#rune factory ao3

[aashidoodles]

Masterpost

[darkacey]

Do you love nonbinary protagonists and Rune Factory 5? Do you wish the first chapter of the game had been better developed? Did you read Who Remembers a God and wish there was more? Well, look no further! Ari's interlude, Hanami, is now complete!

[the-shipping-forecasters]

I'm here to bang Anime Milves and Grow Turnips (Rune Factory Special)

We've interrupted our planned Fire Emblem content to talk about a topic close to Grace and James' hearts; anime milves.

Nicks out of town unexpectedly, so we took some time to look at a smaller topic (but one Grace is very into). Join us as James learns all about farming, and in a rare role reversal Grace has to keep James on topic!

Apologies for James' sound difficulties, that microphone was turned up way too high!

The Hatsune Miku Pizza video we discuss:

Listen to the episode here

Or here

Or any other podcast place too!

Oh, and we have an Instagram now! You can follow us here if you like: https://www.instagram.com/fanficsandchill/ stuff will be uploaded as we get round to it...

[king-finnigan]

Leave the Door Ajar ch. 3

Fandom: Arcane Ship: Jayvik Previously:

Jayce has a good day at the market. Less so when he finally gets to talk to the healer who lives across from his shop and accidentally insults him. Viktor is understandably mad.

Also on AO3!

Chapter 2

It’s been a few days since his argument with Viktor, but it’s been replaying in his mind ever since, keeping him up at night and distracting him from working on new toys for the Freeday market. 

He sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose in an effort to chase away the headache that’s been forming since he woke up after another fitful night and which has refused to leave ever since. He’d thought a walk might help, but in the foul air of the outskirts of Zaun, so close to the fissures and factories, he chastises himself for his stupidity.

He drags his feet, rucksack hanging heavy between his shoulder blades. Here, closer to the mines, the grinding of the machines is louder, ceaselessly drumming daggers into his skull and draining him of what little energy he had before he left. 

Staring up at an abandoned factory, he can see why Benzo told Ekko not to come here. But Jayce, naive and looking for a lucky break, had overheard them talking about these buildings and had figured that, if people do stay away from this place, maybe there’s still some old machines or scrap metal yet to be looted. He shakes his head. Stupid. He should’ve known all the valuables would be long gone, leaving only the truly desperate and the truly idiotic looking through the piles of garbage.

Jayce briefly wonders which category he falls into: the desperate or the idiotic?

Probably both.

He ducks into a shadow as an unsavory figure shambles through the street, clothes in tatters, knife in his belt. 

He’s not the first person Jayce has seen walking these abandoned streets tonight, and somewhere in his mind alarm bells go off - there shouldn’t be this many people still here. Something must be going on. Right?

He shakes the thought away and moves on. He’s just being paranoid. It’s probably the shadows in these streets that play tricks on his mind, and he briefly wishes he had brought a lamp before completely dismissing the idea. It would’ve only drawn attention - something he desperately does not want as a lone stranger in the least savory parts of town.

As soon as the thought crosses his mind, a bright, blue light illuminates him from behind, casting his long, startled shadow ahead of him on the cracked street.

He feels his blood running cold, heart skipping a beat. Shit. Maybe he can talk his way out of this. Or run.

As he turns his head to look who’s behind him, though, something hard and heavy hits his back, sending him sprawling across the pavement and scraping up his hands and knees, hitting his shoulder painfully.

“Shit,” he hisses between teeth. 

A deafening sound rolls over him and he clasps his stinging hands over his ear, clenching his jaw. What is happening?

But then he looks up and behind him.

A blue mushroom cloud billows from one of the nearby factories, lightning shooting between it and the night sky, particles floating through the air, forming vague shapes that remind him of-

“Runes,” he breathes. For a moment he’s transported back to that fateful day just a few weeks ago, when a similar cloud had emanated from his apartment.

He’s up and on his feet in less than a second, sprinting down the street, his backpack forgotten on the pavement behind him.

It can’t be- it can’t. And yet, he can’t think of any other thing that could’ve caused an explosion this massive, floating particles this distinctive besides his hex crystals. How? Surely they’ve all been destroyed?

He doesn’t have time to think- his feet are pounding on the street, breath straining in his lungs and arms pumping as he runs towards the factory. The mushroom cloud is slowly dissipating into the foul chemical air, but he knows he’s not the only one who’s seen it, likely not the only one who’s running towards it at this very moment. 

He expects to hear people coming out of the neighbouring alleyways any second- whether to help anyone who’s survived the explosion or to finish them off, he doesn’t know. But there’s no one else.

Instead, he hears a high, piercing shriek.

His heart freezes in his chest. A little girl.

He starts running again, trying to find the source of the scream, though it’s hard to pinpoint as the sound bounces off the tall, empty factories. As he rounds a corner, he can see the faint, orange glow of a fire and again, that shriek- though this time, he can discern the words.

“Vi, please!”

He picks up his pace again, shoes scrabbling for steady ground as they slip in a puddle, drops of rain starting to hit his face, thunder rumbling above his head.

There she is.

She’s so small, a little thing curled up on the wet pavement, the fire raging behind her and leaving afterimages on his retinas. She’s sobbing violently, hands clutched in her choppy blue hair, tiny body heaving with every ragged breath.

And behind her- God. What is that?

It’s vaguely human-shaped, but that’s where the similarities end. There are purple veins criss-crossing its barrel chest, claws splayed out and dangerously sharp, its wolf-like face slack, purple liquid dripping from its open, empty eyes.

His steps falter as he trips over his own feet, his mind reeling from the sight before him. But another cry of anguish breaks him out of his momentary stupor and he stumbles forward, dropping to his knees beside the girl. He recognises her from the market, and he scrambles for a name as he puts his hand on her convulsing back, her sobs heartbreakingly loud.

“Hey,” he says softly, too softly. She doesn’t look up. He shakes her a bit. “Hey!” a bit louder. “Are you okay, it’s- it’s Powder, right? Are you hurt?” He looks up at the factory, the hole blasted in the sturdy wall as the last wisps of the blue mushroom cloud fade into the night sky. “What happened?” 

She looks up at him, snot and tears running down her face, red-rimmed eyes looking at him frantically, almost maniacally. 

Then, she lurches forward and he nearly falls back, steadying himself with one hand and a quiet oomf. Her thin arms wrap around his waist, squeezing tightly, almost painfully. 

“What happened?” he asks again, trembling slightly as the possibilities flash through his mind. The hex crystals? 

“They’re dead!” she shouts, voice frantic. “They’re all dead!”

Something coils in his stomach. Oh, God. He vaguely remembers her being Vander’s kid, running around the Last Drop with her siblings. “Who is?”

“Vander!” She sobs again, his ribs protesting weakly as she tightens her grip. “Mylo, Claggor, they’re all gone.”

He strains his mind, pictures another girl with pink hair. “Your sister?”

She stills and he can feel her muscles tense. The sudden change almost eerie. “She’s not my sister anymore.” Her voice is quiet, a hateful tone underlining her words. 

“O- okay.” The rain has started falling out of the sky in buckets now, and he can hear the echoes of other voices coming towards them bouncing off the high buildings. He looks at the factory, worry and curiosity mingling in his stomach. He needs to find out what happened here, if it really was one of the hex crystals that caused the explosion, and so, who got a hold of them and how. 

