#aaaand he's dead | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ihavemanyhusbands · 2 months ago

Text

Memento Vivere

Also on AO3

Part I // Part II // Mini-Series Masterlist

Pairing: Lucius Verus Aurelius x Fem!Reader

WC: 4.1k words

Summary: Rome is in disarray. Macrinus has been trying to seize power and therefore, he decides to use you as collateral. But Lucius won't let him win so easily.

Warnings: MINORS DNI this fic is 18+, canon events with canon divergence (so, potentially spoilers), graphic depictions of violence, mentions of blood and death, abduction, angst (but there's a happy ending!), reader is a courtesan (SW), fluffy smut, unprotected p in v, 69, typical roman wedding customs, some historical inaccuracies potentially, aaaand i think that’s it! But lmk if anything else.

----------

"Love conquers all; therefore, let us submit to love."

–Virgil.

----------

The pounding came late at night, when the moon had disappeared in preparation for the dawn. The raucous sound startled you awake from a dream you immediately forgot, leaving you dazed and slightly panicked. Prima, your chambermaid, hastily draped a cloak over your shoulders and accompanied you to the front of the house to investigate.

The iron gates seemed to shake from the sheer power of the knocking, as if a battering ram was being used. The courtyard was shadowed except for a few small torches and in that moment, you couldn’t help but believe anything could be lurking in the darkness. Gallus, who guarded the entrance, motioned with one hand for you and Prima to stay where you were.

Fear curdled icily in your stomach and you clutched Prima’s arm as Gallus undid the giant latch that held the gates closed. He partially opened one of them, but as soon as he did, a trio of brawny men barreled inside.

One of them, quick as a flash, drew his sword and drove it into Gallus’ chest. He let out a gurgling sound and collapsed, immediately dead. Prima screamed, but you were frozen in shock, a sob clogging in your throat. The other two men started to menacingly make their way towards you, quickly closing the distance.

You shoved Prima back towards the hallway, stepping in front of her protectively.

“Run,” you urged her. “Save yourself!”

She hesitated for a moment, but then her self-preservation instincts took over and she darted into the darkness of the house. Luckily, none of them pursued her, but they weren’t there for her, after all.

The two men reached you, each clutching one of your arms and dragging you to the entrance. Your heart was pounding like a war drum in your chest, everything coming into sharper focus as adrenaline kicked in. You couldn’t bring yourself to ask who they were or where they were taking you, too afraid they might become more aggressive.

Outside the gate, there were a few more men holding torches, all of them surrounding a man on a pale horse. The rider removed the hood of his cloak and it was none other than Macrinus, Lucius’ master.

“A little bird has told me that one of my gladiators holds you in high regard,” he said by way of greeting, his smile a thin veneer of friendliness. “My champion, as you might recall…”

You dipped your chin in assent, knowing it was futile to lie. His men were restless as if waiting for an excuse to intervene, and you wouldn’t give it to them if you could help it.

“Well, as it happens, I am now in need of some help keeping him in check,” he said, his words less like an invitation and more of a command. “If you would be so kind as to come with us.”

You swallowed hard, nodding once more. “I-if I may ask… Where are we going?”

“Oh, you needn’t worry about that.” He waved off the question dismissively. “You’ll be perfectly safe in my care.”

You hesitated for a moment before inclining your head, trying to seem polite despite the tremor in your voice. “Of course, I–thank you.”

He held out his heavily ringed hand for you to take and swiftly pulled you onto his horse in front of him. You cast one last fretful glance back at your house as if to commit it to memory. What if you never returned?

No, you couldn’t think like that. You’d do whatever it took to see things through and come out alive on the other side. You could play the game… Whatever it was. But if Lucius was on the line, what exactly was expected of you?

“Hold on tightly, now,” Macrinus said close to your ear, making your skin crawl. “Wouldn’t want you to fall.”

He spurred his horse into a wild gallop, the darkened streets of Rome blurring together as they flew past you. The sun was just beginning to rise in the horizon, slowly bleeding crimson and gold.

It could be no coincidence that just the day before, General Acacius had been executed by the Praetorian guard after Lucius had chosen to grant him mercy. You couldn’t be sure what either of them was planning, but Lucius had to be enough of a threat to warrant some collateral. Perhaps Macrinus even thought you might have some idea of what his next move would be.

Anxiousness knotted in your chest as you stared straight ahead. Perhaps if you played your part well enough, you might not just save yourself, but you might also help Lucius, too. All that was left to do was wait.

—-----------------

Outside, the Roman populace was rioting. The fires throughout the city had doubled after the fate of Queen Lucilla was announced. It was no surprise, given their adoration for her and the former General Acasius. That was working in her and Lucius’ favor, but it was also working in Macrinus’s, if things went according to his plans. Things were in a rather precarious position in Rome. Emperor Geta was already dead, and nobody was too keen on the idea of Caracalla having sole power.

Lucius and his mother met a few days prior to form a plan to defeat Macrinus, and they relied on the element of surprise. Lucius hadn’t summoned you in some time, wanting to keep you away from danger, but he had still tried to send you a couple of messages with Ravi. Much to his dismay, though, he had received no response. He feared that you might be angry at him, but it wasn’t until Viggo boasted about your capture, taunting him, that he found out the truth.

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Lucius drove his sword into the face of the man who had tried so hard to break him on the training grounds. He could endure his attempts to humiliate him, the sharp bite of the whip tearing open his back, and the leering grins at his suffering. But he could not bear the thought of him laying a single hand on you.

And still, even after killing him, his rage was not quelled. It would carry him through the rest of the day, like a purifying, righteous flame.

His fellow gladiators disposed of the rest of their captors, and now they waited to enact Lucius’ plan. He stalked out on the sand, approaching the sacrificial altar where his mother and the senators who had conspired with her were tied. Senator Gracchus was among them, his hunched form and frightened expression like a dagger piercing your heart. Queen Lucilla, for her part, kept her chin raised high, a serenely dignified expression on her face. She would not go down afraid in the face of her enemies.

Lucius looked to the Emperor’s box and momentarily halted in his steps as he spotted you. Beside you, Macrinus smiled, wide and cruel. He had deliberately kept you hidden until that moment, when he knew it would be an irresistible distraction to Lucius. You tried to shake your head imperceptibly, but you knew it’d be impossible for him to see at such a great distance.

A scream threatened to crawl up your throat, but you stayed perfectly still, your expression neutral. You could betray nothing in that moment, or it might cost you both everything. Fortuna, I beg you, bless him with your favor once more…

Lucius’ rage was incandescent, blazing through him like sunlight itself. Everything else seemed to disappear and he became like the edge of a well-honed blade – the vision of the god Apollo. He raised his sword and pointed it directly at Macrinus – both a promise and a threat. Only one of them would still live by the end of the day.

The master of ceremonies announced what the games would consist of – Lucius would be the sole fighter to defend his mother and the senators from the Praetorian guard. They rode into the arena at the sound of trumpets, the thunderous noise of horses' hooves pounding on the sand reverberating through you. Your vision went dark for a moment and you thought you might faint, but then you felt an arm slip around your shoulders.

“I want you to watch closely now,” Macrinus said, voice low and close to your ear. “This is what happens to those who go against my will.”

You watched as the soldiers circled closer and closer. An archer among them loosed an arrow that pierced through Senator Gracchus’ throat, blood spurting from his mouth like a gruesome fountain. You whimpered, feeling like air had been punched out of your lungs. Tears rapidly welled in your eyes as your patron fell to his knees, dead within seconds. Macrinus’ grip on your shoulders tightened, gripping your chin with his free hand when you tried to glance away.

At his throne, Emperor Caracalla clapped excitedly over the first death of the spectacle. His pet monkey climbed onto his shoulders, chittering anxiously at all the commotion. With one last menacing look, Macrinus let go of your shoulders and stepped behind the throne to get a better look. Beneath your cloak, your fingers brushed over the small knife you’d stolen from the kitchen at Macrinus’ estate. You sent another prayer to Nemesis, goddess of revenge, so that your hand wouldn’t falter if you were forced to use it.

In the arena, Lucius jumped onto the platform where his mother stood and let out a fierce roar, raising his sword in the air. His battle cry was echoed by the dozens of gladiators that suddenly flooded the arena, immediately engaging the soldiers in a fierce melee.

