#semi-travel log

[avidfireflycatcher]

My Inktober drawings! I was traveling for most of October, so I decided if I was going to do Inktober I had to keep it manageable, so I grabbed post it notes before the trip and put them in my sketchbook (I lost motivation/burnt out on last year's cause I was trying to do detailed ink illustrations on 11x18 paper like every day 0w0;)

I primarily did prompts from Adventuretober and BooApple2023 (◕‿◕)♡

[ultralightpoe]

Spellbound - Geralt

Spellbound - Geralt

Authors Note: I’m back because I quit my job and have a better schedule at the new job 

Warnings: semi smut 

Word Count: 4012

Description: geralt fights his feelings until you get trapped in a spell 

brothel worker! reader x geralt 

Enjoy!

Geralt was going to tear whoever did this to you to pieces. He would gouge their eyes out and make them eat them. 

That was just one of the thoughts that rang through his mind as he cradled you in his arms, your nose bleeding onto his now naked torso, the shirt you had torn off of him a mere moment ago nearly in the fire. 

This was not supposed to be how this happened, this wasn’t supposed to happen at all. He had made himself stay away for this exact reason, everything he loved was destroyed. 

The witcher had always been against you joining the group. 

You had been a brothel worker when you came upon Jaskier six months ago, walking the streets with achy legs from a long shift, smelling of the salt water you had bathed in when you saw a group of men holding him up and beating on him. 

A yell had crossed your lips and without thinking you picked up a log near your feet, launching at the men and swinging anywhere you could to scare them off, hitting a couple of them harshly before they finally scampered away leaving you standing in the mud with a log and the poor fool laying bloody and beaten on the ground. 

You had brought him to your tiny rooms at the brothel, helped him clean up and soon enough he was asking you to join them. You hesitated for a moment, watching him use one of your rags to dot at the cuts along his face before shrugging. 

Anything is better than the life of a brothel worker, right?

Wrong. 

Brothels didn’t have the annoying attitude of Geralt the fucking Witcher. Okay well some did since Jaskier admitted to Geralt being a frequent guest of them, but you had never seen him and you wished you never met him either. 

He spent every waking moment snapping at you, or blatantly ignoring you when you were trying to ask questions. It was either you didn’t exist or everything you did was wrong, and you could never figure out why the way he treated you bothered you so fucking much. 

Men had done far worse to you in that brothel, but Geralt giving you the cold shoulder nearly brought you to tears? What?

Then again none of the men that came to the brothel were like Geralt at all. None of them had those melting golden eyes or the firm touch of a protector, none of them could turn a sword in their hands the way he does or make anyone feel at ease in his presence. 

Well……anyone but you. 

Maybe he knew you had feelings for him, maybe he hated your guts. Many reasons why he never wanted to talk to you filled your head and none of them were good. 

You spent your days obsessing over a man that barely glanced back at you, your horse in the back of the group with Jaskier always a force between you both. 

Geralt takes a moment to tie the corset of your dress so you weren’t exposed before pulling you into his arms and laying you on his bed, moving to grab a cloth from the basin in the corner of the inn room. 

When he returns to your side he takes a chance to slide the hair from your face, swiping the damp cloth along the blood trail your nose left in soft strokes as he watches you sleep. He would make sure you were breathing and comfortable before he went out and broke some limbs. 

It had been six months of that behavior, and it was truly beginning to wear you down. 

The days were spent either passive aggressively ignoring him back for scoffing at any mistake of yours he pointed out. Today was a passive aggressive silent game. 

He had woken you up by snapping in your face and the months of travel and anger were beginning to catch up so you had slapped his hand out of your face, watching a small amount of shock fill his face before his eyes narrowed in anger. 

“You overslept….again.” In the beginning you would have a snarky retort, something mocking his breath or face, but now you merely rolled your eyes and turned your back to him as you packed up your bedroll. He doesn’t seem to understand your silent game since he tries to piss you off once more. “We are going to be behind if you keep sleeping like this.”

It would be so easy to turn around and tell him to shove off, but then he would know he had that effect so you simply picked you belongings up, fixed your boots and walked to the horses where Jaskier sat atop his own. 

The bard gives you a knowing look as you mount your own horse after fixing everything onto it, legs swinging with a natural ease and a slight warmth on your thigh. When you look down you see Geralt's hand placed on it, and you realize he had helped you up. “Are you angry with me? Or have you lost your voice?”

“Just matching the treatment given to me.” You snark, a feeling of pride in your chest when you see him all but snarl. You kick the horse into gear after that, this time taking the lead as his hand slips from your thigh and he rushes to Roach. 

By the time he catches up he makes Roach walk alongside your horse, his face furious. “The treatment I gave you?”

You hum out, moving to speed up your horse but Geralt is too quick, within moments he has the reins of your horse in his hand, pulling on them until you are close enough for your thighs to touch. 

“Answer me.”

You hum again, your heartbeat rising and you wonder if he can hear it when his eyes cast down to your chest before looking back at you. 

“Humming is not an answer.”

You hum once more, moving to snatch the reins but his hand reaches out to grab your jaw. “I need to hear your voice.”

You slap his hand away once more and snatch the reins, giving him a glare before moving forward. 

“I don’t understand.” He grunted to Jaskier later that day, fixing his travel pack on roach as the bard leans against the same post the horses were tied to. You had gone to the market to grab some necessities and when Geralt demanded to go with you he had been met with another empty hum and Jaskier had told him to back down. 

“She’ll avoid attention if she isn’t traveling with a witcher, not to mention she knows how to bargain for cheaper prices when she isn’t flanked by your glare.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He growls, watching the bard smirk.

“The market workers like the attention she can give them-”

“We agreed she didn’t have to do any of that stuff if she traveled with us.”

“She does this willingly, and even so it’s not the same as in the brothel. She doesn’t have to offer up her-” A heavy growl slips from Geralt and Jaskier chooses not to finish his sentence, instead rolling his eyes and moving to his own horse. “I think you would be better off if you just told her you love her.”

“I do not-”

“Oh hush. I see you watch her sleep every morn, then I see you yell at her for waking up late because you forgot to wake her up.” He laughs. “And I see you hover whenever she mounts and dismounts Lugo. Not to mention the way you give her the bigger rations of whatever we eat and-”

“Fuck off.” 

Jaskier takes the win and turns away from the witcher, fiddling with the lute while Geralt tries to make himself look busy. 

After a moment of silence the witcher stands quickly. “Why won’t she speak to me?”

A laugh escapes the bard once more. “Because you ignore her any chance you get?”

“I do not.” 

“Well I know that. But she doesn’t, because you never even bother talking to her. You’d rather silently pine like a lost-” He trails off when he sees you emerge from the hills, sacks of produce in your arms with a small smile on your face. “Fresh hells.”

“The men were ready to lose their money today boys!”

“Did they bother you?” Geralt growls and you give him a glare back before shoving the sack of apples into his chest. 

Once he is sure you are breathing properly he covers you with the blanket, before moving to grab his sword, careful not to wake you up. 

You spend the rest of the day simply ignoring them both, too busy being proud of the way you scammed the merchants and all you had to do was lift your skirt to your knee. 

Geralt kept Roach near your own horse, and Jaskier took the back for once, all of you traveling in silence until Jaskier begins to whine. 

“It has been forever since we slept indoors.”

Silence follows for a moment before Geralt turns to glare at him. “And Y/n just saved us so much coin we can each get a room in the next town.”

“This is true! I did!” You laugh, turning to look at Jaskiers mopey face. 

“Fuck.” Geralt grunts, turning back to the road so he doesn’t have to look at either of you again. 

Jaskier is still sitting in the hall with his lute, strumming softly in the drunken daze as the crowd they had gathered earlier has finally died down. 

“Bard.” Geralt grunts, trying to get his attention. But Jaskier doesn’t move, simply keeps his eyes closed as he plays a chord. So Geralt kicks his chin. 

The bard before him jumps up with a shout before his eyes land on the white haired witcher before him. 

“I got us all rooms and I found you in a hallway.” 

“I was merely resting for a moment.” He sighs, reaching down to grab the ale mug filled with coins he earned from his performance. “It’s hard to be a -”

The silver amulet is shoved in his face before he can finish the sentence, eyes widening as Geralt grunts. “Who gave this to Y/n?”

“The charming blonde who had been dancing with her all night while you sat in the back and glared.”

“Where did he disappear to?”

“You mean after you snatched her?”

By the time the three of you made it to the next town your ass was worn from the saddle and you were a bit wobbly when you got down, Geralt standing behind you and you scoffed as you looked at him. “Waiting for me to fall so you can lecture me?”

He opens his mouth to respond and you find yourself excited that he is actually about to answer back before he huffs and glares before disappearing. And once more you are left feeling like nothing. 

You watch as he disappears into the tavern before turning to Jaskier. “I asked around at the market…”

“About?”

“About work.”

“Ah!” He smiles, moving to lean on you. “And what did you find for our dear witcher to do?”

“Not for him actually.” Your throat tightens as you struggle to find the words. Jaskier doesn’t seem to catch on to your solemn mood. 

“Oh? A performance for me? I’m sure I can prepare a lullaby or two-”

“For me.” You interrupt, pulling yourself away from him and crossing your arms uncomfortably as he stares at you. 

“For…..you?” You nod at his question, trying to gain some power here. “What do you-”

“Madame Horchels brothel is in this town, she is famous within word and if I met with her then I am sure I would be set up with a room and a hot meal a day-”

“Why in fucks sake would you ever want to go back to that?”

Tears were welling in your eyes as he stared at you and you struggled to find words. “I am just……tired of feeling useless and pathetic……”

“So you would go back to whoring?”

“You don’t have to act so disgusted!” You snap, shame filling you at his reaction. “I never saw you complaining about my past when I was flirting with guards or-”

“I am sorry, I never meant to judge. I just think…..” He sighs out and rubs his face aggressively before moving to pull you into a hug. “It’s been a cold couple days. How about we go in and get a drink, a good night's rest in actual beds before we make decisions? Yeah?”

A hooded figure passes you both to get into the tavern and you simply shrug. “I think my mind is made up Jask.”

“I think it would be a mistake and we would miss you terribly……..okay I would miss you terribly.”

“Why would you miss her?” Geralt snaps out from a couple steps away, eyes squinted in an angry manner. He had originally come to snap at you both to watch your surroundings but had caught the tail end of the conversation instead. 

“Y/n here was just rushing a decision. But we aren’t gonna talk about that, right now a round of ale on me.”

“You spent all your coin two towns ago on new strings for your lute.” Geralt reminds, eyes never leaving your figure. 

“Then I shall make more coin!” He cheers, pulling you into the tavern and snatching the room keys from Geralt. 

Things escalated from there, and any time Geralt asked about their conversation they changed the subject and he was beginning to lose his mind. Were you okay? Why would Jaskier miss you? Why was he so worried about this? He watched you drink all night, ignoring him, and he watched as many of the men in the tavern asked you for a dance. He knew none of the men were a threat, and you knew how to handle them, even if it got out of control he could have his sword to their throat with a mere minute. So he didn’t really pay attention to your dance partners. 

 But one in particular caught his attention, the hooded figure that had walked too close to you both earlier had emerged from his corner and asked for a dance, and something in Geralt screamed for him to go and get you away. But he didn’t, instead he sat back and drank, allowing you room to have fun. 

The blonde stranger whirled you around and spun you and bought you drink after drink. Your eyes glazed over and your smile was wide enough to split your face, a jealous feeling crept into Geralts chest and the urge to punch the stranger grew and grew as Jaskier played song after song. 

“Can I get you another drink?” 

“Hmm?” Geralts attention snaps from your figure to the tavern wench beside him, giving him a small smile. 

“Another ale?”

“I think I am fine. Thank you-” She doesn’t wait, walking away since she didn’t get more coin and when Geralt sneaks his attention back to you he can’t help but slam his empty mug down. 

The stranger had you turn around with you lifting your hair as he placed an amulet on your neck, kissing your shoulder and before Geralt could stop himself he lunged to grab you. 

One moment you are giggling about the gorgeous, the next you are thrown over Geralts shoulder as he shoves the gorgeous fae away from you, hauling you up the stairs of the inn with no care. 

“Put me down!” You shout, slamming your hand into his back as he walks through the first hall then up the next flight of stairs. 

“You’ve had too much to drink.” 

“And you care why?”

“Because that man would take advantage.’ He growls. 

“Well he gave me a necklace, that’s how the business works.” You giggle, reaching up to touch the necklace but the world whirls once more as Geralt places your feet on the ground and pushes you into the wall. His hand stopped your head from hitting the wood but the rest of you was pressed between him and the wall. 

“Don’t do that.” 

“Do what?” You ask breathlessly, watching his face with adoration. Had he always been so…..

“Joke about that. You need something then I will get it for you.” 

“What if I want the prettiest jewels in the kingdom?”

“Then I kill more beasts.” He was dead serious and the hazy feeling was taking over so before you know it you find yourself leaning in to whisper “What is I want an orgasm?”

A red tint crosses his neck but his face remains serious as he leans his head against yours to whisper. “Then you ask me.”

And for a moment you can’t breathe, you find yourself aching, every part of you wanting to touch him suddenly. But before you can he whispers once more. “But not tonight. My first time with you will be sober.” 

Then the wood behind you disappears and you realize he had pressed you against the door to your room. Landing in a ball on the floor he sends a small smile before slamming the door and the heat that had filled you dims for a moment. 

But just for a moment. 

You pull yourself up from the floor, moving to the bed before the aching returns and your body heats up twice as bad. Everything begins going hazy as a sweat covers you and then you lose it. 

“I need to go.” Geralt snaps, shoving Jaksier to the direction of the stairs. “You go watch her. Don’t let her make any more mistakes.”

“Where are you- Geralt? What happened?! Hello?!” Jaskier calls after the witcher, watching him storm through the tavern before slamming the doors on his way out. With a deep sigh the bard grabs his jacket and mug of coins before making his way to find the rooms. 

It had been an hour since he left you in your room and Geralt could not relax himself. Jaskier had just stopped singing and Geralt was still pacing the inn room, back and forth back and forth. 

The aching hard on he had refused to go away, the image of your dazed eyes all he could think about, and the way you whispered to him had him so close to snapping all together. But he didn’t, and you were safe in your room with him just two doors down. But the floorboards creaking by his door caught his attention, and he reached for the sword as the doorknob jiggled. 

Stepping towards it slowly as it creaks open only to reveal you, standing in the hall in nothing but your dress slip and a flushed face. “Geralt-” You moan out and his knees nearly buckle when you rush in and slam the door. 

The sword falls from his hands so he can catch you when you come hurdling to him, pulling him in for a harsh kiss. Your lips melt into his and you moan in victory when he kisses back, pressing yourself against him as your hands fly into his hair. 

His own hands find purchase on you hips, and before he can tell himself not to he moves them to start a grinding motion the both of your would like. It stays like this for a moment until you bite his lip on a particularly aggressive moan, pulling back to catch a breath as you press your hips into his harder than before. 

For a second he admires you, the way your face scrunches up in pleasure and the moans that he is pulling from your lips, letting out a heavy ‘FUCK’ when you circle your hips. 

“Pleasepleasepleaseplease.” You gasp out, hands dragging from his hair to his chest before you start tearing the clasps on his shirt, scratching it a bit in your struggle to get it off. “Ineedyou, it hurtssobad-” 

This makes him hesitate, pulling back a little just as you fling his shirt, your hands flying to undo the slip and he finally catches your eyes. Only they weren’t the eyes he had fallen in love with, instead they were a deep red. 

“Y/n?” He asks, heartbeat racing as he snatches your wrists in one hand, the other coming to grab you chin. “Look at me.”

“Geralt, please. It hurts.” You whine and the gem in the amulet glows the same red as your eyes. 

Dread fills him as he reaches down to tear it off you, the silver cutting you a bit before he chucks it across the room. 

He couldn’t breathe properly as he watched you come down from the spell, anger filling him. You hadn’t meant any of this, this had been a spell. 

He was a fucking fool. 

“Geralt?” You breathe out, taking in the room before looking at his shirtless torso and the small scratches you had made to get the shirt off. “What-”

And just like that you were gone. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head and your nose started bleeding as you passed out, he barely caught you before you hit the floor. “Fuck.”

You awake mid day- the sun blaring in through the blinds and you do your best to cover your eyes.  “Oh make it stop-”

“There are no covers for the window.” Jaskier sighs from where he is laying on the floor. “I tried stealing the blanket from you and you hissed at me.”

“Serves you right….” You mumble, taking in the room as you realize that last night hadn’t been a dream after all and a deep embarrassment fills you. 

“H-have…..have you seen Geralt?” You ask, leaning over the bed to look at him.

“He left around sunrise in a pissy mood.”

“Did he… did he say anything?” You felt like an utter fool, and you were doing your best not to be sick. 

“Said to watch you so you didn’t make any more mistakes.”  Jaskier shrugs before yawning. 

“He said that? He said mistake?” Your voice cracks as you wrap the blanket tighter around yourself. 

“He did. I assumed he caught you with the blonde gu- Y/n? What’s the matter?”

“I…… I have to go.” You rush out, jumping over him to leave the room. 

- - - - -

Geralt finds Jaskier waiting at the horses when he rides up, tired and cranky, and he gets even crankier when he sees that your horse is empty of all your travel bags. 

“Is she not awake? Do we need to get a healer?” He rushes out, launching from roach to get to the tavern only for Jaskier to hold the lute in front of him. 

“She woke up several hours ago, it’s nearly dusk.” 

“Then where is she?”

“Gone.”

“Gone?” His heart is racing too fast and he’s hoping that Jaskier starts laughing soon and this is all a joke. 

“I told her you said to make sure she didn’t make any more mistakes and she got really sad and started crying as she packed up.” He explains. “She went to this brothel and they wouldn’t let me in but they let her in and she came out to say bye soon after that.”

“She went to a brothel?!” He snaps, grabbing the collar of Jaskiers dress coat. 

“Don’t blame me! This is your doing!”

“How. So.”

“You were the one that made her feel worthless! Never looking at her and always in her business about her mistakes-”

“Her mistakes get her hurt, or worse, killed!”

“Then tell her that! Rather than yell at her all the time with no explanation-”

“Where is the brothel?”

“It’s no use.”

“Where. Is. The. Brot-”

“She made a deal! The madame owns her!”

“Not on my fucking watch.” Geralt snaps, mounting the roach in one fluent move before nodding to Jaskier. “Hurry.”

He had to get you. 

Part Two

[wreckingtickles]

Onsen Nonsense

Inosuke sneaks into a supernatural onsen and meets a woman who claims that she can remove his weakness.

An SFW, lee Inosuke fic for the amazing @lovelymessybubbly, who helped me pick out his spots! This story wouldn't exist without her art, as I've never read/watched Demon Slayer but her peices for it are just so good. Sorry it took me so long, I ran out of steam towards the end again.

Words: 7,559

WARNING: semi-intense and possibly slightly spicy tickle torture under the cut.

"An onsen?"

"So it seems."

"In the middle of a rocky desert," remarked Zenitsu, spying from behind a jutting crag, his hands trembling as he clutched his weapon.

Where moments before there had been nothing but an endless expanse of gray rock, a wooden structure shrouded in low mist now stood.

“Can we go around it?” pleaded Zenitsu.

“I suppose we have no reason to fight. Wait, it’s…”

“...vanishing?”

The mist around the onsen grew thicker, fully obscuring the structure from view, then fainter and fainter, until the bone-dry rocks where it had just stood came into view again.

“This is too freaky,” complained Zenitsu. “Let’s leave.”

“Wait.” Tanjiro grabbed his sleeve. “Where’s Inosuke?”

—

Inosuke had snuck in through the open front door, the soft thuds of his sandals absorbed by the tatami. The mist behind him was absolute, having engulfed the entirety of his vision except the corridor wrapping around the onsen. A sourceless light lit it, leaving no shadows to hide in.

A human form, kneeling on the ground. A woman.

“Greetings, warrior,” she proffered. “My name is--"

Inosuke dashed forward, swords in hand, cleaving an X into the woman, his motion carrying him forward.

“I don’t care. Die, demon.” 

“There’s no violence here. No pain,” explained the woman. Inosuke turned around, raising his guard: the woman, even her kimono, were completely undamaged. She was regarding him with a polite smile, her eyes two crinkled fissures.

“I am no demon, but a mere scout, wandering endlessly to procure clients for this onsen. The warrior need not fear me.”

“Fear?! Ah!” laughed Inosuke. “You��re freaky, but I’m too strong to be afraid of you!”

The woman cracked a smile. “I offer respite to the weary traveler. The onsen will deposit the warrior back where it appeared once it is time. In the meanwhile, I will cater to the warrior’s desires. The waters of this onsen wash away all that is unwanted. Pain. Ailment. Weakness.”

“Are you calling me weak?!” flared Inosuke, lifting his swords again.

The woman’s polite smile didn’t waver. “I am claiming that I can make the warrior even mightier.”

—

Inosuke stomped after the woman as she glided with practiced grace down a corridor. He’d gorged himself until he was practically bursting and changed into the onsen’s gray-lavender robe.

“So where’s this magic water?!” he repeated for the twelfth time.

“If the warrior would follow me,” she reiterated calmly. Inosuke hadn’t noticed it when she had greeted him, but now that she was standing, she was a full two heads taller than him.

She stopped in front of one of the countless sliding doors in the maze-like onsen and opened it.

A thick wooden pole jutted out from the floor at the center of the room, reaching at about the woman’s height rather than touching the ceiling. Five levigated logs were tied together to form a sport of bench, one end of which was attached to the pole itself. A cushion had been placed on the bench next to the pole. The walls were entirely made out of sliding doors.

She motioned for him to stake a seat on the cushion, and he complied. She then knelt down next to him and produced a long crane feather from one of her sleeves. She then lowered her other hand. “If the warrior would kindly lend me his foot sinistral.”

“Uh?”

“His left foot.”