How many more of them are out there? How much more damage can they cause?

But there are people coming and he knows well enough by now not to trust anyone who would wander around this part of town. He doesn’t have the time to look into this, not now, and there’s still a sobbing girl in his arms. 

If anyone attacks them, he won’t be able to protect her.

“We need to get out of here.” Maybe he can bring her to Benzo and come back later during the daytime when these people have left.

He glances at the man-beast, shivers running down his spine. He wants to look away, but he can’t. It’s a monster, a veritable terror. How many more of those are still around somewhere, he wonders.

And yet, its face is familiar. Was it a man, once?

“Are you hurt? Can you walk?” he asks. Powder doesn’t respond, even as the voices get closer. He hesitates for a second, then lifts her up. “Let’s go.” 

She’s terrifyingly light in his arms as he hurries around the corner and for a second he wonders how old she is- surely she’s too thin for her age? 

But this is Zaun. All children are too thin for their age.

She sniffles and buries her face in his neck, arms clasped around his neck and legs around his waist. He hurries back towards the more lived-in parts of the Undercity, leaving the strangers behind them. It takes him a while to recognise where they are, but he picks random streets that lead towards the market until he does, then sets course for the pawn shop.

Benzo will know what to do. He’ll be able to take care of Powder.

The rain is beating down on them in sheets now, soaking their clothes and plastering their hair on their heads. Jayce sputters, wiping his face in an effort to get the water out of his eyes as he looks around, red flags rising in the back of his mind.

Something’s wrong.

He strains his mind as he hurries along, trying to figure out if it’s just his worry for the girl and the hex crystal explosion that are making him feel uneasy or if it’s something else.

And then it hits him.

He’s in the busiest part of Zaun, the streets where nightlife is always at its peak, where music is constantly playing, people are perpetually drunk and doors are forever open.

Except now.

There’s no one in sight. The clubs and bars are shut tightly, the lights turned off and the people hiding. He can see a pale face behind a window here and there, curtains fluttering when he walks past, hands clutching at the edges and eyes glittering in the darkness. 

“What’s happening?” he whispers, more to himself than at the girl, yet she responds and he starts, having forgotten her for a second.

“There’s scary people,” she whispers back.

His feet start going faster of their own accord, splashing through puddles, his steps drowned out by the roar of the rain falling on tin roofs and against the pavement. 

“Really?” he asks, out of breath. “Well, we’re nearly at Benzo’s, we’ll be safe there.” And then I can figure out what on earth happened at the cannery.

“We shouldn’t go to Benzo’s,” Powder says softly, face burying itself back in his neck after having glanced around warily for a moment.

“Uhuh,” he adjusts her in his arms absentmindedly, rounding the corner to the familiar street the pawn shop sits in. “And why’s that?”

Ice runs down his spine, feet freezing to the ground as he feels the numbness of shock, before something heavy crushes his chest, heart beating against his ribcage like a prisoner in a cell.

On the pavement in front of his shop, sheets of rain battering his broken and bruised body, draining his blood into the gutter, is Benzo.

“Vi said he’s dead.”

He stands there for a few seconds, unsure of what to do. There’s no doubt in his mind that it’s his friend - his small, round glasses are broken but still sit on his face, his sideburns caked with dried blood. His eyes, once so kind and inviting, stare at the downpour that soaks his ripped clothes, his face slack, his familiar smile gone.

Dead. Ripped apart and left in the street like garbage to rot.

Powder lets out a yelp as Jayce drops her to the wet pavement, stumbling to the gutter on unsteady feet before he empties his stomach against the side of a building. One hand clutches his stomach while the other supports himself against the wall. Rain beats down on his back, soaking his near-saturated clothes and sending rivulets down his spine and ribs. 

He trembles, his breath comes in ragged spurts. For a moment he wants to sink to his knees right there in the street, lie down and never get back up. Tears sting his eyes, denial and grief battling in his head for dominance. 

His friend, his only friend, the only person who’s been kind to him the past few weeks, the man who showed him he could have a bright future in Zaun, who welcomed him with open arms despite everything. Dead. Gone.

Murdered.

And then another thought hits him, like lightning through his mind and down his back.

He rips his head back up. “Ekko,” he whispers. Then nearly trips over his feet as he breaks into a run down the street. “Ekko!”

God, let him be okay, let him be fine. Let him be alive.

The door to the pawn shop is open and he almost slips in puddles of rain water and mud when he skids to a halt in front of it, hands clutching the door frame for support. 

“Ekko!” The shop is quiet and surprisingly neat and very, very empty. Another door at the back reveals a staircase to the basement and he hits his shoulder against it in his hurry to get downstairs, nearly tripping over his own feet.

“Ekko!” he shouts again into the damp and cold room. Light filters from a window high in the wall, the blood that’s been splattered against it slowly washing away in the relentless downpour.

He rakes a hand through his hand. Did someone take the kid? Did they hurt him? Kill him?

“Vi said he’s fine.” The soft voice startles him out of his spiraling thoughts. He looks back to see Powder standing at the top of the stairs, face grave and gaze downcast. “She told him to hide somewhere.”

Her lower lip trembles, blue eyes brimming with fresh tears. “It’s my fault,” she whines. “It’s all my fault! I’m a jinx!” Her hands come up to clutch at her hair, pulling at it and beating herself over the head. 

Jayce quickly runs up the stairs, gripping her wrists. “No, please don’t do that, stop please-” he’s always sucked with kids and he knows he’s not the right person to help this girl right now. He doesn’t even know if she got hurt in the factory explosion, for God’s sake.

His efforts are futile and she screams in frustration. 

“No! No, shush, please-” He hears voices outside in the street, muffled by the heavy rain. Concerned citizens or Benzo’s murderer, coming back to gloat in his kill? “ Fuck, fuckfuckfuck- please, Powder, stop it. It’s not your fault- we need to go.”

He gives up on his attempts to extract her white-knuckled grip from her hair and lifts her up again, clutching her against his chest as he rushes outside.

He’s panicking as he looks around, trying to figure out where the voices are coming from while balancing the writhing girl in his arms as she sobs into his ear. Where can he go? What can he do? He can’t keep her with him but he can’t just hand her off to a perfect stranger- and then there’s the matter of the explosion. He still needs to go back, figure out what happened and if it could happen again.

His eyes land on the body in front of him on the street, ripped apart and broken. Bile rises in his throat, a wave of grief hitting him like a brick wall as his arms tighten involuntarily around Powder.

He can’t let her get hurt. It’s too late to save Benzo, but he can help her .

He grits his teeth to push back the tears that threaten to blur his vision, mind struggling against his pain to figure something out. He doesn’t have time. The voices are getting closer.

Who else can he trust? Who else does he know? Who else will know how to take care of this little girl?

The image of a purple door surfaces in his mind. 

“ Viktor,” he breathes.

He can see shadows cast by the lamps at one end of the street, voices coming ever closer, overlapping and angry, arguing about something. 

Jayce takes a second to kneel by his friend’s side. To close those empty, staring eyes before he lays a hand on the barrel-chest, unmoving forever more. “I’ll come back,” he promises, his other hand clutching the quietly sobbing girl against him. “I’ll come back for you, Benzo. I swear.”

