#i think the real problem is that i didn't cook the filling enough so you can still taste the tapioca starch from the roux

[grunge-mermaid]

there is no flavour combination more comfortingly autumnal that apple + bacon + sharp cheddar (bonus points if you add chicken and/or dijon mustard) but apparently mashed potato destroys it

[boltwrites]

NEED to know what happens when logan meets your parents for the first time - does he flirt w/ your mom? What do they think about the age gap? Does your dad like him or is he all "nobody's good enough for my princess😤" do they know you're mutants? Giving you full creative freedom to do as you please just give it to me 😭😭

A/N: ok, so since you've given me creative freedom, we have: 20s-ish mutant fem!reader who teaches at the mansion on 10005, old man worst wolverine!logan, the two of you met after the events of dp3 and the relationship progressed from there.

also. this shit has been giving me so many problems. i was really trying to write typical white-picket fence, suburban sitcom-style parents, but honestly? i don't know dick about those type of parents. so you get these assholes instead.

this may actually be one of the worst things i've ever written. i might add a part two at some point, but really i just think this is horrible and want it out of my sight lmao. so here you go.

Your palms were sweaty, your heart racing, as you reached for the doorknob to your childhood home, Logan standing to your side. The last time you'd brought a boy home (and he had been a boy) things hadn't ended well.

Your dad was a traditionalist, you see, and your mom - well, she wasn't one to judge your choices, but you could tell that sometimes when you told her about your love interests, she was holding in laughter. But your dad - he was very vocal about the expectations he had for your partners. He'd never treated you like some kind of princess or prize - oh no. he was a man who saw his children as students of his own knowledge. No matter what your gender, he had taught you how to trim a tree, change a tire, wire a light switch, cook a filling meal - the basics of owning a home and keeping it put together.

Because of that, your parents hadn't often approved of your previous boyfriends. In high school, you'd been too frightened to bring them home. You'd only attended a traditional public school for your freshman year, and the rest of your time spent at Xavier's you'd been far too worried about your dates accidentally exposing themselves as mutants to justify introducing them to your parents. They weren't anti-mutant, per-say... but they certainly weren't supportive, and you didn't want to put even your prom date through that.

As you grew older (graduated college, was hired on as a teacher at the mansion instead of a simple student), you came to understand the reasons why your parents were so discerning as to your choice in men. Your mother's stoic judgment wasn't meant to be mean - she just wanted you to choose a man for more than just superficial attraction, to think of the bigger picture. Which, you'd been blissfully unaware of, as a teen. Your father's traditionalism wasn't rooted in outdated gender norms - it was simply connected to the fact that he wanted your partner to be able to support both you and your household in a significant way. That's why he was always harping on picking a "real man" - not some newfound conservative bullshit, but the simple understanding that sometimes men tried to do the bare minimum, and that he knew you deserved so much more.

And Logan, well. He could certainly support you. He was unlike any man you'd ever dated. He didn't have any social media you had to worry about - no feed or "for you" page filled with scantily clad women and sexist messaging disguised as finance advice - only a stupid flip phone he refused to text you on. He was helpful, attentive, affectionate - even despite the trauma you'd both experienced as mutants. You understood that his struggled has affected him far more than your had, that he still needed to heal - and even though that strained your relationship at times, you knew he cared, knew he tried - so you fought for it. That was something you couldn't say about your previous boyfriends.

Plus, you knew he could handle your weirdass parents.

"Nervous?" He'd asked you, when you asked him if he wanted to meet your parents. You'd given him a side-eyed look as you posed the concept, like you were giving him an out to decline.

"I mean, kind of?" You responded, hesitant. All he did was chuckle, smirking at you.

"What, am I gonna pull up to your dad cleaning his shotgun in the garage?"

"Honestly? Maybe, but that's not what I'm worried about," you admitted, fidgeting. "It's... it's hard to explain. I guess the closest thing is that they're - funny? Like - they'll make fun of you. My dad - he makes all of these horrible inappropriate jokes, like, all the time, and my mom is just really sarcastic, and she seems super judgmental because of it, but really, she's just being funny."

Logan just looked at you, one eyebrow raised. "

What?" You asked. You'd expected more from him. But he just snorted.

"Babe, I've been stuck in the void with Wade-fucking-Wilson. I'm not scared of your parents."

So, you took a breath, offered Logan one last "brace yourself-" and pushed open the door. Immediately you were met with the smell of something cooking - you recognized it immediately as one of your dad's signature dishes, sizzling on the stove.

"Hey, we're here!" You called out, you tried to usher Logan in and up the stairs of your split-level, but he insisted on closing the door behind you - and the shitty screen door that had been around since before you were born made a horrible shaking, scraping metal sound as it bounced along the concrete of your porch. Ah, the sound of home.

"Hey, you!" Your dad called, poking his head out of the kitchen. "What're you- hey, ho! Who's this?" He gestured to Logan with the spatula in his hand, and your face immediately reddened.

"Dad, this is Logan."

"Hey," Logan nodded in greeting, and your dad made a little shocked noise.

"Logan? Who's Logan?"

"Jesus Christ-" you huffed it under your breath, and Logan tried to stifle a chuckle. "He's my boyfriend, remember?"

"Boyfriend?" Your dad's voice pitched higher. "That motherfucker looks older than me!"

Well. There was your dad getting right to the point, as per usual.

"I am," Logan replied, and you fucking elbowed him in the ribs.

"No mutant shit - they don't know," you hissed a reminder, and he rolled his eyes.

"Hey - you see this guy, Nikki?" Your dad called to the dining room.

Your mom sighed - unlike your dad, she had some kind of decorum, and had the decency to shoot him daggers before she met you and Logan at the top of the steps.

"It's nice to meet you, Logan," she greeted him - you could tell that she was fighting the all consuming urge to shoot you a look or make a joke about this whole thing. She was trying so hard. It was like that scene in Who Framed Roger Rabbit with the shave and a haircut song.

"Would you like something to drink?" she asked. "Since you're clearly old enough-"

It was like some demon forced her to spit out that line. You snorted, had to shake your head. This was a mistake.

"What do you have?" Logan asked instead, wrapping an arm around your shoulders, smirking at the whole situation. It was like he lived to see you embarrassed.

"Water, coke, iced tea -" she listed off.

"My dad's shitty beer," you added, and Logan's brow raised.

"Hey! Busch is good beer!"

"No the fuck it is not," you replied, because he didn't even drink the light stuff.

"I don't care, I'll take the beer," Logan cut in, and your dad wagged a finger at him.

"Yeah! I'll get you one - it's good shit, man. Somebody watch the stove."

Oh good lord. There he goes. Logan shot you a look - lip quirked into a little smile, before your dad clapped him on the shoulder and hauled him towards the stairs.

That just left you. And your mom.

She looked at you. You looked at her.

"Well?" you asked, stepping up to take your dad's place at the stove to watch the food. Your mom shrugged in response.

"Well, what?"

"Aren't you going to ask me about him - make some weird comment about his age? I mean - now would be the time," you hedged. You just hated this weird aura surrounding you all. How it felt like she had so many questions to ask, but was holding them all back.

"Obviously I can tell he's old," your mom replied. "It's not really a discussion. Is there something we do need to talk about?"

You knew what she meant. Were you safe with him? Were you happy? Did you bring him here to meet them because you needed help, not because you wanted to share your happiness with them?

Some people might find that sort of implication unthinkable, or rude to address - but you knew your mom. She watched a lot of true crime. She just cared about you.

"No," you replied, with a sigh. "I-I really like him. He's a good man. He actually - he knows how to be a man, if you know what I mean. How to take care of himself. I don't know - I didn't realize how important that was until I met him."

You mom nodded. Her arms were crossed, and she wore her typical resting bitch face, but you could tell she understood what you meant.

"Well. Hopefully your father doesn't shoot him."

[my-great-big-book-of-fan-fiction]

Gojo satoru x F!reader fic in which you and Megumi interact after his "adoption"

You guys I know Gojo's more like a mentor to Megumi in cannon, but pls pls pls just let me have this, I'll give you good vibes for a week if you do 😭 Also, Satoru is more like a side character in this one, sorry babes.

Warnings: Slight innuendo, some cursing, good feels

The walk home with Gojo was...interesting. No, scratch that. Annoying. Megumi could do nothing but listen to him talk and talk and talk, to the point that he wished he was getting sold to the Zenin clan.

"Man, you're boring for a 1st grader, huh? What are you, like 8?"

"I'm 6."

"Rightttt....most serious 6-year old I've ever met."

coming from him? Megumi liked that. Whoever Gojo found entertaining had to be crazy.

"You know, my usagi-chan is gonna looove to meet you,"

"Usagi-chan?" He stretched out the pet name, a confused and judgmental tone in his voice. What kind of parent names their kid "little bunny"?

Gojo beamed, holding his hand out and counting on his fingers all the things he liked about you. "Oh yeah, She's great! She's smart, and funny, and she's a great cook, and a really strong sorcerer, and..."

Megumi tuned him out. It was bad enough, dealing with this guy, now there were going to be two of you? He dreaded what the rest of his life would look like.

Gojo was still talking as they walked up the final steps to Jujitsu tech, making their way to the dormitories, only shutting up for a moment when he opened the door to Megumi's new room.

You were there, setting a bouquet of carnations in a vase and angling it perfectly on Megumi's new night stand. The second you realized they arrived, you nervously turned around and smiled sweetly. "Hi! You must be Toj- uh, Megumi Fushiguro!"

"Toji's son" sounded a little demeaning to you.

Megumi nodded, seeming to be examining your face, trying to get a read on you. "I'm (y/n), It's great to meet you...I was going to make lunch, but then I realized I don't even know what you like...so how about when you're settled you can tell me what you like and I'll make it for dinner?" So Usagi-chan wasn't your real name...

"Can you even cook," Megumi asked, the first thing he's ever said to you, his little voice mature sounding for a kid his age.

You giggled, his bluntness making you relax a little at how amusing it was. "Well, he thinks I can," you laughed, pointing at Gojo, who has now made his way over to be next to you, "But he thinks I'm good at everything, so how about you try it and find out?"

Megumi hesitantly nodded, satisfied with your answer, and plops his backpack on the ground. He's decided he likes you.

You made pork gyoza for him that night, some of the best gyoza he's ever had, yet to be matched in his mind. As time went on, Megumi came to realize that you and Gojo filled entirely different roles. While Satoru lived in the dorm right next to Megumi's, Megumi saw a lot more of you than him, even though you worked at the Kyoto sister school.

You came over every day, eating dinner with him and shoveling big portions on his plate because he was "a growing boy", helping him with his homework, listening to his problems, attending his elementary and middle school graduations. At first, Gojo really only interacted with him to train every weekend, to bring him up to his level, but as you took a more parental role, so did he.

Of course, neither of you wanted to be called mom or dad, and Megumi didn't want that either, so he just called you by either your names or "sensei" when being educated. That said, you and Satoru always joked with each other about being teen parents, lamenting the fact that you "got the kid without any of the fun." The very implication of you two doing that always made Megumi gag.

Speaking of that, having the talk with him was surprisingly easy for you and Satoru, disgustingly easy in Megumi's 12 year old eyes, and although at the time he never intended on putting the information to use, it was still good to have.

You were always patient with him, staying gentle during his angsty middle school years, and eventually helping him train even more once he entered high school. You even insisted he danced with you at your wedding, stating that you needed "at least one dance with a gentleman."

All of this said, none of the other first years in the Tokyo school even knew of your existence until the good will event. You showed up with your students, The first person you greeted being Maki. Despite being Mai's teacher, Maki loved you. You were just so...bubbly.

"Maki! Ugh, it's been forever since I've seen you," you squeal, bringing her into a tight hug. You greet Toge and Panda respectively, Before rushing over to your now husband and dramatically swooning into his arms. "Oh, Satoru," You sigh, the back of your hand resting delicately on your forehead. "Ah, Usagi-chan, How I've missed you in the time we've been apart," he sighed, holding you by your waist and the nape of your neck. The sight was completely cringe-worthy, but it was funny to you two and that was all that mattered.

The two of you kissed, much to the confusion of Nobara and Yuji. You opened your eyes, peaking at their faces, and quickly sprung out of the arms of your beloved husband.

"You never told me how adorable your first years are," You giggled, taking Itadori's face in your hand and examining it. You didn't release him as you turned back to Gojo, calling out, "This is the vessel, right?" Satoru nodded, saying, "That's him," proudly. Yuji finally spoke up while Nobara laughed at the sight, asking, "Uhhhh...who are you?"

You pulled back, posing a little and responding with, "I'm (Y/n) (L/n), Satoru's wife!" You never took his last name, seeing as just being connected to the Gojo clan made you a bigger target than you already were. Nobara and Itadori's eyes lit up, both of them shouting, "Tell us everything!"

You would have been happy to, but you saw Megumi out of the corner of your eye. "Ah, Megumi!" You zoomed over, hugging him so tightly his bones might crack. "I've been meaning to ask, what do you want for dinners this week?"

Nobara and itadori got even more excited, you being the best source of information on their closed off friend and surprisingly mysterious teacher.

"I don't care..." Megumi sighed, blushing a little at how open you were about all this. "Maybe Gyoza," he muttered.

Ok, you could be a little annoying sometimes, but that's how all mothers caregivers were. He wasn't mad, even when you invited Itadori and Nobara over for dinner after the event, or spilled all of the details (except for the ones not even Megumi knows) about your life with Megumi and Satoru. He was ok with this, albeit a little peeved, because at the end of the day you cared for him in a way he never would have imagined being cared for.

Life didn't turn out to be so bad after all.

I absolutely loved writing this, it's been on my mind for a while now! As always, let me know what you think :)

[catierambles]

She was waiting for him in his room when he got back to it, boots up on a chair, two plates of food on the small weathered table in front of her.

"About time." She said, "Dinner's almost cold."

"Well, doll, if I had known it was waitin' I would hauled back here sooner." He said with a small smile, sitting across from her and looking down at the meal. It was a white meat that he didn't recognize, along with rice and local vegetables. "You make this?" She just nodded, "Whatcha make?"

"Try it first and I'll tell you." She said and he gave her a suspicious look. "It's not poisoned or anything, but I want you to eat some it before I tell you what it is."

"Okay." He said and grabbed a piece of flat bread from a plate off to the side, loading up some of the meat, rice, and veggies into a pseudo-taco before taking a bite. The smokey flavor of the meat filled his mouth instantly. It was a bit gamey, but had the same taste and texture as smoked fish.

"Well?" She asked once he had swallowed the bite.

"It's good." He said, "Real good. Now you wanna tell me what it is?"

"Sandworm." She said and he choked slightly. "Easy, there."

"It's what?" He asked.

"Sandworm." She said again simply, following his example and folding some into a piece of bread along with the sides.

"How the hell you'd kill one of those things?!" He asked incredulously.