Inosuke eyed her for a brief second. What was she scheming? He couldn’t begin to guess what a feather might be for. Her smile did not reach her eyes, her professional politeness an impenetrable mask. But he didn’t want to give her the impression that he was afraid of her, so he complied.

She placed her palm under his heel, lifting his square, broad foot, knitted with muscle like every part of him and still red and raw from the day’s travel, so it was level with her chest. Then, she rested the plumed tip of the feather on the heel.

“GYAAAAH?!”

Inosuke flew out of his seat, leaping several paces away from the unfazed woman and landing in a combat pose. “What the hell was that?!”

“I know not of what the warrior speaks,” explained the woman, tilting her head slightly. “This is an ordinary feather.” and to prove her point, she ran it along the length of her palm, then showed it to him.

“I felt… You did something!!” he insisted.

The woman’s smile grew imperceptibly. “The warrior has an extraordinary sense of touch,” she remarked, laying the feather on her lap. “Unfortunately, his formidable senses also allow weakness to fester inside his body. Notice how sensitive he is to the most superficial of touches. He hardened his body to withstand injury and pain, but has left it vulnerable to gentler torments.”

“Vulnerable?!” he shrieked in outrage.

“Vulnerable,” echoed the woman. “Why else would the warrior be unable to withstand what I can?”

That was all it took to get him to furiously stomp towards the bench.

“I can withstand anything!! That’s just a stupid feather!!”

“Tis a mere feather indeed,” she conceded. “And a warrior has no reason to dread its ilk. Its purpose is to make him aware of the chinks in his armor.”

“I’ll show you a chink!” he protested, the wood groaning under his weight as he dropped on it, thrusting his foot forward so hard he nearly kicked her in the chest. “Come on! Get it over with!” he yelled.

She gently cradled the heel again. “If that’s the warrior’s desire…”

The feather drew closer to his sole again, and Inosuke crossed his arms, scrunching his face so hard his jaw was vibrating with effort.

The feather touched down on the mound of his heel.

“PPPPPPPPPPPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTT!!”

Inosuke sprayed spit like a bathing elephant as he tried and failed to hold the gales of laughter that wanted nothing more than to blast out of his lungs. It… something so much!! What was happening to his body?!

Starting from the bottom, the feather circled around the callused heel, then cut across the mound and headed higher. The woman noticed how his struggling intensified as the feather began its descent up the arch, skillfully dodging the protection of his hardened skin…

“GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Tendons and muscle put up a useless resistance as the tiny barbs nestled in every minuscule wrinkle on the more sensitive arch, a journey that to Inosuke felt endless as the feather slowly rose to meet the mound of the ball, crawling up the cleft in the middle of it where the muscle parted, dodging the callus and unearthing a treasure trove of nerves in that valley.

“NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

It had only been a few seconds, and Inosuke was a rich shade of purple.

Next, the feather circled the ball before swiping horizontally across the base of Inosuke’s toes.

The sudden acceleration caused a startled cry to escape his inflated cheeks. “AAH!” But somehow, he managed to keep his foot in her grasp.

“I would urge the warrior to keep very still for this next part,” requested the woman was she positioned the feather between Inosuke’s big and second toe.

She swiped.

“NNNNNGH!!!”

She repeated the motion between the next set of toes. And the next, and the next. 

“GHA!”

“UGH!”

“HAA!!”

Inosuke felt genuine gratitude when the feather began to brush the top of his foot, but it was a relative relief. He was still struggling incredibly hard to keep still when every nerve was screaming at him to get away from that cursed feather, which then proceeded to trace the outline of his foot. “NNH! GH! NEH! UAH!”

But his plight was far from over, because the feather swiped at his ankle, then crawled up his calf, and the closer it got to his knee, the higher the pitch of his stifled hysteria. “NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIII!!!”

Mercifully, the feather left the underside of his knee alone… only to unleash a much worse sensation as it began to travel up his inner thigh.

“KSHNTSHSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!” It was unbearable, and Inosuke’s hand shot to intercept the woman’s wrist before the feather went too far up his robe.

“Stop right there, woman!” he thundered. She offered no resistance.

“I will spare the warrior his modesty,” she assured amicably, lifting the feather upright as a show of sincerity. Inosuke glared at her for a few more moments before relaxing his grip.

“I must, however, test the other leg.”

“You must wha-NAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA STAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAPPP!!” screamed Inosuke as the feather began its descent down the other leg.

By the time the barbs left his heel, Inosuke’s chest was flushed and heaving with the double effort to endure the agonizing sensation without pulling away, having shuffled off the upper part of the robe in a desperate attempt to escape the heat welling up inside him.

The woman didn’t seem to mind his heavy breathing as she slid closer to him, pushing her fingers against his left wrist. “Now for the warrior’s torso.”

Although he wished nothing more than to make a run for it, Inosuke followed her gentle pressure and lifted his left arm.

“The warrior’s musculature is a thing of beauty”, stated the woman as muscles and tendons harmonized to allow that simple motion. But before Inosuke could think anything of the compliment, he felt the feather dance down his bicep, starting at the elbow, and he forced his mouth shut again.

The feather located the groove at the intersection of Inosuke's bicep and his tricep, arching slightly under the pressure of the fingers that pushed it inexorably closer to his armpit.

"GGGGGGGNNNNNNNN..." 

Ok, that wasn't too bad, it didn't make him want to set his skin on fire, he could do it.

The tip reached the outer ridge of his underarm.

No, he couldn't.

"PPPPPPPPPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!"

He didn't need to look at the feather to know that it was starting a clockwork revolution around his hollow, its plumes nearing his scapula, then turning inward, approaching the protruding pectoral muscle, teasing its very edge, closing the circle ...

There were actual tears at the corners of Inosuke's eyes.

Then the feather cut vertically across the hollow.

"ACK!" he exclaimed, pulling at his arm to protect the area, and for a fraction of a second, he was met with the invincible resistance of the woman's grasp, but it came undone before he was able to think much of it.

"Enough! How is this helping me get stronger?"

The woman regarded him dispassionately. " The warrior shouldn't despise the instrument that reveals his weakness, but embrace it to bolster himself."

"I'm not weak!" Inosuke protested, spittle spraying the woman's face, but she maintained her posture, an invitation to resume their weird investigation.

"I'm not," whined Inosuke before letting her hold his forearm again and expose his underarm. 

"The warrior need not stifle his natural impulses," said the woman as she dragged the feather across the inner part of his hollow again.

But Inosuke wouldn't allow himself to laugh.

The feather began to trail along the lower curve of his pec, burning its way to his sternum, then up, to the base of his neck" his Adam's apple, the base of his jaw, the back of his neck, his shoulder, his clavicle...

Inosuke was trying so hard not to move he forgot to breathe, his cheeks puffy and his face beet red.

"The warrior is enduring magnificently," praised the woman, the feather skating diagonally across his chest.

Touching the top of his ribcage.

"PPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

Too much. It was too much. Somehow, Inosuke managed to force himself to withstand the maddening kisses of the feather as it counted each and every rib on its way down to his sides.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH!!!"

It was unbearable, and he could have sworn that she was going slower, she had to, it was just so bad, how many ribs could he possibly have?!

Like closing a dam in a raging river, Inosuke was finally able to shut his mouth when the feather reached his side, though he was still vibrating in place; but this would prove to be a pyrrhic victory, because all too soon the feather skirted the edge of the robe along his waist before starting its final ascent between the ridges of Inosuke’s six-pack, circling each of them, dusting around and inside his bellybutton, lovingly caressing the sculpted muscle over and over…

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! HHAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!”

The dam broke, having already been eroded by all of the feather’s previous touches, culminating in yet another unbearably sensitive spot it was just having a field time exploring. Inosuke wanted to suck in his stomach, but the deep laughter he was forced to produce made it impossible, so the ticklish muscle kept pushing into the barbs themselves. He despised the sensation, but curling into a ball like he so wanted would have meant admitting defeat, and he couldn’t allow it!

A new torrent of laughter spilled out of him when the feather traveled up his other flank and over his ribs, repeating the horrible ups and downs from his left side. 

When the feather finally left his right elbow, he felt as if he’d been exercising all day.

“Unf… unf…” 

A rivulet of sweat ran down his spine, his skin glistening with perspiration. Was it over? Was he stronger now?

The hated feather disappeared up the woman’s sleeve. “The warrior will have to labor intensely to rid himself of all his weakness,” she estimated with her usual polite smile. “I propose we concentrate our efforts on the four most critical areas, four being the number of death that weakness pulls us towards.”

Inosuke was extremely wary of the woman’s polite tone, as if she hadn’t just subjected him to some unknown form of torture; that said, she was right. She had proven that there was weakness in him, and he had no idea how to stamp it out on his own.

“Ok,” he growled. “But no feathers!”

The woman smiled complacently. “Though it would be a marvelous tool to achieve our goals, the warrior’s skin is too moist now for it to be employed efficaciously.” 

She rose to her feet, towering above him once more. She pointed to the sliding door at the back of the room. “The warrior may bathe whilst I collect the tools.” 

—

The warm water melted all of Inosuke’s tension, including his concerns about this weird onsen and the woman manning it - the only person he’d seen in that massive structure. Well, magic was magic, no use trying to explain it. He relished the sensation of his powerful muscles unwinding, his skin coming alive in the warmth. He felt… clean?

When he heard the woman call him from the adjoining room, he got out of the bath, dried himself off, and tied the robe around his waist, though he didn’t wear the upper part, letting it hang behind him.

The bench and pole looked much more ominous now, as ropes had been coiled around each of the logs of the bench and around the top of the pole. At the opposite end of the bench there was also something resembling a vertical board with two large holes, as well as a basin in which floated two scrub brushes.

“What are you scheming, woman?”

She was kneeling next to the bench, motioning for him to take a seat.

“The warrior is mighty indeed. Although no harm can come to either of us in this place, I would prefer he not strike me while I administer his treatment.”

Inosuke was unconvinced.

“The warrior might be better able to endure if he needn’t restrain himself. He should not let fear stand in the way of strength.”

“I’m not afraid!!” yelled Inosuke mechanically, stomping over to the bench. As he did, the woman pulled a latch on the thick board, causing it to part halfway, splitting the two holes in half. She motioned for him to place his ankles in each opening, after which she shut the stocks and locked them. She then proceeded to tie the ropes secured to the bench around his knees, then lifted his arms up, tying his wrists together to the pole behind his back, so Inosuke’s vision of most of his body was partially occluded by his own biceps.

Inosuke pulled with all his strength. The restraints creaked, but neither the ropes nor the stocks showed any signs of giving.

“How long will this take?” he asked, beginning to regret that arrangement.

“As long as necessary,” replied the woman. “Or till the warrior resigns himself to his limits.”

He didn’t like the way she said that one bit. It felt like she was trying to manipulate him from behind her polite mask. But he was no longer in a position to do anything about it, beside calling quits. But he wouldn’t do that.

“I shall proceed soon,” informed the woman as she reached for a bowl into which she had mixed salt and oil. Then, she rubbed the mixture onto her hands and proceeded to massage it into his skin, starting at his shoulders and working her way down his body.

“Is this too much for the warrior to handle?”

On the contrary, it felt… weird, but quite pleasant. He still felt that odd, sharp sensation when her palms, textured by the salt and lubricated by the oil, massaged certain spots, such as his armpits, certain parts of his chest, and he actually hid his mouth behind his bicep when she began to work his ribcage, then moved down to his flanks and belly, the salt coagulating in the deep grooves of his abdominal muscles.

She then repeated the process on his legs, rubbing his thick thighs one at a time, and he couldn’t help the little shudders when her fingertips trailed along the inner portion. Fortunately, his shins would prove to be less sensitive.

“This area will require a lot of preparation before we can begin to cleanse it of weakness,” she announced as she began to massage the salt and oil into his broad soles. Inosuke wouldn’t have expected it, but he found himself enjoying the attention, though that weird sensation that shot up his leg whenever her touches softened prevented him from relaxing completely.

“The ensuing step may be slightly unorthodox, but a skin as tough as the warrior’s demands it,” she expounded while lifting the two dripping brushes out of the basin. A hint of concern showed from between Inosuke’s arms when he saw her move them closer to his torso. 

It finally clicked. “Wait!”

But there was nothing he could do to prevent hundreds, thousands of soft bristles from being pressed into his skin as the woman proceeded to obliterate Inosuke’s underarms with furious circular scrubs.

“WAHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIHIHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! HAAAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Up and down, left and right, the two brushes removed every spec of salt on the muscular outer ridges, the sensitive hollow, then the curves of his chest, effortlessly and torturously gliding along the thin film of oil.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHA!!! THIHIHS SUUUUHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHACKSSSS!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!”

The vigorous scrubbing gave a vibrato quality to his laughter, as if the sound was attempting to empty his lungs to settle there. 

Inosuke became rapidly and keenly aware that the bristles of each brush were arranged in three separate rows, each capable on its own to cause untold mayhem on his skin as it exfoliated it in the most excruciating way.

The woman’s motions became broader to encompass his entire chest, causing Inosuke to shimmy comically as he laughed his frustration at the ceiling, higher pitched staccatos intruding when she ventured too close to his ribs.

“HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHA!!! Haahahahahahaha…”

Inosuke’s laughter tapered off for the briefest moment while the woman dipped the brushes into the basin. 

He didn’t get to savor the brief moment of respite before she started scrubbing his midsection.

“Ha… What the HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHELL!!! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHA HAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAA!!! NOHOHOHHAHAHAHAT THEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!”

Inosuke pulled at the ropes, hard, forgetting for a moment that he was supposedly undergoing some form of training, the sensation simply too much for him to bear.

The bristles bending a little bit more when they encountered the ridge of a rib, then snapping forward after cresting it, descending into the groove like the tiniest fleet defying a tall wave, only to do it all again at the next rib, and then backwards, over, and over, and over again.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHA!!!!! SSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAAHHATTT!!! HAAHAAHHAHAHAHA HAHAHAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHHA!!!”

The woman was indefatigable, her practiced motions seeding a completely new sensation deep inside Inosuke that wasn’t pain, but that he couldn’t help trying to escape anyway.

“I do believe I have located the warrior’s greatest weakness,” she said with a too satisfied smirk that Inosuke wasn’t able to register, his restraints preventing him not only from shielding his ribcage as he so ardently desired, but even from doing more than catching glimpses of the despicable torment that his sense of touch went into overdrive to faithfully transmit, searing his nerves and leaving him helpless in the face of unbidden hysteria.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHA!!!! EHEHEHEHEHNOOOOOOUHGH!!!! EHEHEHEHEHENAAAAAAAHAHAHAAHHAAHHA WIHIHITH THEHEHEHE RIIIIHIHIHIHIBBBSSS!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

The relief he felt when the brushes began to go lower and target his sides and stomach was minimal, the two spots proving to be marginally less sensitive, much to Inosuke’s chagrin. The brushes followed the curve of his snatched waist like a lover’s hands… well, the hands of a lover who was very aggressive in their desire to send him ballistic and its execution.

“OOOOHOHOHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!!!! OHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!! HAHAHAHAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

The bristles exfoliating his toned abs awakened something primal in Inosuke, like a wild animal trying and failing to shield its soft belly from a predator, but the ropes wrapped around his knees and the pole behind his back severely limited his range of motion.

And to top it all off, she wasn’t done with his bottom ribs either.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! CUHUHUHUT IHIHIHIHTTT OOOOHOHOHOHOHFF!!! IHIHIHIHITS CLEHEHEHEHEHEHEHAAAAAAANN!! IHIHIM CLEEEEEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAAAAAAAAANNN!!!”

To an ordinary person, the woman's ministrations may have been painful; but since Inosuke's skin was as tough as the hide of the hogs he was named after, the outcome was a harmless response that his enhanced sense of touch turned into excruciating ticklishness.

"The warrior is enduring wonderfully," she claimed, as if he were handling the process better than most instead of having a complete meltdown barely three minutes in.

The woman devoted copious attention to his midsection, rewarding the training that led to Inosuke's chiseled physique with a torment he was unequipped to deal with. He'd never felt anything like that sensation before.

Splash. The brushes were dipped into the water again.

"Now for the lower half," she announced with a serpentine crinkle in her smile.

"NO!" yelled Inosuke, his fury spoiled by the dopey grin still on his face. "This isn't making me stronger! You're... You're..." He had to pause, as he had no idea what the woman was actually doing or what she might want. "You're just making fun of me! So let me go or I'll free myself and kick your ass!!"

It would have been hard for anyone to take his threat seriously when he was flushed pink, he had to scream between his biceps, and his panting like a bellows was due to a few minutes of tickling.

She waited a few moments before stating, "The onsen will return the warrior to his world soon enough. If he wishes to withdraw from the treatment, that is indeed his prerogative."

"Stop talking all flowery and cut me loose!"

She lowered her voice as he raised his, forcing him to quiet down. "However. I believe I have demonstrated the warrior is burdened with a weakness to which he was previously not privy. I also believe I have not done any harm to him, nor warranted suspicion of nefarious designs. Therefore, it may behoove the warrior to entertain the notion that my vow to rid him of his weakness as well as the necessity of the treatment are, likewise, truthful."

Inosuke understood a word in three, but he got the general gist: he was proving to have a glaring weakness he knew nothing about, and that woman might be the only person capable of  ridding him of it. He could go back to his companions empty-handed and defeated, or he could tough it out and maybe get something out of it. He could always murder the woman later.

"Make it quick," he growled.

She nodded and lifted the brushes again. The warm drops dripping on his right thigh warned him of what was about to happen.

"Oo crAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAPPPP!! OHOHOHOH THIHIHIHIS SUHUHUCKS SOHOHO MUUUUUUUUUUUHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHACCCHHHH!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

There was also a brush scrubbing the upper portion and the outer side of the thick muscle, but the one harassing the inner right thigh was the only thing that Inosuke could focus on, even though he would have loved to be able to take his mind off it.

That spot felt like it should never be touched, though he’d felt that way about his pits and toes too, and his midsection… but this was different. Though Inosuke had been fighting against his bonds since the brushes first made contact, the tendons under the offended skin writhed like enraged snakes, his leg spasming involuntarily, like it was trying to ditch his body to escape.

In a way, it was somewhat more bearable than what she’d done to his midsection; in another, it seemed to push his “this should not be happening” button even more furiously.

“GEEEHEHET OHOHOHOOOOFF!!! GETOFFGETOFFGEHETOHOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFF!!! OHOHOHOHOHOHOFFF!!!” he demanded, the line between an order and a plea beginning to blur.

And the woman did comply, eventually.

Only to repeat the exact same process on his left leg.

“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! THIHIHIS IHIHIHSS NOHOOOT WHAHAHAHAT I MEHEHEHEHEHHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-- LEHEHHET ME TAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAAHA!!!”

In spite of his considerable physical prowess, the ropes held him firmly in place, making sure he wouldn’t be able to avoid even a sliver of torture.

“BWAAAAAAWAWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHA!!! YOUHU WIHIHIHIHTCH!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!”

Having withstood it once already, Inosuke had some sort of sense of when all of the salt would be scrubbed off. Any moment now…

When she was satisfied, the woman began to scrub the inner part of both of Inosuke's thighs, an act that would have been immediately apparent to him as gratuitous and malicious if he hadn't been too busy laughing his head off.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOHOHOHHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH!!! GHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! IHIHIHITS GOOOOOOHONE IHIHIT’S AAAAAHAHAHAHLLL GOHOHOHOHOHONE!!! HAHAHAHAAHHAHAHA!!!”

“I have to be thorough, the warrior must understand…” murmured the woman by way of explanation, which got drowned out by his mirth.

The first sensation that hit him when the brushes ceased their merciless attrition was a sense of rejuvenating coolness, and only a few moments later did he realize that he was no longer being tickled, the sensation on his inner thighs still feeling much too vivid.

“Uuuugh…” he panted. He’d insisted she kept going. Why had he insisted she kept going?

“The preparations are nearly complete,” declared the woman, taking three steps before kneeling down once again on the opposite side of the stocks. There was only one spot on his body that was still covered in salt.

"The warrior may state his preference."

He was really starting to hate the sound of her voice.

"I may treat his feet one at a time, which would be easier to withstand but would prolong the treatment," she began.

Inosuke cut her off. "Both," he grunted begrudgingly. He just wanted it over with as fast as possible.

"As the warrior wishes."

He wouldn’t laugh this time. He could take it. Yeah, he could take it.

She started scrubbing.

“NNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

Oh, hell. It wasn’t the worst. Sure, the bristles ravaging his soles, scrubbing the salt into his skin, adjusting to the imperfections and wrinkles so as not to leave a single spec untouched, did fill him with the urge to get the f out or, lacking that, to produce more of the sound he’d come to despise, which would at least drown out the scrubbing noise he couldn’t help but perceive as a taunt.

“TCH!! KKKKHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGH!”

At first, the occasional giggle only spilled out when the brushes reached his toes or the rare patch of uncalloused skin, resulting in a motley and unpredictable pattern of stimulation. It wasn’t easy, as each brush was constantly hitting multiple such spots at once, and he’d signed up for having two going at the same time, and he was starting to regret it.

“GGGGGGGGGGGGGNNNNNNNNNNNN!!! Eh! NNNNNNNNnnnnoooo! TCH! HeHE! NNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGHH!!!”

But as the woman kept on scrubbing, it became harder and harder to take. It wasn’t just his self-restraint eroding - the sensation was getting worse. With each pass, the salt and oil stripped more dead skin and callus from his soles, smoothing them, making them more tender, vulnerable, sensitive.

“PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTT!!!! NNNnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Y-You caHAn’t!! I… I…!”

The scrubbing went on undeterred by his pitiful prohibition, uncovering soft, pink skin that hadn’t been buried by years of feral existence. Civilization was being brought to his soles, and oh, how it tickled.

“NnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOHOHOHO!!! DAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHMN IHIHIHIHIHITTT!!! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHA!!!”

