#but if i have to mine and craft my way to some good looking outfits I'LL DO IT I SWEAR

[s-lycopersicum]

She is trying really hard to learn every craft in the world. Because the recipe trees in this game are insaaaane!

[theleetoalerandalertoalee]

Here’s another fic. Writing for these characters kinda sucked

It was a fun challenge though, so hopefully it’s up to par :)

Content Warning: some boring science stuff & tword content

Albedo murmurs to himself as he sketches, looking out at the snow that falls outside of his laboratory.

After a few moments, the alchemist breaks the silence, “you’ve finally arrived.”

The former Royal Guard of Khaenri’ah speaks from his post at the entrance of the lab, “yes, about those results I requested…”

“Yes, the Romaritime Flower extract has potential.”

“Do we have any other candidates?”

“Not as of now, but I have a colleague of mine on the way with a promising specimen.”

“Who is this ‘colleague’, I might ask?”

“Ah, Kaeya, the Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius.”

“Kaeya…Albreich?”

Albedo nods, “yes, Dansleif, you don’t seem as reluctant to meet him this time around.”

“I’ve had a drink or two with him back in Sumeru.”

“I see, which tavern?”

“The one south of Port Oromos.”

“Mm, interesting.”

The two stand there in silence. After a few minutes, the awaited specimen delivery arrives.

Kaeya nods to the two men, “hello, order for two?”

Albedo approaches Kaeya, “naturally, do you have it?”

Kaeya smiles, revealing a rare flower that Dainself has only seen a handful of times after the Cataclysm.

Dainslef’s eyes widen, “is that…an Inteyvat?”

Kaeya nods, “it is.”

Albedo takes the flower, resting it in a case, “this is the specimen I informed you of, Dainself.”

The former Royal Guard tilts his head slightly, “I know but…how did you get this, Kaeya?”

Kaeya smiles, “I just asked nicely, on behalf of a good friend of mine,” he pats Albedo on the shoulder.

“Yes,” said the Alchemist, “thank you, once again.”

Kaeya takes a seat in a spare chair, “of course.”

Albedo examines Kaeya as he sits, “you seem troubled, my friend.”

“Oh, it’s nothing you need to worry about, naturally.”

Dainself looks off in the distance as he speaks, “the atmosphere is heavy. Khaenri’ah is a mass grave at this point. Be grateful you’re not fated to hold onto this until Celestia falls.”

Kaeya sighs, looking depressed behind his smile, “heh, well, if you ever want to sit down and have a chat. You know, to take a load off for a bit, drinks are on me.”

Dainself looks at Kaeya, studying the Captain’s face, “I see. Well…thanks.”

Kaeya grins, “of course.”

Albedo tilts his head, “Kaeya, I have an experiment I would like to run. Are you willing to be my subject?”

“My, my, me again? Why not our new friend over there?” Kaeya nods at Dainself.

Albedo smiles and tilts his head, “I would, but I doubt the…predicament Dainself’s body is in would allow him to be a suitable subject.”

Dainself asks, “does this have to do with the Inteyvat flower?”

Albedo shakes his head, “no. The flower will have to ferment for a bit so I can confirm and explore the properties within it.”

Dainself sighs, “alright…continue your experiment, then. I will wait.”

Dainself sits down, ready to wait for however long it takes.

Albedo nods and approaches Kaeya, “so, are you willing to be my subject?”

“But of course, my friend.”

“So, just loosen up your collar just a bit…yes, just like that. I’ll take this for now,” Albedo takes the wolf’s fur draped over Kaeya’s right shoulder.

Kaeya sits there with his collar undone, the window of his outfit that revealed his clavicle was accentuated. Albedo takes a long, soft feather from a drawer in one of his desks in the laboratory.

Kaeya smirks at the feather, “I’ve never seen a feather that type before.”

“Naturally, I’ve crafted it myself.”

“Aha, I see. I assume asking about specifics would be beyond my understanding.”

“No, it would simply take a while.”

“Ah, and that’s an understatement, isn’t it?”

“Precisely.”

Albedo approaches Kaeya with the feather, lighting dragging it across his neck. Kaeya tilts his head, looking up at Albedo as a slight smile tugs at his lips. Albedo nods, watching his subject’s reactions, making mental notes of them. The tip of the feather goes up the back of Kaeya’s neck. Kaeya suddenly looks upward, scrunching up the back of his neck as he lets out a small giggle.

Albedo continues dragging the feather up and down as he speaks, “this is posterior to the spinal cavity. Your nervous system has peripheral sensors that go down the spine. It’s very common to feel sensitivity here. Due to the feather stimulating your nerves, it will put the rest of your nerve endings on alert. So, a place that originally triggered no response, will be more sensitive.”

Albedo drags the feather back along the front of Kaeya’s neck. This time around, Kaeya laughed softly, proving Albedo’s knowledge to be reliable.”

Kaeya grins, looking off to the side to project his giggles away from the alchemist.

Dainsleif watches them, expressionless, “what a peculiar experiment.”

Albedo continues studying Kaeya as he responds to the formal Royal Guard, “it’s so I can map out the nerves of the human body. I cannot do it based upon myself.”

Albedo drags the feather down to Kaeya’s clavicle, and the Captain’s giggles increase.

Kaeya speaks through his laughter, “am I- hahahaha- helping?”

Albedo nods, “yes. This is providing quite valuable results.”

After another second or so, Albedo removes the feather, setting back within the drawer it was pulled from.

“Thank you,” said the Alchemist.

“Anytime,” Kaeya snaps his collar back into place and takes his wolf’s fur drape from Albedo, rearranging it back upon his shoulder.

Dainsleif speaks up once more, “what is the status on the Inteyvat Flower?”

Albedo looks at the flower, slowly fermenting within the case, “yes. Yes, we may continue with the elixir you’ve been waiting for.”

“Good.”

“Let’s get started, shall we?”

[headingalaxys-spicy]

How about some Arthur and reader selling themselves short? He likes them and wants them physically and they are beyond shocked about thatttttttt

Here is my response to that:

Arthur had been scrolling on his phone; he’d been ogling your IG page for the past hour to ensure you didn’t have a significant other. He couldn;t understand how you did not already have someone hanging off your firm capable shoulders, but he was glad that position was still vacant. You’d met in one of your courses on campus. You tended to never really speka up. You allowed your data sets, formulas, & analysis speak for itself.

Arthur admired you so. Anytime you spoke new wisdom was being spun into his ears. He couldn;t understand why you rushed over your words and hesitated when you spoke. Whenever it was your turn to share you findings Arthur was always eager to lend an ear.

He daydreamed what it would be like to spend a full 24-hours with you. Arthur wanted to take you on a Ferris Wheel then somehow end the night with you tangled up in his sheets…struggling to keep up with the rouge pirate deep within him. Your screams would feel his fiery vigor. Hands interlaced. Hair tangled. Hearts intertwined.

As he looked up from his phone and activated his bluetooth his green eyes were greeted by you trying on a new outfit 30ft away. Arthur admired the way the new jeans hugged your butt. His pointer finger aggressively rubbed the top of his thumb. It was mean to ward off the budding heat that hit him suddenly. His eyes drank the rest of your body in. Your curves, luscious hair, and cute face… were all things he could never get enough of. Arthur wanted to be able to hold your cheeks forever within his gloved hand. He adored how your face ttrnasformed into a bright shade of ruby.

It didn’t take you long to recognize that there was a familiar blonde gawking at you. Your face felt like it had to be set alight by a match after being drenched in gasoline.

‘What in the world?! What is he dong here?’

Before you could think of a plan to try and evade him you see him and approach you at lightning speed. Arthur was eager to be near you and plunge himself within your warmth. Your eyes wide and brain slowed to a crawl. You came face-to-face with those verdant far fire eyes that greeted your (eye color) ones.

“Good-day Y/N. Heading out to a party this weekend?”

You could feel his eyes greedily take in your body and its crevices. You wanted to melt inside the new coat you’d tried on as your eyes took refuge to the marble floor below. You began to panic over the reason of why he’d come over to chat in the first place. Had you stuttered too much when you spoke? Was their an error in your latest report? Had you accidentally….

A leather-gloved hand guides your head to meet with the British man again. They had a bright shimmer that seemed to put your nerves at ease.

“Y/N are you alright? Your face is extremely flushed, love.” His thumb rubbed at one of your internally red cheeks. “Are you sure you are? If you need my assistance, I can lend you some of mine.”

“Oooh! Yeah. Yeah! I’m fine, Arthur. I’m just tired and didn’t feel like returning to my apartment yet….” Your eyes evade him much more than what you would do while in class. It was difficult for you to have his gloved hand encase your face. You didn’t know what he would want with someone who was boring and uninteresting like you. Unconsciously you began to back away so you could break free of his grip.

“Work? Why don’t you come to my place you seem a little out of it?”

“I assure you I’m fine.” Your feet suddenly are no longer propping you up. You’d taken a tumble on a rouge hanger. Arthur, of course, broke your fall, and his hands planted themselves around your waist.

‘They feel way better than I imagined. It’s like they were crafted from soft marble.’

“If you are, then why are you so skittish, love?” Blunt and bold but trying to keep you at ease. However, you were frozen like fresh lava meeting the cool ocean waters: totally feeling the heat and engulfed by the smoldering smoke created by the closeness of the two of you. Your mind was too clouded to think of a coherent reply.

Excitement coursed through the British man's veins. Arthur loved having you bound by his arms. He was getting closer to you bit by bit. At first, it began with a passionate snog. It can be innocent on the couch and nothing more has to transpire but if you’re okay with going further he’d be okay with shagging the night away.

[robynmizore]

Redemption Chapter 15:

Yours To Tame

Takumi’s reflection gazed steadily back at him as he scrutinized himself in the mirror. His hair was done up in its usual ties, so he was fully confident in that. But it was the outfit he was having doubts about. It was a black, gold, and silvery purple Hoshidan style swordsmaster outfit worn only by nobles, or princes in his case. The outfit was strongly reminiscent of his late father, King Sumeragi, and while he’d dressed in plenty of kimonos for formal occasions, he’d never worn one himself. 

I wonder if Father is watching me now.. or if he approves of my decision.

Things would be vastly different after tonight, and Takumi was determined to look the part. 

“You look beautiful, my lady.” Flora murmured as she assisted Robyn with putting on the long, silver dress, sounding a little envious. “But must you insist on wearing your cloak? I’m sure you have a lovely face that would complement such a dress.”

”I wish not to.” the Summoner replied politely. 

She had her own plans for the ball, the prospect making her heart flutter a bit. 

“Of course.” 

Flora’s hands rested gently on her shoulders as they gazed into the mirror together, an almost motherly look in her eyes. The maid hesitated before speaking. 

“..Are you meeting with Lord Takumi?” 

Robyn was relieved that her hood concealed her blush, and she forced herself not to flinch as she replied. 

“Yes.”

A small smile made its way to Flora’s lips as she turned to leave. 

“..You’ll do great.”

The flush only intensified as the door closed softly, and Robyn slowly let down her hood. The image that greeted seemed to be taken straight out of a fairytale. Her azaleas glowed gently even in the morning lights, her violet eyes bright and full of expectation.

Things will be different after tonight. But.. in a good way I hope. 

In this moment, she felt truly beautiful. But it wasn’t herself she was trying to impress. A subtle knock at her door drew her attention, and the goddess’s eyes lit up as she quickly flipped up her hood and grabbed the sheet music off her desk. Niles wore his infamous smirk as she opened the door. 

“Hey, little lady. Ready for tonight?” he drawled, and Robyn giggled softly as she handed over the papers. 

“Niles.. I’m the same height as you.”

”Not quite.” he bantered back, looking over the music. “Quite the song you’ve got there. I can already guess who this is for.”

”..You sure the musicians will be able to learn it in time and keep it a surprise?”

”I think you underestimate my craft.” the thief teased as he slipped them under his cloak. “They won’t hear a peep about it until the time is right. Especially..”

He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. 

“..Your precious Prince Takumi.”

Robyn had to fight to keep her composure as he straightened up again. While Niles had his usual “up to no good” look in his eye, there was something else there too. It reminded her of the looks Takumi gave her sometimes. 

“Anyways, I’m off.” Niles said, turning away with a casual wave, tossing the last words over his shoulder as he departed. 

“Oh.. and don’t worry about the music. Alfonse got the best of the best for Askrian musicians. They’ll learn it in time.”

Niles watched as the Summoner’s door closed behind her, then turned to give the music a once over again.

I’m yours to tame, huh? These are some pretty passionate lyrics. It wouldn’t take a detective to figure out who those are directed at.

A small sigh escaped him as he resumed walking. 

I had hoped that you would be mine, but it would seem your heart is not mine to steal. Ah well..

The Summoner may not be his to keep, but he could at least be sure she was with someone who would look after her. 

“..Are the others downstairs already?” Robyn whispered as Niles hopped down from his perch beside her. 

“..Yep. Not a soul up here. You’re good to go.”

”..Is.. is he?”

Niles peered carefully around the corner.

”Yep. He just arrived. ..You sure about this? You’re about to make quite the entrance. No taking it back later.”

”Yes.” Robyn replied with conviction.

While slightly nervous, she’d never felt more sure of anything in her life. Her white-haired, eye-patch wearing companion chuckled. 

“I’ll admit.. I was tempted to ask to sneak a peek as payment for all this, but seeing how important this is to you, I’ll restrain myself. But if you really wanna thank me.. promise you won’t back out.”

”I won’t. Thank you for everything Niles. I.. I won’t forget this.”

”Y-yeah..”

For a split second, the man Robyn had thought was unshakable actually looked.. embarrassed. She stifled a giggle as he turned to leave. 

“Alright, I’ll give the musicians the signal. Good luck out there.”

The thief vanished as quickly as he’d appeared, leaving the Summoner standing alone. Robyn took a deep breath to ease to her nerves, letting it out slowly as she let her hood fall to the floor by her feet. 

Okay.. here we go!

Where is she..? 

Takumi scanned the crowd with a frown, looking for a familiar black hooded figure. It wasn’t like Robyn to be late, and her absence only made the butterflies in his stomach flutter harder. If she didn’t show up, he didn’t know how he’d feel. 

A sudden gasp rippling through the crowd caused the Hoshidan’s head to snap up suddenly. Were they under attack? All attention seemed to be trained on the top of the stairs, and Takumi looked up to see what had succeeded in capturing the attention of the entire room, the sight that greeted him stealing his breath away. There, stood Robyn, her long flowing pink hair cascading down her body in waves, her azalea flowers more radiant than ever. Even the lights seemed dim in her presence.

She revealed her face?!

But what did this mean? Spellbound, Takumi watched as she slowly descended the stairs, her dress billowing out like a silver cloud. When her identity as Goddess of Fate had been revealed, Takumi was in disbelief, but now he could believe it. His body seemed to move on its own as he wove his way through hoards of people, the crowd seeming to fade in the background until all Takumi could see was her and those beautiful violet eyes, full of serenity, until she at last reached them. 

“Robyn.. I..”

Now that he’d reached her, the Hoshidan seemed lost for words as he reached out to caress her cheek gently. To his delight, she leaned into his touch.

”You.. you look beautiful..” he whispered. 

Robyn gazed back at him, the warmth in her eyes making his heart flutter as she traced the shoulder of his swordsmaster outfit lightly.

”And you look so handsome.” she murmured back. 

Commander Anna’s voice rang out above the startled whispers of the crowd.