"Turns out your entertainment industry produced a series of movies featuring animals very close to them." She said, "I took inspiration from one of the characters."

"Okay?"

"I used explosives." She said with a shrug.

"Is that what that was a few days back?"

"Yeah, the meat has to be heavily smoked for several days before it's edible." She said and he huffed before giving a shrug of his own and digging back into his food. "Gave the surplus to some of the locals when it was done. They were very appreciative and supplied the rice and vegetables."

"Well, shit. Alright then." He said, "Where'd you learn how to cook it?"

"I spent a few months in a desert very similar to this one some years back." She said, "Sandworm was a part of the indigenous peoples diet. They taught me. They were everywhere along with really big lizards."

"How big we talkin'?"

"Big enough to be used to get around." She said and he blinked at her.

"To ride like a horse." He clarified and she nodded.

"I have one back home. It was a gift from the locals."

"How'd you swing that?"

"By befriending and gaining the trust of a local faction."

"And how'd you swing that?"

"By wiping out the leaders of an opposing faction that was kidnapping and conscripting locals." She said, "The drakes are traditionally only ridden by their strongest warriors. I was given one once I took out the hostile leadership in honor."

"You do that a lot?" He asked, "Help out locals."

"I like making myself useful." She said with a shrug.

"Well, you definitely are here, ain't gonna argue that." He said. They talked a bit more as they ate and she told him of the other indigenous peoples she helped from time to time. It wasn't all fighting. One needed help gathering materials to restore a historical site, another needed supplies to organize and plan a traditional festival. When he was finished, he sat back in his chair, hands on his stomach. "That was good. Thank you, sugar."

"No problem." She said.

"Ask you somethin'."

"Ask away."

"You seein' anyone back home?" He asked and she blinked at him slowly for a moment. "Like romantically."

"I know what you meant." She said, "No, I'm not. I don't get that luxury."

"What do ya mean?"

"Seth, you know what I am, what I can do. Do you really think I can just have a normal life? Settle down?"

"Yeah, I do." Sy said, "You done some shit, you been through some shit. Don't mean you don't get to have a little slice'a normal."

"Are you volunteering?"

"Sweetheart, you scare the piss out of me sometimes, but I kinda like that. So yeah, I am." He said, "If you'll have me."

"Let me think about it." She said, "Nothing against you, I just need to...sort things out first when it comes to all that."

"I gotcha. I'll be here. Ain't got anywhere else to be."

[anyasathenaeum]

YAY YAY YAY ITS OPEN AGAIN! Ok so I really really want a part 2 of Vash and his spouse visiting Lina and Sheryl. Maybe they even have a celebration similar to the one Lina suggested? It was so cute and I really want some more! They're such a cute family!

In The End (Part 2)

A/N: Hiiiiii Anon, omg yes! I'm happy to write this for you, I really loved writing the initial fic so here is a part 2! I absolutely love being able to write Vash being granted some peace and surrounded by lots of love :D

Warnings: Potential spoilers for episode 12 of Trigun Stampede, potential spoilers for episode 18 of Trigun, the author taking liberties

"(Y/N), Eri-I mean, Vash, please tell us everything that's happened since you've both left!"

Grandma Sheryl's movements were much slower than they had been the last time you'd seen her, but the old woman was still as sharp as ever. She sat down in her favourite chair, across from yourself and Vash, over the dinner table where you all had shared many a meal.

"Well..."

You and Vash exchanged glances as you both filled Grandma Sheryl and Lina in on your adventures and everything that had happened in the years since they had seen you last.

"And once it was all over, I finally decided I'd been an idiot for long enough and convinced (Y/N) to marry me," Vash finished with a smile, his loving gaze trained on you.

Despite having been married for some time, you still felt your cheeks redden as you smiled at your husband - you couldn't believe Vash had married you to this day. You might've dreamed of marrying Vash before, but for it to have actually happened amazed and dumbfounded you every day since.

"Didn't take much convincing," You admitted sheepishly as Grandma Sheryl and Lina both cooed over the news of your marriage.

"Oh, dears, that's absolutely wonderful! Lina and I both wondered how long it would take the two of you to see sense and realize you were perfect for one another," Grandma Sheryl exclaimed, smiling knowingly between you and Vash.

Both you and Vash felt your faces turn dark red, and you both realized just how blind the two of you had been for years if even Grandma Sheryl and Lina saw the signs of your feelings for one another.

"I'm just mad the two of you got married and didn't think to invite us! And I can't believe you never told us your real name, Vash!" Lina pouted, glaring at the two of you in turn.

"I had to keep my name secret, Lina, for my own safety. And we didn't invite anybody. We didn't have time. We didn't even have a wedding. It was just (Y/N) and I, the judge who married us and the secretary as a witness," Vash explained, his tone gentle as he spoke to her.

"Well, you'll have your wedding celebration here, then, so Grandma Sheryl and I and other townsfolk can attend!" Lina proclaimed, placing her hands on her hips and grinning widely, "Problem solved, and I might even consider forgiving you both!"

This caused you to burst into laughter. Lina was still as feisty as you remembered her being, if not more so now that she was older.

You could see Vash smiling happily at Lina's suggestion, and as the two of you made eye contact, you came to an unspoken agreement - you would have a celebration that both Lina and Grandma Sheryl could attend. They were the closest thing that you and Vash had to family, and if the two of you could make them happy by letting them celebrate with you, then you were doing it, no questions asked.

"Alright, it's a deal," Vash conceded, pulling Lina into a hug and ruffling her hair playfully, "You better help us plan and set everything up, though!"

Sure enough, Lina was happily involved in preparing your celebration with you and Vash over the next couple days, running around and decorating the house with different coloured streamers and flowers and other beautiful things while Grandma Sheryl cooked food for those coming to celebrate. You did your best to help Grandma Sheryl prepare everything, ensuring the old woman didn't keel over trying to make everything by herself.

Soon, before you knew it, the day of the celebration arrived. You found yourself waking early to the sound of Lina banging on your door, shouting something about how you "had to get ready this instant or you'll be late!". Before you knew it, you were surrounded by familiar people fussing and fiddling with your hair and your clothes and everything, getting you ready for your wedding.

"You guys do know I'm already married, right?" You teased your helpers, and they all laughed but continued their work.

When you looked in the mirror, the creature looking back at you was resplendent - truly, a thing of beauty. It moved when you did, and you couldn't bring yourself to believe that that magnificent creature was you.

"Oh, (Y/N)!" Lina cried, coming up behind you to gaze in the mirror, "You look amazing!"

"Thank you, Lina," You replied, hugging her gently to your side as she embraced you back, "Thank you for all you've done, for celebrating with Vash and I. I love you."

"I love you, too, (Y/N)," Lina answered, burrowing into your arms - despite being more grown up, she seemed so young. "Now, let's go! Or you'll be late!"

Before you could make sense of what was happening, you found yourself outside Grandma Sheryl and Lina's house, walking down a makeshift aisle towards the man who had been your husband for a couple years already.

Vash looked handsome as ever, in a suit that was simple but fit him well regardless. He looked like a demigod among mortals, his blonde hair swept back and his eyes shinning as he looked at you. Vash positively glowed seeing you walk towards him, done up and smiling at him with more love than he'd ever seen. He couldn't stop the tears welling up in his eyes as you approached him, looking like an angel, walking slowly but gracefully.

"Hi," Vash whispered to you, his blue eyes welling with tears of joy. He looked at you as if you hung the stars in the sky, as if you were his everything. Because you were. You were Vash's everything, and he would protect you from all the bad things in the world until the end of his days.

"Hi," You whispered back to him, smiling widely as Vash took your hand in his.

You stood together before the officiant, a kind old man from the town, who asked you both to recite your vows to one another. You and Vash both kept it short and sweet, given you had exchanged your more profound vows the day you'd first gotten married, and sealed your "new" union with a passionate kiss.

You could hear cheering from Lina, Sheryl and other townsfolk as you kissed Vash, and the two of you blushed bright pink as you smiled at the small group of people celebrating with you both.

"I love you, (Y/N)," Vash whispered to you as he kissed the back of your hand, "So, so much."

"I love you, too, Vash," You answered, reaching over to kiss Vash's cheek as the two of you walked back down the makeshift aisle.

The rest of the evening was spent among friends, laughing and drinking and eating, everybody happy to celebrate your and Vash's love for one another. By the end of the evening, you and Vash snuck outside for a moment with each other, just the two of you.

"Well, it seems now, at least by Lina's standards, we are officially married," You spoke softly to your husband, who laughed at your comment, his head resting on your shoulder as he hugged from behind.

"It seems so," Vash agreed, kissing the side of your head gently, "We're now Lina-approved."

"The highest honour," You chuckled, snuggling back into your husband's embrace, "So, what do we do now?"

Vash fell silent as he thought to himself for a couple moments, clearly trying to piece together your next steps.

"We live, (Y/N). You and I, together. We live."

[grassbreads]

im curious, whats your favorite longfic??

Oh my god anon you are enabling me so hard right now. Are we sure you're not some deep splintered section of my subconscious that split off just for the sake of sending me this ask?

Anyway, my favorite fanfiction is a Homestuck fic by oxfordroulette called Vanitas Vanitatum. This mildly pornographic novel-length fantasy au dirkjohn fic is genuinely, independent of actual Homestuck, one of my all time favorite written stories.

Vanitas Vanitatum is the third fic in a long series, but it's technically a standalone. The first fic in the series is a jadekat fantasy road trip adventure, the second one is about jadekat getting dragged into a bunch of mysterious royal intrigue at Jade's arranged marriage to Eridan, and Vanitas Vanitatum is about the aftermath of that intrigue. John Egbert ascends to the throne of their country after the death of his and Jade's evil mother in the previous fic, and he's totally fine guys! He's definitely absolutely having zero mental health troubles!

Dirk, our pov character, enters as a new member of John's secret police. He slowly befriends his new king/boss and, in doing so, begins to discover the extent to which John is totally definitely okay! He's fine Dirk so you can stop asking! And because he's Dirk Strider, when he discovers how John is struggling, he immediately wants to Fix Him. Enter a twisted mess of genuinely falling in love and horrible shadowy puppet master schemes.

Vanitas Vanitatum is the ultimate "I can fix him" romance. It is an "I can fix him" romance to the extent that Dirk's desire to "fix" John becomes one of the fic's main conflicts—in addition to John's genuine mental health crisis and the political crisis that's happening around them. If you know anything about my taste in fiction, you're probably looking at "dark fantasy story about a guy trying to unravel and understand his crush's mental health problems" and going "okay yeah. I see why Andie is obsessed with this."

If you're a Homestuck fan, even if you're not usually a DirkJohn person, I cannot recommend Vanitas Vanitatum highly enough. It's well-written, it's funny, it's heartwarming, and it's absolutely heartbreaking. The plot is twisty and, especially if you've read the rest of the series, absolutely filled with delicious dramatic irony. The way oxfordroulette writes Dirk's pov is an absolute treat. And while the fic is fairly nsfw (there's only three actual sex scenes if I remember right, but lot of discussion and thinking about sex in the interim), the real porn in this fic is the food and costume porn. The author knows what the people want, and it's decadent food descriptions and crazy fantasy royalty outfits. It's also illustrated!

Honestly, if the fic didn't require an understanding of troll romance quadrants to make any goddamn sense, I'd be recommending it to non Homestuck fans as well. It's just a really good story.

Here's the official summary:

You've determined the hobbies of the monarch you serve are as follows: 1. Ill-timed pranks. 2. Cooking. 3. Subconsciously pulling elaborate political schemes off perfectly, ad infinitum, every one of which inches his mind closer to some ineffable dark chasm you're curious to find the depth of. Anyway, he makes damn good lasagna.

Read it here :)

[hylias-library]

Twilight x Reader

Because he's my favorite and I'm biased and I said so

[Navigation]

"Alright, we're gonna stock up here and then keep heading south."

A collective groan went through the group. You hadn’t been able to sleep in a normal bed for what felt like ages. And Time's words only stretched that fact longer than it needed to be.

"Do we have a problem?"

"Nooooooo."

Time nodded in satisfaction while you got yourself ready to get food alongside Twilight, Legend and Wild.

Soon enough, you strolled down the streets, looking at the various stalls displaying meat, vegetables, fruit, and lots more.

"What should we get?" You asked Wild. He was the main cook, so his decision was final on the items you bought.

"We could use some meat, actually. And definitely milk, butter, and salt."

Legend and Twilight nodded along while Wild listed a few more things.

He turned to you. "We should split up and meet here again after we've got everything. I'll go with Legend to get the meat and salt. See ya later."

"W-wait!" You stumbled over your words with an embarrassed expression. That traitor. Wild knew about the huge crush you had on Twilight. You could strangle him for this stunt.

"Should we go?"

You blinked, and your eyes found Twilight, smiling at you. Blowing air out of your nose you nodded, smiling back, hiding a small blush. "Sure."

Even though you were more than nervous to be alone with the handsome hero, walking around with Twilight was calm and quiet.

A stark contrast to the chaos that always seemed present in the Chain as a whole.

It was nice for a change, and Twilight seemed to be in a good mood today, which was contagious, making you grin.

"You seem happy today. Any reason?" You glanced over at him.

"No. Just in a good mood." He paused a few seconds, looking at you. "You seem happier than normal as well. Do you have any reason?"

You shrugged, followed by an amused giggle. He didn't need to know it was him making you this giddy.

"No. Same as you I guess."

He nodded along, ears slightly tinted pink. "I like your smile. It's really pretty."

You almost stumbled. That was a compliment you didn't expect, but welcomed. A blush already creeping up your neck again.

Twilight stopped in front of a stall, displaying diary products. He glanced over at you, who was already pointing at a few bottles of milk and some packages of butter. The merchant happily nodding along to your order.

The green clad hero soon joined you, looking over your shoulder at the amount of items you got. It seemed like that would last you at least until you reached the next town.

"Anything else for the lady?" The merchant asked and eyed Twilight, who now stood behind you, putting a hand on your back.

"We could get some cheese as well?"

You nodded, your lips lifting yet again. "Good thought. I think we're running low on that, too. Thanks, Twi."

Now you were a few rupees poorer, but you had everything you needed.

"Your partner is a real catch, you know that, young man?" It was the merchant, smiling at Twilight gently.

After actually processing what he said, you looked at each other in shock.

"W-we're not."

"We're just-"

Twilight came to his senses first, nervously ruffling the back of his head, while you still stared at the vendor with wide eyes. "W-we're not in a relationship."

The salesman apologized. "I didn't know." He looked you up and down, then gave Twilight a onceover. "You'd make a nice couple though."

You, finally able to move your body again, thanked him and dragged Twilight away. Both of you with ears, the color of ripe apples.

"That was awkward." You mumbled.

"Tell me about it."

