#and for it to be given to them to not hold responsibility nor have to do their own choices anymore. once a crushing weight weighs down

[cent-scratchnsniff]

something bad did indeed happen to that man. spent abt 25 minutes trying to find a better picture of that one (1) offical piece with his eyes open that wasnt compressed or tiny

[etheries1015]

We share the love language of biting. Now imagine TWST beatsfolk has that as an actual sign of courting. Like you're chilling with Leona, not dating or wooing him, and then you bite his cheek in affection. And all of Savanaclaw is shocked because among them, it's the same as i.e. proposing marriage. The utter chaos XD

OHH MY GOSSSHHH YOUR BRAIN >>> I LITERALLY LOVE THIS SO MUCH??? HAHAHA SODEFHSELKJD i'm gonna expand on that for a few characters...

Accidentally courting them

General warnings: Gender-neutral reader, not really proof read lol. Obvious Malleus and Lilia favoritism <3 I also decided that they ARE dating in this scenario, I think its cuter that way in my head heuheu

Featuring: Leona, Ruggie, Jack, Malleus, Lilia, ... and Rook HAHA.

TW: none! Just a bunch o' fluff of biting your non-human lover without realizing it was a sign of courtship <3

Leona

It was a typical day for Leona. You two were sitting in the lounge where most of the other students lingered, Leona becoming rather... possessive as of late. Instead of resting in his bedroom away from prying eyes as you had requested from your lover, he ignored all your feeble cries requesting privacy. Instead, he holds you in his lap without worrying what others are thinking. A form of showing others you were his, and his alone. You were conflicted in your feelings, staring at him. His eyes were closed, but he could feel your gaze burning into his head.

"How long are you-" Then it happened. You gave in. You gave his cheek a bit of a nibble. All of the sudden the chattering stopped, all eyes were on you, before they start patting Leonas back and giving him congrats while a few seemed to pull presents right out of their asses.

"Wha- what's going on?" Leona grumbled with a light blush before growling and pushing the face of someone who tried to hand him another gift.

"You all look like idiots! You know biting means something different to us. Don't be dumb." Okay, now you were extra confused. Seeing your utter ignorance, Leona sighed.

"Biting in our land is a sign of courtship, herbivore." ...Oh. You blush deeply and hide your face in his chest, Leona looking away flustered and ruffling your hair.

"Try again in a few years, and I just might bite you back."

Ruggie

You were walking down the halls with your boyfriend when suddenly you had the urge to just...bite him. an overwhelming sense of love and affection for the fact he had given you some of the bread he (probably legally) got ahold of. You smiled fondly at the bread and back at Ruggie before placing your mouth on the bulb of his shoulder, causing him to yelp in suprise and dropping his half of the bread.

"wha- huh?! What was that for?" He became flustered, bending over to pick up his bread and slowly move away from you with bright red cheeks. You furrowed your eyebrows and hugged yourself, almost embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I just...I dunno," Your cryptic and non specific response left him with his jaw open and eyes wide, spluttering out things like "We're still in school! I don't have the funds yet-" before a familiar fist came and knocked the back of Ruggies head. Leona stood there smiling in amusement and chuckling at you.

"I don't think they know what that means to us beastman, Ruggie." Even more confused then before, you asked for clarification.

"You just asked him to marry you with that bite of yours, herbivore." Now YOUR mouth was wide open, and Ruggie managed to get flee from the scene without much notice from you nor his senior.

Oh brother. You have a lot of communicating to do with that one.

Jack

You were sitting at the lunch table eating away at your food when you noticed...Jack's biceps. You marveled at the sight of his bulky arms- it's a wonder to you how he managed to become so strong and have the motivation to train all day. With a burst of admiration, instead of biting into your sandwich - you took a bite into his muscle. He yelped in suprise and just stared at you, face slowly turning red. Ace and Deuce laughed at his reaction, ready to ask you what was up before Jack took it upon himself to... well, flustered and rapidly spit-firing plans.

"W-we are still so young! Are you sure about this? I-i never knew our relationship was at this level!" He grabbed both of your hands and looked you in your (bewildered) eyes.

"If you're serious about this, I promise I will protect and love you for the rest of my life. But before we go ahead with the ceremony, I want you to meet my parents and get their blessings. Oh, and I need to get a stable job after we finish school first, too, so I can support you and our future. know we haven't talked about marriage before but-" You quickly cut him off in astonishment before crying out,

"MARRIAGE?! Jack, WHAT are you talking about?! I am absolutely not ready for marriage! What got into you?!"

...Queue Ruggie and Leona hysterically laughing at your utter confusion, reveling in the ignorance of it all for a few moments longer before explaining properly what you had just committed yourself unknowingly to.

Malleus

You were laying in the bed of Malleus Draconias's dorm, scrolling on your phone whilst his tail wrapped around your waist as he sat next to you reading a book. You sighed lightly and leaned your head back against the board of the mattress, turning slightly to look at your handsome fae lover. Your eyes then went down to his pale and perfect skin of his neck, the way it was free from all blemishes, smooth, and bright. Something about it made you want to taint it a light shade of red... He felt you shuffle slightly to adjust your body to be in just the right position where his neck was in full view. He glanced over to you feeling you wriggle free from his tails grasp, tilting his head seeing the look in your eyes crazed as you leaned over and just...chomped down on his collarbone.

You felt his tail twitch and his hands quickly throw the book he was reading aside to grasp your wrists, turning your body around and pinning you to the bed and carrassing your cheek with his tail.

"Biting..." He murmured, "Does this mean the same to humans as it does to Fae? You wish to be wed?" Your jaw dropped and cheeks took on a rosey hue, stuttering over yourself.

"W-wed?! I mean, I like to bite when I feel affectionate b-but marriage...I mean maybe one day b-but-"

"Biting in Fae culture is a sign of courtship and ownership. How brazen of you to mark me," he chuckled, "I shall take it you wish to own the next king of Briar Valley?" You could tell at this point Malleus was teasing you, something he picked up from the time you two have been dating.

Malleus could not help but return the favor by riddling your body with his own bite marks. Although he understood you perhaps did not have the intention of marrying him with your silly little form of affection, he knew in his mind with every bite that he was very serious about your future with him.

Lilia

Lilia already knew that biting in the human world did not mean marriage, yet was akin to something more of "cute aggression." So when you have the habit of biting him in the privacy of yours or his room, he knows you simply meant it as a form of affection, letting him know that you had an overwhelming sense of love for the old fae. He bit you back consistently on many occasions, it just seemed to be the perfect form of showing love for one another.

You didn't actually know it meant something much deeper, until you were in the diasomnia lounge and unable to control yourself as you grabbed Lilias hand and bit down gently on his wrist. You couldn't help it, he was being so entirely silly and loving towards you, that you couldn't help but show this public display of affection. Much to everyone else's dismay, however. Sebek stares at you with his mouth agape, sounds of disbelief escaping past his lips yet a sentence unable to form. Malleus as well seemed surprised at this.

"(y/n)," Malleus said, "You wish to marry Lilia?" You coughed at the sudden question and let out a feeble and awkward chuckle.

"I mean...I wouldn't mind one day, of course. We haven't really talked about it. Why the sudden question?"

"HOW DARE YOU," Sebek cried out after finally finding his words, "How dare you bite Lilia and be so insolent as to not move forward with your actions in dignity! YOU MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR PROPOSAL-" Lilia started snickering, cutting Sebek off with a wave of his hand.

"It's quite alright, Sebek. Biting means something much different to humans than Fae, I suppose this is the first you had seen us put on a show of affection, hence your confusion." He turned to you, who had furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips at Sebeks sudden outburst.

"Biting, my dear, is a form of courtship to us fae. It is a sign of ownership," He chuckled.

"Why didn't you tell me that?!" You exasperated, "I mean, it wouldn't have changed anything I have done, but I would have been more careful about it... especially if it means something more to you," Lilia gracefully explained he understood it meant something slightly different to humans, before gently grabbing your hand and raising it to his mouth.

"Well, now that you understand what it means," He put your ring finger into his mouth and took a bite at the base,

"Would you like to bite me once more, my dear?"

Bonus:

Rook

You bit his arm and he immediately was on one knee.

"Was that a proposal? You know mon cheri, biting one affectionately is often a declaration of courtship-" You hit the top of his head and walked away from your interesting boyfriend.

"You're not a beastman or a fae! I'm never biting you again!" Your face red and folding your arms, turning away (ah, his cute tsundere lover.)