The woman hadn’t changed her approach in the slightest, repeating the same movements over and over, fully aware that her persistence would finally break the floodgates open.

“GHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHPPP!!! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!”

As if she’d been waiting precisely for that moment, the woman introduced some variety in her approach, alternating between scrubbing both feet and directing both brushes to assault them one at a time, one ravaging the toes and ball, the other the arch and heel, lavishing attention even on the sides.

That seemed to be even worse.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YEHEHEHER DOIHIHING IHIHIT OOOOHON PUHURPOOOOOHOHOSE!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

“It cannot be too much for the warrior to bear, can it?” asked the woman, her tone flat but the inherent mockery plain to hear, though Inosuke was primarily experiencing it through touch.

Heel, arch, toes, ball, sides… the bristles were everywhere, scrubbing away his defenses.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! SSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHA!!! HAHAHAHAhahahahaha… HAHAHAHA hahahaha hahahahahahaha… hahaha…”

He hadn’t heard the freeing “plop” of the brushes as they were dropped into the basin, but the rush of cool air on his abused soles let him known that they were no longer in use. Perhaps he should have been wary of her, but after what he’d just endured, he was even grateful for the pressure of her palms, a gentle but firm massage tha rubbed the phantom sensations from his feet, her hands warm and rough sliding easily on the--

Rough? Not her hands, she was rubbing something coarse and grainy on his soles.

“I fear one more pass is required to extirpate the dread callus, lest it be shield and shelter to your weakness.”

She reached for the brushes again.

“No, shit, that’s enough!! That’s enooooooooouuuuahahahaahHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!!! NOOOOOHOHOT AGAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAAAAIIHIHIHIHIHNNNNN HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

By the time she was done, Inosuke’s core had undergone a full workout, and his soles were unblemished as the day he was born, and just about as sensitive, every possible obstruction between the most pristine layer of skin and whatever cruel tool the woman planned to use, removed.

“For this last part, I will need the warrior’s cooperation.”

“NO!” shrieked Inosuke, huffing steam out of his nose. “I’ve had enough of whatever this is. You’re full of crap, and if you don’t let me go right now I’ll cut your head off!”

“Can’t the warrior withstand for five more minutes?”

“Shut your… Five minutes?”

The woman nodded.

 “In five minutes, you will be returned to your world. One ought not choose the ailment because the medicine is too bitter, but if the warrior has reached his limit…”

“Don’t put words into my mouth!” he barked, desperately trying to cling to a semblance of dignity.

The woman seemed unperturbed as she instructed, “Very well.Then we should make haste, lest this opportunity be squandered. I shall untie the warrior, and he shall turn around, kneeling on the bench, his feet hanging off the edge of the bench. I shall move the cushion accordingly. Then, his ankles shall be locked into the stocks and his wrists secured to the pole again.”

Inosuke tried to picture what she was describing. So he’d be kneeling with his ass up, and he’d have an even harder time keeping an eye on her?

His every instinct was telling him to refuse, that something smelled fishy, and besides, he’d be forced into such a humiliating position… but wouldn’t it be even more humiliating to chicken out now? Through all her fancy talk, that seemed to be what the woman was implying. She called him weak, but she didn’t act like she was stronger.

“Fine,” he grunted. For five minutes, he could handle anything.

She untied his hands first, and he immediately knocked her hands aside to worry at the knots binding his legs, but she loosened all of them before he could even undo one. Only when she unlocked the stocks did he proceed to rub the circulation back onto his wrists, as the woman massaged his legs to that same end.

Now that he was free, he really didn’t want to be tied up again.

“Five minutes,” she reminded him with a smile. He groaned but obeyed, kneeling with his shins flat against the cushion, which she’d pushed closer to the other end of the bench, and putting his feet through the stocks again. She then tied the ropes around his calves and secured his forearms to the pole. His chest was almost parallel to the bench, his back only slightly arched upward, and he was off-balance, the pole keeping him upright and the leg restraints preventing him from falling - or throwing himself - sideways.

He felt a lot more vulnerable and a whole lot more embarrassed than he’d anticipated.

“Hasn’t it been five minutes already?”

“Five minutes after we begin,” clarified the woman from somewhere behind his butt..

“So get on with it.”

“I shall. One last thing.”

He heard the sound of a string instrument being plucked, and an invisible pressure stretched his soles taut, pulling his toes towards the bench until there wasn’t a single wrinkle left on his feet. Only unblemished, defenseless, superhumanly sensitive skin at the mercy of a woman who had none.

“What did you do?”

She didn’t reply. As she approached him, he caught a glimpse of her left hand. She was wearing a fingerpick on the tip of each of her digits, and he wouldn’t have been more worried if she’d bared a set of monstrous claws.

“I shall start low and build to your greatest weakness,” the woman informed him from the bottom of the bench. He tried to see what she was up to from between his legs, but the robe and the stocks were in the way. He could almost feel her fingers hovering over his soles.

“What are you waiting fohohohohohOHOHOHOHOHORRRR!!! HOHOHOHOHO NOOOHOHOHOHOHO!!! IT’S SOOOHOHOH BAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHADDD!!!”

There was no buildup or warmup, but eight claws running from his heels to the very base of his toes, then back up again, taking note of how his laughter rose in pitch and the muscles twitched under the skin when certain spots were hit.

“The warrior appears to be struggling more than I anticipated,” declared the woman as she changed her method, scratching multiple times at each spot before continuing first down, then up his soles.

“Y-Youhuhu thihihink that hihHIHIHS!! Thahahahahat thihis wihihihilll--! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! L-LEHEHEHEHET MEEEEHEHEEHEH FIIHIHIHIHIHNIHIHHIHIHIHSSSSHHH!!!”

Inosuke felt naked. It wasn’t the state of relative undress, as he was arguably more clothed than usual. But from the way his feet were reacting, shocking him with jolts of ticklish electricity, he felt as if he had been stripped of a layer of protective pelt, leaving him to the hunter’s claws.

The woman’s methodical approach made it apparent to Inosuke and, almost simultaneously, to the woman herself, that the bottom of his arches close to the heel and the base of his toes were the most responsive areas, so she focused most of her attention there, making sure not to ignore the ball and arch as she alternated between those two spots.

His toes paralyzed by the invisible strings, the woman appeared to be particularly fond of scratching at the uppermost reaches of the ball, proceeding as if she was searching for something. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be the button that made Inosuke ballistic, as she seemed to be finding nothing but.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAAHA!!!! THIHIHS IHIS HOHORRIIIIBLEHEHEHEHEH!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Some part of Inosuke was probably aware of the passage of time, and he should have rejoiced that she was spending so much of it on his feet and not somewhere else. However, baffled by the intensity of the sensation, he could feel no relief. The woman plucked at the strings of his nerves and his lungs responded explosively. But no matter how beautiful, every piece has to end.

“Ah… This… thihis had to be… five minutes…” demanded Inosuke, even as he somehow felt his trials weren’t over.

“Correct. Five minutes precisely,” concurred the woman.

His ears perked up, and he hoped. “So we’re done?”

“Not quite,” said the woman with a smile.

“You said five minutes!!”

“Five minutes per area.”

“That’s not what you said before!! Let me go right now!!”

“I don’t doubt the warrior can withstand,” she claimed as the fingerpicks descended on the back of Inosuke’s thighs.

“SHIHIT, YOUHU SUHUHUHUHUCK!!! HAHAHAHAHAHhahahahahahahahaahhaahahaha!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahahaha!!! HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHA!!! Hahahahahahahaha!!!”

He tried to leap forward and out of her reach, but the ropes around his calves and the stocks prevented his legs from moving, and the way his arms were tied to the pole made it impossible for him to block access to that sensitive area by sitting on the back of his legs.

It wasn’t the worst tickling Inosuke had been subjected to that day, but it was the most embarrassing, and his position wasn’t helping. Nor did the woman, as she allowed her fingers to wander inward towards an even more sensitive area of his thighs.

“HahahahahAH NAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!! AAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! IHIHIHI HHAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHTE THIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHISSSS!!!! D-DOHOHON’T! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!”

Those fingerpicks really did not belong on his thighs, and he wanted them off. But there was little he could do beside interspersing his laughter with tittering demands and pleas.

The pressure of the picks rippled out as if a much wider area was being touched, but it also dove deeper, awakening the tendons and muscles, sending jolts up and down Inosuke’s legs that resulted in a unique form of tickling that filled him with flighty energy he simply couldn’t let out.

But he found out he could get even worse when she began pinching. In his words, he yelped; in her words, he shrieked.

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHEHEHK!!! SHHAHAHAAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHHATTT!!! DOHOHOHOHOOOOOOOOHON’TTTTT!!!! FIIIIIIIHIHIHIHVE MIHIHIHIHNUUUUUTEEEESSSS!!! IHIHIHIT’S BEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHN FIIHIHIHIHIHIVE MIHHIHIHIHIHINUUUUUUTESSSS!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAAHHA!!!”

“It has not,” remarked the woman, using one hand to squeeze the hard muscle and the other to run her fingers on the sensitive skin. “Is this too much for the warrior? He hasn’t faced the worst of it yet. Would he rather I returned to his feet?”

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHA STOHHOHOHOHP PIHIHIHIHINCHIHHIHIING!!! SHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAH!! YES! YEEHEHEHEHEHEHHSSSS!!!”

“This is confirmation that much weakness dwells in this area, but how could I go back, when the warrior was begging me so fervently to leave them alone?”

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! SHAHAHAHAHAHAHAT UHHHUHUHUHUHUHUPPP!!”

“But as the warrior insists, I’ll be sure to treat his soles again once we are done.”

“DOOOOHAHAHAHAHAHAHN’T YOUHU DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHREEEE!!!”

She went on clawing and pinching like she was playing a musical instrument, one whose strings were flesh and tendon and whose music was hysteria, for what felt much closer to 20 more minutes.

But he was given no reprieve as before he even realized the picks had left his thighs when they began to gently skitter along his flanks, his kneeling position making it incredibly easy for her to torment that spot.

“OOOOHOHOHOH!!! STOOOOOHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAP IHIHIHIHAHAHAHAHAHAHTTT!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

It was unacceptable. She was barely touching him, the picks making the lightest contact that his skin would register, so the intensity of the sensation was absolutely disproportionate. Like the feather from before, it triggered his enhanced sense of touch, straining it to the utmost as it tried to figure out what the hell was crawling up and down his body.

Inosuke was basically doing a strung-up worm in a futile attempt to escape the tickling. It was humiliating, but saving face was no consolation when her fingers converged on stomach.

“HAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! BREEEEEEEEEEEAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!! IHIH NEHEHEHED A BREEEAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAKKKK!!”

“There are no breaks allowed.”

A fresh batch of tears rolled down his nose and fell on the plank, his toned stomach proving no match for the soft assault. Every frenzied inhale pushed his belly into the fingerpicks, momentarily transforming the torment from one into a deeper, more burning sensation.

Turning the body that bore witness to Inosuke’s relentless training into a source of defeat was no small achievement on the woman’s part, yet there he was wishing that the gentle pressure would chip away his abdominal muscle if it would make it tickle any less. At the same time, he lamented the weakness of his sides, not shielded by muscle, a cognitive dissonance he lacked the ability to unpack there and then.

And when the fingertips finally reached his bottom ribs, he knew it was all over.

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH!!!”

She started pressing a bit harder, going slightly faster too, the picks making short work of his ribcage. Not being able to see her hands despite them being so close to his face made it even worse. He pulled at the ropes around his arms with all his strength, trying to break them, the pole, heck, even his own arms would do, anything to escape those horrendous claws.

“TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOHOHOHO MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHAHAHAHAHAAHAHCCCH!!! IHIHT’S TOOHOHOHO MUUUUUUUHUHUHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAH!!!! NOOOOHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAAHAHA!!!!”

He was done. He was so done. He’d withstood the unbearable long enough, he wasn’t going to put up with it any longer.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH CAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHNT IHIHIHIHIHAHHAAHAH CAHAHAHAHAHAHN’T HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHH CAHAHAHAHAHAHAHN’T!!!”

“I am certain the warrior doesn’t intend to admit defeat when he’s so cl--"

“STAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHPPP!!! YOUHU MUHUHHUST STAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHPPP!!! GIHHIHIIHIIHHIVVEEEEE!!! IHIH GIIIHIHIHIHIVEHEHEHEH!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA STAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHPPP!!”

Her fingers somehow got even faster as she gravely asked, “Does the warrior wish to surrender?”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAH!!! YEEEEEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHHEAAAAASSSSSS!!! JUHUHUHHAHAHHAHAST STAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAPPP!!!”

But the claws didn’t leave his ribs.

“IIHAHAHAHAHAAH SAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAID EHEHEHEHENOAHAHAHAHAGH!!! I SURRAAHA-- NAAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAAHAHA!!!!”

“What a shame,” she uttered, her voice dripping with disappointment as she finally stopped tickling him, but Inosuke was too busy panting to listen to her, content with letting the ropework hold him up.

For a moment, he thought he was going unconscious, but it wasn’t him: the sourceless light that lit up the entire onsen dimmed to the level of a small brazier, radiating from the center of the room outward so that Inosuke could see his own shadow and the woman’s on the wall from around the pole.

Inosuke didn’t like that. “We’re done here. Lehet me up.”

The woman’s shadow T-posed. "I'm afraid it's no longer your choice, little warrior."

Something pulled back her large sleeves all the way to her shoulders… Elbows. Two extra sets in each sleeve. Six arms.

The woman stood up to her full height, the hem of her dress lifting to reveal not human feet, but an extra set of hands. She lifted herself up in the air by pulling on invisible threads, the motions of her shadow calling to mind a spider crawling on a web toward its next victim, until she was hanging directly above him.

“You’re not human!! You tricked me!!” yelled Inosuke, redoubling his efforts to break free.

“Look who finally got smart,” mocked the woman, her voice much viler than before. “I’m not done with you, little warrior. Not by a long shot.”

He heard several clicks, and a droning like the sound of angry bees, which would have frightened him far less than the eight rotating brushes that descended on his body all at once.

His ribs. His sides, abs, thighs, and feet. All of them, ravaged by hundreds if not thousands of soft bristles spinning like it was their mission to murder him.

Inosuke opened his mouth to laugh, scream, shriek, but no sound came out.

“Oh? Is this too much for you? It tickles even more after a good scrub, doesn’t it? So much more. Remember that you were having trouble with a feather? A single feather? What about now? With your super touch, you must be feeling each and every bristle. How unbearable it must be for you.”

“......................................................................................AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAGAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

Foreign and unbearable, the sensation consumed him from the outside in. The brushes were large enough to cover his feet heels to toes as well as most of his abs, leaving hsi sides, thighs, and ribs no chance to escape them at all.

“GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! YOOOOOUUUUUU’RE KIIIIIIIIHIIHHIIHHIHIHIHLLLLIIIIIIIING MEEEEEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAH…………………………………………………………….HAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHAH!!!”

He wheezed, coughed, struggled, would have pleaded. The woman whispered through his mop of blue hair. “Like I care. Shut up and laugh, dumbass.”

“.................................................EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHKKKKK!!!! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

“So much weakness in these parts, we gotta do something about it,” taunted the woman, the spinning brushes continuing to ravage Inosuke’s unblemished skin.

The last words Inosuke could make sense of before his mind melt into the lattice of ticklish overload were, “You’re going to be here for a long while, little warrior.”

—

When Tanjiro and Zenitsu found Inosuke, he was passed out on the rocky ground, wearing his usual clothes, his swords resting parallel to him. A huge, dopey grin lingered on his tear-streaked face.

“Is he ok?” worried Zenitsu.

“He’s fine. He’s just unconscious… what’s with that grin?”

“Nothing,” replied Zenitsu, looking first at the rictus etched on Inosuke’s face, then smirking at Tanjiro. “I’ve just had an idea for when he wakes up.”

[twstfanblog]

~Manhwa AU- A Fairytale Do-Over~ Pt 3

A/N: Writing has been so hard recently and there's no reason for it. Other than making me mad I think >:( But here's the next part! I'm going to start making a taglist for this series, so reply if you want to be added so you'll be alerted to the next part being posted! thank you and have a grand time reading! Word Count: 3.7K Pairings: Sibling Leona & Farena Warnings: Alluded to child neglect Lilia's cooking Prev / Next

A month had passed since Malleus’s birthday and Yuu still refused to accept any of Lilia's requests for playdates.

She sighed, turning the page of a book she remembered never finishing. Her family's personal library had become a small sanctuary for her recently. The magically enlarged room was like a maze; towering dark wood shelves filled with books that were easy to get lost in without a map. A hidden nook close to the three floor-to-ceiling grand windows, the enchanted fireplace crackling peacefully while Yuu or her fathers would rest on overstuffed decorative pillows reading together. The perfect place to run and hide from a very overzealous bat fae who wanted to feed her a ‘home-cooked meal’ to make her feel better enough to come visit the imperial palace. Yuu only needed to glance at the pot of noxious black sludge to be given a traumatic memory of what would happen to someone who ate Lilia's cooking…

While Lilia was more than free to chase her around the manor, her father was quick to stop the fae from running after her into ‘his library’. The family library obviously held the precious books of the Crowley family; Yuu’s favorite playscripts and fairytales, Divus’s historical fashion logs and his various past fashion sketchbooks. Dire even kept a small collection of older spell books in the room, some possibly older than the empire itself. Lilia's cooking could melt the bones of a whale, Yuu was sure of it, divine only knows what it'd do to a poor flimsy book.

So, the library was safe. For now at least. There was no telling where her parents would forbid her from entering in the name of her ‘health’ if they worried anymore.

Her parents continued to grow more and more concerned over her personality shift. They thought she didn’t notice, standing at her bedside in the middle of the night and speaking in hushed tones about what to do. Her papa would sit on her bed and run his hand along one of her braids while he grilled her father on what he was doing to get a mage doctor to their home.

Yuu couldn’t use magic, so she wasn’t entirely sure why her papa thought a mage doctor was needed (Only a few days later did she realize that her papa thought she had been cursed. Which was possibly true, time travel and all…). Dire had managed to deflect each time Divus asked, tucking her tighter into her covers before leaving the room, a silently furious Divus following after him. They’d try to broach the topic during breakfast each morning, asking if she had anymore strange dreams, if something new had appeared in her room, or even if someone had spoken to her.

It didn’t ease their concerns when Yuu denied anything new or strange happening, but Yuu wondered how much they would panic if she said something did happen. While it could potentially be funny, she’s almost completely sure her fathers would put her through an intense magical purge ceremony that would actually make her ill.

Sighing, Yuu closed the book, placing it on her reading nook’s ‘to be continued’ pile. It had been at least an hour since Lilia had shown up to the duchy, her parents had hopefully either sent the old fae home or were having a discussion over wine. Leaving Yuu to freely walk around the library again.

Thumbing through a book on gardening (though the pictures were more interesting than the semi-faded blocks of text), Yuu suddenly felt a chill creep into their spine. Kalim had described the feeling to her once, recounting one of the many tales of failed kidnappings and assassinations; the feeling of being watched.

Yuu did their best to remain calm, following Kalim’s advice. It's no good to let them know you know, act as nonchalantly as you could until you were in a safer location. (A conversation that had originally terrified them, only for Kalim’s beaming smile to promise that no harm would ever befall his dearest friend. Not so long as she had him and Jam-)

Swallowing, Yuu slowly closed the book and started to walk down the aisle. Maybe they were just there to steal something and Yuu had unfortunately been in their line of sight. A notion that was quickly dashed feeling the eyes stay on them and the sounds of footsteps following them. Yuu hates to admit it, but she panicked and broke out into a sprint.

Whoever was following her remained silent, keeping up with her easily through the turns and weaving between aisles. A part of her wanted it to be Lilia, since the worst that could happen was she'd have to have a bite of whatever he brought masquerading as a stew. Then again, that might actually kill them…

Panting, fed up with the sudden game of cat and mouse, Yuu ran around a corner and turned around quickly. The heavy book on plants raised in the air over her head and thrown blindly to whoever was chasing them. A multicolored blur appeared from around the corner, narrowly dodging the book in a sloppy side step. The two children looked at the heavy book on the ground, the thud it made echoing through the library briefly but the true horror was the fact the book had nearly exploded on contact with the ground. Pages of text and a stray beautifully illustrated flower fluttering to the ground in their silence.

The other child stared at the pile of paper that was once a book, blinking in shock before turning to Yuu with a glare and crossed arms, “What, are you trying to kill me?”

Yuu blinks then yells at the boy, poking a finger furiously into his chest, “You were the one chasing me!?”

The boy huffed, rolling his eyes and swatting her hand away, “I was just playing around. You're the one throwing ancient texts at people.”

“It wasn't ancient.” Yuu hoped it wasn't ancient. But, casting a glance at the pile, Yuu wondered if they were stronger than they remembered being as an eight-year-old…

Shaking her head, she brushed off the concern. The book was probably just…very old (please not ancient), her father would be able to replace it easily or fix it, “Anyway! Why are you in here? I've never seen you before.”

The boy raises an eyebrow, almost sneering back at her, “I'm a guest. Why are you scurrying around here like a rat?”

“Like a-I live here, you shithead!”

The boy stepped back, eyes wide in shock either from her yelling or from realizing who she was, “Wait…you're the Crowley girl?”

“What of it? You haven't even introduced yourself to me in my own house!”

Rolling his eyes again, the boy stepped closer to walk a slow circle around her, studying her with a sharp eye, “It's just surprising, ya know? Rumor has it, you're supposed to be sick as death in bed. Not taking any visitors nor going to any of your little friends’ socials.” He smirks, tilting his head, “But instead of seeing some sickly child, I see a little rat who's healthy enough to throw books with deadly force.”

“...” Yuu frowns, nearly sneering at the smug boy, “I'm not going to stand here and listen to some boy in a hand-me-down dashiki-...you're Leona Kingscholar.”

