#and have concluded that he's PROBABLY a Blade

[discordiansamba]

To Shiro's credit, once he learns about Keith's heritage, and that his mother is a member of the Blade of Marmora, he does start to put the pieces together. He knows that Keith has an identical twin brother, and he knows that said twin brother went with his mother when he left. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that Akira is a member of the Blade of Marmora.

And when he thinks about all those times when Keith's behavior has seemed a little off... well, he starts to make the connection. Maybe Akira has been with them the whole time, ever since they freed the red lion from Sendak's clutches. It's a hell of a coincidence, but he's seen weirder stuff in space. And the two of them pretending to be the same person instead of owning up to the truth does sound like a very Keith thing to do.

The only problem is that he still can't tell the twins apart well enough to be sure which one is Keith, and which one is Akira. This is a conversation he would like to have with Keith! He does not want to accidentally have it with Akira instead. So he just opts to keep his mouth shut. They'll have to come clean eventually, right?

...right?

(Well, they do- but not so much by choice.)

[gay-dorito-dust]

Could I request Sampo, Blade, Dan Heng, Welt, and Argenti getting a massive bouquet of flowers and cake as a gift from their s/o?

Argenti: loves giving people flowers and such.

It doesn’t matter who the recipient is either:

Elderly people who are lonely, elderly couples who are still together and very much in love, Young couples, Single people, people in general; Hello! Even stray cats, stray dogs and birds alike get a flower or two and animal safe cakes to eat.

Argenti gives EVERYONE and everything flowers and never asks for anything in exchange.

So when you’re the one to finally give this man his long over due -but much deserved- flowers. You were having an hard time trying to hold up an entire bouquet of a hundred ruby red roses in one hand, and a box of red velvet daisy cakes in the other.

You loved this man dearly and believed that he deserved nothing but the absolute best of the best.

Needless to say this man was swooning at the beauty of your gifts and accepts them wholeheartedly, as he then hold them close to his chest and inhaled the sweet scent deeply, humming in content as a smile graced his lips. He looked so pretty when he smiled like that, then again he was always pretty to you but in that moment he was so ethereal it took your breath away.

‘Thank you my beloved.’ He said as he kisses your cheek. ‘I shall treasure these flowers until their petals loose colour and their stems can no longer support them, but they’ll still be beautiful regardless because you gave me them.’ You mentally cursed Argenti and his seemingly effortless way with words as you burrow yourself into his side.

‘You deserve those flowers and I’m just ashamed that you didn’t receive them earlier.’ You said and Argenti chuckled, falling more and more in love with your beautiful heart by the second.

‘I don’t need flowers when I have you my dear, now would you mind in helping me eat these lovely cakes?’ Argenti asks as he picks up two of the red velvet cakes, admiring the skill that went into them. ‘I don’t think I can eat them all by myself and I would much prefer being in the company of my little flower.’ He concludes as he puts one of the cakes in your hands with a smile.

How could you say no to that face.

Welt: this man probably has had flowers from the likes of March, Dan Heng, Himeko, Pom Pom and Caelus/Stelle but they were nowhere comparable to the bouquet of flowers that you’ve bought for him.

He’s a little flustered at the gesture because wow that’s a lot of flowers for an old man like him. However he will take them as a gesture of goodwill and respect for you.

‘What’s the occasion? I’m certain I’m not missing any important events for such a gift.’ He mutters to himself as he squints at the calendar on his phone. Even with glasses on Welt could feel his eyes strain against the bright light of the phone screen. (Grandpa core.)

You giggle at the sight, if never failed to make you smile whenever he did the whole squinting his eyes to look at the screen, it was unabashedly Welt and you loved him regardless. Respectful older men was your type and Welt covered all basis of this.

‘No, I just wanted to give you some gifts as to thank you for everything you’ve done, not just for me but everyone.’ You told him as he puts away his phone and smiles at you. ‘I appreciate the gifts but you didn’t have to feel obligated to get me anything.’ He says, feeling as though there were other people more deserving of such generous gifts than him.

‘There’s no obligation Welt.’ You defended. ‘I wanted to get you something because you’re worth a thousand bouquets and so much more!’ Welt was moved by your words and made his way towards you, holding your face in his hands as he kisses your forehead softly.

‘Thank you. I shall treasure them forever.’

Sampo: acts like he receives flowers all the time but he’s bluffing and you know it from the way he’d trip over his own words.

He’s deeply touched that you got an old fool like him flowers and sweet cakes.

‘All this for ol Sampo? Oh you shouldn’t have.’ He’d say as he’s wiping a tear from his eyes before he then practically salivating over the sweet treats that smelt rich in sweetness in every aspect of its creation.

‘Only the best for my favourite masked fool.’ You replied fondly as you watched Sampo act like a kid in a sweet shop with the way his eyes brightened and how his smile seems to widen more over time.

‘Your favourite masked fool?’ Sampo echoed, pouting as he puts his hands on his hips. ‘How many other masked fools do you know besides me?’ He asks, not liking the idea of sharing you with the likes of Giovanni or something , you were his buddy! He can go find his own buddy elsewhere!

You chuckled as you ran a thumb across his pouty lip, pressing a kiss there because you could along with the fact that Sampo was an absolute sucker for your kisses. ‘You’re the only one I ever need to know because everyone else fails in comparison to the great Sampo Koski.’ You praised him as Sampo buried his head into your neck and attached his arms to your waist, drawing you closer into him.

‘Thank you for the flowers and the cakes.’ He whispers. ‘I really like them…will you…do this again for me next time?’ You kissed the top of his head. ‘You’re very welcome Sampo and of course I will, I’ve got to keep you happy somehow.’ You told him and under his breath Sampo then said, ‘how can I be made even more happy when I’m happy enough as it is with you already here in my arms?’

Blade: skeptical.

Never, ever, ever has he ever been given flowers. Never.

So needless to say he’s a little on edge and side eye the harmless bouquet of flowers as though they just personally insulted him.

‘What’s this.’ He’d ask.

‘A bouquet of flowers and a couple of Black Forest Gateau cakes.’ You responded as your smile melted off of your face. ‘You don’t like them do you.’

‘No.’ Blade, feeling the hurt within your voice cut into him deeply, says immediately. ‘I’m just not accustomed to being given gifts because no one in their right mind would give someone like me flowers and cakes. I don’t deserve them.’ He adds as a somber silence befell you both.

‘Well I think you do.’ You said after a while and Blade could only raise a brow at you. ‘It’s true! I’ll buy you a thousand bouquet of flowers and boxes of cakes if it means proving to you that you’re worth such things.’ You doubled down on your promise and Blade couldn’t help but smile a little at your determination to prove him wrong. It was a trait that he loved about you but wasn’t ready to admit it yet.

‘Even if the trail I leave behind is one of blood, death and pain?’ He asks.

‘Even then.’ You reaffirmed and Blade felt a warmth flood through him then and there as he sighs and takes the bouquet into his arms. ‘I’m no florist,’ he starts as he was just about to take the flowers up to his room before stopping to look at you over his shoulder, ‘but I’ll try to keep them alive, for you.’ He adds and your smile came back in full force.

A sight he loves to see as often as he could.

‘Everything has to die at some point, even flowers.’ You told him but he wasn’t having it.

‘Not if the flowers are from you, then I’ll keep trying in getting them to live forever.’ Blade replied and it was honestly the most romantic thing he’s ever said in that moment.

Dan Heng: thinks they were for someone else at first.

He, like welt, receives flowers for the rest of the Astral express crew now and then, but they paled in comparison to your bouquet of flowers and cakes.

‘Am I really worth all this?’ He asks, not so certain that he was in fact worth all the effort you’ve put into getting him such a radiant bouquet and delicious treats.

‘You are and I won’t hear otherwise Dan Heng.’ You said as you held him from behind, kissing his cheek that burned red afterwards, making you smile knowing that you still had that effect on him after so long.

‘Is this want to expect now? Bouquet and cakes?’ He says as he takes in the fact that you remembered each of his favourite flowers, and managed to have the florist organise them in a way that emphasised the beauty of each and every individual flower as they seamlessly blended into one another, almost as though it were a painting.

‘Only if you want it to be.’ You replied softly and Dan Heng gently rubbed a soft baby blue petal between his finger before letting them go, the faint smell of flora bringing about a sense of calm and belonging to his room. Something that his room severely lacked, but he didn’t understand what was missing back then as he did now, his room was missing your warm touch and it was very much the same for himself.

Dan Heng needed you in his life. He was missing your presence before he even met you, almost as though you were fated to meet and become romantically intertwined to one another.

‘Only if it’s from you.’ He says softly as he moves to look at. you with a soft expression. ‘Then consider it done.’ You kissed his lips this time, smiling against him in response upon feeling him smile into the kiss.

[kneelingshadowsalome]

König shaving the readers 🐱 while making eye contact....

👄 *bites bottom lip*

I go feral for your writing my dear ❤️‍🔥

"Stop squirming."

Your legs are slightly shaking from the wide spread they are forced into to accomodate a giant between them. The said giant places a large, warm palm on your inner thigh to punctuate his command – and open you up even more.

"Please be careful," you plead as if this wasn't your idea in the first place: to have König shave your pussy with one of his knives.

You were sure he would say no because it's dangerous, but it turns out your shy request was too delicious to refuse. Other men would've probably looked at you like you're a freak and told you to shave it yourself, but König merely tilted his head and told you he would need more than one knife to do it: a big one for larger areas and a few smaller blades to finish.

"Who do you think I am?" He grunts, slightly insulted. You know he's a master when it comes to knives, you would trust this man with your life, but now that he's there, wielding a blade so close to your delicate folds, you're not so sure... What if something slips?

But König is extremely careful, and extremely gentle. This man handles his duties with obsessive dedication, so why would this be any different? And besides, you're not work, you're the love of his life.

He has fallen into some sort of a flow state with what must be two of his favorite things: a sharp, deadly blade and a soft, inviting pussy. You can do nothing but bite your lip as he shaves you with a razor-sharp focus. The knife doesn't hurt you at all: actually, it feels like he's caressing your skin with a feather.

Every once in a while he gives you a glance, probably to see how you're doing. Being on display like this for him is more than enough to make your heart flutter, but it's those dark, heated looks that make you wet.

"There... Endlich fertig." He eventually rises from between your legs and leans back to examine his work with silent approval in his stare. Then he gets a warm, wet towel to wipe you clean, and admires you once more, like your freshly shaved pussy is a work of art.

His work of art.

"Pretty," he concludes, then looks at you with another trademark flash that usually precedes a good wrecking. You squirm again, merely from that horny, promising stare fixed on you from beneath the darkness of his mask. Even your thighs start to drift closed; it's simply a reaction to him being so obsessed with you. You don't even know whether it's born from the instinct to hide your vulnerable parts from a predator or because you know it will drive him crazy when you play a little hard to get.

