#gods chosen little assassin basically

[valctovoel]

Another batch!

[skitskatdacat63]

My four main characters' dynamics if you were ever wondering 🥰

Little character bios + without text below the cut :)

Preface: There's 9 different planets in my AU, and each of them has different kinds of humanoids(ex. Neptune has bird-people, Mercury has dragon-people, Pluto has cat-people, Neptune has mammal-people, etc.) Most of my ocs are from Neptune or Pluto, cause I like them best haha. Each planet has their own forms of hierarchies/discrimination, so that's important to consider with character dynamics. So for example on Neptune, people who are pure-breds(so basically wild animals in their "original" form. Wolves, tigers, deer, etc, too many to name) are considered more noble. Whereas there are ubiquitous "dogs," traditionally the servants of Neptune's god, who are seen as typically being servile and lesser. But then if you were to travel to a different planet, you would be SO lost about these kinds of dynamics. I talked a lot more about my two main ships in these posts, Eclipoir here and Rünoir here !!

My main four OCs seen here are the DHE and Eclipse. The DHE are a friend group/unit, who met through being scouted for the god of Neptune's espionage/black ops unit. They are comprised of:

Anastassia "Rüß" Petrov - (the main leader of the operation, very tough but intelligent. She was scouted from Siberia and grew up very poor. She is a womanizer, loves money, and she was originally very standoffish but is now extremely charasmatic, and seems to know everybody. However she is a dog, but the complete opposite of what a dog is expected to be. Which is why she was scouted to be the leader in the first place!! She was originally more undercover, but now kinda functions as the handler to Noir's attack dog. She preferred to work alone before, but came to appreciate the team dynamic.)

Noir Mono-Loup -(Nepo baby!!! She is a wolf, and is from a very rich, influential family, so she's a pedigree pedigree. She is genuinely very strong and can be analytical, but struggles to manage herself and her bloodthirsty and possessive compulsions, AND she is very prone to craving submission. So even tho societally, she's seen as higher/more noble than Rüß, Noir is perfectly happy to be her subordinate and follow orders. However, while Rüß brings out the submissive side in her, Eclipse on the other hand brings out the possessive, territorial side.)

Seren Baumstark - (The brains of the group I guess, though they're all pretty smart, in different ways. She's not from Neptune, she's from Pluto! So she doesn't really factor in to the whole weird purebred-dog dynamic the other two have going on, which is for the better because she's very peaceful and there's no expectations. Very meek compared to the other two, but chosen because of her intelligence and cooperation skills. Has her own shit going on aside from the main plot, that's more involved with the gods. The main plot with the other three mainly is fucked in its own way, but Seren is lowkey going through that Spongebob hallway meme honestly, but its kinda impossible to quickly explain.)

"Eclipse" - (from a very famous/influential family from Pluto/Neptune. However she has been disowned, as she was seen as ruining the family image with her instability....and because her mother is a terrible person who couldn't accept that her child wouldn't be the heir of the family. She has a very codependent relationship with Noir, however they were separated for many years because Noir is technically the reason she was ultimately disowned, though she's pretty grateful for that. She's an assassin, who Noir is trying to track down, not knowing its Eclipse.)

I have like three seperate time periods I jump between, so it's a bit confusing I think. The first would be when it was just Noir and Rüß, since Seren came in later. Noir was very annoying and puppylike, and Rüß at that point was super cold. Rünoir(Rüß x Noir) are FwB with a very dom/sub relationship/dynamic. The second would be when Seren is now with them, and when Noir first meets Eclipse(she saved her from being kidnapped, and that's where their codependency began.) And the third would be when Eclipoir(Eclipse x Noir) are finally fully reunited, and not at odds anymore, and the DHE are now in different roles, but still best friends.

[morrigan-sims]

D&D OC Intro

(inspired by @goldenwaves's post!!)

[transcript under the cut]

This is FAR from everyone, but it's the characters I've played for more than a oneshot, and the ones I actually talk about.

TRANSCRIPT:

Zenara Raventhorn (aka Zen)

Tiefling Warlock (Pact of the Fiend)

The first D&D character I ever played.

Only got to play two sessions with them.

Unintentionally inspired by Critical Role Campaign 2

Backstory written between 1-3am on my phone.

Has an imp familiar who looks like a raven.

Occasionally gets possessed by their patron, and then gets given new powers as an "apology".

Fire theme.

Rook (Adrian Lockwood)

Half-elf Rogue (Swashbuckler)

First (and only) character to make it past 8 sessions. (So far.)

Disaster bisexual pirate boy with SO MUCH trauma.

Wields a magic rapier that was a gift from his captain + first mentor.

Enemies with a different pirate captain who wants to capture him.

Has decent charisma but relatively terrible social skills.

Bastard son of a nobleman. Has daddy issues.

Reckless and impulsive to a fault. Would die for his friends.

May or may not be cursed by a demon lord.

Asola Riava Ashmark

Aasimar Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)

Made it 8 sessions before we switched campaigns.

Doesn't know she's an aasimar. Her powers show up when she experiences extreme emotions and it's only ever happened twice in her life.

Got briefly possessed and then force-shut-down by a literal god.

Has a habit of picking up stray traumatized young people.

The party's moral compass. Tried to keep them somewhat in line.

Believes that laying down her life to save someone else's is worth it. Swears she doesn't have self-worth issues.

Morana Novak

Witch (Curse Patron)

Character for an eventual Pathfinder game.

Named after a Slavic goddess of death and winter.

Necromancer, got kicked out of her hometown for graverobbing and experimenting on corpses.

Her familiar is a raven named Miro, who she rescued and trained.

Autistic as hell, which will be fun for me to play.

Very creepy and unsettling person.

One of her future party members nicknamed her "Mortician".

Cyra

Fire Genasi Barbarian (Path of the Storm Herald)

Newest character on this powerpoint.

Fights with a magical flaming quarterstaff that she can summon from inside herself.

Has a stolen, magically powered vehicle.

Formerly part of a cult. Only stayed around for their toxic then-girlfriend.

Somehow basically the least traumatized member of the party. That was NOT the plan.

Avra Shadaowbreath

Shadar-Kai/Reborn Rogue (Phantom)

Devout follower of the Raven Queen, has utter faith in her actions.

Used to work for an assassin's guild until she was killed after a job gone wrong.

Revived by the Raven Queen herself to be her assassin.

Sent to Barovia to kill a powerful lich.

Has complicated feelings on her own resurrection, but her faith in the Raven Queen is stronger than her doubts about herself, for now...

A massive hypocrite when it comes to other people being resurrected.

Odynia Adrasteia Erinys

Aasimar Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)

Devoted follower of Nemesis, goddess of divine retribution.

Got transformed into an aasimar after being chosen to be Nemesis's eye on the mortal plane.

"And eye for an eye" but make it literal.

Has black feathered wings sometimes.

More than a little bit of a bitch. Very prickly at best.

Her name means "inescapable pain/grief" so that bodes well.

Hellbent on revenge... but why?

Aspen Vale

Half-Elf/Changeling Bard/Warlock (Glamour/Archfey)

Pied Piper'd into the Feywild as a child.

Learned bardic magic there, and made a pact with their patron, Fin, the god of death.

Sent back to the material plane with ZERO memories.

Named themself after the first thing they saw in the material plane - an aspen grove.

Carries a "broken" compass that Fin uses to guide them in the right direction without their knowledge.

Carrion Vice

Barbarian (Path of the Fractured)

Physically a tiefling, mechanically a Beasthide shifter.

He grew up religious and his birth name was Reverence.

Received his name after being left for dead and told "Soon you'll be nothing but carrion".

Transforms into an unrecognizable monster when he rages.

Transformations caused by exposure to Delirium (magically radioactive crystal) when he was a kid.

Current goal is to kill his former mentor, the one who left him behind...

[noisyquokka]

Could I request a blurb with kevin from the boyz where we get stuck at home during a snowstorm but then eventually have to go back to work/school, the regular grind ig? Fluffy and cute stuff plz ^-^

The Place To Be

PAIRING - Kevin x GN!Reader

SYNOPSIS - Spending three days in the house can easily bring on cabin fever. Well, except when Kevin's around... It's even harder to get back on schedule when he's actively doing his best to keep you near.

WORDCOUNT - 1.9k

WARNINGS - Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, sarcastic comments/insults incoming (It's just that kinda relationship), just two (2) dorks doing cute shit together and being cute together, Kevin being a menace

A/N - So it's not a blurb (I'm basically incapable of writing anything under 1k words) but I hope you enjoy it all the same!💛 Edit: I'd like to formally apologize for thinking I posted this like 3 weeks ago when it, in fact, sat in the drafts 🤡 send me to the pit of flames, y'all!

"Good God, how many shades of the same yellow does one paint kit need!?" Kevin shakes his head, squeezing the tiny tube of Cadmium onto the palette. He's sitting beside you, working on a paint-by-number piece that he'd bought months ago. What better time to crack it open than today? You turn your head to the canvas, taking in his progress.

"Those are not the same shade, Kev." You point to the few yellows you assume he's referring to, along with the one he'd just added to his palette. "That's a light yellow compared to this one. This is more of a lemon." You reach for two others; Golden and Saffron. "And these are two different shades, babe."

"Golden, Lemon, Banana Cream, Pineapple, Pear. I don't see a difference!"

"And you call yourself an artist... pfft." It's a mumble that's loud enough for him to hear, one that earns you the bump of his knee into yours under the table. You chuckle in response, bringing your palm to rest under your chin.

His eyes rove over the canvas, and you can see the cogs turning in your boyfriend's head as he figures out how to twist this paint-by-number into his own little masterpiece. The box was labeled Cottage in the Mountains but you knew Kevin. He'd add his own little touch to the canvas in the end.

"I know I'm hot, but quit staring, babe!"

"Oh, so hot that the snow is still falling." you pipe up, sarcasm thick in your tone. Kevin places a hand on his chest dramatically, rubbing at his pec as if you've wounded him. He leans into you, pressing a kiss to your hairline before he diverts his attention back to the tubes of paint.

"Felt that one deep in my chest, at least five years off my life." He presses another kiss to your nose, finding the smirk on your lips when he pulls away. "You trying to kill me off early?"

"Ugh, you got me. I'm actually an assassin." You reach for one of the painting knives on the table, running your fingers over the blade like a villain in a movie. "Unfortunate that I have to break it to you when we're stuck in this house together, snowed in... no one to come looking for you..."

"Well, when you say it like that." he trails, taking the knife from you. He's so unbothered, too used to this back and forth that you two have conjured as your love language. The corners of your lips curl up in a grin, and you bring your hand up to cradle his jaw, pressing your lips against his cheek in a quick kiss.

"You are the only thing saving me from this hell. So thank you for staying with me." you say. Kevin chuckles, dipping his brush into the dollop of Cadmium.

"We live together, you know." 

"Well yeah, but you could've chosen to paint in the office or something."

"But I didn't." The paintbrush moves over the canvas with sparse flicks of a wrist, the man's attention taken up by the careful strokes of his workspace. Your smile hadn't faded by much, but watching him work brightened it like morning glories.

"No, you didn't." you murmur. You get up from your seat, carding your fingers through his hair before leaving a kiss on top of his head. 

It's a simple thing, really; with below-zero wind chills and a snow band that wouldn't let up, you two were stuck inside. The whole town had shuttered with the storm, putting the safety of the citizens above all else, which in turn, canceled any non-essential traveling. With the snow falling at a pretty good clip, plows couldn't clear the streets fast enough. Living in a cold climate long enough had humbled you, and you easily knew when it wasn't worth going out. It also taught you how to make a mean chicken and veggie soup. Speaking of...

The paintbrush halts its movement over the canvas, brown eyes sliding back to where you disappear into the kitchen. His stomach rumbles, those familiar scents of seared chicken and simmered vegetables distracting him from his work. Kevin finishes the bit of paint off before cleaning off his used brushes, standing from the dining table and padding after you.

