#the realization that he cared for her short life more than any long-living creature around

[cromulentreader]

Do y'all also think about how Cardan went from telling Jude she was destined to and deserving of death to being like Jude dies over my dead body? Or are you normal?

[kingprinceleo]

Silhouette Timeline Master Post !

Silo is from my 1000 Years Bound Au- (Summary) (Horror AU) 500 years into the future, Miles finds himself at the mysterious kingdom of Solar Sanctum, ruled by the long absent King Shadow. Shadow invites Miles to stay as a collaboration of great minds to try and solve the murky state their world has fallen into. It isnt long before Miles starts to realize Shadow is no longer the man he remembers, and starts to get tangled up in his web of madness.

----

Silo is one of Shadow's little oopsies ! She was meant to be a trial experiment, bioengineered during one of his many attempts to bring order back to the planet. Shadow completely tunnel visioned by his own vision for his work, failed to comprehend the burden that accompanied bringing a creature to life. He succeeded in creating a living breathing being. And it horrifies him. (cw for almost violence against a child)

Not too long after his meltdown, the Black Arm part of his brain overrides his disdain for this creature, and for a short while, he fulfills the role of being a parent to her. Creating a nest and taking care of the babys every need.

Once he returns to his normal mindset he starts to neglect this kid again, he refuses to acknowledge its his daughter, and even a person at all. All he sees her as is an experiment he wants nothing else to do with while he moves on to other research. Most of the responsibilities fall on Valentine and Tails. Tails is suspicious and frustrated with Shadow, unable to get any answers out of him about Silos origins. More often than not, Valentine is the one handling Silhouette, sneaking out of the castle and bringing her to the edge of the kingdom where an apple orchid resides. She spends time learning about taking care of children from the wolf Crisp, a widowed mother of three. Shadow usually never notices the childs absence, and doesnt really care when he does. And when he does care, its usually because hes doing something like this:

They also start figuring out Silos abilities, being able to turn into a black liquid and taking whatever shape she wants. Shes also near silent. No one is sure if she took on Shadows immortality yet...

Plot stuff happens whatever,,, Shadow takes a huge L

Shadows physically weak and incredibly frail, he cant move at all for weeks, eventually getting a custom walking chair. Major loss of chaos energy from his body from overloading, now any minor usage of chaos energy can fuck him UP.

In his eyes, hed fallen from godhood, now abandoned to be a pathetic regular person. And now word is getting out around the kingdom. He cant hide behind being all powerful, he needs to start at least pretending to act normal real fast. And that comes with acknowledging Oh hey . theres like . a princess by the way. his daughter who he is totally raising.

Valentine needs to be at Shadows side around the clock for a couple years, so Silhouette spends a lot of time at home in the castle, usually being very clingy to Shadow, she loves to nestle into his collars and his quills

This continues even when Shadow starts setting her to the side again to focus on rebuidling the kingdom. Now a toddler, shes getting sent off to go hang out with Crisps family pretty often, they become like a whole family to her. Despite that, Silhouette often sneaks out of the house to walk all the way back from the edge of the kingdom to go be with her father again. Shadow starts sending his Shadow Eye, Baja to accompany her so she stops doing that.

As she gets older she starts understanding the expectations Shadow is holding over her head. She is the offspring of the Ultimate Lifeform, and he expects something made of his own blood to be nothing short of perfect, an exact copy of his grace and excellence. At the same time, however, she is never supposed to surpass him. He plans to remain the Ultimate Lifeform until the end of time.

Perhaps she would have considered his cruel edge and bitter tongue normal affection had she not spent years with a family who's shown her what love looks like. She appreciates them so much, but she cant help but try to desperately claw out the same type of affection from Shadow. It deeply pains her and stirs resentment for her half siblings whenever her father comes over to the orchid, either to pick her up or at the request of Val, and she watches Shadow interact with the other children. He views them as lesser, but because of this, the lack of expectation for them, he comes off as a little kinder. Tolerating things he would never allow Silo to do in his presence, coldly reprimanding her in the hollowing silence of their black arms hive mind. He trained a lot of her emotional responses out of her, leaving her with a dead expression most of the time.

As a teenager, the noise in the back of her mind gets louder, deadset on destruction. Part of her wants to kill Shadow. Shes afraid of that side of herself. She starts acting out, trying to distract him from his work to get his attention, positive or negative attention she doesnt care anymore. It starts small but as he keeps turning a blind eye, expecting Val to handle it, she is the head guard after all. Gradually she increases the intensity, committing real crimes in the kingdom and testing how far she needs to push that old man, from stealing to committing arson. Shes willing to tear this whole kingdom apart if it means Shadow will come and stop her.

Eventually, Shadow does! Additionally, Shadows in a much better mental and physical state than he was years ago, where he was genuinely at his worst. After a lot of talks with Miles, Val, and Crisp and realizing the worst parts of himself are being manifested in this child before his eyes. He goes to finally give her what she wants.

Hes still not a great parent, but now he puts more effort in, working with Silo to get her behavior in check, being overall more available and open to her.

[forestshadow-wolf]

dancing and the dreaming by john Powell

That one scene from httyd 2 except it's soap ghost.

Ghost had never wanted to hurt dragons, he'd never thought they were hateful creatures. But then one of them broke into their house, and he feared tue worst for their daughter. But there was a moment, just one, and he realized it wasn't trying to hurt her.

Soap arrived still panicked and filled with adrenaline, he threw his axe at it without a second thought, moving more on instinct than intention. It wasn't his fault, and Ghost would never blame him.

But he knows Soap blames himself for the way the dragon truned tail and ran, but only after scooping Ghost up in its talons.

Surprisingly enough, the dragon didn't take him somewhere remote to eat him. No, it took him to some sort of... sanctuary, a place where the dragons lived. He wanted to go back, he wanted to make the dragon take him back. But then he thought that maybe not all dragons are liek this one, maybe she's safer with Soap on an island of vikings who are willing to do what needs to be done to protect without hesitation. So he stayed.

And years and years later. Nearly 2 decades, and he's saving a young lady from dragon hunters.

It's not until later, when he gets a closer look that he recognizes those heterochromatic blue and umber eyes, and the little beauty mark on the tip of her left ear that he can still remember kissing every night before bed, once upon a time ago.

And then he's gone off to find supper and when he comes back...

Soap. Standing there stock still, just staring at him. And he can't quite tell what it means, can't quite see what's behind the devastation in those eyes. It's been too long since he's seen Soap. Perhaps he'd know what was in those beautiful blue eyes if only he'd been there for all those years.

He looks good. Older, more grizzled, more tired. His beard's grown long, and braided. His hair, longer as well, but still the iconic short sides. And ghost thinks he falls in love all over again. But he left, he was taken and he chose to stay gone. And he's sure that soap must be furious with him. For leaving him alone with their daughter to take care of, and an entire village to run. For staying gone. And he says as much, shouts it.

And soap, ever the gentle soul, forgives him. Forgives him like he never blamed him, like he's never hated him. Like he loves him, like he still loves him.

He's still not sure what to think in the tense, too quiet atmosphere. It used to be so loud and lively, never a quiet moment. Not with soap around, at least. Except now it was.

He's getting water for the stew when he feels soap at his back. Humming a melody he'd long (not) forgotten. An olive branch. A peace offering.

I'll swim and sail on savage seas With ne'er a fear of drowning And gladly ride the waves of life If you will marry me No scorching sun nor freezing cold Will stop me on my journey, sorry If you will promise me your heart

He reaches for it, but he can't find his voice. He feels his gaze on him as it wavers, as soap looks at him for any sign of the past and gets nothing. Won't get anything with Ghost's back to him, he seems to realize it as his head fully sinks under the water.

And love...

And finally Ghost finds that handhold he was looking so desperately for. He throws out a life raft for him.

And love me for eternity My dearest one, my darling dear Your mighty words astound me But I've no need for mighty deeds When I feel your arms around me

And suddenly he's alive, and soap is letting out that beautiful laugh, that he's always loved.

But I would bring you rings of gold I'd even sing you poetry (oh, would you?) And I would keep you from all harm If you would stay beside me

And he can almost physically feel as something he didn't know was broken heals inside of him.

I have no use for rings of gold I care not for your poetry I only want your hand to hold

I only want you near me

And suddenly they're both laughing, and dancing. Just like old times, it's like he'd never left. Or maybe it is, but maybe it's okay, maybe it'll be okay.

To love and kiss to sweetly hold For the dancing and the dreaming Through all life's sorrows and delights I'll keep your laugh inside me I'll swim and sail a savage seas With ne'er a fear of drowning And gladly ride the waves so life And you will marry me

And all is right with the world. He has his husband and their daughter, and they have him. And they're happy and together and they have the most beautiful laughs that he never wants to not hear.

[thelampisaflashlight]

The ghouls, but it's how I currently headcanon their personalities. Below the cut.

Aether: Overall, he's a giant goofball and loves a good night out with friends.

People tend to assign him a very "fatherly" role due to his appearance and his tendency to take care of his friends in little ways, but he certainly doesn't see that as strictly something a father, or any sort of guardian, would do.

Friends can take care of their friends and not be their parent!

That being said, if someone called him the "mom friend" he would wear it as a badge of honor, because that means his friends trust him.

Dewdrop: Comes off as a bit of a grump, though in an endearing sort of way.

Despite putting up a wall in front of others, when he's with his friends, he smiles easily and more often than he realizes. Very expressive when he's not trying to hide his emotions, and is known to be a bit of a crier when he's happy.

He's very used to people judging him based off of his appearance, for better or worse, so instead of dwelling on what others might think, he just does whatever he pleases.

Short hair, long hair, skirts, pants, dresses... The world is his oyster and he's here to tell people to "shuck" it.

Cumulus: Very independent and knows what she wants in life, actually getting it is another matter entirely.

She has a lot of interests and hobbies that she doesn't talk about a lot, because 1.) She's afraid people will judge her for them, and 2.) Sometimes enjoying something alone is the best way to experience it.

Due her her looks, she often finds herself being burdened with the problems of strangers who see her as easy to talk to/approachable, but this has lead to her learning a lot of... unfortunate/uncomfortable things about people she either just met or barely knows at all.

Although she's always happy to provide a listening ear to a person in need, she'd really rather just be able to eat her lunch in peace, thank you very much.

Sunshine: As curious and creative as the day is long.

She's always working on something new, be it music, art, or some other sort of craft, she's always got something in her hands... because, truthfully, she wouldn't know what to do with herself otherwise.

A very active, social creature, who feels the most alive around others, and when she's not? Well, that's why she has all those hobbies to keep her busy!

She has some self worth issues, and, if left alone for too long, will question whether or not she has value when she's not entertaining others.

A classic case of "Please check in on your funny friends." if there ever was one.

Swiss: Like if the weird uncle met another weird uncle and they got together and had a baby.

He's a charismatic sort who could light up a room with his smile alone... if only because they're so shiny. He's strange in cryptid sort of way, and, worse yet, he knows it.

Bold and adventurous, he's the sort that loves to take the lead, not for the fame or the glory, no. It's more so because he lives life by the rules of that one Cyndi Lauper song.

Ghouls just want to have fun, ya know?

However, in spite of this, he's not an extrovert. If anything, he's an introvert that's a bit too good at masking how much he's rather be at home right now. Ehn. C'est la vie.

Rain: Quiet, but not shy, no, and many a person has learned that the hard way.

Very fond of presenting himself as a demure, delicate gentlemanly sort, but he very much knows what he's doing when he's looking at you through his eyelashes and playing coy.

Still, there are times when his softer side is genuine, but that version of himself, the one that snorts when he laughs and gives the biggest, brightest smiles, is reserved for his friends.

He needs a lot of alone time, and it's clear when he hasn't gotten nearly enough.

When he's overwhelmed, he can be a bit abrasive, but he's always very open about when he's having a bad day or needs his space, so there's that at least.

Cirrus: The friend you go to when you've done something you don't want anyone else to know about, that helps you without asking too many questions.

The true ride or die.

A very blunt person who tells it like it is and doesn't sugarcoat things, even if a bit more tact would be appreciated.

She has a very broad sense of humor, and laughs easily at even the simplest of jokes, but, hey, farts are funny, okay?

Tends to be a bit bad at physically comforting others, and isn't sure how to initiate hugs.

Mountain: A lot of people see him as the calm, tranquil one, but he's also incredibly stubborn and uses beating the shit out of his drums as a healthy means of dealing with years of pent up frustrations and anger.

That's not to say he's always angry, but he does have a temper, and while he manages it well, he has been known to snap when pushed too far.

Very particular about who can be around him when he's having "quiet time" as some people have very different ideas of what that means.

Secretly thrives in chaos, and, because of this, is the perfect person to ask for help when shit has hit the fan.

Needs a nap, like, yesterday.

Aeon: Bright eyed and bushy tailed, and oh so ready to tear some shit up! But, also, like, only if that's okay? Please tell him it's okay.

No, really, he needs to be explicitly told he's allowed to do it.

He's confident in his skills as a musician, and he's not too worried about how he fits into the band, but socially? To be honest, he's not sure if he's doing anything right.

Has a bit of, "HEY, MOM! MOM! LOOK WHAT I'M DOING!" energy, but that's to be expected.

Not really a personality trait, but he can't say the word "macaroni" right.

Aurora: Like if the playlist you made when you were fourteen came back to haunt you as an adult, but in a good way?

She's so full of confidence and wonder, it's hard to believe that she can be so happy with everything going on in the world.

"Never a bad day." she'll say, even if the rain ruined her picnic, or someone's been mean to her.

Never a bad day.

Someone should really tell her it's okay to admit when something is wrong before squashing it all down causes her to break.

[pianocat939]

Celina: *releases a little blurb about platonic yandere Donnie*

Her fans: *read it*

…

Her fans: *bowing down* oh sweet goddess of yandere fan fiction, we as your loyal fan base and vessels require a part two!

Celina: uh-

(I’m sorry. I had to write this, it was my first thought when I read your short blurb. It’s up to you if you wanna write more to it, you seem very busy so I won’t press. Enjoy your day ;) PS: yandere Mikey says if you don’t hydrate you will be bound down to a chair and be forced to attend his 6-hour-long seminar about why water is important for the human body. And yes, the word count is the same, if not more, as that of ‘The Odyssey’)

ugh- two more weeks before the musical and then I'll be free...except for studying for my AP exams-

1st part

Tw: implied forced mutation, abandonment, heavier angst than usual, brief mentions of death (but doesn't actually happen)

"Oh my god! What is that- that weird turtle creature?!"

"Get away! It might be dangerous!"

The child looks up at their parents in pain and in desperation. They were no longer human but now a turtle-human thing of some sort. But surely their own parents should recognize them right? But to their dismay, their parents dash away from them, terrified for their lives. Leaving the poor child alone and afraid: not used to their new form.

"Mom...Dad...but- but- it's still me." The young one begs quietly, a voice that of a whisp, tears streaming down their face at the realization that they were alone, and abandoned. They stare down at their hands, sorrow running through their mind. Their hands were no longer the five-fingered skin anymore; it was a shade of green, with only three fingers with scales dotting the surface. "How could this happen to me?"

The newly mutated turtle shuffles back into a corner, encompassing itself in the shadows, hiding their new form. It anxiously scratches its arm a bit, eyes darting everywhere around the landscape. "How am I gonna live? I'm...I'm just a kid still." More water droplets flow from their eyes, stinging their skin with unfamiliar wetness. They silently hunch over and stare at the ground, feeling a hole gaping in their stomach: their center feels chilled as if an actual hole was there. "I'm...I'm gonna die soon. There's no way I'll make it, not in this form."

"Not if an adult is willing to assist a child of need."

An unfamiliar voice speaks, and slowly a somewhat tall turtle mutant emerges from behind the wall. He kneeled down in front of the young one to make himself less intimidating. "Did...Did your parents leave you after you mutated?" He questions with a frown, his eyes seem to hold sympathy, an understanding of the pain the child is going through.

At that moment, they truly realized what had happened moments before. They were left behind, abandoned. Standing alone to fend off the world. They broke down completely, no longer leaking a few tears from their eyeballs, but a whole waterfall. They had nowhere to go, no one to talk to, just a pitiful form of an ugly turtle beast.

The man firmly hugs the small kid, patting their shell gently. "I know you don't know me at all, but...I'm willing to fill in the role of a parent." He offers, voice gently and warm in attempt to comfort the poor emotional wreck. "I'll...I'll teach you the life of living as a mutant, and I promise, you'll be safe and taken care of." He notices the child relaxing a bit and gingerly rocks them while they lean into his embrace.

"So...Will you trust me?" He hesitantly asks, patiently waiting for their response.

For a few moments there's a silence before the young one answers, "I'll trust you."

