#If it weren’t for the cult; we wouldn’t be together

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

I’ve destroyed it all. The circumstances are not my fault; nevertheless, I am the straw that broke the camel’s back. I am the thousandth paper cut needed to end a life. I am innocent on my own; but with everything behind me I will be the one to bring destruction. I don’t want to be the cause. I never wanted this. I saw it coming miles away and I did it anyway; the worst part is that I see exactly where it’s going. Please let my intuition be wrong for once. This doesn’t feel real.

[thewritetofreespeech]

hello! i know there's a lot of jealous astarion x tav stuff out there, but could you do a jealous tav x astarion scenario please? maybe also make it spicy??

Astarion x jealous!reader

There were very few moments for all of you to relax and take a breath these days. With the quakes getting stronger, the cult getting closer, and just Gods knew what else around the corner, it was difficult to find some time to recharge. But, you all always seemed to eventually find the time.

Down at one of the taverns, you and the group decided to break loose and have some drinks for the night. Gale and Halsin didn’t want to come. Halsin still abstain from alcohol, along with his vague comments on ‘past mishaps and making a fool of himself’ (which honestly just made it all the more intriguing), and Gale just wanting to turn in early for the night. With everything going on with Mystra recently, more and more he had been pulling back to think by himself, but assured you he would be himself again soon enough.

Karlach usually tagged along, but just wasn’t feeling crowds at the moment. It would be more strange for Laz’el to come. And Wyll had come for the start of the evening but left after one drink as he was a responsible young man.

All that was left was you, Shadowheart, and Astarion.

“This wine tastes like cat piss.”

“You’ve tasted cat piss?” You clip back. Wittier than usual now that you had a few drinks.

Astarion gave you a dull, “ha ha,” before he got up and headed for the bar to get a different vintner offering from the bar keep. “Maybe I’ll splurge a little a spend a whole 3 gold to get something a little better than the swill the rest of you are used to.”

“How people ever found him charming enough to be lured to their death will always be a mystery to me?” Shadowheart remarked before taking a sip of mead from her cup.

You chuckle at her joke and watch as Astarion made his way to the bar. Weaving in between the crowd like he was made more of mist & air, rather than flesh and blood.

Alone, you and Shadowheart chat quietly at your table before she finished her drink, dabbed her lips, and announced, “I’m going head back and turn in with the others. I trust that you and Astarion will make it back alright on your own?”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t we?”

“Well…I wouldn’t judge if the two of you wanted to spend sometime alone. We’re usually in such close quarters together that I’m sure it’s hard to be alone with someone special.” You blush at Shadowhearts comment. Not nearly as blunt as Laz’el but also not at all subtle. “Although, perhaps he has other plans for the evening?”

You follow her eyes over to the bar. Finding Astarion instantly, but also the pretty human girl hanging on his every word; and nearly him. Astarion, for his part, not seeming nearly as put off as someone in a relationship should be by her flirtation.

“I’ll take my leave now. I don’t want to be in the middle of whatever this is turning into. If it turns out for the good, be safe and have fun. If it turns out for the worse, well…try not to get us all arrested by morning.”

She gave a small way and saw herself out of the bar. Leaving you there with your thoughts, warm ale, and a stewing feeling of dread in your gut. You try to calm yourself. But you weren’t exactly the best at tamping down your impulsive thoughts. They had gotten you this far, hadn’t they? Perhaps they could take you a little further as you went up to the bar. “Shadowheart went home.”

Astarion and his new playmate both turn to you in surprise. The former looking genuinely surprised, while the woman looked more annoyed than surprised by your interruption. “Oh. Was she feeling alright? It’s rather early.”

“Yes! The night is still young.” The woman’s hand landed on his arm, and you glare daggers at the spot it landed. Wishing for real daggers. “But, if your friend isn’t feeling well, maybe you should go and check on her.”

She was trying to muscle you out. Eliminate the competition. As far as she knew Astarion wasn’t attached, or maybe she didn’t care, so your presence is an obstacle to her goal of claiming the handsome stranger. You had to admire her boldness. You don’t think you could ever be so confident to just ‘lay claim’ to a man you had only just met and make your stance known. If it had been anyone else she claimed you would have been impressed and supportive. Women helping women. Problem was this was your man and she was competition that needed to be eliminated.

“I think I’m going home too.” You pressed further.

“But I just ordered my wine.” Astarion quipped. Seeming not to get your hint at all. But the woman did.

“Yes. We’ve just freshened our drinks.” The vampire turned his gaze to the woman with a sharp arch of his brow. Clearly communicating ‘who is this ‘we’ you speak of’ with no words at all. “Why don’t you run after your friend and he’ll see you later. Perhaps tomorrow morning?”

“Oh….”

“I’m out of here.” You didn’t bother listening to whatever excuse, silken words, or outright lies Astarion was going to tell this hell cat to get out of the hole he just dug himself, but you weren’t interested in watching him dig.

Slamming your empty mug on the counter, you turn and head for the door. Everyone parting ways for you with the mood you were in. The cold air to your face was sobering, literally, and you shrug your shoulders in as you head down the dark streets towards the inn for the night. If you walked fast enough maybe you could actually catch Shadowheart on the way.

“[Y/N]! Wait!”

You turn to look over your shoulder as Astarion called your name. Coming out of the tavern with a skid and dashing over to meet the space between you. “Where are you going? Are you really going to leave?”

“Would you rather I sit there and watch that woman paw all over you?” You jab back. But Astarion didn’t seem wounded.

“Oh that. Yes. Rather forward for a lady wasn’t she?”

“So why didn’t you stop her??”

“I don’t know.” He replied with a shrug. “Old habits.”

You huff and pull your arms in tighter against the cold. Maybe you had been wrong in assuming that Astarion thought of ‘loyalty’ the same way you did. You trusted him with your life, but maybe you couldn’t trust him in a bar. You didn’t genuinely think that he would go off with her, but even the hint of implication made your blood boil. “I get they might be ‘old habits’ but if you could not flirt with people, I would appreciate it.”

A grin slithered up on Astarion’s face. “Are you…jealous, my love?”

“No!” You snap back quickly. But his grin just gets bigger.

“Hmm…I guess it’s understandable. This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve started a cat fight in a bar, you know? I just never thought you of all people would be swayed by such petty emotions.”

“I’m going home.”

You turn your back on him again, which was the worst thing to do on a vampire, and you felt him snatch you before you were suddenly in a dark alley all alone together. “I get jealous too.” He told you. Almost like a whispered confession. Able to be quiet now that you were away from the crowd, and the streets, and the noise. “I get jealous seeing you with the others. The attention you give them. It should be for me.”

“They’re just friends.” You whisper back to Astarion. Feeling as if any louder and you’d break this spell between you in the moment. You didn’t know what kind of spell it was, but you were transfixed in it.

“I get jealous of all the strangers you want to help. Literally anyone who needs help, you help them. That big heart. Where will I be, if you keep opening it up to others?”

You gasp when you felt his hand drift over your ‘heart’. “I’ll always have space for you Astarion. You shouldn’t be worried about that.”

“I get jealous of your bedroll.” His words caught you off guard. Almost as much as his teeth at your ear. “Curled up with you. Holding your body all night. Keeping you warm. It should be me.”

“You’ve never mentioned it.”

You can’t feel your breath come out in a little pant as you spoke. Enamored by Astarion and his weight against you and the wall. “We should…find some place private.”

“Here is private.”

You couldn’t see his face, but you could hear his grin and it made your knees quiver. “Someone could see us.”

“No one will see us.” He assured you. “I’ve used this alley before.”

It was probably not the best time to bring up his past conquests when you had just had a conversation about jealousy. Or perhaps it was. Instead of feeling angry like earlier, you suddenly felt the incredible urge to erase every memory Astarion had of this alley, this place, those people, and fill him with only thoughts of you. That there were no other conquests until he claimed you.

Jealousy seemed quite the aphrodisiac. It might not have been the ‘privacy’ Shadowheart had mentioned when she made her comment. But it was fun. And no one got arrested.

[avocad1s]

Bring Back What Once Was Mine

Chapter Summary: At last The Creator has returned from Celestia with a new view on how to protect Teyvat. However, the greatest mystery is shrouded behind cracked facades. The fragments will be uncovered at last.

Characters Mentioned: A ton of characters mentioned and included

Content Warning: Cult and Religious themes ahead! You've been warned.

Reader is the true creator of Teyvat. GN! Reader

Part Seven Part Eight (You are here) THE END

It took only a few weeks for the word to spread all throughout Teyvat that the one they had been worshiping for decades wasn’t the real Creator. Many were distraught and confused by the news and rightfully so, that imposter had been the only “Creator” they’ve known their entire lives. All everyone wanted to do know is meet their true Creator or have the chance to simply rest their gaze upon them.

Unfortunately for the Traveler, as more and more people became aware of her involvement, the more letters and gifts she was given addressed to the Creator. It only took a week until she had to keep the gifts in her Serenitea Pot, since she had too many to carry now. But letters weren’t just sent to her for the Creator, many of her powerful friends like the Kamisato siblings, Ningguang, and the Acting Grand Master would invite her to dinner and ask how the Creator was like so they can prepare for their return.

However Lumine couldn’t lie, she was just as anxious for their return like everyone else. Even though she should just move on to the next nation to complete her quest of meeting the Seven, she finds herself stalling hoping that once the Creator comes back to Teyvat she’d be the first person they’ll greet. Yet maybe that’s just her being delusional, surely the Creator wouldn’t come see an Outlander before anyone else, before the Archons.

Lumine lets out a frustrated sigh as strikes down the final hilichurl in the camp before putting her sword away. Thinking about her brother that she missed dearly was the main thing keeping her mind off the Creator, but she couldn’t help but wonder what Aether would’ve thought of them. During her journeys with Dainsleif, she knew that her brother hated the Archons and he chosen the Abyss over humanity, but would that include the Creator too? She completely understands why he would have reservations about the Archons, but the feeling she got just being near the Creator felt like she could trust them with her life.

“Hey Lumine?”

The Traveler wipes the sweat off her brow noticing that Paimon was back next to her, “what is it? Don’t tell me you’re hungry again.”

Paimon scoffs crossing her arms, “firstly, Paimon is always hungry. Secondly, Paimon was worried about you. You are taking more commissions than usual. Are you alright?”

Paimon was right, even though the Traveler was known for her hardworking and selfless nature, she was definitely overdoing it.

Lumine breathes out feeling fatigue growing through her body, “I feel completely fine.”

Paimon frowns, “will you take a break, please?”

The Traveler wanted to ignore her friend’s worries but she lets out a sigh nodding, “alright. Should we head to the City and order some food?”

The fairy’s eyes light up but she shakes her head, “you know Paimon enjoys your cooking much more!” Lumine knows that Paimon only said that so she wouldn’t be bombarded with letters and gifts for the Creator, but she decides not to say anything.

Lumine and Paimon work together to construct a campfire, once finished, Lumine begins preparing something random for the two of them to share.

“So are you going to ask the Creator about your brother?” Paimon asks breaking the silence that was once between them.

Lumine tears her gaze of the flame looking at Paimon, “they haven’t been on Teyvat in hundreds of years. I doubt they know anything about him.”

“Yeah but they are the Creator. They have a connection to Teyvat that no one else has.”

Lumine shrugs, “well that’s if we ever see them again.”

Paimon tilts her head confusion laced in her voice, “why wouldn’t we see them again. They are our friend after all.”

The Creator is the most important person in this world, and know that everyone knows they’ll be back soon, they may not have any time for Lumine to ask them anything.

“Paimon’s right, we’re friends!”

Lumine snaps her head in the direction of the voice a feeling of hope in her chest.

Just a meter away, the Creator stood giving them a small smile and a wave before approaching their makeshift campsite. They sit in the soft grass next to Lumine crossing their legs comfortably. “Why wouldn’t I make time for you?”

The Traveler stares at them with wide eyes, “you’re back?”

They nod, “sorry for keeping you waiting. Being in Celestia took longer than I expected.”

“Oh right! Paimon forgot about that. How did that go?”

They sigh, “I think Celestia and I came to an understanding, but I’ll tell you about it later. How’s Teyvat been?”

“The Fatui and I managed to spread the word of the imposter. Now everyone knows you’re the real deal.”

The Creator smiles at the Outlander causing the girl to feel a warmth spread throughout her chest.

“I will never forget everything you did for me Lumine, and if you ever need anything at all. Please do not hesitate to ask.”

Paimon nudges the girls shoulder.

“Actually there is one thing I’d like to ask.” Lumine says sheepishly.

“Oh you do? What is it?”

Lumine lets out a sigh before telling the Creator everything that lead up to her getting to this world. The Unknown God, her brother, Khaenri’ah, everything. She tells them about her quest of meeting the Seven to see if any of them was this God that separated her and her brother.

The Creator gives her a sympathetic smile, “I am sorry about all of the things you had went through I had no idea, but regarding your brother, I have met him.”

Paimon and Lumine both look shocked at their confession. “When? What did he say?”

“It was before I confronted the Imposter, I didn’t know he was your brother. He didn’t mention anything, and when I met him I couldn’t see his face clearly to see any resemblance to you.” The Creator explains. “We didn’t talk about much, we were interrupted before he could tell me anything important.”

Lumine looks down disappointedly as the Creator reaches over patting her shoulder, “don’t look so down. You’re still looking for him right? I am here to help you no matter what. Siblings should never be separated.”

Lumine smiles hearing their sweet words, they were actually offering to help them anytime she needed. Even though her other friends throughout Teyvat helped the best they could, she knew she could depend on the Creator to keep her word. She felt that she would see her brother sooner than she expects.

“So what are you going to do now?” Paimon asks.

“I’m going to visit all of the nations. I think my presence has been missed dearly.”

“Missed dearly would be an understatement…” Paimon retorts.

“Where will you go first?”

The Creator brings their finger to their chin pondering for a moment, “I think I’ll go to…”

-

The choice is now yours Your Grace, every nation will be written as if you chose them first. Read one, read them all!

However reading the last one is vital ;)

-

MONDSTADT

Jean was busier than ever.

As the Acting Grand Master, Jean is constantly dealing with the well-being of Mondstadt and leading the Knights of Favonius. Even though her friends always try to persuade her to take a break, she couldn’t afford to rest now.

It was only a few weeks ago when the Traveler had came to Mondstadt and told them the devastating news about the Creator, or rather who they thought was the Creator. Although everyone took the news hard, especially a certain bard, there was no time to grieve. The real Creator could walk through the gates any second and Jean wants to be prepared for the moment.

A knock on the door breaks her concentration as Lisa enter a frown on her lips. “You’ve been in here all day,” she says softly, “aren’t you going to take a break?”

Jean yawns rubbing her eyes, “I can’t take a break now Lisa.”

The librarian puts her hands on her hips, “yeah, yeah I know. Their Grace could arrive any minute now and you want to be prepared.”

Jean nods as Lisa sighs.

“But do you really want to meet Their Grace like this? You look tired and overworked.”

Jean opens her mouth to rebuttal her friends words when the door shoots open again. It was Amber, her hands were on her knees as she was breathing heavily.

“Their Grace is here.”

-

Once you entered Mondstadt, all eyes were on you. The knights who were patrolling around the city stopped to stare before they began bowing greeting you. Shop owners and other patrons eyes were as big as saucers as they bow to you in respect.

“T-their Grace has returned!”

“And they came to Mondstadt first! This surely means that this is their favorite nation, no?”

Excited murmurs filled the streets but the first to approach you was a man with red hair, it was tied into a low ponytail and the hair that fell in front of his face blew in the wind as his bowed before you.

“Your Grace,” he says his gaze on the ground, “my name is Diluc, welcome to Mondstadt.”

You smile using your hand to gesture for him to stand up straight. He follows your orders quickly, fixing his posture as his gaze meets yours.

“Mondstadt is as beautiful as ever.” You praise.

A smile grows on Dilucs face his cheek turning red as he clears his throat, “thank you for complimenting my homeland. Praise from you is the greatest blessing.”

“Oh there you are Master Diluc!” A voice calls out, “how about I sing in your tavern for a free bottle of Dandelion win-“

A man, or a bard based on how he dressed approached the two of you. The large smile that was once on his face is replaced with a look of shock as he looks at you.

“Y-your Grace…?”

The bard is frozen in place as he continues to stare, even after Diluc began to whisper-yell at him for not bowing to you.

He fixes his face as he smiles warmly at you, “Y-your Grace, Welcome to Mondstadt! My name is Venti! Venti the Bard!”

You raise your brow. “Venti the bard?”

You wouldn’t be the Creator if you couldn’t immediately tell who was an Archon or not, and looking at this supposed bard…

You knew that it was Barbatos and you knew he knew that as well.

“Ehe! Yep that’s me! The traveler told us all about your triumphs in Sumeru City. I believe something that great is worthy of a song, don’t you?”

You laugh at his words, even after all this time the Anemo Archon was as lively as ever.

“Your Grace welcome to Mondstadt, I apologize for our rude welcoming.” A group of four were approaching you, the blonde woman leading.

“I am Jean, the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius.” She looks over at the three standing near her, “This is our head librarian Lisa, our outrider Amber, and our chief alchemist Albedo.”

All of them greet you but you couldn’t help but notice that the one named Albedo never tore his intense gaze off your body.

“I see that you already met Master Diluc and Venti.”

You nod, “yes and you have no reason to apologize for the welcoming. My visit was out of the blue anyway.”

She raises a hand shaking her head, “you are always welcome in Mondstadt Your Grace, please allow me to show you around.” Jean smiles holding out her hand that you gladly take, Albedo and Lisa follow closely behind you two.

Once you had made it to the KoF headquarters, there were more knights waiting to greet you. The calvary captain named Kaeya left an everlasting impression with his sweet words, he was also the only one to kiss the back of your hand when he greeted you. Klee, the youngest in the knights immediately ran up to you hugging you tightly, the other knights try to tell her not to do that since it was rude but you said it was okay.

She asked if you wanted to go fish blasting with her, whatever that was.

Noelle was also so sweet, the maid had offered to do anything you needed even if it sounded like an inconvenience. ‘Nothing is an inconvenience for me, especially when it comes to you.’ She would say. While the sheepish Sucrose couldn’t even meet your gaze without her face turning completely red, she only managed to get the greeting past her lips since Albedo was there to guide her.

Like Keaya, Lisa was a natural flirt, she was constantly complimenting your looks saying how the imposter could never match the true beauty that you possess.

Then there was Rosaria, one of the nuns from the Chruch of Favonius. You had encountered her when you saw Barbara begging her to join in the festivities for your arrival. Once you had approached the two girls the shorter one immediately bows babbling about how happy she is to have you here. Rosaria on the other hand, asks if you are enjoying your time in Mondstadt. She also states that if you’re ever in trouble, she’ll help you. It seems that she shows her devotion to you in a more casual way than others.

Once you had met everyone, Diluc invited you to come to Angels Share, a tavern that he owned within the city. The tavern was what you expected, but what was surprising was seeing Diluc behind the bar his hair pulled into a high ponytail.

“Your Grace,” he smiles, sitting down the glass he was drying before you walked in. You sit down on the barstool across from him.

“Would you like some wine?”

You nod and Diluc turns around looking at the varieties of wine he had before reach of a particular one, he opens it pouring it in a glass.

“Here you are your Grace.”

The tavern door open again.

“Make that three glasses actually!”

Kaeya and Venti approach the bar sitting in the empty barstools next to you. Venti sits on your left, Kaeya on your right.

Diluc sighs, “do you have any mora?”

Venti pouts and Kaeya laughs a bit. “Aww c’mon don’t be like that, the Creator is here and we are celebrating.”

The redhead rolls his eyes, “we are celebrating but only Their Grace is drinking on the house.”

You smile bringing the glass to your lips as they continue their banter.

“Oh? You must be trying to win their favor by allowing them to drink for free? And everyone thought it was going to be me trying to win their attention.”

Diluc’s face grows red at Kaeya’s words, “t-that’s not it! I’m just showing them proper hospitality.”

You chuckle setting down the glass wiping your face a bit, “your wine is absolutely lovely Diluc, I see why everyone loves it.”

His face gets even darker as he nods, “I’m glad you like it your Grace. If you ever want any more, please let me know.” He ignores the two sitting near you as they continue to tease.

LIYUE

The second you had stepped into Liyue, Xiao was by your side, you weren’t sure how he knew when you’d be arriving but you decided not to question it.

“Your Grace,” the Adepti is kneeling by your feet keeping his gaze on the ground, “you’ve returned.”

“Please stand for me Xiao.”

He immediately raises to his feet meeting your gaze, “are you heading to Liyue Harbor?”

You nod, you never got to step in Liyue Harbor the last time you were in the nation of contracts, being abruptly interrupted by the Fatui had thrown you off your original plan.

“Is it alright if I walk with you?” He asks softly.

It was clear he didn’t want to be a burden on you but you had a feeling that even if you said no he would follow just to make sure nothing bad happened to you while traveling.

“Sure I don’t mind the company.” Xiao’s face brightens at your words as he moves to walk by your side.

The walk with the Yaksha was peaceful, he wasn’t much of a conversationalist but you could tell that he enjoyed being at your side. Once you had gotten to the path leading to the bridge of the harbor, Xiao’s steps faltered.

“Is something wrong?” You turn to face him noticing a conflicted look on his face.

“Thank you for allowing me to walk with you Your Grace but I should return to my duties.”

You furrow you brows, “you’re not coming in with me?”

He lets out a breath closing his eyes as he shakes his head, “I shouldn’t….”

You weren’t sure why he wouldn’t enter the city with you but you didn’t want to force him to do anything he didn’t want. You give him a small smile bidding farewell, before he disappeared into the air he repeats what he said to you last time.

‘If you ever need anything or ever find yourself in trouble, just call out my name.’

-

Zhongli was at the funeral parlor when word hit that you had entered the city, he could feel his heart ache. All he wanted to do was greet you but he had to go about it strategically, if he doesn’t, he could easily reveal himself as the Geo or rather the former Geo Archon.

He gives his eccentric boss some random excuse to leave for a moment and she tells him to hurry back so they can think of new deals in honor of the Creators arrival.

After roaming the city for a moment, you had finally came into view talking to Ganyu. He fixes his tailcoat before walking over his hands laced behind his back.

“Your Grace, I see you have made it to the Harbor.”

Your eyes leave Ganyu to stare up at the man.

“Morax?”

He feels his heart swell, of course his God would recognize him no matter what form he takes.

“Actually it’s Zhongli now.”

Your eyes widen, so Morax had stepped down from his duties as an Archon? You expect something like that from Barbatos but from Morax? Never. You give him a smile, “I see, so Zhongli… it’s nice to see you again.”

Zhongli wanted to keep talking to you, to express just how much he missed you while you were gone. To apologize for worshiping another, he is your oldest devotee if anyone should’ve recognized something was wrong, it should’ve been him.

But all he does is smile as he bows to you, .”your presence has been missed Your Grace.”

Ganyu who was watching you interact with the man, suddenly excuses herself saying that she is needed back in the Jade Chamber to finish the preparations for your arrival. Even though you express that nothing extravagant needs to be done, she explains that Ningguang had been preparing this since the Traveler announced the news of the imposter.

“I wish that I could’ve shown you around the Harbor your Grace but I know that Rex Lap- er Zhongli will do a wonderful job as well.”

Once Ganyu was gone Zhongli offers you his hand, he guides you around the Harbor showing you all of the shops that truly makes Liyue what it is. He also points out all the statues and offerings people had left you, there were many stacks of letters, expensive items, and even books left around all your statues. You made a mental note that you would come back for them all later.

