#like hooray for finding out but oh man. oh man.

[puppetmastery]

im just thinking about that shit now. like i was the one making all the money for that house despite not being on the lease and working at a mcdonalds for 11 bucks an hour. he had too many animals. 2 cats, a quail in a tank, like 4 different bird species in a cage sized for a single bird, a snake (that was mine for a bit), two pigeons on the porch, and a tank full of guppies. the birds were loud constantly and it made it hard to sleep. there were fursuit scraps and all kinds of colorful junk everywhere. things were dirty unless i cleaned them. i had to walk or bike everywhere for miles in 110+ weather, including to get groceries usually. coming home from a busy mcdonalds closing shift to a loud dirty house in an apartment where i didnt even have a bedroom for the first several months. no wonder my shit cracked like an egg for a while there

[leatherbookmark]

(in which the caption is a picture)

bonus (my girlfriend):

[sockmeat]

angel dust x protective male reader???

                                                        𓆩♡𓆪

✼__________________________________________________________✼

𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 -- 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥 𝐃𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒/𝐎... (𝑯𝒂𝒛𝒃𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒍)

(𝐰𝐜): 342

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Angel Dust would absolutely thrive with a protective man.

(𝐀/𝐍): i finally have an eye appointment yippee hooray

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬): angel loves his boyfriend (gone wrong) (gone sexual.....)

                                                        𓆩♡𓆪

♡ Oh, he fucking lives for it

♡ The very first time it happened was when you two were out shopping and a stranger approached him

♡ They recognized Angel and tried to pick him up for a night, even insisting when he already declined

♡ So, naturally, you made that demon bite the curb

♡ And Angel fucking *swooned*

♡ He never imagined anyone would want to do that for him so willingly, but you didn't even think twice

♡ He tried to make out with you over the body but you were able to pull him away (you are literally the only one of you that cares about his image atp)

♡ Ever since then, he's been itching to see it any time the opportunity arises

♡ His favorite thing to do when somebody's flirting with him is run and hide behind you

♡ He knows you won't hesitate to knock them down a few pegs in any way you need to

♡ He thinks it's hot how quick you are to defend him, but he also finds it makes him flustered and goopy

♡ You like him that much?

♡ Catch him kicking his feet and giggling late at night over this shit

♡ However, he gets a little nervous when you turn your attention to Valentino instead of random demons

♡ He has a lot of fear harbored toward Valentino because of everything that he's done over the years

♡ This is literally the only time he will not want you to go batshit on somebody

♡ However, I believe in self care, so I'm saying that you can overpower Valentino

♡ You don't kill him, you don't know if that would hurt Angel considering their contract, you just rough him up and threaten him a bit

♡ Now Angel is back to swooning

♡ Swear to God doing that is virtually on the same level as proposing

♡ It's also great foreplay

♡ In short, Angel never feels more loved than when you beat people up <3

[peachsukii]

one-way ticket | tangled hearts series ⇢ it's the weekend, hooray! after a long week at all of your respective jobs, you and the boys plan to take some time to head into the city to visit friends for drinks and merriment. you've gotten to know a few of their friends through passing, but they plan to introduce you as their girlfriend for the first time. what could go wrong? but before that, you have to sit through a grueling lunch with Mitsuki…alone.

content // emotional comfort, fluff, accidental coming out wc // 1.6k note // funded by the @ficsforgaza project! (sponsor a wip) <3 ✿ tangled hearts masterlist ✿ ↶ | previous entry (stitched muses) ↷ | next entry (building up like waves)

"Your mom texted me last night, she wants to have lunch with me."

Bakugo's eyes linger over his coffee mug in your direction, two seconds from spitting it all over the table.

"She texted you?"

You nod, pulling out your phone and sliding it across the table to him. "I guess she got my number from Eiji? I don't mind, but the way she phrased it sounds like…she knows."

He scans over the messages before handing the phone back to you.

"She's gonna find out one way or another."

Bakugo was being extremely…calm about this. That soothed your nerves a bit, but not entirely.

"Are you sure?" you ask, double checking for your own sanity. "I don't mind her knowing, I just don't wanna mess anything up or say the wrong thing."

"Sweetheart, her son is married to a man, I've been down this road with her before. Addin' a woman into the equation is not far-fetched," he laughs before taking another sip of coffee.

"Kats had a girlfriend or two before we dated in college," Kirishima chimes in, nonchalantly strolling into the kitchen with a yawn. "So did I. You'll be meeting them this weekend!"

Wait…what?

Bakugo catches the brief look of worry that flashes across your face.

"Don't make it a big deal, Ei. It's been over a decade and they're both married now," he combats, waving his hand toward Kirishima to knock it off.

"There's nothing to worry about, angel. Mina and Ochako are sweet girls, you'll get along with them perfectly," Kirishima comments while patting you on the back. You puff out a quiet laugh, fiddling with the handle of your coffee mug in silence.

"Hey now, it's alright! Mom's all bark and no bite. If you can handle Katsuki, you're more than well equipped to spend an hour with her."

Kirishima makes a decent point, giving you the boost of confidence you needed to calm yourself down. All you had to do was sit with her for an hour and let her lead the conversation.

What's the worst that could happen?

~

Friday's luncheon with Mitsuki arrives in the blink of an eye. You're standing outside the café she suggested, fidgeting with the hem of your skirt while you wait.

'Calm down, don't panic. The boys told you there is no reason to be nervous,' you remind yourself as you take a deep breath. 'If you act odd, she's going to suspect something⎯'

"Hi sweetie!" Mitsuki greets, interrupting your thought and startling you when she lays her hand on your shoulder. "Hope I didn't keep ya waitin' long."

"No! Not at all," you respond with a smile.

It's astounding to you how alike Bakugo and his mother are not only physically, but down to the mannerisms, too. She leads you inside the cafe by the hand and picks a table by the window. Once the two of you have ordered, Mitsuki's grinning wickedly as she leans onto the table, chin laying atop her folded hands.

Well, shit. She's about to drill into you, no doubt about it.

"I'm sure you're wonderin' why I asked you to lunch," she begins, tilting her head as she analyzes your body language. "But ya look a little nervous, dear."

You shake your head and wave your hands in response, trying not to come off as too jumpy.

"I'm alright! Sorry Mrs. Baku⎯"

"Oh honey, none of that formality bullshit. Call me Mitsuki," she orders with a huff. "Katsuki and Eijiro talk very highly of you, and I was curious to find out more about ya."

Oh shit.

She knows.

"That's sweet of them! They're good friends of mine," you respond, trying your damndest to hide the quiver in your voice. "We met a few months back when I moved to the area for a job transfer. I went to Eijiro's gym for a yoga class on a whim and the rest is history."

Mitsuki leans back in her chair with her arms crossed as if she's studying you.

"A meet cute, how sweet." Her tone is dry, almost accusatory. You're thankful the waitress brings over your drinks before she presses further, giving you an extra few seconds to stall and compose yourself.

"So," she sighs, shaking her head. "M'just gonna ask. Are you sleeping with my son?"

You straighten in your seat, unable to stop the physical reaction to Mitsuki's bluntness.

"Uhh…" you hesitantly whisper while biting your lip.

Laughter.

Mitsuki begins cackling at your hesitation, smacking the table dramatically and holding her side, her eyes glassy with glee. What the fuck?

"Sorry, it's not you I'm laughin' at," she wheezes while catching her breath. "Can I show you something?" She reaches into her purse to grab her phone, sliding it across the table for you to read. "Read this."

What choice do you have? You're already mortified by her reaction, you might as well entertain whatever the hell she wants to show you. You glance at her phone to see her company e-mail inbox on display, a specific e-mail opened in a smaller window.

From: Katsuki Bakugo <kbakugo@flarewing.co> To: Mitsuki Bakugo <mibakugo@flarewing.co> Subject: Untitled Dress Prototype T-shirt styled dress, plain or with graphics. Worn in look - rips or bleach stains? Stops mid-thigh. Prototype measurements: …

"Mitsuki, I'm not sure I follow what you're trying to tell me," you admit, lost as you skimmed the remainder of the message. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Sweetheart," she giggles while pointing to the measurements in the e-mail. "Those aren't Eijiro's measurements. He's modeled things for us in the past and we have them on file, Katsuki wouldn't need to write them down. Plus, it's obvious who they belong to."

That's when your eyes find the damning evidence - he included your name after the measurements. From the looks of it, the e-mail was never supposed to be sent to anyone and should have stayed in his drafts. He must've accidentally clicked 'Send' in his fatigued state instead of 'Save.'

"Katsuki never let's anyone model his clothes, especially prototypes, outside of Eijiro and pre-selected candidates in our company database. He doesn't know I have this."

Well…Bakugo did say "She's gonna find out one way or another." Guess the cat's out of the bag, unbeknownst to him.

"So," Mitsuki chirps, smirk tugging on her lips. "What's your deal with my son?"

You slump your shoulders, sighing to yourself. "I'm…dating him. And Eijiro."

She practically spits out her drink, covering her mouth in surprise.

"Do they know?!" She shouts, deeply invested in all of the delicious details of your confession. It dawns on you how salacious this all sounds and how it reads like a reality show plot line.

"Yes, we're all together. I'm not cheating with one or the other."

Mitsuki almost looks disappointed before her expression shifts into a gentle acceptance.

"Do you love them?"

Your first instinct is to say 'yes, absolutely,' but it's only been a few months and you have not confessed to them…yet. You've overheard the two of them say it to one another, but never in your direction. It's a delicate topic, a stepping stone you're not sure they're looking to climb with you and you didn't want to risk losing them.

"…yeah, I do, but I haven't told them yet," you answer, fingers tapping nervously against the glass of your drink. She reaches across the table and pushes her phone aside to hold your hand, forcing you to make eye contact with her.

"Hun, s'okay. I know you probably weren't expecting this today," she shakes her head with a soft smile spreading across her lips. "Sorry for blindsiding you, but I was prepared to give you hell for ruining my son's marriage. Turns out, you're enlightening it. It's a relief to hear."

A relief?

"You're not…?" your question hangs in the air as Mitsuki begins to giggle to herself a second time, letting go of your hand to take her phone back and put it into her purse.

"No, m'not mad or disappointed. If both Katsuki and Eijiro approve of you, then so do I. Takes a lot for Katsuki to like anyone, let alone date them. That kid's serious about his inner circle and keeping his bubble small."

Wow. Bakugo was right, it wasn't far-fetched at all. You had no reason to be concerned about her being unaccepting of you.

"Thank you, Mitsuki. I'm sorry this wasn't more formally done," you apologize, one hand moving to your nape in embarrassment. She waves a hand to dismiss your condolences.

"Oh sweetheart, this didn't happen. We're gonna pretend Katsuki didn't out himself and let the two of them properly introduce you when the time it right." She gives you a wink. "Our little secret. 'Kay?"

You nod with a warm smile.

"Yeah, thank you."

~

Later that night, your phone rattles on the nightstand with an incoming call from Bakugo. He's probably dying to know how your lunch date with his mom went.

"Hey sweetheart," he greets. "How'd lunch with Ma go?"

You can't help the warmth blooming your chest before you answer.

"It went great! Mitsuki's sweet as can be. She showed me some of your baby pictures."

No, she didn't, but it's a decent cover for what you actually talked about.

You hear him huff sarcastically. "She always does that shit. Means she likes ya, though."

"Aw, I feel special."

"'Cause ya are, idiot. Anyways, be here tomorrow by 2, dinner's at 5 in the city."

Oh…right. You're meeting their friends tomorrow for dinner.

"Sure. Say good night to Eiji for me."

"Can do. Night, baby."

"Night, Kats."

When you hang up, you flop back onto your bed with the biggest smile on your face…until you remember they're planning on telling their friends about your relationship tomorrow.

You survived a luncheon with Mitsuki, what's another dinner?

✿ wildflowers // @maddietries @smolbeanzzz @camila2201

@lik0 @pixel4ffecti0n @moonlight-dreamer04 @lumi-cent

@pastelbakugou @hannahk @camryn-ciel67 @c4prisuna

@perfectsukii @lightsgore @cuntpiercedprincess @mrcleans4headwrinkle

@mimi53213 @lainlovelain @d4n1elll4 @h0n3y-l3m0n05

@im-sinking-in-mud

[kairiscorner]

the man, the myth, the legend himself dr ratio veritas ... is now made public !!

fyi . . . i have a bot request form you guys can send requests to !! updates are slow, i apologize (⁠｡⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠) but i'll try my best to get through them, and i will only do requests that fall within my comfort zone !!

DR. VERITAS RATIO

“if one day your brain shows symptoms

of dullness, then please

give the doctor a call.”

ᯓ★ catching a glimpse of him working out.

you couldn't, for the life of you, tolerate such an arrogant and narcissistic smartass like veritas ratio... but oh, you wouldn't mind seeing those muscles and that handsome face of his again, even if he himself pissed you off. luckily (or unluckily) for you, your little trip of seeing him at the gym to hand over some important documents gave you quite a good view of this egotistical man.

ᯓ★ he couldn't understand you.

to dr ratio, nobody in that damned guild really lived up to the vision he hoped; none of them shared the same sentiment or kind of intellect he possessed, and it made him frustrated and somewhat... lonely.

that was, until he met you. he had acknowledged nobody before as a genius, nobody but himself, until there was you. but there was one thing this genius couldn't decipher about you... and it was the fact you did not seek to eradicate the plague of ignorance with him in the intelligentsia guild.

why, oh why, did you reject his offer to expand the universe's knowledge with the greats... only to be a humble servant for others?

ᯓ★ your academic rival.

veritas ratio prided himself on the fact that nobody could come close to his achievements and intellect at his university, he was just that good at everything he did.

however... you ruined his peace of mind and decided to give him a run for his money by taking his spot as the top student last semester by a few points.

though, as much as you both had a mutual distaste and rivalry for each other going on... you two were paired together for an important project. and of course... you had to work together. hooray.

ᯓ★ nobody thought he would be a family man.

not a single soul that knew dr ratio ever had the feeling that he would settle down with someone he would love more than himself, than his books, theses, and knowledge–let alone have a child with them.

however, you and your child with him are living proof that even a man as cold and critical as him are capable of loving and finding their purpose as not only a scholar, a professor, a doctor... but as a parent.

ᯓ★ your ex husband.

after being married to dr veritas ratio for three years and ending your union with him after such a fruitless and one-sided relationship... you had felt so liberated, as if all those years with him were just a bad memory for you.

however, when you went out to dinner at a high-end classy restaurant, the very last thing on your mind that time was the chance of you seeing your ex husband again... only for that one slim chance to come to fruition, with you being face to face with the man who seemed to never love you when you two were together.

his amber eyes gazed back at yours with a hint of longing in them, of endless nights of longing for you, his ex spouse...

ᯓ★ he wants to be your only one.

dr veritas ratio is a universal level problem solver; capable of engineering such helpful devices that saves planets and star systems across the galaxy, delegating on important issues for the good of humanity, and an important doctor that alleviates the malady of ignorance... with 8 PhDs to his very famous and well-known name.

...it shouldn't bother him this much that you're so obsessed and giggly about a bunch of pixels across your screen that utter binary code that translates into words you comprehend... right?

then why is it that as he tries to relax in his bathtub that he can't seem to get that release he's seeking from the pent-up frustration he gets when a character from your favorite game compliments you, gives you gifts, or... says they want you to be theirs. surely, he can find a solution to this finicky problem he has to make you his again, no...?

[heart-of-the-morningstar]

Headcannons for Luci finding out his s/o is a virgin please and thank you

Oh I'm so ready for this ask!!

So, if you want a little backstory about me, I'm in the same boat. It's not that I don't have ANY experience, but it's extremely lacking (hooray for the aspec experience)

Lucifer, in my opinion, would be over the moon yet nervous at the same time. On the one hand, he's honored that he'd be the first one to show you how good sex can be, but on the other hand, he'd be worried about taking that from you. He'd do everything to make sure that this is actually what you want and he definitely doesn’t want to cross any boundaries with you. Once you've told him you're certain that you want him to be your first, he's practically bouncing off the walls! Of course he asks you what you are and aren’t ok with before anything starts. If you guys somehow missed talking about something, he’d stop whatever he was doing and get your approval first.