Leona was taken aback, tilting his head, “How do you guess? Other people wear dashikis, you know…”

Yuu nodded, but pointed to various areas of the garment as she spoke, “Yeah, but very few have actual gold embroidery on them. not to mention the overall state of it; it's faded but only in high friction areas. Meaning it was for casual wear instead of formal seeing, again, the authentic gold threading. And the sleeves's been stitched up, not professionally since it's affected the appearance of the pattern. It's not concrete, but that's normally a sign of sentimental value since it's merely to keep the fabric intact instead of presentable to the public.”

“...” Leona sighed, crossing his arms as he looked off to the side annoyed, “And that clearly shows you're the child of Duke Crewel. Only someone with his textile-obsessed blood would deduce me as a Kingscholar from my clothing rather than being a lion beastman…”

“Who else would I be? Though my parents love each other, they aren't having another baby anytime soon. Plus, I'm already an only child…”

Leona coughed, struggling to hold in his laughter before clearing his throat to speak, “I assumed you were Duke Crowley's oh-so-elusive student I've heard the adults whispering About. Many of them were pretty pissed after learning their darling little brownnosers weren't going to get access to your family's private collection of ancient grimoires.”

Yuu's face pinched together, eyes scanning along the floor as she dug through her mind. Just like a normal dream, her past life had quickly started to fade from her memory as the weeks went on. Anything past her 12th birthday had become hidden in fog though anything before then was slightly clearer. But even so, she had no memory of her father having a student of any kind. In fact she's not even sure her parents allowed other children in their manor besides her, she couldn't remember ever hosting a playdate at the Crowley duchy at least…

“My…my father doesn't have a student? At least I've never met them…”

“...” Leona hums, short and absolute, as though he had gained a piece of a puzzle no one else had noticed on the table yet. Yuu watched in real-time as Leona made the mental decision to keep said piece to himself.

The beastman smiles, his ears flicking only once in what could only be excitement, “Interesting…oh well. It's only a rumor after all.”

Yuu rolls her eyes. From memory, Leona did have a bad reputation as a troublemaker, “Fun. You still haven't told me why you're in my house though. I'm pretty sure the Kingscholar duchy is to the east of the capital, not the north.”

Leona shrugs, fingers gliding over ornate spines of books before he pulls his hand away, making a face when it comes back covered in dust, “My brother is getting a measurement done. He brought me along claiming I could be fitted for my coming-of-age robes if there was time.”

“...But your 10th birthday has already passed, hasn't it? You should have had them by now.”

“...” Sighing, the beastman clicked his tongue in a moment of annoyance, “Shut up. You don't even know anything…”

Yuu tapped her chin, thinking hard about what she could remember of the Sunset Savanna clothing culture, “You're supposed to get them on your tenth birthday, As a rite of passage right? Thanking the gods for allowing you into your first stage of life or something like that…” Lord, just how much knowledge about clothing did she have at this age? It was hard to tell what were bits and pieces from her past life and what was simply drilled into her young by her papa.

Leona was quiet, looking away from Yuu's curious expression, “It's a ceremony of blessings. In the Savanna, once a child reaches ten, it's thought a number of bad omens aren't able to take hold of them anymore. But that also leaves them vulnerable to omens that plague adults. So either the community chief or head of the house is supposed to anoint them; bring them the blessing and protection of their family or community's ancestors…”

Yuu nods, Dire had talked about the ceremony once or twice, having barged in during one of her lessons with Divus to deliver unasked-for information, “Your father is the heir to the Sunset Savanna kingdom, but he stays near the Noctorn capital to build alliances. As the Savanna prince, he'd be liable to use the family sword to-”

…

Yuu paused in her stream of conscious babble. The ceremony could use a number of items to bless the child so to speak. Her father had told her of a number of ways he had personally bore witness to; an elderly woman shaking a branch over children, fine gold dust being spread on cheeks in patterns, even fresh spring water being poured over their heads and clothes.

But the Kingscholars, the Kingscholars used a sword. Tapping the unsheathed blade along the shoulders and then once against the forehead.

Looking at Leona, she finally noticed that one side of his bangs were longer. Dark brown waves that framed against a eye that was a shade lighter than the other, slightly hiding the clean vertical line of raised dark pink skin.

“...” Yuu bit her lip, wondering…if she should ask, “...Leona…how'd you get that scar?”

Leona stared at the floor, gently pressing a claw down the still-sensitive skin.

Leona sat beside a vent in the hallway, legs pulled up to his chin and arms wrapped around them. He was looking down to the ground, eyes unblinking as he listened to his father rant and yell.

“-utter embarrassment! And you want to reward another one of his tantrums!?”

Farena’s voice rings out, softer yet still carrying the hard edge his father's had, “I'm not rewarding him. I'm taking him with me to my appointment with the Duke Crewel. Leona's only getting a fitting if there's time-”

“You don't need that design book then! That mutt of a duke doesn't need it because he isn't making traditional garments. Especially not for that-”

“Enough!” Leona could hear the snarl in his brother's voice, clearly able to imagine the fury on the face that matched their father better than his ever did, “Just because you're upset Lord Lilia hasn't responded to your letters yet, doesn't mean Leona is at fault! I refuse to let you place it on him just because he acted out on the prince's birthday!”

“BAH! So you admit it! He's acting out and you're-”

“I'm giving Leona his due! You know damn well he was supposed to have his ceremonial dressings last year. You were supposed to send for someone from the homeland to fit him properly! You were supposed to bless him! You go on and on about how back home we are kings and not dukes and should act as such, and then you treat your own son like he's less!”

“He is LESS! Sickly! Defiant! Brazen! He's been weak and less than since the day he was born!”

“...How…DARE YOU!? Don't you dare blame that fever on Leona! He only got sick because you forbade the physician from tending to him when he got hurt! He may fully lose his sight in his eye because you wanted to punish him!”

“He should have never touched that sword! That is for the heir or head of the house! The true princes of our family line, he had no right to touch it!”

“We are all the princes of this family. Grandmother rules the Savanna in your place while you continue to make fancy with dead royalty you never even liked.” The rustling of papers, a flourish of fabric, “I'm leaving for my appointment, I'm taking Leona with me and that is final.”

It was soft, angrily and bitterly mumbled as Farena stomped out of the room. The sound of his father's liquor cabinet opening, the older man muttering, “Leave him there while you're at it.” 

The sound of Farena slamming the door made his ears hurt.

And that's how his brother finds him, back against a wall with his eyes pressed into his knees and arms to hide away his tears. Farena sighs, kneeling down and putting a hand to his shoulder, “Leona-”

Leona quickly shrugged his brother’s hand away, moving to stand on his own and rubbing harshly at his eyes, “I don’t want your pity, Farena-”

He was pulled into his brother’s arms, the older prince breathing calmly in an effort to center Leona and himself. Farena pulls away once he feels Leona untense his body, smiling and brushing the younger boy’s hair from his face, “It’s not pity…No matter what we become to each other. Know that I never pitied you…”

“...” With a final sniffle, Leona rubbed his eyes one last time before he nods, “Okay…”

“Come. We have to leave if we’re going to have time for you to get your fitting.”

“...It was an accident.”

As though that wasn't the most heartbreaking and concerning thing Yuu had ever heard. But Yuu wasn't going pick at an already tender wound, “I see…what…what was the Sunset Savanna like? There’s a lot of various areas like deserts and jungles, right? Was it fun exploring there?”

“I wouldn't know. In theory, I know what it's like there but I've never been, I was born here.”

“Oh!?”

Leona nods, “My brother remembers moving though, he's told me stories and every now and again we get visitors or refugees coming to our duchy.”

Yuu hummed, looking down the aisle, “I think we have a book on the Savanna somewhere…” She waved Leona away, “There should be a table with snacks around. Wait for me there while I go get it.”

“Don't you order me around…”

She was already walking away, looking over her shoulder with a glare, “Just go eat some snacks while I go find the book.”

Finding the book wasn't too hard. The library was normally organized weekly, though even then random books would appear in the wrong place. Luckily, Yuu was able to find the book of their desire easily. Pulling it off the shelf they nearly fell to the floor at the sheer weight of it. Huffing, maneuvering it in their arms to rush off to her and Leona's meeting spot.

The other young lord was luckily seated at the table, picking at the selection of cookies and other finger foods left out. He looks over, snickering at seeing just how much she was struggling, “Poor, sickly, Yuu. Even a book is too much for the grand lady now…”

Yuu glared over the large book, managing to haul it with her onto the stool before dropping the book on the table and releasing a cloud of dust. Her expression turns malicious as Leona starts hacking and coughing, sending more dust in his direction as she opens the book and lets the heavy pages fall to the table.

Leona waves the dust away from his sensitive nose, glaring through his teary eyes as he sneezed again, “Brat.”

“Bastard. Your family is the reigning line, isn't it? So you'd have stayed in the capital, right?”

For the next hour, the two spent their time looking through the book, Yuu asking him questions for a more in-depth look at the foreign land. And while Leona had never been to his homeland, he still knew more than Yuu and was more than elated to lecture the younger girl on what she had gotten wrong.

Soon, Leona could hear his brother calling out to him in the distance. He looks to Yuu, tugging on her hair to gain her attention, “I’ve got to go, my brother is calling me.”

Yuu nods, closing the book and holding it out to Leona, “Here. You can take this home with you.”

“Why are you giving me one of your books?” Leona still takes the book, tucking the hardcover under his arm and looking at Yuu in question.

Shaking her head, Yuu smiled, “Not giving it to you. It’s a loan. So you’ll have to come visit me again.”

“...” Leona laughs, short and behind his hand before returning Yuu’s smile, “Deal. I’ll come visit again since you clearly need someone to ramble to. I’ll bring the book back when I feel like it.” He ruffles Yuu’s hair roughly, making the younger girl almost fall over from the force of it.

“HEY!” Yuu smacks at Leona’s hand, pouting as the beastman runs out of the library to meet his brother. She sighs, trying to smooth down her hair lest her papa see her with her hair in disarray.

Leona Kingscholar was a troublemaker, that was the common trait anyone could give him. She remembered bits and pieces of her fathers talking about the young lord, each of them remarking what a shame it was. Leona wasn’t as physically strong as the rest of his family, but the younger lord was smarter, a fact his father always overlooked in favor of his older brother. Yuu couldn’t remember the two brothers ever having a negative relationship. Then again, she remembers one of the Kingscholar brothers leaving with their father back to the Sunset Savanna when the queen mother is on her deathbed. Sadly, she couldn’t remember which went.

If anything, Leona would be a good person to talk to if she went along with her plan. Breaking ties with Malleus was impossible, but her other two playmates would be easy enough, though it would be painful. And while it had only been a few weeks, things settled well enough. Malleus didn’t ever send her letters anyway, she would simply stop sending him letters. The hardest part would be breaking her friendship with Kalim and running from Lilia’s visits.

Leona wasn’t meant to be a replacement in any way. The youngest Kingscholar was almost isolated from others because of his abrasive attitude a trait Yuu unknowingly shared. Even if they didn’t become anything more than library friends, they’d at least have each other to speak to this time around.

Leona looked out the window of the moving carriage, the borrowed book resting in his lap while his brother rambled on.

“-weirdly thorough. I had thought we’d have more time for your fitting, but it wasn’t in the cards this visit. I did leave the book of designs with Duke Crewel, though. So when I go back for my second fitting, I’ll make sure you can see him.” Farena looks over, frowning as Leona doesn’t respond to him. Sighing, he tugged on his little brother’s ear to gain his attention, “How about we go out for lunch? We don’t need to head home just yet.”

“...” Leona’s eyes glance down at the book on his lap, smirking as he looked up to his brother, “I met a ghost in the Crowley library.” “You what?"

You made it! Have some art I did of the babies and their outfits in this chapter

[teddybear-withme]

A Day of Community Fun

After a few months of travel, I’m setting aside my adventurer hat for a bit and putting back on my community organizer one.

When I moved late last year, I knew many great people in the region but few of them seemed to know each other. After some initial dinners to make introductions, we ramped things up with a fun spring weekend back in April. Now the momentum continues with another day of fun!

Stop 1: Lunch at a grilled cheese restaurant

What sets the stage for an ABDL community day better than grilled cheese sandwiches and mac & cheese?

Stop 2: Renting LEGO sets at a café

We had two hours to build anything we wanted. I chose to build this blue morpho butterfly with a friend! 🦋 Others built a treehouse, a giraffe, and a peculiar turtle van. 🤔

Stop 3: Local munch

For the main event, @lolaandthens0me and I took over a local community space and turned it into a summer camp! 🏕

In the main room: a campfire corner with a grass rug and log pillows from my nursery, pretty lights and a lantern, cozy blankets, felt board crafts, coloring books, summer snacks, and s’mores. We also ordered pizza for dinner.

In other areas, we had a name badge station, a table for bigs/middles with Uno and other card games, and a quiet space with a movie for those who might be feeling overstimulated. 💖

Camp Counselor Lola led a circle of camp songs and stories for the campers. Then I read the group a few storybooks!

What a day! I can’t even describe the joy this brings me. I never imagined meeting another ABDL until I was 26. Now I’m creating opportunities for others to do just that in a safe and friendly environment.

Three munch attendees told me it was their first ABDL event ever. To see them open up to new friends and blossom throughout the evening brought me to tears. 🥲

One of those three new friends was so excited for the event that he designed this coloring page and brought some for everyone. Plus he made snacks too! There's kindness everywhere. ✨

I just wish I had more community spaces for these events. Unfortunately, I have to keep it semi-private for now due to the size, but I'm just grateful to have a space at all!

If you’ve never been to an ABDL event or met another ABDL in person, I promise the experience is worth it. Not all community events are the same, but there’s a whole world out there waiting to be discovered. It’s scary, but I’m forever grateful I took that massive leap five years ago. Wishing you luck on your own kink journey!

- 🧸

[irondadfics]

Holiday Rec List.

Hi everyone, this is long overdue, but I promised so here's to starting off the New Year right with some fics for you to check out. I didn't add any descriptions, so check them out! Some are series, some require you to be logged into your ao3. These are in no particular order. You are sure to find something you will love. We've linked the authors where possible so be sure to check out their other works, encourage (not pressure) them to finish their in progress works please or even write new works! Trust me! Happy New Year!

So many awesome stories did not make this list because I didn't want to overwhelm anyone, but many are already in mind for another special rec list!.

I love you more than anything (bio dad au) - iron_spider

But Only Hope and Sorrows End - iron_spider

Lazarus, come forth - iron_spider

Four times peter cheated death (and one time he didn't) - iron_spider

A Life of Crime - intothestorm

Up Came the Sun - WhimsicalEthnographies

Hey Ragazzo - WhimsicalEthnographies

Becoming Belonging - sahiya

A Soft Place to Land - sahiya

The Third Option - Uncertainty_Principle

Men of Iron - Spdrmain

The Little Things - soupshep

First Wednesday of March - soupshep

You'll Always Get There First - soupshep

The Time Traveler's Mentor - Diaz_evan

Three Weeks, Two Days, Seven Hours - soupshep

Never Go Home Alone - Orphan Account

Here's to all New Beginnings - Gruoch Orphan Account

Even Children Get Older - LittleMissAgrafina

A Snapshot Moment - soupshep

Hold Your Breath While You're Safe - Gruoch Orphan Account

The Hearth - Sagemb

Everyday Superhero Verse - Stoneage_woman

College Applications: The Biggest Meme - Sagemb

The Long Way Back - Gruoch Orphan Account

Allston Christmas - Gruoch Orphan Account

Hard to Love - Groo_ock Orphan Account

Aperture - Gruoch Orphan Account

Holdfasts - Gruoch Orphan Account

I Am One of You Forever - Gruoch Orphan Account

Neon Liar (Hiding in Plain Sight) - isaDanCurtisproduction

Constant Internal [Spider] Screaming: Semi-Connected Scenes from a Graduating Senior’s Life - isaDanCurtisproduction

As Luck Would Have It - blondsak, whumphoarder

Poison Apple - whumphoarder

Inevitable - imgoingtocrash

Knowing (of everything she doesn't) - imgoingtocrash

287 Miles - imgoingtocrash

Out of Darkness - StarryKnight09

I Would Lay My Armour Down - losingmymindtonight

Webcams and Webshooters - losingmymindtonight

Call You Home - Madelinedear

The Guardian - Emily_F6

Survivor's Guide to The Galaxy - fanfic1892

A Little Late On the Blood Work - Pixiemage

With Kind Regards and Completely Serious Warning - jennylarner

The Chain - RayRox360

Was that a Star Wars reference, Dr. Stark? - Jen27ny

You Are My Sunshine - M4rmalade

I told you I had issues - Bergen

PS: If you make it here then awesome sauce! Send us your fave fics to read as well, you never know they may end up on a special rec list someday! No promises though! Thank you all! Have an awesome 2024 everyone!

[impactedfates]

helloo there! can i request smth?? ^_^ could you do where the reader has crush on xiao but they are usually is very timid and shy/blushy around him.? they run away whenever he pops up! (xiao likes them back!) u can choose the rest tysm! :3 💗💗

★ A/N: Xiao is such a sweetie though, love him. I have him on my NA and he's like my only decently built character. I should really log back into there and take care of my characters.

☆ Genre/Trope: Romantic + Fluff + Mutual Pining

★ Format: Short Fic (W.C: 904)

☆ Warnings: None (I think?)

★ Extra: Reader is the same height as Xiao // Xiao might be OOC // Traveler Lumine // Reader not from Liyue -> Moved there to start a business (You can choose) // Might be a bit messy sorry!

Shy Away - Xiao x GN! Reader

“You called?”

Spoke the adeptus appearing behind you and the blonde traveller. You yelped a bit and was quick to hide yourself behind Lumine who sighed out tiredly. She looked towards Xiao and attempted to move out of the way however you continued to stay behind her. Paimon could only watch in disappointment, looking towards Xiao who was confused.

“OH MY ARCHONS JUST-”

“NO”

And with that, you were quick to rush off, leaving a very flustered Lumine and Paimon and befuddled Xiao (who if you looked closely enough, he seemed almost…hurt?)

How’d it come to this? To you requesting help from Lumine and Paimon to confess your love to Xiao, yet when it came time too. You ended up rushing away from him like always.

Oh right, now you remember.

A few months back, you had met with Lumine when she came by to celebrate the Lantern Rite. You already knew Xiao at the time, it’d be weird if you didn’t. He was one of the adeptus of Liyue of course. It wasn’t until Lumine introduced you two properly that you found out he also knew you.

He’s not only heard of you from Shenhe and Ganyu but also during his patrol around Liyue, he would catch himself staring at you just a bit longer than needed. He’d always brush it off as.

“They moved here to start their business, I’m only keeping watch because they might be dangerous”

As if it hadn’t been a couple of years since you moved here. Zhongli was the first to point it out and the ex-geo archon could only chuckle as he witnessed his adeptus face become redder and redder.

When you two did properly meet, the feeling you two already semi had for each other only grew. When you found out you were falling for Xiao, you just could not bring yourself to tell him right away…leading you to many situations…

~~~~~~~~~~

You hummed to yourself a bit, sweeping the floor. Your eyes caught onto a jade necklace Xiao had gifted you for your birthday, with a small smile. You went over and took hold of it in your free hand.

Unintentionally, you must have whispered his name as the next thing you knew, you heard someone behind you and gently speak out your name. And despite you knowing who it was, perhaps your body acted before your mind as you quickly whipped around and nearly hit Xiao with the broom. He ducked and just looked at you in confusion and concern.

“...Are you okay [Name]? Are you hur-”

“AH, X-XIAO SORRY. BYE”

Was all you could muster before dropping everything and rushing out…of your own home…

~~~~~~~~~~

“[Name]? Are you listening”

A hand waved in front of your face and when your eyes finally focused, your mind stopped the long day dream you had of how your life with Xiao could be like if you two were to date.

Then your eyes finally landed on Xiao who looked at you softly…his face inches away from yours, you fell back with a small yelp banging your head on the wall which Xiao was quick to check on you.

“S-sorry! I um, don’t w-worry about me”

“...You banged your head on the wall [Name]...are you able to answer what I asked you?”

“Oh! Yeah of course…yes I agree”

Xiao sighed softly, bringing a hand around to rub the back of your head to soothe the pain.

“I asked what flower was your favourite…”

~~~~~~~~~~

“[Name] wait!”

He called, as he witnessed you run away again. He didn’t even do anything, nor did you. You just wanted to give him lunch of almond tofu you made yourself.

But the smile he gave you and how gently he took it from your hand, the slight touch as his hands grazed your own softly was perhaps too much for you, and before he could thank you, you had already run off.

He looked down on the ground, not wanting to possibly bother you. Zhongli came and stood beside him.

~~~~~~~~~~

This isn’t even talking about all the times you nearly embarrassed yourself in front of him or the amount of times you ran off thinking that’s the best thing you can do.

You’ve talked to Lumine and Paimon about it and eventually they had convinced you to confess to him. You’d call his name so he’d appear and Lumine and Paimon will be there to support you in the confession, so that’s what happened!

Which brings you back to now…hiding from him once again. You sat under a tree as you tried to cool down your face which was increasingly heating up…until a hand felt your forehead.

“...You’re heating up a lot”

Came an all too familiar voice. Your eyes met with Xiaos as he looked at you. You weren’t able to run away anymore. Your back was met with a tree and Xiao was in front of you. And you couldn’t just leave him without another explanation again could you?

“Sorry”

“For what?”

“Running off”

“It’s okay”

Silence filled the air as you two didn’t know what to say, before Xiao cleared his throat.

“...Lumine…she uh…”

“D-did she tell you?”

“She did…she said she was tired of you shying away…”

You silently cursed Lumine under your breath, but at the same time you knew if she didn’t say then you’d never be able to confess properly.

“...S-so?”

“I love you too”

Been working on this ever since I got it, decided to work on the smaller requests as well on the side fsrght

I hope this is okay! I might've missed some mistakes though...

