#let her go on a pilgrimage!!!!!
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zinniapetals · 1 year ago
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now I want Furina and Zhongli to meet sooo bad. Furina deserves a break from Fontaine and Liyue would be such a great place for her to visit. They can talk about humanity and now having to live as humans.
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serpentface · 4 months ago
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Hey that's not a good shooting stance
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wonder-worker · 4 months ago
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Is it true that Elizabeth of York birth celebrated like she was a son? I have seen some historians say this.
Hi! Yes, Edward IV did celebrate his daughter’s birth as though she was a male heir (“a prince”), iirc as per the Great Chronicle.
While we have no contemporary reports at the time of Elizabeth of York's birth, we know that Luchino Dallaghiexia reported that the birth of Edward and Elizabeth's third child, Cecily of York, "rejoiced the king and all the nobles exceedingly*, though they would have preferred a son'. Wanting a son (ie: an heir) was typical for their time period, likely enhanced by Edward and Elizabeth's unprecedentedly controversial marriage, her very unsuitable origins and his own status as a usurper. The fact that he was described as being "exceedingly" delighted at the birth of his third daughter in a row regardless does support the claim that he would have gone over-the-top to celebrate the birth of his first legitimate** child.
Hope this helps!
*Bizarrely, I have seen several historians and blogs using Dallaghiexia's letter to claim that he was bitterly disappointed at Cecily of York's birth. I don't understand how historical reading comprehension can be so poor that "rejoiced the king exceedingly" has somehow been rewritten as the...exact opposite of that. With no self-awareness whatsoever. **His illegitimate daughter Margaret (known as Elizabeth for some reason) was almost definitely born before his marriage. We don't know the birth dates of his other two illegitimate children: I think the likeliest conception date for Arthur was in early 1470, but it's unverified; and we know nothing about Grace (which was in fact her surname, not her name) other than the fact that Elizabeth Woodville seems to have been very attached to her.
#ask#elizabeth of york#edward iv#queue#speaking of which#did I mention how much I dislike historians who state that one of Elizabeth Woodville's 'advantages' was that 'she was fertile'#and just leave it at that?#or dumbfuck Anne Boleyn stans who argue Elizabeth was 'safe' because she had a son (she was literally deposed twice but okay)#That is simply incorrect and a complete erasure of her actual - presumably difficult - experiences#Elizabeth literally 'failed' (so to speak) to have a son throughout her first queenship#She had three daughters back-to-back#Her first son with Edward IV was in fact born seven years into her marriage after her husband had already been deposed and in exile#It does her an incredibly disservice to rewrite her very complicated situation according to your own whims and fancies#Particularly considering the very unusual nature of her marriage and rise to queen (+Edward's own status as an usurper)#which meant that Elizabeth - like H8's wives after her - was in a far more precarious position than sonless foreign royal queens before her#And while the lack of a son clearly didn't affect her personal marriage (her husband celebrated their eldest daughter's birth#as though she was a male heir and was described as exceedingly happy at the time of their third daughter's birth;#they decided to go on a pilgrimage - presumably to ask for a son - *together*; etc)#That doesn't change the fact that they were in a very very difficult situation that having a son could have resolved/legitimized#Worries that may have intensified even more after 1469 when George of Clarence (second York brother) rebelled against Edward#I also suspect their lack of a son affected the nature of Warwick's propaganda against them during his rebellions#but that's a whole other topic of discussion#Either way: What we should never do is erase and rewrite Elizabeth's (and Edward's) very complex situation in the 1460s#in favor of an inaccurate but more 'convenient' alternate history#It's a little odd tbh because I HAVE seen such discussions for Anne of Bohemia; MoA; and Henry VIII's wives#who all struggled to have male heirs#But for some reason Elizabeth's situation is not even acknowledged - let alone discussed#funny how that happens#anyway#ik I went VERY off track I'm sorry about that
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braskide · 1 year ago
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thinking about an unsent yuna verse to cope with the horrors today.
( clinging to life because she feels like her work is never done; becoming the very essence of what she has sworn to defy. being unable to let go of the high summoner duties entrusted to her and the ones she put on herself, because she does not want anyone else to take on the heavy mantle of sacrifice. )
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indynerdgirl · 2 years ago
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My mom is leaving for a 10 day pilgrimage to the Holy Land/Israel tomorrow. Prayers for safe travels & her safety during her time there would be greatly appreciated as I'm so worried about her being there while tensions in the region are still so high. 🥺
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kneelingshadowsalome · 8 months ago
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What about princess reader who falls for Konig? He's a retired royal soldier (Bit of an age gap but I was thinking more like he was so good he was able to retire early) that she saw every once and a while and she does the typical "disguise myself as a commoner so i can sneak into town" routine and he pretends he doesn't know but he used to serve her family so ofc he fucking recognizes her
He tries to be gentle with her but honestly she should just be happy he isn't ratting her out to her family 🙄🙄🙄 (not that she minds)
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CW: 18+ MDNI. Medieval AU, forbidden love, mutual pining, virgin!princess!reader x veteran!knight!König. Undefined age gap (reader is of legal age which means she’s "old" for an unmarried woman of this period). Reader is kinda coercive, König is implied to be a virgin too. Bittersweet romance vibes, brooding guy/gentle girl trope, ambiguous ending.
Word count: 6.4 k
You never thought you’d have the guts to slap a knight. 
Violence is unladylike, and even if you’re a princess, it doesn’t mean you should force your status down someone’s throat like that. Far less his, the man you were taught to respect and listen to because he’s a man, and older than you. 
The fact that he was also an anointed knight didn’t seem as important as the simple truth that he possessed a cock between his legs, and it always annoyed you to no end that this was the reason why men ruled the world. As a lady still unwed, you’re supposed to be afraid of cocks, especially if they’re old and gruff. 
But you never were afraid in the presence of your father’s most loyal knight. He was your sworn shield too, and the only time he had been away from your side was when he asked to go on a pilgrimage to some chapel nearby. Said he wanted to seek forgiveness for his sins.
A man like him must have a lot to pray forgiveness for, but knowing that he could split a man in half with that greatsword of his doesn’t stop you from sneaking out one night as you follow him outside the castle walls and into the local inn.
Dressed as a stable boy, you watch with wide eyes how he gulps down three pints of beer and doesn’t turn any dumber from it. His speech never slurs, his shoulders never slump, but when some kitchen wench sits down beside him, your breath gets caught in your throat. 
You look at the odd couple for a moment or two, watch how your father’s knight, the secret object of your silly daydreams, finally loosens the strings of his purse and offers the girl a copper coin. 
It’s more than you can take, so you shoot up from your bench and march to him. The woman looks up at you with lousy disinterest as you ask the man of your dreams if he’d like to have another pint of ale. Your knight recognizes you immediately, even in your too-big tunic and your uncomely hose, even with that dirty felt hat covering your hair.
And he’s mortified, from what you can tell.
Both your eyes are wide now, and the woman beside him is smart enough to leave. She slides herself off the bench and sneaks past your side, and your valiant knight just looks at you, looks at you, looks at you. 
You should be worried that he’ll snitch about your adventures to your father, but right now, all you can do is stare at him like he’s the thief, caught fresh and red-handed. Because he is a thief, and a devil, the worst man on earth when he was supposed to be the best. You snort to let him know how much you despise him—for coming here and bedding women for money when he’s supposed to be a sworn, celibate knight—but what truly hurts here is that he’s bedding someone else than you.
When you march out of the inn, he follows you, even dares to lay his hand on you by grabbing your arm outside. That’s when you turn on your heels and deliver a fat slap on his cheek, lightly stubbled and sweet, something you had hoped to plant a kiss on for many, many years.
“Your grace,” He grunts and rubs his chin, slightly amused. “Have I offended you?”
The slap couldn’t hurt that much, and this man never does amused. Even now, the mirth extends only to his eyes, never to his lips. 
“You know perfectly well that you have, sir,” you clasp your hands in front of you, now entirely his princess even though you’re dressed like a peasant.
“My lady,” he bows both in body and in voice. “I truly don’t know what crime I have committed.”
You’ve never seen him so… jovial.
Usually this knight looks like there’s a stick up his ass, that someone pissed in his porridge and shat in his stew, that there’s nothing but hailstorms and calamity in his life. 
Were you any more clever, you’d leave him be, but God has made it so that you’re drawn to battered and beaten animals. Of course you’re drawn to him too, lonely and spiteful as he is. This man broods so much you sometimes wonder if he’s the reason why it rains so violently up here in the hills. He probably summons dark clouds above the castle with those ponderous frowns alone – but now he’s looking at you as if he just woke up from the dead and walked into the shy sunshine after a long, harsh winter.
“You… You shouldn’t bed women,” you tell him, and he looks at you even more curiously.
“You shouldn’t pay for it,” you mumble next – unladylike, again, especially when your eyes turn to your shoes and away from that hawk-like, calm stare.
There’s a short silence after that, and you almost turn heel and walk back to the castle from the desire to escape the weight of his eyes. Eventually, he shifts his weight to the other leg and clears his throat.
“I sometimes pay for women to hold me. There’s nothing more to it.”
You raise your eyes to meet his, but the mirth is all gone now. It’s replaced by solemn acceptance, some sorrow you never even knew he had. Yes, he’s always silent and looks a bit pissed, but he’s not heartbroken, no, not your brave knight…
“To “hold you”, sir?”
The sorrow is covered with white lashes before you get to the bottom of it. Something tugs at the corner of his mouth—shame and frustration, probably.
“To hold me. Like a mother would. Is that a sin?”
His eyes search for yours from under dark brows, they beg for your consent as if it mattered to him. They’re quite catching, his eyes; enchanting in their intangibility. You know he doesn’t need your acceptance, nor is he threatened by your disgust. He’s unreachable, untouchable, forbidden—a mountain you can never climb because you wouldn't even find it among the mist. And those eyes see everything but feel nothing: they haven’t taken part in the troubles of this world in years.
He evades you for the whole of next week. 
Leaves the hall if you choose to dine there, walks away when he sees you at the stables, looks through you if you have the courage to address him. You stand watch by the window every night to see if he slips out of the castle, but it seems your knight has lost his interest in kitchen wenches and copper hugs. 
It burns like hot broth in your stomach, the thought of him in some other woman’s embrace. This mighty giant of a knight, kneeling in front of a girl, paying for her to simply put her arms around him. 
You’re not sure if you’re childish to believe him and his words. To trust that he truly goes to them just to be held. You’re not sure if you’re the worst lover of poor, crippled creatures for not wanting to let him have even that...
Because you wish to hold him yourself, here, in the softest of all beds. Just wrap your arms around him after you’ve unburdened him of that heavy mail and thick gambeson; you’d help him with anything he needs. Let him sigh against you and have those lines of worry on his brooding face smooth somewhat. Maybe sing a soft song for him to help him sleep...
The thought of him being so lonely that he spends his wage on girls just to have a hug is driving you to madness.
It’s tearing you to pieces because he would never, ever have to pay you to hold him. 
It’s forbidden, you know: this love you’ve harboured for years. He’s far below your rank, even as a bannerman, he’s far below you even if he’s taller than the tallest war horse in your father’s stables. He’s older than you too, but that’s hardly the biggest problem: your father took his second wife when he was five and thirty and the maid was seventeen. The match was considered perfectly normal, even healthy, but this would not. This would cause an outrage.
Oh yes, you’re to be wed far away to some sadistic young lord if your father has his way. You’re sure they’re already gossiping about it in the streets: how you should’ve been sold like a horse years ago. How is it that you’re still here, burdening the kingdom with your presence and swallowing up coin? 
If they only knew that you’ve fought against every match with tooth and nail, the townsfolk would work themselves into a small uprising. And you’re not against marriage because you like it here so much... You’re against it because the knight who dresses himself in black mail and makes the servants piss themselves with his heavy footsteps alone makes your heart flutter like never before.
Your father would kill both of you if he knew.
And you wonder… What would he do? Your pale, brooding knight?
Would he scoff and turn his head away if he knew you dreamed of him before sleep, would he be appalled to hear that you’ve touched yourself to the thoughts of him? Would he think you a whore…?
You dress differently that night, the night you catch him escape the dull horrors of the castle once more. Boredom oozes out of the walls here, a poison of nothingness and despair. The stones won’t offer warmth, not even during the height of spring, so it’s no wonder that your knight is headed elsewhere for warmth and a mug of ale. 
You dress accordingly to see what this toughest of knights is made of: with a brown woolen skirt and a white cotton blouse, you look the part of a kitchen maid who forgot half her garments at home. 
People look at you in the streets, but without your usual attire and with your hair styled differently, they wouldn’t know who they’re looking at even if they saw you frolic around like this in court. You know they’re looking at you because you're a half naked woman ripe for taking, stubbornly out at night and dressed so suggestively it’s a miracle no guard rapes you before you reach the inn. 