Everything is at a snail’s pace with him during your first time. He spends a long time kissing you, feeling up and down your arms, your stomach, your hips. He asks permission for everything. He asks if he can touch and suck at your breasts, if he can leave hickies and other marks on your body, if he can remove your shorts. He gets hard just at the thought of touching and tasting your wet pussy. Once you give him the okay, his hands are delicate as he starts moving his fingers against your folds. He lives for the sounds you’re making because of him. “Can I taste you, my love?” he’d ask sweetly before you nod and give him a faint “yes, please…”

He’s slow at first, as not to overstimulate you during your first time. Once he finds what causes you to make the loudest sounds, he focuses on that area for a long time. It’s not long before you’re cumming on his face, and him man laps you up like he’s dying of thirst. He’d definitely being doing that again with your again, but he figures it’s time for the actual thing. Of course, he knows he’s a little bit on the larger side plus you haven’t done this before at all, so he does his best to warn you. “Darling, this may hurt a little bit. If you need me to stop, just say the word, ok? I’ll be as gentle as possible. Relax as much as you can for me.” Lethargically, he presses himself into you. You can feel some pain as he pushes himself deeper. After he’s all the way in, you have to catch your breath. “Hurts…a little…g-gimme a minute, please.” He responds with a kiss to your lips and says “Take as much time as you need, you’re doing so well. Let me know when I’m alright to move.” You intake a few deep breaths and slowly the pain rescinds, now replaced with only pleasure. “Y-You can move now, Luci…” you murmur. He smiles, slowly removing himself from you, only to thrust his hips forward again. It’s pure ecstasy. It’s not long before he’s absolutely rutting himself into you at a relentless pace, wanting to feel you cum on his cock. He gets his wish, and he feels you pulsate around him as you cry out his name. Your own orgasm triggers his own, spilling his hot seed into (which you told him was okay before)

Lucifer collapses on top of you, still inside of you. “S-So, how was your first time?” he asks coyly. You know he had to ask, son of pride and all! “Wonderful! And it won’t be the last.” You tease him. His face goes red, and you can feel him twitch inside of you. You guys are definitely not done just yet.

[geraskierfanficprompts]

Prompt 137

Jaskier and Geralt are imprisoned by some sort of foes of Geralt, Jaskier isn't sure. He and Geralt have been a bit rocky recently, to say the least. Jaskier is really only half-lucid. He's only just begun to hear and see, again. His head hurts quite a bit, and he's pretty sure his hands are chained, but he can't move his eyes down far enough to check. Geralt is chained like werewolves in storybooks, to the point Jaskier thinks it's a tad overkill. Geralt is sitting there, looking lovely as ever. His hair is falling into his face, poor darling.. Jaskier wishes he could tuck the strands behind Geralt's little pointy ears.. His eyes are extra reflective in their current dank housing. It's a wonder nobody kidnaps you to a lovely seaside manor. Jaskier would be much more interested in talking to someone in someplace nicer, perhaps with hor d'oeuvres and wine, but no. Instead he's slumped against stone, and the only lights are some torches and candles. There's a man in rather dull robes talking to Geralt. He's quite loud, Jaskier thinks, but he can't tell if it's his head or if the man really is of such volume. He can't quite make out the words, but he can tell they're beginning to make Geralt angry. He's doing that little 'I'm pissy' mouth quirk of his. Jaskier busies himself with dissociating, until the man talking to Geralt is suddenly the man yelling to Geralt. Very loud. Ouch. Jaskier tunes back into his surroundings, and funnily enough, he can begin to understand what they say now! Hooray! "If you won't speak when you're threatened, butcher, what if your greatest love was, instead?" Not hooray. The man dumps a bunch of colored glass onto the floor, making a horrible noise, but Jaskier can't even focus on why the man would be doing that, he's too busy thinking about the threat. Clearly Geralt's greatest love is... Regrettably, Yennefer. No matter how much Jaskier loves Geralt, he knows Yennefer is first in Geralt's book. Jaskier's thought long and hard about it before. He supposes it makes sense, they're both immortal, she's gorgeous, she's a woman, she's even snippy like Geralt. Sometimes he wonders if he was born a woman if Geralt would've fallen in love with him. Perhaps not. Perhaps he'd still be seen as his annoying little friend. Maybe if he was a meaner woman? Is the woman part the main issue? If he got bitchier would Geralt love him? Maybe he should try it one day. See if he can make Geralt love him. He'll never beat Yennefer, damned witch got a headstart, but he could at least be loved more, right? "Oh~" The man that speaks to Geralt suddenly coos, looking at the floor. And really, why must the man focus so much on Geralt? Jaskier knows he's the witcher, but he's a world famous bard! Why doesn't the man talk to him? He can't help but be a little jealous. Does the man not know who he is? Jaskier very well can't sing for the man, but he does think of doing so. Even for just a second. "What's this?" The man says with a cruel little chuckle, pointing to the ground, and Jaskier finally moves his head enough to see what they're looking at. The glass he threw earlier has magically rearranged itself to make a little portrait of.... Him. Jaskier. The man holds out some sort of amulet next, and if he wasn't gripping onto it, the amulet would've hit Jaskier in the face. Jaskier doesn't quite understand. These all seem like ways to track down Yennefer. He has an amulet that seeks her out, and the glass will provide him with an image of what she looks like. So why do both point to him? Geralt doesn't love him. Surely not as much as Yennefer. "Don't you dare hurt him." Geralt snarls, the first time he's spoken since Jaskier gained consciousness, he believes. Jaskier finds the protectiveness quite sweet. He'll be sure to thank Geralt for it later. It's nice to know that he's cared for. Apparently even loved! Could he truly be Geralt's one true love? His most beloved? His dearest one? He has so much to ask Geralt when he can make his mouth move!

The man begins stalking towards Jaskier and suddenly Jaskier regrets his earlier jealousy over the man not paying attention to him. The man is quite intimidating, and has a look of pure hate in his eyes.

"Will you speak up for me if I cut up your songbird, I wonder, butcher?"

The man whispers, as he looms over Jaskier. Jaskier tries his best to say 'I'm sure we can figure this out if we put all our heads together, no harming necessary' but all that comes out is a pained little groan. Great. Wonderful. Thanks, mouth. That was exactly what he wanted.

The man suddenly draws a sharp twisted blade, and holds it to Jaskier's neck. Jaskier can't see anything but the man's shoulder, but Jaskier can easily hear Geralt struggling in his restraints, growling. He liked when Geralt growled. It was either very cute or very hot, depending on the situation. Jaskier can't decide which one it is right now, however, as there was a knife to his neck.

The man withdraws the dagger from Jaskier's throat, and instead uses it to slice across his chest. Jaskier cries out in pain, and sounds rather pathetic. He'll be sure to write himself more stoic and… with-it when he writes about this experience later on.

There's a loud sound that hurts Jaskier's head, and suddenly the man with the knife is dead on the floor. Geralt stands above him, panting, covered in the man's blood. Gods, he was magnificent.

"H'llo d'r'ling, 'Love y'."

Jaskier manages to croak out, smiling at Geralt, even as his eyelids start to droop. Geralt stares at him for a moment, and that just makes Jaskier smile bigger. He likes seeing Geralt.

"Jaskier, you need to stay awake. Stay awake for me."

He snarls out, and Jaskier pouts a bit. He thinks not. He thinks it's a lovely time for a nap. Geralt will get them out. He's a hero.

[little-sleepy-owl]

𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫,

who is a virgin and wants him to be their first. gender neutral, not so much explicit, but still smutty, as usual. Alastor is his own warning. kinda.

this one took me a while for several reasons. mostly because life is a bitch, but also because it was a really hard piece to write. I'm asexual myself and this is heavily self-indulgent. I wanted to maintain this treat of his, but still explore the sexual aspect of the relationship and the way asexual people might participate in it. so... yeah. proceed with understanding of this.

oh? so, you're just like him.

the only one who is not surprised whatsoever. isn't it supposed to be that way?

though there are a lot of vulgar people around. he might even praise you for keeping your chastity for so long.

but… becoming your first?

“Truly, my dear? That's quite the favor to ask a gentleman!”

it's less about being repulsed by the idea of intimacy (it doesn't sound bad if it's with you) and more about not wanting to step into a completely uncharted territory.

that's a first for him too, after all.

give him time. he needs to research some things before he's ready to try.

a week or two later he suddenly appears out of the shadows in your room with loud static noises, scaring the shit out of you, and announces that he would be very pleased to take the offer!!

hooray..? (please come out from under the bed, darling.)

now, just like Husk, he is an old-fashioned man. for him, this could only happen after a nice date.

he prefers a simple stroll around the city arm in arm, and having some coffee with you.

you can sense that he's a tad nervous, but also deeply thrilled. his posture is a little stiff while walking, ears, usually unmoving, twitch slightly here and there. it's cute.

you also notice he's more physically intimate with you today than usual. sitting a bit closer to you and leaning in subtly, so you can feel his warmth. gently covering your hand with his own. reaching to fix your hair, touch feather-like and making your heart pound in your chest.

none of it is sexual in any way, but the difference in his demeanor doesn't let you forget your plans for the night even for a moment.

judging by the sly curve of his smile and very attentive gaze, this is one hundred percent intentional.

inclined to take you into his own room after the date. if you're not against the living forest in the background.

(I suggest you accept the offer. fireflies would be a very romantic addition to your night.)

he needs to talk things out first.

“Let's discuss some rules of our… little arrangement.”

the rules are quite simple, although you might find them odd.

he will not take all his clothes off. especially not the lower part. pants stay on no matter what.

his hands, his mouth? all for your pleasure, darling. no limitations here.

and maybe, if you behave yourself and ask nicely… his shadows, too, can participate.

he merrily refuses to elaborate on what “behaving” means for him exactly. it's simply more fun that way, isn't it?

jacket tossed inside, sleeves rolled up. honestly speaking, it already feels too revealing. you don't think you ever saw so much of his arms or his neck before.

he is in a white shirt today, clean and pure, like the snow on the mountaintop. pristine even.

you never saw this, either.

he follows your gaze and his smile turns a little unsettling. you shiver, suddenly feeling like you are the one who's exposed here, even though you haven't taken off anything yet.

“No blood to stain it today, my dear,” he coos, adjusting the shirt slightly. oh, so usually he wears red for–

you don't want to continue this thought right now.

he's very insistent on undressing you by himself.

he uncovers you like you're his birthday cake in a cute present box. slowly removing every ribbon, carefully taking off the wrapping, anticipating what's underneath.

his hands are cold, but his eyes are heated, even somewhat hungry. and so, so intent.

he drinks on your every shiver, on the way your lips parts ever so slightly to let out a small gasp, on the goosebumps that run on your skin, when he leans in to nibble on your pretty neck, right beside the quicked throbbing of your pulse.

he hums an old tune, seemingly lost in exploration of your body and the way you respond to his touch.

he's eager to learn and very observant. he changes the pace the moment he notices you feeling uncomfortable. he discovers what makes you respond well and uses the knowledge without any shame.

but he also does very much love you telling him what you want him to do with that cute trembling voice of yours.

that's what eventually earns you the shadows taking part in the whole fun. if this is something you desire.

if you weren't satisfied before, you most certainly are now.

expect him to restrain you. he likes to see you squirming under his touch, unable to set the pace. he does everything deliberately slow, so you would beg him to give you more and do it faster.

he's very controlling in general, and although he takes into account what you want, he will also act on his own whim.

it honestly seems that he likes teasing and tormenting you to see your reactions much more than the physical aspect of it all.

humor him, and he will reward you accordingly.

but don't let him get too lost in it. he has a tendency to forget that you're not merely a toy to play with.

set some boundaries and you'll be alright.

once you both decide it's enough, he's a thoughtful gentleman again, bringing a glass of water for you, and helping you clean yourself up.

will let you rest your head on his lap, gentle light of fireflies surrounding you.

he sings a shooting melody, letting you peacefully drift off to sleep.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Flufftober prompt 1: First kiss (Caine x Reader)

using this list as a reference! I'm actually currently writing this in mid may, but i got too excited to wait for october and due to my desire to make most of the prompts short fics, and my chronic issue of getting burnt out... im starting early! hooray! plot: the reader realizes that they have never kissed their boyfriend, Caine, and they want to change that! notes: reader is gn, established relationship, short fic, not proof read we die like gummigoo, possible OOC due to admin not being used to writing dialogue and caine is... caine word count: 764 cws: none

Much to the shock to many of the circus members, you and the ringmaster had become an item at some point in your stay in the digital world. Common questions you are are "Why?" or "What do you see in him?" and sometimes even "For all we know this could all be his fault... doesn't that bother you?"

You won't lie, the theories did get under your skin every once in a while, but it was never enough to make you step back from your partner. Asides from the chaotic in house adventure, he never really gave you a reason to distrust him or keep your distance. He spoiled you whenever he was given the chance, sometimes he would craft the adventures with you in mind. He never once intentionally put you down, really only making you feel bad on accident due to him not fully understanding human nature and emotions.

He planned dates, he gave you gifts, and he loved up on you whenever you gave the green light. Hand holding, hugging, cuddling, or just generally clinging onto you. Though, it's now as you sit across from him that it strikes you: of all the interactions you two shared, he's yet to kiss you. How can he when he's just teeth?

He sat there, chattering away. The way his jaws morphed and shifted gave the impression that they weren't... stiff...

You wave your hand to get his attention, and he stares at you; teeth parted enough to look at you. "Did you have an idea for your next adventure, tomorrow?" He propped his elbows on the dinner table and leaned towards you. Was that what he was talking about?

You chewed your lip, and stared at the curves of his jaws. "I was thinking about something, just not that," You said, and as expected he focused all of his attention on you- at least more than he already had. He leaned in closer, "Well don't keep a man waiting!" He perked his "chin" on his hands as he stared right into your soul. A little unnerving, but you had gotten used to that look.

You ran your teeth long your lips, sucking them in slightly before releasing. "Well," you began, and his eyes seemed to widen. "Well I was wondering if I could have.. a kiss?" You pulled a nervous smile across your face in a meek attempt to make the line feel less awkward in the air. He seemed to freeze a little, attempting to speak before stopping himself as the first syllable came out. You thought you had said something wrong, but the tension was quickly shattered as Caine began his chatter.

"Oh I thought you'd never ask! I was waiting for you to make a move, you know!" He chuckled before pulling out a bottle breath spray, sticking his tongue out and spraying it a few times. You vaguely wondered if it made his eyes sting. It didn't even cross your mind to wonder if he had the bottle on him at all times... or had he just pulled it into his existence with his powers?

He planted his hands on the table and leaned in close to your face. Almost to your horror, he "puckered up" or at least the closest he could get given his anatomy. His jaws formed a similar shape lips would make, the teeth sticking forward just a bit as he waited for you. You rose up to meet him, eyes darting across his teeth to find out where exactly to kiss. You settled on kissing between his top front teeth.

You were barely able to keep your lips to his teeth before he seemed to explode into a flurry of emotions. His eyes blue screened between his teeth, white text flashing across them. Star like sparks flew into the air followed by a thick billow of steam from his top hat. Never had you seen such a reaction from the ringmaster, and you were beginning to worry that you had somehow broken him. Within seconds he would regain his composure, before fanning himself. For such a small action, it seemed to really stick him in a bunch. The steam and sparks dissipate as he melts into his hands, jaws slack to look at you.

"Not bad for a newbie," He teased, and readjusted his hat. "Perhaps sometime I could give you a pep talk, come on what was the hold up for? Where was the confidence?" He continued.

This would only serve as the beginning to a new era of growth in your relationship.

[bengiyo]

Century of Love Ep 1 Stray Thoughts

Daou and Offroad are back on my screens. Pond Ponlawit is here. I’m ready.

Hey, Daou looks great.

Oh shit he can fight! The sound effects are killing me.

This woman is very pretty.

I really hope we see this little boy later on as a jaded caretaker of Daou’s character after decades of putting up with him.

This bullet-be-gone rock is so powerful.

Wow, this show is giving us the lore upfront. That’s refreshing.

Pond is playing a villain?!?

Bro, you ain’t get her no good shoes for running, or a proper change of clothes? Y’all gonna try to escape in her wedding dress?

Wow this guy speed ran ruining Vad’s life.

Damn, this Savant guy must really love Vad to give up the special stone for San.

100 years of chronic pain to find the one you love? I do love fantastical romance sometimes.

