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ajaxwrites · 4 years ago

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GENSHIN IMPACT FANFIC REC LIST II

(previous: part i)

Seaglass by Aevas

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

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

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

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

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

it's a hard rock life for us by reptilianraven

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

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

“You killed him???” Paimon screeches.

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

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

He shrugs. “It was free real estate.”

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

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

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

Ships: Zhongli/Childe, Past Azhdaha/Zhongli

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

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

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

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

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

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

To Kill A God by IlluminanceinTales

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

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

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

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

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

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

Three's a Family by IlluminanceinTales

Childe finds a kid that looks just like him.

Of course Zhongli wants to keep him.

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

Ships: Childe/Zhongli (?)

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

in pitch dark i go walking in your landscape by snowbrigade

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

Zhongli wondered what his eyes betrayed about himself. --

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

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

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

Phantom Lines by iskendaris

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

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

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

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

adventitious by Anonymous

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

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

Ships: Diluc/Kaeya

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

Without Those Dark Memories by StrangeDiamond

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

Ships: Diluc/Kaeya

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

Through the warmth, through the cold by strikedawn

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

“…Excuse me?"

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

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

Ships: Diluc/Kaeya

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

Hide and Seek by Kiri_Kaitou_Clover

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

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

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

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

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

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

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

Getting that Bread by tzitzimeme

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

Ships: Zhongli/Xiao

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

prayers for a boy by Recluse

The only way to reconciliation is fierce combat!

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

Ships: N/A

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

one kind of longing, two places of sorrow by lady_peony

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

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

A pause.

"A tradition?" Childe echoes.

"Yes."

"With a companion?"

"Yes."

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

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

The People of Liyue by queer_occurrences

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

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

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

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

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

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

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

Teyvat Petting Zoo @tyvtpettingzoo

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

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

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

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

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

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

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

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

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

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

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

time flies like an arrow by Erina

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

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

His very first contract.

(Zhongli and Childe, across many lifetimes)

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

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

Tartaglia’s Favorite Professor by GreyLiliy

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

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

Ships: Zhongli/Childe

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

like a handprint on my heart by fallingintodivinity

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

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

“Yes – oh, yes, of course.”

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

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

Ships: Diluc/Kaeya

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

#genshin impact #genshin impact fanfic #fanfic rec #rec list #zhongli/childe #childe/zhongli #tartali #chili #diluc./kaeya #luckae #fanfiction #took a while but i have been steadily reading my way through the fandom #still not all my recs #but you can check my ao3 for what i'm reading lmao

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umisabaku · 3 years ago

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Hi! I'm a huge fan as of a week ago when I discovered designation miracle and speedread through all of it. I really love your writing so much, so I had to ask: please please write a reki/langa piece? It can be AU/scifi/fantasy anything you like, and doesn't have to be long but I would so love to see your fic/minific! also, i saw that you had posted about tying the kuroko fantasy AU together -- have you thought of looking at 1001 nights instead of grimms, they have a lot of nested stories

It doesn't take him long to figure out that 1) he died and 2) apparently reincarnated in the body of Kyan Reki, minor trash character in Ice Infinity, long-running web novel series he used to read because his younger sister made him. Which, holy shit, he did not think that actually happened, and apparently he should have paid more attention to transmigration web novels instead of skating. (Nope, that wouldn't have happened. He loved skating. Still loves skating. This is clearly his little sister's fault, for being fond of dark fantasy harem novels instead of transmigration novels.)

He tugs his floofy red hair and thinks that this isn't the worst possible novel to wake up in, but it's pretty bad. At least he's familiar with the story line. Protagonist Hasegawa Langa, aka Prince of Ice and Snow, was cursed as a baby (although he doesn't know it) to have a frozen heart. He competes in a (very long, drawn-out) magic tournament, and becomes super awesome magic ruler of all time, but each battle brings out a darker side of him, and the more evil he gets, the more the world begins to ice over. This is, in part, due to the manipulations of Demon Lord Adam, who wants Langa's powers for himself. Meanwhile, various women try to "unfreeze the prince's heart" or whatever, with the implication that if someone managed to melt his broken heart, the world wouldn't be destroyed by ice.

(Reki gave his sister so much shit for liking this story. It was still ongoing, and the world was almost destroyed by ice. There'd been, like, fifty different women who were potential love interests throughout this saga, and the Prince still had a frozen heart. Also, he was pretty evil at that point. Reki's not sure what the appeal is, although now that he's in the book, he's at least grateful that he knows what's coming.)

The problem is, Kyan Reki dies in the first chapter. Killed by Langa, in fact, which Reki (now that he is Reki) does not appreciate. Reki was a brash, arrogant jerk, with low level fire magic. He was Langa's first opponent in the tournament, and had insulted the memory of Langa's dead father, which is what provoked the killing. Langa hadn't meant to kill Reki, but the accidental murder is what started the long path towards evil, frozen heart, and the end of the world.

So now that Reki knows what's coming he thinks, Well, I'll just not do that then.

Seems simple enough. He comes up with a Plan of Survival: He won't compete in the magic tournament, he'll stay away from the Ice Prince, and maybe move to a tropical island or something. He doesn't like the idea of the world freezing over, but that seems like a problem far in the future. And hey, this world doesn't have skateboards, but it has all the materials he needs to make skateboards, which means it's not so bad, as fantasy worlds go. Fire magic is pretty cool too.

Step one: withdraw from tournament. Easily done! Everyone looks surprised when he announces his withdrawal. Shadow says, "What are you talking about?? We're supposed to have our grudge match! Weren't you telling everyone that you were going to kick their asses?"

Wow, that's embarrassing. Reki wishes he woke up earlier in the book, before his character made stupid brags. "Nope, I'm good. Have fun, though!"

Step two: Stay away from the Ice Prince. This also seems like it should be fairly easy, since Reki isn't going to the magic tournament.

Except the very next day he practically runs into Langa on his newly made skateboard.

"AH! Ice Prince!" Reki says from the ground.

"What?" Langa says.

Oh right, no one calls him that yet.

"That's, uh, the name of my skateboard," Reki says. He gets up and dusts his pants, and then moves to retrieve his board. He spins one of the wheels and then, mostly to himself, he says, "I think I need to adjust the balance."

"Your what?" Langa says, looking over Reki's shoulder.

Reki tenses, feeling very close to death right now. Don't insult his dead father. Don't insult his dead father. "My skateboard," he says. "For skating." And then, because he can't help himself, he brags, "I made it."

"You did?" Langa says. His voice doesn't reveal a lot of emotion (frozen heart, and all) but he sounds impressed. "Is that what you were doing earlier? With the loops?"

"Oh, you saw that?" Reki says, embarrassed.

"Do you have wind magic?"

"Nope, just fire," Reki says. Then, remembering their fight to the death, hastily adds, "Low level fire magic. Very low fire. Practically nonexistent, really."

"And you still flew in the air like that?" Langa says.

"Because of the skateboard!" Reki balances on the board and circles around Langa so he can get a good look.

"Is it for transportation?"

"It's for a lot of things! But mostly, it's for fun!" If he accomplishes nothing else but introduce skateboarding into this fantasy world, Reki feels like he'll have made an important legacy. Then, because Langa still looks intrigued, Reki says, "Do you want to try?"

"Can I?" Langa says, sounding surprised by the invite.

"Sure! Anyone can skate." Reki hops off the board and shows Langa how to get on, all the while revisiting his Plan for Survival.

He doesn't really want the world to freeze over. And that Adam guy is a dick. Langa probably wouldn't have killed so many people if Adam hadn't been manipulating things in the background. Maybe... maybe Reki should stick around Langa, show him how to have fun, introduce him to some nice girls, and keep him from turning evil and destroying the world.

He completely misses the marveling look Langa is giving him, like he's just seen something wonderful.

A/N: Thank you, anon-friend! I'm glad you enjoy my stories. I've been wanting to write something for SK8 but wasn't sure what kind of AU I should do. Since I've been reading and watching a lot of Isekai lately, and I've never written that as an AU before, I thought this would be fun! Hope you enjoyed! (also, I kinda want to stick with Grimm, but would consider branching out for other fairy tale stories!)

#Mikki writes #sk8 the inifinity #lanreki #tumblr fic #fic I wrote #isekai au #I have asks! and I'm answering them!#this is my anon tag #long post

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ohhoworiginalrfaheadcanons · 4 years ago

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can i request something on the exact moment he's fallen in love with mc please? i love your hcs so much!!

I don’t know who ‘he’ is so I guess I’m gonna try to do every boy. It’s a little bit of a difficult prompt, though, as generally speaking love is a process and not a singular moment of flipping a switch, but I’ll do my best.

The moment the RFA (realized they) fell in love with the MC

YOOSUNG

Pinpointing the moment that his obsessive crush turns to love is difficult, even for Yoosung. His feelings are all tumbled up and confused from the first moment he hears the MC’s voice, or maybe even from the first moment she became the next ‘party planner’ and his broken, grieving heart told him ‘I won’t have to hurt because Rika is gone if she’s not gone anymore’.

Therefore it really is hard to say the exact moment he truly fell in love with her. Given the wild situation that followed up his realization that he’d been unfairly mixing together his feelings for the MC and Rika, he never really had the time to examine his feelings for her very closely. He knew that he cared for her and needed her, and that the thought of losing her made it feel like he’d be swallowed up by a great black hole that would crush him with its overwhelming emptiness until he was less than even dust.

He really can’t pinpoint the moment his confused feelings turned into love purely for the MC and not for the memory of Rika through the MC, only that they absolutely did.

Perhaps it was the moment that he was certain he was about to die and he thought not of seeing Rika, but of not getting to see her.

The exact moment was probably when he finally did see her, standing across the room, beautiful and perfect, the sun that filled his life with warmth and love, who gave him the strength to be more than he ever believed he could be not because she was some reincarnation of echo of Rika, but because she wasn’t.

If he didn’t know before then, it had to be that moment that he knew for sure he loved the MC with all of his heart, and always would do so.

ZEN

It’s honestly also pretty tough to say when he fell in love with her exactly. He’s easy, and he won’t even front that he isn’t. He could tell immediately from the way she typed in chat that she was cute, and his feeling that she had a good heart proved to be true almost immediately. It goes without saying even if she’d been a cat person, a weird jokester like Seven, or a workaholic who needed to find a way to take a break sometimes, he’d have liked her all the same. He’s easy, and when they met he was frankly a little desperate.

But she didn’t care for cats, she liked his work, she liked him. She called him and asked him to sing for her, she appreciated and supported his work but she also liked him. Of course he was charmed and enchanted by her quickly. But when did he truly fall for her, not just her cuteness, not just as a girlfriend he was desperate for?

It’s a little weird to think about in retrospect, but the very moment that he opened his eyes and knew, the moment the pit of his stomach twisted and pulled his heart along with it like it never had before, was actually the moment he woke up after that dream. That terrible feeling he had, the sense that the MC would be taken away as a hostage and he’d truly lose her forever still lingered in his mind even after he woke up from it. If you only know what you have once you’ve lost it, then that dream made him realize just how much he truly loved the MC by experiencing losing her. In a way, it could also be said that in losing her in the dream, the feeling of having her back that he experienced upon waking was the moment his already deep feelings for her crystallized into actual love.

707

When did he first fall in love with her?

What did it feel like before he’d ever taken a breath, just after being born, when he first drew in air in his lungs?

When he first tasted food and his belly was full, or when he first saw or heard something, what did it compare to never having heard or seen anything?

He’s got a pretty great memory, but he can’t answer any of those questions, because it’s so long ago now that he just can’t remember. They’re all such precious things that by all rights it should be burned in his memory completely, but instead those sensations became so normal they’ve become something he takes for granted - he just knows that when he inhales he’ll receive air, when he looks he’ll see, and when he touches he’ll feel.

The MC is light in his darkness, and that light is so blinding it’s hard for him to know or remember, because it makes his eyes water and his vision blur when he tries to look back at when that light began.

It’d be easy to say the moment he loved her was when he ran to save her, but that probably isn’t true, because she became his motivation for doing...just about everything, long before that point. He told himself that he was only pretending and playing along with her like he did everyone else to make himself feel better about it, but is that really true?

He’s pretty sure he’s not so easy that the moment he saw her in the CCTV he fell for her - his heart’s too stony for that. But in the same way it’s hard to pinpoint the moment that the first ray of sunlight slips over the horizon in the dark of the night, even if that’s the moment dawn starts, it’s hard to pinpoint the moment her light cracked through his stone into his darkness, even if that’s the moment he began to love her.

It was probably before the point where he sicced a flame-throwing dog robot on his superior and risked ugly death to protect her from what might be a threat. But he knew by then he was in over his head, he wasn’t totally in denial or blind.

In the end it was probably just like the dawn. In the middle of a quiet night, when he wasn’t paying attention at all, and he heard her laugh over the phone.

JUMIN

It goes without saying that Jumin doesn’t actually recognize the moment he falls for her. He doesn’t really understand love like that. He’s observed the love V and Rika had, he knows the difference between how his father treats him and how everyone else in his life has and how he feels toward his father in turn, and he knows that he felt something special toward Rika himself, but none of those really encompass the feeling of romantic love from himself to someone else.

As such, if his feelings for the MC differed from the rest of the RFA, it would be all too easy for him to excuse and dismiss it as a friendly rapport built up from the fact that she was smart and kind and seemed to understand not just his humor but him in ways the rest of the RFA simply didn’t. Logically, it only stands to reason that he’ll feel closer to and like her more than the others if they’re on the same wavelength and she’s not purposefully attempting to aggravate him.

As such, under normal circumstance there’s no telling when he might realize his feelings for her differ from that of the rest of the RFA, nor when they really would differ. In some ways, then, it’s lucky that things go all sideways as suddenly and extremely as they do. It makes it very easy for him to pinpoint that moment he became absolutely certain his feelings shifted from protective and friendly to inappropriately romantic.

When he tried to lock himself away from the world, to cut himself off to sort through things on his own as he always usually did, somehow she found her way over to turn up on his doorstep without any warning, without him having to ask her, and without him even realizing until then that he needed her to be there.

That moment is undoubtedly the moment Jumin Han absolutely fell in love with her.

I don’t know enough about V and Ray’s routes to do theirs.

#rfa headcanons #jumin han #707 #yoosung kim #mysme zen #mysme #mystic messenger #anonymous #ask

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dreamsapphire28 · 4 years ago

Text

This is based on @yasuyorimarriedsamo reincarnation au I really liked it back then but you know inspiration is a fickle thing and it has struck now months later.

So in this au the Mc is the reincarnation of one of the exiles, in this version I'll be using my favorite exile Eurynome and my Mc1 Akemi.

The birth of a world, the touch of his beloved, ruling over his creation, a fight over who was the one to give origin to their world with the one he loved the most then making up accepting that the birth of their world was only possible due to their joined effort and love for each other, being betrayed by his loving sister, sinking alone into Oceanus and later being kept company by the sweet child who was also casted away only to leave that child behind when he passed from the world.

A name, his former, Eurynome.

Those memories and many others from the creator of Olympus were in his mind when Akemi was summoned to Tokyo that fateful night, they felt both vivid and distant like he was there living them but at the same time as if he lived them through someone else, Akemi could not remember his own life before coming to Tokyo all he had were the memories of Eurynome, Akemi was sure that at some point in the past he had been her, still he also was certain that he is his own person with his own life, he is more than just the continuation of someone else's existence, Akemi reassured himself.

Being able to recall Eurynome's life so vividly and having no knowledge of his own sometimes made it difficult for Akemi to try and differentiate himself from her, specially when he was overcome with emotions he couldn't fully understand, the ocean would be a great example of this just the sight of it filled him with such a bittersweet feeling, he knew it was because of that child, Hephaestus, that he had.... that Eurynome had taken care of the one she had to leave behind, but Akemi was a different person, so why did he feel that way? the memories he had of that time were both beautiful and sorrowful they could bring a tear to the eye of an outside observer, to Akemi however they felt close, personal, to the point where he wonders what became of Hephaestus even thinking about what things in Tokyo he could enjoy. Akemi had already accepted that he had once been Eurynome, but the he that existed right now is a different person, Akemi hopes beyond hope.

Being such a sensible subject to him Akemi never revealed the fact that he could remember his past life to none of his new friends in Tokyo, he did a pretty good job at hiding it too, most of the time, there where moments where people would think that Akemi seemed wise beyond his years or were surprised of his deep understanding of the concept of a world system as if he had been closely involved with one. Then of course there was his guardian Kyouma Mononobe, Akemi could not for the life of him tell if his teacher was aware of Akemi having these memories or if he just happened to say things that reassured him when he wrestled with the thought of just being an extension of someone else's life.

In the beginning Akemi wanted to hate Eurynome but hating her felt like hating himself, the interactions and connections Akemi had made during his time in Tokyo how he helped others in turn helped him with his insecurity about his own identity, now he didn't hate her, Akemi still knew that a lot of his feelings towards various things were influenced by Eurynome's memories but he could live with that, he had made peace with it and now in some way felt proud that he was carrying her legacy he could do that while still being someone else other than her.

Until the battle at Aoyama cemetery when a certain golden dragon had made a brief appearance in that place. Akemi knew who the dragon was the second he laid eyes on him the dragon had changed, yes, but Akemi could never mistake him. Not once before had Akemi felt so conflicted about if he truly was just an extension of Eurynome, he was overwhelmed with so many feelings that he could not begin to comprehend, joy, love, relief, longing, sorrow, regret, grief, just looking at Ophion stirred so many things from the depths of his soul that it rendered Akemi completely paralyzed, Ophion had to leave before his friends could shake Akemi out of his stupor. Luckily Ophion hadn't stayed for too long, but the impression he left on Akemi was not small, ever since encountering him Akemi could not get Ophion out of his mind not even during his infiltration of the Tokyo casino or while running around Shinjuku avoiding the ongoing debacle caused by the Roppongi Tycoons. Akemi knew for a fact that he was more than likely to meet someone from Euryonome's past sooner or later, even so he did not expect to be so shaken by it.