"Need any help?" He smiles, watching the moment your head turns to find his form standing in the doorway. You wave him over, stirring the soup in the Dutch oven. Long arms find their respective place around your torso, pulling you slightly away from the stovetop flame.

"You're like a dog," you mutter, setting the ladle down on the counter. You turn to face him, his fingers sweeping your midriff with the action, leading him backward until his hip meets the island. "always sneaking into the kitchen, nosing around for scraps."

"Does that mean I get whatever my heart desires?" He leans against the marble, dipping his head down till his forehead bumps yours.

"Depends." you reply with a sly grin, hands sliding over the fabric of his hoodie. "What exactly are you looking for?"

Your question is met with a cheeky smile and a raised brow, strong hands slipping around your waist.

"Nothing too demanding, just you and me cuddling on the couch after we eat?" The corner of his mouth quirks up, and he cocks his head to the side. "And a taste of that soup?"

You twist away from his grasp, bringing your attention back to the stove. The soup simmers on medium heat, steam rising above the broth as you stir the menagerie in the pot. You hum to yourself, feign thinking it over. Kevin's arms catch you as you instinctively lean back into his chest, fingers trailing over your side. After a moment, the ladle is placed on the counter again, and you reach to the left to wretch the drawer open for a spoon. It's all the answer Kevin needs.

“Nothing too demanding?” you finally ask, a teasing lilt in your voice. The remark is too easy to pass up cracking jokes, and it earns you a breathy laugh as your boyfriend rests his chin on your shoulder.

"Maybe later, if you're feeling up to it." He matches your humorous teasing easily, following it with a kiss on your shoulder. You bite back a smile, taking the spoon to the pot with a careful hand, a sample taste that you blow on before turning to your boyfriend. You keep your free hand under the spoon as he takes a sip from the utensil, licking his lips just like a dog.

"Perfect!" he replies, eyes soft as he glances down at you. Fingers glide up the wrist that's holding the spoon, stealing it easily to go back for seconds.

"Biased!" you counter, reaching for the spice rack.

"For you? Always," Kevin admits, taking another sample from the pot. "But your comfort food always tastes the best."

"I'm not sure if that's an insult or a compliment to my cooking skills."

"Both." The word falls off his tongue quickly, and you scoff.

"Don't go eating it all, there's still ten minutes left on the timer!" You swat his hand away from the pot, stealing the spoon back with a half-hearted glare.

"Is that your way of telling me patience is a virtue?" he questions, taking you back into his grip. He catches the sidelong glance you spare - the shoulder that you shove back into him in retaliation - and he grins. 

"That's exactly what I'm saying." You take from the few spices you've used in the soup already, adding a little more into the pot. Kevin intently watches you work, a looming heat over your shoulder that warms you more than the flame in front of you. He doesn't let go of you when you finally back away from the stove, opting to pull you with him until he's once again leaning against the counter and you're pressed against his chest. With seven minutes left on the timer, you let your attention drift to the man clinging to your waist.

Large hands sweep up your back and pull you closer, brown eyes locked with yours for a brief moment. Patience practiced, his gaze briefly drops to your lips and then he’s leaning in, a gentle brush of his against yours that has you instinctually wrapping your arms around his neck. The warmth of his breath makes the hairs on your neck stand like electricity coursing through your veins. You nuzzle your nose playfully against his, earning yourself a lazy grin.

The space between you dwindles to nothing once he captures your lips in a kiss. It's soft and sweet, a simple little thing that has a smile pulling at your lips, and suddenly the kitchen is the coziest place to be. Kevin's ears twitch at the sound of your laughter, heard in between liplocks and small pecks.

The best sound he's ever heard.

It's when you lean into him and curl your fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck that he pulls away, pressing his forehead into yours. Just in time for the timer to go off.

It's like this for the three days that you're stuck at home; a simple routine that you quickly grow accustomed to as the hours drag on. While you don't mind sticking it out with your boyfriend, you're not against the idea of racing out into the yard to bury yourself under the several feet of snow that has fallen. Kevin makes it bearable when he's got you wrapped up on the couch or in bed, nothing more than the sound of your collective breathing and tangled legs under blankets.

It only becomes a problem when the snow has ceased and snow removal has wrapped up.

"Kevin, baby, I have to get up!"

You're still in bed, imprisoned in your boyfriend's embrace while you watch the minutes quickly deplete for you to get ready for your shift. Kevin whines into your neck, his arms tightening when you try to pry them off.

"Don't you have sick days left?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Take a sick day." he pleads, eyes closed as he snuggles into you.

"You know I can't do that."

Cue the grumbling like a perturbed feline being chased from the bathroom sink. You can't help but laugh at the response, trying once again to escape the man's clutches. He only tightens his grip again.

"Kev, come on, now," you whisper, turning your head towards your boyfriend. "We've been stuck in the house for three days."

"Take a sick day," he repeats, mumbling the words against your neck. His lips are warm against the skin, nipping at the delicate flesh lazily before he lifts his head to meet your gaze.

"Please?"

It's hard to protest when he's looking at you like that; like you're his only reason for staying in bed another day. The heat of his body sinks into yours and you feel the protests on the tip of your tongue succumbing to the thumb massaging circles into your hip. To be completely honest with yourself, you'd be willing to skip work daily if you could stay wrapped up in Kevin's arms like this for the rest of your days.

You sigh softly, knowing your attempts to convince him to let you go are failing. The puppy eyes have won you over, and he'll melt any defenses you can muster up with them.

Your hand juts out for your phone, grabbing it from the nightstand. It's a quick unlock and a couple of taps, a quick call to your supervisor that you can't make it in due to the driveway being snowed in. A little white lie. When you hang up, you shoot your boyfriend a look.

"Happy?" you ask.

Kevin sighs contentedly, pulling you close as he makes himself comfortable again.

"Very."

Psst!! If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read my work 💕 I appreciate you!

[always-arabis]

It's only theory for story the lost son. I meant you said that the lost son will take religion theme and sensitive things, I kind fraid because well... You know

Can I tell you my theory ? Well is that why optimus and Sam got pick as peace bringer and primes. When optimus told Sam about his past how he just lower caste. Contradict with sentinal that basically Royal from born, then there's Sam a alien and fleshy and of course cybertron will saw Sam as weak. I think the reason why they both got pick it was because cybertron became blind by caste. I they got pick to make cybertron to open their eyes that in their god eyes they all same. They are Primus creations.

Also after all that is the reason my Megatron did what he did, and honestly if sentinal manage to make caste system back and bring back order there's always will be next Megatron and they probably will be worse.

The last updates was November 2023, ugh I am curious butvscare what happened next. I only got little spoiler from comments sections. Can you give little spoiler? Will Sam having cybertron body it he will stay human (flesh)?

First of all, thanks for the question and your enthusiasm for the story. It’s appreciated! Second, I’d say your theory about why Sam and OP were chosen is spot-on. They’re both ambassadors, yes, but more than that, they cross divides. Lastly, I know it’s been a while since we updated The Lost Son, but rest assured — the story is alive and well. We took a small break to focus on Fission, but we plan to start writing the next TLS chapter in the next few weeks.

As to your last question, alas no, Sam is and will remain human. The poor guy has so much baggage about his humanity and identity, I think that’d be enough to make Sam throw himself out of an airlock. But we have lots of plot to come — political intrigue, two assassination attempts, new characters, and our arrival to Cybertron!

[geekgirles]

Personally, I have no problem with Flopin choosing to leave with Madagaskan, other than it sort of feels like they're using their need to build up the family drama that's sure to take place in Waven to excuse not having them assist during the Necro War. Kind of defeats the purpose of Madagaskan keeping taps on his daughters and escaping his prison because he was worried over Eva and the kids if he has no trouble letting them fight wakfu-draining monsters all by themselves, doesn't it?

Also, this might be an unpopular opinion, but I don't find Flopin to be the boring twin. If anything, Élely made season 3 a little hard to watch at times because she was essentially portrayed as always being in the right when she was just acting like a brat. And the fact that she'd been chosen to be the next Iop goddess and Flopin was saddled with murder-happy Toxine meant she was basically given lots of plot armour he didn't have, in a way.

But I'm getting sidetracked. The reason I have no problem with Flopin leaving is because those insecurities of his are valid and realistic! Even though he had his moments when he defeated Toxine, the OVAs and season 3 were all about showcasing how easily overshadowed by his siblings Flopin really is, and all because he wasn't born an Iop.

While Élely not only escaped the Brotherhood's clutches but defeated Poo all on her own and got to fight against many of Oropo's followers, Flopin spent most of the season trapped in the Eniripsa Room. And hadn't it been for Echo, Toxine would have killed him and his mother long before the final confrontation against Oropo.

Not to mention, while Flopin's powers are pretty much standard for any Cra, as he isn't descended from the goddess herself and his father's powers just can't flow through his veins due to a matter of not having the right alignment, Élely already displayed her own powers when she was only five years old. And because that apparently isn't enough to cause an inferiority complex, turns out his unborn baby brother is the most powerful demigod in existence, capable of giving a hard time to a centuries-old, Eliacube-wielding Eliotrope, and a dofus-wielding Eliatrope dragon.

How's that for feelings of inadequacy?

And then Madagaskan came into the picture.

With all that in mind, of course he'd see leaving his family behind to be with his grandfather, who's so much of a badass he can single-handedly defeat gods and demigods despite having no divine powers of his own, as his time to shine! That was his opportunity to make something of himself, away from his relatively more accomplished siblings. Assassin ways aside, Madagaskan represents what Flopin wants out of life. He wants to be able to stand tall and proud and out of his demigod siblings' shadow even if he has no special powers of his own. In a way, Flopin is the Sokka to Élely and Pin's Katara.

So yeah, I'm happy Flopin got this chance, because he honestly deserves to be someone's focus for once. Not to mention, this all seems like it's building up to be the main emotional arc and driving force in the Waven show. And I actually am looking forward to seeing it.

LIVEBLOG: Wakfu Season 4, Episode 7

Grandpa piss, being a part of the Remote Viewers Division doesn't prevent you from being a deadbeat. KILL him Eva.

What were YOU doing at the devil's sacrement, King [insert name here] Sheran-Sharm!

I love women who are tortured for an eternity and then die in some way that will not kill them in a way that matters #signaliscore posts

Man haha I wonder if this might be saying something about Yugo (and Joris, but that goes without saying on this blog)

I have seen people criticize this moment, but let me be the devil's advocate: after seeing years of fans saying that Flopin is the boring twin, or that Eva has no backstory, them getting a problem-causing grandpa is literally so good.

And I think I understand why Flopin did this, since he says himself that he actually feels like the boring twin... I understand why he felt like going with this man, to learn about this guild, and where he comes from.

[starts hacking up blood] you know what other duo of demigods in this franchise had a twin who felt like they were living in the shadow of their sibling and his wonderful white fur—- [is shot by animal control]

I loooove comparing all the characters in this show, because it's genuinely a good way to approach Krosmoz, since Tot likes exporing the same themes (immortality/family) over, and over, and over, and over. And what I can say rn is: man, having normal parents makes jealousy-based plots much more tame. Atcham went in a "I want to be great like you, so I need to end you, you don't care about me like I care about you anyway" direction instead of a "I want to be great like you, so I'm gonna leave and work on myself, and then we can stand side by side someday"

I do think he is going to hurt his sister in some major way with this decision and in the end it will be a bitter, or bittersweet memory <3 I believe in the power of toxicity <3

To elaborate on the thing I said about titles, Astra is the ruling queen (to be precise, she is the daughter of the king of Bonta who was mentioned in seasons 1-2 and OVAs, who seems to have passed away); while her wife is either queen-consort, or a princess-consort.

However, Wakfu kingdoms may have worse, weirder rules than real life about inheritance.

