#the TWO PEOPLE HE HAD AFTER WILLOW DIED

[m0thcl0wn]

alright dnd rambles

going to drop some characters so they make a little sense when i ramble

Honey/Bug/Pluto: my character, all the same person, they're a swords bard changeling who's now finally going by their true name Pluto after everything happened- ill switch between Honey and Pluto.

There will be a little bit where I will refer to Pluto as a different person because of how changelings work in this campaign. Kintsugi (Kins): my fellow player, war-forged cleric/paladin multiclass, daughter of Amen Rei (their god)

Gintsugi (Gins): Kins' sister, the golden cloak

Infierna: high priestess of the church of Amen Rei

Mars: changeling, Honey's ex but also they had spoken after and re-confessed that they loved each other but promised to talk after the battle, keeper of the town

Dro'kar: second Honey love interest, vampire and lord of the town

Alton: my adoptive dad <3

Jack: third love interest whoops, once-upon-a-time bbeg but he is in love with Honey. Jack is the bard of bards, only fought with them because of honey

Liktor: robot, keeper of the town

The changeling family: if I say any planet name (Venus, Neptune, Jupiter, Mercury, I.O etc etc) theyre a changeling and important to Pluto

Yorick: THE bbeg, who we killed

last night was our 'final' battle- what was meant to be the finale but we begged out dm to go to lvl 20 (we reached lvl 13 after that fight)- and it was fucking INSANE

So to start out its just honey and kins fighting against some raised dead red moon knights (from the church of Amen Rei) that were kinda beating our fucking asses- slowly, people start turning up and we can randomly check on others as they do their fight

The fights away from the main fight were the town defenders consisting of Dro'kar, Alton and some of the other main npcs as well as Dro'kar's familiar. Then there was the changeling family + Trina the fairy of Primon (Primon is the town, Trina is also Honey's adoptive mum as of recent). And lastly the church led by Infierna at first and helped my Mercury on Honey's orders.

Back to our fight we're getting our ass kind beat, Yorick is sending his trump cards out to fight the other teams which include a chimera, a gargoyle and a giant golden lion as well as the dead red moon knights. We are fighting the red moon knights, Yorick himself, and Yoricks final trump card whos name I cant spell but hes a dick and also a semi god (aka, fighting TWO gods. not our first god fight either lmao).

Gintsugi shows up to help us first, then Infierna, then Mars and Jupiter- and then at some point Honey agrees to the terms of a contract and gets Jack involved who focuses on Yorick alongside Liktor. Zeke (uhh Dro'kars dead fiancee, Willow's familiar gifted to Honey to help out) is also there throwing hands with the 2nd semi god, and FINALLY our last help is a giant iron golem that guards the woods.

Honey almost fucking dies a couple times, Yorick keeps counterspelling his counterspells and throwing legendary actions his way. Venus interrupts a spell Mars does and Yorick kills Venus. Pluto has to tell her husband, Neptune, who desperately tries to stop the attack to focus, Neptune dies at some point but we don't know what happens. Yorick's attention turns to Pluto who's giving him a lot of trouble and casts Disintegrate on him, which would have killed him as he was on 3 hp at the time.

But Mars, a paladin, has Pluto in his aura and redirects the hit to himself. While smiling at Pluto, just before he dies, Mars tells him "I think you've got it from here" and then turns to dust.

I sobbed.

That's when Pluto got his awakening. Changelings get a special ability they can unlock in their very very worst moments, Pluto's has been slowly building during the lead up to this battle, and losing Mars is the finale straw. A huge dome of ice surrounds him and all people can hear from outside is him screaming in agony. Pluto shows up- the old Pluto, the original holder of his name and his gift- and finally they get their gift. A set of deep black wings and ice magic.

Pluto gets all his hps back (theyre not fully there, theyre basically temporary, he still needs to be fully healed after everything) and then starts throwing hands with Yorick who gets scared and runs away after aiming three meteorites at the manor in town (very important building, town is done for if thats gone). Liktor dies, Jack is down and out of the fight but not dead, leaving Pluto, Kins and Gins, Infierna, Zeke and Jupiter. Jupiter and Gins leave to protect the manor. Pluto, Kins, Infierna and Zeke head down into the catacombs to finish this fight. This whole time no joke ive been rolling LIKE ASS. BUT FINALLY. My first few hits on Yorik is a NAT 20 upped to 31 AND then an 18 upped to 25. Great, Yoricks looking ROUGH.

YORICK KILLS KINTSUGI. RAISES HER AS A THRALL AND BANISHES PLUTO.

Zeke breaks the concentration by attacking Kintsugi after Infierna refuses to attack her love. The concentration ends, Pluto is back ON HIS TURN IN INITIATIVE.

And takes Yorick's head off his shoulders.

Wise ol' Eloquin, fate itself, shows up in this last part because Pluto can see him, and Yorick's fate is finally sealed, the fate he thought he had cut himself from. They return back to Primon, the manor is standing but the town itself is back in ruins. Mars, Venus and Neptune are dead, Liktor is dead. They're the only deaths. Kintsugi is bought back by Infierna who saved her last spell slot for that exact reason.

And that's where the session ended.

[mischieffae]

Hi,

could you please write a Hannibal one-shot, where Hannibal is Will‘s substitute as an FBI teacher as long as Will is in prison and he falls in love with one of the students? She is one of the best in her class and he also sees she is attracted to him, so he asks her to stay after class?

The Drowning

Pairing: Hannibal Lecter x female reader

Details: smut, (reader mid 20's), teacher/student, foreplay, mentions of gore

Minors DNI, 18+

Flashes of the overhead's images on the wall made your eyes squint slightly from the brightness, each photo depicting different scenarios of the surrounding area's murder sprees. You're used to seeing such explicit imagery, though sometimes an image or two will make your skin crawl with discomfort. But you haven't been called the best of your class for nothing, always rising to the top and taking on the challenge with no complaint. The other FBI students were slightly jealous of your natural academic mind, but they also looked up to you for guidance on their own performances.

And Hannibal took note of this.

It was no secret to yourself that you have felt infatuation for the new professor, already knowing of him since he was your former teacher's psychiatrist. You've heard nothing but great things, some even of gossips of how entrancing he was, like a Greek God that stalked the school's concrete walls. It was hard NOT to feel some type of attraction to him. And for the other student's, they had felt the same way.

He was a masterpiece.

But little did you know, that the masterpiece before you thought of the same when it came to you. Which if you were to find out, thought it was absolutely ridiculous. You, of all people, a meek, tired little thing who had an obsession with black coffee to keep you going through the day. To him however, this was a breath of fresh air, and one he would gladly inhale for the rest of his days.

"Now, can anyone tell me why the killer decided to have such a intricate display of the victim's body? Do we have any idea of what the killer was inspired by?"

Hannibal's eyes trace the crowded room with a raised brow, silence filling the air and the occasional tap of a nervous pencil. You sighed to yourself quietly, knowing that if no one blurted out the answer, it was most likely going to fall upon your shoulders. Your hand then raises upward embarrassingly, some eyes rolling because of course the best in the class knew the answer.

How this excited Hannibal.

"Perhaps the killer was inspired by Shakespeare's Macbeth, the drowning of Ophelia? It could be indicated by the water lilies that surround her body, a common flower connected to water and innocence. The opening of her chest could also indicate that she died of a broken heart, plus she is under a willow tree, where the famous Ophelia fell."

More silence filled the air, a cough from someone sounding before Hannibal gave a smile of excitement. "Excellent, precisely. The killer was obviously inspired by the famous Poet, which seems to also be the case when it comes to any serial killer really. Artistry, is the main innovation for their motives."

Your eyes connect for what seems like an eternity, small breaths escaping your parting lips with the harsh fluttering of your beating heart.

Were you, the Ophelia, about to fall into darkness?

The ringing of the bell caused you to jolt in surprise, the rustling of bags and paperwork filling the room as everyone began to depart to their next field. You couldn't stop the slight trembling of your fingers as you pull your things together, the last student's footstep leaving the room before you hear a familiar voice.

"Not you, stay for a moment please."

You halt in place before lifting your gaze towards him, his lithe body stalking with purpose behind his mahogany desk.

"You did very well today, and color me surprised on your Shakespearean knowledge. Not a lot of FBI workers have the comprehension of his complex writings."

A small swallow forms, your cheeks flushing a bright shade of crimson before moving your gaze downward to your fingers. Your nails are obscenely short from your nervous nail biting habit, but it makes it easy to pull a trigger.

"I do a lot of reading in my spare time, Professor Lecter. Shakespeare has always fascinated me, even as a little girl."

His delicate hand lifts with a small chuckle escaping his soft lips, which you did not intend to stare at this long. It's funny, if there was a black shroud upon his frame, he would almost resemble the Grim Reaper himself.

Shouldn't that frighten you?

"Please, call me Hannibal. I am only filling in Will's time for a couple of months, and would rather not fully take on his title."

A smile forms on your face before biting your bottom lip, nodding in agreement before you begin to collect more of your paperwork into your bag.

"Well, Hannibal. You have been doing very well in his stead. He might have some competition when he gets back."

Was that a tease that spilled from your lips? Gods, it came out so naturally that you didn't even notice at first. But once he starts to move slowly towards your frame is when you began to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"And what kind of competition would that be?"

If you just kept your mouth shut, you wouldn't have this overwhelming desirable feeling to hide yourself in the darkest corner imaginable. But alas, this wasn't the first time your mouth got you in trouble. He's towering over you now, your rear hitting the back of your desk with a slight creak of metal against floor.

"Well I mean, -...um...your teaching methods..."

His head cocked to the side with a sly, devilish grin, those darkening orbs in his skull drawing to gaze upon your slightly chapped lips.

"You believe my teaching methods are superior to Will Graham's?"

A small meek nod forms, your fingers reaching behind you to grasp the desk's wood tightly with white knuckles. He has waited so long for this moment, to ensnare the little rabbit who always just seemed a hand's touch away. A satisfied smirk trails on his gaunt face, for he knows he has finally caught you, the perfect subject to twist and form into his own twisted masterpiece.

"Shall we test that theory?"

He waits patiently while moving a soft hand to caress the side of your jawline, your eyes fluttering from the gentle gesture before meeting his gaze with a deep breath.

"......Yes...."

You have fallen, dear Ophelia.

The sudden feeling of his lips against your own made you gasp in fever, his other hand moves to cup both of your cheeks for guidance. Flesh kneaded against your own in a steady rhythm. He's taking your time with you, not to scare off the poor little rabbit too fast. You're hanging upon the desk for dear life, brows knitting together in concentration of his lead, a waltz of lust that you haven't experienced before in your lifetime.

It was then that he quickens the pace, pushing himself harder into your trembling frame while diving his skilled tongue past your opening mouth. You moan wantonly then, a small growl of his own forming in unison as he moves to pull upon your ponytail with control. It's as if you are melting under his touch, his experience in the art of seduction almost too much for you to bear.

Hannibal release then, breathing heavily upon your jawline before giving chaste kisses and slight bites with teeth, his calloused hands moving to cup upon your clothed breasts in a firm movement. It almost startles you, a shocking gasp escaping before he moves his mouth to assailant yours once again. You don't remember raising your hands to grasp his shoulders, but when you can feel the soft expensive silk under your fingertips, it brings you back to reality.

You are kissing your Professor, and Hannibal of all people.

He pulls away to begin to unbutton your uniform attire, a white button up shirt you thrifted not too long ago. Each movement is calculated, like a pianist wanting to get the perfect note each time.

"Are you ready for your lesson, my dear?"

His voice is hoarse from his own arousal, your eyes widening in surprise from his words. Was he seriously going to try to teach you something, while doing THIS type of behavior? It made your heart flutter wildly in your caged chest, it rising and falling before he reveals your cotton bra.

"What-...what kind of lesson, Hannibal?"

Oh how the devil smirks, his eyes trailing up to meet your own doe ones while holding your tender bust in his hands.

"Recite for me....the Death of Ophelia..."

It was then that you felt some type of fear hit your entire being, like a deer that had stumbled upon thorn bramble and unable to escape. Your breathing intensifies as you stare upon him with parted lips, his hands continuing their kneading while patiently waiting for you to begin. He was TOYING with you, and of course your stubborn brain wouldn't allow that to happen.

You've been through far too much to have this man steal your tongue.

" -....W-When down her weedy trophies....and herself...." You begin with a meek tone, his skillful fingers moving to remove the article of clothing in one swift movement. You can't hold back a loud whimper from the sudden feeling of chill air licking your breasts, his mouth moving to envelope around a hardening bud for protection.

"Her -....c-clothes spread wide... and mermaid like... awhile they bore her up..."

Hannibal praises you with a muffled hum of approval, tongue sliding effortlessly around your sensitive bud and giving a lewd suckle. His other hand moves to dive slowly, carefully, down between your legs, which you open obediently with a roll of your head.

"Which time she chanted snatches-....o-of old tunes..."

After that singular word he dove his hand down your work trousers to rub against your clothed sex, your panties already beginning to soak under his touch as you moan heatedly from the act. He has you in his complete control, and every circular motion of his finger combined with the flicking on his tongue on your breast causes your stomach to tighten and coil with pure arousal.

