#and more difficult to write!

[endlessburningdarkness]

been thinking about luo binhe getting therapy in the modern world. living a good life, happy, only to be haunted by dreams of horrendous abuse. inflicted on him and by him. thinking he's going insane, becoming depressed and suicidal. it takes years of his life to piece together that these dreams are in fact, memories.

he comes to accept it and move on with the help of cbt. but just as he's pulled himself out of a depressive pit and ready to move on, fate throws another anvil at his head. one day, he run's into a man who look's just like his hated teacher. in shock, binghe almost doesn't manage to dodge when the man immediately attempts to kill him.

turn's out, shen jiu remembers too.

[octarineblues]

supporting communities & people impacted by the Southport attack and the far-right riots in the UK

here is a list of community fundraisers I found, starting with those aiming to support the Southport community after the appalling attack at a children dance party, to the fundraisers helping those affected by the subsequent racist and Islamophobic far-right/nazi riots

Edited on 5 August to include Middlesbrough fundraisers. Edited on 6 August to correct the link on the Books for Spellow Lane fundraiser, to adjust the name change for the Belfast fundraiser, and to adjust the wording in the second last paragraph.

Southport:

Southport Strong Together Appeal - organised by the community foundation for Merseyside, for those affected by the Southport knife attack

United for Southport families - the funds will be distributed among the nine families of the children who were at the party

Swifties for Southport - a fundraiser for the Alder Hey Children's charity, which supports the victims and the affected families, as well as first responders and clinicians. Extra funds will also support the wider Southport community

Fundraiser for the Southport Mosque - a fundraiser to aid rebuilding or possibly re-locating the Southport Mosque after the damages it suffered during the riots

Rebuilding Windsor Mini Mart - fundraiser to rebuild the locally-owned grocery store that was targeted during the attacks, broken into, and looted

Liverpool:

Fundraiser for the Spellow Hub - the Spellow Hub was broken into, looted and set on fire at night during the riots. The Spellow Hub is a newly created one-of-a-kind (in the UK) institution, which consists of a library as well as a community centre with a mission to help people get education and pathways to work

Books for Spellow Lane - another fundraiser for the library in the Spellow Hub, to replace the books and rebuild the library there edit: included the correct link

Hartlepool:

Fundraiser for the Nasir Mosque - the Nasir Mosque was attacked following Southport riots; this fundraiser is organised by Hartlepool citizens to help the mosque deal with the damages as well as to show appreciation for the role of the mosque in the community. edit: the funds will be also distributed to the local community!

Rebuilding the Farm Shop - the shop was targeted during the riots, and when the owner and his son tried to protect it, they were also violently attacked. The fundraiser is to help fix the damages to the store.

Sunderland:

help rebuild Citizens Advice Sunderland offices after arson - two of the Citizens Advice Sunderland offices were set on fire during the riots, and one of them is completely destroyed.

Hull:

Hull Help for Refugees - a local fundraiser to support the Hull Help for Refugees charity, the donated money will be re-distributed to community members affected by the riots

Fundraiser for Hull Help for Refugees and Welcome House in Hull - collected money will be donated to the two charities

Belfast:

help fix racially motivated damages - originally the fundraiser for the Sahara Shisha Cafe which was targeted by the far right in Belfast during the riots, now a fundraiser for all affected businesses in the area. edited to reflect the change of the name of the fundraiser to avoid any confusion

Middlesbrough:

Supporting residents after the riots - Middlesbrough has suffered so much during the riots, lots of businesses as well as just regular family homes were vandalised, had their windows smashed or even were broken into. This fundraiser wants to distribute the funds between affected people to help them fix the damages, and to generally support the local community. the newest fundraiser, imo potentially the most urgent one

Fundraiser for a Care worker's car which was set on fire - a car belonging to an employee of a care agency was set on fire during the riots while he was on shift at a care home.

If you want to donate locally but there is no fundraiser to support where you live, consider donating to your local charities oriented towards Muslim or PoC communities, or towards anti-racist and refugee organizations! And go support your local Muslim/Arab/Black/Asian/Refugee owned businesses!

If you have any information about other local fundraisers, feel free to add to the post or don't hesitate to let me know and I will add them here! We have seen so much hate in the past few days, we have to stay strong and keep supporting each other!

Stay safe everyone 💛

[justcuriouspolls]

(i have a feeling this poll will get way more views than some of my other ones so I am once again asking you to fill out https://forms.gle/66bRngwjD2fzWX7p6 if you know anything about the character)

[zephyrchama]

I hope demons have sayings that sound really weird and messed up to humans, just as there are many diverse sayings across varying human languages that don't always translate easily.

---01

Lucifer looked up warily as you entered his office before breathing a sigh of relief. "I thought you were Mammon, here to give me another headache."

You strided over to his desk to take a peek at what he was working on. It looked boring. "We both know you love your little brother. What could be so bad this time?"

Lucifer buried his eyes in his hands, brushing his hair aside with the tail end of a pen. "He's been gnawing on my toenails all week."

You coughed in surprise, smacking your chest to loosen up the muscles so that clarifying questions could be asked. "What? Why? How?"

"Just general Mammon buffoonery as usual. For some reason he's especially persistent this week."

"I have literally never seen Mammon chewing on toenails..." Your lip curled back in disgust just imagining it. "Has he... done this before?"

"What?" Lucifer narrowed his eyes, puzzled. "Oh." His gaze softened once he realized what was happening and he huffed in amusement. "Mammon hasn't actually been gnawing on my toenails. It means he's getting on my nerves, as you might say."

You clasped your hands together and sighed, letting a wave of relief wash over you. "Please. Just say that next time."

----02

"C'mon, c'mon! If ya move any slower I'm gonna exfoliate Diavolo!"

You were running as fast as you could, despite Mammon being the reason for your tardiness. You didn't have much to lose, but Mammon could be in deep trouble for missing another morning class.

You wheezed and almost ran into him, not realizing he kindly came back to carry you. "Wh..." After a few deep breaths, you choked out your question. "You're gonna what? To Diavolo?"

Mammon thrust his bag in your arms in a rush and picked you up instead. He spoke as he began running, "yeah. He's gonna have my neck if I'm late again!"

"I get that, but is Barbatos gonna make you wash him...? Or...?"

"Wha? Are you still half asleep? Is that why you're runnin' so slow?"

You leaned your head back against his upper arm to stare up at him in frustration. He couldn't ignore your pouty face inches from his own. Mammon's ears grew red. "Knock it off!"

"Tell me what you mean!" you ordered.

Mammon growled and ran even faster. "What do you mean? I'm just tryna get us to class!"

---03

You scooted your seat closer to Leviathan. He perked right up and froze as you approached to whisper in his ear.

"Levi, XYZ."

"W-w-what? Is that a code?"

"No, XYZ. PDQ."

He reached for a pen and began noting the letters down. "P... D... Q... Got it. What's next?"

You shook your head. "No, Levi, your barn door is open."

"What game are we talking about? I haven't picked up Moondrop Basin in a few weeks."

You made a zipping-up motion with your hand. "Your fly!"

"Oh." Leviathan ruffled the back of his hair and swatted the air around his head. "Is it gone now? I didn't see any bugs."

Though reluctant to be so blunt, you were out of euphemisms. "Levi, your pants' zipper is open."

With an "eep!" he turned away to fix his problem. It took a few seconds. In his haste, the zipper kept getting stuck. He was mad when he turned back around, his face colored crimson. "Why didn't you just tell me? Without turning it into... into some game!"

"I did! XYZ, PDQ, That's what we say in the human world! Examine your zipper, quick!"

"That's so dumb!" he seethed, punching his knee. "What a spumid flaming cabbage. Your sayings are so weird."

---04

"Ready for the next one?"

"Hit me," you told Satan.

He grimaced from across the desk, raising his eyes from the paper to look at you in concern. "What? No, I'm not going to do that."

"Not literally, it's a human saying. It means 'give it to me,' or something like that."

"Oh." Satan jotted that down in the margins of his own notes before reading off the next phrase on his list. "This is one of my favorites. It's a colorful saying, but if you're really mad at someone you can call them a snot-cobbling banshee. I like to say this while cursing their next three generations."

You wrote that down. "How often do you use this saying?"

"Not too often. Well, maybe once a week with my brothers. It goes along with this next phrase which implies someone is dangerously stupid. Barbed dingbat."

You nodded. You were truly learning so much on this cultural exchange program.