Now Akemi found himself before the one responsible for the current chaos in Shinjuku no other than Ophion, just looking at him Akemi could fell himself freezing up again overwhelmed with emotions. Then Ophion started boasting about how he, the sole creator of Olympus, could not be defeated, Akemi could not catch everything that Ophion said but it was enough to make all his conflicting emotions converge on a single point, fury would not be the proper word it was something a bit more petty, Akemi felt that it was more of an attack to his pride rather than an outright insult, "You deceitful lizard, saying you created the world on your own, as if" Akemi spat fixing Ophion with a sharp glare, Ophion was taken aback such a petulant child to speak like that to him the great Ophion, Akemi continued talking before Ophion could give him a piece of his mind "I thought you had learned your lesson back then, seems I was wrong, maybe I ought to knock off your other tusk to drive in the point" Akemi hissed angrily, Ophion eyes widened as he slowly reached for the place where his missing tusk once was, 'how did this child knew of that?' Ophion thought in surprise.

The battle raged on Ophion had sent his underlings deal with his opponents to little avail, he certainly did not expect having to deal with both Hakumen and Lucifuge, those two would have already dispatched each other if it wasn't for that damn insolent brat, the only person Ophion had not accounted for in his plan was making it all go awry. Believing that unless he disposed of these pest at this very moment his plan would become completely unsalvageable and seeing that regular minions were completely ineffective against the current foes Ophion made a brash decision, he used his sacred artifact to summon a younger version of himself ordering him to dispose of the rabble interfering with his scheme. The younger Ophion's oppressing aura made everyone stare at him cautiously, that was everyone except for Akemi who gave the same sharp glare he gave the older Ophion to the younger one, as if doing so was something that Akemi had done before many times. When young Ophion's gaze found Akemi the younger dragon's face was overcome with surprise "You..." young Ophion muttered quietly as he started walking towards Akemi who didn't so much as flinch when the dragon's intense gaze pinned on him. The younger dragon stopped right in front of Akemi and suddenly it was his turn to be surprised, young Ophion embraced him tightly yet lovingly "So this is where you've been" Ophion whispered, Akemi was speechless for a second, he felt tears prickling the corners of his eyes as his sword slipped from his grasp, Akemi hugged Ophion "Yeah, sorry you had to come all the way here for me" Akemi apologized.

Akemi and young Ophion's embrace was interrupted by the older Ophion "My younger inexperienced self the one you're embracing it's your enemy deal with him at once!" old Ophion snapped furiously. With the older Ophion's attention diverted Toji seized the opportunity to attack the older dragon, to the bewilderment of everyone present the clash of the two rules resulted in the creation of an exception with his rule now overflowing old Ophion entered a rampage bursting through the ceiling of the tower. "How could this happen? my rule and Ophion's don't oppose one another this outcome should not be" Toji muttered in equal parts astonishment and shame "Well yes and no, your attack didn't make a contradiction it's more like a paradox, the sole fact that Ophion could call upon his past self further proves that he didn't create that sacred artifact and by extension Olympus" Akemi explained a twinge of smugness in his tone at that last part as he walked up to Toji "Quite the sharp one are you not and here I thought I'd have to explain that to you" Alice mused "Say you seem to be quite familiar with Ophion's sacred artifact aren't you my dear knight?" She inquired looking intently at Akemi, who averted his gaze "What do you mean by paradox?" Toji asked confused "Under normal circumstances your attack wouldn't have caused an exception but Ophion summoned a younger version of himself, taking that version of himself from the time he existed in the past, your attack meant to destroy the egg made it so that the younger one should cease to exist but the older one still exist in Tokyo even though technically his past self had been exterminated and so the snake endlessly bites it's own tail" Akemi explained "Still the app treats this situation no different than the previous instances where exceptions appeared so we should be able to deal with this one the same way, but first we must deal with Ophion" Alice added.

With the help from both the summoners and Tycoons, Akemi and young Ophion defeated the enraged older Ophion who now layed on the balcony of the tower that served as the Tycoons headquarters, Akemi was kneeling beside him holding his hand as the dragon slowly dissipated into light "So it truly is you my beloved spouse" old Ophion said his tone uncharacteristically soft and peaceful "Not precisely, I bear her soul, I can remember her live, at some point I was her, but not now the person before you is someone else, I'm sorry to get your hopes up Ophion" Akemi apologized while smiling softly at Ophion "That may be but I can still see her same brilliance withing you and now I hold for you the same feelings" Ophion affirmed using his other hand to caress Akemi's face, he closed his eyes leaning into the touch with a relieved expression on his face then the sensation of Ophion's hand on his face faced as Ophion disappeared into the rainbow of transient light, the wind carrying the voice of the old dragon as he made a vow to his beloved. Akemi stood up to face the younger Ophion who was also fading out of the current time "I owe you an apology as well, you heard what I said before I am not Eurynome at least not in the way you thought I was" Akemi confessed avoiding eye contact with the young dragon, Ophion embraced Akemi once again "I am not one to fuss over such minimal details, to me you are and will always be my beloved spouse, no matter who you were or who you become it will not change anything for me" Ophion assured Akemi felt relief once again wash over him as he embraced the golden dragon "Such a cruel world to make us part just when we were reunited" Ophion sighed melancholically "Don't feel pity for me this is nothing that I don't deserve" Akemi interjected "Whatever could you mean?" Ophion questioned "Isn't it obvious? when Eurynome, no not only her I'm just as guilty, when I was exiled from Olympus I leaved you alone, now the world is taking you away from me because I abandoned you" Akemi stated "Such thoughts are not deserving of you my dear" Ophion said, while softly running his fingers through Akemi's hair who looked up at him small traces of tears on his face "For no matter if the world itself wants to do us apart I will cross whatever distance and surmount every obstacle to find you again, this parting is only temporary I will find my way back to you" Ophion declared boldly before disappearing into the rainbow of transient light promising to once again see his spouse. Toji arrived to find Akemi with his back to him looking at the sky "Akemi?" Toji called out softly, Akemi turned around his eyes watery tears threatening to spill at any moment "Is everything alright, do you need a moment?" Toji felt incredibly awkward having no experience in how to comfort someone, Akemi wiped his eyes with his sleeve putting on a smile that could only be described as brave, it was clear that he was hurting but that would have to wait until they could avert the current crisis "It's okay Toji, there's still things we need to resolve, I'll have some time to think about this later" Akemi responded trying to hide his sadness making his way to the exception territory.

#tokyo afterschool summoners #housamo #mc1 #fanfic #fanfiction #housamo au #Tokyo afterschool summoners au #Ophion

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roll-da-credits · 4 years ago

Text

Lycoris Radiata Pt. 3 - Deku x Reader -

Inspired by the piano piece, "Lycoris Radiata," Written by Spikes, played by MusicalBasics.

Highly recommend listening to it whilst reading.

[1] [2] [3]

Word Count: 1.7k

When a childhood love shows up after being lost to time, it's unnerving to be presented by something so familiar yet different. Deku, lost to his own love and presented with the stresses of life and unrequited love, it isn't easy to see the world with an unbiased gaze.

!WARNING!

(This is for the entire series and not just this part)

BIG TW for death, suicide, abuse,

Minor TW for death imagery, toxic relationship, toxic friendship, toxic shit all around

A/n: First off, this last part, please read with caution. There are a lot of serious topics in this one that can be triggering to some people. This feels really weird to post ngl, I was actually planning on posting the entire thing in 1 part but it was ridiculously long and the pacing was so incredibly slow. After editing it down and proofreading, I'm extremely proud and glad I made it a 3 parter. So, again, read with caution, enjoy the story, and I hope you cried.

Imagery used:

Snapdragon seed pods, red snapdragons, red spider lilies

He came to your café a little bit more often now, there was a fear inside of him that he wouldn’t be able to save you either.

He didn’t know from what, where, or when. But after the two innocent girl’s life was taken away from them just because they were in the wrong situation. He felt a little bit paranoid at your own safety.

But almost every time he inquired you to get extra precautions, your boyfriend would always assure Deku that you were safe with him. And Deku trusted him.

Deku would constantly talk to you about whatever topic came into his mind, he wanted to talk to you more and love you even more even if it hurt him. Call him a masochist he didn’t care, love to him was a drug he couldn’t get enough of, even if that very thing giving him so much love can’t receive it from him, because you were receiving it from someone else.

His pink tinted eyes now growing red from the sheer amount of love he had for you. It grew cloudy and red, to the point where he found everything you do close to perfect.

He saw you as a beautiful goddess.

As the days slowly change from Summer to Fall, he saw more of the red flowers he found in the cemetery growing near your café.

When he asked you if you wanted to get rid of them, you laughed and brushed it off with what he thinks was a sly smile.

He wanted to believe that you actually started blooming them around the café since you knew he found them fascinating. Of course, there was no proof to this theory of his, but something Deku liked to do was a dream, and right now he dreamt of you giving hints of your love.

Then one day, he walked by the café just as it was closing on his way home and found your boyfriend yelling at you. You yelled back at him in retaliation and brought your hand up, only to get it caught by your boyfriend. For the first time, Deku finally saw how tight his grip was when he was mad.

He was sure it was going to leave a bruise on your skin. But he didn’t want to interfere.

When your boyfriend left, he finally revealed himself and comforted you. He told himself he was doing this not because he liked you but because you were his friend. He asked you what the argument was about but you looked up at him and smiled.

There was something weird about your smile, something he couldn’t quite place.

“It’s fine. He broke up with me.” Your smile didn’t match the tone of your cracking voice, and he had to stop himself from tightening his grip on you when you pushed him slightly away and begun walking back home.

He saw the red flowers around you bloom brighter than they ever had before, and he thought if it was a sign from her subconscious asking him to prod further. But he won’t, he can’t.

His rose gaze along with the sweet image he has of your boyfriend prevented him from going further.

After all, he was a hero, he knows best when to prod further. Even if he was biased in the situation.

Deku looked at his phone and found his text messages unanswered and ignored. He had just gotten accepted to UA, he wants to share the news with you.

But you had moved out from your parents’ house to go live alone in a different city with the school of your dreams. He confirmed this by asking your parents, though they did seem slightly worried over you he expected that of such caring parents. He thinks it was just because you were finally living alone.

But he wasn’t sure why there were so many unanswered texts, why you had completely left his life.

He felt his heart crashing into a million pieces.

It took him a rather long time to get over you. An even longer time to forget about the lasting memories of you.

On his daily run in UA just after getting into his 2nd year, on the road, he found a red snapdragon flower. It was radiant and beautiful. For a split second he got reminded of you, and your strange love for red flowers, though he thought it was just due to your unique quirk.

Not wanting to feel any more pain towards the coming memories, he dropped the flower and continued on his jog.

For some reason, he chose the exact same route the next day, this time he found the snapdragon dried and dead. The seed pods in the fallen stem were terrifying. They looked like miniature skulls and he shivered at the thought of something so beautiful being able to die so quickly.

Finally reaching his third year, he readied himself to become a fully-fledged hero as it was just a year away.

He found himself re-living some of his old memories though, Bakugou had asked him to go back to the forest they used to play as a child. It was his way of apologizing to Deku after all the years of torment.

In their path, they found a red camelia tree. The flowers were beautiful and Deku again thought of you.

Just in cue, Bakugou laughed, “Remember when I made Y/n cry because I smashed one?” Deku laughed at the thought but Bakugou grew quiet, “You know, they never respond to my texts ever again. I never told you that, but we stayed close even after I began bullying you. At the time I didn’t see them as a worthless quirkless person like you.”

Deku rolled his eyes, “Thank you Kaachan.” He said rather passive-aggressively.

“No that wasn’t my point, my point is when you told me they disappeared from your life they disappeared from mine as well.”

Deku shook his eyes, forcing the memories back down, “I don’t want to remember it Kaachan, you know I had the biggest crush on them. They must’ve found better people now.”

Deku pushed the memories down and didn’t let them resurface.

After all, if he was to become a hero, he couldn’t have old memories dragging him down. Even if it meant denying he still had feelings for you.

Deku checked his phone repeatedly.

20 unanswered texts, 10 unanswered calls since last week.

Fear bubbled up in his stomach.

What if you decided to leave him behind once again???

What does Deku do when he was stressed?

Drown himself in work.

He opened his laptop and begun reading and replying to hundreds of emails, even reading a lot of spam emails from his admirers. One did catch his eye though.

It was filled with videos. He opened it and from the thumbnails of the videos immediately grew even more panicked.

He clicked on one and watched through it. His eyes widened and fear washed over him like a tide in the sea.

He clicked on another one hoping his hunch wasn’t through.

He clicked on another and another.

He finally accepted it.

All of the videos you sent to him were your recordings of weekly diary entries in the form of video. Each of them you were covered in bruises, tear-stained cheeks, and ragged breathing. Your desperate pleas of not being able to break up with your boyfriend.

He quickly realized your boyfriend was not who he said he was, and that all his actions were just acted. He was a manipulative son of a bitch who trapped you in his spider web. He was the spider stringing a beautiful butterfly in his web. Slowly but surely wrapping you in silk, trapping you, suffocating you.

When he finally finished the last one he quickly ran towards your place. Begging to whatever god there was that you were safe.

“Did you know Izuku?”

Your words in the video echoed in his mind as he ran and ran.

“The flower you gave me were actually Red Spider Lilies.”

He lived rather far away but he couldn’t stop, he won’t.

“I’m surprised you didn’t know what they were nor what they symbolized”

His legs ached and burned but he continued on running.

“They’re symbols of death and moving on, sometimes even reincarnations.”

He finally got to your city and ran to your café, hoping you were there.

“They symbolize the change of seasons from Summer to Fall, truly beautiful flowers.”

When he saw the café closed with neither you nor your boyfriend in sight he continues running to your apartment.

“I never told you this about my quirk, but you know they predict my emotions? I think they can predict my future too.”

He felt like a rabid dog with tears flowing down like waterfalls.

“The spider lilies growing through my subconscious around the café were proof of that theory.”

No, no NO, he won’t let this happen. He won’t let you leave him once again.

He won’t let his rose-tinted gaze show him only your best parts, making him deny all your bad sides all your woes and tears.

He immediately barged into your apartment only to be greeted by the sickeningly sweet smell of flowers.

The room was dark, despite it being 1pm.

He walked slowly through the entrance and found a scatter of red flowers blooming everywhere.

He called your name, no answer.

He screamed for your name, no answer.

But he did get his answer when he arrived at your living room.

The entire room was almost covered from ceiling to the floor with red spider lilies, and the lushest areas where they grew the densest were in the middle of the room.

Deku screamed in agony as he held your hanging body close to his chest.

It wasn’t blood that now stained his fingers nor his clothes. It was the red petals falling down from the ceiling to his hair that taunted him.

It mocked him.

It told him that you gave all the signs, you showed him everything, and yet he was too drugged in the most addictive drug of them all, love, to even notice your hints.

And now he was paying the price.

After all, he was a hero, he needed to be responsible for his actions. Even if it meant finally accepting that you were gone… forever.

#deku angst #izuku midoriya #deku x reader #izuku x reader #midoriya angst #deku fluff #my hero academia #mha #bnha #boku no hero academia #mha x reader #deku x you #izuku midoriya x you #bnha x reader #izuku fanfic #deku fanfiction

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tigerseye46 · 4 years ago

Note

Perhaps the Dark Peachpig Au (bc hell yeah) with either Angst 47 or general 27? sounds like fun

It is pretty fun!

Used the last quote from this post

Angst 47. “Why is it so hard for you to believe me?” General 27. “You’re a bad liar, did you know?”

To say Pigsy was pissed was an understatement. He was absolutely fuming and shaking with rage, his knuckles becoming white from his fingers balling into fists. He made his way up his partner’s mountain with the monkeys staying clear of his path, watching him from the trees.

Memories flew in his mind that he couldn’t stop or control, it was overwhelming but it only fueled his anger.

Apparently his partner had forgotten to inform of the “little” detail that at one point, he used to be Zhu Bajie. Oh also, they were married! Oh heavens, they were married!

When the memories began hitting, he was confused, desperately trying to sort out his life with all he knew about Zhu Bajie. One thing was clear, he was going to have a thoroughly long talk with the other about the issue. And Sun Wukong was well Sun Wukong, he had to have known! There was no other explanation for the longing looks, the soft yet hesitant touches, the pained smile he thought the pig didn’t notice.

Why didn’t he tell him?

He thought they didn’t keep secrets from each other. After all, Pigsy spent time pouring his heart to the king about the private things in his life, his insecurities, his sadness, his anger, the high and the low, the embarrassing and the triumphant, everything.

And his partner had hidden the truth from him, a very important truth that he should have known from the start. He loved the king with everything he had.

Their relationship wasn’t a rebound for him anymore, it was pure love and he thought the king felt the same way since they both announced how they felt. And the king did love him, he did which made it hurt more, you don’t lie to someone you love.

He accessed the cave, thanks to the monkey giving him full permission to enter whenever he pressed, and looked around. “Wukong,” he called, foot tapping against the ground with arms crossed.

The other appeared in front of him with a fake smile. “Hey, babe,” he greeted.

Pigsy analyzed him, his eyes narrowed. “We need to talk.”

The king looked nervous before returning to a wide grin. “About? You know I’ll listen to anything you have to say, my lovely.” He placed his arms and tail around his partner’s waist in an attempt to distract from the conversation but Pigsy wasn’t buying it despite his pink face.

“I think you know what it’s about.”

“No? No, I don’t.”

“You’re a bad liar, did you know?” It was a stupid question.

“Know what?”

“That I’m Zhu Bajie’s reincarnation?”

Sun Wukong’s eyes softened, his teeth flashing as he lied, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. You okay? You sure you know what you’re talking about? Or are you getting old?”

He shoved his partner away. “I know what I’m talkin’ about! Don’t lie to me! I know I’m Zhu Bajie! How long have you known?”

He remained stubborn. “Again, no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yea, you totally have no idea what I mean. I can’t believe you lied to me!”

“I didn’t lie about anything.”

