#I adore Seteth so much

[aeris-blue]

This is so undeniably sweet! I keep coming back to it

When you’re a thousand years old, you’re bound to forget a few things

[pxstelmxsings]

Various characters x Reader: Getting ready for bed

general notes: Pure fluff, implied NSFW at the last one, ooc, just silly goodness...I should be asleep but here I am.

proof read? Lamo no, I rarely proof read. Sorry for spelling mistakes and stuff.

You two always get ready for bed at the same time, but never in the same order. While one of gets changed into PJ's, the other one brushes their teeth. There is sleepy chatter the whole time, if things get quite one of you will fall asleep mid task after all. Every step of the bed time routine is peaceful, the perfect vibe to settle down for the night.

Characters: Dale (TWD), Rick (TWD), Spirit (Soul Eater), Atsushi (BSD), Jin (gokurakugai), Itachi (naruto), Shiro (VLD), Leah (SDV), Xander (FE Fates), Seteth (FE3), Germany (APH), Austria (APH), Choso (JJK)

You are dragging them to bed. It is one am in the morning, they are still wide awake doing work, and you can't sleep without them. They will fight your tugging at their clothing and their own sleepy yawns for dear life. How can someone be so damn allergic to sleep? However the moment you have them in bed they are out like a light...for maybe two or three hours. You love them but they refuse to sleep.

Characters: Daryl (TWD), Stein (Soul Eater), Ranpo (BSD), Sasori (Naruto), Lotor (VLD), Sebastian (SDV), Switzerland (APH), Dimirti (FE3H), Saizo (FE Fates)

They go to sleep long before you do, which at first made you a little worried. If you are asleep by nine PM, they are asleep by seven PM. However you have come to learn they do this because they are the worlds biggest morning bird. If they had it their way so would you. For now you'll happily watch them sleep as you get ready for bed.

Rock Lee (Naruto), Gai (naruto), Alex (SDV), Free (Soul Eater), Sweden (APH)

Getting ready for bed is always a little...hands on. There is always at least one kiss placed on your neck as you change clothing. If your hair is long enough to put into braids they love doing that because they love playing with your hair. In their eyes bedtime is the perfect time of day to remind you of how much they adore you. You'll end up in bed sleeping soundly by the end of the night no matter what ;)

Chuuya (BSD), Naruto, Deidara (Naruto), Keith (VLD), Niles (FE Fates), Sylvain (FE3H), Tao (gokurakugai), Haley (SDV), Italy (APH), Romano (APH), Gojo (JJK)

[fe-fictions]

Dimitri with a pregnant Byleth who's feeling super clingy 🥺 like, notices as soon as he gets up from bed, wants to cuddle with him even when they're seated for dinner, always clinging onto his arm when they walk 🥰 she just love husband...

(This was such a cute one!! I had to write it as quick as possible ;;;)

He was starting to notice a strange pattern in the days since you announced your pregnancy. You were still as quiet, calm and reserved as ever, but something notable had changed.

You did not seem capable of leaving his side. 

Dimtri would wake up before dawn, always careful not to rouse you since your day would always start a little later than his. But even in his stealthy attempts to ease from the bed, your arms would wrap around his waist and prevent him from moving any further.

“Must you go so early…?” You mumbled into his nightshirt, nuzzling into his back. Dimitri blushed, startled by the sudden onslaught of affection so early in the morning. But he nodded and smiled softly, covering your hands with his.

“I wish I could stay with you, Beloved. But I cannot; I must maintain my strict schedule, at least for today.”

“Can you alter it later so that you can spend a little more time with me?”

“Do you feel I spend an inadequate amount of time with you?” He paused, turning to look back at you when you slowly slipped away.

Your expression was unreadable, but if he didn’t know any better…there was a pout on you rlips.

“I…just want to spend more time with you.” You managed to mumble,. It took all of Dimitri’s will not to give in and stay right then and there.

“I shall make the neessary arrangements so that we can have more time togehter, than apart. I know we both have unforgiving schedules, but given the current circumstance, I’m sure we can convince our handlers to be a little generous.”

“I would like that,” You smiled up at him, taking Dimitri’s hands into yours. “Will you come back once you finish training?”

“I shall return just as you awaken, again.” He promised, “So please, rest easy. Your body needs it.” He kissed you then, soft and swe. He couldn’t help it; you were positively adorablke!

But sure enough, the cuteness wouldn’t end there.

No, ever since the pregnancy rstarted to become more and more visible, you were spending more and more time with him.

If Dimitri had a meeting, you were present. If he needed to be somewhere for some inane thing in the village, you would acaccompany despite Seteth’s many protests.

In the mess hall, your hand was squeezing his tightly below the table; and on your walks in the gardens and hte courtyard o the monastery, you were resting your head on his arm, your own wrapped tight around his bicep.

It seemed impossible for you to detach from your husband.

Dimitri wasn’t the only one who noticed, of course; the other Lions had started to see it, too. Sylvain was the first one brave enough to mention it, once the king escorted the Bishop-Queen from their counsel meeting for some much-needed bed rest.

“Soo…the Professor seems to be in a strange mood, lately.”

“Well, she’s starting to really show now, isn’t she? It must be the pregnancy that’s affecting her behavior.” Annette figured, watching as the happy couple continued on their diwb tge cirridor. ‘I know tha tpregnancy hormones can have a big impact on having a child. Maybe Byleth becoming more adorable is part of that!”

“Don’t you think it’s a little weird? I don’t think I’ve seen them so much as hold hands in the last two years.” Sylvain insisted. Mercedes simply shrugged, a warm smile on her lips.

“It might be any number of things. Pregnancy hormones have a notable impact on the body and mind; not to mention that she may feel insecure undergoing susch a serious life change. Can you imagine what it must feel like, to go from being an independent mercenary to the queen of a country, and archbishop of a continent. An dnow, she’s an expecting mother, too?”

“Well, when you put it like that…” Sylvain sighed, “No wonder she’s feeling a little clingy.”

“You’re just jealous she’s not snuggling with you.” Ingrid rolled her eyes, “Now enough chittering about the Professor. The least we can do is afford them some grace and respect while they navigate this….new dynamic.”

“So considerate of you, Ingrid,” Annette giggled, garnering a soft blush from the knight.

I the maentime, Dimitri was practically floating in the air, his arm was linked with yours, your head rested on his shoulder, and you were enjoying the sights and sounds of the monastery courtyard in the blissful glow of sunset.

It was like a dream.

“How are you feeling, BeloveD?” He asked in that gentle, warm voice that made you feel soft and safe.

You nodded, resting a hand on your baby bump.

“I feel a little bit hungry, but…I don’t want to move from this spot for a while. It’s beautiful.”

“Shall I go and fetch you something from the mess hall? You needn’t lt yourself be hungry just to satisfy stay in my company. I’d rather you feel full than otherwise while you’re still going through changes.”

“I’m only a little hungry.” You insisted, “Nothing to worry over. I just want to stay with you a while…then we can go eat.”

“Very well. If that is what you wish.” He kissed the top of your head, prompting you to snuggle closer to him. The slight chill in the air nipped at your noses. He draped his cape over your shoulders, drawing you into him as much as possible.

“Please tell me if it’s too cold. We will go inside right away.”

“And risk losing thi stime together? Not a chance.” You shoook your head, “If we go back inside, someone will snatch hyou away for some important thing. I want to stay here as long as possible.”

“You know…I can order them away if they’re truly too demanding of my time, dearest.” Dimitri offered, but you shook your head.

“No…because then it’d seem like you’re shirking your duties. Social convention is so exhausting.” You huffed, making him chuckle.

“Is that why you’ve been staying so close? To try and balance the expectation of being a prominent figure with wanting to be with me?”

“Perhaps. I just…miss you. I wish we could spend time like this together, always. Especially with the baby on the way.” you added, looking down at your belly.

Dimitri looked at you fully, finding the slightest pout on your lips.

“My love?”

“I just…I just want to be a husband and wife for a moment. A little family; no titles or expectations or…anybody else. Just us. Is that selfish?”

“I suppose when you consider our positions, it’s difficult to be selfish. I do not fault you for wishing to be a little indulgent right now.” 

You sighed heavily, “It’s going to get worse once the baby is here. We’ll have to divide our time even further, betwen our duties, each other, and the child.”

“We will make time.” He assured you, tightening the cape around you when another chill blew through the garden. 

“Are you sure? I don’t want to raise the baby without being present. My father was always there…I feel it would be wrong not to do the same for my child.”

“It will be a challenge.” He murmured, “And I worry I may not be as capable a parent as your father was. But it is a challenge we will face together…which I believe we will be able to overcome.”

“Really?” You looked up at him so hopefully, it made his heart skip a beat. He beamed at you, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Of course. I will have to convince some royal council members, and I’m sure the Prime Minister will have some thoughts on the matter.” Dimitri thought aloud, already anticipating Seteth’s displeasure at the thought of the Archbishop spending less time doing her duties.

“So long as we can spend as much time as possible with them…that’s what I want. I want to be with you.” 

His gaze softened at your quiet confession. You were so terribly lovely. How he was able to find his way into your heart would forever elude him.

He cupped your face tenderly, unabel to resist kissing you fully and sweetly.

“I wish to spend every second with you as well, Beloved. And once our child is born, I will feel the very same about them.”

“I’m glad.” You smiled, squeezing his hands when they fell from your cheeks. “Until then, will you…keep indulging me?” 

He laughed, drawing you back into his warm embrace. 

“I shall not leave your side until you cannot stand me any longer! I promise.” 

The two of you remained in the courtyard a while longer, wrapped in each other’s arms and relishing the soft moment as a precious memory.

At least until your stomach growled…then Dimitri gladly escorted you to the mess hall (where you held hands the entire time, much to the chagrin of Felix, who had to sit next to you).

[mariyekos]

WIP Folder Game

Rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Tag as many people as you have WIPs. People can send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, then post a little snippet or tell them something about it!

