#teatime part 1

[bite-the-bloody-hand]

Owlcatober 1 - Teatime [Part 1]

I'm a little stalled but I love where this is going, so have the first half of Teatime, featuring Zell's Terrible, Horrible, No-Good Very Bad Morning. Please forgive the formatting.

Teatime [Part 1]

He should have known this was coming. All the signs had been present, after all, but he’d ignored them. Surely it was just the stress of his new appointment; a few sleepless nights; endless threat of demonic incursion; so on and so forth. Nothing he couldn’t handle.

Yet of the many trials and challenges that had been presented to nascent Knight Commander Zell Hellsing during the first insane few weeks of his new job, there was nothing old or new in the world of Golarion that could compare to his two most ancient and beloved of nemeses: His own Hubris and The Fucking Sun.

Hubris, ever the sly fair weather friend, had convinced him that the cramping muscles, irritation, mania, and general malaise of the last day or so had just been simple exhaustion. They had been out on the road a few days too long, so what? He could muscle through it, no problem. No absurd dreams of being dragged through bloody battlefields, bloody streets, or bloody portals could keep him from his many…. Many many tasks. Hubris had whispered its sweet poison into his ear and he’d gladly tilted his head for a little more. Like a moron.

Then there was The Sun. Beloved giver of life. Beloathed stabber of eyeballs. It was through the small seam at the southeastern facing corner of his tent that the evil little assassin, the wicked beam of light entered. Cruel, wretched light, enemy of his similarly wretched vampire progenitor but most importantly, right now, his enemy because it was really making his head hurt.

Surely it was just the sun and not the everything else. He would kick himself about the hubris later.

There was a rustle, bootfalls that somehow thundered against the sod and straw floor, and the sudden Knowledge that the command tent was now flooded with early morning light. He then heard Anevia’s fist rapped against the partition screen propped next to his bed. He could feel the twin pressures of sunlight and Anevia’s gaze upon him.

“Mornin’ report! And since when are you a past-dawn layabout, not even up and stretchin’ yet?” her voice was so marvelously cheery, and usually so very welcome to help start his day. Zell covered his eyes with his blanket and groaned pitifully.

“Anevia. Death is here.”

“Well shit, boss, that sounds like a big problem for the Crusade.” A light rustle as she dropped a sheaf of papers on his desk. “Not much today really; Wilcer’s got that herd o’ horses you ordered all ready for inspection, and we’re still workin’ on opening up the road between here and Leper’s Smile.”

“I’d love to hear the history on that name sometime,” Zell mumbled. Of course Wilcer would have the horses ready now, when he is least able to appreciate them. Another little trial. “Anyway, wicked sun,” he grasped in the air for the words he wanted, landing eventually on something close enough. “Finally has come claimed me.” Anevia made a sympathetic noise.

“I don’t have a funny comeback for that one that wouldn’t be a little too mean this early in the morning, I think.” Zell heard her move to the tent door, and the leathery sound of the tent flap dropping down into place. The pressure of the light eased. “Bad headache?”

“Kill me.” “Come on, you know I can’t do that. We’d have to do the choppin’ and the burnin’ and bury your parts at crossroads and it would be a whole thing. Nobody’s got the time.” Zell scoffed, immediately regretting it. “I – ugh - can’t believe you, of all people, cannot be writing ‘put poor Commander out of his misery’ to your schedule.” “Believe it or not, Boss, but I’m a busy gal.” “But so much faith I have in you…”

“And speaking of I’ve gotta get scouting, since the only news right now is your horrible impending demise, unless someone can brave the sixty paces to the healer’s tent to get you the good tea.” She paused, and from the soft creak of her boots and rattle of the screen, he could all but see her peeking over the partition at him. Her voice went soft in a way he wasn’t sure he’d heard before. “I’ll see about getting any crazy stuff sent to Beth first, so you can try and rest a little, okay? You’ve been working pretty hard, by Knight-Commander standards.”

“This Crusade is nothing without you, Anevia,” he sighed in gratitude. As long as he could make it to the healer’s tent, he could count on Anevia to keep her word.

“Don’t I know it,” she replied, before taking her leave.

Zell lingered in the dim silence of the command tent a few moments longer, weak to the knowledge that the second he started to stand up, his head and stomach were really going to start with the nonsense. But stand he must, so stand he did. Slowly. With extreme caution, pushing himself up by meager degrees until he was sitting upright. The bright buzzing angry pressure in his head turned into a wave crashing bright spots against the inside of his skull, while his stomach turned elegant flips in accompaniment. If he were in a more poetic mood he could have gone on about the sensations, how uniquely beautiful and awful they were, but in the moment he felt like boiled ass on dirt and couldn’t think of a pretty word to save his life.

So he forced himself to his feet and wrapped his blanket around his head and shoulders as a makeshift shroud. With great effort he pushed himself from the end of his cot to the end of the partition screen, stumbling from it to the corner of his desk. He tripped, cursed, and stumbled forward to the tent flap, grabbing the canvas to keep himself from falling. The whole tent shook violently for a second but stayed intact. Zell cursed again and righted himself, dragging the makeshift hood over his eyes just in time to avoid a sudden slash of bright sunlight across his face.

“Sir?” A voice he recognized punched him in the ear. He stumbled and forced himself not to hiss. It was just one of the lads that always lingered around the entrance of the command tent, no need to lash out. “Can I assist?” “No, no, I have this,” he said, waving the boy off. He could barely think it was so bright, even with the blanket making a deep hood to shield him.“I make for the healing tent. Not an emergency.” “Oh, well, but Sir I-”

Please child by the name of whatever God you hold holy I will bite you if you speak again, Zell’s head throbbed like something disgusting. “Not emergency,” he growled, teeth snapping in irritation. The lad shrunk back, hands up as Zell pushed past him. “I tell you when emergency.” He left the boy behind him, stuttering.

It wasn’t really that long a walk. He’d made the trip both mildly hungover on demon blood and while still aching from a poison he’d accidentally forgotten about. This was doable. Allegedly. In some world, in another world that was not the one which he currently occupied, the task was doable. In those other, beautiful worlds, his head was not already splitting apart from the force of its own willpower. In those worlds, walking past the blacksmith would be such a little, trivial task.

Each ring of the hammer echoed between his ears and tilted the ground beneath him, making his stomach churn. He barely caught himself on a tentpost once he cleared the causeway beyond the Smithy’s tent, shuddering as his knees nearly gave out. He had to be more than halfway there, surely. No other terrible obstacle could keep him now.

“What party did you not invite me to that you are this hung over?” A voice just behind him demanded. He caught a glimpse of a warped golden glow at the edge of his hood and snatched it back down before the reflection of Count Arendae’s halo could blind him.

“Not hungover, just headache. Anyway you’d crash if you weren’t invited, I know this.”

“Hm, true. You sound wretched.” Daeran announced, without a hint of sympathy as he came closer to investigate. “Why ever are you attempting to stumble around on your own?”

“Getting tea. Headache tea from healer’s tent.”

A pause. Then Daeran asked, in a tone that was usually reserved for very small, slow children, “Why didn’t you send a squire to get it for you?” Zell considered the question. Rather he realized that he hadn’t considered that at all. “What… do you mean.” “You know, the lovely young men and women that linger about the front of your tent, waiting to run small errands at your beck and call. One of the magnificent perks of gaining the title of Knight Commander of Mendev’s Crusade.” A terrible silence settled between them.

“That is many words, you have just said to me.” “So you forgot about the squires.” “...Head is stupid right now,” Zell grumbled. Daeran stifled a laugh.

“The tent is to your left,” Daeran supplied.

Zell turned, and felt a light tap on his shoulder.

“Your other left, Commander.”

Zell grunted his thanks and turned in the proper direction. After a moment of stumbling, he caught the red-lined edge of the healer’s tent in his field of view. Finally.

“Anything else I can do to help?” Daeran asked, though the lilt of his voice suggested his help would extend little further than guiding Zell to another, less ‘busy’ healer. But he had followed, which was an interesting detail he would forget to think about for several hours. “Yah , do me an favor and cut my head off,” Zell muttered, fumbling with the door flap to the Healer’s tent. He felt Daeran nearly run into him as they entered the tent together. There was a momentary pause. He thought he heard Daeran clear his throat, but the sound seemed a little off. “We’ll save that for after you’ve won the Crusade and the Capitol decides to convict you of war crimes,” The Count eventually replied, his voice airy. “You’re such a good friend.” Zell pressed at the sides of his head, grasping at the back of his neck. Something popped; a tiny bit of pressure released. Thank goodness it was so much darker in the healer’s tent, it made thinking a little easier.

A sudden jolt of realization hit him. He groaned, pulling his hood over his face and down his chest until he was less a man than a walking stupid blanket.

“For the fucking sake of pity, Daeran, be angry at me. That was the most meanest stupid shit thing I could say just now.” He doubled over in misery as another lance of pain hit its mark.

Daeran responded to his apology with a laugh that came out loud at first but he caught himself, dampening it down to a deeply amused chuckle. “Please, Commander, apologizing after such an excellent barb? I suppose I shall accept, if you would rather your venom be intentional. Cot to your right.”

Zell turned, then felt another light tap on his shoulder.

“Your other right.”

He turned the opposite direction, shuffling slowly until he felt his knees hit the edge of a bed.

“Who is that under – Commander?” He heard Sosiel’s voice nearby and stumbled slightly as he turned to sit. Oh of course it would be him, and not the other one who was always there. Of course.

“Kind healer I beg your indulgence,” Zell croaked, not obviously attempting to look pathetic but doing a great job of it anyway. “I was told you have the good tea for the headaches brought by the sun.”

“Oh, certainly,” Sosiel paused, slight confusion in his voice. He was also probably wondering why Zell hadn’t just sent for a squire, but at least he was too polite to say anything about it. Instead he addressed Daeran. “And you, Count Arendae? I hardly suspect you need my assistance?” “Oh, I’m just here because misery loves company,” Daeran replied. Zell felt his weight settle down next to him on the cot. “And of course performing my duties as field advisor.” “By doing what, pray tell?” Daeran waved his hand in a vague gesture. “I advised Commander Hellsing on the field placement of this very tent, and quite competently I might add.”

“Lost without you,” Zell mumbled truthfully. He debated the merits of pushing Daeran off the cot versus just using him as a convenient pillow, but eventually decided either one would be far too much effort. Instead he hunched into himself, the blanket billowing around him to looks something like a nest. Zell heard the rustle and clatter of herbs being prepared; smelled the sharpness of ginger and the green acerbic bite of willow bark. Then came peppermint and mallow; Sosiel was definitely not skipping out on the good stuff. The scent alone was enough to start settling his stomach.

“Thank you for taking the time, Sosiel,” he murmured, wishing he could at least look the man in the face with his thanks. Though perhaps he hadn’t noticed-

“I was beginning to worry I had made you uncomfortable somehow, and you wouldn’t come to me for help,” Sosiel replied. His voice was kind, but Zell didn’t have to be functioning to sense the hurt in his words. Zell flinched, ashamed.

“You noticed I am er... avoidant,” he admitted. He had tried so hard to be polite, rebuffing Sosiel’s offers for help not out of some misplaced projection but because he “didn’t need it.”

He did not address in the moment why his own thoughts felt the need to emphasize - with deep sarcasm - his insistent lack of need.

“I did, I thought perhaps after the incident at Martyr Zacharius’s Cemetery, that I had done something in particular to put you off…”

Zell felt his heart clench. He had been unkind to Sosiel for no reason. Alas, in a better mindset a more elegant explanation may have come to him. In lieu of that...

"No, it is not your fault. You just...” He grasped for the right combination of words, flailing until he landed on “...remind me of my... ex." The final word ended in a hiss that was part confusion, part embarrassment. Not that it wasn’t the right word, he just didn’t want to have had said it ever.

Daeran snorted inelegantly next to him.

Zell grimaced. No, that was a stupid way to put it, He had to explain it better. "Not really ex, more like. His boss had him string me along because I,” he gestured to himself, again at a loss for words. “Asking questions." Oh yes, that was much better.