“Lied, kept it hidden, whatever! The point is you didn’t tell me. Why didn’t you tell me?” His chest tightened at the thought of the other’s dishonesty. “You should have told me from the start. Love… you should have told me. You should have been honest.”

The king snapped, "Oh yeah because YOU'RE a real bastion of honesty, right? Look I’m FINE with the setup we have right now, but if we're talking about ME keeping secrets at least have the decency to drop the act yourself. If you hadn't noticed, we're alone!" His teeth clenched together and his eyes shifted to the slightest shade of red.

Pigsy blinked. “What? What are you talkin’ about?”

“Oh, don’t pretend! Wasn't our whole relationship built off a lie? A lie that you loved me.”

“Babe, I do love you.”

At that, Wukong let out a roaring laugh, holding his stomach as he lurched, tears came to his eyes and he wiped it away with a flick. His expression became more serious. “Uh huh. Sure you do.”

“I do! I do love you!” Why did Wukong not believe he loved him?

“Really? Because wasn’t this whole thing just to get over Tang? Use me as a rebound because you were observant to notice I had feelings.”

He gasped. “You knew about that?”

“Obviously! I’m not stupid despite what you think. I could tell from the very beginning and you know what? I was fine with it. I was fine with being used because it meant I had you back in my arms and I could keep you safe. Yet time and time again when we were alone you started acting like you loved me. And for what? To keep up the act, to make me believe you were genuinely in love with me?”

“Wukong…” He swallowed, processing the words and what he could say in response. “It’s true. At the beginning I was using you to get over Tang. Key word ‘was’ but I fell in love with you. You always treat me well, you’re kind, smart, capable, you treat Xiaotian like you're your own kid, everything about you is…” An inappropriate memory from the past flashed through his mind, his cheeks reddened and his gaze drifted towards the ground. “Everything about you is wonderful.”

He looked up when he heard slow clapping from the other. His brows furrowed in confusion. “Wukong, what?”

“Good try. Really good try. You’re going to have to do better than that. You don’t have to lie anymore.”

“What is with you? Why is it so hard for you to believe me?”

“Let me fucking think,” he hissed and tapped a finger against his chin as if he had think long and hard about it. “The fact that I lost the love of my life then when I finally get him back, he doesn’t remember me or who he used to be and he’s only using me to get over someone else. Do you know how much that hurts? To know the person you loved more than anything in the world doesn’t give a shit about you.”

“Wukong, I do care about you.”

He reached a hand out only for the other to slap it away. “Don’t touch me,” he snarled, golden orbs now a deep crimson.

“Please, Wukong. Believe me.”

“Shut up, Pigsy! SHUT UP!” The yelling made him gasp and take a step back. “There is nothing to believe. Stop trying to convince me that you actually love me!”

“I love you. Wukong, cupcake…”

“Stop calling me that! I’m not your cupcake or anything. The only thing I was to you was a rebound and I was fine with that! But then you had to keep pushing and pushing to keep a relationship built off lies! I don’t know why I let it happen! It’s not like you’re him anyway. Not exactly. You’re not my Bajie.”

“Well technically I am but I don’t want to be him completely. I’m not sure what I am but all I know is I just want to be with you.” He smiled honestly in the hopes his partner would believe him.

“Yea, sure. You totally want to be with me. Stop lying. I’m sick of it! I don’t know why I tried so hard to be with someone who isn’t even my husband anymore!”

“I am still your husband! Maybe I’m different but I still love you and I want to get married to you.”

The king cackled again. “Why would I get married to someone who doesn’t care about me?” The pig opened his mouth but the king cut him off with a glare. “Shut up! Just shut up, okay? Because I am done with this and I am done with us.”

He clasped his hands together to beg the other. “Wukong, please, sweetie, listen to me.”

“Why should I? I don’t deserve this. After everything, I don’t deserve this.” He turned his back to the pig, looking over his shoulder, his eyes continuing to glow scarlet. “I’m leaving for now and when I come back, you better be gone.” He shifted to a bird and flew off in a huff with Pigsy reaching out for him.

Pigsy kneeled on the ground, droplets falling that created small sounds. He sobbed. “Wukong…”

What should he do?

#lego monkie kid #monkie kid #dark peachpigshipping #dark peachpig #peachpigshipping #peachpig #sun wukong #monkie kid wukong #monkey king #pigsy #my fic #philo/tiger responds

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hanahaki-neko · 4 years ago

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Across Millenia | Venti x Reader

He never once forget about her. Even after so long. But Venti never expected to meet her again,after all this time

note : reincarnation AU. again this is a work from wattpad but i hope y’all enjoy it. this is from my early days so excuse me if the fic is bad lmao

Windwheel aster. That was her favourite flower. Even as a little wind spirit he'd keep a breeze blowing through the field to ensure that they don't wilt. Sure he was just a tiny insignificant being in the world with little to no power over the whirlwind surrounding the city,but at least he made sure the flowers where she would often go was always there to greet her.

Y/N and the bard would make their way through the city. She would smile in delight whenever she sees the little windwheel asters. True that they only grow in places that has gentle breeze. One without or one with too much fierce would kill them. The girl and a few others that had one of these flora on their windows or balcony never really did realize that the tiny spirit was the one who made sure they're still alive.

He cared about both of them so much. They had grown so close and even spend almost every hour together. Talking about the most trivial of things and doing everything together

"You two are just like twins." She laughed when he tried to shift and look like the bard.

"Well maybe he can sing with me by the tavern sometime in the future."

He loved her. He loved her so much. He didn't care if a little wind spirit and a human can't be together,or did he know if this was okay. But he never really had the guts to tell her properly. The bard knew of his feelings and was completely on board. He'd go to where she'd usually be and spend time together,sometime leaving him be with her while he went to get some drinks. He loved the bard for his supportive nature and he loved Y/N for her kind and gentle soul.

Watching the windwheel aster spins gently,and watch the dandelions scatter around when blown. "They're just like you when you float around." Said the girl,and he giggles in response. He loved the look of peace and serenity in the comfort of those flowers,despite the tyrant's rule.

Whatever would made her happy,he would do. Bringing cookies when she's feeling peckish,to visiting her during sleepless nights and keep her company. Comforting her when she feels sad. He would make sure that she keeps smiling everyday.

He would watch over both the bard and Y/N to ensure their safety. He would also support their decision and wishes. So when the bard voiced his objection against the tyrant's control over the city and seeing the girl also agreed,this little wind spirit too decided to join the rebellion. Rallying up the citizens to overthrow the tyrant,the chaos that came over,it was pretty overwhelming.

He did his best with his powers to assist them. Many bloods were drawn,many lives lost. They were separated as he went with the bard. Swords clashed and screams of pain an agony echoed throughout. But for freedom, nothing is too much of a price.

Is it?

He watched in horror,as the arrow pierced his chest. The bard fell to the ground with a thud as others rushed to his aid. The tower crumbled down as the tyrant is no more,but in the fight to obtain freedom, the bard had lost his life. Just as he thought this couldn't get any worse,the little spirit noticed that the girl was nowhere to be seen. He flutter around in panic,already crying his tiny heart out. And it just shatter into a million pieces when he saw her underneath the rubbles of the building. He cried and pleaded for others to save her. But no one could as the damage had been done. Cuts from swords and a stab wound by the spear was the end of her.

"No,no,no,this can't be happening!' He knew he should've told her to stay out of the fight. She shouldn't have grabbed that sword and fight alongside the others. She smiled weakly with grief hidden underneath upon knowing the fate of her friend the bard. She tried to reach out a hand to the spirit,which he could only held a finger with his tiny body.

"Make sure the freedom stays with them,okay?"

He did his best to keep that promise. He knew that both the girl and the bard would be glad to know that their effort weren't in vain. Their funeral was held and weep he did for a period of time unknown to anyone. How long had it been. Almost over three millenia by this point? It's been so,so long and yet it's one of the memories that stuck with him.

Fly fly away

Like the birds in the sky

See the world on my behalf

To the heavens you may fly

The song never once left his memory. The ones sung by the bard and the girl. Whenever he walks the land of Mondstadt and hear the people drink and party,Venti couldn't help but feel just a bit nostalgic. He toured the city and the land that he should've been govern, simply singing and telling tales to those who would listen. Just doing anything other than reigning over the city.

He was taken back to reality when Aether called him. Venti stood beneath the tree in windrise as he looked to the windborne traveller.

"Shouldn't you be on your way to Liyue by now? You're going to miss the rite of descension if you don't hurry." He said.

"Well we should make if it we use the teleport points. It might take only a few days and the rite is probably still a week away." Paimon replied.

"And i kinda want to spend just a bit more time with you before we depart,if you don't mind? And you know maybe take a commission or two." Aether asked.

Venti smiled,"Might as well visit Mondstadt and pick up a few audiences." They all walk back to the city where once again he sings and tells many tales. The tale of how Mondstadt becomes the city of freedom it's known right now. How the people of old times fought the tyrant. The memory of his past clouded his thoughts,and he almost cried during his performance.

Aether treated him to lunch at good hunter afterwards and they had quite the uneventful day,really. The traveller was talking to Katheryne about some commissions when Venti felt someone approaching them. He glanced over to see who it was and he was,how to put it- surprised? Dumbfounded?

The same silhouette and appearance, the h/c hair might have been a different length in the eyes,but everything else was exactly the same. Venti kept starring at her,lost in time gazing into her e/c eyes. She looked back at him and smiled a little greeting them.

"Hi. I'm Y/N,the one who commissioned for the whopperflower hunt?"

"Oh,yeah. What's up with that?" Paimon asked.

Vent completely tuned out the entire conversation. Was it possible? Is it the same person he knew back in old Mondstadt? Just being able to see her brought back the abundance of memory he had. 'Get it together,Venti. At least say something to them.' he thought to himself. He jumped a bit when Aether tapped his shoulder,asking him something he didn't quite catch.

"H-huh? What?" He looked at the traveller.

"I said can you accompany Y/N while me and Paimon check out the horde of whopperflowers and get some nectar?"

"Oh! Oh,yeah,sure."

"Geez,he's been spacing out a lot today. What's wrong with that tone-deaf bard." Paimon sighed before the two of the left the city.

Venti is now left alone with Y/N,with both of them not really knowing what to do or say to each other. "I don't think we've officially been introduced. I'm Y/N,an alchemist." The girl said trying to break the silence.

"I'm Venti. Though you might know me if you've come and listen to my performance before this encounter." He replied to which she smiled and nodded a little.

"Say,you..want to take a walk around Windrise? The weather's nice today." He offered.

"Well,i can't progress my research until i get the materials needed."

She accepted the offer and he took her hand and led her to one if his favourite spot. Holding her hand felt exactly the same as it did all those years back. Her hands felt small against his, though it would've been the opposite in the past. The two sat down under the tree and exchanged stories. Time flies when you're having fun.

"You like flowers?" He spoke after noticing her holding a certain set of them.

"I guess? I like windwheel asters most, though." She smiled in reply.

He couldn't help but think 'just like her' as she went on to tell about how she grew some of these at her house. How they only grow in places with gentle winds blowing through. He of course knew of this fact,but he didn't mind listening to her rambling about them. He'd listen with a small smile plastered to his face the entire time.

"So, you're an alchemist..but what's with all those bandages?" He asked this time after seeing her wrist wrapped in one.

"Oh, it's just some accidents on the lab and some scars i got from foraging for materials." She said,a nervous laugh followed after.

He felt a slight pain in his chest at the thought of her getting hurt. Even back then she would sometimes ger her knee scratched or fell down and trip every now and then. 'Still as fragile as ever', He said to himself. He told her more about what he saw during his travel across the land,but sometimes he noticed that she's blankly starring at him,

"Hey,Y/N. What's wrong?" He asked.

No response.

"Hello? Teyvat to Y/N?" He called again.

That seems to get her out of her little world,she shook her head a bit, regaining focus,"o-oh,what is it?"

"You've starring at me for quite a while now. Were you charmed by my good looks,perhaps?" He said teasingly.

"Wha- no! That's not it." She stuttered back,her hands up in denial and face blushing a deep shade of red.

"It's just...i feel like i know you well before meeting you here."

"I feel like i've known you for a long time."

This time Venti was the one not responding to her words. If he wasn't sure,he sure as heck is now believing she was the same Y/N he knew and loved. Perhaps she didn't have the memory her past self had,but that didn't matter to him,he was overjoyed at this point.

"Well, maybe you've seen me perform before and just didn't remember." He said, looking away and hiding a soft smile.

"Or maybe you've known me from way before." He whispered under his breath.

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"No,i was just thinking about putting on a show tomorrow in front of the statue for others to hear yet another heroic tale." He smiled at her.

"I hope you would come and watch me sing,dear Y/N."

"I won't miss it for the world." She smiled back,chuckling.

His eyes soften as he grabbed her hand which surprised her at first. He leaned in and kissed her lips,earning a gasp in response and a blush as well. He stood up as his smile curved into a grin.

"Then i shall look forward to tomorrow." He said putting the windwheel aster over her ear.

Venti bid farewell and without waiting for a response took his leave while she was still shocked,trying his best not to blush in front of Y/N. When he got far enough he just crouch down and mumbled something incomprehensible to himself. It was bold of him to do something like that in the first place, especially when they just met earlier today. Sure he knew her from like 2600 years ago but she had no recollection of him.

Still,somehow she was once again here before him. He'll protect her and made sure she's safe. He will never let anything bad happen to her. It will take some time for them to get to know each other all over again,but he didn't really mind.

He's really looking forward to her coming to see him perform tomorrow.

Y/N on the other hand was still recovering from the entire information overload. Face still a bit red from the entire oreal. From afar she could hear Aether and Paimon calling out to her. "Heeeyy! We got that nectar you waanted!" "Oh,t-thanks." She pulled herself out of her own little world to take the materials she asked for and paid them for their works. But just as soon as they left looking for the bard,she once again was lost in her own thoughts.

They just met today,but it felt like she had known him forever. Some of his 'old' tales felt all to familiar. And she was beyon surprised when he suddenly kissed her.

But somehow she didn't mind.

The sense of familiarity she had when talking to him put her at ease,and she felt like there's nothing to worry about. She felt safe when she's with him. And a part of her couldn't help but want to know him better.

She put a finger over her lips, still not reall over the fact that he kissed her so suddenly,then to brushing against the flower he put on her. But she smiled, thinking that he's way bolder than he looks.

She can't wait to come and watch him sing tomorrow.

#genshin impact #genshin impact fics #venti x reader #venti #the drunk bard #neko writes #hey may be a god #but he's not used to romantic relationship #i know ironic considering he sings songs about love a lot #probably

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sanktnikolais · 4 years ago

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Here Without You

A/N: I’m back for a moment to drop this sort of angst piece of god and goddesses au sort of. In which they are a bit like Poseidon and Athena but not really, I just needed the rivalry bc I’m trash <3 (it doesn’t make sense I know)

Big thanks to @wafflesandkruge for giving me the idea. And for also going through and editing this long mess of words KJHASLFDJ ;-;

Basically light/vague plot, only monologues and longing.

Summary: Cursed to live on earth as humans, Zoya has been finding Nikolai in every life he gets reincarnated. But every time they meet, it is always the same: he doesn't know her. He has no memory of her or anything about their past immortal life. And in every lifetime, she is slowly losing hope. For how long could she hold onto the thought of him remembering her again? Is her love enough?

Word count: 9629

How long does it take to fall out of love with someone who can't remember you?

If there was anything that Zoya learned after being stuck in a human body for so long was that nothing was ever permanent. All of it, whether it was a physical thing or an intangible emotion, disappeared in time. Such a harsh truth, she knew, but it was the truth.

For a long time, she had waited for it to disappear, or just fade if only for a bit.

But for over a millennium, her love for him remained.

Maybe that was what had driven her to stay away instead of finding him this time. Because no matter how many times they met, or how many times their paths crossed, or how many lifetimes passed, the result would always be the same.

He would never remember her again.

It was only reasonable for her to stop hoping for the impossible to happen.

---

Athens had been slightly cold that time of the year, even with the sun high up, which was a change since she last visited.

Zoya looked around. There were quite a number of tourists visiting today, bustling around the site and taking photos of the scenery. She almost chuckled at the silliness of it. If today had been some other time before, the sight would've been better when the temple was still intact. But looking up at it now, in its ruined state, only brought haunting memories of their last stand against their common enemy before everything fell apart around them.

Minnie? His voice echoed in her mind, along with the image of the worry and terror in his eyes as he knelt on the floor, trying to reach for her. What's wrong?

She shook her head, harshly shoving the memory away. But the sight of him vanishing after was already branded into her mind as if to remind her of her failure.

The coldness of the small piece of metal in her hand was enough to bring her back, and Zoya pressed it harder against her palm until it hurt. Better this pain than the one in the past.

With a shaky breath, she made her way through the rubble of what once had been a divine place made by the people for the god of the seas. She remembered how much he appreciated the place, how much he took care of it during the old days they were still all in peace.

He grinned, the one that reached his eyes and made them bright. His arms were spread wide. “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” he said, gesturing to his newly built temple.

She merely raised an eyebrow at him. “Mine is definitely better,” she countered with a sneer. “And besides, yours wouldn’t even be there if I hadn’t allowed it.”

“Guess I owe you my reputation, then?”

“Obviously, so stop being a show off.”

Then he winked, and she didn’t like the way it made her heart skip a beat. “Only for you, dear.”

The memory faded.

It was then she realized that he never got to see what she had done to his temple. If he saw it now, what would he feel?

Nothing, her cruel mind said. He doesn't remember anymore.

"Am I really waiting for nothing?" she said bitterly, not minding the weird stares she got from a nearby group.

Zoya reached the entrance of the front hall. It faced the seas, a view which he had never grown tired of. And seeing it from here, she figured that she could never really blame him.

The cliff from where the temple was built gave a wide view of the sea, stretching as far as it could until the other end that could be seen was only the horizon. Its glow of a mix of green and blue blended well with the afternoon sky, and it gave her a sense of serenity. Even if for a bit.

