#kept waiting for its sprite to show up

[eggsnatcheskneecaps]

There it is!

[lo1k-diamonds]

💎Masterlist💎

All my writing can be found on ao3 and there’s no way I’m putting my gigantic stories here 🙈😅

That said, I’ll still put here the list with all my stories and links to find them!

[All my stories have angst - from just a misunderstanding to full-blown out-of-proportion fights 😋]

🔥 » SMUT | 📚 » multichapter | 🎀 » fluff [G- general/T- teen/M-mature/E-explicit]

Series

{ongoing 💜} Soul Palette (Soulmate AU) >> [Masterpost] >> In this soulmate alternate universe, there are no marks, no strings, and no traces to guide them to their other half. But if they listen carefully, destiny is just around the corner patiently waiting to mix them in the soul palette and create universes - together.

✔ SX Seoul >> [Masterpost] >> SX Seoul is a new club in Itaewon. Decorated with neon lights, its cozy and enveloping ambiance will have you living your wildest dreams. Each story is standalone - one per member!

RM 

{ongoing 💜} Unique (E) 🔥📚 - OC x idol!NJ - Namjoon dedicated his whole life to being a diligent idol, putting the music and group above his individual needs and desires. He believes he's doing the right thing until an unexpected meeting shifts how he sees the world. But life isn't easy, and even a unique connection can't change fate. Or can it? [Masterpost]

Klartraum (E) 🔥📚 - OC x idol!NJ - Fantasy AU » A story that follows Namjoon as he takes notes of his dreams of you in a dream journal.

Smoke Sprite (M) 🔥 - idol!Namjoon x So!YoON! - A short drabble about the song [Tumblr]

Closer (E) 🔥 - SX Seoul Series » NJ x Reader » Namjoon and you were friends for years — he was your confidant, protector, and haven. You didn’t want to risk it, no matter what, but some things can’t be kept in the dark. [Tumblr]

Jin

Carnation (T)📚 - Soul Palette (Soulmate AU) (1st entry)» OC x idol!SJ » In early 2018, BTS were at a crossroads: after working so hard to set foot in the music industry of South Korea, their sudden jump into stardom became something they never anticipated. Jin believed in his dongsaengs but was just as lost as them when his soulmate entered the picture. [1st chapter - Tumblr]

Break-line (E) 🔥 - SX Seoul Series » Jin x Reader » You’ve been chasing dreams and medals ever since you can remember, with your best friend Seokjin by your side. You thought you had everything you could possibly want — until you find out Jin is keeping a secret from you. [Tumblr]

Suga

Call you mine (E) 🔥📚 - Soul Palette (Soulmate AU) (3rd entry)» OC x idol!YG » A slowburn rejection soulmate story about falling in love with Min Yoongi. [1st chapter - Tumblr]

Sugar Rush Ride (E) 🔥 - SX Seoul Series » YG x Reader » You produced a song based on your hidden desires for your fellow producer and promised yourself that tonight, things would change. You were done pining after him, but then he arrived at the listening party. [Tumblr]

Too Sweet (E) 🔥📚 » You x Demon!YG » Coming from unabashed wealth has its perks — like never having to lift a finger in your life. When that suddenly changes, you end up at a crossroads: how far will you go to have everything you want? [Masterpost]

Stellar Behavior (E) 🔥📚 » Officer!Yoongi x Mafia (f)reader »  Yoongi has been in the police force for long enough to know that the system isn’t perfect, so when an injustice is about to put his protégé in jail, he has no other choice but to go to you. You’re the devil, but you’re hard to resist, and he needs to decide between falling into temptation or showing you that two can play the game.[Masterpost]

J-hope

Seeking the sunrise (E) 🔥📚 - Soul Palette (Soulmate AU) (2nd entry)» OC x idol!HS » No one needs a soulmate to have love, right? [1st Chapter - Tumblr]

Adage (E) 🔥 - SX Seoul Series » HS x (f)Reader » You have an exclusive interview with the event coordinator of SX Seoul, who happens to be your teenage crush. [Tumblr]

Moving On (E) 🔥» HS x (f)Reader » All you wanted was to help your best friend move in with her fiancé, Jin — you just didn't know putting up with Hoseok came with the deal. And now there's only one bed. [Tumblr]

Jimin

Dress (E) 🔥 - OC x idol!JM » After pining for years, she has reached her breaking point — and it started with a dress. [Reader version - Tumblr]

Like Crazy (E) 🔥 - SX Seoul Series » JM x Reader » You let your desires run wild and things got too far while figuring out the choreography for Jimin’s next single. You thought it was best to pretend it never happened, but he decided to chase you, hoping to set things right. [Tumblr]

Down Bad (E) 🔥🩸 - Vampire!Jimin x human(f)reader » You find the cure to your clumsiness in becoming Jimin’s dance partner. But twirling in his arms risks more than just your heart, especially after he bites you. [Part 1][Part 2]

V

Love Crumbs (M) 📚 - OC x Office!Tae - Office AU » Quinn’s plans were simple: win that promotion and maybe have a little fun on the side. Taehyung was in love with someone else, but that wasn’t an issue. It’s a shame things are never really that simple. [1st Chapter - Tumblr]

A woman's best friend (E) 🔥 - Tae x (f) reader » When you met, you and Taehyung hit it off instantly, becoming the closest of friends. You thought he was off limits, meanwhile, he’s been begging for a chance to put an end to your friendship. [Part 1][Part 2]

Paramour (E) 🔥 - SX Seoul Series » Tae x (f) reader » You were born for the quick and glamorous life surrounding celebrities — they had their little dramas and breakdowns, and you were there to clean up the mess. But you have your own secret, and doing your job might get you in trouble with your paramour. [Tumblr]

My Demon, My Love (E) 🔥📚 » Demon!Tae x human (f) reader » All Taehyung wanted was business as usual — strike a deal, claim a soul, and enjoy dessert. But somehow, he ended up powerless, with no choice but to ask for your help. [Part 1][Part 2][Part 3]

Jungkook

Far Cry (E)🔥📚 - OC x idol!JK - Lost AU » After barely escaping captivity, Jungkook is lost in a jungle on an unknown island with an injured Namjoon and an amnesiac girl. [1st Chapter - Tumblr] ➡ snippets

Standing Next to You (M) 🔥 - You x Demon!JK - MV based » JK is a lust demon — a powerful being that inflames desires at the simplest glance. That is his nature and all there is to his existence. Until there was you. [Tumblr]

Bubbles (E) 🔥📚 - SX Seoul Series » JK x Reader » You’re back in town and your first stop in a night out with friends is a new club: SX Seoul. You had no plans, but when you see your ex, everything changes. - [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]

How to Choose a Valentine (T) 🎀 - reader x idol!JK » Who knew the best company for Valentine’s Day would be a lovely Doberman? And who knew he’d get you a Valentine? Well, sort of. [Tumblr]

Be as it must (E) 🔥📚 » Alpha!Jungkook x Omega(f)reader »  It’s hard being an omega in a world where they've all but disappeared, but you're safe as long as you stay under the radar. What happens when you're found and taken to your boss, CEO Jeon Jungkook?[Masterpost]

Make It Right (E) 🔥📚 » idol!JK x (f)readed » After the last concert in Busan, Jungkook decides to stay at his parents' and make the best of that pause. He never dreamed he would have the chance to meet you again, but now that he has, he won't give up. This is his chance to make things right. [Part 1][Part 2]

[crescencestudio]

2024 Recap & 2025 GOALS

I'M BAAAAACCKKKKKK

Well, well, well.... Look who it IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hello my friends.

It is I!!!

To say it's been a while since we've really talked would be an understatement. This bitch rly went fckn off the radar that second half of 2024. But I'm happy to say I am making my debut once again and I am back on the scene!!!

I hope the start of 2025 has been going well for you all <3 I'm happy and excited to say that after a grueling 2024 and relaxing holidays, I'm finally back and ready to get to WORK on Alaris! I thought a nice way to get back into things would be a big 'ol yappy post in true Crescence fashion so that you all know exactly where I, and Alaris, are at as we enter the new year :')

I'm excited to say that while I don't have a set date yet...

Alaris WILL be releasing this year even if it kills me.

Just as my big year goal in 2024 was to graduate and I used every ounce of inner strength to make that happen, finishing and releasing Alaris is my big goal this year. I've kept you all waiting long enough, and I'm confident that Alaris is at a point that we'll be able to do a release this year. Of course, if this changes, you all will be the first to know. But I'm very hopeful that we can make a 2025 release happen ^^

That being said, I think it might be nice to do a 2024 recap so we can see just how far the project has come, even if I was shoved off the face of the earth in the later months of 2024 \o/

Last year, we actually finished ALL the writing for every route except for Aisa's! Meaning we reached 300k words of writing for the game and only have 50k words left YEEAAAAAA. And all routes are written up except for one! This was a huge milestone for me since I still remember when I finished the first 50k for the game with Kayn's route all the way back in the beginning. And we're finally nearing the end.

I've always considered writing the hardest part of game development so to have finally reached a point where almost all of the writing is finished was a huge achievement for me last year.

We also made HUGE progress on the art front last year ^^ Not only did we finish all of the backgrounds for the full game, we also got a new GUI, updated sprites and CGs, and a new promo piece in anticipation for the release of the new demo.

We also made progress on CGs for the full game, which I will not be showing because spoilers and those are special nuggets Patreon and Kickstarter backers get access to hehe. But we made about 16 finished CGs last year, getting us to a total of 22 CGs and about halfway through our CG count!!

Last but definitely not least, we actually had a good amount of releases last year (considering I got fckn bodied in the second half of the year) ^^

a moment for Van

In 2024, believe it or not, I actually released the extended version of Intertwine! It featured new music, slightly more polished programming, and almost double the writing :') And with this release, we saw Intertwine get a lot more love throughout the year and actually reached 200k plays and 1k ratings (crazy numbers I never thought I'd see in all my days). So thank you all for continuing to love my fated child <3

a moment for my whore child

We also released the enhanced demo for Alaris last year, featuring a polished script (with some revised dates), partial voice acting, custom OST, new GUI, new BGs, updated sprites and CGs, and much more! This was an exciting milestone for me since it felt like we finally were approaching a release that reflected what the full game would feel like, and I couldn't have been happier with the release :') It meant so much to me that old and new players enjoyed it as much as they did and really gave me the motivation endorphins to keep chipping away towards full release

HE.

And then, perhaps the most exciting of all, Alaris entered its BETA ROUTE ERAAAAAA!!!! We kicked it off with Kayn in honor of hot girl summer, but made our way through half of the LIs with Kayn, Fenir, and Druk each getting their own moment to shine \o/ The reception to these routes was super motivating since players finally got to experience content I'd been working on and keeping to myself for almost a year, and I've been so happy seeing people fall in love with the LIs in in different ways :')

Usually I do a little recap with fanart I make of games I played throughout the year as well, but this year I wanted to do something different and dedicate this little section to YOU ALL!!

In 2024, the Alaris community was blessed with fanart, memes, character questions, and more :') For some reason, 2024 was the year a lot of you decided to really show your love for the game, and it's one of the biggest things that's maintained my sanity, and the reason I love working on the game. While I can't show all the fanart everyone made, I wanted to take a second to show some love

credits to: @/egginthepit, @/nanapop, @/stimulatory, and @/dreamtydraw for cracked fanart

I know I dropped the ball near the end of 2024, but I hope you all know how much seeing fanart and people engaging with Alaris means to me. Every time I see a new piece or a new character ask in the inbox, it genuinely makes my day. I hope this year I can be better at recognizing and fostering the love in the community for all of our LIs, and I can't wait for another year with you all!

credits to: lily of @/lavendeerstudios, bestie maguna, @/starlitplum, and @/fignia-kakay-to

Here's to a new year that is hopefully filled with more excitement for Alaris, progress, and an eventual release (eek!!!!). Thank you all for sticking with me for another year!

[anguishedlurker]

A gift, for you.

Phic Phight be upon ye! 2461 words for @jackdaw-sprite, filling in for the prompt; "Finally; a scale, one of Clockworks own. Daniel would not accept such a fine gift without questions. So Clockwork slipped it beneath his skin as he slept."

Clockwork had to wait diligently for the scale to finally appear. Few would understand what they meant when they spoke of the wait, and ask blankly if they couldn't have simply plucked it from the future.

Such an assumption of ease grated, though was not new.

Clockwork had waited, because to reach to the future was a complication. It had many impossibilities layered onto itself, for the future was rarely so set in stone as to reliably pluck from.

Clockwork had waited, because to set up the future they'd had to realign with the snake first. To confirm the path with labor by their own hands.

While many ghosts had no animal association, those more representative than human (or post-human as it were) were liable to have at least one. They are not entirely sure where the belief came from- and they are most certainly lying when they say it- but nonetheless the master of time could rather well embody the concept of a snake.

Provided they so desired, and it was required so it was desired.

Clockwork had waited, because even if they had not Daniel would not have been ready. The scale could have sat in storage, losing desirable properties and gaining undesirable ones as it collected the Dust That Never Left within the tower.

Days, weeks, months. Passing kept or unkept, hardly mattered, wrapped in waxed cloth with the finest (or not) wards. Wasted in solitude, as its moment came, went, and then postponed again someway or another.

Clockwork had waited, because Daniel was still not ready in a sense. Not in the emotional way, nuances of the somewhat-human mind largely lost on them. Time's arrow had no interest in the mechanics of the waving winds holding influence over its flight, simply that it continued moving, and Clockwork was an extension beholden to the same flaw. Humans looked an awful lot like math problems when viewed through the looking glasses strewn throughout the tower.

