#Nyx wants him to watch snap cube

[kelp-or-tobi-idk]

I am so incredibly confused on how this happened, but Venti, the genshin impact femboy god, has showed up as a fictive. He is currently trying to talk to one of the littles as they explain what Sonic the hedgehog is, and he couldn’t be more confused.

[ferociousqueak]

Light in the Dark

Happy Harvest, @hydrospanners! I was your @masseffectholidaycheer gifter! I’m terribly sorry about this fic being so late, but I got really walloped by the flu just days before the deadline, and even in my feverish delirium I knew, “Don’t write with flu-brain. They deserve better.”

At any rate, I loved that you also love stories about families, even the imperfect ones, so please enjoy a bit about Vetra trying her best!

Rating: General Words: 2,143 Characters: Vetra Nyx, Sidera Nyx

Also on AO3!

A keen that could wake the dead jolted Vetra out of a deep sleep for what felt like the hundredth time. She wasn’t sure why she was surprised anymore, but it still took her a moment to compose herself. She looked at the clock and sighed. Only two more hours until she had to be up and headed back to the construction site. The mine would be ready for operations in only a few more weeks, so she had to get as many shifts in before she had to leave this asteroid and look for another one.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pushed herself up and out of bed.

“It’s okay, Sid,” she said as she turned on the lights to their lowest setting and shuffled across the room to her sister’s bed. “I’m here.”

Sid had curled up in a ball so tight, Vetra wondered if she’d ever unfurl again. She held her head between her knees, her hands clasped tightly over her crest. Vetra didn’t even have to be near her to notice how much she trembled.

She eased herself down next to Sid and slipped an arm around her. Sid clambered into Vetra’s lap and practically molded into her carapace.

“Same?” Vetra asked, hoping only the comforting notes were in her voice, not the exhausted ones.

Sid nodded against Vetra’s chest. “Same.”

Vetra rested her chin on Sid’s head and hummed a soothing tone. “We’re safe here. I worked out a deal with one of the other workers to get this place on the interior.” She didn’t think it was necessary to add that the “deal” included almost half again as much rent for the same-sized apartment nearer to the exterior. They really were safer, though. “Space is far away from where we are.”

“But how do you know?” Sid said, her voice high and tight as a wire. “Space sucks everything up! Can’t it still get us?”

Technically, yeah, Vetra thought but knew better than to say. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” she said. “This asteroid could crumble around us and I’d still keep you safe. I promise.”

Sid seemed to relax and the last of her high keen subsided. To Vetra’s surprise, it was actually possible for Sid to nestle closer, and she held her little sister tighter. She sighed, wondering if she’d said the right thing. What would Dad have said?

Sid started to grow heavy, and Vetra started counting back from twelve until she could tuck her in again. She’d done this enough times now that she’d gotten pretty good at moving her sister without waking her. This time, however, she only got as far as pulling the covers over Sid’s shoulders before a small voice floated up.

“You can’t swim in space,” Sid said with an earnestness that nearly made Vetra laugh. “Levicus said you could throw your arms and legs around all you want and you’ll never move. You’ll just spin in place and freeze and die.” Another keen started to rise in Sid’s throat. “And then you stay spinning forever as an ice cube and it’s just black and cold all around and no one will ever find you because space is so big!”

Vetra sighed and flicked her mandibles in annoyance. “Levicus is a jerk and he’s just trying to scare you.” Half a dozen ways to scare that little shit in Sid’s class sprang to mind, but now wasn’t the time to consider any of them. “You don’t have to worry about what happens in space. I’ll make sure you never have to worry about it. Okay?”

Sid sniffed and nodded, and the keen was gone again. Her eyes shifted quickly and her mandibles fluttered in a question Vetra knew she wasn’t going to ask.

“Come on,” she said. “You can sleep in my bed.”

Sid grabbed her plush hanar—looking rather more gray these days than the pink it had been when Vetra cuddled with it—and scrambled out of her bed and across the room before Vetra could even stand up. She chuckled and followed her little sister, turning the lights back down. Vetra would have to figure out something to do about these fits of fear and panic—her bed would soon be far too narrow for both of them if Sid kept growing the way she was—but tonight wasn’t the time for it.