"Keep them open," he orders, his voice dropping a note or two. You obey immediately; you wouldn't even dream of rejecting him. You only look at him with wide, love-filled eyes as he starts to lift the mask.

You should've known he wants a taste after looking at your throbbing, wet cunt – the one he just called pretty – from up close for solid 15 minutes. You can play hard to get as much as you want, but your pussy always gives you away. It's almost dripping by now, and answers him with another wink as the familiar pair of cruel lips and a brutally scarred jawline are revealed from behind the rising veil of darkness.

And god... He's smiling.

"Have to get my reward, eh?"

[lubrumalis]

konig headcanons! (realistic)

tw: nsfw

all of these are realistic hc! dont expect a normal konig

hes NOT a shy awkward pushover, just because he has social anxiety??? we can see through his voice lines hes a very cocky person and speaks rather agressively

“lets be honest, its better off in my hands.”

i hc that just because konig has social anxiety, he doesn’t express this through bring soft and shy, he expresses it through his bluntness

konig wanted to be a sniper but did not because he couldn’t stand still, has social anxiety, i hc he has some form of adhd

his very cocky and blunt shouting isn’t because hes mean, but he just doesnt wanna be seen as that bullied kid he once was

hes doesnt have horrible EQ, but the kind of guy to be incredibly unfiltered

also, this guy was literally assigned as a human battering ram, you think hes all soft and sweet???😅😅😅

no he won’t get angry or cry if his mask is taken off. just annoyed.

its not actually canon that konig is a colonel (correct me if im wrong, i couldnt find anything on the official wiki) but lets assume hes one anyway

even if he isnt, gets paid well. really well.

private military companies that deploy soldiers in areas of active conflict can pay up to hundreds of thousands for one soldier

considering konigs age (late 30s at least) and skills, probably 400-500k a year.

chose to join the military because he had an obsession with tanks and guns as a kid

a lot of hc’s say hes 6’10. i disagree, simply based off of chances and the fact thats wayyyy too tall for the military

but he was described as a mountain, so id say his height is around 6’5-6’8

very very intimidating. hes tall big and has the mask of an executioner in the 15th century. who wouldn’t be scared?

definitely will say some random german word in a situation where no one else there knows german. he doesn’t give a damn lol

hates americans (thinks theyre all obese, mannerless, and bad at geography)

brings up the most random topics. again i really think konig has adhd.

konig was not good at school and hated it, mainly due to the anxiety and how he couldn’t pay attention

also why he chose the path of a soldier

drinks lots of beer, high alcohol tolerance, this guys a true european.

loves austrian or german food. loves schnitzel and pies.

konigs breakfast is literally sausages, toast, eggs, and sometimes beer

BIG APPETITE. he could eat for 3 people.

a little insecure about his appearance, not confident in his looks :( also why he hid his face

but as he grew older he uses the mask for actual purposes of concealing his identity, he is a special ops soldier after all

kind of a cheapskate. he chose to hide his face with what, polyester? chose a piece of cloth over everything else.

has very conservative beliefs. not to the point where he hates abortion and votes far right, konig is just a little confused about some things certain liberals believe in

pretty political person lmao

not enough info to conclude whether or not konig was abused as a kid tbh

he was definitely miserable for a period in his life. hes in the military living a monotone life, barely any contact with others, and constantly living in fear he’d die

i dont think hes as traumatized as ghost tho🙂🙂

konig appreciates his dna and how it makes him big and tall, but sometimes gets incredibly annoyed at it

mainly because well, he got bullied for itas a kid

because he specializes in hostage rescue a lot of hostages (especially kids) are scared of him and refuse to leave the area with him

takes a lot of convincing 🥲🥲

has a lot of intrusive thoughts

cannot use social media properly

also texts like an old grandpa. uses 😂 and 🤣 unironically.

“Can we have burgers 🍔 tonight🌃?”

probably uses a blackberry or reallyyyyy old iphone

relationship hcs:

konigs voice actor (jim boeven) stated in a livestream that konigs wife would ideally be a mix between maria pedraza (actress) and rachael from blade runner (character from movie).

both are 170cm ish and brunettes

i can actually see that—konig is massive and he probably prefers someone on the tall side

first thing you did that led to your relationship with him? you tolerated him that is. listened to him ranting😃

i can see him with a civilian or someone whos in the military tbh

finds you pretty at first

enjoys bickering, he needs someone to simulate his mind

you know those stories where his s/o is 5’2, clingy, soft af, and neeeeeeeds konig? haha you won’t be getting that from me.

unlike ghost, who really takes his time to get to know someone and opens up slowly, scared to have his trust broken again

konig charges in like the human battering ram he is😁

if he has a feeling you’re trustworthy you are trustworthy.

horrible at flirting. he doesn’t know how to talk to women smoothly

needs someone equally as weird and funny

s/o needs to be someone with very firm boundaries and can stand their ground, i think konigs a really stubborn person, so for a healthy relationship to work, s/o can’t be the generic bimbo

konig wears the pants in the relationship

doesn’t let you pay. he has a enough money and believes men should always pay

(im sorry to break your delusions) konig does not strike to me as someone who likes a docile homebody. thats ghost (if you remove the word docile).

he doesn’t like extremely dominant partners either

imagine someone who is a listener, accepting yet blunt, shares his quirks, and has a very elegant feel to them

also someone very independent

also gonna get killed for this but konig would realistically not go for a girl in her early twenties. he prefers elegance and sophistication over being cute and jumpy

hates one night stands.

values relationships more than you think. he can come off as strong at first, but hes trying his best

ecstatic when you tell him you wanna learn german (hes not a good teacher)

doesn’t like play fighting, he thinks he’s gonna accidentally hurt you

admires you a lot. he knows hes not the best looking person and doesn’t understand the makeup skincare dress up thing.

isn’t paranoid, but definitely doesn’t say he has an s/o

if you ever get mad at him, konig will tighten all jars in the kitchen so you have to ask him for help :)

extremely unfiltered. he hates your cooking? he will say it. that dress looks better than the other? he will say it.

[hoshinasblade]

i woke up sad today and im also super stressed at work so im taking it upon myself to make other people miserable too, hence this drabble -

"it has to be me", hoshina declared, in a tone that reflected his strong will. "if number 10 wanted me to use it as a weapon, i'll do it." regardless of the consequences, he intentionally omitted. he didn't need everyone in the room to hear what is already a known fact.

the emergency meeting lasted 10 minutes, and as soon as it concluded, the oak doors opened with a loud bang, the high-ranking officers of the anti-kaiju defence of japan pouring out. hoshina soshiro, the vice-captain of the third division remained on his spot, unmoving. "hoshina -" captain ashiro approached him with a concerned look.

"commander, don't look at me like that", hoshina responded, a smirk on his face. captain ashiro would have complied, but she's known her vice-captain for year to see when he's faking confidence. "i'm tough to kill", hoshina said, dismissing himself.

retiring to his quarters, hoshina relished the small privilege he was given - it would be embarrassing to break down in front of other people if he was sharing a dorm room with his teammates. he laid down the mattress, the soft surface giving in to his weight. he did not bother to take his uniform off.

it was an hour or four before he decided to do something. the clock read past 10 pm. you're probably taking a shower. he took his chances.

you always pick up. and tonight was no different. even the mere sound of your breathing was sufficient to set his insides afire. "i miss you."

it's ridiculous even for him to realize that his feelings could be summarized in three one-syllable words. he closed his eyes, imagining that he was not holding his phone in his ear, that you were with him instead. your presence would effectively solve the majority of his problems.

"how was your day?" you whispered softly. if hoshina concentrates hard enough, he could see your lips part while you're talking. the hole in his chest grew more and more by the second.

"they're converting number 10 as a weaponized suit. they're making me wear it." hoshina wished he was not speaking to you about this.

"isn't that dangerous?" your reply was quick and straightforward. you were familiar with the protocol and you weren't even an officer.

"i could die." once the truth was out of his mouth, there was no stopping it. "it could significantly shorten my lifespan if i use the suit too much."

hoshina had always been proud of his skills as a competent swordsman - he's survived and made it this far with his blades despite most people advising him to give up. he's never cursed his own lack of power until now. if only he was strong enough, maybe he wouldn't need a suit to be able to fight better.

"then -" you started but paused and hoshina could tell you were steadying yourself. . "then don't use it too much", you suggested. in normal circumstances he would smile at you - flattered that you are worried about him, pleased that you care. but now everything from you simply feels like tiny crumbs of affection, and hoshina settled on being a beggar.

"would you cry for me when i die?" hoshina heard you gasp on the other line.

"i'm hanging up now", you exclaimed without saying goodbye. the silence after that was deafening, but even then hoshina kept his phone on the side of his face, listening. "i wanna see you tonight", you spoke at last.

"would it make a difference?" his voice cracked but he didn't care. he was exhausted of pretending he was doing alright without you, in making himself believe that his love reaches you where his hands couldn't.

he said your name once more and it felt like a knife was being twisted within him.

"don't you dare do this to me," you threatened. "wait for me there, okay?" you added this time, pleading.

hope is a greedy, grasping thing and hoshina soshiro let it take hold of him fully.

"i will."

[nerdysleepybunny]

Hallo! im new here so please let me know if i cross any boundries.'

anywho, I was wondering if i could request a platonic philza and/or techno comfort? ive had bad few days :(

Have a wonderful day/night!

I APOLOGIZE FOR GETTING TO THIS SO LATE!! I literally love dsmp asks even though the fandom is dying off, so this definitely isn’t crossing any boundaries! I hope you’re doing better. My dms are open if you ever need to chat! :D

🩷☁️N E R D Y S L E E P Y B U N N Y☁️🩷

Fandom(s): DreamSMP

Character(s): Philza, Technoblade (ft. Mumza & Chat)

Reader: Gender neutral (you/your)

Style: Hcs

TW: N/A

Summary: How Philza and Technoblade (separate) would comfort you!

🩷☁️N E R D Y S L E E P Y B U N N Y☁️🩷

Philza:

I feel like he’s the type to just know you aren’t doing well before you even say anything.

Like, you’re just sitting there in your feels, then suddenly?

BOOM CONCERNED DAD RIGHT IN YOUR FACE

“Are you okay, mate?”

“Do you need anything?”

“Here, let’s sit and have a chat.”

Literally shooing chat away so it’s just the two of you having quality time together.

Would sit down next to you on a couch, but probably wouldn’t initiate any touching. The most I see him doing is a shoulder pat or a hand rubbing your back.