Maybe it’s the royal pride that keeps them away: you certainly look like you haven’t toiled in the fields or shoveled horse dung in your poor miserable life. There’s an air about you, and he notices it too, far before you’ve sat your pretty bum on the bench next to him.
“What are you doing,” he asks with a slightly alarmed voice.
He has that stick up his arse again, sits so straight that you’ve never seen such a ramrod back on anyone. When you set your hand over his, he only blinks.
“One silver to hold you, sir,” you lean to whisper on his skin, the shaved cheek you’ve wanted to kiss for so, so long. “What do you say...?”
He’s still breathing, even if there’s no sound to prove that he is. You can only see it from the rise and fall of his chest, covered by a stained, cream-white gambeson, that he’s breathing. He’s big, even without his armor, big and strong and intimidating, a tower of strength in one man.
“I cannot bed women,” he talks to the stout logs that make the walls of the inn, refusing to even look at you after one quick horrified glimpse.
“Who said anything about bedding?”
“This is a dangerous game, your grace,” he warns with a low purr when you won’t relent. 
His voice is parched but smooth, and you smell smoke; delicious smoke from the fire that sticks to the clothes of a person who spends too many hours staring into a fire. You smell ham and earth and leather and sweat, horses and metal, the rusty stench of mail gone bad.
You wonder how you smell to his nostrils – is it something sweet? Fresh herbs and lavender oil maybe, or soft, spun wool, some tangerines and summer wine?
“I’m not your grace,” you tell him, nose now touching the bridge of his ear. “Not in here.”
You see from the turned sleeve of his padded tunic that the hairs on his arm are standing on end. His eyes are closed, and you can finally hear his ragged breaths. Desire speaks in them, or then you’re in over your head... Why else would he sound like that, like he’s already making love?
“One silver, sir, and I’ll hold you all night,” you repeat softly, and he swallows with a dry, open mouth.
“I don’t have such money on me,” he rasps, voice drenched in slow, drowsy want. 
He wants this; wants, wants, wants….
“Really? Is my price too high?”
“Far too high for a man like me.”
You breathe a smile upon his skin, the place where his neck meets his jaw. Running your fingers across his wrist, you leave little to the imagination and you both know it.
“You can pay for the room and we’ll see how much you have left after that.”
“Princess, this is–”
“Hush.”
He’s in pain now, you can see it: the sharpness, the distant eagle gaze from his eyes is gone. He can barely keep his lids open, and when you peel the sleeve back with your hand, pet him like he’s one of your cats, press your lips on the spot you know is the most sensitive, he groans.
“You’re going too far,” he whispers, but won’t move. Breathless now, he can’t even speak with dignity. Gone are the distanced grunts and the composure, even the stick in his arse has melted away. 
If a touch of your lips and the softest caress can do this to him, what would happen if you straddled his lap? How would it feel to be pressed against him, naked and entwined in a mutual embrace?
“You didn’t say no to that other girl,” you breathe more kisses on his skin. “Am I so horrendous…?”
“You–” he starts, opens his eyes somewhat. “You are teasing me on purpose.”
“You never were the brightest of my father’s knights,” you smile a little laugh in his ear. 
He grabs his pint as if that could save him; out of fury or lust, you don’t know. And that’s when your little adventure gets interrupted: someone must’ve had enough of this disgusting display of seduction and whoring. 
“Pardon me, lovebirds. The room’s a copper, if it please you,” a tired voice says from somewhere above. “And the ale is–”
“Ja, ja. I’ll pay,” your knight grunts with such annoyance that you’re not sure if he’s mad at you or the poor soul who interrupted you two. 
Everyone here must think that you’re here to make some coin on a lonesome, desperate man. And he’s desperate, by God, he’s desperate… But when you walk upstairs and into your room, he takes a dip in cold waters without you knowing anything about it. When the door shuts behind you, your knight is back to the unbroken effigy he was last week, as he has always been. 
“You sleep there,” he points at the bed. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“There’s plenty of room on the–”
“One more word from that pretty mouth and I’ll tell your father what you’ve been up to.”
You’re sent to your bed without supper, in your silly clothes, and get to watch how he barely takes his boots off before setting himself down on the floor, back turned to you. The innocent question “You think my mouth is pretty?” only gets an irritated scoff for an answer.
From under the linens, you watch him sigh and slowly turn to stone on the cold floor. There’s a big rug there but it’s barely enough to keep the chill out, and the hearth is cold during late days of spring. You’re warm enough here under your sheet, but you would be warmer if your knight was here with you… Warm body against yours as you both hold each other through the night. 
If only he could be enticed here by lying that you’re freezing... His honor would force him to share the bed with you, and your poor knight wouldn’t have to wake up with sore joints. The more you listen to him let out those occasional sighs, the more you want to shake this man. This silly act of martyrdom has to come to an end, now.
Slipping out from the warmth of your bed, you tiptoe to him. You know he can hear you, probably cursing in his mind with that crude foreign tongue of his. Laying yourself down behind him, you snuggle close until your front is glued to his back. 
It must pain him to have a maiden leave the comfort of her bed and trade it for the dirty floor, but you wonder if there’s pleasure in the pain when your touch finds him once more. And it’s not just want and lust you feel when you place your arm around him. It’s not motherly love either, although you do feel like you’re embracing a giant child who doesn’t want to be comforted. You know nothing about how lovers touch or hold each other, you’ve never touched a man other than your father, and those touches were never affectionate and warm, those touches were barely there at all. 
You wonder if you should be scared: you were taught that men will fuck everything that moves when given the chance. If a man of his size chose to take you here on this floor, there would be nothing left of you. Such an outcome seems dubious, however, when your sworn shield acts like he would rather be anywhere but here.
“Let me hold you,” you whisper when he continues to be stiff as a rock in your embrace. “You don’t have to pay me. Surely you know that you don’t have to–”
He moves, and at first you fear he’s about to rise and dart to the door. Make a run for it and slam it shut because you pushed it too far, his dumb, danger seeking maiden. 
But he doesn’t. 
Instead, he turns around and buries his face somewhere in your neck. He does it so forcefully that you’re almost sent to lie on your back, and you barely catch the naked pain in his eyes before a rough arm snakes itself around your waist and pulls you close.
Warm breaths hit your skin, sending all the little hairs in your body shooting up – were he to move an inch further down, his face would be buried in your tits…
And then come the tears.
You’ve never heard a man cry like that – well, you’ve never heard a man cry at all. You didn’t even know they knew how to weep. It’s like all the tears in the world are reserved for women and children because there’s no wetness even now: your knight cries in thick, dry sobs, shudders that shake the both of you, years and years of suffering sighed through gritted teeth and into your hair.
Slowly, so slowly, you place your arm around him once more. Your hand barely reaches the middle of his back, so vast is this man, now only a crumbling mountain in your embrace. But when you won’t waver, when you refuse to turn your tail and run, he slowly melts in your arms like spring snow.
He still breathes as if in pain, the sounds that come out of his mouth heartbroken and strained. You’re not surprised to see that even his crying is an act of violence; he’s a man inconsolable. 
And yet, you console him. Comfort him. Like a mother, you stay and let him cry his fill in your ear as he clutches you, threatening to tear the back of your poor cotton blouse while doing it.
When he’s done, the shakes recede and his body is warm and calm, soft, almost. He pants and swallows, comes down from it with so much shame that you’re sure he has never done this with anyone, not ever before.
And then…
“I beg for your forgiveness, my lady,” he gruffs on your skin. “That was–”
“Shh... It’s alright.”
You caress the back of his neck, sweaty from the toil. He releases the fabric of your blouse only to grab it again in an even tighter fist. The face in your neck is buried deeper, his lips now pressed right over your throat.
“It has always been you, Geliebte... God knows it has always been you.”
You freeze in the middle of his confession, the panting on your skin intolerably thick now. When you swallow against his mouth, he pulls you against him, the body that used to be rigid and cold now like a hot, thick furnace, threatening to devour yours.
“You must know it too,” he whispers. “You must. You’ve seen my torment. Tell me you’ve seen it…”
He’s not demanding more than he is desperate, some dam suddenly being breached by a long-held flood.
If anything, you thought he hated you... You thought you were alone in your anguish, but it turns out he has carried the same soft secret all these years.
And it drowns you for a moment, his want and yours. Hands trying to touch whatever they can, mouth searching yours like he’s about to die if he can’t have a sip. You’ve heard what happens to women who allow themselves to get groped in dark hallways and winding steps; they hardly ever escape a man’s touch with their maidenhood still intact. And yet, this is what you’ve always dreamed of; a hot, blunt, forbidden encounter with this man. 
Now that he’s finally on fire for you, you’re not so sure though. What if you’re about to mate with a beast?
“Sir…” you whisper when he plants trembling kisses down your throat. He thinks you’re only moaning his title in the throes of pleasure, and squeezes you against him so hard that a tight little whimper is squished out of your mouth.
“I’m–I’m untouched,” you tell him before he sends his face between your tits, and it finally has the effect you feared and hoped for.
He freezes too, in the middle of tearing down your blouse. A shivering hand releases the fabric slowly, reverently; it rises to cup your face as your flushed knight meets your stare with shame.
“Of course you are,” he hushes upon your lips, strokes your cheek softly. “I cannot bed you. I know. But let me…”
He blushes while searching for the right words. That’s the moment when you start to suspect if he’s ever even been with a woman. What kind of a womanizer would blush when they’re about to make love to a lady?
“Let me make you feel good,” he finally suggests. “I’ve heard… of a way.”
He almost stutters when he says it, and you wonder if this is what he’s prayed forgiveness for. If he’s been thinking about different ways of wrecking you so much that it’s enough to send him to hell…
“And then,” he continues, “we’ll never speak of this again. You’ll become my lady, and I’ll become your sworn shield once more. We’ll be as we always were. As it always was...”
You’re not sure if you like that – returning to your status quo, becoming who you were before clutching each other on the floor like mad animals about to mate. But you nod. 
Whatever he wishes to do to you, it must be something good, and you trust him. Even after he showed you a side of him you’ve never seen before, you’d trust this man with your life.
Your valiant knight carries you back to bed, and delivers on his promise. He never undresses you, he never defiles you. He just lifts your ankle to his lips and gives it a soft, reverent kiss, grazes your shin with his mouth before starting to worship you like a pagan idol of old.
You don’t know where he heard about it–at the stables, or the kitchen, at the barracks or the taverns–but the way with which he makes you squirm doesn’t require a cock, not even a hand. His lips are gentle, but his mouth is hungry, and you don’t know how to feel shame when he’s buried under your dress like that. You can’t even see his face when he makes you his, claims you with his mouth alone. 
It must be a sin to not take you like a man takes a woman on a wedding night; it must be a sin that it does not hurt at all, what he wants to do to you. But you don’t care. Love is much better and far messier than how they depict it in the songs, and no one ever talks about the noises a man can make when they pleasure a woman.
He groans like a beast, but moans like a whore – it sends a flush of hot blood up your cheeks to hear him so utterly needy and vile. Your knight who barely gave you a grunt as a greeting in your father’s hall now whines with a broken pitch between your legs. His hot sighs drown your own, and you thank Saint Mary and all the angels that there’s loud music and booming laughter downstairs. It’s still there, the dirty tavern, even if you’re being sent to heaven on this bed...
He gives you mercy only after you break upon his mouth with a series of tight cries. Spends a lengthy amount of time under your dress too, licking and kissing you clean.
He doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to get out of there, but when he emerges, he looks like a drowned, happy puppy, this giant, brooding knight… The sight seizes your heart in a flaming hand that you know will never let go: it’s forever engraved in your heart, that drunken, devoted stare. You thought that men had the needs of an animal and that women were put on this earth just for them to have their fill, but when you look at your knight, it appears it’s the other way around... This man has finally found what he was looking for. Between your legs, he just found his Heaven on earth, his Holy Grail.
And so he returns from his quest with a devotion that leaves you breathless. Takes you in his arms like an injured bird, making you feel like it’s summer already, and the world is nothing but songs and tales and long nights of bliss.
“Know that I am yours,” he says. “Until my dying breath and even beyond, I’m yours.”
It’s a pledge, not a statement, and it’s said with so much weight that the vow he swore to your father pales in comparison. 
“Sir... You always say such silly things,” you whisper back while lying in a pool of shimmering love, a heaven on earth indeed. Not even anointed, true to their faith knights talk like this… And he just smiles languidly when you raise a hand to brush his cheek. 
He looks like another hug could save him, like a simple adoring stare from you is all that is needed to keep him going for another year. It irks you that he’s ready to settle for so little when you’re ready to give him everything he’s ever wanted and more. With what just happened, he’ll live on for a thousand, thousand years, he’ll survive even the coldest of nights – but you won’t.
“I want to make you feel good too,” you tell him, and a flash of fresh panic crosses his eyes.
