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phoenixeclipse-lmkau · 2 days ago

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For the Monkey!reader wanting to travel away from flower fruit mountain, may we ask how that whole conversation went down? Like what Wukong and Macaque were thinking right then and there, what they did to stop reader from leaving.

I accidently went out of order 😅 but hey, I hope you all like this ask!

"Goodbye" - though she's never actually able to sat goodbye.

Macaque and Wukong Pov of Monkey!Reader leaving, okay let's go!

Three days, it had been three days since Macaque and Wukong had their fight. Macaque still had a bruise on his back while Wukong had a bruise on his chest. And to think it was over something so- agreeable. They both agreed on the same thing and fought over it! Macaque wanted to laugh at his own stupidity.

"How's your back?" Wukong spoke up, his eyes drifting to him mate who was laying on his stomach in their nest.

Macaque glanced at him and smirked, he had such a look on his face, a look of guilt. Something that he didn't tend to have, "It's fine. I swear you're the only one who would be able to actually break my back." He stuck his tongue out teasing him even though he wasn't being sexual.

Wukong's face burned almost instantly and he sat up in the nest. His tail swishing back and forth as he sat up. He felt bad about the fight, he hurt his mate over some stupid argument. An argument that would have been so easily solved if they had only talked to each other without him throwing a punch.

Macaque’s words definitely made it harder, Wukong had broken two of the bones in his spine. If he had been mortal- No they were both two times immortal now. Besides Macaque had broken two of his ribs. So it was fair...

"I'm sorry," Macaque muttered taking Wukong's hand in his own, a smile on his face.

He was over being mad about it, they had both spent the first day being mad at each other. Until... Reader talked to them, she begged them to forgive each other even though she didn't know why they were fighting. She looked so heartbroken when they were fighting, so innocent and naive about what they were fighting about. Completely unaware that they were fighting about her~

He couldn't believe that he actually thought Wukong was going to leave him for her. No he should have known better, he supposed the alcohol was partially to blame. Drinking when he was already annoyed at his mate's careless words. All he did was give her a hug, a farewell one at that as she went home.

"I'm sorry too, you know I love you. I love you so much," Wukong said leaning down and giving Macaque several kisses on the face.

"My love are you going soft on me?" Macaque purred with a snap of his teeth teasingly.

Wukong grinned his tail wagging as he nuzzled his face. A smile that didn't leave his face until there was a knock on the door. Letting out a low groan he turned to the door and debated. His people were important to him, but sometimes he just wanted a moment alone. Before he could send whoever it was away, Macaque piped up cheerfully.

"Come in Reader," Wukong froze, he nearly sent his darling away!? Thankfully Macaque stopped such a dreadful mistake.

He couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face as Reader gently pushed open the door. You peaked inside your eyes cautiously looking at the two, you had been walking on eggshells since the fight. Having to pull several monkey demons away and seeing how much damage the two could cause must have scared you. Luckily with your interference no one was hurt. No one except for the two who were stupidly fighting.

"Hey, you two feeling okay?" You asked as you stepped inside a tray of cut up fruit in her hands.

Both Wukong and Macaque could feel their hearts swell at the sight, you were so sweet! Their darling was making sure they were okay after their fight. It was beautiful and endearing.

"Of course. A little scuffle isn't going to take us down!" Wukong boasted immediately taking some of the peaches that you so lovingly cut up.

Macaque pushed himself up and sat to take some plums. Reader had made sure to get only their favorites, this is why you were perfect. Perfect to be their beautiful and loving Queen. He couldn't wait to start planning the courtship, him and Wukong had started discussing a few ideas but nothing had become concrete yet. Mostly because it takes a few days to heal bones.

Because they were both twice immortal it took far less time than for any mere mortal. A very nice benefit of having such a reckless mate who decided to learn Taoism and break OUT of the Diyu. Macaque nearly wrung his neck for that one when he heard his mate was there in the first place.

"That's good to hear. Would you two like some tea? I can brew some up for you," your voice was calm and sweet as you spoke.

"No need, your company is enough," Wukong grinned causing you to chuckle sitting down at the edge of the nest, not inside of it but right outside.

Intruding on someone else's nest was heavily frown upon in the demon community, especially on Flower Fruit Mountian. The only ones allowed in one's nest were their cubs and lovers. It was an intimate thing, being allowed in someone else's nest.

And damn did Wukong and Macaque want to drag you into their nest. They wanted nothing more than for you to get nice and comfortable as you curled up between them. Macaque had to hit Wukong with his tail before he did something stupid.

Macaque sighed when Wukong let out a whine, his eyes on you as you tilted your head in confusion. It was so cute! Your fluffy fur swishing as you looked at them, your tail curling and unfurling beside you. You were dressed in a pretty pink hanfu that pooled on the ground, golden roses were embroidered into the fabric. A gift from Spirit's family. And you looked stunning in it.

How were they so lucky for you to come straight into their land. They didn't even have to convince you to come onto the island, no you came all by yourself. Albeit tagging along Spirit who was almost a pain in their ass.

Pushing the thought of Spirit constantly dragging you away from them the two concentrated on the present. Wukong munching on the peaches that you had for him, you even cut them into little rabbits. It was adorable, he almost felt bad eating them... almost.

"So what have you been up to? You normally don't come around for another hour," at least the last two days you hadn't. Macaque slightly narrowed his eyes when you looked to the side sheepishly. A hand on the back of your head as you looked anywhere but at them.

Just as you were about to speak, Wukong spoke up instead. "Not that we mind. We love having our favorite friend around. Seriously we love having you around."

Your entire posture stiffened for a moment before you looked at them. Wukong waited expectantly for you to tell them about what some cubs got into or how the older monkey demonesses did your hair or helped you learn some new fruit. You were blending in with their island so well, it made seeing you as their new mate all the easier.

"A-about that," those were words that neither monkey wanted to hear but neither moved as they waited for her to explain. She would explain and they would know they were worried for nothing-

"I'm going to be leaving soon. Spirit and I talked and we decided it's time to go back home," you said, your eyes finally looking towards the two at the end of your statement. You froze when you saw how their faces went dark.

"No," Macaque was the first to speak.

You looked confused, "Yes? I'm going home with Spirit. I'll come visit sometimes but this isn't MY home. You know? I never planned to stay here from the beginning."

"You can't leave," Wukong's voice was barely a whisper.

"What?-" you couldn't finish your words as you were suddenly dragged into the nest, Wukongs tail wrapped around yours as his arms circled your waist.

"No, no, no, you're not leaving us. We finally agreed darling. We want you here, this IS your home, this is where you belong, with US," Wukong almost shouted as he curled around you.

Your hands instinctively tried to push him away by his chest but it didn't work, he was a stone monkey for a reason. While you weren't a weak demon there was no way you could push him away when he didn't want you to. Even knowing this you still tried.

“What are you talking about!?” You growled, you didn’t like being crowded, you didn’t like being STUCK. “Macaque can you get him off-“

“No, I’m sorry but he’s right,” Macaque replied and as he did his own tail wrapped around yours and he nuzzled his face against yours.

“What’s going on??” You snapped back only for Wukong to growl lowly.

A shiver ran down your spine at the sound. No one wanted The Monkey King to be mad at them, not even other monkey demons. You looked up at him with wide fearful eyes, your hands and arms pressed against his chest from his tight hold.

“We were going to wait to tell you. We still have so many things to plan before hand but-,” Macaque debated on what to say. He was going to tell you. He just needed to think for a second, however his King beat him to the punch.

“We love you, you’re going to be our Queen, our MATE, so you can’t leave,” Wukong growled into your ear as he pulled you closer letting himself fall onto the nest.

“Ahhh!” you shrieked as he hit the pillows. Another set of arms wrapped around your waist. “H-hold on I never agreed to this-“

“Mate~ our precious mate. We love you,” Wukong purred nuzzling against your neck, your neck that was bare and unmarked.

“I-“

“We aren’t going to let you leave. You are ours from the moment you came here till the end of time,” Macaque muttered in your ear giving it a light nip.

Red heat burned through you in an instant, this was no happening. There was no way that this was happening. You opened your mouth to speak again only to let out a squeak when you felt teeth graze against your furry neck. Panic set in and your breathing quickened.

You struggled for a moment before you were able to shove your fist against Wukong’s chin. You forced his jaw up and his face away from your neck. In hindsight he had actually allowed it without any fuss. He was merely not letting you go. Not now! This was not happening! Heat pooled in your cheeks, they were joking right. There was no way that they felt that way for you. You were just a normal monkey demon who had followed your sister to their island.

“We love you, you’re so precious to us,” Macaque purred as he snuggled into your back. “I’m sorry but we can’t let you go. Not anymore, you’re far too precious our sweet love.”

Your eyes widened in fear as Wukong whispered in your ear, “you’re not going anywhere. You’ll stay nice and safe on Flower Fruit Mountain. AS OUR QUEEN~”

So I'm going to be honest, they never get cursed in this version of the story. So it's just Monkie!Reader Au. I won't be putting it under the Cursed Warlords Tag anymore. Still a yandere au though.

#dead dove do not eat #sun wukong x macaque #yandere sun wukong #yandere macaque #shadowpeach x reader #macaque x reader #sun wukong x reader #shadowpeach #lego monkie kid fanfiction #monkie!reader au

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half-oz-eddie · 2 days ago

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I didn’t know I wanted you (Until I couldn’t have you)

Part 4/5 (master list)

“Buck?” Eddie called out to a very distracted Buck. “Something wrong? You’ve been looking at your phone all night.”

“I-I’m always on my phone.” Buck nervously laughed.

“Sometimes…” Eddie nodded. “But not this much. Did you find a substack or something?”

“Uh…yeah.” Buck lied. “Just doing some deep diving.”

Eddie snickered in response, shaking his head. “Of course you did.”

Actually, Buck was checking his phone waiting to hear from Tommy about his date.

As the night went on and it was nearly midnight, Buck assumed the date went really well and Tommy took this mystery person home, or vice versa.