Of course, he wouldn’t mind you leaning on him or embracing him! He just doesn’t want to touch you in case you want your space :)

If you want to talk about it he’s there to listen and offer wise old man advice (if you call him old while you’re upset, it’s the ONE time he won’t get defensive about it)

Like

He’s just talking giving you some advice about your problems, then he hears you snickering

“What’s so funny?”

“You sound so old right now, Phil.”

Usually he’d shout his usual “I’M NOT OLD/I’m only in my 30’s, mate…” (I’m pretty sure he’s canonically thousands of years old but shh let grandpa be delusional)

But now? He’d just chuckle and shake his head

“Whatever you say, mate.”

DON’T EXPECT HIM TO BE SOFT FOREVER, IT’S ONLY BECAUSE YOU’RE CURRENTLY SAD

After you’ve concluded your venting/told him that you don’t want to talk about it

You know what time it is…

DISTRACTIONS!!!

Pillow fort anyone? He’s giving pillow fort vibes.

He’s a dad, so obviously he’d just do all the work and build it for you. Again, only because you’re sad. Any other time he’d yell at you for not helping.

Speaking of sadness

Don’t let Phil’s wife see you sad…

OH NO YOU’RE SAD? NOW MUMZA IS SAD AND IS RUSHING TO COMFORT YOU

Mumza is the type to cry when she sees someone else crying, so now both of you are just sobbing together and Phil is there trying to comfort the two of you but is an overwhelmed old man and may end up crying himself

Uh… cry party?

Either you all end up making fun of each other for crying which results in you all laughing together, or you just cry till you get sleepy and pass out on the floor together.

What an interesting way to family bond.

Technoblade:

So you seek The Blade for comfort, the most monochrome and nonchalant man on the server. What a wonderful decision, reader! /lh (I’d do the exact same)

If you’re a Technoblade fan you’ve definitely heard the “it’s fine” audio.

Now I can either be wholesome and say he’d hold you close and whisper that everything will be okay to you

Or I can be silly and realistic and say that he’d pull out a phone and just play the audio with a blank face, but is laughing on the inside due to your “what the actual fuck” face.

Okay now for some actual comfort!

As we all know… Technoblade isn’t exactly good at comfort.

He kills orphans for a living, how do you think he’d react seeing someone crying like a child?

He’s standing looking at you with a look of “why is this creature screaming” and “wtf do I do”

“Uh… you good? You okay? You, uh… need a hug…?”

Very awkwardly holds his arms out for a hug, and if you accept, he even more awkwardly pats your back.

If you got his shirt wet with tears, he’d DEFINITELY comment about it

“Are you seriously ruining my shirt? How are my enemies supposed to think I have a good fashion sense now?!”

Goes into a rant about how he needs to look his best and how it’s a good strategy to beat his enemies in battle while you’re kinda just there… honestly are you even crying anymore?

You’ve stopped crying ages ago, and he’s still just talking

In conclusion, Technoblade is good at calming people down without even trying (I was literally having a breakdown and all I needed to do was listen to the silly pig man talk about Greek mythology. It must all be part of his master plan…)

Speaking of listening to his voice, here’s a scenario.

“Technoblade, can you read to me?”

“…what?”

“Read to me.”

“I’m not reading you a bedtime stor-“

“I wanted you to tell me about Greek mythology.”

“Fine. Come here.”

Long story short, he starts by reading you just one story. That one story turns into the entire history of the Greek gods and goddesses… yeah you pass out pretty quickly. But Technoblade isn’t one to stop mid-ramble. Once he notices you’re asleep, he’ll continue talking, just quieter. He’ll eventually get sleepy himself, and soon enough… you’re both asleep.

Works like a charm!

🩷☁️N E R D Y S L E E P Y B U N N Y☁️🩷

[whoopsyeahokay]

October Sun

summary: a near-death experience hadn't been enough to deter you from getting to the bottom of things. one of those things had been, holy shit, Maddie!? and there had been questions, and Ajay and Wally hadn't known what not to say, but who'd cared because, "Oh my god, Maddie, I can see you!"

pairing: Wally Clark x fem!reader

warnings: eventual smutty smut smut. and mad spoilers. and obvious Canon divergence. very involved, very dense plot.

bon reading, frens

___________________________💀

OCTOBER SUN pt.23

With great reluctance, Wally separated from you, his heart still lodged in his throat from what had almost unfolded. He scanned you up and down to ensure you were in one piece before he turned and walked toward Maddie. She looked distressed, wracked with guilt, her eyes watery and her mouth severely anchored at the corners.

She gazed up at Wally, utterly distraught, and sniffled, "I didn't...I didn't mean to. She can see everyone else, I just wanted..." Her shoulders shook with the effort it seemed to take not to break down right then and there, "Tell her I'm sorry, please, Wally, tell her I didn't mean it."

Wally wanted to fold Maddie into a bear hug like the ones his grandma used to give him; to give her the solace she seemed desperately to need, but first, he had to understand why you'd asked him to touch her shoulder. It'd taken him a second to figure out that that's what you meant, that something had happened when he'd tried to pull Maddie back before she'd collided with you in her effort to get your attention, but once he'd realized, he couldn't suppress the hope that blossomed within him.

With a sympathetic look, "I know," he told Maddie in a quiet voice, "it was an accident." She nodded miserably, body curling away from Wally even as he reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. He turned to look at you, and asked, "Like this?" before stepping aside to see if anything had changed.

Indeed, something had shifted, Maddie becoming just that little bit more solid under his hand. He'd never noticed how she'd been slightly apart from himself and the others, a faint breadth less tangible, until it was made abundantly clear when you gasped and bolted forward, gathering Maddie against you in a wholesome embrace.

Wanting to give you and Maddie a moment, Wally removed his hand and, instantly, you were left holding nothing, arms collapsing against yourself and your body slouching sideways, out of Maddie's hold.

"Do it again!" You implored Wally, clutching his wrist and yanking him back into place. The connection flushed under the skin beneath your palm, white-hot through his veins, and it took everything in him not to pin you to him and kiss you deeply; to stake his claim in front of the others. You must've felt similarly because your next instruction was forced out, breathy, "And don't let go of her."

He did as told, placed his hand back on Maddie's shoulder, and felt her become a sturdier presence once more. Wow, Wally gaped, acutely aware of how in the dark Rhonda and Charley must feel, probably unable to tell the difference between Maddie before and after. You bundled Maddie into another hug, Wally's hand forced to fall to her shoulder blade, his other hand unconsciously moving to rest on your hip.

"I'm so sorry," Maddie apologized in a quick current of words, "I swear, I didn't mean to make you fall! I would never hurt you."

"I know, it's okay," You squeezed her tighter, "Oh my god, Maddie, I can't believe I can see you!"

"And...touch her, apparently..." Charley commented, making a close circle around you, Wally, and Maddie in examination. "How can you do that? Living people can't touch us."

"Yeah, we usually repel them like a bad smell," Rhonda added, voice marginally less spiky than before, "But Wally grabbed you like it was nothing."

The interrogation concluded with Charley asking, "And why couldn't you see Maddie until Wally touched her?"

That's when it clicked, "You have to invite her in..." Wally muttered, remembering the conversation you and he had had about the intricacies of In Betweens. At once, everyone's eyes slashed to Wally and he gulped, sweat gathering at his brow as it dawned on him that he'd spoken his thought aloud.

Thankfully, you dove in to save him, cutting to Ajay and giving him a pointed look. "You told Wally about In Betweens, huh? I asked you not to do that."

Ajay nodded, lips pressed into a line, "He's my bro," he shrugged stiffly, taking monumental strides to keep up with the lie as it developed. "I told him everything you told me about In Betweens, which are things I know about because you and I talk about them. In Betweens. C r a z y."

Rhonda rounded on him, a whiplash scowl that Wally was eternally grateful not to be on the receiving end of, even though he was the one who deserved it. "And you decided not to share with the rest of the class because...?"

"I told him not to and he probably made Wally swear to keep it a secret, too," You interjected. "Look, my family has a very strict rule against speaking to the dead. If anyone finds out I've been talking to Ajay—" Wally "—and now you guys? I'm fucked. My mom or my great-aunt will step in and I don't exactly know what'll happen, but it won't be good for me or you."

Charley seemed to contemplate your warning, fiddling with the cuffs of his jean jacket, then supplied, "We already decided it's better if we don't tell anyone about Simon." He gave Rhonda and Wally a curt nod which they both reciprocated. Wally didn't know what else to do but play along and consent to something he'd been doing since yesterday. "I think we can all agree to keep this between us, too."

"Yeah. You and Ajay aren't the only ones who can keep a secret." Rhonda commented, every letter dripping with condescension. She barreled ahead like a battering ram and imposed, "You wanna tell us why you couldn't see Maddie until Romeo over there got his mitts on her?"

"And what's an In Between?" Charley included, though he wasn't looking at you. Instead, he eyeballed where Wally's hand rested on your hip, his gaze flicking between there and Wally's face.

Wally did his best to avoid Charley's intense scrutiny, looking everywhere but at him and, oh, the moon was bright; was that garland of stars Orion just above the trees over there? Yeesh, someone should've cleaned up the littering of cigarette butts in the corner... Nothing to see here. Totally normal. Innocent whistle. Moving right along.

Or not.

"Actually, if you wanna start with whatever this is," Charley flapped his hand at you, Wally, and Maddie, though it was very clear what he meant to encapsulate with the gesture, "that'd be nice."

Wally barely held back the whimper of dread that tried to squeak out of him, his grip tightening on your hip.

"That would be nice," Ajay agreed, "I've always wanted to know. Especially after the hoops I had to jump through trying to keep you two apart."

Your face scrunched up adorably in confusion, "Hoops?" Ajay's eye twitched just before Rhonda and Charley served their attention to him. "Hoops!" You rectified. "So many hoops. All those things you did to keep me outta trouble when this weird, mysterious connection tried to derail my life..."

"Okaaay," Charley surveyed you with a trickle of doubt in his tone.

To your credit, you didn't let Charley deter you as you proceeded, "I've never felt it this strongly before. It's like a pull that I can't resist."

"Same," Wally wheezed, "It's like I have to be near her or I'll explode." He used his excuse to his advantage—at least he wasn't lying—and dragged you into his side, wrapping his arm more securely around your waist, all while maintaining contact with Maddie's back.

Rhonda arched a brow, "Explode, huh? Kinky." Wally opened his mouth to protest, but she continued, "Is that why he spent months following you around like a puppy a couple of years ago? I've seen him moon over plenty of little crushes on the living, but that was a lot, even for him."

"Thanks. Rhonda. Really." Wally glared, eyes darkening at her further when a surprised laugh bubbled out of Maddie. You shifted to look up at him, a sweet, playful smile on your lips that Wally wanted to feel on his skin.