The older man smiles and nods in confirmation. "I'm Donatello. You can call me Donnie if you would like, or any title you wish to name your newly appointed guardian." He stands up and motions the little kid to follow him as he saunters, ensuring his new family member can keep up. "What's your name?"

"Y/n." Their voice is still raspy from crying, but there's a sense of warmth in it: hope. They pursue him, feeling an odd safety to the man. "You have a lot of gadgets on you, are you a scientist?" They interrogate, pointing at his arm brace.

Donatello grins in pride and joy, "Why yes, little turtle. I love science, and I make lots of technological inventions; it is my passion."

"Cool! I like science too!" They cheer quietly, excited that their new protector has a similar interest in science.

The inventor laughs in a proud matter, staring down at the little one in a loving, fatherly matter. "Then you'll be ecstatic to see all my inventions, I just know it."

He had done it. This wonderful child was now his. His to take care of, protect, and to love. They'll no longer have to suffer that neglectful world their parents once reinforced. They can just stay in their father's embrace, and watch rockets fly as a pass time.

What a wonderful unification.

——————————————————

I do love myself a good angst piece- needless to say I enjoyed writing this- now I shall sleep, it's 2 AM.

I think I might have a little talent in angst writing-

- Celina

[summermosswrites]

Without trace

Pairing: fem!OC/Aragorn

Short summary: When Aragorn falls off a cliff after the Wargs encounter, he is found by a stranger woman who tends to his wounds.

Warnings: NOT PROOFREAD, angsty (not yet) + descriptions of minor injuries and/or blood

A/n: Sorry guys, I know that the Warg sequence didn’t take place in the books, but it was way too convenient for my idea for me not to use it. I apologize for any mistakes in my syntax or punctuation, as English isn’t my first language. By the way, this OC and the story in general is partially inspired by one character from Homer’s Odyssey. I wonder if anyone will catch the reference :)

***

The creek softly whispered all around her. Astaraine carefully stepped into the burning cold waters and looked down. At her feet, a man was lying. His pale face framed with shoulder-long dark hair, he seemed too close to dying to be called handsome, and yet Astaraine couldn’t take her eyes off of him. The woman pressed the back of her palm to the stranger’s forehead. He was definitely still alive, although burning with fever. Astaraine attempted to lift him, but the man appeared to be too heavy for her to handle all alone. So she dragged him out of the water and called over her horse. The understanding animal approached her, and when Astaraine patted the ground next to the wounded stranger, the horse bent down on the ground beside him.

Soon enough, the woman was riding in her saddle with the unconscious man seated in front. He was significantly taller than Astaraine and blocked the view, but otherwise he would have fallen off the horse. She sighed and continued her way to the cottage hidden somewhere in the foothill of the White Mountains.

Once they arrived, Astaraine brought the man inside. She moved the low couch that used to occupy the further corner of her living room closer to the fireplace, adjusted the cushions and laid down the stranger. Just a few minutes later she was already busy by the fire, sterilizing some bandages in boiling water. At the same time she was grinding herbs to make a healing balm, and when everything was ready, she sat down by the improvised bed. After carefully washing away all the blood and dirt from the stranger’s head, Astaraine realized that she will have to take off his chainmail and the tunic he wore underneath in order to get to the wound on his shoulder that has already bled through his shirt and on one of the blankets that covered the couch. Only when she was ridding his arm of the sleeve of his shirt did she notice the ring with a green gem on his hand. It seemed oddly familiar. However, Astaraine couldn’t recall where she saw the two snakes before and continued her work. She wiped the wound with a clean cloth, stitched the wound and covered it with the ointment she prepared. She secured it with a bandage and left for the kitchen to keep herself busy. The sun was already setting over the mountains. Suddenly Astaraine noticed just how tired she was. After decades of peaceful life away from others this little distraction exhausted her. She was growing soft. It’s been a long time since Astaraine had to recollect whatever powers she possessed. The creature closest to her in all of Middle-Earth was, perhaps, Tom Bombadil. She even used to be friends with the old bard before the evil spreading from the eastern lands didn’t part their ways and tied each of them to their respective lands. Surely, Astaraine could leave if she wanted to, but the longer she spent away from home, the more wraith-like she became, the weaker and thinner. So, she settled into the slow, mortal rhythm of life, and spent her days caring for any animals that might have wandered off their pastures, and cleaning her house, and growing her little garden. If she shut her eyes tight enough, she could even pretend away the darkness that would blur her vision from time to time. That was until this morning she found a wounded stranger washed up on the river bank in the valley. It was hard to ignore the war when it knocked on your door, and before she knew it, Astaraine found herself examining the old blade of hers, buried in the very bottom of the trunk with her belongings. What she didn’t expect to find was an old tome in a leather cover that she almost forgot existed. It was a part of her previous life, a life where she was able to travel all over Middle-Earth, and talk to people and write down their stories. She scrolled through a couple of pages and that’s when it hit her: the ring, the one the man lying on her couch was wearing, was none other than the ring of Barahir. Its detailed drawing looked back at her from the pages of the book. Although she didn’t yet understand who the wounded person was, ideas started forming in her head. Meanwhile, the stranger’s condition was worrying her. He didn’t wake up back when she was stitching his wound, and he wasn’t showing any signs of improvement ever since.

Astaraine stayed up all night. The man only gained consciousness for a brief moment. His eyes darted across the room frantically, searching for any signs of danger, but he blacked out again before his hand ever reached the dagger tied to his belt. When the first rays of sunshine set the sky on fire early in the morning, Astaraine heard the stranger mutter something through his feverish dreams. She only managed to make out a short phrase. “The same blood flows in my veins. The same weakness”, he mumbled. Astaraine placed a damp washcloth on his forehead, wiping away the sweat. He closed his eyes, and for the first time that night he found peace in his sleep. He was no longer tossing in bed, and when the sun reached its zenith, his fever was gone. The woman, on the other hand, clinged to what he said, and the puzzle pieces started coming together in her mind. She slowly inhaled, as if she were making a decision, and placed her hand over the bandage on the man’s arm. Years ago Astaraine hoped that she would never have to get involved in the fates of this world again, but the odds were not in her favor, and she was about to put to use some of the abilities that she once chose to forget.

The stranger woke up in the evening. In the dim evening light the unfamiliar surroundings looked ethemere. A fireplace was crackling to his left. Fresh bouquets of wildflowers were standing on the windowsills, and the soft breeze was fiddling with the curtains. A clean bandage wrapped his forearm. The man stood up and found a clay mug with well-water on the table. A piece of parchment was lying by its side, pressed to the wooden surface with a small vial.

“Welcome, wanderer. I hope that this note finds you well rested and your wounds healed. You may find your clothes folded on a chair by a fireplace, if you haven’t yet. The jar that I used as a paper press contains a balm that will help your wounds heal faster. Your sword and your dagger were cleaned from orc blood and are waiting for their owner tied to the saddle, for I can only assume that it was your horse that found this place earlier in the morning. There is something to eat in the cellar. However, no matter how much I would enjoy offering you to stay here longer, I am afraid that we both have business to attend to. Remember: not all those who wander are lost, and I will do my best to help you find your way back”.

The stranger dressed, he noticed that the arm he recalled wounding wasn’t aching at all. He lifted the bondage and found a healing scar instead of torn flesh. When he followed the note and checked the cellar for provision, he was to find a wooden tray with dinner, still warm. And when Aragorn, son of Arathorn, was leaving with Brego, he wasn’t that surprised to turn his head and find no trace of the cottage or the garden surrounding it.

Astaraine followed Elessar with her eyes as he disappeared behind a hill. She followed. Once she reached the creek where she found the ranger, Astaraine hesitated. Then she took a deep breath and crossed an invisible line that separated her own little world from the rest of Middle-Earth. Unlike Aragorn, she didn’t look back. She knew that her home was now gone.

P.S from the author: First time posting something in English, so please, let me know if I should continue this story.

[forthesakeofthesoul]

the summer i gained consciousness

life became a double-edged sword when it happened. i missed the innocence of the before, and abhorred the weight and proclivity of the after. the simplistic moment by moment mindset of childhood made life feel infinite, but then again, enlightenment made me think. it made me ponder things i'd never even given the chance to lend my mind to. summer gave me time. more of it or less is up to you, i suppose. nothing can compare to the infantile eon. the juvenile century of summer. but nothing can compare to the adolescent spiral either. the brain bending mind fucks you take yourself on. like, is time even real? maybe summer really was a century long. do we even exist rn?

time is unique to everyone so make the most of it. or the least. your choice. it's as short or as long as you want.

summer felt stifling this year. it keeps getting hotter and hotter. i guess that's climate change. global warming.

my mind's on fire. i think i felt it smoking. maybe it's because summer leaves the lights on at night -- the sun is still up by nine o'clock -- but i could never sleep very well. i know why. my thoughts were consumed. sometimes it felt like i was going crazy. i'm not convinced that i wasn't. but i think that's when you gotta start writing about it.

i learned to roll with the punches more. i was too caught up in my mind to care much about what was going on around me anyways. i found god in my thoughts and he wasn't a man. he wasn't anything. he was me. or at least a higher self. someone who understood me better than anyone else i know. and she knew i was kind and sensitive and all the things that i could not change. she knew about them and she accepted me. where else do you find that kind of love? it's all within yourself.

but i was far from the point of loving myself. i knew myself too well. i still do. i'm disillusioned with the girl i got to know. i've memorized my rough edges and sour spots off by heart. i know who i am! i know who i am. is there still more to discover? i want to be a mystery to even myself. because i know her too well.

but how strange is it that we always have a desire for more. and when we're given more we are still unsatisfied. there has to be more. that's all we know. all we know is that which we don't know. i think we thrive on that uncertainty. it sparks that creative passion, and without the unknown, that spark will die.

this summer i found myself pondering a world without the thinkers. at first it sounded scary, but then i realized there's already been one. we're living on it.

prehistoric earth, when the world was run on instinct. opinion had no purpose here. it hadn't even been invented yet. life existed on the basis of gut instinct alone. and there was balance! thoughts were mere urges, self-preservational desires. they were desires that kept creatures alive.

it makes me wonder about the beauty in living life unaware. a callback to that primordial sense of presentness we all experience as children. it made me wonder if we'll ever go back there. but you can never go back there. we can return to a state of balance but it won't be the same. we wouldn't be the same.

prehistoric earth is terrifyingly beautiful, and there's a mysticism in it that holds fast the attention of all those who roam the earth in the present... or perhaps in this context it's the future? we are living in a different time at any rate. we are all allured by the past, fixated on it, obsessively compulsively wishing to go back to it, to rewrite it, to reach in and save someone from it, like grabbing a drowning puppy.

we are slaves to the past, and we're indebted to the future. time is our greatest blessing, and also our heaviest curse. but can we ourseles decide to make it exclusive to one? can we give thanks to the blessing instead of fall victim to the curse? i think that's an individual journey thing. life -- time, is what you make of it. it's all in how you live it.

summer made me stop and smell the roses. it made me panic and realize how fast time flies. it burned me and kissed me and loved me and smoked me out. it made me find the heart of what truly matters. it made me grieve parts of myself i never knew i lost. it made me discover parts of my soul that had been hidden for two decades. it made me fall in love and cry and scream hatred off a cliff only to have compassion thrown back at me. it cleansed my feelings and left me alone to reflect. summer nurtured me and it stripped me of my pride. i have been humbled. i have been loved. i have been reborn. summer washed away the old me. it burned off all the dead skin.

sept. 9. 2024

[myhusbandsasemni]

Cursebreakers: Jack's Intro

Aight, we just playing around here so some of this might not end up being cannon. We still vibe though!

Masterlist

Jack loved playing his part. As a Jack from a long line of Jacks, he had an inordinate amount of sass and quips held in his mortal frame. Some say that the bloodline was corrupted by how much time they spent working out deals with fae and humans alike, some say the fae got it from the Jacks. 

Jack’s mother was a Jack too, but she had recently retired and left the business to him, retiring the family’s shared name and taking on her birth name, Cynthia Atkinson, before going to live in the fae courts since not a single fae there would be able to win over her as she now held all of their true names. That was the true goal for a Jack. 

Jack pondered on his own abilities and sass compared to his mother, and while he came up short, he had more than enough to deal with the two he was dealing with in front of him. 

A human woman sat, prim and well dressed, in one chair, and the fae man in the other, sharp hands folded over his double jointed knee. 

Jack looked down at the contract the two had worked out one more time to make sure he was reading it right. 

“Did you have another Fae dealer help write this up for the two of you?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at them. 

“No,” the woman, Laura Schultz, said with a simpering smile. “I am familiar with such things. I’ve done this a few times before.”

“Mmhmm,” Jack said, looking back down at the document. “I thought so. Sir, you have read over these terms, correct?”

“Correct,” the fae said with a serious nod. He was new here. Jack had his name now, a prerequisite for any fae or human working with a Fae dealer who needed to have a contract approved these days. He had never heard of a Periot in this area before. And after reading the contact, Jack could almost certainly bet his life and true name on the fact that this Fae had no actual idea what he was agreeing to. 

“Tell me, Periot. You are new to this plane, correct?”

Periot shifted nervously, his chitinous wings brushing the floor behind the chair. “Um, that's correct, sir.”

“I thought so. And according to this contract, did you realize that you would inadvertently be selling the next 10 years of your life and free will to this woman in return for the paltry sum of her services in teaching you - let’s see - ‘The ways of human characteristics, laws, and sex’?”

Periot stiffened, leaning forward to snatch up the contract. “What!?”

Laura turned a glare as bright as an incoming fireball on Jack, which he ignored. He was not concerned with glares as much as making sure the contract was fair. 

“Where does it say that!?” Periot asked, his many eyes tracing the document and Jack cleared his throat, gesturing for the document. 

The fae gave it back over and Jack read out, “‘The fae creature making such a deal with the human being will reside with her for the totality of 10 years, concurrently. During this time, the fae creature will be under the care and mind of the human being so mentioned.’ This could be interpreted as living with her and learning from her, however, this is clearly a loophole that is becoming more common in such contracts. It is clear that when contracts such as this are sealed with magic, this wording will allow her mind and will to win over yours in every case where she wishes it to do so. Really, Miss Schultz. You should know such loopholes do not work for more than a couple of weeks in fae dealer communities.”

Miss Shultz’s expression darkened further. “I assure you, I did not mean any such thing. I-”

Jack felt a burn in his collar bone where his rune sat tattooed into his skin. It grew hot whenever someone knowingly lied in his presence when it was active. “That’s enough, Miss Schultz. You and I both know that is a lie.” He gestured at the sign on the wall that warned that he would have ways to sense a lie. It was written on a small, uninteresting plaque. He was required by law to warn people about his rune in professional settings, but most people overlooked it as the contract was discussed. It helped that fae were so busy being weirded out by humans and vice versa during such meetings. 

He stood up, clutching her small purse in front of her huffily. “Fine. I no longer want to make any contracts with Mr. Periot. Thank you for your services, Mr…..”

“Jack,” the fae dealer replied with a smile as the fae shrank back into his chair, shocked by how close he’d come to giving up his agency and 10 years of his life. The fae must be young, then, if it bothered him so much. 

Miss Schultz stuck her nose in the air and left, slamming the door behind herself. 

Jack turned his attention to Periot. “Are you alright, sir?”

Periot slumped forward, running his hands over his face. “That was….. I was so stupid, wasn’t I?”

“I wouldn’t say stupid. Just inexperienced,” Jack said sympathetically. I can give you a rundown on how to avoid something like this happening again in the future if you would like.”

He sighed. “That would probably be a good idea, yeah. Thank you, fae dealer.”

Jack nodded. He opened his mouth to start giving the fae a crash course on how fae weren’t actually the trickiest creatures in the universe but cut off when he saw a dark haired woman waving at him through the window. He nodded and said, “I’m so sorry, Mr. Periot. I have to step out for just a moment. There are drinks in the little fridge there if you want to have one and relax.”

Periot nodded, still overwhelmed as he dealt with the knowledge of how he’d nearly been tricked into slavery. 

Jack got up and left the office, coming out to the main hall where his wife waited for him, a beautiful smile on her face and hands on her back as she supported herself, her baby bump clearly visible. 

“Hello, Sweetness,” Jack said warmly, scooping his hands under stomach and taking the weight of it for a moment. 

She sighed, relaxing as he supported her stomach and their baby. “Thank you, Beloved.”

“Of course,” he said with a smile. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I just needed to get out of the house. I brought your favorite.”

Jack’s eyes widened as she reached down and grabbed a bag, pulling out a large cup of elote which they would, of course, share. 

“Oh, Sweetness, you shouldn’t have!” he exclaimed, delighted. “Let me just tell my client I’ll be out for a bit.”

She nodded as he slowly lowered her belly again and went in to tell the fae that he was going to be busy, but if Periot wanted that explanation he could come back in an hour. 

Once he was done with that, he found his wife in the break room, waiting patiently for him. 