---05

Asmodeus came into the kitchen as you were preparing dinner and wrapped his arms around your neck. He looked exhausted.

"Careful, I've got a knife, don't want to accidentally nick you," you warned. "What's up? Long day?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." Asmodeus peeped over your shoulder to look at the vegetables you were cutting. "I'm so glad you're home. You know, all day, all I could think about was..."

He proceeded to say some incredibly vulgar things. Detailed depictions of debauchery. Irredeemable acts of indecency that cannot be repeated on this blog. It made you put the knife down in a tizzy.

"Are those more demon idioms?" You snickered awkwardly and wiped your hands on a towel. "I've been learning about your sayings recently. Can't say I've heard those ones yet."

"What? Oh, no." Asmodeus lifted your hand, raising it to his lips to lick a stray fleck of vegetable skin off your fingertip. "These aren't sayings, this is just stuff I've wanted to do all day."

---06

"I could just eat you up."

This was something Beelzebub said often, and something he repeated again today. His hands were occupied with a fresh four-pounder with cheese, but his eyes kept drifting from it to watch you shoot paper balls into a wastebasket.

"You know, humans have the same saying. Isn't that funny?" You bounced up to grab some of the wads on the floor that didn't make it into the basket, to try again.

Beelzebub swallowed the mass in his mouth. "Really?" he asked between bites. "I thought you guys stopped doing cannibalism, mostly."

"Uh." You missed your throw. What should have been an easy shoot bounced off the edge and rolled away from the wastebasket. "Yeah, we did. Just so we're on the same page, you're saying I'm cute, right?"

Beelzebub was concerningly quiet as he chewed.

---07

"Are you on your way back to class?" Belphegor stopped you in the hall. You hadn't even seen him there on the ground, curled up next to a shady pillar.

"Skipping class again?" you asked. "I thought you liked magic theory."

"Maybe," he yawned. "It's too easy sometimes."

Belphegor fished around in his pocket for a second before pulling out a tightly folded-up sheet of paper. He offered it up. "Can you turn this in for me? I don't want my grades dropping over late homework."

"Sure thing, but it might be better to turn it in yourself. I heard Barbatos is doing random checks in all classes this week. He'll notice you missing."

"Nah." Belphegor's head drooped down as he prepared to doze off again. "If you see him, just tell him I'm being flerchen in the garden."

That sounded innocent enough. "Okay. What does that mean?"

"Means I've got the sniffles," he lied.

---08

Barbatos' eyes grew big and he placed a hand over his heart, furthering crumpling Belphegor's homework sheet in the process. He looked around to make sure nobody overheard before leaning in. "I must ask that you never say that again."

Behind him, Diavolo's palm was clasped over his mouth as he struggled not to draw attention with loud guffaws. He had his back to the classroom, shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

"Why not?" You nervously shifted from one foot to another. You'd been had.

"It's not a topic I can explain here. Perhaps you and the Young Master should excuse yourselves for now. I'll come collect you both later."

Barbatos readily escorted you and Diavolo out of the room, shutting the door behind you so that class could begin without interruption.

"I'm just the messenger," you tried to defend yourself. Diavolo's fit of giggles was renewed. He grabbed on to your shoulder for stability while doubled over, trying to ride out the laughter.

"Did... did Belphegor tell you to say that?" He wiped a tear running down his face. You furiously nodded.

"Haha! Do you remember where he's hiding? I'd sure like to have a word with him."

You couldn't tell if Diavolo was going to praise Belphegor or tear him a new one. Perhaps a mix of both. However, the curiosity over what you said was overwhelming. You wanted to know the full extent of what it meant before seeing Belphegor again.

You decided to bargain with the prince. "I'll show you, but first you have to tell me what that means."

[gammija]

tiefling jon's first day at the Archives

[three-fold-symmetry]

Day 3 of @subcodyweek - Prompt: Praise kink

They didn't train him for this on Kamino.

[odetojupiter]

uhhh so the number four is associated with death in certain cultures, including japanese, which is fitting for the butcher’s son, yes but just remember neil was supposed to be number three and jean was supposed to be number four ,and in every draft but one jean dies. he is symbolically saved from that fate by dodging the number four (being given, instead, the number three which represents REBIRTH of all things - i made a whole post about that if ur curious) because it means he was never marked for death. so in this draft, where he’s number three, but was supposed to be number four, he comes so close to death - to the point where renee doesn’t know how he’s still alive - because he was supposed to die, doomed by the narrative, but that number three saves him. that number three represents resurrection, and so he doesn’t die like he was supposed to. because he’s not number four, he’s number three. he comes back. he transforms, he heals. he becomes number 29 (i will eventually make a post about jean and the 29)

neil, though, was marked for death. he had the number four tattooed on him, and he goes through his own narrative believing he will die by the end of it. his survival, however, is foreshadowed in the very moment neil thinks he’s about to die - when he is kidnapped. lola burns the number four - the signifier of death - off his face, leaving him scarred, yes, but not marked for death anymore. and so he lives. and guess what: the number 10 represents the start of a new chapter, that one cycle is coming to an end and a new life is starting, one that you’ve worked hard for. so for the number four to be burned off of neil, that tells us neil is going to live. and when neil becomes neil legally, he settles into the number 10 properly. and his new life begins.

[oblique-lane]

more mercenary analysis, whichever merc you want <3

Not a mercenary but... Okay!

Let's dissect Pauling

Always so collected, responsible and efficient. The one who is not afraid to get her hands dirty for the sake of a goal, and her performance is always one hundred percent. What could possibly be not cool about her?

Well, maybe the fact that this all is, in fact, an act. Of course it is.

I'm not saying her determination and dedication to her job aren't sincere decisions of her heart, she really enjoys it and shines in her work. It's just a matter of WHY and WHAT she's doing it for. And on what scale.

For her, her job is EVERYTHING. Eagerly working 364 days a year with barely any rest, masochistically putting herself in so much danger, blindly following the boss's instructions, not even hesitating to kill people standing on the way...

Wow, there's gotta be something going on here.

Well, obviously the Administrator plays A HUGE role in this situation. Why would Pauling trust her so much? Referring to the comics, Pauling trusted her wholeheartedly on whatever the Administrator was planning, even though she didn't know what it was. This blind following that vaguely resembles nothing less than a weird somewhat child-to-a-mother attachment. It's just a Boss, just a job, why?

Because that's what it is. Mother issues. Very apparent.

We don't know anything about Pauling's past, so there's where the headcanons begin:

I'm assuming her birth mother was very neglectful and dismissing, never acknowledged her daughter's accomplishments and struggles. No matter how hard Pauling tried to become "worthy" in her eyes, it seemed to be never enough, as if she didn't even exist at all. Maybe her mother was a substance addict or something and their household wasn't safe and stable, so Pauling had to become an adult early and run away from home as a teenager and find a job to get by.

(I assume that because I believe there was a mention in the canon lore that Ms.Pauling had been working for the Administrator for long long years (don't remember exactly), indicating that she started working when she was still a minor).

So, being taken under the Administrators wing, her young wounded brain found a substitute for a very thing she was lacking, subconsciously clinging onto the Administrator as a newly mother figure, in order to "get it right this time".

Administrators Strictness, responsibility and demandingness were the most favorite qualities of a person of authority in Pauling's eyes, in contrast to the laziness, unaccountability and indifference of the environment in which she grew up. She could finally strive.

This time she would show the mother figure that she's worthy, she's important and irreplaceable; she exists. She would prove that no amount of hardship is too much for her if it means approval for the Administrator.

And the Administrator kind-of-sort-of gave Pauling this pseudo-love in return, encouraging her to sacrifice herself even more for their work. Which is at the very least unfair, and at most just predatory. Administrators "love" was conditional, in contrast with when the real motherly love Pauling unknowingly expected. Administrator was too immature for a mother figure, too much in power for a partner or a friend, yet too close for a formal boss. What is this!? Something not nice.

The Administrator doesn't love Pauling for Pauling, she loves her working qualities. And thus, Paulings subconscious guess was confirmed that "I'm only important when I'm doing the job. I AM the job."

Tying your worth to what you DO instead of what you are is a huge dangerous existential rout one could choose. But she never really knew her importance outside of her skills, so she wouldn't know.

Now imagine how actually painful that character arc was for her, when the Administrator proved herself to be unreliable and secretive, and when Pauling started to question her intentions for the first time.

"... Because I trusted you!"

"Then why are you questioning me now?"