The following morning, Buck didn’t bother to text Tommy and told himself he’s probably sleeping in or spending time with his date.

When Tommy finally texted back, Buck unlocked his phone within seconds, eager to read the text.

He…? Not that Tommy needed to come out to Buck, because Buck’s cool. Totally cool. He’s an ally. He has queer friends. It shouldn’t even be a big deal that Tommy’s revealing this information to him.

Oh God I hope that didn’t sound too forward.

Tommy took Buck to a taco bar and Buck asked about his date, trying not to sound like he was prying for information.

Tommy’s responses were brief and vague.

Guy’s name is Edgar. He’s 42. Works in accounting. Loves the outdoors and mountain biking.

He sounds boring. Buck thought. But he liked all the stuff Tommy liked. He was even a trained pilot and he knew some Muay Thai.

Maybe he’s more interesting than me. Buck negatively thought.

“S-so you guys are gonna go hiking?”

“Yeah, I was thinking of taking him up the trail we went to. I know it pretty well and it seems like a great spot to go.”

Buck felt like his heart exploded in his chest. He felt like his soul was going to leave his body. Even death would have been kinder than this. “O-oh yeah? That’s cool. He’ll love it.” Buck forced out with a fake smile.

Tommy nodded. “Hope so.”

“Yeah, it’ll be pretty romantic. Especially if you end your hike by the picnic area an hour before sunset, when the sun is low and it creates this nice warm light. They-they call it the golden hour because the sun, it—it’s golden with a warm, reddish—“ Buck laughed to himself. “Sorry I know it’s your date, I-I was just—“

Tommy shot buck a fond smile. “I think that might be a little too romantic for a second date. We’re still getting to know each other.”

“Oh—ah—yeah. Y-you’re right.” Buck nervously chuckled. “I guess so.”

Sure, it was just the very beginning of their dating stage, but it felt like the end of the world for Buck, and he just couldn’t figure out why.

But boy, did it hurt like hell.

A week later, Buck found himself complaining to Eddie and Maddie in a separate group chat he’d created for just the three of them.

Buck realized he was starting to sound a bit insane and deleted the entire message.

He didn't want to say that either. He didn't agree with Maddie. She wasn't wrong, she just didn't understand the sort of...friendship they had.

Buck glared at his barrages of texts, hoping he didn’t sound too eager or too annoying.

Buck put on one of his best shirts and threw on his apron and immediately started prepping for dinner. He was so excited to finally see Tommy again and cheer him up that he couldn’t stop smiling.

He rented Love, Actually to stream, curated a playlist of some of Tommy’s favorite songs, and even mixed up some boxed cake mix.

He didn’t have any frosting, so he hoped strawberry preserves would do.

He wanted this evening to be perfect for Tommy, so he could forget all about the cheating bastard that wasted his time and possibly broke his heart.

The thought of Tommy having a broken heart nearly shattered his own. He needed to fix it. He needed to let him know that he would always be there for Tommy, like Tommy was there for him.

Buck texted Tommy to let him know the door was unlocked for him.

Tommy welcomed himself into Buck’s apartment. Buck looked up from the counter, a wide ecstatic smile painted on his face.

“Smells amazing in here.”

“I hope so. I’m just throwing a few things together. It won’t be perfect but—“

“It’ll be perfect. It was more than I could’ve asked for. Thank you for all of this.”

Tommy’s eyes fell onto the cake on the counter. “You even baked a cake?”

“Uh yeah, but I don’t have any frosting. I hope strawberry preserves are—“

Buck glanced over at Tommy as he was helping himself to a slice of cake, slathering the strawberry preserves on top.

Tommy shoved a generous helping into his mouth, glancing up at Buck with wide eyes. “Sorry. Did you want me to wait until after dinner?”

Buck laughed, shaking his head. “It’s fine. Whatever you want.”

“It’s good cake.”

“It’s just from a box. I adjusted the recipe a little bit to make the cake more moist and flavorful—“

“It worked. This is delicious.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

They sat down and ate dinner, laughed and caught up on daily life outside of Gerrard and definitely outside of Edgar.

They watched Love, Actually and finished off the night with some beers.

“You’re right, Tommy. This is some really good beer.”

“Mhm. I told you.” Tommy paused to finish his beer. “Thank you again, Evan. Tonight was…really fun.” He smiled. “Really helped take my mind off—“

“You don’t have to think about him, Tommy. I’m here for you. You don’t have to feel alone.” Buck realized how strange his statement may have sounded. “You’ve also got all our friends at the 118 too.”

Tommy nodded with a small smirk. “I know.”

There was something odd about the sound of Tommy’s voice. Perhaps he was looking for something more. Something Buck just couldn’t give him.

But Buck, somehow, still wished he could give him everything.

#i didn't know i wanted you (until i couldn't have you)#bucktommy #tommy kinard #evan buckley #firefly.social #firebeast.doc

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panpanghost · 1 day ago

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part 2 of this thing:

Macaque heard them coming, Wukong's new friends. They were here when he first woke up, actually the strange kid was the first person he saw when he opened his eyes. The little fella looked so scared and worried about him, he even promised to find a way to save him no matter what. Such a nice kid.

But, he doesn't know who the kid is... After he left last time, Macaque asked Wukong about his identity but Wukong, strangely, just looked at him shocked and never gave him an answer, after that Macaque got the idea that he lost a part of his memories.

Macaque has been trying to get his memories back, but it's like shovelling through a mountain, he can't remember anything from the past years, he can't tell how long it's been. He tried asking Wukong about it, but, for some reason, Wukong is lying, he knows he's lying. He tells him not to think about it too much and just enjoy the present, Wukong won't answer no matter what he asks, he'd either avoid the question or lie.

But Macaque doesn't doubt Wukong, he knows he still cares about him, sure he was acting weirdly when Macaque went to sleep and shower with him, but he didn't kick him out or throw him away... he was acting strangely though... maybe... maybe they aren't that close anymore, maybe they drifted apart and haven't been together for a long time and Wukong is letting him stay because he feels bad for him-

No, no that can't be it, if it were the case then Wukong would've straight up told him to leave and he hasn't done that yet, in fact he's doing the complete opposite, he won't let Macaque leave his sight let alone the island. He's also been a lot more physical... not that Macaque is complaining about that... but still, that is not how you treat someone you want to get away from.

Maybe he can ask the kid, but would that upset Wukong? Shit... He can't stay like this.. Damn it. He'll deal with Wukong when he has to.

_"Hey Wukong, your friends are coming. Should we go greet them?" he asked playing with Wukong's hair, under the shadow of an old tree,

_"They are?!" Wukong got up from Macaque's lap dusting and putting himself together as if he was caught doing something he shouldn't. What's with him? Macaque doesn't remember Wukong being the shy type. No, Macaque is they shy one, Wukong used to have fun tormenting him in front of others.

_"Yeh, they'll be at the house any minute now."

_"Alright, thanks for telling me."

_"No problem, let's go see them, I'm actually kinda curious to know what that kid found out about the crown. All the monk said was that he felt a dark energy from it then nothing else."

_"Yeh.. about that. Why don't you just stay and rest a little more. I'll talk to them."

_"What? Why? It kind'a concerns me, don't you think I should be there?" Macaque is really starting to lose his temper,

_"Actually.." think Wukong, think! "When they first arrived here, you attacked them thinking they were enemies, and.. well... you guys don't get along that much..." would he believe that? it's not entirely a lie though..

_"oh- ok... I'll wait for you then." Macaque feels really bad, did he really attack them? but they seem so nice. It's really upsetting him, after what he'd done to them, they are still trying to help him, he should apologise, maybe make them some apology sweets, Macaque can't cook but he for sure can make killer desserts.

_"Hey, don't feel so down about it, I'll be back soon, ok?" Wukong feels a little bad for upsetting Macaque, but this is for the best, yes, it's for the best... is it?

_"ok." Macaque gave him a little smile. He should listen to Wukong, it's not like he can remember what he's apologising for. Wukong will take care of it.

#macaque #six eared macaque #sun wukong #lmk sun wukong #lmk macaque #shadowpeach #lmk

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verdemoun · 2 days ago

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idk marstons and morgan angst

i fully believe that when john stops and goes 'what was her name? mary?' when arthur tells him not to live two lives in the sheep and the goats - he was about to bring up eliza and isaac and had to stop himself because as angry as he was he knew it would kill his brother

jack's drawing is him, abigail and arthur all happy with their sheep ranch - no john in sight. he originally drew it for abigail, who suggested he give it to arthur to avoid john seeing it. of course, john did in 1907 when he was ready to look through arthur's satchel, and immediately knew it wasn't him. felt he deserved it - and wondered if they would have all been happier if he and arthur switched places that night

at least once, but probably a lot more than once, in 1907, abigail didn't wish but wondered what her life would have been like if arthur had been the one to get off the mountain instead of john, and if arthur had recovered. she never loved arthur like she did john, and never would, but deep down she wondered just how happy they could have been together.

arthur would have treated her right and respected her, married her, encouraged jack's reading and writing and wouldn't have gone after fucking micah. he might've hated her cooking enough to offer to cook for them, and she could've escaped the wretched task. evenings could've been the three of them, comfortably sitting around a fireplace, listening to jack read aloud

especially when it was just her and jack bouncing around after proghorn ranch, jack would often catch her looking out the window and sighing sadly as if she could see the peaceful little house with horses and sheep, and jack smiling and happy learning from his devoted proxy father. he also learned this was a great time to ask about stories about the old days, the gang, and learned most of what he knew about uncle arthur during that time period.

after 1911, when abigail got sick, jack would read to her constantly. one picked up his father's journal one day, expecting to find stories from when they were young and in that pathetically sappy young love phase before he was born.

it wasn't until he reached 'abigail and marston keep arguing' that he realised it wasn't just his father's journal. realizing at the same time, abigail let out a shuddered gasp and asked him to keep reading. she had always held onto the past so much more affectionately than john had, and hearing arthur's inner thoughts was as comforting as him being in the room.

just for a second imagine abigail marston laying sick and dying, with tears of joy in her eyes as jack shows her drawings arthur did all the way back in 1899 of her 'in her prime', and a young jack, quick sketches almost like photographs

jack's voice cracking as he reads arthur's last entry, that desperate, deliberately heavy pencil writing 'john, protect abigail and jack', knowing he would, and did, only to turn the page to handwriting he recognizes again.

not getting the chance to finish reading it together, but one of the last things abigail gets to see before her mind is completely gone is john's excited, wonky, capital letters I'M GETTING MARRIED and knowing she'll get to see him again

#i'm sorry class #john marston #abigail roberts #jack marston #hey moss how's rdr1 treating you SHUT UP I HATE THE GOVERNMENT AND I LOVE MY WIFE

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agent--shadow · 6 hours ago

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"Oh boy. Where do I start?" He puts his hand to his head as he tries to recall those eventual 24 hours. "I guess.. . From the first thing I remember?