The reason I am not getting my panties in a twist about the same-sex aspect of this (besides me supporting toxic royal yuri + being against homophobia or whatever) is that this is a magical universe, idk. they could adopt or get magically pregnant. It's literally a non-issue for me. UNLIKE PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTANDING THE CONSORT SYSTEM AND—-

Joris is present in all the kingdoms as Yugo's emotional support mediator/ambassador, except for Brakmar. I assume they simply do not let this fucking man into their palace, and rightfully so. He's literally a Bontarian narc. He'd use that chance to steal documents or some shit.

Btw I find it so funny how he keeps the same neutrally haunted look.

If a Bonatrian political leader goes for a week without wanting to start genocide against a people who isn't into the main 12 gods, they start getting the shakes from withdrawal.

I imagine living for hundreds of years and experiencing unimaginable suffering would make one pretty averse to being bossed around by some random guy who was born into wealth and has not known a second of grief in their life.

I feel it is important to point out: Joris was the one who made sure the meeting with Astra happened. He also felt this was important enough to try and organize meetings with other kings and queens. This is a dangerous situation.

As always, absolutely nobody listened. Nobody ever listens.

As I was saying, I imagine living for hundreds of years and experiencing un—-

I think the fact that Joris went with them has to say something about him. Yes, it is probably his sense of responsibility — he doesn't exactly want bad things to happen...

But also it explicitly puts a wedge between him and the Bontarian government. He values Yugo more.

[j-graysonlibrary]

The Xiang Chronicles: Book One Chapter 32

Title: The Xiang Chronicles: Book One

Author: Jay Grayson

Word Count: 83k

Genres: Fantasy, adventure, drama, LGBT+

Available on: my website

Synopsis: Every few centuries a hero is born—one chosen by the God Tiandi to carry out his will in the mortal realm. The Xiang. Whether it is to quell a war instigated by the forces of shadow—of Shakti herself—or whether it is the miasma that poisons the world, the Xiang is born to bring the world back into balance.

Shu Pangu Min knows what his purpose is and he does his best to fulfill it even if he doesn’t fully understand all of the details. He must travel from city to city—lord to lord—to clear out the miasma. Along the way, he is to enlist the aid of four disciples. Each is to be of a different country and each must have high resonance and deep faith.

The holy men who raised him have great confidence in his future successes and they leave him to begin his journey on his own. But, can Pangu live up to the expectations of those around him? Can he really save the land like all other Xiang before him or will his unconventional methods doom them all?

Full chapter 32 under the cut

Chapter XXXII

Since being carried back to the palace, unconscious, Pangu had not been outside so the walk around the city was just as much for him as it was for Heidi. The guard by the entrance gave his sister a weird look and she stuck her tongue out at him in return.

“What was that about?” Pangu asked once they were far enough away from him.

Heidi shrugged. “He refused to let me through to see you. Luckily, Raine was there and knew of my name. Otherwise I would still be there, fighting with that jerk.”

“What did you tell him?” He looked over at her before clarifying, “the guard.”

“That I was your sister and I wanted to see you.”

Pangu couldn’t help but laugh. “Did you bring no proof with you?”

“My own person—our likeness and my word should have been enough, wouldn’t you think?” She put her hands on her hips, clearly still vexed by the encounter.

“You could have just as easily been an assassin,” he stated, “That axe on your back is certainly no help to you in this regard.”

“It’s for cutting wood. Do these city people not have any lumber mills?” Heidi asked as she looked around at the crowds on the street. A good amount of them were staring at her. Other than guards and the rogue adventurer, no one else really carried visible weapons.

“I guess not,” Pangu decided to humor her. “In the future, however, you may want to purchase a cover for your axe. Something to make it less noticeable?”

“Then I would have to remove the cover every time I used it,” she argued, “No thank you.”

He held in his sigh before pointing to a vendor with street food. “How about a snack then?”

“I could eat,” his sister responded and led the way over.

They both ordered a kebab and kept walking.

“Still on your all veggie diet?” Heidi asked after a moment.

“Yes?” Pangu was slightly confused by her question. It was a huge part of how he was raised and, at this point, if he ate anything else he would get sick. He’d had a case of food poisoning in Agni when there was nothing but meat to be found and it had reaffirmed in him the knowledge that he could only safely eat fruits and vegetables.

“So,” she quickly moved on to something else. “How did you decide which people to choose as your disciples? Was there a test they had to pass or did you just think they were cute?”

He raised his eyebrow at her. “It is about their resonance. And their personalities.”

“What is that resonance thing exactly? I heard you and your old men talk about it before. One of them said our family had high resonance and that’s why you were born from mother or…something like that.” She frowned a little before taking a bite of her snack.

“It means the innate ability one has to control the energies inside and around their person,” Pangu explained it in the most technical way he could, “So, basically, if everyone had the powers of the Xiang, people with high resonance would be the most naturally skilled.”

“Oh.” She was silent for a few seconds. “So I guess your disciples picked up their elements quickly then?”

“They did.” He smiled proudly.

“Yeah, but who’s the best at it?” Heidi smirked.

“The best? They all have different elements so I cannot tell. Each element requires a different kind of exertion and skill so it would be impossible to compare them.”

“That is a convenient answer.”

“What do you want me to say then?” Pangu regarded her with a raised brow. 

“Tell me who is strongest. Or who is your favorite. Either works for me.” She chuckled.

“Why?”

“I’m just curious.”

Pangu shook his head. “None are ‘the strongest’. Even their fighting styles outside of the elemental stuff are too different to compare. As for who my favorite is, they are all my friends. They are all my favorite.”

“You are so full of it, Pangu,” she scoffed, “Even now, you can’t say anything that might hurt someone’s feelings despite the fact you lie by proxy.”

“It’s not a lie,” he raised his voice, “I do care about them all equally. Just…differently as well. You can’t understand because you’re always competing with me so you see everything as a competition, even if it isn’t.”

“I do not,” Heidi countered, “You’re confusing me with our parents. I already know I’m number two to them anyway.”

“But you aren’t!” Pangu grabbed her shoulders. “You are their precious daughter. The reason it looked like they favored me when I came to visit was because they were only allowed to see me twice a year. They were with you every day so you could not see the love they had for you. It was always clear to me though. I bet now, as we speak, they are worried sick over you.”

“I doubt it,” she said and tried to shrug him off.

But, he held on tighter. “I know they are.”

Heidi looked away. “Not as worried as they are over you.”

“More so, I would think.” Pangu released her. “They knew I would depart for years so they had a lot of time to prepare for it. With you, I doubt they saw it coming. Now they must be thinking they will never see either of their children again.”

“Okay, now you are just trying to get me to go home.” She frowned.

“Not at all,” he said and pointed across the street, “but it would not hurt to pick up a souvenir for mother, no?”

Several feet away, behind the cover of an especially wide lamp post, Raine, Kira, and Baiya stood and watched the siblings.

“Are they fighting?” Baiya asked, noticing the unusually assertive body language of the Xiang. That mixed with the clear frown on the young woman’s face painted an unfavorable picture.

“She doesn’t seem to like her brother,” Kira mentioned, “I don’t like how she talks to him.”

“Maybe it is just how they are?” Raine offered, “I did not have any blood siblings at the orphanage but I treated all of my fellow orphans as my family. Sometimes we bickered.”

“But she regards him with such resentment,” Kira responded with a frown, “I do not appreciate it.”

“As much as I agree with Kira on how off putting it feels to see anyone treat Pangu with disrespect, I also see Raine’s point. We don’t exactly know what their relationship is like,” Baiya said but did not tear his eyes off of the two.

They were at a shop that sold toys and knickknacks. More arguing seemed to be going on but it didn’t look as intense as the previous exchange.

“Heidi just seems very headstrong and obstinate,” Raine commented as he watched them as well, “That kind of personality would naturally clash with Pangu.”

“I’m headstrong and obstinate too,” Kira grumbled, “Don’t see me giving our Xiang a hard time.”

“You also just do whatever he says,” Raine replied and looked down at him.

“Shhh, hide,” Baiya said in a whisper and pulled them both to retreat back behind the post as the siblings turned around. He let out a sigh in relief when the two went along with their walk instead of approaching them—they hadn’t seen after all.

“What are you all doing?” Viren’s voice made them jump. The Lord stood behind them with his hands on his hips. He had his hair tucked up into a hat and was wearing less conspicuous robes. “Are you stalking Pangu and his sister?”

“What?” Raine asked as if it was ludicrous, “We wouldn’t do that.”

“No, never,” Kira added.

“You look like you’re the one doing the stalking,” Baiya pointed out.

“I have a meeting with the bank that has been scheduled for months, for your information,” Viren said and crossed his arms, “I just happened to be walking this way.”

“Convenient,” he replied.

“They walked off,” Kira said as he looked back to the street. “We should hurry.”

“So you are following them,” Viren responded yet continued to also walk with them as they caught up to Pangu and Heidi. “His sister is very pretty and all but do you really need to do this? I am sure she would be fine with any of you approaching her to talk.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, your lordship,” Kira scoffed, “We all like men here.”

“We all?!” Raine repeated, appalled.

“Shut it, they’ll hear,” Baiya hissed. 

Kira glanced over at Viren and quietly explained, “His sister is being mean to him so we are following to make sure our Xiang is alright.”

“Oh, I see,” the man said and nodded.

“Did you not say you had a meeting to get to?” Baiya asked the Lord and cut his eyes over at him.

“It is still some time away,” Viren answered and looked over at the siblings as well.

While searching for something to buy their father, Heidi suddenly stopped her hand from reaching out to touch an item at the shop. She crossed her arms and looked to Pangu. “Do they always follow you everywhere?”

“Who?”

“Your disciples?”

Pangu had closed off his ability to feel other people’s energies around him since he knew they were heading into the city. Having that active around so many people was a quick way to send him to exhaustion. But, because of his sister’s words, he clicked it back into place and quickly found a hotspot of energy.

When he looked over he saw not only his three disciples but Lord Viren as well. They were around the corner but were clearly watching him.

A laugh came out of him first. “What are they doing?”

“Shall we go see?” Heidi raised an eyebrow. A smile pulled at her lips so any concern Pangu had about her being irritated by them was immediately melted away.

There was no time for the disciples to run and hide or even pretend to be doing something else before Pangu and Heidi were in front of them.

“So…?” Pangu started and then laughed again, “Did you not trust us by ourselves?”

“It isn’t that,” Baiya was the first to speak.

“You are still recovering,” Kira said, “We wanted to make sure you didn’t exert yourself.”

“You are recovering as well, Kira,” Pangu pointed out.

“That is why I am here to watch over him,” Raine half-lied.

“Why not just join us?” the Xiang laughed again.

“We did not want to disrupt your time with your sister,” his first disciple answered.

“I was simply on my way to a meeting…which I really should be getting to now,” Viren said and glanced away.

“Pangu,” Heidi said and tugged on the sleeve of his robe. Her attention had been stolen by something in the distance and she looked slightly confused.

“What is it?” he turned to face her and then tried to follow her line of sight.

“Aren’t those your old men over there?” Heidi pointed out into the crowd.

Pangu squinted as he tried to see. First, he noticed a woman with an elaborate headpiece and instantly recognized her as the priestess from the border city—Merra. She had said she was a high priestess from Ultimos so that made sense.

What made no sense was the fact that, around her, there were four bearded men in familiar white robes. Pangu’s jaw slacked.

“What…? They should not take human form again until they are training the next Xiang…”

“…Should we go over?” Heidi asked, sounding unsure.

“Those are your old mentors?” Kira questions, “You are sure?”

“I am positive,” Pangu confirmed. His legs moved on their own as he made his way over and everyone followed closely behind.

The chatter of the crowd became like a buzzing in Pangu’s head that he could not drown out. Many different thoughts came and went but none of them could possibly explain the presence of his old mentors.

Once he was stopped in front of them, they took notice. There was no surprise on their faces like there was on his but instead, they had a look of expectance. Jun and Gong even smiled at him while Zhu and Hwang took a more serious approach like usual.

