#picking up blue mage too probably

[wildstar25]

more thought about end of endwalker Arsay recovering from the big fight and having her hands like so completely unusable. I mean, most her body was unusable for the first two weeks; but she really did a number on her hands in that fist fight. Tbh I imagine in the desperate attempts at keeping Arsay alive on the ragnarock, they didnt really get a chance to make sure every bone was set right before blasting her with healing magicks. Once she got looked at by an actual medical professional in Old Sharlayan it was determined they'd have to re-set a lot of those joints and fractures.... painful stuff to say the least.

The healing was the hardest part. Complete lost of dexterity meant no dual wielding and no mudras for months. She started relying on her carbuncle to pick things up for her. Wrapping her hands and wearing gloves gave some support as she began what could ostensibly be called physical therapy. Lots of daily stretching to get the soft tissue and muscles back to being adventure ready, the instructions of which were sent by Alphinaud. (He would instruct her in person had he not already be off in Garlemald.) G'raha and Y'shtola would supervise and provide lots of encouragement. She'd start trying to channel aether via her mudras, only to get the form slightly off and end up with Couscous (carbuncle) on her head (I hc that instead of the rabbit for arsay specifically). G'raha would do whatever he could to lift her spirits, Y'shtola would push Arsay to keep at it.

More months pass and eventually she can cast her mudras again, and the grip on her daggers have never been stronger. Still, subtle signs of trauma are there if you look long enough. Scars on her palm and knuckles and a finger or two that is always a little bent. The hand which struck Zenos that final time looking much worse for wear than the other. She doesn't care, it's nothing a little glamouring or gloves couldn't cover. If her hands work, that's all the matters.

Tataru gets in contact with Arsay one day. She's got a new outfit, custom, made with Arsay in mind. The set included a pair of gloves: one that covered her main hand almost fully, the other composed of perfectly aligned straps of leather that supported her hand and wrist. She thanked Tataru immensely.

[specialagentlokitty]

Aizawa x reader - newfound secrets

I've been a sucker for that man. Like reader is a pro hero too, probably in the top ten ranks with some sort of magic like quirk(mage?) And reader just randomly opened a portal while he's in class to drop him lunch or forgotten paperwork or his precious sleeping bag. And 1-A is shocked to find out their teacher has a lover, much less a hero who's a complete opposite of him. Either gf/bf/neutral or married is completely fine! - Anon💜

You were wondering about your apartment doing some cleaning now that you had a few free days from work.

You were slowly making your way from room to room, doing what had to be done in each room, and as you got to the kitchen you paused as you looked at the kitchen table.

With a small laugh, you shook your head slightly and picked up the bright yellow sleeping bag that was on the table.

You had warned Aizawa time and time again if he kept leaving it on the table he’d forget it one day, and true to your word he had.

Holding it under your arm, you activated your quirk, a purple orb appearing in your hand as you tossed it at the wall, opening a small doorway which you walked through and in less than a second you were in his classroom which was bustling with chatter of the students.

“Hey it’s Druid!” One of them shouted excitedly.

Immediately all of the teenagers turned to you with curiosity, some with excitement.

“Hey guys, where’s your teacher?” You asked.

“He’s behind his desk sleeping!” A stern looking blue haired boy called out.

You beam brightly at him, walking over to the desk and looking behind it, and just like the student said, there was Aizawa fast asleep propped up against the wall.

With a gentle sigh, you walk over and crouch down in front of him.

“I wouldn’t wake him up, he gets pretty annoyed when someone wakes him up…” a girl mumbles.

You wave your hand dismissively.

“It’ll be fine.”

Setting the beanbag down, you reach out, gently tapping on his forehead with the back of your knuckles.

“Hey, wake up for a moment…”

Aizawa lazily opens an eye, looking at your tiredly.

“Why’re you here…?” He mumbles.

“Missing something?” You grin, holding up the beanbag.

“Was wondering where I put that…” he mumbled.

Aizawa took the sleeping bag from you, climbing inside of it and laid down again on the ground.

Reaching out, you zipped the sleeping bag up for him, and pat his forehead a few times which earned you a slight huff from him as he closed his eyes again.

“Thought you had work…”

“That’s next week, I’ve got a few days off this week. Seriously Shouta how you actually manage to function is beyond me. Have you eaten?”

“Yes…”

You raise a brow, standing up to look at his class.

“Has Aizawa had lunch?”

“No!” They called out.

From the ground you could hear him grumbling about them being traitors, and one of the girls raised her hand.

“Yes…?”

“My names Mina! Why did you have Mr Aizawa’s sleeping bag?!” She asks almost a little too excited.

With a small laugh you rubbed the back of your head slightly, ignoring Aizawa’s warning glare he sent you.

“Well, that’s because we’re married, and he left it on the kitchen table.”

Immediately the class burst out in shouts of shock, confusion and disbelief that their grumpy, almost emotionless homeroom teacher had actually managed to find somebody to marry him.

Aizawa gave you a slight glare, but you could still see a small bit of softness behind his tired gaze.

Everybody was shouting out questions to you, wanting to know everything and you laughed a little bit, raising your hands to try quiet them down.

“Hey, hey quiet down. You’ll get your answers, but for now I have to go, but I’ll be back soon and then we can talk, promise!”

They all nod excitedly, and as you walk back to your portal you hear Aizawa mumble something out about bringing him some jelly pouches and coffee which makes you roll your eyes.

You closed the portal as you stepped back into the apartment and quickly work on making a simple and easy lunch for Aizawa, putting on a pot of coffee as well.

While you were there, Aizawa had to deal with the unfortunate consequences of you telling his class you two were married, and he zipped his sleeping bag fully up covering his face knowing his students weren’t stupid enough to try and unzip it.

After about 15 minutes, you open another portal and step through, setting a box of food on Aizawa’s desk, along with a cup of coffee, and dropping a few jelly pouches on his sleeping bag.

He let out a grumble, but unzipped his sleeping bag just enough to grab them and put them inside, it was like watching a squirrel hiding its food in a tree.

Sitting on the floor next to his desk, just slightly behind it so you could still keep an eye on your husband, you turned to his class.

“Okay, questions one at a time.”

Immediately they all raised their hands and you picked them out one by one, answering their questions and learning their names along the way.

While you talked with them, you saw Aizawa out the corner of your eye sit up in his sleeping bag, grabbing the coffee and the food from the desk.

He then shuffled over, resting his back on his desk as he ate still half asleep.

Every so often his head would droop, and you’d have to slightly nudge his knee to wake him up.

When he finished half the food, he set the box in your lap, handing you the chopsticks as he focused on drinking his coffee now, watching your carefully.

“Eat…” he mumbled quietly, just loud enough for you to hear.

With a small smile, you start eating while still talking to his class while he kept a watching eye on you, rummaging through through your pocket, pulling out whatever you had in there.

His class seemed very invested in their teachers love life and carried on spilling out questions, and you knew for a fact Aizawa wasn’t going to be living this down any time soon

[occasionallyprosie]

Have a lil ficlet

----

"Round Five"

He was eight the first time, ten the second, twelve the third, and then sixteen the fourth. He's seventeen now and he is ready for round five.

Aka, Legend runs into Ganon... again.

This is crack, this is pure, badly written crack.

Inspired by this

----

To be honest, the last thing Legend expected to see when they finally tracked down the being that was being the Shadow... he shouldn't have been surprised, but he really was when he saw a mage and they'd arrived just in time to see the mage use The Shadow to revive Ganon.

Ganon, in all his blue, pig faced not-glory, stood before them. Legend heard Four hold his breath, he saw Hyrule freeze, he noticed the other heroes tense, but he just laughed.

Ganon, freshly revived, fully revived, landed his gaze on Legend who pushed the other heroes back with the flat of his blade.

"You want to go for round five?" He called across the room, grinning.

Ganon groaned. He actually groaned and glared at the mage. "Really? That one? You had to bring that one here? I kill one hero and now I'm just cursed to be killed over and over by this brat."

"Vet?" Four hissed.

"I got this," Legend promised. "Handle that wizard guy and make sure the Shadow's dead. I call pig face."

Ganon just sighed and hefted up his huge blade. "How old this time?"

"Seventeen. Next time we'll have our ten year anniversary date," Legend replied wryly, he heard someone make a slightly scandalized noise, probably Warriors frankly, and someone else snorted and laughed, that sounded like Wind. "When will your lackey's learn that it's just not worth it to bring you back as long as I'm alive?"

"I don’t know," Ganon glared at the mage, who withered under the glare. "Sooner rather than later." He looked at the other heroes. "Wait you’re here too?!"

Four cleared his throat and waved awkwardly. "Umm, hi."

"There's only one of you this time... but--I don’t care. Let's just get the fight over with. It's not like Din ever lets me win."

"If you weren't going to destroy Hyrule in the aftermath I'd let you live," Legend said casually.

Ganon paused. "Deal."

They all stopped.

"Huh... Okay."

"Vet!"

"What?!"

"You can't agree to that!"

"I just did, deal with it. Hey can you pick apples from trees without squashing them or am I dumping you on the Gerudo?"

"They'd kill me for last time."

"Fair enough. Guess Ravio's got a new employee."

[pinkanonwrites]

I love your writing! My personal biggest character takeaway from this game is that someone needs to pet the damn cat, so could I possibly get some (platonic obviously) headcannons about the Prefect petting/cuddling Grimm? Thank you in advance!

Of course! I'm also guilty of wanting to snuggle our troublesome kitty companion, so I love the idea of these HCs. Hope you enjoy!

GN!Reader, PLATONIC HCs

When you were first introduced Grim wouldn't even humor the thought. Him, a powerful mage and monster, being cuddled by a lowly magicless human? Gross! But it doesn't take long for you to start endearing yourself to him, what with you always looking out for him and trying to keep those pesky Heartslabyul kids out of trouble... And protecting him and letting him read your notes from class... and buying him food... And letting him sleep in your room in super-creepy Ramshackle house without even complaining about his sleep mumbling...

Yeah, Grim really loves you a lot, and deep down he knows that you really do a lot for him. He's just emotionally stifled and doesn't know how to express those vulnerable feelings, so he covers them up by instead demanding that you "pamper" him by stroking and brushing his fluffy fur.

He's delightfully soft, so it's always enjoyable. Even though he's always roughhousing and getting into trouble, and the fact that he's literally on fire in a few places, he somehow remains super duper soft and not overly full of grime and soot. Many an afternoon has been spent running your fingers through his blue-gray fur while he dozes off in your lap.

You are the only person Grim is okay with being held by. If any other student at NRC tries to pick him up he becomes a whirlwind of magic and claws, mainly because they don't know how to carry him in a way he likes and usually end up dangling him by the back of the collar. But you always pick him up so gently, like he's your baby, so he'll humor you toting him around. It's a hell of a lot faster than walking, too!

He's so warm, even more so than the average cat. Grim is like a little heating pad, curling up comfortably in a little ball of warmth under the sheets of your bed as he snoozes and radiating heat throughout your entire bedspread. He has a tendency to move around a bit in his sleep so he'll probably end up moving you to the corner of the bed while he sprawls out in the middle, but that's just the type of sacrifice you have to make when owning a cat, isn't it?

[dpr-stay]

Good Taste in Wine | D.R

Diluc x Reader

Warnings: not sure how i feel, might come back and add more. also unedited!!!

Wc: ~3.0K

It was hard to take your eyes off the red-haired man in the corner of the room. He was dressed in a black cloak with eccentric detailing, but the most noticeable thing about him was his bright red hair. It was long, a ponytail being able to be seen when he’d turn his head to watch someone. He was also incredibly handsome, you mused to yourself as you remained behind the catering table. His face was posed into indifference, like he didn’t care to be where he was. Though, he wasn’t leaving.

Movement in front of you drew you away from your observing, and you offered the patrons before the table food from the various platters scattered around it. Everything they enthusiastically pointed at you picked up with tongs and placed on a plate. They chittered away, asking you questions about the desserts before eventually thanking you and taking their plate.