"I remember that," You said, quiet, private, just for him, although you had to be aware the others were listening. "I'm sorry I... If I'd thought I could get away with it, I would've said something back then," You confessed and Wally's pulse quickened. You panned back to the others, offering each a significant look, including Maddie whose hand you scooped into your own, "I'm sorry I never reached out and tried to help you, but I'm here now and I will do everything I can to make it up to you."

Finally, Rhonda appeared to soften—not by much, but by enough that Wally felt himself relax for the first time since stepping foot on the roof. Her shoulders sank away from her ears, stance loosened marginally, and she nodded in acknowledgment of your apology.

"Alright, strawberry pie," Rhonda invited, "does this magical connection between you and lover boy have anything to do with why you couldn't see Maddie?"

Wally sensed your relief as if it were his own, your body melting into his side. You and he were off the hook, even if he did suspect he'd be questioned about the connection later. He could already hear Rhonda and Charley (even Maddie) grilling him for information: Why didn't you say anything? Did you always feel it? What does it mean?

"Honestly?" You began, "I don't know how the two are connected but I think they have to be. Not that the connection is responsible for why I can't see Maddie but why I can if Wally touches her. The only logical thing I can come up with is that the connection Wally and I have is actually some kind of manifestation of a soul-tie and that's why he can invite Maddie into my, uh, okay, so the thing about In Betweens—"

"Which is a thing I know about." Ajay inserted.

"—is that they're really...hard...to explain..." You rubbed your temples, obviously trying to gather your thoughts. Wally began to stroke his thumb over your sweater to encourage you to continue. Sinking into him further, you appeared to center yourself, flashing him a small, grateful smile before launching into the same spiel you'd given Wally. As you spoke, Wally pondered the complexities of In Betweens. Now that he thought about it, the fact that you and he shared a soul-tie that transcended life and death and time totally explained parts of why the connection existed in the first place.

He didn't know how or why whatever higher power had decided you two were meant to be whatever you were meant to be, but he felt all the more compelled to preserve the connection. The amount of devotion he'd developed toward you in under twenty-four hours was proof enough that you were or had been or were going to be someone profoundly important to him and he didn't want to lose that. Didn't want to lose you. A feeling he could only convey by pulling you as close to him as possible.

Charley, Rhonda, and Maddie (with Ajay forcefully maintaining an air of previously informed) listened to you, rapt, absorbing the information silently until you finished. Your brief lecture ended with a comment about Maddie and Simon's ineffable bond, that one of them likely had latent abilities similar to yours that allowed them to reach through the veil and communicate with the other.

"Right," Ajay seemed comfortable enough to drop the charade and ask genuinely, "But if Maddie's dead, why is she In Between and we're not? What makes her so unique?"

Wally felt you go rigid beneath his touch and he pressed himself into you, his front a hard, reinforcing line at your back. He observed the others slowly coming to the same conclusion as you struggled to say what needed to be said. To relieve you of the burden, Wally uttered, "She's not dead...is she?" sliding his hand up Maddie's back to hold her shoulder. A friendly, supportive touch that she seemed to appreciate when his statement sunk in.

She gaped at you, "Is it true?"

With a weak smile, you said, "Yeah. At least, it's the only thing that makes sense. Mads, I can see dead people, but I couldn't see you until Wally invited you into my circle. You can't be dead."

"You're sure it's not a fluke?" Maddie asked as tears sprang to her eyes.

"No," You shook your head, "Like I told Wa—Ajay, this shit," A swiping motion in front of your face, "Doesn't get glitchy. I've seen people leave. their. bodies. If you were dead, you and I would've been having a lot of conversations a lot sooner."

The instant you mentioned having witnessed death firsthand, Maddie's face crumpled in anguish. "You mean Ai—"

Rhonda interrupted, "Even though you're not supposed to talk to ghosts?" her snide remark disguised behind a question.

You didn't back down. Gripped Maddie's hand and brought it to your chest, swearing in no uncertain terms, "She's my friend, I would've risked everything to help her," your features fixed in resolution.

And then, just like that—

"Ack!" Wally sprung back, shaking his hand after a jolt of what felt like electricity pricked his palm. The palm of the hand that had been on Maddie's shoulder.

At the same moment, you released her, shifting away, cradling your hand as if you'd also been shocked, staring in disbelief at your hand, then back at Maddie, then back to your hand. It took several beats before either you or Wally realized you could still see her without Wally's intervention, but when it clicked, you darted forward and embraced her all over again. Maddie sniffed into your shoulder, whispering something Wally couldn't hear though it sounded like she was coming to terms with still being alive.

"Are you guys okay?" Charley wondered. He glanced between you, Maddie, and Wally, shifting closer, one arm out in front of Rhonda in an action that reminded Wally of his mama when he'd been in the passenger seat of the car and she'd hit the brakes too hard. Protective in a situation Charley didn't understand the makeup of. "What's going on?"

"The universe just needed to hear me say it," You grinned, parting from Maddie to explain to the others and Wally, "We can Travel the same stream now," and, damn, you were cute when you were excited, eyes alight and cheeks dimpled.

It took tremendous effort not to throw you over his shoulder and carry you away to somewhere you and he could be alone. Wally grinned back when you looked at him. And then his eyes widened in surprise as you decided for him that his effort wasn't necessary and jumped into his arms. He caught you easily, one hand shamelessly on your ass while the other spread wide at the middle of your back.

"Thank you!" You said, face tucked into his throat, and hugged him tightly. "It wouldn't have happened without you." Leaning back slightly, you smiled, as bright and beautiful as springtime, and Wally had to worry that his limbs were about to turn to Jell-O.

"Yeah," He replied, "Anything for you, pretty girl."

From behind Charley, Rhonda announced her disproval to the open display of affection, "Blech," and then shared, "Great, so cherry pop is alive," Wally detected a bitter note beneath the pragmatic tone she used, "Now what? Do you escort her out of here and back to her body?"

"I wish it was that easy." You admitted, brows furrowing. Wally placed you gently back on your feet with a kiss to your hair, no longer concerned that the others would find it suspicious now that you and he had established you were both under the influence of a mysterious connection. He hooked an arm around your collar, placing himself at your back as you reported, "But, according to...Ajay... something is keeping you guys stuck here. The fact that you supposedly can't leave school grounds isn't normal. As ghosts, you should have a lot more agency than that, like, way more than the living."

"And the plot thickens..." Rhonda muttered, the muscles in her jaw ticking as she ground her molars.

Charley and Maddie wore identical expressions of alarm. Recovering quicker, Maddie asked, "You're saying that someone is trapping ghosts here on purpose?"

"Seems that way, yeah."

"What about Mr. Anderson?" Wally could see the gears turning in Maddie's head, "Could he have done this somehow?"

"He wasn't around until ten years ago," Wally answered her, repeating what you'd said that morning, "He might've just taken advantage of the situation."

You nodded to confirm, "Simon and I definitely think he's got something to do with how Maddie was forced out of her body in the first place." Looking at Maddie, you said, "Simon told me about the phone call he overheard and the money in the supply closet. I'd hoped he'd be able to get something out of Anderson's phone but—"

"He stole Mr. Anderson's phone?" Maddie gawped, "Is that why the cops took him?"

"Possibly," You replied, "And now they're not even looking at Anderson because they think Simon had something to do with your disappearance."

Maddie's temper flared, "But he didn't!"

"I know that and you know that, which is why I'm here. We have to find something that'll make the cops take Anderson in."

"We should try the theater," Wally suggested, recalling how freaked Anderson seemed when he'd found you. "He went nuts on a student in there last night."

Rhonda studied Wally briefly before asking, "Is that where you went after supper?"

"Yeah," Wally cleared his throat, "Just wanted to zen out for a bit, but a freshman came in looking for something in the seats," Oh hell yes, he could do this! He stuck close enough to the truth that he could fill in details if anyone tried to poke holes in his defense, probably more proud of himself than he should be for fabricating a decent lie. "Mr. A found them and lost his shit. There's probably something in there he doesn't want anyone to find."

Rhonda gave Wally a look of sardonic glee, "See, doesn't it feel better to act normal instead of pretending you're an idiot?"

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Wally grumbled while Charley unsuccessfully tried to stifle a laugh behind his fist.

"What's going on?" You asked.

Wally huffed, "Don't ask. Rhonda is a lying liar who lies."

Rhonda snorted, demeanor adjusting to something Wally hadn't expected from her. Casual, borderline friendly—well, less standoffish which was as friendly as Rhonda got toward newcomers. "I'll tell you about it sometime," She offered you, a rare olive branch in the shape and weight of Group gossip. Then she brought everyone's attention back to more pressing matters, "Okay, so we check out the theater, right?"

Staring at Wally carefully, Maddie fished something out of her pocket and held it up for everyone to see, explaining, "Simon told me about something that went down in the theater last night." Wally's stomach clenched. Busted. "I tried talking to Mina. She wasn't exactly a fountain of information, but I found this on the floor. I was hoping to ask her about it..."

You reached for what Wally identified as the Split River High Devils patch Maddie had shown him, Rhonda, and Charley just before Ajay had retrieved them. Maddie handed it over and you inspected it, chuckling, "Wow. I didn't think these were still around."

"You know what it is?" Maddie asked, "Because I didn't until tonight."

"Rora was a Blue Devil," Ajay said as if lost in thought, staring at the patch. "She played tuba."

"Which is something I told you because we talk. About things. Like my sister." You blurted to cover Ajay's mild fuckup. "Yeah, she was in the band. She still has her uniform and everything."

Maddie mumbled, "I keep forgetting she's, like, twenty years older than you."

"Seventeen," You corrected, and then, "She could've easily ended up being one of the bus crash kids, but she was sick that day. I wasn't even born, so I don't know much, but the way Rory tells it she got food poisoning from the cafeteria lunch the day before. Best worst day of her life."

"Jesus Christ," It fell out of Wally's mouth before he could stop it, stunned that your sister had almost wound up a ghost like the rest of them. Would she have been a looper, too? Or would she have been the only one of the bunch to snap out of it? Fuck, it wasn't worth thinking about, Wally reprimanded himself, his arm sliding down to band around you, his hand unconsciously slipping under your sweater to rest, skin-to-skin, on your waist.

"I know," You mused, solemn, "If she hadn't eaten the fish sticks, she'd be dead."

"This was on the floor in the theater and I think there's something to it." Maddie said, "I don't know if Mr. Anderson is involved or not, but Mina must know something and we need to find out what. It could be what we need to help Simon."

Everyone gave their assent, ready and willing to help, as you offered, "Tell me what to do, Mads, and I'll do it."

Filled with determination, Maddie said, "We need to find some flowers."