Okay so I didn't actually get tagged in this but it crossed my dash and seemed fun so I decided to do it! This does not count fics in my "Unfinished FF" folder, which includes the sub folders of "On Hold" and "Abandoned" (and has at least 3 dozen more fics). I'm also not tagging as many people as I have WIPs because there are uh. 79 of them. Which is a lot of people to tag.

What I've realized is I should really clean out my WIP folder again. A lot of these could be separated out into subfolders of Active, On Hold, and Abandoned. I'm definitely not working on 79 different fics right now. Now, am I hopping between 5 or 10? Yes. Do I have some "finished" fics in here that I might never post? Also yes. Are 2 of these fics actually finished and posted fics that I will be moving to my finished fic folder right after this because they shouldn't be in here? Yes the third! Anyway this is super long so I'll put it under the cut but yeah here are my theoretical WIPs, in order of when I last edited them.

Tagging @dithorba @mrmissmrsrandom @sunshades @basil-does-arttt @whitebeakedraven. Five seems like a much more reasonable number. Hopefully my memory is not failing me and you guys do write fic, but if you don't or would rather not share, no worries.

D/C Confessional

Qliphoth [and Copy of Qliphoth, and Qliphoth Redo]

second time's the charm

Flare VrEs

Clean

FFIV WEEK

Sparda Return

nero early adoption

effigy

Grub

Geryon V3 [and Geryon Outline, Geryon Outtakes, and Geryon]

Vergil TT

dmc ancient au

son's blessing

Ease

Stand-in MV

captive

fV remembrance [and Copy of fV remembrance]

Nelo 2

Mundus Rescue

Nelo Angelo's thoughts on Dante in DMC1

Untitled document

Drabbles - XIV Azemeteor

Raider

Sundae on Spardas

Forgetting / Vergil

Nidstinien

Estinien Drabbles

"Leave me be,"

XVI TT

first brood

Estimeric Week 2022 [there's a multichapter fic inside of this document that's sort of ongoing]

Seat of the Archbishop

Copy of ysenne garden 1 [and ysenne garden 1]

Vrtra Estinien stay

Eric Athena

Azem Meteor

Estimeric Week 2022 [Also has a multichapter fic inside of it!]

Rejoining Fragments [and R. Frag outtakes]

Marriage

Copy of Long AE [and long AE]

marriage nsv

Sleep

To me my knights

dimidue

Fic: first brood

jultena short

Outlines for FFXIV Fics

Estysayle

seteth

overlook side story - outlook

grief for the un(familiar)

[somehow my college honor's thesis made it into my fic WIP folder huh???? can you tell I never clean this out, I graduated 2 years ago]

"Are they not men most sweet, my dear brother

violence

Nid fic notes

obsess/adore

Throne Replacement

Various Fic Outlines

Aymeric Tempering

blood contract

Ysenne

Bygone

blessed

AE Replacement

Airship

Hum

shades

Alberic

Wyrmblood

Guilt and Rage

assassination

Touch

Admiration

Painting

ManaBy

Dimi Long v2.1

Fics

R&R Updated Party [but ironically not the actual fic itself, just the notes for the fic. the actual fic has its own folder]

[glowingbadger]

Okay sexy outfit time we're DOIN IT because I COULD NOT get this out of my brain and I've learned to just carpe diem that shit

I will... Probably do a Genshin version of this too tbh... And/or like any other fandom I can justify lmao

What they love to see you wearing in bed

FE3H guys x GN/AFAB reader

NSFW 18+

Lorenz - Oh, it's intricately laced corsets, thigh-high stockings and elaborate silken lingerie all the way for this man. Lorenz relishes in buying you a wide assortment of the highest quality lingerie (all in coordinated matching sets, of course), dressing you up and then carefully and lovingly removing each piece from you, clasp by clasp and strap by strap, kissing every inch of you as he works.

Claude - as an open minded sort, he's of course impressed by anything you wear for him, more than able to appreciate the way your choice of attire (or lack thereof...) accents everything he adores about your body. That said, he gets a special sort of worked-up to see you in the richly patterned, flowing fabrics of Almyra. That you would go through the trouble of procuring such clothes to please him makes him all the more determined to spoil you in turn.

Raphael - Doesn't care so much about what you wear (if anything, complicated hooks and straps can be frustrating when he just wants your body so desperately), but boy, he does love the look of you with nothing on but some honey or sweet cream drizzled over your nipples or down the center of your torso, just ready for him to lick it all off of you.

Ignatz - a huge fan of maid outfits; having come from a merchant family, while he may have had a nanny or tutor, a traditional maid is something exotic and luxurious to him. He's fascinated by all the little details of how the frills accent every part of you that he admires, his hand warm as it slides up your stocking-clad thigh beneath your skirt.

Hubert - also can definitely appreciate a maid outfit, though for him it's more about those delightful power dynamics he loves to play with. Even better though is to have you in a collar, preferably one he hand selected for you, one with a little ring on the front that he can use to direct and guide you. Really though, anything you choose to wear specifically because you think he'd like it will have him devouring you with his eyes and hands.

Ferdinand - in the bedroom, he's quite open minded, and would love to select some luxurious lingerie for you; however, it's far more fun to tease him by wearing something out in public that's just a little too tempting for comfort- a dress with just-too-low of a neckline, tantalizing him with the curve of your breasts. Breeches that hug your ass far too perfectly. It makes his pulse race and his face redden at the very sight.

Linhardt - Lin is a man who deeply focuses on whatever's caught his attention, so he's more than happy to take his time with you in bed. As such, while he'll grumble at first about the extra effort, he actually quite likes complicated, strappy sets of lingerie so he can savor removing it from you piece by piece. The slow and meticulous way he obsesses over each inch of you as it's revealed to him almost becomes unbearably sensual and intimate.

Caspar - whatever you're wearing, he just loves to watch it come off. It's not that he's rushing (okay, sometimes he's rushing), but more than it's just so sexy to see you tug your shirt over your head and reveal your beautiful breasts, or bend over so he can watch your ass and hips as you tug down your pants. It just drives him wild with anticipation, he can't wait to carry you into his bed.

Seteth - listen, I feel like the Nabateans had to have some kind of erotic wedding-night attire. Something pseudo-ceremonial in draping white fabric that's paradoxically sinful to behold. So when you find an illustration in a dusty old book in the Abyss and commission a similar garment to wear to surprise Seteth after a long day of work? Goddess, he's lost. It's going to be a long night.

Jeritza - he never knew it until you, but he's actually weak to all sorts of outfits and aesthetics. Sweet cream or syrup down your body for him to lick up? Obsessed. Frilly, feminine underthings for him to literally tear off of you? Divine. But his favorite is to have you panting and whimpering beneath him in your normal every-day attire that's been pulled open, tugged out of the way, a wrinkled mess from the frenzy of him just needing to touch and taste you.

Yuri - while he certainly thinks you look stunning in anything, he's actually not much one for elaborate outfits or costumes. With you, he wants to be able to just see you and adore you. So his absolute favorite is to see you in nothing but a beautiful necklace that he'd selected just for you. In a strange way, being almost naked seems so much more erotic than actually wearing nothing.

Dedue - he absolutely adores seeing you wearing nothing but one of his casual tunics or undershirts, seeing how it dwarfs you by comparison regardless of body type. It's so domestic and sweet and makes him want to pull you close and run his hands under the fabric- and then savor the way his clothes still smell like you the next day.

Felix - He won't say it aloud, but it's obvious from how he stares and how handsy he gets that he's deeply aroused by seeing you in training/workout gear with the fabric of your shirt clinging to your sweat-dewed skin. Sometimes, you look just tempting enough to cut training a bit short to get back to his room together- you're just too distracting.

Dimitri - interestingly, regardless of his state of mind, a feminine and 'princess-y' gown or frilly white bridal lingerie really do it for him. On better days, it feels traditionally romantic in a way that makes him feel so intimately close to you. During his more 'chaotic' stage, he wants to tear the flimsy fabric off of you and ravage you.

Ashe - he's big into the sorts of things he would stumble into lavish descriptions of in romantic novels, blushing but still guiltily reading with rapt attention- decorative corsets and especially clingy thigh-high stockings with garters. It's so romantic and impractical in a way that only enhances the fantasy for him.

Sylvain - it's tempting to just leave it at "any and everything" with a guy like him, and that is more or less true. Sylvain is a man of broad and varied tastes. That said, he's particularly fond of seeing you in the Garreg Mach uniform, the skirt rolled short and shirt buttoned low. Having you like this fulfills all sorts of fantasies he'd had during his school days, and he just loves teasing you about being such a naughty student.

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

ROUND 1 MATCH 36

Seteth propaganda:

“Mmm green dilf”

“Now he may just seem like a typical vice principal at catholic school for war criminals. But in reality he’s way more than that. He is really nice, and at sometimes overprotective over his daughter Flayn but he has a good reason for it. But in supports with other students he serves as a father figure to a bunch of traumatized teens. While being a traumatized dad himself. You may ask “how is he dateable?” Well Dilf. A man who’s a good dad is a man you can trust. And he enjoys writing stories too.”

Penny propaganda:

“She's weird and not in a good way. She has mommy issues.”

“I love her sosososososo much, you simply can't understand how much I adore her. First time I played Stardew Valley I IMMEDIATELY tried to date her, waaaaaaay before I even knew I was a lesbian. Thanks Penny for helping younger me realize I was gay. Anyways, she's so sweet and smart and she teaches the two kids in town because there isn't a school. Her mom sucks but she still takes care of her and I love Penny so much <3”

[themattress]

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

This year I have decided to do three simultaneous playthroughs of each house (and I'll be sticking with Edelgard on my Black Eagles file since there's no point in playing Silver Snow when I'm going to be playing Verdant Wind). It gives me an even greater impression of not only how the houses differ but all the small ways in which the narrative changes depending on which house you chose. I've cleared Chapter 2 on all files and have some stray thoughts:

- Specific characters in each faction outside of the leaders are really grabbing my attention. For the Black Eagles it's Dorothea, who is such an immediately charismatic and layered character, and the fact that she's a bisexual woman playing the field but isn't slut-shamed for it by the narrative is so refreshing. For the Blue Lions it's Felix, who is an odd duck in how he's one of the biggest assholes on campus yet also consistently one of the most honest, loyal and well-intentioned people around at the same time. And for the Golden Deer it's Hilda, who is a natural powerhouse and knows it yet plays the "weak, useless, delicate flower" to get out of fighting not because she truly lacks self-confidence as she claims but because she's clearly frightened of having the burden of expectations placed upon her the way it's placed upon her brother, who is basically Superman as far as the Alliance is concerned.