Relief filled you when you spotted Wild and Legend already waiting at the meeting point. The whole walk back, you and Twilight kept glancing at each other, instantly darting away your gazes when they met.

"There you are. What took you so long?" Legend looked at you two. "What happened? Did you guys run all the way here? You're both red in the face."

You glanced away from Twilight in mild panick, eyes directed to the ground, chewing on the inside of your cheek. "Let’s just go back. Time's probably already waiting for us."

With that, you darted away, Twilight hot on your heels while Legend and Wild exchanged confused glances, following with a shrug of their shoulders.

Having been busy running away from your internal problems, you didn’t notice a hole in the road, filled with mud.

And promptly, you slipped with a yelp, falling backwards, already prepared for the impact that never came.

You landed softly. In Twilights' arms. He had caught you just in time.

Now you were half laying, half standing in your crush's arms, your hands on his shoulders, his underneath your shoulderblades, and on your hip.

It almost looked like he had dipped you in a dance.

Staring wide-eyed at each other, neither one of you moved. Too busy drowning in each other's eyes until Legend's voice made both of your faces match his tunic.

"So... When's the wedding?"

Twilight almost let you fall, Wild and Legend snickering in the background.

Ignoring Legend and Wild, you let Twilight help you back up. Nervously wiping your hands dry on your pants.

"Thank you for catching me."

Twilight smiled, scratching the back of his head again. You found it to be very endearing. "Don't mention it."

He nodded forward, a silent question you answered with a nod, taking off toward where Time and the rest of the Chain was waiting. Leaving Wild and Legend behind. They followed with a sulky shout of "Wait for us!"

You giggled, eyeing Twilight again.

He looked back with an amused huff. "Hm?"

Crossing your hands behind your back, you gently bumped your hip into Twilights, your blush getting a few shades darker than before.

"I guess I fell for you."

[rielzero]

Hiii, let's see! This one is for Locke

(I guess this first one is dumb because, comic but)

-Does he have a specific story quest and can it end differently given the circumstances and choices?

TW: ED

-I know he has an ed(me too but shhh) how does that manifest throught the story, does he feel comfortable sharing info about it with the rest of the party or is he more guarded with sharing about it?

-And as a bonus question, how does he reacts/thinks about Astarion Ascending?

Thank youuuuu💫

I was originally going to answer these with drawings, but both questions require me to spoiler massively for his story, stuff you will eventually see pop up in the comic in some form.

So yes, MASSIVE Spoiler warnings for Locke under the ''read more'' You've been warned. TW: ED, gore, implied child abuse, suicidal ideation, illness

Locke's personal quest is a bit complicated because it keeps devolving from simple things to bigger issues, but he's actually hiding the fact that he's terminally ill as the result of a mix of problems with things being wrong in his body. The first being: Locke is a cannibal. He has suppressed this side of him since early adulthood by trying to get his body to consume normal food, but even if he's managed to somehow survive doing this for 8 years it has severely impacted his health. While he was consuming the flesh of other beings, he didn't do so willingly, nor was he healthy. He was forced to do this since he was a very small child. Everything tastes putrid to him, and even if its the only meat his body will digest without issue, He was doomed by it from the start.

If Locke was an ingame companion, the goblin camp dwarf meat will trigger a ! above his head. This is were you get a first real route marker for him, as it will severely impact his mental state when you progress towards act 2. An alternative trigger location would be any place that has a lot of gore and bodies. (like the gnoll's victims.)

If you succeed an insight check, the narrator would say the following:

The half elf appears troubled, but not by the sight of the roast, it's the smell. The corner of his mouth is involuntarily twitching. His eyes say it all, He wants to leave. He has to leave. Now.

If you succeed a high persuasion check to convince him to talk, he'll note that he will only talk about it during a long rest. Afterwards you need to persuade him again before he feels safe enough to drop the bomb that he was, or used to be a cannibal, including some more info notes about his horrible childhood in the sewers. Dialogue options would allow you to judge him, but also answer neutrally, or suggest that he should've fed from your enemies.

Locke will respond incredibly negative when you suggest he'd start eating his fill, he will not tell the player that it won't change much, and avoid mentioning that he is ill.

Coercing him into eating humanoid meat with intimidation/persuasion is where his main route splits in two, causing act 2 Locke to behave differently. He will behave more erratic, and begins spiraling, he has unique reactions to the act 2 bosses when they unalive themselves, he's putting up a tough front, and you will eventually have to talk him down from the ledge.

If you do not coerce him, instead ask him how he's been dealing with the situation, he will be more emotionally available and open about his past bit by bit.

Of course these two routes would have side effects, since he has insomnia, he can only short rest in the beginning of act 1, so a long rest has the potential of him waking up with his warlock slots but not full health. Coercing him into going back to his cannibalism will allow him to long rest earlier, but it will be harder to persuade him to talk about his story as his mental health declines. It also soft locks you out of romance if you keep pushing him too much.

IF you support Locke in his battle with his ED, he'll tell you about the amount of things he's tried, what kinds of techniques he's cooked, or types of meat, in hopes of getting his stomach to be normal. He'll even tell you about how his patron tortures him by transplanting the memory of flavors into his mind on a whim, flavors he can't taste. He'll rest easier knowing you don't judge him for his past, or allow him to manage his ED on his own pace.

When he opens up, he'll sound friendlier, even joking about his experiences sometimes.

2. Locke's survival is dependent on Astarion's ascension. I don't think he can coexist in the narrative if someone else romancing Astarion. By act 3, Locke encounters an npc relevant to his backstory that will cause his shaky health to rapidly decline, and the only way to safe him is to become a vampire.

This is why he wouldn't work as a canon companion, because I don't have alternatives for him, so you should think of the player being either an Astarion or Gale origin, or companions are actively romancing each other.

Locke is supportive of ascension, he is pragmatic. Letting loose 7000 vampire spawn while the Absolute crisis is going down sounds like you're just eager to end the world. He will die at some point after the ritual if Astarion does not ascend. I can picture there being an unique cutscene for this. If the absolute is beaten before a long rest, then he will drown in the water and the companions will have to fish his body out. Withers cannot bring him back because his body is the problem, not his soul.

Anyway I'm not a game dev so it ain't perfect :P

[xfulmen]

did laxus try several things to finding a hobby? like is he good at any hobbies outside of being a bad ass in combat?

In all honesty, Laxus didn't really get the chance to engage in various activities in order to find his preferential ones. Due to the fact that he didn't have a good childhood all because of the implantation of the lacrima in his head, followed by a set of calloused training --- all of it stems from his father, Ivan, he didn't get the opportunity to experience what could be considered a normal childhood. And no matter how much Makarov tried to make it up for it, it still wasn't enough since the damage was already done.

Here's a link to a more detailed headcanon about Laxus' childhood, because I don't want to be repetitive. ( X )

But slowly, going through adolescence Laxus started coming out of his shell a bit more. I think it also started with his discovering his strong liking towards music. Ever since he purchased those headphones ( and mind you, they were expensive so he was saving up money after accomplishing missions ) he wouldn't stop listening to music, since it helps him cast aside any problems that he has even if it is for a short amount of time. Not to mention it was quite relaxing to him but that also depends on the songs that he was listening to. He is a big fan of classic rock 'n roll music. Guns 'n Roses was his favourite band at the time ( and still remains as oe of his favourite bands ). But to return back to the topic --- music helped him a lot. Hence, he wanted to dive deeper into this and so;

He started collecting vinyls.

He didn't collect them for the sake of listening music through them since, as already mentioned above, he had his distinguished headphones. It's just that the whole concept of having vinyls at your own space, decorating them in a way that would capture your attention, was appealing to him. And back in the day, Laxus wasn't known ( and still isn't let's be real ) for his socialization skills, so to him this was his escapade. Hence, his room was filled with vinyls when he was still living with his grandfather but when he moved out to live on his own, he was able to divide them and decorate his living room and bedroom accordingly. Not too overbearing yet enough to catch your attention and make you question about them.

( though the thing is, Laxus wouldn't invite just anyone at his place, only those he trusts the most. )

Then he met the Raijinshuu, his teammates. Of course that didn't alter his love for vinyls but upon meeting them, it certainly brightened up a bit his horizons, opening doors for further explorations. However, one of the things that he was absolutely certain he will never attain mastery in, was cooking. Leave that to Freed.

Laxus was constantly concentrated on training and becoming stronger and stronger every day. Therefore he enver really gave himself the chance to experience the likeness of a child/adolescent/adult like an ' average ' person, if you will. His mind was focused on his goals and despite losing his path and resulted to his excommunication from the Guild, that didn't prohibit him from growing stronger. Therefore the less hobbies he had, the less distraction they would have been, or so he believed.

[ilikelookingatthings]

I had a weird as dream that I must write down. Imagine old tiny army cartoon or live action old army comedy show. We are in ghe perspective of a army nurse (also cook)who is very popular. Sam(Samuel) Ibie wellington(she likes imagine Sam I be smelling where she would hesitate over writing the last name cuz she'd feel the erge to write the smelling one for giggles...but she would wrote it in a fancy cursive with a heart.

The guys would get her fresh meat by hunting abd bring her first and leather...and she knew everyone of their stories by name.

WE know the entire troop is going to die because

They have been ordered to fight. They don't have enough time to make a plan and while they consider what if they just hid somewhere and ambushed...or just hid so they would live....if they AREN'T IN THE WAY AT AT LEAST slow the OPOOSING Army down the army would immediately get to Fort Knox who also don't have enough time to prepare and need at least that one day delay killing our troops would give or they and all the civilians they are protecting behind them to put up a proper fight.

If our troops just hid and the opposing army just passed by....a bunch mire people would be slaughtered and if our army lived people would question things and see it as them all turning traitor and abandoning their post woth at most gives yiu a death penalty and at least your court marshaled and you live in shame where if anyone they knew did live our Troup would luve in shame....because of course the army would have free ranger to attack more towns if they got through all the defenses.

The head of the Troup kniws this and is so angry they are being left to die...where he doesn't tell the troops the truth cuz he us angry and trying t solve it by himself and he doesn't think they habe enough time to solve the problem or put up a good fight...which is a mistake cuz it gives them even LESS time to find a solution.

Thry also have a basically blind person in charge(Mt mind got inspiration from this old comedy army show that my dad apparently used to watched that was black and white that showed in a doctor's office TV once...who was blind and old but wjo means well and wjo was taken foe a ride by his troops who would make fake scenarios to make him feel like they were doing their part because they didn't ACTUALLY want to go-to battle being led by a blind guy..where they actually shot down a big wig by accident who they already made a fake scenerio of giving a medal. But the senator or general sss understandably annoyed and pissed)....either way that's from the shoe not the dream ect ect.

Anyway we know in theory in the dream everyone is suppoused to die cuz it's history and its famous that they all were killed in the future(note I don't know much about history but this is definity not based on a real battle...99.999% my mind made it up)

Fort knox...really?my dream mind is weird.

Either way we see the nurse/cook somehow find out the truth with the troops and the other cooks and nurses and she is PISSED. She doesn't want to die. She doesn't want them all to die and if they just hidden they could kill Samuel in the other fort. But they have even less time to prepare.

They brought up gorilla warfare where they good hide in the bushes and camouflage but they are told the other troops are good at seeing throught it. Their 'bushes' also rumpled like a plastic or paper bag and are almost see through but they try to get more leaves and branches... to fill out the bush disguises...and our cook nurse lady brought up using all the furs amd leather they've brought to help with the sound problem and to make more disguises.

So everyone is dressed like different types of bushes and like the lost boys from Disney's Peter pan.

Wondering if they should give up and just die....the nurse cook brings up every one of their personalities and stories....like benjamin/Benny who's girlfriend left him where he was told he needs to live and find someone else or if he ever loved ger...he needs to live at least to see her whether they are together now or not cuz that was still regardless it was someone who had cared...bringing up family members and friends or even if they have no one....to bring up any one or any excuse to give they a reason to fight...enemies, aquatences, lovers, ex lovers friends, family ect.

And I woke up wondering if they were able to fight back and survive or if they fought back and they did die but this is the secret history that was never noticed.

Also I kept wondering who they were fighting? The British? Other Americans in a civil war? Vietnam or Korea? Wjat would have made the most sense for this imaginary too detailed dream war that was talked over by the narrator from old Disney shorts.

[rametarin]

"But how do you KNOW you're allergic to [etc]?"

You fat, bloated, denialist piece of shit.

A few years ago I was having some severe breathing problems. Just, could not catch my breath, was in severe distress. However, breathing normally gave me a bit of hyperventilation systems. So it felt like it was both hyper and hypo ventilation, in different parts of my body.

It caused my heart to race and become excruciatingly painful, as it didn't feel like I was getting enough oxygen. For fucking hours I struggled in my bed fighting the urge to go to the ER, because I hoped I'd pull through for free. It was weeks before COVID formally became a thing, and I had some mysterious problems that felt like lung and heart issues. Stuff that I was normally food sensitive to was causing problems in other parts of my body. Stuff that later I'd learn sounded like cytokine storms.

I've always had excruciatingly bad bowel problems. Like, inflammatory bowel issues. In the years since, I've cut cottonseed oil and eggs and anything with peanuts or made in facilities that also do peanuts, out of my diet. And enjoyed massive improvement in my ability to shit and also not feel pain. Whereas before for whole years since graduating highschool I had 4-6 day stints of not shitting and severe cramps and pain.

However, since I live with a narcissistic piece of shit mother, whom insists that because she lacks these problems, there's no reason I should have them, keeps "accidentally" trying to reintroduce them into my diet, and just making the most stupid arguments as to why "what you experienced was probably just a panic attack/not real."

Fucking excuse you, but I came in from shoveling snow a few years ago and absolutely could not catch my breath. My diaphragm felt like it was filled with wax and clogged and wasn't functioning properly. Th only 'panic attack' I felt was from what felt like death of being strangulated, and that came only from my breathing issue.

And the only correlation was that I'd eaten half of fish that was cooked in cottonseed oil between when I had a flareup the first time vs. the second time. Where I hadn't been out shoveling, I just ate the fish and started feeling short of breath.

And the time before that, I'd had a little peanut butter and experienced what truly felt like a heart attack and anaphlectic shock. My heart just randomly started beating crazily, painfully, so I lay down on the floor to prevent myself from passing out and falling. From that day onwards, I've avoided peanuts, peanut oil, or anything else with peanuts in it, or was make in a facility that processed peanuts.

Similarly, with chicken eggs. I was already strangely sensitive to chicken. I like the taste; what I don't like is my bowels swelling up into nonfunctional hypersensitive pain flumes and causing me so much agony I want to fucking die from constipation.

And that rancid fucking cunt keeps on trying to sneak these things back into my diet to "try" and prove that I don't have any problems. Keeps "forgetting." I argue these things make me excruciatingly hurt, and I do not want them. She argues, "Well you ate them before and survived, didn't you? I think you just suffered a big panic attack."