The seas can help us find peace, dear, his voice echoed in her mind again, unwanted and welcome at the same time. I'm sure you would appreciate it more in time.

Don’t call me dear, she had said, but it didn’t have the poison and sharpness from when they were still rivals.

Zoya felt a sad smile twitch on her lips. She did appreciate it, loved it even. An eternity with him before surely contributed to the love she had for the seas now.

But an eternity without him only made looking at them feel bittersweet. It was as if she could see him nearby, but could never reach for him nor be with him.

It was never fair.

She shook the melancholic thoughts away. She hadn't come here to lament over the things that could never be again.

Zoya opened her palm to eye the small object. It was a trident keychain she had bought from one of the souvenir stores near the site's entrance, its gold color immediately catching her eye as she had passed by.

It had become a tradition for her to leave various things by his temple whenever she visited. Whether it was of the strangest things like a water lily from a nearby pond or something like this, she always left things that reminded her of him.

It was only fair to remember him even if he didn't remember her.

"An offering to the most infuriating deity I knew," Zoya whispered, her voice breaking slightly despite the softness of her tone. Her eyes suddenly burned. She blinked rapidly, feeling a tear fall on her cheek. She reached up to wipe it away. Why now? She laughed bitterly. "I am still crying over you even after a millennium while you live and pass by without any memory of me."

She looked down to her right, where a boulder was perched on a pillar by the entrance, gently placing the trident on the surface. If only it was as easy to leave your feelings behind just as she left things in his temple.

"Sad and fascinating, isn't it?"

Zoya jolted in surprise, her hand knocking over the small trident before she could let it go completely. That voice—

But it couldn't be. It shouldn't be.

The voice continued on. "To have such a vast structure built only for it to be destroyed later," it said, "it really is tragic."

It was coming from behind her. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart was beating erratically in her chest.

It could be anyone else, her mind berated. Stop doing this to yourself.

But hearing his voice lifetime after lifetime, she would know it from anywhere.

It was him.

Zoya released a shuddering breath, finally turning around to face him. She had seen him be reincarnated far too many times for the past two thousand years, had steeled herself from trying to run to him every time they met again. She had become better at making herself not care as the years passed.

What she could never get used to was the excruciating pain in her chest whenever she saw the person she had been longing to remember her appear in her path once more.

He still looked the same in every life, with his blond hair and hazel eyes, and that all-too-bright grin that she adored for thousands of years]. If she were to take a glance at him, it was as if nothing had changed.

But the lack of recognition and warmth in his eyes told a different story.

Were the Fates just that cruel to make their paths cross again and yet never last?

Her eyes stung again.

"I'm—" A look of worry bloomed on his face, and he held his hands up in apology. He winced. "I'm so sorry, I thought you could use some small talk. You look a bit sad earlier."

Zoya wanted to laugh. He still talked too much in every timeline he got reborn in. "It's—it's fine." She waved a dismissive hand, wiping at her eyes for a moment. "Just had something in my eyes."

If he wanted to say he wasn't convinced, he didn't bother to. He grinned and looked back up to the temple instead. "I'm really curious about this, though," he said as he approached the pillar to her left.

She drew in a sharp breath, wanting to step away and put as much distance as possible between them. But she stood her ground. She wasn't going to shy away from only that reason.

He touched the surface of the pillar and then pounded a fist on it twice. "The material looks sturdy enough to withstand a lot of calamities. But the damage looks far more than just that," he said, his eyebrows furrowing. Then he turned to her, hazel eyes curious. She found herself staring right back at them. "What do you think happened here?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "If you're curious about it, why didn't you get one of the tour guides for your questions?"

Almost immediately, he grimaced, scratching the spot behind his ear. "I left my wallet back in the hotel I was at," he said, voice lowering with every word. "I only have enough spare cash for a bus ride back."

Zoya looked at him incredulously, and he obviously shrunk back slightly, the embarrassment still evident on his face. Still the idiot he is.

He sighed. "Well, at least I'd still be able to go back in a bus. I mean imagine walking back to your hotel in this kind of weather," he said, gesturing at the sky. "The sun god isn't merciful today."

She stared at him for another moment, and then she did one thing she hadn't done for a while.

She laughed. A genuine, loud one that surprised him, and even herself. Another moment passed, and then he was softly laughing along with her as well. If there were some things that remained unchanged, it was his blabbering mouth and idiocy in every life. It felt as if he was really here with her.

"Trust me, the sun god is more merciful than you think," Zoya said. If only Tolya can hear you now. "Give him a bit more credit."

"If he calms the blaze down for even a bit, then maybe." He shook his head with a chuckle. Then he patted the pillar. "I hope the god of the seas doesn't mind hearing me badmouthing his fellow deity."

Whatever happiness she felt was short-lived and instantly faded at that, her heart clenching. She forced a smile on her face. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"You sound like you know a lot about the gods."

I know a lot more. "I know my mythology."

He raised a brow, an amused grin playing on his lips. "So does the mythology expert have a name?"

Zoya froze, and her thoughts stopped altogether. She had gone through this for as long as she could remember, and yet she still found herself stuttering every time.

"Minerva," she said before she could even think of it. Her mind panicked. It was her godly name. They had chosen their current names when they first answered to the humans a long time ago, and when they were damned to the mortal world, it had been the names they’d lived by ever since.

All the times she had met him, she gave a different one, while he said the same over and over. She didn't know why she told him her real name all of a sudden.

"A lovely name," he said, extending a hand out. "Nikolai."

She only hesitated for a moment before taking his hand. His skin was warm against hers, and she felt their connection throughout eons in that one touch. His eyebrows knitted together the moment their hands clasped together, but it was gone as soon as she blinked. She didn't know if she had just imagined it.

"Nice to meet you," she said. The words already felt hollow after repeating it for over a millennium.

Nikolai grinned. "Likewise." He let go of her hand before gazing up to the temple again. "So, I'm guessing it was destroyed from within. An explosion, perhaps? A divine explosion, if I may add. It's only plausible to think of that reason if we were to consider the mythology." He shrugged, looking totally satisfied with himself. "Correct me if I'm wrong, though, o' wise one."

She didn't answer for a while. The question he asked was bringing back far too many buried memories of the dark era. Genya's unwanted deception. Harshaw's downfall. Alina’s sacrifice.

Nikolai’s doom.

It came back rushing to Zoya, and it took all she could to not break down. She clenched her hands to fists, willing the memories away. It wasn't the time to let them take over. Not that there ever was a right time.

"Minerva?"

She broke out of her thoughts, turning back to Nikolai warily. There was a worried crease in his eyebrows as he looked at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concern evident in his tone.

"Yes, of course. I'm just trying to remember something," she replied.

"Ah, is the wise one starting to forget her mythology?"

Zoya tried to ignore the way the nickname prick at her heart. It was hitting too close to home. "I tend to forget things too, you dolt. Be glad I'm willing to answer your questions instead of leaving you hanging with your curiosity."

To both her surprise and expectation, Nikolai only laughed. He had never minded her sharp tongue and rough edges. Not even once. "Then do scold me for my wrong assumptions," he said.

She huffed, but looked back up to the monument. "No need to ask for the worst," she said. "But you're actually quite right about that. It was destroyed from within, and not by a natural calamity."

"I knew it," he said triumphantly, his grin lightning up his face. "Though I'm quite surprised the sea god was allowed to be given a shrine in Athens. If my memory is right, didn't the goddess of Wisdom win that war?" He frowned. "I'm sensing there’s more than what was said in the books."

More than you'll remember from all your past lives, my love. Zoya recovered with a scoff. "The modern books are shit. Anything printed in them barely holds the truth." She wrinkled her nose. "I've been in far too many old libraries to know."

Nikolai raised an eyebrow. "Would you care to elaborate on the real history, then?" he said, eyes holding only genuine curiosity and no mocking. "I'm all ears."

"You're not going to let this go easily, aren't you?"

"Not after you intrigued me with your confidence about its truth." He paused, his expression suddenly turning somber as he looked around the ruins of the old temple. "It's strange but there's something about this place that draws me in, and I just want to know what it is."

Zoya felt her chest clench as she looked at him sideways. This happened in every life; Nikolai would be reminded or be familiar with everything, but he never remembered. And she was always left to deal with the pain alone.

With a quiet sigh, she braced herself from the upcoming pain of trying to reminisce a memory of them together, even more so when it was the start of their eternity together. An eternity that was ended in a blink of an eye.

But she figured that she would still indulge him. Even if it was the last time.

"They were rivals," she started. "Archenemies if you want to call it that, always had each other by their throats. It started when the sea god tried to ransack the temple of the wisdom goddess with a great flood."

She'd never forget the rage she felt at that time when she caught him in act, and how that rage deepened when he reasoned out that it was the sky god who had forced him to do it. His reason turned out to be true, but since the sky god was untouchable, she retaliated by stealing and burying the sea god's trident way underground for at least a decade.

It had rained non-stop in Olympus that time, but the defeated look on his face as he lived without his prized weapon was worth it.

"The sea god is a huge idiot, you see, and the wisdom goddess dislikes that kind of person." Zoya wanted to laugh in the way she was narrating their history, but the thought of him not remembering any of it was disheartening. "But that's just the way he was."

Nikolai chuckled. "Am I sensing bias?" he said, shaking his head. "Sounds like they had a pretty silly rivalry."

A smile twitched on her lips. "That's a nice way to put it," she replied. "One petty thing led to another, until they were both interested in becoming the patron of this city that the rivalry between them worsened. The sea god even went as far as challenging the wisdom goddess to a duel the night before they set to present themselves to the king of Athens, saying that she only got interested because he was interested.

"It was actually half-true, and also because the wisdom goddess did not want to make things easier for him as he did with her for centuries."

"Please tell me they didn't go on with the duel," Nikolai said.

"Joke's on you. They did."

"Damnit." Then he laughed. "Who came out the victor?"

Zoya couldn't help but smile triumphantly. "The wisdom goddess, of course," she said. "She put him in his place that night and told him to forfeit his plans being the patron of the city."

"I'm sure he didn't come to present himself to the king the following day, then?"

"Another joke on you. You're underestimating the stubbornness of the sea god." She shook her head in disbelief, and it made Nikolai laugh a bit more. She raised an eyebrow to his way. He should really stop laughing at himself. "If there was something else constant in him other than his idiocy, it's his optimism and stubbornness. He still showed up the next day despite having lost the duel."

Nikolai chuckled. "Sounds a lot like me," he said. Zoya's breath hitched, but she ignored the tiny spark of hope starting to ignite again. Then with a shrug, he added, "Well, you know what they say. No guts, no glory."

"The wisdom goddess literally almost gutted him but he still persevered, and she had to commend that, at least. She didn't bother wasting her time berating him when he showed up." She kicked away a rock near her foot. It toppled over the huge crack dividing the ground, a fissure she had created after seeing him crumble to nothing in front of her. She forced her eyes away. "Even now, I still don't know why she didn't."

"Out of respect, maybe?" he offered with a shrug, and Zoya considered it for a moment. Perhaps it was. "What happened after?"

"They were asked to offer a gift to the people that will prove useful for a long time. Of course, being as confident as he is, the sea god volunteered to go first. He struck the earth with his trident and a fountain of water came forth. But what he didn't know was that it could only produce saltwater. It was pretty much useless for the population.

"Then it was the wisdom goddess' turn. From there, she struck her spear on the ground and planted a branch that grew an olive tree. The king was more impressed with the wisdom goddess' gift, so he chose her to lay claim on this city."

Nikolai raised an eyebrow. "Ah, so that's what happened." He nodded in understanding. Then he frowned and glanced up at the temple, pointing a finger up to it. "Wait, that still doesn't explain how the sea god got his own temple in the city where his very own rival was the patron? I'm quite sure the sea god didn't accept his loss that easily."

"That's where you're wrong." Zoya followed his look up. "He peacefully conceded," she said. And it was the very first time you regarded and smiled at me without a hint of malice. "So she obliged his supporters' wish to build him a shrine near the sea. Thus the temple in this location."

The smile that appeared on his lips was almost affectionate and soft, and she found herself smiling a bit sadly. "I guess despite the rivalry, they could still be forgiving with each other," Nikolai said. Then he turned to her. "What happened to them after that?"

"They—" Fell in love and had an eternity in front of them, she wanted to say but decided against it. She had told him enough truth. "—made a truce and agreed not to come after each other again. No other wars between them after."

"Just like that?"

We've had a lot more than just that. He didn’t need to know how he became much different to her after that, his treatment around her becoming much better despite her initial hostility to his changed attitude towards her, or how he made his way to her heart without her even realizing that she'd let her walls down for him.

Nothing would make a difference.

"More or less, yeah," she replied after a moment.

Nikolai still didn't look convinced when he turned back to her. "Not even on friendly terms?"

Zoya only shrugged. "There were no further things said in the old stories," she said. She didn't know why she was lying to him when he didn't even remember anything. "So we're left to our own assumptions on what possibly happened in the following years."

A look of disappointment bloomed on his face. "I refuse to believe nothing happened else after that," he said firmly. "It's too….open. There must be something more."

"It's quite disappointing, but it is reality. Sometimes that's just the way it is."

"Fair. I believe there's something more, but I guess I'll have to leave it open as well." He sighed, and then smiled ruefully. "The worst part of every story is having no ending."

Zoya only smiled sadly as she turned away from the temple and faced the sea. Beside her, she felt Nikolai shift and do the same. The quiet stretched on, and nothing but the occasional sound of wind and the other tourists' voices could be heard.

It was at times like these that she appreciated the calmness that the view of the sea brought to her, and she was left to remember that what he told her about the seas was true.

Another wave of pain and longing washed over her, the stinging in her eyes returning. He was so, so close and yet she could never reach out to him and hold him close again. But she would be content with having him near even without any memory of her rather than losing him forever.

"How about you?" His voice came after a long while, soft and soothing as the afternoon breeze. "Do you believe that there was nothing more for them than just their rivalry?"

Zoya didn't answer right away. It would be so easy to tell him the truth, to say that the two most opposite deities had overcome their differences and fallen in love against all odds.

But her exhausted heart was too afraid to open up with the truth when she knew that nothing would change if she told him.

"To be honest," she said, mustering up all her courage to keep her tone flat, "I don't know. Maybe there really wasn't."

Nikolai nodded in understanding. "I suppose that's possible too," he said. "Guess we're of opposite minds, yeah?"

"We've always been," she whispered, and she was almost thankful for the shrill sound of his ringtone to cover up for her voice.

He immediately answered it, his becoming relieved. There were a few exchanges of words before he was ending the call. "My rental car is finally starting up again so I'll be able to head back to the hotel. I'm afraid I'll have to cut off our tour short," he said with obvious dismay. "Thank you very much for the knowledge and wisdom you have bestowed me today."

Zoya was already starting to bid him goodbye, but her mind had begun pondering over his words and the ones from earlier. "I thought you said you were taking a bus back?"

"Oh. I, uh," Nikolai stuttered, scratching the spot behind his ear with a nervous chuckle. "I kind of made that up." Then he quickly added, "I'm so sorry about that but you looked like you needed a small talk or something, and it was the first excuse that came to my mind." He tried to smile, but it was pained enough to pass it off as a grimace instead. "Though it’s probably a good thing I hadn't hired a tour guide as I learned a lot more from you, I apologize for making an excuse up."

"You don't have to explain yourself, I did actually quite enjoy sharing too," she said, offering him a lopsided smile in return. "And also, thank you for being kind."

He grinned at that, his face lighting up. "Likewise." He tipped his head in a polite bow before extending a hand. "It is nice meeting you, Minerva."

Zoya tried to ignore the heaviness in her chest in the way he said her name. She put on a small smile. "Likewise, Nikolai."

He gave another smile before letting go of her hand and turning to leave. Only to stop after a few steps and face her again. Then he was pulling something out of his pocket.

"Well, a token of appreciation for your expertise on mythology," he said, handing her a small keychain. "And also for enduring my curious and talkative self."

She opened her hand, and he placed the object to her palm. Her breath caught in her throat when she recognized it.

It was the miniature version of her shield.

"The wisdom goddess' shield," Nikolai said as he pulled his hand back. He offered her a soft smile. "It's only fitting for you to have it because you share the same level of wisdom as her." Then he gave another polite bow. "Farewell, o' wise one. Though I do hope to see you again some time."

With a final grin, he finally turned and left.

Zoya stared at his retreating form until he disappeared among the crowd of tourists, feeling a lot heavier on her shoulders now that he had left. The keychain was still warm in her hand as she walked towards the cliff's edge, and away from the people that might possibly see her.

The weight of it all came crashing down at her. It felt surreal, a fever dream she couldn't get out of, and she was left reeling from the effect of what had just occurred.

Why today? Why here?

It was one thing to see him again. But in this place out of all the ones he could have met her? It was cruelty, a mocking from the Fates to show her that she was never free of her torment even when she already remembered, and he hadn't.

She will never be free of it.

The burning in her eyes felt too much again. But this time, Zoya didn't do anything to stop the tears from falling.

---

What she hadn't expected was seeing him again later that night.

It wasn't new for her to stay late at the site, even after its closing time. If you were old friends with the manager of the place, you got quite a bit of special treatment.

You can stay for as long as you need to. The text message from Genya had been displayed on her screen for quite a while now. Just don't make yourself too sad.

Zoya huffed lightly. If that were easy to do, she would have done it a thousand years ago. But a lot of things were easier said than done.

The alcove she had been staying at was just several feet below the cliff's edge, particularly made for lounging a long time ago. But after years of neglect, what was once a finely made spot was now nothing more than a small opening carved from a trident's strike. The boulder that used to be big enough to hold two people had now crumbled to smaller rocks, and she was left to sit on the cold ground instead.

Nikolai had built the spot when they wanted to have a quiet time together without the prying eyes of mortals or any of their fellow deities nearby. She remembered nights when he would point out the constellations for her, and despite having all the knowledge about it, she let him talk and make up stories for each of them. Other times it would be still, neither of them talking and hands just clasped together, watching the waves on the seas surge and move to his bidding.