- As far as the Church of Seiros is concerned, as usual it's all about Seteth and Flayn for me. Seteth is such a thinly veiled passive-aggressive dickwad to Byleth in these early chapters and it makes him unlikable but in a fun way while also making his later turnaround that much more effective, and Flayn is just too precious in how determined she is to experience all the joys of living to her fullest regardless of how awkward she is at it. I love her voice and manner of speaking. Rhea is also interesting, of course, but hasn't really done much at this point.

- I adore Garreg Mach Monastery. It's one of those fictional world locations that leaves such an impression that I wish it were real. It's got everything: classrooms, a library, a training yard, a dining hall, pavilions for tea time, a fishing pond, a greenhouse, a marketplace, a sauna, a chapel, living quarters, tame animals everywhere, and even an expansive underground area.

- The developers have confirmed that it was the Black Eagles version of White Clouds in conjunction with Silver Snow that they wrote first, and honestly that tracks with how these beginning chapters go. There's so much dramatic irony in Byleth teaching the house led by the secret villain, doing so after it was their presence that threw a wrench in said secret villain's plans by becoming the new teacher instead of Jeritza, and in how said secret villain then goes along on the class mission to exterminate the very bandits that she hired for the aforementioned plan. It also sets the narrative up as a bizarre sort of "love triangle" between Byleth, Edelgard and Rhea...and unless you do extremely missable things, nobody wins.

- Lastly, I got reminded early on why the Blue Lions route is my least favorite. All the fans that love it insist that it's a "character-driven" story, but what they mean by that is literally just one character is driving the story: Dimitri. At the end of Chapter 2 in the Black Eagles route Edelgard talks to Byleth about the ruins in Zanado and hints about the Nabateans or the Agarthans (depending on dialogue choice) and how they "might still influence the world", subtly hinting at her distaste for this and desire for Byleth to join her in getting rid of them. In the Golden Deer route Claude tests Byleth's honesty before noting his curiosity about what happened in the past to give Zanado the name of "the Red Canyon" when nothing was red. Both of these are rooted in the main plot and reflect on the characters plus Byleth's dynamic with them. But in the Blue Lions route, Edelgard passes by, Dimitri seems wistful about her, and when Byleth inquires he just says "I'll tell you some other time". Nothing about Zanado or the main plot whatsoever, and Dimitri is the sole focus rather than Edelgard or Byleth getting anything out of the scene too. It's foreshadowing how in Azure Moon, Dimitri becomes a plot tumor whom everything else in the story is sacrificed for, even Rhea whom we opened on.

[pastelricky]

Hello,

I know this might be an odd request, but I am currently looking for some selfshipping musing / rp partners. Nothing super serious, just someone to gush over characters and do some self-indulgent writing with. So like... think more personalized x reader fic writing. Also just someone to share x reader fics with because yes.

I also see this as a way for me to expand the kind of characters I write. For example, I love FE3H Dorothea but I have never written her before, I would love to try to.

It is almost 2025, we embrace and adore our cringe. No longer shall we shy away from it. No more ranting. Just love.

Rules: 1. I am only looking for musing/rp partners who are 21+. I am 28 and the idea of doing this kind of musing with someone who is only 18 to 20 feels weird.

2. Discord only. I am willing to make us a server.

3. Keeping things 16+ Aka willing to dive into dark topics but no smut.

4. I don't care very much about spelling or grammar mistakes, no one is perfect.

5. While I identify as lesbian, I do find 2D men hot. So i do simp male and female characters.

Have a list of series that have characters I simp for. The series in bold are my current brainrots:

Voltron

Fire emblem Awakening, Fates, and Three Houses (someone save me from my Sully and Seteth brain rots, thank you.)

Naruto

Oh let's just say all the cringe, Hetalia

BNHA

Genshin Impact

Mystic Messenger

TWD

Pandora Hearts

[justrandomselfships]

@fe-oc-week day 2: Relationships.

OFC I'M GONNA START WITH SYLVAIN. Here is longer rant post abt their relationship.

If we want to put it in a basic way they are just friends to lovers where their friendship time had them cross a lot of boundaries between friendship and romance like their casual affections. They never expected anything of each other, and maybe that's the reason why they grew so close (and why they never thought that they might be in love).

Now time to talk about her closest friends! Where she considers a lot of them as such haha- rant post about (Claude, Hilda and Cyril) (Ferdinand, Lysithea, Marianne)

But no matter what, her nr1 bestie is Claude! These two are the definition of chaos. They like goofing around more than anything, but at the same time they have unlimited trust towards each other.

With Hilda they just get each other. They understand their feelings better than anyone. They may not have many common interests but somehow they always find something to talk about.

Cyril is like a brother to her. She's very protective of him even though he doesn't need it and she knows that. She just likes to go the extra mile for the sake of her friend!

Ferdinand is someone she thought she was in love with before realizing her feelings for Sylvain (I never mentioned it lol)... But her feelings for him are fully platonic! They love learning things from each other to put things simply.

Heather's relationship to Lysithea is mostly about the fact that they care about each other's well being more than necessary. Their ideals and way to live their life is pretty much opposite, but they still care about each other a lot.

With Marianne, Heather is just super impressed by her- which confuses Marianne. They both adore animals and tend to spend their time just enjoying the moment, rather than forcing a conversation.

Now that the most important people are settled... Here is the rest of the Golden Deer!

You may or may have not noticed it but Heather is close to all Golden Deer ladies... except Leonie. That is for a reason that they have no way of getting along. Heather finds Leonie judgemental, while Leonie finds Heather spoiled. They do "settle" their differences in their supports- but even after that they don't consider each other as friends.

Lorenz is someone Heather always had troubles even starting a conversation with. Although there is no denying the difference, her mind just keeps comparing him to her previous suitors- that's why she doesn't want to talk to him. ever. BUT IN THE HYPOTHETICAL SUPPORTS I'VE WRITTEN THINGS DO GET BETTER.

Raphael is just overwhelming to her in a good way. His positive attitude is exactly what she needs and so the two don't have much issues getting along. In supports I wrote with him and her- he helps her with her eating habits.

Ignatz is another person whom Heather is very impressed with. She loves all kinds of art- so of course she'd be interested in his paintings as well. She doesn't stop talking about how skilled he is and she really wants to motivate him to never drop this hobby.

Other important notes:

her favourite professor is Manuela

she loves hearing Alois' puns and often tries to think of something better

she's scared of Seteth due to respecting him too much.

she'd have the biggest trouble from the Golden deers talking to Byleth casually during first few chapters.

[malsfefanfics]

Claude/Annette and Claude/Flayn?

Hope you don't mind that I added in an OT3 for this one.

Claude/Flayn: So, I honestly really like how Claude and Flayn play off each other. It's clear they both have a read on each other that no one else has, and I adore how naturally flirty it can feel.

But I NEED to know how they managed to hide their romance from Seteth. Screw the cheesy love story I need Mission Impossible: Don't Let Seteth Catch Us Edition.

Claude/Annette: Claude and Annette play off each other very well, and I like how we got some really good worldbuilding on top of fun song analysis. I'd love to see these two dissect epic poetry together.

Now, as for the OT3.....

Felix/Claude/Annette would be so much fun to witness.

WE NEED MORE SHENANIGANS LIKE THIS.

[fayesdiary]

How is the 3H experience so far ? Any character you like ?

I just beat Ch8 right now and for the most part I'm quite enjoying it!

While I still prefer Engage due to it being more streamlined, focused and let's be honest, polished, it's really interesting to see how much 3H is different from it. And any other FE game, let's be real.

TL;DR: Mostly enjoying it but I have some major concerns for the future playthroughs and ESPECIALLY for the writing.

But the gameplay loop is quite fun once you start getting into it, and I'm enjoying all the management this game requires of you even if I'm not sure what I'm doing!

Only problem being that the monastery is way too large for its own good. I like how everyone has something new to say every month, but it's the worst paced part of the entire game. The rest of it is mostly fine, though. But I can definitely see already this game is going to be a bitch to replay, even with NG+.

The writing style isn't exactly my cup of tea (all the information about the world the game constantly throws at you is too much for my poor ADHD brain to handle) but I can definitely see the appeal, and I'm having fun putting together the story!

That said, I'm already starting to have some major concerns when it comes to the writing, most of which come in the form of Byleth which oh my god, I never want to hear anyone complaining about Corrin and Alear ever again because Byleth is all the bad-faith criticism people throws at those two but actually real.

Barely having a personality? Check.

Everyone adoring them for seemingly no reason? Check.

The whole world revolving around them and the narrative bending over backwards so they'll always be in the right? Absolutely check, which is even worse considering the game Three Houses is trying to be.

I am fully expecting the game to vilify the other two houses + the church depending on the route so that no matter what the player chooses they'll feel like they've made the right choice, which ugh. I guess that'd be the cause of the insane discourse.

Let's put it like this: If Corrin and Alear being Avatars make their games worse, Byleth existing makes Three Houses worse.

And while I appreciate the game trying to tackle some really hard topics (Duscur...), I also do not trust the writing to handle them well because if there's something Fire Emblem writing usually lacks, it's tact. I will not be suprised if the game makes some false dicothomies or "both sides" nonsense where there really shouldn't be any in its eternal boner for grey morality.