Sid was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow and Vetra felt a twinge of jealousy. As she settled next to her little sister, her mind started to run through its to-do list just like it did every time she tried to go to sleep since Dad . . . well.

There was an innocence in Sid’s fear of space. For as real as it felt, it didn’t really stack up when there were only going to be a handful of credits left after this week’s pay went toward this week’s expenses. They’d been lucky so far that nothing had broken and neither of them had gotten sick or needed to replace any clothes in a few months . . . though that wouldn’t last long with the way Sid was eating and growing. Vetra wished she could only be afraid of the dark now.

Sid slept like a rock, but Vetra only drifted for the few hours she had left, never actually getting back to sleep. Her bones and muscles complained as she forced herself back to her feet to start her morning routine. When she was dressed, she shook Sid awake and guided her still-sleepy steps into the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for school. Not even the teachers would be there yet, but Vetra had worked out a deal with the school’s cafeteria manager: for twenty packs of instant coffee a week, the portly Matron would watch after Sid, letting her color quietly in an out-of-the-way corner of the kitchen while she started the day’s meal prep.

“See you later, short stuff,” Vetra said and rubbed Sid’s head until Sid batted her hand away in annoyance.

As Sid disappeared behind the large metal doors, Vetra looked at her omni-tool. Shit. She took off at a run. The foreman was going to be pissed.

“You’re late, Nyx,” Kaitus growled as she hurried through the door, out of breath. “Again. You need to be on time. Not twelve minutes late. Not five minutes late. Not fucking three minutes late. Get your shit together or go home.”

“Sorry, sir,” she said, biting her tongue as she approached the sign-in station. “Sid had nightmares ag—”

“Do I look like I give a krogan’s twisted testicle about whatever sob story you have again?” he snapped. He pushed her out of the way and canceled the sign-in procedure. “I get an hour of your time for free today. Maybe you’ll get here on time tomorrow.”

Vetra felt her neck turn hot. “Sir, I got here as soon as I—”

He turned back toward his desk and picked up his hard hat. “Work reception today. If you can’t be bothered to show up on time, I can’t be bothered to give you hazard pay.”

“Sir! Please! I need this—”

He slammed the door behind him, knocking something from a nearby shelf, and the office fell silent. Vetra had half a mind to run after him and make him give her her normal shift, but she knew that would be futile. So much for having only a handful of credits after this week’s pay.

Vetra felt the fury rise in her chest and one deep breath after another didn’t do anything to abate it. Tilius was late all the time. So was Tertius. But neither of them even got a sideways glance from Kaitus. Cato even missed three shifts in a row, saying “his bondmate was sick”—complete varren shit, considering how Vetra saw him with her own eyes staggering around several seedy bars in that time—and he still got paid for the time he hadn’t worked. Because he needed it.

She needed to break something. Now.

Without thinking, she picked up whatever it was that had fallen to the floor when Kaitus stormed out and very nearly threw it. The only thing that stopped her was the thought of how she was going to explain a hole in the wall. Don’t let them know you’re angry.

Instead, she turned the object over in her hands. A lamp, as it turned out. An asari with her tits and ass hanging out, holding a moon. Spirits, she hated this thing. It was made from cheap plastic and couldn’t even illuminate a whole room. At best, it gave off a low, blue light when it was turned on as if it were some kind of biotic . . .

An idea struck her and she didn’t need a second more to decide to do it. She shoved the lamp, cord and all, into her work bag and tossed it under the desk when she sat down. If she was giving that asshole a free hour, she was going to get something out of it. Fuck Kaitus.

Vetra sat behind the office desk, her leg bouncing impatiently for the end of her shift, for what seemed like days rather than just hours. When the numbers on the clock finally told her she could go home, she tore out of that office like a varren after wounded quarry.

As Vetra half walked and half ran across the walkway, Sid sat on the bench outside of her school, swinging her legs and playing a game on her omni-tool.

“I have something for you!” Vetra blurted when she was finally close enough. “Come on, short stuff. Let’s get home so I can show you!”

Sid jumped down from the bench, her mandibles flicking wide in curiosity and excitement. “What is it? Can I see it now? V, wait for me! You’re too fast!”