He heard the soft clatter of the kettle being rested on its trivet. Sosiel responded, "You're saying I remind you of this person?" Zell could hear the good-natured humor in Sosiel’s reply. At least he didn’t seem to have taken it personally.

"Of his persona! His front. He was very-" he waved a hand, gesturing at where he imagined Sosiel stood. "Like you, but about Sarenrae. Devoted."

"Devout?"

"That's also that one yes. And like you he healed us, and very much was handsome as well. It's the good things I think of, I promise." Zell pressed his fingers to his temples. The pulsing whine in his ears felt almost like laughter. Or maybe that was Daeran. Who could say. "I did not mean to be so clumsy in saying it. My head makes me stupid."

“I see,” Sosiel chuckled. “It is nice to know that I wasn’t being avoided for anything I’d done, though I was a bit curious.”

“I am an ass, unworthy, please forgive me,” Zell apologized through another wave of nausea.

“He’s so precious when he’s contrite,” Daeran quipped. “All patients should be so easy, wouldn’t you say, Brother Sosiel?”

“There is no need to apologize,” Sosiel’s voice was firm, though he was still clearly trying not to laugh. “Besides, what kind of Cleric would I be if I showed any less grace than you to our beleaguered friend, your Lordship? Commander, drink this-”

Zell felt Sosiel’s hand close over the back of his own, steadying it to accept a warm wooden mug. The sharp scents of ginger and peppermint floated up into his hood; he breathed them in with gratitude, grasping the mug with both hands. Whatever sharp reply Daeran gave Sosiel was missed as all of Zell’s attention centered on the warmth and the smell.

[lucid-loves]

First Light ~ Simon "Ghost" Riley Part 1

Pairing: bodyguard!Ghost x princess!reader (fem!reader)

Word Count: 4.5k

CW: angst, violence, blood, strong language, scars, verbal abuse by parents, physical abuse by parents, psychological abuse by parents, opposites attract, forbidden love, slow burn, fluff, attraction and sexual tension, reader POV and ghost POV, minors DNI, eventual smut, virgin reader

Let me know if I missed any CWs.

Story Synopsis: After receiving death threats from a mysterious terrorist organization, your royal parents make a decision to reach out to the United States for help. Specifically, they want the US to send a bodyguard to protect their precious princess. When the 141 is called upon to investigate, Ghost is the one assigned to protect you. With your lack of experiences outside of your royal life and his experience with nothing but deadly, worldly affairs, opposites attract.

Chapter Synopsis: Ghost travels to the small country of Stuoca to meet the person assigned to guard for the next month. When you lay your eyes on him, you can’t help but feel scared, yet also curious. He feels the same when encountering such a precious, fragile thing like you.

Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~ Part 5 ~ Part 6 ~ Part 7

The porcelain teacup felt warm in your hands, holding your favorite blend of tea flavored to your preference. The grandfather clock in the room ticked by, filling the silence. While you normally liked to play some music to fill the space with sound, your parents told you that you must be quiet. That you had to sit pretty and be patient until you were allowed to do so. 

You stared into your cup, slowly losing your appetite for teatime as the pit in your stomach grew bigger. You felt like there was something wrong, but you couldn’t figure out what it was. Normally, your parents were eager to show you off to any guest that was coming to the palace. Right now, it is different. You were locked away in one of the many palace studies. There was your butler with you who watched your worries grow. There were a couple of guards outside the closed doors, stopping anyone from entering unless the king or queen allowed it. 

Looking out the arched window and overlooking the lush palace garden, you wished you could enjoy your teatime outside like you normally did. Feeling the fresh air, hearing the birds chirp in the distance, enjoying the subtle aroma of flowers flowing with the wind. It was really the only time you were allowed to be outside. 

Even though you were a grown woman, your parents have always seen you as their little princess.

While you sat silently in the study, the king and queen of Stuoca was meeting the man that would guard you with his life. It was jarring being in a place like this. Everything from the floor to the ceiling was crafted with exquisite, polished stone. Anything made of wood was a rich cherry. On marble pedestals along the halls held works of art behind glass. Jewelry, crowns, busts. Golden chandeliers with crystals reflecting the light hung from the ceilings that were painted with angels. 

Everything in the palace was worth billions upon billions of dollars. Standing in the middle of it all was Ghost, a man that once was just scraping by in his younger days. He still stood out like a sore thumb among it all. The skull balaclava secured over his head, tattoos revealed on his forearm, the black t-shirt that clung tight to his muscles. It was like death himself walked the bright palace halls. 

“Pardon me, Lieutenant Ghost, but you don’t have to wear that mask here, do you?” The queen, your mother, nervously addressed from her red velvet seat. The mask was making her scared. That was how people normally reacted when they saw him for the first time.

“Yes I do, your majesty.” He curtly responded, the words tasting bitter on his tongue. Ghost was just as uncomfortable as your parents were. When he heard that he was being deployed to guard a princess, he laughed, thinking it was a joke. But now, here he was being served tea and cookies with the king and queen of Stuoca. As much as being on base was a pain in the ass at times, he missed it. 

The king cleared his throat before taking another sip of tea from his teacup. When they reached out to the United States for a bodyguard, they weren’t expecting someone so. . . rough to be sent out. But, if this was the right man for the job, then so be it. As long as his princess was safe. “Thank you for traveling so far away from home in order to help us with our problem. Being a country so small, we weren’t even sure if your country would even bat an eye at us.”

Ghost shifted on the balls of his feet, growing more uncomfortable with the sudden gratitude. He just wanted to start the job already. The sooner he starts, the sooner he can end it. “You said that you’ve received threats. Anything else happened while I was busy traveling here?”

With a snap of the king’s fingers, a maid came over and presented an opened envelope. Ghost quirked a brow under his mask as he took it. Opening it revealed the original letter that was reported to Laswell. The one that he’s already seen with his 141 team. Handwritten, black ink, very articulated. The letter detailed how the royal family would burn down along with their palace. That the princess will be kidnapped and tortured if they didn’t get what they wanted, which was power to control the country. 

Ghost sighed, feeling like he got the short end of the stick on this mission. The entire 141 was working on this case. However, Ghost was the one stuck with babysitting duty while the rest of the guys got to experience all of the action. They were off investigating while he was sitting on a velvet couch in the grandest office he has ever seen. 

“That’s all we have for now to physically show you. The only other concern is the graffiti that has been popping up around the city.” The king explained calmly as a different maid brought over a manilla folder full of pictures. Pictures depicted a graffiti crow on various different buildings. They weren’t murals, but the symbols were prominent enough to be noticed. 

“A crow is a symbol of misfortune and death. A bad omen, wouldn’t you agree?” The queen spoke up, taking a slow sip of her tea as she tried to read the lieutenant’s reaction. It was impossible to do so with his mask. 

“Where is the princess right now?” He inquired. It seemed odd that you didn’t come in with your parents. He figured that they would want you right by their side at all times if they were really concerned about the threats. 

The king and queen stood as if on a cue. The king gestured for Ghost to do the same. “Our daughter is in one of the studies waiting to meet you. For her sake, please refrain from bringing up the letter and graffiti. We don’t want to startle her more than what has already been done.”

Ghost gave a curt nod before following your parents to the study where you stayed. The way they spoke about you, you seemed more like a caged bird rather than their beloved daughter. It unsettled the lieutenant, but perhaps it was just the consequence of formality. They wouldn’t have reached out to the United States for help if they didn’t care after all.

Once they approached the door, the guards saluted and opened it up. Beyond the doors was the most ornate office Ghost has ever seen. Once his eyes settled on you, you were the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. 

Every hair on your head was in place with the help of maids. There were no wrinkles in your dress and no stains in sight. Your makeup was light and only flattered your features. The gems on your necklace complimented your bright eyes. Ghost was almost at a loss for words. When you stood up and curtsied to greet them, he could feel his heart beat against his ribs.

“Good evening.” You simply greeted, your tone polite as ever as a princess should be. 

“Sweetheart, this is going to be your personal bodyguard from now on. He’s going to keep you safe, no matter where you go. Isn’t that wonderful?” Your mother gave a sickly sweet smile, her efforts to meet the status quo seeming a little more forced as she interacted with you.

You definitely knew that something was wrong now. You may have been a confined princess, but you weren’t stupid. However, you decided to refrain from asking what the trouble was. It wasn’t appropriate. Not with your parents watching you.

For now, you focused on the news that you were now going to have a bodyguard. Your eyes shifted towards the large man. Muscles clearly defined under his shirt, posture straight and strong, mask hiding his identity. Compared to him, you were much smaller and much weaker. It intimidated you a bit. It made you hesitant to accept him. However, there were expectations to meet, regardless of how you truly felt.

“Princess Y/n. It is a pleasure to meet you.” You softly spoke as you gave another sweet curtsy towards him. 

He quirked a brow. You were taking this awfully well. A part of him expected some more push-back. He honestly expected you to be a spoiled brat. Yet, here you were, taking everything in stride for now. You knew how to compose yourself better than he expected. “Lieutenant Ghost. I’ll be keeping you safe. For me to do that, there’s going to be some changes.”

You looked to your parents, looking for the explanation for this change. There was not even a bat of the eye as they faked their smiles. “You will still complete your studies as a princess should. Attend the parties as needed to keep up appearances as well.”

Ghost shook his head, authority taking over his baritone voice. “Negative. The princess will not be attending any more parties. Doing so could risk her safety.”

Something was definitely wrong. Your eyes widened at the news. A part of you, though, was celebrating. No more parties? Would your parents really accept this? The sudden shock on their faces morphed into strained smiles, telling you that they weren’t going to accept this so easily. The king cleared his throat. “Lieutenant, it is very important for the princess to still make appearances. It is essential for her.”

Ghost looked at you all of a sudden, wondering how you felt about this change compared to your parents’ obvious protest. You tried to remain unreadable, not wanting to set either party off with your personal opinion. If you had the choice, though, you would sacrifice the parties. They were more for your parents than they were for you anyway.

Ghost sighed in slight frustration. Normally, he was excellent at reading people. He did it all the time with new recruits, enemies, and his team. Their poker faces were nothing compared to yours. “One party if absolutely necessary. No longer than an hour. Just to keep up appearances.”

You bit the inside of your cheek, holding back your disappointment. Well, at least you weren’t expected to be present during the entirety of your parents’ showing off. “Understood, Lieutenant Ghost.”

At least your parents seemed happier with the compromise. Your mother grinned brightly. “Wonderful! Give him the princess’s schedule!”

Your butler hurried over and gave Ghost your schedule. He nearly stumbled back with how packed it was. Piano lessons, dance lessons, tea times, dress fittings, and independent study went on and on for pages and pages. Did you have any time to yourself besides sleep?

“The show must go on! If you have any questions or procedures to discuss, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We hope that you two get along well.” The queen concluded, eager to leave the room so that she could go on with her own daily life. The king followed close behind as they left the room, leaving you and your bodyguard to get to know each other.

You didn’t mind being civil, but you doubted that he would try to get to know you. He simply didn’t seem like the type to stray away from his responsibilities for anything. For now, you silently went back to your seat to finish up tea time. Ghost stood awkwardly for a moment before finding his own place to settle. Leaning against the stone wall, he examined you further.

The way you held your teacup was gentle. Your dress draped against your legs like a smooth waterfall. The way you looked out the window was melancholic. After a few minutes, you spoke up, curiosity getting the better of you. “Why are you my new bodyguard, Lieutenant Ghost?”

Ghost didn’t expect your question. He hardly even knew what you meant when you asked it. Still, he kept his cool as he dug further. It wasn’t like there was any malice in your tone. In fact, your tone was nothing but innocent. “What do you mean? Are you asking me why I took the job?”

You shook your head, staring into your teacup once again as you got a little shy. Lieutenant Ghost wouldn’t report your conversations to your parents, would he? But, you had to know. “Is my life in serious danger?”

Behind the mask, Ghost’s mouth was partially opened with shock. His body grew tense as he realized what was really going on. “They haven’t told you, have they?”