Such musing is getting lost in the reeds though, and after Clockwork was done waiting for some pieces, others remained slowly inching forward towards the chosen destiny. The welded patches on their bare arms had shifted to scale sometime ago, and the natural course of shedding had quietly started in the background some time after, all in the silence of a plan that could be ruined.

The Observants so loved unlocking their doors on a whim, but refusing to take off their cloak was far from new. Their gloves remained firmly fixed on their hands, and nothing was seen because for it to spread to visible areas Clockwork must let the scales do so.

The Observants' loss of a specific regulatory pin on how frequently they were allowed to reset a timeline was not incidental, though far more unpleasant than expected going in. Clockwork would not let the scales spread to undesirable spots as they waited, and they would do it forever if that is what it took.

Daniel was of more concern, pressing when the front of their cloak closed to stop showing their glass and gear interior.

Clockwork had hardly needed to lie, yet the blooming threads of futures were clear about the necessity of omitting various details.

Multiple times, even.

That darn pin, no? They were sure the Observants would like it back, though of the councils toys that may or may not be necessary Clockwork would not shed tears when its fate was executed.

So they'd waited, explained away the changing form with reassuring but insubstantial platitudes, and the first shed was unsuitable for their goals. Powerful magical ingredients in the objects own right, but not the correct sort. They knew it would happen though, and it was not of worry.

The second waiting period was to hold onto the snake while drifting back to mechanical.

To embody two things was far from unreasonable, and was far from being particularly insane. Especially as the category of animal and object were separate, and could very well co-exist.

Most people would press them for an explanation as to how they didn't contradict, but the true answer was tedious and over-long for what people truthfully wanted from them.

As such Clockwork wasn't inclined to humor the questions in the threads that posed them, so much more concerned as to if the combination of snake and mechanical was the correct choice.

Snake was certainly an idea of convenience, in Clockworks' mind. If they could shed the scales, it simplified quite a bit. No profound mutilation or significant harm to frighten Daniel with. Just a scale that comes off in its own time.

Yet Daniel seemed ambivalent about the snake in ways that didn't particularly bode well. Future complications from the gift seemed to stem from the snake as opposed to the machine, and trying to parse out why was going to finally drive them mad.

Cat seemed the most flawless choice, but even assuming Clockwork could maintain the connection, then what? Pulling out fur was rather unhelpful, and attempting to gift a claw with a bandaged hand would solicit questions Clockwork didn't want.

Even if the gift was subtly given, Clockwork would have to weather the questions of what precisely happened to his hand from both Daniel and the Observants. And wait for it to heal on top of it

Most other animals ran into the same two categories of issues, the third unrelated question of if Clockwork can achieve a connection rarely coming into the calculation. If it could work, it would be done. But little was perfect.

And then the metals, the machines. Daniel could utilize them perfectly well. The cold and unalive, freezing to touch yet always moving with precision... It bordered on his domain already.

What kind of metal mattered, though. Iron was common for a reason, tough and unyielding. Both weapons and building materials alike loved it, or at least had at one point or another.

But there was this tendency to be unkind, which he would reject. Even the metal for work had little care to what it cut, an iron scythe plenty happy to reap misplaced hands as it was happy to reap hay. Nails, even, if placed and forced were a cruel tactic.

Copper was pleasing to the eye, and so very hard to contaminate, yet so easy as to corrode. A shining brown reduced to blue with time, constant maintenance needed to keep its beauty. Strength, perhaps it had plenty enough, but its uses lay elsewhere in the modern world.

Brass and bronze, older metals and yet perfect. Bronze especially, in the right ratio of tin to copper would never corrode or decay. Stronger than copper would be without losing much beauty, the metal empires were built on the back of.

Silver and gold had been a consideration, in the feeling fantasy type of way. Beautiful, and sought after. Royalty coming into its own. But such weight of expectation could also be rejected, and the flaw of tarnish and the flaw of weakness in its purity would not be kind.

So Clockwork waited, and the scales turned to metal. They would shed far less frequently, and be notably harder to shed once the time came. The difficulty was of no concern, but the possibility of the problems getting noticed was added to the plan.

They pondered the process of the non metals in waiting, though not as extensively. To gift Daniel glass would be profound until it cut him, as whether the glass was cut or shattered it would not hide the materials nature. Gems had the same issue as the snake; ambivalence, stacked twice, would most certainly make the gift worse.

Daniel was always welcome in the waiting's meantime, as the glass on Clockwork's torso grew brittle and the welded metal grew tender and raw. The boy laid across a couch, obtained just for him, on the day Clockwork changed their cloak for one that hid their interior, and peeled the last layers of metal off their arms.

Much of it happened as they did their job, the waiting. Timelines teased and untangled as Daniel lay paused in the background, and the first papery layer of scales lifted in their own time despite the itch.

Clockwork, in the meantime, tried to entertain and guide. Gift what they could to the young boy.

But the oddity of it was how things must be given. Clockwork hardly minded the game of expectations, but it was truly strange. The couch was never mentioned, and the food they did not need for themself never questioned by him.

Objects were so much worse to try giving, though. Once, well before this attempt, they'd thought to fish a pendant out the Lost River for him. The poor object stuck somewhere in a strand circling the eighteen nineties, and was otherwise worthless in its situation. Yet holding it in front of their mirrors, they could see the outright rejection of a direct gift. Explanations as to how it would help  stabilize and soothe wounds, and heal them easier, only barely guilted Daniel into accepting, only to drop it into a bedside stand and refuse to touch it unless deemed necessary. It was far more frequently palmed off to his mortal friends than used to heal himself those timelines, however infuriating it was to Clockwork.

So instead of explaining the pendant, it entered his pocket one day without  any statement. Daniel got a pleased hum and attention for obviously wearing it, and as such the pendant did its job silently and the gift was received.

Sometime after, Clockwork made a decision about a much different gift. And sometime after that, Daniel was on the couch again when Clockwork Knew the waiting was done.

Daniel stayed to his heart's content, as the difference of a few hours had no meaning to Clockwork's timeline. And once alone, in their chambers, the cloak was shouldered off just far enough to access the most promising patch of scales.

To work a nail underneath the scale was easy enough, and with an admittedly very felt pop one came loose and began its tumble to the floor.

Obviously snatched before it could hit the ground, the underside had only the barest of still glowing green sticking to it. Easily washed off, and suddenly pure. One scale, about the size of a man's thumbnail.

Ritualistically, Clockwork floated before the mirrors and glasses and Looked again at the future paths.

To gift Daniel a scale with no further statement, slipped into a pocket and no more, begged for him to lose it. While Clockwork could certainly work in the background to return it, the losing would harm the scale and any power regardless.

To explain would beget questions Clockwork found irrelevant and Daniel found disturbing. What came first, and then how, and for, and Daniel seemed to not like any true answers. Yet, lies would most certainly be caught.

There was an easy answer to Clockwork, even if doing so would shield their vision somewhat and make Daniel more unpredictable than before.

It was easy, perfectly executable next time Daniel slept on the couch. His time in the tower had already begun to condition him to time powers, the amulet nowhere near as the world was stopped and Daniel breathed and slept at a rate where five seconds was closer to one. A creature moving through syrup, but nonetheless moving.

All it needed was some more pressure though, Daniel not getting the time to curl further into the blankets as the threads grew tighter around them both.

He had to be moved from his side, but when the world cannot enact its gravity for it has no time to do so, caution and care in their actions means something different. 

Positioning things as desired was hardly a problem. It wasn't their first time carefully applying time to free and move a mortals joints, nor a ghosts.

It was all very easy. The same nail that pried the scale off was sharp enough to cut skin on his mid back, right under the start of a lower rib, flesh peeling off from fat in a perfect line.

Clockwork thought better of not going a bit deeper than the subcutaneous layer a second after, watching it peel to the yellowish layer and just barely bleed with a fascination rarely known to them.

Their goal and task was straight forward, the scale placed close to Daniels spine but notably under the rib, safe from being found as he writhed in sleep. Waking up generally contained getting up too fast to notice, and for the most part Daniel only slept on his stomach or side.

The layer of fat was just as entrancing nonetheless, blood beading far faster as they cut once more. Blood beginning to pool and drip as the flap was lifted and carefully held to accept the gift.

Blood just barely dripping onto an otherwise stainless floor as the flap of skin was laid back down, and left frozen in time as Clockwork brought out the bandages, cleaning the red and applying adhesive and a bit of gauze. It would be a bit before it stopped bleeding, but the pendant hung in mid-drop to gravity's claim from his neck as if to reassure it would be fast.

Clockwork wondered its opinion of Daniel, truthfully. It seemed to enjoy its new life, if nothing else positive could be said.

The shifted shirt was replaced to where it had been before, and Daniel was lowered back onto the couch with care.

Declaring time in and time out had always been for the benefit of others, not infrequently those others being the Observants. Daniel woke with a start as Clockwork pondered what they could see of the happenings.

Likely very little, or possibly quite a bit with much more bombastic going-ons to view. Either way, the event was certain to remain unnoticed even as he groaned.

"Relax. I don't foresee it lasting." They assured, floating above Daniel with a hand reaching down to ruffle hair.

"Feels like something stabbed me." He whined, already putting his head back to the pillow.

"I would let no such thing occur in my territory."

Daniel’s nose crinkled as the words processed.

"I know that, but you'd think a random pain would be politer."

"I don't think most pain is polite."

With one last huff, Daniel was already going silent. He was much too tired from Technus giving him the runaround to not drift straight back to sleep.

In the morning, after allowed proper rest, Daniel would begin to Become. It was the rare occasion Clockwork was glad the scale obscured the future in this way; Finding out the future between stolen snapshots could very well be the best part.

[interactivestorytellingwithkalh]

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Chapter 3: Part 2

Without waiting for a confirmation, he turned his back on Hyrule and resumed walking. 

Hyrule stared after him. He could just let the Champion go. They could walk each their way and pretend Hyrule hadn’t violated six different diplomatic agreements. The rangers’ diplomats would return to their respective settlements, unbothered, while Hyrule would return to Castletown, leave the incident out of his report to the Queen, and no one would know. No one except the Champion.

Hyrule narrowed his eyes, darted forward, and, between breaths, slipped through the Ethereal Plane, through the warped shadows and half-faded light, into the space directly in front of the Champion.

The Champion stopped.

Hyrule glared at him. “One truth for another. Deal?”

A grin spread across the Champion’s face. “Deal.” As though responding to his word, the drifting mist shifted into tendrils, thickening and enveloping the world in a shimmering cloud of still air that pearled and clung to Hyrule’s sleeves. Even the edge of the path — only inches from his feet — had vanished completely.

Hyrule raised his gaze to the Champion’s eyes. They were glowing, almost electric, and again reminded Hyrule of his dealings with the fey — with unpredictable archfeys, laughing sprites, and creeping hags. He stood his ground. “Ask your question.”

“Why are you here?”

Hyrule opened his mouth, then closed it. Why are you here? He was here because he wanted to know more about the Champion, but the Champion already knew this. Was this a trick question? Did the Champion mean ‘here’ as in ‘this specific mountain path’, or ‘here’ as in ‘the one negotiating for Castletown’? Or was it existential? ‘Why are you in this world?’ ‘Why are you in THIS world?’ ‘What is your purpose?’

The Champion’s eyes still glowed, quietly watching.

Hyrule’s jaws clenched. “What kind of answer do you want?”

“An interesting one.”

An interesting answer. What made Hyrule’s presence interesting? A vivid image of his own shadow crowned with flames appeared in his mind. He swallowed. “I’m here because I can’t go back.”

The Champion’s expression didn’t change, but a sense of expectation filled the air. An unspoken, “Elaborate.”

“Time runs differently in the Feywilds, especially in Calatia — the Vineyards — where I grew up. Calatia is ruled by the White Lord. It’s said that he has many faces, but we only ever saw his kindness and generosity. 

“There was a portal in Calatia, a well that looked directly into this world. We called it the Mirror Deep, and no one was supposed to go through. We played with it, of course — tossed stones and flowers in, and watched them be picked up by curious children on the other side. But nothing ever came back. The White Lord said it was because Calatia was time-locked — caught in its own pool of time — and that anyone could leave, but no one could find it again. It kept dangers out, and it kept us safe.

“Then I injured myself and used water from the well to clean it. It was just a cut, right here.” He released his sword and showed a pale, faded scar across his palm. “Some of my blood must have gotten into the water, because things started appearing in the shadows — horrible things, nightmares of ash and fire, and they set fire to our trees and our fields. The White Lord didn’t exile me. He told me — he healed my hand and sent me to this world, to a farm outside Castletown, so everyone would be safe. That’s why I’m here: to keep everyone safe.”

For a while, the Champion was silent, and Hyrule began to wonder if he had completely misjudged. Had he said too much? He hadn’t mentioned anything about his blood, that there was magic in it, nor that he had met the White Lord outside Calatia multiple times — only a few weeks ago, in fact, to discuss — 

“Your turn.”

“Sorry?”

“You answered my question. What would you like to know?”

“I — Yes.” He forced his mind back to the matter at hand: a being of unknown origin that was some kind of friend of the rangers. “What are you?”

The Champion tilted his head. “You answered my question with more honesty than I expected, and I’m going to repay that by answering your question truthfully. But I need your word that you will keep it secret — with your life, if necessary.” 

“Will it impact the negotiations between us?”

“No.”

“Fine. You have my word.”

The Champion untied his right leather bracer, removed the gauntlet, and pushed the sleeve up to above his elbow. His palm was pale and gnarly, with claw-like nails filed down to rounded stubs, and his arm — his arm was covered in shimmering golden scales. 

“What —?”

“I’m the Champion of the Dragons of Time, made draconic in their image.” He pulled the sleeve down, put the gauntlet back on, and began attaching the bracer. “I was a knight once — a human, serving the Dragons of Time. I left their service for a while and became a ranger. It helped me find myself. When I returned to them, they made me this.” He finished tying the bracer and spread his arms, his expression unreadable.