“Pangu, you have recovered nicely,” Zhu said.

“It has been some time,” Gong spoke next.

“What are you doing here?” Pangu cut to the point. “Why are you back?”

“The situation, as I am sure you have noticed, is not typical,” Hwang told him, “Shakti is making several Chaaya and you know, better than any, that not every Chaaya is doing as they are told.”

The eyes of the old men all went to Kira who simply smiled and waved.

“I am not abandoning him,” Pangu said firmly.

“They are not asking you to,” Merra spoke up, reminding everyone that she was still there. She smiled gently. “They wish you would simply consider others. You do not have to leave him at the wayside.”

“I am happy with my choice and you told me before that it was mine to make,” Pangu insisted and stared at his old caregivers. “Is this all because you believe I have done wrong?”

“You have done different,” Jun spoke up, “But we cannot say whether it is wrong or not yet. Still, we have been forced into a new, unfamiliar situation.”

“Yes, so we must do something that has not been done before,” Zhu added.

The disciples, Heidi, and Viren all looked amongst each other before their eyes went back to Pangu, out of concern for most of them and out of curiosity for Heidi.

“Which is…?” Pangu probed.

“We have appointed a new Xiang,” Zhu responded. “You will still keep your abilities, before you say anything, and you are still free to continue your journey unbothered. But if Shakti wants to bend rules then we must meet her at her level.”

“A new Xiang?” Raine asked, dumbfounded.

“It is me,” Merra said and looked between all of them before her eyes ultimately settled on Pangu, “I am the new Xiang.”

[dungeonaspects]

Warforged Druid

"If you do not take the time to hear the birdsong, smell the pines, or feel the ground, what on earth is the point of living?"

The old world watches on at the inexorable march of time, the rise and fall of kingdoms, the structures built and the reclamation of the wilds. While not above interference, often it proves more hassle than it's worth since even a forest burnt to cinders will, of course, regrow vibrant and beautiful.

Yet something has stirred in the deepest recesses of nature, the unknowable force that guides all life has noticed something on the next horizon, the red star rises. For the first time in eons the powers that be reached out into the ether and found a soul that will retain the balance of life, the threat far greater than even the gods realise.

The soul was taken, softly, gently. The being it was had been washed away, the pure, innocent soul taken into the force of nature and given new purpose. The child was born of heartwood, the new bark as soft as fresh yew.

It stepped onto the fertile soil of the deepest forest, feeling the life beneath its feet, the birdsong reaching its ears, the scents of the trees on the breeze. It stumbled along the forest floor, watching the world in wonder, the sunbeams glistening through the canopy, the deer watching it curiously, snorting slightly as the child brushed over the fur completely unafraid.

The child doesn't know how long it wandered the forest, only that after the aimless walk and many cycles of light and dark it had grown taller, its bark now hard. It had met with dryads and satyr, learning some basic language and more ways of the forest.

It learned the ways of nature, to hunt, to live, to feel the will of the world in its purest form. It would live as each animal it saw until it learned everything it could, the wolves welcoming the strange biped as a member of their pack, the deer herd wary of the stranger until the child could walk among them without hesitation.

Once the child's understanding was great enough they could take on the form of each creature, something the child revelled in. Often it would exert itself to exhaustion trying to maintain the form of whatever animal it found itself captivated by at that time.

After so many cycles the child found itself on the outskirts of the forest, the familiar canopy vanishing above to show clear skies and gentle rolling hills. As it stared off into the wide open land a form stepped up beside it.

"There is so much to see out there little one, and I hope you see it all." Came a soft voice.

An ancient satyr stood stooped beside the child, a spear gripped firmly in their hand, they offered the spear to the child.

"A gift from myself, sung from the most ancient elder tree I know of." The satyr said, a slight quaver in their voice.

The child took the spear, it was light, the wooden edge of the blade keen, but the warmth of the haft comforted the child. Without looking back the child walked into the world, unaware of the satyr vanishing behind them, a single prismatic tear rolling down their cheek.

Some Ideas

With this character I felt that they should be innocent and wonderful, naïve about the world yet hardened by lessons few get to experience. I love druids but they become hard to channel their class when you need to investigate why a royal was assassinated when there's little link to nature etc.

With this character they are in tune with nature in a fundamental way but comes with an innate curiosity that can make them want to experience everything. They'll become a bounty hunter for the thrill of the hunt, slay a cult to be hailed a hero, solve a murder mystery because the mystery is so exciting.

Plus you can play them however you want, circle of stars as they observe the heavens, circle of the land (change the origin landscape to suit your chosen circle), circle of spores as the fungi sit within your wooden heart. I love circle of the moon myself but that's just my preference, I like the idea that the transformation also changes the form and nothing else, as in you have a living wood wolf or bird, feathers of leaves and claws of thorns.

In terms of wildshape I've always made sure my character and players spend time with the animal their trying to emulate, studying them, living with them. I dislike the idea, they saw a turtle once now they can be a turtle, get them to follow the creatures, learn their habits, their place in nature. It means you don't just sit on a stump in a forest and meditate, you hunt among the wolves, forage with the bears, stay wary next to your rabbit brethren.

I just like a curious little creature looking to experience the world.

As for deeper backstory bits the calamity that comes is of course up to the DM, talk to them about what would upset the balance of nature so much that nature itself would interfere. Also I do like the idea that your soul used to be something else, an ancient druid passing on who dedicated their past life to nature? Or maybe a soul destined for hell, given another chance to better the world?

The questions about your previous life can begin to conflict with your current self, having to explore this conflict with your DM and fellow players as you grapple with who you are. Perhaps some flashbacks are in order, dinner with a family you don't recognise, a flag you can draw but no one knows about. (You don't have to be from the current time, nature don't care, you could be from millennia ago).

As for the spear speak to your DM, I like to have an item from the past that you can link your character to, great for PC to PC conversations and maybe getting a weapon that can grow with you and have hidden abilities may let your DM go hog wild with development. Plus if your weapon breaks or gets stolen you aren't just happy to grab a new one.

As always all this is changeable, play this character how you want, a super efficient killing machine or a pacifistic innocent looking to better the world, or anything in between. I love when someone takes an idea as a springboard and takes it that bit further, and if you do please let me know, I love hearing about it :)

Art by: Jason NguyenPRO Absolutely stunning piece, the detail on the face and armour, how the leaves form the cloak. And oh god the spear is beautiful, elegant and dangerous. This is so fantastic, thank you

https://www.artstation.com/contests/ancient-civilizations/challenges/14/submissions/13640#submission-update-49355

[kururu418]

My Einherjar Picks

Record of Ragnarok season 2 came out, and I thought it was pretty good! At least a step up from last season anyway. Then I remembered I had this idea. I thought this would be a fun idea and potential reblog/tag game to do! So here’s the list of Einherjar (human fighters) I would have gone with. Feel free to reblog with your own picks of them (or the list of gods) you would have chosen.

1. Shaka Zulu

King of the Zulu kingdom and a well known military genius and tactician! I think it would have been awesome to see him in a battle against the gods. He was known for being downright ruthless in his methods. Took out his own half brother to take power, had the whole ‘poison spit’ thing going, and came up with the famous Bull Horn Formation. He went out like most powerful rulers did, getting assassinated. (Took his brothers three tries to finally get him).

2. King David

Biblical figures clearly aren’t off limits. I mean they had Adam in there so I consider this pick free game. King David murdered a nine foot tall man with a sling and a rock... imagine what he would do with a volunder weapon! Dude was already a badass. I mean: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands”.

3. Mahummaud Ali      

I shouldn’t even have to explain this one! It’s Mahummad Ali! Yeah he’s not exactly an ‘ancient’ historical figure but this man is unquestionably the greatest known boxer of all time! He’s the goat! You already know his volunder would be a pair of boxing gloves. Imagine just him getting in the area with a god and going “No fancy tricks, just these hands”.

4. John Henry  

Okay, maybe a bit of a cheat here since it’s more forelock than an actual historical figure, but c’mon! It’s John Henry! A dude so badass he died of exhaustion beating a machine in a railroad making contest! Volunder would most definitely be a hammer! He’s jack a god up!

5. Bruce Lee  

I don’t even have to explain this one. It’s Bruce Lee. Again, not exactly an ancient historical figure but he’s so badass it’d be amazing to see him in the exaggerated world of RoR.

6. Harry Houdini

Not a warrior, but neither was Nikola Telsa or Jack The Ripper (he was a killer, not a warrior...) I think it would be a really creative fight, with him using his escape tactics and magic to his advantage in the right. I have no idea what his volunder would be, but it’s be awesome. (A deck of cards, a key, a giant box, who knows!). If he lost it would be by being punched in the gut...

7. Bass Reeves

The baddest cowboy to ever walk the earth... period. Dude was an absolute legend. This is the guy who was an inspiration for the Lone Ranger and Django. Imagine this gunslinger up against a god? His volunder would be two six shooters!

8. Henry Every

I don’t imagine most people have ever heard of this guy, but he was the most successful pirate in history. This guy organized a number of pirates crews together to rob this super rich cruise ship. Not only did he get away with it but he screwed off afterwards and never got caught. Was known for being a real persuasive and charismatic dude, which is how he was made leader of the alliance. I just think having a pirate against a god would be cool.

9. Hua Mulan

Another legend rather than a historical figure, but meh. I feel it’s only deserved we get another version of Mulan that doesn’t suck ass. She became a famed warrior in the army while under the guise of a man, and unlike in movies she never actually got caught! In the original ballad she fought for ten years, was offered a high position among the government, but then turned it down and decided to just go home. Never got found out until after. That it badass, and would love to see her tangle with a god.

10. Lapu-Lapu

Lapu-Lapu is a heroic historical figure in Filipino culture. He basically told a bunch of colonizers to piss off, and when they tried to screw him over by setting his village on fire, he rallied his warriors, rolled up and murked them... so yeah, a pretty awesome guy.  

Anyway this was just a fun little thing to do. If you guys are up for it then you can do your own list and tag some people I guess. Am eager to see what other people/gods people would have picked to go toe to toe with each other.

[steel-and-fire]

He nodded slowly, his smile give way to a more serious expression, even as the gentleness on his face remained. He held her hand, and sat down, patting the space next to him. It would be better if they were sitting.

"I want to share everything. Every single thing that was in my mind back then.. I want you to understand. Im not looking to excuse anything, i just want to let it off my shoulders. To have the talk we couldn't have then.." He took a small inhale, then looked back to her. He wanted their eyes to meet the whole time. Often, they could say more than words ever could.

"When i left.. Things were already bad for a while. I had... Many problems, in the space we were....

First one, was our... Teamates. I need you to understand, Azemondeus was not a good person. He was rather awful, actually. And we tolerated him for long. Why? For the sake of the mission. Know that i didnt end up beating him only because of you. He was and still is vile, and made my stomach turn.

Hoyt was... Certainly a bigger issue. From the very start, he constantly blackmailed us and forced us to his whim. He had the book, and he could steal it at any moment he decided so. He went back on the mission we all agreed on, he went back on the decisions we all agreed on, he got us into trouble and and did whatever he wanted, and we followed his every word, all for the sake of the book and the mission, even as he disrespected and used us constantly.

It was suffocating me. I couldn't even defeat him and get the book from him, because i knew he would seek to kill us instead if i did that. I would have to kill him. And maybe he would deserve it, being a paid assassin that has the blood of good people on his hands and will again when all this is over.

But i didnt want to. Cause i didnt want to sadden you. To create rifts between us.

Zinnya wasnt as horrible, but she kept putting us in danger with her reckless behavior, and she made me uncomfortable as a teamate.

Then..." He breathed, he didnt want to look away. The hold on her hand became a little tighter.

