#( a long owed reply that i only got proper muse for now )

[enccrypted]

>  @deathchasing  —  continued from here.

there is little in Octane to like, legend or man;  Crypto has seen enough, heard enough, and cares to know nothing more. It’s a strange development, even to him: that what small distaste that Park had for Silva could have bloomed and burst, at a startlingly virulous rate, into an anger of such lethal magnitude in Crypto. It’s more than the dislike he harbours for most Legends in the arena, one that very few have earnt their exception from — it’s something finely tuned, something that hardens blade-like when Octane draws near. Whatever it is, it feels jarring and all too personal. Crypto, however, is nothing if not tempered, and he makes fast work of learning to tolerate Silva.

Or so he thought he had.

Tolerance comes easily enough. Their squadmate, with little mettle nor ability to contribute that would warrant his saving, was swiftly left behind in the crossfire at the train yard. There is no Respawn chip to return for. And far more to worry about — gearing up, combing the terrain before them for anyone in search of easy blood — that paying mind to Octane is far from even a second thought.

It’s only when they’ve found refuge in a tiny cluster of buildings surrounded on all sides by cliff, miles from any incoming squads, that Crypto permits himself a thought other than that of survival. His drone, just returned from scouting their surroundings, hovers before him as Crypto peers into his HUD, scanning what remaining data the drone has to offer from its trip. Octane is chattering in the background, as always. Crypto does his best to ignore as he skims rows of diagnostics, loses himself in them rather than in the noise he’s sure Octavio is deliberately making. 

It just so happens he logs off his drone at the wrong moment (or perhaps just the right one) to catch the tail end of Octane’s chittery, drug-induced babbling. The rush, Octane had said through what Crypto knows, even beneath the mask, is a wide grin. That’s what he does all this for; and the fans are just a bonus.

( When you have nothing to lose — they have taken everything from you, you have been through hell to get here, you are here because you have to be, 

— what the fuck is his excuse? )

And, without warning, something vile and cruel takes hold of Crypto, rooting itself deep into corners of himself unreached and unknown. Jaw unhinges, tightens shut, falls open again as he fumbles for speech in the haze of a sudden and unbridled fury. The shock passes in a moment, washed aside by the vastness of a rage wordless and entrenched in sheer, momentous physicality. 

He snatches his drone from the air, swings his arm as he turns to smash the metal — with the strength of all his upper body — hard into Octane’s skull. His hit lands fiercely. Red trickles down Octane’s paling cheek from where a wing scraped deep through the skin, and the colour is all that Crypto sees. 

Something in him has severed itself from tempered and stoic demeanour, reared its monstrous head in feral eagerness; it’s what lunges forward, finding purchase for Crypto’s fingers around a thin neck and tightening dangerously. Octane hardly gets out a yell before Crypto’s grip stifles it, and the strangled cry rouses a terrifying surge of glee in his gut.

Until Octane lashes out, flinging metal legs against Crypto’s knee with enough force that Crypto hears something crack. He thinks he hears himself scream, but he doesn’t know, can’t know with the rush of blood in his ears and the fire flooding him head to toe. Hands starving to draw blood, hungry to hurt, claw down into whatever skin and fabric they can reach. Crypto rips the needles out of Octane’s arm, snatches up one of the discarded syringes on the ground (tossed aside from Octane’s last careless high), and plunges the exposed metal deep into bare neck. Octane shrieks, and Crypto tears needle out, drives it again into throat, into collar, into upper arm. Octane struggles, alive — dares, still! to be alive despite everything — and the rage boils, hot and viscous like oil, in Crypto’s veins. Threatening to burst, like a geyser… the geyser.

It’s with foreign strength that he snatches at fabric, digging fingers beneath the thick of the vest, and throws himself and Octane forward. They’re both in the water, Crypto waist-deep and Octane wholly submerged, held underneath with cheek scraping against the rock beneath Crypto’s relentless grip. There is something desperate in Octane’s struggle now, something tremorous and terrified. He surfaces, shaking, and cries out something that Crypto doesn’t understand. The words, whatever they may be, are tinged with something primal and scared.

Good. 

Anger erupts once again anew, curling inside his throat in a fierce growl. Crypto tightens his grip, pushes deeper as Octane thrashes, and only relinquishes his grip when the thrashing slows. And, at last, it grows languid, weary, until it arrives at its inevitable halt. Blood pounds hot in Crypto’s head, dizzying, and he lets go, tumbling backwards and down into the water. There he sits, palms scraping against the floor of the pool and breaths leaving him in rasping gulps and huffs, vision blurry until it focuses — catches Octane’s body drifting up, bobbing at the surface of its watery grave.

There’s blood, ever so faint, in the ripple of the water. Just as suddenly as it had manifested itself, the quick anger that held Octane so firmly beneath water breaks. 

Crypto lurches for the edge of the pool in a fumbling stupor, but not quickly enough. His arms, weak, slip beneath him and send his upper half crashing against rocky ground. He’s barely dragged himself out of the pool, dead-weight legs sloshing warm water up onto shore, before he doubles over retching. Vomit bubbles in his chest, bitter and pungent, filling his throat and mouth. He throws up, fingers scrabbling against ground, rock digging through fabric and tearing into the skin of his knees. His eyes and lungs burn. 

A different sort of rage guts him from the inside now, self-loathing, broiling up in his stomach. It’s not like the first rage, one all-encompassing and better left unnamed; like something festering, that first anger had grown within him and decayed, pressuring within until it became explosive — and, after an age of dormancy, it dug its way out of his soul at last.

Driven his hand, fuelled him with hate enough to kill.

It takes all he has not to collapse into his own puke. (Where he should be, left to rot like the body he left behind, screams something hateful and horrid inside him.) Despite the urge to flee, Crypto plunges back into the water. He wades to Octane’s corpse, wrenches the Respawn chip from where it’s fastened to the inside of a pulseless wrist.

He doesn’t know how he puts ground between himself and the body, with shattered kneecap buckling beneath him and with a tremor that ceaselessly racks his body through.

He finds a crawl space beneath a building, stripped of all useful loot. The space is tight, boxed in on all sides but for the front. Crypto huddles inside, clutches one violently shaking hand with the other, and presses his face into his ruined knees. He doesn’t know how long he stays, chest tight and heaving, the stink of sweat and puke seeping into wet clothes. An insidious terror has seized him whole, seeping pungent like sweat and puke, into muscle and marrow. It keeps him rooted, pressed tight against metal piping and crates that wall him in, until the blue sky fades, bleeding into deep orange.

The buzz of noise in his head drowns the world out so tremendously that he notices that telltale hum of warning too late. By the time he’s wrenched himself out of his crawl-space, legs aching and the skin of his arms scratched raw, the Ring has swallowed him. The edge of the Ring is distant already, and what strength he has left, uneaten by that awful dread, is devoured swiftly by exhaustion. But Crypto, used to running and outrunning, tries anyway to chase what’s already too far gone.

In his blind panic, he misses a step down the steep drop of the hill before him, and he tumbles. Shrapnel tears a bloody line down the side of a calf, and Crypto knows long before he hits the bottom of the slope that, this time, this is as far as he goes.

He lays there, blood and vomit tasting heavy and bitter in the back of his throat,  in the red hot glow of the circle. It burns, he thinks, tastes of something hot and electric. His head feels like fire, like it’s about to burst, and metal sears against the skin of his back. Maybe, he hopes, that fearful rage will die with him here, far outside the Ring — unknown to any but himself and to the first (the only) who fell prey to its explosive pulse.

He loses consciousness there at the bottom of the hill, still trembling, with Octane’s banner clutched tightly in hand.

[storiesofsvu]

I Put a Bow On It

Jackie Sharp x reader x Heather Dunbar Warnings; language, smut, threesome F/F/F, sex toys, Mommy kink, Daddy kink, strap on, “cum” play, technically, there’s snowballing, minor puppy kink. A/n; covers the secret santa square for holiday bingo. Also…she long…we talking 5000 words ish…you’re welcome? Also…remember Heather in CA was much worse than normal/canon, so this is in character IMO… ALSO, y’all have @melk917 for producing some BOMB smut that reawakened my smut writing gene for finally getting this off the ground, so…bless you…

Heather let out a huff of a sigh as she finally stepped into the entry way of her home, a satisfied groan as she stepped out of her heels, hanging her winter coat by the door. She was thankful the house was quiet, she’d nearly expected to come home to at least one staff member still around, but it appeared the proximity to the holidays had them knowing they could take off a little bit early.

She had to admit, she was a little bit annoyed, the only reason she’d been trapped a little late at work, and on a Friday no doubt, was the divisions Christmas party. While she understood the need for the fancy political galas over the holidays, the fancy dresses, the schmoozing and networking that was required for their level of jobs, she truly didn’t understand the apparent dire need for her smaller department to host a secret Santa. She thought it was childish, a waste of time, and something done by companies who couldn’t afford to pay their employees bonuses, or give them a proper holiday treatment. This was only enunciated by the fact that whomever had apparently drawn her name had forgone the entire evening. Not that she had an issue with not receiving a cheap gift, she had everything she could possibly need already, especially something under a fifteen dollar limit.

She left her keys and purse on the entrance table, making she she had her phone and table to plug in upstairs as she moved through the house. It was only at the sound of a clink coming from the kitchen that she froze, her head tilting, assuming there still was a housekeeper there, or that one of the kids had come to escape their own holiday torment.

“Maria?” She asked hesitantly, noticing there were a few more lights on than normal.

A small chuckle replied to her and Jackie Sharp rounded the corner, bottle of liquor in one hand, glasses in the other.

“Just me.” She nearly smirked, “don’t worry.” Heather laughed,

“And you’re here because?”

“I owe you a stupid secret Santa.” She rolled her eyes.

“You could have not wasted your time, just left it with Maria when you got here, have her put it under the tree.” She gestured towards the main floor family room.

“Mmm… that wouldn’t have worked…” Jackie mused, “I left it upstairs. We all know you have the more lavish and preferred tree set up in the sitting room off your master bedroom. You only keep the tree down here for the kids, I know it’s the one you hate. Where else should I leave something just for you?”

“And you’re downstairs because?” Heather raised a brow and Jackie let out a small laugh.

“You keep the high end scotch in the basement, don’t think I’ll ever forget that.” With a smirk, she turned, moving to the staircase as Heather watched the sway of her hips, “don’t you want to see what your gift is?”

“Sharp…you better not be wasting my fucking time.”

“Oh I’m not.” Jackie grinned over her shoulder, “and if you think I am, I can at least offer you a drink.”

“Of my own scotch?” She raised a brow and Jackie laughed.

“Is my company really that terrible?”

“It’s a hell of a lot better than the imbeciles I spent the evening with.”

“Exactly. Now c’mon.”

Heather practically rolled her eyes, but followed the younger woman up the stairs. She took in Jackie’s appearance as she did so, normally she flaunted her femininity around the White House, a way to shove it to the other Senators that a woman could do their job just as well if not better than them. Tonight, while still dressed professionally, she was in a deep black, perfectly fitted pant suit, crisp white button up underneath, an extra few buttons undone than normal. She’d abandoned her shoes at whatever door she’d come in, but Heather had no doubt they were sky high stilettos, the ones that made the curve of her ass stand out even more in those stunning pencil skirts she usually wore.

As they approached the sitting room that adjoined to Heather’s bedroom, she noticed the lights had been turned down, that the tree was the main spectacle, the coloured lights around the window lighting the room along with the electric fire place. There was a warmth up there that the lower floor lacked and she wondered just how long Jackie had been here. Suddenly, Jackie stepped to the side, pausing in her steps,

“Well?” She nodded towards the tree, a grin on her face, “what do you think?”

Heather let out a small ‘ah’. Perched at the edge of the tree on the rug was you, dressed in a red lingerie set, intricate bows and lace patterns throughout the entire thing. Clipped into the side of your hair was another red bow, and you were sitting pretty, ready and waiting on your knees, your hands folded neatly on top of your thighs as you looked up at the other two women with doe eyes.

“This…is my gift?” Heather asked, glancing toward the other woman.

“I put a fucking bow on it, didn’t I?” Jackie laughed, moving through the room she placed the glasses and scotch down on the coffee table, pausing to briefly rub her thumb over your chin, cooing down at you.

“And are there restrictions?” Heather asked. She knew how long you and Jackie had been together, but had been disclosed just how your relationship worked. She knew that things got rather kinky, that occasionally, Jackie was okay with sharing you, but things had to be very specific. Her and Jackie had a very brief history, back when they were both just starting out in the political field, so something like this wasn’t completely new to her. To be completely honest, the first time she’d laid eyes on you as Jackie’s plus one she’d hoped you were just a friend, disappointed to discover that you’d been together for years already. She’d been hoping for an opportunity like this to present itself, and now, she was suddenly very thankful for the stupid secret Santa that had been organized.

“As long as I’m here…I’m in charge.” Jackie mused, pulling the cap from the bottle of scotch with a pop that echoed through the room. The noise caught your attention, your head glancing up, looking towards Jackie and she chuckled darkly, “oh…pup…are you thirsty?”

Knowing you probably weren’t allowed to speak yet, you simply nodded, feeling a pulse shoot through you at the way your lover’s eyes darkened.

“Mmm…” She simply hummed in response, taking a hefty swig of the scotch, her eye gleaming at you while she did so.

What surprised you was that she, instead of stepping toward you, stepped towards Heather, pulling the other woman into a kiss, meeting her lips softly, but guiding the liquid into her mouth, tilting Heather’s chin up, keeping a hand on her throat as an indication to not swallow quite yet. It was her way of passing the next level of control over to her, letting the both of you know that while she may be the first in command, and in charge, that there was no way you were to disobey Heather tonight, that as long as you were okay with it, you had to do whatever she wanted you to.

“Go on.” She nudged at Heather’s hip post kiss, pushing her towards you. You were, ready and waiting now, head tilted up towards the brunette, your mouth open, letting out a soft gasp as her hand wrapped around your jaw. It was gentle, guiding you to make sure she got the liquid where she wanted as she let the liquor dribble into your mouth. Without a word you held your mouth open, glancing between her and Jackie until Jackie nudged her again and Heather softly caressed your cheek,

“Swallow, my sweet girl.”

You did as so, letting your throat bob before presenting your empty mouth to both of them.

“Good girl.” Jackie praised, giving you a soft nod.

“Thank you Daddy.” You murmured, nearly ducking from Heather’s gaze, not sure if she was aware of that portion of your relationship of not.

“Well..” Heather mused with a smirk as she turned to the other woman, “that is fitting.”

“What do you mean?” Jackie asked with a laugh, pouring out the actual glasses of scotch, handing one to Heather while she placed the third on the coffee table. She stripped out of her blazer, folding it neatly over the back of her chair, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt as she sat down.

“She already has a Daddy.” Heather shrugged, “I much prefer Mommy.”

“Are you alright with that pup?” Jackie raised an eyebrow in your direction and you eagerly nodded, causing her to softly laugh, “alright. We want you to feel good, and your knees must hurt, why don’t you come sit on Mommy’s lap? Have a drink with us?”

“Yes Daddy.” You nodded toward her, slowly moving across the space, picking up the glass of liquor from the coffee table before pausing in front of Heather, “may I?”

“Of course.” She smiled warmly, her hands dancing at your skin, ghosting over the seams of the lingerie, tracing over your exposed body with a small smile on her face. You did your best to not let your breath catch in your throat at the contact, your body already tingling at the thought alone. “Get comfortable pup.” Heather’s added usage of the name Jackie usually called you made your pussy clench, a shudder nearly shaking through you as your hand clenched around the class of scotch.

You instead took a breath, sinking down into her lap, you let yourself sink sideways, so that you were still facing Jackie, your body mainly on Heather, looping an arm over her shoulders as you still faced Jackie. One of your legs half tucked under you while the other extended on the couch in the direction of the chair she was settled in.

“Pup…relax…” Jackie murmured with a small laugh, “I am very happy sharing you with Heather. And she is very eager to explore….as long as you want this…let go. Do you still want this?” The last sentence was said softer, Jackie’s hand softly closing around your ankle, her eyes meeting yours as Heather’s hands suddenly vanished from your body.

“Yes…oh fuck yes.” You replied, “please..” your eyes begged Jackie, “I just don’t want to disobey you Daddy.”

“Oh pup…” she smiled, leaning forward to stroke your cheek, “you don’t have to worry about that tonight. Heather here is going to be the one making you see stars. Do you trust us?”

“Yes.” You breathed out, your face turning to Heather, “what would you like Mommy?”

“Can I start with a kiss?” She asked with a raised brow and you smiled, letting out a small laugh,

“Of course.” This time, her arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you to her as her lips met yours. At first it was gentle, exploring each other before her tongue slipped into your mouth, pulling a groan from you, your hands clutched at her skin, trying to pull her closer to you as your tongues danced. You briefly heard shuffling from behind you, knowing Jackie was moving around the room as you shifted, your legs now straddling Heather to deepen the kiss.

Her hands drifted across your body, nails softly scratching in their path, making your skin break out in goosebumps. Her fingers toyed with the edges of your lingerie, following a strap up to your shoulder, tracing over your collarbone and up to your neck. A solo finger hooked underneath the black satin collar you wore, starting at the pearl that signified Jackie’s birthstone and her claim over you before following it around to the back of your neck where it tugged lightly and you moaned into Heather’s mouth. Your hands buried into her loose hair, tugging at the roots, your teeth nipping at her lower lip, pulling a chuckle from her as you finally pulled apart breathlessly. Your mouth trailed kisses across her jaw, the hold you had of her hair tilting her head to give you access to the column of her neck. You knew as much as Jackie was gifting you to Heather, this was also a present to Heather, and you wanted her as riled up and satisfied as you knew you would be by the end of this.

Heather let out a breathy sigh at the way your lips were tingling on her sensitive skin, your fingers sliding under the strap of her dress to gain access to more of her skin, nipping at her shoulder, laying a kiss over the same spot before you moved back to her neck. Sucking and biting at her skin, your hips ground down as you nearly let out a whine. She chuckled, tilting your head back up to catch your swollen lips in another kiss.

“Careful…” she smirked, “wouldn’t want you getting too needy now, would we?”

“Well then give her some fucking attention.” Jackie laughed, rising from her chair as she drained her scotch, sauntering over to the couch. Her voice caught your attention, your head turning to look at her, she was slowly unbuttoning her shirt as she walked up, exposing her bare body underneath, she caught the way your eyes flickered down to the button of her pants, tongue darting out to wet your lips, knowing what was waiting underneath. “Unless of course, you want an excuse to punish her?” Jackie smirked, leaving her shirt on yet open as one of Heather’s hands caught your chin turning your gaze back to her. Her fingers traced the column of your neck, down to the swell of your breast as she hummed.

“Not yet….” She mused, her other thumb rubbed along your lower lip, causing your mouth to drop open, sucking the digit into your lips, “though I bet you do look very pretty when you’re a mess…”

“Daddy says so.” You murmured, lips popping off her thumb.

“She does look particularly stunning covered in my cum…don’t you princess?” She leant down to nip at your neck, her hands traced down your shoulders to your back, biting into your skin harder as she undid your bra, “though cum dripping all over her tits is my favourite.” After a soothing kiss to where she’d bitten you, Jackie straightened up, dropping your bra to the floor.

“I can see why.” Heather replied with a small chuckle, “you really are a pretty pup.” Her hands cupped at your chest, thumbs brushing over your nipples before groping your tits, briefly pinching at your nipples, “what’s your word?”

“We use the traffic light system.” You whispered back, “and right now everything is very fucking green.”

“Good.” Heather practically growled before her mouth latched onto your chest, sucking your nipple into her mouth as your hands dug deeper into her hair, pulling her impossibly close to you. You felt Jackie’s hands ghosting around your body, nails scratching every so often while she traced your muscles, her lips met your skin randomly, alternating between kisses and bites. Her breath was hot on your neck when she spoke,

“She likes it when you bite.”

Almost instantly Heather’s teeth sunk into the tender skin on the underside of your breast and you gasped, your back arching toward her touch, your head thrown back in ecstasy as your eyes fluttered shut. Jackie chuckled, taking the time to steal a kiss, her tongue plunging into your mouth, tasting every inch of you she possibly could while you began to grind down onto Heather’s lap. Heather moved from one of your tits to the other, her hand taking her mouth’s place on the first as you let out a whine of a moan.

“Oh pup…” Jackie laughed, “I bet you’re just dripping right now. Have you gone and ruined that pretty set I bought you for Mommy?” You whimpered, nodding gently at her, feeling the desire pool within you even more, you could feel your pussy dripping, the dampness soaking your panties. You felt Heather pop off your nipple, waiting for your reaction, looking toward her your breath nearly caught in your throat. Her pupils blown, lips kiss swollen and she looked like all she wanted to do was absolutely devour you.

“Mommy..” you nearly whined, “will you touch me?”

Heather let out a small laugh, a shake of her head as her hands trailed down your body, not missing a single reaction you had to the way her or Jackie’s hands touched you. Finally, she reached between your legs, her fingers ghosting over your inner thighs as she glanced up to you,

“Is this what you want puppy?”

“More…please..” you could feel your cunt clenching around nothing and Heather chuckled once more, looking over your shoulder to Jackie,

“She really is needy.”

“When she wants to be…” the darker haired woman replied, pressing a trail of kisses to your neck, “which means she really wants you to fuck her.”

“Please just touch me!” You cried out and Heather let out an ‘awee’ that you knew you’d later regret, but at least she was doing what you wanted. Her hand snuck between your legs, staying overtop your panties, her knuckles rubbing against your pussy, pressing into your clit as you whimpered, clutching her closer to you as you felt the tension and fire build within you. You were inches from being at your release, shaking in Heather’s lap, wanting to wait til later to actually come, with either her mouth or cock destroying you.

“She’s so fucking wet.” Heather mocked and behind you Jackie laughed,

“She is a little slut.” Jackie mused, pinching at your skin, pressing a kiss to your shoulder, “and she just loves being used.”

“You want me to use her?” Heather cocked a brow, her fingers toying with your cunt over your panties, continuing the conversation as if you weren’t there. Every so often they would flick over your clit and your body would shudder against hers, breath catching in your throat and the dirty words being exchanged between her and Jackie.

You were suddenly broken from your trance of lust as Jackie’s hands were pulling you off Heather’s lap, wrapping around you tightly, holding you close enough you could feel the strap bulging into your ass. You gasped as she trailed kisses down your neck, her hands toying with your tits as Heather rose from the couch, caging you in between the two of them.

“I think it’s time you get on the bed pup.” Heather murmured and Jackie’s hands released you, nudging you toward the bedroom before she spoke to the other room.

“And I think it’s time for you to get out of that fucking dress.”

It was a flurry of movement as the three of you moved into the bedroom, you were quick to hop up onto the bed as requested, your body nearly shivering with anticipation. You couldn’t help but rub your thighs together as you perched on the edge of the bed in an attempt to feel something, but that didn’t go unnoticed by Heather, who let out a dark chuckle.

“None of that pup.” She smirked, facing the bed as Jackie slid the zipper of her dress down behind her, “let Mommy see that pretty pussy. I know you’re already soaked and needy, but let’s make you a mess before I even touch you, hmm?”

You pouted, but didn’t defy her, ridding yourself off your panties, your breath catching in your throat at the sight of Heather getting more naked by the second. It didn’t take too much of that to have you collapsing against the pillows, your hand shooting between your legs. Doing your best to keep your eyes open and on the show in front of you you let out a moan at the relief of finally being able to touch your clit, rolling it a few times before your fingers delved lower, spreading your pussy lips open.

“Good girl.” Heather praised with a breathy moan, watching your cunt glisten in the low light of the bedroom.

“Now we know she listens…” Jackie husked, nipping at her ear, “the question is do you?” The younger woman’s hands curved around Heather’s body, pinching at her nipples, letting her tits bounce back against her body before sinking lower. “Listen to how fucking wet she is….how good that little pussy sounds…” her taunting continued as the two of them watched you fuck your fingers, the sopping sounds echoing through the room accompanied with your little moans and whimpers, your free hand toying with your chest. “What do you think? Would you like to fuck her? Or shall I? While you sit on her face?”

“Are those my only options?”

“What’re you thinking?”

“That I need to taste her…now.”

“Interesting choice.”Jackie mused, nipping at Heather’s neck while her fingers gently played with her pussy, “does that mean I get to fuck you? You are practically dripping…”

“You’re in charge, aren’t you?” Heather sassed back, turning to the other woman with a raised brow.

In response, Jackie simply shoved her towards the bed, letting her crawl closer towards you as she swatted at her ass, “don’t make her wait any longer.”

She’d barely finished her sentence by the time Heather’s tongue replaced your fingers, lapping through your pussy, flicking at your clit and you gasped. Your hand sunk into her hair, gripping as she began her assault on your cunt. Your hips rocked up when her mouth sunk fully into you, tongue toying with your juices, pulling them further out, lapping them into her mouth, groaning at the taste of you. You were absolutely drenched, and your body was already burning with passion, you weren’t sure how long it was going to take for you to reach what you were sure would be your first of many peaks.

Nearly everything was coming out in panting whines, and you were incredibly thankful when Heather suddenly let out a gasp, freezing in her movements, giving you a moment to regain your composure. Jackie’s fingers had snuck between her legs, smearing her juices around before she sunk a finger into Heather’s cunt, pumping slowly. She let out a satisfied hum at the warmth around her hand, the way her juices were practically dripping down her wrist already, it clearly didn’t take too much to rile her up, although, with the taste of you, Jackie wasn’t too surprised. She froze in her movements when she’d realized Heather’s mouth had detached from you and let out a small tsk.

“Don’t forget what you wanted…” she swatted at her ass with her free hand, only restarting her movements when Heather buried herself back into your cunt. Jackie added a second finger, twisting and scissoring to make sure she was ready and stretched out, though, the noises coming out of her, and how drenched she was was more than an indicator. She shifted off the bed to rid herself of her pants, admiring the view for a moment.

Your head was tossed back against the pillows, eyes fluttering between shut and trying to watch what else was going on in the room. Your skin was heated, coated in a glistening of sweat as your body writhed against the mattress, hips rocking up to meet Heather’s mouth.

Jackie managed to catch your gaze while she shifted back onto the bed, positioning herself behind Heather, shooting you a wink with a wild grin right as Heather flicked at your clit, a loud moan escaping your lips. Heather was the next to let out a gasp of a moan as Jackie’s strap slipped into her soaked pussy, slowly fulling and stretching her out until she was full to the brim. She slowly pulled almost all of the way out before plunging back in, her hips meeting Heather’s with a soft groan.