Zhongli also introduced you to Madame Ping who also seemed really happy to see you even offering if you’d like to drink tea with her once you’re free that you happily agreed to. She also mentioned about inviting some old friends, you have a feeling on who that may be.

Speaking of old friends, the other Adepti had made the trip down to the Harbor to meet you. They haven’t been in the Harbor since Osial was released by a Harbinger. Liyue Harbor is where mortals resided and while they will protect it with their life, they rather not spend their time here. Unless you were there then they don’t mind bending their own boundaries a bit.

After spending most of your day with Zhongli, night soon came and Ganyu came back. She escorts you to the Jade Chamber to meet Ningguang and to see what they have planned for you. Zhongli goes back to the funeral parlor expecting to be chewed out by Hu Tao for being gone longer than he expected.

Once in the Jade Chamber Ningguang immediately begins showering you with gifts, many of them jewls and clothing. She even had and array of Liyue specialties made just for you.

Yelan was also at the Jade Chamber, she asked you about your time in Snezhnaya but you decided to keep it vague. Whether that was to keep her in ignorance or because you didn’t want to relive it is unclear.

“Your Grace, would you come outside with me?” Ningguang speaks to you in a soft voice as she leads you to the front of the Chamber. The stars in the sky were shining brightly, you could even see Celestia more clearer from this height.

“It’s very beautiful up here but I actually brought you out here for another reason.”

Soon enough l fireworks began going off in the sky with many different shapes and bright colors. You could see many adults in children in Liyue stare at the sky in amazement which only warmed your heart even more.

“I apologize Your Grace this is all I could do last minute, but I have some more thing planned for you tomorrow.”

You give Ningguang a small grin, “this is already wonderful, I can only imagine what you have planned for tomorrow.”

Ningguang feels her face grow hot as she looks back up at the sky. Ganyu, Keqing, and Yelan could only smile knowing that this surely had a lasting impact on you. If you decide to take permanent residence in one of the nations, they hope that it’s theirs.

INAZUMA

You had managed to get aboard a ship named the Crux lead by captain Beidou with the help of the Traveler. She had welcomed you enthusiastically exclaiming how she was honored that the Creator wanted to board her ship.

Beidou and her crew weren’t the only ones excited to have you on board. Kazuha, who had introduced himself as a wandering samurai and a poet, also expressed his gratitude that he could meet you face to face.

Beidou cuts him off by ruffling his hair saying how he was just being humble. She tells you how Kazuha had managed to stop a killing blow from the Raiden Shogun and also managed to activate two visions at once. Normally Kazuha would brush off any form of praise with a small smile and a thank you, but seeing your surprised face and hearing you praise his talents made his face grow unbelievably red. Beidou laughs at her friends uncharacteristic behavior patting his shoulder.

The trip was unexpectedly calm, Lumine had told you of the constant storm that had surrounded Inazuma but it seemed to have finally dissipated. Once Beidou had anchored the ship in Ritou, there was only one person waiting on the dock who immediately jumped off one of the crates walking towards the ship.

“Kazuha? Beidou? I wasn’t expecting you two to return so soon!”

Kazuha laughs lightly, “Hello Thoma, we weren’t expecting to be back so early either but we had an unexpected guest.”

Thomas eyes perk up at the mention of the guest, “oh! Is it the Traveler? I’ve been wondering when they would return.”

Beidou chuckles, “no we got someone way more renowned than Lumine.”

Once you are on the dock, Thomas face immediately brightens. “Your Grace! I had no idea you were coming to Inazuma!”

“My arrival is unexpected, you’re the first person to know besides these two.”

His face brightens even more.

“Your Grace if you allow me I would love to escort you to Inazuma City. I know that everyone is dying to see you!”

Thomas personality felt like a breath of fresh air as you agree to let him guide you out of Ritou to Inazuma city. Beidou and Kazuha bid their farewell saying that if you need a ride to any of the other nations they’ll come back to get you, the two board the ship and it sails off.

The guards who were preventing outsiders from entering the City quickly move out of the way once they see your face not bothering to ask for any type of paperwork. If they did, they knew that the Shogun would have them dealt with.

It was about an hour after you arrived to Inazuma City when Ei had finally got the news. Kujou Sara came rushing and the Raiden Shogun, the puppet, asked her to state her business. As soon as she mentioned that you were in the City, Ei immediately left the Plane Of Euthymia.

She feels horrible that she wasn’t the first to greet you once you had entered the city but there’s nothing she can do about it now. All she can do is find you now and ask for forgiveness.

Would you forgive her? She wonders.

She wasn’t there to greet you and there’s no doubt that someone had told you what she had done to her nation. She feels a bitter taste enter in her mouth which she despises. She doesn’t want you to be angry at her, she’ll do anything to earn your forgiveness. Her sister Makoto always told her how amazing and forgiving you were so hopefully that hasn’t changed.

When Ei finally found you, you were at the Komore Teahouse, she burst through the doors trying her best to keep her composure as she follows the sound of noose coming from room one.

And there you are, in all your glory.

Ayaka and Ayato who sat next to you quickly stop talking as they stare at their Archon who stood at the threshold. Thoma, who sat across from the three of you, quickly look down at the table.

You sit down your teacup clearing your throat as you look at her.

“Ei? Is that you?”

She immediately falls onto her knees looking down at the floor, “yes it’s me Your Grace. Please forgive me.”

You glance at the siblings before standing walking towards Ei, her long braid spilled onto the floor as she kneeled before you.

“Forgive you? For what?”

She looks up her watery eyes meeting yours, “for everything…”

You decided it would be best to leave with the Electro Archon, it was already awkward the second she entered the room but you doubt that she’ll leave this teahouse without you.

Ei was quiet as she followed behind you in Inazuma city, everyone you past mouth are agape as they mutter that the Raiden Shogun has showed her face in the city again but this time with the Creator.

You notice how Ei’s face lights up once you near a dango stand, you stop asking the shopkeeper for two and he hands them to you with a large grin on his face saying they’re on the house. (luckily cuz its not like you have mora, where’s Diluc, Ningguang, and Pantalone when you need them?)

At first Ei declines the sweet treat saying that she shouldn’t indulge herself but with a few reassuring words from you, she quickly takes the sweet treat eating it.

Ei enjoyed the time she had spent with you and if you were to stay in Inazuma for good, she would never return into her puppet again. Being here with you felt like the eternity she was striving for, maybe if she begged you to stay here with her, you would consider it?

She decides against it as she watches you leave to see her other islands. She wants to go with you but she knows she must think of a way to properly apologize to you, she had to go talk to her dear friend at the Grand Narukami Shrine.

-

You decided to take some time to yourself on the outskirts of the city resting in the warm sand. Word of your arrival spread quickly and there was no doubt that everyone would be making their way here to see you soon so you just wanted to relax for a bit. You could hear children screaming in the distance as they played, you weren’t sure what they were playing but it sounded like they were having fun.

However your alone time didn’t last long. Many footsteps could be heard approaching from behind you , it sound like three maybe four people? But what really caught your attention was the loud voice that followed.

“Pfft… I might’ve lost this time but next time I’ll definitely win!”

You hear the others agreeing with the statement which causes you to turn around.

It was an Oni, you didn’t even know they were still around anymore.

The Oni notices you staring and his face brightens as he approaches you. “Hello stranger! I’ve never seen you around here before, my name is Arataki "The One and Oni" Itto! Leader of the Arataki Gang!”

He was definitely more lively than anyone else you’ve meet recently and that made you giggle a bit. You stand up from the warm sand a grin one your face, did he even recognize you? He approached you so casually as if you were just another Inazuma citizen.

“The Arataki Gang?” You say in between giggles.

Once Itto confirms that you’re not going to throw any beans at him he gets even closer, “You haven’t heard of the Arataki Gang before? No problem, from today on, we are now acquainted. We are the Arataki Gang of Hanamizaka! Who might you be?”

You introduce yourself by name not mentioning anything about your status, what could you say? You want to see how far this will go.

Talking with Itto was like a breath a fresh air, after everything you’ve been through, this was the exact break you needed. You couldn’t even remember the last time you’ve laughed this much.

What you learned quickly is the Itto was very competitive when he challenged you to a Onikabuto battle, the rules were simple. Find a beetle and the two will battle until one of them flips. Itto warns you that the he’s been training his Onikabuto for days but that doesn’t stop him from helping you find a worthy opponent.

With the help of his gang that battle commences. You watch the two bugs battle quietly while Itto begins chanting for his to win.

After a few moments his beetle is flipped onto his back.

“I win!” You exclaim.

Itto runs his comb through his hair, “pssh… good job new friend! But that was definitely beginners luck! How about another round?”

“There you are Boss, I’ve been searching everywhere for you.” A woman with green hair and a mask begins walking towards the group.

“Shinobu!” Itto says boisterously, “I was just having a Onikabuto Battle with my new friend here!”

Shinobu sighs, “I’m sorry if my boss had caused you any troubl-“

Suddenly she stops talking as she stares at your face, if her mouth wasn’t covered her jaw might’ve hit the floor with his wide her eyes were.

“Erm Shinobu?” Itto snaps his fingers.

“Why didn’t you say you were with the Creator!” The girl practically screams as she gets closer, “Your Grace I am honored to meet you! I’m sorry for any trouble Itto might’ve caused you.”

You grin, “he hasn’t caused any trouble at all! I’ve had so much fun!”

Itto watches the two of you a puzzled look on his face. “Wait wait wait…. What do you mean Creator?”

Shinobu looks over at her Boss, “don’t you remember me telling you that the Creator was in Inazuma?”

He laughs, “Of course I remember! Why wouldn’t I remember something like that?”

She lets out a sigh face palming, “are you telling me that you’ve been hanging with Their Grace this whole time and didn’t recognize them?”

Itto laughs again but it comes out more awkwardly as he looks to the side.

“None of you recognized them?”

The rest of the gang also look off to the side.

You laugh causing everyone to look over at you, “thank you for teaching me this game Itto! I’ve had lots of fun with you today.”

Now knowing who you are, your words makes Itto grow a bit sheepish as he brushes his comb through his hair once more, “Pfft, of course Your Grace I’ll teach you all other games I know and trust me it’s a lot! Haha! Although I should apologize how the Arataki Gang approached you,that was rude of us!” The rest of the gang murmur in agreement.

“Now how ‘bout that round two? Though I should let you know that I won’t be going easy on you! I’m going to win this time!”

You grin, “well bring it on!”

SUMERU

Nahida was the first to greet you once you had entered Sumeru City, she was surrounded by many scholars and sages from the Akademiya who bowed as they watched you interact with their Archon.

Nahida hold her small hand out to you, “welcome back to Sumeru Your Grace.”

You take the girls hand as she leads you throughout Sumeru City. “I’m glad to back under better circumstances.”

She chuckles, “I’m glad too.”

The city was more decorated than the last time you were here, even though last time you had Dottore knock out all of the citizens so you could confront the imposter. You had a feeling the Nahida might’ve predicted that you were going to show up today, you don’t expect anything less from the God of Wisdom.

As Nahida leads you to the entrance of the Akademiya, you notice two men bickering, or rather one of them getting riled up while the other responds calmly. Once the calmer one notices your presence he turns his attention to you as the other grows more annoyed at his actions.

“Seriously? Now you’re ignoring me?”

The other nudges the man harshly cussing him to stumble a bit but then he quickly takes notice of your presence as well.

“Your Grace, it’s an honor to meet you.”

You soon learn that the calmer one was named Alhaitham, and that the more expressive one was Kaveh. You also learned that the two of them were roommates, although knowing that information was unintentional since Kaveh kept rambling nervously as he tried to apologize for his behavior that you no doubt witnessed.

However the next three you met really solidified that Sumeru had some interesting people that really changed your perspective of how the nation once was. Nahida bad introduced you to the General Mahamatra who was talking to a young girl named Collei and her master Tighnari.

Just like everyone else they were extremely respectful as they introduced themselves to you and welcomed you to their city. Cyno also offered to show you around the desert if you ever desired to go. Collei and Tighnari expressed the same to you about the forest. However after pleasantries were over, Cyno asked you a question that made everyone around you facepalm.

“Your Grace, have you ever played Genius Invokation TCG?”

Tighnari sighs loudly, “are you seriously asking Their Grace about this?”

Collei also sighs as she mutters multiple apologies under her breath.

“I-I’m sorry?” You tilt your head, “Genius Invokation TCG?”

Cyno ignores his friends telling him to be quiet as he begins to explain the premise of the game to you, explaining how people around Teyvat have their own cards within the game and that even you have your own card in the game. (However he doesn’t mention how many cards of you he owns)

“If you ever wish to learn to play, I will teach you. Then we can duel.” His voice was monotonous but his body language gave off just how excited he was about teaching you about this game.

As Nahida leads you away from the trio you could hear Tighnari ask Cyno why he would ask you a question like that. Collei was only happy that he didn’t make any puns in your presence.

Later that night Nahida leaves you alone in a bedroom she had designed specifically for you but you doubt that you were going to get any sleep that night.

A few moments after Nahida left there was a knock at your door, at first you figured it was the God of Wisdom who might’ve forgotten to say something but once you opened the door you were greeted by a new face.

He had purple hair and wore a large hat, if he wasn’t looking directly at you, his hat would’ve obscured his face.

“The Creator of Teyvat.” He drawls out smirking. “I’ve been waiting to speak to you.”

He lets himself into your room as you furrow your brows closing the door turning to face him.

“I want to hate you, you know. I want to hate you because of how much she loved you.” He speaks softly. “All this time I’ve forced myself to hate you but now that I’m right in front of you?” He lets out a laugh, you weren’t even sure if he was talking to you.

“I thought that joining the Fatui would’ve made me hate you but those idiots are just as loyal to you as everyone else.”

So he was previously in the Fatui? That’s odd, no one ever mentioned him.

“What’s your name?” Your words snaps him out of his trance as he looks back at you.

He tells you that he has no name but if you must call him by something you can call him what the Traveler picked.

He calls out your name, your true name. “You’re supposed to be all knowing. What am I supposed to do?”

You let out a breath, as he looks at you expectantly a glimmer hopefulness in his eyes.

The Wanderer holds his breath as he waits for you to respond, after all of the evil deeds he’s done Lumine and Nahida says that he can change but he has no idea where to go about that. All his life his wanted to be of use to someone and every single time he was thrown to the side and betrayed. He wants to know your answer, no he needs it. Ever since he joined the Fatui and learned that the only being he wanted to talk to was a fake, he knew that he would wait. He will wait for you.

“I cannot tell you what to do with your life,” you begin, “following your heart is what everyone does and eventually you find something that feels right.”

He wants to roll his eyes and retort but you quickly interrupt him.

“Even though you do not have a heart like other humans, you left the Fatui and are now repenting for the sins you committed. Doesn’t that feel good?”

He crosses his arms, “what’s that got to do with anything?”

“What I’m trying to say is you should do what feels right. You don’t have a heart but you feel hurt and angry when betrayed so surely you must feel good when you do certain things.”

“And what if I don’t know what that is…?” He says breath barely above a whisper.

“Well you have friends right? They are there to help you, and I am also willing to help you.”

His eyes widen as he turns away from you, “so that’s the way you think? I’m surprised that you can be so optimistic after everything you’ve been through Your Grace.”

For once he didn’t refer to you by your name.

“I’ll let you get some sleep, I will see you tomorrow with Buer.”

He walks past you opening the door, giving you one last glance the door clicks shut behind him. You let out a breath crashing onto your mattress, you doubt that sleep would take you tonight.

The Wanderer on the other hand, was thinking of anyway he could prove himself useful to you then maybe he could stay by your side instead.

SNEZHNAYA

The Tsaritsa never attended any celebrations that the Harbingers threw when they managed to obtain a Gnosis, but since this celebration was for you, she’d be a fool to not make an appearance.

The Fatui had an abundance of money, and once it was revealed you were on your way to Snezhnaya, they had quickly prepared everything for you. The Zapolyarny Palace was decorated in the finest decorations money could buy. Clothing suited for warm weather was designed with you in mind, and chefs prepared the most exquisite dishes in Snezhnaya for you to enjoy.

As the Harbingers were in the middle of preparations for the grand banquet. Spirits ran high and good will was abundant. All of them felt triumphant. The Creator was due to arrive soon , and they were proud to welcome them back to Snezhnaya. The air was only ever this lively after a successful mission in one of the other nations. They ordered their subordinates to set up the hall so that it was polished and pristine, fit their God.

The Damselette, who was sitting at a decorated table with her head down she called, “It is a shame that the Fair Lady couldn’t join us for such an momentous occasion.”

“La Signora’s zealot ambition caused her downfall. She overestimated her own strength and that got her killed in the end.” Pulcinella states.

“Her methods tarnished her honor, she doesn’t have the right to meet Their Grace.” Capitano chimes in.

Arlecchino was always quick to lose her temper, her voice was filled with venom as she glares at her comrades, “Rosalyne died in a foreign land for our cause, she has more right to meet Their Grace unlike you businessmen.”

Pantalone smiles curtly at her, “if you keep acting like that, Their Grace will be able to witness your true self and not the facade that you put on.”

Arlecchino opens her mouth to snap at the Regrator but is cut off by Childe, who stood nearby. “You all can’t help but fight even on the day the Creator is coming?”

It grows silent as they all return to what they were doing, the youngest Harbinger was right. To argue on the day you would be arriving was ludicrous, even more so to bicker once you arrive. The Tsaritsa herself would kill them for doing that.

It wasn’t much longer until you entered the Zapolyarny palace with the Tsaritsa and Pierro at your side. You were wearing the coat that was gifted to you when you first came here which caused Pantalone to smile smugly.

The Harbingers stare at you for a moment, last time you were here they were all still searching the other nations for any presence of you. When they joined you on the boat to confront the imposter, Childe hogged all your attention but now they had the opportunity to talk to you themselves.

But just like last time, Childe was the first to approach you, eyes brighter than ever. “Your Grace, You’ve arrived! How was the trip?”

You smile at the ginger, it was alway hard to see the Fatui as ruthless beings when Childe approaches and talks to you like this. “It was… calm. Just like last time.”

You cross your arms, even with all of the fireplaces around it was still very cold within the palace.

“Oh, are you cold Your Grace?” A voice says sweetly, “I have other coats suited for the cold if you’d prefer those instead.” The Regrator is the next to approach a small smile on his lips as he adjusts his glasses.

You open your mouth to accept his offer when another voice speaks up.

“If none of his coats are to your liking I would be more than happy to escort you to the City and buy you whatever coat you’d like.” Arlecchino says gracefully, although her glare at the two near you contradicted the sweetness in her voice.

“Or I can give you my coat, Your Grace.” Everyone turns to glare at Dottore for his bold suggestion.

You chuckle awkwardly feeling the tension in the room build up, you knew that no matter what choice you made, the others would be angry. (not at you ofc but at each other)

“Thank you for your generosity, but I think I’d rather just go to my room for a while, if that’s alright.”

“Of course that’s alright Your Grace! Would it be alright if I escort you to your room?” Sandrone pipes up still sitting on her Automaton.

Now all eyes are on her and you sigh softly, all you want is to quell the subtle fighting between them but no matter what you say one of them will jump at the opportunity to spend some alone time with you.

A cold hand touches your shoulder and the Tsaritsa finally speaks up. “I’ll take you to your room your Grace, you must be tired.”

You smile at her as she moves her hand onto your lower back, “We have prepared a banquet for you later tonight, I will have one of the Harbingers bring you some clothes if you wish to change.”

The Harbingers all share glances indicating that it was going to be them to bring you the clothes. The Archon leads you down the hall toward your room.

Once they were alone, Pierro let’s out a sigh, “these childish theatrics must cease. Their Grace will be spending the next few days here and they don’t need to see you all fighting all the time. Have some decorum.

The Harbingers roll their eyes dispersing back to their own room, all of them thinking of ways they could steal your attention tonight.

It’s going to be a long night Your Grace.

NOWHERE…? (ABYSS)

You told Lumine that you wanted to reconnect with Teyvat before you showed your face in any nation. The girl seemed surprised at first but understood, her gaze lingered on you as you left her campsite. However, you weren’t alone for long. Once you were out of the Travelers sight, you had felt a strong presence behind you. Last time you didn’t notice it, but this time it was as clear as day, as if they were making no effort to conceal it at all.

“Your Grace.” Just as you expected, it was Aether.

You stop walking turning to gaze at him, “how come you always appear when I’m alone?”

Now that you could see his face more clearly, he did look exactly like Lumine, they both had signature golden hair and eyes. While it seemed that both of them had a friendly nature, he was definitely hiding something beneath the surface.

“Because I don’t want no one to ruin the time I have talking to you.” He says nonchalantly.

“Even your sister?”

Aether’s eyes widened at your response but he quickly fixes his expression as he approached you, “so, she told you.”

“I told her I’d help her find you but that’s not all I know. I’ve heard lots of things about the Abyss, none of them good.”

“Your Grace anything anyone has told you is complete slander, the only goal I have in mind is rebuilding Khaenri’ah back to it’s former glory!”

“So the Abyss doesn’t hate humanity?”

He lets out a defeated sigh, confirming the truth behind your question without even saying anything. Aether reaches out grasping your hand with both of his gloved ones, “I would never do anything to disgrace your world… I promise.”

You had to give him the benefit of the doubt, it’s not like he lied to you up till this point, so why would he lie now? “What did you want to talk about?”

“The first step was defeating the counterfeit that held the throne, but this world still hasn’t been healed completely. Corruption still lurks in every corner.”

A large purple portal opens behind the Prince and a faceless being walks out getting down on one knee bringing a clawed hand to his chest.

“Your Grace…. Your Majesty…” it’s voice croaks.

“Come to the Abyss, Your Grace.” He pleads, “no interruptions this time. Come with me and I will show you everything…”

He stares expectantly at your face as you look at the creature and portal behind him. So this was the Abyss, Yelan had told you all about the danger it possessed and now it was right in front of you. A group that hates humanity, even Aether couldn’t deny that fact. The impropriety vexed you, how could a place exist that devalued the life you had created. You cared for this world immensely, and built it for humanity, but for some reason it felt as if the Abyss was calling out to you.

The void of the portal looks endless. Your eyes focus to catch a glimpse of something more, darker and obscure. The weight of the Princes hands were heavier now... more adamant. Your search was cut short when he gripped your hands, pulling you out of the trance. His gaze never wavered as you opened your pursed lips to respond to his lingering question.

“I’ll go with you.”

He looks satisfied with your answer as he pulls you forward leading you towards the portal.

There was no turning back now, once you walk through this with, you will be within the Abyss. You couldn’t imagine what would be waiting for you once you stepped through, all you had was the word of an outlier who guaranteed your safety.

Aether who seemed to notice your hesitancy laces his fingers with yours giving you a smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t let go.”

You let out a breath closing your eyes tightly as the two of you walk through the portal.

-

-

-

It wasn’t painful. Not that you expected it to be.

You open your eyes and the Prince is staring at you.

“We have arrived, Your Grace.”

The Abyss lurked in the darkest part of Teyvat so it was no surprise that once you took in your surroundings you noticed you were at some unknown place in the Chasm. It wasn’t just the two of you either, there were many creatures just like the one who was bowing to the two of you before. Some of them looked more human-like while others truly resembled monsters. None of them dared to speak though, you could only wonder what the Prince had threatened said to them if you chose to come with him.

