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commander-rahrah · 6 months

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Talking to the Moon: Part IV

Pairing: Astarion x GN!Reader Word Count: ~4700 Warnings: swearing, PTSD, trauma, past/implied abuse, fluff, angst, emotional hurt/comfort

archiveofourown: here

masterlist: here

part I: here part II: here part III: here

Summary: Set at the end Act II in the Gauntlet of Shar. Shadowheart finally faces Reader/Tav's blessing from Selûne in the temple of her dark mistress.

Notes: We finally got to the angsty part between Reader and Shadowheart muahaha. I've had a couple of these lines stuck in my head FOREVER. Does anyone else play the game and immediately start thinking of the scenario and more detailed dialogue for their specific Tav?? No.. just me? ahaha...

Also — Shadowheart rejects Shar in this, as an FYI. If that isn’t your cup of tea or prefer other decisions, etc. that is your discretion for your own game, etc.! For the purpose of my fic and this specific Tav, that is the route I took and don’t want it to be a debate! 👍🏽 Cause I know that happens in fandom sometimes - and that’s not what this fangirl is about baby!

I also just really really love the idea of letting Astarion and Reader/Tav explore things sloooooooooowly. Like little tiny fingertip touches and touching shoulders. I think that Astarion being emotionally vulnerable with someone first and slowly building up to being physical intimate is just MUAH chef’s kiss.

ANYWAYS Ted talk over — Thank you so much for reading and interacting! It means so much to me ♡♡♡

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“Tell me another thing.”

It was Astarion’s new favorite game — asking for you to confide in him, to tell him about how you see him. The things that made you fall for him.

Each one had made him feel more and more seen. More and more safe. Some had been surprising characteristics he would have never assigned to himself — but you had explained them so earnestly that he couldn’t help but believe you. You had said he was strong, that he had more strength than he realized. That he was funny (obviously). That he was open-minded.

He was collecting the compliments and observations, letting them stroke the flame inside of him that he had long thought dead.

“Hmmm…,” You were sat on the worn, dirty floor leaning against a crumpling wall. The group was taking a moment to rest after another harrowing trial in Shar’s Gauntlet. Squinting your eyes you pretended to study him, before speaking, “I like how materialistic you are.”

“Oh." Something akin to shame flooded through him. "I don’t like this one, pick another.”

A chuckle escaped you, shaking your head. “That’s not how this works.”

The vampire frowned at your laughter, “This one seems like some back handed compliment." He turned his nose up, trying to mask the small twinge of pain spreading in his chest, "Just tell me I’m pretty instead.”

You finally recognized the hurt, the smile vanishing from your face. “Astarion, I swear it's not a backhanded compliment. It’s something I genuinely like.” You sounded earnest, you looked solemn.

He met your wide eyes, nodding as he believed you. “Hmph. Why?”

“Well, you know I come from a noble background… I grew up with certain luxuries and I miss them." You admitted, your nose scrunched. "It’s nice to have someone who also appreciates the finer things in life.”

He realized that you thought it was trivial to admit such things, surrounded by death as you all embarked on a seemingly impossible mission. But you were being honest and vulnerable with him in the broken hallway of the dark temple.

He kept his tone light, smirking at you. “I do have good taste.”

“Excellent taste. You would love the keep I grew up in, the art and amenities…" You closed your eyes as if you imagined them right there. "I dream of them on cold nights on my bedroll.”

“Hmmm, tell me about them tonight when we are holed up in our tent.”

Our tent. A slip of his tongue, but it really had become that way. You rarely were in your own tent anymore, only enough to change and store your things before you were slinking into his.

“I’ll take you there someday and you can see it yourself.”

His eyebrows shot up his face, shock morphing his features. You thought that far ahead? Taking him to see your home? Meeting your family?

You smiled at his reaction, before filling in for his stunned silence. “And… you’re very pretty.”

A puff of air escaped through his nose, his lips quirking. “Oh I know.” He stretched his fingers, before sweeping his thumb across the back of your knuckles. “Thank you," He whispered.

You smiled at his touch, your eyes darting to where his pale fingers met yours.

The pair of you stayed in that quiet moment, until it was broken by the sound of a swear echoing down the length of the crumbling hallway. "Shit!"

Karlach and Shadowheart were sat across the hallway, the tiefling putting on a new bandage across the half elf's small palm — or was attempting to. The cleric had sliced her palm three times now, offering her blood in the name of her dark mistress before every trial. The party had winced every time she did it — but the woman never faltered.

And she didn’t not heal it with her divine abilities, instead letting the wound remain, cutting into it deeper with each trial and then only wrapping it up. She said it was intentional, purposeful pain that her Goddess demanded. And that she alone would pay the price for it.

Astarion had immediately marked the strain in your face as she said it. Knew that you wanted nothing more then to remind her that she was not alone, that she could be anything, anyone she wanted to be.

But the words had remained unspoken. Like you didn't have the right to say them to her anymore.

The vampire was now watching you watch them — studying you once again, trying to decipher how you were feeling. Karlach continued her efforts, but her large fingers fumbled as she tried to tie the knot and the bandages fell off again.

"Godsdammit! Sorry, Princess." She said sheepishly, snatching the bandages up quickly.

"It's okay, Karlach." Shadowheart shook her head, looking down at her hand and squeezing it into a fist. She winced from the pain, a hiss coming from her mouth.

"May I?" Your voice was soft, quiet as a mouse. But not so quiet that Shadowheart did not hear you. She flashed her eyes over to you, her face contorted with genuine surprise. The cleric said no words, instead nodding and offering her hand out.

Astarion remained sitting, watching as you stood up and crossed the hallway to the two women. You knelt before her, bowing your head slightly as you grabbed the bandages and began to wind them tenderly around Shadowheart's hand. If it were another moment, another person, the vampire would be jealous. Wishing he had a wound himself so that you could offer your services and gentle touches.

But this was monumental. Not only was it a rare sight — one blessed by Selûne taking care of one of Shar’s disciples. But it was an olive branch, a silent offering that meant much more then those bandages. An offering of peace and acceptance.

He was sure he saw Shadowheart's eyes lining with silver as you worked, the bob of her throat as she swallowed thickly. With a slight cough, you made to stand back up. "All done." You said in a hushed voice. But before you could stand up, the cleric grabbed your elbow.

"Thank you," She choked out. The gratitude was for more then just this moment, he imagined.

You bowed your head again, "Of course." As you marched back across the hallway, Astarion stood up to meet you. He ducked his head to look at your face, a silent conversation passing between you as your eyes met. An art the two of you had begun to master already.

Are you alright?

I will be.

He blinked and nodded in understanding, before falling into step at your side.

• • •

Every place they explored in the Shadowlands somehow topped the previous wretched place. If Astarion never had to step foot in a temple of Shar again, it would be too soon.

The air surrounding them was freezing, and the hairs on his arms and back of his neck had been standing up for what felt like hours. It felt like eyes were always on him, trailing after your group and judging every step taken.

Glancing behind him, he waited for you to step onto the disc with the rest of the party. You were hesitating on the edge, the smallest tremble in your hand as you stared down at the floor. "Darling?"

Your face shot up, like his voice snapped you back to reality. You looked rattled, completely shaken.

Astarion extended his hand out to you, beckoning you forward. He grabbed your hand easily, pulling you into him with a questioning glance before letting go. The rest of your party was looking at you, worry forming in their features.

You had all but stepped into him, your shoulder pressed into his. He actually didn't mind it one bit.

“You look pale, are you feeling okay?” He kept his voice low, his mouth downturned.

You gathered yourself for a moment, before flashing him a smirk. “I’m pale? Coming from the vampire himself?”

“Ha," He rolled his red eyes. "Trust me, my sweet. I’ve memorized the flush of your features by now — something’s off.”

Your eyes settled on Shadowheart for a moment, before looking down at your boots. “I think it’s being in here… Her gift is straining inside me.”

Her gift, Selûne's blessing. You didn't dare say the Goddess' name in Shar's ruined temple. The rest of the party had heard the tale over the campfire about a week ago. While most of their faces had been filled with awe and astonishment when you had told them then, now their faces were only anxious.

“Oh gods, you’re not going to...?" Wyll trailed off, his brows furrowed together.

“Drop dead? I hope not.” You shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.

“Not funny.” Astarion hissed, flashing you a look. The sentiment was echoed by Gale, chastising you for saying such things.

You quirked your mouth, before wrapping your arms around your torso. "I'll be fine."

Suddenly, there was a loud click and the disc you all stood on began moving — descending deeper into the ruins.

Astarion heard the heartbeats of the entire party begin to increase, the thrumming pounding in his ears. None were as loud as the rhythm of your heart.

Then the scent of your fear filled his nostrils.