“You’re going to have all the time in the world with her..” she murmured, starting a steady pace fucking Heather, “but you’re not going to tease her right now. She comes first. Then I’ll fill this greedy pussy to the brim, understood?” She enunciated with another swat to the other woman’s ass.

“Yes!” Heather grumbled into your pussy, her fingers coming to join her mouth, easily slipping into you.

The way her fingers curled within you had you letting out a cry, hitting exactly where you needed as her lips wrapped around your clit, sucking it into your mouth. You could barely keep your eyes open any longer to enjoy the sight of Jackie’s cock sinking into Heather’s dripping cunt, though you could hear it. And that coupled with Heather’s moans, and the sound of her fingers fucking you into oblivion were really all you were going to need.

The room was a cacophony of moans, whimpers and whines, wet sounds bouncing off the walls, skin slapping on skin, slurping up juices, and the more than occasional dirty talk spewing from Jackie’s lips as she took in the entire spectacle. The sight of all of it coupled with her beginning to fuck Heather harder enough to get her off, knowing that everyone was pleased and satisfied was all she needed on a night like tonight.

Your body began to shake, trembling against the bed, the hand you had in Heather’s hair tightened, your thighs shaking around her, trying to close your legs. Instead she merely chuckled into your cunt, feeling the way it was fluttering around her fingers, the way your clit pulsed heavily between her lips only causing her to suck harder. Your entire body shook, a near yell broke free of your lips as your orgasm rocked through you, juices streaming out of your cunt onto Heather’s hand, dripping down her wrist. She simply groaned in response, continuing to lap them up, though she gave you some relief as she pulled her fingers from you, using her mouth to clean you up.

“So. Fucking. Hot.” Jackie enunciated each word with a powerful thrust, her hand wrapping around Heather’s hip in search of her clit. The movement shoved her closer to you, burying in between your legs causing you to shudder at the near over stimulation. Never once while Jackie fucked her did the brunette let up, even if she was gently lapping at you or moaning into your skin, she made sure that she got every goddamn drop of you that she could, simply unable to get enough of your taste.

Jackie suddenly grabbed at her hips, flipping her over on the bed to give you a bit of a break as you panted, your chest heaving as you watched the show. Heather’s hands clawed at the headboard as Jackie’s fingers found her clit again, rubbing furiously as she fucked her hard, only taking another few moments before Heather’s hips were thrusting up, freezing as she cried out, hitting her peak harder than expected. She let out a surprised gasp when Jackie squeezed around the base of the toy, filling Heather with her cum, a few slow pumps made sure that she had emptied everything into the other woman, continuing to toy with it as she fucked it back into her squelching pussy with a small chuckle.

She pulled out gently, watching Heather’s juices mix with the thick lube drip out of her pussy, admiring the view. Though it only took a matter of seconds before you dove between Heather’s legs, lapping as much of the mixture up with your tongue, moaning over the taste of the strawberry lube mixed with the taste of Heather. Jackie’s hand suddenly wrapped around your throat, pulling you up from behind, tilting your head back to catch her gaze with a smirk on her face. You eagerly accepted the kiss, her tongue plunging into your mouth, massaging at yours and scooping as much of the mixture out of your mouth, pulling it into hers before she broke the kiss. Out of the corner of her eye she made sure Heather was watching as she opened her mouth, the mixture drooling back from her lips onto your waiting tongue. She swallowed what was left in her mouth, her thumb swiping some spillage from your chin, humming as you sucked the digit into your mouth, licking it clean before swallowing yourself. She looked towards Heather with a grin,

“I knew the strawberry would be good for you. You want a taste?” She raised a brow and Heather laughed, though it morphed into a breathy moan as your tongue swiped through her pussy lips again. This time you swallowed the mixture down as your crawled up her body, meeting her in a heated kiss, letting her suck the taste off your tongue before you pulled away, dropping into the bed beside her with a satisfied sigh.

Jackie let out a small laugh at the sight of you curling against the pillows, the two of you both still out of breath. Heather wrapped around your back, her lips kissing a trail across the back of your shoulder and up your neck, nipping at your earlobe while her hands softly roamed your body. Your eyes fluttered shut at the sensation, humming as your back arched your body into Heather’s, causing you to miss the sight of Jackie getting redressed, buttoning her shirt back up until she was decently covered. Her hand stroked softly at your cheek right as you let out a small gasp; Heather’s hand had found it’s way to your clit. Jackie pressed a kiss to your lips, smiling as her fingers closed around the pearl on your collar, pulling it toward her with a raised brow.

“Now…don’t you forget who you really belong to, alright pup?” You nodded and she booped your nose in response with a nose crinkle of a smile before she turned to Heather, “have all the fun you want. I’ll pick her up on Monday.”

__________

@nocreditinthestraightworld @alexusonfire @holycrapraewth @cmmndrwidw @wannabe-fic-reader @screenee @addictedtodinosaurs @imlike-so-gaydude @lesbianologist @screenee @jamiethetrans @natasha-danvers @veteranwerewolf95 @svulife-rl @gay-ass-bitch @oliviaswifey @mysticfalls01 @bumblebear30 @molllss @solemnnova @svushots @yourtaletotell @cerberus-spectre @emskisworld @ex-uallyactive @imaginaryoperagloves @thatesqcrush @wandasbrat @lustvolle-liebe @disn3y7 @samwithnoplan @multifandomlesbianic @swimmingstudentchaos891 @whimsicallymad @1-lindsay83 @mmemalwa @ms-calhoun @holycrapraewth @poisonedcrowns

[justletmeplayminecraft]

Moving Day

it's the day that comes at the end of every season. and yet, somehow, the hermits still get caught off guard by it.

featuring: hermit ensemble, slice of life fluff, imagine moving houses but like every year and a half, werewolf!ren, something!joe, artic fox!etho, he is vaguely developed, there's pretty much no plot, just fluff, an ode to the end of this season

"Zed, you're gonna be late!" Tango calls as he drops in through the ceiling. With a bang, a mop of blond hair pokes out of the central storage. Zed rubs his head, pulling himself up.

"You're the one who distracted me with the Create world!" He replies, hauling a bag up the ladder with him. Tango laughs, throwing it over his shoulder as Zed flops onto the stone ground.

"Sure I was, it's not like you brought it up." Zed huffs, rolling his eyes. He holds his hands up towards Tango, who laughs. "Oh, you want to go over my shoulder too?" He teases.

"You are insufferable," Zed mutters, pushing off the stone himself instead. The cold is starting to seep through his cardigan.

"Have you packed everything?" Tango asks. Zed holds his fingers up to count off.

"Yes, I've checked everything four times! Maybe five, actually. I don't think there's anything left." Zed looks back at the ladders, closing his fist. Tango examines the pile of bags, humming.

"So you're sure you don't want me or Impulse to check for you?" Zed's mouth opens.

"Actually, can you check anyway?" He asks, "You know, just in case!" Tango laughs, giving Zed's shoulder a bump.

"Of course we will. But let's move these before Xisuma forgets them." Zed nods, quick to grab some of the bags. He heaves them up, almost buried under them.

"Season eight here we come!"

-

"You two!" Doc calls, scooping up the white fox before he manages to rush past him. Ren very nearly runs straight into his legs. The wolf sits down, ears twitching as he stares at Etho. Etho sticks his tongue out, Doc struggling to keep a hold on the silky fur. "You two aren't helping, you know that?" Ren barks, tail wagging. "Yeah, yeah."

With a wiggle, Etho manages to slip out of Doc's arms. He jumps up, curling around his shoulders instead and getting comfortable. Doc sighs. He bats Etho's shawl out of his face, ignoring the amused chitter. Counting, he finds most of his bags already in his ender chest. Luckily, because the two animals playing around him are making it difficult. Unlike-

"Doc," Bdubs cries, "Have you seen my razor?" Bdubs doesn't even bother with the door. Doc looks down at him on the lawn.

"Have you checked your half?" He asks.

Bdubs throws a hand up, "Of course I've checked my half, but Keralis tried to drag me into packing all his junk so I had to make a speedy escape!" Doc chuckles, watching as Ren jumps down to nose at Bdubs' hand. "Oh, hello, Ren!" Bdubs jumps into baby-talk immediately, crouching down. "Fancy you being here!"

"Please, take him-" Doc waves, "-The two of them keep running through my feet." Bdubs strokes through the fluff of Ren's neck, glancing up and spotting Etho.

"Oh, Etho as well!" Bdubs waves. Etho yips in reply, ear twitching. Then Bdubs pauses, looking at Ren properly. "Ah-ha, Snips! Of course, right-" Bdubs jumps up, "Thanks guys, I'll see you at the town hall!" Doc looks at Ren as Bdubs runs off.

"You going with him?" He asks. Ren's tail wags, staring at Doc. He sighs. "Right, of course not." Doc picks Etho off his shoulder, dropping him on the floor to a surprised squeak. "If only there was a way to attach some bags to the two of you." Both animalmits freeze, sharing a look with each other. Doc can't help but feel satisfied as they scarper towards the nearest nether portal together. "Perfect." He can finish packing in peace.

-

"Do you think you've got everything?" Wels asks, perched on a chest. Beef hauls his bag out the door with a huff.

"Well, I've got you. That's half the challenge." He looks up in time to see Wels rolling his eyes, pushing his helmet up.

"I take it back, I'm not helping you anymore."

Beef laughs, clapping Wels' arm, "We've still got Three Fox Hole to look through, you're not going anywhere yet." Wels' lips twist into a pout, crossing his arms.

"You know, when I packed early, it wasn't with the intention of doing your packing for you," he replies. But, when Beef holds out a bag, he still takes it.

"And I appreciate it!" Beef grins at him. "Maybe I'll reward you with some of my finest wallpaper-"

"Oh, please no." Wels' eyes are wide, staring in mock horror. "I might never recover."

"Oh, blackmail works too, then." Beef stands, walking past him. Wels slips off the chest, frozen in place.

"Beef- Beef, are you joking?" Beef keeps walking. Wels runs after him. "Beef!"

-

"Thanks for heading out this far, man," xB says, smiling at Keralis. "I know you've got a big space to cover too."

"Ah, it's nice taking a break," Keralis replies, holding one of xB's bags in his arms. "And I know there's no way this would all fit in your ender chest, princess." xB chuckles, looking at the half-folded clothes, trinkets, and daily essentials all sorted into piles.

"Yeah-" he scrubs the back of his neck. "-I kinda forget I've got so much. Too used to my travel bag." Keralis bounces the one in his arms.

"Well, it's a good job you've got me!" He bumps into xB's side, barely knocking the other hermit off balance. "I can always lend you some extra bags if you need them."

"The luggage dimension is just going to be my stuff at this rate," xB jokes.

"Oh, you haven't seen how much I have yet." They both laugh, Keralis putting the bag down with the rest that have been packed. "Now, what are we doing next?" xB turns to observe his piles.

"I think that one," he decides. Keralis nods, skipping across.

"Then let's go, we don't want to be late!"

-

"Cub!" Scar's voice calls down the pyramid. "I cannot believe this." Cub turns to see Scar walking along the corridor, wings fluttering in annoyance behind him. "Xisuma says my crystals aren't essential items so I can't take them. That's so unfair." Cub laughs before he can stop himself, getting an affronted noise from Scar. "Cub! I come here, I confide in you-"

"Scar," Cub interrupts, squeezing Scar's arm. Vex magic sparks around them, electrifying the air. "You could make some once we're in the next world."

"It's not the same!" Scar protests. Cub leans closer.

"Or," he whispers, "We could sneak some across ourselves."

"Oh." Scar claps his hands together. "Now you're speaking my language."

"The language of crime?" Cub asks, calling one of his bags over to him. He catches it mid-air.

"The only language I know!"

-

"This is why you should've made a proper storage system!" Mumbo cries, as Grian pulls out the contents of another chest. "This could've been so much easier!"

"I didn't know it was this bad!" Grian replies, finally managing to find his towels buried in an unmarked chest. He throws them towards his 'to pack' pile, Mumbo jumping out of the way.

"Didn't you have weeks to prepare for this?" He asks, looking at the scattered items in dismay.

"I mean- I did host an entire world in-between," Grian reminds him. Mumbo hums in agreement, deciding to organise some of the piles before they end up vanishing into a pure mess. He looks for similarities amongst the items, beginning to sort them into manageable groups.

Mumbo's lucky he thought to get all his essentials together ahead of time. He gave his luggage to Xisumavoid to store, and he knows it's all taken care of. It didn't stop him from checking his base another ten times, but he's pretty sure he's got everything now. Pretty sure.

He's going to end up checking his base again later, isn't he?

"Grian?" Mumbo asks, pausing as he notices something. The rummaging through chests stops, with only a quiet thud & 'ow' before Grian is looking at him.

"Yeah?" He replies.

"Do you… actually have any bags?"

"Ahhhh," Grian's face turns a similar scarlet to his jumper. "You see, Mumbo, last season, I kinda… borrowed some."

"Borrowed, right." Mumbo sighs, running his fingers through his hair. "Were you ever going to buy your own?"

"Yes!" Grian replies, words fast. "I just. Never had time." Mumbo's had most of his bags since he joined, so he guesses he can't relate. Pretty much all the hermits gifted him one. Otherwise, he would've never remembered at that age, but that's its own problem. It's a good job he remembers the essentials even now.

"So, how do you intend on packing all this?"

Grian hums, "Do you think I could just shove it in there loose?"

"I'll go find some bags," Mumbo decides. And something to help his headache...

-

"How many cats do you think I could smuggle to the next server?" Cleo asks, holding up another of her kittens to Joe. Joe hums thoughtfully, bright green hair moving on its own accord.

"Well, I've certainly smuggled a few of my dogs inside myself." Cleo takes a deep breath, transferring her kitten to one hand so she can pinch her nose.

"Right, of course you have." She's long learnt to stop questioning how Joe works. She's a living zombie, he's Joe. At least it makes packing easier. "I think I might take some of them to my own world, this time," she muses. "Xisuma can do that, right?"

"I'm sure he can," Joe agrees. "If not, I will have a mass exodus of animals from the server." Cleo sighs, rolling her eyes. She sets the kitten down gently amongst the other cats.

"Right, are you actually going to help me carry my bags?"

"Of course! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't try to stop you losing an arm?"

"Ugh, don't remind me." She still can't believe that happened. First, her arm falling off, then nearly losing it amongst everybody's luggage? So embarrassing. She enters the main room of her base, where she's already got her bags set out. It's surprising how many skincare products you need when you're dead. Joe follows, looking around as if he doesn't know the place like the back of his hands. To be fair, Cleo would be surprised if anybody knew the back of Joe's hands.

"Right, I've shoved as much as I can in my ender chest. If you put what you can in yours, we can divide the remainder up," she lays out the action plan.

"Sounds perfect!" Joe picks up two bags. "Are you sure you don't just want me to transport them over?"

"Keep your true self off my stuff, Joe, you know what happened last time."

Joe sighs, "Fine, fine. We'll do this the human way."

"You'll do this the human way," she amends. "I'll do it the zombie way."

-

"Stress, it's only a spider," Iskall says, pointing his sword towards it. Said spider is standing triumphantly on top of her bags, red eyes glinting. Stress pokes around the doorway, brown hair falling across her face.

"Yeah, but it's a spider on me stuff!"

"You've fought worse than spiders!"

"Just get rid of it, Iskall!" He sighs. Readying himself for a fight, he crosses across the room, stamping his foot in front of the pile. The spider hisses, sharp fangs a warning. But when the creature jumps, Iskall's sword is there to meet it, throwing the spider to the ground where it disappears into twinkling orbs.

"Look, was that so hard?" Iskall asks, his hand on his hip as he looks back at her. Stress bounces in, grinning.

"It wasn't, was it? Guess I don't need to thank you, then!" Iskall rolls his eyes, slipping his sword back into his inventory.

"Like you don't need to thank me for helping carry your stuff?"

"Oh, I'll thank you for that." Iskall laughs, grabbing the strap of two bags and throwing them over his shoulder.

"How many trips do you think we'll need?" He asks, seeing her haul two up herself. Stress hums, observing the pile.

"Prob'ly only two or three. If we get started soon then we'll get done faster, too." Iskall can hear the teasing tone in her voice.

"Aren't you the one that was scared of a spider?"

"Don't know what you're talkin' about!" She calls, walking past him. Iskall shakes his head, smiling fondly before rushing after her.

-

"Hey TFC!" False calls, touching down at his base. She smiles at the sight of his usual suitcases, already neatly packed and organized. Everything's labelled in TFC's signature handwriting to boot. Far more planned out than her, she's gotta say. But that's a problem for the next world.

"False, what can I help you with?" TFC's smile is always nice to see. She flicks her elytra closed, waving.

"I came to ask you that, actually," she replies. "Wanted to know if you'd like help carrying things over. I did all my packing a few weeks back, so I'm kinda bored." And if she stays still for too long, X will probably try to rope her into admin duties. Sure, she knows the basics, but she doesn't want to be responsible for anybody's stuff going missing. Not her department.

"Well, I'm never going to turn down some extra hands," TFC replies. He walks over and pats the suitcases on the left. "These are all ready to go, I'm still finishing up with the others. Has Xisuma already started?"

"I think he was just finishing the pocket dimension, so you've still got a little while." The hermits always rush to be the first in, as if everybody's stuff won't fit. In False's opinion, being last is best. It's easier to get your things out when they're closer to the entrance.

"Good, good. Let him know I'm nearly finished, would you?"

False nods, saluting with one hand and picking up a suitcase with the other, "Will do!"

-

Hypno walks into Jevin's base to find him and Impulse slotting the last few items into boxes. He knows Jevin was mostly packed already, so it's nice Impulse has come to help out. But… Jevin might just be taking advantage of Impulse. Hypno won't think too much into it.

"X has finished setting up," he calls, not needing an introduction. Jevin twists to look at him, Impulse busy trying to fit a label on straight.

"So you're saying I'm late?" Jevin asks. Hypno chuckles, deciding to join them on the floor.

"You know what the rush is like to get stuff in. You'll be fine for a little while." Hypno shrugs, "After Wels, X'll probably be careful." Impulse nods, sitting back now the label of 'hoodies' is attached.

"I've already handed my stuff in," Impulse says, "I think False might have too? We both finished up pretty early."

"Yeah, there was a lot in the town hall ready to be moved." Hypno wonders if the hermits are getting more prepared for this. Somehow, he doubts it.

"So, you've come to help me carry these over?" Jevin asks, Hypno looks at the boxes, shrugging.

"With all three of us, it should only be two trips, right?" There are only five boxes, and two are pretty small anyway.

"That's the spirit!" Impulse calls, grinning. "Do you think you're all ready to go?"

"Yep, I think that's everything," Jevin decides. He pats a box, making more of a squelching sound. Hypno does his best not to laugh.

"Then let's get moving!"

-

Xisuma sighs as his visor adjusts to filter out the sunlight. Coding that in was a stroke of genius. It used to be such a nightmare to continuously adjust between the pocket dimension and hermitcraft. He looks at the stacked luggage to be moved, trying to figure out if there's more there than before. He swears there is. And they didn't even say hi when they dropped it off! Rude.

He jumps when something nudges the back of his knees, sending him stumbling forward. Turning, he finds Ren, his tail wagging proudly behind him.

"Oh! Hello there." He reaches down, giving Ren a scratch behind the ears. "Are you planning to change back before we move?" Ren barks in reply. "I'll pretend that's yes."

Turning, he sees a white tail flicking over blue diamonds. Of course, those two are together. Etho's curled up in the sun, black eyes watching the pair. One ear is stuck up, the other flopped lazily.

"You two aren't going to help me carry things in, are you?" X asks, sighing as he looks back at Ren.

"I think Ren forgot to leave a spare pair of clothes out, actually," Etho says, legs dangling off the throne. He's tugging his shawl over his nose now he's in human form. Or, as human as Etho gets. "And his outfit may have experienced some... unfortunate circumstances." Xisuma looks at Ren's sad eyes, shaking his head at the pair of them.

"And those didn't involve you in any way?" X asks Etho with what he thinks is an appropriate amount of suspicion in his voice. Etho holds his hands up, leaning back in a way that would have most people falling over.

"Are you accusing me, Xisuma?"

"I don't know, am I, Ren?" Ren gives a concise nod. Etho gasps, clutching over his heart.

"Betrayed by my own brethren!" Etho cries. Ren's tail is wagging, betraying his otherwise neutral expression.

"Come and help me carry things, you," X says, calling Etho over. "We'll be here for another month if you don't." Etho laughs, but jumps off the side of the throne, landing with barely a thud.

"What are we moving, bossman?" Etho asks. Xisuma surveys the piles.

"Mumbo's stuff next, I think," X decides, "He usually takes a while to unpack." Etho nods, following X's lead as they grab a bag and box respectively.

"So this is what you guys do at the end of the season?" Etho asks, Ren trotting along with them. Xisuma hums as he enters the pocket dimension, finding an open space at the back of the room.

"Yep, this is moving day," he explains. "I always try my best to make it easy for the hermits, but it doesn't often end up working." Etho chuckles, placing the bag on top of X's box.

"Seems like most people aren't done yet," Etho agrees.

"They'll get there," Xisuma replies. The hermits always do eventually.

They're just stepping out of the portal when a voice calls, "I'm not late am I?!" X scruffs Ren's neck, smiling at Zed, who's running over with far too many bags thrown over his back.

"Not at all, friend," he reassures him. Zed drops his bags, bent over and panting. Tango strolls up behind him far more leisurely.

"See, Zed, I said you wouldn't be!" Zed whips in his direction.

"Oh, you, mister 'oh Zed you're going to be late, we're all going to leave you behind', you-" Tango laughs, fluffing Zed's hair as he sets his bags down. They take the rest of his luggage out of the ender chest Xisuma left specifically for this purpose. Beef and Wels walk up together as they do, Xisuma waving to them.

"Beefers!" Etho says, grinning.

"Hey Etho, Tango, Zed, Xisuma." Beef pauses, "Oh, and a Ren!"

"Hey guys!" Wels simplifies, dropping his bags at the doors. "This should be everything from us."

"Perfect!" Xisuma nods, "You guys okay to help me carry things through?"

"Yeah, we can help out!" "That's cool with me."

Moving things goes a lot faster with five of them helping to carry things through. Xisuma just catches Impulse, Jevin and Hypno dropping one lot off, getting a frantic wave before the trio is rushing off again. The pocket dimension is quickly filling up with bags and boxes, the hermits a constant line as they drop in and out. Xisuma frequently checks, but it seems like the dimension is handling the pressure okay.

"Xisuma!" Joe calls, him and Cleo wandering up the town hall's stairs. By this point, Cub and Scar have joined them with TFC, False, Stress and Iskall all dropping things off too.

"Good to see you both," X greets, one of Wels' bags hugged in his arms. He turns away, before hesitating, something nagging the back of his mind. After a second of focus- "Joe, why do you have so many hitboxes inside you?"

"Ah, that's nothing you have to worry about, dear admin." Xisuma gives him a long look and decides this isn't a battle he's going to pick.

"As long as you're willing to help out," he says, instead. "We're only waiting for a few people. He takes a look at the gathered hermits. Cleo's now lying on the floor, Ren beside her. His tail is already wagging again. Cub is picking a box up, whilst Scar skips through the portal holding three bags with magic. Etho's chatting to Tango and Zed as they work.

"Of course! We'll be finished in no time." It's already taken most of the day, but X doesn't need to mention that. He sets his vision back to normal, does another check of the pocket dimension, and returns to carrying boxes.

The remaining hermits trickle in as the sun sets. Stress and Beef sort out dinner for everyone, Xisuma making sure the last of the luggage is safe.

"Wait!" A few heads turn at Grian's cry, heavy footsteps rushing up to town hall. "I- I've got my stuff." Xisuma blinks at the sight of the hermit carrying about four bags at once. One is bright pink.

"You're not too late," X reassures him. "You can just drop it in, there should be room." He's settled into a shaded corner, preparing for the process of safely moving over twenty players. And Joe. If he's being honest, the data is starting to give him a headache. But it'll be worth it once they're all in their new world. Their temporary 'in-between' world is already set up. Somewhere for them all to stay whilst he handles the switch over. Most of the hermits take the time to visit friends or do other projects during that, anyway.

"Thanks, X," Grian says, between gasps. He runs into the portal, X laughing softly to himself. Mumbo walks up a few minutes later, glancing at the group.

"Is Grian in there?" He asks. Before X can even reply, about four hermits are giving an affirmative. "Thanks, guys!" Mumbo heads in after, only two bags in tow. X watches, well-aware of the fondness in his chest. It's a good reminder of just what he does this for.

-

It's another hour until everything's ready. The sun is hanging over the horizon (Xisuma may have frozen the day cycle a while back.) X has watched warily as they've shared food, chatted, played games (including one very dramatic wink murder. He's not sure what happened in Grian's server, and he's not sure he wants to ask.) But now, they've all gathered around, watching as Xisuma enters the final commands.

"Okay, everybody here knows the drill. Stay with somebody else, I want to do a headcount on the other side, then you're all free to wander." He projects his voice, the hermits hushing to listen. "Is everybody ready?"

"Yeah!" "Born ready!" "We've been ready for hours!" "Is there food on the other side?"

X shakes his head. With a final press of the enter key, the portal opens in front of the diamond throne. There's a collective murmur of anticipation.

"Alright, you lot can head through. I'll join you in half an hour, max." He can't even make out words following that. TFC and False are first, walking through with a wave to the others. Stress and Iskall run after them. The rest of the hermits take their time. Some share hugs, some take a last look at the horizon. And Xisuma watches over it all, determined every single one of his hermits will make it safely through.

"X?" Impulse calls. He and Hypno are standing together. The town hall feels so much emptier now the hermits are gone. "You sure you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Xisuma promises. "All standard procedure. I'll see you soon." They nod, sharing a last smile.

"Okay then. Stay safe, X."

"You two as well. Try and keep the others from misbehaving until I get there."

Hypno laughs, "No promises."

And like that, Xisuma's alone. He sighs, sinking back against the diamond throne. The sun casts golden beams over the land. This has been… a good season. They all are, but. Xisuma smiles as he sets the tick speed of the world to zero, freezing it in time. He thinks next season will be something special. It only takes fifteen minutes to finish his commands, the rest he needs to do on the other side.

"Goodbye, old friend." He pats the diamond throne. With a look over the eerily still shopping district, he sighs. It really is the hermits that fill a world with life, isn't it? "To more admin work," he murmurs, before laughing at himself.

"Shishwam?" Xisuma jumps, clutching his chestplate.

"Oh my goodness, you scared me." Keralis giggles. He's waiting in front of the portal, hands in his pockets. "I thought you went through."

