together against a cruel empire where castes are divided by the color of one's blood.

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark A young magical detective in 1912 Cairo must investigate the murders of a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, when the murderer claims to be al-Jahiz himself returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko Tarisai was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to compete to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince's Council of 11. If she's picked, she'll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust.

Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron Heir to two lines of powerful witchdoctors, Arrah yearns for magic of her own. Under the disapproving eye of her mother, the Kingdom's most powerful priestess and seer, she fears she may never be good enough. But when the Kingdom's children begin to disappear, Arrah is desperate enough to turn to a forbidden, dangerous ritual.

Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa Danso is a clever scholar on the cusp of achieving greatness--except he doesn't want it. Instead, he prefers to chase forbidden stories about what lies outside the city walls. But when Danso stumbles across a warrior wielding magic that shouldn't exist, he's put on a collision course with Bassa's darkest secrets. Drawn into the city's hidden history, he sets out on a journey beyond its borders.

The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani Children have been disappearing from across Menaiya for longer than Amraeya ni Ansarim can remember. When her friend's sister is snatched, Rae knows she can't look away any longer. She finds unexpected support from a foreign princess and a street thief with secrets of his own.

Blood Scion by Deborah Falayei They wanted me to be a monster. I will be the worst monster they ever created. Fifteen-year-old Sloane can incinerate an enemy at will--she is a Scion, a descendant of the ancient Orisha gods. When she is forcibly conscripted into the Lucis army, Sloane sees a new opportunity: to overcome the bloody challenges of Lucis training, and destroy them from within.

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata--a mermaid--collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home. But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi goes against an ancient decree and does the unthinkable--she saves his life. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy the gods.

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna On the day of the blood ceremony of her village, Deka's blood runs gold, the color of impurity-and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki-near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat.

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes Set in a world where murderers and other criminals acquire magical animals that are mystically bonded to them. Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit, and a talent for finding lost things. When a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, Zinzi's forced to take on her least favorite kind of job -- missing persons.

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor In a near-future Nigeria. Anwuli Okwudili prefers to be called AO, Artificial Organism. Instead of viewing her strange body the way the world views it, as freakish, unnatural, even the work of the devil, AO embraces all that she is: A woman with a ton of major and necessary body augmentations. And then one day she goes to her local market and everything goes wrong.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy Sixteen-year-old Eva is a princess, born with the magick of marrow and blood--a dark and terrible magick that hasn't been seen for generations in the vibrant but fractured country of Myre. Its last known practitioner was Queen Raina, who toppled the native khimaer royalty and massacred thousands, including her own sister, eight generations ago. Eva must now face her older sister, Isa, in a battle to the death if she hopes to ascend to the Ivory Throne.

Changa’s Safari by Milton Davis In the 15th century on the African Continent a young prince flees his homeland of Kongo, vowing to seek revenge for the murder of his father and the enslavement of his family and his people. He triumphs over the slavery and the fighting pits of Mogadishu to become a legendary fighter and respected merchant.

Waking Fire by Jean Louise Naira Khoum has only known life in Lagusa, a quiet village at the desert’s end. But to the rest of the world, Lagusa is a myth, its location shrouded in secrecy. While war rages to the north led by power-hungry Sothpike and his army of undead monsters called Dambi, Naira’s people live in peace. Until the impossible happens—Lagusa is attacked by a Mistress sent to do Sothpike’s bidding with a hoard of Dambi under her control.

Bonus: Daughters of Oduma by Moses Ose Utomi An elite female fighter must reenter the competition to protect her found family of younger sisters in this scintillating young adult fantasy inspired by West African culture.

#book list #afrofantasy #black ya #african fantasy #wakanda forever #book recommendations #diverse ya #diverse fantasy #north africa #west africa #fantasy #magic #royalty #afrofuturism #fantasy world

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thegrimreaperisanerd · 6 months

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hi :) binge read your de fic that you have posted on ao3 last night and really enjoyed all of it! excited to see any updates. was wondering if you have any rec for other fic youve read and enjoyed-- i am not god's bravest soldier and do not enjoy trudging through tags and was wondering if you had read anything yourself that you really enjoyed lolol

Hey, thanks so much!!! Sorry it's taken a couple days to answer this, I'm poor as shit and have two jobs now wah... capitilism...

I'm working on the next 46' chapter, It's about 70% complete and I generally let it sit for an evening once it's done then re-read it the next day to catch the vast majority of mistakes (I edit everything myself) so I'd say expect that in the coming days.