Thank you, show, for giving me adult Pao and then his memorial. I hope someone "does well in the interview" in this show.

It works really well that San is stuck on where Vaf died.

I know War Jirawat is probably having fun treating San like he's much older than him.

Oof, and he's fussing at people like an old man out of touch.

Wow. Very fucked up that he feels every wound he's ever healed from like this. At least they softened it by taking San's shirt off again, because it doesn't seem like he's built up any tolerance to it.

They were so sensible about protecting this stone. I'm now worried about how it inevitably gets stolen.

Goddamn how tall is Daou?? This girl San saved looked kinda tall.

Wow. Crashed into each other underneath a large red cloth.

Wow, Offroad is still so pretty.

A RED STRING!!!!!!!

I wonder who Vee lives with.

Oh my god is this the same store from Love in Translation?? I'm going to scream. I hope it's still a worker-owned cooperative.

Vee lives alone? Why the extra bed?

I do like the reaction shots from the goddess statue.

Wow, and now they're giving us a Vee shower scene. Hooray for us.

I like how flirty Vee feels. Haven't seen this from Offroad since Our Days.

WOW. FIRST EPISODE KISS??

Oh, that exhale sound was excellent. You could feel something being let go.

I see. It was just a dream. Still, I like them giving us that in the first episode!

Hey, so that was a really great first episode! We got all the backstory we needed, established the rules, set our time limit, and met a great cast of characters. I'm excited to see who Pond reincarnated as in this timeframe. There's a good mix of drama, comedy, action, and tragedy in this that I find really compelling. Everyone is also putting in constant effort into each scene. Also, Offroad has never been prettier, my goodness.

[twilightmalachite]

Esu Sagiri - Idol Story 2

Author: Akira

Characters: Esu, Subaru

Translator: Mika Enstars

"Hehehe��� But you know, even though I was crying like an idiot just by watching… You were smiling up until the very end and did your job perfectly as an idol, Senpai."

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Spring

Location: Cemetery

Second year of ES’ establishment. At a secret cemetery somewhere in Tokyo…

Subaru: (Dad.)

(I’m sorry I visited you so late this year as well.)

(I’m getting busier and busier year after year, you know? Although in Trickstar’s case, it’s more like there’s no leisure for the poor...)

(You wouldn't angry at that, would you though, Dad? ‘Cause you were much busier than I was, day in and day out.)

(Nothing could be done about that, though. You were a super idol who carried the industry on his shoulders, after all.)

(You never gave up, though. You never complained, and on holidays you would even be sure to come back home with a smile on your face just to make your family happy.)

(You sure are amazing, Dad. I’ve always admired you. And I’m now in the same position as you—I’ve become an idol.)

(As time passes, I’ve slowly realized more and more just how amazing a person you were.)

(It made me happy. It made me happy to be able to understand you, Dad.)

(Hey, Dad, I wonder if I’ve become an idol worthy of your praise.)

(If possible, I’d like to have you say “Wow, you’re amazing, Subaru!” if you were alive.)

(And I wish you could ruffle up my hair like I was a dog, just like you used to too, but…)

Esu: NwaaAAAAAAH!?

(thunk)

Subaru: …?

Hmm? Umm, are… you okay…?

Esu: Ah, It's okay, do not mind me! My arms are just outta shape, as it’s been a while since I’ve climbed! I bit off more than I could chew!

I took a dangerous route to get away from this creepy guy, and accidentally slipped from somewhere high—

Esu: —Wait, you’re Akehoshi SubaruuUUU!

Subaru: Yup. Huh, are you a fan of mine?

(This isn’t good. I didn’t really want my fans to know where my dad’s grave was.)

(Although his reputation’s been restored to an extent, there’s still a lot of anti-fans who believe those rumors and consider him the worst idol ever…)

(I don’t want that. What if his grave gets vandalized or something?)

Esu: Oh, no no! It’d be presumptuous for someone like myself to call myself a fan!

Presem… Presim, prisum… Huh, is “presumptuous” correct?!

Subaru: Yep, that’s it.

Esu: Was I right? Got it! Good, good, hip-hooray! I mean, that was very kind of you! This debt of gratitude will not be forgotten even if I am reborn seventeen times over!

Subaru: Seventeen times over, huh? What’s with that oddly specific number?

You’re a strange kid.

Esu: Huh, you think so? I find myself to be normal, though! Maybe I’ve become a little out of touch with the world after having been cooped up for a while?

If I do anything that feels off, do feel free to point anything out! I’ll correct it!

Subaru: Alright. Well to start, it’s looked down upon to cause a ruckus at gravesites.

Esu: You’re right~! My bad! I’ll quiet down! I’m a man who has often been told “You’re so cute when you keep your mouth shut, Esu-kun!” by his inconsiderate classmates!

Subaru: So your name’s Esu, huh?

Esu: Yes! I am Sagiri Esu! My name’s pretty tough to read, or excessively sparkly rather, so it’s okay if you don’t remember all of it![1]

You’re free to just call me something like “Ecchan” or “Sacchan”!

Subaru: Ecchan reminds me of Eichi-senpai. Sagiri—I feel like I might’ve heard “Sagiri�� somewhere before…

Esu: Oh, so you recognize it? My father used to be real popular! He was even called a super idol at a point!

Subaru: Ah, that’s right! There was a super idol who showed up sometime between the times of Hokke~Papa—Hidaka Seiya-san and my dad, right?

His name was Sagiri. My dad said that he looked up to him, so I remember.

Esu: Ahaha~, although it was all downhill for him once the next super idol, Akehoshi-senpai’s father, made his appearance.

Subaru: Well, my dad did become the talk of the town for many things, both good and bad… Those from around that time aren’t talked about as much anymore, with Hokke~Papa being an exception.

It’s like it’s all been balled together as a dark past to be forgotten, thanks to all that’s happened.

So I dunno how things are now, but, umm you—Sacchan, what’s your father doing now?

He’s not active anymore… right? I feel I’d know about him if he were active.

Esu: Oh, my father died.

Subaru: …Is that so? Sorry, I didn’t know…

Esu: Nah, if you didn’t know, you didn’t know! He passed away three years ago, and by the time he’d already turned over a new leaf as just an ordinary man.

Just an ordinary man, just with a bit of a nice-looking face.

Could at least look ugly… Wouldn't have to be followed around by that pervert then…

Subaru: Pervert? Had your father been targeted by some weird stalker or something, like mine was…?

Esu: No, no, this pervert has nothing to do with my father’s death. Sorry if I’m being difficult to follow! My communication skills aren’t all too great, after all! Just terrible!

My father died in a plane accident. Just a common—well, it’s not common, but an ordinary accident with nothing to do with idols or anything like that.

I was involved in the accident too, and although I managed to survive, I’ve been in the hospital up until recently. So, I've been in the process of rehabilitation for about six months, as of now.

Subaru: Is that so… I probably wouldn’t have even known three years ago. In the period before I entered high school, I would shut myself away from any and all information.

All of the information that would drift my way… I wouldn’t wanna hear any of it.

Esu: I totally get you~. It feels like anything and everything is an attack on you when your heart is weak, doesn’t it?

Even though nobody in the world probably spares a single thought about you.

Ah, but you’re an idol, Akehoshi-senpai, so tons and tons of people pay attention to you, of course! I was really moved by the SS from two years back![2]

It was like—and sorry if this sounds disrespectful—but your father also passed away… I felt like I could relate with you in some ways.

Like, “Ahh, this person, he’s me.”

Subaru: … …

Esu: At the time, I understood the expression on your face, your voice, everything, as if they were my own—I empathized! I was no longer able to distinguish between you and I!

I was in the hospital, lying in bed watching your performance, and I cried so hard that even the nurses became seriously worried about me.

Esu: Hehehe… But you know, even though I was crying like an idiot just by watching…

You were smiling up until the very end and did your job perfectly as an idol, Senpai. So, I thought you were real amazing—

Esu: Ahh, I can’t find the right words! Hang in there, my vocabulary!

Subaru: It’s okay. I understand you.

Thank you. For watching my performance.

You cried in place of me, didn’t you? Maybe that’s why I didn’t have to show a shameful sight like that upon such an important stage.

So… I know it sounds weird, but thank you. Really.

Esu: Oh no no, I seriously didn’t do anything! I don’t know what to do being shown gratitude like this?!

Oh, shoot!? I hear Fuyume’s voice! He hates exercise and isn’t all that good at it either, but caught up to me through sheer determination…!

I-I’m so sorry, but I gotta go now! It’s over for me if I’m caught!

Subaru: It kinda feels like you’re in danger… Do you need me to hide you?

Esu: Ah, that’s very kind of you, but I’m alright! This is a problem I gotta resolve on my own…!

But if you’d like, do offer some incense at the grave over there, the one decorated with cutesy goods.

That one’s my father’s grave.

Subaru: Right. This cemetery is for those in the industry that need to be kept secret from the general public. Both your father and my dad rest here.

It was through some sort of fate I was able to meet you, and hear your words that made me happy, so… Yeah, I’ll be sure to offer some incense.

Esu: Thanks! I’m sure our fathers are happy too! It doesn’t seem like they were on good terms when they were alive, but everyone becomes a Buddha when they die, right?[3]

I’m sure all those concerns and karma have been thoroughly purified!

—Eek, his voice is getting closer! Maaan, I wanted to have a nice and quiet visit to his grave after all this time!

But, well, I also caused a ruckus for no reason, and disturbed Akehoshi-senpai’s visit to his grave! That makes it sort of a mutual karmic retribution, right!—kinda?

Subaru: It’s fine. My dad always liked it when things were lively.

I’m sure he’s standing beside your father, watching over with a smile on their faces—over us.

[ ☆ ]

story directory

A sparkly name (キラキラネーム) is a term that refers to a recent phenomenon of giving names that are over-extravagant and notably very difficult to read. Esu's name is written with the kanji 笑主, which is both very unrecognizable as a name (it uses the kanji for laugh/smile + the kanji for lord/master), the reading is also very unnatural. The phenomenon is similar to the one where people will name their babies stuff like "Mhackenzeigh" or "Lakynn". Since knowing that 笑主 is read as "Esu" doesn't come instinctively, it would be difficult to remember; hence Esu saying there's no need to remember it all.

Referring to the SS where Trickstar won, back in ! era. If you aren’t aware of what happens to Subaru and Trickstar during the event, I highly recommend reading SS - Friendship 14 until the end of the event story, else this entire scene won’t make as much sense.

Esu uses a lot of Buddhist terminology here. If you’re familiar with the idea of reaching enlightenment, once you reach enlightenment, you let go of all worldly possessions, realizations, attainments, and achievements. This is what is referred to when one becomes a Buddha.

[rinxelea]

alleyway secrets. | toji fushiguro

wc. 1.1k

tags. pwp, friends with benefits (kind of?), public sex, breeding kink, size kink, choking, dacryphilia, no aftercare, unresolved feelings, use of afab terms. toji dies in the end canon-wise but the reader doesn't know lols.

preview. you had one rule for yourself: no going back to toji fushiguro. so why were you here again, in a dirty alleyway with your legs wrapped around his waist, your hands slung around his neck, his cock deep inside your hungry cunt?

"oh my god," soft, breathy moans are punched out of you as toji feeds his length into your aching cunt, muffled slightly as his hand covered your mouth. "shit, toji, slow the fuck down—"

toji clicks his tongue, letting out a low chuckle underneath his breath. his cock is thick, pressing up against your gummy walls and reaching places you didn't know existed. his grip on your waist tightens as he meets resistance, his brows furrowing. "fuck, girl. you're even tighter than i remember."

"that's why you need to slow down, you—oh, oh, fuck." your whines echoed through the alleyway as toji withdrew his cock only to push it inside again with renewed fervor. you watch with lidded eyes as his gaze remains locked on your cunt swallowing him, stretching and straining against his length. the brick wall he has you up against rub uncomfortably against your skin, but the way pleasure sings with every touch of his makes you forget about it.

"there you are," he murmurs, a lazy grin on his face as he bottoms out. he turns his eyes towards you, pride rearing its ugly head inside him as your mouth falls open on a silent moan, your head thrown back. when he speaks, there's an undertone of condescension in his voice. "oh, good girl."

"fuck you." you shouldn't be here. your bag of groceries from the nearby convenience store sits forgotten on the ground. your apartment is a five minute walk away, the orange hues of the sunset already making way for the hues of indigo. you had a mental whiteboard with the words: 3 weeks without fucking the strange old man who used to be your neighbor, hooray! written in red ink. you had one rule for yourself: no going back to toji fushiguro. so why were you here again, in a dirty alleyway with your legs wrapped around his waist, your hands slung around his neck, his cock deep inside your hungry cunt?

"oh, but i am." toji grins, moving his hips in shallow thrusts as you get used to his size again. your cheeks burn as you hear how wet you are, how eager you are to take his stupid fucking cock. "hah. missed me?"

it doesn't take long before he's speeding up, his deep, fast thrusts taking the wind out of you and have your hands scrambling for purchase. he's long given up trying to muffle your pretty noises; he prefers to hear them, anyway. and if anybody walks in on the two of you, that's your problem.

"toji, toji—" you gasp as he hits that spot inside of you that make you see stars. your fingernails dig into his shoulder from how hard your gripping them. "i can't, fuck—"

toji hums, adjusting your position so your legs sat on his shoulders and he's closer than ever before. his face is so close to you that you can feel the warmth of his breath, his eyes trained on yours. then without warning, he's thrusting up into you again, his cock going deeper than you thought possible.

"oh, god!" your eyes roll to the back of your head as the head of his cock brush up against tbe deepest parts of you. loud, unbidden moans fall from your lips effortlessly, unable to bite them back now that he's fucking you like this. it's so good it hurts, but with toji you find that you quite like the pain of it, too.

it isn't long before you're babbling, murmuring incoherent words as toji fucked you against the wall. it only illicits a chuckle from him, but you relish in the fact that he sounds as breathless as you feel.

"can't get enough of this cunt." he presses his thumb on your clit, grinning boyishly as you yelp and try to get away from him. "shit, you're still so sensitive." he rubs your clit and watches as little beads of tears collect in the corner of your eyes, falling down when you close them. he presses his cheek against yours, licking up the salty stream of your tears with a groan. "can't get enough of this cock, too, huh?"

"you're a freak." you manage to say, straining to look at him. toji raises his brow, his hand letting go of your waist before travelling up to your neck, holding it there loosely. his touch makes your shiver.

"oh, yeah?" toji tightens his grip, and your cunt tightens around him in turn. he laughs. "yeah, right."

the coil in your belly is threatening to burst. you're so close, you can taste it, and by the way toji's thrusts are getting sloppier and harder with each turn tells you that he's close, too.

"kiss me." it rushes out of you like a gasp. "fuck, toji, please. kiss me."

there's a look of surprise on his face before he chuckles. he indulges you, kissing you slowly as he pulls out almost the entirety of his cock, the head of it kissing your greedy pussy, before pistoning in again, your legs shaking as it swallows up his entire length. once, twice, thrice - then he's cumming inside of you, his groan muffled against your lips. your orgasm crashes into you the same time his does, your moans swallowed by his mouth on yours. the warmth pooling inside you as he fills you with his seed makes your chest flutter with want despite yourself. god, he's going to be the death of you.

you catch your breath in silence. in tbe afterglow, you finally get a good look at him. he looks the same as he always does, but there's something different you can't quite place.

"i told you, toji." you say, and you hate the way you still sound breathless. you meet his eyes, subconsciously trying to memorize the planes of his face, the way sweat coats his tanned skin, the way his hair stuck to his forehead, that scar on his lip. "no more of this."

"alright." for the first time since you've known him, toji smiles. it isn't kind, but it isn't mocking, either. something in your stomach twists. "no more of this. got it."

when he sets you down, you try to ignore the way your legs wobble and shake. you busy yourself with straightening up your dress and picking up your bag of groceries, mind woefully still in a high from his - ahem - generous fucking. when you look up and try to find him, he's gone. if it weren't for the sticky cum dripping down your thighs, you would have thought that he was a product of your imagination.

you sigh and start to walk to your apartment. it's no use, trying to get a hold of a man no better than ghost that appears and disappears whenever it pleases. yet, you can't deny that some part of you feels disappointed that this was your goodbye.

...

perhaps a ghost was quite right.

after that, you never see him again.