”We will now begin our slow dance. Everyone partner up!”

That’s it! 

Seizing the opportunity, Takumi quickly found his voice. 

“Robyn.. Will you please accept this dance with me?”

The Summoner’s eyes lit up at his request, and Takumi was unable to keep the smile from spreading across his face as she turned and presented her bouquet of glowing azalea flowers to Elise, the Nohrian princess gasping in delight as she took them. Takumi led Robyn by the hand to the dance floor where the other heroes were gathered. 

“..Takumi?”

”Yes?”

His eyes met the familiar violet orbs, that very violet gaze the same ones he’d fallen in love with over and over again. Robyn was his guiding light, and having her here now with her hood down, gazing at him with such fondness was more than he could ever ask for.

”The song that they’re about to play is mine. I.. I wrote it for you actually.” she murmured as she stepped back to face him, eyes soft. “These are my feelings for you in song form. Please listen to them..”

Heart pounding, too stunned to speak, he simply nodded. As the sound of violins echoed through the ballroom, Takumi and the Summoner simultaneously bowed to each other. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Caledori beaming proudly as she gave him a thumbs up, and a small smile made its way on the prince’s lips. Night and day he’d trained in secret, just for this moment. Just for her. And for the first time ever, confidence instead of nerves filled him. Takumi truly believed in himself and this moment as he secured his arm around Robyn’s waist, taking her hand in his as the sound of instruments filled the air. He was moved by the intensity of her violet eyes as they gazed deeply into his own and her song filled the air. 

www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8unBXPn/

“I summoned you, please come to me

Don’t bury thoughts that you really want 

I fill you up, drink from my cup 

Within me lies what you really want 

Come.. lay me down!

Cause you know this 

Cause you know this sound!”

Takumi only had eyes for Robyn as they glided across the dance floor. There were other couples dancing as well, but none seemed to shine as brightly as the Hoshidan prince and the Summoner. 

“Is that really the Summoner?! She’s sooo pretty!” he heard Elise exclaim.

”What a lovely ball gown..” Sumia sighed dreamily, and it wouldn’t take a diviner to know she was imagining herself in the Summoner’s place, with a certain blue haired prince. 

“In the middle of the night,

In the middle of the night!

Just call my my name, I’m yours to tame

In the middle of the night,

In the middle of the night, 

I’m wide awake, I crave your taste.

All night long!

Till morning comes..

I’m getting what’s mine

You gon’ get yours, oh no-ooh

In the middle of the night,

In the middle of the night 

Oh..”

The violins blended beautifully with her voice in perfect harmony, Robyn’s emotions hitting Takumi like a wave. It left him breathlessly light, like his body was made of the shimmers that made up Robyn’s ball gown. There was a brief lull in the vocals, offering the prince a swift respite as he calmed his fluttering heart. 

“These burning flames, these crashing waves 

Wash over me like a hurricane

I’ll captivate, you’re hypnotized 

Feel powerful..

But it’s me again!

Come.. lay me down! 

‘Cause I know this

’Cause I know this sound!”

Takumi was indeed hypnotized, completely under her spell. He wished this moment would last forever, just him and her, spinning across the dance floor like it belonged to them.

”In the middle of the night,

In the middle of the night

Just call my name, I’m yours to tame! 

In the middle of the night, 

In the middle of the night 

I’m wide awake, I crave your taste

All night long!

Till morning comes..

I’m getting what’s mine,

You gon’ get yours, oh no-ooh

In the middle of the night 

In the middle of the night, oh..”

Round and round they spun to the beat of the violins, through the garden where he first heard her sing and saw her face. Robyn’s dress seemed to move with her, the glowing azaleas in her hair and dress’s waistline looking even more ethereal in the moonlight, and Takumi wondered if this was all but a blissful dream. When he first saw her face, he could have only dared to hope she’d be in his arms like this, a rush of emotions welling up in his chest. 

Robyn.. I want you to stay by my side forever..

”..Never again will you cry here alone.” he vowed fervently, and the warmth in her gaze told him more than words ever could. 

“And just call on me..

Ah.. 

Just call my name..

Like.. you.. mean.. it! 

In the middle of the night, 

In the middle of the night!”

As the song hit its peak, Takumi put both arms around the goddess’s waist, lifting her into the air and spinning her in a circle above his head. 

“Just call my name,

I’m yours to tame!”

As soon as her feet touched the ground, he lifted one arm above her head and spun her, her dress rippling gracefully as it moved with her. Takumi’s heart was singing, his cheeks flushed, and gods was her smile infectious. 

“In the middle of the night,

In the middle of the night 

I’m wide awake, I crave your taste

All night long!

Till morning comes..

I’m getting what’s mine, you gon’ get yours oh-ooh

In the middle of the night 

In the middle of the night 

Oh-oh..”

The enchanting and so beautifully intimate song at last came to an end, and they stood facing each other in the gardens. Despite the silence, Takumi felt completely at ease, not a trace of awkwardness. It was Robyn who broke the silence first. 

“..I never realized dancing with someone else could feel like that.”

Her voice was light and breathy, and when he answered, he sounded the same. 

“Yeah..”

”I didn’t even know you could dance like that. I’m impressed.”

”I had Caledori teach me.” Takumi admitted. “I.. I trained day and night.. so I could dance with you.”

”Really? That’s amazing.”

Her violet eyes lit up at the admission, and the Hoshidan actually felt proud of himself. Her eyes shifted to the window and she let out a quiet gasp. 

“Look, Takumi! They decorated the inside with lanterns!”

Curious, he turned to see the halls beautifully decorated with glowing lanterns in every shade, straight out of a fairytale. He was startled from the dreamy thoughts creeping into his mind as Robyn suddenly grabbed his hand, pulling him eagerly towards the hall. 

“Come on! Let’s walk though it!”

”Slow down! It’s not going anywhere!” he chuckled. 

He had to admit, there was something special about having her hand in his in an environment like this. The lanterns danced beautifully around them, Robyn’s silver gown glimmering under them like a sea of stars. 

“That really is a beautiful dress. Did you have Flora make it?”

”No actually.. I made it myself. I must have liked sewing in my past or something. It just came so naturally. I couldn’t believe it when it was finished.”

”Really? All by yourself?”

She nodded in confirmation, leaving the prince stunned, but impressed. The Summoner really was full of surprises. Something outside caught his eye. 

Perfect..

”Hey.. they even decorated the balcony.” he said casually. “You uh.. you want to go look?”

Robyn’s violet gaze lit up and she nodded quickly, and they walked hand in hand outside. Takumi noticed she kept rubbing the side of his hand with her thumb occasionally, making his skin tingle. The lights of the village shone in the distance, and the lanterns outside emitted small fragments of light floating around like fireflies. 

Must be magically enhanced.. Takumi mused as Robyn let go of his hand and leaned against the balcony railing with both elbows. 

“This is a truly beautiful night.. almost like a dream..” she murmured. “If so.. then may I never wake.”

The iridescent fabric of her gown glowed brightly in the moonlight, a celestial light emitting from the flowers that adorned her waist. The dragon necklace he’d given her hung from her neck like a precious jewel. He’d never seen her without it, and even now she was wearing it, and the knowledge made his chest swell with affection and his heart thudded in his chest. This was it. This was the moment. Things would never be the same after tonight. 

“Robyn I.. I need to tell you something.”

Encased in silver, shining like a moonbeam, she turned to him, her lovely pale face flushed with happiness. 

“Yes?”

Encouraged, Takumi stepped forward to caress her cheek lightly with his hand. 

“This.. may not be easy for you to hear but I..”

Just say it already!

”..When I was first summoned here, I was still struggling to accept myself. Like you I was thrown into a world where I knew no one. All I had with me was my bow, and my status as second prince of Hoshido. I was so cold and distant.. and you still accepted me. You went out of your way to make me feel at home. Like.. I belonged. From the moment I met you, you’ve been my guiding light. The star in the distance leading me home and giving me hope..”

The Summoner was listening with rapt attention, soaking in every word that tumbled from his mouth. 

“I was broken, lost, and alone.. until I met you. I know you’re the Goddess of Fate and I’m just the second prince of Hoshido.”

His hand dropped from her cheek. 

“I.. I have no right to feel this way. But I can’t deny my feelings any longer!”

His hand brushed his pocket to make sure it was still there. It was, so determinedly, he pressed on. 

“I love you Robyn. So much so that the thought of being apart from you tears me in half! Even if I must abandon my humanity and become a god, even if I have to walk to the ends of the earth and back, to the realms beyond, then so be it!”

The passion in his voice was rising steadily, and Takumi took a quick breath to compose himself, before reaching into his pocket to pull out the ring. It glowed pale in the moonlight, the crystal white azalea flower that rested upon it making the goddess gasp from the dazzling light. 

“T-Takumi that’s..”

”Yes. It’s a wedding ring. I.. had it specially made for you. Will you marry me, Robyn?”

”Will you marry me, Robyn?”

The confession was so heartfelt and so beautifully sincere, she was rendered speechless for a moment as tears welled in her eyes. She’d planned to confess to him herself, but he’d beaten her to it. And so perfectly too. Unable to resist, she reached up to caress his cheek. Hope sparked in his gaze, the hand holding the ring still extended towards her. 

“I love you too.. Takumi. So.. so much. You’re strong, brave, honest, and beautiful inside and out. With you by my side, my heart is at last at peace. I have hope for the future. So I will happily marry you and stay by your side as your wife forever. ..On one condition.”

“..Name it.”

”I.. I want you to try and accept yourself and see yourself the way that I do. As a strong, capable, and wonderful man. You are worthy Takumi. And I want you to know just how much I cherish you.”

The Hoshidan’s eyes brimmed with emotion as he gazed back at her. 

“..That’s all you ask of me? That’s all I have to do to be yours forever?” Robyn nodded, and the joy that lit his gaze was enough to melt her heart. “You’ve got it. I’ll.. I’ll try my hardest to see myself the way that you do. For your sake.. and my own. Here’s to our future!” 

With those final words, he slipped the ring onto her finger, his arms encircling her waist. Robyn knew she belonged in those arms. She was designed to be held by him. 

“I was in love with you before I even knew what you looked like..” he breathed.

A shooting star blazed across the sky, stealing her attention briefly.

Was that Mikoto? Is she watching us now, knowing that her son is happy? I’m so glad.. I could keep my promise to her.

When she turned back, Takumi was gazing at her with unwavering intensity in his reddish amber eyes. Then slowly, he leaned in. 

No interruptions this time.. Robyn’s eyes drifted closed as his lips brushed against her’s. 

Shyly at first, then deepened, his nose brushing her’s as he pulled her close. Forceful, yet gentle, her hand resting softly against his chest until at last it ended, leaving them both breathless. Takumi leaned his forehead against her’s with a quiet laugh. 

“I.. I can’t believe we just did that..”

”..Want to do it again then? So you believe it?” Robyn teased, causing the prince to flush scarlet. 

But it didn’t stop him from kissing her again, more firmly, and Robyn felt like she was losing herself in the touch of his lips. Every movement. Every breath. Every heartbeat. When he finally pulled back, he was gazing at her with such intensity as he played with a lock of her hair. 

“Robyn.. I.. I don’t want to be apart from you tonight. Or any night. Will you spend the night with me?”

”I don’t wish you be apart from you even for a moment.” she murmured, accepting his outstretched hand. 

The walk back to the prince’s room brought back a flood of heartwarming memories. The last time they’d spent the night together there, it was when he’d seen her face for the first time and had vowed to reunite her with her family and offered to take her back to Hoshido to look after her if she didn’t have a home of her own to return to. Robyn’s mind buzzed with dreamy thoughts as the door closed softly behind them. Takumi faced her solemnly, looking even more ethereal under the moonbeams that danced though his window. She was back in his arms in an instant, his vibrant hazel gaze a mix of love and something else. It was an unfamiliar emotion. One that made her want to kiss him again.

”Robyn..” he whispered, his forehead pressed again her’s, his eyes never leaving her own: “I want you. So much so my heart aches. But this isn’t just intimacy for me. This is the love I feel for you in physical form. If this is wrong.. tell me now and I won’t speak of it again. I’d never forgive myself for hurting you.”

”No.. it isn’t wrong. If anything.. this feels so right.”

Takumi’s finger traced lightly down her neck in a long, drawn out touch that made Robyn shut her eyes briefly in bliss, awakening an emotion she didn’t even know she had. She opened her eyes as he moved his hands lower, her dress and his swordsmaster outfit slipping off with ease. The longing in his gaze was clear now, and Robyn returned it, without a trace of nervousness. Lost in each other’s touch and unable to resist, the couple fell against the soft bed, Takumi hovering over her as he leaned in for another long kiss. The glowing moon bore sole witness to the soft, lingering touches, bare skin, and lovingly whispered words between gasps of passion that lasted well into the night. 

AN: Don’t worry.. we won’t get too explicit. Gotta keep that T rating after all and it wouldn’t take a detective to figure out what they were doing.  I don’t really have plans to write any explicit content of those two anyways because I feel like it would take away from the real point of this scene.. which is the portrayal of their relationship. I wanted to portray a beautiful, heathy relationship in all aspects that anyone could read. Throughout my life all my relationships have either been toxic or straight up abusive, so writing a relationship like this has been extremely validating for me. At last.. the beautiful Takubyn ship has sailed! ..In more ways than we thought 😅😂 Anyways.. stay tuned for next chapter and more artwork coming out December 31st ;3 

~Robyn 

[rhymeswithmeg]

OKay it isn't like an exact 1:1 but I felt pretty epic with my wool cape anyway! two people I talked to knew the show but didn't immediately recognize my costume as kit and there's definitely some things I would do differently/better if I had more time/money/energy.

in the process of putting this costume together i also figured out that kit has a couple variations of what she's wearing throughout the series. i based my costume mostly off of the vibes and this picture of the exhibit when willow was first released.

anyway, here's how i did it! in case this is helpful for anyone :D be forewarned, i've never done anything like this before as a costume and i haven't really read much about costuming, this is just what worked for me. i got everything second-hand, but none of the stuff is too hard to come by.

my favorite thing - the top! what i got was the Express Silky V-neck Ruched top. i LOVE the sleeves and the neckline is exactly right and this is totally something i can wear for all kinds of stuff in the future so i'm super excited about that.

2. the cloak was definitely my second favorite part of the costume because of the DRAMA. i was lucky enough to find a big sheet of navy blue wool at the thrift store, so i bought some fabric dye and dyed it black to match kit's cloak.

my cloak was definitely way bigger than kit's (mine was 60" by 90" and i'd estimate hers was like 40" by 70") but I just couldn't bring myself to cut up such a great piece of wool more than i needed (i guess that's the fiber craft enthusiast in me). to make the neck hole, i measured a foot out from the long edge in the middle and cut a hole with a diameter of 4.5" which i found was just big enough to squeeze my head through with the give in the fabric.

i think my next steps for this would be to cut the wool to the right size and line it, especially near the neckline because wool is itchy!

3. not pictured above but also pretty cool is this leather shacket-type thing. unbeknownst to me, leather (both faux and real) in sizeable quantities is pretty expensive - which makes sense in the scheme of things, but not really for this project.

4. the belt/waist cincher thing was surprisingly hard to find. and i still didn't get it quite right! this one was pretty close i think, but i wish i could find something closer. i guess i'll just have to pick up leatherworking before next year!