It wasn't even the real conversation between them, just Pauling's mind torturing her.

It reminded me of the crisis of a 4-year-old when they realise that their parents aren't perfect; they don't know anything and they CAN hurt you.This shattering illusion of almighty love. When a child stops believing that the "harsh love" their mother treats them with is simply an abuse.

Wouldn't it be terrifying to realise in your 20s thar despite running for "the mother's approval" all your life, you will never truly get it. If your mother failed to provide it to you at such a young age, nothing will truly substitute that, especially now, when you're an adult, no one will love your inner child the way it was supposed to be loved.

Unless you yourself decide to take that role.

...

Realistically speaking, it's not nearly that sever with Pauling! She's happy in the environment she's in, there's lots of interests for her to explore (Guns, fights, killin'!) So many adventures every day! Even if Pauling has her inner suffering, it's not that bad aa I describe it. Her mother problems may actually be an advantage, a reason she is such a good and caring boss for the mercenaries.

I'm just edgying things down for the sake of the clearer analysis. But still...

If the Administrator will be gone and Pauling loses her life-dedicated job... What will be left? Who is Pauling once Mann Co is no more? Can she answer that?

References:

– A video that helped me better understand the Good Girl mask:

– "Lise Bourbeau's 5 soul wounds model: Injustice"

[korshrimpski]

[stil-lindigo]

little dove.

a short comic about Ash and Snow's first meeting / how Snow got her nickname.

Snow's story

Ash’s story

--

notes:

--

all my other comics

store

[enden-agolor]

thanks for giving recovery 600 kudos, that is actually crazy?? i will never understand how this fic became so successful but i'm seriously so honored, so here's some quick little doodles <:D

[kusanagihaku]

an indentation, in the shape of you

⭢ haku x mc, 6.1k

God, the sight of him like this – kneeling between your legs and head bent, moss-green hair tangled between your fingers, eyes dark and fierce – it is nearly enough to send you over the edge. It’s funny, some distant, coherent part of you thinks, how he looks like he’s the one in worship but you’re the one chanting his name in fervent prayer. or: my first and last time ever writing smut, so help me god. ao3 here.

｡°⚠︎°｡ minors dni!! ｡°⚠︎°｡

You’re late. 

You’re late and you should have met Haku twenty minutes ago by the Galaxy Express gates so you could head out for the night, but due to an extremely foolish lack of foresight you’ve put off trying on your Halloween costume until now, which of course meant something was bound to go wrong. 

You stare despondently at your reflection in the mirror. You don’t remember cheerleader skirts being quite this short. 

Maybe you’ve bulked up since you’ve arrived at Darkwick? After all, you’ve been running around and pulling off frankly inhumane feats of strength during missions (never mind that those feats were mostly mental and emotional). That’d explain why the top of the cheerleader uniform fits more snug than you thought it would when you ordered it online. 

Would it explain why the hem of the top ended higher up your midriff than you’d like? Would it explain why the skirt, albeit high-waisted, barely covered your ass? Maybe not. 

You tug at the hem of the skirt again, as if it would magically lengthen in the span of time since you last tried to stretch it to cover more leg. Perhaps the real problem was you ordering a costume online. Maybe you should have just borrowed a fox robe or whatever, like Haku decided to do. 

You exhale. The only choice would be to wear a white turtleneck and some stockings underneath and a longer jacket over your costume and pray really hard the area Haku ends up bringing you to won’t have too many creeps.  

Of course, that’s where the next problem arises – you only have the Darkwick-assigned standard black stockings, which barely came up to mid-thigh and barely go with the white turtleneck, and a pair of bright white exercise leggings, which frankly would be ugly as hell. 

You’re going to scream. 

You’re about to give up and go with the lesser of two evils when the chime of the doorbell echoes throughout the empty cathedral. 

…Haku. 

You scramble downstairs to the doors, tugging it open to see a very bemused Haku. 

“Did you forget our- oh, woah.” 

You feel the heat of his gaze brush down your body, catching slightly on the bare of your midriff before alighting on the hem of your skirt, coaxing a flush up your neck and leaving a raise of goosebumps in its wake. Or maybe it’s just the impending chill of October seeping in through the open doors – you reach out to pull your boyfriend in so you can safely shut the doors. 

“That’s, um,” Haku says. “Woah. I thought this’d be for my eyes only, princess.” 

You roll your eyes, and turn away to walk back upstairs. You hope he doesn’t see the burn in your cheeks – it’s been a while since you’ve started dating, but Haku’s casual compliments still sends your heartbeat thundering through your veins. “That’s why I’m having trouble choosing what to wear underneath.” 

“How about nothing?” You can almost hear the growing smirk in his voice as he gets over his initial shock. He catches up to you easily, long legs matching your stride as he follows you up the staircase. 

You snort. “And stay cold? I’d rather not. Help me–“ 

“Help you get undressed?” Haku interjects, teasing grin in his voice. You turn to swat at his shoulder, only to find him a couple of steps further down than you expected, golden gaze trained on where the pleats of your skirt barely covers the curve of your ass. 

The spark of his gaze sends flames dancing across your skin. It is both a familiar feeling and not, a kind of burn only Haku can rouse from the base of your spine, a burn you fear will get you addicted but hope you will never get used to. Heat creeps up your cheeks as you bite back a smile. “Stop it.” 

At least he has the decency to look sheepish as he closes the distance between you, slipping his arm around your waist and kissing the crown of your head. “Can’t help it. I’m just a guy, and it’s such a great view.” 

The warmth of his palm on the bare of your skin spreads as much through your veins as his words do. His thumb stretches, accidentally (?) slipping under the hem of your top as you reach the top of the stairs. 

“Anyway,” you continue hastily, as if filling the air with words will distract you from the questing of his fingers. If you give in to his touch now neither of you will make it out of the dorm tonight. “I was thinking about wearing a white turtleneck underneath this top.” 

Haku hums. “Shame.” 

His thumb slips up further. Definitely not accidental. 

“The issue is I only have black stockings.” 

“Go without,” he suggests, blithely. His thumb slips out from under your top and tucks itself into the waistband of the skirt. 

You turn to narrow your eyes at him as you enter your room. “And let everyone see half my ass?” 

“Hey, now,” Haku frowns, and all of a sudden you are pressed up against the back of your door, his arm coming up to rest beside your face. His hand slides out from your waist to the curve of your ass, squeezing, and he dips his head towards yours, lips brushing the top of your ear as you suppress a shiver. “Who said anyone else is seeing anything?” 

Your breath hitches as the heat of his mouth finds the shell of your ear in the exact way he knows will drive you crazy. “I thought– I thought you wanted to go to–“ 

He laughs, a low chuckle that melts straight into your throat and dries out your mouth. His hand moves lower to skim the hem of your skirt, tugging gently on it, “I mean, we were… until you decided to put this on.” 

Your eyes slip closed as his lips meet the hollow behind your jaw, soft and hot and open-mouthed, and you struggle to find the words you need, hands coming up to rest against his biceps and head tilting back to allow him more access. It’s amazing how after so many times he can still take you apart with one well-placed kiss. “It– it wasn’t on purpose–“ 

Haku grins against your neck. His fingertips drift lower, running over the back of your thigh and dangerously close to where your legs are pressed together. “Really.” 

Well. You’d be lying if you said no. You did order this outfit with your boyfriend in mind after all, wondering how he would react to your showing a little more skin than usual. You just didn’t expect this much skin. 

And you definitely didn’t expect this big a reaction from him either – if anything, your make-out sessions so far have been soft and languorous, framed by the gentle sounds of drizzle on the wood of his Hotarubi veranda, and punctuated with laughter and adoration as you explored each other’s bodies. 

Oh but this, this Haku is different. His hands are everywhere, like he doesn’t quite know what to do with the sudden increase in expanse of skin chest-down, and his mouth is hot and panting on the column of your neck as he pivots you away from the door and stumbles you backwards toward the sofa. 

You crash into the scratchy grey of the sofa, legs falling apart naturally to accommodate where Haku has slid his knee between them. He braces one arm on the wall behind you, and his other hand comes up to stroke the side of your face. 

His eyes are dark with an almost-hunger as he leans over you, trailing down to your lips in a silent request, and when your tongue darts out to wet your lips he groans, tipping his forehead forward against yours. “So fucking beautiful.” 

You flush – you’ll never get used to the praise Haku lavishes on you. But before you can think of anything to say in return, his mouth finds its way onto yours. 