The memories hit her painfully. She longed to have those nights with him again, or even to just be with him, without having to worry about him slipping away from her.

But that seemed impossible now.

Her watch suddenly beeped, signaling that it was already one in the morning. But somehow, the sound was muffled amidst the memories in her head. She needed the calm, the quiet. A place where she could be in peace. And she knew just where that was.

Zoya stood up and dusted her pants off before making her way back up the cliff again. Slipping off her cardigan and shoes, she left them along with her phone and wallet by the row of rocks that served as the barrier for the edge. She made her way to the lower part of the ravine afterwards, where the drop was directly to the water on this vantage point.

If Genya were here, she would surely reprimand her from doing such a dangerous thing in the middle of the night. But Zoya usually did night dives during the times she visited here, as the seas brought the serenity she used to feel around him, and she was just desperate to have it again. And it wasn’t as if she could die.

She closed her eyes and turned to the night sky, breathing in deeply as the wind picked up around her. Then, with a contented sigh, she broke into a run and jumped off the ledge.

The rush of air felt familiar in her ears as she plummeted to the sea, and a moment later, she was submerged under the surface. Underwater, it was quiet, the tranquility making it easier for the memories to come rushing to her mind. The coldness should have bitten at her skin the moment she sunk, but she didn’t feel anything. She closed her eyes.

Her mind chose to bring her back to one night on the beach, when he stopped the tides and held her close as they danced slowly under the stars. It was the very first time he had bared his real self to her, and the first time she had seen him past the confidence and the cruel persona he wore as one of the highest among the gods.

She hadn't known how to react that time, and she found herself at loss for words. It was the moment she doubted herself. She was the goddess of wisdom who liked definitive odds and probabilities. She approached everything with caution and vigilance. And above all else, she was supposed to treat him as a rival. An enemy. An opponent of the other side.

But Zoya must have miscalculated, because she ended up going against everything she’d ever believed when she fell in love with him.

Her eyes stung, and her chest clenched. It wasn't from the lack of air.

Please, I'd do anything, she pleaded desperately to any other divine being that could hear her. Make him remember. Make him remember me.

Something grabbed at her wrist, and her eyes shot open. A figure was trying to haul her up to the surface. She struggled for a moment, but whoever was pulling her had a strength of the currents and waves of the seas during a storm.

After a moment, they finally resurfaced. Zoya was gasping for air as they broke out of the water, immediately getting hold of the person's collar and turning them violently to her.

Whatever harsh things she was about to say were forgotten when the dim lights from above the cliff caught the face of the figure.

"Minerva, are you alright?" Nikolai asked, concern evident in his voice. What the hell was he doing here? His eyes searched her face. "Why did—no, never mind that. Let's get you out of the water first."

She was still too shocked to move or answer, so she let him drag her to the sands on the far left side of the cliff. He did most of the swimming, as her body still refused to cooperate with her. It must have been a struggle for him, but he didn't show it. His movements were precise and powerful as if he had been doing it all his life. Though considering his real identity as the god of the seas, this was nothing to him.

They hit the sands after a short while, and it was then a bit of Zoya’s strength returned. She immediately pushed Nikolai away.

"Let go of me," she hissed, voice hoarse from being under the water for too long.

He stumbled, clearly not expecting the act, and he looked at her with obvious hurt in his eyes.

If it was some other time, she would have felt bad and tried to apologize. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to be hurt. But she was exhausted and miserable and she didn't want to deal with anything at all. She let her emotions take over.

"How did you find me?" She gritted her teeth as she wobbled on her feet. "You aren't supposed to be here."

A look of disbelief appeared on his face. "A thank you would be nice," he said. "I just saved your life."

"Who said I needed saving?" she snapped. "Didn't you consider for a second that maybe I knew what I was doing?" She started towards the path leading back up to the temple, calling out to her shoulder, "You should mind your business."

"So you preferred to drown down there alone?"

I can't die, Zoya wanted to say, and she had to bite her tongue to keep herself from saying it. She chose to ignore him instead and continue up the upward path. The cold was starting to seep to her skin, making her shiver slightly.

She could hear his rushed footsteps behind her as he followed. "Minerva," he called out. "Look, I'm sorry."

Zoya ignored him. They were almost at the top of the cliff again.

"I didn't mean to upset you—please, Minnie."

She abruptly stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening. Her thoughts stopped all together. Could it be?

Slowly, she turned to face him, her heart in her throat. "What did you just call me?"

Nikolai seemed to realize what he had said, and he looked mortified. "I—I'm sorry, it just came to my mind."

Zoya wanted to laugh bitterly at herself. Of course, he still didn't remember. It was always only reminders of their former lives that came to him just to keep her hopes up. But it was all the same after.

"Leave before I report you for trespassing," she said curtly and continued up the path. Just stay away, she pleaded in her mind desperately, even though her heart wished for the opposite. But she couldn't take any more pain right now. Please.

Thankfully, she didn't hear him behind her after that, and she made her way back to where she left her things. But when she finally got there, the exhaustion caught up with her and she stumbled to the row of rocks. Her body was already shivering when she sat down, and she put a hand to her face.

Realization dawned at Zoya all of a sudden. Her harsh treatment of him wasn't necessary, and there was no one else to blame but herself for letting her emotions take over. And even if she wanted to apologize, she had already scared him off.

Something warm was draped around her shoulders, and the smell of the sea wafted to her nose. A choked sob made its way out of her mouth. Why hadn't he left yet? She had regarded him badly when his intention was solely to save her from drowning. She didn't deserve his kindness.

"I told you to leave," she said, moving her hand away from her face. But she didn't turn to him. "I warned you that I would report you, didn't I?"

Nikolai laughed lightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him settle over one of the rocks in the row near her, though he still kept a considerable distance between them.

"If you wanted to report me," he said, "then you would have gone straight to security the moment you arrived up here."

Zoya huffed, but didn't say anything more. She hated that he was right about her. He could always see right through her, and it was the one thing that didn't change in him.

His voice came after a moment. "Did you really intend to stay underwater for that long?"

She didn’t answer right away, because she didn't know how. She hadn't even realized that she had been underwater for too long. "How did you get here, anyway? And why are you here?" she asked instead, effectively deflecting the subject.

Nikolai winced. It was obvious that he didn't have a clear answer to her question either. "I have my ways. And I can assure you my reason isn't for cruel purposes."

"Guess I won't report you, then," she said, and Nikolai smiled at that.

"I owe you my life, o' wise one," he said.

I couldn't even save you on time, Zoya thought bitterly.

A long silence came after, with the both of them facing the well-lit temple that glowed against the night sky. The wind picked up, and she shrugged the jacket tighter around her. She looked at Nikolai sideways, remembering that he had also been soaked to the bone when he jumped in after her. But there weren't any traces of him being cold, so she turned her attention back to the temple.

"I couldn't sleep," he said after a while. He took a small piece of gravel from the ground and tossed it over the cliff's edge. "It might be strange to hear this reason, but the story you told me this afternoon kept me up, and it drew me back here. Maybe I wasn't thinking straight. It wasn't as if coming back here would answer the questions in my head." He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I was never a fan of open-ended stories."

"They fell in love," Zoya said simply, averting her gaze from him and looking back up at the temple. She could practically feel his shocked expression directed her way. She figured that she owed him the whole truth at least, after treating him badly just earlier.

And for the last time she would be able to talk to him.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me."

Nikolai scoffed. "If this is some lie just to sate my thoughts, then I would prefer the cruel truth to hit me squarely in the face."

"I'm not lying. I know it seems quite impossible if you look back at their history," she said. "But the ones that happened after were more important. The oldest scriptures said so. They fell in love and had an eternity ahead of them." And we had. We just didn't know it would end in the cruelest way, and you would be taken away from me. "It wasn't well-known to the public as the modern books stated that they stayed rivals throughout the rest of their immortal lives."

"How could two gods who literally fought over this city fall in love?"

"I don't know." And it was the truth. He really was her biggest uncertainty and miscalculation. But it was the one thing she didn't regret happening. A rueful smile appeared on her lips. "And yet they did. Against all odds."

Nikolai laughed lightly. "I can't believe it," he said, his tone bordering breathless and disbelieving. "Do you think they're still in love?"

The question felt like knives being stabbed into her heart. I've loved you for an eternity, she thought as she looked at him, to the face that never left her mind for a millennium. Does your love for me still exist, even if it lays forgotten in the deepest depths of your heart?

Her eyes burned, and she looked away. "I hope," she said truthfully. "It would have been extraordinary."

"I would have to believe they still do," he said. "I mean, it's kind of amazing, isn't it? To love the same person for thousands of years."

Zoya felt another crack on her mask. "It is," she whispered. "A lot have tried gaining her attention, but no one can ever compare to him. She doesn't see anyone else."

Nikolai sighed contentedly. "They're lucky," he said. "To have a love like that, I mean. Those kinds are rare."

"Have you ever been in love?" she suddenly asked. She hadn't meant to pry, but she wanted to know if he found someone else during his time. She blinked, realizing how intrusive the question was. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Ah, is the wise one a curious cat now?" He laughed when she gave him a glare. He raised his hands in mock surrender. "I'm joking." He turned back to the temple with a faraway look in his eyes. "But to answer your question, I don't think I have. At least not in the way the sea god and the wisdom goddess were."

Zoya didn't know whether to feel relieved or sad at that. So she only nodded in understanding.

"I like to think that maybe I did, even just once. There had been a few people in the past." Nikolai smiled sadly. "But there's always something missing, you know? I could never tell what or why I am feeling that way. There's just this…hollowness I can't explain." He paused, his eyebrows furrowing. "Somehow coming to this place relieved me of some of the emptiness. I guess I should come back here more often."

A tear fell from her eye, and she quickly wiped it away before he could see it. Her heart was beating erratically in her chest, that tiny spark of hope that she thought was dimming had ignited once more.

This was exactly why she didn't want to meet him again. They would cross paths, and he would be reminded of something in their past life that made her heart believe that things could be what they once were. But they couldn’t. They never would.

Destined to meet, but never to last.

So she didn't let herself ponder over it. This had already happened so many times, and yet she always got hurt for expecting too much in the end.

"How about you?" he asked, voice gentle. "Have you ever been in love?"

I have. And I still am. "Once."

A beat. "How was it?"

A curse and a blessing at the same time. She blinked her tears away and replied, "I still think about him everyday."

Nikolai hummed. "Lucky guy."

"He really is."

"Can I ask what happened to him?"

Zoya let out a shaky breath. "He forgot about me."

"I would remember you," he said.

Then why didn't you? She covered up with a bitter laugh instead. "Easier said than done."

He didn't say anything else after that, and another wave of silence filled the air around them. Zoya appreciated the quiet, reminding her of the moments of peace in the past, and she felt a sad smile on her lips along the ache in her heart.

She would remember this, even if it's painful for her. She didn’t know when she’d see him again.

If she would see him again.

Suddenly, a beam of light flashed to her face, and she raised a hand up to cover her eyes. "Miss Nazyalensky?" a voice asked. She immediately recognized it as Isaak's, Genya's head of security. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, it's me. I'm alright," she said, and the light disappeared.

The young guard's eyes shifted from her to someone past her shoulder. If he noticed their still-drenched state of dress, he didn't say anything. His eyes narrowed. "Who—"

"Don't worry, he's a friend," she said, glancing at him sideways. "He's just about to leave."

A look of disappointment flashed on his face, and Zoya silently apologized to him in her mind. It was the only way to make him go. Isaak was looking at him expectantly.

"Yes," Nikolai said, "I was just leaving."

She turned back to Isaak. "Be a dear and show him the way out, it's already dark."

Isaak only nodded before turning to Nikolai. "This way, sir."

Nikolai sighed and stood up without further complaints, walking towards the young guard. But not before he looked back at her for the last time. He smiled softly. "It was actually good seeing you again," he said, and Zoya felt her heart break a little more with those words that held much more meaning to her. "Good night."

With that, he turned away to follow Isaak back to the entrance. Her feet were already moving before she even realized it.

"Wait," she said, and Nikolai stopped in his tracks. She made her way towards the temple's entrance, going over to the boulder by the pillar where she’d left the small keychain earlier. She found it on the floor, almost covered with rubble. But thankfully it was still there. She picked it up and turned back to him.

His eyes were expectant and curious when Zoya stopped in front of him, and she let her gaze linger to memorize his features to carry with her, as if she hadn't had all of him engraved in her heart and mind for thousands of years.

"Here." She handed the trident keychain to him. He took it reluctantly, a deep crease in his eyebrows evident as he stared at the object in his hand. "I left it this afternoon as an offering to him. But you might as well have it."

Nikolai blinked, a grin appearing on his lips that brightened his face. "I hope the god of the seas doesn't mind."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he won't." It's technically yours, anyway. "And it’ll be something to remember me by."

"Even if you don't give me anything, you're not that easy to forget, Minerva," he said, and then he tipped his head forward in a polite bow. "Thank you."

The look in his eyes was warm, and Zoya felt as if she was really looking at him. She desperately wanted to reach out to him and hold him close to her again. But she held back. "You're welcome," she said, stepping back before she did something she would regret later. She would not make this harder for herself.

With a final grin, Nikolai finally turned and followed Isaak.

And as she let him walk away from her for the umpteenth time in her life, she was left only with longing and the same pain she had been carrying for as long as she can remember.

I love you, she thought, hoping the winds would be kind enough to carry the words she had been wanting to tell him. This would be the last time.

***

The memory of that night came back to her as Zoya stood by the entrance of his temple again more than a year later. She didn’t expect herself to be back here; she had vowed that she would stop hoping for the impossible. But it was never that easy to let go of something you’d been holding onto for a long time.

She had spent the better part of the year trying to convince herself that she could do it, that she could let him go. Sometimes she thought she did, as her thoughts about him didn't bring that much pain to her than before. But more times than not, she would still find herself crying at night, wanting nothing else than to have him with her again, asking any other deities to hear her plea and end their torment.

And yet it remained unanswered just like it had always been.

A strong breeze blew past the site, and Zoya shrugged the jacket tighter around her. It was almost the same as last year, albeit a bit colder, causing the temple to have less visitors than usual. The sun was starting to set in the west when she approached the cliff's edge, giving the sea an orange glow.

She smiled ruefully, suddenly realizing the depth of her decision. This view was going to be one of the sights she would have to give up if she ever stopped visiting here. And it was something she wasn't letting go. As much as she wanted to forget, his seas had been a constant part of her immortal life, providing her with peace that often slipped away from her, and it was the closest thing to him that she could be with.

The thought hit her like a ton of bricks, and Zoya wanted to laugh. She had been a fool to think that she could ever forget any of this, that she could forget him.

Because even after all her attempts to do so, he would always be the one on the other end of the red string tied around her wrist.

"It's not fair, you know? I'm still crying over you, and I'm so, so tired," she said to the sea, her voice quivering as she did. The stinging in her eyes came quickly this time, and she reached a hand up to wipe it away. A broken sob came out from her lips when she whispered, "It's not fair, Nikolai."

She put a hand to her face as she continued to cry. There were times that her grief would overwhelm her to the point that she wouldn't have minded whether she was in public or not, and the pain in her chest was enough to break her.

This was one of those times and she had no control over it.

Zoya didn’t know how long she stayed there, crying her sorrows to the seas that could only do so much to comfort her, that she didn’t even notice the presence behind her until it spoke.

"When I first saw you here a year ago, you were just close to crying."

Everything seemed to stop around her. Her thoughts halted and she brought her hand down from her face.

No, it's not real.

But she knew it was true.

Zoya turned to the direction of his voice, and there he was, basked in the glow of the sunset that made his eyes gleam much brighter than what she used to have engraved in her head.

Nikolai smiled softly. "It's been a while, Minerva."

She didn’t know why her mind suddenly started making up excuses, anything she could say to elude him before the pain became too much for her to bear.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" It might have been the stupidest excuse she could think of, but it was all she had. A look of hurt flashed on his face. Walk away, Zoya. "You must have mistaken me for someone else."

She briskly walked past him, each step away from him feeling like daggers being driven to her chest.

Walk away, Zoya willed herself.

She could do it. She could walk away so she wouldn't have to suffer. She could do this, and do it again in the next life.

She could stay away from him.

But as she went further away from Nikolai, her mind narrowed to one thought. I can't do it.

It was then his voice came, gentle as the waves from the shore. "Are you really going to walk away this time, Zoya?"

This made her stop abruptly on her tracks, her heart in her throat. A surge of wild hope ignited in her chest again.

No, he could've asked for it from the management, she thought. Isaak could have told him.

She had been waiting for a thousand years to hear it again, to hear the warmth in his voice whenever he said her name. But why wasn't she believing it? Why wasn't she turning to him?

Why only now?

Against her better judgment, Zoya finally faced him. Her vision blurred with another wave of unwanted tears. If this was some cruel trick to play on her—

Nikolai must have noticed her look, because he gave her a reassuring smile. "The seas can help us find peace," he said as he approached her. Zoya could only look at him, her heart still not wanting to believe. But he continued, "And I would gladly stop the tides and currents if it meant giving you the serenity you desired."

He stopped right in front of her, the gentle look in his eyes remaining the same. She looked back up at him, finding any traces of deceit in his hazel eyes, or anything that proved that he wasn't real.

But in them she only saw the warmth and love that he sent her way, the reflection of their memories worth for thousands of years, the one that the wisdom goddess didn't expect the sea god to give her.

"Hey," Nikolai said, his voice coming out in a broken whisper. His face crumpled when he brought a hand to her cheek. A quivering smile made its way to his lips as he said, "I'm sorry I'm late."

A sob tore from her throat as Zoya lunged at him, her arms wrapping around his neck tightly as if he would disappear again if she let go.

He's here. "You're back," she sobbed against his shoulder. "You're back."

She felt his arms around her not a moment later, strong and warm and welcoming, the same way she remembered even after a long time. The world could have burned down around them, and still Zoya wouldn't have cared, not when he was finally back to her.