He could think of no words, no quips or jokes. The dark ruins had been taxing, draining. And he did not know what to expect at the bottom of this temple.

But he was afraid too. Afraid for you, for both of you.

The disc settled below with another audible click, and as the rest of the party began to move off of it and deeper into the next area you stayed planted where you were.

The vampire stayed with you, eyeing your complexion that was turning paler by the minute. Your breaths labored as you blinked, long and slowly. His red eyes followed your line of sight — to Shadowheart and Karlach.

The half-elf and tiefling were standing before large ornate doors, shoulder to shoulder. Their hands were intertwined, fingers laced together as they continued to stare the door down.

Your eyes were fixed on their hands, before you licked your lips and spoke quietly — only for him to hear. "Would you be okay with that?”

His brows furrowed together in confusion. “With what?”

“A touch like that.”

A bewildered look crossed his features. Here? Now? This is where you wished to discuss such things. Moments before stepping into the unknown darkness of the mistress of night. He stepped in front of you, his back to the rest of the party as he looked you in the face.

“Holding hands? What next, you want to cuddle?” He teased with his sharp tongue.

The smallest twist in your features was your only tell. Anyone else would have missed it — a flash of sadness at his rejection.

He suddenly realized it. Longing. You had been looking at the pair holding hands with longing, yearning to be touched like that right now. "You want that, don't you?"

You stiffened, as if you had said the wrong thing. You stumbled over your words, immediately backtracking, “Not if you don’t want to. I'm sorry, I just thought—“

His eyes softened at your reaction, “You’re upset.”

“No, never." You shook your head, your voice unwavering. "It’s your choice, Starry.”

“I’m not the only person in this—" In this, what? Finish the sentence, Astarion. He thought to himself. "Is it, something you would like to do?”

“Maybe." You licked your lips, before nodding self-consciously. "Yes, but only if you were okay with it.”

“I can try." He whispered sincerely, before looking back over his shoulder to the group. Shadowheart and Karlach remained at each other's side, their fingers still intertwined in a tight grasp. "I just— I don’t really understand it. The touch I’m used to is… sensual, erotic. Or incredibly violent. I thought touch was only supposed to lead to some explosive end, one way or another. What’s the point of it?”

“It’s comforting, holding the person you care about. Feeling their presence with you, when you need it." You admitted, your eyes unguarded as you looked at him.

He recalled how he felt when you had held him in your arms in the river. How he had let his fingers linger and hold onto you as you pulled away from that first hug. The overwhelming urge he had sometimes to just be near you. He could understand that feeling, he knew that feeling now. He just wasn't sure how to act on it.

"I think I'd like that." He agreed, the corners of his mouth pulling up with a hopeful expression. "I will try."

You smiled back at him, the pair of you momentarily forgetting where you stood. What was to happen next. What could happen next.

As you made to finally step off of the disc, he called your name softly — halting your movement. "We will get to try."

It was a promise. A vow.

No dark mistress or Absolute or bastard vampire master would stop him from having you.

You nodded, smiling back at him before moving to join the others.

The group was cautious as they entered into the final chamber, the hundreds of candles in the room suddenly lighting with an eerie purple flame. The coloured flames flickered and cast dancing shadows on the stones around them, all leading to a pool of still water. A ginormous, untouched statue of the Mistress of Night stood in it — her arms outstretched, beckoning you forward.

"This must be the last step. I need to pray. Only by Lady Shar's grace did we even make it this far." Shadowheart fell to her knees immediately, offering silent prayers to the intimidating figure ahead. Karlach stayed loyally at her side, but her brows were crinkled with worry.

Everyone lingered behind, unsure of how to proceed.

"I'm ready." The dark-haired cleric spoke, determination flashing in her features as she stood up. The spear she had fought and bled for in the trials strapped to her back. She held a boot over the unmoving water for a moment, hesitating for a moment before stepping into it.

A voice spoke throughout the chamber, echoing and rattling the stones. The candles flickered with her voice, as if the magnificent voice caused the cold breeze that suddenly filled the room. "You are so close, my child. So close to fulfilling your destiny. And is that another trophy you bring for me? You honor me with your dedication.“

The party turned to stare at you. Shar was aware of who you are, of what lingered in you. Astarion swear he saw Shadowheart’s bottom lip tremble as her gaze fell on you again.

But you put on your practiced expression of calm, nodding at your companions to continue. But as you stood on the precipice of the pool, Astarion noticed your fingers twitching at your side.

It should have been be so easy for him to reach out and hold them, like you said you wanted. He had been daring himself to touch you more lately — a brush of his knuckle against yours, tucking an unruly strand of hair behind your ear. He was trying. He wanted to, so badly.

But something was holding him back. A weight on his chest and lungs that made it feel him feel so tainted and undeserving for such things.

He hesitated for too long, and your hand was moving away as you stepped into the sparkling water. So he took his own steps in. The water was ice cold, instantly sending goosebumps over his entire body. Then a frozen sensation that went deep into his half-dead body. It began clutching at him, at everything he was and ever could be.

His red eyes widened, searching frantically for you beside him — his hand reaching out wildly for you before he was suddenly pulled under.

• • •

The last thing you had seen was Shar’s menacing face —looming over you, spelling your end. A blanket of cold had surrounded you, tightening unbearably around your ankles and wrists before yanking you down into the darkness.

You had never been afraid of the dark before.

You could no longer say that.

With a gasp, you wretched your eyes open to find yourself somewhere new. Standing on a craggy rock, floating in raging winds and surrounded by streaks of lightning. A living storm of black and purple swirling around you.

"Lady Shar...," Shadowheart's voice was quiet — her tone a strange mixture of astonishment and fear. "I can feel her all around. This is her domain. This is the Shadowfell.”

“Bloody hells.” Gale muttered, the wizard's mouth a hardline.

“We best keep moving.” Lae'zel ordered, eyeing the surroundings with a look of disgust on her face.

You all murmured in agreement, before traveling down the precarious craggy rocks until you were at the very bottom. You hesitated at the site of a person— a pale, large woman dressed in only shredded rags.

The Nightsong.

She stood in the centre of several complicated sigils, the symbols radiating a sickly green. Her head flicked up to your group, her eyes narrowing as she inspected every single party member. Before they settled on you, and softened.

“I recognize you." Her voice was hoarse at first, like she hadn't spoken out loud in ages. "You aren’t a sibling… But I recognize you. Why are you so familiar to me?” She cocked her head at you, her eyes studying you. There was a flicker in them — hope.

Her hair shined silver like yours, but her eyes glowed even brighter. Much more than any mortal could. Your mouth fell open as you realized. She was not blessed by a divine being like you, she was immortal herself.

“You are...“

“A child of the gods.” She finished for you, and even clad in nothing but rags she stood tall at the words.

“Selûne’s?”

Your mind raced as you put together the pieces, the ritual on the stone similar to the secret room of Balthazar. Kethric’s undying nature. She was bound here in the Shadowfell — being syphoned like those fairies in the lanterns. And the dark justiciar’s — they used her, killed her like a bounty for their goddess. Over and over. As Shadowheart was meant to do now.

But you. You were bound to nothing, and you were not born from the goddess — only a mortal woman, who feared for her child. A mortal mother who was thousands of miles away, not knowing where her child now stood, not knowing that they were waiting to see if a spear would be driven through their chest too.

"My mother spoke of you once. I don't think that even she knew we would meet." The daughter of Selûne eyes shone with quiet understanding. The flicker of hope in them still catching light somehow in the dark storm in the Shadowfell as she stared at you.

Shadowheart stepped forward, toeing the edge of the ritual symbols carved onto the floor. Her face was stoic, determined. Yet she refused to look at you.

"But you.” The woman’s eyes dragged to the cleric, her voice a vicious snarl. “YOU. You, who have come to seek the praise of your wicked goddess. You, who have come to drive a dagger through my heart."

"Not a dagger — a spear. My Lady Shar's spear. Your fate is mine to seal." You noticed Shadowheart's hands were trembling fists at her side.

"The fate that you seal is your own. To be a Dark Justiciar is to turn your heart from everything but loss. You will know no love, no joy — only servitude." Karlach stiffened next to Shadowheart, concern etching every feature of her red face. "Until, of course, your mistress inevitably discards you. And there is much she does not tell you — a terrible blood price that may extend beyond my own death. Beyond your companion's."

The cleric looked over her shoulder to you, her eyebrows furrowed. You said nothing, keeping your face steady.

But it was the first she looked you in the eyes since you found yourself in the dark place. Truly met your gaze. And the rage and betrayal you had first seen in them that day she learned the truth about you had lost their heat. Instead you saw only pain and regret.

Astarion made to move in front of you, to act as your shield as Shadowheart turned her attention on you. But you waved your hands at your side, silently asking him to stop.