Vetra slowed her pace to let Sid catch up and then stuck out her hand to make sure she didn’t leave Sid behind in her excitement.

“What is it?” Sid asked, turning the lamp in her hands.

“It’s an asari,” Vetra explained as she tore an old work shirt into shreds to wrap around the figure’s exposed anatomy. “You know about asari, don’t you?”

Sid shrugged and shook her head. “Matron T’Liza carries a baby on her back when she’s cooking sometimes.”

Vetra tied the last of the fabric in a knot at the asari’s neck. “Well, for one thing, all asari are biotic. Do you know what that means?”

Sid scratched at her mandible and tilted her head. “It’s blue?”

Vetra smirked and set the lamp on the ground between her bed and Sid’s. “It means they can . . .” Vetra stumbled in her explanation. What were biotics, anyway? “I know this one asari at the construction site who lifts heavy support beams when the equipment fails.” She leaned in close and dropped her voice to a whisper for the drama. “And she does it with her mind.”

Sid’s eyes went wide and she gasped. “How?”

Vetra waved a hand dismissively. “Who knows? The point is, asari can do a lot if they put their minds to it. Some of them can even make barriers. Like this one.”

Sid tilted her head in the other direction, suspicious of Vetra’s claim. “Isn’t that a moon, though? It’s got craters and everything.”

It was Vetra’s turn to shrug. “Well, yeah. But that’s what barriers look like too. And this asari is very special.”

Vetra paused, again aiming to be dramatic. Sid couldn’t resist taking the bait. “Why is she special?”

Vetra flicked her mandibles wide in a smile. “Because when you turn this lamp on, this asari makes a barrier that not even the vacuum of space can break.”

Sid’s look of suspicion deepened. “Really?”

Vetra expected this resistance; Sid was starting to get older, after all. But she wasn’t deterred. “Absolutely. That asari at the construction site? You wouldn’t believe what she could do with her mind just because she believes she can.” Vetra rapped the blunt end of her talon gently against Sid’s nose plates. “Who’s to say you can’t too?”

She leaned up and turned out the lights in the room, then switched on the lamp before the darkness had a chance to set in. It took a moment for the soft blue light to grow brighter, before Vetra could see Sid’s eyes transfixed on the small figure, her small mandibles fluttering in a mix of fascination and expectation.

Vetra sat back, grinning at her own cleverness, without an ounce of regret over the theft. Sid crawled into her lap, never looking away from the lamp. Vetra nuzzled her forehead against the back of Sid’s head. She had a feeling they’d both sleep through the night tonight.

[itshaejinju]

Family Is Forever | Chp 4 | FF15 Mafia AU

A/N: Sorry for not posting on Sunday, just was way too ill with the headache!

OCs in this Fic: @neko-otaku13 Evita is mentioned in this chapter! @fieryfantasy Sa’Van is mentioned in this chapter! @waifuthewhite Arabella is in this chapter!

Warning: Some blood | Word Count: 2,977

Enjoyed this? Why not help fund my therapy? Ko-Fi

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 |

Tagging: @themissimmortal @stephicness @stunninglyignis @blindbae @rubyphilomela @cupnoodle-queen @lady-asuka @sweetchocobae @blondechocobobutt @ardyns-jabberwocky @cagedbycravings @inprotocreed @sheylann @mandakatt @misssarahdoll @mistressoli @neko-otaku13 @zacklover24 @waifuthewhite @fieryfantasy @insomniacapples @insomniasix @chocobabyporcelain @chocobropuffs @chocobroing @valkyrieofardyn @thirsty-angst-lord @nykamito @nyxswaifu @alicemoonwonderland @eternallydaydreaming2015 @roses-and-oceans @diadyn @promptoargentum-is-my-husband @promptoastandbutter

Chapter 4:

He wasn't really expecting the surprise attack from the Izunia's, Evita Hemlock and Lenore Graves to hit him with a gorilla attack. Nyx didn't do well against the two of them had he been with his partner it would have been better but Sa'Van was off doing other things. Really he didn't think he would need help just going to Fae Flowers to see Arabella to tell her that he had managed to solve her problems with the Family. It was suppose to be only a few minutes, that didn't pan out in his favor.