Wraith ( @agentwraith) pulled me up off the side of the cliff of a crumbling rock face, and we laid in a cave for a while, gathering our strength. Her leg didn't look great, and ik told it was because of something I did. That I caused the cavern to crumble." He takes a deep breath, trying not to think about it too much. "she started to climb up the rest of the mountain, and I followed. When we got to the top I started trying to pry a branch from a tree for a cane, and whittled it with a sharp rock, since Wraith wasn't dumb enough to lend me her knife.

We walked through the forest for a while until we got to a clearing and set up a fire, unfortunately attracting a wisp from the depths of the forest. We left our fire as the cold enveloped us, and hid in a cave until a smaller wisp stuck their tail in a little too close, and Wraith bolted, I followed.

Eventually we ended up in this weird snowy forest, it was freezing, and these wolf things chased after us faster than we could move, though, right when Wraith was about to be attacked, I got a sudden burst of inexplicable speed and strength, not to mention agility. The next thing I know I'm carrying her through the forest, bulleting past wolf creatures, and we ran straight out of the weird snowy forest and into the normal forest, it was sunrise. We chatted until you guys came an hour or two later." Kai took a deep breath. That was, indeed, long. Man, he really needs to learn how to simplify stories...

Questioning and Revelations

After some medical attention, Kai (@agent--shadow) finds himself inside one of the agency's interrogation rooms. Several signal blockers have been set up, cutting him off from any outside communication.

Handler Ellie walks in the room, her eyes cold and strict. She puts down an analog recorder, several digital microphones and cameras have littered the room.

"I would appreciate it if you would cooperate with this questioning, young man." Despite her words implying it was a request, her tone was clearly implying that it wasn't an option to be uncooperative.

She checks her watch, checking the time. If her guess is right, Handler Blue (@blueorchid-95) will arrive in half an hour. She would've heard about Kai's location around this time and once she hears about this, it would not be pretty.

#i keep imagining Kai with the voice of Gideon from Legends of Avantris #but like #a little squeaky

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ernmark · 3 days ago

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For the writing prompt, maybe Rilla is great at baking (exact measurements and technical skills) but Arum is great at cooking (does it all by instinct, taught himself) and Damien (bad at cooking, overthinks too much and can burn water) gets to reap the rewards

Thank you for the prompt.

I didn't realize how long it's been since I wrote my favorite bouquet, but damn I love them.

As before, if anyone else wants a ficlet, you're welcome to send me a writing prompt.

Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast (Second Citadel)

Characters: Rilla, Damien, Arum

Rating: G

"Well?" Arum's tail lashes the floor irritably-- which is to say, anxiously-- as he waits for Damien's judgement. Which-- really, he should know better than to ask Damien of all people to judge this contest. He should know better than to make it a contest at all, but if he had to pick a judge, it really should have been Marc and Tal (biased, he'd said) or that friend of Angelo's (unavailable). Even Caroline would have been efficient, if brutal.

So they're going with Damien.

"The texture is truly fascinating," Damien says."It's challenging-- it brings to mind a trek up a formidable slope to witness a sunrise at the mountain's peak--"

By which he means that it's somehow both crumbly and tough in a way that cakes really aren't supposed to be.

"-- and the flavor is utterly nectarous, with that subtle undertone of bitterness to offer surprising depth."

Which means that maybe Arum shouldn't have used honey and sugar and agave if he'd wanted Damien to taste anything but sweetness and the spots that had gotten burnt in the process of getting it cooked all the way through. Monsters in general might have been making the world's finest cakes for centuries, but Arum specifically wasn't made with that skill in mind.

The thing is, Damien isn't just being tactful. He means what he says, flowery prose and all, and he's downing his slice of cake with the same enthusiasm that he brings to pretty much everything. His beloved lizard lord made that cake, which makes it one of Damien's new favorite desserts-- just like the jambalaya Rilla made for their earlier contest utterly delighted him, even when tears were streaming down his face from the admittedly overzealous application of peppers, and even though it was charred enough to potentially serve as a treatment for ingested poisons. He'd even asked for seconds!

But that had been nothing compared to the look of rapture on his face when he'd tasted Arum's stir-fry, like it had been handed down by his saintly namesake himself.

It's the same expression he wore when Rilla served him her entry in the desert contest, like her papaya macarons were a religious experience.

Which, knowing Damien, maybe they were.

While he keeps working on the world's chewiest cake, Arum and Rilla exchange looks over his head. A lash of his tail, a tilt of his head, a little twirl of his lower wrist: I concede the victory to you.

A flash of a grin, a hand flat against her chest in imitation of modesty: thank you, you're far too kind.

She'll maybe gloat a little later, even when the three of them are nestled together for the night. Arum did his share of preening after last night's cooking competition, after all. And Damien just seems happy to cheer them both on. He is, after all, an avid fan of friendly competition.

#the penumbra podcast #fanfiction #call for comfort #writing prompt

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velvetvexations · 2 days ago

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this is venting i'm just. aedjhfdalkjdhklajhdlkjh fucking youtuber drama bit me bit me bit me & it's related to the Tumblr Discourse Hell

there's a trans woman who has youtube videos and my primary association with her up to this point has been "brilliant." incredibly smart person. she's been accused of SA by three other much larger youtubers and the way i found out about it was because she released a video where she just categorically denied the allegations and read "Hot Allostatic Load" about a trans woman who was predator-jacketed in portland and how dangerous it is to accuse trans women of SA. and this was. immediately suspicious to me in a way i felt nasty about because it is dangerous and trans women are unfairly treated as predators for innocuous actions but it was like. the same type of "marginalized people are incapable of harm/facing consequences for doing harm bc too dangerous" thing that has been. so so toxic here. so she says that they're false and she has MOUNTAINS of evidence but she's being evicted and will deal with this/make a real public response in her own time. i don't even know what's alleged, just that something is and her only response is "I am a trans woman, you can't accuse me." so i'm like. this is weird and i'm just gonna avoid it until something is more clear. like even knowing what the allegations are for example bc the only place to see them is a locked patreon post.

so she releases this other video that's just a long stream of her talking and it's a lot more of the same & she uses the phrase "crying rape" and threatens to release the full complete discord logs of all her conversations with all of the people involved and still does not name any of the accusations and says it's because they're just trying to destroy her career. and now the victims release a link to the google doc statement about her because of the videos and it's just damning. like she proved several of their points by continuing the same behavior in her response to the allegations. very missing missing reasons. like i watched her thing first with no exposure to any statements by the victims and when she was like "we were So Much Closer than [victim] would admit to ANYONE," i'm like. maybe she didn't "admit" it because she did not feel intimate with you and you wouldn't accept it. your defense sounds like a consistent boundary issue to me, and ope i go look and that is exactly what [victim] said.

and it's like. i hate everything about this and i hate that my initial suspicions were correct and i hate that this is now A Thing like instead of hearing a trans woman say "i've been falsely/unfairly accused due to systemic biases, please interact with this situation with a greater degree of care," i have to be like. fucking suspicious!

i am sorry to essentially notify you that bad things are happening elsewhere in the world it's just. fuck! why is this spreading! why is this a thing now!

Timely, these past few days TRFs have especially gotten a bug up their ass about the few times I've said transbian separatism has a slight chance of going the way it went the last time that was attempted.

Should you tread lightly when trans women are accused of something? Yes, absolutely. Trans women ARE portrayed as predators in a cruel and malicious way on a regular basis. Be careful. Be patient. Verify to the best of your ability what's happening.

But, speaking as a trans woman who was harassed for years as a result of being groomed by an adult from an early age and was pedojacketed just a couple months ago with threats to get me blacklisted from publishing:

EVERYONE has the capacity to do harm

#trans misogyny #discourse #cw sa #velvetvexations

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desertduality · 5 hours ago

Text

Trustfall

Just a little thing I wrote to explore the Jimmy and Scar dynamic. Set loosely after session two. Enjoy! <3

Night comes, and Scar can't hide from his feelings anymore. They catch up to him - like everything does, eventually. Scar can never run fast enough.

He's on another mountain, this one green and pink and bright, bordered by tall shoots of bamboo and topped with cherry blossom trees, decorated with growing wheat fields and pens that - sometimes - house sheep and cows. It's all so... alive. So beautiful. So fragile.

The beauty of it is not the surprising part. It's not even that he spent the better part of the day eating dirt or leaves or shovels. No, the strangest thing on the mountain is the people. The strangest thing about them is that they're there at all. With Scar. On purpose.

He can't quite figure it out. The why of it. Jimmy had made it look so easy to say he would stay, like he couldn't think of a million reasons not to. And then Lizzie, who he had invited, and then still been surprised to see her there when he got back. They do it without obligation. Scar had almost forgotten what that felt like.

Neither of them are tethered to him by fate or bound by an oath. They're just there, bright and silly and constant. He'd had something close to it, once, with the allies he'd jokingly called his family, but that had been... messy.

Jimmy and Lizzie make caring about him feel like something simple.

Tell me about your theme park idea, Lizzie had said, and he had. He'd braced himself for- for something. For dismissal. For a roll of the eyes.

A good theme park has three things. Lizzie had mused instead. We need rides, decorations, and a mascot. I think one of us here has real mascot energy.