Mayhem ensued as the crowd grew wild and rapidly uncontrollable. The people surged forward like a tempestuous tide, fighting back against the Praetorian guards who were meant to keep things under control. Macrinus saw his opportunity in the chaos and slipped a needle-like knife into Caracalla’s ear, killing him. His monkey leaped away, terrified, and lost itself in the commotion.

You stumbled backward, aghast, as Macrinus took the bow of the guard nearest him and fired down into the arena. Unthinking, you unsheathed the knife for protection and fled while he was still turned away. You heard his furious scream and his pounding footsteps in pursuit of you, but soon you were met with the angry Roman mob.

You glanced over your shoulder, weighing your options, and decided your chances were better if you lost yourself in the crowd. You fought your way through, not letting anything or anyone stop you. Your heart was racing and your breaths were coming out in harsh pants, but no one really paid attention to you. You were jostled and thrown about, but that seemed to be the worst of it.

Macrinus gave up pursuit rather quickly, instead stealing a horse and fleeing towards Ostia, where he would meet his fate. As for Lucius, you had faith in his strength, in the fury that drove him forward. The best thing you could do was find somewhere to hide, at least until things settled down some. He could not have any more distractions now, in the most crucial moment.

And so, you ran.

—-------------------------------------

Countless hours later, after defeating Macrinus in a duel where the fate of Rome was at stake, Lucius revealed his true identity, his grandfather’s ring back on his finger. But he did not stay long to revel in his victory, instead riding back into the city at breakneck speed. He searched the busy streets for you with the desperation of a man who had already lost everything, but was not willing to go through it again. The rage was dissipating into panic, but he wouldn’t let himself succumb to it.

You were praying in a small temple of Fortuna when you heard his hoarse voice calling out your name, the sound growing closer. You threw off your hood and dashed into the street, seeing him in the near distance atop his horse, frantically looking about. Relief at seeing him alive, though bruised and bloodied, flooded through you. You could almost fall to your knees in gratitude, a great weight lifting off your shoulders.

“Lucius!” You called out, waving your arms above your head so he may spot you. “Lucius, over here!”

Finally, he saw you, his expression nearly crumbling with relief. People moved out of the way to let him through, curiously taking in the scene. By the time he reached you, you noticed your face was wet with tears, but you were unable to stop smiling. He let out a breathy laugh, overjoyed, and pulled you onto his horse. He caught you halfway and kissed you deeply, not stopping even as you murmured thank you, thank you, thank you against his lips like a prayer.

Then he seemed to remember where you were, with dozens surrounding you, and he knew he had to get you out of there. He leaned his forehead against yours for a moment, barely able to believe his immense fortune. He mentally thanked anyone who might be listening for bringing you back to his side, and he kissed the tip of your nose.

“I told you you’d be the first one I’d run to,” he said, helping you settle in front of him. “We must go, the streets are not safe yet.”

You nodded, pressing closer to him. You didn’t even need to ask where he was taking you, for you would go with him anywhere. To the ends of the earth and beyond, until you were just two shades in Hades, indistinguishable from one another.

He spurred his horse, navigating it up the road and away from the more condensed areas of the city. Soon the cloying smell of smoke and the constant shouting disappeared behind you like a distant nightmare. The clean mountain air revitalized you, finally making you feel a little more at ease. We really did it. We made it through.

When you reached the outskirts of the forest near a cliffside, he finally stopped. The view was breathtaking, the sunset seeming to stretch on infinitely, painting the entire sky in swaths of orange and pink. It was quiet except for a soft breeze, with no one around for miles to intrude in your little pocket of paradise. He dismounted first, but you jumped into his arms before he could help you down, practically tackling him to the ground.

He laughed and you kissed him, letting him roll you onto your back on the bed of grass. Hands roamed over each other’s bodies with a certain urgency, ascertaining your solidity. You arched against him and he clutched you to him as if his life depended on it, moving to kiss your face and neck.

“I should have known,” he said, his anger self-directed. “I should have done more to keep you safe, I-”

“No use dwelling on what could have been when I am here now, safe in your arms.” You caressed his hair gently, trying to soothe him.

“But what if you weren’t?” he said, stopping to look at you. “I would never forgive myself for it. I would have followed you immediately.”

“Lucius, please…” you tried to protest, but he turned his face to kiss your palm, laying it against his cheek. “The threat is gone. You have defeated Macrinus. There is nothing to fear.”

For a moment, there was torment written on his features, like a long-buried memory had come to haunt him. His eyes scanned your face, searching for comfort in your loveliness — the delicate curve of your cupid’s bow, the slope of your nose, the fan of your lashes against your cheekbones when you blinked. Your gentle gaze, especially, and those soft lips that curved in a smile whenever he was around. He could never grow tired of looking at you.

For the first time in a long, long time, he could see a future ahead of him, waiting with open arms. Without you, it was just not there, and that was why he was still so distressed. He couldn’t fathom being separated from you and he had been foolish not to realize it sooner. He had been stubborn about his feelings, thinking it was better to keep you at arm’s length just to save you. And all for what?

“What is it?” You prompted, gently smoothing out his frown with your fingers, bringing him out of his thoughts.

“Will you marry me?” He asked.

You immediately sat up, making him pull back with you. You opened and closed your mouth, shocked beyond words. For a moment, you even thought you had imagined him asking that. His eyebrows raised slightly, nervous but expectant.

“Marry you,” You repeated breathlessly, blinking at him. “You want to make an honest woman out of me, is that it?”

“Not just that.” He chuckled. “But an Emperor’s wife, too.”

Your eyes widened. “What?”

He showed you his ring, which featured the profile of Marcus Aurelius, his grandfather. Every last piece of the puzzle seemed to click into place then, but it would take some more time for it to fully sink in. You stared at the ring, completely awestruck, and bent your head to kiss it as if by reflex.

“Lucius, I… Is this what you really want?” You asked, not letting go of his hand. “I am just not sure that I’m, you know…”

You couldn’t bring yourself to say the word worthy, but he caught your meaning anyway. His fingers squeezed yours reassuringly, making you look into his eyes.

“I have never been more certain of anything,” he said. “I would argue you are deserving of better than me. I am not a man without faults, or history, as you well know.”

You shook your head as if he was foolish to worry about such things. It wasn’t like you didn’t have any faults or regrets of your own. You’d already had enough sleepless nights being tormented by them, as you knew he had been. No person had nothing they wouldn’t like to be forgiven for.

“Well, you are plenty enough for me,” you said softly. “Faults and all.”

“As are you,” he said, returning the gesture of worship and respect by kissing your hand. “I want nothing more. I need nothing more. Just you.”

“Then it is no question, really.” You smiled, on the brink of tears again. “I will happily marry you, Lucius Verus Aurelius.”

Finally, the dark cloud lifted from his expression, and his smile was even more beautiful than the sunset coming to an end behind him. Now it was him who tackled you back onto the ground and you thought he might devour you, his lips intent on not leaving one inch of your skin unkissed.

—-------------------------------------

The ceremony was kept small and intimate, but you wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. It was an auspicious June day, warm and pleasant, with no clouds in the sky. The air was perfumed with the smell of fresh cut flowers, as there were dozens of arrangements set up all around. Fountains babbled in the gardens, accompanying the echo of your excited voices.

As was custom, Lucius chased you around the halls of the palace in a mock kidnapping. You could not stop laughing, exhilarated, a thrill dancing down your spine any time you looked over your shoulder to see him giving chase. When he finally caught you, he threw you over his shoulder and carried you to a lectus that overlooked the gardens.

Your veil and wreath came off first as he laid you down on the plush cushions, hair fanning out over them. You helped each other out of your clothes, eager to have nothing between you. When Lucius’ toga was off, you admired his body, running your hands over the hard planes of his stomach and up to his chest.

He cupped the back of your neck and brought your lips to his greedily. The slide of his warm skin against yours was heavenly, only making you want more and more of him, forever. It was still surreal that what had so recently become a dream of yours was now a reality. You would always thank Fortuna for that.

But that made you remember something you’d been wanting to bring up, except there had not been any opportunity before. You hoped it wouldn’t ruin the moment, but it could wait no longer.

“Lucius?” You said between kisses.

“Yes, my love?”

You pulled back to look him in the eye, setting your hands on his shoulders.