She reached a hand out to him and he took it, kissing her fingers before he sat down. 

“Your fingers are still really cold, Beloved,” Elena said with a frown. “Have the doctors figured out what’s causing it?”

Jack looked down at his hands. “Not yet. I’m sure it’s fine, Sweetness.”

He hoped so at least. He still hadn’t admitted that the same feeling of cold had been creeping up through his toes of late. The doctors hadn’t been able to figure it out, so he would probably go talk with his hex breaker buddy and see if one of his disgruntled clients had managed to land a hex on him without him noticing. He couldn’t think of how anyone could have, but it was a good idea to check. But he didn’t want to worry Elena. 

“How has your day been, dear?”

“Oh, you know,” she sighed, rolling her eyes. Elena was excited to have a child, but she wasn’t so amused by the actual pregnancy on its own. “Tired, achey, sickly and all that. I took a bath earlier and that helped a bit.”

“That’s good,” Jack said, making a mental note to rub her feet when he was home from work today. “Any peep from the little one yet?”

Elena smiled. “Yes. They were having a fight with my bladder this morning.” 

Jack grinned, reaching over and rubbing her stomach. “Leave your mama alone, little one. No need to be a handful yet. You have your whole life ahead of you to do all of that.”

“Oh, don’t encourage them.” Elena said, rolling her eyes. 

“Okay, fine. Leave your mama alone, little one, or I’ll promise my first born to the next person who walks in.”

Elena smacked his arm and he laughed, glad to see she was still amused with his antics. 

“That isn’t something to joke about, Beloved,” she chastised him. 

He shrugged. “What can I say? It’s funny.”

“I know,” she said, a little smile on her face. “Do you know when you’ll be home tonight?”

“Maybe in a couple more hours. My load today was pretty light,” he said, taking the elote and scooping some corn out to eat. He hummed and passed the cup to Elena who had her own spoon. “That’s good. Where did you get that?”

“There’s a new food truck near the doctors. Spotted it a couple weeks ago after we found out baby’s gender.”

That was a good doctor’s appointment, not only seeing his daughter in the magical imaging but finding out what she was. She was going to be so beautiful. Just like her mother. It was killing Jack to keep it a secret, of course, but just as it was dangerous to pass out your real name to strangers, it was just as dangerous to tell people the gender of your child before they are born. So, he would have to wait and squeal quietly in his head. 

“I’ll have to see what else they have there, then. This is really good.”

His wife nodded and they ate in comfortable silence for a while until they had finished their elote. Once they were done, and finished chatting about their days, Jack helped Elena up and walked her out to the nearby teleportation port where she paused, kissing him. He leaned into it, perhaps a moment longer than he really ought to out in public, but soon she was on her way back home to rest. 

Jack headed back to his office, pausing when he saw a flash of movement around the corner. He hesitated for a long moment, a bad feeling in his stomach as the cold in his hands and toes seemed to intensify. 

He shook his head and went back inside. He had some paperwork to fill out after that meeting and needed to put together his presentation for the poor fae who had gotten a sharp new taste of what the outside of the Hill was like. 

He couldn’t wait to be home. Maybe he’d call his mother when he got home. She always had such fascinating tales of drama and fae shenanigans whenever he called.

Desiree's Intro

Let me know if you want to be on the taglist for this project

[cambius]

—— closed starter for @solomage .

her frantic mind is still reeling over the events of the day, and all of the troubling information she’s learned since. it appears that flying off in search of a solution herself wasn’t the best idea, but how was she to know that the parasite burrowed inside of her brain would turn her into some insanely devout cult member? the only thing she knew was it would turn her into a tentacled freak in a matter of days, and in her desperation to avoid that, the only thing she knew to do was complete her current mission and deliver this gortash’s soul to her patron so that he might help her with her situation. her time at the goblin camp was brief, and spent torturing that poor man from the druid grove until realizing she could simply track down its location using his scent alone. she was about to head out to do just that, when her current companions showed up with that artefact and severed that forced connection with the absolute, making her mind her own again.

how could she have forgotten what was most important? herself, obviously. she couldn’t care less about the lives of refugees saved in response to her helping the others wipe out the entirety of the goblin camp— her only motivation was more information about what exactly is happening to her, information that this halsin didn’t even really have. she is left with more questions than answers, and it’s making her more anxious than she cares to be. she hasn’t felt this scared and helpless since she was a teenager. so now, the cambion is forced to camp with mortals who she can tell would rather her not be there, because they don’t know whether or not they can trust a devil. but nepharia trusts them as much as they trust her, if not less.

on their way back to camp, tiefling refugees in tow, she can feel the disdain coming from all around her. it’s not a wonder these tieflings all despise her, after everything they’ve been through. shifting into her tiefling form didn’t seem to help make them any more comfortable, either. though she can look like them, she doesn’t feel like them, more in tune with her devil bloodline— but even so, devils aren’t creatures she would want to spent her time with either. she feels no kinship with other devils, nor with mortals. she’s surrounded by more people now whom she needs to work with than she ever has been before, and she has never felt more lonely.

but a familiar scent hitting her nose makes her stop dead in her tracks, right in front of lae’zel who bumps into her, ‘ chk — watch it, shapechanger, ’ the gith sneers as she pushes passed her, but the cambion is too preoccupied to even respond. horns tilt back slightly with her head, sniffing at the air and closing her eyes. the smell comes with a rush of memories, of a time when she was much younger, much more volatile. flashes of a handsome face and long, dark hair. night after night of more softness than the demon has ever experienced, even since. and with the memories comes the emotions tied to them— a rush of elation, the immense happiness that brief time in her life offered, but it was short lived. it devolved, rapidly, into something nepharia has worked hard to forget about.

suddenly, it feels as though someone has used their bare hands to pry open a poorly healed wound. he left, and she’s forced to remember why. she would have done anything to keep him from leaving her, and became the very reason he left. back then, she didn’t understand why. she was all feelings, all impulse, no self control. she wants to cling to that feeling, that last feeling she had about him— she wanted him to die. she wanted to be the last thing he saw while slowly fucking the life out of him, because if she couldn’t have him, no one could. but it’s been so long, and all she feels now is guilt, shame. how long has it been? ten, fifteen years?

she can feel the anxiety within the pit of her stomach, it’s erratic and deafening, she almost doesn’t hear the gentle sound of alfira’s voice asking if she’s alright. it appears the others have already continued onward without her, and her attention is brought to the purple tiefling before her. she’s sweet, isn’t she? kind. everything nepharia isn’t— solomon would have been better off with someone like that, ‘ i think my ex is here. ’

together, the two of them head to the camp where the others have already started celebrating their victory. nepharia is still wearing the clothing she was wearing when she was abducted, only now they are dirty and splattered with goblin viscera, ripped and tattered in places here and there, singed at the ends of the dress from the flames during the crash. she made note of a lake on the way here, one she would definitely be using later. but her mind is hardly focused on her hygiene at the moment, especially when solomon comes into view. it really is him.

he’s older, but it is definitely him. she thought maybe he was dead, with the way he just disappeared— fell off the face of the fucking earth, what lengths did he go to? to get away from her? only for her to walk right back into his life— she feels like she might be sick. what is he even doing here? what are the chances that they were both inflicted with the same parasite? she doesn’t know how to approach, afraid of how he might react. instead, she reaches out with her mind— something she learned these tadpoles were capable of back at the goblin camp— out of curiosity more than anything, to see if he too had been infected. there’s a connection, and it is confirmed, but— fuck, now what? she stands there, unknowingly holding her breath, staring like a deer caught in blinding lights, hand anxiously fidgeting with the ripped edges of her dress at her side, releasing his mind as quickly as she touched it.

[witch-hazels-musings]

It’s 🍪!

You have this ‘My Sunshine’ (?) fic where the reader is an absolute ball of sunshine and I LOVE it! Could you do a part two with Zhongli, Childe and Albedo please?

Mwah!

My Sunshine

( what an incredible choice of characters! Thank you for adding to one of my favorite fics!! ) 

Warning -> SFW, Fluff

Character X GN Reader | Anthology 

Includes: Albedo, Childe, Zhongli 

Albedo 

It was the way you greeted the world around you - with pleasant smiles, patient hands, caring and compassionate eyes. You saw the world for what it could be, the beauty of it and while Albedo searched for the answer in the universe, you already seemed to have found them 

He noticed you on his wanderings through the city. His hands were already moving to draw your expressions in a hope to capture everything that he possibly could - how could he capture the intensity of the sun itself, of a flower basking in the afternoon glow, or a firefly so vibrant that it burned orange and beautiful 

You were bouncing on your toes, smiling kindly at the people who walked by while you patiently waited for anyone to stop by. Not many people purchased flowers every single day, but you found it wasn’t hard to proposition people with your generous smile and pin-point compliments. 

“My! I have never seen something so beautiful in all my life.” You began, bending to rest your hands on your knees while catching the attention of a small young girl who had been glancing at the array of flowers at your side. She looked at you confused, a bit nervous but didn’t back away. 

Reaching for a small white flower, you trimmed the leaves and hummed a little tune before turning back to her. “A lovely flower like you must attract so much goodness. Even this daisy is impressed by your radiance!" She giggled and you continued, "Would you do me a favor?” You smiled at her, eyes showing only the purest of shine. The little girl nodded her head and you began again, “Could you carry this flower and help it grow? If it's you, I'm sure it'll turn just as beautiful?” 

The little girl wrapped her small fingers around the stem, her smile and giggle so powerful that Albedo was sure you cast a magic spell because as he watched her gallop away back to her parents, the flowers near you began to glisten and the sketch on his page came to life. 

He was unsure how to make a connection with you, so more often than not he would find himself purchasing flowers he didn’t really have the necessity for - but perhaps if he gathered enough up, he’d have a bouquet glorious enough to equal your soul 

“Mr. Albedo, pleasure seeing you again.” You brushed off your apron and turned to him. Your eyes closing and head tilting, a standard greeting of yours. “I have some rather rare flowers in stock today if you’d like to take a look.” 

“I am actually here to inquire if you had any Asters; the research institute has just run out.” 

“Hmm, let me check for you.” You bowed slightly before disappearing behind the many stalls and carriers of your wares. He scanned the flowers as he waited for your return. Gloved fingers inspecting the petals of flowers and, in his wandering thoughts, he began to investigate which one reminded him the most of you. “Mr. Albedo, I am sorry, it seems we are fresh out.” 

“I see …” 

“Ah! However, I needed to gather several other plants today. If you come back tomorrow I will set them aside for you.” You waved at the other worker as if to inform them of your intentions and quickly reached for the basket near the stall. 

“Actually, would it be too much of a bother if I were to travel with you?” 

You paused, staring at him with eyes wide and mouth slightly parted. What was this feeling in his chest, it hurt. “I would never pass up an opportunity to share in your company! What a splendid day this is turning out to be.” 

“Thank you, I will keep out of your way.” 

“Not too much I hope. So, Mr. Albedo, are you ready?” You turned to head toward the front gate and he followed after you. 

“Yes, and please, just Albedo is fine.” 

“Alrighty then, Albedo.” Ah, yes, that’s why his heart hurt. 

There you were, the wind wrapping around you as you stood in a field of flowers - the reflection of light difficult to pinpoint for as bright as the sun shined down onto the plane below, you were just as intense and, in fact, you may be the most luminous creature to ever exist -- how could he possibly reach something like you 

Childe

His world had never been bright -- from the snowy landscape that threatened every day to freeze the warm hearts that beat on its surface, to the dark void that he fought through as an adolescent, to the harsh and demanding ladder he climbed in service to his cause -- he’d never known the light … his had been seized so long ago 

So when he found a flicking candle, a small flame in his dark corridor, he walked to it - ran for it - and to see the glory reflected on the other side was something he fixated on until he could hold the candle safe in his arms 

He clenched his jaw and sighed. These boring briefings were never something he cared to participate in. He was more for action rather than words, so instead of listening to the updates from the short, purple-haired harbinger, he instead gazed out the open window at the city below. 

Liyue had shifted from a temporary destination into a permanent one as the tasks and duties continued to lengthen his stay. At least he didn’t mind the city, not like some of the other places he’d stay at. Just as he was about to drift back to the boring discussion, he heard a voice drift up to him. A lively, giddy voice that stole all of his attention and focus, but as soon as you entered into view his minimal interest piqued into desperation. 

“Wait up! You can’t tell me that this isn’t a beautiful day, just take it all in!” You spread your arms wide and spun with so much energy that the inertia made you stumble, luckily you caught yourself before running into some poor passerby. Childe smiled and rested his chin on his palm as he looked down at the loveliness that was your everything. 

You laughed, and the way your hands flew to your lips to cover the sound made him jealous of those fingers. You spoke, words falling off of your tongue like sugar and he grew antsy at the thought of not tasting it. You existed, and he needed a piece of it. 

Waving to his subordinate, he spoke in a hushed whisper, and while the meeting continued to drone on, he made his first step at capturing a star. 

The more information he gathered, the more interactions he had with you - the more he fell into your luster, the richer his feelings grew for you 

His actions were that of a child just looking for a comforting glow in their endless darkness, hands cupped to keep it alive, breathing held for fear of accidentally blowing it out - stay, please stay 

He called your name, the sound of his voice dissipating in the open space as he searched for any sign of you. 

“Hey there!” You called out to him, and when he looked up toward your voice, he smiled. Your legs dangled off the tree limb, your hands wrapping around the bark as you balanced there. 

“How is the view?” He asked, crossing his arms and staring at you from below. How did you get up there, he wondered. 

“Beautiful, I can see so much from up here. It’s like a whole different perspective.” You breathed in deeply and lifted your arms to reach for the sky above you. “How about you join me?” 

“I’m not sure I can, I don’t even know how you got up there.” 

“Sheer will and determination!” Giggling, he thought maybe you were actually a mythical creature in the fairytales he used to read as a kid. There was no way you could live in this world and be so positive, it had to be you were something beyond this world. “I’ll come down to you.” Twisting, you wiggled onto your stomach before letting yourself drop onto the ground below. It was further than you thought and as soon as your feet hit the earth, your body became off balance and tumbled backward. 

Childe easily caught you, his sturdy chest supporting you and arms extended so your hands could have something to grab onto. 

“Ooh, that was exhilarating.” Tilting your head, you turned to look at him and for a moment he felt his lips scream for yours. He wanted to let you go, but how could you when you fit so perfectly in his arms. “Childe?” 

“You’re something else.” This was dangerous, you were dangerous, and now that he knew what it was like to feel the brightness of the light, he would never let the dark creep back in. 

He needed you - it was apparent - and he hoped one day you’d realize you needed him too. A light like yours truly needed to shine in the darkness of places, so choose his, please choose his 

Zhongli 

There is no one in this world that would understand luster better than he - no one who could see the shine inside a being as clearly as one with eyes who’ve witnessed the birth and eventual death of the universe. The great Morax, the ruthless Rex Lapis, the gentle and patient Zhongli are one and the same, and the visions they’ve witnessed cannot be forgotten 

So, to see a person with purity so refined, that even the dullest observers could clearly recognize, he found it nearly impossible to look away 

He heard tell of a new performer joining the Pearl, someone who had shown great elegance and glorious promise at wowing the crowds. As a man who fancied the arts of all kinds, he was intrigued by the rumors and whispers. So, when the schedule showed the name of this new performer, he made his way to the boat drifting on the sea. 

His lips tasted the sweet flavor of tea but his eyes soaked in the delectable movements of your body. The graceful bow of your spin, the bending and twisting of your limbs as you moved just enough to tell your story on the swaying stage. He felt the history in your dance, the pride in your fluttering fan as you moved it across your face, the snap of truth as you forced it up toward the sky. He was transfixed, as he was sure all were. 

When you finished, you began to greet the many interested patrons eager to hear the sound of your voice. There was no way he could have known how transfixing you would be when he heard it. 

“What a stunning performance.” Zhongli mused, his head bowing, a mirror of your own gesture. 

“That is great praise from someone such as yourself.” You smiled and he was reminded of glaze lilies. 

“Pray tell, what was the inspiration for your dance?” 

“Ah, an insightful question, not unexpected I must say.” You laughed and moved your hands to your chest, elegant fingers resting over your heart as you answered his question. “The light of a soul has so much insight, don’t you think? If the soul is radiant, the vessel's beauty is so easily seen, and if there is beauty shining so brightly that it can communicate out to those who look, it may shift just the tides of the future.” You laughed again, a bit more unreserved than the last, and somehow more telling to your honesty. “I’m sorry, I hope that answered your question.” 

“Splendidly, and then some.” He found himself transfixed, captivated by a spirit shining before him. 