“Your Grace I’m so happy you’ve decided to come with me.” Aether breathes out still holding your hand, not like he had any intention of letting go. “Your comfort means everything to me, and I know it looks unsettling right now but I can assure that your comfort has been taken into account.”

He leads you down a path so that the two of you were alone once more.

It was in a secluded spot that was much darker than the area you appeared in, the only thing giving light was the multiple torches stuck into the wall.

“Your Grace, what I’m about to tell you is going to be hard to hear…”

You let out a breath, would it be as hard to hear when you found out Celestia had betrayed you? The look on his face you could tell that he didn’t want to place this burden on you but it had to be done.

“Are you aware of what happened to Khaenri’ah?” He asks.

During your time in Celestia, you learned everything, all catastrophic events that happened on Teyvat was their doing. The Archon War and the destruction of Khaenri’ah were just the tip of the iceberg.

You nod, “Celestia told me it was their doing.”

“But did they tell you how?”

You shake your head, “how they did it? I don’t understand.”

“Celestia might’ve had a hand in getting rid of the nation, but it wasn’t the one who did it.”

You tilt your head curiously at the blonde, “who did it then?”

He sighs holding your hand a bit tighter to ease you into the bomb he was about to drop on you.

“You weren’t here and Celestia wasn’t the only one who missed you. So the Archons and Celestia concocted a plan to bring you back, and since Khaenri’ah was more quiet about their worship outsiders believed they weren’t devoted to you.”

You felt your heart sink as a bitter taste enters your mouth, “are you saying that the Archons had a hand in this as well?”

Aether continues, “the people of Khaenri’ah were deemed sinners, especially pure blooded ones. People believed it was their sins that made you not want to return, so under Celestia, the Archons attack Khaenri’ah destroying almost everything and killing everyone.”

You felt sick, you didn’t want to hear this, this ache in your chest was unbearable. Were you betrayed again? Something you poured your whole heart into stabbed you in the back for their own selfish desires? This was too much to bear.

You pull your hand out of his stumbling away to sit on a nearby rock, Aether followed kneeling next to you placing a hand on your back.

“I know this is hard for you,” he rubs your back frowning, “should I continue?”

You nod not trusting your voice to answer him, a lump in your throat was forming and it felt that if you were to try and speak, you would burst into tears.

“The remaining survivors of the attack turned into monsters… the monsters you see roaming around Teyvat are what remains of the nation. However for the pure blooded Khaenrians, they were cursed with immortality. Now they roam Teyvat forever…”

You bring your hands up running them through the roots of your hair, Aether had to be lying, there is no way something that terrible would happen without your knowledge. How could you be so ignorant to the suffering of your own people?

Aether keeps rubbing your back, “the plan didn’t work, you never returned so Celestia went for more drastic measures and made an Imposter to trick the Archons into thinking it worked, but at the same time, it was their last ditch effort to get you to return.”

You finally manage to speak, the words came out soft and raspy but still clear enough for him to understand.

“How do you know all this?”

The Prince says nothing, maybe he was ignoring you or maybe he was too concerned about your comfort to respond.

Khaenri’ah wasn’t just forced to watch their home burn by the hands of the Archons and Celestia but they were forced to stay and watch as their home became lost to history. You didn’t want to believe it, the monsters were once people and others were cursed with immortality it felt like something out of a fantasy novel.

But… those eyes…

You couldn’t help but recall your time in Snezhnaya. Pierro… his eyes. You knew they seemed familiar but it didn’t click to you then.

Now it was painfully clear.

He was from Khaenri’ah and he was one of the cursed ones. Why didn’t he tell you? Was it because you were focused on the Imposter? Did he not want to burden you with more problems?

You could remember the way his eyes had lingered on the flower you had. He must’ve recognized it.

You reach into your pocket pulling the flower out, it didn’t look as beautiful as it did when Aether first gave it to you, it was starting to wilt.

“You kept it.” You hear the Prince murmur next to you.

You turn to face him and he immediately pulls his hand off you. “Your Grace I know there is a way we can bring Khaenri’ah back. I’ve even seen these monsters gain back their consciousness, the only missing piece is you.”

Suddenly you bring your hand up to his cheek causing him to stiffen for a moment before leaning into your touch his face turning pink.

Your touch was better than he could ever describe, it was warm and comforting he hadn’t felt this warm since his days in the forgotten nation or maybe even when he still traveled with his sister. He wanted to keep this feeling forever and never let it go.

“Aether…” you breathe out. “It feels as if you’re the only one I can trust.”

He smiles, hearing you say his name was exhilarating.

“You can always trust me Your Grace. I will never deceive you.”

The hand that you had on his cheek is now trapped by his own, he didn’t want you to pull away. Not yet.

“I will help you, Khaenri’ah will be restored and Celestia will pay for it’s sins.”

His smile turns into a full blown grin, “Your Grace I am honored that I am able to work with you.”

-

-

Note: I am so sorry for the looonnnngggg wait for this part but I am super happy how the ending came out. Now I will focus on the asks in my inbox so if you were on of the lovely anons that left a request, trust me, I didn’t forget about you! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this I luv you!

Taglist: @esthelily @the-dumber-scaramouche @grimreapersscythe @seawater-aurelia-writing @probablynoposts @genshin-impacts-me @itsredactedlove @chidouna @thedevioussmirk @hoo-hoo @chaoticfivesworld @akemiixx01 @lunarapple @nowords-onlybreathing @fangirlinindia @veyu002 @blackcoffex @kaveh-is-pretty @ariasdream @averycuriousperson @bloopthebat @chuuya-brainrot @crazydreamcat @sparklyphantom @multistanbee @bluebelony @mokakoto @mega-trash-cringe CLOSED

[tw1l1te]

𝖋𝖆𝖑𝖘𝖊 𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖔- 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖜𝖔

ᨒ↟ ⋆｡°

“Oh, I like her already.” Wars speaks. The Vet just seems to roll his eyes, muttering something about the Captain’s ego.

You rise back into a standing position, eyeing the group again. You look back up at Time, stating, “I presume you’re the Hero of Time, based off of your moniker.”

“You would be correct, although hardly anyone calls me by that title.”

You hum at his comment, finding his humble nature pleasing. Turning to the one named Sky, you motion your hand at him, “And you must be the Hero of the Skies, or the Chosen One. The first of us, if we go by technicalities.”

He nods hesitantly, curious as to where you got all of this information about them. He would’ve been more uneasy if you weren’t a descendant, but you were one of them, after all.

“Why… do you call yourself the Forgotten Hero?” he asks.

You smile solemnly at him, “Because this era has been doomed. Utterly and completely in decay. By the time my quest is done, Hyrule, or what remains of it will collapse and rebuild itself over thousands of years. I will be too hidden in the past to be remembered.”

You take a small breath before continuing, admitting the truth out loud.

“I will also be forgotten because I’m not you, or your descendants. I’m not the traditional male hero. Quite the anomaly, aren’t I?”

He seems conflicted by your statement, eyebrows furrowing together.

“But if you’re the only female so far, wouldn’t that make you more memorable? The heroine of Hyrule?”

“Maybe in another life, but not this one. I’m considered a disgrace of a hero by most people outside of my village and a few others spanned across the land.”

“Why would you say that? Didn’t you save everyone from destruction?”

You smile sadly, “The destruction happened years before I was born. If anything, I caused more of it.”

He takes a moment to think before asking the inevitable question.

“Link… who exactly did you defeat?”

Your eyes snap back up at him, making sure he was looking right at you. The information you were about to reveal was going to create the rift of the ages. It was now or never.

“Hylia.”

~

The room was silent for a few minutes, the only sound being heard was the loud blizzard beyond the splintered walls of the shack. The loud silence made you wish the shack would finally collapse in on itself.

Sky finally speaks, eyes glued to you. 

“W-what do you mean by that? You’re saying she caused all of this?”

You sighed, knowing he was one of the more… innocent followers of her. 

“Well, a few thousand years after the Era of the Wilds, there started to be a lot of… religious issues surrounding Hylia. A lot of questionable and downright disgusting practices. It caused people to start grouping up and separating, causing the nations of Hyrule to close off from each other.”

Looking around the group, you take a moment to let them process the new information before continuing.

“The Rito, Zora, Gorons, Gerudo, Sheikah, and Hylians all started to conflict more and more, eventually ascending into a 50-year war, or the Reawakening. The followers of Hylia formulated a plan to resurrect her in the flesh, killing Zelda in the process.”

“A life for a life.” Time muttered, deep in thought.

“Exactly. The plan was successful, the goddess being reawoken after millennias of being dead. She came back… unrecognizable, both physically and in an ideological sense. Her morality and character had been altered so much to the point of her followers becoming a cult. The cult killed my parents, thousands of people that questioned Hylia, essentially wiping out most of the kingdom.”

“And the land? How did it come to be so… bleak?”

“Hylia is the Sun, both literally and metaphorically. The sun is technically up beyond the clouds, but the amount of destruction and chaos she brought forth made the landscape unrestorable. The entirety of Hyrule looks just like this,” you motioned out with your hand.

“Hyrule is also significantly bigger than any of yours. Probably still larger than if you were to combine the size of each of your era’s Hyrule’s. It has been a cold, snowy abyss for over 30 years now.”

The brunette piqued up, head tilting slightly, “So where is Hylia now? Hyrule Castle?”

You shake your head.

“Hyrule Castle is in utter ruins now, most use it to scavenge for rock or old weapons. I’m… not sure where she is right now, I'm trying to track her down.”

“Didn’t you say you killed her?” the Veteran asked.

“I did but… her psyche is still present. She may not have a physical body anymore, as I returned it back to its dormant state, permanently, but her essence is somewhere. Everywhere.”

Time walks up to you, arms crossed over his chest. Curse your short stature, compared to his at least.

“From what you're telling us, it seems that we were brought here to help you. We came here through a portal, and from what we’ve learned, we can’t leave an era unless we’ve completed the task at hand, regardless of our own opinions or standing on the matter.”

“What were your original plans before being brought here?” you ask.

“The Shadow and his army. It took us months to finally pin him down and defeat him.”

You remember something being mentioned in the archives about a dark version of Link, but only being a mere shadow. Now a physical form? That was something you didn’t experience in your own journey. Lucky you, you suppose.

“Right now Hyrule is… in limbo, I suppose. Hylia’s first form was defeated about a year ago and we’ve tried to track her essence down since. We don’t know if she’s using someone as a vessel or if she’s resting in some sacred grounds to gather strength. Granted, the blizzards have made it significantly harder to even make it past the woods.”

Four, one of the shortest and most colorful of the Link’s speaks.

“So where exactly are we, based off of older maps?”

You ponder for a moment, trying to recollect exactly what town you could use to reference the location you were in. Something that was familiar to them.

“If I were to use my ancestor’s typography maps,” pointing to Wild, “I’d say we’re in the location of the Great Plateau. The plateau collapsed in on itself thousands of years ago and grew thick forest and brush, impenetrable if you were inexperienced with the outside world.”

You take a pause before continuing.

“Though if I were to be more accurate and precise… this would be almost the exact location of Ordon Village from the Era of Twilight.”

Twilight perks up at that, intrigued by your expertise and knowledge of their past eras. 

“How do you know that name?”

“Ordon?”

He nods.

You were revealing way too much about yourself within hours of meeting your ancestors. This is definitely not what you had planned.

Sighing, you reveal another ability you had kept concealed.

“I have the memories of every hero before me. I can see and dream of their travels, their fears, desires, secrets, everything. Even their own thoughts, at times.”

Twilight’s brow furrows, confusion emulating off his features.

“Isn’t that only what the goddess reincarnated can do? How can a holder of the Triforce of Courage accomplish that?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that it started when I was seven and I have them almost every day, multiple times a day.”

Time bristles at the age it started for you: seven.

…

He was the youngest hero to start his journey.

Of course, it made sense.

The memories of the hero began as soon as his purpose was ignited.

He was going to speak again, but you beat him to it, mentioning something about supper and needing to attend to some matters.

“Once you’re fed, I’ll come find you and find you a shack to board in. It will most likely be mine, as the village is full enough as it is. Dusk and Colin will show you around a bit, let them know if you need anything.”

With that, you bundle the scarf over your face again and leave through the front door, not looking back behind you.

“...You think they saw that time I rode on a bear in just my undergarments?”

“Definitely.”

ᨒ↟ ⋆｡°

[disillusioneddanny]

The Savior, The Reaper, and The Champion

Today was a bad brain day. That was the first thing Danny had realized as he laid beside Tim and let the other man rest his head on Danny’s bicep. On the other side of the human, Conner laid down, wrapping his strong arm around the man’s waist and burying his face in between Tim’s shoulder blades. 

No one ever tells you that being a supervillain is so fucking hard. That there would be days where you struggled to even get out of bed. When they had each chosen this life, they knew it would be hard. That there would be days where they questioned if what they were doing really was for the greater good of the world–even if the Justice League didn’t see it that way. 

That was the biggest thing, Danny had mused. They weren’t really villains, not to anyone except for the Justice League and the eyes of the government. Most of the citizens in this world loved the duo.

“It’s okay, we’re here,” Danny whispered as Tim let out a sob. He ran his fingers through his hair as he and Conner held their little super genius close. Today was one of the harder days. It was the anniversary of the day Bruce Wayne had officially disowned Tim Drake. It was a bittersweet day considering how it had ended between them. On one hand, Tim had felt liberated, no longer under the thumb of Batman, the World’s Greatest Detective and Control Freak. But on the other hand, he had lost the only real father figure he had ever had. 

The day Tim had gone on his own, he had lost practically everyone. Danny wanted to hate Bruce for it, but it had also been the reason he had met Tim in the first place. It had been just five years ago now, the day that Tim had first summoned Danny. 

He pressed a kiss to Tim’s head as another sob wracked through his lithe frame and Conner’s arms tighten just a bit around Tim as the man buried his face in Danny’s chest. 

“We’re here, we love you,” Conner whispered in Tim’s ear, voice hushed, calming. 

They had met just a few days after Tim had gotten into a screaming match with Bruce–a fight that Conner and Danny still didn’t have all the details for. He had gone off on his own, determined to destroy the League of Assassins once and for all and to have Ra’s Al Ghul die by his hand. He had summoned the Ghost King to find out about the secrets of the Lazarus Waters. Upon learning about them and Ra’s, though, Danny had decided to help get rid of them for good. No one was meant to live forever, not the way Ra’s was doing it at least. It was easy to say that once Danny learned of how the assassin cult was using the corrupted ectoplasm, he was more than ready to help take them down.

Between the two of them, they had completely destroyed the League and Ra’s. Upon learning about it, Tim’s family had been horrified. Apparently they had been holding out hope that he wouldn’t go through with his plans, that he wouldn’t fall so far and fast from the pedestal he had once stood on as Red Robin. They had cut him off, decided that Tim had crossed a line and they were unwilling to forgive him for it. Surprisingly, the only one who had stayed in touch was Jason. 

“Family pariahs have to stick together,” he had said. It also hadn’t helped that Danny had managed to heal the pit rage inside of him and supplement it with a healthy ghost core. 

The others, though, had declared Tim a rogue for his actions. Dick had even gone as far as saying that Tim had hit supervillain status and was on the same level as Lex Luthor. Danny didn’t see it that way. In his opinion, all they had done was get rid of an organization that would never truly stop killing, no matter how many times Batman and co. fought them. 

“I just want to forget about it,” Tim whispered, his fingers bunched in Danny’s shirt. 

After they had destroyed the league, the couple had fallen in love, they had finally found someone who was at the same level. They were the perfect puzzle pieces for one another. And once Danny had felt close enough to Tim, he had told him his trauma, shared with him the pain he had never told another living soul. 

And Tim? Well he went out that very night and placed a few explosives in just the right spots. And they had done their jobs. The GIW and the Fentons would never harm Danny again. He had the vivisection scars to remind him of the pain that they had caused but he would never see them again. It was then that the young ghost king had decided that he would follow Tim to the ends of the earth, do whatever Tim wanted from him. 

He may have been the Ghost King but Tim was his monarch and he was prepared to worship him any time and any place, prepared to do whatever bidding he desired. And it was then that Savior and Reaper had made their names known far and wide. 

Tim had declared himself the savior, promising to destroy those that the Justice League were too cowardly to fight, and he had declared Danny his loyal right hand man, his knight to command, his reaper. 

The people saw them as heroes, finally doing what others wouldn’t. Everyone else saw them as supervllains. TIm liked to call themselves the necessary evils. Conner liked to say that they were just doing what the heroes were too cowardly to do. They were willing to darken their own souls if it meant saving others. 

They had run into Conner shortly after Reaper and Savior had killed the Joker and sent his soul to the Nightmare Realm where he would suffer for all of eternity. He had known Tim from his heroes days and knew that if anyone would help him, it would be Tim. Soon Savior, Reaper and their newest member,Champion, had made their move and Lex Luthor had become their newest target. For a man who had done so much damage, it had been laughable at how easy it was to kill him once and for all. Danny had made sure to give him a special place in the Nightmare Realms for the pain he had caused Conner.

The team had made a name for themselves, they hadn’t come up with a name but Danny had heard the whispers of stories and myths, of how others would reverently call them the world’s new furies. They had become gods of vengence. Tim had been likened to Alecto for being unceasing, Danny had been compared to Tisiphone for being avenging, and Conner had been dubbed Megaera for being grudging.

So they had taken it for themselves, the Furies of the New World they were called, or just Furies for short. 

“I know you do, baby,” Danny murmured. “But it’s a part of you, it’s who you are.”

“I miss them,” Tim said with a whimper, curling in on himself. Oh their fearless leader, Tim who had called himself Savior and swore to protect the world from injustice, who despite himself being powerless himself, kept two of the most powerful beings on tight leashes behind him, ready to unleash them into the world on his command. And yet he still was just so small, he trusted Danny and Conner so much that he allowed them to see through the facade, to force their way through the cracks and see the broken man he had become. 

Some say that you have to sell your soul to become a fighter for the people. Danny was pleased to say it wasn’t true, he saw Tim’s soul, saw his love to his bones and knew him better than anyone in the world.  

“I miss talking to Alfred, sparring with Bruce, late night Bat Burger with Dick–I miss my life. I just, was this all a mistake? Is Bruce right? Did we go too far in our mission? Did I lose my family for nothing?” Tim whispered, wracking his fingers through Danny’s hair, petting him slowly. The ghost nearly purred at his lover’s touch. 

“We can stop if you want,” Danny offered quietly. “I can get Clockwork to reset time, let us start all over, let you decide-”

“No,” Tim said sternly. “I don’t want to forget what we’ve done. We’ve helped too many people for that. I’m just being a baby,” he said softly, folding in on himself slightly. 

“We can have Danny take us to a completely different dimension,” Conner offered, his thumb rubbed along Tim’s hipbone. “We can make new lives, leave all of this behind. We’ll make you happy, Tim, happier than you can even imagine.”

“We’re still needed,” Tim said, squeezing his eyes shut tight. “We still have so much to make right, to fix. I just miss the life I had, it doesn’t mean I hate the new one. I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be,” Danny told him seriously, moving to rest his head on his hand and looked down at Tim. “We all have our days. Timmy, my parents cut me apart limb from limb and there are still days I miss them, where I miss the life I had before all of this. It’s how the world goes.”

“The two of you make life so much easier,” Tim whispered, looking between his two lovers, tears collected in the corners of his eyes. Conner swiped a thumb across both, wiping them away. “I’m glad I have both of you here with me, I feel less insane, less out of control.”

“You’re not insane or out of control,” Danny murmured before he pressed forward and kissed Tim’s pouty lips softly. 

“Yeah,” Conner murmured, pushing Tim’s shirt up slowly so that he could tweak a nipple softly. “You’re our fearless leader.”

“And we’re your strong henchmen,” Danny finished, and nipped at Tim’s nose, making his precious lover giggle.

“You aren’t henchmen, we’re partners,” Tim argued, glaring at both of them. Danny and Conner just grinned at one another before they looked at Tim. 

“Nope,” Conner said. “You’re the brains and we’re the brawn.”

“We’ll follow you anywhere,” Danny said reverently. “Why do you think I call you my Northstar?”

[intothedysphoria]

It was expected that moving in together, there’d be some initial teething problems but Steve hadn’t quite thought that Billy was going to break his bubbe’s antique vase with a yo-yo.

Well, in fairness, Steve had seen Billy do far worse. Drop a baseball bat onto a car windshield from a third floor window, vandalising the mayors office, that one time he threatened to establish a nudist cult. Billy lived to shock people and now that they were in a relationship, Steve appeared to be the prime target.

Fucking hell.

The relationship wasn’t exactly public and the moving in wasn’t exactly official, which may have been causing some of the tension. Neil Hargrove would still rock up every night, screaming every word under the sun at Billy but never stepping a foot over the threshold. Because he was a coward, Billy said. But he was still spooked.

Thus, coming to the point where Billy had smashed his bubbe’s antique vase with a yo-yo. Breathing heavily with shards of pottery imbedded deep into his hand. Then he looked up at Steve, audibly gulped and ran for the bathroom.

It took a while to get Billy out. He’d point blank refuse if he was in one of his bad patches, seeming to prefer to simmer in isolation than to turn to help. But Steve was patient and always wore him down. He just had to sit and wait.

Eventually the bathroom door opened with a quiet flick of the lock. Billy’s face was unusually blank, apart from the red rimmed eyes that clearly denoted that he’d been crying. Steve cautiously tried to go in for a hug only to get a grunted “I’m fucking fine Harrington” and an angry teenager barrelling past him.

Which was not exactly ideal.

Steve cleared up the shattered vase on the floor, silently apologised to all his cousins who were still in Romania and knocked on Billy’s door. The groan of acknowledgment made Steve feel like he was good to come in.

What Billy had managed to do was bleed all over the floor and go through about ten cigarettes if the slowly growing pile on the floor was anything to go by. Steve’s offer to clean up his hands got an eye roll but no obvious resistance so he went ahead.

It wasn’t until Steve had managed to create a rudimentary bandage for Billy’s hands that Billy actually looked at him, now appearing more than slightly sheepish. There was a blush slowly rising over his cheeks that looked so genuinely adorable Steve just wanted to kiss it.

Instead he pulled back and asked “you doing ok Hargrove?”

Billy snapped “why the fuck wouldn’t I be” which didn’t exactly bode well for Steve’s plan to sort the situation out and put it to bed.

“Well you know, you seemed kind of upset earlier so I thought I’d ask” Steve had learned over the months of knowing Billy that it was best to not sound accusatory and instead act like it was no big deal.

Billy stayed silent for a few minutes while Steve just waited for him to be ready to form a response until he blurted out “it just pisses me off so much how he treats us. It’s bullshit!”

Steve didn’t need to ask who the “he” Billy referred to was. Instead he set a hand on Billy’s knee in a way that would hopefully be soothing, not annoying and rubbed small circles on Billy’s leg while he breathed.

“I know” Billy looked up quizzically, clearly wondering where Steve was going with this. “I know it’s bullshit and I wish it were different now but it will be in the future I promise. We’re gonna move you back to Cali, Neil’s sorry ass is gonna stay here and everyone who ever hurt you can get fucked. Ok?”

Billy sniffed loudly before nodding an affirmative, then wrapping Steve into his arms, doing what Steve knew he’d swear later wasn’t crying. He then leaned in to give Steve a surprisingly tender kiss on the lips and smacked his ass. Something Steve probably should have expected.

“Come on, let’s go watch Halloween before Munson holds us hostage because we haven’t watched a John Carpenter yet.”