When he kisses you it is all tongue and crash, a messy and hungry and wet that steals your breath away. He licks into you, like he cannot get enough of your taste, and when you pull away, gasping for air, his mouth finds its new church on the bruises he sucks onto your neck. You let out an involuntary whimper – the nip of his teeth and smooth of his tongue is only overshadowed by the way his hand slides from your cheek to your ribs, brushing gently over the curve of your chest to tuck under the tight hem of your top. 

He only stops two seconds later, frowning and leaning back to tug at the pale purple fabric. “How-“ 

“Zip,” you say, slightly breathless, and lift yourself off the sofa so he can reach around you. His deft fingers make quick work of the zipper in the back, loosening the top, and his eyes follow your chest as he helps you lift it over your head.

His voice is deep and pained as he watches your breasts fall out of the confines of your top. “No bra?” 

You shake your head, eyes tracking the lick of his lips as he stares at your nipples hardening in the cold room air. “Shirt was too tight.” 

“Fuck, princess,” he swears, and slides his hands up your waist to rest under the curve of your breasts. “God, you’ll drive me crazy.” 

He leans down to lick you, experimentally, sliding the rough of his tongue over a sensitive nub. It sends a jolt to your system that immediately pools between your legs, and a gasp escapes your lips. 

Haku grins at the sound. His hand comes up to squeeze the soft flesh of your other breast, pinching your nipple between his fingers and eliciting another gasp. He presses a soft, open-mouthed kiss to the swell of your chest, “You always make the most beautiful sounds for me.” 

“Haku…” you squirm at that, but he is already leaning down to attack the expanse of skin underneath his hands with his tongue, biting and nipping and pinching and drawing all sorts of sounds from the back of your throat. His hungry mouth finds your nipples again, soothing and pinching as he suckles bruises into the soft fat under his fingers. 

You arch into the warmth of his hands, keening. There will be marks littered all around you by the end of the night, you’re sure – Haku has never been one to hold back when it comes to tasting the sweet of your skin. 

He bites, harder than usual, on the saliva coated nub between his fingers before laving his tongue over it, and the combination of pain and sooth explodes from your lips in a tight, “Ah, Haku–“

Your legs snap shut. You rut, shamelessly, against the firm of his thigh between yours – the tension between your legs has been building with each slide of his tongue, and you crave some sort of friction so bad– 

Haku presses a hand against the plush of your leg, preventing them from clamping around his own. He pulls back slightly to look at you, eyes looking as lust-hazy as you feel. His lips are slightly swollen, you notice, a delicious pink brought on by the assault against your skin, and it sends a shiver through you as he murmurs, “Let me. Please.” 

His words sink straight to your core; he sinks straight to his knees. His hands drift to your knees, pushing them apart to allow him to sit between them, then pushing them up to allow him a better view of your inner thighs. 

The flimsy skirt flips upwards as you set your heels on the sofa, leaving you exposed to Haku’s hungry gaze. He takes one look at the underwear you chose for the evening and groans. “God, princess, you wanted to go out wearing this?” 

You flush again, embarrassment flooding your cheeks as you try to clamp your knees shut, but Haku’s grip is vice-like on your thigh. You know what he’s talking about – the piece you chose today was a thin, black lace number that barely covered anything. After all, you needed to make sure it wouldn’t leave panty lines when you put on the cheerleader skirt. You didn’t think… 

His groan goes straight between your legs. You watch him lick his lips, almost unconsciously, as his eyes zero in on the dark spot in your underwear. You know that you’ve been getting steadily wetter since Haku first kissed you, and you know the effects of Haku’s ministrations definitely show in the dampness of the black material. “Haku…” 

His eyes drift up to meet yours. You know what a mess you must look to him, all dishevelled and neck and chest littered with red bite marks, legs spread and gasping his name without his fingers even touching your drenched core. Your eyes drop, self-conscious, but Haku just chuckles. He rises to kiss you, the gentle, chaste press of his lips on yours a far cry from the way he’s been devouring you. “Gorgeous. Always takes my breath away when you’re spread out like this, just for me.” 

God, he always knows exactly what to say. 

“Just for you,” you echo. Your voice comes out breathy, needy, thinned with want, and Haku’s brows immediately tighten as he rocks backwards, swearing as he kneels between your legs again. 

“Fuck,” one hand slides further up your thighs. “The things you do to me, princess.” 

He places one, two, three kisses on your inner thigh, sliding closer and closer to where your underwear is doing absolutely nothing to hide the way you’re dripping for him. “How did you expect me to keep my hands off you the whole night, hmm?” 

When his mouth finally reaches your core, placing a gentle kiss at your clothed clit, you arch against the sofa with a loud gasp. It takes Haku’s grip holding your thighs apart to keep you from wrapping your legs around him. 

The heat of his breath ghosts across your underwear as he chuckles. “That sensitive already?” 

You could cry. “Haku, please–“ 

He ignores you, choosing instead to place another kiss over the wetness of your core before nosing at it. His eyes drift closed as he buries himself in your scent, nose bumping again and again against your most sensitive part as he places kisses through the lace. 

It takes you a few more dazed seconds of his earrings tickling your inner thighs to realise he has taken his left hand off your leg, and to recognise that the pumping movement of his arm means he has pulled himself out of his pants. “Haku, I can–“ 

His eyes snap open, dark pupils almost taking over the gold of his irises, and he presses an open-mouthed kiss to where he knows your clit is.  

The pressure instantly steals your words away, and leaves a loud moan in its place. 

Your cheeks burn as the sound leaves your mouth. God, the things Haku does to you, too. You want to touch him, you want to feel the weight of his cock on your tongue, feel the stiff of his cock slide into you, heavy and thick and him, but–

Haku swiftly pulls your thin underwear to one side. The shock of cold air on your exposed core wrests another gasp from the burn in your throat, before it is replaced with the inferno building on his tongue.  

Your head hits the back of the sofa. “God, Haku, please, oh–“ 

He hums against you. Whether or not it is a muffled moan at the taste of you or if he is just pleased with the way you drape his name on the tip of your tongue, it does not matter – the vibrations unfortunately shoot straight up your spine and into the most animalistic pleasure-centred part of your brain. You squeeze your eyes closed, trying to keep yourself from humping his face as you press the back of your fist into your mouth. 

Haku stops. “Princess,” he says, roughly, and the pet name is so loaded you pry your eyes open to look at him. His voice is thick with want as he rushes out a, “Don’t– don’t hold back. I want to hear you.” 

Almost as if he can sense your hesitation, he rests his cheek against the soft of your thigh. His gaze is filled with something you can’t quite name, a blend of lust and adoration, a different type of exaltation you only see the likes of when Haku is between your legs. “Please,” he rasps. 

Lord, you would do anything in the world for Haku, if only he asks. 

You move your spit-slick hand away from your face, wincing at the way a string of saliva connects your fist to the shine of your lips, and Haku’s gaze hardens at the sight. 

“Fuck,” he growls, and sinks his teeth into the tender skin where your leg meets your core. 

You jerk up in surprise, his name flying from your lips as he soothes you again and again with laps of his tongue. Before you can say anything else, though, he licks a slow stripe up your centre, rough and sweet, dipping his tongue in between your folds. Your fingers find their way into his hair as he moves into you, tongue pressing inside your aching core desperately like a man who has not found water in days. A familiar tension coils between your legs under the movement of your boyfriend’s tongue, a slow burn that you know will consume you and leave you bereft at the end of the night, but right now you need more, more–

“Taste so fucking good, princess,” he pants, breaking away. The lower half of his face glistens, a testament to how fucking wet you are for him; a whimper escapes you at the sight. 

He taps a long finger against your entrance. “Can I–“

“Please,” you whine, hips shifting shamelessly to press yourself against his finger. “Need you–“

When he pushes his finger into you, gently, slowly, your eyes drift closed, his name floating on the shape of your moans. Every drag of his fingertip against your walls draws fireworks on the back of your eyelids, sends sparks up to the cry of your lungs; every clench you make on the slender digit sliding in and out of you sends fresh curses spilling from the sweet of Haku’s mouth and loads his name on the runway of your tongue. 

When he latches onto you, sucking harshly on your clit and sliding another finger into you, his name flies out from your lips, the vowels of Haku, please, ah, Haku, Haku unintelligible amongst the squelching as he pushes you closer to your climax. 