As for the characters, I'm quite enjoying Dimitri, Dedue, Ingrid, Annette, Ashe, Shamir and Bernadetta! Also Seteth and Hanneman, which was a pleasant suprise.

on the flip side I want to punch Felix and especially Sylvain so badly

[frickingnerd]

For the Ask Game give me... Fire Emblem 3 Houses and Hopes (since they have the same setting)

answers for the ask game under the cut!

3 male characters I love:

only three? this is really hard for this game 🥺 one of them has to be dimitri, who's just my absolute favorite fire emblem guy out there. i think the other two would have to be claude and ferdinand. i love all three of them so much, they have such compelling stories and their s-supports are absolutely adorable! plus, they all got great va's! honorable mentions to sylvain and seteth (or just every male student 👉🏻👈🏻)

3 female characters I love:

my favorite fire emblem girl is dorothea! i absolutely adore her and i'm so glad she's one of the bi options! she also says one of my favorite lines in the entire game. spoiler: if you kill ferdie but have dorothea recruited, she'll remind you of the times when he was on your side and just... got that part always makes me cry! plus, she's voiced by allegra clark who i adore! that woman is so talented and funny, she's genuinely perfect for the role as dorothea!

my second favorite girl is petra who's just really cute. her little language mistakes are adorable and she's such a genuinely kind person. i absolutely love her!

third place is hard, but i think i have to go with flayn! she's just such a sweet heart and such a funny character! plus i love her va as well (her va & seteth's va act like actual siblings in all their interviews togethers and it's both adorable & very funny).

3 romantic ships I love:

byleth and dimitri, for sure! this is absolutely a self insert situation, i'm not even going to hide it. i love dimitri and his relationship with byleth is very sweet, but i'm def cheating a bit by picking them.

second place has to be dorothea and ferdinand! i love both of them so much individually but they somehow get even better when they're together??? i love their A support in three hopes, where they are just yelling at each other and everyone assumes they are a couple. they are definitely in love and nobody can convince me otherwise. plus, again, their va's have such a funny dynamic with each other and they are great individually, but even better together.

i can't actually decide on a third pairing because i like all those ships equally, but some that come to my mind are lysithea x cyril (very cute & wholesome), edelgard x claude (very interesting dynamic; likely frenemies to lovers) and like... pretty much all the blue lions with each other. seriously, these people should all date each other. i can't even pick a fav blue lions ship!

3 platonic dynamics I love:

my favorite platonic pairing is seteth and flayn! they are really funny but they also deeply care for each other. but seriously, the seteth & flayn related memes are some of the funniest ones in the FE3H fandom!

claude, dimitri and edelgard are another platonic dynamic i love! there is just so much conflict, but especially three hopes shows that they can work together well (and they should smh 😔). if they just had some group therapy, they could be great friends!

and my third pick is claude and flayn! flayn is such a sweet and innocent character, but claude being this chaotic schemer would absolutely be a bad influence, but in the funniest way possible. he's like an older brother that teaches her curse words and seteth would hate him for that!

3 favorite moments in canon:

this is a bit hard, but i think my favorite scenes from three houses are the reunion with dimitri and the reunion with edelgard. the reunion with dimitri was very bittersweet, but mostly beautiful, while the reunion with edelgard was much more heartbreaking. her "when next we meet, one of us will breathe their last" absolutely kills me everytime. my third favorite moment in canon comes from three hopes, when dimitri spares edelgard at the end of his route and edelgard realizes that dimitri is the boy she used to know as a child. like, if only they had realized it sooner... :')

3 favorite headcanons:

headcanon number one is that claude is an older brother figure to flayn (& also to cyril, but i'll be focusing more on flayn–). like, he's absolutely a bad influence to her and he keeps telling her to do what she wants and stop listening to seteth so much, but flayn is always super worried about disobeying seteth. but over time, claude does get her to do more things she wouldn't have done otherwise, like taking her to the market and buying her sweets, teaching her slang & curses or even getting her to skip classes on occasion.

slightly related but i headcanon that seteth & rhea do not understand teenage slang. like those two are old and cringe and i mean this in the nicest way possible! they are constantly asking the other teachers what those students meant when calling them "dilf" or "mommy" and if that meant that they view them as a mother figure. meanwhile the other teachers (mostly manuela, shamir & catherine) are trying so hard to let them think that those are just compliments, while also trying to figure out which student said that, so they can give them detention... seteth and rhea also keep using slang the wrong way and nobody dares to tell them.

and my third headcanon? uhmm... poly blue lions! they are all dating each other. i don't make the rules here.

3 least favorite things about it:

this one isn't too bad, but the first part of each route (white clouds) gets a bit boring after multiple playthroughs. it would've been nice if they switched up the missions a bit, to fit the individual classes more.

another thing i dislike is that you can't train & have supports with dimitri for quite a while after the time skip. like, i get that he's busy with being depressed right now, but gameplay wise it gets really annoying when everyone surpasses him, because he can't be trained.

and another thing that isn't too bad but still a bit of a waste is the fact that there isn't a golden route. i feel like this could've worked very well, if they had jusr established that every time a new playthrough starts, byleth rewinds time with the divine pulse and she keeps all the memories of former events, so she can create a future where everyone lives. but this one is more of a nitpick than actual criticism.

[beantothemax]

I'm gonna ramble a teensy bit sorey

4 years after I first had this thought and I am still angry that there is no Marianne and Seteth support chain. Doesn't even have to have an A support (would be nice though) I JUST NEED THEM TO CANONICALLY INTERACT. Marianne is a very devout (is that a word) believer so you'd think she'd have supports with a member of the church, right?? NO. She should've had a support chain with Seteth bc he's like. The church guy. Flayn is too silly in contrast to Marianne's canon depression, Catherine is also too silly and Cyril is Cyril. He's lovely but no. That only really leaves Seteth. There are no Rhea supports and Manuela and Hanneman do not care much about the church. Not to mention that she DOES have supports with Hanneman, but he's just asking about her crest!!!! I do think Seteth and Marianne could be friends cause Seteth is a very patient and understanding person and that is EXACTLY what Marianne needs. Obviously if they had a paired ending then it would be platonic. Idk what the ending would even be, just not something with "they got married and ran off together" or something stupid. Fe3h has some iffy paired endings in regards to some characters' ages sometimes unfortunately :(

Also just while we're here. EVERYONE is so so so mean to Cyril. In game and irl. He adores Rhea bc of [spoilers] and she takes advantage of that by making him do SO MUCH LABOR. RHEA YOU BASTARD HE IS 15!!! THAT BOY SHOULD BE READING BOOKS AND HAVING FUN!!! AND DRAWING AND PAINTIGN OR SMTH!! Also he CAN'T READ!! I can't believe she didn't even take the time to teach him to read. It'd take like 3 months and she could just get someone else to do it. It could be Seteth since he's such a lovely caring guy. Hey Bean did you know I love Seteth? Anyway back to what I was saying. Also the fandom isn't fond of Cyril. He's often reduced to just some guy that is obsessed with Rhea. The only people that like Cyril are Lysithea fans. He has a super cute support chain with her so people watch that and then they think "oh Cyril is actually pretty cool". This is also why all Cyril fans are also Cyril x Lysithea shippers. It's an objectively very cute ship. Also did you know his VA is called Griffin Burns?? Sick name. Griffin Burns has done a good handful of characters I like but the only one you know is Kai in to your eternity. That's sick.

Marianne doesn’t have any supports with church members? that seems. wrong.

annnnnnd yeah I was kinda expecting that with the paired endings. these are the same people who decided incest was a cool and necessary thing to put in sacred stones.

ALSO WHO IS BEING MEAN TO CYRIL. HE’S QUITE LITERALLY JUST A LITTLE GUY. AND HE DOESNT KNOW HOW TO READ??????? RHEA WHAT DO YOU EVEN DO ALL DAY.

[fe-fictions]

Help this wouldn’t leave my head: Yuri’s toddler of a daughter gives him a makeover using his makeup. What shenanigans ensue, nonetheless how Yuri’s spouse reacts to it?

(WE LOVE THIS IDEA???)

No one would have ever pegged the mischievous and mysterious Yuri Leclerc for a family man. But that was before he fell head over heels for the Archbishop of Fodlan.

He was enchanted, and it was a wonderful thing. You looked up at him with such adoration in your eyes, and he returned it ten-fold…sometimes with an actual, genuine smile (and in public, no less).

So even with the surprising shift in his demeanor, what pleasantly surprised evryone was the arrival of the young couple’s daughter.

The baby was perfect in every way, and both parents were absolutely enraptured by her. It was incredible to watch the aloof Yuri become a doting husband and father. Especially when she started to get a mind of her own. 

Her first four years flew by, and it wasn’t long before she was running around the monastery, adored by everyone whose classes she crashed (until Uncle Seteth plucked her up and returned her to one of her parents with yet another stern reminder to keep an eye on her…and of course would be ignored).

But there was one day in particular that surprised even you.

And it started when you had your day filled with meetings and bureacracy, but Yuri had himself a day off. Which meant he would be taking care of the young Lady Leclerc on his own.

“Come, my dear. We have a full day ahead of us, don’t we?” He mused, all but scooping her up from her bed before she was even completely awake.

She yawned, a sweet, dopey smile on her lips when she realized it was her father peppering her face in kisses.

“Mornin’, Papa.”

“Good morning dearest one.” He hummed, “Did you know that you and I will have the whole day to ourselves? Well, once Mama gets dressed and ready for the day.”

“I absoluI didn’t know.” She replied with great surprise in her voice, eyes widening at the revelation.

Yuri grinned, tucking a curl of lavender hair behind her ear. “Then you should quickly come up with activities for us to do, today. We only have a single day to ourselves, so we must make it count.”

“What do you wanna do?”

“I will do whatever it is that my daughter wishes to.” He replied as smooth as ever, earning a fit of happy (if not slightly mischievous) giggles.

The pair returned to the ARchbishop’s quarters wswiftly enough, just in time to see you stretching in your seatbed, lazily propped against the pillows in a feeble attempt to get up.