Hannibal pauses for a moment, his own hair a bit disheveled and falling across his sunken eyes while gazing upward at you. He wants you to continue your rehearsal, and will not proceed his lewd actions until you do. With a huff, you move your hands to hold onto the back of his head tightly, hips subconsciously rolling into his hand as you begin once again in a hoarse tone.

"As one incapable of her own d-distress...or l-like a creature....ah-...native and indued..."

He's absolutely purring now with delight, his mouth retreating from your sensitive nipple to have both hands quickly thrust your pants downward in a harsh movement. It caused you to jump slightly, his usual professional demeanor now replaced by pure hungry desire. Like a wolf that has been starved, finally able to feast on what he has been dreaming most nights alone in his bed.

"Unto that e-element...but not long it could not be..."

You're watching him slither down your frame like a viper, his eyes locked upon you as if you were about to dissipate and never return. But you knew, deep down in your heart, there was no going back. And you did not want to. No, you belonged here, your hand outstretching to brush a fallen lock behind his ear. He takes this gesture with a tilt of his head towards your touch, his hungry mouth opening to breathe wantonly against your thigh with a dash of tongue.

"Till that h-her garments... h-heavy with their drink...."

Hannibal removes your panties while staring into your soul with each word that escapes your lips, his own mouth moving to ghost along the wetting of your folds in a delicious torture. It is mentally noted that you must finish the prose, before getting your ultimate reward. Your blunt nails move to grasp the desk's sides while bending your back slightly in the sitting position for more access, a long sigh escaping your lips while you gaze down before him.

A God....upon his knees....

"Pull'd the poor w-wretch from her melodious lay....to muddy death..."

You were gone before it even began, the sudden wet heat diving into your wanton core causing a strangled cry to escape you. Tight tremors from each sinful lick upon your folds made the desk move slightly in rhythm, a starved growl emitting from his lips that vibrated upon you. More, you needed more, a small series of babbles leaving you as you tilted your head backward in pure ecstasy. Of course he was this skilled with a tongue, a finger moving to rub along your swollen bud in time with his flesh diving inward inside a nectar crevice. You can hear the lewd actions echo in the room around you, another one of his hands moving to grasp your thigh in a tight vice grip, the other fingers moving to spread you open like the most desired prize he has won in his lifetime.

You couldn't think, couldn't fully register what was happening for it was all too much to feel, your toes curling in your shoes as he dove two fingers inside you with purpose.

"H-Hannbial -.... ahn God..."

He chuckled against your folds before lifting his head towards your gaze, slicked with your essence of your coupling in the most beautiful of ways.

"There is no God here, my love..."

And with that, he plunged into you with a faster rhythm, your thighs convulsing from the intensity as he lavished your budding flower. There was only so more you could take, a hand moving to grip his lose locks tightly enough to cause a groan from his lips.

"I-I can't...I'm...."

"Come on me....."

His deep hoarse voice against your throbbing cunt was enough to send you over the edge, your back arching in the most angelic way while you spill your essence on his fingers and face. He's ravenous over it, taking it all in as if he were drunk on it. And when he pulls away and your body shivers from the lack of contact, he can only gaze into your eyes with pools of black that are his own.

His mask had cracked, revealing what truly laid there all this time.

The monster, is finally revealing himself.

[cherriegyuu]

Ahhh since Willow has reached it's conclusion, how bout we get a one year anniversary, where they announce they're finally going to be parents and its the first familial ceremony where they're actually in love and meant for each other!?

hi!! thank you so much for requesting, i hope you enjoy it

pairing: seungcheol x fem!reader

genre: fluff, just them loving each othe

word count: 1.1k

summary: seungcheol always knew that he was going to marry you, but things only get harder once he does (or in which seungcheol is just really dumb and doesn't know how to show his feelings)

part one | part two | part three (final)

It was a sight to be held, honestly. And probably one of your favorite in the world. 

Over the years, mornings became one of your favorite times of the day. You had never been an early riser, and mornings for you were merely the time you woke. 3 pm? Still morning, if you just woke up, didn't matter what the clock and people said. Even so, waking up was one of your favorite moments. There was nothing quite like opening your eyes to the sight of your husband sprawled on the other side of the bed, lips almost in a pout, hair all over the place, and a serene look on his face. 

There was nothing like it in the world. 

You reached for the tattoo on his back, tracing it with the tip of your fingers, lightly urging him to wake up in the most delicate way you could. 

Three years before, when you decided to give your marriage with Seungcheol a chance, you didn't expect it to be like this. You thought that you would grow feelings for him, of course. The two of you were set to be by each other's side for the rest of your lives. You expected to develop some kind of friendship and, to some degree, intimacy with him. 

But Seungcheol filled you with love and finally a sense of belonging that you never felt before. The two of you had, definitely, come a long way since getting married. Life with Seungcheol was everything you ever wanted. The love you always dreamed of. The king of love that only seemed possible in the silly romantic comedies you used to watch, was now one that you got to live. 

And as time went by and memories of your childhood and adolescence came back to surface on your mind while talking with him, you finally realized that you too, had a crush on him back then. Your feelings weren’t as strong as his but that was only because you never allowed yourself to. However, it had been there the whole time, just waiting for an opportunity to flourish.

“Hi, sleepy head” you whispered once you noticed that Seungcheol finally started to wake up.

Seungcheol gave the most gorgeous smile, half awake, still half sleep, as he pulled you closer to him, until your body was flushed against his.

“For how long did we sleep?”

You reached for his phone on the nightstand.

“Around 14 hours, it’s 6 pm”

Seungcheol hummed and buried his face in your neck, inhaling deeply. The day before you had attended Seokmin’s wedding and just like any party Seokmin was involved, it got carried well into the night so it was safe to say that the two of you were beyond tired. Fourteen hours of sleep sounded and felt justifiable. 

“I could sleep for a few more hours,” he said. 

His warm breath made your skin tingle a little, and as if that wasn’t enough he started to place small kisses on your neck. 

"But I'm hungry" you whispered.

He pulled on top of him, your legs now straddling his hips. Seungcheol’s lips grew needier on your neck, slowly climbing up towards your lips. For a second, you allowed him to kiss you, enjoying the warmth of his body against yours, the feel of his hands on your waist.

"Not this kind of hungry" you laughed while pulling back, squishing his cheeks with your fingers tips.

Seungcheol sighed dramatically.

"We could use some real food, I guess"

Seungcheol watched you in complete horror. The pan with rice and eggs on the stove was completely forgotten. There was no way you would actually eat that.

"Don't we usually eat dessert after eating dinner?"

He couldn't even call that thing dessert, it was some kind of monstrosity that only an insane mind could come up with.

He started dinner preparations while you took a shower and was surprised when you walked into the kitchen and pulled ice cream from the freezer. If it had been just the ice cream it would've been fine, a little unlike you but still fine. But then you pulled out strawberry jam, then cheese. As if that wasn’t enough you add pepper and olive oil on top of it.

“I know, but this looks so good, right?” Seungcheol had to hold back the need to throw up when you scooped up the weird mix and ate it “Do we still have olives?”

“No, no, no, no, you’re kidding”

You shook your head at him, handing him the olive jar you found on the fridge to open. Even though the idea of eating all of that disgusted him, he wasn’t going to stop you. You pulled a fork from the drawer and popped an olive in your mouth.

“Do you want one?” you waved the fork at him. 

“No, thank you”

“This is amazing” you almost moaned.

“Sweetheart, this isn’t normal” he finally said, then jokingly added, “Are you pregnant?”

You stayed silent for a second, the only movement between the two of you was the fork in your hand, as you moved it from side to side. 

“I am,” you said quietly, soft features. 

You first started to suspect that you were pregnant a couple of days before. You were getting morning sickness and the smells were something that you couldn’t deal well with. You weren’t late on your period and there were no other signs. 

Without telling Seungcheol about it, you went out and bought a test — three, to be more precise. One was negative, while the other two were positive. Still, you wanted to be sure, as much as possible. So you called your doctor and set the appointment for the day before, early morning. The results came on your way to Seokmin’s wedding. 

Since you read the results, you wanted to tell Seungcheol, desperately. But you wanted to do something special like people usually do on the internet. You couldn’t keep it in, really. Talks about kids had been few, but both of you seemed to like the idea just as much as the other. Although it wasn’t planned, it felt like the timing was right, 

“You are?”

You nodded, laughing when Seungcheol tossed the dish towel over his shoulder. Half a second later you were in his arms, legs around his waist, as he spun around in the kitchen. You couldn’t help the tears in your eyes.

“I can do this, right? It’s not dangerous?”

Seungcheol had tears in his eyes too. The small part of you that was worried about his reactions relaxed when he placed a kiss on your lips.

“I love you,” he said quietly.

It felt like the two of you gave yet another step towards forever, together. 

“I love you”

[coraniaid]

how about an AU where cordelia stayed in sunnydale?

Oh, that's interesting.

I think that, in reality, if Cordelia hadn't left for Angel, she'd probably have ended up occupying a pretty similar place in the rest of Buffy to the role Anya ends up taking. Maybe not exactly the same one (I don't know if the writers would have had her and Xander get back together, for example, and obviously Cordelia isn't a former vengeance demon), but close enough that I'm not even sure that they'd have made Anya a permanenent member of the cast.

But, ignoring that, and taking Anya's ongoing presence in Sunnydale as given...

I think something has to happen to make Cordelia stay in Sunnydale, right? It's clear from Season 3 that she doesn't want to (see, for example, her reaction to finding out that Buffy got into Northwestern: "great! now you can leave and never come back! [I mean] get out of Sunnydale: that's a good thing"). I guess maybe the lazy option is just to have her trying to save up money to get into drama school somewhere? We already see her working at April Fools in Season 3, maybe she can keep doing that. Or maybe -- remembering Cordelia's role as Buffy's shadow -- her parents split up because of her father's tax issues and she ends up feeling she has to stay in town to help look after her mom? Or maybe put those two ideas together: Buffy's surprised to see that Cordelia's still in town, Cordelia tries as nonchalantly as possible to pretend she's still around for her own reasons and then we learn that she's putting her own ambitions on hold because she has to help her mom look for a new place to stay. And maybe that gives us a chance to explore some of the class issue stuff that Buffy as a show always skirts around but never really touches (how does Cordelia feel about now being in a position more like Xander than Buffy or Willow?).

I've complained about this before (more than once), but I think Cordelia being in Sunnydale is a great excuse to change how the gang react to finding out that Harmony is a vampire. I mean, say what you want about the show's approach to vampire lore, but it's pretty jarring how quickly everyone reacts to finding out that their former classmate died helping fight the Mayor and his minions in the same dismissive "haha, Harmony's always been an idiot" way; as if Harmony had 'decided' to become a vampire in a slightly embarrasing post-school life choice. It feels more in character for Buffy, Giles and Xander to argue that Harmony is dead and That Thing Is Not Her while Cordelia (just as in Disharmony over on Angel a season later) says "no, this is definitely Harmony, she's my friend". (Willow can still react in the same way as canon, sure; it's not out of character for her to dislike Harmony.) And I think it would help the maybe-demons-aren't-all-bad approach that the show obviously wants to go for if Harmony and Cordelia actually were friends this season. Like, Harmony herself still absolutely is evil and will hang around trying to feed on people heading home late from work in the dark -- but when she recognizes her intended victim is Cordelia she immediately drops the vamp face and they cheerfully walk back to Cordelia's place chatting about high school and how much they agree Xander sucks.

I think Cordelia would also help to push Giles out of his mid-life crisis a bit earlier than he manages in canon. Partly in the same way she does for Angel in his show. Sure, she can't fix everything going wrong in her own life but she can stop Giles sitting around feeling sorry for himself in his large house [much larger than some people's houses, she'll point out] and maybe push himself into finding an actual job more quickly. I think that would set up some tension with Anya later (when she gets a job at the shop Giles opens, a little ahead of canon) which I think would be nice to see. (I also think it would be fun to see Anya interact with Cordelia more generally, the way they did in The Wish when Anya was first pretending to be human. They are both pretty blunt speakers, after all, who both see themselves as being outside of the core Scooby Group, and it would be fun to see them commenting on things together. Or to imagine Cordelia's puzzled/disgusted reaction whenever Anya starts talking about how great Xander is and how much she enjoys having sex with him.)

Once we get to Season 5, I'd love to see how Dawn and Cordelia interact. As I think I've said before, I think they'd get on really well (and that this would annoy Buffy a lot). Dawn looks up to Cordelia as somebody a lot like her own sister before she became a Slayer (but infinitely superior because she isn't actually her sister), while Cordelia loves having somebody tell her how great she is and tells Dawn how much cooler she is than Buffy (and not entirely just to annoy Buffy). I think Cordelia might even replace Willow in some contexts (in particular, I think it parallels Cordelia instantly agreeing to drive Buffy home in Helpless if Dawn demands to stay at Cordelia's after Joyce's funeral and Cordelia instantly accepts even though we've already established she doesn't want anyone she knows seeing the reduced circumstances she's living in). Cordelia never interacts with Joyce in canon as much as Buffy's other shadow selves do, but she does seem to admire her [in their very limited exchanges]. Actually, maybe at some point in Season 4 Cordelia quits her retail job to go and work for Joyce at the art gallery? I mean, if Season 4 is (in part) about Buffy losing touch with her mother as she moves away from home, what better way to represent that than by having the character who represents Buffy's younger, pre-Slayer self start spending more time with her?

