#it wouldn’t even be called hidden adventure it’d just be called hidden with all the secrets between them

[pokemon1oadvanced]

I would love chaos theory to have an interactive game like camp cretaceous but I can’t imagine the choices would be difficult.

Yaz: “We should not do this incredibly dangerous thing.”

The rest of the gang: “We’ll do it on three.”

Kenji: Does it on one*

[snirtsnirkarts]

The Adventure continues!

That is, until they’s stumped in the small town of Ponyville on their way to update the princess and see the wonderbolts! Many mysteries about that place. But given their trio would be stuck for a while, they get comfortable for the time being. Twilight investigating their history, the ever free forest, and many more. Pinkie trying very food in town, and making parties for every new friend in town. And Rainbow would tag along, although of course is rather distracted by an earth pony giving her rather nasty looks…

There was allegedly an on going Freud between some farmers and a veterinarian, of sorts. Something about getting rid of bats and missing apples.

We eventually meet Apple Jack, who doesn’t like these strange creatures coming into her town. The only normal seeming on being Twilight, who had no interest in talking with others, but seemed to have the two creatures following her around everywhere. Apple Jack was worried for that unicorn for a while. Until it turned out she was strange too. Strangely powerful, raising a baby dragon, lack any social skills. She doesn’t trust not a one of them, until of course, Rainbow, determined to be liked by ponies, and prove a point to AJ for judging them by how they look, offers to help solve her Vampire Fruit Bat problem. AJ is rather suspect and stubborn about not needing their help, but she did desperately need this to stop.

That is where we meet Fluttershy! She would avoid the trio and successfully evade them for a while. But Pinkie would find out she hadn’t made friends with one pony. They actually found them arguing one day(Well, as much as you could call AJ yelling at Fluttershy while she just stood there and gave soft answers arguing). What makes her come out of her shell of course, is the baby dragon. She’d never seen one before and was absolutely obsessed, asking Twilight for all the information she had. Which, lucky for Fluttershy and Twilight alike, Twilight loved talking about her research, and she had researched a lot on dragons, and was raising one. Of course Twilight knew a lot.

Finally, it is revealed that the culprit of the missing apples was Fluttershy all along! (Same reasons in season 4 ep 7 Bats!, although this time not much of a cure for her looks. That’s why she’d hidden her wings and ears) probably through Twilight’s magic they’d fine a way for her to manage herself better. Effectively solving AJ’s problem.

Eventually they go to leave town, but not before Fluttershy and AJ would join them, Fluttershy seeing they’re traveling and wanting to learn more about other animals and creatures, and them being the only friends she really made. Plus she promised Twilight to help babysit Spike, so of course Twilight was delighted to have someone who wouldn’t be burdensome on her trip. AJ using the excuse that she’d think selling around would bring more business to her Apple farm, the truth being these were very strange ponies, and she wants to keep a close eyes on them. One of the reasons they were in Ponyville was to get a cart, as they were collecting quite a few things along the way, and it’d be much easier for them. AJ agrees to pull it, as long as her Apple business could fit inside. And it did. AJ would also adjust their stops to pick up more apples at other family’s farms. And we effectively have AJ and Fluttershy join the fray!

On, but I forgot to mention one person, who’d actually appeared through out their trip, selling her fashion line to gain traction, and traveling herself to better learn all of the fashion trends from around all of Equestia! Rarity they would meet at a market around the wonderbolts performance. Pinkie would be the one to recognize her, even if she did stand out as a Zebra. Zebras didn’t normally live in these areas. Rarity finally really approaches them when she sees Fluttershy, and her outfit. (Fluttershy hides that she was from the city, and a rich family. She knew a thing or two about fashion, and even more so about sewing) Rarity compliments it although complains about being unable to see Fluttershy’s cutie mark, and furthermore her wings! They were incredibly stunning, one of a kind. Rarity would be the one to encourage her to change her outfit to show her further, to give Fluttershy a makeover because she should feel proud of who she is.

Now Rarity would ask why they were traveling, having herself seen them about. And by hearing it, now Rarity wanted to tag along. She wanted to go those places in any case, and now with Fluttershy she could help Rarity with her work, and be her model! And Rarity would tell them of her own childhood legend, as her home was not somewhere on the list, but Twilight would now add it to find out about this one as well. Sounding like another of The Six Pillars. Lucky they had Rarity too, because it was hard and dangerous to get there if you don’t have someone who knows the way.

With Rarity eventually warming up to AJ, she too will get a knew haircut, as Rarity promises it will look nice, and stay out of the way of AJ’s hard work. That’s something that happens a little later and probably plays out similarly to Look Before You Sleep(season 1 ep 8) I hadn’t really decided on when Rainbow will be revealed, just know it’ll be dramatic. Since Changlings are still evil in this story. It think it’ll have to be when they eventually visit the crystal kingdom or a magic free area where changling magic just isn’t affective.

But that concludes how I imaged each of the Main Six would join the party! And of course how I think they’d look. I hope you all enjoyed and thank you for taking the time to look!

[asexual-spongebob]

The Waves That Lap The Shore - Chapter 30 - Closing Time

Notes:

I can’t believe this fanfic is actually coming to an end- it feels like just yesterday this was just a concept. Just a thought. Just an idea. Just a drawing. But now here I am, many months later. Posting the last chapter… But don’t worry! Our beloved fish dudes aren’t going to be completely gone after this! I have a feeling I’m still going to think about this AU quite a bit. Who knows, maybe in the future I’ll post some one shots of them. And I know for a fact I’ll probably still make animations or pmvs with them most likely. I have actually made some pmvs of this au already if you’d like to watch them For yourself:) https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW7sHfzMCSsxyuwvZ9RvFfwjukOMHv1_3

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Hey it’s Shellington! It’s been many years since the “Kwazii was bitten by a cobra”  incident. I still can’t believe that was 11 years ago! 

I’m thankful that he survived!

Now Kwazii’s the captain of the Octopod, Barnacles retired a few years ago and now lives up in the Arctic near Pearl and Bianca. 

Inkling is still here, somehow. Koshi helps ink out in the library. 

Me and Peso are happily married and have been for almost ten years! Our anniversary is coming up. 

Kwazii and Paani and Dashi and Tweak also got married many years ago. 

After the “Kwazii was bitten by cobra” incident Kwazii and Paani found a newborn kitten (which they named Kai, as it means ocean or sea in several languages.) and took her in. Kai is 11 years old and they are quite intelligent, they like watching me do my experiments. 

Me and Peso also have a child  as well, their name is Lucia and they are almost 11 years old, she’s an albino sea otter and I saved her from being eaten by a predator. 

Periwinkle is now in college and is majoring in Marine Biology, we still talk quite often. 

We look back fondly (or… not so fondly) on our adventures (and misadventures) together. 

Like that time Peso got moonstruck and through that party, or our crazy times in the Amazon! Or the time Paani forced us all to watch (or in me and Dashi’s case, rewatch) Invader Zim. We all became fixated in the process-

Anyway. Thanks for reading our story :) 

~ Shellington Sea Otter.

Notes:

Holy shit that was a wild ride. I just want to thank everyone for reading this fic, leaving a comment, leaving kudos, likes or upvoting, it really means the world to me. I genuinely didn’t think so many people would want to read this kind of fic, but boy was I mistaken. I’m honestly very proud of this, this is the first ever long fic I actually finished and didn’t abandon. How I even thought of this AU was I saw my dear friend, Midori’s Octonauts Mermaid AU “Reclaimed By Nature” (which by the way, is a very good fanfic, I’d definitely recommend giving it a read! Especially if you’re a fan of Kwazton and Pearlanca! You can read it here: https://reclaimed-by-nature.carrd.co/) And I thought that was pretty neat. So I wondered to myself “huh… what if I made a H2O x Octonauts AU?” So I started to think of concepts. I had a couple in mind, one of the first being that Shellington would keep the secret much longer (he didn’t even tell Peso for awhile, which he would’ve felt very guilty about) and that he would’ve been very stressed about keeping it hidden from everyone. (Which, was inspired by a merman Lewis h2o AU fic I read, called H2O: A New Tail) Another one I had was basically the same as the first, but Peso would’ve found out sooner, as he would’ve gone after Shellington after got splashed while they were cleaning the beach, and he would’ve found him in the kelp forest. Shell would’ve tried to tell him that it was just a costume but Peso wouldn’t have really bought that so he would’ve told Peso the truth and Peso would’ve been like “it’s okay I still love you :) <3” One of the things I originally planned for this fic was that it’d be short, around 12 or 13 chapters, and that It’d just be about the lives and times of Peso and Shellington after Shellington became a merman. But now here we are, many chapters and scrapped concepts later- I actually even have an AU of this AU, it’s basically where I put all my scrapped concepts (one of the being that Paani was always a merm, I even wrote a short one shot about it, which I’ll probably post sometime soon) I named it “The Sight”. I originally planned for this fic to have 40 chapters, but I realized that many of them were unnecessary, so I scrapped most of them, other then my concept for chapter 35, which I kept and incorporated into chapter 29. Also I might make a story about Kai and Lucia??? If y’all really want that… It’s probably not gonna be anything big, just one shots or something but I mean maybe? If that’s what y’all want? Like I’d be happy to write a short fics on their origin story’s. After this fic, I might write a fic for another Octonauts AU I came up with that ive nicknamed “Invader Kwazii”. It’s an Invader Zim x Octonauts AU where Kwazii is sent to conquer Earth by The Tallest (who are Barnacles and Inkling) because they think he’s worthy of it. And it’s basically the plot of Invader Zim after that, there’s a few differences (like how it takes place in high school) tho, but other then it’s very similar to the plot. It also has Kwazini. It’s a little passion project for me, not to mention I’ve got plenty of ideas of how I want it to go. Another AU of mine I’ve been thinking about writing is my “Vampire Kwazton AU” it’s basically a AU where Shellington is a vampire and it takes place during the early 1990s when Grunge music was the big thing. It’s still a w.i.p but that might be a fic I write in the future, if I do I might just be a ficlet collection or something of the sort. Another fic I have I in mind is for my “Shellinoir” AU. Which will probably be a series of one shots. I came up with it after watching the SpongeBob episode “Squid Noir” which is where I got the title. It’ll likely be just a series of one shots. I also am currently pre writing an Invader Zim AU fanfic, it’s an AU where Dib and Gaz are sirens. I’ve currently got some chapters of it already written, however I want to finish it before I post it. I feel like this fic has taught me a lot and I’m glad.

[the-untamed-obsession]

When Someone Flirts With You!

Hello! Little disclaimer: This is the same format used on two different blogs, they’re both mine (if you’ve seen them). This is just a really fun thing to do, so I always try to do them for new fandoms I join and whatnot. I hope you like it! 

Sidenote: Normally, I have banners just cuz they look nice but I’m not sure if I wanna make em for this blog, yet.

Includes: Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, Wen Ning, Lan Xichen, Jiang Cheng, Xiao Xingchen, Song Lan, and Xue Yang.

Come one, come all! See what happens when someone flirts with you in front of your mans!

Wei Wuxian:

One day, you were at a tavern waiting for your boyfriend to get back. He had left for only ten minutes and someone had already swooped in to bother you. No matter what you said or did, they just wouldn’t back off.

Like people don’t know who he is-

Normally, he won’t jump in immediately. He’ll stay back and just let you handle it if you can. If you can’t handle it, just look at him. He’ll know the second you make eye contact.

He prefers to stand next to the person and joins them. Of course, they’re uncomfortable and ask what he’s trying to do and he’ll respond with something like “flirting with my partner, they’re cute, aren’t they?”

Yeah, that usually doesn’t work. Unless people KNOW him and are scared of him, they would just brush him off.

He doesn’t like that. Not one bit, especially when you’re getting more uncomfortable by the minute.

He’ll try to do the same thing again, but the SECOND someone tries to touch you, he slaps them with his flute. No, he ain’t playing it, he’s swinging it. In one whole second, he’s in front of you and the person is most likely on the floor. 10/10 would recommend.

“Don’t ever touch my (y/n) ever again, ok?”

Lan Wangji:

You followed Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji on their adventures often and always tried to stay close to the duo. The ONE TIME you decided to go off on your own, you found yourself cornered. Thankfully, both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were just around the corner.

Oh dear.

He glares. He just idles at glaring at everyone. So even before you ask for help, he’ll just glare at the person. But if you need help, feel free to call him.

He’ll immediately stand between you and the offender. He’s not scared, he’s not arguing, just glaring silently.

50/50, he’s actually pretty scary so most people are freaked out.

In the unlikely event it doesn’t work out and they continue to push you, he’s fighting. But it’s Lan Wangji, he doesn’t have to try. It’s just… smack and they’re down. 10/10 would recommend.

“...”

Wen Ning:

During his adventures with Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, Wen Ning often tends to go off by himself. You always followed him, trying to keep as close as you could. There was one day where you were hungry, so you went to buy some snacks. Wen Ning didn’t come with you and you definitely regretted not asking him to join you. Someone had cornered you and they just wouldn’t let you leave so you had to call out to your boyfriend.

Even as fierce corpse, he’s pretty hesitant at times. So normally, he’d just wait it out to see what you do, mainly because he doesn’t want to be THAT boyfriend... you know the one who just does too much.

If you need help, just call him or look at him. He’ll be in front of you in a second, hiding you behind his form. He’ll at first just ask someone to leave you alone.

0/10. Never works, he just LOOKS nervous. So people will either try to push him out of the way or just roll their eyes and ignore him, while still trying to talk to you.

Wen Ning doesn’t care if people ignore him, it’s not the first time. What does really bother him though is when people can’t take a hint. He hates when you’re uncomfortable, so if someone is making you feel like that ON PURPOSE, he hates it.

The thing is, they can’t shove Wen Ning out of the way. He’s actually pretty strong and so the second they try to (especially after they ignore him), he just grabs their arm and twists it, holding them in place until they apologize to you.

8/10, usually very effective but if it still doesn’t work, he’ll just throw them out of the establishment. He warned them TWICE, he ain’t doing it again.

“Are you ok? I’m glad... I was worried I was too late.”

Lan Xichen:

He had invited you to an event with him, one where you did your best to stay close to him. You’d already seen some weird stares, ones that made you very uncomfortable. Unfortunately, Lan Xichen was called away for one second, but that’s all it took for someone to immediately come bother you.

He’s very observant, so he’s always got his eye on you. He worries more than he likes to admit, only because he doesn’t want to overdo it. You’re an adult, who can handle themselves.

However, if you do need help, just call for him. He’s on his way. He’ll immediately stop them by grabbing their arm and pulling them away, claiming they’re making you uncomfortable.

50/50 and it depends on whether they know him. Most don’t so they’ll kinda brush him off, which he doesn’t appreciate.

He’ll try again, not wanting to resort to violence. There are times where people just quit, finding him bothersome, but there’s always ONE person who wants to try again.

One person even tried to touch you once, roughly grabbing your arm and yanking you away from Lan Xichen.

Oh boy, he had his sword out faster than you’d ever seen. The person immediately let you go and you hid behind your boyfriend.

“Do not touch people without their permission.”

Jiang Cheng:

You were with Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and Jiang Cheng on one of their numerous adventures. They had left for maybe thirty minutes and you were keeping busy doing your own thing, when you felt a hand grab you. You thought it was Jiang Cheng, but boy were you wrong. However, your boyfriend wasn’t too far away.

He is PROTECTIVE.

The last thing he wants to see on your face is discomfort, especially when it’s caused by some creep.

He’s in front of you in a second and he’s usually pretty aggressive. The last thing you want to see is him fight, so you often just grab his arm and hide behind him.

Just that alone, usually makes people back off. It’s kinda obvious you’re already his. BUT. There’s that one fool…

They often move closer to you, ignoring Jiang Cheg, and ask if you’d like to “upgrade” to someone better. Before you can even answer, they’re on the floor.

“Yeah, like you’re any better. Come on, (y/n).”

Xiao Xingchen:

Normally, you’re glued to the hip with Xiao Xingchen, since you two were so close. There was one occasion where you stepped away from him to gather some flowers. He wanted to talk to someone about something, nothing you often concerned yourself with. That’s when someone took their chance and swooped in.

So he can’t see you, but he can hear you. All you gotta do is call for him and he’ll be at your side faster than the speed of light. He’s not immediately jumping to fight and often prefers to talk things out, instead.

0/10. It never works. Not one time has that ever worked. People just don’t back down, especially those who tend to bother you.

They usually just shove Xiao Xingchen aside, thinking he’s just a blind man who can’t do anything.

This is one of those things that just… bothers him. Xiao Xingchen can’t understand why, but when someone bothers you, it really makes him upset.

He’ll once again try to stop the offender through a more pacifistic way, but there was one time when someone roughly grabbed your hand and yanked you away from Xiao Xingchen. The squeal that left your mouth was something that just made him draw his sword.

It really was an accident. No one was hurt, but the person was scared away. 69/10 would recommend.