“My parents can be. . . protective. Their priority to maintain normalcy can cause them to make certain judgments in regards to my life.” You subtly worded, fearing that the guards outside were listening to what you were saying. Hopefully, Ghost would understand what you meant.

Thankfully, he did. Now more than before, you really did seem like a caged bird. You deserve the truth. “Your parents received a threatening letter from a terrorist organization. They seem to be after your life in order to manipulate your parents. I serve under Task Force 141 that specializes in missions like this. The rest of my team is investigating the organization while I am to protect you personally.”

Your grip around your teacup tightened slightly as you learned the truth. It seemed that your intuition was correct. This was a serious problem. You swallowed your new fears down hard before proceeding as normal. “Thank you for your honesty, Lieutenant.”

Ghost sympathized with you as he finally saw a shred of how you really felt about this entire situation. His perception of who he was protecting was completely wrong. You were no brat or clueless royalty with too much time and money on your precious princess hands. You were sharp. You were polite. You were obedient. It made him want to know the real you.

He knew that he shouldn’t get closer than what was necessary. Yet, the anxious look in your beautiful eyes as you stared out the window made him want to provide you with some comfort. Some way to break the ice while also doing his job. He opted for a simple conversation about your daily schedule. “What’s independent study for you?”

“It’s my time to study what I wish within reason. Any subject that I may find interesting as long as it is appropriate for a princess.” You delicately explained, putting everything as nice as possible.

All Ghost heard was that you were restricted from real knowledge. However, it wasn’t his place to make a comment on it. It didn’t matter if he didn’t find it fair. You were a princess and you obviously took your responsibilities, fair or not, seriously. He gave a simple hum in acknowledgment for the time being on that matter. “What are you studying?”

You looked at Ghost curiously, wondering how much of this was just workplace conversation and how much of this was genuine attempts at knowing you. The way Ghost looked at you with such resolute, cold eyes made you shiver. Something told you that this was his usual look. “I’m studying many things at the moment that would be proper for me to know.”

It seemed like subtle and vague answers were the only things he was going to get out of you, but he already picked up on the fact that you didn’t do this to be cold towards him. The tone you carried was careful. Gentle. You didn’t want to say anything that could get you in trouble. Simon knew what that was like.

The conversation was dropped for the time being. It seemed like your physical being wasn’t the only thing he had to protect. Your social reputation was at stake as well. Respecting that, he focused back on guarding you. Not without noticing every little thing about you though.

You stole glances at him every so often as well as you sipped your tea. The more you looked at him, the more he intrigued you. You’ve never had a guard that had his build. You’ve never even seen someone with tattoos in person before. He stood out against the pristine white around the palace. A shadow in the light. You were curious about what he looked like under the mask.

~

The rest of the night proceeded as normal save for your new shadow. You were ushered by your butler to your routine lessons, Ghost always close behind. He stayed silent throughout it all, but observant. You did feel like he was watching your every move. While you were used to being heavily monitored, having Ghost be the one observing you made you more nervous than normal. Music lessons, dance lessons, and studying didn’t go as smoothly as you made more mistakes under the pressure. For some reason, you wanted to impress him like you were one of his newest soldiers. 

Ghost thought nothing of it as you did what you had to do. In reality, he found your abilities to be quite impressive, mistakes or not. He did chalk it up to him being an intimidating presence. Despite it, he could tell that you were skilled. 

When bedtime rolled around, he followed into your room. A grand room with a king, white canopy bed, cherry-wood antique furniture, and large, arched windows leading to a balcony. The windows were the second problem that Ghost needed to address if he wanted to keep you safe. “You can’t sleep in here. It would be too easy to-”

Meeting your eyes made him pause. You waited patiently for him to finish as he was going to say, prepared to take the steps necessary to ensure that the next change would be as smooth as possible. Looking at you, though, Ghost saw a pretty woman that he needed to be more gentle towards. Less explicit in language. You were already afraid for your life. He didn’t want to make that anxiety worse for you.

“Is there another room in the palace that has less open windows?” He asked cautiously, minding his words this time. 

You appreciated his careful consideration, feeling more and more safe with him as he made decisions to protect you. “I believe there is. I can sleep there tonight.”

He followed you to another room in the palace that was away from any windows. He nearly sighed in relief as the new bedroom was windowless, smaller, and much more comfortable to be in. The bed was still massive and the antique furniture was polished, but the warmer palette of the decor made the room feel less like a museum display. 

You felt better too as you looked around the cozy room. The windows in your usual bedroom just reminded you of what you couldn’t have. Though, your anxiety grew as you realized that Ghost was still within the room. Your cheeks grew a subtle pink as you chose your words with precision. “I would like to get ready for bed. Is it necessary for you to be here while I do?”

“Well. . .” Ghost thought carefully, trying to make the best decision here. After a few seconds, he determined that you needed your privacy. He was already invading it enough by being your personal bodyguard. With an accepting, silent nod, he stepped out of the room while you changed into pajamas. A few maid staff passed by, gawking at the lieutenant. A glare was enough to have them scurry on their way.

While you changed, you thought about Ghost. About his real personality, his job, his friends. What kind of work does he normally do? Has he ever killed someone? It certainly seemed like he’s gotten into his fair share of fights from the scars you have seen on his arms. Was he dreading this job? At times, you thought that you could see him get antsy while waiting for you. You probably wouldn’t like waiting on a princess either if you were in his shoes. 

Once you were changed into your silky pajamas, you knocked on the door. “Lieutenant? I’m all dressed. You could come in now.”

Swiftly, he came in. For a second, he admired the way you looked in your pajamas. You looked so much more comfortable. The way you were letting down your hair in front of the vanity had him gulp too. “I won’t be watching you sleep all night. Just until you fall asleep, and then I’ll wait outside the door.”

“What about your sleep?” You asked, tilting your head to the side. The way his arms were crossed over his broad chest made you shrink within yourself a bit. 

“I’m used to not sleeping. I don’t usually sleep well either. Don’t worry about me, princess.” He responded bluntly, putting some more personal distance between the two of you. He would be lying if your concern over his own time didn’t make him melt a little though. 

“I see. My apologies, but I am unsure that I will be able to fall asleep quickly tonight. You might be waiting for a while.” You honestly admitted, feeling the anxious pit in your stomach begin to swallow you like a blackhole. You already felt enough like a burden to the maids and butlers with how strictly your parents had them wait on you. 

Ghost shook his head, noticing how lightly you scrunch your brows in concern. How you nervously bit a tiny part of your bottom lip. Subtle behaviors that no one would notice if they weren’t truly paying attention. You were so different from what he was expecting when he was first told that he would be guarding a princess. “It’s fine. This is my job.”

You turned away from your reflection in the mirror to look at Ghost. Your heart skipped a beat as you noticed how blue his eyes were. Such a deep, oceanic blue that held so many secrets. He stared right back at you, noticing how your worries couldn’t be quelled with just two simple sentences. Finally, he was able to read you.

“If it will help, you can talk to me until you fall asleep. Anything you want. I promise that I won’t tell the king and queen.” He offered, taking a seat on the Victorian-styled couch that was at the foot of the bed. 

His offer came as a complete surprise to you. You didn’t expect him to be so kind. You have learned long ago that there was a difference between being civil and genuinely kind. Ghost was being nice, which felt like a rarity given his outward personality. Quickly, you finished getting ready for bed. Once you were cozy underneath the cotton covers, Ghost turned off the main light. The small lamp on your nightstand stayed on, allowing a comfortable dim to illuminate the otherwise dark room.

An awkward silence fell between the two of you as you tried to think about what to talk about. There was still a fear in you that he would tell your parents, but Ghost didn’t seem like the type to break his promises. Besides that, you never really talked about yourself before. No one has ever been interested in what you liked and disliked. Not that you had a lot of experiences with how your parents kept you in the palace and filtered what you could learn. However, that wasn’t to say that you were curious enough to find a way to learn anyways. At the very least, you had plenty of questions about the outside. 

“For my independent study, I am focusing on classicism art. At least. . . that is what my parents think. I. . . I have been studying other things in secret. My handmaiden sneaks new books into the library for me sometimes if she can.” You confessed, feeling a weight of your chest as you admitted your truth. You didn’t like lying and sneaking around in secret. While you loved new knowledge, you still carried that weight with you.

Ghost listened carefully to your confession. His back was turned towards you, a comfortable thing for you since you weren’t keen on the idea of someone watching you fall asleep. It was enough for him to just sit at the foot of your bed. 

“What new books have you read?” He inquired, wondering what sorts of books a princess could possibly want to read in secret. 

You took a deep breath, feeling your cheeks flush as you admitted more of your secrets. Without interruption, he let you speak. He listened to your voice that lowered into a pleasant whisper when you told him about all the books you were reading and wanted to read. A couple of times, he couldn’t help but crack a smirk at some of your opinions that were refreshingly assertive. 

It didn’t take long for him to hear you start dozing. It started with quieter words morphing into sweet slurs. As soon as he heard your steady, deep breaths, he silently got up and left the room. Standing guard in front of the door, he contacted his team by phone to give an update. 

“Lieutenant, how is she?” Captain Price cut to the chase, his voice low as he investigated matters on his side.

“She’s. . .” Ghost began before trailing off. He had to think about the right words to use. 

“She's a spoiled rotten princess?” Another voice came through. The chuckle was no doubt Soap.

“Honestly, no. She’s a princess, but she’s anything but rotten.” He finally admitted, keeping his voice quiet since the halls seemed to echo. 

There was another laugh before the captain cleared his throat, regaining authority. “I’m glad that she is much more pleasant to deal with than what was expected. Just be careful not to get too personal. I know you will be around each other a lot, but the mission is our priority.”

“Of course, Captain.” Ghost promised, wondering if this particular promise would be easy to keep or not. 

[themissinghand]

Genshin Impact: The Overworked God [2]

Part 1

Summary: In which one of the lore writers who help write the world of Genshin Impact was suddenly thrusted in the very world they created. 

Well, testing characters is one thing, but playing God, and raising 7 children at a time? 

Oh boy. He just wants to go home and sleep.

Note: Finally back from break!

Part 2 of the Overworked God! Creator! Male OC!

What if we had a smarter Creator that never forgot his initial wish of going home?

Warning: Genshin and SAGAU themes, some OOC and angst.

★・・・・・・★

Tempus, or Kai has been in the world of Genshin Impact for a very long time, since its creation where it was just him and Celestia. 

He struck a deal with Celestia, promising to be the Creator and consequently the God of Time to help create Teyvat, but on his own terms. Doing what he can to save his creations from unnecessary pain and suffering. 

So, he’s still overworked, stressed and sleepy all the time, especially now that he has to take care of 7 children too.  

But finally…today is the day he could finally go home. 

Home sounds foreign to him, after all, he spent more years in Teyvat than on Earth, but he has never given up on returning after fulfilling his duty as the Creator. 

It’s going to be a difficult announcement to make, considering how attached his children could be, but perhaps, he could twist the narrative just a bit to appease them.

“Tempus!” Speaking of, two bundles of mass hopped towards him as usual, and he caught them with both arms as if it was a routine. He stumbles a bit, sighs, but pats them on the head. 

“It’s been so long since you visited Monstadt! I missed you~” Venti hugged his waist as he peaked up with puppy eyes. Before Kai could respond, Furina beat him to it. 

“It’s because he likes Fontaine better! He’s been in my country the longest!” Furina quipped back with a proud expression on her face. 

“That’s because you suck at ruling your country!” 

“Says you, Mr. Drunkard Bard!” 

At least they both have trustworthy people like Neuvillette and Jean to take care of their country…

“That’s enough, you two.” A spark of lightning scared the two to cling onto Tempus even more, but Ei easily picked the two off. 

Ah, one of the more responsible leaders…

“Please ignore these two, Tempus.” Ei says stoically, as she sends a deadly glare that shuts the two up. 

“It’s fine.” Tempus greets every single Archon with a nod, before taking a seat at the head of the table, his expression showing his tiredness despite the light-hearted banter that usually happens during these meetings.