"Well..." Keralis starts, "Somebody said we needed to go through the portal with someone else. And then I thought of a certain admin going through alone..." Xisuma laughs, shaking his head. He joins Keralis, swirling colours reflecting off his armour.

"Of course you did." He takes a deep breath. "Well, I'm ready to go." Keralis wraps his arm around Xisuma's shoulders, squeezing him tight.

"You've done a good job this season, Shishwammy. I hope you know that." Xisuma sneaks one last look out the doorway before they leave this world behind.

"Yeah." He smiles. "I think I do."

[oigimi]

. owlet .

. mozart and baby oc . found family . 1.9k words .

here’s a found family fic that’s been in my head for awhile now! i really hope you like it. mozart seems like the kind of guy to have a daughter

A cry filled the mansion’s halls, piercing the ears of all who heard it. It was relatively late at night, and everyone was gathered at the front door, staring at quite the unusual package. Gifts and shipments would grace the mansion’s front doors often, but this… this was something entirely different. Rather than a case of Rouge or Blanc, or a bouquet of roses or anything in the ordinary, the residents of le Comte’s mansion stood in front of a baby girl in a basket, with a tag attached reading, “My name is Asuka. Please take care of me.”

“Asuka… Just like- Ah, never mind,” Sebastian started, waving his hand. He bent down to pick the screaming infant up, only to have her screech even louder, and swat her hands around in an angry little tornado.

“Sebas, you’re holding her wrong! You need to-” Arthur’s attempts at calming Asuka were even more fruitless, with her fighting to wriggle out of his arms. He passed her on to Theo, who scared her. She was given to Comte, then Leonardo, then eventually everyone in the room before being returned to her basket.

Vincent looked downwards, his mouth tugged downwards in a frown. “What do we do? I feel so bad for her, she won’t even stop crying. Poor little baby…”

“Broer, she tried to bite you!”

“She’s just little and scared! You were like that too once, Theo.”

As the younger brother clammed up, a final face showed itself that hadn’t been present before.

“What’s all this noise? Whatever you’re all doing, can you wrap it up soon? Or perhaps be a little quieter?” Mozart hissed, marching right up to his roommates and their new problem. He caught sight of Asuka and wrinkled his nose. “Arthur, did one of your little flings catch up with you?”

“No! She’s just a darling little thing that showed up on our porch and we simply can’t get her to stop crying. If you want to get her to be quiet, why not try and hold her?”

Mozart looked at the screeching infant, whose face was reaching a color as hot and fiery as her hair. “No,” he simply said. Babies were messy and loud and provided everything he didn’t want in his life. But, Arthur was right. If there was any way he could try and fix the problem, it was to try and hold this thing. Mozart took a deep breath and took the baby out from the basket, shaking his head and awkwardly cradling her in his arms. “There… there. I suppose.”

“You’re supposed to bounce her,” Vincent chuckled, guiding Mozart into rocking Asuka to the rhythm of his heartbeat. “Just like that.” They looked down, and everyone’s faces melted into shock when Asuka finally stopped crying. Her big, glossy blue eyes were coated with tears, but she stared up in wonder at Mozart, or rather the feather in his jacket. She reached her tiny hand out to grab it.

“No. You’re just going to put it in your mouth and get sick.”

Asuka scrunched her face and pouted, reaching a little harder for the feather. She fussed, to which Mozart simply scoffed.

“No.”

“No!” she echoed, shaking her head. “No, no!”

“She’s already learning to speak like him,” Arthur snickered. “Oh, isn’t that just precious?”

Mozart glared at him as he tried to keep the baby away from his feather. He sat down on the couch, holding Asuka away from his body as if she carried a disease. “How long do I have to hold this thing?”

“Until she goes to sleep. Mozart, can’t you take care of this baby for just one night until we can figure out what to do with her?” Comte asked, tilting his head to the side. “It would mean you can get to your music faster, anyway.”

He looked at Asuka, who was still making fruitless attempts to obtain Mozart’s jacket feather, scowling in contempt at her. “Fine. But only for one night.”

“We all know how ‘just for tonight’ goes. You’ll be with her on her wedding day now!” Dazai mused, earning another deep scowl.

“I am not fathering this child.”

Asuka began to fuss, wriggling around and squirming in Mozart’s arms. He moved his arms so that she was gently pressed against him. “There… I suppose.” He swayed his body to the rhythm Vincent showed him, slowly patting her back. Before he knew it, she was yawning and her grabbing began to stop. “Hm. I’m putting her down to bed. Then I’m going back to my music.”

“Are you sure you should leave her alone? I think she’s gotten quite fond of you!” Arthur chuckled. “You might just wake her up if you leave.”

“Are you serious?” He groaned and looked down at the baby. “I guess I’m going to go to sleep too. The sooner I sleep the sooner time moves forward. Goodnight.”

Without another word, Mozart made a quick stop in the kitchen to warm up some milk. He swiped some chocolate, and glanced down at Asuka. She looked so… relaxed. So cute, even. Mozart couldn’t deny that he didn’t like babies, but the child he held in his arms felt a little different. He didn’t like her very much, but he couldn’t let anyone else take care of her. For some reason, it felt warm in his chest when she would only relax in his arms. As if he was meant to be her father in some way.

He grabbed a second, little cup with this in mind.

When he got to his room, Mozart made a tiny bed on the carpet with layers and layers of blankets and pillows, and laid Asuka down in it. She stirred, and made little cries in her sleep. Was she upset that Mozart had set her down? Could she even tell? It didn’t matter, he still felt a little bad for her. “We’ll get you a proper bed tomorrow. I couldn’t put you in a drawer or in your small basket,” he sighed. “You’re annoying and I don’t like you, but you’ll get a crib tomorrow. Goodnight, owlet.”

------

The next morning was full of diapers, crying, hissy fits, and screaming. Sebastian had run to pick up some basic supplies, but it ultimately did very little in the vampires’ battle against a fussy baby. She didn’t like peas, she didn’t like corn, and Vincent had to learn that babies can’t eat pancakes. What could she eat that would make her happy?

“Warm milk,” Mozart huffed, taking some off the stove. He poured some in the little cup he’d carried and let it cool off to a safe temperature. With some strict, yet gentle coercion, he managed to bring the cup to Asuka’s lips and help her drink as much as her tiny stomach could handle. “What was so hard? Babies like milk.” He grumbled a bit and cleaned out the cup. “Morons.”

“Well well well! You really are like a natural father to her!” Dazai chuckled. “What did we predict?”

“Nothing. I’m just not a fool,” Mozart snapped back, lifting Asuka out of the chair and burping her. “The plan today is to get some more supplies. But I am shopping for them.”

“Are you sure you do not want anyone to help carry anything?” Jean mumbled. “I can hold items at the store for you and help take them home.”

“That would be great, thank you.”

Jean’s workplace ended up with a bit more than he expected, with a nice crib and mobile and a lot of bottles and sippy cups. The Frenchman blinked at the juxtaposition between the baby supplies and the items of war he sold in the shop. Mozart mentioned only taking care of Asuka for a few days. The abundance of furniture seemed like overkill.

At a nearby store, Mozart stood next to a stroller with his fussy responsibility inside. He scanned the shelves for toys, putting a set of blocks, paints, and a few stuffed animals inside. He stopped, however, when he laid eyes upon a stuffed snowy owl. “Just like Schelm…” he chuckled. He took the toy off the shelf and held it to Asuka. “Do you want an owl? An owl for the owlet?”

“Ow,” she replied, reaching out for the toy. “Ow!”

“Is that your way of saying ‘owl’? Alright, here you go. Be nice to it.” He paid for the toys and found himself looking in the stroller at the baby. She was cuddling her new toy and inspecting its wings and rubbing it, inspecting it for anything of interest. “It’s just a stuffed animal. Silly,” he chuckled. “Let’s get you home now. I have a feeling you’ll start screaming here in a moment.”

By the time night had arrived, the crib, bookshelf, mobile, and toys were all set up. Asuka was shaking a rattle on the floor when Mozart picked her up. “Alright, it’s time for bed. Come on.”

“Noooo!” she cried. “Nooooooo!”

“Yes. Come on.”

She fussed and began to cry, reaching down at the floor for her rattle.

“No rattles in bed,” Mozart huffed. “Here, I have something you can take in bed.” He reached down on the floor and handed her the stuffed owl. “Here. Your owl.”

“Ow.”

“That’s right. Your ow,” Mozart chuckled, setting Asuka down in the crib with her stuffed toy. “Goodnight, Asuka. You’re a silly little owlet who needs plenty of sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, he wound up a music box and turned off the lights.

------

“Papa, can I get the first slice?” Asuka asked, beaming wide at a large cake in the kitchen. “Better yet, I want the whole thing!”

“You can’t have the whole cake because you’ll get sick. You have my sweet tooth.” Mozart finished moving the cake to the table and sighed, “I can’t believe you’re sixteen years old now.”

“Old enough to get a boyfriend!”

“Let’s not go that far.”

“But you said when I turned sixteen I could!! Papa, you’re being unfair.”

Mozart chuckled and ruffled his daughter’s hair. “Alright, go sit down at the table.”

She did as she was told and grinned, admiring all the presents everyone in the mansion had bought for her. From personalized books from Uncle Arthur to a paint set from Uncle Vincent to expensive clothes from rich Uncle Comte, Asuka was surrounded with so many luxuries given to her by the people who loved her. She was adopted into the greatest family she could imagine, and by the best father she could ever want. Sure, Asuka had a bit of an attitude sometimes, but she always knew when the important things needed to be said.

“I love you Papa,” she murmured, getting up and hugging Mozart. “Thanks for taking care of me, and thanks for all the birthday gifts.”

He smiled, embracing his daughter tightly in his arms. “I love you too. I love you so, so much, Asuka. You gave my life and music meaning like no other… Are you crying?”

“N-no! I don’t cry!”

“Okay.” He kissed his daughter’s forehead and sat down at the table. “No matter how old you get, whether you’re sixteen or sixty, you’ll always be my little owlet. I love you so much, and happy birthday.”

[melodyalanaroster]

Miracle Romance

"Oh my god." Alana gasped with tears in her eyes. She stood in front of a large mirror and stared at herself. "I finally look like Serenity." She smiled as she left the dressing room and showed herself to Nathaniel. "You look amazing." Nathaniel smiled. Alana began to cry. “For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be like her... And now, even for a few moments... I can be her.” Tears made their way down her face as she smiled. "I guess I have to break your one rule." Nathaniel smiled. "You are not dying your hair black." Alana remarked. "I could wear a wig." Nathaniel replied. “But Nath... We talked about this...” Alana began. "I am not letting anyone else be your Endymion." Nathaniel interjected.

★

Throughout Alana's life, she had made it very clear that Sailor Moon had been a staple to her. It was a staple in the Roster family. By the time Alana reached the point of living in the Black Tower, at least four generations of the family enjoyed it. Including both primary sets of sisters, Margaret and little Ravenna.

She would play pretend with Viktor, Severina and Sam when they were children. She would always be Sailor Moon and Princess Serenity, Viktor was Tuxedo Mask and Prince Endymion, Severina was Sailor Venus and Sam was always Sailor Jupiter. The tree house in Alana's backyard was often the Moon Kingdom and they would frequently save the world. The adventures would always end with the power of love winning and the kids going into the house for a snack.

As the kids reached adolescence, they were forced to stop playing. But, their love of the anime was still prevalent. Alana always kept up with merchandise news and rumors about the release of a second anime. Lynne had made sure that Alana and Sam had their own copies of the manga, original anime and movies. Viktor happily talked about being Endymion to Alana’s Serenity until they were forced to break up. They wanted to continue the fantasy, but circumstance parted them. Severina was always happy to talk to everyone, and toss out ideas for a proper cosplay group, but Sam dampened the idea with the reminder that, as long as Viktor’s and Severina’s fathers remained in control of their lives, they’d never be allowed to do so.

When Lynne moved Alana and Sam to Amouria, things began to change. "She won't shut up about that Nathaniel guy." Viktor growled as he sat down next to Severina. “Viktor, you knew from the day one that you and Mels weren't allowed to be together. She has to find her Endymion." Severina sighed. “But seriously? aunt Lynne moves her and Sam to Amouria and they both immediately find guys they like?” Viktor complained. “You know Mels talks about other guys too. Right now, it could be Castiel, Lysander, Armin or Nathaniel.” Severina tried to make things sound better. “No, it's definitely Nathaniel. She barely mentions the others to me. Mostly about Armin playing games, Castiel being an ass, and Lysander losing his notebook. But she dotes on Nathaniel a lot.” Viktor retorted. Severina sighed. "Viktor... Do you remember what happened to Adonis and Beryl? Their envy got the best of them, they became evil and they died. Please keep a clear head.” She reasoned. "I am not like Adonis and Beryl." Viktor shot. “Viktor, I can't believe I have to be the voice of reason here. Both of our moms made it very clear that aunt Lynne, Mels and Sam have more freedom than we do. They're not blue bloods. They have to find their miracle elsewhere... Although, you and I will probably end up being paired together in an arranged marriage set up by our fathers.” She explained. Viktor thought for a couple of minutes and sighed. "I just thought..." 

The first time Nathaniel ever went into Alana's room, he instantly noticed her Sailor Moon dolls. "They're really hard to find these days... And Sailor Moon means a lot to me..." She said as she explained what the show meant to her. “It's a connection to my past, my closest friends, and my family.” She smiled. Nathaniel looked puzzled for a bit, then smiled. "That's really sweet.". He smiled. He noticed a picture of her, Sam, Severina and Viktor on a shelf and picked it up. “You all look like you’re having so much fun.” He mused. “Yeah... That’s the only time we’ve ever been able to dress up.” Alana sighed, wistfully. The kids were in makeshift Sailor Scout uniforms. Their hair wasn’t perfect, and Viktor’s tux didn’t fit right, but they didn’t care. The photo had been taken a few weeks before Cosima Chevalier’s death, and was one of the last happy memories they had as a group. “Its cute.” Nathaniel chuckled as he looked at her lovingly.

When her mother went into the hospital, Nate arranged it to where Alana and Lynne could sit and watch whatever they wanted in the room. Lynne suggested marathoning Sailor Moon. The days in the hospital weren't as bad when they watched the show and Lynne stayed stable, but there were days where not even fighting evil by moonlight could save the day. But, that didn't keep them from trying. It didn't take them long to get through all five seasons and three movies of the original anime. “I heard they're making a second anime that's supposed to be closer to the manga!” Alana attempted to be cheery. She was sure that she, Severina and Sam had told her about Crystal, but she really couldn’t think of anything positive to say.  “That's lovely! Do you know when it's set to come out?” Lynne asked. “I have no idea. I'm sure Toei will update us when they can!” Alana replied. “I hope its soon.” Lynne smiled. Suddenly, Lynne began coughing and her monitors started to go off. “NURSE! HELP!” Alana cried.

Even when Sam and Alana fought so badly that the Military and RDR felt it was necessary to create a treaty between the two organizations to prevent the sisters from ever being enemies again, it was actually their love of Sailor Moon that truly began to bring them together again. Severina had gotten wind of the fight and forced the girls to go to her house. “OW! RINI! YOU'RE HURTING MY EAR!” Alana whined. “Seriously! What the hell?” Sam whined. “I don't care if I'm hurting you two! This kind of fighting is unacceptable! You two are sisters and you know that this behavior will tear the family apart! I won't allow that!" Severina began to cry as she lead the sisters to her home theater. "What's all this?" Alana asked. "You've forced my hand, so I'm pulling out the big guns!" Severina cried as she grabbed a remote and turned on the screen. Sam and Alana looked at the menu then at each other. "Go figure." Sam grinned. "Of course." Alana grinned. The menu on the screen was the DVD menu to Sailor Moon R: The Promise Of The Rose. By the time the song “The Power Of Love” was playing, tears were streaming down the sisters' faces. "Mels." Sam began to choke. "Sam." Alana's voice wavered. They looked at each other, sadness and regret in their eyes. “Mels... I’m s-so s-sorry f-for what I-I said..” Sam sniffled. “I’m s-sorry t-too S-Sami...” Alana blubbered as she hugged Sam. “I love you.” Sam muttered as she held onto her sister. “I love you too.” Alana murmured. 

When Death’s Domain was getting set up, Alana dedicated a whole room to the series. “You’re seriously going to have an entire room dedicated to Sailor Moon?” Derek had asked. “Yes. Its going to have shelves for merch, posters, and a couch to relax on.” Alana mused. “Melody can have whatever she wants for her apartment. And, if it helps her destress, I most definitely approve.” The  Red Death announced. “Well, the majority of my collection will be in there. There’s going to be something Sailor Moon related in every room.” Alana smiled. “Of course there will be.” Derek facepalmed. “I’m not apologizing. I love Sailor Moon and I wanna showcase it in my home.” Alana laughed. “And I’m sure you’re going to do nothing but post about your collection for a while.” Derek rolled his eyes. “Obviously. Moonies have a good presence online.” Alana mused. “I thought “Moonies” were people who followed the Unification Church?” The Red Death inquired. “Yeah, they are called that, but Sailor Moon fans are also called “Moonies”. I know, in certain circles, I have to be sure to differentiate... But, its what we’re called.” Alana explained as she shrugged her shoulders. The room ended up becoming a paradise for fans of the series. Shelves filled with various collectibles, a couch decorated with two throw pillows and a blanket, a coffee table with two sets of coasters, a large rug, framed posters, plushies, moon and star lights along the walls and showering down the window and a tv mounted on one wall. In contrast to the vast majority of Death’s Domain, the room was an explosion of bright colors.

★

Nathaniel stepped into the restroom for a few minutes. Alana watched the door in anticipation. When he came out, he was running his hands along the circumference of the black wig, making sure it was in its proper place. The thought of how similar he looked to Viktor shot through her mind. She did her best to suppress that thought. "You don't even like cosplay..." She muttered as she smiled. "You do so much for me, I don't mind doing this for you." He grinned. "Nathaniel! I love you!” She cried as she wrapped her arms around him. “I knew I was going to see Princess Serenity, I didn't know Prince Endymion would be with her!” someone called from behind them. They turned around and saw Sam leaning in the doorway. “Sam! I look just like her!” Alana cried. "I wonder if I can get Ken to be Nephrite." Sam commented. “I'm sure he would be if you asked him. You two would be the perfect Jupiter and Nephrite!” Alana beamed. “I didn't know this was turning into a full on cosplay group!” Ken laughed as he walked up behind Sam. "Why not?" Sam asked. "I'm not sure Viktor would appreciate being Kunzite." Alana remarked. “He'd have to get used to it. Since Nathaniel is Endymion, that demotes Viktor to Kunzite.” Sam stated. "Right because when you guys were kids, Viktor was always Endymion." Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “Viktor has had years to accept his position in my sister's life. If he doesn't accept it, it will not end well for him.” Sam replied. "Do you think he will?" Nathaniel asked. "If he truly cares about her, he will." Sam nodded. “Viktor has known for years that our time ended long ago. Accepting his new position is painful for him, but he is well aware of the fact that it's something that he must do.” Alana explained.

A few minutes later, Renee walked into the room. “You both look magnificent! The girls and I have gotten a backdrop ready, would you two mind taking a few pictures?” She beamed. Alana smiled and turned to Nathaniel, a very hopeful look on her face. "Would you be okay with that?" She asked. Nathaniel nodded. "Sure." He grinned. They followed Renee into a room. "Oh my god! You two look utterly amazing!”, “You look beautiful Mels! Nathaniel, you look so handsome!”, “True Moon and Earth royalty!” the other girls cooed when they saw them. “I think we should do a cosplay group. I'm Jupiter and Rini will be Venus.” Sam commented when she walked in. "I volunteer to be Mercury!" Renee cheered. "I'll be Mars." Lyra smiled. "I'll be Pluto." Veronica beamed. "I don't mind being Saturn." Nora suggested. "I wonder if we could get Lucy and Noelle to be Uranus and Neptune." Sam pondered. "We could also see about getting Ravenna to be Chibi Moon." Alana proposed. “I think that would be fantastic. Who would be the rest of the Shitennou?” Lyra asked. "I could see if Armin could be Jadeite." Alana thought out loud. "Are we really setting up a cosplay group?" Nathaniel asked. Sam looked at Nath, as if he had said something really stupid. "Do you not realize how highly rated Sailor Moon cosplay groups are?" She asked. Nathaniel shook his head. “Sailor Moon cosplay groups are some of the most elite cosplayers in the anime world. Sailor Moon being one of the most iconic anime in history, it is instantly recognizable. The cosplayers take some of the most beautiful pictures, make some of the coolest videos, and even do events. They may not be unionized like Star Wars' 501st Legion, but they come together and coalesce with great ease whenever they recognize each other. Children who recognize them run up to them the same way that they do with superheroes, and typically, they are nice to them. It is a sisterhood of love and justice.” Sam explained. "Not to mention how fun it would be to finally be in one." Alana cooed. “We'd still need Zoisite.” Veronica stated. "I wonder if Derek could be him." Nora pondered. “Uh, guys? Can we please get to the photoshoot?” Renee asked impatiently. 

After posting for photos for what felt like an eternity, Nathaniel and Alana went into the changing room to get out of their cosplays. "You do look really beautiful in that." Nathaniel smiled as he took the black wig off. Alana blushed. "Do you really think so?" She asked nervously. “Of course. You look magnificent.” He blushed as he walked over to her and kissed her. “Thank you for doing this my love. It means the world to me.” Tears came to Alana's eyes as she spoke. “I love you my Melody.” Nathaniel cooed as he wiped a tear from her cheek. “I love you so much Nathaniel!” She mused as she threw her arms around him.

★

A few weeks later, in the early hours of the morning, several cars arrived at an old castle in the country. “This place looks amazing! Perfect for our photo shoot!” Alana cheered as she got out of the car. “Welcome to the Astarian Royal Palace Lady Melody!” A woman with long brown hair, sunglasses and wearing a knee length blue dress beamed as she walked up to them. “Mrs. Reynard, I presume?” Alana asked as she shook the woman's hand. “Yes ma'am. We spoke over the phone.” the woman smiled. “You are fully aware as to why we need the palace today. Am I correct?” Alana inquired. “Yes. For your little photoshoot. Cosplay, I believe.” Mrs. Reynard replied. “Yes. Sailor Moon. Its important the palace be the backdrop to this shoot.” Alana stated. “The photographer will be here in a few minutes to set up. They'll need time.” Mrs. Reynard explained. “That's fine. We need time to prepare.” Alana smiled.

After a couple of hours, the members of the group began to step out of their respective preparation rooms and into a lounge. Lynne Roster as Queen Serenity, Sam as Sailor Jupiter, Severina as Sailor Venus, Renee as Sailor Mercury, Lyra as Sailor Mars, Noelle as Sailor Uranus, Lucy as Sailor Neptune, Nora as Sailor Saturn, Veronica as Sailor Pluto, Ravenna as Small Lady Serenity, Viktor as Kunzite, Ken as Nephrite, Armin as Jadeite, Derek as Zoisite, Nathaniel as Prince Endymion and Alana as Princess Serenity. When the entire group was gathered in the lounge, tears filled Alana's eyes. “It's so beautiful!” she happily cried out. “Awe! Mels!” Severina cheered as she hugged Alana. “This was a fantastic idea!” Lynne beamed. "How long do we all need to wear this?" Armin asked, slightly uncomfortable. “Just a few hours. We're gonna get a TON of shots! ” someone replied as they walked up. It was a young woman with short platinum blonde hair, bright green eyes, and pale skin. She wore black pants, a white button up top and a deep blue beret. "You all look so regal!" She cheered. “Alright everyone, let me introduce you to you Catarina. She's a friend of mine from boarding school. She's the photographer I told you guys about!” Severina introduced. “Hello everyone! It is an absolute pleasure to meet you all!” Catherine bowed. ” Severina introduced. “Hello everyone! It is an absolute pleasure to meet you all!” Catherine bowed.

The photoshoot took several hours, and took place at various locations within the castle grounds. Lynne insisted on at least one family shot with Sam and Alana, and one with Sam, Alana, Severina, Ravenna, Ken, Nathaniel, and Viktor. “This is odd. I don't quite know the anime, but those characters aren't actually family, aren't they?” Catarina asked, curiously. “Not exactly... I mean, Queen Serenity, Princess Serenity, and Small Lady Serenity are three generations of lunar royalty, and Prince Endymion is Princess Serenity's husband and Sailor Chibi Moon's father... But, this shot isn't about the show's family. It's about their family.” Lyra explained. “Oh. That's sweet!” Catarina smiled. Alana insisted each “couple” got their own picture. Viktor wasn't too happy that his couldn't be with Alana, but he didn't mind posing with Severina. Kentin was very happy to have a romantic pose with Sam. "Nephrite and Jupiter look so fantastic!" Renee cheered. “Are you kidding? I've been wanting to do this set for a long time!” Sam beamed. “My favorite part of all of this. I hate this wig, but being your knight is worth it.” Ken mused as he looked at Sam lovingly. "This is awkward." Derek rolled his eyes when he and Renee had their turn. "Oh grow up!" Renee snapped. "Derek... You know what happens when Renee gets mad!" Alana laughed. “Yeah... She gets pretty scary.” Derek sighed. Everyone laughed as Renee forced Derek into a somewhat romantic pose. "But this is so awkward!" Derek whined. "Just do it!" Renee demanded. When their part of the shoot ended, Derek sat down and shot back a bottle of water. “That was weird. "Lyra, Armin, you're up!" Alana cheered. “Now this will be interesting! ” Ken chuckled. “And in Dragon Ball references Armin! Toei may own both franchises, but now is not the time to try to mix the two!” Sam ordered. “Awe come on! That takes part of the fun out of it!” Armin whined. “Armin, if we were doing a smaller photoshoot, I wouldn't mind a few “fun” shots. So please be more serious.” Alana urgent. "Fine." Armin sighed as he and Lyra took their places in front of the camera. 