There’s a gaping hole in his chest as he rises again, pulling at the edges of his mind and sanity and threatening to swallow him whole.

“We’ll figure this out,” he whispers against Powder's hair, running a soothing hand up and down her drenched back. “I know someone, you’ll be safe with him.”

—

The purple door rattles in its frame as Jayce pounds his fist against it. The rain hasn’t let up and thunder rolls overhead, quickly following flashes tinged green by the chemical clouds that hang around the Undercity.

He waits a second, adjusting a now quiet Powder in his arms before knocking frantically again, the side of his fist stinging with the force of it. “Viktor!” he shouts, taking a step back to look through the windows. There’s no light inside as far as he can see, and any shapes he would be able to make out in the glow of the street lamps are hidden by heavy drapery, obscuring his view of the shop.

He raises his hand to knock again, desperation and slight panic clawing at him. “Viktor! Please, please, open th-”

He nearly hits the healer in the head when the door suddenly opens. A very tired, slightly disheveled Viktor stands there, anger brewing in his golden eyes, mouth already open to spit venom for disturbing him in the middle of the night. 

The words seem to die on the healer’s tongue, though, as he takes in Jayce’s soaked clothes and the girl in his arm, who has turned her head to peek at him out of the corners of her eyes. 

“Jayce?” he asks softly, concern tinging his words, the last traces of sleep thickening his accent. “ Powder?” 

A wave of relief overwhelms him and he feels lightheaded for a moment, one hand coming up to steady himself on the doorframe. “Viktor. Please, can we come in?”

He doesn’t have to finish his sentence before Viktor steps aside and opens the door further, ushering them inside. “What’s happened? Is she okay? To the back,” he answers Jayce’s unasked question, closing the door behind them and gesturing to the other end of the dark shop, where a small gas lantern illuminates the backroom. 

“I- I don’t know.” He tries to push away the simultaneous relief and anxiety that threatens to cripple him. “There was an explosion and Benzo is dead and I don’t know what happened and Ekko is gone and-”

“What?” The sharp word stops Jayce’s rambling as he sets Powder down on a wooden treatment table. He looks around at Viktor, who is standing in the doorway, mouth slightly open in shock, eyes wide. He seems unguarded in a way Jayce hasn’t seen him before, mask slipped away for once.

Viktor recovers himself quickly enough though, and in two uneven steps he’s by a shelf on the other side of the room, picking up two towels and giving one to Jayce before going to stand by Powder. She looks between the two of them with wide, blue eyes.

“Powder,” Viktor says softly, putting the towel around her small frame. “Are you okay? What happened?”

The tears return with full force and she crumples in on herself, shielding her face with her hands. “It’s my fault,” she sobs, voice muffled behind her fingers. “It’s all my fault!”

Viktor tuts and pulls her to his chest, letting her bury her face into his soft night robe. “It’s alright, Powder, it’s not your fault,” he shushes her, whispering soothing words into her wet hair. Golden eyes focus on Jayce questioningly, tinged with concern.

Jayce sighs, using the towel to wring out his hair. “I- I don’t know,” he says softly and for a second it feels like the reality of the situation hasn’t fully set in yet. “There was an explosion at the abandoned cannery down south-” He swallows thickly, images of the blue clouds and the rune-like sparks in the air flashing in his mind. “I-” A lump forms in his throat. “I think it’s my fault, actually.”

Shock and confusion flash across Viktor’s face. “What?”

“It’s a long story,” Jayce rushes to add. “And I didn’t really do it myself but…” He leans against the table, eyes trained on the tiled floor. “... It’s a long story,” he finishes lamely.

The healer is quiet for a second and Jayce can feel golden eyes digging holes into the side of his head but he ignores it, though he’s unable to stop the blush creeping up his neck.

“And Benzo?” Viktor asks.

He clenches his jaw, knuckles turning white as he grips the edge of the table. “Dead. I don’t know-” Anger flashes through his veins, turning his blood to fire- it’s an emotion he doesn’t enjoy, but right now it’s familiar, something he’s at least acquainted with. 

It’s better than the grief.

“Look, I don’t know, okay?” He snaps, meeting Viktor’s eyes. “I don’t know. Anything! I don’t know what happened at the cannery or at the pawn shop or with that man-beast-thing! I don’t know how someone managed to get a hex crystal or why they made it explode or how many people died or if there’s more to come. I don’t know!” 

His breath comes out in ragged gasps and he finds both Powder and Viktor staring at him, slightly scared but mostly concerned. He huffs out a laugh, feeling himself teeter on the edge of hysteria.

But the fight leaves him as quickly as it came. “And I really don’t know what to do now,” he admits, voice breaking and helpless tears brimming his eyes. “ Please, ” he begs. “I need your help.”

Viktor looks at him for a second before seemingly steeling himself, shoulders squaring and back straightening. He gives Jayce a curt nod. “I’ll do what I can.” He looks at Powder, smiling softly at her, trying to put her at ease. “After all, I am a healer. Helping people is what I do.”

—

Later, when Powder has changed out of her wet clothes and into an old shirt one of Viktor’s patients had left at his shop, and she’s upstairs in his bed knocked out cold, the rain finally stops.

Jayce sits at the table in the kitchen next to the treatment room, a single gas lantern casting shadows on the walls, the scent of dried herbs filling the air. He doesn’t look up as he hears Viktor’s uneven steps coming down the stairs and into the room. 

“She is asleep,” the healer says, moving to the countertop and putting a full kettle on the stove. “I gave her something to keep the nightmares at bay. Tea?”

Jayce doesn’t reply- he doesn’t know what to say. For the first time in his life, words elude him, the space they used to occupy in his head filled with memories of tonight. He simply listens to the sounds of Viktor rummaging through his cupboards, the clinking of mugs and the whizzing of the gas stove as it slowly brings the water to a boil.

“What happened, Jayce?” His voice is soft, fatigue lacing through his tone. 

Jayce rubs the bridge of his nose. The headache is back in full force and he feels too tired to think. But he knows he owes Viktor at least some explanation.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” he sighs. “I was trying to find scraps at the old factories near the docks and suddenly-” he splays his fingers. “Boom. And there she was.” He shrugs as Viktor pours water into the mugs. “I tried to find Benzo but he was dead and Ekko is God knows where, so I came here.” He looks up as the other man puts his tea in front of him, sitting down on the chair on the other side of the table. “I didn’t know what else to do,” he admits.

Viktor hums thoughtfully for a second, golden eyes watching steam rise from his tea. “You said it was your fault, earlier.” He looks up at Jayce. “What did you mean by that?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Indulge me.”

Jayce leans back in his chair, hands around the scalding mug. He doesn’t mind the sting of the heat, welcomes it even. Anything to distract him from his chaotic thoughts. 

“Well,” he starts, trying to find his words. “My apartment blew up a few weeks ago,” he admits. Viktor opens his eyes a fraction wider but remains quiet. “I was doing a… science project. Not exactly above board, and somehow a few kids broke in and blew up the place.” He leans forwards on his elbows, raking his hand through his hair. “The Council found out what I was doing and banished me from Piltover.”