[rikiflrts]

At The Usual Spot.

synopsis. after traversing through teyvat for what seemed like decades to find your twin sibling, you decided to take a break from the hustle and bustle as you allowed yourself to bask in your innermost desires, which you were reluctant to do—falling in love. you settled in fontaine with paimon a little over a year ago to take a breather, and that’s where you meet the charming magician who, for some reason, you couldn’t take your eyes off of. it was almost like he hypnotized you, except he didn’t. it was true that he was one of the greatest magicians who’ve ever existed in teyvat, but who would’ve thought that his greatest act yet would leave the most bittersweet aftertaste? you already lost your sibling, and now...you've possibly just lost the love of your life.

contents. gn!reader, fontaine arc is altered here but there are some minor spoilers, flashbacks are italicized, suggestive-ish themes, use of french words, slight profanity. angst.

words. 13,134

reblogs are very much appreciated !! ଘ(˵╹-╹)━☆

being a traveler was no joke. you had to venture into multiple regions and chew on any information you could get from the archons—most of them couldn’t even give you a concrete answer as to where your twin sibling was, even though you knew that they were connected to your blood kin somehow. one of the archons was a drunk bard who couldn’t be taken seriously in a nutshell; another was a man who had his lips sealed due to a contract; then followed a woman who made puppets to rule her kingdom so she could isolate herself from the world; then there was a small flower girl that shrank and had amnesia; and then there was this archon who hosted jury trials in the opera house as a form of entertainment.

you’d think that most of them could at least help you gain intel since they’re considered as highly ranked entities that serve their people through systems, but ironically enough, the only person who was really able to help was the flower girl who changed lives.

no, literally, she changed lives. look at the wanderer, for example—she took him under her wing, and now he’s a changed man. well, not really, but at least he was friendlier.

you met a lot of people who have helped you along the way, but in order to make a living, you took up commissions and went on various adventures. it was a routine;  you enter a new region, you meet the archon, you help them solve their issues, and then they tell you to skidaddle and move on to the next region. 

you’ve been going at it for what seemed like years. you’re burned out, and your mind needs a break from the constant demands that people keep weighing on your shoulders.

paimon said it herself. you needed a break. you were so much of a people-pleaser and a workaholic that you didn’t even notice your own mental health declining.

“this can’t keep going on, traveler! paimon knows how badly you want to be reunited with your sibling, but paimon is worried that you might end up collapsing due to exhaustion!!” the emergency food says worriedly as she tugs on your sleeve. the pitch of her voice went up a bit higher, which indicated the intensity of her tone. she was really concerned about you.

“paimon, i can’t stop now. the sooner we move, the faster we can find them.” you say adamantly as you gently remove her hand from your sleeve before flattening it out so that it doesn’t wrinkle, “i’ll be fine.” you say in an attempt to reassure you with a solemn look on your face, but paimon responds by stomping her feet mid-air. “paimon can’t stand seeing you like this traveler!! please, just take a break!” 

you sigh at her stubbornness, which is ironic because you were being stubborn too.

“alright, i’ll take a break-” you got cut off mid-sentence as paimon squeals in excitement, “YOU WILL?? HOORAY! paimon thinks we should stop by at the tavern so we could reple-” “paimon.” “oh…ehe. sorry, continue...” she says sheepishly with an apologetic smile after realizing that she was getting ahead of herself once again.

“as i was saying, i’ll take a break, but only once we set foot in fontaine. two weeks should be enough.” you finally continued, to which paimon responded with bright, gleaming eyes. “really??? do you promise that?” paimon asks eagerly as she holds up her pinky, indicating that a pinky promise should be made to seal the deal. you couldn’t help but laugh at her childishness.

“pinky promise.” 

true to your word, you did plan to take a break once you arrived in the hydro archons’ kingdom. you were aware that your presence would cause an uproar among the masses since word has gone out that a blonde traveler fought with heaven and earth just to do justice to the people on land, and apparently, a publishing company called the steambird was the one that made that silly headline.

because of that, you were forced to keep a low profile for the time being to avoid everyone’s attention shifting onto you.

and that is why, as of now, you were wearing a hood that covered your distinct, blonde hair as you got boarded off at the romaritime harbor. the deep waterfalls that extended through the horizon made a lightly deafening sound as you could vividly hear the impact of the water crashing down onto the ocean repeatedly in a continuous cycle. 

ignoring that unbearable rhythm, you hummed to yourself in contentment as you looked around—there were dogs adorned with jewelry and articles of clothing, transportation vehicles that followed specific currents, and mechanical guards with human-like forms wandering around the harbor—it was a sight to behold. the rumors were true after all. fontaine is way ahead of its time.

“this seems like a curious place to reside in…” you mumble to yourself while looking around you as you walk up to what seems like an elevator, unbeknownst to the ash-blonde male who was about to collide with you.

“ouch!!” “gah-!”

you were quite a high-alert person, but you got so distracted with sight-seeing that you ended up bumping into the stranger before falling to the ground. 

“archons…” you winced in pain as the impact of the fall made its way to your bum. you were too focused on making sure that you fell unscathed to see the man in front of you. 

“oh heavens!! ma chérie, are you alright?” he spoke with a hint of concern. you still didn’t look up at him. judging by the way he talks alone, you could tell that he was a lively person who could achieve anything he set his mind to. his intonation was enough for you to decipher what kind of person he could possibly be. but alas, it appears that you were the only one who fell from the impact, though, which explains why he lowered himself as he offered to lend you a hand to stand up. 

“yes, i’m alright.” you say politely as you take his hand to stabilize yourself as you stand up. once your feet were finally placed back on the ground, your eyes met his mischievous violet orbs. “I apologize for bumping into you, mr. …” you trailed off, realizing that you don’t really know who this man is. he wore interesting clothes—that of a magician. you didn’t really want to assume what he does for a living though, so you chose to call him the first thing that came to mind. “mr… hat?” you say awkwardly as you bow lightly to avoid his eyes due to embarrassment, which earned a hearty chuckle from his delicate figure.

“mr. hat, you say?” he chuckles once again before continuing. “ah! where are my manners? allow me to introduce myself. my name is lyney, and i am a renowned magician here in fontaine.” he places one hand to his chest and the other behind his back as he bows down in almost a curtsey as a form of greeting.’ so he IS a magician…’ you thought to yourself. you were about to let your mind wander once more until he continued.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” he paused for a moment and grabbed your hand gently before continuing,  “oh legendary traveler.” he locked eye contact with you as he kissed your hand lightly. as if the kiss wasn’t enough to fluster you, he even found out your true identity. you got taken aback by his direct nature, but you paid little-to-no mind to his formality. “how did you know???” you leaned into him and whispered as fear was written all over your face. you started to panic as you looked around to see if anyone had heard him.

‘is this man always this…brazen?’ you thought to yourself.

“well…” he trailed off smiling as his eyes shifted his focus onto something else. your gaze followed his, which made you realize that the hood that hid your face neatly from unwanted gazes had fallen to your shoulders.

so much for keeping a low profile.

you widen your eyes and internally curse yourself for being so careless. you’re so out of it today. paimon was right, you really needed to get some rest.

just as that realization crept onto you, you heard a snap! illicit from the magician’s fingers and before you knew it, your hood went back into place, hiding your golden locks as if he performed a magic trick.

you witnessed all kinds of bizarre phenomena; harnessing visions was one thing, but sincere gestures and instances like this felt surreal to you. it was as if the inner child in you slowly crawled their way out of hiding as you reminisced about the magic shows you watched as a child with your twin during previous expeditions.

the nostalgic but fleeting feeling left a bittersweet taste on your lips.

you looked at him in awe, to which he replied with a smirk. “what? cat got your tongue?” he teases you with an amusing look on his face. “very funny.” you dryly laughed at his pun as you tugged on the hem of your hoodie to attempt to hide your face even more.

lyney noticed your odd behavior and asked, “are you hiding from someone, by any chance?” you stared at him blankly for a couple of seconds before replying, “im not really hiding from someone per se, im just trying to avoid getting too much attention.” you then briefly explained what you were going through and that you wanted to rest for a while in this new environment before going back to your daily routine.

“i see. so you’re not a fugitive that’s on the loose right now, correct?” he jokingly says as he traces the brim of his top hat. your gaze unconsciously followed where his fingertips landed, which gave you the opportunity to appreciate the feline crest that was embroidered on his clothing with delicate detail. “hey, im just trying to take it easy.” you said in defense as you pouted lightly since you didn’t like what he just accused you of, finally tearing your eyes away from the mischievous magician who stood before you.

meanwhile, lyney over here finds you intriguingly adorable. it made him want to tease you more.

“im just making sure. you now stand on sacred grounds of justice under the hydro archon herself. it wouldn’t be a favorable place for you to be in had you done something illegal, no?” he smirks, violet orbs still staring straight through your soul as he slightly tips his head forward—almost like a playful form of provocation. 

“you must be mistaken, monsieur lyney. i wouldn’t do something as disgraceful as that, so rest assured.” you say in a matter-of-a-fact tone. it was a good thing katheryn taught you a few french words before you headed to the hydro archons’ region. It’s just like what she said: when in fontaine, do what the fontainians do. 

lyney’s eyebrows perked up in surprise as he heard you call him by a formal honorific in his native language. see, normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal because the word monsieur was commonly thrown around for formality and respect. but for some reason, hearing that eight-lettered word roll out from those lovely lips of yours made his heart do a summersault. the fact that you also said it in their thick accent made him all the more amused.

“but of course, i was only teasing you, mademoiselle!” He laughs it off which makes you sigh in relief. you broke eye contact with him as you shifted and ruffled your clothing for a bit as you felt the cold wind slip through the gaps of your cloak. it was getting cold, you should get going soon.

you were about to bid farewell to the fiery-spirited magician, but when you looked back up, he was no longer there. 

“huh…” in a confused state, you tiptoe yourself upwards to see if he had walked far, only for you to be startled by a voice behind you.

“looking for me?” lyney whispered cheekily in your ear. you yelled shortly after he did this out of surprise before hitting him lightly on the shoulder. “don’t do that next time, you scared me!! why are you even there anyways??” lyney only smiles as you look at him with widened eyes. “how’d you like my disappearing act?” he avoids your question. 

“i wouldn’t really call that a disappearing act. i bet you just took the opportunity to silently sneak behind me while i wasn’t looking.” you rebutted with a scoff. “oh but ma chérie, magic is all about the art of deception. it wasn’t a real magic trick, i admit, but the gesture was simple enough to have you on your tiptoes just to catch sight of me once more.” his words almost felt as if it had different meanings, but you shrugged it off. “in your dreams, magic man..” you tease him by sticking your tongue out childishly, finally going along with his flow. 

“haha. you really are an adorable little one, now aren’t you?” He says amusingly as he lifts up your chin with his index finger. “who are you calling litt-” he hushes your lips with the same finger before winking. “ah-ah-ah.” he says with a smug look in his eyes. 

honestly, you were about to throw hands at this man because he was being so touchy with you despite just meeting, but then you felt the sharp coldness melting on your skin as a comfortable warmth enveloped you. 

“how did you do that…” you look at lyney in a bewildered state as he only chuckled at your innocent reaction. “i only used my vision to balance your body temperature, ma chérie. im pretty sure you of all people know what visions are.” he says humbly as his touch breaks contact with your skin. you felt a burning sensation in the spots where he lingered, and you didn’t mean this literally.

“no but the control you have over your vision, it's… it’s amazing. thank you.” only then did you let out a heart-warming close-eyed smile that lyney ever-so loved as he witnessed the sight. the atmosphere was just right. night has fallen but the moon did not fail to illuminate your skin as it gave you a radiant glow; you were as clear as day. the animosity of the cold season lingered through all parts of the romaritime harbor—he could warm up the place easily if he wished to with his pyro vision—and yet your smile was enough to denoise the unseasonably cold weather. 

lyney determinedly thought to himself as he pondered with his thumb and index finger cupping his chin. that’s it. you have to be there. you just have to be. 

as if on cue, lyney snaps his fingers in realization once he musters up the courage to be bold. “traveler, you have something on your hair.” he points innocently at your hidden locks. you could’ve sworn that nothing was there before but you felt a light-weight object cling to the strands of your hair. you looked at him cautiously before slowly taking it out of your hair. 

you thought this was an insect or a prank of some sort, but to your surprise, it was a beautiful flower that had hues of yellows and blues mixed in with the soft petals of pink romantics. the night sky gave it justice as it lightly twinkled with the stars.

you really didn’t know what to expect from this man, he was unpredictable. “is this…” you trailed off, not knowing what to say. you were too busy adoring what the magician presented for you to realize just how much he was savoring the sight of you being absolutely starstruck by his favorite flower. “it’s a rainbow rose. i’m giving it to you as a token of our camaraderie tonight.” 

“that’s too kind of you.” you say shyly to which he responds by nodding his head. “nonsense. here, let me just…” lyney gently takes the rose away from you as he places it inside of the open pocket of your attire. “there. it looks beautiful on you.” the man says with sincerity as he takes a step back and basks under the sight of you; a delicate rose, with his delicate rose. 

you feel warmth creeping up to your cheeks and think that maybe it’s just lyney’s vision trying to balance your temperature, but in reality, you were actually just starting to get really flustered by the man who stood before you. 

“cut it out.” you giggled as you rolled your eyes playfully. he chuckled in response and took a bow before taking off his top hat and placing it to his chest while the other hand rested behind his back. “traveler, that rainbow rose is of significance to me as it symbolizes love and passion in its’ purest form.” he starts off, eyes glimmering with curiosity as he warmly gives you a smile. “with that being said, i would like to invite you to tomorrow night’s show. i will be performing at the opera epiclese. your presence would truly honor my night.” 

the tension in the atmosphere almost made you believe that he was asking you out on a date, except you had to throw away those scandalous thoughts because you knew that none of those delusions were true. there was no way this was a date, he was going to perform in front of a huge wave of people after all. he just asked you to attend if you could. it’s not like he has an alternative motive anyway.

upon pondering seriously about his invitation, you signaled him a light nod that you’ll be able to make it, and this made his face light up. you were here to unwind for a bit, so why not enjoy a magic show by an attractive- uh, you mean, by a renowned magician? and besides, you were curious to see what he can do on stage. by the looks of it, he seems to know what he’s doing most of the time.

“so you’ll come??” stars have formed on his irises as the pitch of his voice goes slightly higher due to excitement. you find yourself giggling at his eagerness, to which he realizes that he was losing face so he clears his throat before smiling shyly. “yeah, sure. i’ll be there.”  your confirmation made him see stars that night indeed. he knew it was the right decision to give you the rainbow rose before asking you to attend his show. 

“just make sure you don’t perform a lousy disappearing act again.” you jokingly said while nudging his arm, which made him hum in response as he repositioned his top hat back on his head. 

“i’ll do something greater than that, ma chérie. just wait and see.” he says ecstasticly. “if you say so, magic man.” you laughed at his response. you thought little of his statements here, but who knew they would bear so much meaning as you connected the dots in the future?

“anyhow, as much as i hate to leave, i sadly have to disentangle myself from you tonight as i still have some preparations to make for tomorrow’s show. i’ll see you there at 8 pm sharp, traveller.” he says as he kisses your hand. “haha.  see you too, lyney.” you say in response.

And with that, the magician disappeared into the severance of the night as you stood still, star-struck by what just transpired before you.

“lyney huh…” paimon appeared out of nowhere and teased with a smug look on her face. you only gave her a deadpanned stare in response. “no.”

“but traveler!! he said it himself! the rainbow rose symbolizes love and passion!! what if he’d fallen for you?” paimon whined as she ushered the idea of lyney possibly developing an interest in you. “he also said that he mastered the art of deception or something. maybe he did that for lip service. you know, like how magicians put on a false mask to put on a show.” you rebutted as you rolled your eyes. “It’s not like he’s interested in me.”

“but what if he is?”

“...”

“traveler?”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...OH MY GOD WAIT IS IT THAT MAYBE YOU’RE THE ONE INTER-”

you laugh bitterly to yourself as you recall your first encounter with lyney. you remember it as clear as day—paimon teased you all night; from the walk to the elevator, to the ride on the aquabus, and to even your way towards hotel debora. she did not shut up at all. at first, she insisted that lyney had a crush on you, but after picking up on your reluctant responses to her questions in regards to the enigmatic ash-blonde, she ended up assuming that maybe it was you who got smitten by the young magician, not the other way around.

you denied every accusation she threw at you. you were just speechless, that was all. nothing more, nothing less. it was your first time ever to have been treated the way lyney treated you. you didn’t even know if you could call it flirting since he probably does this often.

but if he does it often, then that wouldn’t make you special.

no, this doesn’t bother you at all. he could give another girl a rainbow flower for all you care. 