After they left, you let your customer service visage drop for a second with a sigh before taking on a small smile. Who would’ve thought a celebration dedicated to Mondstats infamous crime fighter, the “Darknight Hero”, would’ve spanned so far into said night? The sun had set long ago, the vigilante himself probably long gone and fighting some kind of trouble maker, whether it be a stray hilichurl or something you’d only heard of whispered in passing like an Abyss Mage.

You shook your head for a second, no way one random citizen of Mondstat could take on an Abyss Mage. You went back to the theory you’d been creating in your head, that the Darknight Hero was a Knight of Favonius who wanted five minutes of fame, probably tired of not being revered over the way Captain Kaeya was. You’d seen too many intoxicated housewives cooing to themselves whenever they saw the blue-haired man walk past on patrol, giggling at them from your place at the table by the entrance of the Angel’s share.

Now that you thought about it, maybe the Darknight Hero was Captain Kaeya. He did have a flair for the dramatics, Paimon had made sure to mention it loudly whenever he strolled past her and the traveler. He also had the swordsmanship to finish the job and then get out of there before the rest of the knights arrived.

You looked out around the gathered crowd, trying to ignore the lingering presence in your peripheral and your face scrunched when you found Kaeya, drunk out of his mind. The eyepatch hadn’t come off but, Archons, you don’t think you’ve ever seen him so clumsy. You almost felt bad for the traveler who had placed a hand on his arm, trying to get him to move away from the elaborate fountain and subsequent disaster placed in the middle of the large hall in the Knights of Favonius headquarters. 

They were the ones hosting the event, an event which wasn’t rushed but also didn’t seem all too put together. Jean, who was an old friend, had come up to you a day ago and asked you to fill in for one of the catering staff who’d dropped out due to a nasty cold. You didn’t have the heart to refuse her… after she’d promised a hearty amount of mora in return. 

You didn’t especially understand the politics of the Knights of Favonius hosting a celebratory event for a vigilante who seemed hellbent on not being associated with said institute, but you didn’t really want to think too much about it. You had a few more hours before the party ended and you could treat yourself to the left-over cakes and the leftover bottles of wine, though that was only if some blue-haired fellow who couldn’t stop singing and rhyming took a few steps away from the booth. 

You took your mind off it and allowed yourself a glance back in the red-head’s direction only to find him already looking towards you. It didn’t seem accidental either, his eyes didn’t skim past you as he looked around the room. No, he was looking at you. 

Your eyes met his stare, resisting the urge to quirk an eyebrow for a few seconds before it won out. He responded to your movement with a small twitch upwards at the corner of his lips, so small that if you hadn’t already mapped out the topography of his face from your previous ogling you would’ve missed it.

His attention was drawn away when Kaeya stumbled onto him, you having to stop yourself from laughing when his cool expression was broken by one of pure shock. The traveler quickly grabbed Kaeya by the arm and started dragging him away, Paimon laughing as she floated beside the apologising explorer. Kaeya only seemed to revel in the contact, throwing himself on the traveler while the red-head watched with barely concealed… disbelief? You couldn’t get a read on him. 

For a few seconds after he remained looking at the trio who were walking away, before ruffling himself and adjusting his coat. He glanced back at you and saw the poorly hidden amusement on your face. His face didn’t sour like you half-expected it to, his eyes seemed to catch fire when they met yours. It was hard to explain but you couldn’t see well before he averted his gaze.

It was weird but explainable when your eyes quickly darted down to his hip to see the Pyro Vision hanging off of his hip. Maybe his eyes actually were on fire. You didn’t even let yourself laugh at that.

A tap on your shoulder caused you to turn and look away. Another one of the caterers was standing beside you. You recognised her as the girl who was in charge of the wine booth. Yeesh, you did not envy her having to pour all the drinks. Diona was busy and, from the reactions of the crowd, she did not meet Diona in any standard.

“Hey, could you please cover my table? You’re right near the bathroom and I want to see if I could slip away without anyone noticing?” She asked, though you recognised it to be a plea when you saw her hopping from foot to foot. 

It would be inhumane to deny her so you just nodded. She squealed and ran to the bathroom while you made your way to the wine booth. A line was already forming by the time you got here, so you quickly got to work, taking order after order, recommending your favourite wines from your time indulging at Angel’s Share, and pouring glasses until your wrists got tired of the repetitive motion.

Eventually you whittled the line down to two people. You quickly moved through the first customer, earning yourself a tip which you weren’t sure if you were allowed to take but weren’t going to say no to, before the second customer stepped up to the opposite side of the booth.

You started your introduction before noticing it was the red-headed man. He was looking at you before he spoke.

“Do you part-time as a sommelier?” He asked and you did a double take. Archons, if your voice was that nice to listen to you’d never shut up. You eventually registered what he said and tried to copy his tone. “Do you spend your time sitting in corners at parties?” You countered and he only shrugged before glancing down at the menu printed on the front of the booth.

“I prefer the solitude.” He said as he read and you scoffed skeptically, as you doubted there was any quiet place in this hall.

“Is being a coat rack for the Captain of the Knight’s of Favonius included in that solitude?” He glanced up at you from the menu, seeing the teasing smile on your lips. His eyes seemed to damper a little bit. You realised you may have touched a nerve and quickly tried to divert the conversation.

“I haven’t seen you around before? Do you spend a lot of time in Mondstat?” You asked, and he started, a slightly shocked expression appearing on his face.

“Yes, a bit of time.” He said, as though testing the waters. You weren’t sure why, was he someone important and you didn’t know? Hopefully not.

“Though, I could say the same for you. I don’t recognise you.” He eventually stated, relaxing back in his stance and crossing his arms. Strangely, it didn’t come off as defensive.

“I spend a lot of time in Springvale.” You replied, trying your best not to echo his stance. “I come into the city occasionally.” 

“Do you work in the city?” He was asking a lot of questions, you noted before shaking your head.

“No, the taverns are better here than in Springvale.” He seemed to inflate at that, his posture becoming more prideful. You neglected to mention how there is no taverns in springvale.

“Well then, if you’re a tavern regular, what should I get?” He motioned to the menu below. You briefly pondered if he was reading it for show. A smile came onto your lips as you leaned forward. 

“My personal favourite?” You inquired and he nodded, letting his eyes settle into contact with yours.

“My personal favourite is…” You trailed off before turning around and looking among the crates. A readjustment here and a bit of foraging there before you finally pulled out your favourite. It was a dark brown bottle, sealed by wax, made from Wyotl grapes, a specialty of the Dawn Winery. It radiated a subtle elegancy, which you thought was very fitting of the man behind you.

You turned around and presented it. His eyes seemed to darken, though you could tell it wasn’t from anger or sadness. No, your words seemed to burn more fire in his eyes instead of dampening it like earlier. 

He looked up at you as you walked back to the booth and swiped a glass from below the counter. You poured a nice portion before corking the bottle and lifting the glass. You brought it under your nose and swirled it, letting the heavenly and rich aroma sink into your nostrils and the wine aerate. 

“Is that your preference?” He asked, drawing you out of your trance. Opening your eyes, you nodded. He didn’t smile, but you could tell he was pleased. You handed the drink to him when he raised his hand. He then raised the glass and sniffed it.

His eyes closed and you let him a few moments while he basked in the smell. When they opened, they made contact with yours. A few seconds passed of intense eye-contact before an actual smile graced his face. Sure, it was small but it was there. A shudder rolled down your back.

He placed the glass on the counter, before looking down and patting the pockets of his coat. He extracted his wallet and, after glancing again at the menu, placed down the appropriate amount of Mora. You picked it up and slid it into a collection box as he put his wallet back in his pocket. 

He then turned and started walking off into the crowd. You blanched at his abruptness before realising he didn’t take his drink with him. Immediately you called to his retreating back.

“Excuse me!” He didn’t respond, not turning back. You tried a few more times before calling out loudly “Sir!”.

He immediately halted and turned around. His face was apathetic before he started striding back to you. You were not expecting that, nor his strong pace, so you quickly rearranged yourself before he stopped in front of you.

“Yes?” He then asked, tone unidentifiable.

“You forgot your drink…” You said, gesturing to his wineglass on the counter. He looked down at it, and then back at you, and then back at it.

“No, I don’t think I did.” He claimed before turning around to leave. You reared back and shook your head, leaning over the counter and grabbing his arm. He stopped before slightly turning his head to look at you.

“Sir,” You ignored the way his eyes hardened at the title, “you left your drink.” He looked at it before shaking his head. 

“No, I believe it’s yours.” His words were spoken as though true and you drew your eyebrows together. 

“Excuse me?” You asked in confusion.

“I believe I bought you a drink.” He spelled it out for you, and you leaned back off the counter, letting go of him as you processed that information.

“Oh.” Was all you could muster before you felt your cheeks grow warm. You were definitely flirting with him, you just didn’t expect him to actually act on it.

“Was that too forward?” He asked bluntly and you immediately shook your head.

“No, I just-... I don’t even know your name, nor do you know mine.” He thought about that for a second before leaning in slightly over the bar.

“My name is Diluc Ragnvindr.” He then held a hand over the bar. It was covered by a black glove, but it swallowed your hand whole when you took it. You introduced yourself likewise and Diluc gave you a strong hand-shake, which was, admittedly, a little awkward from a man who’d just bought you a drink.

“Ummmm.” The sound of someone clearing their throat caused you to drop his hand and turn, catching the incredulous look the girl from the bathroom was giving you. 

“I can take this booth over again if you want.” She said plainly and you nodded, before picking up your glass. You frowned as you noticed that Diluc had disappeared into the crowd before the girl was at your side and shaking your arm forcefully.

“Dude!” She exclaimed. “I don’t know how you could flirt with a guy like that and not lose your cool!” Ignoring the fact you didn’t even know her name, you focused into another part of her sentence.

“What do you mean by ‘a guy like that’? Is Diluc important?” She stared at you, shell-shocked. She started nodding before saying rather loudly “Duh!” 

“How on earth could you not know who he is? Oh my god, that’s incredible! Especially the fact he seemed almost as into it as you!” She was rambling, not letting you get a word in. It started to grate on your nerves after a while.

“Hey!” You interrupted her. “Is he important?” You reiterated and the girl could only look at you before shaking her head.

“You’ll find out.” Was all she said before moving past you and to the counter to deal with customers that had built up over the time she was talking to you. 

Well that was useless, all it did was make you slightly paranoid. Which was really annoying. Groaning, you trundled back over to the desert stand and stood there, sipping from your glass. You only waited two minutes before Diluc appeared again, in front of the desert stand this time.

“You don’t have to get me anything this time, the deserts are free.” Was what you started with, watching his face for a reaction. He only nodded, a small smile gracing his lips, before looking down to the table. 

While he did that, you glanced around the room. You hadn’t really been paying attention due to the man in front of you but you quickly surveyed that quite a lot of people were looking at you. The attention caused you to flush, feeling like the amount of eyes was unnecessary, especially when people leaned in to talk to their friends after making eye-contact with you. 

After a few seconds, you spouted a question that was residing in your mind, unable to shake it off if you didn’t get a denial or confirmation. It would make sense if the answer was yes, considering how important he seemed to be if he was worth gossiping about.

“Are you the Darknight Hero?” You eventually blurted, taking note of the way Diluc’s head snapped up to stare at you in shock.

“P-pardon?” He stuttered, and you knew enough about him to tell that that was very uncharacteristic.

“I-I just mean that everyone’s staring at you and stuff, I know you are in some way important and well y’know..” You lifted your hands up and gestured to the decorated space. “It kinda makes sense for people to be staring at the Darknight at a Darknight celebration.”

He opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out, only a few breaths. His eyes were wide and his jaw was open. The longer he remained in place the more embarrassed you were becoming, especially with the way the chatter around you picked up pace. He eventually responded by shaking his head.

“Uhh no..” He finally stated before clearing his throat and saying strongly, with more fervour, “No.” You only nodded in response.

“I do own the Dawn Winery.” He said after a second and your eyes widened. Oh. No wonder he seemed happy when you said your favourite wine was, well, one from his own company. And no wonder he bought it, considering most of the money would go back to him anyway.

“Oh wow.” You said simply and he nodded. You awkwardly laughed. Archons, he must be rich. Archons, you’re such an idiot.