Oh woe is Rook! He begs and begs you to bite him more, he wants to be covered in your marks. It means you were claiming him as your own, right? RIGHT??

~~~

This was so fun to write DFSEFDSFIHSLDKJF thank you for the brain rot heuheuheueheueh

Masterlist

[genshinluvr]

Amphoreus Amnesia

Pairings: Various HSR Men x Isekai'd!Reader

Summary: You suddenly vanish off the face of the universe with no trace for months. One day, the Astral Express receives a message from someone from another world, Amphoreus.

Note: I'm, like, still behind on HSR quests, so the newly added characters (Jiaoqiu, Moze, Mydei, Phainon, and Anaxa) will be out of character since I didn't meet some of them, nor have I interacted with them as much as I have with others. I'm going to be posting new fanfics based on the options from the poll from a while ago. The next fanfic that will be posted/updated is the LADS fanfic because it came in third place. My Discord server has been officially open for a little over a week now, but the link has expired. New Discord server links will be linked at the end of the fic. Anyway, I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr), Ko-Fi (also Genshinluvr/Aaliah_exo), and AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: Newly added characters will be ooc due to being behind on HSR quests, slight yandere Sunday?

Word Count: 8.3k

It’s been seven months. Seven months since you went missing, and no one has heard a single thing from you. No one— from the Herta Space Station to Jarilo-VI to the Xianzhou Luofu to Penacony— has given the Astral Express crew any updates on your whereabouts. There aren’t any sightings of you despite there being a search party working tirelessly to find you. Heck, even the Aeon of Destruction can’t get a hold of you, and it’s driving everyone crazy. The Astral Express remains in Penacony, assuming you’re probably lost in the Dreamscape, like how you were when you first set foot on the Planet of Festivities. But much to everyone’s dismay, there have been no sightings whatsoever.

The Astral Express crew stands before Sunday, Aventurine, Robin, Boothill, and Gallagher, all waiting to hear the possible updates on your whereabouts.

Sunday shakes his head, sighing. “I’m sorry, but there have not been any sightings of [Y/N], Mr. Yang. We have done everything we can to search for them, but it’s like they have disappeared without a trace.”

“Please tell me this isn’t like the similar incident a while back when it was [Y/N]’s first time visiting Penacony,” Aventurine sighs, rubbing his temples. “You all need to put them on a leash if that’s the case.”

Dan Heng, Caelus, and March glare at Aventurine in response to his comment. If only that were the case, because when that happened a few months prior, you were found hours later, safe and sound. But it’s been seven months. Seven. Months. 

Gallagher glares at Aventurine and elbows him in the ribs, causing the blond man to grunt. “I’m sorry, Aventurine, but are you new here? The Astral Express crew has requested us to search for [Y/N] for seven months. [Y/N]’s been missing way longer compared to the first incident.”

Before Aventurine can retort, Dr. Ratio approaches from behind and smacks him upside the head. Aventurine’s head snaps in Dr. Ratio’s direction, rubbing the back of his head while scowling at him. Dan Heng sighs, shaking his head. 

Dr. Ratio crosses his arms over his chest. “Have you tried contacting the Aeon of Destruction about [Y/N]’s whereabouts? They seem rather…” Dr. Ratio trails off, looking around Penacony as if trying to find the right word to describe your and Nanook’s relationship, “close with one another.”

Welt sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose before explaining to Dr. Ratio that your and Nanook’s bond is special. Not special in the sense that an Aeon is attached to a human from another dimension, but special to the point where you two can communicate and meet each other through dreams. Caelus furrows his eyebrows. He could’ve sworn that the relationship between you and Nanook had been explained plenty of times before. 

“The Aeon of Destruction somehow channels his power to bring someone from another fucking dimension to our world is pretty damn impressive,” Boothill mutters, stroking his chin. “Never knew that was possible, but if you really want something or someone, anything is possible.”

Everyone makes their way back to The Reverie, now standing in the lobby of the hotel. As the Astral Express crew is getting ready to return to the Astral Express, a large group of familiar faces approaches.

“General Jing Yuan, what brings you here?” Dan Heng asks, trading looks with Caelus.

Jing Yuan smiles at Dan Heng and props his hands on his hips. The General subconsciously scans the crowd, searching for a familiar face. The very same face that suddenly disappeared off the face of the universe without a trace. Much to his dismay, the General does not see the face he yearns to see again after so long. After not receiving a response from the General of the Xianzhou Luofu, Dan Heng clears his throat. 

Jing Yuan blinks and rubs the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. “I, and the others, are here to inform you all that we have yet to find [Y/N],” Jing Yuan replies, his smile slipping off. 

“And judging by the look on your faces, none of you has been successful with the search either?” Blade asks, crossing his arms over his chest while scanning the hotel lobby. 

Welt shakes his head. With the large crowd gathering where the Astral Express crew is standing, guests at The Reverie Hotel can’t help but stare with curiosity. A large crowd of people from outside the Planet of Festivities, with members of The Family among the crowd, is bound to draw mass attention. 

“Let’s talk on the Astral Express. With matters like this, we don’t want to draw unwanted attention.” Welt says, motioning everyone to follow.

On the Astral Express, everyone gathers in the Parlor Car, staring at the large hologram of the maps the Astral Express crew has visited. The same place you could have disappeared to, but failed to be traced in any of the locations.

“Have any of you tried reaching out to Nanook by chance? The Aeon of Destruction is linked to [Y/N],” Luocha mutters, never taking his eyes off the hologram map for a second.

Caelus rolls his eyes. “The only person who can get in touch with Nanook is [Y/N]. Aside from that, none of us,” Caelus gestures to him and the other Astral Express members, “has a way to reach out to the Aeon.”

Moze rolls his eyes and pinches his glabella, annoyed with the outcome of the situation. “Great, so we’re at another dead end.”

The Shadow Guard throws himself on the nearest chair and buries his face into the palm of his hands. While Moze knew you for a short period of time, your presence grew on him, and Moze grew quite fond of you (even though he doesn’t want to admit it). For you to suddenly disappear without a trace for seven, almost eight, months feels suspicious. You didn’t even bring your phone with you, which is strange because Moze could’ve sworn that your screen time is past twelve hours a day. 

“I will do everything in my power to find [Y/N] and bring them back safe,” Argenti says, placing his hand over his heart. 

Sampo huffs, plopping down on the couch. “Not if I find my gumdrop first! I’m sure [Y/N] would rather have me save them than someone in a full suit of armor. What are you? Their knight in shining armor?” Sampo mutters, looking off to the side while pouting.

Argenti raises his eyebrows at Sampo’s comment, the corner of his lips curving up with amusement. Clearly, anyone with eyes can see that Argenti is, in fact, your knight in shining armor. There’s no denying it because he is the only one in full armor while others wear some armor in other parts of their bodies as an accessory. 

“We can’t just sit here and do nothing. If we give up now, who knows what could happen to [Y/N] the longer we stall,” Gepard says, hands balled into tight fists. “I’m sure they’re somewhere out there. We can’t give up.”

Luka holds his hands up, raising his eyebrows at Gepard’s outburst. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who’s saying that we’re giving up? I've got all the time in the world to look for [Y/N]. In fact, the longer this drags out, the more motivated I feel to keep on pushing,” Luka says, jumping in one spot while stretching his shoulders. 

While the men converse with each other and plan out the next step, Jiaoqiu's ears perk up when hearing something strange. The muttering around him makes it nearly impossible for Jiaoqiu to pinpoint where this strange noise is coming from. The foxian healer closes his eyes and listens closely, drowning out the chatter around him. There’s a beeping sound coming from somewhere in the Parlor Car.

“Does anyone else hear that beeping noise, or am I going crazy?” Jiaoqiu speaks up, grabbing the other’s attention.

Everyone in the Parlor Car goes silent, trying to hear what Jiaoqiu is hearing. The longer everyone sits in silence, the louder the beeping becomes for Jiaoqiu. The foxian healer gets up from his seat and slowly walks to where the beeping is coming from, his ears perked up, twitching each time the beeping goes off. 

“You have an interstellar message. Please check it promptly,” says the system.

March peeks from Welt’s shoulders, confused. “Interstellar message? Who could it be from?” March mutters, crossing her arms over her chest as she watches the older man tap on the screen. 

Almost immediately, a hologram of the sender of the interstellar message materializes before everyone. The man, muscular with shoulder-length ombre blond and red hair, crosses his arms over his chest, staring—no, glaring—at everyone in the Astral Express. The man doesn’t say anything, but continues to glare at whoever his eyes land on.

The blond man clears his throat. “Is this the Astral Express?” He asks, his deep voice filling the silence of the Astral Express.

Welt nods. “Yes, this is the Astral Express. May I ask who I am speaking to?” Welt asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I am the Crown Prince of Kremnos, Mydeimos, but you can all call me Mydei. Several months ago, the world of Amphoreus received a distress signal about a missing person who goes by the name of [Y/N].” Mydei says, letting his arms fall to his side.

After hearing the mention of your name, everyone in the room immediately straightens up and walks over to where the hologram of Mydei stands. From the other side of the hologram stands the glorious Crown Prince of Kremnos, who tries to keep his composure while ignoring the bickering in the background. Mydei’s yellow eyes scan every person who shows up on the hologram.

“We should demand a reward for finding this missing person!” The white-haired man loudly whispers from behind Mydei.

The greenish-gray-haired man scoffs in response. “Are you an idiot? Who would demand such a thing after discovering—”

Mydei’s head snaps in the duo’s direction, shutting them up immediately. Mydei scowls at them, as if telling them to shut the hell up and let him speak to the people on the hologram. Mydei takes a deep breath and turns back to the Astral Express crew (and others), fixing his composure.

“Helloooo? What were you going to say about [Y/N] and the distress signal?” Sampo asks, waving his hands to grab the Crown Prince’s attention.

Gepard sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose while shaking his head. “Have you ever thought of keeping your mouth shut? Let Mr. Yang speak to the Crown Prince of Kremnos.” Gepard mutters, glaring at Sampo from behind his hands.

Sampo laughs and gives Gepard and the other men on the Astral Express an apologetic smile before gesturing for Welt to take over. Welt sighs, turns back to the hologram of Mydei, and nods to the Crown Prince to continue where he left off. Mydei goes into detail about finding you in Amphoreus, heavily injured and unconscious, barely hanging onto life. 

Caelus’s eyes nearly pop out of his skull. “What do you mean [Y/N] is in Amphoreus!? How did they end up over there?! We have yet to set foot in your world!” Caelus exclaims, running his hands through his hair. 

The white-haired man pops up on the hologram beside Mydei. “That’s a mystery for us, too! Imagine how confused we were when we saw an outsider, who fit the missing person’s description, in our world.”

An arm appears out of nowhere on the hologram, grabbing the white-haired man by the ears. “Dammit, Phainon. Don’t butt into conversations that has nothing to do with you,” a mysterious voice hisses, yanking Phainon out of view.

“But Anaxa!” Phainon whines, swatting at the arm while being dragged out of view.

Mydei rubs his temples, sighing and shaking his head. The Crown Prince apologizes to Welt before proceeding where he had left off before being interrupted by Phainon and Anaxa. 

“If you wish to see [Y/N], you are welcome to do so. That is why I reached out to the Astral Express, because I know you all have tirelessly searched the cosmos for them. However, there is an issue…” Mydei trails off.

Dan Heng stares at Mydei, fists clenched at his side. “What is the issue aside from [Y/N] being heavily injured?”

Phainon peeks from Mydei’s shoulders. “You’ll have to see for yourselves. It’s best to be here in person when given more information on their condition,” Phainon says before disappearing.

And with that, the communication between the Crown Prince and the Astral Express ends there. Gallagher sighs, crossing his arms. “The Aeon of Destruction is not going to like this if we ever get in touch,” Gallagher mutters, shaking his head.

Gallagher is, in fact, correct. The moment you open your eyes and find yourself in a strange place, floating before a giant being—a handsome giant being— you nearly have a panic attack. Sure, the giant white-haired being is handsome and shirtless, but seeing someone that huge is certainly a sight to behold. 

The giant person suddenly disappears and is now standing before you as a regular-sized human. What is a regular-sized? He’s over 193 cm, practically towering over you like a skyscraper. His tough demeanor crumbles as he pulls you into his arms, letting out shaky breaths.

“You’re okay, little one. I’m so glad to see that you’re okay,” the white-haired man whispers into your hair, caressing your head.

You subconsciously wrap your arms around his waist, melting into his warm embrace. You can’t find the words to describe how you feel. The stars around you glimmer, casting a gentle glow. Everything feels so familiar, and yet, you don’t remember this person standing before you. You pull away from the hug, staring up at him, wordlessly.

The man cups your face in his large hands, looking deep into your eyes. “Little one, is there something wrong? Say something,” he pleads, gently brushing your cheek with his thumb.

You continue to stare at the man, breathless. He looks and feels so familiar, and yet you don’t remember his name or the memories you two once shared before regaining your consciousness.

“Who are you?” You whisper.

Hearing your question causes the world around you and this mysterious man to shake and crumble. You look around, terrified of what’s happening. The man in front of you quickly regains his composure, trying to remain cool, calm, and collected for you. 

The man reaches for your hand and gently squeezes it. He then pulls your hand towards his face and presses a delicate kiss on your knuckles. “My name is Nanook. I am the Aeon of Destruction,” he says, his eyes never leaving your face. 

“Nanook…” you whisper, staring at him with awe.

The universe around you starts to fade along with Nanook. You look at Nanook, panicked. Nanook sighs, shaking his head. As the world around you fades, you start to hear voices around you. It’s like you’re underwater; the voices are muffled but gradually becoming louder as you regain consciousness. 

“Dear Aeons! They look horrendous!” Someone gasps in horror, startling you awake.

The room goes silent.

“Keep your voices down, dammit! Look what you did! You scared them before they could even fully regain their consciousness!” Another person, with a heavy southern accent, hisses with a smack accompanying the voice. 

You crack your eyes open, flinching and squinting when the ceiling lights blind you. You cover your eyes for a moment, trying to adjust to the brightness. Once you have adjusted to the brightness of the room you’re in, you can’t help but be startled when you’re met with multiple eyes on you, staring at you with anticipation. 

The redhead in full armor sighs, placing his hand over his chest. “Oh, thank Idrila, you’re okay,” the man says, beginning to walk towards you, only for a blond man (also in armor) to stop him by grabbing his shoulder.

“Mx. [Y/N], how are you feeling?” The man with wings for ears—wait, he does have human ears too… are the wings real?— asks, approaching your bed with a man with long blond hair.

You stare at each man in the room, not saying a word. They all trade looks, worried that the injuries you have sustained may have a greater impact than anticipated. The man with long blond hair stands over you, reassuring you that he’s going to check up on you after getting a nod of approval from the Crown Prince.

“Everything seems fine from what I’m seeing,” the blond man murmurs.

A tall man with long white hair turns to the Crown Prince, crossing his arms over his chest. “This Phainon person mentioned wanting to talk about [Y/N]’s condition in person. What is it that you want to discuss with us, Mydei?”

The Crown Prince opens his mouth to respond, only to close it before he could get a single word out. Mydei turns to you, giving you a fake smile. “We will be right back,” he says, giving the guests a look and gesturing for them to leave the room.

Confused, everyone slowly piles out of the room, muttering under their breath. The man with long blond hair soon follows the others once the majority of them have left the room. You watch the door close, now alone with your own thoughts. These men seem to know you, but you don’t know them. Or do you? You don’t have any recollection of any of these men, but this strange feeling in your chest feels unbearable. Out of all the injuries you have sustained, the one that hurts the most is your head. You subconsciously reach the back of your head, feeling the bandages wrapped around your head. The gauze feels thick and hard under your touch. You inspect your body, staring at every bandage, gauze, and cast hugging your body.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY LOST THEIR MEMORY?!” Someone bellow from the other side of the door.

You shrink back into the bed, only to hit the back of your head against the bed frame. You groan, clutching your head, closing your eyes. Gentle yet calloused hands cover your hand, making you peek from one eye while continuing to clutch your head.

“Don’t hurt yourself, now, little one,” Nanook murmurs, kneeling beside the bed.

You stare at Nanook with wide eyes, questioning how he managed to enter your room without being seen by the others outside the door. Before you can say anything, the door opens and the men file into the room, only to stop when they see Nanook beside you.

The foxian man crosses his arms over his chest, sighing. “See, I told you all that I wasn’t hallucinating.”

The blond-haired man with a fedora chuckles, propping his hands on his hips. “It’s good to see you again, Aeon of Destruction. Who knew that Mx. [Y/N] can summon you just like that?” the blond man chuckles.

Nanook glares at the group of men in front of you and proceeds to tuck your hair behind your ear, eyeing every part of you with concern. 

You clear your throat, eyes drifting over to the Crown Prince. “How long have I been out for?” You ask, your voice hoarse. 

“You’ve been unconscious for four months. You’re very fortunate that you didn’t succumb to your injuries,” Mydei says, crossing his arms over his chest. 

The gray-haired man narrows his eyes at the Crown Prince. “You’re telling me that [Y/N] has been in Amphoreus for four out of the seven months they were declared missing? And you didn’t inform us about this?” 

“Moze, I understand you’re frustrated with the situation, but it’s best to calm down—”

The man with long, dark hair shakes his head. “I agree with Moze, Dr. Ratio. The search for [Y/N] could’ve been cut short if we were informed of [Y/N]’s conditions and whereabouts three months ago.”

You press your lips into a thin line, unsure what to say, nor do you want to interfere with whatever is happening. From what you have gathered, you went missing for seven months and were in Amphoreus the entire time. You’re injured, but got lucky and didn’t die. Either you were truly lucky, or it’s a cruel fate because now you have to live to recover from these injuries, not only that, but you lost your memory.

A month later, you’re sitting in the hospital garden, still in Amphoreus. Of course, you’re not alone— these men refuse to let you be alone in another world. Within a month, you’re reintroduced to the eighteen (twenty-one if you count Anaxa, Phainon, and Mydei) men you once knew before your amnesia. They’re nothing but sweet and will spoil you with every chance they get.

Sometimes, when you’re in need of a girl friend to chat with, March and Himeko (who also had to reintroduce themselves to you) would spend time with you. They would tell you everything you have forgotten about, and what has happened within the seven months you have vanished off the face of the universe. You can’t help but feel loved after hearing how much people cared about you despite not being your family. Speaking of your family… what happened to them? You’re brought out of your thoughts when someone waves their hand in front of your face, trying to grab your attention after you have zoned out.

“I brought you lunch! I heard it’s a local specialty on Amphoreus,” Caelus says, plopping down in front of you and placing the plate on your lap. 

You smile at Caelus. “Thank you for bringing me lunch, Caelus. I feel bad for having you guys run around to bring me things while I’m sitting,” you mutter, grabbing the silver cutlery. 

Caelus smiles and kisses the side of your head without thinking, causing you to freeze momentarily before quickly regaining your composure. You peek from the corner of your eyes to see Caelus’s reaction, but he continues to dig into his food and eat like nothing happened. 

“Are you sure you’re okay, [Y/N]? You haven’t been acting like yourself,” Dan Heng says, entering the garden with his lunch in his hands. “We’re all worried about you.”

You smile at Dan Heng and nod wordlessly. Caelus’s actions threw you off, but it’s not like you didn’t like it. It felt familiar for some reason, as if he had done this plenty of times before you went missing and lost your memory. What are you to these men?

You proceed to eat the lunch Caelus brought to you, lost in your thoughts. While eating and zoning out, someone reaches towards you and wipes the corner of your lips, pulling you out of your head. You lock eyes with Sampo, who grins at you as a result. Your face heats up, and you quickly look away, unsure of how to process what has happened. Sampo snickers at your reaction before plopping down beside you, sandwiching you between him and Caelus.

“What’s keeping that pretty head of yours occupied, gumdrop?” Sampo asks, nudging your side before scarfing down his lunch.

You shake your head. “It’s nothing. I’m just zoning out as per usual. You know how I am,” you joke. “I think. I don’t even know who I am or what I’m like before this freak accident.” You mutter, shoulders slumping after realization hits you.