Viktor tilts his head, eyebrows coming together half an inch. “Hmm,” he hums before taking a sip of his tea. “Continue.”

“When the cannery exploded, it made the exact same cloud as the explosion at my lab did.” He jabs a finger into the table, worry coiling in his chest like a snake about to strike. “I don’t know how, but I’m sure that someone got hold of some… components of my project and used it to blow up the factory. Viktor, I need to find out who did it and how much there’s still left. You have no idea how much damage th-”

“These… components. They are blue crystals, no?”

Jayce freezes, finger still on the table, his other hand curled around his rapidly cooling tea. “I- I…” he stammers. “How do you know that?”

“Powder told me what happened.” Viktor’s eyes seem to emit their own strange glow in the half-dark as he looks at Jayce. “She had one of those crystals, stole them from some Piltie’s apartment, she said. Things went wrong that day and it blew up, sending the Enforcers and half the Undercity after her. She said she’d kept one of the crystals and tried to save Vander and her siblings using it.” He huffs out a breath. “Clearly, things did not go according to plan.”

Jayce can do nothing but stare at him. “So Powder…” He groans, burying his head in his hands. ��So it was my fault.” A pang of guilt shoots through him and he has to do everything not to pull his hair out with the ache of it. “If I’d been more careful, if I’d locked those hex crystals away better-” His head shoots up. “She doesn’t have any more-”

“No, Jayce.” Viktor is quick to soothe his fears. “She only had one.” 

He sighs in relief, resting his chin on his folded arms. Still… “People are dead because of me,” he whispers.

“Eh, and because of Powder.” 

Jayce frowns at him. “She’s just a kid-”

“And Ekko,” Viktor says matter-of-factly. “For telling them where your apartment was.”

“That’s not fair,” Jayce protests. “They didn’t know this was going to happen, they didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“But you did?” Viktor raises his eyebrows.

“No…” he admits. He deflates a bit. “Still, I can’t help but feel guilty.”

And he does. He does feel tremendously guilty. It’s clawing at the edges of his mind, whispering into his thoughts. Your fault, your fault, it says as it scrapes its talons into him. You killed those people. 

He lowers his head into his hands, fingertips pushing against his scalp, trying to get that little voice out of his mind. Trying to stop feeling like it’s right, it is his fault. Vander and Mylo and Claggor are dead because of his hex crystals. Benzo is dead because of him. 

“It was an accident.” Viktor’s voice is soft, though it cuts through his spiraling thoughts like a hot knife. The healer has leaned forward, hand on the table a few inches from Jayce, reaching out but not touching. “It’s not your fault.”

He lets out a humourless chuckle, shaking his head. “I wish I could believe that.” 

There’s an urge to lay his hand on Viktor’s, feel the warmth and the smooth skin. He’s always needed touch when he’s distressed and he can’t deny the magnetic pull he feels toward the healer. It’d be so easy just to reach out, to wrap his fingers around those slender ones and take comfort in the contact.

And sully his hands with the blood that’s on yours? The little voice whispers to him again, words curling around his mind and sinking its teeth into it. He deserves better than a murderer. 

He leans back, gaze averting to stare at the wall, arms crossing in front of his chest, trying to will away the itch in his fingers, the need to touch.

Viktor seems to feel the shift, the sudden tension exuding from Jayce, because he sits back too, his voice no longer soft and warm. “You should get some sleep.”

Jayce sighs, wiping a hand over his face, his eyelids sagging shut for a second. “What are we going to do with her?”

“I will figure something out.” I, not we. It shouldn’t sting, but it does. “Go back home.”

A memory surfaces to the forefront of his mind: his mother's smile so wide it squeezes her eyes shut on the day they found out he got into the Academy, tears of joy slipping down her face as she kisses Jayce’s cheeks over and over. She’d been so proud of her mijo.

“I wish I could,” he mutters as he rises out of his chair. “Goodnight, Viktor.”

There’s silence for a beat as he makes his way out of the kitchen. He’s not sure if he really does hear Viktor whispering a goodnight back or if it’s a trick his overtired mind is playing on him. The latter, he decides. 

It’s best if he doesn’t get too attached anyways.

Viktor deserves better than him, after all.

[brynn-lear]

"(𝐘/𝐧), 𝐲o𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨s𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐚 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠." 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳, Ms. Brynn Lear, 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

"𝐂'𝐦𝐨𝐧, 𝐥𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨."

COMIC COMMISSIONS ARE OPEN (0/10)

Kofi

Artistree

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╰ ➣ DIMITRI ALEXANDRE BLAIDDYD, Oda Sakunosuke (BSD), Gepard Landau, Crius Castlerock, Xander (FE: Fates), Berkut (FE Echoes), Regis Adri Floyen, Adrian (Surviving as a maid in a horror game), Gallagher (H:SR), Kamisato Ayato, D41nsl3if, Jeritza, Boothill, Veritas Ratio, Ethan Winters, Reinhardt (Rune Factory 5)

╰ ➣ ANNETTE FANTINE DOMINIC, Byleth Eisner, Tingyun/Fugue, Zero (Drakengard 3), Edelgard Von Hresvelg, La Signora, Anastasia (Even if:Tempest), Citlali, Faruzan, Navia, Robin (FE: Awakening), Marianne Von Edmund, Sparkle (H:SR)

𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳, Dimitri Blaiddyd 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯. "I𝐬 t𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐘𝐚𝐧-𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧?"

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥.

[starspice-y]

Howdy all! Figured I'd finally make an intro blog post so y'all know how I've got everything organized

I'm StarSpice! My pronouns are They/Them and I'm a digital artist majoring in Studio Art 💜 I like being cringe and selfshipping with Optimus Prime

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[crestfallencrest]

Tell Me

Fandom: Rune Factory 5 Pairing: Ryker/Ares Word Count: 3,654

Summary:

Ryker lets his fingers brush gently across the other’s cheek, lingering near the dark circles under his eyes. “...Ares, can you do me a huge favor?” Ares’ face leaned slightly into Ryker’s touch, eyes closing with contentment. “Yeah?” “...When you have to go out of town for SEED errands or anything like that, could you let me know? I can’t stop myself from worrying that you’re going to get into some kind of trouble while I’m not there...”

[x] - Read on AO3

It was a chilly autumn day, with winter just on the horizon. Ryker couldn’t help but shiver as a particular cold gust of wind blew past him and he knew he would likely have to stop by the bakery and see if Granny Yuki had any warmer coats on hand. Otherwise, he’d have to improvise. That much wasn’t a problem. In fact, if he got too cold, he at least had someone that he could cuddle up to in order to warm up.

Speaking of...

Ryker let his gaze trail over towards the field that sat not too far from his spot on the grass. He watched as the familiar blonde stood underneath the orange tree that he had put so much time and effort into. He remembered the day that the tree had begun to bear fruit, remembered the day he came across Ares gushing and rambling in excitement to Priscilla and Cecil about how much his hard work had paid off. About how excited he was to eat one of the oranges that he had grown himself.

That was the day that Ryker figured out that Ares really loved oranges, and liked fruit in general. For a while, he never really knew why he filed that information into the back of his head at the time. Really, Ryker should have realized why but he was extremely thick headed at times. But it was when Ares confessed to him that he finally figured it out.