[dontnoticemelol]

Tsu'tey x reader | Oneshot

Word Count– 2429

Summary: Reader decides to surprise her darling mate– Tsu'tey.

______________________

You never thought you would ever fall in love. It sounded to you as a bogus experience when described by lovebirds. Giving off the impression of a singular occurrence, in which only distinct individuals could revel in.

Though, as you hooked the needle-and-thread into the beads, your mind couldn't help but get distracted. All you could think about was his alluring face. The face your eyes had recently become accustomed to seeing, every morning.

It belonged to the one being you could truly call your true love, or more desirably– your soulmate.

The thoughts diverted your observation of your surroundings. The clan alternating from a noisy chatter to a muffled background sound. The late afternoon sun shone bright in the sky, glaring at the foliage from an angle.

Next to you, sat Neytiri and Jake, each holding roasted meat that was gathered in the hunt from earlier. Their back-and-forth responses suggested that they were deep in a conversation which you didn't bother paying much attention to.

A loss of focus overwhelmed you soon. Before you knew it, a mild stinging sensation traveled across your finger tip.

Your eyebrows furrowed in pain as you flinched. The necklace fell to the ground with a faint thud. Courtesy to her heightened senses, Neytiri caught the sound, turning to you. Jake was all too busy enjoying the roast to be as attentive.

You sucked your finger tip in your mouth with swiftness, the metallic taste of the crimson liquid filling your tastebuds.

"Are you okay?" She asked, taking in the scene that lay in front of her.

You removed the finger from your mouth to assess the puncture. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just pricked myself, that's all." You reassured her, flashing a small smile. You pressed your thumb over the puncture wound, to discern whether it was still painful.

She nodded, giving her own warm smile.

Luckily, pain did not plague you any further. On other matters however, with the necklace having been dropped, you hoped it wasn't broken.

Not so luckily– the bowl they were in got knocked over by the necklace as it fell. She offered to help you clean up the mess, then crouched down to pick up the beads that littered the floor.

You followed suit and also crouched down. Once you lifted the necklace into your right hand, you inspected it. A soft sigh of relief left your lips, the necklace was still in one piece.

You placed it on top of the log, and turned back in front of you to help Neytiri. The beads filled your hand as you scooped them up.

"How's the necklace coming along?" She asked, curiously and scooped up the last of the beads.

Clanking sounded as beads rolled from your hands into the bowl.

"It's great– In fact, I just finished sewing it together" you replied cheerfully, glancing up at her face. You rose up while dusting your hands off.

She too, dusted off her hands. "That's great– see, I told you it wouldn't take that long." She spoke, enunciating the verb.

You laughed and shook you head lightly after you registered the teasing tone that lingered in her voice.

The semi-smooth texture of the log met the underside of your thighs when you lowered yourself down. You took the necklace back into your hands, with a newfound fear for it's safety.

You realised only after you had sat back down that Jake had long disappeared– 'probably getting more arrow deer roast', you thought to yourself. You found this thought quite funny since he had previously hated the texture of the meat, when the clan first welcomed the both of you.

Neytiri sat down, and you passed the necklace to her, asking for her opinion. She turned it over and around, eyeing the intricate precision of it.

"Y/n it's beautifully made." She commented and smiled in the process, then handed it back to you.

"Thank you, Neytiri." You said, smiling appreciatively, and placed it against your lap, still holding it.

She proceeded to look around– understandably searching for Jake. Still, all she could see were the other na'vi, enjoying the food as well.

As sweet as Neytiri's comment on the necklace was, you looked down at it in doubt. Your doubts being that Tsu'tey would even want it.

"Do you think he'll like it?" You asked her. "I've tried giving him gifts before, and he seemed... uncomfortable." You recounted the only other time you had given him something.

Right at the start of you relationship, you thought giving your boyfriend a sweet present would be a good idea. The intent was to show him how much you appreciated his presence in your new life, on Pandora. However, it didn't go quite as planned.

When he saw the gift, he looked uncomfortable, to say the least— almost annoyed. You figured perhaps, he wasn't used to receiving things from others. Which would explain his behaviour, but it still made you feel angry.

You had worked hard on figuring out what he would value as special, only to have him be annoyed with you— for giving him a gift. Although he apologised about his reaction the next day, you still felt a bit pissed.

Your heavy heart was then put at ease, when he promised to never react like that again. He would work on acknowledging things in a different view. Instead of thinking that as the gift-recipient, it indicated that he was weak– he would instead think of it as an indication that he was dearly loved.

Neytiri looked over at you and understood what you meant. "I– Honestly, I'm not sure." She replied, chastising the cold nature of Tsu'tey she knew all too well.

She briefly placed her hand over yours. "But, don't worry– I think he'll love it. You put a lot of effort into it and you mean well." She said as she gave you a reassuring smile.

The more you thought about this, the more dejected you felt.

You quietly cleared your throat. "How are things going with you and Jake?" You asked her. Changing the subject would help your mind in drifting away from unwanted thoughts.

Her lips curled into a bashful smile as she thought of her answer.

"Our relationship is lovely. In fact I feel as though I am falling in love with him more, everyday—" She said before Jake cut her off with his booming voice.

"Can you guys believe the arrow deer is finished?!" He complained shamelessly, his mate simply chuckled to herself. He trudged over to stand infront of you, looking defeated. Walking proudly next to him, was Tsu'tey.

You shuffled to hide the necklace in your bag before he could see it. Thankfully, he seemed to be oblivious to it.

You smiled at each other and shared a short kiss on the lips. He and Neytiri acknowledged each other with a brief nod. His warm body touched yours when he sat down, igniting a flame within you that you had first felt when you mated. You did your best to not dwell in it, because you didn't want to think about this around your friends.

You shifted your gaze up towards Jake. "Ah, speak of the devil."  You commented.

His face frowned in puzzlement. "Were you guys talking about me?" He questioned, dramatically putting his hand on his chest.

You let out a small breathy laugh. Neytiri on the hand, brought her hand up to her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Tsu'tey simply tried to keep his cold demeanor, but he gave in and laughed to himself as well.

"Ma'Jake, if you want more meat, then catch it yourself–" She remarked, and moved her hand away from her mouth. Still harbouring a smile on her lips.

You were able to calm down from laughing, but watching this interaction between the pair still made you chuckle a bit.

You and your mate decided to move away so you could spend time together as a couple. You strolled away from the duo, choosing a patch of grass further away from the other na'vi.

Sitting down beside each other, you made yourselves comfortable. With him leaning back on his arms, which were planted slightly behind him, while you opted for a side-sitting position. Soon you indulged into a familiar conversation that still managed to fill you both with joy.

"How was your day?" He shifted to sit more comfortably, in the midst of asking. An affectionate smile was displayed on his features.

In addition to sighing, you massaged your right temple softly. "Tiring, but it was fine." You replied, turning slightly to get a better view of your beloved.

"Yours?" You inquired softly.

A small grin spread across your lips as the next sentence came out. "I hope you haven't been too hard on those warriors." You teased him blatantly.

You had heard the other warriors and warriors - in-training grumbling about the difficult nature surrounding the training that Tsu'tey regularly assigned.

He directed a face of disbelief your way. "I'm not too hard on them. My training only works for those who are serious." He retorted in sass mixed with a tone of assertiveness.

As scary as his assertive side was, you had to admit— you also found it enthralling and seductive. However, you still didn't like how harsh he was towards them. You brought your hand up to his right cheek, cupping it.

"Tsu'tey— just don't exhaust them too much." You said, feeling rather sympathetic for them.

You could see the conflict in his eyes as he thought of what to say. On one hand, he didn't want to agree to this– but he always gave in when you asked him of something. And just like all the other times, he caved in.

He smiled reassuringly at you, "Okay– I promise I will give them easier exercises." He agreed, leaning fondly into your warm touch.

Your heart fluttered at the basis that he only agreed because it was you who asked.

You nodded lightly in response– just as you remembered something important.

You lowered your hand, and then swiftly moved up to sit on your knees, placing your hands on your laps. He raised one eyebrow trying to understand what you were doing. Not even the beaming smile on your face revealed anything. If he had to guess, however, he would have said you were most likely planning something.

His confusion only grew more as you motioned for him to also sit up.

"So... Guess what! " You blurted out excitedly.

"What?" He asked.

You jokingly scoffed at him. "You're supposed to actually guess." You remarked.

He tilted his head slightly, "How am I supposed to guess when I do not know what it is?" He asked genuinely, reminding you that this was not a common practice amongst his people.

You lowered your head slightly and chuckled to yourself. It was always adorable seeing Tsu'tey being perplexed by Earth's traditions and norms.

"Okay, just– close your eyes." You gestured around his face.

He stared at you for a good few seconds, curiosity eating him up, but in the end he complied and closed his enticing eyes.

You struggled a bit in pulling out the necklace from the bag, given the risk of potentially breaking it.

"Surprise!" You called out happily.

He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw were your hands waving about in front of him. But, there  was something held in them that he didn't recognise– a necklace. It hosted a beautiful variety of his favourite beads.

Although he would never admit this, he enjoyed collecting beads with intricate designs and colours. As a matter of fact, you were the sole person who came to know of this.

You stopped waving the necklace near his line of sight when you noticed he hadn't said anything– only staring blankly at it.

You waved your hand in front of his face, "Tsu'tey?" You called out to him.

He blinked twice. You regained his attention as he looked at you.

"I made you this necklace— to show the love and appreciation I hold for you." You said, professing your love for him and held it out to him.

He took it into his hands, and caressed the beads, admiring the beautiful colours and designs. Although his head was a bit down turned, you were still able to catch the shimmering glint in his eyes.

You allowed your weight to sink down, pressing your shins flat against the ground. Your face turned into that of concern. 'Did he hate it? Did you make him uncomfortable again?' All questions that raced through your mind in those seconds.

He looked at you and gave a smile of appreciation. Something you hadn't expected– given his past reaction.

"Thank you—" He said, placing the necklace onto his lap. He took your hands in his.

You were quite astounded at the man that sat in front of you right that moment. You knew his affectionate side all too well, but he had never lowered his walls enough for you to see his vulnerable side.

However, seeing it only made you fall deeper in love with him. He had finally showed you all of him– flaws and everything. It symbolised the strengthening of your relationship, progressing into a bond as formidable as steel.

He released your hands to wipe the tears from his eyes, and spoke again,  "This necklace is stunning, I love it." He said, smiling sweetly– expression filled with warmth and love.

"I'm happy you like it." You enthusiastically replied.

"Should I help put it on?" You offered.

You took his nod as a yes, and moved to tie it around his neck. Once it was safely secured, you backed away from him to get a good look.

"You look handsome in it." You complimented him confidently. He guided you towards him, to sit on his lap. You entetwined your hands behind his neck.

He turned his head upwards, a smile etching itself into his features.

"Thank you." He responded shyly– an emotion you didn't think he was capable of.

"I love you." He gently uttered. Those three words brought a flush of heat that rose up the pointed ends of your ears, although you were used to them.

You smiled down at him tenderly, your hand slowly caressed his cheek. "And I love you." You said softly, and hooked your index finger underneath his chin.

You shifted closer towards his face, your lips meeting his in a passionate kiss.

______________________

Thank you for reading!❤️

[isshua]

Breaking the Wall (Find Comfort in Those Who Might Hear You)

Sagau Xiao x Reader

I haven’t been feeling great lately, so I decided to write this little story to cheer myself up. I had this idea about what might happen if Teyvat’s environment were to reflect your emotions whenever you logged on, and by extension whatever character you are currently playing as. I also wanted to write my own play on a character “breaking the fourth wall” in order to communicate with their player. This story follows the more classic sagau trope of how the characters are semi-aware of the fact that they’re living in a videogame but view it as a sort of boundary between their world and ours.

Xiao is a huge comfort character to me and I mostly wrote this for myself as a way to cheer myself up. I thought it came out okay though, so I decided to share it here. Hope you guys enjoy! :)

To break the Wall meant instant termination.

  Teyvat made this clear. It would not allow its people to make contact with the divine world. Forging a connection that extended beyond the mechanics of life was simply not meant to be. The Vessels could communicate with the Creator within the bounds of Teyvat’s laws; that was what being a Vessel was all about in the first place. For non-Vessels, then such hopes for communication with the God Above All Gods was impossible. That was how Teyvat was designed. That was how things were meant to be.

  Xiao, typically, did not mind following the rules. After all, he was an immortal being with thousands of years of experience in his belt. He knew attempting to break the Wall would result in his death. Long ago, before he had been chosen to be one of the Creator’s envoys, he hadn’t even cared about the Wall. Why would he want to break it? Meddling in such matters was not of his concern. His duty was to protect Liyue, nothing more.

  But then he got to know you. And his feelings for you only grew. When you chose to, you guided him through his daily tasks with kind words and praising whispers. When your golden light possessed him, his karmic debt would dissipate and he would feel a thousand years younger than he really was. You took him to places he never dreamed of seeing: the peaks of Dragonspine, the streets of Inazuma City, the dunes of the Sumeru desert. With you, there was a sense of adventure. With you, there was excitement. With you, he felt whole.

  You did not speak often, not that he was bothered by it. He was an introverted soul, one who appreciated the silence between the two of you whenever you would travel together. Occasionally you would comment on the environment or the enemy he was fighting. Sometimes you grew frustrated after completing domains-not with him, he understood, but rather with the horribly mediocre artifacts the two of you would receive. He liked it when you laughed. The noise was so clear and invigorating, he found himself hoping to hear it every time you appeared. He liked when you would softly hum some unknown tune from the faraway land you inhabited. He loved it when you acknowledged him, how he was a stronger and better version of himself only because of your dedication to him despite knowing the many sins he has committed. If you could have known the impact you had on him, you might find it amusing to see how easy it had been to steal the aloof Yaksha’s heart.

  There were so many things about you that he loved. But there was one single thing he hated.

  He hated it when you cried.

  The day began as a typical one. You had not possessed him for the entire week, not that this was something to be worried by. You typically did disappear due to some strange thing called ‘college,’ but you always came back. Xiao largely spent his day patrolling Dihua Marsh, slaying monsters, and saving the occasional mortal from dying at the hands of hilichurl tribes. He did not interact with anyone beyond stiff acknowledgment; the only person he did talk to on a regular basis was the Traveler, and the last he heard of them, they were somewhere in Sumeru, ever exploring, always curious.

  Your presence was not anticipated, but it was welcomed. When your golden light descended upon him during late afternoon and he felt your presence tugging at his mind, he felt contentedly unsurprised. Your voice echoed his name: “Xiao. Let me in.”

  He did not resist and allowed your influence to settle within his body. “You called?” he murmured, halfheartedly hoping for a reply. You never did answer him whenever he greeted you, but that was due to the Wall. Conversations were strictly one-way.

  He waited for you to take control. Whether it meant being teleported somewhere or just taking off into Dihua Marsh, he knew the two of you would be off eventually. He waited. And waited. A minute went by. He did not move.

  “Your Grace?” he called out, puzzled. He could feel you, he knew you were there. So why weren’t you interacting? Surely you didn’t appear just to stare at him, right? What is going on?

  Something wet fell onto his hand.

  He looked up at the sky and immediately noticed the ugly gray clouds gathering overhead. A filter of mundane color cast out the light of the sun. Droplets of rain started pattering down onto his face, his hair, and his clothes, leaving him drenched. But he did not stop staring. Because within his head, he could hear soft sobbing.

  The Creator was weeping. And so Teyvat weeped along with them.

  The first thing he felt was anger. Who hurt you? he wanted to ask. Who would dare make you cry? But as he listened to your cries and watched the rain come down, he realized that anger would do nothing to help. He could not solve your problems. After all, he was in Teyvat, and you were somewhere else entirely. His second reaction was to comfort you, but he could think of nothing to say. The issue of you two being separated was still in effect. The Wall would not allow him to offer you any consoling words. He had no choice but to let you suffer alone.

  But by the Archons, you were making his heart ache. Xiao was one to usually think that tears were for the weak, but he could not make himself see you in a pathetic light. Would it not be pitiful of him to deem his Creator as a lamentable coward? He didn’t even know why you were crying. You could be in danger!

  That’s when he decided. I have to make contact with them.

  It was a nearly impossible feat. But he knew he could do it.

  Break the Wall. Establish communication.

  He had never heard of anyone doing it before. Not even Rex Lapis, the strongest god he knew, dared mess with such an unpredictable, mysterious force of power. The Wall was not hard to find, but it took willpower to face it. Xiao didn’t know if he would perish the moment he did, or if it would take time for him to dissolve away. There were too many possibilities of failure. He could think of no way this sudden plan of his would lead to success.

  But your crying was like a million arrows piercing into his heart, and the pain of his karmic debt was rising as he continued to soak in your negative emotions. He was hurting right along with you-but if he could only talk to you, things could be made right.

  Xiao held out his hand, and his jade spear materialized. He braced himself and raised the polearm high into the air. Focusing on the ground beneath him, he concentrated and felt his surroundings. The energy of Teyvat came to him quickly, most likely due to being exposed to your power for so long…and then he pinpointed it. The moment of weakness. He brought his spear down with every bit of strength he had and tore into the fabric of reality. A gaping hole of darkness ripped right under his feet. He did not scream when he fell in, nor did he grunt in pain when he slammed into a glass-like surface after his short freefall. Everything was dark, except for the millions of green bolts of  electricity racing all around him at the speed of light. Your golden glow encompassed him and fended off the overwhelming power this Abyss-like area radiated.

  He looked at his hands. His weapon was nowhere to be seen, and the tips of his fingers were…glitching. In fact, his entire body seemed to be crackling-falling apart and knitting itself back together with technic shrieks. It was a sure sign that he was in a place not meant for him. He had done it; he had broken through the Wall. Now he was beyond it, but where, he did not know. Surely this can’t be the Creator’s domain, he thought. This place was far too dark, and there was no hint of your aura anywhere except for within him. But it had to be the realm in which he would form a connection with you.

  He could still hear your crying, but now, it was less ‘in his head’ and much more clear. Xiao walked forward, his footsteps echoing against the glass floor. “Your Grace!” he called. “Can you hear me? It’s me, Adeptus Xiao!”

  No answer. He was utterly alone in this place…but the sound of your crying was getting undeniably louder. Xiao pinpointed on the direction in which it was coming from and took off. With each step he took, the glow of your light grew brighter. He took that as a sign of goodwill.

  And then, he saw you. You were sitting at a strange looking desk with your head buried in your arms. Xiao slowed to a walk and crept tentatively up to you. He had never seen your physical form before, and only had a minor grasp of your appearance from the various statues of you scattered across Liyue and the abstract depictions of your form in history books. To be honest, he had been expecting you to be a bit more…god-like. The person in front of him did not look like an all-powerful deity. They were ordinarily mortal, and possessed no external qualities that differentiated them from the average human being.

  But then you lifted your head to scrub your tears away, and his breath was lost within his chest. Within your eyes he could see countless stars, and flecks of gold were scattered through your hair. All around you, there was an explosion of light, and Xiao was exposed to the warming feeling of your aura at an even greater intensity than usual. This was you. You might have looked human, but you were undeniably, most definitely his god.

  “Your Grace,” he uttered, kneeling at your side. “It’s alright, I’m here now. I heard your cries. You called out my name. Please, let me speak to you.”

  You didn’t respond. The connection still wasn’t there. Xiao tried again. “Your Grace, can you hear me?”

  You let your head flop back into your arms and continued to sob. Xiao leaned back on the balls of his feet and couldn’t help but growl in frustration. That damned Wall was still keeping you and him apart! What more did he have to do in order to simply talk to you?

  His eyes flitted to the strange device set up on your desk. It had the appearance of a box, but at its front there was a screen, and on it was displayed a shrunken image of Dihua Marsh. This must be a divine mechanism. It’s a way for you to forge contact with Teyvat. What…what would happen if he touched it? Would that finally allow him to communicate with you? He had his doubts, but it was worth a shot.

  Without hesitation, he pressed his palm over the screen. There was a jolt of energy that started at his fingertips, then rocketed through his entire body. He shuddered at the electrocuting sensation and refused to allow himself to flinch away, even when every instinct in his body was telling him to do so. The Wall was trying to repel him; like hell he was going to allow it to do that.

  With his other hand, he reached out to you. At first, he was nervous to touch you, for why should a creature tainted by karmic debt and innocent blood be allowed to embrace the God Above All Gods? He shakily slipped his hand over your cheek and raised your head. Your cries stuttered, and your eyes widened open in confusion. You were not looking at him, but rather at your divine mechanism’s screen.

  “Don’t cry,” Xiao whispered. He swiped your tears away with his thumb. “There is no need to cry. I’m here. I’m with you.”

  He desperately hoped you could hear him. He hoped even more that you would reply.

  You had no idea what the hell was going on.

  Today was a horrible day. A day filled with anxiety and embarrassment and ruined expectations that things might go right, only for them to go wrong. When you returned to your room and let yourself collapse into your desk chair, you thought playing your favorite game might cheer you up. After all, losing yourself in a fantasy world was practically the best way to forget what the real world was like.

  You logged into Genshin Impact and found yourself where you left off last time you played: in Dihua Marsh. Your current character was Xiao, and he stared blankly out at you while you waited for the game to catch up with your internet and for everything to load in. But you did not feel any happier. In fact, you felt worse. The events of the day were just too much to simply forget, and pretty soon, your hand slipped off of your mouse as you slumped forward onto your desk and started to cry. It did not feel good to let your emotions out. The sobs shaking your body were ugly, and the tears staining your cheeks made you feel gross. But you couldn’t stop, and frankly, you didn’t expect to for quite some time. These were tears you had been holding in all week; it was only a matter of time before the dam broke and the water came rushing out.

  You did not expect to feel a sudden intuition to lift your head. You did not expect for your body to automatically follow that intuition, either. It was like someone was lifting it for you, and when your blurry eyes raised to focus on your computer’s screen, you were shocked to see that the in-game chat box had a message in it. It didn’t make any sense. You weren’t in a co-op world, and you were pretty sure you were far too preoccupied with crying your eyes out to accept someone’s co-op request. Could it be a glitch? Far too curious for your own good, you clicked on the chat box and opened it.