“Mornin’, Mama!”

“There she is,” You smiled sleepily as your husband returned to the bedside, “Is today your daddy-daughter date with Papa?”

“Yeah,” She replied, briefly wiggling out of her father’s arms so that she could sit in your lap. You watched as she climbed in, snuggling into your arms. “But I didn’t know ‘til Papa woke me up.”

“So he surprised you with it? How very sweet of him!” You hummed, strokin gher hair softly.with a thoughtful smile. “And have you been plotting out hwat you’ll be doing with him?”

“I don’t know! He asked me the same thing!” She exclaimed, pointin gback at her dad.

Yuri chuckled, offering a lazy shrug, “Well, there are many opportunities for fun, my dear. We don’t have to come up with them right away.”

“True…you’ll have a full day of joy and delightfun while I’m trapped in meetings all day…it will be….much less fun for me.”

“Don’t worry, Mama. When you have a day off, we’ll have lots of fun, too.” She said sweetly, not knowing that her mother’s duties as Archbishop meant a day of was rarer than any other da in the yaer.

“Thank you pet.” You managed a pinched smile, which Yuri offerd a kiss to your hand and a reassuring grin.

“Fear It won’t be long before you have a day of your own. I’ll call in a few favors.” 

His promise was reassuring, but as a realistic former mercenary, it made more sense to bet on the opposite. There were some things that not even Yuri could pull off…and sneaking in a day off for you had been one of  years.

‘Well, don’t let me interrupt your day. I’ll be dressed and i’ll dress and be out of your hair so you can enjoy your time togther.”

“Thank you, Mama.” Your daughter beamed up at you, giving you one last hug.

Somehow, the two of you had managed to raise a perfectly sweet little girl.

It didn’t make any sense to you, personally, but you weren’t complaining.

Yuri saw you off with a similar barrage of kisses (though these were far more searing, considering he was head over heels for you). 

“All right, then- now that we’re finally on our own, what shall we do?” He wondered aloud, hands on his hips while his daughter bounced on the bed.

“We gotta get dressed too, so we can start our day!” She realized, pointing at him. “I can pick out your clothes, and you can pick out mine, Papa!”

“That is an excellent idea.” He agreed wholeheartedly, “I did raise a daughter with impeccable fashion sense, after all. Let’s get started.”

He led her to the dresser, and after careufl consideration from both parties, they settled on an outfit that Yuri would likely never set foot in public wearing. 

However, the love he held for his daughter transcended all sense of shame or embarrassment. Especially when he knew that the Archbishop alone would get to see this; and that you would likely find it adorable that your daughter wasnted to dress him so badly.

“Okay! You look amazing, Papa!” She decided with a happy grin, “Now you get to pick mine, right?”

“Yes, of course. We shall hurry to your room after I have put my face together; I was so excited for our day together I did not get even a little ready ebfore I woke you. How silly.” He mused, only to elicit a sharp gasp from the young girl.

The epipany had struck, big time.

“Papa!! Can I help you put on your makeup?!” 

“Can you help me…?” He trailed off, the situation suddenly becoming much, much more serious.

You weren’t ever allowed to touch his makeup, after all. It was very precious, very expensive, and something he took immense pride in being able to wear perfectly each day. To waste such an imporatnt luxury to him would be truly tragic.

Ad yet…when he looked into those big, round, sparkling eyes…

Who was he to refuse her?

“Very well.” He finally conceded, “I will allow you to do my makeup, this morning.”

“Thank you, Papa!!” She exclaimed, bouncing away from him and making a break for the washroom. “Oh, I can’t wait!! I’m so excited to make Papa pretty!!”

“I’m sure you’ll execute flawlessly.” He followed behind her, feeling quite proud of his daughter. She was awfully precious already, but when she got passionate about something, it was a sight to behold.

She would without a doubt be formidable once she got older.

The pair of them were in teh washroom for quite a long time; so lnog that they didn’t even realize that you’d come back to the bedroo. Your initial mission was to retrieve a number of important documents Seteth tasked you with reviewing overnight. 

What madeyou stay was hearing excited voices behind the washroom door, and the distinct sound of giggling that was notable only when she was scheming something with your husband.

Intrigued, the papers were temporarily forgotten, and you went to the door, knocking gently.

“Is everything alright in there? It sounds like something very important is happening.”

“Everything is fine, my love. Did you forget something?”

“Initially I did, but it sounds like you’re having a lot of fun, in there. Am I allowed to take a peek?” You heard them whispering back and forth, debating whether or not his wife and mother of his child should be given entry to their secret mission.

Eventually your daughter giggled, and you heard her little hand on the door knob.

“Okay, Mama. Papa said you can come in if you say ‘please’.”

“Very well…may I please come in and see what you two are getting into?”

The door swung open, and two lilac-haired faces were beaming up at you. Though one face looked…rather different from usual.

A hand went to your mouth, his eyeliner dragged across the sides of his face, well past his eye (and over and under it). His eyeshadow had become blush, and any other form of makeup he had stashed away had been applied to his face, clothes and anywhere his daughter could reach.

“I see you’re speechless.” He quirked a lopsided eyebrow, “It appears you did even better than I thought you would, my dear. Your mother’s fallen in love with me all over again.”

“You’re so pretty, Papa!!” She grinned, arms open wide, “You’re sparkly!”

“It appears you did use some of the shinier powders, didn’t you.” He mused, running his fingers along his cheek and finding the shimmering dust on them. 

She nodded vigorously, before throwing herself at her mother’s legs. “Did I do a good job?”

“Oh, my dear, you did a wonderful job.” Your smile was broad and sunny, making Yuri’s heart skip a beat. You were so lovely when you were happy.

Particularly when it was at his expense.

“Perhaps we should get him cleaned up before the day starts, though.”

“What? Why??”

“Because I’m afraid he’s so beautiful now, it’ll make everyone else jealous when they see him.” Your argument was sound and reasonable, making her gasp with the realization.

“You’re right!! He’s already pretty…we don’t want them to be jealous he’s even more pretty.”

Yuri pulled her back to his side, pecking her cheek with a big, purple-pink lipstick-y kiss. 

“Let’s do as your mother says, then. She’ll need a wardrobe change before she leaves us behind.”

“What do you- oh.” Your off-white Archbishop’s gown was now covered in the residual colorful powders that your daughter had caked herself in, her sweet hug accidentally coating you in a rainbow of makeup.

It was Yuri’s turn to laugh.

“All right, that’s enough fun for the morning. Come along my darlings, let’s get ourselves cleaned up. I’ll have a messenger inform the counsel that you’ll be a bit delayed.”

He wrapped an arm around your waist, and held his daughter to his hip, guiding the three of you from the washroom with sheer happiness giving him the sweetest glow.

There was nowhere he’d rather be than with his family.

Even if you were all smeared in makeup. 

(When Seteth saw what happened to the gown later that afternoon, Yuri received a harsh scolding).

[cranehusbands]

red right hand

sylvain jose gautier/hubert von vestra; canon adjacent; vampire au; white clouds, black eagles route; be!sylvain; slight wrist trauma cw. 6739 words

a/n; houghkay i have not posted fic in over a year and idk if this is even how we do this anymore, but i don’t mind. i’m super excited to be writing again and i adore fire emblem so much, i think i deserve a little treat in making content for me in specific. i hope you all enjoy.

likes < reblogs, any comments in the tags are appreciated!

ao3 mirror in the reblogs!

The events of the past month had sent the workings of both the Officers Academy and the monastery that ran it into chaos.

The end of the Verdant Rain Moon found the members of the Black Eagle house, representatives of the Empire of Adrestia, assisting House Gautier in returning its Hero’s Relic after it had been stolen by one of their own. Well, former own, as the Margrave had disowned his eldest son some time ago and, by some indescribable miracle, the man had grown bitter. Especially toward his younger brother, who now resided among the ranks of those outside his holy kingdom, after having transferred houses in the months before. Sylvain Jose Gautier, for what it was worth, had faced Miklan with his head held high, adamant that he was not as useless as the aggressive but equally as irritating man had insinuated. This, however, could not stop the horror that followed. A former noble turned into a beast, a crestless man trying to play in the grounds of gods, so to speak- the lance had turned Miklan into far bigger of a threat than he originally posed, and though he was taken out quickly, they still suffered some heavy damage. Including Sylvain himself, who had taken a heavy hit from the beast his brother became- a bite, even.

Or at least, that’s what Hubert had been told. Being commanded by Edelgard to watch their back line for invading bandits trying to aid their leader, he hadn’t been within view to witness such a thing himself. He’d only heard about it later from Linhardt and Mercedes, who the professor had asked for earlier in the months- and their consensus was that it was a bad wound. One that had to be treated medically, and not just by the white magic they had on hand, one that they said had left him silent (a miracle) and convulsing (terribly unfortunate). He was, of course, more than alive when they had returned to the monastery, but this was where the trouble had started.

No one had seen him in over three weeks.

It would be excusable if Sylvain had the courtesy to inform them, but both Edelgard and Byleth had been worried about his condition and the time he had taken to grieve, and their pleas had gone unanswered. The both of them had made the decision to continue to give him space, but Hubert himself had little patience to wait. He disliked not having all the pieces on the board, and Sylvain, in all his ability to irritate and demean, was a wildcard he could not leave unsupervised and unaccounted for. Even worse, now that the next disaster had been decided as soon as the class returned from that particular ordeal- the younger sister of the Archbishop’s right hand was currently missing, with no trace as to where she had gone, and needless to say, Seteth was in something of a frantic state trying to find her. Lady Rhea herself had assigned Byleth, and by extension her students, to the cause of finding the young girl, but through all the chaos, students and teachers alike were all pointing fingers at one another. Hubert, of course, was aware of the identity of Flayn’s captors, though their reasons eluded him, much to his frustration. He could hardly trust these fiends he and his lady had aligned themselves with, at least for the time, but their hands were thoroughly tied. Their mission to rescue the girl would be unsuccessful if they were unable to devise a plan to cover for themselves in the eyes of the church- and even less successful if they were a man down. 