“Are you alright? Good, I’m sorry they hurt you.”

Song Lan:

You had often followed him and Xiao Xingchen on their adventures, doing your best to stick close to them both. One day you saw a flower that intrigued you more than it should have. So you walked over to it and you were gone for maybe ten seconds, but when you turned around, you couldn’t see Song Lan or Xiao Xingchen, but you did see another person blocking your path. He found you pretty quickly.

He’s usually always on high alert. He’s extremely protective of you, sometimes surprising himself.

He’ll usually step him, keeping you hidden behind himself so the other person can’t see you. If someone is holding your wrist, he’ll use his sheathed sword to separate you two. He mentions you’re uncomfortable and tells the person to leave.

2/10, it’ll work sometimes but rarely. Usually offenders shrug him off and just pretend as if he’s not there. Even if you hide behind him, they’ll walk around and try to get at you that way. If they touch you, it’s almost as if they touched Song Lan and he really doesn’t like that.

The second they try to grab you, they’re on the floor unconscious. They don’t stand a chance.

10/10 works every time. They’re not unconscious EVERY SINGLE TIME it’d about 90% of the time.

“Let’s go. No they’re fine, don’t worry about them.”

Xue Yang:

Xue Yang is obviously protective and he doesn’t like it when people touch/bother you. You belong to him, nobody else. There was one day you strayed too far and got in some trouble with 4 people.

LMAO

Xue Yang usually laughs when he steps in, telling everyone they should leave before he kills them.

Of course people don’t listen. Usually, they just brush him aside and go back to “impressing” you.

Xue Yang warns people ONCE. One warning and that’s IT. If they don’t listen, their funeral. Literally.

The worst occasion was when someone shoved Xue Yang away and pushed you against the wall. You screamed and felt something touching your chest. When you looked down, it was Xue Yang sword poking you which had been stabbed through the offender’s chest.

10/10 they’re literally dead?

“I warned you about touching what belongs to me.”

[twink-between-worlds]

honey whiskey ; chapter two

i bit the bullet y'all are getting an update today

chapter one is here!

relationships; sky & legend, four & legend, technically vio & legend

ao3 link; x

Legend woke up to the light shining in his eyes. Not a pleasant thing, really, but it is what it is. He swore the curtains had been closed, though.. Shifting to his side, he jumped a bit once he saw Sky sitting near the bed. “Sky?” what’s he doing here? “Ah! You’re awake..”Sky smiled gently. “How are you feeling?” “Um…fine? Why?” “Well…”Sky rubbed the back of his neck. “You decided to become a mini-me today. It’s pretty late in the afternoon. Time got me to sit with you cause we’re all worried about you sleeping in, cause you don’t usually do that, and it’s sort of worrying that you went to bed early and slept so late, and—”Sky cut himself off. “Sorry, I was rambling.” “It’s late?” That doesn’t seem good. Do we usually sleep that long? No…hylia, it’s been years since we last slept more than 2 hours. I, for one, am impressed we managed it. Myth, this usually means something is wrong.. You take all the fun outta things. Where’s the fun in oversleeping? technically we got a good amount of sleep. “Yeah. They got me up early to come see you.”Sky joked, lightly nudging Legend. His arm hit Legend’s side, where parts of the hero’s wings are hidden under his clothes. Ow— don’t wince don't wince don’t wince— Legend winced even though he tried his best not to. Maybe Sky didn’t notice? “Legend? Are you okay?” Of course he did…he pays a lot of attention to us. Too much attention, if you ask me. “Yeah, ‘m fine..” “Really? You seemed hurt when I touched your side—” “I’m fine Sky.” “Are you sure?” “Yeah, Sky.” Could he be more annoying? Be nice, Myth. Sky’s just worried! it’s nice that he cares.. Legend smiled faintly at Sky. “I wouldn’t lie to you.” “Promise?” “Promise.” This is…a new low for him. Lying to Sky of all people. Lying to Four is fine, voi is Legend’s best friend and will understand. But Sky… Sky’s too nice to lie to. But here he is. “Four was worried about you.”Sky hummed gently. “Voi was worried you have a hidden injury or something..” “I don’t.”Legend mumbled, sitting up with a stretch. His back popped. Motherfucker— Myth watch your language. “That sounded painful,”Sky noted quietly. “It’s just a side effect from adventuring for this long, Sky, I’m okay.” Sky gave Legend a look, before sighing and smiling. “Okay. Think you can get up though?” “Yup. Gimme some privacy so I can change, please?” “Oh! Of course, sorry.”Sky smiled. “I’ll wait outside!”He called as he left the room. Legend waited til Sky was gone, before he let out a heavy sigh. i hate lying We know… I wish we didn’t have to, but we do. We need to figure out how to mask the pain. Myth is right. Legend can’t wince when people touch his wings, or where his wings are. It’ll give it away that something’s wrong. He wishes he wasn’t like this. Lying is no fun, especially when he’s lying to people who trust him. Legend huffed, rubbing his eyes gently. Guilt is always the first strong emotion Legend feels after waking up. Never anything else—guilt comes first. It sucks, and Legend hates it. But he has a lot to be guilty over. Guilty over not protecting Fable, guilty over Koholint, guilty that he’s never home to help Ravio out— He’s the living embodiment of guilt. At this point, his middle name may as well be ‘guilt’. …it’d be a lot better than his actual middle names. Shaking his head, Legend tugged at the ties of his binder to tighten it back into, well, a binder, and pulled his red tunic over the black one. He still feels awful today. He’d honestly prefer to hide in the covers all day.. Dysphoria, maybe? seems like it. Hm.. We could try what Fable tells us to. Look in the mirror, convince ourselves that we’re the man we want to be? It’s worth a shot… we’ll look ridiculous if sky comes back in. It’s worth the embarrassment. Legend shook his head, yet sat down in front of the mirror anyways. He gets like this every so often. It sucks, and it always leaves him feeling sorta sick. He’s been called broken before. His uncle…never treated him differently. His uncle let him do what he wanted within the bounds of the law, and taught him that he should just be however he

thinks he should be. He never gave the whole ‘girls cant climb trees’, ‘girls have to be polite’, or ‘girls should behave and cook for the men in their lives’ lectures that everyone else did. He let Legend do whatever. It was great. Legend’s home as a kid was free from all the pressure the world put on him just because he was born in the wrong body. Even if he was a girl—men can and should cook, clean and be polite too! It’s total bullshit that people act like only women are capable of that. ravio’s an amazing cook.. i wanna go home. Ravio’s a really good cook! Here’s hoping Lorule didn’t have these shitty stereotypes. We could always ask him. i wanna go home i miss ravi’s cooking Legend snorted, he can almost hear the whining even in thought, silently picking at the scars on his leg. “Legend? Are you ready to go?”Sky called to him from outside the room. Gathering his thoughts, Legend got up and left after grabbing his things. “You okay?” “I hate stereotypes.” Sky raised an eyebrow as the two began to walk. “What?” “You heard me,”Legend pouted. “I hate stereotypes.” “O…kay?”He laughed, patting Legend’s shoulder. “Anyways. How are you feeling?” how am i feeling..? like shit. Legend chose to repeat that. “Ah.”Sky frowned. “Well, Four said voi wanted to talk to you before we start moving again. Vois in the library!” Legend nodded, watching Sky walk off before turning and heading to the library. Stepping into the building, Legend let out a quiet groan. Why did Four choose to be in a really big library? “Four? Where are ya, bud?”Legend spoke quietly, walking around a bit before he finally found Four. Fae is sitting on the floor with a pile of books, one open, faer purple-rimmed glasses slipping down their nose as fae looked up upon spotting Legend. Four waved him over, and Legend sat next to his friend. “You wanted me?” Violet eyes turned to him, and Legend shrunk in faer gaze. “You know I’m observant.”Four started, flipping the page of faer book. “Red noticed something was wrong with you yesterday. Now, I am not asking you to tell me what’s bothering you—that’s really none of my business.”A sigh of relief from the veteran, before Four continued. “However, I would like to tell you this. We are all worried about you, and if you ever need help, all you need to do is ask. It does not matter what day it is—all of us are available and wish to help you. You are our closest friend in the chain. We want nothing more than to help.” “I’m your closest friend in the chain..?” “Legend, you are the only member of the chain we have told about our…situation. Time discovered it on his own—but we told you about it. Of course you are.”Four cracked a faint smile, the cracks on faer cheek growing as fae did. It’s something Four—well, Vio—hadn’t explained outside of it being a curse. “Oh.” “I know I said I wasn’t going to ask, but…is there any way I can help you in this current moment of time?” Legend paused. is there? I don’t think so… “I’m not sure,”Legend admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “Not without telling you what’s wrong which…I’m sorry I don’t—” “That’s alright.”Four assured, still smiling as fae pushed faer glasses back up. “But please, tell me if I can help in any way.” Legend nodded gently. “Okay..” “How do you feel about reading with me?”Four grinned, a crack opening up faer cheek. It was only then that Four stopped smiling, letting the crack fade. “Sorry.” “I think your curse is interesting, Vio.”Legend spoke suddenly. “...want me to tell you about it?” “I’d like that.” And the two sat there for hours, Four explaining what the curse did to Vio’s physical body—and Four’s, by extension.

[lvyu]

is it lonely on that train?

. . ♡ ･ﾟghostbur x reader, wilbur soot x reader

⎯ warning(s): slight mention of death and violence, unrequited love, not proofread

⎯ wc. 1.2k

notes: i’m in my ghostbur feels, i have still not recovered from his... death, okay.

the stone felt so cold, even with socks on, and for a moment you’d forgotten why you hadn’t worn shoes. it couldn’t have been any later than midnight and even with residents who never seemed sleep, besides your shaky breath and soft crackling of a nearby torch, it was quiet.

so, so quiet.

approaching footsteps went unnoticed, though even if you had noticed it wouldn’t have been difficult to decipher who it was. no one else visited and whether that was out of guilt, grief, or they simply couldn’t care less, you didn’t know. then again you supposed that it probably just had to do with the other person it represented.

the looming figure behind you smiled. not out of happiness, pleasure or even due to the sheer madness of the man, he just found the entire situation funny. depressing of course, but where’s the adventure in life without a little tragedy?

“do you miss him?”

you wondered, was it your fault? could you have helped him?

his sudden presence startled you for only a moment before you returned your attention to the flower in your hand. it was small, originally part of a bunch but you had torn it off earlier. you figured it’d be a nice memento to place for him, even if he would never know.

“berry? you still there?”

you weren’t sure if the bubbling feeling inside you were tears waiting to burst or the urge to bash his head in for his mockery. he’d died once before, surely he wouldn’t mind a second time around.

seeing you stiffen at his words made him laugh. your reactions never failed to amuse him. though he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel sorry for you. there would always be a soft spot for you in his heart, a fact both of you knew.

“did you like my impression of him? good, aren’t i?” now standing by you, he nudged your shoulder. “berry, berry— cute.”

he was desperate.

there were six petals that you counted, though you were no expert. wilbur’s original question still lingered in your mind. of course you did, it was a stupid question in the first place, but his words always had a hidden question, didn’t they?

did you miss me?

his smile never faltered, even when you blatantly ignored him. your presence was enough to satisfy him, he didn’t need you to reply or even speak a word. you didn’t miss him and he knew that, but a man can dream. after all, why would you when you had good and sweet, innocent little ghostbur by your side.

six or so purple petals he counted, even with your attempts to shield it from his view.

tnt upon his resurrection site— he wondered who’s funny idea that was. a small l’manberg flag hanging as well, still as can be without the wind. and for the first time that night, he wore a genuine smile.

a sad smile, one filled with regrets and sorrow, but a smile nonetheless.

“president wilbur soot.”

he turned to you, smile gone, replaced with a look of shock slowly melding into curiosity. from what information tommy had fed him a while ago, you hadn’t spoken since his arrival— nearly three weeks. how did you manage to keep so quiet? was it that you had no words left, or perhaps it was that the one person you loved to talk to was now gone?

president wilbur soot. 

it’d been a while since he’d been called that. twelve, thirteen years? thirteen years... give or take a few months.

everyone referred to him as wilbur or will or some other variation of his name, but president? unless joking, no one besides you ever called him that. and to tease, sometimes you’d switch wilbur out for wilby— a sillier, more childish version of his name.

not once did he ask you to stop though, because even as you teased him, it was time spent with you.

“president wilbur soot sacked from his position.”

he hadn’t let you join pogtopia until days leading up to the attack on manburg, though by that point it wasn’t really his choice anymore. he wonders that if he had just spoken to you more, let you visit him, that perhaps you wouldn’t hate him as much as you did now.

the tnt laid on the stone, a reminder that no, there was nothing he or anyone could’ve done to make you hate him any less; no matter, he would always blow up the country you loved, he would always die and in the end, he would always be replaced by a better version of himself.

the version you loved.

“former president wilbur soot, stuck on a train until his precious savior dream came rescues him.”

a quiet laugh managed it’s way past his lips, now staring down at the blue adorning the grave. no doubt tommy had babbled to you about what his afterlife was like, what he had said when he first returned. not that he regretted what he said. his words were true, dream had saved him, albeit at the sacrifice of another.

the train, his personal hell.

the train that never stopped, a red light shining through every few seconds. a train with a seemingly endless amounts of carts and seats, that even though he knew impossible, he kept trying to sit in every single one. when he left he was up to the ten thousand something seats.

a train that no doubt, he knew ghostbur was suffering in.

without a second thought you dropped flower, keeping your hands cupped though you held nothing. there was no wind, not even a breeze to help move the flower and instead it stayed at your feet.

“he wouldn’t tell me, you know,” you whispered. “they wouldn’t tell me why they needed him, they just found us and pulled him aside.” he wondered that if they had bothered to tell you if he would even be standing here now. “the next day he just left, he said he had to do something for tommy and off...”

you paused, letting out a shaky sigh as a poor attempt to stall your tears.

“off he went,” your voice cracked. “and then you show up and... and they tell me he’s gone and tommy’s sorry and it’s all sam’s fault because he didn’t let him through or even try to save ghostbur! but...  but who’s...” you tugged at your sleeves, trying to calm yourself from your outburst.

“does it even matter?” your voice was back to a whisper now, sobs becoming louder by the second.

it was rhetorical he knew, but in his mind he still answered ‘no’. it didn’t matter to you because even with someone to blame, the person you loved was gone. nor did it matter to him because frankly, wilbur couldn’t give a damn about that ghost.

he moved and closed the gap between the two of you, putting his arms around you, bring his hand up to stroke your hair in a comforting manner. there wasn’t much else he could do and he knew he wasn’t the one you wanted, but he hoped he could be enough just one last time.

[ ⋯ ]

hyacinth; purple — i am sorry, please forgive me, sorrow

[biaswreckingfics]

Liminal: Part 1

Pairing: EXO x Female Reader

Genre: Witch!AU

Word Count: 4.5k

Warnings: Some strong language

Summary: Magic. Murder. Mystery. You don't know when this became your life, but your choice in the matter is long gone. Someone is after you, someone is killing witches, and when a coven approaches you and tells you you're one of them? You're sure they're crazy. What's so magical about a girl stuck working in a greenhouse?

------------------------------------------------

Junmyeon swipes up the newspaper that Chanyeol had thrown down on the table with a sigh. Kyungsoo watches the anger take over his face as he reads the article they have all already had the displeasure of seeing.

Another senseless murder.

Another witch dead.

Everyone in the room shares the same frustration. The same anger and helplessness that is fleeting across Junmyeon's face at this very second, and they have no idea how to stop it.

This is the sixth body that has shown up in the past two months. The police think it’s a serial killer, but they have no real idea of what's happening. All they keep managing to do is get in the way of the people who actually have a chance of solving the murders - and they needed to be solved quickly before anyone else is killed.

None of the covens or elders can figure out why this is happening. What would someone gain from killing witches? Even worse, what would someone gain from killing witches that didn’t practice magic?

That is part of what shocked Kyungsoo. Not only were witches being slaughtered, but there were entire lines of witches hidden from the covens. Sure, he had heard of people going into hiding after the war centuries ago, but he hadn’t realized how many there were or that they were still in hiding after a couple hundred years.

Did those who were killed even know they were magical or was that knowledge lost to them a long time ago?

It was a surprise to the elders too. When the first few deaths occurred, none of them realized it was witches being killed off. The only reason anyone figured it out is because an Elder works on the police force. Kyungsoo didn’t know if it was his instincts or something about the way they were murdered that caused red flags to go off in the Elder’s head, but if it wasn’t for him, they still wouldn’t know. He raised concern, and others began tracing back the deceased familial lines, ultimately discovering it’s their own being murdered.

“What should we do?” Seoyeon quietly asks.

“You carry on with what you’ve been doing.” The High Priestess says as she sweeps into the room. “You keep perfecting your skills, and let the Elders keep tracing family lines.”