  Two words had been sent to you by an unknown entity with no icon. “Don’t cry.”

  “What…?” you mumbled.

  More messages appeared. “There is no need to cry.”

  “I’m here.”

  “I’m with you.”

  This had to be some sort of joke. Someone hacked your account. This had to be a real person.

  It was then that you noticed Xiao was gone.

  “I know what it feels like to break. I understand what you are feeling.”

  “Just know that I am here for you. I will always be here for you. All you have to do is call out my name.”

  “Xiao?” you breathed.

  You felt the phantom sensation of someone wiping your tears. The scent of Qingxin flowers wafted fainty around you.

  “Yes,” the chat-box answered. “I am here.”

[maximotts]

𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢; 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑡

a/n: this was supposed to be a drabble and it turned into a very long part of my originally planned Christmas fic. sOOO.. you're welcome (and yes I did co-opt Wanda and Vision's thing at the beginning because I can and I wanted to)

request: @wandasdolly; okay so hear me out… festive wandanat sex by the fireplace… and there’s blankets and wine and probably christmas music playing and i am just being horny anyway bye😁

pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Natasha Romanoff

wc: 4.2k

summary: Private Hire: Origins AU; This is an 18+ only work, minors DNI; smut, fluff; cozy and romantic living room sex, fingering, oral, cum strap because I'm a feral homosexual, Natasha has two wolves inside her: one that's horny for Wanda and the other that's disgustingly in love with her, cuddly aftercare and a lot of feelings at the end because this is me and well, I've been wanting to write this for a long time

private hire au. || main masterlist.

"Wanda, darling..."

"Natasha, sweetheart?" Wanda struggled to keep her weight on just one arm, her other bent to keep her glass of wine upright. She'd been in the middle of taking another sip when Natasha leaned in to kiss her cheek, cutting her drink short to replace cool glass with her lips. "What are you doing?"

The redhead chuckled against her skin, leaving lipstick marks along Wanda's jaw as she continued her trek. "You're a smart girl. What do you think I'm doing?"

Elegant piano versions of classic Christmas songs played low in the background, Natasha having insisted on pulling out her records for the living room scene she'd set. Thick blankets laid over the carpeted floor, fire crackling over wooden logs nestled in their large fireplace, Natasha surprised Wanda with a cozy night alone for the holidays. It was a sweet gesture for the typically stoic one of the pair, the kind of thing Wanda loved more than anything especially during her favorite time of year.

"If I had to guess, I'd say you're up to something..." As Wanda spoke, Natasha pressed forward, kissing down her neck as she turned it to the side and allowed her further access. The moment she felt her girlfriend's hands on her hips, she expected some kind of removal of her silk pajama top, but it never came. 

Instead, when Nat's mouth reached the last bits of exposed skin over her sternum, they traveled over the fabric and nuzzled into Wanda's chest where she always felt most safe and secure. "You should set your wine down before you spill it."

Wanda looked down then, raising a confused brow to the woman too preoccupied with reverently kissing the swells of her breasts to notice being watched. "I'm not going to spill- oh..."

The glass met the stone fire hearth with a hard clank, Wanda's hand shaky as Natasha's lips wrapped around a covered nipple. Both arms had to support her now, Nat tugging her closer and leaving her at a somewhat awkward angle- it was hard to care while her girlfriend licked over the semi-hard bud. Both of them knew how sensitive she was, Natasha exploiting it at every turn when she needed Wanda breathless and pliable as quickly as possible, but this was different. 

This was slow, careful, tongue rolling over her in a teasing promise of what was to come before she switched to the other, not wanting to neglect any part of Wanda. "You're going to ruin my shirt..."

"They're pajamas, you'll get over it." She'd been bouncing around for weeks arranging everything —buying this house to get away from bustling city streets, the type of home Wanda sighed over whenever they drove by, giving explicit instructions to not be disturbed unless someone was dying of in danger of it— all of this for Wanda's Christmas gift. Nothing was going to get in the way of Natasha making the most of their time together. 

And so only when Wanda began to whine, needing more after being wound up painfully slowly, did Natasha guide the brunette to lay back. She undid the row of tiny buttons blocking her top half from view before sliding matching bottoms down to her ankles, calloused fingers dragging down skin so soft Natasha felt blessed to touch it. Wanda kicked the pants off herself, moved to rid herself of her underwear, the last piece of clothing that kept her from being fully exposed, but Natasha stopped her. 

She sat back on her knees to get a good look at her, long hair splayed out atop the quilt where Wanda lay prone, wide green eyes a little hazy from the alcohol, but playful nonetheless as she smiled up at Natasha; she swore she felt her heart leap. Maybe she paused too long because manicured fingernails dug into Natasha's thighs, Wanda having grown impatient, "What are you staring at?"

"You," Natasha said without hesitation, tracing the shadows the fire made over Wanda's abdomen with her pointer finger, "You're beautiful and I don't think I tell you that enough." Wanda blushed a deep pink and went to shake her head, but Nat was quick to hold her chin still and force her to take the compliment. "You're beautiful and I love you and I need you to remember that."

Wanda could've made some snarky remark about how dramatic Natasha was being, how she didn't have to say that stuff just to get in her pants, but the words she heard choked her up. Manipulative as she could be, Natasha would never lie to Wanda, not about that, and in the short seconds she managed to make eye contact with the woman above her, Wanda saw only sincerity in her loving gaze. "Show me."

Natasha closed the distance quickly, kissing Wanda until she was breathless and nearly lightheaded. When she descended this time it was with teeth scraped over her collarbone and nibbles that were sure to leave a mark. Pointedly ignoring Wanda's breasts until an insistent hand pulled her by her hair to them, Natasha bit down harder than she needed to, the brunette squeaking and squirming as Nat soothed the blossoming red bruise with a series of apologetic licks. "I'll be wearing turtlenecks until that goes away, Nat."

"It's winter anyways, too cold to show off." She was content to let Wanda rock against her thigh while she played, sucking and licking each nipple and rolling whichever one she couldn't have in her mouth with her fingers, always a game to see how fast Natasha could make her cum just like that. But today was for more than that and as Nat's free hand dipped lower, snapping the sides of Wanda's panties against her hips, she couldn't bring herself to be too disappointed hanging up her mischievous hat for one night.

Pushing insistent hips to still on the ground, curious fingers dipped between Wanda's legs and found a sizable spot on that last piece of her clothing; a telltale sign of her arousal. "You're so wet, baby. Is that all for me? Because I made you dinner and got your favorite wine, or did I play with your tits so much you're already close to cumming?"

Wanda hated and loved when Natasha called attention to her like so; hated for how cocky her girlfriend got no matter what her response and loved for the way that kind of talk tightened that coil in her belly, a true double-edged sword. Keeping her ego in check was a 24/7 job,  but Wanda had to admit it was kind of cute to see Natasha so visibly proud of herself. "Both, now touch me before I do it myself and make you watch."

"Oh honey," Natasha cooed, easily moving the thin lace to the side and sliding two fingers along Wanda's folds, "you know you'd only be begging me to do it for you the entire time." 

Confident fingertips toyed with Wanda's clit, moving in time with the ones still firmly at her chest, Nat grinning wide while Wanda's back arched involuntarily and she cried out, her first orgasm a sudden and unplanned surprise. 

As her head swam, Wanda recalled the short video she'd sent Natasha just a few days prior, motivation to come home after she'd gotten word the older woman was held up and would be back later than planned. In it, she'd fucked herself on her newest vibrator, a toy she knew Natasha was itching to see Wanda use— she didn't realize she'd called out Natasha's name until after she pressed the send button. Soft and desperate, pleading for her girlfriend and her help on pure instinct... Natasha wasn't going to let that go unnoticed. 

In this particular instance, the shock of it all left Wanda's mouth open in a silent scream; gorgeous as she was, Natasha wanted to hear her name again. Thankfully she was far from done. 

Wanda's underwear joined her pants in a heap next to them before Natasha kissed her way back up the expanse of Wanda's bare legs, holding them apart to selfishly drink in the sinful sight of her lover spread open just for her. "Have I mentioned how pretty you are, Wands?"

The girl only rolled her eyes, brushing off her gawking to tug at Natasha who was still fully clothed. "I want to see you too." 

She wasn't shy about her body, Wanda having seen it countless times over the few years they've known one another, but she never failed to be surprised when Wanda asked. Before her and even at the beginning of her, the sex she had was quick and detached, clothes askew and shoved aside to get to the point; when Wanda demanded more from her, Natasha was too head over heels to deny the request. 

Especially on nights such as these where she focused on Wanda alone, she never liked to be the only one naked and so Natasha obliged, shedding her pajama shirt and letting her girlfriend's hands roam at will. Wanda sat up then, taking her turn to kiss every inch of skin she could reach, fingertips lovingly skirting over every cut and scar Natasha sustained over the years. "I think you're plenty beautiful yourself, you know."

She knew Natasha wouldn't let it last long, not when a brush between her legs revealed the thick strap on set firmly in place on her hips, but the brevity didn't stop Wanda from wanting to show what appreciation she could anyways. "And this is for me, I'm assuming."

"Depends, do you want it to be?" Natasha rocked against Wanda's as she rubbed over the fake cock, the textured base of the toy perfect for giving some much needed attention to her neglected sex. She rarely talked about how much it turned her on just to make Wanda fall apart, but honestly, it made her insatiable. Even getting to watch the display she doubted Wanda knew she was putting on, wiggling against the blankets as she palmed her strap with such anticipation she had to bite her lip to keep from immediately asking for it... Nat could've cum on the spot.

Wanda's hand stilled, bringing her eyes back up to meet Natasha's, mirthful expression so cute the redhead fought the urge to pinch her cheeks, "I thought you hated dumb questions." 

Natasha laughed at that, reluctantly pulling Wanda away and pushing her back once more so that she could rid herself of her own pants before leaning over Wanda until their chests were pressed together, "It's not a dumb question if I'm asking. Do you want it?" 

She rolled her pelvis against Wanda's slowly, deliberately sliding the strap on against Wanda's wet folds as she fought to keep still. Wanda knew what she was doing and it wasn't fair, forcing Wanda to beg for something on what was supposed to be a romantic night where Natasha usually gave without asking— it wasn't a habit her girlfriend could kick easily. "Yes..."

"Yes what?" Nat took that sweet pressure away and replaced it with her fingers, pushing one digit past her entrance without warning. It didn't hurt, but Wanda whimpered anyways, the sudden intrusion catching her off guard. A second finger joined the first soon after, steadily stretching Wanda until she was ready to speak her wishes. "Tell me what you want and I'll give it to you, whatever it is." 

"I-I..." Forming sentences was hard when two fingers were fucking her open, fast and rough even as Natasha's words stayed even-paced and calm. It was too much and not enough, even as those devious fingers curled, hitting that one spot that drove Wanda to madness. She didn't want to be so close again, not without her girlfriend's strap buried deep inside her; all she had to do was say it. "I want you to fuck me! Nat, please, I'm gonna-!"

"You're gonna what? Cum again?" Wanda nodded, desperately trying to stave off her impending orgasm, but Natasha never let up. When the girl's mewling gave away her stubbornness, Nat cradled her flushed cheek in her hand, thumb running over kiss-swollen lips. "Let go for me, sweet thing. Let me see you cum just like this and I'll give you what you really want." 

It was only a few seconds longer that she lasted, arms drawn tight around Natasha's neck as she rode out her orgasm. This one was stronger than the last, longer and fuller, and Wanda was glad to already be laid out where her muscles could safely give way. 

As soon as Nat's fingers pulled out, her strap pushed in, thicker than her digits and inching ever deeper until her lover bottomed out with a low grunt. "Shit, Wanda..."

Long legs wound around Natasha's waist as Wanda adjusted to the stretch, both keeping her close as she could and giving her girlfriend a better angle to grind against the toy's base, willing to endure the temporary discomfort if it meant hearing more of Nat's swears and the occasional praises that came with them. "Tasha... fuck me."

Gentle command as it was, Natasha moved, slow at first until she could go without resistance, finding just the right pace as she left messy kisses down Wanda's throat. "This what you wanted?"

"Again with the dumb questions," Wanda bypassed a real response in favor of pulling the redhead closer, dragging red lines down her back with blunt fingernails as Natasha hit the perfect angle. It felt so right, like everything did when it was with her; the singular person Wanda trusted to see her at her most vulnerable. "Right there, don't stop!"

"Here?" Natasha accented her question with a particularly hard thrust, Wanda's exaggerated groan immediately giving her her answer. A few more pointed movements of her hips and Wanda might have well been a puddle on the floor, babbling any number of incoherent pleas Natasha could only just make out as Sokovian. 

"What's the matter, Wanda, can’t talk straight with your pussy stuffed full of my cock? Poor baby.” She couldn't help but play into it, to drive her further into the subspace that was for Natasha's eyes only. Wanda looked like she wanted to say something back, probably some half-hearted distaste for Natasha’s vulgarity, but she couldn’t pretend not to love it. Not when the same woman tugged her hips upwards to keep hitting that same spot now threatening to make her drool, her eyes rolling back into her head as she mumbled and reached for Natasha. 

On her third orgasm, she was terribly sensitive and didn't have a hope of lasting long even if she tried. Natasha drew it out as long as she could, working her way to her own climax right along with the woman below. Wanda preferred it that way, always wanting to share her ecstasy with the person she loved most; it was sweetest to her watching the same pleasure she felt wash over her lover at the same time. “Fuck, Wanda, you feel amazing.. I’m so close..”

Natasha’s head dropped into the crook of Wanda’s neck and she was quick to bury her fingers in thick red locks, uncaring of how hard she pulled as she neared her end once more. “Cum with me Tasha, please, please-!” 

Their joined climax was a flurry of kisses and sighs, Wanda clinging to Natasha for dear life as a gush of liquid slipped deep inside her, some added thing to her girlfriend’s new toy that only added to the fullness she felt. Natasha’s hips had yet to still, rutting into Wanda for as long as her orgasm let her. When she did come down, she held tight to Wanda, squeezing her limp form and kissing her shoulder until the other woman protested her suffocation. “Sorry…” 

When Wanda opened her eyes it was to Natasha’s shy smile and she giggled, granting her a quick peck on the nose before Nat pulled back. “You’re quite cute when you’re clingy.” 

“I’m not cute.” Natasha sat back on her knees, lazy eyes dropping from Wanda’s exhausted gaze to where she was now glistening in the firelight, a mixture of her arousal and the toy’s lubricant dripping from her abused entrance. She was gathering it on her fingers without a second thought, moaning as she pushed it back in and slowly let her digits drift back inside. Nat studied Wanda as she toyed with her, checking for signs of discomfort or even pain; when none came, she figured she might as well ask for the one thing she wanted. “Can I taste you, my love? I’ll be quick.”

Wanda nodded, her eyes already falling closed again, “Be gentle.” It was an easy enough request to abide by and Nat laid kisses down Wanda’s abdomen as a thank you, soft and adoring little things over her lower belly, willing her girlfriend to relax when her lips finally reached the top of her mound. She was flat on her stomach now, inspecting Wanda up close to commit the sight to memory— Natasha would spend all night filling Wanda up just to watch it seep out and fuck it back in again if she’d let her, but that was for some other time. 

Her tongue was careful as it licked over her hole, mindful of Wanda’s shivers and quivering thighs, but she tasted divine and soon enough Natasha was taking every bit of her she could get. “You’re always so good for me, Wanda, so perfect…”

The only response she received was a pleased hum, a sound made comfortably enough that Natasha continued on in stride, turning her attention to Wanda’s swollen clit. Loving sets of kitten licks left Wanda’s hips stuttering, Natasha wrapping her lips around it and sucking only because she knew when she let up there’d be a fresh pool of wetness waiting for her. She continued her little cycle until Wanda weakly pushed her away with a strained whine, “Too sensitive, hurts…”

Instantly worried, Natasha was off in a flash, giving the exhausted woman a thorough once over. She’d been so careful, but even so, if she’d done something harmful, she’d never forgive herself. “Did I hurt you? Are you okay?” 

“I’m perfectly okay, Nat.” Wanda shook her head, running her hands over her girlfriend’s thighs to reassure her now frantic state. “Don’t overreact, I’m fine. Barely awake, but I feel great.” Nat breathed an audible sigh of relief, but kept her distance, giving Wanda the space she hated having after sex. Her outstretched arms reminded Natasha yet again how much of a cuddler her partner was, another activity she only ever indulged when it came to Wanda. 

She scooped her up along with a blanket, wrapping Wanda in a warm bundle before letting her lay on her chest; the brunette’s favorite way to be held when she was tired and reorienting herself. Rarely did she say anything which was more than fine for the other woman who tended to exist in silence unless prompted, but something about tonight compelled Natasha to speak up. “I love you.”

“Yes, I know,” Wanda chuckled, giving Natasha a quick squeeze as she sleepily watched the dimming fire. Nat took her hand though, catching her attention as she played with it in her own. All day her partner had been so… odd; not in any way Wanda could complain about with the gift of this house, dinner, and everything else, but she had to admit it was completely out of character. “I love you too.”

“No, I…” She felt stupid even trying to say it, having shown it as best she could and most likely doing more than enough to prove her point, but the truest words were always the hardest ones for Natasha to convey. “I’m in love with you. I’m so in love with you that it makes me feel like an idiot.”

“You’re being a little silly, sweetheart. We should probably go to bed-” A kiss cut Wanda off, bold and full of a strange uncertainty that caught her off guard. She could still taste herself on Natasha’s lips from earlier and as she was pulled impossibly closer, Wanda feared her spine would break if the arms around her held any tighter.

Nat gave her just enough space, her forehead pressed against Wanda’s as their heavy breaths mingled. “Marry me.” 

Wanda’s once half lidded eyes flew open, scooting back from Natasha to stare at her in disbelief. She’d been with her girlfriend long enough to know when she was joking; Wanda didn’t know if it scared her more not to see any evidence of that in her or not. “Natalia, don’t…”

“Don’t do that, don’t pull away. I mean it!” There was no point in being on one knee when they were both sat on the ground so Natasha just shuffled closer, taking Wanda’s hand back and holding it in her own shaky ones. “I want to live in this house here, with you, and come back here every night to call this our home. I never want to think about having another Christmas without you right by my side or any other holiday that in all honesty, I think are stupid, but you love. I want to see your face light up when I surprise you and kill whatever makes you cry. Hell, I even like cuddling now when it means holding you. I want you to marry me.” 

She didn’t know what to say, effectively stunned into silence at Natasha’s confession. In all the ways Wanda imagined a proposal as a little girl, it was never naked in a blanket on the floor of some American home in New York, being asked by a woman who she loved as much as she butt heads with. Far from her wildest dreams, but Wanda had long stopped having those. “Ask me.”

“What?” Pleased as she was Wanda didn’t yell or bolt from the room as she’s been known to do, her response wasn’t the enthusiastic yes Natasha hoped for. 

“You said you want to marry me, so ask me.” Wanda stared at Natasha blankly, expectantly until the other woman got the hint. Her instinct was to roll her eyes, remark that Wanda couldn’t ever just take a gesture for what it was, no, she had to be difficult about it; she knew this about her and none of it made Natasha want her any less.

And so she straightened up, holding Wanda’s hand firmly now, and asked the question Wanda thought she’d never hear. “I’ve said it a thousand times today, but I’ll say it a thousand more if you ask me to: I love you. So much so that I’m asking you to marry me without buying you a ring because I couldn’t bear one more day without knowing you’ll be mine for the rest of our lives. We fight sometimes and we’re both so stubborn, I’m sure we’ll never stop having our disagreements, but you’ll also never stop being the only person I trust with everything I have. I’m not good with the words that actually matter and you know that so please don’t make me do this again; will you marry me, Wanda Maximoff?”

Wanda didn’t like crying, hated when it happened and even more so when Natasha was around to see it, but this time she’d caused it and Wanda was too overwhelmed with emotion to hold back her sob. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

She flung herself back into Natasha’s arms, a sweaty mess of tears and the smell of sex, but Nat caught her anyways, rubbing her back as Wanda cried. Unfortunately, Natasha hadn’t thought through how emotional Wanda tended to get; she’d barely bargained for her own stumbling before opening her mouth. “You’re too tired to be crying like this, you’ll pass out.” 

“You’d take care of me,” Wanda mumbled, curling into Natasha’s lap as she tried to settle herself down. It took a while, longer because the brunette refused to quit kissing her new fiancee to properly catch her breath. When she finally did, her wide smile was still plastered on her face and Natasha found it contagious, a similar expression stuck on her own mouth. “That was quite an adorable proposal, Miss Romanoff.”

Natasha raised a brow, wiping the last remnants of tears from Wanda’s pink cheeks with a disgruntled huff, “If you tell anyone about that, I’ll make sure they can’t speak a word of it to anyone else.”

“Does that include-”

“That especially includes Sam. Not a word or I’m taking my proposal back.” Wanda laughed, not believing a single thing that came out of her grumpy wife-to-be’s mouth. Natasha was so protective of her steel-cut persona, so few people heard anything different and even fewer actually saw it. Wanda, on the other hand, loved spilling secrets to their friends and more than once, Natasha caught herself being the topic of conversation; they never let her live those moments down. “Not a single word, I mean it. I bet I can sell this house too.”

[makoredeyes]

What's a favorite lore piece you've read for the sake of writing fics?

Oh goodie you gave me a good one here because I love to screech about this one whenever given the chance because I don't think a lot of people have ever noticed this.

This Grimoire card is from the Rise of Iron expansion in D1 and is one of Rasputin's Logs. It's what appears* to be his knee-jerk reaction to the Iron Lords' break in to Site 6 where SIVA is kept.