“God that was exhausting! Who'd have thought that Cosplay would be THAT much work?” Nathaniel whined he crashed onto the living room couch at Death's Domain. "If you had cosplayed as the Winter Soldier when Armin and I cosplayed as Captain America and Black Widow at that Marvel Exhibition in High School, you would have known, first hand, A LOT sooner!" Alana shot as she crashed down next to him. "You still won't let me live that down?" He asked. "Nope." She chuckled. "Why not?" He asked. “Because Armin and I worked our asses off to do our characters justice and we were hoping you would join in on the fun. Especially considering how Natasha and Bucky get together in the comics several times, so it would have been a cute “couple's cosplay” for you and me. Not to mention how cosplay is more than just “wearing a costume”. When someone properly cosplays, they also wish to play the character, even for just a day. They temporarily escape reality and enter the one the character they're cosplaying as resides in. Weeks, months, and even years are spent building props and even hand making the items and outfits. There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears that go into it!” She explained. "I know you and Armin love it, but I don't think I could do it as often as you want to." Nathaniel sighed. “I get that. Its not for everybody. But, I'm thankful you did it for me.” Alana Mused. “I love you Alana. You always do so much for me... And it has been a long time since I've been the "prince" to your "princess." He grinned. "And I'm sure rubbing it Viktor's face added to your enjoyment.” She chuckled. "That did make it a bit more fun." He smirked. "I really wish you wouldn't antagonize him." She sighed. over you and find someone else. It's the same with Castiel. You're not going to be with him, so he needs to quit pining." He shot. "Yes, but with Castiel, you two have reached a mutual agreement, and he has angered me in such a way that I spat that truth with him." She chimed in. "Which makes the situation with Viktor worse. had your family and Severina telling him for years... Yet he insists." He huffed as he rolled his eyes. "Despite that, he is still one of my best and oldest friends. We were raised together and are still like family. Can you at least try to play nice with him?" She requested. Nathaniel looked at her annoyed. "Please! Pretty please! My sweet Endymion…” Alana begged as she playfully batted her eyes. He thought for a minute and exhaled. “Fine. ” He sighed. "Thank you." She mused. “But if he oversteps the boundaries that you and I put in place, I won't be so kind.” He stated. She cuddled up next to him and kissed his cheek. "I love you Nathaniel." She cooed. He put his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "I love you too Alana."

★

Several weeks later, after the images from the photoshoot had been posted and gone viral, an idea came to Severina's mind. She turned to Alana and Sam and smiled. "What?" Sam asked. “What if we did a cosplay concert?!” Severina cheered. “Nope. I'm not singing.” Alana stated. “PLEASE! We could choose a song from Sailor Moon and singing it at a convention!” Severina urged. “Really? What song would we even do?” Sam asked. “What about “Moon Effect”? It's sung by all of the scouts!” Severina cheered. “Please no. I don't sing.” Alana begged. "But, you wouldn't be alone... And we can't do it without our Sailor Moon!" Sam sneered. “Honey... You're such a beautiful singer! Please!!!!” Severina pleaded. “No…” Alana muttered. “Damn it Mels! Just do it! We all know that you sing when you're alone! On top of that, Nath, Rini, Viktor, Mom and I have all been telling you for years that we all think your singing is beautiful! So, just do it!” Sam snapped. "Don't forget how your teammates think so too." Severina added. Alana thought for a few minutes and huffed. “Fine. I'll do it.” She sighed. “Huzzah! Let's do it at Comic Con!” Sam cheered. "No! That’s too big a venue!" Alana pleaded "That's why it should be done there! You'll get over your stage fright on one of the biggest stages on the Convention Circuit!" Sam explained. "My babies singing a Sailor Moon song in full cosplay? I'd love to help you with it!" Lynne cheered as she walked up to them. "Fantastic! We'll make it a family project!" Severina smiled. Alana looked around at the other women, thought for a few minutes, sighed, and sheepishly grinned. “I guess the Roster Family women are putting on a show!”

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

Words cannot describe how badly I've wanted to write something Sailor Moon related to my story... 

Sailor Moon means a lot to me... It was my mom’s and my “thing”. No matter how much we fought, argued, and went at each other’s throats, we always bonded over the series. The first and last time I watched it in it’s entirety was with her just before her disease started taking its hold. She was the one who got me my first bits of merch, who was always happy to talk to me about it. The last Christmas gift I got her was a blanket with all the scouts on it, and she gave me plushies of Luna and Artemis. When mom died, Sailor Moon came to mean so much more to me. My aunt made me pendants with her ashes in them that look like the Legendary Silver Crystal, I got Pluto’s Garnet Rod tattooed on my back, and I became more adamant about collecting items. Each time I get a new item, I feel closer to her... There are times where I’ll even burst into tears because of Sailor Moon making me think of her....

Yes, I used the character sprite of Nathaniel that I edited from the Dark Chocolate Steward to make him look more like Endymion. I made his hair black, and edited his rings and earrings out.

Little tip... The bit about Adonis won't make sense unless you've read the Codename Sailor V manga.... If you’re not in the mood to read it, Adonis was a lowly Venusian soldier who was in love with his princess (Venus). Venus fell in love with Kunzite instead of him. He found her on Earth and cursed her to never be able to have love again, thus freeing more of her time up to focus on her duty as the leader of Princess Serenity’s Sailor Guardians.

This was originally going to be a Valentine's Day special for 2020. Then 2020 became the dumpster fire that it was and my real life needed more of my attention....

The majority of this does take place during the first year between University Life and Love Life. Before Nath and Alana go on their globe trotting adventure. The flashback section takes place at various points in time.

Credit goes to:

Naoko Takeuchi for Sailor Moon

@candysweetposts for the Princess Serenity Pack (seriously, thank you for going through with my request!)

@chinomiko and Beemoov for My Candy Love

[kessielrg]

[Kingdom Hearts] Messenger Chirithy

Summary: In which two Chirithy play messenger pigeon for their respective Keyblade wielders. Why? Because Gummiphones are supposed to be turned off during lessons, obviously. [VentusxOC][nonbinary Chirithy][post-Lost Lights]

Rating: K

Word Count: 1,517 words

If you liked this story, please reblog!

---

Ven let out a long, annoyed sigh. The teen took a glance up at his friends, Terra and Aqua, as Aqua used Terra to move things around the training room. You would think that by now, Ven wouldn’t have to do the reading and writing portion of Keyblade training anymore. He was just as experienced as his friends. (Maybe even more if Chirithy would admit to it.) This kind of stuff was made for newer wielders like Kairi and Lea. If Ven kept reading about the ingredients to synthesis a Dream Eater, he was going to start crying tears of boredom.

“Chin up, Ven!” Chirithy happily declared, hopping into view to distract its wielder. “You still have about three pages to go, then you’ll have a fast quiz after.”

That only made Ven groan. Terra and Aqua didn’t even bother to turn around. Rude.

“Kairi’s not doing reading work today.” Ven whined. “And who knows what Lea’s doing today. Not training. Not when Roxas and Xion are starting school in Twilight Town.”

Ven let out another groan as he rubbed his face with his hands. He looked at his Chirithy with an increasing hopelessness.

“Do you think Aqua has Sabrina doing reading and writing stuff too? Maybe I could ask her.”

Chirithy crossed their arms, casting a skeptical look at its wielder. “Good idea- spare for one thing. No Gummiphones while training.”

“This isn’t training.” Ven spat. “This is reading. It’s worse.”

“Still training!” Chirithy replied in a sing-song voice. But still, it could tell how bored Ven was. Chirithy sighed. “You know,” it started to suggest, “If you write a letter to her, then Aqua might think that you’re taking notes instead.”

Ven looked at his Chirithy. His eyes grew wide at the prospect. Then, in the least conspicuous way possible, Ventus started to shuffle through his books for a blank piece of paper. Chirithy looked on with mild curiosity as Ven wrote a single sentence.

‘Is Aqua making you study Dream Eaters too?’

Biting his lip, Ven carefully folded the paper into three times before handing it to Chirithy.

“Here.” he said with a grin. Chirithy just looked at him.

“That’s it? Just a sentence?”

Ventus recoiled a bit. “Why?” the teen asked in genuine confusion. “What else could I say?”

“It’s still a letter, Ven. I say you gotta give it a little more meat. Otherwise, you might as well try to snag your Gummiphone from Terra and just text her.”

Ven glanced over at Terra, flinched, then looked back at Chirithy. “Alright,” he agreed. “We’ll write Sabrina a real letter. It would still be a break from all this reading.”

“There ya go!” Chirithy agreed with a grin. Ven gave the Dream Eater a firm nod before scratching out his old sentence, then writing something much longer. He just hoped Sabrina would like it.

. . .

Sabrina paced around her room as she read over the danger of Nightmares. On her bed, two bunny children were acting out a rather heated fight. One of the bunnies ended up the victor, while the loser pretended to be dramatically dying. If you felt like listening close enough, you would have sworn that the winner of the battle mentioned something about having ice cream with someone. Even a few Guardians felt like playing along- hanging around the ‘dying’ bunny kid like crystals rising into the air. But Sabrina wasn’t paying attention; her focus was too razor-sharp to even register the theatrics on her bed at the moment.

She wasn’t even paying that much attention when Chirithy appeared at the foot of her bed.

“I have a letter for you!” Chirithy declared.

Sabrina stopped her pacing with a blink. She looked at Chirithy, then raised a skeptic eyebrow.

“From who?” she asked.

“Ven. Apparently.”

“Apparently?”

“His Chirithy said that he didn’t want to study.”

“Yeah, sounds about right.” Sabrina snorted as she took the letter from the Dream Eater. The smirk she had as she read through the letter slowly started to become a look of horror.

“Oh no.”

“What?”

“Remind me to tell Aqua to teach Ventus how to write a proper letter.” Sabrina said as she sat on the bed, allowing both Chirithy and the bunny children to read over the letter as well. “This is… wow. Okay, then.”

Sabrina let out a snort as Chirithy looked at the letter.

“I think it’s sweet.” Chirithy hummed as it glanced up at Sabrina.

“And that’s exactly what’s wrong with it,” she decided as she got up. She set the letter down on her desk before going through the desk’s drawers. From one drawer she pulled out a rather fancy inkwell, and from another she pulled out a just as fancy ink pen. Sabrina sat down at her desk in preparation to write her return letter.

Chirithy hopped into the air to leave the bed, only to appear on top of Sabrina’s desk. The bunny children stayed on the bed, laying on their stomachs as they observed their big sis like they were watching TV instead. Sabrina got into a rather firm posture as her guided the pen across the paper. There was an art is calligraphy- one that she took with extreme pride in.

‘Ventus,

Who on earth taught you how to write a letter? That thing has to be the most disastrous piece of parchment I have yet to lay eyes on. Paragraphs are a thing- use them.’

“Ow. Harsh.” Chirithy noted.

“Oh, but dear Chirithy, I’ve got far more up my sleeve.” Sabrina replied with cunning grin.

“Now I’m scared.”

Both wielder and Chirithy looked at each other, then shared an equal grin before Sabrina continued to write.

. . .

A few hours later, Chirithy patiently waited at Yen Sid’s tower. The Dream Eater kicked its legs as it sat at the foot of the steps. Chirithy hummed a rather jaunty tune to itself, even moving its head from side to side with every half beat. Where had they heard that song? It wasn’t anything Ventus knew.

“Hey Chirithy!”

Chirithy looked up and smiled. Sabrina’s Chirithy was bounding up to Ven’s Chirithy with a new letter in its hand. Like all of Sabrina’s other letters, it was neatly placed inside an envelope with a personal seal embossed on the top left corner. (The first two letters she sent were actually sealed with wax. But in finding that she and Ventus would be sending far more letters to each other, she quickly did away with it for an envelope that could be used over and over again.) If Chirithy tried to breath in deep enough, it could get a whiff of lavender. At this point, it wasn’t sure if it was coming from the letter or the other Chirithy.

“Just in time, Chirithy!” Ven’s Chirithy greeted. It got up from the steps to meet Sabrina’s Chirithy halfway. The duo gave each other a respectful nod before the Chirithy exchanged the letter.

“Is this the last letter of tonight?” Ven’s Chirithy asked.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Sabrina’s Chirithy replied. It seemed a bit perplexed at the idea. “She’s taking this quite seriously. It’s almost something I’ve never seen out of her before.”

“Ven’s totally lost track of time too.” Chirithy nodded. “Lemme tell ya something, Chirithy. I did not expect her to scent her letters with perfume. It almost blew the whole operation up right then and there.”

“Trust me, you should have seen my surprise when she pulled out an actual inkwell.”

Chirithy jumped back in shock. “She uses real ink?!”

The other Chirithy just folded its arms and gave the first a rather hard stare. “When was the last time you saw a generic pen use purple ink that changes to green when you look at it a certain way?”

“Point taken.” Chirithy thoughtfully nodded. It thought about something for a moment, then gave a small chortle. “She’s so extra.”

“Yeah.” the second Chirithy agreed. It even stood a bit taller with pride. “But it’s only because she likes him.”

Ven’s Chirithy laughed. Not long after, the other Chirithy joined in as well. At this point, Sabrina’s silent admiration for Ventus was well known to both Chirithy. There were precious few things wielders could hide from their special Dream Eaters to begin with. Budding feelings for another wielder were definitely at the top of the list.

As their enjoyment faded somewhat, Sabrina’s Chirithy placed a hand by its head in thought. “I hope they don’t do this all night.” it mused. “This is kinda exhausting.”

“It is.” Chirithy sighed. It let out a thoughtful hum before asking, “Is she having fun?”

“Of course!” the other Chirithy happily nodded. “I haven’t seen her so interested in anything since Aqua’s first training lesson.”

“That’s good. Well, got to go. She’s really keeping Ven is suspense.”

“No doubt. See you again in about 10 minutes, Chirithy.”

“See ya, Chirithy.”

And with that, both Chirithy returned to their respective wielders. They didn’t know it yet- but it was going to be a long night as well.

[oristromboli]

If You Be Our Star, We’ll Be Your Sky | 5

Chapter 5: Offerings

After discovering the scroll's contents, the disciples following the God of Duality become the next destination.

Life is simply a series of fair exchanges and offerings to one another in devotion.

(Smut this chapter: none)

A distant voice starts to sing.

Six dear companions all still alive,

One lost his throne and then there were five.

 ---

 You inhale deeply as you tuck the three bottles against your chest with one arm. With the other, you bring your hand to make an emphatic fist. “Today has been. Rough. This had better be a fever dream.”

Childe whistles low, eyes scouring your frame that is now free from dirt, but still littered with scrapes from the Ruin Hunter. “Rough, huh? Did you remember to give a safe word?”

(Aether shushes Paimon’s quiet question of what’s a safe word?)

You unfurl your fist to pinch two fingers together. “I am this close.”

He squints and leans forward, narrowing his eyes. “But your fingers are touching.”

Childe barely manages to dodge the rock you hurl at him.

 ---

 “So, on a scale of one to ten, how mad are you at me?”

You hum. “About an eight.”

Childe scoffs. “I can do better than that.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Aether grits, “But I believe we owe Paimon an apology.” His hands finish wrapping bandages around your forearm and you wince, noticing the gremlin still pouting with her back turned to you all.

After Childe side-stepped your stone and stood up in an attempt to placate you, you immediately took a swing at him. Of course, characteristic of your exhaustion and Childe’s nature, he side-stepped again and stuck out a foot. Which you tripped over. Which he laughed at. Which neither Zhongli nor Xiao stopped, assuming you could break the fall.

Of course.

This led you to tumbling and knocking over the remaining plates that had food on them, to Paimon’s shrieking horror. She held a dumpling to her chest and solemnly followed Zhongli’s gentle advice on a proper, er, funeral speech with a chorus of voices yelling behind her (in irritation from you, in please stop embarrassing me from Aether, in mockery from the king of clowns himself).

Xiao’s hand awkwardly pets her head as she refuses to look at you two.

“I paid for it,” you grumble and Childe snickers.

“Now you know how I feel.” You glare at him and elbow him before sighing, looking at Paimon.

“I’m… Sorry? Ow – “ Aether pinches your side and crosses his arms. Try again. “I’m very… Sorry. I’ll, uh… Your next meal is on me?”

She harrumphs.

“How about your next meals are on me? Breakfast included,” Childe says with a jovial tune, placing a hand on your shoulder. You shrug it off and ignore the feigned hurt look on his face as you cross your own arms. He chuckles quietly when you hold up eight fingers to him. “Uh, all your future meals are included?”

Paimon suddenly pirouettes and floats happily. “Okay! No backing out now with Zhongli here,” she chirps, and Childe manages to barely suppress the irritated twitch of his eyebrow.

“Damn leeches, the lot of you,” he murmurs. Sitting squarely between Aether and Childe, you notice how Paimon takes the liberty to sit on Xiao’s outstretched leg. Poor thing is unfortunately hoisted and promptly placed on Zhongli’s knee instead as he sits cross-legged. Without missing a beat, Zhongli begins petting her as well while the six of you sit in silence for a moment.

“Okay, so did I miss anything important?” you suddenly say, turning to Childe on your left. He raises an eyebrow at you in stage confusion and smirks.

“Like missing the mark on hitting me?”

“What are you doing here, Childe?”

Even your own soft tone catches you off-guard and Childe’s eyes widen for a brief second before he schools a look of casual neutrality. Another voice cuts through the air.

“You’re here to observe, are you not?” Xiao interjects. Childe groans and rolls his head to the side, blinking his eyelashes up innocently towards the adeptus with a plastic laugh.

“Aw, am I that obvious? If even spear-up-his-ass can read me, then I really must be losing my touch.”

Aether smiles and reaches behind you to lightly punch Childe’s arms, but you saw how Aether’s own lips pulled slightly too tight. Even he’s on guard. Centuries together allow you to catch these little ticks that others thankfully miss. “It’s gotta be that, with the way we’ve been tearing through Fatui strongholds.”

Childe smirks back at Aether with a dangerous glint in his eye. “Yeah, you’re lucky they sent me and not somebody much worse. I actually like you all.”

Whether or not Aether also heard the sincerity in his voice, he spares Childe the momentary embarrassment and continues with a jab without missing a beat. “Sucks that you’re sent back here, I know how much you like to travel.”

Childe sighs and casually sits back, leaning on both of his hands. The night has long fallen, but the blanket of stars and warm glow from Liyue Harbor nearby is enough to illuminate his boyish face with practiced tranquility.

“The Tsaritsa is pissed. Normally she wouldn’t care since she has her Gnosis, but… She wants to keep tabs on your movements. You’ve already stirred up trouble in Mondstadt and Liyue, can’t have it spreading elsewhere. So, I got placed on janitor duty after failing to obtain the Geo Gnosis.”

“I know.”

All eyes turn on you as you flick your own to the thick journal hanging on your belt buckle.

You miss Childe’s eyes narrowing at the book.

(You miss how Childe’s mouth parts at the starconch dangling along its pages.)

“I read those reports in the camps, but… I didn’t think it was worth mentioning to the others. The Fatui are trying to juggle too many priorities so they’re always a step behind us. If we appear in Dragonspine, they write it down after we show up in Springvale. According to some letters, the official solution was to send a Harbinger to try and boost morale, but that seemed too far-fetched at the time. The Eleven aren’t glorified bureaucrats meant to watch over a region.”

Too simple. Too easy. If they wanted to kill you, they would not have sent just one. Something’s not right.

“Pretty bird, you asked me why I’m here while already knowing the answer? I’m proud. You’d make a fine Fatui spy,” he grins as your eyes roll to the back of your head. Childe hums and continues with an innocuous question. “Kind of interesting how quickly you travel, huh? My men just can’t seem to figure it out.”

It’s a trap, yet with the way Aether’s breath hitches lightly, only you and he caught it. All parties present are among the few who know of your abilities to manipulate the mysterious waypoints.

The thing is, there isn’t actually some… Grand secret. You just simply could. The Tsaritsa didn’t need to know your own lack of competence – and you sincerely doubt she would believe you two anyway.

You sense Aether’s attention shift to your presence rather than see it. Both of you must give credit where credit’s due to Childe: play the fool when you are the one fooling everyone else. As you must fulfill your duties, Childe must fulfill his.

Unfortunately for him, the two of you have been a part of this dance for centuries with countless companions asking similar questions. Always fishing for information, always trying to step over those careful lines that Lumine was the first to draw for safety.

“Yeah! Paimon’s seen the way they interact with the old technology here. It’s super confusing!”

“Oh?” comes the amused reply as Childe leans forward. There, there it is again. Those lifeless eyes. “And how do you suppose you all manage that?”

Aether is the first to interrupt. “We don’t know. Paimon is in as much of the dark as we are.”

You slowly move your hand to nudge Aether’s in a moment of gratitude to speak in your stead. He doesn’t look your way, but you feel a soft touch back.

This time, Childe meets your eyes, though something unnerves you in the scrutiny you’re placed under. “Is that so…” he murmurs before throwing his head back in a loud laugh. He places both hands behind his head. “Ah well! Mysteries galore, never a dull moment with you all. Not too upset about being back if my nights are gonna be fun like this.”

“Childe,” Zhongli says for the first time, smiling as his voice pitches deeper like he’s taking part in some conspiracy. “Are you implying… You enjoy Liyue?”

“What can I say,” he grins, “I enjoy the people.”

Xiao grunts. “Give it time.”

“But why did they send you? You’re not the spying type, you’re…” One of your hands gesticulates wildly to Childe’s form. “You’re a fighter.”

“Because I’m already close to you all,” comes the shockingly quick reply. You blink. Childe blinks.

You both blink.

“Signora would set off more alarm bells, wouldn’t it?” he teases, immediately breaking the tension.

“This settles it, then,” Zhongli says, crossing his arms and closing his eyes in contemplation. “I see a wonderful opportunity to appease all parties involved in their respective endeavors.”

You frown as you notice the knowing glance passed between Childe and Zhongli but opt to ignore it.

“I propose,” he continues, looking between you, Aether, and Childe, “that since Xiao and I have no dealings with mortal quarrels, we will officially remain out of your affairs. However, Childe is here to alert the Cryo Archon of your dealings to stifle any further disruptions. You will feed him information about your travels where relevant – and, of course, I will help in an unofficial capacity where possible. In return, you stop rampaging Fatui encampments and endangering the tentative peace found within Liyue after Osial. Relations between the Fatui and the Qixing are stressed as is.”

Aether clicks his tongue as he frowns. “This feels like a very easy solution, and nothing is ever easy. What’s the catch here?”

Childe shrugs as he smiles back to Aether. “Don’t be surprised if I’m ordered to do something very messy?”

“Indeed, matters of the battlefield are no easy proceedings,” Zhongli muses. “The machine of war requires all cogs to be functioning and efficient. Make no mistake, the Tsaritsa’s plans are never granular with flaw. This is a skirmish she intends to win, and I doubt she will allow you to meet the Archons before she acquires their Gnoses, if at all. Appease and abate her curiosity for now. It will spare the land from being watered with blood once again.”

Childe raises an eyebrow as he tuts. “Dear Zhongli, for a former God of War, you sure are awfully transparent about tricking the Tsaritsa in front of a Fatui Harbinger. Does my title mean nothing to you?”

“On the contrary,” you counter before Zhongli can respond. “It’s because it’s you that this might work. You can either accept this ultimatum and make it easy, or we drag a lot more unnecessary innocents into this situation with drawn-out fights across two regions. Wouldn’t want the other Harbingers to come and steal the spotlight again, right?”

You meet his ocean blue eyes again, hoping your gamble on his distaste for the other Harbingers pays off. There has to be a reason it was only one Harbinger sent, it was only him and not someone else.

“Because it’s me, huh?” Something… Something suddenly flashes across his face as the corners around his eyes crinkle briefly. Just as quickly, it disappears. Good grief, you think you’re going to get whiplash with the speed of his changing expressions.

Though, to be honest, you’re the one to blame because you’re certain nobody else pays as much attention to his face as you do. Stars know that Aether sure doesn’t.

Childe tosses a smirk to Zhongli. “A really stupid decision. This will make my job easier, though, and for once I get to keep the damn glory. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you if it comes down to it.”

Zhongli smiles back. “I sincerely doubt it will.”

After that, banter flows easy between all of you as you catch up on your days with somewhat strained ease.

(“I’m not reliving my day sober,” you say as you take a long swig from one of the bottles you bought, feeling Zhongli’s heated gaze on the bob of your throat. Another night, you promise yourself.

“Neither am I,” Childe grunts as he swipes a bottle and joins you.)

You never mention the contents of the scroll, and thankfully, neither does Paimon. You’ll have more time for that after you get wasted.

At some point, Paimon dismounts from Zhongli to sit comfortable on the picnic blanket as he switches places with Aether so that the blonde is next to Xiao.

You don’t miss how the two lean close to one another, or how Xiao’s shoulders seem to relax slightly after the change. Zhongli is flanking your right while Childe is on your left and everyone is sharing in the bottles. Despite the growing comfort that blankets everyone as the night marches on, you feel creeping tendrils of doubt weave into your gut.

And promptly short-circuits every time Childe brushes against your thighs lightly. You never meet his eyes each time, though you both know how quickly you straighten your posture in response.

This is… Okay. Tonight, everything is going to be okay. You shove those nasty feelings of suspicion deeper down, refusing them the chance to ruin a good thing.

Childe’s back. Surprising, but it’s… Good. You’re happy (?).

When you feel a slight nudge to your shoulder, you look up to meet the devil’s eyes as he smirks. At this distance, you can smell the faint aroma of alcohol emanating from him. “I know you’re still upset with how we left things off last time, pretty bird. Let’s try to mend this rift, yeah?”

Liquid courage, huh?

You swallow and grin back. “Only if you pay for the meals.”

“Just the meals? Wow, you are an easy date. Then, for the night, mind telling me your safe – “

More shouts erupt as you suddenly jump up, your wrists caught before they can wrap around his throat and Childe is just laughing at your alcohol-fueled attempt to fulfill your promise.

“Am I at a ten now?”

 ---

 Only much later would you and Aether look back on this moment with horror, realizing how dearly you underestimated the ambition of the Cryo Archon in her pursuit for dominion.

 ---

 Five dear companions stand together ashore,

One’s tossed to the depths and then there were four.

 ---

 So, to be fair, the time is now after. You’re wasted.

Okay. Remind sober future you to not… Not tempt the stars. Or fate. You sigh deeply as Paimon goes on a long-winded rant to the buzzed crowd about the scroll’s contents at Zhongli’s behest. Truly, truly you did not want to talk about the scroll, something about Childe’s sudden appearance made you feel… Uneasy.

Or maybe it was the alcohol talking. Time to repress your anxieties again.

You zoned out too much, because all eyes are on you expectantly and you’re at a loss. Thankfully, Aether motions to your journal in a fat hint as to why, so you grab the item to open it to the page you copied the scroll down and hand it to Zhongli.

He leans closer to Xiao so both adepti can peer at the pages. “This is…” Xiao starts, frowning as he continues reading. “I thought this was lost to time.”

“As did I,” Zhongli says. “What you have is a remnant from the God of Duality.”

“Jeez, we know!” Paimon sighs. “That’s what Paimon was talking about earlier!”

Zhongli chuckles softly. “Forgive me, friend, you are correct. What I mean to say, is that you have a map to the God of Duality’s disciples.”