Jongdae watches her from across the room, already shaking his head as she speaks. “That’s not enough. We need to find these other hidden witches before whoever is killing them does.”

“How do you suppose you’re going to find someone you don’t even know exists?” She asks calmly, clasping her hands in front of her as she comes to a stop next to Junmyeon. When nobody offers her an answer, she continues. “Running around like a bunch of blind mice isn’t going to solve anything. Obviously, report it if you see any suspicious activity. Otherwise, let the Elders handle this for now.”

Her words frustrate some of the members, but they leave no room for argument. Besides, only fools would argue with their High Priestess. Though, something about her words sends a thought through Kyungsoo’s brain.

He has noticed suspicious activity lately at a place that he frequents quite often. At first, he thought it was just paranoia because of the murders, but now he thinks it’d be stupid to ignore. Especially when someone’s life could be at stake.

“The greenhouse,” his deep voice rumbles, causing everyone to look at him. “I’ve noticed odd people hanging around there, and they only started coming once the murders began. I thought it was in my head, but now I’m not so sure.”

He ignores the way his cousin’s eyebrows furrow and focuses solely on the High Priestess, who nods at his words.

“I’ll check into the employees that work there. For now, continue going there to keep an eye on things.”

------------------------------------------------

You hum to yourself as you bend down and check the sage plants for any bugs. There’s only about an hour left of work, and you figure this is the quickest way to pass the time. Plus, you didn’t mind this part of the job. It’s mindless and lets you escape into your fantasy world that is always quietly calling your name.

“Did you know that some people use sage to ward off evil?”

You jump when you first hear the deep voice next to you, but a smile quickly grows on your face. Kyungsoo. One of the greenhouse’s most consistent customers and definitely one of your more favorite customers. His monotone voice would make you think he’s bored, but you could always hear the passion in it when he talked about plants.

You straighten up to meet his stare. “Is that why I get the random terrified customer that comes in asking for it?”

The smile immediately falls from his face as he processes your words. “What?”

“I’m joking, Kyungsoo,” you tell him as you hold back a laugh. “Besides, aren’t there specialty shops for that?”

“Probably.” He shrugs his shoulders before a curious gaze takes over. “So, do you believe in things like that?”

“In evil spirits?” A small laugh escapes from you. “No, not really. Ghosts, demons, magic… I don’t believe in any of it, but if someone comes in here looking for sage to protect themselves, I’m definitely not going to stop them.”

Kyungsoo nods at your words, but you can tell his mind is elsewhere. Either lost in a world of magic and evil or just in a daze. You glance past him to make sure everything else in the greenhouse is going okay and notice another customer watching you.

Changmin. Someone who only recently started coming to the greenhouse but wasted no time in trying to get to know you.

“Do you need any help Changmin?” you ask, causing Kyungsoo to look over at him.

The two make eye contact for a moment, and you curiously take in the sight. Did they know each other? Because the vibes you’re getting aren’t exactly friendly.

“I do, actually.” Changmin finally says, ripping his gaze away from Kyungsoo to look at you.

“Okay. One second.” You tell him, focusing back on the man in front of you. “Did you need anything else, Kyungsoo?”

He eyes Changmin a little longer before turning back toward you. “I’m good. Thanks. I’ll see you around, though.”

You nod and watch him walk away before making your way over to Changmin. His brown eyes still watch Kyungsoo until he’s out of the store, causing you to furrow your brows in confusion.

“What’s up?” You ask in an attempt to get his attention.

“How long have you known him?” He asks, leveling you with a stare.

You jerk in surprise at the unexpected question. There’s no obligation to answer him, but you can’t deny you’re curious why someone you barely know would ask that.

“He’s been shopping here for a couple years. Why?”

Changmin slowly nods before looking back in the direction Kyungsoo had left in. You study his side profile, taking in the locked jaw and intense stare. They had to know each other, and not in a good way.

“Changmin?”

He studies you for a moment before saying, “I wouldn’t trust him if I were you.”

Your mouth parts slightly as you try to take in his words. Who just says something like that, and why did he think he could say it to you?

A smile grows on his lips as he takes in your expression. “Just some friendly advice.”

“…Right.” You finally find your voice, though a weird feeling fills you. Something about this entire thing feels off, and you don’t want to be dragged into it.

“Well, thanks for the help.” He winks at you and heads toward the entrance.

A minute passes before you find your bearings again. That entire encounter was awkward, and what’s more, you never even helped Changmin, so you didn’t know what exactly he was thanking you for.

Pushing the last five minutes from your mind, you pick up a nearby watering can and start giving some of the drier plants a little bit of water. You follow the same monotonous routine as you normally do and sigh. You’re so bored… and not just here but in general.

Working at the greenhouse is fun, and it’s refreshing to be surrounded by nature and warmth every single day, but it isn’t enough. You crave excitement and adventure. You want to travel the world and experience all that life has to offer, and you know you won’t find that here in the greenhouse.

You want more.

As your night wraps up, you turn off the lights and begin to head out, turning to lock up the greenhouse before you go. It’s the same routine that you always have, but something about tonight feels different. Something in the air feels different.

Brushing off the odd feeling, you throw the greenhouse keys in your bag and begin the journey home. It’s nights like these that you’re grateful you only live a couple blocks away. You get to tune into your thoughts and let your mind wander in the peace and quiet of the night, but tonight, that odd feeling remains.

You glance over your shoulder to glimpse the empty streets. Vehicles parked along the road for the night and a few trees scattered along the sidewalk greet you, but that’s all. No other human being catches your attention; however, you still can’t shake the feeling growing inside of you. The feeling that you’re being followed.

Quickening your pace, you try to remain calm and clearheaded. The odds that you’re being followed aren’t very high, but the recent string of murders in the city has you feeling on edge anyway. You debate if you should continue going home or if you should go somewhere else, but there’s no public place between the greenhouse and your apartment, so you continue on your path.

It’s probably just paranoia, especially since it’s nearly all the city can talk about. The news, the papers, social media… it’s everywhere, and that’s why you assume the odd feelings are just in your head. You’re psyching yourself out… but that still doesn’t stop you from feeling a sense of relief the second you get into your apartment.

Locking the door immediately behind you, you take a deep breath before letting out a breathy laugh at your actions. They were warranted, but you still felt a little silly. You turn on the lights and move to drop your bag on the table near the door. Before you can take any further steps into the apartment, your phone rings and you phish it out of your pocket, barely glancing at the caller ID because you already know who it is.

“Hey, mom,” you greet her.

“Did you make it home okay?” The worry is clear in her voice, so you avoid any sassy responses and move to sit on your couch.

“Yep! Safe and sound.”

You’ve grown used to the nightly phone calls you’ve been getting from your parents over the past couple of weeks. Ever since the news broke the first couple of murder stories, your parents have been worried sick about you, even more than usual. You’ve been trying to keep them calm and not become frustrated by their actions because you understand. You’re their only child, and you live alone in a dangerous city, but sometimes you really want to forget about the horrors that exist on the other side of your apartment door.

“Good! Make sure your door is locked!”

“It is mom.”

You hear her sigh on the other end of the phone. “You know we just want you safe, sweetie.”

“I know, and I love you for it.”

“Love you too, baby. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

You let out a soft laugh as you hang up the phone and drop it on the couch. Turning your head towards the window, you take in the city lights and listen to the soft sounds of the still bustling city that slip through the glass. Your mind can’t help but think about the odd feeling you had when you left work. The feeling that you were being followed. Was it paranoia as you suspected, or something more sinister?

The following days prove to be just as boring as usual, and after your spooky walk home a few days ago, you welcome it. For once in your life, you welcome the quiet, boring life you lead. The only difference you’ve noticed over the past few days is the more frequent visits of Kyungsoo and Changmin. It’s like every time you turn around, one of them is there. It’s almost eerie how they manage to do it.

Kyungsoo is a welcome distraction. He often talks about the plants you have in the greenhouse and similar ones he thinks you should talk your superiors into growing. He often makes comments about magical herbs or ones that’d be used in rituals, and you have to laugh. It’s funny to you how into magic he is, but you can tell he’s passionate about it, so you let him continue telling his stories.

Changmin, on the other hand, seems more concerned about Kyungsoo than you or the greenhouse. You often catch him watching Kyungsoo from a distance, and you know Kyungsoo can feel it because he has caught him several times himself. It’s odd how Changmin doesn’t even bother trying to hide it, and things take a really weird turn when Changmin approaches you about him directly.

‘Didn’t I warn you not to trust that guy?”

The small shovel you’re holding in your hand drops back into the pot as you stand up to greet Changmin. “Hello to you, too.”

His eyebrow quirks up as you ignore his previous sentence. “Hi. Did you not hear what I just said to you?”

“I heard you just fine. What I’m not hearing is an explanation.” He gives you a confused look, so you elaborate. “This is the second time you’ve told me not to trust Kyungsoo, but you’ve yet to give me a reason. Kyungsoo has been nothing but nice to me while you, on the other hand, keep sending him death glares across the greenhouse and telling me not to trust him.”

He studies your expression for a moment before nodding. “I just thought I’d help you out. You’re a nice girl. Maybe a little too nice. Didn’t your parents ever teach you that looks can be deceiving?”

Confusion causes your brows to furrow as you try to figure out how on earth you should even respond to that. This man that you barely knew, not only is telling you not to trust someone but is calling you naïve directly to your face. Who does stuff like this?

“I’m just saying,” he shrugs his shoulders, “maybe watch who you befriend.”

You meet his stare for a moment before saying, “Yeah… I’ll do that.”

For the rest of your shift, all you can think about is how relieved you are that Changmin is gone. The man is starting to creep you out and why he felt like he could tell you who you could and couldn’t trust really bugged you. The two of you are friendly but not friends. You barely know him, so why does he think he can come up to you and say things like that?

“Don’t forget to turn out the lights!” Your coworker reminds you as she breezes past towards the door.

“I got it, don’t worry. See you tomorrow!”

She throws you a smile as she exits the greenhouse, and you try to focus on the last-minute things you need to do, but your mind is elsewhere. Sighing, you toss your work gloves into a bin by the counter and move to grab your purse. You’ll deal with the rest tomorrow.

As you walk out of the greenhouse and turn to lock up, you get an eerie sense of déjà vu. You lift your head up and look at the area around you. The sight that greets you causes a bad feeling to work its way up your spine.

People are scattered all over the place. On the sidewalk on each side of the greenhouse and across the street. They stay half-hidden in the shadows. Not enough to show their faces, but enough that you can tell they’re there.

You take a deep breath and try to keep calm while you watch the shadows. There had to be 10 to 15 people around you, and that’s enough to set off your alarm bells because you’d usually only see maybe four people maximum when you closed.

The way they all stand still as they watch you causes your heart rate to spike. You stare at the wooden door in front of you and debate on running back into the greenhouse since the key is still in the lock, but you know that’s not going to stop them from whatever it is they plan on doing. Something tells you they’re here for you and that they won’t stop until they get what they want. You don’t know why, but your body is screaming it at you.

You needed to find a place with people, or at least, a busy street, and there wasn’t any toward your apartment, so you pull the key out of the lock and head in the opposite direction. Your steps are slow as you come close to one of the people leaning against the building next to you. The girl doesn’t move as you pass her, and though you try to find her eyes, it’s like she leans back deeper into the shadows, making it even harder to see her.

Once you pass her, you pick up your pace and almost swear when you hear footsteps behind you. You knew this was going to happen. Now, you just have to be quicker than the rest of them.

Quickening your pace to a jog, you force yourself not to look behind you. Every time the person looks behind themselves in a movie, they fall and bust their ass. That would not be you. However, something else tries to force its way inside your head…

What if these people had something to do with those murders?

You force yourself into a jog, noting the wind has noticeably picked up. Good. Maybe they’ll get tired of going against the wind to follow you. You smile at the thought until you feel the wind push against you even harder.

You stumble a little at the force of it but try to keep going. You ignore the harsh whip of it against your face, but it stings enough that you question where the heck this wind even came from. Was it even supposed to storm today? You could’ve sworn the forecast said sun all day when you woke up.

An even harder gust of wind slams against you, and you find it nearly impossible to move your body. Chancing a glance behind you, you see the people that are following you having an even tougher time. It’s like they’re somehow getting even more wind than you are.

What the hell is going on? You’ve never experienced wind like this. It’s almost… unnatural.

Lightning arcs across the sky, being immediately followed by thunder, and all you can think is “great, a freak storm, that’s exactly what you need right now”. You look up at the sky and feel your face scrunch in confusion. There aren’t any visible clouds, so you’re not entirely sure where this storm is coming from.

More bolts of lightning streak across the sky, lighting up the road around you until suddenly one of the bolts hits a streetlight behind you. The thunder that accompanies the bolt is monstrous, startling you into turning around and searching for damage.

Smoke comes off the light that had just been struck, but before you can process it, another bolt hits the light across from it, sending two of your followers stumbling. You jump back as more bolts begin hitting the road, and that’s when you realize the lightning isn’t following any basic laws of science. Tall buildings, other streetlights, plenty of metal objects surround you, and instead, the lightning hits the ground, bypassing everything. Even odder, the bolts only hit the ground around the people behind you, none of them near you.

Momentarily stunned by the odd storm, you realize this is the perfect distraction to get away. You turn back around and begin to fight against the wind to move. At first, it feels like you’re cemented to the ground, but ever so slightly, it becomes easier to move. You push harder, fearing that if it’s easier for you, it’ll be easier for your followers to move as well.

Wetness suddenly hits your face, distracting you and causing you to look back up at the sky. Rain too? Of course, it makes sense, but there weren’t even any clouds thirty seconds ago. The sky opens up moments later, dropping so much rain on you that you’re drenched instantly. It pelts against you almost painfully, like thousands of needles being jabbed in your skin, and you cry out before you can stop yourself.

Turning your head towards the buildings alongside you, you search for a place to hide out. You can’t stay in this rain any longer, and when you glance behind you, you notice most of the creepy people fleeing the storm, making your sense of urgency dwindle. What you need to do now is find shelter, then as soon as the storm lets up, you can go get help.

Taking a step towards the buildings on your side, you notice a shape approaching you and you immediately tense up. The creepy people didn’t leave like you thought. They just went around to trap you instead. You quickly back away as the figure moves closer to you and notice it’s not as hard to move as it was. The wind is starting to let up as is the rain, allowing you to see the person approaching you.

You blink a few times as you take in his sudden appearance.

“Kyungsoo?”

“Come with me,” he urgently tells you, holding his hand out for you to grab.

You look between his hand and his face as you try to push past the startling confusion you’re feeling. What the hell is he suddenly doing here, and why does he want you to go with him?

“Please! We don’t have a lot of time!”

The urgency in his voice has you looking over your shoulder. You didn’t have a lot of time? Is he talking about those people? How would he know about anything that’s going on?

“Where?” You turn back to him and shout to be heard over the rain.

“Please, just trust me!” He yells, looking behind you.

You send one more peek over your shoulder before glancing down at his hand. Changmin’s words telling you not to trust Kyungsoo work their way into your mind, but you squash them. You barely know Changmin, and a part of you feels like you can trust Kyungsoo. He, at least, feels safer than being out on these streets alone at night.

Taking a deep breath, you place your hand in his and allow him to pull you back in the direction he came from. The two of you run toward the end of the block, and then he pulls you around the corner, where you see a black car already running and waiting for you.

He opens the backdoor, and without question, you jump in. You look up as you find your seat and come face to face with another man. Your movements halt, but Kyungsoo jumps in after you, blocking your only exit. You look up to the front of the car and see two more unfamiliar men in the driver and passenger seats.

Oh. You fucked up. There’s no possible way jumping in an unfamiliar vehicle with three strangers and someone you barely know isn’t a fuck up.

“What the hell, Kyungsoo?” You turn and hiss at him.

“Calm down. Everything’s going to be okay.” He tells you as he places his hand on your arm.

You immediately move away from him, not wanting him to touch you. “Like hell it is!”

Tearing your gaze from Kyungsoo, you look at the other men in the car, and that’s when it hits you. Not a single one of them is paying any attention to you. They’re all concentrating on something behind you, outside of the vehicle. You take a moment to study them as they focus on whatever it is they’re doing.

Next to you is a thin man with brushed-back hair. You see his eyes focusing on the trees as they almost violently sway, and you assume he’s as curious about the wind as you. In the driver seat is a shorter, muscular man. He stares out at the rain like he’s almost in a daze, and an unnerving feeling begins to prod at your skin. Lastly, in the passenger seat is another man, but his face is turned away from you. All you can tell is that he’s looking up at the sky like it holds all the answers.

Slowly, you turn to face Kyungsoo, who’s looking out the back of the car in the direction you came from. He must feel your eyes on him because he quickly turns to face you. You try to find your voice to speak, but the most that comes out is a whisper.

“What the fuck is happening?”