They had been dating for a while now, and already, Ryker has had his fair share of screw ups in their relationship. Nearly screwing up accepting Ares’ confession because he simply couldn’t look Ares in the face because of how embarrassed he was, running away from their first date because they were seen by Martin... and then nearly leaving Ares for good in order to pursue the dream of becoming Basara, under the delusion that it would get his old family together.

Even now, he still remembered how hurt Ares sounded when he found out about Ryker’s crimes. How heartbroken he looked when he had ‘lost’ their competition, how lost he looked. So lost that he didn’t even notice that giant monster sneak up behind him. If Ryker hadn't looked back, Ares would have been...

...Ryker couldn’t even stomach the thought of it. The scar across his own chest that Ryker had received from when he took the hit for Ares was entirely worth it, if it meant that Ares didn’t get hurt because of his own stupidity. The idea of losing Ares was almost unbearable. He was an idiot for nearly leaving the man behind in the first place, but a world without Ares... he couldn’t imagine that.

“...Hey, Ares.”

Ryker watched as Ares perked up at the sound of his name, arms full of his daily harvest of oranges. His blue eyes were practically sparkling with life as he quickly dumped his daily prize into a nearby basket. “Yeah, what’s up? You okay?”

When Ryker requested that they hang out today, Ares seemed a bit uncertain about it, due to him having to do some last minute farm work to prepare for the oncoming winter. The end and beginning of a season always seemed to be the busiest time for the ranger so Ryker couldn’t really blame him for wanting to turn him down but... Ryker really just wanted to be near him for a while. So, he asked if he could just hang out and nap on the sidelines while Ares did his work and the man eventually agreed.

Not that Ryker got much napping done. Not when he was too caught up in watching his boyfriend pick his oranges, the blonde smiling as if all of his dreams had come true. And now, that cute little smile was pointed in his direction and the white haired man could feel his heart skip a beat.

Ryker really didn’t want to get in the way of Ares’ work but... “C’mere for a second?”

As Ryker held a hand out, Ares gave a momentary pause as he looked down at the basket full of oranges and then gave a quick glance around the area, as if determining just how much work he had left on his plate. There probably wasn’t too much work left to do, since Ares ultimately decided to walk over to Ryker to gently place his hand onto the other’s. “Is something wrong, Ryker?”

Ryker grinned. “Nah. You just fell into my trap, is all.”

“Huh?”

That was the only response that Ares could get out before Ryker yanked hard at his arm, pulling the man down onto his knees next to him. And then, with a swift movement, Ryker wraps his arms around the other’s waist and pulls him close enough for Ares’ back to press against his chest. For a moment, Ares scrambled for a moment, trying to gain an understanding of what was happening but just as quickly calmed down as Ryker rested his chin on Ares’ shoulder. Once Ares was seated securely between Ryker’s legs, Ryker loosened his grip on the other as he smiled into the man’s shoulder.

“There we go. Much better.”

Ares turned his head to try and look over his shoulder at the white haired man, his voice on the brink of laughter. “What in the world are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m holding my boyfriend.” Ryker could feel his cheeks heat up but from Ares’ vantage point, there was no way he could see his cheeks... right?

“Yeah, but I told you I have a lot of work to do!”

“Yeah, but it’s break time.” Ryker grins, squeezing the other again. “C’mooon, you’ve been at it for a while.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Nope. Break time. Take a minute and breathe and look at the sky with me, okay? Then I’ll help you with the rest of your work.”

Ryker knew that his offer to help was a critical success, judging by how Ares went still and couldn’t offer another retort. Ryker smirked in victory as he felt Ares slump back, leaning back against Ryker’s chest with a tiny sigh. “Okay, but only for a little bit.”

Considering that Ares didn’t clarify how long ‘a little bit’ was... Ryker could work with this. “Fine by me. I just wanted you to take a bit of a break. You’ve been looking exhausted lately.”

Ares falls quiet for a moment before a tiny chuckle leaves his mouth. “Heh... well... you know how the end of the seasons are. Plus... SEED work has been pretty rough lately.”

Ryker frowned. He had noticed that Ares and Scarlett both had been leaving town a lot lately, or running around like rampaging cuckadoodles. It wasn’t even just him that’s noticed. The entire town was beginning to notice just how exhausted Ares had been lately. But the ranger would always wave it off with a smile, even turning down free food that had been offered by Elsje, Randolph and Granny Yuki. He even almost turned down a couple of free baths from Murakumo but one pointed look from Misasagi and a perfectly planned puppy dog look from Hina was enough to get Ares to accept the family’s kindness.

It helped, but it wasn’t enough to get rid of the faint and barely noticeable dark circles that were beginning to form underneath his eyes. Harvesting the oranges was probably the most life that he had seen from Ares in the last couple of days. Just what in the hell did SEED have Ares doing?

“...I’ve noticed that you’ve been going on mission after mission for SEED lately. Do I need to complain to the captain about putting too much on your plate? I know how you are. The word ‘No’ doesn’t seem to be in your vocabulary when it comes to people needing help, so if you’re struggling, I can—” Ryker’s offer trailed off when Ares quickly shook his head.

“No, no— it’s fine. Captain Livia isn’t overworking me... Things are just crazy right now, that’s all.” Ares hesitated before shifting in Ryker’s arms, pulling the man’s arms off of him so he could turn to face the other, sitting back on his knees.

Once again, there was that damn smile. That smile that was constantly telling him and the others to ‘Not worry.’

Ryker was never one to worry over much before. Maybe he would worry about making blueprints that would make Palmo’s reputation look bad but he never really had much else to worry about. But then Ares came along, so brave, so kind, so reckless when it came to protecting others... How could one not worry about him?

He took a deep breath, breaking his gaze from his boyfriend before the urge to wipe that smile off of his face took over the entirety of his body. “... Just be sure not to take too much, okay? You’re... amazing. Maybe too amazing. And dependable. And overall, just extremely helpful to everyone you meet—”

From the corners of his eyes, Ryker could see Ares’ eyes widen and his cheeks began to turn a faint shade of pink. “Ryker... I’m not—”

Ryker shook his head and took Ares’ hands into his own. “You are. Maybe not as cool as me, but... just because you’re all of those things, doesn’t mean you need to take on the entire world’s burdens by yourself, okay?”

Ares tensed as Ryker spoke those words and the smile faltered for only a moment. He watched as his blue eyes darted down to their joined hands and for the tiniest moment, Ryker can see past that barrier that the other kept up in favor of putting everyone else first. 

Ryker decided he wanted to tear that damn wall down more than anything.

“I...” Ares squeezed Ryker’s hands. “I’m not alone, Ryker. I have everyone here in Rigbarth and that gives me enough strength to keep pushing forward. Captain Livia, Scarlett, Priscilla, Lucy, Cecil— Everyone. But most important of all, I have you, don’t I? Even if I see you just in passing, just seeing your face is enough to energize me.”

“Heh...” Ryker tilted his head, ignoring the heat on his own face. “I guess I just have that effect on people.”

That managed to get a laugh out of Ares, at least. Ryker would count that as his victory of the day. “It has an effect on me.”