The men trade looks, their hearts sinking into the pits of their stomachs. It’s been a month since they have reunited with you in Amphoreus since your sudden disappearance, only to find out that you sustained life-threatening injuries along with having amnesia. It’s a long road to recovery, but thanks to Amphoreus’s technology, Luocha and Jiaoqiu’s medical knowledge and skills, your healing journey was shortened. 

Although most of your injuries have healed, your memories have yet to be restored. So, every man has decided to make it their mission to get you to fall in love with them again! While you and they aren’t exclusively dating—well, with Nanook, that’s a different story— they want to get you to fall in love with them again, little by little.

It started just fine at the beginning of the new month, but then they realized that it was taking way too long, and some people (Sampo, Caelus, Argenti, etc.) aren’t nearly as patient as the others (Mr Yang, Jing Yuan, Sunday, etc.). While that is happening, Nanook’s been feeding you small information about how you end up in another dimension. Though Nanook didn’t outright say that he brought you to his dimension because he took a liking to you, he didn’t want to scare you off and potentially break the bond you two have with each other, for who knows how long you’ve been in their dimension.

As for the men who occupy the world you and the others are currently in, they have been silently watching you from a distance. However, Phainon has been more than eager to befriend and get to know you more. He’s the sweetest and most welcoming person on Amphoreus. Despite not knowing each other much, he tries to make you feel comfortable and would banter with you at every chance he gets. Mydei, on the other hand, has been trying to keep it professional, but would sometimes let his demeanor slip and spend time with you after he forces the other men to leave your temporary room. Mydei has been telling you tales of his battles and exploration, and is incredibly proud of his achievements. 

As for Anaxa… he’s a little bit aloof in your opinion, mainly because you don’t know him well enough. On days when you don’t have visitors (incredibly rare, but there are days when the men aren’t allowed to spend time with you for over two hours), Anaxa would pop by your room and teach you about Amphoreus, going on tangents about philosophy and other things your mind cannot comprehend at the moment (because he pops by at the ass crack of dawn while you’re still sleeping, peering over you and watching you sleep until you wake up because you can feel his eyes burning holes into your head).

“What the— Anaxa!? What are you doing here? The sun’s not even up yet!” You whisper loudly, rubbing your eyes with your knuckles.

Anaxa holds up a book thick enough to knock someone out with one hit. “Would you like to hear more reasons why I challenge the prophecy?” Anaxa asks, peeking from the top of the book.

You and Anaxa stare at each other in the darkness, not saying a word. Sometimes you forget that whenever Anaxa goes on one of his tangents, you tend to fall asleep, but Anaxa doesn’t mind one bit because he gets to talk to someone. Even if they’re knocked out asleep, then again, he will catch you up to speed on what you missed out on after falling asleep. It’s kind of cute. You let out a long sigh, turning on your side and hugging the extra pillow to your chest. 

“What the hell, sure.” You shrug. 

Anaxa’s eyes light up as he pulls up a seat beside your bed before starting.

Gepard kneels before you, grabbing your unoccupied hand. “How’s your head feeling?” He asks softly, massaging your knuckles while staring at you intently.

You smile at Gepard, squeezing his hand in return. “My head’s feeling okay, I guess. It’s extremely frustrating that I lost my memories and can’t do anything about it,” you reply, smiling at Gepard ruefully. 

Boothill struts up to you and Gepard, sitting on the chair's armrest. “I think if we hit you on the back of your head just as hard as you hit your head eight months ago, maybe you can get your memories back!” Boothill smiles, crossing his arms over his chest, looking smug.

You stare at Boothill, mouth agape. Gallagher, Sunday, Mr. Yang, Blade, Mydei, Anaxa, Dan Heng, Luocha, and Jiaoqiu all sigh simultaneously, shaking their heads in disapproval. You rub the back of your head, unsure how to respond to Boothill’s suggestion. 

Luocha rubs the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. “Boothill, that’s not how it works. Giving [Y/N] another head injury will not recover all of their memories,” Luocha mutters, giving the Galaxy Ranger the side eye.

Before you can say something, someone places their hands on your shoulders, startling you. You look up to see Nanook standing behind you, glaring at Boothill. Ah, he probably heard Boothill’s suggestion. Nanook grabs you by the waist and throws you over his shoulders. The men around you grumble with protests, crossing their arms over their chest while glaring at the Aeon of Destruction.

“Wait, Nanook, I’m still eating.” You protest, peeking from Nanook’s shoulders. “Put me down, I want to finish my lunch.” You pat the Aeon’s shoulders, trying to get the man to put you down. 

Nanook wordlessly hands you a cup of Immortal’s Delight. You stop what you’re doing and stare at the sweet drink in his hands before grabbing it. You take a sip and hum happily, the sweetness flooding your taste buds.

Luka looks away, his face almost as red as Argenti’s hair. “Hey, I don’t know if you’re aware of the length of the hospital gown, but…” he trails off, the redness of his face traveling up to the tip of his ears. 

Your eyes widen and your hand shoots up to cover your exposed ass. It’s not like you’re completely naked underneath the hospital gown, but you didn’t want anyone to see your underwear! You unintentionally flashed everyone in the garden, good heavens. Nanook immediately places both hands on your butt, covering your underwear from everyone’s sight while glaring at every person. 

Gallagher huffs out a laugh, leans back in his seat, and crosses his arms over his chest. “Why are you looking at us like it’s our fault that we see [Y/N]’s underwear? You’re the one who lifted and tossed them over your shoulders,” Gallagher shakes his head.

Nanook rolls his eyes and turns around, walking towards the building with you draping over his shoulders, slurping down the Immortal’s Delight without a care in the world. Once you and Nanook are out of earshot, Argenti stands up and starts trailing after the two of you. 

Aventurine raises his eyebrows. “Uh, where are you going, Argenti?” Aventurine calls out to the redhead.

Argenti turns around, crossing his arms over his chest. “Following after [Y/N] and Nanook, what does it look like? I refuse to let them have some alone time while we sit to the side,” Argenti replies.

Argenti turns around before continuing to follow after you and the Aeon, making sure not to get too close or else he’ll face Nanook’s wrath for trying to cockblock. After hearing Argenti’s response, the others immediately leave their spots (with their food and drinks) and follow Argenti.

Another month goes by, and there’s finally some progress with your memories gradually recovering. As days go by, bits and pieces of your memories will hit you randomly throughout the day. Sometimes these memories from however long ago would hit you while you’re sleeping, making you assume it was just a dream, when, in fact, it was not a dream at all.

“I had a dream where I got lost in Penacony and had to be saved by Gallagher,” you passively mentioned at breakfast one day.

Mr. Yang clears his throat. “That wasn’t a dream, sweetheart. It happened nine months ago,” Mr. Yang replies, no longer eating his breakfast. 

You stare at the older man, mouth agape. Wait, huh?! The people sitting around you all nod in response to your questioning look. 

You shake your head and wave your hand in front of you, still trying to process the information that your dream was actually reality, but it happened before your disappearance. “Wait, so that wasn’t a weird nightmare?” You squeak, staring at Mr. Yang and the others in disbelief.

Himeko and March give you a sympathetic look, both patting and rubbing your shoulder with comfort. You lean back in your seat, letting the information sink in. March reaches for your Immortal’s Delight, handing it to you, hoping it’ll snap you out of your inner turmoil. You wordlessly take the sweet drink from March’s hand, taking a sip of the drink while you continue to stare at the table in front of you. The longer you stare at the table and mindlessly sip the Immortal’s Delight, you can’t help but find yourself trying really hard to recall things that happened before you magically appeared at Amphoreus. 

“What about the time I died? Is that real, too?” You mutter, looking up at the men through your lashes.

Everyone in the room was tense at your question. Out of all the things you could’ve brought up, you chose one thing no one wants to remember. Jing Yuan clears his throat, placing his cutlery down on the plate.

Jing Yuan crosses his arms over his chest. “That is something we do not bring up or talk about for very good reasons, [Y/N],” Jing Yuan states.

The mere tone and body language of the General of the Xianzhou Luofu sends chills down your spine. It’s not that you’re afraid or nervous, it’s something you’re not used to. From what you can recall, Jing Yuan has always been sweet to you and would spoil you with every chance he gets. However, this sudden shift in tone and body language when you brought up the topic of your death was something you didn’t expect. 

You hesitantly nod. “Okay, I won’t bring it up,” you mutter against the straw.

Later that day, you’re in Eternal Holy City Okhema, hanging out with the others. While the others are engrossed in their surroundings, you sit to the side, trying not to be engulfed by your inner turmoil. Blade sits beside you, occasionally glancing at you. You close your eyes, sighing.

“What’s on your mind?” Blade mutters.

You hug your legs to your chest and rest your chin on your knees. “A lot of things are occupying my thoughts, Blade. It’s been nothing but bothersome,” you whisper, pressing your lips into a thin line.

“What could be occupying your head? It’s better to let things come to you naturally, no?” Dr. Ratio mutters, now sitting beside you while ignoring the glare Blade shoots in his direction.

So much for having some alone time with you.

You puff your cheeks out in frustration and run your hands through your hair, tempted to tug at the roots. That is what you’re doing, letting all of your memories come back to you in bits and pieces without trying to force them to return to you. Dr. Ratio grabs your hand, gently pulling it away from your head, and places your hand onto his lap. Blade narrows his eyes at Dr. Ratio, as if he’s mentally plotting the man’s demise. 

“You guys already know how I am. Why can’t you guys tell me a few memories you have of me to help speed up the process?” You grumble, watching Dr. Ratio play with your hand.

“If we did tell you a memory we have of you, would that really help you regain your memory?” Sunday interjects, now standing before you with his hands propped on his hips. “I understand that it’s frustrating to walk around with little to no memory of who you and those around you are, but you cannot force yourself to regain your memories.”

You huff in response, crossing your arms over your chest. “You’re regurgitating information I already know, Sunday. At least, once we return to the Astral Express, I won’t have to deal with your calculating stares. You kind of intimidate me, Sunday.”

Sunday stares at you, unsure whether he should be offended by your comment or feel relieved that you remember that you find him intimidating. Wait, does he have a calculating stare? Sunday turns to Blade and Dr. Ratio for confirmation, only to see both of them nodding already without having to ask verbally. 

You quickly interrupt before Sunday can ask, “Don’t take it personally, Sunday. I usually find pretty people intimidating, and you happen to be one of them.” You shrug, rubbing your now throbbing temples, “You and those pretty angel wings behind your ears.” 

Sunday stares at you with amusement, the corner of his lips curving up. The halovian looks away, his cheeks turning bright red at your compliment. Oh, Aeons, if only you two were alone, then he could finally snatch you up for himself and claim you as his and his only. The mere thought of sharing you with other people, such as the Aeon of Destruction—a being that has nothing but lust for blood and destruction— disgusts Sunday. Is it too late to snatch you away for himself? This time, he will take you to the edge of the cosmos so no one can find both of you. It’ll just be you and him in another universe with no one else to interfere. He will make sure that no one can find both of you this time. 

“Hello, hello. What are we talking about over here?” Jiaoqiu asks, approaching your group with Moze by his side.

Moze crosses his arms over his chest, staring you down. “You’re not up to something, are you?” The gray-haired man asks, raising his eyebrows at you.

“What?! No! And even if I am, how would I pull it off with amnesia?” You grouse, glaring at the Shadow Guard.

Your glare doesn’t faze Moze as he and Jiaoqiu sit across from you, Dr. Ratio, and Blade. On the other hand, Sunday continues standing, deep in his thoughts, while staring at you. Dr. Ratio, Blade, Jiaoqiu, and Moze raise their eyebrows at Sunday before looking at each other, checking to see if the others around them notice Sunday’s strange behavior.

“Hey, you six! How’s it going over here? Are you guys enjoying Amphoreus after being here for two months?” Phainon asks, approaching your group with a cute smile. 

The five men don’t respond to Phainon at first, all staring at him with varying expressions. When Phainon’s cute smile morphs to an awkward one after not receiving an answer, Jiaoqiu politely answers for the group. Phainon turns to you, looking at you from head to toe, craning his head to look at every detail of you. It’s not new to you to have Phainon examine you, but for the others, it looks like he was shamelessly checking you out. Perhaps he’s doing both, who knows!

Mydei struts up to you, his arms crossed over his chest. “It’s time to return.” The Crown Prince states, not leaving room for protests.

“Huh? Already? But then I’m going to be holed up in my room doing nothing until tomorrow,” you mutter, staring at the Crown Prince in disbelief.

Anaxa stands beside the Crown Prince, holding up the same thick book he was rambling about a few days ago. “If you’d like, I can go over some things you missed out on after you fell asleep,” Anaxa suggests, flashing you that charming smile of his.

You stare at Anaxa and Mydei for a moment, conflicted. You could ask someone to get your phone for you, so you can keep yourself occupied while you’re on bed rest, but since you don’t remember your password and didn’t activate face recognition, that’s out of the options. After thinking for a few minutes, you shrug, looking at Anaxa.

“What the hell, sure,” you said, allowing Anaxa to drag you.

Even though you’ve been gaining your memories little by little, Mydei has advised you not to leave Amphoreus until you recover all of your memories. It sounds impossible because those who suffer amnesia can either regain their memories after a week, or it’ll take months. Heck, in some cases, there are people who never fully recover their memories after having amnesia. That’s one of your biggest concerns, but you’ve been quite fortunate not to have to be the third option. 

Despite being almost a hundred percent recovered, you wake up in your temporary room to a room full of red roses—not just any red roses, but the same red roses that are named after a certain Knight of Beauty. You rub your eyes, trying to process what you see. How in the world did Argenti manage to sneak over dozens of red roses into your room while you’re asleep?

Argenti stands at the edge of your bed, smiling at you. “Good morning, my beautiful red rose. What do you think? Only someone as beautiful as you deserves to wake up to being surrounded by roses.” He asks, gesturing to the wall of flowers surrounding you two.

Before you can respond to Argenti’s question, Sampo’s loud sneeze interrupts you. Everyone in the room flinches. You stare at Sampo, seeing him sniffle and rub his nose. Sampo gives you a sympathetic look, rubbing the back of his head.

“Are you okay, Sampo?” You ask, scooting close to the edge of the bed.

Sampo waves off your concern. “Oh, don’t worry about me, gumdrop! I’m just having slight allergies right now. Nothing to worry about! I can pop an allergy medication, and I should be fine,” Sampo says, giving you a thumbs up before sneezing into the crook of his arm.

Sampo turns to look at Luocha with an expectant stare, only for the blond man to pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh. Luocha digs into his pocket and pulls out a medicine bottle, handing it to Sampo without question. You raise your eyebrows at Sampo and Luocha. It seems like Luocha’s prepared for this specific moment.

Luocha shakes his head. “Don’t question it. I have to be prepared somehow, unless you want him to sneeze over twenty times in one day,” Luocha mutters, crossing his arms over his chest. 

The longer you stare at the roses around you, the more you can’t help but yearn for the outdoors. You hug your legs to your chest, resting your chin on your knees with a soft exhale. The men around you stare at you worriedly, wondering if you’re not satisfied with the number of roses in your room. If you want more, they can certainly get you more! All you have to do is say the magic word, and they shall make your dreams come true. 

Mr. Yang props his hands on his hips. “Is there something wrong?” He asks, examining you closely.

You smile and shake your head. “Not really, Mr. Yang. But I do want to know one thing…” You trail off, pressing your lips into a thin line.

Would they even allow it if you asked them? They wouldn’t be against it, would they?

“And that is…?” Dan Heng asks, raising an eyebrow at you.

Oh, fuck it. It’s not like they’ll be keeping you imprisoned on Amphoreus.

“When can I return to the Astral Express? How come you guys are allowed to return to the Astral Express, but I have to stay here?” You ask, leaning against the headboard of the bed.

After regaining consciousness, everyone would stop by Amphoreus and keep you company, but when it’s bedtime for you, they board the Astral Express for the night. Heck, some of them would return to Penacony, the Xianzhou Luofu, Jarilo-VI, and the Herta Space Station to tend to their duties.

Then there’s you: stuck on Amphoreus in your hospital room with nothing to do but watch the skies change color. Sometimes you’re allowed to walk around the hospital, but only if you’re given permission. Luocha would assist the doctors with your treatment, making sure you’re healing properly, and he would keep you company during your checkups (which are every other day). As for Jiaoqiu, he makes sure you take your medications—yes, by making you eat spicy food. It works, if you have to be honest. But it does make you use the toilet more than you would like, but hey, if it works, it works.

Moze raises an eyebrow at your question. “What? Are you not enjoying your time on Amphoreus?” Moze mutters, looking at Mydei, Phainon, and Anaxa from the corner of his eye.

You rub your temples, shaking your head. “What’s there to enjoy when I’m constantly cooped up in this room?”

“Uh, that’s not true! Remember, you were chilling in the hospital garden for lunch and we were at Eternal Holy City Okhema not long ago!” Boothill interjects, only to falter. “Now that I think about it, you seem more like a prisoner than a visitor on Amphoreus.” 

You scoot to the edge of the bed and stand up, stretching your legs. “I understand that my stay in this hospital is to monitor my healing progress, but I should be allowed to stop by the Astral Express once a week to say hi to Pom-Pom. I miss the little guy.”

Gallagher shrugs, nodding his head. “I mean, they have a point. Luocha and Jiaoqiu have been helping with the healing process; they should’ve been able to stop by the Astral Express after being mostly healed from their injuries.”

Despite being cooped up in your hospital room most of the time, Nanook did find ways to keep you entertained. Whenever you fall asleep, Nanook visits you in your dreams. He would create a world for you, a world you have never seen before (it could be Amphoreus; you have never explored Amphoreus before, so how would you know?). The skies are pink and blue; it’s warm but not uncomfortably warm. Every time you fall asleep, you and Nanook meet in that very same world, spending time together until you wake up.

You snap out of your thoughts when Dr. Ratio taps your forehead, trying to grab your attention. You grab Dr. Ratio’s finger, staring at him blankly. 

“Daydreaming while we try to explain to you about your conditions? How disrespectful,” Dr. Ratio mutters, reaching to pinch your nose. 

You smack his hand away and try to mimic him, only for him to grab your wrist and pull you into his arms. You’re tempted to protest, but getting a hug from Dr. Ratio is quite rare in your case. You don’t know the man long enough to breathe the same air.

Sunday glares at Dr. Ratio from afar. “Oi, would it kill you to be careful with them!?” Sunday hisses.

Dr. Ratio raises his eyebrows at Sunday, smirking with amusement. Dr. Ratio pats your head without taking his eyes off of Sunday. If anyone stares at Sunday long enough, maybe they’ll see steam coming from his ears.

Caelus clears his throat. “You can return to the Astral Express. You’ve been cleared by your doctor this morning before we started setting up the red roses in your room,” Caelus says, shrugging his shoulders. “If we do that, I would like to volunteer to show you my bedroom renovations!” Caelus props his hands on his hips with a proud smirk. 

You stare at Caelus, mouth agape. Were you gone for that long?! Caelus walks over to you, scrolling on his phone to find pictures of his newly renovated bedroom on the Astral Express. The gray-haired man hands you his phone, letting you swipe through the photos. Caelus has a bar, bathroom, gaming area, and living space in his room. 

You look at Caelus, handing his phone back. “Are you looking for a roommate by chance?”

Caelus snickers. “As long as the Aeon of Destruction doesn’t bunk with us, yes, I am looking for a roommate.”

“Not going to happen.” The men simultaneously say, glaring at Caelus.

March glares at Caelus. “We have our own rooms on the Astral Express for a reason, Caelus! Besides, [Y/N]’s room is cute and comfortable! Your room is doing too much on the Express,” March huffs, crossing her arms over her chest.

You shrug. “I think it’s an introvert’s dream. It’s kind of like a studio apartment, but on a train.”

March suddenly gasps, marching over to where you stand and cups your face in her hands, eyes wide with wonder. “Wait, does this mean you have your memories back!?” She shrieks, shaking you back and forth.

You squeeze your eyes shut and place your hands over hers, gently squeezing them. “I mean, they’ve been coming back little by little, if that’s what you’re implying.”

Luka furrows his eyebrows at you, walking towards you and March. “Wait, does that mean you remember what happened before you vanished for months?”