You knew the rest of your party waited with bated breath for you to intervene, to speak up for this woman, for yourself.

But instead, you held Shadowheart’s gaze and waited.

The Nightsong spoke again, drawing her attention away from you. "You may think you know what they are, but do you know what I am, little assassin? For I know you — a lost child, frightened by wolves in the dark."

"What did you say?"

"Much has been promised to you, hasn't it? But what has been taken from you?" She asked sadly, her eyes piercing through Shadowheart. "What do you know of your own heart — your own life? I sense more in you then you know."

"I—" The spear was suddenly summoned into her hand, her light coloured eyes widening as she feels its weight. It was as if Shar would wait no longer, and would thrust the weapon into her hands and guide it through the Nightsong if need be. "I..." She raised it up, inspecting the intricate designs and deadly tip of the spear. The bottom of her eyes filled with silver as she studied it.

And just as fast as it was summoned, it was gone. Soaring over the party's heads, away and into the swirling storm below them.

You let loose the breath you didn't know you were holding.

It was echoed by a sigh of relief from the rest of the party.

Shadowheart's mouth was agape, staring into her empty hands and then to you. A humorless laugh escaped her, like she was in a state of shock. "I can't believe I just did that. Lady Shar will disown me... what will happen to me?"

"Not what will happen — what will you do? Your past is not yet lost. Your future is not yet fixed. Lay a hand on me in friendship, not-quite Sharran, and I will fight the battle that been waiting for me this last century." The large woman knelt before them, bowing her head. "Then — oh then, we will have much to discuss. All of us." She looked up to nod at you, still standing on the edge of the circle.

The cleric stepped forward with more certainty then she had in most of the trials in Shar's Gauntlet. Her head held high before she grasped the child of the god on her shoulder. Suddenly the green of the binding ritual turned into a bright, silver light. The woman fell to all fours as the silver light traveled through her.

"Our lady of Silver. Hear me! She Who Guides, the Moonmaiden Selûne — mother of the so-called Nightsong. THE NIGHTSONG IS NO MORE!" Then she began to levitate in the air, a shining light of white and silver wrapped around her before large wings spread from her back, and spectral armor and sword appearing upon her body and in her hands.

The group was amazed as they watched her fly up and up. Before she landed with a gentle thud.

A child of a god indeed.

"I am resplendent. You have given me a great gift, little warrior." She nudged Shadowheart's chin with a gloved hand, before stepping back. "Come now — there is a battle to be fought."

"My kin," She looked back to you, her eyes and brow set in a determined line. "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" You asked, stepping forward until you were at Shadowheart's side.

"To kill Ketheric Thorm." She flashed a wolfish grin that was filled with a controlled rage. Vengeance and justice was to be served by that glowing spectral sword in her hand. With a large woosh, she was soaring into the air and vanishing back to the mortal plane.

• • •

It wasn't until you were out of the Shadowfell, away from Gauntlet and endless depictions of Shar that you all finally spoke.

The cool air of the Shadowlands was welcoming for the first time since you had arrived. Astarion watched as you took large gulps of air, your hands resting on your hips as you centered yourself again. The colour was already returning to your cheeks, your heart slowing to a familiar rhythm.

He made to reach out for you, but Shadowheart got there first. A look of surprise flashed across your face as she threw herself at you. "I don't— I don't know what to say." She muttered into your shoulder.

You swallowed hard before holding her back fiercely, your mouth quivering. "You don't have to say anything. I forgive you."

Astarion blinked. You gave her your forgiveness so easily, much easier then he would have. But wasn't that one of the things he was so fond of? Your kind heart, your innate goodness. That even though he didn't feel he deserved your attention, or that Shadowheart deserved to be forgiven, you still granted it to them. Your kindness was not just for him, but for everyone in the group. The hubris wizard and seasoned fighter who didn't think they were enough. The warlock and barbarian ripped from their homes. The manipulated manipulators who were used and discarded.

“You can't—You can't just forgive me." She pulled away from you, staring at you like you had gone mad. "What I did, what I almost did — I almost didn’t bring you back that day, oh gods—" Her hand moved over her mouth, her brows meeting in the middle.

“But you did.”

“But if I didn’t—" Her voice broke.

You grabbed her by the shoulders, ducking your head to look at her. “But you did. And we will not speak of the past any longer. But we will get you answers for your own, okay?”

"What she wanted me to do in there, what she's made me do..." A sob escaped Shadowheart, the sound breaking something in Astarion. Something that hit a little too close to home. His red eyes flickered to his boots as he tried to keep his own emotion at bay.

Your next words were a whisper in her ear, too low for even his elven ears to hear. But you both nodded together, before Karlach was pulling the cleric into a hug of their own. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, whispering her own affections to her.

Before the vampire could even try to will himself to do the same things for you, you were in front of him. He could see no hint of expectation on your face, only relief as you took him in.

He ran the tip of his finger down your wrist, to the back of your hand, before trailing it in your palm. "That was all a little dramatic, wasn't it?"

A tired chuckle escaped you, "I'd thought you'd learned by now that we have a flair for it, don't we?"

"We certainly do."

Suddenly, flashes of divine white power swept above you, before shooting fast across the sky — the light silhouetting a set of large wings. Without further thinking, Astarion threaded his pale fingers through yours, squeezing them slightly as he watched the light head closer and closer to the imposing tower in the distance.

He gulped as you squeezed back.

Your party watched the sky for a moment, silence filling the air before you all stared at each other. Your tired, aching bodies were begging for rest. But the world would not wait for you to rest.

"To Moonrise?" Gale asked, a sad, tired smile on his face.

"To Moonrise." You nodded, starting to march forward and lead the group forward.

Astarion curled his pinky around yours as you meant to pull away, not quite ready to let you go again.

Read part V here

#bg3 astarion #astarion ancunin #bg3 fanfic #astarion x reader #astarion x gn reader #astarion x tav #astarion/tav #astarion/reader #astarion fanfic

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judesmoonbeauty · 1 month

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Contains Spoilers for Ellis' Route (His Tragic End in Particular)

*This is just a personal fun rant and little bit of word salad*

You know I was a little disappointed when I learned how they correlated Ellis' tragic end with his fairytale.

So, in his MLE, Roger tells the MC that he is fated to be cut down and die at the hands of justice. Now, while I adore Ellis and wouldn't want him to die, it's actually a fitting tragic end for his curse - especially for the sins he's committed. I mean, think about it, my guy kills people like he's dusting his bookshelf.

What irritated me was that Roger says it's based off the Prince from his fairytale hacking away at the briar thorn hedge in the Sleeping Beauty fairytale. (That's Disney's version and that's disappointing imo.) I was hoping that they'd stick to Brother's Grimm version of the fairytale since it's so short (literally like 2 pages long), and so vague that they missed an opportunity to create something original.

Just an FYI, in Bros Grimm version of the fairytale, the briar thorns turn into beautiful flowers and peel away of their own accord for the Prince so he can enter the castle to awaken the princess. Quoting from the fairytale:

"When the prince drew near the hedge of thorns, it was changed into a hedge of beautiful large flowers, which parted and bent aside to let him pass, and then closed behind him in a thick hedge."

True, that's not very tragic for the thorns and it's a rather happy ending, so I understand why the writers may have struggled to turn this into a tragic ending, and thus borrowed from Disney's version.

Still, what I appreciate about the lack of detail from Bros Grimm was that it doesn't explicitly say what happened to the giant flower hedge after the prince awakened the princess, & they got married. All it says is that once the prince entered the castle, the flower closed up behind him.

So then, what happened to the giant flower hedge after that? Did they burn it down? Did they hack it down? They must've done something if they were to ever leave the castle again, OR was this an after effect of the 13th wisewoman's curse, trapping them inside forever?

Now, call me crazy, but I feel like that could have some potential in terms of Ellis' curse of being bound by sin and his happiness being linked to binding/ensnaring those for an eternity in their happiest moment by killing them. I mean you've woken up from a 100 year rest and got hitched to a prince who risked his life to save you, who wouldn't be happy about that in a fairytale?

I shouldn't expect much from Cybird and overall, I do like how they utilize certain aspects of Bros Grimm, especially with Jude being the 13th fairy (or wise-woman), but still I guess as someone with an active imagination, it's a tiny let down, and I guess I care about it so much because Sleeping Beauty has always been my favorite fairytale since I was a little girl.

Well, my mini dissertation is complete, I haven't done something like this in a while, as usual, it's just for fun.

#Ikevil #Ikevil Ellis #Ciele's Rambles

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82mitsu · 28 days

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{18Trip} The 18 Questions Corner - Natsuyaki Chihiro

This is a translation for the 18 questions interview uploaded on the official Youtube channel. I suggest to read this translation alongside it!