When Riley delivers his stupid ultimatum to Buffy in Into The Woods, Xander would still give his ridiculous speech to Buffy about how great Riley is and how this is all Buffy's fault, but Cordelia (who, it turns out, has views of her own on what to do when your boyfriend cheats on you and expects you to forgive him and take him back and indeed about whether you should take Xander Harris seriously about anything) would interupt and point out just how bizarre what Xander was saying was (and probably be the catalyst for him to realize that what he's saying applies far more to his own relationship with Anya). We cut to Riley waiting by his helicopter ready to go and pacify Central America for Christian missionaries [or whatever] when a female figure emerges from the woods ... Riley looks up, hopeful, but it's not Buffy. It's Cordelia ["what," she says, paraphrasing Gunn; "you were expecting somebody else?"]. Cordelia gets to give Riley a piece of her mind and tell him how great Buffy is [something she'd never tell Buffy, of course] and how badly Riley messed things up, and then she cheerfully waves him off as he leaves Sunnydale forever. [And, okay, yes, Buffy will still be upset about their relationship ending and she will still blame herself later when the topic comes up -- that's just who she is and how she approaches all of her romantic relationships. But at least we don't have to humor Joss Whedon's ego by pretending that she was right to do this and that her relationship with Riley was actually great all along.]

[mdzs-fanon-exposed]

MDZS Fanon VS Canon: 7/?

Mo Xuanyu and Xue Yang were Jin disciples at the same time

Rating: FANON – SUPPORTED

There's a not insignificant amount of fanworks that depict Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu interacting during their time as guest disciples of the Lanling Jin sect. While we do not have any concrete evidence that the two characters ever met, it is (mostly) possible to discern whether they were guest disciples at the same time.

The timeline of Mo Dao Zu Shi is often hard to follow because specific years and dates are rarely given in the books, but using context clues, I can piece together a rough estimate of when both characters were present at Golden Carp Tower and use that to identify any points they may have overlapped.

Xue Yang:

Xue Yang's time as a guest disciple is easier to define, so I'll start with him. The earliest time we see him, chronologically, is during the flower-viewing banquet that Lanling Jin held directly following the end of the Sunshot Campaign:

Xue Yang was extremely young at this point in time. Although his face still had a boyish cast to it, he was already very tall. He also wore a Sparks Amidst Snow robe, the very picture of carefree youth as he stood beside Jin Guangyao, like a spring breeze caressing the willow. (Seven Seas Ch. 10, Part 2)

He is already a disciple of the Jin sect, although he hasn't been one for long, according to Nie Mingjue's reaction:

Nie Mingjue frowned. “Xue Yang from Kui Prefecture?” Jin Guangyao nodded. Xue Yang was already infamous at a young age. Wei Wuxian could clearly sense Nie Mingjue’s frown deepening. (Seven Seas Ch. 10, Part 2)

Note that at this point, both Wei Wuxian and Jin Zixuan are alive (and attending the flower-viewing banquet as well). We can assume that this happens approximately 1-2 years before Wei Wuxian's death, due to factors such as time skips and a reference to the Sunshot Campaign from when Xiao Xingchen leaves the mountain, which we know is about a year after the Siege:

At the time, it had only been a few years since the end of the Sunshot Campaign, and the Siege of the Yiling Burial Mounds had just concluded. (Seven Seas Ch. 7)

and

Twelve years ago happened to be the year right after the Siege of the Yiling Burial Mounds, so they had just missed each other. (Seven Seas Ch. 7)

We can also approximate when Xue Yang's time as a disciple ended. He had to have been a guest disciple of the Lanling Jin until between one and two years after Wei Wuxian's death. We know it was at least one year afterwards, because he meets Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan while still associated with the Sect:

Xiao Xingchen smiled, seemingly well aware that it was in Jin Guangyao’s nature to speak in an ingratiating way. “Lianfang-zun speaks too highly of me.” His gaze then turned to Xue Yang. “He may be young, but since he ranks among the guest cultivators, he must still exercise self-discipline and restraint. The Jin Clan of Lanling is distinguished, after all, and should strive to set an example in many aspects.” (Seven Seas Extra 3)

And it must have been up to two years or less because Xue Yang was both imprisoned and exonerated for the crime of the Chang Clan massacre (and therefore no longer a disciple) while Jin Guangshan was still alive:

“I’m not shielding him,” Jin Guangyao defended himself. “The incident with the Chang Clan of Yueyang shocked me greatly as well. How could I have anticipated Xue Yang would slaughter a family of over fifty people? But my father insists on keeping him…” (Seven Seas Ch. 10)

and

Jin Guangshan began thinking of ways to pull Xue Yang out of jail ... until finally, the Jin Clan of Lanling successfully persuaded Chang Ping to change his story. He withdrew all the grievances he had stated before and announced publicly that the clan extermination case had nothing to do with Xue Yang. (Seven Seas Ch. 7)

And we know Jin Guangshan died eleven years before Wei Wuxian was resurrected, from Sisi's story.

“I’ll go first, then!” She casually curtsied to the crowd. “What I’m about to tell you is an incident that happened roughly eleven years ago.” ... And the half-dead man on the bed must have been Jin Guangshan! (Seven Seas Ch. 19)

Therefore, Xue Yang's time as a guest disciple lasted anywhere from two to four years in total, beginning at the end of the Sunshot Campaign and ending approximately a year (give or take) before Jin Guangshan dies.

Mo Xuanyu:

Mo Xuanyu's timeline is harder to define, because we never actually see him while he's a disciple, and have to rely on rumors and circumstantial evidence. The only reliable information we have, date-wise, is that he was fourteen when he was called to Golden Carp Tower by his father:

And sure enough, when Mo Xuanyu turned fourteen, that clan leader sent over a grand party to officially take him back. (Seven Seas Ch. 2)

Although knowing he's fourteen isn't particularly helpful, we do know that Jin Guangshan was still alive at the time. As for the exact time frame in which Mo Xuanyu could have been accepted as a disciple, Jin Guangyao says this:

“Did you think that I would rise in position with Jin Zixuan’s death? Jin Guangshan would rather bring back another illegitimate son than have me succeed him!” (Seven Seas Ch. 10)

This implies that Mo Xuanyu was accepted into Lanling Jin after Jin Zixuan's death so that Jin Guangyao would be further down the line of succession. This sentence is said when Nie Mingjue confronts Jin Guangyao about sheltering Xue Yang from the consequences of the Chang Clan massacre. Therefore, Mo Xuanyu could have (theoretically) entered the Jin sect at any point between Jin Zixuan's death and Nie Mingjue's confrontation, the latter of which took place after Xue Yang's imprisonment.

However, I believe it is more likely that Mo Xuanyu was brought in during the aftermath of Jin Zixuan's death, for the sheer reason that it would shunt Jin Guangyao out of the line of succession quicker.

We do know that Mo Xuanyu was present at Golden Carp Tower after Wei Wuxian's death, because Jin Guangyao gave him access to Wei Wuxian's manuscripts on possession:

He had written plenty of these manuscripts back then, all penned on a whim and tossed aside just as easily, scattered all around the cave where he slept in the Yiling Burial Mounds. ... He’d wondered where Mo Xuanyu had learned such forbidden magic. Now he knew. Never in a million years would Jin Guangyao have allowed unimportant people to glimpse the remains of a manuscript on forbidden magic. (Seven Seas Ch. 10)

And although we don't know exactly when Mo Xuanyu was kicked out of Golden Carp Tower, we can infer that it happened before Jin Guangshan's murder. During the events in the Sword Hall of Lotus Pier, after Sisi and Bicao's testimonies, one unnamed cultivator says this:

"He spent the last few years before Jin Guangshan’s death busily clearing the land of his father’s illegitimate sons, for fear that someone would suddenly pop out of nowhere and challenge him for the position. Mo Xuanyu was probably one of the lucky ones. Had he not gone crazy and been booted back home, he would likely have ended up disappearing like the others." (Seven Seas Ch. 19)

This implies that Mo Xuanyu's expulsion from the sect happened at some point before Jin Guangshan's murder. Theoretically, this was done because he would be a potential threat to Jin Guangyao's legitimacy (and have gotten killed) otherwise. As Mo Xuanyu was not legitimized, though, it's unlikely that he would have posed a genuine threat to Jin Guangyao's succession. Regardless of the reasoning, the quote here indicates that Mo Xuanyu was kicked out before Jin Guangshan's death.

To be clear, however, this cannot exactly be taken as reliable evidence. As Wei Wuxian says about this exchange,

If they’re just rumors, why so quick to believe them? If they’re secrets, how would you even know of them? This was not the first time these rumors had spread. While Jin Guangyao was in power, they had been suppressed so well that no one took them seriously. But tonight, the rumors all seemed to have become hard facts with irrefutable evidence. They became a solid foundation for Jin Guangyao’s multitude of crimes, proving just how unscrupulous he was. (Seven Seas Ch. 19)

So while it's possible that the timeline here is correct, we know that (as established earlier in the books – see Chapter 1) rumors in the world of Mo Dao Zu Shi are unreliable at best and often contradictory. For the purposes of this post, though, I am choosing to assume that this is at least partially true.

So taking the assumptions I've made into account, we know that Mo Xuanyu's time as a Jin disciple could have lasted up to approximately three years, anywhere between directly following Jin Zixuan's death to just before Jin Guangshan's death.

The timeline:

Now that I have a rough estimate of when both characters were present at Golden Carp Tower, I can try to find places where they overlap. Unfortunately, even with all this sleuthing, I cannot say for sure if they were present at the same time. The chance that they just barely missed each other, though, is unlikely.

Given the most generous interpretation of their respective timelines, Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu could have been Jin disciples together for almost three years at maximum. This assumes:

Mo Xuanyu was accepted into the Jin sect almost immediately following Jin Zixuan's death.

Both Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu's expulsions happened soon after one another, within the same year as Jin Guangshan's death.

This means Mo Xuanyu would have been a disciple since before Wei Wuxian died, and that Xue Yang's imprisonment and exoneration happened on a very tight timeline right before Jin Guangshan's death. This is the interpretation that gives both characters as much time to interact as possible.

Given the least generous interpretation, however, Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu just missed each other. This assumes:

The massacre of the Chang Clan happened very soon after Xiao Xingchen descended from the mountain.

Mo Xuanyu's acceptance into the sect happened just before Nie Mingjue confronted Jin Guangyao.

This means that Mo Xuanyu's call to join the sect would have happened in between Xiao Xingchen apprehending Xue Yang and Nie Mingjue confronting Jin Guangyao about it, which is presumably a very short amount of time. This is also the least likely interpretation, as it wouldn't make much sense for Mo Xuanyu to have been accepted so late and during such a controversial period for the sect.

The most likely interpretation is somewhere in the middle: that Mo Xuanyu and Xue Yang were, in fact, Lanling Jin disciples at the same time, but that they did not have much overlap. I believe it is probable that Mo Xuanyu would have been accepted into the sect within a year or so of Jin Zixuan's death, and that the Chang Clan massacre happened at least half a year after Xiao Xingchen descended, meaning the two would have had around a year of overlap between them.

In conclusion, I can say with relative confidence that Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu would have been Jin disciples at the same time. However, I cannot confirm this as canon, as there is not enough evidence available in the books. Therefore, this must be rated as SUPPORTED FANON: the text does not directly state this is true, but it is a distinct and likely possibility.

[a-tad-bit-obsessed]

Now yes, in general, I like Giles, and people do make some good points on the subject, but I always feel what I see people say about Willow and Tara in season 6 regarding payment, and why they act like it falls on Buffy and not them, to be a bit harsh.

Because this is two women who are what? 20, maybe 21 who have stepped up to look after their (best) friend’s little sister after their best friend had died. Yes they moved into the house, but come on, who else would be looking after Dawn which they did for several months out of how much they cared (side point, part of me always wondered if Tara at least was still paying for a dorm, after all, she managed to moved out quickly and she would have only realised she moving to the Summers’ house very late, but that’s just idle speculation).

Yes they could have tried to get jobs (but do we actually know if either worked part time properly in the Magic Box). But a lot of the money issues weren’t on them, it was things like the hospital bills and everything adding up.

This isn’t to say that this should have fallen on Buffy though.

Because do you know who’s responsible to watch her, who is, at this point of the show, actually being paid to watch her, paid because Buffy threatened the Council to pay him again, and to pay him back pay he should have got, who moved back to England to live on his fancy estate, still being paid and still earning money from his shop

Giles.