You shake your head. “Not really? I don’t remember that much. I remember most things that happened before I magically appeared on Amphoreus.”

People around you groan at another (temporary) dead end on the mystery of your disappearance. After getting you checked out of the hospital, everyone returns to the Astral Express, carrying the roses back to the train. As for Sampo, he’s giving you piggyback rides to the Astral Express so he wouldn’t have to carry his allergies onto the train. While your group is ahead, Phainon, Mydei, and Anaxa fall behind.

“Are we really not going to tell them?” Phainon mutters. “They’re going to hate us for this if they ever find out themselves.”

Mydei shakes his head, clutching the roses to his chest. “There’s no point in telling them. I’m sure [Y/N] will inform them when they remember. That is, if the trauma didn’t block out the memory,” Mydei mutters. 

Anaxa shakes his head. “I’m sure they’ll be fine if they find out themselves. Besides, if I recall correctly, this isn’t the first time [Y/N] died in this dimension.”

What they don’t know won’t hurt them, right? 

Note: Again, I sincerely apologize for not updating the HSR series in so long ;v; I'm still behind on the game. I have yet completed the Xianzhou quest with the Wardance and March being on the path of Hunt. While I work on the Love&Deepspace fanfic (it won't be too long since it's about 95% completed in the drafts), I'm going to try to catch up on HSR. It's going to take some time, though. I was informed that the Amphoreus quest from the start to the current quest is about 28 hours. If you're interested in joining my Discord server, the invite to my Discord server can be found [HERE]! The Discord server invite links will be different every time I post a new fanfic, and these links have expiration dates. Anyway, to all my new and returning readers, keep in mind that I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr), Ko-Fi (Genshinluvr/Aaliah_exo), and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

Taglist: No taglist for this update:) will be making a new one in the future

Read more of my works on my Grand Masterlist, which contains every masterlist I have created! | Maybe support me by tipping me on Ko-Fi or by reblogging my fanfics! ^^ I will also be posting exclusive fanfics on Ko-Fi as well very soon! I might post all of my stories there, too, but who knows? You can also tip me on Tumblr if you'd like as a way to show support! ^^

[ooooo-mcyt]

Another thing I noticed in my rewatch of both Scott and Pearl's Double Life pov's is that nobody really liked either of them. Like I see people take for granted the idea that Scott was somehow "popular" during Double Life but he really wasn't much more popular than Pearl was.

Like, to go down the list of their actual relationships.

The Ranchers hated Scott and were lukewarm with Pearl. From the first episode, Jimmy singled out Scott and Cleo as "fake soulmates" and basically insulted them to their faces in their home about it, and Scott in specific quickly took to antagonizing Jimmy in specific, leading to the two teams being at each others throats very quickly. On the other hand, Pearl makes multiple deals with Jimmy specifically and The Ranchers are pretty civil- even friendly- with her, though they always seem to keep her at arms length and she never feels really welcomed as a true friend with them.

Box Boys had complicated relationships with both Scott and Pearl. Ren and BigB are initially kind to Pearl until she takes their horse as a joke, leading to their death as Ren looked at an enderman while chasing her. After that point, Ren calls Pearl a curse and casts her away, which very much contributes to Pearl's declining mental state. Later on in the series, though, Ren and Pearl mend things a bit, with Ren coming to Pearl after his soulmate "cheats" on him out of a sense of solidarity with being alone. On the other end, Scott initially doesn't have much of a relationship with either Ren or BigB, but BigB ends up holding Scott responsible for their relationship falling apart, which is..not really fair. Don't get me wrong, Scott's relationship ranch was formed to break up soulmate pairs, but Scott didn't actually do anything to break Ren and BigB up, all he did was truthfully report to Ren that BigB expressed relief when Ren was gone, which makes the blame on Scott here very much unfair.

Boat Boys have a neutral to hostile relationship with both Scott and Pearl too. Obviously Joel generally has something against Scott, and targets him regardless of the context, and early on in the series Joel is actually pretty happy with Pearl, praising her for antagonizing Scott and asking her to keep it up, though his opinion of Pearl does also change for the worse when Pearl takes their stuff as a joke after they turn red. In the finale Joel and Etho are willing to work with Pearl temporarily and say their main target is Scott over her, but they're quick to turn on Pearl too when given the chance, so she clearly doesn't have a much higher standing with them.

And then there's Desert Duo. Who have a complicated relationship with Pearl and not much of a relationship with Scott. Scar is the one who gives Pearl the idea to use powdered snow to hurt her soulmate and is happy to help her torture Scott (though he also gives the exact same offer to scott later on, bringing him powdered snow too). Scar is also the one who coins the name "Scarlet Pearl" for Pearl and is one of the biggest pushers of the narrative that Pearl is dangerous. This isn't malicious, in fact Scar hypes Pearl up a lot, but the narrative he pushes is still in many ways harmful to Pearl's reputation and mental state. Late in the season Scar and Grian are also happy to come to Pearl for protection, treating her almost like a weapon.

I think it's pretty clear that neither Scott nor Pearl had friends. Scott actually had fairly negative relationships with most of the server, and I'd honestly argue people generally 'liked' Pearl more. I mean, this is something Pearl herself took note of and commented on to Scott in her finale, the way people were actively targeting Scott but were willing to work with her. Though of course, this doesn't mean people actually treated Pearl better. They may have 'liked' her more, but she was kept at arms length, and I think people moreso saw her as a weapon they could use in their favor than a friend in any case, which was very much damaging and isolating for her.

Of course, Pearl's pov still absolutely feels more isolated than Scott's. But I think people misidentify the primary reason for that as Scott being more 'popular' amongst the server than Pearl. He wasn't.

The reason Scott doesn't feel as isolated is because he had Cleo. In many cases it didn't matter who else was against Scott, because he had Cleo, who loved and supported him unconditionally and was there with him every day. Pearl on the other hand, didn't. She was kept at an arms length, people were often civil enough to her, and she was even in some ways more popular than Scott, but that didn't matter when she was always on the outside looking in without a soulmate and, crucially, without any other support system.

And that, to me, is the big thing with Double Life's social climate. The soulmate pairs often stuck to themselves, they kept everyone at an arms length, if they didn't outright dislike them. Having support systems wasn't a thing, you didn't have anyone to fall back on outside of your soulmate, and you couldn't form that kind of bond because you'd always be treated like an outsider looking in by the established pairs. This was the main cause of Pearl's isolation. It's not because Scott specifically rejected her, and it's not because everyone especially hated Pearl or were out to get her (they literally weren't. every group hated each other. a lot of groups were hated more than pearl.), it's because of the strictly defined in-groups formed by soulmate pairs and the way they discouraged support systems and close non-soulmate bonds.

[simpjaes]

you need to continue that jayhoon for my mental sanity PLEASE 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

continuation of this. or, the one where Jay really wants to bottom for sunghoon since he can never find a girl, so...he does.

Warnings: they fuck this time, as in, dude on dude. cock in butt. anal sex. two dicks in the frame.

IF YOU HAVE AN ISSUE WITH SHIP FICS OR MXM THAT'S FINE. Don't hate on me because i like to have fun with fiction. none of this is real, and no, i don't ship them in real life.

-

Sunghoon's knees press into the bed as he perches himself above his friend. Never has he seen Jay from this angle, nor has he even seen him this vulnerable, this naked, this...sexy. He stares down at his cock in hand, aimed right at Jay's ass and bites the inside of his cheek. Finally, he's getting to fuck something. Someone. And he doesn't find himself disappointed that the person is not a woman. Instead, he's...excited?

Jay's voice rings out in heavy breaths, wiggling his ass in front of Sunghoon, furrowing his brows, huffing and puffing out of frustration. "Are you gonna-" He starts, but inhales mid-sentence at the feeling of his friend's bulbous cockhead pressing at his entrance. God, Jay has fucking dreamed of this day. Especially after always watching Sunghoon wander around with that huge fucking cock of his, heavy, always yearning to be inside of someone.

There's a pit somewhere in his stomach about the consequences of this. Taking advantage of Sunghoon's need to fuck is one thing, but it's not like Jay did anything other than offer himself up as a fuck-doll. Doing this, at the end of the day, was Sunghoon's own choice. And if Jay's the one who ends up hurting at the end of it, in more way than just one, so fucking be it. "Jesu- fuck. Jay," Sunghoon seethes in near amazement, holding his breath at how he tries to push his cock inside. There was prep, of course, albeit by Jay himself as Sunghoon watched and took mental notes. Right there on the bed, Jay had bent over shyly, licking and sucking on his fingers just to slide them inside of himself. On fucking display. Sunghoon was surprised his cock didn't soften at the image of his own friend doing this. The same friend who did gross manly things around him. The same one who always looks and acts like a fucking slob when he's comfortable. Sunghoon watched as Jay's cock grew harder with each slide of his own fingers too, and that...was very attractive to him. Such a clean looking hole Jay has, warm and pulsing around his fingers, as wet as any pussy would be if Sunghoon ever managed to land one to fuck. And his cock, equally as clean, thick, pulsing just like his own was. Sunghoon wasn't sure what it was about all of this that made him feel like he's going insane, but he also didn't really care. It's that fact that now...he's feeling fucking floored. "It's so, so tight." Sunghoon finally finishes his sentence, jerking his hips to try and stuff another half-inch of his length inside of his friend. "Doesn't it hurt?" Jay just moans in response, his ass clenching with each push, but he relishes in the stretch as always. Given, this is also the first time he's ever actually bottomed for a man. Which, that's not something Sunghoon has to know unless, well, he asks. Truly, as a bisexual man, Jay always found himself on top but wondering how good it must feel to get fucked open by a sexy, well-hung man. He's played with himself and toys alike countless times wondering how good it must be to have something warm, something pulsing inside of him. And now, he's getting to experience it. Does it hurt? Yes. "Deeper." Jay mutters, pressing himself back and forcing more into himself, listening closely to the way Sunghoon keeps holding his breath, struggling to hold in his moans. And by the time he's finally bottomed out, Jay is entirely cross-eyed, much like Sunghoon who sits in place and doesn't dare move out of fear that he'll not only hurt his friend, but himself with how fucking tight Jay is. It's kind of...heavenly. Divine, in a way, to fuck your best friend's ass open solely because both of you needed something the other could offer. Sunghoon finds himself smirking now, staring at the back of Jay's head and wanting to reach forward and grab a handful of hair. If just to hear him release those slutty moans again, if just to know that Jay wants him like this. That he doesn't feel weird, or awkward. That Sunghoon's cock feels so good in him, that he will be his bitch of a girlfriend is he so wanted him to be. "I can't get any deeper, Jay." Sunghoon mutters, doing just as he pleases and absolutely grabbing a handful of his hair, craning Jay's neck back and forcing him to make strained eye contact. "You know I'm never gonna look at you the same way again, right?" He adds now, pulling his hips back slightly to test the pain of it, only to shiver in pleasure and slam his cock back in.

What shocks Sunghoon more than Jay's feminine and stuttered moan at that, well, is the fact that it's making him forget that they're both still men. They both still have strength that rivals the other, so upon that first harsh thrust, feeling Jay press himself up, twisting himself just enough to brush his lips against Sunghoon's chin-

Yeah. It's a little shocking that Sunghoon finds himself dipping his head, kissing Jay for the first time, fucking him for the first time, entirely enamored with what he has to offer. And that's how it goes, he supposes. Fucking into Jay like he would anyone else, only feeling the tight heat strangle his cock more than any cunt could. It gets to the point where Sunghoon feels his brain hit a wall, wanting the man under him so fucking badly. To the point he wants the eye contact, he wants to fucking see how Jay takes it. He flips them over, now lying flat on his back with a deep rumbled moan.

"Can you ride?" Sunghoon nearly sputters, feeling the way Jay bounces immediately as if to prove a point. His hair falling in his eyes with each bounce, mouth slack as he huffs out little groans and high pitched breaths. Goddamn. He can ride.

[lyneira]

♡ I'm home ♡

-> How the genshin men react when you say "i wanna go home" and you go to hug them saying, "I'm home now :)"

archetype imagine!

A really silly, random and specific prompt, but I just found it so sweet

Thinks you're so cute

Kaeya, Lyney, Heizou, Baizhu, Thoma

He would let out a warm laugh out of amusement at your action. 'What a cutie', he'd think as he would begin to stroke your head dearly with his charming smile plastered on his face. He would then lean his forehead against yours, your noses softly grazing each other's, and would gaze lovingly into your eyes. His eyes would hold you gently, shining with his uttermost affections for you. He appreciated that you viewed him that way. "You're mine as well, and I'll always be there when you need me"

Would be caught off guard

Albedo, Ororon, Kinich, Cyno, Tighnari, Alhaitham

He might be surprised from the sudden gesture as he isn't used to receiving such affection (nor having to deal with it). But he'd definitely hug you back, knowing how much you felt for him as he felt the same for you, even if he might show it differently.

"I hope you find it comfortable here", he'd say with a small, reassuring smile, leaving a chaste kiss to your forehead.

Grows a stronger sense of protectiveness over you

Wriothesley, Neuvillette, Zhongli, Childe, Ayato

He'd lightly chuckle at the gesture, but nonetheless, your sentiment would leave an impact on him. He understood just how vulnerable you allow yourself to be with him, how safe you felt with him, and that your words were simply another form of, "I love you". Of course, there was no doubt that he felt the same for you too.

If he was your home, you can bet your bottom he was gonna shield you from any possible danger, as well as take care of you with all his might. There would be no way he'd let any harm to come to you.

And he would vow this to you by wrapping his hand over your head, sliding his arm around your waist, and pulling you in close, so much that it felt like he was enveloping your entire frame into him. He'd then whisper tenderly into your ear, "As long as I'm here, nothing will hurt you"

-

Specifically, for guys like Childe and Ayato, this sentiment would be incredibly significant to them. I consider them family men, so for you to already think of him as something so important as home means everything to him. The moment you mentioned him with "home" his sense of responsibility and duty shot through the roof. He'd be beaming with pride with your sentiment, both happy and honored that you consider him something so dear and important. He would rub circles on your back as he would then think of the future, blissfully imagining how you two would build your own home together with the biggest smile on his face.

He's speechless

Wanderer, Kazuha, Xiao, Diluc, Dainsleif

They would have never thought they could feel so warm from such a small, seemingly silly gesture. All this time, looking for a place to belong to, he realized something - you were his home too. No words could describe all of his sentiments at once, but when he cups your cheeks and looks into your eyes, you'd be able to understand everything. That rare, vulnerable look in his eyes that was only reserved for you would tell you his innermost feelings he held deep in his heart. You are the most precious thing in all of Teyvat to him. Thus, he would convey this to you with an intense, passionate kiss.

You're too adorable, he can't-

Venti, KAVEH, Itto, Gorou

Good gosh they would think you're the SWEETEST. That's how much you meant to him? You think of him as you're home? He'd become so overwhelmed with love that he would give you the biggest, warmest embrace in return. I see Itto and Venti definitely spinning you around while squeezing the life out of you. You would have activated their cuteness aggression with this gesture. You may even be met with a flurry of sweet kisses all over your face as a way for them to release these feelings you've given them.

On the other hand, Kaveh would become the most emotional. It would hit him the hardest since he didn't quite have a home all for himself. He'd be getting teary eyed and his lip would be quivering, unable to hold back the emotion that is currently overwhelming him. He would return your embrace and bury his face into your shoulder, letting his tears flow freely into your warmth. You were his home as much as he was yours, and with his voice shaking, he'd bawl, "I love you so much, y/n...I'm glad to call you mine"

a/n: back from another hiatus, sorry for going MIA again 🙃

© 2023 lyneira. PLEASE DO NOT COPY, PLAGIARIZE, OR REPOST MY WRITING ONTO OTHER PLATFORMS

[spilledartery]

loveless union . . . ( kunikuzushi )

[ male reader, noble / clan ! au, angst, unrequited love, sex, cheating ( ? ), implied trans kuni, pregnancy – i need to feed my breeding kink, please bare with me. fujoshis, mlm fetishizers, dni. ]

it was an arranged marriage. neither you nor kunikuzushi wanted this, but since your clan was indebted to his clan, your parents had just proposed you to be married to the raiden heir. it was shocking how the heir’s mother, ei, agreed, given how she was the one who casted demise upon your clan.

the wedding ceremony came and went, and so did the past couple of years. kunikuzushi was harsh, he didn’t want this – he was forced to sever his ties with his ( secret ) lover from the kaedehara clan, he was forced to marry someone he never loved; you.

you never loved him, too, but, ever the gentleman you are, you treated him with care and respect. when he was sick, you’d tend to him, you would compliment him, you would never talk bad about him. despite his opposite treatment of you, you understand. neither of you wanted this.

it was easy to fool your families, too. whenever yours and his parents are on the same table, you and kunikuzushi would act the star-crossed lovers, making them believe that you’d learned how to love each other.

the two of you would laugh, stare at each other lovingly, hold each other’s hands, lean closer to whisper something in each other’s ears – even ei couldn’t help but watch fondly; you were taking good care of each other.

“the both of you aren’t getting any younger,” your mother gushed, somehow confident to talk, despite being in the same table of her rival woman. she took a sip of wine, sending you and kunikuzushi knowing looks. “when are you both supposed to bring forth your heirs, hm?”

beside you, kunikuzushi tensed, and you couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. you understand, you always do.

your darling husband masked his true feelings with a seemingly shy smile. “oh,” he said, glancing at you with a soft look. “we... have been trying.”

you saw through those eyes, and you acted along. “my beloved is right, mother.” you took the boy’s hand and pressed a kiss on his knuckles. “it may take a while, but there will surely be little us’ running around the manor soon enough.”

“we will be expecting,” came the unreadable tone of kunikuzushi’s mother.

the next few months came by, and you and your husband are walking around the festivities. there were stalls, bustling vendors calling for the consumers’ attention. you two played the part of a married couple: you held hands, wrapped your arm around his waist, pressed close to each other – no one suspects a thing.

until you and kunikuzushi saw a certain boy with white hair and a red streak, he was staring at your husband. ah, it seems like they still have their affair going on, and you felt your heart shatter, just for a bit. you look down at kunikuzushi, who was in your arms, but looked longingly at his lover, the one he truly loved.

you let go of him. and he just looked up at you with hidden gratefulness, and rushed towards the kaedehara.

kunikuzushi didn’t return to your shared bed that night.

you understand, truly, you do. it was a good thing you stopped yourself on the brink of falling in love with him. you two may be married, but that didn’t mean you were meant for each other. you understand.

even now as you entered his body, after a week of the festival, of him with the kaedehara, you understand that the pleasure placed upon you is nothing but an obligation, a responsibility. it was to appease your families – to create an heir. even as you held kunikuzushi’s hand delicately as you pushed further into him, you knew that this union isn’t genuine.

you merely placed a kiss on his cheek as he reached his orgasm, and while you emptied inside of him, you murmured sweet nothings into his ear to calm him down after his high. and when he fell asleep without so much as a reply to you, you cleaned him and covered his naked body with the covers. you turned your body away from him, after – you know he wouldn’t be happy if he saw himself against your chest in the morning.

it was into six weeks when he began showing symptoms. kunikuzushi was nauseous, he continuously complained that his stomach was aching, and when you both talked to a trusted mage, they confirmed that you and kunikuzushi are expecting an heir.

you took good care of him. whenever something is aching, his shoulders, his feet, you would wordlessly massage him, you would bring him tea, knowing he loves bitterness; you played the part of being his husband, being a to-be father.

it was two months to his pregnancy that he felt his heart skipping a beat whenever you’re near. kunikuzushi told himself that he’d never feel something for you, he swore not to – but he couldn’t help it, not when you were taking such good care of him despite his attitude towards you. you never complained, never voiced out any discontent nor did you scowl at him when he always sent you a piercing glare.