"I remember," Nikolai was saying over and over, his voice shaking from crying. "I remember it all." He pulled away slightly, just enough to look in her eyes and see the relief reflected back in them. Tears fell freely from his eyes as he pressed his lips on her cheek— "So many lives, I've lived" —his lips went to the bridge of her nose— "So many times I've met you" —he moved to her eye— "And I didn't even know it was you that I was missing."

He pressed their foreheads together, his eyes closed tightly. He brought his hands up to the sides of her face. "You always found me," he whispered, "and when I remembered, I knew it was my time to find you." He reached for her hand, bringing it to his chest, and she felt the steady beat of his heart as if it had finally found peace and its home. "I love you. I loved you in every life. My mind could forget, but my heart and soul never did."

Zoya laughed, but it came as a broken sob instead. She reached her other hand up to his face, her touch still hesitant. Everything felt like a dream. She had been waiting for this moment for so long, and now that it was here, she wanted to make sure it was real.

But he was warm and his presence comforting, and he was looking at her the same way he did when he stopped the tides for her that one night on the beach.

More tears fell from her eyes. "I never thought I'd see you again. I've watched you slip away for a thousand years, and yet my love for you remained the same, if not stronger," she said, voice hoarse. "I missed you every single day."

Nikolai leaned into her hand, pressing a kiss on her palm, and then on her wrist. A few tears landed on her skin. "I love you. I'm here now." His lips moved to her forehead. "I love you."

She clutched him closer to her. "I thought I lost you," she said. She closed her eyes as he moved to press a lingering kiss to her temple. Her voice broke when she repeated, "I thought I lost you."

"I know, I'm sorry," he murmured against her skin. "But I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere." He pulled away to look in her eyes. "I'm not leaving you again."

And when he sealed his promise with a kiss, Zoya felt the thousands years' worth of pain and longing lift from her chest, replaced by the feeling of warmth and contentment, and finally, home. It would be another start for the both of them, as they had a lot of time to make up for. The road would be tedious, but they had each other.

Her love could last for another eternity.

***

A/N: I have a short, fluffy one of the same au in the works. Might post it soon. JASHFLJASF

#zoyalai #zoya nazyalensky #nikolai lantsov #king of scars #idk this took me a while #and i made myself sad over this #basically gods/goddesses au #they're poseidon and athena #but also not really #i needed the rivalry ok #HASDFLKJHA #i tweaked some in the mythology #so yeah #im trash #and sad #have this long mess tho #my writing

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so-i-dont-forget-again · 4 years ago

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So I Don’t Forget Again: A Breath of The Wild fanfiction

Entry 160: ???

Below the mountain is this trail. Somewhere along the trail is this place, there a mountain with a statue of a horse on top, and the little area is shaped like a horseshoe. We were riding towards it. Zelda thanked me for the advice I had given about horses, but she never said exactly what. Maybe it was for training or bonding? Maybe she directly said my words? She did say something about soothing your companion so they know how you feel, but she just started so abruptly I don’t think I quite caught it. She wasn’t sure about adorning her horse with all the royal gear, thinking it’d have to earn it, but she decided to be more empathetic and give them the benefit of the doubt, whatever that meant. But she was looking directly at me, not in the way when you talk to someone but like the comment, giving the benefit of the doubt to me? She also seemed different in this memory, more relaxed and open. I guess we had become friends, but I’m not sure. When we arrived at the place we got off our horses.

The sun was setting and she pointed out Mt. Lanayru. It’s named after the goddess of wisdom. The goddess said that no one younger than seventeen can step foot on the mountain because they are not wise. I find that rather odd. I don’t think age dictates how wise someone is. I’m a hundred and something years old, and by far I believe Sidon, Kass, and even the children in Kakariko and back home are wiser than me, but in different ways. The children know how to take responsibility when needed but also how to just let go and have fun when needed, Sidon he just understands everyone so amazingly on an emotional level I often overlook, even when the person I’m trying to understand is myself, and Kass, he knows how to stay true to himself, he follows his heart and is such a comforting presents, maybe that’s something he learned from being a father. I however, I struggle with all those things, but I know how to battle and I know how to keep going even when I can’t take any more! It think everyone is wise, but it different ways, it just depends on their experience, and age just says how long your experience was, but it’s doesn’t… age doesn’t show the quality of your experience. I could be wrong, since I’m not wise in… whatever this is, self-reflection? I don’t think that quite describes this, but if a goddess of wisdom thinks wisdom is dictated by age, I might just laugh at her, she doesn’t seem to know much, but I could just be horribly wrong about that.

The princesses had tirelessly trained at the other springs, the spring of courage and the spring of power but she had yet to unlock her powers and so she was hoping the spring of wisdom would finally do it. There was no evidence the spring of wisdom would be different from the others, but there was always the chance, after all… your life could always change completely in just a single moment. Tomorrow was going to be her seventeenth birthday, and she was going to go there.

It… has been a while since I last found a memory. I checked the slate and indeed this was one of the locations. I wonder… Why do I only remember something at these locations, and why only Zelda, and the champions? Why do I never recall my family, or the time before preparing for the Calamity. Why is it never anything before that?

I recall there being the goddesses, but I never really thought about them, or questioned them… They seem rather cruel. Even if it was to test me, it’s not fair to trap living beings just for me to take their scale and place it in water to unlock a shrine. What else have these gods done? Did they set up all the shrine tests? Did they force the Sheikah members to be sealed away in them, to be forced to live in cages till I arrive and complete the trial and allow them to die? What are these gods like, truly. I’d like to know. It’d be nice to know why they did what they did, and if I’m just misinterpreting their actions.

In the memory, I was also riding a black and white horses, it was mostly black with only a little white, but… maybe if Sidon reincarnates, maybe Friend dose too.

If I ever get the chance to meet her again, I just wish I could say I’m sorry, and promise to try to be a better traveling companion for anyone who travels with me, even if they aren’t her.

The castle is so close by and I can see three long red lines of light pointing to it from the Divine Beasts. It’s so eerie seeing the place, those odd pillars pointing to it and that dark smog that shrouds the place.

There’s a deep chasm that a bridge crosses, when nearing it, I heard Kass! He was surprised to see us; I think we more so startled him since he even lost his footing for a moment and almost fell over. First thing I did was thank him for telling Sidon I needed help, of all people I think Sido really was the only one who could guide me through all that. He told me I was looking much better and admitted that I had him really worried for a time. He knew Sidon and I were close and he couldn’t imagine anyone else who could be of better help to me, and he also knew Sidon would want to know about my less than poor condition. I loved getting to talk with Kass again. I told him about how I have the infection that’s eating me and about my dark thoughts, about being some hero when I don’t feel like one, how all that was just taking such a toll. Kass understood completely how all that could be so strenuous, he told me as much as he loves the isolation of exploration, often when left in your own head for too long you end up hurting yourself, that’s why keeping your connections with others is all the more important. People need other people, it’s as simple as that.

He told me he knew of a song of the area, and asked if I wanted to do some puzzle solving again. “When a single arrow threads two rings, the shrine will rise like birds on wings.” This song is rather self explanatory he admitted but because it had been so long since I last had traveled he thought this simple song would be good to get my footing back. There are many oddly shaped rocks around here, some piled atop one another, some not, but almost all of them have a hole that goes through them, so all I had to do was shoot an arrow through two rocks. We had gone searching for a while, some seemed like they might work, but no matter how I shot the arrow wouldn’t reach. Kass taught me a few things about bows and techniques on how to shoot farther, even with that though it didn’t work. We wondered if there was more to this than meets the eye, but we couldn’t figure out anything else. Eventually we did find the right alignment and rocks and when I shot my arrow through them a shrine unborrowed itself from the ground. It took even longer to collect all my arrows, we really should have collected them right after I shot them, but we were kind of impatient and wanted to solve this. We speculated on how Sheikah technology works again, how any sort of technology could recognize that specifically an arrow was shot through both and not two people each shooting through a different rock with great timing or an arrow was shot and it wasn’t some fast bug that happened to fly though both.

It was night so Kass, Bossa Nova, and I set up camp. Kass asked if I was sure I didn’t want to sleep in the shrine. I told him I was okay now, I could get some sleep, and protect everyone from the Yiga Clan, and skeletons and other monsters. Kass asked for me to sleep tucked under his wing. His feathers are much softer and warmer than any blankets or clothing.

Kass asked me how Sidon was doing. He hadn’t seen Sidon since telling him about my looking unwell. He then chuckled and told me I must have had a good time with how I was blushing. He wondered aloud about perhaps writing a song about the love between the great adventurer and Prince of the Zora. I just blushed more. He told me it was kind of obvious though when he saw my new armor piece with Sidon’s scale in it. I think Kass took too much joy in flustering me. I asked Kass how his family was doing. He told me they were safe and staying in the village. How he worded it was odd though and I asked about it. It’s been too dangerous to fly as of late, everyone is earthbound unless they want to be lit aflame in the sky. I know Kass has his own things to do but I asked him if he could lead me to his village. For now I’m going to sleep while Kass keeps look out, then the moment the sun rises we’ll set off.

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mcheang · 5 years ago

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DongFeng in TMOPB AU

What if it was Feng Jiu who was having her mortal trial when she met Dijun?

Feng Jiu had been helping her aunt seal Qingcang and had taken the blow for her too. Her Phoenix feather birthmark became a red dot.

Bai Qian informed her family and they began the search for Feng Jiu.

Dong Hua travels to the mortal realm because Miao Luo is seeking the soul locking jade.

While they fight, the nameless Feng Jiu comes across them and decides to help Dong Hua. She may have lost her memory, but not her interest in swordfighting.

As Miao Luo strikes her, she realizes this mortal has her missing drop of energy.

Dong Hua helps Feng Jiu vanquish Miao Luo. He wants to take her back to Taichen under his protection, but she enjoys her freedom and was going to part ways.

Dong Hua tricks her by having her care for his wound. He thinks of how to persuade Feng Jiu to leave with him. In the meantime; he orders his staff to clean up his stone palace.

While the staff clean the place up, Dong Hua enjoys being pampered and mothered by Feng Jiu and eats her homemade food.

Dong Hua offers to hire her as his chef.

This catches Feng Jiu’s interest and she accepts.

Dong Hua takes Feng Jiu to Bihai and visits her there regularly. It helps that her food is the best he ever tasted.

The nameless mortal had been used to living alone. Men kept trying to court her, and women were too jealous of her. She couldn’t make friends easily. Hence she adjusts easily to Bihai and befriends the animals there. Although she is confused by how the palace cleans itself.

Feng Jiu offers to teach Dong Hua how to cook. She wasn’t interested in him as a romantic interest but she did enjoy his company.

Dong Hua named her Xiao Hong (little red).

Zhihe was upset Dong Hua no longer hangs around to eat meals with her.

Dong Hua decides to become Feng Jiu’s teacher because she does show interest in swordfighting.

Eventually they play jokes on each other, usually with Dong Hua winning.

Enough time passes that Dong Hua and Feng Jiu unknowingly fall in love with each other.

Feng Jiu is the one who acknowledges her feelings first but does not make the first move. Rather she asks that she be allowed to leave because she needs to be exposed to the world and make more friends.

Dong Hua refuses, claiming it is for her own protection.

Feng Jiu: what am I to you? Your prisoner?

Dong Hua: no. You are my student.

Feng Jiu was saddened by this answer and insisted on leaving.

Dong Hua refuses to take her out, but realizes Feng Jiu needs more friends in her life. But who? Zhihe hates competition so that was a bad idea. He needs someone loyal to him and who can keep a secret. Chonglin? Hmm, why does the thought of a male with Feng Jiu bother him? He needs some time to think.

In the meantime, he sets Feng Jiu a challenge. If she wins, he will take her out.

While watching Xiao Hong practise, Dong Hua realizes his feelings for her because he was contemplating her potential as his queen.

Feng Jiu fails the challenge the first time. Dong Hua said that because she lost, he suggested she marry him. To his delight, Feng Jiu was receptive to the idea.

Dong Hua confesses he is an ancient immortal king and he needs to build Feng Jiu an immortal body. So he sets out a search for the Saha fruit, literally ordering anybody who has one to give it to him or face punishment at his hands. Considering his bloody and legendary feats, people complied. The biyiniao queen said they had one and offered it to the king.

Dong Hua enlists Xie Guchou’s help and secrecy to create the immortal body for Xiao Hong. He will wait for Xiao Hong to die of natural causes before placing her soul into the immortal body.

Dong Hua claims to go to seclusion but really just spends all his time with Xiao Hong.

Xiao Hong asks about his family. Dong Hua claims to have none. She asks if he is embarrassed for her mortal status. He denies it, having no sense of shame. He just doesn’t want to share her. And he also wants to protect her from Miao Luo. Xiao Hong tells him it is not fair that he can wander about but she can’t. Not to mention, wouldn’t she be safer when surrounded by more Guards.

To make her happy, Dong Hua relents and brings her back to Taichen. News spread of Dong Hua’s mortal lover. The Sky lord does nothing. He’s too busy trying to get Ye Hua and Bai Qian to meet, but the queen is busy looking for her missing niece.

Zhihe is instantly livid and jealous but seeing how Dong Hua had placed a constant guard around Xiao Hong, she is forced to hold back her insults.

Zhihe tells off her foster brother for ignoring her, claiming to be worried he will ignore her completely now that Xiao Hong is here. Dong Hua tells her she is ridiculous but relents to include his sister when he spends time with his fiancée.

Dong Hua would rather Feng Jiu spend more time with girls than boys. As a result, Feng Jiu doesn’t get the chance to meet her old friend Si Ming, though she did meet Lian Song briefly.

Zhihe plays on Xiao Hong’s doubts, telling her Dong Hua is only marrying her so Miao Luo can’t get to her. After all, what is a human lifespan to an immortal?

Xiao Hong protests that Dong Hua was planning to give her an immortal body.

Zhihe: if you say so.

Xiao Hong is revealed to be pregnant. Zhihe poisons her tea and causes Xiao Hong to have a miscarriage, breaking her heart. The poison also nearly kills a Xiao Hong but Dong Hua manages to save her.

Dong Hua suspects foul play. Zhihe’s maid takes all the blame. Zhihe pleads on her behalf but Dong Hua punishes her to be tortured to death, reborn as an animal and never return, facing hardships for every lifetime.

Zhihe is also sent away to her teacher’s.

Things take a turn for the worse when Dong Hua announces his marriage to Jiheng for the sake of the realms. While Dong Hua assures her the wedding is false, Feng Jiu can not help but feel jealous he is spending time with Jiheng at night for the charade.

Was he also playing a charade with her?

The wedding falls through because of the runaway bride. Zhihe has also been exiled for her role.

Dong Hua returns to cherishing Xiao Hong, but she can’t help doubting his affections.

It doesn’t help that Dong Hua insists on keeping her hidden away (he gets jealous of the curious male immortals) when she wants to go out. Was this always to be her future? Being a guarded treasure?

Dong Hua notices Xiao Hong’s depression but cannot think of a solution right away. But what to do? The immortals can’t accept her until she becomes immortal herself. So she has few friends. And there was no way he was introducing men to her.

In her exile, Zhihe plots to remove Xiao Hong permanently so she cannot reincarnate. She begs to be allowed to visit and make amends with her future sister in law.

While Dong Hua was busy, Zhihe invites Xiao Hong to the punishment platform. Zhihe took care to drug the guards’ tea so they have to use the restroom or fall asleep.

Once there, Zhihe pushes Xiao Hong over.

The Guards arrive in time to see the action. Zhihe claims Xiao Hong accidentally fell over.

Except why the heck would Zhihe even bring Xiao Hong there in the first place?

Dong Hua holds a trial and furiously removes Zhihe’s immortality, never to be accepted as an immortal again nor will heaven ever give her mortal incarnations any aid. She would have faced a painful death had it not been for his debt to her parents. He also punished the Guards by exiling them.

Dong Hua contemplates suicide but Lian Song reminds him of his oath to keep Miao Luo imprisoned, and his debt of honor to Meng Hao.

Dong Hua becomes a miserable recluse. Going out only for these 2 things. He spends most of his time at Bihai, to the point that even Chonglin moves over there. To everybody else, he seems the same. But to those closest to him, they see how sad he behaves.

Meanwhile Xiao Hong returns to her immortal self. She reunited with her family as a high goddess. However, having had a taste of celestial life, she decides she wants no part of it and decides to forget the love she feels for Dong Hua.

Bai Qian and Ye Hua’s wedding is eventually arranged. Lian Song persuadés Dong Hua to go out for some fresh air and just escort the bride to heaven.

In Qingqiu, Dong Hua meets Feng Jiu. Curious by her appearance and the fact that she does not recognise him; Dong Hua investigates and confirms that she is his missing fiancée. He asks Bai Yi for her hand but Bai Yi informed Dong Hua that ever since her love trial, Feng Jiu has been determined she will not marry into the celestial tribe.

Dong Hua: I don’t have to stay at Taichen Palace. My residence is now at Bihai Cangling.

Bai Yi: she also wants someone who can give her freedom...

Dong Hua: I won’t force her to do anything she doesn’t want to.

Now that Feng Jiu was a high goddess, she could definitely protect herself.

Bai Yi gives Dong Hua permission to court his daughter. Dong Hua easily handles Feng Jiu’s pranks. He even has the star factor to aid him as Feng Jiu had been an admirer of the war hero.

Things happen as before. He teaches her to fight. She teaches him to cook. They prank each other.

The wedding is set.

But an old loyal servant of Zhihe decides to tell Feng Jiu the story of Xiao Hong.

Feng Jiu wonders if she is a substitute. Is that why he calls her Xiao Bai? She confronts Dong Hua, who admits they are the same person. Feng Jiu asks why he treats her differently now. (See explanation above)

Dong Hua asks how he can prove his love for her.

Cue heart ring condition.

Dong Hua presents Feng Jiu with the ring for their wedding.

Jiheng was devastated by the news, but it’s not like Dong Hua actually talked to her. He visited her for one day then left every decade, eager to be alone again in his depression.

