#I'm hoping everything goes as smoothly as it can since I have no idea what I'm doing lol

[aro-tarot]

Alright! So, I think I have the basics covered. Just need to check over things tomorrow, but I'm thinking I'll be good to go for my first ever time streaming tomorrow. I'm aiming for 4pm EST. That'll give me time to check over everything and also just chill beforehand. I've got an introduction slideshow prepared and also some tier lists picked out to do for fun after relating to Merlin, Dragon Age, and maybe a FFXIV one.

It'll be over on Emory's Twitch Here:

[blakeswritingimagines]

I've loved you for a thousand years and I'll love you for a thousand more.

Summary: Telling your husband you remember your life together goes smoothly, until you feel the need to prove it to him....and he agrees.

Word Count: 3.1k

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the House of The Dragon/Fire & Blood characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used nor do I claim to own them.

"I remember."

Daemon's eyes lit up at the words that had been spoken. You remembered him. You remembered. He didn't want to scare you so didn't react immediately, he waited to let it sink in really truly sink in...you remembered?. Daemon was so happy at what you had said. "My love…" Daemon said in a voice filled with joy and tears. "It's me… Daemon.. your Daemon.." He continued. "Do you remember me? Us? Our marriage?" Daemon asked, looking for any sort of confirmation of what you already told him. You slowly moved closer as you placed your hands on his chest smiling up at him with the same lovestruck look that you had been giving him since you married him, gently nodding your head and placing your hands on his chest "Yes I do. We've been married for years since children practically, and we've left King's landing more times than anyone can count, when we got married you gave me a dragon egg and taught me everything about them, you taught me how to fight and take down many a man much larger than myself….that I love you and often sneak away no matter how busy because we can't keep our hands off of each other."

Daemon's heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest. Finally, your mind was returned to you. Daemon couldn't believe you had said all those things, he just hoped that you understood what they meant. You were starting to seem like your old self, and it was the light Daemon had been waiting on for ages. Daemon laughed and hugged you as if this was confirmation all his dreams had come true. "You have no idea how many prayers I've sent up for your return to me," Daemon said, his voice soft and filled with love. Daemon smiled at your words and as your hand placed themselves on his chest, daemon felt a warm sensation wash over him. It was real. All of his efforts had been seen through and you were back to normal. You were back to loving and touching Daemon as you once did. It was a feeling Daemon had missed so dearly. He laughed at the idea of your last claim, he wasn't used to you being this brazen. "Y/n.." Daemon started. "I never thought I would hear those words from you again. You are everything." Daemon said, his voice filled with joy.

You wrapped your arms around his shoulders as a few tears fell from your eyes and down your cheeks at how much you had been missing without even knowing it, looking into his violet eyes as if he hung the moon and stars just for you "I'm sorry my love, but I'm back" Leaning in closer to him brushing your lips against his as you whispered to him "You are my sun, my moon, and the air I breathe. To me, nothing exists except you I love you my Daemon". Daemon felt like he was going to cry himself as you embraced him, your tears touching his cheeks while you showered him with your affection. He couldn't believe his ears. You remembered everything. "Darling…" Daemon felt like he would explode, his heart was beating a thousand times a second. "I've missed you so much." He said in a soft tone, as it filled him with happiness. And then you kissed him as if this was something you would do again and again for the past ten years. Daemon felt whole again.

Daemon kissed you back softly and gently. His heart had never been fuller than it was right now. He knew all of the struggle he put into getting you back and it was all worth it. You had your memories from your life together. Daemon held you close, he felt so content at this moment. Holding you once more as he kissed your neck softly. "Forever, my sweet love," Daemon said with a contented smile. "Forever." Tenderly kissing him happy with his words as if nothing had changed but saddened that he needed to feel that way as you had around, smiling at him as you pulled him closer and kissed him again slowly letting the passion build as your fingers ran through his platinum blonde locks before barely pulling away from the kiss as you looked up at him keeping your voice light and breathy as she spoke "Shall I make it up to my sweet husband for losing so much time with each other? show you truly just how much I remember?".

Daemon felt butterflies erupt in his stomach as your hand moved through his hair and your lips pressed back against his. It was even better than he had imagined it would be. When you pulled away Daemon was speechless for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. "Oh my Lady, you have shown me enough already, but I won't deny you the opportunity to show me more," Daemon said, his voice a seductive whisper. He wanted to take his wife back tonight, if he could. And if you allowed it. He most certainly would. As the two of you slowly get closer together, Daemon slowly lifted your chin up and brought your mouth nearer to his. He kissed you softly at first but then, in the heat of it all, your tongue met in what would be one of the most electrifying moments of your life. Daemon's lips pressed harder against yours as if trying to make up for the nearly two-and-a-half months of longing for your touch. Finally, his hands traveled down to your back, pressing you against his chest. A hand held your back, while the other cradled the back of your head, giving him better control of the kiss.

Daemon couldn't help but laugh as your tongues danced with one another. It was a feeling he had missed, being lost in one another. It took no time at all for Daemon to be under your spell once more, his body close and his voice low and seductive. He wanted nothing more than to take you right here. He felt as if time was a thing of the past as he pushed you against the wall, slowly beginning to take off the clothes of you. His hand grabbed your hip and pulled you closer to him. He wanted this to be the best night your memory would never forget. You gasped for breath in between the kisses as your body pressed against the wall of your shared bed chamber. You were breathing heavily and moaning softly as he caressed your soft skin. You were getting lost in his touch, your eyes closed. Your hands traced the muscles of his body as you held him tightly, wanting to feel his heat against you.

Daemon was in heaven, kissing you now felt more natural than ever. Your soft breaths against his lips was like music in his ears. He was slowly losing himself as well. Daemon felt your hands run over his body, your fingers dancing along his skin with ease as your kisses increased in intensity. The heat emanating from the touch alone was enough to send him over. He wanted more, he wanted all that he could get with you right now. Daemon's hands moved to your hips, his touch more demanding. You moaned quietly into his mouth, your lips parting in invitation as you leaned back against the wall. You let him take what he wanted, loving the feeling of his hands over your skin. Your hips pushed against his, wanting more. You slowly opened your eyes and glanced at him as he moved to hold your hips as if to show you who was in charge. Your hands moved from his back to move up his shirt, trying to open it so that you could finally touch each other's skin. Your fingers were shaking from the anticipation. A fire was growing inside you and you felt the need to be closer to him, deeper inside you.

Daemon was in control of you now, the power shift turning him on beyond imagination. You were his wife and he was going to act like it. Daemon's hands moved up your legs, towards the buttons on your clothing. He unbuttoned your shirt and ripped it off your body in one swift movement. Daemon's shirt soon followed as he ripped the top apart. He looked at you as if he had never seen you in all your beauty. His eye ran up and down your figure, the sight of you driving him to madness. You groaned with desire as he ripped your shirt off and left you in your black bra. You looked at him for a second, before smiling once more. "You are like a dragon in heat. My Daemon. The fire inside of me is burning." You took his arm and brought him closer to you. "We do not need to be apart any longer. Let us make love like we're newly wed again." You told him, as you kissed him passionately, with a lot of lust.

Daemon growled at your words before biting down on your lower lip. As they kissed, Daemon's hands traveled all over your body. They traced your curves and ran through your hair. Daemon leaned you against the wall as a light grin danced on his lips. His eyes were filled with passion and lust. Daemon didn't want to take things slow. He wanted to love you and for you to love him right now. As he kissed you with his tongue entering your mouth, Daemon let out a soft moan. Daemon felt his clothing unbuttoned and removed. You felt his tongue exploring your mouth and his hands exploring your body. You felt his hands moving to your back and taking off your bra, freeing the skin that was hidden under. You kissed back desperately and caressed his hair as he explored more of your body. Your fingers trailed across his chest and stomach as a teasing touch. "Make love to me here and now." You moaned as you grabbed him and pulled him closer, against the wall.

You were making Daemon crazy. He desperately wanted you and he would have you, here and now. Even if you couldn't remember all the details of the last two months, Daemon was ready to show you that he hadn't forgotten anything. Daemon's eyes were burning at this moment. He picked you up, his tongue still exploring your mouth. As he did this he began moving you to your bed. He laid you against it and moved closer to you. He gently started to run his hands over your body, your skin like butter to his touch. You gasped when he laid you on the bed and touched you. As his lips descended to your neck, you arched your back in pleasure. You moaned with his touch. Your hands moved to his hair once more, caressing it again. He was practically taking you to heaven with what he was doing to you and you were loving it. "My love," Daemon whispered, letting you melt into the bed. He began to kiss your neck, letting his tongue explore along your body. His lips danced across your skin, nibbling and licking lightly. He let his hand wander across your body again, exploring your form and touching you. As he did, he grew harder and harder, wanting to be inside you already. "Are you ready?" he asked, his voice laced with lustful need.

"Yes... Daemon..." You whispered as Daemon began to touch you, letting your body melt as a candle would. You moaned quietly, wanting your husband to make you his again. You wanted so badly to please him. He was the love of your life, and nothing mattered more to you than him. As Daemon’s hand continues to explore every curve of your body, you moaned softly in his ear, your body starting to react to him. You leaned in to kiss him passionately, your tongues dancing against each other as you both search for more of it. “I am ready,” you whispered. You looked at Daemon, your eyes filled with lust and desire. "Good," Daemon whispered, letting his hot breath caress your lips. He lifted himself up, his body strong and toned, his frame looking all the more impressive by the light of the candelabras that illuminated your room. He bent down as he took you into his arms, pressing the length of his body against yours as you shared a deep, passionate kiss. His tongue danced with yours, his hands cupping your face, caressing your neck and squeezing your thighs. He was ready to make you his, and he was going to take his fill after waiting so long and not touching you while you recovered.

You moaned as you felt Daemon’s body against your own. Your hands run along his strong arms and back, and your lips follow as well. You pulled Daemon closer to you, your body craving for his. With one quick movement, you pulled Daemon on top of you, your legs wrapping around him. “Take me,” You whispered in his ear as you looked into his eyes hungrily. Your hands grab Daemon’s waist, pulling him closer to you. "Oh, darling," Daemon whispered, his hands massaging your thighs, his hips moving against yours as he kept his thrusts slow not wanting to rush anything. Your voice was music to his ears, and your body was a delicious feast for his eyes to feast upon. He kissed you again, his tongue exploring your mouth, your taste filling him with desire. He could not wait any longer; he had to have her. Daemon moved away from you slightly, giving himself a moment to admire your body before he gently pushed your legs against your chest as his cock started going deeper.

You gasped as Daemon kissed you so passionately, and you felt his hips moving against yours. You moaned loudly, as the kiss turned even deeper and lust-filled. Your hands run through Daemon's hair, pulling him closer and closer to you. When Daemon spreads your legs open, you started to shiver a little as your body reacts to his, and the tension began to release more. Your hands slowly touch his hips and back, your fingers gripping against his skin leaving marks. "Oh... Yes...," you spoke as your head tilted back moaning. "Ah Y/n," Daemon moaned into your mouth, moving his mouth down your body, and trailing kisses down your neck. He let his fingers brush against your skin, his tongue running over your body, his lips moving down to your breasts. He teased your nipples with his tongue, his voice a deep grumble as he let you know how much he wanted you, how much you made him want you, and how much he missed you. “Oh,” You said, “Yes!” as the tension between you both grew. He was ready and you were ready, and nothing was going to stop either of you.

Your entire body is shaking as you felt Daemon's hands and mouth on you, and you gripped onto the bed sheets tightly. You were left breathless, you panted heavily and sweat is running down your body leaving your body with a glow as one pleasure sensation after another is taking over you. You continued to moan loudly as the tension between you is releasing, and you were finally in your moment of pleasure. "Daemon..." you gasped as Daemon slides deeper inside of you quickening his pace. "Oh, yes..." "Just like that" Daemon moaned into your ear, his voice deep, rough, and hoarse. He let his face sink into the crook of your neck panting against your skin, breathing deeply as he felt your body shake beneath him. His body fit yours perfectly, and once his cock slammed inside of your warm pussy, you seemed to be his entire world. His hips moved quickly back and forth as he drove deeply inside you, his breaths heavy and quick.

Moaning loudly as all the tension is finally released and your body became his all over again. Your hands grab the bed sheet tightly as you feel his hips moving slowly back and forth into you, your own body moving from one pleasure shock to another. Your breathing is becoming heavy and fast, and your whole body shakes as you were reaching your peak of pleasure. Daemon groaned heavily, his body moving faster and faster as his breathing came in heavy, ragged gasps. His thrusts got faster and harder as his body finally reached the release he'd been looking for having grown used to using you instead of his hand or any whores. You were shaking as if you were having a fever as the pleasure took over your body and mind. Your whole body is trembling, your heart beating faster and faster as your breath is becoming a whisper, and your cunt tightened around Daemon's cock as you finally reached your climax.

Daemon moaned loudly as his body let loose of its final tension, his whole body shaking with his release. His breathing was slow but heavy, and his mind focused on his wife's pleasure as his hand ran through your hair as he was still deep inside you. His chest was heaving quickly, and he was exhausted from your lovemaking, but he felt alive. "My love…" he whispered, "Oh… I've missed you…" You were almost speechless as the pleasure was slowly fading and you slowly but finally came back to reality. You looked up at Daemon and saw the way he was looking at you. Your body relaxed in his arms and you smiled as Daemon’s hand ran through your hair and pressed yourself closer to him. "Daemon..." you whispered softly as you looked at him, your breath still heavy and your body still shaking. "Oh... My Daemon..." you giggled softly and then kissed him on the lips tenderly.

Daemon kissed you back lovingly, his body still tingling from the lovemaking. He was still gasping for breath as he let out a sigh of pleasure, his fingers still running through your hair as he smiled. He felt as though he was in heaven, his wife's beautiful body still close to him, your warmth and beauty around him. Daemon caressed your cheek softly, his eyes moving over your face in admiration. You were his light: his fire, his passion, his love. Nothing else mattered in his eyes right now, nothing else had ever mattered to him besides you.

"I've loved you for what feels like a thousand years…And I'll love you for a thousand more my love."

[beekeeperspicnic]

What a nice day to reconceptualise my entire game

Last night I reblogged this lovely post from @inkonice-main talking about Holmes and Watson's relationship as a great love story (whether romantic or platonic), and it's been clanging around in my brain ever since.

Just in case you stumbled across this post randomly, I'm currently making a cosy mystery Sherlock Holmes game set in Sussex, which has Holmes trying to put together a picnic for Watson. My plan is to write them in a close platonic friendship or queerplatonic partnership because that interpretation means a lot to me, but to keep it shipper friendly and leave the possibility open that they are a romantic couple.

The problem I've been toying over for the entire six months of development so far is WHY Holmes has decided to drop everything and make this ultimate picnic for Watson. What's his motivation, dah-ling?

And I've cycled through a few ideas:

He doesn't need a reason, elaborate theatre is how he shows affection. Perhaps true, but that doesn't give much of an emotional base for the game.

It's all sparked off by Watson writing and publishing the Creeping Man, the story with all the "The relations between us in those latter days were peculiar" content. But it never quite flowed for me. If Watson is happy with Holmes in Sussex, why is he writing so discontentedly? It also felt like telling-not-showing for players.

I thought perhaps it could be spurred on by Holmes having a nightmare where he's back on a case everything goes wrong. He realises that both he and Watson are in the twilight of their lives and if he doesn't tell Watson plainly how he feels, he may lose the chance. This is closer to working for me, but I think a dream being a character's primary motivation is silly and lazy, and this anxiety Holmes has doesn't seem reflected in the fact that they're living together happily. To the player it's obvious Watson already knows Holmes loves him, so there's no tension.

Then I read that post, and it all clicked. Because let's look at the Canon: it is a love story, but like most love stories of glorious intensity, things have not always run smoothly.

Holmes has withheld truths. He pretended to be dead for years. He constantly toys with his health and causes Watson pain and anxiety. All the paths Watson laid out for his life have been disrupted by his adoration of this brilliant but challenging man. Years of living together at this frantic, breakneck, head-over-heels pace seem to have taken their toll: Holmes suddenly wants to retreat from the world and take up his beekeeping, and Watson remarries and doesn't follow him, as he needs to live his own life. By His Last Bow, it seems they haven't seen each other for years.

"We heard of you as living the life of a hermit among your bees and your books in a small farm upon the South Downs," says Watson, suggesting he's never visited. But they reconnect, and thankfully the spark between them is still there. War is looming on the horizon, and both fear it may take their lives - "Stand with me here upon the terrace, for it may be the last quiet talk that we shall ever have," says Holmes.

That's where we leave them, looking out over a moonlit sea waiting for the dawn, exchanging words that they fear will be parting ones.

But the reader is left with the hope that perhaps they won't be parted again this time. War can't separate these two, surely? Nothing can.

So. That's where the picnic comes in, as a last coda in this great love story.

The War is over. Holmes and Watson have reunited. Perhaps Watson visits Holmes more often now, widowed once again. And Holmes realises that what both of them need now is to be together.

Except how does he say that, as someone who does not share his innermost thoughts easily?

The picnic represents the one chance that Holmes feels he has to say, I've treated you badly. I've made mistakes. But we can get through them, because we love each other. Let's not be parted ever again. Come and stay with me here.