God, the sight of him like this – kneeling between your legs and head bent, moss-green hair tangled between your fingers, eyes dark and fierce – it is nearly enough to send you over the edge. It’s funny, some distant, coherent part of you thinks, how he looks like he’s the one in worship but you’re the one chanting his name in fervent prayer. 

But oh, Haku curls his fingers just right, just so, exactly in the way you acutely need and are so hopelessly addicted to, and just like that you lose all train of thought and tumble headfirst into the delicious friction of his fingers. You cannot help but tighten against the pump of his hand, breathless and wanting and so, so close, and are rewarded with a hazy hum that blazes right into the fire between your legs. “Haku, wait, I’m gonna–“

“Fuck,” he curses, voice strained, “Love it when you say my name like that– you’re so good, so tight for me, princess–“ he sucks your clit hard, once, twice, vibrations of his voice echoing through your nerve endings “–fuck, cum for me, please–“ 

He curls his fingers again, and all at once everything explodes behind your eyelids, a blooming white that shoots from between your legs to the tips of your fingers and the curl of your toes. His name tumbles again from your lips, a desperate devotional that he rises to seal and swallow against his own as you ride out the waves of your orgasm. 

You don’t know how long your free fall lasts, a blinding pleasure that sends trembles through your thighs and soaks into the pump of his fingers in and out, in and out, but as you regain some semblance of cognition, weakly clenching around the still steady push of Haku’s hand, you taste yourself on the slip of Haku’s tongue against your own. 

“God,” he says, resting his forehead against yours, breathless, “you should see yourself when you come. So beautiful, so good,” another kiss, pressed against your open, panting mouth, “like a work of art.” 

You whine a little at the way his thumb is still rubbing circles against your clit, shifting your hips slightly away from the overstimulation, and he chuckles, finally bringing his hand up to your mouth. 

The chuckles stop, however, when you take his fingers into your mouth, hollowing your cheeks around the long digits as they slip toward the back of your tongue. “Gods, princess–“ 

You take your time cleaning his fingers, tasting your own slick and licking up and down and between them, brain still hazy from the way your orgasm slammed into you less than a minute earlier. Christ, the way his fingers work you – you’d spend all your life worshipping them if you could. 

Haku groans, watching your tongue flick around the base of his middle finger, and with some degree of self-control, tugs them out from between the pink of your lips. He presses his lips against yours instead, soft, gentle, reverent. 

Your mind is marginally clearer after that. You mumble his name as he helps you sit back up, propping you against the sofa backrest with your heels on either side of him. 

“Hmm?” he says, as he runs his hands down your thighs, searching for where your underwear is still clinging to your hips through force of will. 

“Are we… are we still going out?” 

Haku laughs, startled and breathless, then taps your hip so he can pull the soaked scrap of fabric you used to call underwear off your legs. “I don’t think we can.”

You want to suggest that you maybe go tomorrow (or whenever you can find a more… suitable costume, really), but your eyes follow Haku’s fingers as he wraps the damp black lace around his cock, stroking slowly. 

Fuck.

You try and sit up. “Haku–“ 

Haku groans again, using his other hand to press you back onto the sofa. “If you touch me right now, I don’t think I can last, sweetheart.” 

Only now you notice the sheen of sweat around his temples, the squeeze of his fingers around the tip of his leaking cock like he’s trying to hold himself back. You swallow at the sight of his precum smearing itself onto his hand, throat bobbing as you consider his words – he got so close to cumming at just the act of eating you out. God. 

You can’t believe he’s real. 

Oh, but the thought of the taste of him on your tongue, the weight of his cock hitting the back of your throat just the way you like it, the tug of his fingers in your hair as you swallow around him–

“Please,” you whisper, looking up at him – from underneath your lashes, in just the right way you know will bend him to your will – “I want– I want to taste you,” and just like that you watch his resolve crumble like dust in the wind. 

“Ah, fuck,” he mumbles, and rises to crush his lips against yours. It is all teeth and tongue this time, a dance of desperation that tastes all too much like you and not enough of him. 

You whine, scrabbling your nails against his biceps – how is he still clothed – and he lets you flip him backwards into the sofa. 

From there it is a battle of will for you, caught between making sure he is as unclothed as you are so you can nip and suck your way down his body, and going straight for his cock. You end up trying for the former, clumsily, if only so you can watch the flex of his abs as he comes; Haku takes pity on you and helps you divest the rest of his uniform as you straddle his lap. 

You run your hands down the smooth of his body, then lean forward to kiss him once, twice, thrice. You can feel the laze of his smile against your lips, a familiar sensation from your quiet afternoons in Hotarubi, a reminder that– 

You shift forward a bit too much, and the head of his cock brushes against the bare of your core. 

The moan bursting out from Haku’s lips is sinful, melting straight between your legs and reigniting the ashes of a fire not yet burnt out. You roll your hips again, whimpering at the drag of his cock against your folds, thick and solid and delicious, but Haku grips your hips, pushing you away from him as he squeezes his eyes shut, panting. 

God, the way he reacts to your touch – you want to bottle this feeling up forever. 

It takes all your remaining braincells to remember your goal, and to the disappointment of the other parts of your body you do not impale yourself on the tantalising firm of his cock, but instead push off his lap to kneel between his legs. You take the base of his shaft in your hand, squeezing lightly, and are rewarded with Haku’s voice, thick with want. 

“Gotta let you know, princess, I’m not gonna last long.” 

You lean up to kiss his abs, hands letting go of his length to brace against his thighs, tongue flicking out to taste the hard muscle. “Then don’t. Let me– let me make you feel good.” 

Haku makes a sound at the back of his throat, eyes on you as you lick your way down his obliques, leaving a trail of spit and kisses in your wake. His skin is feverish under your lips, a far cry from the casual leisurely make-out sessions you’ve spent exploring his body. His cock strains under your chin as your mouth goes lower; it weeps pre-cum against where it slides along the bruises he has left on your neck. 

Haku’s hand comes up to rest on your hair. He is a complete wreck beneath your mouth, breathing rapid and Adam’s apple bobbing in anticipation. “Look so good like this– ah– between my legs.” 

His breath hitches as you take him in hand again. You press a soft kiss, feather-light, to the tip of his cock, and hear his sharp inhale. He twitches, in your hand, the head an angry purple-red smoothness that leaks clear pre-cum into your touch. His body trembles beneath you; he groans, clearly holding back from thrusting up into the soft of your fist.  

You give an experimental tug. Your thumb rubs the thick vein running down the side of his cock as you pull the weight of his cock towards you, tongue darting out to lave over the thick pre-cum coating his tip. It is salty, bitter, mixed in the taste of you from where he slipped along your folds earlier. “Taste so good, Haku.”  

His hand slides down to cup your face, thumb running over your cheekbone. You look up at Haku at his gentle touch, only to find him watching you intently, dark ochre eyes trained on the way you lick his slick from your lips. 

“So perfect,” he mumbles, moving his thumb to brush over the spit-shine of your lips. “Mouth was just made for me.” 

You tilt your head to suck lightly on his thumb, just before he can move away, and feel his cock twitch again in the palm of your hand. He groans. “Don’t tease me anymore, princess, please.” 

Alright. 

You don’t give him a warning before you sink your lips down over his head, flattening your tongue to take the length of him all the way into your mouth. 

He cannot help the jerk of his hips in response to the unexpected wetness, forcing the head of his cock past the back of your mouth. It triggers a swallow almost instantly; the sudden push of your tongue on his shaft against the roof of your mouth as your mouth tightens around him drags a low groan from the back of his throat. “Fuck—“ 

You pull off slightly to breathe, hollowing your cheeks around him before bobbing back down; what you cannot reach with your lips you make up for by stroking the velvet of his skin with your fist. You set a comfortable pace for yourself, making sure your teeth don’t scrape the sensitive skin and making sure the head of his cock hits your soft palate every time you sink down on him. The salty taste of his precum fills your mouth; you swallow again, looking up. 

Oh, Haku is glorious. 

His forehead is sweaty, fringe stuck to his forehead in a mess; the red strings of his earrings are plastered to the side of his cheek, darkened with sweat. His mouth is open, panting with the effort of restraint, and his eyes are hooded, staring down at you with a mix of adulation and awe as his cock rests in the heat of your mouth. 