And I know he gives her something, and I know you could argue, well, he wanted her to learn how to stand on her own, but I don’t think paying her for Slaying, which is basically her job, would go against that. Instead it might give her some freedom to figure what she wants to do in life

[princesssmars]

a royal affair

after their trumph against the crone and a long journey home, jade and kit return to a bustling kingdom and a tense relationship. little do they know the answer to their problems lies in a foreign princess.

wc : 6.096

contains : sfw and nsfw content. takes place after the season ends. dont ask me how they got back idfk. fxfxf poly relationship. kit and jade mutually start to like reader so no cheating. slight jealousy later but all resolved. reader is a fem!princess. skin color not described. reader is described as having hair. reader wears dresses and pants. arranged marriage but it ends well promise. nsfw includes kissing, oral, and penetrative sex. a strap on because i like em. switch reader, switch jade, dom kit bc i think its be cool if she was a freak idfk.

a/n : i need to be neutered. disney bring willow back or i send b0mb. kingdom name generator sucks so yes ur kingdom is one from skyrim. enjoy.

it was over. it was finally over.

after a few months on the road fighting for their lives, discovering lost and painful secrets, and facing an ancient evil and actually surviving, the group from tir asleen were so glad to return home.

and none of the group were as thankful to return home as kit. sure when she got back she'd have to explain to the king of a neighboring country that his son, her fiancée, had died suddenly at the hands of the crone, and she'd have to deal with her best friend who was now more than that who was a member by birth of a clan she and her people previously thought were barbarians, and don't get her started on the whole thing with her dad actually still being alive.

but on that first night back as she takes a two hour long bath and flops onto her bed, she realized it was all so worth it.

when they returned it was nothing short of chaos. at that point a good portion of the people had thought the group had perished on the road, either due to the harsh climates, thieves, or probably just their own poor judgements and inexperience. but the kingdom had collectively lifted in spirits when the new heroes of tir asleen returned, victorious against a great evil and bringing back their beloved prince.

(the news about the whole giant evil wyrm thing was kept under wraps as to "not disturb this long needed sense of peace", as said by queen sorsha herself, who was surprised but not rejecting when as soon as they returned both of her twins slumped into her arms and gave her a giant warm hug.)

this so called sense of peace brought more changes than they expected. it was almost like the realm was revitalized, the daikinis expanding their reach and the nelwyns trusting willow enough when he suggested that they stop living in darkness and start rebuilding their community.

it was really nice, for most people to not be so afraid all of the time. but kit couldn’t truly revel in the shared joy of the people. not when she knew what she had learned out there.

that jade was a bone-reaver. that she had a sister and a whole community waiting back for her in the wilderness, and soon she would have to make a decision if she would stay here, with kit and the people who technically had stolen her from her family but she had nevertheless grown to love, or back with the reavers to build a connection with people who would welcome her with open arms.

every day between the two was tense. those romantic feelings were still there, obvious between the gazes in hallways and the frantic make outs in the dead of night in each others beds. but there was a weight, a sinking feeling in the both of their stomachs after each shared moment. the knowledge that one day this might end.

a few weeks into their return they don’t get much time to feel on it, as queen sorsha is alerted that two kingdoms from the north and the east have heard of the kingdoms triumphs and would like to visit to form alliances. kits a bit shocked that her mother seems so open to the idea, but figured anything would be better than her focusing on the threat of the wyrm and what will come of the shaken galladoorn king.

the preparation is a whirlwind, workers of the castle working day and night to get ready for the stay of distant royalty. whenever she’d stop by the kitchens to sneak away a snack it was as busy as she’d ever seen it, her favorite cook margaret always rushing her out before she could get a pastry.

kit had to admit she was wary about visitors. it’s not like a journey akin to the one she went on made for a perfect tale of random hospitality when it came to new people.

nevertheless, the time for the royals banquet came in the blink of an eye. she had spent a great deal of the day letting her lady’s maids get her read, taking a bath after an early morning air with jade, fixing her tousled hair and putting her in a classy yet breathable dress.

when she finally does get to the feast, she’s surprised by how much fun she actually has. a few lower ranking royals and warrior had coke from each kingdom, and spent the night telling stories from their pasts and some even reenacting them for the queen. kit swore she even saw her mother laugh at one of the stories, something about a stupid man falling head over heels for a woman who hated his guts.

kit was nothing but enthralled by the important guest of the evening. the royal family of the eastern kingdom, maelstrom, were a collection of tough looking people hardened by battles and a love for fighting. despite thinking they would be a family of scary hard asses, they had come bearing a multitude of gifts, the king constantly wearing a smile on his face as he was ecstatic to meet the legendary warrior turned queen sorsha.

and then there were the others. the royal family of winterhold, were a small family but carried a regal and powerful air about them. before eating the first course a noble guard had told her and jade some things about them, like how the family were known for being gracious but ruling with an iron fist. they had trampled many threats, people regularly mistaking their beautiful appearances for weakness.

and the princess of tir asleen had to admit she was guilty of the same thing. for the first hour she frequently catches the eye of a girl she’s never seen before from across the room. she can tell she’s an important person from the north, seen by her intricate hairstyle and the furs of her dress. every time you lock eyes you send her a little smile and she quickly turns her head away to avoid you.

she would feel guilty if a little while later when looking for jade who had wandered off she didn’t catch the both of you in the midst of conversation, jades sword in your hands as you admire the craftsmanship.

“it really is a beautiful weapon, jade. i’d love to see you use it in action, i’m sure you’re more than proficient with it.” kit listens to your conversation as she walks up behind the two of you, noticing how close you stand next to her knight.

“i don’t know how appropriate it would be for me to train in front of a visiting royal, but i’m sure i could pull some strings.“ jades head bows and tilts to yours, a sign kit recognizes as the red head being bashful. she doesn’t like how it makes her feel.

almost like you have a sixth sense you turn towards the princess, the quickness of it and your face being so close to hers throwing her off a bit.

“your highness, we finally meet. your companion here was just regaling me with the tale of your adventure and defeat of the crone. i have to admit im more than impressed.”

“it’s nice to meet you princess. i’m glad you’re warming up to us here. if you don’t mind, i’d like to talk to my close friend here. alone.”

“kit!” jade hissed, hoping you don’t take her partners words in the wrong way. but all you did was smile, bidding the two girls a good night and that you looked forward to seeing them later.

(jade wouldn’t admit that she thought jealousy was a rather cute look on the girl, especially later that night when the princess was moving like a woman starved to remove her clothing, staring at her body like she was going to tear her apart. she would let a little jealousy slide then.)

before the pair went to sleep jade decided to bring it up, not wanting the two them to go to sleep with any grudges or things left unsaid. it didn’t take much for kit to admit her feelings at the encounter she had with the foreign princess, but it did shock her when jade thought it was alright since she caught kit staring at you. a lot.

the next few days are now tense for a completely different reason. there is a mutual understanding between kit and jade that they both find you attractive, but they agree not to do anything about it in fear of freaking you out and jeopardizing the alliance. they swore to both be on their best behaviors'

but it was pretty damn hard to do so when it seemed like you were flirting with them often. the best example would be on the days that they sparred, you would frequently not be too far away as you watched the both of them with great interest. sometimes it would make one of them fumble, leading to the other to gain an advantage and win the round which always made you laugh before you left.

when it was clear that the two of them were going to keep dancing around whatever this was, you decided to take matters into your own hands. after careful observations you could tell what would attract each of the girls to you.

jade was more open to you after that first meeting. she was dedicated to the crown, although not as much as you would expect, but you could save that question for another day, and if you asked her for help with anything she would dutifully do as you requested. your favorite was asking her to show you some of her moves and attacks, praising her for her skills and what a talented warrior she was.

the warrior had a thing for praise - you realized when you complimented her for her strength after a simple self defense lesson ended up with you on the floor - could this get any better?

kit was a bit harder to crack for you. even with some careful questions and answers from jade, the brunette was still a bit standoffish when it came to you, most likely because you were flirting with her lover in front of her face and then flirted with her back after. but the clear internal battle in her was so intriguing to watch you couldn’t help but feed the flames.

since both of you were the heirs to your kingdoms and your mothers were still negotiating, the two of you spent quite a bit of time together inside the palace. granted most of it was spent in formal settings like meetings, dinners, et cetera. you could tell kit was constantly trying her hardest to be polite, but would sometimes let a sly remark slip through. you’re just glad they were directed at you under her breath; if you’re mother heard any disrespect targeted at you she’d most likely command her soldiers to attack at once.

but you were nothing if not persistent and determined. you would sometimes catch the way kit looked at jade, her pupils dilated and her lips bitten when the knight would stretch or show a sliver of the skin in her stomach. it was almost too easy to grab her attention when you started dressing in more traditional tir asleenian attire, swapping between tight pants to show off your figure or airy dresses with drooping necklines. they were drastically different from the garments from home, most of your clothes having fur and heavy fabrics.

you can still vividly picture the look on kit's face when you passed each other in the halls one morning, her eyes drawn like a magnet to the skin of your neck and the top of your cleavage in your pretty blouse. for added effect, you had worn one of those semi-corsets you'd seen the princess occasionally wearing. partly because you wanted her attention and partly because you thought they were cute.

besides trying to seduce the pair, they eventually became two people who you truly enjoyed being in your company. you were surprised at the leniency queen sorsha gave her children, the twins given free reign over the castle and the villages nearby. kit herself invited you once to join them in, lightly teasing you as for the first time she saw you nervous, scared of getting caught and having to face the wrath of your mother.

but one night it all became so, so worth it. a dark tavern, too much ale, and an off handed comment about how cute you found their not-so-secret relationship led to you three in a cramped rented room in a mix of kisses and tongues and limbs.

you had to admit you were thoroughly surprised by their dynamics in bed. when it came to training you noticed that whatever jade said to kit goes, the princess clearly having a deep affection and respect for the older girl. you would have thought that it would carry over into the bedroom and jade would be pinning kit to the bed, but when the three of you rush into the rented bedroom and kit pins jade's hands above her head you are exceptionally excited.

you sit yourself down on the bed, facing the tangled lovers while you slowly start to undress yourself. when you take off your top and your cloth bra, jade can't help but let out a moan at the feeling of one princess sucking and biting a mark into her neck and one exposing her breasts and smiling at her like a siren. she gets so overwhelmed when she feels kit's eager hand grasp her breath she has to push the girl by the shoulders, tilting her head to bring her attention to you.

now, you had had your fair share of trysts back home, easily able to find girls who had either wanted to experiment or just have one shot with the princess of winterhold. most of the time you had intercourse with girls you'd take on the more dominant role, be it because of the way some girls were inexperienced, some were just submissive at heart, and how you didnt think you enjoyed anything more than seeing pretty girls fall apart under you.

but as you and kit are almost violently fighting for dominance while she kissed you like she was almost insane, you're starting to think that duke's daughter you slept with a year ago who said "you're a control freak in court and it travels down into your sexual life." really was onto something.

you swore the brunette was about to give in, little moans escaping from her lips and her eyes rolling back into her head when you tug her hair to get access to her neck, but you suddenly get the wind knocked out of you when she's flipping you over and pressing you into the bed, your arms suddenly held above your head by jade as kit looks at you with a wild grin.

maybe you can be on the bottom, just this once.

except 'just that once' turned into a whole lot more than once. after that first night of passion and lust it seemed like the three of you couldnt keep your hands off of each other, taking any chance possible to sneak into a room or hidden broom closet to induldge in each other.

while you were able to change thins uo when you were with jade, a simple praise and brush across her neck turning the girl to putty in your arms. you had to be careful, though. once after another unneeded self defense lesson where she had beaten and pinned you in under a minute, one little "god, im so proud of you." led to her nearly humping you like a dog outside on the rocks.

but no matter what you did you still couldnt manage to dominate kit. youd be damning her to the high heavens if it didnt turn you on immensely on she could so quickly reduce you to a whimpering and begging mess.

it got to the point where you were daydreaming about her constantly. when you passed each other in the halls you shivered when her hand brushed against yours and it gave you the muscle memory of her lithe fingers curling and thrusting inside of you, when you were eating together your eyes focused on the movement of her mouth and how you could picture her mouthing at your cunt, or even how when you got the princess and jade tangled up after a spar you got so many ideas how badly you wanted your legs tangled with theirs as you felt your pleasure together.

they were actually driving you crazy. you, the heir of winterhold, fawning over a princess and her ptoector. if those girls back home could see you now they'd cackle.

the three of you werent as sneaky as you would have hoped though.

one night, kit had come to the two of you with a proposition and a package she had acquired, asking if you would like to try it out. jade had opened the package and the way her breathing stopped and eyes enlarged made you think there was actually a rabid wolf inside of the box, but instead she pulls out an object that is long and black and phallic. you’re a little embarrassed to even think of the flutter it starts in your chest.

"i think ill opt out, this once," you nervously squirm in your place. "gods, kit. where did you even get that? ive heard about these but ive never actually seen one."