"Butter Mina up a bit, huh?" You grinned conspiratorially, "Alright, I'm on it. I can get something together in the morning and bring them to school with me."

"Can you come early?"

"Not gonna lie, I already intended to. Zav agreed to pick me up at dawn so we could sniff around." The face Maddie made when you mentioned Xavier was cold and angry. Wally wasn't sure what you knew and what you didn't, but he remained certain of the fact that you had no idea Xavier had been cheating on Maddie with that cheerleader. "We're all on Simon's side," You assured Maddie, "Even if he and Zav didn't get along before, Zav wants to help."

Maddie cut the conversation there, "Yeah, I'm sure he does," forcing a smile.

"Great, now that that's settled," Rhonda began in an uncharacteristically helpful redirect. Whatever moment she and Maddie had shared during Field Day seemed to have established a fledgling bond between them, Rhonda actively changing the subject so Maddie didn't have to. "How about we go back to why Goldilocks can't get back into her body because we're trapped?"

As you were about to answer, Wally glanced at Ajay and saw him steeling himself for what he was about to expose, "Uhm, about that. There's something I want you guys to see."

‗‗‗‗•‗‗‗‗

Ajay was ahead of you; Rhonda, Charley, and Maddie brought up the rear, leaving you and Wally to walk together in the middle.

"I thought I was going to have a heart attack," He admitted, slinging his arm around your shoulders and pressing a tender kiss into your hair. Butterflies erupted in your belly, the casual affection he'd been doting on you during and since the rooftop making you swoon, pleasantly dizzy from it. "I think Maddie figured out that I wasn't alone in the theater last night."

"If she did, she won't say anything," You promised, cheeks pinking as you regarded him. Wally looked particularly handsome in the moonlight, his features striking. Your pulse quickened as you soaked him in, those sweet-sultry eyes blinking at you when he panned his head to grin down at you. "She's loyal like that," You finished, tongue suddenly sticking to the roof of your mouth.

Ajay stopped a few meters in front of a tree you recognized as one of several that students carved their initials into. It was unspectacular, normal; bushy leaves in autumn colors, and twisty with knots and thick roots. The others caught up eventually, Charley marching a couple more steps ahead of Ajay before Ajay caught him by the back of his jacket.

"Don't want you to end up back in the cafeteria," Ajay said, pulling Charley back to a safe distance.

So, this was the almighty barrier Wally had mentioned. At least, a section of it. You produced your phone from the pocket of your sweater, turned on the flashlight, and carefully neared the tree. With great mindfulness, you picked your way around the bottom of the tree, still managed to stumble and trip here and there where the roots were difficult to see. Nothing stood out to you; some hearts, some graduating years, even a few profanities and one clumsy dick with a crudely marked phone number beneath it. Ordinary stuff that most high schoolers thought was hilarious or edgy.

Returning to the starting point, you placed your hand on the truck, the bark ridges rough under your palm. Closing your eyes, you focused on your breath, deep and even inhales and exhales as you attempted to connect to whatever magic might be hidden within the tree's heartwood. You'd never tried to feel out another person's magic before. You'd never truly referred to it as magic before, either, so this was a night of firsts in many ways. You could sense the spectral weave of the ghosts behind you, the vibration of their buoyant, antigravitational energy. You felt something else ahead of you, barely a hum, as if caged within a lead box—blurry and distant and altogether difficult to pinpoint. In tandem phantom and human.

Then, quite suddenly, a piercing thrust of malicious, vantablack magic made itself known, shoving into you through your palm and sending you stumbling back over the raised roots. Your heel caught and you landed hard, phone falling face-down in the dirt.

"Are you okay?!" Charley called, arms braced against Wally who'd clearly tried to dash forward to your rescue, likely forgetting that he'd be transported back to the football field.

"Babe!?"

You raised a thumbs up and took a moment to let the adrenaline settle. "Fine," You assured, "Probably gonna bruise nasty, but nothing I can't handle." You heaved yourself into a sitting position, eyes scanning up the tree, following the cone of light from your phone to just above the faintest part of its reach. Frowning, you rolled yourself forward onto hands and knees, grabbed your phone and held it up to bring more light to a specific portion of the tree.

"No. Fucking. Way." You gawked.

"What is it?" Rhonda wanted to know, staring at you with a hard expression before glancing between the others. They all shared her question, each taking tiny, measured steps forward.

"It's...it looks like a ritual mark." You told them because, above all the depravity and memory-making, a strange symbol was etched into the bark, the cambium beneath blackened with age. A vertical line that bisected an unsymmetrical diamond with an X slashed through it. You took a picture of it, examined it on your phone as you rejoined the others. The symbol was as familiar as it wasn't; something in its nature niggled at the back of your mind.

In the years before everything had gone to shit, Ginny had spent countless afternoons delighting you with lessons on the craft. She'd taught you about the flora and fauna that harbored ancient energy; what talismans actually benefited the wearer and what were cheap, souvenir shop gimmicks. You'd enjoyed two whole days listening to her lilt the runic alphabet—fehu, uruz, thurisaz, and so on.

The symbol in the tree appeared to be a personal representation of a ritual rune, unlike any you'd seen before; its design unique to the individual and whatever purpose they'd needed it to serve.

"The barrier feels weakest here," Ajay said, "I'd hoped you could find a way to break it."

You hummed in acknowledgment, completely transfixed as you continued to search your memory for the runes Ginny had shown you. "Yeah..." And then, when you'd processed what Ajay had said, "No. Even though it feels weaker, it isn't. The energy is just stretched outward."

"What does the mark mean?" Wally asked, arm already outstretched for you to tuck yourself under. An invitation your body instinctively accepted before your brain caught up to how you'd slid into Wally's space like you were meant to be there.

You lifted your phone to show him the screen, "It looks like someone just hacked random runes together to make their own, but..." Skirting your attention to Ajay, "I bet there are other places around the school where the barrier feels different, too?"

"Four others." Ajay nodded.

"About equidistant apart?"

"That sounds about right, yeah."

Maddie ventured closer, "What does it mean?"

A shiver ran down your spine as you shifted your gaze back to the tree, the weight of the truth looming in the deep, eerie blackness behind it. "It means this was planned."

At that precise moment, a twig snapped in the shadows. Wally repositioned himself, shoving you behind him so he could put himself between you and whatever was out there. The others were on-guard around you as well, the circle they'd stood in shrinking as a figure appeared from out of the darkness. You held your breath, heart racing, and took an instinctive step back. Wally's form blocked you from seeing who it was, but your gut screamed at you to run run run, get out, leave, run, that sense of phantom-human energy shuddering through your veins.

You were ready to submit to the feeling only for, "There you are!" a familiar voice to split through the night, god dammit, seriously?!

"Who the hell is that?" Charley inquired to the group at large.

Quickly, you shoved your phone back into your pocket, moving around Wally in as natural a manner as possible to call out, "Jesus, Dave, you nearly gave me an aneurism!"

Dave emerged from the shadows, blond hair and bright white teeth catching the distant lamplight. He wore an expression of concern, eyes boring into yours, steps measured and steady as he treaded over the raised roots and pitted dirt toward you. Despite predicting what was about to happen, you weren't ready to have Dave haul you into a friends-and-family hug, his arms pinning your elbows to your sides and wringing you hard enough to expel the air from your lungs.

"Aurora sent me out to look for you," He told you, his tone grating against your ear. "I've been driving around for an hour!"

"Well, here I am," You coughed with as much enthusiasm as you could muster. Which wasn't much considering how pissed you were that Dave of all people had been the one sent to perform a search and rescue. And, of course, that your progress with the barrier had been interrupted. Mostly that.

You wriggled out of his embrace, putting some necessary distance between you and him as he motioned to usher you to his car, "I parked down the street. Come on, let's get you home."

"I'm fine, Dave." You said, really, really fighting not to sound as unpleasant as Aurora nagged that you always did when speaking to him. You wanted to argue, to stay and have Ajay show you the other points where the barrier's intensity was altered, however, Dave seemed insistent on returning you to the house. Covertly, you glanced at Wally, wordlessly asking for his input.

"It's okay, baby, we can show you the rest tomorrow morning." He said and the others followed, murmuring their reassurance at separate intervals. All but Rhonda who peered intently into the darkness where Dave had materialized.

"We've totally got this," She added belatedly, distant, distracted, but you took it for the endorsement of your surrender that it was and resigned yourself to trailing Dave to his car.

A scant step or two from the school property line, you heard footsteps behind you. Dave was far enough ahead, nattering on about whatever Aurora or your mother or Nanna had said about you sneaking out at midnight on a Thursday, that you risked turning to see who it was.

Wally jogged up to you, all cheeky smirk and boyish charm, and grabbed you by the arm, abruptly drawing you flush against him and, in a flash, delivering a deep, heated kiss to your lips. His large hand cradled your jaw, thumb caressing your cheek, as he teased your bottom lip with his teeth. A streak of want burned through you, coiling in your belly. A whimper escaped you that Wally swallowed greedily and you could feel the shape of his smirk against your mouth.

As soon as it had begun, it was over. A one-and-done moment. So fast that by the time Dave noticed you weren't at his back, Wally had already detached from you, cheeks flushed and eyes glassy. "Been wanting to do that all day," He chuckled, licking his lips as if to savor the taste you'd left behind.

You hated him just a little bit because you couldn't say anything back. Couldn't tease him or tell him how much you wanted more; couldn't yank him into another searing kiss and have him lay you down in the grass; couldn't do anything except—

"Let's go, champ!" Dave called with his patented Real Estate smile, jingling his keys to signal for you to come. Like a dog. Your faced pinched in bitterness, an expression Wally seemed to find endearing because he chuckled and shook his head fondly.

"Better go, baby, or he might try to hug you again."

"Oh my god, I hate him so much." You grumbled under your breath and Wally all but cackled as he retreated toward the school, catching up with the others as they filed through the door.

‗‗‗‗•‗‗‗‗

In the darkness, meters from the tree you'd been inspecting only minutes ago, a girl wearing your friend's face scowled down at a hand that didn't belong to her, biting her tongue as she pulled one of the loose fingernails from its bed.

Time was starting to run out.

💀___________________________

PART TWENTY-TWO - PART TWENTY-FOUR

also available on AO3!

MASTERLIST

[danisdistant]

sunday - your past sins are meaningless now - prologue

[intro blog] | [taglist] | [masterlist] | [table of contents]

»» ──────ஓ๑ ★ ๑ஓ ────── ««

sunday x stellaronhunter!reader

firefly’s part of the script has finally concluded. after an unexpected final death, she has returned back to safety alongside silver wolf.