Things weren’t perfect after that. Neil was still an ever looming presence in their lives, Billy still got pissed off and broke shit, they still fought pretty much weekly at least and Steve had expected that. It was what he’d signed up for in dating Billy. But Billy was still out to shock people.

Leaning across Billy’s chest, not dealing with a horror film nearly as well as Billy was but still having a hand gently squeezing his shoulder to make sure he was ok was the best shock Steve had ever been given.

[romana-after-dark]

Room's on Fire: Girl on Fire

Dark!Santiago Garcia x Fem!Reader Dark!Francisco Morales x Fem!Reader Dark!William Miller x Fem!Reader Dark!Benjamin Miller x Fem!Reader

Also: FishBen, and an assortment of other M/M relationships (no Millercest). Everyone is Bisexual

Series Masterlist: Main Masterlist : MainTaglist

Spotify playlist

Summery: Everyone is together, everything is complete.

Warnings and Content:

DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT

DUB CON MOSTLY but there WILL BE NON CON. Major character deaths, forced breeding, physical abuse, brainwashing, manipulation, violence, gore, alcoholism/addiction, BIG OLE BLASPHEMY WARNING like this cult appropriates a lot of religious themes and they call reader their Madonna, Santi is called the Pope, like all that stuff. However, this is a cult so I mean. It happens. None of it are my thoughts on religion or meant to make fun of religion or demonize religious people. Disgusting views on virginity. Attempted rape outside the boys. T*m warning. Age gap. Creepy terrible men. Non-reader rape, dub con, violence. Covert incest, massive mommy issues, sexual abuse all around, past grooming by parental figure. no CSA but the victim isn't much older. some Bates Motel type shit. I cannot properly warn you for everything, without just telling the story but consider this a major warning that there are dark dark themes. No one involved here is morally clean, and who you perceive as the good guy cannot be relied on. Don't come to my story and say im romanticizing these things until at least the story ends.

WARNINGS HAVE BEEN UPDATED!!!

Extra warnings for chapter: Pregnancy, breeding kink, violent sex, domestic violence on a man, gunshots, references to murder,, death, torture, all the horrors. The end was disturbing even to me, so read with caution. If you find the end was too much, just ask me what happens and I'll tell you. not super plot important but like it was pointed out, the sex is how we see dynamic shifts. Mentions of mpreg fantesy but no mpreg will happen bc they arent actually god, just insane.

3.7k words

A/N: Some pov shifts. Madonna, Jonah, Rey, Santi all get POV's.

A.N2: context for song quote, Alicia wrote girl on fire after the birth of her son.

Support writers! Reblog and leave comments!

"She's on top of the world Hottest of the hottest girls say Oh, we got our feet on the ground And we're burning it down Oh, got our head in the clouds And we're not coming down This girl is on fire" ~ Girl On Fire, Alicia Keys

“It’s okay, you’re gonna do great.” Rey assured her, sitting on a table in the dressing room despite a chair being right there. His lanky legs liked to dangle, you noticed, or sometimes perch up in high places. He reminded you of a bird sometimes, lithe and graceful and seemed to float on his feet.

“What if they don’t like me? What if something happens? What if there’s another uprising or someone wants revenge on me because of my dad-”

“The people love you, and they were going to love you even more with this announcement. Jonah’s not going to let anything happen to you, you know that.”

Your face grows warm at the mention of Jonah. He had acted distant with you since the instance of Frankie and you on the horse, and wouldn’t let you see his face when he showed up the next morning with bruises. In fact, you’d hardly seen him at all. Rey was your primary guard, and Will had talked about moving your room to one with an attached room for Reyansh so that he could stay with you at all times. It seemed everyone knew Iris and Rey were an item, or at least they understood Reyansh was not a threat. You had begged Will not to switch around rooms. The reason given was that you liked your room, but really, you were hoping that you’d be moved into a room with one of your husbands. You weren’t visited by the incubus the night they all slept in your room.

Still, Jonah looked out for you. Under your dress right now was his bulletproof vest. 

A knock on the door.

“Come in.” Iris called to the door, still working on your hair.

Will entered the room. “Are you ready, Madonna?”

Before you opened your mouth, Iris replied. “You could use her real name, you know.”

Will didn’t look at her, keeping his eyes on you. “Her name is irrelevant, her position is everything.” When he turns and sees Reyansh, Will frowns. “What are you doing in here?”

Iris was quick to answer his unvoiced question. “He only came in after she was dressed.”

He instructs Reyansh to ready the carriage. Once he was out, Will turned to you with a smile. “You look stunning, Madonna.” Your heart swells with love for your handsome husband, dressed in his loose white shirt. In your hair, small white flowers adored you, carefully placed and worked in by Iris’s hands. She was incredible, making your dress too. It was colorful, with a color representing all four of your husbands. Under it, a bulletproof vest. No one in delta outside of guardsmen was allowed guns, but he wanted to be safe.

“Wow…” Will whispers, taking you in. There was just the slightest swell of a bump, you wondered if it was just weight gained from eating more these few months. Will took you into his arms kissing you deeply and feeling your stomach. Iris mumbles close enough as you’re pulled away. He turns back to her only a moment. “Make sure everything is ready when we’re back, please.”

Iris sighs, “It always is, Mr. Miller.”

*

Jonah cocked his gun. “Same as last time, honey. Anything happens, you come with me. Those guys can handle themself. I get hurt, do not stop for me. Just run. Someone will come find you, you just keep yourself alive, got it?” His brown eyes were on you for the first time in a long time, and you relaxed. Jonah’s eyes always calm you. It’s scary, knowing you were responsible for not just you, but someone else as well. The priestess stood at the balcony to the side, your husbands flanking you. Pope to your right, Francisco to your left, Ben to his left and Will to Popes right. Just as you were married.

“Men! Women! Children of Delta!” She shouts to the crown. “I present your Gods and your Madonna!” The crowd erupts into screams, and your heart fills with love for your people. “And!” A hush falls over the ground, waiting breaths quiet as they wait for the news. “I present to you, THE SAVIOR!”

The sound was deafening, a noise that shocked you and made you stumble back. To your surprise, Pope was behind you. It was a greater surprise when he rucked up your skirt.

Immediately your hands, out of instinct, go to bring the material down but his fingers quickly dig into your skin, warning you to behave. So, you stand there, humiliated, left hand gripping Francisco’s tighter. Pope loved you, he loved you and he’d never do something just to humiliate you! How stupid of you for feeling that way. This child was long prayed for, they and your body belonged to your husbands, belonged to Delta. Pope lifted your dress over the small bump,exposing your underwear to the crown. No one outside of your husband, a few house motherns and prefects had seen you in your underwear, so this was difficult…

But then Pope kissed your neck, and the worries melted away. Will, Francisco and Ben come to you, each placing a hand on your stomach as the priestess shouts, reaffirming that the savior’s parentage was of all four, that each of your husbands fathered this baby. You were called the vessel for their seed.

Then, you were placed on a tour. On a sitting carriage with all 4 of your husbands, you were paraded around to cheering people, the faces of women from your dormitory and even your room recognizable in the crowds. One woman whose bed was next to yours shot you a deadly glare as you passed by. She was mean, frequently detailing her escapades with Ben and throwing your own lack of attention in your face, but who was laughing now? Ben choose her for a short term fuck. You had a greater purpose.

When you reached the mansion again, the gates were crowded with people reaching out for you, and although there was fear as the mass of the crowd grew, there was also power. The savior of the broken, the beaten and the damned lay in your holy womb, you were the bringer of life. YOU were the divine mother.

The gunshot brought you back to reality.

*

“WILL!” You scream as your husband is shot backwards, stumbling into his brother’s arms who he shoved out of the way of the bullet. Jonah didn’t care about Will, however. He didn’t care about Ben falling at him brothers side under the weight. He didn’t even care about Francisco scrambling to grab at Ben in the chaos, and he certainly didn’t care about Santiago dragging Frankie away.

He cared about, sobbing in his arms desperately trying to get to your fallen love. Jonah wrapped an arm around you and pulled you away into the riotous, scampering crowd. You needed to get away from the shooter. 

“NO!” You bawl loudly. Howling that he’s dying, that you need to be with him, but Jonah didn’t give a shit about that prick. He calls to Reyansh, who jumped out of the carriage the second the gun goes off. It was intentional, having Rey at the helm with him; only Rey would care enough about you out of all the guardsmen that Jonah could depend on him. Into the madness, you wouldn’t stop screaming and that rainbow dress of yours was not helping the situation. 

“Rey! The tunic!” Jonah had to spin you around to disorient you enough to make you stop fighting in your hysteria, forcing your arms up while Rey slid a long, brown standard tunic over your body, making you blend into the neutral tones on the crown. Jonah clamped down over your mouth and pulled you away as the center of the shooting grew further away, Reynash covering you both. Once at the posting for a guard, Rey held you as Jonah mounted the steed and pulled you up, riding off with you.

*

You hadn't stopped sobbing for hours. Reyansh watched in concern, wanted so badly to comfort you lest the heaving and thrashing harm the baby or yourself. Rey loved children, he couldn’t wait for a day he could take Iris away and raise a family together, to finally be with her intimately and live a life with her. 

Even if children weren’t in the picture (Iris wanted one in theory, but was hesitant to bring one into this world, understandably.) he’d cherish a life growing old with his lover. Maybe they’d some orphaned child; Iris had a soft spot for children in need. Her maternal instincts are why, despite not wanting to be friends or even really know her, Iris took care of the girl. Iris had ten years on the naive child. Continuously, she had warned him about keeping his distance, not raising suspicion that anything was happening between him and the girl, but it wasn’t his fault she was damn delightful. However, despite her obvious beauty, talents and sweet demeanor, nothing compared to Iris.

Reyansh could wax poetry about her all day long, and often did. He barely had any free time, most of the pockets of time he had, Rey liked to help Iris with her Herculean tasks, the laundry and dishes like Sisyphus and the boulder. He couldn’t take away the fact the next day would be filled with more dishes, more wall washing, more cooking, but he’d gladly sacrifice an hour of sleep so she could gain one. With him at all times, however, was his notebook and pen. As he sat at a mount or perch Rey liked to try his hand at poetry and writing. 

Sometimes it was about the beauty of nature, the flowers he planted and gardens he kept, how they gave him joy during difficult times. Sometimes it was about the complex nature of family, of Iris and Jonah, Santiago and what he knew of Beatriz, which wasn’t much, the strained love and hatred between Will and Ben, or his own desire for fatherhood. Sometimes he wrote about the 5 lovers, the girl, the men who claimed to be gods, how each individual relationship strengthened them and weakened them in their own ways and how the girl changed things for better or for worse. Mostly, he just wrote about Iris, the prettiest flower he had.

He caught a glimpse of Jonah at the window, motioning him to come out. This safe house was his idea. Apparently, he and Marcus used to escape here sometimes.

Rey tries to tell you he’s stepping outside but you aren’t listening, curled up in a ball on the bed sobbing. He makes his exit.

Once outside, Jonah offers him a sip from his flask but Rey declines.

“I was going to ask how she is, but I can hear my answer.” The sound of you wailing penetrates the walls.

“How Will?”

“He’ll live, unfortunately.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah.” Jonah sighs, lighting a cigarette. “Wish those fuckers would just die.”

There was a long pause, Reyansh thinking hard before saying what he was thinking. He didn’t defy or talk back to Jonah, he respected him as his superior and, for all intents and purposes, his father in law. But Jonah was flawed. “You’re the one with a gun, Jonah”

Jonah inhaled a long drag before answering in a puff of smoke. “We’ve been over this.” He walked into the safe house.

They had talked, several times. Rey wanted Iris out but he didn’t have much power and knowledge. Jonah had the gun and a hundred reasons not to. There was no way to kill all 4 because everyone was armed. The community would riot. There was no where safe to go. A failed attempted would end Iris’s life. All these may be true, Jonah did have 4 decades of guard experience… but really, Rey thought he was just a coward, and maybe he cared for Pope and/or Francisco more than he’d like to admit. He’d been with those two since infancy, helped raise them, been a father figure most of their lives… it was understandable.

When he walked into the house, it was to crying but this time, relieved. He must have told her Will would be okay. You had your arms wrapped around his neck and he held you close to him, rubbing your back.

“It’s gonna be okay, honey, everyone’s gonna be just fine.”

*

Ben was changing Will’s bandages when you walked in and it made you nauseous to see the blood. Jonah said the bullet went straight through, that he’d be okay he just needed to rest, but the sight was disturbing.

Will groans. “Baby, don’t want you seeing me like this.”

Benny flicks his brothers arm. “Let her be, she was worried about you.”

The older Miller grumbled, but allowed you to kneel his side. He thumbed away a tear, “Don’t cry for me, beautiful girl.”

“What happened?” You sniffle, looking between Benny and Will.

“A girl from the dorms, she took the gun off a guard and tried to shoot-”

Ben interrupted. “You, Madonna.” He looked to his brother. “Melody, your old roommate, she tried to shoot you out of jealousy, she wanted to be with me. Will pushed you aside, took the bullet.”

You blink at that. Melondy wanted to shoot you? She wanted you dead? And Will. was he even standing by you? “But… I don’t remember being pushed.”

“Oh sweet girl…” Will cood. “Do you not remember? Poor thing, it was probably so traumatic-”

“No, I remember-”

“Your brain probably blocked a lot of it out, repressed it to protect you.”

Yeah, yeah that made sense. Memory was fragile. Will winced and Ben finished cleaning him and you took his hand as a new packing kit was applied. “Thank you for saving me…” You kiss his hand, feeling the rough knuckles warm skin. “For saving our baby…”

You fell asleep beside him that night, laying on his chest. He was warm, firm, inviting and protective. Nothing mattered more than the fact your husbands and your baby were safe.

Melody was dead. After the first shot missed, she approached where the four men had gathered intent on finding you, but Ben said Pope shot her square in the forehead, that he protected you while Jonah and Reyansh took you to safety. Ben said he had stood in front of his brothers and you, fearless, brave and bold. Pope loved his people, but he loved you most of all.

When you awoke, it was lae evening and although you wanted to go back to sleep, after some tossing and turning you realized you could. Not wanting to wake Will, you check his pulse and breathing, both strong and head out of the room to see if anyone is up. You know they dont like you wandering around the mansion without protection but you weren’t a child.

After Jonah and Rey had taken you back home, you were desperate to see William, but Pope demanded your presence with Francisco, both holding you tightly and checking you over again and again, tell you how precious you were, how loved. Pope knelt in front of you, hands on your belly, kissing it. You were thankful to have such loving and protective husbands. Despite the horrors of today, you felt blessed beyond measure 

You came to the kitchen first seeing a light on. Sometimes Benny liked late night snacks. Instead, you see Iris and Reyansh slow dancing in the kitchen. Iris was actually smiling. No doubt Rey was fearful of his own women’s safety being forced in the cabin with you for so long after a riot broke out right outside where she was. Silent, you step away from the cute lovers and allow them their time. Rey helped save your life today, you needed to thank him, and thank Iris for all she did for your family, you were lucky to have them both.

You try to see if Pope is awake next. When you approach his room, the grunting sounds make you stop, peaking through the slightly cracked door. Pope was on top of Francisco, fucking into his ass with his legs bent up into a press. It was a position he used on you many a time. Francisco was a puddle beneath him, his curls stuck to the sweat on his head. He looked incredible. The way Pope kissed him so deep… You couldn’t help feeling warm inside. How lucky you were that your husbands loved each other so much.

Ben was found in the gym. For a moment, you merely watch him. Shirtless in his red shorts and throwing punches at a punching bag. He probably had so much energy in him after everything today, watching his brother bleeding in his arms. She knew they didn’t always get along, Ben holding anger for Will so often and over what, you couldn’t yet discern. Maybe this tragedy would bring them back together. You admire his body, carved out and chiseled in perfect form. 

You loved the bodies of all your husbands, in each and every different.

Will was largess; tall, muscular, wide everywhere. Everywhere. His body consumed you just as yours consumed him; he was like a shield, metaphorically and now literally.

Santiago was softer. A small belly that was only noticeable when he was bent over, plush though and a moon shaped ass. He was all curves, from his nose down to his calved you had massaged so ardently.

If Pope was soft, Francisco was a pillow. Heavy weight surrounded him, the broad expanse of his shoulders to the fat at his waist and you just wanted to bury your face into it, you want to bite, nibble, and worship the pudge that spilled over his pants.

Ben was lean, the tallest of them and slim hips under rippling muscles. Golden God, beholden before you and it was as if his glory radiated off him. Despite the strength he was light on his feat. He could have been a boxer in another life.

“How are you feeling?” His deep voice breaks the tranfiction of the way his body moved, stilling the punching bag.

“I’m good, just woke from a nap with Will.”

Still looking away, Ben nodded. His mood matched the storm clouds out the window. After wiping his face, Benny chugged water and then finally made his way over to you in long, quick strides. His eyes flashed with the lightning outside.

*

Pope fucked Frankie with a fury he couldn’t recall in years. Frankie had defined him, ignoring his orders to leave but no, he wanted to stay with Ben. 

“You don’t think I wanted Ben and Will safe too?” He growled in his lovers ear. 

“I know!”

“You’re more important!”

He almost lost Will, Ben, the savior, and most importantly Frankie today. The girl would pay, fuck she’d pay. He couldn’t do anything Madonna might see, she thinks she’s dead already… no, a gunshot was to quick for someone trying to harm his family, but he’d make her suffer.

His anger toward Francisco wouldn't be helped when today, when he went to make love to Frankie, he found him in Ben's arms, cumming on his hand.

*

Ben had you pinned against the wall, fucking into you with your legs hitched around his narrow hips. The wind outside picked up speed, displaying his anger, his frustration, his love and his lust. You let him take you, fucking into your pregnant womb with his face tucked in your neck. You felt as if you were floating, like you were the center of the world right now. The sun God orbited you. Someone had tried to take you from him, a women he used to claim as his own but she had been cast aside for a reason. In her jealousy, she though she could regain her place at his side but that was foolish. Ben would never have loved her the way he loved you, the way he loved his husbands. Will, Francisco and Pope could never love her. 

She was not the Madonna.

She could never carry the savior.

She could only ever have a bastard.

*

“Gonna fill you up, Frank.” Pope grunted, breath hot against Francisco's cheek, mouth to mouth, lips to lips. “Gonna fill up this tight little hole of yours until you’re pregnant with my baby, you got that?”

Frank’s eyes went wide. “Santi, wha-” But he stopped when Santiago slapped him. This shocked Frankie, Santi didn’t slap him, he didn’t hurt him like that…

“Take it!” Santiago screams, tears of anger blurring his eyes. He chose Ben over him. He’d rather stay in danger with Ben than safety with him. “Your mine, under stand?!” When Frankie didn’t answer right away, Pope gripped his jaw and felt a warm tear fall down his cheek. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!”

*

Long fingers gripping your asscheeks, digging into the sensitive skin.

Firm abs rubbing against your body.

Hips stimulating your clit.

A finger fucking into your asshole. 

Everything was better than your wildest dreams. No incubus, a child on the way, friends and family. This was a life your father tried to take from you, but you were like gold that’s tested in fire.

Ben came inside when the thunder cracked, lightning still flashing and illuminating him with light. He muttered Francisco’s name.

*

“YES!” Francisco shouted in pain, face grimacing. “I’m yours! I’m yours Santi, fill me up! Make me-” He swallowed, tears forming at his long lashes. He gritted his teeth. “Make me p-pregnant!”  Francisco was saying anything that'd make Santi stuff, just to make him cum and end this. He just wanted it over. All of it. He didn't understand why he wasn't allow to be happy, to feel safe, to have peace. Instead he had to submit to Santi's whims just like Beatriz.

Santiago tucked his face into his lovedrsneck, biting him as he came inside. Whimpering, tears streaming wildly down his face, Santiago bit into Frankie’s tender flesh: neck, then shoulder, till finally he just continuously bit into the skin on his large arm, drawing the blood and bruising the skin. It hurt like hell, Frankie's head thrashing back and forth on the pillow trying to take the pain and bare it. Santiago's tears mixed with blood as he finished cumming, thrusts slowing into a lul.

Francisco didn’t know where his body ended and Santi’s began.

He wanted Ben, to be held and protected by him. To be touched gently, with love. To be not possessed but show off so that he knew Ben was proud of him, proud of what they had, not what the fuck Santigo was doing to him. He wanted Madonna with her sweet kisses and open adoration. He wanted Will with his healing nature, tender hands on his arching, bleeding arm. He wanted anything but Santi’s touch right now.

Santiago curled behind Francisco. His hand rested on Frankie’s stomach.

***********

This disturbed me writing the end asdfghjkl

Madonna crying Reminds me of tww bonus chapter where little one thinks joel is dead and is just ugly sobbing

Madonna has... a lot to process today, and absolutly no therapy and no one she can be honest with about what she's witnessing.

I hope you all enjoyed... or .... something....???

Thoughts on Santis episode, Benny having a fit because he wanted Frankie but had to take madonna, will being shot, madonna is pregant, rey's thoughts!!!!! Jonah protecting madonna, etc.

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love you all dearly <3 I hope to get at least one more tf fic for the triple frontier anniverary evnt before the end, and maybe something else like a TWW bonus chapter i've been wanting, but no gurantees. next week is spring break and i have 10k worth of commissions to write so il be busy! I wanna get the last chapter of my handmaids tale au out though, end that baby <3

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[lorelaisdiary]

Content warnings: reader is female and uses she/her pronouns, internalized misogyny, physical violence, abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, mentions of starvation, and child neglect.

Johnny Cade x Female! Reader - Sinners

Summary: You were stuck in a very religious household and were raised to believe that bad things would happen if you didn’t follow the rules set for you perfectly. When you meet Johnny Cade, an innocent boy who just wants what’s best for you, he shows you what affection and love is when given in a healthy dosage and not used in a detrimental way. When you finally open up to him about your family, Johnny decides he wants to get you out before something bad happens to you.

Author’s note: I’m so sorry that this took so long!! I’ve been experimenting and rewriting this to fix everything. I’ve also been going back and forth between multiple of my stories so I don’t burn myself out! I do genuinely wonder what churches and all were like back then. I know there was a LOT of cults back then which was what originally inspired this. I will be coming back to proofread this/fix any dialogue that doesn’t make much sense for Johnny. Also, please give constructive criticism!:)

Word count: 5.2K+

You were on your knees, murmuring a quick prayer. You didn’t want to be outcasted or damned for missing even one prayer and that was something that was beat into you as a child. You kept your hands clasped tightly together as you heard snickering coming from behind you.

You ignored it, knowing it was those boys that had come in randomly during the sermon. You stopped yourself from thinking anything bad about the people laughing. God told you that it wasn’t your place to judge and you trusted him. You wouldn’t judge the boys no matter how many cruel words they spoke.

You felt the tears before they even started to try and fall. You had stood up from the altar and wiped the tears away quickly, hoping no one saw you. The fear of being seen crying wasn’t too strong as everyone already called you overly sensitive so it didn’t matter much if they saw you crying. You went to sit back beside your family, who were all smiling at you as if you had done some good deed by praying.

In your eyes, that was the least of your good deeds. Why didn’t any of the other times get noticed? It wasn’t like it mattered that they didn’t because you weren’t supposed to be praised for doing the bare minimum but it was still upsetting.

A woman sitting beside you smiled down at you and nodded with no actual reason. Well, you thought she was saying hello without speaking. That’s how the people in your class said hello without ever speaking. You found it entertaining but never acted how they did because it was unladylike in every way.

You smiled at the woman and looked back to the preacher who was getting louder by the second. You crossed your arms as you licked your dry lips.