"aw, are you scared?" kit pinches your shoulder and slightly winces when you do it to her wrist.

jade scoffs at the two of you before telling kit to stop teasing you, assuring you that you didnt have to do anything you didnt want to. gods, she was so sweet to you, always making sure you were comfortable with whatever was happening between the three of you. you just couldn't help yourself when kit was pounding the toy into her, her soft red curls resting on your lap as her big green eyes stared up at you. you could tell that your unmoving gaze on her face and the touch of your hands moving across her face, neck, and chest was not helping in her struggle to keep her noises at bay.

so when your fingers traveled to her breasts and squeezed her nipples, could you really blame yourself for the loud moan that came from her throat? it wasn't exactly your fault she was sensitive. although if it was up to her she would say you definitely knew what you were doing, especially when your fingers trailed down her torso and lightly grazed her clit just at the same moment kit roughly trusted her hips and hit the gooey spot deep inside of her.

looking back, it was only a matter of time until the three of you got caught.

only three days later both of your mothers asked you and kit to join them to a private tea. it wasn't odd for your mother to ask you to tea with her at home, but she hadn't called for you since you arrived in tir asleen. on the way kit had even told you her mother hated tea, and she couldn't recall a time in recent years when the two of them just sat in a room talking to each other without an argument starting.

when you entered the room you could immediately tell something was wrong. first, jade and erik were there; jade was supposed to have a rare day of rest today, and erik was...well, he wasn't often present at important conversations you had come to learn. second, your mother looked on edge. in all your years on earth, you had never seen her show any sign of weakness, the woman learning from a young age that being a ruler of an entire nation meant constantly being guarded. the sight of her being nervous put a sick feeling in your stomach.

"uh, mom? is something going on?" kit took a blunt approach before sitting down on the armchair across from her mother as you did the same. sorsha face looked tense but also a little judgy if you were reading her right.

sorsha raised her hand in a simple gesture and a timid-looking girl wearing a maid uniform came rushing from the corner of the room until she stood behind the sitting queen. you stared at her for a second until the realization hit you like a brick in the face. you never caught her name, but you knew she worked in the hallways surrounding kits room.

"this is moira, one of the new maids who works in the west wing," sorsha begins to explain as the maid in question can't meet your eyes, her eyes staring at her feet. "a few days ago she took the night shift for cleaning some of the floors and heard something quite peculiar coming from your room, kit."

"mom, i can explain-"

"no, kit, we would really like you to not explain." the queen's voiced raised as she quickly cut kit off, the girl's body going rigid beside yours. at this point you were the same, your mom's cold glare making you uncomfortable in your seat.

"although i'm slightly embarrassed at this situation, both because of the nature of it and how fast it seems to be spreading among the staff, queen morwine and i have come up with a proposed solution to this."

as soon as you heard this proposed (more like already decided) idea, for the two of you to get married in the following weeks, you think you blacked out for a few hours. and in hindsight that was horrifying. if there was anything your parents taught you it was to be composed, to be ready for anything at a moment's notice. but to be fair you'd never had to deal with an arranged marriage proposal before.

everything you could remember after it was said was a blur. you could remember kit yelling, obviously opposed to the idea of yet another arranged marriage, at the fact that she thought she had finally managed to finally convince her mother that she deserved the right to choose who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with and had proven she wasn't just a political pawn. even though you agreed with what she was saying, the malice in her voice from even just the idea of marrying you hurt.

jade was in an equal state of shock and only moved from her spot when you stumbled out of the room to the audible disapproval from your mother and rushed down the halls.

before you knew it you had run out of breath and settled on a log by a lake not far from the castle grounds. the sun was setting and there were fireflies out over the water. you could hear frogs croaking. it was nice. peaceful.

the knight gently rested a hand on your shoulder. "are you alright?"

you really didnt know how to answer the question.

"up north all of our lakes are frozen solid. the only time you see the water is when the ice is broken for ice sellers or a fool falls through on a dare that they can walk all the way across. i'd never even seen a fully melted one until we started to journey here," you breathe slowly and rub your hands up your arms, the night chill starting to take an effect. jade sits beside you and her natural warmth makes you feel a little better. "i care about you both, really, i do. but whatever this is has only just started and i...i don't know if I'm ready to give my whole life up for it."

the air goes quiet and the sun sets before she walks you back to your room, pausing outside of the door and taking your hand in hers and pressing a soft kiss to the back of your hand.

"i know this will be difficult but just...don't shut us out, please."

you could only give her a smile before you shut the door.

the next two weeks were tense.

sometimes when you were little you'd dream about your wedding, picturing a gorgeous girl waiting for you at the end of a beautiful altar and everything would be big and grand and snowy and perfect.

but now you're in a nation that's hot and filled with people you don't know but you're apparently about to rule over, and your gorgeous girl has been giving you the cold treatment ever since the news broke. you had tried cornering her in the halls, after sparring, even after dinner, but she always found a way to get around you and continue doing whatever the hell she was doing.

she wasn't talking to jade either, which slightly made you feel better because if she was you'd be feeling jealous, left a sour taste in your mouth at how she was shutting both of you out for no reason. one night jade had snuck extremely carefully into your room to bring you some snacks you'd been craving and had told you that the princess was just feeling a mix of betrayal, hurt, and worry all at the same time and wasn't the best at handling her emotions when she was upset.

if there was anything keeping you grounded at that time it was jade. she had to tread carefully so it didn't look like she was choosing sides between the two of you, but she always made sure to be there when you were slipping. one of the royal wedding planners was pressuring you to pick a flower to add to the bouquets that would be used to decorate the ceremony and the one you'd hold as you walked down the aisle, and just when you were on the brink on breaking down and just retreating to you room altogether jade stepped in for you and recommended a mix of your favorite flowers from your homeland and kits, signifying the union of your nations in a small but beautiful way.

and maybe having so much of her attention and still having to see kits stupid but cute upset face whenever she saw the two of you got to your head, because later that night you're sitting with jade by that same lake from a while ago and kissing her like your starving, pulling her closer by the back of her neck while your hips grind into hers like you'll die if you don't get closer to her. a few weeks ago you had all agreed to not leave too visible marks, but when you bite roughly on her collarbone and she pulls you closer by your hips, you don't really think she cares.

which is great for you, because when you walk with jade to drop her off at her training session and kit sees the mark on her skin her reaction is worth every bit of sadness you felt.

the night before your wedding was nice you would admit. there was a banquet with both families and a few dozen others, which gave you a crazy sense of deja vu, and you were able to somewhat enjoy yourself. your younger siblings were teasing you nonstop and some of the more vulgar court members were doing the same in a way that made you slightly uncomfortable, but nothing you hadn't heard before. it'd be made better if your bride-to-be wasn't glaring holes into the side of your head every so often, but you would take what you could get.

once the party has ended and an uncountable amount of people had wished you 'good luck's and 'congratulations'' for the following day, you trek back to your bedroom and decide to wind how with a nice warm bath and some scents a courier had brought from your home. just as you had poured the liquid into the water and sunk into the water, the gentle whoosh of the bathroom door opening and closing has your eyes widening and reaching for the closest thing you could as a weapon when your gaze lands on kit, standing at the door with her arms crossed and staring you down.

"if you don't mind, i'd like to spend my night alone and not with you leering at me while i do it."

"to be fair, its nothing i haven't seen before," she smirks and starts to walk closer to your bath, not being able to avoid you flicking water on her clothes. "this is serious, i want...i need to talk to you."

you can't help but scoff at her words. "oh, you need to talk to me? i wasn't really getting that from the past two weeks of silence and ignoring."

"i know, i get it, and im sorry-"

"that's not enough."

you close your eyes and focus on your breathing, not wanting a fight to start lest anyone hear it through the walls. you can hear the sound of kit's boots moving until they stop at the side of your tub, seeing the girl get on her knees before softly taking your hand and holding it over her heart.

"you're right, its not enough. i acted like a complete and utter dick to you and you didn't deserve it. i was so in my head about the wedding, and my mom and graydon and jade and you, that i shut both of you out when we all should have been with each other. and i swear I'm gonna spend the rest of our dumb married lives making it up to you."

you couldn't help but snort at her while she apologized, able to tell that she truly meant it. it was all just hitting you how much you missed her these past few weeks, how she was always trying to say something humourous to break your 'cold exterior'.

(she thought that joke was hilarious and neither you nor jade had the heart to tell her it was lame.)

"i forgive you, kit. and dont think for a second that im not going to hold you to that promise." you brought a hand up to sweep some hair away from her face, chuckling when she lightly tries to shake off the water your fingers left.

she looks at you so fondly before giving you a light kiss on your lips. but blame it one the faint traces of alcohol still in your system, or the low lighting of the bathroom, or just the sensitivity from opening up to each other, but the kiss quickly turns heated before you're both hurriedly rushing to remove her clothing before she's joining you in the bath, the both of you giggling as water sloshes on the ground and you nearly cackle when you see kits giant little toy below her hips.

"were you planning this? you expected me to forgive you as easily as i did?"

"no, but. a princess is always prepared."

luckily no loud noises were heard in the hallway (where jade happened to be standing outside of your bedroom door for both protection and assurance for kit), even though it took biting your lip until you thought it would bleed before kit took some pity on you before she manuevered your body to take you from behind, covering your mouth with her hand as your eyes roll to the back of your head.

once your high hits you with what feels like the power of a hundred stars, the girl carefully lifts you from the cold water and helps you dry off before leading you to lie down on your bed, where jade waits in the middle after assuring you all helpers on the night shift didn't come near your room out of respect or privacy.

you laid in between the two girls, jade in front of you and kit behind you as they snuggled into you and held hands across your waist. they whispered sweet words in the darkness of the room, promising each other that they wouldn't let this get in the way of their previous relationship, that they hoped to build a great life with you by their side, and that they couldn't wait to spend the rest of their lives with you.

you fell asleep dreaming of a white wedding in spring. you really enjoyed it.

when you woke up the two of them had already left to get ready for the wedding, as a handful of lady's maids came in to prepare you for the day. you were thankful they ignored how worn out you looked as they helped you to take another bath and do up your hair.

if there was one thing you loved most it was your dress. it was a traditional but gorgeous dress from your homeland, and you were glad your mother insisted on it being made exactly the way you had envisioned. she might have forced you into a marriage but she'd be damned if you didn't look exactly how you had always dreamed.

the preparation was over in what felt like a second, and before you knew it you were walking down the aisle. the renovated dining hall was ethereal, decorated in a combination of white and purples and blues and pinks and greens. winter meets spring.

regret was seeping into you for picking jade to be your maid of honor because seeing her stand across from kit makes you feel so nervous and sick and in love that you want to just turn around and take a breather for a few hours.

the vows arent long and once you give her a quick kiss it doesn't fully register in your mind that the two of you are actually married now. but it does feel different. like there's a new gravity to your relationship that wasn't there before that both terrifies and excites you.

the reception is lovely as well. compared to last night there are less inappropriate jokes and more genuine well-wishes for the two of you and what this marriage will do for both kingdoms.

the mention of your home would make your mouth twitch. you were starting to become truly happy here, but you would always miss winterhold.

after the food was served and some forms of entertainment were performing for the crown, your mother pulled you aside to talk. at this point, you hadn't talked to her in a few weeks, safe for required details about the wedding or basic pleasantries.

"i understand you're upset with me, and i know that i will have to earn your trust again. and i will do so no matter how long it takes. sorsha and i have been discussing establishing a safer and faster trade route between here and winterhold, maybe start establishing some new towns to people displaced by this crone madness. once its finished you can come back whenever you'd like. it will always be your home, no matter what."

you hugged her tighter than you ever had before.

after the toasts are made and the festivities of the night (which were very fun, you had to admit. you asked kit what gave some of the people such a love for fun and partying and she said it was something her dad brought out in people) are over you make your way to kits room and plop yourself down on the bed, kit and jade in tow and plopping down themselves. its quiet for a while. as they help you out of your wedding dress no words are said. nothing about how two of you are going to be queens once sorsha steps down, nothing about how jade has agreed to go visit her sister for a while to bond with her family and her people before coming back and seeing if there was any way to help them more, or how kit would most likely go on another adventure with boorman and the elora danan to help her father escape from wherever he was.

all you could focus on was the two girls who you cared about more than anything and being surrounded by them as you fell asleep, knowing that whatever new surprises that came in the future you would face.

together.

i love them a lot is it obvious. the bath scene was inspired by a p0rn video i saw on twitter but then i remembered they didn't have showers in that time period :( i didn't realize until the end that i barely talked about boorman elora and willow... ok bye bye

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

In loving memory

based off a heartbreaking dream I had last night about Hua Cheng and his mom

Near the old border of the Xianle kingdom, there used to be a burial ground. It was not a place for the lavish mausoleums of nobles and royalty, nor the resting place of great scholars or renowned artists. The many plaques that used to dot the grassy expanse of that field had long eroded, or been destroyed, the lands of Xianle having fallen to wars, ruin and reconstruction countless times over the hundreds of years since the kingdom had met its tragic fate.

The people buried there had followed the same fate that all living beings did, their bodies lost to decay and their souls following the reincarnation cycle until they completed it. Those left to remember them had dissipated just the same, and with them, so did the memories of their loved ones.

New homes were erected, new cities appeared, new kingdoms rose, new people lived and died and loved, clueless to those before.

But near the old border of Xianle, in a corner of the old burial ground, a small mound dotted with red flowers and a dark marble headstone remained. The writing on it seemed to have been engraved in a long lost language, the letters glittering silver, so it was hard to say who the grave belonged to. It bore an elegance like no other, simple though incredibly refined, and no matter the tempest it endured, be it human or natural catastrophes, it stood unmoved, shaded by two, beautiful willow trees.