“Um,” you began nervously, swallowing hard. “I know what our duties are but… Would it be so terrible to enjoy our marriage by ourselves just a little while longer?”

He caught your meaning immediately, nodding reassuringly as he placed his palm on the small of your back.

“I am in no rush if you are not,” he said without hesitation, not minding the idea one bit.

He’d been having similar thoughts about it for the past couple of days, anyway, and he was glad you’d been the one to bring it up. You smiled at him gratefully, sighing with relief. His eyes dropped to your lips once more, their lure nearly irresistible.

“My wife is a greedy little thing, wanting to keep me all to herself.”

You chuckled salaciously as he ran his thumb over your bottom lip. “Can you blame me?”

He shook his head, watching as you teasingly bit his thumb, licking the pad of it. He let out a breathy groan and you pushed him onto his back, leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses down his chest. His hips jerked as your lips passed his navel, and with the flat of your tongue, you teased the velvety underside of his hard cock.

You heard his sharp intake of breath, followed by him sighing your name. You continued to tease and lick him, making him whimper, his eyes pleading for more when you looked into them. You took him into your mouth and his head tipped back in pleasure, exposing the column of his throat.

“Come here,” he rasped deliriously. “I need to taste you, too.”

You complied with no protest, only extricating yourself to reposition. You swung a leg over his head to straddle his face, leaning your body forward so you could take his cock in your mouth once more. His tongue lapped at your inner thigh, which was glistening with your arousal. You shuddered, moaning around him.

You pushed your hips back as he traced the tip of his tongue through your folds, groaning at the taste of you. The tips of your fingers brushed his sac as you sucked on the sensitive tip of his cock, and he felt as if he might go wild at that moment.

His fingers, in turn, dipped into your cunt, preparing you for him. It became like a game, trying to get the other to come first. He won first, but he wasn’t far behind, and he marveled at the fact that you swallowed every drop. From then on, things were a lot more frenzied.

Hours passed without either of you noticing. There were only a few breaks in between, but otherwise, you and Lucius explored every possible position on and around the couch. It was perhaps the longest wedding night in history, with nothing to hold you back any longer. Except for maybe physical exhaustion, which set in when the sun was beginning to rise on a new dawn.

The two of you lay naked, holding each other close, while you watched the sky lighten. The morning was ripe with possibility, Rome feeling like an entirely different realm. Fear had reigned for so long that peace was still a new luxury, but not one you took for granted.

At that moment, before the day really started and you both had to face your new responsibilities, all you wanted was to commit the first moments of your marriage to memory. The matching rings on your interlocked fingers, the adoring look in Lucius’ heavy-lidded eyes, and the mutual promise to take care of each other for the rest of your days.

“Get some rest, my love,” you murmured, caressing his face. “You’ll need your strength.”

“I shall only sleep if I’ll see you in my dreams,” he murmured, trying to sound playful, but his eyes were already closed.

You chuckled, kissing his forehead. “And when you wake up, you’ll see it wasn’t a dream after all.”

--------

Finis.

#lucius verus x reader #lucius verus x you #lucius verus fanfiction #gladiator fanfiction #lucius verus smut #lucius verus #x reader #minors dni

728 notes · View notes

little-pondhead · 1 year ago

Text

Damian was once reminded of a quote.

God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers.

The saying held no meaning for him, but it slipped out of his mouth once when his mind was wandering and hazy, and his self-control was null.

The boy sitting beside him huffed, a flicker of amusement flashing across his face. The most emotion either of them has been able to express for a while now.

"That line is bullshit," the boy whispered. His voice was hoarse and raw. Damian had to strain to hear him. "I've met many gods, and they would rather sacrifice their soldiers if it meant their own survival."

Damian's head lolled to one side, contemplating his words. "Indeed," he croaked. "I've met my fair share of gods as well. They were, how do you put it..."

"Wimpy? Disappointing? Underwhelming?" The boy offered. The conversation wasn't the most cheery subject to talk about, but it served to fight off the medicine that was attacking their minds.

"Soft-bodied bitches." Damian let out an uncharacteristic snicker. The boy broke out into giggles, that soon transformed into violent coughs. Thick blood was spat onto the ground, and the temporary joy dissipated from the air.

No jokes could cover up the fact that they were trapped.

Well, not trapped. They'd been captured. And caged. Like fucking animals. It was humiliating and terrifying at the same time.

When Damian first landed in this dimension, he immediately knew something was off. He paid no mind to the empty streets of a half-destroyed town nor the strange graffiti and green fog that reminded him of Fear Gas. Blast marks made his footsteps dirty, but he barely even noticed. What was truly unsettling to him was the immediate pull he felt toward a certain direction. His very soul was crying out desperately for something, and it was all Damian could do to follow the urge.

He walked for what felt like hours. Glowing eyes peeked at him from the shadows, scattering when he approached. The fog got thicker, dragging at his bones and making his heartbeat feel slower. The silence was mind-numbing, and he didn't dare make a peep.

As he got to (what he assumed) the center of town, Damian noticed a thick, rotting stench replacing the fog within the span of a few blocks. Glowing red flowers lined the sidewalks and streets, sometimes sitting in piles in the mouth of alleyways or arranged in a line across the doorway of a shop. Like how one would salt their home to ward off evil. When he tried to get a closer look and possibly a sample, his body physically recoiled from the flowers as if stung. The mere presence of them made him feel sick.

So he ignored them for now. Damian continued to trudge along in a straight line, following his instincts. As the fog lifted even more, sound returned to the world as well. The town was truly abandoned, then. No sirens or car horns were going off. No one was running through the streets, panicked about the fight that had obviously taken place.

What Damian did hear was two voices raised in anger, a third in fear, and the sound of concentrated explosions happening nearby. He broke into a run. The fight that brought him here had done some decent damage to his outfit and person. His mask was barely clinging on, his armor was digging into his skin strangely, and he'd lost his weapons, but as soon as Damian had heard that third voice, he just had to run.

Damian knew he was going against all his training by rushing into the situation. Logically, he should have backed out as soon as he heard the commotion. Maybe retreated completely or at least snuck around to assess the situation first. But no, here he was, barely keeping his secret identity intact, bolting towards a group of unknowns like his life depended on it. His mind screamed at him that it did.

He finally rounded a corner and nearly tripped on the excessive rubble. He'd made it to the town square. There were more red flowers and blast marks. A pair of adults, one impossibly large man and a smaller, lithe woman in hazmat suits, were standing back to back, glowing guns raised as they searched the sky and ground around them. He stepped behind a chunk of concrete to hide himself better.

"Show yourself, Phantom!" The woman screamed. She was so full of rage. "There are blood blossoms surrounding this whole area; I know you can't leave!"

There was a slight shift in the rubble to Damian's right. Without hesitation, the man spun around and shot the pile. Damian didn't have time to move, so he just crouched and covered his head while a blast of green light destroyed the pile and surrounding debris. When the light cleared, Damian was distantly horrified to find that his cover had taken on the brunt of the rebound blast and had been reduced to pebbles. His cover was gone.

The man immediately noticed him.

"Oh, look, Mads! Another one!"

The woman whipped around to study his tiny figure, still curled up to protect himself. Damian knew these were dangerous people. Why couldn't he get up and run? The woman grinned awfully and hiked up her gun-more like a bazooka-to aim at Damian.

"How wonderful, Jack!" She crowed. "Phantom would never leave one of his kind behind. And this one is so human-shaped! It looks just like Danny."

"Using the pest as bait? I'm so glad I married you, Maddie." The man gushed, slipping his goggles and hood off to gaze lovingly at his wife.

Damian's heart stopped. He couldn't take his eyes off the evil, terrible look on the man's face.

"Father?" He mouthed.

The couple didn't notice. The woman just took aim, and for the life of him, Damian couldn't force himself to move.

That was his father. That was Bruce Wayne in a hazmat suit, shooting up a city without regard for human life. That was Batman, who was pointing a gun at his face, no recognition showing in his eyes whatsoever.

The bazooka went off first.

"NO!" Someone cried, coming out of nowhere and slamming into Damian's frozen form. His head bounced off the ground, and the last thing he saw was his own eyes staring back at him.

---

Damian came back to himself slowly. It was unnaturally bright where ever he was. His limbs were stretched far straighter than he would have liked them, and the feeling of dried glue on his face told him that someone had captured him, stripped him, and tied him to a table.