The picnic isn't just a picnic.

It's a proposal.

So like, no pressure, players. :P

EDIT:

Just to clarify because I think my wording confused some folks - My plan is still to write them in a close platonic friendship or queerplatonic partnership and to keep it shipper friendly and leave the possibility open that they are a romantic couple.

The change is just that in my original storyline Watson had been living with Holmes for years, and now I'm playing with the idea of exploring the picnic being the moment when they commit to living together for the rest of their lives.

[batsplat]

thoughts on the latest casey interview? it’s so funny because I keep seeing people posting different excerpts of it on here depending on which guy they like lol

well, first off, this is how I found out there IS a new casey interview. I did have a quick dig around whether I could un-paywall the original but. no luck. so I'm basing this on the write up in mowmag - which passes the test in that, unlike certain websites, it actually addresses multiple things casey said on different topics. so hopefully isn't just the most clickbait-y material and is a relatively exhaustive summary of the stuff he said. no cherry picking on THIS blog

anyway, my main takeaway is that it's probably for the best that the casey/valentino relationship doesn't get TOO warm, because if you ever put these two on a podcast together the resulting material could level continents. I still stand by my belief that these two could have co-hosted an all time great conspiracy theorist youtube show in another life. what a pair of guys

my other takeaway is that, despite working for them as a test rider AND a rider coach, casey still very obviously has NOT forgiven ducati. the grudges he's airing by proxy in this interview!! spectacular. with all athletes but ESPECIALLY casey, it's always healthy practise to just keep in mind the actual context of their careers when reading their mouthing off about the current sport. because sometimes they will be fighting yesterday's battles... this is a man who still has enough bones to pick with motogp to disassemble the whole skeleton

I'll follow the order of the interview provided by the mowmag piece:

“I know the company,” says Stoner, referring to Ducati and answering a direct question about the possibility that in Borgo Panigale they might decide to ‘sabotage’ Martin’s eventual victory, “and I know what they are willing to do to win. I’m surprised I haven’t seen it before, or maybe it happened and Jorge was good at overcoming it ” In short, Stoner goes so far as to say that Ducati might have already put a spoke in Martin’s wheels, but that the young Spaniard was still able to be stronger than any obstacles created. With Ianieri pointing out to the Australian, however, how much Dall’Igna insisted that it will be real sport and there will be no games. “That’s what Gigi thinks. But then there’s Ducati and they don’t want to see the number one go. But everyone is watching them very carefully, if they make a mistake like that we’ll see it. If they create a problem it will backfire on them. I hope that everything goes smoothly and that we can see the real world champion.”

do you know what an absolute nightmare it would be if martin has a mechanical dnf in the catalunya ii sunday race. something which can of course HAPPEN, pecco's had more mechanical gremlins than jorge this year. but obviously that wouldn't stop anyone from losing their minds

this is just so extremely casey. I laughed when I read it. of course he's been thinking about how ducati will probably sabotage martin since jorge's exit to aprilia was announced. of course he thinks ducati would pull off something shady to keep the number one plate in house. I love the idea that ducati HAS been sabotaging jorge but they've just been like, extremely shit at it. look at him saying that he KNOWS ducati and thinks they SUCK... an opinion he is completely justified in holding - ducati did not do right by him in 2009, and those wounds also still show in some of his other responses in this interview. but, y'know. if ducati was going to sabotage jorge, quite frankly they would already have done so. it's just a little late for this, isn't it. what are they even going to DO, stick a pin in jorge's tyres?

readers familiar with casey's oeuvre should be drawing a fairly obvious parallel at this stage - given that this is not the first time casey has dabbled in a light dash of conspiracism where title deciders are concerned. here are the two versions of his book concerning what happened at valencia 2006:

will never get over how casey was fighting the good fight for valentino's tenth in 2013 icl. early adopter

back then, casey was blaming the 'commercial interests' of Big America for sabotaging the most popular rider in the history of the sport - until Big Dorna sniped him and forced him to remove the 'commercial interests' line in the paperback version. (to be clear: this is a joke, there's no indication anyone from dorna had a chat with him, it's just funny that his stance ever so slightly softened between versions but then he did also add the wonderful 'welcome to my world' line.) it's perfectly reasonable to believe that valentino had a dud tyre in 2006 valencia and broadly tracks with what he himself says about the race, somewhat less reasonable to believe They were actually out to get him. valentino was very unlucky throughout 2006, yes, but... people are unlucky sometimes

anyway, I don't actually want to relitigate 2006 here, but I DO love his paranoid streak and how like... y'know, there's always the danger he's mellowed in his time away from the sport, he's certainly less tightly strung these days... but yup, he's still got that in him. still that guy

from a longer post about the similarities between valentino/casey, reckon this is one of the things I've written about the pair of them that holds up the best:

it is completely unsurprising that jorge martin's plight has struck a chord with casey, who himself always had a chip on his shoulder and was more than happy to use said chip to motivate himself. both jorge and pecco have a fair bit of casey in their competitive dna, which does show in how casey talks about both of them - martin perhaps with a bit more of lorenzo's brashness mixed in versus pecco having more of valentino's cunning... plus his contrarianism (which casey is no stranger to either). if we're already drawing alien parallels. just always that slight sense that they feel SOMEONE is out to get them, that they're never being given a fair hearing... again. chip on the shoulder

then there's this bit -

Calling it a very powerful attack is almost an understatement, with Stoner not being light on Ducati even when he comments on the decision to entrust the official bike to Marc Marquez for next season. “They could have made sure that he would settle for an official bike in a private team” – he thundered.

- which we're going to circle back to. I do love how casey's switched from going to an italian newspaper to launch an extended attack on valentino rossi to going to an italian newspaper to launch an extended attack on ducati. critical levels of support

So how will it end in Barcelona? Casey Stoner doesn't give his prediction, but limits himself to an icy comment: "I think Jorge deserves the title, and that he is in the position to win it. Pecco will do everything to be champion and Ducati would like to keep the number one. Everything could go smoothly, or there could be great chaos "

given how dud tyres have been a big theme in both 2023 and 2024's title battle, 'slightly odd jorge crash helped along by slightly odd michelin tyre' just feels like. such a plausible scenario. that could easily make everyone lose their minds. honestly, even if jorge crashes on his own and just says his bike felt weird afterwards, whether it's true or not. it'd be chaos, yeah. and casey will be THERE no matter what

If from the point of view of the show everything is more exciting, from the point of view of the rider who has raced, won and suffered in the difficult world of MotoGP, in this 2024 we are also witnessing a great injustice. "For me the World Championship should be as always: on Sunday - adds Stoner, stating himself openly against the Sprint and against the new MotoGP format - If you make a mistake you have lost an opportunity, now you have two. And then it doesn't allow you to really work on the set-up, because the only concern is getting into Q2. The system doesn't work for me, you can see it from the abysmal gaps. It might be there every now and then, like in Formula 1, but every weekend is not necessary. We have seen what Pecco has done in the last three seasons, the growth is constant. Ducati's results are always better, but in comparison with the others he is the one who wins the most. You can't belittle him, they are real victories, not Sprints. What he has done this year is impressive".

this bit I do agree with casey on, not because of what it's doing to this specific title fight and more just my general distaste for sprints. at some point this last year it's become received wisdom that pecco's sunday success is partly reliant on being able to do some trial and error in saturday sprints, so I found it interesting that oxley took a different stance in his sepang column:

I'm not sure I ENTIRELY agree on this (obviously I'm just basing this on vibes not actual expertise). even though obviously all riders do get this sprint data boost, I feel like it's fairly plausible pecco + his team make better use of it - just because there's better data, doesn't mean everyone is taking equal good advantage of it. then again, is there really any evidence that pecco is getting more out of it, beyond doing better in a format he's better at? as casey points out, it does mean you have way less time to faff about with set-ups, which pecco does like to do. there's also intangibles that might make the sprint experience advantageous to pecco on a sunday - for instance, I feel like his banger starts this year (remember when those were a thing) have tended to come on a sunday when he's already kinda figured out where to place himself in the pack. so maybe he does get something substantial out of having an extra race

that being said, I'm increasingly of the opinion that thinking pecco is ACTUALLY helped by the sprints - that the championship picture would be no different without them - is... kind of overthinking things. he's not good at the format. any marginal gains on a sunday he's getting from the sprint data just instinctively feel like they're probably not equal or more to what he's losing out in raw number of points through the sprints. it does feel like pecco's gotten better at sprints specifically in the second half of this year, so it's interesting to see if that carries through to next season... and look, none of this is to say jorge won't be a deserving champion - at the end of the day, you have to win the format you're playing. but yeah, I do reckon pecco would likely be champion without them

I've been curious for a while about casey's thoughts on the sprint format - I thought he'd be against it because of his luddite vibes as much as anything else, though I do also reckon the format wouldn't have been bad for him specifically as a rider. (if nothing else, it would've helped him in 2008, given he was fighting for the title against a rider you feel like would be TERRIBLE terrible terrible at this format. less time for set-up experimentation, softer grippier tyres and shorter races weighted towards qualifying/starting well? yeah say goodbye to that eighth.) anyhow, his reasoning checks out - part tradition, part the feeling that it's too forgiving of mistakes, part fucking up the structure of the weekend, part giving too little weight to 'real' wins... all very casey. casey was the type of rider who was always more about focusing on wins than championships - that you shouldn't settle for results just because your 'rivals' were behind you, for instance, that fighting for race wins comes first and the title will follow. here's a paragraph from a sachsenring 2012 write-up (where casey crashed on the penultimate lap while fighting dani):

obviously in the context of that particular title fight, it didn't end up mattering anyway because of the injuries casey would go onto sustain. but... well, casey's errors in the first half of 2012 would have put him in a tough position anyway - as dani proved, even once honda got on top of his chattering issues, reeling off victory after victory would not be enough to take the championship when jorge could just keep riding home to safe p2's. (and when dani in a disadvantageous points position pushed too hard in the penultimate round and crashed, it was game over, stop if this reminds you of anything.) the point is that pecco this year has played the race-win-or-bust role in a way that is probably instinctively quite appealing to casey - doesn't sit easily to watch the guy on ten wins lose the title. there'll probably always be elements of the slander pecco receives that resonate with casey... pecco's words getting misinterpreted by press and fans, pecco being called boring, pecco being called too crash-prone, unstable, bad at handling pressure... the two of them are plenty similar as characters, which is reflected in the type of criticism that tends to head their way. and pecco's stubborn resilience, a determination to motivate himself as a spite response to the doubt from others - well, that again is probably going to remind casey of himself

moving on.

Impressive, but not enough to win, with Jorge Martin now 24 points ahead, just one weekend away from the big dream, before the painful farewell. Casey Stoner is not easy on the market and Ducati's choices either. "If Ducati loses the world champion it will be a hard blow," he explained. " But I think it will be even harder for Martin, who has spent these years being loyal to Ducati I don't think it's right how it went. Unfortunately, it's the way Ducati works and that's why they've lost so many riders now. Marquez? In many ways I understand the decision, but it doesn't mean it's correct. When you have riders who give their all and stand out among the 22 on the track and someone arrives to take their place, I don't think it's right. I think Marc could have had a factory bike in another team. It wasn't fair for Bastianini and even more so for Martin."

yup, casey all over. of all the aliens, casey had the least hype surrounding him in the lower classes. he's... well technically I suppose valentino started in a satellite team and won his first title with one, but it was very much a ''''''satellite team'''''' - casey was the only alien to start his motogp career in a satellite satellite. a proper one. he KNOWS what it's like to not be the first choice for ducati!! if melandri had gotten out of his gresini contract to ride for factory ducati in 2007 (lol), casey could've been in real trouble even finding a seat. and he's a big believer in loyalty! casey was beyond disillusioned by the shit ducati pulled in 2009 - when they planted stories in the press that casey's diet and exercise routine was responsible for his mystery illness, big names openly criticising him during his absence... as well as of course how they aggressively courted jorge and offered him a way bigger salary than they paid casey, after telling casey they didn't have more money to pay him

it's that last bit that feels uncomfortable, right - like casey, martin threw in his lot with ducati, off the back of quite a contentious split with ktm to even get the pramac seat. like casey, martin has now repeatedly been looked over - and like casey, his ultimate split with ducati is the result of ducati favouring the golden boy. (while lorenzo obviously didn't join ducati at that time, this was ultimately still one of the big reasons why casey walked away after 2010.) unrewarded loyalty... hey, I suppose him and valentino actually agree on this, yeah. ducati has spent so much time cultivating its young talent before showing themselves ready to ditch them all for the big name. and it IS how ducati works, they really AREN'T particularly loyal. all these years later and they're still just the same, as far as casey's concerned

Ducati, therefore, as the central theme of the entire interview, but also as the favorite target of a Stoner who on the one hand seems to make very clear analyses, but on the other also appears to be someone with a decidedly poisoned tooth, given that even when asked about his future in the Team Lenovo garage he lets many doubts shine through on the management that Borgo Panigale will be able to have of two champions like Bagnaia and Marquez. “It depends on how Ducati behaves - he concluded - I think that Pecco, mentally, is strong enough to face the situation, it will be a question of seeing who Ducati wants to protect the most. For sure, the two will try to create chaos in the team to make things go in one direction or the other. We will see how Ducati manages the situation and who they choose. They will have to be as balanced as possible or it will be a problem”.

(incidentally, I love the italian 'poisoned tooth' term for having a grudge, it's so evocative. lots of poisoned teeth in motogp)

casey's confidence that there's going to be pecco/marc drama... he's so real for this. I've been wavering in my own confidence a little bit, wondering whether pecco/marc might not end up massively disappointing me, but casey's coming through for me here. unsurprisingly casey's going to implicitly relate more to pecco in that particular dynamic... in general, it's nice how complimentary casey is of pecco, even while summoning locusts upon ducati. just on a personal note, I never particularly enjoy when retired athletes play into narratives about how much worse the current competitors are... it's mean-spirited, generates dumb discourse and also feels rather undignified. so, y'know. always pro-glazing the current lot

in terms of what casey says specifically... obviously there's the ten wins thing, which casey unlike much of the fanbase does understand isn't something a mid rider can pull off, and then there's the line about pecco being mentally strong enough to go up against marc. I've talked before about the similarities between pecco and casey before, which obviously is also relevant here... casey faced accusations of being unstable and unreliable and too sensitive throughout his career, starting well before his path crossed with valentino's. too crash prone, a choker, too easy to rattle. and then they come up against a rival with a reputation for mind games, who many seem to expect will be able to 'break' them. whatever pecco's on-track success will be next year, there's no real indication that casey's wrong here - for all that the pair of them are high strung and ever so slightly neurotic, both casey and pecco have repeatedly exhibited real resilience and self-belief. idk, again, it's fun how both the current title contenders do have quite a few casey-coded characteristics. love casey-coded characteristics

The reference is clearly to Honda, with the Australian explaining the Japanese's major crisis in this way. "It's hard to get an idea from the outside," he said, "but I think it was convenient to have the three European manufacturers at the top, with the Japanese slipping to the bottom. I don't think that in Japan they suddenly don't know how to build a winning bike anymore. The Europeans are very creative and make everything happen faster, but they're not as refined as the Japanese. And with such fluid rules, everything is easier for the former. With Albesiano, Honda will try to add creativity and speed up operations. It will be interesting."

pretty sure I've said this before, but one of casey's funniest traits is gesturing vaguely in the direction of a substantive accusation without quite spelling it out. does he think dorna is sabotaging japanese manufacturers? is the system rigged against them?? for WHOMST is it convenient, wHO are you accusing of what? I'm not even saying he's WRONG about all of these things, sometimes conspiracies are real, I wouldn't know either! I just think it's great how this is his go-to reaction. always looking for that shadowy influence secretly protecting the anointed and sabotaging the unfavoured. the bit about more fluid rules favouring the europeans is interesting and I'd like to hear more about that theory, but obviously that wouldn't necessarily mean this was the intended consequence of said rules. does feel like casey's implying that though! come on casey, tell me more

anyway. this has been my take on casey's newest contribution to the discourse. I can be accused of many things, but not of lacking casey stoner opinions. that's my little guy

[duffmckagans]

hi kelsey! i really wanted to drop in on you since i really like your blog and you seem like such a genuinely cool person and i didn’t wanna be complete strangers! i share the thought that what we all need in life is gnr fanfic x and i wasn’t around for the first time, but that and how eloquent and passionate you are get me very excited. i don’t think i’ve ever been much into original characters in stories like that, however: the way you talk about yours, i actually can’t wait to meet them. i hope everything goes smoothly for you, i wish you lots of luck and inspiration ♥️

omg, hi ronnie! (such a cool name btw) thanks for stopping by! i'm sort of desperately in the process of finding all of my old friends on here right now, so i'm very excited by the prospect of making new ones 🫶🏻

also, i so agree with you. i wrote it for like three and a half years before dipping at the end of 2023, and it's just a lot of fun. that's primarily the reason i've come back, it's that i just need something fun in my life again. i feel like i've seen a little bit of a resurgence of it in the tags, as well? not necessarily stuff i habitually read, but just a plethora of it that's getting a swath of notes and interaction, which is very exciting! when i was wrapping my stuff up here, i sort of felt like the fics for this band were drying up, so it's promising to see new/old people writing for them. i'm biased, but i just think they're one of the most interesting bands to write for because of the variety of personalities to bounce off of.

and welcome to my particular side of the mess!! this blog was a dumpster fire when i left it and probably will reach that very soon, but we had a lot of fun. granted, engagement will probably be much smaller for a while until i can sort of build up a readership again, but the fic was a sort of community event for all those who participated/read, and i always found it so lovely! i don't know if anything else kept me writing for so long, so i'm happy to have stumbled on a bit better of a sense of intrinsic motivation this time around.

but also i will say i completely understand that about original character stories. i say that because i'm the same way, and i was the same way when i started it. my best friend suggested the idea, and i made a face because ocs just weren't my thing, but . . . now here we are, and i love it because it specifically suits my purposes. i don't make a habit of reading other oc stories? (or fanfic in general bc the stuff i'm interested in doesn't have a lot of it) except if you're a close friend of mine, in which case i will always read/support the fanfic. oc or y/n or what-have-you. i think oc fics tend to get a bad rep because it's usually just a y/n repackaged, or it's like some idealized mary sue who's either wide-eyed and suspiciously innocent (infantilized) or like thick-skinned and aggravatingly invulnerable (stock character bad girl), and i—a lover of rich, diverse, flawed female characters—really try and go the extra mile to make sure my girls get the same sort of treatment and love as my guy characters do. except they usually get better treatment because they deserve it.

anyway! so if you do stick around and read, i hope you enjoy it!! of course, i'm always reachable via inbox or messaging, so definitely don't stay a stranger ♡ and thank you for reaching out. i forgot to say this earlier, but i also really love your blog. it's so vibey!