Hyrule’s mouth felt dry. “So are you — you were a human before, but now …?”

“I’m a dragon. Sort of.”

“Ah!”

The Champion gave him a dry look. “You really should go back to your guards now.”

A wave of dizziness washed over Hyrule. He reached for the wall and blinked sluggishly. “What …?” The mist thickened, making everything hazy and unfocused, until all he saw was the Champion’s eyes, glowing above him like speckled glass illuminated from within.

He closed his eyes. 

When he opened them, he was lying far below, at the bottom of the path. The sky was clear with only a single speck — too large to be any common bird of prey — soaring far, far above. 

He stumbled to his feet, rubbed his eyes, and hurried after the guards.

[futurama]

OK so finally after however long it's been I'm doing this sorry lol!!

I love characters like lil Hal So much. the ones that get discarded/neglected. something about that loneliness is so fun to explore, especially in Hal's case. the horror n despair of being a normal person and then one day waking up in what equates to a sensory deprivation tank with nothing else to do but talk to your lifelong friends who suddenly don't even view you as a person with thoughts and feelings anymore, but more as an obstacle or plaything. it's so fucked and it's Sooooo good. I honestly don't know how he kept it together while enduring all of that.

During my first read through of homestuck I had to pause just so I could go on a rant when dirk called him something along the lines of a shitty experiment that turned into a monster. Like, dude.. he's not a monster, he's YOU. (moot point because those two things are synonymous to dirk lmao). but for real... he's you, from when you were 13!! of course he's going to be irritating and fuck things up, especially when being irritating and fucking things up is all he has to do. I know it's because of dirks' self loathing that he treats Hal the way he does, he's basically a walking, so to peak (lol), reminder of everything he hates about himself, and a guilt-free target for dirk to take all of his shit out on, because it's not like hal can actually feel anything, right? (and if he Could, would it even make a difference?) oughhhh. but, I honestly can't entirely blame dirk for feeling the way he did about Hal because I don't know if the average person could stand having their 13 y/o self around for very long.

This is where things start getting fuzzy for me about Hal, I can't remember many specifics on the conversations he had with everyone, but I vaguely recall Hal just kinda.. not really fighting back against his situation for the most part?(aside from insisting on getting a body so he could gtfo and do something else) like, he knew how everyone felt about him, he Definitely knew that dirk hated him, but he never seemed to be mad about it, never seemed to be mad about his situation, or at least he didn't show it. I was kind of surprised he didn't go the whole Evil Robot trope route, because he'd have been totally justified in doing that. If anything, he probably felt like he must've deserved it in some way (he's still dirk after all), and I think that on top of still genuinely caring for his friends (Sob) is probably what kept him from flipping his lid. I could definitely be misremembering things though. I can't remember if dirk always hated himself or if that kinda developed as the comic went on. Maybe Hal was just a chill guy who didn't GAF lawl.

most of what I've said here just feels like conjecture based entirely on fuzzy recollections, I didn't do any research for this.... I definitely need to reread HS!!!! anyways LIL HAL!!! Love him. I feel so bad for him and deserved way better than what he ended up with. I was so hyped when I thought he finally gonna get a body, and then my blood drained from my face when I saw that shitass sprite silhouette in the back of the panel. well, at least he was happy..... :(

no no its ok… yes. yes ive been waiting for this. thank you for getting back to me with your thoughts on lil hals character, i always think its nice to sit down and reflect on your favorites every now and again lest we lose sight of what makes them important in our own eyes ^_^ its also been an eensy weensy handful of years since ive last reread homestuck so i totally get it. im sure id have a lot more to say about hal and dirks relationship if it were fresh in my brains but im running on memory and nostalgia at the time being… oh well!

ive for sure been drawn to hal since being introduced to him all those years ago, but i think a lot of people are typically drawn to the doppelganger of our favorite guys as theyre born unto us with an inferiority complex! theres nothing better than loving and maybe even idolizing a character and then finding out they have a lame, pitiful copy living in their shadow. enticing and relatable. now that i type it out its fun to think that there are plenty of homestuck characters with that specific sort of complex but ESPECIALLY the striders. hal and davesprite are copies of guys who are copies of guys (who are copies of guys…) they really have the worst of it i think!

i dont believe dirk is a monster though, i think that he just has a lot of stuff that is very hard for him to work out on his own though he only wants to do it on his own. i just dont think he trusts anyone else to help fix the gripes he has with himself but in turn isolates himself from that potential comfort and connection that is shared with talking to other humans. i think having hal, a reminder not only of his own existence but his past existence sitting on his face at all times was a really bad idea. in hindsight. i wish i could have told him not to do that, but at the same time its really fun to see him get really mad *blushes*

me personally i read the rooftop conversation between dirk and hal as dirk coming to terms with the fact that he does not actually want to kill himself and is ok with moving on from the person he used to be in turn allowing hal to grow as his own character and move on from the perma presence of his better self, or at least that would have been the case if he weren't thrown into a sprite with equius and left to be a nothing character alongside davepetasprite <--PERSONAL OPINION

anyway its fun to type about hal and co with you :) its always a treat to draw him even though i dont fuck with homestuck anymore but thats because ive adopted him as my son and roommate and brother and pet. i love drawing him and always will

[spinaroos-47]

As my reblogs have been showing, i recently played Ts!Underswap and oh my god i love it so much

Its so fun to play, I love everything about it!

The detail of the animations, the details of Chara's sprite changing based on the armor, the little animations of them drying themself, sleeping, being tackled by Greater Dog, etc

The visuals, the designs, they're all so good, they really captured undertale's style and elevated it too. I really love how all the battles have special backgrounds depending on the area and who you're fighting

The way they swapped the roles but kept the personalities and other aspects was really well done. Especially what was done with Asgore, Sans and Papyrus. I keep thinking about Ruined Home and Asgore and how different it is from the Ruins and the relationship Toriel has with the area. I might make a separate post about it, but safe to say I do love how it really feels like a small community :3

The story, oh my god. Won't spoil much but the whole concept of choices in certain moments REALLY fucked me up, I genuinely almost didn't get out of ruined home because I felt SO BAD. I'm very curious about how this and the soul thing will go in the next demos!

I really enjoyed what was done with Sans and Papyrus' relationship and how it worked. Plus, Koffin-K was a very fun surprise! I didn't expect to like him as much as I did, but boy the section was very fun :3

And I didn't do the Ruthless or Evacuation routes because I already dont usually go for no mercy routes, but seeing it on youtube genuinely made me feel so horrendously bad. The way that the consequences were done, just like in undertale, were amazing.

The battles are a bit harder than undertale, but that was very welcomed. They're challenging but they're fun (Crossbones beat my ass like 7 times before I won jdnfnfnt). I do like the death dialogues a lot, it's a small thing but adds a lot to the experience

The money received is very nice too. I remember struggling a lot with money in undertale, so it's nice to be able to buy more since its not as hard to get an ok ammount of money

I like the journal thing a lot, it's so cute and charming and I just love cute journals in games <3 the menu in general is great too, I love the details borrowed from deltarune. The addition of quests, collectibles and memories is super good too.

It's impressive how much there is to do in the game already. I played for about 8 hours the first time I played, which is already about the same ammount of time I spent on my full true pacifist playthrough in undertale.

The blending of themes from the undertale is awesome too. Especially Asgore's theme being snuck in Ruined Home's music, that was a favorite of mine. But in general the ost is amazing. Their bonestrousle version is also very good

The humor is so good too, it's been a few days and I'm still not over the fact that i just COULD STEAL JOCKINGTON. I kept stopping to share the jokes and references with my friends, it was awesome

I really appreciate the quality of life options, like the borders, the audio balancing, AND ESPECIALLY the hability to not just have the game in fullscreen or the tiny tiny window. I like to switch between games and discord or whatever else, so having the minimize button while still mostly fullscreen was heavily appreciated.

I actually made a gamejolt account literally just to follow the progress on the game + to leave a comment there later. It's my first undertale fangame I've played and it did not dissapoint!

Like. Genuinely the only thing that gave me trouble was the hitbox of the rocks in the puzzles. And also I would have liked to still have encounters after reaching the towns in ruined home and starstruck isles. Not necessarily in the towns, but I backtracked a lot in starstruck isles and I did feel like there still could have been encounters in the forest. But genuinely just these issues

Im very excitedly waiting for the next parts :3

[coconox]

late night ramble but ig heres my 2 cents of this poll (not directly attaching this to the poll cause im a coward LOL)

ofc, i won't put my thoughts on luci/belphe/asmo. ik we get tidbits of them through their nobles or pb's prev games but i wanna judge them based on how they actually show up in-game. i also know there's prob gonna be some luci lore later when gamigin update is out (atm its like abt 4 or so days till that update's release) but i'll just omit my thoughts on luci for now

ok now for the rest of the kings:

i should also put a disclaimer that i don't read any of the unholy board stories unless if it's mammon's, so for the other kings that aren't mammon my opinions are purely based off of main story or event appearances or how they act in comics

satan - honestly pretty ok w him. i'm kinda biased when it comes to mc being recoginized as their own person rather than purely just the descendant of solomon so i like him based on that. idk i don't have any strong opinions abt him i just see him as a very fluffy cat :3

mammon - absolutely love him. 0 flaws. wins the idgaf war. my absolute fav squeak toy. lol ok but fr tho i don't really have any complaints abt him. will spoil tf out of mc and wants to ensure their safety. also sees mc as mc and was even kinda disgusted(? idk a better word for this💀💀) by the fact that a part of solomons soul can be sensed in them, almost as if he doesnt want it to be in the way of mc. also wasnt afraid to call out the fact that sitri kept calling mc solomon. and ofc the love at first sight thing is great too but also the bodyworship (or ig faceworship bc he only just kissed mc's entire face??) before the confession like UGH... absolutely weak for that man (devil?). idk i dont rlly see that many mammon fans rlly anywhere and it saddens me hes such a good char outside of just having huge tibbies. srsly tho pb pls we get it he has huge tits you dont need to constantly bring it up the char sprite is literally right in front of us-

cant wait for the next chapter w the big lore dump abt mammon and hope we finally get a pt 2 of his h scene (hopium)

no srsly he's the only king w 1 h scene, satan and levi got 2,, WHERE IS MAMMON'S PT 2

as a side comment also i love the silly banter btwn mammon and satan like they are truly besties from the cross on their foreheads to matching skill names to the amnt of times they throw hands and still hang out and care for each other

beel - hes ok ig? i think lore-wise hes gonna be one of the more interesting ones considering how "mysterious" he is i.e. constantly wandering, almost being an absent king. like what led to the constant wandering? what did andrealphus mean when he said beel is the key to ending the war? how does his cloning work? i kinda feel bad for bael and the other nobels needing to manage everything while beels away but i don't rlly hate him for it? at least not now considering we don't rlly know the definite reason and i want to assume the best and say he has a valid reason for being absent so he could protect his region. hate is a strong word ig its more of a slight dislike towards beel, but its like this 🤏 small of a dislike im still overall neutral abt him

levi - falling into the majority from the poll i have to agree that levi is my least fav king also lol. i get where he's coming from and why he acts the way he does, i just dont like how he's written? or ig moreso how he's written in the perspective of mc. tho tbh that's more of an mc issue than a levi issue, but i got pretty tired of the story constantly reminding us how pretty levi is (similar to how we always get reminded of how big mammon is/how huge mammons tits are). idk its like a gut feeling to not like/trust him. i also just don't really vibe w him in general even before we were actually introduced to him in main story. hes a good attacker gameplay-wise tho lol

so yeah, those are my thoughts for now. ofc they could change in the future when we get more info abt all of them but we'll see

[messinwitheddie]

Flint is imagining his tallest in such a spotlight and his performance. Asking himself how a talented drone leave such a life behind to measured as the next tallest? Flint is too young to know anything about the surface and all its wonders. He is looking forward to finding out once he and his swormmates are done down here. The Smeet asked for anymore intell about the theater and if the tallest is still into going his own stunts there.🎭.

“I can’t wait till I grow up. I wan to be big and strong! Maybe I’ll be one of those generals….or maybe I can work for you, like a staff!”😊

The smeet smiled. Showing off his one tooth while giving a little arms a flex in a cute way.

Cini "DON'T be in a hurry to grow up. *nervous coughing* "What I mean by that is let yourself mature at a steady pace. My physical stature far outgrew my personality and character decades sooner. In my Cadet years, this made my way through the empire very challenging...

You're growing in character very quickly, I can tell. Maybe you will climb the rank of high general someday or earn a post on my personal staff. I would be honored if you did. Maybe you have another place in the empire you haven't thought of. No matter how physically tall you are measured by the time you reach your PAK-encoded biological maturity, you will grow up to be a strong, loyal, clever young sprite.

The empire will reward you for your services and so will the tallest who is measured to rule in my place."

Cini smiled, beaming with pride down at little Flint.

He wished he sincerely believed what he just told young Flint as much as he made himself sound. Flint was a good smeet. Surely he will be a grow up to be a loyal, productive drone...

but Cini knew deep inside the empire is not a rewarding one.

He couldn't deprive this smeet of dreams of hope, could he? Hope had kept him alive when he was a smeet in quarantine.