I have some thoughts! I... Have never been asked for fic recs before so I'm gonna list a bunch in no particular order that I enjoyed, and reasons why. I will note that I tend to enjoy meaty plot-based works over fluff, so that's what I'll be recommending. Anyway!

Paddling Out (THE REPEATER CORPSE CONUNDRUM) - @transhitman - So this is the first DE fic I read and it set the bar pretty fucking high. YOU'VE GOT: a very cool and insular setting (don't get me wrong I like fics where they travel around Revachol too, but there's something to be said for building a set and living in it for a while) YOU'VE GOT: extremely harrowing tension and pale-fuckery YOU'VE GOT: some genuinely beautiful, heartfelt moments (I don't want to spoil anything but "people don't need your permission to care about you" kinda undid me) YOU'VE ALSO GOT: Amazing art?! Always a bonus, I wish I could draw people lol

Have You Heard The News That You're Dead? - Wizardlover - Time Loop shenanigans hell yeah! Basic premise: Kim is *unable* to save Harry's life after he's shot at the tribunal, each time he dies he Reawakens in Martinaise on the first day and desperately has to try and find a way to either prevent the Tribunal entirely, or survive it. I think the major draw to this one is how well it's characterised and how well that lends to the major source of tension: trying to convince THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SKEPTIC that you *a man he 'has only just met'* is actually stuck in a time loop. Juicy shit.

The Case Of The Man Who Two-Thirds Wasn't There - @glisteningceruleaneyes - We got another case fic here, gang. This is one of those "they travel around Revachol" numbers I previously mentioned. A lot to love about this fic; the minor OCs are all loveable (or at least well-written, looking at you Mr. Bigot-All-Rounder), the elements of writing in the game's style (particularly use of Harry's 'to do' list that you find in the ledger, you don't see that as often!) are all fantastic. Also without spoiling too much I'm a sucker for hurt/ comfort :) I like when bad things happen to our specialist guy :) ALSO! alternating chapters, Kim vs Harry's perspectives contrast REALLY well! Just a super enjoyable read. - On that note I also wanna include a special mention: there's a podfic for this one and since I mentioned my two jobs, I've been listening to audiobooks at work (I'm a cleaner. It's very boring) and that was a fun change of pace!

The Emergent Causeway - hal_incandenza - Now you KNOW this one is good because it's the only *unfinished* fic I'm recommending. Again, We've got art! We've got a brand new (non-Revachol!) setting that still feels excellently Elysium! We got that excellent balance of humour and misery from the get go! EXCELLENT murder mystery so far, I am intrigued AND also there's a fucking puppy. Hell yeah. This one's from Kim's perspective and does a really good job of it, nothing like a man being begrudgingly sent on holiday and being somewhat relieved to have a corpse to deal with.

A Spilled Kaleidoscope - @spilledkaleidoscope - I'm actually recommending a series here. Real definition of "came for the art, stayed for the writing" I mostly have a soft spot because I got to watch a few "haha, what if-?" musing text posts become a series of written chapters and INCREDIBLE DRAWINGS HOLY SHIT. Like, you really just draw hands for fun, huh? This person made a pact with some sort of devil beasts to draw hands very good, at the bare minimum we can read their fiction.

Nothing To Lose But Our Chains - Lepak - I almost forgot this one and I honestly can't believe it because this is one of these ones that you need a cigarette afterwards. Good fucking god. This is probably the best fic I've ever read in terms of not shying away from the heavy themes that make Disco Elysium such a beautiful, moving game. It tackles a racism in many forms, particularly how people like Kim (in working for the RCM) and immigration laws do their part in upholding racist systems, despite the way it hurts him too. Of course, it's also excellently written with tense scenes and some real funny moments. A real good'un here.

The Catacomb Killer - SupposedToBeWriting - Give Harry more memory loss. Make him convinced he killed a kid. Make *Kim* convinced he killed a kid... Then the plot thickens. I won't lie I can't remember fuck all about this one because I was mostly drunk when I read it, but if it was good enough that I kept reading instead of smoking a spliff or something then it must have been excellent... I will re-read it when I have the time, lmao.

MURDER ON THE AIRWAVES - @randomisedmongoose - I'm just a really big fan of murder mysteries and gore. You show me somebody with brain matter pouring from their earholes and I'm like "yum yum, more of that please." I am a sucker for curious methods of murder and this one's good for that. Lots of trekking back and forth like in the game again. More ACAB - always good.

I did not mean to include this many...........................