"You, Lia... Ever since you got that mission, you... Changed. You stopped smiling often, you stopped dreaming.. You want to help and save people, and that desire and purpose consumed you. You focused entirely on it, and got closer to the people that would help you on that mission, whether they were good or awful.. And you.. Stopped talking to me. You stopped including me in your life and purposes. Your new friends were your gods and those that could aid you...

I have no magic, no knowledge of the arcane or divine. I....often was made to feel like my only use to you was to be a powerful body on the field. And that's fine by me for most poeple. But not for you...

I tried to approach you again, to try to connect the rifts between us, but it seemed like you had already given up on me... Had found other, more useful and..supportive to the cause people to grow close to...

You cared for me... But not like before. My presense other than my strength felt without value... And when i also seemed to.... Lose you in more ways, i despaired.

And... Finally... I draw a huge issue with the whole situation on itself... We were gathered together by the gods, many using lies, to complete a mission for them... And then, halfway through it, they urge us to abandon the mission, and throw us to the wolves against a Super Devil with basically no protection, with almost no guidance and no information.

We had to seek aid from a goddamn witch, for fuck's sake.

And then expect us to save the world in their sake, because they have messed up and they cant even talk about it.

And not even for once, did they offer something in return for something so tremendous. And im not saying we should be doing it all for a reward. Im talking about common courtesy and good manners.

I told you i dont think we are chosen, and i believe it, because they never treated us as such. I bet many were chosen before us, and they failed. The only reason we were chosen now, is because we were capable. With potential. And if we fall, new chosen will take our place.

I despise that. We are worth more than that. We arent disposable, and i cant believe their words when their actions are so selfish still. Your gods may be nicer, and i am happy for you, but it doesn't apply to all of them. I dont want to do the bidding of such selfish gods. I hate the Man in Red, and i faced some of his demons after i left. And i will continue hunting down the Black Tears. Cause they are awful scum of the earth.

But ill do it in my way. In my terms. Following my path and destiny, no one's pawn to control or discard....

..." He took a breath there, a deep breath. It was a lot. But he felt strong enough to speak his heart.

"I am sorry, Lia... I couldnt be there. I couldn't stay there. And i am so sorry that i left without a word, but if i saw your face, i knew i wouldn't be able to leave...

I've been holding these thoughts inside since the start... But i could never speak them, too afraid of the rift it might cause to us..

Forgive me. I should have trusted you more and sooner. I was a coward, running from my own fear of losing you."

He held her hand in both of his now, the expression on his face not changing despite everything he said... Still a gentle gaze, the light touch of holding something precious..

"Lia... I... Am sorry... I am so sorry. I'm... Glad that you still managed to continue your path, are well and..." He breaths, closing his eyes.".. Found someone who loves and cares for you..." He opened them, made a small smile and pat her head..

She looked up at him as he spoke in silence. Her lips were parted, her bright eyes shining against the dark of the tears. She couldn't hide... this was still an open wound, despite it all.

"We're all doing our best... you know how much effort I put into things myself, and Echo watches over me from afar... heh," she gave an embarrassed tiny smile and she hid her mouth, almost as if in shame, "you think of us as if we were that much more already... but things are complicated, and I understand him as he understands me."

She returned to stare into his eyes.

"In a few words, my mission calls, and we're aware we may not see each other again, just like you and me."

"I just miss you, that is all... but there's no need for apologies. Make your decision worth it, and I-ll be happy."

[yummyyume]

Maribat soulmates AU

I wrote most of it a year ago, but never got around to posting it. It’s probably been done before, but I’m a sucker for soulmate AU, so you people are getting it anyway. 

Hope you all like it!

I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors, English is not my first language. I hope it’s still intelligible.

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General headcanons for the AU:

-Soulmates share the same skills set. When one knows how to do something, the other can do it too. They have the same proficiency, but it gets adapted to their body type, their way of life and their personality and behavior. (ex: Marinette and Damian can both use the katana, but they don’t parry the same way or use the same combinations of attacks.)

-They know when the skill they’re currently using come from their soulmate. It’s like a small acknowledgement at the back of their mind.

-When they meet face to face, they recognize each other immediately.

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-When Marinette really starts to talk, Arabic and Mandarin words are as present in her vocabulary as French words.

-Sabine is delighted that her baby girl’s soulmate has roots in her culture too. Tom starts looking up Arabic words to try to understand what she is saying. With only a baby pronunciation to get by, it is slow going.

-When Marinette is old enough to understand that she could speak Arabic and Mandarin thanks to her soulmate, she decides that it’s not a fair trade. She gets two languages from them and they only get one! She settles on learning Italian with Nonna Gina.

-Marinette is very agile and light on her feet.

-She knows that baking is her skill, but cooking is her soulmate’s. Every time she helps her maman with diner, she feels like someone is backing her up at the back of her mind. A warm presence easily overlooks. Like ‘oh yeah, it’s your skill. Thank you for sharing.’

-Arabic, Mandarin and cooking are the only thing she really gets from her soulmate. Or so she thinks. Assassin’s skills aren’t exactly useful in the day to day life of a French bakery.

-When she becomes Ladybug, she thinks that the acrobatics are thanks to the magic suit. Until she finds herself with a sword in her hands and suddenly, she isn’t so sure anymore.

-Ladybug’s suit includes a black utility belt made of little pouches with self-sealing flaps and full of all sort of things: zip ties, a gas mask (perfectly functional despite its small size – don’t question the magic), an infra-red flashlight, a fingerprint kit, skeleton keys, smoke bombs, flash bombs, a rebreathing apparatus, a miniature voice recorder, a basic first-aid kit. Everything is bright red with black polka dots. Even the zip ties.

-After a careful inventory of her utility belt, Marinette acknowledges that probably half of it is the result of soulmate influence. Tikki had told her that generally her Chosens only use their yo-yo and Marinette would never have thought of zip ties on her own.

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-Damian knows that he has a soulmate because he can speak French and Italian like a native when he only ever learnt Arabic and Mandarin.

-He scoffs at the thought of a soulmate. He’s an Al Ghul and his grandfather’s heir, he has no need for such frivolities. When he’ll met his soulmate, he’ll either recruit them for the League or kill them, depending on what his mood will be that day and their level of uselessness.

-He starts learning English when he’s nine following his mother’s orders. If he’s to be his father’s heir, he needs to be able to communicate with him and the various ‘children’ the man adopted over the years. He thinks his soulmate is helping him by learning English words he hasn’t learnt yet. He doesn’t dwell on it.

-It isn’t until he starts living with his father in Gotham that he starts to see soulmates in a new light. Richard Grayson’s soulmate is Starfire. Timothy Drake’s soulmate is Superboy. He can’t win against either of them. Maybe his soulmate won’t be useless after all.

-Damian has a hard time falling asleep in a house full of highly trained strangers at first. He starts exploring the Manor, before ending in the kitchen. Following instincts that aren’t his own, he makes chocolate-chip cookies. While preparing the dough, he can feel a warm almost-there presence at the back of his mind. He starts doing it every night. Sometimes he tries new recipes. They all turn pretty good. No one ever bother him.

(-They have all already checked the camera feed to see what he was up to. And if baking is relaxing him, they aren’t going to comment. He’s enough of a prickly porcupine, no need to put him even more on the defensive.)

-Damian grows to love his family. And maybe his soulmate, whoever they were.

.

-Amelia Brody is Marinette’s class interpreter and tour guide for the duration of their school trip in Gotham. She’s cheerful and excited to show her city to those children. She’s a bit weirded-out by the class dynamics but put it down to French people, until it’s time to tour Wayne Enterprise.

-They’re just finishing touring the open-to-visitors part of WE when she realizes that Marinette is rooted to the spot and facing the ‘employees only’ elevators a few meters away.

“Marinette?” she calls, coming closer. “Is everything alright?”

The girl blinks at her, eyes wide, before looking back at the elevators.

“I-I don’t… I’m sorry… I just… Soulmate?”

Some of the other teenagers scoff.

“Quit making a scene, girl.” Alya rolls her eyes.

Amelia has been getting to know those children for days and she saw how Marinette was treated, how everyone believed Lila’s grand tales and it’s not her place to interfere, even less so when she doesn’t have the full picture, but when she sees Marinette force herself to take a step back, shoulders hunched up, she swipes out her phone to call security and informs them of the situation.

A few minutes later, a dark-haired man cheerfully joins them. Amelia is standing like a barrage between Marinette and the things her classmates are murmuring about the girl while Caline Bustier imitates a pot plant. (Amelia is going to write a long report on this class, just watch her). Still, Amelia is very relieved to see Dick Grayson. (She manages to keep the fangirling down to a mental squeal, thank God)

“So, you’re feeling your soulmate is upstairs?” he asks Marinette.

“I’m sorry,” she replies like a reflex, looking down at her shoes.

“Don’t be! Let’s go see if we can find them!”

Everyone piles up in the elevator. There’re so many people working at WE that the elevators are all very spacious.

It’s not quite a skill that make Marinette push the top floor button, but it’s not that different from muscle memory. Her soulmate has pushed this button so many times, that Marinette doesn’t even hesitate. Dick’s eyes lit up at her actions. After all there’s not a lot of people at the top floor who can be her soulmate. He doesn’t quite like the tone of her classmates even if he can’t understand what they’re saying, but the tour guide’s expression is a sign to behold, so he doesn’t think he’s imagining the insults.

-When the elevator’s doors open again, Marinette makes a beeline for the central office just as the door opens and a young man with dark hair and green eyes exits with a puzzled frown.

Their eyes meet.

“Hi,” Marinette blushes, incapable of looking anywhere else.

“Hello,” Damian replies, voice soft.

[crossdressingdeath]

Top 5 Dragon Age romances

Zevran!!!!!!!!!!!!! Zevran, Zevran, Zevran. My beloved assassin boi. I am a sucker for friends-with-benefits to lovers featuring the "Oh no we can't fuck now I've caught feelings and I don't know how to deal with it" plot beat. And that letter you get from him in Awakening? Where he calls you "my sweet" and talks about how he misses you and can't wait until he can return to your side (or until you can find your way to his)? His (bugged) cameo in DA2 where he talks about he's been away from his Warden for far too long? The way that he's the only DAO LI still beside his Warden in DAI? I cannot, it's too good, too soft. Also I am not immune to that accent. Bioware when will my husband come back from helping his husband cure the Calling.

And here we get to the tricky ones, so we're just gonna call 2 and 3 a tie because I cannot choose. So, because I'm currently romancing him: Dorian. Him being so sure his relationship with Quiz will end in tragedy—either because it turns out that Quiz isn't as serious about it as him or because Quiz's position as the Lord Inquisitor will destroy him, his chance of having a life outside of his role, or both—but going for it anyway because he can't not? His constant worry over what being with him will mean for how people see Quiz? Him being basically the only LI to show concern for Quiz pre-Trespasser (mostly because he, Varric and Vivienne are basically the only characters to show concern for Quiz pre-Trespasser period, but still)? The whole post-HLtA romanced conversation where he talks about how he thought he'd lost Quiz? He's so good, I adore him. Also the fact that if romanced Quiz will sneak into Minrathous to see him despite how insanely dangerous that is is delightful. Bull and Dorian meet on the border because it's incredibly unsafe for Bull in Tevinter, but the Lord Inquisitor just. sneaks on in to meet with his lover. Possibly the most high-profile guy in Thedas just casually strolling into the heart of Tevinter, it's so funny to me.