This time, though, his training did kick in. As soon as he was aware of himself, he regulated his breathing so it would appear he was still asleep. The air still smelled of rot and concrete dust, but there was a sharp tinge of chemicals in there, too. It was chilly despite no nearby AC vent going. A lab? Underground, perhaps? He dared not open his eyes, but he could feel something familiar laying on his left.

A door hissed open, and the voices of the couple from earlier entered, arguing with a third party.

"-said we got to start the dissections first!" The woman, Maddie, demanded. "That was our deal! If we handed Phantom and any other specimens over to you, the lab would let us have the first go for the experiments!"

"Yeah!" Added in Bru-Jack's voice. "We could learn so much from a powerful specimen like Phantom, and he's been a pest to us much longer than he has been to the GIW. We can put him back together for the rest of your scientists if you really want."

The third-party spoke, sounding irritated and exhausted from arguing. "Listen," they stressed, flipping through papers. "I'm not saying you can't partake in the agreed-upon experiments. I'm saying that you failed to fulfill a crucial part of the contract and cannot even look at a scalpel until you complete your part of the job!"

"WHAT?!" Maddie screeched. There was a flurry of paper sounds, so Damian assumed she'd snatched a pile of them from the third person's hands. There was a moment of silence while she read, and then, "Oh, fudge cake! Jack, the contract states we have to provide a minimum number of specimens plus Phantom in order to be let into the labs. We'll have to go out and round up as many as we can before we start dissecting."

Jack grumbled. "Fudgin' lawyers and their tricky tongues."

The third person tsked them and snatched the papers back. "No lawyer trickery was used here, Mr. Fenton. We prepared this document in good faith, seeing as we're already business partners. It's not our fault you signed before reading. Now, I heard that the Manson house has been a well-known haunting spot ever since the family moved out. Perhaps you should start there?"

Jack and Maddie grumbled some more but agreed and left the room, with the third person sighing and following them. The door locked shut with a click that echoed in Damian's ears. He waited for a breath. Then two. Once he was sure the party was gone, he cracked open his eyes and looked to his left, where his soul was still trying to reach.

There was a boy staring back at him.

Strapped to a table, just like Damian, a thin and lanky boy around his own age seemed just as surprised as him when they locked eyes and something clicked in their brains. Damian realized that while the boy was obviously not human, with his floating white hair and dim green eyes, he did share the exact same face with Damian, if not extremely paler. In fact, the boy's skin was deathly, almost taking on a mottled blue-green tinge he'd seen dead bodies develop.

The boy got over his surprise first. He grinned at Damian, clearly exhausted but obviously trying to make the situation seem less dire than it actually was. "Why, hello, stranger," he quipped. "What a good looking face you have there."

"Of course you would say that." Damian snapped automatically.

The boy just chuckled, unfazed by his attitude. "Chill out, my guy, I'm just joking. If I had to guess, you're from another dimension, right?"

Damian stiffened up, straining against his restraints. "How did you know that?" He hissed, glaring.

The boy sighed. He suddenly looked much older than either of them had any right to be. "You reek of the Deep Zone, dude. It's not something humans can smell easily, but with a little practice, you should pick it up quick."

"What makes you say I'm not human? And why-"

"Why did you feel a connection?" The boy turned his head back to the ceiling, eyes unfocused. He looked and sounded very sad. "I'm pretty sure we're alternate versions of each other, my dude. I've met a few other versions of myself, mostly from other timelines, but you're the first one who is so obviously different and so similar at the same time. It's weird."

Damian's heart dropped.

"...Alternate versions of each other?"

The boy nodded. He was refusing to look at Damian's reaction. Scared of rejection. "Yeah. And every version of me has died and come back in some way at least once, so by the time we're a preteen, we no longer identify as strictly human. Although," his voice grew bitter. "We do get pretty good at blending in, according to others."

Damian examined the boy more closely. His outfit was falling apart from whatever he'd gone through, but it was very clearly an old hazmat suit with a logo on the chest. Scars, both new and old, littered his skin, some of them matching the scars on Damian's own body. His eyes weren't dim originally, it seemed. They had swirled and glowed brighter when the boy had spoken, and his whole demeanor screamed exhaustion. Thinking back on everything he learned since being dropped in the middle of the street, Damian put two and two together quite easily.

"You're a hero." Damian pointed out. "An undead hero." The boy flinched but nodded.

"Was. The key word there. Not many people enjoyed having a ghost around to save their asses, even when it was from other ghosts." He held no resentment in his voice, just genuinely upset and betrayed that the people he had protected for so long and loved so much had turned on him, and abandoned him in his time of need.

"And, these people don't think the undead are...human?"

"Not in the slightest. We're apparently unfeeling monsters with no sentience but are driven by a single goal to destroy anything living."

"So now we are to be dissected? For what? The ghosts I know don't have physical bodies. What use would this be?"

The boy scrunched his nose. "Damn, your universe must really be out in the sticks if your ghosts aren't solid." Somehow, Damian felt offended. "Don't give me that attitude; I can feel you judging me. Anyway, the ectoplasm here is much thicker than other universes, so most other ghosts can walk around and act just like humans if they want to. They just usually don't because we are technically a different species. It's like asking a dog to act like a cat."

"Hmm. I'm starting to understand."

"That's great!" The smile returned, and the boy turned his head a little too far to make proper eye contact once more. "By the way, I never got your name. Do we share the same one?"

"Perhaps. I go by Damian Wayne. What is your name?"

The boy gave him a shark-toothed grin, one that was barely familiar. It reminded Damian of his grandfather. "Oh, my ghost name is Phantom, but my living name is Danny Fenton."

---

[that's all I got in me, but anyone is free to take this and keep going. Like a baton race at track meets. Go win us gold!]

Ooooh I just came up with an idea

You know all of this fics where Danny is an alternate universe version of like Bruce or Jason? What if it was with Damian

There could be some kind of ritual that sends Damian into Danny’s universe only they both get caught by the GIW and Everything Goes Wrong

By that I mean both of them get vivisected. And the Fentons should do at least some of it, and that Jack looks just like Bruce for extra ✨trauma✨

They both go on the Road Trip of Hell while escaping and Danny’s just working on building a temporary portal to the Ghost Zone/Damian’s home dimension.

I want Danny to lean out of a car with like a mcguivered bazooka or something to try and drive off the GIW for a while with some kind of crazy/stressed smile back at Damian.

I want little moments where they’re bonding/teaching each other how to fight (Because Damian knows formal fighting, and if we go with Danny knowing some self defense from his mom he’s not completely horrible at it, but Danny knows how to fight like a feral raccoon. It’s effective and Damian DOES like animals right?)

I want them to finally get to Damian’s dimension and when they finally finally gets to the bats and Bruce reaches out to help his son Damian flinches

And then I want it to get into the fluff/healing/trauma dumping part where the newly dubbed twins (who get along scarily well and everyone is pretty sure are trauma bonded) are healing while simultaneously causing the other bats to become more and more distressed (it may or may not be on purpose)

It would also be pretty cool if their habits and mannerisms rubbed off on one another, so they can be uncannily similar one moment then completely different the next

I also had the idea of them being literally the same soul- like, the soul that originally formed was completely identical when they were babies but diverged due to different experiences, so it’s literally a ‘same soul two bodies’ thing. I just think it would be neat, even if it’s not even really mentioned, but just like, Implied you know?

#dpxdc #pondhead writes #bad fenton parents #long post #the image I had in my head was that Damian realizes the Dr Fentons are Danny’s parents #and that they think their son is dead dead but refuse to belive he could possible be phantom #then the other events happen as op describes and they get trauma #Damian is in for a surprise when Danny changes back the first time #maybe they pass it off as his blend in with humans ability #so the existence of halfas are still secret #if you throw in the others #Dani is thrilled to have another test tube baby in the family #and Dan becomes a bragging point for damian #about how actual HE would be the worst supervillain if he went batshit insane #sorry Tim you should step up your game #in terms of angst? holy shit the potential #let’s say time runs different cause their universes are so far apart #so Danny’s world goes faster #so they could be trapped in the GIW labs for months before they manage to breakout #and in dc is a few weeks max #granted they’re very stressed weeks for the Batfam #everyone has grey hairs and Ra’s has called a temporary truce to look for his heir #then his grandsons comes home with another version of himself how delightful #oh and he bites!#guess his grandson is now a twin aaaand Bruce snatched them up immediately #damn how will he train the spare now?#Bruce is #well #he’s just not having a good time #good dad bruce wayne all the way but he’s crying every night

1K notes · View notes

giulliadella · 18 days ago

Text

Bill Cipher's anatomy UPDATE!