[throughtrialbyfire]

Hi, can you tell me what was your original inspiration for Cycle? Where did you start with the ideas? Plot? Characters? A little of both? ❤️

hi winter!!!! <3333

i think the idea for CotS kinda just… happened. it was a speculative concept of what it would look like if there was more than one "last" dragonborn, and how that would fit into the world or change the narrative of skyrim!! i already had some concepts for a few characters and some scattered story ideas, so i decided to make a trio and send them on adventures. athenath was the first one i made, though, since he was originally going to be a self insert i tossed about like a ragdoll into various situations (especially involving cicero), then they decided that they had their own story to tell, and here we are! the trio's backstories and personalities blossomed as i wrote more about them, which is what lead to a rewrite of some chapters, but i love them a lot. it really was just gonna be a little side project from my original writing that i had no intention of posting anywhere, but, well, we see how that went AHAH

as for the plots, i was genuinely going to write out every quest and side quest. i thought that in order for the trios adventures to work, i had to do that, and follow canon exactly. then i engaged in the fandom more and read more fic and realized that, no, i can be canon-divergent and not write every quest HAHKJGDHKJFG. i still have drafts of chapters where they talk to characters to initiate certain plots, and maybe i'll put them to use one day. it went from following canon, to canon divergence, to using canon as my guideline and making my own arcs and storylines, altering existing ones, and toying with the framework of bethesdas writing as much as i feel necessary. i still try to adhere to the lore and keep it grounded in the world of the elder scrolls, but i'm allowing more room to play with that lore as the story goes on. for example, since solitude as a city doesnt have much in the way of a city-wide quest like some others do, i'm writing from the ground up an entire arc for the town based on several quests in the game and just expanding upon those.

of course, a lot of alteration has to be done in order to make room for three heroes. i have to rewrite dialogue and even rework some quests to make room for them to fit into it, or decide which one of them is gonna be handling a solo mission. for example, i planned for athenath to get dawnbreaker because that's one of my favorite weapons in skyrim, so i had to decide why the other two wouldn't be able to follow into meridia's temple. so, i decided vigilants of stendarr would be trying to stop the trio from going inside because the vigilants think the trio are "aiding the daedra", and only one of them could run in while the other two held the vigilants back. i'm slowly dividing up the daedric quests between who gets what, or if all three do the quest. it's a challenge to be sure everything still flows smoothly, but i love it >:3c plus, i've come up with a hell of a lot of other OCs as i've gone along to flesh out the world, and as i get to know those characters, too, skyrim feels more and more like home.

i hope any of that made sense <3 thank you so much for the ask!!!! i could legitimately ramble abt the writing process with this fic for so, so long AHAH so thank you for letting me do that!!

ask game

[despair-to-future-arcs]

Your mom is a bitch.

Well yeah but honestly, it was good riddance to her since she was a shitty mom...

I mean seriously? Who thinks destroying some kid's belongings that is meant to be private.

USAMI: Right... I suppose when that happen, you lost all trust in your mom.

Yeah pretty much... it's why I decided to stick with dad, I mean the guy is really hopeless and not the best with money so I think he probably needed me anyway.

USAMI: Sounds like you speak pretty highly of yourself...

Well I mean, my dad did call me a genius when I started to help at the bike shop and repair bikes, I improve them greatly and gave me all the credit...

...

...

...

Date: June 30th, 2005

*Kazuichi and his dad walk into the bike shop*

Welp, here we are - my bike shop!

Wow... there's a lot of tools here, so I can help out with this?

Well yeah I figure since you wander in here; you can help me out and work on repairing bikes and stuff.

But here's the deal; if you do work here, be sure to inform me and I'm around, I rather you didn't hurt yourself, got it?

Wait seriously?! I can do that...?

Awesome, thanks dad your the best!

Heh, glad to hear that! I'll teach ya all the ropes and what needs to be done, okay? So let's get started!

'Dad was my teacher and help me figure the tools and parts; mostly I had help with repairing stuff but I think what got me to become a mechanic... was when a car broke down...'

Date: August 20th, 2006

MAN: Thanks for repairing my son's bike, we were having some trouble with the wheels recently...

Of course, if you need anymore repairs, come over here.

MAN: Sure but I have to say, your son is good with this bike, I could see potential.

Well of course, my son is a genius! He learn a lot from me and I could see a promising future!

Heh, it's no prob! I hope the bike goes well!

MAN: That's good, I'll be sure to come back when I need something...

*The man goes over to his car as putting the bike in the trunk but as he was getting into the car, suddenly the car stop*

MAN: Wait what...?

Hm? Is everything good...?

MAN: Sorry... my car has been acting up recently, I'm not sure what's wrong with it.

I see... well sorry but I can't help much, I'm not good at cars...

...Hey, you think I could check it out?

MAN: Hm? You...?

Wait Kazuichi, are you sure that's a good idea?! Look, let's just call a tow company and let them check!

No dad, I think I can check it out; after all, if the car is busted I think I could see what the problem is. After all, you did say I'm a genius, right? So I figure I check this out.

...Right, just be careful.

*Kazuichi walk over and opens the hatchet of the car*

Hmm... From what I'm seeing that there might be some overheating and a faulty ECU from the sounds of it, you might want to get that fix.

MAN: Wait... you sure?

Yeah I think so, just check here and see for yourself...

*Man walks over and looks*

MAN: I see... I guess your right, you think you can fix it?

Well... I think I can, I'll get a tool box and see if I can replace the parts.

MAN: Thank you, just please fix my car...

Yeah sure thing, no prob...

*walks away as he gets his tool box which then he starts fixing the engine which a few hours later...*

And there you go, it should run easily now!

*As then the man starts turning on the car which runs smoothly*

MAN: Holy shit, it...it work! Thank you, thank you so much! Here I'll pay you for fixing my car!

Oh uh, sure... thanks...

...

...

...

*After the man pay Kazuichi he drove off*

Wow... I'm surprise how you fix the car...

Really? I mean, the parts seem easy if you ask me, is that bad...?

Not really but still, I'm impress... never thought you learn that, maybe you are better then me...

'I mean, dad was surprise by my skills with machines and cars; but I was happy to find a skill like this...'

[heartbrake-hotel]

Lordy honey yall makin me wanna write my own damn prompt. I got some more little tidbits for ya:

Elvis was turned during his first appearance at the International. But who turned him? I'm thinking there's some sort of deal going on between one the old vampires who invested in the building, maybe even the International's owner and Colonel Parker. They want Elvis to play there for as long as possible, and he isn't getting any younger--so they make it so he can't get any older, either.

At first Elvis is in a state of confusion, because fledglings (at least in my thoughts) are in a sort of fog when first turned. It helps them to adapt to feeding; cue Colonel Parker shoving cigarette girls into Elvis's suite, which he drains dry, much to his own horror when the initial feeding frenzy lifts.

And Colonel Parker isn't exactly picky with what he feeds Elvis: whoever is easy to get up into the suite, and high young girls are the easiest. Elvis tries, when he can afford it, to not feed--he doesn't know that if he drinks regularly then the frenzy won't come, but nobody has told him much of anything. His Sire isn't there, there wasn't any sort of ritual to his Turning as there normally is. No, this was just business.

aLRIGHT WOOHOO SMITTY MY LOVE LOOK AT US !!! im finally getting to this lmaoooo oOOPS 🙈 AND i have some mf THOUGHTS,,

(the orig hc post is here btw) ((idk if yall could tell but it Wrecked my Shit))

also it's been Sooooo long since we discussed this that u now have some Other relevant supernatural!au lore to pull from . so,, i hope u don't mind if i conflate the two universes a lil but ur worldbuilding in you ain't nothin' but a overtook my conscious mind weeks ago and has yet to relent 💝 oh nooooo.. whatever shall i dooooo.. 😏

far too many words under the cut. i, uh.. i may have lost control a lil 🤭🦇 ft. a frankly excessive use of pet names and an e who has been babygirlified maybe more than is appropriate within the confines of the plot (shocking, i'm sure).

right ok so !! vegas as a hub for at least some of the supernatural bc of its transient nature, high tourist volume, and seedy reputation. obvious check

for the most part, unaffiliated vamps stay out of vegas. like you said- it's too hard to monitor their blood concentrations when everyone and their dog is doing truckloads of party drugs well into the night.! but there are, of course, some Old Ones, who saw (or perhaps even built??) the city as their own personal playground btw this blends so seamlessly into the irl high-level mob ties its crazy lmao. marina's bringing up elvis is literally never not on my mind 🙏

if you're rich enough, or powerful enough (or have friends who are enough so), you don't have to fend for yourself the same way, so it's less of an issue. sucking out some rando party girl off the street is faaar beneath the pay grade of the handful of guys at the top, who have their meals carefully cultivated and hand-procured thru what is almost certainly a human trafficking ring

kirk kerkorian [or meyer kohn - u can pick ur universe, here] and the entire board of the international is of course among this group, exerting their power and influence (and perhaps Compulsion) to keep the flow of money running smoothly from the casinos below directly into their cash-lined pockets.

colonel tom parker [a demon again? or perhaps nobody in particular - either way he ends up hellspawn lmao whether literally or figuratively] is acutely aware of this when he first signs elvis on for the hotel's opening season - how could he not be? and of course everything goes perfectly smoothly for those first six weeks in 1969. **ik im twisting ur original idea just a tad but bear w me

but the longer the engagement goes, the more trouble colonel has reining elvis in. he had agreed heartily to those first fifty-eight appearances - purely to fund his upcoming world tour, you understand ("the snowman strikes again!"). but no matter how much colonel wheedles, he's not budging; elvis simply will not sign on for the next year.! he's finally holding his ground... and that's his undoing

coming off the back of his comeback special and last movie, e finally feels like he's got his mojo workin' - the king is back on top! after a looong decade stuffed fit to bursting with his botched movie career, he never thought he'd wrest any semblance of creative control away from the powers that be. but the last year or so has really made him see the value of his own opinion, AND the dangers of continued complacency. so with the backing of his family and extended entourage, he's heading halfway across the world just as soon as he gets off that stage for the last time.

colonel can't have that, not with the remainder of his hefty personal debt hanging in the balance. and with all the dough the hotel is raking in during the first dregs of their opening season, nobody up top wants their prize little cash cow flying away to london or japan or the rock of eternity or wherever he's fixin' to go - not if they have anything to say about it !

and so a plan is devised, swiftly, mercilessly, and without any pesky sense of remorse. after all, what do they have to feel bad about? they're just taking care of business

just after elvis' last performance, he's heading to his packed-up suite to shower and change for what he thinks will be the last time.. the boys are downstairs getting the last of the stuff in the cars and then they'll all head to the airport. he's got just a couple minutes to spare, and he assures them he'll be fine alone. just gonna run on up and change real quick, y'all don't needta worry about me none. [*evil colonel voice* wanna bet?]

he steps into his unusually empty suite, but before he can even shuck the towel from around his neck, his throat is being wrenched to the side in a vice grip as an unseen assailant steps from their hiding spot behind the door. he yelps, tries to throw them off, goes for the gun in his boot, but their grip is like steel, solid and unyielding, and before he can move much of anywhere there's a sharp prick in his neck and a sudden heaviness in his muscles he can't quite shake.

he assumes it's a syringe - he's not wholly unfamiliar with a needle, after all, and why would he suspect anything else? he guesses he's been drugged on account of... well, on account of bein' elvis presley. goddamn sonsabitches don't need any more reason than that. 'course, the sensation is a little different than he's used to - the gauge is unfamiliar, and he could swear he feels two distinct track marks - but by then his head is spinning too much to be certain of anything.

the last thing he feels is a rushing sense of complacency as his legs give out. his vision is swimming too much too see his attacker's face, but they let him go down, hard, and he crumples to an undignified heap on the floor helplessly as they turn to... leave? huh. not what he expected, but he supposes beggars can't be choosers

his sluggishly disjointed musings are broken only by the shadowy figure melting back into the shadows... his increasingly-addled mind knows he should be glad at their sudden departure, but all he can concentrate on is the inexplicable swing out of the vague sense of euphoria that had been the "drugs" kicking in, and a sudden accompanying feeling that he didn't like one bit. he could only describe it as a crawling fear, an absence, a kind of ripping deep in his soul... a pervasive sense of distance, of wrongness so festering he feared it was about to tear him apart from the inside out. he's suddenly certain he's not meant to be alone right now.

he gasps in the worst pain he's ever felt, and at the same moment, he's aware of a rush of footsteps in the hallway outside - he barely manages a wobbly gesture to the door and a slurred request to rip his goddamn tongue out b'the roots to the panicked faces of his boys crowding around his supine form before his vision finally goes dark.

when he wakes up, he's in an all-too-familiar bed. before running for the doctor and his daddy, a frazzled jerry sitting vigil at his side hurriedly explains that without him conscious enough to fill them in, all they knew is he wasn't fit to travel, so they'd unpacked his suite again while waiting for him to return to the land of the living. he's grateful, but assures him that as soon as he's feeling better they'll be heading out again.

he asks jerry to turn down the thermostat and flip off the light on his way out. the heavily-drawn drapes had already ensured it'd been near-pitch dark and freezing, just how he liked it, but he murmured it felt like he was burnin' up from the inside out, and his eyes were too sensitive for even the ambient glow of his bedside lamp. jerry does so and also fetches him a pair of big ol' sunglasses, without a word.

the doctors (who'd been summoned to the hotel; despite protests from the mafia, colonel had suggested that moving elvis to a hospital could be even more dangerous, what with this criminal still on the loose, and vernon had reluctantly agreed) hadn't been able to tell what he'd been dosed with - it'd metabolized too quickly to detect, apparently. all they can tell him after the last four days of monitoring his comatose form is that his vitals have been almost astonishingly strong. the only symptom he's had has been a high fever, but it breaks as soon as he's awake again- and actually, his body temp has overcorrected and is a little low now, is he feeling chilly?

they joke that whatever he'd been given seems to have actually helped him, and he's inclined to agree... despite the fact that they hadn't administered anything to him except an IV drip, in case it had any adverse interactions with whatever he'd been on, his chronic pain has mysteriously vanished. and since he's been awake and in recovery, he's only seemed to get more handsome and charming, no sign at all of being out of it and on fluids for so long. you sure wouldn't have known his recent predicament by looking at him !

he's got a host of baffling new symptoms as well, but nothing that seems dangerous or that points to any kind of diagnosis. he's growing increasingly thirsty, but the buckets of water he's drinking aren't quenching him. he seems to have lost his sense of taste (this one hits him the worst) - at first, the smell of food made him nauseous. now he can keep it down, but it feels like ash in his mouth. his light sensitivity lingers, though for the most part it's limited to natural light, and he takes to wearing the sunglasses often. he seems to have developed a sudden allergy to some of his jewelry - his silver rings and pendants now cause a burning rash. he has them remade in gold and doesn't give it a second thought.

he tells and retells his story to the cops, but they're left scratching their heads; it's widely assumed the panicked arrival of the mafia scared off the creep before they could pull off the rest of their plan. kill him, kidnap him for ransom... seemed like they'd never know for sure, but either way everyone agrees he narrowly escaped a much worse fate. colonel doesn't think it wise for him to be on the road, what with this continued threat hanging over his head, but jerry argues it doesn't seem any better to stay in vegas with this freak at large. and elvis points out that if the bastard follows him overseas, they have bigger fish to fry.