Oh well. Here's my list, there are plenty of others I've enjoyed but these are just the ones that came to mind! Thanks again for reading my fic! Always makes me happy when people let me know they enjoy my writing :3

#hey if i tagged u in this and u don't want to be tagged then PLEASE lemme know and i'll remove u #likewise i dont know if everyone has tumblr so if u know somebody does ping this post their way and if they wanna be tagged let me know and #i'll do that #fic recs

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forestflightsart · 3 months

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Wings of Fire Legends Darkstalker Cover Redraw

I finished reading this book despite already knowing what happens in it, the audiobook isn’t too bad and free to listen to, i def enjoy this series so much and it was lovely to get my girlfriend into it :>

I wanted to redraw the cover art since it kinda felt like it was lacking expression but i also just want to redraw cover arts lately for practice.

Wings of Fire and Darkstalker is owned by Tui T. Sutherland.

#sketch #artwork #my art #doodle #art #dragon #wof #wingsoffire #wings of fire #wings of fire art #wings of fire redraw #wofcover #wof darkstalker #legends darkstalker #nightwing #icewing

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gronnulv · 2 months

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get to know me tag game

tagged by @especiallyhaytham 💚

last song: Autocorrect - Kongos

favorite color: Obsessed with almost all shades of green; mulberry + peacock green + the texture of copper = simply mind blowing! @_@

currently watching: In general, I listen to audiobooks during my work. At the moment this is 'Blindsight' by Peter Watts.

last movie/tv show: The second season of "What We Do In The Shadows" series.

spicy/savory/sweet?: I absolutely love cooking and combining flavors. I cannot pick a single favorite %)

relationship status: I have a beloved - he saved my life several years ago. Unfortunately, due to the war, we became separated and our attempts to reunite and get married have failed for two years. I feel absolutely exhausted scared for him. In the face of this, I live alone far from home, and I don't have anyone to hug and talk to in real life. On top of that, I live alone far from home and I have no one to hug or talk to irl. I have failed to make new friends and I'm constantly working or falling ill due to severe stress.

current obsession: Obviously, the Kenways family and their surroundings :`D

Also I'm trying to organize the relocation of the "AskAssassinsCreed" art community to Tumblr, which is damn a lot of work, since we have a archival of the works starting from 2013. There's a lot of authors, characters, so I'm trying to establish contact with every artist, to sign up every piece of work. At the moment, this is proceeding slowly, as I have to finish my art commissions, I take way too much time to complete the due to my health issues T__T

Plus, I'm dreaming of finishing my animatics with Haytham and Shay. And maybe I may dare to show my OC, which I started writing at 2009, but I was too shy to show her. It seemed to me she could fit well in the AC3-Rogue setting, so maybe I'll manage to make some arts and comics with her.

last google search: Aurelio Tiratelli

💚 Non-pressure tags: @skatik, @bookworm-with-coffee, @piparkukke

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crispinkiss · 5 months

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system collapse!! system collapse!

i just finished the audiobook and im crying sohard. quotes and whatever i thought was funny while listening (spoilers) ->

"i can't handle that right now so I'm just going to archive it for later" in response to ratthi having read its letter is so real

"she made an aborted gesture like she wanted to throw it against a wall. been there. threw my entire body against a wall once" LMFAO???

okay this sounds exactly like the group video project where everyone procrastinates until the last hour before it's due

"iris' jaw did something like she was thinking about biting someone" iris i love you go bite people

"it wasn't dead, it was just catastrophically damaged. i know, who isnt 🙄"

ART wear your seatbelt!! safety first!!

"booped by the pathfinder"????? lmao

iris being so worried about her sibling :( her half sob.. im going to full sob over them OH MB IS HAVING A BIG OVERWHELMING EMOTION TOO they both care so much crying emoji

HOLISM LMFAO and three being three is so fantastic always

#mb has grown so much since all systems red and its finally happy!! it's on the road to recovery!!!#everything about this book was just so funny and heartwarming and amazing (yeah yeah the actual action was great too)#the murderbot diaries #system collapse spoilers

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jojikawa · 1 year

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𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘿𝙞𝙤: 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 | 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙏𝙬𝙤

WICKED HEARTS

Pilot | MASTERLIST

Author’s note: This is a POC FRIENDLY blog. I am a black girl and I want to write more fics that don’t leave the reader racially ambiguous. This is self-indulgent and I’m just sharing it with you. Jojo is far from realistic. So, I don’t need to be either. Please don’t leave hate! Thanks!