Before he can answer you, you feel movement from your side, and you immediately snap your head in that direction. You meet the cautious stare of the man next to you, the one who was watching the trees, and blink a few times before you realize how quiet it has gotten.

Reluctantly, you pull your gaze away from the man and look out the window, noticing the storm had disappeared as quickly as it came. The night is now silent and eerie. The trees no longer sway, the rain no longer drops, and the lightning is long gone. You sit frozen as you try to figure out how any of this is logically possible until you realize that it’s not just the man next to you that is focused on you. The two men in the front are as well.

You turn to look at Kyungsoo, the only one you know. “You have about five seconds to tell me what the hell is going on.”

He searches your face a moment before nodding. “You’re in danger.”

You quickly open your mouth to argue with how absurd that sounds, but he holds his hand up to quiet you.

“Those people are after you, and they’re not going to stop until you’re dead.”

Tagging: @haveanotherkpopblog @iibonniee @making-me-blush @monbabyzshoebill @jay-scenarios @svmmi-viv @quaaacky @lunaselenamoon98 @moonlightcandy00 @kpop---scenarios @baekhyunsdangerouswoman @bellapinkrose @sanaxking

[wait-still-rendering]

The Strange Case of Kairi Uchida

Chapter 3

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Remembering grief, but not the person who caused it was strange. Kairi stilled the ache in her heart as she waited for Xion to explain.

"It started the day I died." Xion pushed a couple of stray hairs out of her face. "Or maybe it started a little before that."

Kairi Uchida told herself she wouldn't forget a second time. 

She fell into step with Xion, their pace slow, as both knew they only had a small amount of time left and stalling was the only option. 

Kairi's fingers wrapped around the cool leather of her phone case. She needed to know it was there, secure, she told herself. It buzzed at her touch. 

The walls of the Underworld echoed with their footsteps as Kairi readied herself for Xion's story. She looked down at her feet then at the drabby tunnels and their uneven slopes wrapped in fog. It had an air of mystery about it. When she met Xion's gaze, she saw a kind of wistfulness in her eyes, like Xion yearned for an intangible gift that could not be.

Maybe she yearned for eternity, Kairi mused. 

"Tell me," Kairi said. "Help me remember."

.:x:.

Xion began her story two days before her death. 

They were on summer break. It was a Wednesday and Xion opened her eyes to a mess. Books, clothes, even games were strewn across her bedroom floor. Kairi laid stretched out in the middle of it, staring up at the ceiling. 

Somehow, probably due to the rustling of sheets, Kairi knew she was awake. 

"Do you ever wonder what's out there and how indescribable it could be? Like, how our brains wouldn't be able to comprehend it until we saw it?" Kairi's sounded so small then. It made Xion shiver. 

Xion lifted herself up from her bed, moving toward Kairi at top speed. Really, she should have stumbled over the mess, but miraculously, she didn't. She poked Kairi in the side with her foot.

"It's not three in the morning anymore, Kairi. Stop having an existential crisis." Xion held out her hand. 

Kairi let out a sigh. "Okay, fine, Xion," she said as she took her hand. "I guess I'll call you at an ungodly hour sometime tonight and tell you all about my existential crisis then."

A laugh bubbled up in Xion's throat as she helped Kairi off the ground. "It's a date," she joked and she swore she saw Kairi stiffen, just a tiny bit as blush stained her cheeks. Xion ignored it, but maybe she shouldn't have. 

They spent the rest of the morning cleaning up and getting ready to meet the rest of their friends by the sea. If Xion were to describe that day, it'd be ordinary. And ordinary it was.

Selphie waved both of her hands while Sora managed to get Riku into a headlock which didn't last very long. Still, it was impressive. Sora would pay his dues later when Riku dunked his head underwater. 

Well, it wasn't a completely ordinary day, Xion remembered. The weather turned sour only thirty minutes into their beach day. Selphie ran for the shack while the boys had the bravery (and stupidity) to head back to the mainland. That left Xion and Kairi hidden in the Secret Place.

Xion could have kissed her there, huddled together in a corner, watching the clouds through the small cracks in the roof, but she didn't. She didn't have the courage to. (Xion was careful to omit this part.)

A few hours later they parted ways.

.:x:.

The second day was the day for adventure, Kairi decided and so Xion tagged along. It wouldn't be just the two of them this time. 

Selphie chatted away as they headed toward what they referred to as "the city." It wasn't an actual city, but it reminded them of one because of the tiny stores and walkable streets, not to say Destiny Islands didn't have walkable streets. Riku was lost in thought, making noncommittal noises at Selphie's words. Sora was still half-asleep as it was still early morning. He needed coffee, Xion thought. 

"Do you guys think the local arsonist walks these same streets?" Selphie asked, bouncing from foot to foot.

"Well, if he's local, he must be," Kairi answered, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Selphie let out a tiny gasp.

"He could be anyone." Xion scanned the shop windows despite knowing not many would be open this early in the morning. 

"Or she," Riku added. "You never know."

For the first time that morning Sora smiled. "Nah, you're just trying to throw them off." He swung an arm around Riku. "It's okay, I know it's you, Riku. You can trust me."

"I liked it better when you were too sleepy to talk." 

Sora pouted as Riku went on about how careful he would be if he was a criminal without giving away his game plan. It was impressive, honestly. 

"I wonder what they look like." Selphie messed around with her bracelet, tracing every detail on it. 

"Selphie, I don't think it'd be a good thing if you fell in love with an arsonist," Xion said. "Those kinds of people are dangerous."

"I mean, yeah, of course," Selphie replied, smiling and rolling her eyes playfully. "But it's still romantic to think about."

Xion didn't know why she was telling Kairi about those last two days the more she went on because now that she thought about it, they weren't that important. Kairi would want to know about her death, how it happened, the details, but Xion couldn't stop her words. Maybe she told Kairi to remind her of how normal life was. Or maybe she told her to remind her of what their friendship was and almost was. 

Later, when Selphie was trying on outfits, Xion and Kairi were looking over the small selection of books nearby. Riku was ordering food upfront with Sora right behind him. The store was spacious despite all the small stores around it. 

"Hey," Kairi started. "I know we've been attached at the hip since break and I don't want to get sick of you or anything, but do you want to go collect seashells with me tomorrow?" She took a deep breath before starting her next sentence. "I also have something important to tell you and I can't do that here."

A look of concern found its way to Xion's face. "Is it bad?"

"Huh? No, no. Nothing like that." Kairi played with a piece of her hair. "It's just private, y'know?"

Xion nodded and they resumed their normal conversation about their favorite book series. 

If only she hadn't said yes. Things might have turned out differently then. 

.:x:.

They were now at the final day Kairi realized. Her eyes fell on Xion as she tried to remember more than fragments of hollow memories. Maybe if she made contact with Xion again something would happen. She didn't. 

"It was a car," Xion said, her voice low. "You invited me to go seashell hunting. It was early afternoon. We looked both ways—we were careful, me and you. We've always been careful, but I guess we weren't careful enough. Next thing I knew, a car was hurtling toward us."

"Is that it?" Kairi asked tentatively, touching Xion's shoulder.

"No, and that's not even the worst part." Her hands shook. Kairi took them into her own.

"Then, what was the worst part?" Kairi's voice was barely above a whisper, but still it echoed throughout the tunnels.

"Kairi," Xion started, her voice breaking. "I wasn't supposed to die that day—you were."

It was then, in that damp hall, that Kairi Uchida began piecing together the story she desperately wanted to know. 

[aminiatureworld]

Small Secrets II

Characters: Childe, Kaeya, Ningguang, gn!reader

Word Count: 3.717

Warnings: Swearing

Premise: It’s not that you wanted to keep it a secret from your loved one. It was simply that old habits are hard to break. But now people are talking, and it seems easier to go one as before.

In which the reader can transform into an animal.

Author’s Note: Had to do a surprising amount of research for this one.

Childe

Perhaps it was a cruel joke on Fate’s part that you were able to turn into a penguin. If so no one else was laughing.

It’d been jarring the first time it’d happened, an accident of stress. After that first incident you’d figured you’d never transform again, at least not willingly. Who wanted to be a greasy, flightless bird anyways? That had been your opinion, and you hadn’t intended on changing it. Until you learned how to swim.

Perhaps it was another joke, that you should become so enamored with the gliding that penguins could do when they finally waddled their way off land. The nearly soundless plunge as you dove beneath the water, not having to worry about running out of air as you sped along the lake nearby your Snezhnayan village. It was as if being trapped in a little pocket of paradise, one which you’d grown to love.

At first you didn’t really consider the repercussions of being involved with Childe in regards to your expeditions to the sea. So wrapped up had you been in the question of his Harbinger status that by the time you realized you might have a problem it was too late to think up any sort of plan. Of course, the days in which Childe was gone you could swim, could even find refuge in those frigid waters. But when he was there it was like walking on eggshells as you found yourself torn between your desire to swim and your need to keep your secret.

It didn’t help that winter was ending. Though Snezhnaya could be bitterly cold in the winter, and though your village was often considered next to inhospitable in the winter, the summertime brought with it a heat that made swimming near unbearable in your oiled feathers. After all, penguins only lived in the most southern part of Teyvat.

It was a beautiful day, the afternoon that you finally broke. The temperatures had plummeted during the night before, and those you shivered as you made your way to the stony beach that was your usual takeoff spot, you felt yourself brimming with anticipation, the prospect of a long overdue swim lying in front of you.

You thought of Childe only once, as you shinnied down the craggy slope that led to the beach. He’d said that there was a Fatui meeting going on at the town inn, and though it was sure to be dull and irritating there was truly no way to escape it. You sympathized with Childe, understanding the difficulties in sitting still for two hours, trying o act as if you weren’t aching to be somewhere else, but secretly you thought the meeting a blessing in disguise. Using the pretense of the Guild being somewhat slow – the Adventurer’s Guild in Snezhnaya was somewhat disorganized due to Fatui competition – you claimed the need for a trek in the snow, holding off Childe’s ill hidden words of worry with the knowledge that you’d lived here longer than he had. You felt little regret, knowing that you’d lied to him. After all you’d been drilled to keep this a secret since the moment you were made aware of it. And as much as you loved Childe, that would never change.

You stumbled a bit in your mad dash to the little cavern which shielded you as you transformed. You’d tried directly transforming in water once, but having pressure almost destroy your lungs was something you weren’t excited to repeat. So instead, you waddled about the icy gravel, silently cursing your speed. You could never get used to how slow penguins were on land, nor could you understand how once you hit the ocean you could speed along faster than any human might.

The water was clear and cool, the icy shock dulled by the layers around you. It was interesting to see the lake in this manner, eyes suddenly unclouded by passing sand and debris. You swam along lazily, staying in the middle layer of the lake. Though you knew that you were going up for breath more than was really necessary, you were feeling surprisingly lazy, and diving to the bottom felt like too much effort.

The sudden pull of your body upwards caused a shriek to escape you. Thrashing about wildly you attempted to dive deeper, mind suddenly clouded by confusion and panic. A voice was calling out to you from above, but you made no effort to comprehend it, too focused on keeping in the sanctuary of the water. Though you knew that you’d swum in the opposite direct of the village, the possibility of being discovered by a human, for your captor was surely a human, was no less terrifying.

As you broke the water you felt like your heart had seized up in your throat, if that was even possible for a penguin. Whirling around this way and that you pulled desperately for the water, for the place you’d be able to outswim this intruder. Your brain registered the familiar clothing of the person holding onto you, and your horror both eased and multiplied as their voice sang through the air.

“Woah there buddy. Calm down!”

You ceased your movements for a second, brain somewhat stalling. Partner. You’d just been dragged out of the water by your partner. If you hadn’t been a bird you would’ve certainly started screaming, or at least asking Childe what the fuck he was thinking skipping the meeting for this.

“There you go.” Childe’s voice was soft and soothing, using a tone that you knew was reserved only for nightmares, injuries, and emotional distress. “It’s alright, it’s alright buddy. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. It’s not normal for penguins to be this far north you know. Besides the villagers have been calling you some sort of malevolent spirit and let me tell you, being harpooned isn’t very fun.”

Ruffling your feathers, you let out a squawk of indignancy, the idea that you’d actually get caught appalling. Childe just let out a laugh in return.

“I know, I know. No appreciation for the natural world. But that’s what it’s like in a village like this, insulated and unquestioning. You’re not the only one who’s suspicious; but let me tell you it’s better to be suspicious and free then stuck in the same place.” He let out a small sigh. “Even when our freedom comes at a price.”

You stared at him for a moment, taking in the soft sadness that radiated off the man you’d fallen in love with. Though a small piece of you felt pity, pity for the life Childe had been forced to live, the rest of you felt a melancholy sort of empathy, and in the center of that a kernel of trust. Childe’s words spoke to you, his status as an anomaly amidst the people who couldn’t understand the yearning to get away. Perhaps it would’ve been better if Childe was more content, staider, perhaps things would’ve been easier. Yet would you have fallen in love with that version of Childe? Would you feel as you did now?

Waddling towards solid ground, not trusting the large pieces of ice which bordered the lake, you closed your eyes. Immediately your form changed, your other self now shed like a second skin. Keeping your back turned away from Childe you stared at the snowy forest.

“You’re not the only one who feels trapped sometimes. I’m sorry that this village isn’t kind to you.”

“Oh the people are nice enough.” There was a wavering sort of humor in Childe’s voice, though you couldn’t tell if it was from shock or sadness.

“Still, I’m sorry. I realize that being here is stifling. Thank you, for visiting because of me.”

“Always.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.”

“We all have our secrets.”

“Still. I’m sorry.”

You felt the damp press of a coat against your back, warm breath tickling the back of your neck as Childe let out a small sigh. Leaning backwards you closed your eyes. For a moment there was no sound but the gentle lapping off waves, as snow floated down onto your heads.

“Hey, you don’t expect me to keep this secret free of charge do you.” The mischief had returned to Childe’s voice.

“What’s your price then, Mr. Penguin Catcher.”

“Sparring every day for two weeks.”

“… I think I’m going to go back into the water now.”

“Don’t you dare!”

Your laughs entwined as you raced away from Childe, filling the cold winter air with silent warmth.

 Kaeya

“I swear to fucking Barbatos if you don’t open.”

You kicked the door of your apartment, the muffled clunk doing little to sooth your raw nerves. Stupid, how could you’ve have been so stupid? You knew that Kaeya was working late, you knew that you were going to have to remember your keys. So how did you get here then, standing on the outside while your key was resting safe on your nightstand? How had you still managed to forget?

“You know darling sometimes your too reliant on me.” Kaeya had told you one day, voice singsong with amusement. “One day you’ll forget your head on your shoulders. At the very least you shouldn’t expect me to always unlock the door for you.”

Well sorry you couldn’t see into the future. Groaning you slid down the side of your door, face planted firmly in your arms. You needed to get inside somehow. You weren’t about to prove Kaeya right, not now. You would get in if it was the last thing you do. Lifting your head up you closed your eyes in thought. The two of your were sharing an apartment on the third floor, one of the perks being a mini balcony for flower boxes, not that you ever actually put flowers in there. You always kept that window unlocked in the summer, and though it pushed out you were sure you might be able to open it.

Scurrying back down the stairs and into the back alley of the building you glanced around you. Thankfully there was no one in sight. Praying that your pack wouldn’t be stolen off the hallway floor you sighed softly, letting a soft grin cross your face as your vision shifted to that of a cat.

Thankfully the building was made both of wood and stone, or you never would’ve been able to make it. The climb was perilous however, in your mind if not in real life. The world was so much larger around you, and though being light and having four legs to land on would certainly be an asset, minimal injuries was not something you wanted to bet on. Reaching up towards the final beam you hoisted yourself up onto the flower box, giddy with triumph as you went to paw at the window handle.

Your paws slid off the golden substance as if they were coated in oil. Letting out a hiss of frustration you tried again, letting your claws protract. Unfortunately, the handle still refused to move, as your paws slid off the shiny metal. Shit. Turning around agitatedly you let out a yowl of protest. You were stuck, you were absolutely stuck. What were you going to do now? Getting up was one thing, getting down Unfortunately, another entirely. Nor could you revert here, besides the flowerbox being somewhat small you didn’t want to test the weight of the plank that served as your impromptu floor. So what could you do?

“What’re you doing here?” A familiar voice quieted the shrieks which you were emitting, as the fur on your body stood up. Slowly the window began to open, as a familiar face peered down at you, smirk as brilliant as usual. “Don’t you want to come in?”

Though a part of you suddenly thought that being stuck three stories above ground was a lovely prospect, you leapt through the window, landing on the dresser before hitting the ground. Though you wanted to make a run for it the door was closed, and you cursed Kaeya for his forethought.

“Are you going to tell me what you were doing so far up off the ground?” Kaeya knelt down beside you.

Even if I could do you think I’d tell you why? You let out a mewl, eyes narrowing as Childe let out a chuckle.