the boys seem confused that the attack doesn't appear to have played into his usual paranoia in any way; he doesn't know quite how to explain it, he tells them, but he feels stronger, somehow. more settled. like if it ever came to it again, he could handle himself. it might just be relieved cockiness, but what didn't kill him made it so he's at least not afraid again. he's been reflecting deeply on psalm 23, apparently.

and so the suite is once again packed up, despite colonel's protestations- this time with elvis under constant supervision, much to his good-natured amusement. it goes without incident, and they make it all the way to the runway before elvis is suddenly doubled over in pain in the back of the limo, sweating and shaking like a leaf.

he's groaning that it hurts, hurts s'bad, but can't say anything more than that, and within seconds the whole caravan has whipped around and is careening back to the relative safety of the hotel. by the time he's being ferried hurriedly up to his room, he's improving steadily, and by the time he's settled in bed and the doctors once more fetched, he's weak and badly shaken but seems no worse for wear.

the doctors can't explain this apparent relapse any more than the first, but tentatively give him a clean bill of health, and two days later they try it all again. this time he makes it within a couple miles of the airport, and it takes him four days to recover. the last time they try, he only makes it four blocks away from the Strip and is bedridden for a week. nobody has any sort of explanation, and the tour is put on hold indefinitely while they're seemingly stranded.

the colonel is the one who offers a possible solution. he'd been hovering around elvis' room the whole time (like a bad smell, sonny mutters when he's out of earshot), fluttering around with assurances that the hotel would gladly host them as long as they needed, maybe even sign them on for another season if elvis so wished...

when elvis finally roars that he just wants OUT of this place, goddammit in response to vernon's suggestion that he stop working himself up with leaving, colonel finally pounces.

he must put his foot down, he says. his boy is clearly in no condition to travel- no, no, not physically, he hastily amends, when elvis opens his mouth to remind him what the doctors said, but clearly mentally. something about the attack has left him emotionally unstable, it appears, and the idea of leaving, even though he's so sure he wants to, is clearly triggering some kind of psychosomatic attack. why doesn't he make up his mind to stay- not forever, just until his head is screwed on right. he can keep playing the international, and they can find him some head-shrinkers to fix him right up, eh? elvis doesn't see any choice but to glumly agree.

of course, unbeknownst to elvis, the real issue is that his Maker won't allow him to leave vegas city limits. he's been kept totally in the dark as to his situation and is thus totally suggestible, so when the vampire who Turned him (continually employed by the Ancients for just this kind of dirty work) uses their mental connection to Compel him to stay within a certain radius, elvis doesn't even know he's feeling it, much less that it's possible to fight it. his Bat simply obeys without question, to the confusion of his body and conscious mind.

if his Turning had been accompanied by proper ritual, if his Maker had explained any of his new life to him, if he'd received any guidance at all, he'd know he could override this instinct, break the Bond they shared (especially as ill-cultivated as it is), and be on his way. as it is, he's like a dog with a newly-installed invisible fence. a dog who's also growing steadily weaker since his Turning because of his lack of sustenance, mind you.

the colonel knows all this. he also knows that any doctors or psychiatrists that see elvis from this point on will be in the know, be provided by the hotel, and be payed handsomely to tell elvis exactly what the colonel wants him to hear. he send word to the Council that they've got him at last. they rejoice at the prospect of chaining elvis to their stage for an eternity, elvis begrudgingly signs the contract for another engagement, and this is where the real trouble starts...

it's been three weeks since he was inadvertently Turned, and elvis is feeling the affects of not having Fed, though he doesn't realize it. he's weak, he's thirsty, he's snappish, and can somebody turn off those godDAMNED lights !!! the mafia assume it's due to his mental slump and are at a loss except to wait it out, but the colonel thinks he has something to cheer him up. he winks and tells red that elvis will have a few, ehem.. lady visitors tonight, and surely they shouldn't be disturbed. the boys get the hint.

colonel sends up the ditziest cigarette girl he can find downstairs, a perky little blonde, so doped-up out of her mind she's wobbling in her heels. she gasped and flushed darkly when he told her that mr. presley was in need of her services; he hadn't even needed to slip her any cash to incentivize her troubles. he chomped on his cigar and grinned darkly as he watched her giggle her way to the elevator.

elvis, for his part, almost makes it. he'd answered the rhythmic little knock in his robe, loosely tied, and didn't miss the way the sweet young thing at his door gaped at the sight of all that chest on display. before he can even say anything, she's slipped under his arm and further into the room, and he raises an eyebrow and grins as he eases the door shut. he peruses her wares (the CIGARETTES !! im talking about the cigarettes..) more for show than anything else, and hands her a $20 in exchange for a pack he doesn't plan on smoking, telling her to keep the change.

she bends over far more than necessary while stacking boxes back in her tray, and flutters her lashes when she asks him if there's... anything else she can get him. flattered as he is, he tells her, he isn't sure he needs anything just now, but thank you kindly anyways, honey. truthfully, he's not sure he's feeling up for it, but she pouts so prettily as she swings her hips sadly over to the door, and turns back to ask if he's really really sure... the colonel had sent her up with express instructions to give him anything he wanted, she explains, sultry little whine in her voice, and he finds his resolve crumbling.

surely a little kissing wouldn't hurt, he reasons, might even make him feel a lil better, and her eyes light up in glee when he beckons her back over. but the minute she's in his arms, easing her way up to his lips as her eyes flutter shut, he isn't sure what comes over him. they're so close her heartbeat rushes in his ears, and without a thought he's effortlessly snapped her neck (with strength he didn't know he had) and is lapping frantically from her torn throat (pierced with the aid of sharp fangs he's never felt before). she never even saw it coming.

he moans as he sags to the ground, clutching her limp form and still slurping desperately as, for the first time since his attack, his thirst is quenched. he dimly realizes he's done something unforgivable, but his head feels like it's been stuffed with cotton, everything around him distant and foggy. the sense of panic he knows he should be feeling is a far-off twinge, all but muted by the combined cocktail of ecstasy running through him: fresh blood, dope, and a brain fog he can't quite attribute to either.

when she's dry he's sated, the sense of woozy relief hits him so strong that he barely manages to stagger to his feet and stumble over to the couch, chin and hands still covered in blood, before he's passing out for ten hours of the emptiest sleep he's ever had. when he wakes up, all traces of what happened are gone, and with a mind that finally feels clearer than it has for weeks, he almost manages to convince himself it was an incredibly fucked-up dream, so potent that the sweet metallic tang is still blooming on his tongue...

...until of course, the next time it happens. it goes much the same way: the colonel has no trouble locating a girl who'll never be missed- this is vegas, after all- and sends her, high as a kite of her own volition, up to the penthouse to keep company with a disgruntled and starving elvis. he drains her dry before he can even blink, but stays awake this time to spend the next few hours totally blissed out in an uncomfortably drugged haze. the more he comes down, the more he hates not only what he's done but also the way it makes him feel.

thus starts a vicious cycle: elvis, terrified of feeding, swears off blood, until he's half-starved but fighting himself at every turn. the colonel intervenes, sending throngs of low-risk girls up to the suite, where e simply can't help himself anymore, and enters a violent blood-crazed frenzy. he spends the hours after staggering around half-lucid, waiting for the effects to fade so he can convince himself he'll never do it again.

the stronger he maintains his tenuous mental fortitude- the longer he goes between feeds- the more girls he needs in a night to fill him up, and the higher he gets afterwards. he doesn't ask where colonel finds them or what he does with the bodies. he thinks dully that he doesn't much want to know.. it's hard enough on his conscience already.

of course, yet another thing nobody's bothered to explain to poor frightened fledgling elvis is that every time he refuses to feed when he should, every time he feels the welling signs of that dark hunger within himself and shoves them down in distress, every time his instincts are forced to take over and quite literally make him feed, that it exacerbates the mental fog he's feeling.

vampiric lore (which of course he doesn't know) attributes it to a sort of easing-in countermeasure; it's only newly-turned vampires, not fully in touch with their desires, that attempt to starve themselves so, clearly suffering from a mental block regarding the morality of preying upon their former species. to smooth their transition into acceptance of their new form, every time they're forced to feed rather than do it willingly, a potent release of hormones and neurotransmitters floods their system, both to combat any lingering guilt and to make them crave the mental release of feeding just as much as the physical.

if he were to feed normally, if he were to provide his body with the nourishment it needed on a regular basis, his instincts wouldn't have to override his mind this way. he wouldn't be forced to feed so violently or so much, he'd be able to control himself such that he could select his own victims preferentially and even bring himself to stop before killing them, and he wouldn't feel so overwhelmed afterwards.

elvis thinks of his... condition as an affliction, a temptation he lacks the strength to overcome, but really, it's his body's desperate attempt to stay alive when his mind insists on thwarting his ongoing survival at every turn. the bloodlust isn't a punishment but a protective measure, and one he could prevent if he'd take consistent care of his new needs.

and on top of all that, the particular way his intake is chemically tainted only adds to this anguish, because now he's unknowingly also developing a dependency on the drugs- the painful withdrawal symptoms of which serve to strongarm him into feeding even more frequently.

things are only exacerbated by his performance engagement starting back up; of course, it's even easier to find girls- hordes of them batter the doors to the showroom after every show, desperate for just another glimpse of him- but it also means he's got a responsibility to be right there on that stage twice a night, able-minded or no, and he takes that very seriously.

he's got people to support, after all, so he gets very used to functioning while highly intoxicated, whether that means performing, schmoozing the high rollers in the casino at the behest of his hotel benefactors, or smiling through a never-ending stream of reporters and photographers during every interview and press conference.

this is where the reader steps in !!!

you're one of less than a handful of vamps, just two or three, really, who manage to stick around vegas (and consume healthy blood) without the influence of the Old Ones, a feat you manage by staying off the Strip almost entirely. you stick to the suburbs, both as a way to ensure you're not tripping out after every meal, and to (hopefully) stay out of sight and out of mind of the powerful Ancients who don't want anyone infringing on their territory. this is very fright night remake vibes btw if anyone remembers that

but there's very little to do in the dusty, sprawling desert neighborhoods that isn't centered around maintaining the tourism industry downtown, especially for an immortal with nothing but time (and the occasional meal) to kill. you're nowhere near as experienced as those you seek to avoid, but you've been around the block quite a few times yourself, and sometimes the neon glow of the city lights overrides the quiet boredom of your safely-maintained little perimeter.

tonight is one such night: elvis presley had been headlining the international hotel for what felt like ages, or maybe just a blink - it was hard to judge that pesky human time, when their lifespans were so much shorter than yours. either way, he'd been this era's answer to jesus for a few decades now, and you had to admit you were curious to see him in person at last.

you decide on the midnight show- maybe if you're lucky, you can scrounge up a snack on the way home. you don't bother with a ticket- though you have more than enough human money stored up over the years, you're sure it's no use for what promises to be a sold-out show. the bouncers aren't any deterrent, either- you simply Compel them into checking the list for your name another time, and they let you in without a murmur. the showroom is packed so full, you notice as you survey the area, that nobody could ever notice one more.

you slip into a vacant seat at the end of one of the long tables that line the stage, with a group of screaming fans who don't seem to notice that they don't know you. you can't tell if their distraction is borne more from excitement or alcohol, but either way, you're grateful for the cover. you order a bloody mary as your own personal joke and bide your time until the show starts, perusing the booths that line the floor behind you. you recognize a few familiar Old Ones, by face if not name- no surprise, considering who runs the casino just outside.

eventually, the lights fade and the orchestra bursts into an opening riff. you clap with the rest when elvis struts out on stage, looking resplendent in a white jumpsuit, grinning wide and boyishly and practically glowing under the stage lights. his rings flash as he waves to the audience, courteous and attentive even as he starts singing. when the song's over he introduces himself and some of the VIPs, including the owner of the hotel (now there's a vamp who's been getting himself a lot of press lately), and the heavyset man next to him, apparently elvis' own manager. the man gives a simpering smile and wave to the crowd as the spotlights illuminate the booth, and you wrinkle your nose as you turn back to the main stage. you haven't placed it yet, but something seems off about that one.

elvis puts on a good show, you'll give him that, but the longer you watch, the more puzzled you become. he's slurring just a bit when he jokes with the band in between numbers, and more clumsy than you'd expect for someone so flexible; you'd say it was just another hollywood star using and abusing drugs if he didn't look so... panicked every time. he's twitchy, too, keeps getting down toward the edge of the stage like he's about to move out into the crowd and start planting kisses on his clamoring fans, like you've heard he does, but he keeps jerking himself back at the last second. they seem to think he's teasing, screaming louder every time, and he plays it off with a slow grin, but it's almost like... like he's afraid he won't be able to control himself, like...

ah. there it is

you zero in on just the barest flash of fang in his smile, and immediately suss out what's going on. elvis presley, a fledgling vamp in what is indisputably the worst city in the world for fledgling vamps... strange things are happening every day, aren't they?

that leaves you with more questions than answers, however... questions like where's his Master? why isn't he feeding properly? who's keeping him half-starved and strung-out? and most importantly, does he even know what's going on?

you narrow your eyes contemplatively as you watch him fool with the microphone before prompting the band to start the next song. all it takes is seeing his hands tremble around the cord to make you nod decisively and shoot back the rest of your drink. you suppose you can stick around a little longer than originally planned... after all, it seemed like elvis might need a little help fixing this, whether he knew it or not.

you lingered just a little after the show ended, waiting until the throngs of frantic women had pushed their way back to the lobby before heading after them yourself. you glanced around surreptitiously, locating the nearest elevator bay... and near it, a familiar older man with a cane whispering furtively to a clearly-tipsy young woman, one you recognized from your table during the show. she had caught a silk scarf fluttering down in front of her from the man himself and hadn't stopped screaming until the lights came back on. bingo

you ran one hand through your hair haphazardly, tousling it slightly as you stumbled your way over to them. "oh, there you are! i was looking for you," you chirped. she gasps and waves excitedly in the earnest way only drunk girls do, but your mouth is open again before she can speak and do something incriminating, like ask your name. "who's y'r friend? s'he coming upstairs with us?" you giggle, leering at... what had his name been again? ah yes, colonel parker. you silently gave a sigh of thanks for your heightened senses- you might not have recognized him just from your brief glimpse during the show otherwise.

the colonel glanced you over dismissively, clearly writing you off as another inebriated fan - his mistake, but exactly what you wanted him to think all the same. he gave you a leering grin and tapped his cane as he said "ah, i was just asking your friend here to do a simple personal favor for me..." you hummed disinterestedly until he continued "...on behalf of mister presley, of course." you gasped exaggeratedly and willed your cheeks to flush- lucky you had fed recently.

he seems to buy it, from the way his eyebrow ticks upwards when he sees your reaction "perhaps you would like to... accompany her to his suite, no?" he teases. you nod raptly, artificial stars in your eyes, and he snorts as he pushes the call elevator button for you with the top of his cane. "top floor. you two enjoy yourselves," he chuckles. the two of you giggle as he saunters away, towards the casino entrance.

as soon as the doors slide shut behind you, you straighten up and tidy your hair in the chromatic reflection until you're once again presentable. you brush off your outfit, fiddling until you're satisfied, then take a deep breath. snapping once to get your lightly confused companion's attention, your turn her shoulders towards you so she's making woozy and bewildered eye contact with you.

"hi honey. having a good night? good. this is how the rest of it is gonna go, ok? now you listen to me-"

when the doors opened again at the thirtieth floor, the girl (tracy. she had told you absently her name was tracy) waved distractedly over her shoulder as she walked straight out of the elevator bay and into the nearby stairwell, head filled with what she believed to be an immutable truth about the elevator being out of service. she'd walk back to her room (on the off chance there was anyone downstairs monitoring the floor indicator dial), wake up perfectly safe in the morning, and think nothing of it.

meanwhile, you let yourself into elvis' suite with the key tracy had handed over, a parting gift from the colonel. you left the lights off, made yourself comfortable on the couch facing the door, and waited.

you didn't have to wait long- just minutes later, there was noise outside, multiple male voices speaking over each other as they all piled out of the elevator and headed for the door, elvis' the loudest. "yeah, yeah, i said i'd meet you down there, didn't i? doin' my damn head in... i'll tell ya what, y'all g'head and i'll call down there when i'm done. yes i swear, now git!" laughter and good-natured ribbing faded as the elevator doors presumably closed behind the crowd once again, punctuated with a sigh and the click of the door lock disengaging another time.

elvis didn't seem to notice you as he walked in, leaving the light off as well as he patted his face dry with the damp towel looped around his neck. he leaned against the wall with one hand to brace himself as he toed off his boots, then whipped his dark shades off onto a side table and gripped the bridge of his nose with another deep sigh.

"are you in any pain, mr. presley?" he yelped in undignified surprise and whipped around with a touch of vampiric speed, dropping the towel in his fright to discover the source of your voice. despite the pitch blackness of the room, his eyes locked onto yours immediately through the dark, without needing to scan the empty space around you- another sign of his transition. no mortal could see as perfectly well in this scenario as the two of you could.