This is a DARK romance so there will be toxic relationship themes, NSFW themes, descriptions of violence, and gore. There will also be unintentional sexism and racism from the characters toward the reader. The reader is canonically black in this AU but it is written for people from all walks of life to enjoy.

TW? Dio forces his will onto the reader. (Could be triggering but not rape :) )

vampire dividers by mmadeinheavenn

"You are my JOY..." Art by KDash_01 on Twitter!

Authors Note (2/7/2023): this temporary note will be removed soon. I use eleven labs AI to make reading more accessible bc it's hard for me to just sit and read stuff but I ran out of monthly credits to use the program so the audiobook for this chapter will be added later. I am very sorry! - Maron.

WORD COUNT: 3.7k

Several years have passed since your incident with Dio. You avoided seeing him and he didn't try seeking you out…at first.

You introduced yourself to Jonathan and the both of you became fast friends. Although it was platonic, Dio couldn’t stand the fact that someone that belonged to him was able to be in the presence of Jonathan. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t care that things were messed up because of him. Jonathan shouldn’t get to talk to you. This newfound jealousy sat at his core and festered. Dio had been putting on a front the entire time of being “Good guy Dio.” It was the only way he could ever gain back the trust of everyone else. Soon he would turn on them.

Dio began poisoning his own adoptive father. The very person that showed kindness to him, giving him the benefit of the doubt when no one else would. He lost you but he only continued burning bridges with the ones he loved. Were the two of you new lovers now? He couldn’t stand the thought of it. He didn’t want to believe it because you were too smart for a fool like Jonathan. The idea still ate away at him. Jonathan was a fool but he was indeed much nicer than Dio.

The rumors of you dating Jonathan were only present in Dio’s head. It was clear to any and everyone that the two of you were just friends. Jonathan often asked about Erina but it seemed like she wanted nothing to do with the Joestar boys. The only thing he could do was respect that. Jonathan would also apologize to you on behalf of Dio. It wasn’t needed or wanted but you accepted it regardless. You shared your way of making tea and baked goods over the years. You were a very prominent family friend. Something that Dio could no longer ignore.

You heard of George Joestar’s sickness and he personally requested that he have some of your famous dessert and tea. You were happy to prepare it for him but it was only once you were ready to have Jonathan deliver, you got the news that the man went out of town. You arrived at the Joestar manor and the door was answered by their butler. That meant that Dio was the only other person taking care of George.

You met with their father. He looked pale and as if he hadn’t slept in days. It was like he could collapse at any moment. “Hello there, Mr. Joestar.” You greeted the old man with a sweet smile. “I brought your favorite.”You showed him a slice of cake. “Jonathan told me you shouldn’t be eating any sweets but I couldn’t help it.” You then took the tea kettle out of your bag. “I was also able to make it here while the tea was still warm.”

A small smile crept up on the man’s face. “Thank you so much, (y/n). You’ve been a true asset to my boys over the years, but most of all, to me.” You laughed, seating yourself in a nearby chair. “Oh, no worries Mr. Joestar. I believe that I’m just doing the bare minimum.”

Dio lingered outside the door of George’s room. He didn’t even want to admit something like this but he could say he was jealous of his father as well. He was jealous of anyone you gave your time to because of how exclusive your relationship was before.

The muffled voices ceased speaking. Dio began to leave. He didn’t want to see you right now but he was not fast enough. Just as he turned away, he heard the door open and close followed by faint footsteps. As flustered as he had gotten over you, he couldn’t help but face you. There was no way. In what world could he actually be able to ignore you when you were only a few feet away?

When you noticed Dio, it was clear he was eavesdropping. You wanted to believe your feelings for him had faded but a small bit of them was mostly there. You never paid any mind to him until now. He had grown just as big as Jonathan. Then you noticed his arm. It was in a sling as if he had broken it.

“What happened to you?” You whispered, holding your hand up to your mouth in disbelief. The attire you had on wasn’t something Dio had seen before. It was fit for the cold weather but could be considered promiscuous. A Victorian-style corset dress that highlighted your bust with sleeves that hang off the shoulders. It hugged your curves and left nothing to his imagination. All topped with a beautiful fur cloak that concealed the rest of your body. It seemed as though you dressed a lot nicer than you had when you were only children.

“It is nothing of your concern.”

You huffed. “I don’t believe it’s nothing.” You laughed out loud, but just a little. This made Dio grit his teeth. “And why do you care? It’s clear that you’ve married some rich bastard. Go bother him.”