perhaps, now, as your own family is beginning to grow, he could finally return the treatment you deserved from him, as his spouse.

it was strange when he began snuggling with you when you both went to sleep, when he began kissing your cheek, pecking your lips, smiling at you – it sent a small spark in your heart, but you don’t understand. is this because he’s only pregnant? he does not only crave for strange combinations of food, but also company? well, you still played along. you cared for him.

though it was unfortunate that during this time, you had to leave for mondstadt to attend some meeting – about creating allegiance there and whatnot. it was surprising that kunikuzushi kissed you passionately before you board the ship. you kissed him back just as fiercely, but you know it was merely for show because people are around; they wouldn’t want to see a supposed married couple being cold and distant to each other, especially when the spouse is to leave for many nights.

but what kunikuzushi wasn’t prepared for was the change of your demeanor when you came back. it wasn’t a bad change, but one that slowly broke kunikuzushi’s heart.

he was heavily pregnant, and he wore a robe too big to cover the bump in his belly – the bulge was still visible, but not much. kunikuzushi greeted you with a kiss on your cheek when you came home, asking how was your stay, if it was successful... though you answered these questions diligently, something was amiss.

no longer did you gaze warmly at him, but you became more distracted. you still cared for him, yes – but, now, kunikuzushi thinks it’s merely an obligation, nothing more, nothing less. your touches were more genuine then, now, it lacks those. when he kisses you, it was you who would pull away first and just kiss his forehead before turning away from him.

what had happened?

sometimes, he’d watch you write down on a parchment. it became a normal occurrence now. who were you writing for, he never asked. when you receive letters, he’d watch you smile – that smile that was once directed at him, but now it was more honest, like the reason for it was deeper.

he knew he shouldn’t be doing this, invading your privacy. you were asleep, and he walked to the dresser where you kept all the letters you’d been receiving. kunikuzushi subconsciously placed his hand on his baby bump as he unfolded a paper and read.

ah.

it seems you’d found someone who piqued you interest while you were in mondstadt. the way this person wrote to you was far from being friendly. it was as if...

kunikuzushi wiped a tear that fell from his eye. a couple more flowed through his cheeks, though, and he didn’t care wipe them anymore.

had he been too late love you? was it too late for you to love him?

reminiscing of the times when he treated you harshly, when he talked so bad about you, when he disregarded your opinions, when he rolled his eyes at your compliments, when he felt disgusted whenever you kiss his knuckles... perhaps, he does deserve this, and perhaps you’ve finally found someone you loved outside the marriage, as he had been with his affair with the kaedehara before. he deserves this.

kunikuzushi understands.

[romanteacism]

Knight Aemond x Princess Reader Lonely

Synopsis: Ser Aemond grew to realize the gravity of his decision to distance himself from you; unable to bear the shift in your demeanor that was the consequence of his actions. Warnings: None (yet), Infatuation, Jealousy, Fluff PREVIOUS PART / NEXT PART

“Goo—“ You ceased the words that were to escape your lips as you exited your chambers and realized no guard was waiting for you outside your chamber doors. Today was your first day of not having a sworn protector by your side—an odd sensation of freedom and as well as loneliness surrounding you. You walked down the halls in silence, without the clang of armor that cuts through the quiet. “Good morning,” You smiled as you saw two maids, them bowing their heads as you walked past them, noticing their curious gazes as you were alone in the halls. 

You walked down the stairs to venture into the gardens, nearly tripping on the steps, and no one was there to assist you and wrap their arm around your waist to steady your frame. You bit your lip as you realized how truly dependent you had become when in the presence of your knight, and you pondered if that was a good thing or not. “Good morning, princess,” A squire greeted you as you were served your first meal in the gardens, noticing that he, too, was curious about the absence of your guard. His eyes passed around the near vicinity to search for Ser Aemond, and you were itching to di the same. “Thank you,” you smiled as he left, breathing in deeply. You had the urge to speak and engage in conversation, but no one was around to listen to your babbling. 

Ser Aemond watched you from above the gardens, alone in your usual spot with a distracted look in your eyes as you tried to hide your dullness. Though he was granted leave for a week, Aemond felt no want nor need to venture out of the castle walls. He was rarely granted respite from his duties— and never once was he given such a prolonged leave; he never knew what to do with himself when he was not in his post. Aemond took in a deep breath, his scowl severing as he realized how stale the air was when your scent did not envelop it. “Good morrow, Ser Aemond,” the knight heard a greeting from a distance, making his attention shift from you to your chambermaid. “Celia,” He nodded in greeting, quickly glancing towards you once more before turning fully to the girl. 

“I heard the princess granted you leave,” She mused, stepping closer to the knight. “She has.” He confirmed, trying not to show his displeasure about the arrangement. “Then might I ask why you are spending it here? If I were granted such opportunities, I would venture to the town— there is much entertainment there.” Celia smiled, still inching closer to the knight standing by the railing of the balcony that overlooked the gardens. Only then did she realize that where Ser Aemond stood provided an unobstructed view of the princess who sat alone in her usual spot. “I do not care much for entertainment,” Aemond stated, resisting the urge to turn to you as he heard an audible sigh leave your lips. 

“Then… what do you do on your days off?” Celia questioned, and Aemond could not find a response. There was a silence that surrounded them, and the chambermaid was shifting from one foot to the other. She did not want to leave and cease her conversation with the knight, but she knew she must tend to her duties. “Would you might want to join me? I… I can tour you around the keep,” Celia proposed, holding her breath as she waited for the reply of the knight she had been eyeing since his arrival by the side of the princess. Since the beginning of the summer, she had been praying for an opportunity to have a moment alone with Ser Aemond, but he was always by your side, and now, it would seem her prayers had been heard as Ser Aemond was finally pried away from the princess’ presence. “Very well then,” Aemond agreed, knowing that touring around the castle he found no particular interest in was better than watching over you from afar when you had made it clear that you did not wish for his presence. 

You frowned as you heard Ser Aemond's distant voice. You looked around your surroundings to search for his unique silver locks. You raised your gaze to the balconies and saw as Ser Aemond walked the halls, and beside him, was your chambermaid who looked completely besotted by your knight. You pursed your lips and felt your hand clench tightly around your fork as your eyes followed their departing frame, a burning throb in your chest that was hard to ignore and an irritable twitch in your eye that you could not control. 

Ser Aemond walked with Celia through various halls of the keep, the girl constantly speaking and telling him facts about the castle he had no care for. He could not even pay attention to what she was saying; everything she uttered went from one ear then out the other— different from you, who he still remembered all the things you babbled about. As they turned a corner, Aemond halted in his steps as a portrait caught his attention. He looked upon the artwork, a furrow returning to his brows. “When was this portrait of the princess made?” He asked, interrupting whatever Celia was saying. Aemond grimaced at the painting; the artist had lots of lapses in how they pictured you. Though you were still your breathtaking self— the painter had failed to capture the actuality of your eyes or the small beauty marks that riddled some parts of your face, and he even had the gull to make you appear older.

“That is not the princess,” Celia informed him, the girl noticing how focused the knight was on the portrait. “What?” Aemond asked, distracted. “That is not the princess; that is her great-grandmother— the queen.” Aemond glanced at the chambermaid, not fully believing her words, as the portrait he looked upon convinced him that it was you. “Why is there a knight’s helmet by her foot?” Aemond asked, turning to a small plaque at the bottom of the frame, confirming that the portrait was of your great-grandmother, whose beauty you had inherited significantly. “They say that it was an ode to her husband, the king consort who was once her sworn protector.” Aemond almost choked at the words he heard. 

“This portrait was made for her coronation, and it was said that under the knight’s helmet was a wolf pup to signify her past betrothed, but they had painted over it after her coronation as she broke off her betrothal and instead married her knight. No one could hinder her, for she was queen,” Celia shrugged, gaze growing curious at the more obvious tenseness of Ser Aemond. There was sweat beading from the side of his forehead, and he looked rather flushed. “Are you well, Aemond?” She asked, moving to take hold of his upper arm, but Aemond quickly moved away, unaccustomed to anyone else’s touch. “Yes,” He said, but there was an obvious imbalance in his voice. “I must go,” Aemond said and marched away, leaving no room for Celia to reply as he left her alone in the halls. 

Thankfully, the week without Ser Aemond by your side was quick to pass. Aemond was growing restless as he had nothing to do. At his witts end, all he wanted to do was return to his post. All he did was trail you from afar during the days that were supposed to be his break. Watching over you even though he was dismissed from his duty because that was all he knew— and if he were being honest, anxiety filled him as he feared something might happen to you and no one would be there to come to your aid. 

When it was the day for you and your family’s return to the capitol, Aemond walked the halls of your chambers and stopped by his post, sighing in contentment as he returned to his rightful place. When the doors of your chambers opened, Aemond parted his lips to greet you as he realized that he was perhaps too harsh with his choices before of trying to ignore you altogether. He came to the realization that he could still maintain your distance and cease the wagging tongues of the court but still be cordial with you. However, the words died on his tongue as you walked past him and went your way without even giving him a glance or at least acknowledging his presence. Aemond hurried his steps to catch up with you, whose once leisurely pace now fastened as you walked the halls. 

You were holding your pet cat in your arms, your gaze completely focused on your pet, and Aemond knew all too well what he needed to do. He moved to assist you as you walked through the halls, but before he could place his hand on the small of your back, he realized you already knew the obstruction in your way, not at all needing his help. When you two reached the steps, Aemond offered his arm to aid you as you descended down the stairs, knowing that your dress was cumbersome when in such terrain, but his furrowed brows furthered as you only placed your hand against the wall to assist your balance, and ignoring the help he offered. 

“Are you excited to return home?” Your brother asked as you met him by the entrance hall. You hummed and shrugged, staying silent because, in the past week, you had learned to control your tongue and ceased babbling, leaving your thoughts to yourself. Your brother frowned as he realized he had not heard you speak much the past week, and not once had he seen a true, beaming smile on your lips. “Welcome back, Ser Aemond,” Your brother greeted your knight, who led out his arm to assist you in the wheelhouse, but you ignored his aid once more. Aemond bit his tongue and gave a curt nod before going to his horse. He watched as your brother bordered the wheelhouse that housed you as well. 

Aemond rode beside your wheelhouse, his eye flying toward the small gap that offered him a glimpse of you from time to time, a bored look on your face as your brother tried to speak with you, but you were in no mood to hold a conversation— something quite concerning for you always had a multitude of words ready to spew from your lips. 

Your convoy was halfway to the capitol when the king and queen’s wheelhouse halted to a stop, confusing Aemond and, from the looks of it, you as well. 

“What is going on?” You asked, turning to your cat, who had woken from the commotion of guards shouting orders and the halting of the wheelhouse. “We are set to go to lord Dacre’s house— some business to tend to,” Your brother explained, moving to stand. “We are?’ You asked as you were not privy to such matters. “Well… we— mother, father, and I are.” You frowned. “But why can I not join you three?” You asked, but your brother did not answer your question as the wheelhouse doors were opened by Ser Aemond, your mother waiting outside. “Because you will only be a distraction— constantly trying to chat up the lords and ladies, distracting them from the important business on hand. This matter is of quite importance, and we cannot risk bringing you to disturb this meeting.” 

Aemond’s gaze flew to you as he heard your mother’s words. He never realized how estranged your relationship with your mother was; seeing that both of you would have luncheons almost every day, he would think you two were close. But now he recalled how he would listen to the silence of the royal apartments as you and your mother were alone together. Aemond observed your hands tightly grasping the pillow on your lap as you looked upon your mother with nothing but hurt in your eyes, but you did nothing to defend yourself. “You’re leaving me?” You asked your brother, “Do not be so dramatic; we will return in three days,” Your mother sighed, impatient, as she waited for your brother to stand and lead her back to the other wheelhouse. “And we’ll bring you back a present,” Your brother smiled reassuringly, hoping the promise of a shiny trinket would lessen the melancholy in your eyes. 

Your brother gave you a quick kiss on your temple before exiting the wheelhouse and turning to your sworn protector. “Take care of my sister, Ser Aemond,” He said, and Aemond gave a nod, glancing towards you, who could not even meet him in the eye. “Of course, my prince.” 

For the remainder of your travels, you tried to console your mind and not let yourself succumb to the loneliness brewing inside you. Your family often did this— leaving without you knowing their plans and returning with a crate filled with gifts to justify their disappearance. You tried your earnest effort to distract yourself with the fact that when you returned to the capitol, the scarce friends you had made with some of the ladies of the court would be waiting for you. 

“Welcome back, princess,” a maid greeted, and you offered her a smile as you threaded the halls in search of Lady Grace and Lady Cassandra. Aemond followed you silently as you hastily roamed the castle, searching for your friends. Your legs were aching with the various halls you passed and stairs you ascended and descended during your search. You had the mind of just finding them the next day, but luckily, you ran into the brother of Lady Grace. “Lord Abbey,” You called and curtsied, “Princess, great to see you back,” He bowed. “Thank you… might you tell me where Lady Grace is?” You asked, but confusion quickly took over your face at the shocked expression of the lord. 

“Oh… you had not heard. My sister was sent to the south to be acquainted with her betrothed… I believe she had left you a letter in your apartment. She regrets not telling you directly, but all the arrangements were quick to happen.” Lord Abbey said apologetically. You could only nod and force a smile through your disappointment. “And Lady Cassandra? Might you know where she is?” You asked in hope. “Oh, princess… the Lady Cassandra has fled,” Lord Abbey said slowly; the matter was of delicacy and of scandal. “What do you mean?” You questioned, dread pooling in your stomach. “A moon ago, Lady Cassandra had run off with her father’s squire, who she had revealed was her lover— having no choice, she was disowned and had fled with the said squire.” 

Aemond could practically feel the anguish exuding from you as Lord Abbey informed you what had happened during your absence. He remembered your concern as neither of your friends had replied to your letters during the summer. Aemond followed you back to your chambers; your head hung low as the friends you were looking forward to seeing again had left you alone. “Shall I ask your maid to bring your supper to your chambers, princess?” Aemond asked before you entered your room. He watched you shake your head, not even uttering a word nor turning to him before closing your chamber doors. 

When the hour of the bat came, Aemond stood restlessly at his post, uneasy at the behavior you presented. He never thought you were capable of being anything but the cheerful, affectionate, and loquacious princess that he had come to know and accustomed himself to since his first day. He never thought that it was possible for you to hold and display such somberness— he never thought the light of the realm that constantly radiated upon them could grow dim. 

Aemond was brought out of his thoughts as he heard the jingle of your cat’s collar. Theodore made his way through the halls and stopped your door, hissing at Ser Aemond to open it. Aemond rolled his eyes, pushed upon your chamber door, and left a gap big enough for your cat to enter, but as he partly opened your door, Aemond felt dread consume him as he heard the sound of your sobs. Aemond froze, not knowing what to do. Should he just close the door and ignore your crying? Or should he enter and console you? Aemond was leaning toward choosing the former, but as he heard another heartwrenching sob leave your lips, he knew he could not just stand there and let you cry into the night. 

“Princess?” He called by the door, cautiously threading closer to your bed where you lay and cried onto your pillow, your whole frame shaking with each sob. “Princess, are you hurt?” He called again, and at the sound of his voice, your sobbing ceased. Aemond felt his knees grow weak as you turned to him with your bloodshot eyes and quivering lips. “Wha… leave, Ser Aemond,” You say, holding back your cries. Your knight did not do such things but only dared to step closer to the side of your bed. “You… you’re crying— are you hurt?” Aemond asked, having no idea how to console someone in such a state. 

You frowned at your knight’s words. “I’m fine— please, Ser Aemond, leave.” You say once more, sitting up on your bed, embarrassed that your knight had caught you in such a state— balling your eyes out and helpless. “Not until you tell me the matter at hand— why are you crying?” Your fists baled the sheets of your featherbed. “You overstep, Ser. I have asked you to leave twice now— go and return to your post… that is all you care for anyway.” You muttered the last part, remembering the first and foremost reason for your somber mood that had plagued you since a fortnight ago. “I shall return once you tell me what is wrong,” 

You bit your tongue, your usual tendencies of vocalizing all the thoughts that ran your mind coming forward. Aemond challenged you with his eye, standing straighter by your bed, signifying that he truly will not leave until you explain to him the reason for your tears. You sighed, wiping away the tears from your cheeks before letting out a huff of breath. “The matter is, everyone leaves me!” You erupted. “They always leave me alone! And I would think I would have gotten used to it by now, but it just keeps gnawing at me. They constantly leave me lonely! My family leaves me for matters of the crown, my friends to get married— even my past guard left me! And I wager it is only a matter of time when you leave me alone as well!”Aemond’s heart pitted at your words. He stood there in silence for a moment, having no words to offer you comfort. 

You scoffed as Ser Aemond just stood there in silence. “There, I’ve told you the matter— now, leave.” You sighed, trying to calm the anger and sadness that had consumed you. “No,” Aemond answered. You looked at your knight in disbelief. “You are aware that you are disobeying the princess of the realm,” You say, one of the few times that you had held your title over someone’s head. “I’m not leaving. I’m staying here. I’m staying with you.” Aemond said, voice filled with sincerity, his words an oath. 

You could only roll your eyes. “Are you certain? Are you not wary of what the court will think?” You taunted, reminding him of his words. Aemond’s jaw clenched, not particularly enjoying this side of you, but he would have your stubbornness and animosity any day rather than your ignorance. “Princess… it’s just that— I do not like to be gossiped about,” You scoffed, “No one does. You cannot control what the court takes as their new chatter piece— you can, however, control how you handle it.” 

“I did not intend to offend you,” Aemond explained. The words he uttered before had struck something deep inside you, something that brought forth such emotions you had always repressed, but just one word from him had undone all your efforts to hide such unpleasant dispositions. “Were you not the one to tell me that whatever intentions one has, you must know of the consequences?” You asked, the heaviness in your chest miraculously disappearing with each moment you finally spoke with Ser Aemond. You knight sighed, shaking his head. “I did not think anything I say would be of such consequence to you— I did not think you would care,” You stayed silent, not having to utter a word as it is evident that it did. “I… I apologize— I was only trying to protect us both from speculation and the whispers of vipers.” 

“I’m afraid there will always be a devious snake lurking in each garden I roam,” You sighed. “Well, then, it is a good thing you have your knight who’ll always stay by your side to protect you,” you breathed out a laugh, finally meeting Ser Aemond’s eye, seeing sincerity in the lilac orb. You nodded, choosing to believe his words because every part of you told you not to doubt him. “Good night, Ser Aemond.” You say as his cue to leave. Aemond bit his lip and gave a nod. “I shall be at my post,” He informed you, and you gave him a small smile. “I know you will.” 

[t-a-a-1]

Counting Stars

Special Chapter: To You, A Million Years From Now

TFP Optimus (Nemesis) x Female Reader

Summary: Nemesis Prime writes a letter about his life to someone unknown.

A/N: Lots of yearning, jealousy, delusions, craving, fluff. All that good stuff.

TW: Death of important characters? Idk

2k

Counting Stars

To you,