“you are soooo in denial!~” paimon cooed. you had enough.

“JUST SHUT UP AND LET ME SLEEP FOR ARCHONS’ SAKE.” you yelled in annoyance as you stared at the pitch-black ceiling of the room you booked for the night. instead of feeling intimidated by your tone, paimon only giggled at your reaction.

you are not in denial. there’s no way the celestial gods would allow an outsider like you to fall in love with her children. you had set your priority straight; it’s to find your sibling and get them back—but then again, it’s been years. you’ve wandered endlessly on wide expansions of land, and have traversed multiple regions. you’ve helped people in their kingdom in hopes that your sibling would make themself known sooner or later, but only disappointment cascades over you as you gain little-to-no intel about where they could possibly be. 

you take a deep breath before letting out an exasperated sigh. 

‘get it together, snap out of it.’ you say to yourself as you try to rid traces of him from your mind. 

your mind then wanders to the night of the designated show. you arrived five minutes just before his performance started and to your pleasant surprise, the guard stated that your seat was to be found in the front row since you were one of the esteemed VIP guests, as requested by the great Lyney himself. you were touched by this gesture and thanked the guard for his hospitality. 

upon finding your seat, a series of spotlights have been angled to the center as the curtains slowly unveil a familiar silhouette who had a welcoming stance. he bowed to the audience as he introduced himself to the crowd. “welcome one, and all, to the opera epiclese! i am the star of today’s show, lyney!” he says with a proud stance as he enters the spotlight with open arms. “and over here is my sister, lynette, who will be working as my wonderful assistant. please, let’s give her a warm welcome!” lynette looked at the crowd with a blank but endearing stare. she bowed as her twin introduced her to the audience. they had strikingly similar features; had they swapped clothes, one could easily be fooled that one was the other. 

“now, some of you may be thinking: two vision holders who can freely manipulate elemental powers performing magic is not true magic at all.” he begins by catching the audience’s attention by using his pyro vision to mimic a fire-embued bow as lynette uses her anemo vision to mimic a bullseye. the arrow scorches through several wind currents before it hits the center of the target. the crowd clapped harmoniously in response. 

“so, i would like to take a moment to assure you that elemental powers will have nothing to do with what you will witness on the stage today.” he continues. as if on cue, one of their assistants came up to them to retrieve their visions. 

the lights grew dim as lynette was nowhere to be seen. 

“a magician’s greatest skill is making things disappear or appear; the possibilities are endless.” he starts as he takes off his top hat to bow courteously to the audience before throwing it up in mid-air and then catching it. he flipped over the hat to show everyone that there was nothing in it. he hums in contentment as he notices that all eyes are indeed, now on him. he now steps back and puts his hands off the hat. the people around you gasp in astonishment upon seeing the hat float by itself without any form of support to keep it still.

lyney lightly tapped it and sure enough, a few playing cards fell to the ground. there was a mixture of “ooh’s” and “ahh” in the crowd as he did this two more times. he chuckled to himself before pulling a new set of playing cards out of nowhere; making it disappear, then reappear, then disappear again. 

he then grabbed hold of his hat and attempted to put it back on his head, but for some reason, there was a stem firmly placed vertically inside the tophat. lyney acted clueless as to what was blocking his headway, only for him to pull out a rainbow rose.

you feel your breath hitch as he scans the trial room for a brief moment only for his gaze to be locked onto yours. a smile creeps onto his lips as he finally sees those captivating eyes of yours. 

with a snap of a finger, lyney shows the audience the rainbow rose he pulled out of his hat before making it vanish completely into thin air. the audience was too amazed to comprehend where the rose could possibly be until the spotlight shuns upon you as lyney gestured you to stand up which then revealed that the flower we thought, had disappeared—had reappeared tucked in between your hair as it rested on the outer lobe of your ear. 

the crowd squealed in excitement; others had already started spewing rumors about lyney conjuring up this show only so that he could express his adoration for you with that flower, but this could only be far from the truth. 

you could’ve sworn that this rose wasn’t there at all. you hadn’t picked any up on the way to the opera epiclese, nor have you brought with you the rainbow rose that he gave you last night.

how was he able to execute this? you wondered as your heart started beating. since you were flustered with all the attention garnering your way, you decided to sit down shyly. lyney was able to catch onto your body language which caused him to internally chuckle to himself due to the way you were acting.

you were so cute and shy, just for him.

“these little tricks? you’ve seen them all before.” he started as he segued to a different stance, “so it’s time for something truly extraordinary, don’t you think?” he asked the audience and everyone in the trial court seemed to be fully participating.

you were too, it’s just you’re too occupied with the unwavering beating of your chest.

the night went smoothly as he performed a truly extraordinary trick; he had prepared a water tank that was hoisted high up. the lynette who disappeared a little while ago was now inside the heavily locked water tank. the trick was basically to have lynette be able to break free from this near-death experience. the two of them succeeded with flying colors though, and this made the crowd go crazy for them. the only thing left in the tank was lynette’s clothes, but when she reappeared in front of the audience, she was dry, unscathed, and wore the same usual clothing, except with fewer wrinkles. they did a few more acts, and after the final trick, the curtains fell as the twins bid adieu, earning a standing ovation from everyone, including the hydro archon herself.

it was truly a sight to behold, and you enjoyed every bit of it. 

just as you were about to exit the premises, lynette came up to you and ushered you backstage as per lyney’s request yet again. you quietly obliged as she led you to the showman room where performers can touch up, get dressed, and get ready. 

why would lyney want to see you again? you pondered as you unconsciously twirled the loose strand of your hair as you were being led by lyney’s opposite.

“i’ve brought the traveler, lyney.” lynette said with a yawn as she opened the door, only to reveal a hopeful magician spinning on an office chair out of boredom. he stops almost immediately as lynette announces your not-so-grand entrance. “perfect! thank you, dear sister.” he grins as he jumps off of his seat to walk towards you. “now if you’ll excuse me, i’ll be taking a nap.” lynette said groggily before closing the door and leaving the two of you in the room.

“she’s leaving already?” you ask in a slightly dejected voice, feeling a bit disappointed that you weren’t able to befriend the interesting feline who looked exactly like her brother. 

“she’s been up all night diving with our younger brother, freminet. they were collecting some materials for the magic pockets that we distribute to people in the romaritime harbor.” he explained shyly as he adjusted one of his black gloves.

“i see…” you hum in approval as you look around the room. there was a black victorian coat rack next to the vanity mirror that had light bulbs bulging from the sides. the walls were painted with a light hue of white and brown; the contrasts gave depth to the ceiling which had a quite grandiose-looking chandelier. lyney could only watch as your eyes traveled the room with curiosity. 

“so, what did you call me here for?” you asked breaking the ice since he wasn’t stirring up a conversation as you thought he would. lyney gestured for you to sit on the couch to which you obliged, but you didn’t expect that he’d sit next to you despite having way more room on the other end. “i wanted to ask if you enjoyed the show tonight,” he says while fidgeting with his glove. it was rather odd to see someone as confident as him fidget in nervousness under your presence, but you didn’t think much of it. maybe he just got intimidated by you.

“of course i did, you two were amazing !! oh, and by the way, thank you so much for inviting me, let alone giving me a VIP seat. the show and the view was great.” you giggled as you recalled the chain of events that unravelled just a little while ago. the magician sighed in relief as he heard you excitedly talk about your favorite parts; he listened intently as you reinacted some of his tricks. you did poor attempts of course, but seeing how you really did love his performance warmed his heart. 

“do you like magic, traveler?” he asked while pouring you a cup of tea. “i do. my sibling and i used to stop over specific regions from different galaxies to witness all sorts of magic. well, that is until we got separated.” you mumbled out the last part as sadness lingered with your words. lyney handed you your cup and you bowed lightly as a way of saying thank you. “i’m sure you’ll find them soon, traveler.” lyney’s brows furrowed in sympathy as he looked at you with concern, his hand laying on top of yours to reassure your worries.

“i hope so.” you smiled sadly. “now, now, ma chérie. turn that frown upside down!” he says as he cups your cheeks with his gloved yet soft hands. “what do you think you’re doing.” you laughed as you looked at him in the eye. your cheeks formed a pinkish hue, and lyney was the first to notice it seeing as how he was teasing you like this. he chuckled as he leaned in close, “you’re too beautiful to be upset.” he whispered as he stared straight into your soul.

your eyes widened lightly in surprise upon hearing him compliment you. you’ve been called beautiful on several occasions, but why is it now when your heart decides to run laps? 

“i… i beg your pardon?” you stuttered as your voice lightly cracked from embarrassment. your cheeks grew a darker shade of red as lyney broke out a laugh as you weren’t able to deliver your words properly. “ma chérie, you’re just too cute.” he chuckled while holding back his tears. you tore yourself away from his grasp and pouted. “okay, now you’re just messing with me.” you huffed as you crossed your arms in discontentment. lyney teased you further by pinching your cheek, “oh come on, how could i not with these cute reactions of yours.” he cooed while mimicking your pouty face. 

you rolled your eyes and hit him playfully. “do you normally do this to people you meet on the outskirts of the harbor? is this a normal occurrence for you?” you asked absent-mindedly, not realizing what direction this conversation was headed. lyney blinked his eyes twice as if to process what you just said before smirking to himself. “no, i suppose this is a first for me.” he smiled cheekily as he leaned on the sofa, placing one of his elbows on the cushion as he rests his chin on his elbow, body completely facing you.

“and what about you? do you usually allow yourself to be reeled in by men you just met on the outskirts of the harbor as they make their advances towards you?” he asks continuously, which makes you arch your brow as he finishes his sentence. “no. this is a first for me too.” you say as you eye him cautiously. “wait so… does this mean that you’re flirting with me?” you tilted your head slightly to the side as you unconsciously leaned in. lyney noticed your body language, and he was amused as to where this was going. 

he, too, leaned in, but this time, to your ear. you feel his warm breath tickle your sensitive skin as he teases you, “i don’t know, am i?” you rolled your eyes at his childish retort before hitting him lightly on the arm. “lyney!” he only flashed you a sweet toothy grin as he inched a bit closer to you, but you scooted further back as he did so. 

“okay. fine, you got me ma chérie.” he chuckles as he put his hands up in the air in defeat. “let’s say that i am, in fact, flirting with you. what are you going to do about it?” he whispered close to you with a smug but suggestive look on his face. you begged to differ this time though, as you wanted to flip the table on him. with a smirk forming on the creases of your lip, you grabbed a hold of his cherry-colored bowtie as you lightly flatten the fabric. lyney’s breath hitches as you catch him by surprise. “you’ll have to do a better job than that if you want to find out, monsieur lyney.” 

let’s just say that things got heated and got slightly escalated ever since then. he became part of your daily routine. he always made sure to visit you in the afternoon whenever he was available. word had spread out that the renowned magician often spent his time with you more than with his own twin, lynette; to be fair, she didn’t mind at all. she preferred it this way. she thought it was refreshing to see her brother annoy someone other than her as she was worried that he would only depend on her company until archons knew when.

besides, she lowkey schemed with paimon to set you two up together anyway.

after your two-week break, lyney brought it upon himself to accompany you on your adventures. he would help you during your commissions and has been nothing but supportive throughout your journey. he even went as far as making you a top priority guest when you told him that you needed to speak with the hydro archon for any form of possible intel that you could gather. you heard that it was hard to request an audience to the furina, and you couldn’t thank lyney enough when he went the extra mile to get you closer to your goals. 

there wasn’t where the two of you wouldn’t be seen out on the streets of fontaine; you were inseparable. it’s not like the two of you were lovebirds who did PDA either, but from the locals’ perspective, all they see are two youthful souls—one is excessively trying to shower them with affection while the other is still in denial. you happened to be the latter. 

to be fair, the concept of love never really struck you. of all the years you’ve lived through since you were born, you only know of love from familial means or via forms of friendships. you never had the time for trivial matters. but for some unforeseen reason, this man, who gave you rainbow roses every day as a symbol of his affection for you, this man, who often extended his hand to you to hold on whenever you felt anxious, this man,  who jot down notes of what you like and dislike so that he’s reminded of how to please you, this man, who made sure to put your safety above his own even though he knows you could fully fend for yourself, this man, who didn’t even need to ask you what you’d order because he knew it at heart, was now ordering your go-to meal at café lucerne as you wait for him patiently under the shade. 

he expressed his adoration for you on several occasions, but you weren’t the type to assume things, so you merely brushed off some of his advances. a couple of months have passed since you first set foot on fontaine, and now you were having an afternoon snack session with ‘your partner in crime’.

you’d be lying if you said that you hadn’t fallen for the charming young man, but you were too scared to even explore that kind of field as you knew nothing compared to him. 

oh but was he gentle. he was patient with you even though he would get ahead of himself sometimes and overwhelm you with his overly affectionate personality. you knew you’d already fallen. you were just in denial. you thought that once you’ve explored fontaine enough, you would bid him farewell as you move on to the next region. part of you thought that maybe it was all just an act too; he did say that he mastered the art of deception—and yet, then again, who were you to even question his motives when he’s been nothing but sweet and supportive towards you?

that’s right. he would never do such a thing, would he? 

you glanced over at the male who was on his way to your table as he held the tray with your food, a smile plastered on his face. “i got you your favorite, my treat.” he smiled cheekily as he carried your order and placed it on your side of the table. “thank you,” you replied with a warm smile.

this man would never hurt me. you thought sincerely as you watched him cutely munch on his favorite snack-o-bites. “these turn out perfect no matter how many times they make this, i swear.” lyney groaned in delight as he ate his food. you couldn’t help but look at the young magician in front of you with loving eyes, as if you were put in a trance.

lyney, yet again, noticed how your eyes looked at him with so much warmth, with made him lightly blush. “take a picture, it lasts longer.” he teased to illicit a reaction out of you, but an idea erupted from your systems as if a light bulb had suddenly appeared out of no where. 

you rummaged through your belongings and sought out the kamera that you got from a wandering trader during previous expeditions. once you found it, you showed it to lyney and he almost spit out his food. “my..! a kamera!” he said in astonishment as he examined the mechanical object. “you’re right, taking a picture would last longer.” you say as you press a button, which automatically linked to the shutter. lyney was unprepared and he whined that you take another one, but you thought he looked cute in the candid photo that you took. 

he got his revenge by snatching the kamera away from you and taking candid photos of you too, except he didn’t show you the shots he took. he hid the pictures in his top hat and they disappeared to archon knows where. 

you spent more time with lyney that afternoon until the night was starting to fall. as usual, you expected to temporarily say goodbye to each other as you had other things to attend to during this hour, but lyney stopped you from your tracks by grabbing hold of your arm.

“wait.” he called out to you, which made you turn your head back to face him. “mhm?” you hummed as you looked at him with expecting eyes. lyney was fidgeting and he looked askance. it was almost as if he was itching to tell you something. “what is it, lyney?” you asked the ash blonde as you lay your hand on top of his, wondering what was going on in his mind right now as he avoided eye contact with you.

“lyney?” you called out to him for the umpteenth time, snapping him out of his trance, his attention now darted to you as he flashed you an apologetic smile. he hesitated for a bit to answer, until he finally responded, “it’s nothing, ma chérie. i apologize, i just stalled for a bit because i wanted to see your face one more time before you go.” he said in his usual ecstatic tone, but something about it put you off. was it the way he adjusted his glove? he usually does this whenever he’s nervous about something. you were about to ask him about it until you saw his twin walking towards you.

“lyney. let’s go.” lynette alerted the magician as she tapped him lighty on his back, which startled lyney. “lynette–! don’t startle me like that…” lyney sighed as he rubbed the back of his palm. lynette peaked over his shoulder and tipped her head forward to you as a form of greeting, “traveler.”

“lynette, good evening.” you smiled at the girl. lynette nods in acknowledgement before side-eying her twin sibling. he looks back at her and squints his eyes with a frown, earning a furrowed and confused look from lynette. lyney bit his lower lip due to impatience which made his sister sigh.

you had no idea what they were doing but you only guessed that they were telepathically communicating with one another. 