“Still as bitter as ever.” You muttered. “I’m not married, Dio. Jonathan hasn’t told you about me I assumed?” You made your way over to him, examining his arm without touching it just yet. “No. Jonathan hasn’t told me anything about you of the sort. It’s like you want nothing to do with me.” His voice was laced with venom. He held so much anger. All of it would just diminish if you just became his again.

“The Pendletons had given me a small loan to begin my own tea company a few years ago. I’ve paid them back since then.” You smiled softly. Dio’s face softened at you. Did you finally find salvation from your financial problems…without him? “The tea company you’ve always talked about having…?” Dio remembered all the times that you’d mention being the owner of a tea company in private. It was just something he thought you’d talk about in passing. How could he not have known?!

The Pendletons!? How could they? Dio was supposed to be the one helping you achieve your dreams. Not them. This only made his hate grow more. He was beginning to face the harsh reality that your life never revolved around him.

You nodded. “My life is my own now.” Grabbing him by his big shoulder, you ushered him to come with you. The oversized man followed. They must’ve tried really hard to hide an entire tea company from him. It didn’t sit right with him that he was completely flushed out of your life. Now there would be a dozen men constantly pining after you.

Dio told you the directions to his study and that’s where you would take care of him. A part of you really wanted to see if he was actually handicapped or if this was a ploy for sympathy. Other than Jonathan and Erina, you were the only person who knew the real Dio and the lengths he could go to. “How did you hurt your arm?” You asked politely. Your fingers grazed themselves over his sling. “A street fight.” He grumbled. You rolled your eyes. “You’re too lavish and frilly for street fights at your age. Am I really supposed to believe that?” You placed your high-end purse to the side and your jewelry made audible jingling sounds as you removed your fur coat.

Frustrated, Dio ripped off the sling, throwing it to the ground. “Okay. I lied. What do you want me to say? Jonathan attacked me.”

“Mmm.” You pursed your lips. “Jonathan doesn’t strike me as one to attack his own brother. And to think, the two of you were getting along so well.” You placed a hand on your cheek. You’ve changed so much and grown up quite beautifully. “Oh, so you think I’m lying?” Dio narrowed his eyes at you. “You lied about your arm just now.” You snapped. “I bet you’ve done something wrong and now you’re trying to act hurt for sympathy.”

“You don’t know anything, woman.” He spat. “You barely even know the man in front of you.”

You quickly grabbed your handbag. “Fine. Then I have no reason to stay here.” You shrugged to yourself as you put your coat back on. “Wait!” Dio raised his voice a few octaves. You felt his arm grab yours. “Yes?”

“Don’t…leave.”

The grip he had on your arm tightened with every word. “I’m begging you. Please don’t leave.” Dio cried his crocodile tears. You wanted so badly to believe him but you knew better.

“Dio…” You flashed him a sad smile, raising your free hand to his cheek. You wiped his fake tears and he leaned to your touch. “I still have feelings for you. I’ve already accepted that I will never stop loving you and I’ve held our relationship close to my heart…”

Dio’s face lit up. You had to admit that he looked very adorable when he didn’t have such a scowl on his face. “My feelings have remained for you as well. I haven’t had any relations with any other woman in hopes that one day you-“

“I don’t believe we can be together.”

A force that was never known before today filled Dio. The pit in your stomach that causes one to throw up. The feeling that makes you want to throw yourself off of a nearby cliff. Rejection.

You expect Dio to insinuate violence again, but he didn’t. He let go of your arm. “What?” The words fell breathlessly from his mouth. “But I did everything right.” The man cried more, except his voice wasn’t soft. It was deep and raspy. You frowned. “Dio, if you see your behavior now, then you’re solidifying my suspicions of you not changing your outlook on life.”

Once again, Dio let you go. It was probably the right thing to do. Dio was clearly no good and his presence would only hold you back.

This devil wouldn’t be able to accept the harsh reality.

Dio did what any man of his stature would. He drank.

It was unlike him to drink but essentially losing you again was enough to drive him to crippling alcoholism. He roamed the streets, not caring about any danger that came his way. It was all over anyway. Jonathan knew he was poisoning George and could be back with evidence at any moment. Dio would rot in jail and he would never see you again.

In a drunken state, Dio bumped into a duo of ruffians who were also drunk and didn’t take kindly to his misstep. The idea crossed his mind to use the mask on the men. It would surely kill them. It was how he was planning to kill Jonathan, after all.