“It’s funny that you didn’t know that, considering the winery is closer to Springvale than Mondstat.” He thankfully continued the conversation, saving you from trying to think of something else to say. However, you could only nod, more than aware this is one of the richest people in probably the whole of Tevyat. 

The conversation went stagnant for a few seconds, a tension that wasn’t really a tension but just a barrier that needed to be broken formed between you. Finally, you sighed.

“I’ve never actually been to the winery.” He turned to you with slightly raised eyebrows.

“Really?” You only nodded in confirmation. He stilled before continuing a few seconds later.

“I could take you one time and give you a tour.” You looked and made eye contact with him, before nodding again.

“I’d like that.” He smiled at your response.

[llamagoddessofficial]

Thank you @cams4 for an adorable Sans x OC commission 🥺 I love plant mages, if I could pick any magic power it would probably be something plant related <3

---

Calypso came in from the rain, closing the backdoor behind her, cutting off the sound of the downpour that had quickly descended over the skeleton household. She pulled off her coat and hung it up beside the door, moving into the kitchen with a collection of cut plant stalks in one hand. The stems were long but not that thick, the ends dotted with what looked like hundreds of clusters of tiny balls.

When she arrived in the kitchen, Sans was already there. He was leaning on the countertop, casually, a cup of coffee in hand and an easy smile on his face.

(She hadn’t seen the way he jumped at the sound of her coming in. Though it wasn't unusual for her to come over, he hadn't been expecting to see her. She hadn’t seen how he pulled at his dirty shirt, counting the stains and wishing he’d worn something less gross. She hadn’t seen how he scrabbled at some dirty plates he’d bought down from his room and teleported them into the sink- and she hadn’t seen the three poses he’d attempted, before settling on the most casual-seeming one.)

“hey caly.” He said, smooth and warm.

... Calypso’s fern-green eyes only needed to land on him for a few moments, before he already felt himself slightly losing his cool, cheekbones prickling and threatening to flush blue. He swallowed, shifting his weight a little more onto one foot.

She visibly brightened. Raindrops hung suspended in her golden hair, like dozens of little pearls. “Sans! You’re up early!”

Sans was up early. 11am- early for him. He winked. “yup, i can’t be-leaf it either. whatcha doin’ out in the rain?”

His joke earned a modest snort, despite the innumerable amount of times he’d said that same joke to her. “Just some gardening for Papyrus. Is he home yet?” 

“not yet. still working out, probably.”

He didn’t really understand why Calypso bothered with gardening. She was a mage- capable of making plant life grow on command. And yet she often still insisted on taking the long route.

“... I just think it’s much more rewarding to let the plants grow themselves, and help them along a bit. Listen to them, rather than forcing them to make the journey faster. They’re just as pretty when they’re growing as they are when they’re grown.”

... He didn’t get it. The only plant he’d managed to keep alive was a little potted cactus she’d given him a few months ago, a creature who sat happily on his windowsill and seemed to thrive on his neglect. If he had plant powers he’d use them all the time.

... But maybe there was an element of comfort, to him, about the fact that the girl he was so hopelessly head-over-heels for preferred a fixer-upper to something already perfect.

“what’s pap growin’ now, then?” He asked.

“He likes dahlias, so I’ve just planted some. He described them as ‘POSITIVELY MATHEMATICAL’.” She drew a vase out of the cupboard, filling it with water and dropping the large trimmings in. “They might take a while to grow, but that’s alright.”

Sans couldn’t help but chuckle. Of course his brother was obsessed with such a symmetrical flower.

“gotta admit, i’m comin’ up short on dahlia puns.” He supported his chin on his elbow, swirling the remaining dredges of coffee in his cup. Talking to her... it just made him feel so... relaxed. So okay. “what’re the ones in the vase, then?”

“Just some of the hydrangea. It’s getting huge, now. It’s good to garden them when it’s raining.” She gently rearranged them. “I thought they’d look nice inside, when they bloomed.”

He grinned. “bet they’ll be bloomin’ unbelievable.”

...

Calypso suddenly shifted. She looked... nervous? She bit her lip.

... Sans immediately felt himself shift too, instinctively, smile losing a few millimetres. He lowered his mug.

“... something... wrong?” He asked, carefully, after a few moments of silence.

She had no idea how much that single sentence meant, coming from him. Sans, famously terrified of any emotional subject, had a tendency to evacuate the room even when his closest friends got too upset. But with her, he felt a degree of comfort he’d only felt before around family. 

... He wanted to make sure she was okay.

“N-no, not at all.” She needlessly adjusted the flower in the vase again. “I’m fine. Uhm... It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

The thought of her not being able to tell him something made him feel itchy. 

“... you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. but, uh... you can tell me anything, heh.” He was wearing his most disarming smile. “‘sides, if it’s botherin’ you, it’s usually better to get it out.”

If Papyrus had been in the room he would’ve fainted at the sight of Sans not only avoiding the easy way out of the conversation (just accepting her 'I'm fine'), but actively pushing for greater emotional honesty.

As a monster, he had exceptional hearing. He didn’t want to tell her that he could hear her heartbeat getting faster.

“I’m...” Her eyes darted around, focusing on anything that wasn’t him. Were her cheeks getting red? Shit, had one of his jokes landed badly? He racked his mind for anything he could've said to make her upset. “Y-you’re right. It’s... it’ll be better to get it out.”

He was getting nervous now. Was it bad? Should he be concerned? “mhm.”

She stared at the hydrangea. She fidgeted with the side of the countertop, took a breath in...

“I... I really like you.”

...

...

“.......... huh?”

“... Like... erm...” She tucked some hair behind her ear, still not looking at him. “... Romantically.”

...

Not what he was expecting to hear.

...

The sound of the rain outside filled the room. Sans stood there, staring at her blankly, waiting for the punchline. Waiting for her to start laughing, grin and say it was a prank. Waiting for the gotcha!

There was no way she liked him. It was too good to be true.

... Not when he liked her so much, too. 

Calypso glanced at him- his expression must’ve been something else, because she immediately looked away again. He could smell regret starting to seep out of her.

“I-I mean... it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to do anything. It’s no big deal.” She laced her fingers together, then unlaced them, tapping them on the countertop, as unsure of how to stand as he had been minutes earlier. “I just, uhm... figured you should know... nothing has to change though. A-and it’s fine, I’ll probably-” 

Her cheeks were getting progressively redder and redder, and her voice progressively smaller and smaller. She was being honest. 

“i-i like you too,” he blurted. 

...

She finally looked at him. She stared at him as blankly as he’d stared at her. 

... He had to let go of his mug, for fear of cracking the handle. 

“... romantically.”

Calypso's face flushed. As it did, her eyes glimmered green for a split second- and every bud on hydrangeas in the vase instantly opened, a vivid bunch of bubblegum pink.

It kinda matched the shade on her cheeks.

...

“Y-you... do?” Her voice cracked.

His Soul was in his mouth. If it turned out she was pranking him, he’d never forgive her. don’t laugh at me. 

“... you sound like you don’t believe me.” He said, as playfully as he could, in the state he was in. He could feel his eyelights all but twinkling in his sockets, they were probably embarrassingly big and fuzzy.

“I... w-well. You’re just... you’re so cool, and I...”

... Sans laughed. He couldn’t help it. It was a short sound, he covered his mouth- she quickly gave him a quizzical look. Though she seemed comforted by the sound. 

i feel like my bones are gonna fall apart.

“i-i’m sorry. i just...” He dragged his hand down his face, his grin was so big it was starting to ache. “i can’t believe you said that. that’s exactly how i feel about you.”

The hydrangeas went from pink to red. Again, just like her face. “... You think I’m... cool?”

He had word vomit. “who wouldn’t?”

He was so... excited? Happy? He couldn’t put his finger on it. He wasn’t used to not knowing exactly how he felt.

...

“... I didn’t know you could go that colour.” Calypso giggled, gently.

Sans quickly became self-conscious of the amount of magic he could feel prickling in his cheekbones. His face must’ve been absolutely cerulean; he itched his cheekbone, letting out a weak chuckle of his own and glancing away. 

“guess, uh... my crush confessing to me blue me away, heheh...”

...

She reached across, and took one of his skeletal hands in hers.

He stared at the two limbs, entwined. Warmth spread through his chest. Whatever he was feeling, he really liked it.

...

“pap is gonna lose his shit when he finds out.”

“I know, right?”

[lettersfromaphrodite]

| your love is holy |

―pairing : Childe x Lumine ―genre : fluff ―word count: 1.679 ― summary : they kiss, that's it that's the fic

― notes : this fic looks familiar?it is! I’m reposting ALL my works on this brand new blog and therefore please, bear with me! as always, askbox is always open and feedbacks are always welcome 💌

Lumine hissed in pain, ungraciously falling on the ground as cold droplets of rain kept falling over her body, making her enemy’s attacks even more powerful and effective. «Over here!» the mage’s lively and arrogant voice spoke, as she appeared right behind Lumine before casting yet another spell aimed at her; Lumine planted her sword into the soft and wet ground, gritting her teeth and clenching her hand around the helm of the blade, in the almost vain attempt to get on her feet and effectively trying to counter attack the electro mage.

“Paimon will never let me hear the end of it if I fail such a simple task,” Lumine said to herself, as if the image of her small floating friend could give her enough strength to fight back. With a strained groan, Lumine gripped her sword with both hands and rapidly stood up, managing to hurt the mage and consequentially interrupting her spell. However, Lumine’s relief was short lived, since the mage caught the opportunity to lean towards her, brushing a fingertip over her naked and wet shoulder, only to cast another quicker spell; if it were a sunny afternoon, Lumine would not have felt anything, but the rainstorm currently happening was making everything unbearable for her. Lumine felt her grip around the sword loosen, and gradually, her world started turning black.

The last thing Lumine felt were strong arms preventing her to fall on the wet ground. «Aether…» she mumbled, feeling safe, as she let darkness absorb her.

«If I’m not mistaken,» Childe spat as he effortlessly picked up an unconscious Lumine in a bridal style, «these were not the orders.»

«I’m sorry,» the mage immediately spoke lowering her head, kneeling on the ground as her voice filled with worry; as much as she was enjoying the fact that she was about to kill the so rumoured Traveller, she knew better not to anger one of the Harbingers, «I-»

«I don’t want to hear it,» Childe harshly interrupted her, quickly moving his head in order to brush off the ginger strands of hair falling in front of his bright blue eyes, «disappear from my sight, I’ll deal with you later.» the mage wordlessly nodded, before disappearing into thin air at once, and Childe let out a frustrated groan. Immediately, he inched closer to Lumine’s features, relief washing over him at the fact that she was still breathing; he instinctively tightened his grip on her, as he made his way under the rain towards the nearest teleport waypoint.

«Aether,» he mumbled to himself as he made sure Lumine’s face was safely nestled in the crook of his neck, preventing too much rain falling into her face, «who is that, now?» he wondered with a sigh, trying to ignore the feeling of jealousy making his way through his soul.

With a weak and pained whine, Lumine slightly twitched in Childe’s arms – probably unconsciously still feeling like being electrified, and the young boy snapped out of his thoughts; he could have questioned himself about the nature of his feelings for Lumine another time, even if he already knew the answer. Now, he needed to return to to Liyue, and ask some doctors to treat her, or – judging by the girl’s pale and pained features, he could have teleported to the nearest Statue of the Geo Archon and let her heal in a much faster way. Not wanting to let her go, Childe pressed his shoulder against the teleport waypoint, and the two of them disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Much to Childe’s relief, the weather was sunny and warm over Qingyun Peak, meaning that their clothes would have dried quickly; even if Childe didn’t completely understand the purpose of a statue on top of a floating platform, but it definitely came in handy during moment like these.

Moreover, Qingyun Peak was one of his favourite places – not to mention the floating house in the sky almost on top of said statue; truth was, Childe always visited those places whenever he needed time to think. As much as he loved battlefields and challenging his enemies, he loved the sensation of his gaze losing in the landscape, as silence surrounded him and he could feel like he could hear the silence between his thoughts.