Spending time with you was as refreshing as standing in a mountain stream, as filling as a warm meal, as bright as the basking stars that littered the sky above and reflected in your eyes even in darkness 

“Zhongli, hello again.” He wandered into the garden, the gentle bubbling of the water as it fell along the rocks provided a lovely background to your visage. Carefully, you rested your fingers against the pages of your book as you looked up at him. The shadows of the shifting trees let highlights of the sun dance across your face and he couldn’t help but capture this image in his mind. 

“Good afternoon, you seem to be enjoying the day.” 

“As I always am. Nature has provided such elegant and lovely conditions that it would be a waste to not thank it, don’t you agree?” 

“Wholeheartedly.” He smiled, his hands gripping tighter around each other as they rested against the small of his back. It was incredible how nervous you made him; for a man who was a powerful as the mountains that looked down over the city, you made him feel like a tiny pebble in the stream begging to be touched by you. “May I join you?” 

“Absolutely, anything in this world can be improved by good company, and yours is always my favorite.”

“As yours is mine.” He sat on the stone bench next to you, his hands resting on his lap as he looked out across the scenery. You moved closer to him, your arms touching as you shared in the company of each other and, while his eyes drifted to your face, he watched how your smile and good nature made the flowers bloom. 

You were a compliment to his life. A perfect addition to the drift of time and as he looked at the future that stretched before him, he found your red wrapping perfectly around his amber 

--

tag list

@star-gods @mercurysmaiden @dourpeep @clemmywrites @pepperoncinipizza @handswritteeen @lucifucker @beelsdessert @odafashioned @coolcats09 @ninqat @musekala @sufzku @mooshymello @heavenlyang @plenilunegazes @glazelilyy @justyoureverydayqueer @idunkar @solowmomo @twokissesforamelia @the-mermaid-of-mondstadt @fuwon @angel-melt @lucacandy @shesleire @marianadi @zentoruu @smol-knife @nightlywallows @aoirohi @nitorious-ghost @mguerra11 @anatthesavage @maiiikoo @actstfbla @youaskedfurret @nonniechan @tempehlust @zenith-impact @plumpkie @jaggedsi @salty-salty @onlyhereforinteractivestories @gultonluvv @shy-specter @liebestraumss @jaemjenjam @softlybeloved @anatthesavage @mkazuyuh @excitedlysuffering @kaidou-pie @yujiia @cytomegalia @natxxu @ilyshelb @fvushiguros @nua-fromliyue @yoshikuno @kaidou-pie @anonymousficreader @cyphermagic @chichikoi

[sohin-ace]

Jolyne - No Ordinary Girl

Mermaid Y/N x Surfer Jolyne

Today was a particularly fitting day to go to the beach. Jotaro had taken Jolyne, Hermes and Foo Fighters to the shore. He mostly went for some observation and the girls decided they would take advantage of the nice weather for some surfing.

It was not long after they arrived and started installing themselves that Jolyne and Hermes' eyes fell into very familiar faces.

Annasui, upon seeing the group, walked towards the girls with a confident stance, making sure his long hair was flowing in the wind.

"Oh look who we have here. The ladies victory." Annasui exclaimed, before completely falling heart-eyed, his voice and tone softening, dreamy even, at the sight of his object of worship. "Hi Jolyne~"

"Oh! Weather Report's there! Hi Weas!" Jolyne called out to the older man arranging a parasol a few feet behind, her completely ignoring the pink haired-male that seemed to have come with him. He waved shortly at Jolyne in response.

"Anyways, what are you guys up to?" Hermes asked, sipping on some lime flavored granita.

"Well, as you can see..." He pointed at the ocean, "We just wanted to take a day to work out a bit, but the waves are real nice today."

He leaned in not so subtly towards Jolyne, despite Hermes' evident judging gaze.

"But you know what else is real nice today?" He brought his hand up to cup Jolyne's chin, but before he could even say or do anything, Jolyne leaned away and pointed behind him.

"Oh wow! My dad's coming back with drinks!" She called nonchalantly, looking behind Annasui like he was more transparent than air itself.

"...! DRINKS?! DRINKS!!" Foo Fighter gasped, pushing the feminine man off to the side with such force, he fell and slid against the sand.

"Hey, Jojo," Hermes tapped her friend's shoulder, "Let's show these pendejos how girls ride waves."

The Asian American smirked, eager to show who's boss and always ready to follow on her best friend's mischief. "I'm racing you then."

"Pfft, I won't go easy girlfriend." The Mexican cracked her knuckles and grabbed her plank.

After surfing for long enough and being outran by Jolyne's stamina, Hermes decided to go back and sunbathe next to F.F's who was playing cutely with sand.

Jolyne glided full speed over the water, the wind and droplets of salty water refreshing her skin. More than competition, Jolyne loved the acceleration, the adrenaline, the sweet fresh air through her long hair. When she was surfing, Jolyne's heart lightened up and her mind purged of any negative thoughts, anxiety, fears.

She was at peace.

Before she could enjoy the sweet taste of her peace of mind though, she caught up to a blond surfer in front of her who she recognized as she got closer. Oh god, not him of all people.

"Oh, hey! Isn't that the sexiest surfer in all Miami?" Romeo teased, admiring the girl who gained up on him, "Not bad, look at you go! Who knew my little Jojo would be so talented, hot damn!"

Jolyne frowned and clicked her tongue. She swore if she wasn't so focused on staying in balance, she would drown him on the spot. He laughed obnoxiously, satisfied with being a disgusting excuse of a human.

"Romeo, I swear to fuckin-"

Before she could even finish her sentence, something, a gigantic fish tail appeared out of the wave and flicked itself right accross the blonde, slapping him off of his plank with a painful sound.

"HUAARGHH-" He screamed before crashing into the water with the splash and disappearing behind Jolyne.

"O-OH MY GOD!" She gasped, both surprised by the sudden turn of events, and incredibly scared for her life, thinking some kind of hostile shark was in the shore currently, which was to report immediately.

The moment she decided to take a turn and leave as fast as she could, warning the others to get the hell out of here, a shadowy form within the water followed her along the wave.

Foolishly curious, Jolyne looked at it, not without her heart hammering in her chest at the potential danger she was facing.

What she saw was not a sight she'd have ever expected to ever see in all her 19 years. Her legs shook at the shock and she almost completely fell over her board.

Gliding along the water right next to her, right inside the tall wave, was the figure of... a girl.

Or was it a girl? It couldn't be. She looked human at first glance, but the more Jolyne's gaze moved sideways she noticed the long and impressive fish tail replacing what were supposed to be legs.

Jolyne's jaw felt slack. She felt like she was hallucinating. Believe it or not, she had not smoked or taken any recreative substances beforehand, but she truly wished she had because that would have at least explained what her eyes were showing her.

The girl swimming and following her only smiled, waving cutely with webbed hands, as if amused by Jolyne's disbelieving reaction and wide eyes.

"W-w-w.... What the fuck..???" Jolyne finally spoke after rebooting her entire brain, "No fucking way-...! A mermaid??!! A real one??!"

Like a bad trick from fate, the wave Jolyne was trying her hardest to not get swallowed by, seemed to grow weaker and weaker, shortening in size.

Jolyne saw the mermaid slowly retreat away in an elegant swim, her form vanishing into the deep blue.

"Wait, no!" The surfer called, almost desperate to have such a mystical meeting and ethereal moment be so short lived.

She reached her hand out to the creature, unsure of what she was even trying to do, but the force of the current got the best of her, and Jolyne lost balance, falling forward with nothing to hang onto for purchase.

Jolyne splashed onto the water and the wave died with her hope of ever living such a dream again.

"Ooohh dang it! You were almost there!" Hermes called out from the shore, her voice booming enough for Jolyne to hear as she broke into the surface.

"Fuck...." Jolyne cursed, hanging onto her board.

She felt defeated. Not because she couldn't ride that wave to the very end as she was expected to with her skill level, but rather because she couldn't immortalize that beautiful moment.

She blankly climbed onto her board again and barely even paddled her way back to land, too out of it to do so.

Was that even real? That had to be, right? She saw the mermaid. She saw her hair, her skin tone shined-on by the sun. She saw the scales over her skin, the fins along her arms and tail.

She saw her attack Romeo, he must have seen her too, Jolyne pondered.

"Aaah the champion is back!" F.F cheered as Jolyne finally walked back, drenched and with her plank under one arm. "I made a sandcastle for our ocean queen!"

"Thanks Foo..." Jolyne's small smile didn't not match her quiet tone.

"Hey, what's up, chula ? You look like you've seen a ghost, or something? You did great back there, so why the long face?" Hermes fixed the straps of Jolyne's bikini top and removed some seaweeds from her hair.

"It's just... I saw something weird it the water and I don't know..." Jolyne hesitated, "Maybe I was dreaming or something."

"Hum..." Hermes hummed in thought. "What do you think Féfé?"

"Maybe Mr. Jotaro can answer if you saw an animal? Damn, I'm thirsty." F.F stuck her tongue out, clearly expressing her thirst.

"Dude, there's water litterally everywhere here." The mexican grimaced before turning back to Jolyne. "But yeah, maybe you should ask your dad if that worries you so much."

"Uhh..."

Jolyne looked towards her father who was crouching somewhere next to some rocks, taking notes about mollusks, or so Jolyne guessed.

"Yeah, maybe not. It's fine though, no big deal." She smiled, waving her hand in dismissal.

Shrugging it all off, the girls decided to join Weather Report and Jotaro who brought food to finish the day at the beach with a relaxing touch.

And so, the day ended with an uncanny normalcy for Jolyne, who kept thinking more and more as the sun set, that it all had been in her mind. Mermaids didn't exist. It was probably a Stand user playing tricks on her.

That what she wanted to believe. When she thought of all the events that would follow, she truly wished she had spoken to her father about it. After all, if he had fought a very real vampire, then there would be no doubt that something as crazy as a mermaid could exist in her bizarre adventure.

Jolyne came back to the beach that same week. Alone, this time. She was careful to come by the time the sun started to lower in the sky and the temperature of the water and air dropped, knowing tourists and athletes would be gone by this time.

'What now?' She thought. Coming back out of sheer curiosity was a thing, but making sure she could attract the creature back to her was something else.

"Should I bring food? What do mermaids even eat? Does she like hot dogs...?" Jolyne thought out loud, looking around, secretly glad no one was here to hear her talk mad nonsense to herself like some insane crackhead.

She approached the water and drenched her feet in the small rocking waves, coming and going her way and gently splashing her. She hesitated for a moment, remembering that along with the legend of mermaids came the fact that these creatures were known to attract and enchant humans by their beauty, leading them to their inevitable death.

So maybe, Jolyne accepted, she was destined to die in the ocean.

Just as she came hip-deep into the sea, she felt a strange current shaking her legs, almost knocking her out of balance.

Before she could even process how strange it felt, she looked down into the clear water and saw no less than the same huge colorful fish tail she had seen that very day.

She gasped in realization and soon enough screamed as she felt calloused hands grab her thighs, the creature pushing herself out of the water to be met face to face with the human who had been, unbeknownst to Jolyne, her newfound fixation.

"Y-WHAAAAAHH!!!" Jolyne hollered, not expecting such a strong and surprising appearance.

The mermaid still halfway into the water, climbed and gripped up the girl's hips for leverage. She looked up at Jolyne's face, smiling wide and eyes glinting in both adoration and mischief.

"Greetings."

"HOLY CRAP-" Jolyne's voice cracked, "I mean- fuck yes! I mean-..."

Poor Jojo was completely out of it. But who could blame her, though? It was not everyday that one got to meet a real mermaid in the flesh. And certainly not such a handsy one.

She cleared her throat and mustered her most suave voice, pretending she wasn't completely flustered by the sheer beauty before her.

"Hi."

"I knew you'd come back..." The mermaid spoke, her voice almost ethereal and distant, "They always do."

Jolyne's heart wanted to stop. God, she felt burning hot and was sweating everywhere. Her voice stilled Jolyne to place in a way she couldn't explain. The legendary creature was so impossibly close to her, bodies almost touching.

She noticed she couldn't stay up overwater any other way than using Jolyne's lean body for leverage, her heavy tail anchoring her down. But the warm proximity between them and the sight of such a beautiful, rare and mystical creature right under her chest felt unreal and exciting.

Jolyne wanted to look her over for hours. Her hair texture, drenched and flowy, her skin tone glowing like gold, her holographic scales and fins shining like crazy diamonds.

"Why... Why did you...? Of all people...?" Jolyne questionned, now wondering if their first meeting in that wave was really a trick of fate, or if she was chosen in any way. "You attacked Romeo, yet you showed up to me... Why me?"

"I like beautiful humans." The mermaid smiled, her radiant features and smooth voice making Jolyne's legs weak, "You're beautiful."

The young surfer couldn't help her heart shaking and the wave of warmth spreading through her chest. If it was anyone else, she would boast her obvious beauty or maybe flip them off. But now she couldn't. Being complimented by a mythical being that was already the most gorgeous thing Jolyne had ever witnessed was truly something else

"What's your name?" Jolyne started.

"Call me Y/N."

Y/N, Jolyne's mind echoed. Cute. Even mermaids had names, she thought before realising that may be a very stupid thought to have. She didn't really know what else to expect.

"I uh, I'm Jolyne..." She looked down into the water, somewhat not daring to look at Y/N's adorable curious and sensual gaze. Oh god that was bad, she was entrancing.

"Not to be gay but...You look cute. Hot even. Can I say that? That's not weird, right? Since ya know... You're not exactly human, but you're not an animal either, like... I'm not gonna get arrested for this... I hope..."

"I'm not too familiar with human tongue, but I think Ms.Jolyne looks really pretty as well." Y/N moved to wrap an arm around Jolyne's waist, gripping her for better leverage and pointing at her chest, right in her reach. "Healthy mammals, great for feeding the young."

"Mammals...? Oh! You mean my boobs?" Jolyne glanced at her modest chest before grinning at the creature, "Aw thanks! Finally someone who likes them who's not some degenerate creep!"

Jolyne's chuckle died down and she finally took the time to look over Y/N's face. She ran a cold hand over her much warmer cheek, gliding it down to her gilled neck, mesmerized by her anatomy.

It truly was a one-in-a-lifetime meeting. Jolyne was slowly comprehending her luck to be met with a legendary sea creature like her. And a friendly one, at that.

How could this be even real? Our human knew that even though she was feeling relatively serene at the moment, the adrenaline would come down later and she would most likely cry herself to sleep.

"Hey uhm..." Jolyne was at a loss for words. There were so many things to say, but at the same time, she couldn't speak a word.

"Hm?" Y/N hummed and closed her eyes, enjoying the human's gentle touches.

Merfolks would express themselves via physical ministrations the most in the ocean, but she knew well a lot of humans did not share intimacies, or at least not before building a certain bond.

Glad that Jolyne was open to it, the sea-bound girl squeezed both her arms around the human's waist lovingly, forcing endearment on Jolyne, who felt her own heart tighten at the sweet and adorable embrace. The girls wanted to keep each other.

"Will we see each other again? I mean, I know you shouldn't be noticed by the public for your safety, but I don't know... Guess I took a liking to you or something." Jolyne mumbled, still resting her hands mindlessly around the creature's shoulders, fiddling with the ridges of her dorsal fin.

Y/N smiled, a smile that looked empty on her fish eyes, but sincere regardless. She let go of Jolyne who couldn't quite take her own hands off of her, clinging a little bit longer.

"Don't you know this, Ms. Jolyne? When human women die in the ocean, they relive as our kind."

"What? Really?" Jolyne let the mermaid get away slowly, ready to swim off to some unknown destination.

"If you want to see me again," Y/N called out cutely, waving her webbed hand like the very first time she saw Jolyne surfing, "Then perish in the ocean!"

She grinned, diving into the deep blue and splashing her tall tail strongly, giving herself a boost of speed, and disappearing away.

Jolyne could only stare into the horizon, darkening as the night arrived, stunned into place.

"...Ok, that was metal as fuck..."

H2O Just Add Water opening, but with Jolyne, Hermes and F.F

[wardenannie]

A lot of baby/pregnancy fic tends to focus on the end of pregnancy/the beginning of the baby’s life. But I wanted to do a little character study into Levi, so here he is over the course of 10 hours after learning Hange is preggo~  (mildly nsfw)

Ao3

10 Hours

Hour 0

 “So...” She faces away from him. Her single eye locked on the sky beyond her window. Hange Zoe, fourteenth Commander of the Survey Corps, will not turn to face him. She is sat at her desk, hands folded on its top. Levi cannot see her expression, but he expects that it is as grim as her tone. 

He braces himself for bad news. 

“I’m pregnant.” 

The birds beyond the window stop singing. The clouds cease their trek across the cerulean sky. Levi’s breath is stuck in his chest, a painful lump between his lungs. 

“Come again?”

This time she does look at him, pinning him to the floor with an emotionless glance over her shoulder. 

“Pregnant. Expecting. Vertically impaired bun in the proverbial oven.” 