Evita and Lenore popped up out of nowhere their tag team attacks was was perfect to get him down it's not saying he didn't give them a run for their money it's just that his was a bit more dangerous. Evita coming up with smoke bombs and various poisonous grenades blinding Nyx's vision while Lenore dodged in snapping at him with her rapier with blinding speed. He was able to sneak in some return volleys as he Warpstriked to avoid further attacks from them to escape the area.

Nyx limped into the Fae Flower shop blood dripping on the floor of the white linoleum shop, the sharp smell of Styrofoam, roses, lilacs and cedar filled his nose masking the iron like smell of blood. Coughing a bit of thick phlegm coming out as his lungs were trying to vacate the grime it took in from the smoke bomb, his eyes normally clear blue looked red and patchy. His lip ring was nearly torn out in a spot as at one point the rapier had snagged it pulling on it roughly nearly tugging it out of his lip. He hadn't been wearing his suit jacket so the shirt and vest was ripped in spots exposing his back and chest with little nicks and wounds.

“Hello, welcome to Fae Flowers how can I help you to--- Mr. Ulric!” Arabella Fae shouted as she realized that the man before her is a bleeding mess.

“I'm quite fine I –.” Nyx said as he collapsed to his knees in front of the fresh batch of summer flowers.

“Oh no you are not!” Arabella called out her long blonde hair flowing behind her elegantly as she wore a soft cotton floral print dress that loosely clung to her petite frame.

Getting down on her knees before Nyx she placed a hand on his shoulder, soft blue eyes staring over at him concerned he had always been so kind to her since she moved to Insomnia. Arabella had enough money to open the flower shop she had been always dreaming of opening up and did well for quite a while until a huge lull in business hit. That is when she needed to also pay for protection from the Izunia's as she learned she was close to their border, getting attacked often to give them money or just vandalism of her shop. That is when Ignis Scientia and Nyx Ulric had shown up offering help from the Caelum family for a small fee, well the small fee didn't sound like much at the time as she was making quite a bit of money and it was needed of her to save her shop. But now that business has been slow for five months straight now 400 Gil a month was starting to be too much for her to afford on top of the other things she needed to pay for.

That is when Nyx came in he had been visiting a lot which Arabella thought was normal until a neighboring shop mentioned it to her that he was coming by way too much for a mafia member. They just show up once a month the associates show up weekly but soldiers not so often as Nyx being a soldier it is what made them curious. Her neighbor teasing her that Nyx had a thing for her, made poor Arabella blush like mad. Could he like her? He did offer to help with her month issues twice so far and here he was after she received some scary letters from the Consigliere of the Caelum Family about shutting her business down if she didn't pay the money.

“Let me help you, Mr. Ulric okay? I have a first aid kit in the back, let me flip the sign over first.” Arabella said popping up to her feet rushing over to the front door flipping over the sign and locking the first lock on it.

“It's just a flesh wound or two. . .I uh. . .saved your shop.”

“Shush, you are in a lot of pain!” Arabella ordered, not hearing what he had said as she  helped him to his feet.

Arabella brought Nyx to the backroom with her personal office, it was small and tidy sitting Nyx down on the chair opposite of her desk. The office just had a small desk, littered with receipts, scrap pieces of fabric she used to wrap up bouquets and a few flowers she was working with. The rest of the office was fairly bare in objects as the last time she had stuff of any personal value it got stolen and Nyx warned her to keep special things to a minimum in her shop. Pulling her long blonde hair into a bun out of her face, Arabella took the emergency first aid kit from the shelf placing it on the desk, unzipping it she was a bit nervous she had medical training but she still was always wary around wounds.

“Let me help you remove the shirt and such. . .will be able to heal them better than way.” Arabella commented, blushing at the thought of seeing him without a shirt, she couldn't deny a certain amount of attraction to Nyx.

As Arabella helped remove the shirt, she was quite in awe over all the scars he had on his hairy chest, some blood mixing in with the short shallow cuts he received from his opponent. She was curious as to what mafia member did this, she was also a bit too scared to ask. Nyx didn't wince when she placed a damp with rubbing alcohol cotton ball on his wounds. She expected him to growl and whine about it but he just let it happen, taking deep breaths.

“Don't have any potions on you? I normally do but I was in a hurry to see you so I didn't think quite ahead.”