Who is it? Who is walking among the river of memories?

Holding into the hope of meeting what they desire ...

I don't know when these feelings started.

    I am unable to locate an exact moment.

Was it on February 3rd when she smiled at me for the first time? On July 7 when we observed the starry night? Or perhaps on December 21 when she held my servo with her soft hand?

    I am not certain, I wished my processor could remember but I can't. I find myself to be more pathetic as the time passes. My years have started to show. The scratches in my chassis were more visible and my paint job is not as shiny as it used to. I had stopped taking care of myself and now I begin to wonder ... Does she even like any of it? Me?

How could she ever? She's a human and I am an old robot. A tired one. I must be disgusting to her and I don't blame her. And my personality? There's much to be wished for. I don't laugh often nor enjoy jokes nor understand them. I lack any sense of humour and yet all I want to do is to make her smile when she's with me.

I find myself annoyed at times when the things I want to say cannot be processed through my glossa. An occurrence that happens whenever she lays eyes on me.

In my lowest moments, I wanted to dislike her. I must admit. She had taken every single corner of my processor. Leaving me with nothing but her. Every minute, every second, she's there and not even in my dreams I am free from this torment.

I shouldn't feel like this.

I still don't fully understand how I was chosen to be a Prime. I don't consider myself to be good. How could I when I have sent so many soldiers to meet their end? Although I was an archivist, I am not wise, I lack wisdom many times. I only make decisions hoping for the best results. I am neither the strongest as Megatron has proven he could outbest me even at his worst.

So ... Why me? Why was I given such a burden? Why did Primus in all of wisdom choose me to bear the responsibility of leading what's left of my race? When all I wanted ... All I ever wanted—

"You wouldn't let anybody else suffer with the title of being a Prime."

    No. I would. She's wrong. I am not that good. I am not that kind. So, please, don't look at me like that.

"And I think that's what makes you worthy."

I would give it all up.

If it meant I could have the one thing I wanted.

And it's standing right in front of me. Smiling at me with eyes that have more stars in them than the entirety of the universe.

And yet she knows ... That I wouldn't. That is all a lie. No matter how much I tell her that I am not as gentle as she believes me to be. She just knows.

How ... How can you be so certain?

I am not worthy of being a Prime ... And much less, of being someone who loves her.

But what if ...

If I am devoted to her? Worshipped her? Oh, her, her, her ... how much I adore her. Words are not enough.

Does she remember that time she changed the style of her hair and put paint in her face, adorned her body with shiny fabrics? I was baffled, awed at her beauty. The greatest artist is whoever created her and I, a mere spectator.

She wasn't a perfect portrait. But she was made for me. In every detail made to my liking. In every imperfection made to be loved just by me. Only me.

But I am but a shadow

And she's light.

But the darkness protects me. From the cruelty, the mockery. In darkness I can bask myself in these feelings. Enjoy them without restrictions. Without the fear of rejection. Of her and what others may think. I would have been fine living like this. Admiring her from afar as she will only be mine to adore.

Until he showed up.

I was a fool to believe I was the only one who could admire her being.

He would steal her attention. Taking her to human places I could only dream of visiting with her openly.

    Of course she would choose him. Why wouldn't she? He can give her all the things a human may want. Take her to small pretty places, places I couldn't go into. Give her flowers that don't witter because unlike me, he is delicate enough to hold them. Most importantly, he can give her a family.

How dare he? How dare he steal everything I wanted? All of my dreams and hopes–

"I think I like you ... No, I love you, Optimus."

Primus.

Please.

Please.

Please.

Do not let this be a dream.

Please. I beg you.

Do not take her away from me.

Who is it? Who is walking among the river of memories?

Holding into the hope of meeting what they desire ...

    To the lack of my better judgement, I let her stay by my side and I'll be at hers.

As the time passed I began to wonder if I was allowed to be this content. Sometimes I was hit with the realization that she won't be living for as long as I did. I considered the many possibilities of what to do once she is gone. Even going as far as asking of her preferences. Would she want me to go offline alongside her? Because I would do it in a spark-beat. And I think deep down I wished for her to ask me that.

"I am just happy that you'll live longer than me ... I won't have to deal with the grief."

Then I thought ... between her and me, I prefer to be the one to suffer. For all of eternity if that meant she won't ever have to go through the pain of losing a loved one.

"Besides, you have to take care of our Sparkling once I am gone."

    And just like that ... I fell in love with her all over again.

And till this day, my spark has only known her and it continues to only adore her.

My joy was greater than my need to fulfill my duties and slowly I wanted to forget them.

But I couldn't.

I couldn't just retire and forget about the spilled energon, all the sacrifices.

But now that I think about it, maybe that's what Primus wanted. Maybe, just maybe, her carrying a Sparkling was a sign for me to forget about everything. Of the war. Of Cybertron. Of the fallen ones.

I should had run away with her.

"I'll give you the mercy to say goodbye."

    I will never forget the blood coming out of her. Human blood was a strange liquid, smelling like metal. But was irreplaceable, unlike Energon. Yet, in my delusion, I wondered if I could give her all of my Energon to her.

"Our Sparkling ... Optimus,"

    I couldn't move.

MECH and what little is left of Silas, had held her captive. Only a few days was enough for them to bring me to my feet. I knew it was a trap but what was I supposed to do? I thought I was strong enough to save her. That's all I wanted. I lead my team to a trap, one impossible to escape.

It was only Ratchet and I and the two of us were too useless. I couldn't move, nor speak. MECH had poisoned the air in the hangar, only affecting the Autobots.

The situation didn't fully register in my processor ... Until I saw Silas inside Breakdown's rusted body.

    Putting one of his pedes above her.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

"Please ... Save our Sparkling–"

    She couldn't even finish her sentence.

Blood. Everywhere. It had reached my faceplate.

    And as Silas lifted his pede, I still had hope. That she might be there.

But instead, nothing.

    Everything that she was.

Her hair. Her eyes. Her smile. Her laugh.

Her.

It was gone.

    I don't remember much after that.

Next thing I knew, I was with Ratchet in a special cell. It seems he had been talking for hours to me but I just didn't listen. I don't think I was even capable of hearing anything at all.

Until Megatron showed up.

    "I never thought it would end up like this."

I didn't look at him.

"You must know that not even I could ever harm what was Cybertron's first Sparkling in milenia."

"... Was?"

    Ratchet asked.

I heard steps walking closer towards me. Until Megatron stood in front of me. He bent down and put a small circular object on the floor.

"I couldn't get there before they dismantled him ... This is the only thing I could save."

    I picked it up. It was a Spark-Keeper. The outer metallic shell that was supposed to be protecting my Sparkling's spark. Empty. Lifeless.

"Optimus, I've made a terrible mistake," Megatron said. "I gave Silas a power he couldn't control. My arrogance and pride blinded me, making me unable to see the monster I created."

    My Sparkling. Where is he? He should have been born by now.

"This mistake cost the Cybertronian race its future ... And I am responsible. Now I see ... Now I understand everything you said."

Where is she? I want to see her. She should be resting. Probably at the base. I need to go back soon.

"Let's end all of this. Help me defeat Silas and MECH ... And after, we can all just go home."

Home. That's right. She must be with my Sparkling at home. I should bring her something pretty. Maybe I should pick out many sunflowers on the way.

"Let's go to Cybertron and rebuild it ... New life shall rise."

    My Sparkling, her ... They are waiting for me. I need to go. I need to see them. Where are they?

"Do not let (Y/N)'s sacrifice be in vain."

    Until this day ... I can't find the words to describe the pain I felt when I heard her name.

"D, old friend" I called his old name as I activated my battle mask.  "You shall never speak her name again."

    I shot him.

I saw his life come out of his optics. I took out his spark and crushed it.

I walked out of the cell, Ratchet did not say a single word.

I killed every single Decepticon and human I encountered.

    And after I was done I went to where the last of her remained. Just a red stain on the floor.

    The entire base was on fire. The Autobots, the ones who had come from the vastness of space and the ones who hid on Earth had caused a commotion. One I did not oppose anymore. The news of my Sparkling's massacre had spread just as quickly as the fire. With that came indignation. Hate. The hope of co-existing as one ... gone.

"You won't be able to control them anymore."

Ratchet had found me.

"A war is bound to happen with the humans and rest of the Decepticons. Once again."

    There was a pain in his voice that I never heard before from him. Yet, I didn't care. I only thought of my selfish wish.

"Would you please ... Kill me?"

    I heard steps coming closer to me. My optics were still focused on the stain on the floor.

"No."

"Why?!"

    I finally looked up at him. His optics were no longer blue.

"Because if you die, you won't be able to remember her."

Ratchet bent down to put a servo on my shoulder-plate. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, this must be the first time I was unable to do so.

"You need to keep fighting," he said, and finally, I listened. "You can't undo what you've done ... But you can embrace it."

"The pain, can you feel it? The feeling of having everything taken away from you?"

    And that's when I understood. Genuinely understood Megatron for the first time. Is this how he felt when he was thrown into the gladiator pits to fight his comrades, killing each of them? Just for mere entertainment?

For how long was I blind? Blindfolded by my own privilege? Fighting for freedom that only those on the winning side will get to enjoy?

    All this time ... Everything. It was all a lie.

"I am tired, Optimus," Ratchet spoke to me once again. "We either give up now ... or we can burn it all."

    That's exactly what I needed. I wanted to share my pain with the world. It was too big and too heavy in my Spark. I wanted to get rid of it, of these feelings, of the guilt, the incompetence.

But that wasn't me.

It wasn't me.

And the realization hit me. I had already done the unspeakable. Whatever sanity I had left, they took it.

I no longer was Optimus Prime.

I was free.

I was free of the burden, I was free of the responsibility. Finally, Finally! I could be whatever I wanted! I was free to be whoever I chose to be! I am this! This is what feels right! This is what I was supposed to be, this is who I am!

I  turned on my Comm-Link, making sure everyone could hear me.

"This is Prime speaking," I stood up. The fire consumed the place more and more. But I didn't care, I walked around the hangar and destroyed everything I saw. A rush of power, strength goes through me. "Fellow Autobots, the human race and the Decepticons have taken from us our last hope. It is to my most sorrow to inform everyone that the countless opportunities given to both were in vain. I couldn't save her ... nor my Sparkling, Cybertron's hope."

    I felt something pulsating inside of my chassis and as I opened it, I took out the Matrix of Leadership.

It was this thing's fault. The reason I became a Prime. The reason I had to follow honor and moralistic ideologies. It was because of this responsibility bestowed on me that I had lost her and my Sparkling.

If only ... I had run away with her.

"But with their deaths, we are no longer tied down to the chains of morality and fake principalities! We are free! Free to do as we please!"

I continued to bask in my madness, things falling down around me, embracing who I had become.

"Destroy everything you can! Claim what you need! Fight for what you wish for!"

    And finally, the Matrix disappeared from my grasp. Granting me, after so many years, the only thing I have ever truly wanted.

"THIS ISFREEDOM!"

    I shot the wall in front of me, opening a path. Coming out of the flames, I met my Autobots, ranting my name. Everything around us is crumbling and falling apart. Never had something felt so right.

"Prime! Prime! Prime!"

"I send this message to the Autobots who remain scattered across the universe. I am reclaiming a new home. A new start for our race. Earth will no longer belong to humanity but to us! One shall stand and one shall fall."

    That was the last time I saw Bumblebee. Among the crowd, a horrified look on his faceplate. Ultra Magnus was there too. Arcee and Bulkhead ... all of them with that disappointed look. They are here.

But ... where is she? Where is my Sparkling? Where are they?

Where are they? Are they home? Are they waiting for me? I want to see them soon.

"Optimus ...."

I turned to look at Ratchet.

"I am no longer that," I told him. "I am free to choose now."

Now, I've become mad. Drunk on sorrow, lost in pain. But I had become what I have always been. What I chose to be. With this letter, I grieve who I once used to be. But I am no longer that.

And I don't regret it.

Because now I only live to hate him. To despite and destroy whatever he believed in.

But now I wonder ... Who is that in the back of my processor?

Who is it? Who is walking among the river of memories?

Holding into the hope of meeting what they desire ...

    Is it my dearest waiting to meet me? My Sparkling with his hands raised up, waiting for me to hold him?

No. No, it's not.

It's you, Optimus Prime, what's little is left of you.

I can't wait for the day you completely disappear.

    But I can't let you go. Because it is you who she once loved. And I'll be damned if I were to lose whatever little is left of her. It's you who hold her memories. But I'll hold you prisoner, mine to torture.

Optimus, I hope you'll forever live with the pain and regret only you deserve.

As I have.

Goodbye forever, Nemesis Prime A Million Years From Now.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A/N: I was in Japan visiting my college friends so that's why the long wait. There is much I need to write! But I feel encouraged to keep writing!

It was quite strange how I wanted to approach Nemesis. Since I had never written about him before, I had to think of ideas and motivations for his character. I felt like it was quite gruesome so that's why I didn't go into extreme detail of what had happened to Reader and the Sparkling but I am sure you all can assume since it was directly mentioned.

I didn't want to get much into his mind either and left some things into interpretation as I prefer for the readers to make their own conclusions with the information they have since I think ... that's more fun?

A part of me wants to feel bad for Nemesis but I am not sure. I truly write this just as it comes and see what fits better for the story.

Next chapter we'll see how Optimus is doing without the reader and the Sparkling.

Maybe we'll explore more of the human-cybertronian conflicts that happened after Optimus became Nemesis.

And of course more Nemesis longing for you and all that good stuff.

I want to thank everyone who has read this so far! Thank you and I hope you'll be here till the very end!

If you have any questions, comments, concerns or requests you can send me a message or inbox me on tumblr! @ t-a-a-1

Thank you and until next time!

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https://www.tumblr.com/t-a-a-1/776307342250803200/counting-stars?source=share

Next: Soon

[milkfordragons]

A caged bird is only yours if, in the vastness of its freedom, it chooses to return.

This is the quiet law of love, the cruel test of possession: to see if what we long to hold will stay, even when it has the sky.

When Chilton asks Will how he was able to walk away from prison, Will’s answer is not just an observation but a revelation, and probably the height of his intuitive brilliance.

Hannibal had never known love before Will. He had known admiration, devotion, fear, but never this. And so, when it arrived, he was overwhelmed, unmoored, and stripped of his usual control. Chaos roared through him cruelly, and in response, he unleashed that cruelty upon Will. If he could not steady himself, then neither would Will, in a type of sympathetic act.

Sending Will to prison was not a plan, not a scheme, it was an impulse, an emotional lash-out disguised as inevitability. And when he saw Will behind bars, encaged, he was pleased. Because for a fleeting moment, the bird could not leave.

But love does not thrive in captivity. It becomes a deception, a fragile illusion that shatters the moment the door is opened. And when it is, when the air rushes in and the wings unfold, you are left with the truth: if they fly, they were never yours.

Hannibal knew this by the end of Mizumono. If he wished to ever see the real depth of Will’s affection, he had to let him go. "He knew where to look for me," he says in Italy. There was hope there, but no expectation.

Again and again, Will kept raising Hannibal’s expectations only to betray them, to reject him, to force him into heartbreak over and over. First in Garret Jacob Hobbs’ kitchen, where his gun points at Hannibal for the first time. Then in Mizumono, then in Italy, where he arrives only to undo him once more. And even before that, just after leaving prison, another gun, another hesitation, another wound carved into Hannibal’s otherwise impenetrable mask.

Each time, it devastates him. Hannibal Lecter, the man of unreadable expressions, the master of composure, crumbles, and it is visible, stark and raw. Because Will does not stay. Because Will does not choose him.

In the end, Hannibal understands that the only way to set Will free is to cage himself. It is the final act of devotion, the only proof of love he has left to give. He gives himself to the bars, knowing Will will walk away from them.

"Because he wants to be my friend," Will says as he leaves the prison, showing that he knew Hannibal was setting him free, so that he could come back out of his own volition.

The theme of love that cannot be forced, of devotion that must be given freely, echoes through sacred texts, myths, and the fabric of the divine itself. It is the test of God and His creation, of lover and beloved, of master and disciple.

In the Bible, God desires love, but not as a commandment imposed through force; He seeks devotion that arises out of free will. Not because of fear, nor because of the weight of law, but because love must be a choice. This is why, in Eden, He does not build a wall around the Tree of Knowledge, does not send angels to restrain Eve’s hand. He allows the choice, knowing that love without freedom is meaningless.

Hannibal, in his own dark and wounded way, walks the same path. He cages Will only to learn that a bird in captivity sings not out of love, but necessity. And so, like God, he must open the door, step back, and see if the beloved returns.

Hannibal understands too late that devotion given unwillingly is a hollow offering. When Will walks away, it is the soul choosing its own destruction over a love that cannot be lived freely. And Hannibal, like all gods and demons who have loved too much, must let him go, knowing that only in this surrender can the truth of love be revealed.

Because love, in its highest form, is not possession. It is the unbearable patience of waiting for the beloved to return. Or the acceptance that sometimes, they never will.

[heartz4levi]

Nsfw rockstar till when /nf

dance to the rhythm, it gets harder !

☆ thinking abt rockstar till nsfw . .

☆ till (alnst) ,, gn reader . . modern!au ,, rockstar!till ,, till and reader are in an established relationship ,, semi—public sex (they fuck backstage) ,, one (1) quickie ,, gagging (reader receiving) ,, mentions of getting caught (they don't actually get caught) ,, biting (reader receiving) ,, very rushed aftercare. a lot of u guys wanted rockstar till nsfw oh my god /pos.

you're making it so hard for till to stay quiet.

he sucks in a sharp intake of breath, burying his face into the crevice where your shoulder meets your neck. you're clamping down on him so desperately that he's almost struggling to pull out of you to the point where only his tip portrudes your insides before slamming himself back into your hole, pushing a loud moan out of your throat.

till couldn't help it. he came backstage to take a quick breather inbetween songs, knowing you'd be there, waiting for him to finish performing. when he came back though, you were acting so uncharacteristically playful, throwing teasing remarks his way — it's as if you were asking him to take you right then and there, on the couch backstage.

anyone could walk in and see the two of you going at it like animals in heat, especially considering the fact that you're not trying to conceal your moans in the slightest. till is, trying his hardest to not let any more than a few grunts escape him. meanwhile your moans are nearly resonating within the room, making till doubt the possibility of no one overhearing what you two are up to.

you're so obvious. toying with him so blatantly, letting him have your way with you without putting up a fight, and now allowing your slutty moans to be heard by the world. with how tightly you're sucking his dick in, till can tell that you like the thrill of being on the verge of getting caught too. he isn't as big of a fan, but he can't not give in to the temptation that is you.

both of till's hands have a grip on your hips that is so tight it hurts. he's keeping your body pressed up against his, your back coming in contact with his chest. one of his hands then moves away, inching upwards. you feel something gently caress your lips and part them absentmindedly in response.

your moans are muffled by two of till's fingers that have been pushed past your lips, pressing down on your tongue. a part of you, the one that thoroughly enjoys messing with your boyfriend, wanted to get a little louder. maybe then his fans that are waiting outside would hear and they'd start to wonder about what's going on backstage.

if only they knew.

but another part of you, the one that is currently consumed by the feeling of till's cock hastily pounding into your sopping hole, urges you to adhere to his silent command. and so, you pliantly suck on his fingers to preoccupy that loud mouth of yours from giving the two of you away any further.

till lets out a pleased hum in response. if he weren't so hell—bent on releasing some of the adrenaline in his system by wrecking your shit, he would've laughed at how obedient you are all of a sudden. not too long ago you were pushing his buttons, testing his resilience. now you're choosing to listen to him and correct your own behavior. how ironic.