The short joke is lost on him. He exhales sharply, like someone punched him in the gut, “Oh.” 

Hange sighs and resumes her staring out the window, “Just think on it. You don’t need to say anything right now.” 

Levi swallows thickly and gladly takes the excuse to exit the room. His head is spinning, heart thundering in his chest. Pregnant. It doesn’t feel real yet. 

He retreats to the relative safety of his quarters. 

Hour 1

Levi punches a hole in his wall with a snarl. Untoward anger radiating through his limbs. 

Sheetrock and plaster rain down, dirtying his pristine floor, further incensing him. He kicks a second hole in the wall, shouting with the impact of his booted heel. More debris falls. 

He paces back and forth, occasionally tugging a hand through his hair. He’s sweating, he feels filthy. 

But he knows that Hange isn’t lying. This is not the sort of sick joke she would pull. But they had been so careful, hadn’t they? 

He replays the penultimate moments of their last few encounters over in his head, and quickly realizes that they haven’t been as careful as he’d thought. There is nothing quite like losing himself in the depths of Hange... Commander Hange. 

Shit. He curses himself and perches on the foot of his bed, resting his head in his hands. 

What the fuck is he supposed to do now? 

Hour 2

Eventually he finds himself spread eagle across his bed. His eyes trace along the wooden grain of the ceiling. His head still spins when he thinks too deeply about anything, and a strange ache has settled into his chest, like a fist around his heart. 

Does he love Hange Zoe? Would it be fair to bring a child into the world if he didn’t? 

They’ve never said the words aloud to one another, but he knows in his heart-of-hearts that he does love her. She anchors him to reality, instills in him a drive to live where there might have only been despair. 

His fists clench and unclench rhythmically in his linens. Levi shuts his slate eyes and breathes deeply, trying to calm and steady himself. 

He is in love with Hange Zoe. He can admit that to himself now, in what feels like the most dire of circumstances. 

But can he love a child? Is there enough room in his heart? 

He rolls onto his side and covers his face with a pillow. 

It still feels unreal. A bad dream playing out before his waking eyes. 

Hour 3

He oscillates back into denial, then anger. 

Who are they to bring a child into this terrible, cruel world? An Eldian child, a scapegoat, a martyr for Marley to string up and burn. 

She has to be lying. Hange cannot possibly be telling him the truth. No Walls, no Gods, no omnipotent powers could be so terribly sordid as to bring an infant into the world now. Not while they are on the brink of war. 

Hour 4

He remembers his childhood; years spent wasting away in a whorehouse. Starving while his mother wasted her ill-gotten wages on booze. Levi was a bastard, fatherless. The only male role-model he’d ever had was Kenny, and look where that had gotten him. 

“I can’t be a father,” he whispers into the dying light of his quarters. 

He doesn’t know how. 

Hour 5

He takes his supper in the mess hall when he would normally eat within the privacy of his quarters. He hopes that the noise might distract, that interacting with his... his kids... might help him to better grasp his current situation. 

The irony of it isn’t lost on him as he sits in silence amongst his young comrades. In a way he has been a father to them where their own had become titan food. 

He watches Sasha scarf her food with abandon, Connie teasing her between his own hearty mouthfuls. He watches Jean roll his eyes at the two of them, then take a moment to proudly pet the patchy stubble that has begun to grow in around his chin. 

Levi listens to Armin excitedly pontificate to Mikasa and Eren about Marlean cuisine and meal customs. Mikasa listens on in contented silence, a small smile on her lips. Eren’s eyes are distant, like he isn’t listening at all. 

Levi wants to smack him on the back of his head. The twerp has been acting up a lot more as of late. Secretly, it worries him. 

His kids. 

Who needs a baby when they have it this good? 

He sighs and looks down to his tray, food untouched. 

They’re Hange’s kids, too. 

Their baby. Theirs. 

Hour 6

He returns to his quarters, stomach tied up in painful knots. He remembers Kenny, how the man had taught him the cruel, ruthless ways of the Underground. 

He remembers Isabel and Furlan. How he had allowed himself to love so selflessly only to be burned and brutalized in the end. What if that happened to Hange? Hange who he had come to rely on more than anything, anyone. Childbirth was a dangerous thing, everyone knew that. Even with the new, fancy anti-biotics being imported from the mainland the risks were high. 

What if he lost her? 

Her remembers Erwin who he had loved as a father, a brother, a martyr and a dear comrade. He remembers his Commander dying on that rooftop in Shiganshina. He remembers the blood. Icy blue eyes cold and dead as Hange peeled back his lids. 

Levi’s stomach rolls and he flips his upper half over the side of the bed and promptly vomits onto the floor. 

Behind his eyes an image has begun to take shape. Hange laid out in bed, naked from the waist down. Bloody, sweaty, weak and dying as a shapeless creatures squalls on her chest. 

“No,” Levi rasps, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. 

He feels so weak, so helpless in the face of this indominable thing. The sleep that takes him is unbidden and restless. 

Hour 7

Levi dreams of a cabin tucked away amongst the massive boles of the trees beyond wall Rose. Smoke rises from the chimney, filling the crisp forest air with a pleasant, homey smell. 

Sunlight breaks through the canopy and speckles the ground. Everything is bright and beautiful and alive. The simple wooden door of the cabin beckons to him, and he is helpless but to answer its call. 

Inside the space is cozy and quaint. The kitchen and living area inhabiting the same space. Hange is waiting for him, sitting on a small, plush sofa. She isn’t wearing her eye patch, revealing the milky iris and silvery scar she usually guards so carefully. 

“Levi,” she beams at him. For a moment he is stunned by her simple, unkempt beauty. 

He knows he is meant to be anxious over something, but suddenly he cannot remember what it is. 

He sits down beside her takes her face between his hands and kisses her. 

I love you, he wants to admit the truth. He’s ready. But his lips will not part. The words will not pass his tongue. 

When they part Hange’s expression darkens, long shadows falling over her hawkish features. 

“Levi...” she breathes. 

Shadows begin to creep in from the corners of the cabin. The walls suddenly feel as though they are caving in, and suddenly his peaceful dream has become a nightmare. 

“You’re pregnant,” The sound of his own voice is alien and distant in his ears. He feels small. Smaller than usual. Miniscule and helpless. Why can he speak now? 

Hange nods and then the pair of them are besieged by shadows. 

Hour 8

Levi sits bolt upright in his bed, sweat is gathered on his brow and sharp shivers wrack his limbs. He pants and wipes his face with his palm. 

“Fuck,” he curses. 

He’s used to nightmares, but more often than not Hange is in bed beside him waiting to soothe them away. 

Here, in his quarters, he is completely and utterly alone. 

Levi doesn’t want to be alone anymore. 

He tugs on his boots and stumbles out into the hallway, not caring how disheveled he must appear to any passers-by. He wants to be with Hange, he’s cursing himself for leaving her alone to begin with. 

How selfish does that make him? He’s not the one bearing the brunt of this burden. It isn’t his body and life that are at risk. What must she be feeling now? All alone because her lover left her in a fit of selfish upset. 

When he reaches her door he doesn’t bother to knock. It opens with a rush of air and he finds her where he left her; sitting at her desk, gazing out the window. Her elbows rest on the dry ink of a half finished letter. 

“Levi?” She spins sideways in her chair, facing him entirely. 

He shakes his head and closes the distance between them in two easy strides. He seizes her face between his hands and kisses her roughly, because he isn’t good with words, so he’ll show her how he feels. 

“Mmpf!” She makes a noise of surprise, but then she melts into him, hands lifting to rest on his chest, then caressing around to link behind his neck. 

When they part she gives a small, sad smile and says, “I didn’t think I’d see you again tonight.” 

“I was being an idiot,” Levi grunts, and he helps her to her feet. “A selfish idiot.” 

“No you weren’t, Levi. It’s a lot to take in, I know,” her thumb brushes his lower lip. “I love you.” 

Hour 9

The words are difficult to speak, so he shows her out he feels. He shows her in the reverent way he peels her clothes from her body, the rough, desperate caress of his touch, the slide of his thin lips over her chin and collarbones and breasts. 

He holds her hips and kisses from her navel to her abdomen, and he kisses her there too because despite everything he does want this baby. He loves this baby already, because it is him and it is Hange. The best of the both of them taking shape in her womb. 

Levi abandons all gentleness as he makes love to her. It is animal. Primal. His hands will leave bruises on her hips, and his lips suck hers swollen. 

When he finishes, just after her, he doesn’t bother to pull out. It doesn’t matter anymore. And as he pumps himself into her he whispers raspy and desperate into her sternum, “I love you.” 

The words hurt in such a sublime way. He’s never said them before, not once in his life. But here he is, speaking them, meaning them, bleeding them from his soul into hers. 

He loves her, and he’ll love this baby, too. 

Hour 10

They lay in bed, Hange’s fingers comb rhythmically through his hair, and she presses the occasional kiss to his crown. 

Levi has one arm wound around her waist, his cheek pressed into her sternum, his other hand cupping her abdomen, thumb caressing gentle circles into the skin there. 

“I know you’re afraid,” Hange finally speaks. Her voice is soft and loaded with emotion. “I am, too. But I think we deserve this, Levi. It’s a chance for a life beyond the Survey Corps, for a real family.” 

Levi tilts his head up and kisses her gently. She’s right, but he still cannot help but remember his vision and his nightmare. 

“There’s so much that could go wrong,” his voice is pained. He holds her tighter. 

Hange sighs and rests her cheek on his head, “You’re not wrong, but we’ve got eight months to figure things out, okay? For tonight, just hold me.” 

Levi sighs and melts into her, shutting his eyes. 

In Hange’s arms his sleep is dreamless. 

[voidtouched-blue]

Zaphias was far larger than she anticipated.

Towering stone structures reached far into the sky like mountains. Every street traced its shape as rivers to provide such a flow of life to the unnatural peaks and valleys. For the creature she was, a place like this that was so full of human life seemed the perfect place to immerse herself in the observance of mundane day-to-day living. Though, she had heard in passing that the city itself was large enough to require sectioning for organization of the populace, she foolishly assumed that it could be navigated with ease. Surely, a person such as herself could adapt as well as any normal being entering the city.

Cyra's thoughts and wishes couldn't have been any farther from the truth. Upon her first approach to the gates, they had taken a long look at her horns and demanded she remove her hood. She had taken care to wrap her tail tightly around her waist, looking nothing more than a furred sash, and even walked entirely on the flats of her feet to more closely resemble the very people who stood before her. Every care had been taken except the only things she did not have the power to hide: her horns.

So it was with great hesitation that she reached her hands out from beneath the cloak to grip the hem of the hood. The moment her fingers touched the fabric, the singing of metal rang out as the guards had brandished their weapons and trained them on her. Aside from the obvious, she wasn't sure what had given them a reason to behave in such hostility towards her. It was her failure to realize that humans did not have claws as long as hers at the end of each finger.

When they demanded a second time, Cyra felt a ripple of prickling fear roll up her spine that sent her into instinctive action. She let out a short, terrified yelp and ducked beneath the point of the bardiche. Her frantic scramble had led her into the crowd just beyond the gates, pushing people out of her way as she wove into the sea of arrivals.

The woman ran, jumped, skittered and slid her way through the city until she was sure she could no longer hear the rhythmic clanking of armored knights trotting in earshot. Pausing to catch her breath, she hadn't heard the approach of the young boy as he came up behind her.

"AHH-!" She screeched in surprise before clapping a hand over her mouth, while the other gripped at the cloth over her heart. "Don't scare people like that!"

Still panting from her panicked sprint through the maze of Zaphias, she didn't realize that this child was trying to help her. Everything in her being was telling her to keep running, but being spooked by him had left her legs shaking. She took a seat, pushing her back up against the wall behind her, quickly hiding her hands under the safety of her cloak.

"Is that where I came from?" She thought aloud. "Then, no thanks, I'll just stay right here for a little while until I...catch my breath...yeah." Cyra nodded, thinking that her plan had been fine enough.

Though, if a child had been able to spot her this easily, then perhaps she needed to find somewhere else to hang out until the bucket-heads were no longer searching for her.

@voidtouched-blue | planned starter

After errands were done early into the afternoon, Yuri was planning to just laze the rest of the day away. Yesterday had been busy and almost tiresome, and even the knights had shown up with their whining complaints. If Hanks hadn't stopped him, Yuri might have spat a few choice words. Today was calmer so far, and frankly, he was relieved. For once, he wasn't sure he had that kind of energy in him.

Hopefully he wouldn't need it, because he did spot someone unfamiliar in the Lower Quarter. People didn't just show up here. Visitors entered the Public Quarter, and most of them wouldn't deign to come down to the filthy rathole the nobles would shoo them away from. Everyone here knew each other, even if it wasn't on a personal level. Faces were enough as far as knowing who lived here.

This person was also hiding their face. Yuri couldn't deny that he did not like seeing a hooded person in the Lower Quarter. Shady people did hang around the Public Quarter, but it was never anything but trouble when they came down here. The person didn't seem to have a destination in mind though and appeared to be more... wandering. And... were those horns? Accessories? From the distance between them he couldn't really tell...

For a good few seconds, Yuri debated confronting them. Strangers showing up here was almost always nothing but trouble. If they showed up here on accident looking for the Public Quarter, he could probably say something and direct them on their way. The only thing throwing him off was the hood, but... it was probably better he dealt with it than anyone else. Actually, probably not, but at least if they needed to throw hands he was the best option, right?

Finally he decided he may as well just say something if it nagged him this much. If there was trouble, he would... figure it out when it came to that. Approaching a stranger in this area was a bit uncomfortable actually... but his uncertainty and need to confirm intentions were way ahead of him. "Do you... need help? The Public Quarter is north from here..."

[violetrainbow412-blog]

Kiss me [P. C]

Prince Caspian x reader

Word counts: 2.6k

Warnings: I’m from Mexico so sorry for any misspelling or grammar. If you have any advice tells me!

N/A: I’ll post more Caspian stuff, in case you want to follow me :) (sorry for the scene and narrator changes I hope it's not tedious, haha)

"Run!" Caspian listened, and the peculiar talking animal did not have to repeat it.

Everything was happening so suddenly. First he had had to flee the castle from a threat he did not know existed, then he had found himself in the home of those strange creatures he thought extinct and was now running for his life from his own army.

The arrows on their crossbows soon arrived and the three had to dodge them as they advanced. Caspian advanced a couple more yards and then heard a scream.

"Oh, no”

"I'll go! The young man shouted, worried about the badger lying on the floor with an arrow stuck in his thigh. When he got to him the soldiers were close, so much so that his aim would not fail this time.

"Take it and run! It's more important than me!” the Narnian shouted, giving him the horn that hours earlier he had touched in the hope that something would happen. Why was it so important, anyway?

He watched the animal and then the troops. A panic attack invaded him and he adopted a grimace of terror. He didn't know what to do, he was trapped, he wouldn't save his friend, and he couldn't confront the men either.

Out of nowhere, the soldier leading the troops was defeated, wounded by a warrior who seemed invisible to human eyes. Caspian wasted no time, so he took trufflehunter in his arms from him to start running.

He kept advancing, with the little animal's complaining on his shoulder and suddenly heard the squeal of a horse. He turned completely frightened because he imagined it would not be difficult for that man to shoot and kill him, but when he watched the person on the beast it was not a uniform.

He was an extremely thin complexion warrior, but with his mouth covered in a cloth and a hood that prevented him from identifying him. He wore worn trousers and a shirt that looked like his, as well as a sword in his right hand with which he had already begun to hurt men. The few who tried to shoot him were in vain, for the invisible warrior seemed to know who wanted to hurt his companion and killed them before the arrows could rub him.

For a moment the presence of both mysterious figures was reassuring, but a second later he was already alarmed again.

If your uncle's men couldn't with them, what was waiting for him?

"Get him out of here!” he yelled at his other companion. He drew his sword and turned the other way, but was surprised to no longer see a single soldier. He frowned rather troubled, but out of nowhere the hooded warrior appeared to attack. He fell gracefully from his horse and pushed Caspian with his sword, causing him to fall from his back to the ground.

"Your last words?” he asked, pointing at his neck with the tip of the sword. Caspian was surprised to hear her voice, which looked not masculine at all. Did you look at the... person? That threatened him and swallowed scared-dead saliva. If his destiny was to die at the hands of the warrior in front of him, then he would.

But before sticking the sword around his neck, the warrior paid a little more attention to him and Caspian saw it pale. On his side appeared a small talking mouse with a sword, which encouraged him to kill the telmarine at once.

"You are a mouse" Caspian said, forgetting for a moment the swordsman in front of him.

"Very original to be your last words" he mocked, but Caspian was more focused on how the warrior's knees in front of him faltered and saw him stumble until he fell backwards.

He had fainted.