“i brought some gifts!” she exclaimed, holding out bags as kafka smiled. “oh? is it another jacket?” she said, looking into her bag as firefly handed it to her.

“well, it was something that was on your list…” firefly nervously said before turning to blade. “here! i also got you something.”

blade pulled out a recipe booklet for various drinks from penacony. “thanks.” he only nodded as a response. firefly moved on and gave you a bag.

“pfft, you didn’t have to get me anything, firefly.” you chuckled, causing her to tilt her head in response. “you don’t know? i’m next in the script.”

“wait.. you’re going to penacony??”

you explained that kafka had received a new message from elio. it heavily hinted that there would be a new member to the group, and the new member would be put on trial soon. you were specifically tasked on breaking the bird out of the cage it putted itself into, although you weren’t exactly sure on who this bird was.

“and according to elio, it’ll be me busting him out.” you explained. “although, i’m not exactly sure who this person is. i haven’t been caught up to date on exactly what’s happening in penacony.”

“that’s because you keep stealing my console to play gacha games all the time.” wolfie glared at you as you nervously chuckled.

“a person on trial…?” firefly placed her hand on her chin to think. “hold on, is it talking about sunday..?”

“the head of the oak family on penacony?!” you stared at her wide-eyed. “he’s on trial?! wait- he’s going to join us??”

“ugh- i should be saying that question.” firefly shook her head. “so, when are you heading to penacony?”

“sometime tomorrow, before the trial starts.” you peaked into the bag that firefly had given you. “by the way, what did you get me?”

you pulled a small keychain that resembled some sort of building in the dreamscape. it looked massive, though you’d have to see it for yourself if you wanted to compare the accuracy.

“awww…! thanks mothie!” you said, smiling as her brows quickly furrowed. “hey! i thought we agreed not to call me a moth!!”

“but- i’m glad you guys enjoyed the gifts.” she sighed, smiling as kafka chuckled. “of course. now that [name] is going to penacony as well, surely we can expect some more goodies.. right?~”

something told you within kafka’s tone that she was serious. you probably should make some time to get at least her some sort of coat.

»» ──────ஓ๑ ★ ๑ஓ ────── ««

“…i refuse your offer.” his voice was slightly course but still as sharp as usual. still refusing to make eye contact, sunday would tell that jade was surprised by his answer by her change in tone.

“so… do you wish to die?” she was both amused and disappointed by his answer. she would by lying if she said that she wasn’t looking forward to tearing his wings off herself. “you know that the other family heads won’t spare you if you’re put to trial.”

“i’ve already failed. i’ve sinned.” sunday murmured. “there’s no reason for me to continue on, unless it’s paying for my sins.”

jade sighed. even now, he still sees himself as the only person who can bear the weight of everyone’s sins. if she can’t convince him…

“…you have three days, sunday.” she sighed, turning around as she placed her hand on the door. “my offer still stands until the trial. don’t forget, robin is still looking for you.”

as she closed the door behind her, the only visible light was the dim glow emitting from the chains. they were uncomfortable, and constantly pricked sunday’s skin over and over again.

a part of him wants to fight back, to break free from the chains and cage. but, another part tells him to give up. sunday failed his purpose in life he promised his father he would succeed.

although he is doubtfull, he still hopes that faith somehow will free him from the cage.

[next]

»» ──────ஓ๑ ★ ๑ஓ ────── ««

[if-loves]

in the wake of death.

// Yandere Blade

sum: Blade doesn’t need to do anything.

wc: 835

warnings: mentions of blood

a/n: this fic kicked my ass ngl so likes & reblogs are even more appreciated! asks are more than welcome ❤️

You’ve always been on the easy-going end of the spectrum, hardly worrying about most things without a good reason. Logic and rationality play important roles in keeping the peace in your life, but now you’re not so sure anymore.

It started a little while ago, when it was formally announced that Blade, a member of the notorious Stellaron Hunters, had escaped from the hands of the Cloud Knights, and was now on the run in the Luofu. Although you were scared of the prospect of running into him, you concluded that if you blended in with the crowds during the day and stayed at home during the night, he was unlikely to attack you… probably.

The plan worked, for the most part - you continued about your days with little thought about him, having pushed him into the back of your mind because, well, what were the chances of running into a criminal like him in a crowd of thousands, and what were the chances he would really give you the time of day when he had the constantly patrolling Cloud Knights to be conscious of?

Your life was just fine and dandy, until one day - a day you can only remember in bits and pieces, a day you’re not even sure happened. But regardless of what truly happened that day, you know something changed in your once peaceful life.

There’s been an ominous sense of doom following your every breath, the uncomfortable feeling of being watched, and the suffocating sensation of a hand atop the place your heart is. Sometimes, sometimes, it slowly creeps up to your collarbone, then neck, its final destination on your cheek, a thumb on your lips. It stays there, and although you know a phantom has no control over you, you feel as though you’ve been muted.

In your dreams, your eyes are always closed, never to be opened. In your dreams, you stand alone, alone until there’s an embrace from a warm body that lacks any sense of humanity and life behind it, like a puppet given life yet not free from its strings.

They hold you tightly, and even as you wheeze for air, they do not relent. You can feel their every breath as it makes its way from the top of your head down to the crook of your neck, and it gets shallower and shallower the longer it stays there, until eventually it stops, yet their grip on you horrifyingly real.

They speak in a deep and raspy voice, words unintelligible, but you never fail to make out two:

“…Not yet.”

And you are jolted awake, gasping for air, arms hugged tightly around your stomach, the skin tender and bruised as if it was real. But it can’t be, right? Dreams and reality are two different dimensions… aren’t they?

You’ve realized that there is no place in the world that could ever make you offer you safety from a phantom only you know of. No one would listen to the ramblings of a mad person, much less take their words seriously. Worse yet, they may even think you are afflicted with the Mara.

Like a cruel joke the Elation has decided to play on you, a peek outside your window grants you the sight of the very man whose wanted posters are plastered all over the ship. His long hair blows in the wind as he stands with his back turned to your house, the hilt of a sword and the tip of a blade the only things not covered by his body.

Trembling from fear, you retreat from the window as quietly as you can. Becoming a victim of a Stellaron Hunter was and certainly is not in your places, both now and future.

You don’t know how much time passed before the light shines once more, indicating the arrival of day. Even so, you cannot find it within yourself to get up, for fear of what could be (is?) outside. While there is no place truly safe anymore, your home is perhaps the closest you can get (but for how long will it stay?).

You stay in bed for as long as your body and mind allows, until eventually you are reminded that you are a species that requires sustenance, and saliva does not count. Ignorance only goes so far until there is genuine pain, a protest against starvation.

Tremors still rack your body and mind, fear still holds your hand, and despite it all, you are still awake, still breathing, still alive.

You regret your decision when the first thing you see is a singular, familiar red flower decorating your table, a splatter of crimson liquid serving as its platter, still dripping with the quietest sound.

Bile creeps up your throat and lands onto the floor in front of you, your knees buckling as if they’ve been holding the weight of the world.

The nightmare is real, and it stares at you with blood red eyes.

(All in the name of “love”.)

[starlightwayfinder]

I decided to watch some old KH trailers in honor of the anniversary today, and I have to admit, I don’t think I ever rewatched this one after the release of Melody of Memory. When it was first revealed, we were under the assumption that the Master of Masters was the opponent Kairi was facing, but as we now know, it was actually Master Xehanort. While we were aware that the Master of Masters has more plans and tricks up his sleeve, to think of this line in the context of Xehanort is a little different. It brought to mind an old theory of mine, so I decided to go back to KH3, Re:Mind, KHDR, and MoM to compile as much evidence as possible for it.

(As a disclaimer, it slightly undermines the authenticity of his ‘conclusion’ in KH3, so if you’re a big fan of that scene, feel free to skip this one.)

This line in KH3 is a good place to start. From the get go, it was established that Xehanort planned for nearly every possible outcome of the Keyblade War. I also think it’s safe to say that every action he made was an intentional choice based on these plans. So the question is, what is the “final plan” referenced in Melody of Memory’s trailer? I think the game gave us the answer:

It may be easy to jump to the conclusion that this was just a plan for revenge, since Sora is the one who stopped Xehanort to begin with. However, I want to reaffirm that every action he takes is for a reason that serves his goals. It wasn’t just a plan to make Sora disappear, but likely to make him disappear to Quadratum specifically.

This was even foreshadowed in KH3’s Toy Box world. Young Xehanort sends Sora to the world of Verum Rex—though it’s probably closer to a “data” version in this instance:

YX in particular is very confident that Sora’s overuse of the Power of Waking will lead to his disappearance:

And MX has a similar line in Re:Mind:

Except this is where things get interesting. The Sora in Re:Mind is time-traveling from a point in time after he defeated Xehanort.

Xehanort must know this, because he sees the real Sora (from this point in time) about to begin the final battle in the distance. He then acknowledges that the Sora he’s speaking to is from the future. Unless he witnesses the present Sora time travel during their final confrontation, he can conclude that Sora survives their fight to time travel later on—meaning his plan doesn’t come to fruition. Sora unknowingly reveals his hand in Re:Mind this way, and opens the door for Xehanort to plan accordingly—which is kind of mind-breaking to think about…

It gets even better here, during Sora’s fight with Terra-Xehanort:

Sora brags that, like Xehanort, he can also time travel. To which Xehanort responds that Sora will then also need to make the “ultimate sacrifice”, or in other words, “pay the ultimate price”, as MX said. “Also”—as in, Xehanort has made this sacrifice as well by time traveling. As in, Xehanort will also disappear to Quadratum.

We have evidence to believe that as well. I also like the interpretation that he intentionally planned this to survive the world being purged, but that’s kind of a separate theory.

So to recap, Xehanort was probably aware that Sora would survive their final confrontation in order to time travel afterwards. He correctly predicts that the consequence for time traveling would be to disappear… specifically to Quadratum—something that Melody of Memory considers his “final plan”.

So… why? Why would he want Sora to also disappear to Quadratum? Trying to answer that question leads to the most controversial part of this theory:

It’s really nice to believe that Xehanort gave Sora the X-blade as an admission of his defeat, and I’m definitely not against that interpretation. But it is a little strange that before—and after—this scene, in Melody of Memory, he continues to act like making Sora disappear was his big plan. It doesn’t feel right, if he was supposed to be letting Sora “win” here.

I’ll be very curious to see if Xehanort has a role in Quadratum, and why exactly he “paved the way” for Sora to be there as well. Either way, I am holding out for a geniune change of heart from him, especially if what we saw in KH3 was more of a manipulation.