“Have a seat everyone.” All the Archons did a curt bow before taking their respective seats. 

Materializing snacks resembling that of an English afternoon teatime, he smiled when even the stoic Tsaritsa seemed to enjoy his food. 

It’s a shame though, this will be his last time. 

“Tempus.” He turned to the Tsaritsa, who seemed to notice his distress.

“I’m fine.” He brushed it away, before he felt a cold hand on his. 

“Let us know if anything is bothering you.” Zhongli added on, and Tempus shook his head. 

His children could handle Teyvat without him, what else would he be worried about? 

“Tempus, are your worries the reason why did you call us all today?” Sharp as always, Nahida asks, gaining everyone’s attention all at once. 

In the end…Rukkhadevata chose her fate. There are things that could not be changed…

“Yes.” Feeling everyone’s eyes on him, he felt even more estranged. 

"As you know, I've overseen Teyvat, guided you all, and tried to make amends for the mistakes of the past," Tempus continued. 

“After much thought, I believe it’s time for me to rest.” 

Multiple teacups fell onto the table with a loud thud. With a wave of his hand, the spilled tea disappeared. 

“T-Tempus! What, what do you mean?” Murata stood up abruptly, knocking over a flower vase, which Tempus easily dissolved to nothing. 

“Tempus, how could you abandon us!” 

“Calm down.” But it seems to have no effect, instead, he felt the cold hand squeeze his own, sending a shiver down his spine. 

“Tempus, you belong to us.”

“As I’ve said, I will be going into deep slumber-” Suddenly, many eyes shot towards the Bard who looked very pale. 

“-to take a break.” A teacup shattered, but Tempus paid no mind to it. 

“My decision is final, and I hope you can take care of Teyvat while I rest.” For eternity. 

“Tempus.” Scoring golden eyes burned into Kai’s soul, and he forced himself to remain neutral as he stared at Zhongli-Morax. 

“Please stay. I’m begging you, please, Your Eminence. Please don’t leave us.” 

"But what of Teyvat? You've become integral to the stability and well-being of this world, and us." There were many nods that followed. 

“We need you.”

There was desperation in his voice, and while it did hurt Tempus to leave them, he doubted he could stay any longer knowing that he could finally leave. 

“All of you are strong and are capable enough to rule your countries, which I am very proud of. Teyvat will be in good hands." Some Archons smiled briefly, but it was short lived. 

"Which is why it's time for me to step aside and take a break."

They had grown accustomed to Tempus's guidance, his wisdom, and his tireless efforts to steer them towards a better path, so for them to lose his support is like fighting without a weapon. 

“W-Where, will you be resting? In Temporium?” Furina’s shaky voice filled the silent room. 

“Stay here, the Fortress of Meropide will keep you safe. Fontaine and I will keep you safe.”

“Yes.” 

“For how long?” Venti asked, anxiety in his voice. 

“I’ll find you, I’ll find you no matter where you run.” 

“I do not know, for as long as my body needs.” Their faces became pale at thinking of the possibility of not seeing Tempus again. 

With a sigh, he stood up, making others rush to stand too. 

“Come here, each one of you.” In an instant, they rushed over and Tempus pulled them one by one into a hug. While he made himself tall and muscular, he felt small in the group hug that lasted an incredibly long time. 

He felt arms around his waist, chest, arms and back, being hugged by 7 people at once was somewhat suffocating. 

“You all will do great. I will miss you all.” This was not a lie. 

“Time flows like water, and perhaps I will wake sooner than you all expect.” This was a lie. 

Tempus heard sniffles, and felt hands grabbing his robes and weaving through his long hair. 

“Tempus…do you have to leave us?” Nahida asked, tugging his heart strings as he saw such a wise person tear up. 

Did she read my thoughts? 

Tempus got rid of that idea as he forbade her from doing so, and with his current power alongside Celestia’s authority, she should be blocked from doing such a thing. 

“I am not leaving, Nahida. I am merely resting.” 

Finally, with some coaxing, he managed to peel them off one by one. 

“I leave Teyvat in your hands.” 

With that, Tempus bid farewell to the Archons and quickly prepared to depart from Celestia. The longer he stayed, the more unbearable this would become. 

However, once he left, the atmosphere shifted once more. The Archons, loyal to their Creator beyond measure, exchanged anxious glances, and a heavy silence settled over the chamber.

“Tempus lied.” Nahida said, as tears rolled down her cheeks. 

“Nahida?” All of the Archons felt their heart drop at her words. 

“He may be resting in Temporium, but there’s more to it. I can’t read his mind completely, but…he’s going to leave us if we let him go.” 

“What are we waiting for then?” Suddenly, the atmosphere turned cold. The Tsaritsa stepped forward with her Ice scepter, Permafrost. Like many other Archon’s weapons, they were gifted to them by the Creator himself.

“If Buer’s words are true, then while his body remains in Temporium, his soul is elsewhere.” 

The Archons soon came to a consensus. 

“We cannot let him go into slumber.” 

Or they will lose him completely.

[Are you ready, dear Creator?] 

Tempus laid in his resting chamber on the edges of Temporium, in a makeshift mountain. He created this place in secret, so no one else by him knows. 

He felt bad for his kingdom, as he told the royal family that he will be gone doing his Godly duties for a long time, but never informed how long. 

Regardless, they should be able to live without a god, considering the technology and time Tempus gave them. 

[Yes]

As he lay in his comfortable bed with minimal decorations or other items, he shut his eyes and reminisced about the past. 

Although it was a very long time, he was never really alone. 

But he has seen much more than a normal human on Earth, from war to life and death, to the repetitions of stories by going back in time many times to fix his mistakes. 

“Stop him! He’s going back in time!” 

Truly, it takes a mental toll on his mind. He can’t let his emotions take over, otherwise, he would have to redo everything again. 

[Thank you for your work, dear Creator]

[Just make sure you fulfill your side of the deal]

[Of course]

When he shut his eyes, he felt safe, comfortable and oddly relieved, relieved of his duties at last. 

“Tempus!”  

His eyes snapped open and saw his chamber shake with vigor. All of his protective mechanisms activate, indeed, he prepared for this.

“Tempus!” 

Voices slowly became louder and the earth seemed to roar. 

How did they find him? Was it Buer? It must've been.

“Tempus!” 

There was desperation in their voices, and Kai assumed that they seemed to have figured something out. 

Perhaps honesty was better, but in the end, this was always the outcome. 

Yes, Tempus already knew that no matter what he did, the Archons would rebel, would seek him out.

Even if the walls seem to crumble, it did not affect Kai’s chamber, after all, it was sealed and protected with his powers.

But perhaps with a bit more persistence, they would soon destroy the mountain all together, leaving him and his chamber exposed. But, Tempus was not worried, after all, he had prepared for this moment too long ago. 

[Farewell, dear Creator] 

Suddenly, he felt a bright light engulf him as he felt incredibly sleepy. 

Through his blurred vision, he could see the stormy skies, and all seven Archons rushing towards him. 

“Tempus!” 

“You can’t leave us, Tempus!” 

Seeing them in their prime, in their Archon outfits was a little nostalgic. 

Hearing a crack in his chamber’s shield was somewhat surprising, but also, incredible. His children have grown up well. 

[Farewell]

With a fleeting smile, Tempus bids farewell to his second home. 

“Tempus!” 

His eyes close, just as the light takes him whole. 

“Tempus!” 

Morax and Murata pierced through the tough protective layers desperately, and Ei and Venti whiz past them to reach their Creator. 

But, they were too late. 

“No, Tempus is…he’s-” Barbados was crying as he held Tempus’s hand. 

“Kai! Kai!” Furina bawled her eyes out, calling his real name repeatedly as if it would bring him back. 

But he won’t come back. 

Bal held his body as she froze in shock (in regret), as if she was reminded of her past. 

“Tempus, you’re cruel.” Buer, the one who got them so far and so close but not enough. She knelt down beside him and cried while pressing his hand into her face. 

“You’ve left us with death, not slumber. You lied, you lied!” 

It was like they lost a part of themselves. 

After all, Tempus was there whenever they needed guidance, he sacrificed his own personal time to make sure they were alright. 

“K-Kai…” Morax stumbled towards the still body that used to be his friend, mentor, benefactor, love, and everything. 

Even in death, he was still so beautiful, kind and holy. 

Tempus was their everything. 

The Tsaritsa dragged herself towards Tempus with her scepter. She was known to not show her emotions, even when Tempus encouraged her to do so to stay emotionally healthy. He was the only one that saw her vulnerable side, and knew who she really was, and never judged her for it. 

“Tempus. How dare you…abandon us like this?” She stood by Tempus’s feet and her eyes did not leave his body at all. 

While others wept, her tears were turned into weapons. 

Murata stood by her with the same dark, solemn expression. 

It’s not fair. 

How could he treat them like his everything, and then leave them so abruptly? 

If only he could open his eyes again and say it was nothing but a terrible joke. 

But Tempus is gone, leaving his lifeless body as his final memory and gift. 

[kamidukki]

[AKNK] Berrien’s Daily Life Memories [BOX vol. 1]

[Note]

Long time no translate, so my skill gets a bit rusty.

The beginning of a day

(Yawns) My eyelids are still heavy… On such mornings, let’s have a cup of simple, plain tea, shall we?

(Inhales) How relaxing… There is something special about drinking tea while watching the sun rise.

Well then, now that I’ve felt refreshed, I have to go get ready to greet the Master.

Today, a new day has begun, hasn’t it? ♪

I want you to get well

Lono-kun, how have you been feeling physically?

[Lono: Oh, Berrien-san… Sorry that I’ve caught a cold.]

It’s fine, please just lie down.

[Lono: S-sorry…]

Do you have an appetite, Lono-kun? The truth is I cut up some oranges for you.

[Lono: Thank you so much. I’ll eat them. …Huh, their shape is…]

Correct. They’re rabbits. Don’t they look cute? I thought it’d make you happy.

[Lono: Happy you said… Ha ha, I’m not a child you know]

(Chuckles) But aren’t you laughing, Lono-kun?

[Lono: Of course, I am. Did you peel them for me, Berrien-san?]

I did♪ Thanks to that I was able to see your smile.

Looks like my efforts paid off♪

For other’s sake

Hmm~ I wonder what I should do for my day off today…

I was thinking about helping others, but…

“Get a proper rest on your day off at the very least!” was they told me instead.

(Chuckles) It seems like I’ve caused everyone concern.

But when I see someone in a trouble, there’s no I way I can just walk away.

[Ammon: Argh~! Cleaning this up is gonna be rough…]

Oh? Just now, I heard Ammon-kun’s voice…

He sounded in need of help. I shall go see him and lend my aid.

(Chuckles) As I thought, working for other’s sake suits my personality better♪

Bedtime routine

(Yawns) Now, let’s get some sleep… I’ve prepared tomorrow’s attire. Put the doll charm here, add the cologne on it… Done.

(Inhales) This scent gives my mind a sense of security, after all.

Tonight too, may I sleep in peace without having a nightmare...

Well then… Good night.

Overcoming fear of bugs

(Sighs) Even I know how pathetic it is... If my fear of bugs remains as is, the Master may think of me as an unreliable butler one day.

I have to get over this fear by any means… And for that reason…

First, I’ll start by familiarising myself with the bug encyclopaedia...

Ugh…! Gh… (heavy breathing)

Uh… it’s more realistic-looking than I thought…

I will stop here for today. Any more than this will probably hinder my works.

Ugh… I pray the bug pictures I saw just now won’t appear in my dream tonight…

On weapon handling

Haa~ today’s training is tough too…

That being said, compared to everyone else, I’ve become more accustomed to handling a weapon.

The first time I held this spear in my hand... Rather than swinging it, I felt like I was the one being swung by it.

…Now, I can handle it well, as though it’s a part of my body.

This must be the result of my daily training.

With this spear, I shall be able to protect the Master when necessity arises.

(Chuckles) Let’s keep on training for a bit more today, shall we?