“Süssling…”
He says it with worry, but does nothing when you send an exploring hand to his bulge. Drawing a sharp breath when you sweep your hand over it, he goes rigid again, this time for reasons other than just nervousness.
You’re younger and therefore more impatient, which means you’re at the strings of his pants in no time. He looks at your greed with a slack jaw and a set of furrowed brows, but never tries to prevent you. It only spurs you on that he’s acting so shy in front of an eager maiden when other men would already be bullying their cocks in your unexplored heat.
“This is madness,” he whispers when you pull out the heavy, hard cock that reminds you of the members you’ve seen on horses and bulls. 
Of course the man’s big down there when he’s practically a myth walking… And there must be a way to pleasure him too, some lovely devilry that will leave you a maiden. A virgin for him to take on your wedding night – because you will marry this man, no matter what anyone says. You’ll burn the whole kingdom down before giving yourself to any other man.
You wrap your fingers around him to punctuate it that he’s yours. If he feared you might mirror what he just did to you, he makes no comment about it when you don’t, only whines when his cock is snared by a frail but eager hand.
“Princess,” he warns, slightly out of breath. “I will stain your dress…” 
“Shh. Show me how to please you.”
The worry in his eyes is wild and bright, but the way your fingers mold around him leaves no space for arguments. A broken, stiff sigh is punched out of him when you begin to move: if he won’t show you how, it’s no trouble at all to try and find out yourself. 
But when your thumb sweeps over the weeping tip of him, he finally brings a trembling hand upon yours. He starts to guide you, adjusts your grip, huffs when you both apply pressure on it. The curious creature that you are, you look down to witness the ugly beauty of it all.
It’s intimidating and rough, the cock in your hand... It looks like a weapon, honestly, a battering ram that leaks heady liquid from the head. Smooth and heavy and ripped with veins, it’s like a too hard muscle about to bludgeon something, and your hand is making it drool profusely. Would that it were inside you, you would be in grave danger, and why is it that you find the prospect so seductive?
His hand is far bigger than yours, and it makes your heart run wild, the way he tries to be gentle while using your grip to get himself off. He can’t even keep his eyes open from the shame, just takes a quick glance at your enthralled face before squeezing his eyes shut once more. 
“Look at me,” you command softly, and he obeys – what else can a sworn knight do? – but you can see that the poor man is on the verge of tears. Shaking and panting, he stares at you while fucking himself with your hand, and when you close the small breath of air between you and kiss him, he melts.
The first thick spurt surprises you completely, you even mewl into his mouth when it shoots to stain your dress. You didn’t expect that to happen, at least not so fast… And because this is the first time you’ve seen a man come undone, you quickly leave the panting, moaning mouth and look down. 
There’s so much of it, and the release is so violent; it looks and sounds like it hurts because the man is shuddering and groaning as if stabbed. Thick, white pulses of seed coat the brown wool of your dress, but it soaks the semen gladly: there’s nothing left of his cum other than dark, damp stains after he’s done.
And there’s no end to his shame. He pries your hand away from his cock as soon as he’s somewhat composed. Does it with a shaky hand, wipes what little stains of hot, wet seed you have on your palm to his pants, and all you’re thinking about is what it would feel like to have this giant trembling and groaning like that above you, inside you… If you could even take all of that thick, brutal length. If he would be able to move away when inside your heat, if he’d let you hug him again, just hold him close so that he’d never ever leave anymore…
“I have soiled you,” he mutters while looking at your skirt.
“Nonsense. You have only claimed me... I’m yours now.”
“Princess… No amount of silver–”
“Don’t. Don’t you dare.”
You actually manage to kiss him silent. Tears begin to run down his face when you show him where he belongs. It’s the final surrender as he pulls you into his arms and finally drowns you in love – at last, you find yourself under him as he takes what's his. What seems like hours later, he breaks the kiss, only to look into your eyes with full-blown adoration.
“How am I to live without you after this?” 
“You don’t have to. Not ever,” you say.
“Princess. If there was any hope for me to have your hand, if there was any hope that your father would give it, I would have carried you away from this place years ago.”
For a while, you fear it’s the fear of sin that burns him. But then you realize it was always only just you. 
He looks so anguished now, even more in pain, when all you wanted to do was relieve his agonies. This was only a taste of what he can’t have. You both took a bite of the forbidden fruit but can’t eat the entire thing – no wonder he looks like he’s cast out of heaven he didn’t know even existed.
“Sir, I cannot do this,” you grab his face with both hands now. “Please don’t make me do this...”
He sighs and looks at the mess you just made. He’s broken every oath he’s ever taken, and the evidence is scattered right there between you. The only thing deadlier than this would’ve been if he pumped all of that hot, fluid sin inside you.
“Sweetling,” he laments. “Look at us. You’ve already ruined me. Ruined us both…”
“It’s called love, silly.”
He breathes a short, shy smile, the first you’ve ever seen on him. It’s cute and makes him look young, the quick flash of teeth between unruly lips, the almost bashful, downcast eyes that are not quite ready to meet the full brunt of your devotion.
“Ja,” he breathes. “Ich weiss.”
Then he brings his eyes back to yours, his smile slowly making way for a more serious expression. He lifts a hand to touch your cheek, and you find yourself soaring in the sky like a bird, a phoenix that has risen from the dead. It’s heavenly, the way you both caress each other, here on the lowly tavern’s bed, covered in salt, sweetness and sin.
“Your father will have both our heads if he finds out,” he tells you as if you needed the reminder.
“I pray our heads will never be separated then.”
He snorts a quick smile again. It makes you heady, that you’re apparently the only one who can make this gruesome giant laugh. 
“You’re dangerous, princess,” he gruffs. “I knew you were trouble… And yet I curse all the years I left you in peace.”
“I know,” you smile. “Never the brightest one, my love...”
When you lie in his arms that night and tell him about your silly little fantasies, he grows hard again. When you tell him you now have new ones—ones where you’d want to feel him inside you—he looks like a man condemned to death. 
The stares he shoots your way make it clear that he’s lost – no matter what he says, he can’t be kept away from you, not anymore. You suppose he’ll forsake even more secret promises and vows before forsaking the pledge he swore to you. Even at the cost of your lives, he’ll come scratching at your door, howling for some quick, hot love in the night, begging for you to give him everything he has denied himself. 
And eventually, you grow more serious too. While lying in his arms, safe and tucked away from all the horrors of this world, you play with the leather strings of his gambeson, tugging them and twisting them around your finger like a child.
“There will come a day when they promise me to another,” you whisper, wondering if he’s already asleep. 
He promised to never leave your side again, he promised. And still… What will happen when the carriage and horses take you to some distant, hostile kingdom, far away from him? What if you only get this summer together, and then nothing no more?
“They’ll take me away,” you tell him, almost without a voice. 
A soft, hearty grumble answers, a man who finally knows what he’s fighting for.
“No one will take you away, sweetling. Not as long as I live.”
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lureofthesea · 1 year ago
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Source: auronstory
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Favorite character dynamics: Auron and Yuna & Auron and Tidus
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fancyfeathers · 2 months ago
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Yandere Capitano thought
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Genshin Impact 5.1 Archon Quest Spoiler Warning
So in act four of the Archon Quest we see that whole war and just the devastation it has on Natlan, over two thousand people who could not be resurrected. With Capitano lending his and his subordinates strength to the Pyro Archon it is only natural that he sees some of the most terrible of things in this war, including a very harrowing sight after he cleared out another group of monsters from the Abyss. It was near a remote farm house and he was going to help them evacuate to the stadium but he was far too late. When he goes to check the house everyone was dead, not a soul around except a young woman.
She was clearly not a fighter, crying, shaking and curled up in a corner while covered in the blood of her family. The image of this just sends him back five hundred years to all the people he could not protect, and this poor thing did not ask to be born in the nation of war and she clearly wants little to do with the traditions of her people with the pilgrimage and the night warden wars, so why should she be here?
The Captain does not have much time to dwell on her in the moment, just picking up the shocked girl and handing her off to his subordinates to get her to safety. Capitano had saved hundreds of people by that point but the people of Natlan had courage and she clearly did not, it just struck a chord with him.
He does not see her again until it is all over, while people are celebrating their victory, she is alone with no where to go and no one to be with, they were all dead. She is just sitting by herself while everyone else who fought is at least somewhat happy with their victory. Then Capitano overhears the words she speaks to another, one of the new heroes or perhaps the Archon herself…
“I wish I died with them.”
Her friends had started their future…
Her brothers and sisters were married or had their partners…
Her parents had each other…
But she has no one…
She is the only one left to mourn what happened to them, and no one there is there to truly comfort her because everyone else is busy or counting their own losses.
The Captain is able to recognize her potential self destructive behavior and is smart enough to have his subordinates keep a close eye on her after he heard that because there is just something about her…
Then the next time he sees her is when one of his subordinates drags her to him, she is crying and yelling at them to let her go and at first the Captain is irritated that his subordinate would handle her like this, well that is until he is told what happened.
She tried to join her family…
In death.
In her mind she has nothing left to live for, but thanks to this the Captain has found his something to give his life true meaning again, to protect her from rotting away.
(Just when I was adding the tags to this I remembered the song Flowers from Hadestown and it just fits so well with this idea)
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tohakumaru · 7 months ago
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[project page]
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>walk away, go with the nomad. i love you.
since you cannot cry, you make an effort to push the stale air out of your lungs, a poor imitation of a sigh - i guess bad habits really die hard. if the nomad has noticed, then it pays you no mind and simply carries on. casting one last lingering glance at the water and the sky above, you dutifully follow. after a short while, it becomes clear that something has changed. the nomad has picked up its pace, moving in erratic strides. here and there, you find it dashing across the sand, beak and head angled upwards, as though searching, or following an invisible thread in the air, one that you can feel, but cannot quite grasp, like a long forgotten name - always on the tip of your tongue, yet never to be spoken aloud. at times, you struggle to keep up. it's so hard, you're so tired, it's too much. your eyes burn with fatigue. you want to scream, to beg the bird-thing to slow down, but the words evade you everytime you open your mouth, and the nomad does not so much as look at you. a hot and bitter pressure builds behind your nose and muffles your ears. once again you feel yourself falling apart - but the blanket wrapped around your frame and the water sloshing in your hollow stomach seem to work against your body's trajectory to disintegrate, two forces swirling inside and all around you, like a wicked pendulum that propels you forward despite, despite.
i won't let you go, should have known that from the start.
---
tenderly her eyes made their pilgrimage across the mounds of glass and steel, mourning perhaps hunger is a cure for insanity, shut-you-up-real-nice knowing full well being alive is a horrendously beautiful thing while the dogs, blood stained snouts dig out the madness, turn it into a five course meal heaving, a still-beating heart melts like butter on their lips as poorly clipped nails fumbled and fussed,
just enough to make a day-ride.
---
in this fashion, you and the nomad dance across the white sand for some time, until a hillside comes into view. upon closer inspection, you are awed to realise it is made entirely of roots. at the foot of this strange hill, a grove - an incredible indent in that tangled mass that is the tree-hill - opens up and presents an even more curious sight: 12 creatures, each bearing the likeness of a bird, but is clearly not one. they stand stock-still and solemn, with multitudes of dried flowers and glittering gemstones at their feet. their faces, elongated and coming to pointy, beak-like ends, are not dissimilar to the nomad, but much more haggard; and so immobile, it is easy to mistake them for statues, has there not been the occassional puffs of dusty smoke and shrill noises, like a kettle boiling over, coming from their beaks and throats that betray any hints of liveliness about them.
the nomad slows its steps, and looks down. it keeps its eyes to the ground as you get nearer to the grove. it occurs to you that it is avoiding the living-statues' gaze. surprisingly, they reciprocrate the gesture. Ever so slightly each of them turn their head, so their eyes fall off the nomad, and onto … you. you, who does not belong you, who comes on a leash, believing it to be choice you, who dies, and nothing changes
to your bewilderment, the statues came to life, all at once. they grovel at the flowers and gems, and toss them in handfuls at you as the nomad leads you through the grove, leaving a trail of petals and stones. when you pass the 12th statue and come to the end of the opening, everything suddenly shifts: slowly, mechanically, the roots shape themselves into a winding stairway, leading you up the hill.
calmly, the nomad signals you to go up.
what do you do?
[previous chapter]
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5iyoomi · 3 months ago
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✧˖ mualani gf hcs 🌊
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fontanian gn!reader, mostly fluff but some are suggestive
-Girlfriend!Mualani who likes to hear about your experiences in Fontaine and any other nations you've been to. She loves watching how your face lights up when you talk, but when it's about something bad, like the prophecy, then she's there to hug you if you get sad
-Girlfriend!Mualani who makes sure there's never a dull moment in your relationship. She'll always somehow rope you into trying new things with her, simultaneously helping you get over your fears in the process. You can't swim because you're afraid of the water after what happened but still wanna learn how? She'll teach you!