Jimmy's face had lit up. Lizzie had built three birds at the entrance to their base, standing proudly. Scar stares at them now, shadowy figures in the dark. They're a team. And as much as Lizzie jokes and groans about what a handful the two of them are, they're still equals. They understand each other. Lizzie knows what it's like to be alone, overlooked. Jimmy knows what it's like to be seen as a burden, a joke.

Somehow, despite everything, they trust each other. It's terrifying.

"Stargazing?"

Scar jumps at the voice, a quiet yelp escaping his throat before he can stop it. He twists his torso to look, a jerky motion, and lays eyes on Jimmy, who seems a bit apologetic. "Ah, sorry-"

"Geez, Jimmy, oh my god," Scar says through wheezing breaths, hand pressed to his chest. "This is the life series, man, you can't sneak up on- on a man in thought!"

"Right, sorry, sorry," Jimmy continues, laughing a little bit. "Thought you heard me walk over."

Jimmy sits down next to him, clothes rumpled from bed. It's quiet, fireflies blinking and crickets chirping in the distance. The moon is nearly full, high in the sky. It's early enough in the game that a full nights sleep is still an option. And yet-

"Couldn't sleep?" Jimmy asks, tone light but genuine.

"Oh, you know," Scar says, humming. "Stomach ache. Dirt doesn't agree with me. Who knew?"

"Yeah, glad that one's over." Jimmy stretches his legs out in front of him. "Think I chipped a tooth. I'm billing Grian."

Scar laughs quietly, mindful of Lizzie snoring just a few yards away. That's another thing he's not quite used to: sleeping with others nearby. It's comforting. He's afraid he'll get used to it.

They sit in silence for a while, comfortable and secure. Their frankly absurd amount of bamboo rustles in the gentle wind, cherry blossom petals perpetually raining down around them. It's the kind of perfect peace that has Scar waiting on the other shoe to drop.

"...What was winning like?" Jimmy asks eventually, voice soft.

"...I don't know," Scar says. "It didn't really feel like winning. It was kind of just, like. Sad."

"Sad?"

"Yeah." Scar sighs, leaning back to look at the stars. "I thought it might make me feel better, to just- to prove that I could."

Jimmy hums like he's really listening, like he understands, and Scar... Something settles. Something that has been flinching for a very long time goes still.

"I was tired of being alone," he admits. "Still am. I end up that way a lot."

"Not this time," Jimmy says, a lopsided smile on his face. "Not on my watch."

He places a comforting hand on Scar's shoulder. Grounding. Real.

Oh, Scar thinks. This is what it's like to have something to lose.

"You sure it's not too early to say that?" Scar asks, half teasing. "You might be running for the hills a week from now. I'm not- I'm not an easy teammate."

"Hey, me neither, pal." Jimmy nudges him, smile a bit jagged at the edges. "I'm known for dying early. I've got issues with longevity."

"They make medicine for that."

"Wh- Scar!"

Scar doubles over, wheezing uncontrollably. Jimmy follows helplessly, in a way that almost sounds painful. It continues for a while, until Lizzie makes a small noise in her sleep, and the two of them choke back their laughter to something manageable, tapering back into silence. Scar feels... happy. He feels happy. It's...

"How about you?" Scar asks. "Anything you want to get off your chest? Just between us. And the giant parrot statues."

"Ehh, I don't know," Jimmy says playfully, eying the parrots suspiciously. "I don't know if I trust 'em."

"And me?"

"You?" Jimmy glances sideways at him, eyes light and honest. "Of course. We're the Bam Boys."

Trust is something that Scar had thought he'd killed a long time ago. Jimmy offers it anyway. It's like a lighthouse in a storm. The sun to a flower. Water in a desert.

Trust. Just this once, Scar vows not to break it.

"So," Scar says, like nothing just happened. "Anything?"

Jimmy exhales shakily, looking away, down at his hands. There's dirt under his fingernails. Scar waits.

"I don't want to die first," Jimmy says, a faint tone of embarrassment in his voice. "I know it's like, a thing, but I really..."

Canary, they call him. A creature whose purpose is to die.

Scar knows a thing or two about unwanted titles. He sometimes feels like the role of Villain is still branded onto his skin, with the way some people look at him.

I don't want to die, cries the Canary, but the miner only pays attention when the singing stops.

"You won't," Scar says, as close to a promise as he can get. "Not this time. Not on my watch."

Jimmy grins crookedly, something relieved at the corners of his eyes. "That right?"

"That's right."

They go back to bed.

#I've been wanting to write something for them since the first episode came out and i finally got around to it :]#i love them your honor #goodtimeswithscar #solidaritygaming #wild life smp #trafficblr #my writing #might post on ao3 but like. tomorrow maybe bc it's 2am rn <3 #goodnight!!#🐦‍⬛

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satureja13 · 2 days ago

Text

A sad mermaid walked past a bar. The werewolf bartender called to him: "Hey, why so sad? Come on in and have a drink. This pretty vampire here is going to fill us all in with the latest news from the toys front!" The pretty vampire hissed: "Shut up!"

(Somehow or other it shall have occurred a similar way ^^')

But Ji Ho stepped in Moogie's Bar nonetheless, needing some advice after his and Vlad's weird date. Ji Ho: "Do you think he still loves me after we removed the spell? He's as cold and distanced as always." Saiwa: "Vlad didn't have the ideal upbringing. He is a bastard and no one ever really cared for him until he met Leander and Wesley. We all know how that went. Then he met you and his whole world got shaken. For the first time he got a glimpse on how real love felt. But he couldn't have you. Now, that he finally can, he doesn't know what to do. But nothing ever changed his undying love for you. You know it, the Bond doesn't lie." Ji Ho: "But how does he keep all his feelings at bay then? Since I woke up at Verdantis and all those emotions hit me, I struggle to act 'normal'. It's so overwhelming. I want him so much it hurts. How am I supposed to barrel that all up inside?" They all sighed in unison.

Jack: "I guess it was the safest for him to not show his feelings. Just like you, in a way. To not hurt you, scare you and keep you save - and to prevent him from getting hurt himself. You'll have to tempt him like a shy deer I fear ^^' " Ji Ho: "Hmmm..."

And while Ji Ho mulled over on how to tempt oh so shy Vlad out of his hide, Jack and Sai talked about their relationships and came to terms that they should put some more effort in them. And change a few things - and themselves. Sai: "Don't worry, Ji Ho. We're all struggling, hm? Take baby steps. The road to change is stony, slow and painful. And sometimes you don't move forward at all. Look at me." Ji Ho looked at Sai.

Until Jack howled out: "Aouw, come on! Now don't you say that! The Sai from a few weeks ago would have complained and whined about having to be the captain again of this crazy mission and leading a bunch of weirdos through the vastness of space in this junkyard of a ship. And even a few days ago you'd all acted like Captain Ahab about hunting down Moby Dick aka Tiny Can. And now you're all in to rescue a man you don't even know to bring him back to his kids. You have changed. And I know you hate to admit it, but Tiny Can helped you to." Sai laughed: "And here I thought you were the captain ^^' " But Jack was right... he has changed and he's going to take a strong grip to the armrests of that captain's chair to fulfill their mission and he's going to start working towards taking an even stronger grip on his attempts to finally earn Jeb's wand!

(I wonder if that huge AC - permeating the air with Romantium behind their backs - has an influence on their decisions?)

And since they're talking relationships and changes, that faithful day-out with Greg came to Jack's mind. Where he'd told him that relationships are hard work. And that he is stronger than he thinks he is. That was long before he even entered the Therapy Game. And yes, he now was way more stronger then he had been then. Stronger than ever. He, too, changed a lot. He survived his own (ingame) death and Lou cheating on him with Caleb (kind of), his coma, the cowplants, Vlad's death, Greg snatching his beloved Noxee from him, the break-up with Kiyoshi and months of searing pain and whatever else! He's strong enough - and he'll survive giving his and Kiyoshi's love a second chance too. He's going to fight for it, because he is the Super Soldier! (And a werewolf - after all ;)

It was getting late and Ji Ho returned to their quarters. And when heading to the bathroom, he found Vlad - in his single bed again. He didn't even change clothes or bothered to put a blanket over him...

He must have sensed Ji Ho. "You're here..." Vlad murmured in his sleep and sighed contently. "Always." Ji Ho whispered. He's going to throw that bed in the trash compactor by tomorrow and Vlad is going to have to deal with sleeping in their bed from now on.

'Oh no, darling No wind, no rain Or winter's cold can stop me, baby, na na, baby 'Cause you are my goal If you're ever in trouble I'll be there on the double Just send for me, oh, baby, ha

My love is alive (woo) Way down in my heart Although we are miles apart If you ever need a helping hand I'll be there on the double Just as fast as I can Don't you know that there

Ain't no mountain high enough Ain't no valley low enough Ain't no river wide enough To keep me from getting to you, babe'

Ain't no Mountain high enough - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Another highlight from the Awesome Mix Vol 1 (OST from Guardians of the Galaxy 1)

From the Beginning 🔱 Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: 'Piglets in Space' ▶️ here Last Chapter: 'Here comes the Sun' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 23-29

#underwater love #Piglets in Space #woo ji ho #giga byte #Great A'Tuin II #simblr #saiwa #jack callahan #goats #gay sims #ts4 #simlit #sims story #the sims 4 #sims 4 #ts4 story #sims 4 story #vlad tepesz #romantium

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cheerycherrycandy-resurrected · 3 days ago

Text

Hunter's Moon (Medieval AU pt. 2)

Chapter 2

Mountain thinks back on his life before the pack and meeting Aether. He and Swiss make plans to clear the air between them.

I'm glad to see several of you were happy to see this back!! I plan to have this finished by the end of the year, then I should have more time to dedicate to writing my thesis Lee's fandom mini bang! That's not to say I won't post any more ficlets in this universe if I have ideas, more just to set your expectations for this not being another 100k monster!!!