5. the crystal necklace! i think it's canonically jade (for obvious jade claymore-related reasons), but i just found this green one and it turned out really cute! i definitely want to learn how to make this kind of stuff because it looks so fun.

6. for pants, i just wore my black ripstop pants because they're the same texture as whatever kit has on in the show and they're also pretty comfy. i can't find the brand or tag but i think they're just black scrubs.

7. boots - if i had brown riding boots, that would have been perfect, but i did have different brown leather boots that did the job! i think boot toppers might be in order next time, but i ran out of time. i have these boots and i love them so much! not an ad, but like - they're waterproof and they make me feel like a boss bitch when i'm walking down the street so that's definitely something.

8. and then literally to top it all off, i went to the hairdressers and showed her these pictures and she was able to get my hair pretty close to how ruby's is in the show!

more costume reference photos but they're not that good because for some reason i forgot screenshots existed??

so yeah! hopefully you enjoyed- i definitely did!!

it does make me wonder-- there are big parts of the show where kit doesn't have her cloak or her sword or her bow & quiver and then she just randomly has them again? maybe i'm just not putting the pieces together or maybe it's ~magic~ oooh

i did the same thing last year for one of nancy wheeler's Stranger Things outfits so lmk if you want to see more of this. if not, i might just post it anyway because it's my blog <3

gonna be kit tanthalos for halloween and it's going to be sick so stay tuned

me in like a week:

[acepalindrome]

I’ve spent much of 2021 thus far playing Stardew Valley in the hopes of distracting myself from the horrors of reality, and I keep meaning to make a list of mods I recommend! Because I am running a truly embarrassing number of mods and there are some really great ones that really improve the gameplay or add fun content or just make everything look really pretty! So without further ado, here are some of my favorite mods:

- Lookup Anything: This is probably my favorite mod. It basically eliminates the need to have to keep consulting the Stardew Valley wiki while you play. The title says it all: this mod lets you look up anything. Need to know what’s a good present for Shane? You can pull up a list of all his loved and liked gifts, with items you have on hand highlighted for ease, plus his birthday, how many hearts he has with you and how many points you need to get to the next heart. Need to know if you should hoard that pine sap or sell it? You can pull up all the uses for it, items that can be crafted with it, anyone who might like it, community center bundles it’s used for, and how much you make by selling. How many days until your melons are ready to harvest? What items can drop from that stone in the mines? What are all the items you can make with the furnace? It’s such a fantastically handy mod and I refuse to play without it!

- NPC Map Locations: One of the most frustrating things in the game is trying to remember everyone’s schedule and then not being able to find someone to give them a birthday present or turn in a quest item. This mod shows exactly where everyone is on your map and solves that problem for good!

- Automate: This mod automatically pulls items from nearby chests into machines, so you don’t have to keep running back and forth to your furnace to pick up the finished metal bars and toss more ore in there...it just spits the finished item back into the nearby chest, pulls in whatever available items you’ve got in the chest and starts running again without you having to do a thing! Just be careful of where you place your chests and machines or you might end up processing items you didn’t want to. Luckily, you can set individual chests to not have items pulled from them.

- Fishing Made Easy Suite: I suck at fishing. I almost never bother with fishing if I don’t have a mod to make it bearable. I like this one because it has different levels of easy-ness, so you can make fishing just 25% easier, or 50%, or 75%, or 99%! And there are some other fun perks too. You want to catch all fish regardless of weather or season? Want to catch legendary fish multiple times? Want to catch prismatic shards? Go nuts.

- Stardew Valley Expanded: This mod is absurdly huge and adds SO MUCH CONTENT. New areas! New characters! New events! I was a little hesitant to start it just because I knew there was so much to the mod and was a little concerned of how well it would mesh with the rest of the game, but the characters and story and style fit in perfectly with the vanilla content. I could almost forget Andy and Sophia weren’t there all along! The purpose of the mod was to make the game feel fresh and new for people who had already played the game and that’s exactly what it does. I love it.

- Artisan Valley/Project Populate JsonAssets/Starbrew Valley: I’m lumping these together but this is a collection of mods that add a TON of new items, crops, trees, flowers, machines and recipes to the game. You don’t have to download them all! You can pick and choose the ones you want, or download the PPJA content pack to get the bulk of these mods all in one go! I personally really love Artisan Valley because it lets me make floral candles and soaps. And an espresso machine so I can make fancy coffee. And Starbrew Valley so there’s actually a fun variety of alcohol in the game.

I’m putting the rest under a cut because this is getting too long.

- Chests Anywhere: Lets you access all of your chests from the menu! You can add some limitations, like only being able to access chests in the same location you’re in, but I’m dumb and constantly forget that I was supposed to bring a present for a villager with me today, or that I wanted to upgrade one of my tools but left all my metal bars at home. So instead of having to run all the way back to my farm, I can just open my menu and switch through the chests until I find the item I need! Labeling the chests also makes this a lot easier for organization.

- Seasonal Villager Outfits: Finally, the villagers have more than one set of clothes! This mod gives them different outfits in different seasons, different weather and special outfits for holidays! It’s cute and really improves the immersion to see the villagers wearing tshirts in the summer and bundling up in the winter, and dressing up for special events! Some characters will change their hairstyle too, which I love.

- Canon-Friendly Dialogue Expansion: Gives all characters more stuff to say so they won’t just repeat the same lines over and over! Also gives them varied dialogue for festivals starting in year 2, so they don’t say the same thing every year at the Egg Festival or Spirit’s Eve.

- Immersive Elliott: Add more dialogue! Lots more dialogue! I downloaded the Elliott version of this mod because that’s who I plan to marry but I recommend looking up dialogue mods for whoever your favorite characters are (I think there’s one for almost all the marriageable candidates.) You’ll probably be chatting a lot with whoever you’re trying to woo and it’s nice to get lots of new lines!

- Stardew Foliage Redone: There are tons of mods that change the colors and style of trees and buildings and stuff but this one is my favorite. It’s very soft and earthy and pretty without being overkill.

- The Love of Cooking: Actually makes cooking fun in Stardew Valley! It adds a cooking skill, an upgradable cooking tool that lets you cook with more ingredients (at the start you can only make one ingredient dishes), a cooking community center bundle, star levels to cooked items, an animation when you cook...cooking was very bland in the base game, and this mod really spruces the whole system up.

- Medieval Buildings/Medieval craftables: Again, there are so many mods that change up the look of your farm buildings and stuff but these are really pretty and cool and absolutely my style. There’s a mod to make all the town buildings have this style too, but I kind of like keeping the town normal and just living on my mysterious and beautiful farm apart from the rest of the world. My sprinklers are magic moss covered rocks now!

- Elle’s Dog/Cat/Horse/Barn/Coop/etc animals: Super cute animal skins. They look so huggable and soft. Also one of the dog options looks like my real life dog and that’s very important to me.

- Adopt ‘n’ Skin: Pairs well with the mods above, this mod lets you have multiple dogs/cats/horses and lets you use as many different skins as you like. I’ve got four cows and they’ve all got different patterns and colors. I love it. Also Marnie starts taking in stray animals and you can adopt them from her, which is a really cute way of letting you have more pets.

- Seasonal Garden Farmhouse: Its a pinch overkill especially in the early game, but I really like this farmhouse layout. It gives you a small kitchen from the start, a bathroom you can use to restore stamina, big open windows that change with the seasons and time of day...it’s a luxury house and it’s very nice to live in!

- Industrial Kitchen and Interior/Industrial Furniture/Rustic Country Town Interiors: These mods give the interiors and furniture a more rustic style, and the last one changes the town interiors to match. There are many furniture/interior mods, so if this style doesn’t do it for you, check out some of the others! There are lots of very pretty mods!

And I’m going to stop there but that’s only the tip of the iceberg and I highly recommend looking around NexusMods or ModDrop and seeing what kind of stuff is available!

[kiddiekat-toybox]

Thinking about the first leg of my Monster High obsession, the sentimental value and stories and memories that give toys individuality, and the little ways people leave their marks on our lives even once we lose touch. So I was a teen when Monster High was in its heyday and I was friends with a couple of younger girls at my school who I would regularly play dolls with. (not gonna go into detail explaining the school model but know that when I say school I’m referring to a highly nontraditional one with kids of all ages together and basically full freedom of what to do with our time.) They’d bring their MH dolls and I’d bring mine and we’d play almost every day. 

My Ghoulia’s legs broke off one day when one of my friends was trying to remove her shoes, and we took it upon ourselves to fix her. We ended up hot-gluing her legs back on (I think it may have been as a temporary fix until I could look into something better) and, since they were no longer movable, we constructed her a doll-sized wheelchair out of whatever craft supplies were available at school, mainly popsicle sticks with empty spools of thread for functional wheels, and a piece of red fleece glued to the seat that we added black dots to to match her pants. (I’m actually still really proud of that, it was really good considering the limited supplies and improvisational nature of it. It eventually broke in a move but she had it for a long time.) I guess at some point the glue loosened and we needed a quick fix while we were playing, because I discovered today that her legs were also hastily held on by some colorful duct tape that we had had at school at the time.

Several of the dolls that I’ve had since back then still have these little handmade accessories- basic things, bracelets or leg bands or belts made of scraps of fleece or colorful duct tape. They’re things those friends made- friendship jewelry their dolls gave to mine way back in the day. So simple, just thrown together on a whim from whatever materials were on hand at school. But I’ve kept them on the dolls all this time. Those things are part of their outfits forever now for me. I haven’t seen or spoken to those girls in years, I don’t know what they’re doing with their lives, they’ve probably outgrown this interest (though I didn’t so who knows) but my Robecca Steam has this blue fleece leg band with some messy yellow stitching because once upon a time our dolls shared a story. Once upon a time we were friends and that was important enough to make tangible. And that mattered, and that still matters. 

[sif-the-tsunami]

Ok prompt! Sy is teaching you how to cook and maybe things get frisky ? 😁

Oooo I like this. Its not 100% on the nose but this is where the muse took me.

Did you want a novel? Because, I hope you like novels.

Warnings: chili with beans, sweet cornbread, swearing, smut

"Listen hear, you chicken fried fuck. If you don't like my cooking, you are welcome to eat something else at the damn pot luck!" I snap at a grumpy retired soldier who was talking trash about my chili recipe. Like always. Whenever we have a party, he has to say something about how I'm dressed, what I brought, or the beer I was drinking.

"All I'm saying here, California, is that where I'm from we don't put beans in our chili. And don't get me started on this abomination you call cornbread. Why is it sweet, why are there vegetables in my bread?" He says in his drawl.

"Because honey and roasted jalapenos taste good together!"

"I guess. You don't need to fuss so much Princess, I'll gladly show you how to make real Texan food. Make some wife material out of you." He smirked. I think he knew he was getting under my skin.

"Come on, Sy, give her a break. Take a bite of her cornbread with the chili, they are delicious together." One of our mutual friends told him when he could see that I was not having any more of his attitude.

I walked away from the conversation, feeling incredibly salty. The man was Syverson, we had been in the same group of friends for the past couple years and honestly he was usually at least cordial with me, but the sheer audacity of his tone today. The rest of the party was really fun, at least. Occasionally, I would catch eyes the color of the ocean after a storm staring me down. He kept looking like he wanted to say something to me but I would find reasons to leave the room. Fortunately there was always a way to get out and around.

Towards the end of the evening, I go outside to enjoy the cooling air and watch the stars, listen to a couple of the guys from inside sit on the tailgate of a truck and talk about football or something. The breeze would kick up occasionally and I could smell an orange tree blooming in the distance.

"Hey, oh shit, I didn't mean to startle you." I jumped damn near out of my skin when the grump showed up out of nowhere. "I actually really wanted to say that I'm sorry, I can be a real asshole sometimes. You are usually more aware of it than others. I'm used to giving people a hard time. Your food was delicious. I just don't know how to talk to you sometimes."

I looked at the large man skeptically. I'm not used to people going from snarky to nice to me. "Thank you for apologizing. Glad you liked it, Chicken Fried. You can just talk to me like anyone else, I don't mind some teasing, but you just know how to push my buttons."

Sy looked at his feet for a moment. "I will be nicer to you, I promise."

"I'm sure." I had heard that before.

"I still think mines better," back to sounding arrogant already, "I am willing to bet that it would blow your mind."

"Do you really want to bet?"

"Yeah... sure. I'll bet you. If my chili it better than yours.... you have to go on a date with me."

"Is that how you get most of your dates these days? Tinder just isn't cutting it anymore?" I tease. He is actually kind of good looking. Sort of. If you are into that hand crafted by the gods kind of look. I'm not saying I am, but I could get the appeal.

"You'd be surprised. Most of the women I meet want to figure out what's wrong with me. Almost 40, never married, I have a job I like. They keep waiting for my skeletons to come out of the closet. Like shit, girl, I just don't like olives or sweet relish. I think I'm pretty cool otherwise." He said talking with his hands out stretched. I think he might have been being earnest with me, but his tone is almost always sarcastic.

"You were in the military, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's what's wrong with you." The big man started laughing harder than I thought he would.

"Well, California. You up for it?"

"I don't know Chicken Fried, I don't like dating, I would really just like something casual, low maintenance. What happens when I win?"

"When?" He chuckles. "If you are looking for something casual and low maintenance, baby, there is a reason when I was still in the Army they called me Captain Cunnilingus."

"It sounds like either way you win." I smirk, "I would need a real incentive to try to beat you."

"How about bragging rights?"

"If I win... you shave your beard. Then I get to use your face as a chair." He looked shocked.

"Fine, when I win, you have to wear a dress on our date, and heels. Maybe even some of that shit you all put on your lips with the glitter and fruity flavors."

"Ok, now that's unreasonable. I don't even own heels."

"I'll buy you some." Well color me impressed. We decide on the terms of the bet. We would invite a couple of friends over to his place next Sunday and they would pick a winner with a blind taste test. We would also have one canned chili and one restaurant chili to make it a little more interesting.

Sunday came, and we all gathered in his house. This was the best batch of chili I have ever made. Fresh peppers, bacon, beer and some good quality beef all swam together in a symphony of flavors. When I walked into his house, the smell was... pungent. I could smell cooking vinegar. It wasn't bad but there was something just a little off putting.

"Glad you showed up, Princess." He looked me up and down. to surprise him just a little, I did show up in a dress. I figured a special occasion needed a special outfit.

I looked over at the big man as he took my slow cooker from my hands and plugged it in for me. To be fair to both of us, we had enough time to set up sides and toppings. I even baked more cornbread. Sy made his own savory cornbread that he pulled out of the oven in a cast iron skillet.

"It was my mama's." He told me when I asked about it.

"You bake also?"

"Sometimes, if the mood hits me. I like making peach cobbler too. If you are lucky, I'll make you some. Maybe after our date."

"So sure of yourself, Chicken Fried. I hope you got some good shaving cream and a new razor, you'll need it." In his kitchen, I lifted the hem of my sundress clear up to my naked hip showing him that I was ready to win this bet of ours. His pupils blew out with lust as he stepped up to me.

"Princess, you are a hell of a tease. I have wanted you so badly ever since the first time we met." He breathed, lusty and hot. He pinned me to the counter, radiating his desire. He bit his lip, looking me up and down, he looked like he wanted to kiss me or maybe consume me whole. Suddenly he pulls away, leaving me breathless. "We will have company soon. I need to walk this off, but I really do want to continue this conversation when we don't have to risk being interrupted."