The second part of the tie: Bull. Naturally. Hnnnnnn BDSM friends-with-benefits to lovers my beloved. It also proves that Bull is aware of the weight being the Inquisitor is putting on Quiz in a way the others don't seem to be. I really love how the whole romance (unless you sacrifice the Chargers, which we Do Not Talk About) revolves so strongly around Bull wanting to give Quiz a safe place to put down the burden of being the Inquisitor when so much of the cast doesn't even seem to recognize that it is a burden! A particular favourite of mine is him choosing to dance with you in the ballroom proper at the end of WEaWH while the other LIs dance with you on the balcony, which to me feels like it's coming from the same place as his Trespasser codex entry and the bit where formalizing your relationship involves you very firmly telling your advisors that this is not a bit of meaningless fun and you intend to continue, before asking them if they have a problem with that in a tone that suggests if they say yes they're going to have a much bigger problem to contend with; your relationship isn't going to be some dirty little secret for people to titter at behind their hands! You two are going to rub your happiness and your romance in their faces at every opportunity and they are just going to have to deal with that. Also, so many good vibes in Trespasser. I mean they're also absolutely miserable vibes, but all Bull's romance banter in Trespasser is god tier. I especially love Bull referring to "kadan" as "a title of honour for the woman/man [he] love[s]", and the one after the bit where Bull can betray you where depending on chosen dialogue you can get Quiz saying "Just try to keep up, darling" (pet names are Good Shit) or Bull promising to always be by Quiz's side (which is tragic what with the whole "dying" thing, but still).

Fenris. I'm always going to have a soft spot for Fenhawke because that's actually what got me into DA in the first place; I saw ship art and got curious. Also, Gideon Emery's sexy, sexy voice. I am not immune. But also because I always play mages Fenris coming to learn that not all mages are like Danarius and him learning to trust Hawke is so good. Also him cutting and running from the relationship in a panic for three years while still wearing Hawke's favour constantly is so good, I love it.

Josie! Now I admit I haven't finished her romance yet (which honestly is part of the reason why she's fifth and not higher), but it's just so damn cute. Also, you fighting a duel for her hand and her getting mad at you over it is so much fun and such a Romance Thing! The "lady and knight" vibes are through the roof and I am all for that. Also, Leliana being Protective over Josie... good shit. She loves her friend so damn much and that really comes through in Josie's romance.

[lasquadrasfuckhouse]

ohoho how about la squadra with a s/o that used to be priest/nun, but they have chosen to forsake god

their mind turned out to be the filthiest shit they’ve even encountered, yet their s/o is the one who call his/her boi “filthy sinner”

basically a smug, hypocritical, not openly perverted freak uwu

I’m sorry that u have to work on this but I couldn’t resist the temptation, since your writings brings me so much joy .///.

anon this ask is absolutely fucking hilarious to me because i'm jewish and we have a number of traditional teachings that lend towards some very pragmatic views on sex (and i never really fully understood priest/nun kink and find it funny more than anything because our religious leaders fuck FNFKFKGJFKD) but i will do my best for u!!!! and thank u im so glad my writing brings u joy 🥺

honestly i think views on priest/nun kink from the perspectives of ppl who are Very Much Not Christian should be its own brand of comedy LMAO

la squadra with a partner who was a priest or nun 🛐

HEADS UP: this post contains mentions of religious trauma. pls stay safe i love u and so does la squadra ❤️

18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI

risotto ✂️

he'll be very curious. he and catholicism do not get along, so he'll wonder if he should be wary or if you're a kindred spirit of sorts

part of him looking satanic and scary is cause it makes him feel safe from that sort of environment. if you express to him that you understand that and you're comforted in being an antithesis to that life too, he'll feel very safe with you.

and he does like your filthy mind, it's satisfying to him and also part of that comfort that you were like 'fuck this actually' and did a 180 into being a kinky assassin. hard line at bringing that shit into the bedroom though. not into it. he'd rather get back in touch with his humanity with you instead of feeling like a 'sinner.'

prosciutto 🚬

he'll raise a brow when he learns of your past. he wonders how you wound up here, but he won't ask. he doesn't think much of it.

he would think he wouldn't have expected you to be so depraved, but on the other hand, you did leave that life behind. it's kinda funny to him more than anything

fondly call him a 'filthy sinner' and he'll chuckle and whisper in your ear: hypocrite.

pesci 🎣

he'll honestly wonder if you're like, Okay. like, u good? most people generally don't go from 0 to 100 like that. sweet man is just concerned

HE DEFINITELY DID NOT EXPECT YOU TO BE SO KINKY. it sort of catches him off guard, but then he thinks maybe it shouldn't be so surprising considering the 0 to 100. he's still very flustered, tho

probably not into bringing it into bed. definitely not into degradation, so!!!

formaggio 🧀

he cracks a lot of jokes about it that's for sure. it's really funny to him

he kind of can't believe how kinky you are not for the fact of what you used to do but because it's too good, right? he's definitely into it tho. he likes how no one coulda guessed.

lovingly call him your 'filthy sinner' and he'll hum and grin and flip you on your back. you want a filthy sinner? he'll give you one. you're his sinner, too

illuso ✨

it definitely interests him. he may taunt you about it; embrace the 'fall from grace' as it were (something something lucifer) and he'll be even more interested.

oh, he really likes how kinky you are. he will absolutely tease you about it. you're such a depraved thing, aren't you? no wonder you left a 'holy' life behind.

call him your sinner, and he'll say you're the real sinner here, but he does enjoy being 'unholy' with you. he will absolutely take you into the mirror world to fuck in one of those fancy cathedrals, the whole ass sistine chapel even. thank u michaelangelo for this depiction of christian god so illuso can defy it by making his partner pray to him in front of it instead

melone 🍈

fascinating! he'd be very interested in learning more on your choice to leave and your perspective if you're down for it.

he LOVES how kinky you are. were you always like that? of course you weren't satisfied with that life. he could certainly satisfy you, though.

call him your filthy sinner, and he'll kiss your neck and go, mm, i think that's you, amore.

ghiaccio ❄️

how the fuck does that happen? he may be sort of mildly curious, but that's all.

it makes perfect sense to him that you're Like That, you rejected it all and became an assassin ffs. not that he isn't still a little bit flustered about it.

he doesn't get the fond name. how can he be a 'sinner' if he isn't even christian???? that shit don't make any sense!!!!! if anyone's the 'sinner' here it's you, but he doesn't get that either cause you chose to leave that life anyway. make more sense, dumbass!!!!!

sorbet and gelato 🔪🍦

they're having the time of their lives. they love to see that nonsense taken down a notch, and the fact that you do too and did it so thoroughly? oh. chef's kiss.

OF COURSE YOU'RE KINKY. THEY LOVE IT. they're rather depraved too, so they'll have a lot of fun fucking you every which way and teasing you about it.

'filthy sinner' kind of turns them on. they love being bad with you and walking further away from god with you (or whatever). they don't need the mirror world to fuck you in a cathedral, get on their level!!!!!

[hintofelation99]

Can you describe the batfam by the type of movies or series they like to watch? Also what are the other's reaction whenever they watch it together?

Hell yeah! Tbh I feel like movie nights would be some of the most frustrating nights in Wayne manor, just cause everyone is hella opinionated. Like they take turns letting each other choose movies but even then they fight for at least an hour over what was chosen. But here's what each member typically chooses when it's their turn. Also I briefly mention their reactions in here but I'll probs do a Batfam Movie Night dialogue, fic, series, thingy (??? Idk what to call those things) and I'll link it back to this ask when I do. Link.

Dick:

Genres— Musicals, Rom Coms, Spy Movies

Favorite Movies— Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, The Greatest Showman, Notting Hill, Pretty Woman, A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Kingsman

Basically Dick is guaranteed to pick a musical or a rom com. He loves things that are big and dramatic and beautiful, but also a bit cheesey and silly. Like him.

Everyone groans when Dick chooses the movie because they know it will be a bit cheesey or the stereotypical "Chick Flick". That being said usually what he picks is genuinely good (Mamma Mia and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again are both masterpieces) and they leave everyone laughing or feeling happy.

Dick does also love classic foreign films (mostly European) because they remind him of movies his parents would sometimes take him to see, this wasn't super common but occasionally the Graysons would find a local theater showing classics.

He used to love the Kingsman movies but stopped liking them after everything that happened with Spyral.

Babs:

Genres— Sci-Fi, Comedy, Rom Coms

Favorite Movies— A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Martian, Star Wars, Star Trek, When Harry Met Sally

Babs is a complete nerd and loves all of the Star Wars and Star Trek movies. She'll occasionally watch Lord of the Rings with Tim but she definitely prefers the nerdy Sci-Fi movies.

She only started liking Rom Coms after dating Dick, he loves them so much that it was pretty difficult for her to not start liking them as well.

When watching one of her favs Babs will be mouthing along the entire time. She also has a lot of cool memorabilia from her favorite franchises.

Jason:

Genres— Classics, Dramas

Favorite Movies— Twelve Angry Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, To Kill a Mockingbird

Jason isn't too big on movies. And surprisingly he's not usually super opinionated about movies, he can be pretty opinionated on which movie the family will watch. This is less because he's trying to be combative and more because he's sick of watching his siblings favorite movies, he feels like hes seen them all a million times.

Typically Jason isn't a huge fan of movie adaptations or remakes. They don't bother him and he doesn't care when a new one's released but he's not going to watch it.

Sometimes Jason will accidentally fall asleep during family movie night, these are one of the few nights where he 'cuddles' and honestly it's less cuddling and more 'oops I feel asleep and ended up on someone's shoulder or lap. Whether or not he falls asleep depends on if he's fighting with Bruce or not. If he and Bruce are fighting Jason won't feel comfortable enough to fall asleep (he might even skip movie night), but if they're on good terms he might doze off.

Cass:

Genres— Fantasy, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Horror

Favorite Movies— The Big Sick, The Thing, A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Tangled

Cass mainly knows about movies from her movie nights with Tim, Babs, and Steph, so her tastes have developed based on theirs.

She and Tim frequently watch old B Horror movies together, every once in a while one will quietly sing "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" to the other and they immediately burst out laughing. This is most commonly done at galas.

Tim bought her a sweatshirt with a "horror movie periodic table" on it and she wears it almost constantly.

Tim:

Genres— Fantasy, Classic Horror

Favorite Movies— Lord of the Rings, The Exorcist, The Thing, Stardust

Tim absolutely adores fantasy movies, he's a huge nerd and definitely uses fantasy movies to help him plan his next DnD campaign.

While Tim adores fantasy movies he's more likely to watch movies from his second favorite genre— Classic Horror.

Him, Cass, Steph, and Babs love having movie nights together because they're all major nerds and tend to like a lot of the same movies.

Steph:

Genres— Comedy, Anything Cass recommends

Favorites— Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Big Sick, Palm Springs

Steph is much more outspoken than Tim, Babs, or Jason. This is part of the reason why she is one of the more polarizing siblings on movie night. If she doesn't want to watch something she will let you know.

She can making picking a movie difficult, but every other aspect of movie night is improved by Steph. She gets fun snacks, fuzzy blankets, cool sodas, and she even made them all shirts when they did a Lord of the Rings marathon.

When watching a movie Steph will quietly mimic lines or noises that she likes. She never notices but she does it during every movie. Like during Monty Python she'll whisper 'clip clop, clip clop' when they bang the coconuts together.

Duke:

Genres— Documentary, Mockumentary

Favorites— Darkest Knight: The Truth Behind Gotham's Hero, The Keene Act, America's Most Dangerous City: Gotham, What We Do in the Shadows

Duke loves watching documentaries on Batman just to see how off they are. No one argues when he suggests them for movie nights.

One time he, Jason, and Tim made a 'documentary' about Batman. It looks completely serious to anyone who doesn't know Batman's secret identity.

After making the Batman documentary he decided to make some more on random Gotham villians. He's made about six and all look completely serious to anyone who doesn't know the villian.

In his documentary titled "Riddle Me This" he said that the Riddler gained riddle themed powers after a tragic accident at a riddle book factory. Edward did not appreciate this.

Damian:

Genres— Action, Survival, Documentary

Favorites— John Wick, Riddle Me This, The Keene Act, Jungle, High School Musical

Damian is the absolute worst to watch action movies with, he spends the entire time ripping the movie apart and mocking anything that is even remotely unrealistic.