“I would hope so, considering that we’re boyfriends.” Ryker laughed. And then, as silence settled between them once more, the white haired man tugged his hand free so he could lift it towards Ares’ face. He lets his fingers brush gently across the other’s cheek, lingering near the dark circles under his eyes. “...Ares, can you do me a huge favor?”

Ares’ face leaned slightly into Ryker’s touch, eyes closing with contentment. “Yeah?”

“...When you have to go out of town for SEED errands or anything like that, could you let me know? I can’t stop myself from worrying that you’re going to get into some kind of trouble while I’m not there...”

Ares’ eyes opened again to meet Ryker’s gaze, confused and questioning before the gentle smile made its return. “You’ve gotten really overprotective lately.”

Ryker returned the smile as he goes from brushing his fingers against the other’s cheek in favor of cupping Ares’ face instead. “I can’t help it. You’re really important to me, y’know?”

“And you’re important to me, Ryker...”

Ares was just a few inches away from his face now and he wasn’t entirely sure when they had gotten so close to each other. Wasn’t sure when he had started leaning into Ares’ personal space, or when Ares had scooted closer until he was practically in his lap. Ryker stole a glance down at the others lips and even just a tiny glance was enough to make Ryker’s heart race. Come to think of it, despite their many dates... he and Ares still hadn’t shared their first kiss together, have they?

Ryker took a deep breath and leaned in closer. “There’s something else I wanna ask you, Ares.”

“Yeah?” Their noses were barely touching now as Ares moved his other hand so that it would rest on Ryker’s shoulder. His cheeks were a deep red now, his lips parting and Ryker wanted to lean in so badly, to steal a kiss so badly, more than anything—

But still, he found himself asking for permission. Because Ares’ comfort and happiness came above all else in Ryker’s eyes. “Can I kiss you?”

“...Yeah.”

And that was all he needed to hear. Ryker leaned in and pressed his lips against Ares’, with the blond turning his head just right so they could slot their lips together perfectly. As their eyes slipped closed, they lost themselves into the kiss, becoming the only two people left in the world at that moment. Ryker’s hand, the one that rested on Ares’ cheek, moved so he could slide his fingers through the back of Ares’ short blonde hair. He could feel the hood of his coat fall back as his partner slid his arms around his neck, in an effort to get as close as possible.

There was something... desperate about the way Ares kissed. He gripped onto Ryker like a lifeline, his eyes were shut tight as if he were afraid of opening them, afraid of coming back to reality. He even trembled slightly under Ryker’s touch, sighing against the kiss every time Ryker squeezed him and tried to pull him closer. At first, he thought that maybe Ares was getting really into it and that maybe they needed to move this somewhere that wasn’t the backyard of SEED Headquarters… but then he felt something wet slide down Ares’ cheek.

Ryker tore away from Ares in an instant, breathless and maybe a little hot but he shoved that to the side for now as he put all of his focus into Ares. His hand moved back to wipe at Ares’ cheek, panic shooting through his body. “Ares? H-Hey, what’s wrong...? Why are you crying?”

Ares’ blue eyes were brimming with tears as he stared back at Ryker with a confused stare. It seemed to take him a moment to realize that he was crying in the first place and then soon, the boy jolted back to reality in favor of wiping his face. “I’m crying—? Ah, I-I’m sorry, Ryker, I dunno what got into me—”

Ryker frowned and continued to help Ares wipe at his face, even going so far as to offer part of his cloak to dry his eyes with. Not once did his eyes leave Ares’ face as he rubbed gently at the other’s back. “Did I do something to upset you? Was it the kiss? It wasn’t that bad, was it?”

It was a weak attempt to make a dumb joke to try and get Ares to stop crying but even if Ares was able to let out a tiny laugh, the tears wouldn’t stop falling. Ryker was... torn. Torn between pulling Ares closer to comfort him, but being unsure if he was the reason he was crying to begin with.

“C’mon Ares... Talk to me. What did I do?”

“Nothing— You didn’t do anything. I’m so happy right now but—” Ares cut in immediately, shaking his head as he wiped at his face. “I just... I guess I just got emotional. That’s... That’s all.”

Ryker’s eyebrows furrowed, a doubtful look on his face. Upon seeing Ryker’s doubt, Ares leaned in and pecked him on the lips once. Twice. Three times and smiled widely at the man when he pulled away.

“I just really love you... you know?”

Ryker nodded quietly, eyes fixed on Ares’. He seemed genuine about that. He was genuine and sincere about everything. It was one of the reasons why he loved the man so much. But still... something didn’t seem right. Something was bugging Ares. But what...?

It was getting late, as the sun began its descent in the sky. It would be night soon and normally, Ryker held more energy as soon as the moon rose. Usually by now, he would start getting more active, start making his way through the town to run off the energy but something told him that the rest of his afternoon was going to be tied up.

“I love you too, Ares.” Ryker dabbed at his lover’s face a little longer before tilting his head with a tiny grin. “Hey... Do you wanna finish up your work real quick and then maybe... I dunno. Head to your room and nap for a while?”

Ares hesitated and for a scary second, Ryker wondered if maybe he was overstepping by inviting himself to Ares’ room. He watched the smaller man glance at the fields and then back towards the SEED headquarters and— Ah. Right.

Ryker wasn’t exactly planning to do anything other than nap but in the few times he had been in Ares’ room, he was very quick to note that there was very little privacy in that place. If someone came upstairs looking for Ares, they would definitely get caught cuddling. Ryker’s face burned at the mere thought of it. “Uh... We can also head back to my place instead? Palmo’s out of town for a job and won’t be back until late tonight so...”

Ryker’s face burned even more. They would have the place to themselves. He almost wished he was feeling brave enough to try and make a move and maybe, just maybe, he would have if Ares wasn’t currently trying to dry his face from whatever had just upset him.

Maybe next time, the helpful part of his brain suggested.

He pointedly decided to tell that part of his brain to shut its trap for right now.

The sound of his heart hammered in his chest seemed to go on forever as he watched Ares, waiting for an answer. And right before Ryker could think to take it back, right before he could just mumble out a “just kidding” in order to save face, he’s blind-sided by that smile again. The smile that told him that no matter what was going on in Ares’ brain right now, Ryker was at least making something better by just being around him.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I would love that.”

—

Ares let his finger gently twirl and brush through Ryker’s white locks as they laid together in the apprentice’s bed. The house was strangely quiet due to the absence of Palmo. Ares couldn’t help but wonder how Ryker could even stand staying in this house when it was as silent as it was. Palmo was such a loud and joyous individual, it was hard to imagine staying here without hearing him at least singing in joy in the next room.

Despite how strange the silence was, Ares couldn’t help but be grateful for it. He could imagine that they wouldn’t have had this moment of peace otherwise. Which meant that Ares would also have missed out on watching just how adorable Ryker was when he was sleeping. It never took his boyfriend long to pass out if his mind was set on resting.

Ares wished he could sleep as easily as Ryker could.

The gentle smile resting on Ares’ face slowly fell away into a more pensive expression. His fingers fell from Ryker’s hair to brush against his cheek and the blonde let out a heavy sigh that he had been holding all day. He wished he could sleep just as peacefully as Ryker could.

Unfortunately, it was hard to sleep at all when the fate of the world weighed down on your shoulders.