Some believed it to have been a monument to some great warrior, perhaps a beloved benefactor - but nobody had been able to find out anything about the person that lay there or the life they lived. More importantly, nobody seemed to know who it was that lit incense there every day, or how it was kept n such pristine condition although nobody was ever seen visiting.

Legends and folktales circulated, some speculating that it must have been the work of evil spirits or some sort of supernatural being, though no cultivators had ever found any ghost or monster haunting those lands - in fact, the vicinity of the grave was mysteriously un-haunted, like something was keeping evil at bay to protect the small monument. It was even said that, should one find themselves in a dangerous situation, like being chased by thieves or frightened by demons, if they bowed three times by that grave, the danger would pass them by and their life would be spared.

Regardless, it seemed whoever rested there had been loved immensely - because even if it was unknown who tended to the grave, its appearance spoke of great affection and respect. It had been often that people that passed by marveled at it, wishing that they would also be loved so deeply after they pass that their resting place would be kept so beautiful many years after they pass.

Xie Lian had passed by the grave once, in his long, aimless travels in the mortal realm, and had also wondered what kind of person rested there and how kind they must have been to be remembered even long after their language had disappeared and their home had fallen to ruin.

Though, he could not allow himself the luxury to imagine being remembered so fondly or loved this much, knowing his memory had been tainted and his name cursed too much to even dream of such a thing. And death had long been forbidden for him as an escape as well, no matter how much he had wished for it.

So troubled had he been at that time that he had not stopped to look a second longer, and continued on his way, only hoping that, in time, people would at least forget him enough not to hate him any longer.

---

It was many hundreds of years later that Xie Lian saw the grave again, this time at his beloved's side. He had not explicitly asked Hua Cheng about his family, but it had been one night as they held one another that the topic came up, and Xie Lian had opened up about his parents, about his family, about how they died but more importantly, how they lived. It had not been something Xie Lian spoke of easily, but with Hua Cheng, he felt safe enough to share the burden of both his memories and his regrets.

Unlike him, Hua Cheng didn't have too many memories of his parents, as he had run away after his mother died. He could remember his father being a distant man, involved enough to provide basic necessities but absent enough to feel like he was never around. He'd had siblings, but they had never been close, as Hua Cheng had been born much later than them and so they were older and looked down on him, thinking him an accident born of their parents' negligence. There had been much bullying, to the point that he had learned it better to cover his mismatching eye to avoid the mockery of his peers, but that didn't help much either.

It had been unclear to Xie Lian whether that day when little Hong-er had fallen off the wall had been an accident or an intentional decision, and he had not pressed for answers. Part of him did not want to find out that the man that would become his beloved had consciously taken the dive back then, and another part of him knew Hua Cheng did not want him to know either.

So, Xie Lian instead asked about Hua Cheng's mother. She had been a kind woman from the fragments of memory Hua Cheng had of her, and she had loved him very much. She had come from foreign lands with many riches, but it was unclear what had happened to them - they had never been rich and Hua Cheng believed either his father spent recklessly or his siblings had taken advantage of their mother's kindness. Either way, Hua Cheng saw nothing of a comfortable life as a child, but he had not minded the poverty so long as he could take comfort in his mother's love.

But she had fallen ill unexpectedly and spent several months bedridden, and as such, Hua Cheng's father had left her, unwilling to care for his sick wife. Though he had been barely a teenager at the time, Hua Cheng had taken care of her to the best of his abilities - but when the money ran out, so did the medicine, and she wasted away in great pain and torment.

It was Hua Cheng alone that buried her, and her funeral ceremony had been incredibly modest. He visited her grave as much as he could when he was alive, and as a ghost as well. So, when he finally became Hua Cheng, Crimson Rain Sought Flower, and was not Hong-er any longer, he revisited the forgotten gravesite and sculpted a befitting headstone for his mother and made sure that her place of rest would be honored properly as long as he existed.

He had not been able to find her soul, and so he had taken solace in the knowledge that, somewhere in the world, in a different form, his mother's soul had, perhaps, found happiness. But as a dutiful, loving son, he honored her the best way he still could.

Xie Lian gazed at the masterfully carved gravestone and couldn't help a sad, remorseful smile tugging at his lips. He imagined little Hua Cheng crying for his mother, left alone in a cruel world, he imagined Crimson Rain Sought Flower carving her headstone with the same loving care he carved all of Xie Lian's statues.

He lit up four sticks of incense, and bowed to the grave alongside his husband, distantly remembering the tales he'd heard of the peaceful atmosphere that seemed to surround the mysterious grave at the border of the old Xianle kingdom. Perhaps some of it had been Hua Cheng's power and reputation keeping evil at bay. But, though her soul must have reincarnated, Xie Lian wondered whether some of the love remained.

Thank you. Thank you for having loved and cared for the one I love today. And for entrusting him to me, though I have not made it easy for him. Wherever you are, I hope that you can somehow feel that he is loved and he is happy. I will do the best I can for him to always be.

---

"Thank you for bringing me here today, San Lang." Xie Lian spoke after a poignant silence, on their way back home.

"I thought it was time gege met my mother... however, I must ask, had you been here before?"

Xie Lian huffed fondly, Hua Cheng's observant eye having not missed the familiarity in Xie Lian's eyes at the sight.

"A long time ago. I was in passing."

"Gege did not stop."

"No, I didn't... I was... troubled."

It was Hua Cheng's turn to huff. "If you had, I would have found you sooner."

"Such is fate, San Lang." Xie Lian laughed softly, taking his husband's hand in his.

Hua Cheng smiled, sincere and loving. "Then I am glad I could subdue fate enough to finally be able to meet you."

[jwirecs]

RECOMMENDED SEVENTEEN FICS OF AUGUST 2023💖

hello, hello! here are my recs for seventeen for august! hopefully these beautiful stories get more recognition as well as the writers 💝

** anything in parentheses and bolded are my thoughts that can be disregarded if needed **

🔞smut || ����angst || 💕fluff || ✅completed || 🔄ongoing || 💯favorite

Dare You || @dontflailmenow🔞💕✅💯

↳ One dare. One night. One creepy, people-died-here, dilapidated house. Two reluctant explorers. Of course it’s Halloween.

Keep It Quiet || @jaemified🔞💕✅💯

↳ you and seungcheol never liked taking risks, especially with 8 of his 12 roommates home. but, up until your self control couldn’t handle it anymore, you both found it was best to keep it quiet.

Laundry Room || @ikigaisvt🔞💕✅

↳ in which your husband is really good at cleaning - and he looks hot doing so.

Taking Care of Their S/O having Foot Pain From Their Heels || @wheeboo💕✅

↳ Anon Req: heyy there! your blog is amazing <3 i recently went to a party and wore a new pair of very uncomfortable 4in heels for like five to six hours ( ended up getting cuts and blisters :’)) so may I request svt members reacting to s/o who tortured their feet in heels for a party? tysm<3 

Your Cherry Flavored Kisses || @hannyoontify💕✅

↳ as his mom always said, kisses are the best kind of medicine for boo-boos

I Hate U, I Love U || @wonusite🔞💕💔✅

↳ After finally managing to escape the lifelong rivalry you once had with Yoon Jeonghan, you’re unexpectedly thrown back into the undesirable feud after receiving a scholarship to the most prestigious private school in the city. Despite your attempts to leave the past in the past, you discover too late that you’re the only one interested in letting the vendetta go. Years later, there’s a switch in dynamic when you’re the one unwilling to let it go.

The Very First Night || @shuadrive💕💔✅

↳ the search for a new place to live takes a turn for the worse when the only person willing to split rent with you is your ex-boyfriend.

Close Proximity || @chilligyu💕💔✅

↳ when she first met mingyu, she didn’t know what to expect. she was desperate for a roommate, he needed a place to stay. they were exactly what the other needed, in more ways than one.

Contusion Confusion || @seungkwansphd💕💔✅

↳ your clumsy lab partner left a bruise on you. seungcheol seems disproportionately upset by it, but it makes way more sense once you understand why.

Jihoon's Puppy || @rubyreduji💕💔✅💯💯💯

↳ jihoon can’t seem to shake the puppy dog who keeps following him around or the teasing he gets for it

Kidult || @hoeforhao💕💔✅💯

↳ can trying to relive the childhood you never got to experience, through your daughter be the reason of your husband's irk?

Real Eyes, Fake Lies || @wooataes💕💔🔄💯

↳ What do you do when you find out the one person that was created by the universe to be yours doesn’t want you back?

Willow || @wongyuuu💕💔✅

↳ seungcheol always knew that he was going to marry you, but things only get harder once he does (or in which seungcheol is just really dumb and doesn't know how to show his feelings)

Your Games Suck: Next Level || @onlymingyus🔞✅💯💯

↳ (no summary but just think, wonwoo and seungcheol???. yes please.)

I'm Dating Woozi || @jihoonotes💕✅

↳ y/n is in a public relationship w/ woozi of SVTZ and decides to make a twitter acc to support jihoon, but SVTZ fans seem to think they're delusional.

Pang! || @kkumawrites💕💔✅

↳ You'd consider yourself a simple college student, a freshman who just wants to survive their first year - but things get complicated when you're suddenly falling for someone you definitely shouldn't be, especially since he has a girlfriend already.

Yearning || @jihoonotes💕💔✅💯

↳ for yn it was love at first sight, but for jihoon it was annoyed at first sight.. oops?

[Tales From The Pack] Soonyoung: Imperfect || @gamerwoo🔞💕💔✅💯

↳ Soonyoung has always been desperate to find his mate, often going out into town at night to fill the void of imprinting that he craves so much. Then suddenly, you (quite literally) appear in front of him. He’d always dreamed and fantasized about what having his mate would be like, but the reality is nothing like he expected.

Do check out all of the other seventeen fics that i have reblogged as well!!

** if there is any fics that you guys would like to recommend, please do! i am slowly running out of fics to read **

[pincushionx]

Toh Hospital Au

(I’ve never actually watched any hospital dramas before)

This is just a adult human Au except with a focus on medicine

Luz, an oncologist, was determined to be one after the passing of her father.

Amity, pediatric rheumatologist, inspired by her own hand pain. Was originally going to be a dermatologist to make Odalia proud but met Luz in college after becoming roommates with her and changed her plans into a field she was actually passionate in. Pediatric because is Amity good with kids.

Vee is a RN in the ER. She good at adapting at different situations which is good for more high stake places like the ER. Her and Luz are sisters of course with Camila very proud of them both. She’s adopted. She didn’t want to go to medical school so decided on being a nurse instead. Worked in the hospital longer than Luz.

Gus is a patient advocate, he would be good very successful at his job and passionate on helping his clients receive the best treatment he can. He’s taken many clients with Luz.

Willow is sports medicine physician because it’s in her interest in athletics and helping others. She definitely still a plant addict and they cover her house and garden.

Hunter is a cytopathologist. He had a tough past (understatement) and was pretty isolated in college and medical school. He thought it would be the same in the hospital since he already took a no live patient job until he transferred to a different hospital and met Luz in the Cancer unit when diagnosing some patients. Where she invited him to hang out after work and they became friends along with the others.

They all look like older versions of their post-canon looks since they’re all in the mid 30s, except Gus who is like 31 to 32. Hunter still has his scars except their burn scars instead of possession ones. Luz and Amity are married and live together. Belos died sometime in Hunter stay in medical school and Amity, and her siblings are no contact with Odalia

Stringbean in a normal snake that Luz got from a rescue, Emmiline is a normal chameleon Gus recused, ghost is a normal cat Amity got in college, Clover is a bunny rescue( I’m not giving Willow a pet bee I’m sorry, instead her fathers do bee keeping as a hobby). Flapjack a cardinal that just lives with Hunter, like one day he showed and didn’t leave, he basically made Hunter his pet. Also Waffles does the same thing a few years later (because I love her). Flapjack lives longer than the average cardinal due to Hunter basically taking care of him. The other laugh when they find out he basically has two wild birds living with him.

Belos was pretty abusive to Hunter growing up until Hunter fled for college after realizing that it wasn’t right how he was treating him. He tried going no contact a few times but always broke it untill Belos eventually passed away while he was in medical school after succumbing to an illness. Belos was a successful pastor. (He was the owner one of those mega churches n stuff.) Hunters parents are Caleb and Evelyn. Caleb was killed by someone “unkown”, Evelyn died from an accidental overdose when Hunter was young, where Belos got custody of him rather than the Clawthorne family. The burn scars came from an “accident” in middle school for Hunter.

Gus went to high school early and had a hard time with people not taking him seriously in both school and even when doing his job ( no body cared in college) but was able it receive support from his friends and push forward.

They all met in college and became friends (except Hunter who went somewhere else). Amity and Willow here childhood friends before Amity began bullying her in middle school where they went to separate high schools. Gus and Willow met in high school and were also roommates in college.

Other notes,

Viney is a general practitioner, puddles is an absurdly large pigeon she has.

Emira is a paramedic.

Other characters are not in the medical field like Edric who’s a small animal veterinarian, Lilith who is a historian, and Eda who is a store owner.

Again this is basically my Human realm Au with emphasis on the medical field.