Fuck you. Panic attacks don't feel like your bowels are paralyzed but actively trying to bend themselves like suspension bridges collapsing during an earthquake.

Then she went on to list all her allergies and how allergies cause other things like rashes and eyes watering and how it's impossible to just have an isolated reaction just in your GI tract, lungs or heart. "I'm a NURSE, I know! If you were having an allergic reaction, it'd be over your entire body!"

You're full of shit. What I experienced, I rightfully should've gone to the emergency room. And if I had enough fucking money to go and not be out tens of thousands of dollars in medical debt, I'd have fucking went. You selfish, conniving, exploitative bitch.

Too fucking lazy to just NOT put all the foods that I can't eat in the god damned meals. Keeps trying to "sneak (teehee)" that shit into my food, just to "prove all your problems are in your head."

I've recovered THIS MUCH because I stopped eating that shit and feeling like death warmed over every day. You lazy, disgusting tub of fuck. I don't feel like I'm one bad day away from needing to visit the emergency room anymore. And she thinks that means green light go to put that shit back in my body.

I know she's doing it on purpose, because I keep telling her, shit with cottonseed oil, shit with egg in it (yolks OR whites), shit with peanuts or peanut oil, all that shit causes bowel and breathing issues for me, which is very much not a fun time. She keeps trying to catch me with my guard down and "accidentally" add it, it go missed, so she can then go "SEE!? IT DIDN'T HURT YOU, DID IT!?" and live out that fantasy I have no problems but mental ones. Because those are cheaper to quiet.

Doesn't give a shit that I felt like I was going to die from what the food did to me, just cares that I didn't die, therefore, "there was no problem." And once again insisted, it was purely a panic attack.

Declaring something a panic attack is her way of saying there was no problem, it was all just imagined, the fault lays in you. AKA, "you're just delusional, there is no problem."

Because the alternative, that there is a biological and chemical reason why my bowels and lungs behave this way, would just be too god damned expensive. So, she reasons it must be imaginary.

It doesn't help that she's one of those narcsissitic psychotic goons that believes "positive vibes" change the universe, and that stupid "The Secret" thing that was so popular among middle aged/elderly housewives for so fucking long. A belief system that rewarded you for thinking if you obstinately just ignore reality and insist it works another way with denial, you could retroactively change reality just by sheer stubborrnness.

As a result, I will not tolerate any woman with similar beliefs. You're a liability, on top of being a pain in the ass. Dangerous levels of denying reality so you can try and play chicken with causality and physics. And the fact so many of you bitches are insulated from the consequences of your own beliefs directly, using other people as proxies when your big "belief something is true" fails, you never have any skin in the game to fucking learn from failure. You never have any reason to fucking doubt. You never have to take any accountability for the hubris.

So she decides I don't have an egg issue and just buys me a snack with egg in it, I eat it and feel like shit, and low and behold it turns out she ignored I said, "don't buy me shit with egg in it."

[lindiwe-in-camelot]

Lindi did her best to listen as Lokni explained how his own bracelet felt strange, like an extra limb. "Like having a tail? The kind that can detach, like a lizard?" Or a newt. "Do you know axolotls can regrow their limbs and organs?" she piped up, and then sheepishly grimaced. She was dangerously close to descending into amphibian adjacent nerdery. It was a topic that often made her conversation partners' eyes glaze over with pure indifference, she wouldn't subject Lokni to that.

Somehow, Lindi had made a good go of convincing Lokni about the bungalows. Maybe Janice was right, maybe dipping her toes into real estate would have been the way to go. She could see Lokni turning over her points in favour of the bungalows over in his head, his aura a pleasing, steady glow with a slight shimmer. "There are plenty of bungalows available if you change your mind," she said, sounding like she was right out of the catalogue. God, she was wasting her talents on the PTA.

"I get along with most people," Lindi said, which was true enough. She should be the bigger person, refuse to engage in all of the nasty lowbrow rumour mongering. It was easier when she had Steve by her side, he would take every chance to stoop low and gossip and Lindi could stay within earshot and have the high ground. But he wasn't here (which was good, she didn't want him here, didn't want to subject anyone more to this even if she missed him). "Have you met Darcy?" she asked, aware she was being catty, bitchy… Whatever, sometimes it was nice to get it out. "I strongly disagree with her harebrained theories."

A much more pleasant turn in conversation was Lokni calling himself a ranchhand, which sounded like the non-chalant way of calling yourself a cowboy. A cowboy without the connotations and all of that. Did he still wear the hat? "I used to love horses, as a kid. Wanted a pony, the whole deal," Lindi said, trying not to gush about actually meeting a real life cowboy. "What sort of work do you do as a ranchhand?" she asked. "Like… rodeo sort of work?" she ventured, fishing but not fishing to see if he was more cowboy than not.

Lokni was so charming as he asked her how she filled her day, that she forgot to have her own internal angst and disappointment with herself over her answer. "I do a lot of volunteering, community boards, PTA, council meetings, that sort of thing," Lindi said, sidestepping the way of how she made money in a way that insinuated that money was not a problem for her. Well, now with her divorce, it was steadily becoming an issue. "I was on my way home from a job interview when all of this happened. I had a career break after my daughter," she explained, as if it was a short period without work, as opposed to nearly two decades.

Home, her job interview, her mortgage. All of that was up in the air, more and more uncertain with each day that passed. Lindi worried her bottom lip, humming emphatically as Lokni spoke about getting home as soon as possible, family worrying about him. It was almost too painful to think about, like his words had come and speared her through the chest. Even his aura had changed, wavering and dull with the weight of… his thoughts? Sadness?

His abrupt change to flirtation pleasantly shocked Lindi out of her malaise. Lindi blushed, and waved her hand at Lokni's prompting, giving an airy chuckle. It was easier to lean into the ease of flattery than to linger in her own sadness. "Well I'm divorced. Two months official and everything," she said, with a brave, bossbabe smile. "My daughter is just finishing secondary school…" Lindi trailed off, all of her ease and flippancy disappearing for a moment as she lingered on Paige. She needed to get back for her.

Lindi swallowed, blinking as she took a second to push thoughts of Paige out of the way. She smiled tightly, switching instead to discussion of crabs and cooking. "No, no, he had an utterly fantastic place in Soho," Lindi said, which made her sound like a rich prick, which she was, so that was fair.

"A lot about this whole situation doesn't sit right with me," Lindi said, parroting Lokni's words back to him. He had a wonderful way of putting things. "Normally I'm not too bothered by CCTV, but that's when I'm in London. Here it's almost… nefarious. Why keep tabs on us?" she asked. "At least out here there aren't many cameras. I can see why you want to stay in the forest."

Lindi knew that as soon as she started speaking about outlines and sparkles that she was going to sound insane. This whole place was insane. Selin changing sizes, teleportation, all tied back to the horrible noise on the speakers and Maria's explosion. "No, it's… refreshing to know I'll be believed," she admitted. "I don't know quite what to make of everything, really. I don't want everyone to think I'm some new age hippie. Not that there's anything wrong with that." The smell of incense gave her migraines. "Can I ask what strange things have happened to you?"

The way that Lindi gazed at Lokni was a little unusual. It was like she was partially focused on him, but at the same time, her focus wandered here and there like she was seeing something that he couldn't. Just when he was about to ask her if something was up, Lindi began to talk about the pulse. If she hadn't brought it up, he probably would have brushed it off as 'just a coincidence,' but now she was bringing it to his attention. "You're right. I did feel something- thought I was just imagining things." Lokni replied, an unease spreading throughout his chest as he gazed at his own tiger's eye. Such beauty could hide many things, in the same way that it did with horses. Usually, the most beautiful ones were the craziest. "It does feel strange, like an extra limb." Lokni shook his head, long hair brushing against his shoulders, "I don't know how to explain it. I know I must sound crazy." To be fair, the whole damn situation was crazy. No doubt that everyone was thinking the same thing in that regard. "Well Miss Lindi, I don't blame you for choosing one of those little buildings. They do seem to have pretty great amenities." Lokni replied nonchalantly. Lindi did have a darn good point. If they were gonna' be stranded here, they might as well be provided proper accommodations. "You got a sharp point there," he remarked, taking a moment to think about all the people that he had come across, "aside from the bunk situation, you getting along well enough with other folks?" At the mention of his line of work, and experience with horses, Lokni practically beamed. "I'm just a ranchhand, nothin' too fancy. I dig holes for fence posts, herd cattle, and care for me and my boss's horses. And to answer your question, yes, I work with horses a lot. I'm surprised that you couldn't smell them on me." He let out a little self-deprecating laugh. Very few days went by where he didn't smell like horses or horse manure. "What about you? I don't know much about England, but Oxfordshire sounds like a pretty fancy place. What's someone like you get up to?" Lindi's face brightened as she spoke about her home, but that light faded a bit from her eyes as she spoke about how different everything here was. In regards to that sentiment, Lokni truly felt that he resonated with her. "I know what you mean. All of this is so strange. I want to hurry up and get back home. Got family that'll be worried if I'm gone too long." He paused, the image of his mother's face coming to the forefront of his mind. "What about you? I doubt that someone as pretty as yourself would find themselves lacking company," he inquired, that last bit said in a matter-of-fact sorta' of way.

Perking up at the mention of Zaid, Lokni replied, "I didn't know that he was that kinda' chef. I assumed that maybe he worked at Red Lobster or something." Lokni felt a little embarrassed that he had missed such a huge fact about Zaid. At the same time though, Lokni couldn't deny that he was a little happy that Zaid had complimented his crabs. Although, Zaid had done most of the work. Lokni had just caught the crabs, in all reality. "Can't say for sure," Lokni replied to Lindi's question about whether or not tunnels existed or not, "I reckon there's a lot about this island we don't know, and we may never know. I surely hope that there aren't tunnels. I don't like the cameras and surveillance as it is. It just doesn't sit right with me, y'know?" There was so much that they didn't know, and the list was just growing longer by the day. How many waxing and waning of moons needed to happen before they finally had a smidgen of understanding? Miss Lindi spoke of visions and outlines as well as... sparkles? Cocking his head to the side, he spent a couple of moments in thought. It sounded similar to what Miss Palmer had spoken about; unexplainable, strange occurrences. Lokni blinked a couple times before starting to slowly speak, "I think I know a little about what you're talking about. Strange things have been happening lately. Someone was telling me about Selin becoming as small as a squirrel, teleportation- a bunch of other stuff that went over my head, to be honest. It's been pretty hard to come to terms with- I probably wouldn't have believed you if strange things hadn't been happening to me either. So, would you be taken aback if I said that I believe you?"

[tavernkeep-fenne]

Simple Lasagna

   In all fairness, this recipe didn't have a measured sauce but instead used leftover, pureed ratatouille. I'd say it was probably 6 cups of sauce. based on the size of the storage containers. I have a serious problem with not measuring things.

    Now it's time to ramble to fill space and help theme this blog! 

    I play Pathfinder second edition, often shortened to PF2e, with a small group of friends. For those unaware and actually reading this, it's overall really similar to Dungeons & Dragons but with differences mainly in rules. Altogether, there are six of us each week. 

    I am the host, so I choose to cook instead of ordering out. I often try to theme the meals for the real life season as well as the in-game events. "Tavern" meals that I think would pop up in a fantasy tavern our players might come across.

    Last week was a build week, where we ate and sat around bouncing character dynamics and personalities off each other while talking about and figuring out what kind of characters we are building. For this event, I made lasagna. I had never made a lasagna before but have seen enough that I figured our the basics: sauces, cheeses, pasta, and meat. Well, meat is optional. This ended up making enough to satisfy 6 people, a couple of whom do not have small appetites. The Game Master (GM) is picky about lasagna and he's the one who ate the most! I felt such high praise from that. 

    This is a homebrew campaign called Dreadful Dawn. It's a penny dreadful genre and pulls themes from D&D's Ravenloft. If you aren't familiar with what the penny dreadful genre is, our GM likened it to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Hellboy. It's pretty dark, with lots of things that go bump in the night. 

  Now time to cook!

    Ingredients

1lb ground beef, cooked and drained

28-36oz tomato based pasta sauce*

6-9 unbroken lasagna noodles (I used oven-ready and they did fine)

15oz ricotta cheese

16 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

fresh Parmesan to taste 

    How to Cook

    Preheat your oven to 400F/200C

    Heat your pasta sauce and add your cooked meat to it. Spread a layer of sauce in the bottom of a GREASED or LINED 13x9inch baking dish. Add a layer of 3 noodles, lengthwise. If you are not using oven-ready noodles, you should cook your noodles just before assembling the lasagna. 

    Add a second layer of sauce, topped with dallops of ricotta and a layer of mozzarella. Repeat until ingredients are used or you've run out of room in your dish. Finish with your Parmesan.

    Place is oven, uncovered, until your top layer ofcheese is the desired amount of toasty. Everything was assembled already cooked and hot, so we don't have to worry as much about that.

    Let rest on a cooking rack until cool enough to not burn your mouth. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, but serving it ahead onto plates will help it cool a bit faster. 

*My pasta sauce was actually pureed ratatouille from another night. While it looks fancy, it's really easy to make in two different ways. I'll share these ways in a future post, for convenience.

[nothing-but-dreamy]

FAKE DATE

Pairing: FFXV! NYX ULRIC x GENDER NEUTRAL!READER

Words: 10.822

Warnings: some cursing, fluff, mentioning of cheating

A/N: So.... this idea started as a quick idea for a one shot.... I guess, it got a little bit out of hand... but who cares... have fun... it's worth to read it

Summary: Your ex marries your cousin and because it's family, you have to attend there with a date. No matter how hard it would be for you. You talk with Crowe about it and she comes up with an idea: a fake date with one of her friends, Nyx Ulric. Nyx agrees reluctantly and even if he had sworn to himself to avoid meeting new people or rather to let them get too close … little did he know that you could change this plan without even knowing it…

"Crowe, it's horrible! I really tried to talk with my mother but she won't accept the fact that I don't want to come to this wedding. She said: 'We become a family. You're mature enough to work past all this'. Argh! I would love to scream.", you cried out, raking violently through your hair with your fingers.

"Yeah... Right... It's about maturity that you have to watch how your cousin marries your ex-boyfriend who had left you. For your cousin. This marriage is crazy. Since when do they even know each other?"

"For seven months.", you muffled into your hands.

"Wait! What? You met this idiot what? Ten months ago!"

"Yup. And then, we had a family meeting where he met my cousin. They got along pretty well. Maybe I should have sensed something there already. But I didn't.", you said heartbroken.

"So, he met your cousin behind your back, he cheated on you and your mother still wants you to join the wedding? Are really all of your family so stupid, sorry for that, to accept the fact that he’s a lying and cheating bastard?"