Rating: T Content: past discussions of nasty familial expectations Words: 5031

@ashthewaterghoul @bloodfin @cosmicseafoam @everybodyshusband @jazz-bazz @karmicbias @kentuckyfriedsatan @midnight-moth @nefariousghoul @papaslittlesunshine @zombiequeen777 @0-miles-away please message me if anyone wants in/out of the tag list!! I won't be offended, I know notifs can be overwhelming, especially in stressful times <33

Links to full fic: Tumblr | AO3

Read below, or on AO3!

Swiss and the ghoulettes reached the Abbey a short while later, and were soon directed by an officious quintessence ghoul to start unfolding tables to lay food out on. Grumbling slightly at the boring task, they each hefted a piece of hinged furniture up from a pile and began dragging them outside. From Swiss’ position setting up, he had an almost direct line of sight to Mountain. The earth ghoul was sweating slightly, arm muscles flexing as he continued to drag the countless hay-bales around. Swiss desperately tried not to stare – he was supposed to be upset with the earth ghoul after all – but struggled to tear his eyes away.

However, Sunny chose that moment to let the table she was setting up purposely fall to the ground with a tremendous clatter, making all the ghouls around turn to see where the noise was coming from. All except one. Mountain's eyes remained fixed on the bale in front of him. That confirmed it: he knew Swiss was there, but he was purposefully ignoring him.

Swiss finally got the latch on his trestle table into place, and with that stomped back towards the Abbey, ignoring the calls from the quintessence ghoul in charge that he wasn't finished here yet. Sunshine gave chase, growling slightly at the ghoul as she passed. Swiss paced aimlessly along the hallways of the Abbey, heading nowhere in particular except for away.

Mountain could see Swiss in his peripheral vision. He had appeared in the clearing not long ago, flanked by ghoulettes on all sides like a protection detail. The stony faces they wore only worried him further – what could Swiss have possibly said to them? He wished the festival was being held inside; it would be so much easier to continue avoiding Swiss in the maze of hallways and passages of the Abbey. Alas, Cirrus had predicted fine weather a long time ago, and so outside they were.

Across the wide-open space, Mountain thought he could see Swiss watching him. He didn't dare look up, not even when a table near him collapsed with an almighty crash, but his skin still burned with the intensity of Swiss' gaze. Mountain didn't know if he wanted him to be watching him or not.

He considered going over and speaking to Swiss – he wouldn't normally think twice about doing so, seeking the multi ghoul out at every opportunity – but his tongue suddenly felt too big for his mouth, like it would choke any words that attempted to pass it. The pack of ghoulettes surrounding him certainly didn't help; a pride of hungry lionesses he was sure would eat him alive if he said something wrong.

Coward, he thought to himself. For being from a tribe that prided themselves on their bravery, he really wasn't acting like it today. Although he had long since left them, travelling far, far away with no intention of ever returning, the niggling feeling that he was disappointing his ancestors right now gnawed holes in the back of his mind. He couldn't find it in himself to resent them, even having left like he did, still holding a grudging respect for them and their chosen existence.

Mountain had been travelling for most of his life. Prior to his own nomadic existence, he had grown up constantly on the move around the southern plains. His tribe were small by earth ghoul standards, but large enough that when they moved it was as though a small village were passing through. In addition to the constant movement of the pack, they had a tradition that, when they came of age, the male ghouls were to leave for a few years to hone their skills alone and prove themselves worthy of caring for a mate.

Having grown up hearing tales from the older ghouls of giant bears fought in forests and big cats fended off in distant desert lands, Mountain had always wondered where he would choose to explore. He had always liked the thought of exploring his namesake; large, rocky mountains full of thick-furred beasts. Living in the southern plains however, where the land was flat for as far as the eye could see, mountains often felt as fictional as some of the beasts rumoured to inhabit them rather than real and tangible landforms.

As he grew older and approached the age where he would be expected to leave, he began to have his doubts about going at all. Most the other ghouls around his age had already wooed a prospective mate, someone for whom the journey was less about exploration but about demonstrating their worthiness to. Mountain had no ghoulette to court, nor a ghoul for that matter. He had no real desire to either – he was content with his life as it was, with no desire for things to change.

He held out for many seasons past when he had been expected to leave. Most of his closest packmates had long since left, returned, and settled into raising their kits amongst the clan. Before long, the tribe was beginning to talk: why hadn't he left yet? He may not have had a mate to court, but plenty of other ghouls who left for their trials in the wilderness did not. They encouraged him, spinning tales of the glory he would return to when he returned without a mate patiently waiting – he would have his pick of the tribe, surely. The gossip began to spread like a fire through a dry forest. Could it be that he wasn't leaving because he was afraid? Cowardice was not tolerated amongst the clan: they could not survive the way that they did if it was.

Eventually, Mountain had left. There was not much else he could do, he reasoned. If he stayed, he would only bring dishonour to his closest family until the whole pack eventually ostracised and then exiled him. As he said a final farewell to his parents, them wishing him luck and promising to have found him the perfect match in a mate by the time he returned, he saw only one clear emotion in their eyes: relief. There was no sadness at his coming absence, or pride for what he would hopefully achieve, only thankfulness that their son would no longer be the black sheep within the tribe.

He hadn't looked back as he left. Not for days. As he crossed the first hill, just knowing that he was out of view of the clan's camp was enough to quiet his restless mind some and allow him to truly appreciate the beauty of his surroundings. So trapped had he been within the prison of expectations, he hadn't stopped in years to truly recognise what a solo expedition could entail. There was no hum of chatter drowning out the birdsong, no rumble of a hundred footfalls to ward off the larger animals who took an interest in him. All felt calm.

Despite the sour feeling he had left with, he had never felt closer to his ancestors from the pack. This was what being an earth ghoul meant; the deep connection with nature he could only feel by being truly reliant on his surroundings for survival. This was what his tribe's traditions were founded upon. His progress was slow, but not for any reason besides him lingering at every turn to investigate a new plant or follow an animal's tracks back to its den out of sheer curiosity.

Slowly, over many months that slowly became years, he headed northeast. Away from the plains and through a densely forested area, he emerged into a lush wilderness of rolling hills. He had found a new purpose to life in travelling the forest and learning its secrets, and before he even realised he was thinking about it, his mind was made up: he was never going back to his clan. They had strayed so far from their roots, and Mountain wanted nothing more than to return to them. The hills and valleys were his home now, the tall trees of the forest were his family.

That was, at least, until he had met another ghoul. It had been years since Mountain left his clan and many months since he had seen any signs of life outside of what lived and grew in the wilderness. Spotting a small plume of smoke curling upwards in the distance, he had found his feet heading towards it without any conscious effort.

Beneath a rocky overhang he saw a small, makeshift camp. Just outside of it, likely guarding the camp from the hungry wolves that roamed at night, was the fire that had signalled him closer. A large figure sat hunched beside it, stoking the flames. As Mountain grew closer, he allowed his footsteps to becoming less stealthy, purposely stepping on and snapping a loose branch – he didn’t want to scare the camper, have them react defensively to a perceived attack. The crack of the twig reverberated around them and purple eyes snapped up to meet Mountain’s green. It was a ghoul.

At the same time as Mountain realised this, he also realised what a foolish situation he had plunged himself into: he had encroached on another ghoul's territory, unannounced, while they were vulnerable and unprepared. This ghoul had every right to defend his patch with all the anger and hellish power he could summon, and Mountain would deserve everything that came his way.

Panicked, he instantly began backing up. The ghoul by the fire made no move to get up from the floor however, tilting his head with curiosity as though he knew Mountain bore him no ill will. As Mountain continued to pivot between curiosity and the urge to flee, it finally dawned on him that the ghoul did not resemble any other earth ghoul he had seen before, from his clan or any other. The violet eyes were the biggest giveaway, and he realised that this was a quintessence ghoul – that would explain how he knew Mountain's intentions; he could sense them and had probably felt him approaching too.

Wary that despite his apparent quintessence abilities, the ghoul may interpret too much eye contact as a challenge, Mountain flicked his eyes up from the ground only briefly to examine the expression on his face. To his surprise, he saw a curious, almost bemused, smile. The ghoul seemed to be waiting for him to approach, intrigued by why he was hovering; frozen like a deer poised in an archer's sight.

“I don't bite,” he said lightly, still sat on the ground and clearly sensing Mountain's wariness of such an apparently fearless creature, “do you?”

After what was probably too long of a pause, Mountain shook his head dumbly.

“Good, good. Will you join me?” The quintessence ghoul gestured to the fire, where he appeared to have a large number of mushrooms, tubers and other plants grilling over the flames. A small pile sat next to him, waiting to be skewered and cooked. Mountain took a cautious seat across the fire, the smell of cooking filtering through the smoke.

“I'm Aether,” the quintessence ghoul smiled as though this were a perfectly normal scenario to meet another ghoul in, rather than the ambush Mountain could have easily twisted it into, “it's been a long time since I met another ghoul, let alone one without a pack.”

“Mountain.” The earth ghoul grunted back, forcing his tongue which felt alien with disuse to form words.

“It's a pleasure to meet you Mountain. Mushroom?” Aether held out a stick. The smell made his mouth water. Mountain accepted cautiously, sniffing the mushrooms tentatively and eyeing it closely before biting into them. Even cooked, these were recognisable and safe. As he chewed, his eyes drifted to a second, smaller pile of mushrooms beside those Aether had returned to threading onto sticks. Those were very much not safe, he realised. Although similar in appearance to the others, the telltale shape of the stem and clour of the gills confirmed his first thought. Aether seemed to be avoiding them, yet was that because he knew, or was he simply working through his piles in a methodical order? Worse still, had the ones he fed Mountain been a trap?

“Those will make you sick.” He croaked out, his mouthful turning to rubber on his tongue.

“I know,” Aether replied, looking up with a serene smile, “they're not for eating though. I make a tincture out of them, to pull the evil out of wounds.”

Mountain still looked sceptical.

“They're bitter; you'd know if I gave you one.” He shrugged at Mountain's face, with his cheeks slowly puffing out as he considered the risks of swallowing. With a gulp, he did. Aether looked delighted, as though he had passed a test of trust neither was aware was transpiring until now.