Note: P stands for "Player", this series has a voiced male & female character for the player. The interviews are conducted by the male player in this case.

Full TL note at the end of the interview due to its length! But as an opener:

Chihiro refers to himself as ちぃ (Chii) at times. This is kept as is when explicitly mentioned, other times regular first person pronouns in English are used.

P: 18 questions for the Tourism Ward Mayors! We look forward to your cooperation!

Chihiro: Let's get it popping!

What’s your name?

Call me Natsuyaki Chihiro.

How old are you?

22 years old! Still got the pep in my step!

Tell us about your occupation!

I’m an Alpha Dazzler on social media ☆ You better hit that follow button and share my posts!

What’s the first thing you do when waking up in the morning?

The full course of washing my face, putting on a beauty mask, and brushing my teeth!

Anything you’re particular about with lunch?

Snapping pics with filters that make it look sooo yummy♪ is a must!

What pops up in your mind when it comes to “evening”?

Um… looong shadows.

What’s your routine before bed?

Can’t skip out on updating my socmed & checking my notifs~ Gotta give each and every Dazzler that sweet “Like”!

Where do you start with washing your body?

My hair persnaps~ Hair treatment for super silkiness!

What’s essential when leaving for a trip?

Toooootes my phone!!!

What do you check before traveling somewhere?

I like, so gotta check where all the fancy spots are.

What’s your favorite method of transportation for traveling?

Don’tcha just wanna go with the flow and hop on whatev’s the local transport there~?

What’s one item you’d bring to a deserted island?

My phone… ah, but like, a deserted island doesn’t have signal, does it?

Please give us some fanservice!

✧・ﾟ: *Welcome, little kitten. Let's enjoy ourselves to the fullest*:・ﾟ✧ How’s that~!? OMG, did Chii just like, serve and eat that!?

Who’s someone you’d lean on for support?

That's gotta be Taotao~ He’s easy to talk to!

Who would you swap bodies with for a day?

Morning Squad’s Ten-chamu!

What would you want to do as them?

Ten-chamu’s style of dancing is lil’ bit of a diff genre, right~ So I wanna try breakdancing like that!

Pass on a message to your roommates!

Taotao~ Chii wants to also like, get master rank in Anigun’s new season so plz carry me ‘kay♪

Tell us from the heart, what’s a “journey” to you?

A super duper hype meeting!!! I want all the people I see for the first time ever to recognize Chii’s charm~☆

P: Thank you, those were all 18 questions!

Chihiro: Oatscurry! See ya at Chii’s stream laters!

Chihiro: Natsuyaki Chihiro! HAMA’s 12th Ward Mayor. Leave all the hospitality to Chii the Commanding Officer of Hype to deliver you the bestest of best!

TL notes:

よろぴく (yoropiku) is outdated slang for よろしく (yoroshiku). Has been turned into various slangy ways to represent it.

トリメ is short for トリートメント, aka hair treatment.

イケカテ is short for “ikemen voice category” which is a way to classify what kind of voices you prefer. If you hear someone that makes you go, “Kyaah~ such a handsome voice!” you file him away in ikekate. If it’s like “Woaaah, so cyoot!” you file him away in kawakate (kawa being kawaii). Chihiro also makes a pun with this: ikekate rosen demo ikenjanee (lit. can’t I like, go down the ikekate route!?). While this has been reworked into something else completely, I included it in the TL note simply as an FYI.

あげぽよ (agepoyo) is Gyaru slang for when something is super duper extra mega hype poggers, etc.

There’s more quirky stuff, but he drained me of all my braincells for now.

#18trip #ev3ns #natsuyaki chihiro #18qs #823_tl #eveningsquad

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bingusbongu · 3 months

Note

Julian from the Arcana. With an academic/noble reader

Like they meet at some point in the castle and the reader is in the library or some shit

-🖋

A/N: so sorry this is short, i havent played the Arcana in SUCH a long time, but i remember Julian being my favorite. He was so goofy silly and my favorite route! But, as an fyi, im slowly burning myself out, so if i dont update everyday dont come after me for it. Also, since i havent played this game in a long while, i may have the story wrong, let me know if i do so i can fix it, thanks! Again, supper short, to tired to do a bunch

Readers lines are in pink, but they are Gender neutral!!!!

《Masterlist》

《Rules》

Julian x Noble! Reader

• Julian HAD to have snuck into the castle if he were to meet you for the first time. After all, he is a wanted criminal, depending on when he meets your character

• maybe he was looking for more clues about what happened to the king or left something of his behind in his studies, which brought him to the library. He still had a key that Portia gave him, who he told her he lost it so he could come and go as he pleased, as long as he dosnt get caught that is.

• what he didnt expect was to actually find someone in the library. The library that has been out of use for auch a long time. That someone would actually be in it to begin with. He only thought that he and his sister had the keys... maybe Nadia, too.

• he stopped at the door to study you, just staring at you. How neat and beautiful your clothes were, and how stylish you seemed, with your jewelry and established posture. You must had been an guest at the castle, or a friend of Nadias to be looking so upper class and being allowed in the library.

"Its rude to stare, you know?"

Your voice caught him off gaurd, he must have been staring at you for you to notice. Even with your book in hand, you looked up at him with an unimpressed look as he fumbled over his words for an answer.

"Well.... i uh... didnt expect to find anyone taking of intrest of these old books" he would recover himself, trying to put on his best grin to make him not seem suspicious.

You would roll your eyes at him and continue reading as he stood there awkwardly. Until clearing his throat, picking out a completely random book and pulled up a chair to talk to you, which you responded, despite being intrested in your book, to his questions.

The two pf you chatted, and when he told you his name, you already knew who he was, which astounded him. But, instead of alerting the guards, you just sat there quietly while reading your book. Flipping through it withiut a care in the world as Julian freaked out you were going to call someone.

You just sat there reading, without a care that an alleged and wanted criminal was right next to you, but you liked your book more anyway. Just shrugging at him whem he asked

So, instead, he sat there and talked to you while you responded back to him. Him learning of your nobility abd why you were in the castle to begin with. One of the most engaging talks he ever had that wasnt with his sister that was scolding him.

You had to leave at some point to go help Nadia, leaving Julian alone with his thoughts and old desk.

• now, Julian couldnt stop thinking of you. So, now at the same time every day, he would sneak into the library in hopes to find you, and of course, there you were. Reading the same or a different book in your lap.

Julian would stride in to talk to you. Greeting you with a smile and sitting down to talk to you about lord knows what. Even occasionally throwing flirts at you just to get you to look up at him from youf book.

His visits became frequent, despite them being a secret, he still somehow managed to meet in the library at the same exact time as you

• he definitely tries to get you to laugh by using rich people humor, which hardly gets a crack out of you, unless he actually says something funny or gets flustered

• at first it was just library visits. Then when Julian could go out without hiding, youd have him show you around the town, incase if you are new or just never got out long enough to see it all.

• makes stupid jokes about how he would throw himself in a mud pile to keep you from stepping in it to get you to roll your eyes chuckle at him

• always claims to be your night in shining armor when out and about, declairing he would protect you. Only to jump at the sight of a mouse skittering along the floor

• tries to learn upper class flirting to use on you. If he dosnt flirt enough now, just wait tell he adds in royalty

• you find it stupid, but Julian is stupid enough to make kt work.

• if you buy him anything he us intrested in he would try and decline as he litterly is screaming inside

• alittle bit nervous that he was a citizen and not a royal you shoukd end up with. Makes him paranoid that he is to poor for you to love/like him

• attending jis silly little plays makes him brighten up when he sees you

• def jokes about joining the royal gaurd just so he could spend more tims with you

• he liked it, after all

#the arcana x reader #julian the arcana x reader #julian devorak x mc #julian devorak x reader #the arcana x mc #julian devorak #reader insert #gender neutral reader #x reader blog #x reader #noble reader #the sillies

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fireemblems24 · 2 years

Text

Azure Moon Review

My final review! I saved the best for last.

FYI AM, CF, VW, and SS were all my first route since I played them back-to-back one "in-game" week at a time.

Before I started playing, I was the least interested in Azure Moon, but to say it came back with a vengeance is both a pun I'm proud of and an understatement. If asked to rank all four routes, I'd struggle choosing #2-4, but #1 I'd write as easily as my own name - Azure Moon. AM takes the best advantages of what Three Houses excels at while minimizing its weaker areas, uses 3H's narrative structure to the best advantage, and avoids issues other routes run into. It's not without fault, though, so I'll start with those first.

Like Crimson Flower, Azure Moon bit off more than a Fire Emblem game can currently chew. The genocide of Duscur is not given the attention, resolution, or weight it deserves. Like Fire Emblem Elibe series's genocide of Sacae, it takes an incredibly serious topic and uses it as a background tool for plot and character backstory rather than treating it with the seriousness such topics demand. With Duscur, things get even stickier and ickier because one of the "good countries" rather than the war mongering one did it. At this point, I think FE should quit including genocide in its storylines unless they hire the Tellius team to write it.