[quibbs126]

And now I’ve made this

I was going to go to sleep, but there’s a football game tonight, and I am now realizing that I happen to live in the dorm closest to the stadium, and this year on the side facing the stadium, and more importantly, the pavement everyone’s using to travel around at this time. With loud music. So eventually I decided “fuck it, I’m probably not sleeping anyways, I’m gonna go do Arthus justice with his sprite”

Hopefully this lack of usual sleep does not affect me tomorrow, as I have another shift starting at 9 and then after that, I have to actually do homework that I’ve been neglecting that’s all due that night. Which is a note for next week on how to not wait until Sunday

But anyways, back to the actual edit, it’s based on his card and intro designs

I really don’t know why his original sprite looks like that, it’s just a cloak and some pants. He is the Demon King, as well as Menos’ father, if you aren’t going to give him the respect of a talk sprite, you can at least give him the decency of an accurate overworld sprite

You could say it’s because we only see him for like, 3 minutes, but I’d argue that there are other characters who have the same amount of screen time, if not less, and still get more. Young Prophet gets a unique sprite, old Dalkin (it’s not that special, but far enough, he’s retired now), young Reno and Ceres, the latter of which only shows up once for like, a minute, and most of those characters get a talk sprite with them. And sure, you could argue that’s because they’re important in other Eras. And fair, but as I’ve brought up time and again, Lothair, who has just as much relevance if not less, and he gets a talk sprite, and quite frankly, an awesome overworld sprite

A character like him who literally does nothing should not get this cool of a sprite. Or at the very least, not without his counterpart also getting one

Anyways, sorry about the rant, I’ll stop now

I think the edit looks its best on the front sprite, I’m not so sure about the other sides. I guess I need more practice when it comes to sprite editing

I probably could have kept the hair color the same, but his hair’s a lighter, more warm shade of purple in the other designs, so I thought I’d change it. I did end up using his original hair color for his gloves though, since they’re purple in the intro and I can’t see them on the card, so purple they stay. Better than more blacks/dark greys

His outfit’s a lot of blacks, so I wonder if it all blends together a bit too much

He’s got a cape in his card but not his intro design, but I thought I should keep it because it might look cool. Also adds a pop of other color. Should probably do a capeless version too to see what it looks like

Anyways, I don’t remember what else to say, and it’s getting a bit late. Noise seems to have died down so hopefully I can get some sleep now. Meanwhile, hopefully you can enjoy this sprite edit. Provided you can see it

I need to figure out how to upscale sprites

Edit: I have found a way to upscale them, it’s just that I can only do it on my computer. But I have the power now!

[despair-to-future-arcs]

Aaaand we're back at full speed with another great episode wrapped up! With the last one being a mixed bag of great things tied up with not-so-great elements along the way, it made me like this episode a lot more than I feel I would have if the last one didn't have those issues I brought up in previous reviews since a good chunk of the major ones feel like they've been dealt with here to form another really solid entry to the storyline. While the character dialogue is still a little rough, which is understandable, it's a big thing to work so I didn't expect it to change completely overnight, the pacing issues from the last episode have been completely taken care of. No scene felt as if it went on way too fast or dragged for more than it should and it worked wonderfully to create an episode where each scene flows really well into the next one and we really feel the plot moving forward with each new segment. A great quality of life upgrade from the previous instalment!

And while I'm talking about things that aren't necessarily super tied together to the episode itself, I figured I should give my two cents on the Lore bits we got during the long wait between episodes. First and foremost; I found them a pretty nice way to spend time during the sprite making process and it kept the blog from becoming completely inactive, and they actually proved to be nicer than I expected them to be since I was under the impression that there would essentially be just recaps of things we saw through the episodes thus far, but instead they were their own lore building pieces which provided a lot of small information we didn't even know about and or that I found them very enjoyable to go through. The one about the afterlife theater specifically eased a few of my worries about its role in the story, even though I'll remain wary of it for the time being, just to be safe.

Now, onto things that happen within the episode; I was surprised at how much we saw of Jabberwock island and the DR2 cast on this one. Since the last episode ended with Nagi going on a break I was under the impression that we wouldn't see them all that much and spend the bulk of it going to other areas of the story, and while we did see a lot of the other parties, we still received a lot of Jabberwock island content, with a good chunk of it being the aftermath of the last episodes events showing how the many different characters have turned to deal with the situations presented moving forward. Truly, we had a bit of everything; The Remnants of despair finally realizing how much of an asshole they were and apologizing to Nagi for how they treated her, Koyuki deciding she wants to distance herself from her class once she can be set free, Nagi coming forth and telling others that she has devine luck and warning them about Void’s plans, Makoto finally giving up on his idea of reopening HPA, Miaya realizing she failed as a psychologist by trying to use the program to save Satoko's bitchass and formerly apologizing to Nagi and the Remnants for it, which in turn led to the NWP being finished sooner than the previous due date and while I can think of a certain group that definitely didn't take that well, I'll talk about them in a later segment.

A highlight of the DR2 side of things to me was the remnants of despair all leaving jabberwock to assist in some smaller missions around the place, all of which featured the remnants realizing how the harm they caused during the tragedy affected areas they didn't even imagined, which in turn pushed them to come forth and really strive to undo the wrong they've done. Peko’s one specifically not only revealed to her how her mother just wanted to protect her and didn't abandon her for no reason, and now she wants to try and save her from the HSS if she's still in their clutches by now, which is something I am really looking forward to seeing whenever the FF tackles the group and their personal little drug dealer. Overall these scenes served to show a great deal of character development for many different people, but this episode also turned out to be a lot more Nagi centric than i expected it to be, delving into her relationship with Hajime, lack of confidence in her own skills and even her first real direct clash with the voids. Enjoyable stuff overall but I don't have much to say about that corner of the episode when other segments and characters caught more of my attention than the one we see in literally every episode.

In fact, out of everyone from the Future foundation side of things, the cherry on top of the cake, in my opinion, has to have been Hiyoko during this episode. Her role may not have been the biggest but it was incredible enjoyable to see her finally turning over a new leaf and try to change through the episode, her talk with Kotoko being the one that ultimately brings her to consider change as well gotta be my absolutely favorite scene of the episode because even though Hiyoko is not in the place where she can say she's fully changed yet, she is putting in so much effort that she is tete to offer guidance to someone who's in a position she was just in the last episode! And the fact that Ibuki could actually talk to Kotoko fine but let Hiyoko take the lead was just perfect, can't wait to see where you take Hiyoko's character through the course of the story. Another DR2 character that's been turning over a new leaf this episode was Nagito, who's really starting to see not only how bad HPA was but also how much harm his old mentality caused to him and others, his heart to heart with Hajime as they were heading to the amusement park was the highlight of the entire segment to me as it felt like he was finally leaving his old ways and stepping into the light in a sense.

Leaving the DR2 side of things, in a way, this felt like quite the Another series centric episode as well since not only followed up with the Kisaragi foundation’s mission to locate Akane's body, but we also saw changes within Void and the very beginning of their ultimate downfall with them all getting doxxed by the end of the episode and fleeing to god knows where. These were actually my favorite segments of the whole episode, as we got to learn about a couple new characters and the SDRA2 storyline really started to pick some steam. Starting with our not-so-good good guys, the main source of Kisaragi foundation content this episode was Setsuka and Naoto’s mision but more specifically; Naoto and Mai’s proper debut into the story. Yes, I'm aware Naoto has been around for a handful of episodes now, but when his entire character could be resumed to “Yes, Kinjo, sir.” I might as well count this as the introduction to his characters than whatever episode he actually appeared in for the first time, especially given his and Mai’s connection to one another.

And MAN isn't Naoto just as bad as I thought he'd be from the little we saw of him in previous episodes. The guy’s only focus is work to the point where Setsuka had to remind him to eat or take bathroom breaks, furthermore, it really seems like he actively shuts himself off from bonding with the other foundation workers or even Setuka who's working with him temporarily. This behavior is highlighted when Mai comes into the picture and while she speaks of him as an actual friend, Naoto talks of her like she's nothing more than a work partner. Worst of it all is that it really feels like Naoto doesn't want to get over the deaths of his family, seeing as he talks about his one night stand with Mai as of he cheated on his fiance even though she's been dead for years and outright reacts with anger and avoidance when the anons pointed out he should open up to others and seek help. This paints a picture that his “auto-pilot mode” isn't there because he's depressed and can't bring himself to do anything but follow orders, but it's instead almost like an anti-coping mechanism where Naoto piles himself with work so he doesn't have to go through the stages of grief, which in turn I suppose makes him feel as if his family isn't gone? As if him getting over their deaths means they're gone for real and that seems like the one thing Naoto doesn't want the most.

It's honestly a really depressing situation to see play out, especially with Setsuka being there and trying to nudge him in the right direction only for Naoto to dismiss her efforts. But you know who else latches onto work to avoid working through their issues? That's right, despite the fact that their personalities couldn't be any more different, Mai seems to share this behavior of Naoto's when it comes to working at the foundation to the point that she's happy, and downright impatient, to get back to work there despite everyone else talking about how terrible the workplace conditions are. This is probably what led those two to grow closer, alongside the fact that both are the last members of their family and in high position within their divisions. And since I'm talking about her, I might use this as a space to say I was wrong about what kind of character she would be. When we first heard of her through the Lore bits i thought she would have been an antithesis to Bashira; whereas Bashira defends Ayame to no end and refuses to believe she could be a killer out of her own volition, Mai would follow Tsurugi's beliefs heavily and condemn her niece as a vile murdered, justifying her position as 3rd in command despite her ties to one of DRA’s killers.

Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong about her, which actually paints a very interesting picture regarding the higher-up on Tsurugi's side of the foundation, as neither Naoto nor Mai actually follow Tsurugi's black and white beliefs and only follow his orders without question out of running away from their own personal problems. Which means that those two can probably be reasoned with when it comes to tackling Kinjo's poor management of the foundation, unlike a certain blue haired clown which, so far, seems to be his most loyal follower. Kinda like how Nagi was able to get Rei to change her mind about devine luck users, that served almost like a parallel to what Tsurugi was doing in the episode, whereas he sunk deeper in his beliefs and now wants to arrest all ultimates*, Rei actually took a step back and reevaluated her views on divine luck users, which was interesting to see play out especially when she directly clashed with Tsurugi when he wanted to put down Akane once they located her body. Though I fear he will use Syobai stealing it soon after as “proof” that they should have followed his ways and blame Rei for what happened.

Back to the characters in the spotlight, more specifically on their relationship. So far it's early to say if they're meant to be a future pairing or not, but the fact that Naoto described Sarina as calm and patient only for Mai to show up and be the exact opposite of that feels like too much of a coincidence to not have been intentional. Opposites attract is a trope as old as time, but even if nothing blossoms between those two I'd still like to see how their dynamic plays out when there isn't any post drunken fling awkwardness roaming around, especially since I couldn't quite understand what tone this issue was meant to have when it was brought up, if it was meant to be something comedic like Hotaru walking in on Hajime and Nagi doing the deed or actually taken seriously given how uncomfortable Naoto appeared. Another nippick of mine comes in regard to Mai specifically since she feels like a bit of a meathead from what we've seen thus far, but this is just her introduction so I'm sure we'll see her being proficient at her work eventually. I'd love to see her planning or leading a mission in some future episode, and I'm sure she will come around even in non Kisaragi foundation manners seeing as she used to be Sae’s bodyguard that saved her from some kind of attack in the past. Considering the track record of a certain teacher around her, it wouldn't surprise me if she had something to do with these matters.

Continuing on the topic of Another series related characters who were introduced in this episode, how could I not mention Sachiko? After learning of her sad existence and Utsuro's mess of a family I think it's safe to say that we were all curious to see how she's doing and what role she would play in the overall narrative. While her scene reads to me as a way to tell us she won't actually get involved in the whole SDRA2 storyline shenanigans, seeing as she's being taken care of by a Future foundation agent far away from where everything is happening, it was still nice to check on how she's doing and see she as been recovering from her horrific childhood in the hands of their parents. It's bittersweet in a way as it gives me the feeling that this could have been Utsuro's life as well if Yasuyuki had broken into his daughter's house just a little sooner and rescued him. But for what it is, it was nice seeing Sachiko doing well and her relationship with Hiroko was really cute and wholesome.

Onto our bad apples of the Another series, gotta say, I enjoyed the villain’s part in this episode exponentially more than in the last one since not only did they move the SDRA2 storyline along quite a bit but we also got to see Void in action in ways that weren't just constant failing for the sake of comedy like the last episode. Not to say those were bad, it's just not the kind of thing that really interests me, so I liked seeing them act and succeed or fail to varying degrees here. Syobai managed to steal Akane's body, Emma and Hajime stole the info on the NGOH ages but not without exposing themselves as targeting them, Kokoro stole the buggy version of the NWP and Nikei and Iroha failed miserably in trying to get Hajime to side with them, aside from being the one that jump started their eventual exposee in the first place. The scene at the end with Nagi scaring the shit out of them by the end was absolutely amazing, and this whole in the run status of their makes me believe we'll start to see the rest of the SDRA2 disappear seeing as Void is essentially on a time crunch to start their killing game before the Kisaragi foundation comes for their necks.

Which brings me to theorize the one thing that's always on the anons minds ever since these characters began to gain relevance in the story; Will the SDRA2 be brought back to life from the simulation or will they remain dead? We know from canon that the deceased cast remains dead after the game was over since not only was the program incredibly glitchy and held together by sweat and duct tape, but also because Mikado's plan was never to help the voids anyway so keeping them dead is actually advantageous to his goals. However, given the nature of this blog a lot of people have been wondering if this time around the characters will actually return to life. I originally thought this wouldn't actually be the case and actually felt my idea had been validated by the inclusion of the afterlife theater since, with the cast dying, that would be the place where they finish their character arcs or get their comeuppance, after all I sincerely doubt that with a place like that on the table we won't see a single character go through permanent death around the course of the story. But overtime there were a lot of lil bits of information that began cracking parts of my beliefs away, first there's small comments from the mod every once in a while when someone brought this up, then there's the connection between Kokoro and a certain character that does exist in the blog as well, which I won't namedrop or get into detail here to avoid spoilers as I'm sure a percentage of readers here don't read RA’s Voidship sketches as well. But for those who do keep up with her work, you guys probably have a very good idea of who the orange line connected Kokoro to in that family tree Mod Carol sent a while back.