That trust had continued as the pair found themselves travelling together in a similarly spontaneous fashion, contrary to the usual routine and planning of both ghouls. Mountain remained wary for weeks to come, yet hadn’t found it in himself to leave. Aether’s campfire was warm, as was his company, and Mountain began to realise that the solitary life he had been living wasn’t as well-suited to him as he had thought.

The quintessence ghoul was knowledgeable and more than happy to share such knowledge with Mountain. In return, Mountain shared his own experience with the wilderness and the pair had found themselves becoming a team. With one ghoul always available to keep a lookout, their lives became safer and easier, and Mountain found himself able to relax in a way he hadn’t for years. His knowledge of the wild meshed perfectly with Aether’s ability to tap into a deeper layer of nature. They had each other’s backs; a fact that became especially important as winter began to creep in and all the living beings within the forest became increasingly desperate for a meal. It was colder up here than Mountain remembered it being on the plains, and even after several winters he still wasn’t used to waking to find the dew in his hair frozen solid.

While in these early weeks together Mountain had been outwardly reluctant to follow the quintessence ghoul, the company began to rejuvenate him. What had started as simply an alliance of convenience became a friendship before he realised what was happening. For a while, they would have called themselves companions; never too close, but with an understanding that they relied on each other and their mutual trust. Mountain realised well past the point of no return that they had become their own small pack.

With that understanding, and the acknowledgement of how much more comfortable his life now was, when Aether had first suggested that they attempt to settle in a human village to prepare for the coming winter Mountain had been somewhat open to the idea. He still wasn’t keen: the thought of denying his nature and hiding behind the glamour that all ghouls had but few enjoyed using filled him with a mild revulsion, but the comfort of having four walls around them when the frost began to develop had won out in the end. With the pair’s talents being perfectly utilised by their new lifestyle, it was mid summer by the time Mountain realised they had long outstayed their proposed single season.

As such, when they had discovered Dewdrop late into the autumn, their decision had been made: they would stay amongst the humans indefinitely, until such a time came that they all either needed or wanted to move on. They had stayed as they were for long enough that even Mountain had begun to relax his most wild ways, giving in to the creature comforts civilisation provided.

By the time Swiss, and later Rain, had joined the pack, there was very little of the nomadic earth ghoul left within Mountain. At the time, he hadn’t even cared that he was becoming domesticated as Aether had once jokingly called it when he automatically kicked off his boots before entering the farmhouse. Only once they had been thrust back into the forest, dependent on their skills for survival once again, had he lashed out at the loss of his old skills.

Thinking of the time between leaving his clan and meeting Aether, Mountain couldn’t help but laugh coldly at how much his life had changed. He had first felt freedom in the forest, unchained from any expectations of pack and utterly reliant on his own instincts. How different things were now. The call of civilisation, of a mate, was one he had shunned for so long that his desperation for it now blindsided him. A small voice in him, the stubborn one that caused him nothing but problems, wanted to resent Swiss for changing his priorities so completely. The rest of him was more rational, and knew that that was entirely out of the multi ghoul’s control. Hell, he hadn’t even known Mountain in his wilder days, only once he had long since fallen into the comfort of life at the farm with a small pack, so the idea that he had changed him in any way was laughable.

With hindsight as clear as day, he realised that it was his own feelings of inadequacy at something which had once been his forte that had inspired such hostility towards Dew in their early days of travelling north. Recognising his flaws was the first part of addressing them, or so Cirrus had said when he confided in her. And he could clearly recognise that he was taking his anger at himself and his actions that morning out on Swiss – a mistake he was desperate to avoid making twice. He needed to clear the air, before it was too late.

~~~~~~~

Back inside the Abbey, Sunny had followed Swiss until they ended up in a small inner courtyard, surrounded on all sides by tall ivy-clad walls. With a loud huff that was almost verging on being a shriek of frustration, Swiss threw himself onto a bench facing a tiny water feature.

“How’s everything gone so wrong?” He lamented loudly, more to himself than Sunny. She hummed sympathetically nonetheless.

“You know, I thought you’d been together a while already,” she mused, more thinking aloud than expecting a reply, “what happened? You looked so happy yesterday.”

Swiss snorted, whether in derision or to hold back more tears it wasn’t clear.

“I thought we were happy too. Mount clearly doesn’t want the same thing as me though!”

He flopped onto his back, landing his head in Sunshine’s lap where she began lightly running deft fingers across his scalp in small, soothing patterns.

“You don’t know that until you talk to him,” she pointed out, trying hard to inject as much kindness into her usually joking voice as possible, “why don’t you start from the beginning, then we can work out what to do?”

Swiss did the best he could to explain; going back as far as him first joining the pack all those years ago. He described how Mountain had seemed distant compared to the rest of the pack at first, before Swiss came to realise that he was just naturally quieter than the others. He’d opened up eventually like a slow-blooming flower, the pair becoming friends. Their recent closeness had felt like a distinct development to Swiss though, a notable difference to their usual interactions. He knew how he felt, knew what the familiar tingling in his gut meant for him, but for Mountain? He had no idea what his recent behaviour meant. Was he feeling it too, or was this just a deeper kind of friendship to him, forged through the chaos of their trip north?

“Oh you are in a pickle!” Sunshine tutted softly, continuing her small scratching motions to keep the ghoul in her lap from getting too worked up again.

“How did you get Mist?” He asked, turning his head to look at Sunny instead of staring straight up.

Sunshine giggled.

“I just asked her, silly!” Her delicate peals of laughter made Swiss smile despite himself.

“I practice what I preach, you know?” She continued with an exaggerated, sanctimonious nod, finally eliciting a small laugh from Swiss.

“It sounds like that's what Mountain needs too, you're both too far gone for subtleties at this point.”

“What am I even going to say though?” Swiss could hear his voice getting whiney, but Sunny seemed to have infinite patience with him. His head was still pounding; that would have to be his excuse.

Sunshine hummed contemplatively.

“I don't know, you know him best. You just have to be open with him though, say that you don't know why he's ignoring you, and it hurts. You don't have to put your whole heart on display right away, but you need to be somewhat open if you want things to stop festering between you.”

She was right, of course, thought Swiss. If he wanted to at least repair their friendship and have Mountain talk to him again, he needed to make a move and do it properly – make his hurt feelings known.

“Yeah...” he muttered, feeling his confidence and conviction growing as he imagined the conversation. He wasn't going to beg, he had more self-respect left than that, but he wasn't going to let Mountain bury his head in the sand and throw away years of friendship over a drunken mistake and a misunderstanding.

“You can ask why he left this morning, but you need to listen to him too, let him explain even if you don’t like the answer.” Sunny’s words were firm, but her tone was kind.

“I know.” Swiss nodded.

“Don’t look so glum! Everything isn’t lost yet, he might be stressing as much as you are about what to say, y’know?” Shifting him up as best as she could, Sunshine pulled Swiss into a hug and whispered conspiratorially in his ear, as though the walls might be eavesdropping.

“If you two are even half as bad at communicating with each other as Mist says Dewdrop and Rain were, then of course everything’s a mess right now! “

Finally, that drew a small giggle from Swiss. The pair sat in comfortable quiet for a while longer, listening to the gentle bubbling of the water feature behind them and the whistling of the breeze filtering past the stone walls above. The sun passed overhead, the shadows shifting like they were turning their backs on the ghouls.

“C’mon,” Sunshine sighed eventually, reluctant to move but all too aware that it was already mid-afternoon and they had a busy evening ahead, “let’s go and get ready for the ritual now, then you don’t have to run into Mountain in the Den if you aren’t ready to.

Although they were prepared to sneak into the Den if necessary, it seemed to be completely empty when they entered. Swiss felt a pang of guilt that they had avoided the majority of their tasks for the day when everyone else was so hard at work, but really they were the ones who would be working later while everyone else was listening to them and having fun. The perks of being in the band, Sunny had quipped. He quickly found the scattered pieces of his uniform and got changed. Unable to resist, he gathered up Mountain’s too and hung it on the front of the wardrobe before leaving to meet Sunshine in the common room.

When there was nothing left for them to do but wait for night to fall and their guests to arrive, they slowly headed outside. With any luck, they could make themselves look busy enough that no one would impose more work upon them. To Swiss’ relief Mountain was nowhere to be seen, giving him some time to finalise what he would say. While he psyched himself up, Sunny stuck next to him like a living shield; her loud and buoyant attitude keeping Swiss afloat in the tumultuous sea of his thoughts. As the time approached for them to start performing, Mountain was still nowhere to be seen. Swiss supposed that was for the best – what could either of them possibly say in the short time they had left – but the part of him that cared endlessly for the ghoul hoped he would appear soon, before Papa would need to chastise him for his tardiness.

~~~~~~~

Inside the Abbey, Mountain had also been skulking along the corridors trying to pretend to be busy. He had eventually been released from outdoor work and had no intention of returning until the last possible second. Mountain put off returning to the Den for as long as he could in case he should run into Swiss or any of the ghoulettes that had spent the morning sending him a mix of glances that could have been either concern or anger, he wasn't sure. When he finally entered, with barely a half hour until he was supposed to be onstage with Copia and the others, the Den was completely abandoned. He supposed everyone who wasn't performing tonight was already out enjoying themselves.

Entering their room, he was surprised to find his uniform already hanging up waiting for him. He scratched his head, certain he had left it on the floor like everything else when they returned last night. Could Swiss really have done that for him? Even such a small gesture made him wonder if all hope wasn't lost. He suddenly regretted hiding away all day; if Swiss really had been wanting to reconcile, Mountain hadn't helped himself. With very little time until they were due to perform, he wouldn't have a chance to clear the air beforehand. He cursed himself for making yet another cowardly decision that hurt not only himself, but Swiss too.