Alex Hirsch is going to kill me one day.

So, for those who don't know, I'm the weirdo who did speculative biology of Bill Cipher, mostly as a fun exercise. I'm a biologist after all.

And now, on the stream, Alex Hirsch brought me the unused Bill's anatomy drawing from his book. I lost my mind:

So, now, I can tell you what my spec bio got right and what I got wrong and I can expand on the anatomy a bit!

Btw, this is going to have a NSFW part. I am VERY serious about that. Also, warning for anatomy drawings I guess.

WHAT I GOT CORRECT:

Bill Cipher is an invertebrate! He has a hydroskeleton, which he calls "arm juice", not bones. SUCK ARM JUICE YOU PERSON WHO SENT ME THAT ASK, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

And he's also segmented, although he has more segments than I saw. This isn't unusual, internal structures often keep the segmentation that external structures lost. I was very correct about his exoskeleton splitting in the middle to form a front and back plate and that his limbs protrude through the gap.

His skin is black! It's funny how many people needed to tell me that he's wearing gloves. No he's not!

I accidentally got right that he has a liver. I thought "this dumbass eats and drinks so much shit, if he didn't have a liver he'd be dead by now" and I was right. Considering the size of his liver, I was also right about him being a carnivore (or mostly carnivore). Carnivores have large livers because livers are used to process proteins and for uric acid cycle. Since carnivores consume lots of protein, they need a large liver.

His stomach is in the center! I didn't explain on my previous post why I placed it there, but it actually makes a lot of sense. The center of an equilateral triangle is its "mass center", so if an animal looks like a triangle, it would make a lot of sense that its stomach would be there, so that the extra mass from the meal wouldn't tilt its balance.

I also got right that his intestines are in his lowest segment and his brain in the topmost.

WHAT I GOT WRONG:

The entire reproductive system. It's MUCH freakier than expected!

Bill has ears! They are on the sides of his head. They aren't really ears, just tympanal membranes. They are located where Brett is trying his darndest XD

The hat is probably not a part of Bill's body. He used it as storage for extra organs during Weirdmageddon, Holy Moses on a Motorbike! However, if it IS a part of his body, then it could be used as fat storage.

He has 20 lashes. I would have never guessed. They could still be used to sample scent, a lot of animals have scent sampling tentacles.

His feet! He probably has velcro-like structure on them, like geckos. This could mean that Bill could glue himself to walls and walk on them if he wanted to. Little insect motherfucker.

He has a singular anus! And it's between his legs. Do with that information what you want.

AAAAND UPDATES!

I can finally show you Bill's entire digestive system! I couldn't do that in my original post, since I couldn't figure out what would go after the small intestine. Alex Hirsch has cleared that up for me and also, I think Bill uses some form of Malpighian tubules-like structures for urine excretion.

And, now... The reproductive system. AKA, the fun zone and creative juices.

NSFW!

Bill Cipher is a fucking freak, but maybe that isn't entirely his fault. It's in the genes of Euclydeans as species. (His love for BDSM isn't though. "He's got it all figured out", as Ford said.)

So, in case you don't know what a vagina dentata is, it was like an occult belief that women can grow teeth out of their vaginas. Bill Cipher's genitals look like a fucking vagina dentata. So that's why he thinks that teeth are hot - they grow out of his reproductive system.

Now, those aren't really teeth. They look like sharp-edged fleshy protrusions that Euclydeans probably use to tighten the grip during mating. It could probably be used for stimulation as well. That's why Bill doesn't like his sides being touched - the genitals are inside, but rubbing them feels violating.

Euclydeans are most likely one of those species who use pain to sexually stimulate their partners. It's not that uncommon on Earth either (don't look up reptile hemipenes, especially not turtles) and for creatures that are covered in smooth exoskeleton, some piercing action would be highly beneficial for transferring seminal fluid.

This also gives us the option of Bill Cipher being a biological female, who has a vagina with those weird teeth-like protrusions. However, it is entirely possible that males also have similar genitals. Bill calls his thing that's dripping "creative juice", so maybe it is seminal fluid? In either case, it's very freaky, but it fits him so well.

This also means that male Euclydeans most likely don't have a real copulatory organ, or, maybe, they do, but the female has to "bite it off" during mating to absorb the sperm. If they don't have the copulatory organ, they do it like birds, with just pumping, but unlike birds, they hold onto each other's thing with flesh teeth.

I am going to hell for making this art, but you are going with me for seeing it:

It also occurred to me that, since I believe Euclydeans use their bricks to produce sound... they would probably be loud. Fanfic authors, you know what to do.

@mitsu-the-witch you requested this, now live with it. I am going to burn my degree.

#i am going to hell and dragging all of you with me #speculative biology #bill cipher #the book of bill #stanford pines #gravity falls #billford #fan art #what biology studies do to a mf #kids get biology majors if you want to write smut fanfics with weird aliens #long post

322 notes · View notes

iamnmbr3 · 2 months ago

Text

Voldemort in 1981: nothing can stop me...except this random kid apparently. Stupid maternal love. Stupid blood magic.

Voldemort in 1991: ok. I've a got a temporary body (finally!) and as soon as I get the stone- Aaaand the body's destroyed. BY THE SAME KID.

Voldemort in 1998: It's nice to have a body again. I sure hope no one ruins it... Oh look. Here he is again. Back from the dead (I shouldn't even be surprised at this point), talking about Draco Malfoy (as usual), and once again ruining everything (why do I even bother?).

#humor #Harry Potter #Voldemort #drarry #my post #q

200 notes · View notes

mmikelewatt · 8 days ago

Text

some details i really like from hot fuzz :-]

nicholas as a kid.........

the team's personal tastes in tea and coffee

this face nicholas makes when he's being touched which makes you appreciate even more how comfortable he is with danny later in the movie

two classics: the c word being the only swear word that's not censured and the white board in the background describing tony fisher

angel's pen is the only blue one !

i know that the spanish shaun of the dead dvd is a pretty known easter egg, but i'd like to point out that the sticker is conveniently placed on simon's face lol

aaaand nicholas being discreetly interested in danny's flipbook animation

there's probably morre but these were the first that came to mind

#i honestly feel like i worded all of these weird #sorry but english is not my first language #anyways i love this movie so much i could stare at it for hours #which i do #and i love all of the little details #hot fuzz #simon pegg #nick frost #edgar wright #nicholas angel #danny butterman

162 notes · View notes

areislol · 1 year ago

Text

A shopping spree

►— pairings. genshin men x gn! creator! reader

►— warnings. slightly suggestive, slight spoilers for the movie guardians of the galaxy? (nothing much really), not proof read.

►— synopsis. albedo created a machine where it would bring back their creator, who was stuck in another world, back to where they belong. but instead of bringing you here to them, it brought them to where you were.

►— a/n. i’m really enjoying this series sm 😭 and i’m really glad you guys are too!! makes me super happy i can’t even sjsnskwnaka BUT YES i hope you guys enjoy this!! ❤️

►— wordcount. 5.1k

recommended to listen to: moon - siggerr or mabagal - daniel padilla & moira dela torre or flashing lights - kanye west

Previously..

“It’s silent and dark with only the sound of the softly humming fan. Everybody is awake and you knew it. You could hear the soft breathing of Al-haitham and Dainsleif coming from both sides of you. Soon, a thought and realisation pops in your mind.”

“Wait, you guys didn’t go shower yet.. right?”

“….Yeah..”

“You sighed, knowing that you would probably have to go shopping tomorrow for clothes and sanitary products aaaand probably go broke.”

Today was a new day as the sunlight seeped through the blinds, lighting up the room with a golden hue. Groaning softly you squeezed your eyes shut and stretched out your arms and feet when you suddenly felt two arms tightening their grip on your waist.

Your eyes snapped open and turned your head to the side and found Al-haitham nuzzling his face in your neck while Dainsleif snaked his arm your waist as tightly. No wonder why you felt so warm, and although your waist did hurt you didn’t complain at all.