-Girlfriend!Mualani who never makes you feel dumb or bad for feeling scared or thinking you aren't that strong. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses; she always lets you know that she loves you regardless of any of that, though
-Girlfriend!Mualani who brags about you all the time, whether you're far away or right by her side. She's proud to have you as her partner, lacing your fingers together every chance she gets and telling everyone she knows about how much she loves you
-Girlfriend!Mualani who does your hair for you when you're down, running her fingers through the strands and recounting embarrassing memories from when she was younger. If it gets you to laugh, even just a little bit, then she's happy
-Girlfriend!Mualani who's the most supportive person you'll ever have in your life. Anything you wanna do, she's there to cheer you on, and if you get upset that you aren't immediately perfect at it? She's understanding because she's been there too, telling you that you can always try again and that she'll help however she can
-Girlfriend!Mualani who lives to show you how fun every day can be, regardless of if it's a slow, boring day where you go out and pick flowers with her, or an eventful one where you're watching the pilgrimage together
-Girlfriend!Mualani who kisses you under the moonlight by the hot springs, whispering praises against you and holding your chin between her fingers. She'll gently bite at your bottom lip and trace circles into your thigh, and if you let her, she'll go further
-Girlfriend!Mualani who can't fall asleep without you by her side, throwing an arm around your waist and pulling you close to her. You told her her hair tickled one night, and the next time you cuddled you noticed she'd put it and her bangs back in a messy bun
-Girlfriend!Mualani who wakes up before you, holding you in her arms and running a thumb over your palm until you wake up to her smiling face. You know it's gonna be another good day when you do
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accio-victuuri · 5 days ago
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read a book for me. 📚
inspired by people who were curious about the books featured in xz’s video, let’s take a look at what they are. i’d like to think these were pre approved by XZ and are related to his interests. i’m not removing tge possibility that one of these were chosen by someone from xzs or the director himself. i’m tagging this as cpn because there will be some cpn. if you don’t wanna go that route and just enjoy learning about the titles featured, then go ahead. 😉
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1. Restoration House by Kennesha Bucks
You don't have to live in your dream house to make your living spaces feel more like home. Home is meant to be a place to belong. A place to gather and connect. A place of beauty. A place to restore your soul. In Restoration House, author and designer Kennesha Buycks will encourage you to embrace your home and your story so you can create mindful spaces that give life to you, your loved ones, and all who enter.
2. LORI WILDE
that red book just says the author’s name and no actual title but if you look her up, she’s all about that romance novel. here is her website if you wanna know what i mean. if you move a bit, the spine of it says “boy” so i think it maybe one of those books that has the cowboys in it!
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3. Next is LIT UP, which is a black book. I’m not so sure if it’s a real book and when you search it, there are a couple of contenders. Tho i personally gravitate towards p2 since it’s black and the plot of the story is something i think XZ will enjoy!
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it says out of the cubicle and into the real world, it’s like him getting out of his work cubicle years ago and discovering the world.
book overview:
Eddy Gilmore found himself on society’s fringe after being exiled from Corporate America. Despite years of higher education and exemplary service inside a cubicle’s pixelated world, he had no tangible or transferable skills to offer his community. Amazingly, failure was the door into tapping dreams and gifts that had long been ignored as impractical.
This true to life adventure is a pilgrimage into the real world, a place where neighbors make and produce things that sustain life and bring joy. When their eyes were opened to the talents all around them, Eddy and his wife discovered how to produce value themselves, and sank roots into the community. By working together, they are building a life they might never need to retire from.
4. The Interior Design Handbook
Frida Ramstedt believes in thinking about how we decorate, rather than focusing on what we decorate with. We know more today than ever before about design trends, furniture, and knickknacks, and now Frida familiarizes readers with the basic principles behind interior and styling—what looks good and, most of all, why it looks good.
The Interior Design Handbook teaches you general rules of thumb—like what the golden ratio and the golden spiral are, the proper size for a coffee table in relation to your sofa, the optimal height to hang lighting fixtures, and the best ways to use a mood board—complete with helpful illustrations. Use The Interior Design Handbook to achieve a balanced, beautiful home no matter where you live or what your style is.
5. Limits of the Known
A celebrated mountaineer and author searches for meaning in great adventures and explorations, past and present.
David Roberts, "veteran mountain climber and chronicler of adventures" (Washington Post), has spent his career documenting voyages to the most extreme landscapes on earth. In Limits of the Known, he reflects on humanity’s—and his own—relationship to extreme risk. Part memoir and part history, this book tries to make sense of why so many have committed their lives to the desperate pursuit of adventure.
In the wake of his diagnosis with throat cancer, Roberts seeks answers with sharp new urgency. He explores his own lifelong commitment to adventuring, as well as the cultural contributions of explorers throughout history: What specific forms of courage and commitment did it take for Fridtjof Nansen to survive an eighteen-month journey from a record "farthest north" with no supplies and a single rifle during his polar expedition of 1893–96? What compelled Eric Shipton to return, five times, to the ridges of Mt. Everest, plotting the mountain’s most treacherous territory years before Hillary and Tenzing’s famous ascent? What drove Bill Stone to dive 3,000 feet underground into North America’s deepest cave?
What motivates the explorers we most admire, who are willing to embark on perilous journeys and push the limits of the human body? And what is the future of adventure in a world we have mapped and trodden from end to end?
6. Eat, Drink, Nap: Bringing the House Home
The quintessential style, cooking, and home interior book from Soho House, the world's leading members' club.
Since the first Soho House opened its doors over 25 years ago, we've learnt a bit about what works. Contemporary, global yet with something quintessentially English and homely at its heart, this is Soho House style explained by its experts:
- From planning a room to vintage finds: bringing the Soho House look home.
- Our House curator's advice on how to buy, collect and hang art.
- The art of a great night's sleep: how to design the perfect bedroom.
- No-fuss recipes and chef's tips: here's how to make your favourite House dishes.
- Inside Babington: our take on country-house living. Wellies optional.
- Flip-flop glamour and poolside style from Soho House Miami Beach.
- All the secrets of cocktail hour: House tonics and barman's tips.
- Spa treatment at home, DIY facials and chocolate brownies.
Eat Drink Nap, a 300-page highly illustrated book, with a foreword from founder Nick Jones, and photography from leading food and interiors photographers Mark Seelen and Jean Cazals, shares the Soho House blueprint for stylish, modern living, the Soho House way.
7. Styled
It’s easy to find your own style confidence once you know this secret: While decorating can take months and tons of money, styling often takes just minutes. Even a few little tweaks can transform the way your room feels.
At the heart of Styled are Emily Henderson’s ten easy steps to styling any space. From editing out what you don’t love to repurposing what you can’t live without to arranging the most eye-catching vignettes on any surface, you’ll learn how to make your own style magic.
With Emily’s style diagnostic, insider tips, and more than 1,000 unique ideas from 75 envy-inducing rooms, you’ll soon be styling like you were born to do it.
8. The other book i’m seeing is WINTER TID then it cuts off so again it’s tricky to confirm what it is! My best guess is WINTER TIDE but if you google that — i can’t connect how XZ will read that lol.
EDIT: adding this one seen from the alternate MV,
The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice
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is a vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the fourth in her The Vampire Chronicles series, following The Queen of the Damned (1988). Published in 1992, it continues the adventures of Lestat, specifically his efforts to regain his lost humanity during the late 20th century.
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now let’s look at the CPN.
i see fans saying the style related books could be because of his work before. but he is more of a digital and design artist right? he does logos and stuff that can help their brand identity. i don’t remember him being an interior designer. there is also the eat, drink, nap which has topics on cooking and being a good host. these books are making me clown so hard! my head canon is xz is keeping himself busy ( as if he is not busy enough already ) with designing their home. his and wyb’s — if that wasn’t clear enough, that’s what i’m insinuating. if he isn’t traveling, i would imagine he is the type who just wants to spend time at home in between jobs. it is their home. their sanctuary. so xz would make sure that it is according to what they both want and that it’s stylish.
and when he is at home sipping wine, while waiting for Bobo, is he reading a LORI WILDE BOOK? lol. sexy millionaire cowboy you say? 👀👀👀👀
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😂😂😂😂😂
or reading something like the LIT UP book which is more up his alley ( but again i’m not sure if this is the exact title )
what is out of place is limits of the known. out of place compared to the theme of the other books, but xz is someone who is into nature and climbing of sorts. but i haven’t seen him climb the way yibo did in ETU. the most popular cpn is that this is yibo’s contribution to the selection. or maybe he read it after yibo and liked it. OR he is also becoming interested in rock climbing — which is not a far off possibility.
-END.
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annwe24 · 7 months ago
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LUCIFER X ADAM'S WIFE! READER
Summary: Eve's fall from grace had left an empty spot in Heaven. God created you in replacement of her. However, you yearn for something more than the dullness of Heaven's luxury.
A/N: I wanted to write something longer but I think it would be cringe 💀
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Some would say you are the finest angel there is to offer. Nuns start their pilgrimage, chasing to be a part of your divine counterparts. Afterall, God makes sure temptation never finds you. Eve is a mistake and you are such no mistake. However, temptation’s roots reach far and deep. A soul born without temptation will eventually yearn for it instead. That is why you are painting so heavenly under Lucifer, deep in pleasure and the endless selfish desire for more. Your hands struggle to grip his back as you feel reality turns into pure bliss. Heaven is nothing compared to this. You silently think to yourself. Curiosity kills a cat they say. Your curiosity, however, is a delight. You’d be a liar if you said this wasn't extreme happiness you're experiencing. Suddenly, you feel your ecstasy slowly leaving your body until emptiness is all that is left. You let out a disappointed whine and pull Lucifer closer.
I think this is enough for today, angel.
Despite having said that, he unconsciously draws himself closer to you. You huff in annoyance like a toddler, earning a chuckle from him.
What would your husband think? He coos softly.
You grunt at the mention of Adam.
He can go fuck himself.
Lucifer's eyes widened for a bit. He says with a hint of surprise in his voice:
Didn't know such dirty words can come out of your pretty mouth. Guess God did really slack off, huh?
Sorry… I can't stand him.
You look away in embarrassment. Swearing isn't really your suit. Adam is your only exception. You have always tried to deliver yourself with grace, pious in every step you take. Everyone in Heaven absolutely fawns over that fact. Sweet little naive girl. Imagine their surprise when that same sweet face gets absolutely ruined by the devil himself. The thought only feeds into your attraction to Lucifer further. Your bodies are plushed against each other, both bruised and exhausted.
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crazysaru99 · 2 months ago
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@quitealotofsodapop Au fanarts!
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These are Ye Lin and Shihua from Stone Matriarch, redesigning them a bit to make them look more tropical and we also talked a lot in private with Ash about how their typical clothing worked being based on nature (leaves, vines, shells, leather and skins) and the fabrics saved for special occasions back then.
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@soniclozdplove belongs to these characters.
And I decided to take off Shihua's overalls and Ye Lin's glasses but he still has bad eyesight so he always crashed into a tree...
For example, we talk about the customs of the Yao monkeys, who have customs similar to those of the stone monkeys due to the cultural syncretism they had after the great flood; an example of this is that infants do not usually wear clothes or ornaments because they will be too small for them when they grow up, so in their late childhood they will begin to wear clothes, as a rite of maturation.
A case we can see is Brother & Sister monkey'' who just went through this stage.
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My draw for they!!
Once the monkeys reach adulthood, they begin to use their characteristic makeup. Each makeup of the Yao or stone monkey is unique and is something that identifies them as an individual.
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A young monkey king arriving for the first time to human civilization.
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My redesing of Rin rin based @littledoodles501 and @/journey-to-the-au
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The current typical clothing of Wukong and Macaque of the island, Macaque was based on Liu'er from Meihouwan 2009 only that here it is a complete cloth that wraps him and his scarf, and Wukong uses his characteristic cape and the phoenix crown.
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I love that we all agree that Wukong wears turquoise eyeliner jfisabdoia
And all the talk came to derive in the way the clothes of the monkeys evolved throughout the centuries by the human contact, the monkeys currently conserve their traditional way of dressing adding fabrics to complement it as ponchos or bibs, even using underwear in the loincloths, because the current generations are more modest and those who live in the cities use modern clothes for the obvious, but they never give up their makeup since it is their identity.
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And well all this evolved into how the monkeys will celebrate their typical festivals, an example of this would be the monkeys of Huaguoshan celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival that happened recently; we came up with a plot in which the MKCrew were invited to celebrate the festival by Wukong on the island, for which the monkeys go on a pilgrimage to celebrate the festival… only there was a small detail… Wukong didn't think of mentioning the clothes of the locals (Or rather, he didn't tell them the way they dress because he is aware that their typical clothes are very… let's say different…) and they will feel very out of place because they are all dressed in a traditional Chinese way, they would be like:
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And then the Stalwarts save their backs by saying why Wukong told them, let's say that each one began to wear more typical clothes (Pigsy would be the most modest but would agree to wear makeup and an accessory) and while Tang… Tang would personify the phrase ''when in Rome, do as the Romans do''.