You quicken your pace, twisting your wrist just so as you pump the base of his shaft, and watch as his golden eyes glaze over as he groans. “Fuck, you’re doing so good for me, princess, so good with your tongue–“ 

The gravel of his voice makes you squeeze your thighs together. Your other hand leaves his thigh to wander beneath your skirt, sliding between your legs to–

“Fuck,” Haku curses, and adjusts himself so he can see where your hand has pushed the edge of your skirt up. 

You pull off of him, cock springing from your lips as you shuffle on your knees, trying to adjust your own position in accordance with his. A thin string of spit connects your lips to the tip of his cock as it tips back to hit his abs. 

“God,” he breathes, eyes darting back your lips, “what a sight you are.” 

His voice is rough with need, but filled with adoration all the same as he brushes your hair away from your face. You can’t help but smile back up at him. You’re a sight, you’re sure, on your knees and hair dishevelled and salivating for him, but when he looks at you like you’ve personally hung the stars-

Your hands return to his cock, smearing the copious mix of your saliva and his pre-cum down his shaft. The image of you on your knees, both hands pressed together around the thick of his cock, does not slip by you; what was it that Haku said the other day, murmured words lost in the rustle of undressing – something about a belief that your lover is cast in the image of your gods. When you glance back up at Haku it feels like you understand. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” he murmurs. He reaches to tuck a stray strand of hair behind your ear. 

“Like what?” 

“Like you’re praying.” 

You laugh. Haku’s uncanny way of knowing exactly what you’re thinking strikes again. You press a kiss to his shaft, then another and another, up the throbbing vein in his side until you reach his glans. You swirl your tongue around the flared head of his cock, dipping into his slit to collect a pearl of precum before sucking lightly on his tip, coating it in the warmth of your spit. “And what if I am?” 

“I’m pretty sure whatever– ah– whatever holy you pray to isn’t supposed to– ah, princess– isn’t supposed to defile you like this–“ 

You hum, taking all of him into your mouth and sinking down until he hits the back of your throat before swallowing around him. Is it defiling, if you want the taint of his taste on your tongue? Is it defiling, if you have never wanted to be pure of him? 

What is the point of holy, anyway, if not to find something you’d devote yourself to? 

You set a far more punishing pace this time, his thickness threatening to split your jaw open, and watch as Haku tips his head back in pleasure. Your personal deity, your personal idol. You’d stay on your knees all night for him, if he’d let you. 

It doesn’t take long before the tell-tale flex of his abs comes, before he tangles his fingers in your hair and your name in his speech, before he tugs tenderly on your scalp and a litany of praise comes spilling out, unfiltered from the gold of his tongue. “So perfect, princess, you– ah– can I—“ 

Your deity, falling apart under the heat of your tongue. 

You hum around his cock, meeting his eyes in permission, and all at once he comes, hot of his seed shooting into the warm confines of your mouth. The thick cum is salty as it hits the back of your throat, and you swallow, drawing out pump after addictive pump from the twitching cock between your hands. 

His body jerks up, thrusting shallowly into the heat of your mouth as he rides out his orgasm. He groans your name, low and long. “So tight and warm, so beautiful around my cock, ah– so good for me–“ 

You continue hollowing your cheeks around him, rubbing your tongue along the underside of his shaft. One hand leaves his cock to brace against his thighs; the other keeps up the slip-slide of his cock into the heat of your throat as his hips begin to stutter. You swallow as best as you can, trying to keep the thick rivulets of cum from spilling out between your lips as the erratic jerk of his hips against your hands slow and come to a stop. 

When you look up, lips still wrapped around him, his eyes are trained on you again, glassy and awestruck. 

You’ll never get tired of the way Haku looks just after cumming. His skin is covered in a light sheen of sweat, almost like he’s glowing, and the light catches in his hair like his own personal halo. All dazed, all blissed and reverential. All fucked out, just for you. 

You suckle on him, again, dragging his cock along the pad of your tongue. His hands tug on your hair, the pain a delicious distraction from where your jaw is aching around his width. He lets out a groan at the overstimulating shift of your mouth around his tip. “Princess, please–“ 

You grin, pulling off of him with a pop, and you both look down as the string of spit and cum connecting the head of his cock to your lips elongates and breaks apart. His thumb finds your cheek, stroking gently as you leave a kiss on the soft pink of his tip. 

You rest your cheek against his thigh as you breathe in the salty musk of his scent. Your voice is slightly hoarse as you look up at him, “I don’t suppose we’ll make it to that Halloween fair tonight.”

It takes Haku a while to find words, like he has to pull braincells back from where you’ve been sucking them right out of his dick. He smiles lazily at you, “We can always go tomorrow.” 

You laugh, and he sits up to help you up off your knees. His hands rub at where your knees have turned red, then reach up to smooth over the pleats of your skirt, still too short to cover anything important. He playfully squeezes your ass, before tugging you down into his lap.

You let out a soft unf as you land in his lap, straddling him. You shift forward to kiss him, pressing your chest against his; in doing so your folds, wet and warm, brush once again over the thick of his cock. 

Haku groans into the kiss at the same time a small gasp escapes you. You feel him twitch in renewed interest against your core, stoking the small fire that now burns brighter between your legs. 

“That is,” he adds, voice husky, hands moving under your skirt to grope your ass, “if you can still walk tomorrow.” 

You roll your hips against his, grinning brightly. “Bet.” 

[yuukirita]

Tomorrow...

It's actually a very happy chapter if you don't know about SecondBee Au... Compared to the last chapter at least. This one will make you laugh at least once (I hope)

Hug hug (or a single nod of the head)

[privateolives]

This is probably because I grew up watching 24/7 animal planet, but what finally made the allo/aplatonic thing click for me were the nature's of big cats.

Lions are powerful, regal creatures who are uniquely adapted to pack life. They need these connections to live a healthy life; A lonely lion is a miserable creature indeed.

Jaguars are solitary, beautiful creatures who live happily solitary. They prowl their lush world with self-sufficient majesty. A jaguar is not lonely without a pack. In fact, forcing jaguars to share space with others they do not enjoy is just as damaging as forcing a lion to live alone.

A lion may choose to head out on it's own for the most part, but in the end must return to the pack to thrive. A jaguar can choose to trust and enjoy the company of others, but they never feel the need to form a pack.

Is a jaguar selfish for this? A psychopath, a narcissist or any other such horrid assumptions? Is it a less moral creature than a lion, who seeks others like it to thrive?

Is a lion pathetic, or needy, or selfish for wanting community? For requiring contact with others like they require water? For their inherent need to string complicated webs of relationships that may seem silly or dramatic to others?

Of course not. These are ridiculous questions to even ask.

They are simply lions and jaguars.

In fact, is a jaguar that chooses to spend time with you not as magical as a lion's love? For a creature that needs no bond to thrive to still enjoy your presence enough to share it a time? Is a lion who can prowl the night alone not impressive in its strength and resilience? Is it not awe-inspiring in its ability to conquer a life it was never wired for and reign still?

Are they not both beautiful and awe-inspiring in their own ways, without being wrong?

Alloplatonics. Aplatonics. Are we not both special and beautiful in both our bonds and self-confident happiness equal, in each our ways? Is there not unique beauty in lifelong bonded packs and magical encounters that need no perpetuity to carry life forward?

Are we not but lions and jaguars? Neither wrong, neither selfish, but just different and beautiful creatures in each our ways?

That's how I've come to see it, anyway.

[honeygrahambitch]

Something something possessive Hannibal is my religion BUT have we also considered post twotl possessive Will? In an "I will never let you leave" way but also in an "they starved you and tried to humble you in the last three years so I am now going to give you your power back even if you didn't lose it cause you have too much class to lose it but you get what I mean I still hate it that they did that to you even if you lowkey deserved it" way.

I would love to explore a shift in the power balance (those of you who send asks about bottom Hannibal, this is for you!!). Let us have an over protective Will spoiling a very much in love and affection starved Hannibal.

With a lot of care and time this can even be done without having them behave out of character.

[lovesickeros]

☆ even the gods bleed [ pt 4 ]

{☆} characters arlecchino, furina, lyney {☆} notes cult au, imposter au, multi-chapter, gender neutral reader {☆} warnings blood {☆} word count 3.7k {☆} previous [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ]

Fontaine was bathed in darkness, not even the moon daring to illuminate where the common man fears to walk. The streets were bleak and empty save for the constant, rhythmic ticking and clanking of machines marching on endlessly, dauntlessly wading where even the bravest dared not to venture. Not even the sharp click of the Gardes boots followed the occasional hisses of steam as they walked the barren streets.