At the grim reminder of what was at stake, Ares felt his entire soul grow weary as he shifted closer to Ryker’s sleeping form. His boyfriend’s arms were wrapped loosely around Ares’ waist and upon feeling him shift in his grasp, Ryker let out a tiny mumble before Ares felt the other squeeze him in his sleep before moving to bury his face into Ares’ hair. Ares felt something warm blossom in his chest.

Even if he, himself, couldn’t get enough sleep, he could count on Ryker to sleep enough for the both of them... Mostly. He still had a habit of running around in the middle of the night but one way or another, he managed to catch up on sleep somehow. Ares simply... couldn’t. No matter how much he tried. And he likely wouldn’t get much sleep at all until Gideon was taken care of.

Soon, he would be leaving to go chase after Gideon in his fortress in the clouds. Soon he would be confronting the man who led SEED into power, and would be stopping him from trying to force the world into his image. Soon, he’ll be fighting and putting his life on the line in order to protect the world and the people he had grown to love in his short year of living in Rigbarth.

But for now, he’ll simply rest his head against the chest of the man he loved and listen to the steady and soothing heartbeat within. Even if he didn’t sleep, this was still more than enough to energize him for the coming turmoil that Ares would soon be facing on his own.

All to protect his friends. All to protect Ryker. And all to protect the life he had created for himself, despite everything.

And when he got back, he was certain that Ryker would be more than happy to spend the next twenty four hours in bed with him in order to allow the ranger to catch up on days of lost sleep. It was something that Ares could look forward to when he came home.

Because, he told himself repeatedly, I will be coming home.

[love-bokumono-fics]

Fresh Crops! December 16 - December 22, 2024

This week's newest fics and chapter updates for Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons on AO3!

A Subtle Purpose - by Hizuki_Violet; Complete, 1/1, 4.9k

Rating: Not Rated; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: The Tale of Two Towns Relationship: Reina/Mikhail; Characters: Reina, Mikhail Additional Tags: Romantic Fluff, Light Angst, Separations, Scents & Smells, Promises Summary: "I touch your face I watch you move away/I kiss your mouth I know that you will stay/And I know just what I mean to you" -"The Tempest," Jasmine Rodgers Think of me when I'm not around.

Thoughts On Forgotten Valley - by FreezingDrizzle; WIP, 3/?, 9.6k

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings; Category: Multi Fandoms: A Wonderful Life Characters: Pony | Aya | Jill, Gustafa, Takakura, Flora, Muffy | Molly, Daryl Additional Tags: Slice of Life, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Additional Warnings In Author's Note Summary: A series of interconnected little stories that came to mind while playing the Switch remake of A Wonderful Life.

Best Friend's Brother - by Trans_Nerd; WIP, 5/?, 12k

Rating: Explicit; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: M/M Fandoms: Friends of Mineral Town Relationship: Kai/Rick; Characters: Kai, Rick, Popuri, Lillia the Shopkeeper Additional Tags: **NOTE: Some tags have been removed to remain Safe For Tumblr. See complete list on AO3** Enemies to Lovers, Trans Male Character, Fluff, Smut, Angst, First Time Summary: Rick and Kai got off on the wrong foot and have hated each other from the very start. But when Kai sees that Rick has a big heart, and when Rick sees that Kai isn't as bad as he seems… opinions change, perspectives shift, and clothes come off.

Chronology: Eternity - by darkryuu; WIP, 48/?, 629k

Rating: Explicit; Archive Warning: Underage Sex; Category: Multi Fandoms: Harvest Moon, Rune Factory Character: Multiple Characters Additional Tags: Alternate Universe Summary: Chronology is a collection of stories from Darkryuu's longstanding series, Legacy, which is a large conglomeration of characters from Story of Seasons, Harvest Moon, and Rune Factory interacting with my generational characters/original characters.

Sunshine Stories - by Reiz16; WIP, 5/?, 6.3k

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: Island of Happiness, Sunshine Islands Relationships: Chelsea/Mark, Sabrina | Sefiina/Vaughn | Valts, Lily/Will, Elliot | Eric/Julia, Natalie/Pierre Characters: Mark, Chelsea, Carol, Taro, Gannon | Goran, Vaughn | Waltz, Sabrina the Secretary | Sefina, Will, Lily the Treasure Hunter, Elliot | Eric, Julia, Natalie, Felicia | Ferena, Pierre Summary: Characters of, "Island of Happiness", and, "Sunshine Islands", getting married!

[darkacey]

Hey everybody! If you’ve been enjoying Aashi’s RF5 comics, you’ve gotta check out their new additions on AO3! It’s like getting bonus features on a movie!

Bam! 10 chapters are up! (Plus, some written goodies to fill in the gaps if anyone is bored and feels like reading some new stuff ☆☆)

[darkacey]

Who Remembers a God (a Rune Factory 5 fanfic)

🎉 Chapter 15 of Who Remembers a God is live! 🎉With that, I've officially uploaded 30k of the roughly 72k words I've written so far.

[by-glass-and-waves]

Intro post time :o

Hi I'm Glass, 30F (she/her). I spend way too much time with worldbuilding or story ideas or exploring themes SIGH. I'd enjoy building/upgrading my computers if I had the money and space for it >:( I also find driving (without traffic or a ton of stoplights) while listening to music super relaxing (eg my story playlists)

Bluesky

AO3

Dragon's Dogma 2 screenshottery

I really like to draw/write about Narinder/The One Who Waits 🙃

I've got four Cult of the Lamb AUs/storylines on a sliding scale of dark to lighthearted:

Depression Quest (fic, cw: abuse, self harm, depression)

The Courtship of the God of Death (fic, cw: unhealthy/toxic relationship, obsession, jealousy, manipulation, violence, gore, emotional/psychological abuse)

Restart (cw: violence, gore)

19th Century AU

More on the AUs below the cut

Interests: Dragon's Dogma, Cult of the Lamb, Star Wars Outlaws, Final Fantasy IX, Neon Genesis Evangelion, No Man's Sky, Rune Factory 4/5, Skyrim, Fallout New Vegas/4, Nier Replicant/Automata, pre-Destiny Bungie lore + Destiny's Book of Sorrows and a few other bits + Halo's Forerunner Trilogy

My name comes from something I wrote for my oc worldbuilding project:

He pressed against the glass of time, feeling it crack beneath his fingers. He stepped into the tides of space, seeing the water part for his feet. … He broke through the glass, looked down at them again. … He swam through the rising tides to a new world.

Depression Quest:

My very First Idea™ for Cult of the Lamb. It follows the canon ending of Lamb conquering The One Who Waits. Essentially, the Lamb turns Narinder into a trophy husband, and Narinder does not have a good time.

This is my darkest au and includes things such as abuse, self harm, depression, etc. My favorite thing is the fact that Ratoo and Narinder eventually become friends. I've written a chapter but the fic won't be updated often. Tag: #cotl depression quest

The Courtship of the God of Death:

This is the fic I've published on AO3. Follows the alternate ending of The One Who Waits regaining the Red Crown and his freedom, but instead of sacrificing the Lamb, he accepts their proposal to become his Consort and rule over the Cult by his side. He enjoys his victory, deals with the Lamb's affection for him, and processes what happened between he and his siblings.