Instead, he learned a new secret. Something far more valuable than anything else he would have known about the mask. In the process of being attacked by his vampire victims, Dio hurt the very arm that he had been using as leverage in the past, needing the arm sling for real this time. It was embarrassing, but he didn’t care. Not one bit. There was a change in his plan that could turn everything in his favor.

A day later, you got the news that Dio died. The Joestar mansion caught fire. The news got to you the next morning. You’d be a liar if you said you didn’t cry for him. Dio was sad and miserable but you always hoped that he would come to his senses. Now, you could never be with him.

But life goes on.

You managed your tea company as normal but you found it hard to build connections with other men. No suitors gave you the same attention he did. They wanted you because you were pretty or for your money so their attempts to romance you were very disingenuous. You had gotten thoughts about visiting Jonathan but you believed you still needed time. Seeing him would only make you think about Dio.

You often beat yourself up for being so harsh with Dio. Perhaps, leaving him to figure things out on his own was too cruel of you. The next day, word got to you that Jonathan recovered but there was still no sign of Dio’s body. You assumed the worst and that his body was burned beyond recognition or still buried under the rubble. Either way, it contributed to your sadness and made your job hard. You decided that you would have an assistant take over while you allowed yourself to mourn the loss.

Jonathan and Erina spent their time together. They caught up and began to bond again. You went back to visit the Joestar mansion…or what was left of it. You left flowers for Dio the first day. You hoped that he was resting in a better place now.

You checked into a nearby Inn. You planned to stay there for a few days and maybe visit Erina too. You were still trying to work things out.

You were shown to your room. It was the most expensive suite. You had it all to yourself. You often treated yourself and being able to have good living conditions made the situation a bit more bearable. But when nightfall came about, your neighbors would realize that this inn was a house of horrors.

You settled down, bathed yourself, and got ready for the next day. Your night had been going like any other but this night, in particular, had you more on edge. You felt as if you were being watched. Sometimes you would even feel a presence behind you but when you looked…it was nothing?

Perhaps you were put off by the sudden bad news. You figured things took a toll on you and the best idea was to get some rest. Unfortunately, it seems that your sheets weren’t the cleanest. Anyone else would be furious at paying for such a nice suite to have dirty sheets, but from your humble beginnings, you understood that mistakes happen. You would simply request new sheets. You went to the front desk and talked to the staff. They sent a young man up there to change your sheets immediately.

You thanked the staff and began to walk to your room. It had only been a few minutes since you left but there was already no sight of the boy. “Fast service, I guess.”

When you got to your room, your door was wide open. The room was dark and it was freezing cold as if all the windows were open. “What in god’s name…?” You reluctantly entered your room. You used the light of the moon to navigate your way. You found your matches and began to relight the candles that were scattered about. You closed your window and tried to warm up once again. When you arrived at the bathroom, you heard…gurgling.

You placed your hand on the door of the bathroom, trying to gain the courage to open it. You were already getting spooked by the random noises and figures you were seeing through the night. The last thing you wanted was a haunted inn room.

You barely pushed the door before you heard a deep voice emit from behind you. It was sly and very familiar to you. Could you have been hallucinating!?

“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.”

You quickly spun around. Greeted by a huge man you’ve never seen before, you opened your mouth to scream. His speed allowed him to cover your mouth in an instant with his face obscured by the uneven levels of darkness in the room. The other hand lightly caressed your arm now that he was behind you.

Tears welled up and immediately began spilling out of your eyes. You grabbed the hand of your attacker, trying to pry it away from your mouth so that you could cry for help.

But it was like he had the strength of 1000 men!

“It’s honestly so touching that you’ve come all this way to show your appreciation for me. Even after ignoring me for 7 years.”

You squirmed, trying to get out of his grip. This has to be a hallucination or ghost of sorts. This suite was haunted. It had to be.

The attacker let you tire yourself out before bluntly dropping you to the ground. You huffed as you tried to crawl away. They watched your pathetic attempt to run away, slowly walking alongside you.

“Somebody help me!” You cried out as you reached the door, only for it to slowly shut in your face. The intruder picked you up before turning you around. Then you saw his face.

His face.

“Dio? You’re alive?” A wave of different emotions washed over you as you processed the face of the man in front of you.

It was Dio.

But Dio Brando died in a fire.

“My lovely (y/n).”

A clawed hand tenderly rubbed your face, staining it with blood. The metallic smell invaded your senses. Your fight or flight mode was going off, like, 30 times more than necessary. “You’re not real!” You squeezed your eyes shut. “Dio died. Stop pretending to be him.”