Beloved Teacup

Ah… How did it come to this… For my beloved teacup to end up broken…

It’s been my favourite for a long time, what a shame…

Now that I think about it, this teacup holds a lot of memories... From the day I finally bought it, having been so taken with it at first sight in the shop... It is also with this teacup that I've tried out several new blends...

We spent teatime together each day...

Today, the time to say farewell has finally come. What a shame…

Goodbye, my teacup of memories…

Thank you for everything…

…

I can’t bear to throw everything away after all. At the very least, I shall keep the pieces.

Peaceful time

Ha~ the weather is great today.

Since it’s time for break, I might as well stroll in the garden.

Fu fu. It looks like Ammon-kun is working hard to take care of the flowers like usual.

On the other side is… Haures-kun, who is giving Lono-kun and the others a training.

Oh? Over there is… Oh my. Lamli-kun seems to be chased off by Nac-kun again.

(Chuckles) It's just the usual, peaceful, scenes of our daily life.

However… Until the angels come, it is a brief moment of peace.

Considering our battles, I value these moments even more.

May this time of peace continue for as long as possible...

Berrien’s Sigil

D-do you want to see the sigil on my body…?

[I want to see it]

…Understood. It’s a little embarrassing, but if that’s what the Master wishes…

Then, I beg your pardon, for I have to take off my tops…

…

Err, well…

If the Master would like to touch it, I also do not mind…?

A smile for you

Berrien Cliane is… a very kind-hearted butler.

Whenever I feel tired, he’d serve me a tea, all while giving me the soft smile of his.

[Berrien: Master, you seem tired. Be it unease or restlessness, I know it’s all difficult in more than one way. Even so... whenever that happens, please think of it this way. ‘Do I remember my grievances from a year ago? Or even ten?’ That’s right… most worries will be forgotten as the time goes. That’s why, Master, please show me your smile. Whenever you do, it brings me a sense of joy.]

[Thank you, Berrien.]

…While saying so, Berrien smiles at me like he always does.

When I'm with Berrien... a smile just naturally comes to me.

Berrien is… a gentle butler, who’s always there for me.

[kitsune024]

Zuko Fic Recs Part 2 - add later

Zutara Fics

An Unlikely Alliance by @badlucksav I Chapters: 53/? I season 2 divergence, Fake Dating, Fluff and Humor, Slow Burn..kind of These Tides Do Turn by @ink-and-dagger-alt I Chapters 32/32 I Completed Canon Divergence, One-Sided Aang/Katara, Slow Burn, Blood and Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ember Island

Another Brother by @awesomeavocadolove I Chapters: 37/? I Canon Rewrite, Water Tribe Zuko, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Found Family Tale of the Blue Spirit by QuillWrighter I Chapters: 8/? I Blue Spirit Zuko, Spirit Zuko The Spirit Tale of Fire Lord Ozai by @commehter I Chapters 21/? I Fire Lord Zuko, Canon Divergence, Pre-Canon, Time Travel, Fix-It, Spirits, Bodyswap, Zuko is Ozai, Parenthood Dragon at Heart by Identical Gemini I Chapters 40/? I FFN Dragon Zuko, Ursa is not liked here, Adventure/Friendship heart of a dragon by @discordiansamba I Chapters 8/? I Zuko gets raised by dragons au, Canon Divergence Sisyphus by @blluespirit I Chapters 6/? I Early Zuko Redemption, Badass Zuko, Blue Spirit Zuko

Oneshots

Mercy by Etherborn I Chapters: 1/1 I Overpowered Zuko, Dark Oneshot, Zuko Getting Revenge Teatime in the Dungeon by Skylinneas I Chapters: 1/1 I Azula Redemption Destiny and Duty by @sirenalpha | Chapters: 1/1 | The Gaang Learns How Zuko Got The Scar, Fix-It of Sorts, Aang doesn't get to run away from his responsibilities in this fic

Bookmark Series

Consider Chaos by @awesomeavocadolove I Part 1 - 6 I Chaos Avatar Zuko kintsugi by @discordiansamba I Part 1 - 9 I toph didn't get her field trip so she gets to hog zuko for three whole years, Canon Divergence no grave (hold my body) by @zenzaaaaaaaaaaaa  I Part 1- 4 I Badass Zuko, Spirit Zuko, Canon Divergence, Azula Redemption Learning to Fly by @fanboyzuko | Part 1 - 17 | Zuko Takes Himself on a Life-Changing Field Trip, Zuko is 13 A Dragon's Instinct by @aelincreativ I Part 1 - 3 I Dragon Zuko, iroh is a bad uncle in this, Azula Redemption, azula loves zuko, Zuko's crew, Jee is a good dad Dragon of the Yuyan by @awkwardpenguinproductions I Part 1- 40 I Yuyan Raise Zuko, Zuko & The Yuyan Archers, Canon Divergence, Badass Zuko The Gaang finds out..... by @imalwaysconfuzzled I Part 1- 6 I Oneshots, Badass Zuko, the gaang found out how insane their friend is. Loyalty Is Acquired Through Time by @codeearth | Part 1-13 | Role Reversal Au, Zuko and Azula, Badass Zuko, Badass Azula, Zuko is the prodigy and Azula was banished

[eleanor-bradstreet]

Let Me Be Your Anchor - Masterpost

✨An Offer From a Gentleman reimagined✨ Benedict Bridgerton x Sophie Beckett

What this is: My head canon rewrite of An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn, melding the best parts of the book and Bridgerton tv show. This is not an attempt to predict/write Benedict's love story on the show, just an exercise in tweaking things I didn't like in the book. This is a Benedict and Sophie love story where Sophie has more agency, Benedict has more kindness, there are a lot more steamy encounters, and many more characters play a role in their coming together.

How it works: This will be posted as a multichapter fanfic, but it's not a fully written story start-to-finish. There are scenes and lines from the book that I want to preserve and expository bits that wouldn't be worth a rewrite, so those will be noted within the body of the chapters. [exposition and summary notes will be marked in brackets]

Quoted lines from An Offer From a Gentleman will be written in italics and are the work of Julia Quinn.

Chapter ratings will vary with some being 18+. Ratings will be listed at the start of each chapter.

The setting: The story takes place according to the book timeline with Benedict's love story following Anthony's, and involves a two year time jump during which he looks for Sophie. But the world in which it takes place is the one established by the show, with characters embodying their show personalities (looking at you Benedict).

Thank you to everyone who has expressed interest in this project. It is the reason I started writing Bridgerton fanfic (and writing at all as an adult) and is the greatest passion project I've ever undertaken as a fan. 💙

Chapter 1: The Modiste

Chapter 2: The Masquerade

Chapter 3: Repercussions

Chapter 4: Flight

Chapter 5: Fever

Chapter 6: A New Venture

Chapter 7: Aubrey Hall

Chapter 8: The Lake

Chapter 9: The Portrait

Chapter 10: The Orangery

Chapter 11: The Offer

Chapter 12: Defenses Crumble

Chapter 13: Release

Chapter 14: Hastings

Chapter 15: The Drawing Room

Chapter 16: Teatime

Chapter 17: The Country Visit

Chapter 18: London (coming soon)

[bestgameostcrownduel]

Round 1, Side A: Chicory: A Colorful Tale (2021) vs Bravely Default: Flying Fairy (2012)

Chicory | Bravely Default

Campaigns under the cut!

Campaign for Chicory:

I adore this game and its soundtrack is a very big part of the reason why. First of all, it's composed by Lena Raine, and while I have only played a few minutes of what I think she's best known for (Celeste), I do know that producing banger after banger is something she does exceptionally well, especially if this games soundtrack is anything to go off of. This games songs, to me, are on a spectrum which goes from "does its purpose" (a very small category for tracks like "You're Not Real") to the wider category of "super fun or nice song which I could easily put on whenever and enjoy" (so stuff like "Appie Foothills" or "Dinners, the Big City") to the "one of the best songs I've ever heard" category (containing songs like most of the boss battles, especially "Abandon Me" and all of the tracks associated with the ending. Though I also adore calmer tracks, with "Teatime Meadows" being one of my favorites in that department). All of the songs work amazingly with the game, especially since the game developers had already had experience with tying the soundtrack and what the game did alongside it with prior projects. The soundtrack would be amazing on its own, but the game helps to back up its impact, just like what happens vice versa. Also Lena Raine gave commentary for every song in the soundtrack once, and that made me appreciate the whole thing more, because there's just so much love and effort put into this soundtrack and I do not think the soundtrack or the game it boosts would be as amazing without it.

A heartfelt, thoughtful soundtrack. The songs do an amazing job of setting the tone for each area, each scene, each emotion -- from Pizza's wonder at learning to wield the brush, to her fear and guilt as she learns more about what it means to be a wielder, to her plucky courage as she stands up to help her friend Chicory, and everything in between. The soundtrack is absolutely one of the best parts of an already incredible game and it deserves to be listened to -- and played! -- by even more people. please play chicory omg.

It's such a soft and beautiful soundtrack, mainly based around guitars and woodwinds. Highlights: Wielder Temple, Sips River, Gulp Swamp

I have never even played this game, but I felt like I could feel the story through the soundtrack and the emotional drama through the melodies. It's like a mix of cute, pastel sounding, and some catchier boss battles, and then seriousness with hope.

Campaign for Bravely Default:

An underrated gem with a phenomenal soundtrack

listen to "serpent eating the ground"

[glazedsnail]

Fanfic Ends

Finallyyyyyy (I started an epilogue ya'll I can't let them go)

For now, at least, at LAST, the last part of my ShanexOC Stardew Valley Fanfic

Misery Loved Company

ShanexOCFarmer (♀️) 18+ -

Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 • Part 8 • Part 9 • Part 10

Look at my farmer and her husband at his favourite festival what a goober omg who likes eggs that much - she says holding her oversize novelty boiled egg dressed in her gudetama pyjama

I'll show you my oversized novelty boiled egg once.

I was listening to this the whole time.

Especially: love letters - teatime at the cottage - lonely waltz x passacaglia - the fairy - picnic in the meadows - spring - a white dress - butterflies and dandelions

With spring mostly on repeat I must admit.

Anyway that's not why you clicked the cut:

‘Shane, what’s taking you so long? We’re going to be late!’

Barely awake, last sip of coffee lingering on his tongue, Shane forces himself into his clothes. He could certainly benefit from buying a new suit, but this one still fits. Why bother. He wins the fight against his trousers and turns to the mirror. His only white shirt has a stain of sauce. A short lament. He will have to wear the tie after all and pray it will hide the stain at least a little. Now to remember the damn knot.

‘Shane!’

‘In a minute!’

Shane promised his aunt he would make an appearance today after she stated, nicely, how fed up she was by “everyone” asking how her nephew was doing. He had a hard time imagining a single person caring, so “everyone” felt like a bit of a stretch. Nevertheless, there he was, already regretting his promise, while Marnie, who was done with clearing and cleaning the breakfast table, was slowly losing patience. He had managed to find excuses to avoid participating in big town events, sometimes at the last minute. This time she was not going to let him win.

Finally, the tie is on, crooked, and hides the sauce stain. With a smile, he figures it might have happened at his birthday dinner just a few days ago. Jas and Marnie had laid out his favourite food, and even put a bow on Charlie who had the best seat at the table. Shane’s grin deepens. He was grateful, even if showing it poorly. 

‘Uncle Shane!’

‘You tell him, Jas.’

A laugh. Things are not so bad.

He tries to fix his hair. Quickly gives up. A long exhale as he puts on his jacket, ready to go.

‘There he is!’ Sings Marnie. ‘You could have done something about your stubble.’

‘Marnie.’

‘It’s fine, it’s fine. You look great. Let’s go!’

To Jas’ delight, they are about to finally cross the doorway.

‘Oh just a minute.’

The little girl grumbles at her uncle who’s already making them late. At this rate all the honey and hot cross buns will be gone. Shane makes sure to acknowledge her frustration by ruffling her hair, and walks to the kitchen window. The valley is slowly heading towards summer. The tepid timid sun shining in the sky right now will start warming and burning in just a couple of hours. The trees are plump and full with leaves and lives. Butterflies are twirling in the mating ballet of their short existence. One of Marnie’s cow is happily chewing cud under the window, ringing her bell at whoever wants to hear it.  Shane sighs, content. It’s a beautiful day. He reaches for the single plant pot sitting on the window ledge, turns it around, inspect the leaves, the branches, sprays some misty water around.