"wh- who-" he stuttered some, regaining his bearings, as you cocked your head in evaluation. "i'm sorry to startle you, mr. presley," you say evenly, but pleasantly. "you can drop that shit straightaway, honey, that's my daddy. can jus' call me elvis." he murmurs absentmindedly, as if it hadn't been what he really intended to say but came out by habit. "and now that you know me, may i ask who you are? and better yet what the hell you're doing in my room?" he doesn't sound angry, per se, more resigned than anything, and you smile wryly in response as you introduce yourself. "real pretty, honey, but i'd like an answer to my other question, too." he raises his eyebrow, and you wonder if he's even aware of how much charismatic mental energy he's leaking right now. it was even more apparent to you now why humans throw themselves at him left and right.

"sorry, m- i mean, elvis. the colonel sent me up. i saw your show- you were fantastic, but i had a couple questions." "he did, did he? just wonderful," he almost growls, squeezing his eyes shut. "and some questions, you said? you a reporter?" his voice sounds hard-edged for the first time tonight, but he seems to relax again when you answer with a simple no. "just concerned, i guess." he hums tiredly at your response, vague though it is. "concerned about what, 'bout the show? i'll do my best to answer your questions, honey, but i really don't think there's all too much to be concerned about-"

"elvis, when was the last time you fed?" you can hear his breath catch from clear across the room. "i-i had lunch after rehearsals, but i ain't had dinner yet, if that's what you're askin'... pretty forward way to ask me on a date, but i-" you put a hand up to cut him off. "i think you know perfectly well that's not what i'm asking, elvis. when was the last time you fed properly? on blood?" "...ha! been watching a little too many dark shadows reruns, honey?" his words trip over themselves getting out, and eventually he gives up to just blink at you, speechless, owl-eyed, and afraid despite his frankly pathetic attempt at a cover. he looks like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar only this time the metaphorical cookie jar is a number of very literal human corpses lol

you bite back a sigh- perhaps you pushed too hard there. poor thing is wringing his hands like he thinks you're gonna put him in cuffs any minute. "maybe we should start over- i'm here to help, ok? i wanna make sure you're alright, cuz i think you might have a lot of questions nobody's explained to you yet. c'mere and sit next to me, baby, and we'll just talk" you pat the seat next to you, flipping his casual pet naming back on him effortlessly. to be fair, he is a baby to you- only, what, a couple months old? that's nothing compared to your few hundred years.

he eyes the spot next to you but shakes his head, still looking like a lost puppy. "n-no, i- m'fine over here," he manages. you furrow your brow; he's gonna need to start trusting you if he wants your help, and this is a bad way to begin. "i promise, i'm not gonna hurt you, elvis-" that sure does it. "i'm not worried about that!" he exclaims. "m'worried about me hurting you!"

you breathe out a surprised little oh, suddenly understanding. "is that what you're so worried about, sweetie? i'm not afraid of you." you try to placate him. "y-you should be afraid of me, honey. i am."

and that's the crux of the matter, isn't it? it breaks your heart a little to know that this is what he's been grappling with alone. it's not meant to be like this- with time and acceptance, he was meant to gain eternal companionship (your semi-loner status nonwithstanding). and whoever heard of a scared vampire?

but you put that aside to focus on elvis- and quickly realize there's one more... little thing you might've left out.

"you don't need to be anymore, ok? i'm gonna help you learn to control it." you beckon him over again, and this time he makes it halfway across the floor before you realize you're not sure if you're Compelling him or not. he'll need to learn what it feels like eventually, in order to both use it and combat it, but now's probably not the time. you break eye contact, just in case, and he falters slightly, but keeps coming, putting you at ease.

as he gets close enough to hear your heartbeat, though, his eyes suddenly turn frantic, and he backpedals, once again in the grip of that familiar terror. "you- you have to get out of here, i can't-" you shush him, not unkindly. "oh, sweetheart. that one's my bad, ok? i guess i haven't been very good at this so far," you grin apologetically. "but you couldn't hurt me, even if you tried"

you use your superspeed to whoosh over to his side and back, the only sign you'd moved at all the slight sway of your hair in the breeze it creates- and the golden ankh pendant now swinging from your upturned palm. elvis gapes, hands reaching up to feel the now-empty space around his neck where the necklace rested just moments ago. "how...?" listen i really can't be assed abt the fact he wasn't wearing necklaces this early ok. it was a cool move

"forgot to tell you - i'm souped up, too." you wink at him, flashing your pupils the deep red they turn when you're Feeding. "and also i think a little stronger than you, given what i saw on stage tonight." this is soo cliche im sorry but Spooky Eyes HAWT. i don't feel bad about it actually

the immediate sense of overwhelming relief on his face almost aches to see, and he's crossed the remaining stretch of floor to practically collapse in your arms sobbing before you can blink. it's... very surprising, you'll admit, but not unwelcome, either, and you're sure the uncertainty lingers in your voice as you gentle him softly, petting his hair and rubbing his back and trying not to overthink the fact that you've known elvis presley for all of ten minutes and now... this is happening. whatever this is.

"woah- woah, hey, what's happening? what's the matter, baby?" he's shaking like a leaf as you hold him, trying to work out in what universe this makes sense. "i-i-i ain't-" he manages through tears. "i haven't been able to touch any-anyone this whole time without b-being so goddamned afraid i'd hurt 'em... and i just- i..."

your worst fears for him, first materialized as you watched him onstage and puzzled about the identity of his Master, are confirmed. "baby... have you been alone this whole time?" you whisper. he just nods from his resting place, face buried in your shoulder. IS this a weird level of intimacy for 2 virtual strangers? totally yup. DO i still think its arguably valid considering how desperately lonely i have decided to make this bitch? uh huh :3

you suck in a breath through your teeth, suddenly filled with the fiery emotion you've been tamping down all night- rage. rage at whoever organized this hit, at whoever must be profiting off it while elvis suffers and innocent girls die, at the colonel who's been shepherding bodies in here endlessly and apparently without deigning to give elvis any proper help or training- yeah, don't think you forgot about him.

but before you can do anything about that, you have to do something with the king of rock 'n roll, who's finally quieting down in your lap. you shove the anger back down, the same way you do your bloodlust- the same way you'll teach elvis.

he sits back up, furiously wiping his tear-stained face. "sorry, honey- i don't know what came over me." he barks a laugh but his eyes tell you it's for show. you tut at him, standing up to fetch him a tissue and maybe a bottle of water, if you can find it- you're sure there must have been one waiting for him after the show. his eyes widen again, but before he has time for concern you cup his cheek to brush the last of his tears away with the pad of your thumb, accompanied by a gently chiding look that says i'm not going anywhere

he has enough time to look sheepish before you putter back over to him with your spoils, talking a mile a minute to distract him. "tch, enough of that! that's part of the change- everything you felt before is doubly strong now. it can be hard to separate your emotions sometimes, especially when you're not used to it. you'll feel everything differently now, and twice as hard."

he takes a moment to mull that over as he mops his face and chugs the water bottle, then nods as he meets your eyes again. "i didn't know that, but it sounds- it feels right. what else can ya tell me?" you chuckle darkly, stretching out on the couch. "oh, just bunches, baby. get comfortable, cuz i know you've got questions- and i've got your answers."

over the course of the night, you explain everything to elvis- how he was Turned, the changes his body's going through, all the symptoms and abilities he'll experience now, why he's feeling the way he is, his options for feeding, how his habits need to change if he intends to keep going like this... it's a laborious process, given how little he knows and how much he thinks he does- he's already got a lot of misconceptions to retrain.

"hey, maybe you're the one who's been watching too many dark shadows reruns lately!" you mean it as a joke, but he flushes. "well, s'not like there's a, a handbook or anythin'! i've been tryin' to study up!" you burst out laughing, and he laughs with you.

at one point he orders up dinner for the two of you, which provides the perfect opportunity for you to offer him a creature comfort- "food? yeah, you can eat food. it won't sustain you, but you're free to eat for pleasure." at his pained look, you give him a knowing smirk. "i bet it tastes nasty right now, doesn't it?" he nods glumly, eyeing your super-rare hamburger, and you chuckle, eyeing him as you take an exaggerated bite. he groans in annoyance, and you laugh as you lick your fingers clean. "don't worry- that'll pass. it's your instincts' way of telling you that you're malnourished- kind of a deterrent from stuff that won't actually keep you alive. you'll be back to your peanut butter and banana in no time, promise." he cheers, and orders up a bottle of champagne, just for that.

"that's another thing- we metabolize differently. your system can tell the difference between the liquid calories it needs and the solid calories you're feeding it just for fun. you won't derive any energy from human food, so you can't gain weight. no reason to store fat," you shrug. "but it also means-" you clink your champagne glass with his in a mock toast, "-you can't get drunk." he sputters, "well, why'd you even let me order the bubbly then?? this shit's expensive, so they tell me!" "i like the way it sparkles! it tickles my nose!"

the hours come and go, but the two of you barely notice, so wrapped up in your conversation. that's another thing you explain- how he'll need much less rest now, if he keeps himself healthy, but that until he's being nourished properly he'll be fatigued and need to sleep pretty much like before. he admits that he was practically nocturnal beforehand, anyway- he hadn't even noticed this one change among so many more pressing.

his drapes were heavy-duty, but you could see just the barest sliver of skyline out the window as the sun began to rise. "it's almost dawn," you whisper, conscious of the fact that the vampire before you is very young, and has had a very long night. a very long month, to be perfectly honest. he hums from where his head is resting on your thigh- you'd encouraged him to lie down an hour ago when he kept breaking off his sentences to yawn hugely. actually, you'd encouraged him to get some rest and you'd talk more later, but he'd refused to go to bed, assuring you he wasn't tired 't all, just sore from the show- he got muscle aches, you know, and he needed to stretch out. you hadn't been convinced then, and you were even less so now, keeping a fond eye on him (fond?? when had that happened) as he drowsed in your lap.

his end of the conversation had started lagging about the same time you started running your hand through his hair, until he was practically purring in contentment. you huffed in amusement. "more like a kitty cat than a bat, i think." he cocked an eyebrow and grinned salaciously, though he didn't open his eyes. "oh honey, i'll show you a cat... a pussycat, to be precis-" "HEY!" you swatted him teasingly and he snickered, settling down again. "keep it clean, presley." "yes, Master." you paused in your ministrations at that, just long enough for his brow to furrow. "you don't have to call me that." "yeah... but can i? i mean, would'ya mind if i-?" his voice was quiet, but sincere. "...ok. but only if you want to." he can hear the smile in your voice without looking, and it makes him smile, too.

"you do have a real one out there, y'know." "i know. but they ain't ever helped me none- all they've done for me is turn my life upside down and leave again. but you... hell, honey, i've only known you one night, and already things are starting to feel right side up again." you sit with that for just long enough to feel pleased before you reach down to tweak his nose. he giggles, and your bid to give the both of you a break from being so fucking earnest goes off without a hitch. the tension stays broken, but the tranquil mood remains.

"guess you're stuck with me again- i can't make it all the way home in that," you venture eventually, nodding at the lone streak of sun making its way past the blackout curtains to pool on the floor behind the piano. luckily far out of the way, or he might've had a particularly unpleasant awakening of his own, had he stumbled through the patch accidentally. he shifts minutely, well on his way to sleep by now. "mm, sounds jus' awful," he drawls, answer delayed only slightly by the fact that he's snoozing, his voice is so quiet that without your enhanced senses you'd have to strain to hear it. "can't imagine quite how i'll make it through if you've gotta stick around s'more." "even dead to the world, you maintain your sense of humor, huh, baby? and those lady-killer tendencies, i see" "yeah, well, i have killed quite a few lad-" "elvis!" you laugh, scandalized, as he huffs a laugh as well as he leverages himself up to sitting.

he rubs his eyes as he tries to get his bearings. "s'pose that's my way of asking real tactful... what happens next?" "well, first we've gotta detox you." "what, from the blood? i thought you said-" "nope, not from the blood. from the drugs in the blood." "from the w-" he gapes, looking shocked and hurt, and also a little appalled at himself. "i really am sorry to break it to you, sweetheart- there's a lot going on with you right now, and only some of it is due to... this," you reach up a hand to thumb at one of his fangs, which had slipped out as soon as you started talking about blood. "the rest of it is a combination of the vegas lights and whoever up top orchestrated the whole thing." he nods slowly, expression inscrutable. "we'll take it slow, i promise. ok?" "yeah," he nods more steadily now. "yeah, i trust you."

"well, then, mr. presley- are you ready?" he nods his head as if on instinct, then has the decency to look confused. "ready for what?" you smile, fangs out. "to start getting you fixed up... so we can take down those bastards responsible for this." he just stares at you a moment before a slow grin starts to take over his face, eyes darkening to match the quite literally bloodthirsty expression in yours.

"let's get to it."

[snakkiez]

How would the DOAS guys react if the MC rejected them?

DOAS Guys get rejected by MC :(

Semi-long one, so under the break it goes~

Antonio: He would clear his throat, his eyes flashing with hurt before steeling over once again - to an expression you became intricately familiar with when you first came to the Ventola Estate. "Ah," would be all he could force out at first, and he would look to the floor as he cleared his throat. "Well then. I apologize for the misunderstanding -" He would begin to say your name, but correct himself, his voice wavering only slightly, "...Signora." He would bow his head to you slightly out of respect, "It won't happen again," he would add smoothly, his cold expression finally back to its usual state, and he would leave the room to mull over his thoughts.

Renzo: He would laugh at first, thinking you were just teasing him back as you usually do, but then the realization of what you truly mean would dawn on him and he would become unusually serious. "Oh! Ahaha... gotcha. My mistake." He would do everything he could to avoid looking you in the eyes, but you could swear you saw something shiny on his cheek before he turned away from you. .Not a moment later, he would exclaim "Anyways!" and become his usual joking self, changing the subject -- but you can tell his smile doesn't meet his eyes.

Leonardo: It would seem like his breath was caught in his throat as he carefully examined your features, notably your eyes and lips, as if he worried he would never see you again - as if you would disappear from his world. He would be internally begging to find any trace of doubt in your eyes, hoping to find even a sliver of the love he felt for you reflected back at him. When he doesn't find it, he would mutter one thing: "...Understood." With a small smile, he would turn to leave, and would make it a point to keep his distance from you so as to not make you uncomfortable.

Alessio: He would purse his lips and nod his head a bit, looking away from you as he reaches into his pocket, pulling out his cigarettes. As he leaned against the brick wall, he would light one and take a drag, blowing it away from you and into the open night air. "Ah, well...no worries. I understand, doll." He would give you a soft, dejected smile, but you could hear him mumble under his breath, "As long as whoever you choose makes you happy." From then on, you would notice he keeps his distance and makes things 100% professional, and he would start going out late nights again (something he had not done since you two had begun being close) and even Luca would seem to be going easier on him - though neither would let on why.

Angelo: He would nod and bite his lip regretfully, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Can I ask why?" His voice would be soft and wavering, but it wouldn't break. Should you choose to tell him, he would abide by what you say but work on fixing those things about himself to try again later. If you don't, he would "resign himself to his fate" and assume there is something inherently wrong with him. He would become more and more scarce to see around, and eventually, you would find he had someone take over as your guard completely.

Luca: Almost instantly his cheeks would burn bright red, and he would give you an apologetic smile. "I...I have no idea what to say. I'm sorry...I must have misread the situation." He would try and hide his feelings as to not make you feel guilty, but it would be his fidgeting that would give away his unrest. "...Can we still be friends? Or..." his voice would finally break as he kept up his smile, his eyes glossy, "Would you prefer this be entirely professional?" You know that whatever you choose, you will still be safe in his care - feelings hurt or not.

[journeytoruletheworld]

Hi!

I have no idea why I'm here. I kinda feel like I don't fit here, it feels like I'm too old for this, but here it goes.

I created this page to serve somewhat as my diary. I needed somewhere safe for me to let somethings go out of my mind in the hopes that doing so would help me cope with my daily challenges.

So, a small introduction. I'm a man in my early 30's. I have children, but I'll not talk about them as they're on the best part of my life's spectrum. I've been married for only two years and have only dated three women in my entire life. Its been two years since its ended and I feel fine about it - even though I don't see any way on which an relationship ending not being traumatic, it was smoothly and we ended up staying friends.

This is a very basic sum up of what I feel like its the foundation of everything thats wrong with me, at least recently.

Perhaps I can open up a little bit more next time I write something, but for now, I guess this is what I could call a messy introduction.

See you next time?

[apricusnights]

Chapter Seven: The Templar, The Witch and The Warrior.

Location: Smokey Gardens.

Lapis: "That's the fourth time in the past two weeks."

Lazuli: "I don't want anything to do with them, I don't even know how to control this power...if it even is a power. I've only been able to use it twice."

Cordelia: "The Templars are getting more and more persistent. This might have been the last time they stop by just to chat."

Styles: "Could always cut off all essential services to their fuckin church, see how that makes em feel. I've already got half a mind to go down there and have it out with Luci myself."

Cordelia: "As much as I would like to see that..it's likely a bad idea right now. Every organization in this city is on the brink of war. You go down there and start wrecking shop and the powder keg goes off. Suddenly we're all tearing the city apart."

Myte: "Well one thing is for damn sure, the kid can't stay here for a while. The asshats are gonna come back until they get what they want. We need to get her out of here."