Before anyone could walk in on us, Syverson rushed up to me and kissed me more passionately. My knees buckle for a second and its like I've been set on fire.

When our friends came into his house, he set up bowls, spoons, Fritos and cheese. He set up blind tastings for the guests, only he and I knew what everyone was eating.

The canned chili was a flop. The restaurant chili was a better batch but it wasn't as good. When our friends tasted my chili, they all keep saying how wonderful it was.

Then we tried Sy's. Everyone was quiet for a moment and then the group started to try to figure out what it was about the chili that we didn't like. It was too sweet as far as I was concerned and there was a weird aftertaste. It was an overwhelming agreement that Sy's chili was terrible. After we cleaned up his kitchen, Sy was pouting about having lost.

"So, when would you like for me to shave my beard?"

"Maybe later tonight. I think we have to finish that conversation we started earlier."

"Oh yeah, California?" He said, standing close to me. He grabbed me by my hips and lifted me to the counter top. I lace my fingers through his beard hair and pull him closer so I can finally kiss him again. He broke away from the kiss and then started nibbling on my neck. His hand found the seem of my dress and he slid his hand up my thigh. When my skirt was pushed up to my hips exposing my sex to him, he leaned me back. I watched him look at my core and lick his lips like a man starved.

"Wait a second. Before you start, what was going on with your chili? Did you throw the bet?"

"No, not at all." He looked at me confused. "I don't know what happened, I've made this a bunch of times and its always been good. This was terrible."

"Did you do anything different?"

"Well. I was out of tomato paste, so I used ketchup. A buddy of mine suggested it."

"Oh my god, Sy. No wonder! Thank god you are pretty, my guy." I tease.

"Your guy? I like the way that sounds. Now lean back, Princess. I'm going to try to convince you to let me not shave."

[nervoustoastthing]

I think I’m gonna go relationship for the two ocs I was talking about buuuuuuut I have another qpr planned in the “partner in life” type way ;)

here’s some physical descriptions of the characters (including some photos off of Pinterest)

Caspian:

Brown skin with black dreads. Small gray hairs in his facial hair despite his age. Medium amount of facial hair. Very dark brown eyes, nearly black. Large eyebrows. Small piercings.

First photo is exactly what he looks like. Suits are his usual wear, but this is what I usually see him in.

Cordelia:

Brown skin with French curl braids. Afab but got top surgery. Large brown eyes. Large lips. They usually wear skirts and go topless.

Couldn’t find one of a face and the hair style I wanted :( so I hope my description was good enough!! Skirts of all kinds of styles!!

Rome:

Latino, always has his hair buzzed and dyed. Green eyes. Bushy eyebrows, he doesn’t dye usually and are naturally dark brown. No facial hair other than a few dark hairs above his lip and on his chin. Many many piercings. Top surgery tattoos that look like an animal jaw.

He usually wears his jacket with something like a crop top and baggy dark wash jeans. Also on the jacket has an embroidered cheetah, mid sprint, on the back as it is his “sacred animal”. (Remember his people think he’s divine)

Agatha

Dark brown skin. Warm brown eyes. Clean eyebrows. Chubby. Usually wears long, flowing, dresses because she likes the twirls it makes when she dances.

Practically exactly how I see her. Usually a longer dress but this is pretty much her usual dress.

Virgil:

Caucasian, brown hair. Bushy eyebrows. Dark blue eyes. Spock ear (means pointed/slightly pointed). No facial hair. Scar on his throat covers the entire front of his throat. Always has dark eye bags and tired eyes.

Hair is usually pushed up a bit more. Outfit is usually how I imagine him.

some miscellaneous things:

Virgil is a smoker. More in detail, a nervous smoker (this will be important later!!). Rome wasn’t born blind in one eye, it was more so during the annual brawl a corner of his opponents armor got shoved into his eye and ruined the it. They were able to save the eye itself and he can only see from a very small blurry spot in the edge of his eye. The eye is a murky gray around the parts of the pupil that are still there. (That’s why only leather armor is allowed now). Cordelia was born deaf in one ear and uses a hearing aid (She is not entirely deaf, hence why the aid works). No homo/transphobia in this universe!! Top surgery and the gender affirming care is free and easy to get.

religion:

not all kingdoms have a religion, in fact most don’t! rather most of them just believe in certain legends (that may or may not be legends 👀) unique to each kingdom! metallum is heavily based on religion so I’ll go a bit more into depth (and I might tell you some specific myths if you ask 👀).

the people of metallum believe in three major gods. the god of mining and war, the goddess of trickery and intelligence, and the guard. buuuuuut… these gods are animals in their mythology and beliefs. the gods are also the gods of different things, such as the sun, the stars, etc. the war and mining god is named after the hero, Ulysses. the goddess of trickery and intelligence is named after, Gorgo, the intelligent queen. the guard is named after the loyal dog, argos. Ulysses is a brown wolf, gorgo a black cat, and argos a brown wolf as well (but he is always wearing yellow armor). here’s a full list of what everyone is the god of:

Ulysses, god of:

war, mining, sun, crafting, order, gold, forge, and, falcons. also “king” of the gods. sometimes referred to as order.

Gorgo, goddess of:

trickery, intelligence, stars, chaos, serpents, iron, crows, and, transformation. sometimes referred to as chaos.

Argos, god of:

guardians, protection, weather, and loyalty. sometimes referred to as the guard.

a common symbol throughout metallum, (also the seal of metallum) is Ulysses and gorgo in battle with suns as Ulysses’ eyes and the two stars as gorgo’s eyes. Ulysses’ brown pelt is streaked with orange fire and gorgo’s fur is peppered with stars. Ulysses is mid air in a pounce, his claws extended. gorgo is in a low attacking stance, claws digging into the ground.

another common symbol is a falcon with a snake in its talons, but the snake wrapped around its throat. this depicts Ulysses and gorgo as the falcon and the snake. it represents the constant battle of order and chaos, and without the balance of the two, we would have nothing.

argos is a believed to be resurrected as a real brown wolf that protects the ruler. he is neutral in the war between order and chaos, rather he watches over and intervenes when one is overpowering the other. a symbol of argos is an eye with a star pupil and a iris make of the flames.

every ruler (or soon to be ruler) on their 14 birthday is chosen one of the gods. (pls pls pls ask about the ceremony). the blessings are hard to tell what the ruler will be like, unless it’s a blessing of argos. blessings of argos are extremely rare and mean an imbalance in order and chaos. it represents a rule full of change and puts a huge burden on the ruler’s shoulders to find out what to fix.

religion isn’t forced but you may be confused or left out of activities because a lot of them are old games to please the gods. (If you’ve ever read warriors think mothwing). (might tell you about the games if you’re interested 👀)

that’s all for metallum rn!

hope you enjoyed this post that went way off the rails 😭!!

Hello lovely, tell me about your ocs please. :D

I’m so so so so so so sorry I didn’t see this until now!!! Here’s some about the kingdoms and their rulers :)

VALORYN

The war kingdom. Known for aggression and brutality. They train from very young ages. The people of this kingdom were mostly born there, with little to no outsiders allowed. They don’t have a main religion, rather that they give offerings to their king. They are ruled heavily by a king. The people are relatively alright with their ruler, with small amounts of backlash. 

LUNARIS VALE

The modern kingdom. Also known as the nocturnal kingdom. The kingdom is inhabited by people who are either former nomads or people who left the other kingdoms. Rather than a Ruler reigning over them, their Ruler represents them and the citizens rule themselves. There is no backlash due to this. They don’t have a single culture or religion either.

METALLUM

The mining kingdom. They mine mostly for iron and gold. Their kingdom is relatively rich. Their king is believed to be a messenger of their gods and a minor god himself. Their kingdom is based heavily on their religion. They also host a major brawl which is attended to by nomads, citizens, and others alike. Hunting dogs they train are also their pride. There is little to no argument with the king.

SYLVAN SERENITY

The peaceful kingdom. Also known as the earth kingdom. A kingdom made of mostly natural material and taken over by nature. It’s cool due to the large canopy. Vines snake around and inside out of buildings and roads. Animals are at peace and work with the inhabitants. It’s a war-free place where all are welcome to rest for a while or stay and help the kingdom flourish. Their queen is beloved by all with zero uprising. No religion is forced.

SIRENVEIL

The ocean kingdom. Also known as the kingdom of trickery. The people there are tricky and cunning. They can either be your best asset or your biggest fear. The people are especially skilled in traps. It is widely believed that they have the power to convince people when speaking a certain way but this has neither been confirmed nor denied. Their king is fair but angry and the people have very little problem with him. Religion is not a big thing.

RULERS

VALORYN KING

Lord Caspian

-Always dressed up

-usually very cold to people

-Short temper

-Destructive when angry

-loves to weld

-he/him

-6’1

-37

LUNARIS VALE RULER

Ruler Cordelia

-likes to wear dresses a lot

-very kind

-suspicious of nearly everyone

-deaf in their left ear

-loves to make bracelets

-they/them

-5’6

-34

METALLUM KING

Lord Rome

-trans ftm

-likes to dye his buzz cut with different designs

-blind in his left eye

-extremely kind but does have a crazy smile

-short temper

-he/they

-6’5 (no one knows how)

-25

-main main character

SYLVAN SERENITY QUEEN

Lady Agatha (called Agatha by her people)

-extremely trusting

-extremely giving

-loves to make homemade earrings

-best friends with Rome

-great dancer

-she/her

-5’4

-28

SIRENVEIL KING

Lord Virgil (called Captain Virgil by his people)

-large scar on throat from assassination attempt

-Spock ear

-loves to carve wood

-very snappy

-rough exterior but very kind and soft on the inside

-he/him

-6’3

-26

-main main character but his pov later

Lord Rome and Captain Virgil are my favorites and will be the most important characters :). The plot mostly about the problems of the kingdoms but it focuses on the war captain Virgil started.

half of me wants to tell you everything even the plot twists but another part of me wants to keep as much secret as possible.

I can’t decide if I want two characters (I won’t name to prevent spoilers) in a relationship or a qpr. a relationship would cause more problems they’d have to solve but also solve A LOT of the problems they have rn. whereas a qpr would cause different problems that would be easier to solve, they wouldn’t have as much character development and character arcs that route. I feel like the problems of the relationship would make it stronger than the qpr in the end. I’m leaning relationship but I haven’t decided.

[jade-parcels]

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The bunnies’ other jobs!

From my bunny cafe au

((I am so peeved :((( I had this all written out!! And I deleted it by accident!! Darnnnnn!!!))

Anon asked “You mentioned that some of the bunnies have day jobs so do they all have jobs outside the cafe or just a few?” (Something along these lines…again…I deleted it by accident 😔)

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Diluc/‘Angel’

After his father got bored with the wine industry, he passed the whole company off to Diluc on his 18th birthday in order to shift his focus to mining. Diluc found himself swamped with all kinds of business decisions while just barely being an adult. He expanded the company and hired some very trustworthy people to handle things for him so he could finish college

When the business was given to him, Diluc and Kaeya had an explosive fight over it. Kaeya felt like he deserved to have some say in what happens to the business, he’s still a part of the family! But Diluc refused to let him in on any decisions so Kaeya packed his bags and left (not before cussing him out in front of their father, staff and business partners). He was just in a silly, goofy mood. They’re fine now, not on the best terms but they do chat and meet up for lunch on occasion.

He is filthy rich, he couldn’t spend all of his all of his money if he tried, so he doesn’t really need the job at the cafe! Kaeya got him the job because he knew his brother was stuck in a weird, antisocial funk and needed some fun in his life

Diluc loves this job, he has a great time, but it isn’t his main job. His priority will always be the family business!! If he has to quit his job at the cafe, he would in a heartbeat

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Kaeya

Kaeya was going to go into the police academy but was scouted out by a modeling agency. They had seen him at Ragnvindr company events and thought ‘well damn’ so they gave him a pretty generous deal

Kaeya makes a good living off of modeling, the tips and paycheck from the cafe. He rakes in cash pretty quickly just cause he knows how to get it. That, and his dad sends him checks every other month as well. Kaeya thinks of it as ‘I’m sorry’ money. He isn’t wrong

He doesn’t travel much for modeling, which he doesn’t mind, so he kinda just hangs around the city with a lot of free time on his hands between photo shoots. That’s why he got this job at the cafe! It gives him something to do and it’s fun as hell ;)

Albedo

Bedo is one busy bunny. He finished college early and is getting his masters degree online. He works most days at the cafe and on the weekends, he tutors other college students in bio/chem/science related subjects

(He was actually Xiao’s tutor back when he was failing chemistry!! Xiao is very thankful for Albedo’s help!!)

His dream is to become a biochemist, he’s always been interested in cells and what makes up living beings. So having a career in that field would make him the happiest man alive

His mother and sister live outside the city in a more rural area so he spends a lot of time FaceTiming the two of them! Klee is always so excited to hear about Albedo’s experiments or the people he’s met while working in such a bustling, fun city :)

Zhongli

Zhongli is a simple man! He’s a bunny waiter and an artist

He creates intricate pieces based on folklore from different cultures, focusing mostly on dragons. His favorite medium is paint, he loves painting on glass and layering the panes in order to create a 3D piece

He sells his works to galleries, shops and anyone who wants them! As long as they appreciate the story behind the artwork. Sadly…He undersells his work. He could def be making more money but he just does not desire money or material goods the way others may

So he got his job at the cafe in order to help out his dear friend Ningguang, not for money, he only planned on working there for a month or two until she got more bunnies but…he ended up really loving the people he works with :’) he looks forward to working with them now and texts/calls them outside of work to meet up for lunch or bowling (such an old man thing to do omfg)

Dainsleif/‘Sweetie’

Dain was a bouncer at another bar before leaving to come to Celestia’s! He’s good friends with Beidou, they belong to the same motorcycle club so when she was talking to him about the lack of security at the cafe/bar, he stepped in to help out

Little did he know…he’d actually become a bunny…And like it

This is his full time job now, he doesn’t have another for the time being. While he is a bunny at the cafe, he still keeps an eye out for any threats to his coworkers and has access to the offices upstairs (Ningguang’s office and the security office)

When he isn’t waiting tables, he’s upstairs in a tank top and sweatpants keeping an eye on the security cameras and talking to the other security guards through their ear pieces

Ajax

Ajax is a student who doesn’t really have much time on his hands

He mows lawns in the summer and he’s quit his job as a cashier to come work at the cafe! He mostly works night shifts his cause he’s still going to school aaaaaand he’s on his college’s swim team! He’s about to graduate so he works close with his coach to help train the others on the team

He doesn’t really want his family knowing that he skips around in a skimpy bunny outfit and fucking customers most nights but I mean…They’re bound to find out if they see him in pictures people post

Xiao/‘Tofu’

Xiao is an art student!! He wants to be a tattoo artist :)

He’s already got one sleeve of tattoos, it’s unfinished but you can’t really tell just by looking. When he isn’t at the cafe, he’s either in class or shadowing Ganyu, his best friend and tattoo artist. Their art styles greatly differ, she focuses her craft on cutesy, colored tattoos, but she is skilled. And Xiao looks up to her

Xiao admires Zhongli too, they met at the cafe and when Zhongli found out Xiao wants to be a tattoo artist he told him that once he’s licensed, he wants to get a tattoo from him :’)

Baizhu/‘Honey’

Baizhu is a (mostly) full time pharmacist, hence why he isn’t usually at the cafe

He also has a niece, Qiqi, who he babysits often. He loves her very much so he has no problem watching her! Baizhu will even bring her to the pharmacy with him when he’s swamped with work. In the break room, he has a play kitchen, coloring books and a bunch of puzzles to keep Qiqi occupied while he works :)

When he’s not at work, he’s at home resting. He has chronic pain flare ups in his back and shoulders that can make life miserable :( he has plenty of good days that outweigh the bad! And as a pharmacist, he has access to any medicine he needs to make his life easier!