The mage's boots echoed as he ascended the hall of the noble’s dormitory, the one or two students lingering around giving him more than enough room to pass by as he reached the room at the very end in a swift amount of time from his own, staring up at the double doors, pausing for a moment to assess and to listen. There were no noises coming from behind it, unlike in the months before when there would be far too much, from voices most certainly not belonging to the man who was supposed to be occupying it, alone. He grimaced at the thought, raising a fist to the door as he gritted his teeth in a low growl of dissatisfaction. 

Hubert knocked with assurance, though it wasn’t particularly hard- simply firm, clear in which door he was knocking upon, in case Sylvain were to think otherwise. A long moment followed that, as Hubert waited for a response, be that an explanation or simply a confirmation he was alive. There was nothing. 

“Gautier. I know you’re in there, ignoring me is futile.” If he attempted, the door could easily be picked, and Hubert would let himself in to drag the man out here himself to answer for his absences.

And it seemed the attempt was, in fact, being made. Hubert scowled.

“You have failed to show up to lectures for weeks. Both our professor and Lady Edelgard have been asking for you, and you have continued to ignore them both.” What happened at the tower, as far as he had heard, was a tragedy- literally, in the way the beast that he was told was Sylvain’s brother roared in a way that bounced off of the walls. There was a pang of sympathy, but nothing more, crushed as quickly as it had manifested, as he reached for the doorknob. “If you don’t answer for yourself, I’ll be forced to enter. Do not make me ask again-”

When the door suddenly opened in front of him, Hubert was caught off guard. But the sight in front of him made that twofold. Sylvain was a ghost of the man he once not weeks before. Still broad and well-built, holding his pride in his chest in an almost literal sense, but everything else looked awful. Wide-eyed, pale, a tremor in his hands as he held the door open, perhaps even the kind that wracked through his body and made it difficult to stand. He was unwell. Was this the effect of grief? 

“There.” He looked terrible, and sounded as much as well, quiet and rasping. Like a man starved. “I’m alive. You happy now? You gonna go tell Edelgard I’m not dying on her doorstep, bringing shame to her house?”

Hubert scoffed. “You certainly look to be dying. Have you been eating?”

Hesitation. Never in his time at the academy had he ever seen Sylvain hesitate. “…Been trying. It’s hard to keep it down.”

“Have you caught something?”

“Probably? It was- it was raining pretty heavy, so-”

“This isn’t just a simple cold.”

“Let me believe it for a second, ‘Bertie. I’m too pretty to die.”

The mage rolled his eyes at the dramatics, even if he could sense there was more truth to the words than Sylvain cared to admit. He was among their best and brightest, as much as he tried to play otherwise- the first to pass an advanced exam in their house, training to be a cavalier, though he put that down to luck and experience over his own exceptionality. To lose such an asset would be a blow to the house. Hubert kept his hands behind his back, and he peered into the room around Sylvain’s side. It was mostly clean, except for old clothes and plates on the floor, and the way his bed hadn’t been made, likely because he had been laying in it in the hours and days before the disturbance, too sick to move. A hum of consideration escaped him, before he sat up straight again. “Very well. Let me in.”

“What?”

The element of surprise was the only reason that Hubert was able to overpower, in this scenario, and he would not kill himself otherwise- if Sylvain truly wanted to keep him out, or in one place, he would have no trouble doing so. But despite this, he entered the room with ease, inspecting it further now that he was inside, the only response being the sound of the door clicking closed behind him.

The mess was more obvious now, but hardly could be considered abhorrent behaviour. It was still relatively neat, surprisingly so- though, considering the number of women Sylvain smuggled in here for his recreational activities, it should not be that much of a surprise- and could be excused by his need to grieve, if not this mysterious illness that had befallen him. Hubert inspected for a few moments more, running a gloved finger along the counter towards the back of the room, before turning at the sound of the bed creaking. A glance told him that the redhead could not stand any longer, exhaling a breath of exertion and gripping at the sheets to keep himself steady and upright, still pale, still shaking. The mage stood to his full height again, turning fully to watch the way Sylvain rolled his neck, and tried to settle as he looked anywhere else other than his uninvited guest, but it only seemed like he was making himself more restless in the process. It was then that Hubert spotted them, a small and precise set of puncture marks, hidden beneath the collar of Sylvain’s shirt, once wrapped in bandages but now were mostly healed. It was a small, but curious observation- enough to make Hubert step forward, and take a hold of the bottom of his chin between a two-finger vice grip, pulling his head up to observe.

There was a muffled noise of protest from Sylvain as he registered what was happening, perhaps a little slower than he should have (delayed reaction time, to add to his list of symptoms), but Hubert was able to catch the way the pupils of his eyes blew up at the proximity, in the same way the cats of the monastery did when they went about hunting odd mice and fish around the place, before he pulled himself away, rubbing at his cheeks and his face with an annoyed grumble, “Woah, hey, hands off, big guy, I’m not interested in whatever manhandling you’re offering.”

He, mercifully, chose to ignore such prodding. “This isn’t a sickness.”

“Huh?”

“It is some sort of affliction, certainly, but seems more akin to a curse than something naturally occurring.”

Sylvain narrowed his eyes, watching the man in front of him stand back up to his full height again.

“…This was not my doing, if that was your first thought.”

His suspicion lessened slightly, as he leaned back where he sat. It was enough to get Hubert to roll his eyes in response, folding his arms across his chest- hardly a defensive gesture, though it could come across as such to the untrained eye. He’d been accused of far worse. A matter such as this did not bother him.

“Now, if you’re quite done, can you think of anyone that would want to do this to you?”

Sylvain laughed, short and loud, perhaps even bitter. “You want that in alphabetical order, or in order of relevance?”

Again, there was a hum, as he listened to the empty chuckle slowly dissolve into a sigh, as the redhead looked again to the door. Hubert watched his throat bob as he stared off in contemplation, eyes falling again to the start of the injuries left by his brother the previous month. It seemed far less than what one would expect from a bite at the hands of a beast. How curious.

Leaning forward again, Hubert moved his hand to fiddle with the collar of Sylvain’s shirt- enough to get him to look back with the start of some confused address, before his mouth was covered with an open palm, and he continued to pull down the collar of his shirt as much as he was able. He had been told the bite was bloody, and had left Sylvain utterly indisposed. In fact, he had seen the aftermath of the thing on the floor, red pooling where the body of the fallen cavalier had once been, pulled off of his horse like an animal’s chew toy. But this was hardly that. It wasn’t a mauling mark, or even something venomous- just a row of puncture marks along his neck and the back of his shoulder, extending to where he could not see with the shirt in the way. Hubert pressed his fingers into the underside of his jaw, harsh but hardly a jab, though it still got a hiss out of Sylvain- more akin to an angry animal than anything like a reaction of pain. He was irritated, not hurt, and that was perhaps the strangest thing. He turned the cavalier’s head some more, giving him a better view of the wound from this angle, the hissing only getting worse in reaction, but he didn’t pay it any mind- Hubert simply continued inspecting, pinching at the flesh and squeezing, with little there other than these strange indents, despite there needing to be more, from how large the beast was, and how thoroughly it had grabbed on. 

He was stopped suddenly by a flare of pain in his palm, which had held Sylvain’s mouth to move his head, and quickly snatched his hand away, checking it with a scowl and a scathing comment of childishness at the tip of his tongue. But Hubert paused, amid these musings, as blood began to pool on the surface of his gloved hand, slowly staining the silk from two evenly spaced puncture marks. Mouth hanging open with no sound falling from it, the mage looked up, slowly, at Sylvain, who seemed to be just as surprised at the mark he’d left behind, seeming to sniff before swallowing and moving his face away, barely masking the glint of sharp teeth underneath.

It all made far too much sense, now. The strange bite marks, the symptoms, all pointing to one thing. Though the origins of the black beasts that came from corruption at the hands of the crest stones was under-researched (more than likely due to the lack of subjects both alive and willing), linking them to those of vampiric origin hardly seemed like an extraordinary leap in logic. Whatever attack Miklan had landed on Sylvain could have corrupted his blood, only sparing his life because of the crest he loathed so much. Of course, this was only a theory as to his current state. Further assessment had to be made to confirm if he had even been turned at all, because this could well be a classic case of jumping to a conclusion and assuming the worst before his feet hit the ground.

“You’re a vampire.”

“What?”

“Do not make me repeat myself.”

“No, no, I heard, you, I just-” Sylvain seemed to be panicking, another odd emotion that Hubert had never seen out of him. He swallowed, trying to turn forward again, but it seemed he could not stop himself from looking at the blood that was still pooling under Hubert’s glove- even covering his mouth and his nose with something of a grimacing sound.

“You can smell it, can’t you? The blood?” As he spoke, he removed his glove, observing the way that Sylvain could not help but stare at the blackened hand corrupted by dark magic, even out of the corner of his eye. As he moved it closer as a test, the redhead almost craned his neck away in retaliation. With his other thumb, Hubert wiped the blood away and onto the front of his pants, inspecting the wound underneath. Evenly spaced bite marks, though they were slowly starting to seal, most likely due to the lack of time they had pierced the skin. He held his hand up, to show the man the thing he seemed so afraid of was gone, and he seemed to lose his tension even slightly, even if he still kept himself recoiled as he moved his hand away to support himself with a hefty swallow.

“So… what? I’m some kind of blood-sucking freak?”

Hubert hummed. “If that's what you want to consider yourself, then yes.”

He watched the way Sylvain tightened his fists around the sheets underneath him like they were a lifeline then, some sort of anchor to keep him grounded in the moment as his mind began to wander to other things, eyes trying to look anywhere but the mage assessing him in silence. This wasn’t the uncomfortable sort of squirming he’d grown used to from other students when he would observe them, the kind where people would try and get away from him in subtle ways, preferring to hide rather than face him. No, this carried a different energy. Sylvain was not avoiding looking at him because he was unnerved- this felt more like he was ashamed. Ashamed of the revelation, one that was still distressing him, clearly, but he still needed to eat- and now that he knew what he could eat, the thought could not escape him. And that in itself, strangely enough, was revelation enough to get Hubert to move.