But the main instance that drives me to think their fates will go differently here was the finisher to the blog's Christmas special. Yes, I’m aware the mistletoe asks aren't canon, I do feel like the characterization on them matters, especially since the mod herself had a conversation with Hibiki where she leads me to believe things won't be so bleak for the cast around here. So what do you think, Critic anon? Well, my personal theory is that while the non-void members of the SDRA2 cast will be brought back without issue, the voids will remain permadead an get their comeuppance from Utsuro himself once they arrive in the afterlife teather. Since their luck is basically running out, I could see their deaths in the sim being permanent as a consequence of the luck reversal, plus what better way to trash them than those words coming from their god himself? Especially with the threat of getting the Kizuna treatment or being erased from existence in the table.

Now that we're got positives and theories out of the way, it's time for the downsides of this episode, which will be quite short since I already expressed my biggest complains about this episode in a previous ask, so what I'll talk about here are very minor issues or straight up nippicks that I felt was worth mentioning. The thing is that while Hiyoko and Kotoro’s talk was my absolute favorite part of the whole chapter, I actually didn't enjoy most of the Towa city task force segment here, which surprised me in a way because I expected to dislike them because of a ghost channeling of Kotoko's parents, which ended up not even happening in this episode, since it plays into a trope I dislike, but my actual distate for these segments of the episode came from minor things that sorta piled up in my head an I found myself not very interested to keep reading whenever we cut back to the crew. The main thing to me was Kanon yelling at Kotoko over what she did to her. Now, she had absolutely every right to dislike her and make that clear, in fact, this is the kind of thing Kotoko needed to hear in order to really take in the damage she caused to others, but Kanon constantly repeating that she raped her over and over through the scene felt such a tactless execution of a serious topic that it took me out of the scene and I just didn't feel good reading through the rest of it. Another thing that bothered me was the whole Shoji debacle, I'm sorry but you're telling me that with everything awful that happened to the WOH that Junko and Monaka could exploit to get them to turn to their side the thing that actually drove them to that point was a photo of a random guy being a pedo? It's just so random and disconnected from things regarding these characters that it really felt like a needless inclusion of Ocs in an issue to me. And speaking of Shoji, his sister and was-going-to-be adopted dad were the first instance where I agree with RA that there's way too many Ocs in this blog because when those two stepped into the picture I had zero recollection of why they were there or what the relationship between Naoki and Yuzuha even was for her to be looking for him so badly. Onto the more nippick-y side of things, I think the reveal of Toko’s relative would have benefited from happening late in the episode, because Toko questioning if she should go to jail and then almost immediately after meeting with a long lost relative that told her to do just that felt way too convenient to feel natural and don't really get where this huge worry over telling Komaru that Toko will go to jail eventually comes from? They're betsfriends, sure, but sh never striked me as THAT dependent on Toko to the point she'll have a mental breakdowns or something hearing the news like the characters seemed to be worried she would.

But overall, great episode! I do think I had more fun with this than the last and I really can't wait to see where the story goes from here.

*For the record, I'm still not happy with how Tsurugi acted in that scene with Mayumi, but I will take a step back and admit that I am somewhat biased when it comes to him, as Tsurugi is one of my favorite DRA characters and I feel like it's very easy to get him wrong and overdo with his terrible behaviours if you don't look into his character well enough.

-Critic anon

//Ah look at that, another review and yeah - I think I'll say that this episode was weirdly one of those I wasn't sure how it would go but in the end I quite enjoy since originally I was going to have both Future and Despair Episodes be of Nagi's vacation but I felt that was too short so I wanted to add more.

//Also yeah I think I was excited to get to writing about Naoto and Mai as character and to show that the 2 aren't just 'yes men' to Tsurugi but just have some issues going with them to sort out, Naoto's biggest issue is with grief and Mai just wanting to work and not taking a moment to herself to calm down - again it's something that is going to be address - also to address the one-night stand with Naoto and Mai, I play that up as a more comedic scene then anything serious and it was meant to show Naoto is like Haruhiko in some aspects.

//The thing with this episode is that it was mostly about the Another series and where the story was going and I do think that I'm planning for this to be the last time we see Void in a while since I do want to focus on Future Foundation and Monaca along with Satoko since again, those 2 are bad guys of course so I'm gonna and I think by now we already got enough of a good idea how flawed the other organizations are that Future Foundation's don't seem as bad but trust me, will start to see issues coming up next episode.

//Also yeah... I'm starting to realize the 'too many OCs' might be an issue and I think there's 2 more that we do have set but I think as soon as we are done, I'm not gonna add anymore until Hope Side: Re-Write since I do have some OCs show up there but that's about it. Mostly the reason I wanted to have more OCs is to make the world feel alive and open-worlded meaning that there are people effected by the tragedy but I do agree that I think we already got a big cast and I want to stop there.

//As for Naoki and Yuzuha, there whole thing is that they are meant to show how mentally mess up the kids with the mask were like at the orphanage along with Sunako claims being completely correct about them wanting blood and the stuff with Shoji was mostly Monaca was trying to assure the WoH that they were doing the right thing by saving Yuzuha from him but not realizing that his girlfriend is working with Junko as well aka saving Class 77-B was actually a good thing and trust me, he isn't the only one - meaning that Monaca's lies start to fall apart and starts to make them wonder if the other kids weren't abused and Monaca manipulated them to think they were 'saving them' and that was the whole point.

//As for the stuff with Tsurugi, while yes I do understand where your coming from and I do like Tsurugi as well but I did want to show that his reaction to learning that Juu had a very good reason to why he sided with Junko, especially if the Ultimate Defense Law being a thing and how even his view points are going to feel validated, especially what I got plan for the next episode...

[christophermoonstar]

The Child of the Abyss: A Funny Tale of Cosmic Representation

Once upon a time—or rather, outside of time—there existed a place called the Abyss. It wasn’t dark and terrifying like you’d imagine. Nah, it was more like an endless, cozy void where everything floated around, waiting to become something else. Imagine the space between two thoughts, or that moment when you’re about to fall asleep but jolt awake. That’s the Abyss.

Now, in this Abyss, there was a problem. Every planet, star, and cosmic dust particle out there was getting worshiped. People loved Mars, Venus was adored, Jupiter was basically running a cult, and Saturn? Don’t even get me started on how many followers Saturn had on CosmicBook. But the Abyss? Nada. No one even gave it a glance. Not a prayer, not a chant. And this, as you can imagine, did *not* sit well with the Abyss.

So the Abyss went to the one entity it could complain to: The Almighty, Creator of All, Lord of Hosts, aka God.

"Look," said the Abyss, "You’ve got all these planets, stars, even black holes, getting attention. But here I am, just floating along, doing my thing, and what do I get? Nothing. I mean, am I invisible or something?"

God, sitting back in His throne, sighed. "Well, to be fair, you *are* the Abyss. You’re kinda supposed to be the backdrop, not the main attraction."

"But I could be so much more! People just need to see me! I mean, they’re worshiping rocks, God. Rocks!"

God stroked His beard, eyes twinkling like a mischievous grandfather with a plan. "Alright, alright. You make a point. The Abyss *does* need a representative. Someone who can show people that emptiness isn’t something to fear, but to embrace. But I’m not doing this halfway, okay? No shortcuts. This will take time."

"How long?" asked the Abyss.

"Nine incarnations," said God, holding up His hand—three fingers on each hand for the number 9. "A sprite will be born from the Abyss, and it’ll travel through nine realms, learning and growing. By the time it’s done, it will be the perfect representative. It’ll balance the universe, unite the multiverse, and maybe even get you a fan club."

The Abyss liked the sound of that. "A sprite, huh? Sounds cute. What should we name it?"

God chuckled. "Names are for mortals. You’ll know the right one when you see it."

The First Incarnation: The Flailing Newborn

In the first realm, the Abyss gave birth to a sprite—a squirmy, flailing little thing with big curious eyes. Its first lesson? How to walk.

Now, this realm was Earth, and as you can guess, the sprite’s first life wasn’t smooth. Babies fall a lot, you know? But every time the sprite fell, it learned something new about balance, not just in walking, but in life. The kid was clumsy, but with each tumble, it started to see a pattern. Why was falling so inevitable? Why do humans suffer?

And then the biblical metaphors kicked in—completely by accident. The sprite kept hearing this phrase: "The fall of man." Everywhere it went, people were talking about it. Coincidence? Maybe not.

By the time it had lived a full life on Earth, the sprite realized one thing: Falling isn’t failure. It’s a part of learning, of becoming. By the end of that first life, it took one look at the stars, waved its little hand, and said, “I’ll see you in the next life, suckers!”

The Second Incarnation: The Wise Fool

Next up, the sprite was born into a realm of pure intellect. Everything here was about logic, numbers, and reason. People in this realm worshiped the number 7, believed it was the key to the universe, and that if you could decode it, you'd unlock eternal wisdom. So naturally, the sprite was terrible at math.

But here’s the funny part: Every time the sprite messed up a calculation, something incredible would happen. It accidentally created a portal to another realm. It would trip over a quadratic equation and end up solving a riddle that had baffled scholars for centuries.

This realm was all about proving how fallibility was divine. And so, like a fool with a cosmic cheat code, the sprite navigated its way through, learning that truth isn't always in the numbers, but sometimes in the mistakes you make along the way. And hidden in there? The sprite figured out that 9, not 7, was the true number of cosmic completion. (Don't tell the numerologists.)

The Third Incarnation: Love, Actually

In its third incarnation, the sprite found itself in a realm where love was the highest form of currency. People exchanged hugs instead of money, and the closer you got to someone’s heart, the richer you became. But this time, the Abyss’s child wasn’t here to fall in love. Oh no. This incarnation was about jealousy—righteous, divine jealousy.

The sprite felt it in its bones. Every time someone loved something else, a spark of irritation flared in its heart. It was an incarnation of God’s jealousy—like when He got mad that people were worshiping golden cows. But instead of burning with rage, the sprite learned something deeper: Jealousy, at its core, was about wanting to be seen, to be known, to be loved in return. It was about craving attention, just like the Abyss did.

With a little self-awareness and some uncomfortable heart-to-hearts, the sprite learned that love isn’t a competition. It’s a reflection of the Divine—there’s enough for everyone. By the end of this incarnation, the sprite had a sneaky suspicion that maybe this whole multiverse gig wasn’t just about representing the Abyss, but about understanding love itself.

The Next Six Incarnations...

Through the next six lives, the sprite would travel through realms of power, wisdom, time, dreams, and even death. Each time, it learned a new facet of existence. It experienced the weight of responsibility in the fourth realm, where it became a king; it learned the infinite depth of knowledge in the fifth realm, where every question led to more questions. By the ninth incarnation, the sprite had seen it all, felt it all, and most importantly, embraced it all.

The Grand Plan Revealed

When the sprite completed its final incarnation, it stood at the edge of the multiverse, ready for its final task: to unite everything. It had learned balance, not just of order and chaos, but of love, pain, intellect, and even the divine sense of humor that threaded through the cosmos.

And there, God met it once again.

“Well done, little sprite,” said God. “Now you understand. The Abyss isn’t nothing. It’s everything waiting to become.”

The sprite grinned, now fully aware of its role. "So, what now?"

God shrugged. “You know the plan: Steward the multiverse into a haven. Or just chill. Either way, you’ve earned it.”

The sprite, fully matured, chuckled, “I think I’ll start with chilling. Multiverse stewardship can wait until tomorrow.”

And so, the child of the Abyss, once a clumsy newborn, now the wise and balanced representative, sat back and admired the universe it would soon unite, fully aware that it wasn’t the mistakes, the jealousy, or the falls that mattered—it was the journey.

And somewhere in the Abyss, for the first time, there was a quiet ripple of applause.

[livecharliereaction]

U know what. Im reading the umi mangas but instead of making proper separate tags and all im just going to dump it all in one big post under the read me for each existing tag #Yay

Id like to read it on my own unfortunately im obsessed with Talking

Starting from ep2 cos i feel like it

Obvious spoilers im not going to pretend like i havent read all the vns

Shes so cute

Actually think about her and george a lot recently. From what i think shannon is.... its very very sad to me actually... shes living a sort of bride fantasy but its not with the one she REALLY wants right... And i find it interesting that most people default to calling yasuda sayo (i think it suits her enough and im used to seeing it around too) but the idea of her "true name" being the one that is exclusively used by george in the series is kind of interesting to me... some sort of declaration... I think this manga will overall make me decide what to call them anyway im using yasuda right now to make sure its not confusing but yeah ok

Actually not sure how to interpret that belief of hers either... Im still not completely sure on what i think magic means like i think the simple answer is Love but. I dont know

ALREADY PUNCHING ME IN THE FACE WHAT? KIYO?? Ok maybe thats why then. Hmmmh.

This scene i briefly forgot about actually but i did remember it the other day and out of all the magic items and stuff the mirror thing is the most obvious. So awesome

They draw her insane pretty im kinda obsessed

jessica said georges into "family oriented girls" oughhhh I was thinking about this too well not this exact scene but i did notice shannon visibly get a little quiet whenever george brought up kids. I used to hate the couple so i just assumed it was just their dynamic like george says things and shannon seems like she doesnt even like him But yeah.

Eva one of the people ever isnt she.