Dottore(Alain)/‘Doc’

Alain’s an oral surgeon who’s a little bit….too into his job

He isn’t phased by blood or gore so he’s easily able to conduct procedures that would make other squeamish. He’ll pull teeth, put in dental implants, remove rotten tissue, any of that without even flinching

Outside of that, he works at the cafe. He wears a mask in order to avoid being recognized even though at his job as a surgeon, he’s usually wearing a medical mask anyways. It’s just a precaution

This has nothing to do with his career but he used to be a tap dancer and actor so he’d join in on local theatre shows! He helped build sets when he wasn’t rehearsing. He doesn’t have time for that anymore (which kinda makes him sadddd) but he has all kinds of theatre playlists on his phone and in his car that he’ll sing along to

Scaramouche/‘Boss’

Scara’s job at the cafe is his main job! His side job is something you may not expect from such a grump

He works at an animal shelter! In fact, he brings cats home to train so they have an increased chance of being adopted. Someone is more likely to adopt a potty trained, socialized cat than a feral cat who doesn’t know what a litter box is. So Scara brings them to his apartment for some one-on-one socializing, training and cuddling

One time he offhandedly mentioned working at an animal shelter while he was working at the cafe and sure enough, three separate customers from the cafe came by to adopt!!! Only one actually took an animal home but he was still surprised that those people had listened to him and cared enough to come by

Scara is a jerk most of the time but when he’s at home…by himself…With a lil kitten sleeping in his lap while he plays games on his PC…Yeah, he softens up a bit

So as you can see, we have a very diverse group working at the cafe! They’ve all learned a lot from each other, come to appreciate each other’s friendship and come to help each other out when one of their coworkers is in need or upset.

[anemo-writes]

hello travelers! i’m sorry for the late of inactivity recently, i’m working on some of my one-shot requests and obviously that will take a bit longer than writing headcanons; anyways, the genshin impact characters would like to wish you a very merry christmas!! the rest of the characters are below the cut to avoid clogging, so be sure to check them out too<3 happy holidays everyone, stay safe!

much love,

~ anemo-chan <3

The (Playable) Genshin Impact Characters Wishing You a Merry Christmas

Albedo: Merry Christmas. Ah, that reminds me—I hope that you do not mind, but I have sketched a portrait of you and want to give it to you as a gift. When did I do this, you ask? Why, it was during our time together in Dragonspine. It would have been a shame to not create something to remember one of my fondest memories, no?

Amber: Hey! Happy Christmas—Oh, I meant merry Christmas. Anyways, I have a gift for you! I noticed your glider was getting a bit worn out, so I got you a new pair; why don’t we go for a test run together? What? Oh yeah, gliding in the snow probably wouldn’t be the best idea, would it?

Barbara: Hehe, do you like the dress I’m wearing?—I made it myself! Oh, that reminds me, I made you a matching outfit to go along with mine when we go caroling together—huh? You’ve never been caroling before? No worries, Idol Barbara will teach you all you need to know!

Beidou: Yo~ Merry Christmas! How does the ship look? The crew and I spent the last week trying to decorate it accordingly. Say, how about you aboard the ship and join us for a few drinks? There’s nothing like a few mugs of eggnog on Christmas!

Bennett: Merry Christmas! Huh? What am I holding behind my back? Haha, well it was actually supposed to be your present...until I accidentally squashed it when I tripped walking out of the store, that is. Maybe I should’ve asked for extra luck for my presents this year...

Chongyun: Merry Christmas. Please accept this gift of a flower made of never-melting ice—I carved it myself. Yes, I partook in an ice-carving class when I was younger, so I suppose it does look somewhat like a professional’s; I hope to grow better at it, however. Perhaps I’ll gift my next creation to you, if you do not mind.

Diluc: Merry Christmas. I hope you do not mind if I gift you a bottle of a new line of wine we are producing at the winery—if you happen to enjoy it, do not hesitate to let me know; we have plenty of other bottles and I would be happy to give you another bottle or two. Ah, there’s no need for you to gift me anything back; your presence is a gift enough already.

Diona: Would you mind trying this special batch of eggnog that I made? It’s non-alcoholic, so hopefully my father—I mean, you won’t be able to taste the difference. That is, only if you want to—it’s not like I’m asking you to do me a favor or anything! Oh, and merry Christmas...

Fischl: Well, if it isn’t the merriest of the holidays! It won’t do to prepare a present that you would possibly not like, so please allow me to accompany you on a journey to find a gift of your deepest desires! Come, you have my full attention—what is it that you wish for?

Jean: Merry Christmas. It is another joyous occasion to celebrate. Ah, I apologize—I haven’t had time to buy you a gift. Why don’t we go together to find something you’d like? Please do not care about the price, see it as something I must repay you for for not having it wrapped and ready for you to open already.

Kaeya: Merry Christmas. You don’t happen to believe in Santa, do you? Oh, you do? Now now, that is very interesting. Haha, of course there’s no harm in believing in such a legend; that is, unless you’ve been naughty this year? Who knows what Santa does to bad little boys and girls...

Keqing: Merry Christmas! Here is a specially-crafted latern fueled by a part of my Electro-vision; it’ll never run out of charge, so please use it on your journey to light up the darkest of your days. I truly hope you enjoy it, and may the next year be filled with better luck and prosper.

Klee: Merry Christmas, best-friend! Here, look! Mm, it’s a bomb I made especially for you—it’s shaped like an ornament. Isn’t it the best? Don’t let Jean see though!! I’ll have to go solitary confinement for weeks if she catches you with one of my latest creations!

Lisa: Merry Christmas, cutie! As a gift, I’ve crafted you an amulet to match with one I’ve made for myself, so be sure not to loose it! It’ll look bad on my part, and we don’t want that, do we now?

Mona: Ah, the starry night always look brighter on such a merry holiday, don’t you think? Oh, that reminds me—here, take this. It’s an object to help you look for certain gems along your journey; it will glow when near, so be sure to keep an eye out. Once you find it, polish it well, and it will shine as bright as the night sky.

Ningguang: I would like to wish you a very merry Christmas. However, I was not too sure on what to get you as a gift, so please enlighten me on your preference. Go on, I am listening; anything will do, if it is to your liking.

Noelle: Merry Christmas! While it is a very merry day, it is bound with overwhelming errands and things to do—but fear not, your dutiful maid is here to serve you! Purchasing presents, wrapping them, or whatever else you would like me to do, I will do it—I am yours to serve for today, so please do not be shy to ask me to perform a task today.

Qiqi: Merry...Christmas? Yes, I believe that’s right. Baizhu told me that during these times friends often gift each other things, so I have brought you a bag of herbal medicine to use during your adventures because we are friends.

Razor: Ah...it is holiday today? Christmas...it does not sound familiar to Razor. But if you celebrate it, Razor is more than happy to celebrate with you; come, we will go hunting to prepare for our feast tonight.

Sucrose: Merry Christmas! Take a look at this, I’ve finally perfected the formula to this potion of mine! What does it do? Well, I’m glad you asked—if everything works accordingly to the plan, it’ll formulate a box of your most favorite memories of the past year into a physical memento! Doesn’t it sound wonderful?

Tartaglia: Hohoho~! Merry Christmas, comrade! Oh, that reminds me!—Teucer has been asking about you recently, so why don’t you join us for dinner? I’ll even escort you to Snezhnaya myself—perhaps we can even find some enemies to kill along the way. Haha, surely you won’t decline such an invitation?

Venti: Merry Christmas, dear friend! What is it that I’ve prepared for you on this joyous holiday, you may ask? Well, you’re in luck—I’ve written a new song just for you! Hehe, don’t worry about repaying me back, this song is completely free! Generous, I know! If you want to help though, make sure this song is passed down for multiple generations—I spent a long time writing it!

Xiangling: Merry Christmas! Look, look! I’ve prepared the two of us a whole feast for tonight’s dinner—what’s the bandaid on my finger, you ask? Oh, it’s no biggie, I accidentally cut myself while chopping some of the ingredients—oh, forget it! Let’s dig in! Be sure to tell me which one is your favorite; I’ll add to the menu at the restaurant!

Xingqiu: Merry Christmas, my liege! I have brought you one of my most treasured books as a gift for this joyous occasion; there is no need for you to return it! It is for your keeping. May the next year and years to come be filled with prosper and mirth!

Xinyan: Woohoo, it’s Christmas! What a rockin’ excuse to shred some Christmas tunes, amiright? Oh, you’ve got a pretty good voice if I do say so myself! Say, why don’t you join me up on stage today? I’ll play guitar, and you sing! That’s sure to rally up a crowd!

Zhongli: Merry Christmas—although I am not too familiar with the exchange of gifts, I have collected a rare flower for you which is native to Liyue only, and only grows during this time of the year. I hope to be able to exchange gifts with you next year as well.

[tenelkadjowrites]

What I loved about AK especially was how understanding they both were of one another. Such an odd pairing, yet they worked. There was no judgement really. Seonghwa teased Y/N for her "church" outfits, but he still liked them, not only in THAT way, lol but he admired her for not being afraid of being different. And Y/N was supportive and encouraging towards the way Seonghwa presented himself as well.

I really appreciated their dynamic and I'm glad you can see that you've done a great job. (Don't get me started on how many times I read a certain collar scene...)

Yes to everything you said about writing, because that should be a general rule and something writers need to remember. It's not always easy to stick to it and not feel pressure either external and/or internal, but in the end this isn't work, it's a hobby that should mostly bring pleasure.

So true about Seonghwa, see I draw and at this point I'm unable to draw anyone else than HIM. I may attempt to draw another person, but nope, swerving right to Seonghwa. It's a curse I think... but he is very inspiring what can I say.

I finished AITD! I had to read it twice, because originally I stayed up late and stopped reading after the restaurant scene despite not having much words left, but my eyes were about to fall out. 💔 I wanted to pick it up from there the next day, but realized I read everything so quickly I didn't give it enough thought. Anyways, that Blue Hawaii reference, I see you. I started giggling at the Lisa part, lmao. And not him throwing up, noooooo, but points for realism for sure, hahahha. Most importantly I enjoyed the fic, it has ended the way I predicted, I knew Hwa's parents would try to pay Y/N off. It's a shame he was ready to believe them, I can't blame him too much, but it's still sad. The running in the rain to see the love of your life reminds me of that one scene in Bridget Jones's, I don't know if you've seen it.

I'm looking forward to more Hwa content. Are there any AUs in particular you want to explore? Omg this ask is long, I'm shutting up now!

i loved creating the sort of odd couple pairing in AK. it was fun to write and i wanted to make it clear that they both adored one another for how they were even if they looked like a strange pairing in public. the reader never judged hwa for his past, for sleeping with many people and hwa never judged her for the sort of cutesy demeanor and style of dressing. like you said, it was always based off a mutual respect for one another that was really important to me.

writing is truly my one big love. i've written stories, poems and journals since i was a little kid. i can't imagine ever not writing. it is really just my passion and anytime someone enjoys a fic of mine i am really happy that my love of writing shines through.

my basis of AITD was that i really wanted to have a typical "romcom" type finale. i had the finale in place before i even planned the rest of the fic. i wanted to make sure that throughout the fic it was evident hwa was going to struggle with the relationship he had with his parents and that he would be too afraid to fully let go until it reached a boiling point. the entire fic sort of flowed towards the finale of the 3rd act fight, the discussion with his father and the racing towards the restaurant to stop hwa. the fic really built itself around the final act. (which is common with my longer stories, i always seem to figure out the ending first and use that as a lighthouse to craft the rest of the plot.) i am really happy you enjoyed it so much and thanks for taking the time to read it.

i have SO many fics ideas and AUs i want to explore that it overwhelms me. i think my next few fics will just be a lot shorter and simpler, most likely some good old fashioned smut with just a little plot lol. i have a few different ideas for longer fics bouncing around in my head but AITD took 3 months to write so most likely just some shorter fics ahead for now. (i say this but if i get an idea that really captivates me then all bets are off lol.)

thank you again for such a long thoughtful message. <3

[stevenbasic]

By Tuesday afternoon, I was beside myself. Seeing patients again, but distraught. The office was a hot mess - so many new girls, crowding the hallways and desks, mostly being trained by people who also didn’t know what they were doing. My schedule was a hot mess - they’d overbooked me, with all the patients I was supposed to see the day before but had been rescheduled. And my mind was a hot mess - surrounded by not only all these new women (I’d kept my head down, sneaking into my office between patients when I could, and hadn’t really introduced myself to anyone yet) but also by the din of construction and random dudes walking down the hallways from time to time...

For some reason the presence of guys - mostly strapping young men in hard hats and t-shirts - upset me more than the bustle of bimbos giggling and pointing at me as I snuck from patient to patient. Maybe I was imagining it, but they seemed to look at me funny, askance, with a condemnatory eye. In particular I’d seen that one with the shaved head and tattoos, the tall one who’d disappeared with Melissa from the parking lot this morning. He was the one hanging around the most, glaring at me snidely. It was jealousy, I knew, that was tightening my chest whenever I saw him - an unreasonable reaction, not an emotion I should be feeling; Melissa was not mine to covet. But when, right around lunchtime, I saw the door to Melissa’s office open and him get pulled inside? Well, my blood began to roil. She’d made no effort to see me all day, and now this??

What were they doing in there?? Would she be having him take more pictures of her for Instagram? Would she be changing into new outfits for her followers, bikinis and lingerie? Would he be bending her over her desk and-

I knew I was being crazy, jealous, stupid. I had no reason to suspect any of this. But still I couldn’t stand it. So, finally, I broke. Right around 3pm.

“Can you tell Melissa I need to see her in my office?” I told Aubrey. She was standing behind the front desk with Brittni and Bobbi and three new people, training. It was pretty crowded back there.

“Of course, Doctor,” said the slight, pretty girl with the dark, pixie haircut. Aubrey had always been one of my best, most loyal employees. Quiet, serious when she needed to be. Less flighty for sure than most of the women that worked for me now. Take, for example, Brittni and Bobbi and now I guess these three new ones that I recognized from their jiggly applications; they were all looking at me and quietly giggling. Aubrey - since our front desk manager had left - was trying to get everyone trained. Piles of paperwork were everywhere.

“Okay I’ll head there right away,” I said, turning on my heel and knocking over a mound of charts from the counter.

“Don’t worry Doctor I’ll get that…” Aubrey offered, as I quickly moved away. Snickers followed in my wake.

Finding the hallway that led to my office mostly quiet, I turned a corner and -

“Oh, therrrre you are!” Melissa beamed, stopping me in my tracks. I felt my eyes go wide and my heart leap into my throat. I hadn’t really seen her since Friday and I was struck again by just how tall she was. Heels, yes, but my head came just up to her upper chest, if that. She made me feel smaller, in spades, than even the biggest of the construction workers.

She took a step towards me.

“Hey, uh….m-m-my office?” I stammered, trying to direct her but unable to keep my eyes from a quick trip up and down her unbelievable figure. The red heels, the sleek, bell-cuffed black pants, the tight, high-necked top. The hair, the eyes, and those knockers.