Of course, once again, he had refused to let Lumine go and that’s how he found himself sitting on the stone platform under the Archon’s sitting statue as Lumine was slowly recovering, partially sitting on his thighs and securely framed by his arms.

«You should wear something more functional for battle,» Childe sighed with a smile, his gloved hand gently brushing the skin of her thigh as the statue’s blessing kept healing her.

Lumine woke up with a groan, confusion written all over her face; instinctively, she rubbed her temple in the vain attempt to make her headache disappear.

«Hi, girlie.» Childe welcomed her with a bright smile on his lips; although Lumine was confused about how she got there and why the boy’s delicate features were so close to hers, she fought back the instinct to smile back at him.

«What happened?» she asked, noticing the sudden change of location; only then Lumine noticed the position they were in, and quickly moved in order to stand up and sit next to the young Harbinger. Although Childe’s first instinct was to tug on her wrists and let her stay on his lap – already missing her comforting warmth, he brushed that feeling off, trying to ignore his own emotions once again. With a smug smile Childe leaned back, balancing his weight on his hands, simply saying that he was passing by in the right moment – of course, he wasn’t spying on her, wasn’t he? Lumine didn’t completely believe in his words but nevertheless, she nodded at him.

«Thank you, then.» she offered, a sincere and polite smile on her features; Childe was momentarily taken aback, since he was definitely not used to the sight of Lumine smiling – except anytime she was in front of some delicious dish.  

«I didn’t fight one of mine for a “thank you” in return,» Childe lied with a scoff, then quickly placed a finger to his cheek as if he was deep in thoughts, «how about a reward?» his gaze locked with Lumine’s, and the mischief flashing in his blue eyes definitely didn’t go unnoticed.

«Reward? You’re the rich one, I have nothing much to give you, beside some flowers.» Lumine furrowed her eyebrows, adverting her gaze in the vain attempt to hide how nervous she was, since Childe was as reliable as he was unpredictable.

«How about a kiss?» Childe asked, and Lumine petrified, her eyes as wide as the moon. Of course Lumine had a crush on her enemy, but did he find out about it?

“He can’t know about it, I haven’t told anyone!” Lumine thought, as the possibility of Childe liking her as well slowly made way into her heart, only to disappear in a blink of an eye; Lumine was strictly convinced that the young Harbinger could have never returned her feelings, and so she had tried her best to lock them away.

However, if she only had paid a bit more attention, she would have understood that her feelings were required with the same intensity and passion.

«A… kiss?» she asked, a faint embarrassed blush covering her cheeks.

«Of course!» Childe tilted his head towards her, as his gaze rapidly travelled from her eyes to her lips, «Although I don’t want to overstep any boundaries, you know, boyfriend or secret lover or … anything.» he added, hoping for her to fall into his trap.

«Boundaries?» Lumine asked, confused; she had been travelling since the day she woke up in Teyvat, how could she have had time to get a lover?

«Yeah, for example…» Childe trailed off, wondering if Lumine was honestly oblivious of what he was implying or she had something to hide; with a sigh, he decided that it was all or nothing, «who’s Aether?»

«What?» Lumine’s head snapped towards him, and she immediately caught a hold of the boy’s slim yet toned arm, «Did you see him?» Childe looked at her with furrowed brows; who could that boy be for her to have such a reaction? Of course, there was only one way to know, wasn’t it?

«It doesn’t work like that, pretty lady,» he chuckled, his gaze darkening, «I asked first.» Lumine sighed, and slowly detached herself from the young boy; of course, she could have told him, but would her secret be safe with him? Although he had always proven to be somehow trustworthy, he was still a member of the Fatui…

Lumine’s gaze was lost somewhere in the landscape in front of her as she made up her mind; after all, everyone knew she was looking for Aether, and his identity could have been an easy information to get.

«He’s my twin brother.» Lumine said, and if only her gaze wasn’t unfocused in an unspecified spot in front of her, she would have seen Childe’s relieved expression.

«We used to travel together,» Lumine went on, as the wind gently moved her short hair, «He got-we got separated.» Childe hummed, «Want me to look into it?»

«I don’t want to be affiliated with the Fatui.» Lumine scoffed, but still politely thanked him.

«You wound me, girlie! I’m one of the Harbingers, I could always happen to… overhear some informations… and casually throw them your way…» he said, gradually leaning closer to Lumine. Lumine’s gaze shifted to Childe’s eyes to his lips, and she gladly noticed that the boy was doing the same.

«I’m sure you’ll ask for something in return.» she tried, barely above a whisper, and Childe was sure that if they weren’t this close, her whisper would have been carried away by the gentle wind.

«That’s true,» Childe’s eyes were unwavering from her lips, «that one kiss has just doubled.»

Lumine hinted a nod, «That can be arranged.» she mumbled again, before leaning in and meeting Childe’s lips halfway.

all works © lettersfromaphrodite

Do not modify, repost, translate or plagiarize my stories. I only publish my works on tumblr & AO3.

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[inkybloom-luv]

Words Unsaid

I'd like to say that when I first met you I fell for you instantly and I knew. But I didn't know. And it wasn't even a meet. I saw you at orientation first, trying your damnedest to put out the fire breathed out by the stupid mage cat that had tried to steal my spot as a student, not that I really knew what was going on at the time, that had somehow spread to your Housewarden's robes.

I didn't have much time to look at you then, frantically trying to avoid the chaos and near frozen by fear and confusion. But even in that you looked gorgeous. I blamed it on the lighting at the time, running to catch up with the grey and blue creature.

The second time I saw you was after I'd been enrolled for a while, chaos seemed to follow me as I adjusted to everything. By then I'd had to replace my glasses, not that I think the headmage intended to replace them until I had begged Riddle to bring it up with him, as I could hardly see any board or far from me and using my phone camera only did so much. I must've looked weird to you. I was staring, I know, but I could not help it, even if I was supposed to ask about your, albeit not as severe but incredibly inconvenient, injury that would keep you from participating in the spelldrive tournament.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from you then, unable to find any excuse for such behaviour even now. Only then did I learn your name, Jamil Viper. Had I known that name would haunt my every waking thought, I would not have asked it. Your hair looked so lovely that day. And the accessories you wore, I wondered if they'd look good on me, if I could watch you do your hair up.

I saw you play basketball the other day. I was sent to the school Gym to help do maintenance on the equipment. You had your club activities supervised by coach Vargas at the time, seeing as I was also there. Unbeknownst to you, the band on your uniform that you wear around your arm had fallen in the cafeteria in the lunch period before. I noticed and picked it up, sure enough that I would see you and return it eventually.

When I actually saw you there I stared again, as one with a crush does, I guess. You take my breath away. Coach Vargas yelled in my ear on accident, which embarrassingly made me flinch and cower. I have not gotten over loud noises, but I don't think I need to. God I still hope you didn't see that. But you might've.

Somehow I actually managed to talk to you and return the armband. Told you I liked the way your hair was up, that you looked cool playing basketball. I wish I could've kept talking but really, I probably only would have embarrassed myself. If you knew how red my cheeks were, how hot they felt after I'd gone out of sight. I'm sure you'd laugh at me. But I can't help myself, not when my heart threatens to break my ribcage when I so much as think about you. Your eyes are gorgeous too. Can't believe I never noticed them, but I don't look people in the eyes when speaking all that much.

Your eyes though, your eyes I adore. They are endlessly beautiful to me. They ensnare me, hold my attention, I can't look waya no matter how much I try, not that I want to though.

Not that you're ever going to read this. I'm going to hide this away later. I just had to get my thoughts out. But I, Inky, do adore you. Moreso than I have anyone before. But I won't call it love. I don't think I'd be worth that yet. Maybe one day, Jamil, maybe one day I will be worthy of calling you my love. Until then, I do hope you don't think I'm too weird.

I've got to leave it here though, the damned bird is calling me in again, for no reason I bet. My allowance better get higher, lest I go nuts here.

♪~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~♪

Aaand here we have my Yuu-sona being down bad for the snake man. In case of terrible formatting, I am, in fact, on mobile. Might make more depending on how well this goes over but I hope it's not too obvious that this is my first writing piece,,, ya. Hope y'all enjoy! <3

Can be read as x reader, it's only my Yuu-sona, feel free to change the name in y'alls lil delulu heads cause me too<3

716 words

Part 2 Part 3

Part 4 Part 5

Part 6 Part 7

[purple-templar]

I don't know what demon has possessed me to finally post something on here, but I saw this post about this event way too late at night and it just triggered something in my brain and now I have like several pages worth of fanfiction, so now I feel like I have to post it lol. I don't really know what I'm doing, and I'll probably come back later if it's possible and edit because I'm not the biggest fan of my first draft. (It was possible, and I have edited it -8/26/24) It seems a lot more novelistic than fanfictiony to me but oh well. It's just a small snippet, I might write more but I'm not sure. It's just a little, way too long opening I wrote with my version of Yuu and a little too much foreshadowing that probably makes no sense if you don't know my version of Yuu's intricate backstory lmao.

It felt like she was walking through jello or trying to walk underwater. It was hard to breathe and it took every single amount of focus to continue walking forward and not to drift off. It was completely black, and nothing was visible as she stepped forward.

It felt like hours, but barely 2 seconds had passed. Time seemed to move slowly as if it was stuck, its gears and old rusted as they tiredly turned out of obligation. Then, without warning, she emerged. She stepped out of the mirror slowly, the glass rippling behind her as it let her pass; the glass acted almost like a non-Newtonian fluid in how it moved. Parts of it seemed to cling to her almost as if reluctant to let her pass before snapping back into its golden frame as it stilled, hardening again into the reflective glass of a mirror.

The sky overhead was overcast, dark clouds overhead casting the area into shadow. Despite the clouds overhead, the rest of the weather was pleasant. A gentle breeze consistently blew past that prevented it from becoming too humid. Her destination stood before her, the large stone castle looming above her, casting a shadow across everything. Before she could examine her surroundings anymore she was jumped.

A familiar grey and blue form leaped into her arms, beaming smugly up at her as if he owned her arms. Grim grinned at her smugly, his tail twitching and swaying behind him lackadaisically. His blue flames flickered, emanating brightly from his ears lighting up his strange eyes. Grim's eyes crinkled as he grinned; his sharp, pristine teeth flashed in the light from the lamp posts that illuminated the path that they stood on. His smile was odd, almost uncanny in its human-like quality. The bright white fluff that composed his chest rubbed up against her, eliciting a small giggle as it tickled her arm. At her giggle the Grim pouted irritably, whacking at her arm as he settled down in her arm.

"What took you so long Anna? I swear you always take longer than everyone else to go through the mirror. You're going to have to do better than that if you want to be the hench-human of such a great mage like me," Grim lectured, speaking as easily as if he were human as it glared up at her.

Anna grinned down at the cat-like creature in her arm, gently ruffling its head. "Oh Grim, it's just in your head. It doesn't take me any longer than anyone else to get through the portal" Anna replied to the creature in her arm with a laugh.

She was lying. But Grim didn't know that. None of the other people around them in their student's uniform did. None of them would. Unlike back home they couldn't recognize the way her head twitched to the right as a warning tell of her deceit.

Anna looked up from Grim, noticing the rest of her classmates who she had befriended, and started to consider family ever since she had awoken in a coffin in this strange world. She quickly ran forward, catching up with them as they all walked towards the huge castle in front of them. Anna breathed deeply, enjoying the fresh air and the scent of pine and rain in the air. She picked up her pace slightly falling in step with one of the other students in the group. He was a tall, imposing figure. His bright, almost teal, green hair stood out easily among the crowd as well as his uniquely stiff way of walking.

"So this is Briar Valley?" Anna asked with a small laugh, gently running her fingers through Grim's fur, easily causing him to nod off in her arms. "I have to say it's exactly like you described. You can almost feel the magic in the air. Are you excited for this huge event? I didn't realize Briar Valley had its own magic colleges though I suppose it would be weirder for it not to."

"OF COURSE BRIAR VALLEY AS IT'S OWN SCHOOLS!" Sebek snapped, quieting down at the glares from their other classmates.