Heat rushed to your cheeks as the realisation dawns on you. Two.. handsome muscular men.. hugging you in bed. And the more you really took a look at their faces and scanned their features did you really start to grow hot. Your body tenses up as you took a deep breath to calm down.

It’s okay Y/n, just breathe… breath in.. and breath ou-

Dainsleif’s arm around your waist tightens even more, and as he does this you realise something. His arm was resting on your bare stomach. I mean if you had a t-shirt on or something covering your stomach it would be okay but your stomach was being revealed, meaning that Al-haitham and Dainsleif was touching you bare..

Okay Y/n that sounded very weird.

But before you could’ve done anything you look up above and see Childe looming forward, smiling at you.

“Good morning snookums! How did you sleep? Terrible right? Since you weren’t sleeping with me.” Childe questioned before eyeing Al-hai Tham’s and Dainsleif’s arm snaking around your waist. A look of disgust forms on his face.

Although his thoughts differ from his face, he puts on a fake smile and offers to pull you out of this mess, although you really did like being sandwiched between them in the warmes they created, you really should get up as you had plans for today.

“Mhm, it is getting kind of hot being in between them..” you mumbled, face hot from embarrassment and also from the hotness.

Childe nod his head and placed his hands on your waist (while pushing Al-haitham and Dainsleif’s arms away) and hoisted you up. You yelped as you felt his sort-of cold hands on your bare skin and your hands latched onto his arm.

He set you down on the floor, the sounds of discomfort could be heard from the bed as their warmth was being taken away so abruptly. You felt bad for them but at the same time the way their face scrunched up and their arms scoop the empty space, trying to hold you but to no avail.

“Thanks Childe.. where is everybody else?” You asked, looking around your bedroom and seeing nobody else except for you, Childe, Al-haitham and Dainsleif.

You were sure one of the two would wake up early as they didn’t seem like the type to sleep in but considering they were still dead asleep, you changed your mind. (Truth was they do wake up early but since it was so warm and cozy they slept for a little longer)

You walked towards the bathroom and yawned, rubbing your eyes as you dragged your feet to the bathroom to get ready. From last night you knew that you had to go out shopping the next day, which was today.

Sighing, you began to brush your teeth while staring at yourself in the mirror, thinking about how much you were going to spend, you had to buy clothes, toothbrushes and food as well.

After spitting out the toothpaste with water you washed your face and walked back into your room and found Childe, Al-haitham and Dainsleif gone from your room, they probably went out to your living room.

You rummaged through your closet, trying to find a perfect outfit for today, but soon you realised that you weren’t going out on a date or somewhere big, just going out to buy necessities.

Grabbing a white tee and black shorts, you put it on before slipping on some socks. Once you checked how you looked in the mirror you flattened your hair a bit before walking out of your room and making your way to the living room.

“Good morning everyone” you greet, grabbing the plate with pancakes on them that Thoma handed over to you and thanked him.

Everybody greeted you back, some even getting up from their spots and walking up to you, wanting to eat next to you and feed you before anyone could.

“You look like you’re about to go out somewhere, are you?” Zhongli asked as he eyed you up and down, Neuvillette and Tighnari nodded, agreeing with Zhongli.

You began to stuff pancakes into your mouth and nod your head. “Mhm, waisht-“ you said with food still in your mouth. After gulping down the food you spoke again.

“Well I have to buy more toothbrushes, food and clothes for you guys as well, you can’t be going on about your day staying here wearing the same thing everyday right?”

They all hummed in agreement, going back to eating their pancakes. “I’ll be leaving in a few minutes, I’ll probably be back in an hour or so.”

All the while, Xiao walked up to you and stared at you intensely. Your eyes widened at him and smiled. “Yes Xiao?”

“Can I.. feed you too? I-I mean-“ his awkwardness and his blushing cheeks made your heart pound faster. He was adorable. “Of course, Xiao. I would love for you to feed me!”

You can see how Xiao’s cheeks flushed red when you agreed. Inside, his heart was racing 100x faster, and also from the happiness of feeding you first and beating the rest.

Opening your mouth, you wait for Xiao to feed you—and as he picks up the pancake with the fork, he placed it inside of your mouth, your mouth closed and you began to chew, somehow, it tasted even better when Xiao fed you.

“Mhm~ tastes even better..” you moaned, swallowing before opening your mouth once again to be fed. Xiao blushed some more as you opened your mouth, indicating that you wanted to be fed again.

And so that’s how Xiao ended up hand feeding you everything while everybody was glaring holes into the back of his head.

And Xiao knew this, but it didn’t affect him—not even the slightest. All he cared about was making sure you were being fed.

One by one everyone placed their plates in the sink, some washing their own dishes by their own to save Thoma some time while some didn’t (ahem wanderer and the fatui except for Pantalone and Pierro ahem).

Once everyone was done eating and the plates had been washed by Thoma with the help of you, you grabbed your bag and keys, making sure everything was in the bag.

“Okay, my keys yes, my purse yes, my pepper spray yes.. okay I’m ready!” You mumbled to yourself and put your shoes on before unlocking your door, not even a step outside—Zhongli called for you.

“How about some of us come with you? We need to make sure you’re safe and protect you.”

At first you refused to let them come, I mean they would attract so many people because of their peculiar clothings and their hair and everything!! But the more you thought about it the more you accepted it.

“Eh.. sure why not? But maybe just- uh, here come with me..” you closed the door behind you and took off your shoes and walked to your room. Zhongli along with Kaeya, Ayato and Neuvillette trailed behind you.

They entered the room and found you going through your wardrobe. “My friend gave me some of his shirts this one time, and I kept it. Thankfully I didn’t throw them out or something.. here, try these on in the bathroom.”

It was just a plain, simple t-shirt, nothing out of the ordinary. They all nodded and took the shirts you gave them, after a few minutes of everyone taking their turns using the bathroom they came out in a white tee shirt and grey sweatpants.

Honestly it was a miracle that you had enough clothes for them to use that were in their size. You had to admit, they looked quite fancy despite wearing something to simple, they looked like models.

“Alright, we’re done, we should go out now.” Zhongli nodded and let you walk out first. Reaching the door, you put on your shoes again and unlocked the door before turning around and waving goodbye.

“I’m off you guys! Remember, Dainsleif and Albedo are in charge, don’t make a mess!”

As you made sure everybody nodded their heads, you turned away and clicked the lock on your door before the others following right behind you, and with the sound of the door clicking closed, Wanderer, Childe, Xiao, Diluc and the fatui began to glare at each other.

It was only a couple minutes walk away to the closest mall, as you left the house, you could hear Kaeya gasping in awe. That’s right, ever since they arrived at your place they haven’t been out, so it would be their first time out in public.

They all looked around their surroundings, observing everything, from the tall buildings and the people on their skateboards, to the small lizards scrambling away from the pigeons.

“Oh, that seems interesting. What is that device they are riding on? That looks dangerous.” Zhongli points out, admiring how they did flips and tricks on the skateboard. “Oh that? That’s a skateboard, people use it to ride around the area and stuff like that.”

Zhongli hums when Ayato points out the large and tall buildings. “What do they even hold in that blue tall building?” He says, pointing at the building.

“For work and stuff.” You replied, walking on the path towards the mall. “For.. work? Wow..” Neuvillette makes sure that he walks side by side next to you.

They were all totally unaware of the people glancing at them, you couldn’t blame them, they looked like models. But you couldn’t help but feel a bubbling sensation of jealousy in the pit of your stomach.

Zhongli, Kaeya and Ayato walked up to you and Neuvillette, following right beside you.

You finally arrived at in front of the mall and smiled. “That’s the mall!” You point at the large, white building. “That’s a mall? It’s huge..” Kaeya mumbles to which you nod and smirk.

“That’s what she said.”

They all cock their heads to the side to what you said, you have never felt so embarrassed in your life before. “Oh no it’s nothing.” You quickly shut your mouth and began to make your way into the mall.

During the — what you called — a shopping spree (because you have never went out to a mall for so long before), you smiled many times due to the cuteness of them being in awe and amazement at everything.

Although you frowned as well due to the many stares coming from multiple people. You could literally feel them staring at them, and when you turned your head around you could see groups of girls giggling to themselves before looking away, still giggling.

You were fuming in the inside but couldn’t show it, I mean it wasn’t like you guys were dating or anything so what was there to be jealous about?