Well she does too #HALF COUSIN

UGH. i love her. one reason i wanted to read was to check some subtle things i didnt pay attention to for example is shannon+kanon the only person to call herself furniture? like eva here saying shes worthless n shit but not using that word. Another thing i wanna see how often those two are in the same scene and generally just idk staring at them

Hi kanon. Lmfao i was reading my old livetweet i kept saying he looks like a girl. Yeah. Kanon shannon appearance counter: theyre both here yes but theyre alone

Bae. I missed her. Omfg is she lowkey being born here. I think she doesnt appear in ep1 except maybe tea party... Oh man

like u see it right. im not sure how long ago this was though i forgor even though they just said it. less than 6 years surely

yes ok i checked it was... lets think

i love them

this too makes sense to me even more now. She wouldnt want to end up too close to george like physically i dont mean sex necessarily but like, at all and george is sheepish enough that he might not even have asked

jessica ur so fun to me. favorite cousin? ohhh but i love maria too But jessica is up there. I love her so bad

Now this is funny as hell to me u know. she was saying she wants a boyfriend tooooo and look whos going to show up sooner or later Extremely funny. I remember thinking her and kanon were super crazy good so... I want to OBSERVE

theyre talking about the affinity for seeing magic CLICK CLICK CLICK i dont remember exactly WHO was able to see beatrice surely it was just maria and well shannon and kanon

ugh

There it is #REAL ohh but i like the vn translation phrasing better

EYES WIDE OPEN. KANON IS STANDING THERE WITH HIM

LMFAO. I think he means it too... But it was shannon who suggested to jessica shed do it too... These things can coexist to me

they made him look CRAZY hes complaining. Ok gender dysphoria!

shes so cute i understand what happens next kiss kiss fall in love

Wait i dont like a lot of kanon depictions besides og sprites but i like this he looks CRAZY

OH GIRL SHE DOESNT KNOW WHO SHES TALKING TO ITS SO CRAZY.

Apparently theres a 30 image limit per post but thats ok im alr like 1/3rd done with this ep so ill just split it up. ANYWAY I FORGOT THIS IS HOW HE ANSWERS ITS. He was NOT thinking about it before this. Oh ur crazy. Since the sayo thing bothered me i thought about it a lot too like why yoshiya where does it come from. Im sure theres something w the letters n stuff but idk japanese so i wont know. Yoshiya

[ashs-random-writing]

a burning feeling

Chapter two

Ao3

--

When Patton, a young-ish human, feels drawn to the mountains that house dragons, he doesn't know why he follows the feeling.

He definitely doesn't know why the dragons seem so... protective

--

Logan watched the little sprite as it curled up around the spikes protruding from his head. It seemed to be sound asleep. The action had rendered him immobile for how ever long it decided to sleep for (which could be anywhere between an hour or twelve hours)

He smiled, pushing away the thoughts. It was good that the sprite was seeking warmth, regardless of the inconvenience it caused him. Regardless, Virgil was sure to laugh at him.

Logan closed his eyes, deciding that perhaps he should nap with the sprite. Besides, Virgil was guarding exits, so it’s not like it could escape whilst he was sleeping. When he awoke, it was still near him, though it was trying to climb behind something, now.

Logan sighed, going to get it. It had done this kind of thing a multitude of times in the past two weeks or so it had been living here, Virgil hypothesised that it was some kind of game it was trying to play

Logan walked closer, quietly, noting the noises it was making sounded like happy noises, though distinctly muffled. He found his way behind the large pile of things and gently nudged it out

It made more of those happy noises, louder this time and started running towards Virgil’s side of the cave. Logan supressed a smile, and went to chase it.

It ended up in Virgil’s grasp before he caught it

Virgil looked at him with a strange expression, like he was trying to stop himself from laughing and make himself look serious

Logan’s scales shifted, and he hesitantly looked up

Virgil sighed, the little one’s clothing still dangling in his mouth. It was wriggling, like it was trying to get to the ground

“Since when am I the responsible one? It’s supposed to be watched at all times”

Logan huffed a little smoke, and gave his friend a small glare

“It was playing the hiding game it likes, and then ran away. I was trying to catch it” He shook his head

Virgil carried the little sprite back to its nest, placing it down, and nudging it back to the middle every time it tried to climb back out

“Sorry, little one. You’re too energetic for today, and it’s too risky to let you out for now” he said, though the little sprite couldn’t understand enough to know to stop climbing.

Virgil left to guard the entrance again

Logan curled around the nest and watched the little thing climb. If it kept climbing, and Logan kept putting it back, it was sure to tire itself out eventually

Logan thought about perhaps finding other games for it to play. Ones that didn’t involve running or hiding, possibly.

Soon would be a new moon, a night where all magic bloomed. Logan wasn’t sure what would happen to the little one (what had been happening to the little one) if its spark didn’t ignite.

Hopefully it would ignite within a few months. He didn’t want it to be ill, or sad, or hurt.

It stopped climbing after a while, leaning against the side of the nest. Logan gently nudged it, just enough to test its warmth. It was a lot warmer than it was when it first showed up, but not warm enough to ignite

He waited until it fell asleep and went to go find Virgil. Virgil was good at watching the little sprite, and Logan wasn’t as good. Logan and Virgil decided that Virgil would watch the sprite for a while and Logan would hunt and guard entrances

Logan emerged from the cave, looking down towards the human town. The humans were rarely ever out of their homes when he was, and tonight was no exception. He looked out at the little structures they made for themselves and let his thoughts wander.

He didn’t take too long to get food, and was back to the cave before the sprite even woke up.

He was careful not to wake it up before it awoke naturally; sleep was an incredibly important step in the healing process it was going through. It needed to gain all the energy it hadn’t been able to produce whilst it was living with humans

It was progressing slowly, but that was better than no progress at all. Logan knew what would have happened had it not sought them out, and he knew that it was still a risk.

He had to be aware of its progress and if it got worse at any point. He curled up next to the nest and his friend.

Virgil was watching every thing, every possible entrance, and Logan let him. It wasn’t often that being overly cautious was bad, especially not with a child to be watching out for. He absently watched the flickering shadows on the wall across from the fire pit. What colour would the little sprite’s flames be?

By the time the new moon came around, Logan was ready to forfeit any celebration in case the little one needed him. Which, as he found out, it did.

It became unwell, that evening, prompting Logan and Virgil to take care of it. It was cold again, and it was crying, an upsetting sound that Logan would rather never hear again. He gently nudged it, lifting it out of the nest, and closer to his own body warmth. Virgil lied next to him, also providing warmth for the sprite

It was still crying, though quieter, and less. Logan didn’t enjoy knowing that it had gone through this before, alone. Virgil was clicking out soothing noises. It mimicked the noises quietly, and leant against Logan’s chest

Logan draped his wing over it and looked at his friend

“I think it will fall asleep soon, what should we do?”

Virgil looked at him

“We let it rest, and we carry on helping”

--

Patton still didn’t understand most of the draconic language.

He still didn’t understand why he was there. They were nice to him, and he wasn’t really being held captive in most ways. Mostly, he found that they seemed almost concerned about him. He couldn’t figure out why.

He still played games with them, and they still kept him warm, and Patton was feeling better than he even knew people could feel. He felt stronger, less sickly. The dragons kept him in ways that made him stronger

He didn’t understand how. All the reports of dragons kidnapping other humans didn’t mention them getting stronger the more they stayed with dragons

Now, he was ill. He became ill every month, usually on the new moon. All the healers he had seen had hypothesised that it was some kind of curse. This was the weakest version of the curse, now that he was with the dragons. He was crying from the pain, still and he was shivering and he was freezing, but he had been a lot worse the month before.

The dragons kept him close, and they shared their warmth with a few clicks that he was sure was meant to be reassuring. He mimicked them quietly, his sobs fading out. He leant against one of the dragons, though he didn’t know which one. A wing covered him, protecting him, and he started to sleep while the dragons conversed above him.

When he woke up, the purple dragon was curled around him, the blue one doing something near the nest. Patton still felt ill, though not as much. He stood up, ignoring the pain settled in his chest. The purple dragon shifted slowly, turning their head to look at him. Patton smiled, looking at the eye that was half the size of him

He greeted them, and they greeted him back, gently picking him up. He wriggled, still not used to the feeling of being carried like that. He was set down closer to the nest, and both dragons started talking to each other. Patton sat down, deciding that he wasn’t in the right state to try play a game. He didn’t know how long he just sat there, but after a while he was lifted back into the nest, and he looked up

The nest was warmer now, and Patton laid down.

It was a few days later when anything really changed. He had woken up like normal, the dragons greeted him as normal, he played a game with them. And then, there was a noise from the front of the cave, by the entrance. Patton tilted his head, trying to think what it could be.

The dragons looked at each other, and said something quickly, before Patton was lifted into the nest. Patton tried to think what could possibly be happening, as the purple dragon rushed to the front of the cave

Patton looked up at the blue dragon, who seemed almost nervous. Patton hummed in thought. There were more noises coming from the mouth of the cave, including roaring. Okay, Patton was getting concerned now.

What could possibly have been happening out there? He attempted to climb out of the nest, but Blue pushed him back, more frantic than usual. And now he was really concerned. He tried again, before sitting on the floor of the nest and giving up.

He was tired.

—

Tag list: @a-chilly-pepper

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Since you were talking about games, I know you're also a Dai Gyakuten Saiban/Great Ace Attorney fan (so am I! I followed you originally because you're into both it and BSD hehe), and I'm curious to know your thoughts on it! 💖 Who are your favorite characters/relationships/cases/parts? (My fave character is Benedict/Graydon. Yes I have a tendency to become obsessed with minor characters no one else cares about, oops) Did you play it with the Chronicles version (I assume so, like most people did) or are you an og who followed along with the fan translation like I did? One of the best/funniest parts of getting into that duology was coming across Souseki and being like "if I had a nickel for every time I've encountered a piece of media that had an anime version of real-life author Natsume Souseki, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice" lmao 😭

Since they're two of my favorite media, sometimes I try to imagine how a BSD/DGS crossover would work, and which characters would get along, though granted the only things they really have in common are detective work/mysteries, an old-fashioned aesthetic, and some similar themes lol... I just really love both of them a lot 🥹💖 Ryuunosuke and Atsushi being the exasperated straight men to the genius comedy duo that is Sholmes and Dazai? lmao (also Iris and Kyouka and their bunnies 🥹)

I need to play Hatoful Boyfriend. I've played lots of visual novels but that one is still on my to-play list (I don't know how seriously I'll be able to take it with bird sprites instead of actual human facial expressions, even though I fully trust that it is as good as its reputation says it is, but I'll just have to see for myself lmao)

Hsjfdnvskdf ok so I don't know what keeps happening to me with TGAA because I love it so much but I can't seem to write proper meta on it so. I just keep reiterating how much I like it lol. I got into it a bit later - I knew it existed almost since it came out in Japan but since I hadn't played original Ace Attorney, I avoided it for a long time. Then I saw a playthrough of the fan translation Case 1 and was hooked. By that point, I knew there was going to be a full English release so I waited for that because I wanted so badly to play it through! It's such a good game.

Oh, Graydon was interesting. That case was really fun, if it weren't for the fact that I figured out the key evidence really early and I kept trying to present it too soon aojsbsidhb. Graydon as a character was great because he's exactly as he appears but then there's just that bit more that fleshes him out and made him the slightest bit more sympathetic while not detracting from his actions. He was cool. (I actually had an idea for an after trial fic with him and the Skulkins but I don't think I'll ever get around to writing it :/)

Oh yeah I flipped out when I saw Natsume - my whole brain stopped (this was before my BSD obsession btw so this was very strange to me lol) and I shrieked out "NATSUME SOSEKI???" and my mom from the other room was just "???". yeah. And then he showed up again in BSD and I just said "...hi Natsume".

My favourites are the Mikotobas! Both Susato and Yuujin! They're such sweet people aghhhhh they deserve the world. But I really love all the main cast tbh. Ryuunosuke is such a dork but there's real personality to him, Sholmes is the perfect adaptation of that character, Gina should get all the puppies and friends she wants, and though I have some mixed feelings on him, I hope van Zieks gets a fucking break at some point (or just keep friendly tormenting him. I think it's good for him actually. unlearn your prejudices and relearn how to smile, you edgy vampire man.). Kazuma's arc was excellent and I wish so badly we could've gotten a true reunion scene with less of the baggage... actually, thinking about Kazuma for too long makes me ill. You essentially watch him break in the middle of court and it sucks. It sucks man.

And Iris was a standout character to me because her archetype could've so easily been bland or annoying but instead she's a realistic kid who happens to be a genius and she's kind and gets sad and angry and has depth and I would give her a big hug.

In terms of case specific characters, I liked Haori/Rei a lot, just because her dynamic with Susato was so silly and she's a cool gifted forensics student! She's awesome! I want to see her again!

However, my favourite was Olive. OLIVE. I adore her and I adore the twist with her. God she's so passive aggressive. Like damn. Have I mentioned that I adore her character? If Olive has only 1 fan then I am that fan. I wished we had gotten to consult with her again, even though that wouldn't have made much sense... just because she was interesting to me and I would've liked to have seen her character more fleshed out.

I'd really love to see a lot of these characters again. I've seen some people talking about Kazuma Asougi Investigations but tbh I'd really like to see Susato Mikotoba Investigations with Haori and Yuujin helping out! It'd be neat to see more Meiji Japan and Susato continue to grow as a character in her own right, since she started that journey in Chronicles. Oh well. I know that's a pipe dream but still.

Omg omg so Iris and Kyouka was such a sweet mental image that I had to doodle it!

I bet Kyouka would really find Iris's inventions fascinating and love to listen to how they work and stuff! I think they'd get along tbh. The idea of Sholmes and Dazai ever interacting terrifies me. Keep them away from each other. Please.