It starts out lighthearted, then becomes a descent into darker themes such as obsession, jealousy, manipulation, emotional/psychological abuse, and the toxic relationship between the Lamb and Narinder. It also includes some violence and gore. It borrows some stuff from Depression Quest, and involves the majority of my headcanons/worldbuilding. Tags: #cotl courtship, #cotl the courtship of the god of death, #the courtship of the god of death, #cult of the lamb the courtship of the god of death

Restart:

Follows the alternate ending of The One Who Waits sacrificing the Lamb and regaining the Red Crown. He gets bored and decides to time/worldjump to another version of The Lands of the Old Faith, replacing Ratau/the Lamb as the crusader against the Bishops. Too bad he's a thousand years out of practice.

This is more slice of life and includes Narinder and Lamb arguing like a married couple but there's some drama in there. It does include violence and gore since Narinder does have to go on his Crusades and fight his siblings. This one does not have a fic written, it's more ideas I've doodled. Well, I did have a chapter written, but it may be posted as a separate piece instead.

tl;dr Narinder goes New Game+ and becomes the player character (but he really sucks at it). Tag: #cotl restart

19th Century AU:

Created after watching of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Emma. It follows Prince Narinder of the Kingdom of the Old Faith Amenthes, investor of Ratau and Ratoo Trading Company, who has just moved into Acheron Estate. He bumps into the Lamb by chance while meeting with Ratau, and hires her as his servant after being intrigued by her fiery personality.

It's a slice of life and is a silly, self-indulgent AU written as if it was a screenplay. Maybe I'll post the scenes on AO3 even though they're out of order. Tag: #cotl 19th century AU

Also made a concept playlist (ask box post with song list, WIP) on the AUs because I'm absolutely nuts

I've also written mad ideas and wrote a few bits on an OC worldbuilding thing I've had since like 2010 or something no idea if people might be interested in it and it's as convoluted as the Kingdom Hearts series soooo Tag: #three kids and their pet ghost

[strawberry-tales]

Finally! UGH! I finished this drawing based off of chapter 31 from my Rune Factory 2 Fanfic! The drawing has been edited!

Link to the fanfic (AO3):

Warning ⚠️ prepare yourselves for an emotional ride!

[aerodaltonimperial]

I'm playing Rune Factory 5 and it's fun and the mechanics are a lot like Rune Factory 4, which was just a banger of a game, and I'm not very far in and I realize this brand of niche, very Japanese fantasy-esque farming battle hybrid games are such a weird genre even though I enjoy it. Starting thoughts:

There are some hybrid animal were-people and I'm like I do not wish for this, please never talk to me ever, you creep me out, but you would do well on Tumblr

Am I old???? I want to date the middle aged guy who owns the general store and wears sexy glasses not his CHILD who looks like he is 15???? Fucking SUCKS

None of these people are wearing weather appropriate clothing, it is NOT that warm, we start in SPRING, why is the doctor wearing A BIKINI

I think two of my (male) love interests have major beef with each other and are enemies and now I ship them with each other and is there fic on AO3? I should check

My kiddo keeps cracking up every time I carry a stack of 9 rocks on top of each other, like can't breathe delirious laughter and its so cute I keep doing it even though these rocks are kind of worthless

There are like 10 abandoned houses in town so I assume a gaggle of new love interests will arrive as I get through dungeons like in 4 so I'm waiting to see what my romantic prospects look like, I'm still mad I can't date the store owner

Since I remember so much of this from 4 I'm probably ahead in terms of leveling up my crops and shit, so that's nice

I absolutely destroyed everybody in the Bean Throwing Contest, though I won by hitting the beans with my body so the name is kind of misleading

[seasaltmemories]

Stealing the meme format, anyone else who wants to do this feel free

[brynn-lear]

██▓▒­░⡷⠂"𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚒𝚛, 𝙸 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚝"⠐⢾░▒▓██

TABLE OF CONTENTS

╰ ➣ Rules & Regulations

╰ ➣ Work Repository (Masterlist) & Other Publishers (AO3)

╰ ➣ Support Conversations (Friends) || Bulletin Board (Fave comments)

╰ ➣ Taglist

╰ ➣ Kofi

╰ ➣ CONFESSION BOX (straw page)

CURRENT WIP

╰ ➣ WhoDrankIt (HSR otome game)

BRYNN VERDICT LEAR. Professor in the Officer's Academy, Garreg Mach Monastery. 21 years old in Imperial Year 1183. Dark flier + Rally Spd Support. Golden Deer to Blue Lions Recruit. Commoner background. Devotee.

CLOSEST SUPPORTS

╰ ➣ Archbishop Byleth Eisner, King Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, Prof. Annette Fantine Dominic-Fraldarius, Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Ingrid Brandl Galatea, Ignatz Victor, Lysithea Von Ordelia, Bernadetta Von Varley, Claude Von Riegan, Hubert Von Vestra

CRANBERRY N.V~. Chemical Engineering student, fanfic writer/artist, and aspiring game dev. ENTP 3w4. 20 yrs old. Chaotic bastard with voluntary early retirement uncle that wears hawaiian shirt vibes.

╰ ➣ Head admin of @dreamjolt-hostelry

LIKES

╰ ➣ dark content, STEM, writing, art, medieval-fantasy tropes, royalty au, band au, mafia au, yanderes, cakeverse, cannibalism, divorce/pregnancy angst, gore, gender-swap or crossdressing tropes (i.e OHSHC), reincarnation, hanahaki,

FANDOMS

╰ ➣ Fire Emblem (Echoes, Awakening, Fates, Three Houses), Honkai: Star Rail, Genshin Impact, Otome Games [Otomate games, etc], Silent Hill, Ace Attorney, OHSHC, John Wick, OtomeIsekai Manhwas, Mouthwashing, Homicipher,

FAVORITES

╰ ➣ DIMITRI ALEXANDRE BLAIDDYD, Oda Sakunosuke (BSD), Gepard Landau, Crius Castlerock, Xander (FE: Fates), Berkut (FE Echoes), Regis Adri Floyen, Adrian (Surviving as a maid in a horror game), Gallagher (H:SR), Kamisato Ayato, D41nsl3if, Jeritza, Boothill, Veritas Ratio, Ethan Winters, Reinhardt (Rune Factory 5)

╰ ➣ ANNETTE FANTINE DOMINIC, Byleth Eisner, Tingyun/Fugue, Zero (Drakengard 3), Edelgard Von Hresvelg, La Signora, Anastasia (Even if:Tempest), Citlali, Faruzan, Navia, Robin (FE: Awakening), Marianne Von Edmund, Sparkle (H:SR)

██▓▒­░⡷⠂"𝙱𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚜, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚊 𝙵𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝙾𝚞𝚝.⠐⢾░▒▓██

[kardia-library-official]

Hello! I recently read your rf4 max/ray fic on Ao3, and found your tumblr completely by coincidence. Or maybe the rune factory fandom is just really small lol. Anyway I enjoyed your story & if you have any rune factory fanfic recs I'm very interested!

Hello to you too, kind stranger! :D

I'm happy to hear you enjoyed my story! I had a lot of fun writing it, and it's always exciting to learn that I've passed some of that fun onto the reader. <3

And as for recs, I have a tag!

Have a lovely day! ^_^