But it was almost like they could sense your jealousy, so as you two were just walking to the clothing shop, Kaeya wrapped his arm around your neck, pulling you in close to him.

“Kaeya? What are you doing that fo-“ “shhh, just relax, where are we going now?”

“To Uniqlo… a clothing shop.”

Kaeya hums and you two made your way to Uniqlo. Before you knew it, Kaeya had his arm around your neck, Ayato holding your hand as Zhongli and Neuvillette trailed behind you.

As you all walked into the clothing shop, you were greeted by a helper and as soon as she laid eyes on the four men you were accompanied with, you noticed how she batted her eyelashes at them, maybe your eyes were playing tricks on you.

“Hello, welcome to Uniqlo! Are you guys looking for something in particular? Perhaps i could give..” the worker looks up at Zhongli. “You a discount.”

You step in between them and smiled. “Excuse, it’s not just him here you know? And we’re fine by ourselves, thank you.”

The lady seems taken aback from your sudden appearance even though she could literally spot you with them all. Forcing a smile, she nods her head and apologised.

As you squeeze Ayato’s hands tighter, you dragged him deeper into the store. They all gave each other a look of “what just happened back there, is it what I think it is?”

But before any of them could question why you sounded bitter and jealous, you already let go of Ayato’s hand and Kaeya’s grasp—walking over to shelves full of clothes.

You spent the next hour making them trying on clothes, holding up the hanger with the shirts on them and pressing it against their body.

“Eh.. that should fit! Go inside the changing rooms and then come out, we can judge then. And also tell me if it fits.”

And so after spending a few minutes of changing in and out of the changing rooms and finding some shirts, jackets and pants for them (you really struggled with trying to find the right size for everybody.. especially Itto. So you just bought two pairs of each size.) you walked to the counter and bought everything.

“And your total is $150.47 cents!”

“… s-sorry come again?”

“Your total is $150.47 cents? Cash or card?”

You held your purse and stared at the screen that clearly read “$150.47”. You paid and left the shop absolutely bamboozled and crying on the inside—so much money was spent.. even your purse was crying.

While Zhongli, Ayato, Kaeya and Neuvillette followed you from behind, watching you sulk. “$150 is nothing, don’t you think?” Maybe they’re overreacting a little bit?” Ayato whispered to Zhongli.

“Hm, I’m sure their currency is different than ours and the value.” He replied, watching you walk so… sadly. If that was even a thing. Neuvillette nodded, agreeing with Zhongli.

All of the sudden you stopped in your tracks and turned around, looking at them. It almost gave them a heart attack.

“Food! I forgot to buy food and snacks! No time for sulking I’ll go sulk later!”

You quickly grabbed the hand of the person closer to you—which was Neuvillette (which caught him off guard but he held onto your hand tightly nonetheless) and began to walk fast to wherever you were going to.

“It’s almost 3 pm, we should hurry up, I don’t want to leave them for too long.. oh! We should go to a food court and just buy take away instead of buying ingredients, I’ll do that another day.” You rambled.

Entering the food court, they all looked around in amazement but also.. somewhat disgust? It definitely looked dirty and it would be downright weird to eat in a place that is unhygienic.

“Lets buy some sushi and rice.” You stated, holding onto both Neuvillette and Kaeya’s hand and walking to the sushi bar.

“Mm~ it certainly smells amazing! Are we going to eat this for lunch or dinner?” Kaeya asks, mouth almost drooling from the smell of sashimi. You nod your head and chuckled. “Of course, eat it whenever you’re hungry!”

After ordering everything you needed, you all walked out of the mall with at least one or two bags in a hand. But it wasn’t a long walk from the mall to your home so it wasn’t that bad.

While walking, they had all offered to hold your bags but you refused, replying with “I’m fine it’s not that heavy” or “it’s okay really, my hands don’t hurt at all.” And honestly, they just wanted to help you and make sure you go about your day not having to hold anything or put it in the energy.

I mean of course being a dependent person is where it’s at but, they just want to prove to you that they were a strong and capable man. But you already knew that.

Unlocking the door, you twisted the door knob and pushed the door open with your arm. “We’re home~ did you guys have fun?”

You asked, leaving the door open for Zhongli, Kaeya, Neuvillette and Ayato to come in. After closing the door you locked it again and made your way to the kitchen, placing the bags down on the counter with them mirroring your actions—placing the bags on the kitchen counter.

Venti, Heizou, Kaveh, Childe, Itto and Gorou sprung up from the floor, as if they were anticipating your come back. “Y/n!! You’re back, what took you so long?” Itto asked, running up to you and engulfing you in a warm and tight embrace.

You were somewhat suffocating, although you couldn’t really complain because your head was in between his man-boobs. What a dream..

Ayato placed his hand on Itto’s arm and smiled menacingly at him. “You’re suffocating Y/n, you know?” Itto immediately looked at you and you smiled sheepishly up at him.

“Awh.. we’ll okay then..” Itto pouts and lets you go reluctantly, you heaved a great sigh and thanked Itto. “Sorry for leaving you guys for so long, we had to buy many things. Oh and we bought sushi and other stuff to eat for dinner!”

A collective hum, and “yum!”’s could be heard from everyone, some started to get up and move to the kitchen, taking a peek inside the bags or just grabbing whatever was inside and taking a closer look at everything.

While everyone was doing their thing, you took your shoes off and began to walk to your room to go get your clothes and shower.

“Nothing happened right? Nothing broke nor any fight broke out..?” You asked, peeping out of your room and eyeing everyone.

It was silent.

Venti, Dainsleif and Cyno and everybody side-eyed Childe and Wanderer to which Wanderer scowled at. “What are you guys looking at?!” Cyno rolled his eyes and replied with a quiet “nothing”.

It was obvious some fight did break out but they didn’t dare ruin your place so they didn’t throw any hands (because Dainsleif, Al-haitham, Capitano, Kazuha and Pantalone wereholding them back).

Sighing, you grabbed your pajamas and entered your bathroom, stepped inside and locked the door and began to take a shower and just relax.

And relax you did. The hot water hitting and running down your hair, back and chest immediately relaxed your muscles, this is definitely what you needed after walking all day surrounded by people in the mall.

After giving your non existent crowd a spectacular performance and concert, you finished up your shower and dried yourself and pat your hair dry—putting on your pajamas before leaving the bathroom and exiting the room with a small towel wrapped around your hair (head?? You were going to let it air dry and dry it later).

The smell of fresh sushi filled your nose as you walked into the living room. You could see Kaeya, Lyney, Venti and Xiao sitting down at the kitchen counter—plates filled with sushi on them in front of them.

In fact, you could see everybody already eating and enjoying their sushis, smiling at the scene before you, “eating without me already?” You joked, seating yourself down beside the coffee table where a plate with sushi on it laid in front of you.

“We wanted to wait for you but some people just couldn’t wait..” Cyno sighed, shaking his head disapprovingly.

The ones who already began to eat froze. Dropping the sushi in their mouth and placing their fork down. “Y/n- I swear I didn’t mean to but-“ “what? It was just a joke.. did you think I would be mad at you guys for eating without me?”

Itto nod his head and looked guilty. “Oh.. well I’m not mad okay!! I understand if you can’t resist the hunger” you laughed, popping a sushi in your mouth and chewing on it.

“Mhm!! Sho shgood! Eat you guys!!” You said with food stuffed in your mouth—shielding your mouth with your hand.

They nod their heads and began to eat their own sushi, also moaning from the taste and enjoying it as much as you did.

Thankfully you bought more, as some started to ask for seconds. Once you were full you laid back on the couch, watching a few continued to eat more sushi.

“Full? So am I.. it was certainly delicious Y/n! Thank you so much for everything..”

The sudden voice of Albedo snapped you out of your trance, you smiled softly and shook your head. “It’s nothing Albedo, I’m sure it must be hard to be away from home..” you frowned.

Albedo hummed. “I guess so but, being with you is much better.”

His words made you feel things, warmth spreading across your body and cheeks. “Oh- well, that’s something.” You chuckled nervously, looking down to avoid his gaze.

Looking back up, your gaze wandered off to the clock. 5 pm. Still early, you thought. While thinking of what you all could possibly do, a sudden thought pops up in your mind.

UNO. A simple but fun card game that is somewhat similar to TCG so it should bring some comfort to them. Not only that but… it could maybe bond you all closer?