"Yes, they are!", you cried out, burying your face into your hands once again, "Just because he's some high-paid, upper class doctor. And you know what the worst is? I have to bring someone with me. A date. You know for the 'aesthetic'. It’s my mother’s twisted ‘perfect world’ thingy. But I don't have someone. I'm still hurt because of what he had done to me. I don't wanna meet someone new.", you breathed devastated.

Crowe nodded slowly, understanding your point because she was there as she had picked up the shattered pieces that had been your former self. Then, an idea popped up in her mind even if it was a tricky one, "YN, I might have a solution for your problem."

Slowly, you looked up, "Yeah... I already considered running away but I can't. My mother would find me everywhere."

Crowe chuckled, "No. Not that. Maybe we keep this running away idea as a back-up. No, I might have a solution for your date misery."

***

The next day, Crowe searched for Libertus and Nyx in the training area of the Kingsglaive headquarters. Finding them warping around, she watched them for a while before both men closed up to her for a small break.

"I will never really get used to this warping shit. My stomach makes somersaults all the time.", Libertus complained and rubbed over his stomach and chest to calm down the heartburn.

"Well, not every person is made for flying.", Crowe said teasingly what caused Nyx to chuckle and Libertus to roll with his eyes.

"So, what's up? It's a bit too early for you.", Nyx said, leaning against a pillar with crossed arms.

"Actually, I wanted to talk with you, Nyx. I... I need your help.", Crowe said carefully.

Nyx frowned as he saw the wariness in his friend's eyes, "And for what?"

"The thing is... I don't really need your help. It's rather a friend of mine.", Crowe said and saw how Nyx pressed his jaws together.

"Crowe? Is this another try to set me up with someone?", he asked serious.

Crowe gnawed on her lower lip, "No... Well... Not really?"

"Crowe! Come on. We already had that!", Nyx said serious, drawing his brows together.

Crowe raised her hands, "I know, I know. You made this clear the last time. But this is different. YN really needs help. Listen, their ex marries and they have to attend there-"

"Why? Why do they have to attend their ex' wedding?", Libertus asked confused.

Crowe grimaced, "Well, he's marrying their cousin."

"What?", Nyx and Libertus called out at the same time.

Crowe pinched the bridge of her nose, "It's a pretty shitty situation. This asshole cheated on YN with their cousin a few months after they started to date. But because he's such a great doctor, with much prestige and money, everyone seems to be cool with this wedding no matter how YN feels about this."

"Holy six...", Libertus whispered, shaking his head at how complicated this situation seemed to be.

"And why do you need me? What role shall I play in all this?", Nyx asked even if he already had an idea what would come next.

"Well... Not enough that YN shall be part of the wedding, they also shall bring a date along. Something about aesthetics or stuff. I dunno. Don't ask me. And that's the point where I need your help, Nyx.", Crowe said and looked at her friend with a pleading expression and a hopeful smile while Nyx stayed silent.

"Why don't you ask me for help?", Libertus asked, pointing at himself.

Crowe looked apologetically at the taller man, "Well, sorry, but I think Nyx is more of their type-"

"More of their type? Crowe!", Nyx called out, getting slightly agitated.

Crowe raised her hands in surrender, "Calm down. I don't wanna set you up with them. But YN shall bring a date to this already crazy and hilarious wedding. The idiot cheated on them for several months, left them and now, YN’s still very hurt. After the breakup and the announced engagement, they were a mess. I needed some time to collect all the pieces that were left from them. They're not able to date someone or to find someone new. So, I thought about a fake date. It's not a real date. You just have to act like it. Please, Nyx. You don't have to do much. Just accompany them to this wedding. Keep them company and distract them a little. Just have some fun."

Nyx considered the idea. He wasn't really in the mood for dates or weddings but he knew Crowe well enough. If she thought about this as a good idea, he really might be helpful. Nyx’ strong helper syndrome was now also kicking in once again, "So, just if I say yes, and I say if, what shall I do?"

On Crowe's lips grew a smile because she knew Nyx would say yes if he was already this far with his considerations, "Nothing much. You meet them. I guess they will pick you up or something. You attend the wedding in the church and the party afterwards together. That's it. You don't have any responsibilities except to be by YN's side as their date. Maybe support them a little bit during this whole carnival."

"And when shall this trickery be?", Nyx asked warily.

Crowe's face changed into a grimace once again, "That's the stupid part... It's this weekend."

"Crowe!", Nyx called out. It was already Wednesday.

"Hey! It's not my fault. YN also told me about it yesterday. Obviously, they tried to discuss this whole thing about the presence with their mother but she was very persistent with this point. Nyx, it's urgent. Next to you two, they're my best friend. I hate to see them suffer. It’s not fair because they’re a jewel of a person. That their ex shall get a happy ending after everything he had done is already the biggest joke. But now, he will become part of their family, as well. I really need your help.", Crowe begged.

Nyx took a deep breath and released the air slowly, "Alright, alright. I will do it. But", he said and raised his hand as Crowe already started to get excited, "I guess I need a tuxedo or something like this-"

"I will take care of that! You don't have to do anything like I said. I promise."

"Then, just one more thing. Maybe it would be better if we met before the wedding? You know, to check if we get along and if the chemistry is working."

***

"He did say yes?"

"You really had doubts?", Crowe asked with a smirk. Your reaction had been gold as she had told you that she had found a date for you: Nyx Ulric - one of her friends and colleagues.

In fact, you had heard a few things about him. That he was from Galahd, had lost his family and had a tendency to be a little bit gruff in front of others but with that he was just hiding his soft side, as Crowe had told you. To meet him and Libertus was long overdue, "Well... A little bit to be honest. I mean, he doesn't know me. I know we will just be acting but still it's like a blind date. What if we don't get along? It's all about chemistry and stuff..."

Crowe blinked and stared at you, "Well, I'm sure you two will like each other. In fact, Nyx mentioned the exact same doubts with the exact same words."

"Really? Well... it's maybe just coincidence.", you said, turning around to get something to drink from the kitchen.

But no matter how quickly you had been, Crowe had seen your blushing cheeks and grinned about it. It had been a long time since she had seen you like this: filled with life and pleasant anticipation.

"So, Nyx is okay with this whole fake date thingy?", you asked, while gnawing on your lower lip. You felt nervous to meet him even if he was a friend of Crowe.

Crowe smiled, "Don't worry, he is. You said you could get a tuxedo?"

"Yes! Of course. Just give me his size and I will take care of it. It's easy for me. Tomorrow, it can be here."

"Great. So, could I bring him here tomorrow? You two can meet and he can try on the tuxedo."

"Perfect idea. And I will cook something for us.", you said with sparkling eyes. You had no idea why but suddenly, you were even looking forward to meeting Nyx, your unexpected lifesaver.

***

"You said, I don't have to do anything.", Nyx complained as he made his way through the city the next day with Crowe by his side.

Crowe rolled with her eyes, "Yes and you really don't have to do anything except to try on one or two tuxedos, alright? It's not that I would drag you to a shopping trip. We meet YN at their place where you can try on the clothes. So, we will kill two birds with one stone."

Nyx had laid awake last night while thinking about this fake date idea. Sure, he wanted to help Crowe and her friend but that didn’t change the fact that there was a reason behind his reluctance to date new people. So, once again, Nyx asked himself if he really was doing the right thing…

*

As you heard the first knock at your door, you jumped by surprise. It was friday evening, the day before the wedding and it was arranged that Crowe and Nyx would visit you after they were done with their shift. But still, as your friend was there, you felt excited. You were even sick with nervousness to meet Nyx. He was the first guy you would meet after the horrible break-up and even if it was just a fake date, your hands became sweaty and your heart began to race.

The second knock brought you back to reality and you hurried to open the door, "Hey, guys. Come in-", you stopped as Crowe passed you and your eyes fell on Nyx who smiled at you warm and softly. Never in your life had you seen such a handsome, good looking man. Even your ex wasn't able to keep up with Nyx’ undeniable, rough sexiness. His eyes were the bluest and his lips the fullest. The stubble he sported and his greyish hair with the braids suited him perfectly. You noticed something wild in his appearance which got underlined by the tattoos on his face and ears. For the first time, you understood what Crowe had meant as she said that it was visible that Nyx was from Galahd. He wasn't hiding his roots and as it was for you, there was no reason for him to do this at all.

"YN?", Crowe asked as she saw you gaping at Nyx. Internally, she was pleased with herself. To see you like this told her that she had been right: Nyx was your type of guy.

Crowe's voice brought you back from your daydreaming, "Yeah... Sorry, I was just... Uhm...", you stammered.

Crowe grinned but stepped in to help you, "YN meet Nyx. Nyx this YN, my emotional support when I have to deal with too much of your bullshit."

You smiled thankfully, "Yeah... The support might be questionable nowadays.", you said shyly.

"That's okay. It will change again. I'm sure.", Crowe said.

"It's nice to meet you finally, YN. I heard a lot of great things about you.", Nyx said politely as you invited him in. As he and Crowe had gone to your place, Nyx was intimidated because of your fancy apartment complex. You were from Insomnia but because you were refugee friendly and even tried to help to improve the underground district your friendship with Crowe had been possible which calmed Nyx a little. But as you had opened the door, nervousness and excitement spread through his emotionally cold veins. Crowe had described you as nice, sweet and beautiful. But in Nyx' eyes, these words were far away from being suitable. Your eyes were clear and bright as you looked right into his soul. Your lips had such a rich color that they already looked delicious. Nyx knew he had to keep his composure together and actually he wasn't really interested in meeting new people as he always said like a mantra but you and your sweet appearance made it extremely difficult to stick to his plan.

"I'm sure Crowe made up a few things to let me look better.", you said chuckling.

As Nyx heard you laughing, his heart made a little jump and suddenly, he asked himself how it was even possible for someone to hurt you at all.

Pleased with Nyx' reaction about her friend, Crowe grinned, "No, I was always honest and I just told everyone how amazing you are."

"Liar. But that's okay. So, I... The tuxedos already arrived and the dinner is almost done. What about you try on the clothes, Nyx, and then, we eat?", you suggested.

"Sounds great.", Crowe said and went into the kitchen to check the oven for what you had prepared.

"Come on, I will show you the way.", you said to Nyx and guided him through your apartment into your bedroom, "So, Crowe gave me your sizes from your uniform. I got an anthracite and a black tuxedo. The only two colors my mother allows tomorrow. Just try them.", you said and shot the man next to a shy smile. Somehow, his scent was able to fill your small room so quickly that you knew it would be stuck there for a few days and you already were looking forward to it.

"Thanks.", Nyx said and cursed himself because he wanted to say more but he couldn't. Somehow, his tongue was tied up into a knot. Obviously, he had been out of training for human interactions a bit too long.

You were about to leave him alone before you stopped at the door once again, "I have to thank you, Nyx. I... If you wouldn't do that I'm sure I would die because of so many things tomorrow. I owe you really big. So, thank you really much.", you said with a shy smile and reddening cheeks. And before Nyx could say anything, you left the room and closed the door.

Nyx stared at the spot where you had stood. It was one thing to do Crowe a favor in helping you. But to see all these raw emotions mirrored in your eyes did something to him. Your voice had been filled with sadness even if you had tried to hide it. And somehow, deep empathy for you flooded his veins and anger towards your ex entered his muscles. He should accompany you? He swore to himself to do this and to watch out for you the whole evening. Because like Crowe, he already hated it to see you suffer.

*

"So, you like him, huh?", Crowe asked as you joined her in the kitchen.

You stared at your friend with shocked filled eyes, "I- I don't know what you mean.", you said defensive even if it wasn't really working.

Crowe grinned, "Come on, YN. I know you. And I saw how you were staring at Nyx. Therefore, you like him."

You felt your cheeks blushing and you even pretended to look after your cooking pots so you could avoid Crowe's smug smirk, "He's nice, yeah. I mean, I owe him a lot that he does this for me. I'm grateful for that."

"Yeah... Right. Grateful. Grateful with big, sparkling and hungry eyes-", Crowe said teasingly but got stopped by your elbow and in the next moment Nyx entered your kitchen to present himself. Crowe whistled, "Wow, look at this. I had no idea there could be a real gentleman underneath this gruff surface.", she said, which earned her an annoyed eye roll from the Glaive.

You smiled appreciatively, "Crowe has a point, tho. You look really great in this tuxedo.", you admitted. Indeed, Nyx had tried on the black tuxedo first and it was already a match. Because of the white suit shirt, his blue eyes seem to glow even more. His longer strands gave the tuxedo a nice, foreign touch you already liked, "If you ask me, you're done with testing. Is it comfortable?", you asked, checking the fit on his back.

"Yes, it's extremely comfortable. I had no idea it would fit so well.", Nyx admitted while the soft touch of your hands on his back gave him slight goosebumps.

"I'm not surprised. These are high-class tuxedos. They're very expensive. Don't worry, it's borrowed.", you explained as you saw Nyx' concerned expression, "No one should buy such things just for one evening. So, great. That was it. You're done. You can change again and then, dinner is ready. At least a little try to make it up to you and your time."

As Nyx disappeared in your bedroom once again, Crowe closed up on you with a smirk, "It's so good that I was right with my assumption that you two would fit together perfectly. And now, you will even have some eye candy to look at the whole evening. I'm the best friend you could ask for."

Instead of answering, you just rolled with your eyes even if she was right. But you wouldn't admit it out loud. Never.

*

"God, this was delicious, YN.", Crowe sighed satisfied as she leant back in her seat.

"I just can say the same. This was great. But if I may ask, what was it? I mean, I know the stuff you used but somehow the taste was … I never tasted like this before.", Nyx asked curiously. Whatever you had done, it was delicious but he never had found something similar in Insomnia before.

You chuckled, "Actually, it isn't something fancy. Vegetables, meat and rice. But the spices make the difference. You don't find these here in Insomnia. I got them from Lestallum. There's a huge market full of stands with spices and ingredients you won't find anywhere else. I like exotic stuff so this market is like a treasure."

While you had answered his question, Nyx was fascinated by the way your eyes started to glow in a new way. You were happy to talk about what you liked. Your happiness was contagious and made his heart jump. Nyx caught himself by the thought that this fake-date thingy wouldn't be as bad as he had thought in the beginning.

Crowe watched you and Nyx. She already saw the connection between you two and even if she respected your decision to be alone for a while after everything you had experienced, she saw that both of you were interested in each other. So, for her, it was the time to give you some space, "Oh, look. How late it got already. I have an early meeting tomorrow.", she said and jumped up from her seat, grabbing her jacket, "Thank you very much for this delicious meal and I wish you two a lot of fun tomorrow.", she said before she hurried out of your apartment.

Slightly speechless, you and Nyx looked after her. As Nyx met your eyes again, both of you were laughing. You looked at your clock on the wall, "Late my ass. We just have eight.", you pointed out while still laughing.

"You know what she's trying right?", Nyx asked with a grin.

"Of course. She's trying to set us up with each other."