You would do anything to get out of the church but God wouldn’t appreciate you hating his love the way you were. You closed your eyes and looked down towards the ground as you began rapidly praying. Begging for forgiveness that you knew wouldn’t come easily, you felt your heart release the heaviness of your sins. You wouldn’t tell a soul of your true sins. The ones that keep you up late into the night; the ones that make you miss the days you would smoke cigarettes to calm yourself.

You heard the sermon slowly come to an end and you stood up without much thought as you walked into the aisle. Your parents followed you as you walked out of the church without speaking to anyone. Your mom followed you as she let out a sigh. “Your father needs to speak with the pastor so he said we could head on home.” She smiled as she placed a hand on your shoulder. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving!” She started leading you away from the church as you looked over your shoulder. A group of teenage boys had walked out of the building with one specifically watching you walk away.

Your eyes looked towards a random tree after making eye contact with the adorable boy. You thought he was handsome but you felt a certain disgust for feeling that. You were going to marry a man of your father’s choice. After all, he knew what men were like and would choose based on which man could provide for you and your future family.

Your mom pressed a kiss to your forehead as she held you tightly against her. “Do you want to start exercising more?” Your mom suddenly questioned aloud as she ran a hand through your hair. “I think we should go on more walks and get out of the house more. You’re homeschooled and have nothing else to do and I usually have our home cleaned with food on the table long before it’s needed.” She rambled on and on as you stopped.

Your house was in front of the two of you as you grabbed your mom’s hand from your shoulder and began leading her up the concrete pathway that paved the path you needed to take.

Your stomach growled angrily as you felt hunger pains spread throughout your stomach. When was the last time you ate? You couldn’t remember as you felt you still didn’t deserve to eat. You took a moment to look around your house. Your mom was trying to redecorate as much as possible for Easter. You were feeling disappointment that winter had almost ended and it was soon to be summer.

You enjoyed bundling up in the warmest of clothes while also having reason to light a fire in the fireplace. You felt your face flush as you looked in the mirror that was hung in the living room and noticed that the strap of your bra had slipped down your shoulder. Your mom watched as you pulled it up with a struggle.

“You know, you don’t have to panic when it’s just me. I have breasts, too.” You looked at her with the widest of eyes she’d or anyone had ever seen on you.

“Mom! It’s immodest to ever allow anyone to see anything that only a husband should see!” You snapped as you ran up to your room in fear of being seen as a… you couldn’t bring yourself to think the word.

You collapsed on your bed as sobs filled the empty space beside you. You were ashamed, hurt, sad. You couldn’t understand the emotions that flowed endlessly through your body.

You grabbed the comforter from the end of your bed and brought it up closer to you as you flipped and turned every which way to get comfortable. You grabbed the stuffed animal that laid beside you and hugged it close to you. You were tired and you didn’t want to be involved with anything else for that day. You had gone to church and you had prayed to God to get you out.

You closed your eyes as you slowly drifted off to sleep.

You grabbed the piece of toast off of your plate and licked your lips at the buttery taste. You were going to the library soon to find the second to the last book in a fantasy series that you had picked up.

You grabbed your purse and started to walk out of your house with a tired sigh leaving you. You wanted more sleep but you also wanted more time to yourself. Your dad had come home with another man. He told you the man was a pastor from a nearby church that wanted to talk about God with your family.

You walked down the broken sidewalk with a frown plastered on your family. You were nervous to be out in public without one of your parents with you as they told you a lot of bad people liked to prey on young girls such as yourself. It made you nervous to even look out the window some days with the things they told you.

You sped up as the wind blew a little harder against you. You were wearing a long dress that covered everything including your ankles while also covering your arms and shoulders. The dress was wildly blowing with the wind and for a good while, you thought you were going to fly away with the fallen leaves on the ground.

The buildings around you had gotten more abundant as you seen the library in the distance. You heard that same loud laughing that you heard whilst in the church which made you do a double take at the group of boys walking down the sidewalk.

Your eyes met with that of the boy who had puppy eyes. He was attractive but you forced yourself to look away from him as it was disgusting for you to feel attracted in any way to anyone until you were married. You crossed your arms and covered your breasts as you knew that your body was created to be distracting for men. You never wanted to tempt someone.

You happily pulled open the glass door to the library and walked in, feeling a sense of safety when you heard the door shut loudly behind you. You never enjoyed entering buildings. It was… terrifying for you.

You needed to find another book that would keep your thoughts solely on yourself and the characters. Your Bible had kept you pretty focused on living your life based on God but you couldn’t continue to read the same sentences over and over while pretending to completely understand the meaning.

Your eyes scanned the dozens of thick books that were laying with a layer of dust covering them. You grabbed one that had a slightly darker cover than the rest, reading the title before flipping the book over to read the back.

You heard the library door open and close loudly. You looked towards the noise and almost let out a gasp once you saw the boy with the puppy eyes. He was making eye contact with you.

You looked back down at the book that you were holding so tightly that your knuckles were white.

You watched as the boy approached you after a second, finally deciding to speak after a moment. “Uh… hey. I’m Johnny.” The boy finally sent you a shy little smile and you looked down.

“I’m R/n.” You stuck your hand out and the two of you shook hands. You were honestly shocked that he had even followed you into the library to talk to you. You felt your cheeks flush at the thought of him finding you so pretty that he wanted to talk to you.

“I saw you the other day at church and now you’re here…” Johnny’s voice sent something throughout you as he moved a hand to rub the back of his neck.

“Oh, well I appreciate you approaching me but I only date to marry. If that is why you approached me.” You lied through your teeth and it made you feel bad. You weren’t allowed to date. Your parents only wanted you to marry a nice man who would do whatever so long as it meant that you were out of their house by eighteen.

“Oh…?” Johnny sounded confused as he looked up at you. You were wearing your heels and were standing only a few inches taller than he was.

“I don’t mind! Really. I- can we just be friends?” Johnny felt his stomach continue to wrap itself in loops as he broke eye contact and began staring uncomfortably at the ground.

“Yes. I would like that.” You gripped the book in your hand as you began walking to the librarian’s desk. She took your book from your hand and before you knew it, the book was slid across the desk back to you.

Johnny continued walking with you even when his friends started calling him over. You looked at Johnny with the smallest of smiles, “you can go hang out with them, if you want. My parents are strict and wouldn’t appreciate me being around a boy without them.” Your words confused Johnny as he knew parents could be protective but why were yours wanting to be around for every little moment? You were almost an adult woman and you still heavily relied on your family which, don’t get Johnny wrong, wasn’t a bad thing but it also wasn’t healthy.

“Okay. When can I see you again?” Johnny wanted to ask you out on a date but knew you’d reject him given the opportunity which you had.

“Well, I do want to go shopping soon so if you want to come then?” You tilted your head to the left slightly, eyes staring back at Johnny’s with a certain glint in them.

“Yeah, that works.” Johnny murmured as he stared at you as if you had hung the stars in the sky.

“Well, meet me at the Summit tomorrow at twelve.” You smiled as Johnny nodded before he began walking back towards his friends.

You stared helplessly after him, feeling as if you were doing the wrong thing by allowing him to walk off like that.

You let out a sign and continued your adventure home.

“R/n? Are you done?” Your father peeked into your room to ask if you were done reading the Bible. You felt that you were as you had memorized almost every verse you were given. It was mind boggling how you could remember such complex things but forgot simple things such as how to cook a chicken breast. Maybe that’s why your parents cared so much about finding you a husband. You were still excited about the prospects of receiving love and giving it back to someone but that excitement had died down a lot since you’d seen Johnny that day at the library.

“Yes, sir.” You responded as you looked out the window. Rain was clinging to the glass as if it was its life force. You found it fascinating how the drops would hit the window and stick only for them to slowly slide down. It was a cycle that was endless and so fun to watch. Your father left you alone as you heard the thumping of his shoes on the stairs. You tried to ignore the feeling of random sadness that you had started to feel. New emotions were appearing now that you had the slightest taste of freedom.

You were excited, nervous, sad, happy, etc. all because of a boy that you would never ever get to be with in any capacity. You looked at your clock on the wall and stood up, deciding it would be better for you to go get a snack and then take a short cat nap after just to get some of your energy back.

You let out a sigh as you walked down the stairs and came face-to-chest with your father.

“What’s wrong, R/n?” He lifted a hand up only for you to walk past him quickly. You were nervous. You didn’t want to speak to your father as he would only make those feelings intensify. You sat down at the kitchen table with a frown appearing on your features.

Your mom looked at you with the smallest of smiles playing at her lips. Your plate was already made and placed down in front of you. You didn’t immediately start to eat as your father came into the kitchen and sat down at the head of the table. Your eyes watched his every move, a certain anger filling you as you watched your parents turn to each other and began a conversation.

Why did they get to do whatever they wanted, even when it counted as a sin, yet when you do something, you're deemed a demon. A sinner who will never see the pearly gates of heaven. Your mouth stayed sealed as you felt the anger dissipate into thin air as guilt overtook every other emotion. Those were your parents. They never sinned even when you believed they did because you were uneducated and you didn’t understand the Bible as much as they did.

“I met a boy today.” You finally spoke, deciding to tell your parents the truth. God would want you to tell them the full, honest truth.

Your mom leaned forward with a smile on her face, “oh, tell me about him! Is he a God fearing man? Does he understand that you aren’t willing to be intimate until marriage? What about the church's rules? Does he know them?” Your stomach twisted at your mom’s words. You closed your eyes before starting to slowly answer all of her questions.

“He is. He goes to church. I did tell him that and he was okay with it. I haven’t mentioned the rules yet.” You whispered out as you sat up a bit straighter.

Your mom had a look of excitement on her face as she started talking while your father leaned back in his chair. “You’ll have to speak with brother David.” You hated calling everyone your brother and sister. It was unfair and disgusting when people began marrying each other within the church. You thought you were all brothers and sisters. You shuddered but nodded finally.

“Okay, but I never said that I wanted to be with him.” You responded as you picked your fork up and scooped some of the mashed potatoes up onto your fork. They were creamy and perfect. You continued shoveling the food into your mouth while your mom talked to your father.

“Our daughter is growing up. Next thing we know, she’s going to be in the hospital delivering our first grandchild.” Your stomach cramped with the pain of imaginary childbirth. That pain soon drifted to your lower body as you crossed your legs with the pain finally disappearing as you stopped thinking about it.

You would hold off on giving birth for as long as you possibly could.

“She won’t be doing anything until she speaks to brother David.” Your father reiterated what he had said before and you leaned back into your chair. Well, you at least had your mom’s permission to find a lover. You also remembered the numerous conversations where he had told you that he would choose a husband for you, because you weren’t smart enough to pick a good man.

You finished the food on your plate and stood up from the table as you decided you would wash your own plate. You didn’t want to stay at the dinner table any longer than you already had. That was a waste of time in your opinion.

You let out a sigh and walked to the kitchen, scraping the leftover food off of your plate before setting the plate and fork on the countertop and turning the sink on. You loved playing within the soapy bubbles that always spread rapidly once the soap was added. It smelt good and made you feel good. It made you feel clean.

You grabbed the sponge off of the holder that kept it out of the sink. You added a little soap to it before setting the plate into the sink and washing it. By the time you were finished, you had wanted to go to sleep. You grabbed the towel that you and your mom normally used to dry the dishes and quickly wiped the water off.

You opened the cabinet and you slid the plate into its normal place. “Hey, R/n? How much do you want for your allowance?” Your mom yelled to you and you wiped your hands onto your floral dress as you quickly started to walk towards your mom. Your heels clicked on the floor of your home as you caught sight of your parents who were still sitting in the kitchen.

“I don’t mind but I do really want that (favorite colored) dress that has (favorite design) on it.” You looked at your mom before your father pulled his wallet out and pulled a few dollars out. It was more than enough for you to buy the dress.

“Thank you, father.” You wrapped your arms around your father excitedly. You couldn’t remember a time where you felt so happy about receiving money. Usually, you would argue some and hope that they kept whatever money it was that they were trying to give. When it came to the man who had a helping hand in your creation, you didn’t care much. You enjoyed taking money from him and reminding him of your existence otherwise, he wouldn’t remember you past being at church.

You started making your way back to your room, hoping that you could meet that Johnny boy again. Hopefully he would be willing to meet up with you again so you could talk further than you anxiously speaking words that shouldn’t have ever been spoken in the same sentence. You wished you wouldn’t have lied and told him that you date to marry.

You needed human interaction to survive. You loved being with some of your close friends while doing anything at all. You couldn’t care less what the interaction you had was so long as you weren’t alone.

You started walking back up onto the stairs as you thought about how you could get into contact with Johnny once more. You made it to the top of the stairs and your eyes landed on the cross that hung above the staircase. You smiled as you murmured the lightest of prayers, and went back up to your room to pick an outfit out for your day out tomorrow. You wanted to impress Johnny and make him see you in a light that made you seem almost innocent. Men only wanted innocent and modest women.

You picked out a dress that had long sleeves and went down to the floor. You would wear your heels and it would make the dress reach close to your ankles. You set the dress onto the chair in the corner of your room.

You changed into a more comfortable outside before brushing your teeth and hair.

Soon after, you were in your bed and whispering prayers to God, hoping he would bless you with the prospects of love.

You were up and eating breakfast with your stomach twisting into knots. Your mom didn’t mention the slight shake of your hands and she didn’t mention how you were dressed up with makeup and all. She didn’t want him to realize and keep you home instead of letting you go out with your friend.

“Thank you for the money.” You grabbed the orange juice and took a sip from it as your mom looked at you with a smile. Your father had a slight smile but he it didn’t reach his eyes.

You were quick to leave your house, knowing you would be an hour or so early for whatever was going to happen with Johnny. You wiped your hands onto your dress and started walking slowly. You could take the time to admire your surroundings instead of trying to book it to meet up with Johnny.

He would probably be late anyways as all of the men you knew were rarely on time without a woman forcing them to get up and out of the door before a specific time. You meant no harm to Johnny but he didn’t seem like the kind of man to have someone doing that for him.

More often than not, he had dirt on his face and always seemed dirty. You would fix that, of course. You made sure to pack a small jar of water along with a handkerchief to make sure that he would get clean.

You looked around at the trees with a small smile on your face. Animals were casually running around and happily avoiding you as if their lives depended on it. Though, in hindsight, you were technically a danger to the animals mostly because humans killed them so often.

You noticed the Summit was quickly approaching within your line of vision and you quickened your pace so you could sit somewhere and wait for Johnny.

You entered the building and a shocked expression overtook your features as you tilted your head. Johnny was sitting on one of the benches and was pulling at something in his pocket. “Johnny?” You smiled as you realized he was early without you even having to ask him.

Johnny stood up and held a hand out for you as you gave him a grin. “I didn’t want to be late so I left a little earlier…” Johnny’s voice held that southern accent that made you smile. You had lived in the south your entire life but for majority of it, you lived in Utah so your accents were slightly different.

“That’s why I came early, too. Well, come on! We need to get into the shops before everyone else gets in.” You noticed the dirt had been wiped away but the grease in his hair was prevalent still.

You didn’t mind though as the two of you started walking together. “I… I’m sorry if I came off as overbearing last time. I never meant to come off like that.” You whispered out as you walked a little quicker just in case he didn’t react well to your words.

“You didn’t. I just wasn’t ready for it.” Johnny caught up with you and gave you the shyest smile you had ever seen.

“Oh… okay.” You pulled open the glass door, a smile present on your face as you walked into the building. You held the door open for Johnny with a grin on your face. You seen him pause for a moment before he walked into the store you wanted to go in. His eyes shifted from dress to dress without much thought behind his eyes.

“Oh, they still have it!” You smiled as you rushed to grab the dress that you originally wanted. You held the dress up and gave Johnny the most innocent smile he had ever seen in his life.

You skimmed through the sizes and chose yours, holding the dress under your arm as you waved an employee down. “Hi! I was wondering if you could let me into one of the dressing rooms?” You asked with a shy smile on your face.

The woman immediately nodded as the two of you began walking towards the dressing rooms. You peaked over your shoulder and saw Johnny was slowly following too. You would need to make sure he didn’t feel awkward after showing him the dress.

“My sister loves this dress. She actually cut the sleeves off because she thought it looked cuter and it really does!” The employee smiled at you and your eyes sparkled.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! I may have to do that before the summer months hit.” You laughed as the woman opened the dressing room door. She closed it after you and you looked at yourself in the mirror.

You were gorgeous.

You slipped out of the dress you were in and slid into the other dress with a smile on your face. The dress was beautiful on you and really made you look ten times better than you ever thought you would look. You always assumed the very worst of anything especially when it came to clothes.

You opened the door of the dressing room and gave Johnny a small smile as you showed him your dress. “I think it looks pretty on me. What about you?” You asked softly as you turned slightly to show him the back of the dress even though it was the same as the other countless dresses you had.

“It looks very beautiful on you.” Johnny gave you a small, breathless smile as he looked you up and down. You walked over to him and wrapped your arms around his shoulders, hugging him as you decided you wanted to give him physical affection.

It wasn’t unnatural for you to want to give people hugs as that was your love language. You slowly let go of the man and went back into the dressing room with a smile on your face. You kissed Johnny’s cheek with the softest smile on your face. You let go of Johnny completely and backed away with your lipstick stains stuck on Johnny’s face.

You walked back into the dressing room and changed back into your other dress as you quickly wanted to make it back to Johnny on the other side of the door. “Hey, Johnny? Can you come in here?” You weren’t going to be undressed in front of Johnny as you had a shirt underneath the dress because you thought of every situation, including having Johnny help you.

Johnny slowly opened the door of the dressing room and came in before closing it with his foot. “What do you need help with?” Johnny asked quietly as he kept his eyes to the ground.

“Can you zip the dress up?” You turned around and smiled as you felt his hand make contact with the shirt on your back. You heard and felt the zipper get pulled up.

You turned around and you both exited the dressing room only for you to see one of your friends from the church standing in line. You grabbed Johnny’s hand and quickly scampered away from the dressing room so she wouldn’t tell your parents that the two of you were alone in the dressing room together.

You let go of Johnny’s hand and you both stood together in the line to pay. Now, you only wanted to get out of the store and the Summit in fear of your parents finding out that you were with a boy. Your parents knew that you had gone out with a man but they didn’t know who it was and you wanted to keep it that way. You didn’t want them to unnecessarily judge him for being less fortunate than your family.

“I was thinking that we could get something to eat afterwards?” You looked at Johnny with the biggest smile on your face.

“Yeah, if that’s what you want.” Johnny mumbled out as he kept his stare at the floor. You were slightly upset that he was so shy but then again, it still made you feel happy/giddy to know that he even wanted to spend time with you, anyways.

“That is what I want and I’ll pay for anything you want.” You smiled as the cashier suddenly caught your attention. You set your dress down on the counter and paid before leaving with Johnny.

You wanted to go to one of the higher end diners that you knew of but Johnny didn’t seem comfortable with the idea so you let him choose a place. He settled on a place that was in a rougher spot in town but nothing the two of you couldn’t get through. You knew that you would get something that would be easy on the stomach so that when you got home, you would also be able to eat supper with your family.

Johnny was standing in front of you with the door to the diner held open. You smiled at him as you felt a yawn creeping up from the back of your throat. You were so tired but knew that you had gotten enough sleep so being tired didn’t make much sense. “Oh, I’m so excited. I’ve never been here before.” You made a comment before realizing that could be taken in a different way. How would the upper middle class/wealthy girl ever end up in the bad part of town with everyone else? She wouldn’t unless she was with someone who knew the bad part of town.

You sat down at a booth and Johnny followed before you started talking. You were rambling on and on. Johnny allowed you to do so and didn’t bother to add anything into the conversation besides the occasional “yeah” or “okay”. You sheepishly smiled at him after rambling and he finally spoke, “do you want something to eat?” Johnny didn’t have a lot of money and he never thought he’d be in a situation where he would need it to make a girl feel like he genuinely likes her.

“Yeah but I’ll pay! I have more than enough money for the both of us. If you want, I can slip the money to you so you don’t feel embarrassed.” You gave Johnny a genuine smile as you leaned back against the booth seat. You grabbed the money from within your purse and nodded at Johnny to grab it from under the table. You didn’t want others to shame him even more for “making” the girl pay.

You cared deeply about societal norms and everything that came with it but you also knew that you wanted to have a lover before you became old and barren. You didn’t want to lose your ability to have children before you even had a chance to have a lover.

You watched as Johnny took the money from you with a frown on his face. You grabbed two menus from the holder on the back of the table and handed one to him. “Oh, I want a salad.” You smiled at Johnny with your cheeks turning a light shade of red. You didn’t want him to see you as anything other than an attractive woman. Anything else would be considered unfair to you as you always worked and tried to present yourself as a respectable and honest young woman.

“I want a hamburger…” Johnny’s voice had gotten more confident and you were proud of that. It must’ve meant that he was comfortable around you.

You nodded at him before speaking, “oh, I enjoy hamburgers but I love myself a nice salad.” You looked down at your stomach and Johnny watched as you subconsciously sunk down into the booth at the sight of your own stomach. You forced the frown off of your face and looked back up at Johnny.

“You know, I would love to go to the library soon. If you’d like, you can come with me…” you were nervous. You had never asked a man to go on a second date with you. That was when the realization hit you that this most likely wasn’t a date and he considered the two of you only friends. You played with your fingers under the table and cursed yourself slightly as you understood that caused it.

You let out a sigh as your thoughts started making you second guess everything. You liked Johnny but you felt almost as if you were using him. You decided then that you wanted to spend more time with Johnny.

You finally end wrapped your arms around yourself. You smiled at Johnny to make him less worried. You had noticed how his face fell slightly when you wrapped your arms around yourself and you felt guilty for being selfish. Everything was so awkward now that the two of you were alone with one another.

Soon enough, a waitress had stopped by y’all’s table to take your orders and you both gave your orders before you looked back at Johnny. “I’m sorry if this is awkward. I’ve tried to make everything less awkward but I feel like I’ve made it worse.” You laughed quietly and apologized softly.

You never wanted to make him uncomfortable and you felt that you had. “You didn’t! You… come off as a little strong but that’s fine.” You heard Johnny speak up, this time louder than any time before.

You leaned back in the seat and let out a sigh, knowing that you were going to go home and cry.

You were laying in bed with tears rolling down your cheeks. Your parents knew that you were out with Johnny and they knew that he had come into the dressing room with you. You were forced into your room and told that you wouldn’t be allowed to eat for a week and after that, you wouldn’t be allowed to see Johnny again.

You were glad that you ate before you came home and you knew that your mom would slip you snacks through the door when your father wasn’t looking. You were ashamed as you knew that everything you done was wrong. You not only hurt your parents but you angered God.

You had turned your back on the only thing that loved you for you. You felt yourself choke back another sob as you stared at the ceiling with tears rolling down your face. You grabbed a pillow and covered your face as you got off your bed. Your father was yelling downstairs and you knew the way to get your punishment over quickly.

You opened the door to your room and began walking down the stairs, understand that you would be in plenty of pain by the time it was all over. You understood that you deserved what your father was going to do to you and you were terrified. You didn’t want to be hurt but you also understood that you had to be hurt in one way or another.

It was the only way to receive God’s forgiveness for your sins.

Your feet hit the bottom of the stairs and you walked into the living room, looking at your parents. Your mom’s eyes widened and she immediately told you to go back to your room. You were sobbing again and your mom tried to reach you only for your father to physically throw her onto the couch.