When Shane found the hot pepper plant in Fern’s farm he couldn’t bear to leave it amongst everything else, and was pleasantly surprised to discover he actually had a green thumb, and that it was enough to revive the browning leaves. And then he saw she had slapped a stupid handmade label reading “Shane” crudely stuck onto the terracotta. He knew he had to take care of it, cursing that damn corny ass farmer with every fibre of his body.

Perhaps because he was taking too long, or because she felt he needed it, Jas grabs her godfather’s hand. Her smiling eyes looking up to him, not uttering a word. He smiles, and squeezes her little hand back.

‘Thank you’ he whispers. ‘Let’s go now.’

The clearing had been prepared like every year. Colourful bunting stretched around the field and the tables. Cut flowers decorating every corner of meadows where wildflowers are not already growing. The air is sickly sweet with the scent of bloom and anticipation, mixed with the recently cut grass to prepare for the upcoming stomping. Jas leaves Marnie’s hand the moment she sees Vincent and Penny, who nods politely at them.

‘How are you doing?’ Marnie asks her nephew now alone.

‘I’ll be fine.’ He says, uncomfortable in his ill-fitting suit. ‘I think Gus brought his hot chilli sauce.’

She laughs tenderly before grabbing him, and starts dusting his shoulders, puts some order in his hair, straightens his tie.

‘Shane, this shirt has a stain.’

‘Before you moved the tie, it was perfectly hidden.’ He moves the tie back. ‘Why all the fuss anyway. I’m just gonna hang by the buffet.’

‘What if someone asks you to dance? Be a bit more presentable.’

‘I said I’d come, aunt Marnie, not that I’d dance.’

She sighs in desperation.

‘I want you to enjoy yourself.’

‘I’ll be fine, go and mingle.’ He replies, gently stopping his aunt from trying anything with his messy hair.

Marnie smiles, swiftly caressing his cheek, with pride, and concern. He watches her sauntering over to the mayor, and exhales. He can finally stop smiling. Around him, the other townspeople are loudly talking, laughing, excited, impatient. Some glance at him, others are even gratifying him with a sympathetic smile. With a groan, he makes his way to a tree casting its shadow on the array of food available and leans against it. Colourful bugs are dancing around the uncovered plates, the flowers, then fly high up to the sun.

‘You got a lighter?’

Shane jumps. Transfixed as he was by the insects he didn’t see Pam approaching him to his shadowing corner.

‘Sorry Pam, no, tryin' to stop.’

‘Good for you!’ She says, putting her cigarette behind her ear. ‘So, out of your hole at last?’

‘We spoke yesterday at Jojamart, what are you on about?’

She scoffs.

‘I meant in the social department. Ain’t seen you ‘round lately. Saloon sure feels empty.’ She chuckles and adds. ‘Not that I was seeing much of you since that farmer got your eye.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Shame she didn’t stick around. Do we know why she didn’t come back?’ Shane lifts his head to the trunk, and hopes a bit too late it’s not covered in sap. Since Fern had left it was like she’d never existed. They would always make sure to never mention her when he was around. He didn’t care if they did. All of them being so careful not to talk about her enraged him more than if they did.

Today for some reasons, his head was not in the mood.

‘Family stuff. I think.’

‘You think?’

Fern had written with no return address to the mayor. Nothing in the letter mentioned Shane. But she was sorry. 

‘Pam.’

‘I get ya, I get ya! Don’t worry. Just sayin’ it’s nice to see you here is all.’

‘Marnie made me. Said I couldn’t miss the Flower Dance. Something ‘bout tradition and shit.’

The older blond shrugs.

‘Well, even the doc’s not here so, tradition or not, I don’t think anyone would’ve said anything anyway.’

Shane laughs bitterly. Of course no one would have noticed or cared. 

‘Anyway, nice talking to ya!’ She bolts as she sees Gus in the distance, ready to ask the saloon’s owner for a lighter, and leaves Shane to his trunk

Been a while since he actually craved a cigarette.

He looks around him. It’s true that Harvey isn’t there. Everybody else is. Shane is heavily debating crawling back in his bed. He made his appearance, it should please Marnie.

‘Everyone, gather ‘round! We’ll soon start the dance.’

Lewis shouts, trying to get everyone’s attention. Shane lets out a scornful sigh. The appeal of his bed just increased tenfold. He watches, from his tree, as his peers grab their partners’ hand, and quickly looks down, dejected. He doesn’t have proper dress shoes on, and his sneakers need a serious wash. He most likely walked in the mud on his way here. At least he hopes it’s mud.

The music gently starts. A ghastly recording of an ill fitted 3 / 4 waltz they probably played when Mayor Lewis was in his baby britches. Shane lifts his head back up, thinking of grabbing something to eat while they dance.

To his surprise, no one is dancing. He scans the thin crowd. Most of the heads are turned to the passageway to the forest. Marnie bolts towards it with what looks like a smile on her face from afar, quickly followed by Jas’ little legs. Soon, a small group forms around them. Shane leaves the shadow of his tree, tempted to join them all, slightly tip-toeing, lifting himself up to see above their heads.

They part the way. Shane’s heart skips a beat. 

There, in the springtime light, softly caressed by the slow wind, wearing a white light cotton dress, Fern walks alongside Harvey. She’s smiling, holding Jas’ hand, talking to Marnie. To add to his disbelief, they hug, a timid but warm embrace. 

With a dry mouth, Shane curses his legs. He really thought he was walking towards her but they’re unresponsive. Fern finally sees him and her smile disappears. Both refuse to blink, too scared the other would simply vanish. She slowly walks to him, her dress gently flowing against her bare ankles. She should have known he would be away from everybody else. Shane fights the urge to rub his eyes. Finally, his legs let him move to her. To the farmer he saw covered in mud, barely knowing how to hold a chick, cutting herself with a pair of shears and blaming the sheep, spewing nonsense after nonsense for days just to befriend him, and was as pretty now as she was then. Her hazel eyes look brighter. Her hair, longer, is up in a ponytail, softly swinging in her steps. He saw her everything, in the bareness of their carnal exchange, and yet, the light cloth kissing her curves is the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. With his trembling hand, he grabs a pink gerbera sitting on the table, and finally reaches her. They both clear their throat.

‘Shane.’ she starts.

He looks straight at her, flower in hand. Without a word, he lifts his arm to her hair and tucks the pink flower behind her ear. She smiles, her golden eyes slowly getting wet.

The music had stopped, and no one in the whole valley is breathing.

‘Fern’ he replies.

They don’t even realise everyone is looking at them. Shane painfully swallows, and takes Fern’s hand in his.

‘Do..Do you, maybe, want to dance?’ he asks with all his strength. She nods, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. On the other side of the meadow, Marnie tugs at Harvey’s coat, holding a please squeal.

‘Lewis’ she says to the mayor ‘put the music back on.’

He recognises her non negotiable tone and the music starts again. They all slowly join Shane and Fern, keeping their distance, and start the dance. Shane puts his shaking hand on her waist, lets her grab his shoulder, and starts slowly twirling. His blushing cheeks are met with his new smile as he realises he is holding Fern. Their dance starts slow, uncertain, like two newborn fawns. Certainly looking clumsy to the outside eye. She looks at his smiling green eyes, grateful to see them again.

‘You’re back’ Shane exhales.

‘I’m sorry’

‘No, no. Not now’ he whispers as they twirl.

‘You’re very handsome in that suit.’ Fern says, remembering how striking she already found him in his everyday attire.

He timidly scoffs, obviously not believing her one bit, barely able to hide his increasingly blushing face.

‘Your hair is longer.’ He remarks.

‘Yeah it’s… It’s been a while.’

‘It looks nice. N-not that I didn’t like your short hair. That it didn’t look nice. It looked nice then too. I like you. Your longer hair. Just now.’

A tear runs down Fern’s cheek that she quickly wipes. How she missed this endearing clumsiness.

‘I missed you.’ She whispers, as a new twirl pulls her closer to Shane.

‘I missed you too.’ He replies in one breath, her smile striking his fast beating heart.

‘I’m happy you’re here.’ She adds.

‘Marnie made me come.’

‘Wasn’t the prospect of all the dipping sauce good enough?’

He laughs, making her twirl again in his arms.

‘Why’d I go through the pain of wearing a suit and head out when I can eat alone at home in my pants?’

‘Still trying to charm me, I see.’

Shane bites his lip, hearing her laugh, seeing her smile, all while in his arms. He had almost convinced himself he’d never see her face again, never feel her body in his hands. She was certain she would have to forget Shane, forget his smile, his voice. But there he was, slowly making her dance and laugh, his soft kind eyes falling into hers.

‘Did Harvey bring you here?’

‘Fetched me at the station. We’ve been planning for weeks, surprisingly not a lot of train stops at Pelican Town.’

‘We?’

‘Well, Harvey, me, and your aunt.’

Shane’s steps nearly stop, stunned. He blinks repeatedly.

‘Marnie?’

She knew Fern would be here, today, after months of absence and still let him come with a sauce stained shirt.

Fern nods, and twirls.

‘She came to the city. Multiple times.’

‘I had no idea.’

‘That was her plan.’

Shane quickly tries to find Marnie. Standing in the corner of the meadow, she looks at them with a warm smile. 

‘We had…Long talks.’ Fern continues.

He nods in understanding, swirling with her.

‘Are you leaving after today?’ He asks, tightening his grip over her hand and waist, afraid that she would disappear should she answer yes.

‘No. The farm is mine.’

Shane grabs Fern back after fumbling a step, helping her back on her feet.

‘You’re staying? For good? With me? I mean, with us? I mean, in Pelican Town?’

She giggles, closing in on the already decreasing gap between them. 

‘Marnie said you’ve been taking good care of my chickens. Especially Cranky.’

‘I have. Cranky will not want to leave me ever, now.’

‘She’s not the only one.’

The music stops, much too soon. They refuse to leave each other’s arms. Their chest move up and down in unison, out of breath, heart against the other.

‘Shane I’m sorry I didn’t come back.’ Fern starts in one exhale.

‘Fern.’

‘I should have at least wrote or’

‘Fern, you’re back’ he cuts ‘You’re here now.’ He caresses her cheek. ‘And for some insane reasons you’re dancing with me.’ 

‘I’m sorry I hurt you, Shane. I was scared to come back.’ She adds in a shaking tone, cradling herself in his open hand. 

She looks down, but Shane swiftly lifts her chin back up with a smile. Fern takes it all in. His gorgeous smile creasing the corner of his soft eyes. She passes her hand in his hair and takes a deep breath. 

‘I love you.’

She sees the weight of her words fall in Shane’s eyes, the shock making his smile slowly disappear. As tears start falling, Shane pulls Fern to him in a kiss. Applauses erupt from the surrounding, suddenly remembering they’re in the middle of a town gathering, startled by the townspeople who have all been holding their breath for so long, for that one kiss.

Hesitant to let the other go, they blush, looking like two stranded poppies in the middle of the clearing. 

‘I’m sorry.’ Fern whispers ‘I know how you are with public display.’ she laughs, starting to release his hand.

He pulls her back in another kiss. A soft, slow caress on her lips, feeling like they kiss for the very first time in an intentional passionate embrace while the world disappears around them. Then Fern’s feet touch the ground again, her forehead pressed on Shane’s holding his shallow breathing to whisper back.

‘I love you.’ 

[kehideni]

I love it when people interact with my posts~

In Macaque's defense, you have no idea how easy it is to be blind to someone else's mood.

Cartoons have exaggerated expressions which makes reading them childsplay. Reading an actual person is rather hard and people are generally really horrible at it.

Macaque doesn't know what Wukong saw, just as you don't know what Pigsy, Mei, Tang, Mo and Sandy saw. Nor do we know what Macaque himself saw.