“Why don’t we talk here?” she returned, stepping in again closer to me.

I took a backpedal in retreat, turned my back to the wall. My eyes went wide again as she planted her right hand on the wall behind me, just above my head, between me and where I’d been heading. The door to my office was just steps away to my left, but now it might have been a mile. “o-okay, sure…” I yielded.

“So happy you finally want to say hi,” she said, with her left hand now coming up at my other side, placing itself just aside my head on the right. Now I was trapped, penned in, faced with a wall of woman. “I’ve missed youuuu…”

I swallowed dryly, suddenly assaulted with a barrage of feelings and a heady cloud of her captivating perfume. “Oh? Uh, y-yeah, haha, sorry,” I started, beginning to explain my absence, “I’ve been out of it. It’s, uh...all the construction, the noise. Kept me up last night, I’m exhausted…”

“Oh you poor thing…” she cooed, her smile turning crooked, weight shifting on her feet. Her right leg had bent, knee pushing in aggressively towards my groin. “I’m sorrrry…”

I couldn’t help but feel like I’d been captured, and she was possesively trifling with me - here, out in the open, in the hallway where anyone could see. But, from my position, I also couldn’t help but notice how her bra was just visible through her too-tight top, and that her breasts looked enormous today.

“uhhhhh….” I tried, struggling to remember what I’d wanted to talk to her about in the first place. Oh yeah.  “...and now they’re all milling around here. I saw, uh...one guy go into your office, earlier?”

“AJ? Oh...yeah, Angie’s ex,” Melissa explained, eyes narrowing, “She’s one of the new girls, a friend of mine, just broke up with him. He’s pretty upset. I invited him in for lunch...”

“Oh, uh, lunch?”

“Yes,” Melissa answered, a funny tone in her voice, “He bought a salad for me.”

Of course she’d like someone like him. He’s tall, strong, pretty good looking. He’s closer to her age...

Melissa looked down at me, regarded me, watched me thinking. “What’s wrong?” she finally asked.

“I...I don’t like him,” I too quickly answered, glancing down at the safety of my feet, speaking before thinking, “He...he looks at me funny.”

“Ohhhhhh….is that it?” She sounded amused.

I couldn’t tell her that, no, that wasn’t it, really. The sideways glances from these dudes I could handle. What I was struggling with, what I couldn’t tell her, was that he made me so fucking jealous. No way I could admit that, not to her. It would be weak, sniveling, petty and unprofessional. Plus I was married, still, and needed to hide my feelings for my new Office Manager deep deep deep. I could not let Melissa know how jealous I was.

But, when I looked up into her face, and she leaned down in to bring her face closer to mine, I could tell she saw right through me...

“Do they scare you? The big scary construction workers?” she giggled, teasing me, “Do they make you feel...unsafe? They are all so much bigger than you...” Overhead, one of the fluorescent lights flickered.

“Melissa, c’mon,” I pleaded, sounding much more pathetic than I wanted. I could tell she knew how I really felt, that it was my unreasonable jealousy that was making me upset. That fact? She loved it. But that I was denying it? For that, she wanted to torture me a bit.

“Awww did you hear that ladies?” Melissa called out, to the tall forms that had just started to appear in the hallway behind her, the voices I had begun to hear, “Dr. J here doesn’t like having all the big, noisy men in the building…”

Suddenly, two other girls appeared aside Melissa, one on each side. My eyes shot from one, redhead and statuesque in a blue top, to the other, chocolate-skinned and bosomy, dressed in green. Both were tall, taller than me, I couldn’t help but realize.

“I agree, I don’t like it either,” said the girl to Melissa’s left.

“Me neither,” said the other, “We should get rid of them…”

“Then it’d be just us…” the dark skinned girl replied.

“Dr. J,” Melissa said, in introduction, “this is Bianca…”

“Hi,” said the girl in blue, inching closer.

“...and this is Shanette.”

“Hi,” said the one in green, stepping in as well.

If I had been faced by a wall of woman before, it had now been fortified. Everywhere I looked, it was boob.

One of the overhead lights flickered again.

“We don’t like tall men, do we girls?” Melissa asked.

“Big guys? Yuckie,” followed Shanette.

“Yeah, gross,” said Bianca, her voice a natural purr, “We like our men short…”

“Helpless…”  cued Shanette, biting her plump lower lip as she looked down at me.

“...weak…” smiled Bianca.

“...needy,” Shanette finished.

By now, the three girls had me all but plastered to the wall. Melissa did nothing but smile down at me, apparently enjoying every moment of my well-deserved distress as these new girls soaked me in. Finally, though, she spoke. “See? No reason to be jealous, Doctor J-“

“I wasn’t jeal-“

“...it’s like I’ve been telling you,” she continued, speaking right over me, “It’s the thing. Girls want their men vulni these days, and you…”

“You are- rrrrrrrrrrr….” Bianca...growled?

“...you’re perfect,” Shanette giggled.

“And, no reason to be scared, sweetie,” Melissa assured me, though the current situation - I felt like I was about to be squashed into a girl sandwich - gave me more than enough to be frightened about, “You don’t have to worry about the big, mean men.”

“We’ll keep you safe,” Bianca promised, her eyes gleaming with portent, “don’t you give it another thought.”

“We’re all here to take care of you,” Shanette cooed, her expression growing softer by the moment, “it’s all we want…”

Unsure of what to say, I looked from one girl, to the other, and then back to Melissa. She merely smiled, closed her eyes to take a deep breath, and then opened them again as she spoke. “You see, sweetie? You see what kind of girls I hired for you?” she said, and leaned in to whisper down into my ear, “I did such a good job…”

Her melony breasts squashed into my neck, her voice in my ear.

“...won’t you just accept that?”

===========================

Thank you to good friend and master-of-the-craft AlexGTSArtist for his newest donations to our little story.;  these renders are fantastic. Please support him where you can.

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[crystal-moon-101]

Managed to do another redesign with rewrite notes, this time my second favourite character in Ben 10, Azmuth The First Thinker. And just like Ben, he's canon self is such a mess that I wish to fix in my own way. The other Galvans in this picture are his family, with his father from the movie "Destroy All Aliens", his nephews mentioned by DJW, and their mother who is Azmuth's twin sister. So let me get into the notes and rewrite ideas of mine!

-Retaliator-

Yes, I am aware that this is most likely not his name, but I could not be bothered to make up my own at this point, and I also find it funny to have a Galvan dad called this, so I'm sticking with it. So Retaliator is the father of both Azmuth and Divi, a very humble and calm old galvan, who has seen a lot through his years, now retired and mostly just trying to keep the family together through small things.

Retaliator has the rare gene of having aqua/turquoise eyes, a recessive trait in galvans, similar to human with the red hair gene.

Retaliator looks younger than he should be, and that's because he is, in a way. You see, right before Azmuth vanished to start working on the watch, Retaliator fell ill to an disease with no known cure, and this caused the family to...kind of break down. A lot had happen up to this point (Things that will be noted throughout this), and none of them wanted things to end like this. So Azmuth did something he know he shouldn't have, as such a thing takes so much time and resource, and generally frowned upon, and ended up creating a new young clone body for his father's brains to be transferred too. By the time Retaliator woke up from surgery, his son was already gone, off in hiding. It this was event that really made Retaliator realize he may not have been the best father for a long time...

While he is retired now, Retaliator use to do work based around energy stuff.

Since he's family's back together, he likes to host game or movie nights, or even little dinners and get togethers.

He adores his grandsons, and loves to share stories from his past to them, and he's one of the few people they calm down around.

He will admit that he did...go a bit wild when he thought Azmuth died, fighting Ben in the Galvanic Mechamorph suit, but him and Ben have since made up, and the old galvan likes talking to the young lad often.

He has most defiantly embarrassed both of his kids by showing off baby photos of them.

He met his wife through work, like most galvans, with her being a much higher up worker. Surprisingly, despite their statuses, it was his wife who asked him out first, having found him very charming.

Retaliator can never thank Ben enough for convincing his son to come home, and despite their bickering, he enjoys seeing Azmuth's bond with Ben, as the two have a way of balancing each other out.

While he may be in a younger body, his mind is certainly still that of an old galvan, and can often act like his body is older than it really is due to the mental age of his brain.

-Azmuth-

Ahhhh, dear old Azmuth, how I love your character concept, and yet get so frustrated with your actual canon self...There is a lot I have changed in terms of his placement and behavior on the show, and while I can't note all of them down there, the major theme behind them is that he is not a complete jerk in them. Don't get me wrong, Azmuth would still have flaws and issues with his off-standing nature, but he would act in a way that feels more natural, showing his growth and change while mentoring Ben. He genuinely wants to help and is a good person, it's just...he still has a lot to work through. In terms of his slight redesign, I'll like to mention that if you look closely, his outfit is a mixture of his first original outside, crossed with his UAF outfit.

I did mention that I couldn't note all changes of him in series plots, since most boil down to be him being nicer and more realistic, but I will note one change because it's big enough to mention. For the Diagon/Forever Knight Arc, Azmuth did not create Ascalon, because I while I get he's smart and created things like the Omnitrix, I don't think he should be such a big source of dangerous artifacts in the series so often, especially ones that cause trouble. So instead, Ascalon was a weapon crafted in Ledgerdomain, to help fight Diagon who orientated there, and at the time had been trying to conquer earth, and Zenith leaving Azmuth happened because of miscommunication and issues between them instead.

That being said, Azmuth does get involved in the Ultimate Alien Diagon arc when Ben himself calls Azmuth over, needing his help knowing he can better understand Ascalon, and eventually entrusted Azmuth and the Galvans to keep it and the trapped Diagon safe.

Azmuth and his sister had a very rebellious phase as teenagers/young adults, this being the age that Azmuth said he was a lot like Ben, though admittedly, Azmuth was slightly more of an ass than Ben ever was. They were going through a tough time, and Azmuth reacted negatively too it all. Funnily enough, the one thing that seems to make him doo a 180 degrees in personality was his massive swooning crush over Zenith.

He won't ever admit out loud, but he does find Ben's trait of nicknaming his aliens kind of funny...

He shares a mentoring role towards Ben with Grandpa Max and Tetrax, with Max handling the more emotional and human side of Ben's problems, Tetrax handling the physical training and teachings, and Azmuth handling the more logical steps and hard truth Ben needs to hear. He's one of the few people to give Ben the smack of reality he needs from time to time.

That being said, Ben is also one of the few people able to handle Azmuth right back, and give him needed talkings to when the man is losing himself to a bad habit.

Mostly due to the fact that Tennysons seem to have a habit of making people very close to them like family, E.g with Ben seeing Kevin and Rook like brother figures at times, there seems to be subtle hints between Azmuth and Ben that there might be parent and child like moments between them, though both would deny it if brought up.

It doesn't help that Azmuth ends up taking it upon himself on making sure Ben is healthy and happy, based on scans from the Omnitrix he reads daily. Of course, he'll just say he doesn't want the boy he entrusted his watch with to die in a stupid way, but people close to either of them know that Azmuth really does care deep down.

He has said both "I'm too old for this" and "I'm too young for this" many times.

Azmuth has admitted that he's nervous around the Omnitrix, and doesn't like putting it on. He's not good at handling the idea of becoming something he's not...

The Malware arc for Azmuth was...a lot more complicated than canon. Azmuth really did try to fix Malware, but for some reason he couldn't, and it scared him that one, this might be the first problem he can't find a solution too, and second, he just came back from hiding and had been wanting to make changes in his life, so to fail and hurt someone already? He didn't know what to think. It didn't help when Malware started refusing his help and ended up endangering the lives of others, including galvans and Azmuth's own family. And despite it all, Azmuth kept trying over and over again to let him help Malware, but the villain always refused, until Azmuth eventually had to accept that he couldn't do anything. When Malware was finally killed, Azmuth went quiet for a good while, and needed time to recover from his mistake.

Due to some past issues, Azmuth mostly refers to his father by his real name, and only calls him dad or father during emotional or quiet moments.

Whenever they're hanging out, Ben likes to bring him and Azmuth cricket smoothies to drink together.

Despite how they seem to bicker often, Myaxx and him play off each other rather well, able to dry wit each other every day.

Azmuth and Albedo's relationship is also very complicated. Before Azmuth returned, Albedo was an outstanding Galvan and protégé, being praised every single day. This, unfortunately, made Albedo develop a prideful nature and his close minded views on the galaxy, as he rarely was ever put down or critiqued. His ego also got a bit of a boost when the great Azmuth took notice of him, and made him his assistant, and while he loved it at first, some issues started to arise when Azmuth wasn't like the other Galvans who praised Albedo to no end. That isn't to say Azmuth never complimented him and liked his work, but he was an honest man who knew no one was perfect, and especially wasn't going to worship someone, knowing what kind of ego that could make in someone. It doesn't help that Albedo just can't understand what Azmuth sees in Ben, and how the two bond, despite Ben's young careless nature, and being human. It ends up making Albedo want a lot more from Azmuth, the man he looks up too, and when he's denied that he eventually turns his back on the First Thinker. Azmuth can only hope that being able to turn into other aliens, and being stuck as human, will teach Albedo that Galvans, including himself, aren't what make the galaxy function.

Azmuth is typically one of the must unfazed people you'll ever meet.

Given most Galvans have an issue of seeing themselves as the top race, Azmuth is kind of fond of Blukic and Driba for being very open and helpful to outsiders, and was even the one to suggest them to join the Plumbers.

Zenith and Azmuth too meet up again eventually, and while they don't get back together, they do make amends.

Azmuth was fairly small for a Galvan for a long time, until he finally hit his growth spurt late into his teen years, something his sister use to tease him over.

Greymatter's DNA mostly comes from Azmuth, meaning Ben actually looks like a Azmuth when he was young, his family having made comments about Ben being his "Clone".

-Divi-

Here we have the twin sister of Azmuth, Divi. A dry wit, no nonsense, sarcastic and feisty single mother of her three chaotic sons. Unlike Azmuth's father and nephews, she was something I had to completely make up from the spot, since Azmuth was said to have nephews, that meant he had to have a sibling, so it was fun to create someone with an interesting dynamic with Azmuth. She is, after all, one of the few people to exhibit some of those petty family squabbles out of him. So I hope you enjoy her and her sons.

As mentioned before, Azmuth and her went through rebellious phases after some downfall in their family life, with Divi jumping around jobs and never settling for one, and even dating another Galvan that neither Azmuth or Retaliator approved off. When Azmuth first left Galvan Prime to go into hiding, Divi and her boyfriend had still been dating. However, when he finally came home, he found the boyfriend to be gone, and Divi now a single mother to three sons. Azmuth never got a clear story what happened to the boyfriend, but he knows that the break up was nasty, and that the boyfriend isn't on Galvan Prime anymore.

Sometime after Divi had her children, she eventually settled for a job in the nursery/incubation centre on Galvan Prime, looking after eggs and newly hatched tadpoles before they go home with their parents.

Divi is quite a blunt and honest woman, who has no time for dragging things on, and while she may sound harsh, she ends up just wanting the best for people. In fact her open nature of speech is how she gets people to listen and see reason.

Her and Azmuth had a...bit of a dysfunctional relationship growing up. Azmuth was actually a slow learning when he was young, and Divi had a habit of picking on him. They did eventually mallow out, until tragedy struck their family and they entered their rebel phases, and the bickering and arguing come from both sides. They have made up since Azmuth returned, but the two have their squabbles here and there, but they're mostly just playful banter or family habits.