He swiftly turned away from the bed to undo the front of his uniform, removing the jacket and gently folding it over the back of the chair beside the desk in a clean, efficient motion. Usually, he would sooner have another student dead than to have them see him strip a layer, especially Sylvain, who no doubt would have had a wry comment on the edge of his tongue if not for his current state. But times were desperate and the possibilities for the outcome were enticing. If the Gautier boy was, in fact, turning into a vampire, that could either be a bane to the kingdom for Faerghus that he would return to, a weed to be rooted out and, thus, a bane to the Empire to rid its enemy of their future Margrave… or, perhaps, if they could convince the man to turn from his homeland, to control him, to have such strength on their side would put them at an advantage regardless. And that was simply the first reason- the second, even despite himself, was a curiosity Hubert felt growing, at the prospect of something of legend being close enough to study, to feel. When would he get this opportunity again? As loath as he was to spend time in a room with Sylvain, perhaps his frail state of health that came from his turning would make the experience tolerable.

Hubert turned after smoothing out his uniform jacket to the best of his ability, tugging on his gloves to keep them on and rolling up a sleeve of his shirt, exposing the darkened, magic-stained skin underneath- blackened like wood left to roast on the fire too long, becoming charcoal and ash. This was hardly the full extent of the damage from years of using dark magic, but he wasn’t going to be quick to expose all of that. Especially not under Sylvain’s gaze, whose attention by now has been fully caught. Though he did not squirm underneath it, Hubert certainly disliked it, and very slowly raised an eyebrow. “...What?”

“Ha- eugh- nothing, I just- I thought you said I was a vampire? Not a succubus. Stripping isn’t going to do much, big guy.”

The glare he gives is mostly involuntary, in reaction to the juvenile comment that he really should have expected. It seemed that even if Sylvain was at death’s door, he would still be an annoyance- his simple compliance was too much to hope for. “If you’re well enough to make jokes, I can leave you to control your urges yourself.”

“No- no, hey, let’s not be hasty now.” The panic ran through him swiftly, it seemed, and it put him back in his place just as quick, despite his agonising over the choice moments before. It left him to sit as still as he could manage with the tremors of hunger and weakness that still ran through him, Hubert gave a self-satisfied hum at the silence that followed, finishing cuffing his shirt as he stopped just in front of the bed where the future Margrave still sat, like a sheepish, scolded dog. His weakened disposition was hardly the confidence he would want to exude, now or in the future.

In a slow movement, like coaxing a beast, Hubert held out his arm to Sylvain, who slowly moved his head to stare at it in confusion. He answered the question of what it was for before he even got to open his mouth to ask. “Eat.”

“...What? Hubert, I’m not going to-” “I will not command it again, Gautier. You will die without blood. Slowly, and painfully, hidden away in here because you cannot bear to be in the sun to prey upon the female populace as you’re so used to in your ordinary, pathetic life.” He leans down slowly to meet the deep brown eyes that stared back at him, suddenly coming into focus at what he assumed to be his smell- it was assumed vampires had heightened senses, and judging from the way he saw the redhead’s pupils blow up from the new sensations, he could only guess that to be a correct assumption. “Eat.”

Again, there was hesitancy in the eyes that began flicking away from Hubert’s face down to his wrist, to the floor and back again. But just before he was able to scoff and retract his offer, Sylvain slowly took a hold of his forearm with one hand, pulling down the silk glove slightly with the other, to better expose the veins underneath. His mouth hung open for a moment, tongue slowly running between his teeth, and now Hubert could see the elongated fangs his classmate had acquired in his transformation from human to superhuman in more than just a glint, as if a trick of the light, razor-sharp and dangerous, but very, very real.

He didn’t think about the way his mouth went dry at the sight, and instead grew frustrated at how long it was taking. “Well?”

“Hold on, I’m…” Sylvain didn’t look up, swallowing and pressing his thumb into his wrist, inspecting the veins, even as his hands still shook- perhaps even more so now, at the prospect of a meal being dangled in front of him like a morsel of prey on a silver platter. 

It took a moment to realise what he was doing- desperately and stupidly trying to find the right spot to puncture with his teeth, without killing him. Hubert clicked his tongue at the fumbling display, rolling his shoulders from the way he was bending down, as it was beginning to cause an ache in his neck and irritation in his temples from the time wasted here, that could be spent anywhere else. Sylvain could survive another day without food- Hubert could have found anyone to give to the man, rather than offering himself. Intimidate some poor student, perhaps even take out an enemy in one fell swoop, give them to an inexperienced vampire for his first meal, and more than likely his first kill. But he didn’t. He had offered his hand and so, regrettably, he would see it through. Taking his free hand, Hubert wrapped it in the other man’s hair in a tight fist (a noise came out of him at the notion, something of surprise and perhaps even pleasure, but he, wisely, chose to ignore it) before he pushed his head forward towards the offered wrist, lining Sylvain up perfectly with where he needed to be as he himself lowered to one knee to save his aching back. Hubert knew about the lethal places to bleed from, and the safe places for shallower cuts, meant for torture rather than a swift end. The latter, of course, was the intention of his direction, where he now held the man. So long as Sylvain showed some restraint, for once, he would be alright. There was a moment of consideration at such a thought, and after that, the mage kept his fist in his hair, grip looser but still firm. “There. Now stop stalling, or I swear, I will leave you here to starve.”

The eyes that darted up to him for a moment were far different then from the ones Sylvain had been giving him previously. Whereas before they carried reluctance, now, it seemed, that hunger had truly claimed him. Hubert watched his pupils dilate, almost swallowing the warm brown of them in a void of black, looking away again as he began to feel hot breath against the inside of his wrist, almost panting before there was a surge of fire and pain at the ball of his thumb, fangs sinking deep into the flesh. He’d felt worse pain. So he did not flinch, nor did he look away- he simply employed the empirical method, and began to observe. 

It was a curious sort of feeling, as the blood came out of him in slivers. While there was the sensation of sucking, what came more than anything was the wet feeling of Sylvain’s tongue lapping up whatever escaped thereafter like a hungry mutt on the streets of Enbarr. Amid the feast were quiet growls of satisfaction, almost yips in their pitch and length, and insistent pulling of the mage’s arm further into his mouth, as if he could swallow it whole, wanting and greedy. It should have been a disgusting display, especially from a man who takes and takes without restraint as much as Sylvain, but somehow, Hubert could not help but to not feel that way. There is pity, even, in the way he observed such an act from a starving man. Pity that a man like Sylvain had been given such a life- forced upon him as most everything else had been, a fact he was careful not to speak about. Hubert had heard it, though- overheard it, more like, from the shadows, never involved directly in conversation but always listening. He’d heard the redhead arguing with his fellow Faerghans when he’d decided to change houses- that swordsman had called him a coward, with vitriol but no malice, only hurt, and the Galatea girl was just as hurt by the gesture, but kinder in her pleas. Surprisingly, this did not make Sylvain fold to their whims and change his mind. He’d remained with the Black Eagles, and the next month, he’d confronted his brother. And now…

And now, here he was. Feasting on the blood of another like a beast.

Hubert watched some of his blood dribble down his wrist before Sylvain was able to catch it, droplets hitting the man’s leg, but he didn’t seem to care. He carried on eating, carried on taking, only concerning himself with that and that alone, tunnel-visioned like an animal amidst a hunt. He was still growling all the while, still gripping onto Hubert’s arm like a lifeline, somehow getting more desperate to eat even when the food was right in front of him. It made sense, of course- it had been weeks since the tower, and between grieving and the corruption setting in, he hadn’t had a chance to eat what would keep him alive. Meals from the dining hall wouldn’t sustain him any longer, a fact he didn’t know until minutes before. And, despite the way he was being fed upon, the mage still felt he had control- control enough to tug on Sylvain’s hair, to remind him to pace himself, which he seemed receptive to, pulling back again with that same little noise as before, if a little weaker as he continued on. Perhaps he would need to curb such a commanding habit, if this Faerghan harlot was enjoying it- then again, he was behaving for the moment, so why did it matter? Just another way to remain in command of the situation.

There was a sudden wave of faintness that overcame him as he continued to look at Sylvain, wavering where he knelt, enough to where he had to close his eyes and actively think about swallowing away the dryness of his mouth. His eyes were slow to open again, hearing his own breath and the beating of his heart as he looked up from the floor to the boots directly in front of him as he remained on one knee, the fire still burning in his wrist. 

“Gautier.” Hubert’s voice was far weaker than he liked, as he shook his head and attempted to sit up despite his rapidly approaching vertigo. He gritted his teeth, and tried again. “Gautier, that’s enough.”

It seemed the pleas- no, the demands, because Hubert never pleaded- fell on deaf ears, and the devouring of his arm only grew more frequent.

There was a nauseous pit in his chest now. The mage tightened his grip still in Sylvain’s hair. “Sylvain. Enough.”

Those hunter’s eyes met him again, unrecognisable as the man that once was Sylvain, nose wrinkling in a deep growl so different from the noises of satisfaction in the minutes before. No, these were ones of possessiveness and food aggression- of a starved creature not ready to let go of its prey, not yet full and thus not yet satisfied. He had no intention of stopping now that he had what he wanted- if there was no forceful end to it now, Hubert would be dead from blood loss within minutes. 

The mage felt the pain in his jaw from how it clenched in frustration, trying to keep himself conscious, as he used all of his rapidly draining strength to pull the other man back by the hair, unlatching his fangs from the inside of his wrist and spraying loose bits of blood over the both of them and the sheets underneath. Hubert fell on his backside as he moved away, pushing himself away with his feet a few times before clutching onto his wrist to keep himself from losing any more blood. He could hear his heart in his ears as he tried to calm down, and gather the strength to stand. 