"Relax Sebek, we're here to have fun," Silver chided tiredly, rubbing at his eyes as he trudged alongside his fellow knight.

Before Sebek could make a retort, Anna grabbed his arm, dragging him off towards the rest of the other first years to avoid an argument as they made the trek to the castle. "Hey Sebek, why don't you tell us about this Black Cauldron College? I've never heard of it before, do you know anything about this event that we're supposed to be participating in?" Anna said quickly, knowing that a surefire way to get Sebek to not make a scene was to distract him by giving him something to rant about.

"Yeah, I mean I know we're going to win, but what's the huge deal?" Ace interrupted, grinning at the rest of the grip with his usual smug grin.

"Oh shut up Ace, don't get ahead of yourself. I bet you'll make us lose," Deuce retorted earning him a playful shove from Ace as Sebek watched on with disdain.

"Shut up Juice!" Ace snapped, his face turning red.

Before it could turn into another fight between the two of them a quick glare from their house warden shut them as they started walking slightly faster, not wanting to earn Riddle's wrath so early on in the trip.

"Is it a physical competition?" Jack asked, his boots clomping down along the winding stone road up to the stone castle, Black Cauldron College.

"As long as it's not anything prissy I'm down," added Epel, scowling when Ace ruffled his lavender hair.

"We're here to participate in the Battle for the Black Cauldron," Sebek snapped, glaring at the other first-years as he shook his head at their lack of decorum that he had long since given up on constantly trying to correct. As he spoke thunder crashed in the distance, creating a rather ominous edge to his words

"Well, that sure wasn't ominous," Anna commented, looking up at the sky with a raised eyebrow, trying to distract from how she had jumped when she had heard the thunder and how her body remained tensed as if ready to bolt. Anna shook herself slightly, focusing on the feeling of the still-sleeping feline beast's fur under her hands. "This is going to be an adventure. Glad I brought my camera."

@readsrandomstuff67

[theghostbunnie]

*grabs you by the shoulders forcibly* tell me your Nerris hcs RIGHT NYEOW

AAAAA OK SO she's hinted to be Nonbinary I believe when juggling balls colored the same as the nb flag. So, that's like, cannon actually. (Even if this next part was for a joke they still decided to add in them saying "Well technically human female I prefer elfkin" and even if you jokingly make a character queer it still happened no take backsies! lmao.)

and Yes non-binary people can use she/her pronouns but I think she'd probably use she/they/elf (as in neopronouns) too!

•Nerris is definitely the type of kid that when you're playing pretend they'll bitch that you're not playing it right. It's just when it comes to what SHE'S into it has to be done "accurately" "properly" ect (aka the way elf wants it done) on "Nikki's last day on earth" she's all like nu uh you can't be the knight I am. now the princess runs and gives me a hug for saving her! Which was kinda

(🫵🤨 🏳️‍🌈⁉️)/hj

And she's friends with Nikki, too. She does a slightly similar thing telling Harrison he can't be a mage bc they are. Nerris the type to battle you over the player one controller fr.

Hot take all of her bad behavior is just from being an unchecked child and she'll grow out of most of it. I actually don't like the concept elf bullies Harrison bc she has a crush on him- (don't get me wrong this is 0 Nerrison hate I just don't like when they start from that.) I think she's actually jealous? Threatened of him maybe? Hear me out, before David had all their names remembered he was pulling a Cameron and grouping some together. Specifically only Nerris and Harrison. Nerris reacted childishly like children do and didn't take kindly to that and saw Harrison as immediate competition. (They even argue at one point about who's the most magical.) So that's why she targets him and treats him like a loser to keep him down and make herself feel higher.

It gives me the same vibe kids competing with each other academically rather than in sports bc once something is labeled as a team Nerris actually seems to do okay in it. So I think this is a behavior she learned way more in school, and why I HC her to be one of those honor student types who likes being recognized as the teacher's favorite.

I don't believe Nerris is even that deeply aware of the whys and how's of why they act like this. They just do things, man. Then do silly little flossing dances after.

They probably played movie star planet and all the other child website roleplaying games and started fantasy roleplaying groups on there which was probably difficult with all the family roleplays and wolf clans being a way more popular choice to pretend as. Elf needed something to do in the winter when it got too cold to larp outside !!!! They probably switch over to more writing based forms of roleplay as they got older.

In the show we actually see her playing a game called "Pixies and Pythons" or something instead of DND and there's like hot pixie women on the cover and I'm choosing to believe she DIDN'T bring that from home camp campbell just has offbrand EVERYTHING.

Both of her parents sew and they make all of their costumes for her and I like to think Nerris is very "navy blue starry wizard" aesthetic so they mostly stick to that. Her mom's supportive and will add anything she wants to it but her dad gets excited with hisown ideas and opinions too.

I think Nerris' gender exspression being neutral might've got them certain comments in school and why she specifically decided to make her character's title "Nerris the cute" and why often the first thing she aims against Harrison is his looks. (That, or, the "Nerris the cute" is a title her dad came up with for her before she could. Yes I'm saying this man brought the baby to larp in a carrier.)

Has a whooole collection of dice and she gives some to her friends when they come over but has to specifically pick out the ones she DOESN'T want anymore first.

Them and Harrison are Lord of the Rings VS Harry Potter. (It's possible to like things without supporting, liking, or agreeing with the creator of it. Nerris knows this...) Still calls him a transphobe whenever he brings the franchise up. Can't even defend himself bro they just go "is it bc I'm trans/j"

[himluv]

DA Review Series: Blue Wraith

<<< Previous Review: Deception

I've been away for a hot minute while my spouse and I survived the flu. But, I've been reading some and watching Absolution on repeat, so I should have a few reviews out in rapid succession.

(Please do keep in mind I wrote some of these reviews whilst ill, so I apologize for any strangeness/errors lolol)

Title: Blue Wraith Author/Illustrator: Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir/ Fernando Heinz Furukawa Year Published: 2020 In-World Year: ~9:40-9:44 Dragon Verdict: While the narrative format isn't my favorite in this one (lots of jumping between groups AND time), there is A LOT that matters to the state of Thedas here. Plus, I mean... It's Fenris!

Blue Wraith picks up right after Deception, with all of our comic book friends finally together. Marius and Tessa have reconnected with Ser Aaron and Vaea, and they now have Calix Pryde, Francesca Invidus, and the Mabari, Autumn, in tow. (We also see flashes of what Fenris has been up to in the past few years, roaming Tevinter to kill blood mages/Venatori.)

This blissful union doesn't last long however. In the group's hunt for yet another insidious magical artifact, Francesca learns that her father may be in great danger from an infamous assassin — The Blue Wraith. So, Autumn and Vaea set off with her to see if they can rescue her father and just maybe recruit the assassin to their side.

Meanwhile, Ser Aaron tries to cheer up Calix, to no avail. The boy is increasingly aware that he's not built for the thrill of battle, as he freezes during a conflict with the Qunari. But, they survive the battle and find the caravan they were chasing. And there's a familiar foe traveling with it — the Orlesian Marquette that Vaea bested in Knight Errant.

Francesca and Vaea meet with Fenris, aka the Blue Wraith, on the road and things aren't quite friendly. Vaea has to lean on her association with Varric to get Fenris to team up with them, on the condition that he can't kill Francesca's father. Which... Doesn't go well.

Turns out her dad is a member of the Venatori and staunchly believes she is an embarrassment. That she should have died in Ventus, instead of her brother. And while Fenris upholds his end of the bargain, Magister Invidus cannot be made to see reason. Francesca ends up killing him to protect her friends, but not before he mentions the "sarcophagus".

This leads our two teams back together, because the Orlesian thief and the artifact our friends have been hunting is the restored sarcophagus that burned lyrium into Fenris's skin. We're shown that only elves can survive the sarcophagus's torture, and its head has a now very familiar crescent shape...

(This is the part where I wildly theorize that the sarcophagus was made by Ghilan'nain as one of her experiments.)

The artifact escapes, heading for Tenebris. Calix leaves the group, but offers to be a source of information in the future. He just can't handle the violence, which is fair. And then our remaining heroes set off to chase down this artifact and the Venatori.

While I'm always happy to spend time in Thedas (and see Fenris!) this volume of the comic series did suffer from trying to weave a few too many threads in too little space. The pacing felt off, and the jumps in time and focus were often jarring. Still, if you're reading the comics and prepping for Veilguard, this one's probably important.

[nirikeehan]

Happy Friday Niri! For DADWC, how about #31 from Artifacts of Thedas, for Cullen and Dorian (heh heh): A Satinalia mask

HI DEMA thank you!! This deliciously fit right into my ongoing masquerade side quest fic set in Pravinquisition AU, previous installation here

Also I was an absolute maniac and managed (I hope) to shove five Cullen & Dorian prompts into one scene, so thank you @zenstrike, @rosella-writes, @kiastirling, and @liza011 for these additional prompts:

overdramatic arguments about non-important subjects

All I Do is Wear Cool Outfits, Tell Jokes and Hide My Depression

doing things in sync

'Rule one: Don’t get caught.'

Madness. But perfect for them and I think I got them all

For @dadrunkwriting

WC: 1350

---

Cullen stood sentry in the corner of a marble-pillared room, watching the revelry with distaste. A pair of inebriated Orlesians had taken it upon themselves to climb upon a makeshift stage and butcher the Fereldan tavern song Andraste’s Mabari. He was nominally glad the panther-shaped mask he wore hid his grimace, though the rest of him wanted to wrench the damn thing off his face. It made his forehead itch something awful. 

He was grateful to see Dorian stroll into the room and make eye contact. The Tevinter mage looked far more comfortable at this soiree than Cullen knew he would be in a million years. Dorian cut a sharp figure in blues and greens. He wore a black half-mask; it was adorned with feathers and sparkled even in the dim light.

“I hope you’re not grinding your teeth too hard in there, Commander,” Dorian said jovially, sidling up with a goblet of wine in one hand. “You’re like to give yourself a headache.”

Cullen opened his mouth to protest, only to realize how correct the mage was. He worked his jaw, trying to loosen it up. “I didn’t think I’d have to suffer attacks on my homeland when I agreed to come here, that’s all.”

Dorian tilted his head, caught wind of the lyrics, and took a stiff sip of his drink. “I see your point. Perhaps we ought to go somewhere a touch, ah, quieter?”

“Please.” 

They ducked down a hallway that spilled out onto a small courtyard. The chill night was a welcome respite from the stuffiness of the Comte de Valette’s estate. The place seemed deserted, so Cullen removed the mask to the feel the relief of open air on his face. Any moment an angry Orlesian noble would probably materialize and command he put it back on — the allure of secrecy and all that — but for the moment he could think unburdened. 

“Tut, tut, Commander,” Dorian chided, smirking at his clear hatred of the mask and all it signified, “do you also remove your helm mid-battle?” 

“This farce of a party is hardly the battlefield,” Cullen grumbled. “And perhaps if I hadn’t let Fidencio design my entire outfit I’d feel less like a made-up doll.” The whole ensemble had been the bard’s idea. Cullen stood all in black, with a paisley patterned in velvet on his jerkin, gold trim on the sleeves, and a black overcoat. He already felt like a mummer’s idea of a pirate, but then Fidencio had insisted upon the damn mask to complete the look. Because a lion — Cullen’s suggestion — was the official sigil of Orlais and would send the wrong message. “Did the bard pick out your costume as well?” 

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Commander, but I’d never need a theatre man to dress me properly.” Dorian smirked into his wine goblet. “I happen to dress this sharply on the regular, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. Why, this was just my Satinalia mask from last year.” 

“I bet.” Cullen paid the boasting no mind. “Anything to report?”

“Sadly not. The Inquisitor and I spoke to all the premiere nobles of the Orlesian court — you think they’d want to hide their identities better, but I found them quite easy to identify. They had little and less to say. Nothing but praise for the Comte, but curiously no one can find the man.” 

“Strange, do you think?” Cullen asked. “That the Comte should be so aloof?” 

“Ah, who knows?” Dorian countered. “I’ve been to galas in Tevinter thrown while the host wasn’t even in the country. He’d do it just to remind everyone he still had more money than the Maker.” 