[mcgnagallsarmy]

Top 10 Spuffy fics I’ve read (March 2024)

A Different Kind of (Sunny)hell by OffYourBird [Adult Only]

Between juggling a New World Order, a bothersome Council, wayward magic, and – as always – some much with the confusing time travel, there is never a dull moment in Sunnydale for Liz and Elly. This is Season 6 as it exists in the Jumpverse (beginning with A Different Kind of Hell and followed up by A Different Kind of Wedding). Fair warning: if you have not read the previous installments of the Jumpverse, this will not make any sense.

A Totally Random Occurrence by Herself [NC-17]

The stake slipped from her fingers, and she had to take a deep breath to stave off the dizziness descending on her like a hood over her head. "You—I thought you were dead." A reunion in New York City. Set post-NFA, spoilers for all of BtVS and AtS.

Cavalry by Holly [NC-17]

Buffy and Spike are enjoying life on the open road, but when they learn monsters have taken over Sunnydale, they have no choice but to head back to the Hellmouth.

Dusk Rising by HappyWhenItRains [NC-17]

"It doesn't matter. If Dawn dies, I'm done with it, I'm quitting." What if quitting wasn't all Buffy promised? -Challenge by Loup Noir Glory is defeated. The portal is closed. Except this time, the Scoobies decided to take matters into their own hands. While Willow restrains Buffy, Xander pushes Dawn off the tower. The rest is darkness. In the absence of Dawn, Buffy becomes Dusk.

The Footprints Left Behind by Willow91 [NC-17]

In the wake of an unknown attack on the American Frontier and the subsequent loss of contact with the friends they still had stateside, Buffy and Xander sneak into the country and begin a long, dangerous journey to find old friends and the source of the near apocalypse before it spreads throughout the rest of the world.

For You To Be You by lafillesauvage [Adult Only]

Alternate ending for 7x13 The Killer in Me. What happened after Buffy and Spike returned to an empty Revello Drive following the chipectomy? Well, in this story, Buffy realises just how much she cares for Spike, which leads to some fluffy reconciliations involving chocolate ice cream and Walker, Texas Ranger. She also gets her period, and adult-only fun is had by all.

Golden Hour by kennedynoelle [R]

Response to a challenge set by emilise: Spike never came to Sunnydale during the first few seasons. The first time Buffy sees him is during The Harsh Light of Day, sunbathing on campus adorned with the Gem of Amara. Oh no, she thinks, the pit of her stomach dropping and sending tinglies all over, he's hot. They start dating, Buffy unaware that her new boyfriend is a member of the undead. Of course, she has to find out eventually…

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger by fortes775 [NC-17]

Buffy has spent the summer grasping for something just out of reach, but when Dracula arrives at the peak of her frustration, all bets are off. In which Buffy finds her fix, her man, and herself, not necessarily in that order…

Manifest by EllieRose101 [R]

The hardest demons you have to fight are your very own, but a little help can go a long way—if it’s the right kind. (Set after Tabula Rasa but before Smashed.)

Mixed Signals by phoenixjustice [NC-17]

Two people who were never supposed to meet. She had seen everything, up to the Dragon that destroyed everything she loved. He had only the lasting memory of her words of love before he burned to cinders. Could they bridge the gap between them?

[morgy-doo]

THE OWL HOUSE RELATIONSHIP HEADCANNONS~

Luz noceda~

has 100% made you read all of the azura books ATLEAST once

has started teaching you spanish because she thought it would be cute if you two had your own cute lil conversations without over people over hearing

always pestering amity on relationship advice

the owl house is basically your second home by now

hooty can never leave you both alone for more than 5 minutes when your with each other

tries to hide whats going on with belos from you but you figure it out pretty quick because she is a BADDDD liar

she just doesn't want you to worry <3

AMAZING at cheering you up, honestly she would throw herself off a cliff just to hear you do that little cry laugh thing

Amity blight~

she is constantly worrying she is not good enough for you

please give this poor girl some love and reassurance

based on the past person she was she is terrified that one day you will realise there are better people and will never speak to her again

even if your not in the track, abomination magic has become a big part of your life

sometimes at school she gets an abomination to follow you around and carry your bags and stuff when she is not avaliable

she thinks its sweet and endearing

you think its terrifying but don't have the heart to tell her

literally gulps down your praise

"you really think i did good?"

she is so proud of herself after that

she cares about you SM

lucky bitch

your safety always becomes before hers and sometimes she forgets to do certain things for herself because she is to occupied with worrying about you

Willow park~

loves gardening with you

honestly you were clueless about how to diffrentiate (did i spell that right?) different types of trees

but ever since dating her you know the label and scientific name of ever plant that's ever grown

good for you boo <3

always is slightly self concious around you

always trying to smooth down her hair

but DAMN this girl is STRICT

if you play a sport or any type of activity that involves potential injury, you better expect her to be wrapping you in bubble wrap the moment you leave that field

if you were trying to impress her with your skills and get hurt, she will scold you the entire time she is fixing your injury, but secretly finds it cute

she will find simple little things to brighten your day like leaving cute little potted plants on your desk before class

Gus porter~

THE MOST supportive boyfriend to ever grace this earth

you wanna try something new? go ahead he will be excited to hear how you liked it

you wanna try out a new sport? he will be cheering you on at every practice and game in the stands

definately owns one of those shirts that say "i love my bf/gf"

tries so hard to impress you

he wants to be the perfect boyfriend for you so if you show interest in the slightest thing then boom you own a whole collection of items related to that interest and he has learnt everything there is to know about it off witchapedia

loves watching you use your magic

it interests him

learns so many different jokes just to make you laugh and smile everyday

Boscha (i only just realised she doesn't have a last name)~

oh god how do i even start this

can be super clingy one minute, but then acts as if she is used to the attention from you and couldn't care less

she takes it upon herself to be your protector

even if its from a potential splinter

BIG on pet names

babe,baby,darling,sweetheart, yk

"heh did you see that babe? i totally just saved you from that rogue grudgby ball"

speaking of grudgby, as cliche as it sounds she has bought you a jersey that has her name on it for when she plays grudgby

honestly dies of happiness when she hears you shout "that's my girlfriend!"

always lends you her jacket when your cold, even when she is freezing herself she is way to stubborn to take it back

or she just lets you wear it around the school hallways so everyone knows the coolest girl in school is your girlfriend

when she is ruling hexside, she keeps an eye on you, no matter where you are in the room, her third eye is always on you

she is terrified she is going to lose you like she did the others

lets you sit on her lap when she is on the throne

can you tell she is my favourite?

Hunter deamonne~

he is literally the definition of acts of service

the biggest gentlemen ever

holds open every door, pulls out your chairs for you, literally he could be your slave

gets red VERY easily

when you give him praise he practically melts

found it hard to open up to you about his past but when he does he feels a huge relief

now he tells you literally everything

you totally gossip together all the time

he loves training with you, it's never serious and he can see your magic in action

you are honestly his everything

he loves playing with your hair too

is honestly so good at doing hair, he has learnt how to get the perfect rounded bun

loves you more than life itself

part two? <3

[north-polar]

Take Me Out

Managed to ground something out for @tamlinweek day 1 so please enjoy Alis getting her not-son to go outside to socialize instead of being cooped up all day. Tamlin somehow manages to fail successfully.

Word count: around 1.2k

Summary: after getting kicked out of Alis' tavern, Tamlin ventures off to a place people tell him he shouldn't go and saves someone people tell him he shouldn't have saved.

“Boy, get out of here.”

Tamlin looked up from wiping a wet rag over the bar and stared at Alis who had her hands on her hips and an exasperated look painted on her face. He would have thought she was actually cross with him if he didn’t spot the slight upward tug on the corner of her mouth. 

“What?”

“You heard me,” Alis gestured with a quick nod to the tavern doors that lead outside, “We’re all set for now, and I won’t need you till later when the night crowd rolls in. Get out of this stuffy, old cellar and go get some sunshine.” 

“It’s not stuffy, and I still have to finish up–” Alis marched over, plucked the dirty rag out of his hands, and began to swat him with it, herding him closer and closer to the doors. 

Every time Tamlin tried to open his mouth to object, he got a face full of the soggy, stained fabric.

“You ain’t ‘have to’ do nothing if I tell you to. Get going!” She accentuated her point by using her unoccupied hand to shoo him off. “Now, I don’t want to see you back here at least until sundown, you hear?” She finally quit her assault when he was over the threshold and onto the street.

“I–” Alis raised the rag, “...hear.” She lowered the rag.

“Good.” With that, she closed the doors loudly, and Tamlin was left standing uselessly in front of the tavern. 

He stood there for a while, not quite knowing what to do with himself, so he just chose to attentively watch the doors as if Alis was going to spontaneously open them and welcome him back inside again. Tamlin knew that wasn’t going to actually happen, but he let his mind hope. 

Eventually, he found the sense and drive to wander off somewhere else when the bewildered looks and judgemental eyes from passersbys felt too heavy on his skin. 

Starting down the road, Tamlin meandered along the path that led towards the village outskirts. While walking, he scanned the ground attentively in case there was an interesting rock on the ground he could bring back to show Alis’ nephews. Those two boys loved rocks, and Tamlin didn’t mind helping them scavenge treasures. Finding a few, he stashed them into one of his pockets and continued on his way. 

Slowly, the path died out, and Tamlin found himself facing the dense forest that surrounded the village. Only a select few actually went outside of the security of their settlement and into the uncharted woods. They were located not far from The Wall, the boundary that separated the Fae lands from theirs, so there was always a chance of encountering something… unsafe outside the guarded townlet. 

With all this in mind, Tamlin glanced around, noted that no one was watching him, and promptly ran into the woods with reckless abandon. 

____

Tamlin always loved being in the forest.

The rustling of leaves, the singing of birds, the smell of the earth. It was all encompassing, surrounding him like a welcoming blanket. It provided a much needed reprieve from rigid civilization.

Following the way he mapped out from countless times before, Tamlin ended up at a small clearing that was lined with a vast river. 

Near the edge stood a lone Weeping Willow; its vine-like branches swaying lazily in the gentle breeze. Moving them aside like a curtain, Tamlin walked underneath the tree’s canopy and made himself comfortable sitting with his back against the trunk. 

He then closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Calm.

Tamlin could feel his mind slowly begin to wander away somewhere else, losing himself in his surroundings in a way he never could anywhere else but here. 

It was quiet. Serene. Peaceful.

…At least it was until it suddenly wasn’t.

Until something violently disturbed the shrubs on the other side of the river, startling Tamlin out of his daze. Bolting to his feet, he staggered through the tree branches just in time to watch someone break through the undergrowth and tumble into the river with a loud splash. 

Tamlin was in the water too a second later, diving after the person with his heartbeat thundering in his ears and not a thought running through his mind. 

He barely registered the freezing water as he treaded through the river after the person. They were just floating along the current unmoving, and Tamlin felt his stomach drop further. Finally, Tamlin managed to catch an arm, pull the person over his shoulders, and began to drag them both towards his side of the shore. 

It was good that Tamlin already knew which rocks were slippery and which were not; he had learned the hard way from the other separate occasions of being in the river.

Underneath the willow, Tamlin laid down the person, rested his own head on their chest, and listened for a heartbeat. 

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. 

Tamlin let out a long sigh of relief, willing his own racing heart to slow. Lifting his head up, he got to work scanning over the person’s body for injuries: scrapes along both arms, a swollen ankle, multitudes of forming bruises. He also took in the appearance of the person as well, despite their rugged and worse-for-wear state, the clothes were fine and clearly belonging to someone who had enough riches to waste on stuff like jeweled encrusted knives, ruby cufflinks, and leaves made out of golden thread embroidered on their lapels. Was this person royalty? 

What was a noble doing in the forest this far away from the nearest big city? Badly wounded at that?

What in the ever living fuck happened to them? 

The person coughed lightly, and Tamlin raced upwards to regard their face. Despite it being utterly drenched, their hair was a bright, vibrant auburn. Tamlin moved it carefully aside from where it was previously draped over the person’s face. 

Oh. 

“Good face.” 

Tamlin realized he said his thoughts out loud and clamped his mouth shut, praying that the other wasn't awake to hear him. 

Ignoring his warming cheeks, he checked over the man’s(it definitely looked like a man, a gorgeous, gorgeous–Shut the fuck up!) face for wounds. There was a tiny trickle of blood coming down from the man’s temple, so Tamlin moved to tuck the man’s hair behind his ear—

Pointy ear. The man’s ear was pointed. Not a round ear. Pointy. 

Oh, well shit.  

Shit. Shit. Oh Shit. Fuck. Fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fucking Shit. SHIT FUCK SON OF A FUCKING BITCH OH SHIT HOLY FUCK WHAT IN THE SHITTING FUCK—

The man coughed again, stronger this time. The man who was not actually a man. The man who had pointy ears which meant it wasn’t a man but actually a fae, and what in the flipping flying fuck why hasn’t Tamlin bolted for the hills already– 

The not-man’s eyes fluttered open and revealed the clearest, prettiest eyes Tamlin had ever seen in his entire nineteen years of existence and Tamlin couldn’t help himself from opening his mouth and speaking his mind. 