“Fair enough, but really it’s quite impressive. You must be one determined cat. Here.” Scooping you up Kaeya let out a quiet sort of laugh. “Let’s get you some milk.”

You stood on the kitchen floor, staring silently at the bowl that had been placed in front of you, wondering if cats also thought about having their meals placed where humans had just been walking.

“What, not your style?” Kaeya cocked his head.

He’d been surprisingly nonchalant about the whole debacle, perhaps spurred on by your own lack of reaction. It was still disarming, almost as much as the smirk that refused to leave his face. What in Teyvat could he possibly be thinking, was a cat stuck on a balcony that funny to your cavalry captain?

“Come now, you’ve got to drink a little bit at least. It must be awful exhausting to climb up a building.”

Still you made no move.

“Or do you make it a point not to eat in cat form, darling.”

“How did you know?!” You sputtered, transforming back immediately.

Kaeya let out a burst of laughter. Clutching his stomach he rocked back and forth on his feet, wheezing as the moment continued, laughing so hard no sound came from his mouth.

“It’s not very funny!”

“What do you mean, of course it’s funny!” Kaeya managed to get out, gasping wildly. “I can’t believe you got locked out and decided to scale the building.”

“What else could I do? Wait, no, first, how did you even know it was me?!”

“Ah yes because you would normally leave your belongings in the middle of the hallway. Come on darling, that wasn’t the smartest move you’ve ever made. Besides there have been rumors about a ghost cat prowling Mondstadt and as the Favonius Cavalry Captain, well you couldn’t expect me to just let these questions go unanswered!”

“How long have you known.”

“About a month.”

You groaned, turning around and face planting into the bed. How could you’ve have been so careless? Underestimating Kaeya was a mistake that many made, but you’d thought that you’d managed to catch up to your partner in terms of stealth.

“It’s alright darling, the embarrassment will wear off in an hour.”

“I just can’t believe I’ve been so reckless.”

“Hey, you’ve been very good at hiding this.” Kaeya ruffled your hair gently and you turned to look up at him. His smirk was gone, and instead there was a soft smile painting his lips. “I just know you.”

You hummed softly smile as Kaeya continued to card his fingers through your hair. Suddenly the whole ordeal was weighing on you, and you felt the familiar tendrils of sleep wash over you.

“You should get some rest.” Kaeya kissed your forehead gently. “It’s been a long day.”

“Kaeya.” You murmured.

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

His voice was warm and full of care, guiding you softly to sleep.

 Ningguang

You never meant to get stuck in a storm. You’d never meant to go crying to the nearest place you could call a sanctuary. Most of all, you’d never meant to reveal your secret to her.

The wind whipped around you, throwing you this way and that. You let out a sort of screech, mind blank with terror as you went spinning through the sky, finding it impossible to right yourself in the air. There was no sign of the beautiful clear sky that had dawned this morning; clouds blanketed your vision, dark underbellies a silent warning as pelting rain fell in waves, made even more painful by the gusts of wind that accompanied it. The familiar clap of thunder boomed, seeming to rattle in your bones as you continued to struggle to find shelter. Spying a familiar building you could practically hear your groan of relief. Swooping down you prayed that this would go alright.

One of the things that Ningguang had told you she loved most about the Jade Chamber was the view.

“It’s so bright up there, you look out the windows and there’s nothing but sky, sky and the land of Rex Lapis. It’s a beautiful sight, I hope to one day see it again.”

You were grateful for her affinity for windows now, using their familiar landmark as a landing spot. Clinging onto the wall you began desperately pecking at the window, squawking and crying as the storm picked up again, desperate for the sanctuary of your partner’s office.

“What is a raven doing outside?” The sotto voice of your love one filled the air.

Opening the window Ningguang said nothing as you flew in, landing on the chair you usually sat in. There was a faint struggle as the wind whipped through the open window, but eventually a faint click could be heard and Ningguang returned to the center of the room. Staring down curiously at you she tilted her head.

“I didn’t think that ravens flew down from the forests, especially during a storm. Perhaps then you’re a messenger from the adepti?”

“N–” you squawked, knowing that you surely sounded strangled. Even after years of transformation you could never get used to the switch between voice box and syrinx. It was as if you’d never learned to speak from the beginning.

“Poor dear, are you tired from your journey? I’m not sure what ravens drink, water I presume.”

Walking over to the corner Ningguang poured some water out of a pitcher onto a saucer. You drank gratefully when she returned, reminding yourself to tell her that normally ravens had to consume both water and salts. Having finished the little ritual, you tried once more.

“N…” still your words weren’t coming. You wanted to say something important, to explain your circumstances. Still you found you could say nothing. As if reading your frustration Ningguang stroked your beak, touch gentle and comforting despite your avian state.

“Poor thing, have you been wounded?”

You looked up at your partner, taking in the smile on her face. You’d gotten better at reading her, reading this woman who people whispered was too proud, too cutthroat, without emotion and without empathy. How stupid those people were. You could see it in her eyes, see the worry. You were a stranger to her, and unlucky raven; and yet she worried for you.

“Ningguang.” You finally got out, tripping backwards slightly at the twisted sound of your own voice. Ningguang stared at you, no less surprised.

“You know my name. Then you must be from the adepti. Has something happened?”

“Ningguang!” You let out one more time, dancing up and down the arm of the chair you were perched on.”

“Is there something that must be done?”

“Ning–”

You stopped, shaking yourself. This was getting nowhere. What was even the point of hiding it at this point? You knew the fears that swirled inside you, knew the fear that had been instilled in you. Don’t tell anyone, don’t let them know. Normal people, they’ll never be able to understand, they’re too afraid, too proud, too lacking in empathy. And yet you knew that wasn’t true, at least that it wasn’t true of Ningguang. Sighing you hopped down on the floor. A few feathers floated out of your hair as you faced your partner.

“My dearest!”

“I’m sorry for the surprise.”

“Think nothing of it. I hope you are not injured.”

Hurrying over to you Ningguang picked up your arms, turning them around as she examined them. Giggling slightly, you shook your head.

“I’m fine my love, really. Only a little shaken.”

“I don’t understand what you were doing, flying out in the storm. The recklessness, I cannot believe you would do such a thing.”

“Sorry, I was being stupid; I didn’t think that the rain would be that bad.”

“I am only glad that you managed to make your way here. If not, well I would not appreciate having my partner felled by a storm.”

“Yeah…”

“Well,” Ningguang planted a few light kisses over the bridge of your nose, “I hope that you will learn, and that we do not have to repeat this performance. Honestly, to think I thought you an emissary of the adepti; I was almost worried this storm was an unnatural one. Morax knows the last thing Liyue needs or can afford is another god rising from the depths.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Well, if you truly are then you can help me with this paperwork. There appears to be some confusion in terms of the chain of ore production, I believe someone might be skimming from the top.”

In a moment she’d reverted back to her calm and collected self, but you could feel the unsaid words in the air. I will not ask you about your ability. I will trust you to tell me in your own time. It was a comforting message and as you sat down you wondered at how considered the woman you loved truly was.

“It looks like it will be a cool night.” Ningguang smiled up at the sky. The clouds had cleared and the moon shone a silvery light on the once more bustling city.

“Thank the gods. It’s been so hot recently.”

“Indeed.” Ningguang pressed a kiss to your cheek.

You gave her a short kiss back, fingers entwined with hers. The storm had been terrifying, as had the moments after, the moments when you felt you had too much to say and nothing at all. The moments when you had no control.

And yet Ningguang had given you the gift of time, time and patience. One day you would tell her about your abilities, about the blessing, or perhaps the curse, you’d been given at birth. You knew that when that day came you wouldn’t have to worry. So, for now you simply walked home together, hands entwined, both content in the silence of trust.

[permafusion-stevonnie]

So this idea isn’t leaving my head. While I’m not going to get it started for now, since I want to concentrate on my current Stevonnie comic, ideas are still ticking away and I just really wanted to draw this cover for the idea.

Maybe I’ll get its own page started in time. I’ll let you know if I do. But even if I did, I wouldn’t expect regular updates to it, not while I’m working on Together Forever.

I want to quickly say something that I think some people may have gotten confused about when I was talking about the Fallout Universe before:

Crystal Gems are still called Crystal Gems, but their role is similar, but not the same as the Brotherhood of Steel. In that they are isolationists, who will try to protect humanity from dangerous gem technology, and corrupted gems. they aren’t bothered with human mutants, human problems, or human technology. But I feel that, ove time, Steven will help their character growth away from this and help them, at least, start opening up to the local comminuty and helping where they can.

Homeworld Authority is still called Homeworld, or The Authority, but take on a similar role to the Enclave. They view themselves as the rightful masters of earth and they’re automatically more superior to any other lifeform by birthright.

I have been thinking over what could have occurred to create this world, how’s this for a (work in progress) backstory: (ended up a lot longer than I thought it would, so I’m space saving by putting in this break)

The Gem colonisation of earth happened later than it did in canon. A couple of thousand years, maybe. Unlike the 6000 years ago in canon, it was perhaps 5000, or maybe 4000 years ago. Enough for a bigger human civilisation to take part in the gem war for earth.

Pink still gets her colony started, still changes her mind about it, and finally chooses to become Rose Quartz to lead the rebellion. I think the human zoo will still be made, because I like the idea of that being around to give a mash-up of the human zoo and the mother ship zeta dlc from Fallout 3.

What really diverges from the timeline is when the rebellion starts fighting back with larger groups of human allies. 4000 (or 5000) years ago we are talking some good military strategies, chariots, bows and arrows, cavalries and tactics, etc. Some research will be needed to really flesh out the lore.

Homeworld, facing a bigger threat than a hundred or so rebels, puts a little more effort into research and development of newer technologies to counteract the human strategies. Nothing develops technologies quite like war.

Rose and the others start capturing some technologies from Homeworld and start studying them to not only understand them, but even attempting to reverse engineer them. They obviously won’t be able to replicate the weapons in form, but hope to do so in function.

This is where Scribes would come in for the Crystal Gems are the replacement for the Brotherhood of Steel that I’ve talked about before. Some Gems and some clever humans, would dedicate themselves to trying to understand the newer Gem technology they’re starting to see.

With inventive people like Bismuth to build their own version of it.

The actual Gem Technology will be locked away in the temple- or whatever name I may give it- but the remake versions that the Crystal Gems turn out will be spread far and wide.

I’m just thinking off the top of my head, but it’d be like- if they tried to make their own version of the gem destabiliser, it would be like a giant tuning fork hooked up to something similar to a large Baghdad Battery (google it, it’s kinda cool) that they would carry in a backpack.

The war would carry on like that, with Homeworld making new tech to combat the threat, sooner or later the rebellion captures some, they make their own version of it, and Homeworld makes new tech to combat the threat.

This drain on resources does take its toll on Homeworld though, and their war against earth is perhaps much shorter, between 300 and 800 years, I haven’t decided yet.

Things do play out similar to canon though. Homeworld decides to abandon earth as a lost cause, implant the Cluster so they’ll get something out of the deal and the three Diamonds blast the earth with their powers as a final middle finger to the rebels.

Gems are destroyed, except for the original Crystal Gems, and Bismuth! Canon Bismuth made a lot of regular weapons and armour and the rebellion was still losing. She was driven to making the Breaking Point because she didn’t think they had a chance of winning any other way. In this new canon, however, because Bismuth was working on newer and newer weapons all the time, each one she was confident would help turn the tide of the war, she never had chance to work on the ultimate weapon of the Breaking Point. She may have designed it, or may have the idea kicking around the back of her mind, but never got around to building it. 

Rose does her thing of finding somewhere isolated to live in both peace and regret for the war. This is where the Crystal Gems become isolationists

With the Gems gone, humans are left to their own devices with all this more advanced technology than they should have in this point in history. Tech continues to develop with this head start.

Fast forward to the year 1929 and people are living lives as you’d see in the Fallout universe in the 2070′s. Nuclear fulled cars, robot assistants, laser rifles and power armour and all that other stuff.

The reason I chose 1929 is two-fold. The first Fallout game was set 84 years after the nuclear war, and 84 years after 1929 is the year 2013; the year Steven Universe first aired.

The failing of the world is the same reason the Fallout universe failed. Resources started to become scarce, wars started over what remained and the whole thing was escalated by a race that may have been too young to fully understand the forces they were really dealing with, having come a long way, but still too fast, thanks to the ancient interference.

Nuclear hellfire rained down and some people took their shelter in the vaults, while everyone else had to find ways to survive outside.

Rose and the Gems stick to their isolation as humanity all but wipes itself out. Rose is heartbroken to see the beautiful world that she fought so hard for, so easily destroyed. There can be a lot to explore there. Maybe Rose will leave the group, maybe she’ll just wander off and be alone a lot but still return to the temple eventually. I haven’t decided yet.

Perhaps all the gems will have some additional guilt, knowing that their old tech is what pushed humanity so far so fast.

Fast forward 70 years and Rose meets a travelling wastelander named Greg. They fall in love. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail here mostly because I haven’t really thought too much about it, but partly because I know I want it to be explored within the story itself to show how different from canon it would be. Not just the flashback elements from “Story for Steven,” and "We Need to Talk," with a Fallout flair. I want to work out some other nice adventures to bring them together.

Rose and Greg come back to Beach City with Rose expecting their baby.

Steven is born and the Gems immediately take custody, with the logic that their secure base is a better place for Steven to grow up than the harsh wasteland. Greg is allowed to visit as often as he likes, but not stay there. Nor is Steven allowed off the base. They want to protect the legacy of their leader, Rose.

I’m going to say that Steven starts showing hints of Gem powers around 10 years old. Nothing he can control. Perhaps his Gem glows when he’s really happy, if he falls down some steps his bubble forms but immediately pops so it’s just enough to save him from injury. Little things like that.

But this serves as a point where The Gems start “encouraging” Greg to visit less and leave the raising of Steven to them, as his upbringing has now become “Gem Business”

Steven may have snuck off the base once or twice to see the world beyond the base, but after this he’ll do it a lot more often to see his dad and the Beach City settlement.

I think Bismuth suspects he sneaks off but both can’t prove it, and doesn’t want to try and prove it, Garnet knows but says nothing, both of them are letting Steven have his fun, and Pearl has no idea he does it.

Amethyst is not part of the group in the beginning, she’s out as part of a raider gang somewhere. Thank you to theyarheeguy for giving me that idea, and many others, to work with.

A total of 84 years after the bombs dropped, Steven is now 12 years old, sneaking off the base for another visit to town, when he spots a pretty young girl dressed in a strange blue jumpsuit, emerging from a hidden trapdoor that was underneath the old Beach City water-tower.

Steven is 12 because I believe that’s how old he was when the show started. Based on the timeline, the passing of the seasons and so on, he has to have a 13th birthday that we don’t see on screen, before we do see his 14th birthday.

[bubblegumbeech]

Passing Through

Dannymay Day 5: Doorway

“Don’t go in there,” his mother warned. Her voice shook. “Never go through that door.”

Danny had no intention of ignoring his mother, especially since the night she’d given him that warning was seared so thoroughly in his mind he didn’t think even as an adult he’d ever forget it.

It had been dark, but not any darker than any other night with Danny’s myriad nightlights and glowing stars stuck everywhere he could reach and then some. The night had long since settled, and Danny was supposed to be sleeping and was instead, like any young child, not doing that.

In fact, he’d been staring out his window, arm balanced on the sill and face pressed up against the glass so he could see the night sky in all her glory. It was one of the only times he felt truly comfortable, alone and with his parents and sister asleep. He often imagined himself sailing amongst those stars. Or flying high enough to reach out and cradle one to his chest. 

Jazz always told him that was impossible, that each star was as far away from each other as they were from earth, if not further. He told her she could eat dirt, and she got a hurt look in her eyes that made him feel bad, but he didn’t apologize because she was being mean first. 

He’d been preoccupied, that’s why he didn’t notice it at first. 

When the soft pink touch of the sun started obscuring the night’s stars, Danny realized he’d been up all night and he was probably going to fall asleep in class again. He turned around to quickly dive into bed to at least feign having slept so his parents didn’t scold him and feel like they had to check in on him at night the way they threatened to last time. 

He hadn’t expected the door. 

It was small, very small compared to a normal door. It was just large enough that Danny could crawl through on all fours, and he knew there was no way his dad would ever be able to get through. At least not more than an arm. Maybe his head if he tried to dive through it.

The door was closed, a soft, purple light on the other side painting the carpet beneath where it stood, balanced, in the middle of the room. Acting as if it was placed in the wall like any good door, but missing the wall itself entirely. 

Danny walked closer, his mind off bed times and getting ready for school entirely. Now he was thinking of adventures and stories Jazz used to read him before he could read himself. Stories of exploration and hidden worlds. His hand brushed against the polished brass handle, and a jolt of electricity flowed through him, causing every hair in his body to stand on end. 