Your father grabbed you by your shoulder and began forcing you towards the basement. It would only take five minutes, right? That was the usual time it took for you to finish all the punishments. You were silent throughout the ordeal as you knew that nothing you said would do anything. He would tell you to shut your mouth and you’d be punished longer than you would had you just kept your mouth shut.

You were forced onto the ground on top of a tarp-like surface that would catch any liquids that would fall during the interaction that was about to take place.

You didn’t want to fight back much as you had once before and your nose had been broken for it. You were embarrassed to admit that you stopped fighting back after that. On top of that though, God wouldn’t want you to fight back. He would want you to take whatever was given to you with grace.

You heard everything before you felt the physical pain from what you assumed to be your father’s belt.

You were close to sobbing by the third hit but your reminded yourself that you needed food. You could take quite a few hits before your body gave out but to go without eating for a week, it wasn’t something you wanted to do.

Soon enough, your father had left the basement and left you on the ground with tears in your eyes. You would never do this to your future children. Not even in the name of God.

It was too painful for you to even breath that second so why would you ever do something so heinous to someone else especially when it hurt you. You let out a silent sob as you slowly lifted yourself off of the floor. You looked at the ground and noticed the dark liquid that had formed from what happened. You gritted your teeth and began walking up the stairs, tears welling in your eyes as you struggled to walk up the stairs.

You opened the basement door and let out a choked sound before you almost slipped. You groaned as you weakly made your way to your room.

You almost let out a yell as you saw Johnny sitting on your bed with his eyes widening the second he saw you. “What happened to you?” He stood up and you closed your door quickly and slid your dresser in front of it.

You almost gave out as you covered your mouth to silence your scream. You sat down on your bed and shut your eyes tightly. Johnny put a hand on your thigh and gently tapped it as he watched your face change from one to pain to one of fear. “This is a sin.” You hissed out between clenched teeth.

“It’s not. You’re not a sinner because I touch you.” Johnny wrapped his arms around you and you let out another choked sob as you began to take your clothes off in front of Johnny.

“Help me…” your voice cracked as you begged him for help. You didn’t want to be physically hurt anymore. You couldn’t do it. “My father done this because we were in the dressing room together.” Johnny watched as you finished taking off your dress. You had since taken off the shirt underneath and Johnny was both in awe and disgust at the wounds. He’d never seen wounds so deep in a woman.

Johnny got up and begin searching your room, finding tape and an old shirt that seemed dirty. Johnny ripped the shirt and began gently tapping your wounds with it. “I’ll get you out of here. I fuckin’ promise to get you out of here.” He gave you a look of pure anger as you let out a whimper when he hit one of the wounds just right.

“Why do you got tape?” You whispered out as you tried to focus on anything and everything other than the fact that the boy you just got beat over was holding tape and cleaning your wounds.

“It’s nothin’. What’s your favorite book?” Johnny asked as he finished up with whatever he was doing.

You were already talking, hoping that you could somehow forget about the pain that came from each and every touch on your back.

“Edgar Allan Poe is my favorite author and I can’t choose between all of his books but I’d say The Raven is the best of them all.” You whispered out through gritted teeth. You finally felt Johnny gently pull your shirt down. You heard someone walking up the stairs and you immediately pushed Johnny into your closet.

Someone tried to open your door but was abruptly stopped by the dresser in front of it. “R/n? Baby, are you okay?” Your mom’s voice came through the door but you looked down at the ground.

“You said you’d talk to him about the no food thing.” Your voice cracked as you moved to sit down on your bed. You were… tired. That wasn’t the exact word for what you were feeling but it was oddly similar to what you were feeling. You thought that you wouldn’t ever grow tired of living the life that you were given but you had. The bruises were always painful and he never said sorry for all the physical and mental/emotional pain he caused both you and your mom.

Your mom had no reason to stay with him and she had no reason to fear him. She came from a wealthy family which is how your family even managed to stay in such an expensive house. Your father, a bank teller, didn’t make much and wouldn’t have been able to afford the home you lived in without your grandpa.

Your mom walked away from your room, the quietest of sobs leaving your mom. You felt terrible and felt like you were being too harsh on your poor mom. Your father “disciplined” her as well though her punishments were usually worse than yours and if she ever stood up against him for you, he would beat her until she was near death.

Johnny wanted to say something, anything but he couldn’t physically bring himself to speak. It was an awful feeling for the two of you as you sat silently in your room. You finally looked over at Johnny with a weird look on your face. “How did you get into my room?” Your voice sounded rough around the edges, breaking with every other word.

“I climbed the tree?” Johnny looked at you with a small blush coating his cheeks. You looked out your window and looked at the tree, looking back over at Johnny right after.

“I… didn’t know that was possible.” You heard Johnny stop all movement and you decided that you wanted to get sleep but you didn’t want to be alone. “I know we don’t really know each other but can you stay for a bit? My father won’t bother me for a few days and my mom will come by tomorrow afternoon.” You whispered out as you looked over at Johnny. Your nerves were absolutely on fire as you waited for his answer.

“Yeah, I can.” Johnny got off the bed and turned your light off after you asked him to stay, seeing the tiredness in your eyes. You blindly laid down on your bed and reached to grab the blanket on your bed. You were far too tired to fight with anything or anyone. You just wanted to get a few hours of sleep without being interrupted.

“I’m going to go to sleep. You can stay up and do whatever just be a little quiet because my parents will try to come in if you make too much noise.” You closed your eyes as you silently mumbled a prayer. You couldn’t clasp your hands together or get down on your knees as the pain was far too intense for you to move much.

All the adrenaline you had had disappeared by the time you settled back down into your bedroom. Johnny paused in front of you and your bed with hesitation creeping up. He didn’t want to get in bed with you in fear of you pulling away from him.

You moved over slowly and patted the bed beside you, understanding his fear of not wanting to be in bed with you. You felt the bed dip as he got in beside you and you wrapped your arms around one of your pillows and brought it down to your stomach.

You curled around it and closed your eyes as tightly as you could. Your parents wouldn’t come back to your room well into the next day and you were okay with that as you knew your mom would most likely try to make things “right” by bribing you with food or something else she knew you would enjoy.

Your father would only give you a dirty look, making sure you knew he and the men at the church all knew of your sins. Your mom would never gossip because she said that was one of the easiest sins to commit. Your father, on the other hand, loved to tell the other men about how he punished you. You had heard him go into detail about it and it made you feel upset.

Your cheeks was stained with the tears you shed earlier. You were slightly embarrassed to admit that you still cried over the things that happened. You were always told that you would grow out of being sensitive but with every passing day and birthday, you realized you wouldn’t. You still cried over the smallest of things and you couldn’t control the tears once they started. You felt that it wasn’t the biggest issue that you could have and yet, everyone else felt the opposite. They treated you differently based solely on the fact that you were a tad bit more sensitive than they were.

Your blanket was rapidly warming up as you kept it pinned tightly around you, feeling only the slightest bit of guilt for Johnny when you felt his body release a small shake. “Are you cold? Get under here with me.” You moved over and held the blanket up for Johnny to get in with you. You didn’t want to wait for very long so when he moved slower than you wanted, you blindly reached a hand out and pulled him into your bed with you.

His body hit your bed with a thump and you smiled as you turned to face the wall. You didn’t want to bother him or make him feel uncomfortable so you pushed yourself against the wall with an almost silent hiss as your back made full contact with something. You turned onto your stomach and closed your eyes with your body relaxing. You weren’t tired, not really but you needed more sleep especially after what happened.

“I’ll get you out of here. I swear to it.” Johnny whispered out from behind you into the silence of your bedroom.

You laughed quietly as you shook your head. “You can’t and that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with what’s happening. This is God’s plan.” You shifted and let your foot slip out from under the blanket that shielded you from the outside world.

“This ain’t God’s plan. Man, if God wanted you to be hurt, wouldn’t he just do it himself?” Johnny asked you with a frown on his face. You couldn’t see it but you knew he wasn’t happy with you or the situation.

“I don’t know. God has people on Earth and he uses them to punish.” You responded only for Johnny to wrap an arm around you. He knew he needed comfort after being beat by his folks and assumed you would need/want that same comfort. You never did want that comfort mostly because the only people in your house was the ones who caused the pain in the first place. On top of that, the likelihood of your father stepping off of his high horse and trying to comfort you was almost as likely as seeing a unicorn.

It just wasn’t possible. He believed he was above you and your emotions which, in God’s eyes, he was. You weren’t supposed to complain as that was wrong too. Everything you had been doing as of late was wrong and you were ashamed to admit that you had willingly done most of it.

You felt the arm that was around you tighten around you more as your body shook with the silent sobs that left you. You had been so strong up until that point and now you couldn’t be strong. You were weak and would never live up to the person your parents seen when they looked at you. You were absolutely disgusting.

You closed your eyes and felt yourself drift off into a dreamless sleep.

You were woken up by someone shaking you gently. “You need to get up.” It was Johnny. He was trying to get you up and out of bed. “Come on. Both your parents left and you needa get up. We gotta go.” Johnny finally picked you up off of your bed and put your feet onto the floor of your bedroom.

“Johnny, we can’t leave? They’re my family.” You whispered out as Johnny started putting your things into a small bag.

“My folks are like yours. They ain’t worth nothin’ if they’re hittin’ you.” Johnny looked at you and gestured around. You started putting clothes into the bag before zipping it up and letting Johnny force your dresser from its place in front of your door.

Johnny intertwined your hands together and led you downstairs where the two of you left the house that you were raised in. It was unnerving and really made you feel terrible.

** One Year Later **

You put the notepad into the pocket of your apron. You were waiting for Johnny to come in so he could walk you back to your shared apartment with him. “Hey, baby!” You heard his voice as the bell above the glass door rung, telling you that someone had come in.

“Hi, lovely.” You pressed a kiss onto his cheek as you waved for him to sit at the counter. You were proud of both yourself and your lover. You made it out of whatever hell you had started in. You’d gotten yourself a psychiatrist/psychologist which you couldn’t remember which one it was but you were getting the help that you desperately need.

“Your shift was good?” Johnny asked as you poured some beer into a glass cup. You were the only one running the diner and Johnny would pay and tip you for pouring him a cup. You didn’t need that tip from him as the two of you shared finances but if you didn’t somehow, you would appreciate it.

“It was fine. I seen a man who looked very similar to my father earlier. Thought he’d finally come back to hurt me.” You set the glass in front of him. You leaned over the counter and pressed a kiss to Johnny’s cheek. You were feeling slightly relieved at the thought of your past life. You loved your parents more than anything but with the help of Johnny and a professional, you realized that God never wanted your father to beat you mercilessly.

You watched as Johnny took a sip of his beer. “We can afford for you to go to more of those sessions.” Johnny didn’t know much about your mental situation but he tried the best he could.

“Yeah, I know. He says I’m doing good for now. Says I’ve come a long way.” You walked around the counter and sat beside Johnny, laying your head on his shoulder. Your eyes were on the clock placed on the wall as you shook the thoughts from your head. “When you finish drinking that, we can leave. I’m closing tonight.” You stood up and watched as Johnny finished off the last of the beer.

He handed you the glass and you were quick to wash it. You were excited to go home and lay in bed with Johnny. You had never thought that you would be excited to just lay beside someone but once you and Johnny started to live the peaceful life, you were excited by the small things. You were looking forward to the future. To the days where you would get to see your future children running around.

You finished up with the cleaning and you began locking the diner up. “Oh, I’m so excited! I can’t wait to lay down and go to sleep.” You groaned out as you put the keys into your pocket. You would give them to Maryann in the morning when she came in. For now, you’d focus on the small family you had made for yourself that consisted of a healthier lifestyle, without the abuse.

Even if said abuse would haunt you for the rest of your life, you were at the very least, happy with yourself and the life you and Johnny had created.

[storiesforallfandoms]

this is music ~ eddie munson;stranger things

word count: 2982

request?: yes!

“Hi! I love your writing so much and i was wondering if you write for Eddie Munson? if you don’t feel free to ignore this! If you do, I was wondering if you could write something with Eddie x male reader? Maybe where Eddie finds out that reader is a huge fan of Metallica and he gets super happy bc he didn’t know reader was into metal music? I know this is a super dumb idea, but I’ve been a huge fan of Metallica for as long as I can remember, and I was so happy when I first saw the clip of him playing master of puppets :D”

description: in which his love of heavy metal brings him closer to the school freak; not that he minds at all

pairing: eddie munson x male!reader

warnings: swearing, mentions of bullying and homophobia, use of y/n

masterlist (one, two, three)

There are a few pluses to being an outcast. The big one is that all the outcasts sat at the same lunch table, so that saved you from the embarrassment of trying to find a table, or from having to eat in the bathroom like the loser you were.

The first time you sat at the table was during your freshman year. You were desperately searching for somewhere to sit in the busy cafeteria when an older boy with long, dark hair suddenly appeared at your side. You jumped as he said, “Come with me, fresh meat.”

It wasn’t exactly a welcoming comment, but what else were you to do? So, you followed him through the crowd of students. It was hard not to notice the glares and looks of disgust from the popular tables. You weren’t sure if they were directed towards you or the boy walking ahead of you. Probably both.

He brought you to a table with five other students. You realized as you approached that they were all wearing the same shirts; white with black sleeves, and an angry red devil on the front with the words “Hellfire Club” written above it. You had a sudden pang of panic thinking this was some high school cult trying to induct you.

The boy sat down at the head of the table and gestured for you to join them. You tried to decline the offer, but your words came out stuttered and unintelligible.

The long hair boy rolled his eyes and said, “We don’t bite. We’re a DND club, and school loser lunch table. You’re free to sit with us whenever you want, and it definitely seemed like you needed somewhere.”

You managed to stutter out, “I-I don’t play DND.”

“That’s fine, we don’t need new members. You can just sit. We won’t even talk to you if you don’t want us to.”

What other options did you have? Glancing around the room, you saw that every other table was already taken by cliques and established friend groups. You knew you shouldn’t pass up this opportunity, so you didn’t. You sat at the far end of the table and silently ate your food. The rest of the group talked amongst themselves, keeping to their promise of not talking to you if you didn’t want them to.

When lunch ended, you collected your tray and started to leave. You noticed the long hair boy walking in the same direction and fell back to talk to him.

“Thank you,” you said. “For letting me sit with you guys, I mean.”

“No worries, man. Like I said, you’re welcome to sit with us any time. High school is a dog eat dog world. Us dogs gotta stick together.” He bumped your shoulder before adding, “I’m Eddie, by the way.”

“(Y/N).”

That was a little over a year ago. You were now early into your sophomore year, and you still sat at Eddie’s table. The agreement of not talking to you still stood even all that time later. The guys would greet you when you sat down, but that would be the extent of your conversations. At first, you’d eat with your head down and just listen to what they were talking about, but for your birthday your family had gotten you a Walkman, so you started bringing that to school with you to listen to music during lunch.

Eddie would say hello to you if he saw you outside of the lunch room, too. He was very friendly, but you wouldn’t say the two of you were actually friends. Not that you didn’t want to be friends. In your full year at Hawkins High, you hadn’t made any friends. You weren’t into sports, and you had no desire to join any after school groups. You didn’t talk to anyone outside of the brief words exchanged with the Hellfire Club during lunch. You kept to yourself and, as much as you would like to be friends with Eddie, you were too scared to let him in after what had happened in your last school.

You were walking to your lunch table with your lunch tray in hand, the same as every day. It was the day of a school basketball game, so all the jocks were extra rowdy; being loud and running amuck of the cafeteria. You were trying to get to your lunch table without incident when a jock backed into you, bumping you so hard it knocked over your drink. You were able to grab it before it spilled all over you or onto the floor. You mumbled an apology even though it wasn’t your fault, but you knew it would likely be the best reaction to get you out of the situation.

Unfortunately, you were wrong.

“Watch where you’re going, loser,” the jock hissed. You mumbled another apology, but it still wasn’t enough as he roughly shoved you. You stumbled and managed to stop your tray from falling, but your Walkman, which was in your pocket and the headphones were around your neck, fell to the ground. “What’s this?”

You tried to grab it before he did, but you were too slow. He snatched your Walkman from the ground and held the headphones up to his ear. Heat was rising in your neck and you felt sweat forming on your forehead and under your arms. A nasty smile stretched across his face as he heard the music you had been listening to.

“Hey Jason, listen to this.”

He threw the Walkman over your head towards another basketball player. You tried to reach for it, but you were still trying to hold your tray as well. The next jock put your headphones on to hear your still playing music. His mouth opened in shock. “Who knew the quiet kid was into such heavy music?”

He then tossed it to the next jock. You watched helplessly as they threw around what you considered to be your prize possession, listening to the music that brought you comfort and mocking you for it. You felt tears stinging your eyes.

Suddenly, as one jock was tossing the Walkman to another, another hand shot out to grab it. Eddie Munson was glaring daggers at the basketball team and he held your Walkman. The jocks didn’t seem particularly intimidated by him. If anything, they were amused by his act of heroism.

“Awe, is the freak stepping in to save his little loser underling?” the first jock teased.

“You guys must really have sad lives if all that brings you joy is a game about throwing balls into laundry baskets and bullying people who did nothing to you,” Eddie said. “Almost makes me feel sympathy about the fact that you’ll all peak in high school and be bald by 30.”

One of the jocks tried to advance on Eddie and you felt yourself holding your breath. The last thing you wanted was for Eddie to get his ass kicked because of you. But, Eddie wasn’t afraid. He held up his index finger and waved it back and forth before pointing towards the lunch room supervisor, one of the school’s teachers. She had mostly been ignoring the bullying that was happening to you, as teachers in Hawkins High famously did, but suddenly she was zeroed in on what was going on between Eddie and the jocks.

“You can hit me all you want, but it’ll mean you won’t play in the game tonight,” Eddie said. “And I’m sure your coach would be so happy to hear that one of his players got detention the day of the game.”

The jock huffed at Eddie before turning to his teammates and motioning for them to go back to their table. You were still stood, frozen, unshed tears welling in your eyes that you were desperately trying to blink away. Eddie walked over to you and held your Walkman out to you.

“Hey man, you’re okay now,” he said, his voice soft.

You nodded and reached for your Walkman. Eddie thought you had a grasp on it before you actually did, and ended up dropping the device on the floor again. You winced as it landed with a loud crash, and popped open with the cassette sliding out of it. The both of you were quick to kneel down for the device, but Eddie reached it first. He was profusely apologizing when he took hold of the cassette and saw what it was you had been listening to.

“Whoa,” he said. “You listen to Metallica?”

You shrugged, suddenly feeling embarrassed again. Was he going to make fun of you the way the jocks had? You really could not handle it if he did.

“I love Metallica!” he said, a goofy smile stretching across his face. “What’s your favorite song? Actually, wait, we should probably go sit down so you can eat before lunch is over. But you have to answer my question when we sit down.”

Eddie insisted that you sit next to him instead of at your isolated part of the table. Everyone seemed shocked by how animated Eddie had gotten with you, but he ignored them to talk to you. You were shocked when he managed to get you out of your shell for that short lunch period. At first you were sheepishly answering his questions, but soon enough you were feeling just as giddy and excited as he was talking about the topic. You were disappointed when the warning bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

“You should come to Hellfire after school,” Eddie said as you started to get up from the table.

“I thought you guys weren’t taking new members,” you said.

“Well, we’re not, but you can come watch if you’d be down for that. I can drive you home after and we can talk more about metal.”

A heat was rising in your cheeks again, but this time it wasn’t from embarrassment. You just nodded your head at Eddie, and he smiled another wide smile at you. He bumped your shoulder and said a quick, “See you then!” before going off towards the exit. You felt like you were floating as you went to dump your tray and make your way to your locker. You couldn’t believe how quickly things had changed with Eddie, all because of the music you listened to. If you had known this would be the topic that brought you closer together, you would’ve mentioned to him what you liked to listen to way earlier.

Suddenly, the thought made everything crash down around you. You remembered there was a reason you hadn’t wanted to get close to Eddie, a reason you had completely forgot about the entire time you spent talking to Eddie. As much as you had enjoyed getting to see this bubbly side of Eddie, and as much as you wanted to be his friend, you couldn’t. You couldn’t risk him finding out your secret and having him turn on you the way your last friend group had. You didn’t want to have to change schools again.

So, although you told Eddie you’d go to Hellfire after school, you made the decision that you actually wouldn’t. You’d slip out with the crowds of excited students who wanted to get home, and you wouldn’t have to face Eddie until lunch the next day where he would undoubtably hate you for standing him up. That’s how it had to be, no matter how much it hurt you.

But, things very rarely go as planned.

You were held back by one of your teachers to talk to you about an assignment you had nearly failed. You kept trying to insist that you understood where you went wrong and you’d do better for the next one, but he just kept talking and talking. By the time he had finally let you go, the hallways were mostly empty and the buses were getting ready to leave. You were annoyed by the fact that you’d have to walk home, but it was the only option now. You were scurrying to your locker, trying to get your things as quickly as possible before the Hellfire Club came down the hall.

You thought you were successful. You had your bag over your shoulder and your coat in your arms. You were making your way towards the school exit, almost to freedom, when a familiar voice called, “Hey, (Y/N)!”

You winced and turned back to see Eddie making his way towards you. You couldn’t just turn and ran out the doors. You were sure he wouldn’t follow you if you had. But, you stayed planted there, allowing him to reach you.

“Where are you going? I thought you were coming to Hellfire,” he said.

“Uh...something...came up,” you responded, lamely.

He didn’t seem upset or disappointed by your answer. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “That’s fine. Maybe you can come to the next one, then.”

“I...don’t think it’s a good idea for me to come,” you said. “I...we can’t be friends, Eddie.”

This is where Eddie’s face fell. “Oh...why?”

“I just...I can’t have friends.”

“Is that a weird religious thing? Are your parents, like, Mormon or something?”

“No, it’s not a thing with my parents. It’s a me thing. It’s a decision I made.”

“But why?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

You tried to leave again, but Eddie reached out to grab your arm. The second his hand touched you, it sent a fire through your whole body. You wanted him to keep touching you, and that was exactly why you couldn’t let him get close.

“(Y/N), what is going on?” he asked. “You’ve kept to yourself the entire time we’ve known you. You don’t talk to us, or to anyone. Today was the first time I’ve ever seen you so open and talkative, and now you’re suddenly saying you can’t have friends? What gives? Do you just...not like us or something?”

You shook your head. “It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

You felt tears welling in your eyes again. You pulled from Eddie’s grasp and declared, without thinking, “I can’t be your friend because I’m gay, and once you found that out you’d be disgusted with me, just like my old friends were.”

Eddie was silent. His face looked stunned, but otherwise you couldn’t read any other reaction. You backed away from him, ready to turn and run. You were mentally planning how to tell your parents that you’d have to switch schools again. You were just starting to...not like, but maybe tolerate Hawkins High.

“(Y/N),” Eddie finally said, “I’m gay, too.”

His confession stopped you dead in your tracks. You were sure you had heard him wrong. “What?”

“Yeah. It’s not a secret. I mean, I don’t just go around telling people that I’m gay, but I also don’t keep it private. I like guys, I’ve dated guys. Very open and proudly, even though everyone in this town is small minded and bigoted as fuck.” He paused before adding, “Wait, your old friends stopped being friends with you because you’re gay?”

You nodded. “They...they sort of told the entire school, and uh...I was forced to switch schools for my senior year because the bullying was just so bad.”

You could still hear the insults and slurs that were thrown at you on a daily basis when you walked the halls of your old school. Even the teachers looked at you with disgust when you’d enter a room or walk down the hall. There was no safe haven in your old school, just disgust.