It was haunting, and it'd been like that for days now. It showed little signs of stalling in the slightest, too. Every inch of Fontaine was practically crawling with Gardemeks– like a swarm of rats skittering about.

Arlecchino had secluded herself in the Hotel Bouffes d'ete for days at this point, waiting– biding her time. Her nails clicked against the wood as she tapped at the table in a stilted rhythm, the subtle click of the clock mixing into the clanking outside, weaving in and out of earshot as the patrols slipped by. She reached forward after a moment of thought, reaching for the white king.

She leaned back against the chaise, tilting her head just enough to catch a glimpse of a patrol of Gardemeks as they vanished behind the rows and rows of buildings. It wasn't enough to keep her attention for long, however, her features twisting in disinterest as she glanced back to the chessboard– and the letter neatly resting beside it. The seal was unmistakable and a sobering sight, demanding her attention– the soft hues of blue etched into the shape of a dragon stared back at her in a way that almost unsettled her.

She had already parsed through it's contents hundreds of times, but she was met with only vague, flowing script that only served to irritate her more then anything– it filled the page top to bottom yet managed to say nothing at all. Her hand reached out again, but instead of reaching for the letter she plucked the black rook from the board, setting it down with a soft click.

Arlecchino had all the time in the world to sit back and observe her prey, but all that time would be useless if she lacked the information to act.

And he was quite tight fisted about it, evidentially. None of her inquiries or attempts to decipher any potential codes in the letter left her empty handed. She could not act without even knowing the reason for his summons– it was almost worded like a personal affair rather then one would expect for a foreign diplomat. In truth, she'd expected a scalding report on her operatives, but it lacked any mention of anything of the sort.

She was no stranger to people masking hostility behind pretty words and compliments, not that it was ever unwarranted per se– the Fatui did not create connections through honesty and genuine kindness. They have strong armed more then their fair share of people into cooperation to the point distrust is all the Fatui are met with outside of Snezhnaya. Every word was meant to conceal the deceit, every action meant to conceal the price later paid.

So she had been..skeptical of the letter, to put it lightly. She doubted the Iudex of all people would offer a hand to the Fatui without a price attached– a trap, perhaps, meant to lure in the most powerful piece left on the board. Her eyes narrowed, reaching for a white rook and moving it to the right.

Or he was hiding something. Something that he simply couldn't risk getting out to anyone, not even the Divine themself. A tempting prize, whatever it was.

..A dangerous prize, too.

She'd considered burning the letter and forgetting it all together– the risk was great, and she couldn't risk getting caught up by whoever else the Iudex may have on his side of the board. But she could hardly pass up the challenge and the prize that he fought so hard to keep from prying eyes and ears. Even her agents came back empty handed each time. She lazily picked up a black rook, sliding the white pawn aside.

"Lyney," Arlecchino drawled, crossing one leg over the other and turning her gaze to the door as it slowly creaked open. The pale visage of Lyney stepped through, though his siblings were noticeably absent. The weariness that weighed down on his shoulders was apparent in the slightest furrow of his brows and the subtle creak of leather as he clenched his fists behind his back. "Father." He choked out, the title dragged out by the sharp inhale and shaky exhale.

He looked out of breath, she noted.

The silence that lingered after the small exchange was punctuated only by the click of another chess piece being moved. She sets aside the black rook, letting it sit among the dozen other pieces that had been wiped off the board. She can see the conviction glinting beneath the fog of exhaustion, but if he would utilize it was another matter all together.

He had seemed to make his choice quickly, at the very least.

"Our contacts and operatives within the Fortress of Meropide have gone silent– all we have is their final confirmed missive.." His voice is confident, but it is rigid as the words spill from his lips. He takes a sharp step forward, unfolding his arms from behind his back and opening his hands– the small, water stained and messily folded note catches her eye, plucking it from his palms with a half hearted interest. "They believe the Duke left the Fortress of Meropide..and that he may be coming to the Court of Fontaine."

Her eyes narrow dangerously, nearly crumpling the thin paper in her hands– yet just as quickly, she collects herself.

But she cannot get rid of the bitter taste on her tongue, lingering as she sets down the note and slides it to the side, her lips pursed into a thin line.

So the Iudex had shown one of his pieces..she tightly grasps a black rook, tipping over the white rook, letting it roll against the board.

If the Duke was involved, things were much more complicated then she expected– he would be a problem, she was certain. She couldn't blame the lamb for fearing the wolf, either. Whether her agents had been killed or captured by the man mattered little. He had his ways, and he was a force that could instill fear in even them.

Which meant the possibility that her operation was already compromised was far too real.

What had the Iudex so concerned he had gone through the trouble of bringing in the Duke and herself? The Fatui was one thing, but to specifically request one of it's Harbingers..

The Prophecy? The thought had her clenching her fist, but..no. If it were to rear it's head now, the Iudex could simply not afford to waste time on his contacts deciphering his nonsensical script– If the prophecy were to be the issue, there time would be limited to mere minutes in the worst of cases. Which meant it was worth biding his time in order to ensure absolute secrecy.

So if not the prophecy, then what?

Her next moves were..limited. She was already walking on eggshells considering her position and the reputations of the Fatui– especially with a Harbinger in the midst. If they caught wind of her operations, they'd weed out her operatives and be on guards for any snakes that lingered in their garden.

She reached for the chessboard again, picking up one of the white rooks from the board with a scowl. The sharp click as she sets down the white rook and sets aside the black pawn draws a shaky inhale from Lyney as she moves another black pawn, the dull click of the pieces drowning out the distant clinking of machines.

..A draw, perhaps.

The pieces were all falling into place– the players of this game were slowly being revealed. Whether she could secure her victory..she was unsure.

She wasn't even sure who her opponent was. Only that the Iudex himself was but another piece in their game.

Arlecchino reached for the board again, yet this time she hesitated. Perhaps she could still swipe the win from beneath them, if she played her cards right.

She would simply have to capture the king– or, if need be, let it end on a draw. Either way, she would not concede. She could not afford to concede. Down to the last piece, she would drag out this match until she was in a position to force their hand into the outcome she desired.

She stood slowly, picking up the king piece and observing it for only the briefest of moments before she set it down on the table, taking measured steps around the table and across the room. She was hunting a much more dangerous quarry today– it would be no simple runaway traitor this time.

"Do you remember the directive?" She inquired coldly, her hand lingering on the door for that long, tense moment. "..Yes, Father." Lyney faltered, taking a hesitant step back and bowing at the waist. "Then do not stray."

All that was left was the silence and click of the door shutting behind her as she disappeared down the hall, her boots clicking harshly against the floorboards. The rest of the agents knew better then to linger in her path as she stepped down into the lobby, adjusting the cuffs of her sleeves. She barely even acknowledged the Fatui agent standing at the ready by the heavyset doors, their gloves hands held out with her cloak held loosely in their palms. She quickly snagged it from them, tugging it over her board shoulders and clasping it around her throat.

With a quick tug, she brought the hood up over her head to conceal her sharp features, lifting her hand and placing a neatly folded note within their waiting hands. She had only one chance to make the right moves and secure her victory– no matter the cost.

Each piece had it's purpose.

Oft, that purpose was a bloody and horrible end– but for the grand goal of the Fatui built on the backs of the dead, it was an honor.

She didn't bother speaking a word as she dismissed them with a wave of her hand, pushing open the heavyset doors and stepping out into the barren, damp streets. The rhythmic clink and whir of Gardemeks was still distant– she needed to move. Her boots clicked and splashed in the rain soaked stone of the streets as she slithered between the buildings, ducking through the openings in the patrols.

It was almost too easy.

She tilted her head back, taking in the towering Palais Mermonia with a scowl, her hands clenched into fists. The final moves were being played– the king was within her reach, yet she felt no more confident then when she began.

The air carried a sense of unease, thick and heavy, filling her lungs until she felt her breath still in her chest– listening to the empty, bleak night that seemed so..quiet.

She'd done her fair share of research, had more then her fair share of her agents try to peer into the Iudex's office or the Archon's supposedly hidden chambers, but every attempt was a failure. She had to give them credit, they were quite elusive when they wished to be. Though now she only thought about it bitterly– this was all a risky gamble, in the end, and only time would tell if it paid off.

With minimal effort, she'd managed to pull herself to the flat, tiled roof, eyeing the massive tower peaking out of the center cautiously. At least here the wandering patrols down below weren't likely to notice her..she could hear them passing by the spot she'd been in only a few minutes ago, just beneath her. She pulled the hood further over her face, peering through the sheer darkness of the night for any oddities, but it was almost impossible to see in the dark.