He probably should have let go then, released the handle and backed up, frightened. But instead Danny’s grip tightened and he twisted the nob, pulling it slowly open, his heart beating in rapt anticipation. It was barely open a sliver, the tiniest bit of purple light spilling out onto the frame, when his mother ran into the room and slammed it closed. 

She was wearing a hazmat suit, as if she’d just come from the lab downstairs, with thick rubber gloves and ominous red goggles that reflected a twisted version of Danny’s face back at him as she pulled him into a tight, unforgiving hug. 

“Thank goodness you’re safe,” she said, her words heavy with exertion. Had she run up here? How did she know there was a door? 

Danny looked over his mother’s shoulder to take another look, but the door had vanished at some point when his eyes were no longer locked upon it. That was when she gave him her warning. The one he had no intention of ignoring.

The one he was disregarding now, for no reason other than he was sick of it. He was tired of the nights, laying awake and seeing a door that promised so much and had yet to be given the opportunity to deliver. 

His mother would skin him alive if she knew, but she’d probably never find out. Honestly, if Tucker’s theories were true and it was some monster trying to trick him into its lair Coraline-style, it’d probably take at least a week for her to even realize he was gone. His dad probably wouldn’t notice at all. 

Jazz…

Danny shook his head. If anything, Jazz would be the one to forgive him for being dumb. She understood what it was like to have this burning curiosity, this need to know. 

The door didn’t always appear. Most nights it did, but only when Danny was distracted by something, usually the stars outside his window, sometimes a particularly fun video game or a good book. It only ever appeared right on the cusp of night and morning, before the sun rose fully but after the stars hid away. And it always waited for him to look away before it disappeared. 

He didn’t plan on looking away tonight. 

The first night after his mother’s warning, he’d stayed up all night, terrified, waiting for the door to appear. It never did. In fact, the next month, he spent every second awake expecting it to appear and being almost disappointed when it didn’t. 

It appeared again, in much the same way it had the first time, while Danny was star gazing. 

That’s why, now, knowing the rules (or rather what few rules he could tell from this side of the door), Danny was determined to follow through. None of his questions would be answered just waiting for the door to appear or not appear, nor would they be answered by spending time staring at it and studying it from the outside. 

He needed to go through.

The brass knob was cold against his palm, and it turned easily. The click of the mechanism was loud in the night’s quiet. He held his breath. He opened the door.

There was no resistance when it swung open. Almost the opposite, in fact, like it had been waiting for an excuse. The soft purple light that had teased the edges of the door was much closer to a deep, swirling purple that looked almost like mist and obscured the path forward. 

But Danny wasn’t scared. 

He was curious. 

He stepped through, and heard the door close softly behind him. Just like in a horror movie really, and exactly like the stories his mother told him, warning him of monsters and things from the other side. 

It didn’t matter anymore, if he’d made the right choice. He’d made his choice and there was only one path to take. Danny walked into the mists and kept walking.

No more than an hour could have passed, but it felt like much longer. Time seemed to stretch along with the endless path, and Danny hadn’t come any closer to the answers he wanted. 

He sighed. “Hello? Is anyone here?” he tried calling out, to no avail. 

This was turning out to be a waste of a trip. With all the cryptic warnings, he’d hoped it wouldn’t be boring at the very least, yet here he was. The only difference between this and one of Sam’s ‘nature hikes’ was that Danny couldn’t see anything through the damned purple mist.

Or could he?

Danny squinted his eyes, catching something moving just to his left. It was very much hidden, the deep purple of its cloak camouflaged perfectly against the swirling purples all around him. He took a step closer, off the path, and felt the air still around him.

A voice, haunting and deep, startled him. 

“A quick learner,” it said. 

Danny felt his mouth go dry. There was actually someone here, someone that might not be human. Someone that could summon a door into a kids room for half a decade waiting for them to open it. 

Someone who might have answers.

Danny stepped closer, and the mist seemed to gather, catching on itself and folding into a physical shape. The hooded figure. Danny forced himself not to blink. It felt like anything was possible, that if he looked away, he’d miss too much to make sense of it later. 

The hooded figure turned to him and beckoned with one gloved hand, the other holding a twisting, intricate staff covered in shapes and symbols Danny couldn’t quite make out. Danny didn’t step any closer.

It was clear this man wasn’t human, or at the very least hadn’t been for some time. The only thing Danny could see hidden under the cloak was an old clock. But even then, Danny couldn’t tell whether it was something he was wearing on his chest or if it simply was his chest and there was nothing else.

“You’re still cautious, even now when you’ve already made your decision?” the figure asked. “Did you not seek an answer to your curiosity?”

Danny frowned. This whatever-it-was knew more than he was comfortable with. Had he been watching from the other side? How? Is that why the door only appeared when it did? Why couldn’t he just open the door and step out if his goal was to spirit Danny away like in the stories? 

There were just so many questions, and Danny still didn’t have any answers. 

“Do you actually have any answers or are you just going to eat me?” he asked, growing irritated. It had been a long night, made longer by his fruitless walk, and it was starting to affect his temper.

Instead of answering, the figure lowered his arm, tilting his head to the side. “If you thought I was going to eat you, why did you come through the door? You’ve been very good at ignoring it so far.” 

“Yeah see,” Danny said, throwing up his hands, “that kind of stuff only makes you sound more creepy and suspicious, you know! If your goal is child eating you should set up, idk a candy house or something. Pretend to be a grandma, I hear that works wonders provided you stay out of your own oven.”

The figure laughed. It sounded, off, not like a noise Danny recognized, but more like a collage of sounds: a ticking clock chiming with heavy clanking clockwork all wrapped in canary song and it vibrated all the way through Danny from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. It filled the air around them much like the mist once did and Danny felt glee himself, caught up as he was.

He looked up desperately at the figure, trying to keep ahold of himself and how he truly felt, lost in the sudden sea of emotion. The figure’s cloak was bunched up, as if he was doubled over in laughter, his gloves clutching at his staff and the entire collection shaking with slight tremors.

The hood turned towards him, empty, and Danny’s panic spiked. The laughter stopped, and the figure stood once more, pulling the hood further down and hiding the nothingness underneath.

“I apologize,” he said, sincere. “It’s been some time since I’ve felt in such good humor, and you took me off guard. I hope you didn’t get too swept away?”

Danny, who was still definitely feeling the effects of the other’s laughter, shook his head no. “I’m alright. I just- what are you?”

“I am like Clockwork,” he answered readily. “Though the question you should be asking, Daniel, is what are you? That is a much more interesting answer.”

Disagreeing vehemently, Danny shook his head. Like Clockwork? Was that his name? Why he had a clock, er, was a clock? How did that work? What was he? Simply what his name implied? Something more? There were a billion and a half questions he wanted answers to that were more interesting than that. 

Then again, there had to be a reason he said it, right? “Okay Clockwork, I’ll bite. What am I?”

He could swear the thing smiled. “You are halfway there.”

[lettheladylead]

Not Your Aunt

Chapter 5: Louie [ao3 link]

When she’d gotten the call a few weeks earlier, Goldie initially thought it was from Scrooge. She gave her cell phone number out to a very small number of people, after all, and Scrooge’s home line had its own customized ringtone so she always knew it was him.

Instead, it was one of his kids. Well, one of Della’s kids, she was pretty sure. He introduced himself as Louie and she did a quick search online to see what he looked like - the only run-in she’d had with the kids so far they’d all been dressed the same so even if she had been paying attention, she wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference.

Her first instinct had been to tell him no and to move on with her life. She was a busy woman and she had other things to do. But there was a little part of her that was mad at Scrooge for never calling her about the note she’d left in his hat. There was no way he hadn’t seen it and she left him a treasure she didn’t have to because she wanted to go on an adventure with him again. But no. He didn’t call and it’d been almost a year. So she said yes to mentoring because she knew it’d piss him off and there was no greater joy in her life.

Or she’d thought there was no greater joy. But the feeling of someone coming back for her - coming to save her life despite how she treated them - it was something else entirely. Scrooge had done it once or twice in the past, but not recently and not happily. She couldn’t even remember the last time someone had come back for her and her feelings about it were a bit overwhelming so she didn’t even give the kid another glance before bolting out the door.

It’d been a few days since that party and Goldie was enjoying being several hundred million dollars richer. It wasn’t like Sharpie needed the money - he had Scrooge’s inheritance to look forward to (though if Scrooge never planned to retire or die, maybe not? She didn’t like to think about it too much).

She was laying in bed in a familiar hotel in the outskirts of Seattle when she pulled out her wallet to stare at the photos again. The last few days, she’d spent a ridiculous amount of time just staring and thinking and not doing or saying anything. She felt pathetic.

But looking at the kid’s goofy little smile and thinking back to when he helped her effectively pull off their improvised scheme warmed her heart. She’d never felt this way about a member of Scrooge’s family before. Della and Donald had treated her like an aunt on occasion (usually just as a way to get on her nerves), but Goldie never saw either of them as a true schemer like herself. Donald didn’t have any interest in money or treasure and Della idolized her uncle too much to think for herself.

But Louie was different and Goldie could see that. Just the fact that he’d reached out to her after hearing the story of Gumption (which, from what he told her, had a lot of inaccuracies to it. Scrooge loved to exaggerate or conveniently forget details when he told stories of their past) made her want to see what he had to offer. 

Initially, her plan had been to rob the kid and take something small of Scrooge’s - small enough to carry without much effort, but big enough to piss him off - then Scrooge would angrily chase her down and they could argue and she’d tease him and it would’ve been a nice little time. Their Golden Lagoon adventure was nice but Glomgold had ruined a lot of the fun she’d planned so it’d have been nice to get back to basics.

Instead she got weird, mixed up feelings about this kid who reminded her of herself and Scrooge and Donald all combined into one tiny package. She did not want to get attached to anyone in Scrooge’s family. The only reason their relationship worked was because she kept him on edge and interested by keeping him at arm’s length. Getting close to his family was not arm’s length. It was too much. She’d have to push Sharpie away the same way she did with Donald and Della and that was that.

She glanced over at the photo she had of Scrooge in Dawson and felt her heart skip a beat. She loved this picture. She loved thinking about the time they spent together back then, even if he’d broken her heart by the end of it. It didn’t matter anymore. She’d give almost anything to be young with him again - maybe even get a fresh start.

Goldie let out a loud sigh and tossed the wallet across the room - she watched it soar and land gracefully on top of her bags. Her bags were stuffed with gold and jewels and treasures from that crazy little birthday party and she hadn’t had the chance to stop in Dawson and drop it all off at the closest thing she had to a home.

Peeking out of one of her bags was the idol she’d stolen from Sharpie’s room before their adventure began. She stared at it and wondered what kind of significance it held for him. She wasn’t going to give it back, of course, because he needed to be taught a lesson about trusting con artists. But also a little part of her thought about maybe giving it back depending on how important it was to him.

She rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. Kids made people soft. Scrooge was so different than he was just forty years earlier and sometimes she didn’t know what to make of it. If thirty-year-old Goldie knew he could be this way, maybe she would’ve approached their relationship differently. But he always spoke so harshly about children and family and she never could’ve imagined him changing his mind.

Her thoughts were cut off by a buzz and a ding! from her phone and Goldie huffed as she reached into her pocket to grab it. She hoped desperately that it wasn’t from someone work-related (though, really, who else could it be?). She wasn’t in the mood to think about hotel management. She’d rather drink wine and soak in the bathtub and think about nothing.

She glanced at her phone and saw a text message waiting for her. It was a short message from an unknown number that just said:

“Do you know how to text?”

Goldie blinked a few times at it and wondered briefly if this was a wrong number. Then she glanced at the area code and realized it was coming from Duckburg. She had a pretty good idea who it was and her heart skipped another beat.

There was an unspoken rule between her and Scrooge. He never reached out to her first (except for two very unique occasions). She was always the one to contact him. But Louie wasn’t Scrooge and Louie followed his own rules, apparently.

She took a moment to think before typing a short response. “Yes, I do.”

“Cool.”

She wondered if the conversation was over until she suddenly received an influx of emojis. Goldie raised an eyebrow at the group of ducks and dollar signs and bags of money and angry faces, not really sure what to make of it.

“What’s all this supposed to mean?”

She watched as her phone said he was typing and then not typing and then typing again.

“I’m still mad at you.”

Goldie let out a breathy laugh and rolled her eyes. He really was related to Scrooge.

“What’d you do with all the money? Put it in your very own Money Bin?”

She rolled onto her side and thought about whether or not to answer him. Though she couldn’t hide everything from Scrooge over the years, she did a good job of keeping most of her life hidden away from his wandering eyes. Though Louie was definitely great at keeping things from the adults in his life, he was still just a kid and she didn’t want anything slipping out accidentally.

“Not sure that’s any of your business.”

He started typing and then stopped again. Goldie stared at her phone for a full minute without getting a response before realizing she may have hurt his feelings a bit with that one. She groaned and dropped her phone back on the mattress. She didn’t want to care about something so trivial, but…

She sighed deeply and grabbed the phone again, quickly typing another message without giving it much thought.

“I have several places to put my earnings. A lot of different projects and business ventures. And the rest goes into savings.”

Goldie huffed at herself and put the phone down again. She’d managed to avoid this kind of thing easily with Donald or Della - keeping herself at a distance and never spending significant time with either of them without Scrooge. But just one afternoon alone with Sharpie and she felt an urge to protect his stupid little feelings and his stupid little face. There was something about seeing fear in those big ol’ eyes that made her heart beat faster.

Her phone beeped again and she hesitated for just a moment before grabbing it.

“What kind of business ventures? If you’re looking for investment opportunities, I could give you a pitch that even Scrooge McDuck hasn’t seen.”

She smiled and thought back to the posters on the wall of the boys’ bedroom; several of them were very juvenile business ideas that would never take off in the real world. But she could appreciate his sense of inventiveness.

“Even if you got Scrooge to sit for a meeting, I doubt he’d invest more than a dollar into anything.”

“You overestimate him! He wouldn’t give me more than a quarter.” Followed by several angry and sad and money bag emojis.

Goldie laughed and sat up in the hotel bed, feeling a little more like herself after having an opportunity to make fun of her...ex. Or whatever they were. It didn’t matter. She was having fun.

“Keep trying. I’m sure you’ll wear him down.”

He sent another group of emojis and Goldie decided that was the end of that. She put her phone back on the bed, screen side down, and turned to look over at the idol again. She definitely wouldn’t be giving it back.

--

Louie stared at his phone for a few minutes, wondering if he’d be getting another message. To be perfectly honest, he hadn’t expected any response at all, so the past ten minutes were giving him a lot of confusing, conflicting feelings.

He liked Goldie. She stole all his money and kind of broke his heart a little, but before that he’d started to think of her as family. It was hard to not think of her that way when she risked her life for his. But still...the money.

There was definitely no plan to contact her again when she left without even saying goodbye. Louie was frustrated and sad and annoyed and kept thinking about how he’d gotten too close. He knew when he first contacted her that this was a business decision - a con artist was not someone to befriend or trust or depend on. But in just a few short hours he felt a pull to her that he couldn’t really explain.

And he couldn’t stop thinking back to the way he’d felt when she suggested they work together again. He knew liars and thieves and knew she wasn’t an honest person, but he really felt like she meant it. And despite what happened afterwards and how angry he was for the next few days, Louie couldn’t help but wonder what that really meant for them.

She and Uncle Scrooge clearly weren’t getting back together anytime soon. And Goldie was a world traveler - always off on some new adventure somewhere far away. Even if they did work together again, it could be years away. Uncle Scrooge said sometimes he went years without hearing from her. 

Louie didn’t want to wait years. Goldie was the first person in a long time to appreciate his scheming mind without a hint of irony. It was refreshing and it made him feel better about the fact that she’d completely robbed him.

So he texted her. It was a long shot considering her age and the fact that she fumbled with her smartphone like someone who was still struggling to figure out how touch screens work, but Louie figured it was worth the attempt.

He looked at their messages again and smiled. Texting with a weird old thief lady was not exactly on his list of things he expected to be doing at the tender age of eleven, but it was kind of fun. She could tell him embarrassing stories about Uncle Scrooge or Uncle Donald or his mom. Maybe she knew other people in the family she could talk about.

With only a moment’s hesitation, Louie pressed his thumb down on her phone number and went to add a contact name. He stared at the screen for a few seconds before happily typing Aunt Goldie and hitting save.

He had to admit, it just kind of felt right.

[oh-take-this-longing]

Prompt 1: Foster

Koriah hadn’t ever seemed a part of the family. Not really. She seemed more mythical creature than Elezen noble to Adelaide. Even the circumstances of her birth, which Adelaide vaguely recalled her parents gossiping about when she was 3 years old, was outside the norm for the family and more like a supernatural gift,  like a fairy child being bestowed upon the family rather  than  the product of nature or love. Her parents would speak all the time about how imminent it was that her aunt and uncle would soon be the first Azmeriens to sever their ‘eternal bond’ and that they hadn’t so much as opened a door for one another or said a word in kindness to each other in the 2 years since they’d been wed.