“are you two doing good?” you took a step forward and looked at the twins with worry. Lynette looked at you for a good two seconds before speaking up, “traveler, listen–” she was cut off immediately by lyney, who oh-so-dramatically looked at the clock before exclaiming “oh would you look at the time, we are running late lynette!! we must hurry!!!” he yelled in a panicked frenzy as he packed up his bags before running to who knows where. lynette could only play along with her sibling as she waved you goodbye. “apologies, traveler. we have urgent matters to attend to.” she bowed before turning her heel and running after her brother.

“...what was that about?” you mumbled to yourself, feeling a lump of uneasiness form internally. you could only watch the siblings run off into the distance; the farther they got, the harder it was to spot them as their figures turned into dots.

something about this felt wrong.

something about this felt really wrong.

although lyney had offered to lend you a helping hand on your adventures, you can’t help but notice how there would be times when he’d zone out. he would stare intently at an inanimate object, his eyes clouded with an unexplainable expression. whenever you try calling him out, he snaps out of it as if he wasn’t disassociating a few minutes ago. 

you loved spending time with him, but oftentimes you felt as if he was wearing a mask. he would never tell you what troubled him even though you, yourself have been vulnerable in front of him on several occasions. you’ve already talked so much about yourself only to realize that lyney hadn’t shared any of his past with you either. he only listened to your stories.

this realization made a wave of guilt wash over you—you didn’t want to seem like you didn’t care about him at all—so you tried asking about him too whenever you got the chance to. with no luck, you got nothing out of him. indeed, he answered your questions, but it was too vague. it’s like he was hiding something a whole lot more the more you pry into his life. 

you couldn’t fully understand the magician. he would always put up a high-spirited front with that exhilarating personality of his, and yet something about his unwavering happy-go-lucky personality grew wary of what the ash blonde was really thinking from time to time. 

unlike his sister, he was evasive when it came to personal questions. lynette was the blunt and honest type, but for some reason, lyney’s so-called ‘honesty’ felt as if it was laced with a heavy lot of sugarcoating. he hasn’t done anything wrong to upset you. in fact, he seemed like the perfect candidate for a love interest had you ever even thought about entering a relationship with him. and yet here you are, left alone in the pouring rain after lyney left you abruptly for unknown circumstances. 

lyney was accompanying you during a commission sent by navia, the spina di rosula president, and things were going well. all you had to do was find clues in regard to the innocence of callas, the late founder of the organization. just as you were about to head back to their headquarters to retrieve and report the data you’ve gathered, lyney abruptly excused himself and left the scene. 

you had no idea what came over the young man, but you only assumed that he had other urgent matters to attend to. he has already done more than enough to help you, after all. so who were you to stop him from leaving?

even still, ithe way he left was rather off-putting. during your way back, you noticed that he felt out of reach; he zoned out often and looked restless. you have no clue as to what triggered him into this state—you asked if he was doing alright, but he only smiled in response and gave you a false thumbs up so you could stop worrying about him. 

you couldn’t recall the first time he started acting distant despite being so close to you. but one thing you knew for sure was that he had a couple of failed attempts into telling you something only for him to change his mind and change the topic immediately. 

you and your deluded self thought that maybe he was trying to confess to you, but you weren’t dumb enough to know that this situation couldn’t be applied to the way he was acting toward you. lyney sure did act head over heels for you, and you admit, you were smitten by the young man who often performed magic shows in the opera epiclese, but you just couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness as you talk to him sometimes.

being with him is like painting on a blank canvas with a transparent medium. you see so much room for endless possibilities, and your imagination envisions all kinds of art forms that you could interpret onto the canvas. you stroke your brushes to create the perfect picture you’ve idealized but then, you come to a realization that none of the strokes you’ve made were rendered. you shrug the idea off, thinking that this isn’t a big deal, so you try again. the result remains the same. no matter how much you paint, nothing blooms out of the canvas, and yet it still stands proudly in all its glory. you try dipping your brush in vibrant colors, but no matter what you do, nothing slips through the seams of his never-ending depth of hollowness.

there were times when he’d be hot, but then he’d grow cold. he’d shower you with warmth one day only to leave you questioning what you’ve possibly done wrong the next as he acts indifferent. you were starting to get bothered by this, and you wanted to confront him if he continued this further because your mind was going all around the place.

is this what it’s like to fall in love? you were a traveler. an outsider, even. you had to embrace different cultures and embark on journeys with unfamiliar faces everywhere. you, too, were scared, but you had no choice but to plow through just so you could see your sibling again. never in a million years did you imagine yourself being so…caught up over a man.

without even noticing it, your mood depended on his. lyney was like a firework; he was so beautiful and yet so out of reach. no matter how much warmth he showers your way, no matter how much color he brings into your life, he will remain distant despite being so out in the open. the closer you try to get, the more you get burnt with the reality of his facade. 

everything about him bothered you; the way his lips curled into a smile, the way his eyes sparkled with passion every time he performed his magic shows, the way his laughter sounded like symphonies resonating in an orchestra, the way he treated you gently and cares greatly for his people, the way he made it known to the crowd that you were his rainbow rose, the way he touched you gently with his soft and meticulous hands as he dived into your soul with his hypnotizing eyes… 

fuck. 

you were no longer in denial. 

you adored lyney. you liked everything about lyney. you longed to see him again, you longed to be within his vicinity once more. only he was able to break your walls and make you spiral like this.

was this why your heart felt so restless every time you were separated from each other? the last time you felt this way was the day you washed up ashore in mondstat with your sibling nowhere in sight. ‘that explains a lot…’ you sigh to yourself as you feel your heart breathe in relief as you finally admit to yourself the feelings that you kept hidden for so long. 

you brushed aside the worries that crept onto you earlier. ‘there’s no need to be negative, maybe he’s not ready to say what’s on his mind yet’. that’s right. you shouldn’t rush him into opening up. being there for him is the least that you could do for him, so you figured to be more patient and supportive towards him. 

you could only hope that your sincerity would reach him.

a few days have passed since you last encountered lyney at café lucerne. your days at fontaine were coming to a halt soon as you needed to depart to your next destination; natlan. you’ve stayed in fontaine for almost a year, and you hadn’t noticed how quickly time was passing by. it was all thanks to that young magician who made your stay here worthwhile though. 

you’ve gained a sufficient amount of intel. luckily enough, the hydro archon was accommodating to your inquiries. the abyss seemed to have a strong chokehold on your sibling though, as deinsleif reappeared to venture with you in one of your adventures to unveil the secrets of the prophecy that lay within fontaine. 

the grind never stops—or so paimon says.

you were scheduled to leave a few days from now, as requested by katheryn. you were in love with lyney—to which you can finally admit to yourself proudly—but this wouldn’t stop you from finishing what you’ve started. you’ve rested long and well enough, as well as succumbed to your hidden desires. it was time to move to the next region.

you already told the twins about the date of your departure, and they wished for your safety. lyney still looked restless. he looked even more restless than the last time you’ve seen him to be honest. he asked lynette to leave the room for a bit so he could talk to you alone in the meantime.

he had a frown on his face but you only smiled meekly at him, reasoning that you’re a traveler for a reason and that you shouldn’t overstay. he knew this all along but asked for one condition. 

“can we meet up one more time before you go? just you and i, and maybe even lynette, with no one else intervening,” he asked with pleading eyes as he trailed his finger on your hands gently. you shivered from his touch. 

“of course, where would you like to rendezvous?” he chuckled at your terminology. “at the usual spot. 7 pm sharp.” you smiled before holding out your pinky promise, mimicking paimon’s actions the day before you departed for fontaine. “deal.” he smiled back and intertwined his pinky with yours. 

“i’ll give you a show that you’ll never forget even as you go on your adventures in far and distant lands. you won’t have a choice other than to think about me.” he determinedly states as he locks his violet hues with your crystalline orbs. you laugh at his sentiments, unbeknownst to the weight that his words hold.

“i swear to archons lyney, if you perform one more lousy disappearance act,” you teased as you let out a melodic laugh. lyney scoffed playfully before responding, “that wasn’t even considered as an act! i can do something way better than that.” you raise one of your brows, intrigued by his statement. “oh yeah? like what?” you mused, crossing your arms as your body unconsciously leaned forward toward him. 

lyney gives you an unreadable look before he quickly snaps out of his daze and shakes his head lightly. he faintly smiled before saying, “you’ll see.”

some time has passed, and it was already the night of your supposed meet-up. the day that followed would be the day when you bid adieu to fontaine. 

you pushed through the grand entrance of the opera eclipse; it was the usual spot. the very spot where you first felt your heart yearn for lyney, and the very place where you had your first kiss stolen.

you came alone as requested. paimon stayed behind at the hotel to catch some z’s before your long journey tomorrow. 

oddly enough though, a different guard asked for your identity for security. he wore the standard protocol uniform, but it was an unfamiliar face—barely recognizable. he wore a black-feathered mask that covered the tip of his nose, almost like the kinds you’d see at masquerade balls. lyney did mention that this night would be different from his previous shows.

“you must be the traveler, come in. your seat is on the front row, right in the dead center.” he said in a low but welcoming voice. you tipped your head as a way of showing your thanks as he led you to your seat. the lights were dimmer than what you were accustomed to. what caught your attention more though was the fact that everyone in the theatre wore the same mask as the security guard. there were only a few people including you, but they were scattered throughout the area. they all had their attention focused on the stage.

weird. maybe this was part of the show.you start growing anxious as to what kind of show that sly magician would perform today. the last time he asked you to come here alone led to a steamy makeout session in the middle of the stage with the spotlight centered on the two of you. just the two of you, with your lips on his. you had no idea how he was able to keep people from entering, but he reasoned that he needed to occupy the area on his own to make safety measures for his “equipment”, but all he did was savor you and your sweetness.

you shake your head lightly at the memory, your cheeks turn a bright red. 

your heart starts pounding with every second that passed. the show still hadn’t started yet as the curtains blocked the view of the main stage, but you really couldn’t help but wonder what lyney had prepared for you today. 

was he finally going to confess? maybe even ask you to be his? could it be that he orchestrated this show only as an excuse to take you by the hand and court you properly before you depart for tomorrow?

your lips unconsciously curl into a smile as you daydream about the what-ifs in your head. it was cut off shortly though by a familiar voice you heard from the loudspeaker as it reverberated in the room.

“once upon a time, there was once a blonde traveler who traversed through teyvat for what seemed like decades in hopes to find their long lost sibling.” lyney began with a story-telling tone laced with his voice. your ears immediately perk up at his narration. a bright light shone upon the stage which revealed shadow puppets of you and paimon’s figure wandering around the globe to match his lines. you marveled at the sight.

“but after region hopping for so long, the blonde traveler decides to rest in the land of justice where they meet a peculiar magician who accidentally bumped into them by the harbor.” the shadow puppets reinacted your first encounter with each other, which made you giggle in response. 

is this how he’s going to confess to me? you wondered amusingly, feeling touched by his efforts as you listened further to his dialogue.

“the magician noticed the traveler trying to hide their identity, and he used this to his advantage to tease them. the traveler, now shocked, asked him in a state of panic how he found out. he laughed in response and pointed out that their hood slipped off, and that he could easily recognize them, even from afar.” the shadow puppets played the same exact scenario and waited for the next signal.

“he then invited them to watch his show at the opera theatre. little did the blonde traveler know what they had in store for them.” you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion with the last sentence, curious as to where this was going.

“he fell for their wits, and was charmed by their unwavering bravery. even as they brushed his advances off, he never stopped doting on them.” he was practically confessing at this point, and you felt your cheeks grow warm.

“the magician performed all sorts of tricks; making things appear and disappear was an easy task for him as he excelled in this expertise,” as if on cue, the curtain slowly unveils lyney’s figure with a microphone in hand. he took a deep breath as he locks eye contact with you before continuing, “but the only thing that he cant get to disappear is the thought of you.” 

your eyes widened as you behold the sight in front of you. lyney wasn’t wearing his usual attire, he was wearing a black tuxedo suit. his red bowtie was still evident, but his noticeable top hat and cape were nowhere in sight. he was breathtaking. 

“he fell in love with the traveler for each day that passed by, and he could tell that the traveler was starting to develop feelings for him too.” he extended his arms and got a pair of scissors, his swift hands gracefully cutting over the edges of the folded paper which then revealed the two of their silhouettes dancing with your arms around him. 

you recall when that event happened. it was during that one time you visited the siblings in their home but only lyney was home despite lynette calling you over for dinner. you figured that they must’ve schemed this because lyney didn’t question nor look for them as you arrived, you only spent the night dancing to some tunes and learning more about each other.

“everything was going all according to plan,” he paused for a bit as he took out the same exact mask that everyone was wearing from his pocket. “until he got sick of playing pretend.” his intonation changed from an exhilarating tone to a monotonous underglow. it was heavy and merciful. “true to his word, he did perform something even greater than a lousy disappearance act.” he scoffed before continuing, “in fact, it was all premeditated. all the traveler had to do was wait and see, just as he said.”

“just make sure you don’t perform a lousy disappearing act again.” you jokingly said while nudging his arm, which made him hum in response, his eyes glowered as he repositioned his top hat back on his head. 

“i’ll do something greater than that, ma chérie. just wait and see.” 

your smile fell as you recalled his words. from the looks of it, the atmosphere had a thick tension that made you uneasy. his words contradicted the way he behaved around you previously. for some reason, you didn’t feel safe here. your gut was telling you to leave, that something bad was about to happen if you’d stayed and listened longer, but your feet remained in place as you watched the performer in front of you, still at a loss for words as the weight of the air suffocated you.

“i can see that look on your face. you’re confused—terrified, even.” he trails off as he takes a glance at your disheveled state before chuckling darkly. “so let me clarify everything before the actual play begins.” he flashes you a close-eyed smile before placing one hand to his chest and the other is extended as he bows down to you in a curtsey.

“lyney…” you called out to him, barely above a whisper. you tried to get up from your seat to reach out to him, but you were abruptly stopped by the impact of your wrists being bound to the arms of the chair. “lyney, this isn’t funny. cut it out.” you say as you break out an awkward laugh, trying to break free from the cuffs that binded you from your freedom. 

you heard minor scuffles around you which made you turn your head to see where it was coming from. the sight made you widen your eyes; the few people in the opera house was now lined up in two columns by the main door. “lyney, you’re scaring me. what’s going on??” you asked the ash blonde. he doesn’t even bother to spare you a look as he remains still in his curtsey pose.

“lyney!!” you yelled out. this must be a silly prank, right? there’s no reason for him to scare you like this…right??? right. this was just part of the show. none of this is real. none of this is real. none of this is real. none of this is re-

“ma chérie.” lyney spoke with authority in his voice before finally shifting his gaze towards you. his eyes were slit that of a feline as he hushed you with his presence. he sighed as he finally stood upright, fixing the collar of his suit in the process as he spoke, “i was tasked by father to approach you. he told me to get close to you by using any means necessary and find out your weaknesses. do not get me wrong, i enjoyed our adventures. I enjoyed having you keep me company as well.” 

“but what i haven’t told you the first time we met was that i, too, have hid my true identity from you. allow me to introduce myself again. i, lyney from the house of the hearth, humbly greets you.”

your eyes looked at him in horror as the image you carefully crafted of him your head shattered. your heart ached at the deception he conjured for you. “you’re a fatui…?” your voice croaked in disbelief as you desperately searched his eyes for the truth. your mind wavered as you clung onto your delusions, hoping deep down inside that this was all just a skit, but his silence spoke volumes.

“so everything was a lie…?” tears brimmed from your eyes as you looked at the man whom you loved with so much heartbreak. he bit his lip in contempt as he saw you in that state. lynette then emerged from the shadows and gave her twin sibling a pat on his back before he faced away from you. he couldn’t see you cry, it would weaken his resolve.

“not everything, traveler.” lynette spoke on behalf of her sibling. she, too, wasn’t wearing her usual attire. she had her hair down and her ribbon was placed neatly on one side of her head. she was wearing a beautiful black dress that reached just below her knee and she was also wearing the same exact mask that lyney was wearing.