But in that moment, foolishly letting his attention grow lax, there was a key detail that he seemed to forget. He was trapped in a room with Sylvain- no, the vampire that Sylvain had become. One that was hungry, and desperate, and above all, still not done. Hubert did not hear the beast rise to its feet, only the feeling of a knee against his stomach as it pinned him to the floor, and the hot air and spit that hit his face as his shoulders were pinned in turn. There was a noise of what could only be described as a snarl that forced him to look up at the face that met him. His own heartbeat grew faster still, thumping against his chest as this animal drew closer to his neck, teeth bared. This little experiment- one that should have never been conducted, he realised now, far too late- had gone beyond the realm of danger, and rapidly into one that could mean his end, if he didn’t act on his instincts to defend himself right now.

He cared not to apologise in his head for turning his magic against a potential ally, after struggling under the hefty weight of the man on top of him, as Hubert curled his hands into the flesh of Sylvain’s side and felt the surge of mire pulse through his veins, powerful enough that the brute paused in his trajectory of attack towards his throat, as if to consider what was happening-

The scream of pain released was animalistic, pitched and yowling as he pulled back, hands hovering on the burns in his bloodied uniform, bubbling against his exposed skin in a sickly, disgustingly infected purple. It was enough of a release in weight to get Hubert to sit up and push himself away yet again, his back hitting the drawers of the desk, handles digging into the flesh. His chest heaved with exhaustion, vision blacking as he stared forward at the beast, wincing and holding onto its side- his side, as despite the way the blood stained his face and his shirt, the warm brown of his eyes were visible again, and the way his nose wrinkled was from the pain, rather than the hunger. Sylvain had returned. And he was reaping what his impulses had sewn.

There was the thick smell of sulphur in the air as the spell still burned and singed at the skin, but for a moment, things seemed calm, as if in the eye of the storm. The mage wasn’t stupid enough to believe the danger had passed- though whatever bloodlust had taken a hold of Sylvain was now gone, it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be angry in his own right from an attack. And it didn’t take any modicum of vampiric strength to assess that to be a threat- he saw it now, in the chest of the cavalier that still rose and fell with heavy breaths of exertion, blood-stained shirt leaving very little to the imagination. He was strong in his own right, built for brute force with the width of his shoulders and his arms carrying most of it. Though he could say with experience now what it felt to have the weight of the other man on top of him, with how the wind had been taken out of his chest by the power of the other man’s legs alone. Hubert looked to Sylvain for a few minutes more, before shooting his eyes down to the floor after making the realisation that his observation was not, in fact, for his own self-preservation and caution, and cursing himself for falling victim to certain thoughts just as easily as everyone else.

“…Ow, fuck, ‘Bertie. You could have killed me.” The laugh is breathless, but it cut through the air enough to get Hubert to look up in a snap, just as quickly as he had torn it away, back at the face that doesn’t meet him. Still clutching his side, still hurting, it seemed that was all Sylvain could focus on. Good.

“That was my intent. You were going to kill me first.” It’s a simple statement, and yet still, there’s a noise of offence, as he glances up again.

The brown of his eyes is still there. “No, I wasn’t-”

“You were.”

A beat of silence. “…Not on purpose.”

“I know.” A normal person would go to reassure him, to tell a person to not feel bad about their mistake, but Hubert keeps his mouth shut. He wasn’t going to coddle Sylvain, much like he wasn’t going to bicker back and forth about the intent of his attack. He was out of control, in the moment, and this would be a lesson to not do that through negative reinforcement. Hopefully.

There was another round of silence, but this time noticeably calmer. The storm had well and truly passed now. Sylvain sat up as he leaned back against the bed, hissing and muttering to himself as he fixed his slouched stance so as to not cause damage to himself further with his posture. He certainly seemed a lot more sombre now, than a few minutes before, hungry and snarling. “…Look, Hubert-”

“Don’t bother.” Whatever excuse Sylvain was about to give was cut off with a bite, something as acidic as the spell that had started to settle in, its damage already being done. Hubert glowered from across the room, still trying to steady himself as best he could to stumble and find some assistance- but for now, he remained seated, back pressed to the desk to keep himself upright, despite the tension in his shoulders that wouldn't lessen with time. “I do not want your apologies. I simply should never have let you do this. You’re too inexperienced.”

“Ha. That’s the first time I’ve heard that complaint.”

“Gautier.”

“Okay, okay. Bad timing.” He fell into silence after that, glancing down at the hand at his side that had still dug into the acid-burned flesh and sinew, slowly lifting it with a quick inhale through his teeth at the stinging pain and the bits that came away on his fingers. From what Hubert could see, the wound was already starting to heal, exposed muscle burned away being hidden as the skin stitched itself together again, and from what he heard- a laugh, disbelieving and breathless, if not a little bit unsettled at the display- it seemed Sylvain had not expected such an outcome.

“Are you really so clueless about things such as this that you didn’t know about your near-invulnerability?”

“Certainly didn’t feel invulnerable, that hurt like hell.” He was still laughing, even now, finally looking back up again to meet Hubert’s face as he slowly raised an eyebrow. His teeth were still stained red. “Wow, guess I really am a blood-sucking freak, huh?”

There is an indecent scoff at the comment before Hubert can stop himself. “That’s what made you realise? Not the fever-like symptoms, or your salacious eating manners, or the bloodlust?”

The redhead shrugged, making sure to keep a smile that, intentionally or not, bared those fangs that were sunk into the other man’s arm not minutes before. There was a flash of something in his eyes for a moment, but it was gone again before Hubert could truly discern it to be guilt.

After that, they did not speak more on what just occurred, or simply much at all. Sylvain stood up again, not bothering to remove his bloody and marred shirt, handing Hubert a half-empty glass of water that stood nearby the bedside- stale, but still drinkable. He did, however, get to work removing his bedsheets, tossing them off into a corner with the rest of his laundry (or around where other items had been thrown, as they were scattered most everywhere in an attempt to get to the corner) before crouching down and replacing them with clean ones again. Hubert did not bother to help him. He did not have the energy, nor the desire to be close to him, and so he took instead to watching the width of his shoulders as he worked, drinking until the glass was empty again. He was not bleeding as profusely now, but the wound still hurt, pinpricks in the wrist burning as he removed his bloody hand, and tried to grip the corner of the desk behind himself to pull himself up, apparently making such a noise of effort that caused the redhead to turn, pillow case still in hand.

“Oh, shit, do you need-”

“Do not touch me.”

The command was simple enough to work, forceful enough to keep the dog in his place, looking the mage up and down for a moment, before turning back to work with a quieter, “You got it, big guy.”

It was a simple affair to rise, then, and cross the room again as he had done to enter. The door had not been locked, and for a moment, Hubert thought about what would have happened if he had realised that, during the attack- if he had tried to run down the hall. Would the beast have followed, released from his cage? Would he have killed someone, had to be put down? Hubert ran his tongue along the back of his teeth, contemplating the reality of having saved Sylvain’s life without intending, before turning the handle and pulling the door inward to exit.

Though he stopped again at the threshold, half in and half out, turning back in for a moment to add, as a final closer.

“This will not leave this room. Your secret, or my weakness. Are we clear?”

Sylvain turned again, from laying the fresh blanket down across fresh sheets, where now the only sign of anything off was the amount of blood- Hubert’s blood, that still covered his body and his clothes. There was a moment of consideration, before a slow nod, as Sylvain began licking away some of the blood that still lingered in one corner of his mouth, despite it being practically all over the bottom of his face.

And with that, Hubert closed the door, and headed straight for his room again, with intent to keep his word and tend to his own wounds. No one would know. This, he would be sure of. 

[glowingbadger]

Thoughts on pillow talk with Seteth? Do you think he’d be the kind to go for compliments, or more like talking about the day to come and things like that?

Friend Anon it has been FAR too long since someone came here to talk to me about Seteth, thank you for breaking my dry spell.

As for pillow talk, there's the "immediately post-sex" variety and the "waking up together" variety, which I think are very different for him.

For immediately after sex, we're talking: - so much praise and adoration, all with that sweet, warm smile that only you get to see- some at the monastery sometimes doubt whether he smiles at all, let alone like this. It's so soft and gentle, and even though it brings out the creases around his eyes, it somehow looks very youthful on him. - he almost can't help being his most emotionally honest right after being intimate with you. He's ordinarily so private and reserved about his personal feelings, but while coming down from that rush of endorphins and feeling that emotional high, he'll hold you close and gush about how he adores you, and that he thanks the Goddess each and every day that he has you in his life. - having been in a committed relationship before, he also knows the importance of sexual communication, so he's also certain to check in with you about that. He'll make sure you have water, that you're comfortable and so on, and he's more than happy to hear what you enjoyed, anything different you'd like to try- especially since he's got quite a bit of stamina and a repressed libido to let loose, so he always wants to ensure that he was never too rough or demanding with you.

As for in the morning together: - on work days (which, for Seteth, is nearly every day that isn't an important religious holiday or feast day), he's almost certainly an earlier riser than you. He doesn't enjoy it, but it's a long-established habit, and he feels it necessary to stay on top of things. As you can imagine, there's not much snuggling and chatting on these days, but if you haven't woken yet, he'll still always kiss your cheek or forehead before heading to his office for the day. He'd be incredibly embarrassed if you ever caught him doing this, but sometimes, he steals just a moment or two to admire you sleeping peacefully, and reflect on how fortunate he feels to have you. - on the rare occasion that you two do have time together in the morning, he can be convinced to stay in bed and snuggle and/or chat for a bit- though you might end up gently scolding him for starting to ramble about everything he has to get done later. He'll smile shyly and say, "Apologies, my love, you're right that I oughtn't dwell on such things when we finally have time to spend together." - he'll also seize this opportunity to ask you about things you two haven't had the chance to chat about lately; something you've been reading recently that he'd love to hear your thoughts on, one of the monastery cats doing something silly, how your teatime with Flayn was the other day. He's an attentive listener, and cherishes the opportunity to enjoy such light and casual conversation with you.