Caspian tried to get close but the mouse wouldn't let him. Instead he threatened him with the sword while running to help his companion. He took off his hood, cloth and that's when Caspian also felt him faint.

The warrior was a girl.

You opened your eyes and observed a beautiful field, one that definitely did not belong to the forest of Narnia in which you lived.

You were dreaming or, rather, remembering.

You looked at your clothes, smaller than you expected, and you knew what I remember it was. Actually, a very special one.

"Y/N!” somebody screamed behind you, with joy. When you turned, you saw a long-haired teenager running in your direction with a huge smile. “I found you! You're terrible at this game, if you don't mind me saying so" he murmured, smiling more as he stood in front of you. “What's the matter?”

"Caspian" you whispered gently. Despite the years you couldn't help but remember even a single detail of his face. His pale skin, his black hair up to his shoulders, his red lips and cheeks blushed by physical activity. You sighed with relief and threw yourself into his arms, feeling his scent. It smelled like gardenias and linen.

"Hey, I'm not going to forgive you, this victory no matter how mellow you are, you understand?” he said funny, but you didn't seem to want to say anything. You just wanted to hold on to him, you wanted to feel it close to you as much as possible.

At that point, after reliving so many times that moment, you no longer knew it was real and that it was a lie as to words, but the sensations never changed.

"Never leave me" you asked with a lump in your throat, feeling his hands sneak down your back until he held your waist

"Why would I?” he asked gently, near your ear.

"Just promise me, will you?" you whispered. You separated a little from him and both came face to face, with your noses barely rubbing. “Promise it.”

"Sure, I promise" he gasped. The words that came out of his mouth no longer mattered, but the feeling of your breath against his. “But again, why do you think I'd leave?”

"Because you already did" you murmured short, holding back tears.

"What do you mean...?”

"Kiss me" you demanded, taking the cloth from his shirt. You were a little aware that you had both kissed in that meadow when you were younger, but you weren't so sure it was exactly after you told him I'd abandoned you because you weren't even close to knowing it.

"What do you say?” Caspian asked in a trembling voice, but paying a little more attention to your lips. Without wasting time you pulled it a little towards you, feeling his breath get stuck in his throat.

You felt him respond to the kiss for a second, his lips velvety in contrast to yours, but the next second you opened your eyes and he was gone.

You were no longer in the beautiful meadow where your first kiss happened. You were in the woods, at night, alone.

You called him, yelled his name, but he never answered. You started crying and took a couple of steps just to bump into something heavy.

It was a lifeless body. He was...

"Caspian!” you screamed discouraged, waking up from the fading you had experienced.

When your eyes clear, you realized your feet didn't touch the floor and a couple of arms held you carefully.

"I'm here, calm down" someone whispered, hugging you more against him. When you saw the young man holding you, you let out a high-pitched cry and from the impression he dropped you against the moss on the floor. “Y/N! Are you ok? Did you hurt yourself?”

"You're not real!” you said raising your voice, sticking your back against a nearby tree. “You're not... you... Caspian is dead," you murmured frightenedly, watching the man squat and approaching with the intention of reassuring you a little.

"It's not like that, look at me. I'm here" he said kindly, holding one of your hands. “Come, feel my heart” carefully placed your hand, small compared to his, on the left side of his chest. “It's beating. I'm real, I'm here" he repeated, worried about your expression of terror.

"He told me you were dead.”

"I was told that you...” and he was silent, unable to complete the sentence. He never believed that lie, so he had never said it out loud. “How did you survive all this time?” He asked short.

"Do you know this telmarine?” Someone said beside him. You looked at the three creatures present and realized that Reepicheep was the one who had spoken.

"I..." you hesitated. What if it was all just another dream?

"She's a little shocked by the falls, give her space," trufflehunter said. You thanked internally for not having to answer questions.

"We have to go, we can't waste time" Nikabrik said now. You had a little trouble breathing.

"Can you walk?” Caspian asked, looking at you again. Damn, when was the last time you saw those bright eyes? now it seemed like an eternity. “Or I could charge you, if you like.”

"I can walk" you said quickly. You stood up and walked as far away from the man as possible, hoping that the emptiness in your stomach would also go away. Without waiting for an answer you started walking without a course and heard Caspian follow in your footsteps. Apparently your sword was no longer in place, but at a glance you noticed Caspian was wearing your belt.

"Where's my horse?" you asked worried. Caspian came over already took the opportunity to hold you by the waist.

"Calm down, he's fine" he said quietly, looking you in the eye again. “God, I can't take it anymore. Would it be too much trouble if we rested for a few minutes?” he asked the others, still holding you. “I want to talk to you alone," he continued, but now kinder.

"How do we know you're trustworthy?” Reepicheep asked, in an attempt to take care of his friend.

"It's all right. He's good, he'd never hurt me" you said in his direction to reassure him. And so it was, you couldn't blame Caspian for all the suffering you'd faced during those years. “I know a river near here, we can talk there" you said. Caspian nodded and let you go, waiting for you to guide him.

"Don't be late" Reepicheep warned, pointing the sword at you.

You started walking and Caspian followed you, both quietly for a few minutes. When you were far enough away, he came a little closer to you until his little finger grazed your hand. He wanted to take it, but he didn't have the courage to do it.

"So...”

"Why didn't you ever look for me?” you said by slowing down your footsteps, in your broken voice. “All this time I thought he was dead... I blamed myself for it, even did you ever look for me?”

"I did" he admitted. Now he did take your hand. “You don't know how long I've been touring every corner of the kingdom looking for you, but all in vain. I never imagined you'd be... well, here" he said. They were silent again until he asked. “Why did you say you blamed yourself? Why did you think I was dead in the first place?”

"Your uncle told me" you exclaimed tremblingly. “He found out about us. He said a woman like me would never be with her nephew. You were, you're an heir to the throne, and I'm just an ordinary girl. He forbade me to see you or swore I'd kill you. Days later he told me that you had received a letter that I never sent and also told me you were dead. That he'd blame me for it if I didn't run away from there. Your guards brought me here to die and... Reepicheep found me, then I met more Narnians and they welcomed me. They taught me everything I know and I in return began to protect the forest from the telmarines" you explained, looking down. “So many years thinking you were dead, Caspian. So many years I missed you and cried for you. I... God, I was just a kid when your uncle did that. If I'd known you were okay, I'd have looked for you" you finished, now you're in tears bathing your cheeks.

Caspian grabbed your chin and raised your face. He was crying too.

"My uncle told me you abandoned me. If it's any consolation, I never believed it. That's why I looked for you so long, because... I thought something very bad had happened to you. And I see I wasn't that wrong" he admitted followed by a sob.

When you saw he like this, you felt all the pain accumulated over those years bursting into you and breaking down in tears. Caspian hugged you against his chest and you cried together, expressing more in that embrace than with all the words of the world.

After a long time you felt a huge peace and even though you didn't know Caspian's reasons for being there, you didn't care anymore.

You didn't care because he was pursued by the guards or because it was in the hands of your friends. All you cared about was feeling his arms around you and the constant beat of his heart.

He was Caspian, after all, your Caspian.

"There's something I still don't believe, you know?” he began to say in a low tone.

"And what is it?” you also responded in a whisper, fearing altering the peace that surrounded them.

"You're better at riding and with the sword than I am. I don't know if I should be afraid for my life" he joked and forced you to smile broadly.

And then, no place for a smile came laughter of jubilation. Caspian didn't get it, but his chest swelled with love when he heard your laughter again.

"Caspian for God's sake you are alive! You're here with me... Are you ok. I didn't kill you.”

"Kill me? You are crazy?” he asked, worried, hunching a little to keep up with you. “You said it about me: ‘he would never hurt me’ And now I'm telling you; I know you could never hurt me in any way in life. On the contrary, you are the happiness that was taken from me and that I longed for. Here you are, in front of me and I can finally tell you that I loved you every day of your absence. There wasn't a single day when he didn't expect to see you again” he carefully placed his hand on your cheek and admired your face for a moment. “You're beautiful, you haven't changed a bit. You're still the love of my life" he finally expressed, tears filling it up another little bit.

"Kiss me" you said in a whisper, taking the collar of his silk shirt as at some point, when they were younger, you did.

Caspian wasted no time and took you by the waist to lift you up a little, forcing you to tangle your legs in his hip. He was very strong now, because with one hand you held by the thighs and with the other it caressed your cheek, unsure if your skin really felt as usual.

And finally, he kissed you.

He walked a few steps until your back collided with the trunk of a tree and he continued to kiss longer than you would have expected.

This time, when you opened your eyes, you saw a Caspian completely in love and with bright eyes full of life.

You weren't alone in the woods anymore. Now you finally had him.

[lokislittlesigyn]

You and Me - Loki x Reader [Oneshot]

Part 2 of Sigyn’s Angst-to-Fluff Drabbles

Inspired by Cozy’s Fluff-to-Angst Fun and Games!

Pairing: Loki / Female reader

Warnings: Strong themes of depression and suicidal ideation/a near attempt. Mention of Infinity War and Endgame and all the things that happen there. Fluff awaits at the end.

Author’s Note: A nearly-impossible prompt to turn happy, but I tried my best without taking an easier route like “it was just a dream” etc! I wanted to give it my all. This is the most.. sensitive-topic fic I’ve posted here, so please, skip it or skim it if you need to. <3

@silver-lupines:

Ohohohohoho Loki’s permanent death and the reader is left as a widow. No resurrections.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You still remember it.

You’ll never forget.

Never.

The smell of the air. Thick smoke in your lungs. The colors. The sounds. Death, all around you. Permeating you. You begged for it to end.

He was not so kind.

No, He was not the kind type.

He killed half of every whole. And Loki - Loki had made you feel whole.

What were you now?

You were still a full person, but broken nonetheless. A ghost. Yes, you were a ghost of who you were before. You haunted your own body, desperate for it to stop. Stop aching, stop hurting, stop feeling - let you go, release you to the endlessness of whatever unexistence was, because any unknown it held was surely better than knowing Loki was gone.

You had lived five painfully long years without him. Your husband. The boy you’d known on Asgard, fallen in love with, married and loved and lived through the pain of losing. Twice. 

No, thrice. But the third you had to watch.

You had to watch everything. Leg pinned under the rubble on the Statesman, no more than entertainment for the creatures around you as you screamed at the top of your lungs, unwilling witness to-

You couldn’t bear to think of it.

Sure, you weren’t completely alone. You had your remaining friends: the ones that were not also ripped from you, destroyed for the sake of an asinine plan that made you want to scream and cry and unleash all your anger on the monster who caused it.

You never got the chance.

The others fought. You joined, but you never were close enough to attack The One You Wanted. You were wounded early on. And now He was nothing. No more than dust.

But you felt more despair than comfort.

When the portals had opened, you’d turned, tears pricking your eyes as you scanned them. Loki would be there, you were sure of it. He’d find you. He had to. They knew what he meant to you - they knew to bring him back, too. You pushed through oncoming allies, looking for him. But with every new face you saw only made your heart sink further.

He wasn’t there.

He’d never be there again.

That realization dragged your hope away with it. 

Now you’d made the preparations. Everything was laid out. You even left notes. Your friends would know it was nothing they’d done, because it wasn’t up to them. You didn’t blame anyone that was left. They hadn’t taken Loki from you, that Creature had. And carrying on without him? It was just all too much for you, now - you needed an escape.

But as soon as you closed the door of your room, intent on your next action, someone behind you spoke. With a jolt, you faced them.

“On behalf of the Time Variance Authority, I hereby charge you with crimes against the sacred timeline.”

You went agape. How did they get into your room? Officers of some sort, suddenly standing before you. A glowing orange door pulsated behind them.

This had to be a dream. Yes, you must be dreaming. Your mind was cooking up something bizarre in a last-ditch effort to pull you back to the land of the living. Not that it would matter. The gleaming sword on your bed held promise. You just had to reach it.

“What?!” Was all you could manage. One of the people moved forward, hand outstretched- Now this, this you could do. Life on Asgard trained you for combat. You grabbed them, leveraging your body weight to flip them over. But the other agent swung, hitting you with a baton-

Time stopped.

Or, slowed, to the point that you felt as though you were frozen in place, yet you listened as the one officer brushed themselves off, grumbling about Asgardians, while the one who hit you secured something around your neck. 

“Let’s get her back.”