Her and Myaxx get along quite well, and the two like hanging out with each other.

She's also fond of Ben since meeting him, and the two like chatting whenever he plays with her sons, he's even babysat for her a few times.

She has no interest in dating again anytime soon, and is proud to be a single mother.

She's the one who points out Azmuth and Ben's family like roles to each other often, mostly due to the fact that she understands what a paternal feeling is like, and because she's blunt about it.

She got her wisdom feet first out of her and Azmuth growing up.

While Azmuth was off in hiding, Divi reconnected with his father when looking after to him after surgery. So, unlike Azmuth, she mostly just calls him father and dad.

-Trapez, Cieven & Aegls-

The three mischievous nephews, sons and grandsons of the family. Left to right, Trapez, Cieven & Aegls, who are the triplets of Divi. The three are like glue, and are often playing or up to little tricks, creating chaos around Galvan Prime. While they mostly look the same and are all tricksters, they do have personality differences. Trapez is the best when it comes to emotions and the phycology behind it, something most Galvans struggle with, and can come across as the kindest of the three. Cieven has a lot of traits from Divi and Azmuth, being fairly intelligent and wanting to be a lot like his uncle someday, though does have some of their sarcastic nature as well. Aegls is the most energetic of the three, hype up often and quick with crafting and thinking of ideas. When you combine all three together, you get a force of endless chaos.

Their mother has been honest to them about who their father is, and why he isn't around, but the three have grown up fine without him, and will forever be grateful for the work their mother put into caring for them.

They were born while Azmuth was away, and so have been building up hype about their missing uncle for most of their lives, enough so that when Azmuth did come back, they all tackled hugged him while he was still understanding the idea that he was now in fact an uncle.

They love Ben and the Omnitrix, roping Ben into some of their pranks and shenanigans, and while Ben mostly tries to stare them into the right direction, he can't help himself half the time and joins in on the chaos, much to Azmuth and Divi's dismay.

They do become a part of my Ben 10 Next Gen Series, given Galvans take forever to age, and will finally be young tweens when the Next Gen takes place.

The three each have different dream jobs for the future. Trapez wants to be a psychiatrist or doctor, Cieven wants to be an inventor, and Aegls was to deal with energy based matters like his grandfather once did.

Never give these kids sugar or coffee, it will end badly.

The three...had a bad encounter with Malware during his rampage, and for a while were scared around Galvanic Mechamorphs...They get over it eventually, but Malware does haunt them for a long while.

They once picked up some colourful language from Azmuth and Myaxx when overhearing them once. You can imagine how Divi took that.

-The First Thinker Family-

The traumatic event that struck the family was in fact the death of Azmuth and Divi's mother, who was killed by someone who was after Galvan Tech. The family fell apart after that, with Retaliator falling into a deep depression and being distant from his kids, and Azmuth and Divi going wild in their teen/young adult years to distract themselves from the grief. They've all come together now and have been taking the proper sets to honor her memory, and become a family again.

While no one has outright said it, Ben has kind of become part of this little family in a few ways, and after a while Azmuth stops being survived when the boy shows up for family dinners or game nights.

They all live on Galvan Prime, though Retaliator is known to take trips here and there around the galaxy, wanting to see more of it during his retirement.

On the outside, many Galvans treat the family as there wise people, who have sage advice. And while that isn't wrong, once you get to know them they're a very chaotic family...

[darkmindsotome]

On the Riverbank

Title: On the Riverbank

Fandom: Love365 Masquerade Kiss

Pairing:  Kei Soejima x MC

 Word count:3,963

Warning: NSFW Smut

Written by: darkmindsotome

Summary: After suffering from cabin fever a date is in order. Only this simple date plan is going to get spicy.

Tagging @voltage-vixen as requested. Prompt #15: Free Prompt (Picnic on the River)

---

 I was willing to blame uncontrollable events on the fact that we hadn’t managed to go on a date in a while. Between work and recovering from work, it had been impossible to plan anything. However, it had become the new norm for us to remain living together at Kei’s rooms in Raven.

At some point, I began to feel like I had cabin fever. I was happy to be with Kei and a secret part of me loved being at home with him 24/7. To think there was a time when I thought this was a prison sentence. I couldn’t deny the fact I wanted to go out and do something now things had settled down though.

After looking out of the large windows in the suite over the streets of London, sighing for what must have been the sixth or seventh time, into my nighttime cup of tea. Kei put down his book and announced we would be going on a date. Later that night I curled up happily in bed wrapped in his arms and fell fast asleep.

The next day I woke up alone. My mysterious man had vanished before I could say so much as a good morning or ask about our date plans. Patting down the sheet on his side of the bed resulted in me finding them stone cold. He was always an early riser but this was ridiculous. I then noticed a note left on his pillow.

“Good morning, forgive me I had some things to tend to. I have arranged a car to bring you to our date. K”

I rubbed my fingers over his beautiful cursive writing just as a courier arrived at the door and delivered a beautifully wrapped box. The duck egg blue container was almost pearlescent with a thick cream coloured satin ribbon all perfectly tied around it.

The timing was so perfect I really had to marvel at the man organising this and wonder if I was always this predictable or if I would discover a hidden camera somewhere in the room. Opening the box up revealed a single white rose with a card resting on top of a black dress that fitted Kei’s tastes perfectly.

“I can’t wait to see you. K”

The message had me smiling long before I took the dress out of the box. It was a vintage style tea dress with little cap sleeves made from some of the most delicate lace I’d ever seen. It looked almost like patterned smoke.  

There was something different about getting ready for a mission and getting ready for a date. The feeling I got from both was similar but I found I was much more nervous about a date than a life-threatening mission. I rushed through my prep stage of shower, hair and make-up.  

Slipping into the dress I instantly fell in love with it. Kei knew my measurements off by heart and I was pretty sure he had them on file with his usual tailor so he could get the outfits he gifted me perfect right down to the last stitch.

Walking into the closet to find a pair of suitable shoes I discovered some already sitting out. They were naturally also black with the addition of ribbons that wrapped around my ankles. Securing the bows, I couldn’t help but make the comparison between them and cuffs. I felt heat climbing up from them at the thought. I imagined Kei and what was probably going through his head as he picked them out for me. How his fingers would have traced the shoes and the ribbon. The idea of tying me up was never far from his mind and with these shoes, it felt like he had already started.

Shaking my head, I looked at my watch and doubled checked my reflection in the mirror before leaving to go get in the car. I watched from the back seat absentmindedly playing with my choker as the car took me away from the centre of the metropolis. 

The modern landscape changed slowly into something that felt more historic. The buildings looked older; the concrete jungle had passed into something more like a tv drama set. In fact, if I hadn’t known how far I had travelled I might have thought I was somewhere else entirely.

My eyes caught a familiar figure standing near the roadside. He was dressed in more casual clothes. The white trousers, cream coloured cricket jumper with a blue stripe around the collar and the light blue shirt under it all made him look like a student. The car slowed until the backdoors aligned perfectly with him. I had seconds to smooth down my dress and mentally brush off some of the nervous excitement before the door was opened.

“M’lady.” I smiled at the Princely Kei as he offered me his hand. It was all too easy to forget what he truly was like even for me. Yes, I loved his sweet and angelic side, but I also loved that tricky Devil he hid behind his mask too.

“Thank you.”

Kei guided me to his side, away from the car, and sent it on its way. Now completely alone he used our still joined hands to make me twirl for him as he looking me over from head to toe.

“You look even better than I imagined.” Kei smiled and brought me closer to him. Sweeping some of my hair away from my neck so he could brush his fingers along the neckline of the dress and the choker around my neck.

I once more felt the difference in attire. I was all dressed up and felt far more formal than he did. The idea of him being a student once more flitted through my mind conjuring up kinky scenarios of a socialite sneaking off for a romantic rendezvous with a hidden student lover. It was silly, Kei was older than me even if there were times it was hard to tell that from appearance alone.  

“Careful now or you might start sounding like Kazuomi.” I joked attempting to forget the thoughts going through my mind.

My eyes naturally fluttered shut. His cold elegant fingers ghosting over my skin was enough to remind me of the many nights we spent together. Where he had dyed me in his own colours and shown me the abyss behind the door to depravity. Joining me as we fell through purgatory to our own private Eden.

“Perish the thought.” He let go of me. A sensation that left me feeling the need to chase him.

Opening my eyes, I saw that impish look on his face. He was slowly becoming more and more adjusted to life outside of his own nightmares and past. It was still obvious he was a little lost and confused at times but when he was like this, I could almost imagine him as a little boy. It made my heart sing to think we could stand here now together and I could enjoy such a candid fragment of my elusive boyfriend.

“Come now we should get this date started.” Kei laced our fingers and matched his pace to mine.

We walked through some trees and right up to the side of a riverbank. There in front of us was a beautiful craft floating on the water. Inside were some large cushions a few blankets and a basket.

“I thought I would show you a little hospitality and tradition.” Kei let go of my hand briefly to climb onto the small craft and then held out his hand again to help me get on board as well.

“We are going boating?” I giggled as the whole thing rocked under my feet. The idea of mixing something traditional from his own country and a date was so him it made me happy.  

“Punting. It is quite different but I trust you will enjoy yourself.” Kei’s correction came with all the patience I had come to expect from someone who knew so much and was used to sharing it in the course of his work.

“I think I’ve seen it before. It looked like the river had turned into Venice or something.” I sat down carefully feeling rather small when I looked back up at Kei.

“I can understand your comparison and whilst you can use a pole on both vessels a Punt is different to a Gondola.” He smiled and retrieved the long pole from the riverbank using it to cast off.

I watched him standing near my feet moving the pole through his hands with little effort. If you were really quiet you could hear the smooth wood, polished with years of use, slipping through the water and his palms.

“It doesn’t feel as safe as I thought it would.” I commented as the pole in his hand seemed to get stuck on something under the water and give a little tug that made the punt slightly rock.

“I assure you that I am an excellent Punter.” Kei’s expression was so deadpan and relaxed as he declared this I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“I get the feeling your friends would be doubling over in laughter right about now hearing you say that.”

“Yes, they probably would. Thankfully they aren’t or I would have tipped them both into the Thames and made them swim.” He looked down at me. The shadows from the trees we were moving through were casting shadows on his pale skin. I didn’t miss how his playful eyes shone through the shade.

“You wouldn’t…”

“Just sit back and enjoy the ride. I did consider placing the seat facing forward but selfishness prevented me from doing so. I wanted to see your face, forgive me.” The Devil faded in the light once more replaced by the charming Prince.

“You know I never once pictured you doing this?” I sunk back into the cushions, finding them much more comfortable than I thought they would be. The blankets as well were a mixture of textures but each one was thick and luxurious.

“Oh? Punting has been a traditional pastime in England since the 1860’s it really caught on by the 1880s and 1900s though. Before they became used for recreation these little crafts were used as part of the transporting of traders.” He spoke as he manoeuvred the pole and pushed us forward in the water. “Are you familiar with Alice in Wonderland?”

“Yes of course it’s a children’s classic.” I happily nodded. I know it is kind of a strange thing to enjoy but I did genuinely love how knowledgeable he was and how he explained things. It was like having my own personal tour guide and professor.

“Quite so. Well, the author Lewis Carroll used to punt along the Thames and during one of his outings where he was with a friend’s children he started to tell the story of a curious little girl who followed a rabbit. He later put pen to paper and created the beloved tale as a gift.” He lowered his voice as if he had just shared a piece of information vital to national security.

“I didn’t know that.” I don’t know what face I was showing him when he looked down at me. His face seemed to soften, although it could also have been my imagination.

“Literature aside I thought I would show you some more of England than the inside of Raven or shopping in the capital.” I looked around at the countryside slowly passing. I knew there was more to London than concrete and cars but I didn’t think there was this much greenery.

“I thought the Thames was larger than this.” I mused and put my hand over the side dipping it in the cool water playing with the ripples made by the punt as it moved.

“It is. We are currently on one of its many streams. Still part of the river but not as heavy with the tourist trade. You will also know of the boating traditions between Oxford and Cambridge, yes?” Kei always seemed to become a little more animated when talking like this. It was like he suddenly had an outlet for all the bottled-up information and facts he had in that well-read brain of his.

“The boat race?” I titled my head against the sun and saw him nodding happily.

“Yes, it is covered by the media extensively at the time. Well, the competition between the two on these waters doesn’t stop with rowing. There is a traditional Oxford way to Punt and then there is the traditional Cambridge version.” Kei grimaced theatrically as he explained.

“Haha, you don’t sound like you approve of the Cambridge way.”

“I am an Oxford man.” He almost seemed to stand up straighter as he said that. “The flat raised planking behind you is called the Till. A Cambridge man would stand on the Till and punt like so.” He stepped over me and demonstrated what he meant. It caused the punt to lurch which had me clinging to the sides of it thinking it might tip us both in the water. “Whereas an Oxford man, He will stand in the punt and work from here.” Kei stepped back into the punt and resumed moving us from inside. The vessel settled back down and I ended up breathing a sigh of relief. “Also a notable difference is the till. Following Oxford tradition, it is always facing front in the direction one is moving."

"I had no idea there were so many traditions.”

“There are more but I fear any more information will bore you under this hot sun. Here should be suitable.” He pushed the punt so it brushed up against the bank again this time next to what looked like a very secluded spot. The grass was short and looked to be recently cut. Surrounding it were high hedges and some trees.

“What is this place?” I asked as we left the punt for more stable ground.

“You will find them all around. They are locations people usually used for picnics.” Kei spoke as he stuck the pole into the bank and tied the punt to it.

“Are they all this well maintained?” I was still looking around. I don’t think I have ever been to a part of London that has ever made me feel so totally alone. It was pleasantly unusual.

“The ones that are owned are yes. This is one of my family’s spots.” He leant over and scooped up the basket and grabbed a blanket. With them in hand, he then walked into the centre of the grass and quickly set up.

“What do you have hidden away in your basket of tricks?” I sat down on the blanket and waited for him to reveal his secrets.

“We have tea, the very seasonal and traditional strawberries and cream.” He placed a flask down next to the punnet of fresh fruit and a pot of thick white cream. “We also have peanut butter sandwiches…”

“You made this picnic, didn’t you?” I couldn’t help but giggle. When he said he had things to do in his note I thought it would have been work-related. Now I had visions of him shopping and preparing this picnic instead.

“What is wrong with it?” He asked. His golden hair shining like a halo under the sun.

“Nothing just it's very you. If you had brought the basket from somewhere or had someone else make it, I doubt peanut butter would have made it on the menu.” It was true he could have ordered it from room service or had it made up somewhere in town and just brought it along. The fact that he actually made anything himself was endearing.

“Did you want something different?” His expression shifted and he looked like a child that was waiting to be scolded.

“No this is perfect.” I reached over and took one of the sandwiches from the plate in his hands.

“I did think of bringing some Pimms but I reconsidered.” Kei recovered fast, the cracks in his mask reformed.

“Why?”

“The time of day for one thing. I mean as Kazuomi would argue it's five o’clock somewhere but I would hate for you to be so drunk you fell overboard.”  He poured some tea from the flask and handed it to me. Our fingers touching for a second, more than long enough for me to realise his body temperature was still as cold as normal.