The scene was tonally deaf to us, because we as audience know what Wukong saw.

Macaque was blind to Wukong's mood because he himself was occupied with the fact that Wukong got captured, something he sacrificed himself to not happen. His priority was correct at that moment because, it's the end of the world. If the heroes get captured then it's over, therefore if they get captured after he sacrificed himself -> biiiig big trouble (He didn't know yet that MK came in the pagoda on purpose)

It's no accident that this shot shows them still having a big chasm between them.

In part 1 in the tags you asked how i focus on objectivity. The secret is that you have to switch off your empathy. The second you take sides you will become blind to reality.

(I don't mean switch off empathy as in to stop caring about them, it is important to still care for both sides.)

@teatime-at-4

[luvly-writer]

“But Oh…Cara Mia”

Ch. 18: Deception is a tasty treat

———•———

Warnings: none

Author’s note: Hi loves! It’s been a while! I finally got through at least a little bit of my writers block and finally figured out how to carry one with the story little by little. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Love you all and Missed you all deeply! Please do enjoy this chapter. As always, feedback is always deeply appreciated.

Taglist: @lorosette @nanas-teatime @prettyacademia00 @mxtokko @sarahkaliii @w31rdg1rl @Eurydicegrimes @writing-for-the-hell-of-it @alecmores @dakotali @sadraven1992 @camilalexa93 @bee814 @inejghafawifesblog

Series Masterlist:

————-•———-

How do you fool a family of detectives to believe that you are not in a secret relationship with someone who you’ve been in love with for years and they know?

Easy.

You continue to act as if nothing is going on and gaslight them to believe you are still irrevocably in love with the person but the other half doesn’t know it.

The last few weeks have been eventful at best. Dick and Y/n have been doing almost everything in order to enjoy as much as they can together without the rest knowing and surprisingly it was going well.

“Here’s the plan,” Y/n said, one night as Dick had just gotten out of the shower after patrol and was getting ready to go to sleep. He can’t remember the last time he slept in his apartment ever since the night they finally talked things through. He was currently brushing his teeth, with a white towel thrown carelessly on top of his head, without a shirt and black sweatpants. With a hand on his hip, he raised an eyebrow at her, asking her to continue. “We create a fake boyfriend.”

Dick finished brushing his teeth and laid next to her in bed, pulling her towards him and cuddling her. “I’d that so?” he said full of amusement. She nodded giggling and he couldn’t help but stop to admire her. “I can already think of 20 reasons why this could fail, why are we in Wonder Woman’s good graces fake you having a boyfriend that is not me?” he said making her laugh.

“Because if we can fool the world’s greatest detective, I can keep you for a little while for myself and yes, even though we know that it won’t be problem, they have made it abundantly clear that they want us together; but, I want you for myself for some time. No expectations, no pressure.” Y/n pulled him closer and kissed him. They both understood that it wasn’t that their families would be unsupportive. It was that they would be SO supportive that they would not be allowed privacy. Dick laughed because even though the plan was childish, it would be fun playing around with their family. Plus, having the privilege of saying that you fooled the world’s greatest detectives was something that appealed to both of them. Their own little prank. So, he agreed.

Step 1: Stage a fight.

If both of them began soft launching a relationship it would be too easy for the rest to figure it out seeing as he quite literally acted as a love struck puppy around her.

That part came easy to them, seeing as that’s where they most had expertise. They knew which words to say and how to create an argument convincing enough to fool their family and friends.

“-YOU JUST DONT KNOW WHEN TO QUIT, GRAYSON!” Y/n screamed at him. They were “arguing” in her lab just as everyone was outside in the cave. To them, what looked like a peaceful discussions between Dick and Y/n became an argument where Y/n was ready to burst into tears at any given moment. They looked at each other and sighed. It really was an endless circle. They joke, flirt, fight, separate, and reconcile; then it was all over again. “All for nothing” said Steph quietly as the rest agreed. So much excitement in the last few weeks and they went back to square one. Another sigh was let out the group as the continued their work, though this time a little bit discouraged. Damian stared at the two of them not believing how everything turned out. Kory was out of the picture, Yn was home, so was Dick, he gave her flowers for heaven’s sake! Why were they so disfuncional? if only- “JUST LEAVE!”

“FINE I WILL!”

“FINE”

“FINE!” Dick stormed off out of Y/n’s lab. Sun sat down in her chair placed her hands on her face and let out a frustrated scream. She tied her hair into a pony tail and got to work. “I don’t have time for him. Not anymore!” She said as she tapped on her laptop. Damian looked at her intently, trying to decipher what the argument was about. Dick was bothering Yn about something if she told him to quit and leave, but what could he have done so bad that she would want him to leave?

That night, when sun arrived to her apartment, a vase with fresh flowers was on her counter. Dick sneaked behind her and hugged her. “You make a very convincing actress, darling” he said as he kissed her cheek, making her laugh.

“As do you, my love, as do you” she answered.

Step 2: introduce the “new man”

“hmmmm”

“whats wrong, bubba?” asked Dick as he noticed his lover’s silence.

“I don’t know how we will do this without the public snitching on us. We are well known and you know Gotham Gazette is ALWAYS looking for an excuse to have us as their cover story. What if it gets ruined? What i-“

“What if we make a reservation? We do have enough money to clear the entire space? Maybe wear caps and sunglasses when we are out? Pay off anyone who wants to say anything? This all sound like good choices, don’t ya think?” Dick said making her laugh

“You know what? Those aren’t that bad?”

-•-

-•-

Now you definitely had their attention and maybe you were starting to reconsider if your plan was a good one.

“Is he blonde”

“no”

“maybe a brunette, you’ve always liked those”

“no”

“is he from your gym?”

“no”

Barbara and Stephanie had decided to question you on who was your mystery guy and frankly it’s was tiring tu the fuck out. First, they had threatened to search him out but you counter attacked that you would stop fixing their suits if they breeched your privacy like that. That seemed to get them to stop. Then they had settled for good old questioning. Every time they were near you, they would start to ask questions trying to find a way to find out who HE was. If only they knew that the majority of the time, HE was sitting near them trying to hide a big ass grin seeing as he thoroughly enjoyed how much they were annoying Yn.

This time, they found themselves in the middle of the living room, waiting for Duke, Tim, Damian, and Jason to choose a movie seeing as it was Wayne Kids movie night. The sofa was occupied by Yn, with Barbara to her left and Stephanie and Cassie to her right. Dick sat at the love seat watching the conversation with huge amounts of amusement. To the rest it just looked like he was happy she was getting annoyed which was true but he mostly was just enjoying the view (her).

“Was it the guy from the park?”

Noticing how much he was enjoying her suffering from the questions she had an idea.

Step 3: Throw off suspicions between them

“Mayyyybe”

Hearing this, all of them perked up.

“YOU ARE KIDDING!”

“OH HE WAS CUTE!”

Barbara and Steph screamed at the same time. Tim and Jason swapped knowing glances and nodded, they were definitely going to look into him later. Duke exchanged excited looks with Cass and laughed. Finally, Damian took notice of Dick’s behavior. His jovial state was clearly replaced by annoyance as he lightly glared at Yn, who in return softly laughed. Hmm interesting. Dick managed to cover it up with an eye roll and told the guys to hurry up. Finally, after a few more minutes, they had How to Train Your Dragon playing.

Throughout the movie, Damian kept on staring at Yn and Dick, wondering what that small exchange was about. At once, Dick pulled out his phone and texted someone. What a coincidence that aun received a text not short after, looks up at him, winks and texts back. He then notices Dick rolling his eyes at his phone and pouting at the tv to which Yn lightly chuckles. That was weird.

-•-

-•-

After the movie, Damian waits for everyone to leave and shoots a text through the chat they had made without Yn and Dick.

-•-

[manasurge]

Tyria Pride 2024 NA (Day 1) part 2

YEAH we had the Tyria Pride Anet person on our map for a bit. I also don't know why or how their colour changed like that, but trans and lesbian flag colours solidarity!! (they may have done it on the fly I imagine, but idk if it's just a visual glitch too since I swear they wen't back to the other one after laksjdf. Either way I love both versions)

Me and my attempts at getting good shots of the prismatic beams they were shooting everywhere (kinda spammy screenshots, but it was hard to time these right without doing so lol). SO pretty

I always love it when we cross bridges. Also more random screenshots.

Teatime Shenanigans

YEAH I SAW LARA!!!! :D <3 (also I just realized Cmaj tag and not LaLa tag?! omg i thought she only made another LaLa for NA)

Two (2) of them... (lol they look small bc I used my embiggening tonic for the march vs how I use the miniature tonic for the art parties haha)

LOL yeah once it started getting hella crowded my game decided to turn a lot of folks into having the blank default models and every time I'd turn around to this group of Charr, they would look like this while tposing before they loaded in properly.

And of course the last bit at the end <3 I sadly couldn't get good screenshots of this bc we were on the overflow side here, but hopefully I was able to sync my emotes properly in time as my actions felt either too early or too late whenever I did them lol.

[blackbeeno3569]

THE APIARIST, Epilogue

Rise of the Guardians fancomic

Prologue

Chapter 1: I Wept The Day We Met

Chapter 2: The Stories To Be Heard (part A)

Chapter 2: The Stories To Be Heard (part B)

Chapter 3: Memories From The Shadows (part A)

Chapter 3: Memories From The Shadows (part B)

Chapter 4: The Teatime

Chapter 5: Something Wicked

Chapter 6: Blood Under The Oaks

Chapter 7: Yadwiga

Chapter 8: The Extent Of Things We Are (part A)

Chapter 8: The Extent Of Things We Are (part B)

Chapter 9: The Stream

Chapter 10: Where The Monsters Are Hidden (part A)

Chapter 10: Where The Monsters Are Hidden (part B)  

Chapter 11: Intermezzo

Chapter 12: The Nightfall

Chapter 13: To Be Believed In

Epilogue

Extra side stories: The Midsummer Dance, Miniature and Storytelling

[manonamora-if]

April Check-In

HI! I AM NOT DEAD I PROMISE, ANON!

Just... Ugh... It's been a stressful end of the month. I have not kept up with the weekly devlogs at all, partly because I had little to share each week, but also IRL was just too much. Head seems out of the water for now. Though I will be MIA for the rest of the week.

Onto the usual index:

Recap of last month’s progress

IF Events in the Next Month

Plan for the next month

Still long post under the break. If you want a mini version, head on over to itch.io as usual!

March Progress

From last month, what did we do:

Complete my French Comp entry. ✅ Not only did I write it all in less than two weeks (and it was full of typo that was so embarrassing), I also managed to...

Complete my SpringThing entry. ✅ Because that's the same game but in English.

Play more games! ✅Obviously having finished playing the Smoochie Jam AND all the French Comp game (quite a few good ones, voting was so hard), but also the SeedComp! and the Revival Jam (maybe?). The harvest of games for this month was bountiful!

Finish the Code Ch5 ❌ of Harcourt and edit Ch6 ✅

Finish fixing The Roads Not Taken. ❌

Things, it turns out... No, really...

Yay! Still managed to make a decent chunk of stuff.

Let's start with the bummer: still haven't fixed the borked games. Yeah... I really should sit down at some point and get down to it. BUT I did get some feedback for the Egg-game, and got extra code to fix the container issue. So... I just need to get to it.

Still haven't worked on coding on Harcourt, though I finished my part of the edits of Chapter 6. The file, full of comments, is back on his desk which... Well. Herm. MelS's computer just 💥(not like fire everywhere, but sudden forever black screen), corrupting about half of his data... which included his progress on that chapter and the endings. We've been working on getting his data back (tbh this project is the least of his worries, more important stuff is still gone), so hopefully we can get him back to editing and writing by next month (best case scenario). YEAH...

But before that happened, I managed to finish Les lettres du Docteur Jeangille for the French Comp, at the last possible minute yet again. I had the idea for month, but didn't start working on it until I was truly done with Teatime with a Vampire. It still managed to write over 15k words in 18-19th century French style (and full of typo because, only two weeks...) in essentially 1 and 1/2 week. EPISTOLARY STYLE game :D

After that was done, I got to play the Smoochie Jam and the French Comp games (it's on the IFDB), and started with the SeedComp entries (it's hidden because I'm the organiser). Lots of fun little game, some very sweet and humorous, some VERY DARK, some suuuper hot, and some that required a bit of noggins.