“Oh, but I am. Your eyes do not deceive you, my dear.”

The person in front of you was clearly Dio, but he looked so different. His hair was messy and he was completely covered in blood.

“Wh-what happened to you? How did you live?” You choked out. You didn’t know whether to be overjoyed or completely scared out of your mind. Why was he covered in blood?

Dio laughed. “Oh, Darling, I should have been more honest with you at our last meeting.” He smirked at your behavior. It felt so much better being in direct control this way. He originally didn’t like the idea of scaring you but he seemed to have changed his mind.

Before he could continue, there was a knock on the door.

“Ma’am? We heard screaming coming from your room! Is everything alright?” The night attendant spoke muffled speech through the door. “Oh, it seems we have a guest.” Dio placed you on your feet and walked to the door. He opened it to reveal an innocent bystander that he pulled inside. He didn’t allow them to scream or even make a sound before he drained them of all of their life essence, making them as skinny as a skeleton.

You wailed and cried at the sight of witnessing death so closely. With the leftover strength you had, you ran and locked yourself in the bathroom. ‘Dio is a monster!’ You internally panicked. Were you going to die too? Was this his angry spirit coming to punish you for the petty antics the two of you engaged in? Your life was finally beginning to go well. Why? Why would this happen?

“Darling? Don’t tell me you’ve gone in there anyway, despite my requests for you not to.”

It was Dio again. He was jiggling the knob and trying to get inside.

You took deep breaths, looking around for an escape. There was a small window at the very top of the room you could crawl out of. It seemed like it would work but then you heard a groaning sound.

The gurgling from before got louder until you turned around to see the Inn worker from before. His skin was saggy, pale, and covered in blood while he walked with a limp over to you. It was a zombie.

Not another moment passed. The door was forcefully removed from the hinges, breaking in half and falling to the ground like scraps of paper. Dio made quick work of the zombie, destroying its body and tossing the remains to the side.

“I can tell you how I lived.” Dio grabbed you and removed you from the bathroom. “I think you should listen to me, for once.”

Appearing in his hands was a peculiar-looking mask. “With the help of this, you can live as I do.” Like a painting, Dio paralleled the mask with his very own face.

You shook your head. “N-No! I don’t want to be a monster.” You tried to pull away but he did not budge. “I don’t remember when I asked such a thing.” He pulled you closer. “Live as I do, (y/n). Reject your humanity. Live forever with me and we can rule the world.” As he spoke, you could see the teeth in his mouth. His canines were longer than the average humans, becoming more visible after noticing them for the first time.

You wanted to believe so badly that this was just a dream. A nightmare. Anything that meant that it wasn’t real. This was too much. Dio was dead. Dio died in a damn house fire!!

“No!” You shouted, yanking your arm away from him. It was painful but you managed to slip through his grasp and fall to the floor. You stumbled to your feet, attempting to run to the door but Dio tripped you. You didn’t stop. You crawled until you could get on your feet again, but Dio pulled your leg back towards him. A haunting smile crept up on his face. “Dio, please!” You screamed, clawing and kicking at the man. You bruised him, drawing blood, but he didn’t care. You could fight until you got tired. “No! Stop!” The monstrous man tried to force the mask on your face. You didn’t want that. You didn’t want to be a creature like him. “Please, stop!” You continued to fight him, your muscles burning at the overexertion.

“Resisting only makes it more painful.” He whispered into your ear, barely moving a muscle as you fought for your life. “No! This isn’t right. Please stop!” Your muffled cries fell on deaf ears as he smothered your face with the mask. He used the fresh blood coating his hand to activate it, causing the spikes to come out and penetrate your skull. The sound of your burning transformation filled the entire Inn. It was almost a miracle that you didn’t lose your voice from all the screaming.

“The pain is only temporary, my dear.”

#jojo's bizarre adventure #dio brando x reader #dio x reader #dio x black reader #dio brando x black reader #dio #dio brando #POC reader #angst #dio headcanons #dio fanfiction #dark romance

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glowingmushroom0 · 9 months

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Top Ten TBR for August

1. The Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (currently reading)

Back in December, I was re-watching a bunch of Zhao’s videos on YouTube and in one of them she was promoting her novel Iron Widow. While I’ve never been too into mecha-novels in sci-fi, I decided to give this one a try! I’ve been finding the mechanics of the mechs really interesting, and I find Zetian a very engaging character. It also helps that Zhao explains some of the history of the real-life Wu Zetian in two of her YouTube videos. I still haven’t finished the book, but I am pretty close to finishing it.