Then one day her aunt and uncle showed up at her parents’ door holding hands. Holding -ungloved hands-. Holding ungloved hands with their skin touching for everyone to see. And they were smiling. And they were laughing. And they said such scandalous and, frankly, uncomfortable things as “I love you” right in front of everyone! That wasn’t a phrase Adelaide heard all that often outside of children’s tales. It wasn’t something her family ever said. Not in public, not in private, not even in jest, not ever. 

And then they did it. They kissed. Still in full view of the whole family! And this was not the usual polite kiss on the cheek or kiss on the back of (gloved!) hands for which Adelaide was so familiar. They kissed each other on the lips. They tilted their heads, smiling, and then put their lips together and 3 year old Adelaide saw it and -frankly- it was weird and she didn’t understand it at all. What was the point of that? She thought maybe it looked kind of gross. When she looked around at the rest of her immediate family with their jaws dropped and their eyes quickly darting away to look at something, anything!, else, her 3 year old thoughts were confirmed. That was definitely weird and gross. If it wasn’t her family wouldn’t react that way. Right?

And it was after that kiss that the announcement had been made. Her aunt was pregnant! And she and Adelaide’s uncle were -happy- about it. Oh, there was plenty of gossip about how the kid must have belonged to another man because she’d been having an affair and the whole lovey-dovey thing was just a public display to squash exactly the rumors that the lovey-dovey display had actually instigated instead. There were teams of couples who’d come over for weekly card, chess, or mahjong nights who would spend the evenings drinking expensive brandy with her parents and betting on who the actual father was. But to everyone’s great astonishment, when Koriah was born she already had a crop of bright red hair the exact same color as her father’s. As she grew up she shared the same striking green eyes as her father as well. Of course, by that point all the gossip had moved on to other couples and their possible infidelities and short-comings and the shock of Koriah’s arrival and the affection between her parents had completely been disregarded.

But not by Adelaide who carried that with her as one of her first memories and would continue to reflect on it as she grew older.

And as her cousin Koriah did not.

The sudden announcement of Koriah’s death when Adelaide was 25 and Koriah was 22 came as much as a surprise as the announcement of her arrival had.

Maybe it shouldn’t have. Koriah Azmerien had always been warm and sunny in personality (or what her detractors would call: ‘frivolous in demeanor’). She didn’t take anything too seriously. She wore what she wanted to. She went wherever she felt. And she genuinely did not care at all about what people said to or about her. When Adelaide would be stuck with insecurity regarding what she should say to someone (or -not- say to someone) at public events, Koriah never understood. She’d say, “If you introduce yourself and  they are unimpressed, they are the problem not you. So why worry about it?”

Well, Adelaide worried about it because her mother worried about it. And her sister worried about it. And two of her brothers worried about it. And she’d heard plenty of gossip that told her that she should worry about it. Why didn’t Koriah worry about it!? She’d one day be heading her family’s estate as well, shouldn’t she want to make the right impressions to the right people? Wasn’t she as stuck in this stifling, rules heavy society as Adelaide was?

That answer cleared itself up fairly quickly. At 19 Koriah said she was going off to see the world outside of Ishgard to learn what she could about other places. She longed to see other venues, other people, to taste other foods.

What she really wanted to do was see the Limsan ocean. She’d stared longingly at painted pictures of the ocean since she’d been so small she teetered and fell down more than she actually walked. The bubbly child would get quiet and listen with rapt attention to any story that featured dashing rogues and pirates by the seaside or that told tale of giant sea monsters or seductive sirens. Koriah’s parents eventually tired of buying their daughter stories about the ocean, perhaps wanting her to focus more on Coerthan tales of might and adventure instead, but the ocean had Koriah’s heart. So when her aunt and uncle stopped providing the books… Adelaide found a way to sneak books to her young cousin about high sea adventures instead.

And as Koriah grew older, her taste for the seafaring stories grew as well. Moving past the usual children’s tales, her book collection became… rather more ‘adult’ in nature-- much to Adelaide’s sheltered embarrassment who until her cousin had showed her the collection of erotic and romantic Limsan pirate and rogue stories had not even thought such a thing had existed. By that age, late teens, Adelaide had, of course, known that kissing was a thing. That touching was a thing. That the common folk would sometimes disappear into dark alleys and do… things. But she’d been raised by a very strict mother who had made it clear that such things were ‘crass’ and ‘unladylike’ and that as the future head of the Azmerien household, the future of the Azmerien name, she had best not ever think of such things.

Being told not to think of such things and then being shown books that wrote -exactly- of such things of course meant that Adelaide would rebel. She thought about ‘such things’ frequently. But she’d never -buy- such a book. She’d just borrow them. Where did Koriah even find those? Wasn’t she embarrassed to be seen with them?

No. The answer was no. She said someone had taken the time to write those things so someone might as well take the time to read them. She didn’t make it a point to read them in public and she hid them in her room so they weren’t immediately on display-- but she did not hide that she purchased them herself. “And if someone were to take time to read them, that someone ought to purchase them herself rather than sending out a servant to do it for her.”

So when Koriah said she was ‘off to see the world’, Adelaide knew that she was ‘off to see the ocean.’ And when she imagined Koriah out in Limsa Lominsa she imagined her capturing hearts and scandalous kisses the same way the heroines in her books did. She only wondered if it’d be a pirate or a rogue that she’d end up running away with in the end.

It was a rogue, apparently. Letters from Koriah came back regularly… until they didn’t. Koriah’s parents and younger brother received the boring letters that spoke of Limsan gossip and fashion. Adelaide received the letters that spoke of the things her cousin actually cared about. 

And the things she loved. 

And the boy she loved.

And that boy’s goofy little brother.

The boy was named Lysander Winsome and he was a key figure in some sort of thieving gang based in Limsa, but it wasn’t the life he wanted anymore. He wanted out. He wanted to save enough to buy a ship-- his dream was an airship because his heart belonged to the sky as much as Koriah’s belonged to the ocean-- and he wanted to get away with only what mattered most to him: his brother and Koriah. She thought it’d be easier to buy a ship they could sail on the ocean. That’d be a dream easier and quicker to reach and while they worked on the ship they could have adventures and save enough for the airship. But what if-- what if one day they had a ship that functioned as both? Wouldn’t that be amazing? Would Adelaide want to come to visit on a vessel that could both sail and fly?

Adelaide wrote that of course she would. But honestly, it was all a little hard to believe. Koriah’s letters sounded as much fiction as any of the books she’d left hidden in her bedroom. Maybe these letters were just fantasy. Maybe they were meant as fun reads when her reality was really just the boring letters about Limsan gossip, sales prices, and fashion that she sent to her immediate family. And she continued to think this until the letters became more sporadic and then stopped all together.

And until she met the goofy little brother.

Adelaide had assumed that ‘Winsome’ was a made up last name. No one was named that. That was an adjective, not a name. But when the 12 (or was it 13?) year old boy with chestnut colored hair, the oversized @dumb-hat swallowing up most of his face so that she could hardly see his amber eyes, looked up at her and then grinned so wide that what she saw of his eyes lit up, and told her that was his real last name… Adelaide knew that it was both an accurate adjective and a real last name.

Koriah’s last correspondence to her family was a letter that Evander clutched in his hands, written in her hand, beseeching them to care for him if he arrived without her and making clear that she gave him all rights to her property-- including her inheritance-- and that her final wish was that he be treated as the family that he was. She had married the boy’s brother in secret and in the absence of her and Lysander-- Evander Winsome was all that was left of her and should be treated with the same love and courtesy that she had been treated when she was there.

She never said ‘alive’ or ‘dead’ in the letter. But everyone knew what it meant.

What Evander did not know and would not ever know, was that a week before he arrived to Ishgard without her cousin, Koriah had written Adelaide a letter too. That letter contained two notarized copies of a will that made legally official and binding that Evander was her heir and was to receive all her property and inheritance. It was sent to Adelaide to ensure that the one person in the family that Koriah trusted as much as herself would have it and could speak up for the young boy in the unfortunate possibility that Koriah’s family would pretend they had never received a letter of their own and tried to wash their hands of Evander. 

The letter also read:

“Adelaide,

The storms in Limsa have made the ocean more alive than ever. It thrashes and dances with such exuberance that it makes me want to dance as well. The white sea foam reminds me of the lace hems on the dresses you and I loved so much as children: the ones that would twirl when we’d spin. I wish you could see it.

Lysander and I plan to make our escape soon. I never told you before because I didn’t want to worry you, but the gang did not take it well when Lysander made it clear that he wanted to strike out on his own. In fact, while we don’t speak of it because we don’t want Evander to overhear it, we’re fairly certain they plan to retaliate. As of now we plan to board a trading vessel that will take us out of Limsa Lominsa-- maybe even out of La Noscea entirely. We’ll head somewhere new and see the ocean there. Lysander wants to try his hand at opening a jewelry shop. He thinks he’d like to be a goldsmith. But his dreams and ambitions change as much as the sea does- so when we get to the new place he might decide to do something else entirely! I look forward to it. We both do. 

But on the off-chance that we never see that dream come true and that the Limsan ocean is the last one we see, I will pay for Evander’s trip aboard another vessel with a few people I trust and see that  he gets to Ishgard. Please welcome him. I don’t know how long he’ll choose to stay-- but I hope he gets a chance to foster new relationships, experiences and a new family while there. 

And on the off-chance I never see you again: I love you. I know that’s not a thing the family says. But sometimes it has to be said.

The books belong to Evander now. But you let him know I said that you can keep borrowing them.

Koriah.”

Thank you to @dumb-hat​ for letting me use his character and his backstory NPCs here! This timeline is certainly not 100% correct, but rather than stressing myself out trying to work out the exact ages and whens and whats-- I’m reminding myself that this is just about getting some writing out there and that I can fix the details later!

[robininthelabyrinth]

Three Gates - on ao3 (for content warnings check Ao3) - on tumblr: pt 1, pt 2

- Chapter 3 -

It seemed, to Meng Yao’s surprise, that there were in fact people like that; it was only that they were all apparently surnamed Nie and lived hidden away in a fortress deep in Qinghe, probably for the good of society.

Sect Leader Nie – known fondly to one and all as Lao Nie, an informality he encouraged – was at least more thoughtful than his son, insisting on a number of tests before he’d accept the child was his, which as a bit more in line with Meng Yao’s expectations. But even before the doctors had been called to check Meng Shi’s pulse he had already been listening without recrimination to Nie Mingjue’s excited plans about where they would stay and where the child’s room would be, and had only the mildest of criticism regarding his son’s decision to sell all his things to buy a Yunping whore to bring back to Qinghe.

The Nie clan, Meng Yao decided, were weird.

But not in a bad way – when the doctors confirmed that the date of conception was around the right time and that the child would more-likely-than-not have a gift for cultivation that his mother lacked, Lao Nie nodded and permitted Meng Shi to cross his threshold as an official concubine.

Not even a mistress! Official!

Sure, Lao Nie could divorce her if he wanted, but the mere act of marriage gave Meng Shi – and by extension, Meng Yao – security that they’d never had before, the right to many things they’d never had before: a solid foundation in the world for him, a married woman’s hairstyle and a place to be buried for her.

Meng Yao had worried at first that he would be reviled by Nie Mingjue’s mother as a bastard at best - a concubine’s baggage from before the marriage, infringing where he should not be; there were a thousand stories describing exactly what legitimate wives thought about people like that - but it didn’t take long for him to see that there was no other woman in Lao Nie’s life, excluding only his second-in-command who already had a wife of her own.

“Your mother died?” Meng Yao asked Nie Mingjue, his mind already spinning with the possibilities – having Meng Shi get officially named first wife was probably out of the question, since that would start gossip regarding the possibility of disinheriting Nie Mingjue, but if his mother could fill the position even a little, then maybe in the future…

“She’s gone,” Nie Mingjue corrected, and it took a while before Meng Yao understood that Nie Mingjue meant gone as in vanished or missing, not as in dead. According to the gossip, his mother was either a goddess or a rogue cultivator, but either way she hadn’t stayed much longer than a year or two past the time of her marriage to Lao Nie, with Nie Mingjue having been left to more or less raise himself ever since.

No wonder Nie Mingjue was such an open-minded idiot, believing in airy principles rather than rock-solid reality, Meng Yao thought, heart flush with fondness. He’d never had a mother to teach him any tricks.

Not that Meng Yao minded. On the contrary, he appreciated the benefits of that open-mindedness: for the first time in his life he had robes made of sturdy and comfortable material, finer than anything he’d owned before, with proper shoes made to fit him; he had teachers in all the subjects a gentleman should know, as much meat as he could ever want to eat, and even a room of his own, with a proper bed and a lock on the inside. All the things he’d ever envied in others were now suddenly within his grasp.

It was heady stuff.

Meng Yao was happy.

And then he went to his mother’s rooms after the first week to tell her of his adventures and saw her contemplating the crib in the side of the nursing room with a neutral expression that might as well be a frown.

He shivered a little and went to her side. “It won’t be necessary now, will it?” he asked hesitantly.

Meng Yao had never doubted his mother’s cunning before, but...well. It was only that Nie Mingjue was so looking forward to having a brother – Meng Yao was in some ways a brother, too, of course, or at least a shidi, but he was of an age that made him more of a friend so it apparently didn’t count – and had spoken so many times about the fun they’d have with a baby that they’d be able to teach everything they knew that Meng Yao had temporarily forgotten that the baby wasn’t going to get to live.

“I will decide what’s necessary,” she said, and that meant it probably was. Poor baby. “Your job right now is to get yourself a comfortable spot here that you can maintain even if I’m thrown out, you understand me? What you’re doing with Nie-gongzi is good. His father indulges him beyond reason; if you make him love you, he will fight for you to stay no matter what happens.”

Meng Yao secretly thought that, in all honesty, getting Nie Mingjue to love him seemed a bit too easy a job.

He’d already tried to play his mother’s tricks, to make himself seem nice and accommodating, the sort of brother any many would love, but Nie Mingjue had seen him at his most bossy and capricious when he hadn’t known that it would made, and it was a bit late to recover the original impression now. And yet to his surprise it didn’t seem to matter, when Nie Mingjue was puzzled and even concerned by Meng Yao’s gentle and submissive behavior rather than enchanted by it, and when he eventually reverted back to something more natural just to make him stop prying. 

No, it didn’t seem to matter at all. Meng Yao was pretty sure that Nie Mingjue was already ready to die for him if need be.

Maybe not die. He shouldn’t think such things, especially not around his mother – especially not with Madame Nie gone, with Lao Nie’s next heir in Meng Shi’s belly and her eyes speculatively set on his bed.

“I’ll make sure of it,” Meng Yao promised, thinking that his mother’s fear of the abandonment of men was for once a good thing if it meant she hadn’t yet started thinking of how only a single child’s life stood between her sons – including her new son – and all the power and riches of the Nie sect.

He’d never thought to scheme against his mother before.

He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to do it now, but…that poor baby.

Poor Nie Mingjue, too.

So Meng Yao went back to Nie Mingjue, but instead of doing what his mother wanted and earning his love – he had Nie Mingjue’s trust, and that was all he needed – he instead whispered in his ear about how happy old Lao Nie seemed to be with a woman by his side, pointed out his smiles when Meng Shi served him at dinner or asked to rearrange a room with some new decorations she’d found in the market.

“I mean, it makes sense,” Nie Mingjue said, his voice a little doubtful but not too much. “Even if she wasn’t his choice, she’s his responsibility, especially now, and it’s better if they like each other. What’s your point?”

“I’m just saying –”

“Oh, come off it, you never just say anything. You’re my brother! If you’ve got some thoughts, just tell me, and we’ll work on them together.” He laughed at Meng Yao’s shocked expression. “I’m not much of a scholar, but even I know that brothers are better off when they scheme together, rather than in parallel or against each other. What is it you want to do?”

Meng Yao weighed his options and spoke: “After the baby’s born, you and I should take care of it so that my mother and your father can spend more time together.”

“Is it that you’re worried about being cast out if they don’t get along? It won’t happen –”

“No, no,” Meng Yao said quickly, though he was, a little, and anyway it certainly was a good excuse to use. “But wouldn’t it be nice to have more brothers?”

Nie Mingjue was easily convinced, as always. “Maybe even a little sister!”

“But you can’t have new babies if you’re taking care of the old one,” Meng Yao continued, twisting truth a little and counting on the fact that Nie Mingjue didn’t seem to know too much about children or child-bearing. “That’s why we should take care of the baby ourselves.”

“Won’t we be too busy?” Nie Mingjue asked. “We’ll have lessons and classes and training –”

There was, Meng Yao conceded, an awful lot of training to do at the Nie sect.