And halfway through the month, I sneaked a mini-parser game for the Revival Jam. I wanted to try my hand out with the old-style Speed-IF jams, that ran all the way back at the start of the century, which were just 2h long. TWO HOURS! No preparation, just you starting to code and stopping after 2hs. I tried my hand at Inform but... didn't have time to learn a whole new program and make my mini puzzle work in time. So I switched back to Adventuron, and managed to make something... in just over 2hs... I ended up Reviving old versions of the EctoComp instead (3h limit). Still it was fun to try to make a parser game in such short amount of time. It's called FIA: The Vacuum Cleaner, it will take you maybe 5min to play. And... it was so fun I kind of want to make basic micro-parser in that little universe. Some sort of multi-episode series where you have a small puzzle in front of you to solve. Like an intro to parser type of thing. Maybe in different parser programs? We will see. I might end up popping up here and there as tiny little games.

When THAT was done, I went back to work on the English translation of Jeangille, cutting it so close for the SpringThing deadline I thought I would not make it (for real, my files were sent at 23:58! I honestly don't think this was my bestest translation. It probably would have needed a few more rounds of polish and maybe some beta-readers but... :/ the computer explosion happened in the middle of all this so. I guess it was enough... I hope it was enough... But yay! I made it! No bug! Probably just typos! I didn't manage to make the cool animation tho...

AND I updated my website to add all of these juicy thingies!

AND AND! I was interviewed by the Rosebush Magazine last week!

So that was my month. We did good, we did bad, we are exhausted.

What’s happening in April?

Oh wow, already April. WHAT DO WE HAVE HAPPENING? So much, we have so much happening.

First off, we have competitions looking for voters:

Vous pouvez lire le français ? Venez jouer et voter pour les entrées du Concours de FI Francophone ! La date limite est le 4 avril.

Also on the 4th of April, is the deadline to vote for the SeedComp! (@seedcomp-if) games! You can find the forms here. We really really need voters!

The Spring Thing just released a new harvest of games (including meee :P ), and will open voting in a bit less than 2 weeks. Come play!

Looking to create some games instead?

The next @neointeractives jam just opened for submission! Come participate in the Dialogue Jam!

Looking to attempt creating a parser that is easy enough for beginners? Come check the Text Adventure Literacy Jam! You need a tutorial and 5 puzzles to solve!

If you want a deadline to finish your project, maybe check out : Finish Your Project Jam 2024

And for lovers: Amare Games Festival 2024

On the shorter side, and in May: Narrative Design Awards 2024 (ranked), 🔥 Fuck Capitalism Jam 2024 🔥 (unranked)

Interested in other IF events?

April 1st is Source Code Amnesty. Come share the code of your creations! (I've added a bunch of mine on Github today)

You can now register to attend the 2024 Edition of the Narrascope! IRL or Virtual, there are a lot of great talks this year!

We had so far 10 actual entries for the Interactive Fiction Showcase 2024 ! If you made something in 2024, consider showcasing it there too!

Note: @neointeractives will have jams all year long. One a month/or so. And the next Planting Round of @seedcomp-if will start as soon as the results are dropped.

The PLANtm for April

I, erm... should take it easy this month. But also, actually finish stuff, because the more I start, the more I have to fix/finish and it's becoming A LOT...

Play more games: I haven't covered the Revival Jam yet (I'm getting on it!) and the SpringThing has just started. So I have a lot of new treaties just for me! (And also that 2nd Rank is so close I can taste it!).

Finish the Code of Ch5 of Harcourt and edit the Ending Chapter: the latter should be easy since it is pretty short. The former... I just need to bite my tong and get to it! It should probably take me a day to code those last passages...

Finish fixing The Roads Not Taken. Or An Eggcellent Preparation. Maybe the other parser too (it just needs a smidge of polish).

Complete the TALJ entry. The deadline is at the end of the month. I already have the basic structure. I need: a tutorial, commands to actually make the game work. And words. So many words. (Did I mention here I'm making a maze?)

I think that's good. I'm trying REALLY HARD not to tack on another Neo-Interactives entry (we're doing dialogues and I LOVE THOSE). But I WILL TRY MY BEST TO KEEP IT FOCUSED ON THE CURRENT PROJECTS!

~

The 2024 To-Do List:

LOL, I've only done the website! :D

The hopefully maybe easy to handle To-Do:

fix the bugs in EDOC + overall the French version to match (waiting for Adventuron to get the French language)

fix the bugs of TRNT + find a way to add the missing pieces (giving up on the translation)

fixing the interface of LPM and the popups + check animal interactions

figure out the One-Button JavaScrip/jQuery issue...

edit the loading screens of the completed tiny games to include the program/format logo at least.

The 'Need a Bunch of Content to update but it's planned!' To-Do:

Update my website (bunch new title - also I don't think the logo clicky thing work...) + redo my itch page

Finish TTATEH (MelS dependent - this year should be it - for real)

Finish Exquisite Cadaver (half-way mark by this summer - manif)

Finish P-Rix - Space Trucker (main path at least)

Update CRWL (it's been almost two years... I'm getting ashamed)

The Unlikely But it Would be Dope To-Do

Finish The Dinner as it was planned (and translate)

Finish In the Blink of an Eye as it was planned (and retranslate)

Finish The Rye in the Dark City

Fixing TTTT (at least fixing, maybe try adding some storylets)

And finally The 'It's impossible, but one can wish' TO-DO:

Remaster SPS IH (if I managed to start this after completing the rest... I'm going to eat a whole sheet cake).

Start the IFComp project (2025? Might end up being a ST?)

[poupeesdecirque]

Travel Blog - NipponCon 2024 (17/8/24; Saturday)

It's time again the Con Season had a little break during July for me but the next 4 cons are all within the next 2 months. Starting with the NipponCon (Bremen) here.

To say it upfront: I just attended for 1 day and there were several complications, if you are interested please read further.

You might have noticed that I changed my Line up for the Convention inbetween my first idea was going for the Prisoner Outfit but then someone asked to partner up with me and I agreed and I changed my plans accordingly. Well...

... I got later on told that the person forgot to get the day off and was back to being alone. So I went with my original plan. (Just to later get told again that they will INDEED attend and I was not considering changing my plans AGAIN as there was more to it, I don't want to get into details here). Just a reminder here are the two artworks I did for the Line up.

The week before the Con was exhausting and I got my summer depression back and then my afab body decided it's shark time, so I was about to cancel the whole con. But then decided to push myself to attend as I needed to get out.

Travel time was about 2 hours with me needing 1 hour to the highway and then another to arrive at the destination but ... they had blocked a part of the highway and I needed 1 hour to get through a 10 minute distance T_T my mood was at the bottom I felt awful at this point but I didn't want to go back as I had sold a thing and wanted to meet the buyer at the con to hand the goods over.

Finally arrived I put make up on and headed to the convention. As you can see I went with the prisoner outfit as it was supposed to quite warm and I especially made the feathered Innocence prop for this convention to go with my artwork I did for the Line up.

I didn't take es many photos of the location this time but to give you an impression. The Con is small big bigger in regards of artists and vedors compared to the HanaCon and NisaCon. You had commercial vendors spread over 3 level and then 3 rooms for artists. Then two stages (one was outdoor), games room, an Anime Room, workshop rooms, a Maid Café and I think that covered it all.

The asortment of artists was nice but I didn't buy a thing, as said I wasn't feeling well and just hoped to avoid a few issues here and find my buyer. Other than that I had planned to visit the Maid Café as I never did and they had a "English Teatime" on the menu and I wanted to try that.

It took a while until you were seated, you got a number and were asked to come back later. I took the time to snack and take a few pics from the other side of the location.

Later on I finally got a seat in the Café and shared my table with 3 other people as I was alone. Two were guys who were regulars at the con I tried to involve them into some small talk (I am so bad at this and being the most extroverted at the table was surely super weird for me) they sometimes replied, the third person didn't, I hope they still enjoyed their cake.

The portions were small but delicious. The Tea Time included Sandwiches (Cream Cheese/Cucumber), Scones, Lemon Curd/Butter, Shortbread, Matcha Muffins and a pot of tea (I went with Earl Grey).

One of the maids recognized me as Allen Walker which was super cool. And I found Alice and Mika to hand Alice the Magazine I sold them, we talked a bit about the newest DGM Chapter, it's always a joy to meet them again.

My personal highlight then was meeting a Lenalee and meeting Loki again - who you might remember from the Bookfair, HanaCon AND NisaCon! She was Cross at the Bookfair, Valentino at the HanaCon and did enter the Cosplay Contest at the NisaCon as well. We had such a nice time together I really really enjoyed it. I even stayed way longer than intended because we went to a café together and it was just so nice to be around for friendly people again, this made my day.

Here is the pastry I got myself at the café and the beautiful little moths I got from Loki ;w; LOOK AT THEM.

I headed home around 16:30, scrubbed the make up off my face and went on the long drive. I did get home without many issues on the road but damn i got cramps from hell during the last 40 minutes and it knocked me out the next day as I just felt pain and wanted to sleep.

So I am glad I met wonderful people again, I had nice food but damn nature is a beast. I am gladly now over the pain and cramps and am looking forward to the next Convention which will be the Connichi with 3 days of Cosplay. Whoop.

[avinwrites]

☆*: .｡.Avin's Masterlist!.｡.:*☆

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoy! ᓚᘏᗢ

Identity V

Love Languages Mini-Series

IDV Ladies Part 1 - Includes: Alice, Anne, Demi, Emily, Emma, Fiona, Helena, Margaretha

IDV Ladies Part 2 - Includes: Martha, Melly, Patricia, Tracy, Qi Shiyi

IDV Men Part 1 - Includes: Lucky, Servais, Kurt, Naib, William

IDV Men Part 2 - Includes: Kevin, Eli, Aesop, Norton, Mike, José

IDV Men Part 3 - Includes: Victor, Andrew, Luca, Edgar, Ganji

Multi-character hcs/one-shots

When They Sing to You - Includes: Demi, Melly, Naib, Norton

Snowball Fights - Includes: Emma, Naib, Victor

A Run of Bad Luck - Includes: Tracy

When You're Sleepy - Includes: Andrew, Kevin, Eli, Ganji

Glimmers of Gratitude - Includes: Norton

Teatime Revelations - Includes: Michiko

Mending Hearts - Includes: Aesop, Luca

Short one-shot - Insert male character x reader

Headcannons!

Mike Morton Relationship HCs

Joseph with a Mute Reader

Ithaqua general and relationship Headcannons

Ganji Gupta Highschool AU

Frederick Kreiburg

Genshin Impact

One-shots

Dark Nights and Warm Mornings - Diluc x reader

Headcannons

Nothing Yet! Check Back Later <3

[stuckonmain]

Malleable Metals: Series Masterpost

Malleable Metals, Hunter x reader series:

Act One: Safe Within These Walls

Masks and Bets (Part 1)

Masks and Beasts (Part 2)

Masked and Beat (Part 3)

Masked (and Unmasked) On the Seas (Part 4)

Cracks in a Mask (Part 5)

Revelations (Part 6)

Bad Moon Rising (Part 7)

Act Two: Learning to Be

Hey Lilith (Part 8)

Way Home (Part 9)

Back to the Future (Part 10)

Lost Threads (Part 11)

Teatime (Part 12)

A Slightly Distorted Lens (Part 13)

Mindscapers (Part 14)

Act Three: When the Sky Falls

Eye of the Hurricane (Part 15)

A Team (Sort of) Reunited (Part 16)

Knee Pain (Part 17)

Some Sunny Day (Part 18)

What Happened and What's to Come (Part 19)

Collected (Part 20)

Return (Part 21)

Gettin' the Band Back Together (Part 22)

As the World Falls Down (Part 23)

Epilogue