“We know it’s a map! Paimon wants to know if there is treasure involved.”

“What is with you,” you hiss at her.

Xiao raises a lazy eyebrow. “What you have is treasure. Long ago, before the God of Duality gave up their own life willingly in pursuit of the ‘last knowledge’ beyond divine death, they left a series of maps to the mortals as a guide to find the adepti who dedicate their lives to the practice founded by the god. Think of it as like a Sigil of Permission, although should a mortal naturally stumble across their abodes, they are permitted all the same.”

“Indeed. Guizhong once worked with this god, although she was more interested in the… Practical and material application of her knowledge,” Zhongli supplies.

“So, like the ballista?” Childe replies. “But if she involved herself with the material application, then what was the god’s reasons? Spiritual?”

“Of a sort, but I can’t imagine the likes of you being privy to that,” Xiao says, scowling at Childe. Aether sighs and rubs his face.

“And you were doing so well…” he mumbles.

“You are close, but not quite. Think of it as the adepti version of mortal alchemy,” Zhongli continues, ignoring the petulant look Xiao gives him. “We all must deal in transactions and contracts, although for illuminated beasts, the nature of this can be taken a step further. However, even as the God of Contracts, I do not understand the true nature of this god’s power.”

“So,” you say, pursing your lips. “Can this be anything? Items, food, or even knowledge itself?”

“Yes, but you must first offer something worthy of it.” Xiao crosses his arms. “Mortals do not understand this. Most walk away cursing the adepti for tricking them, despite them willfully misinterpreting what exactly is demanded.”

“Indeed. For example, a man on the brink of starvation offering his first kill in a month to the adepti in exchange for knowledge on how to feed his family will be rewarded with the location of the finest hunting grounds, the best traps, and the means to make sure his family never suffers famine again.” Zhongli frowns and looks to Liyue Harbor. “However, if a rich man were to ask the same with the same offering, he will walk away with a plague set upon his crops and his cattle slain.”

“Ouch,” Childe says, inappropriately thrilled at the prospect. “Little harsh, don’t you think?”

“A curse for an insult,” Xiao growls. “The adepti arts are not meant for the quick and foul schemes of you humans.”

“Alright! I get it, you sanctimonious prick. You’re supposed to lick the boot, not deep-throat it,” Childe grumbles back as the alcohol loosens his words. “Something like that though would be useful for the Fatui. A leap of faith for the ol’ Liyue arts.”

“Careful Childe,” Zhongli says. “What you say may be taken literally by the god’s ways. They may indeed ask you to leap from a mountain top to prove your worth. Do you know what will happen then if you fail?”

“I’ll be home in time for breakfast?” Childe lazily responds.

“Your body will never be found.”

Silence descends before Paimon coughs a little too loudly. “Sheesh… So, can only humans ask them for favors?”

“No,” Zhongli says, looking to her. “Everyone may request something, though even gods can hesitate at their payment. I once made such a transaction myself for my weapon, Vortex Vanquisher, to be smithed and imbued with the divine ability to seal Osial.”

“Really?” Stars gather in Paimon’s eyes as she kicks excitedly. “But what did you offer in return, Mr. Zhongli?”

He only smiles, but you see how his gaze fades, looking past Paimon to a time long ago. “Enough.”

Childe frowns and takes the journal from Zhongli’s hands, inspecting it himself. “Huh. I don’t see any markings to the abodes though.”

“That is because you must first have an offering in hand and a will to see it through before the map will reveal itself,” Xiao says, harshly seizing the book before offering it back to you. You laugh and take it, reattaching it to your belt. “Find something to represent your question before you seek these disciples. They may ask more of you regardless.”

“More importantly, I am not sure that most of these locations still have the disciples. As time progressed, most have gone into hiding deeper into the mountains.” Zhongli hums as he puts a tentative hand to his chin, trying to summon memories of his subjects’ whereabouts.

“Yeah, Jueyun Karst, right?” Paimon asks.

“That is where the more formidable adepti reside. The others have retreated to the City of Ichor.”

At Paimon’s quizzical glance, Xiao adds simply, “The capital of adepti abodes.”

Everyone takes a moment to allow the information – surely forbidden to outsiders – to sink in.

You sigh before standing to stretch out. “Well, I don’t know about all of you, but this day’s been a lot for me. On that note, let’s call it a night, yeah? We can deal with this later.”

“We?” Childe laughs, standing up as well. “Are you inviting me along, pretty bird?”

“You are inviting yourself along, you free-loader,” Xiao says as he stands. Aether smiles as he’s offered a hand from the adeptus and is gently tugged up.

Childe closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, clearly mustering what little patience he has left. “For someone who can jump so high, you sure are terrible at catching jokes.”

“Anyway. If you can find something, then sure. All part of your job, right? Just don’t make me regret it,” you chuckle while Paimon floats up next to you, carrying the picnic blanket.

“Remember that I’m the lesser of the evils here, o mighty one,” Childe says as he smiles placidly and waves his hands mockingly to Xiao. Still… Something lurks in his eyes that pierces the warm alcoholic daze in your mind.

Childe feels real, feels present, but he seems too… Lucid, considering how much he drank. Like the scroll woke something up in him.

But of course it would, you reason with yourself, he’s a Harbinger serving Her Majesty. Who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity?

“One more warning,” Zhongli calls as he walks past everyone, beginning his own descent back to Liyue Harbor. “What you offer must be honest and from your own heart. You cannot seek someone else’s desires. It is an insult to send someone in your stead to bargain your own contract, so think carefully on what you ask, Childe – and for whom it truly is.”

Childe pauses and stares, a rare sight on his easy-going face, before he shakes his head and laughs. “Of course, of course,” he says, trailing after.

As you walk closer to Liyue, lagging behind the group while they converse amongst themselves, you can’t help the doubts gnawing at you once again at the idea of seeing these adepti.

And with the way Aether turns behind himself to look at you, he can’t either.

 ---

 “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” you say as you take another bite from your salad.  Aether nods while he refills Paimon’s cup with more tea, glancing at the journal on the table.

It’s been a least half a week since your last encounter with everyone, since your last encounter with…

You sigh, willing that thought away. This doesn’t escape Paimon’s notice as she frowns, placing a small hand atop yours.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, concern creasing her features.

“Just thinking you look better without all those worry lines.” You laugh when she smacks your hand.

“You know, the same can be said of you!” Paimon huffs before laughing too. “But… Seriously, what’s going on with you two?”

Aether looks at her before meeting your gaze. He puts down his cup to turn to Paimon again, trying to find the right words.

“Exploring isn’t the only reason why we travel,” Aether starts carefully. “We’re also looking for something. Or, well, I’m just helping her.” He chucks his thumb to you as you snort.

Paimon’s eyes light up as she smiles wide and bright. “Oh! Do you think the adepti can help you? Maybe Paimon can help too, as your official Teyvat tour guide.”

You chuckle slightly as you push the plate of remaining salad towards Paimon as a gift. “I hope so. You can finish this for me, by the way.”

Although Paimon grabs a fork and starts eating, you still catch the quiet complaint of misleading names and there’s nothing satisfying about this salad.

 ---

 “I do not understand.”

Zhongli pauses, placing a hand on his chin. “Xiao, I will not pretend that I know any more than you do. However, walking among Liyue’s people, I have found them to be consistent in their inconsistency. A tree, though verdant and in bloom, will change its colors before shedding its leaves entirely. This does not mean it will never again bear fruit. A bird will always come home when it flies, a flower will still be beautiful though its life is short. We must place our trust in these cycles of life and season.”

(A mantra, they both know, heard a thousand times. A poem. A plea of compassion for the mortals from she who rests with dust.

Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.)

Xiao purses his lips, growling to himself. He still does not see the meaning of peace in turbulent and unreliable things. “These humans are fickle. They can raze forests in their greed.”

“Yes, and they can plant new ones all the same.”

“But, my lor – “

“Don’t,” comes the warning noise from Zhongli. “I am that no longer, Xiao. Call me Zhongli. We are equals here, please.”

He maintains steady steps with Zhongli. He’s… Confused. Why did his mast – Zhongli allow Childe back so soon, so easily? “Do you truly trust that man?”

Zhongli nods. The two of them are walking along the shores bordering Liyue Harbor. Although Xiao won’t admit it, he’s been slowly allowing himself to drift closer and closer to the city. He looks to Zhongli when the other sighs, clearly understanding the reluctance swirling in Xiao’s mind. “My friend, you know Childe will not dare defy my contract.”

“But what about the Travelers? What of Aether?” Xiao cries suddenly, opening his arms. They’re getting closer still to the boats, and though Xiao slows his steps – with Zhongli slowing with him – they continue their march regardless. Liyue’s people remain far, though, as the younger adeptus was never fond of crowds. “Do you think Aether trusts him? Do you truly believe that – “

“I cannot and will not speak for Aether,” Zhongli interrupts, pausing in his steps. He holds up a single hand, motioning for Xiao to stop as well. “If you care for his opinions, why not ask yourself?”

“W-what? How can I even ask him when I don’t know where he is?”

Zhongli smiles and stretches his arm behind him. Xiao follows the motion and pauses, widening his eyes when he spots you, Aether, and Paimon conversing with Childe at the edges of the city. However brief the interaction was, as you all part, Aether turns and flashes a two-fingered salute to the Harbinger before walking away.

Xiao scowls and turns around. “I will question him later,” he mutters.

Zhongli simply laughs.

 ---

 (Xiao hates the doubt creeping into his mind. He has devoted time immemorial to his lord, would lay down his life thousands of times over should Zhongli ever ask. Xiao is who he is because of Zhongli, because he saw fit to save the life of one who was damned.

He hates the doubt creeping into his mind.

It is not because of the morality of this man, no, Xiao could care less. He has slain demons worse than the Harbinger. It is not because of the enigma of the travelers, for Xiao understands secrets intimately.

It is because Zhongli has held and kissed and cared about so many humans, yet… Spoke so easily of mortality, of cycles and seasons, of excitement coming from those who break the norm and are worthy to lie with a lithic god.

He hates the doubt whispering to him that Zhongli – glorious, wise, effervescent Zhongli – was wrong. That the all-knowing did not know what Xiao felt whenever he gazed upon Aether.

Guizhong nurtured flowers, but Morax possessed them.)

 ---

 Four dear companions see a mask donned with a growl so beastly,

One left for war and then there were three.

 ---

 “Aether…”

“Yeah?”

“I just realized something.”

“Hm?”

“We’re breaking one of Lumine’s rules. ‘Be mindful of the company you keep, with connections to enemies and friends alike – ‘ ”

“ ‘Don’t get attached and pay a price so steep, we must leave before the night.’ “

“What do we do? We…”

“I know. We’ll figure it out.”

 ---

 Three dear companions saw hands in the art she drew,

One could not escape their grip and then there were two.

 ---

 “Hi, Albedo! Long time no see!” you call to the blonde, waving merrily. The alchemist turns and smiles softly to you as you approach his table at the base of Dragonspine.

“Ah, Traveler, I didn’t expect to see you,” he replies politely, reticent as usual.

More days have passed, and both you and Aether agreed to split up in search of worthy offerings for the adepti. Briefly, you encountered Zhongli and Childe at Liuli Pavilion, though only stuck around long enough to discuss their respective choices in whether or not they decided to join your journey. Of course, they said yes.

Just as quickly, you turned on your heel, refusing to indulge the confused mixture of lust and irritation that quickly pooled at the small interaction. Get it together! Now isn’t the best time for that. Childe’s back, you’re pissed still, you’re mad at him.

You keep chanting these words to yourself in hopes of making it truth.

… He’s not bad looking.

Ugh.

Although you have an idea of what to give, you came to Dragonspine in hopes that the renowned alchemist can offer some insight.

“Yeah, I wanted to ask you a quick question, if you don’t mind?”

“Go on.” He puts down his papers, a clear indication to continue.

“I have something from my travels, and I’m wondering if the material can be transmuted. Err, I mean… Is it conducive to alchemical properties?” You hold out your hand and summon an iridescent mask. Although, you have to admit that calling it a ‘mask’ is loose at best, as there is no holes for eyes, just a cut out for a mouth. The mask shimmers in a cacophony of cosmological colors under the light on one side, resembling the abalone shells found along shorelines. There are almost no other features, making it a twisted mirror to the viewer. On the other, there is a matte blackness that reflects no light.

Albedo frowns and sticks out his hand, tentatively holding the object as you pass it along. As he turns it this way and that, mumbling observations under his breath, you can’t help but shift your weight from foot to foot in anticipation. You notice him pick up a scalpel to collect the smallest sliver of a sample and he places it on the alchemy table.

Stars, how long can he stare at the thing?

Eventually, Albedo turns to you (and ignores your sagging relief) to hand the item back. “I don’t know where you acquired such a fascinating specimen. Pray tell, where did you come across this?”

“Um,” you start, blinking widely. “Nowhere close to Dragonspine?”

He nods. “A shame. Perhaps I can find something similar one day.”

Not a chance, buddy. “So? What do you think?”

“The materials, though nearly as primordial and resilient as Liyue’s crystals, are extraordinarily organic in nature. This should be likewise conducive to any transmutational processes you wish to conduct. However, unlike inorganic objects, you cannot easily predict the outcome. Why do you ask?”

You nod as you hold the eyeless mask, staring into the blackness behind it.

“Just trying to figure something out for a ritual. Tricky thing has a mind of its own sometimes.”

It stares back.

 ---

 (You decide to find a new offering. This will reveal too many things, stir too many questions that you have no answers for.

It’s better that they don’t know. They can’t know.

Aether understands. He still remembers the day he met you.)

 ---

 As Childe walks along a bridge towards Wangshu Inn, he pauses to savor the idyllic landscape. The sun is setting steadily behind the inn, casting deep shadows all around him. “You know, where’s the honor in sneaking up on your opponent, hm?”

In a flash, he whips out his bow and fires a shot towards Xiao’s head. The Yaksha leaps gracefully and flips in the air, twisting his body so that he utilizes his weight in a downward thrust. Childe jumps back to avoid the shattering earth and smirks, rubbing his nose. “Show off.”

Gold eyes meet blue. Shit, Childe can practically see the air around him twist with hostility and Childe’s feeling like a kid in a candy shop. “I warned you that I will not spare you, human.”

“Good. Don’t you dare disappoint me,” he snarls before running towards Xiao. When the other sweeps his spear in an arc, Childe flips over the motion to swipe at his head with his own hydro spear. Xiao grunts and leans back, allowing the blade to graze his cheek as he twirls with the pole to regain balance.

Childe moves back to raise his bow and fire a literal rain of arrows upon the ground, but in the commotion, he nearly can’t keep up with his opponent’s speed as Xiao dances between each arrow fired. Xiao leaps again with fangs bared, aiming for the spot where Childe is perching before his instincts push him to dive out of the way.

Breaking his fall with a roll, Childe turns to see Xiao charging him. No better time to practice the moves he’s seen Zhongli employ in their rare outings to the wilderness.

Right as the adeptus thrusts his spear, Childe summons his blades to parry the movement with an upward cross, trapping the pole between two swords. When Xiao moves back to dodge the rounded kick to his side, Childe switches to a pole once again to thrust into the earth where Xiao’s feet dance out of the way.

Now or never. The Harbinger grunts as he shifts feet to kick the spear.

Neither graceful nor imperial like Zhongli’s, the action gets the job done regardless as it spins dangerously fast towards Xiao, releasing arcs of sharp water-like echoes across the air. Xiao dodges all of them, panting when he notices the water is fierce enough to cleave the stone near him in half. He stands straight, motioning his spear accusingly to Childe. “Where did you learn such a move?”

“Zhongli showed me his spear, of course,” Childe replies sweetly. With a shout for bloody murder, Xiao moves for the kill, but… Childe’s eyes flick to his right and he suddenly wills his blades away to stand straight, placing one hand in his pocket. He relaxes his figure and smiles leisurely.

Come on, take the bait you asshat.

Shy of stabbing Childe’s throat, Xiao’s spear halts as he hears it: children. Very fast, very young, and very loud children skipping closer to their battle. Xiao growls again as he releases his weapon, standing straight and crossing his arms. Neither break eye contact as the kids run past them with giggles when they hit each other with toy swords.

“Why are you here, scum?”

Childe buckles like he’s been shot with an arrow, leaning forward as he places a hand on his chest. “Oh! Oh! So mean, XiaoXiao.”

“Disrespectful little rat.”

“Ha. I’m here for the Travelers. Word has it that they were last seen around here.”

Xiao scoffs and looks away. “You are too late, they left long ago.”

“Oh?” Childe steps closer to the adeptus and slowly leans forward, plucking a single golden strand of hair from Xiao’s shoulder. He stiffens as he glares at the Fatui, who shakes his head like he caught a child with their hand in the cookie jar. “You know, I really hate liars,” Childe sighs.

He side-steps the adeptus to continue his languid walk to Wangshu Inn, humming a traditional Snezhnayan song all the while.

“You sound horrible,” comes the crabby voice behind him.

“Sheesh, so wound up. Do me a favor and either go fuck yourself or go fuck someo - ”

Once again, Childe barely manages to dodge a rock hurled at his head.

 ---

 “Hey! Aether buddy!” Childe cries, opening his arms when he spies the blonde. Aether turns and laughs, waving to the enthusiastic Harbinger.

“What are you doing all the way out here?” he says, smiling as bright as the sun when he spots Xiao behind him. “Xiao! You two didn’t fight each other?”

“Uh – “

“Dear XiaoXiao and I? Now, who do you think we are?” Childe pouts. Paimon squints and flies up to Xiao, giggling as she spies a crimson cut across the other’s cheek that is purposefully hidden behind bangs.

“Paimon thinks that they did,” she says in a sing-song tone. Aether gasps as he runs over, fussing over the deep wound much to adeptus’ chagrin. Still, Childe notices the slight blush creeping up his face. What a bunch of lovesick idiots.

“Good grief,” Childe mutters, rolling his eyes. Paimon looks just as unimpressed as he felt. “Is this a regular thing, stir-fry? I’m about to puke.”

“First of all, Paimon is not stir-fry! And secondly, it kind of is,” she sighs, rubbing her temples. “Paimon doesn’t get how they haven’t figured it out yet, but Paimon doesn’t want to just tell them.”

“Yeah, they’d never believe you, they’re trying too hard.”

“What’re you doing here anyway, Wallet?”

“Oh, I’m looking for – Wait. What d’you mean ‘Wallet’?” Childe scoffs, glaring at Paimon. He groans, pinching the bridge of his nose as he suppresses the very real and very loud urge to commit homicide. It’s illegal here, stop it, too many people, you can kill her later. “If you’re going to embarrass me like that, at least avoid doing it in front of the Fatui underlings. I still have a reputation to maintain.”

Paimon hums and holds out her hand.

Is she serious?

She makes a ‘gimme’ motion.

Is she fucking serious?

“Promises, promises. Remember that night with Mr. Zhongli?”

Childe releases a string of filthy Snezhnayan curses as he grabs a small bag of Mora to hand over from his own knapsack. “I am on a budget, you know. Not that you’d understand, you bottomless pit. Will this be enough to cover your next meals, m’lady?”

“Yep. You may leave, Mr. Wallet,” she say solemnly, raising her head as she motions for him to make his exit before breaking out into a smug fit of laughter.

Oh. That’s it. Legality be damned, he’s going to kill her –

“Xiao told me you were looking for us?” Aether calls. Childe blinks quickly, before nodding and repeats your name, all thoughts of murder pushed to the back of his mind. For now, anyway.

“Where is she? Thought little birdie would be here.”

“Oh, she’s still in Dragonspine, though I think she mentioned staying for the night before leaving. She should be back first thing tomorrow. Come with us to dinner?”

“Aether, no – “

“I would be delighted. Right, XiaoXiao?” Childe grins, opening one arm to allow the blonde to lead the way. “Team building and all of that.”

“Please? At least get along on the upcoming trip?” Aether smiles at Xiao, pleading with his eyes in that certain way that makes Xiao’s heart race again. He grumbles and allows the other to lead them towards the tables.

Xiao turns around and puffs with irritation at Childe’s entertained gaze.

The Fatui makes a heart symbol with his fingers. Asshole.

 ---

 “You know Aether, had Lord Rex – “

“It’s Zhongli now, remember?”

“Yes, you’re right. Had I known he would have found someone so capable, even to the adepti, I would have hoped to see you fight sooner.”

“Aw, now you sound like you’re about to ask me for a favor too, Xiao.”

Xiao’s lips barely turn upward, soft and slow. “You dare assume I need help?”

Aether pouts slightly. “No. Just wanted to offer anyway. And you were being so nice, ha.”

“… Shall I practice my flattery for your next visit, then? With any luck, I will be better.”

Aether laughs and leans a bit closer. Some time passes before he speaks again.

“Xiao, have you ever been beyond the borders of Liyue?”

Xiao raises an eyebrow as he looks to his right and stops, losing his breath. Aether is… Aether is radiant under the moonlight. More than that, truly. The strands of golden hair billow softly in the wind, catching the light from the lanterns all around them. And… He’s smiling so earnestly, so sweetly and golden.

The ginkgo tree behind Aether sways.

“Why do you ask?”

Aether leans back, kicking his legs as they hang over the balcony. “Well, ever since you accepted the contract to defend Liyue, have you ever been given a chance to leave? Will you leave now that ‘Rex Lapis’ is gone? The people here are capable of defending themselves.”

Xiao sighs and looks back to the horizon. “I do not know,” he mutters. “I… I do not remember if I have left Liyue. Before I came to serve under Zhongli, I served another, but my memories during those days slip through my fingers. There are flashes. It…” Hurts.

Aether understands. He scoots closer again, delicately placing a few fingers over Xiao’s. When Xiao flinches slightly, Aether starts to withdraw before his hand is grabbed. He allows himself to be pulled back gently. Though his heart beats against his chest, Aether feels more at ease than he has for a long time.

“I want to take you. We should go someday,” Aether says quietly.

“Where?”

“Somewhere. Anywhere. If I call your name, you’ll come, right?”

“Yes. If you want to see me…” He dares a glance at Aether.

“Xiao.”

They stay like that for a time. Xiao decides that night that honey is better than almond tofu.

Aether decides to make a list of places to go.

 ---

 A young Snezhnayan boy, surrounded by many others of his ilk, recites his oath before the feet of the Tsaritsa with glee. His blood rushes to his ears as he kneels at her feet. Tartaglia is his name now, his duty, his purpose. The ice-tipped sword digging into his shoulder as he echoes and affirms his vows only fuel his determination to serve his beloved goddess.

Yet, when he rises, he is no longer in the throne room. He is standing on a cliffside watching the venerated Tsaritsa dangle a woman over a yawning ravine by her throat with the other Harbingers bearing witness beside him. The woman is struggling, clawing at the goddess’ forearms and whimpers, “Your Majesty! Please! Give me another chance! My love - ”

Once, he stood as the Twelfth Harbinger.

Now, as the Tsaritsa releases her hold, he stands as the Eleventh.

His eyes steadily follow Columbina’s shrieking fall into the Abyss. Traitor.

The Tsaritsa turns her steely gaze to the audience presented, meeting each of their eyes. “Ice, once fractured, requires a sacrifice to seal it once more. We cannot allow weakness in our ranks.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the Harbingers respond in unison. However, when Tartaglia blinks, the scene starts to replay once more.

Except this time, instead of Columbina, the Tsaritsa is holding –

No. No no no no no!

 ---

 Childe sits up, sweat beading along his skin and temptingly close to emptying his stomach. He closes his eyes and flexes his hands, willing water to slowly coalesce in his grip without bothering to look at the other entity in the room.

“If you get off on watching people sleep, you could’ve wined and dined me first,” he grumbles, joke falling flat.

“I thought I already did." Childe looks to see Xiao casually sitting in his windowsill, one leg hanging off the side. However, the adeptus isn’t looking at him but at the moon rising. “Who is Teucer?”

“How,” Childe rasps. He didn’t realize until then how dry his throat is. “How do you know that name?”

“You were screaming it.”

Chidle doesn’t respond but releases his hand, allowing the water to evaporate once more. He groans and leans his head back, hitting the headboard with a dull thunk. Some time passes, though neither seem eager to break the silence.

“Why do you serve her?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why. Do you. Serve her?” Xiao repeats, slow but forceful. “You’ve seen what the Fatui are capable of.”

Childe narrows his eyes at Xiao’s back, irritation slowly growing in him again. “You’re lecturing me? You who fought in the Archon War? Give me a break. I may be just a human to you, but… You know what happened to Khaenri’ah.”

It’s not a secret among the Harbingers and the highest officers where Snezhnaya inherited most of its technology nor what happened to the ancient empire. One of the many missions of the Dottore involved researching the ancient factories producing Ruin Guards, after all.

To the Snezhnayans, though, the Fatui are paragons of virtue for humanity against the Abyss and they remain blissfully ignorant to the true reasons behind Khaenri’ah’s fall.

“The Tsaritsa is leading us to become the strongest nation.”

“That is what she tells them,” Xiao replies. “Why do you serve her?”

“You think I want my motherland wiped off the maps because we are willing to do anything, anything, to survive the cold? To make the lives of our poorest easier? To feed the empty bellies when winter comes? The Tsaritsa is helping all of us in Teyvat, you ungrateful bastard. She’s making sure that we can thrive as people, not as pets to Celestia. Once she frees us, we’ll all be safer in a new era.”

Xiao makes a sound vaguely like a laugh – a pitying laugh, Childe notes – and stands. He never turns around as he sighs. “You believe that the gods aren’t pets too? That she’ll just forget? Remember that it took seven Archons to condemn the fallen nation, not six. Celestia’s seat will not remain uninhabited forever.”

He then leaps and Childe watches Xiao’s departure before huffing to himself. Good riddance. The gall of this adeptus to enter his room and then act like he’s on the moral high ground? What a self-righteous prick.

Sighing, Childe slides back to bed and pulls the covers over himself again. His knuckles go white as he grips his sheets, remembering how easily the Tsaritsa tossed her mortal lover aside.

One day, he will crush the thrones of the gods.

“I know.”

 ---

 Dreams come more frequently for Ajax now. He wonders if he will ever hear those voices from the first night again.

 ---

 Aether and Childe are eating their breakfast together, idly chatting over upcoming plans. When the blonde begins stripping his scarf to avoid stains, Childe whistles long and low.

“Careful comrade, the world will explode on itself if you take any more off. I fear what seeing your collarbone will do to the common folk.”

Aether laughs and rolls his eyes before stabbing at his meal. “So, you got an offering yet?”

“Mm? Oh yeah. Definitely.”

“… No you don’t.”

“No I don’t.”