Permadeath also kept AM from living up to its fullest potential. AM has the most tightly knit group of characters, but those bonds are limited in their narrative potential because of FE's (in)famous permadeath feature. This forces the plot to revolve around a small handful of characters and has hamstrung the storytelling throughout the franchise's history. It's felt the hardest in AM, though, because of how intertwined the cast is.

The portrayal of Dimitri's mental illness has also received mixed reviews. I've yet to see a mentally ill character get universal praise, likely because mental illness is such an intensely personal experience. There are valid critiques like the harm of associating mental illness with violence while others praise AM for not romanticizing mental illness and not giving Dimitri a happy ending because he's "cured" but will achieve happiness and success despite his ills. Narratively, some claim his turn around happened too quickly. Here I both agree and disagree as AM did lay down the proper narrative beats to set up for the plot-turning point for anyone paying attention, but I do think it could've been improved.

However, AM is still, overall, the best written route. There are many, many subjective reasons this route ended up my personal favorite, but I'm going to stick to somewhat more objective (though still debatable) points. So I could endlessly gush over how the Blue Lions are all my babies, but I won't do that here. And for anyone reading wondering if I see AM objectively the best because of subjective reasons, I can only ask, what came first, the chicken or the egg? (I don't know) The strength of AM's writing let its characters flourish in a way other routes did not. Because of that, did I like them better? Going into this, Dimitri was my least favorite lord - but boy did that change once I actually engaged with the game's writing. Personal preferences are what they are, but there are undeniable aspects of AM that are superior in terms of pure story construction compared to the other routes.

AM emphasizes what Three Houses excels at while minimizing the weak spots. It's widely agreed that character-writing is one of FE3H's biggest strengths. Every character in Three Houses is both unique and reads like a natural result of the world and situation they lived in. Supports are often engaging and varied, adding layers of interest to even the most minor of characters.

AM takes more advantage of the characters than other routes. Character conflict and development drive story beats in AM far more than the other routes. Dimitri gets the most fleshed-out and focused-on character arc among the various leads, the Blue Lions have the most connected cast and thus have the highest number of complicated and complex relationships, minor Blue Lions get the spotlight in various chapters (Ashe and Sylvain in the pre-timeskip), and just about everyone has some piece of the overall plot tie-in to their personal arcs (such as Mercedes dealing with Jeritza or Annette with Gilbert). Because it's the most "personal" and intensely character-driven story, AM takes the best advantage of the game's strong suits.

This character-driven focus extends to the route's antagonists too. The poorly written and cartoonishly evil TWSITD are side-lined and killed off almost by accident. Instead of them, a mindless zombie, or Rhea randomly going evil, Edelgard is the main villain, and is far more interesting. Her dispute with Dimitri is ideological, personal, tragic, and compelling. Because of this, she's humanized in a way the other routes' antagonists are not, making the conflict with her more engaging in comparison.

It's a pattern AM continues to follow through on - making the best of what's there. AM is the only route that utilized the Flame Emperor reveal and the time-skip. In the other 3 routes, these two story aspects fall flat. No one really reacts to the Flame Emperor reveal or seems to care - even Byleth and the Black Eagles. In AM, it's an emotional highlight that greatly impacts important characters. AM also takes the best advantage of the time-skip, as it's the only route where things actually happened during the 5 years Byleth wasn't around rather than seeming like everyone inexplicably hit pause until Byleth came back.

Byleth also functions as a character and a self-insert well in AM. You, the player, are allowed to express frustration with the cast - unlike elsewhere. There is plenty of romantic teasing with Dimitri, but Byleth also functions just as well as a mentor. It gives the player some choice in how they want to view the relationship while maintaining an emotional and important relationship between the two. Byleth is also a bit more active here than elsewhere, taking direct actions that help flesh them out as a character.

While all of this is part of what made AM's story so strong, the biggest success AM had was its willingness to engage with negative emotions and take risks. Three Houses often seems at war with itself - wanting to be both a serious war story where things aren't black-and-white, but also unwilling to make the player question their choices. This results in some odd emotional dissonance and mood whiplash. AM took risks other routes shied away from by prioritizing telling a story rather than making the player feel good. This escalates the conflict and allows for greater character development.

While far from perfect, AM ended up the best-written route in Three Houses because it uses 3H's narrative structure to the best advantage and avoids common pitfalls other routes fall into. While it may have started out as the route I was the least interested in, it ended up my absolute favorite.

#fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #azure moon #fe3h #fe16

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sunnydaleherald · 4 months

Text

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Thursday, February 1

Faith: And quite a muffin. Buffy: Blueberry. That crunchy, munchy stuff on top. But my most favorite thing so far is that he doesn't seem to be any kind of Hell Beast. Faith: All men are beasts, Buffy. Buffy: Okay, I was hoping to not get that cynical till I was at least forty.

~~Beauth and the Beasts~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Regular Tuesday (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by veronyxk84

Inside Out (Buffy/Spike, T) by veronyxk84

Hubris (Angel/Maggie Walsh, T) by MadeInGold

Revenge is Best Served Wet (Spike/Dawn/Angel, E) by CoffeeHunt

Drugged. Fucked. (Buffy/Faith, G) by view27

and the route you abandoned is always the path that you probably should be upon (Willow/Giles, T) by punch_kicker15

You've Haunted Me All My Life (Crossover with Supernatural, T) by TrueImmortality

Maybe We Should Forget the Ice Cream? (Crossover with Supernatural, T) by TrueImmortality

His Greatest Masterpiece (Angelus, M) by EustasiaVye13

Boundless Heat (Angel/Spike, T) by Pinkperson

Electric Shocks (Spike/Maggie Walsh, M) by MadeInGold

I Made it to the Other Side (Spike/Dawn, E) by MadeInGold

Never and Always (Buffy/Spike, R) by hulettwyo

[Chaptered Fiction]

He Barks like a Stray God, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, NR) by driyaad

Unborn, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Lizzie Queen of Meigas

Lie to Me, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, AO) by In Mortal

A Vampire and a Slayer Walk Into a Park..., Chapter 14 (Buffy/Spike, AO) by holetoledo

A White Knight Amongst The Stars, Chapter 1 (Crossover with Stargate, FR21) by Cdog

A Breath is But a Soundless Whisper, Chapter 18 (Buffy/Spike, 18+) by Blackoberst

What the Drabble?, Chapter 78 (Buffy/Spike, R) by VeroNyxK84

Anarchy Tour, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Alyot

The Mixtape Chronicles, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, G) by Julikobold

Love Lives Here, Chapter 16 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Passion4Spike

Early One Morning, Chapter 11 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by all choseny

Coming Through, Chapter 12 (Buffy/Spike, AO) by hulettwyo

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:they did you so wrong by antlerspine

Artwork:buffi by frenchublog

Artwork:Buffy x Good Omens crossover by brontollow

Artwork:[my bad buffy au, circa 2002] by vu-prod

Gifset: 3x20 "The Prom" by mycatismyfriend

Gifset:Fave Episodes: s4 ep10 "Hush" by green-ajah

Gifset: by lopeirce

Gifset:6.18 "Entropy" by whatisyourchildhoodtrauma

Gifset: 3.18 | Earshot by bangelgifs

[Reviews & Recaps]

NEW MAD MAX REACTION | Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5x20 "Spiral" | Normies Group Reaction! by The Normies

Buffy The Vampire Slayer S07E04 'Help''♡Reaction & Review♡ by SoFieReacts

WATCHING BUFFY after WATCHING BUFFY | First Time Watching by EvilQK

Flooded: Buffy The Vampire Slayer 6X04 Reaction by Dakara

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER - S6 EP 15 AS YOU WERE (2002) REACTION VIDEO AND REVIEW FIRST TIME WATCHING by Reel Reviews With Jen!