I reference this lore directly in my Isochronism fics, but it's also one of my absolute favorites regarding Rasputin, Felwinter, and SIVA because of some of the fascinating little details that, so many years further down the road into the story, we can pick out of it. I'll unpack it for us, but TLDR Rasputin is a fucking LIAR.

Rasputin likes to keep his records in some pretty purple prose code so I'll start by decoding most of the terms he uses here, and then I'll back up and loosely translate it for us all.

--

YUGA SUNDOWN- cancels all protocols for protecting humanity/activates MIDNIGHT EXIGENT

MIDNIGHT EXIGENT - long term counterattack protocol and moral structure change. Essentially allows Rasputin to ignore morals for the 'greater good'

[O] Means the Traveler /ie [O] Energy = Lightbearers

SKYSHOCK - usually there's other qualifiers attached to this but it indicates hostiles of an unprecedented scale

AURORA RETROFLEX - A defense subroutine - presumed to be for when Rasputin is directly threatened

SUBTLE ASSETS IMPERATIVE - Meaning this is in secret/does not escape Rasputin's records

SCRY OVERSIGHT - is an observation protocol but here is used in conjunction with SILENT VELES which means effectively "no oversight"

--

I'm going to start by pointing out that that very first line indicates SOMEONE gained unauthorized access into a terminal and managed to cancel at least one of Rasputin's protocols (YUGA SUNDOWN). Ballsy AF and imo pretty uncanny that they were even remotely successful. Rasputin immediately reverses this, but I can only assume the only person who would know to do this in the first place, let alone have the capabilities, would be Felwinter, especially among the Iron Lords, who appear to file in next in the very next line.

Rasputin records the arrival of the Iron Lords as a mighty surprise, and responds to them, in this record, as such, and as a threat.

This is incongruous with his admission later to Ana and the Guardian that he deliberately lured Felwinter (and his people) there deliberately. In this record, Rasputin has gone, "oh holy shit what the hell is that turn off all my moral structures I don't know what the hell those things are fire everything purge it all kill it kill it kill it!"

*And also I'm going to turn off my body camera (see SCRY OVERSIGHT + SILENT VELES) and don't ask permission or tell anyone ever (SUBTLE ASSETS IMPERATIVE)

Even though he made sure they found this vault.

This is all 1000% deliberate, premeditated, and a forged record my friends.

Edit: *semi- forged, or perhaps more accurately greatly bending the truth. Sylenth makes some damn good points in the comments that I kind of glossed over on my analysis and kind of took for granted but she’s right and it should be pointed out.

(also, worth noting, that REPLICATE.ELIMINATE.IMMUNIZE imperative sent to SIVA that is recorded here is different than what is recorded elsewhere also)

[loghorizonfunfacts]

@ljelearthre

I forgot a semi-important note about people's insistence on "Kannagi," which is that Mamare wrote out kannagi in katakana (カンナギ) as the intended reading for the kanji used in the class name (神祇官, which also reads kannagi). To give a comparison, the Monk class' katakana was モンク (Monk) whereas its kanji was 武闘家 (Budōka, meaning "Martial Artist").

Intended readings, formally known as rubi/ruby characters and usually written in katakana or hiragana, are frequently used in Japanese to make sure people read kanji correctly, since many kanji have multiple pronunciations and meanings. Sometimes, fictional works use rubi to give a term a completely different meaning, allowing for a lot of dual meanings. Log Horizon used this gratuitously with the Travelers and anything involving them. (See the wiki's article on the Travelers for several examples.)

[dudethatsmyundeaduncle]

Tim Drake's Mom is actually Lara Croft! AU

After getting pregnant Lara Croft disappears off the face of the earth, takes up a shell company in Gotham left to her by her father, and assumes the identity Janet Drake.

(DC made Timmy's parents archeologists! so Sis it was between Indiana Jones or the Tomb Raider and well here we are!)

___________________________________________________________

Lara Croft has a daring archeological adventure/world saving mission with a dashing man she only knows as N. Drake (if u know u know) and finds out she's pregnant weeks after.

Lara Croft did not expect to be Pregnant. Lara knows that she shouldn't have a baby. She knows this intellectually and emotionally, she doesn't have any family left and after nearly 10 years of traveling the globe and putting herself in life or death situations she knows her life can't accommodate children. Lara knows the responsible thing to do, she makes an appointment with NHS/MSI and focuses on her next project. (TW: Discussion of Abortion)

Lara never gets her appointment. She misses her abortion date in London when she gets caught up in another mad expedition that takes her half way across the world.

On this mission she nearly looses everything, her friends, her own life, what's left of her father's legacy, all for a semi cursed magical artifact that nearly blows up the South American Coast.

Lara's tired, scared, she's been running from Trinity (evil org) for nearly a decade now . She's 29, she's 5 months pregnant, and she's stuck floating on her back in the middle of the South Atlantic sea watching the sky burn.

Lara's rich she could always get the abortion, legally or otherwise, her father left her a billionaire and the souvenirs she'd collected from her travels do nothing but add to that wealth.

Trinity wants Lara Croft dead, they'll never stop chasing, and Lara just wants respite. She wants her quaint childhood in the English countryside with her father, she wants to curl up and sleep for a thousand years. She wants to be someone else, just for a moment.

Her heart beats wildly in her chest and she can almost feel another heart beating alongside it.

Lara Croft makes a decision. She sinks into the sea and doesn't come back up for air even when it burns.

On the shore a nameless woman washes up, water logged and looking for passage to America.

The Croft's have had shell companies for years, one can't be a billionaire these days without at least a few, Medi-industries is an unassuming medical supplier located in Gotham, New Jersey the crime capital of North America. It's the perfect place to disappear.

Janet Drake Lands in Gotham on a gloomy morning in March, she's got enough money to throw around that people forget to ask what family she's from, this is Gotham new money is nearly unheard of.

By mid April Janet has reestablished control of Medi-Industries, Now Drake Industries, and purchased an old English style mansion in Bristol, which the real-estate agent has assured her is a great neighborhood.

Timothy Jackson Drake is born July 19th at nearly 3 in the morning squalling high into the night like a banshee. He is perfectly healthy and perfectly safe in Janet's arms.

It is only in the safety of their home, in the house Janet picked, because it was high on a hill for tactical advantage and had bullet proof glass nestled between quaint wood paneled windows, It is only in the heart of Drake Manor that Lara dares to Whisper her son's name

"Timothy Jackson Croft"

-------------------------

AU ALSO INCLUDES!

Badass Lara Croft being the cool mom TM

A family portrait of the Drakes, Including Janet, baby Tim, and a mysterious Jack Drake (who was a very discreet and well paid member of Gotham's theatre society, and who was also more then happy to pose as a rich ladies dead husband for a day)

A Socttish Nanny/Housekeeper with a very keen eye and discreet mouth who will not tell a soul that she is fairly sure she's employed by Lord Richard Croft's, eccentric billionares, missing daughter.

precocious and slightly British accented baby Tim who gets to have his Mom with him for 10 whole years! before she inevitably runs back off to save the world

Tim being unaware of his mother's past life beyond her name until the age of 13 when he becomes Robin and is able to actually find out what his mom's been protecting him from his whole life.

I imagine in this AU that eventually Trinity finally catches wind of where Lara is hiding and she has a big confrontation with them in New Jersey. It's way too close to Gotham and Tim for her comfort, she knows this is the only chance she'll get to control the chaos.

So she packs Tim up to move him into the dorms at Gotham Academy and promises she'll write and be home for his birthday in the summer. After she's finished her "company" business first of course.

Tim's confused but he trusts his mom, he gets unsigned postcards from all over the world and pins them above his bed in the dorm and goes to sleep trying to guess what country she's in every night.

The move to the dorm is kind of cool to Tim as well because it means he can start his plan to follow Batman and Robin in the city! (in this AU there's no way Lara wouldn't have noticed him sneaking out at 9, but Gotham academy security? totally oblivious)

Tim celebrates his 10th birthday with his mom at home, he has so many freaking questions about where she was! and she tells him outlandish stories about daring fights and cursed artifacts that he rolls his eyes at but enjoys none the less.

it isn't till he's 15 that his Robin work and his mom's adventures cross paths.

After so many years of close calls, of hiding bruises from his mom with same concealer she uses to hide her own wounds, of wondering if it was selfish to wish his Mom cared a little bit less about the world and would stay with him for more then a few weeks at a time. Finally it all comes to a head in the worst way. Lara Croft's latest adventure puts her right in the middle of a Bat Level investigation. It has Tim near loosing his mind with worry hoping his mom is alive and Lara having the worst freakout/Blow up of her life realizing her son has been putting himself in Danger every night she thought he was safe.

The Drake/Crofts are messy! Bad at communicating! And unfortunately the exact same kind of reckless and self sacrificing!

Fun food for thought:

Lara canonically is a killer, if you've played any of the reboot Tomb Raider series she can be pretty gruesome and efficient! Very cool! Jason would stan! Tim is kind of appalled! Lara is glad Tim's never killed, that he's never had to.

Lara still dies in this AU but it's in a big Trinity X Obeah Man X Captain Boomerang Cluster fuck where Lara finishes off Trinity and Obeah Man for good but looses her own life in the process. Tim is devastated, he feels like they were just starting to really be 100% transparent with each other before her death. Que Tim's not good very bad year!

if you've made it this far in my rambles here's a treat! I actually wrote a lil fuckin blurb for this!

preface: This the first time Robin and Lara Croft have ever met/are on the same mission.

___________

" mom!" Tim shouts, running before Bruce can even properly land the BatJet.

The old temple is ablaze, the ancient structure already half crumbled in on itself with what's left of it is spewing out clouds of jet black smoke.

Tim's mother limps out what was once the front entrance clutching at her ribs.

She's filthy, covered in a thick layer of dirt and grime. but she's got on a triumphant smile like the cat who got the cream.

" Mom!" Tim yells again watching as she does a double take at his choice of moniker.

Her mouth twists in a grimace as she stumbles and Tim dives under her arm quickly moving to support her left side.

Lara Croft meets the white lenses of Red Robin's eyes in confusion

" What'd you call me?" She slurs trying to blink away the smoke inhalation that makes it hard to focus and leaves her lightheaded.

Lara's right ankle which took the brunt of a very nasty dive from a very high perch, not 20 minutes earlier as she raced out of the Dead Kings Tomb, finally gives up the ghost and she pitches forward taking Red Robin with her.

He's young, she thinks, he's very young.

Before either of them can hit the ground Batman intercepts their fall hefting Lara into a secure hold.

Red Robin catches himself and latches onto Lara's hand.

He yanks off one of his gloves and tries to wipe some of the grime out of her eyes.

" Mum" he croaks this time, voice breaking nearly in half on the last syllable.

Lara furrows her brow, the cowl covers so much of this young man's face, from his nose too his brow bone, but his chin is startlingly familiar as is his absolutely atrocious British accent.

He reminds her terribly of Timothy.

" Tim" she says deliriously, Lara tries to smile but her eyes start to droop and her head lolls slack against Bruce's arm. She's clean out.

Tim makes an odd lunge and jerk movement pressing his fingers into her carotid artery to feel her pulse.

He's shaking, more wrong footed and anxious then Bruce has ever seen him.

Batman is extremely grateful when Nightwing comes up behind him and gently pulls his younger brother's hands away from his mother's comatose body.

" She's fine Red. We need to get her on board so we can get her some oxygen though, the smoke inhalation is getting to her. "

" Right" Tim says, still frozen in place. He shakes it off quickly " Right." he repeats pivoting in place and leading their small party through the remains of the ruins and back to the jet.

" I'll prep the med bay."

--------

pics or it didn't happen! (ps, if u wanna write, draw, or HC anything for this AU feel free my lads)

[skylarstark4826]

“You mean, there’s a baby in there? Like, a whole baby?” Lo’ak went to snake his hand over the edge of the bed to poke at the stretched skin of his aunt’s stomach. He pulled it back quickly when Norm gave it an annoyed tap, turning to the man with his own annoyed expression.

Norm rolled his eyes when Lo’ak stuck out his tongue.

The scientist turned his back to the shack’s visitors to lift a jar of translucent jelly up to Trudy’s stomach, spooning a small amount out and spreading it into a thin layer. His wife winced slightly at the coolness of it, but a reassuring hand quickly found its way into her own.

Spider looked to Lo’ak as Norm worked. His stomach dropped at the way Lo’ak’s ears perked up; he could see the boy’s nose twitching and pupils widening like the cats they’d seen on video. Knowing nothing good would come from interrupting Norm again, Spider pulled Lo’ak back by the upper arm when a hand began to reach out again.

Norm had his back to them, but Trudy watched the boys fondly. She hoped her own child would be as fun as those two.

“Yes, Lo’ak, there’s a baby in here.” She patted the sides of her stomach. The uneven firmness below the pads of her fingers, and frequent kicks that had her wincing were confirmation enough that she was expecting.

The white corded device Norm held made its way across her skin. She glanced up to see her husband’s scrunched concentration face looking at the ultrasound monitor.

When he got the angle right, he spoke to the boys, “Yep, and here he is!”

Norm gestured to the fuzzy black and white image on the screen. Both boys leant forwards to get a better look. The alternating lines formed a semi-circle that had them squinting and tilting their heads side to side to decipher what they were looking at. Patterns criss-crossed the screen in esoteric sequences that few could understand.

Spider scratched his chin. “I dunno. Doesn’t look like anything really.”

“Of course it does. See? Here’s his leg, and I think this is a hand?” Norm traced his finger over the outline of a blob of mismatched pixels. Neither Spider nor Lo’ak could see the resemblance.

Lo’ak tapped the screen, ears perking up at the sound his nail made against the glass. “How did this get here?”

The wide eyes and innocent look on his face as he turned to face the others had Spider snickering into his hand.

He started laughing before he even spoke, “Lo’ak, when a man and a woman love each other very much-“

“Skxawng, I know where babies come from!” Lo’ak’s pulled back over his teeth when a mighty hiss came from his mouth. “I meant how did this get onto the screen? How does it see through skin?”

Norm gave Spider a disapproving side glance, but turned his attention to the other, hopefully more engaged child. He pulled the device away from Trudy’s stomach - the image turning to noise on the screen - and held it up for Lo’ak to get a better look.

“This sends out soundwaves that can travel through solid objects, then times how long it takes for them to return. By doing this really quickly millions of times a second, it can make a picture out of these soundwaves, which is displayed here.” Norm gestured to the monitor. “That allows us to monitor the baby’s growth without any intrusive procedures.”

He looked back to Lo’ak, only to find the young boy’s eyes beginning to glaze over. Norm muttered to himself as he turned back to continue his wife’s checkup, “Why do I even bother?”

It was now Trudy’s turn to reassuringly squeeze his hand.

Norm sighed again, but pointed vaguely to one side of the shack and spoke as he worked, “Jake told me to keep you guys occupied for the morning. I’m sure you’ll find something interesting over there. Go through the old Hell’s Gate video logs if you want. Just don’t touch anything that looks fragile.”

That instruction would likely go ignored, but he didn’t really expect anything more from the 13 and 11 year olds. The sound of a metal box clattering to the ground and the halting of rapid steps had Norm using up yet another of his daily sighs.

Trudy watched Norm switch the ultrasound back on and continue working his way across her belly. He wasn’t a doctor by trade, but he’d picked up a few things about foetal development from his occasional work with Mo’at and the other Omatikaya healers; he just hoped that Na’vi-specific knowledge would transfer to humans.

It wasn’t like babies came with a manual, though he wondered if Trudy would approve of him writing one.

Hmm, he’d have to note that down for later. Keep a logbook of his findings. Then again, he fully expected himself to panic the moment his son was born; no idea how he would go about raising a child.

Speaking of children, Norm glanced up to a flash of blue he spotted through the shack’s glass inner door. He couldn’t help but smile at Tuktirey’s wide grin as she waved at him. Once the pressurisation cycle finished and the outside air had been purged, the door hissed open, and Tuk ran through and up to Norm.

“Woah, Tuk, you need your mask!” Lo’ak peered over the top of the monitor when he saw his sister sprint past the rack. Past experience had quickly taught him the importance of the masks.

Tuk whined, “It makes my face itchy. I don’t like it.” She pouted and crossed her arms. Her brother couldn’t tell her what to do, so she stood her ground.

Thankfully, Trudy came to Lo’ak’s aid. “Sorry girlie. If you want to be in here, you need to put one on. Just like us humans have to when we’re outside.”

“But I wanna see the baby!”

Trudy raised an eyebrow, and Tuk sulked over to the rack by the entrance. Lo’ak left his place at the monitor to help her fit the cannister’s strap over her shoulder and secure the head bands in place. She tried to shrug his hands away, but Lo’ak was quick enough to work around her, and she was soon breathing the correct air, albeit with an annoyed scrunch of her nose.

“Don’t come crying to me when you can’t breathe then.” Lo’ak rolled his eyes and strolled back over to Spider, who was watching the interaction with his own exopack hanging from his bandoleer and belt.

Trudy jerked her head in Tuk’s direction to hint at her husband. He looked at her in question. She flicked her eyes across to the girl again, but it still took a moment to click for Norm. His mouth formed an O in realisation.

He placed the ultrasound down and went over to Tuk. Crouching before the young girl, he lifted her chin up to be eye to eye with her, though she was nearly as tall as humans much older than herself.

“Why don’t I show you the baby then?” Norm tilted his head to the side.

He saw her ears instantly perk up and her eyes brightened. Ruffling her braids, he scooped her up and carried her over to the bed Trudy lay on, placing her softly next to his wife. Tuk shuffled backwards until she brushed against Trudy’s legs and turned to face Norm expectantly.

He smiled at her, “I’ll show you how the machine works, then you can give it a go if you want?”

Tuk nodded rapidly, reaching out with grabby hands until Norm could demonstrate. Moving the device over another part of Trudy’s stomach, the lines appeared on the screen and Tuk gasped.

“Look! It’s a foot!” The little girl pointed at the amorphous blob, but Norm did have to admit she was right. Five toes, and distinctly foot shaped.

Tuk bumped her curled fist against Norm’s in a gesture her dad had taught her. She giggled when another foot-shaped blob drifted into view next to the first.

“So, if that’s where his feet are, his head must be down here.” Norm said whilst tapping his chin in mock thought, passing the ultrasound to Tuk then gently tapping lower on Trudy’s stomach. “Be gentle.”

Tuk nodded enthusiastically, and Norm once again silently thanked his wife for being so patient with kids. Without her, he would be an exasperated mess, shooing them away from his equipment. Although, Trudy still winced when Tuk’s inexperienced hand pressed the device a little too hard into her.

“Gentle, gentle. It won’t work otherwise.” Norm placed his palm over Tuk’s and carefully guided the device around.

Tuk kept looking up to the screen in awe, then back down to move to a different place. Every time she looked, Norm could see her pupils blow wider than the last, until he was sure they could get no bigger.

Once they had covered Trudy’s entire stomach, Norm gently took the ultrasound and wiped it down, passing more wipes to Trudy. Tuk sat looking at the screen again, but this time there was a thoughtful scrunch to her brow, one that only a young child pondering the universe could possess.

“What is it girlie? You look confused.” Trudy swung her legs over the edge of the bed and pressed her hands into her back to flex her stiff spine.

Tuk didn’t respond immediately, so Norm took the opportunity to press a kiss to Trudy’s cheek and pull up a chair to sit beside them both.

When the question had been thoroughly processed and was ready to be asked, Tuk shuffled off the bed and moved to point at the last displayed image on the screen, then down to Trudy’s belly. “How is the baby so small, when humans like Uncle Norm and Spider are so tall?”

Trudy had to resist the urge to coo.

She gently tapped Norm when he went to explain. Norm acquiesced and sat back in his chair with open ears.

Trudy started, “So you know how Na’vi are generally bigger than humans? Like how your mum is bigger than me, and Lo’ak is taller than most of the scientists, despite being so much younger?” Tuk sat up with the utmost attention, nodding along to Trudy’s words. The woman continued, “So human babies are smaller than Na’vi babies because humans are smaller. The baby needs to fit inside me. I’d pop otherwise!”

Tuk giggled, “Your belly looks like it might.”

“Whoa ho, young lady! Are you saying I look fat?” Trudy put her hands on her hips in mock indignation.

“Maybe a little.” Tuk put her fingers together, leaving a small distance between them. She pulled her hands back to her cheeks and giggled again.

Trudy grinned ear to ear. “I guess we’ll have to ask your dad to find photos from when your mum was pregnant. I can’t be the only fat one after all.” She looked to where the boys were still watching video logs, Lo’ak perched precariously on the back of a chair. She called to them, “Lo’ak, I need your help here.”

The boy’s head perked up, and from the mischievous look his aunt gave him, sprinted over. Norm saw it too, handing an exopack to Trudy and pulling one over his own head. Tuk watched on curiously.

“Right, let’s get you to your dad then. Lo’ak, grab her arms.”

Trudy reached down for Tuk’s legs, grasping them strongly whilst Lo’ak lifted her by her shoulders. Shrieking with laughter, Tuk hung between the two of them as they shuffled into the airlock and out the door.

The young girl kept laughing all the way to the Sullys’ Marui, loud enough that it distracted Trudy from the ache that began to seep into her limbs. Pacing along behind them was Spider and Norm, the latter of which looked slightly concerned. For whom, she wasn’t sure.

At that point in the mid-morning, Jake had finished airing out the clansmen’s grievances for the day, delegating out tasks to remedy the issues that’d been brought up. Now he sat in his Marui with his mate preparing for a scouting flight. The yearly migration of ‘Angtsìk had begun a few days ago, and their numbers needed to be surveyed to ensure only the needed amount were hunted.

The last thing he expected to see was his daughter, looking like she was about to burst from laughing too hard, being held strung between his son and heavily pregnant friend, with Norm and Spider following.

The flick of his tail and raised eyebrow from his mate betrayed their confusion. “Um, hi? Didn’t expect you guys to be done so soon.”