He sighs and leans forward, staring at Childe intently. “I know that you’re going to ask for more power, but the question is, what’s worth that? You already have the heretical teachings from the Abyss, the Delusion, the Vision…”

Childe pretends to be hurt as he waggles his eyebrows. “Comrade! You can never truly know what I have up my sleeve.”

“Well… What about a toy?”

That sends Childe reeling. “A toy? Why a toy?”

“You said it yourself, you defend childhood dreams, right?” Aether’s voice is soft, but he doesn’t look at Childe in an attempt to allow privacy for the Harbinger. “That’s why you fight. So give them a toy.”

There’s a pregnant pause before Childe laughs again, charming and familiar, but there’s an overtone of sincerity. “Ah, maybe you do know what’s up my sleeve.”

“Careful Childe,” Aether responds, eyes twinkling. “I fear what seeing your arms will do to the common folk.”

“Aw, they would love it!” he grins, flexing both of his arms upwards in a show of mock strength. “Maybe I can just offer those adepti the adoration from my fans.”

Aether snorts. “Call it a hunch, but love and adoration might be two different things.”

“Yeah,” Childe replies, digging back into his food. ���Besides, I think my biggest fan’s love is the only one that matters.”

His companion raises an eyebrow, but says nothing when he sees the rare expression of peace on the Harbinger for Teucer.

Aether wishes Lumine could see it too.

 ---

 Two dear companions saw a blonde figure run,

One chased to the end and then there was one.

 ---

 Gods… What did you do to piss off the stars? Truly? There must be some sort of karmic balance in play. Life just saw you having a good morning and decided hey, it’s been too long since she’s had something bad happen!

You’re definitely cursed.

You groan as you roll onto your side, ignoring Childe’s own pained moans. When you were walking up the steps to Wansgshu Inn – true to his damned codename – the immature Harbinger thought it would be hilarious to hug you from behind to surprise you.

Which was a bad idea because you suddenly grabbed him in response. Which had you both losing your balance. Which made you tumble to the bottom of the steps together.

Of fucking course.

“Ha, did you – ugh – fall from Celestia babe? Because coming down those steps, you – “

“Childe, I’m giving you three seconds to shut up.”

“Right.”

When you both sit up, you stare at each other for a long moment before you sigh, fighting back a grin. “Alright, what’re you doing here?”

Childe pouts and stands up, offering you a hand to help you up.

You ignore how familiar it felt, how nice that he dusted the dirt off your back while holding you tight.

“Pretty bird’s been avoiding me. Can you blame me if I go hunting?” he whines.

“I have not! I’ve been looking for something to trade and you should be doing the same.”

“Oh, that? Pfft, I got that covered.”

Raising an eyebrow, you cock a hip out as you stare. He only nods enthusiastically and rolls back and forth on his feet. “Aether told me you might need help completing a commission? There’s one nearby if I recall correctly. We’re all meeting up again later tonight to discuss the next steps anyway, can’t hurt to have your loyal comrade along!”

Shaking your head, you two meet up with the others at the inn to discuss the day’s plans before setting out on your journeys. Shockingly, fewer insults – though no less scathing - pass between Xiao and Childe than you expected while you finish speaking to Aether.

Huh. Last you saw Xiao and Childe, you could’ve sworn they were more… Hostile.

Some time walking along the road passes while you two chatter briefly. It’s all small talk though, and you can feel it again, that chasm between you, that something left unsaid. Maybe a peace offering will do?

You feel Childe’s eyes on you as you summon a bag of spices in your hand and shove it towards him, not bothering to look at his face. “Here. Forgot to give it to you earlier.”

No, you didn’t. You just bought them today.

“Hm? What’s this? …Snezhnayan spices?”

“Yeah, I saw a merchant selling it and thought it’d be interesting to try out for some recipes. You’ll definitely get more use out of it than me.”

Total fucking lie. You bought it entirely to show him, hoping to make things less awkward and… Maybe see his smile, too.

You ignore the flashes of amber eyes and a deep voice running through your mind. It was just a fun night. Nothing more.

“Huh. Thank you.”

Nodding, you both continue along, but the silence between you is comfortable now. It’s nice again, simpler, like Osial never happened. Almost, anyway.

Childe makes sure you aren’t looking as he puts the spices away, smiling to himself.

 ---

 One dear companion left under the sun,

She wandered in search of her friends and then there were none.

 ---

 “Guizhong, what are you singing of now?”

Guizhong turns and giggles at the sight of Morax in his full draconic glory, scales aflame with a  gold shimmer that no treasure can match. “Beloved, you need not appear as a god before me. Come and sit so I may braid your hair.”

When Guizhong looks to the plains, she continues her soft melodies. Morax settles next to her in his mortal form. Without hesitation, he tilts his head when her hands reach his hair, offering her his peace. There is a tacit understanding between them when anxiety tugs at her heart; as an industrial goddess, she turns to her hands to settle her thoughts.

Morax, though he never shows on his stoney face, enjoys providing this comfort for her. After so many centuries together, Guizhong long abandoned the endeavor of persuading Morax to express emotions in the human way. She knew that the brute before her will always remain an illuminated beast at heart.

That is why she loves him so.

“Morax, my love, you are purring again,” she teases. He huffs and stops, but at her light tug on his hair, he resumes. “Is our dear dragon turning into a fat house cat?”

“Which am I, Guizhong?” he says. When she leans in to kiss the corner of his mouth, he turns to meet her soft motions with his own. He was never gentle, this god of stone, yet he tries for her. “Am I a god, or am I your pet?”

Her lover’s words are teasing, and she cannot help the bubble of laughter as he tries – and fails – to smile charmingly in a show of fangs.

“You are my love,” she murmurs and kisses him again.

Hers. Of course, he thinks. Hers.

“My heart belongs to you,” he whispers back, though frowns when she notices her crestfallen expression.

“Your heart belongs to you, as my love for you is mine. Do not give it away so easily. Beloved, love is a thing that should free us. I do not wish to bind you, but I want to grow with you. Love is changing, is it not?”

He follows her gaze upwards to the ginkgo tree they sit under before she continues. “Welcome the changes time brings you, Morax. You may find yourself surprised yet. Promise me you’ll try.”

At her contemplative tone, he looks to her again, though she doesn’t meet his gaze. “I will,” he replies. “I promise to try and appreciate these mortal cycles. Though I would not call myself so dramatic as to die for it; so many humans declare this a romantic notion. How strange.”

“It’s a start,” she laughs. “Perhaps start with loving the land and loving your subjects. They have never truly courted death.”

“I do not see why you fret,” he mumbles and moves closer to kiss her jaw. “You will be here with me.”

“Of course,” she says. “Of course.”

She moves her ankle further beneath her dress, hiding from his imperial gaze the black decay that eats at her.

“Another promise. Indulge me, God of Contracts.”

He grunts in acknowledgment, though he continues his ministrations.

“Promise me that you will free me if you love me. Love me enough to live, instead of dying for it then.”

More silence meets her, though from the grip of his hand on her thighs, she knows he acquiesces.

When she met with the God of Duality so long ago, Guizhong knew her days were numbered as she collected artifacts filled with poisonous malice. The day that this blackness takes her is swiftly coming. Her dear friend chose death in their pursuit of knowledge since their true love lay in discovery. She knew this long before she ever met her lover.

Guizhong closes her eyes as she fervently kisses Morax with an apology deep in her heart. She loves her people enough to toil endlessly for them and, eventually, die with them, yet Morax did not choose this path. Guizhong refuses to choose for him, made him promise to continue his own journey.

Someone as strong as the God of War would not understand her desperation. Among the gods of this land, Guizhong is weak enough to be considered a mortal herself – a fact she accepted long ago as she offers her knowledge to her people.

Regardless of this, she wonders briefly if she was selfish in this, in loving him knowing that it would be temporary. But when he moves down her neck and presses his body to hers, she finds her heart soaring with peace. She’s lived a good life, selfish as it was. How ironic that she chided Morax on his possessiveness.

Guizhong knows she will be his first love, but she prays to whoever is listening that she will not be his last.

 ---

 The sky twinkles, too far away to be seen.

-

notes:

gosh I love exploring facets of a character's personality via a different POV

1) The idea of adepti (and by implication other non-humans of Teyvat) dealing in favors and transformations is directly inspired by various mythologies in different cultures of fair trade whenever humans wanted something. City of Ichor is directly inspired by the myths of separate lands (like Tir Na Nog)

2) Among the many symbols attached to the ginkgo tree is longevity, peace, and hope

3) Since the Harbingers' titles are directly referencing the Commedia dell'arte, I decided to pull one of the characters from it as a 'lover' for the Tsaritsa. The Columbina character is the secret lover and assistant to the Harlequin whose own character is known for his trickster qualities, thwarting his master's plans, and pursuing what he loves at all costs. Since the Cryo Archon is the Archon of Love, I mean...

4) Childe's story directly references his desires to "crush the thrones of the gods"

5) Guizhong's corruption is my personal theory since the quest "Treasure Lost, Treasure Found" has us find tablets, but the archaeologist is utterly confused as to how Guizhong was killed with the strongest god protecting her. Combined with no natural disaster would have been enough to strike her, nobody would dare challenge two gods, and one tablet says "there THEY fought on Guili Plains" with black dust and splintered rocks as the only elements in the last battle, and - yeah. I know a lot of people portray her as sweet and all-knowing, but I wanted to humanize her a bit (hah) because she's still a god who strongly valued her own intellect above most else and carelessly collected evil artifacts the Adepti had to hide after her death. You can't tell me she didn't have some flaws.

[rheawritessometimes]

Childe's Friend

{ Childe x GN!Reader }

{ Summary } You're Childe's friend. Series Masterlist

{ Warnings } Mention of Injury, Physical Intimacy.

{ Notes } The fourth part of Let's Make a Deal with significant edits. Masterlist

{ Word Count } 1,524

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Childe’s guard nearly jumped out of his skin, letting out a yelp of fright as you swept out of the apartment, in a hurry for no real reason at all. Maybe you were just feeling good. But in your rush, you hardly noticed him at all, the entirety of your focus was currently on your goal of securing groceries and icepacks. Currently, your mind was entirely occupied with trying to puzzle out what Childe would usually purchase in terms of groceries.

Resorting to guessing, you started to weave through the stalls set up in Liyue’s marketplace, surveying the produce available. As it turns out, grocery shopping became infinitely more difficult when you didn’t know what was needed. It was clear Childe liked to cook but you didn’t know what it was he liked to prepare. You were considering swallowing your pride and going back to ask for a list from Childe. You were so absorbed in your thoughts that you didn’t notice the parasite approaching.

“Ah, you’re Childe’s friend, correct?” a velvety voice queried, effectively catching your attention. You looked up to the source of the question, recognizing the man on sight.

“Mr. Zhongli, yes, I am,” you confirmed, offering the funeral parlor consultant a polite smile. For some reason, you wanted to correct him on the mention of being Childe’s friend, but that was an accurate descriptor. Of course, it would be strange to identify yourself as his caregiver, as that was a role you had only taken due to a careless agreement and you weren’t anything more than his friend beyond that. Still, being known as Childe’s friend didn’t sit right with you for some reason, even though it was the most accurate descriptor. You hadn’t really been properly introduced when you met for tea, most of the conversation had been between Zhongli and Childe. Still, you did not offer him your name. For no other reason than being mysterious, mysterious people are segcy.

“Are you here to purchase some of the locally grown produce?” Zhongli asked, sounding a bit like a living marketing scheme. He did sometimes have a peculiar way of speaking.

“Yes, but it seems I’m having trouble deciding on what to get,” you said, an admission you would come to regret.

“Is this your first time grocery shopping?” the funeral parlor consultant asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“No,” you said all too quickly, revealing your embarrassment, “I just don’t know what Childe usually buys.”

Zhongli was so friendly, and he was comfortable enough to point out to you what items you should purchase while also giving you a small lecture on each thing. He also let you buy all his groceries, too. You didn’t mind terribly, you were in no way hurting for Mora, but you had no idea how he so effortlessly got others to pay for his things. You supposed it helped that he was also excellent at haggling to lower the overall price of your purchases.

“Why are you shopping for Mr. Childe? Have you taken up a position as his personal assistant?” Zhongli asked casually as you browsed the fruit stands.

“I owe him a favor and ended up stuck with him for a few weeks,” you replied, keeping it vague. But of course, not vague enough.

“Oh, you’re staying with Childe? How interesting,” he mused with an all too knowing tone. You decided it was best not to comment on it.

One thing the illustrious Mr. Zhongli did not have was restraint, by the time you had finished at the market your arms were full of heavy bags. Your company only ended up taking two of them when you parted ways, not doing much to lighten the load. As you made your way up the steps to Bubu Pharmacy, you worried your arms might fall off.

The man at the counter wore a worried expression as he noticed the amount of bags you were dragging along with you. You brushed off his concern with something about how you were an adventurer and stronger than the average person, trying not to let it show that you were indeed struggling to carry everything. Even with superhuman strength, you had your limits. Unfortunately, the man accepted your words and busied himself with finding the ice packs you requested, along with an herbal tea you asked for because it had a divine aroma you noticed upon walking in. It’s not like he was likely able to help you with the groceries, so you supposed it didn’t matter.

By the time you returned to Childe’s apartment, your arms were ready to fall off and the scowl on your face must have been quite intimidating because the guard stationed at the door immediately did as he was told when you ordered him to open the door for you. He didn’t say a word, not even giving you a nasty look for the first time. Despite the non-hostile treatment by the guard, you promptly kicked the door closed on him after entering the apartment, heading straight to the kitchen and letting out a sigh of relief after dropping all of the bags in the middle of the floor.

You hadn’t seen Childe on your way in and you couldn’t hear him moving around the apartment but you assumed he was home, the guard probably wouldn’t have been quite so willing to let you in otherwise. Even if you wore a scary expression. Not to mention, surely the Harbinger wouldn’t appoint a guard foolish enough to allow you in unsupervised, there were likely sensitive documents somewhere inside. You assumed it had been Fatui reports he was reading earlier.

Putting the groceries away took your mind away from wondering about the location of your temporary host. But when you had yet to see or hear any sign of him by the time you had finished stocking the fridge and shelves, you were beginning to worry. You really didn’t feel like going out to track Childe down, if he had gone out looking for a fight you might just scream.

Taking one of the newly purchased ice packs to use as an excuse, you wrapped it in a towel before making your way to his bedroom. It seemed like the most likely place to find him if he was still in the apartment. It was hard to imagine he’d have spent so much time silent in the bathroom. You felt strangely on edge as you stopped in front of the door, knocking softly three times.

No reply came but you wanted to make sure he wasn’t just sleeping before going out on a wild goose chase so you slowly pushed the door open, holding your breath. It didn’t make sense for you to feel so nervous about this, it wasn’t the end of the world if he wasn’t home.

The sight of Childe sprawled out in the middle of his bed peacefully napping greeted you as you quietly entered. His blanket appeared to have been thrown off him in his sleep and his shirt rode up just a little bit. His room was tidy, but you were too busy appreciating the revealed section of his abdomen to take a proper look around. You were only granted a few moments to stare before he opened one eye, peering at you for just long enough to register that it was you in his room.

It was unsurprising that the Harbinger was a light enough sleeper to be woken by you entering his room, considering his line of work. Vastly more surprising was when, after determining it was you who had woken him, he closed his eye again and went back to dozing. You couldn’t help but smile fondly at this, a pleasant warmth filling you at the show of trust. Or maybe he was too tired to care.

Of course he trusted you, you were friends after all. The thought had your smile fading, but you weren’t sure why that displeased you. Pushing the thought from your head, you silently made your way to the bedside and placed the icepack at his side.

The sudden cold had ocean eyes fluttering open before focusing on you. You smiled playfully at his slightly disgruntled expression. That was much easier on your emotions than his prior vulnerability.

“Sorry, but it needs to be done.” You weren’t very sorry.

“Mm, whatever. Since you woke me up, I think we should continue our conversation from earlier,” Childe murmured, still sounding rather drowsy. You furrowed your brows in confusion, trying to remember what conversation he was referring to, but that confusion was soon replaced by surprise when Childe caught you in his arms to pull you down onto the bed with him.

Laughing at your noise of surprise, Childe pulled you into his chest and grinned cheekily down at you. He looked pleased with himself, like a cat who caught the canary.

“Good talk, now let’s take a nap~” Childe’s firm hold of you didn’t leave much room to argue, but you supposed a little bit of rest was deserved. Those bags had been heavy, after all.

-

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[midnightechoes]

Halloween Lunch Date

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy the little fic I wrote for the @supercorpbb Halloween/Fall Event! I ended up using three of the prompts from the list: Pumpkin spice debate, Lena sees Kara wearing a plaid button-up with the sleeves rolled up for the first time and loses her damn mind, and Couple’s costumes. Although, if truth be told, none of the themes are that front and center. This was really just an excuse to write some Supercorp fluff since the last thing I wrote was pretty angsty! Hope everyone enjoys it!

Read it on AO3!

A sudden, deep yawn escaped Lena, knocking her out of the deep state of concentration that she had been in for the last three hours. The CEO of L-Corp’s hand shot up to her mouth in an attempt to stifle a second wave of yawns. Once they were under control, she leaned back in her office chair and rubbed her eyes. She had been staring at her laptop all morning, tearing through report after report in a desperate attempt to get ahead of her seemingly neverending workload, and she was feeling it in every inch of her body.

Lena’s stomach let out a rumble, its angry attempt at reminding the woman that it disagreed with Lena’s decision to skip lunch. It was the third skipped lunch in a row, and her stomach seemed to be on the verge of a mutiny, calming only slightly as she took a gulp of water from a glass she had been nursing for the past hour.

Seemingly as if she had heard the cries from Lena’s stomach, Supergirl touched down gently on the balcony of Lena’s office. The Luthor heard her before she saw her, the unmistakable crunch of the hero’s boots tapping against her balcony’s concrete. There was a time, early in their relationship, when the uncontrollable expression of glee that instantly covered her face was something Lena fought with, embarrassed by her inability to contain herself.

Those days ended months ago, and the Luthor excitedly spun around in her chair, her own bright smile matching the blinding one her girlfriend was shooting her way as Supergirl stepped into the office. “Kara!” Lena drawled out, letting each letter slowly fall from her mouth breathlessly. With one smooth motion, Lena pushed herself up from her chair and cleared the short distance between the two.

Supergirl, one hand carrying a white paper bag, and the other hand balancing a cup carrier holding two drinks, spread her arms out, allowing Lena’s arms to easily wrap around the Girl of Steel’s waist. Before Kara could respond, she found that her lips were already busy with Lena’s, who had wasted no time pulling the Kryptonian into a kiss.

Within seconds, Lena could the aches of her day draining away, replaced with the warmth and softness of the blonde woman that was enthusiastically returning her kiss. They pulled apart after a few more seconds with a gasp, each pulling back just enough to stare into each other’s eyes.

“Love of my life,” Kara murmured with a giant grin on her face. It had become her favorite way to greet the Luthor of the past few weeks, after reading what had apparently been a particularly convincing fortune cookie fortune. Lena giggled, slapping Kara lightly across her chest. The phrase had grown on the raven-haired woman, and secretly, she desperately hoped it was accurate, but she still felt the need to at least pretend to resist the lofty implications of the saying.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Lena hummed, her hands resting on Supergirl’s chest.

“Well,” Kara chirped, “I finally turned in that article that Andrea’s been badgering me about, meaning that I get the afternoon off!” The blonde held up the contents in her hands. “And I thought it’d be fun to bring my girlfriend lunch.” The Kryptonian’s smile twisted into some sort of smug smirk as her brows furrowed. “Especially since it’s almost three and I somehow doubt you’ve eaten since I saw you this morning.”

Lena took a step back and scoffed, clutching her chest with mock outrage.

“Don’t even try,” Kara responded, rolling her eyes. “You’ve come home famished every night this week! You ate three slices of pizza last night!”

“You ate an entire pizza yourself,” Lena shot back.

“Okay, yeah, but I always eat an entire pizza, you usually can’t even finish two slices. Besides,” Kara leaned in, grinning as she jostled the bag in her hand, “I got you that smoke salmon bagel that you love.”

“On a whole wheat bagel?” Lena asked, the hopefulness in her voice obvious. Kara just beamed and nodded. An ear to ear smile grew on Lena’s face as she cupped Kara by the cheeks. “You really are my favorite person,” Lena mused, pulling Kara into another kiss.

The end of the kiss was sudden. Lena tugged herself free and snatched the bag before Kara even knew what was happening. The raven-haired woman stood there, clutching the bag greedily, a sheepish smile on her face. “Okay, maybe I am hungry.” As if to drive the point home, a needy gurgle erupted from Lena’s stomach, causing the Luthor to blush.

Kara couldn’t contain her laughter. She pulled one of the paper cups out of the carrier and handed it to the woman in front of her. “And one soy lavender tea latte to go with it,” Kara smiled. “Think you can take a break long enough to eat with your girlfriend?”

The Luthor stepped around Supergirl, planting a kiss on her shoulder as she passed. “Go change first,” she purred into the Kryptonian’s ear. Lena’s hair kicked up from the blowback of Kara zooming away to the private washroom attached to the office.

It was a quick scamper over to the white couch on the other side of the office for Lena, who set the bag down on the coffee table as soon as she reached it. By that time, Kara was already emerging from the washroom, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, and loosely tucked into her black denim jeans was a hunter-green and black flannel button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up halfway up her forearms. The top few buttons of the shirt remained unbuttoned, open just enough to expose her collarbones and get a peek at the rim of the tank top she was wearing underneath. The raven-haired woman rose the cup to her lips, positioning the opening in the lid in front of her, and let it hover there, obscuring the hungry grin on her face.

Lena really enjoyed the fall.

Eyes still fixed on watching her girlfriend saunter towards her, Lena absently took a sip from her drink. It was an instant regret. She grimaced, her entire face scrunching up and she swallowed.

At the sight of her girlfriend struggling, Kara quickened her pace, closing the remaining distance in an instance.

“Darling,” Lena coughed, “are you sure they gave you the right order?”

Kara took the drink from Lena, gave it a sniff, then sipped it herself. A happy hum escaped her. “Ah, I see,” she mumbled and handed the other cup that she had been carrying. “Here, try this one.”

What started as an experimental sip turned into a good chug. “Much better,” Lena said, taking a seat on the couch.

“Sorry, handed you mine by mistake,” Kara admitted as she plopped down next to Lena, their knees knocking against each other playfully. She set her cup down and began unpacking their lunch: smoked salmon on a whole wheat bagel with a dill spread, tomatoes, capers, and red onions for Lena, and a bacon grilled cheese sandwich, triple the bacon, for Kara.

“What was that?” Lena asked, a single eyebrow raised over her confusion at how Kara could delight in whatever that concoction was supposed to be.

“Pumpkin spice latte,” Kara chirped just before chomping down on her sandwich.

The answer only made Lena’s confusion grow. “That’s what a pumpkin spice latte tastes like?” she asked incredulously.

The blonde’s eyes went wide as she turned to Lena. “You’ve never had a pumpkin spice latte?!” she spit out through a mouth full of cheese, bread, and bacon.

“The idea of pumpkin in my coffee never sounded appealing to me, but that doesn’t even taste anything like pumpkin!”

Kara just shrugged as she took another sip of her coffee. “They make it sweeter so the flavors mix well with the coffee.”

“Well, they failed at that,” Lena flatly stated.

“Sweetie, it’s one of the most popular drinks in the world,” Kara countered with a chuckle.

“We’ve failed as a society,” Lena responded instantly. Kara busted out laughing, flopping back into the couch and twisting so that her face was buried into Lena’s shoulder. “I need to dedicate more funding into nutritional health initiatives,” she added, causing a fresh round of laughter from her girlfriend.

Slowly, Kara pulled herself back up. “Lena, sweetie, don’t you think you’re being just a little overdramatic?”

Lena snapped her head up so that her chin was pointed high in the air. “I am a Luthor, after all, we are nothing if not dramatic,” she retorted, barely able to contain a snicker. Kara couldn’t help but laugh at her girlfriend’s silliness for a moment before she really took in the sight of Lena in front of her. In her dramatic “proper” pose, Lena’s neck was on full display, and Kara didn’t spend much time resisting before pouncing.

They crashed into the back of the couch, Lena giggling uncontrollably as her girlfriend was straddling her lap, suckling on her pale skin. “Vampire! Vampire!” the Luthor cried out, unable to contain her enjoyment.

After a moment Kara came up for air. “Oooh, we could be vampires for Halloween,” Kara suggested as she sat comfortably on Lena. The Luthor shook her head.

“Too basic,” Lena replied. “It’s our first couples’ costume, it needs to be a little more inspired.” Kara sat up and rubbed her chin, clearly deep in thought. Lena pushed herself up and planted another kiss onto Kara. “Don’t worry, we’ll think of something,” she murmured against Kara’s lips. Her arms snaked around Kara, her hand gripping at her back. “But right now, I think I’d rather focus on enjoying my lunch break with my girlfriend.”

Kara leaned forward and hummed. “Yeah, I think we can do that,” she breathed before pushing Lena back down.

---

Nia was scurrying to her door as fast as she could, taking care not to catch her fairy wings on anything. Only half the guests had arrived and already her Halloween party was loud and raucous. It had made the knocking hard to hear, hence her scurrying. As she reached the door she made a mental note to post a sticky note on the outside telling people to just enter.

Taking just a second to catch her breath and compose herself, Nia swung the door open, a big smile ready to greet whoever it was. As soon as she laid eyes on Kara and Lena she let out a hearty laugh.

Kara held up her little, plastic shield and beamed. “Cap and Iron Man, pretty great, right?” the Kryptonian boasted. Lena shifted next to her, a light blush on her face as she held her helmet in her hands.

“It’s perfect!” Nia bellowed, wrapping both into a hug. “Come on you two, it’s time for candy and booze!” she yelled, ushering them into her apartment.

[final-fantasy-imagines]

Hello! What about Rude having a crush on a person who has a crush on him but is reluctant to approach him because they're aware of his crush on Tifa (and maybe even on Chelsea)? HCs or a drabble, whatever you're more comfortable with.

Hey there! Thank you for sharing your idea with me. I decided to do a drabble for this one and I really hope you like it, even though it doesn’t match your request perfectly since I got a little carried away while working on this piece. 

It’s complicated – Rude x crush!reader

Rude had no idea how he got himself into this mess in the first place. He didn’t do the whole dating stuff anymore; instead, he always tried to keep his distance because developing feelings for someone only made things more complicated than he wanted them to be. But then he had met you, and suddenly, all of his principles didn’t seem to matter anymore. And as he expected, things got complicated way too quickly for his liking.