Sometimes Nezha, when he could escape from his duties, would go to celebrate on the island, and Chenxiang would also be around the area…
The origin of the monkeys celebrating the festival is because of a Macaque infant who is originally from the moon and came here to live with his own kind. Feeling bad about leaving his sister, with the help of some infants Wukong and Stalwarts, he made mooncakes to console her. And also one that Macaque is the king's consort.
During the day, people would play games, serve fruits and bugs; to pass the time, there was also a lantern-making contest that Wukong used to win every year when he was an infant; In which MK and Mei got very competitive, but they didn't win because they were poorly made so the rest of the monkeys had to help make them for the evening…
Once dusk comes everyone stands on the seashore to wait for the sun to set and once this happens they start to launch their lanterns; the first to do so is the King who always has his peach-shaped lantern and once it rises everyone starts to raise theirs…
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Once the lanterns have gone everyone shares the table, which is outdoors like a picnic, where the famous moon cakes are eaten, in the MKCrew area there are Wukong, Macaque, Nezha and Chenxiang if they are there; Pigsy brings many homemade moon cakes because he is aware of the New Year anecdote; But you will be surprised that Wukong also cooked mooncakes and they are not made of hair (In my headcanon Wukong has many hobbies that he developed over the centuries and one of them is cooking and he was the one who taught Bajie to cook <3)
Chenxiang: Sifu missed your cooking! *Takes a cake* MK: *Memories of Vietnam* ummm… you're going to eat that…? Chenxiang: … Yes *breaks it in half and surprisingly it doesn't disintegrate into hair, puts it in him mouth* MK: *glares at Wukong* Wukong, guilty look: I panicked because my kitchen was dirty
Lo juro este mono tiene un desorden alimenticio...
So Pigsy now confirmed that Wukong's cakes are not hair, is curious about the king's ''kitchen'' so he tries one with caution and…
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MK: PIGSY!!!??? Mei: I think I've killed him…
Pigsy begs for the recipe Wukong is confused since he's been making them the same way for centuries.
Sometimes if you receive food from Wukong, you're either eating literal hair or a piece of heaven...
MKCrew also finds out that Macaque is Chang'e's brother because he himself told how Huaguosha started celebrating this party.
MK: Dude!! We could have taken you to see her if you weren't trying to capture us for Lady Bone Demon Wukong: Maybe we will go visit her another time… without something happening that is the end of the world… *Looks at macaque*
Macaque is definitely visiting after the events of S5...
Then, once dinner is over and they have admired the moon, some monkeys will go to put their children to bed or go to sleep, other people will go to parties around the island drinking liquor made from pickled fruits. So Wukong invites them to spend the night. Normally they expect to sleep in the king's cabin, but he passes them by and goes into the depths of the cave until he reaches a mythical and enigmatic…
The stone palace…
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From: El origen de GOKU - Destripando la Historia
hermano lo juro esta es la unica imagen que he encontrado del palacio de piedra del rey mono...
Wukong: "I thought you guys knew about this place?" MK: Normally we are in your cabin *His eyes shine*
Wukong used to live in his palace, but after what happened with Macaque… he decided to leave the place, he didn't want to be in a place where everything reminded him of him and he built his characteristic cabin...
Wukong's cabin is for him only. Palace has many beds for dear guests and subjects.
And the mid-autumn festival ends the next day with a great banquet for everyone in the palace, in which Wukong makes sure that everyone is satiated and sober… above all, recovered from their hangover, so that their subjects can return safely to the colony.
And if you have noticed the absence of the Bull Demon family is because Wukong did not know if he should invite the Bull Demon family to the festival, they are currently in a tentative alliance and went to the beach day more because they were celebrating that they managed to save the world; but he knew that they would reject the invitation for what he has done… So he did not invite them even though he wanted to celebrate with them too (I have not seen season 5, I do not know if they are on good terms now)
So as in every year he always sends them some homemade mooncakes… He just hopes that this time they are not in the trash…
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hunters-vigil · 2 months ago
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The Archon's Baby - Chapter 1 - Not Getting Better
Next Chapter
request from ao3: Make one where they have a child but the female character doesn't tell Mavuika that she is expecting a child and distances herself from Mavuika please 🙏🙏
content warnings: pregnancy, pregnant!reader, vomit, no smut, possible character death, 5.0 and 5.1 genshin spoilers, starts pre-5.0
Fic under the cut, don't repost my stuff on other platforms, i have ao3. Reader is not the traveller. Reader's adoptive sisters are Chasca and Chuychu but Reader might not be from Natlan - who knows?
Originally, you thought it was some form of abyss corruption, or even food poisoning causing you to be so unwell. It started so sudden, but you could also blame your sister's cooking…
The fatigue was annoying, but the nausea? Even if you wanted to hide it, you couldn't. Mavuika was hurrying over to you the morning it began and each morning since then, finding you sitting on the floor next to the toilet.
"You were uninjured against the abyss during the attack the other day…" Mavuika's fingers hooked under your chin, looking over your face for any signs of abyssal corruption. She had done this every morning, finding nothing but a tiredness in your eyes and your skin clammy.
"Chuychu checked me over after that attack, any abyssal corruption would have been dealt with then… probably just food poisoning or something…" you leaned into her touch as she helped you back to bed.
"Still…" Mavuika frowned, wishing she could stay with you today, but she was busy due to the upcoming Pilgrimage. As the archon, she would need to attend. It wasn't often she had a lot of time for you, but you two made as much time as you could for each other…
"You should see what Chuychu thinks. You're not getting any better, and I'm worried." Mavuika sighed as she gently brushed your cheek with her thumb.
"I haven't told anyone about us…" you confessed, sitting up carefully to try avoid the nausea getting any worse, "have you?"
"Not when you're not ready, and that's okay. We can tell people when you're ready. I have a meeting with Citlali, so I'll see you later?" your lover asked, pressing a kiss to your forehead as you hummed.
You remained there as you watched her head out before anyone else was awake, before anyone knew she had stayed over in your bed, instead of her own.
You weren't sure how anyone would react to you dating the pyro archon. Mavuika was human, but still, she was Natlan's archon first, your relationship with her came second. Plus, the two who had become your sisters… they would be in for a shock.
///
Eventually, you got ready for the day. You had to meet your sister to head out to the Stadium of the Scared Flame together, but the nausea was rearing its angry head.
"Okay, what's going on?" Chasca frowned in concern, wrapping her arm around you as you leaned into her with a grimace.
"Just feel like crap. Have you seen Chuychu today?" closing your eyes to try focus on your breathing, your sister guided you over to a rock to sit down. The two of you were supposed to be at the stadium now to sort things out for the upcoming Pilgrimage.
"Let's get you to her for a check-up, you look like you're about to-" Chasca was cut off as by your retching, "too late…" she muttered, rubbing circles in your back to soothe you.
"Do you think she'll yell at me?" you whispered as your sister helped you walk towards the stadium, where your other sister should be, doing her own prep for the Pilgrimage.
"Yell at you? For food poisoning, or the flu, or whatever you have? It doesn't seem like abyssal corruption but… she shouldn't yell at you for that, only for not going to her sooner." Chasca replied, holding back her smile as you groaned. You hated when Chuychu argued with either of you.
///
"What are you two doing here?" Chuychu raised an eyebrow as she found the two of you sat outside of the stadium, your head in Chasca's lap as she drew patterns in your scalp.
"Hi…" you opened your eyes briefly to acknowledge your sister.
"I think a check-up is needed…" Chasca admitted, gesturing to you but the fatigue was beginning to get the better of you as you let out a soft yawn.
"Let's go inside. Can you stand?" Chuychu's face softened immediately, moving to assist Chasca to get you inside.
///
"So, we can rule out abyssal contamination but I still have some questions for you, but first… Chasca, do you have to stand over there watching us like a hawk?" Chuychu sighed, gesturing for Chasca to sit with you instead of watching from the corner.
"If its not abyssal contamination, isn't it just food poisoning or the flu- it's nothing serious, right Chuychu?" Chasca asked, taking a seat next to you as you sipped the water you had been given.
"Your symptoms are similar to food poisoning, but… how long did you say you've been feeling like this?" Chuychu enquired, frowning to herself as she began to put the pieces together.
"I don't know, more than four days… maybe a week? I don't really remember…" you trailed off, feeling your sister tense next to you as you bit your lip. Mavuika would remember, but she wasn't here. She couldn't be, even if she wasn't busy, it would be too suspicious.
"You've been sick for a week and we're just hearing about this now? You really are the limit sometimes…" Chuychu huffed, but you didn't respond, avoiding her gaze like a scolded child.
"I don't know, sometimes I'd just feel rubbish in the morning but feel better later." You tried to defend yourself, but in the end, it led your sisters to more questions.
"In the morning…" Chasca frowned, looking at you with a careful eye that had you shifting uncomfortably.
"Okay… that explains a lot…" Chuychu nodded, observing you a little longer before she spoke, "now for the tough questions. When was your last period?"
"Why?"
"Now is not the time to get defensive…" Chasca replied to your sharp tone.
"Is there any chance you could be pregnant?" Chuychu waited, but your sisters voices shifted into a high pitched ringing...
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juletheghoul · 2 years ago
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the morning after
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Gif by @pedropascalsx
Authors note: Joel has consumed me (much like everyone!) and I couldn't help but write more for these two. Hope you enjoy more Neighbour!Joel (Thanks to my bestie @wheresarizona for encouraging me and to my literal wife @foli_vora for being the best)
Read part 1 here
Pairing: Young Joel Miller x F!Reader
Word count: 1.2k
Warnings: 18+ no minors, piv sex, dirty talk, creampie, fluff, flirty Joel which I think needs it own warning- let me know if I missed any!
Masterlist Series Masterlist next chapter
———
It's his alarm that wakes you both, you hadn't even realized you'd fallen asleep,
You yawn, a full body stretch around the strong wall of him behind you. You know he hadn’t meant to stay the night, but at some point the pillow talk had lulled, the warmth of him, the softness of you—neither of you stood a chance. He sighed from behind you, shutting his phone off with a groan.
“Morning neighbour.” You settle back into a comfortable position, enjoying the feeling of him caged around you.
“Mmm.” He moves with you, his hand running along the soft skin of your belly, his nose skimming along the curve of your shoulder. “Mornin’ sugar.” He presses a kiss to your skin and you can’t help but scoot back, press yourself as close as you can.
You feel it then, the hard line of his cock against the curve of your ass, sending a bolt of arousal through you.
“I gotta go baby, Sarah will be up soon, and Tommy will be up my ass soon.” Even as he says the words, his hand sweeps up from your belly, to your breast, your nipple hardening almost painfully in his palm. You pout to yourself.
“Stop teasing me then.” You arch into his touch, relishing his warmth. “You want some coffee before you go?” You resign yourself to move but he tightens his hold, rolls you onto your back and slots his hips between your thighs.
“On second thought, I think I got time.” He presses kisses to your chest, his mouth on a pilgrimage from one shoulder to the other. Your hands find the smooth skin of his ribs, on a trip of their own to map out every inch of him you can reach.
You sigh, the sound content, it’s so lovely to have him here filling up the space in your bed and between your legs.
“Time to tease? Or time to fuck me before you leave?” You roll your hips against him, arousal flowing and he groans to feel himself slotted between the lips of your sex.
“You’re gonna be the death of me woman.” He surges up to capture your mouth in a hungry kiss, his arms bracketing the sides of your head as your legs bracket his hips. His tongue dances with yours, rocketing the arousal up, into the stratosphere. He makes you feel like a teenager again, heart racing, breathless excitement.
He moves to kiss your neck, trailing his lips down until his teeth tug at your nipple and you reward him with a gasp. He soothes the delicious pinch with his tongue, ruthless with the sensitive bud, and then the other until you whine.
His eyes find yours, lively and dark and full of want.
“I have to make sure you’re wet enough to take me.” He uses his teeth again and you gasp, again he soothes. “Make sure that perfect little cunt can handle my big dick.” You pull him up, needing to taste his mouth again.
It’s all teeth and tongues, gentle and not so gentle bites to each other's lips until you feel him reach down, slot himself at the mouth of your cunt and slide in tauntingly slow, soothing the ache of emptiness.
Your cunt flutters around the stretch of him, the wet suck of it keeping him inside while he takes a breath.
“Jesus christ woman,” He sounds wrecked, forehead pressed against your cheek. “So fucking wet, so tight, gonna finish this party before we even start.” You laugh, breathless.
“Feels so fucking good Joel–I just want you here all day.” You clench around him and the groan he lets out is filthy.