“And Lady Thalia?” Cullen asked, scanning the windows facing the courtyard. In the orange glow of the rooms, the revelers cut ghastly, demon-like shadows. Or maybe that was just how it seemed. The mind could play tricks, and Cullen hadn’t wanted Thalia to accept the Comte’s invitation even before he learned that de Valette was rumored to be some dark mage. 

“She was with Fidencio, last I checked. In that room with the enchanted butterflies.” 

“Maybe I should check on her. No offense to Fidencio, but I’ve seen him in the sparring ring. He’s more of a lover than a fighter.” 

Dorian snorted. “That he is, for certain.” 

Cullen waited for a snide remark about Fidencio’s swordplay in alternative arenas, but Dorian merely smirked. It seemed he was too polite to grasp for the low-hanging fruit. That was fine with Cullen, who had uncovered a strange sense of foreboding he couldn’t shake. He replaced the asinine mask on his face and headed back inside with Dorian matching his stride.

Dorian led the way to the butterfly room, which was full of the flitting insect lanterns and simpering party guests, but no Inquisitor or the headwear-loving bard. Cullen’s bad feeling worsened. 

“Well, they were just here,” Dorian added unhelpfully. 

Cullen walked brusquely from room to room, checking with his stationed soldiers along the way, but none had seen the Lady Thalia. Even Blackwall confessed they’d only crossed paths before she’d met up with Fidencio. 

Dorian kept pace, cracking bad jokes along the way, until Cullen finally snapped, “Are you incapable of taking anything seriously?” 

Dorian sobered. “Ah, yes, the humor is just my dominant coping mechanism, I’m afraid. I’m actually a bit nervous myself.” 

Cullen let out a slow breath. “Any idea where they could have gone?” 

“No, but I think we must employ process of elimination here, Commander.” He leaned against the wall in a small, winding corridor and crossed his arms. “Thus far the masquerade has been confined to the ground floor of the chateau and surrounding environs. As Inquisition soldiers have been stationed in both places, I think it’s safe to assume they’re not there.” 

“So that leaves, what, upstairs? In the guest chambers? ” Cullen did not like to think about what might be transpiring up there. One heard tell of what transpired at certain Orlesian parties. “I hope Fidencio would not be fool enough to let Thalia near any sort of—” Could he even say it?

“I think it’s unlikely Fidencio would have led her to an orgy,” Dorian said blithely. “Unless she asked to go— which is also unlikely,” he added before Cullen’s pulse could spike too much. “Goodness, you have met the girl, haven’t you? She can barely handle one man, let alone a whole gaggle.” 

Cullen chose not to dignify any of that with a response. “So then, where else?” 

A silent beat passed between the two men, and they spoke in unison: “The cellar.” 

“There must be one,” Dorian said. “This is a castle. What’s a castle without a wine cellar?” 

“And a dungeon,” Cullen said darkly. What if the Comte de Valette had made an appearance after all, and now Thalia was his captive? 

“Commander, your imagination is at times alarming,” Dorian said lightly. 

“I’m in charge of an army. I’m paid to think about the worst case scenario.”

“Be that as it may.” Dorian paced back and forth in the corridor, and raised a finger in the air. “I think I might know a way in.” 

“Oh?” Cullen asked. 

“A little staircase I came across when I took a wrong turn earlier in the evening. A pageboy assured me it was just the servant stairwell and steered me back to the party.” 

Cullen drew the mask from his face, wiping the perspiration from his brow. “Do you think you can find it again?”

Dorian stroked the end of his mustache. “I’m fairly certain, yes.” 

“Though I suppose we’ll have to think of a fine excuse, to allow ourselves entry,” Cullen mused. “Unless we want the entire chateau alerted to our movements.” 

“Spoken like someone who never snuck around much in his youth.” Dorian flashed him a mischievous grin.

Cullen sighed. “What do you want me to say? The Templar barracks were well-monitored.” 

“Oh, don’t misunderstand me; that was not meant to be a slight. I only mean, Commander, you’ve not yet learned rule number one in subterfuge: don’t get caught.”

[justreadertings]

Sweet Understanding: A Rowaelin love story- Part 4

AN: Once again I’m apologizing at the beginning of a fic... what’s new? Writing is hard when it’s so gloomy. Midwest Magee is STRUGGLING. But I’m here now, and I’ve got some words for you! I hope you enjoy... it’s only gonna get more complicated hehehe- Magee

3210 words

Loosely based on the song Suddenly Seymor. Mentions of domestic abuse, violence, swearing, drugs, death, sex, NSFW.

Part 4

Rowan was trying not to kill his friends, trying not to let his bad mood ruin their night, trying not to drink too much. Forcing himself not to leave because he knew how excited Aelin was. Or… Celanea. He would have to be careful to call her Celaenea here. 

He was just watching his friends play pool, sitting on the sticky, uncomfortable bar stool. The benches were much nicer. 

Gods, he just wanted to go home. He’d been here an hour already, and all of his friends had readily assessed his bruised hands, but said nothing. They were always doing that, and though Rowan probably did the exact same thing, it still pissed him off. 

They knew to stay mostly away from him. He’d forced himself here- only for her. She seemed so excited. Rowan had to stop himself from glancing at the door every second. Knowing that she was alone with him right now… it made his stomach turn. He didn’t know how he had the emotion left in him but- he did. And it was making him sick.

“Whitethorn’s not gonna play. He’s brooding.” Rowan tuned back in to hear Fenrys chirp.

Vaughn slid Lorcan another drink, that he shot back before he handed his pool cue to his girlfriend. She smirked, and shot two balls in the hole.

“He’s waiting for his girlfriend,” his partner grunted. Elide jabbed him in the rib with her cue, and he coughed.

“Knock it off,” Rowan warned, voice gruff. He knew he was in a shit mood but… Lorcan couldn’t say shit like that. “Her boyfriend's coming.”

Fenrys’ eyes shot up. “That dick you arrested?”

Rowan’s mood soured even more. “That’s the one.”

His friends all exchanged looks, then quietly got back to their game. 

Elide told him, “I’m excited to meet her. She sounds like she could use a girlfriend.” Rowan nodded, grateful for the woman. He didn’t know how Lorcan’s miserable ass got a girl so wonderful. She did have a temper, he knew, but she was very kind. Smart, too. Too good to hang around them.

And just when he was about to tell his friends that, there they were. Aelin and Cairn. Rowan remembered what a terrible idea this was. He waited for the moment he would recognize them. 

But Cairn just shrugged when Aelin told him something, then went to the bar. She watched him for a moment, then her face shifted, a smile forming on her face. A fake smile. Even so, she looked gorgeous. For just getting a few drinks and watching a game, she was all dressed up. A long sleeved, low cut top. Dark blue to highlight her eyes. Jeans that hugged her curves beautifully. He cursed himself for looking but… damn. She’d fluffed up her hair, had swabbed something dark around her eyes, and had on pretty lipgloss.

He couldn’t stop looking at her.

“Hi,” she said, stealing the seat next to him. Her quick eyes flashed to his hands, squinting. He only nudged her chin with his knuckle, trying to avert her gaze.

At the gesture, a flush overtook her face. She waved, albeit awkwardly, to his friends. They all waved back, except Lorcan, and Rowan was hoping she didn’t pick up on their group assessment of her. To quote her, constantly: “Fucking cops.”

But she didn’t bat an eye. She only had eyes on the game, even as her fingers worked the skin of her thumb. Rowan couldn’t resist the urge to assess her either. Of course, he was looking to make sure she was unbruised. That she was ok. 

Her wicked eyes turned to him. “Looking for something?”

His eyebrows raised, but right when he was about to come back with a flirt that was probably inappropriate for how little they’d discussed their relationship- a hand snaked around her shoulder. Rowan nearly jolted from how unexpected it was. How had he not seen him? He must have been distracted.

Cairn looked him up and down, and Rowan tried not to focus on how tense Aelin seemed. Tried not to look too interested in her. It was hard to conceal, he was learning. 

“Who’s this?” the man asked.

It seemed him, and all his friends took a collective sigh. He didn’t remember. Gods, he was out of his mind that night, more than they thought if he didn’t even remember any of them. Rowan shuddered to think of what he must have been like behind closed doors. 

“Rowan,” he said, trying to keep his voice level. “Whitethorn.”

Cairn watched him for a moment more, then nodded. His eyes shot up to the game. “Castle fan?” He asked, sipping on his beer.

Rowan tried to play it cool, though it felt like all of his emotions were just humming right up against his skin. “Ghost Leopard. I’m all for Terrasen.”

Aelin’s eyes were tracking her feet, but a smile ghosted her lips. 

Rowan wished he could capture it, hold that fragile smile to him. He wondered if she knew how wonderful it looked upon her face. But it quickly slipped away when Cairn huffed. “Figures,” he said. “You’ll just encourage her.” Her smile disappeared.

Rowan caught Aelin’s eye. It seemed like it was going to be a long, long night.

-

They had stopped playing, and were now all in a big booth, watching the game. Rowan and his friends had ordered food. Cairn had ordered another beer. Aelin hadn’t ordered anything. 

But she still had a smile on her face when she was watching her game. It was pretty close, but they were only in the third quarter. His friends were split between being Adarlan Castle fans, and Ghost Leopard fans. They’d made petty comments to each other all night, and Rowan was honestly in a better mood. He knew he was just pacified, but it was better than nothing. 

Elide and Aelin had spoken a bit, and he was glad for it. She’d told him that she didn’t have many friends. He was grateful for her to have a girlfriend.

“You know, if we win this game, we might qualify this year,” Elide told her, sipping on her whiskey. 

Aelin nodded, eyes on the game. “Yeah, well, if I keep my mouth shut and don’t jinx us… perhaps we will.” 

Cairn snorted at that, and for the millionth time that night, Rowan’s friends tried to ignore it. He thought his friends would have better poker faces than they did. 

Elide was the only one with a blank expression. She kept her steady eyes on Aelin. “Well your mouth better not jinx us,” she winked at Fenrys. “Or I’ll owe pretty boy fifty bucks.”

Aelin opened her mouth to say something back, but Cairn shushed her. Literally shushed her. He took another swing of his beer. “Her mouth has a lot of uses. Too bad it talks so much.” He slung his arm around Aelin. “Right, babe?”

Aelin’s whole expression turned quiet. Reserved. She just drank her water, eyes glazed. 

Rowan was trying very, very hard not to strangle the man. Their entire table was unable to hide their discomfort. Both for the insinuation and how little he seemed to pick up on social cues. Elide shot Rowan a look that he interpreted as: do something. But before he could even get anything out to ease the tension, to get Aelin away from him, he was startled by her own laugh.

Aelin nudged Elide with her elbow, the smile on her face so fucking fake he could hardly stand it. “You bet fifty bucks on our team?” Something shaded over her eyes, though, when she said, “It sounds like you’re betting against yourself.”

Elide, the perceptive thing, just stared at her back. “Yeah. It seems a lot of that goes on around here.” Her words were telling, and Rowan watched Aelin understand the woman’s tone. Rowan saw the instant Aelin became guarded. She grabbed her purse.

“I’m gonna run to the restroom,” she said, already shuffling out of the booth. Rowan watched her restrained expression carefully. But before she could fully get up, Cairn grabbed her face, kissing her deeply, inappropriately for the setting.

Rowan knew in that instant that he couldn’t handle it. That when she’d asked him earlier that day his answer was a fucking lie. Because he knew what she looked like- what her body looked like- when he kissed her. And it didn’t lock up like that with Cairn. She was a statue.

Just standing there. Taking it. 

When he released her, he just sat back against the booth, back to sipping on his beer.

Aelin watched the creep for a moment, like a beautiful sculpture, captured in a moment of confusion. She was such a burning force, that it made his whole chest clench with discomfort watching her be so still. Something swam in her eyes that he could not decipher. 

She was gone a moment later. Rowan tried not to watch her leave, tried to think of anything else. He realized quickly that he had two options: kill Aelin’s boyfriend before she came back to the table, or excuse himself. He chose the latter.

“I’m getting a bourbon.”