As you were escorted through the door, you turned and growled in your throat, arm outstretched to grab your sword - but as soon as you were through the door, it closed. 

~~~

The next minutes - hours? - were a blur. You were escorted through a strange place you didn’t recognize - you figured it must be the TVA your captors spoke of, whatever that was - but before you could ask any proper questions, you were tossed into a room. And another room. And another.

In fact, you had been to so many places that were all the same drab beige, and had your clothes removed and replaced with a horrific jumpsuit, you weren’t sure where you were until at last you were taken to a long room, flanked with booths. Down at the end of the room sat someone who was clearly a judge. 

A trial. This was a trial.

So what in Odin’s name were you guilty of?

You were pushed onto a small podium, glaring up at your captor. You’d already tried to escape - but had been overpowered, the collar firmly around your neck offering no chance of liberation.

The woman before you, now clearly visible - or, part of her was, as most of her person was concealed behind the mountain of wood between you. 

She was well-dressed. Professional. Her hair drawn back, her gaze stern. She looked like a leader, and practically radiated power. 

But she was wrong. You were blameless. Why were you here?

“(Y/N) Lokiwife,” The judge spoke, gazing down her nose at you. “Or Leifdottir, if you prefer.”

Your glare didn’t waver.

She cleared her throat.

“You are charged with sequence violation seven-thirty forty-one. How do you plead?”

You sighed. “You must be mistaken. I have done nothing wrong.”

The judge tapped her pen against the paper below her.

“Are you guilty or not guilty?”

“Of a sequence violation, whatever that means? No. No, I am not. I was in my room, minding my own business, when your goons barged in and brought me here.” You clenched your jaw. 

The judge smiled - a forced, strained sort of smile, where her teeth remained hidden behind her lips. You matched her expression with one just the same.

“Those goons, as you call them, were tasked with bringing a criminal,” She pointed the pen at you, “To justice. How. Do you. Plead?”

“Not guilty.” You hissed.

“I highly doubt-”

She was cut off by a new individual running over, whispering into her ear. The judge tensed. You saw her brow furrow, her jaw clench. 

“Thank you.” Her voice was curt.

Silence hung over the courtroom as the other individual left. 

The judge shook her head. “I sentence you as not guilty.” She took her gavel, pounding it in a swift, final motion.

Your breath caught in your chest. “Not guilty?”

“Yes, that’s what I said. Not guilty. I suppose this was all more for formality, anyway;” Renslayer motioned to the trial room and straightened a stack of papers, “You’re merely assurance.”

“Assurance for what exactly?”

“A mission.”

You felt like screaming. Everything was so vague, so mysterious - couldn’t they just let you go? Or else kill you and get it over with?

“Fantastic. Glad to know I can help your cause.” You sneered.

The judge raised a brow, then looked past you. “You’d better be right about this, Mobius.”

“Not to worry, I can handle it from here.” 

A new voice sounded behind you. You whipped around to face it. 

“Woah, hey there.” A man walked toward you, his hands raised. Wearing a suit - much like those you had seen on Midgard, yet somehow different - his short hair streaked silver, a mustache over his crooked-smile lips. Mobius. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

“What do you want with me?” You glared, not moving from your place.

“Not one to trust easily. I get it. Listen, I’ve got someone you’ll want to see. But you need to trust me now, okay?”

He held his hands out, palms up. You looked at them. Then back at his face. His brows were raised, he seemed hopeful - expectant. You sighed through your nose, and took a wary step toward him.

“That’s better.” He looked at the judge, pointing at her. “I owe you one, Ravonna. I’m telling you - irreplaceable help, you gave today. Irreplaceable!”

The judge rolled her eyes, but a smile played on her lips.

Mobius turned to you. “Shall we?”

~~

Your next journey was far more welcome. Mobius didn’t manhandle you, thank the Norns, though you did sense the eyes of surrounding agents on you. Agents, dressed in the same black armor as those who had fetched you. You stared ahead, avoiding their gaze.

“Where is this place?” Finally, you broke the silence.

“Where, not what?” Mobius answered, smirking.

“This is the TVA, whatever that means. But where is it?”

“You thinking of running away?”

You looked at him.

“Right. Of course you are.. Outside of space and time, if it matters.”

You raised a brow. “And I’m supposed to believe that?”

Mobius exhaled through his lips, chuckling softly. “Ideally, yeah.” The two of you walked through a corridor, apparently intent on a destination you had no idea about.

“Well- Well why am I here?” You stopped in your tracks. Mobius turned to face you, hands in his pockets. You continued, “The judge ruled me not guilty. Said I was assurance - assurance for what?”

“A mission.” Mobius spoke carefully. You narrowed your eyes.

“What?” He asked. “You weren’t exactly busy.”

“Actually, I was in the middle of something.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I was! I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to be anywhere-” You stopped yourself. You felt heat rush to your eyes and nose, but forced yourself to swallow the knot in your throat. You couldn’t, wouldn’t break. Not here. Not in front of countless strangers.

You just wanted to go back to Loki, wherever he was. You didn’t care where.

Mobius watched you. “Come on, I think this will help.”

Giving him a look, you let your shoulders slump, then followed him. Felt your eyes go dull. When you reached a door flanked by two guards, which Mobius quickly dismissed, you straightened up.

Mobius turned to you. “Now, this is going to be a little weird, okay? But bear with me. Just, go with the process, laugh or cry or whatever you need. Got it?”

You stared at him. “I.. What are you even getting at? I told you, I don’t want to be here! I don’t want to be anywhere. I don’t want to be alive, I don’t care if it’s here, or on Earth, or anywhere else, I do not want it-”

Mobius sighed, placed his hand on the small of your back, and urged you into the room, shutting the door behind you. You gasped at the motion and moved to stop the door - but it shut with a resounding thud. Tears betrayed you, streaming down your face. 

“Let me out!” You pounded your fist against the door, “I don’t want to be part of your sick game- Do you understand me? I have nothing to live for, nothing-”

“(Y/N)?” A quivering voice pulled you back to reality.

No, not just any voice.

That voice.

The voice you knew. The voice you missed.

You turned on the spot. Your body froze. There, before you, stood Loki.

“Loki?”

Loki rushed to you. You were frozen, staring up at him. Afraid to touch him. Afraid that if you dared to feel his embrace again he may disappear.

He looked familiar, but not the same as when you last saw him - thank the Norns for that.

No, he looked almost.. Younger? His hair was shorter, not so long nor so wavy as the tresses you remember playing with on the Statesman before He came.

And his clothes. The same as yours: a demeaning jumpsuit. They must’ve put him through all this, too.

What could he possibly be guilty of?

You looked at his face. Your vision, blurry, your body, shaking - you reached for him. He met you. His hand touched your face, cupping your cheek. You felt yourself sob without fully realizing, certainly not controlling it.

He was here. He was alive.

You broke. Melted into his touch, embracing him.

“My love.. Oh, my darling…” His arms enveloped you, his hand sliding to the back of your head, cradling it against his chest.

Your ear pressed to his body, you smiled past your tears, gripping his clothes as though he could disappear at any moment. But you could hear his heartbeat. You savored it, the rhythmic beat, which seemed to steady as you held him in turn. You wanted to stay in this moment forever.

“L-Loki, you.. You were gone,” your voice cracked, “You... He took you from me.”

“I know.” Loki kissed the top of your head, “I know, I saw it all.”

“You - what?”

Loki pulled away, gazing into your eyes, though never letting you go. He swallowed. “I saw it. All of it. My entire life, as it was, apparently, meant to be. I know what you had to endure.”

Tears formed in your eyes again.

“My love, I am so sorry.”

“N-No, I..” You cupped his face, hands stroking his cheeks. One of his hands found yours, and grasped it for him to press a kiss to your knuckles. You smiled. “I have you. You’re back, you’re alive, you…” You huffed a soft laugh and leaned in to kiss him. His lips met yours, and you could feel a tear from his cheek slide onto yours. He broke the kiss, pressing your foreheads together.

“I love you. I missed you terribly. Darling, I can’t express how good it is to see you,” he let himself grin, another tear squeezing out onto his cheek at the movement. He steadied himself, watching you with adoration shining in his eyes.

“I-I missed you too.. Norns, I.. I thought they would kill me or something.. I wished for it.” You swallowed.

Loki’s expression stayed composed, but you saw fear flash in his eyes. Pain. “I heard.”

“I.. I’m sorry-”

“No. You don’t have to apologize for that. It’s not your fault. Neither of us caused the pain we were put through, do you understand? And I am never leaving you again. Never.”

You stared into his eyes. Somehow, the surety with which he spoke seemed… Real.

He wasn’t leaving.

He’d never leave you again.

Silently, you nodded. “And I’ll never leave you.”

He smiled. “I know, my sweet. I know you never will. ”

You remained a moment, until the both of you calmed enough to part - now standing near each other, the tears ceasing. 

You wiped the back of your hand across your cheek. “I can’t believe you’re real,” you joked, weakly, “You’re here.”

Loki smiled, letting out a small chuckle. He gave you another small, loving kiss.

“I’m here.”

[lilith-of-rivia]

The Bard’s Sister 

Geralt X Reader 

Part 2 

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3

Masterlist 

Summary: Geralt of Rivia and his long time travel companion Jaskier find themselves in Jaskiers home land. A place Geralt had not only never seen nor heard of. Jaskier is ready to reunite its his family after traveling and exploring the world for 20 years. The one person he missed the most was his baby sister (Y/N). Who he hadn't seen since she was 5. The journey is long, but the pay off is grander then they would ever be able to predict. This is still part of our introduction to the main characters and their personalities in this story. Next chapter will be more about (Y/N) and Geralt. I know I am trash at summaries.

I would like to state that I do plan on adding a pregnancy in the future to this story. (I know Geralt is steril. Just bare with me and the story line I’ve created) I just wanted to let eveyone know because I would hate for someone to get attached to the character and story only to have a plot line they do not like for themselves. I know not everyone like pregnancy plot lines but I’m such a sucker for dad!Geralt.

Trigger warnings: Cursing 

Pairings: GeraltxReader JaskierxSister!reader

Word count: 6,369

(Changed from 3rd to 1st person) 

The sun was high in the sky, it was nearly two in the afternoon. The garden below the large windows of the castle was shining brightly. The birds chirping, children playing in the river that ran through the center of the city. Life was good. The sun was shining a little brighter today. It was because Jaskier was finally home. 

I hadn’t realized how much I missed him till he was back. After breakfast, we walked around the castle’s courtyard. He and Geralt introduced me to their horses. To my pleasant surprise, Roach took a particular liking to me, as did her owner. He was nothing like the rumors. There were many times that I traveled out of our borders into the western part of the continent, and every time people had nothing but cruel fowl things to say about the poor witcher. Sure he wasn't perfect, but no one was. 

“Would you like to see my studies?” I asked as we walked down the long corridors that lead to three separate staircases. I glanced between the two men that were on either side of me. 

“Your studies?” Jaskier asked looking down at me. I couldn’t help but smile. 

“I told you in my letter that I’ve been working with a man over the last couple of years. He has trained me well. But I have many books, drawings notes all sorts of stuff that I’ve written about the world outside of our home.” We approached the base of the three staircases. 

“I’ve never seen a castle so big in my life.” Geralt’s sultry voice flooded my ears once again. I couldn’t help but smile up at him. He was so polite. He never turned his nose at us. I knew he didn’t have a very positive history with others like us. Yet he sent no judgment towards myself or my parents. He just listened, followed, and learned. I had never met someone so open to the world yet so closed off that the same time, and we’ve barely even begun to get o know each other.  

“Our mines are some of the richest you’d ever see in your life. From coal to diamonds. Nearly 85% of all ores get mined and sent out to the rest of the continent.” I started walking up the staircase on the far left, the stairs led up a long corridor that was open and bright, the mountains that shielded us from the rest of the world in perfect view. Both were still by my side. I stopped at the first picture that hung on the wall. 

“That’s my great-great-grandfather, he only recently passed but he started all of this.” I looked towards Geralt. He was listing intently, his eyes on me as soon as I looked in his direction. I knew Jaskier knew our history so I wasn't too worried if he was paying attention or not. 

“He came here from Termieria with his 6 younger brothers. The mines here had been closed for many many years. The town was completely deserted. There was a serious necrophage problem that no one wanted to deal with, so they just up and left. Leaving the plentiful mines full for someone else.” 

“Necrophages?” Geralt questioned his eyebrow tiling in curiosity. 

“The people who inhabited the lands before we did, had not known of the creatures. Didn’t properly bury the dead. My grandfather wrote in his journal that when they got here the streets were lined with bodies that had been drug out of their shallow graves, crypts had been broken into. His best guess is that a flue came before the people fled, killing many in a short period.” I started walking ahead of the two men, down the hall towards my room. I pushed the door open walking in placing my books on the night table as they followed in slowly behind me. Their eyes wandered over every inch. Jaskier started wandering through the room looking at every picture on the wall. Most of them were sketches, mostly of him. Or the people he sang about in his ballads. He grabbed one off the wall and laughed softly. 

“Who is this supposed to be?” I walked over to him and laughed softly, my cheeks turning a soft shade of pink. 

“That, that uh was my first sketch of Geralt.” The sound of his name got his attention, he was trying to be polite and not snoop. Although I didn't care if he wanted to look around. He walked away from the door over to Jaskier and me. He lingered behind me, very close behind me. I could feel his body heat on my back and his warm breath on my face as he peered over my shoulder at the parchment Jaskier was holding. 

“How old were you when you did this?” Jaskier asked.

“Eighteen, maybe nineteen. It was after your first balled about your adventures with Geralt that started to spread like wildfire. I went to a tavern one night with a friend and someone was singing it. I was intrigued by the song and asked them who they sang about. I was told they didn't write the song, our very own Prince had. So I listened to them play it over and over.  I asked around the and so see if people knew what the famed witcher looked like. I got conflicting answers from nearly everyone I asked.” Geralt reached his arm over me, his hand gently brushing my arm, sending chills down my spine. His hand grasped the paper as he looked at it closely.           

“They got the hair color right. That was about all. Some people have some very wild depictions that I drew, but none in any seriousness.” The particular one they were examining was nothing like Geralt. They got everything wrong but his hair color. Many people said he was a scrawny young lad with the strength of thousands of men, making him easier to blend in with the crowds. Granted this was very early on in my brother and the Witcher’s adventures together so not many people had paid close attention to the witcher. 

“You drew what people described?” Geralt asked. 

“Yes, some people tried to pay me but I told them to give it to the needy. I traveled with Serena for a couple of weeks right after I turned nineteen, we didn't venture far past the mountains but it was enough.” I couldn't help but frown at the memories of the people in the towns scowling and sticking their noses in the air when I asked about the Witcher and my brother. 

“Can I see the other ones?” Geralt’s question took me by surprise. 

“I don’t know…” 

“Oh come on, you're very talented (Y/N), let him see them,” Jaskier said and shoved my shoulder playfully. I smiled softly at him but shook my head. 

“It is not that I’m self-conscious of my work, it’s the depictions of Geralt outside of our Kingdom, for the most part, were cruel and inaccurate beyond belief. I only drew them because I was wasting their time asking questions. I honestly don't know why I kept them.” I nervously rubbed the back of my neck, the idea of Geralt seeing those ugly, horrendous, depictions of himself made my stomach turn. He didn’t deserve the hate he received. I never understood why people despised Witchers the way they did. I only experienced it outside of our kingdom. For some reason, whether it be our pure lack of monsters or the abundance of sunshine, my people seemed happier. Less judgmental than the outside world. I was grateful to live in such a kind and caring place, but it does get rather dull after a while. 

“I’d still like to see them.” Geralt said softly as he handed the parchment back to me. I sighed slightly uncomfortable with the idea, I took the parchment and hung it back up on the wall. 

“Let’s make a deal,” I said turning to them both. 

“Oh boy.” Jaskier teased. 

“I’ll show you the drawings if you let me paint you now, so I have an accurate model. Not just words.” Geralt’s eyes looked over me, his arms crossing over his chest. A small smirk formed over his lips as he watched me intently. 

“If you want to draw me so bad, just ask dove.” The nickname nearly threw me off my feet. My heartbeat quickened at a rapid pace and I couldn't even look him in the eye. Jaskier snickered and pulled out a chair by my desk. He was enjoying this way too much. I cleared my throat swelling thickly. 

“T-that I uh..” I had never been one to not have words. According to my parents, I talked too much. Just like my brother. Yet here I was gobsmacked and wordless. I grumbled under my breath moving to the desk Jaskier was sat at and made him move. He got up and I sat down. I opened the top hatch of the desk, lifting out folders and files of archives. Some containing spells, some more drawing, history of the continent, and even monster facts that I knew I wouldn’t ever need. I placed the folders on the floor. Jaskier grabbed a few and moved to my bed plopping himself down kicking his feet up. My head snapped over to him as he put his dirty boots all over my fresh linens. 

“Jaskier. If you don't get your boots off my bed, I will castrate you.” I warned turning back around rummaging some more. I heard him kick off his shoes. Geralt chuckled behind me. 

“Fiery are we.” He teased but I ignored him. Finally, at the bottom of all my work, I found the folder. I held it up to him, not wanting to watch his face as he looked at the disgusting depictions of himself. 

“Thank you, dove.” His lip was right next to my ear. I felt frozen. 

I couldn't tell if it was genuinely just a flirt or if this was directed to me. Sure I had heard the rumors of the witcher and his many women of the night, including the sorceress Yennefer. But this seemed different. I snapped back to reality when he let out a low chuckle. I turned around and stood up, peering over his arm to see what one he was looking at. This one was particularly nasty. His eyes were slanted like snake eyes, large fangs protruded out of his mouth, and his hair was a crazy mess. His eyes were blood red, his nose crooked from supposedly being punched so many times. His face was littered with so many scars he had scale-like skin. I remembered the man who gave me that description. 

“I met this man in a tavern in Solveiga, it’s the furthest I've ever been from home.” Jaskier stood up walking over and looking at the drawing Geralt was studying carefully. I didn't know why he was spending so much time on such a cruel piece. 

“He said you came through a few winters prior, he and a bunch of the townsmen had gathered some coins so you'd get rid of a Striga. I knew was lying the moment he opened his mouth.” Geralt looked up from the payment, his eyes meeting mine.

“Why do you think he's lying?” I took the folder from him, and just as I expected the parchment below the picture he was looking at was full of my notes. Every time I traveled and spoke to people about it. My brother or his companions took incredibly detailed notes, I never wanted to forget anything. I took the parchment out before handing him the folder back. I began to read the notes:

“This man takes me for a fool. No more than some silly girl. While he sits here and tells the tale of the Wolf he seems to be forgetting the incredibly important fact about Strigas, they only hunt during a full moon. He keeps saying that the beast was hunting their people every single night, slashing children, men, women, animals, every night for months. He’s using it to fuel the people's hatred of the witcher. He’s attempting to claim that they sent for him as soon as they knew of her presence. Claiming the witcher waited nearly three months before coming to discard the beast.” I flipped the page over scanning the meticulous notes. 