“Don’t tempt me, woman, I have responsibilities.” His thrusts are lazy, unhurried and they make your mind blank. “Much as I want to stay right here.” He punctuates his words with a harder punch of his hips, it makes you cry out. “You’d like that wouldn’t you sugar, my cock buried nice and deep all day.” He lifts his head to look down where you’re joined and he moans, you know he can see himself, all glossy and slick with you.
“Yes, yes, harder–oh–” He braced himself, and quickened his pace, a wet obscene sound fills the space and it’s getting harder and harder to form a coherent thought.
“Fuck, fuck you feel so fucking good, I’m gonna come soon baby, I need you to come first.” His tone has lost its playfulness, replaced with an urgency that gives credence to his words.
You reach down and circle your fingers around your clit and that familiar heat blooms in your spine, in your breasts and in your belly. He dips his head and takes a nipple into his mouth and you burst. A shudder rolls through your body, the pleasure a wave cresting across every inch of you and it pulls him right down with you.
He comes with a cry, burying himself as deep as he can, grinding his come into the very heart of you.
“Jesus.” The word is a pant against your skin, his face is shiny with exertion, so beautiful in the golden light of the early morning. “What a way to start the day.” You laugh, giddy with joy and pleasure and he’s not wrong.
“Give me a second to catch my breath and I’ll make us some coffee.” You hold onto his face in both your hands, covering it in kisses and he smiles so wide the dimple is on full display.
“You’re gonna spoil me.”
“Only if you let me.” You keep kissing him, wrapping your arms around his neck to keep him pressed up tight.
“Oh I’m fixin’ to let you.” His beard is scratchy, it tickles when he buries his face into the crook of your neck and you can’t help but laugh, lost in the euphoria of his affection until his phone trills again.
“Fuck–What time is it? Yes baby girl,” He answers the phone, panicking now, suppressing a hiss when he pulls out and away. “Oh god, okay okay, give me a few minutes and I’ll be right there. Tell uncle Tommy to hold his horses. Did you eat breakfast?” He’s pacing around the room, collecting different articles of clothing while you put on some clothes. “Okay see you in a minute.”
He puts on his t-shirt and opens the door to your bedroom, nearly tripping over Tucker where he lays on the floor. “Christ, sorry boy–” You both make your way down and he all but runs towards the door before turning to find you behind him. “Sorry for runnin’ out like this, can I see you later?” His hand finds your lower back, pulling you in for a quick kiss.
“Of course, I’ll be here.” You pull him down for another quick kiss and then he’s gone.
You hear him apologizing to his daughter, she’s standing on the porch, a very amused smile on her face when she tells him his shirt is on inside out. You close the door with a smile, and set about getting ready for the day.
-
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darkdevasofdestruction · 1 year ago
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Being in a relationship with Enki Ankarian...
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Being born with the Enlightened Soul, Enki was cursed and blessed with a restless need to constantly seek for new knowledge and secrets hidden away from the massive community of common folk. Such a trait had started manifesting within him at a very young age, as he was chosen to become a Dark Priest upon his and his twin sister’s birth. 
Despite their rather close relationship, they were pitted against each other, typical to such occult rites, and had to fight to death with ritual daggers. Unfortunately for him, Enki was born with a frail body, that only remained fragile due to his extensive overindulging in studying, and lack of going outside or doing any kind of physical activities - Thus, his sister easily overpowered him, her dagger on his neck, waiting for the final blow.
She, however, showed mercy that he was incapable of, and withdrew her dagger, stepping away, as the high priest masters glared gleefully at the ridiculously pitiful event unfolding before their very eyes.
Unable to accept defeat, Enki rose from the ground, as soon as his sister’s back was carelessly turned to him, and he stroke his dagger to her spine, watching with cold, empty eyes as she collapsed to the ground. The high priests seemed especially pleased with this and prepared for his ascension ceremony, where he resurrected his deceased sister into a ghoul, using the newly acquired skill of Necromancy. 
The cold, blank corpse of his sister brought a smile of satisfaction and accomplishment on his otherwise emotionless, pale face. 
After his ascension to Dark Priesthood, he left the temple grounds to learn occult on his own, in a dark pilgrimage. He began praying to Gro-Goroth as he began dedicating his studies to the knowledge of Old-Gods.
Enki travelled across the Western continent, learning about different Gods, deities, blood magic and all known sciences. His studies didn’t come without their merit, as he was rightfully acknowledged by the top scholars of modern times, being granted a pass to the great libraries of the Kingdom of Rondon, having the collection of all known history and science at his grasp. 
During his intensive research, drowning in a copious amount of piles of books and paintings, swimming in an endless ocean of knowledge, when suddenly, he felt compelled to raise his head, for a single split second - But that was enough to feast his eyes on the radiant presence of a woman that seemed to glow with such an aura that was unfamiliar to Enki.
For some reason, this human made Enki want to approach her, to delight himself with that Sun-like warmth and gentleness, and never let go. His brain had gone hay-wire for that exact single second, and he imagined her Ascension, defeating even Alll-mer in influence and radiance, for she would be worthy of worship far and wide, a single Goddess above them all, be them New or Old alike.
Ha! What a fool he’s been, allowing himself to fall prey to a woman’s charm, as if he is alike any of those petty mundane wretches, much beneath them. Surely, there was nothing that she had, except for a pretty face, and long soft locks, and a dress so beautiful and embellished with rich ornaments and golden thread embroidery... And there he goes again, losing time with meaningless thoughts!
O, and how he wished she would stop living rent-free inside his head, just so he could return to his endless studying already... Alas, that woman was gracefully sitting on a velvety chair by the dimly lit window, adopting a relaxed yet incredibly elegant pose as she began reading some kind of large, dusty tome, so old that it was almost ripping apart at the seams.
Such negligence - She might her slender, delicate fingers, but surely, there was no way an uneducated idiot like herself would be able to handle such a frail book!
Fuming, he didn’t quite realise he came up with an unlikely scenario, just to have a reason to march up in front of the beauty and speak to her - Surely, if he was to approach her with his usual misanthropy, she would be compelled to hate him and would avoid him at all costs - What a brilliant plan!
“What do you think you’re doing, you brain dead vermin?! Books like this one are supposed to be handled with intensive care!” in his makeshift rage, he tried to look away from that adorably confused face of hers, or those glowing doe eyes, looking up into his dead eyes with such radiant vitality. He grabbed at her hands, and almost shivered lightly at how soft and soft they were, compared to his skeletal-like cold and clammy ones.
“Oh, forgive me, Sir, I meant no harm.” her voice was so princess-like, compared to his gruff voice, rough from lack of speaking, that he almost felt his whole body caressed with honeyed mead. “You see, I often come to these libraries and rehabilitate old tomes like this one. I either sew protective covers over them, or try to re-write them, so that more copies would be available for people to read. There have been numerous cases of books being destroyed or going missing, and there was no way of retrieving the lost knowledge.” that sweet smile applied some colour to his otherwise ghost-white face, and for the first time in his life, Enki felt his heart pounding in his chest, harder than that time when his sister almost killed him.
Slowly, Enki let go of her hands and peered down at the book’s covers - Indeed, the seaming was freshly done, and the gold thread was adequately holding together the hardboiled leather. Even the inscription of the title was masterfully done, so much so that he found no defect to complain about or scold her for. Which meant, he also had no other reason to keep in contact or speak with this woman - So what was he supposed to do?! He had no clue how to react in such a difficult social dilemma.
“I am glad that there are more attentive people like yourself, with a genuinely love for knowledge and books!” she chirped softly, radiating with kindness and warmth. “If there were more people like yourself, it would be so much easier to preserve all this precious fountain of knowledge and allow a wider range of people to access it.” “You’re delusional.” contrary to what he was truly thinking, Enki grumbled under his breath, the corner of his mouth turning upwards in a disgusted sneer. “You wouldn’t be the first to call me that!” her giggle seemed as tender as an angel’s embrace. “It’s quite alright though! I just do what I like to do, and if people can benefit from my work, then all the best!” he was speechless, from a variety of reasons. “Are you quite alright, Sir? You seem unusually pale. Are you feeling ill?” at the same time that the beauty reached out her hands to cup his cold face and feel him up, Enki’s eyes widened like a dead fish’s, and he violently retracted away from her touch, as though he was terrified of getting burnt by her Sun-like warmth. Not only that, but the tome from her lap fell to the ground with a thud and a large cloud of dust, which ultimately made them both cough. “I’m fine. Mind your own business, woman.” he grunted in between coughs, crouching down to get the book - Only to feel her hand underneath his own - Was it fate, that such a continuous string of intimate coincidences keep happening? Was he supposed to meet her? Was there truly a red string of destiny wrapped around them both, pulling them together? “Oh, forgive me, Sir.” she smiled softly at him, waiting for him to remove his larger hand from on top of hers. He didn’t, captivated and lost in her eyes. “You may take the book at home for studying, if you’d like. I can guarantee for you. You seem like a man who truly treasures knowledge and books.” “Stop calling me Sir, it’s annoying. Enki Ankarian.” he grumbled, snatching away his hand from over hers, before cradling the tome to his chest, as though it’s his most cherished possession.  “It is lovely meeting you, Mr. Ankarian.” the glare she received made her offer a sheepish grin. “Uh... Mr. Enki?” the glare got harsher. “Enki...?” his glare dissipated, replaced once again by a blank stare, and a weird sense of relief and content washed over him. “My name is Y/N. You must be having an Enlightened Soul, right?” Enki rose a questioning eyebrow - Was it truly that evident, even to somehow he just met for the first time? Still, he grunted a positive answer. “No wonder - Then, I have all the more reason to trust you with borrowing books from our library.” Enki couldn’t help but pick up on the odd choice of a possessive pronoun. “Good to know.” he mumbled under his breath. “Whose library is it?” “Loosely speaking, it belongs to the Kingdom of Rondon, but it was my family who founded it, long ago, and we’ve kept taking care of it, having scholars, maesters and priests over, leaving imprints of their knowledge here and what not.” the way she was speaking of her family and the library seemed to make her exceedingly proud and happy. “Do you have a Radiating Soul or what?!” Enki found himself blurting out without as much as any bit of consideration or a normal, social filter. But the woman before him didn’t seem to mind it, nor was she seemingly bothered by it at all. For a delicate damsel like herself, she seemed to be tanking his brashness and rudeness with an impenetrable shield of white light. “Oh, yes, you are correct! As expected of someone bright like yourself!” she seemed to be bubbling over with glee. No wonder he was immediately attracted to her, from the second she entered the room. People like her were born to have tons of people flocking around her like moths to the flame. How annoying.
Enki couldn’t help but glare at the woman before him, smiling so brightly, as though she’s never even heard of the horrors of the world, let alone experience them; A creature so pure, that the glimmers of hope sparkle all around them. This woman was the perfect opposite of him, so much so that he almost felt afraid of being anywhere near her. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? Such a situation went much over the parameters of his abilities and skills. 
“Will I see you around tomorrow also?” Enki’s breath hitched in his throat and his heart stopped beating, as soon as he heard that God forsaken question. “I have to return the book, don’t I?” he found himself successfully grunting a satisfactory answer. “Wonderful!” she chimed happily. “Then, it is time for me to return home and bake some cookies!” with his eyes bulging out of his sockets, and his jaw slightly agape, Enki felt his throat dry, wondering - What the hell has he gotten himself into?
From then on, almost on a daily basis, Enki would spent day in and day out at the libraries of Rondon, accompanied by that annoyingly beautiful woman, who captured his dead heart in such a weird way. 
You would bring over trays of snacks and cookies she made, along with tea, coffee, with small recipients with milk and honey for sweetening - Of course, you would drink the sweetest beverages, whilst he liked them black and bitter - And he has to admit, everything you made, was out of this world delicious.
His skin even started getting some colour, and his body wasn’t as skeletal-skinny, due to being unconsciously taken care of, to the point that you even invited him over at your rather lavish house, where he’d eventually move in, without much protest.
Years later, he still isn’t quite sure how the hell did he end up moving in so quickly and effortlessly - It all felt incredibly natural, and he didn’t even realise what had happened, until it was too late, and he had slept over in his own dormitory for over a month. It was a comfortable life he was living, with no restrictions about studying, nor the need to work ; Though, in a way, he did feel as though he was taking advantage of your kindness, which irked him enough into thinking of way to compensate you in some way.
Realising there was nothing that he owned, which he could offer you, he proposed to teach you offensive magic. He knew well enough that you were safe and sound in Rondon, and you were well versed in the healing arts to begin with, but there comes no harm in having ways to defend yourself, correct? His sister should have been taught that lesson sooner.
With unexpected patience, Enki would put you closer to him on the sofa, with a book on his lap and an arm around your waist, reading to you whatever he was interested in at that moment, and would explain everything in great detail, making sure you understand everything there is of interest about that said topic.