“Hey, how about we play some UNO after everyone is done eating? It’s pretty easy I can explain everything to you guys.”

Albedo smiles, “that sounds lovely.” And so after everyone had finished eating their sushi, you grabbed the pack of UNO cards and sat everybody down in your living room. Honestly, how was everybody going to sit in one giant circle and reach to place their cards down? Seems like you would all have to be throwing them in the middle.

“Okay so, we are going to include stack here alright? Stack is when you stack the cards that have the same number — despite different colours — or pluses — when you make the next person get two or four cards —, reverses and skips.”

After explaining the rules, everybody got the grasp of the game and began to play. At first it was confusing, but soon after they got the hang of it it became competitive, only because Kaveh, Wanderer, Childe, Itto, Kaeya and Pantalone made it competitive.

After a few rounds the winner was announced. But the thing was, it was tied between Cyno and Al-haitham.

“Ugh, every time I play TCG with them they always seem to win or tie!” Kaveh groans, clutching onto his wild cards. “I will win one day!”

Al-haitham sighs, putting down his cards. “You’ve said that a million times now, when will it really happen?”

But there seemed to be a few people who were not willing to lose of the grand scribe.. (Childe.) and demanded for another round but by now it was 6 and the sun was setting.

Wanting to use the time to bond, you (again) decided to watch movies with them. As it seemed last time they really enjoyed it.

When you suggested the idea of watching another movie, an immediate “yes please!” Was heard from many. Switching off the light switch, darkness soon enveloped the room with only the light of the TV illuminating onto everybody in front of it.

You seat yourself down on the floor this time beside Ayato and Xiao (much to everyone’s dismay, they wanted to sit next to you.. sigh..)

After snuggling beside them and tucked yourself into the blankets, you had already began to chew on your popcorn. “Don’t you think you should save those for when the movie really starts, Y/n?” Ayato chuckled, patting your hand to stop you for eating.

You blushed and nod your head. “Mhm, okay.”

And again, the whole movie was a roller coaster. You, Kaveh and Freminet were left in tears, you were a total mess from the middle of the movie to the end. The plot twists and emotional scenes made you bawl your eyes out.

“Tissues, Y/n.” Xiao said, offering you a box of tissues as he watches you cry your eyes out. He then found his palm against your cheek as he wiped your tears with this thumb.

“Remember what you told us Y/n, this is all fake and not real, try not to cry so much, your eyes will get red and puffy.”

You sniffled and pat your eyes dry and blew your nose. “Mhm, y-you’re right Xiao.. thanks.” You softly said, giving him a tiny smile, and that was enough to make his heart explode.

During the movie, you began to feel sleepy. With how warm you were, how the room was dark, with the soft glow coming from the TV and illuminating on your face made you all the more drowsy.

You fought to stay awake, wanting to finish the movie to the end and then sleep but your heavy eyelids said otherwise, because soon you were knocked out cold, and if not for the soft snores escaping your lips, they wouldn’t even have noticed until the end of the movie.

Ayato could hear your soft snores and turned to look at you, smiling at your sleeping face before gazing at the clock, 7 pm. You normally didn’t sleep at that time but considering you were already asleep, Ayato decided to put you to bed anyway.

Slowly getting up from his spot, he removed the blanket from your body and carefully wrapped his arms around your back and legs, hoisting you up into his arms—carrying you bridal style.

The others turned and looked at you before looking at your sleeping figure in his arms. “Y/n’s already sleeping already?” Tighnari whispers, eyes focused on you, the answer was clear but he asked anyway. Ayato nodded.

“I’ll be taking her to bed, if anyone wants to go sleep early with them I suggest you go now.” Ayato states before turning around and walking off to your room.

He could hear people hastily getting up and scrambling to be the first in your room. Ayato could only sigh before setting you down onto your bed and covering you with your blanket, tucking you in.

Cute, I’m going to be the one sleeping with you tonight.

Ayato checks to make sure you’re looking comfortable before walking to your bathroom, grabbing one of the toothbrushes (that you had opened for everyone and write their names on it) and applied the toothpaste before beginning to brush his teeth.

He could hear the others whisper-yelling over who was sleeping with you this night, Ayato would make sure to scold them later for arguing in your presence later.

After finishing brushing his teeth, he walked back into your bathroom and made his way through the people fighting to sleep next to you.

He slipped inside your covers and made himself comfortable. When he opened his eyes, everyone was staring at him in confusion and anger.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Sleeping with Y/n of course, what else?”

“Ugh I’m gonna kill yo-!”

“Sh! Y/n’s sleeping, remember?” Ayato shushes them, pointing at your peacefully sleeping figure. Your face buried softly pressed against his waist.

The others groan at yet another fail of fighting to sleep with you and glared at Ayato who ordered them to go brush their teeth.

But even as they complained they obliged and walked one by one into the bathroom and brushed their teeth.

Soon, after a few minutes everyone from the living room walked into your bedroom and was immediately ordered by Ayato to go brush their teeth, all the while their eyes almost popped out of their sockets after seeing you sleeping beside Ayato.

“Also, I’m going to be choosing who else will be sleeping beside Y/n.” Ayato states, yawning. “Why you? Who decided you could?” Wanderer asked while scowling at Ayato in distaste.

He shrugs his shoulders. “It’s just for one night, don’t worry Wanderer.”

Ayato then chose Kazuha to be the one to sleep beside you, he wasn’t as big as Itto so he couldn’t suffocate you and seemed like a peaceful sleeper. He also didn’t snore like Itto.

Kazuha thanked Ayato and took off some of his clothes and changed into a plain white tee and shorts, it was.. definitely something.

He soon climbed into bed with you and laid beside you to your right, sighing in content. You were so warm..

The others began to settle themselves on the mattresses while the other walked out of your bedroom and into the guest bedroom, knowing that they would probably be sleeping there for a while until you picked them to be in your bed (or if something like this that happened between you and Ayato, to happen to them)

Dainsleif reached to the ceiling and turned on the fan, knowing that you liked to sleep with some background noise. Then, Venti, who was the closest to the light switch flicked the switch down, the room went dark.

They could finally peacefully sleep in the darkness of the room with the sounds of your soft snores and also because Itto was not in the room meaning no loud snores that would keep them up!!

“Anyone still awake?” Kaveh softly asked, waiting for a response. “Mhm.” Al-haitham, Dainsleif, Gorou, Wriothesley and Baizhu answered.

“A serious question, what do you guys think about Y/n’s world and house and everything? Do you guys like it here?”

There was a long, silent and deafening pause. Then an answer.

“Honestly, I really don’t mind being anywhere as long as our grace- I mean Y/n is with me, although I do miss teyvat and my home I also find Y/n’s house comforting and calm. Plus, I don’t have to fight any monsters.”

The remaining people that were still awake hummed and thought about Gorou’s response. It wasn’t false.

“Mhm, I agree, as long as I’m with Y/n I don’t care about where we are, even though we just met a few days ago, I feel so drawn to them. I don’t ever want to leave them.” Dainsleif chimes in, letting out a sigh.

“Agreed.”

note: RAGHHHHHHHHHH IM ENJOYING THESE SERIES SO MUCH EJSNSKSJSJSJS I HOPE U GUYS ENJOYED THIS 🫶🏻

Took me longer than expected I’m sorry 😢

taglist: @tomansimp @one-offmind @miitchiji @dainsleif-when-playable @momoewn @stygianoir @irethepotato @v4an @imetsk @fiannee @sunnyf4lls @goldenglow149 @rhwm @urlocalheizousimp @hex-vx @saltylovetale @backintomykpopphaseagain @toramune @oreo-ren @serenity-loves-red @flooofity @minteasketches @amaizverydum @lovelive-animequeen1029 @roseapov @yuraasia @chellazhef @fulldoves @kateybuggi @wanderingconstellations @mini-shower @160ccm @rosariashield @sickize @sarah22447 @dreamlessnight @gimmealamp @bebeluvs @caramelstarlight @sukiidreams @oceanisty @achy-boo @alhaitie @dilucragnvindr-my-beloved @that-mom-friend @v-sh @merormerry

(if the usernames aren’t highlighted that’s because I can’t tag you so I’ll dm you when I post a new chapter!)

liking + following + reblogs are greatly appreciated!!!

1K notes · View notes