Nyx shook his head with a grin, disbelieving that Crowe had pulled this trick, "And that although she knows that I don't want to date anyone.", he just said but regretted it immediately as he saw your face. It was a mixture of surprise and disappointment. Quickly, you tried to hide it behind a smile and that sight hurt Nyx even more than he thought, "Oh uhm... I- I didn't mean you... O-or this.. I.. I'm sorry, I...", he stumbled over his own words and cursed himself for speaking so mindlessly.

You waved with your hand to brush it aside with a weak smile, ignoring the disappointment, "Calm down. I know what you mean, Nyx. After what my ex had done, I'm also not much interested in dates. Don't forget that this will be just a fake date.", you said softly to reassure him before you collected a bunch of plates to be able to turn away from him.

But Nyx had seen the sparkling in your eyes that extremely resembled unshed tears. Once again, he cursed himself. Here he was, Nyx had promised to himself to protect you from everything that would happen at the wedding but was able to make you sad in his own way.

Quickly, he stood up, collecting the cutlery to go to your side, "Hey", Nyx said softly to get your attention, he smiled as you looked at him, "I'm sorry, YN. I didn't mean you at all. It's just...Crowe tried many times to matchmake me. It never ended well. I guess, it's because of my job as a Glaive. I try my best but... it's my work. I owe King Regis a lot for saving me. And I see myself forced to pay it back in protecting this city and its people."

"Don't apologize, Nyx. What you and the other Glaives are doing is honorable. Not everyone is able to cope with what you do all day for this city. If someone has a problem with that...well... it's just not the fitting person, I guess. The fitting person would always support you to make your life easier instead of making it more difficult.", you said and smiled.

Nyx was speechless about your caring words and your warm smile, "Thank you. You... I can see why Crowe cares so much about you. You're very sweet. And you know what? I'm looking forward to spending the day with you tomorrow."

You sniffled back a sob, "Thanks, Nyx. I'm sure it will be horrible tomorrow. Just the thought of seeing him makes me anxious right now. But to know you will be with me calms me already.", you admitted softly.

Nyx smiled but also wanted to change the heavy topic to something lighter, "So, about tomorrow. How shall we do it? Already have any plans?"

"Yeah, my idea was to pick you up but maybe it would be easier for you to come here so you don't have to carry the tuxedo around. I mean, if this would be okay for you?", you said while bringing Nyx to the front door.

"Sounds good. Oh, one thing. Shall I do something with my hair? It's not typical for Insomnian citizen-"

"No, please, don't!", you hurried but you looked away as you felt your cheeks blushing again.

Nyx chuckled, shooting you a smile as you looked back at him, "Don't worry. I won't change anything if you don't want to. I just want to make sure that you will have a nice day tomorrow."

***

The next day, Nyx knocked at your door as agreed. Once again he was excited to meet you. This time because he was looking forward to seeing you again. Usually, if Nyx was dreaming during the night, he had nightmares but the last night was filled with dreams about you. This morning, he was more rested and relaxed than ever before.

So, as you opened the door, Nyx was already smiling and happy but as he saw you, his smile faltered and his expression changed into staring, "Whoa, you look amazing.", he breathed.

Your small smile grew into something bigger that reached each of your ears, "Thank you. Come in.", you said excitedly and stepped aside to let Nyx into your apartment.

Ten minutes later, Nyx joined you in the kitchen, dressed in the tuxedo and ready. You prepared some coffee before the car would be there to pick you up, "So, what's scheduled for today?", he asked and closed the buttons on his cuffs. At least, he tried it.

You watched him fumbling for a few moments until you joined him for help, "In fact, everything's pretty timed. We will drive to the church were the wedding will be held. And after that we will drive further to the Caelum Via where the dinner and party will be. I just hope we can escape during the party when the official thing is over. So, it's done.", you said softly. Your fingers were brushing along Nyx' warm skin. You lingered a few seconds longer before you realized what you were doing.

Nyx felt the connection between you and him as well. Your touch was small, soft and warm and everything he wanted to feel again and again. As he saw your caught expression, he smiled at you to show you that it was okay and he saw that you understood.

Coffee, smalltalk and just being with each other let the time run too fast and as your doorbell rang for the arriving car you felt annoyed because this, with Nyx, was pure fun.

Nyx noticed the change in you and placed his hand on yours, "I will be with you all the time. Or, I will be close to you. You're not alone in this, okay?"

You nodded reluctantly but forced yourself to smile. And with Nyx by your side, you left your apartment for the worst day ever in your life.

*

But Nyx stuck to his word and was with you. The car brought you to the church and he was about to leave the limousine as he noticed that you weren't moving at all. Ignoring the driver's glance, he leant over to you, avoiding touching you in fear to scare you, "YN?"

You stared out of the side window. There was the church, the church you wanted to marry in one day. Not exactly your ex but generally. Flowers were decorated everywhere and between the different colorful plants stood your family. Your mother, your dad, both of your aunts and uncles and Matt...your ex.

Nyx followed your gaze and saw the group of people. Even without asking he knew it had to be your family, considering the fact how you were looking at them. Nyx noticed the younger guy in the festive attire and knew instinctively that it had to be the groom. The guy was tall, slim fit and looked like a lot of money. But the way he moved and talked was easy to dislike because he looked snobbish. Nyx saw your distress and felt sorry. He could just imagine what you were feeling right now, "Listen, we can go if you want.", Nyx suggested softly.

You shook your head, "I can't. We're family. My mother would kill me."

Nyx sighed low, "I know family is important but... you're also important. And if you think you can't handle this under these circumstances then it's okay. You don’t have to."

Slowly, you looked at him, already thankful to have him by your side, "I can do that. I have to."

Nyx nodded, accepting your determination before he left the car. The driver opened your door and as you left the car as well, Nyx was already waiting for you, offering you his arm to link your own with it.

As you two closed up on the group of your family members, your mother was the first to spot you. Suddenly, Nyx noticed a slight change in your behavior. You straightened yourself, you held your head high but the grip on Nyx' arm also became stronger.

"Darling! You look great.", your mother said, grabbing your shoulders to kiss you left and right of your face without touching your skin.

As she leant back, you saw the huge, happy smile on her lips that only money could produce, "Mother, you look lovely. The whole decoration is breathtaking.", you said with a huge smile.

It was fake. Nyx could already spot the difference because the smile didn't reach your bright eyes. Then, your mother's attention shifted over to Nyx and he swallowed thickly by the sight of her mustering glance at his appearance.

You noticed her glance as well and stepped in, "Oh, right. Mother, this is Nyx. Nyx, this is my beloved mother."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, ma'am.", Nyx said politely and even bowed a little.

Internally, you grinned about her surprised expression because she never had expected such good manners with a guy who had Nyx' looks. You knew her well enough to know what she thought.

"It's a pleasure for me. Where have you two met if I may ask?", your mother asked.

You knew it was a test and you knew how to play this game, "Through a friend. Nyx is working for King Regis."

"For the King? That's amazing."

You saw the sparkling in your mother's eyes but before she could say anything else, you took Nyx' arm to guide him away, "Excuse us, we will go inside. Searching for our seats.", you said and without waiting, you passed the group to go into the church.

As you two were out of earshot from your family, Nyx leant to you, "That was smooth."

You grinned, "Have you seen her eyes as I mentioned the King? That was pure greed. It doesn't matter if it is money or prestige. She loves it. I'm sure she thinks you're a member of the royal family. And that's the reason why it's okay for everyone that my cousin marries Matt. He's a doctor. A high-paid surgeon. Money and prestige.", you explained.

As you and Nyx sat down, a thought struck his mind. He was just not sure if he should ask or not-

"You wanna know how I could land him?", you said as you saw Nyx' glance.

"No, not how you could land him. Rather...what you saw in him. I don't know you for long but...such a guy? I'm not sure if he suits you well…"

You nodded, "Yeah...trust me, now? I know that, too. But as we met, he was…", you stopped as you remembered the early time with Matt, "We met accidentally in a bookstore. Somehow, we ended in the same row of bookshelves and he bumped into me. Obviously, he liked me so he invited me for coffee. I agreed because he can be extremely charming. But if I think about it now, we never had something in common. I was imagining things and was blinded by his looks. Although ...well…recently, I've met a guy who is more handsome than Matt will ever be."

Nyx knew you meant him. In the way you had said it and how you looked at him told him whom you meant. Nyx' heart skipped a beat by the thought of how you saw him. In his eyes, it wasn't fair. Here he was, sitting next to you, starting to like you. He was attracted to you and still, he didn't want to have any love interest. It always ended badly and that was the last thing he wanted for you. Nyx wanted to say something, to lower your interest in him, but the wedding started and cut him off.

*

The ceremony was beautiful and romantic. You had to admit that even if you hated it. Your cousin looked wonderful and as they both brought up their vows in a solemn way, you had to suppress a tear because it was sweet and lovely what they swore to each other. Just the point 'I will never love someone else next to you' from Matt caused you to roll with your eyes. It was pathetic.

Most of the time, Nyx tried to stay focused on the wedding but it wasn't easy. His brain was busy with different things. On the one hand, he searched for a way to keep you on distance but whenever he had an idea, Nyx asked himself 'why?'. Why should he stay away from you when you were interested in him? He was interested in you, too. You were attractive, sweet and nice but also hurt. The last thing Nyx wanted was to take advantage of your sore emotions or to be the reason to get hurt even more.

"Nyx?"

Your voice brought him back to reality and he realized that the church emptied slowly, "Sorry, I was thinking about something."

"Totally get it. This wedding was...I don't know. Maybe it was the sweetest thing I have ever seen or the most hypocritical. But no matter what it was, it's over now."

"Then, if I may?", Nyx asked and offered you his arm once again.

Smiling, you took his arm and walked down the aisle with Nyx to leave the church.

*

As you reached the festive decorated ballroom of the Caelum Via, Nyx wasn't surprised anymore. You had told him that your family and even Matt's had a lot of money and they loved to show it. But even if you were dressed in something expensive and even if you knew how to act properly amongst all the other high society people, Nyx noticed that it wasn't really your world. You had been forced into it by blood and family relations.

You introduced Nyx to everyone you met on your way to your table. And not for one second, Nyx felt misplaced by you. You even gave him the feeling as if you were proud to have him by your side.

"Holy six, we have made it.", you sighed as you slumped down on a seat of the table you were aiming for, "Once again, I have to thank you."

Nyx smiled softly, "But I've done nothing."

"You're here. You're by my side. And you're not running away after meeting my family. You keep me sane. I would say you do enough."

Nyx watched you but he was sure he was right with his assumption, "You don't have the best bond with your family, do you?"

You chuckled dryly, "No, not really. It's better now but...I haven't become a lawyer like everyone else, tho. I mean, even my mother had been a secretary in a law office. There, she met my dad, who’s a lawyer. Like my uncles."

"So, you're kinda the black sheep?", Nyx asked amused and saw himself as confirmed: this world was not yours.

"Oh, yeah. You have no idea. That I dated Matt had raised my prestige in their eyes but…", you stopped as Matt and your cousin entered the ballroom under loud cheering, "I have no idea what I was for him. Time distraction? Toy? I mean, we had fun and I feel so stupid for not seeing anything coming."

Nyx had no idea what he should say to comfort you. Maybe there was even no way to comfort you at all. Things like this needed time to heal. But somehow Nyx got the impression that you were stronger than you seemed to be right now.

You wanted to say something but your mother and dad joined your table and gone was the calmness you had felt during the last few moments.

"Darling, have you congratulated Matt and your cousin?", your mother said, placing one hand on your shoulder and one on Nyx'.

That touch looked more possessive than you liked to see, "Of course, I did.", you said with a charming smile.

"Wonderful! Wasn't the wedding a dream? And the vows! I really had to suppress a tear."

"Yes, mother, it was wonderful.", you agreed.

"And you, Nyx? Everything's-", but your mother got called over by your aunts and excused himself again. Even your dad excused himself again.

Nyx waited till she was out of earshot before he turned over to you, "You haven't congratulated them, have you?"

"Of course not.", you said with a huge grin that made Nyx chuckling. You liked the way he smiled. You already liked his presence. He was calm and quiet but knew how to tell his stories to entertain you.

Quickly, the dinner got served and was done and the last part of this circus started: the party. You knew you couldn't leave right away. Even if you wanted to run away as far as you could, it wouldn't look too good. So, you stayed until you would find a good moment to escape.

"Hey, you wanna get some fresh air?", Nyx asked as he saw how you were watching Matt dancing with his partner closely to a slow, romantic song.

Like awakening from a trance, you blinked with your eyes and nodded as you looked at Nyx and his warm, encouraging smile. As you stepped out, you breathed in the fresh breeze with closed eyes.

Once again, Nyx caught himself staring at you in a fascinated way. While you walked across the balcony to the handrail, Nyx followed you slowly and thanked Crowe silently that he had met you, "How do you feel? You're still okay?", he asked carefully.

You turned over to him, "Yes. Yes, I'm feeling good. As I watched them dance, I noticed the way Matt looked at my cousin. He never looked at me this way and I'm… I'm getting okay with it. If they're happy then I don't care. Maybe this wedding was the right cure."

Nyx was impressed how strong you really were. He was sure that you were still hurt but it looked as if you were on the right way.

"Can I ask you something?", you asked, gnawing on your lower lip.

"Of course. I'm at your service no matter what it is. So, what do you desire to know about me?", Nyx said solemnly and smirked as he heard you chuckling.

"I know Crowe can use the King's magic. So, I guess, all Glaives are able to do that?"

"Yes. That's why we're members of the Kingsglaive. Not everyone is able to use these powers so, just the 'best' or talented of the refugees get picked out.", Nyx explained.

You nodded slowly, "It's too bad that refugees get used to fighting battles to secure this city instead of the citizens who actually live here.", you said while letting your eyes roam over the skyline of Insomnia.

"I'm okay with that. I mean, Niflheim attacked my home, Magiteks killed my family. If I can fight against them, I know I do the right thing. Taking revenge. At least as good as I can.", Nyx said low and also watched the scene in front of him.

"I'm sorry for your loss. Crowe told me about it once. Nothing much, just a few things. Is… Is this also the reason why you try to keep people away from you? In fear you could lose them as well?", you asked carefully. Maybe you were too bold but you felt a connection to Nyx that gave you the courage to ask these things.

With a sad expression, Nyx nodded. He was surprised that you had figured him out this quickly but maybe he wasn't such a riddle or you were really attentive when it came to him, "Yeah... you're not so wrong. I know how it feels to lose loved ones so I don't wanna put someone else through this as well. And as a Glaive things can turn bad really quickly.", he said and watched your reaction.

"I guess you're right."

Nyx nodded and felt an unknown pain stinging his heart that you thought like this as well.

"But", you started again, looking straight into Nyx eyes, "I got to know you a little bit today. Trust me, I understand your point but as I said yesterday, the right person wouldn't see a problem with that. I mean… you shouldn't be alone Nyx. No one should. And if you think life is so short for you, you should stop being alone and start to make the best out of the time you still have.", you whispered.