“He said the beast was killed on a new moon, he said he remembers it so vividly because of the lack of moonlight while he escorted the witcher to her crypt. I may not be a witcher, but I am not stupid. The man is trying to make matters worse by lying through his crooked yellow teeth. How dare he tarnish a name for the sake of his prosperity.” Geralt chuckled at the last part making me look up at him, he had an amused smile on his face, his eyes twinkled as he looked at me. 

“Why are you laughing?” I tilted my head to the side slightly and he just shook his head, putting the folder of parchment into the desk. He knelt and began picking up the rest of the folders neatly placing them inside the desk where they came from. 

“Because you got so mad that someone lied about me, yet you at the time were not even sure I was a real thing-“ 

“Person.” I quickly corrected him. His eyes glanced at me, he didn't move his head as he continued placing my papers where they belonged. 

“What?” He asked. 

“You called yourself a thing, you're not a thing Geralt. You're a real living breathing person.” His eyes found my own again. My heart raced as he studied my eyes. I had never seen anything so beautiful. His eyes were like hot pools of gold and honey. The complexity of the colors was mesmerizing.

“And I wasn't only mad that he was lying about you, I was mad that he was lying in general. About something anyone could disprove if they just picked up a book on monsters.” I noticed the parchment with the drawing he was just looking at was on my bed. I grabbed it to put it back on the desk. Geralt's strong hand gently grasped my wrist stopping me. His other hand gently grabbed the parchment from my hand. 

“I’d like to keep this one if you don't mind.” I looked at him shocked.

“Why that one?? Of all the ones I've done you choose one of the most inaccurate and the crudest?” It made no sense to me. Why did he want that? Was it some fun game of his to think he was just some stupid monster? 

“Because it shows your talent in a way the others don't. And besides, you got my nose perfectly. No one can do that.” I sighed heavily not liking the idea of him possessing such a cured drawing that was drawn purely on lies. 

“Fine. Keep it.” He smiled vicariously. I’d let him keep every single one if he smiled like that all the time. The smile quickly vanished when Jaskier came back over with the first file he took. The one he had been studying was full of my notes on herbology and alchemy. 

“You are incredibly smart (Y/N), I felt as though I was reading Yennefer’s notes.” A huge smile spread across my face at his compliment. 

“Thank you, Jax.” Geralt was now walking around my room, hands tucked under his arms as he studied the drawing and notes hanging on the walls. Some drawings were of monsters, some of the random people I’d met on my short travels, some maps I’d drawn up so I’d remember where I wanted to go when I had the chance. 

“Your talent is very wide-ranging, little dove. I have to say I’m very impressed with your knowledge.” That blasted nickname nearly kicked me off my feet again. 

I looked out my window noticing the sun was getting lower in the sky.

“If you'd like to get new clothes I’d suggest we do it now, it’ll be dark soon and the shops close earlier in the week.” Gertrude turned to me, nodding his head. 

“Please. These pants are so tight I’m afraid I may lose my legs.” 

We walked down the street. The sun was close to setting in the sky. The cool air kissed my bare chest as we walked. It was a comfortable silence between the three of us. For the first time in my life, I felt comfortable in silence. I hated the quiet with most people, it left room for negative thoughts, negative energies. Most times when it was unbearably quiet when I was present was because I was shut down from talking by the people around me. I know they meant no harm, I knew I had a lot to handle at times. I was just lonely. Board. I only had a few true friends. Most of the people I grew up with were married and with children now. I spent a lot of time alone, I liked being alone. It gave me space to think about the world. The world outside my small one. 

We approached the seamstress, walking through the wood door. A small bell rang in as we entered. Hildi walked out from the back, a bright smile on her face. She was a sweet older woman, not much older than my mum. She had been running this shop for as long as I could remember. She was the best seamstress in the country in my opinion. 

“Princess (Y/N)!! What a lovely surprise!” She walked around the counter and hugged me softly. Her hands-on the sweater I was in. She made it for me many years back for a birthday gift. She always had the best gifts. Full of love. I did adore the woman. Her attention turned to the men next to me. Her eyes grew bigger, her hand gently coming up to her chest. 

“My gods. The rumors were true. Jaskier!! How wonderful it is to see you again!!” Her hands wrapped around my brother who hugged her back. I couldn't tell if he remembered her or if he was just being nice. As she released him she looked at Geralt who was visibly tense, scared that she may try and hug him. 

“You must be Geralt of Rivia!” He nodded. 

“Rain!! Get out here!! And bring me my Witcher’s guide!!” Geralt's eyebrows furrowed at the mention of the book. He shot me a glance and I just smiled. A few moments later Hildi’s daughter Rain appeared. She was my age. We knew each other in school. She was never nice to me. Picked on me. Would make jokes about Jaskier not being around. I never told anyone, in fear people would think I was nothing but a stuck up princess. Her presence made me uneasy. I slowly took a small step back, inching closer to my brother. Rain’s eyes landed on Geralt. I could practically see the drool pooling in her mouth. 

“Gods save me.” She moaned out. I had to fight off the urge to cringe at her outward burst. 

“The tales are true then?” She looked directly at me. 

“So maybe you weren’t lying all these years.” I scoffed and rolled my eyes. 

Hildi was very blind to her daughter's cruelness. After her husband passed away it was just her and Rain. She’d do anything for her. I understood that. She was a devoted mother and wife. I knew how heartbroken she was. She walked to Rain and took the book from her hand and grabbed a quill that had been dipped in ink. She turned to Geralt, a very soft smile on her face. 

“Would you sign this for me?” His eyes bulged out of his head. 

“Y-you want me to sight your book?” I held back a giggle at his shock. He truly wasn't used to being appreciated. 

“Yes, please. If it is not too much to ask. Your stories were what got me through my husband’s death. Had it not been for the ballads and tales of your great bravery I may have not made it through.” Geralt’s shoulders softened at her words. He nodded his head and walked over to the counter. She opened the book to the first page and he scribbled down his name before giving her a soft smile. She gently placed her hand on his arm and squeezed. 

“You are truly a great hero here Geralt. If our country had a mascot, you'd be it.” Jaskier chucked lowly at her comment making me swat the back of his he’d. He hissed in pain and looked at me. I glared at him. 

“Do not ruin this for him,” I whispered. 

Hildi turned her attention back to me and smiled. 

“What can I do for you today my dear?”

“Well as you can see, Jaskier has a sore taste in fashion and also doesn’t understand sizing. I was hoping you could fit them in some better, more comfortable garments. Maybe a set of nice clothes for my party as well?” She gleamed. She hurried around her counter, grabbing a piece of parchment and measuring tape. She came back around and wasted no time in messing the two men. I sat down at a table by the window and watched as she rummaged through somethings in the back of her store. 

“So you're like a real witcher?” Rain’s voice caught my attention. She was leaning over the counter, her dress pulled down, the cleavage of her breasts on clear display as she dumbly curled her blond hair in her fingers. 

“No. I'm a fake one.” Geralt said back unamused. 

“But like are the rumors true?” She asked leaning even further over the counter. She was trying so desperately hard to get him to look down her dress. But he was simply uninterested. I felt my heartburn with envy. I hated that it did. He wasn't mine, he was nowhere near it. But the thought of him looking at her like that made my blood boil. 

“Rumors about what?” He took a step back from the counter slowly making his way over to where Jaskier and I were. 

“Ya know. About your huge cock.” Jaskier and I both choked on our spit. My hand flew over my mouth to keep my laugh in. It was a good thing her mother’s hearing wasn't all that great. Geralt looked visibly uncomfortable. He sat down in the chair next to me, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. Jaskier and I were both trying to get ourselves under control after her question. She was completely unfazed. She thought she was hot shit. 

“Common witcher. Tear me apart. Show me the real monster you can be.” That sentence made my grip on the chair so tight I thought I could’ve broken the arm in half. I probably could have if I did not have any self-control. I’m much stronger than I look.

“Do not call him that.” I hissed. My teeth were clenched so hard I was sure I was breaking them. Her eyes flicked over to me. She looked me up and down trying to size me up. 

“Call him what? A witcher. Honey are you dumb. That’s what he is.” In a second I was inches from her face. I could feel my blood pumping thru my veins. 

“Do not ever call him a monster again.” I was a bit shocked at how mean I sounded. I had never been this angry with her before. I wanted to punch her stupid smile in more than anything. 

“(Y/N)..” I heard Jaskier’s voice behind me. He was very close to me. My hands were balled in fists at my sides. My knuckles were turning white with how angry I was. 

“I promise you, studying princess, he's been called worse.” She smiled cheekily at me and her hand came up and she attempted to pat my face like I was a dog. My reflexes were much faster than she realizes. I grabbed ahold of her wrist in an intron grip. I began to squeeze and bend her wrist back away from my face. Her face contorted in pain. She wasn't expecting me to be as strong as I was. 

“I said-'' I squeezed harder, and she gasped slightly as she tried to pull her hand away. “Do not call him that.” I threw her hand away from me before turning around and walking by the window. I hadn't realized both Jaskier and Geralt were standing behind me. 

Moments later Hildi came out completely oblivious to the scene that just took place. She had a cloth sack filled with clothes and placed them on the counter. 

“Alright, dearly that’ll be 45 coins.” She said as she wrote down the total in her book. I stood quickly pulling the amount from my coin purse and putting it in her hand. I smiled at her as best I could, Jaskier grabbed the bag of clothes. 

“If something doesn’t go right, bring them back.” 

“Thank you Hildi, very much.” Geralt said a charming smile on his lip. He gently shook her hand kissing the top of it. 

“Thank you, Geralt. It was a pleasure meeting you. Don’t be a stranger.” She patted his cheek as a mum does. I turned on my heels and walked out of the shop. The cold air hit my hot face. My blood pumped slow and hard through my veins as the anger disappeared from my body. Jaskier came out of the shop and threw his arm over my shoulders leaning into me. 

“Thank you.” He whispered lowly, Great not being very far behind us as we walked to the castle. 

“For?” 

“Defending him. Many people don’t realize how much he’s heard throughout his lifetime. I’m glad I’m not the only one who wants to help.” I turned to him and smiled. I leaned into his side hugging him gently before, turning around walking backward as I looked at Geralt. 

“If you would like, I’ll show you both to your rooms, and you can change. We can then have tea in the garden and I can draw you.” A soft smile graced his lips, his eyebrow rising softly. 

“You seriously want to draw me?” I nodded my head and stopped walking, but he didn’t. He kept getting closer and closer till he was a few inches from me. 

“Yes, Geralt I do. You have a special spot in my heart, not just because I believe you are a true knight. And many people are just too scared to admit that, but also for keeping my brother safe all these years. You deserve to feel appreciated.” His features softened as his eyes searched my face before settling on my own eyes. His hand gently came up and he moved a small piece of hair from my face. 

“A deal is a deal, little dove.” I felt as though my soul was being sucked out through his hand. Every fiber in my body wanted to pull him closer to me, to show him love, and tenderness. Something I knew he never actually had. 

“Good, follow me,” I said with a smile.

After I showed them to their rooms; my brother’s old room not far from my own, and Geralt’s which shared a wall with my room, I went down to the garden. My easel, charcoals, and paints were set up on the table as they came down from changing and freshening up. Geralt looked more beautiful in clothes he could breathe in. his attire was so simple yet he made it look like the finest silks and jewels. It was a soft cotton button-down, it was loos on him, his pants were tight, but in a way that allowed him to move and feel free. I could tell by the way he walked he felt much more comfortable and in his element.   

“You look like you feel better,” I said with a smile. Even Jaskier changed. A white shirt. And some black pants. He looked as he always did when I was a kid. The obscene choices in fashion were only adopted after he left home. 

“I do.” I plainly said, a small smile on his lips. He and Jaskier sat down and I poured them tea. They both snacked on a few fruit tarts while I began sketching the background of the garden. allowing them to eat and not have to sit still just yet. 

“So...while I draw maybe you could both share a story?” I glanced behind my paper and looked at the two. Jaskier smiled and leaned back into his chair fixing his hair and popping open a few buttons for the portrait. 

“What story do you want to hear?” Geralt asked. Leaning back, his shoulders relaxing, a small piece of hair fell from the bit that he had tied back. It looked deliciously messy. It made him look disheveled, nearly like he was right out of bed. 

“Wait!” I yelled and grabbed his hand gently, pulling his hand back softly. 

“I like it. Keep it.” his hand went back down to his leg to rest. His eyes watched me for a few minutes. I studied their faces beginning my base sketches. 

“What story shall we tell her Geralt?” Jaskier asked as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back to the sky, the last of the light kissing his skin. 

“We could tell her about the Djinn?” Geralt said back, glancing at Jaskier before looking back at me, a coy smile on his face. 

“A Djinn?? I’ve only ever read myths about them. You encountered one?” My curiosity was blossoming, the urge to get more details about the creatures I had been taught about.

“Geralt here was going onto day gods knows what on no sleep. He was beyond grumpy.” Jaskier tilted his head back up and looked at me with a smirk. 

“The git said my singing was like a pie with no filling!!” I couldn’t hold back my laugh. It was much louder than I wanted, not very ladylike at all. 

“Oh… I may have to steal that one.” I said in between giggles, whipping my eyes. 

“I was hoping to use a wish from the Djinn to help me sleep. But unfortunately, your brother got in the way.” As Geralt spoke I moved into his details on his face, my eyes traveling all over his beautiful face. From the way, his brows arched to the cute little dimple on his chin. His face was beautiful. Some scares were prominent enough that I could see them if I looked hard enough he had one on his cheek, it looked newer than all the others, the skin being a bit lighter than the rest of his skin. 

“What did he do this time?”

“He decided that because I told him I no longer appreciated his singing that he would take the Djinn away from me till I took back what I said.”

“And let me guess, you didn’t take it back?” I glanced at him from behind my easel, he was watching me closely, his eyes slanted like he was studying a pray. 

“No. No, he didn’t. And I almost died!” Jaskier shouted dramatically causing my eyes to drift from Geralt over to him. 

“Don’t be dramatic Jaskier,” I mumbled, putting down the charcoal I had been using. Now turning my attention to the paints I had in front of me. I started mixing the colors Id need for Geralt’s skin tone. 

“No, this time he’s right. He did almost die. Unfortunately for Jaskier, he refused to let go of the vase the Djinn was in. While we tugged on it, the lid came off. Maybe the Djinn knew I was a witcher and its curse wouldn’t work on me, or maybe it was just annoyed at Jaskier. Either way, it attacked him.” My eyes were focused on the painting, brows furrowed as he spoke. I waited a moment for him to continue but he didn’t. 

“I’m listing Geralt, please continue,” I said my eyes moving to his, the colores pooling in my head as I prepared for what pigments id be using to paint them. 

“I don’t want to interrupt.” I shook my head a soft smile on my face. 

“I will,” Jaskier said as he sipped his tea, looking at me. 

“The Djinn attacked my throat. Made it swell, I was coughing up blood.” My painting stopped as I looked at him. My stomach sank a little as he spoke. I knew Jaskier had been put in harm’s way before but hearing the first-hand accounts made my stomach ache. 

“Geralt took me to an elven healer that wasn’t too far from where the river bed was. Unfortunately for me, he couldn’t help me. But he knew of a mage that could help.” My hand started to paint again, filling in the sketch with colors on Jaskier’s face as he spoke. 

“We can skip over those details Jaskier.” Geralt huffed crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Why? Don’t want my baby sister knowing that we had to sit threw an entier orgey just for you to speak to the mage?” Jaskier snickered looking away from me to his friend, 

“Jaskier, shut up.” Geralt grumbled. His eyes avoided my own when I went to look at him. 

“An orgey?” I had heard the word but hadn’t ever fully understood what it was. 

“What’s that?” I questioned looking at my brother. His head fell back as he cackled. 

“Oh dear sister how you’ve been so sheltered from the world.” My cheeks flushed red at his words. 

“Jaskier don’t be rude,” I mumbled grabbing a fine liner brush from my pile. Adding some final detail into Jaskier’s blue eyes. 

“It’s when a very large group of people get together in one room and have sex.” The blood rushed to my head at his words. I could feel my ears turning red. My brother was right. I had been sheltered about sex in my family. I didn’t have friends who I could talk to it about, and never really had anyone in my life I was willing to have sex with. 

Unlike many women my age I never viewed my virginity like a sacred rose that no one could touch, I just wanted it to be lost to someone who deserved it. No someone I was forced to allow to deserve it. 

“Oh look at how red she is.” Jaskier snickered standing up and poking my sides. I smacked his hands away glaring at him. He was now able to see the nearly completed painting. All I had left was my Geralt’s eyes and some details in his hair. 

“Gods (Y/N), this is amazing.” He whispered his hand on my shoulder. I smiled softly, swallowing the spit that had gathered in my throat thickly. 

“Thank you, please sit down and continue your story.” Jaskier did as I asked. 

“The mage was Yennefer. She helped me. Saved my life. The mage and I may not get along, but I do owe her my life.” I smiled softly as he spoke of the mage I had heard so much about. 

“I’ll be sure to thank her myself if I ever come across her,” I said with a smile. My attention turned back to Geralt who didn’t look please at the topic of our conversation. His eyes were on his leg that bounced slightly. He was anxious. 

“Geralt love, I cannot see your eyes. That’s nearly all I have left.” At the sound of my voice, his head tilted up so he could look at me in the eye. 

I smiled sweetly at him. I broke eye contact as I added in the different hues of orange and a bit of red. Some gold flecks showed themselves in his inner iris. The depth of the color was so enchanting. I could paint just his eyes forever. I finished with his hair after a few minutes of silence. Both men just enjoying the warm afternoon air. They both looked relaxed, peaceful, safe even.    

“I’ve finished, boys,” I said whipping my hands on my apron. I stood up and turned the easel around to the two. They both sat up straight, eyes wandering all over the painting. 

“You, my dear sister are beyond talented.” Jaskier mused looking at me, a bright smile on his face. 

“We both are.” I smiled at him. Geralt was still examining the painting, his eyes flicking over every inch of himself. I couldn’t tell if he was pleased or not. It made me nervous.

“I know the hair isn’t perfect. I’m still trying to get the brush technique down-”

“It is perfect.” Geralt interrupted me, a smile on his face as he looked at me. 

I smiled back at him, my heart beating a little quicker. 

“Can I keep it?” Geralt asked. 

“Seriously?” I asked him. 

“Well, actually it’s probably best you keep it. I don’t have a home, so I wouldn’t want to ruin it…” I smiled softly, taking a step closer to him. 

“I’ll keep it safe but if you ever have a place that you want to keep it, ill get it to you,” I said, softly stroking the stray strand of hair behind his ear. His face tilted up as he looked at me. 

“I think I’m going to turn in for the night boys,” I said gathering my items in my hands. 

“What about dinner?” Jaskier asked. 

“I’ll grab something from the kitchen, I’m quite tired. I need a bath. I’ll see you both in the morning.” I said hugging Jaskier goodnight. I turned to Geralt, courage surging through my veins. I bent down and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. 

“Goodnight Geralt.” His cheeks turned a very, very soft shade of pink, but only for a moment. Our eyes locked again. 

“Good night, dove.”