After a few casual meetings and hesitatingly exchanged compliments, you had started to avoid him studiously. Whenever he tried to talk to you about the issue, you acted like you were hella busy, turned around and left the room, no matter how many times he tried to approach you. It was obvious that you didn’t want to spend any more time with him but he didn’t understand why. As far as he knew, things had been completely fine when you hung out last time. Heck, he had even considered to ask you out for a proper date in the near future! But now you acted like you didn’t know him, and he had started to ask himself if it was his fault. Maybe he had did something incredibly stupid or he said something that hurt your feelings, or perhaps you simply didn’t want to date him.

For whatever reason, you avoided him like the plague, and while Rude knew that it was stupid to be sad about it, he couldn’t help but feel horribly rejected. The last time he had felt like that had made him hesitant about opening up to others, and he could hardly believe that it was happening again, now that he finally allowed himself to let his guard down.

With a quiet sigh, he adjusted his sunglasses, trying to direct his thoughts towards something else. It didn’t make things better to bother his head about his strange behavior. You had made a decision, and he should accept it instead of constantly musing if it was his fault.

Next to him, Reno huffed as if he could read his thoughts. “Don’t tell me you’re still upset about your little intermezzo with (Y/N).”

Rude didn’t reply. He liked Reno, he really did, and he even considered him his best friend but sometimes, his whole demeanor was a real test of Rude’s patience.

“Hey, man,” Reno said and nudged him with his elbow. “You really should stop wallowing in self-pity. There’s plenty of other fish in the sea, you know. You’ll find someone else.”

“I’m not wallowing in self-pity,” Rude retorted. “I was just thinking about something. I know you’re not familiar with using your brain but it would do you good sometimes.”

Reno laughed. “Ouch.” He was already used to conversations like that, especially since they never missed an opportunity to make fun of each other. It was just part of their friendship, and Reno didn’t mind it at all. “I was just trying to say that it doesn’t make (Y/N) change their mind if you moon about them the whole time,” he added.

Rude resisted the urge to roll his eyes, even though Reno wouldn’t be able to see it anyway. “I know.”

“See? You have to admit that I’m right!”

“For once.”

“Oh, shush, will you.” Reno shot a glance at him, that self-satisfied grin still plastered onto his face. “I’m trying to cheer you up!”

“Obviously,” Rude replied in a tone that made it very clear that he didn’t need any solace right now. The only thing he wanted was to drop the subject and focus on something else. Their next mission, for example. Once again, Tseng had asked them to convince Aerith how important it was to cooperate instead of acting like a stubborn child all the time, and after the last incident, Rude knew that they needed to figure out a better strategy this time.

For a few minutes, a deep silence fell between the two turks. Then, Reno quietly said, “You really like (Y/N), do you?”

Once more, Rude remained silent but there was no need for words anyway. Reno knew him well enough to realize the truth without Rude admitting it. “Listen,” he said, his tone suddenly a lot more understanding than usual. “I don’t know what happened between the two of you but it can’t go on like this. I think you should talk.”

“You’re trying to help. I get it,” Rude said. “But it’s complicated.”

A brief smile flashed over the readhead’s face. “As per usual.”

*

You couldn’t look at him. Even though his presence was enough to make your heart beat faster and you wanted nothing more than to be here with him, a part of you still wished that he would just go and leave you alone, once and for all. You wanted to figure out if things could work out between the two of you… but at the same time, you didn’t.

His face was blank, his eyes as usually hidden behind a pair of black sunglasses, making it even harder to read him. When he didn’t say anything, you gulped, then cleared your throat. “Hey,” you greeted him, your voice barely louder than an insecure whisper.

“Long time no see,” Rude answered matter-of-factly. It was obvious that he felt uncomfortable, even though he probably tried his best to hide it. “How have you been?”

“Um.” You shrugged, staring at the floor to avoid his gaze. “I’ve been pretty busy. New clients and stuff like that, you know. Um… and you?”

It felt awful to talk to him like that. Like you didn’t know each other; like you were two complete strangers meeting in the streets and making small talk. But after everything you had learned about his past, you couldn’t just act like none of that happened. You couldn’t pretend that you didn’t know how Chelsea broke his heart after using him to get some information.

You knew that you owed him an explanation for the sudden change in your behavior but how could you tell him that you only tried to protect him from more harm? How could you admit that you were afraid of hurting his feelings in the future? You weren’t perfect; you couldn’t promise that you would never hurt him, and after everything he went through, he deserved some peace and happiness.

You shook your head, letting out a frustrated sigh. This whole conversation wouldn’t get you to anything. “Rude, I – I don’t know what to say. I know why you’re here, why you want to talk. But it’s not that easy. It’s… it’s complicated.”

Rude couldn’t help but smile as he recognized the exact same words he had said to Reno a few days ago. “Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed, slowly stepping closer to you and reaching out for your hand. “But I’m sure we can figure it out. Together.”

[hanawrites404]

Wynne's Diary - Transformation with Dennis (@ptcovprimaryblog ) and Katrice (@feralforestbastard )

"Alright......it's almost done" I breathed, carefully pouring the breast milk of a dead woman into the boiling liquid mixture.

The potion was brewing alright for now but I was still nervous that I might make a mistake because you see, this was my first time making potions. Asra had given me detailed instructions for doing it and according to his report, I was going at the right direction.

So I moved on to adding the last ingredient, that was the rotten egg whites. After they were added, the potion glowed pink and a puff of pink smoke came from the beaker, smelling like rose perfume. But this all was just a disguise. What I had created right now, was actually poison.

It was for the rats at the barn since they were literally everywhere and were disturbing the cattle. So before Asra could go and dissappear like always, he gave me the recipe to create rat poison. And so I was preparing it, making sure to put the right ingredients in right quantities.

The poison was done and now I had to put it in something eatable so I chose a block of white cheese. I poured the liquid on it and the cheese turned pink and it emitted a nice fregnance in order to lure the prey towards it.

"Perfect. This should do the trick" I commented.

But then I smelled something burning in the air.

"Fuck!! My milk!!" I rushed to the kitchen to put the fire off. I took a cloth to hold the handles of the utensil and placed it on the table.

"Phew. Not much has been burnt" I sighed from relief when I checked inside. There was enough milk for preparing a nice cup of tea for me, Dennis and Katrice.

And speaking of both of them, where were they? I haven't seen both of them since the morning.

Oh god..... hopefully they both don't find the cheese and eat them!! That would be horrible!!

But then I heard a smash of the glass and some other wierd noises outside the kitchen.

And the scariest part was.......it was coming from the room where I was preparing the poison at.

I ran towards the room as quick as I could and I was shocked to see.......a blue cow and an albino satyr??? What in the actual fu--

"Wynne!!" The cow called my name.

"W-Wynne....." The Satyr too spoke.

Wait hold on a second. How in the world a talking blue cow and a talking albino Satyr appear in my room?? And how do they know my name??? God just what the fuck happened when I was checking on the milk??

I was speechless. The scene in front of my eyes was so bizarre that it had snatched away my voice. And the fact that both of them were looking awfully familiar to me also scared me.

There were many questions racing in my mind, but one answer shattered all of them when I saw an eaten block of pink cheese on the ground. Its plate was also broken and its shards were scattered on the floor.

Oh.....

Ohhh........

OHHHH...........

"Dennis, you fucker!!" I cracked my knuckles.

"H-Hey!! I'm sorry!! I was too hungry!! And the cheese was looking too tempting!!" Dennis, who had apparently turned into a cow, defended herself.

"Then how dare you drag Katrice into it too" I glared bitterly at her.

"S-S-Sorry Wynne. Even I was starving. That's why I ate the cheese. Please forgive me.......

Dennis did not do anything. It was my fault" Katrice, being timid as she was, apologized. Her voice sounded quite...... demonic, but I could hear the guilt in her tone.

I glanced at both of them, thinking of what to do with them. I then sighed and shook my head. This was literally the worst situation possible and the funniest part was that I was actually expecting it to happen.

Since Dennis was naive and stupid like a child and Katrice cannot help but follow whatever she does..............

"Katrice. You stay here. I'll see what I can do for you. Dennis, you have to stay outside" I ordered each of them.

"A-Alright.....Please come back soon" Katrice balled herself and sat on the floor and against the wall. I was feeling pity on her now. Only if she was a bit smarter...............

And talking about Dennis......there was no scope for her being smarter even for a fraction of second.............

I took out a leather leash from the cupboard and clipped it around Dennis' neck. I then pulled her up and went outside and she surprisingly followed me on all-fours as I was thinking that she would have trouble walking like that. Guess she was born to be a cow, it seems.

I took her out in the grass and tied the leash around a wooden stump tightly.

"Wynne, I love you but, if you are trying to bondage me, then please try to be a bit sexy you know. I really want to enjoy your dominance" she smirked at me.

I cringed in reply. Did she really had the guts to joke even after she had turned into an animal? A FUCKING DOMESTIC PASSIVE ANIMAL??

"Okay fine. I was just messing with you. Now don't chop me off and have me as dinner" Dennis replied.

"Well I was actually planning to, guess you caught me there" I glared at her.

"Oooooh naughty aren't you eh? Let me turn back and then I'll punish you good" she winked at me.

"Shut up before I take my knife out to dissect you" I threatened her.

Dennis tried to chuckle but it came out to be quite low and deep because of her current condition as she shook her head.

"You are getting very kinky, Wynne. Is it because me turning into a cow has made you crave for my milk perhaps??" She teased me again and she managed to slap my butt with her tail.

"Shut the fuck up!! It's nothing of that sort. And why would I even do that?? That's fucking disgusting!!" I cringed again, my cravings for drinking bleach coming in my mind.

Dennis laughed again, but it sounded kind of disturbing since it she was now having the voice of a cow, but I ignored that.

"I was actually expecting that answer from you, Babe. I know that you are not a sicko" she winked at me again.

"I-It's good that you know. Otherwise I was really going to sell you in the markets. I can get a good price for a blue talking cow like you" I huffed and crossed my arms.

"I know, Honey, I am the best after all" Dennis winked again.

I rolled my eyes and smiled a bit. I mean, she wasn't really wrong.

Dennis giggled at my reaction nosed in my chest, rubbing her head against it.

I couldn't help but smile a bit and caress her ears and head. For a cow, her fur was pretty soft and clean. She looked like a cow who has been groomed well and taken care of very efficiently.

"There there Dennis. You are still a cow. Come back to me once you turn into a human tonight" I ran my thumb on her forehead.

"Of course. You owe me a proper bondage tonight" she replied as she licked my chest with her massive tongue, making my breasts jiggle up.

"Hey!" I chuckled and let go of her, my cheeks heating up. Dennis smirked at me back, trying to moo like a cow which made me giggle more.

"I'll see you later Denny. Don't cause any more trouble" I instructed her and moved back to my house.

"Okay Winnie!!......" She replied back. But then I heard her muttering more behind my back.

"Mmmm the grass looks good. Can I eat some??.........hmmm.....Mmm! This tastes good!! Let me eat more!! Mmmm this is some gourmet shit!!"

I giggled at her musings and went in for Katrice. As soon as I entered my room, I saw the familiar Satyr who had not moved from her place even for an inch.

However, she was...... shaking, and was whispering things to herself.

I got closer to her and sat near her, placing my hand on her shoulder.

Katrice jerked from the external contact and looked at me. Her pink eyes were wet from tears and her lips were trembling. It seemed like she was in some deep distress which got me extremely worried.

"Kat....are you alright? Tell me what's bothering you" I scooted closer to the poor girl.

"Wynne....I....I am scared" she blurted out.

"Scared? What of??" I asked her, being confused.

"This....." She looked at her hands. No......they were claws. Sharp and deathly claws which looked enough to slit anyone with one slash only.

"I am afraid of what I have become. I cannot stand this. Am I......am I really a monster?? Am I going to hurt everyone if I get angry??" She kept asking questions to herself as more tears started to fall from her face.

I shook my head and cupped her face, turning it to look at me. I first wiped her tears off and then ran my hand through her beautiful white long hair.

"Katrice, you are not a monster. You are kind, caring and sweet to everyone. You are like a shy baby and we all love you for that. Never in my life I have met such a wonderful person like you and I'm doubting that I ever will" I told her.

"R-Really??" She brightened up a bit, glancing up at me with some hope in her eyes.

I smiled and nodded, confirming whatever I had just said.

But Katrice frowned again and looked down.

"What about my appearance?? I look ugly I bet" she sniffed sadly.

"Honestly, you look pretty tempting for a demon. But that's not a bad thing at all. Deception from looks is often very difficult to do but it looks like it would be a piece of cake for you" I winked at her.

Katrice finally giggled and smiled brightly as she hugged me close. It was kind of a surprise that even after turning into a demon, her welcoming scent was still there as I slowly succumbed into her embrace and hugged her back.

"Thank you Wynne.....I really needed that" she told me.

"No problem, Sweet" I smiled and rested my head on her chest, pulling her closer.

Later when Asra returned, he had turned Dennis and Katrice back to normal. And I am glad he did. It's not that I didn't like them turning into an animal and a demon though. Truthfully speaking, it was a pleasant experience for me. Maybe I can try turning them into butterflies next?? I gotta look for a potion for that though.

Funny.....Who had expected that a rat poison could have made my day really eventful and interesting?? Not to mention deepen my interest in potions.............

The end..........

[jovialyouthmusic]

Girls’ Night Out

So - I have a confession to make - I think I didn’t post the ‘final’ chapter. Here it is. If you haven’t read the previous chapters  (which won’t make a whole heap of sense if you haven’t read my other fics) or if you need your memory refreshed, here’s the link to the Masterlist.

Word Count 1502

No warnings, but my blog is generally Not suitable for under 18s The ending leaves things open for each of the gals to have their own celebration - who knows when I will write them but hey...

7 All Together Now

When Bas and I arrived at the club where the four men had been performing as strippers, things had calmed down a little. They had morphed back into being fully clothed, though it was plain Lucy was disappointed. She was the first to spot me, and had the decency to look embarrassed.

‘Uh hi, Les’ she said brightly ‘Thanks for helping us with the mock up – this place rocks. We’ll have to visit more often.’ I folded my arms and stood in front of her.

‘None of that now, I hear you dragged a certain Elizabeth Dalgliesh around the clubs and bars.’ I scolded. ‘She’s only accustomed to genteel regency balls at the Assembly rooms and the occasional glass of wine with dinner.’

‘She had a great time!’ She protested ‘She loved the cocktail I got her, and I made sure it wasn’t too strong.’

‘Bas here tells me she passed out when the strippers came on’ I went on, determined she wasn’t going to pull the wool over my eyes. She looked at the floor

‘Well she was doing fine up until then’ she mumbled. I sighed

‘Well I guess you had good intentions. I’m going to go and check up with her now.’ Bastien patted my arm.

‘Hold on, we need to look the part’ he suggested.

‘Good thinking’ I closed my eyes, and before we left to join Elizabeth and John, we were dressed fit for a regency ball, I in an empire cut gown in sapphire blue, he in navy breeches and white stockings, polished black leather dancing shoes, a crisp white shirt and military coat tails resplendent with brass buttons and a high collar.

‘My lady’ he intoned, holding out his arm for me to take by the elbow.

‘Very handsome’ I smiled, and in the blink of an eye we were outside the assembly rooms waiting in line to enter ‘I thought we could be announced properly’ I said aside to him ‘If you’re agreeable, I’d like you to divert Morag’ He raised his eyebrows

‘How would you like me to do that?’ he asked.

‘I think you should ask her to dance’ I smiled up at him ‘How could she resist such a handsome partner?’

‘I need a back story’ he mused ‘To start with, should I use my name? Perhaps a cousin of John’s? Who am I to you?’ I thought fast.

‘If we go along that line, we can also turn up at their wedding.’ I murmured ‘I’ll be your sister. I’d thought perhaps Morag had a husband back at her father’s estate, but if she’s a spinster that would probably be more believable. She’s sacrificed her personal life to look after Lizzy and Amelia. Perhaps she had a sweetheart that died young, or went away to sea and never returned.’

‘I could make out that I knew her sweetheart’ Bastien replied

‘Oh that could work, it would keep her busy. We’d better not make it too tragic though, I don’t want to upset her’

‘So – I’m an officer in the Navy, and her sweetheart served under me. He was tragically lost overboard in a storm – which she’s already aware of. I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news’

‘Sounds like a plan. Lesley is a Scottish place name and surname, so I’ll use that – Lesley Lykel has ring to it.’ I pondered for a moment ‘Gordon sounds like a suitable name for you, don’t you think?’

‘Very well – Lieutenant Gordon Lykel it is, and his sister Miss Lesley’

‘Wait, how will John and Elizabeth know us? Will they realise who you are?’

‘She knows my name, and I’ll drop some heavy hints. John will recognise you, don’t forget – he’s met Sophia’s Bastien’ By now we were at the front of the line and the footman tasked with announcing those who attended turned to Bastien.

‘Name please’

‘Lieutenant Gordon Lykel and Miss Lesley Lykel’ We were announced to the crowd of people, not attracting a second glance save for one or two women whose gaze alighted on him, for them to raise or flick their fans coquettishly. The room was high ceilinged, lit largely by natural light from a glass dome above and refracted through crystal chandeliers. Gilded friezes cast a golden light down on the assembly of finely dressed people. With a practised eye, Bastien scanned the room.

‘There they are’ he said, and we made our way around the edge of the room to them to the strains of a string quartet. Some folk were already dancing, with lines forming and moving back and forth, the dancers circling and swapping partners. Lizzy looked pale and sat fanning herself while John stood by her side, and Morag nearby. John looked up when he saw Bastien, who approached him, hand outstretched, and Lizzy’s face coloured a little, no doubt remembering the strip routine she had only recently witnessed.

‘Cousin John, how good to see you’ he said, loud enough for Morag to hear. Her eyes narrowed as he bowed to Lizzy, taking her hand and barely touching it with his lips ‘Charmed to meet you Miss Dalgliesh, I’ve heard all about you. Lieutenant Lykel at your service – and my sister, Miss Lesley’ I dropped a curtsey, and heard Morag let out a small gasp as John shook his hand firmly. Before Lizzy had a chance to acknowledge me, Morag came forward hesitantly.

‘Lieutenant Lykel’ she said ‘My sweetheart Hamish served under you at sea’. Bastien straightened up and turned to her, taking her hand, putting his other palm to his chest.

‘My dear lady’ he said ‘You must be Morag. He spoke of you often. Please, come with me and we can talk’ He took her elbow and led her some distance away.

‘Are you Les? Do we owe our existence to you?’ Lizzy asked, wide eyed

‘After a fashion’ I replied ‘Gordon here is another version of Bastien – or Sebastien, who you just met. I hope that’s not too confusing’ She smiled faintly.

‘I have seen many strange things in the past few hours’ she said ‘It was very stimulating, but I’m happy to be back somewhere more familiar.’

‘Well, you two can have a little time together now that Bastien has distracted Morag’ I smiled.

‘But what about you?’ Elizabeth asked ‘You can’t stand alone, it wouldn’t be proper, it would be sure to bring Morag back’ There was a commotion by the door and I looked over.

‘I don’t think I’ll be alone for long’ I said wryly.

‘Coo ee! Les, it’s us!’ a familiar voice sounded from across the other side of the hall. John snorted with laughter.

‘You’re right – our friends have followed you’ He waved back at Lucy, who moved straight across the room, scattering dancers as she did so. Charlotte glared at her and steered ‘her’ Drake around the edge of the room, along with Sophia and Bastien. Lucy’s partners scurried after her, apologising as they went. All seven of them were dressed appropriately but Lucy’s behaviour turned heads as she made for John, Elizabeth and myself in a straight line.

‘Hey, we thought we’d gatecrash before we make ourselves available for read throughs’ Lucy explained ‘You don’t mind, do you, Lizzy? I’ve always wanted to dress up like…’ she paused and looked thoughtful ‘You know, like a Jane Austen novel’ Lizzy looked confused

‘Jane who?’ she asked. By this time Brad and ‘Lake’ had reached us as well

‘Sorry Les, Luce got away from us’ Brad apologised. I shook my head.

‘Well never mind, you’re all here now, which is kind of what I had in mind anyway – you dragged Lizzy into your world, so it’s only fair you get to experience hers.’ I replied as the others reached us.

‘Lizzy, this is amazing’ said Sophia ‘So grand – I’m impressed’

‘Are you alright, Lizzy?’ asked Charlotte ‘You passed out when John appeared’

‘I’m fine now’ she smiled, ‘Welcome to my world’ John smiled and shook hands with Brad, Drake and Bastien.

‘Welcome, gentlemen’ he said ‘You’re dressed impeccably’

‘We can all dance now’ cried Lucy, watching the assembled men and women weaving and spinning their way through a cotillion. ‘We did a little research before you turned up, Les. It’s a doddle - you can borrow Brad, he’ll see you through the steps’

‘What?’ I asked ‘You want me to dance too?’

‘Of course darling’ she said, linking arms with me ‘Without you none of us would be here at all.’ She gave me a squeeze. ‘Next time you can come round the clubs with us’ she said. I raised my eyebrows.

‘Next time?’ I asked incredulously

‘Yes, next time’ she beamed, and counted on her fingers ‘You’ve got Charlotte’s State wedding, and Sophia and Bastien are engaged. When are you going to write them up? For that matter, how about a belated one for me?’ I passed my hand over my face.

‘What have I started?’ I groaned…

To be continued?

@ravenpuff02​ @trappedinfandoms​ @rusticsupplies63k @katedrakeohd​ @sirbeepsalot​ @burnsoslow​ @texaskitten30​ @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria​ @kimmiedoo5​ @kingliam2019

[thehereticaldeserthermit]

𝕆𝕦𝕥 𝕆𝕗 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣 ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤

ROLE PLAYER GET TO KNOW YOU PROMPT

Alright TDC Community It’s time for a task, 

and this time we’re all going to get to know each other a little better. 

Under the cut, you’ll find forty out of character questions split into two parts: OOC about your muses, and OOC about yourself! Answer what you’d like, add more if you’d like.

When you’re done TAG some of your writing partners and keep FUN going. 

-there is no pressure to participate

-IF You Are Reading This And You’d Like To Participate Consider Yourself Tagged My Friend! 

Much Love,

TheJesseWhoLurks

I tag @lyr-taxidermist  @theghostofharar  @hurdygurdyskeksis  @urskekyagvi  @skekmal-the-hunter  @skekso-the-emperor  @gourdplayer   @hedonistschambers  @ulvanmaudra  @littlebluezoologist @the-wandering-urru  @queenofthetides  @juliejewel24 @thecastleurru

OOC About  Your Character(s)

1.     What do you want to get out of playing this character(s)?

The reason I wanted to write for Gra was to meet fellow fans that loved the world of TDC as much as I do, I wanted to find fellow writers. I wanted to steep myself in the fandom. You can easily consider me skeKSis obsessed but I am growing a fondness for their counterparts -slowly ❤

2.     Describe your character(s) with three words.

Passionate | Erratic | Trustworthy

3.     What made you decide to write this muse?

Originally I was going to pick up The Ritual Master, he’d been my OG fav from the movie BUT Gra kept ... poking me with his scepter? Like; I live in the desert, you live in the desert, Ima recluse, you’re a recluse =we are simpatico. I think The Heretic picked me because he simply would not leave my mind when I considered him as a possibility. 

4.     If you could change one event in your muse’s life (in their main or canon verse), what would you change?

Canon. I mean they left us kinda hanging there. We really do not know what happened do we? They are simply, just not there anymore. I do not want them to perish, I want them to make it to the finish line and become urSkek. It breaks my heart to think they did not make it.

5.     If you could tell your muse one thing, what would you tell them?

I would not say anything, just hug him REALLY tightly and probably not let go until he gives me a chitter-laugh.

6.     If you could give your muse one gift, what would you give them?

I would like to give them...ME. 

7.     If you had to take one positive thing away from your muse, what would you take away?

I do not want to take a positive thing from the fibers that make up Gra. I feel they are very interwoven in his tale. Removing one would make another untether. If I could take away or diminish a bad trait Id have him not be so stubborn and or impatient but then again he would not be Gra now would he?  

8.     If you could “borrow” one aspect of your muse and apply it to yourself or your own life, what would you borrow?

His determination, passion. Damn son. You get things done. 

9.     Do you genuinely want your muse to be happy? What do you think would make them most happy in life?

Yes. He’s gotten his ass handed to him, I think he might be owed a slice of peace and happiness.  What makes him most happy? He’s already showed me; his relationships whether its friendship, extended family or a lover those are treasures he holds near and dear to his heart.  

10. Do you enjoy putting your muse through angst? What do you think would break their heart the most?

Usually I prefer to plot out angst rather then let it completely run a-muck because you never know what your partner is comfortable with, what might trigger them in a detrimental way and simply set fire to a plot unintentionally. 

I already know; it literally is ... break his heart. 

11. What do you love about your muse?

His dynamic energy, the wild fire, the mystical chaos, the creativity is off the charts. His sharp distinguished features, the way he looks shamanistically feral as compared to his brethren and their Garthic garb. His use of the color red. His scratchy rasp of a voice. His laugh. 

12. What do you hate about your muse?

He is a high maintenance muse, he is demanding and screeches loudly for what he wants. 

13. What about your muse amuses you?

The fact that he is a skeKSis. This brings a whole slew of challenges to the table for a writer. Case in point, I was writing a reply one day and I went to put something in along the lines of ‘he arched his brow and blah blah’ THEN he hit me! He has no eyebrows to arch, ahhh! I have to stop and think about how to write out expressive traits or reactions that are not of the usual human reaction tone.

14. What about your muse makes you sad? 

How fragile his heart really is after all the shit he’s endeared. 

15. How would you describe your muse to someone about to meet them, in person, for the first time?

Get Ready For A Wild SURPRISE!

16. Would you like your muse as a person if you met them in real life?

Yes, I like creative souls. I cherish them. 

17. In what ways are you better than your muse? In what ways are they better than you?

I do not think I am or he is better than the other. 

But I will say he is a handsome devil, for a skeKSis. 

18. Why do you think you connect to your muse?

Creative. Outcast. 

19. What aspect of your muse’s personality is most important to you? What aspect of your muse’s personality do you think is most important to them? Is it the same? Why or why not?

His passion and drive. I’d say its the same answer for us both. All of the accomplishments he tackled probably had their stacks of obstacles with each to-do. You’d have to have an unending supply of passion and drive to keep going, to complete all. He really is a work-a-holic and a busy body skek.

20. Has your character(s) changed over the time that you have been playing them? How have they changed?

Not yet but I am sure he will, creative liberties will be taken since I only have a a episode or two to work with -am I right? 