Without noticing, Nyx had closed up on you forced by your words. Unknowingly, you had hit a point: he was alone...rather he was lonely. He felt lonely when he was done with the training and went back to his empty home. He felt lonely when he came back after an exhausting fight on the battlefield. When he felt lonely, the flashbacks and nightmares became worse and darker. These were the times where he wished to have someone by his side who would be there for him. Who would drag him out of the darkness because their light was so much brighter than every shadow would ever be. Bright like your glowing eyes and your charming smile.

Slowly, Nyx leant forward and raised his hand without thinking about it. He just wanted to feel your skin under his touch. Softly, he placed his hand on your cheek and saw your surprise but you stayed where you were as if you wanted him to continue. Driven by your alluring scent, he closed the gap slowly and-

SCREESH!!!

The cry of a bird that flew above your heads let both of you jump away from each other. You and Nyx were breathing heavily while you two recovered from the shock. You smoothed down your clothes to distract yourself while Nyx ran a hand through his hair to do the same.

The situation became awkward but Nyx wanted to show you that everything was alright. At the same time, he wanted to show himself that everything was still alright between you and him, "Hey...uhm… You wanna see some magic?", he asked softly, almost shy.

You smiled, thankfully that Nyx had sensed the awkward tension, "I would love to.", you said while still recovering from the surprise that Nyx wanted to kiss you. Not that you would have stopped him…

Nyx grinned and raised his right hand. He showed you the bare palm and in the next moment, sizzling flames were dancing over his skin as if they were following a rhythm no one could hear. Nyx checked your reaction and was pleased as he saw your sparkling eyes, illuminated by the flames, and the growing smile.

Fascinated, you watched the flames. You felt the urge to touch them but as you closed up on the flames with your forefinger, you already felt the warmth so, you retreated your hand again, "It's hot! I don't know why I'm surprised but… Don't they hurt you?", you asked concerned.

Nyx chuckled, "No, not at all. If you can use elementary magic, you're safe. It's just painful for your enemy.", he said with a grin and was happy to see you smile again.

"Can you just produce fire? Or is there more?", you asked excitedly, totally hooked about the fact how cool this skill was.

"Two more. Lightning", Nyx said and killed the flames by closing his hand before his fist got enveloped by small, twitching bolts that ran across his hand like busy worms. But they became a bit too fast and 'overexcited' and Nyx casted them away before something could get hit by them, "And then, there's ice.", he said and changed the bolts into a subtle fog.

You leant forward to look closer but even in the dim light from the candles and the light coming from the ballroom, you noticed small, sparkling ice particles which were swirling through the fog. Whenever light hit them, they were glittering in every possible color like a prism, "I- I… that's so beautiful. I mean, it sparkles like millions of diamonds."

Nyx chuckled, he never had seen the magic he used on a daily basis as what it actually was: magic. It was something not many people could control. It was indeed something special, usually just reserved for the royal family and yet, he was also able to produce ice and let your smile grow even bigger than before as you had seen the fire, “I don’t know but I guess to see the world through your eyes must be wonderful. You seem to be delighted by the smallest things.”, Nyx said low but smiled as you looked up with a now shy smile on your lips.

“Life is more than just money and prestige. We are surrounded by wonders barely someone sees anymore. I mean, for example in Lestallum, the city uses the energy of a meteor that lies there for centuries. You should see the magical view by night. The golden and blue light dancing into the sky. I swear you never had seen something like this before.”, you said excitedly and once again, you noticed how Nyx was staring at you. It wasn’t unpleasant. Rather quite the opposite. It was a silly thought but somehow you had the feeling that Nyx could see more in you than just a little flirt and a nice kiss at some wedding.

It was crazy. As Crowe told you Nyx would be your type of man, you had laughed about it. After everything Matt had done you needed a break from dates and men and love and all these things. You didn’t want to quit it forever just a little longer but obviously your friend saw it differently and silently, you already thanked her.

Once again, Nyx was mesmerized by you. The way you saw things. How you looked at the world. How you looked at him. He was sure you weren’t flawless - no one was. But no matter what kind of flaws you would have, he wouldn’t care about it. He would deal with everything as long as he could keep you in his life. Giving him the magic he had lost somewhere in his life. Maybe you could be friends or … maybe even something more.

Nyx killed the ice and once again, he leant in for another attempt to kiss you. The moment was perfect again. The way you looked into his eyes and how your lips slightly parted told him what he needed to know - you wanted the same. So, he stepped closer, cupping your face with both hands softly as if you were made out of glass and while you leant forward to meet him on the half way, Nyx leant forward to kiss you-

"Hey, YN, can we talk for a moment- Oh! I’m sorry. Did I interrupt something?", Matt asked and grinned amused as he saw you and Nyx jumping away from each other like caught teenagers.

You cursed internally because it was the second interrupted kiss and you had no idea how many times Nyx would try his luck considering the fact that he even was willing to go this step at all.

Nyx saw that you were annoyed. And he felt the same. He had noticed that you wanted the kiss as well so it was clear for him to try it again but maybe all the interruptions were just signs for him to let it slip? Maybe he shouldn’t try his luck because he was still the Glaive who could die during the next battle. He looked from you at Matt who closed up slowly no matter if his timing had been good or not. And suddenly, Nyx saw that the guy had done this on purpose. He saw it in Matt’s gleaming eyes and in his smirk that he was amused about the fact to humiliate you once again. But as you had said before, he was part of your family now and maybe Matt just wanted to apologize or something. So, Nyx did the only logical thing that came to his mind, "Is it okay for you? I will get something to drink for us then.", he asked carefully, watching your reaction.

You weren’t amused about the idea to be alone with Matt but you nodded. You understood that Nyx might need a break. You waited till Nyx was gone before you crossed your arms over your chest, “You wanted to talk?”

"Yeah, this guy… Tell me, what did you have to pay him so that he would accompany you to this wedding as your date? I’m sure he’s a stripper or something like this. Poor soul-", the loud slap into his face let Matt stop in his sentence. While holding his stinging cheek, he looked back at you, surprised that you were even able to have such a power.

With raging eyes, you stared at him, standing your ground in front of him for the first time. All the anger and sadness you had felt had laid in this one single slap and even if you were no fan of violence, you noticed how relieving this had felt. It had been long overdue, "Don't you ever dare to talk like that about him ever again. He's a Glaive! Protecting you and everyone else in this city with his life."

"Oh, interesting! So, he's just a refugee? He’s not from here? Fascinating with what kind of people you spent your time with. Your mother will be pleased to know that.", Matt said with a smirk, turning around to go back into the ballroom to find your mother.

You called Matt back and he stopped, looking expecting at you with one raised brow. You saw the surprise about your courage in his eyes but the thing was your strength was never gone you just had forgotten to use it. You just needed a trigger to get back to your old self and Matt had found this point without knowing it. So, you stepped forward, keeping eye contact until you stood right under Matt’s nose. With a low but serious voice and a lopsided smirk on your lips you said: "You know, it doesn't matter what he is or not. It doesn’t matter what you or anyone else will think. He’s a soldier and it’s honorable. It doesn’t matter where Nyx comes from. And besides, Galahd was a beautiful, magical and unique place before Niflheim decided to destroy this jewel. No matter what you will do or say to whomever, Nyx will always be more of a man than you will ever be in your entire life, you little, lying cheater.", you said and ended your little speech with a sweet grin as you saw Matt’s shocked and surprised expression.

As you watched satisfied how Matt disappeared back into the ballroom and into the world he belonged to, your eyes landed on Nyx who stood there in the door frame with two drinks in his hands and staring right at you with big eyes.

With a soft, warm smile you walked over to Nyx, taking one of the drinks from his hands, “So, you heard what I said, I guess?”

“Y-yeah, actually every single word.”, he whispered, still not believing what you had said about him, “You had defended me in front of him. I- I mean, I have no idea what he did so you would react like this but … it was impressive to watch and … flattering.”, Nyx said honestly.

You nodded before you gulped down the stiff drink in one go to calm your nerves, “You know, to talk back to this asshole was long overdue. And … as long as he was attacking me it was okay but you … You don’t deserve this. Never. From no one. And mostly not from one person in this room.”, you said and somehow Nyx’ eyes were sparkling even more. Emotions were staring back at you which seemed to be buried away for a very long time.

Nyx, who was still flashed by you, closed the small gap, cupped your face and leant down to kiss you and this time, it worked. As he felt your warm, soft lips, he couldn’t believe it. An emotionally lightning shot though his body and electrified him within seconds as if he had been dead before for years. Your lips tasted as sweet as he had imagined and that you moved along with him gave him goosebumps.

Your heart skipped a beat as Nyx kissed you. It was perfect. It was the only way you could describe this whole scene: as perfect. Nyx’ full lips were warm and demanding in a sensual way. He kissed you not to say something he couldn’t find words rather because he just wanted you. To pull him closer, you grabbed into his suit shirt and jacket what caused Nyx to chuckle about your eagerness but you didn’t care. Like a thirsty plant for water, you were thirsty to taste more of Nyx.

Slowly, the kiss increased as both of you opened your mouths to taste each other's tongues, exploring each other. Nyx still tasted the stiff alcohol on you and breathed in your breath while deepening the kiss. He moved his hand from your face down to your back to pull you closer-

“YN! That’s not appropriate behavior for a wedding!”, your mother called out.

Slowly, you left Nyx’ lips, not seeing any reason to hurry at all. With a stupid grin you looked into the most perfect blue eyes you had ever seen which were sparkling with so much fire and joy as if their light had been rekindled after a very long sleep.

Nyx matched your grin and was still holding you in his arm, snaked firmly around your waist, not ready to let you go just now. Gently, he nudged your nose with his own, “What do you want to do now, YN? Any plans?”, he asked.

“We will leave this place. Together. Come on, Glaive.”, you said, taking his hand in yours to leave the balcony. As you passed your mother, who stared at you in shock, you said: “Goodnight mother, we will leave. Usually, I would say ‘it was a nice evening’ but that would be a lie.”, you said and stepped forward before you stopped once again, “Oh, and I didn’t congratulate the bridal couple because, well, for reasons. But I’m sure they will be happy together. Something tells me they deserve each other.”, and with that said, you left the wedding with Nyx.

Your mother was calling after you but you ignored her. But if you would have turned around one last time, you would have seen how your dad was grinning and cheering for you because in his eyes, you had done the best move possible.

*

While the driver of the limousine drove the two of you back to your place, none of you said something. You were just cuddling. As Nyx had entered the car, you had scooted over to him immediately, leaning your head against his chest while he laid his arm around your shoulders. You had intertwined your fingers with his and with your thumb you drew small patterns on his skin while you were smiling stupidly.

Nyx followed his own thoughts while burying his nose into your hair to breathe in your scent. But none of his thoughts were dark anymore. Rather, he asked himself why he had withdrawn himself the whole time and thought he would do the right thing? The only one he was punishing was himself and with you, he realized that he had done it far too long. The first kiss had been enough to spark the dying flame of all his hopes and dreams again. But the flame wasn’t just some smoldering. It was a roaring fire that filled his chest with all the emotions he had sealed somewhere deep all these times before. Just one kiss with you had been able to break this firm seal.

There was no turning back and Nyx would fight like on the battlefield to let this fire burn till he would die…

Still cuddled to Nyx’ side, he brought you to your floor and to the apartment door. You were about to open the door which would mean the end of the night as you turned around, flinging your both arms around Nyx’ neck to kiss him longingly.

Nyx didn’t need to get asked twice. He pressed you against the door, letting his hands roam over the fabric of your clothes to get a first feeling of your curves while he noticed how your fingers found their way into his hair. You played with the longer strands, tracing down the braids and stopping at the beads you found. Alone this touch was enough to make Nyx hungry for more.

You were surprised how soft his greyish hair really was. The whole evening you had asked yourself how Nyx’ hair would feel between your fingers but reality was so much better than what you had thought. Unfortunately, your lungs demanded oxygen and so, just very reluctantly, you left Nyx’ lips. He rested his forehead against your and was as breathless as you were but he was also grinning. Still playing with his hair, you pushed yourself to ask the question you wanted to ask, “You… Would you like to come in?”, you asked hopefully that he would say yes. For you, the night was still not over.

Nyx leant back, looked into your eyes and chuckled before he smirked about your confusion, “Of course, I want to come in. My clothes are still in your apartment. Remember?”, he teased.

“Oh, right… your clothes.”, you said, grinning from ear to ear, “How inconvenient this coincidence is.”, you teased back.

“Just open the door and I’m sure your clothes will join mine pretty soon.”

***

Two months later…

You stood in your kitchen, preparing the morning coffee as you did every day. The rising morning sun was illuminating your apartment in a magical, golden light. It was this kind of light and the smell of the brewing hot liquid that made it easy for you to lose track of your thoughts. Just two strong arms around your middle brought you back to reality and conjured a lovestruck smile on your lips.

You turned around in the arms to face Nyx who was matching your smile even if it was a tired one. Even his hair was tousled and so, you smoothed down the long, stubborn strands before you pressed a gentle kiss on his lips, “Good morning, handsome.”, you whispered.

“Morning, babe. I missed you in bed. I wanted to cuddle.”, he said, pouting.

You chuckled softly, feeling sorry to disappoint him, “I know but I have this important call in an hour and have to do a few things before- hey! Let me down! Nyx!”, you shrieked, laughing by surprise. Nyx had grabbed you to throw you over his shoulder. With you hanging upside down, he carried you back to the bedroom. You bounced slightly as Nyx let you carefully down on the mattress, “Nyx, come on. I don’t have time.”, you chuckled while he was crawling on top of you, kissing along all the bare skin of yours he could find.

“You said one hour. That gives me still forty minutes to have some fun with you. And then, you will still have some time to prepare whatever you want.”, Nyx said between a bunch of hot kisses along your collarbone before he continued over your neck, your weak spot he had figured out really quick.

You sighed, obeying him and his lips as you always did when he was in this kind of mood. It were two months you dated Nyx and it was still thrilling like in the beginning, “But this call is important. It’s with my dad. You know, because of the contracts I need for the refugee foundation.”, you moaned while Nyx bit into your neck. It was already difficult for you to keep your thoughts straight.

Nyx leant back, looking at you with a smirk, “With your dad, huh? He will understand it if you need some extra time. Don’t forget that he likes me. A lot. So, stop trying to resist me. It’s not even working. Just obey me and my lips.”, he breathed, leaning down, “I know you want me.”, Nyx whispered and kissed you passionately that you melted underneath him. Like you always did.

*

And Nyx was right. You were delayed and you apologized a hundred times to your dad but as you mentioned Nyx, your dad was understanding and brushed it off with a smile and a bunch of questions about Nyx and how he would be doing. In fact, since the wedding two months ago, your whole life had taken a complete turn.