“this idiotic brother of mine took the words by any means necessary quite too literally. he was not supposed to be intimate towards you. father graciously forbid him from overstepping his boundaries.” lynette deadpanned as she glanced at her brother. he was trying so hard to keep up a front; he was slightly trembling, but only lynette can tell. “he fell for you gradually even though he was the one who initiated everything. believe me when i say that all of his efforts for you were sincere.” lynette says firmly as she places her right hand in her chest. it was a mannerism that she often did whenever she was being honest, but you could only scoff at her words.

“that doesn’t change the fact that you two deceived me!!” you yelled in protest as you struggled to break free from the binds that kept you tied down the chair. “had i known you were part of the fatui, i would’ve never allowed myself to have my life here in fontaine revolve around you two!” you yelled angrily as tears rolled down your cheeks,  “had i known you were part o the fatui, i would’ve never allowed myself to be held by you…!” you continued. your words shot daggers into lyney’s heart as it ached as much as yours did. 

“ma chérie, i apologize for making you second-guess about everything. i had no choice but to do this. father was getting impatient, and this is my only way of repaying him back after everything he’s done for lynette and i.” he admitted, finally facing you. as if his deception didn’t hurt enough, his cold gaze towards you seemed to hurt more ten times fold. 

“If that was the case, then why did you have to make me fall for you…?” your voice weakened as tears profusely streamed down your cheeks. lynette was taken aback by your emotional demeanor. she was an observant but quiet person, so she knew just as much as her brother knew that you weren’t the type to pour your emotions out like this. she felt a pang of guilt through her chest as she side-eyed her twin sibling. he was holding back his tears as well, but he didn’t falter.

“if keeping an eye on me to find out my weaknesses was all that you were tasked to do, why did you have to make me like you so much that it hurt???” you exclaimed as you sniffled. this really wasn’t your look. you hated how you were pouring your heart out to the twins who had ulterior motives towards you all along, but you couldn’t help it. you were hurt, you felt betrayed, and more importantly, you felt conflicted with yourself. you were spiraling internally as flashbacks of him and you played like a broken record. 

you looked at lyney for a brief moment, still hoping he’d take back everything he said just now. you still clinged on so tightly to what you thought he was rather than focusing on who he really was right now as he stood before you. 

lyney let out a sigh as he bowed down, “i have no excuses. I apologize, ma chérie.”  you scoff as you feel yourself getting irritated by his response. “don’t call me by that endearment anymore.” you whimpered as you lay your head on the headrest, feeling defeated. 

that’s it?... you’re not going to say anything else?! you let out a breath of disbelief. your eyes filled with tears, your body carrying the weight of the sorrows of your heartbreak. 

this hurts. oh lord barbatos, please, i can’t do this anymore. how can the blissful feelings of love do a 180 and pierce you with no remorse after you’ve committed to the feeling? please rid me of this unwanted emotion, it hurts. why did it have to end up like this? have i softened too much to have my guard lowered down to this extent? why must i bear the consequences of heartbreak when i’ve been the one who’s peace has been threatened…?

you were speechless. you hated this. you can’t believe that you allowed yourself to be caught by the fatui all because you lowered your guard down and fell in love. this was absurd. you can’t even find the energy to fight off these restraints that held you down because your energy has depleted. it's as if he sucked out the life force remaining in you out of you.

upon seeing your quiet state, lyney called out to you with a worried tone as he took a step and reached out to you as he spoke, “ma chérie, i-” “i hate you. don’t you dare call me by that stupid endearment ever again.” you bitterly spoke, avoiding to look him in the eyes. “i apologize, i was supposed to tell you everything soon but-” “so that explains why you kept zoning out before…” you say in deep thought, feeling a wave of emotions flow into your system.

“yes, please believe me, i wanted to come clean, but i feared you would avoid me if i did and i got scared. i-” “you had so many chances to tell me. had you told me sooner, i would’ve understood you better. but no, you just had to put on a fake play for me to witness.” 

“i’ll give you a show that you’ll never forget even as you go on your adventures in far and distant lands. you won’t have a choice other than to think about me.” he determinedly states as he locks his violet hues with your crystalline orbs. 

“so this is what you meant by giving me a show i’ll never forget, huh?” you laugh dryly with venom trailing behind your words. 

“traveler…” lyney reaches out to you once again to try and reconcile but he stops midway as he sensed a threat coming towards their way. 

“GUARDS!! SEIZE THOSE PREPOSTOROUS TWINS IMMEDIATELY!” the hydro archon barges in and yells with an army of policemen. they quickly cuff the false crowd as they enter. you sigh in relief upon seeing paimon flying beside furina as she searches for you in the room. “over there furina, the traveler is seated in front!!” paimon exclaims as she points to you, they immediately rush over to where you are. 

you look back on stage to give one more glance at the twins but just as how they were clever magicians, they were gone before you knew it. 

paimon and furina quickly rush over to you. “traveler!! are you alright?” paimon worriedly says as she hugs you. you meekly shake your head as tears are still spewing from your eyes. Furina looks over your broken-down state and notices the shackles that bind you. “let me help you with that.” furina says as she uses her vision to break you free. “th..ank you” you whisper softly, chest heaving from the hurt.

“you poor thing… we’re sorry we hadn’t come sooner.” furina embraces you into a hug and pats your back before continuing, “those phonies ran away before we could catch them!! this is so infuriating!!” paimon stomped her feet in the air as she brushed the loose strands of your hair. 

“how did you two know i was in danger…?” you sniffed as you touched the light bruise marks on your wrists. “freminet told us everything. he’s now being held under my protection from the fatui.” furina says as she lifts you up from your chair. “so even he knew about this…?” you say in disbelief, heart weighing even more burden than it already did.

“it’s a good thing they didn’t take you away yet. their ‘father’ or rather, a high-ranked harbinger was supposed to walk down that door to take you to archon knows where but lyney hadn’t given her the signal yet. she’s still here somewhere, we just don’t know where.” furina explained. “what?” you furrowed your brows in confusion. 

he had so many opportunities to send that go signal, and yet why didn’t he? you were lost in thought as you thought of possible reasons as to why he didn’t call his “father” as soon as he got you distracted. but as your mind was going around in laps, a voice erupted.

“pardon me, i think this is for you.” one of the guards excused himself as he stood by furina and handed you an envelope. you opened it and saw the card had the silhouette of you and lyney dancing together on the main cover—it was the same one he cut out earlier on stage, except there was a queen of hearts logo on the opposite sides. you felt your heart ache as you flipped the other side to see his small writing. 

“to my dear chérie, i’ve wronged you in many ways and left you with so many questions. indeed, our encounter was not fate but was strings pulled together to make whatever we had happen. i am no innocent man, but i’ve never shed blood other than mine. would you forgive this poor soul of mine for deceiving you? a magician i am, but at the end of the day, im just lyney; the same lyney who hand-picked rainbow roses just because it reminded him of you.

i grew tired of playing pretend. i fessed up to father how i could no longer carry out the mission as i knew i would only hurt you deeply—it hurts me too that i have to do this to you. father wasn’t pleased with this. he demanded that i cut off ties with you immediately after seeing my weakness becoming your entirety. believe me, i’ve always wanted to tell you the truth, but how could i after seeing that bright smile of yours? how could i shatter the excitement in your eyes as you looked at me oh so lovingly? you were too good for this world, and i wouldn’t want to be the cause of your tears; even now as i write this, my heart aches at just the thought of you trembling once you find out that i’ve conned you into winning your heart.

i understand that you no longer wish to see me again after i’ve wore countless of masks to hide my true intentions to you for every minute we spent together, but just know this, mon amour. 

te rencontrer a été le meilleur miracle qui soit jamais arrivé dans ma vie. j'avais l'habitude de regarder les roses arc-en-ciel de loin, admirant la beauté de tout cela, jusqu'à ce que tu descendes du ciel et apportes de la couleur à ma toile vierge. les roses arc-en-ciel ne pouvaient plus se comparer à votre beauté irisée. même le soleil devient jaloux de votre rayonnement. je t'aime et je t'aimerai toujours.

let your tears no longer cascade on that delicate skin of yours. when our paths cross once more and if destiny allows me to, i’ll tell you everything you’ve always wanted to know. at the usual spot, from years on end.

until we meet again, ma chérie.”

lyney was truly a magician at best; he disappeared into the seams of the night and left no traces of him behind as you grieve for his absence and sins. you often joked around at how he shouldn’t do a lousy disappearance trick the next time that he performs in the opera epiclese, but it seems as though he took those words to his grave as he proved that he can commit to greater feats. 

and that feat involved having you rid of him from your life. 

[shentheauthor]

🎵prima-donna-girl

Was anyone going to tell me emperor Jietong was gay as hell? Or was I supposed to find that out myself?

💪 forged-in-agony

EXCUSE ME? THE FUCK?

🎵prima-donna-girl

Yeah I’m reading his poems and he was yearning super hard for some guy

👤yanlao

Young lady, you had better stop speculating about the intimate lives of your elders! How dare you?! This is not appropriate in the slightest!

🎵prima-donna-girl

Nobody asked you old man

🔮unseeing-seer

Haha! What an interesting speculation. Would you care to elaborate?

🎵prima-donna-girl

Listen to this shit

“Deflowered and dethroned, I wither”

What the fuck was he on?

💪forged-in-agony

Oh my god yeah

👤yanlao

You are all disgusting! Historical figures are to be respected! You of all people should not be speculating this sort of thing, Jiequan!

🌿farmers-anonymous

You’re not supposed to use real names, old man 😒

🎵prima-donna-girl

@all-i-ever-wanted-was-the-world you believe me!

🎶all-i-ever-wanted-was-the-world

Oh 100%, he was gay

🌿farmers-anonymous

I object to his vote, he always agrees with her

🧪medicine-pipe-dreams

Seconded

🌿farmers-anonymous

Never mind I don’t want to be on the same page as this guy

⚒️hammer-of-new-kunlun

@medicine-pipe-dreams don’t go over there, it’s not worth it

🎶all-i-ever-wanted-was-the-world

lol

🎵prima-donna-girl

lmao

🔮unseeing-seer

As the kids say, “rofl”

💪forged-in-agony

Never say that again guoshi

🌿farmers-anonymous

I’m going to kill this short little freak. Who wants to watch

👤yanlao

Aren’t you all meant to be working? Get off of the tumbler!

🧪medicine-pipe-dreams

@farmers-anonymous I’d like to see you try

🌺ethereal-eternity

Please don’t????

🎵prima-donna-girl

Um don’t derail my post? Assholes. Anyway, gay rights, I guess.

🔮unseeing-seer

How wonderful! Gay rights, indeed. :)

🎵prima-donna-girl

I’m gonna ignore that ominous smiley face and go to rehearsal now

🎶all-i-ever-wanted-was-the-world

Hooray for gay people

Bonus:

💪forged-in-agony

@farmers-anonymous how was the fight

🌿farmers-anonymous

I got my ass kicked, I’m not posting that

[differenteagletragedy]

hi! just wanna tell you i literally read all of your fics and omg i usually avoid angsty fics because i know it will rip me apart but i read all of yours and i somehow crave more 🥺 but perhaps if your requests are still open, i wanna request something sweet or fluff (rather self indulgent) how about the olba boys' reactions when they realised mc has been really focused for days about something to find out that mc was creating the sims version of them and the boys while making a good hoyse for their sims selves to live in (you can do individual or poly!) I've been playing sims 4 lately and made step 1 cove and mc with their families fjfjfh totally brain still rotting over olba even though its officially over 🥹

-- Let's do poly so everyone can be together for this experience :)

-- You're on your computer for a while, which was fine, but you got zoned out enough that the boys decided to check in.

-- You'd been making your dream house for you and your boys' sim selves!

-- Cove is moved. He doesn't know a lot about the game, but the gist is pretty easy to grasp and he thinks this is so so sweet that you would use your free time and your game to do something like this.

-- Derek knows about The Sims and thinks it's cool you want to play like this. He wants to watch!

-- Baxter wants to see you make his sim now please.

-- Lol if you don't have all the expansions/packs, Baxter needs you to get some because the base game fashion options are atrocious.

-- Derek gets the Big Happy Family aspiration, hooray! Baxter gets the Soulmate aspiration, so sweet! Cove gets something random, whatever you click.

Cove: *pouting* Why didn't I get something special?

You: Hold on just a minute ...

*ten minutes into gameplay*

Cove: My aspiration in life is about grilled cheese?!??!!?!?!

-- Derek takes note of how you've built the house. Maybe if you really like something he can incorporate it into your own house -- like if you build a sunroom and talk about how you like it, a big porch, something like that. He'll remember!

-- Cove wants to see the interactions between the sims. If you make your sim declare your undying love for his then he will die.

-- Baxter, well, is still Baxter.

Cove: Put me in the swimming pool!

Baxter: Try removing the ladder after he climbs in.

Cove: But then I wouldn't be able to get out ...

Baxter: *smirk*

-- Derek is going to want to get this game to play for himself.

-- If you try to plan a wedding for your sims, Baxter is going to trash talk it to death. Just an endless rant of how dumb it is and how everyone is being so rude and nothing is working right.

Baxter: Why is the best man inside the home playing video games during the ceremony? Did the mother of the bride just set fire to the kitchen? The caterer just didn't show up at all?!

-- If you make it to the elderly life stage then Cove is going to be emotional just seeing little sim versions of his family being all old and cute.

Also Cove: Oh look, a vending machine! Let me get some candy!

You: It's stuck, what do you want to do?

Cove: Get it out!

*one minute later*

Cove: THAT'S HOW I DIE?!

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober Day 8: Outnumbered, (alt) Betrayal

I originally gave up on today’s prompts because they were annoying but after I’d written this whole fic I realized outnumbered kind of works actually so! Regular prompt and an alt were used today ✌️

Read on ao3

Warnings: oh boy. Uh, mildly suggestive, dehumanization sort of..? Kind of human-trafficking vibes, but it doesn’t exactly occur. There’s some alcohol. Also a bit of being drugged. And mistreatment of fairies. ...I think that’s it.

————————————————————

A faint pink glow guided Hyrule, Warriors, and Time’s steps through a town in the captain’s time, a jingling that Hyrule knew was born out of nervousness accompanying the light.

The fairy led them all through the town, further and further away from the center and towards the unlit stores and quiet docks. The night only seemed to grow darker, and Hyrule found himself keeping closer to the other’s sides, a feeling of apprehension he couldn’t ignore making his stomach clench.

Right as he was about to ask if the fairy really knew where she was leading them, she zipped down a side street, sparkles trailing behind her, and finally bobbed to a stop.

Hyrule looked up, and grimaced.

The fairy had led them to a building with its windows still lit despite the late hour, her dark pink light catching on a crude portrait of a great fairy holding an overflowing flagon of ale. Faint laughter filtered through the cracks in the door, and Hyrule thought he caught a whiff of alcohol.

Oh hooray, a tavern.

Hyrule gave the picture on the sign a look of distaste, but before he could say anything, the door abruptly swung open. Two men walked out, and the three heroes, ducked around a corner so as not to be seen. A hiccuping laugh came from the one man, and the other slapped him on the back as they stumbled away, neither walking straight.

“So this is where you saw the men take Proxi?” Warriors whispered as the revelers disappeared from sight. The fairy jingled an affirmative as she poked her head out from his scarf, practically shaking with fear.

“Mm-hm. Th-they put her in a tiny bag, one way too small!” she squeaked, sounding terrified. “And she’s not the only one, they had lots of other fairies! I followed them here, but I couldn’t find anywhere to get inside without being seen, and... and I didn’t want to get caught as well.”

She sniffled, and Warriors gave her a gentle smile from where she’d perched on his shoulder.

“It’s alright, we’ll get her and the others back,” he assured, but the fairy still seemed nervous, her wings fluttering anxiously.

“You should get somewhere safe, if these people want fairies you’ll be in danger here,” Time warned, and the fairy quivered in fear. “We don’t want anyone else getting caught. Who knows what they’re doing in there.”

He glanced at Hyrule as he spoke, and Hyrule sighed, knowing the older hero was wondering if he should stay back or not. Time and Warriors were both aware he had fairy blood, and Hyrule could see why they would be concerned, but he wasn’t going to stay back just because of that.

“They won’t know I have fairy blood, and I’m not planning on telling them,” Hyrule said quietly, and glared back at the sign. “And I’m not sitting this out.”

Time nodded with a sigh, and Hyrule thought he caught a flicker of worry in his eye before he turned back to the fairy.