And when it comes to practicing blood magic of any kind, he will have you practicing, in a safe environment, on wooden dummies. Hell, he was impressed by how easily you picked up on his teachings, that he even muttered out a bit of praise! Wonderous achievement!
Enki finds great comfort in brushing your hair, and would take all the time in the world just playing with those soft locks, even idly braiding it or twisting it around, as a means of relaxing or de-stressing.
At some point, during the hotter times of the year, he would begrudgingly allow you to also braid his hair and style it in a bun - You wear the same hairstyles more often than not - Mostly at home though, where there’s no one else to see.
When he gets frustrated, he would absent-mindedly doodle random runes or symbols all over your hand or arm, before going out into the cold rain to cool himself and start over whatever he project he was working on.
Though he always hisses like a cat, he loves it when you kiss his cheeks or forehead whenever you pass by his study desk. He loves your touch more than he’d like to admit, and he loves the way your plump, soft lips feel against his own, capable of pulling him out of this world - But what he loves more than anything, is how small you feel in his embrace, as you cuddle or hug - There is no words being said, only swimming in the love and bliss, feeling each other’s heartbeat, reveling in each other’s warmth.
When you get intimate, he’ll always stay above you, cradling your head and peppering your face with tons of lingering kisses, going down to your jaw and neck. Every sound you make, every twitch of your body, only drive him crazy. He’ll take his time with you, slow and steady, long strokes, until you see stars before your eyes, and him in the center of your world. If you try to look away as you climax, he’ll lightly tug on your hair, inching your face to make you look at him and only him as you come undone in his arms.
He might not admit to it, and he’ll never ever admit to it, not even to himself, but he loves you as much as he loves studying. On the days you’re going out together, strolling through the busy cobbled streets of Rondon, he will keep his arm around your waist, glaring at anyone who’d dare look at you - And with your Radiant Soul, there were plenty of people attracted to you. No one could get anywhere close to his little angel.
Though he found himself happiest and most comfortable living with you, his studies were never neglected, to the point that he found himself despairing for having nothing more that he can learn - This empty husk, limited to the Earthly, can only get him so far. He had reached the limits of any human can achieve, and all because of his Enlightened Soul, he was unable to find any means of keeping himself under control. He was going crazy, and there was nothing even you could do, even suggesting going traveling abroad, that could calm him down from his insanity.
There was no satisfaction, nor fulfilment that he could get. He allowed the Dark Priests to crucify him on the statue, naked, in the middle of the city, ready to be taken to the other world by Alll-mer. There was no silver lining waiting at the end; The purpose of all humans was to liver under the cold sun that the Gods have set above them all. 
Just as the Priests were ready to sacrifice him, Enki saw a vision - He wasn’t sure if it was your desperate visage that gave him new thirst for living, guilty of breaking your heart, or that mysterious thing flashing in the corner of his eyes - Whichever the case, he understood his new purpose, and was ready to start anew, to flip a new chapter in this agonising life.
Once the Priests brought him down, you immediately ran up to him, wrapping him up in a blanket to keep his cold, clammy skin warm. You were ready to bring him home, cook him a warm meal, bring him a hot tea - But he was far too excited about this new prophecy that he was shown, this revelation that foretold a man meant for greatness, who will begin a new era for mankind - Why would he share the spotlight of the Gods with any mortal man, anyway?
Prophecies are only for those who are weak enough to bend to their sorry fates. Enki was hell-bent on finding this man and learning more about him and this so-called destiny of his. As far as he’s aware, this man is imprisoned in the notorious dungeons of Fear and Hunger.
He knew this was it - The stairway to his Enlightenment, and he was dead set on discovering all the ancient secrets that this stronghold kept, all to reach the ultimate understanding of the greater scheme of things.
No matter how much he wished to keep you at home and promise you that he’ll return in time for dinner, he couldn’t. Not only was it impossible for him to lie to you like that, but he was also unable of stopping you from joining him, no matter how many times he warned you that he might not be able to keep you safe during this mess of a quest, or even as much as say with certainty that neither of you will die. Still, you were persistent, and though you felt your body shivering with fear as soon as you reached the courtyard to the two entrances, you still didn’t back down - You were going to stay by his side, through thick and thin.
From the very second that you got in front of the dungeons, he could see your body trembling softly with fear, from the sheer malevolent and suffocating pressure that it emanated. Enki was unable of reassuring you with words, but he held your hand, guiding you blindly through the intricate hallways of the labyrinthine dungeon, though he had no idea where exactly he had to go. The only thing he knew was that he had to find Le’Garde somewhere deep underneath the dungeons, in the prison levels... Probably.
As torches would go out far too quickly, leaving you to stumble blindly through the place, you used a simple magic spell to create a ball of light in your palm.
In a place as decrepit and plagued such as the Fear and Hunger dungeon, even your Radiating Soul seemed to be greying and fading tragically.
It was thanks to Enki’s level-headed and composed self that you could feel relatively safe. That, and his almost unsettling Necromancy skill, which aided him in creating a small army of ghouls and skeletons to aid your journey to success.
The two of you first encountered an enormous prison guard, with rather disproportionate genitals, ready to tackle you and destroy you entirely. You were absolutely terrified, stunned and rooted to the spot - Thankfully, the Dark Priest and his powerful dark magic were able to quickly massacre the foe.
To calm you down, Enki cupped your face and planted a soft kiss on your forehead, whispering loving words until he could feel your bode relaxing under his touch, ready to go on with your long and perilous journey.
You scavenged various crates and barrels, finding food, armors and weapons useful for the future, though the two of you still relied on your own powerful magic, and the cannon fodder dead as meat shields.
You killed two dark priests, taking their soul stones and purifying talismans, sacrificing a man and raising affinity with Gro-Goroth, before unsealing the magic door using Counter-Magic and venturing inside where they found a Hexen and learnt Greater blood magic.
In one of the libraries, there weren’t all that many books of interest. Somewhere further along, you found a ritualistic circle painted on the ground with blood, over a carved up symbol of Gro-Goroth. You looked up at Enki, confused, as he studied the book on the pedestal closely.
“Gor-Goroth requires a sacrifice, doesn’t he? And Sylvian wants love. Alll-mer wants prayer, doesn’t he? What are we supposed to do?” you ask, looking down at the intricate circle. “Nothing. I’ll do a quick prayer for the God of Destruction, but nothing more. Get out of that circle right now, I don’t want to risk your safety.” he ushered you away quickly as he prayed, and took you out of that place immediately.
On a book shelf, somewhere up, beyond your reach, Enki found the renowned Necronomicon. With trembling hands and deep excitement, he dares to read the Black Book, and even learns the Black Orb spell. This new-found knowledge only seemed to further excite the Dark Priest, so much so that he smirked with deep triumph.
Probably one of the worst parts of the journey was traversing through the Blood-Flesh pit to get to the prisons and activate the elevator for the ground levels; Honestly, how in the world could such a disgusting thing exist, anyway? Everything was so fleshy, squishy, juicy and revolting, it made your skin crawl.
Out in the courtyard, you found a massive statue of Alll-mer, to which you begrudgingly prayed to, but funny enough, somewhere to the left of the courtyard, a huge orgy was taking place, with a bunch of naked people wearing only bunny masks. They were in a trance-like state, and the act seemed rather painful for the submissive one; It was absolutely terrifying to watch, especially as none were letting out a single noise. It seemed that love for the sake of Sylvian had completely gone corrupted. Seeing how uncomfortable it made you, Enki grabbed your wrist and took you away from there without another word. No Godly Affinity was worth your discomfort.
The next location you went to was the Mines, where you noticed a presence that didn’t seem to indicate any kind of malice. Though Enki was a little more weary, as he felt responsible for your well-being, you found yourself encouraged to step forward and introduce yourself. This man looked very similar to Enki, with long and well-kept hair, pale skin, and a dust-grey priest robe. There was something about his soul also, something familiar, that made you feel you could trust this man called Nosramus.
He, also, had an Enlightened Soul. No wonder you felt at ease in his presence. Enki, also, seemed to be feeling the same way. Nosramus revealed he is an alchemist and he lives in this God-Forsaken place. Unfortunately, he had to run away, as he had forgotten his kettle on. What a shame.
Stumbling around blindly through the mines, you had to battle a rather hostile Yellow Mage, though with some rather cunning talk from Enki, he retriever a rather interesting Talisman, before killing that ridiculous dancing foe.
After defeating the Salmonsnake and a ton of ghosts, passing by the cannibal orgy dedicated to Gro-Goroth, Enki summons a portal passage towards the bridge to Ma’habre, pulling you in with him along the ancient city. Somewhere up in the sky, you could see the ghostly silhouette of the four New Gods, who disappeared one by one, but not before a promise of reunion. You were sent back to the mines after that. What a peculiar manifestation of magic!
You went through a whole city of inoffensive yet rather creepy cave-dwellers before finding your way to attack a huge, armoured Knight and its phantasmal counterpart which blocked the path towards Nosramus’ laboratory. He seemed to greet you with open arms and a genuine smile on his face.
Enki asked him what his studies consisted in, and he claims he studies just about all fields of knowledge, like a true renaissance man would, like blood magic, deities, gods and what not, though now he’s most interested in nature and the heartbeat of the earth. Enki smirked a little, realising that such interest aligns with your own. He seemed rather light-hearted and jovial, joking around about having been around for an eternity, and that this dungeon is vital for his studies. Though, when asked about this particular man, he seemed vague, though he confirmed he must be a few floors below them, and they should hurry.
Emboldened by his affirmation, they returned to the Cave-Dwellers’ village and searched around for clues, until they found a rather intricate and particular artifact in the form of a cube. It was the Cube of the Depths. Unfortunately, as soon as they grabbed it, the otherwise peaceful Cave-Dwellers became hostile and started attacking them once spotted. What a shame.
Once escaped, they found themselves deep inside a rather terrifying thicket, chased around by poisoned mumblers, though here, they found a weird, large, bulbous thing like a chist, pulsating and throbbing. They destroyed it immediately, before going down a hole in the ground, reaching the Level 7 Catacombs and finding another such thing.
Unfortunately, just down that corridor, they found the prison cell where the Man of the Prophecy was being shackled. He was already long dead. They were much too late. They failed the task they set out to. How annoying.
Looking at each other, you and Enki exited the prison cell hand in hand, looking down in disappointment - There was no reason for you to be there anymore, was it? Alas, Enki’s path to Enlightenment was shattered in front of him. Mumbling a few curses, he was deaf to the sound of footsteps approaching. “Nosramus!” Enki was brought back to reality by your sweet voice gasping out the alchemist’s name.
The man seemed to have already guessed the one called Le’Garde was long dead. He must have thought he’d have had a much bigger role in the greater scheme of things, but apparently, not so much. Still, the seed of what he planted continues to grow and branch. Nosramus encouraged you to venture further into the darkness and figure out this enigmatic riddle for yourselves. With you thirst for success, Enki dragged you to a large stone gate, engraved with a variety of runes. He brought out the Cube, and the doors opened, to the Tomb of the Gods. Fantastic! This area looks to be from the distant past, how intriguing!
The Priest rushed with you through the many corridors of the Tomb, until you reached the outside; The darkness was hiding away the city, though with your magic, you could get a small glimpse of the odd architecture of this ancient city. It truly was a work of art and historical fountain.
A little unsure of what to do, you reach a Beacon, which seemed to react to the Cube. It grew taller by a few levels, glowing bright green, and suddenly, you and Enki were in Ma’Habre, now illuminated by the bright daylight. The two of you could only stare in shock and wonder at the sight before your eyes - Neither of you ever thought you would witness such a miracle. You were grateful to Nosramus for his guidance. That man knew so much more than he led on.
The Ancient City was wonderous to explore, and it felt almost as though you were sight-seeing, and you were just a newly-married couple enjoying their honeymoon vacation abroad; Though most of the time, you spent in the Grand Library was the most welcomed, as you found so many long-forgotten books to study. Of course, you found yourself stealing a few of them, eager to take them home, restore them, copy them and place them in your own Rondon Library, to benefit other scholars also.
When you were ready to leave the Library, you got attacked by something that you could only call a giant head with its brain out... And uh... An eye that looks awfully phallic.
After guarding from a headbutt and summoning a blood golem, Enki tries talking some sense to the God of Enlightenment... The great Enlightened Valeil became this weird, huge head. Bewildering. Though he didn’t seem to react to his words, a stream of ideas, concepts and questions fill your head.
“Among us... The new Gods... I am Valteil to the Enlightenment as Francois is to the Domination. Who is Torment...?” the voice inside your head asked. At once, Enki answered correctly, mentioning Chambara’s name. The boss took a good amount of damage. Whilst you kept using defensive and healing spells, the undead army kept attacking, allowing Enki safe space to speak and destroy the boss.