Mountain shimmied into the black clothes, suddenly feeling so much more exposed in the tight waistcoat than he had the night before, especially compared to the floaty linen he had been wearing all day. The mask felt heavy on his head as he adjusted the straps, restricting his vision and making him feel like a prey animal. He could only hope that Swiss wasn't out for blood. Finally, he stuffed his feet into his polished leather boots. Copia had acquired them specially for the three ghouls in his little band from a cobbler several villages away, and they felt expensive. Yesterday they had made him feel important, but today they felt claustrophobic, squeezing his feet and holding him down like lead weights.

Walking along the empty corridors towards the party outside felt like walking to his doom. The rational part of him understood that the only things he was really approaching were his pack and the ghoul he loved, but the few difficult conversations that blocked his path felt like insurmountable barriers. As he turned the final corner to the outside and the dim light of the early evening, the gargoyles perched above the door seemed to leer down at him mockingly. Mountain tried to ignore them, took a deep breath and set his shoulders back, summoning the confidence he had felt the night before on stage.

All that shattered around him however when he broke through the crowd around the edge of the stage and saw Swiss waiting there, talking with Sunshine. Mountain's mouth ran dry and any words he had on his tongue disappeared as he saw Swiss stood there in the flesh, highlighted by the orange glow of the setting sun. Were his tail not glamoured away – for the time being at least, until the humans present had enjoyed enough blackberry wine to convince themselves they were seeing things – he felt it would have been firmly between his legs.

He stayed frozen to the spot until a piercingly expectant gaze from Sunshine pulled him forward to heed Copia summoning them onto stage. Mountain stumbled up the few makeshift stairs, eyes locked on his feet. Sitting on the crate he used as percussion he felt grounded, less like he would float away at a single glance form Swiss. The multi ghoul seemed to be doing a very effective job of not looking at him either, leaving Mountain no trace of a clue about how he was feeling.

They had two sets to play this evening; this one now, as the sun set, and another later once night had truly set in. As he tapped out a beat to begin their first song, Mountain felt his movements were stiffer than normal, stilted even. His beat was always rigid, but this felt awkward and forced rather than steadying. If Copia could tell, he gave no reaction from his position at the front of the stage.

Under the bright light of several enchanted torches and lanterns blazing down on the stage from above, Mountain was finally able to lose himself to the music. It was almost enough to distract him from the fact that Swiss was standing as far away from him as the stage allowed, Sunshine acting as a buffer beside him. The whole set passed in a daze for Mountain. It was over before he realised, Copia chaperoning his ghouls off stage to enthusiastic cheers. As soon as his feet his solid ground again, Mountain felt a tentative hand on his elbow.

“Are you alright, my ghoul?” Copia asked him, mismatched eyes filled with concern. He must have felt the awkward atmosphere after all, Mountain regretted.

“Sorry Papa, I'll try and play better next time.”

“Not at all, my ghoul! We still performed admirably,” Copia squeezed Mountain's arm encouragingly and gave him a knowing smile, “I hope you can sort what is bothering you though, yes?”

Feeling bolstered by Copia's comments, Mountain gave him a shaky smile back. The man clearly cared so deeply for his ghouls as well as his church. Especially with so many visitors here, Mountain didn't want to let him down with a bad performance.

“I will, I promise.”

With a final nod from Copia, Mountain turned and plunged into the crowd in the direction he had last seen his bandmates go. Finally, he thought he had the last shred of courage he needed to talk to Swiss.

#what you've done you cannot undo #hunters moon #medieval au #historical au #cw angst #cw alcohol #angst with a happy ending #misunderstandings #backstory #swissalps #swiss ghoul #mountain ghoul #swiss x mountain #ghost fanfiction #the band ghost #nameless ghouls #ghost #ghost bc #em writes

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things-arent-what-they-seem66 · 1 day ago

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((Yeah I like that a lot. Poor baby :(

Maybe it effects Lucifer too? But to a lesser degree.))

Adam sat there and waited for Lucifer to come back.

He waited.

And waited.

How much time has passed? He wasn't sure. Adam didn't know if Charlie was still here and he didn't want to risk her knowing about him just yet.

Adam curled in on himself and started to rock back and forth. He could feel some anxiety setting in and he didn't like the feeling.

Where was Lucifer?

Why isn't he back?

Did he leave him?

Where? Where? Wherewherewherewhefewhedewhere-

Adam can't think about obsessively like this he'll go crazy. He needed to distract himself.

So he started playing with the mountains of ducks. It helped a little, he could feel Lucifer's energy in them.

Only a little though.

At dinner Lucifer felt his own anxiety creeping in. He didn't want to leave Adam alone for too long.

His leg was bouncing under the table. He needed to get back, wanted to get back.

Adam needs him, he needs to be there he-

Charlie; Dad? You okay?

Lucifer: Huh? Oh! Um, yeah sweetie.... Just tired.

I'm coming up with some aus for you, but I need some meeting shenanigans.

I would love to know what bullshit Adam and Lucifer got up to during meetings.

Slowly healing their relationship, one meeting at a time 👀

Well I think the very first one they wouldn't even be alone together because of what happened. I think Adam would just silently glare at him.

Over time when Adam was feeling more confident to face the devil he'd go alone but by hologram, Sera's idea.

Making snide remarks, snappy comments, and being sassy.

And Lucifer would come back with his own and they would end up in banter for a while other than why they are really there.

As more time passes it's less hateful and more playful, maybe even takes on a flirty edge.

And I always see Lucifer being the one to make the first move after what happened in Eden. Adam has so many insecurities he wouldn't think that Lucifer would want him as more than maybe a friend.

Hit me with them bud 👀

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rockabell-chime · 11 months ago

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girl help i'm 'lost' in the caves. well i guess the generator will have to wait until tomorrow. celestic if you're on rotomblr don't worry. blue has a lock on me. to my team, if you are seeing this: consider this enrichment for me i was getting bored

#bell speaks #pokeblogging #pokemon irl #rotomblr #pokeblog rp #i'm somewhere up high? a bunch of cliffs #a very nice ocean and moonlit view #and of the moon too!#i didn't know there was this much mountain #a fool my life has made of me i guess

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wyvernity · 5 months ago

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quick personal update -- i've been in chinaaaa for the past few weeks! plus a few days of layover in tokyo, so i got to visit japan for the first time! good experiences good food all around \(^_^)/

now that i'm officially back, i can share some of the soulsilver i've been stockpiling since march..... and since i'm too lazy to make multiple posts, you guys get the full dump. warning! there are a few!

#pokemon #pokemon hgss #trainer lyra #rival silver #soulsilvershipping #bao beis #big post and of course it's the bao beis!! my qin ais!!!#i'm very late but happy pride to my beloved qpr that no one knows is a qpr.. well now you know!#not that the distinction matters to anyone but me #just know that #the exact dynamic i'm here to pitch is “they should parallel play with each other for the rest of their lives”#anyway that's all i have for now. tbh there's plenty of other art i need to get around to posting... maybe commissions if im feeling brave #i hope this makes up for the absence though! uploading art in china was a hassle so i didn't bother haha #saw so much incredible scenery there ... mountains and temples and gardens.. i'm itching to turn my grainy photos into landscape studies #also got to visit the pokemon center in shibuya during my tokyo stay :''') autism win!!!

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avoicebehindthestars · 1 month ago

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Are we ever going to talk about how in GO!god's favourite film:

the protagonist is told it's okay to abandon her religious calling to pursue romantic love

the family flee the country so the father isn't forced to serve in forces that are obviously evil?

Yes? No? All right then.

#good omens #good omens meta #the sound of music #why does Aziraphale hate that film so much?#honestly I thought it was quite lovely #pity the rest of heaven didn't seem to get the message #despite knowing it well enough to bloody quote from it #climb every mountain ford every stream #Crowley got it right though

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ednaeflowers · 2 days ago

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Never having a problem with material items, Edna is not very materialistic, so she cannot quite understand Yuri's brother geeking out—but she does understand that those things must've fascinated him all the same. Since they're such bumpkins, Sorey and Mikleo did that all the time, after all. Eizen was like that too. He loved learning about the world; cared a lot about the rich knowledge the past had to offer, how old artifacts held lots of significance about the evolution of the world and whatever else he liked rambling about. Edna admittedly never understood most of it, given how young she'd been at the time, but she at least knew that it was important to her brother and that was why she even listened in the first place. Maybe Yuri was like that too with his brother: not really understanding the whys in particular, but was still supportive because it made the person happy.

When she was younger, Edna ... still wasn't good at conveying herself with words. She preferred to help Onii-chan with anything he had to do so that she could be useful; she picked up pretty flowers to make flower crowns to give him as gifts; she followed him around when she didn't want to be alone. Words were just too hard for her. The wrong words could lead to misunderstandings, and actions seemed more practical to her. But even then, perhaps her lack of contact with more than one person had kept her sheltered in a way. There are times when Edna deliberately presents herself as cold and curt, but there have also been times she accidentally came off too cruel and callous. Sorey had been a victim to that and while she did sincerely apologized, it had left a regretful feeling in Edna's heart.

This is why she wanted to stay quiet about her brother. Yuri probably doesn't even know how dragons are so dangerous—after all, dragons are something that seraphim are familiar with—but at the same time, Edna didn't just want to cry and leave him with nothing. She didn't even want to cry to begin with, but the damage has been done, and there's no turning back now. With how he patiently listens to her, he does sort of remind her of Onii-chan in a way. ❛ He sounds like a weirdo, ❜ she softly remarks, lightheartedly, ❛ but that's why he had you to look out for him, I guess. ❜ Even though she's younger, she sometimes had to scold Onii-chan to get back on track whenever he geeked out a little too much.

She has to pause for a moment upon Yuri's insistence. Edna had thought he'd back away if she volunteered to fix the mess by herself. Even though he came here to Rayfalke for official business, she had thought, for a brief moment, that he would eventually see no more reason to come back here once the looters problem has been resolved. His job is done, so his business here should be done too, right? But thinking back to their entire conversation, back from when they had started this whole trip up the mountains, the more she found herself not caring anymore. True, this is the first time they've met, but they already found some common ground with each other about ... brothers. About family. And to Edna, she values family because 'family' gave her life meaning. It's nice to talk with someone who also has that same sentiment.