He and Duke will often talk about their favorite documentaries, he's even started helping Duke make documentaries. Right now they're working on one about the League of Assassins, Tim watched the first cut and almost pissed himself from laughing so hard.

Jon showed him High School Musical and Damian pretended to hate it but secretly he doesn't mind it. Obviously Jon knows this so he showed Damian the entire series, and now it's sort of become their thing.

Bruce:

Genres— Whatever the fuck his kids agree on

Favorites— Please for the love of god let his kids pick a movie

Bruce is tired and just wants to watch a goddamn movie

As always these are all headcannons and have little to no cannonical support. Also all of Dukes movies (except the last one) are documentaries I imagine would exist in the DC universe.

[liquid-luck-00]

Connections 10

Chapter 10

this is based on @thepeacetea daminette soulmate au

Masterlist *** First *** Previous *** Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Arriving in Themyscira, they were greeted by Queen Hippolyta and guided them to large hall. Introductions were made and Tikki zipped towards Hippolyta, nuzzling her cheek.

"You are the Ladybug of this generation?" The Amazonian Queen asked the youngest in the room.

"Yes, Ma’am." Marinette answered quickly and slightly panicked in the Queen's presence.

"Your soul is a true creation soul," she began her explanation. "As your soulmate and intended cat is a true destruction soul." As if on cue Damian, in corporeal form, 'crashed' through the ceiling, falling, and landing with a thud.

"Nice entrance Demon spawn." Jason snickered as Damian stood up.

"Tt. When I get my body back Grayson and Drake help me with this.” He demanded, but was actually asked of his brothers. He held up two batons.

“Dick would be better than...” Tim’s voice cut off as Damian merged the two and it expanded into a bo staff. “I stand corrected.”

“The Black Cat is the most offensive Miraculous," Hippolyta continued to explain. "As you've already found the first two, attempt to find the third."

"There are five total," Tikki chimed in. "But you'll need Plagg for the other two and to use your Power." Damian nodded and sat down fiddling with the staff, then batons, then the staff again, while listening to the Amazonian Queen.

"What does this have to do with the Lazarus Pit and bringing Damian back?” was asked by Bruce.

"Everything. Understanding the power that she is and he will, wield explains why there will not be an adverse effect on him." Hippolyta calmly explained. “The Ladybug as you may know uses a yo-yo as the primary weapon, but you also have two collapsed escrima sticks. Your powers include the 'Lucky Charm' and 'Miracle Cure’ used together you can reverse all damage caused as a result of the miraculous, or if any miraculous took part during anytime of the altercation. It is also possible to revive the dead with your power."

"So is it possible for Mari to bring back Damian?" Was asked by a hopeful Dick.

"Unfortunately not. What occurred was a result of the soul bond and the magic embedded into Marinette." A sad knowing look crossed the Queen's features. "This is where the Pits of Lazarus comes into play. As Marinette is the embodiment of creation and luck, as Damian is the embodiment of destruction and misfortune they are the two souls of this generation who can enter its waters without corruption."

"Why?" was chorused by the four eldest Waynes.

"The Pits were created by a wish merging the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous." Tikki now spoke again. "But with such powerful magic it comes with a cost. Pit madness comes when a person has a soul alignment with a miraculous, like Jason. For others it may vary, but for souls like the two of you, as part of Plagg and I, you are immune to the madness only reaping the benefits."

"Why didn't you say this before, Tikki." Tim brought up. "Because I can't see souls like my chosen can and Mari is too young to see them now." the miniature goddess responded.

"Pits as in more than one?" Bruce whispered, as if in deep thought.

"There are half a dozen pits around the world hidden away. Each is guarded by one of the inner kwamii, but that is more of a tidbit than necessary information." the Queen smiled. “Now has that calmed some concerns?"

"Is there a Pit not controlled by the League?" Jason blurted out. Because logically the league couldn't control all of them.

"A few, such as the one here on Paradise Island." Queen Hippolyta answered in turn.

"I can get my body back without the League?" Damian whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

This was the best news they could get. Damian could be revived while not having to struggle with the Pit madness. He wouldn't need to be near the League which means he wouldn't question himself. That he is able to build upon what he has since moving to Gotham without being the Prince of Assassins.

"Yes. Now come little bug, little cat." Marinette and Damian each flanked the Queen as the rest followed behind.

A short trek into the Mountains and they arrived at a pit. The same acidic green with chaos and creation swirled. Damian's body was deposited next to the swirling pool.

"Understand that when you emerge, both of you, will train here in order to strengthen and teach you the magic you will wield." the two children nodded, clear resolve on their features. "Good."

After bringing Damian back from the dead they almost immediately were placed into training. It was true that there was no madness, his mind was intact without being clouded by anger. Their soul bond was a huge benefit. Where Damian caught the physical aspect quickly and it transferred to Mari. While Mari was a natural at magic and helped guide Damian through.

Yes the Amazon’s did not particularly trust men but they could recognize Damian as a Black Cat, which along with his brother’s nickname Demon Spawn, he gained the name Hellcat. That and they could clearly see that Damian was Marinette’s soulmate, but didn’t treat her as a damsel in distress, instead as a partner and equal. Which helped him earn some respect to the warriors around them. Which was how the two spent most of the week before going back.

What they couldn't be prepared for was the tornado named Jagged. As soon as they arrived in the manor he was there in a fury of a whirlwind.

"Hey little Rocker, how was the trip?"

"It was fun." Marinette smiled at her dad.

"So got any pictures to show your papa, love." he asked excitedly.

"Pictures?" she repeated quizzically.

That was when the Wayne’s and Mari began to laugh

"What’s so funny?" The rocker asked confused.

"Apparently we were so caught up in the vacation we didn’t take pictures." Tim grinned, the little liar he is, spoke up. He had pictures but they were mostly of his brothers getting their asses handed to them by the Amazons. And he couldn’t explain how they happened to be on the secret hidden island filled with Amazonian warriors. "Their also was zero service on the island." He finished with a shrug.

"Ohh I did bring back some shells and crystals and some seeds for my garden." Mari chimed in. "I can tell you all about it."

"Yes you can on the plane to wherever you and the bird you choose to come with us." Jagged smiled at his daughter.

"Jared what are you..." Bruce near finished his sentence.

Jagged having interrupted his thoughts he sentence. “Come now Batsey you steal little rocker for a week so I steal one of your birds." He stated as a matter of fact.

Bruce just stood with his jaw slack. Sure Mari told them he figured them out, but he forgot, he had a child to revive goddamn it. “Fine but I think it’ll be a good idea to tell him Mari." He turned to the young girl.

The girl chewed her lip before putting her hand in her light vest shirt. A red pixie bug flew out and sat on Mari’s head.

"Hello I’m Tikki the Ladybug kwamii, Marinette is my chosen holder." Tikki's voice rang through the room.

"I’m sorry what now?" The rocker was eerily still and quiet.

"Long story short your daughter is a magical girl and Demon Spawn is her soulmate and is also a magical girl, boy, you get the idea." Jason chuckled.

"Okay let me get this straight. Mari's soulmate is the Grumpy Gargoyle, they are both magical kids who are chosen by fairies. All of you are Gotham's vigilantes, which I'm assuming you've been training Little Rocker."

"Yes.??” Dick answered unsure.

"Okay."

"Okay." Dick again responded. Before realizing, "Wait! Okay!”

"Ya," Jagged shrugged. "You've all met Mari. This is completely plausible with her. So who are we stealing from Bruce?"

"Dames!" she jumped to hug him from behind, arms wrapped around his neck.

Damian for his part didn't throw Marinette off. In fact he repositioned to piggy back her, a ghost of a smile spread on his neutral features.

"So where are we going?"

Yucatan Peninsula

Why?

The Twins said a gift for future bugs and cats were there.

Haven't their been cats and bugs since them?

Yes but travel was limited.

In other words scavenger hunt.

Yes. How's your Spanish? Because the most logical place to start would be the Mayan ruins.

"Mejor que eI tuyo." she smirked at him.

"God damn it their doing it again." Jason dragged his hands down his face.

"Doing what?"

"Their bond is shockingly rare, its a Mind link sharing knowledge, meaning basically anything one knows so does the other. As if that isn't enough now they can communicate telepathically."

"So why the Spanish rocker?"

"Cancun, Mayan scavenger hunt." she grinned.

"Sounds good. I'll shoot Penny a text and we'll leave tomorrow sound good?"

"Yup." She responded, Damian nodded and finally set her down.

Your helping me pack.

As if I'd let you do it yourself.

Knowing you, you'd pack your Robin uniform.

'Pfft'

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

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[ajaxwrites]

GENSHIN IMPACT FANFIC REC LIST II

(previous: part i)

Seaglass by Aevas

There was more to the contract than a gnosis and test of Liyue. It seemed like a simple deal five hundred years ago: so long as Morax never had a soulmate, the Tsaritsa would never harm Liyue and she would not get his gnosis. But the moment he gained a soulmate, all that belonged to him was forfeit. He thought the deal left Liyue safe—he'd lived thousands of years without a soulmate. The Tsaritsa would be dead and gone by the time she'd have a chance to collect.

Five hundred years later, Childe appears in Liyue, Zhongli gains a soulmate mark, and everything falls apart.

(The obligatory soulmate AU, featuring a Zhongli with PTSD, an oblivious Childe, and demon-worshipping cultists.)

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

Notes: I CANNOT BELIEVE I SLEPT ON THIS FIC FOR SO LONG. Read it and I mean it! I admitted initially steered clear of this fic because I wasn’t comforted with a soulmate tartali fic pre-Osial but this fic is actually post-Ostial *facepalm* The writing is phenomenal and Aevas does some beautiful worldbuilding that you typically don’t see in Genshin Impact fics. I love the dynamic between Childe and Zhongli here and the angst is real. The author writes the two as very human characters who makes mistakes, etc. and notably Zhongli struggles with the concept of Childe as his soulmate (who understandably is upset by the rejection when he realizes). They get better though. Also very plotty. A+ writing.

it's a hard rock life for us by reptilianraven

“Ah, no need to worry about that,” Azhdaha waves a dismissive hand. “There is no real Kun Jun. He’s dead.”

A leaf blows past and plaps onto Aether’s face.

“You killed him???” Paimon screeches.

“No,” Azhdaha scrunches his eyebrows. “He was dead when I found him.”

“And you just decided to wear his corpse?” Aether says, leaf still on his face.

He shrugs. “It was free real estate.”

“Azhdaha...” Morax says, sounding vaguely pained.

-

Or the one where Historia Antiqua Chapter II: No Mere Stone goes a little bit different and Azhdaha gets more time.

He ultimately uses that time to bully Morax into confronting his immortal neuroses, to make Aether and Paimon suffer, and to figure out how to get that ginger boy Morax has his eye on to make a move already.

Ships: Zhongli/Childe, Past Azhdaha/Zhongli

Notes: Very lighthearted, humor-filled fic. Love how Azhdaha is so flippant. Interactions with Zhongli and Childe are pure gold.

if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes by moonlight_mist

Childe has a Weapon problem- specifically, that he can't keep one.

He's too reckless, too wild, and too keen on pushing his Weapon partners past their limits. He's just about ready to give up when he meets Zhongli, a Weapon who just might be the solution- so long as Childe can manage to keep his dick in his pants.

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

Notes: This is a Soul Eater AU with some college/university AU vibes (?) but you don’t really need to know much about the anime. It’s a cute AU and I love the premise. Light angst but otherwise, it’s a pretty semi-plotty fic. Easter egg Kaeya and Diluc though.

To Kill A God by IlluminanceinTales

In Snezhnaya, they call them sansis—lost souls that have no guidance but themselves. It’s an apt description, given that most of the time, wannabe-Archons have to go through dozens of tests with nothing as their reference, relying solely on their wit and strength and hoping it would be enough. At least, until they survive the end of the whole game—and they might not have to undergo a painful reincarnation which feels like a hundred bones being stitched together again.