Bonus: I briefly thought about Zhihe returning using the immortal body Dong Hua had prepared for Xiao Hong, but her servants wouldn’t be able to find her in the mortal realm without sufficient knowledge.

#eternal love of dream #三生三世枕上书 #eternal love pillow book #eternal love pillow book fanfic #eternal love pillow book fic #eternal love pillow book fanfiction #eternal love of dream fanfiction #eternal love of dream fanfic #eternal love of dream fic

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gemstoneconstellations · 5 years ago

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I love your fanfics! And I was wondering do you have any tips for original fanfic writing or just writing fics in general?

wow this actually ended up a lot longer than i thought it would, but here we go!

Original fanfics, hmmmmmm....

What I generally do is base things off of my own personal experience. Like all my iida fics are stuff that happened between me and my husband before we got married. Can’t help falling in love fic with bakugo, that was a previous relationship i had (which there is more to that story). Caught with todoroki..... thats how i got out of a ticket with a cop and how i learned that when i half check someone out and half start thinking about what i would do to that fine man in uniform (curse my uniform kink) that i glare/make a suspicious face. and when he confronted me about what i was doing, ready to write some kind of ticket for whatever i was doing wrong, i was so embarrassed that i blurted out that i found him very attractive and what exactly was on my mind and how i wanted to take that uniform off him.... that has happened with a emt too, i missed the green light looking at his bulging biceps after he rolled up his sleeves to write on a clip board.... he waved and i proceeded to squat in my seat and slam my face against the stirring wheel. escape artist cat was actually a dream i had, someone was taking off my cat’s pretty ribbon collars and putting ugly ones on her and i woke up sooooo mad, but i turned that dream into a romance story (reality kuiper was taking her collars off herself cause she was a brat) Stories about yourself, no matter how small you think it is actually has great potential to become a fic.

its also okay to borrow ideas from other forms of media. I do. example, Silk Maiden, based off of an old batman episode from the early 2000s. its completely okay to do that. I’m not saying copy and paste the exact scenes. Just take the premises and then change it. some examples, like the movie Brave is the Scottish version of Aladdin. the princess who wants to be free and live her life beyond her princess duties needs to get married and she is not having it and wants to change the rules and runs away to find something new. premise is the same but how the story is told is different, one denies every prince and find her own prince in the streets of her kingdom and the other finds a cake that turns her mom into a bear that helps them understand each other and appreciate each other more. a weeb example is isekais. There are sooooo many isekais. japan, Korea, and china are all mass producing isekais right now. the premises are all the same, someone from one world now in another world primarily thanks to magical truck-kun who is probably could be branded as a mass serial killer at this point. I read a lot and i love korean isekai romance novels. I have read an isekai where the character was a villain who then was reincarnated with the memories of her villainous previous life who decided to live her new life by repenting by helping others but guess what? truck-kun came in the form of a airplane crash and she wakes up again in her first life’s preteen body before she became a villain. I’m reading an isekai isekai, author of an isekai met truck-kun and woke up inside the body of one of her characters in her isekai novel. all the same premise but told in a different way. i want to write an isekai for bnha! take a premise and write what you wanted to see happen between those characters if they were in that situation.

same for some fanfics, like you read a fanfic and you like the story that you read but you wished for something more. You like the idea but you wished that it went in this direction or you wanted different types of interaction, its okay to write your own fic with the same premises. i’ve done that. (side note: but if you are gonna base off of it where a lot of the stuff is the same the give the proper credit where it deserves. no stealing peoples hard work) thats what fanfic was originally made for, fans wanted something more from their favorite works or wants something different (Thank you star trek fandom who started all this). I’ve read a lot of villain deku fics and i was craving a specific type of villain fic where “he really isnt a villain but is one but there is a reason why hes being evil cause it is for the greater good cause of deku’s savior complex and border line martyr complex he’s had since he was a child” with a side of “hero/villain romance”, “surprise quirk” and “badass” and a healthy scoop of “bakugo becomes a better person on his own without deku at UA through the power of friendship cause he has that potential without deku’s constant interference”. no one had what i wanted, so i started writing it myself.

also dont worry about being original. you can write a common idea that everyone sees a thousand times a day, like isekai, and people will love it. focus on how you are telling your story, dont put so much effort in being different. actually, common or typical tropes/ideas help make the story more relatable. two books can be equally as good but one person can like book A over book B because they felt more connected to the characters in it. they could relate to the emotions that were being conveyed.

now writing tips....hmmmmm well not everything works for everyone but this is what i do

I write notes down, lots of them. I have notebooks full of notes for my fics. some people can just sit there and start writing, but i like notes to keep me on track and remind me of stuff i wanted to add. Writing it down makes it easier not to forget, cause you are just lying to yourself if you think you’ll remember the idea for later. i got dialogue, scenes, plots, random quirk ideas, diagrams, (12) oc profiles, outlines, lists, and a event idea that i have that i want to do some day, all in my notebook. If you are going to write a long fic i strongly encourage that you do this. Outlines are your friend, they are bones of the story Ex:

Hero By Another Name original outline:

meet at a fire, firefighter impresses kiri who will later seek her out

kiri is becoming popular and wants to share the fame

they bond some how(?)

firefighter kiri, kirishima needs to wear a firefighter uniform

firefighter turns out to be a mega fan of red riot

photoshoot

kirishima finds out shes a nerd and is cool with it

firefighter is now popular

camping with baku or bakusquad?

miscommunication

kirishima does a big confession

I always start off with the key things i want for sure to happen. then i start adding to it. I write out the scene i definitely want to see or i can see clearly in my head. i just keep adding to it till its at least three pages long of just outline that has some images, random dialogue i want someone to say or little summaries of the scene i want.

its okay to jump around when you write. there are some parts that you know you need in a story to help it move a long but it can be boring. so i write one scene that i want to happen next and then i think of what needs to happen to get to that point. like how in hero another name where kirishima shows up unannounced to her apartment and finds out she hoards all his hero merch while not wearing pants. how do you make that not sound creepy and have kirishima be okay with it? by adding bits of how much of a fan she is through out the story! when they first have dinner together i threw in that red riot shirt to help break the ice and that he would then know that she was a big enough fan to buy his merch and that she admires him and that he is an inspiration for her. then later adding that interview where she talks about how she became his fan shows that she has years of dedication to him as a hero. so when he sees all the merch she has, it would make sense to him that she had all of that and not go “huh, will i be able to leave this place if i enter?”

if you dont know it, look it up. research. i wrote a fic before where the reader was pregnant the entire time, i started at two months to birth. I knew nothing about pregnancy on how it can affect your daily life and what it feels like beyond what health class and child development class taught me. So i looked it up. there is seriously so much that doctors look for during those many ultrasounds cause there are so many things that can affect your health and the baby’s and did you know there is pregnancy diabetes? you can become diabetic only during pregnancy, like after you give birth it can go away or stay, the human body is just tripy. but thanks to that research, people who have had children before left comments going “yessss, i remember feeling that” or “god, this was my sister in this scene, it sucks”. Its that relatability i mentioned before that really helps and it makes the story more believable.

(this is just my personal opinion mainly here feel free to ignore) when it comes to smut, write what you know and not what you fantasize about. im not calling anyone out but i can tell from how someone writes sex that they never had it and they are most likely younger than me. i’ve experimented a lot in my 25 years of life and i find myself going “oh sweetie, thats not how the vagina/anus works” when i read fics sometimes. there are guides online that are very informative and tell you what the feelings are like that you would expect. dont rely on porn too much on how sex works physically, maybe for dialogue. (i think of porn as just live action fanfics for the human mating ritual fandom). its okay to use other smuts as reference tools as well, especially if you dont know anything of the bdsm lifestyle.

beta readers help a lot. if you are unsure of ideas that you have, talk it out with a friend. I sometimes do this for myself or help others with their fics. its actually a lot of fun with a group of people where you just keep shooting off ideas together about stuff and just go all out fangirlling to the point you are rolling on the ground smiling. this can help with writers block or motivate you to keep writing. also having another pair of eyes to look at your fics, not just for corrections but for input on the story can help make it better. someone can see things from a different angle and point stuff out to you, plot holes or things that you can add.

im not sure what else to say other than stuff like format and spacing. sometimes i see people who write too long of paragraphs or there is no clear separation between them. thats killer on the eyes and makes me not want to read at all cause all i see is this wall of text thats just overwhelming. i want to call who ever formatted textbooks cause thats how they do it and it makes it so hard to concentrate on reading and absorbing the info. if i see fics with no clear breaks or long running paragraphs, i usually give up half way cause i just cant do it. its hard to keep track where you are reading and you start trying to focus on it too much that the story is just lost on me. it is hard on people like me who have dyslexia (who ever called it that is just cruel to people who have it cause you can never spell it without spell check and pronouncing it is just ugggh)

i hope this helps

#my weebs

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simeonstans · 4 years ago

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Hey! I really like your work! I’ve been thinking about this all week, so May I request Simeon with an Angel!MC, but only one of them becomes a fallen angel? (you choose who)

This took so long cause I wanted it to be 👨🏻‍🍳💋 for Simeon so let's goo !!!

TW / manipulation, death, reincarnation, no happy ending, angst

Words: 1,449

PART ONE > PART TWO

Another exasperated sigh escaped Simeon’s lips as Michael sent him off to run another errand from the human world. Ever since Lucifer and his brothers fell, it seems as if Michael’s gone crazier. He couldn’t blame him though, Lucifer helped Michael with nearly everything and now that he’s fallen, all his work got put onto Michael. The air was still stiff and going down to Earth wasn’t as easy as it used to be. Can’t cause another war if all your actions were now tracked.

However, Father did introduce a new angel to the Celestial Realm in order to give Michael a hand. It wasn’t easy, honestly. Simeon never saw this new angel as Michael has been training them the past couple decades on what to do. But from what he could hear from other angels that work close or have seen them, this one was just as, or more, beautiful than Lucifer. It could have been an exaggeration considering no other angel could’ve come close to his friend Luci and no one has seen him in a millennia so memories could fade.

Finally after finishing his errand, he went back to the castle to drop off what Michael needed but instead bumped into another figure down the halls. “So sorry, I didn’t see you. Are these for Michael?” Simeon got up, picking up some items while the unfamiliar angel stood across from him with some items in their arms. “Yes, these are, you wouldn’t happen to see him?”

“Oh, then I’ll take these to his room. Thank you so much.” the angel bowed and turned away with the items and headed down a hallway. Simeon, although having just met them for the first time, hummed and felt rather warm around them. He brushed off the feelings just thinking it’s from meeting someone new. It has been a while since he’s seen a new face around.

Afterwards, they kept bumping into each other more frequently. Simeon now understanding that they’re nearly completed with their training so they were allowed some extra freedom whenever Michael needed to complete some of his tasks or prepare some final training. While they first kept running into each other on occasion, they then started hanging out more and more. Soon enough, Simeon got the new angel stuck in their head. Anytime Simeon went shopping or running errands, he’d ponder if he should buy these sandals for MC, remembering that they wanted to get new ones since theirs was wearing out. Or picking up some strawberries as they mentioned that they’ve seen the small red fruit but never tasted it. “It looks like it’ll taste sour,” they told the dark skinned angel a while ago, “Believe me, they’re very sweet.” he would reassure the newbie.

Really, he never noticed how much he thought about the angel. Michael even pointed it out a couple days ago that whenever he sends off Simeon for another errand or task, he returns in a better mood compared to before he met MC. Even notices how much sweeter Simeon’s smile is.

You know, at first he brushed it off thinking that Simeon was just happy to have met a new friend. Until he saw his little helper also in the same position after a solo mission down on earth. It was then that Michael decided to send MC back down to the Human Realm for another solo mission that may last a while. You know, take care of a human family as a nanny until they get back on their feet. Simple.

He knew MC was keeping a diary, as Michael once recommended to MC that keeping a diary would help track their development and that they may rely on it if a future problem arises. Or if they felt lonely from all the training it could be her friend. The archangel entered their helpers room, easily spotting the book that Michael gave to them on their desk and he decided to flip through the rather thick book.

First few pages were multiple paragraphs. Each one of the paragraphs was just what their training consisted of and what principles angels must follow. Then they got to when they first started meeting the other angels like a new baby named Luke that was born a couple decades years ago, their first meeting with Gabriel, and of course meeting Simeon. After a couple pages or so, the pages went on about Simeon’s charm and characteristics that called out to them. Then the latest page was about how their last trip to the human world, they listened to some children on the street and found out what love is. “Love, the children said, is when you feel tingly in your belly when you see someone you like. You like them a lot and they make you smile. They said there’s a difference between liking someone like a friend or a mommy or daddy and like liking someone. That is love. And I think I love Simeon. I like like him.” the diary entry wrote.

If this were back then, he would tease his little helper to no end. But then he remembered how the last time love happened in the Celestial Realm. And a rule every angel abides by is “you may only have love Father”. Love is dangerous. Love gets you killed. Love, although it is fragile, is the most powerful thing that can cause so much destruction.

So, Michael set the book down and decided to wait for their helper to come back. And he then set out to try to decrease the amount of time Simeon and MC hung out. He’s already lost his best friend, he can’t afford to lose more.

Slowly Simeon and MC saw each other less and less. And when brought up to Michael on how MC never saw their “friends” by Simeon, he simply brushed it off by changing the topic and said that the times on earth are changing fast. Angels can’t lie of course, and he wasn’t lying, the humans were going through a new era at the moment. Then MC complained that they weren’t seeing their friends or that their previous mission was exhausting. And after a while, MC asked Michael to give a clear answer. “You’ve gotten stubborn. Have the humans influenced you?”

“Michael, can you please answer the question?”

“Which was?”

A sigh escaped MC’s lips. “I’ve been feeling lonely. Why can’t I see my friends? You see Gabriel every day, even the little boy, Luke, has been latching onto you after you baked him a cake when he said he wanted to try one. Then there’s Simeon...”, although the last part was mumbled, Michael heard clearly. “Can you repeat the last part for me, please?” he asked, walking closer to the smaller angel.

“Simeon. I must confess, I missed seeing him. I missed trying new things with him. He promised me apples the next time I would see him. “Oh MC, I could get you apples anytime you want. You don’t have to ask him solely. I’m here for you to as well. I’m training you but we’re the same rank. Don’t let love blind you. Don’t get blinded by something that doesn’t exist.” MC blinked and took a step back. “You know I can’t lie, I’ve read the diary-” “You’ve read what?” “-I know you love Simeon. And normally I would brush it off but… well let me tell you a story I think you should know about.” He lead the MC down and took a seat.

He then started the story of Lucifer and his siblings. How their youngest and only sister died. And how it was love that killed her. “Keep falling in love and see how it’ll damage you.”

“But Simeon is an angel-”

“Our love belongs to Father only. Love for everyone else is false. If you fall in love, Father will kill you. The humans are rubbing off on you, so I’ll have to change your schedule for a while.”

“You said we’re in the same rank. I’ve been training for a millennia or so and I’m done with it all. I can do solo missions and take orders from Father so why are you trying to control me again?”

“MC, you’re going back to phase one. I have to get you under my wing again. Father can’t see you go around like this.”

Deciding not to continue the argument, MC sighs. Apologize to your superior, MC repeated in their head, remembering what they learned in training. “I apologize, Michael.” Then MC felt a hand on their head. Michael was patting their head. “Just don’t fall in love.” He said before walking out his office.

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museaway · 5 years ago

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Back in college, I remember one of my writing professors talking about our overall themes: not the theme of any particular story, but the ones present across a body of work. She said something like, “you don’t choose your theme; your theme will choose you,” which at the time sounded profound and mysterious and a lot bullshit, but I was twenty and respected this professor for her brutal honesty and good advice, so I filed it away even though I was doubtful.

For years, I would try to look for hints of it emerging, combing my own stuff for signs. I settled on a few possibilities. Faith showed up a lot when I was early 20s. Not surprisingly, so did struggles with sexuality. As a consumer of stuff, I latched onto any character struggling to find their place in the world. I‌ wrote about love. I wrote about death. I wrote stuff so sickeningly sweet, I cringe thinking about it. I wrote god-awful depressing stuff and stuff that was just god awful. I‌ lost confidence that I could write anything good. I‌ put my notebooks away. I deleted my files and decided I’d focus on work. I stopped writing completely for two years.

I‌ crawled out of that bad place a few years ago. Until this year, I was still crawling out. Getting back into writing was a struggle at first. I’d forgotten how to put words together. I‌ didn’t know how to get the concepts out of my head and onto the page in a way that wasn’t clumsy. I‌ wrote endlessly that first year and again became obsessed with theme, wondering if mine was ever going to show up.

That year closed. Another few went by. Eventually, I stopped trying to pinpoint it. I‌ studied a new religion, studied a new language, read a lot of manga, consumed massive amounts of media, made new friends, focused on better relationships, and wrote anything I wanted. The words started to come out the way I wanted. The things I wanted to say, I could. I wrote things that were a mix of sad and sweet. My style emerged.

Just a bit ago, one of those nebulous themes sat up and tapped me on the shoulder.

“Hi,” it said. “You’re obsessed with identity. Have you noticed it shows up in everything you write?”

After I finished being surprised, I thought about it. In the last few years, I’ve written about…

A character in an alternate reality of his world who falls in love with the alternate version of the person he’d once loved, while struggling to keep them separate.

A man who believes he’s lost his memories forging a new relationship with the person he thinks is his husband, while trying to recover the last decade of his life.

A creature’s lifelong struggle between wanting to love and kill.

A person battling societal expectations and attraction to a close friend.

A man who has given up a promising career as a lawyer and is trying to find purpose in life again.

A man who cannot handle losing his brother and lives in the delusion of him being alive.

A reincarnated teenager whose memories from a past life are returned, and how he reconciles having lived two completely different lives.

An artist who can’t find his subject and has stopped painting.

A swimmer who grows so close to his rival through shared dreams, he worries his feelings have stripped his ability to compete against him.

A pilot whose license has been revoked, trying to accept he won’t be able to fly anymore.