You yelped as Eddie suddenly grabbed you and pulled you in for a hug. “Jesus, that fucking sucks. I’m so sorry.”

You let yourself relax in his arms. It felt like a weight had been lifted from your chest, and relief was washing over your body.

“The guys aren’t like that,” Eddie said. “I mean, you don’t have to come out to them if you don’t want to, but they’ve been very supportive of me and my sexuality. They’re good guys, I promise. Do you...do you still want to come to Hellfire?”

You smiled and nodded. Now that your secret was out there, you wanted nothing more than to spend as much time as possible with Eddie Munson.

You started to follow him towards the classroom where they held Hellfire Club. Before walking in, Eddie stopped walking and turned to you. You stopped, too, curious.

“There’s a Metallica concert in the next town over in a few months time,” he said. “Tickets are expensive as hell, but I’ve been saving up every pay cheque I’ve made from work the last few months to get tickets. Would you maybe want to come with me?”

You were stunned by his request. You had heard about the concert happening, your parents had told you actually. They wanted to get you tickets to go, but you turned them down. They weren’t fans of Metallica themselves, and you knew one or both of them would end up going just to bring you, and you didn’t want them to sit through a concert for a band they didn’t like if they weren’t going to enjoy themselves. And going with a friend was out of the question considering you had no friends at the time.

But now you did. You had Eddie.

“I-I’d love to,” you finally said.

Eddie’s smiled brightly. “Great. It’s a date.”

You paused while he entered the room. “A-A date?”

All he did in response was smile at you over his shoulder before turning his attention to the waiting Hellfire members. You had to remind yourself how to move and how to breathe as you followed him into the room, the words, “It’s a date” echoing in your head.

[thunderstroked]

Three's Company || Mona, Inge & Felix

TIMING: current. LOCATION: the common. PARTIES: @nightmaretist @recoveringdreamer & @thunderstroked SUMMARY: inge and felix go looking for their friend (separately) and find her this time! CONTENT: none.

It had been a month since Mona responded to any of Felix’s messages. She hadn’t been by their apartment — at least, not when they’d been there, and Luci would have mentioned if she’d come by now that they were gone — and they’d been to her shop and her apartment a few times, too, and found both empty. Nothing about it felt good. Mona wouldn’t disappear without telling them, wouldn’t vanish without a word. And the timing was suspicious, too. She’d vanished just a few days after Felix’s last encounter with the shrult, and that had to mean something. Wasn’t the answer obvious? Felix was no detective, but they could put two and two together when they tried.

So… they’d been investigating. It wasn’t exactly easy. They’d combed the beach for hours last week, searching for shrimp who might know something. They’d bought a book from a guy on Amity Road after their third unsuccessful interrogation, one that promised to teach them to better communicate with the shrimp who they were sure must have known something. They’d followed the cultist who approached them and Wren at the park, tried to determine if he was in on it. They’d done everything they knew to do, and they still felt no closer to finding out where their friend was, or if she was okay, or if she was alive. It reminded them of those hours between their mother’s disappearance and the confirmation of her death, like they were just… waiting patiently for the sky to fall. It was their least favorite feeling.

They’d rather be active. They’d rather be searching, even if they were bad at it. They weren’t sure what they even hoped to find at the shop they’d entered now, only that they were desperate to find something. And maybe… Maybe everyone got lucky, sooner or later. Maybe it was statistically impossible not to. Either way, there was a rush of relief when they happened to be in the right place at the right time to overhear the right conversation. They shifted their inner ear the moment the word fox was mentioned, focusing everything they had on eavesdropping.

“ — telling you, man, it was a fox. Weirdest fuckin’ one I ever seen. All blue and shit, dude, it was messed up.” 

“And it was just runnin’ through the Common?”

“Yeah. Woulda shot it, but they don’t like people havin’ weapons out there.”

“Probably go into the woods later. We can find it then, try to —” 

Felix had heard enough. Listening any more would only make them uncomfortable, so they focused on what they’d learned. A fox in the Common. They could work with that.

—

Mona and Inge’s friendship was similar to plenty of others she had with fellow immortals or long-lived species. Most of them didn’t stay around one place for too long, after all, and yet with most of them she’d cross paths at one point or another. So too it had been with Mona, who had shown up in Wicked’s Rest by sheer luck and had returned to her life as if they had never been apart. But even though their friendship was one of absences and presences, it wasn’t like Mona to ghost her. To leave her sitting at a restaurant and not text with an apology or excuse, to completely vanish in thin air.

As this was Wicked’s Rest, there were plenty of reasons as to why Mona could have disappeared. Hunters, of course. There were plenty of shitty ones around and Inge wore the scars to prove it. There were ghosts who could cover people in goo. There were sky quakes and cults and banshees who threatened to cut off your fingers. For someone who made people afraid to go asleep as there might be danger lurking in their REM sleep, Inge was starting to ironically see danger in every corner.

Mona’s shop was abandoned. Her phone went to voicemail. Inge looked at her home from the astral and saw no traces of having left impulsively, but no traces of Mona having been around either. Something smelled bad in the fridge, so she threw it out and left a sticky note on the fridge. Inge was starting to believe the worst.

And then there were her students, of course. Those young adults with not fully formed brains who gossiped so loud that any and all teacher could hear it too. Most of the times she ate it up, but when their conversation steered towards a blue fox in the Common, she halted. It took all her power to not shake the students at the shoulders and tell her all they knew. In stead, Inge dismissed her class, told them all something vague about letting the, “Muse take you where it takes you!” and ventured out.

She was entering the common where her eyes fell on another familiar face. Luckily it was a harmless one. It was Felix, who she had lied to about the chair, the vacuum and her mother. She paid them little to no mind and attempted to hurry past them, which was not as easy as she wanted with her back still plaguing her. So, whatever. She turned around. “Hi, Felix. Have you seen any …” Chairs belonging to my young mother? “Weird things? I heard …” You robbed my elderly young mother. “Rumors.”

—

They were moving with a single-minded focus, trying to get somewhere secluded enough to allow them to shift to the point of picking up on sounds and scents they might otherwise miss. The Common was crowded, because it always was, but if Felix could get off somewhere by themself… It wasn’t hard to pass partial shifts off as something like a costume, sometimes. Even Thea was convinced Felix was little more than a very dedicated furry, despite how many times Felix had attempted to correct her. They could use that to their advantage here. But, in all honesty… they cared less about laying low than they should have. More than anything, they just wanted to find Mona. More than anything, they wanted her to be okay.

So focused in their journey, they didn’t realize they knew the woman who’d just hurried by them until she turned around. Normally, Felix would have recognized her right away, but with their mind so focused on Mona, it took them a moment before… Right. The lady whose mom’s chair was eaten by the vending machine. Felix felt a little sheepish at seeing her again, shifting their weight and trying to find a way to politely exit the conversation so they could continue on their journey.

“Um… I don’t know. What kind of rumors did you hear? I don’t — I mean, I’m kind of in a hurry. I’m, uh, I’m looking for a fox. A friend! Sorry, I meant I’m looking for a friend. Who I’m meeting. Here. In the Common. I hope your mom is doing okay, by the way. I hope she likes her vacuum.” 

—

She didn’t think Felix would pose a threat to Mona. Inge figured she had a feel for these kinds of things by now — that she could guess what kind of people were hunters and what kind of people weren’t. Felix didn’t seem the type. Nor did they seem the type to be a banshee. So she didn’t quite trust him, but she also didn’t mind asking him for some help rather than any of the unfamiliar faces around them. There was no way that they were a hunter, after all. No possible, feasible way.

And then he said those words — he was looking for a fox. Felix corrected themself quick but Inge stared at them for a moment. “A fox? I’ve heard rumors about a blue one. Right here.” She pressed her lips together, looked around fervently. “My friend … has a blue fox, and she lost it here. It’s an exotic pet, so it’s very important we find it, you know? Maybe while you wait for your friend –” Was there a chance that Felix meant Mona? It’d be some kind of fucking irony if so. “– you can help me?”

She started walking again, eyes scanning the area. She saw a flash of blue but it was just a frisbee. Inge looked at Felix over her shoulder. Her mother, right, “Oh, she’s loving it, don’t worry. She’s also worried about my friend’s pet.”

—

At first, Felix was hopeful that Inge hadn’t picked up on their slip. But that hope didn’t last very long, didn’t make it past its first breath. Inge picked up on it immediately, called it out right away, and Felix winced at their own clumsiness. They didn’t think there was any danger of outing Mona — they hadn’t even said her name, nor did Inge have any reason to assume that the fox they were looking for was a shapeshifter who also happened to be Felix’s best friend — but they felt guilty all the same. 

But then, Inge continued. She’d heard rumors of a blue fox, and Felix perked up, eyes widening. Her friend had lost a pet — did that mean that was where Mona had been all this time? Had someone found her and kept her as a pet, making it impossible for her to shift back without exposing herself as a shifter? But if that were the case, why wouldn’t she shift back now that she’d presumably escaped them? Anxiety thrummed in the balam’s chest, and they shifted their weight uncertainly.

“Yes,” they agreed. “I’ll help you find your friend’s blue fox! My friend really likes foxes. I bet she’d like to see it. Um, maybe when we find it, I can take it to show her! Before we get it back to your friend.” If they slipped Mona away unseen, she could come back to the boiler room to shift where no one would spot her. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was better than sending her back to be someone’s pet. “I’m glad she’s doing well! Has she… seen the fox? Has your friend shown it to a lot of people?” This could be bad. This could be really bad.

—

Felix seemed to be malleable, Inge thought. They had so easily apologized for their transgressions, even if there had been none — and it had been amusing to her. To watch them squirm as she spoke about her mother as if she was a fully formed person who was alive. It had been cruel, then, but it hadn’t been too bad and more importantly, it now informed her that Felix was someone she could ask for help. They would most likely perish on the spot before saying no.

They were rambling about their friend, which was very confusing considering moments ago they’d confused the word fox and friend. Coincidences existed, but it was a very ironic slip of the tongue. “Yes, sure, we can show it to your friend — who isn’t a fox, just a friend.” She was nodding, as if she was wholly convinced. Inge wasn’t sure what to make of any of it. Then, she tried to convince the other of her story: “No, she does not show it to a lot of people. She’s very careful about her fox.” 

Usually she’d spend a whole lot of time on weaving a convincing and amusing lie, but she was running out of time. Inge started stomping around the Common, boots moving from path to grass from grass to path, eyes scanning the place. She raised her hand, then, pointing at a bench in the distance. “There!” She picked up her pace, hurrying to where she thought to see Mona.

—

“Haha, it would be weird if my friend was a fox! I can’t talk to foxes! I’m human!” Felix felt desperation crawling up, clawing at their throat. They would not out Mona. They would not out themself. They would convince Inge — who seemed nice and stayed home to take care of her mother but was still, ultimately, a stranger — that no part of this equation involved anyone shifting into any kind of animal, because that was ridiculous. (Dangerous, really. That was dangerous.) 

They pressed their tongue against the back of their teeth as Inge spoke about how careful their friend was. “Well, it’s probably illegal to have a pet fox. So that makes sense.” There were laws about all kinds of silly things. Felix wondered if the animal control guy from the internet would get angry about pet foxes if he knew. Maybe that could be how he freed Mona from being someone’s pet, if that was what had happened. 

Or… maybe they wouldn’t need to worry about it. Relief rushed into them like a wave at the sight of a figure on a bench, and they moved towards it almost before Inge had spoken at all. Not a fox, but a person. A familiar person, a person they hadn’t seen in way too long now. Felix practically sprinted to close the distance. “Where did the shrimp go? Did you fight them off?” They were speaking before they’d stopped moving, nervous babbling desperate to fill the silence.

—

All it had taken was eating a flower. Mona had been too stunned to do anything other than stare at the deflated and crushed petals in the palm of her hand. It’d been so long since she felt the sun on the crown of her head. Two months, right? That’s how long it had been? She’d been present for all of it. It shouldn’t have taken that long, and yet, she had been pulled from her daily routines, all because of pollen. Fuck, she hated this town. 

She hated it with every fiber of her being. 

Mona inhaled sharply, crushing the bits of leftover petals in her hand, letting them fall into the ground. The gummy texture from the petals she had eaten (by mistake) was still present on her tongue. She needed water, as well as something real to eat. She leveled her gaze with a number of patrons who shot her questioning looks. Her outfit was the same as the day she had shifted– clean and fresh. The dirt on her skin as well as the weeds and twigs threading through her hair, however, was another thing entirely. 

With a sigh, Mona ran her fingers through her matted hair. 

She looked up as she heard footfalls, and then– a familiar voice. 

Surprise pulled muscles in ways they hadn’t been used in too long and she reached up to rub at her jaw. “Felix? Inge?” It was hilarious, really. The two people she’d been trying to make her way towards had been the ones to find her. 

“The shrimp? No, I got sneezed on by some pollen monster. It made it impossible to not be in gumiho form.” She rose from the bench, legs slightly shaky from the lack of use. Mona moved the rest of her matted hair from her face, shoving it behind her ears. “I tried to find both of you. Well, separately. I didn’t know you were acquainted.” She looked between them, eyebrows furrowing. “It’s been two months. Why have you only found me just– no, that’s not polite. This town is hell. I’m sure there was an apocalypse while I was on all fours.” That had to be the only reason it took so long… right? 

—

Inge was fully and completely taken aback by the situation at hand. Once Felix and her had run up at Mona – who was not a fox at present, so it was perhaps strange in the first place that he they followed so complacently, but she wasn’t thinking about that now – and the other had started asking about shrimps and Mona had recognized them both, she just stood there for a moment.

Really? Mona and Felix knew each other — that was kind of hilarious. A twist of fate that would have to be reexamined later over a bottle of wine (or whatever Felix’ drink of choice was). Inge would have to tell Mona about her lies, though, or come clean about them. But that was later.

She tsk-ed, “Pollen monster?” She’d no idea such things existed, but it made complete and utter sense all the same. “How did you manage to shift back, then?” Inge didn’t wait for a an answer before doing what she should have done earlier. She pulled Mona into a quick hug and gave her another once over when she pulled back, letting her go. “I tried — well, I tried to look for you, but I must have looked in the wrong corners. I kept your fridge clean, though, had to throw out some of your famed cucumber salad.” It wasn’t the most pressing thing, however, so she jumped to a question: “Jesus, are you alright?” Her eyes moved between her and Felix, still getting used to the fact that they were acquainted and that Felix knew about Mona’s shifted form. 

—

Mona knew Inge? Felix realized, somewhat belatedly, that he and Inge had come here with the same goal in mind. There was something almost comical about it, the concept of two people who knew each other only vaguely being unknowingly drawn together by the same unwinnable game. Did Inge know, then, that Mona was a kitsune? Was that why she, too, had spoken of a fox? Felix was filled to the brim with questions, but they didn’t know how to ask any of them. They were transfixed instead, staring at Mona’s matted hair and defeated expression and filled with a guilt that threatened to suffocate them.

They had been looking in the wrong place. All this time, they’d been caught up with the shrimp drama that had happened shortly before Mona’s disappearance, and it wasn’t related at all. And they’d let themself grow distracted in the meantime, let his attention be swallowed up by the Grit Pit and Leo and the boiler room. What had Mona been doing, in all that time? What terrible experiences had she been living? 

“I’ve only met her once,” they said, though they knew that was probably the least important thing about the whole situation. “Um, a vending machine stole her mom’s chair, and I… That’s not important. What happened? Are you okay? Did you…” They didn’t even know what they wanted to ask. She’d looked for them, she said. She’d looked for them. Had she gone to their apartment and found it lacking? The idea made the guilt swirl all the more. “What do you need now? Water? Um, food?”

—

“Pollen monster,” Mona affirmed with a nod of her head. “I’m not certain what happened, or how, but one moment I was upright, and the next I was existing as…” She gestured to herself, allowing her two closest friends to fill in the blanks. “When I arrived at The Common, I stumbled upon a flower. I snapped at it to get a wasp away from me, but instead I ate the flower. Then I shifted back.” It was so surreal to say, and if there were any two different people in front of her, they might not believe her. 

As Inge took her into her arms, Mona sunk into the hug. It was interrupted too quickly, and she let out a soft laugh. “I hope Frederick wasn’t too perplexed by my disappearance.” He was probably grateful for it. What kind of rabbit made friends with a fox, anyway? “I’m fine. It’s just been a long few months is all.” It shouldn’t have taken that long at all, and though it was humiliating, it could have been a lot worse and she knew that. 

Felix’s explanation of how he knew Inge made no sense, but nothing in this town did. Mona didn’t think that Inge even had her mother’s chair with her stateside, so it must have been one of her many ways of poking fun at someone who’d eat up just about any explanation. She gave Inge a pointed look as if to say you’ll need to come clean about that, then reached out to squeeze Felix’s arm. It was clear they were beginning to panic. “I’m fine. A few tussles with a few different hunters. Hence not leading them your way.” That could mean anything to either of them, and while they knew one another, Mona wasn’t certain how well. It wasn’t as if she wanted to out either of them, but Felix had to know something was up with Inge, right? Given the no heartbeat of it all. 

“Food, water– it all sounds fucking wonderful right about now. I’ve been living off of squirrels.” She made a face. It wouldn’t have been the first time, but pouncing on them reminded her of moments with her dad– feelings and memories she’d rather push out. “It was dangerous for me to be around town as much as I wanted to just come and find you. You’re both aware of my…” Mona gestured toward herself with a laugh again, indicating that she meant the fact that she did not resemble just any fox. “But two months– that was too long. I shouldn’t have let fear get to me the way it did. I’m sorry.” 

—

Felix already threw Inge’s lie out there and she saw the look in Mona’s eye. For a moment it was almost like being a child again and being looked at with disapproval by a teacher, but she shook off the comparison and offered her now-human-again friend a mild shrug. It would come later, her confession — but for now her focus was on Mona and Mona alone. “When you think this town can’t surprise you any more … I’m glad you just happened upon that flower, jeez! Did any —” She frowned. Mona seemed unharmed, so the question wasn’t worth asking yet.

“Frederick was more perturbed by my appearance than your lack of,” she said. Even a rabbit was put off by a mare’s presence. She hoped Felix didn’t pick up on her vague statement and moved further: “Gave him some kibble, though.”

She made a face too at the thought of squirrels for a diet. She looked at Felix for a moment, who seemed to be battling an inner monster, and let her gaze drift back to Mona. “Don’t apologize, it’s fine, okay? I mean — it’s not, but you don’t owe us any apology. I am just glad to see you again.” Inge swallowed, her head continuing to circle back to the things she’d assumed. “Thought maybe …” She shook her head. “You’re here now. Let’s get you something to eat, hm? My car isn’t far. We can go somewhere or to yours or mine or …” They glanced at Felix. Theirs? “Wherever you want. What are you craving?”

—-

How lucky had they gotten for Mona to find that flower? Felix didn’t want to think of what could have become of her if she hadn’t. Would she have been trapped as a fox forever? If she’d had run-ins with hunters — something that terrified them just to think about — how long could she really have lasted like that? Eventually, someone would have gotten the better of her. Felix swallowed, trying not to lose themself in the terrifying collection of what ifs that hung over them now. 

They listened as Mona and Inge spoke of Frederick, noting how close the two seemed to be. Wasn’t it strange how Felix had known nothing of their friendship at all, despite knowing them both separately? Wicked’s Rest was a small town but, in moments like this one, it felt so much smaller. It seemed everyone knew everyone in one way or another. Sometimes, it was comforting. Other times, it was terrifying. In this instant, it felt more neutral. 

Nodding in agreement as Inge spoke, Felix offered Mona a watery smile. “I’m just glad you’re okay,” he said earnestly. “I was… really scared.” Felix wasn’t afraid to admit things like this, didn’t feel shame at the fear clawing their gut. His friend had been missing, and it had scared him. She was back now, and they were relieved. It was a simple thing. 

When Inge was looking for a place to take Mona, Felix shook their head. “Um, probably not mine,” they said quickly. “It’s… not important right now, but I can’t… have visitors.” They glanced between the two, shrugging slightly. That wasn’t something they wanted to unpack at the moment. There were far more important things — like Mona and her well being. “But I have snacks in my truck! Or we can go to a restaurant! I can buy food. For both of you!”

—

“I’m a little frustrated at myself. All it took was eating a flower?” If she knew that, she would have taken on the personality of a goat, eating everything in sight. Mona sighed again, this time a little too dramatically. She couldn’t believe that a two month exodus from her human form could be solved by one of nature’s bounties. Then again, she’d been stuck because of it, too. Perhaps nature wasn’t the right word. Maybe it was just this town’s way of poking fun at her.

Mona nodded as Inge went on to explain how Frederick was doing. That made sense. He probably would have preferred her over Inge at that point, but Inge’s presence in the temporary home she had made out of Esther’s studio meant that the rabbit should’ve gotten used to her. Then again, maybe that wasn’t how it worked at all. It’s why when Inge was over, they spent time in a separate room from Frederick. “I appreciate you, as always.” She gave Inge a soft smile before her gaze hovered over Felix who had tears in their eyes. 

She reached out, squeezing his arm. “It was scary at first, then I suppose survival instincts kicked in.” She wasn’t like other shifters and she knew that, but still, she was a fox. She knew how to take care of herself as one. Mona dropped her hand from Felix’s arm before crossing them over her chest. “I’m just grateful it was the two of you I happened upon. Imagine if it’d been the kid who thought I was doing cosplay.” She rolled her eyes, thinking of the moment in the bar and how he’d almost been made a snack. 

It had been awhile since Mona had felt so appreciated. Inge’s suggestions, Felix’s misty eyed gaze. Her chest tightened as she looked at her two closest friends. “We’ll discuss that later,” Mona said in response to Felix’s situation with nobody being allowed over at his home. That didn’t sound right. “I’d like a shower first, if I’m being honest. Then I’ll take the two of you out. How does that sound?” Mona could feel her own set of tears beginning to brim the corners of her eyes– overwhelmed by the love she had for them. “I’ll take a snack on the way, though.” She looked over at Felix with a gentle smile. It felt odd, being this sincere. “But, as for what I’m craving– a burger sounds delightful right about now.” 

[winniethewife]

It's undeniably real (Layla El-Faouly x The Moonknight system x Reader)

Chapter 5: Now you've given me the will to survive

Last chapter ~ Next chapter

Warnings: Angst, Mentions of Alcoholism.

Words: 1164

It had been three days, not a word from the boy’s. Layla and I were trying to keep busy. Both of us taking up extra shifts at work, coming home to each other late in the evening, having dinner together and cuddling close on the couch until we’re ready for bed. Holding each other close. On the third night we were lying in bed, Layla held my head to her chest, like she was protecting me, keeping me safe from anything that could hurt me. I cuddled in close as we lay in silence. Hoping to wake up and find our love lying next to us. I feel tears in my eyes and I wonder what could be happening now, all the worst case scenarios playing on repeat in my head.

“Habibti…Its okay…I’m right here.” Layla says softly running her fingers through my hair as tears fall from my eyes. Layla has a lot more practice with this, Them being gone, Doing Khonshu’s bidding. This was all new to me. They’d never been gone this long since I joined this relationship. I took a deep breath and nuzzled my face into her chest closing my eyes and trying my best to fall asleep.