“Your eyes look undamaged.” 

[alaydabug2]

Tag list: @sparklenarniawizard @imobsessed123 @nowjumpinthewater @ilikebookssomuch @insert-clever-username-1133

Broken heart/Broken mind

Chapter seventy-eight

(Human AU)

Sophie and Keefe met in the children's hospital when they were little. Because of how long they were confined to the four walls of the hospital, they became very close during their stay.

As the years pass, they wind up being in the same classroom together due to their physical conditions. This makes their bond deepen.

But are they able to handle when life gets tough, throwing problems and complications their way?

The ride out of state was stifling. Sophie was keeping a tight grip on Keefe's hand to keep herself from falling apart.

Her grandma Calla had passed away a few days ago. She lived a couple of states away, so they were taking the trip out for the funeral. Keefe was there for emotional support.

"We're here," Grady murmured to the backseat as they pulled into the church parking lot.

Sophie forced herself out of the car. Keefe took her by his arm. She turned and buried her face in his shoulder to hopefully stop herself from crying. It wasn't working very well.

Still, she went ahead and took her seat. The service started quickly. She couldn't hold back the tears anymore. They had started talking about how she would cook in the kitchen with her grandchildren.

Sophie knew exactly what they were talking about. Her grandma would always let her help cook her famous starkflower stew whenever Sophie came over to visit. It was always one of her fondest moments she would bond with her with.

Keefe wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry into his chest. But, one thing that the pastor had said about her grandma had her pause. Keefe did too.

She had died of a heart attack.

Sophie was too distraught after finding out about her death, that she hadn't even thought to ask how she died. That explained why Edaline asked her if she wanted Keefe to go.

Speaking of. He caught it, too. His arms had stiffened around her. A far off look on his face. She squeezed him as tight as she could. She was afraid that if she didn't keep a hold on him, he would go away. If she didn't have a physical hold on him, he would be gone, like her grandma.

Everything that happened in the past year made her afraid of what would happen if she didn't always know exactly what was going on with the people she loved. Two scary examples. Both that could've had dire outcomes. One did. The other, so painfully close, it might've just hurt worse.

"I'm ok," he whispered, like he knew what she was thinking.

"I know."

Still, she couldn't quite seem to make herself let go.

At the end of the service, they were taken to the burial site. Sophie's grandmother had requested in her will that a willow tree be planted at her grave site. So, once she was in the ground, a small sapling was moved to be planted into the dirt.

Sophie knew it would grow into a beautiful tree. That's what her grandma deserved.

She glanced back up at Keefe. He still had that apprehensive look on his face. She leaned up to kiss his cheek. He seemed to snap back to reality. He tightened his grip on her own as they watched the last bit of dirt be packed around the tree.

[thestressedsimmer]

IN MEMORY OF ALL THOSE WHO DIED IN 1315.

Ulric Elwyne

1286 - February 2nd, 1315

Ulric was a serf farmer who was a beloved father. He had three children throughout his lifetime before his wife, Blossom, passed away during childbirth. Instead of remarrying, he focused on raising his children to the best of his ability.

When the Great Famine struck, the man decided to go without so his growing children could eat. This eventually took a toll on his body and he collapsed in his home. Despite his children's best efforts to care for him, he eventually succumbed and joined his wife and youngest son in the Watcher's embrace.

He is survived by his two children, Volkivia and Kid Elwyne.

Her Majesty Queen Joan of Willow Creek

1293 - June 14th, 1315

Queen Joan was actually born Joan Comyn, a noble lady in Henford on Bagley. As the oldest daughter in a noble family, her goal in life was to marry well, even though being away from her family would be hard since she was extremely close to her brothers and sisters - especially her younger sister Elizabeth.

Thanks to her close relationship with Queen Marjory, having been raised side-by-side as sisters after the death of King Robert, she wound up married to the future King of Willow Creek, Louis X. Her marriage with him had its share of ups and downs, seeing as his father died shortly after they were wed, but they were a team at the end of the day. Nobles would joke that if you want Louis to see your side, you need to convince his "heart," aka his wife. She convinced him of much; including securing marriages for two of her siblings - Lord John Comyn IV and Duchess Elizabeth Capet (nee Comyn) - who were both married to Louis' siblings.

Queen Joan had two children, both boys, Prince John of Willow Creek and Prince Adomar of Willow Creek. She passed shortly after giving birth to her second son, probably out of exhaustion.

She is survived by her parents, Baron John Comyn III & Baroness Joan Comyn, her 6 living siblings, her two nieces, and her son, la Dauphin Adomar of Willow Creek.

Lord Gilbert Capet of Willow Creek

July 7th, 1315 - July 7th, 1315

Lord Gilbert was the first (and only) son of Prince Robert of Willow Creek and Duchess Elizabeth Capet.

Unfortunately, the boy was not meant to be and was born sleeping. He is survived by his twin sister, Lady Genevote Capet, and his father Prince Robert.

Her Royal Highness Duchess Elizabeth Capet of Willow Creek

1299 - July 7th, 1315

Duchess Elizabeth Capet was born Elizabeth Comyn in Henford-on-Bagley to Baron John Comyn III and Baroness Joan Comyn as the second daughter. An adventurous girl from her earliest days, she was known for causing trouble and creating elaborate games with her brothers and sisters in which she was the knight that saved people. While this was a dream that couldn't come true, she enjoyed living out her fantasies.

By the time she had outgrown this, her sister had been married to the (then) Dauphin of Willow Creek. It had been hard for Elizabeth to say goodbye to her big sister and closest friend, but she busied herself with her own adventures; she could be found hiding in the nearby forests with her little book of fairytales.

With her sister's political maneuverings, Elizabeth was betrothed to Prince Robert; a sure fire way for her to travel and live out part of her childhood dream. Elizabeth fell in love with her husband-to-be and even got in trouble for getting a little too close before their wedding day!

Not long after her brother-in-law and sister were crowned the king and queen of Willow Creek, Elizabeth married Prince Robert in a grand ceremony and became the duchess of Willow Creek. She fell pregnant on their wedding night.

The duchess gave birth to twins, Lord Gilbert Capet and Lady Genevote Capet. Unfortunately one of the twins was stillborn, but she adored her daughter in the brief time she knew her. She hemorrhaged later that day and was once again reunited with her big sister and closest friend.

Elizabeth is survived by her parents, her 6 living siblings, her nephew Dauphin Adomar, her niece Deredere, her husband Prince Robert, and her daughter Lady Genevote.

[bafflement]

Deaged Oz AU - Reforging Connections

@remnants-of-rwby-events

For day 5: Family. Tip is... less than happy, finding out Fria is his aunt, but... he really did need to know.

Tip groaned as his eyes scanned the family tree he’d managed to put together. He’d been expecting maybe a few cousins, extraneous family members that hopefully Salem wouldn’t care enough about to target, but did his father really have to have so many siblings? All of them had had multiple children of their own, too. The metaphorical branches were impressive, yes, but they were also more than a bit daunting.

It had taken him weeks, on and off, to research this properly. Willow had known very little about many of their aunts and uncles beyond their names, merely telling him that their shared father tended not to keep contact with a lot of them. There’d been one aunt that had stayed in close contact with their father though, especially after their mother had died. Tip hadn’t been expecting the name she mentioned to have been familiar and he still wasn’t quite sure what to make of that fact. It was easy enough to reconcile what he knew of her with the images that Willow’s stories had conjured up, though.

Fria had been a friend, there for him when the heads of the other two academies had tended to ignore him due to his sheer youth. He’d been so young back then. He scoffed to himself at the thought, he was all of eleven right now. If he’d been seen as far too young then, what would they have thought of him now? Maybe they would have actually done something about Vale’s council, but then again, probably not. They’d both bought that he was nineteen when he first became headmaster of Beacon far too easily, though part of that might have been an effort not to cause any conflict with the larger kingdom. Fria had never cared about that, had never believed in the claims than he was older than he actually was. Had always seemed so protective, so motherly.

He thought he might know at least a part of just why that was, now.

There had been stories, once he’d actually gone looking, about just how close they’d seemingly once been. He still wasn’t sure what to make, of all the tales of the child he’d been, the one he couldn’t remember. The teachers at Atlas Academy, or those few old enough to have actually known him all that time ago, had had a lot to say on the fact. Well, they had once they’d gotten over the shock. He hadn’t meant to do that to them, not really, but so many people in Atlas remembered him that it was hard, sometimes, to avoid it. That, even more than the frankly slightly disastrous press conference James had held a month ago, had meant that a lot more people than he was comfortable with had learned that he was alive. Well, that Winter was, anyway.

He really did wish they’d all stop calling him that. He preferred Tip, remembered actually using that name briefly as a teenager. Had more connection to it. But then, did he, if it was never actually his to start with? At least none of his friends knew what exactly had pushed those on Vale’s council who’d given him the name to do so. He doubted any argument he could make at that point would have mattered.

That was interesting, too. How protective everybody still was, even after knowing what they’d learned in Mistral. But it might be easier for them to see Tip as he was, like this, than it would have been had he still been an adult. Safer, in some ways. With people knowing, though, it was just a matter of time before Salem did, too.

He needed to talk to Fria. To talk to the aunt he hadn’t known, to apologise. A large part of him still thought that he should somehow have known he was Winter. Known he was the child that she’d lost. He’d always wondered about that; about just how sad she’d seemed. She’d never talked about her family, but that had been gone into in great detail by the adults too. They’d all known, of course. Not that he was Oz, nobody had ever really known that, but that he’d been cared for, that he’d been loved. That he still was. There were images, too. Old and faded, yes, but he could recognise himself in the tiny boy following Fria around like a shadow. Even then, he’d limped. Again, he’d known that, but it was different somehow, to see it. He’d looked so fragile, so sick. No wonder nobody had seemed to truly believe he could still be alive. Without his aura, well, he probably wouldn’t be. For far more reasons than just Cinder’s extreme prejudice against him.

He needed to go to James, though. He knew that he was keeping Fria somewhere, keeping her cared for… and isolated. He hated the thought of that, of her rotting away on a hospital bed all alone. Tip was a boy, though, was in no danger of accidentally becoming the next winter maiden. The mere thought was enough to make him shiver, though. Imagine what might happen, if he could? If the magic still actually recognised him, as opposed to merely brushing against his own whenever he met a maiden. If. There was no way he really wanted to find out, though. The maidens were important, were needed. They had to stay separate, even if he’d rather Cinder and Raven weren’t amongst their numbers.

Sighing, he got to his feet. He had a friend to talk to. Possibly even two, depending on how things went. James couldn’t really keep him from Fria, if Tip really needed to find her. But that wouldn’t be a good idea, not really. If James knew how easy it might be for him to slip out of places, he might have more people watching him. James knew he wasn’t the child he appeared to be, but sometimes he wondered. Especially after that damn tracker…

James looked up curiously as he heard his door open. He hadn’t been expecting a visitor and he was tightly enough wound lately that his hand was on the handle of his gun before he’d even realised he was reaching for it. Spotting Oz’s mane of tousled silver hair, he relaxed. He’d never want to shoot his friend, he had so few of them these days as it was. He couldn’t imagine a scenario where he’d willingly shoot him, he just hoped the boy hadn’t seen him reach for it. By Oz’s lack of reaction, he thought he probably hadn’t, but there was a very strange look on his face nonetheless. He recognised the sheaf of papers Oz was clutching as the family tree he’d been researching. He couldn’t really see the point of that, but if it made him happy… he couldn’t begrudge Oz that much. He’d been taking being Winter Schnee more than hard enough as it was.

“Hello to you too, Oz. I know you have my scroll contact, would it have killed you to let me know you were coming ahead of time? I really am rather busy, right now. But you know that, we all are.” His voice was level, his hand now lying flat on his lap. Everything was perfectly fine, just another day. He did wonder just what Ozpin needed from him to make an unscheduled visit, but with just how distracted he looked, he might well not have meant to. That had happened a few times before, back when his friend was still an adult. Things occurred to him and he acted on them without thinking things through. At least he tended to apologise after the fact, but then most of that was probably an Oz thing. He remembered times when little Winter had done that, too.

“I know and I apologise, but… a few things came up. Would you be able to get me access to Fria, by any chance?” Tip’s own voice was rather less level, fingers twitching.

James blinked, having not expected that request. He knew that they had been friends once, but he’d never really considered the possibility that Oz might want to visit her. It was sweet, in a way, though it wasn’t a request he would normally have even considered granting. It was Oz, though, he’d never take advantage of her in the state she was in now. It wouldn’t do him any good even if he was to try, she was too protected, but Oz? Oh no, he knew damn well that his friend wouldn’t even consider it. His gaze flicked back down to the papers he was clutching. Ah, so he knew about their connection then. It might even be good for both of them, he knew how much Fria had missed her family over the years. It was one reason amongst many that he’d volunteered the only Winter he’d known was still alive back then to be the next one. Even if she didn’t know, the specialist was still her niece. Still family. He doubted they’d ever met before their first encounter in the hospital, but it was nice to think that a part of Fria knew, too.

He couldn’t really see a reason to deny Oz’s request. He just hoped he knew what he was doing, the shock might actually kill her…