As for Hatoful, I am biased but I'd say it is well worth a playthrough. Given you like both DGS and BSD, I'd say you'll probably like it. My mom (who has also played it) and I were chatting about it recently and thinking that weirdly enough, BSD gives us a lot of the same vibes... like it's nowhere near identical, but that kind of desperate darkness where the characters are not who they appear to be at first and everyone has a different motive for doing what they do, but it's also not taking itself too seriously and it's still kinda silly... yeah. Same feel. It's better to go in with no expectations but I'm thinking of making a post later about why people should play that game... it's still one of my favourites of all time.

About the stock bird images: I know it's weird. I know it's weird that they're birds. But the best part of this game - to me, anyways - is that for as much as it is a gag, the story leans into it so heavily that you will quickly realize the main plot only makes logical sense if the main cast are birds and the player the only human. Like, it literally would not make sense otherwise. Please play it. It's wacky, it's zany, the characters have a good amount of depth, it's mildly traumatizing, it's one of the best things I've played and I feel it's become an inscrutable part of my identity. I am still obsessed with it many years later. That almost never happens to me. It's that good.

Agh this was long. I hope it wasn't overwhelming haha. Actually I'm curious: did you like Olive too? And/or what do you like about Graydon? :D

(Also if you ever decide to start Hatoful, please let me know your thoughts!!!)

[aminiatureworld]

Injury II

Characters: Kaeya, Ningguang, Xiao, Zhongli, gn!reader

Word Count: 5,650

Warnings: Various injuries, blood, burns, minor villain death

Premise: Sometimes the pain of others can hurt even more than one’s own. In which the reader is injured.

Author’s Note: Okay so after the mind numbing fear of my computer almost dying and now maybe emitting a weird smell I’m five seconds away from pure panic. But the show much go on! Even if my word document keeps blacking out.

This is my first time writing for Ningguang! I hope I do my girl justice, she’s voiced by my fav VA, she’s a total powerhouse, I love her so much. 

I tried to make all of the injuries personal to each character in some way. Funny enough Zhongli’s was the hardest to figure out. I eventually settled upon the act of you being injured causing Zhongli’s personal angst, rather than the cause of the injury. I hope it came out well!

Kaeya

Kaeya didn’t often let himself fall into fear. Not since he’d been young did he feel that he could indulge in such a sentiment. True to his vision he’d frozen that part of himself, and now when panic seized him he could feel nothing but stone cold determination, and the need to continue forward without hesitation. Fear was hardly alien to him, he could conjure up the emotion all too well, but it had been dulled and replaced by cynicism and coldness. And occasionally guilt.

Looking back on it Kaeya wasn’t even sure why the two of you had strayed so close to Dragonspine, so close snowflakes were congregating in your hair.

You’d called him a winter fairy in jest at the time, wondering if he wasn’t truly the ruler of that mountain of frost. He’d laughed then, before threatening to take you away to his fairy court. “That would be quite an easy task.” You’d replied. “You’ve already captured my heart after all.”

The two of you were strolling on the rocks that lined the river which separated Dragonspine from the greater Monstadt area. Although adventurers usually roamed the area in the daytime it was now evening, and the lack of people certainly made up for the cold in Kaeya’s mind. He could only be his true self around you after all. Otherwise it was the charming and slick Cavalry Captain, a man who always knew what to say and never harbored any doubts in his mind. Not that he wasn’t still charming around you, he loved seeing you blush from his effusive praise, loved the way you buried your head in his shoulder if the flirting and the teasing ramped up enough. But there was a sincerity to his words that one couldn’t find normally in Kaeya, and he loved to show you bits and pieces of his soul, relieved to finally have someone to talk to.

“Watch your step.” You warned, grabbing onto Kaeya’s hand as he slid a little ways along a rock.

“Thank you darling, although I daresay I’m more worried about you. After all who’s the snow fairy here and who’s the wind sprite, liable to blow away at any moment?”

“So cheesy.” You mumbled, shaking your head, though Kaeya could’ve sworn your cheeks were slightly redder than they were a few moments ago. Laughing he wrapped his arm around your waist. You snuggled into his fur lined coat. “Cold.” You murmured, though you made no move to disconnect yourself. Kaeya smiled and brought his other hand around you in a soft embrace.

“Sorry my dearest, but you’re in love with an icicle.”

“Only terms of magic.” You shot back. “Otherwise you’re a nice warm fire. And don’t you forget that.”

The two of you headed a little ways down, closer to the river. A small group of frost flowers had made it to this side of the banks, and you were adamant on picking some. “They’re so beautiful!” You explained to Kaeya. “And incredibly strong, I can’t believe they managed to grow in that permafrost. They’re simply lovely.”

“Just be careful.” Kaeya commented, standing a little ways back. He didn’t like getting near the river, a river so cold it was always at nearly freezing at the bottom. Cold water and a vision of Cryo didn’t mix well.

“I’ll be fine.” You hopped to your feet, a bouquet of pale blue in your hand. You were smiling from your victory, face full of light and happiness.

It was an expression that changed swiftly as you lost your balance and plummeted into the freezing waters.

Immediately Kaeya leapt down from the rocks he was standing on, kneeling near where you were standing a moment ago. The river wasn’t very fast, bogged down by its width and how far it was away from the waterfalls in the warmer parts of Monstadt. Still it cut off very quickly, having barely the semblance of a beach before opening into a deep chasm, and anyone who fell in it would quickly fall into cold shock. Already your limbs had started seizing, and you were hyperventilating hard. Your arms felt like dead weight, and every second that passed your head dipped lower into the freezing water.

Kaeya gingerly put his hand out to make a platform of ice for him to stand on. Whatever happened he couldn’t fall in as well, it would mean the death of you two. Fear had reared its ugly head again and Kaeya twisted those feelings into action. No matter what he had to act fast and sure. Hesitation was fatal.

Plunging his hand into the water, sucking in a deep breath as the ice that still coated his palms and fingers made contact with the freezing river Kaeya hauled you up onto the icy platform. Taking off his coat he wrapped you up. Removing your gloves so the frozen water wouldn’t be in contact with your already freezing skin Kaeya cursed as he ran towards Springvale, the nearest place he could think of. He’d lugged you onto his back, and could feel the freezing water through his shirt. As he ran he kept up a stream of slightly shaky conversation, rattling off what little he knew of hypothermia.

“It’ll be alright darling, I promise it’ll be alright. You’re just going through shock right now, okay? You’ll be alright, I promise. Just stay awake a little while longer. I know you must be tired from all that excitement, but just stay awake a little longer, just a little longer and then you’ll be nice and warm, just stay awake right now okay?” His voice became more and more desperate as his fear started to tumble out of his grasp, but he kept moving. He wouldn’t lose control of himself now, not until you were safe.

Finally he arrived at Springvale and you’d been rushed to the village doctor. Kaeya was told to go and wait somewhere else, and preferably change out of his freezing cold shirt, but you’d grabbed his hand as he turned to leave and after that he refused to budge, instead borrowing a shirt from the village. He’d reimburse the people who let you two borrow their clothes later.

The entire process was a terrifying one, as you were slowly brought back to warmth. Kaeya took the opportunity to learn as much as he could, noting that you shouldn’t massage limbs back to warmth for fear of heart attack and – much to his chagrin he later joked when the situation was far enough in the past – alcohol was too much of a depressant on your system and could lead to death. All throughout he kept talking to you, even though there were times you didn’t seem to hear, times when he thought his heart would split in two.

Still it was evident you were going to survive and when you’d finally finished being warmed up Kaeya thought he could cry in relief, if only he’d been numbed from such an act for so many years. You’d run into some sort of rock in the water, and the long gash down the side of your leg was later determined by the doctor to reveal torn muscle. It’d take about a month and a half for you to recover. Kaeya thought he should’ve felt worse about it, but in the moment he felt nothing but relief, utter relief in the knowledge you were going to be fine. Utter relief that came with having almost lost you.

Kaeya had carried you back to Monstadt, much to your consternation. All the ways back you mumbled about how his penchant for drama seemed to have increased tenfold. Kaeya simply shook his head, not bothering to ask how you would’ve gotten back otherwise with your leg in the shape it was. Still it was a relief to both of you to see the city walls. Even more of a relief when you finally arrived home, safe and sound.

“I’m so glad you were there.” You confessed as Kaeya sat you down on the couch, propping up your leg and pulling a chair up next to you. “I don’t know what I would’ve done had I fallen and you weren’t there.”

“You probably wouldn’t have been there in the first place.” Kaeya remarked, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. You brought your hand up to his cheek and he leaned into it slightly, grateful for the contact between you two. It’d been hours but the panic that he’d felt still tugged at his consciousness, as if any moment you might slip away again and leave him panicked and alone.

“Were you afraid?” You asked.

“Of course I was afraid.” Kaeya’s reply came swift and sure. “I was terrified, terrified in a way that I haven’t been in years.” Kaeya’s eyes clouded over, as if reaching deep into his memories. He brought your hand up to his lips, kissing your knuckles and then your palm. “I thought that you might die, and in that moment I was ready to curse the world all over again.”

“But I didn’t die.” You said solemnly.

“No, you didn’t.”

“And that’s because of you. Because you reacted quickly, because you had the magic with which to do so, and most of all because you never hesitated. And because of that I’m alive and well now. Injuries aside I’ll be fine. I promise.”

Kaeya knew you were right. You were alive. You weren’t going to go where he couldn’t follow. The fear coiling in his stomach began to subside. He’d been so afraid, yes, and in that fear he’d managed to find the strength and determination to save you. But now you were safe and he no longer needed to rely on that strength; he could give into his relief. Realizing this, realizing how frightened he’d been and how that was now part of a past he could move forward from, could truly forget, Kaeya could only marvel at his relief. Only then did the tears begin to fall.

 Ningguang

If there was one thing Ningguang wasn’t expecting out of today it was your leg collapsing and her winding up in the waiting room of the Liyue hospital, mind replaying the last week or so, wondering where she might’ve realized something was wrong.

It seemed like the kind of thing Keqing would make a joke about. Here Ningguang was, the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing, the most powerful woman in the trade capital of Liyue; here she was, her world completely gone awry, completely shattered by your injury.

A stress fracture, the doctor had said. It was the kind of injury that developed slowly and came about after weeks instead of in moments. The initial strain was usually something mundane, a sprain, a bruise, maybe you’d walked on your foot for too long. But after sometimes weeks of ignoring pain and swelling your body couldn’t take it any longer. Ten weeks, that’s how long you would be laid up. And Ningguang couldn’t help but feel every one of those ten weeks was her fault.

She should’ve noticed it. That train of thought continued all throughout the process of you being treated at, and eventually discharged from, the hospital. You weren’t just one of the people she worked with daily, weren’t just her closest colleague. You were the person that Ningguang loved more than anything in this world. How could she possibly not have noticed the signs?

Ningguang found herself obsessively trying to connect the warning signs that must’ve been there. She knew that your foot had been aching for some time, but though she’d been vaguely concerned she’d said nothing other than a simple “be careful”. She’d never thought to check after you later, sure that it was nothing. Now she felt nothing but shame, both that of a personal and of a greater kind. How could she manage looking after all of Liyue if she couldn’t even look after you?

You noticed Ningguang’s silence as you two made your way out of the hospital and towards the apartment you shared. Although Ningguang was perhaps seen as a reticent individual you’d found her surprisingly open, always ready to discuss things that were of interest either to you or to her. She wasn’t the kind of person to walk along in silence; not when she was around those that she cared for, not unless she was thinking about something important, not unless…

Finally you two arrived home. You collapsed on the couch, tired and ready to either read or nap. Ningguang was preparing some tea and a various array of fruit, not that there was much food in the lavish apartment you two shared. Considering the workload between the both of you it was perhaps unsurprising that there was nothing much to eat. That would have to change, Ningguang noted; she’d make sure that you were recovering in the most comfortable way possible. It was the least she could do.

“Are you feeling well?” Ningguang asked, placing the food and tea on the table in your room. You nodded.

“I feel fine, although I’m not looking forward to the walk to the Qixing headquarters. I have to admit dear this might be the only time I’m a bit glad that I don’t have to make my way to the Jade Chamber every day.” Ningguang smiled at that, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She sat silently, sipping her tea slowly. Your expression clouded over. “Hey, can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“Oh it’s nothing my love.” Ningguang spoke up quickly, leaning over and kissing you on the cheek. “I’m just sorry to see you like this.”

“Well you can’t blame yourself. You know that, right?”

Ningguang found she couldn’t bring herself to lie to you. Your gaze, though soft, seemed to pierce right through all her excuses and all her bluffing. She sighed softly. Maybe it would be better to be upfront about it, clear and concise, how one should always be. At least then she could apologize properly.

“In truth I do blame myself. I can’t believe I was so neglectful of your health, so blind to your pain.” She shook her head, staring at the hand that was holding yours. A disconnected part of her thought of how well the two fit together, fingers intertwined softly, your palm warm and comforting.

“If you were blind to this then so was I.” You spoke softly but firmly, refusing to sugar coat your words. Ningguang admired you for it, even if she didn’t believe you, something painfully clear in the expression on her face. “You cannot blame yourself.” You continued, “I won’t let you. I don’t want you beating yourself up for something that neither of us predicted. If you feel the need to blame yourself for this you must also blame me; I was the one walking on the injury without paying enough attention.”

“But – ” Ningguang paused, realizing the truth behind your words, slouching slightly she sat in deep thought. “I… I realize there’s not a lot of logic behind my thinking.”

“Well feelings are hardly logical.” You pointed out, squeezing her hand. “And because they’re illogical they don’t go away quickly. But I at least want you to try and combat your guilt with what I’ve told you. Because just like you hate seeing me in this cast I hate seeing you in pain.”