*Moon Boy’s POV*

He had to get back to them. His girls, His wife and His partner. This fight wouldn’t be their last. Marc yelled as he threw one of his crescent darts at one of the members of the dangerous cult he was taking out. He wasn’t going to let this be the last time. It wasn’t long ago he would have given up his life for this, what did he have to live for? But now, he had a family to keep in mind. He needed to see his Wife smile, he wanted to hear his lovers laugh. He looked into a reflective surface and instead of seeing himself he sees Steven, who looked uncharacteristically pissed off.

Steven was ready to take the body and beat the crap out of these guys, His thoughts also on their Partners back home. As marc let him take over the ceremonial suit transforms quickly into the tailored white suit, Steven pulls out his night sticks and begins to beat the men in front of him, ducking and swerving to avoid their attacks and position himself in a better place to attack. He usually isn’t one to fight, but being away from the girls has got him on edge. He’d seen what these cult members were doing to their wives and daughters and all he could see in the woman’s faces was the look of fear, and how that fear would look on the face of the women he loved. That was all he needed.

Jake wasn’t loving being pushed to the sidelines for this fight. His own patience wearing thin. He wanted to get home to his Amor. He wanted to feel her soft embrace. But right now, he wanted to kick some cultist ass.

“Come on amigo, Give me a turn.” Jake huffed at Steven.

“And let you leave a mess of a massacre? Nah I don’t think so mate” Steven chided.

“C’mon it was one time!”

“One time since we could keep an eye on you.” Marc chimed in, reminding him of the point in time when they didn’t know Jake was around.

“Dios Mio…Don’t you guys want to get home?” He snapped

“Of course we do, but we aren’t going to be idiots about it” Marc growls at him

“Would you both shut up?!” Steven shouts exasperated, which confused the cultists, who weren’t talking. “Oh bugger this…”

~

Layla and I, wake up in the morning and there is still no sign of them. We start our day with breakfast, it was the weekend, no work, nothing to do. Layla said she had an errand to run and would be back later.

“Just relax darling. I’ll come back and we can just watch a movie or something.” She said as she left, kissing me on the cheek. I just wanted to curl back up in bed, the temptation to drink was high, but I knew if I went on a binge right now that wouldn’t help anyone or anything. As I lay down I realized how tired I was and I closed my eyes, drifting in and out of sleep as I slept fitfully. At some point I felt weight on the bed and a strong arm pulling me in.

“Hey…it’s okay baby…we’re home.” Marc whispers in my ear as he nuzzles his face in the crook of my neck, pulling me in closer. I feel a sense of calm wash over me as he holds me in close. Wrapped up in his arms for the first time in days I finally fall asleep fully at peace.

~

I woke up later that afternoon still wrapped in Marc’s arms, and also Layla’s the two of them quietly talking as they held me, completely unaware that I was awake.

“It’s a bigger deal then we thought, this ‘cult of the jackal.’ There’s more of them then we imagined, they have a lot of power and influence right now it’s a mess. Not quite on a Harrow and Ammit scale but it’s still bad.” Marc muttered.

“So, it’ll have to be a team effort then, the both of us again?” Layla asked in the same hushed tone.

“We need the help…but I don’t know how to leave her behind.” My heart sank at that. I knew it was a possibility at some point they would have to go out and save the world without me, but after the boy’s being gone, I don’t know how to handle both leaving.

“We can take her with us. If this relationship was ever going to last she was going to have to do this sometime. She’s not useless either, we grew up together. She knows how to fight.” Layla argued.

“Does fencing really count?”

“Says the guy who throws magic moons around, or hits guys with sticks…”

“Hey…”

“I want to come” I say quietly. They both seem startled as I speak looking down at me. “I also know how to shoot a crossbow or bow and arrow. I took archery courses.”

“I…I didn’t know that.” Marc responded running his hand down my back.

“I’m sorry Habibi. Did we wake you?” Layla kissed the top of my head.

“No I woke up on my own.” I said as I sat up and looked at them. “I don’t want to get left behind. I want to help.”

“Then let’s start planning, the more help the better.” Layla said with a smile. Marc looked worried but nodded.  “So first we’re going to need supplies…” Layla starts in. I take Marc’s hand as she’s talking and gives it a squeeze. He looked at me and smiles.

“I love you.” I mouth to him.

“I love you more” He mouths back with a squeeze of my hand.

~

Masterlist

Taglist: @redeyerhaenyra @summonthesoups

[sophierequests]

zoya nazyalensky

Navigation┃Main Masterlist┃Request

Angst: ☾ ┃ Fluff: ♡ ┃ Hurt/Comfort: ☆ ┃ Smut: ♤

“You are strong enough to survive the fall.”

oneshots

not how it was supposed to go (☆ / ♡) → Zoya's crush on the reader is becoming more and more obvious, how will she react when she sees them with another girl?

Maybe dumped wasn’t the right word for her current situation, since you two weren’t technically together. You had obvious chemistry, constantly flirting and spending time with each other, but none of you had yet dared to make the first move.

putty in your hands (♤ / ☆ / ♡) → When the new supposed Sun Summoner starts going on Zoya's nerves, the reader decides that it's time to cheer her up. But what happens when cheeky flirting turns into something more?

She sighed, eyeing you slowly, seemingly taking every inch of your body intently. Her eyes stopped as she met yours again. In the blink of an eye, you saw her face upside down, hovering over yours, never breaking eye contact.

the sun and her storm (☾) → The Apparat's cult is weird, but they wouldn't go as far as kidnapping the only known Sun Summoner, whilst knowing who their girlfriend is, would they?

The priest didn't budge from his spot, engaging in a tense conversation with Zoya, who was close to pushing him from his creaky wooden box. You didn't understand what they were saying, the casual chatter from the passing people overshadowing their talk.

i only want to be with you (♡) → After Genya's constant teasing reveals that the reader has a crush on somebody, Zoya gets slightly jealous.

A few weeks prior, you accidentally let it slip that you had a slight crush on a certain squaller, which seemed to not surprise your friend at all. Since then it became one of her most talked-about matters, effectively managing to drive you up against the wall. As soon as she realized that it wasn’t just a little innocent infatuation, but fully developed feelings towards your mutual friend, she didn’t want to let it go, constantly teasing or encouraging you to ask her out.

pages thumbed, heartstrings strummed(♡) → Zoya seems to be in the library more often than usual. What could be the reason for her sudden interest in the old tomes?

However, before you could even properly begin reading the book on amplifiers, you had planned on working through, the door opened again. A young woman with black hair and a blue kefta entered the room. You recognized her immediately.

the universe must have divined this (♡) → Zoya thinks the reader should dump her boyfriend.

At first, she considered leaving, knowing that she wouldn’t get any real chances to make a move on you. But when the friends you were currently with opted out to join the masses on the dance floor, you were left alone, still waiting for a man that wouldn’t show. Now it was her turn.

i don't need you (but oh i do) (☆ / ♡) → Zoya's and the reader's relationship is very unclear, causing her to deny even having feelings for her. When a certain Heartrender visits the Palace, things are bound to change.

"If you want me to." he smirked, "You're terribly tired because you didn't spend the night in your room. I knocked earlier and guess who I found inside? No one. I'm not quite sure whose room you slept in, but I think I have a sneaking suspicion of who it could be."

it's obvious i wanted to (☆) → Zoya can't admit that she likes the reader, and it starts getting difficult.

There was no point in denying that Zoya had developed feelings for you. No matter how hard she tried to push them away, to treat you just as a friend, she couldn’t deny that she liked you. Nikolai had already tried to convince her to confess at least a thousand times, but she knew that she wasn’t able to.

i'd marry you with paper rings (♡) -> Zoya and the reader recall some of the most important incidents in their relationship.

“Do you still remember the night when we first met?” you asked, looking down at Zoya, who was currently laying in your lap, absent-mindedly fiddling with the fabric of your skirt.

you drew stars around my scars, but now i'm bleeding (☆) → Memories of a long-lost relationship start to resurface.

Without giving yourself time to think, you pulled it out from underneath the clutter, absent-mindedly brushing the dirt off and letting your fingers run over the intricate silver embroideries around the collar. It was slightly damaged from being worn on the battlefield and during training, but that only made it more real. It was her kefta.

gift-giving (♡) → Zoya really isn't a holiday person.

Zoya wasn’t a holiday type of person. She didn’t do feasts, celebrations, dancing or gift-giving. She didn’t dress up, she didn’t decorate and she certainly wasn’t one to be jolly or merry. Not even after a Genya-induced drinking spree would she sink down to the level of celebrating Christmas of all things. At least that’s what she told herself. 

i need you more than you can ever know (☆ / ♡) → After a figuring out that she has feelings for the reader, Zoya decides to distance herself from her and their friendship with benefits. When a sudden accident causes more hurt than good, she finally comes clean.

The relationship you had was entirely and strictly platonic. You were co-workers that occasionally slept together when they needed some form of release, and that was everything there was to it. Until it wasn’t.

headcanons

zoya nazyalensky x f!reader dating headcanons (♡)

zoya nazyalensky x bookworm!reader headcanons (♡)

queen!zoya x fjerdan!reader arranged marriage headcanons (♡)

zoya nazyalensky x f!reader marriage headcanons (♡)

[leothetraveler]

The Foreign King AU

Chapter 1 - Origins/Intro

Two months.

Two months since I was dragged here by that damned lamb.

They wanted to pull one of their little demons through for an extended time…but the demons don’t work like that. Instead, they ended up grabbing me, and pulled me here. For my own safety, I played along with their little “summoned demon” thing. I excused my lack of power by saying the ritual didn’t work right and left me weak, though I’m not sure they bought it. Their followers did though, so used to accepting lies.

I asked to be sent back, but they wanted me to work for them. Said they sacrificed one of their cultists to summon me and needed to get something back. With my “limited power”, I bluffed that all I could provide was labor and someone competent to watch the cult in their stead. They accepted, and we agreed on a term length. Thirty days.

It’s been sixty by now. Give or take. I made it clear I wasn’t going to worship them from the start, but I could tell it still got on their nerves every time I refused to participate in a ritual or listen to a sermon. By the third week, I could tell they weren’t going to uphold their end of the bargain. I asked too many questions about this land. About them, the bishops, and their crowns. I was a threat to their control, and they had no intention of simply sending me away. I don’t think they even looked into sending me home. Probably planned my execution from the start. But I still had a week. Even if the lamb claimed to have found a way, everyone knew of our deal. I was there for thirty days: no more, no less.

I guess they wanted to shut me up for a while, because they sent me on a mission to gather resources and spread the word of the red crown. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was meant to be a mock execution. But it meant I could leave that cult for a day, and that gave me an opportunity.

If I simply left, the lamb would hunt me down. But so long as I returned with something in tow, I wouldn’t be questioned. So, I headed for the one place I knew I could get help. Silk Cradle. If any of the remaining bishops could help me, it was Shamura. Most of the time, they were delusional since their banished sibling had scalped them eons ago. But between the bouts of crazy, they might be able to help me. If they can’t send me home, they can help me prepare. If the red crown was destined to bring the end of this world, I would need a way to rewrite fate.

The purple crown cultists took some convincing, but an ally on the inside was something they couldn’t pass up. I was granted an audience with the spider. I expected dementia, and that was most of what I got. But after a moment, and some cryptic bullshit, they pulled themselves together long enough for me to spit out my request. I wanted a way to stop the red crown, if necessary. I knew prophecy enough to know the bishops walked right into damnation. But if there was a chance to stop the lamb, or just contain them, I had to try. The people of this world were mostly stupid…but no one deserved what I saw. Not from the bishops, and not from the lamb.

Shamura had already accepted their fate. They knew they were destined to die now. But that didn’t stop them from helping me. There was one way to counter a crown. With another crown. Shamura wouldn’t lend me theirs, and the other bishops would be the same way. But one had already fallen to the lamb, leaving the husk of their crown behind. If it could be reclaimed, I would be able to create my own cult and grow my power to rival the lamb. They didn’t believe that any native would have the strength to pull such off. But since I wasn’t a native, they were willing to try. They went senile for a bit at that point, which I used to request supplies from the cultists to throw off the lamb. They went to gather some wood for me while Shamura recovered themselves. Once they had, they quickly explained the ritual to me. Simply put, a few loyalists of Leshy’s would need to sacrifice themselves to reignite the crown. And then I would need to claim it as my own. Unfortunately, I could not prepare this on my own. If the lamb caught me at any point, my fate would be sealed. I left the preparation to Shamura’s cult and returned to the lamb’s cult grounds in time for their arrival. They seemed surprised at my punctual arrival, which is mostly why I think they intended the mission to be a death sentence.

From there, I kept my head down. Acted as if nothing was amiss and I expected to go home at week’s end. But what little time the lamb spent with the cult instead of hunting the bishops was mostly sermon and ceremony. And there was no word about a ritual to send me home. The day before the contract ended, the lamb went on another crusade into the land called “Anura”. At the gates, I reminded them of the deadline and asked if they had forgotten. While they smiled and said they would send me home upon their return, their eyes gave them away. Behind the fake smile was a look of annoyance. They had hoped I forgot. Or they themselves did. In any case, they gave me my reason to bail. So I waited till nightfall after the lamb left before making my move.

While all the others were asleep, I grabbed what little I could carry and ran for the forest of Darkwood. If Shamura’s people came through, they would be waiting at Leshy’s temple. And low and behold, they were where they said they would be. By the time I got there, it was almost midday. No doubt the lamb had caught on to my escape, so time was of the essence. The cultists got to work, with some recruited loyalists sacrificing themselves to restore the crown. Within minutes, it was done. All according to plan.

…And then the lamb showed up.

They were blatantly pissed. Seeing the green crown restored probably didn’t help things. They began to cut through the un-sacrificed cultists with ease. While they kept the lamb busy, I went for the crown. I grabbed it, slammed it on my head, and then…

Then it was like my blood was replaced with hellfire, every muscle pierced with thorns, my mind and soul being stretched to their limit in tandem to the moment seeming to last an eternity.

And after an instant, it was over. I fell to my knees, a numbing ache encompassing me as my being adjusted to the crown. I looked up to see the lamb and cultists frozen in shock, seemingly surprised that it actually worked. But it only lasted a second, before the lamb went for my head.

I was no trained soldier, but I didn’t plan on dying right then. Luckily, the crown doesn’t take much effort to use. Just raising my arm in instinctual defense was enough, and the crown formed a shield to block the blow. And with that quickly learned, I just kept my guard up. Blocking blow after blow from the lamb as they screamed about what I had done. So enraged they were by my betrayal, that they didn’t see the cultist until they stabbed them in their side. This didn’t kill them outright and the cultist paid dearly for the wound. But as the lamb’s attention was drawn elsewhere, I grabbed the dagger still embedded in the lamb. And in one quick action, I tore out of the lamb’s side and placed it deep in their neck. With one hand holding the blade in place, and the other holding the lamb’s sword arm, I watched the life drain from them, knowing they would just rise again as they had before. With the rush of battle wearing off, I could only think of one thing to say to them. “Leave me alone.” And with that, their body fell to the forest floor, disappearing into some magic seal shortly after.

From there, my course was clear. I would conquer Darkwood and make it my home. Leshy had been a god of chaos, ruling through power alone. I decided to be different. I declared the ways of the Old Faith dead and made sure someone relayed this to the lamb, if for no other reason than to hold him off.

Thirty days later, and I’m still here. My Church, since I refused to call it a cult, has been growing quickly. More and more flock here from Anura now that Heket has fallen to the lamb’s blade. All of them are seeking refuge. The lamb ignores me for now. No doubt that will change once the bishops are all dead. But until then, I have a kingdom to govern.

……did you get all that?

“Yes, milord…are you sure you want to write this down? I mean, what will the-”

I would rather my side of the story be written down, even if it may make some of our members question things. It’s not like I'm making them read it anyways.

“Very well, sir…well, with this out of the way, shall we return to maintaining the cu- I mean, church?”

Heh heh, still slipping up, I see. Not surprising from one of Leshy’s high priests… but yes. Back to business.

Next >>

[resignedseraph]

Weird and fucked up thinking about the way the people I grew up around alienated anyone perceived as too “other” or associated with someone who’s not like them. Like, I had a pretty solid social advantage. I’m white, I’m thin, I was able bodied as a kid, I was born in the US (where I grew up), but still I ended up hiding most associations with any other cultures that weren’t either mine or the few exceptions of the people I grew up around (ex: Russian culture, since a lot of them were Russian).

And it’s fucked up, I don’t know, I know I didn’t have it as bad as people who where born into the cultures ostracized by that community, but it was awful to hide my joy growing up.

I didn’t sing songs from Fiddler on the Roof while at the cult. I didn’t wear a sari there ever, even though a family friend had taught me and my brother how to put one on/together. I didn’t linger long on the Native art that I loved so much and grew up around when I was with others in the cult.

I the only things I actually shared around those people were by mistake (and then realizing oh, I can’t do that again), or through food, and even that was kinda cutting it close. I didn’t talk about where we got some of my favorite food because it was from the nearest East Asian shopping center and they wouldn’t understand, just judge. No one understood the appeal of curry and rice and said it looked like vomit. Hell, people thought I was weird for knowing how to use chopsticks, or how to order things at a Mexican restaurant that weren’t “the usual” without looking like a complete dumbass.

Which is fuckin absurd! Idk, I’m just thinking about the absurdity of it all. No it’s not as bad, and, it still was really ostracizing to be caught in the middle of it all and expected to choose between one or the other. I’m glad I chose humanity

[massivechildtidalwave]

things heard in my freshman year OF MARCHING BAND

I feel like a sassage 

Shame is powerful, if something isn’t listening to you shame them.

Today we are talking about who has the best shakes and if you say Zach after a bad rep your cut

“You can get anything at Buckys” “you can’t get Coc-“ 

“Everybody cLap your hands!” “Clap his cheeks”.  ….”sorry what.”

“I’m a fetus!”

“Come on everyone were doing foundations outside. If we all gather into the dry spot we can do it!”

“The IRS has hired 80 new agents, everyone let’s not pay our taxes! Make them do their jobs”

“Wanna see his toe pics” “shows a colorgaurd rifle.”

“Yeah! You bumped me during lunch! Your hair touched me! YEAH!”- homecoming court”

“God forgive me for the jokes I have made they weren’t good”

“The only thing I throw is throw down” “the only thing I throw is when I throw my life away” 

“You already have a hole so let’s just make it bigger” throws Someone on the ground after seeing a small hole in their uniform.

“ I hate it but my brother is getting married” 

“I don’t hate that he’s getting married I just hate that he isn’t going to be here”

“They installed a stereo in my head”

“Pick them up! if a tuba smashes a low g it’s going to die”

“No! We are not “All in this together” we are playing symbols!”

“The keys are made of wood, so they can break easily. That’s why we need to wrap them- “as easy as the resonators disconnect?”

“We don’t want to see Pinocchio in there!”

“If lying would cause your #### to get bigger like Pinocchio’s nose” 

“ I would lie all the time-“ “No honey I didn’t sleep with the neighbor”

“We’ll wait for the hallways to clear out… and for Jacob to stop kissing his girlfriend in the Hallway

“(Our school names) front ensemble featuring the winds!”

“Where’s Jeniah Jean, the real loud voice of the southeast “

“One day this movie will be studied, shrek was a cultural reset”

“I am waiting to yell at someone. If an adult does something At universal, I’m screaming at them. Hey sir there are teenagers! I don’t like how you are looking at those girls sir.”

“What you think you are, a dollar store Chris brown”

“ can we just forfeit” “everyone get sick at the same time”

“Band is a cult” 

“You were watching porn on the bus!”

“You were showing pornhub on your screen”

“Shes the person who would be like “is this chloroform?”

“ they wouldn’t know how to spell drum if it was in their birth certificate”

“She’s five four with shoes on, has four ear precings, is dating Trey’s brother.” “Wait what” 

“Could be a white superemist”

“ could you not I got hit by a golf club when I was a child.”

“ suck my right nut and make my left nut jealous.” 

“If your gay and you know it clap your hands!”

“One time it was raining so hard people got out their shampoo and conditioner and took showers in the rain. I was one of those people so..”

“He said ‘you live in the Arby’s dumpster’l

“We should start adding slay bells to pep tunes.”

“No you don’t want to give that to her, she had an eating disorder that makes her eat inanimate objects. She’d eat the lid” the girl-“and the plume and the box and this hat” “that’s a lot of violence”

“My (short study period nicknamed free the school mascot for freshman) class is super racist” “this class isn’t much better.”

“The donuts are there if you want to sample them at your own risk”

The door is closed “this calls for skipping”

“ I don’t see Seth. You know that may be because of he’s height… sorry that joke just wrote itself”

“If you were wearing a Nike shirt we would be asking when are you going to just do it right”

[detectivewoof-a]

I said I was gonna do it and I did it. It's really fucking nasty down here.

‘Records of the cursed dogs in South America are few and in between, but the general consensus seems to be that they are an impossibility.’ 

He’d been lying on the floor for what felt like the longest ten minutes of his life, arms clutched hard over his midsection. Or maybe those were his intestines? It was hard to tell when the feeling of flesh seemed to blend together with the way his head swam from blood loss. 

The caliber had been large, the fucks, but they didn’t lace it like they usually did. No silver, or the blood would’ve started smelling like rot and mold now. No silver, which meant this wasn’t a hunt. Sadistic bastards wanted something... 

Manny was sure of it anyways. That Cult of the Sun or whatever they went by these days wouldn’t have tracked him for no other reason.  

‘A theory that commonly gets raised is why and how. Many figure that it’s the notion of this... beast that seems to guide them in extreme times of need and others, but where does it come from?’ 

He could feel his breathing slowing to a labor, the squelch and pain of trying to pack the important bits back where they needed to go was almost too much. It was probably a miracle he didn’t vomit or shit himself from the initial convulsion of shock. The rest of the bodily functions weren’t as lucky. 

Words were being spoken somewhere above to him. Maybe. Something about studying, of course it was, and the boot that tried to step on the mess of internals he didn’t have the energy to push wasn’t helping any. 

The snarling echoed in his ears was the last thing Manny could hear before letting himself get swept away in the cold. 

‘We’re not sure where it comes from, but one thing’s for certain: if you’ve downed one of the beasts then you need to make sure you finish it off. Leaving it to die on its own is not enough.’ 

The hunter watched in horror, a scream left dying in her throat at the scene. Her mentor caught by a massive claw that jutted out from the new hole in their captive’s body. Panic, orders, she scrabbled for the silver tips on her belt but a new noise made her drop them and the gun. A sickening, meaty snap. She didn’t want to look, but curiosity got the better... 

She really wished it hadn’t. 

Another thick, muscular, fur covered arm broke straight out of the mouth of their victim. The jaw was unhinged and broken clear in two places, hanging only by the muscle. The throat bulged thick and struggled around the mass. Wet, gagging sounds like being choked, oh God was he still alive?-- 

Her mentor yelled about his leg and screamed at her to fire, but she couldn’t. God, she couldn’t stop watching... 

The skin stretched until it tore, the mouth seemed to unhinge impossibly more. The gagging got louder, like a struggle to breathe. God, just die, please it’ll be kinder.  

Except there wasn’t any kindness when the freed claw was able to finally reach and tear. Flesh and muscle gave way with little difficulty not much different from clothes, she watched in horror as it tore into what was left of the shoulder as well. The injury that impacted was still there but somehow less. Smaller. 

Or maybe it was the size of the beast that stood before them that made them think that. 

It roared, she screamed, her mentor yelled at her to run. 

‘Stories say that their God will not accept them until their purpose has been fulfilled. Experience says that these creatures will die as long as we make sure they’re dead once they are down. This is why we call them Los Que Esperan.’ 

‘They are the ones that wait for death.’