Styles: "Sounds easier than it is. We got people out here that are freaked out by what Lazuli can do. Never thought I'd hear someone called a witch just cause of their damned awakened ability. They'll be more than happy to report if we hide her."

Lazuli: "I am NOT going back to Cherry Hills. The Bell family is nice but something creeps me out about that place."

Lapis: "Wouldn't work, they know we've had you stay there before. It'd be the first place they look. That happens and we're right back to the whole "war" thing since Darcie would likely be less than cordial about templars in her district."

Myte: "I got an idea."

Cordelia: "That's a first."

Myte: "Ha ha. Anyway listen up. President Styles is gonna be the one who takes Lazuli out of here for a while. Cordelia and myself will stay here. Styles won't tell us where he's going so we won't be able to say anything anyway."

Lapis: "Won't they see this happening?"

Myte: "Not if she's already gone by the time she leaves with the boss."

Lazuli: "I don't follow."

Styles: "I think I do..."

Location: Cathedral Of The Sun, Delta Town.

Violet: "Sister May? I thought you'd be going with Brother Julius."

May: "I do desire to visit the Cathedral site but Brother Castor and I were requested by the High Priestess for an important task. We'll be heading out with a small group of brothers and sisters soon."

Violet: "This is probably gonna be like talking to a brick wall but I have to ask. What kind of a task are you being sent on?"

May: "I'm afraid I'm not allowed to give many details however I assure you it's for the greater good of both the church and our organization."

Violet: "Fair enough, I hope your mission goes smoothly Sister May."

May: "Thank you Sister Violet." Bowing before walking out of the room.

Nothing about this seemed right, nothing about anything seemed right. Violet made her way down one of the long hallways to where the High Priestess's office was located. She hoped to have a few minutes to perhaps get answers.

Violet stopped just short of knocking on the door when she heard voices. Seemed someone was already having a rather heated conversation with the High Priestess. It sounded like..her father? She moved to the side and pressed herself against the wall, listening as best she could.

Location: High Priestess' Office.

Lucianna: "I appreciate your concern Brother Shin but I assure you everything is being handled accordingly."

Shin: "Accordingly? According to what? Last I checked, we didn't keep sending entire squads of Templars to try and recruit someone who clearly has no interest in joining."

Lucianna: "According to me! You're forgetting your place Brother Shin."

Shin: "And I think you forgot yours a long time ago. The Church and the Templar order are meant to be separate. This entire Ascension Protocol is ridiculous. Julius should have never been put in charge."

Lucianna: "Who's fault is it that it had to come to that? As I recall you were the one continually vouching for the former first templar. The one no one else ever knew the identity of! I wonder if perhaps you're harboring jealousy over not being named first templar yourself."

Shin: "I was retired, I had no desire to come back to the order. I came back because.."

Lucianna: "Because you do not trust Brother Julius. I've heard your arguments before and you have no basis for them. Brother Julius has done more for the church AND the order than anyone else in recent memory."

Shin: "Is he the one who suggested you should have full control of the Delta Town restoration project?"

Lucianna: "Why shouldn't I? It's MY district. Why do the rest of the council need to be involved? What do they know about my people? Why should I listen to Cheshire, or Ciar? Why should I entertain anything that Merek or his heretic followers have to say?"

Shin: "Because right now..more than ever we need to all be working together. This city is about to burn itself down. The nations of the world are at each other's throats!"

Lucianna: "The rest of the world is not my concern. MY district, MY people are my only concern. I will do what I must to maintain order, to protect my people. If that means more aggressive recruiting for the order than so be it. In the end they'll see the.."

Shin: "Greater good? Nothing about this is for the greater good. I can not stand by and let our order become something it was never meant to be."

Lucianna: "You're welcome to take that up with Brother Julius. I've already made my decision. We will bring the girl into the fold, no matter who I have to send, no matter how many times I have to send them, and no matter who they have to go through.."

Location: Cathedral Of The Sun, Delta Town.

Violet had to back away from the door when she heard someone else approaching. Being caught eavesdropping wouldn't look good on her record. She made her way down the hall again, waving to Sapir as she passed her.

Wait..May had mentioned a task from the High Priestess. She was suddenly filled with dread, everything was suddenly adding up. She couldn't let this happen. May was a friend, Castor was a friend..but this was wrong.

She hurried out of the cathedral and pulled up her aShine. She had to tell someone..she had to get help. The only question is..who could she ask? Who could she trust? As she scrolled through contacts she found a few names, some she had added during her combat training during the checkmate invasion..

The first thing she did was send a message to Lapis. The other contacts would follow. Onyx Cheshire, Ivory Reynard....she could only hope they'd be willing to listen..

Location: Solis Heights.

Onyx glanced down as his aShine alerted him of a message. Raising an eyebrow before excusing himself from the current useless meeting he'd been in.

Location: Cherry Hills.

Ivory wiped the sweat off of her face as the game of tennis she'd been playing against Molly came to an end. She reached down and tapped her aShine when she noticed a new message.

Location: Smokey Gardens.

Styles: "I'll give it to ya Myte, it's a solid plan."

Cordelia: "Much as I hate to admit it, I agree."

Lapis walked over and held up his aShine.

Lapis: "Well we better get goin..cause we're about to be out of time.."

[ink-fireplace-coffee]

it's okay!!! I know how busy and exhausting exam season is, unfortunately

three hour exams sound like a completely torture and a nightmare ngl, most I've had was two hours (although I should say that a little more time would've come in handy)

I'm sure the okayish one goes well! And listen, I'm sure you know that a bad mark on an exam does not define you, but just in case I'm repeating it: that bad mark does not define you or your self worth and you'll probably won't remember it in a few years. That said, you are totally allowed to feel bad about it, failing sucks a lot

Tomorrow's my last final (finally! i feel like crying) and so far I've done four (which sounds like a lot but as someone who had the brightest idea of having nine subjects in one term and passed them all with loads of effort and suffering, four exams are a holiday hahaha). Three of them were already graded and so far I passed all of them! Even my psychopathology II final! With a 9/10!!!

I'm not sure I'll pass the fourth one tho...But we'll see

And for the other one that I have to take yet... Hopefully today my productivity allows me to cover up everything i need to cover and I pass as well🤞🏻🤞🏻 My parents are already proud of me and I want to make them even more by passing the whole term haha

I'm actually going to see my sister in February! We are taking a few days to travel to Germany and visit, since I couldn't go in September so it's really really close✨🥰

I hope the rest of your exam season, if you are not done yet goes smoothly and nicely and, if you've finished, that you have time to rest and enjoy your time. I'm mentally baking you cookies or brownies (or both what the Hell) and giving you all the hugs you deserve, which aren't enough I could give in a lifetime, but definitely I can try 🥰❤️

Hello my love!! how is the new year treating you?

i hope you are less busy than before and that you have time to rest and simply be for a little🥰

i have unfortunately started finals season today and....I'd describe today's exam as an ✨experience✨ and the ore i think about it, the less confidence i have :)

on a happier note, today my sister taught me to make pierogis! She shares a flat with two polish girls and they taught her

sadly she is leaving tomorrow to Germany and we won't see each other in person again until late February or early April :(

i am sending loads of hugs and kisses and also little times to drink coffee and read a little or catch up with a show you've been watching if you haven't found the time yet🥰

Hi Carmen!! The day you sent this to me I also had an exam and was so so busy 😭 your new years ask is also still in my inbox and I’ve read it a dozen times but I just didn’t have any time to respond.

I had two exams last week that were 3 hours each, one was okayish and the other was good but I did fail one that I did in December which kinda bummed me out 🥲 I hope the rest of your exam season is much nicer to you ❤️❤️

It’s nice that you and your sister enjoy the time you are together, I hope you can see her sooner rather than later❤️ also sending you loads of hugs and some hot chocolate for exam season survival and please also take a couple breaks too ❤️❤️

[wandaslullaby]

hello sweetheart how is your day going? i hope everything goes well with you ❤️

I have a request, if you will allow me

The reader is a quiet student who has a crush on his teacher, Wanda, who is pregnant. After a while (after her birth, )rumors spread about her separation from vision So one day Wanda comes in in a bad mood, and another day, and the reader (who has a big crush on her) out of politeness, love, and some kind of opportunity , After all the students leave, the reader stays and Wanda says: If you have a question, you can ask tomorrow without looking to r so The reader offers to help Luanda as he approaches her little by little Wanda marvels at his words as he kneels in front of her and points to her breasts and has milk spots “ In short, the reader suckles from Wanda's breasts after the lecture“

thank you sm

tea cup ride || wanda maximoff 

I kind of changed it a little, hope you don't mind :)

18+ PLUS MINOR DNF otherwise blocked.

s/n: lactation kink, mommy wanda

Wanda hated postpartum, and to top it all off she was going through a nasty divorce with Vision. It had been spread around the school since Wanda was a popular teacher so she was somewhat moved at the love she got from her students, expect one.

You.

Wanda didn't think much of you, she barely noticed you as you stumbled your way through students, apologising until you were safely seated.

Class went smoothly but Wanda started to get impatient and decided to end the class early. The students cleared the hall and Wanda sighed, sitting in her chair. Not realising you were still there, Wanda started to doze off. As much as you hated being the centre of attention, the odds weren't in your favour as you tripped landing straight onto Wanda's desk.

"I-I'm so sorry, Ms Maximoff." You babbled, eyes fixated on Wanda's breasts.

"Up here." Wanda muttered.

"Sorry... You just, um..."

"Spit it out, for fuck sake."

"Your breasts are leaking, Ms. I think you might need to pump."

Wanda looked down, letting out a grunt. "I forgot them. Of course I did."

You weren't exactly sure how to invert yourself in this conversation so you decided to make your way out. Until suddenly, you saw the door slam shut.

"Where do you think you are going?" Wanda teethed, eyes glowing red.

You turned around, "To my next class.."

Wanda shook her head, "And leave me looking like this?"

"I-I'm not sure what you want me to do, Ms Maximoff."

Wanda was now focused on your lips. They were plumped and pink and from that judgement, she had an idea. "Come over here."

You did as you were told not having a single clue of what Wanda had in mind.

"Sit on my lap." Wanda said, but you looked at her confused.

"Did I stutter? Sit."

You wasn't sure wether this was a prank or a horrible dream. So, you awkwardly sat on Wanda's lap. "Is this okay?"

Wanda sighed, shifting you into a fetus position. You weren't quite sure what was happening but for the sake of Wanda, you just stayed quiet.

"Aren't you a dream." Wanda whispered, as she drew her finger down the bridge of your nose stopping when she reached your lips. "So plumped. Who's cock you been sucking, bunny?"

You blinked, marvelled by the question "I haven't done that before."

"Virgin?" Wanda asked.

You nodded, eyes focused on your fingers.

"So no one has got to play with you?" Wanda smirked, as ideas started to formulate in her mind.

"What do you need from me, Ms?" You impatiently asked, wanting to get out of this weird conversation.

Wanda laughed, she found it adorable that you automatically changed the question. "Since you rudely pointed out that my breasts were leaking, embarrassing me. Don't you think that the least you can do is clean it up."

You eyes widened at the request. "I don't think that appropriate... I should get going."

Wanda shifted in her seat, and placed her hand on your face squishing it tight. "Then you shouldn't of embarrassed me, bunny."

"I-I didn't. No one was in the room." You tried to say but Wanda gripped your face harder.

"Are you talking back to me?" Wanda spat, and used her other hand to pull your hair.

Tears formed in your eyes as Wanda turned you over so you were facing her chest. You knew that you weren't going to get out of this unless you did what Wanda wanted. You didn't say anything and Wanda let your hair go as she removed her shirt.

Wanda wasn't wearing a bra, so her tits were right in your face. You could see the milk leaking out and you wasn't sure where to begin. You took a deep breath but before you could exhale, Wanda took matters in her own hands forcing you to latch onto her breasts.

"I want you to suck on both quietly whilst I'll mark this papers. I don't want to see a single drop leave your mouth." Wanda warned, giving your bum a little slap. "Get to work, bunny."

You weren't exactly sure what approach to take, so you began to suck on her tip softly knowing that she was probably sensitive. You worked your tongue around the nip, sucking more than you was a minute ago.

"For someone who hasn't sucked anything before, you sure know how." Wanda praised which made your cheek flare a little.

Minutes past and you happened to get into a pattern that Wanda seemed to enjoy so you carried on sucking but you were harder as you started to feel a buzz every time you swallowed.

"Relax, bunny. We don't want you to choke on Mommy's tits do we?" Wanda cooed, as she began to run her fingers down your back. "Slowly, baby."

You listened to her command and slow down the pace. You were already full but Wanda wasn't empty. You started to feel a little restless after Wanda noticed that you haven't even began to start on her other tit.

"Is my baby getting tired?" Wanda whispered, leaving a gently kiss on your cheek. "You better not fall asleep whilst the other is full, bunny.."

You let your mouth pop as Wanda pulled you away from her breast. "Look at you, you are so full of Mommy's milk. You reckon you can fit some more in?"

You weren't exactly formulated words due to the praising Wanda was giving you.

"You don't want Mommy to be left leaking do you? Especially after embarrassing her?"

You shook your head, opting Wanda to position you again.

"Such a dumb little baby. You need Mommy to help you?"

You mumbled a yes and Wanda chuckled at how your attitude changed. "Is that why you were cranky before, baby? You didn't have any milk? You should have told me, bunny."

Wanda lightly put your lips to her other breasts and you immediately latched on, wrapping your fingers around her hand as she carefully moved her fingers up and down your stomach.

"Always tell Mommy what you need, okay? I'm going to look after you since no one has bothered to claim you." Wanda whispered as you sucked on her nip.

A few moments passed and Wanda noticed that you were relatively silent and could hear soft snores coming from your mouth. She chuckled as she noticed that you fell into a slumber. Wanda looked down at your belly, noticing it become a little larger than it was before.

"Sweet dreams, bunny." Wanda cooed, and gently placed a small kiss to your stomach. "So beautiful."

[kazewhara]

valentine's day special!

# — pairing: albedo x gn!reader

# — characters: gender neutral reader, albedo, various mondstadt characters

# — summary: the three times you bump into albedo, and the one time he bumps into you.

# — warnings: brief description of making out

# — tags: 3+1, fluff galore, mutual pining, getting together, first (desperate) kisses/making out, zuzu's totally compensating for his lack of a valentine

# — notes: happy valentine's day! you're a filthy simp and i've caught you on candid camera! 📸 (i say as though i didn't just write something about making out with albedo.) the last part is based on something that the 🧃 anon brought up in my asks a while back! also, i am so so sorry this is so long... can i get a wc, please? 🧍🏾 anyways, as always, reblogs and reactions/thoughts are greatly appreciated, and i hope you enjoy!

wanna join the tag list?

✧ — 🌼 — ✧

Ⅰ.

if you have to hear someone call your name one more time, you think you're going to explode.

all day, you've been running back and forth completing noelle's duties in her stead since she called in sick. you're not helpstaff like she is, but you're the only one who stepped up to cover for her -- a fact that you didn't learn until after your responsibilities had already piled up.

you have no idea how noelle does it all; not only does she clean each and every room from top to bottom, but she organizes files, helps certain knights with patrols, and clears out any lingering threats all in the span of a few hours. you're not incapable of doing those things, but you'd be lying if you said it wasn't exhausting.

in your defense, noelle was a special case; her job may seem mundane on the surface, but there was truly no one on teyvat quite like her. so you tried your best to fill her shoes.

although, you think as you stumble down the hallway with a large stack of books, maybe you should have just nursed her back to health yourself.

you can barely see over the books in piled in your hands, so you've resorted to using your instincts to help you avoid any obstacles and people. earlier, you narrowly avoided running into kaeya, who offered to help more than once. you turned him down each time, determined to complete the task you already started. he sent you off with a sigh, saying something about how you and noelle were too stubborn for your own goods. you ignored him and kept on your way.

after five more painful minutes, you finally make it to the entrance of the library and shuffle to the side to bump the door open with your hip. just as you nudge it though, the door swings open from the other side, and you jerk backwards in shock. "oh, no, no, no--!" you exclaim as you lose your grip on the books. everything you'd worked so hard to keep steady goes crashing to the floor around you and the person who opened the door.

you exhale sharply through your nose to keep yourself from swearing out loud. "i'm so sorry," you apologize on instinct as you bend down to start collecting the books. "i wasn't looking where i was going."

"no, forgive me," the person you bumped into apologizes smoothly, "i should have paid closer attention to my surroundings." before you can turn this into a battle of apologies, they bend down and begin picking up the books alongside you with a gloved hand. your eyes follow the person's arm up to their face, and you're finally able to see that before you is none other than the chief alchemist himself, down on one knee as he quietly helps you pick up your mess.

you barely manage to catch your groan of embarrassment in time. it comes out as high-pitched sound of pure distress and only succeeds in making albedo turn his focus to you instead of the scattered books. as if this day couldn't get any worse. of course you had to bump into him of all people. you, much like a number of other knights, have harbored a crush on albedo for quite some time now; what are the odds that you would (literally) run into him when you probably look worse than you have in years?

"are you alright?" albedo questions. bright teal eyes regard you with so much concern, you suddenly feel your stomach twist into the tightest knot imaginable. "did a book land on you? should i call a healer?"