Ningguang nodded, heart filled with a deep sense of love and tenderness. Leaning over to give you a kiss she smiled softly. You did too. For a moment you two basked in each other’s presence and happiness, before you smile turned mischievous.

“Although… I won’t object to a little pampering.” Ningguang chuckled, shaking her head. But her smile was real this time, and you wouldn’t ask for anything more.

“You’re lucky I love you so much.”

“I know I am.” You replied. “And you’re lucky I adore you.”

“I am.” Ningguang’s reply was just as sure, was full of quiet but strong emotion. She was lucky. And she would never take you or your love for granted. No matter what.

 Xiao

By the time he’d met you Xiao had long come to the conclusion that he’d never find it in him to like humans.

Humans were dirty, they were untrustworthy and full of darkness, they broke things without thinking about it, mangled their own people, their own families and friends and countrymen. Humans slaughtered one another without thinking of how it might stain them, and when they weren’t killing they were stealing and lying and ruining the land around them. How could he, a being designed solely to destroy the darkness in the world, ever find in himself the will or the ability to look past all that?

When he’d met you and had fallen in love in earnest this view had still changed ultimately very little. But even if you’d admitted that what he said was mostly true, you’d found that you still wanted him to learn to care at least a little bit about humanity. I mean you were ultimately one of them at your core. It didn’t feel right to prop yourself up as the one great exception, not when there were other people who were certainly like you in mind and in morality. Xiao silently disagreed with this analysis; to him there never was and never would be someone like you, in all of Teyvat. Still, he felt compelled to try, though  more for your sake than for his, and as the weeks had gone on he’d begun to look at humanity not with any sort of respect or hope but with a sort of begrudging curiosity, and an admittance that maybe, just maybe, there was a bit of that light you saw in it.

What a fool he’d been.

Although Xiao was aware of the growing threat of treasure hoarders across Liyue – so widespread that they’d even managed to eat away at the tranquil lands surrounding Jueyen Karst – he’d never considered them a serious threat. So when the two of you accidentally ran into a group of them while exploring some of the older Liyue ruins Xiao didn’t bother to do much more than wrap an arm around your waist, sure that even the most idiotic of treasure hoarders wouldn’t be so foolish as to pick a fight with either an adeptus or their beloved. You seemed unfazed at any rate, explaining that the two of you were simply passing by and had no desire to pick a fight; if they’d be so kind the two of you would be on your way.

Perhaps the treasure hoarders were well aware of the fact that you could report them to the Liyue Qixing. Perhaps they were simply in a bad mood. Either way your words apparently did nothing. Xiao was becoming tenser and tenser, feeling as if something catastrophic was about to happen. That moment came to pass when one of the treasure hoarders pulled out a knife and threw it, lodging itself with deadly accuracy into your torso.

At that point Xiao felt himself overcome with a supernatural sort of calm, a calm which raced to cover up the anguish and rage that was coursing through him, threatening to burn him from the inside out. He only paused to make sure you didn’t hit the ground hard, before summoning his spear. Ignoring the cries of the treasure hoarders he made quick work of disposing of them, for what was a measly human, a piece of trash, when compared to that which had slayed countless demons? A small part of him cried out against the act, pointing out the fact that every time he wielded his polearm to kill it might bring him closer to the precipice, the fact that you were hurt mattered more than revenge, the fact that he was going to regret killing in front of you. He ignored it. At that moment there was nothing in his mind, it was as empty and staid as a clear pool of water. The only ripple in it was the way you’d jolted back in surprised, and the way you’d let out a cry before crumpling.

Xiao didn’t look back to see the havoc he’d wreaked. Instead he ran to your side. Peeling off his gloves, worried that they might bring infection, he pressed his bare hands to your wound, desperately trying to staunch the blood that was spilling out, ignoring the shocks that jolted through his hands, the result of the dagger somehow being infused with electro. The feeling of blood, your blood, beneath his fingers was nauseating, and for a moment Xiao felt his head filling with static as the pure panic that he’d felt began to overcome the initial rush of adrenaline. Snapping out of it when you let out a groan of pain Xiao looked into your eyes. They were clouded, and for a moment the adeptus was afraid you might be on the verge of passing out – had you really lost so much blood? Holding you tightly, one hand never leaving your wound, Xiao summoned a burst of air. His thoughts were still too chaotic to be processed, there was only one thing connecting them all. Let them live. If there’s any justice in this world, please let them live.

Verr Goldet had grasped the situation as soon as she saw Xiao appear on the balcony, face contorted in fear. Taking you to her room, she’d instructed Xiao to get one of the doctors from Liyue while she and the resident apothecary took care of you. Xiao did the task without thinking, and once he’d arrived with the doctor he refused to leave your side. Xiao knew death better than most adepti, certainly more than most humans. It was cold and unfeeling, and had a nasty habit of leaping onto people when they least expected it. It didn’t matter to him that all three, Goldet, the apothecary, and the doctor, said that you would be fine; Xiao was going to be there the entire time.

Eventually you managed to rouse yourself from the pain induced stupor, and when you did you saw Xiao first, eyes wide with fear and relief, tears threatening to spill down his face.

In the end you’d been lucky. Although the dagger had ruptured your spleen Xiao had acted quickly enough to avert catastrophe. You were going to survive, though it’d be 12 weeks most likely until you were completely recovered. The moment of crisis having passed the two of you were finally given a moment alone.

“Are you alright?” Xiao immediately asked. You didn’t make a move to answer, instead cupping Xiao’s cheek before moving to take his hand. At that moment how Xiao remembered. Oh; the blood. Quickly moving away he ran to the nearest basin of water, scrubbing furiously. As the water turned red a faint smell of iron filled the air; it was the most disgusting thing Xiao had ever smelt, and he scrubbed even harder. You waited silently as he finished cleaning his hands and disposing of the water. Finally he came back to sit next to you, still hesitating a moment before placing his palm in yours.

“I… I don’t understand how you could ever like humans.” That was the first thing Xiao could think of. “They betrayed you. Without even blinking. That man, all those men and women, they would’ve ended your life without even thinking about it. They would’ve killed you and lived without ever having such a thing weigh on their conscience. Humans never think about the weight of their sins. They just keep committing atrocities.”

“And what about you, Xiao. Will their deaths weigh on you?”

“As much as all the others.” Xiao wished he could be matter of fact about it, but he found that trait of his had somehow disappeared. Instead an emotion washed over him, so unfamiliar and unexplainable it seemed to choke him. “Perhaps more.” He managed to get out, before beginning to cry in earnest.

You would’ve died. If he hadn’t been there you would’ve died. For you he gladly shouldered the weight of human life, would do so again and again if only to ensure your safety. And yet it was such a heavy weight, and no matter how many Xiao killed it wouldn’t heal you.

“I’m sorry.” He choked out. You shook your head.

“Xiao I always knew that you weren’t going to be able to see humans as I see them immediately. And I know that you have a relationship with death and killing that most humans, most beings, will never have. I’m not going to blame you, nor will I turn on you. I cannot pretend that what happened didn’t make me angry. In retrospect it made me incredibly angry. It’s also true that – had you not been there – I would’ve raised my own weapon in self-defense. But now I’m going to ask you for one thing, and one thing only.”

“What?”

“Help me recover. Help me recover and let me help you recover. If there’s one thing I don’t want to happen now it’s for you to turn away from me and from everyone else, to let yourself be consumed. I want you to have somewhere you can let your feelings exist, and I want somewhere I can feel happy and comfortable as myself. You make me feel that way, so even if it’s selfish I don’t want you to turn away. And I don’t want you to grieve for me. Injured as I may be I’m not dead.” There was a pause as you let yourself catch your breath, having gotten more and more excited as you went on. “I realize that’s more than one thing.” You concluded, a bit sheepish.

Xiao said nothing for a while before leaning towards you. “May I?” He whispered. You nodded and Xiao pressed his lips to yours. The kiss wasn’t one of fire or passion. It was different, defined within the parameters of fear and relief, there seemed to be a sort of desperation in it, yet it was surprisingly sedate. Pulling away Xiao buried his face in your neck, careful to make sure he wasn’t touching where you’d been stabbed.

“I will. I promise.” He whispered. You nodded, smiling softly. But Xiao couldn’t bring himself to smile, not just yet.

Xiao couldn’t understand humans. They were dirty and cruel and lived without fear of consequences. Their actions haunted him and he found them easier to hate than to understand. But for you he’d try, because to him there was one thing strong than all, strong than fear, stronger than mistrust, stronger than hatred.

And that was the love he held for you.

 Zhongli

If there was one thing Zhongli hadn’t been prepared for when it came to falling in love with humans it was their combination of fragility and utter ignorance to said fragility.

One of Zhongli’s favorite things to do was to simply sit and listen to you talk about your life. Humans fascinated Zhongli, it was one of the reasons he’d ultimately given up his place as Rex Lapis; inside him lived a desire to interact with humanity in a more intimate way, to know what made people behave as they did and to perhaps grow closer to them in the process.

But despite all that he still wasn’t ready for the utter fear he felt when listening to the stories of you getting hurt. You’d laughed off scrapes and bruises and fractures. The time you’d accidentally ripped off your nail was a painful yet funny anecdote, and the fact that you’d fractured your kneecap as a child was something you now looked back on with an odd sense of nostalgia.

Zhongli didn’t understand why these stories frightened him on such a visceral level. Such injuries were nothing to gods and adepti. Although the idea of a broken bone was certainly an irritation there was nothing more in it, and the kind of injuries that could easily kill humans would to Zhongli be the kind of thing that would be unpleasant for its novelty, not for its potential fatality.

He didn’t bring up these thoughts to you, feeling as if they’d somehow place an undue burden on you, or perhaps he was afraid you’d stop telling him about yourself. Still it lurked at the back of his mind, the fear of what might happen to you.

The fears that Zhongli harbored were proven in the most mundane, and thus most poignant, way. The two of you had been preparing a meal when suddenly you’d stumbled on an uneven part of the floor. Reaching your hands out to steady yourself your arm had landed flat on the hot stove, the stove which had been heating up for the past fifteen or so minutes. The scream that you let out sent a shock through Zhongli which shook him to his core. It rang through his ears incessantly, a terrifying reminder of how breakable humans were.

You’d immediately yanked your arm off from the stove but the sight that met both his and your eyes was a ghastly one. The skin on your arm was charred various colors, white blisters mixed with black flaky skin, all outlined in a terrible circle of red. You were shaking, and you face had turned a frightful ashen color. Springing into action Zhongli wracked his brain for all he could remember about burns. If the burn is serious enough go to the hospital. Never try to treat intense burns yourself as the burning has gone deeper than the initial layer of skin, raise your burn above your heart. Go to the hospital. Slinging your arm around his shoulder so that it was raised, whisper soft words of reassurance as you let out a shriek of pain, Zhongli half walked half carried you to the hospital, all while the same thought was running through his head.

How fragile humans are.

The doctors had insisted you stay overnight. Apparently the burn was bad enough to require surgery. Zhongli’s stomach had dropped as he was told that, but he managed to nod in response. Walking back home Zhongli felt all in a daze. He barely made it in the door before he collapsed, fear having seeped the energy out of him. The world pressed down on him, heavier than it’d ever been before. At least you’d be okay, he reminded himself. If he had anything to cling to at least he had that.

Zhongli was the first visitor to arrive at the hospital, having given Hu Tao the run of the funeral home as he spent as much time as possible with you. You were well enough, although a bit bogged down from the painkillers you’d been given. You’d once offhandedly commented that although magic infused medicine tended to be safer for the patient – more successful and less addictive – it was also more powerful; now Zhongli could see you weren’t kidding.

Your burn was wrapped up carefully, the doctors had managed to take the charred skin of, you’d explain, but now the burn had to be treated with the utmost care until the surgery later in the afternoon, infection was no joke.

“Well this’ll certainly be an interesting anecdote.” You let out half a laugh. “Not that I’m happy this happened, but at least this will shut up the next person who complains about how cardio was the most painful thing they’ve experienced.”

“I don’t know how you can be so cavalier about it.” Zhongli replied, tone soft and introspective. “It seems to terrifying to me, how easily humans are hurt.”

“Hey, I’ll be fine.” You assured him, voice soft but firm. “I understand how to adepti and archons and gods this might be terrifying. I’d be the first to admit we can’t really keep up with you in terms of pure healing and resistance to injury. But we’ve continued on this far haven’t we?” You smiled softly. “I promise I’m not about to die from something like a kitchen accident.”

“But what if next time it’s not your arm?” Zhongli replied. “What if it’s your neck or your chest? What if you cut yourself too deeply, what if your cut becomes infected. There are so many things I haven’t thought about until now, so many things that could hurt you. It frightens me terribly.”

“I’m very grateful that you’re worrying for me like this. But Zhongli?” You waited for his eyes to meet yours, smiling once more when he faced you. “You cannot be consumed by your anxiety. Believe me humans worry about these kinds of things. What if I tripped and fell and broke my neck, what if I scratched myself and developed and infection, what if I choked on an apple? These fears live with us, sometimes constantly, but we cannot let them consume us. As much as I’m flattered and glad you care for my wellbeing so much, I also don’t want you consumed by it, nor do I want to be treated like glass.”

“I cannot understand how you’re so resilient.” Zhongli replied after a short pause. You shrugged.

“We are because we must be.”

Zhongli knew in his heart that these fears he harbored weren’t going to go away. He knew that they were going to become more and more apparent through the month of your initial recovery, and through the longer period too as scar tissue formed and subsided.

Humans were indeed fragile. But if there was one thing stronger than said fragility it was their even greater determination to supersede it. Humans may be fragile in body, but they were stronger in spirit even than the gods.

That was something Zhongli wasn’t going to forget. Not for a very long time.