[tim-shii]

an aunt, a grandpa and a minecraft kid

a/n: finals are done and school is almost finished i can finally krill myself! *break shackles* anyways this is pure word vomit over a poor attempt at found family w the stellaron hunters :hides: AND HELLO :DD

[ work hours ] 

“stop sulking. time is ticking.” kafka’s voice echoes throughout the empty corridor once she felt your presence. her heels clack along the metal floor of the ship, only to stop when a projection appeared in front of her. you groaned at her words. “easy for you to say. i got held up by two trailblazers after leaving wolfie to go here. seriously, what am i? a stellaron hunter or an overpaid teensitter?” kafka lets out an amused sigh at your antics. 

“23:47:15 system time. very punctual, kafka.” a glitchy, robotic voice spoke, in which you rolled your eyes out. “can’t say the same for you, y/n.”

“i don’t answer to a child.” 

“you–”

“enough.” kafka’s voice was stern with a hint of mirth. “y/n, why don’t you.. entertain our guests from the astral express for a little while silverwolf and i look for the stellaron.” 

“i’m only gonna agree because the guy in green is cute.” you turned away with a wave. grinning ear to ear, already anticipating the little dance with the infamous cloud-piercer.

[ babysitting hours ] 

“kill me now.”

“i can’t do that. if i kill you, that means i’ll be left alone with them.” blade shrugs off your complaint, focusing completely on his phone as he answers a message from kafka. you look at him with judgment in your eyes. internally berating him for looking like a very suspicious criminal wearing a black beanie with black tinted glasses that he probably stole from one of the blind mice. 

it's one of the days where you guys don't have any work to do. you planned to just stay in bed and sleep the whole day but a certain gamer brat decided to drag you out of the comforts of your bed and instead make you stand watch over her while she plays a rigged game in an old arcade. seems like your plans are ruined now. clearly.

"but we've been here for nine hours! who even spends nine hours on a claw machine?!" you bang your head in the arcade machine beside him.

"kafka's right. you do sulk a lot." blade hums. 

"shut up, old man."

[ the doc is in ]

"greetings, patients. your beloved doctor has arrived." the trio collectively sigh as you enter the infirmary. 

they just got back from a mission. from what you heard, the mission was a success. however, with what you're seeing now, you'd conclude that the mission was a.. partial success. silverwolf has gashes all over her legs and arms. kafka is laying down, completely fatigued. and blade is bleeding, cuts all over his arms, probably from his own sword. 

"are you guys.. feeling better?" you mused with a light grin. you stifled a laugh when you heard blade groan from the left side of the room. you walked towards silverwolf first and started to patch her up. 

soft sighs and the whirs of the air conditioner were the only thing audible in the room. it was clear that all of them were tired. so as the greatest doctor ever, it is your duty to make sure they'll be able to rest easily and without any pain. 

[ the rich aunt and her favorite child ]

"how does this look?"

"... it looks the same as the last one."

if you think spending nine hours in an arcade with silverwolf is bad, clearly past you hasn't been informed of almost a twelve hour shopping spree with kafka. in general, it doesn't sound bad. i mean, a shopping spree with a very fashionable stellaron hunter? sounds like a dream. yeah, that was what you thought too. until twelve hours has passed and you're still in the coats section. 

"you have bad eyes, we should get that checked." kafka tuts, frowning at you with the coat still on her hold. you gape at her accusation. "it's the same black one. all coats you try on are black. how am i supposed to know the difference?"

"through the material of the coat." she walks away to the cashier, silently urging you to push the cart of coats on her wake.

"i'm not really a fabric person!"

likes and reblogs are appreciated! masterlist

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Good morning/afternoon/night

Could you make Sanemi x male reader? With reader is chosen by kagaya to go with Sanemi through missions and reader is calm, logic and aways stop Sanemi from getting in trouble

Yandere Sanemi X Male Reader

You most definitely beat him up after his actions with Tanjiro 

And since you work so well your names typically are never said without the other

Where he’s abrasive and offputting

Your approachable and gentle

“You’re family’s probably dead. Might as well get your grieving over now.”

“W-what?!” 

“I apologize for my partner. What we mean to say is that their fate is uncertain but we will get to the bottom of this.”

“Ohh well thank you so much!”

“Happy to help.”

Your strong as him

And so much sweeter

You’re just really really good at this 

So good you do often get pulled away from Sanemi

Who politely throws the biggest tantrum to Kagaya-sama when you get the assignment

“Master I strongly request that he stay by my side. After our assignment.”

“Sanemi...I realize why you want him to stay with you but you must give him space…he’s requested it.” 

The stakeout for this mission was uncharacteristically silent. Typically he��d be insulting the demon or even the people you placated before lightly interrogating about the demon but he was silent. As were you, already aware of the conversation he no doubt had with Kagaya-sama. 

“So…I’m too much for ya is that it?” 

You let out a sigh as you could already hear the angry grumble in his seemingly calm question. You didn’t respond instead watching as the demon began to make its move, you began to move feeling the angry puffs of Sanemi’s hollering behind you.

“What? You not gonna talk to me now!? Is this too close for you, huh?!”

Practically yelling in your ear as you tried to focus on the demon’s movement, silently debating if they were aware of your presence. You concluded that they were and they were preparing to attack a nearby home to divide your attention. You took a step to descend from the roof of the building only to be stopped by the tense body of Sanemi.

“Sanemi. Move. Those people need help.”

“I’ll move when you tell me, why?!”

You sucked your teeth sidestepping the Wind Hashira. 

“I don’t have time for this!”

He pulled at your bicep wrestling you face first into the ground; knee in your back as you watch the demon ravage the people inside. You struggled against him, failing to remove him you yelled.

“LET ME GO SANEMI!”

“I WON’T! NOT UNTIL YOU TELL ME ‘WHYY?!’ WAS IT TOMIOKA? OBANAI?”

You let your cheek rest against the wood of the roof.

“It's really…because of you.”

You growled at his silence as you registered the demon moving to attack you both.

“Its because of you that I’d rather be in solitude than clean up the messes you make with your mean attitude. And your mean face! And your horrible attitude about everyone that talks to me…”

Sanemi let his mouth hang open.

“Yeah, I know about the threatening. I know about the mystery asphyxiations. Kagayama-sama may not be willing to disown the Wind Hashira in fear of what you will become but I will. And at this moment I wish to part from you forever, alright!?”

At your call, Sanemi beheaded the demon without looking. Letting you up from his hold on your back to swipe at the demon’s last attempts to stab at the both of you. Letting the demon’s screams hang in the air you let silence envelope you both once more. That is until Sanemi broke it.

“Ha! Even when you're saving my life, you reject me!”

“What did you expect? I’ve been doing that since selection.”

He let the memory replay as he let the mirror of your past self align with your current self. Grimacing at the thought he debated cutting your Achilles heel. Stopped by the unsheathed blade hanging low as if already aware of his intentions.

“Don’t think about following me. I’ll kill you if you do.”

“Right. Right. And you better come back unharmed or I won’t let this go.”

“Whatever.”

Sanemi whipped around letting his hand clutch at your face, squishing you into silence as he gave his unsettling smile.

“You. Will. Come. Back. Unharmed. Yes?”

You reluctantly nodded being released as you watched your crow's circle overhead. 

‘It really couldn’t have been longer.’

[deathbxnny]

Hey I got one more interesting request, honkai star rail x raiden's older brother reader

The reader is the real electro archon but he pass down that title to his siblings raiden ei and makoto because he want peaceful life now he unfortunately like teyvat and be in the astral express and meet his lover there and new mission have come and it's way to teyvat and the reader thought it will be good to send surprise letter to his family and to meet his lover

And what would be there reaction to there cold , sarcastic, war maker older brother having a lover

And reader showing his ability (?)

The character is welt , gepard, dan heng, blade and Jing yuan

-----♡

A/N: Hello again! Thank you for your request! I tried making something from this request, so I'm sorry if it's not exactly what you wanted! I hope you'll like it anyways!

Also I'm sorry that I'm taking longer to respond to asks than usual. I've been very sick lately, so I'm doing my best!<33

Content: Established relationship, fluff, sfw

Reader is referred to as male in the ask, but no pronouns are mentioned here!

((Not fully proofread!))

-----♡

》Welt Yang

Well, your family and friends back at home were definitely surprised at the letter and it's contents. They certainly didn't expect you to just casually inform them about your new lover, especially not when they knew how you were like.

They'll send plenty of letters back, asking you many questions about your dear lover, until they conclude that he is suitable for you. You two work quite well, due to his more stern, yet calm nature.

Your family would probably approve of Welt upon meeting him, as he is quite mature and seems to keep you out of trouble. Though he won't escape their threats, if he ever dared hurt you. As long as he treats you with the respect and love you deserve, they will accept him.

-----♡

》Gepard Landau

Your family honestly would approve instantly of him. He's very kindhearted, but passionate. And he's a warrior on top of that. They'd most likely enjoy meeting him one day, in order to see how good his military prowess really is however.

He keeps you out of trouble and is very reasonable, which they appreciate. They also like how he brings out the best in you and is obviously very protective of you at all times. Though they are secretly a little surprised by your choice, due to how different he is to you.

So yeah, they definitely love him and know they don't need to threaten him with anything, as he would never dare hurt you. In fact, he may warn them not to ever do something that could upset you instead.

-----♡

》Dan Heng

They were a little concerned at how similar he was to you in some ways. You're both always so sarcastic sounding and cold, so they were not necessarily surprised, when it was him you chose as a lover. However they liked how much calmer and collected he was, as that usually kept you out of trouble.

Though they also are quite impressed by his abilities in battle and therefore eventually accept him as your lover. They therefore ask you to come and visit them again with him, just so they can see him in action.

They'll like him better in person and like how relaxed he is in comparison to you, which also makes you calmer in his presence. Some may tease you for this, but that will just make Dan Heng politely ask them to stop, which they are also impressed by.

-----♡

》Jing Yuan

They love him just from the letter alone already. He would fit quite well in Inazuma with his military experience and prowess, including how powerful he was as a warrior, which made everyone from your family accept him with ease.

His teasing and playful, yet reasonable and calm personality was also quite welcomed, as it usually kept you in check as well. Something you were teased for often, which Jing Yuan was quite amused by.

If he ever gets to meet your family, he'd definitely get along with them quite well. He's very charming and always knows what to say, so he became their favourite quite fast. Something you were admittedly a little salty over.

-----♡

》Blade

Whilst they can tell why you chose him, they are also concerned that you did chose him. They weren't all to approving of him, even with his strength as a warrior, because he was just a little too unhinged in their eyes. Especially as he enables your war making tendencies alot.

However, you two still seem to work perfectly fine with eachother and are practically invincible together, which makes them slowly come around to want to meet him. They are however still very hesitant and cautious when he's around, because they see him as too unpredictable.