unfortunately he doesn't have the time nor the composure for that.

a muffled yelp tumbles past your lips when till bites down on your shoulder, hard. not hard enough to draw blood, but definitely enough to leave some long—lasting marks. the pain emanating from that bleeds in with the pleasure running through your veins as the pace set by his hips remains unrelenting, reducing your mind to nothing.

if till wasn't holding your body up, your shaky legs might have given up right under you.

you can feel a coil begin to form in the pit of your stomach, gradually tightening. till can feel himself getting closer as well, having sunk his bared teeth in your sensitive skin to hide the low, guttural sound that he makes upon spilling inside of you and feeling you gush around his cock simultaneously.

white coats your vision and your insides. till slips his fingers out of your mouth and his cock out of your hole, giving you a few moments of respite to come down from that rushed high.

while your body collapses down onto the couch, till straightens and promptly cleans himself up. he has to get back on stage as quick as possible since he most likely doesn't have much time left — hell, he might have even stayed a few minutes too long past his estimated break time.

after making sure that he looks presentable enough, till turns to you. he wouldn't dare leave you there, cleaning you up like he did himself, straightening your slightly wrinkled clothes and making sure that you're alright. he leans in afterwards, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips before scurrying away.

although the rest of his performance carried on flawlessy, the post—orgasm afterglow etched across his features could not be mistaken for anything else. his fans aren't that dense.

[brailsthesmolgurl]

"Are you pinching my cheeks?"

Preview: How will the boys react to you pinching their cheeks.

ZAYNE

"You do not have to go so far, treating me to different kinds of dessert just to pinch my cheeks y/n." You stared wide-eyed at the man in front of you who is wearing a smirk on his thin lips. You were scrolling through social media and stumbled upon a recent trend where girls would pinch their boyfriend's cheek and the guys' reaction would determine if they are a red flag or green flag.

It is not that you are particularly worried about him being a red flag, he is far from one. Yet, it does not stop you from wondering about his reaction. Catching him off guard, you grabbed hold of his cheeks and piiiiinched! His skin was smooth to your touch, given that he is an advocate for basic skincare, focusing mostly on hydration. "My turn." Zayne's voice was calm, echoing slightly through the high ceilings of his house. He sat up straight from the couch and loomed over you, before pressing his lips straight onto yours.

RAFAYEL

"ARGH!" The grown man stumbled back, eyes wide and jaws slacked, a look of betrayal stamped onto his face. You pinched his cheeks when he was too busy focusing on his artwork that he had forgotten about the milk you had prepared for him an hour ago. "What was that for?" His hand rubbed against his supple cheek, scarlet red littered all over his ears now as he looked up towards you with a pout.

"You are the cutest when it comes to getting your cheeks pinched." Your voice teasing and he stood up, his height loomed over you easily. Rafayel has never liked to be touched nor to feel pain of any degree but getting it from you, maybe, just maybe, he could turn a blind eye to it. The next thing you know, the both of you are chasing one another playing 'pinch-your-cheeks' tag around his whole mansion. SO much for a man who barely loves to workout, but he sure does hold a vengeful heart.

XAVIER

"This one should directly correlate with---what was that?" Xavier stopped mid sentence, turning his head slightly to face you. Your hand still pinching his cherubic cheeks while he is looking at you. "Were you listening to me?" He tilted his head and you finally let down your hands, silently pouting to yourself on why he had noticed it so early. Sensing the way you reacted, Xavier huffed back a laugh and he held your hand and placed it against his soft cheek, a smile not faltering off of his angelic features.

"Alright, you can pinch my cheek as we are talking about this case okay? But do try to pay attention." His answer made you chuckled in response and you did as you were told, fingers clamping down softly on his cheek again as he resumed the discussion of the case files with you. The only time he had stopped you was when you kept pinching his cheeks on and off, fascinated with how much collagen he has on his face. "Now, that's enough of pinching." He said sternly, turning to face you fully this time and grabbing both of your cheeks and pinching them wide.

[v-hope]

glad you’re missing TF bc me too, i wanna see them finally settling and knowing they’re ready for the next big step in their lives or even just discussing building a family after grad or when they’re at a good stage in their careers🥺🤧

pairing: jeon jeongguk x reader

genre: slight angst, flufffff, established relationship, non-idol au

warnings: pregnancy scare, mentions of condoms, mentions of unprotected sex

word count: 2.3k

a/n: um. hello after years lolll. i started going through very old requests in my ask box yesterday in case i found anything that’d bring some inspiration to my very uninspired self, and i found manyyyy tiger flower ones and this one in particular reminded me of a headcanon of mine that i never wrote nor mentioned (i think) but for some reason it was??? an actual Thing???? in my mind????? so yeah lol here i am. i don’t think anyone even cares about tiger flower (minus one person. u know who u are<3) anymore, BUT fuck it, i missed them and enjoyed writing this. i hope whoever reads it enjoys it too, bye<333

A pregnancy scare wasn’t something you were expecting only two months into moving in together after your graduation. It wasn’t something you were expecting at all.

At most, you and Jeongguk had agreed on getting a puppy as a new addition to your family of two. Said discussion happened when the two of you had only been together for a few months, a little over a year ago, where you both agreed on moving in together after you graduated college and then get a puppy right away.

Moving in together was not up for debate — you knew so the moment Jeongguk got a job in the last year of college and so did you, saving enough money to get a decent place and looking for apartments throughout the entire year, so you could secure a lease as soon as your previous ones ended. On the other hand, although you were still excited as hell to get a dog, once you were settled in your shared place, you were both too busy and overwhelmed trying to keep up with your new jobs and all the new changes in your lives to even think of adding another responsibility on top of them all, let alone one that had to do with a living creature.

If neither of you felt ready to get a puppy yet, how the hell were you supposed to raise a child?

Your heart beat so fast against your chest, you felt like you would pass out any moment, as you paced around the bathroom while you waited for the pregnancy test to tell you whether you’d bring another human being to the world in nine more months or not. Endless thoughts running through your mind as you did so, and you internally cursed at yourself for not having waited outside with Jeongguk instead — God knows you needed his arms around you to bring you comfort.

You definitely needed Jeongguk to hold you, you realised the second the alarm you set as soon as you took the test finally went off, managing to somehow turn it off with your shaky hands, and fighting not to drop your phone as you took a deep breath and closed your eyes for a moment before taking a look to the test on the sink.

Once you earned enough courage to finally open your eyes and focus them on it, you exhaled all the air you didn’t know you were holding up until then — instant relief washing through your body.

Negative.

You were given another chance not to raise a child when neither of you were ready.

And yet, a part of you couldn’t help but feel a little bit disappointed, empty even, now that said possibility was out of the way.

Although it was not the right time, a family with Jeongguk was something you’d always be happy about — and something you were only now realising you longed for way more than you thought you did.

Coming out of the bathroom and meeting a very distressed Jeongguk waiting right outside the door, you shook your head no right away, just like that letting him know you were on the clear this time around.

He let out a heavy, shaky sigh, rubbing his eyes with his palms as he processed the news, before he pulled you into his arms like you so badly needed him to — melting into his familiar touch and inhaling his scent as you felt yourself begin to calm down.

He said nothing, you said nothing. Your arms around one another and feeling each other’s comfort were all you needed right then.

Jeongguk didn’t let go until he felt your body stop trembling, only pulling away enough to rest his forehead on yours and cup your face in his warm hands.

“You okay?” He wondered; for a change, not being able to tell what the expression on your face meant right then.

He genuinely didn’t know whether you were relieved or not. And, therefore, he didn’t know how to react to the news. Yes, he had sighed in relief a minute ago, but that was as much as he’d let himself express until he knew how you felt about the whole situation.

You nodded, still a little bit stunned — not knowing whether you should say what was on your mind. Then again, it was Jeongguk the one in front of you, holding you. You knew you could tell him anything and he would understand, or at least try his best to do so.

“Is it wrong that I feel a little bit disappointed?” You finally mumbled, catching his attention. “I mean, I know we’re not ready, and we haven’t planned it at all and I would be so fucking terrified had it turned out positive, but, I just…”

“I get it,” he stepped up when he realised you wouldn’t talk anymore, gently reaching for your hands and holding them in his. “Of course I’m relieved we’re not having a baby right now, but… a part of me really wants to start a family with you now”.

“Now?” You playfully raised an eyebrow.

“Not now,” he panicked. “But, I mean, in the near future, but not that nea—ugh, you get it”.

You couldn’t hold back a giggle, biting your lip when he rested his head on your shoulder, embarrassedly hiding his face in the crook of your neck.

“I know,” you reassured him, running your thumb on the back of his hand. “I can’t wait to start a family with you either. It’d be cute, wouldn’t it?”

He nodded — one hundred percent on board with it, yet pensively.

Up until that day, you hadn’t really discussed your future together. It was more of a given. Unspoken, but you both knew you wanted everything with each other. From moving in together, to getting married, to having kids, to growing old together.

Maybe it was finally time for you to actually bring those thoughts up.

“What do you think is a good age for us to start trying?” Jeongguk wondered, his voice gentle as ever.

You puckered your lips as you pondered your options. “I mean, we’re only twenty three this year… Maybe in another two or three more?”

“Yeah…” he quietly agreed. “We still need to get the hang of living together on our own…”

“Getting a puppy…” you added.

“Save some money” Jeongguk considered.

“Get a bigger place”.

“Get married”.

You smiled at his addition, feeling the by now very familiar butterflies fill your stomach. Reaching your hand up to cup his cheek, you sweetly ran your thumb over the corner of his mouth.

“You wanna marry me?”

“I am marrying you, Y/N” he confidently stated, only to feel his cheeks burn the next second when he caught the way your eyes lit up. “I mean, if you’ll take me, of course…”

You giggled once again, this time throwing your head slightly back as you rejoiced at the new bit of information your boyfriend had just provided you with. “I am marrying you so hard one day, Jeon Jeongguk”.

He beamed, giggling against your mouth as he searched for it and trapped your bottom lip in between his smiling ones.

You couldn’t help but let out a breathy laugh of your own, wrapping your arms around his neck when he held you up by your thighs and took you to the sofa only a few steps away in your living room — not letting go of you for a second as he carefully lied on his back with you on top of him.

Lying your face comfortably on his chest, and running your fingertips up and down on it, you let out a contented sigh.

“So, kids sometime after we’re twenty six?” You returned to your previous conversation, before you got carried away by your desire to spend the rest of your lives together.

He hummed in response. “We should already have achieved all our previous goals by then, so I think it’s the most reasonable”.

“After twenty six it is then” you settled, smiling brightly when he reached for your hand and interlaced your fingers. “How many would you like?”

“Two or three would be nice,” Jeongguk confessed. “I’m okay with as many as you’re willing to have, though”.

“I always thought two… a girl and a boy” you admitted, feeling him smile against your head. “But I wouldn’t mind having three of them with you” a smile curved up your lips at the simple thought.

He chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to your head. “Two girls and a boy, or two boys and a girl…”

“What if it’s three girls?” You looked up at him.

“That’d be nice” he smiled.

“And if it’s three boys?”

“That’d be nice, too”.

“Mhm…” you squinted your eyes, suspiciously staring into his. “You want at least one girl so bad, Jeon Jeongguk”.

“I didn’t say that?” He defended himself.

“I can see it in your eyes” you playfully poked his forehead.

He rolled his eyes in amusement, tightening his hold on your hand to stop you from poking him again. “Well, sue me for wanting a mini version of you”.

Your heart melted, and you were pouting before you knew it. “I want a mini bun, too”.

“Too bad, we’re only having three girls now” he teased.

“Shut up,” you whined, slumping your face back down on his chest. “You just created a new need for me”.

Jeongguk’s chest trembled as a blissful laugh escaped his lips, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you so close to him you almost found it hard to breathe. You would never complain about it, though, let alone when his lips began to pepper kiss after kiss on the crown of your head.

“I love you,” he said. “And honestly I’ll be happy with whatever sex they are as long as they’re ours and we raise them together”.

His words brought tears to your eyes and a lump in your throat, being apparently still too sensitive over the whole situation not to feel like crying when he said the most reassuring words you needed to hear.

“You’re gonna make me cry” you let him know, looking up to meet his doe eyes once more. “But I’ll be the happiest as long as that’s the case, too”.

Jeongguk smiled timidly, gently pushing your chin slightly up for your lips to come in contact with his; pressing a soft kiss on them before his arms were once again tightening their hold around your waist.

“I’m sorry” he mumbled, nuzzling your hair.

“What for?” You questioned.

Jeongguk shrugged, fingers drawing small circles on your back. “For putting you through this…”

You chuckled, burying your face in his neck. “It takes two to make a child, bunny. Which we didn’t get to make, by the way”.

“I know,” he pouted, holding you somehow tighter against his body. “But last time I was too horny to go get a condom”.

You snorted. “Nothing we haven’t done before. We just tested our luck for the hundredth time and it backfired on us for once”.

Although you weren’t looking at him right then, you knew a pout had just formed on his bottom lip. You tenderly kissed his chest, in hopes of making the sad look on his pretty face go away.

When you felt him be distraught still, you decided to switch the mood a little bit.

“Still, I did have the scare of my life, so we’re going on a sex strike for a bit”.

His mouth fell open in disbelief, pulling you up by your shoulders so he could look you in the eye. “You’re not serious”.

“I am” you stated, trying your best not to allow your lips to break into a smile. “One month at least”.

“At least?!”

“Aren’t you the one who went twenty one whole years without having sex?” You raised a teasing eyebrow. “This should be nothing to you”.

“Petal…” he whined, hiding his face in your neck. “It’s not the same now”.

“Why not?”

“Because I got a taste of it with you two years ago and I can’t control myself around you now, you know it”.

“Sucks to be you” you shrugged. “One month starting today”.

Letting out a defeated cry that could only have you finally releasing the laugh you managed to hold for so long, he rested his head back against the couch.

“Can this month end already”.

“So you’re just accepting your fate?” You were the one in disbelief now. “You won’t even try to convince me otherwise?”

“No, it’s up to you” he said, closing his eyes as he threw an arm over them. “If you don’t want me to touch you then I’ll just keep my hands to myself and suffer in silence”.

You half cooed, half laughed, not having expected such a touching answer to your playful question. Then again, it was Jeongguk the one you were dating; you should know better by now.

Removing his arm from his face, you pressed a brief kiss on his nose. “I love you, bun” you ran your fingers through his hair. “As if I’d be able to go a whole month without jumping your bones”.

“Now don’t say it like that” he laughed, throwing one of his legs over your body and making you lie on your sides now.

Properly face to face now, you cupped his cheek and gently caressed it as you rested your forehead on his. “Give me two weeks tops to shake the fear off my body?”

He nodded, lovingly bumping his nose on yours. “As long as you need me to”.

[th3sungod]

parkner au where harley technically remembers peter, and is very concerned that tony suddenly stopped talking about him one day.

he remembers hearing about tony's insanely smart intern and how he rivals even tony's genius ( harley would beg to differ on principal but tony never says that about anyone ) so he assumes the kid must be special. he absentmindedly assumed the kid was spider-man, and when he asked, tony simply told him 'i can neither confirm nor deny' which basically answer that question.

but, he never got a name for the intern. spider-man. the kid. underoos. spider-boy. spiderling. 'one of the two people fully responsible for every grey hair on his head' -- all names used, but never explicitly stating a name.

and, when after nearly a month and a half of not hearing a thing from Tony about him, he asks. at first he assumes he has no new stories since it's been a hot minute since Tony's even been able to do anything other than sit in bed and recover, but something isn't sitting right with him. he asks where's the intern been, and says as much about not hearing anything, throwing in a joke or two about leaving him on the side of the road, but Tony is silent.

"Who?"

"Uhh- your intern? Spider-man? Don't tell me you're already forgetting in your old age." Harley jokes dryly.

Except, Tony actually has no clue why Harley would think Spider-man interns for him. And, he doesn't seem to remember any instances he'd brought up when trying to jog his memory. He says he remembers Spidey helping for a few different things, but never stayed to chat and never revealed his identity.

So, given that it's not particularly out of the question, he automatically assume an alien has taken over Tony Stark's body and calls Pepper. And Pepper knows nothing. And after a very frantic bout of questioning, he takes the initiative to drive all the way to New York.

He doesn't know The Avengers, he talked to Rhodes and Vision maybe once at Tony's wedding, but something is most obviously wrong so his first thought is to tell them. Get there before whatever took over Tony's body, or is impersonating him, or something doesn't have the time to infiltrate the world's mightiest heroes.

No one knows anything. Happy said he drove him once, but he was in full costume and he doesn't remember the starting address off the top of his head. He feels like he's going crazy. He tells Tony as much.

He tells Tony about the kid from Queens he picked up basically off the side of the road, gave him a new suit, and every single story he can remember Tony told him about Spidey. It's a fucking long shot, but he recounts the Vulture incident and about how he took the suit, so he has to know who's under the mask.

Eventually, Tony tries picking out specifics about the dates Harley mentions, and can't honestly tell him what happened otherwise -- other than things that definitely don't add up.

Harley, now trying to think back to ever since time Tony even mentioned the kid, while simultaneously trying to figure out why the vigilante has been subsequently missing since around the time Tony stopped mentioning him, puts himself to work immediately. He said the kid had an aunt, he doesn't know her name. He went to one of the best STEM schools in New York, but he doesn't know which one. But, there are discrepancies. The AI he knows Tony made the kid is still functioning, though it won't locate since the HUDs been off for nearly a month.

Slowly, Harley finds himself spending every waking hour thinking of Spider-man, one of the world's finest, who simply fell off the face of the earth. And, by the time he finds concrete proof in the form of a picture and a name, Tony finally brings him to a resident wizard to help. There are no files on Peter Parker anywhere, so maybe magic will help?

What they find is a scrawny teenager half dead in an abandoned train station, wearing what's left of a spider-suit underneath dingy clothes. he's balled up, and doesn't hold a lick of peace in sleep.

he decides, then and there, he isn't leaving New York until whatever happened is fixed, and everyone remembers peter again. he doesn't know why any of this happened, but he's gonna damn help as much as he can.

( harley would've definitely heard the news of some teenager being outed as being spidey, but he never got a name. he did see a picture, so any memories of the outing are wiped from his mind. )

[g1rlken]

┏ Like real people do 3. ┐

Aemond x daemon’sdaughter!wife reader

⋆˚࿔ reader part 1 & part 2 here ˚⋆𝜗𝜚˚⋆

summary: Heavy melancholy of jahaerys’ funeral and a difficult aftermath of the tragic affair brings out feelings and confession (mainly hurt comfort)

word count: 3.1k+

warnings: Jaehaerys’ funeral, b&c aftermath, small folk chants

As the news progressed further down to dragonstone, an unwavering tension settled within the walls of the black council. Upon finding out the works of Daemon under her own, Rhaenyra’s name, she grew relentlessly furious. The lack of remorse and understanding gravity of the situation by the king consort was something that unnerved the queen even more so. The funeral for the boy was being prepared for as she had to stand hand on hand, heavy of heart and guilty of crimes she did not commit whilst daemon being unbothered as ever. Even after all that had occurred he regretted little of his miscalculation and more of his daughter still out of his reach. “It is only right I want my daughter back! By whatever means I have left to myself I cant keep on sitting in stupid council meetings, talking action stations whilst the hightowers have my daughter!”