On his seventh game, Childe Tartaglia reincarnates this time in the body of a young man.

Damn, he thinks, looking down at his thin body, his slightly calloused fingers. This won’t be good when facing the other Hydro Decisions.

In a world where an Archon's position is not chosen but fought for in games, Childe Tartaglia is a Hydro Decision who's poised to become the next Hydro Archon. Of course, that's only if he survives his seventh reincarnation. All would be so much easier if it weren't for a certain Geo Archon interfering with every possible chance he gets.

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

Notes: Think Hunger Games meet Political Intrigue meet Genshin Impact. Love the premise and world building that’s done. Features overprotective Zhongli and lots of Childe whump. Has one or two supplementary OCs that aren’t really important outside of plot device reasons. Warning for character death tho lmao.

Three's a Family by IlluminanceinTales

Childe finds a kid that looks just like him.

Of course Zhongli wants to keep him.

Or: How a harbinger and an archon accidentally become fathers. The kid is their wingman

Ships: Childe/Zhongli (?)

Notes: Your everyday cute AF kid fic. Fluffy as hell and super cute. Zhongli and Childe get domestic pretty quickly. Xiao gets dubbed a grandfather and begrudgingly plays along. Super wholesome.

in pitch dark i go walking in your landscape by snowbrigade

He glanced down at him, at the silvery scars peeking out from beneath his robe, and at his eyes, properly now. They were the bright blue of high quality noctilucous jade, but he could see it, an underlying darkness.

Zhongli wondered what his eyes betrayed about himself. --

Rex Lapis is dead. Zhongli, formerly known as triad leader Rex Lapis, is a detective investigating his own "death." Childe, also known as Tartaglia of the Fatui mafia, is undercover as an escort looking to kill Rex Lapis- until someone beats him to it, and he wants to know who. Goals intersecting, they form a partnership of ulterior motives.

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

Notes: There’s like one scene that skews NSFW but otherwise surprisingly not explicit. Really fun AU. Like how the author addresses Childe’s reaction to being stuck with the undercover escort stuff and how the dynamic between the two develops. Pretty plotty so far.

Phantom Lines by iskendaris

“It’s a measure of one’s self, Mr Zhongli.” Childe says. “Maybe you don’t understand it since you work as a consultant, but as an ambassador from the Tsaritsa, as one who fights in her name— this is how I learn to know the measure of myself.” “I understand,” Zhongli says thoughtfully. “It is a warrior’s way, to test one’s strength against the incomparable. To find where one falls short. To find where one has risen to the challenge.”

In which Childe has insomnia, vandalizes public property and runs into a mysterious funeral consultant on his first night in Liyue.

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

Notes: THE FEELS. I can only describe this as the fic where Zhongli pays Best Boyfriend Ever only to FUCK UP big time (via Gnosis deception). Poor, poor Childe. Look, he gave the boy feelings and then broke him. You can really feel Childe fall in love in this love. He also does mental swooning a lot lmao. 

adventitious by Anonymous

It's said the Ley Lines remember all things that happen in this world, from the surface down to the deepest depths... But in the hidden corners where the Gods' gaze does not fall, there are those who dream of dreaming.

There's a dormant bud where Kaeya's eye once was. One day, it will bloom. (Never forget: memory is untrustworthy.)

Ships: Diluc/Kaeya

Notes: I don’t even know where to start. This is very headcanony and lore-focused. Very much concentrated on Khaenri'ah. The implications of this story is grotesque to say the least (according to this fic, Visions are the literal eyes of the people of Khaenri'ah). Warnings for eye and body horror.

Without Those Dark Memories by StrangeDiamond

Diluc awakens in Stormterror’s Lair with no memories of the past five years. Kaeya is on the trail of a rogue alchemist, with a habit of testing his chemicals on unwilling human subjects. Now, in addition to capturing the criminal, Kaeya has to shake him down for an antidote . . . and deal with an amnesiac Diluc who acts exactly like he did before their brotherhood fell apart. (Standalone Fic.)

Ships: Diluc/Kaeya

Notes: This is sort of a classic amnesia fic. I particularly really liked the way that Kaeya was written in this. I feel like the author did a really good job nailing his character and they have a way of capturing the subtle things.

Through the warmth, through the cold by strikedawn

“It’s you!” Paimon shouted with a twirl in mid-air.

“…Excuse me?"

They were drunk. Were they drunk? Was he drunk? Because Kaeya had the feeling his guests had been talking to him for a while now, but none of their words had made any sense whatsoever.

That was, until Venti stepped firmly in front of Kaeya’s desk and set his hands on the top, the better to lean over towards Kaeya and say: “For the end of the Windblume festival, Sir Kaeya Alberich, we’re going to auction a date with you.”

Ships: Diluc/Kaeya

Notes: Shortword, Kaeya gets auctioned off. Diluc makes impulsive (but good) decisions and scores himself a Date but displays an inability to do Date Planning. Venti deserves a pat on the back. Very sweet.

Hide and Seek by Kiri_Kaitou_Clover

Childe did not expect regaining his memories would bring him such frustration.

He makes the best of the situation by messing with one amber eyed consultant in anyway he can.

A reincarnated storm god wades through life in Liyue, all while screaming about one dragon god's incompetency at being human.

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

Notes: Features Childe as Osial’s very exasperated reincarnation, who gets the joy of discovering that his rival/enemy Morax is not only an idiot but also broke AF. He still falls in love anyway. Contains this golden line: 

"Did... did that complete blockhead really use my money in order to get me a gift that basically says that he is proposing to me?!"

(Osial was screaming. When had the other god become like this?! Had he always been like this?!)

Getting that Bread by tzitzimeme

Concubine AU where Zhongli is Emperor, Xiao is an assassin sent to kill him while disguised as a woman in his imperial harem, and the only reason he doesn't actually do it is because he pities Zhongli for being so catastrophically stupid (also Xiao falls in love).

Ships: Zhongli/Xiao

Notes: Like Xiao says, Zhongli is an idiot. Fluff and humor filled. Xiao spends a good 95% of this exasperated by Zhongli’s bullshit. 

prayers for a boy by Recluse

The only way to reconciliation is fierce combat!

Hm... Come to think of it, there will be a lot of interesting news to be heard the next time we gather for drinks. Filling in the blanks.

Ships: N/A

Notes: I...don’t really know where to begin with this? It’s exactly what the summary implies...but more? I was tempted to describe this as the fic where Zhongli puts his foot in his mouth but...that’s not exactly write? I feel like this was more of a character study. It explores the aftermath of the Osial Incident and how Zhongli and Childe reconnect. Platonically...though I guess it can be read romantically. 

one kind of longing, two places of sorrow by lady_peony

Zhongli's hands rest behind his back, both gloved hands clasping one another. His fingers tighten around one another for the merest moment, before he relaxes his grip.

"There is a tradition in Liyue," Zhongli says, his back still to Childe standing behind him, "of inviting out a companion to a last meal before a farewell."

A pause.

"A tradition?" Childe echoes.

"Yes."

"With a companion?"

"Yes."

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

Notes: The fic where neither of the two communicate about jackshit but go on a quiet, sad not-date before Childe leaves for Snezhnaya. Childe pulls (? on accident or on purpose, I can not tell) the equivalent of leaving the jacket in the car post-date to get date to call for the second date. Also, the author has a gift for like...writing angst...without writing angst? Like the whole fic is like brimming with everything that the characters aren’t saying but the thoughts aren’t necessarily written out BUT YOU KNOW THOSE DUMBFUCKS ARE JUST LIKE. BRIMMING WITH FEELS? 

The People of Liyue by queer_occurrences

But Zhongli whispers, his low voice rooted in the back of Childe’s mind. “Changsun, the merchant, who is never too Mora-enthralled to turn away a needy child. There’s Tiantian—she will allow anyone to join the Adventurer’s Guild—she knows what it is to be desperate.”

Childe ducks away from them and hurries out over the bridge. It’s a warm, sunny day, the kind he would have complained about, whining about his delicate Snezhnayan skin. “It’ll burn, or worse, freckle. Would you still like me if I was freckled?”

Then Zhongli would say, “The people of Liyue will remember your sacrifice.” And he would wrinkle his nose.

Or: after it all goes down, Childe takes a walk.

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

Notes: The author has a way with perfectly balancing angst with humor in a way that makes you cackle. There’s a lot of feels in this one. Zhongli tries communicating--Childe runs away a lot. There’s a lot of love for Liyue in this one.

cold blooded, warm blooded, hearts all the same by reptilianraven

Teyvat Petting Zoo @tyvtpettingzoo

Well would you look at that! Zhongli, our resident spinytail iguana, has gotten quite cozy with Childe, our new (and very feisty) ginger ferret! Aren’t they adorable all cuddled together like this? 😍😍😍

[Attached image shows a brown spinytail iguana curled up against a ginger ferret. The iguana’s head is nuzzled under the snout of the ferret.]

-

At the Teyvat Petting Zoo, Zhongli and Childe fall in love.

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

Notes: ...I promise I’m not weird. This is just super cute. Cross-species love affair? Childe the ferret is very besotted. The internet is confused and the zoo keepers are just done.

a geo archon's guide to the modern era by Erina

“Morax,” Xiao says after Zhongli finishes his retelling of the incident. “He thinks you’re a weirdo.”

“No, don’t say that,” Barbatos snickers. “You’ll give him hope that this is salvageable.” He lowers his voice. “Morax, he thinks you’re a boomer.”

(In which Zhongli hibernates for centuries and wakes up in the modern world)

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

Notes: This took me, I shit you not, FIVE SEPARATE ATTEMPTS to read. Not because it was bad but BECAUSE THE SECOND HAND EMBARRASSMENT WAS REAL. Like, omg, just reading about Zhongli’s introduction to modernity made me want to dig a hole and die. Super funny though. Do not read in public or you will look like a lunatic. Has a...parallel (?) fic in the same series called  buy two get one archon free where Zhongli gets reversed isekai’d into an anime convention.

time flies like an arrow by Erina

He’s tired, tired of the unbreakable loop of watching his loved ones pass on, tired of getting attached only for the connection to be violently ripped away from him. He wonders if the real victors during the Archon War were those who perished, who died long before their godhood turned into a curse that chained them to the land that they were fighting for.

But that is not a problem for Childe to worry about. That is Zhongli’s burden to bear, delivered to him in a pretty package years ago in the form of a gnosis.

His very first contract.

(Zhongli and Childe, across many lifetimes)

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

Notes: This is a quiet fic. It’s this kind of slice-of-life fic colored by this overpowering sense of love and loss as Zhongli remains immortal and Childe dies and lives and dies and lives for hundreds of lifetimes, but always finds his way back to his geo archon. It’s so lovely but also unbearably sad.

Tartaglia’s Favorite Professor by GreyLiliy

The famed hitman Tartaglia of the Fatui Syndicate spends his days as the charming college student Childe. The two lives remain as separate as possible in order to maintain a flawless cover to keep the authorities off his back and to better serve the Tsaritsa.

However, new intel about a rival syndicate intersects his two lives in a way he could never have predicted.

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

Notes: Mafia AU meet College AU. Childe is somehow both a horny AF college student and murderous hitman. Zhongli gives off major DILF vibes. GreyLily somehow makes this work while also avoiding cringe. Highly recommended!

like a handprint on my heart by fallingintodivinity

“Strictly off-the-record,” Jean says, with a small smile, “I’m really happy to see you and Captain Kaeya getting along again, Master Diluc.”

“We’re not – we’re not getting along,” Diluc tells her, indignant. “We’re working together. Unwillingly, I might add.”

“Yes – oh, yes, of course.”

Diluc stares at Jean suspiciously. “Are you laughing at me?”

Jean clears her throat primly. “I would never.”

Ships: Diluc/Kaeya

Notes: Super, super cute! Sort of reads like a first date fic except genshin impact style? Writing style is very refreshing!