A man born on February 29th having a drunken out-of-place moment on his birthday.

A man who realized he married the wrong person and has become someone he doesn’t recognize.

A clone with memories of the human he was cloned from, refusing to give up the identity he believes is his, and pursuing the man who loves the human.

An engineer who became disillusioned with the organization he’d worked for and is trying to regain his passion.

A man whose memory has been reset and may never return, afraid he’s no longer the person he was and never can be.

“Do you get it now?”‌ said the theme.

“Ohhhh,” I said. “So that’s what she meant.”

Apologies to my professor for thinking you might be full of it. It just took a couple decades.

#my writing tag #idk how to tag this #personal #I guess #:-P

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feferipeixes · 5 years ago

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Mother Knows Best (1/5)

Answering an oddly familiar summons, Alcor finds himself face-to-face with none other than his own mother. Sure, she died years ago and reincarnated as someone completely different, but it's a little hard for Alcor to see past who she once was. As time goes on, however, he starts to wonder if maybe she really has changed -- and maybe, just maybe, if things could be better between them this time.

Here’s my entry for the 5th annual @transcendence-au ficathon! Based on the prompt “Dipper and his mother have a talk” from the awesome @toothpastecanyon! As you can see, I took it in a bit of a different direction :)

(See the most updated version on AO3!)

===

Chapter 1: Summoned

It was a clean summoning, one of the smoothest he'd felt in a while. No incorrect symbols on the circle. Plain candles, flames lapping at the wick, fresh from the box. Flawless Latin that sang across the Mindscape to bring him forth, instead of the grating mispronunciations he'd gotten more and more accustomed to as the years passed and there was almost no one left who even knew that Latin was a language.

Why then, Alcor wondered, did this summoning feel so off? Why was there a bitter edge to the call that triggered his fight or flight response in a way that a sad group of cultists hadn't managed to do in decades? And why did it feel so familiar?

The structure of a room pulled itself together around him, and with a pop he was there. By the blue light of the candles, he noticed that the room he’d been summoned to was actually quite small -- most likely a bedroom, given the bed tucked in the corner. He couldn’t help but notice the walls coated in boy band posters -- his mind jumped right to Mabel, filling his brain with a fuzzy sadness that wasn’t appropriate for a summoning.

That sadness evaporated pretty quickly when he saw the pro-nat hate speech on the posters hidden beneath them. He had a few guesses as to how this was going to go. Might as well get on with it.

"W̞̦̙̬̪̻̳H͖̦̲̟̻̖O̯͡ ̨̻̻̫̜͔̗͇D̛͔̣A̹͚͢R̞E͇̻͎̰S ̭͇͚͔T̹̣͔̦͎̝O̧ ̛̥̦̥̼̗S̢̳U͇M̦̘̺̰̲M̻̥̳̫̝̟O̩̗̥̦N͞ ͉͖̪̰͚̖A̙̣̠̫̬̗̰L̸̲C̭̠̖̣͚O͕͇͇͍̲͍R͖͕̞̲̣ ̷͔̙T̠̘͢H͔̼͉E̠̩͇̖͔̕ ̴D͉͙R҉̳͓̯̼̺E̢̘̬̱̠A͓̰̗͇̪͚M̜͎̟͇͍̱̺B̟̦̱̪̕E̲̘̯̙̜͘N̵͈̜̝D͏͈͓E̝͇̺̹R̛̝̱̳̭?͖̖͔̩̙͉̟" he roared.

The only person in the room was a young woman -- couldn't have been more than 25 -- who practically jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice. She had mousy brown hair (she’d considered dyeing it many, many times, but always chickened out in the stylist’s chair) and stunning green eyes (contacts -- her eyes were really brown but she figured if her eyesight was poor enough that she needed contacts she might as well be adventurous), was dressed in a plain t-shirt and jeans (all of her nice clothes were in the wash), and had a tilted cross on a necklace tucked underneath her shirt.

"It's, uh," she stammered, "my name is Arielle, and…"

"That's your first mistake, kid," Alcor cut in. "Never tell a demon your real name. Not that it matters too much to me since I already know it, but if you get any other lesser demon in here? Forget about it, they'd love to use that against you."

Arielle's aura flickered anxiously, and she drew her arms close to her chest. "Y-yeah? Why's that?"

Alcor flipped over so he was lying on his back in midair, his head upside down from her perspective. "True names are powerful. If you know someone’s true name, you have access to who they really are. It’s the best way to control someone without literally owning their soul.”

“Owning… their soul?”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re kidding me. You don’t know what a soul is?”

She frowned. “I know what a soul is. But I didn’t think you could control someone with their soul.”

“Oh, you totally can! Well, you can’t. I can, ‘cause I’m a demon and all. It’s kind of our specialty.” He uncrossed his arms and let them dangle beneath him. “But enough about that. Why don’t you tell me what someone like you is doing summoning a demon? Last I heard, the New Canaan Methodist Church wasn’t too fond of my folk.”

She practically seized up in shock. “What?”

He rolled over onto his front, leaning on some invisible plane with his elbows, and let a wide grin spread across his face. “I just couldn’t help but notice what a nice necklace you’re wearing. The NCMC and I aren’t the closest of friends, you know. I’ve got some hilarious stories I could tell you -- wow, where to begin…”

“Hang on, what?” she cut in, and then slapped her hands to her mouth, apparently in shock at the fact that she’d just spoken back to a demon.

Alcor flipped over into a seated position. “No storytime?”

“No, I just…” She reached under her top and pulled out the necklace. “Did you look through my shirt? That’s very rude.”

Alcor spluttered and turned pink. “What? No! I mean I guess I technically did, but not like that! I just wanted to see what was on your necklace.” He cowed under the furious glare she was giving him. “Hey, I’m asking the questions here! Regardless of where the necklace was, you’re still a New Canaanite!”

She deflated a little, but the irritated look didn’t leave her face. “I’m… I’m not, okay? Not anymore.”

He cocked his head curiously, the pink tinge slowly dissipating from his cheeks. “Anymore?”

She sighed, and looked away. “This is all my parents’ stuff, okay? It’s not my fault they’re Canaanites! They tried to make me go along with their hateful garbage, but I didn’t really believe, so I left. They didn’t like that, and they forced me to keep wearing the necklace ‘as protection’. They literally glued the clasp together -- I can’t take it off. So I hide it under my clothes. Happy?”

Alcor frowned. She… was lying to him.

At least about the parents thing -- he could sense her parents in the next room, could practically smell the unconditional love radiating off of them, nauseatingly sweet to his delicate nose. He had a hard time believing that the kind of people who smelled like that would glue an extremist group’s iconography to their child.

But… maybe they weren’t her real parents. If she left the NCMC, she might’ve been forced to leave the community too. It sort of held up as a story. And besides, he didn’t want to ditch this summoning just yet. He needed to know why he was sure he’d met her before.

“Alright, I’ll bite,” he said finally. “What do you want?”

She looked surprised for a moment, and then nodded. “I want you to go to the local chapter of the New Canaan Methodist Church. In the back room, where they keep the picket signs, there’s a warded chest. The chapter leader stole something important from me. I want you to get it back.”

He narrowed his eyes, and peered through space. As he did so, his wings went translucent, and an image of the room in question appeared over them. Alcor saw the chest -- it was surrounded by binding circles and wards, but nothing that he wouldn’t be able to handle. With effort, he peeked into the chest -- why did it have so many wards around it? -- and did a double take when he saw what was inside.

“Really? You summoned a demon to fetch a stuffed animal for you?”

She scowled. “It’s important to me and I want it back! I’ve got payment. You can have my memories of first grade. You like memories, right?”

Alcor scratched his chin. He did like memories, and the ones he could see dancing in her skull seemed particularly juicy. Besides, the stuffed animal thing reminded him of Mabel again. But this couldn’t be her. He’d know, wouldn’t he?

“Alright.” He reached toward her, blue flame dancing on his hand. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

Her eyes lit up in a brilliant display of hope and gratitude. “Thank you so much,” she said. Her aura changed -- greed pulsating through it so vibrantly that it felt like she was screaming into his eyeballs -- and she smiled. “Finally, I’ll get her away from that monster.”

Alcor’s face twitched. Her voice called out to him through the recesses of his mind.

Thank the stars I’ve got you away from that monster!

He jerked his hand back before she could grab it. "No," he breathed. "That's how I know you. That's who you are. You almost tricked me. How dare you."

Her smile faltered, and she took a step back. "Uh, what?"

He clenched his fists, and black void rippled across his body. "How Ḑ̛̜͇̱̟͈̺̩̭̪̳̖̦̹̹̣̩̉ͣ́̂̌͋̉͗͒ͯͪ̓̒̎͜͞Ạ̸̟̹̼̫̭̫̙͔͖̙̝̲̳̺̭̺̃̑̆ͣͪ͆͑͋͑͒ͪͫͭ͗͒͝R̐̈́̂͞͡҉̦̭̖̬̮̜̞E̡ͯ̊ͦ͆̀̐͆ͤ͊̽ͯ̅̄̐͗̊͌̽̇͜͠҉͉̯̯͈͈͓̮̥̫̠͉̞̣̼͔ you!" he screeched, sending a shockwave through the air that knocked knocked items off their shelves and whipped her hair up into a tangled mess. "I wasn't good enough for you before, and now you want my help?"

She gibbered under the gaze of the incensed demon. "What? This is the first time I've summoned you!"

"Oh sure, just pretend like you don't even know me anymore! Hah, not like it's the first time you've ever done that!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I swear!"

He waved his hand dismissively. "Can it -- I've had enough. The deal's off, Mom!"

With that, he vanished, leaving behind a very confused summoner. He tessered to the Mystery Shack, to Mabel and Henry’s old room, and stood there fuming for a minute. Then, he pulled his arm back, balled his hand into a fist, and punched the wall so hard that a big chunk of it flew out into the woods.

His breaths gradually slowed, becoming longer and deeper, the better to draw unnecessary air into his fake lungs, because he enjoyed the taste of it -- enjoyed the game -- because it helped ground him and distract him from the fact that he was capable of punching through a wall at a moment’s notice. That -- he began to realize, as his thoughts slowed down too -- may not have been the best idea. At least no one had seen him lose his temper like that.

“Um.”

Alcor turned around so quickly that he may have skipped over the “turning” part entirely. Willow was standing in the hall, just outside the door to the room, holding a teapot in one hand and her inhaler in the other.

“Everything okay, Uncle Dipper?” she asked, sounding more concerned than nervous. She did not step into the room.

Alcor looked down. “Everything’s fine, now.” He grimaced. “But I’d love a cup of tea, if you’re offering.”

She shrugged. “Well, I guess I’m offering now.” Alcor started to move forward, and she wagged a finger at him. “If, that is, you fix the wall you just destroyed.”

He smiled weakly, and let his hand ignite into flame. “That’s the best offer I’ve heard all day. Deal.”

Willow shook his hand, and walked off toward the kitchen. Alcor started to follow, and then paused. He looked back at the hole he’d just punched in the wall and sucked in a deep breath.

That sure was a soul he’d never expected to see again. After all he’d been through, he thought she’d be smart enough to keep away. And yet she had the gall to summon him like nothing had ever happened. Like she’d done nothing wrong.

Like she wasn’t Anna Pines. Like she wasn’t his mother.

He snapped his fingers, and the hole in the wall fixed itself. He squeezed his eyes shut for a minute, and then headed off to the kitchen.

---

The circle was drawn. The candles were set. The sacrifice -- a can of Pitt Cola -- was ready. It was to be a flawless summoning.

The only problem was the unwilling demon.

“Mabel, are you sure this is a good idea?” Dipper asked.

“Yeah, bro-bro, it’ll be great!” Mabel replied in a singsong voice while fiddling with a book of matches. “You said it yourself, Mr. Knows-Everythingpants -- if we do this, then you can be physical for a bit!”

Dipper bit his fingernails -- nails that he couldn’t help but notice were getting longer every day and starting to look a little more like claws than human nails. “That’s not the problem.”

Mabel looked at her brother and rested a hand on her hip. “You’re worried about how they’re going to react?”

He nodded. “They’re our parents. What if they don’t… what if they’re scared of me?”

“Yeah, they are our parents, and that’s why I think it’s gonna go great! They think you’re dead, Dipdops -- they’re gonna be so happy to see that you’re still alive after all!”

Dipper frowned. “I don’t think it’s that easy -”

“Too bad!” Mabel chirped, cutting him off. Having lit the last candle, she pricked her finger and let a drop of blood fall into the circle. “Come on out!”

“Ack!” Dipper let out a squeak as the air twisted around him and he was yanked out of the Mindscape. He felt the atoms rushing around him -- actual, physical matter, collecting on his body and forming a tangible shell. Then he was deposited above the circle, only a few feet away from where he started, but now very much real.

He gaped, the sensations of reality overpowering him for a moment. “Oh my stars, it worked,” he breathed. “I’m actually here, I can feel the air around me, oh wow, I forgot how good this feels!” He let out a little cackle and stretched like he’d been cooped up in a box for weeks.

Mabel grinned. “And you dared to doubt me!” She jumped into the circle with him and gave him a massive hug.

“Mabel, stoppppp,” he whined playfully. “You can already hug me even when I’m not physical.”

“I got excited!” she said, giggling. “But I know a couple of people who can’t hug you normally! Come on, let’s go!” She tugged on his hand and tried to pull him out of the circle.

“Wait…”

“Nuh-uh, broski! You gotta do this, no weaseling out of it! How much time does that can of soda get you?”

He glanced at his wrist, as if he were wearing a watch. “Twenty minutes, I think. But…”

“That’s barely any time! If you’re going to have a heartfelt reunion with your parents, it’s gotta be now!”

He slumped. “Okay. I’ll… I’ll do it.”

She brightened, which was impressive given how excited she’d already appeared. “Yay! Let’s go, they’ll be so excited to see you!”

Dipper had his doubts, but he let himself be pulled from the circle. Mabel skipped out of the room, down the hall, and up to their parents’ closed bedroom door. She knocked three times on the door as Dipper started chewing his nails again.

“Mabel, is that you?” came a groggy-sounding voice from the room.

“Yeah, Mom!” she sang. “I know it’s late, but I’ve got someone here you should see!”

“Can it wait until the morning? Your father and I aren’t exactly prepared to meet anyone right now.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you already know him!” She opened the door and rushed in, pulling Dipper by the hand with her. “Tada!” she announced.

The room was dark, but for the light from the hallway, and the glow of Dipper’s eyes. “Mabel, sweetie,” replied the voice, “it’s 2am. You can show us your new stuffed animals in the morning.”

There was a click, and the lamp beside the bed switched on, revealing their parents. Their father still seemed to be asleep, but their mom was sitting up in bed, a nightmask resting on her forehead, sleepily rubbing her eyes. When she finished and finally took in the scene in front of her, her entire body froze up, every muscle screaming in obvious terror.

“Hi Mom,” Dipper offered nervously, giving a little wave.

Mabel, oblivious to her mother’s body language, beamed at him. “Here he is! In the flesh! Uhh, well, sort of…”

“Mabel?” their mother asked, voice shaking worse than an action figure in a blender. “Wh-wh-wh-what wh-what is that?”

Mabel frowned. “It’s Dipper! I told you he was still alive!”

“I know I look a little different,” Dipper started, “but…”

Their mom seemed to break past her paralysis, and started shaking her husband vigorously. “Mark. Mark! Wake up, wake up!”

“Yeah, this isn’t going well,” Dipper muttered under his breath. Mabel glared at him.

“What is it, Anna?” their father asked. He opened his eyes, took in the sight in front of him, and then jumped about a foot into the air. “Demon!” he yelled. “There’s a demon in here!”

“Dad, it’s just Dipper, calm down!” Mabel yelled back. “I told you he was a demon now!”

Their father grabbed his phone off the bedside table and started pawing frantically at it. “What do we do, Anna? There’s a demon in here! What do we do what do we do what do we do -”

“Quit gibbering, Mark!” their mother spat. “They feed on fear!”

“Mom, Dad, please, I’m not going to hurt you…” Dipper said lamely.

Their father turned sheet white. His mouth flapped open and shut wordlessly, and then he managed to croak, “Dipper?”

Mabel glanced at her brother, grinning again. “Yes! It’s him!”

“No, it’s not!” their mother yelled. “Stop it, Mabel, and -- Mark, will you quit it!”

“I can’t,” he moaned, “that- that’s the demon that killed Dipper, and it’s here to get the rest of us, I knew this was going to happen!”

Their mother glared daggers at him, and then gestured frantically at Mabel. “Get over here now,” she ordered. “Get away from it!”

Dipper shivered -- despite the fact that he was a demon now, his mother’s angry voice still intimidated him. “I- I can explain everything, I promise!”

“It’s lying, Mabel -- do as I say and get over here!”

Mabel half turned to Dipper, looking as shocked as if she’d seen a flying saucer. “Dipper, I didn’t think they’d act like this, I…”

She let out a squeak as her mother wrapped her arms around her stomach and yanked her backwards. “There you go, sweetheart, thank the stars I’ve got you away from that monster!”

“Let go of me!” Mabel shrieked. She tried to squirm her way out of her mother’s grasp, but it was too strong. “Dipper!”

“Mabel!” Dipper cried. He shot forward, and -

There was a popping noise, and the summons expired.

Dipper was still in his parents’ room, but he could tell by the sudden lack of sensation that he was no longer corporeal, and that once again only Mabel could see him. He watched his parents’ faces twist from fear and anger into utter relief; watched how they held Mabel close and said how worried they’d been; watched Mabel’s apologetic look as she glanced back at him.

It didn’t matter. He knew it would happen. There was nothing he could’ve said to make that first meeting go better. He floated through the wall to his bedroom, collapsed above his bed, and let the little yellow tears on his pillow speak for themselves.

(AO3 link)

#gravity falls #transcendence au #dipper pines #alcor the dreambender #anna pines #willow pines #mabel pines #mark pines #reincarnation #ficathon #my stuff #fic #long post

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