Rhaenyra sighed looking away for a second, the conversation they were having was as it reaching lengths and she had to hold herself back from pointing out just how late daemon had this epiphany of concern for his daughter. Personally, Rhaenyra never had anything against y/n but it was Daemon’s disdain and locked up dislike for his own daughter which made her estranged and isolated from the family and bond she could have had even before he decided to marry her off “It is not that I do not hold any regard for y/n, I do. More than you ever did yourself.” She did not point when she tried to change Daemon’s mind when he decided to marry y/n off to Aemond before everything happened. She knew he regretted that as it is, “you can’t just act about as you wish now. You taint my name and my authority-”

“Wanting my daughter back is not a whim. She is in a disturbing place, married to that one eyed cunt do you think they are treating her with mercy?” Daemon interrupted her. He felt increasingly unsure and guilty of the life he subjected his own daughter to. Surely, he could never be gentler nor acceptive of his daughter, an extension to the hatred he held for her mother and the loss of his own personal freedom. Yet, the horror that had transcended broke down all his walls he held against y/n.

“You put her in that position!” Rhaenyra exclaimed out of frustration. “Despite everyone’s better judgement you were so eager to be rid of her and now you use her name to justify your self servings!”

“I’m not using my firstborn name to justify anything I simply want her back!” Daemon’s voice roared through the room as he found it difficult to get the truth of his conscience across to his wife. He couldn’t get it across to himself either but he felt urges more than he did reasons.

“I want her back too.” Rahaenyra declared, in truth she couldn’t be a ruler if she would surpass kindness to those of her own kin. The innocents within her kin. As far as she could tell y/n was one of the most misfortunate innocents she’d known. The timid sweet motherless child living at the hands of a vengeful father. “Do you think I don’t consider the horror she must be facing. Aemond, made it difficult for me to find the remains of my son I cannot even stomach the thought of pain he must inflict upon y/n.” She said in a weary tone, “All because…had my father or you, given second thoughts to the godawful marriage union of them she would’ve—”

“We can’t afford to indulge in what ifs when this is the time for action!” Daemon interrupted her as the guilt crept in more and more at her words. She was right of course, he did not miss y/n he felt responsible. “I will not be as though my hands are tied when they’re not. I will do everything in my power to get my daughter back.” This was perhaps the first time in all his life that he referred to y/n as his daughter. With the fatherly claim she had yearned for all her life…he was able to give it to her now, just now when she wasn’t around to revive it.

-

The funeral procession for the green heir, across the coast of dragonstone was an excruciating affair. The princess sat next to her mother in law the dowager queen as Helaena sat on the other side of the carriage next to her mother. Alicent, in the middle holding both of their hands as the royal women proceeded for the funeral.

Chants of public support ran through the streets of King’s landing yet none of it seemed to matter, as though it could do something. As though it could bring the boy back. The queen grew more and more restless and alicent tended to her, y/n tried too but every sight she laid her eyes on was more horrific than the other. A disgusting addition to the visions already recapping inside her head. The intruder, the blood, the disheveled room, the blood, the council meeting, the blood, Aemond’s quiet distress, the blood, just so much blood. She couldn’t be rid of the sights, ringing in her ears came over and over.

It was sickening. Everything was so sickening she felt physically weak. The politics of this procession in itself felt a heavy degradation of grief. And it was. Grieving women out on display for the public to see the works of the pretender queen. Without even being present across the coast y/n could surely tell just who was capable of such barbarism. Having faced it first hand herself she knew it was daemon behind this plan through and through and yet he wasn’t held accountable. The small folk called out for them as the carriage moved forward, perhaps their empathy was guaranteed for something but y/n couldn’t digest it.

Their chants, “Princess y/n! We grieve with you!”

“…the daughter that never was…”

“forsaken by kin and crown…Princess y/n we grieve for you!”

“A motherless child left in the pretender’s wake”

“Our rouge prince’s firstborn wronged by the black queen! The gods weep for your tragedy!”

gods…such plight laid bare for the people to see and this is how they perceive it. The wounds on her face, her father’s doing…all of it is ‘the pretender’s’ fault. All of their supposed well wishes or slogans twisted her stomach. She wanted to scream, tell them whose hands held the blood over the boy, over the cuts on her.

"From Lady Royce’s loss to Rhaenyra’s disdain—Princess y/n suffers"

That one felt like being stabbed in the ears, she felt her ears rang so loud, somewhat thankfully she didn’t hear further than that for a while. Lady Royce. A name she wouldn’t want to hear in this setting, a name she did not hear in so long and this, this felt like a cruel joke. She felt her mother’s loss all her life. But she suffered more due to Daemon’s disdain. Even now, away from him, a whole another life yet she was subjected to misery after misery by that man and everyone still saw him highly. The narrative couldn’t be surpassed in any way, she felt like a cornered animal in her father’s playground. She felt closer to the gods in the heaviest of her griefs but she couldn’t be sure if they did weep for her tragedy, looking up to the bland sky she hoped they at least witnessed.

The day was the foulest she had perhaps ever lived, the funeral parade worsened Helaena’s state even more so. Alicent and Y/n tried to help her through it, this whole ordeal was such an unnecessary test for Helaena.

After the funeral, even the darkest days seem to have a nightfall resulting a darker night. Y/n had fallen victim to a heavy fever. A result to the circumstances of a day which felt as long as a year. Her wounds were properly tended to and closed once she returned from the funeral but the fever simply elevated. Her mental turmoil truly did not help her situation, not meaning to worsen her situation but she couldn’t stop her thoughts. The smallfolk’s chants, the visions…everytime she closed her eyes she couldn’t help but open them teary once again. The maesters worked on her the entire evening until her fever stopped elevating but did not lower even. Whimpering and tossing on the bed, her limbs were hot enough to be on fire yet she felt cold of the north. The maids changed the cloth on her forehead over and over, she refrained from eating anything. A very difficult sight for Aemond. He had been present in the room the entire time, he did not leave her sight ever since she returned. Wanting to pick a bone with his mother and grand sire, that his wife’s condition was a result of their need to leave her wounds bare for the funeral. Yet Aemond remained at her side, muttering sweet nothings and offering her reassurances. “Are you still cold?” He would ask her softly as he adjusted another layer over her sleeping form.

In response she meekly shook her head, too weak to muster words. Wincing as she shifted inside the bed. She truly didn’t feel the pain from the fever that had taken ahold of her given the mental suffering held a stronger grip. “You aren’t going to leave are you?” She asked him, worried, so worried that he would leave and somebody would come in and take her away. A harm was her way…she couldn’t shake off the paranoia. Aemond even got their chambers changed so the sights of the walls she was violated in wouldn’t remind her of the same things. But it was of little help.

“No my love, I am right here.” He told her as he caressed her forehead through the warm cloth on her head, the maids took their leave in a bit and Aemond tried to coax his wife to sleep. “I won’t leave your side.”

“Aemond” she whimpered in a half conscious state, “I don’t want to go…”

Her worries made his heart sink to his stomach. Given the fever ridden state that she was in, his words would barely be reasoned with her. “You are not going anywhere, you are right here.” He tried to help her with same words in different ways, trying to assure her she was safe. “You are with me, you are safe.” Holding her hand, caressing her until she fell to slumber after a while.

Criston, visited him later that very night as Aemond was situated next to y/n restless and sorry for her state. Since she was deep into slumber he decided to have his usual meeting with Cole in the adjoining room, not that far from her. The council within the council went over the regret, remorse the plannings of upcoming action stations. Plotting ahead of others, however a heavy dread hung in the silent air of the room as Aemond stared at the board in front of him. Glancing back at the other room to make sure y/n was alright. “How is the Princess?” Cole asked.

Shaking his head, Aemond looked to the side into the fireplace. His eyes holding the same fire, “If grand sire didn’t insist on leaving her wounds open she wouldn’t be in this state.” He scoffed.

“Sorrow does not have words, grief simply grows disorderly.” Cole tried to counsel Aemond’s frustration.

“The maesters worked on her all evening. She refuses to eat, cannot situate in our previous chambers and she is growing restlessly frightened as if she is being hunted for sport.” Aemond briefed Cole about her state, “Can sorrow speak louder than this?”

The kingsguard did not have any response for Aemond’s ever so justified anger over the whole situation, “it is comfort to know she at least finds whatever consolation within you.”

Aemond did not exactly believe that despite their spark, but he couldn’t surpass their arguments either. However now it just felt like she had no other option but him to rely on, perhaps? Before he could dwell more on that thought he heard a stumble from the room. Immediately he rose to his feet to inspect what the noise was and y/n was out of her bed, rummaging through the shelf of books. “You are in no state to be out of bed” he said as he reached her in a few strides.

Yet she was focused on finding something through the bookshelf, ignoring Aemond’s concern. He caressed her forehead with the back and forth of his palm resulting the fever being steady and not elevated. He dismissed Cole with his regard of calling the maester. “Y/n, you have to get back to bed” he said as he gently tried to hold her up by her bicep.

“No!” She protested freeing herself out of his grasp, “I promised Jaehaerys I would read to him after dinner, I completely forgot.” Y/n informed him ever so casually as she continued rummaging through the bookshelf for the story book “I just can’t seem to find the book.”

Aemond’s heart broke at her state, her mind but be hazy from the tea of varying herbs in her system to help her through the fever yet, this was so much more painful. “Y/n…” he proceeded softly as he managed to pull her away from the bookshelf. “My love you have a really bad fever.” He would be dammed if he reasoned with her about their nephew this very moment.

“Aemond, I am fine. I must find that book-“ she was relentless to her cause. The few hours of fever sleep she had must have made her believe that the past few happenings were a bad nightmare. “I have to…I-“ reality seeped in and it felt like the walls all around her were breaking down. As if the world was crumbling to dust, “Aemond…I-i promised him.” Tears welled up her eyes as the realisation hit her but the denial was such an easier life to lead. “I promised I…I-i would read to him and I never—“ she couldn’t seem to finish her sentence as she broke down into tears.

No words were present to console her so Aemond enlaced her into his arms. Holding her against his chest tightly as he rubbed her back, “shh…” he said resting her chin on top of her head as her sobs filled the room.

The weight of the world crumbled on her shoulders, weakening her legs along with her spirit she fell to her knees as Aemond slowly held her down to the floor and situated her onto his lap. “Just breathe.”

“Jaehaerys-“ she wept into her hands, “He wanted me to read it to him-yesterday at that moment but I dismissed it for later-I—he made me promise him I’d read it to him…” she trailed off as she cried, her entire body trembling in Aemond’s arms. Her remorse was inconsolable.

“Loss of the boy cannot be compensated…in any way” Aemond said as he removed her hands from her face to look at her properly. Holding her face by her chin for her to meet his gaze, “his suffering is done. His spirit shall live on within us…with you. The love that you hold for him.”

Aemond’s words were not meant to console her because she couldn’t be. He wished for her to find some strength, help her mettle. “My thoughts are too loud” she confessed still crying, “all the blood, all his blood…Aemond he is so small, so young” she cried into his arms this time. Unable to breathe and meet his gaze simultaneously. “Every time I close my eyes I—I can’t see anything else and I hear the same words-the small folk over and over again.” She cried. “It is all too loud…”

He couldn’t tell apart if she was trembling out of her fever or her meltdown however he did not want to risk her well being any more. Aemond carried her up into his arm, his hand snaking through her waist and legs across his other arm. He carried her to the small distance of bed in bridal style instead of making her walk it. He nestled her back within the covers and remained close to her, wrapping his arms around her again. “What of the small folk?” He asked her.

“The funeral today, they kept on saying-daughter that never was…rogue prince’s first born-forsaken.” she said in between sobs, inconsolable sobs as he rubbed her back, easing her. “They said my mother’s name, my mother, I haven’t heard her name in so long” her voice came out broken as she cried and briefed him together. “They believe it is but Rhaenyra’s fault, it’s him. This is his doing, the blood—it’s all in his hand yet they all believe-“ she choked out her words. Her crying made it impossible to continue coherent words and thoughts, both.

Aemond’s eye widened in horror, he did not think the perception scenario at all. This is perhaps exactly what Otto wanted but its effect on his wife was un-fathomable. “Y/n.”

He told her a bit firmly and pulled away a bit to face her properly. “I want you to trust me, trust that I will not let Daemon get away. He will pay not just for this but all his missteps and wrongdoings to you all your life.” He told her, holding her face in his hands. “You have my word. He will pay.”

“Why must my life by subjected to misery and then vengeance for that misery?” She asked, extremely exhausted of this whole ordeal. All she wanted was to be rid of that man, be done with all the pain her father brought with him. “When shall this be done…when will I escape him?”

“You have.” He told her, his voice carrying no hint of hesitation even with his following words. “Because I love you. And for me to love you I haven’t had to know him, all his wrongdoings, because you are not what he has subjected your life to. You are what you have overcome, you are your strength and your wit and your resilience all of which you did not inherit from him.” He explained to her in a gentle manner as he fixed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, “I love the lady that you have raised yourself to be. You are far away from him, you don’t have to worry or live behind him for I love you. I love you most thoroughly for all that you are, wholly, I am in love with you.”

-

HIIII please comment what you think I’ll post more regular updates from now on !!!

- 🏷️

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[bea-ce]

Nobody loves me like you do

..or sweet gestures your boyfriend does for you that has your knees buckling and heart fluttering!

characters: wriothesley, childe, alhaitham, lyney

genre: FLUFF!! FLUFF!!! FLUUUUUUUUUUUUFF!!!

warning's: none really? wriothesley's can be interpreted as spicy maybe, but it wasn't intended to be taken that way. maybe obvious bias...

notes: in my healing era and my lover girl has finally gotten the courage of taking the leap of faith of love once more. this is a little tribute to that, and to my boyfriend who's the cause of it. also sorry for having been dead! real busy with school and being bombared with exams all the time (the things i do to get into medicine...)

Wriothesley

It had become routine for you to leave the Duke's bedroom with tangled hair and knots that would only come out by putting balm in your hair when you showered. The cause of it? The Duke himself, of course.

Alas, as the saying goes "there's always a peace before a storm". You feel yourself get thrown off of Wriothesley, hitting your back against the matress with a small huff before you feel his weight shift ontop of you, squeezing the air out of you as giggles erupt from you while you try shoving him off of you to no avail.

Finding yourself with half of your body outside of his bed, having long ago accepted that this was the way you'd be handled by your big, strong lover, you hear Wriothesley chuckle and grabbing hold of your wrist to pull you up, back up on his queen-sized bed.

"What are you doing with half your body outside of my bed, sweetheart?" He asks teasingly, causing you to loudly exclaim at him with mock irritation in response "you're the one throwing me around the bed like a dog with its chewing toy!" causing a laugh to erupt from his chest as he pulls you ontop of him to engulf you into another long, warm hug.

It was part of the routine for him to shove his hands under your shirt, his hands roaming across your body as if mapping every part of you out. Unfortunately for you, the Duke had also made it a habit to go on search for your bellybutton for some odd reason. You'd often find yourself kicking your legs to pry him off of you, screaming and laughing as you'd feel him tickling you as his fingers was searching for his destined goal.

"What's wrong with you?! Why are you so fixated on my navel?!" You'd yell at him between laughs, squirming and fighting against his freely wandering hands that come to a halt upon your words and being met by his icy grey eyes staring softly down at you before he so casually says the sentence that has you limp and melting into his touch.

"I'm fixated on you. All of you, and I'm trying to appreciate and love all of you. Am I so wrong for doing that?"

Tartaglia

There wasn't any special occasion today as far as you knew. No anniversary to be celebrated nor a sappy couples holiday to rub in all the singles people's faces with, so why was it that you could spot your boyfriend with a bouquet of roses in his arms from afar as he waits at the spot the two of you would always meet up on before heading out for your date?

"Am I not allowed to spoil my girl with flowers whenever I feel like it?" He had responded with a mock offended laugh as his free arm wrapped around your waist to return your gesture of pulling him into a tight hug (in all honesty you had just wanted to burrow your face into his chest to hide your teary eyes from him). You can feel his hand rub your side comfortingly, traveling its way up to pet the top of your head before pressing his lips against your forehead reassuringly, an unspoken 'I love you' before pulling you away from his chest to show you his soft smile, reserved just for you.

Inspecting the lovely roses enthrusted upon you, taking in their lovely red, almost pinkish, color as you walk besides Tartaglia. You can't imagine them having been cheap, given both their look of long stems, healthy leaves and from just how fresh they look, along with just how strongly they smelt of roses. Tartaglia's hand finds your free one as you aimlessly walk. A lighthearted laugh that escapes Tartaglia makes you turn your focus to him, noticing the way he's beaming at your fondness of the flowers. "You know I looked a really good while for those flowers you said that you liked, only to have the florist tell me that they only grew wild in another nation. I was super upset that I couldn't get you your favorite flowers!"

He'd give you the world if he could.

Alhaitham

Matching Alhaitham’s thirst for knowledge, you’d often find yourself searching for new subjects to learn about. It wasn't uncommon that the facts you had learnt for the day were things Alhaitham already were somewhat versed in, but to immerse oneself further into a subject was anything but adverse, and even if nothing new was added to his knowledge a bit of repetition never hurt either.

It did happen from time to time that you’d come across information that would never come to any use. Just fun facts to share with someone, and Alhaitham would often fall victim to your ramblings (not that he minded, much less had any complaints about that). As always, you find yourself walking hand in hand with the scribe, your mouth having gone dry from how long you had passionately held a monologue with yourself of a new useless fact you had learnt. Thinking that Alhaitham couldn’t be bothered with trivial, impractical information and that his silence was a sign of that, you can’t help but let a thought slip past your lips. 

“Are you even listening?” you had asked him with a whisper, your hand giving his a light squeeze as your footsteps had come to a stop, halting the man beside you and forcing him to face you. His light turquoise eyes scan over yours, softening before a faint smile traces his lips as he nods. “Of course I’m listening. Don't mind me if I just want to listen. It's where I find the most comfort."

Alhaitham’s unwavering focus is on you. It’s always on you.

"Tada!" You hear his voice burst your little bubble, a curious hum erupting from you as you glance in Lyney's direction. A faltering swan is handed to you from him, looking soggy and sad due to the tissue's soft material and perhaps even because of the magician's untrained hands from lack of practice of origami. You don't miss the way your boyfriend smiles at you before staring intently at you, awaiting your approval of his creation.

Lyney

Sitting across you at the small café Lyney can be seen fiddling with his tissue, his plate having long been empty with only crumbs left behind of the pastry that had formerly been there. Too distracted by the scenery around you, you fail to notice the magician's hands working away on a little surprise for you.

You can't help the laugh that escapes you, due to the cute gesture of his, causing the poor man to deflate in embarrassment and shame, mistaking your laughter as being directed at him because of how just pathetic the swan looks like- The piece of paper faltering too in solidarity with its creator.

Quickly placing down the gift from Lyney, you wave your hands in the air defensively, quick to reassure him, "No, no! I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing over how cute you are being, Lyney! Thank you."

Your encouraging words is all that he needs to regain his confidence and smile right back at you with the same adoring gaze you always have saved for him.