About You!

1.     What is your name? 

Jesse. 

2.     What is your profession?

secret shit. 

3.     What do you do to relax?

I write. Play video games. Naps are divine. Hot coffee and watch YT videos. DOodle. Desert combing walks. Long hot baths. Organize things xD

4.     What is your favorite treat (desert)?

All kinds, I’m not picky. I love me some chocolate lately. 

5.     Favorite movie

Too many to list. Its October right now. All I want is Hocus Pocus, some Harry Potter and Practical Magick at the moment. Tis the season. 

6.     Favorite book

I do not think I have a favorite. BUT I will admit that I have a copy of The Dark Crystal that I STOLE FROM A LIBRARY YEARS AGO! I have kept it all this time, its falling apart and its aged with beauty and I adore it  ❤ I also have a Jim Henson book about puppetry and his works, there is a page from TDC and if my memory serves me right it has the concept art of skekGra in it sooo sooo I was looking at skekGra YEARS AGO AND HAD NO CLUE the conjunction that would line up in the future! I really neeed to go find this book but its in a storage shed that will be a fresh hell to get to =[ *

7.     Favorite vacation spot

Anywhere where its either very green and or by some body of water. Ocean, river, lake. Yes, good. -not very many humans around save for present company reading thiiiis. 

8.     Favorite Disney movie

Are you kidding me? Too many to list, although I will say The Sword In The Stone did play a part in Gra’s Crystal Skimmer named Archimedes after the grouchy old owl. 

9.     How did you first get into role playing?

Years ago. I started writing on face book. I wrote for a pirate believe it or not, he was my first muse and he holds special place in my black heart and probably always will. But I am disinclined to acquiesce the gift of further details about this scurvy cursed muse, Ha!

10. What was your first platform? If it was something other than Tumblr, what made you get into Tumblr?

It was face book, before they got all crazy about accounts and security. I moved over to tumblr because writers were incredibly rude and rapid fire RP-ers. One liner sentences and I’m like NOPE I need a novel length. 

11. What’s a grammar rule you find yourself breaking or ignoring a lot?

Sometimes I have a touch of dyslexia, sometimes I typo, sometimes I am too tired to proof read, sometimes I make blunders. But I tend to focus on my mistakes rather then other peoples. I just go with the flow, I just write no matter what their level of ‘proper grammar’ IS because I’d like to think that maybe they are just starting out, maybe they will fall in love with writing and maybe they will be the next author who creates a world we all fall in love with and want to immerse ourselves in.  

12. Are there any languages besides English in which you think you could comfortably roleplay?

I do not RP in other languages. However I did have a muse at one time who was French, I would throw in little phrases but it was never entirely done in French and I do have a British muse at the moment, so again I will use slang and little sayings to make them well rounded as best as I can. Those are just little details I like to include that many others might skip on but I thrive for deets. 

I do however have role play writing partners that are from ALL over the world which is amazing to me. 

13. Do you listen to music while your write?

ALOT. I have tracks specifically for skekGra, that take me to his frame of mind. Even TDC soundtrack at times, the puppet show song and the blue flame part 2 are on replay a lot. 

14. Are you a morning, day, evening, or night writer?

I am all over the place. My life is very hectic. I’d like to say its usually in the afternoon of evening for me, the house is settled down and things are silent but thats not always how it works out. Oftentimes I will sit down and write a reply or two, then dip to do mundane human things that adults do, then return back for a few more replies. 

15. How does tiredness affect your writing?

Kills it. The weekends I work long hours therefor my brain is like WHAAAT. 

16. What is your biggest obstacle to writing every day, if time doesn’t count?

It is always TIME. Sometimes stress levels can be an obstacle too, no lie. If something major is going on, I just throw my hands up like ‘I got nothin’’ and thats that.

17. How many drafts is a paralyzing amount?

Oh damn. Been there done that. I am much more picky about it nowadays. I try to limit skekGra to a certain number of replies because he also has to allow room for other muses. 

Currently: Gra has ten replies on tumblr -no actually 11 &&& 4 on discord. I am two shakes away from cutting HIM OFF! lol. 

18. Is there anything character-wise or writing style-wise that you can’t stand?

I’m open to different characters, I have written with a lot. I love a writer who has style, I appreciate the effort.  

Etiquette, manners and consideration are oftentimes LACKING as of late. 

19. What kind of anonymous questions are your favorite?

ANYTHING as long as it is not anon HATE. 

20. What is your weakest point in writing? Angst, fluff, dialogue, etc.?

T I M E not having enough time to write the angst fluff and dialogue, smut too lets be real. It really is a bummer to me when I  do not have the time, I work, I have a a lotta responsibilities, my life is like a hurricane a lot of the time so TIME is my weakness, oftentimes I am super J E L L O of people who are online all day, every day, always there I’m envious and I get writers FOMO which makes me laugh but its so damn true I could ugly laugh cry about it. 

[bluboothalassophile]

Hey Blu I'm reading Runaway Bride and I have to say the soul bond between Jason and Raven is making my JayRae heart flutter. Now I'm imagining a really fluffy re-incarnation AU and obsessing lol. Kind of just requesting a one shot though. Doesn't have to be with HfaB.

Hello,

Not sure about re-incarnation AUs, but I do hope you enjoy this one! =)

Proper This Time…

Soulmates, it was an anomaly science couldn’t figure out.

People would remember thousands of years of life with their soulmate, which was rare for them to find each other, it was an overwhelming anomaly in life. Whether by Fate, Design or Free Will, it was a mystery, one no one really had an answer for. It was difficult to understand as well.

The people who had soulmates, and continuously found each other, they could document centuries of life, all in one meeting. They also always described life before they found their soulmate to be something akin to waiting, waiting for that partner to be at their side.

He thought it bullshit, but he couldn’t deny it felt right to describe soulmates as waiting.

He was always waiting, he didn’t know what for, but he felt the ache in his heart and a pain in soul when he felt lonely. It was like there’d been thousands of years of life in his heart, but it was all locked away awaiting the key, awaiting her.

Jason had never mentioned this waiting sensation to anyone. No one in his family had soulmates, and he felt beyond unworthy of such an honor to fall onto him. The only person aware of this was Alfred Pennyworth, but Alfred had lost his soulmate in a war, and Jason felt comfortable talking to his adoptive grandfather about this feeling of waiting he had. Bruce, Dick, Tim, Cass, Duke, and Damian didn’t get this feeling, they still had soul identifying marks, they were still looking for their other half, Jason wasn’t.

Jason was waiting for them.

He could feel it, and he hated it. He hated this sense of waiting, but he also sensed that he didn’t mind, if they met in this life they met, if they didn’t they didn’t. He wouldn’t stress it. Still, he had this ache for them.

Which was why this morning, he was home on leave, and reading in an offbeat café; The Invisible Man, by H.G. Wells; having agreed to go to the movie coming out with his sister. He was in San Diego, and the café was a little surf café close to the beach but just enough off the beaten path that he could enjoy the peace. His original plan was to go out to surf, but the rainy overcast had deterred that; this was a first edition book and he didn’t have anywhere to put it safely.

He knew his father would cringe at his reading a first edition, but Alfred would applaud him; in the famous words of Alfred ‘Books Are Meant To Be Read And Cherished!’, and Jason was doing just that this morning. He had a cup of black coffee, and some quiet, he was tempted to pop in his earbuds and listen to some jazz or classical piano, but today he couldn’t. There was this deep sensation in his gut that something was going to happen, and he should be alert, pay attention. The rain started coming down harder when the door chimed and a small girl walked in, he lifted his head to see her throwing away her newspaper umbrella.

She wasn’t tall, she was rather short, even in her heeled boots, her hair was braided loosely, black as midnight almost void of all colors, and her skin pale as ivory. She was stunning as she looked around, his breath hitched when her eye caught his, and everything around them disappeared.

Suddenly he was a Prince, she was a slave, he was a warrior, she was a witch, he was a street rat, she was a goddess, there were flashes before him as he watched a thousand years flood his mind. She was his, he was hers, and she was a godsend, in every lifetime.

Her lips curled as she walked over to him.

“The Invisible Man?” she asked. “I believe I got this for our anniversary,” she chuckled softly.

“I got you the Great Gatsby,” he replied remembering that, when their love was divided by the times, race and status, but it felt just as magnetic and inevitable. “Jason, Jason Todd.”

“Raven, Raven Roth,” she smiled.

“Tea?” he asked, she had an affinity in tea when they had last been together. He remembered that, back in 1942 just before he was deployed. They had both been in Hawaii, he had asked her to marry him, and they had both spent a weekend in the finest hotel he could afford. He had been deployed then, killed at the Battle of Iwo Jima.

“I would love some,” she admitted, sitting down and smiling.

“Honey, not sugar?” he ventured.

“You remember!?” she blinked.

“I’ve waited thirty long years to remember,” he admitted softly. He finally remembered everything he had been missing.

“I’ve waited  twenty-seven years,” she murmured as he got up and pulled out the seat for her. “Still a gentleman?”

“For you, always,” he chuckled as he gently seated her and went to get the tea. He remembered all of their lifetimes together, and walked back to the table to see her reading his book, he smiled as he sat across from her. Her dark eyes flicked upwards to him, then a shy smile curled around her lips.

“Is it too bold to say I have missed you,” she asked.

“No, I’ve waited a long time to see you again,” he chuckled.

“You owe me a dance, Sergeant,” she warned.

“It’s Lieutenant now,” he informed her. “I went to college this time, became an officer, I work in the Navy.”

“That is an improvement,” she chuckled.

“No, cause I’m still doing all the dangerous shit,” he chuckled.

“Of course you are,” she mused. “I’m a teacher this time,” she said softly.

“What grade?” he asked.

“Third Grade,” she mused.

“I bet you’re great at it, you always were great at teaching things to people,” he said. She was patient, she was kind, and for the first time in a lifetime he felt whole with her sitting across from him.

“I love it,” she mused.

“Would it be forward of me to ask you on a proper date?”

“You wish to court me?” she asked.

“Properly this time,” he replied.

“And the last time wasn’t proper?”

“The last four times haven’t been proper little bird,” he reminded her.

“You may try,” she conceded.

“You have no idea how much I missed you,” he whispered staring at her in wonder. So maybe soulmates weren’t complete and utter bullshit.

“I’m so glad I found you this time,” she whispered, her hand hesitated a minute before she reached over to grasp his. She was always shy and uncertain with giving affect, but he grasped her slim fingers in his hand and marveled at seeing her again.

[lixrk]

plot call + muse update!

HELLO EVERYONE !!! my hiatus is ending soon so i wanted to make this post before it does to ‘get ready’ in a sense lol. anyways! first of all, lix finally quit his job as a host in a host club took him a while i know and has decided to... *drum roll* do youtube full-time! wow, amazing!

what does he do on his youtube channel?

dance covers, most of them he choreographed himself. he started doing vocal covers too!

he also vlogs, you know, for the views

mukbang with an assortment of cheap junk food

if you’re also a friend of his there’s an 80% chance he’ll try to drag you into his videos

AND NOW FOR THE PLOT CALL !!! i’ve been... super horrible with interacting with most of the people on here because i just stick to twitter for plotting and well, i don’t have all of you on twitter... and i wanted to change that! i want lix to meet a lot of your muses as well as make more meaningful connections, after all. so! this is an attempt at that!

under the cut i’ll be listing a few plot ideas that might interest you guys. please LIKE THIS POST if you want me to slide into your dms for plotting. you can also REPLY WITH A SONG TITLE if you want me to write up a random starter for you (based on a prompt generator or a sentence starter). thanks a lot and i’m looking forward to writing with all of you!

additionally, you can reach out to me on twitter (@wowyoungie) and discord (ask for the id) if you’re as bad with tumblr ims as i am (although i’m awful at messaging in general,,, i’ll do my best though!! i promise!!)

PLATONIC

a very close friend of his, his ride or die. they probably knew each other for a long while, and is aware that lix is... running away from his rich family lol

the one friend that helped him polish his korean... he owes you big time. he’ll share his pizza with you everyday

that friend that let him stay at their place when he just returned to korea before he moved out and found a proper roommate... this friend can be the same one that helps him re-polish his korean if you want!

since his family goes to korea every summer, friends that he made during those times!! he’d treasure every friendship... regardless of how often you meet up!

as of lix’s birthday, his dear roommate bought them two cute bunnies! maybe we can make a plot around that. he loves gushing over his bunny (which he hasn’t named... help him with that maybe hAHA).

people he can drag into his videos! it doesn’t have to surround dancing, he does random challenges too (for the views...) and you just somehow get dragged into it. he’s super embarrassed but you know, you do what you have to do. join in on his discount mukbang too

those who were his clients back when he was a host. his host persona and his real persona is a very different. in reality he’s mostly shy and easily embarrassed. maybe you ran into him expecting host lix but he’s just embarrassed and panicking and ‘omg they’ll think i’m so lame outside of work’

lix is a person that gets jealous quite easily. he still doesn’t have his life structured properly and you seem like you do. you seem to know what you want, meanwhile lix doesn’t, he barely knows himself. he admires you for that, but he also feels envious. bonus if you two are friends and it’s only a matter of time before he explodes on you

people his parents forced him to befriend, and though when he still lived under their roof he did befriend you, after he ran away he never contacted you ever again. he doesn’t know whether the friendship the two of you had was real, nor does he want to find out

alternatively, people his parents forced him to befriend, but he just doesn’t like you (and maybe you feel the same way or not). he tries not to let it show at the time, but after running away he starts treating you differently

he’s a bit awful at keeping up with debuted idols. teach him about them! make him stan a group! please please please! you can be his stan twt educator. he’ll do his best to keep up

trainee friends! he’s kind of jealous of you but he really wants to learn from you. whether you were friends before you became a trainee or after, it’s free real estate!

maybe you work as a delivery person, and you’re wondering why the hell this guy keeps ordering food at late hours into the night. he’s a night owl, mostly because of his previous job as a host club that usually occurs at night, and also because... he’s an insomniac

NOT-SO PLATONIC

exes. can work with girls even though he’s gay because it took him a long time to come to terms with it

if a girl, he probably didn’t give you all his attention. he doesn’t initiate any sort of physical affection, which might be the first thing that tipped you off that he isn’t as invested in the relationship as you are. 

if a boy, you probably witnessed his meltdown and insecurities firsthand. it was probably a quick relationship, because he panicked and couldn’t handle the pressure at all, ending things abruptly even though at the time he probably did like you. he just couldn’t handle the idea of being out of the closet

one night stands... that says it all. whether you were friends beforehand and got drunk and made mistakes or you were lonely strangers... anything is free!

friends with benefits... need i say more. could be a past thing, and now your friendship is on the verge of shattering or something

the one that got away? maybe you had feelings for him before. he knew about it, but pretended not to, because feelings are scary and his insecurities were just about ready to eat him up. whether you decide not to confess or you did and he let you down, things are a bit rocky now

an unrequited crush

on your part, it’s pretty much established that he’s awful at feelings so, that isn’t fun

on his part, it’s most likely a past thing. he was too scared to say anything about it, or maybe he did and you let him down, causing him to harbour a lot of regrets and ‘fuck i shouldn’t have said anything’ but time heals wounds and now he just misses having you as a friend

OPEN EVENTS

#rkcollab: collab time! lix is eager to learn more rapping and whatnot since he’s a beginner, but he also just wants to sing with friends on his youtube channel

#rkdanceoff: listen,,, he’ll love to have a dance-off with literally anyone, he’ll most likely upload it to his youtube channel too. be his competition! it’ll be fun, he won’t go down easy

#rkcharity: charity time! let’s do this! either you dragged him into it or vice versa. either way he’s not gonna half-ass this

[seanfalco]

A Matter of Honor

Fandom: The Witcher Pairing: Feral!Valdo Marx x Reader Word Count: 2247 Rating: T Tag List: @ficsandcatsandficsandcats​ @nevadawolfe​ @magic-multicolored-miracle​ @coffee-and-stories​ @whatevermonkey​

a/n: Kat asked begged for some Feral!Valdo after reading my headcanons so I had to oblige :3  Takes place after this fic.  I just hope this lives up to the idea I have in my head;;

Traveling with Valdo had been like nothing you had ever dreamed and you were even beginning to understand why your brother enjoyed his own adventures so.  You were seeing so much; experiencing so much.  

And while the fancy parties Valdo was invited to perform at were exciting and romantic -- the sumptuous food and drink, the music, the dancing, the decadent outfits -- it was the simple quiet moments that were your favourites.  Those moments when you got to see Valdo for the man behind the flamboyant persona, somehow gentler than you could imagine him.

No longer were these moments stolen; ending much too soon for your taste, but they were unpredictable, sneaking up on you when you least expected them.  And though you had already fallen for him, it was in these moments that you knew it was more than just some passing fancy, and you marveled that it truly was possible to fall more in love with someone every day.

So when you walked into the latest noble’s ball on Valdo’s arm, decked to the nines, how could you have guessed that by the end of the night you’d grow to love him even more?

—

“You look especially stunning tonight [Y/N],” Valdo purred in your ear as he led you to the main hall.  “I fear I shall be so distracted by your luminous beauty while I am performing that I shall certainly forget all the words to all the songs,” he bemoaned dramatically, though his lips curled into an amused grin.  

“Perhaps you should only sing of me then,” you suggested, a mischievous twinkle in your eye.

Valdo hummed, clearly pleased.  “Perhaps I shall.”

Your heart gave a flutter as his lips brushed the back of your hand, his green eyes intent on your face before he straightened, throwing you a wink as he turned, making his way to the head of the room to greet the host.

Taking a seat, you settled in to listen to Valdo’s performance, glancing around you at the other nobles in attendance; trying to see if there were any familiar faces.  There were a few hushed murmurs around you, but most of them fell away as Valdo began to play; his fingers nimbly plucking the notes of a song you were familiar with as one of your beloved’s favourites and you lost yourself in his voice for a time, smiling as his eyes met yours.

It was during the next song that a pair of voices, not far from you, caught your attention and you glanced around to determine who was so rudely spoiling the moment.  A man and woman, glittering in layers of gold and velvet, seated several chairs from you leaned in conspiratorially, their rather loud whispers carrying and you half wondered if they wanted to be overheard; their eyes suspiciously flashing over to you more than once.

“Have you seen the bard’s latest muse?”  The woman asked, a touch of scorn in her hushed voice.

“Ah yes, the pretty little thing that swaned in on his arm tonight.  Isn’t she the daughter of some minor nobility?”  The man asked and you held your breath, knowing for certain now that they were talking about you.

This had become somewhat of a regular occurrence, for no matter where Valdo traveled whispers inevitably followed and now that you were connected to him, you’d swiftly become a favourite subject of gossip.  Usually you could tune it out, knowing the words they spoke were usually borne of jealousy, but this time they’d brought up your family.

“Yes,” the woman replied, glancing around surreptitiously.  “I can’t believe she left their family estate in the hands of her playboy brother to go gadding about with Valdo Marx…” here she paused to watch Valdo for a moment and sighed.  “Well, I suppose I don’t blame her, but really the girl obviously has no sense.  I wonder how long it will take him to tire of her.”

“Isn’t her brother the fellow who throws all those extravagant parties nearly every other week?  I believe I’ve been to a couple of them.”

The woman nodded primly.  “The very same.  I gather within the next few months their estate will be penniless, mark my words.”

Her haughty tone filled you with barely concealed rage -- how dare they talk about your brother like that?  Sure he had his flaws, but he was a good man and you knew for a fact that he was no longer throwing these parties; trying his damndest to be the responsible elder brother you’d always hoped he’d be.

“If they were my children it goes without saying that I’d be disappointed.  They have so much and yet they squander it away.  Perhaps it’s a blessing after all that their parents are gone, so they don’t have to see what their family name is coming to,” the man intoned solemnly and you felt like you’d been kicked in the gut.

“Oh quite right you are,” the woman agreed, “they’re probably turning in their graves right now…”

The casual callous way these two strangers spoke about your deceased parents -- like they knew anything about your family disgusted you.  It was a slap in the face, and though you knew none of it was true you felt shame grip you, twisting your stomach.  You didn’t even realize there were tears in your eyes until they spilled down your cheeks.  

Jealous pettiness you could stomach, but not this.  Without thinking you stood abruptly and hurried from the room before anyone else could see the tears running down your face.

—

Valdo watched you rush from the room with a frown, his brows drawing together, and it took every ounce of self control he owned not to simply chase after you during the middle of his set.  He eyed the crowd as he sang, noticing the way the couple not far from where you’d been sitting shifted, glancing over as you’d left the room before putting their heads together once more.

His eyes narrowed and he plucked at the strings of his lute with more force than necessary; anger and worry gripping him -- for surely something must have happened for you to flee like that.  As he finished the song, Valdo abruptly bowed deeply to the audience, cutting his set short despite calls for more songs.  Stalking the halls he searched for you and when he finally found you, tucked away into a tiny alcove, tears streaking your face, he felt he could finally breathe again, though the sight of you only made his worry spike.

“[Y/N],” he exclaimed, hooking a finger gently under your chin and tilting your face up to brush the tears from your cheeks.  “What happened?”

The tightness around his bottle green eyes was so at odds with the tenderness of his touch and voice that you lost your words for a moment, gaping at him.

“It’s foolish really,” you insisted, voice still thick from your sobs.  

Valdo shook his head.  “If it upset you this much, it’s far from foolish.”  Pulling an expensive looking silk handkerchief from his pocket he gently dabbed at your eyes, his touch so soft.  “Did someone, perchance, say something?” he asked pointedly, his gaze finding yours, and you knew you might as well tell him.

“Not directly to me,” you mumbled, your lips twitching into a frown.  “But I overheard… and I think they meant for me to.”

“Go on,” Valdo urged patiently, though anger simmered dangerously in his chest, just below the surface.

“They badmouthed my family.  Insinuated I was selfish for leaving with you and that my brother was going to ruin our house.  They even brought my parents into it…”  Your words were cut short by another choked sob and Valdo quickly pulled you into a hug, resting your cheek against his chest as he held you close, stroking your hair and back soothingly.  He didn’t know the specifics of your parents’ untimely deaths, but he knew it was still a tender subject and that you missed them very much.  

His anger sharpened.

“I’ve never done anything for myself before,” you murmured, sniffling.  “Was it truly selfish for me to run away with you?”  Your voice sounded so small and when you lifted your face to look up at him, he frowned slightly.  

“No love,” he whispered, a quiet fierceness filling his words, “you are the farthest thing from selfish.  Me on the other hand...”  He trailed off, taking a steadying breath before pulling back to place a firm kiss on your forehead, squeezing you tighter for a moment. 

“Why don’t you head back to our room and get comfortable.  I’ll be there shortly, but there’s something I need to attend to first.”

“Attend to?” you asked, peering up at him.

“Don’t you worry about it, songbird.  Just... bardly duties, you know.  I have to be seen mingling for a proper amount of time.”

Skeptical, but really just looking forward to putting the evening behind you, you nodded, sniffling.  “Alright, I’ll see you soon?” you asked hopefully, wanting nothing more than his presence, uninterrupted.

“Yes, this shouldn’t take long darling.”

As soon as you disappeared around the corner, making your way back to your shared chamber for the night, Valdo’s expression hardened, his green eyes flashing.  Turning on his heel, the half cape hanging off his shoulder flaring with a flourish, he stalked off in search of the two who had dared to make you cry.

It wasn’t hard to find the couple, the Duke and Duchess of some minor Duchy, their simpering smiles only serving to temper his fury further into a cold hard thing; sharp and swift, and he wondered if they had any idea what they’d done or if they were truly as clueless as they looked.  Plastering a hollow grin on his face Valdo approached, bowing slightly and taking the Duchess’s hand to press a kiss to.

“My Lord, my Lady,” he greeted and the Duchess’s face lit up at his presence while he fought to keep his smile from slipping, though it never touched his eyes.  

“To what do we owe this pleasure, Master Marx?” The Duke asked, his words somewhat strained; clearly displeased with the appreciative way his wife eyed the slim bard.

Valdo’s smile sharpened dangerously and he stepped closer, almost conspiratorially, and the Duchess’s eyes lit up with interest.  “You see I’ve just heard something rather shocking that I’m afraid concerns the two of you,” he said, his voice dropping along with his grin.

“O-oh?”  The Duchess’s ridiculous smile slipped at his tone and she reached for the necklace hanging at her throat out of habit.

“It really is impolite to sling unfounded judgemental accusations around, especially within earshot of those you’re so rudely gossiping about.  If you have a problem with me, well I could certainly care less; gossip is an occupational hazard in my line of work, but when you bring my lovely muse into it…”  He spread his hands apologetically and as the two gaped at him, their mouths working silently in an attempt to find the words to backtrack gracefully he slipped a slim dagger from the seam of his doublet, it’s razor thin edge pressed to the Duke’s side.

The man flinched, stiffening as he realized what was happening.  “Are you th-threatening us?” he demanded, spluttering indignantly.  “Do you have any idea who we are?”  His eyes flashed with fear as he kept glancing down at the dagger pressed to his skin.  To any passerby the three merely looked as though they were having a close conversation, not even noticing the blade in the bard’s hand and Valdo pressed it closer, a sadistic thrill passing through him as the man’s eyes bulged further and a small patch of red soaked through his shirt.

“Let me make myself succinctly clear,” Valdo bit out, his usual drawl falling away as cold anger filled his voice, his eyes flicking between the two.  “Spread such slanderous drivel about my [Y/N] again, and I will ruin you.”

“Bold words from a bard,” the Duke spat, though he flinched again and the Duchess looked on wide-eyed, her mouth hanging open like a codfish.

“And do you not realize how much sway I hold?”  Valdo retorted, a cruel smile twisting his lips.  “I hold the ear of those much more powerful than you, I assure you -- scores of important players that can make your life a living hell until your titles are empty and your reputation is shit.  Or, if you prefer, a dagger in the back before you even knew it was there…” Valdo shrugged, stroking his goatee with his free hand.  “Just remember this warning the next time you decide to flap your mouths about things you aught not to be.”

The Duchess nodded emphatically, her jewels jostling loudly as her husband swallowed audibly.  “Y-yes, we’ll remember.”

“Fabulous,” Valdo exclaimed, his usual rakish smile returning, though his emerald eyes still flashed darkly, a reminder that he more than meant his words.  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a very lovely woman waiting for me in my chambers.  Cheers.”

Without a backward glance Valdo strode away, tucking his dagger back into its hiding place with ease.  Did he go a little far?  Perhaps, but it was worth it to see the panicked look on the Duke and Duchess’s faces.  Besides, there was no ‘too far’ when it came to his love or her honour.