"no!" you hurriedly reply. you've never wanted to curl into a ball so badly in your life. in an effort to spare yourself more humiliation, you hastily stack the rest of the books before albedo can grab any more. "i-i mean," you stammer as you resume your balancing act from earlier, "no, thank you. i'm really sorry again; i'll be more careful." you start into the library again but stumble yet again, but thanks to albedo's quick reflexes, nothing falls. you grimace. "i'm sorry, i--"

albedo rearranges some of the books in his own arms and calls your name so softly, you click your jaw shut. "you seem like you've been working hard enough today. you've done very well; allow me to help."

that wasn't a question. you flounder and miss your chance to stop him; albedo turns on his heel and heads into the library without another word, leaving you in the doorway with a light pile of books and an even lighter heart.

and as you watch him set the books down on a table near lisa, all that comes to mind is how you wouldn't mind hearing your name being called a million times over.

Ⅱ.

on the outside, hilichurls in dragonspine don't seem very different from the ones in mondstadt or windrise, but as you barely manage to dodge a cryo-infused arrow aimed for your shoulder, you understand that these things are a different breed entirely.

you've been in dragonspine for a day and a half at jean's behest to give albedo some company. she's worried that the lack of social interaction and actual sunlight will start to take its toll on him, so she sent you to provide one of the two things he was lacking. obviously, you asked questions, namely why she was sending you in particular since sucrose and timaeus were better suited for this job in every possible way. they were albedo's trusted students; they could provide company and assistance, both of which he likely needed.

not that you couldn't do that, of course. you're more than capable of following any instructions albedo may give you, it's just that... well, if he speaks to you, you'll stop functioning. ever since the day in front of the library, you've been avoiding him due to the sheer amount of awkwardness you felt knowing that he'd seen you so disheveled. fortunately for you (or unfortunately, since you couldn't watch him from afar anymore), he left for dragonspine a few days afterwards, allowing you some peace of mind.

that peace of mind was incredibly short-lived. you're now on dragonspine battling a few hilichurl shooters while trying not to disturb one insanely large hilichurl that you've never seen before. if jean hadn't told you to come here, you'd probably be with amber in sunny windrise, walking along a dirt road and keeping an eye out for any trouble. that sounds infinitely better than this.

the shooter hilichurls have impeccable aim, you have to admit as you charge the one that shot at you previously and cut it down with your pyro-infused sword. with that one gone, there's two left, not counting the monstrous hilichurl which you have yet to identify. you ready yourself to dodge the next wave of arrows by stepping backwards, but you immediately collide with something strangely firm. last you checked, there was nothing behind you, so what..?

a hand clamps down on your shoulder, and before you can process what's happening, you're pulled out of the way of the arrows and pressed further into the firm thing -- person? -- that you'd bumped into a second ago. you get your bearings and wrench yourself out of the person's hold to scold them but you're met with a familiar set of bright teal eyes.

it's albedo. your heart stops momentarily, making you cough.

"i heard the commotion on my way down the mountain," he explains quickly. you notice that he's already got his sword in hand, his grip on it as tight as ever. "i didn't think i would find you here. i'm glad you're unharmed." something akin to concern flickers across his face when you gape at him. "am i wrong? are you hurt?"

"uh," you reply intelligently. how are you supposed to talk to him in a situation like this? in a split second decision, you forego answering him and refocus yourself on the matter at hand. the hilichurl shooters have finished reloading and are taking aim at you two again. without a moment's hesitation, you close the distance between you and one of the shooters and drive your blade through its upper body. it did manage to loose an arrow that grazes your side, but you take it down as quickly and as quietly as you can.

the dying shriek of the last shooter gets your attention and you whip your head to the side to see albedo flipping his sword over in his hand as the hilichurl disappears. before you can thank him, albedo shakes his head sharply and looks over at the slumbering beast not too far away. thankfully, the commotion hadn't woken it up, but there was no telling if it wouldn't just wake on a whim. you two slink away safely and you follow albedo to his campsite, where you finally sigh with relief.

"thank you so much for your help," you breathe. your vision starts to swim, but you press the heel of your palm against your forehead and blink it back. albedo gestures to a chair that you're fairly sure wasn't there when you arrived, but you sit in it anyway. "i'm sorry you had to get involved, though."

albedo shakes his head and bends behind his desk to retrieve something. "there's no need to thank me, and even less need to apologize. especially not when you're hurt." he calls from his place. he rises and walks around the desk to kneel by your side. there's a first aid kit on the ground beside him; he must have seen your injury. you were trying to figure out if you should hide it or not, but as expected of the chief alchemist, he noticed it already. you don't put up a fight as albedo works away at your bleeding side, your mind too fuzzy to really focus on the fact that you can feel his warm fingers brushing against your skin.

"if you don't mind me asking," albedo speaks after a long silence, "why are you here? correct me if i'm wrong, but your duties never require you to be here."

you frown and blink rapidly to sort out your thoughts. does that mean he's been paying attention to you? no, you tell yourself, he's probably got every knight's schedules memorized. absent as he may be at times, he is an authority figure. "jean wanted me to..." you trail off. suddenly, you're all too aware of how ridiculous this is. if albedo wasn't mad before, he certainly would be when he hears your reason for being here.

albedo tilts his head to the side as he finishes tending to your wound. "yes? what did she ask of you?" you glance down at him briefly to see him peering back at you rather curiously. you bite the inside of your cheek to keep yourself from getting lost in his eyes.

"she, uh... was worried about you. i was sent to do a wellness check." you admit. shame starts to burn your cheeks. "i'm glad that you're okay, but you ended up taking care of me and wasting your time."

albedo hums in understanding and returns the first aid materials to their place. "i see." is all he says. you open your mouth to spew more apologies, but albedo beats you to it. "she seldom worries about me, but i suppose it's a given, seeing as how i've been away for quite some time." he looks up at you from behind his desk and you swear you see a hint of a smile growing on his face. his expression softens subtly, but you think it's just your imagination (or the pain).

"yeah..." you murmur. you look down and brush your fingers over your injury, which is covered by your top. albedo is surprisingly good at this. you dimly wonder how many times he's had to treat something like this in order for him to be so skilled.

"i'm glad she sent you."

albedo's words give you pause. you silently gasp as your heart stops and restarts with the shock. surely he didn't just say what you think he said, right? did he say he was glad jean sent you as a person, or you specifically? what did he mean?

you try to force yourself to look at him and ask what he means, but your entire body has gone rigid; you're frozen in place, your eyes now fixed on your body. after a few silent seconds pass, you manage to choke out a hum in response, but that's all you can do. you press your lips together and will your heart to relax. perhaps you're just delirious from the pain, or perhaps you heard him correctly; either way, the corners of your mouth twitch upwards.

"and i'm glad you're okay." you finally respond.

(and perhaps it's for the better that you didn't look up, else you'd have seen albedo smiling at his desk with a hint of a blush blooming on his face.)

Ⅲ.

"oh, you're finally here," albedo greets you. he steps aside for you to enter his lab. "please, come in."

today, you're replacing sucrose as albedo's assistant while she and timaeus venture to liyue harbor in search of some research samples. you have no idea why she asked you in particular, but you certainly weren't complaining; the time you spend with albedo is often well spent, even if you might embarrass yourself here and there. not one to turn down an opportunity, you find yourself entering albedo's lab.

it's a little more organized than you expected it to be. you're awed by the way everything on the shelves at the back of the room seems to be color-coded and, if you squint, alphabetized. the tables are covered in all sorts of alchemical substances and gadgets, but there's a strange order in it all, one that makes you raise your brows.

"i take it this is your first time in here?" albedo's voice is colored with amusement. he walks past you and pushes some things around to make room for your work for the day. "you seem shocked."

not even two minutes in and you're already making a fool out of yourself. you clear your throat and walk over to his side. "i'm sorry, i just..." you avoid eye contact by looking closer at some liquid in a vial in front of you. "what with sucrose being... well, sucrose, and you being you, i expected something a little different." it's not until after you finish your sentence that you realize how blunt and borderline disrespectful you just sounded. you were honest, but celestia knows how offended albedo must be. "i-i mean--"

to your surprise, albedo actually chuckles. it's so quiet that you would have missed it if you hadn't seen the slight shake to his shoulders. "i understand." he sets up some equipment and hands you a pair of gloves that look rather familiar. "you're going to need gloves for what we're going to do today, but i'm afraid these are all i had."

they're his gloves, you realize. they're shorter than the ones he's currently wearing -- they stop at your wrists while the ones he has on travel further up his arms -- but the design is exactly the same. if this was happening a few months prior, you'd have frozen in place, but you've been around albedo so often lately that you've come to proper terms with your feelings. you take the gloves and slip them on your hands. they're a perfect fit.

really, you think as albedo starts to give you instructions, the amount of time you've been spending with him is actually a bit questionable. albedo hasn't left for dragonspine in upwards of a month, which is very out of character for him. he's been holed up in his lab, sure, but being able to see his face every other day is a little bizarre. you used to berate yourself for falling in love with a man you could only see once in a blue moon, but now, you're elated whenever he greets you in passing or when he asks if you want to spend time with him and klee. but you're not one to question blessings whenever they happen to you -- albedo is here, and you're the lucky soul who gets to bask in his presence.

speaking of which, he's standing behind you. technically, he's a little bit to your side, but with the way he leans forward over your shoulder to point out what you're doing wrong, you can almost feel his front pressing against your back. he smells faintly of formaldehyde, but there's the unmistakable scent of cecilias clinging to him as always. it's stifling, just how much you feel about albedo. you sigh and follow through on his corrections.

"you've got it." albedo praises you gently. you're so glad he can't see the giddy grin that threatens to split your face in two. "can you do me a favor and retrieve a book from the shelves back there, please? i'll take care of this in the meantime."

you nod and head to the shelves you were admiring when you first came in. they're just as organized as you thought they were, save for a few misplaced here and there. you take to scanning the little library for a few seconds before it suddenly dawns on you that albedo hadn't told you what you were supposed to get. or maybe he had, but you were too lost in your own world to really notice.

either way, you step back to ask him what you're supposed to get, but you collide with something solid that definitely wasn't there before. it startles you and makes you jump, and you whirl around to see albedo directly behind you, his bright teal eyes widening slightly. "i'm sorry," he says hurriedly. "i'd just realized that i didn't tell you what to look for. i was going to get it myself."

"i didn't hear you coming," you all but wheeze, placing your gloved hand over your racing heart. you know that you couldn't have run into anyone other than albedo, but you weren't exactly thinking just now. you've long since noticed that you're thoughtless when it comes to him. you laugh breathlessly. "were you trying to sneak up on me or something?"

albedo must not catch your joke, because he shakes his head, his expression not shifting. "if i was, i think you would know."

you don't think you want to unpack how vaguely menacing that sounds.

"what book were you trying to get?" you ask.

rather than answer you with words, albedo leans forward and over you, crowding you against the bookcase as he does so. you instinctively reach a hand up to press against his chest in an attempt to maintain some space between you two. at this distance, you can properly smell the cecilias that cling to his clothing. it's dizzying; you fight the urge to push him away. thankfully, he finds what he's looking for rather quickly, but when he returns to his initial position, you're sure your face is on fire.

"did you find what you were looking for?" you force yourself to speak in hopes that you'd be able to regain your composure. it doesn't take very long for you to reboot these days, but albedo doesn't respond immediately, and it sends you for a loop.

you turn your eyes to him to see that he's already looking at you. he seems to be deep in thought as he does so, and you almost look away. almost. "albedo?" you call his name softly. it's not unlike him to get lost in his own head, but he's looking straight at you. at least, you think he is; his eyes are on your face, but they don't seem to be focused on your eyes. "you still with me?"

"yes," albedo answers smoothly. "at least, i think so."

"you think?"

albedo takes your wrist in his hand and moves it away from his chest. "under normal circumstances, someone would have pushed me away by now." he doesn't let go of your wrist despite your very obvious flinch at his words. "but you didn't. even now, you're still here, not bothering to slip away from me." he lowers his voice and something flickers across his face; is it bashfulness? "how am i supposed to take this?"

how is he supposed to take this? what about you?! you're the one pressed against the shelves, not him!

admittedly, part of the reason you haven't moved is because you love being in close proximity with him, but who wouldn't like being chest to chest with their crush? the main reason you haven't moved is because you were trying your damnedest to appear normal. apparently, you were taking too long, because now he's onto you, looking at you with annoyingly dreamy eyes of his, and you don't know what to do.

flustered, you try to wriggle yourself out of his hold, but he doesn't let go. "it's just that you shocked me, is all." you hear yourself saying the words, but something tells you that that was the wrong thing to say. for some reason, you feel the urge to just confess here and now, but nervousness (and rationality) keep you from doing so. "i'll move, i'm sorry."

albedo shakes his head. "i wasn't telling you that so you could move." he says. he has the gall to take a step forward and crowd your space, making it so that your back is properly pressed against the shelves. "it was more of an observation. would you mind if i considered this our next experiment?"

you feel like a trapped animal. you're almost literally caught between a rock and a hard place here, and albedo's lowered tone isn't making it easy for you to process any of this. if anything, this reminds you of a scene you read in a book once and the very thought of it makes your blood run cold. in a moment's association, you can't stop yourself from asking:

"albedo, are you going to kiss me?"

it's a straightforward question and albedo gives you a straightforward answer. he finally lets go of your wrist and tucks his fingers beneath your chin. "may i?"

and like that, the dam you've been building over the past few months breaks. "please," you breathe almost desperately.

albedo obliges and kisses you hesitantly. it's a gentle peck on his part, and it upsets you more than anything has in the past couple of months. he doesn't get very far -- you take hold of his coat and huff.

"albedo, kiss me. please." your voice is small and foreign to your own ears; you're at the end of your own rope, forced there by albedo's hesitancy. you've waited so long for this moment and you want it to last, however long that will be.

fortunately for you, albedo doesn't question it. he leans back in and kisses you with a quiet, content sigh. your breath stutters when his tongue brushes your bottom lip, again with a hesitancy that drives you wild. it's as though albedo was asking you if you felt the same with his mouth alone. you're more than happy to answer him in kind, tilting your head and allowing him to deepen the kiss.

it takes a minute before either of you decide to pull away. when you finally do, you drop your head onto albedo's shoulder and he lets his hands fall to your waist. there's a surprisingly comfortable silence as you catch your breath. it's a miracle that your thoughts are as clear as they are. you feel light -- lighter than you have in months; your heart is beating strong and steady and your head is free of doubt. maybe that's why, when you think yourself stable enough to speak, you ask:

"and how am i supposed to take this?"

an honest to god snort leaves albedo, and a chuckle bubbles out of you at the sound. "if you're asking if i have feelings for you," he murmurs, "the answer is yes."

you hum, content. there's a calm that washes over you at his confession. you couldn't have possibly guessed that your feelings were mutual, not when you were as panicky as you were. but you're glad that this is how things turned out -- though 'glad' might be a bit of an understatement.

the two of you still have work to do, but neither of you move. you sigh and feel your shoulders droop. you lean back to look him in the eyes properly andfor a second, you regret it; though his expression appears as level as always, there's an affectionate glow on his face that says otherwise. archons, he's so cute. "albedo, why did sucrose ask me to help you today? wasn't there anyone else to help you?" you ask on a whim.

to your amazement, albedo's cheeks become dusted with a light pink. "ah." he glances to the side for a split second in a novel display of embarrassment. "that would be because i asked her to."

you gape at him. a thought occurs to you, but you restrain it before you can jump to conclusions. "why me, though?" albedo's cheeks darken just a touch more, and you immediately pounce on your assumptions. it nearly makes you choke. "did you... already like me?"

albedo doesn't answer you outright, but his answer is revealed in the way his eyes dart to the side once more. you must be staring really hard at him, because he sighs. "please stop looking at me like that." he shuts his eyes for a brief moment and meets your eyes when he opens them. "yes, i did. though i'm afraid 'like' may not be the right word to describe my feelings for you."

so not only were your feelings mutual, but the depth of said feelings were as well. this entire time, you were loving albedo and being loved by him simultaneously, and here he was, admitting that with the prettiest pink coloring his cheeks. you were never alone in this despite your efforts to make yourself think so. three months spent liking him from afar, and three months spent loving him up close. you don't know what to say.

"then don't say anything." albedo murmurs. you don't even get to process the fact that you'd spoken your thoughts aloud before albedo's lips slot over yours once more.

dimly, as you raise a hand to cup albedo's jaw, you make a mental note to thank sucrose for relaying his message to you.

Ⅳ. (or, the one time he bumps into you.)

there's a holiday in teyvat that people affectionately refer to as 'valentine's day'.

according to albedo's observations, it's most typically celebrated by lovers. customarily, they give each other a type of candy called chocolate and bouquets of freshly picked flowers, but every once in a while, some will do perform grander gestures like proposals or hire bards to serenade one another.

at first, he thought it to be asinine. lovers have every single day of the calendar year to prove their love to each other -- dedicating a whole day to this seemed pointless. assuming that you thought the same, albedo was ready to treat the day like he would any other. but then, he overheard a conversation between you and timaeus.