Her boots clicked softly against the tiles as she approached the tower jutting out from the Palais, her hand gliding along the smooth stone, pressing against odd indents or crevices. If it was for the Archon's chambers, she doubted they made it very difficult– she'd only met the woman once, but she doubted the Iudex make it all that complex just from a brief glance. And it surprised her little when one of the stones sunk into the wall, gears whirring as the walls split open to reveal a stairwell straight into an inky black hall. Only the barest hint of light peaked under the door at the bottom, but it's occupants must have heard her, considering it went out not a moment later.

She cautiously stepped down into the small crevice, her breath visible in the bitter cold air– her shoulders tensed at the subtle sound of muffled footsteps behind the door, her vision flaring with a molten heat between her shoulder blades as she reached for the worn handle of the door. The heat of her vision was enough to just barely heat the metal, her vision flaring like a quickly building inferno.

Arlecchino was prepared for a fight, if it came down to it.

The door creaked as she pressed against it, shoving it open with a grunt of effort and surveying the room with narrowed eyes and a biting remark on the tip of her tongue– the lavish opulence was expected, she supposed, but the lack of the towering figure of the Iudex was not.

Yet before she could get a word in or even take in her surroundings properly, the light flickered back on and she had to squeeze her eyes shut with a hiss at the sudden brightness. She could hear the door being shoved closed behind her, the hurried footsteps retreating just as quickly as her eyes adjusted to the light.

..This was a joke, wasn't it? It had to be.

She'd expected the Iudex, perhaps even the Duke if she'd been unlucky, not the Hydro Archon. She had half the mind to test her worth as an Archon then and there, her temper flaring like an uncontrollable blaze, barely kept at bay. It took all her self control to force herself to smile politely at the woman rather then snarl.

"Miss Furina," She sneered beneath her hood, x shaped pupils locked onto the startled, trembling Archon with thinly veiled contempt. "What a..pleasant surprise. You'll have to forgive my manners, I assumed I was meeting with the Iudex." She observed her body language carefully– the way her eyes darted about like a frightened rabbit seeking escape, the slightest tremble of her lips..

Arlecchino opened her mouth to offer another scathing remark, but her jaw audibly clicked shut as her entire body seemed to lock up. Even her vision went cold against her back, a chilling feeling creeping up her spine as someone, or something, crept up behind her. Their footsteps were almost silent, the slight rustling of their clothes the only thing she could hear over her heart pounding against her ribcage.

Arlecchino had always prided herself on being on the other end of that sensation– she was the monster, and her target was the prey frozen like a deer between the hunters crosshair.

It was a chilling feeling to have the dynamic shifted on it's head.

She couldn't even swallow, her jaw clenched so hard she could hear it creak as she tried to reason with her quickly splintering mind– a futile effort, her joints locking up almost painfully. Black spots were quickly swallowing her vision from the lack of air in her lungs, the sound of shuffling behind her barely audible over the ringing in her ears.

For a moment – a moment too long to have only lasted the seconds that it did, yet so quick it gave her whiplash – she thought she would hit the floor dead before she could even glimpse her assailant.

And then it was gone. She came crashing back into reality with a startled inhale, her lungs burning and her knees nearly buckling under her. The instinct to lash out and kill whoever had done it was intense, yet she couldn't bring herself to move even a finger– it would be so easy to twist around and ignite them with searing flames, but her feet were rooted in place.

She almost didn't notice the surprisingly gentle hands unclasping her cloak, tugging it off her shoulders, if not for the sheer intensity of the presence still lingering behind her. Her mind was still fractured, struggling to right itself after the ordeal, and it had her seething.

"..Are you certain you held back enough?" Furina croaked, the normally soft lilt raspy and almost hoarse. "Not– not that I doubt your capability, most Divine!"

Arlecchino felt her nails dig harshly into her palms, heat swelling beneath her skin– Divine? Had she lost her mind? The Divine was..

The Divine was upon their throne where they belonged. She'd seen them!

"Hm. Well, maybe? Sorry, I didn't think it'd affect you too." Their voice was sickeningly soft as they stepped around her like she wasn't even there, focusing their attention on the Archon who seemed more then delighted about it. "What gave you that impression, most Divine? Aha, I..was completely unaffected, as you can see! Perfectly fine."

Furina let out a small squeak when they pinched her cheek, but the almost affectionate smile that tugged at their lips revealed the lack of malice behind the action.

"You're a bad liar, Furina. You might want to sit down..please?" They didn't take her protests for an answer, gently pushing her to sit on the bed before abruptly turning to face Arlecchino once more, a forced smile on their lips. "Oh, good, you're..uh, not dead. That's good. I thought I fried your brain. Sorry?"

..Had she hit her head on the way here? The Divine should still be on their throne, yet she couldn't shake the weight of their stare– it felt tangible. She felt like she was standing face to face with the stars– galaxies and constellations bearing down upon her.

She grit her teeth and clenched her hands until she felt the sting of her nails against her palms, grounding herself in the pain through the sheer overwhelming nature of their existence.

"You.." She croaks, reaching out with a shaky hand and grabbing them by the collar of their shirt, lifting them up until their feet left the floor– she pays no mind to the startled protests of the Archon. Arlecchino would crush her like a bug before she even got the chance to intervene and they both knew it. "You shouldn't exist– you aren't them, and yet you..you're the imposter, aren't you?" Her grip tightens yet they face her without an ounce of fear, meeting her unyielding glare with a pondering look.

Arlecchino wanted to make them bleed just to see if she could, the urge to sink her teeth into skin welling up in her chest to the point she visibly snarled, her mask of politeness long . "You're the imposter." Her expression falls for a moment before she schools it into one of apathy, setting them back down and holding them there for a moment, finally releasing them after a tense moment. "Or you were supposed to be."

Hers brows furrow– she wants to demand answers, to throttle them for damning them to being nothing more then dolls for the supposed Divine to break at their whim, but none of the words come to her.

"..Why now? The current Divine has been in power for years, yet you descend now?" Her shoulders tensed, lips pursed into a thin line– it's impossible to ignore the truth that lay before her. The Divine is a fraud and this..imposter is the true Divine. How many years had they been in power, now? How many years were they waiting? Why did they wait? Was the suffering of Teyvat not enough? Was the blood that painted the steps of their stolen throne not enough?

She'd personally been on the wrong end of the Divine's wrath– she wonders..had they watched? Had they seen the cruel hand of their imposter and turned their back on Teyvat?

"I.." They hesitated. It made her seethe, her hands clenching into fists at her sides– her vision flickered, flames swelling within it's casing just to be smothered by the presence of the Divine. But once that spark had been lit, she refused to let it go out. "I didn't know."

The answer does not satisfy her. There is an itch beneath her skin that she cannot scratch, a fire that burns in her chest so hot it scorches even herself.

"And what about now? Are you content to cower like prey in the safety of the Palais Mermonia?" She snapped, taking a step forward, her brows furrowed and her glare intense– she can see the slightest bit of worry in their eyes. She revels in it. "Will you let them use your acolytes like pawns? How many more need to be broken on the steps to your throne before you act?"

Again, her vision flares and dims– it refuses to be used against the Divine that created it.

"Have you no answer?"

The room is silent. They do not speak and neither does she.

Even the world itself seems to quiet in the face of her accusations, fury boiling to the surface so hot it incinerated all it touched.

"I will kill them myself."

Their words are quiet, but they are not soft– there is a vindictive, searing anger that explodes out like dying stars within their eyes. The sight of constellations replaced by a void that would not be . The smell of ichor grows stronger– to the point she feels almost lightheaded.

"..I am aware that I have failed in preventing this, but I had no choice in the matter. Still," They muse, their voice like the tolling of bells. A solemn melody that stills the swelling fury burning in her chest, if only for a moment. "I will rectify it– I will tear down their throne of lies and let not even the earth tarnish itself by burying their corpse among it's soil."

They pause for a moment, holding out their hand– scarred and bandaged by the weapons of the devout, yet still they take upon the burden of dirtying their hands to save those who did not save them.

"Do you trust me, Arlecchino?"

Did she?

"Will you help me?"

She exhales heavily, meeting the starry iris' of the Divine with a scowl still tugging at her lips. Arlecchino trusted no one but herself.

"..Yes."