“We both know I have a better tolerance to alcohol than that.” How can he do that? It was so hot the world could be melting and Kei would still be sitting there in a pullover surrounded by his own internal climate control. “You said this was one of the quieter parts of the River. Why come here? Oops!”

I had been so concerned with not spilling the tea he had given me I had completely misjudged the integrity of the sandwich in my hand. Part of it failed to make it to my mouth and vanish down the neckline of the dress. Embarrassment threatened to bloom inside me and I really hoped Kei had missed what I had just done.

“Is it a crime to want to spend some time alone with my girlfriend?” His voice was so close and I hadn’t felt the blanket move or even seen him shift. Yet he was right next to me his face so close to mine I could feel his breath in my ear. “Honestly I did think of following one of the other paths of the river. There are more pubs and places to go along them but I wanted to enjoy something more scenic with you.” He trailed his fingers along my choker and then slipped them down the front of my dress. “Now I’m glad I made this choice.”

“Something about how you just said that makes me think you weren’t referring to a quiet picnic together.” I acted cooler than I felt. I knew he could feel my heart beating and see the pulse running wild in my neck. All the time I faked being calm as his fingers extradited the rogue peanut butter sandwich from my body.

“You always were very observant.” I followed his hand as it carried the salvaged food to his own mouth. Those eyes of his locked on me looking like pools of golden lust.

They drew me to him like a spell and held me there as he locked me up in his arms, his hands roamed freely over me. Tumbling back together onto the blanket the picnic was threatening to be forgotten.

“Mmm Kei.” My breathy cry came out as he nibbled on my collarbone and began moving a hand up my leg under the fabric of the dress.

“Careful now. It might be a secluded spot but there is no telling who you might summon with a voice like that.” He teased as his fingers did some teasing of their own. Rubbing the outline of my sex through the sheer fabric of his favourite lace panties.

“As long as one of the people I summon is you I don’t care.” I was done with coy. Coy and demure didn’t get you anywhere fast with this man. There was a time and place for all that and when we were alone and things were heating up was not one of those times.

“Mmm, have I ever told you how stunning you are when you are honest with your desires?” He slipped his fingers past the lace pressing his thumb onto my clit before pumping a couple of digits inside me. I wanted to moan louder but his warning from before made me stop.

I looked up and found him smirking. He knew I was holding back. He knew I was trying to be a good girl but damn him if he wasn’t trying to break me.

“I don’t think I can remember.” Two could play that game and I tried to make it look like I was still in control. With every stroke from his hand, I was losing my sanity, but I kept up a strong front and played the game.

“Then I’ll have to take my time and remind you.” He moved on top of me his hand still driving a fever through my core as he spread my legs wide with his own.

“What about the picnic?”

“There is time enough for both. I don’t intend to let anything here on this blanket go to waste.”

His voice purred erotically as he slid the zip on the dress down my back and dragged the bodice low enough to expose my breasts. The cap sleeves I had thought were a nice addition were now part of the binding of fabric that was preventing my arms from freely moving.

Kei brushed his fingers over the lace of the bra and once more slid his hand inside. Treating each nipple to a firm pinch as he ravished my mouth with his tongue. I squirmed under him trying to wrap my legs around his and return the restraint in kind.

“Hehe, you really are the only one that has ever tried to dominate me.” His laugh was like a clear bell whilst the things he was doing to me had my head crashing like a drum.

“Kei… please stop teasing me already.” I moved some more only to find his weight was gone. He had stopped touching me completely and was sitting back on his heels looking at me.

“As My Lady commands.”

I watched as he licked his hand clean and used the other to undo his belt and trousers. It wasn’t unusual for him to remain clothed but it rarely happened where it was so bright.  I bit my lip as he rolled my dress higher exposing all of me. He said nothing as he undid the strings on the panties and placed them into his pocket. The silence was deafening given how aroused I was. He leaned over and dipped a strawberry into the thick cream holding it just out of reach of my mouth.

“Eat it.” His command seemed absolute even if it was given in a sugary-sweet tone.  I tried to stretch for it but couldn’t. His eyes twinkled and his smile became more wicked. “I guess if you can’t be a good girl then I’ll just have to treat you like a bad one instead.”

I felt my core tighten as he brought his palm down with a crack against my bare thigh. He pressed down on me again. His mouth connecting with mine. Fruit and cream filled my senses as he used his own mouth to feed me. The escaped juices were lapped up by his tongue as he arranged himself to take this to the next level.

“Ah!” A slight sharpness ripped through my body and was quickly numbed as the pleasure of us finally connecting took over. With each rock of his body, it moved my body against the ground far more than the swaying of any boat.

Our mouths connected again and again at different angles to the point where I was sure I had forgotten to breathe. His fingers ran through my hair sometimes pulling grabbing at it but each time it only emphasised his desire for me and made my whole body tingle.

I never did find out if anyone else was around as Kei had said or if it was all just another layer to his devilish lies to set the mood. I did discover that I would never be able to eat a picnic again without the addition of a peanut sandwich.

---

[sserpente]

A/N: Request from @nebulousfishgills and myself. *giggles* Thomas Sharpe is back in time for Halloween season! Also, this is probably one of the cheesiest Imagines I’ve ever written. Be warned and enjoy!

Words: 2329 Warnings: so much fluff

Thomas Sharpe had stepped into your life rather unexpectedly. He had been looking for work in your brother’s mining company and, thanks to his experience, landed a well-paid job soon after. Your brother liked him. He was the true personification of Britishness—polite, considerate, a Gentleman… and he did love his tea.

Every year when the leaves began to grow too heavy on the trees, discolour and fall off, your brother held a feast to thank his employees for their hard work before the mines closed over the winter. You usually helped to prepare and cook and refill empty glasses; and last year you happened to have refilled Thomas’ glass. He had been smitten by you as much as you had been smitten by him and after countless rendezvous where he confided in you about his horrifying past, you now considered yourselves a couple.

It had been almost a year. Autumn was drawing near again and as you drove through a grove in a carriage, able to peacefully take in the beauty of the season, you leaned against Thomas’ strong body. He sighed, his shoulders heaving. In fact, he had been rather quiet for days now.

“Thomas, are you alright?” Looking up at him with a concerned expression on your face, you allowed him to cup your cheek in response.

“Oh, yes. The cold seasons always remind me of home, that is all.“ He confessed, giving you a small smile. A sad smile.

“This is your home now,” you reassured him. “You are beyond welcome here. A new beginning, remember?”

He hummed in response. “A new beginning…”

-

By the time you arrived at the modest house your brother and you were sharing and you finished cooking dinner for you two, Thomas was still silent. Eerily silent, almost. And it made you worry for him.

Moment after moment passed with only the cutting, chewing and swallowing of food being audible in the cosy kitchen.

“I want to go back to England.” He suddenly stated. You almost dropped your fork.

“You… what? Really?”

“Yes. It is just like you said,” He went on, growing more enthusiastic with a start, “A new beginning. I could start over, restore the house… it does not have to wither away.”

“But… Thomas, I thought you were glad you left this place… that you have so many terrible memories attached to Allerdale Hall. Are you sure you want to be there again?”

Your appetite was all but lost now. Discouraged, you put your fork down and looked him straight in the eye—his beautiful, innocent blue eyes.

“I am. It took me weeks to figure out just why I do not feel complete in this place. I am missing something. I am missing my roots.”

He reached across the table to hold your hand when your eyes filled with tears. “So… you will leave me?”

Thomas shook his head. “No! No, I do not want to leave you. In fact… I meant to ask if you would like to come with me. I do not ask you to leave your home forever. But if I spend my summers here with you, working for your brother and return to England for the winters…”

“Thomas…”

“Please, my love. I want you to be with me. The house is all I have left in my possession and I cannot live at your and your brother’s expenses forever. If I could I would long have purchased us a house here so we can get married and raise our children in our very own home but my savings will not allow it. Instead… if I used them to restore Allerdale Hall…”

Your lips parted. He wanted to marry you. He meant to buy a house where you could raise your children. And he truly seemed to miss his home. Biting your lower lip, you considered his proposal for a moment.

All the work that would come with restoring an entire mansion did not put you off as much as the fact that Allerdale Hall was miles away from your own birthplace. Only if you were with Thomas… did it truly matter where you were? If it meant so much to him… as for you, as long as you could stay with him, it did not matter much to you where you were. It was the change that was scary.

“If this is what you really want…” You finally responded. “…then I will come with you.”

“You will?” His face lit up like a Christmas tree and you nodded.

“I will.” There was no denying your promise, in this very moment, was as significant as a wedding vow.

-

“Thomas… this house is huge. It’s just the two of us. How will we use all of this space?” Tilting your head back, you took in the gigantic construction towering into the sky.

“We’ll have to have lots of children.” He replied, gently kissing your cheek and hugging you from behind.

There was a gaping hole in the ceiling, letting the cold autumn air come inside, trapping it. It was freezing. Thomas had not exaggerated. The house was in dire need of renovation but together, so you were certain, you would transform this place into an exciting and a cosy living place. A place in which your children could grow up in and, once in adulthood, remember fondly what it had been like.

You worked hard. Your brother knew some good and honest roofers who offered a fair price for the repair of the ceiling, after that Thomas was able to afford two floorers with whom he began figuring out a way to keep the house from sinking into the red clay he had told you about underneath.

Everything had remained just like he had left it, even his clay machine. Only the bodies… the bodies must have been removed by wild animals or a decent human being who found and buried them. Thomas himself could not bring himself to bury both his most recent wife and sister himself—and after everything that happened, the remaining villagers were rather out of sorts with the last survivor of the Sharpe family.

The next couple of weeks you spent cleaning and tidying (and sneezing) and building and sweeping and slowly but surely, Allerdale Hall was turning into a wonderful home. Not once since your arrival had you felt the presence of a tormented ghost—not once had either of you been haunted. It was like, ever since Lucille’s death, the many murdered women in this house had finally been able to move on.

His favourite part of the house was still the attic which had remained untouched for the most part. You had merely replaced the sofa and the desks, added some lovely curtains and a beautiful lustre for his late-night crafting.

You were almost done now. Nearly everything was clean and tidy, new furniture adding an elegant touch to the old house. The only thing still missing was the outer front and the lowest level. Thomas had told you he no longer wanted anything to do with red clay mining, for it reminded him too much of his past with Lucille and the horrible deeds he had been forced to be a part of. Instead, he wanted to keep helping your brother develop new machines for his mines.

“I have an idea.” You said, loosening your tight ponytail after another cleaning orgy in the house. It was only time for lunch and you could not wait to retreat to your new bedroom already. It was Thomas’ old room, re-furnished and cosier than you could have ever imagined. Thomas had spent a fortune on the new king-size bed with the softest mattress you had ever had the pleasure to sleep on.

“You have had many wonderful ideas over the last few weeks, my love.” Thomas said with a smile. “What have you thought of now?”

“We should host a party tomorrow night.”

His lips parted in surprise. “A party? For whom?”

“No one in particular. Us. Our new home. Besides, Halloween is right around the corner. We should ask everyone to dress up and have some fun after all the hard work.” Now there was a chance that the villagers would downright refuse to set foot into this building ever again but you were rather sure that most of them were curious as to what had become of Allerdale Hall as well. Thomas would be able to prove to them he was a good and decent man—and that he had finally found happiness.

“I agree. I do believe we deserve some time off.”

-

You were busy the next morning, sending out invitations and then buying all the supplies you would need for your Halloween party. Thomas had outdone himself with his outfit—he prepared an all-black suit and black polished shoes along with a cylinder and a dark red bowtie, the latter which fit the dress he had insisted on buying you for tonight perfectly.

Now that the first guests began to arrive in their carriages, all wearing fashionable masks as it was Halloween, admiring what had become of the house so far, Thomas’ nervousness infected you. You had decorated where you could, collecting sycamore leafs and carving pumpkins which were now grinning eerily with candles inside of them. You soon realised, however, that your worries were unnecessary. Thomas conversed like the true Gentleman he was, passionately recalling how much fun it had been to restore the house and that he would have never been able to do any of that without your help. That was when all the attention drifted to you.

Thomas had just disappeared upstairs with an old friend who had been happy enough about his return to show him his renovated workshop when an older man, perhaps in his late fifties, approached you with dismay coating his lips. The rest of his face was unreadable given that he too was wearing a mask.

“So I understand it that you will at some point be marrying the baronet then, my lady?”

“Yes, Sir.” You responded with a polite and content smile. The man shook his head.

“Well, good luck. His last few wives all passed away under rather strange circumstances.”

Tensing up a little, you lifted your chin.

“So I’ve heard and that is very unfortunate. Sir Thomas has my deepest sympathy. And I thank you for your concern but I don’t easily perish.” In fact, the very first thing Thomas and you had done was tossing out the poisoned tea Lucille had been using on his former wives. It was still unsettling sometimes to know he had been involved in murders—but you also knew that Thomas was a good man. He had already lost Edith. He would not lose you.

“You sure don’t, my lady. However, the last remaining woman in Sir Sharpe’s life was his sister Lucille and even her body was never found. I am only trying to help. I run a hotel a few miles west of this atrocious place. I can provide shelter for you, my lady, and hide you from him.”

Shit. You clutched your dress tightly so your hands would not shake as much. “Thank you but that will not be necessary. I love my soon-husband-to-be dearly and if you keep insulting him or his intentions, I will have to ask you to leave.”

“Is there a problem?” Relieved, you let out a breath when you felt Thomas’ arm around your waist and turned around to notice his stern gaze. It was not often you experienced him this cold. The older man blinked, fists clenching a few times.

“No. No problem at all, Sir Sharpe.”

“Good.” With that, he reached for your arm, gently pulling you into the living room. A pianist—another good friend of your brother’s—was filling the hall with warm musical sounds as a couple of guests were dancing. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. He was just being… invasive… about your past.”

“I suspected this might happen tonight.”

“Yes…”

You joined the dancers with a sly smile, letting Thomas take the lead and following his elegant movements as you melted into the harmonious music, both your feet gliding across the floor. And when the piece ended and you came to rest in graceful position in his arms… he suddenly went down on one knee and cupped one of your hands with his as you looked up at you like the most blessed man on the planet. Your heart skipped a beat when he spoke your name. All of a sudden, the room went so still one could have heard a needle drop.

“Will you do me the honour and become my wife? Let me be yours as you will be mine and let us fill this house with nothing but love and harmony.” You never realised there were tears swimming in your eyes—not until they rolled down your cheeks and wetted the fabric of the thin crimson mask you were wearing.

“Yes!” You cried out. “Yes!” Thomas smiled. As the party guests started to clap around you with Ah’s and Oh’s, he scooped you up into his arms, capturing your lips in a passionate kiss.

“And tomorrow morning…” He whispered into your ear, “I shall buy you the most beautiful engagement ring that England has to offer.”

“You don’t have to buy me an expensive ring, Thomas. Actually…” Your face lit up. “Now that your workshop is done, would you craft one for me?”

His laugh tore through your heart like a tornado. You were right, of course—a hand-crafted engagement ring would be more personal and precious than anything a jeweller could make.

“Did I tell you that I love you?”

“Many, many times. And I love you too. More than anything.”

Your audience cheered even louder when you kissed once more, hugging so tightly not even a thin piece of parchment would have had any space between you.

-

A/N: If you enjoyed this story, I would appreciate it so much if you considered supporting me on Kofi! It’s either caffeine or red wine, I’ll take both. ko-fi.com/sserpente ♥