"a perfume for ying'er?" your voice is like a magnet for albedo's attention, forcing him to shift his focus from his experiment to you.

though today is technically your day off, you decided to stick around to keep albedo company. he typically doesn't much enjoy people who stick around for the sole purpose of sticking around, but as just about every knight knows, you are very, very special. albedo tunes in to your conversation but doesn't halt in his progress; he doesn't want to lose his place, nor does he want to get involved with a topic he knows nothing about.

eavesdropping. shameful as it is, he's eavesdropping. he grimaces internally.

timaeus chuckles nervously. "yeah, it's, uh... i feel like i didn't get to properly thank her for her help with the smoldersleet potion, so what better way to thank her than with a perfume, right?"

albedo hears you hum. are you impressed by timaeus' decision? "that's a good idea!" you say, confirming albedo's thoughts. "i think she'd love it. do you have a scent in mind for her?"

there's a painfully long silence before you speak again. "you don't know how to make perfume, do you?"

"i don't know how to make perfume, no." timaeus confirms at the same time.

you break into infectious giggles, ones that cause the corners of albedo's mouth to twitch upwards as he transfers a cerulean substance into another beaker. he's really only half-listening, but he'll admit that it is rather funny how timaeus is planning to do start something he'd be incapable of finishing. it isn't the first time he's done this, and it certainly wasn't going to be the last. albedo's warned him against this type of rash behavior more than once, but much like klee who often ignores his words in good faith, timaeus hasn't heeded a single warning.

"anyways, what about you?" timaeus clears his throat to get you to stop laughing at him. "are you doing anything for valentine's day?"

his question immediately silences you and, for a split second, albedo feels eyes on the back of his head. "i don't think i am, no." your voice is considerably quieter than it was before -- were you hoping that he wouldn't hear you? albedo feels the slightest twinge of guilt; he can easily stop paying attention now, especially since this topic really doesn't interest him all that much, but something your tone keeps him hooked. "it'd be a little weird, though," you continue, "i've never done anything for valentine's before."

there's some soft clinking. timaeus must be getting back to work. "oh, well, maybe this year something special will happen?"

you huff a laugh and again, albedo feels your eyes on his back. as bad as he wants to, he doesn't stop working.

"yeah," you all but sigh. "maybe."

and that's why albedo spent two days combing through the library archives for more on valentine's day traditions last week.

it's not like you were pressuring him into understanding more about this day of love. the only time he'd ever heard you talk about it was when you spoke with timaeus that day in the lab. but as brief as that conversation was, albedo felt as though you were hinting at something.

there was always the idea that maybe you were talking just to talk; after all, you never did say anything about valentine's day after that, nor did you ask him for his thoughts on it. it was almost like you didn't care about it, and for some reason, that didn't sit well with him. so, albedo got to thinking, and after four days of agonizing over what to get you, he's finally done it; your gift rests in a small, cream-colored frame box decorated with a blush pink silk ribbon. he thinks it's perfect.

unfortunately, when valentine's day comes around, he can't find you.

albedo spends just about the whole day searching high and low for you -- he asks lisa, who tells him to ask kaeya, who laughs and directs him to jean, who simply admits that she hasn't seen you all day. by the time he gets to jean, however, he's already exhausted his motivation to give you your gift. albedo has been out of his depth for quite some time, now; he often retreats to dragonspine when he's in need of some solitude, but he's been in the city for you and you alone for upwards of three weeks, now. you told him to go whenever he wanted, but he couldn't bring himself to.

albedo lets his feet carry him to starsnatch cliff just before sunset. it's not dragonspine, but it'll do. up here, it's nothing but him and the cecelias that blow in the breeze; it's where he goes when he's in the city for long periods of time. when he arrives though, he finds that he's not alone. towards the cliff edge is you, sitting amongst the flowers. a gentle breeze blows in and albedo feels his breath go with it.

there you are.

"you're here." albedo speaks after a stunned silence. he would have brought his sketchbook with him to capture the moment, but since he was under the impression that he'd be spending the whole day with you, he left it in his lab.

you jump at the sound of his voice and twist around to face him. your eyes are comically wide and there seems to be a curse ready to fly past your lips, but you visibly relax when you see that it's just albedo. you groan, and albedo has to press his lips together to keep from laughing. "can you please make some more noise when you walk?" you twist back around and sigh heavily. "why do you keep sneaking up on me?"

your lover pads over and carefully seats himself at your side, resting the box with your present on his lap. he takes one of your hands in his own and notices that in your other arm, you're cradling a small bouquet of cecilias that have been tied together by a baby blue silk string. he knows for a fact that he didn't give those to you. there's a sharp sting in albedo's chest when he remembers that on valentine's day, people will gift things to those they admire or wish to court. it's not surprising that you'd have an admirer (or even a few), but to see you still holding a gift from them at the end of the day makes his gift to you feel like a weight in his lap.

"i was looking for you all day," he says quietly. you squeeze his hand and he looks back at you. you're smiling at him, but there's an obvious apology in it. forget the present -- he belatedly realizes just how much he missed you today. "is this where you were?"

your eyes drift to the side and your smile becomes strained by what albedo can only assume is awkwardness. "uh... something like that, yes." you fix your hand in his so that you can rub circles into the back of his hand. "it's valentine's day, so i did a bit of running around after my duties."

so you did care about the holiday? if that's the case, you haven't seem to notice the box in his lap yet. did you think he wasn't going to get you anything? "jean said she hadn't seen you all day, so i somewhat figured that you were dispatched elsewhere."

"that's... i told her to say that." you confess. "i had a feeling you'd ask since i had to stay away from you to make everything a surprise."

well, color albedo suprised. "'everything' ?" he echoes.

you nod with a shaky hum and let go of his hand to push the bouquet towards him. for a second you looked about ready to evacuate yourself with embarrassment, but albedo must have quite the look on his face, because you burst into giggles. "don't look so shocked!" you say breathlessly. "i did my best to get the best ones for you."

albedo gingerly takes the flowers from you. cecelias don't have the strongest scent, but when put together like this, he can smell them with every inhale. it coats his insides in something smooth and intoxicates him, and the smile on your face only makes it worse. "you took all day for this?" he asks as a bit of an afterthought.

"of course not!"

"what?"

"you think i'd take all day to pick a few flowers for you?" you tease. "well, it did take some convincing on my part because i had to ask jean to let klee come up here with me."

"you... picked these with klee?" albedo's thoughts have never stalled so badly in all his years of existence.

your smile softens. "i did." you point to a little red envelope that albedo hadn't noticed before nestled between the petals. he pulls it out and opens it find a card created by klee. while he reads it, you keep talking. "she was a little too excited to get you a gift, so of course, that landed her back in solitary for the day, but i bought her some chocolate and promised to take her back up here for an outing some day."

"i see..." albedo's in complete shock. you always manage to take his breath away, don't you? for months, you've been the cause of his every irregularity, and it seems that there's no stopping you. he starts to try and thank you, but you shake your head. "hm?"

"this," you begin as you reach into your pocket, "is... kind of self-indulgent, but it involves you, i promise." you pull out a small jewelry box and open it to reveal a star-shaped pendant on a thin golden chain. beside it is another pendant on a chain that's shaped like the solar isotomas he often makes, but if albedo isn't mistaken, that star looks an awful lot like--

he reaches up with his free hand to rest his fingers on his neck. "did you--"

you beat him to the punch. "i wasn't sure if you'd like this one, honestly. i know how you feel about your mark. but..." you reach back and clasp the necklace with the star around your own neck. it rests prettily on your sternum and glints in the pale orange rays of light from the sun as it sets. "i wanted to match. i mean... if that's okay with you."

wow.

when albedo did his research, he'd done it with you in mind -- the plan was to give you gifts today, not the other way around. and yet here he sits, completely awestruck by you and the way you keep shyly glancing away from him to look at the sun setting on the horizon. it's not like him to be speechless to this degree, but what is he supposed to say? the flowers were one thing, and honestly, he would have been satisfied with just that, but your necklace?albedo openly told you one day that he sees that star on his neck as an imperfection -- as a scar of sorts. so for you to have something like this made in his image -- for you to want to share in his imperfection so wholly...

"happy valentine's day, albedo." your voice is quiet, demure as you hand him the box with the remaining necklace in it. "i love you."

and oh, how he loves you too.

albedo takes a deep breath and tries his best to come up with the proper words to say. "i'm... if i'm being honest, i'm not sure how to give you my gift anymore." he blinks a few times, hoping that would somehow clear his head. "i feel mine is rather inadequate in comparison."

"you got me something?" your eyebrows shoot to your hairline. you must not have been expecting him to celebrate with you. but that also means you haven't noticed the box on his lap the entire time. you do now, though -- your eyes widen a bit when you register what it is. "you really didn't have to, i--"

"i wanted to." albedo cuts you off.

you frown a little bit. "but i know how you feel about this kind of thing..."

a valid concern, he thinks. "in light of recent events, i've given it some more thought." a cheeky response, but it gives him the perfect opportunity to rest the box on your lap. you give him a wary look but open it anyways, and albedo can't help but smile at your reaction.

inside the box atop a velvet cushion is a silver bracelet. it looks a bit plain at first glance, but it was made with you in mind; albedo can tell that you realize that there's more to this bracelet right away. you lift the jewelry out of the box and rest it in your palm, your mouth slightly ajar. "it's... ley line branches?" you ask. albedo nods and reaches over to help put it on you. "how did you..?"

"i've been experimenting with ley line branches for quite some time," he explains, "and i've finally found a use for them outside the lab."

"what do you mean--? oh." your question is answered when little silver flowers begin to bloom around your wrist. the buds open and spread with a flourish, and he can hear your breath catch. "albedo, this is... you didn't have to..."

"it will bloom whenever you want it to." albedo's ears start to burn beneath his hair. the bracelet will bloom under very specific circumstances; it seemed reasonable at the time of creation, but suddenly, saying it out loud seems less than ideal. "specifically, whenever i'm thinking of you." you ask him how that's possible and he slowly pulls off the glove on his right hand to reveal a similar bracelet on his own wrist. "mine will do the same when you think of me."

you bite the inside of your cheek as a sheepish smile slowly blossoms on your face. "it'll never stop blooming then." you joke.

"and neither will yours." albedo replies seriously. you choke and he chuckles. he leans forward and takes your face in his hand, brushing his thumb over your cheek. you lean into his touch, and for the hundredth time that evening, albedo feels a burst of warmth surge through him. as often as it happens with you, he'll never tire of it. "i didn't say it earlier," he murmurs and presses a kiss to the corner of your mouth, "but i love you, my star."

you pull him in for a proper kiss and peck his lips two more times for good measure before replying. "i love you more."

albedo exhales a laugh through his nose. "and i love you most."

✦ i know the ending is a bit rushed, but that's probably because holy FUCK i haven't written this much in so long!! holy fucking shit, i finished one of my drafts!! AND PUT IT UP ON A HOLIDAY? THAT'S CRAAZY

✦ anyways, happy valentine's day, you guys. i really really hope you enjoyed this!

[prsk-krow]

elllo! could i get ena and mizuki with a reader that’s usually cold and stoic towards others but when around them they’re more cheerful and smile a lot more? /R

{Ena/Mizuki with a cold reader that's cheerful towards them!} [R]

This one was actually pretty interesting, since I requested something kinda similar from someone else just a few days ago! This is different though, and I made sure that my response was, as well! Hope you like it!

Ena Shinonome

The artist does share some similarities with you, as her personality changes depending on who's listening. With the shut-in she's really soft and forgiving, and with the others of the group... Not so much.

It's thanks to these similarities that when you reveal your true nature, Ena sort of understands and doesn't question it too much! However, the severe change does create some whiplash...

She had already gotten used to your cold front, after all! If she can manage to be friends with the honor student, a relationship with you didn't seem too out of the picture! Although she did have to consider it when you proposed the idea...

But once you two were away from the public's view, and your tone and expressions and basics everything about you suddenly change, she was surprised to say the least!

"Woah... Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to appear rude! Don't worry, I understand that some of us have things to hide, but... I didn't expect the change to be this big... Nonono, it's fine! It's alright, really!"

It takes a while for her to get used to it. No matter how hard she may try to, she isn't used to dealing with cheerful, kindhearted people too well, much less someone who she thought was the complete opposite!

She does enjoy this side of you more though, and she's happy that you seem to be enjoying it so much! She will make sure to have more time in private between you two so that you may let loose more often!

She will also ask why you hide this side from others, and will do her best to show that she's a trustworthy partner! That means doing her best to understand you, and helping you hide your secret from others!

Although something she will never admit is that she could never go back to the old you. She says that it's all for you, but in reality this is also indulging her a little! It feels so nice to have someone so kind close to her at all times, and she can't let go of that now!

So, the reveal benefits both of you equally, and you shall both work together to keep it that way! It goes pretty smoothly, and Ena will remain glad that she chose to accept your confession!

Mizuki Akiyama

I've said this before and I'll say this again, Mizuki notices whenever other have hidden sides, but they will never dwell deep into them if you don't reveal it first!

They have their own secrets they wish to hide, and even in a romantic relationship they, sadly, won't reveal anything at first. It will definitely take a long time, and a lot of patience!

That's why they're so surprised at seeing you drop the act as soon as you two enter a private room after the confession and acceptance! Not that they weren't aware of it, they just thought it would take longer!

However, their attitude towards you will hardly change much. They are glad that you're no longer holding back, but they will act smug about knowing that you were planning on dropping the act eventually!

They will definitely tease you about your cold front, and will sometimes purposely poke at it in public to see how hard you contain the urge to call them out! Nothing too extreme, just the usual teasing from a different angle!

"What?? Oh, come on! Did you really think that becoming my partner would save you from my teasing? Hehe, quite the opposite! You've fallen into my trap, and now you shall live with these teasing words next to you forever! There is no longer any escape!"

As soon as they notice you having a hard time putting up the front though, or simply being too tired to, they will plan ahead to let you rest in your home! It's surprisingly smooth, and you'll be able to relax more thanks to their quick actions!

They will also make sure to reinforce just how thankful they are for you to trust them with your most intimate secrets. Words of encouragement, gifts, quality time, acts of service! It's quite special the attention they can give you!

Sadly, this does come with some drawbacks. They're so glad that you trust them this much, to reveal a side that you've never shown anyone... Then, why can't they still reveal their own secrets? Why can't they muster up the courage you can...?

Thankfully, your cheerful nature ensures that Mizuki's down days aren't as bad as they used to be! And with you by their side, there is a new hope in their heart, that maybe, with time, there will come a chance...

[italoniponic]

Cherry I had an idea!

Do you know those trampoline places? Like they're facilities filled with trampolines and you can go there and jump and have a good time? I imagined taking a few select TWST guys there and it's so funny.

Taking Octavinelle: Floyd is probably trying to do all the tricks and having a blast, he also tries to bounce you way too high. Jade probably prefers to stay off to the side, but offers you water and reels in Floyd for breaks when needed. Azul tried jumping for a few minutes and then Floyd started trying to bounce him higher, causing Azul to scream and he decided he was done after that.

Diasomnia: Lilia is having the time of his life. Silver probably gave it a try at the suggestion of Lilia, but doesn't do it for very long. Sebek refuses to jump, but after some pleading and puppy dog eyes from you (and a brief nod from Malleus who wants to make you happy) he decides to try it. Spoiler alert: he has a blast. Malleus also tries jumping and quite enjoys it. The image of this man on a trampoline brings me so much joy.

I never saw one of those tbh but I know that they do exist, I just don't go out much nor have the money or courage to go to lmao

[future Cherry: oh God... I misunderstood the whole ask lmao]

Floyd finds a way to have fun with anything until he gets bored, a bit like a hyperactive child lol Jade keep your brother safe for the sake of himself and others especially others, including me

poor Azul holding the trampoline like his life depends on it tho he can swim LOL

Lilia & Floyd are all up to chaos in these kinds of places. It will be hell to bring them for a aquatic park

I imagined Silver going up the trampoline stairs, he reaches the top and then he falls asleep the moment he's about to jump and he simply falls into the water so smoothly AND IDK WHAT TO DO??? then he wakes up and it's like "oh, I missed my jump"

*breaths in* BOI

love how Malleus just gives that final push to Sebek do things. He's having so much fun but if you ask him, he will probably refuse admitting having those feelings lol

okayy so, as I was reaching Malleus part, something inside me told to actually search a trampoline and... IS THAT JUMPING THING THAT IT WASN'T THE TRAMPOLINE I WAS IMAGINING LMAOOO

as you may see, I was thinking about those pool planks/diving boards and facilities that have more to do with swimming. I'm so, so sorry! I screwed all my reply and since I've delayed so much, I just wanted to answer you already. Oh God. Look, all my life, I associated diving boards with the word "trampoline"

granted, in portuguese trampolines (as in the jumping platform, made of elastic) are called "elastic bed" or the common form, "jump-jump". I remember the old days when I got in a lot of those, my kid times...

glad this is text or I wouldn't be able to face you, Anon lol but some of my answers goes in hand with the original idea so...??? my Gracious Lord, I'm so tired and my brain is barely functioning

thanks for the ask, Anon! sorry I screwed everything up. may this mistake don't make you lose all hope on me <3