He felt his friend's eyes burn into his back, but only continued forward. Vaughn tracked him too, as he began to pour Rowan’s usual, just as nosy as a cop. But Rowan wasn’t looking for a therapy session.

“She’s got fire,” Vaughn said. Well, apparently Rowan was getting one.

He grabbed his drink, eyes on the bathroom door where she’d shut herself in. Away from everyone. “Something like that.”

His friend was quiet for a moment, before, “She’s pretty.”

“Then you date her.”

At that, Vaughn laughed. “Not my type.” Rowan shared an eye roll with his friend, who had famously been in love with Fenrys’ twin, Connell, for about… two years? Maybe three. “Her boyfriend-”

“Needs a good punch in the mouth? Yeah. I got that.” Rowan’s gaze could burn a hole through the booth for how intensely he was staring at it. When he turned, he found his friend’s dark brows raised in amusement.

 “I was going to say he was on his way to being drunk.” He quirked a smile. “But that’s as good of an answer as any.” Rowan was all done with this character analysis. Especially when he began to walk away, he heard Vaughn say, “Very telling.”

Rowan was really, really done with that night. He was starting to think that bringing Aelin into his life was a mistake.

-

Aelin was starting to think- no, she was starting to accept- that this had been a terrible idea. What was she thinking? Going out with Rowan and his friends like she was… normal. Like she wasn’t connected by about twenty years of secrets to a psychopath, like she wasn’t hiding from the world. She couldn’t just go get drinks and watch her game. That life belonged to a woman who didn’t make mistakes like she did. Maybe Aelin could have enjoyed that life.

But Celeana couldn’t. It would do her good to remember who she was in Dornelle.

She rubbed her face, trying to avoid her eyes. She hadn’t spent time on makeup in… months, and she didn’t want to ruin it. Celeana realized how pathetic it was. She’d been so excited for tonight. She’d actually dressed up, made herself feel pretty. Her eyes swept up to the mirror. The tiredness that had briefly left her when she’d gotten dressed was back.

Even when Cairn had seen her outfit and mocked her, she hadn’t let it get to her. She’d made herself feel so good for this, had worked this night up so much in her head she hadn’t prepared herself for the realities of what might actually happen.

But she had to accept it. Celaena closed her eyes, then turned the knob. If she was gone for that long, it would be suspicious to him. And she didn't need Rowan to be up in her business, with that… look on his face. She didn’t miss his eyes when she’d excused herself. The bastard saw too much.

So she breathed in her nose and out of her mouth, a trick she’d learned from… him. She blocked out the image of his brown hair, his pretty brown eyes. And her mood was ruined even further. Celaena reminded herself to stop thinking of herself as the victim. When it came to him, she had no one to blame but herself. 

-

Rowan was a bit tipsier than she thought he realized. 

When she came back from the bathroom, she’d seen a bourbon in his hand, and she tilted her head at it, at his carefree smile. Something like fondness wormed its way into her chest, even when she was ready to block him out completely. She did not deserve that worrying look, the invitations and acceptance of her. If he knew what she was actually like, the things she’d done…

“Another bourbon for the man!” Cairn yelled over her shoulder. She grimaced.

Cairn was completely drunk now, his words slurring. She didn’t know what his play was in trying to get Rowan the same way. But it scared her.

She focused on her water, sipping. She suddenly felt both overwhelmed and alone all at once. 

“You know what I want?” Her boyfriend’s loud voice nearly blew out her ears. She slowly turned her attention to him. 

“What’s that?” She asked. 

“I want wings!” Cairn adjusted his body in the big booth, bumping into her. “And so do you, babe,” he slurred, grabbing her around the shoulders. A smile was plastered on his face, and he was still basically screaming. “Put some meat on those bones.”

Celaena swallowed, fighting every urge to just close her eyes. She hated when he commented on her body. She was always either too big, too little. Like he was fucking goldilocks and she was never just right. 

Rowan tilted his head at Cairn. “You should go get some.” A little bit of ire rang in his voice.

Cairn slapped him on the shoulder, as if this were the greatest idea of the century. 

“You want some of my fries, Leana?” 

She turned to the pretty blonde who had managed to make her laugh a few times that night. Something paused in her body when he used a nickname for her. She felt so beautifully normal then. 

Celaena felt herself smile. “I might like a few.”

Fenrys moved the basket to the middle of the table while Cairn went to get himself wings. Celaena started snacking on them, not realizing that she was, in fact, hungry. Her eyes caught on the commercials, and she tried to block out Cairn’s loud, loud voice. She was starting to get worried he was going to get out of control. But she was brought back to the table when her hand bumped someone else's in the fry basket. 

Her eyes caught Rowan’s, across from her. Her chest grew tight when he looked at her. Like she was pretty. Like he wanted her.

It took everything in her to not let her eyes say: I want you, too. The more you stare at me, the more I want you.

But she couldn’t say that. So she settled for a small smile and tried to avoid setting the table on fire with the sparks between their hands. Celaena went to put her hands in her lap, but Rowan just pushed the basket towards her. 

“I’m done,” he told her. But she knew. He wanted her to have them and not get herself in trouble. 

I want you. I want you more than I thought was possible. How did I hate you? She curled her hands to keep them to herself.

“Wait a minute!”

She turned her head from the booth. From the bar, Cairn was pointing to their table. Celaena tensed. He had another beer in his hands. She began to hear her own heartbeat in her ears.

“You!” Cairn began to walk closer to the table. She felt Elide’s arm move to settle on the table. She realized what it was. A barrier. For Celaena to get out, she’d have to get past Elide’s arm. And she didn’t think the petite woman would let her go gently. 

He grabbed Rowan’s shoulder, and Celaena’s heart jumped to her throat. “You’re the one! The guy!” Her hands shook under the table.

Cairn whirred around to point at Lorcan and Fenrys, who were just as tense as Rowan was. Well… she wasn’t as concerned about them ripping his hand off. But Rowan… she wasn’t sure.

“And you!” He slurred. “You’re all the cops! The bastards who arrested me!”

Celaena was standing up on the booth then, stepping over Elide’s arms. She grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. “No,” she said, trying to get his hazy vision to focus on her. “No they weren’t.”

He shook a bit, wobbling. He kept looking back and forth between them. Celeana’s hands were firm on his shoulders. “They weren’t, babe. They weren’t. Remember?”

“Are you lying to me?” Cairn asked, voice dark. His breath reeked of alcohol on her face. At that point, Rowan was a wall behind her. She could feel him, his presence. But still, he didn’t touch her.

“You were in Mistward when that happened,” she said, voice calm. Cairn leaned further into her, invading her space. She could feel the table’s eyes on them. Warmth flooded her face, but she kept unyielding. “Remember.”

Carin squinted at the table, at the people she desperately wanted to call her friends. “Yeah,” he finally agreed. She could feel the room exhale. 

Celeana closed her eyes for just a moment, but she finally made herself turn to them. She couldn’t bear to look at Rowan. “I think we’re gonna go,” she said. She tried to remember how amazing the good parts of this night felt. She tried to say it was good enough, that these few hours were enough. 

“Why don’t you stay until the end of the game?” Elide asked her. Celaena felt as if Elide were trying to tie a lasso around her and pull her into her bubble. She wished she could be caught. 

“I don’t think so,” she said. “But thank you.” Celaena grabbed her jacket, and handed Cairn his. The room’s energy was so different now. 

But as she was turning around, Rowan’s voice caught her. “Let me know when you get home safe.” 

Hidden from his eyes, Cairn’s eyes, the table’s eyes, she let a soft smile cross her face. She finally turned, looking up at him. His whole body was telling her not to go. She could have sworn she heard his voice in his eyes. 

Don’t go home with him. Not while he’s drunk.

But she couldn’t tell him all the reasons why that was impossible. So she said the only thing she could. 

“I will,” she promised.

-

Aelin left two minutes before the Ghost Leopards scored the winning goal. Rowan left two minutes after that. He didn’t want to have the conversation with his friends about all the reasons why Aelin leaving with Cairn made Rowan want to throw up. 

Why yes, I do love angst. And no, I am NOT going to stop!- Magee

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[dariusult]

FFXIV Write Day 9- Lend an Ear

"I'll admit, it came as a bit of a surprise when you darkened my door. But not an altogether unwelcome one."

The scent of freshly brewed tea mingled with the odors of herbs and alchemical concoctions in the somewhat cluttered but immaculately organized atelier of one Ms. Koyuki Godo. Magnolia sat in an old but well-maintained chair, upholstered with what appeared to be some sort of shell design. Probably a hingan pattern. The Ishgardian woman smiled awkwardly at her host, who was preparing a kettle of tea made from a variety of herbs taken from a massive apothecary's cabinet containing nearly too many drawers to count. "Well it just occurred to me that we've never really spoken to one another, despite our shared associations."

"Yes, of course." Koyuki smiled faintly at Magnolia as she looked up from preparing the tea. It was a polite smile; not exactly warm, but sincere. "I imagine you would be curious about the mysterious mage who associates with children and war criminals, Miss Magnolia Eclair." She paused as she turned to retrieve two identical tea cups from the cabinet behind her, placing each on a tray with the tea pot alongside an assortment of tea biscuits. Having arranged all that she needed on the tray, she then brought it over and placed it on the small low table in front of Magnolia, taking a moment to smile up at her. "Or do you still go by Mrs. Magnolia Eclair?" This smile was cold; It carried the implicit threat that Magnolia was not welcome if she had come to pry into Koyuki's affairs.

Magnolia didn't have nearly as much social poise as Koyuki, but she had made forays into Ishgardian high society enough times to know a politely veiled warning shot when she saw one—Koyuki hadn't mentioned Magnolia's dead husband as an unintentional gaffe. The Dragoon's smile faltered for a moment, but she covered her lapse with a quick chuckle. "Either one is fine." Magnolia hadn't come to pry or play games, and she wanted to make that clear. "Though I think I'd prefer just Magnolia."

"Okay, just Magnolia." Koyuki said pleasantly as she reached down and gently picked the teapot up with the practiced grace of an expert. "This is a unique blend of mine that I generally reserve for special guests, I hope it's to your taste." She poured Magnolia a cup, the steam wafting up from the porcelain vessel was vaguely floral, with a rich, earthy undertone.

Once the cup was poured, Magnolia nodded graciously to Koyuki and picked the cup and saucer up from the tray. She took a moment to admire the design of the cup—her training in proper teatime etiquette still being second nature to her. The cup was a delicate white porcelain with light blue leaves and vines arranged in a neat pattern across the outside, she liked the design- it was understated, not as showy as some of the patterns you'd see during tea time with many Ishgardian nobles; when she had been making her rounds through high society, Hannish designs had been all the rage—increasing amounts of fine metal filigree and intricate patterns as nobles competed to buy more and more opulent tableware than their peers, as was their wont. Once she had spent sufficient time admiring the teacup, she took a moment to appreciate the aroma of the tea from up close. Magnolia was by no means an expert, but she could at least identify the familiar fragrance of Coerthan tea leaves—likely a conscious choice on Koyuki's part given her company. After the aroma came a polite sip; not a gulp, nor a slurp. The flavor bloomed across Magnolia's tongue, a robust taste that began lightly sweet but progressed to a pleasingly bold earthiness as she sipped. Unexpectedly, there was a sharp tingle that lingered after she swallowed the hot liquid, almost like the tea had been spiced.

"Is it to your liking?" Koyuki asked as she took a seat next to Magnolia and prepared a cup of tea for herself as well.

"Yes, it's quite nice." Magnolia replied, taking another sip and nodding appreciatively. "Is it spiced? It has a rather interesting finish."

"There's a bit of Jhammel Ginger in it." Koyuki said as she lifted her own cup and savored the aroma. "It has some light medicinal properties, but I mostly enjoy it for the flavor." The Raen woman took a long, slow sip of her tea, and let Magnolia sit in silence for a moment before she set her cup back down and shifted her focus back to the Ishgardian sitting before her. "But you didn't come here to make small talk." Her gaze was trained on Magnolia and it was sharp, piercing. "What do you actually want?"