2. Epithet Erased: Prison of Plastic by Brendan Blaber (currently re-reading)

This novel is a part of the Epithet Erased series on JelloApocalypse’s YouTube channel, which also includes several trailers for this novel and a part of chapter 1 of the novel’s audiobook. I remember seeing the original show on YouTube when it was coming out and it’s a really fun series! This part of the novel focuses on the story of Molly Blyndeff, a twelve-year-old with an epithet, a power that depends on whatever word the epithet is based off of. The story focuses on Molly’s relationship with her older sister Lorelai, and how her friends support her and try to help her as she tries to stop her sister from expanding her dream world within their family’s toy store. I’m actually listening to the audiobook while writing this post! I really recommend the audiobook version of this novel, the voice actors did an excellent job!

3. Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austen

I actually was recommended this book a couple of years ago by an aunt and a cousin of mine. I had gone to a Catholic school and they both knew I was pan (I still haven’t come out to them as agender though, but that’s because I don’t see or talk to them very often). However, what actually convinced me to try the book was an old friend group that started a book club, and this was their first book. I still haven’t read it because I didn’t end up making it to the meetings, but I am interested in reading it.

4. The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

This novel I was interested in more from the author than the subject matter, but that doesn’t mean I’m not interested at all. I first read Jaigirdar’s Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating and really enjoyed it, so I wanted to read more of her works! That’s when I learned that this was her debut novel, and I wanted to compare the two. Plus, I will always find some joy from learning about different art forms through writing in novels. The most I know about henna so far is from a friend of mine who had another friend who wanted to practice henna on them. Because of that, I’d like to learn more about how Jaigirdar depicts henna artists.

5. A Queer Dharma: Yoga and Meditations for Liberation by Jacoby Ballard

I actually found this book at a book exchange that was at an LGBTQ+ friendly event. My friend and I are both interested in this book because we’re both into learning about different kinds of religion and how to express different kinds of spirituality. From what I’ve looked over with the book it talks about how queer people create their own spaces within Buddhism and yoga.

6. So This is Ever After by F. T. Lukens

I’ll go more in-depth with this particular choice in the next book, however the main reasons why I was interested in this novel is because I had already gotten a book from this author that I was pretty interested in. And after looking through another book of Lukens’s (or Lukens’), they also seemed to be really interested in fantasy, especially magic. I also thought it was an interesting idea that the story takes place after the typical “ever after” of defeating an evil king.

7. In Deeper Waters by F. T. Lukens

Now this is the novel that I originally found F.T. Lukens from, and the main reason why I was interested in reading this novel is because I love pirates. I also found myself hooked from just the summary of the novel. When people say a character is mysterious, I don’t really know if they’re going to be mysterious until they appear in the story. However, the summary does show how mysterious Athlen can be, considering he’s introduced as a prisoner on a burning ship. So, I’m interested in learning more about Athlen just from the summary.

8. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

This novel has a bit more controversial reason for why I want to read it. I originally got this book because it was popular, and I was vaguely interested, but then I started hearing about debates on whether this is good MLM (men-loving-men, not multi-level-marketing) representation. However, I then had another friend that’s a part of the queer community that read the book and he liked it. So I wanted to read the book to figure out my own opinion on the novel. Plus I thought it would be a good time to read it since the novel’s getting it’s own show soon.

9. Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Trans (But Were Afraid to Ask) by Brynn Tannehill

This book is less for me and more for family reasons. I’m not going to go into too much detail for privacy reasons, but a lot of my family still don’t quite understand much about what it exactly means to be transgender, especially not someone who’s under the non-binary umbrella. So I wanted to read this book and see if it’d be a good fit for some of my family members who do read.

10. Video Game Storytelling: What Every Developer Needs to Know about Narrative Techniques by Evan Skolnick

This book is more for my own learning and future career. My specific dream job is to create a video game story, which would go into scriptwriting. However, most of the creative writing advice and tips I’ve gotten were either for fiction in general, or for short stories and poetry. This book might be able to teach more about scriptwriting, but also how to develop scripts for video games.

#tbr list #tbr #fiction #bookish #bookblr #book blog #nonfiction #lgbtq #lgbt literature #epithet erased #iron widow #everyone in this room will someday be dead #the henna wars #a queer dharma #so this is ever after #in deeper waters #red white and royal blue #everything you ever wanted to know about trans #video game storytelling

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