ANGEL 5X01 REACTION | First Time Watching by EvilQK

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 1 REVIEW!! {SPOILERS BEWARE} by Jacob's Book Corner

The Re-Watcher's Council #10: "Nightmares" Buffy S01E10 Spoiler Review by LGRN - Entertainment

"Graduation Day, Part 1" & "Graduation Day, Part 2" (3x21-3x22) | Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reaction by cass reacts

THEY CAN'T DO THIS!!! - Angel Reaction - 5x15 - A Hole in the World by TheLexiCrowd

Angel's & Spike's Friendship by Pensive Whiskers

Podcast: Counting Bullets - Angel S05E16 - Shells by Pop Culture Role Call

Podcast: Buffy S6E21: Two to Go by Booze & Buffy

[Recs & In Search Of]

"Ms. Summers Goes To Washington," a BUFFY/WEST WING fanfic recced by SorchasGarden

[Community Announcements]

February 2024 Prompt and Pairing by Otherworldly Chemistry

James Marsters to Attend GalaxyCon Columbus 7-8 December 2024 by DontKillSpike

FYI Mercedes McNab will be joining James Marsters, Charisma Carpenter & @tommylenk at Whispers from the Hellmouth Apr 20-21 by jamiemarsters

Submission Guidelines by spangel-fic-marathon-2024

[Fandom Discussions]

[Adam is worse than Riley] by kat--writes

[Alternate Seasons 5/6] by judgmental-eyebrows

[Redeeming qualities: Go Fish] by

[Kendra's advice to Buffy] by oveliagirlhaditright

Buffy's "I Am The Law" in Selfless - Righteous or Moronic? by multiple authors

30 Day Challenge: BtVS vs AtS by multiple authors

What moments/creative decisions on the show made you shake your head? by multiple authors

Interesting to see how much Buffy would have changed without the Scoobies + Angel by multiple authors

Did she consider Spike just a sex toy? by multiple authors

If Disney wanted to... could they ACTUALLY fix the CGI? Or is it impossible? by multiple authors

Ever Had Any Weird Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and/or Angel Dreams? by multiple authors

What's a good gateway episode? by multiple authors

Buffy Season 4 and the Angel. Is it that necessary to watch it? by multiple authors

So after Buffy's 'The Gift' death… by multiple authors

What Is Your Favorite Dream Throughout Buffy: The Vampire Slayer or in "Restless"? by multiple authors

Unpopular opinion: Season 6 is not the most depressing season by multiple authors

Was Buffy exaggerating a bit when she said this? by multiple authors

S3, E15 by multiple authors

Xander being into Anya is kinda weird in retrospect by multiple authors

Why does the show look so different by multiple authors

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

Publication: Buffy: Sarah Michelle Gellar, David Boreanaz Reflect on "The Prom" via Bleeding Cool

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

#btvs

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dirtyoldmanhole · 2 months

Text

good god, where did (redacted number) of all of you come from :D;;;

little bit about me if y'all are curious!

long story short is i'm an ooooold tellius (fe9/10) fan from way back in the mid 2000's that finally gave Fates a chance last summer and absolutely fell head over heels for this ossan ~ i've always had a thing for older fellas which probably didn't help ;)

(FE nerds who've been around for that long have a really solid chance of remembering me as that one zihark fangirl ~ this ain't my first FE sideblog!)

played conquest, revelation, started and finished writing my 125k gunter/corrin married rev!route fic 'your ruin, my ruin' , played revelation like 3 more times, and currently in the middle of drawing a gunter/corrin doujinshi. a lot of my meta will reference YRMR, the aforementioned fic.

tagging here is a bit of a mess since i honestly didn't expect to be so obsessed a year a later and it's fun to have a casual place to screech, but the old reliables tend to be #my art, #other art, plus the specific "liveblog" tags mentioned in the pinned post. in between will be a lot of horny shitposting about hot old men and general fates meta.

(speaking of hot old men i'm only a little sorry about the absolutely random magneto thirst. as you can see this is more of a thirst blog than anything :P there's a tag for that if you want to block it tho!)

fun fact: my other favorite fates characters would probably be reinia, camilia, arthur, shura, and niles. much like a specific somebody else, I'm not keen on FE royals in general.

i post some pretty extreme untagged kinks here fyi, both meta text and linked art! (eg non/dubcon, piss, daddykink) i'm also a huge fan of dead dove, so this may not be for the easily squick'd folks.

if you're looking strictly for my art, follow @kradeelav (aka my general art account!) my (rarer) fanfic also gets posted there.

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skyler10fic · 11 months

Text

Sweet Like Honey: Ch. 5 Just Keep Swimming

A morning run turns into a dangerous situation, but Daisy and Carol can take care of themselves. Then a whale watch leads to meeting some new friends, both human and marine.

Note: This chapter contains brief harassment/cat-calling, but Daisy and Carol swiftly teach the boys a lesson so not too much to be triggered by here. Still, fyi.

Read on Ao3

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

The call of gulls overhead and the early beachcombers in tracksuits were the only sounds besides the relentless tide when Daisy and Carol went for their run on the path along the shore. It was still chilly in the morning air, and Daisy yawned when they stopped for a traffic crossing. Running wasn’t Daisy’s favorite way to wake up, but Carol loved how energized she felt and said it helped her to start the day with a clear head. So Daisy came too, because she’d do just about anything Carol requested, especially if it was to bond in some way or spend time together.

And Carol had given Daisy a clear deadline. She didn’t have to get up early and run forever. Just for the summer, and it’d be cooler in the mornings anyway, which was better than the heat of the day at least. Daisy rationalized this to herself instead of dwelling on the fact that she’d still have the weekly evening and weekend classes at the gym she was already signed up for.

Carol inhaled the salty air. “God, this feels so good. Nothing like a morning by the beach.”

Daisy rolled her eyes and took a drink from her water bottle. Carol waved to the left at the seniors looking for shells left over from high tide, at the dog walkers and fellow runners on the path, and to their right at the cafe owners opening their restaurants for the day. Daisy had to admit it was amusing seeing her like this, in her element. She wondered if Carol was like this at home in their neighborhood too. They’d run together in the mornings before on weekends, but at a later hour and mainly at the park or on their way to get coffee and breakfast at the cafe down the road. However, they were much more likely to take evening walks together, catching up on each other’s days and stopping to chat with neighbors. Early morning running, however, was not on Daisy’s daily to-do list like it was for Carol.

Daisy was rudely interrupted in her mixed feelings by the catcalls of a pair of young, drunk frat bros ahead of them, making their way home after being out all night.

“Hey ladies,” one slurred as the other whistled. “Hey! I’m talking to you.”

Daisy and Carol ignored them, hoping to pass by without incident, but the guys stepped in their path.

They openly checked out Daisy and Carol and asked, “Do you run a lot? Is that how you stay so sexy?”

It would have been easy to outrun them if the guys hadn’t been so directly stationed in their path on the sidewalk. There were no side streets to cut down right here, and the beach to the left had turned into high sand dunes.

Daisy and Carol exchanged a glance and took the only other route they had: an alleyway leading to another row of shops on the other side. The alley was arguably more dangerous, hidden from the open public, but the other street would be more populated.

The two boys were faster than they thought and followed them into the alleyway. One stumbled, but the other caught up to them and grabbed Daisy’s wrist. He sized them up quickly, but not accurately, picking the girl who had practically grown up in a dojo. In half a second, Daisy had him pinned to the dirty brick wall, begging for mercy. The other ran up to help his friend, and Carol stepped in his path with fists clenched at her sides, with a clear challenge to go ahead and try. He reconsidered and backed away, hands out and open.

“We didn’t mean it, I swear,” he mumbled. He tripped backward on the crumbled asphalt and fell on his ass with his hands still up in innocence.

Carol stood over him and cleared her throat. “My wife could kill you. This is her being nice. Show a little more gratitude.”

“Sorry, ma’am, sorry.” Closer up, Carol noticed he was still wearing his high school golf team T-shirt and his babyface had barely any stubble after, presumably, being out all night.

Carol kept watch on the one half-crawling/half-backing away, while Daisy shoved the first against the wall harder and said, “I didn’t hear you.”

“Sorry! We didn’t know,” he slurred.

Carol hummed in skepticism and looked between them as a hunter deciding on prey. “We think you did know better. Swear you won’t do it again to anyone else and we won’t charge you with assault. There’s an officer a block behind us, and I’m sure he’d love to see your IDs, which I’m sure are very real.”

“We swear!” They cowered again. With wide eyes and pale in fear, these were nothing more than intoxicated boys who had no real physical strength or size. Speed, sure, but easily spooked.

Daisy and Carol nodded to each other and decided to let them go. The grown women knew what the boys didn’t yet. Even if they somehow flagged down an officer, with nothing really to prove intention and possible charges against Daisy if the officer was sympathetic to the boys, there was little the law could do. But for today at least, the lesson had been taught.

Daisy and Carol backed away down the alleyway toward the busier shopping street, and the guys scrambled to run away, but stumbled into each other and fell into the brick wall and onto the sidewalk. Deciding the show was over, Daisy and Carol ran back to their resort without stopping to chat with anyone who waved hello or offered to sell them breakfast treats.

Inside their room, they took off their shoes and socks and put down their water bottles, then Daisy went directly to the sink to wash the feeling of the man’s clothes off her hands. Carol knew exactly what they needed to help them calm down. She wordlessly started both heads of the double shower and then returned to Daisy’s side.