Trudy lowered Tuk’s feet down so she could stand on her own, but not before Lo’ak started tickling his sister’s sides and filling the hut with giggling shrieks. Tuk jumped and wriggled around to evade his hands, but the attempts were futile, and he kept finding a way through her defences.

Trudy’s back cracked as she twisted to the side. “This cheeky thing-” She pointed to where Tuk was squirming away from her brother and pressing her arms firmly against her sides, “Called me fat. I think we should get out some of her baby photos.”

Both Jake and Neytiri could see the mischievous twinkle in the other woman’s eyes, and it brought them all onto the same wavelength.

Neytiri had to hide her grin behind her hand to put on a mask of faux seriousness, “Oh yes, from when shewas all small and chubby.” Cameras were the one Sky People invention the Na’vi woman liked. No longer did memories have to fade from the mind.

The hut’s occupants took a seat, Spider crouched beside Jake as Norm helped Trudy down. Tuk took refuge from her brother’s attack in her dad’s lap, curling into his chest and sticking her tongue out teasingly. Lo’ak nodded conspiratorially to Spider, and they both lunged forward to poke at her again. Her head flicked back as the laughter began anew.

Jake wrapped his youngest child in a protective cocoon, but soon found himself the victim of the boys’ attack. Only after having children did he learn his Avatar body was even more ticklish than his human one.

He started to wriggle himself, until the cocoon was broken and Tuk dashed away to the safety of her mum beside one of their trunks. Neytiri didn’t look up from where she searched for the drive they kept their photos on, but did wrap her tail around her daughter. Neither boy dared make another attempt; Neytiri would tickle them until they were crying with laughter to protect Tuk.

Tuk peered over the edge of the box just as Neytiri grasped the small thumb drive from the bottom. She’d seen her parents plug it into her dad’s laptop before, but was never too interested in its contents. Now, she couldn’t wait to see the old photos.

Moving back to the group, Neytiri and Tuk traversed their way through the afternoon’s scouting preparation that lay forgotten on the floor. The others could go on without them.

Lo’ak passed his dad the laptop and they quickly set it up for them all to see, then plugged in the drive Neytiri handed over.

“Alright, should we go all the way back?” Jake looked to his daughter, who nodded eagerly.

Trudy concurred, “I think that may be needed. Neytiri, did Jake take any pictures when you were pregnant?”

Jake answered for his mate, “Yep, and here they are!”

Scrolling through the list, there were pages upon pages of candid photos of Neytiri going about daily life in their hut; most of them had her rolling her eyes at her mate’s off-screen antics as he took the picture.

In several, Neytiri was crouched over and chopping food, her distended belly getting in her way. Even in the hastily taken image they could make out how annoyed it made her. Another was a more composed shot; a side profile with Neytiri resting her hands gently on her stomach and gazing down fondly.

Tuk burst from her seat when the image appeared, “Wow mum, you’re fat too!”

“Bah! She was way more tactful with me earlier.” Trudy laughed alongside the rest of them.

Neytiri raised an eyebrow and pointed at the screen. “Don’t say that too quick, little one. That is you in there.”

The little girl’s hands flew to her mouth to cover her gasp, “Really?! That’s me?! I made you fat!”

Lo’ak snickered beside the adults. He went to teasingly poke at his sister again, but a quick hand and raised eyebrow stopped him. He glanced up to see his mother’s unimpressed look, then sheepishly brought his hand back.

“Don’t tease too quickly, son.” Jake gently took the laptop from his mate and scrolled to a different set of images. “These are from when your mum was pregnant with you. I don’t know about you, but I think you were even bigger!”

Now it was Tuk’s turn to giggle, much to the enjoyment of everyone, bar Lo’ak.

Jake continued, “And when you all came out, we would wrap you up in the warmest blanket we could find.” He gestured off to a pile on the side of the room. Spider took the cue and passed over the topmost piece of fabric.

Tuk suddenly found herself in her father’s lap, being wrapped up tightly until only her face and the tips of her ears were visible. Her tail coiled around her leg in surprise and stayed there under the blanket, her arms pressed to her sides.

It took all the effort the adults had not to fawn over the startled expression on the little girl. Jake himself didn’t succeed. He cooed at his daughter and brushed a stray hair from her face. With pupils the size of dinner plates, Tuk found herself being cradled by her dad and rocked back and forth as Jake sung softly.

“Hush little baby, don’t say a word, papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird don’t sing, papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring…” Jake paused as Tuk’s eyes grew heavy.

She fought with fleeting energy to stay awake, but it was a futile battle against the warmth and slow rocking rhythm, and she was soon asleep.

Jake finally looked up, seeing varying looks of surprise and awe on the faces of the hut’s occupants. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I never learnt the rest of the words.” He looked down to his snoozing daughter. “Never needed to.”

Spider was the first to break the silence, thankfully keeping his voice low, “Did I ever get wrapped up?”

Norm snorted, and Trudy smirked. Jake’s ears perked up at their reactions to the question. He handed the bundled Tuk to Neytiri, who moved to the little girls sleeping mat, then gestured alongside Spider for them to continue.

For the first time ever, Jake saw his friend look smug.

“Yeah, you were a little terror around the lab, and you only got worse when you learnt to walk. We tried to wrap you up like that to stop you from wandering around our equipment, but you seemed to have a knack for escaping.” Norm had pulled out his own tablet and was searching through his own photos. “To this day, I still don’t know how, we once found you bundled up in your blanket on top of a bookshelf.”

The photo he showed to everyone was proof enough of his story. Baby Spider, asleep, wrapped in a blanket, and very high off the ground.

“Still got some of that baby fat, aye?” Trudy reached over to pinch at Spider’s cheek.

The teen squirmed away in an embarrassed huff.

“My wife here thought it was hilarious,” Trudy bumped Norm gently with her elbow, “But you gave Max and me a heart attack. We did our best to baby-proof everything, but you still managed to climb onto desks and shelves. Come to think of it, we’ll probably need to do that again soon.”

“Why don’t you take a look at some of these photos then?” Trudy took the tablet from Norm and passed it to Spider.

The teen looked through the list slowly, Lo’ak coming to sit beside him to look too. Eventually, Spider found one, tapping on the thumbnail to expand it.

A small boy, with an enormous mass of curly blonde hair and the brightest blue eyes, sat on the edge of a workbench, trying to pull the straps of a modified exopack mask over his head. Max’s arm could be seen trying to aid the boy, but only getting more hair in the way.

“I remember this. It was my first mask.” Spider looked up to Norm.

The scientist smiled back, “Yep, that day was the first time you left Hell’s Gate. We didn’t go far, just down to the river. That’s also the first time you met Kiri.” Norm gave him a knowing look.

Spider blushed, and Lo’ak gave him a teasing nudge. Even Neytiri couldn’t help but smile at his obvious crush. Several more photos were flicked through when they heard shuffling from behind them.

Tuk’s head popped up from the wrapped blanket, looking bright and alert. “Dad, is it morning already?”

“Well that’s about right. Five-minute nap, and she’s up and ready to go.” Jake slid his hand down his face. “No, it’s still the same day.”

“Okay! Can I look at some more photos then?”

“You won’t go to sleep again anyway,” He muttered quietly, then louder, “Sure can.” He glanced over to a rather bemused looking Norm and Trudy. “I wish years of sleepless nights upon you both.”

Norm held his hands up in surrender.

Tuk quickly rejoined the circle, this time leaning heavily into Spider’s side to look at the photos, and completely forgetting how he and her brother were tickling her before.

Neytiri joined the other adults on the opposite side of the hut, her tail intertwining with her mate’s. She asked Norm and Trudy, “Why are they so interested in these old photos?”

“Norm was doing an ultrasound, and none of them believed that a baby could fit in here.” Trudy tapped her stomach. “We explained that humans are smaller, so human babies are smaller too.”

“Oh! I’ve got an idea.” The kids turned to Norm at the sudden sound. “Hey Spider, can I please have that back for a second?”

Spider passed the tablet back over, Norm taking it and flicking through several menus and typing in search bars. Jake just shrugged at the boys’ confused looks.

“We said before how humans are just smaller,” Norm began, “But we didn’t say why.”

He pulled up an image on the screen and turned it around to show the kids. Neytiri too leant forwards to get a better look. There were two circles side by side, one slightly smaller than the other, but both made of strokes of blue, green, and white.

Norm pointed to each of them. “This is Earth, and this is Pandora. See how Pandora is smaller, which means it has less gravity. Only about 80% of Earth’s.”

He paused when Tuk held her hand up.

The little girl asked with bright and wide eyes, “What’s gravity?”

Jake grasped her below her arms and threw her up. She shrieked in delight, and was caught again on her way down. Being placed on the ground once more, Jake said, “That’s gravity. It’s what pulls you back down.”

“Yep, and there’s less of it here than on Earth.” Norm smiled at the giggling girl. “So here, it’s easier for things to evolve and grow bigger.”

Norm pulled the tablet down again, flicking through to another photo. “I forgot that Max catalogued the remaining data we had from Hell’s Gate, so I found these old images from Earth.”

The children and Neytiri cocked their heads to the side at the strange animal he showed them. Jake, however, nodded in understanding.

“This is an elephant, the largest land animal on Earth. I actually have a photo of me with one somewhere… Ah ha!”

Norm stood in dark sunglasses and a wide-brim hat patting the flank of the enormous animal. He was sombre when he spoke, “They had died out to the point that they only really existed in zoos or highly protected reserves, so I was very fortunate to get this photo.”

Trudy huffed a laugh from his side when Tuk’s ears stuck up to the ceiling and her nose pressed into the tablet. They all knew the little girl had an infatuation with what she called fluffy cuddly animals, and it just so happened she thought a lot of Earth’s wildlife fit into that category. Those who had lived on Earth were loath to tell her about the fact that lions and tigers had sharp claws and teeth that could very easily kill their prey.

“Should I look for some more pictures of elephants then?”

Tuk nodded eagerly to the scientist’s question, then focussed back on the screen.

Norm continued, “Alright then. This is the largest land animal on Earth, but it’s still only half the size of the Hammerhead Titanothere, the nearest equivalent on Pandora. We think that lower gravity allows creatures here to develop-”

Looking up from his impromptu presentation, he found the rest of the adults smirking at him, the boys nowhere to be seen, and Tuk still trying to press her nose into the tablet. Norm sighed a heavy sigh; how often he felt like he was talking to a brick wall with the kids.

Jake couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s optimism.

When Norm and Trudy’s son was born, the Sullys soon received an invite to meet the new baby. The children were practically bouncing off the walls in anticipation of meeting him, and Neytiri couldn’t help but concur with their sentiment. She’d never met a newborn human baby; Spider was at least a year old when she first saw him.

The airlock to the medical shack was crowded with all the occupants squished together as the pressure equalised. Jake glanced to Neytiri. Whilst not their own child, the feeling of seeing a new life for the first time was still running high through them. It brought them back to when each of their children took their first breaths, and every milestone that came after.

When the door hissed open, they exited to the interior and quickly went about putting the masks on; Lo’ak somehow managed to get the strap of his tangled in his new braids that Kiri did the day before, and Tuk still didn’t remember which way the tubing was supposed to go.

Kiri rolled her eyes at her brother, and Neytiri helped Tuk right her mask. Then she grabbed the girl to stop her from sprinting and jumping on Trudy.

The sound of the airlock door opening and closing again brought their attention behind them. Spider waved eagerly through the glass, clearly having received the same invitation as them. Removing his exopack and clipping it to his bandoleer, Spider joined them as they made their way to the bed.

Norm sat in an uncomfortable looking chair to the side of Trudy’s bed, his head forward and eyes closed as he dozed. Trudy herself had blanket pulled up to her mid-section, and looked like she was about to fall asleep too. She would’ve if it wasn’t for the small bundle she held to her chest.

“Um… Should we come back later?” Trudy’s head perked up when Jake asked.

“No, no. You’re good.” The yawn the woman let out contradicted her statement.

Trudy dropped her arm from the bundle to her husband, knocking him on the back of his head harder than she intended.

“What, where, how?” Norm sat bolt upright, eyes wide and frantically searching for danger.

Trudy scoffed, “My knight in shining armour.”

Finally realising where he was, Norm sunk back into the chair. He reached over to pull the cloth down slightly from the bundle. Stroking a finger oh so gently across the baby’s forehead caused the infant’s mouth to twitch slightly. Norm grinned brightly to his wife. Their baby’s first smile. Neither of them could believe the fact that this little thing had come from them; two halves put together to make a whole.

Neytiri rested her head on her mate’s shoulder, intertwining their tails together behind them. Kiri, Neteyam and even Lo’ak couldn’t help but coo.

Jake spoke softly to not rouse the babe, “How’re you holding up?”

Norm looked to Trudy to answer. She blinked rapidly to keep herself awake, “Sore, and thankful that is over. Can’t say I enjoyed it.”

Neytiri hummed in agreement, “The birthing process is painful, and can be very long.”

“Yeah, I’m glad my hand still works.” Norm held up his bandaged fingers, Trudy rolling her eyes.

“I wasn’t gripping you that hard.”

Norm winced.

“Are you done talking about grown-up things? I wanna see the baby.” Tuk’s whine pierced the air. Neytiri softly reminded her to keep her voice down.

Like a chain reaction, Tuktirey looked to Jake, who looked to Norm, who looked to Trudy. Rolling her eyes again, Trudy nodded and shuffled her legs to the side of the bed to make room for Tuk to carefully climb up. Sensing her slight wobble, Jake reached over and grasped his daughter gently under the arms to stop her from falling forward.

The rest of them moved around the bed, Kiri standing beside Norm, Lo’ak and Spider with Neteyam on the other side, and Neytiri next to Jake.

Slowly, Trudy pulled the cloth down from around the baby’s head. The cooler air hit his downy hair, and he wriggled slightly in his sleep. A small squeak came from his mouth.

“Oh, Ma Tsmuke, he’s beautiful!” Neytiri’s hand flew to her mouth to hold in the gasp.

Jake looked up to his friends, “Do you have a name?”

“We’ve got a few ideas, but nothing final yet.”

Jake nodded; it had taken him and Neytiri several weeks after each of their children’s births to complete their naming ceremonies. As far as he was concerned, he would whole-heartedly perform the same rite for his friends’ son, and he knew Mo’at would have no objections either.

With a weight growing on his arms, Jake felt Tuk lean even further forwards. She had never seen a human baby before. Though her siblings teased her for being the youngest, saying she was still a baby herself, he knew she preened at the attention she got. She was the smallest and had never been anything but the smallest in their immediate circle. A new baby upset that status quo.

But from the chirp she made and the wide eyes she watched the baby with, Jake didn’t think she would mind too much.

“Huh, I think someone has a new best friend.”

Tuk didn’t even hear Trudy’s chuff. All she could see was the tiny nose, soft skin, chubby cheeks and peacefully closed eyes. All warm and wrapped up, it was a sight of such utter safety that had her wishing she was held tightly in her own mother’s arms, keeping her safe as the sounds of thunderstorms rolled overhead, or reassuring her that a bad dream wasn’t real.

That same awe slipped into her voice, “Can I… Can I hold him?”

The look of pure hope in her eyes nearly had Norm agreeing to anything she asked right there and then, but he at least had the self-preservation to glance to his wife.

Trudy nodded, but added, “I think it might be a good idea if your dad helps you.”

Understanding what she meant, Jake wouldn’t fit on the bed with his daughter, so he pulled Tuk up into his side and lowered them both down, crossing his legs. Tuk sat in his lap with her back pressed up to his chest and his arms encircling her.

“So we’ve got to be real careful, alright? We’re gonna hold our arms like this, and have his head resting here. Human babies’ heads are heavy.” Tuk nodded seriously to Jake’s instructions. “If your arms get tired, let me know.”

Taking his son carefully from Trudy, Norm slowly lowered him down until Jake’s longer arms could reach out. The baby was situated snuggly, Jake resting his head in the crook of his elbow. He felt Tuk’s arms come up under his to wrap around the newborn too. He let her take some of the weight, just to get a feel, but sure to keep him secure.

Jake rolled his eyes when Neytiri crouched to double check his hold, Kiri leaning over too to watch.

Hearing a click from off to the side, they all glanced to the source. Somehow having found Norm’s camera, Spider had his eye up to the viewfinder and was pressing the shutter button rapidly.

Lo’ak stood to his friend’s side with his thumbs up and a wide grin spread across his face. “Looking good sis.”

Tuk didn’t even glance up when Neteyam hissed at them to put the camera down.

Trudy managed to swing her legs over the edge of the bed, but gestured for Norm. He pulled her arm over his shoulder and took some of her weight as she leant slightly to the side.

Tuk’s stillness had the whole room watching silently, with Norm holding his breath. She just stared and watched with wide eyes. He couldn’t help the slight increase in heartrate that started to thump in his chest.

“Well, what do you think?”

Finally, she looked up, a cheek-splitting grin on her face.

“He’s so… small.”

[whitmore]

i think the genuine issue with the semi-canonity of purgatory 2 is this lack of consistency— it’s undeniable that the lore is one of the most treasured parts of the server, it tends to generate the most buzz socially and spikes the most interest in viewers. the qsmp channel itself is a good indicator of the weight lore takes too; it wouldn’t exist or certainly wouldn’t be as lore-oriented if that wasn’t what both the viewers and admins highlighted as priorities for the qsmp experience. true the server is not entirely lore-based, but it impacts enough of the server that the story and narrative takes consideration when making server-wide decisions.

so when you have four of your heavy-hitter storytellers seemingly locked in purgatory as part of their lore, two of which were explicitly told to not log-in to the main server in preparation for lore, and then you have this new purgatory event which takes place on the same purgatory island where that lore happened / technically is currently happening and islanders freely roaming back and forth between islands with wildly differing and borderline nonsensical reasons of why they can do that, it’s understandable why people who are fans of the lore side of the server are frustrated! i won’t even say they shouldn’t be on the main server point blank, even if i do think that commitment to the bit would make the plot stronger— but if we’re acknowledging that purgatory 2 exists on the main server in the first place, then there could be some storyline salve that at least attempts to make sense of the whole ordeal equally amongst characters and players without it feeling like the lore is being completely disregarded and pushed aside. there’s gaping narrative inconsistencies that are unlikely to get resolved in any kind of satisfying way because these kinds of loose ends are generally specifically brushed off.

not everybody is a fan of the plot or the overarching story and they don’t have to be, and the streamers certainly aren’t obligated to participate in it. on the other hand, when it’s such a big part of the server it deserves more attention and care than it’s getting right now. the reason purgatory 2 islanders can travel back and forth and the others can’t could be consistent and clarified in some way, but it won’t be, and it’ll be another note added to a long list of unanswered questions that could have been easily resolved with a group discord and some forethought

[mysteriesmuse]

Cover(s) Story 💕💤

Izuku who knows how much you hate hotels especially when you’re on missions or “vacations” together so far from home. Whom always gives you a reasonable amount of space in the bed in the room because your cover story is always being some newly wed couple. Who loves the awkward way you snort and snicker at the ridiculous sight of rose petals lining the room or the incredible swan towel sculpture on the bed when you both enter the hotel room. Who’ll help you get to work cleaning the petals up and sweeping them off the smooth pink covers with his large scared hands. A lulled serious kind of chit-chat over the type of mission y’all are on together; the logistics of what needs to be accomplished and how as your hands brush and petals flutter to the floor. Who wears the goofiest ridiculous make-shift pajama’s to make you comfortable on the other side. An All Might shirt and pants like any dedicated fanboy.

Izuku who’s learned exactly which side of the bed he should put his things on because he’s traveled enough with you on missions to know exactly which side you prefer, which is his side normally — but he lets you have it. Who lets you turn the fan and adjust the rooms AC exactly how you like it: cool. — but with the duvet and extra blanket on your form pulled up to your chin like a child being tucked in. Who, chivalrously, lets you use an excess of the hotels conditioner and who always forgets to bring his own toothpaste and so you let him borrow yours. Whom always sorta likes the way that you two smell like each other: the clean fragrant aromas of hotel soap, under the covers when you’re both getting ready to sleep.

Izuku who knows that you like to clutch something in your sleep. Who, for a change, makes no snarky comments about the plushie that he knows you’ve packed into your suitcase. A strange luggage addition for a pro hero. Bc something about the unfamiliar location coupled with the stress of the operations and the stress of the flight makes it difficult for you to sleep without a piece of home and you’ve found that as a grown adult that a little soft friend does the trick. Izuku, who’s a gigantic young-rising prohero, that’ll curl on his side to face you — and just talk. Who rambles you to sleep (semi-purposely he knows you always will around a certain hour) as you chit-chat like kids at a slumber party and will watch you nod holding the little guy in your arms, also curled on the side. And it’s that initial respectful proximity with the line of pillows and the gigantic honeymoon suite sized bed that seems to dwindle during the night: the days spent with your fingers curled around his bicep, and your hands intertwined, or you sitting on his lap in public have slowly eroded the natural platonic spacing between y’all at night. Izuku himself sleeps mostly like a log, like physically, not metaphorically. He’s a light sleeper, but he always discovers that when he’s with you he tosses and turns a bit more. Somehow peaks an eye open to find that your legs are touching his or that your hand has grabbed his, or that the entire wall of pillows has somehow been kicked off by himself and Izuku at that point will slide his eyes closed and decide to let it be. If he accidentally cuddles you in his sleep (he’s notoriously a sleep cuddler) then he’ll have to let it happen. Besides, he doesn’t feel like tossing and turning anxious about touching you in his sleep for the rest of the night. Bc maybe he just needs a piece of home and that’s how he finds himself most mornings with him cuddled against you, that silent slipping away from your skin every morning as he throws the covers off from his side of the bed and gets to work on the coffee maker. Listening to you stir as soon as the steam starts pouring into the mug loving the the way you stretch and say, “hmm hey, hubby.” a smile inching upwards as he watches you and your bed head sit up against the headboard as he, like a good hubby, hands you coffee the way you like it. And it’s times like this that sometimes he wishes playing pretend didn’t feel like something so real.