“– while your mother will be resting and able to spend more time with the baby. And feed it, too, though maybe we should talk to someone about getting a wet-nurse to help her out…maybe a nanny goat as well…”

“A wet-nurse is a great idea,” Meng Yao said encouragingly. The less dependency they had on his mother for things for the baby, the better, and most especially when it came to the baby having enough to eat. One of the other women at the brothel had had a baby die from hunger once, when she stopped producing milk but lacked the money to buy a replacement. “But really, think about it – you said yourself that it’d be nice if we could teach the baby things.”

He pushed it as far as he could, and the heavens obligingly did the rest by giving his mother a difficult last few months – not so difficult that he felt afraid that he’d lose her to the birth, not with all the Nie sect’s expensive doctors fluttering around, but enough to exhaust her, and Nie Mingjue was convinced by the need to lift her burdens where he hadn’t been by more practical arguments.

And so little Nie Huaisang, when he was born, spent his first month of seclusion carefully guarded by his attentive brothers, and was then spirited away to their rooms the second they were able – it wouldn’t save him from the winter, Meng Yao thought with satisfaction, but it might save him from his mother.

His mother – their mother, now, but really still his mother – knew what he was doing and allowed it with an indulgent look, which he’d expected; after all he was her precious A-Yao, child of her youth and dreams, and as long as the mistake wasn’t fatal he was allowed to make one here and there.

And Nie Huaisang was a mistake worth making.

Meng Yao had taken a while to think so – he’d started out less than impressed with the baby, which was little more than a fleshy blob, capable of nothing but crying and emitting noxious bodily fluids, but Nie Mingjue had loved Nie Huaisang on sight, treating caring for him as a different type of training, and he’d been so enthusiastic that Meng Yao had gotten a little carried away by it. And after a while he discovered that Nie Huaisang would only settle down if he was there, if he helped, and that went to his head, leading him to preen like a peacock with pride (though it was good that Nie Huaisang eventually calmed enough to permit Nie Mingjue to assist before Meng Yao collapsed of exhaustion)…

All of a sudden it was real.

Nie Huaisang was his brother.

His real brother, a brother by blood – another child of their mother, small and clever and cunning like him, another who would stand by his side and make her proud, to show the world that they were more than just what she had been.

(He’d say that Nie Huaisang could help him beat anyone who said a bad word about her, but Nie Mingjue was doing a good job of that on his own, pretending all the while that he wasn’t doing it at all. As if he could keep a secret.)

Meng Yao was happy.

But then - 

Then it was winter.

The first little cough came during one of the classes on politics Meng Yao shared with Nie Mingjue, both of them writing their answers with delicate calligraphy – well, delicate and refined for Meng Yao, while Nie Mingjue’s brushstrokes were forceful yet elegant. Nie Mingjue didn’t notice the cough, absently hoisting Nie Huaisang a little higher in his non-writing arm, but Meng Yao was immediately frozen, thinking of what his mother had said.

He probably won’t survive his first winter.

Nie Huaisang was born in the late spring, which meant he was only half a year old when the winter came – some protection, but not much, and he was as weak as Meng Shi had predicted. The Nie sect had doctors aplenty, and Lao Nie spared no expense in getting medicine for his second son, but Meng Yao constantly worried that it wouldn’t be enough.

When Nie Huaisang continued to sicken, those soft little rasping breaths ringing in Meng Yao’s ear, he even started to wonder whether his mother really had done something after all, even though she knew he wanted Nie Huaisang to live, and he hated that he even thought it. And yet, he wondered...

His mother visited her sick son a few times, fewer than Nie Mingjue would like and more than Meng Yao wanted, and she had a good face for concern, full of gentle worry, good enough to fool anyone but her firstborn. Meng Yao overheard her crying once and was puzzled, only to understand when he heard Lao Nie comfort her that she wasn’t to blame, and that she wouldn’t be thrown out even if the child did die.

There were fewer visits after that, the purpose achieved.

(Meng Yao loved his mother, and knew she loved him – child of her heart that he was – but sometimes he thought he could almost hate her, too. It was a thought he’d had before, hidden deep in his heart, but only now that he knew there was more to life than her did he actually allow himself to think it.)

Nie Mingjue didn’t quite understand why she was acting the way she was, and Meng Yao determined in his heart that he never would. He might be younger in years than the boy he’d started (after a great deal of pressure and sad eyes like a lost puppy) to call his da-ge, but he was older in spirit. Perhaps if he were older, if he’d suffered more, he would resent Nie Mingjue’s carefree nature and the heart he wore on his sleeve, so easy to hurt and speaking of a lifetime of having not been hurt, but he was still young and all his dreams had come true – it was easy enough to shrug off the innocence and earnestness that, if he’d ever had it, he had lost it long ago.

It didn’t matter.

What mattered was the sleepless nights Nie Mingjue spent tending to Nie Huaisang, shoulder-to-shoulder with Meng Yao, persisting even when Meng Yao fell asleep; the way Meng Yao would always find a blanket covering him if he had, the way Nie Mingjue scolded him to eat while forgetting his own meals, the way he hide his tears for the times he thought Meng Yao couldn’t see or hear because he didn’t want to burden him –

“He’ll always be weak,” the doctors said, examining Nie Huaisang’s too-thin too-small frame, shuddering with coughs. “His muscle tone is low, his cultivation base unsteady…”

You might as well give up and try for another, they meant, and Nie Mingjue heard it as clearly as Meng Yao did.

And just as Meng Yao did, he refused to listen.

Where Meng Yao smiled at the doctors and thought of revenge, Nie Mingjue bristled and shouted, cursing them with as wide a vocabulary as he knew – wider, now that he had made Meng Yao’s acquaintance, than it had been before – and chased them away as frauds and liars.

And just as Meng Yao started to lose hope, Nie Huaisang turned a corner and got better.

“I don’t know if I can do that again,” Meng Yao said, staring with tears in his eyes at his little brother’s rising and falling chest, unhindered by any obstruction. “Next winter…”

“Next winter he’ll be older,” Nie Mingjue said, and wrapped an arm around him. “And so will we.”

Perhaps it was that that drove Nie Mingjue to pick up his saber a full two years before he rightfully should have received it, claiming a truly fearsome blade as his own if only he could master her, and after nearly a year of hard work he did. He named her Baxia, and Meng Yao thought of a creature strong enough to carry a mountain on its back – but it was of Nie Mingjue he thought.

(His own saber, he decided, would be named Chiwen, and like him it would draw evil away from others, taking it all on himself and swallowing it into his belly where it could rot him through and through if it meant that those he loved most would remain untainted by it.)

[braindeadforiwa]

Can I request some first kiss head canons with Tsukishima, Kenma, and Tanaka? If that's alright, thank you for your time and writing!

i gotchuuuuu first kiss headcanons comin right up! i hope u enjoy <3

Tsukishima

you’d been on your way back to your apartment, the crisp winter air nipping at your nose and cheeks, when you spotted a familiar figure on the swings in the small park you passed nearly every day

the sun had set long ago at this point, and though you knew tsuki suffered from insomnia usually he didn’t make his way outside he’d usually opt to read a book or watch a show

you didn’t say anything as you took the swing next to him

he’d talk when he wanted to, that’s something you’d learned early on in your friendship

much like a cat it was better for him to cross that barrier and make that first move than you

“you’re coming home late,” was the first thing he said

it was a statement but you knew the question that was hidden there

“co-worker was sick so they needed some extra hands,” you replied

he hummed in response, the sound low

to others it likely sounded disinterested, but to your trained ear you knew it wasn’t him brushing off what you’d said

“you should go home and get some sleep” he said after a minute to which you told him you were tired just yet

and that’s how it continued for the next hour, small conversations about nothing of particular importance, stretches of comfortable silence mingled in 

the night sky was clear, and if you squinted you could make out the stars dotting the blanket of navy blue

the moonlight cascaded down to gently illuminate the park around you and creating a silver halo around tsuki’s hair

you’d joked with him once in the past that if things didn’t work out on his current path of working at the museum he could always try his hand at modeling

he’d only replied with a tsk as he went back to the book he’d been reading

“hey.” tsuki’s voice had taken on a slightly more serious tone ((though admittedly he sounded serious a good majority of the time)) “thanks for always keeping me company on the bad night...or whatever”

maybe you were seeing things but you could’ve sworn u saw pink color his cheeks

you reached out to tug your swing closer to his and grinned at him “that’s what i’m here for idiot”

his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at you

after a few seconds had passed you were worried he’d actually been insulted that couldn’t be though, you’d called him worse before and he’d never batted an eye, just rolled them

you were about to ask when he quickly leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to your lips

you were barely able to react before he pulled away and stood up, leaving you there to try and wrap your head around what had happened

“like i said, thanks,” he said before starting to walk away, his blush hidden now hidden in the darkness

“i- wh- TSUKI YOU CAN’T JUST DO THAT AND WALK AWAY” you yelled before scrambling to follow after him, your lips pulling into a smile when you hear the smallest laugh escape him

Kenma

You’d been officially dating Kenma for a couple months now

most of your friends argued that the two of you had acted like a couple even before you two had become “official”

your friendship had just been one of those things where you two worked in tandem so well that the natural course of things landed you here

even now that you two were official nothing had really changed, the time spent together was the same, the interactions and conversations were the same, the only thing that was really different was there was more cuddles involved during movie nights

Currently you were in the kitchen making dinner while Kenma was busy with a charity stream

it’s something he’d started doing at the beginning of the year -- every month he’d have his subscribers choose a charity to raise money for and he’d stream until the goal was met

he liked having you over when he was doing these because you helped make sure he actually ate when he needed to

“and the company was nice” he’d told you after one stream

You knocked on the door to his room before entering, plates in hand

when kenma saw you he paused the game he’d been playing, removing his headphones

you walked over to kenma and gave him his food, waving to the camera, before heading over to the couch to eat your own dinner

while kenma ate he’d just talk with those in chat -- answering questions, talking about upcoming games and his most anticipated, discussing his thoughts on games he’d recently played

occasionally chat would have some questions for you and kenma would call you over to interact a bit

this had been the routine for nearly a year now, starting before the “official dating” started

"huh? yeah, we’re dating,” you heard kenma say nonchalantly, your ears perked up at that. “i’m not answering that,” kenma then said, his voice it’s usual calm

“what’d they ask?” you said

“they wanna know if we’ve kissed”

you hummed in response with a small chuckle. the answer was no, but if he wasn’t saying anything you wouldn’t either

the stream finally ended a few hours later and kenma let out a sigh

you walked over to his chair where he was with his head leaned back and his eyes closed

“congrats on reaching your goal,” you said brushing the hair back from his face

he hummed, opening his eyes a moment later to look up at you, brown eyes meeting your own 

he looked at you for a beat longer before asking “can i kiss you?” a gentle smile danced across your features before you leaned down, meeting his lips with your own

Tanaka

Life with Tanaka was always an adventure, that’s how it had been for the past four years you’d known him and it’d likely continue to be one in the future

On that particular day he’d told you about this secret place in the forest over by the park

he’d apparently heard about the place from one of his buddies from work

you were Not particularly interested in going into a forest bc you were Quite certain Tanaka would get both of you lost

you had good reason to believe so mind you, it had happened on the last few adventures he’d taken you along on

there were numerous reasons that he gave to get you on board with the search

“the forest isn’t even that deep!”

“c’mon y/n you’ve got me to protect ya from all the big nasties we might face!” coupled with a confident grin and a flex of his muscles

“damn i didn’t know you were such a baby” accompanied by a smug grin

at the end of it all he managed to wear you down and now you found yourself walking the path into the small forest

you had to admit you were pretty curious at this point and worst case scenario you got to tease tanaka and tell him i told you so

you two had met up at around noon and had been searching for about an hour or two now

tanaka was leading the way, looking at the directions his friend had given 

“okay we have to turn right”

“ryuu we already took two rights in a row, you’re gonna make us go in a circle”

“just trust me”

ultimately you did not find the secret getaway and unfortunately the heavens had decided to open up, rain cascading down from the darkened sky

the two of you had taken refuge under a large tree, its canopy doing a fairly good job at shielding you as you huddled together

even though you were soaked, there was a beauty to the whole scene

the sound of rain hitting the leaves of the trees all around, the drops ricocheting off of the rocks that lined the barely there trail

“well i can’t say i’m too disappointed, this is still pretty nice,” you said

you turned your head to look at tanaka to find him closer than you’d expected

what threw you off more was the soft look on his face

the heat of the blush rising to your cheeks contrasted the cool air around you

“ryuu-”

your question was cut off as he brought his lips to meet yours

the kiss was short, but still full of the energy that you were used to from tanaka, but underlying all of that was a gentleness -- a hesitance -- as if he were asking if this was alright

well your returning kiss was answer enough to that question

[clouds-rambles]

Clouds team headcanons

I would absolutely LOVE! to hear about the headcanons you have for your own teams in Genshin, as well as ones you have for mine that I may not have mentioned! 

Talking about your teams don’t count as requests so feel free to send me them even if my requests are closed! 

This is my team, and below the cut is their weird dynamics as a team <3

Adding the traveller as me because you know my team lolz <3

3rd person writing for me is gonna be a little weird but lets see how that works

Having a sensible figure in the team is non existent, Venti and Cloud pull many pranks on the others and usually gets the last laugh about the team. If anyone was to tell him off it’d be Sucrose. Sucrose isn’t good at telling people off so most of the time it’s just Sucrose sadly saying ‘please stop’

Cloud, Qiqi, Sucrose, and Xiangling are constantly in another world. Cloud often finds themselves easily distracted by treasures and pretty sceneries, on especially pretty ones they’ll call their friends over to look with them. Qiqi often gets distracted by herbs, and has taken quite a fancy to herbs not found in Liyue. Sucrose is constantly asking for bones that anybody else finds, and most evenings she’s scurried away in her house in the serenitea pot studying them. Xiangling loves finding food, be it running after a boar in the middle of a fight, or forcing the team to climb to the very top of mountains just for some Juyuen Chillis. 

Most evenings, before Sucrose hides herself away, the team like to eat dinner together and talk about their day. If they stay in late Venti most likely pulls out his lute and plays a tune for the team.

On days where the team is off alone in Liyue Venti often goes and pesters Xiao while the latter is on duty. Qiqi will go and visit Bubu Pharmacy and offload all the herbs she’s collected over the week. Cloud tends to lounge about the tea shops trying various herbal teas, that and they catch the odd story show. Xiangling helps her father out at the restaurant and Sucrose finds herself tagging along with Xiangling and doing work at the back of the resturant.

On days where the team is off alone in Mondstat Venti will spend most of his day playing music around his home for drinks. Cloud will often sit outside the Good Hunter or go to meet up with Lisa for some tea and a chatter. Qiqi will always somehow end up with Klee even if Qiqi barely remembers who Klee is. Sucrose will spend her day with Albedo and she’ll often give a small presentation of what she’s found in the week. Xiangling has made many friends in Mondstat, and almost all of them are about all the time, so she has many adventures with Razor, Bennett, and Fischl. 

Xiangling and Sucrose are the classic example of introvert/extrovert friendships. It kind of seems like they wouldn’t speak much but Xiangling often brings Sucrose out of her shell. Even if Sucrose has horrific social queues

Cloud and Venti have a way with each other where they constantly bounce off each others ideas, they’re both chaotic and loud. They have shared a few conversations in complete silence accompanied by facial expressions and hand gestures. Nothing good comes out of those conversations

Venti and Cloud are very protective of Qiqi and she often looks up to the two of them as older, chaotic, siblings. Cloud often makes jokes about adopting Qiqi as their own because of how much they love her

Qiqi has also adopted Sucrose and Xiangling as her older sisters. Xiangling is very much happy with this and loves playing about with Qiqi, but Sucrose has an awkward air around her when she’s holding Qiqi. But somehow it makes Qiqi all the more interested in Sucrose

The four are pretty much suited well when they climb up Dragonspine. Venti redirects most of the cold wind away from him. Qiqi seems much more at home and content in the cold air compared to the warmer air of Liyue. Sucrose knows the best paths to get to certain areas of the mountain and often has extra clothes hidden away in the serenitea pot. And thanks to Xianglings pyro vision her body heat never drops thanks to the controlled heat surrounding her.

Cloud however has a horrific time in Dragonspine, no amount of layers or goulash will stop Cloud from shivering their ass off. Cloud could literally be sat in the campfire and they’d still complain about how cold they are. More often then not they’re walking close to Xiangling or completely hide in the serenitea pot with a cup of tea

Both Cloud and Venti, very often with the addition of Xiangling have gliding competitions where they all try to fly the furthest and fastest to a location. Venti always cheats, but Cloud’s resonance with anemo always propel them a little more. Venti always wins. Cheater. And in all honesty? Xiangling doesn’t even stand a chance beside the cheaters, but she does love the competition

Being in a team with Cloud much often results to ranting to Venti about the new crush they have. Venti finds it hilarious that you seem to be attracted to almost every woman in Teyvat. Although, the one you seem to talk about the most is Beidou. Maybe she’ll join the team sometime soon