"I didn't come here to not make small talk." Magnolia quickly said back, putting on her most diplomatic smile. "I just wanted to see for myself what kind of person you were." A nonchalant shrug. "I didn't want to place too much stock in secondary sources when I could just find out on my own."

Upon hearing the Ishgardian woman's response, Koyuki couldn't help but let out a light chuckle in spite of herself. The notion that Magnolia elected to simply come directly to her to get her measure was so incredibly direct; very unlike most people Koyuki treated with. "You just decided to come and see, hm? Most folk would act with a little more caution if they knew anything about me." The Raen woman smiled slyly at Magnolia. "Not only that, but you accepted a drink I offered without hesitation."

"Would've been rude not to." Magnolia replied very matter-of-factly, taking another sip of her tea to illustrate her utter lack of trepidation. The thought had crossed her mind, of course, once when she initially took the tea and again when she felt the tingling sensation on her tongue; but she hadn't given Koyuki a reason to poison her and the Alchemist didn't seem like the sort of woman to just poison an acquaintance for her own amusement.

Koyuki raised her own cup to her lips and scoffed. "I suppose the notion of a poisoned cup of tea wouldn't give much pause to someone who threw themselves at the snapping maws of dragons for a living." She took another sip and set the cup down, sighing. "Frankly, I'm simply relieved this visit wasn't to inquire after raising the dead."

Magnolia's brow knit together into a frown. Was Koyuki needling her on purpose? She must have been. The dragoon elected to take the high road and pursue the line of conversation Koyuki had laid out for her. Quickly regaining her composure, Magnolia glanced quizzically at the woman sitting next to her. "Does that happen often as an Alchemist?"

"More often than you might think." Koyuki replied, the faintest hint of satisfaction playing across her face. She'd noticed Magnolia's initial reaction. "While raising the dead is technically possible—both via alchemy and other means—the reality of what such methods achieve is seldom what the individual making the request had in mind." She took another sip of tea, then continued. "Though I suppose it's preferable that people seeking such things at least consult an expert instead of trying to use alchemy, or, twelve forbid, void magics to achieve their ends on their own." Koyuki then made a knowing glance in Magnolia's direction. "Though I'm sure you know all about the dangers of the void from that business with Beithir. You are Magnolia Eclair, after all."

Magnolia smiled sheepishly at Koyuki's remarks, while it was true she had earned the moniker of Eclair from successfully driving off Beithir in single combat—all of the times she had clashed with the dragon had been before the ill-fated creature had resorted to strengthen itself by absorbing aether from the void. When the time finally came for Beithir to meet its end, it was at the hands of another. "Actually, as much as it pains me to admit it... I was not involved in finally bringing down Beithir. Odette and the others were the ones who are owed credit for that."

"Oh, that's right." Koyuki said, seemingly suddenly remembering that point; though Magnolia was sure she had never actually forgotten. "My mistake, I often forget that Odette's was the lance that finally put an end to that creature. You were indisposed at the time?"

"I was elsewhere." Magnolia replied flatly, making a clear indication to Koyuki that that was the end of that line of inquiry. Magnolia's time spent as a wandering killer, hunting corrupt temple knights and dragon cultists in the snowy wastes of Coerthas wasn't something fit to discuss over tea.

"Of course." Koyuki nodded and took another sip of tea, taking the brief pause as an opportunity to easily pivot to another related subject. "Speaking of Beithir, I had heard that she was quite venomous. Particularly potent even among dragonkind." She set her now empty tea cup down and neatly folded her hands on her lap. "I'm sure you can understand, I have a professional interest in such things."

"She was." Magnolia responded gravely. "It nearly killed the man who first trained me as a Dragoon: Ser Ancel Vandauroix." She paused, thinking back to that first encounter with the serpent. "It probably would have killed him if he hadn't been bleeding so much." She smiled wryly. "Most of the venom wound up pooled beneath him on the ground instead of in his body." Ser Vandauroix had survived the encounter, but much like the other survivors of Beithir's fury his fighting days were put behind him. Magnolia hadn't been back to see him since everything that had happened with her husband, but the last she saw of him the retired Dragoon was doing well enough, all things considered.

Their conversation continued on, with Koyuki discussing the properties of dragon venom with Magnolia. Clearly when the Auri woman said she had a professional interest in the subject, she hadn't been joking. The amount of knowledge Koyuki had about how dragons who were venomous developed their abilities was genuinely interesting to Magnolia, who, having been a career dragon slayer, had plenty of her own practical insights to provide. The Ishgardian had felt put off-balance before, but now she was in her element and was at ease conversing with Koyuki. The conversation continued as the two women slowly drained the tea pot—their topics ranging from draconic venom, to Ishgardian cuisine, to Temple Knight training regimens.

Before long, the sun had begun to sink low in the sky and Magnolia had to say goodbye, she still had errands to run before the day was done. The two women said their farewells and Magnolia set out from Koyuki's quaint Gridanian cottage-turned-atelier with a spring in her step, feeling as though she'd made a new friend. As she walked, the Dragoon revisited the conversations in her head, and her pace slowed. Eventually coming to a halt as she realized that in the hours she had been visiting, and through all of their conversations, Koyuki had managed to avoid talking about herself in any meaningful way even once. "Heh..." Magnolia scoffed and smiled to herself. "Not bad..."

[pumpkinmagekupo]

When the rain falls

The rain fell hard, despite the skies having been bright blue moments earlier. It had started out such a peculiar day. She had been invited to the throne room with her master. They were expecting a group of knights from a foreign land. Mizuki being apart of the court mages, was required to attend, since she would have to potentially interact with the knights.

Her master was strict, do not make eye contact, do not speak unless spoken too.

The head knight caught Mizuki by surprise. He was like the permafrost personified. His eyes were so blue and almost sparkled like ice and his armour glittered just the same. He stood tall and proud. There was no hint of nerves in being in a different country.

She couldn't get the sight of him out of her head. There was much work to do but all she could focus on was that knight.

"Not that I shall have the chance to speak to him," she sighed deeply "He has probably been warned about me.." Mizuki buried her face into her robes "that's giving myself too much importance."

Picking herself up, Mizuki moved over to her desk where a pile of documents awaited her. She was due to head out with the exorcists in the morning, these documents had to be done before then.

There was little rest for her.

She was kept mostly secluded from people. Her master was a high court sage and was content to keeping within the walls of the castle. She did not like physical work and often sent Mizuki out on those ventures.

And that was a miscalculation on her part. Mizuki was well-versed in magicks and the demonstrations of her craft with such speed and power, earned her a reputation. A rumour spread that she was a demon because of her destruction magicks. The exorcists that she accompanied, kept her at a distance, fearful of her skills.

Mizuki was fine with that. She had nothing to really talk to anyone about nor had she the time with all the work her master delegated to her.

A new au set? I got more to post so there will be a part 2

p2:

p3:

p4:

[pencilofawesomeness]

FT x TW: Each NRC boy favorite Fairy Tail mage

This is like, half “favorite” and half “who would gravitate towards each other and end up becoming friends”

(Also limiting this to the FT guild so I don't have to think about Everyone)

Either way, interactions go brr—

Riddle: After witnessing Erza beat some manners into some people, he would probably respect her a great deal. That said, after Erza inevitably is also chaotic (they are the same but Riddle doesn't have that self-awareness yet), I think Riddle and Charle would get along really well. Tea-buddies and why-am-I-surrounded-by-thugs? buddies, and what-not.

Trey: I think Trey and Mirajane would be buds. It's the mutual eldest sibling energy, and also the steadfast dedication towards being supporting (when they are actually crazy op). They will probably bond over cooking.

Deuce: As soon as Deuce figures out that Jet is a speed-mage, they bond over their love of going really fast and Jet would absolutely love the blastcycles, and then neither of them can be stopped.

Ace: Bickslow would actually adopt Ace first, because he thinks the sleight-of-hand tricks are rad, and then probably teaches Ace even more, which Ace in turns thinks is really cool. Plus, Ace would respect how wildly blunt Bickslow can be. (They would be relentless with the teasing. They will not be stopped.)

Cater: He and Cana would be good buds. Just hanging around, sharing gossip, maybe going shopping...empathizing with the existential dread of always being a background support character with no strong connections. (So they think. The idiots /affectionate.)

Leona: Someway, somehow, Leona is going to blink and accidentally adopt Lisanna as a little sister. She's got a good head on her shoulders and doesn't pick fights but Leona sniffs out that latent exasperation and it's now he's invested in letting Lisanna release her inner feral. As a treat. Also the cat naps are real.

Ruggie: One thing leads to another and now he and Gajeel are sharing pick-pocket techniques from their Street Days. Plus Gajeel can face-tank just about anything and Ruggie would be thrilled to use him as a shield. Also Ruggie would be both impressed (and maybe jealous, because eating metal sounds convenient) to find someone with greater jaw strength than him.

Jack: Panther Lily. They would have the bro nod of respect at first, but Jack would also really look up to him, for being so cool-headed and diligent.

Azul: I'm honestly not sure who he would pick as his favorite, per se, because he would be interested in all of their magics and bounce around, but somehow now I cannot get out of my head that he would love Chico. One, making deals with the dead (in addition to the living) would probably fascinate him; two, family-owned-restaurant/diner buddies. That's it. That's all I got. (He's very Blue Pegasus-shaped though, so I bet he would love that guild.)

Jade: Droy. They will talk about terrestrial plants for literal hours, and Jade will probably bamboozle him into free garden labor. (And Droy would be thrilled to have someone interested.) Honestly a win-win all around.

Floyd: Gray—both because Floyd would think the ice magic is really cool, and because Floyd would have waaaay too much fun messing with him.

Kalim: He and Lucy could totally bond over being sheltered rich kids, and being generally hyper beans. Though Lucy would definitely be the voice of reason, lol.

Jamil: resists the urge to swing into htryds and start my Jamil And Erik Would Be Friends agenda I think Jamil and Kinana would be very chill together, hiding in the corner to destress and then just vibing. (Snek friends.) Kinana would bully Jamil into self-care, probably, and she would probably remind him a bit of Najma. (yes these are my own hcs involving Kinana's characterization but let me have this)

Vil: I think Vil would sniff out Juvia's earnest try-hardness and chaotic people-pleasing and then make her a personal project, so to speak, trying to instill as much self-confidence in her as possible. Then mid nail-painting they hardcore bond over being villainized by random bystanders.

Rook: He, Bisca, and Alzack would have a sharp shooting competition and trade good ol' hunting stories, and maybe gush over baby pictures.

Epel: He'll probably unironically think Elfman is very cool. Elfman will probably declare Epel manly. They'll both shed (manly) tears.

Idia: Happy. Both because Happy is an easy-going cat and because I think Happy would be genuinely amused/interested in video games, or just watching video games. (That said, if Idia is able to get past his people-are-scary anxiety for two seconds, he and Levy would be amazing friends. Mutual nerd infodumping grounds right there.)

Ortho: I think Ortho and Wendy would be good friends. Just helpful little guys. They would equally fuel the other's cinnamon roll status and their secret gremlin status—helping kittens out of trees and bulldozing forests when provoked. That kind of thing. Ortho would be super interested in replicating enchantments on himself, I think, and Wendy would def try to help him out.

Malleus: Natsu would 100% challenge him to a (friendly) fight and then eat his fire at least once, and Malleus would be both very fascinated and thrilled to have a) someone not afraid of him and b) and fellow!! dragon!!!! buddy :D

Lilia: I know there's not really a feasible way for them to actually meet, per se, but Lilia and Mavis would be dangerously good friends. Dangerous for everyone else, that is.

Silver: One sparring match later, and Silver and Erza are definitely sharing a braincell. They'll be talking about swordplay for hours. Erza will introduce him to a new type of cake and change his life. (They are simple, straightforward beans and they will vibe so well.)

Sebek: He will probably do his best to antagonize almost everyone, but nevertheless, you know who I think he would get along great with? Evergreen. Whether or not he believes she is a fairy is irrelevant; they will agree that fairies are superior. They bond over having their favorite dragon dude they dote on and find ways to be dramatic. Evergreen will gift him some coat or accessory and Sebek will be so honored.