“Oh those are too pricey. . .so just the old fashion things sorry, Mr. Ulric.”

“You know you can call me Nyx I've said it's okay like a dozen times so far.” Nyx chided her as he fiddled with the lip ring some.

“Don't mess with that Nyx, you'll rip it out.” She said batting at his hand gently away his hand.

“Did you hear what I said earlier?” Nyx asked a few minutes after silence as she gave him some cough medicine for the coughing fit he just had.

“Hmm?” She asked, as he turned to look up at her with concerned blue eyes.

“I got a reprieve for your shop, I got the money you need to be caught up for the rent you owe plus a little towards next month. So your shop is saved for now.” Nyx informed her, he was taking a great risk for all that he did for her, the use of pretty much all of his savings and getting in the line of fire from the Capo Familigia.

But he had a lot of feelings for her, he wasn't quite sure if they were love or not but he was sure that he wanted to explore them further with her. He just didn't know how to approach her or speak with about it because she was technically a client. In the of it Nyx was conflicted specially right now watching her carefully apply bandages to his wounds, a soft smile on her face.

“I really don't know how to thank you, Nyx. I really can't afford to take you out to dinner and I don't know what to do.” Arabella stopped what she was doing to tap a well manicured nail against her chin.

Nyx found that little move cute smiling broadly up at her, his heart thumping loudly in his chest.

“How about you come to my house after work and you help me cook up the dinner I have – there is enough for two people for sure.”

“Wouldn't that bother your girlfriend any?” Arabella coyly asked, as she placed a band aid on his forehead.

“I'm quite single. . .” Nyx said a slight blush rising to his cheeks as he gives her a coy smile.

“Then I think it would be quite nice to join you for dinner. Thank you so much for helping  me out.”

“Only helping out the pretty lady. . .”

Ignis was on his third cup of coffee in the library pouring over a crudely drawn map and some books he had found on the genealogy of the Fleuret family. Pushing his glasses back up his nose he heard the soft padding of bare feet on the floor, the smell of fresh coffee arising to his nose. Looking up he spotted Morana walking over to him, she placed the pot down on the table. Quietly she took two cubes of sugar from the jar beside his mug taking them with her fingers instead of the tongs beside it, causing him to roll his eyes a little. He watched as she poured the coffee a drop spilling onto the map she had drawn.

“Would offer the pot itself for you to drink out of but I think that is too uncouth for you, Iggy.” Morana commented as she poured in a bit of cream for him.

Ignis had all the rights right now to be wary as to why Morana was pouring him coffee and making it exactly how he liked it. Anyone beyond Gladiolus should be worried when Morana did something nice for them because that generally meant she wanted something or had done something that she was going to ask forgiveness for. So when she sat beside Ignis running a hand through her long black hair light green eyes going over the map with the notes he had added, he took a tentative sip, waiting. She said nothing, it made him peeved just slightly though because surely this was not some act of kindness from her.

“This map is fairly detailed.” Ignis commented, a gloved finger brushing over the sides of the cup.

“Well I spent a lot of time there so I guess I remember more of that shit-hole than I thought.”

“It also worries me when you betray us for another and remember such information that it will be our downfall. I will make sure to kill you for leaving.”

“Or entice me in ways I won't leave?” Morana snapped back a smirk playing on her face as she appreciated that Ignis never hid behind a veil like others did about her newfound loyalty to the Caelum Family.

She never gave anyone reason to question her loyalty since she became a Caelum but then again she didn't give them reason not to. Morana did put all her effort in her missions despite it might not always be to the rule she did get the job done.

“I think Gladiolus entices you in many ways in staying in bed at least.” Ignis quipped back, tapping a finger on a corridor on the map.

“You could always up my pay, literally 1000 Gil a paycheck isn't much to go by on what I do.” Morana complained.

“That is plenty, Morana. Now this corridor leads to the dungeon, correct?”

“Yes it does, otherwise I wouldn't have marked that door with the word dungeon on it. Would have been a waste of time don't you think?” Morana replied dryly, grabbing a sugar cube popping it into her mouth.