“C’mere.” Carol opened her arms and Daisy accepted gladly in a needed, if sweaty, hug. “You are incredible. And brave. And strong. And I think they never saw that coming.”

Daisy sighed sadly. “I just wish we didn’t have to be.”

“I know,” Carol comforted, soothing her hand across Daisy’s back as the water heated up. “I know.”

They undressed and got in the luxurious, comforting shower. Their lavender shower gel relaxed them, and when they were clean, Carol massaged Daisy’s shoulders and arms. Daisy kissed her deeply in return, gently pushing her to lean back against the shower wall. They touched and kissed away their fear and anger and sadness until all that was left was comfort and safety in each other’s arms. Eventually, Daisy turned off the water.

“I know we’re supposed to go to the beach today,” she asked as they toweled off, “but can we just lay around for a while and maybe go after lunch?”

“Of course. Whatever you want.” Carol dried her hair with a towel and brushed it out. Once Daisy had done the same and they were in their PJs, Carol called room service for some pastries and fruit again since that had been a good breakfast before, and they put on a rom-com to get their minds off the whole ordeal.

—-------

They fell asleep before the end of the movie, and when they woke up from their accidental nap, Carol rolled over onto the remote. The Weather Channel started playing loud smooth jazz for the local weather forecast for the week ahead. As Carol scrambled to turn down the volume, Daisy noticed tomorrow was the warmest of their trip. The forecast switched to video of families playing at the beach and information about the relative heat wave. For a place that averaged 78 Fahrenheit (about 25 Celsius) as an annual high, a week in the high 80s Fahrenheit (low 30s Celsius) was the perfect time to enjoy the cool water.

Carol’s phone calendar rang out an alarm, and she grabbed it from the bedside table. “Dammit, I totally forgot,” she cursed her distracted, honeymoon-phase-clouded brain.

“What is it?” Daisy peeked over at the screen in interest.

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Carol sighed. “And I completely spaced. We have half an hour until our reservation on a whale-watching boat. It’s supposed to be really cool, but I know you wanted to go to the beach today.”

Daisy gestured to the weather, now on a map of the area. “Actually, it’s supposed to be warmer tomorrow. Wanna see if we can still make the boat today and do the beach tomorrow? I kinda feel like getting out of town, to be honest. And your surprise sounds perfect.”

Carol looked up from her phone with hopeful doe eyes. “Yeah?”

“Let’s do it.” Daisy laid her hand on Carol’s for a second and then climbed out of bed to get dressed. “I brought another sundress or these shorts. Which do you like better?”

She held them up to brighten Carol’s spirits and show that she wasn’t disappointed by the change in plans. The movie and rest had done them both a world of good, and they were back to their flirty honeymooning selves.

“I do love the sundress but maybe the shorts for today and save the dress for dinner tomorrow on our last night here?”

“I like the way you think.” Daisy paired the khaki-colored shorts with a black shirt that said “Mrs.” in stylish white cursive—a gift from their bridesmaids. Carol noticed and put on her red shorts with her matching white shirt with “Mrs.” in black. They finished the look with jackets for the windy boat, sneakers, and matching black ballcaps with a small rainbow on the front.

“Here.” Carol took Daisy’s hat and put it on Daisy’s head backward to make the unapologetically queer vibes even louder. Daisy adjusted it in the mirror and gave her a kiss of approval. They knew they were 100% insufferably cute and planned to make it everyone else’s problem today. They deserved it.

—----------------

They grabbed a quick lunch and applied sunscreen while on a bus to the pier, making it just in time. On the boat, most of the seats were taken, but they found an unoccupied spot to stand by the railing overlooking the water. Carol stood off-center behind Daisy so she could see over Daisy’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around her. The boat sped through the water at first, then slowed to a near stop as they approached the area where whale activity had last been reported by other boats. Birds flew over the water, occasionally dipping down to catch a fish or bug, but it took a few minutes of careful watching to see anything significant.

“Wait, what’s that?” Daisy tilted down her sunglasses and pointed to something large and black a distance away from the boat. It splashed water in the air and surfaced again, further away. “Is that a fish?”

Next to them, a man with a grey beard, an anchor tattoo, and a P-town Bear Pride T-shirt chuckled and squinted out at the black blob. “Honey, that’s a whale. It’s just farther than it looks.”

Sure enough, they got a more accurate sense of its size as it breached high out of the water and back down with a majestic splash and spray from its blowhole. Another whale-watching boat was much closer to it and clapped at the show, so the gaggle of observers on their boat joined in, including Daisy.

Carol kissed Daisy’s cheek. “I love that you just clapped for a whale.”

“Well, it was a really good jump,” Daisy defended, not too proud to laugh at herself.

The man grinned. “I’m sure she appreciated the applause. They have their favorites and will even bring the young ‘uns around the still, idling boats.”

Daisy and Carol struck up a conversation with the old sailor. He and his husband (who was waiting in line at the boat’s crowded bar) settled down in Boston but spent their summers on the Cape now that they were retired. He told tales of the sea and the tourists, and their younger days in the Navy, sneaking off to be together on shore leave. He also pointed out other sea life and more whales feeding further away that Daisy and Carol would never have noticed on their own. Eventually, his husband waved him over to the bar, and Daisy and Carol said their goodbyes.

As he left, Carol and Daisy exchanged impressed expressions.

“That alone was worth the trip,” Daisy vocalized what they were both thinking.

“I love meeting people like that,” Carol confessed. “I don’t always think to be that person, though.”

“Yeah, it’s easy to assume everyone wants to be left alone.” Daisy paused as more passengers approached their side of the boat. A mother and her young son stood next to them at the railing, looking for whales and dolphins, and Daisy struck up a conversation. “You’ve found a great spot here. It’s my wife and I’s first whale watch, and we have already seen some on this side. How about you guys?”

The mother took in Daisy and Carol’s matching “Mrs.” tops and arms around each other, raised her eyebrows, and then averted her attention to her son, who was attempting acrobatics with the railing. She pointed out sights to him along the shore and watched out for whales on the surface. When they spotted a spout of water toward the front of the boat, she ushered him away to see it.

“Damn,” Carol huffed. “I guess not everyone is friendly here.”

“We tried.” Daisy shrugged. They weren’t going to let one judgy woman ruin their trip, though. They kept their cameras at the ready, and they were rewarded with a pod of dolphins playing nearby. When the dolphins swam away, the boat moved further along the coastline to where more whales had been spotted by another boat.

Carol and Daisy found a seat near the back, where a group was chatting with the ship’s naturalist on staff. She was around their age, with tan skin, a long black ponytail, and a double Venus symbol tattooed on her inner wrist.

“See the pattern on the tail?” the naturalist said to the group and pointed at a photo on her tablet. “That’s how we identify which one is which. It’s sort of like a fingerprint.”

“A tail print!” a small girl shouted out.

“Exactly!” The naturalist agreed and continued talking about how they photograph the whales to track their growth, families, and health from year to year, and then they share that data with other marine life organizations. When her talk was done and the boat idled again, in hopes of a whale sighting, the group dispersed—all except Daisy and Carol, who thanked her for her talk and introduced themselves. Carol remembered her new married name at the last second. It wasn’t the first time she’d introduced herself as Carol Coulson, but it was still new enough that it wasn’t automatic yet. She also introduced Daisy as “my wife,” scoring another point in their little newlywed game.

The naturalist introduced herself as Amy Chavez, one of the newest hires at the tour company. She noted Daisy and Carol’s “Mrs.” shirts under their open jackets.

“Those are so cute. Honeymoon?” She grinned.

Carol blushed. “Is it that obvious?”

“Oh yeah,” Amy laughed again. “My girlfriend and I will have to keep those shirts in mind for next year.”

“Ooo,” Daisy leaned in. “Are you planning on proposing soon?”

“We’re long distance right now, but as soon as she finishes grad school…” Amy trailed off on a sing-song note, hinting that she had big plans for their future together. “She’s actually in town tonight and we’re going to a Pride kickoff party at a P-town club. There’s supposed to be a great DJ and a drag show. Are you going?”

Daisy and Carol exchanged interested looks.

“We don’t have any other plans,” Carol said, watching for Daisy’s reaction.

“I’m in if you are,” Daisy replied to Carol. Amy gave them the link to the event web page. It looked official, endorsed by the local Pride organization and the town business guild, but with an affordable cover if they registered online.

They enjoyed the rest of the whale watch and learned a lot from Amy—both about the wildlife and the queer scene in Provincetown.

—---------------

When they were back on Wi-Fi at the resort, Carol opened the website and bought their tickets. She had propped up a spare pillow and sat on the bed, and Daisy laid on her stomach facing her, idly tracing her fingers up and down Carol’s leg.

“So,” Daisy began as Carol completed the purchase on her phone. “Did you know she was queer or did you just think she was hot?”