❛ Yeah, this is definitely a human problem I shouldn't have to deal with, ❜ she comments grumpily, sniffling again. He really does have a point anyway, so she supposes Yuri will just have to play janitor for a while. He is clearly stubborn to help and while she'd normally take the opportunity to tease about it, Edna's too emotionally tired to do so right now, but when she hears him agree to bring flowers the next day, she is about to give him a genuine thank you—

Edna blinks upon feeling herself get tugged, then ... A hug? She blinks again, confused. Sure, Lailah's given her a hug before when they reunited for Sorey's journey, but that was a hug from Lailah, not...

She doesn't return the hug, but she doesn't shove him away either. Yuri seems as tall as him, she notices absently, lowering her umbrella a bit to accommodate the position. Eizen's the only male she lets touch her with all of her trust. She is still awkward whenever Mikleo touches her, and now Yuri is the third male in her life to touch her. Hugs from Onii-chan were so long ago, Edna is starting to forget them. Mikleo's never actually hugged her before, so she doesn't have much for a recent frame of reference, but ... It's comforting. Yuri's hug is tentative. It's not a hug that oversteps anything, just something that wanted to comfort her. She can tell that much.

When he lets her go, Edna says knowingly, ❛ Lailah will know how to send a letter through the Turtlez. They deliver mail for us seraphim. ❜ When he starts leaving, she takes her umbrella to shield her face first before raising her voice a little: ❛ Yuri. I'll only say it once: thanks. ❜

Being a seraph means sleep is not a necessity, so Edna had spent the rest of her day mourning after Yuri had departed. After taking a walk around the mountain to clear her mind, she had mainly spent time at her brother's grave. She left those holes alone to honor Yuri's words, but the sight of them still annoyed her, so she stayed at the edge of the clifftop and kept watch as time passed to this current day. Yesterday's events still took a toll on her emotionally, so Edna takes today's walk on the mountain again, keeping a watchful eye out for more looters. Miraculously, there are none. She would've set up traps beforehand, but that would also affect Meebo and Yuri if they come by, so she decides against it. Those 'natural' disasters yesterday must've gotten through to those losers anyway.

Edna continues mourning after her walk, now seated on a rock nearby the grave to stare at the scenery, only turning around when she hears noises behind her. She quietly watches Yuri keep his word and fix the holes with a shovel he brought along. He even got the orchid flowers she wanted... He really did come back and found those flowers within the day... If all humans had his sense of honor, maybe she'd hate them a little less.

❛ What's that? ❜ she softly asks, walking over to him. She hasn't cried ever since he left yesterday, so her eyes aren't as pink and sore anymore to hide. Staring at the item he left in front of the grave, she tilts her head. It looks like a ... statue? ❛ You know, you didn't have to get this, right? Could've spent your money on something you actually need. ❜ She stares at it again. Is it a small mountain? She wonders how long it took him to find it because she doubts he could've carved it himself given all the physical movement he did yesterday. Accounting the time it must've taken to hike back up here and the time to find those flowers, he definitely bought it. He bought this for her. He bought this for her brother.

❛ Leaving a mountain on a mountain, though. Clever, ❜ she quips, just to maintain some sort of lighthearted atmosphere. Just because she stopped crying doesn't mean she is over it yet. Now that he fixed up the holes, she does feel a little better, but ... ❛ So, on a scale of one to ten, how sore are your legs today? ❜

When it came to crying, she must have been like him. Always bothered by the idea of others seeing it, even though it meant... nothing, really. It was as if Yuri was okay with showing any other emotion except... sadness. He remembered the day Jiri died, the way his vision blurred and he got up and left the room. The way he was the last person before Hanks to stay with her until she died. Even at that time, being willing to show sadness was... difficult.

Perhaps it was because Edna had always been alone. Because there had never really been anyone around her that she felt she could trust to know her feelings. To see her feelings in their rawest form. On the other hand, Yuri had always been sort of the... "group leader". Always feeling like he had to be strong for everyone. Like he had to watch out for everyone. He had worried back then about showing negative emotions. Worried the other boys would feel unsafe and less secure. As the years went on and he had started raising more younger orphans, he didn't want to let them see him like that.

While Yuri couldn't say he understood the concept of becoming a dragon, he still understood that it was not a good fate from her story. Before he turned into a dragon, he was truly a person. Full of personality, a family even if perhaps only of one, someone who was beloved by that person. As if becoming that dragon made him lose all of that. It was... a shame that they were not like the Entelexeia. Beings who were not human, but transformed into another life form as evolution. Became spirits like a next phase of life. Dragons here... didn't seem to be like that.

He gave an "mm" of agreement at her statement. Indeed, Yuri couldn't help thinking of Jareth either when things weren't... going well. Still, he managed a small chuckle. "Yeah... My brother had this phase not long before he died... He geeked out about material belongings that he could finally afford. Honestly, it was weird and concerning to me, because it wasn't like him. He was one of us. Poor, thrifty, just happy to have whatever we had. But... it must've also been a wild, mind blowing thing to him to have shiny, well crafted things. Even the little kids were amazed. I was worried at the time, but... I also... can't blame him for feeling that way just because I wouldn't. And like I had said at the time... he could spend his money how he wanted to."

Back then he'd truly been concerned, but when he got older... he understood. Sure, it really wasn't like him, but... it was new to him, and for him, it also could've meant... having money. Having a living. Being able to get away from just struggling to survive. Barely getting by. He saw a future in some form of wealth. Saw a future by everyone in the Lower Quarter moving out and finding a new place to stay together. The nobles abused that desire... and it was the nobles he despised for that. For leading Jareth astray until the boy's hope became desperation out of concern for everyone's safety.

Though they'd just met, he did feel... at least something of a connection with Edna. There was something there. Anyone he passed by he wouldn't wish sadness or suffering upon, but he didn't know most people's lives. Their stories. Their history. When he finally did hear someone's - Edna's - it had little details that made Yuri think of his own life. Both the good and the bad.

"You could fix it with your powers, but... that was made by humans. I just think... it should be a human who fixes a human's mess. It shouldn't be your job to fix what humans did here." His gaze returned to the now covered holes, the dirt clearly moved after having settled for a long time. He really did need to speak to Harry about this. Just because this was a foreign land didn't give anyone the right to be borderline grave digging and robbing. If Harry wouldn't do something about it, Raven no doubt would, or Raven would convince Harry to.

Bring flowers, she said... He'd probably need some direction, but he could search for some. This place was still unfamiliar territory, but he didn't like the idea of not fulfilling her request. Of... coming back to fix the holes and not leaving the flowers. Red orchid... He could probably search tomorrow before coming back up the mountain. Going back down would be easier, but there was no way he would be able to take another whole trip back up and down the mountain today. Tomorrow was his only chance for a while though. After tomorrow, his legs would be highly sore from the trips. There was no way even his body would be able to pull off another trip up this mountain so soon.

"Yeah... I'll ask around since I'm not too familiar with the location, but... I'll look for some." He paused, then sighed. This was... possibly a bit much. Overstepping, even. They were essentially strangers. Regardless though, he couldn't... just leave her to feel so alone and helpless at what had happened once he had to leave for the day. So he lightly, gently, and with little pressure pulled her closer. The lightest hug he could manage to keep her from feeling overwhelmed, and light enough for her to reject it and back away. Nothing overly familiar that might make her uncomfortable. Just... something so she knew he didn't take any of this lightly. So she didn't seem like just another assignment for his job, and someone he just felt sorry for along the way. While he had to keep his job in mind, this was... a bit more than that now.

He was careful, gentle, when he pulled back to speak. "Not sure when I'll be back tomorrow, but it's gonna be a bit of a trip like today, so... I won't be able to come back for a fair bit. Unfortunately the limitations of human bodies means my legs are gonna hate me after tomorrow. I can hang out for a bit, but otherwise, after that... when I come back for that festival in Ladylake, I'll look for one of your friends. See if they can get a hold of you somehow so you can go with us."

All that was left was for him to give her his farewells until tomorrow. After getting down the mountain, it would be getting late. He'd have to turn in pretty quickly after, if he wanted to make sure he had time tomorrow to get everything done and get back down before it was late. There was no reason to fill Karol and Judith in since they would be staying at the same inn despite their different assignments, so he could at least square away his plans for tomorrow with them.

---

Searching for the flowers hadn't been too difficult once he'd asked around among the nearby residents. Karol and Judith had offered to help, but given what happened yesterday, Yuri preferred to work on Edna's request by himself. Unfortunately Judith needed Ba'ul today again too though, which meant Yuri was still on his own for the mountain climb. If he were to ever come back here if Edna wanted visitors, Ba'ul would be... helpful. Certainly, very helpful. Given the climb though, Yuri preferred not to have Repede have to go up the mountain with him. Even for Repede, it was a lot. For today too, he'd be with Karol on Karol's assignment.

Thankfully there was no sign of the looters on the way back up. Earlier today, Yuri had heard some rumor going around about the mountain being "cursed", so the guys Edna had spooked yesterday had probably started gossiping about their experience. Most likely though, it would keep people away now at least. At the very least, the foreigner groups.

As promised though, he laid the flower bunch at the front of the grave, followed by poking at the dirt with the shovel he'd bought to fix the uneven coverings. There wasn't much need to redo a lot of it, but he did make sure to redo the edges and make sure the tops were patted down properly. Once everything looked okay, Yuri pulled out the carved sculpture of a mountain he'd purchased while checking the market for a shovel, placing it against the grave with the flowers.

It was no artifact, but it was clearly crafted with care and quite possibly based on this mountain. His chances of finding a real, genuine artifact were slim, and a real one being sold at any market would cost more than he could afford. Something like that would be doable if he was a on job from Ioder, but that wasn't the case right now. For now... this was what he could do, and it wasn't likely any looter would be up here again any time soon.

#bravewolfvesperia #°˖✧❀ ❛ peace on the mountains. ┊ main verse. ❀✧˖°#[ gently sets this here ]#my eyes are so bloodshot that i almost copy-pasted my reply into discord instead of tumblr #so pretend there aren't any typos if you see any 😂

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