“So everything leads to this being Stella Nox Fleuret from what you've said and what I've learned in books about her. I want to learn a bit more before I speak with the Capo Familigia about it.” Ignis stated, leaning back in his chair running his hands through his tawny hair.

Ignis knew Morana wasn't going to mess things up and give him wrong advice he did trust her that much. What made him trust her was not that Gladiolus trusted her blindly as many followed what Gladiolus said when it came to people's integrity. She had countless chances to betray them that would leave the family devastated and she didn't, always taking the best route for the family. He tested her faith in the family several times and each time she proved herself to be a woman of integrity.

“So you are saying that you want to go about and question some other associates of the Izunia family for what they can squeal for?” Morana asked, propping her bare feet on the table top, frayed hems of her slacks resting on the table top.

“Yes, do you know of any weak ones we can target?”

“I do. A few in fact. . .I do have someone that I could chat up they are a bit of a informant for Izunia and a close friend of mine.”

“You have friends?” Ignis interjected, eyes wide as he turned to face her.

“I know it's quite odd that I somehow managed to collect a few of those strange things called friends. Not sure why they stick around, surely not because of my lovely personality.” Morana commented chuckling as she grabbed another sugar cube.

“Yeah I am quite clueless as to why they stay with you either, I often wonder myself why I consider you a friend.” Ignis replied a smug look on his face.

“What you think of me as a friend? What madness is going on in this world?” Morana barked with laughter.

“A lot of madness for sure, soon Ebony will only be decaf and Gladiolus will hate cup of noodles.”

“And that's when I clock out of this world. There will be too much madness for me to handle. It's perfect the way it is right now.” Morana hummed closing her eyes a little.

“Babe you in here?” Gladiolus called out entering the library, amber eyes scanning the room landing on the two of them. “Heya Iggy what are the two of you scheming?”

“Mass genocide and to overthrown the national regime.” Morana replied sarcastically, getting to her feet, walking over to Gladiolus getting on tip toe placing a kiss on his jaw.

“Good, always need a good dose of genocide and plans to over throw the rich.”

“You do realize we are richer most of the royal families? We have more control over the economy than the royal family does.” Ignis explained, chiding the two of them.

“They why are they the ones getting a lot of credit and love?” Gladiolus asked, wrapping a arm around Morana's waist pulling her close to him as she rested her head lazily on his arm.

“Because they do things legally and where we do things less than legal.” Ignis answered, rolling up the map trying to ignore how cute they looked together in each others arms.

“Anyways, Morana do you think you can help me with that? Since tomorrow is Sunday we won't be able to do anything. We would have to wait until Monday to actually do anything.”

“I can talk to my friend tomorrow they will be able to help me.”

“I assume you are going to bring me up to snuff with this conversation?” Gladiolus asked, curious notes hitting his voice.

“Yes, Morana you can tell him – Gladio might come to some help with this actually.”

“Well good I was going to tell him no matter what, it's not like we are doing anything secretive. Just infiltrating Izunia forces for information.” Morana laughed shrugging her narrow shoulders.

“Well babe that can wait till later Noct ordered us to take Prompto out on our Saturday night rounds.”

“Why are we taking that little runt with us?” She asked, rolling her eyes, hands on her hips a slight disgruntled look. “He doesn't know anything. . .”

“Exactly why, apparently training didn't stick with him and the Capo Bastone wants us to train him on territories more.” Gladiolus explained, stressing the title for Noctis reminding Morana that it was a direct order from the boss that they needed to accept it.

“Fine the Capo Bastone, picked a toy.” Morana grumbled as she agreed. “Let's go then, bye Iggy.”

“Put some shoes on why don't you. . .” Ignis commented. “I don't want to hear from the medical center about you hurting your feet on broken glass again.”

“I hate shoes. . .and really keeping a eye out on my medical visits, Ignis?”

“As Consigliere I need to keep a eye on where the money goes and buying you a pair of shoes is cheaper than the medical bills we have been dealing for feet related injuries.” Ignis spoke as she shook her head, tugging Gladiolus towards the exit.

“Sure Ignis I'll sure put on shoes. Ease that troubled mind of yours.” Morana commented as she waved to him.

“As much injuries you take in with Gladiolus I would wrap you up in bubble tape if I had my way.” Ignis commented to himself as the door shut.