After the wedding, Nyx stayed the night. And the next night. And the night after that. Quickly, the two of you had developed a deep, loving and strong relationship and three weeks later, you followed your heart: you had asked Nyx to move in with you. You didn't need much persuasion because Nyx was looking forward to being able to spend more time with you.

Your mother had called you after the wedding, scolding you for your behavior and how you could dare to bring a refugee as a date. But quickly, you gave her a talk about how bigoted she was and that she had to be more open minded if she wanted to keep you in her life. Very slowly, she realized that you meant what you said and gave in. She needed a bit more time but after a while she started to like Nyx, too.

It was helpful that your dad liked Nyx from the start. After the wedding, your dad had called you to congratulate you for your impressive act in front of your mother before you had left. In fact, he also had heard your little speech you had given Matt as you had defended Nyx and was proud about this as well. You had been speechless because til this day, you never had thought your dad would be proud about anything you ever did. And because the ice was broken between you and him, you talked about everything.

So, three weeks after the wedding, as you, Nyx, Pelna, Libertus and Crowe sat at Yamachang’s, you came up with an idea. You loved spending time with Nyx, Crowe and the others. You loved being in the underground of Insomnia where the refugees were living. You loved the different foods and the music, the atmosphere was unique and exotic but the circumstances the refugees had to live in were questionable. So, you had the idea to do something against it. You were already a big fan of the different cultures and you were convinced Insomnia would benefit as a city if it would use this unknown knowledge.

And with the help and support of your dad, who was hooked by your idea immediately, you started and planned a foundation to help the refugees. The infrastructure of the underground had to be changed and some things had to get modernised while the heart and the soul of everything had to be preserved.

You never congratulated Matt on his wedding and if he was at family meetings, you just refused to come as well. Your mother was raging. Your dad had your back with the most creative excuses. But now and then, when you were awake at night, and while you were watching Nyx sleeping next to you peacefully, you thanked Matt for cheating on you. Otherwise, you would never have found this treasure of a man who had turned your world upside down.

You never thanked Crowe for setting you up with Nyx and you didn’t have to because you knew she was already proud of her matchmaking skills. To see two of her best friends finding happiness and love in each other was enough regard for her.

Because in the end, she had done nothing more than finding a fake date for you, a friend in need…

[erabundus]

❝  skin  off.  ❞  the  chopping  halts,  if  only  for  the  moment.  a  deft  flick  of  the  wrist  has  him  gathering  the  sliced  pieces  of  chili  along  the  blade.  there's  a  brief  pause,  indigo  eyes  flicking  about  their  assembled  ingredients  —  before  a  hand  darts  out  to  grab  an  empty  bowl.

❝  it's  not  bad.  ❞   the  wanderer  says,  tapping  the  knife  against  the  bowl.  with  the  chili  taken  care  of,  he  turns  his  attention  to  the  ginger.  they're going to  need  a  bit.  ren  carefully  starts  to  slice  away  the  tough  outer  layer.  ❝  liyue,  i  mean.  i've  always  liked  the  idea  of  CONTRACTS ...  arrangements  born  of  mutual  benefit  are  generally  what  i  prefer  by  default.  if  you  think  about  it,  a  contract  is  merely  a  more  binding  version  of  that.  ❞   they're intended to be,  at  least.  he's  not  so  ignorant ( nor naïve )  as  to  assume  every  contract  is  based  in  FAIRNESS  —  yet  the  wanderer  finds  he  doesn't  particularly  have  a  problem  with  that.  this  life  is  filled  with  tiny  battles,  waged  by  means  that  extend  far  beyond  mere  strength;  if  anyone  is  shrewd  enough  to  negotiate  a  favorable  arrangement  for  themselves,  they  have  every  right  to  bask  in  their  VICTORY.  ❝  it's  surprisingly ...  ❞  ren  halts  his  chopping  to  gesture  vaguely  with  his  free  hand.   ❝  vertical?  you  would  think  that  might  be  more  mondstadt's  thing.  ❞ he supposes they're both like that in their own respective ways.

❝  although to be frank,  i  think  inns  are  a  waste  of  money.  ❞  the  wanderer  continues,  and  he  can't  suppress  the  urge  to  roll  his  eyes  a  bit  —  kunihide's  CURIOSITY  be  damned.   ❝  why  would  i  pay  to  spend  the  night  somewhere  when  i  don't  actually  sleep?  staying  OUTSIDE  works  just  as  well  —  and  it  doesn't  cost  a  single  mora.  ❞  he  spins  the  piece  of  ginger  on  its  side  and  begins  slicing  —  no  real  rhyme  or  reason  to  his  movements.  it's  going  to  be  MINCED  to  bits  either  way;  he  doesn't  have  to  worry about making  the  cuts  look  pretty.   ❝  i'm  apparently  in  the  minority there,  ❞  a shake of the head,  ❝  because  they're  awfully  popular ...  particularly  with  travelers,  of  course.  i'm  sure  i  don't  have  to  explain  why.  ❞

unsurprisingly, he was far less CRITICAL of such things when he didn't have to pay for his own room.

❝  i  don't  need  to  eat,  but  i  like  to  taste ...  so  the  act  of  COOKING  a  meal  still  holds  some  intrinsic  value  to  me.  ❞  he  repeats  the  same  action  from  before  —  gathering  up  the  minced  ginger  with  the  edge  of  his  knife  and  depositing  it  into  another  bowl.  ❝  my  first  true  introduction  to  the  world  involved  living  among  a  village  of  HUMANS ...  they  were  the  ones  to  teach  me  the  basics.  ❞

Obedient as ever, Kunihide gives a nod at the instructions that he's given and sets to work at completing them. It's certainly not his first time cleaning a fish, and while some might have been put off by the sensation, Kunihide is hardly bothered by it in the slightest. "Skin on or off?" It's the only other thing that he needs clarification on as he begins to scale the fish with the back of the knife he's been provided with, clearly comfortable with the process.

The sound of one blade scraping away fish scales while another chops away at vegetables is almost soothing, truth be told. Many of Kunihide's fondest memories involve cooking and eating together, and it's perhaps why he's so eager to assist Ren in preparing this meal. Even now, the puppet finds himself learning bits and pieces about Ren, and he does his best to commit them to memory, even as he listens quietly.

"What's it like? Liyue, I mean." He's heard descriptions - read about them in books and listened to tales when given the opportunity to do so. There's a part of him - a large part, if he's bring truthfully - that wishes he could see it all for himself. The world is wide, after all, and he's only seen the barest hint of it in the centuries that he's been alive. "Have you seen the rest of Teyvat too?"

He loves his home, but there's no denying that Kunihide wants to see everything else that the world has to offer. Even if only for a short while, even if he ultimately returns to the land of his birth in the end, just a taste of what else is out there would be an amazing experience. It's certainly one of the things that makes Ren different from himself - the other puppet's worldly travels versus his own ignorance with regards to the rest of Teyvat.

"I've never stayed at an inn before," he comments, holding Ren's gaze for a beat or two longer before it returns to the fish, bringing the tip of its knife to its belly so that he might begin making a first, shallow incision. Don't puncture any of the organs - he'd learned that early on after one particularly unpleasant experience, and has taken care to not repeat that mistake every since.

Considering his doppleganger's words, Kunihide hums for a moment thoughtfully, eyes flicking back towards Ren for a brief moment, "Do you enjoy cooking too, then?" He asks, unable to keep from searching for more similarities. "I can't imagine that you would bother if you didn't."

Why cook if one didn't need to eat, unless they liked both the activity itself and the experience that came from eating the food produced?

[bokuroo-squeals]

Of rough time, marriage and fears

Daichi x reader

Genre: Requested angst to fluff

Summary: After a year of being happily married, trouble seems to appear at paradise when Daichi starts growing distant.

Note: This is not the best, and I don't think I took it the right direction but it was fun to experiment with this. Let me know if there's any orthographic or grammar mistake ,and thank you for reading!!

Marriage is more than a pretty wedding and golden rings, more than a cozy house with nice plants to water. Marriage is way more than all that, so it's not surprise to have though days, fights and disagreements are not a foreign concept, but nothing of this was enough to break you and Daichi. Or so you thought.

One year into your spouse life started like a dream. Even when the road had potholes in the way, you two were mature about it and faced them together. Every morning you woke up next to the love of your life, and he held you close as if you were the most valuable thing in the world, and for a while, you thought you were to him. But months gone by taught you otherwise, because now the space between you was unbearable, like ice left too long on skin. And how it started you don't know, but you wished you did.

The first sign was Daichi growing distant, the second one was him getting in contact with an old friend, a past 'almost something' he knew since high school. And then, it was him spending more time with friends, with her, and you left alone at home to play the loyal housekeeper, the cute spouse that cleaned and cooked but couldn't enjoy dinner with the husband. So it hurt, the feeling of being left behind was slowly filling your lungs until you couldn't gasp for air normally, until the sensation was too much to handle.

The night was as normal as it could go, with you sitting on the couch, waiting for Daichi to come back home from work. Dinner had grown cold, and the clock's hands had moved so much for you to remember how long have you been waiting. Alone in a house meant for two, you couldn't help but feel lonely without Daichi, and you stop to thing briefly, maybe it's your own fault.

It's almost midnight when you hear the door open, then the shuffle of his shoes against the floor. He comes to through the frame, notices your figure and walks your way with heavy steps, Daichi's weight pulling him down in every movement of his legs shows how tired he is.

"It's late, you shouldn't have wait for me. I was out with Suga and the rest after work" he explains briefly after he collapsed next to you on the couch, finally giving into exhaustion.

The conversation ends like that.

Next time is not as peaceful

"Where are you going?" You asked again, the third time already on the week. You're tired, tired of not feeling like you still matter to him, exhausted of feeling him escape through your fingers even when he is right there in front of you.

"Another class reunion. Yuna-san..."

Your blood rushes with anger and you don't let him finish, you can't. It's too unbearable, the feeling of fury.

"Yuna-san? Another reunion? Daichi, please. You're rarely home this days, please, can you just stay with me this time?" Is not easy or possible for you to mask how exasperated you are at this point. Your husband notices the trembling of your body, coming closer to you with a tired sigh.

"We talked about this. Don't do this tonight, Y/n" with how hard he mutters it, it comes out like a warning, one that you're willing to ignore in favor of your feelings. This time is different, any patience or consideration have been thrown to the drain by you, and you are finally ready to explore.

"No! We haven't talk about this, we never talk, and that's the problem! Is always just you asking me to drop it, to leave you alone, to swallow everything inside me, and honestly, I'm not doing that anymore" He stares at you with brows knitted together tightly, a clear sign of him not approving what he takes as a tantrum for his attention.

"We'll talk when you have calmed down. Until then, I'm going out" Daichi turns to walk out, about to leave the scene like nothing, like your marriage was nothing.

Tears you didn't know were there start falling out of your eyes, dramatic style out of a lame romantic movie.

-

For him, it started with jokes and teasing from the team, making fun of him for a few laughs. It wasn't anything too malicious, a few comments here and there over his marriage life, how he was an old man now and how they were getting ready to not see him anymore at reunions or parties. Daichi could handle that, even laughing along with them, until Yamamori Yuna arrived back into his life.

There was a school reunion that he decided to attend after months of being stressed by work, just going out for some drinks and catch up with their past classmates, a night to refresh those records left in their memories from their youth. Everyone was chatting animatedly, the same jokes Daichi was used to were repetead, which he responded with an equally happy laugh. But the girl next to him frowned, her hand discreetly sneaking in a smooth motion all over his arm to get to his shoulder.

"Doesn't it bother you, Sawamura-san? They're making fun of you. " The seemingly troubled expression on her face was enough to cut his laughter.

"It's alright, I'm having fun out of it too"

"Well, it's not fun for me as your friend. Ever since the wedding you have been so engrossed on your partner, that it looks like have forgotten to be your own person, and now you're the joke of your friends". Yamamori's frown deepened even more, her pretty face painted with fake consern. She was so immersed in the little act, in her own selfish intentions, that every word sounded like authentic worry.

That conversation stays engraved on his mind more than it should've.

It's not like he doesn't love you, because he does. The band on his finger is the proof of his adoration towards you, but the fear of losing himself is powerful and big enough to overthink. Daichi starts going out more, because after thinking about it, he was closing off his friends, going out less, not answering texts, missing calls and updates from his friends.

Yuna seems to have all the answers for the questions plaguing his mind, so naturally, he hangs out more with her and his friends. Getting loose and enjoying himself with other people that's not you, because he thinks it what he needs.

He's told you before that she's hanging out with the boys and him lately, he's talked about her when you ask where he was or what was he doing. It's not like he's hiding the fact that he's been in contact with her, yet you still feel like trash when the ghost of doubt makes it's way on your heart.

-

When he returns, he doesn't expect you to be awake, thinking that you'd be on your shared bed, passed out after calming yourself. But you're as awake as you could be, with bloodshot eyes and dry tears over your sad features, and his heart pants with pain at the view. Is heartbreaking, seeing you as equally heartbroken, and us even more heartbreaking knowing he was the cause of your suffering. So he holds you, close to his heart to comfort a little what he has hurt.

"You don't love anymore. You're gonna leave me for her, Yuna" your words are tainted by anguish. An uncomfortable affirmation from your part, one that's not even close to the truth. His breathing stops and for a moment, he swears his heart does too.

"Don't say that, don't you dare say that again. I love you so much, you don't even understand." He opens up his heart with you.

Fifteen minutes is how much it takes him to explain to you all what has gotten to his mind ever since the first reunion. How he was afraid of not being him anymore, of being forgotten by his friends, of hovering over you too much.

"I'm awful, I'm the worst. My selfishness is the worst. I know, now I know. But please, you're the only one for me, I'd never cheat or leave you. The only one on my mind is you. At this point, you've ruined everything for me; love, sex, even religion. No-one can come close to whatever you do, to whatever you make me feel, I can't be tempted by anything that isn't you".

You belive him, you do. The way words spill so easily, flowing like water, can't be faked, neither can be the sparkle in his eye which you hadn't seen in weeks.

-

Daichi's path to redemption begins with being home early after work. Coming to your arms as soon and fast as he can, welcoming your warmth deep in his soul. Once again in your embrace, is hard for him to think just how much has he been missing out.

Is the kisses and hand holding, is your voice and your love what makes Daichi feel safe.

"Daichi, you have to shave" you tell him between giggles, his facial hair caressing the skin on your neck making you itchy.

"Later" he murmurs while he inhales your scent. It calms him down, it relaxes him.

Right now, he has to hold you close, love you as much as he can to make up for the bitter days he had made you suffer. Right now, you feel as safe and as happy as possible, between his arms that are your real home, beside him where you belong.

Marriage is more than just a pretty house and golden rings. Marriage is failing and hurting, with the promise of fixing whatever it needs to mend together.