Carol redirected her attention to read Daisy’s playful expression. “On the one hand, the tattoo was gonna be pretty misleading if she wasn’t. And her bag had a scissor charm, so she could have just been really into crafts, I guess.”

“Look at you, the lesbian detective,” Daisy flirted and traced her fingers higher on Carol’s thigh. “So observant. I’m impressed.”

“On the other hand, okay yes, she was hot,” Carol admitted. “But you were checking her out too!”

“I never said I wasn’t.” Daisy winked and then sat up as another thought occurred to her. “Oh hey, I wonder if any of the Ps and As will be there.”

“The who?” Carol was distracted making sure the confirmation email came through and saving the event tickets to her phone.

“Kate and Harry and David and all of them from the pool. Maybe if Kate’s there, we can introduce her to Amy and her partner, so she knows more of the community than just her cousin’s friends.”

Carol agreed and cheered when the confirmation email showed up. Now they just needed to get dinner and then find something to wear.

#daisy johnson #carol danvers #aos #agents of shield #captain marvel #daisy x carol #carol x daisy #wlw #sapphic fic #femslash #lesbian carol danvers #bisexual daisy johnson #skywriting #honeymoon au #tw: catcalling and street harrassment #marvel femslash

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shiteating · 9 months

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shinarei is really really really good i think.

cell of empireo routes EDCB and S+, dlc spoilers (fyi, stuff from a part of the dlc that isn't translated yet, nothing super major though)

just an informal post from me. gets a little embarrassing too. gushing about things is a little painful when you are full of love.

but basically, like, i think there exists to be an argument (hypothetical? idk i don't hang out with any fans) that shinarei could fall into pair the spares territory... which is certainly untrue. i just do not think that it has no basis. it's not particularly deep or anything but i do think it is a fits like a glove situ. anyway, at least i'm not the one pairing up family members. (charged statement? tbh not really, my opinion would not change regardless of whether or not an alternative exists... i just do not fw step-whatever ships and i view them as incest. it is my own preference.)

on the relationship between shinano and atou in coe

since the game kind of flip flops on when the rakusou park rabies case happened (though the second half of the game seems to consistently date it around march 2015 so i'll begrudgingly consider that despite it being a very small timeframe), i think that regardless of how long shinano was under atou's care, it is an important relationship in the long run with respects to this post. while shinano was heavily influenced by origin beta seeking origin alpha out it IS a huge point for shinano that one cannot seperate their old and current and future selves so easily so, even as an existence that straddled the line between origin beta and shinano, i think shinano->atou is a highly valid interpretation. i think tina's instinct "to protect", pochi's instinct "to seek out the origin" and shinano's instinct of "atou-san, atou-san" getting all muddled up created some kind of insane peak yandere. i think the main point here is that for most of the game— reiji had gone off so is missing for a good chunk of the game, shinano is present until chapter 5 then disappears, so the two essentially have no real knowledge of each other. atou tells shinano about reiji in the past tense. he tells reiji about shinano being missing in action but there isn't really the gravity in the current situation to elaborate (ironically because origin beta is still running around). also i think it's really funny that atou immediately discounts that shinano could be beta when ibuki brings it up... anyway this is all preamble really.

starting off on the wrong, no, perhaps the worst foot (paw?) possible

so reiji goes yeah imma kidnap you, atou haruki, and be done with it. honestly, who knows how the plot could have gone if shinano had not appeared in this moment... really, whether it was beta pulling him towards alpha or shinano just happened to come across them at the worst moment, it's still an amazing fucking scene. like, one may wring their hands over whether or not this is yandere, but people have called other characters yandere over literal nothing. SO WHATEVER. my post my interpretation. honestly, it's really fucking good. the way shinano is laser focused on atou, atou-san come here, atou-san, atou-san while reiji is on the other side making quips in lieu of atou who is on shock, it's a tense scene that i can't criticize at all really. SHINANO MY GOAT!!!! literally my favorite line in the entire game btw:

at this point shinano and reiji could not be more diametrically opposed in terms of goal, reiji's being to retrieve atou for sanemitsu and shinano's being an open ended one of "protecting", and who knows how that could even end when at least half of the instinct is coming from what is essentially stem cell rabies and chronic dog brain. it doesn't help they lack context on said stances... in S, this is the end of their adversarial relationship, but if you miss enough flags you basically guarantee that reiji is getting killed by shinano. i think this is actually a really important aspect of shinarei. because..... i really like all the cannibalism fanart... shinano is cute so if he wants to take a chunk out of reiji he is free to do so. i don't have to argue about how cannibalism is inherently homoerotic. IT'S NOT JUST ME! if you see any artists on twitter who dabble in this shit they have definitely drawn it at least once. really, it's becoming rare to have an excuse to draw something like this without going full AU, so fukao... thank you. shinarei is mostly a diabetes ship, but the fact that there is also this macabre side to it is part of the appeal imo. also fulfills the game's "earn your happy ending" element. it's so good~~~~

shinano and reiji are impossibly dorky "but somehow it doesn't cross into otaku cringe" -known shinano fan who excuses anything he says (not me lol why would you think this)

at the time of the dlc, in summer of 2018— its "shinano-shi"!!

how INCREDIBLY dorky!!! i almost didn't pick up on it. you first see it when sanemitsu picks up a note from reiji about atou and shinano visiting— for some reason i assumed it was the formal usage, which was pretty dumb of me to be honest, i genuinely questioned why it'd be like that after three years before i realized it wasn't a stuffy "-shi" but more like how otakus address each other with the nuance of "comrade". to be honest, i've seen the examples of otaku using "-dono" way more often so i didn't realize right away. it's cute not only because it follows the thoroughline of "since S+, shinano and reiji have continued to get along" but also because i feel like this kind of otaku slang has LONG fallen out of favor, it is a stereotype among stereotypes, but reiji is not a normal person at all and i would not be surprised if he just heard it somewhere and picked it up on a whim. i mean, when your dad writes in occult magazines he is probably bumping elbows with some very strange people.

there's not much to discuss in terms of reiji engaging with shinano's hobbies and actively getting into ditasword, but it is cute, cute cute cute. sickeningly cute. how cute can it get?!?!!! this cute:

tying up loose ends

on the age difference

there's like, a good 4, 5 year age difference?

i guess one thing there would be hand wringing over is the age difference— usually depending on the context, how things shake out is based on your own interpretation... though i think between adults it's kinda "who cares" for me. at any rate, it's not like they're breaching into a relationship right off the bat, imo there is a strong preference for onesided reiji->shinano on my end and there's a good three years until the dlc/interlude/com deadline. just straight up having a massive crush but not being sure of what it means. i like how sanemitsu said that it's nice that reiji made a friend his age after so long, atou is like "he's not though", but they shrug it off and go "well shinano's childish anyway". though i think there is a certain coolness factor in shinano that reiji sees that the others don't see!!!! do you understand!!!! also how is it any different from the classic "crushing on an older girl"!!!!! anyway, shinano's happy to have someone he can talk to about his hobbies aside from akane. anyway 25 vs 29 is a pretty nice diff actually. its kinda who cares.

on the contrast

for all intents on purposes despite being a private detective and getting wrapped up with empyrean, of all of rakuen, i think shinano has the strongest image of a civilian. perhaps even among the entire cast in coe. reiji... is very much not a civilian!!! he lives with mercs and does insane paranormal investigations as a lifestyle!!! there is nothing civilian or normal about that...!!! i think the gap in daily life is very good, and despite everything shinano's suspension of disbelief is probably top tier. he will fit in right away if reiji introduced him to LDL. theodore on suicide watch

shinano deserves to be happy

this series has too many widows and widowers. ENOUGH!!!

element of long distance dating

shinano moves back to tokyo after coe is over (as opposed to him treking to nagoya to seek atou out) and reiji is living in italy. i'm sure reiji is probably going to japan a lot anyway but likeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!like!!!!!!!!

atou hates it

^olympic gold medalist in homophobia won by a gay man who has been emotionally married to the same guy since middle school, more at 8.

no but really, he really can't with the otaku stuff, now his coworker has turned his step brother into an otaku or made it more apparent, not to mention all the potential PDA, i have to pray for him a bit. well at least he has less to worry about in the "if shinano stands next to me in public for more than 1 second what if people think i'm gay" <-it's ok when rui does it though.

sanemitsu would love it however!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! theodore would probably hate it...though... i think he would wish death on any couple so

addressing potential bias

for reference other pairs i like: ninayou, atourui (reverse is fine.), i respect kanoato but don't engage, hajiyuki, [REDACTED] <-spoilers that dont even exist yet, dont ask me anything about it

strong dislike for shipping reiji with family.

#i didnt tag it but if it shows up in coe search then open your eyes and read my scripture

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