With time, they might accept him, but the hesitancy is still very clear. They're just worried that you might get hurt by him, which you usually deny will ever happen. You love eachother deeply after all, even if you may never admit it outloud.

-----♡

A/N: Again, I apologise for the delay! I hope this was acceptable and I thank you again for your request!<33

[a-la-campanella]

Lunar New Year post! To all who celebrate, may the new year be full of happiness for you!

I have many gripes about the writing for the High Cloud Quintet, but what I find the most fascinating about their fallout is where it places Jing Yuan, and where it will lead him into the future.

Baiheng is dead. She's gone, and while there is very strong evidence (nothing explicitly confirmed, but we're working with what we can get) pointing to traces of Baiheng in Bailu, part of the reincarnation process is acknowledging that Bailu is a whole other person separated from her past/any other life she may have lived and with different memories/experiences. The future is thus: she will be the next High Elder for the Xianzhou Luofu, and she's content with her position as a doctor and healer to those in need of treatment. She doesn't seem to have any big dreams, and what she has now is enough for her. As part of her duty and the expectations of her, she'll stay with the Xianzhou Alliance until she has to reincarnate. It doesn't matter if she one day grows to dream bigger, the choice is now robbed from her like it was from Dan Feng.

Dan Heng is content with his own life. He's suffered enough as it was when he was first born in this name, escaped the Luofu, running away from Blade across space, and made his way to forge a life he can call his own on the Astral Express. He has no need nor want to be shacked by his past, and he can live freely without the shadow of Dan Feng hanging over him. I'm curious where he'll be centuries down the line, given how long his expected lifespan is, and the lifespans of his companions being... probably nowhere as long. But until they part ways, Dan Heng will have them by his side. Of the current Express Crew, Pom-Pom would still be around, and maybe the Trailblazer too. Dan Heng might die and never reincarnate, or he might someday return to the Xianzhou Luofu again to settle down when it's his turn to return to an egg and be reborn anew once more. Given what he's like, I don't see him going out with mara.

Blade was Yingxing, and now he's Blade. Yingxing is dead in the sense that the person he used to be is no more, and now, Blade is just a blade. Mara haunts him in a way that tortures him, and he'll take the path Elio promises if it'll grant him freedom. Living for so long is his punishment/price, and death will be a mercy. He'll die one day, I'm sure, though I'm fairly confident that day will be far off, too. He has the Stellaron Hunters to keep him company for now, and if Elio delivers his promise, Blade will see his peace in the end with them. After the events on the Luofu, I think it's safe to say his arc will conclude with him moving on from chasing a past that no longer wants him, and breaking free—accepting a certain finality—in what has passed, and what will come (his death).

Jingliu is the only other character besides Jing Yuan to keep her name from those times, but she's mara-stricken like Blade and has her own agenda now. She has no personal attachments anymore to anyone from her High Cloud Quintet days, not even her own disciple Jing Yuan, nor does she display interest in associating with them now. She'll pass one day like Blade, I'm sure. They may not go out the same way though; regardless, I don't expect her to do much even if she does live on after her role has been fulfilled (to participate in the war/"game" against Yaoshi and end the abominations of Abundance once and for all).

Jing Yuan was, and still is, shaped by the people around him. The person he was when the High Cloud Quintet was around isn't the same person he is now, but in some ways, he still shares that identity. He's fond of Dan Heng and still cares about Baiheng (now assumed to be Bailu). Jing Yuan used to dream of being a Galaxy Ranger touring the universe in the name of justice, and instead took to rising the ranks in the Cloud Knights, learning to protect what's left of his home on the Luofu, and becoming a leader who valiantly fights for peace. I'm not quite sure how he'll go out. Maybe in battle, against the Abundance; or maybe Yanqing, trained to surpass him, will be called to cut him down; or maybe he'll retire peacefully, spending his days peeling tangerines and basking under the Sun, until he's older and more gray, and one day, gone.

And it's just so interesting to me, because Jing Yuan is so kind, and it does not make him worse off. Unlike Blade and Jingliu, he doesn't let the mara consume him, and focuses on his happiness instead of the despair. His grief is quiet, he carried the weight of a world on his shoulders, but he still finds the time to take in a disciple and teach him the way of the sword, to visit the doctor who reminds him of an old and dear friend, and to make way for banter with his next-in-line. He's outlived the rise and fall of civilizations during that time, alone and not-alone, surrounded by the people he had and has now, and may live long enough to outlive several more.

Everyone has moved on from those years together, and their pasts may connect, but their futures all lead in vastly different directions. I'm sure Jing Yuan has lamented over the past before, but centuries have gone by since. Many things in the world have changed now, and he lives his own life, too. They all do.

Where am I going with this? Who knows. Happy Lunar New Year to all who celebrate and to Jing Yuan especially. As Yanqing might say: 恭喜发财（红包拿来）。

May your red envelopes be packed with extra money so Yanqing can buy that new and fancy dragon-themed sword.

[seelestars]

➴ ✫ * ✧ ACTOR JING YUAN X ACTOR READER !

a/n : i was originally gonna do blade but i went too off track and made him too ooc so i switched to jing yuan </3 sorry if it’s quite short i’m lazy

since you and jing yuan were the leads for the new romance movie, you knew there were going to be romantic scenes involved.

and yet, why did the proximity feel so unexpected?

you were currently shooting a scene that involved you having to sit on jing yuan’s lap, after a lovely first date between the leads. you couldn’t help but grow increasingly flustered, his breath on your ear making it worse. somehow even with all this intimacy, he didn’t seem to blush a single bit, as if he was used to this. well, you guessed hes probably had many people on his lap before. he is pretty popular in the media for his looks and charm, after all. who knows if he might’ve done those sorts of things for fan service?

after adjusting your positions a couple of times, you began shooting the scene.

“you look so pretty like this..” jing yuan was caressing your hips gently, gazing at you with half-lidded eyes. even though that line was part of the script, you still couldn’t help but imagine he had actually meant it. you felt shivers run down your spine at his deep voice, his voice a voice you considered pleasant. preparing and bracing yourself mentally, you built up the courage to say your line. “well i think you look even better under me like this..” you cupped his cheeks in your hands, a flushed look on your face. you looked into his eyes lovingly, as if you two were a thing. he smiles, his grip on your hips tightening slightly in an almost possessive way.

nothing could’ve prepared you for what was supposed to happen next. which was, you having to kiss jing yuan. you tried not to think about it too much, it was just a simple kiss right? your face gradually grew closer to his, your lips meeting his not too long after.

his lips were soft against yours, teasingly biting down on your bottom lip, causing you to blush. he tasted sweet, like the taste of cinnamon with a subtle chocolate taste. it made you crave more of him, but you knew you guys were only just acting. and so you refrained.

you nearly downed your entire water bottle in one go without realizing it. your throat just felt dry and parched after you had to refrain from indulging in more of jing yuan. you stared off into space, thinking about the scene you had acted out earlier now that today’s session concluded. but before you could contemplate it more, you felt a presence behind you. you turned around, only to see it was none other than the man you had on your mind.

“staring off into space I see?” he hums, looking down at you. “..ah? did you need something? everyone is packing up already.” you felt curious as to why he wasn’t immediately getting ready to leave like the others, as you were sure he had other places he needed to be. “I wanted to let you know that.. though it may have been a script, I meant what I said.” his words brought back the lingering memory of him calling you pretty. you couldn’t help but fluster a little at the thought, trying to keep yourself composed in front of him. “..o-oh. thank you.. I.. meant what I said as well.” you said awkwardly, not quite knowing how to return his compliment.

“say, how about we keep in contact, yeah?” he flashed you a charming smile, handing you a piece of paper that held his phone number. you felt your heart threaten to beat out of your ribcage at his actions. maybe he does feel the same way you do?

[daemon-in-my-head]

Hi. I'm bored. And incredibly sleep-deprived. So let me try and fix the loopholes Larian left behind when doing that whole durge/chosen of the dead 3 plotline.

Let's start with the obvious: Durge is a titan. Even if we ignore that Durge is what would happen if Bhaals pinkie decided to gain conciseness of its own, Orin is brutal. She's strong. And while she's a chosen, she's also a 2nd Gen Bhaalspawn. She hardly has any "taint" worth mentioning that could enhance her abilities, no divine spark, but Durge does. Pretadpole Durge is a menace and a savage. Look at Gortash's decked-out stats while being only level 9 and the thinker rather than the murderer. Durge most definitely was even more fearsome before the parasitic nerf.

With that established, let me claim the following: Durge is immortal. Age, sickness, poison, etc can not kill them. But legendary weapons can, although even in that case, by the grace of being a titan, Bhaal can revive them if he wants to. They are not invincible or smth. They can be hurt and all, but the damage wont be as severe for most instances, so long as there arent any cut off parts or scooped out brains. Durge would need the proper revival to reclaim that, really rebuild the body u know? Well, this also means Kressas little fun project could've never killed Durge. They would've simply felt like they were dying the entire time without getting the sweet release that would've been death. Or maybe at one point they did, but seeing how the Absolutes plot wasn't done yet Bhaal immediately pressed the undo button.

Speaking off, Durge longs for death. They see beauty in obliteration. It just sucks they can't die until Bhaal allows them to. This also explains why they're still alive and why Bhaal killed them in a redemption ending. It takes a deity or a legendary weapon to kill a titan.

Regarding weapons, guess how exactly the alliance didn't falter for as long as Durge was there but shattered the second Orin took over? Neither Ketheric nor Gortash have a legendary weapon. Orin is the only one who does, and it's a ceremonial blade set she most likely stole off of Durge's knocked-out body. Even if they wanted to kill Durge, before the plan concluded, they could hardly do it, and even if they had wounded Durge severely, they would've killed them first before Daddy Bhaal would revive them because their job here wasn't done yet.

It takes another titan or a god to kill one, so the only people capable of doing so are Bhaal and Durge. Sure other gods, too, but they're forbidden from meddling, and everyone still remembers what happened the last time a certain Tyrant pissed off Ao.

As for why Orin attacked them? Siblings. That's the only explanation you need, really. Durge prayer probably pissed her off, and she just did the sibling thing, that is, maim her bloodkin. Probably stuffed a tadpole in there when Durge didn't get up in time so Orin would have an excuse before Bhaal.

This also gives us 2 options why Gortash did nothing despite expecting the Brain to transform.

1; better chances at killing Durge when it would eventually come down to it. A netherbrain infused with Netherese Magic (which is also Durges Origin btw, Bhaal was netherese himself) simply has better odds against a quasi deity than a human does.

2; he was convinced they'd ascend as gods themselves. Durge was already a quasi deity so the last bit wouldn't have been hard. And with a deity on your side surely even a netherbrain is no challenge.

Now back to unholy thoughts-