“What’s your decision, little one?”

“I-I’ll stay hidden with you,” the fairy replied quickly, and Hyrule could tell she wasn’t keen on leaving the three of them. She obviously felt safer around the heroes, and Hyrule couldn’t blame her.

Fairies being kidnapped was never a sign of anything good.

“All right, well, looks like we’re going in,” Warriors sighed, and Time nodded, straightening.

“Looks like it. We may want to split up though, I believe we’ll attract less attention that way,” Time said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. “Perhaps I can go in, and you two can follow together?”

Hyrule and Warriors nodded. He didn’t really think it mattered much, but if Time thought that was best, then who was he to argue?

Warriors suddenly raised a hand and began to muss his hair up a bit, making it look more scruffy. Hyrule stared as the captain then kicked some dirt off his boots, running it through his hair and making his blond seem more of a sandy color. Then he tucked his scarf inside his bag, and pulled out a cloak instead, nicely made, but in a dark enough weave so as not to attract attention.

“I’m the local hero, Traveler,” he said at Hyrule’s confounded look, “I don’t exactly blend in.”

“Oh! Right,” Hyrule said sheepishly, feeling foolish for not realizing what the captain was doing. He thought he’d... well, he’d honestly had no clue what he was doing.

Time hid a smile as he left their hiding spot and casually strolled into the tavern. A small burst of sound leaked into the alley with the opening of the door, then was silent again.

“You should be fine,” Warriors directed at Hyrule as he made sure their fairy was tucked safely out of sight in his cloak. “I would be shocked if anyone recognized you or Time... but if you have a cloak you might want to put it on.”

Hyrule nodded as the captain finished off his disguising, and pulled his own cloak tight around himself, looking at the tavern with no small trepidation. It didn’t seem like the sort of place he wanted to hang around, especially based on the drunken laughter that occasionally filtered through the cracks in the door.

He’d had very few good experiences in bars, and had a funny feeling this one would be no different.

They waited a few minutes to distance themselves from Time a bit more, and then Warriors walked over to the door, Hyrule following resignedly.

“Well here we go,” he grumbled, and pushed open the door before Warriors could, the captain following him into the noisy place.

Hyrule tensed, half expecting all sorts of horrible things as they entered, but... nothing seemed out of place. There was a strong smell of alcohol, sweat, and water damage from the nearby docks. The seats were mostly filled despite the late hour, and barely a head turned when Warriors and Hyrule walked in. The large woman manning the bar did glance at them, but then went back to wiping her counter, glaring at a man who spilled a few drops of his drink.

It just seemed like... a normal bar.

“Are we sure this is the place?” Hyrule muttered, and Warriors shrugged, looking around.

“If they’re keeping fairies for some reason, they wouldn’t do it in the open,” he murmured back, then plastered a casual smile on his face. “Let’s see what we can find out.”

They shoved their way to a clear table, Warriors easily blending in with the atmosphere. Hyrule followed suit, and they weren’t bothered as they ordered some drinks and sat down. Hyrule spotted Time across the room from them at a different table, but Hyrule knew better then to stare at him too long and attract attention, and he kept his gaze away.

Instead he studied the atmosphere of the tavern, wincing a little whenever the general noisiness upturned for whatever reason. The place wasn’t as rowdy as some places Hyrule had ended up inside, but it certainly wasn’t quiet, and uneasiness was still churning in his stomach.

He wasn’t sure if it was merely worry over the captured fairies, or something else... but something about this place was making the hair on his neck prickle.

“The men at the table next to you,” their fairy friend suddenly spoke up, just loud enough for Warriors and Hyrule to hear, “they’re the ones who took Proxi, I recognize their faces!”

Warriors nodded, and casually looked around the room while Hyrule flicked his eyes over at the men the fairy had indicated. They were a group of four, with varying appearances, but all of them looked shifty to Hyrule, covered in scars with weapons at their hips.

They were discussing something in low voices, and Hyrule casually leaned over, straining his ears.

“...thing bit me,” one man was saying, looking mad as he rubbed his hand. Hyrule could see bandages peeking from under his sleeve. “And it smarts too, this better have been worth it.”

“It will be, she says the buyer pays extra for the blues. It was lucky we found that one earlier,” a thin man said in a calming voice. “Though even just the pinks we’ve got in the back’ll be enough to set us up for life.”

The others seated at the table grinned, and Hyrule glanced at Warriors, looking to see if he’d heard. By the grave expression on his face, it was clear he had.

“I wonder what the buyer does with them anyway,” the first man said as he sipped at his drink. “Who’d want a bunch of fairies?“

Hyrule felt a flicker of indignation.

“Sells ‘em to doctors or something probably, who cares?” another drawled, taking a large draught of his beverage. “‘S long as we get paid.”

“Ah, but have you ever taken a good look at some of them? If they were a bit bigger, I think I’d want a few,” a man with scars all over his arms said. He smirked. “I saw a Great once, and if the little ones are anything like that... well, sign me up.”

The table burst into laughter, and anger rose in Hyrule’s chest as they began arguing about what the most attractive feature they’d seen on a fairy was, growing more and more descriptive— and crude— as they went.

One of them said something particularly lewd, and they roared with drunken laughter, Hyrule’s face growing hot with fury.

He was about to leap to his feet, but Warriors put a hand on his arm, keeping him from getting up. Hyrule nearly threw him off as he heard another one of them laugh again, feeling himself begin to shake with rage.

How dare they?

“Traveler, fighting these men won’t help us figure out what’s going on,” Warriors said in a low voice, and pulled Hyrule back down. “We need to be patient.”

“I’m not going to sit here and let them talk about fairies like— like that,” Hyrule hissed, but Warriors didn’t move. “Captain let me up, don’t you care—”

“It won’t change anything to confront them. They obviously don’t have the fairies with them, and fighting them might wreck any chance we have of getting them back,” Warriors said firmly, something sharp in his voice.

Hyrule finally looked at Warriors’ face, and realized the captain was just as angry as he was, blue eyes cold with rage. Somehow knowing that Warriors was equally outraged by the discussion made his own anger cool a bit, and he stopped trying to pull out of his hold, slumping in his seat.

“Fine. Then what’s the plan?” he asked, hunching his shoulders when the men at the table next to them laughed again.

“I’ll try and get some more information from our... friends, here, while you see if you can get in there,” Warriors explained quietly, tilting his head towards a curtained off doorway. “They said they had the fairies in the back, I’d assume that’s where they meant.”

“I saw them through the window earlier, they definitely went back there,” their fairy peeped from Warriors’ cloak, sounding even more scared.

“Fine. Good luck,” Hyrule murmured, and slipped into the crowd before Warriors could reply.

He made his way over to a shadowy spot next to the door, jostled and bumped nearly the entire way. Squeezing past a particularly large man, Hyrule tucked himself in the corner and waited patiently for an opportunity to slip through the door. He glanced over at Time while he waited, and saw that he was chatting rather amiably with the woman at the bar, an easy-going smile on his face.

Well hopefully he’s doing something useful, Hyrule thought to himself, still angry at the conversation he’d overheard. He knew Warriors was right about not fighting yet, but listening to them discuss fairies like that had lit a rage in him that wouldn’t be going away any time soon.

It’s no wonder fairies tend to hide from Hylians.

A barmaid finally walked past him into the back room, and Hyrule silently followed her past the curtain, finding himself in a dark storage room.

It appeared to be mostly kitchen items, extra food and barrels of what Hyrule assumed was alcohol of some kind. There were no fairies in sight, and Hyrule frowned as the barmaid left, looking around the room. It seemed like every other storage-type room he’d seen of this kind; messy, somewhat dirty, and no sign of anything illegal.

Well... not obvious ones anyway.

Hyrule began combing the room, his heart thudding in his chest. The bad feeling he had was even more intense now, and it made it difficult to focus on finding anything out of the ordinary. He kept having to hide when the barmaid returned multiple times, but he continued to look, aware that the longer he was back here, the more likely it was he’d be caught.

He was nearly on the verge of leaving and seeing if Warriors had had better luck, when suddenly he realized the crates in the corner were stacked oddly, like nobody ever actually wanted what was inside them.

Hyrule quickly went over to the stack, and noticed the faint outline of a door behind the crates, so similar to the wall it was nearly impossible to see unless you knew it was there.

Ah-hah.

Hyrule pushed the crates aside as quietly as possible, wincing at the creaking they made, then carefully turned the knob and slipped inside.

And nearly fell to his knees.

The room had no windows, but it didn’t need them, the inside lit by the countless jars lining the walls, all crammed to the brim with fairies. Several of them had at least three in one jar, a few filled tight with even more, and Hyrule couldn’t do anything but stare at them all in horror for a moment.

Most of the fairies were fluttering around in the jars, some swirling in more panicked circles, but some were lying worryingly still at the bottoms, their glows faint. The distressed magic from all of them was enough to make Hyrule’s head spin, chimes ringing in his ears, and he nearly tripped when he finally stepped forward.

How could someone do this?

“Traveler?”

He turned around at the whisper, and saw Warriors slip inside behind him, looking grim.

“Those men didn’t have anything to say to me, they must have thought I just wanted in on the money. I don’t think... oh. Farore preserve us,” he whispered as he looked around, and Hyrule swallowed.

He felt sick to his stomach all of a sudden, and barely noticed as Warriors stepped fully into the room, looking around in horror. The fairies noticed their presences then, and the chiming in the room grew even louder, frantic and hopeful as they realized who they were.

”Is that Link?”

“No, it’s his friend! Brother!”

“It’s Link and his friend!”

“Brother! Fairy kin!”

“Are you here to get us out?!”

“Brother please save us!”

“Brother!”

“Link!”

“Everybody quiet! Are you trying to bring the enemy in here?!”

At the bossy chime, the other fairies quieted down, and Hyrule looked around for the familiar voice that had spoken. One of the few blue glows in the room caught his eye, and Warriors perked up.

“Proxi!”

“Link!” she said with a happy jingle, and Hyrule smiled as Warriors reached up to gently take the bottle she was trapped in. “You’re here to save us?”

“We are,” Warriors assured, cradling the bottle. Hyrule swallowed back his nausea and joined his side, frowning at the sight. Three other fairies were pressed inside of the bottle with Proxi, and she herself was near the bottom, her blue glow dim.

“...Are you okay?” Hyrule asked in concern, and Proxi hesitated.

“She got hurt when they captured us,” another fairy said quietly.

“You’re hurt?” Warriors said sharply, and Proxi let out a dismissive jingle.

“Oh I’m fine, can you get us out?” Proxi asked a little impatiently, and Warriors sighed, then nodded, tugging at the cork.

It didn’t budge though, and no matter what Warriors did it refused to come out. Hyrule tried then, but he didn’t have any luck either, and they looked at each other in dismay.

They didn’t want to hurt the fairies, so they couldn’t try breaking the glass. Melting it or using anything heavy was out of the question as well, as were most methods Hyrule could think of, but how were they going to free all of the fairies if they couldn’t even open the jars?

“I think they must be magically sealed,” Hyrule said morosely after they’d tried everything they could think of. “There’s no way this cork is this strong without some help.”

“I don’t like what that means for this whole operation,” Warriors murmured, still carefully holding the bottle. “If they have enough resources to get so many magically sealed jars... this might be bigger than we thought.”

Hyrule swallowed, his stomach still unsettled.

“So what do we do?”

“Fetch Time, I suppose,” Warriors sighed. “See if he has any ideas. We need to tell him we found the fairies anyway, and I don’t see us figuring anything out any time soon.”

“He probably has an item or something that just opens bottles,” Hyrule said with a faint smile. “Or a mask.”

Warriors almost smiled back. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“Someone’s coming!” a fairy by the door suddenly squealed, her voice shrill with alarm. Warriors carefully set the jar containing Proxi and the other fairies back on the shelf, then dove behind a discarded crate with Hyrule, the both of them ducking down as much as possible as the door slid open.

“...saw someone by the storage room, and those guards were in earlier. We better start shipping out tonight,” a voice said, and footsteps tromped into the room. “...Ugh, this place always makes my head hurt when we’re full.”

Hyrule pressed tighter against Warriors’ side as the voice drew near, trying to make himself smaller. The crate really wasn’t a good hiding spot, but there was nothing else in the room big enough to shelter behind.

Multiple sets of footsteps moved over to their side of the room, right next to the crate they were behind, and Hyrule nearly stopped breathing, forcing himself to stay still. Warriors swallowed, and Hyrule could feel his heart thudding where his head had ended up on his chest.

“Well you won’t have to deal with it much longer,” a different voice drawled, and Hyrule recognized it as one of the men who’d been at the table. “Once we load these in the hold you’ll be fine.”

It was silent for a minute, and Hyrule found himself holding his breath.

“Besides, we have other business to take care of.”

The crate Warriors and Hyrule were tucked behind suddenly lit up like a flare, a pink so dark it was nearly red flashing above them.

Hyrule was nearly blinded by the light, but when he looked up in shock, he saw the fairy that had guided them to the tavern chiming and flashing a deafening alarm, showing exactly where they were hidden.

Before Hyrule could even reach for his sword, he and Warriors were yanked out from behind the crate and restrained, unable to escape. They both kicked out and struggled, Hyrule even trying to bite the men that had grabbed him, but they were grossly outnumbered, and quickly subdued.

Both were tied up and shoved against the wall, but Hyrule only had eyes for the fairy who had come to them in tears earlier because she’d seen Proxi be kidnapped. She was floating right next to one of the men who they’d overheard at the table earlier, and a sickening feeling rolled through Hyrule.

“How could you?” he asked, anger and disbelief warring inside of him. How could a fairy fall so far to betray her own kind like that?

The fairy’s glow dimmed.

“They said they would hurt my sister,” she whimpered, and Hyrule felt a brief stab of pity.

“If you’d told us the truth, we could have helped you,” Warriors cut in with a grave look, and the fairy turned away.

The other fairies on the walls had been chiming frantically throughout all of this, Proxi’s voice shouting the loudest of them all, and making a truly deafening racket that only grew when Hyrule and Warriors were tied up. The men were obviously growing sick of it, and the one with the scarred arms abruptly drew a knife and pressed it to Hyrule’s neck, then looked around at the fairies.

“Shut up now, or he loses his life.”

The fairies went dead quiet.

The scarred man waited a second, then withdrew his dagger, placing it back into a holder at his waist. “Thank you. I would’ve hated to get blood on the floor.”

“Have you no shame?” Warriors snapped. “What you’re doing here is cruel, you can’t put that many fairies in one bottle without endangering their lives!”

The men laughed, and one looked Warriors up and down.

“Great, a knight with morals. Do we kill him?”

“Nah, look at his face, he’s a handsome one,” someone else spoke up. “Bet we could get good money for him downriver.”

Warriors slightly paled, but his cold expression didn’t change.

“What about the kid?”

“I’m not a kid,” Hyrule said, and didn’t flinch from the scarred man’s gaze when he strode up to him. “And you’re going to regret every single thing you’ve done here today.”

The man chuckled. “The only thing I’m going to regret today is that I didn’t make more money then I’m already going to.”

He leaned right up into Hyrule’s face, and the traveler still glared at him despite how his heart was thumping. His eyes trailed across his face, pausing when they got to his eyes, and he studied them in silence for longer then was normal.

“...Take them both. We can figure out what to do with them after we’re on our way,” he said as he leaned back, a deceptively easy-going smile on his face. “I think there’s more to them then meets the eye.”

He looked directly at Hyrule when he spoke, and the traveler’s blood ran cold.

He knows.

Warriors gave him a wide-eyed look, but then cloths were shoved over both of their noses, a sickly smell coming off of them. Hyrule struggled not to breathe, knowing it would be bad if he did, but he hadn’t had a chance to take a deep breath.

Time had better notice we’re gone soon, he thought desperately, watching as Warriors began to slump next to him. Or we’re going to be in serious trouble.

Something struck his chest, and Hyrule gasped in spite of himself, breathing deeply of the sweet smell of the cloth. His head immediately began to swim, and he took in another breath without thinking. A voice said something above him, and Hyrule slumped against Warriors’ side as his senses began to leave him, one last flicker of desperation fighting to keep him awake.

He couldn’t let them do this he... he couldn’t...

Hyrule’s vision swirled into a black void, and he fell limp against Warriors’ shoulder, totally unconscious.

Time was their only hope now.