“The dark continent... Whence the darkness slowly leaks to the Western World... Where the day only shines... Eternal darkness and grey gloom... What is it called among the people of Europa?” Enki answered correct with his answer of Vinland, causing the Enlightened One a massive headache.
“We, the new Gods... Whilst still walking among men... Our fellowship, when did we embark on our journey to Ascension?” Year 809 was the correct answer, as expected of someone like your remarkable husband. Valteil’s right hemisphere and that ridiculous eye had been destroyed, and then his left hemisphere also. He remained a hallow skull.
“Alll-mer, the Ascended one... The last of the older Gods. What year marks the birth of his new self?” Year 0 was the right answer, of course, and with that, Valteil was defeated. The head of Valteil the Enlightened One falls down to the darkness from where it once rose. The millennia of wisdom and knowledge that is too much for a normal person to bear passes through your heads. You only get glimpses of what is waiting for you on the other side, but this information stream is too much for your mind to handle. Your head hurts, and you feel a little shaken up. You look at Enki, who’s clutching his head also, yet he seems completely ecstatic with the knowledge that something far greater has just started to change.
The cogs of Fear and Hunger have just began to rotate on a larger scale. You got the Enlightened Soul. Enki’s hand squeezed yours, and it was clear, he’s never been more thrilled than with this experience. For a brief second there, he wanted to regret embarking in such a dangerous adventure, yet now, he was pumped up and ready to learn more.
Traversing back through the intricate library, you found Valteil’s mortal body, strung up at the waist with a rope. He seemed absolutely depressed, saying that mankind has no hope, and that ascension was never the right path. Enki admitted he was also on the path of Enlightenment, to which he was warned not to be fooled by power or blinded by the golden throne. One must admit his own mistakes in order to grow, he said. There was, however, one amongst them who was right, though Valteil hadn’t expanded on that, leaving them with more questions than answers.
Enki found an empty scroll, on which he scribbled a request to Alll-mer, to be taught how to walk on water, so you could return back to where you killed the Salmonsnake and reach the other side of the mines. There, you were met with a menacing lizardman, and a bunch of humans strung upside down. They were skinned and mutilated. Seeing your horrified look, Enki held your hand and rushed through the mines, trying to shield your view from the atrocities.
You reached a sealed door, which Enki unlocked with the use of Counter-magic again, and inside, you found none other than Nosramus himself! What a coincidence! He asked about Valteil, somehow sensing they you met him. When Enki told him that he was regretting his past actions, the Alchemist seemed amused and intrigued. It was the first time he had heard about Valteil admitting his mistakes.
“Nosramus, forgive me for asking, but you were friends, weren’t you? You, and all the others.” Nosramus finds himself smiling a little wider hearing you speak. “Valteil mentioned one of his friends being on the correct path - That must have been you, right?” the Alchemist gave a nostalgic nod of his head, explaining that Valteil’s belief was that one could achieve Enlightenment with a snap of his fingers, if only he Ascended. Of course, a ridiculous idea, and Nosramus, to this day, is still bewildered to how easily his friend fell into that trap. The ultimate truth was just one, that there is no end to the path of Enlightenment. New information, new forms of science, new people, new worlds... The knowledge of the world keeps on increasing. How could you settle down thinking you are at the end of it all, he wondered rhetorically.
“We learn our whole life.” Enki found himself mumbling under his breath, his eyes wide with realisation. That quote made Nosramus smile with pride. Unknown to the alchemist, it was you who once told Enki that little thing, and now, to think some words could mean so much, could hold such value. Enki turned his head to you, and once again, amidst the darkness, he saw you radiating brightly - So bright, in fact, like a muse, like the Sun brightens up the whole world at once.
Nosramus then recommended that Enki sits on the golden throne to meet his reflection - Surely, there will be incredible insight and knowledge, especially of the New Gods, which he could learn. Still, he had to heed caution - If he truly was a scholar of sciences, he must only observe, not surrender to the lust of power, like those before him. Thus, the Alchemist offered him the Spirit Anchor.
Enki was a little too bewildered to speak, and could only watch as you embraced the Alchemist, thanking him for his kindness and benevolence is sharing such a gift with you. “Thank you for all of your help, Nosramus. Without you, I am sure, my husband would never truly be happy. It is through knowledge that he finds happiness - And I can only be happy, when seeing him like this. You have saved him from despair, and from himself. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.” the Forgotten One simply chuckled light-hearted, patting your head as though you were his little sister or daughter, reassuring you it wasn’t a big deal he was doing, before ushering you on your way.
Your radiating smile painted a little colour on Enki’s pale cheeks, and you excitedly grabbed both of his hands, dragging him back to the Blood Portal, so you could return to the Ancient City and continue your fantastic journey. You reached the back alleys of the city, and using a stone, you searched for a safe place to land. Clearly, you couldn’t trust the ghouls to hold a rope for you to descend, so you had to jump and land, albeit a little rough, on a small piece of safe land that reached inside an underground cave. Thankfully, Enki caught you, alleviating the pain of your legs.
This cave was filled to the brim with wooden mannequins and a weird machine which, when adding Enki’s blood, it... Created a human husk in his image. Now, you had a rather awkward Enki, looking with disgust and embarrassment at his naked clone, shamelessly prancing around the place. Your amused giggle only made him huff and look away, grabbing you to move along and exit the cave. 
Climbing up a ladder, with the clone following you, you found yourselves inside the Temple of Torment. The atmosphere was so thick and heavy that you felt compelled to leave for the moment and explore a little more.
You reached the Tower of the Endless, where you found a bed. Weirdly enough, you felt rather safe in this place, as though you could rest a little. You have been running around for so long, that perhaps a little shut-eyes was welcomed. Enki agreed, laying down on the bed, making room for you to cuddle into his side, resting your head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat lulling you into a deep, peaceful sleep.
However, weirdly enough, you met inside your joined dream, and you found yourselves in Rondon. Though confused, you found yourselves inside a brothel, seeing a mercenary speak to his prostitute wife about his future job and how he wants to provide for her - It was to rescue the very man they found dead. Next, you had to relieve the moment Enki tried to get himself sacrificed, to which the man in cause took you away, not wanting to have you experiencing such heartbreak a second time.
Walking further, you found yourselves deep inside the Oldegard forests, where you saw an Outlander mourning the death of his comrades who were massacred in a war with the Rondon knights who sought an artifact they found. The Outlander seemed to realise his wife and son were in danger, so he rushed to this barn, on a path soaked in blood and corpses. This man was defeated with the knowledge of his family’s death, and he swore revenge on the monster who did this.
Once the Outlander’s memory disappeared, you and Enki walked inside the barn, seeing a Skin Granny, which you had to fight and defeat through all of her phases - Thankfully, it wasn’t that difficult a fight, thanks to your greater magic proficiency and the many undead fighters shielding you two. Once defeated, you excited the barn, seeing a vision of Le’Garde, the man of the prophecy, speaking to one of his female knights rather cryptically. She seemed completely blinded with love for him, but he was simply using her.
As this memory, too, ended, you were engulfed in nothing but a white light, and a woman, Nilvan the Endless, appeared before you. She caressed her swollen belly, begging you to take her child to the darkness, to save the child, and thus, she offered you the Endless Soul. How amusing though, considering neither of you even encountered a child to begin with, but her soul was more than welcomed.
Refreshed and feeling stronger, mentally and emotionally, you and Enki smoked a little and ate well before returning to the Temple of Torment, ready for an arduous fight. As soon as you enter the Temple, a loud, echoing scream, like that of a man deep in anguish and agony, resounded through the whole place, sending shivers down your neck. It was the most terrifying thing you’ve ever heard, and you instinctively clinged onto Enki’s arm for some comfort.
Somewhere inside a long room, you found a weird torture mechanism, and with a heavy heart, you placed the clone on the hooks, ready to sacrifice the husk - Though Enki didn’t seem the least bit disturbed at seeing his own mirror image being tortured to the point of having his skin painfully ripped apart by the hooks, you couldn’t even bring yourself to look at it, your heart shattering as the skeletons kept rotating the wheels.
The Red Man continued shrieking loudly as blood streamed everywhere through the temple, and the deep pit was now full with blood, from which the Tormented One emerged silently. Defeating him once was easy, though the New God succumbed deep inside the pool of blood, as a terrible sensation filled you, as if something was about to happen that should forever remain unknown to human eyes. Thus, he emerged one again, in the middle of three spiky wheels of torment swinging around their axis. One by one, they jammed and destroyed the horrific wheels, and their suffering God, until they all sank into the pool of blood as quietly as when they rose from it. 
Though it was a terrifying sight and battle, you feel as if a millennia of torment just slipped before your eyes. You feel sorry for this tormented deity, though Enki not so much. Regardless, you gain the third soul, the Tormented Soul.
Thus, you return to the City Center of Ma’habre, ready to defeat the guard blocking your path from entering the Golden Temple. Inside the Temple, you found an older version of Francois the Dominating, and you engaged in a rather interesting conversation with him, who advised you on how to defeat his younger, more cocky self. After killing the last purple, throbbing heart, you return into the past of the Ancient City, using the Cube of the Depths, ready to defeat the last God.
You found Francois sitting on the golden throne, speaking down on you as though you were vermin or even less. Thankfully, with the use of the old Francois and some cunning speech, you were able to destroy his younger self’s ego enough to make him reckless and vulnerable and destroy him forever, taking his Dominating Soul.
Looking at the golden throne, you felt your body softly trembling, before shifting your gaze towards your lover. You threw your arms around him, bringing him into a tight embrace, confession your love for him over and over and over again, your eyes stinging with tears of sheer fear. Enki simply cupped your face and pulled you into a deep, loving kiss. 
It was the first time Enki ever truly told you ‘I love you’.
He tried to tell you he will return to you, but something caught in his throat, rendering him unable to promise something like that. Instead, he felt an electrifying feeling down his spine, and not even once did you break eye contact, as he slowly sat down on the throne of the New Gods.
A bright light engulfed you, and surprisingly, you found yourself in an incomprehensible dimension or world, transported by the throne. Enki was still sitting, while you stood in front of him, both of you deeply confused. Hand in hand, you and the undead army searched for a path towards... Who knew?
As you stepped in the middle of a bridge that separated two large bodies of lands, something started slowly rising from the green hue. Coiling, slimy tentacles were dancing above the green smoke, before the monolithic creature slowly rose from inside the green fog. You and Enki looked at one another, unable to properly comprehend what were you battling, yet you knew, the being before you had tremendous power. 
This creature was the Goddess of Life and Love, Sylvian. Tentacles slammed and swirled around in an erratic manner, damaged the protecting undead and blood golems. Suddenly, you noticed the creature growing a large tumor in a humanoid shape, and it was wriggling in pain.
With great difficulty, you managed to cut the four tentacles lashing out at you and the humanoid tumour, before finally descending back into the green smokes, letting you go in peace. What a relief. Battling an Old God took its toll on you two, and you needed a few seconds of respiro, smoking some opium, before finding some strength in your feet to walk forward and have... A New God, oddly resembling Enki, with a cage on his head, greeting you.
“Knowledge... It suffocates those who are not able to adjust to it. I could not bear the world with everything I’ve learned with the Enlightenment and my Ascension. It is said that ignorance is bliss and knowledge only enhances the pain. The only way for me to continue existing was to change. Knowledge changes one permanently. There is no looking back after a certain point.” the reflection of Enki spoke to him in a monotone voice.
That reflection was what he was to become. He felt great lust for power take over him - It would have been so easy to give in and learn secrets that are only whispered among mortals - But he came prepared, and had been warned about such lust; Not only that, a single look into your eyes was enough to remind him of his true purpose, his true happiness. He didn’t want to end up like Valteil, trapping himself in the corner, with nothing left to do but rot away, forgotten by the world. No, he was destined for so much more - Though a mortal, he felt content continuing his path towards Enlightenment with you by his side. 
You declined the Godhood and managed to step out of the plane of the ascended that was coloured by the green hue that radiated from the underground pits. It’s not like your ascension wasn’t without its merits, even if you withdrew at the last second. You saw the reflection after all and understood its intents. With newly found knowledge, he took the grand libraries of the ancient city as his own, and once he was done with a book, he would pass it on to you, to read, copy and restore, so that you could make your own Great Library of Rondon the most Enlightened one in the whole world. The Enlightened Library.
Thankfully, the library of Ma’habre already contained more information than one could digest in multiple lifetimes, yet lucky for you, Enki, with a little help from Nosramus, discovered the secrets of a prolonged life pretty soon.
You found out how the older Gods had left this world long ago. You had taken care of the New Gods that resided in the city of the Gods. Enki did not need Godhood to chase after the true Enlightenment. He did not need Godhood to become the most powerful mortal to exist. 
He already WAS the most accomplished mortal that ever was, and will ever be. 
And with your Radiating warmth, love, beauty and support, along with his new-found friend, the Alchemist Nosramus, the Forgotten One, life has become a truly happy bliss.
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